The ACU board was not consulted on this, nor was there a board vote. #CPAC2017 pic.twitter.com/wZ08cmbrHB
Ned Ryun (@nedryun) February 18, 2017
The appalling violence at Berkeley was the best PR possible for the eloquent, funny, flamboyant performance artist, creating natural organic interest in what could possibly spark such intense interest. Here is a hint for the lefties, offered in the secure notion that they would never pay attention to me. Back in the day that Boston was a stronghold of Yankee Bluenoses, getting a book or a play banned in Boston was a surefire path to prosperity selling books or tickets to the public. Milo being banned in Berkeley is the best thing that ever happened to a showbiz performer. As a result, foul-mouthed Bill Maher invited Milo onto his HBO talk show Friday night. And the left was not pleased. David Colon of Gothamist : In a television event that was described by some people (okay, me) as "less of a draw than watching my own televised execution," human smirk Bill Maher hosted Digimon enthusiast and trans/Muslim basher Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time last night. Maher, who decided to invite Yiannopoulos on the show after protests of Yiannopoulos's attempted Berkley speech offended Maher's free speech principles, proved how committed he was to free speech by letting Yiannopoulos ramble on basically unchallenged. Steve Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times was more measured, but clearly displeased. In the end, it was a non-event. Which to some people made it a really big event. Bill Mahers decision to host controversial blogger Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO Friday led to very few on-air fireworks. Maher talked to his guest mostly about free speech, agreeing with him nearly as much as disagreeing with him and generally affecting a convivial tone. In my opinion, Maher looked a little frightened of debating Milo one-on-one, and concluded the segment too early, in order to avoid such a fate, but come to your own conclusions. In the panel discussion that followed, the best purported comedian Larry Willmore could come up with was F**k you. Yeah, thatll convince the undecided: Milo is human Kryptonite to the leftists that consider themselves supermen, wiser and more virtuous than the rest of us. When an anti-American monster dies, count on the New York Times go out of its way to evoke sympathy in its obituary, as a way of claiming balance and objectivity. Even for a monster that wanted to cause mass casualties in the name of enslaving us under Sharia law as dhimmis. And by its own standards, the Times succeeded yesterday, commemorating the passing of Sheikh Abdel Rahman. The artistic picture the Times placed at the top of the obit tells half the story: 1995 photo by Fred R. Conrad, NYT In the lede sentence, it acknowledged he was the blind Islamic cleric whose fulminating sermons inspired violent fundamentalist movements. But after stipulating the inspiring nature of his words and leaving the violent consequences utterly vague, the Times went on to play its sympathy violin: Mr. Abdel Rahman, who was known as the blind sheikh, spent years in the most severe solitary confinement, barred from communicating with his followers, praying with other Muslim prisoners or even listening to Arabic radio. Failing blood circulation due to diabetes had killed the sensation in his fingertips, making it impossible for him to read his Braille Islamic texts. Poor boy! There is no mention that the reason he was put in solitary and banned from communicating was because he had been communicating terror plans to his radical leftist lawyer, Lynne Stewart, top pass along to terrorists, convicted of same and currently living out her days in federal prison, as she fights cancer and pleas for compassionate release. Just imagine the obituary planned for her by the Times. Hows that #Resist hashtag workin out for ya, Democrats? Not that your hysteria levels would permit any de-escalation, but really, the American people are sick of your frenzied inability to accept the verdict of the election. Jonathan Easley reports for The Hill on a new poll it exclusively published: A strong majority of Americans say Democrats should look to cooperate with President Trump to strike deals, according to the inaugural Harvard-Harris poll provided exclusively by The Hill. The survey found that 73 percent of voters want to see Democrats work with the president, against only 27 percent who said Democrats should resist Trumps every move. The findings are significant as Democratic leaders in Congress are under growing pressure by their liberal base to obstruct the president's agenda. The poll shows the party is divided on how to deal with Trump: 52 percent of Democrats polled say they should cooperate with him on areas of agreement and 48 percent saying they shouldn't. In other words, the Democrats are equally divided, with half of them wanting cooperation and the other half a scorched earth resistance strategy. But by a three-to-one margin, the public wants them to cooperate. Given the fact that the #Resist faction is powered by anger while the other half of the Democrats are merely depressed, we can expect the rejectionists to win the internal struggle and alienate the public. Rick Moran points out that by a similar margin the public wanted GOP cooperation with the Obama presidency in 2009. But at that point, the Dems went whole hog, passing the disastrous Obamacare bill by parliamentary trickery with no GOP support at all. That is what led to the Tea Party and began the 8 years of Democrat decline and the loss of a thousand elected offices. If the Trump administration avoids Obamacare-scale disasters, it can further the marginalization of the Democratic Party. Friday night, north Philadelphia experienced protests against the police, which resulted in 4 arrests and 3 police officers hurt. The neighborhood surrounding Temple University was the locus for this disruption. The grievances originate with complaints of police brutality and mistreatment, much as the Black Lives Matter movement. However continued anarchy demonstrates an organized attempt to delegitimize the Trump administration. This is furthered by the media which continues to haunt the Trump administration. President Trump has been in the White House for one month. The press has given us a non-stop narrative of confusion, disarray (McCain), corruption and incompetence. Thursdays news conference reenergized the Trump supporters, barraged daily with negative news about the functioning of the administration. He hopes his trips to South Carolina and Florida continue the positive feeling. Lost in all this news is the successful completion of one aim of Trumps campaign. He sought to deregulate elements of the national economy. The Congress sent legislation undoing the regulations placed by Obamas administration on coal and petroleum, using the Congressional Review Act, a Clinton era law. Under this law, most regulations put in place since June 2016 may be subject to congressional reversal. Presently, Congress is examining reversal to retirement rules and recently passed legislation to restore the Second Amendment rights of those on social security disability. The administration is still waiting to fill the cabinet, and few sub-cabinet positions have been filled or announced. This leaves many embedded Obama officials within the bureaucracy to stall and thwart Trump policies. These people are likely the source of the many leaks regarding foreign affairs that occupy news reports concerning General Flynn, Russia, and immigration policy. The State Department and much of the intelligence community are loaded with liberal leaning officials. Trump has made changes already by executive orders that reverse many Obama regulations and orders. The president is fighting with the media, the Democrats and many in his own party. The swamp is deep and full of dangerous animals. The reversal of governmental control will allow jobs to appear that would have not gotten off the ground or would have disappeared. Senator Schumer claims that the disinfectant of sunlight must be used to vet cabinet nominees, but this is the longest such hearings have ever occurred. Yet, he could not stop the vote for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. The future trajectory of this agency is now subject to reversal. Perhaps the best way to change the trajectory of the federal governmental growth is through the budgetary process. Now the Republicans in Congress have a president prepared to sign such legislation. There still remains work to prepare a unified repeal and replacement of Obamacare. Whether this should be piecemeal to gain necessary Democratic votes, or all at once as Senator Paul desires, is not clear yet. Then, the president must work for tax reform and continue the effort to grow the economy. Despite the trend to automation which threatens manual jobs, there is room for manufacturing growth. This is ambitious because, unlike Obama, Trump is going against the beating drums of the media. At the press conference, he was asked about the division in our politics. He stated that he did not create it, nor did Obama. The main-stream liberal press is the dividing agent and their narrative is to continue this division at the detriment of America. This makes them the enemy of the people. Senator John McCain poured it on for the press at a Munich defense conference Saturday, warning in a veiled attack on President Trump that attacks on the press are a leading danger for democracy. That's how dictators are made! he shrieked. It was rich stuff, given that most of his European listeners do not have the same wide press freedoms found in the states. But more to the point, it was McCain up to his old tricks: Ingratiating himself to the anti-Trump press by playing its champion, in a bid to be the media's darling. What stands out here is the hypocrisy of his claims. He's suddenly concerned about press freedoms and dictators? Where was McCain when President Obama was systematically violating press freedoms every which way to Tuesday? Seven examples of Obama's attacks on a free press spring to mind and not one of them drew any significant criticism from McCain. Where was McCain when Fox News correspondent James Rosen was illegally followed around by Obama's Department of Justice in 2013 over a story he published on North Korean activities? It was a clear-cut example of reporters just doing their jobs, even as someone in government was leaking the story, but Team Obama went after Rosen with the Espionage Act. Where was McCain when CBS investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson's computer was being taken over and hacked in late 2012 by what were almost certainly Obama agents over her Benghazi scandal reporting? She described the still-unresolved incident in her book Stonewalled (which ought to give another clue about the Obama record on press freedoms) but her story about the computer hacking, which included planting classified documents and keystroke changings, certainly was disturbing. We didn't hear much from McCain. Where was McCain when New York Times reporter James Risen was threatened with prosecution if he did not reveal his sources? Risen certainly thought Obama was acting like a dictator in a recent interview. McCain, not so much. Where was McCain when Obama illegally wiretapped the communications systems of the Associated Press in 2013 bid to find out its sources? Nowhere to be found. Where was McCain when radio show host Rush Limbaugh was attacked by Obama - in 2009 and 2012 for unfavorable commentary? Where was McCain when Fox News was singled out for criticism by President Obama? This event was not only a blast at the outfit but highly inappropriate collaboration with Media Matters, which made Fox News its bugbear. And where was McCain when Obama's spokesman John Kirby attacked a RT News correspondent at a 2016 White House press conference who asked an uncomfortable question on Syria, questioning its legitimacy as a press outfit? If the Russian state-funded press agency was that illegitimate, explain to us why it had a press pass issued by the White House at all? We heard nothing about it from McCain. The Obama list is quite long, and that is not surprising. Obama was a socialist and socialists of all stripes have a long record of suppressing freedom of the press, subordinating its expression to the interests of an all-powerful state and its dictator. McCain found nothing wrong with that when Obama was playing that game and undercutting the press in what seemed to be pretty oppressive and downright illegal behavior. Breitbart News has another list of problems here. But when Trump, three or four weeks into his presidency, calls out some fake news on Twitter, suddenly we have a dictator descending. For the last few days, we've seen the media rediscover their bark. They are suddenly curious about everything after eight years of just going along. Best of all, they don't understand why the public, or their consumers, don't take their barking seriously anymore. The media's problems did not begin today. The Gallup polls about the media tell you the same story over the last few years: 2004: Media Credibility Reaches Lowest Point in Three Decades 2015: Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Historical Low 2016: Americans' Trust in Mass Media Sinks to New Low Maybe all the polls are wrong again. However, there is reason for the media to take their credibility problems a bit more seriously. Love him or hate him, President Trump was correct when he told the media this week that the people do not believe them. In fact, they trust him a bit more, according to another poll. Polls aside, anecdotal evidence confirms that the public does not really trust the media. Have you met anybody who thinks the media are truthful? Have you really? The media have themselves to blame here, and it really goes back to 2008 when they jumped on the Obama bandwagon. It was like watching a bunch of teen girls at a Donny Osmond concert. Ed Rogers got it right: And so, under President Barack Obama, fake news took on a slightly different spin as Democrats worked to promote the sainthood of Obama and the mainstream media ate it up. Journalists couldn't do enough to help him get elected in 2008. Then, after he was elected, they let him get away with making claims such as "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor," and later in his presidency, allowed him to go virtually unchallenged when his administration brazenly blamed the Benghazi attacks on a bizarre YouTube video. There is no better example of how the Obama administration used the concept of fake news to twist perceptions in Washington than the New York Times Magazine profile of Ben Rhodes, the lightweight senior Obama foreign policy adviser who "shaped narratives" and essentially manipulated a willful press into reporting what he wanted it to say, regardless of the truth. The fake-news phenomenon also made its way to Congress, highlighted by then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) outlandish statements on the Senate floor that then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes. It was patently false, and Reid knew it, but he did it anyway, later saying it was "one of the best things" he had ever done. By the way, I would add the IRS, Fast & Furious, and the collapse of the Middle East to all of those problems that the media chose to overlook to protect the Obama presidency. Yes, the media bias got Senator Obama elected and President Obama re-elected. The media got their man but lost a significant chunk of the nation watching reporters too eager to accept whatever story the White House was peddling. I wonder how 2012 would have turned out if the media had been outraged at the video explanation about Benghazi. Four Americans are dead, and you are blaming it on a YouTube video in a region of the world where hardly anyone has access to the internet? Where was Don Lemon of CNN when we really needed him? Suddenly, the media have discovered investigative journalism. Now, they want to analyze everything, from the stupidest of conspiracy theories to what President Trump is having for breakfast. Will the media get their credibility back? Listen to what customers are saying, and bring a little bit more fairness to the coverage. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. Tristan da Cunha is a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean lying 2,816 kilometers from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometers from South America. Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the main settlement of the island, is regarded as the most remote permanent settlement in the world, being over 2,400 kilometers from the nearest human settlement, on Saint Helena. The island is roughly circular in shape with an average diameter of 11 kilometers and a total area of 98 square kilometers. The island is mostly mountainous - the only flat area is the location of the capital, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, on the northwest coast. There is a volcano named Queen Mary's Peak, which erupted in 1961 forcing almost the entire population to abandon the settlement and move to the UK. The islanders, however, returned in 1963 and the settlement was rebuilt. Narrow valleys or gulches radiate from the central peak which remain snow covered in winter. During the wet season the steep valleys become fast running torrents washing minerals down from the slopes, to the regions below. On the northwestern plain, the deposits has formed green fields where the islanders grow their potatoes. Photo credit The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. Lacking an airport, the islands can be reached only by sea. Although passing fishing boats from South Africa regularly service the islands, the RMS Saint Helena visits the island once each year during its February voyage between Cape Town and Saint Helena. The islands were first sighted in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristao da Cunha but rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristao da Cunha, which was later anglicised to Tristan da Cunha Island. It took another 140 years before the first human set foot on the island. The first recorded landing was made in 1643 by the crew of the Heemstede. Another 120 years later, in 1767, the first survey of the archipelago was made by the French frigate L'Heure du Berger, and the reports of the findings were published in 1781. 30 years later the first permanent settler had arrived. His good name was Jonathan Lambert and he sailed all the way from Salem, Massachusetts, United States. He declared the islands his property and named them the Islands of Refreshment. Lambert's rule was short-lived, though, as he died in a boating accident just two years later in 1812. Today the island has a population of only 264 people, as of 2007, and they share only eight surnames among them. The current population is thought to have descended from 15 ancestors, eight males and seven females, who arrived on the island at various times between 1816 and 1908. All of the residents are farmers and they own their own stock. No family own personal property on this island - all land is communally owned. There are even various measures in place to prevent better off families from gaining excess wealth! The Settlement of Edinburgh has a district air of yesteryear about it, although it has all the modern conveniences of mains water, electricity and sanitation. Health care is free, but there is just one resident doctor from South Africa and only five nurses. There is a small but interesting museum, one school, a craft shop, a swimming pool and a radio-station. There are old style local shops, and a large supermarket. Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit View more pictures of the island on this Flickr set. Official website: www.tristandacunha.org Sources: 1, 2 JavaScript is disabled on your browser. CORDIS website requires JavaScript enabled in order to work properly. Please enable JavaScript. Via CBC News Manitoba: Dozens of asylum seekers, baby, cross into Manitoba Sunday. Excerpt: Dozens more asylum seekers including at least one baby who fled the United States for Canada, made their way into Manitoba early Sunday morning, CBC News has learned. The asylum seekers are at the Emerson, Man., border right now and are waiting to be processed by agents with the Canada Border Services Agency. Jay Ihme, a spokesperson for the Emerson Fire Department, said fire crews who handle medical calls were dispatched to the Emerson port of entry around 6:30 a.m. to help a woman who had fallen on the ice. The woman was from Africa and was part of the group of asylum seekers the latest who've made their way into Manitoba. "We had a bit of a language problem," Ihme said. Ihme said he was sleeping when he got paged to attend to this morning's call. He said he wasn't fazed by the call there have been so many in recent months, it's become commonplace. Via the KSA MOH Command and Control Center: MOH: '2 New Confirmed Corona Cases Recorded'. Both cases involve Saudi men with direct contact with camels, one in Jeddah and the other in Riyadh. Both are in critical condition. Another case in Jeddah, a 74-year-old Saudi man, has died. His case was reported on February 17, when he was said to be in critical condition. No recoveries are reported. Madeleine McCann: all aboard the Our Maddie charabanc for a ten-year anniversary tour Madeleine McCann: a look at reporting on the vanished child. The Sun picks up the news that sleuths can book a place on the Our Maddie charabanc. Armchair detectives can go mobile. The paper tells us: The trips to the apartment named Luz Tours where the missing three-year-old was last seen alive has been slammed as appalling. Why are they not named Maddie Tours or something equally to the point? Luz Tours seems a tad cryptic. The paper then repackages old news: The McCann family were staying in an apartment at the Ocean club, Praia Da Luz, Portugal, when she vanished. And since May 7 2007 that has been pretty much the entire story. As facts go, those are them. But the single thread story has spun out and out until we get news of an unnamed tour operator who apparently wrote about his trips somewhere the Sun doesnt say where: The tour organiser wrote: Luz Tours are for people with considerable expertise in the Madeleine McCann case. He added: I dont think there is a way to commercialise Luz Tours and I wouldnt want to even if it was possible. However, I find it ironic that I get keel-hauled for trying to progress the Madeleine McCann case, for free, and Scott Michaels gets lauded for running a business based on dead celebrities. Far from being ghoulish, the Maddie Tour is a public service. As for Scott Michaels, well, he founded the now infamous Dearly Departed Tours in Hollywood 15 years ago. Book a seat and Scott will show you where famous people croaked. Is this news or is this marketing? The paper hears from one expat. Theyre upset and aghast. I dont know whats worse running this sick tour or pretending its doing it to find Maddie, says the unnamed source. I think the organisers are twisted and the people that go on these ghoulish tours are not much better. Its totally uncalled for and needs to stop. Best leave the Madeleine McCann sightseeing to the journalists and the cops. The Mirror calls the tour sick. It adds: The trips also take in the nearby tapas restaurant where her parents Kate and Gerry were dining when she vanished and wasteland spots where British cops have dug for her body. And you thought you wouldnt have any fun on holiday. Tourists on the excursions named Luz Tours and dubbed the Luz Challenge are reportedly then invited to speculate on what happened. When it comes to speculation best leave it to the Mirror, which helpfully produced its six theories in May 2010. The paper told readers of the PAEDOPHILE GANG, the LONE PAEDOPHILE, the JEALOUS MOTHER, Madeleine wandering off and DROWNED, the OPPORTUNIST PAEDOPHILE, the CHILDLESS COUPLE. You can print it out and use it to kick stat chatter on the tour bus. In other news, the Mirror says: Kate and Gerry McCann lodge complaint after court ruled couple were not formally in the clear over Madeleines disappearance You can read more about that here. The Mirror then says, in the interests of sound reporting and fact: Detectives are said to be working on a theory that she was kidnapped by a European trafficking gang. No need to spend your cash on a tour when you can debate the vanishing at home. The Mail has more. And it adds a new word to the Madeleine McCann Glossary: Correio da Manha reported today: The McCanns have requested the annulment of the Supreme Court decision, terming it frivolous for saying it had not been possible for public prosecutors to obtain sufficient evidence of crimes by the appellants. The newspaper said the McCanns had described the ruling as leviano in the complaint lodged through their Portuguese lawyer which in English translates as frivolous but can also mean sloppy or rash. Leivano could be used to describe much of the repotting on this matter reporting that libelled the parents and Robert Murat, pointed the finger at gypsies, demanded dying paedophiles make death-bed confessions and made Madeleine McCann into Our Maddie, the benchmark for all missing people. To prove how little the case has progressed the Sun asks: MCCANN COURT BATTLE Who is Goncalo Amaral? Ex-Madeleine McCann cop whose claimed Gerry and Kate faked her abduction Question asked. Question answered. Over in the Star, the paper produces news from nothing. Maddie McCann parents blast cash-in claims ahead of 10th anniversary of disappearance Ten years of this. When Anorak first started to cover this tory we told you it would run and run. In place of news, the Star oozes: KATE and Gerry McCann have blasted claims they plan to make a fortune from the 10th anniversary of daughter Madeleines disappearance. How? Are there to be commemorative mugs, tours, newspaper retrospectives Maddie: 10 Years of Guessing? Spokesman Clarence Mitchell denied allegations in the Portuguese press that the parents were taking fees for interviews. He said: They want to make it clear they are not making any money out of Madeleines disappearance. Any claims are spurious nonsense but fit in with the Portuguese agenda. The Sun adds: As interest increases daily to clinch the sought-after decade deal by broadcasting and publishing giants, the family have admitted: Its crazy! You might even call it sick. Paul Sorene Posted: 19th, February 2017 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Not at all. It just seems like a lot of back-and-forth talk. Yes. I'm growing very worried over what might happen. If it keeps up, I might be a little more concerned. I think there are much larger things to concern us as a country. It's hard to tell; I can't take the leader of either country seriously. Vote View Results 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. Via The Local.se: Sweden mulls universal chickenpox vaccinations for children. Sweden is considering introducing a universal vaccination programme against chickenpox, which would make such vaccinations free for toddlers. According to national broadcaster SVT, the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhalsomyndigheten) will this year launch an investigation into the benefits of introducing universal vaccinations against chickenpox for children. The study will specifically look at the potential cost reductions such preventative measure would have on society as a whole in terms of reducing the pressure on the healthcare sector and avoiding parents needing to take time off work to care for their sick children. I believe in universal programmes, not the least because of the equality aspect. There might be people who cant afford vaccinations, Ann Lindstrand, a spokeswoman at the government agency was quoted as saying. In the fall we will launch a study looking at the combination of chickenpox and shingles, she said, adding: We have a priority list of vaccines that were looking into to and which has been created in consultation with the advisory committee for universal vaccinations. Although children infected with chickenpox generally just suffer from irritated skin and itching, SVT says one to three out of every 1,000 Swedish children fall ill to the extent that they need to be hospitalised. One child a year is estimated to die from the disease. A group of Swedish doctors made a push for chickenpox vaccinations to be made universal eight year ago, publishing a study in the medical journal Lakartidningen in which they said that aside from reducing the suffering among children, it would be financially profitable for Swedish society. My wife came down with shingles at the beginning of December, and is still dealing with the pain. And this because she'd had the shingles shot some years ago but hadn't repeated it. I had the shot a couple of years ago, and rest assured I will get it again in the next year or two. Get the shingles vaccination, or it will indeed be on the final exam. You'll flunk. Civil Rights leader Vernon E. Jordan Jr.: Division has always been a product of assumption assuming that our story is the only story, or that our lives are harder than someone elses, or that people who dont look like us dont have the right to live and work for the American dream. But no matter how divisive life in this country may become, the movie theater has always been a place where we can rediscover what unites us. The piece, a live-streaming art protest by by Shia LaBeouf, Nastja Sade Ronkko, and Luke Turner, was shut down at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York last week even though it was supposed to stay up for as long as the current officeholder is president. But the project has found a new home at the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Joan Elizabeth Jurgensen Joan Elizabeth Jurgensen, age 76, rested in peace on February 18th at home with her husband, Craig, by her side. Joan was born in Canada on January 25, 1941 to John and Edith Mills. Joan would forever document her Canadian birthplace in Montreal with a 2x3 plastic registration card which she kept safely in a tiny jewelry box for the rest of her life. The Mills family immigrated into the US in 1950. Joan grew up in Pennington, New Jersey and attended public school. Later in 1963 she graduated from Bates College in Maine and went on to obtain a teaching certificate. After teaching first grade for five years, she made a career decision to be a stay-at-home mother to her three young children Heather, Susan, and John. The Jurgensen family of five established a permanent residence in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1972 where they formed many strong community relationships. Joans eventual fulltime (and overtime) work as a community volunteer consisted of selfless service to many institutions and non-profit organizations including The Bosler Library, Bosler Friends Board (Emeritus member), Bosler auction, Youth Ballet, Stevens Mental Health Center, Carlisle Hospital, and most abundantly St. Johns Episcopal Church. As a Life member of the St. Johns Vestry, she chaired many of the Churchs construction projects over more than three decades. She also chaired the year-long recognition of St. Johns 250th anniversary in 1995. In 2016, the governing board nominated Joan to be an Emeritus member of the Church Vestry. Joans still, small voice of calm found abundant creative expression in her prolific writings. Using her artful handwriting and a dedicated portion of almost every day, Joan wrote: a book of love letters to Craig, a pack of letters from Korea during Craigs Army assignment, a shelf full of diaries spanning 55 years (!), a 3-inch thick album of recipes, a box of Christmas letters, a large file of personalized address cards, a portfolio of minutes from construction projects at St. Johns Church (now on file in the Cumberland County Historical Society), a stack of travel journals from 30 tours across the world, a sheaf of academic papers presented to the Travelers Club, and a trove of precisely labeled family photographs. Joan edited the mammoth Jurgensen ancestral story which had been collected by her father-in-law, Charles Jurgensen. The enormous quantity and sentimental quality of Joans writings over her lifetime represent, in essence, her love of all life and her joy in living. Joan is survived by her now lonely husband, Craig, plus three adult children Heather and her partner Yaroslav (Germany), Susan and her husband John Somers (Richmond, Virginia), John and his wife, Ruth Jurgensen (Chicago, Illinois); twin sister Judy and her husband Charles Jurgensen (New Jersey); brother Peter Mills (New Jersey); grandchildren Jack and Ellie Somers, Adrian Ivanenko, Penn Jurgensen; sister-in-law Alice Strack (Pennsylvania); plus cousins in Canada and numerous nieces and nephews from across the United States. A Requiem Eucharist will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at St. Johns Episcopal Church, On the Square in Carlisle, with Rev. David Bateman officiating. Inurnment will be private in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd Columbarium at the church. Visitation and fellowship will immediately follow the service in the Parish Hall. Memorial contributions in Joans name may be made to the Heritage Fund at the Church. Ewing Brothers Funeral Home assisted the family with the arrangements. Visit www.Since1853.com to send condolences. Company is also mulling launching a petrol variant of its popular Scorpio model. For medium and heavy commercial vehicles the price impact could be to the tune of 7-8 per cent. New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra plans to launch a petrol variant of its flagship SUV XUV500 in the first quarter of next fiscal in the wake of customer preference shifting away from diesel vehicles in the segment. The company is also mulling launching a petrol variant of its popular Scorpio model depending on the demand for the same in XUV500. Besides, it plans to launch another SUV codenamed 'S201' that is being developed on the platform of Tivoli from the stable of its South Korean arm Ssangyong in the second half of 2018-19. In a communication to investors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said: "The gasoline (petrol) version of XUV500 is likely to be launched in Q1FY18." Currently, the XUV500 is available only in diesel fuel option with two engine variants of 2,179 cc and 1,997 cc, priced in the range of Rs 12.47 lakh and Rs 17.57 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) "Depending on the response to this product, the company would launch gasoline version of Scorpio," M&M added. The company said the "S201, being developed on Tivoli platform, would be launched in H2 FY19". Apart from these, there would be periodic refreshes to the existing vehicles, it added. Big diesel cars and SUVs have been witnessing decline in demand due to regulatory concerns over pollution. Last year registration of such vehicles with diesel engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above were banned for eight months in Delhi-NCR by the Supreme Court. Subsequently, M&M had introduced downsized 1.99 litre version of its mHawk engine series to power the XUV500 and Scorpio models. Traditionally, demand for diesel options is higher in SUV segment compared to petrol. However, according to industry estimates, it saw a decline from around 90 per cent to about 80 per cent last year. Commenting on the implementation of new BS-VI emission norms for commercial vehicles from April 1, M&M said utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles could become expensive by around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. For medium and heavy commercial vehicles, it said "the price impact could be to the tune of 7-8 per cent". The amendments will take effect from April 1, 2017. Bill seeks to do away with the threshold of Rs 5 lakh on jewellery purchases for applicability of TCS because the Union Budget 2017-18. New Delhi: Cash purchases of jewellery will attract 1 per cent TCS (tax collected at source) from April 1 if the amount exceeds Rs 2 lakh, as against the current threshold of Rs 5 lakh. Once the Finance Bill 2017 is passed, jewellery will be treated on par with general goods which attract 1 per cent TCS on cash purchase of above Rs 2 lakh. The Bill seeks to do away with the threshold of Rs 5 lakh on jewellery purchases for applicability of TCS because the Union Budget 2017-18 has proposed to ban cash dealings of over Rs 3 lakh and make violations punishable with a penalty of an equivalent amount to be paid by person receiving the cash. However, as there is no special provision for TCS on its purchase, jewellery is now being clubbed in general 'goods' on which 1 per cent TCS is triggered if a single transaction exceeds Rs 2 lakh in cash. In a bid to check generation of black money through large transactions, after the Budget proposal to scrap the previous threshold of Rs 5 lakh is approved by Parliament "The Income-tax Act provides for 1 per cent TCS on cash purchase of goods or services above Rs 2 lakh. The definition of goods also includes jewellery and hence 1 per cent TCS would be applicable on jewellery purchased above Rs 2 lakh in cash," an official told PTI. With this move, the TCS threshold for jewellery will be brought at par with that of bullion from April 1. The Income Tax Department has been levying 1 per cent TCS on cash purchase of bullion in excess of Rs 2 lakh and jewellery in excess of Rs 5 lakh since July 1, 2012. However, the Budget for 2016-17 had imposed TCS of 1 per cent on goods and services purchased in cash over Rs 2 lakh. The Finance Bill 2017 states that current provisions provide for "tax collection at source at the rate of one per cent of sale consideration on cash sale of jewellery exceeding Rs five lakh. It is proposed to omit the said clause in view of restriction on cash transactions as proposed to be provided". Presently, Section 206C sub section (1D) of Income Tax Act, 1961 provides for a seller collecting from the buyer 1 per cent of sale consideration as income tax if the amount paid for bullion exceeds Rs 2 lakh in cash and for jewellery if it exceeds Rs 5 lakh in cash. The same section also provides for 1 per cent TCS on cash paid in excess of Rs 2 lakh for any goods other then bullion and jewellery. With the amendment proposed in the Finance Bill 2017, jewellery purchase of over Rs 5 lakh in cash is being omitted from the ambit of TCS but will now be classified as "other goods" and the 1 per cent levy be provided if cash consideration is over Rs 2 lakh. Plaining the reason behind removing TCS on jewellery, the Finance Bill 2017 said that in India the quantum of domestic black money is huge which adversely affects the revenue of the government creating a resource crunch for its various welfare programmes. "In order to achieve the mission of the Government to move towards a less cash economy to reduce generation and circulation of black money, it is proposed to insert section 269ST in the (Income Tax) Act to provide that no person shall receive an amount of Rs 3 lakh or more in aggregate from a person in a day in respect of a single transaction or in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion from a person," the Finance Bill states. These restrictions however would not apply to government, any banking company, post office savings bank or co-operative bank. "It is also proposed to consequentially amend the provisions of section 206C to omit the provision relating to tax collection at source at the rate of one per cent of sale consideration on cash sale of jewellery exceeding Rs 5 lakh," it said. The amendments will take effect from April 1, 2017. The Al-31F engines were recently in the news as the Indian Air Force had some concerns about the engines. Bengaluru: Mr.Vladimir Drohzhov, deputy director, Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), who is leading the Russian delegation at Aero India 2017 insisted on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with the Saturn AL-31F engine that powers the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI. There is nothing wrong with Russian manufactured equipment as our quality controls are strong. After all Russia was the first country to recognise India's Independence in 1947. Our relations and cooperation are time tested, he added. The Al-31F engines were recently in the news as the Indian Air Force had some concerns about the engines. Assuaging its fears, Mr. Drohzhov said that IAF's inventory of Russian legacy aircraft coupled with the Air Force's continued use of them was testimony to the fact that the equipment was good. Mr. Drohzhov recalled that Russia was supporting India in operation, maintenance and reliability in many areas and claimed it was doing its bit in helping the Make in India campaign. Brahmos is the best example of Russia supporting the Make in India initiative, he said. Su-30MKI, especially the licence produced version, the deal for Kamov 226T, the small multipurpose helicopter and joint production of Frigate 11356 (Talwar class) ships for the Indian Navy were some of the examples given by the deputy director to underline the cooperation between the two countries. The director of United Engine Corporation, Alexander Artyukov revealed it had developed a better successor to the AL-31 engine based on a new design. The AL-41F-1S is a brand new engine which produces 18 per cent more thrust than its predecessor, he explained. UEC is set to display BARK-88, its latest engine digital control system for mordernising the RD-33 family of engines, which power the MiG-29UPG that India uses. Lot of opportunity in India: Dassault official Dassault Systemes, a major player in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, is showcasing its 3DEXPERIENCE platform and industry solution experiences for aerospace and defense at the GIFAS Pavilion at Aero India 2017. Dassault Systemes Aerospace and Defence Industry Marketing Director Dominique Anderson spoke to Rohan Ramesh and addressed the key trends and challenges in the industry like supporting manufacturing, focusing on a local supply chain and additive manufacturing. What is your main line of work and scope for business in India? We at Dassault Systemes have redefined ourselves as a 3 experience company. We are helping companies, especially those involved in the military industry in India to help products that meet mission goals. What I mean is that a mission will have specific objectives and requirements for an aircraft as airborne platforms are our primary concern in India as far as I'm concerned. We work with military, commercial aircraft with particularly things like the whole aircraft. As India is looking to establish an aerospace ecosystem, we're focussing right now of the fact that India is looking to acquire 200 single engined aircraft and 200 double engined aircraft in the near future. Also there is the commercial side as we see a lot of opportunity in India as it is a booming market. Can you elaborate on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform that you are displaying here? To support the 'Make in India' initiative, we're focusing on three things. First is support manufacturing, especially what we call agile manufacturing to help companies stay profitable. Mind you we don't want to place robotics everywhere but instead achieve a synergy between robot and human effort. It's called cobotics. Secondly we want to focus on supporting manufacturing by engaging the small and medium industries. We want to help them to produce designs from their in-house resources. We provide them solutions to help them win more business. Thirdly we want to concentrate on transformation engineering. This is based on what we call generative design. This means we can set and compare objectives and constraints to find the best result for our goal. GREENSBURG An 18-year-old man who authorities say shot a friend and then posed for a selfie with the dying teen has been convicted of a less serious charge. Maxwell Morton was convicted Thursday of third-degree murder in the shooting of 16-year-old Ryan Mangan in February 2015. The Westmoreland County jury deliberated six hours before rejecting prosecutors arguments that Morton intentionally killed Mangan. Morton testified Thursday that the teens were playing with a handgun and he thought it was not loaded when he pointed at Mangan and pulled the trigger. He said he took the selfie to document what happened and said he planned to kill himself. Morton testified that people think that hes a monster, but that hes actually a chill kind of guy. At times, he broke down in tears while describing his friendship with Mangan and the details of his death. Morton displayed little emotion as the verdict was announced, but defense attorney Pat Thomassey said his client was pleased. Hes out from under a possible life sentence. The poor kid did a lot of stupid things that we had to overcome at trial, Thomassey said. Morton faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in May. Mangans parents declined to comment as they left the courtroom. Earlier this week, jurors were shown the selfie during testimony from a Springville, Wisconsin, teenager who said Morton bragged about the killing as they played an online video game that evening, saying he got his first body. The teen said he thought it was a prank until Morton texted a link of a news item about the death and sent the selfie via Snapchat. The message was followed with a text that said, Told you, he testified. The teenager said he immediately took a screen shot of the selfie and told his mother, who called police in Pennsylvania and testified she told authorities, you probably wont believe this, but we have a Snapchat of the murder. A forensic pathologist testified Wednesday that Mangan didnt die immediately and would have survived with appropriate medical care. When the Speaker returned and said he would order voting, DMK legislators again rushed to his podium. Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly turned into a battlefield on Saturday with Speaker P. Dhanapal being shoved around by DMK legislators angered by his refusal to order a secret ballot to decide on the confidence vote. He alleged that his shirt was torn and the main Opposition had targeted him only because he was a dalit. When the Speaker announced the voting, brushing aside demands for a secret ballot, DMK members rushed to his table shouting slogans. Some climbed to his chair and roughed him up. He then adjourned the House by an hour and left. When the Speaker returned and said he would order voting, DMK legislators again rushed to his podium. His mike was snatched, files thrown and he was pushed. Security personnel managed to escort the Speaker to his room, but not before he ordered the eviction of the DMK members. It was about 1.30 pm then. Before the House could assemble at 3 pm, about 250 security personnel entered the Assembly to evict the DMK legislators, who stoutly resisted. You can only carry our dead bodies from here, screamed DMK deputy leader Durai Murugan, warning the security men. The physical tussle between the DMK legislators and the security personnel lasted about 20 minutes at the end of which the latter managed to push the protesters out of the House. Stalin was carried out by half a dozen security men. Eyewitnesses said the DMK leader was punched on his back and his shirt was torn. Two other DMK legislators, S. Pugazhendi and J. L. Eswarappa too had their shirts torn in the melee. After the eviction at around 2.45 pm, the Assembly staff cleaned up the mess and Speaker Dhanapal returned to his chair. He condemned the DMK attack and announced the voting. Eight Congress MLAs and the lone IUML legislator staged walk-out shouting that democracy was being trampled upon. With the entire opposition absent, the Speaker announced voting and Edappadi won easily--122 vote for him and 11 against (OPS group). Govt mulls national exam for B.Ed courses to improve standards. The Centre feels school education was unlikely to improve unless teachers undergo rigorous and relevant training. New Delhi: In an effort to streamline and improve quality of teaching in schools, the Narendra Modi government is planning to introduce a nation-wide entrance examination for B.Ed courses. The HRD ministrys proposal, based on similar national tests in medical and engineering, is to try and implement the unified examination from the 2018 academic year. The plan is also to introduce certification of B.Ed colleges, exit test for all Bed graduates and a compulsory induction programme for government school teachers. Sources said the National Council for Teacher Education the apex body for teacher education, training and research in the country has been asked to work on the modalities for conducting the entrance and exit tests, and also draft the module for the compulsory induction programme of B.Ed. The government felt that school education was unlikely to improve unless the teachers undergo rigorous and relevant training. The aim is also to attract better quality of candidates entering the B.Ed programme. It was felt that B.Ed should not be the last resort for youngsters who do not qualify for other disciplines. A nation-wide entrance test is expected to ensure that only candidates who want to pursue teaching professionally would take up the course, a source said. The plan is also to introduce compulsory certification and accreditation of B.Ed colleges. While at the same time there is also a proposal to conduct an exit test for all graduates of the course to ensure that desired learning outcomes have been achieved. An orientation programme for fresh recruits in government schools is also expected to be put in place. It is understood that the proposal was mooted as the high number of untrained teachers was believed to be affecting the successful implementation of the Right to Education Act, which promises education to all children. It was felt that unless the number of trained teachers increase, the country would be hit badly. The RTE Act was a landmark legislation implemented by the UPA-II regime. The Central Advisory Board on Education meeting had also discussed the proposed National Mission on Teachers and Training. Fighters scramble to intercept plane. The pilots had reportedly not responded to German ATC callouts while the plane was over German airspace for almost 30 minutes. (Photo: PTI/Representational) New Delhi: In a serious security scare, a Jet Airways aircraft with 345 persons on board had a temporary communications breakdown for a few minutes with German Air Traffic Control (ATC) on February 16 over Germany while flying from Mumbai to London, and was escorted by German Air Force fighter jets that were scrambled after the authorities there apparently panicked. The two pilots have now been derostered pending an inquiry, and a probe has been ordered. Reports said the incident took place while the aircraft was flying over the German city of Cologne. The flight later landed in London safely. TV channels on Sunday evening aired dramatic footage that appeared to be from social media platforms that showed German Air Force fighters intercepting and escorting the Jet Airways aircraft. This is the second time in the past three years that a Jet Airways flight on the Mumbai-London sector has been in a communications breakdown with the ATC in German airspace. After the 9/11 terror attack in the US, aviation authorities worldwide are on alert if an aircraft loses its communications link with the ATC in the fear that such an aircraft may have been hijacked and may be used as a missile to hit targets on the ground. In a statement on Sunday, Jet Airways said: Contact between Jet Airways Flight 9W 118, from Mumbai to London Heathrow, of February 16, 2017, and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace. Communication was safely restored in a few minutes. As a precaution, the German Air Force deployed its aircraft to ensure the safety of the flight and its guests. The flight, with 330 guests and 15 crew, subsequently landed at London without incident. Jet Airways has duly reported the matter to the authorities, including DGCA. As part of the standard process, the flight crew of 9W 118 has been derostered pending investigation. It may be recalled this is the second such incident with a Jet Airways flight over Germany in the past three years. On March 13, 2014, a Jet Airways flight from London to Mumbai sparked panic after the aircraft remained out of contact for almost 30 minutes while flying over German airspace. Newswire reports back in 2014 said a probe by the DGCA found the pilots overlooked increasing the speaker volume after removing the headsets, resulting in a break in communications for almost 30 minutes. The pilots in their official deposition had then reportedly said they had removed their headsets. In that incident, the German air traffic control DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH had reportedly shot off a complaint to the DGCA. The pilots had reportedly not responded to German ATC callouts while the plane was over German airspace for almost 30 minutes. As per the practice, German ATC then immediately informed the airline, which sent an SMS to the cockpit via ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) fitted in the aircraft. The pilots responded to the SMS and apologised to the German ATC for not having responded earlier. Nitish meets Yechury, other major leaders; efforts to reach out to Akalis and Shiv Sena too. New Delhi: The BJPs dream of getting the first saffron candidate elected as President of India may run into trouble if the results of the Assembly elections in the five states are not up to its expectations. The Opposition parties have kept the channels of communication open not only among themselves but also with fence-sitting NDA constituents like the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal to prop up a rival nominee in case the BJP fares badly in the ongoing polls. The President of India is chosen by an electoral college that comprises the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, as well as elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all 29 states and elected members of the Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry. The results of the ongoing Assembly elections are crucial as the BJP is short of numbers in the electoral college that will pick the next President. The presidential election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, which means that a strong show by the BJP in the Assembly polls, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where MLAs votes have a total value of 83,824, may give it the political leeway needed to pick its own nominee or a saffron candidate. The initiative to embarrass the BJP in the presidential polls to be held in July has been taken by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. On a visit to New Delhi earlier this month, Mr Kumar met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury as well as leaders of the CPI and the Indian National Lok Dal. Channels of communication have also been opened with the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, sources told this newspaper. The Shiv Sena is locked in a bitter turf war with the BJP in the Maharashtra civic polls. The Sena had also joined the Opposition parties led by the Congress and Trinamul Congress in a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier to protest against the demagnetisation drive. The alliance between the Akali Dal and the BJP also had its own set of problems, The Opposition parties are keen to exploit this, more so if the ruling coalition fares badly in the Punjab Assembly polls. Other Opposition parties like Trinamul Congress, though in principle are supporting the move, have not yet come out into the open because of differences between Mr Kumar and Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee. The sources said the Congress has also been contacted and the parties have got a favourable response from it. The electoral college through which the President is elected comprises 4,896 legislators 776 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, and 4,120 MLAs. While MPs have an equal vote value, that of MLAs varies according to the population of the state. Each MLAs vote carries a value proportionate to the population of the state as per the 1971 census. Of 10,98 lakh votes in the electoral college this time, the majority mark will be 5.49 lakh votes. The BJP has 282 Lok Sabha members and 1,126 MLAs. Twelve states have BJP-led governments, but the party is out of power in populous states like UP and Bihar. In UP, which is the countrys most populous state, the value of an MLAs vote is 208. As for the remaining poll-bound states, the value of an MLAs vote is 116 in Punjab, 64 in Uttarakhand, 20 in Goa and 18 in Manipur. The NDA requires around 75,000 more votes to ensure that its candidate wins the election. In the 2012 presidential polls, both J. Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik, along with the BJP, had supported Purno A. Sangma against Pranab Mukherjee, the UPAs candidate. The BJP suffered a setback in 2015 when it lost the Assembly polls in Bihar and Delhi. Improving its tally in the elections being held now and early next year will also help the ruling party gain the upper hand over the Congress-led Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where a number of key bills are stuck as the government is in a minority. Reports from Muzaffarabad also said that the PoK govt. has launched a comprehensive plan to accelerate the pace of hydropower development. Srinagar: The government in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir has begun work on a $2.4 billion hydroelectric power project on river Jhelum, which flows out from Kashmir valley. The 1,124 MW (megawatt) project is the largest in the territory coming up at Kolhala, about 224 km from Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. The China Three Gorges Corp., the largest hydropower enterprise in the world in terms of installed capacity, has been awarded the contract to build the dam and the powerhouse within six years, reports from Muzaffarabad said. This comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was determined to stop the flow of water on which India has its right into Pakistan, and supply it to farmers in Punjab, J&K and other parts of the country. Mr Modi had also reviewed the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in which he reportedly zeroed in on adopting an aggressive strategy to raise pressure on Pakistan. His threat evoked a sharp reaction from Islamabad, which warned that reconfiguring the IWT would be construed as an act of war. The neighbouring countrys de-facto minister for foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said, Pakistan will not accept Indian aggression in any form and any Indian step for disrupting water flow as upper riparian will pertain to considerable risk of war and hostilities. Islamabad also approached the World Bank, which was instrumental in brokering the IWT, to seek arbitration on pending disputes with India on the construction of Kishanganga hydroelectric project on river Kishanganga (called Neelam in Pakistan) and Ratle project on Chenab. Reports from Muzaffarabad also said that the PoK government has launched a comprehensive plan to accelerate the pace of hydropower development. It has also decided to construct a number of additional small hydro power plants through its own resources and with private investments in the territory. The largest project being built at Kohala is part of the plan. Bangladesh PM was first scheduled to visit in December 2016 to discuss bilateral issues with Narendra Modi, had had to postpone it. New Delhi: A top Bangladeshi official has said the much-anticipated visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India was likely to take place in April, during which key issues like Teesta water sharing and Padma Bridge were expected to be discussed. New Delhi last week announced that foreign secretary S. Jaishankar will be visiting Dhaka on February 23-24 to discuss Ms Hasinas visit and other related aspects, including the agenda for talks between the visiting dignitary and the leadership here. So many drafts are being made by both the countries We are closest than ever before with agreements on every possible fora. And nothing will be done by India and Bangladesh without consulting each other, the official, a top aide of the Bangladesh Prime Minister, was quoted by news agencies as saying. She will visit sometime in April, the official said, noting that next month would be busy due to Bangladesh Independence Day on March 26 and other government activities. The much-anticipated visit of the Bangladesh PM was first slated to happen last December to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, but the plan got postponed. In late January, Bangladeshi officials had indicated that her visit was likely to be delayed further due to Ms Hasinas engagement at the World Economic Forum, among other programmes. Asked about the issues likely to come up during the meet, a source was quoted as saying, There would be several areas that would figure, including the Padma Bridge. Also, we are trying to set up power bases in Nepal and Bhutan. We need permission from India for these projects, as cable and other infrastructure would be passing through India. On the Teesta issue being part of her visit agenda, a top source was further quoted as saying, We understand the problem. But NDA government is doing its best. Prime Minister Modi himself is doing it, and we hope that (West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee will agree in the near future. Governor Rao is said to have told the OPS camp and the DMK that they can move court if they feel the need. Chennai: A day after Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palanisami won a controversial vote of confidence, governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao on Sunday declined to interfere in the proceedings of the Assembly despite demands from AIADMKs Panneerselvam faction and Opposition DMK to nullify the trust vote. He is said to be of the view that the aggrieved parties can approach the judiciary if they feel the need, according to sources close to Raj Bhavan. The delegation from the Panneerselvam camp and the DMK wanted the vote of confidence to be scrapped as the voting was held in the absence of the entire Opposition and the Speaker did not conduct a secret ballot. The Governor is of the view that he cannot interfere in the proceedings of the Assembly and that the Speaker has all the powers to run the House and proceedings. Hence, he is going by the rulebook in not interfering, a source said. Mr Rao on Sunday sought a factual and detailed report immediately from the Assembly, AMP Jamaludeen, on Saturday's events. Mr Jamaludeen is expected to send the report on Monday. Mr Rao, sources said, is also convinced that Mr Palanisami enjoys the confidence of 122 MLAs and there was no need for him to suspect those numbers. During their separate meetings with Mr Rao on Sunday, Mr Panneerselvam and the DMK demanded nullification of the trust vote alleging that the motion was adopted by contravening rules of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Former state minister K. Pandiarajan, who was part of the Panneerselvam delegation, informed the media that they had requested the governor to fix a new date for the trust vote again. We requested the governor not to recognise Saturdays Assembly resolution and announce fresh date for taking up the vote of confidence, he said. They had also briefed him about the violence during the vote of confidence and stated that the voting was taken up after 100 members were unconstitutionally and forcibly evicted from the Assembly. We submitted documentary proof, Mr. Pandiarajan added. The DMK also termed the vote of confidence as murder of democracy. In a memorandum submitted to Mr Rao, Opposition Leader M.K. Stalin alleged that the motion of confidence moved by Mr Palanisami was adopted by contravening the rules of the state Assembly. The DMK working president defended the move by legislators to resort to peaceful dharna inside the House after his demand for secret voting on the motion was rejected by Speaker P. Dhanapal on Saturday, saying finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House. The DMK president immediately rushed to Marina and sat in protest along with his colleagues. Opposition party leader in Tamil Nadu Assembly, M.K. Stalin displays his torn shirt after the ruckus experienced during the confidence of vote. (Photo: AP) Chennai: DMK working president M.K. Stalin, who was arrested for protesting anti-democratic activities in the Assembly, vowed to continue his agitation till the anti-people government is overthrown. Addressing the media after his arrest, Mr Stalin alleged that he and other DMK members were assaulted by the Assembly security, and said Saturday was a black day in Indias democracy. Disputing Speaker P. Dhanapals charge that DMK MLAs tore his shirt, Mr Stalin said the Speaker himself had torn his shirt and was making false allegations. A benami government has been formed in the state, Mr Stalin said and added he regretted the mistakes committed knowingly or unknowingly after the initial ruckus. Later, the DMK members resorted to peaceful protests demanding a secret ballot or postponement of the trust vote, he said. But, Assembly marshals were called to evict DMK members who were beaten and tortured, he charged, and said one of the MLAs Ravichandran fainted and was admitted to hospital. Earlier, Mr Stalin and other DMK members evicted from the Assembly rushed to Raj Bhavan and complained to governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao that they were assaulted in the Assembly. The DMK president immediately rushed to Marina and sat in protest along with his colleagues. As many as 69 Assembly constituencies in the Yadav heartland went to the polls in this phase. An Indian woman displays the indelible ink on her finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Saifai, Etawah, UP. (Photo: PTI) Lucknow/New Delhi: Over 61.16 per cent of the electorate on Sunday exercised their franchise in the third phase of polling to decide the fate of 826 candidates in Uttar Pradesh's 69 Assembly constituencies considered crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party. The turnout, which is higher by more than 1 per cent as compared to last Assembly polls, is expected to go up and touch 63 per cent as many voters were still in queues outside polling booths when the percentage was collated at 5 pm, officials said. "The turnout of voters was 61.16 per cent when polling drew to a close at 5 PM," UP Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said in Lucknow. About 2.41 crore people, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 people belonging to the 'third gender' category, were eligible to vote in this phase. He said the polling was by and large peaceful in this phase for which tight security arrangements were put in place at all the 25,603 polling booths. "At 5 pm, voting percentage was recorded as 61.16 per cent. There were huge queues outside some of the polling booths. We expect voting to reach or cross 63 per cent," Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Dev told a press conference in Delhi. "The polling in 69 Assembly constituencies passed off peacefully, without any incident," he said. In the 2012 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout in these constituencies was 59.96 per cent and 58.43 per cent, respectively. The percentage was, however, less than that witnessed in the first two phases of polling during the ongoing elections. The first phase saw polling of 64.2 per cent while the second phase recorded a little over 65 per cent. In today's phase, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah) while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his family voted in Lucknow where BSP supremo Mayawati also cast her ballot. Dev said this phase was incident-free and violence-free which assumes significance as the areas were votes were cast traditionally had a tag of witnessing a lot of disturbances. "These areas had difficult kind of history of violence. But the voting was done peacefully. It is testimony to the peace-loving nature of the voters. I would like to congratulate all for this," the EC official said. He hoped the same trend will be witnessed in the remaining four phases of polling. "A record seizure of Rs 38.40 crore cash and 2.014 lakh litres of liquor has been effected (from the areas of third phase of polls)," Dev said. Polling was today held in 12 districts and included SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah besides Lucknow (the Lok Sabha constituency of Rajnath Singh), Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur. Etawah is the native place of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, while Mainpuri is represented in Lok Sabha by SP's Tej Pratap Yadav. Dimple Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh, is the MP from Kannauj. The leaders, after casting their votes, claimed that their parties will form the next government in the state. Mayawati, who cast her vote in the Mall Avenue area in Lucknow, told reporters that BSP would win over 300 of the 403 seats. "Unlike the Congress and BJP, I am not saying this without any basis. The way the people are attending my rallies, I can say that I am going to form the next government. The people of the state want change as they are fed up with the misrule and 'goonda raj' of SP," she said. In a similar refrain, Rajnath Singh claimed that the BJP would secure an absolute majority in UP. In Saifai, Akhilesh said, "The voters have made up their mind in favour of the SP-Congress alliance." Polling in this phase began slowly but picked up pace later. There were reports of minor skirmishes between the supporters of the candidates at some polling booths. SP leader and Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav complained that his supporters were attacked by the "political opponents" in his Jaswantnagar constituency. In the 2012 Assembly polls, the SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while the BSP, BJP and Congress had secured only six, five and two seats respectively. One seat was won by an Independent. Duputy Election Commissioner Dev said in Delhi that 28,167 Electronic Voting machines (EVMs) were used for the polls, of these 167 had to be replaced due to technical reasons. Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were also used in five constituencies under Lucknow and Kanpur areas. Of these, 47 had to be replaced for some issues, the officer said. VVPAT machines, which are attached to EVMs, generate a slip to verify that a vote has been cast correctly. Dev said 208 flying squads and 237 static surveillance teams were formed to ensure cash and liquors are not used to lure voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that no government must discriminate on the basis of religion and caste. Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that no government must discriminate on the basis of religion and caste. Sabka saath, sabka vikas is our mantra. Ramzan me bijli aati hai to Diwali me bhi aani chahiye (if there is electricity during Ramzan, then it should be made available during Diwali, too). There should be no discrimination, he said at a rally in Fatehpur. Referring to the demonetisation drive, the PM said, I dont hide things. I always put my problems before the public. You are my high command. If I reduce the prices of medicine, dont you think the manufacturer would be angry and disappointed with me? Wouldnt they think of ways to hurt me? In times like these, who will protect me? He continued: On November 8, I jolted the nation. People who had black money (stacked) will speak against me, conspire against me, but I did this for the common man. My fight is against the big fishes, not against those who work with dedication. I am sure I have the blessings of the common man. He lashed out at the Samajwadi Party, saying its government was least concerned about improving the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. Why is the policing system so inefficient in UP? Why are complaints not registered? The Supreme Court had to intervene to get an FIR registered against SP leader Gayatri Prajapati who is facing charges of rape, he said. Taking a dig at the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, Mr Modi said the SP has insulted Ram Manohar Lohia by joining hands with a party that has looted the country. SP thought it would fool the people but it forgets that the public knows it all. The exile of development in UP must end and the state must keep pace with the rest of the country, he said. I heard a TV news anchor say last weekend that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Washington this week he will discuss a path to resolving the Middle East conflict with the new American president. That reminded me: I recently received a review copy of The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict. It looked like a fine book, but that subtitle vexed me. I literally pulled it out of the envelope as the news on TV described some horrible slaughter in Syria. But the Syrian civil war isnt called the Middle East conflict. The term has always been a misnomer, making it sound like were it not for the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the Middle East would be all peace and harmony. The Economist once ran A Chronology of the Middle East Conflict that was all about Israel and Palestine. It began in 1917 with the Balfour Declaration and ended with the election apparently for life of Mahmoud Abbas to the presidency of the Palestinian Authority in 2005. During that time there were dozens of conflicts in the region cross-border wars, civil wars, rebellions, revolutions, massacres, etc. that had nothing to do with Israel. The Islamic State is still in Syria, Libya and Iraq. The president of Syria, Bashar Assad, is finishing off the rebellion against his regime with the help of the Russians and Iranians. Amnesty International released a report last week accusing the Assad regime of executing some 13,000 people in a single prison. Approximately 4.8 million civilians have fled Syria and an estimated 400,000 have been killed. The Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan and Lebanon is straining those relatively moderate states beyond their capacities. The latest news in the Iran-Saudi Arabia proxy war in Yemen: The Saudis say Iran supplied the missiles Houthi rebels have been firing deep into Saudi territory. Turkey is rapidly transforming itself into an authoritarian state, and Egypt isnt far behind. The Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere always seem moments away from asserting their independence. And then, of course, theres al-Qaida and all the other terrorist groups which hate Israel to be sure but dont really focus on it. The Middle East has always had much bigger problems and, often, much bigger conflicts than those having to do with the Zionist entity. Indeed, it is precisely because of those problems and conflicts that rulers in the region chose to magnify the Israel-Palestinian conflict into the Middle East conflict in the first place. Demonizing the Jews is always a useful distraction from domestic dysfunction and oppression. During the campaign, Donald Trump vowed to be the most pro-Israel president ever. He followed the great American tradition of presidential candidates vowing to move our embassy to Jerusalem and then, upon taking office, discovering that more study was required. President Trump has said hed love to make the greatest of all real-estate deals and settle the conflict once and for all. This, too, is an American presidential tradition. Republican State Department veteran Elliott Abrams (recently denied a job as the No. 2 guy at the State Department because he had criticized Trump during the campaign) writes in the Weekly Standard that the Trump administration may be going for an outside-in strategy rather than an inside-out one: Instead of using an Israeli-Palestinian deal to improve Israels relations with the Arab states, use Israels relations with the Arab states to advance an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, Abrams writes. One reason to follow this approach, Abrams notes, is that the Palestinians dont have much to offer Israel. But good relations (which have been improving) with her Arab neighbors and a more united front against terrorism and Iran is perhaps the core of Israels national interest. If President Trump is determined to cut a deal, this sounds like the smartest way to go. If hes determined to be Israels best friend, he might aim his sights a little lower and deflate the idea that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is the key to resolving the Middle Easts many conflicts. The Prime Minister also said that no government should discriminate between people on the basis of religion and caste. Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took SP government in Uttar Pradesh to task for its failure to maintain law and order, saying goonda raj was prevailing in the state. The Supreme Court had to intervene to get an FIR registered against (minitser) Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who is facing charges of rape, he said at an election rally in Fatehpur. Referring to the demonetisation drive, Mr Modi said, On November 8, I jolted the nation. Those people who had black money will speak against me, conspire against me, but I did this for the common man. My fight is with the big fishes, not the ones who dedicatedly work. I am sure I have the blessings of the common man. In times like these, who will protect me?, Mr Modi asked the crowd, which drew a loud response of we will, we will from the assembled supporters. The Prime Minister also said that no government should discriminate between people on the basis of religion and caste. This is not the first time that the issue of healthy eating and banning junk food has been raised. Non-communicable diseases which include heart attacks and stroke, cancers, asthma and diabetes claim the lives of about 5.8 million Indians every year. (Representational image) New Delhi: The days of munching steaming hot samosas, bread pakoras and kachoris during meetings in ministries may soon be over. The Union health ministry is considering sending an advisory to all its counterparts, insisting that food high in fat be banned from canteens. The ministry is proposing to strike off junk food from their canteen menus and offer healthier options. We are grappling with the issue of increasing non-communicable diseases in the country and unhealthy eating is directly related to it. We will soon be sending an advisory to all the ministries to take the first step forward in this direction, Union health secretary, C.K. Mishra, told this newspaper. The health ministrys move follows recommendations by the group of secretaries (GoS), formed at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While their suggestion that additional taxes be imposed on foods with added sugar, salt and saturated fats was not accepted, the principle was and the health ministry decided to start with cleaning up the menus of the ministries as a first step. This is not the first time that the issue of healthy eating and banning junk food has been raised. But the urgency to ban junk from office canteens follows government reports that show an increasing trend of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. Non-communicable diseases which include heart attacks and stroke, cancers, asthma and diabetes claim the lives of about 5.8 million Indians every year. Or, one in four Indians risk dying from a non-communicable disease before they reach the age of 70. Ironically, snacks high in calories and fat are served during official meetings too. During the group of secretaries meetings too we were served samosas, even as we talk about imposing higher taxes on such food. There is an immense need to tighten the noose, an official said. The health ministry swung into action following a letter from the Cabinet Secretary that asked the GoS to submit a time-bound action plan, outlining how ministries have turned thoughts into action. This will be a first step in that direction. An action plan has to be maintained and the progress has to be monitored based on which the GoS will give its presentation to the Cabinet secretary, the official added. The globalisation of culture and people happened much before the term globalisation emerged. Last week, I had an encounter with Gandhiji on cell number four of the erstwhile prison in Johannesburg. His prison uniform was intact. His books and typewriter too were there. Gandhi was alive through the Gandhi exhibition where Attorney M.K. Gandhi was imprisoned in 1908. Gandhi was one of the first global and local Indian leaders. He was always globally speaking. Connecting and locating Indian villages in relation to the multiple realities of the world. In fact, the history of India would have been different if Gandhi did not go to South Africa. While Gandhi learned about the values of rights and justice in South Africa, Ambedkar learned this in the United States of America, primarily from the movement of African-Americans for equality, justice and rights. In a way, the globalisation of culture and people happened much before the term globalisation emerged. Such process of travel and migration enriched the very idea of India. They influenced the food, clothes, habits, words and everything. This is what made India a rainbow coalition of diverse food, words, clothes, and beliefs. Though Indians travelled everywhere for thousands of years, the organised migration of Indians began with the beginning of the indentured Indian labourers to work in the plantations and mines in different parts of the world. Amitav Goshs famous novel Sea of Poppies gives a vivid portrayal of the travels and tribulations of the indentured labour from India. And this Indian diaspora from Sri Lanka to Guuana and from Malaysia to Mauritius and from South Africa to Fiji are now the signatures of Indian culture across the world. Many like V.S. Naipaul became great writers. Though they have a link with India in terms of culture, and to some extent food, almost all of them identify with their adopted homes rather than India. The migration of people from Indian subcontinent happened for centuries. One can see the best of Ramayana performance still in the 9th century Prambanan temple in Yogyakarta in Central Java of Indonesia. Indonesia has one of the largest numbers of Muslim population in the world. But some of the best of ancient Hindu temples are in Indonesia. Angor Watt on the Thai-Cambodia border still remains the largest temple complex in the world. The ancient capital of Thailand Sukhothai and Ayoddaya still stand as the evident signature of Indian art, architecture and iconography. Bali still bears so much of Indian heritage than many parts of India itself. India is India because of these multiple forms of migrations within India and beyond the Indian subcontinent and the very richness of India comes from this link between the local and global. (John Samuel is an international traveller, and researcher on internal relations, public policy and governance) NGT also sought to know the types of pollutants generated, and asked the authorities to take samples of emissions and analyse them. New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has directed inspection of industries in north-west Delhi after a plea alleged that many units have been running without permission and causing air pollution. A bench headed by NGT chief Justice Swatanter Kumar directed Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, and North Delhi Municipal Corporation to jointly inspect the area and submit a report. We direct joint inspection team of DPCC, CPCB and North Delhi Municipal Corporation to immediately inspect the entire area. They shall give a comprehensive report on what type of industries are carrying on business in that area, Mr Kumar said. The NGT also sought to know the types of pollutants generated, and asked the authorities to take samples of emissions and analyse them. From the photographs on record, it is evident that illegal and unauthorised industrial activity is going on in that area, Mr Kumar said. The NGT directed that DPCC must state whether it had given consent to any of these units to operate, and if not, what action it had taken in all these years. Let report be submitted to the tribunal positively within two weeks, the bench said and listed the matter for next hearing on March 1. The order came on the plea of city resident Krishan Kumar, seeking closure of illegal industries in Prahladpur Bangar in Rohini. The plea said industrial units have been operating in residential areas without consent from the DPCC. It said the authorities turned a blind eye toward them. Sources close to Fadnavis said that the CM has expressed his disappointment over the letter sent to State Election Commission. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said "BJP is not in favour of suspension of publication of Saamana newspaper during election days" but the party has objections to certain content published in it. After a BJP functionary wrote to the State Election Commission demanding ban on publication of Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' on three days, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had compared the situation to "Emergency". State BJP spokesperson Shweta Shalini had said in a letter to SEC that "publishing content or undertaking publicity campaign (of parties and candidates) two days before polling date" is prohibited, so publication of 'Saamana' should be banned on February 16, 20 and 21. Asked about his views on the issue, Fadnavis said, During the first phase of voting (for Zilla Parishad polls) held on February 16, an objectionable content was published in 'Saamana' newspaper, he said. He continued, We object to such content as it violates the (model) code of conduct. And our demand to the SEC has been not to allow Saamana to publish such content on the day of polling. "BJP is not in favour of suspension of publication of Saamana newspaper during election days," the Chief Minister said. Meanwhile, sources close to Fadnavis said, the CM has expressed his disappointment over the letter sent to SEC, as it "dented" the party's image. They also claimed that not all the advertisement and communication content of the party for the polls was approved by Fadnavis. Meanwhile, in Thane, taking a jibe at Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said, "Let them (Shiv Sena leaders) not teach us about Emergency. It was the Shiv Sena which supported (former Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi for Emergency." "We suffered a lot during the Emergency when our leaders and others were jailed for months. My father was imprisoned for 19 months. Do you (Shiv Sena) realise our sufferings?" Fadnavis asked. Union minister Venkaiah Naidu had said imposing ban on newspapers is not BJP's principle. The polices application to re-test the seized substance to prove it was narcotics drugs, is still pending in the high court. Mumbai: Even after more than a year-and-half in one of its biggest drugs seizure, the Mumbai police is still struggling to prove whether the material seized from Mumbai police constable Dharamraj Kalokhe was the banned substance mephedrone. The polices application to re-test the seized substance to prove it was narcotics drugs, is still pending in the high court. This has kept the police from filing chargesheet in the matter and has caused the trial against Kalokhe and lady drug mafia Shashikala alias Baby Patankar and others to remain on hold. The case came to light when head constable Kalokhe, posted at Marine Drive police station, was arrested on March 9, 2015 after 110 kg of mephedrone drug, valued at crores of rupees, was seized from his residence in a village under Khandala taluka, in Satara district. The next day, 12 kg of mephedrone was seized from Kalokhes locked cupboard at the Marine Drive police station here, along with Rs 30,000 cash. An FIR was registered against Kalokhe at the police station under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He was suspended from service but later the report from Kalina forensic science laboratory said that the seized substance was not drugs and hence all the accused were granted bail. Following the negative FSL report, the police on May 29, 2015 filed an application in the Bombay high court seeking permission to resend the contraband to the central forensic laboratory. In its application, which is now pending before the HC, the police said that the FSL at Kalina does not have necessary mechanism for characterisation and identification of the seized contraband. Eman Ahmed weighed 500 kg when brought to city; was pensive, but is now cheerful. Eman Ahmed at her room in Saifee Hospital. Doctors said that after the weight loss, Ms Ahmed has become much more assertive and positive. Mumbai: Egyptian national Eman Ahmed Abdulati (36) at 500 kg arguably the worlds heaviest woman who has been admitted at a private hospital here for weight-reduction (bariatric) surgery, has shed almost 40 kg since her admission a week ago. This allows Ms Ahmed to move her limbs and hands marginally, unlike before. After losing 40 kg, Eman is cheerful and smiling these days, doctors attending her at Saifee Hospital said. A hospital endocrinologist (who treats people suffering from hormonal imbalances) and attends to Eman, said the weight-loss has made Eman hopeful about her treatment. Earlier, Eman weighed 500 kg and was pensive and pessimistic, sources said. Talking to The Asian Age, endocrinologist Dr Shehla Shaikh said, She has shown a drastic improvement after losing around 35-40 kg of weight after her admission here. She is responding well to the treatment. She has started moving her hand and limbs, which are good signs. Dr Shaikh said, After the weight loss, she has become much more assertive and positive. Talking about Ms Ahmeds mental well-being, Dr Shaikh said, Yes, she is much more happy now and her gestures reflect a cheerful frame of mind. She shows confidence about recovering fully. Ms Ahmed is in the city for a life-saving bariatric surgery, which will be scheduled after results of her gene study come out in the next four weeks. A team of 13 doctors is working on Ms Ahmeds treatment. Commenting on Ms Ahmeds psychological condition, psychiatrist Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla said, Eman has come with the hope that she will walk on her feet, but for many years she was inside her room and didnt see the world. That condition itself is depressing. He said, After the weight loss she may be hopeful that she will be fine one day. Ms Ahmed used to be depressed in Egypt as for the past 25 years, she did not get to move out of her room at her familys residence in Alexandria, a hospital source said. As per the doctors plan, Ms Ahmed needs to lose 200 kilos in the next six months. She has a lot of water retention. Doctors are working to control this with medicines. The Kurla police has registered a case against unknown persons. Locals who protested at the spot alleged such incidents take place especially during election time. (Photo: Debasish Dey) Mumbai: Unidentified miscreants vandalised a statue of Mother Mary installed near Kurla junction around 4 am on Sunday. The miscreants, who were allegedly on a bike, shattered the glass of the case and managed to break the statue. The Kurla police has registered a case against unknown persons. The police is sifting through CCTV footage procured from units located near the spot. Local residents who protested at the spot after the incident alleged that such incidents take place especially during election time and the police should take strict action. Nicholas Almeida, a social activist, alleged that many such incidents had happened in the recent past. In January -end, a cross in Juhu was broken and the police nabbed a drunken, mentally -challenged person. Last year in Santa Cruz, another cross was vandalised on the day of Mother Teresas canonisation. No arrest was made in that case, Mr Almeida said. According to Kurla police sources, the incident occurred at about 4 am at Christian gaon, Kurla (west) where the statue was installed. We received a complaint that a statue of Mother Mary was vandalised and the glass casing on another statue was shattered, said a police source. The source added that many residents after waking up saw the same and with the help of social activists gathered at the venue to protest. The situation was controlled and we have started investigations, said Paramjit Dahiya, deputy commissioner of police, zone 5. When contacted, the Kurla police revealed that they had started scanning CCTV footage of the area and have found some bikers roaming around in the area. The bikers are wearing helmets but there is no CCTV footage recording the incident. So we have registered an offence against unknown persons and are investigating the case, a police officer said. The 2017 lottery has merely 604 homes to sell via lottery this year. There are possibilities of the lottery not having any homes for the higher-income group (HIG). Mumbai: The state government aims to construct 19 lakh affordable homes by 2022, but the lottery of the state housing authority, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), this year would see the lowest number of homes in its history. The 2017 lottery has merely 604 homes to sell via lottery this year as compared to 972 homes in 2016, which is dip of almost of 40 per cent. The tentative date for the lottery is May 31. However, nothing has been finalised yet. Additionally, while the lottery of homes is conducted so as to make cheaper homes available to economical weaker sections (EWS), none of the 604 homes identified by the Mhada are for this section. Out of these homes, around half are for the lower-income group (LIG) while the remaining are for the middle-income group (MIG). There are possibilities of the lottery not having any homes for the higher-income group (HIG). A Mhada official, not wishing to be named, said, We identified 604 units for the lottery of the Mumbai board in 2017. Almost all the homes identified are not in the new projects but are from vacant flats of Mhada in its old buildings. The areas where homes are identified include Sion, Goregaon, Charkop, Powai and Vikhroli. The official added, The number might may go up if the homes in the under-construction stage are added in the lottery this year like in 2016. The final number for now is 604 units. In 2016, Mhada had to delay its yearly lottery for the city to August instead of May due to the state housing authority being in dilemma over the number of units available for sale. However, the Mhada claims in the near future around 4,500 homes would be made available for the yearly lottery in Goregaon. Meanwhile. Bharat Bastewad, secretary, Mhada, said, Due to land scarcity there is trouble in coming out with more homes in the city every year, but our aim has always been to make maximum homes available for sale via the lottery. Ghising's formula to end the power cuts involved tackling some basic inefficiencies. Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year. (Photo: Twitter) Kathmandu: The continuous whirl of hair dryers is a novel sound at the Blush Beauty Point parlour in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, which until just five months ago had to close at regular intervals because of power cuts. Kathmandu: The continuous whirl of hair dryers is a novel sound at the Blush Beauty Point parlour in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, which until just five months ago had to close at regular intervals because of power cuts. Scheduled power cuts -- known as load-shedding -- have been a part of daily life in the impoverished landlocked country for decades, forcing small businesses to rely on expensive generators or simply close when the lights went out. "We had to run our business according to the load-shedding schedule. Clients would call and check if there was light," the salon's owner Anita Shrestha told AFP. But that has all changed since Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year. Load-shedding -- previously up to 16 hours a day in the winter dry season -- has all but ended in the country's three largest cities and in other major towns been reduced to around two hours on alternate days. "When I was appointed I set the goal that I would at least make Kathmandu load-shedding free," Ghising told AFP. "But at that time I felt that whatever I said I could manage more than that." Demand for electricity has long outstripped supply in Nepal, with energy production severely depressed by chronic under-investment and inefficiencies in the power network. The result has been crippling for domestic industry and deterred foreign investment, while crucial infrastructure development has flagged in the years of political paralysis that followed the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006 and the overthrow of the monarchy two years later. Political alignment Ghising's formula to end the power cuts involved tackling some basic inefficiencies. He overhauled the hydropower generation system -- storing water at times of low demand so more could be generated at peak hours. He also ended a policy that provided electricity round the clock to certain industries. The policy was meant to give 24-hour power to around 20 big employers, but had expanded after decades of mission creep -- and backhanders. "Before there was some mismanagement that some industries get 24 hours (of power), some industries get 12 hours, some industries get only 8 hours. There was unequal distribution of electricity that was not as per the rules of NEA," said Ghising. In addition, he brought online some power plants that had been sitting idle due to poor maintenance, and launched a public awareness campaign to encourage people to avoid electricity-guzzling activities -- like ironing and pumping water -- in the evenings when demand for power is at its highest. But arguably the single greatest weapon Ghising has is the backing of the prime minister and the energy and finance ministers. For one of the first times in Nepal's short history as a parliamentary democracy, all four are members of the Maoist party and that political alignment is bearing fruit. The country is due to hold its first local elections in nearly two decades later this year and the Maoists need to show results to boost their chances at the polls. Hydro potential But while Ghising might have turned on the lights for much of Nepal, the country will need to harness its huge hydropower potential to keep the electricity flowing. "It's cautious optimism because we are known to squander opportunities," said Sujeev Shakya, founder of the Kathmandu-based Nepal Economic Forum, of the recent drop in load-shedding. He added: "Now at (the) NEA you have a good guy and he may try to reform, but the system is designed to take care of the interests of few." Nepal with its mountain river system should be an energy-producing powerhouse. Experts say it could be generating 83,000 megawatts of power, but its total installed generation capacity currently stands at less than two percent of that. Construction on two long mooted projects is finally expected to begin later this year. It will take around seven years before they come online, but even one would double Nepal's current generation capacity, eventually transforming it into an energy exporter. That would be a game changer for the Himalayan nation, which currently relies on India for electricity in the winter dry season. But with the average tenure of governments in Nepal at around seven months, many are concerned that another change at the top could reverse the recent gains. "Development of hydro energy infrastructure requires a long-term view. And with these short-term governments it's very difficult to believe they can have a long-term view," said Shakya. And on the now lit streets of Kathmandu, suspicion darkens the mood. "I don't know the details, but I feel like Nepalis were kept in the dark for too long," said Shrestha as she styled a client's hair into cascading curls. "There is a tension that there will be power cuts again if the government changes." "We had to run our business according to the load-shedding schedule. Clients would call and check if there was light," the salon's owner Anita Shrestha told AFP. But that has all changed since Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year. Load-shedding -- previously up to 16 hours a day in the winter dry season -- has all but ended in the country's three largest cities and in other major towns been reduced to around two hours on alternate days. "When I was appointed I set the goal that I would at least make Kathmandu load-shedding free," Ghising told AFP. "But at that time I felt that whatever I said I could manage more than that." Demand for electricity has long outstripped supply in Nepal, with energy production severely depressed by chronic under-investment and inefficiencies in the power network. The result has been crippling for domestic industry and deterred foreign investment, while crucial infrastructure development has flagged in the years of political paralysis that followed the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006 and the overthrow of the monarchy two years later. Political alignment Ghising's formula to end the power cuts involved tackling some basic inefficiencies. He overhauled the hydropower generation system -- storing water at times of low demand so more could be generated at peak hours. He also ended a policy that provided electricity round the clock to certain industries. The policy was meant to give 24-hour power to around 20 big employers, but had expanded after decades of mission creep -- and backhanders. "Before there was some mismanagement that some industries get 24 hours (of power), some industries get 12 hours, some industries get only 8 hours. There was unequal distribution of electricity that was not as per the rules of NEA," said Ghising. In addition, he brought online some power plants that had been sitting idle due to poor maintenance, and launched a public awareness campaign to encourage people to avoid electricity-guzzling activities -- like ironing and pumping water -- in the evenings when demand for power is at its highest. But arguably the single greatest weapon Ghising has is the backing of the prime minister and the energy and finance ministers. For one of the first times in Nepal's short history as a parliamentary democracy, all four are members of the Maoist party and that political alignment is bearing fruit. The country is due to hold its first local elections in nearly two decades later this year and the Maoists need to show results to boost their chances at the polls. Hydro potential But while Ghising might have turned on the lights for much of Nepal, the country will need to harness its huge hydropower potential to keep the electricity flowing. "It's cautious optimism because we are known to squander opportunities," said Sujeev Shakya, founder of the Kathmandu-based Nepal Economic Forum, of the recent drop in load-shedding. He added: "Now at (the) NEA you have a good guy and he may try to reform, but the system is designed to take care of the interests of few." Nepal with its mountain river system should be an energy-producing powerhouse. Experts say it could be generating 83,000 megawatts of power, but its total installed generation capacity currently stands at less than two percent of that. Construction on two long mooted projects is finally expected to begin later this year. It will take around seven years before they come online, but even one would double Nepal's current generation capacity, eventually transforming it into an energy exporter. That would be a game changer for the Himalayan nation, which currently relies on India for electricity in the winter dry season. But with the average tenure of governments in Nepal at around seven months, many are concerned that another change at the top could reverse the recent gains. "Development of hydro energy infrastructure requires a long-term view. And with these short-term governments it's very difficult to believe they can have a long-term view," said Shakya. And on the now lit streets of Kathmandu, suspicion darkens the mood. "I don't know the details, but I feel like Nepalis were kept in the dark for too long," said Shrestha as she styled a client's hair into cascading curls. "There is a tension that there will be power cuts again if the government changes." Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely. Washington: US President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" ISIS and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe. "Here's the bottom line. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath. "We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing," he claimed. Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not "win anymore". "Instead of peace, we've seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don't fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don't win anymore. We don't win at trade. We don't win in any capacity. We don't win anymore. We're going to start winning again. Believe me," he said. Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "to develop a plan to totally destroy ISIS," and begin plans for "the great rebuilding" of the United States military. "We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. We're going to start using our best and most modern equipment," he said. Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely. "We were left a mess like you wouldn't believe. But we're going to build safe zones. We're going to have those safe zones," he said. "We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don't want people with bad, bad ideas. We don't want that," he said. He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy. Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the "so-called global elite", saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages. "We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure.To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities," he said. The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a "level playing field for all women in the workforce." Pence called Tehran the leading state sponsor of terrorism, language never used by European officials. US vice president Michael Richard Pence waves on his way to bilateral talks at the 53rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Munich, southern Germany. (Photo: AFP) Munich: US vice president Mike Pence on Saturday brought a message of support for Europe from Donald Trump, but failed to wholly reassure allies worried about the new presidents stance on Russia and the European Union. In Pences first major foreign policy address for the Trump administration, he told European leaders that he spoke for Trump when he promised unwavering commitment to the NATO alliance. Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: the United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance, Pence told the Munich Security Conference, offering greetings from the president. But he also repeated US calls for more defence spending in return: As you keep faith with us, under President Trump we will always keep faith with you. While Polands defence minister praised Pence, many others, including Frances foreign minister and US lawmakers in Munich, remained sceptical that he had convinced his allies that Trump would stand by Europe. Trumps contradictory remarks on the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, scepticism over the 2015 deal to curb Irans nuclear ambitions and an apparent disregard for the future of the European Union have left Europe fearful for the seven-decade-old US guardianship of the West. After Pence spoke, former NATO deputy secretary general Alexander Vershbow, who is American, summed up the mood, telling Reuters: Many in this hall are still asking if this is the real policy. Pence, whose meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel was described by German aides as very friendly, also marked out a divide on Iran, which the European Union sees as a business opportunity following the nuclear deal. Pence called Tehran the leading state sponsor of terrorism, language never used by European officials. Pences strident vow to consign Islamist militants to the ash-heap of history also raised eyebrows, European officials said. US Homeland Security secretary John Kelly defended Trumps directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, since blocked by US judges, which was condemned by EU governments. Kelly said he would produce a tighter, more streamlined version soon, saying: We need to find ways to vet in a more reliable way to satisfy us that people coming to the United States are coming for the right reasons. Two US governments? French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed disappointment that Pences speech did not mention the European Union, although the vice president will take his message to EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday. I hope that we will have a clear response (in Brussels) ... because Donald Trump has said he was overjoyed by the Brexit and that there would be others, Ayrault said, referring to Britains decision to leave the European Union. US senator Chris Murphy, a member of the opposition Democrats, said he welcomed Pences address but saw two rival governments emerging from the Trump administration. Pence, Trumps defense secretary Jim Mattis and his foreign minister Rex Tillerson all delivered messages of reassurance on their debut trip to Europe. But events in Washington, including a news conference in which Trump branded accredited White House reporters dishonest people, sowed more confusion. I like a lot of what I heard from vice president Pence, Murphy told Reuters. Its just hard to square that speech with everything Donald Trump is doing and saying, citing an assault on the free press. The resignation of Trumps security adviser Michael Flynn over his contacts with Russia on the eve of the US charm offensive in Europe also tarnished the message Pence, Mattis and Tillerson were seeking to send, officials told Reuters. US Republican Senator John McCain, a Trump critic, told the conference on Friday that the new presidents team was in disarray. The United States is Europes biggest trading partner, the biggest foreign investor in the continent and the European Unions partner in almost all foreign policy, as well as the main promoter of European unity for more than 60 years. Tepid Applause Pence, citing a trip to Cold War-era West Berlin in his youth, said Trump would uphold the post-World War Two order. This is President Trumps promise: we will stand with Europe today and every day, because we are bound together by the same noble ideals freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law, Pence said. Pence received little applause beyond the warm reception he got when he declared his support for NATO. His warning that the time has come to do more on military spending was met with an awkward silence. The United States provides around 70 percent of the NATO alliances funds. European governments sharply cut defence spending after the fall of the Soviet Union but Russias resurgence as a military power and its seizure of Ukraines Crimean peninsula has started to change that. Baltic states and Poland fear Russia might try a repeat of Crimea elsewhere. Europe believes Moscow is seeking to destabilize governments and influence elections with cyber attacks and fake news, an accusation denied at the conference by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Pences tough line on Russia, calling on Moscow to honour the international peace accords that seek to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, were welcomed by Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz. Lavrov said after a meeting with his French, German and Ukrainian counterparts that there would be a new ceasefire from Feb. 20. Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found, Pence said. The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016. Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq. (Representational Image) Baghdad: The Islamic State group is hemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the group's "business model" is on the path to failure. The analysis released on Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphate's financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land. The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016. "One of the mistakes that's been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization but it is more than that. It holds territory," said Peter Neumann, director of the center at King's College London. "That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al-Qaida never had to." But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said. "We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive," Neumann said. Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq. Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the group's promise of a caliphate. A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic State's revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion. According to the court filing, the group received at least 20 percent of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artifacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group. But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62 percent of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30 percent of its territory in Syria. "The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion," Neumann said. A US defense official said IS still has enough money to pay its bills, despite the fact that it has lost sources of income and has reduced what it pays foot soldiers. The official said the US certainly has not seen IS' financial situation damaged to the point that it has degraded its ability to conduct external attacks. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss IS and spoke only on condition of anonymity.But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term. "The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said. Near-daily car bombings in Baghdad indicate that the group's ability to inflict carnage is undiminished in Iraq, even as it cedes ground it once controlled. BAGHDAD: The Islamic State group is hemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the group's "business model" is on the path to failure. The analysis released on Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphate's financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land. The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016. "One of the mistakes that's been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization but it is more than that. It holds territory," said Peter Neumann, director of the center at King's College London. "That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al-Qaida never had to." But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said. "We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive," Neumann said. Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq. Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the group's promise of a caliphate. A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic State's revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion. According to the court filing, the group received at least 20 percent of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artifacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group. But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62 percent of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30 percent of its territory in Syria. "The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion," Neumann said. A US defense official said IS still has enough money to pay its bills, despite the fact that it has lost sources of income and has reduced what it pays foot soldiers. The official said the US certainly has not seen IS' financial situation damaged to the point that it has degraded its ability to conduct external attacks. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss IS and spoke only on condition of anonymity.But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term. "The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said. Near-daily car bombings in Baghdad indicate that the group's ability to inflict carnage is undiminished in Iraq, even as it cedes ground it once controlled. But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term. "The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said Just joined tonight, hoping to find others in my situation/state of life. Just finishing my application for a Prospective Marriage visa, crossing my fingers for a governmental approval as soon as possible.. Will look here for pointers and tips, hoping it might help in my quest for a new life in Oz! Cheers mates, Tomas I've just begun the online application for a spouse visa. The applicant's passport has expired, but I have to fill in passport details before I can continue to the next part. Getting a new passport will take a couple of months. Should I fill in the application using the details from the old passport, then amend it with the correct information when we get the new passport? We just want to get the application lodged asap. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe An Aspen, Colorado, man is suing the pilot and passenger in an L-39 that hit power lines over a highway in 2015, saying he gripped the steering wheel of his car so tightly hes had chronic pain in his hands ever since. Stephen Centofanti also claims the noise from the low-flying jet trainer as it powered out of De Beque Canyon, near Grand Junction, has caused permanent ringing in his ears. The aircraft, flown by Brian Evans, tore through the canyon at 250 knots at about 100 feet AGL and hit several large power lines, which fell on cars on the interstate highway below. In the rear seat was Raymond Davoudi, who is also named in the suit, along with various businesses associated with the Czech trainer. Despite damage to the wing, vertical stabilizer and nose cone, Evans was able to land safely in Grand Junction. The NTSB did not directly investigate the incident but Evans wrote a report in which he reportedly said he didnt see the power lines. The NTSB noted the lines were marked on VFR charts and said the probable cause was the pilots inadequate preflight planning and subsequent failure to remain clear of power line wires while maneuvering at low altitude. Evans is a former Marine Corps pilot who says on his LinkedIn profile that he was a contract tactical pilot at the time of the accident. President Donald Trump said Saturday hed personally negotiated a $1 billion reduction in the $4.2 billion cost of the replacement aircraft for Air Force One and accomplished it in less than an hour. He also told a campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida, that the 25 percent discount is not good enough. Were still not going to do it. The price is still too high. Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher told AVweb only that discussions with the Trump administration are ongoing in an email response late Saturday. We look forward to finding a way to affordably provide the military with the capabilities it needs, he said. At the rally, with one of the heavily modified Boeing 747-200 aircraft that now serve as Air Force One in the background, Trump said the $4.2 billion deal will not fly, at least not with him on it. I said no way. I said I refuse to fly in a $4.2 billion airplane. I refuse, he told the rally. Trump also questioned the need for two identical aircraft to fill the role but he didnt address the question of redundancy and seemed to suggest that he could further reduce the price by dropping one of the airframes. Why they need two planes, well have to talk about that, but they have two planes, but weve got that price down over a billion dollars, he told the crowd. He also took credit for reducing the cost of the next intake of 90 F-35 fighters and for getting the program as a whole on track. Youve been reading about it because it was a disaster, he said. Under the last administration. A disaster. And now we have it running beautifully. 19 February 2017 11:37 (UTC+04:00) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has voiced his support for the constitutional change that would lower the minimum age to become a lawmaker from 25 to 18, citing the example of powerful companies who employ young chief executive officers, Anadolu reported. Speaking at an opening ceremony for infrastructure projects in eastern Turkeys Elazig province, Erdogan said the campaign for a Yes vote for the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes would continue. We would also like to see ages of ministers going down to 18 from 25 years. Is that possible? Why not! Today, 25-year-old, 30-year-old young people are running giant corporations of the world, he said. Under the proposed changes to the constitution, minimum age for parliamentary candidates would be reduced to 18 from 25. The president said Turkey needs idealism and energy of youths, adding he wants to see elected young people between the ages of 18 and 25 in the Turkish parliament. Erdogan kicked off the Yes campaign on Friday after the official referendum schedule was announced by the Supreme Election Board. The campaign began in southern Kahramanmaras, one of the areas that gave him the most votes in the 2014 presidential polls. Turkey has finally achieved the appropriate management system which has been seeking for years. The name of this system is the presidential government system, he said. Referring to opposition to the constitutional changes, Erdogan said those who objected to the new system do not want it because it is going to destroy their own interests and revealing their own bad intent. Constitutional reform has been discussed since then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was voted president in August 2014. The reforms would remove parliaments power to question ministers or stage a confidence vote in the government. The minimum age for parliamentary candidates would be reduced to 18 and the number of deputies will rise to 600. Simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019 under the new constitution. Turkish nationals overseas will be able to vote in the referendum between March 27 and April 9 at polling stations in embassies and consulates as well as at Turkish ports and airports. These votes will be tallied in Turkey on referendum night. The political parties can campaign until 6 p.m. on April 15. The bill of constitutional changes was passed by parliament in January, with 339 votes in favor -- nine more than needed to put the proposals to a referendum. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 19 February 2017 10:48 (UTC+04:00) Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Spanish counterpart Alfonso Dastis in meeting on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference on Saturday underlined maintaining Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), IRNA reported. Referring to good relations between Tehran and Madrid, the two sides underlined that there exist grounds for expansion of bilateral ties. The two sides also discussed issues like fight against terrorist groups and conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Fight against Daesh and ways to destroy military abilities of the terrorist groups were discussed in the meeting and the two sides expressed their common point of view on returning peace and prosperity to Iraqi people. Dastis underlined Madrid stance for settling tension in Syria through holding talks and dialogue upon the UN Security Council resolution 2254. Foreign Ministry of Spain issued statement on this meeting and said that Dastis has expressed concern about growth of tensions in Yemen and disastrous human situation in the country. After meeting with Zarif, Dastis wrote in his twitter that he had good meeting with his Iranian friend and that both sides will try to consolidate nuclear deal and cooperate for regional tensions. The statement said that Zarif has invited his counterpart to pay visit to Iran. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 19 February 2017 14:35 (UTC+04:00) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, addressing the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19, has accused the US of destabilizing his region. Saying that some people in the region make efforts to introduce Iran as an extremist country, the foreign minister added that such efforts would destabilize the region, Tasnim news agency reported. He added that there are some states backing terrorism in the region. Speaking about the current situation in Iraq, Syria and Bahrain, he asserted that there is no military solution to crisis in these countries. The Munich Security Conference is an annual event where senior officials, think-tankers and former officials meet up to discuss the latest security developments across the globe. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Mike Pence visited former Nazi concentration camp on Sunday and was joined by a survivor of the camp and other officials. The US vice president apparently did not speak publicly during his tour and recognize the victims of the infamous death camp. Pence was in Germany to speak at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (18 February) and traveled to Brussels later on Sunday for meetings with Nato and EU officials. During his Dachau visit which Pence made with his wife Karen and eldest daughter Charlotte, a tour of the former concentration camp, passing through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, Arbeit macht frei, or Work sets you free. The group walked around the prison yard and inspected a map showing the camps around Germany and various Nazi-occupied countries in Europe. The Pences also met with Karl Freller, director of the Foundation of Bavarian Memorial Sites as well as Abba Nabor, a Jewish Lithuanian, a survivor of the camp who now lives in Israel. When questioned as to why there was no acknowledgement of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered, with Holocaust victims including priests, gypsies, people with mental or physical disabilities, communists, trade unionists, Jehovahs Witnesses, anarchists, Poles and other Slavic peoples, and resistance fighters. Please note how gays and lesbian victims of the holocaust were left out of the above statement. The Trump/Pence presidential campaign had the full support and backing of the White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi parties. Share this: Tweet More Email Print Contact Californian columnist Lois Henry at 395-7373 or lhenry@bakersfield.com. Her work appears on Sundays and Wednesdays; the views expressed are her own. Mr Francis W. Wangusi, the authority has given them 48 hours to comply or else the telephone companies frequencies will be revoked. The Government is also planning to switch off the Social media and the internet in the month of August following citizens anger to the government being expressed through Social media. The NCIC chairman has also seconded that hate speech and incitement is majorly spread in social media. The Government has decided to take such actions to control the use of handsets and other communication devices. The NCIC, CA and the ministry of information Technology will collaborate to ensure that no information or communication that is secret in Kenya. The information will also pass through the National Intelligence department for further scrutiny. The Government has ordered the phone companies to interject and monitor all phone calls and text messages. The telephone companies have been given only 48 hours to comply with the regulations.According to the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) director The Northern Ireland firm which handles forensic testing for police forces across the UK has denied claims some samples were "fixed". Police in England are reviewing hundreds of cases and have arrested two staff over what the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) described as "data manipulation". Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation that some 484 cases handled by Randox Testing Services (RTS) were affected. Potentially hundreds of people could have been the victims of miscarriages of justice because of convictions based on incorrect test results in their cases. Randox said it was treating the matter with the "utmost seriousness" but totally rejected reports samples were "fixed", blaming "the perverse actions of individual(s)". A statement said: "Please rest assured that RTS have acted with absolute propriety and speed in this matter, and will continue to work tirelessly with the Police and all appropriate authorities to resolve the outstanding issues and support the ongoing police investigation." Dorset Chief Constable Debbie Simpson, the NPCC lead for forensic science, said: "We have been made aware of a quality failure with RTS which is currently being investigated and a criminal inquiry has been launched by Greater Manchester Police. "Randox has provided each force with a list of cases that could have been affected. Working in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service, we have provided guidance to forces so they are able to review each case to determine if compromised data played a part in prosecution and the CPS will then take appropriate action in any cases identified. RTS is based in Northern Ireland and has offices in London and Manchester and describes itself as a "a world leader in clinical diagnostic solutions with offices and distribution in over 145 countries". It is part of the Randox Labratories group, which includes Randox Health, the sponsor of UK horse racing's premier event, the Grand National and based in Crumlin Co Antrim. It was founded by Dr Peter FitzGerald. RTS's website adds that it is "entrusted by the majority of UK police forces to provide forensic toxicology testing". In a statement on the website it said that the issue "came to light as a result of an internal investigation" and that the investigation was limited to its Manchester site, and two men who worked there for three years. It blamed "the perverse actions of individual(s)", adding: "Contrary to media reports, the internal investigation centres on the manipulation of quality control data, which supports test results. There is no evidence that either the samples or the quality control materials themselves were subject to interference. "There is no evidence from our internal investigations that the processing of alcohol samples has been affected. Alcohol analysis in drink-drive cases is not conducted at RTS Manchester." Manchester police said two men, aged 47 and 31, had been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and bailed until next month. A force spokeswoman confirmed it had been asked to investigate "forensic results issued by Randox Testing Services". She added: "Randox Testing Services have provided forensic services to police forces, including GMP, for the past two years. The organisation is being fully co-operative (with) the investigation." Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will meet Carlos Tavares next week in the latest in a series of talks he has held to help avoid any job losses The Prime Minister is set to meet the chief executive of the PSA Group to discuss Peugeot's proposals to buy General Motors' European operation, including Vauxhall. Theresa May has received a request for a meeting with Carlos Tavares to discuss the proposal, which could affect thousands of British workers. The Peugeot boss is also set to hold talks with the leader of Britain's biggest union Unite to discuss the situation. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We can confirm we have received a meeting request. The meeting will take place, in principle, subject to diary availability." Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will meet Mr Tavares next week in the latest in a series of talks he has held to help avoid any job losses. He said: "I am pleased that Carlos Tavares has responded speedily and positively to my request for a meeting to discuss Peugeot's intentions towards our Vauxhall plants. "I will be using this meeting to press the case for the UK's world class facilities and workforce, and ensuring that Mr Tavares and the PSA Group understand fully that Luton, Toddington and Ellesmere Port, and thousands of dedicated UK workers, deserve a strong backer and a positive future." Business Secretary Greg Clark, who visited Paris on Thursday for talks with PSA Group and French ministers, is expected to join Mrs May at the meeting with Mr Tavares. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it expected the meeting will take place next week. PSA Group said it was engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with all parties involved in the bid for GM's European division, which includes German-based Opel as well as Vauxhall. A spokesman said: "Our intention is to establish the same maturity in our exchanges in France, Germany and the UK. This is why Carlos Tavares has asked to meet Theresa May as it was done with German authorities. "In the spirit of co-construction that is driving the PSA Group on a daily basis its own trade union representatives in France, the same approach is obviously being taken to contact the trade union organisations in Germany and the UK." There are fears over a return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic A mock customs post is set up at Ravensdale, Co Louth, as anti-Brexit campaigners hold a go-slow protest on the main road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to highlight concerns about the impact on trade. PA Anti-Brexit campaigners have brought traffic to a crawl on the main road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A convoy of protesters staged a noisy motorway go-slow near Dundalk in Co Louth using lorries and tractors to highlight the impact of predicted customs checks on the local economy. Contingency work has begun to identify places where checkpoints could be set up once again, in preparation for the UK leaving the EU, the Irish Government said. Opponents of a hard Brexit have argued it could undermine peace process measures which helped transform a militarised zone pockmarked by the Troubles and overlooked by Army watchtowers and barriers into an invisible boundary. While minor roads were once cratered and closed to control north/south traffic - and combat a thriving black market and IRA movement - s ince the end of the conflict people and goods have passed largely unimpeded between the neighbours on what would be the UK's only land border with Europe. A trailer-load of sheep going to market and passport-toting residents took part in a theatrical "checkpoint" staged to highlight the detrimental impact of any such border on Saturday. A rusty Second World War-era bicycle placed alongside a mock customs hut reinforced the message that a hard border was a return to the past which Prime Minister Theresa May has been adamant she wants to avoid. Expand Close Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Kitchen maker and demonstration organiser for Border Communities Against Brexit, Declan Fearon, said: "We are really in the eye of the storm of Brexit and we intend to make sure that this does not happen. "We never want to see this community going back to what it was before." Mock border officers from the UK and Ireland wearing traditional greatcoats waved down traffic in front of a stage customs hut. Expand Close A mock customs post is set up at Ravensdale, Co Louth, as anti-Brexit campaigners hold a go-slow protest on the main road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to highlight concerns about the impact on trade. PA PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A mock customs post is set up at Ravensdale, Co Louth, as anti-Brexit campaigners hold a go-slow protest on the main road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to highlight concerns about the impact on trade. PA Horns blared, truck drivers in the queue pretended to pull their hair out and waved pieces of paper supposed to be travel documents. Lines of people with placards had gathered and v intage signs proclaimed "Stop: Customs". Mr Fearon added: "The people here do not want to contemplate the reinstatement of spikes and roads being closed and of customs checkpoints and it looks like that is where we are going." More than 20 years ago there were 270 crossings along the 300-mile long border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Mr Fearon said only 17 of them had clearance posts and many others were closed with roads deliberately made impassable and communities split in two. A church near where he was standing is on one side of the border while its graveyard is on the other. Expand Close Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com The Prime Minister has pledged no return to the heavily-secured border of the past. Mr Fearon said: "It seems as if Theresa May and the British Government have no intention of listening to us. "They don't seem to have any of our interests here along the border at heart and we want to make sure our voices are heard as far and wide as possible." Expand Close Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Border Communities Against Brexit holds anti-Brexit protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Emergency services were hailed for their response A person has died on the railway line in Co Antrim. The tracks have been closed as police investigate the "sudden death" between Ballymena and Cullybackey on Sunday morning. DUP North Antrim Assembly candidate Phillip Logan said: "This is very sad news for our community as today a family will be mourning the loss of a loved one in such tragic circumstances." He added: "It is important to pay tribute to the emergency services who attended the scene. "I understand the route has been cordoned off until investigations take place." The train involved was the 09.33 service from Londonderry to Great Victoria Street in Belfast. A statement by operator Translink said: "We can confirm a man has died on the railway line near Ballymena this morning. "The line was closed as a result but has now reopened." People enjoy the beach at Camber in east Sussex, as a tantalising taste of Spring is set to keep lifting spirits for many into the week ahead - although a return to wet and windy conditions with a risk of gales looms. Mother Nature offered a brief but welcome respite from the wet and the cold as a weekend of mild weather coaxed people outdoors. All-weather joggers were joined by their fair-weather companions, while coastlines were peppered with people desperate to enjoy a break from the wintry concoction of rain and gales. The milder temperatures arrived across much of the UK, courtesy of warm Transatlantic winds, reaching highs of 14.9C (59F) in Aberdeenshire on Sunday, and 15.1 in north east Wales on Saturday. But the presence of thick cloud meant those wanting to bask in a little springtime sun were left disappointed. The Met Office said large parts of the UK could expect similar or slightly higher temperatures on Monday before the return of wind and rain later in the week. Senior forecaster Helen Roberts said: "We've been talking about pretty mild temperatures but it has not necessarily been coming with lots of sunshine. "There's been an awful lot of cloud about. "The east of the country had the best of the brightness and we are expecting the temperatures to rise again on Monday. "There will be some breaks in the cloud in central, southern and eastern parts of England, and could rise to 16C (61F)." She said the warmest places are expected to be between Herefordshire and East Anglia, and down as far as south London. Ms Roberts added: "It will feel mild for the time of year, but it won't feel particularly warm because the sun will be behind so much cloud." Conditions are expected to go downhill from Tuesday as a front from Atlantic beats back the mild Caribbean plume. Gales are expected to reach up to 50mph in parts of Scotland, with rain also expected. Police in Belfast are appealing for information over the death of Conan Anderson, 22 The death of a man who suffered a head injury during a night out in Belfast is being treated as murder, police said. Conan Anderson, 22, died in hospital on Saturday. Mr Anderson, from the Short Strand, was hurt at Arthur Lane in the early hours of February 6 and admitted to hospital later that day. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Montgomery said a 27-year-old man was arrested in north Belfast on Thursday February 9 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent and later released on police bail. He added: "I am now treating Conan's death as murder and I am appealing for anyone with any information about the incident at Arthur Lane in the early hours of Monday February 6 or any information which could be of assistance to my investigation to contact detectives." Mr Anderson's brother, Brendan, said it was an extremely hard time for the family and described the past two weeks as "pure and utter hell". He told the BBC: "He was an innocent thing, big and tall, but like a teddy bear." He said his brother had a mark on his jaw like he had been punched and he was very confused so an ambulance was called. "He kept lying down and standing up and trying to clap his hands, but he couldn't say a word. "It was very frightening. "When we got him to the hospital we were told he had horrific brain injuries, he had a fractured skull and was internally bleeding." Mr Anderson asked anyone who saw anything, or might know what happened to his brother, to come forward. A pipe bomb has exploded at a Northern Ireland business park. It happened at around 1am on Saturday morning at the Abbey Business Park off the Mill Road in Newtownabbey. Police said the device was thrown in the grounds and exploded but was not discovered for some time until security staff came across the debris. It was reported to police at around 5pm on Saturday and they attended with army bomb squad officers to ensure the area was safe for the public. There were no reports of any injuries and the remains of the device taken away for forensic examination. Detective Sergeant Robinson said: The Business Park is a busy commercial zone within a densely populated residential area and the potential for injury was very high due to this reckless act. "I would ask anyone with any information about this incident to contact detectives at Antrim on 101 quoting reference number 931 18/02/17. Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111. The residents and children of Short Strand hold a 5 minute vigil for Conan Anderson (22) on 9th February 2017 (Photo - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) The residents and children of Short Strand hold a 5 minute vigil for Conan Anderson (22) on 9th February 2017 (Photo - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) The residents and children of Short Strand hold a 5 minute vigil for Conan Anderson (22) on 9th February 2017 (Photo - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) The residents and children of Short Strand hold a 5 minute vigil for Conan Anderson (22) on 9th February 2017 (Photo - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) The residents and children of Short Strand hold a five minute vigil for Conan Anderson (22) on 9th February 2017 (Photo - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Conan Anderson, the 22-year-old Belfast man who was seriously injured in an assault in the city centre over a week ago has died, police have confirmed as they announced the opening of a murder investigation. Mr Anderson had been out at Thompson's Garage nightclub in the city centre on Sunday, February 5. He was attacked outside the club in the early hours of the following morning. Although he was able to return to his Short Strand home following the attack at around 7.30am, it wasn't until that Monday evening that his injuries became apparent and he was taken to hospital. A vigil was held in the Short Strand to support him in his fight for life. Over the past week his condition continued to deteriorate before his death on Saturday. Police confirmed they were now treating the death as murder. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Montgomery said: Conan tragically passed away on Saturday afternoon after being admitted to hospital with serious head injuries on the evening of Monday February 6. "The matter was reported to police on Wednesday, February 8 and enquiries established that an incident had occurred in the early hours of Monday morning in the Arthur Lane area of Belfast. A 27-year-old man was arrested in north Belfast on Thursday, February 9 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent and later released on police bail pending further enquiries. The detective added: I am now treating Conans death as murder and I am appealing for anyone with any information about the incident at Arthur Lane in the early hours of Monday February 6 or any information which could be of assistance to my investigation to contact detectives at Musgrave Street quoting reference number 1034 08/02/17. Information can also be given anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Randox issued a lengthy statement after Manchester police opened an investigation into forensic testing claims of "manipulation". Below is the Crumlin-based company's statement on the matter. "You are now likely to be aware of a story in the media, concerning the compromise of some toxicology results provided into the criminal justice system in England and Wales by the Manchester laboratory of Randox Testing Services (RTS). RTS are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness., and totally refute the claim that samples were fixed. To explain the background: This issue came to light as a result of an internal investigation and RTS immediately informed the appropriate authorities, including Greater Manchester Police, who are now conducting a criminal investigation into two individuals. The two individuals concerned have worked at RTS Manchester for approximately three years, and RTS have no association with Trimega or Ingemino, who previously operated from the Manchester site. RTS Manchester have been providing toxicology results to the criminal justice system since November 2015. Contrary to media reports, the internal investigation centres on the manipulation of quality control data, which supports test results. There is no evidence that either the samples or the quality control materials themselves were subject to interference. There is no evidence from our internal investigations that the processing of alcohol samples has been affected. All evidence indicates that the activities under question are restricted to the processing of toxicology quality control data. Alcohol analysis in drink-drive cases is not conducted at RTS Manchester. These actions were restricted to the RTS Manchester laboratory. It would appear that this data manipulation was not as a result of a specific system failure but because of a criminal and intended act. These actions were also in contravention of our well-established, robust practices and procedures. Whilst there are agreed turnaround times with customers, RTS have never imposed internal performance targets upon laboratory staff to achieve these turnaround times. A number of toxicology results, which are part of due legal process, have been compromised. Randox Testing Services are working tirelessly to fully assess the impact and implications for each case. Where possible, when viable, samples will be re-run to provide robust, uncompromised results. There is no question mark over the RTS quality system or the robustness of our practices and procedures. This situation has occurred as a result of the perverse actions of individual(s) for which they may be held legally accountable. Please rest assured that RTS have acted with absolute propriety and speed in this matter, and will continue to work tirelessly with the Police and all appropriate authorities to resolve the outstanding issues and support the ongoing police investigation. RTS systems have proven to be robust and our investigation quickly identified the improper actions of individuals. Randox Testing Services remain committed to the provision of a toxicology service of the highest quality to our customers." At least 15 people were killed in food market in Somalia in blast, thought to be a car bomb The death toll from a car bomb at a marketplace in Somalia's capital Mogadishu has risen to 34 with 52 injured, said a police officer. Many of the dead were carried away by their relatives soon after the blast, said Captain Mohamed Hussein. "It was a horrific and barbaric attack only aimed at killings civilians," he said from the scene of the blast. Sabriye Abdullahi, an ambulance driver said that some of the injured victims died on their way to the hospitals. "Many of them suffered extensive third degree burns and others were burned beyond recognition," he said. The blast from the car parked near a restaurant went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle. Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointed to a clothes shop devastated by the blast. "Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated," he said. Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that was left of the shop. Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers moved bodies and wounded victims into ambulances. "It's a painful carnage." said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with shrapnel wounds The powerful explosion was the first major attack since Somalia's new president was elected on February 8. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, it bears the hallmarks of Somalia's Islamic extremists rebels, al-Shabab. In a Twitter post, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemned the blast, saying that it shows the "cruelty" of al-Shabab. A few hours before the blast, al-Shabab denounced the new president as an "apostate" and vowed to continue fighting against his government. Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, in a statement condemning the attack, said that "Italy remains solidly on Somalia's side in the process of the country's stabilization". He added that "together we will act so that the terrorists don't succeed in stopping the path of peace and reconciliation that is under way". AP President Adama Barrow of Gambia speaks during his inauguration ceremony in Banjul (AP Photo/Kuku Marong) Gambia's new president promised greater freedom and an improved economy as thousands attended a ceremony marking his inauguration after a tense political stand-off with the country's former leader. "This is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for all Gambians," Adama Barrow said to a packed stadium near the capital that included dignitaries and several African heads of state. The day, he said, was symbolic because it also marked the day in 1965 when the small West African nation declared its independence from Britain and the year in which the 52-year-old was born. The ceremony was held to let Gambians witness a swearing-in that echoed the official one last month. Mr Barrow first took the oath of office at Gambia's embassy in neighbouring Senegal in January as former leader Yahya Jammeh refused to cede power. International pressure, including the threat of a regional military intervention, led Mr Jammeh to finally accept his December election loss and fly into exile in Equatorial Guinea on January 21. Hundreds of thousands welcomed Mr Barrow's return to Gambia days later. He has pledged to reverse many of the actions that Mr Jammeh took during his more than two decades of power. The new president has promised to stay in the International Criminal Court, rejoin the Commonwealth, and free political prisoners. Mr Barrow arrived at Independence Stadium on Saturday to fanfare, waving from his vehicle in flowing white robes. Gambians also cheered Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai, who had to flee to Senegal during the political crisis after standing by the election results that showed Mr Barrow's win. After hours of ceremony, including a marching band, Mr Barrow addressed the nation. He thanked Senegal for hosting him and promised improved relations, adding: "We want the relationship between the two countries to be a model for African integration." The president said: "Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put a government in office as well as remove it." He warned of many challenges ahead as the country emerges from rule under Mr Jammeh, who imposed a climate of fear with an administration that detained and sometimes tortured and killed opponents. "We inherited an economic decline," Mr Barrow said, adding that the political impasse saw businesses shut down, more than 50,000 people flee and over 126,000 become displaced internally. He promised improved employment opportunities, food security and export growth, sanitation and access to clean water. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Mr Barrow on Tuesday, saying: "We are here to help." He was the first holder of his post to visit Gambia, and he said he wanted the country readmitted to the Commonwealth as fast as possible. President Macky Sall of Senegal was among the guests at the ceremony. He said Gambia and Senegal, a regional power that surrounds the tiny country except for its coast, must strengthen economic and other relations. Many Senegalese live in Gambia. "We are the same people, and we remain the same people," he said. AP Two Wexford towns were yesterday in shock after a "lovely, lovely girl" was charged with the murder of her 'Good Samaritan' boyfriend in Australia. Cathrina Cahill (25) from New Ross was due to appear in court early today in Sydney charged with the murder of Daithi Walsh (29) last Friday. A police spokesman said she was due to be brought before Parramatta Bail Court. However she chose not to appear via video link as her lawyer said she was too distressed to do so. She was further remanded in custody and is due to appear before Burwood local court on Wednesday. Ms Cahill's family are well known and respected in New Ross where she grew up above the family-owned shop near the Three Bullets Gate in the old town. She was described by neighbours yesterday as "a lovely, lovely girl". The neighbour added: "The Cahills are the finest people you could meet. No one can understand one bit of this. Tina was a good student at school and, I understand, very successful at whatever she worked at. There's total shock here." Mr Walsh (29) was known for carrying out building work for free for needy people in Enniscorthy, local Independent Councillor John O'Rourke, a friend of the Walsh family said yesterday. Mr Walsh moved to Australia following the break-up of his marriage last year, it is understood. He met Ms Cahill and they became engaged at New Year and they have been living together in the Padstow area of the city. Sydney police yesterday charged Ms Cahill with murder and were still questioning another man, a 35-year-old local, over what was described as a fracas at the couple's home on Watson Road, Padstow. Local sources were quoted in the Australian media as saying Mr Walsh was at home when his fiancee, two other women and a local man arrived at the house. A row ensued during which Mr Walsh was stabbed in the neck. It was unclear if a broken glass or knife was involved. Locals said those involved appeared to be drunk. It is understood the two women also live at the house and the Australian man, who was still in police custody yesterday, was invited back after the women had been out socialising. Local people reported 'screaming and wailing' around midnight before police and ambulance crews arrived. Detective Inspector Glen Fitzgerald said the victim had been in the house, possibly asleep, when the three women and man arrived and a fight broke out. "Four of them seem to live at this address. One of the males was at an establishment with them earlier in the day," he said. Ms Cahill was being held in police custody prior to her appearance before Parramatta Local Court in Sydney. Friends and relatives were gathering around the Walsh family home in Moran Park in Enniscorthy as arrangements began for the return of Mr Walsh's body. The family are well known in the building trade, Councillor O'Rourke said. "David really was a gentleman like his father, always ready to give a hand and he often did work for people who were in need. I asked him a couple of times if he could do a bit of plastering for people who were living in poor conditions and he was only too happy to volunteer. He really was one of those great decent guys who are important in a community. His loss will be felt greatly here." ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. 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You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The majority of America LOVES him. Get over your gay stupidity you imbecile!The majority also believe President Trump over the lying media that only promotes fake news."A recent Fox News poll showed people think President Trump has an advantage with truthfulness over the media.48% of those surveyed trust President Trump, which is 6% points higher than the people who think reporters have the facts straight..."So much for your bogus libtard links and idiotic babble. Face it you idiot, you are a LOSER and you will never be anything other than a ******* LOSER!! You are PATHETIC!!! I don't blame your slutty mother for abandoning your stupid *** at ALL. She did the right thing. If I was her, I would have taken your sorry *** out of existence The bi-annual IDEX defense Expo kicked off today in Abu Dhabi with an impressive show of domestic and international weapon systems and an impressive dynamic demonstration. The event demonstrated the rapid response of a well equipped military force battling a threat of irregular force. This scenario is not imaginary in this region. Many countries are grappling with this situation in recent years Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Libya. Others like Turkey and Jordan, succeeded to push it back beyond their borders. Held under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, IDEX 2017 is held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where 1,235 companies show the latest defense hardware they can offer. Besides, 125 naval defense companies are participating in the NAVDEX maritime event co-located with IDEX. The biggest participation is from local companies, which show a 17 percent increase from 2015. The largest exhibitor is the Emirates Defence Industries Company, EDIC, a joint venture between Mubadala Development and Tawazun Holding. Traditionally, the Gulf states often diversify military acquisition among many suppliers from various countries to maintain the widest international support base possible. As the largest defense exhibition in the Middle East and one of the leading global defense events, IDEX provides excellent opportunities for companies to showcase products and solutions tailored specifically for Middle Eastern applications. These include a wide range of land systems and maritime systems highlighted at the adjacent NAVDEX event. Video courtesy of ArmyRecognition At the epicenter of worlds conflicts, and with endless financial resources to support defense acquisition, the Gulf States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are among the largest military spenders. While in past years the UAE was a passive customer, whose weapon systems were used mainly for parades and exercises since 2011 things have changed as the UAE joined the coalition forces in Libya, and more recently in Yemen. In the recent years, the military forces of the UAE are gaining combat experience and induct modern equipment to replace older and less capable systems. The growing military industrial capability in the UAE is part of the emirates strategic diversification from oil-dependent industry, by increasing self-sufficiency in military industry, growing the industrial base and developing a knowledge-based economy and skilled workforce. The UAE forces are fighting alongside Saudi troops in Yemen. These military forces are becoming experienced in combat against the Houthis a tough, well equipped Iranian proxy. This UAE-Saudi coalition suffered significant losses to Houthi missiles in the air, on the ground, and at sea, and has increasingly fielded improved capabilities, from precision attack to missile defense and heavier armor to defeat Houthi forces from strongholds they have captured in Yemen. A post shared by (@forsan.uae) on Feb 18, 2017 at 11:47pm PST The two-year anniversary of the murder of Kimberly Theresa Hakes came and went Wednesday with no new answers in the case. Hakes close friends and family gathered at the homeless camp at Alan Berg Park where the 42-year-old's body was found on the morning of Feb. 15, 2015, and paid their respects to the woman they all called Mom. They shared stories of her fighting spirit, her steely resolve and her protective nature before placing flowers at the site. But instead of finding a sense of closure, they walked away asking more questions about the case that remains Corvallis only unsolved murder in the last 25 years. Someone knows what happened, but theyre afraid, said longtime friend Aimee Beard. I think theres enough information out there that if the cops knew the right door to knock on, it could be solved today. But they need something solid. Tattered police tape still clings to a few branches surrounding the site a lingering reminder of the scene two years ago and the dozens of law enforcement officers who combed the area searching for clues in Hakes' death. The Corvallis Police Department was notified around 10:39 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, that Hakes body was found at a campsite in Alan Berg Park. Investigators ruled the death a homicide. Two days later, the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office performed an autopsy, and it was determined that Hakes suffered serious trauma to her head, which caused her death. But in two years, no one has been detained in connection with the homicide, which the department still classifies as an open investigation. Many details in the case have not been released to the public including any information on possible suspects, whether more than one person may have been involved, the manner in which Hakes was killed, when she was last seen alive and who notified police of her death. Investigators believe that by withholding those details from the public, they are better able to weed out facts from rumors. As Chief Jon Sassaman said six months after the murder, withholding information and knowing those details helps us separate the real from the false. Were not going to reveal anything that we gain during an investigation that might compromise the investigation, said Capt. Dan Hendrickson of the Corvallis Police Department. I am confident members of our community would not want any information released that could even potentially provide benefit to whoever committed this murder. Although Alan Berg Park is located in Linn County, the Corvallis Police Department is the lead investigative agency because the park is within Corvallis city limits. In the days after her body was found, Hakes' photo was posted in the departments briefing room to serve as a reminder of the citys only open murder case. In the coming weeks, more than 100 law enforcement representatives from around the region assisted in the investigation. Nearly every officer with the Corvallis Police Department, including four general assignment detectives and two street crime detectives, has also done work in the case. Today, the Hakes photo sits in a case file on the desk of Det. Brett Roach, the primary investigator in the homicide. Roach, who has been involved in the investigation every day since it began two years ago, has promised to never remove the file from his desk until the murder is solved. I find this case to be personally and professionally very frustrating, Roach said. I feel an obligation to Kim, and to her family, to get this right. When people count on you as an investigator it is very difficult and frustrating to not have the answers they need. Rumors and speculation Six months after the investigation began, police said work was being done on the case daily. A year later, department representatives said it had fallen to weekly. In the last year, new developments have slowed to a crawl. The tips weve received in the last year are a fraction of what we received in the first year, Hendrickson said. As the days drag on with no new answers, investigators and those who knew Hakes best say the frustration is mounting. Not just because the case remains unsolved, but also because many facts have given way to rumors and speculation. This case has been hampered by an enormous amount of rumor being reported as fact, Roach said. However, when those rumors are worked back to the source we continually find they are based on speculation, rather than an actual eyewitness account. Tena Casey, Hakes cousin, keeps in regular contact with Roach and trusts hes doing what he can to solve the crime. Hey knew Kim on a personal level and I feel hes trying, Casey said. It makes me feel a little better that she isnt being put in a box and put in storage. I know he has good intentions with this, but its been two years. How could I not be frustrated? Casey said in the days following the murder, she was certain Roach was receiving the information he needed to solve the case quickly. But weeks later, Casey heard fewer and fewer facts from other people in the community and more and more rumors from people who knew far less about the case. (Roach) let some information go about this case right when it happened. It went all over, Casey said. By the time it got back to him, its like playing 'Telephone.' It was not at all how he said it. Its heartbreaking. Several of Hakes closest friends also think that the tension between some people in the homeless community and the police has become a major factor in the case remaining unsolved. A lot of people withhold (information) because of criminal code, Beard said. A lot of people wont come forward out of fear of something happening to them. Casey agreed. I know some people dont want to talk to (Roach) because hes a cop, she said. People are scared. But my cousin deserves justice. Casey also fears some in the police department haven't given the same effort they would have if Hakes wasnt homeless. I know theyre trying, but I dont think theyre trying their hardest, Casey said. I cant believe its been two years and they havent solved it. Hakes nephew Roy Bell said he sees the problem as a combination between the police not trusting information they get from the homeless community and fear from people who are homeless. I think some of the officers are doing what they can, but they dont know who to trust or who has the right information, Bell said. None of us know what happened and now there are just so many rumors. It just sucks its been this long and now all we hear are rumors. Finding the missing piece Corvallis police say despite the increasing rumors and muddying of facts, the Hakes murder is far from becoming a cold case. In order for that to happen officially, police would have to have exhausted all leads and tips. And even though investigative leads have slowed, they haven't stopped, officials said. Roach said that the two-year anniversary prompted a flurry of tips. We received about half a dozen just in the last week, he said. Id estimate we normally average a couple each month. Roach confirmed that he had a working theory of the case, but that it is only a theory until police receive the right tip to either prove or disprove it. We are certainly open to other possibilities, and we will go wherever the evidence, or witnesses, lead us, he said. And while police and Hakes family and friends havent always seen eye-to-eye on every detail in the case, both groups believe that there is a person living in the community who has the key to solving the crime. I would ask for anyone with direct knowledge of what happened to come forward, even if they feel it may be unimportant or may have already been reported, Roach said. Hendrickson said the case remains a priority for the department, but they need someone to come forward. Were two years down the road and weve got a lot of evidence, a lot of investigative information weve collected, but not quite enough to resolve the case, he said. Help us bring justice to her and the community. The case is never going to be put away until it is solved, Hendrickson said. It might take us five years, 10 years. Whatever it takes, this case is going to be on the table, he said. Other cases go cold. But somebody was murdered. Homicides dont go away. Casey offered a suggestion to anyone who has information but is scared of possible repercussions. Just make an anonymous tip, she said. You dont have to give them your name. Just give them the information they need so they can follow that lead. Give them the information that will bring justice for Kimmy. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Corvallis Police Department at 541-766-6914. Mom loved the rain Hakes' death has overshadowed her life in much of the community, but the close friends and family members who visit her memorial site regularly say they will always remember Hakes as "Mom." Hakes' daughter Angelica Hart, who lives in Corvallis, said the nickname was well-earned. She was a really good mom, Hart said, adding that even when her mother went through difficulties, she did her best for those she loved. My mom was a good person. She always made sure I was taken care of. Gary Goodwin, who considers himself a part of Hakes street family, said she treated many people as if they were her own family. She had such a good heart, he said. She was tough but she was always very kindhearted. Casey, Beard and Bell endured the rain and muddy trails of Alan Berg Park to honor and remember Hakes at her memorial Wednesday on the two-year anniversary. But as they got closer to the site, the rain began pouring harder, and in an instant their spirits lifted. Mom loved the rain, Beard said, smiling. She would always come out and dance in the rain. Moments later, their faces lit up when they finally spotted the memorial decorated with wooden crosses, flowers and dozens of various trinkets. It was clear to each of them that Hakes' spirit in the community was very much alive. Beard noticed a Dutch Bros. hat and laughed immediately. She was a coffee-loving fool, she said. She would always bring me a cup of coffee whenever we camped together. Casey then noticed a small tin, bent down and opened it to find a pile of shiny rocks inside. She loved rocks. I dont know why, but she really did, Casey said, laughing. She was very artistic. Casey said it was family that led Hakes to move to Corvallis from northern California in 2001. Hakes lived in a modest apartment and worked at Fred Meyer for roughly a year. Casey said Hakes was the birth mother of seven children and went through many familial difficulties, including losing two children to death. In 2003, Hakes was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of second-degree child neglect. By 2004, she had lost custody of her children, Casey said. She hit rock-bottom and got her kids taken away from her, Casey said. It broke her heart. It just broke her. Hakes lost her home and became addicted to methamphetamine. She went to drug court after being arrested on possession charges in 2006 and 2011, according to court records. She struggled with being an addict for years, Beard said. And she was just getting out of that and finally putting her life together when she was killed. Now she cant ever make that right. Casey said the toughest part about her cousin's death was knowing Hakes had lost the chance to get her life back together. The last few times I saw her, she was finally starting to love life, Casey said. She deserved that better life. She deserved justice. And until someone finally comes forward, theres never going to be justice for her. Already have an account? Log in here After allegedly smashing the window of a Brandon business, a man was found sleeping inside. 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 18/02/2017 (2087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A retired CFB Shilo officer has been charged with a sexual assault alleged to have been committed against a subordinate member of the Armed Forces. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service announced the charges on Friday. He was still a soldier at the time of the alleged offence, so the case will be sent through the military court system. Even though during the course of the investigation he has subsequently retired, the military police still have the jurisdiction and the right to charge this individual, National Defence Public Affairs Officer Lieut. Blake Patterson said. Retired Warrant Officer Jason Buenacruz is charged with sexual assault under the Criminal Code, and with three other counts under the National Defence Act. Two of those counts under the National Defence Act are for abuse of subordinates. Under that charge: Every person who strikes or otherwise ill-treats any person who by reason of rank or appointment is subordinate to him is guilty of an offence on conviction (and) is liable to imprisonment for less than two years or to less punishment. The remaining National Defence Act charge is for conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline. The sexual assault is alleged to have been committed in May 2016 while Buenacruz was based at CFB Shilo. The complainant reported the assault on June 7, 2016. Buenacruz retired from the Armed Forces in October. Patterson clarified that the sexual assault allegation relates to a single incident. National Defence has not released the gender or age of the complainant, nor has it described the general circumstances under which the sexual assault is alleged to have been committed. Whether, for example, the assault occurred while in the field during training or at a home. The date and location of any possible court martial is yet to be determined. Buenacruzs current place of residence wasnt immediately available on Friday. Patterson explained that regular members of the Canadian Armed Forces are subject to the Code of Service Discipline at all times. Military courts continue to have jurisdiction over retired members who were subject to the code at the time of an alleged offence. Patterson couldnt clarify the precise connection between the complainant and Buenacruz at the time of the alleged offences. The complainant remains a serving member of the Armed Forces, he said. ihitchen@brandonsun.com The UK's Prime Minister is set to meet the chief executive of the PSA Group to discuss Peugeot's proposals to buy General Motors' European operation, including Vauxhall. Theresa May has received a request for a meeting with Carlos Tavares to discuss the proposal, which could affect thousands of British workers. The Peugeot boss is also set to hold talks with the leader of Britain's biggest union Unite to discuss the situation. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We can confirm we have received a meeting request. The meeting will take place, in principle, subject to diary availability." Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will meet Mr Tavares next week in the latest in a series of talks he has held to help avoid any job losses. He said: "I am pleased that Carlos Tavares has responded speedily and positively to my request for a meeting to discuss Peugeot's intentions towards our Vauxhall plants. "I will be using this meeting to press the case for the UK's world class facilities and workforce, and ensuring that Mr Tavares and the PSA Group understand fully that Luton, Toddington and Ellesmere Port, and thousands of dedicated UK workers, deserve a strong backer and a positive future." Business Secretary Greg Clark, who visited Paris on Thursday for talks with PSA Group and French ministers, is expected to join Mrs May at the meeting with Mr Tavares. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it expected the meeting will take place next week. PSA Group said it was engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with all parties involved in the bid for GM's European division, which includes German-based Opel as well as Vauxhall. A spokesman said: "Our intention is to establish the same maturity in our exchanges in France, Germany and the UK. This is why Carlos Tavares has asked to meet Theresa May as it was done with German authorities. "In the spirit of co-construction that is driving the PSA Group on a daily basis its own trade union representatives in France, the same approach is obviously being taken to contact the trade union organisations in Germany and the UK." Iran's foreign minister has brushed aside new pressure from the United States, declaring that his country is "unmoved by threats" but responds well to respect. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the US and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but has not said what he plans to do about it. A former Republican presidential candidate has lashed out at Donald Trumps latest attacks on the media and suggested for democracy to thrive you need a free and adversarial press. John McCains comments came after the US President accused some TV news networks and newspapers of being the enemy of the American people. Transcription 1 University of Nebraska - Lincoln of Nebraska - Lincoln Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings Textile Society of America Clothing or Decoration: Exploring the Penis Sheath of Papua New Guinea Catherine Murphy University of Rhode Island, Follow this and additional works at: Murphy, Catherine, "Clothing or Decoration: Exploring the Penis Sheath of Papua New Guinea" (2012). Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. Paper This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Textile Society of America at of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings by an authorized administrator of of Nebraska - Lincoln. 2 Clothing or Decoration: Exploring the Penis Sheath of Papua New Guinea Catherine Murphy As a second year grad student at the University of Rhode Island focusing on the historic aspect of costume and textiles; when faced with the task of selecting an artifact to study, I immediately became interested in the penis sheath. At first, I assumed it to be some sort of horn or something related. Only upon closer examination and noticing the accompanying photo did its true purpose become clear. The photograph portrayed three men wearing similar sheaths and was placed above the mounted sheath in a frame. In 2009 this artifact, was donated to the university collection by a Rhode Island resident. To begin, I will explain what a penis sheath is, how it is constructed, and introduce you to cultural, political and social ideologies that are connected with the sheath. With an understanding of the topic, I will shift into how this research was applied to our course curriculum in terms of poster design and presentation. Papua New Guinea is home to many cultures. Over 700 different tribes reside in and around the area, each one having their own traditions and customs. 1 There are certain regions that have accepted western dress as their everyday form of clothing, while some still adorn themselves with the traditional dress of their region. It is these tribes that still wear the penis sheath, or the koteka, as their main form of clothing. The most useful way to define the sheath is to label it as an item confining something, as its intention and function is to confine the penis. It can also be classified as a close fitting cover. Shaped only to cover the penis, the scrotum is left visible unless covering it is part of the design. 2 The penis sheath is an adornment worn by indigenous male inhabitants of the western parts of Papua New Guinea. A prevalent amount of men wear the penis sheath as their only means of clothing, however, some will wear additional clothing along with it. To some Papua New Guinea men, specifically those from the Dani, Yali, or Tiom tribes, there is no other form of acceptable clothing. 3 Depending on traditions and locality, the choice of dress will differ. The commonality of western dress is aiding in the decline of the use of the penis sheath, however, the practice of using a genital covering has been used for centuries. Examples can be seen in the codpiece of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the loin cloth which is still presently worn by some cultures. Research shows a trend of three common names that seem to be the most popular form of identifying the penis sheath. Papua New Guinea is partial to the term koteka, but the naming of a penis sheath can differ based on the tribe that one is in. In some cases, certain tribes have their own names they designate to the penis sheath. Regardless of the name, the concept is the same. 4 Like most clothing items within the history of dress, different cultures will adopt different names that better suit their purposes and their lifestyle. For many, a name can be an important instrument in defining their attire. Numerous names for 1 Cobb, Jodi. Papua New Guinea. 2 Peter J. Ucko, Penis Sheaths: A Comparative Study, Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. (1969) Nancy Welch, Mud, Feathers, and Penis Gourds, Ornament 24, no.3 (2001): 35, EBSCOhost 4 Charles B. Heiser JR., The Penis Gourd of New Guinea, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 63, no. 3 (1973): 312 3 the same textile can be daunting to remember and can complicate the research process. For the purpose of this research, the names used will be penis sheath and koteka. The wearing of the koteka begins at varying ages, from as early as three to fifteen years old. Initial age and the ceremony involved will differ based on society. Young children often begin with their own type, and mature into the sheath of the elders as they progress through the tribe. 5 Theories that the koteka size represents status have continuously been proven false. Instead, the size more likely serves as a functional item, rather than a symbol of status. Shape is subject to change. Shorter kotekas are more accessible for work, while a longer, more decorative one is better suited for a festival or ceremony. 6 Characteristics of the penis sheath will vary depending on tribe, region and tradition. Variances can be seen in size, materials used, ways in which the koteka is tied over the penis and the body, and how the sheath is constructed. In Papua New Guinea, tribes can differentiate by the width, the length and the angle at which it is held. 7 Decoration is an integral element in distinguishing between tribes. Normally the koteka is plain, void of any embellishments, having just a string to hold it on the body. 8 In many locations, gourds are grown with the sole purpose of being used to create a penis sheath. In Papua New Guinea, gourds make up the vast majority of the creation of kotekas. 9 A gourd is a fruit plant that has a hard shell and is often used as an ornament or a utensil. The hard exterior makes it an easy specimen to work with and to mold into a desired shape. 10 Other areas that use gourds are South America, specifically Venezuela, and Africa. Venezuela s use of the penis sheath can be traced back as early as the fifteenth century, which would coincide with the same time period as the popularity of the codpiece. In Africa, the only locations where documentation exists of a penis sheath are in the western and east central regions, dating back to Surprisingly, in contrast to the early recordings of both Africa and South America, the earliest sighting of the use of the penis sheath in New Guinea is the present century. The late dating could be attributed to Europeans first visiting Papua New Guinea on a coast where the koteka was not worn. Because of this, the exact date of the first Papua New Guinean males wearing the sheath may never be known. 11 In South America, one would not find the use of kotekas throughout the entire region. Only in the north coastal regions of South America is the koteka worn. 12 Large areas of West Africa, multiple South African tribes, and some parts of the Congo are where the practice of wearing the penis sheath is common. While New Guinea is more inclined to use gourds as their kotekas, Africa gravitates more towards leaves and other vegetation. 13 Africa's decline of the sheath became apparent when the Thonga 5 Ucko, Penis Sheaths Michele Collet, Kotekas: Penis Sheaths Worn by the Tribes of New Guinea, 7 Ucko, Penis Sheaths Michael C. Howard, Dress and Ethnic Identity in Irian Jaya, Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 15, No. 1 (2000): 10 9 Kotekas 10 Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. Gourd 11 Heiser, The Penis Gourd, Ucko, Penis Sheaths Collet, Kotekas 2 4 tribe abolished the use of kotekas in 1820 in favor of adopting western dress. Until then, they wore covers made of palm leaves and sheaths constructed of wood or gourds. 14 Western dress has been an influential factor for many clothing choices. Originating at the end of the fourteenth century, the codpiece, also sometimes referred to as penis sheath, covered the genital area above the stockings. Male clothing of this era consisted of trousers featuring an open crotch and tied at the waist. Codpieces were created to cover the opening and protect the wearer s modesty. Like the koteka, there were moments where the codpiece was intensified, reaching such extreme heights that their actual function was questioned and soon the simplicity of the codpiece was overtaken with emphasized decorations and padding. In some cases, during the fifteenth century, the exaggeration of the codpiece was used to represent social rank and status. 15 Perhaps more similar to the koteka in terms of design and simplicity is the loincloth. Loincloths are a piece of fabric, typically bark cloth, that hang from the waist to cover the penis and normally would only serve to cover the front of the body and not the back. Characteristically, these coincide with the penis sheath. The loincloth could be argued as the first original form of male clothing, as its use has been recorded for centuries. Its simplicity made it easily obtainable for anyone. Politics have been the cause of many challenges and resistance to the koteka. Textiles and politics are closely intertwined as evident in Operasi Koteka. Operasi koteka was an initiative launched in 1971 by the Indonesian government in the Baliem Valley and Wissel Lake regions as an attempt to ban its use. Tribes such as The Dani and the Ekari were the main targets. This campaign aimed to persuade the tribes to switch from their native dress of the koteka to more modern, western dress. The Indonesian government believed that western clothing represented a well educated, modern society, therefore scorning the use of the koteka. The counterpart to Operasi Koteka was the less publicized Operasi Busana, which simply means Operation Wear Clothes. Operasi Koteka was not successful and instead met with extreme resistance, to the point where some villages moved to a new area to escape the control of the government. 16 Riots erupted, at times violent, where men would remove all their clothing and only wear a penis sheath. While Operasi Koteka failed, the impact it did have was to elevate the kotekas status and make it a symbol of local identity. 17 The influence of western dress has had a greater influence on the wearing of the koteka. Western dress became more popular and started appearing more in social settings with the advancement of schooling and growing economic development. During the 1900s, the only men still wearing a koteka were the older males. Tourism is one of the essential components keeping the tradition of the bark cloth and the koteka alive in some areas. Custom and tradition will always have an impact on history and the forms of dress that are seen in various regions all over the country. 18 The research obtained was the integral element in the creation of our posters. A display case on the ground floor of our textiles, merchandising and design department building was the ideal location to 14 Ucko, Penis Sheaths Ucko, Penis Sheaths David Webster, Already Sovereign as a People: A Foundational Moment in West Papuan Nationalism, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 74, No. 4 (2001): Howard, Dress and Ethnic Identity Ibid., 17 3 5 showcase our posters. It provided the URI community, faculty, and students the opportunity to observe various research topics and fain an understanding of not only ethnic textiles, but also the ethnic class. Blaire received numerous comments from university faculty about how well received the posters were. Like me, many people had never heard of a penis sheath, and understandably, were quite interested. Some even stopped to photograph the sheath. These posters were not made without complications. The first challenge arose with the assemblage of our posters. Individually we had the task of condensing our 15 plus page paper into a poster. Determining the most important and valuable information presented a complication. Getting our research across in a few short paragraphs was crucial. Difficulties faced with the text were trivial in comparison to the design of the poster. The design was first created on the computer as a power point. Printing onto the presentation poster showcased a lot of flaws and details that were initially overlooked on the computer. Text size and font appeared different when enlarged to poster size and Background colors took on a different hue and tint outside of the computer. In some cases, the color was completely different than what was shown on screen. Background color is very important on a poster. It is what makes the text and the photos stand out and get noticed. Posters with a dark color ground appeared easier to read from a distance. Text size was very important. It had to be large enough to read from afar, but yet small enough to be able to include picture with the text. Many of our posters designated a section of the poster to include additional readings that may be useful or interesting. Another complication arose when deciding what pictures to attach to our presentations. Too many photos would result in the loss of room for our text. For my poster, I opted to use an image of a penis sheath as my background, as opposed to a solid color. This way I was able to incorporate a photo, without losing valuable space for text. An actual photo of the object was used as my focal point on my poster. It allowed viewers to see how it was mounted and framed and how it contained a photograph of men wearing the sheath. This class was divided into two parts. Primarily, our research papers were the focus of the class; however, our final was actually the presentation of our posters in a formal poster presentation. Faculty was invited to attend and listen to a brief explanation of our topic. Had it not been for the formal event, mistakes, some pointed out by faculty, could have been overlooked without the ability to correct them. It provided us students with a unique opportunity to showcase not only our ability to obtain research, but also our individuality and even creativity in the design of our posters. 4 6 References Cobb, Jodi. Papua New Guinea. Collet, Michele. Penis Sheaths Worn by the Tribes of New Guinea. Heiser, Charles B JR. The Penis Gourd of New Guinea, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 63, no. 3 (1973): Howard, Michael C. Dress and Ethnic Identity in Irian Jaya, Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 15, No. 1 (2000) Ucko, Peter J. Penis Sheath: A Comparative Study, Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. (1969) Webster, David. Already Sovereign as a People: A Foundational Moment in West Papuan Nationalism, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 74, No. 4 (2001): Welch, Nancy. "Mud, Feathers and Penis Gourds." Ornament 24, no. 3 (Spring ): 35. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 15, 2011). 5 Investigators are looking for four men who flew out of Malaysia the same day the North Korean ruler's exiled half brother, was apparently poisoned at an airport in Kuala Lumpur. Since Kim Jong Nam's death last week, authorities have been trying to piece together details of what appeared to be an assassination. Malaysian police have so far arrested four people carrying IDs from North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. One of the suspects in custody, an Indonesian woman, told investigators that she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank. On Sunday, Malaysia's deputy national police chief, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said four more suspects were on the run. The men were North Korean and had flown out of the country last Monday, when Kim died. "I am not going disclose where they are," he \a news conference, adding that Interpol was helping with the investigation. He showed photographs of the four men, who were travelling on regular passports and are aged 33, 34, 55 and 57. He also said there were three other people police wanted to question. Kim Jong Nam, 46, was waiting for his flight home to Macau when, authorities say, he was set upon by two women. He sought help at a customer service desk and said "two unidentified women had swabbed or had wiped his face with a liquid and that he felt dizzy", Mr Noor Rashid said. Kim died en route to a hospital after suffering a seizure, officials say. Mr bNoor Rashid said that he expected post-mortem examination results to be released within days. "We have to send a sample to the chemistry department, we have to send a sample for toxicology tests," he said. Investigators also want to speak to Kim Jong Nam's next of kin to formally identify the body. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau. "We haven't met the next of kin," Mr Noor Rashid said. "We are working, we are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and to assist us in the investigation." The case has raised tensions between Malaysia and North Korea. Pyongyang demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to the post-mortem. The Malaysians went ahead anyway, saying they were simply following procedure. AP Police in Thailand sent fresh forces to a Buddhist temple on Sunday hunting for a monk accused of money laundering. Around 3,000 police have been outside the Dhammakaya sect temple north of Bangkok to confront followers and monks at the gate of the huge compound. Meanwhile, smaller squads of police searched for its chief, Phra Dhammajayo, who is accused of accepting 40 million dollars in embezzled money. Security forces and Dhammajayo's followers had gathered in growing numbers at the temple on Sunday after the Department of Special Investigation - Thailand's FBI - ordered all people not living there to leave. Numbers on both sides were difficult to estimate. Sunday's stand-off ended peacefully, with the police forces withdrawing shortly after dark. Dhammajayo has been charged with money laundering and receiving stolen property. His defenders claim he did not know the money was stolen. Some devotees believe his legal troubles are politically motivated because the temple and its followers are seen as supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup. Thailand had another coup in 2014 and currently has a military government. Our message is simple: We're here not to clash with the police, but we are here trying to protect #Buddhism from being purged from #Thailand pic.twitter.com/MqKncpx4RD Dhammakaya Media (@DhammakayaMedia) February 19, 2017 The police are operating under an emergency order issued on Thursday by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha allowing them to short-cut normal legal procedures with broad powers to search property and arrest people. They have sought to block people from entering the temple, but many seemed to have got through on Sunday after senior monks issued statements suggesting the temple was under threat. Police also issued summonses for more than a dozen senior monks, including Dhammajayo - who has not been seen in public for months - to present themselves at the local police station. "Our hearts break because we love Buddhism. We can die, but Buddhism, never," said Dhammakaya devotee Manoj Hemprommaraj. "We will protect our temple, (even) if we die." AP A senior US Republican senator has urged President Donald Trump to take action against Russia over allegations that Moscow interfered in the election that brought him to power. US intelligence officials have told Mr Trump that Moscow tried to influence voters by hacking Democratic emails and trolling social media sites, but the President has sought to downplay Russia's role in the election. Speaking to world leaders, diplomats and defence officials at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said Congress needs to get involved to ensure there are "consequences" for the alleged hacking. "2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress," Mr Graham said. Referring to forthcoming elections in France and Germany this year and concerns of outside interference, Mr Graham said "I promise everybody in this room that Congress is going to take a long hard look what Russia did to undermine our elections, so you'll be better prepared when they come your way." He said he planned to introduce a bipartisan motion for new Russia sanctions and it will get "north of 75 votes". "My goal is to put it on Trump's desk and I hope he'll embrace the idea that as the leader of the free world he should be working with us to punish Russia," Mr Graham said. Russia denies meddling in the election. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday: "I have seen no facts. There were just some accusations that we tried to hack some Democratic Party website." Though the allegations are that the hacking was directed at the Democrats, Mr Graham said: "We should have an Article 5 that an attack on one party is an attack on all." He was referring to NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is seen an attack of the entire alliance. Contact between Trump campaign and Russian intel officials would be 'game changer,' Sen. Lindsey Graham says. https://t.co/JNOy5k0uUi pic.twitter.com/YTsws8hJYR ABC News (@ABC) February 16, 2017 "My biggest concern with President Trump ... is that he's never really looked the camera in the eye and said, 'Even though it was the Democratic Party that suffered from Russian interference, I am now the leader of the free world and I can assure you they're going to pay a price on my watch for trying to interfere in our election.'" The conference opened on Friday with criticism of Mr Trump from another senior Republican senator, Arizona's John McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who said "more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticising it as our moral equivalent". Later, answering question about the ouster of Mr Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn for misrepresenting his contacts with Russia, Mr McCain said that the issue "is something that shows in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do." McCain, who has openly quarrelled with the president, added that Mr Trump often "contradicts himself" in his statements, and that "some of us have learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says". AP Church of the Brethren Newsline February 18, 2017 By Zakariya Musa Following the EYN presidents statement declaring a state of emergency on health, the Disaster Relief Ministry of Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) moved to conduct Hepatitis B screening starting with staff and students of Kulp Bible College in Kwarhi. In more news from the work of the Disaster Relief Ministry, the EYN program has been sharing relief aid with refugees from Bdagu who were camped at Lassa following a recent attack on their village. Hepatitis B screening Medical personnel Charles Ezra reported that out of 178 people between the ages of 25 to 60 who have been screened so far, 30 were identified positive. A confirmation test is being carried out on those with positive results. After reconfirmation, the group will be undergoing further profiling for medication. The exercise will continue at the EYN Headquarters, the EYN Ministers Annual Conference, and with staff and students at the EYN secondary school. The demand is high, as people are eager to get screened knowing that the disease has killed some relatives in their communities. EYN president Joel S. Billi, while narrating concern about the deadly disease, said that EYN has experienced the deaths of young pastors to the killer disease over the years. Emergency response to Bdagu refugees EYNs Disaster Relief Ministry conveyed emergency relief material to Bdagu refugees who were camped at Lassa following the recent attack on their village. The relief materials delivered to 124 households included rice, cooking oil, mats, Maggi Cubes, and blankets. On the EYN team were the director of the Disaster Relief Ministry, Yuguda Z. Mdurvwa; coordinator Amos S. Duwala; project officer Zakariya Musa; accountant Aniya Simon; medical coordinator Charles E. Gaya; driver John Haha; and two other commercial drivers and their conductor. Part of the material budgeted for 300 households was returned. Each household received one mat, one blanket, one packet of Maggi Cubes, one bag of 25 kilograms of rice, and one liter of cooking oil. Some families are many in number, and only a few have two or three family members. The majority are between 6 and 10 people in each household. The displaced are sleeping under the burnt buildings of the Vocational Training Center in Lassa. Tanko Waba, one of the displaced, thanked the church for coming to their aid. He called on the government to reconsider the area, which he said faced several attacks. In the camp was the man whose family was taken away by the Boko Haram at Bdagu. Mallum Abau, about 70, could not control his tears on mentioning the names of his family members abducted during the attack. Mr. Abau listed their names as: Ndalna Mallum, a wife carrying a baby; Pana Mallum, a daughter with baby; Joro Mallum, a son; Adum Mallum, a son; Hauwa Mallum, a daughter; Hauwa Aduwamanji, a brothers daughter whose husband was killed by Boko Haram in recent years. Some of the displaced sustained levels of injuries. One of them was Mr. Ayagaja, who sustained wounds. According to Ayagaja, on hearing of gunshots he was confused and ran into a village called Yimirmugza where he fell into a band of vigilante groups who assumed he was Boko Haram. They tied and seriously beated me until someone who knows me came around to tell them, Isnt this a man you know? Then they untied me, he said. His left hand was seriously injured. Ayagaja is being cared for by the Disaster Relief Ministry who committed to follow up on his situation. Bdagu village head Lawan Satumary Chinda was there during the relief distribution. He thanked the church for the gesture. No human being left in Bdagu, he said. The following were killed in the attack which sacked the area: Shakatri Tsukwam, Aliyu Jaduwa, Ushadari Waindu, Ijanada Ngarbaa woman about 95 years old burnt alive in her room, and Yaga Lamido who was slaughtered. In a similar response, 153 households were relieved when maize, rice, Maggi Cubes, cooking oil, and salt were distributed at Munni in EYN DCC Michika, in the Michika Local Government area of Adamawa State. Munni village was damaged in 2014 attacks. Many villages around Chibok, Lassa, Dille, Madagali, Mildu, etc., are under-reported or unreported in terms of Boko Haram attacks, because most of the areas have no access to communication networks. Zakariya Musa serves on the communications staff of Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week. Church of the Brethren Newsline February 18, 2017 By Pat Krabacher On Feb. 9, John and I visited the Wulari EYN Maiduguri church of Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) in the large northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. We met the EYN HIV/AIDS Project staff, and met the new pastor Joseph T. Kwaha. The church was rebuilt in 2015 after it was bombed by Boko Haram and totally destroyed in June 2009. We also visited the EYN IDP camp of 8,000 displaced persons located nearby on an old church compound. Impressive work is being done by the 20-person HIV/AIDs Project staff who manage four programs with international NGOs: Save the Childrenfood security, livelihood, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene; UNICEFchild protection and follow-up; Christian Aid (UK)nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene; Family Health InitiativeHIV/AIDs, strengthening integrated delivery of HIV/AIDS services. The staff manage the feeding programs under USAID Food for Peace, community mobilization, and livelihood support benefitting 11,000 people in eight Local Government Areas (LGA) in Borno State, with the help of 255 EYN volunteers. A new program has just started that targets 10,000 households with food vouchers, targets 1,200 acutely malnourished children in Konduga LGA, and will drill 20 boreholes and build 25 toilets in Konduga LGA of Borno State. The work of the EYN team is impressive! Our visit to the nearby EYN IDP camp brought us into the beehive of life for displaced people. Plastic UNHCR (United High Commissioner for Refugees) tarpaulins predominated, with hundreds of small children playing, wailing, or just staring at usthe first white people they may have seen. IDP camp chairman John Gwamma introduced us to new people who had just arrived in the campan elderly women who had been abducted by Boko Haram and held in Sambisa Forest, and a young new mother who was alone in a small tent with her newborn daughter, born just that morning. A bright spot of the visit was some evidence of the selling of grains, beans, and other items among the IDPs, two tailors at work, and some children attending school. This EYN camp does not have a school, but a second camp of about 900 IDPs at Shuwari, which we did not visit, has a small school. Poignant moments remain with us from our visit to the EYN IDP camp, including the story of John who was the first IDP from Gwoza to arrive in Maiduguri. His story shared the pain he and others have endured, watching family being killed, and not eating for 21 days while running from Boko Haram. Also poignant was our meeting with the old woman abducted from Gwoza, who has suffered but when greeted smiled back and tried to give us her cup of rice porridge. We laughed, but her love and care remain with us. Much more needs to be done to support these vulnerable displaced people, and prayer will surely help them. Pat and John Krabacher are Brethren Volunteer Service workers and volunteers with the Nigeria Crisis Response, a cooperative venture of the Church of the Brethren and Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Find out more at www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis . Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week. The Federal Court has blocked a bid by the Australian Border Force to confiscate the mobile phones of detainees in immigration detention. Refugee advocates say about 80 detainees will be able to keep their phones as a result of the temporary injunction imposed by the court on Sunday. The injunction was ordered just hours before the seizure was due to commence. The Christmas Island Detention Centre. Credit:Getty Images Lawyers from the National Justice Project launched the proceedings on Sunday, leading to a five-hour special weekend hearing. Without the injunction, detainees' phones at centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Yongah Hill in WA and Christmas Island would have been taken. A trainee pilot has been caught sneaking onto a Sydney university campus and using a GoPro camera to secretly film a woman in the shower. When detectives searched Jayden Collison's room at a hangar within the Bankstown Aerodrome precinct, they also allegedly found disturbing footage of two teenagers undressing in a changing room and dozens of child pornography videos. Jayden Collison at Bankstown Aerodrome. Credit:Facebook The flight school student was arrested in December at the airport, where he had been living in a single room and studying to become a commercial pilot. Despite being only 19 years old, he was already on a good behaviour bond for similar behaviour when he was arrested. A woman has been charged with murder after her mother's body was found at a far north Queensland property on Saturday, following a five-hour siege. The 46-year-old daughter, who was allegedly armed with a gun, was taken into custody about 4pm after surrendering to police at the Hope Vale property. Police have charged a 46-year-old woman with murder after a five-hour siege on Saturday afternoon. Police said officers were initially called after receiving information there was a woman's body at the property on Cameron Creek Road and declared an emergency at 11am. The residence was cordoned off until specialist police resolved the situation, after which the body of a 71-year-old woman was found, allegedly with a single gunshot wound. Severe storms are on their way to south-east Queensland on Sunday afternoon, while north-western areas of the state brace for a potential cyclone within days. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 5pm for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding. South-east Queensland is in for some severe storms of Sunday afternoon. Credit:Wendy Hughes It was forecast to affect areas south-west of Brisbane before moving south-east towards Ipswich and Logan. Rosewood, Hatton Vale and Marburg were expecting wet weather by 5:30 pm as well as Bundamba Lagoon, Amberley and the area south of Amberley by 6:00 pm. I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather. More on who I am is here. Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com Firefighters have battled a blaze that tore through an unoccupied home in Jacana early on Sunday morning. The MFB received several triple zero calls about 2am after the fire broke out in the weatherboard home in Pascoe Vale Road. It took 22 firefighters just over an hour to bring the Jacana fire under control. Credit:Patrick Herve A search of the house for a possible occupant was hampered by a large amount of personal belongings blocking access throughout the house. It took 22 firefighters just over an hour to bring the fire under control and determine no one was inside. Former Prime Minister John Howard doesn't think people should jump to conclusions about US President Donald Trump. Mr Howard, in Perth to support WA Premier Colin Barnett, said he was taking a "wait and see" approach with Mr Trump. John Howard has a little faith in Donald Trump. Credit:MARK GRAHAM "He has developed an unconventional approach to communication but I am a great believer in paying on results," he added. "I think some of the appointments he has made in his administration are very good. A man has captured the terrifying minutes an erratic vehicle crossed on to the wrong side of Bussell Highway in Western Australia and fatally collided with another vehicle. The disturbing footage, showing a green Toyota LandCruiser swerving into oncoming traffic on the busy South West Highway near Capel, was captured by Dylan Mateljan as he travelled with two friends in a car behind the 4WD about 4.47pm Saturday. Jenni Pratt, 61, died at the scene after her Rav4 collided with the LandCruiser, with Mr Mateljan and his friends running to the scene after witnessing the head-on collision. Up to 20 vehicles were forced into ditches during the horrifying incident, which lasted several minutes. US senator John McCain has marked himself out as a leader of the opposition to Trump within Republican ranks. Credit:Getty Images Their letter prompted another, from Dr Allen Frances, professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Duke University Medical College, who happens to be the expert psychiatrist who defined narcissistic personality disorder. He rebuked the authors, arguing that to claim that Trump is mentally ill is an insult to those who truly are. But he also had this to say - Trump may be a "world-class narcissist". Victoria Barette from Jacksonville, Florida, puts her hand on her heart on inauguration day. Credit:AP But the debate has taken off. Another psychologist weighed in last month, telling US News and World Report that Trump displays a malignant narcissism, characterised by grandiosity, sadism and anti-social behaviour. Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio observes: "He lives inside his head, where he runs the same continuous loop of conflict with people he turns into enemies for the purposes of his psychodrama." Ashley Priselac adjusts the tie on a life size wax figure of Donald Trump at Madame Tussauds in Orlando, Florida. Credit:AP The press conference was Trump unleashed. As though he couldn't help himself, he seized the lectern at the end of a first chaotic month that had prompted this assessment from General Tony Thomas, head of the military's Special Operations Command: "Our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil. I hope they sort it out soon, because we're a nation at war." In casting aside the usual filters and talking heads such as Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway, Trump signalled an attempted reset. After weeks of leaks, he is determined to rewrite the agenda he was doing it again at a Boeing factory in South Carolina on Friday and at a campaign-style rally in Florida on Saturday. As doubts over Trump mount, eyes will turn to leading Republicans in Congress, such as failed presidential candidate Marco Rubio. Credit:Bloomberg Instead of being confronted by pesky, fake journalists, Trump was hungry for the adoring fans who turned out to both events, described by presidential historian Timothy Naftali as "an attempt to inject some adrenaline into his administration and shake a perception of loserdom". At the Florida bash, Trump basked in the glow of a 9000-strong crowd, forgetting his plummeting polls as he re-ran a string of well-worn campaign promises and whacked the media again before reaching his crescendo. After serial exaggerations and misrepresentations of all that his administration has achieved, or not, he declared: "It's a new day in America - this will be change for the ages, change like never before." But back in the real world, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was probably earning a presidential rebuke by acknowledging Trump's frustration with media reporting, as she explained the Florida gig was likely to be the first to put Trump out front more often. "There's definitely frustration that the media makes up stories and reports things that aren't true," she told the Post. The Florida rally, she said, was an attempt "for the President to speak directly to the American people and not have his message filtered through a biased media." At the end of last week, one of the few generous assessments of Trump as President was this from his ally and former House speaker Newt Gingrich: "All new presidents go through a series of resets because the initial transition from campaign to governing is to enormous and complex ... Trump's challenge is compounded because he is a genuine outsider trying to build a new system." But it's seemingly impossible for Trump to get out from under the weight of bad news. As he basked in the limelight at Boeing on Friday, Associated Press dropped an exclusive an internal administration document outlining a plan for the National Guard to be drafted to round up undocumented migrants. Despite its conformity with all that Trump said in the election campaign, the White House claimed it had been discarded. Also on Friday, Trump hit a new low in opinion polls confirming his standing as the least popular new president in American history, Gallup found that just 38 per cent of Americans approve his performance, against 56 per cent who disapprove. Amidst a constant sense of crisis, two emerging patterns work against Trump the Republican establishment figures who might save his administration are increasingly reluctant to work for him and he is being hemmed in by the checks and balances of the American democratic process. Also working against him is the toxic brew he has concocted in the White House factions divided by ideology and new hires defeated by their youth and inexperience. After the debacle of appointing a national security adviser who proved incapable of surviving in the job for a month, Trump is desperately seeking for a replacement. His first pick as a replacement said thanks, but no thanks. And Republican favourites like David Petraeus, the retired general and former CIA director, and Stephen Hadley, a former national security adviser, saved Trump from further embarrassment by saying they wouldn't take the job if it was offered to them. Trump and those around him are paranoid about loyalty. In the last week, the State Department sacked six senior career staffers who were deemed suspect. And faction wars continue with gusto. The appointment of veteran Republican media strategist Mike Dubke as the new White House communications director is the latest flashpoint, with Trump loyalists mewling about Dubke's GOP establishment credentials. "How does this help serve the President's interests?" a Trump insider complained. "It serves the interests of Reince [Priebus] and Sean [Spicer, both seen as party establishment figures], but I don't see how it serves the President's interests." The checks and balances that Trump mocks are surprisingly effective. Despite his policy adviser Stephen Miller claiming "the powers of the President to protect our country . . . will not be questioned" or that "there's no such thing as judicial supremacy", Trump has been hogtied by the courts on his migration crackdown and despite all his ranting at "disgraceful" judges and their "political" decisions, he has acknowledged that he is bound by their rulings. The media are hanging in too. Despite Trump's relentless mockery, they are digging and coming up with the goods aided by a stream of leaks that shows no sign of abating. Voters and Congress are starting to hold up their end, too. In the first raid, which lasted an hour, 72 enemy bombers accompanied by fighters participated, and in the afternoon raid, 21 bombers took part. Four enemy aircraft were brought down. The first air raids to be launched on Australia since the war began were made on Darwin yesterday by Japanese planes. Some damage was done to service installations, and shipping in the harbor also suffered. Some casualties are reported, but no details are yet available. Darwin, 19 February 1942. People at Government House look at the smoke billowing from ships ablaze in the harbour after the first Japanese air raids. Credit:Australian War Memorial P02625.005 Darwin, 19 February 1942. This bedroom suffered severely when hit by a bomb during the attack on Darwin Credit:Australian War Memorial This news was contained in a statement issued by the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) in Sydney last night. He said it would be a source of pride to the public to know that the armed forces and the civilians had, during the raids, comported themselves with the gallantry traditional of our stock. Mr. Curtin added: "The Government regards the attacks as most grave and makes it clear that a severe blow has been struck on Australian soil. Information does not disclose details of casualties, but it must be obvious that we have suffered. We must face with fortitude the first onset and remember that whatever the future holds in store for us we are Australians and will fight grimly and victoriously." The first announcement of the Japanese raid on Darwin came in a statement made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, from his bed in St. Vincent's Hospital. Australia, he said, had now experienced the physical contact of war within Australia. "As head of the Australian Government," he proceeded, "I know there is no seed to say anything other than in these words, 'Total mobilisation is the Government's policy for Australia.' Until the time elapses when all the necessary machinery can be put into effect all Australians must voluntarily answer the Government's call for a complete giving of everything to the nation." Bangkok: Hundreds of police reinforcements have been deployed to Thailand's largest temple, where worshippers and monks are vowing to prevent the arrest of a prominent monk wanted on embezzlement charges. Tensions are high at the 400-hectare Dhammakaya temple complex on the outskirts of Bangkok, where an operation has been underway for days to arrest 72-year-old that Phra Dhammajayo, the temple's former abbot. Monks protest against the attempted arrest of 72-year-old monk Phra Dhammajayo, the temples former abbot. Credit:AP However Phra Thammasak Jaruthammo, a monk who has lived at the temple for 30 years, told reporters that Phra Dhammajayo fled the temple last Thursday without being seen by police and is hiding nearby because he is too unwell to travel. Thousands of worshippers broke through official barricades and formed a human shield with monks at the temple on Sunday. Jamalida Begum makes her rape allegations to representatives of the Myanmar government's Rakhine State Investigation Commission on December 11, 2016. Credit:Myanmar State Counsellor Office "I got extremely scared at the news of the beheading of Sona Mia and immediately I decided to flee," she said. Begum said that when she was speaking to the journalists, some soldiers took her picture, later returning to launch a house-to-house search for her in her hamlet of Pyoung Pyi in the Maungdaw area. Sona Mia speaks to journalists in Ngakura village on December 21. This image was posted on the Facebook page of the Myanmar State Counsellor's Office. Credit:Myanmar State Counsellor Office "I sneaked out of my village and spent several days in hiding in jungles and other places, before giving the border guards the slip and crossing over to Bangladesh" with her father and seven-year-old son. At a refugee camp in Bangladesh, Begum and 31-year-old Noorjahan, who alleged on camera that five soldiers and Buddhist tribesmen had raped her, have become friends. A picture of Sona Mia taken on December 21, just hours before he was allegedly abducted and beheaded. "The soldiers murdered my husband in November," Noorjahan told Fairfax Media. "Weeks after, they raped me before my daughter. My mental pain was unbearable. I wanted the world to know of it. So, I took the risk to tell everything about the torture to the journalists. "Many women around us had been raped by the Burmese soldiers, police and Mog [a Buddhist tribe] men. But, most were afraid of retaliation from the government and so they did not come forward," she adds. Rohingya refugee Jamalida Begum and her seven-year-old son Mohammad Ayaz at a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Credit:Saiful Islam When the soldiers launched a search for her, hours after she spoke to the journalists, she slipped out of her village of Nirbil and hid in another, she said. "After spending one week in hiding, one night I secretly took a boat, crossed the [Naf] river and reached Bangladesh, along with my six-year-old daughter," Noorjahan said. Noorjahan and her six-year-old daughter. Credit:Saiful Islam Soon after the TV interviews, the Myanmar government issued a statement saying that several neighbours of the two women had reported to the authorities that their rape allegations were "not true". The government also said that since Begum and Noorjahan had fled their villages, it could not investigate the rape charges. But Begum and Noorjahan say they are still being pursued. In January, a Myanmar official accompanied by foreigners - by which the women mean people who were not Burmese or Bangladeshi - reached the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar where Begum and Noorjahan have taken shelter. Begum said she recognised this official, who had visited her village in December, when she said to him and other Myanmar officials how she had been raped by three soldiers in November. The yellow marker shows the Naf River, which forms the border between the Maungdaw area of Myanmar and Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. "I was shocked to see that official at the refugee camp," she said. "[He] asked me why I had fled Burma. I replied that the security agencies were hounding me ... when he asked if I wanted to go back to [Myanmar], I replied in the negative," she told Fairfax Media. "Are [Myanmar officials] still tracking Noorjahan and me for some reason?" As Begum and Noorjahan did not enter Bangladesh legally, the UN refugee agency cannot support them and they are forced to live on handouts provided by local charities. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, third from right, speaks to Rohingya villagers during a visit to Rakhine state in December. The man who took this photo, Noor Hossain, has now been missing for over two months. Credit:Noor Hossain Accusations of Rohingya villagers being hounded after daring to speak out have surfaced elsewhere. Kofi Annan - who heads a commission investigating the conflict in Rakhine - visited Rohingya villages in the first week of December. Soon after, Myanmar police launched a hunt for those Rohingya who told the former UN secretary-general about abuses committed by the security forces. Two people who spoke out were arrested. Yanghee Lee, the UN's special rapporteur on Myanmar, visited northern Rakhine in January to investigate allegations of rights violations by security forces. Aung Aung, a Rakhine-based activist, said that military officials had threatened villagers with punishment if they sought to meet Ms Lee. "It's clear that the military authority does not want Rohingyas to tell the outside world how they are being killed and tortured in Myanmar," Aung said. Ms Lee will arrive in Bangladesh on Monday to resume her investigation. In Cox's Bazar, she is scheduled to meet scores of Rohingya rape survivors and others who have fled Myanmar in recent weeks. Yanghee Lee, UN special rapporteur to Myanmar. Credit:AP At least two other Rohingya men who met Mr Annan have fled to Bangladesh, Aung added. Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of the group Fortify Rights, said that Myanmar is a "dangerous place to be a truth teller". "There is a practical effect to reprisals - they instil fear and terror among the population and discourage others from speaking out," Smith said. Loading "We documented how state security forces hunted a Rohingya man who met with foreign ambassadors who in November visited Maungdaw. The authorities tracked him through multiple villages and at one point opened fire on him. He managed to escape to Bangladesh The commissions appointed by the government have failed to account for this trend, as well as other grave violations," he added. Its been six years since the Iranian government arbitrarily detained three prominent political leaders without formal charges or a trial. Two of them, Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, were candidates in the 2009 presidential election. The third is Mr. Mousavis wife and womens rights advocate Zahra Rahnavard. Following the results of the 2009 election, many peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations brought millions of people into the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. The demonstrations, which came to be known as the Green Movement, were violently suppressed by the government. In February 2011 Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard were detained and placed under house arrest. On the sixth anniversary of their arbitrary detention, the United States again called for their immediate release, and for the release of all prisoners of conscience unjustly detained in Iran. Acting State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner said in a written statement that the continued house arrest of Karroubi, Mousavi and Rahnavard contradicts Irans international obligations, including those under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a state party, to provide minimum fair trial guarantees and not to subject citizens to arbitrary arrest or detention. The Iranian government, Mr. Toner said, should respect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals in Iran consistent with its international obligations, including ensuring the fundamental right of peaceful freedom of expression and the right to participate in civil society and in the political process without fear of arbitrary arrest and detention or denial of fair trials. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will have undercover investigators expose property spruikers and identify dishonest practices as part of a planned probe into self-managed super funds, deputy chairman Peter Kell has revealed. Although the regulator is not responsible for regulating the real estate industry or sale of property, new court documents will allow the regulator to investigate spruikers, as reported by the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Property spruikers invite people to their wealth creation seminars, often for free, with the promise of investment tips or opportunities, the government said. They typically promote a property investment system or market a specific property development. Consumer protection agencies across Australia have found many property spruikers cannot substantiate the success stories and claims of profits they promote. Many consumers have had to take legal action to try to recover losses after relying on deceptive claims, it added. The government said some spruikers sell information about investing in property using a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). While some experienced investors may benefit from this kind of arrangement it is not to be undertaken lightly. ASIC did not reveal when it plans to send out the investigators. "Our particular concern is the quality of financial advice, Kell told the AFR. "Whether it is given in such a way as SMSF investors understand their obligations, requirements and experience needed to make a decision." The report said increased funding will be used to complement ASIC regulators with outside undercover assistants. They will seek advice from financial advisers on self-managed super. Property spruikers are motivated to gain money at your expense. Dont risk your money and assets because of their misleading advice, the government said. Related stories: Supreme court casts out property spruikers' appeal SMSFs and property a ticking time bomb Astros win second World Series title in six seasons behind dramatic moonshot The Astros beat the Phillies in six games to win the World Series, thanks to Yordan Alvarez's 450-foot three-run home run in the clincher. N Chandrasekaran, new chairman of Tata Sons, walks into the corner room in Bombay House on Tuesday. Amid uncertainties at almost all group due to global challenges, litigation and legacy issues. The Indian biosimilar market is poised for big growth, augured by the launch of new products, growing acceptance of and the entry of new players like Aurobindo Pharma. It is expected to increase from $186 million in 2016 to $1.1 billion in 2020, according to estimates. 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. In what could become the biggest retail property deal so far this year, North Country Mall, a million sq ft one in Chandigarh Tri City, Punjab, has been put on the block by its owners. As the Indian IT sector shifts its focus from legacy technology to cloud-based services and automation; Trumps administration in the US may bring fresh challenges primarily with access to talent. like TCS, Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro or HCL Technologies will vie for rebid of a lot of technology deals from clients in the US and Europe. Phil Fersht, chief executive of HfS Research, tells Ayan Pramanik in an interview that Indian firms should acquire better consulting capabilities. Edited excerpts: The IT services industry is passing through a tough time given the shift from traditional to digital technology. Adoption of Robotic process automation or AI has been slow. Where do you position Indian firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, compared to their global peers like Accenture, IBM and others in this journey of transformation? I think their position is quite well in certain areas to be honest. They are all different in their own strategies. has developed a strong digital competency. It has invested in onshore delivery as well as offshore. The company has good local presence. It hired 4,000 people in the US last year. It is an example of how they effectively compete with the likes of Accenture, IBM. Wipro has acquired Appirio and DesignIT. These are good acquisitions and it is building some great competencies around the digital ecosystem. The Holmes platform is another great strategy. Infosys has a focus on design thinking and has a team in California, with focus on innovation. You can look at HCL Technologies of how it has done some interesting things with their IBM partnership. Clients will look at using any of these firms in addition to Accenture or an IBM for many many deals. Some of the work they are doing in automation help them stay competitive I think that the Indian firms have kept with the changes as much as anyone else. Everybody is going through the change and we are moving to an era of skills rather than locations. Our research is saying no one is thinking of location but looking at skills. But, at the same time there is an increasing need for more consulting capabilities to be with the clients on-site and I think the Indian firms need to make more investments, acquire consulting skills by buying local firms. A lot technology contracts are up for rebid over the next 1-2 years. Do Indian firms stay ahead of the curve? There is a concern. I think there will be some issues around immigration. If there is heavy requirement for H1B and L1 visas, that may hurt some of these firms that are reliant on such visas. At the same time a lot of these deals are shifting away from locations to skills. So, immigration will put them on disadvantage in certain deals. In one of your blogs you said automation will eliminate 8-9% of the current jobs. How fast that may happen as many are releasing people from projects and not all of them are redeployed? We have done the maths quite extensively. Around 9 per cent of the services jobs will be eliminated in five years due to automation and that is not a huge number. Parts of jobs will be automated, rudimentary works will be automated. People will take on more judgement-based work more personalised work, there will be retraining. I do not think Robotic Process Automation hurts the industry as bad as recession does. Automation will become more prevalent and will streamline the processes. We will see more mid-size opening up. The legacy kind of business is shrinking slightly, but there is an emerging business in digital and other complex areas. With digital focus, people will have to be retrained with new skills. If they do not, they will be in trouble across junior, middle or senior management. These services companies have to be like universities for learning as well. Do you believe new H1B visa norm is a threat to Indian IT players as they have been dependent on sending engineers on-site? I think it is a threat, unlike it was the case five years ago. Indian IT has learned to manage with offshoring. It is not as dependent on visas as it used to be. It will stifle certain deals, it will restrict access to talent, it will be a difficult period with the new legislation, if it comes. John Veihmeyer, chairman of the $25.4billion-professional services major KPMG International one of the Big Four - was in India last week to introduce Arun M Kumar, the recently appointed head of KPMG in India, to employees and key clients. In an interaction with Sudipto Dey, Veihmeyer shares insights on the firms India strategy and his take on recent economic and political developments, such as demonetisation, GST, Brexit, the Trump presidency, for businesses in India. Edited excerpts: is all set to launch a rocket from NASA's historic moon pad. As the sun rose on Saturday over Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the unmanned Falcon rocket stood at Launch Complex 39A, ready to soar. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:01 am (local time). is sending up a load of space station supplies from the exact spot where Americans flew to the moon almost a half-century ago. The pad was last used in 2011 for NASA's final space shuttle flight. This is SpaceX's first launch from Florida since a rocket explosion September 1. The accident during prelaunch testing heavily damaged that pad. turned to Launch Complex 39A which it leases from NASA to resume flights. The company hopes to launch astronauts from 39A next year. has set its eyes on attracting investments to the tune of $2 billion, especially from automobile makers. The development comes even as neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which is already a hub for the auto and auto-component industry, has been facing political instability. Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the intelligence agency under the Defence Ministry, has been authorised to get details relating to suspected international wire transfers and banking transactions from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The move is aimed at arming the DIA with necessary details to act against terrorist funding and hawala transactions, mainly in Jammu and Kashmir and in the North Eastern states of the country, officials said on Sunday. The DIA is expected to generate more action-oriented inputs to check financial crimes on the basis of analysis of FIU reports, the officials said. The DIA, set up following the recommendations of the Kargil Committee and headed by eminent strategic expert K Subrahmanyam, provides technical inputs to the Defence Ministry and other agencies concerned. The DIA is the latest entrant in the list of 20 other organisations, including the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team on and the country's external and internal snooping agencies the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), respectively, that are empowered to seek details from the FIU on dubious financial transactions, according to an official order. The FIU is tasked with collecting, analysing and disseminating information related to financial transactions suspected to involve or proceeds of crimes. It receives and analyses cash transaction reports, cross border wire transfer reports, reports on purchase or sale of immovable property and suspicious transaction reports from various reporting entities. The FIU also shares information with the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Investigation Agency, Central Vigilance Commission, National Intelligence Grid, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and other agencies. According to the report of the Subrahmanyam panel, the defence intelligence effort in India was limited in relation to the role assigned to RAW, except for limited tactical and signal intelligence. "The resources made available to the defence services for intelligence collection are not commensurate with the responsibility assigned to them. There are distinct advantages in having two lines of intelligence collection and reporting, with a rational division of functions, responsibilities and areas of specialisation. The Committee is of the view that the issue of setting up an integrated defence intelligence agency needs examination," it had said. This recommendation led to the establishment of DIA. India today committed soft loans amounting to $340 million to Nepal for infrastructure projects. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, who arrived here yesterday to attend the 'Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017', signed a letter of exchange with Nepalese Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Planning Ramesh Lekhak in which India committed a bridge project and 15 road projects totaling $340 million soft loans to Nepal. Prabhu also called on Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Rastrapati Bhawan here and discussed key issues in the bilateral relations. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations, according to a press release issued by the President's office. Prabhu is in Nepal to attend 'Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017' that is being organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in association with the Nepal government and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors (YCNC) to be held between February 19-20. The minister, who is the guest of honour and keynote speaker at the summit, said the infrastructure meet would be pivotal for accelerating Nepal's economic growth at a time when the country is striving to graduate to the league of developing nations. Prabhu also held talks with Nepalese minister Lekhak on various areas of bilateral cooperation. They discussed effective implementation of past agreed upon development projects, India's commitment toward expansion of postal services, development and expansion of railway line in Nepal and expediting construction of other ongoing projects. Lekhak expressed hope that India would continue its support to Nepal's infrastructure development activities. Prabhu said India wants to develop good neighbourly relations with Nepal and would continue its support and cooperation to the country. At a time when private investment is not picking up, Business Standard takes a look at how far government spending is helping revive economic activity. The four-part series begins with the . Since digital transactions took off rapidly from November 9, 2016, Rs 27,000 crore has so far been saved under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, this was informed at an event held at Panchkula today Also, about 35 per cent people have taken to debit card, RuPay card and e-wallet services for making payments in Haryana. This was disclosed in the presence of the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gujjar, and the Haryana Education Minister, Ram Bilas Sharma, at the inaugural function of the 'Digi Dhan Mela' and 'Basant Utsav', at Panchkula, near here, today, a Haryana government statement said here. Speaking on the occasion, Gujjar said that 100 Digi Dhan Melas were being organised in the country to encourage people to adopt cashless transaction system for making payments. So far, 56 such melas have been held. This is the third such mela in Haryana after Gurugram and Sonipat. Gujjar urged the people to make digital transactions to realise the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also encourage others to adopt this system. The main aim of Digi Dhan Mela is to give people message of 'Mera Mobile-Mera Bank-Mera Batua', he added. Speaking on the occasion, Ram Bilas Sharma thanked Arjuna awardee Sanjay Phogat, international shooter, Gauri Sheoran, and Kings XI Punjab (IPL) player, Manan Vohra, and others for attending the mela and expressed hope that such events would inspire people to adopt digital payment methods. Vice-Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India, Pushpendra Singh, and Deputy Director, NITI Aayog, Sukhdeep Kaur, gave detailed information about various digital schemes. Telecom Exports from India to be the focus of ASEAN-India Digital Partnership To commemorate the 25th year of the ASEAN India relations, TEPC (Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council) isorganizing an inter-ministerial meeting between telecom ministers of ASEAN countries and India in New Delhi on 20th February, 2017. Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge), Shri Manoj Sinha will lead the discussions from Indian side with telecom ministers, senior government officials and industry leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos PDR, Indonesia and Bhutan. Indian Government has expressed keen interest to partner with ASEAN countries in enabling Digital Connectivity between India and ASEAN region and also for enabling broadband within ASEAN countries. These digital connectivity projects are of strategic importance and can have a transformative impact on the economy and cooperation between ASEAN and India. India has committed to provide financial as well as technological support for projects that could include-high-speed fiber optic networks, digital villages, rural broadband, national knowledge network, secured communication networks and telecom training and skill development. Indian companies who have created world-class products and solutions, which are not only of the highest quality and are also very cost-competitive, are keen to export to customers in ASEAN region, who have similar requirements like India. TEPC is organizing its flagship event India Telecom 2017: An Exclusive International Business Expo on 21-22 February 2017 at New Delhi at Shangri-Las Hotel Eros in New Delhi, supported by the Government of India. This event will witness more than100 foreign high profile ICT industry delegates from 30+ countries. The main objective of the event is to provide opportunities to Indian telecom exporters including SMEs and Startups to meet qualified overseas buyers. This event provides one to one meeting opportunities between buyers from different countries and Indian exporters who can enlighten them about their products and technology solutions. <><><><><><> SNC There is a renewed and more focused effort to give a dynamic impetus to our relations with African nations: Vice President Addresses the Media Onboard on the way to Rwanda & Uganda visit The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that after the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) conference in India, there is a renewed and more focused effort by the Government to give a dynamic impetus to our relations with African nations. He was addressing the Media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft on the way to five-day visit to Rwanda & Uganda, today. The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Vijay Sampla and other members of the Official delegation accompanying the Vice President were present on the occasion. The Vice President said that the President of India has visited three countries, the Prime Minister has visited four countries and he himself has visited five countries so far, and this visit will add another two. This is a part of a conscious effort by the Government to intensify our interaction with countries of Africa at the highest political level, he added. The Vice President said that putting behind its painful experience of early 1990s, the Rwandan economy has reported consistent high growth. There is an increased focus on business and a business delegation from India is also visiting Rwanda to coincide with the Vice President's visit. He further said that Indian companies could look at making Rwanda an entry point for Africa by utilizing the dynamism of the Rwandan economy. As part of our development cooperation, we have collaborated with Rwanda on several projects, he added. The Vice President said that Uganda has a large number people of Indian origin and they continue to play an important role in the economic growth of Uganda. Uganda perceives an important role for itself in Africa and we have very good relations with them, he added. The Vice President said that we have a strong developmental cooperation with both the nations, which is unique because the priority is defined by the African partners themselves. Reacting to a question on safety of African nationals in India, the Vice President said that the Government has made its position very clear that these are rare and sporadic attacks by anti-social elements. He further said that the issues have been raised at diplomatic levels and our response has been comprehensive and is satisfactory to African friends. It has not affected the flow of African students who come in large numbers to India, he added. To a question on India's assistance in development of African nations, the Vice President said that these countries are interested in using our own experience of dealing with similar challenges. We have had some success with projects like e-medicine etc. in the past and that we would continue to provide them all possible assistance in accordance with their wishes. To a question on what could be the areas of India's cooperation with African nations, the Vice President said that we have left it for our development partners in Africa to identify their own priorities and it is they who decide where they want to benefit from Indian knowledge and expertise. Once they do that, then we transform it into concrete projects of assistance. The experience so far, has been satisfactory for both, he added. More than 130 suspected terrorists have been killed and over 350 people, mostly Afghans, arrested in as part of a nationwide crackdown by security forces following a string of suicide bombings in the country. At least 15 terrorists were killed in another targeted strike by the Pakistani forces across the Afghan border today, Geo News reported. A high-value target, known for recruiting terrorists and training suicide bombers, was also reportedly gunned down and at least 12 terror sanctuaries, including a hideout and weapon depot camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar's commander were also pounded. In Pakistan's northwest tribal region, at least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed during a gun battle with the security forces. The gun-battle occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency. had reportedly launched "strikes" against militant bases in Afghanistan yesterday. The killing of militants and arrests were part of a nationwhide crackdown following a spurt in terror attacks. Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today that, "More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody (in Punjab), mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road." "During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said. According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department, "Police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted." He said illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification. Police have also taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast. According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road. An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day remand. Tahrik-i-Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility for the Lahore blast. Meanwhile, an imminent attack on a shrine in Multan was thwarted with the killing of five terrorists, police said. The terrorists belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group. The army by Friday had killed more than 100 suspected terrorists. Senior police officers were among 13 people killed when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during a protest rally outside Pakistan's Punjab assembly in Lahore last Monday. On Wednesday, at least seven people were killed and several others, including judges, injured in two separate suicide attacks in Pakistan's restive northwest region. One of the deadliest suicide bombing in Pakistan in recent times struck Thursday night at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province where at least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in an attack claimed by the ISIS. said on Saturday that it was suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of its effort to enact United Nations Security Council sanctions aimed at stopping the countrys nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile program. Chief Lee returned to prosecutors for second day A major corporate executive sits in jail, accused of participating in a corruption scandal that could topple a countrys top leader. In most places, that image would probably fuel a campaign to clean up incestuous links between business and government.That situation is now unfolding in South Korea but the prospects for a major housecleaning look uncertain.The unprecedented arrest on Friday of the de facto leader of Samsung, the largest company in the country, highlighted once again the outsize political influence of the largest family-run there. Critics of their power cheered the arrest of Lee Jae-yong, Samsungs vice chairman, as a major step toward curbing that authority.Still, others warned that the arrest would not necessarily lead to the sweeping changes they say South Korea needs to fight corruption and overhaul its economy. The arrest was just the beginning, said Sim Sang-jeung, an opposition lawmaker who has campaigned for transparency at the largest . She warned against a tendency among the law enforcement agencies to treat major corporate chiefs with kid gloves. We needed to see whether prosecutors ask for a sentence befitting his crimes and whether he is convicted with such a penalty, Sim said. Only when he finishes serving such a lengthy sentence will people believe that the law is alive in their country. It also raises questions about the fate of Samsung, a huge company whose electronics arm alone accounts for one-fifth of South Koreas exports.Wearing a well-tailored suit, Lee emerged through the metal detectors of a court in Seoul, the capital, on Thursday and past a news media gantlet to his car, which drove him to a detention center to await a decision. Early Friday morning, he learned that he would be staying at the detention center through his trial.South Korea faces a tenuous balancing act. For decades, its growth has been fueled by like Samsung, one of a group of family-controlled conglomerates called chaebol. Chaebol are now firmly embedded in the countrys economy, with the 10 largest generating annual revenue exceeding 80 percent of South Koreas gross domestic product. Business groups warn that disrupting the chaebol could hurt the broader economy.We are shocked and deeply worried, the Korea Employers Federation, a pro-business lobby, said in a statement about the arrest. is the global company that represents South Korea, and we fear that the vacuum in its management will weigh heavily on the economy by increasing uncertainty and hurt credibility.But the power of the chaebol is coming up against rising public anger over the perception of corruption and favoritism. Among those 10 biggest chaebol, six of their leaders have been convicted of white-collar crimes. Many have been pardoned or had their sentences suspended or reduced. Chaebol leaders face broader questions as well about whether their economic dominance squelches small business and innovation, accusations that their lobbyist denies.Reflecting the public mood, the governing and usually pro-business Liberty Korea Party said it respected the courts decision to arrest Mr. Lee and expressed regrets that the people have been again disappointed by the deep-rooted collusion between politics and business.Mr. Lee is accused of bribery, embezzlement and perjury as part of an investigation into a confidante of the countrys president, Park Geun-hye. Ms. Park now faces impeachment. has said Mr. Lee will work to clear his name in court.The police arrested Mr. Lee and took him into custody, an unprecedented move for a major official. But in terms of accusations of wrongdoing against a top executive, Samsung has been there before. Mr. Lees father, Lee Kun-hee, Samsungs chairman, has twice been convicted of bribery and tax evasion.Still, the elder Mr. Lee never spent time in prison. The fate of the young Mr. Lee, critics of the chaebol say, will be a test of the countrys young democracy and judicial system.It will also be a test for Samsung. For the first time in its 79-year history, the company has been left leaderless. With Mr. Lee gone, there is no top executive to make long-term plans and strategic decisions.Samsung has an army of professional executives that manage day-to-day operations of its 58 subsidiaries. But analysts say that without a family-appointed leader, decision making will slow.In chaebol culture, often likened to an imperial monarchy within South Korea, the chairman must endorse or make corporate decisions. So the removal of Mr. Lee, who has been the de facto leader since his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014, is far more serious than the loss of a senior executive at a conventional company.Choi Gee-sung, the No. 2 lieutenant in the Samsung hierarchy and longtime right-hand man for Mr. Lee, will be the closest substitute to a top manager at the company while Mr. Lee is gone. But Mr. Choi is not a member of the Lee family and is expected to serve largely as a vassal caretaker who lacks the kind of sweeping authority and responsibility that Mr. Lee and his father have wielded in placing multibillion-dollar bets on investments or new technology.In one sign of disruption, Samsung delayed its annual reshuffle of senior managers, which it usually announces in December. Compounding concerns, Mr. Choi and his deputies are also being investigated by prosecutors in connection with the bribery scandal.The arrest comes at a difficult time for Samsungs electronics arm. The company has faced stiff competition from Apple and cheaper Chinese smartphone makers alike. It is also still recovering from the discontinuation of its Galaxy Note 7, after flaws led some of the phones to overheat and burst into flames.Still, few believe Mr. Lees arrest will challenge the familys ultimate control of the company. In 2008, facing corruption charges, Mr. Lees father resigned from management, leaving the company to be run by loyal deputies, who served the family for decades and whose responsibilities were to ensure the father-to-son transfer of power.For Samsung, one test will be whether the argument that its fate is important to the South Korean economy carries the same weight. When huge crowds took to the streets on recent weekends to call for the impeachment of Ms. Park, they also called for the arrest of chaebol chairmen accused of playing a crucial role in the presidential scandal.On Friday, Moon Jae-in, the opposition leader who tops surveys of potential candidates to replace Ms. Park, called the arrest proof that justice is still alive in South Korea. British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked top officials to examine US food company Kraft Heinz's proposed takeover of Plc, the Financial Times reported on Sunday without citing any sources. Kraft's surprise $143 billion offer, which would be the largest ever acquisition of a UK-based company, was flatly rejected by on Friday. The Financial Times said May had ordered officials to see if the proposed deal raised any concerns for the wider British economy and merits government intervention. May's office declined to comment on the report. The newspaper said the prime minister's team had held talks with both and Kraft Heinz to see what the implications of its plans are for jobs, research and development, as well as for Unilever's headquarters and operations in Britain. Detailed work will be led by Alex Chisholm, a top official in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who will seek assurances from Kraft Heinz on its strategy, the newspaper reported. During her leadership campaign last year, May criticised Kraft's 2010 takeover of British chocolate maker Cadbury, following which it reneged on an earlier promise to keep a factory in Southwest England open. May said then that while the government should not automatically stop the sale of British firms to foreign ones, it should be able to step in and defend important sectors. Even before took office, the calls for boycotts began. @Amazon we are not shopping with you until u pull all Trump merchandise, one woman wrote on Twitter in November. Another tweeted: Ill NEVER buy @LLBean for my daughter EVER AGAIN. I wont support any1 that Trump does. Change UR ethics. These werent isolated incidents. For months, a campaign called Grab Your Wallet has been urging consumers to boycott dozens of including Macys, L. L. Bean, Bloomingdales, Zappos and Amazon for their links to Trump and his businesses. Their offences, such as selling Trump-branded products or having a board member who raised money for Trump, are neatly listed on the groups website, alongside four forms of contact information for each business. India faces a tough fight on issues it considers dear at the (WTO) in the run-up to a ministerial conference later this year in Argentina. Hawala operator Jabbar, who was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Delhi in connection with the Bhopal espionage case, has been sent to police remand till February 23. Jabbar was working closely with mastermind Balram Singh, who was arrested earlier in the same case. This came a day after the ATS made its 12th arrest Sahyog Singh in connection with the case. Earlier on February 9, the ATS busted an international call racket that allegedly helped ISI agents to spy on India's military operations. ATS chief Sanjeev Shami said that the accused were arrested in November 2016 in Jammu for collecting and using information of strategic interests for espionage. "They were being funded by a person in Satna. Five persons from Gwalior, three from Bhopal, two from Jabalpur and one from Satna were arrested," he said. Shami further said the accused converted internet calls to cellular network and acted as medium for overseas handlers to contact people in India. "The arrested men are accused of supplying information regarding army and Air Force in Madhya Pradesh. Complicity of some employees of telecom companies also surfaced," he said. In January, the Uttar Pradesh ATS had arrested 11 people who were running a similar exchange. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress on Sunday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for criticizing the work done by the Samajwadi Party and said that ruling dispensation is presenting distorted facts and figures to the people. "BJP have a right to raise questions on the Samajwadi Party. But even the people have a right to question the work done by the BJP government in past three years. The way the senior leaders of their party are distorting the facts and figures is very condemnable, undignified and shameful," Congress leader Surendra Rajput told ANI. Further commenting on the third-phase of assembly election in the state, Rajput said both Congress and Samajwadi Party have a strong foot hold in the region and expressed hope to win the election with majority. Uttar Pradesh would vote for 69 constituencies spread in 12 districts in third phase today. The districts which will go for poll in this phase are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur and Barabanki. Around 2 crore and 41 lakh voters, including over 1 crore 10 lakh women and 1028 third gender will decide the political fate of 826 candidates including 105 women in the fray. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a hair-raising shocker, two sisters and their father suffered injured, when an unidentified person threw acid on them late last night in Khyala area. The incident took place when the family was going to attend a marriage ceremony, when an unidentified man threw acid on them and fled from the spot. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were given primary treatment, and later the girls were referred to Safdarjung Hospital. "The girls have been injured from the acid attack. The condition of one of the sisters and his father is stable, but another girl needs intensive treatment" said Dr. Vivek, a physician from the Sehgal Hospital where the family is undertaking treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday said he and US President Donald Trump has agreed to set up a team to discuss settlements in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that during his recent visit to Washington, the two leaders also agreed to establish teams in many areas, reports Xinhua. "Even in areas, we did not previously agree on. I mean, of course, the settlements in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said, with Judea and Samaria being the Israeli government term for the West Bank. "We agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the US in all of the main areas," he said. Earlier, Netanyahu and Trump met at the White House on Wednesday, where in a conference, the US President backed off from the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying he is open to either a one-state or two-state solution. The previous US administrations have pushed for the two-state solution to the West Asia peace process, an idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state that lives side-by-side with Israel. Israel's settlement-building in disputed territory is a major dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state. Over the years, Academy Awards have been a part of many controversies like #OscarsSoWhite. But according to a new study, the ages of characters in best picture nominees suggest that there is a lack of representation who are over 60 years of age, reports The Guardian. A new study by the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, saw the spread of ages in character over 25 best picture nominees from past three years. The research found that fewer than 12% of 1,256 named characters were of age 60 sixty or older. While the same group accounts for 19% of the population and 14% of movie ticket buyers. "When we think about diversity, we often talk about including the usual suspects of race, gender, sexual orientation and people with disabilities, but age is often left out of the conversation. It's a missed opportunity for Hollywood. These are people with disposable income and time on their hands to view and stream and download films," said Stacy smith, the study's co-author. The study also revealed the degrading attitude towards senior citizens in the movies that were studied. Six of the 14 movies that featured a main lead or supporting senior actor included obscene comments such as characters saying to one another, "just sit here and let Alzheimer's run its course". Another sentence included was, "mentally feeble, sick old ladies". They found out that these kinds of sentences have a harming effect on well being of the older people. This year, the closest the study could find was Denzel Washington in 'Fences' - but although the actor was 60 when he was shooting, the character he plays is 53. The study did not include 2013 movies 'Nebraska' and 'Amour', as it featured characters who were well past the age of 60. Between 2014 -2016, only one leading role was given to an actor over 60. The actors and roles that did qualify were predominantly male and caucasian. Of the 148 characters in the best picture nominees, 77.7%were men and 89.9% white. The remaining ethnic breakdown was 6.1 percent black and 2 percent Asian. No latino or hispanic character over 60 was recorded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As many as 11 militants were killed by security officials in Kurram Agency on Sunday after they allegedly tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan. According to security officials, exchange of fire took place after the militants, who had tried to enter Pakistan via Khyber Agency, were surrounded by the forces. Two security personnel were also killed, reports the Dawn. This comes after shoot-on-sight orders were issued by Pakistani authorities for those attempting to cross the Pak-Afghan border illegally. A nationwide intelligence operation was launched by security forces in wake of the recent rise in terror attacks. At least 88 people were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What if we tell you that scientists can actually slow down the process of ageing. Sounds too good to be true right? A group of Russian and Swedish scientists published a breakthrough paper, reporting results of a joint study by Lomonosov Moscow State University and Stockholm University. The article was published in the US journal Aging. The major goal of the study was to investigate the role of intracellular power stations, mitochondria, in the process of ageing of organism. Importantly, scientists made an attempt to slow down ageing using a novel compound: artificial antioxidant SkQ1 precisely targeted into mitochondria. This compound was developed in the Moscow State University by the most cited Russian biologist professor Vladimir Skulachev. Experiments involved a special strain of genetically-modified mice created and characterized in Sweden. A single mutation was introduced into genome of these mice resulting in the substantially accelerated mutagenesis in mitochondria. This leads to accelerated ageing and early death of the mutant mice. They live less than 1 year (normal mouse lives more than 2 years). The mutation promotes development of many age-related defects and diseases indicating that the major defect of these mice is indeed ageing. Starting from the age of 100 days one group of mutant mice was treated with small doses of SkQ1 (approx. 12 micrograms) added into their drinking water. Per scientists' hypothesis, the compound must protect animal cells from the toxic byproducts of mitochondria, free radicals (reactive oxygen species). Another group of animals served as a control group receiving pure water. Differences between the two groups became obvious starting from the age 200-250 days. Animals in the control group aged rapidly as expected. They were losing weight, their body temperature decreased, severe curvature of the spine (as a result of osteoporosis) and alopecia were developing, their skin became thinner, and in case of females estrus cycle was impaired. Finally their mobility and oxygen consumption were decreased. The development of all these typical traits of ageing was dramatically decelerated in the group treated with SkQ1. Some of the ageing traits did not appear in that group at all. Professor Vladimir Skulachev, the creator of SkQ1 molecule design and co-author of this study, says: "This work is quite valuable from both theoretical and practical points of view. First, it clearly demonstrates the key role of mitochondrially produced reactive oxygen species in the process of ageing of mammals. At the same time our study opens the way to the treatment of ageing with mitochondrially targeted antioxidants. We are also very honored to cooperate within this project with such prominent Swedish scientists as prof. Barbara Cannon who has such title as the President of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in her CV and prof. Jan Nedergaard, Head of Wenner-Gren institute". Prof. Skulachev's project is now developing a set of pharmaceuticals based on SkQ1 molecule. The first drug -- Visomitin eye drops -- is already approved and marketed in Russia, it also passed phase 2 clinical trials in US. The next pharmaceutical product in project's pipeline is an oral form of SkQ1 (similar to the one used in the aforementioned experiments). It is now in the process of clinical trials in Russia. In case of positive results of these trials, such "anti-ageing" drug can be approved for systemic indications in 2-3 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought the support of the international community for relocating Myanmar refugees to more spacious healthy areas in the country. Hasina made these remarks during a luncheon meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here on Saturday. Asserting that Bangladesh is looking at the Myanmar refugee issue as a humanitarian effort, Hasina said it is imperative that they be moved out of the congested Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh at earliest to save the environment, sanitation system, landscape and nature. Relocating them to a healthy and safe environment is an absolute must, Hasina told Merkel. The Dhaka Tribune quoted the prime minister's Press Secretary, Ehsanul Karim, as saying that both leaders discussed various issues of mutual interests, including looking at ways to boost relations between the two countries in the areas of trade and business, development and refugee issues during their hour-long meeting. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangladesh and Germany on upgrading current machine readable passport system of the former and a joint declaration of intent on political exchange on counter terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said that the Taliban office in Qatar should be closed if the group pursues violence. During a meeting with the Qatar Foreign Minister, Ghani said sanctions should also be applied on the group if no breakthrough was made in bringing the leaders of the group to the negotiations table, reports the Khaama Press. He said that the priority is to make the group abandon violence and participate in peace process. President Ghani further added that the findings of the Afghan government reveals the group was involved in Kandahar attack which was plotted by the group's leadership council. On his part, the Qatari minister said there is no justification for violence and his government is committed to continue to its efforts to help bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said the terrorists and their facilitators will be dealt with an iron fist, adding that those who attacked innocent people would not be spared whether they were inside the country or came from foreign lands. "The terrorists and their facilitators will be dealt with an iron fist, and in coming days and weeks, action will be taken without any consideration whatsoever," The Express Tribune quoted Nisar as saying on Saturday. He said the civil and military leadership of the country decided during a recent high-level security meeting that even diplomatic consideration would not hinder actions aimed at ensuring national security and peace. Nisar said the recent counter terror operations would continue to eliminate terrorism emanating from foreign soil. He alleged that foreign powers and their intelligence agencies are involved in creating unrest in the country, adding that coordinated attempts were being made to disrupt improving peace and normalcy in the country. Nisar claimed that Afghan refugees were used during the recent terrorist incidents in the country. He urged Afghan refugees to identify the black sheep in their midst who facilitate terrorists and terrorist activities. Opposition leader Khursheed Shah blamed the interior ministry for the recent wave of terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to interview at least four candidates for the post of the U.S. National Security Advisor in Florida on Sunday. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Saturday, Trump said he had "many, many that want the job" and even hinted that he had a favourite to fill the position, as reported by Fox News. Scheduled to discuss the job with the President at Mar-a-Lago were his acting advisor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said more meetings for the job could happen, which is now open after retired Michael Flynn resigned after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition. Earlier, Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer. Trump tweeted on Saturday that he "will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking to enhance India's engagement in the African continent, Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari today left on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda. Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla and four Members of Parliament including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh Judev, Ranee Narah and P.K. Biju are also a part of the delegation. During his visit, Vice President Ansari will hold discussions with leaders in the two east African nations on issues of bilateral interest. On first leg of his visit, he will pay homage at the genocide museum in Kigali, Rwanda, and interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by their Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi. His visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year. India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, an increasing trend in bilateral trade and investments, greater people to people contacts and a deep sense of mutual respect. During his visit to Uganda, the Vice President will be meeting his counterpart Edward Ssekandi and President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni. The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja. Vice President Ansari will also be interacting with the Indian community in Kampala. The bilateral relations between India and Uganda are characterised by historical cultural linkages, extensive economic and trade interests, and a convergence on major bilateral and international issues. President Yoweri Museveni had attended the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit held in October 2015. Vice President Ansari's visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationship. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To carry forward India's diplomatic relations with the African countries, Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari will be leaving on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda beginning Sunday. He will be accompanied by Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla and four Members of Parliament. During his visit, Vice President Ansari will hold discussions with leaders in the two east African nations on issues of bilateral interest. On his first leg of his visit, he will pay homage at the genocide museum in Kigali, Rwanda, and interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by their Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi. His visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year. India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, an increasing trend in bilateral trade and investments, greater people to people contacts and a deep sense of mutual respect. During his visit to Uganda, the Vice President will be meeting his counterpart Edward Ssekandi and the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni. The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja. Vice President Ansari would also be interacting with the Indian community in Kampala. The bilateral relations between India and Uganda are characterised by historical cultural linkages, extensive economic and trade interests, and a convergence on major bilateral and international issues. President Yoweri Museveni had attended the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit held in October 2015. Vice President Ansari's visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationship. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kigali (Rwanda), Feb. 19 (ANI): Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari, who arrived here today in the first leg of his five-day official visit to Rwanda and Uganda, said there is a renewed and more focused effort by the government to give a dynamic impetus to the relations with African nations after the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) conference in India. The Vice President, who was addressing the media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft, threw light on the visits made by the Indian leadership to the African countries. "Rashtrapati ji (President Pranab Mukherjee) has visited three countries, Pradhan Mantri ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has visited four countries. I have visited five countries so far and this visit will add another two. This is a part of a conscious effort by the government to intensify our interaction with countries of Africa at the highest political level," he added. Vice President Ansari said that the Rwandan economy has reported consistent high growth putting behind its painful experience of early 1990s. He said that Indian companies could look at making Rwanda an entry point for Africa by utilising the dynamism of the Rwandan economy. "As part of our development cooperation, we have collaborated with Rwanda on several projects," he added. Talking about the relations between New Delhi and Kampala, the Vice President said that Uganda has a large number of people of Indian origin and they continue to play an important role in the economic growth of Uganda. "Uganda perceives an important role for itself in Africa and we have very good relations with them," he added. Responding to a poser on the safety of African nationals in India, Vice President Ansari said that the government has made its position very clear that these are rare and sporadic attacks by anti-social elements. "The issues have been raised at diplomatic levels and our response has been comprehensive and is satisfactory to African friends. It has not affected the flow of African students, who come in large numbers to India," he added. Talking about India's assistance in development of African nations, Vice President Ansari said these countries are interested in using our own experience of dealing with similar challenges. "We have had some success with projects like e-medicine etc. in the past and that we would continue to provide them all possible assistance in accordance with their wishes," he added. To a question on what could be the areas of India's cooperation with African nations, Vice President Ansari said, "We have left it for our development partners in Africa to identify their own priorities and it is they who decide where they want to benefit from Indian knowledge and expertise." "Once they do that, then we transform it into concrete projects of assistance. The experience so far has been satisfactory for both," he added. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla and four Members of Parliament - Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh Judev, Ranee Narah and P.K. Biju - are the other members of the official delegation accompanying the Vice President. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A total of 168 candidates are left in the fray for the first phase of polls in Manipur in 38 Assembly constituencies. The 38 hill and valley constituencies out of 60 will go to polls on March 4 in the state. There are 11 independents in the first phase. The BJP is the only party which is contesting all seats. There is no Congress candidate in the Churachandpur and the Kangpokpi constituencies. Most of the constituencies will see straight fights. However 11 candidates are in the fray in the Saikul constituency. Manipur's political heavyweight Phungzathang Tonsing, who was given a Congress ticket for the Churachandpur constituency, had resigned from the primary membership of the party. There is pressure on some tribal politicians not to contest on the Congress ticket. The lone tribal woman MLA Nemcha Kipgen also resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP. She is contesting as BJP candidate from the Kangpokpi constituency. On Saturday, there were protests as candidates of the Manipur People's Party were given two different election symbols -- of petrol pump and cycle. Protests went on till late on Saturday night. Some candidates of the Manipur People's Party were allotted the petrol pump symbol. They hung around the office of the Chief Election Officer till late on Saturday night demanding the bicycle symbol of the party for decades. However poll officials said, "The symbol cannot be changed now. Following court cases the Manipur People's Party was derecognised. Later the group led by N. Sovakiran was recognised as the MPP office bearers." Some of the candidates will now contest in the symbol of petrol pump. However, officials later said, "N. Sovakiran and some others will be allowed to contest in the bicycle symbol in the second phase on March 8." The officials explained, "There was no time for official processing of the documents while the court case was pending, with the result that the first batch of candidates was given the petrol pump symbol. But there will be time for allotting the bicycle symbol for the rest of the candidates." Electioneering is in full swing in these constituencies. There are reports of minor clashes among the workers and vandalising of cars and houses in some constituencies. --IANS il/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Band U2's frontman Bono praised US Vice President Mike Pences defence of AIDS Bill during a meeting in Germany. After an address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday in which he vowed that the US will "hold Russia accountable", Pence had a brief meeting with the U2 frontman, who is also an activist, reports people.com. The two discussed the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) -- a government initiative to provide treatment, testing, education, and counselling to those suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa (among other places). It was first signed in 2003 under President George W. Bush and later renewed in 2008 under President Barack Obama. As an Indiana congressman at the time, Pence was an advocate for PEPFAR's passing. "Twice on the house floor you defended that," Bono told Pence. "That's how we know you." Pence responded: "It was an extraordinary historic accomplishment and you played a leading role in carrying it forward." The rockstar has been raising awareness about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic for nearly two decades now -- co-forming Product Red, which partners with brands Nike, Gap, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and more to help raise money for charities fighting the disease. Bono also co-founded the ONE Campaign which aims to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by raising awareness and encouraging Americans to contact senators/elected officials and voice their opinions. Pence also tweeted about the meeting. "Enjoyed chatting with Bono," he wrote. "Discussed prior effort to twice pass Africa AIDS assistance & future security in developing nations." --IANS nn/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 43rd edition of the Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) - Delhi Fair Spring 2017 evoked mixed response from exhibitors with some expressing disappointment over low sales while others termed it "a good show". "There has been too much of political turmoil, international instability and changes in the west. This has certainly made an impact on our business. If compared to the previous editions, we have not made much of business yet," Rohit Suri of Hansa Agencies Private Limited from Moradabad told IANS. Similar views were expressed by Hazaar, owner of Rak International from Moradabad at the five-day exposition which kicked off on February 16. Hazaar said: "I have been coming here for last five years but this year the market has not been up to the mark. The purpose of the exhibition is for international market but there have been less international buyers than earlier seasons." However, for Owais Rashid from Rashid Exports, the business so far has been good. "We make our products as per buyer's preference as well as the designs are contemporary. We design our products according to latest trend and perhaps that is why international buyers have liked our items. We have also received many orders from international buyers," Rashid said. Organised at the India Expo Centre and Mart at Greater Noida Expressway, the exhibition brings together a wide range of luxurious home decor -- from cushion covers to carpets, from brass-made candle stands to a wall clock under one roof. With more than 3,000 stalls, the exhibition is not just a place for exports but also a platform for the exhibitors to interact with buyers. "There are certainly many positive sides of the fair. Hardly people know us, it is our products which are sold in the market. Events like this give us a chance to introduce ourselves to the buyers. People get to know the faces involved behind the hardwork and creativity," Suri said. The fair is also acting as a big platform giving identity to the small-town manufacturers. "For small and medium scale manufacturers, the exhibition gives a chance to expand business, make contacts and even sale products on international level," Vivek Aggarwal of JMD International added. "People, especially those from abroad, connect back even after the event is over. I have seen a rise in my sale of products after participating at this event," Debabrata Chatterjee of Zest Tex International from Hooghly in West Bengal told. The fair includes 900 permanent marts from all over the country who will be showcasing products in 14 different categories. Over 6,500 foreign buyers from more than 80 countries, buying agents based in India and domestic retail volume buyers are expected to visit the mega fair to source their requirements. --IANS som/lok/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AirAsia became the first foreign airline ever on Sunday to start its operations from Srinagar international airport in Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti waved the flag to clear the landing for the AirAsia flight at Srinagar airport on Sunday morning. Srinagar airport is christened 'The Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport' for the last five years, but no foreign airlines has operated services from there so far. The flight operation by AirAsia is expected to give a fillip to tourism in the valley. To begin with, AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline, will operate one flight daily between Delhi and Srinagar. --IANS sq/sm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday said transparent international guidelines have been followed to rejuvenate its Rs 3,500-crore fruit industry and the imported apple cultivars were tested pest and disease-free. A World Bank-funded Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project is being implemented in the state with an outlay of Rs 1,115 crore, mainly to protect apple cultivation, a government official said. The project spread over seven years would focus on providing new technologies to horticulturists for increasing crop productivity and capacities. For the import of planting material, transparent and fair World Bank procedure and guidelines have been followed and quantum of import was as per project implementation plan approved by the government and the World Bank, an official statement quoting Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes said. The government's assertions come in the wake of reports that some of the cultivars have tested positive for virus, especially those imported from Italy. Import was made as per the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) order 2003 and import permit issued by the Union Ministry of Agriculture for the definite number of plants to be imported, the government said. The World Bank funded project is being implemented through the Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Society for the long-term development of the horticulture sector through an integrated value chain approach. Stokes, one of the prominent apple growers in the country, said the rejuvenation project has been designed to address key constraints like low productivity, lack of assured irrigation facilities, inappropriate agricultural research, high post-harvest losses, non-existence of micro, small and medium agro enterprises and fierce competition from international apples. On landing, the planting material was sampled by the Regional Plant Protection Quarantine station of Indian government in Mumbai and also by state horticulture scientists, she said. The plants were kept under the supervision of designated post entry quarantine authority for one year. The post entry quarantine final report was issued by the inspection authority on February 2 and as per report the planting material was found to be free from pests and diseases. The minister said initially in Radlum Gala cultivar only five plants were observed to be exhibiting symptoms of systemic disease caused by phytoplasma. A few plants in another cultivar Granny Smith were also found to be carrying the virus. She said a team of experts was constituted to draw samples and to get them tested from the lab. The analytical report did not support the previous results. Stokes said after ascertaining that entire plant material was in good health and free from any harmful pathogen, it was decided to distribute the plants in identified clusters. Till date 55,000 plants out of 61,000 have been sold to the farmers. Himachal Pradesh is one of India's major apple producing states, with more than 90 per cent of the produce consumed in the domestic market. The state's fruit economy is worth around Rs 3,500 crore a year, with apple alone contributing 89 per cent to this figure, mostly in Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts. --IANS vg/lok/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) is organising an inter-ministerial meeting between Asean countries and India here on Monday to commemorate the 25th year of the Asean-India relations, an official statement said. "Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha will lead the discussions from Indian side with telecom ministers, senior government officials and industry leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos PDR, Indonesia and Bhutan," a Communications Ministry statement said here. "Digital connectivity projects are of strategic importance and can have a transformative impact on the economy and cooperation between Asean and India," it said. "India has committed to provide financial as well as technological support for projects that could include-high-speed fibre optic networks, digital villages, rural broadband, national knowledge network and telecom training and skill development," it added. TEPC is organising its global business exposition -- India Telecom 2017 -- here on February 21-22. Sinha and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be the chief guests. This event will witness more than 100 foreign high-profile information and communication technology (ICT) industry delegates from over 30 countries, the ministry said. The main objective of the event is to provide opportunities to Indian telecom exporters, including SMEs and startups, to meet qualified overseas buyers, it added. This event provides one to one meeting opportunities between buyers from different countries and Indian exporters who can enlighten them about their products and technology solutions. --IANS bc/vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shreyas Iyer slammed an unbeaten double century for India A while Australia spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe performed well with the ball as their three-day practice match ended in a draw at the Brabourne Stadium here on Sunday. Resuming from where he left off on Saturday, Iyer continued to take on the Australian bowling and remained unbeaten on 202 even as India A were dismissed for 403 in their first innings. Iyer scored at a rapid rate, studding his 210-ball stint with 27 boundaries and seven well-struck sixes. For the visitors, Lyon notched up figures of 4/162 while O'Keefe recorded 3/101. The visitors then notched up 110/4 in their second innings by the close of the final day's play as the match ended in a draw. The visitors had declared their first innings at 469/7. Resuming the final day at the overnight score of 176/4, Iyer completed a 55-run stand with Rishabh Pant before the hosts lost a couple of wickets in quick succession. Steve O'Keefe pulled off an excellent caught and bowled attempt to dismiss Pant and hand the visitors their first success of the day. Inshan Kishan lasted just 16 balls before he was caught behind off Mitchell Marsh's bowling. Krishnappa Gowtham then joined Iyer in the middle and the duo added 138 runs between them. Gowtham scored a quickfire 74 runs off 68 balls with 10 boundaries and four sixes. He was bowled by O'Keefe following which the Indian A innings came to a rapid end. Apart from Lyon and O'Keefe, pacer Jackson Bird also did well with the ball, returning figures of 2/60 while Marsh finished with 1/45. The Australians started their second innings on a high note, scoring at more than six runs an over in the initial stage before opener Matt Renshaw was dismissed by India A pacer Ashok Dinda. Navdeep Saini bowled Glenn Maxwell just three overs later while Dinda dismissed the dangerous David Warner soon after to leave the visitors struggling at 59/3. But O'Keefe and Peter Handscomb produced a 42-run stand to pull the visitors out of trouble. Handscomb scored 37 runs before being sent back to the pavilion by Pant. O'Keefe remained unbeaten on 19. Brief scores: Australia: 469/7 declared and 110/4 (Peter Handscomb 37, David Warner 35) vs India A (First Innings): 403 (Shreyas Iyer 202 not out, Krishnappa Gowtham 74; Nathan Lyon 4/162, Steve O'Keefe 3/101, Jackson Bird 2/60). --IANS ajb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jawaharlal University Students Union (JNUSU) on Sunday launched another attack on the university's Vice-Chancellor (VC), accusing him of disingenuity and "feeding" the media with false information. The students union expressed its unhappiness over likely seat-cuts if the UGC notification under contention is implemented. They were most sore about the possibility of M.Phil and Ph.D. seat-cuts for the OBC candidates, who had received a substantial quota boost as a result of the 93rd constitutional amendment. The 93rd amendment to the Constitution mandates 54 per cent increase in intake of OBC students, taking 2006 as the base year for calculating expansion of seats for OBC reservation. "The present number of seats in the JNU has been fixed as part of the implementation of OBC reservation and the associated expansion of seats mandated by the 93rd amendment of the Constitution," the JNUSU said in a statement. "Even the agenda of 142nd Academic Council (AC) Meeting includes the 'intake or offer' list of admissions for 2017 based on this 93rd Constitution amendment, which the VC is now trying to negate," it said. It also demanded reconvening of the 142nd Council meeting, since the proceedings of the meeting had taken place without any debate or discussion. "The AC meeting is always conducted in two-parts -- A and B. Part 'A' comprises students representatives who are allowed to deliberate on the ramifications of the agenda discussed. "But the VC didn't even list the UGC notification as one of the items in the agenda when the Part A was conducted on December 23, three days prior to Part B of the AC meeting where too it was passed unilaterally," JNUSU President Mohit Pandey told IANS. M. Jagadesh Kumar, the VC of the university, on the other hand, had refuted the union's claims in an interview to IANS earlier, where he had said that the agenda for the meet was communicated to the members of the AC two weeks prior to the meet for any suggestions, and upon receiving no suggestions, the AC went ahead with the adoption of the notification, among other things. The UGC notification under question, upon implementation, will impose an upper cap on the number of M.Phil and Ph.D. candidates which a faculty member can guide. The union members, along with hundred of students are arguing that it will leave the admission on the basis of vacancies under the faculty instead of allowing a fixed number of students intake every year. The JNUSU also expressed its fear of the prospect of delinking of M.Phil-Ph.D. programme if notification is implemented. Under the current system an M.Phil candidate get admittted for Ph.D programme on the basis of CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) marks. The face-off between the students and administration is on at the Administrative Block of the university, which is being "occupied" by the agitating students since February 9 despite several remonstrations and requests by the top officials of the varsity. An FIR was filed by the administration against, what it called, a "criminal" act, at the local police station. Police is examining the details of the case after which it will decide the course of its action, a senior police official told IANS. --IANS vn/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British TV personality and glamour model Katie Price is angry that her former beau Dwight Yorke, who was recently denied entry into US over an Iranian stamp on his passport, makes no time to meet their teenage son Harvey. Yorke is a Manchester United, and Price has accused him of being able to fly to the US, but not come to her home in West Sussex to visit their 14-year-old son, reports mirror.co.uk. "Why don't you get a flight to West Sussex and see your son Harvey. He has only been waiting 10 years...," she tweeted. The 36-year-old also included a link to the story about Dwight's travel woes. According to The Guardian, Yorke said he was prevented from entering the US due to an Iranian stamp on his passport having represented the 'World Stars' in a charity match against 'Iranian Stars' in Tehran in 2015. This is not the first time Price has targeted Yorke. Price had also earlier accused him of not seeing enough of their child, who suffers from a range of disabilities including Prader-Willi syndrome and visual impairment. In her last autobiography, she wrote: "It's sad that (Dwight Yorke) is unable to accept Harvey for who he is and seems unable or unwilling to work within his limitations. Yorke has yet to respond to Katie's latest tweet. --IANS nv/rb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary on Sunday expressing his gratitude to the Maratha warrior for having taken birth here. "I bow to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his Jayanti. India is proud that a valorous and great soul like him was born on our land." "Shivaji Maharaj placed wellbeing of his people above everything. He was an ideal ruler blessed with exceptional administrative skills," Modi said. He spoke of his endeavours at creating an India on the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj something that the latter would have been proud of. "We are working tirelessly to fulfil the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj and create an India that he would be proud of," he said. The Prime Minister also expressed his feeling of being honored at joining the "programme for Shivaji Maharaj's statue off the Arabian Sea. I will always cherish that day." --IANS vn/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eighty per cent of US citizens believe the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be maintained despite doubts about the alliance among the Trump administration, a latest Gallup poll has found. According to Gallup, this is sharply up from 64 per cent in 1995 when the same question was asked back then. But there is big difference in Americans' partisan views of the NATO, as 97 per cent of Democrats voice support to the alliance, compared to 69 per cent of Republicans, Xinhua news agency reported. When Gallup first asked people in US about their views on NATO in July 1989, 75 per cent thought the alliance should be maintained. Americans' support to the alliance dropped to 62 per cent in 1991, months before the Soviet Union's formal collapse. Three years later, support for the alliance increased to 70 per cent, but it dipped back down to 64 per cent in 1995 during NATO's intervention in the Bosnian War, according to Gallup. The latest Gallup's poll was conducted on February 1 to 5 after the election victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. During his campaign, Trump questioned the traditional US commitment to the alliance, referring to it as "obsolete". But he has since backed down from that position after his inauguration in January by reaffirming the US commitment to the NATO and agreeing to attend its summit in May. US Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the "unwavering" commitment to the NATO on Saturday during a speech to the European security conference held in Munich, Germany. But Pence also urged NATO members to increase their defense spending to share the financial burden of protecting the security of Europe, where a number of US troops have been stationed. US Defense Secretary James Mattis, while reiterating the US commitment at the same conference, also warned that Washington could "moderate its commitment" to the NATO if other countries do not increase their defense spending. --IANS qd/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Sunday decided to step down to make way for a consensus candidate to succeed him. In a letter to MLAs of the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF), Zeliang said he has decided to resign to break the deadlock between the agitating groups and the government. The Chief Minister has called for an emergency meeting of the NPF legislature party on Monday at the state banquet hall. This will be followed by a meeting of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) legislature party at the same venue. Agitating tribal groups have been demanding the resignation of Zeliang over his decision to conduct civic bodies' elections with 33 per cent reservation for women. In the 60-member assembly, the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition government comprises 48 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and eight Independents. On Saturday, more than 50 legislators "signed a letter of support" in favour of the state's lone Lok Sabha member, Neiphiu Rio, as the new legislature party leader, to replace Zeliang. DMK Working President M.K. Stalin on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu Governor to nullify the proceedings in the assembly on Saturday in which Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami won the confidence vote. Stalin, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, in his representation to Governor C. Vidayasagar Rao said the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Palaniswami was adopted in the absence of the entire opposition on Saturday. Stalin requested Rao to invoke his Constitutional powers "to nullify the entire proceedings with a view to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution". Stalin said extraordinary police presence was mobilised, giving an impression of a "war-like situation" around the assembly complex and a "thick atmosphere of terror" was prevailing. According to Stalin, the AIADMK legislators belonging to the V.K. Sasikala camp who were kept as hostages for some days in a beach resort were brought to the assembly "under tight security and they appeared to be under constant threat". Stalin said the Speaker of the house P. Dhanapal did not respond to his request for a secret ballot on the confidence motion. According to the DMK leader, the party legislators had no other way to register their protest and resorted to peaceful sit-in inside the house. "The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK, without following the procedure laid down. The police entered into the house presumably on instructions given in advance by the Speaker. "The police and the assembly guards forcibly evicted us from the house and in this process, many of us sustained bleeding injuries. The other opposition parties staged a walk-out, strongly protesting against the action of the Speaker," Stalin told Rao. --IANS vj/sm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The family of the late actor Kalabhavan Mani in Kerala may now approach the judiciary for redress as the probe into his death has reached nowhere, his family said. Hugely popular 45-year-old Mani, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted to a hospital in Kochi on March 4 last year and passed away two days later. Speaking to the media, the actor's brother R.L.V. Ramakrishnan said that it is strange that despite evidence from scientific reports that the death occurred due to poisoning, the police have not been able to take forward the probe from there. "The scientific reports state the presence of two poisonous substances, but so far the police remain clueless about what happened. We will soon decide on what needs to be done in the case and approaching the judiciary is also an option," he said. A CBI probe into the death was sought soon after the new Pinarayi Vijayan-led government assumed office in May last year, but the police did not show any interest to take it up, Ramakrishnan added. A few of the actor's close aides who were present at his farmhouse when he collapsed had undergone the lie-detector test earlier, but the police were unable to crack the case which has ruffled the family of the actor. --IANS sg/sm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former PWD minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) state chief Shivpal Singh Yadav had a narrow escape on Sunday when unidentified persons pelted stones at his motorcade, police said. The incident took place at Katiapur village in Jaswantnagar, Etawah district. Jaswantnagar is an SP stronghold and has been held by the ruling party in the last several decades. It was first represented by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Vidhan Sabha for seven successive terms and has been thereafter represented by Shivpal Singh Yadav. Shivpal is engaged in a bitter power struggle with nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. When asked by the media in Saifai to comment on the stone-pelting incident, Akhilesh Yadav refused to comment, saying "I am not aware of the incident". --IANS md/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Attacking Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party over religion and caste discrimination, Prime Minster Narendra Modi, addressing an election rally in Fatehpur district on Sunday, said that everyone was being affected buy it. Pitching for his flagship slogan "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas", Modi also raked the issue of "migration for work", stressing the youths should get jobs in their own cities. "In Uttar Pradesh, everyone feels that they are being discriminated and they are being denied their rights. Dalit complain that their share is given to the Other Backward Class (OBC), who in turn point finger towards Muslims and Yadavs, while Yadavs say that only the family people get the benefits," Modi said. Modi said that the state government has been playing the of discrimination, while his flagship schemes benefit everyone irrespective of their caste and religion. "If a village receives funds for a graveyard, then it should also get for cremation ground... If you provide uninterrupted power supply for Eid, then you should also do it for Holi," Modi said. He added that no one in the state can get jobs without recommendations or the bribe, and urged the people to elect the Bharatiya Janata Party for a change. Fatehpur goes to polls on February 23 in the fourt phase of the state assembly elctions. --IANS kd/ksk/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hit out at US President Donald Trump for his frequent attacks on the news media, calling the President a "pathological liar", the media reported. "In Trump's view, people should ignore all the news except what comes directly from him. That is what totalitarianism is all about. Good thing we have Donald Trump, a pathological liar, to tell us the 'truth'," Sanders said on Saturday in a series of tweets. Sanders joined the presidential race last year as a Democratic hopeful. Sanders' message appeared to be in response to tweets by Donald Trump on Friday night that called news outlets "the enemy of the American people", The Hill magazine reported. Trump has frequently hit out at news outlets for "fake news" and has been the subject of backlash for his numerous tweets against CNN, the New York Times and other news groups. Trump on Saturday evening took up his feud with the news media on the campaign trail, vowing to thousands of supporters in Melbourne, Florida, to not let the media "get away with lying". --IANS ksk/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Juhi Chawla had a taste of the crazy side of Satara, a small city in Maharashtra, where she is currently shooting for filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoors web series, based on the background of Indian Army. "In Satara for Nagesh's web series. The town's gone crazy. Drums, band baaja and slogans all night. I even heard two very loud shots," Juhi tweeted on Sunday. The web series also stars Nimrat Kaur, and it is based on a fictional piece set within the confines of Indian Army. Nimrat plays an army officer in the series, while Juhi will be seen playing the country's defence minister. This will be the first series for Ekta Kapoor's digital app, ALT Balaji. --IANS hp/nn/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Experience shows that political parties in most countries lack transparency with regard to funding. Some common challenges are unsuitable or overly ambitious legislation, a lack of political will to control the influence of money in politics, the popular acceptance of vote buying, a bias in enforcing rules and an inadequate allocation of resources in enforcing them. Anyone in his or her right mind would rally round Army chief General Bipin Rawat for his warning that those who create hurdles during anti-militancy operations and display flags of Pakistan and Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir would be treated as anti-nationals and face harsh actions. Union Minister Jitendra Singh today attacked the Congress for being "politically bankrupt" and speaking the language of Kashmiri separatists. "On Congress reaction to Gen Rawat's statement, we have already cleared our stand. Some newspapers have carried it. In one word, it can be summed up as 'political bankruptcy" (of Congress)," Singh said demanding a clarification from Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on whether the party endorsed remarks of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad criticising army chief Bipin Rawat's statement on tough action against locals hampering counter-militancy operations in Kashmir. Fully defending Gen Rawat, Singh said "What army chief has said, Congress people are twisting it as if he has said that army should go after youths and beat them up. His statement should not be read as a challenge or warning but as a concern and worry expressed by him". "Indian army is only army which has such a concern and worries. Army chief is worried that nobody should get hurt during counter insurgency operations," he said. On India's acceptance on global level for its viewpoint on terrorism, Singh said "except for a handful of people, rest of 125 crore people understand that entire world is slowly accepting the viewpoint of PM Narendra Modi over global terrorism. That is why Pakistan is under pressure and will continue to remain under pressure". "Modi government has zero tolerance and also zero tolerance to those helping terrorism. During past two and half period under PM Modi, whole world is coming to point of view of India, which was lacking earlier. It is because of the diplomatic consistency of India and policy of conviction and clarity of India followed by Modi government," he said. On Kashmiri separatists, Singh said "as far as separatists are concerned we have always being saying that they have the cake and eat it too. The separatism being followed in Kashmir valley, it is not separatism by conviction but convenience". "So called separatist leaders have been following mainstream legislators and they are still mentioned as former legislators and are drawing privileges and perks under the Constitution of India but publicly they subscribe that they do not follow the Constitution of India," he said. "But more worrisome is that so called mainstream political parties have also resorted to separatist jargon once they are out of power. Once they are in power, they said J&K is integral part of India," Singh said. He expressed confidence that BJP will win elections in five states as it is the only alternative in these states. On UP elections, he said "BJP will emerge as victorious because the people of UP want liberation from corruption to crime. They see BJP as an alternative. BJP can provide an alternative. In Manipur also, we have hope of victory there also. BJP is an alternative in Manipur as well". "Rahul Gandhi has to clear his and his party's stand on what Ghulam Nabi Azad has been saying. Is it the party line? Ghulam Nabi Azad is using same language which NC is using. "It is worrisome that a party like Congress for the last few days visualising its defeat in five states has started speaking separatists' language and this language is unbecoming of a party which has become a limited party now," Singh said. "If it is so, is that they are foreseeing the defeat in polls of five states. And they are disheartened in such a way, they were forced to use the language of separatists in the same way as some political parties of Kashmir do after losing power in J&K," he said. Replying to a question on settlement of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis in Jammu, he said "I have already said that there should be a probe into it. The people who are demanding probe should be probed as Congress was in government from 2002 to 2014, and also at the Centre. What was the conspiracy and who settled them should be probed. They have made these people as vote banks". The gruelling campaign for civic polls in Mumbai and nine other cities across Maharashtra ended this evening, with the BJP Shiv Sena rift casting a shadow over the stability of the Devendra Fadnavis government. Dubbed as a mini Assembly election, over 1.94 crore voters across the state are entitled to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for 10 city corporations on February 21. On the same day 11 Zilla Parishads will go to the polls in the second phase. The first phase of the polls in 15 Zilla Parishads was held on February 16. The electioneering assumed an unusually shrill pitch in the final phases largely due to the acrimony between BJP and Shiv Sena, fighting the civic polls separately for the first time in over two decades, though Congress, NCP and MNS are also in the fray. Allegations and counter-allegations flew thick all through the run-up for the election, which has virtually turned into a battle of prestige for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, heading the state's first BJP-led government, and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who led the front from their respective camps. Congress, plagued by infighting in Mumbai, appears to have failed to take advantage of the BJP-Sena rift, according to political observers. The big poll focus is on cash-rich Brhihanmumbai Municipal Cooperation (BMC), retaining control of which is vital for Shiv Sena as the city has remained its prime political space ever since the party's formation in 1966. Shiv Sena has been in power in BMC for over two decades. BJP, which had been a junior partner of Sena before it gained the upper hand through the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, declined to accept the number of seats offered by the Sena. It has set its eyes on gaining power in BMC, one of the world's largest city bodies, boasting of an annual budget of over Rs 37,000 crore. In the political cacophony, larger civic issues like good roads, uninterrupted water supply and other basic amenities which the common man looks for, have largely drowned, the observers feel. Midway through the campaign, Thackeray put the Fadnavis government on "notice period", a threat which failed to deter the BJP from pushing ahead with its no-holds-barred assault on the estranged ally, mustering its full organisational strength. The Sena chief, however, appears to have softened his stance later, saying the support to the government would depend upon what it would do for the distressed farmers, even as he ruled out post-poll pact with BJP in Mumbai. Watching the saffron battle gleefully from the sidelines, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has ruled out extending support to the BJP government in the event of Sena pulling the plug, saying his party would rather prefer mid-term polls. Justifying the outside support extended to the BJP after 2014, Pawar said it was necessary to avoid fresh polls then, but the state could now go for mid-term elections. Congress, plagued by infighting, has failed to put up a united fight. Party veteran Gurudas Kamat had slammed the city party boss Sanjay Nirupam over his "style of functioning" and failure to take along all sections. Rare for a chief minister in local body polls, Fadnavis has criss-crossed the state spearheading the campaign since a convincing victory for his party is not only crucial for its future in the state but also to get grassroot endorsement of the Centre's policies. In village and town panchayat polls held in November- January, BJP had put up a sterling performance in all regions of the sprawling state, and the party projected it as vindication of demonetisation move by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress and NCP, which are also going solo, have refused to be swayed by the Sena-BJP wrangling, dubbing it as a "political bluff game" and dared Thackeray to withdraw support to the Fadnavis cabinet. Rejecting the suggestions that the BJP has turned the civic polls into an opportunity to wreck Shiv Sena, its leaders asserted their battle is for transparency in the civic administration. Sena, however, mocked the claim, saying the state and Central governments are lacking transparency and even targeted Fadnavis alleging that his stint as Mayor of his hometown Nagpur years back was not corruption-free, a charge BJP rejected as far from truth. While Sena posters in Mumbai highlighted its "achievements" as "karun dakhavla" (we have done what we promised), BJP's campaign revolves around Fadnavis, who asks voters to trust his "word" in developing Mumbai ('Swachh, sunder Mumbai, ha majha shabd aahe') With the local body polls assuming serious political dimensions, all parties roped in their central leaders to woo the voters. Besides Mumbai, the other municipal corporations going to polls are Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Amravati, Akola, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ulhasnagar and Solapur. In Mumbai, a staggering 2,275 candidates are in the fray for 227 seats. In adjoining Thane, 805 candidates are vying for 131 seats in the municipal corporation. Thane city has total 12.30 lakh eligible voters. Besides civic corporations and zilla parishads, 118 panchayat samitis will also go to polls on Tuesday. At least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed today in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region during a gun battle with the security forces, officials said. The incident occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency. At least two soldiers were also wounded in the gun battle between the law enforcers and the terrorists. The terrorists were trying to enter Kurram Agency via Khyber Agency from Afghanistan when they were intercepted by the security forces and heavy exchange of fire took place, they said. During exchange of fire, 11 Afghan terrorists were killed and scores of other injured. The security forces said that bodies of the terrorist would be handed over to the political authorities. Pakistan army launched a crackdown against terrorists after an Islamic State suicide bomber at a crowded Sufi shrine in Sindh province claimed 88 lives. Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country. The Army over the weekend have killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two villagers were injured in a blast in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir today, police said. "At about 11:30 hours today, a mysterious low intensity blast took place at the residence of Shabir Ahmed in village Sarh in Mahore tehsil of Reasi district," a senior police officer said. The blast took place when Shabir was cleaning the junk from the roof of his house. Shabir Ahmed received injuries in hand while his brother-in-law Bashir Ahmed in his legs, he said. The two were given first aid at Primary Health Centre Chasana and then referred to GMC Jammu, the officer said, adding they are stable. Chassana police station SHO is on spot to take stock of the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two women in Mahaban tehsil of the district have left their homes "fearing danger to their lives" after they decided to enter into a live-in relationship. Sonia (21), who returned from her in-laws' place soon after her marriage seven years back, left with Rina (20), who was a student at the former's tailoring school in Anauda village. They left their homes yesterday after they failed to convince their parents on their decision to get "married". "Finding it difficult to persuade the parents, we called police for help," Sonia said. "First, we tried to persuade them to change their decision. However, finding them firm, their parents were called at the police station," SHO Anil Kumar said. "The family members of both the women have snapped the ties with them. The women have left for unknown place to stay in a live-in relationship," Deputy SP Sanjai Kumar said today. He said legally they can be in a 'live-in relationship', as per a judgment of the Supreme Court. Before leaving the police station, Sonia said they now would stay at an unknown place as they "fear danger to their lives from their relatives". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab government today deployed forces at Kapoori and Shambu border in Patiala district, about 30 km from here, in the wake of Haryana's Indian National Lok Dal's call to redig the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal from February 23. "We have mobilised forces at Kapoori and Sambhu border today," Patiala zone Inspector General of Police (IGP) B Chander Sekhar told PTI. He said Punjab police has also taken up the matter with their Haryana counterpart so as to maintain law and order. Besides, the Punjab government has sought 20 companies of Paramilitary Forces from the Centre, he said, adding they will also reach the state soon. The steps have been taken to prevent any face-off between INLD workers and some radical outfits in Punjab, including Dal Khalsa, as people in the border state are against the digging or construction of the SYL canal. Chander Sekhar also chaired a meeting of senior officials of Mohali, Patiala and Sangrur districts to supervise the arrangements of police deployment. After recent Apex court verdict on the SYL canal issue favouring Haryana in terms of water sharing, INLD leader Abhay Chautala had announced his party workers will assemble at Ambala on February 23 and march towards Punjab for the purpose of digging the SYL canal. "SYL is lifeline for Haryana...Even the Supreme Court has given its verdict in favour of Haryana," Chautala had said. The Punjab Police has decided to seal the state border within a couple of days to thwart any untoward move from the other side. INLD's announcement to redig the canal drew sharp reactions from ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab which hit back asking the party not to indulge in provocative activities. SAD maintained it will never let the project complete "as it would deprive the farmers of Punjab of their own waters". "The issue of the SYL is dead once and for all as the Punjab Assembly and SAD-BJP government of the state has passed resolutions for restoration of the land acquired for the project," Punjab Cabinet Minister and SAD spokesman, Daljit Singh Cheema, had said. He said as the land acquired for the project has been restored to the original owners and it is now in the possession of the farmers of Punjab. He said the issue is "more of life and death for not only the farmers of the Punjab but for the all Punjabis as the state was already witnessing depletion of the water table in the recent years". Cheema further said it was "most unfortunate" thing that political parties from neighbouring Haryana are resorting to "provocative actions" by issuing statements on digging of canal. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal have announced on multiple occasions that the SAD is committed to safeguard waters of the state. Some radical organisations in Punjab have already announced to assemble at Kapoori in Patiala in order to thwart the construction of SYL canal. Radical organisation Dal Khalsa had took a dig at the INLD calling the move "nothing but a political mischief and stunt". Dal Khalsa leaders H S Dhami and Kanwar Pal Singh had said the people of Punjab would not allow any "mischief" at any cost. "The Chautalas were friends with the Badal family and both have played havoc in a sinister way over the years. Even now, Chautala family know that the present rulers in Punjab, who are virtually on their way out, will not welcome them with batons and bullets, which are reserved for farmers, teachers, unionists, students, pharmacists and devout Sikh protesters," Dal Khalsa said. They said digging of the SYL canal was next to impossible and people of Haryana should stop "day-dreaming" about its construction. Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh has asked the the Centre and the Haryana government to take all necessary steps to prevent any violation of Punjab's borders. "The governments at the Centre and in Haryana should take all necessary steps to prevent any violation of Punjab's borders," Amarinder had said. The former Punjab CM also demanded action by the Haryana government against the INLD to prevent the eruption of an inter-state crisis. "Abhay Chautala's inflammatory statement has potential to further escalate the tension already triggered by the ongoing Jat agitation in Haryana," Amarinder said. He asked the Badal government in Punjab to protect the state's borders from any infringement. "It is time now for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to prove his self-proclaimed commitment to protecting the interests of Punjab," he said. He accused the Chautalas of indulging in political misadventure and "trying to take advantage of their proximity with the Badals, on whose silent connivance they were pinning their hopes to realize their mischievous agenda". "But the people of Punjab will not allow themselves to be victimised or brow-beaten into submission on such a critical issue on which depended their lives and future," Amarinder warned the INLD, asking them to refrain from engaging in any "ill-conceived action" on the SYL matter. Low-cost airline AirAsia started its operations in Jammu and Kashmir today, with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressing hope that it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state. "Low cost airline carrier AirAsia started its operations here from today with the launch of its morning and evening flights daily between Delhi and Srinagar. "The inaugural flight from New Delhi was received by the Chief Minister at the Srinagar International Airport," an official spokesman said here. He said another flight to New Delhi was also seen-off by the chief minister soon after. The airline is also planning to connect Srinagar to many other destinations in the country in coming days, the spokesman said. He said the chief minister welcomed the carrier hoping it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state and also provide local people with more connectivity to other cities in the country. The spokesman said the chief minister has been pressing for operation of more morning and evening flights to and from Srinagar to facilitate more air traffic and consequently promote tourism. She has also been insisting on involvement of local youth in projects being started in the state and on her insistence the airline has decided to recruit all its cabin crew and ground staff locally, the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Another person was arrested on charge of selling 17 children in Jalpaiguri district today taking the total number of arrests in the case to 2. A senior police officr said Sonali Mondal, Chief Adoption Officer of an NGO was arrested by CID sleuths accompanied by local police from Falakata earlier in the day. Yesterday Chandana Chakraborty, the Chairperson of the said NGO 'Bimala Sishu Griho' was arrested by a seven-member CID team from the NGO's office in Falakata area of the district. The two were produced in a district court today and given 13 day's remand in CID custody. The two were accused of selling 17 children, in the age group of 1-14 years, to a racket at high price in past few months while flaunting the facade of helping needy couples to adopt babies. The officer did not disclose where the children were at present but said the NGO was under radar for several months. Earlier CID blew off the lid of a child trafficking racket conducting raids in North 24 Parganas, Kolkata and some other parts of south Bengal since November last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President Hamid Ansari today left on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two East African nations besides attending a host of events. This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda. He is travelling on the invitation of the heads of state of the countries, a senior official said. His two-nation tour also seeks to broaden India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa. From Rwanda, Ansari will go to Uganda on February 21, the first high-level bilateral visit to that country since 1997. The Vice President is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, MPs Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh, Ranee Narah and P K Biju and senior officials. In Rwanda, Ansari would pay homage at the genocide museum (in Kigali), interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda. His visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January. "India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, increasing bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contact and a deep sense of mutual respect," a senior MEA official said. In Rwanda, Ansari will launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. The Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda would also address an India-Rwanda Business Forum. "During his visit to Uganda from February 21-23, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart and the President of Uganda. Ansari would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala," he said. Relations between India and Uganda are characterised by historical cultural linkages, extensive economic and trade interest and a convergence on major bilateral and international issues, the official said. "The visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationships," he said. The forthcoming visit of the Vice-President is part of the conscious broadening of India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region. The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With instances of cyber threats increasing, the banks, which are increasingly going digital prodded by government and regulators following note-ban, are looking for cyber insurance -- a fledgling industry vertical for general insurers but having large growth potential. The country reportedly lost a whopping USD 4 billion in fiscal 2016 to cyber crimes, while globally, the economic loss due to cyber crimes stood at USD 455 billion in 2016. According to insurance industry reports, cyber crimes are growing at 40-50 per cent annually globally. Similarly, global cyber risk insurance premium stood at USD 3.5 billion in 2016, which was only USD 2.5 billion in 2015, amply indicating growing incidents of cyber crimes across the world. Country's largest lender State Bank, which fell victim to cyber frauds late last year, is now considering insurance to protect its over 30 crore customers. "As we are now planning to take cyber covers for our customers, we have already asked one of the companies which are on the bank's panel of insurance advisers to prepare a report for us in this direction," SBI Managing Director Rajnish Kumar told PTI. Similarly, Bank of Baroda, which had seen about 1 lakh of its debit cards being compromised in the recent episode, is also keen to go for such insurance covers in future. "We are here to ensure protection of our customers and hence we will definitely go for cyber insurance cover as and when it was required for the bank," BoB Managing Director P S Jayakumar said. While private sector lender Axis Bank is reported to have taken cyber insurance cover from HDFC Ergo, as many as 20 state-owned lenders are seriously in talks with insurers to get cyber insurance cover. The city-based private lender did not respond to text messages seeking for confirmation. General insurers also see a rise in demand for cyber risk insurance. "We are in talks with quite a few banks to provide cyber insurance cover to them," New India Assurance Chairman G Srinivasan said without divulging any details. "Cyber threat is on the rise in recent times for the banks and therefore they must go for cyber insurance cover," Srinivasan said. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Chief Technical Officer for non-motor business, Sasikumar Adidamu, said cyber insurance has seen close to 20 per cent rise at Bajaj Allianz in the current fiscal. He also said that in-line with rising incidents of cyber threats, the industry has seen a 10-15 per cent uptake of cyber liability covers. Insurance brokers are sensing good business here too. "We are in talks with around 20 state-owned banks which are seriously looking for cyber insurance cover. But no deal has been materialised so far," Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers Director Supriya Rathi said. "We are looking for completing the cyber insurance deal at around Rs 20-25 crore by the next fiscal year and Rs 50 crore within next couple of years," she added. Apart from Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers, Aon Global and Marsh are the two insurance brokers which are also active on the space in the domestic market. The insurance brokerage charge for cyber cover for banks may go as high as up to 12.5 per cent of the premium underwritten. Surprisingly, the industry base for cyber insurance in the country is currently at Rs 60 crore only. Non-life insurers that provide cyber insurance cover include New India Assurance, National Insurance, ICICI Lombard, Tata AIG, HDFC Ergo and Bajaj Allianz. Notably, between September and October last year, the domestic banks faced their worst breaches of financial data, as 3.2 million debit card customers of leading banks were hit by data theft where their debit card details were compromised. Several victims had even reported unauthorised use of their card from far away locations in China. The worst-hit banks were SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Axis Bank, which originated with data theft from Yes Bank machines. Banks either had to replace or ask users to change the security codes of many customers. Even though SBI didn't suffer any big financial losses due to the data compromise episode, still as a precautionary measure, it had blocked 6 lakh debit cards. Some of the features covered by cyber insurance include data loss, business interruption due to data loss, notification cost, regulatory penalties, forensic investigation and audit costs. Globally there are three main reinsurers active on the space for cyber insurance - AIG, Chubb and Lloyd's. The Nitish Kumar government has held the Farakka barrage in West Bengal responsible for heavy floods in Bihar and asked the Centre to decommission it to de-silt the heavily loaded upstream of Ganga River. The state has made the recommendation, observing that the dam is the "genesis of severe" flood consequences and responsible for "alarming" silt increase in the river's upstream. The Nitish Kumar dispensation has made the demand before an experts' committee formed by the Centre to work out guidelines for de-silting Ganga following last year's devastating floods, sources told PTI. The Farakka barrage was constructed in the early 60s with the main purpose of helping flush out sediment deposition from Kolkata Port, besides addressing drinking water requirement in West Bengal. "The barrage is genesis of severe flood consequences and responsible for progressive silt increase in the upstream of Ganga between Patna and Bhagalpur (in Bihar)," the state government has told the committee, according to sources. It has claimed, "Decommissioning the barrage will help automatically de-silt the heavily loaded upstream, allowing silt to move to deltas before the sea." Such a move, the state has said, will further help in restoration of deltas and its eco-system which is also getting adversely affected due to this barrage. To buttress its point, the state government has referred to Kolkata Port Trust's data, which suggests that silt dredging at the port has increased from 6.40 million cubic metres annually from pre-Farakka days to four times, i.E. At 21.88 MCM annually, during 2003. The dam was made operational in 1975. "So the barrage is of no help...Functioning of the barrage is itself giving rise to consequences of flooding," the state has said in its submission. Among other, the government has blamed the barrage also for constricting "severely" movement of habitations and normal cycle of aquatic species, mainly fishes like Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri. "Their migration, reproductive cycle and survival have been affected to extent of being extinct. It also has adverse impact on dolphin sanctuary at Bhagalpur. "The number of dolphins there is decreasing, which can be estimated from their frequency of sighting," the sources said. The state government has also recommended the panel to come up with 'National Silt Policy' to address the problem. Bihar faced one of its worst floods as Ganga swelled in August last year, claiming lives of over 20 persons and affecting 20 lakh people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the UK's leading umbrella group for Hindus has said the has assured them that concerns over the use of animal fat in the new five-pound notes were being treated with "utmost seriousness" and the new 20 pound notes would be launched only after consultations. Hindu Council UK held a number of meetings with the central bank's representatives to explain that as Hindus see the cow as a symbol of grace and veneration, the use of tallow made from beef fat in the notes went against their beliefs. "Over the last couple of months, the Hindu Council UK has been in communication with the (BoE) and raised the concerns of the Hindu Community, Hindu Temples and Hindu Organisations in the UK. "The assured that they were treating those concerns with the utmost seriousness and wanted to understand better what impact the use of small traces of animal-derived products in polymer banknotes may have within the community before making any further statement on the issue," Hindu Council UK said in a statement this week. The BoE had announced recently that it would not be withdrawing the polymer notes and that new 10-pound notes made of the same material would also go ahead for their launch later this year. However, it would launch a consultation before issuing similar new 20-pound notes. "The Hindu Council UK is pleased that Bank of England has listened to our concerns and halted the issuing of the new 20 pound notes until a full consultation has been done. "In addition, the Bank of England has assured us that they are working with polymer suppliers to investigate alternatives, including some that are plant-based, for the future," the council said. In late November 2016, BoE announced that it had been informed that small traces of animal-derived products were used by a supplier in the manufacture of the new polymer 5 pound notes. (Reopens FGN 20) Tallow is a hard, fatty substance made from rendered animal fat. It is commonly used to make soap and candle. The new polymer note uses beef tallow made from suet, which is hard fat found around the animal's kidneys, stomach and other organs. The new 5 pound notes, and the future 10 pound notes, contain animal fat in the form of tallow which sparked protests among millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and in the UK. The Hindu Council UK representatives had highlighted that many Hindus were concerned due to the animal-derived products in the new notes, because one of the key virtues in the Hindu faith is Ahimsa or the practice of non-violence. It had received many calls from various Temples across the UK who had banned the use of the new 5 pound note as donations to deities within the sanctuary of the temple environment. "As a consequence of not allowing the 5 pound notes in the Temple environment, many of the temples had seen a huge decrease in their Temple economy, which relies totally on donations in order to operate," the council said. "Weighing the considerations, the Bank has now concluded that it would be appropriate to keep the 5 pound polymernotein circulation and to issue the 10 pound polymernoteas planned, in September," the BoE had said earlier this week. A petition titled 'Remove Tallow from banknotes' had attracted over 100,000 signatures. Cash purchases of will attract one per cent tax collected at source (TCS) from April 1 if the amount exceeds Rs 2 lakh, as against the current threshold of Rs 5 lakh. Once the Finance Bill 2017 is passed, will be treated on par with general goods, which attract one per cent TCS on cash purchase of above Rs 2 lakh. The Bill seeks to do away with the threshold of Rs 5 lakh on purchases for applicability of TCS because the Union Budget 2017-18 has proposed to ban cash dealings of over Rs 3 lakh and make violations punishable with a penalty of an equivalent amount to be paid by the person receiving the cash. However, as there is no special provision for TCS on its purchase, jewellery is now being clubbed in general goods on which one per cent TCS is triggered if a single transaction exceeds Rs 2 lakh in cash. In a bid to check the generation of black money through large transactions, after the Budget proposal to scrap the previous threshold of Rs 5 lakh is approved by Parliament "The Income-tax Act provides for one per cent TCS on cash purchase of goods or services above Rs 2 lakh. The definition of goods also includes jewellery and hence one per cent TCS would be applicable on jewellery purchased above Rs 2 lakh in cash," an official told PTI. With this move, the TCS threshold for jewellery will be brought at par with that of bullion from April 1. The Income Tax Department has been levying one per cent TCS on cash purchase of bullion in excess of Rs 2 lakh and jewellery in excess of Rs 5 lakh since July 1, 2012. However, the Budget for 2016-17 had imposed TCS of one per cent on goods and services purchased in cash over Rs 2 lakh. The Finance Bill 2017 states that current provisions provide for "tax collection at source at the rate of one per cent of sale consideration on cash sale of jewellery exceeding Rs 5 lakh. It is proposed to omit the said clause in view of restriction on cash transactions as proposed to be provided". Presently, Section 206C sub section (1D) of Income Tax Act, 1961, provides for a seller collecting from the buyer one per cent of sale consideration as income tax if the amount paid for bullion exceeds Rs 2 lakh in cash and for jewellery if it exceeds Rs 5 lakh in cash. The same section also provides for one per cent TCS on cash paid in excess of Rs 2 lakh for any goods other then bullion and jewellery. With the amendment proposed in the Finance Bill 2017, jewellery purchase of over Rs 5 lakh in cash is being omitted from the ambit of TCS but will now be classified as "other goods" and the one per cent levy would be applied if cash consideration is over Rs 2 lakh. Explaining the reason behind removing TCS on jewellery, the Finance Bill 2017 said that in India the quantum of domestic black money is huge which adversely affects the revenue of the government creating a resource crunch for its various welfare programmes. "In order to achieve the mission of the government to move towards a less-cash economy to reduce generation and circulation of black money, it is proposed to insert section 269ST in the (Income Tax) Act to provide that no person shall receive an amount of Rs 3 lakh or more in aggregate from a person in a day in respect of a single transaction or in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion from a person," the Finance Bill states. These restrictions, however, would not apply to government, any banking company, post office savings bank or co-operative bank. "It is also proposed to consequentially amend the provisions of section 206C to omit the provision relating to tax collection at source at the rate of one per cent of sale consideration on cash sale of jewellery exceeding Rs 5 lakh," it said. The amendments will take effect from April 1, 2017. The CBI has registered an FIR against a senior IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh Government, two private persons and others on the charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy. "CBI has registered a case against a Principal Secretary (IAS-1988), Chhattisgarh Government; a private person who is a resident of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh; another private person, a resident of Hyderabad, and other unknown persons. "The allegations (are) related to the payment of around Rs.1.5 crore by the public servant to the private persons as the gratification for help in a case against him, which is under investigation by CBI," the central agency stated in a release today. The case was registered against the Principal Secretary (Higher Education) BL Agrawal, Greater Noida resident Bhagwan Singh, Hyderabad resident Syed Burhanuddin alias OP Sharma alias Singh and other unknown persons under the section 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of IPC read with section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. "It was further alleged that an amount of Rs 45 lakh (approximately) was handed over by the IAS officer to a hawala dealer at Raipur since 11.02. 2017 onwards which was to be delivered at Delhi to the private person, a Greater Noida resident. Out of the amount, around Rs 20 lakh has been delivered to the said private person at Delhi," the release said. It was also alleged the "receivers" agreed to accept "part gratification payment" in the form of two-kg gold to be delivered by the brother-in-law of the officer to the contact of another private person, who is a Hyderabad resident, at Raipur. During investigation, 2 kg of gold was recovered while searches were conducted at the premises of the accused persons and the hawala operators at Raipur, Hyderabad and New Delhi/Greater Noida yesterday and today, the agency said. An amount of Rs 20 lakh delivered earlier to the Greater Noida resident at New Delhi has also been recovered during searches, the statement said, adding further investigation is on. "An FIR was lodged against Agrawal, Bhagwan Singh, Syed Burhanuddin alias OP Sharma alias Singh and other unknown persons under IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and the section 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988," a CBI spokesperson said quoting the FIR registered yesterday. Earlier in 2010, two cases were registered by the agency against Agrawal, the then Health Secretary, state government. Out of the two cases, a chargesheet was filed in the Bhilai case probed by the ACB/CBI while the Delhi case is under investigation of the CBI, the spokesperson said. A reliable source information has been received alleging that Agrawal had approached Bhagwan Singh, a resident of Greater Noida for getting relief in his case from CBI, he said, adding the source has also revealed Bhagwan further conveyed about the cases to Burhanuddin. Citing a source, he said Bhagwan had arranged a meeting between Agrawal and Burhanuddin during which the officer agreed to pay Rs 1.5 crore in installments for getting the possible relief in his case, especially the case under investigation to the extent of transferring the case to the jurisdiction of Economic Offence Wing, of the state. Based on the inputs, raids were carried out in the premises of Agrawal and others yesterday and today, he added. Notably, the government had suspended Agrawal after his premises were raided by the Income Tax department in 2010 and handed over the case to EOW. However, his suspension was revoked later. Model Chrissy Teigen has spoken out about diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry and said she would like to see more Asian men and women on runways. The 31-year-old mixed-race model, whose mother is Thai, believes that it is "really important to start embracing people" for who they are rather than stereotyping them based on their race or skin colour, reported E! Online. "I think its really important to start embracing people... Seeing them in roles that are not necessarily 'That Asian Girl' or 'That Asian Boy.' "I want it to be a normal thing to be able to see Asian models, and I think Asian models are really underrepresented in the industry, especially on the runways or in magazines," she said. The problem is not limited to the modeling industry, either, Chrissy says. The lack of diversity in film is so drastic that "in movies you're like 'Oh, this Asian girl is dating this white guy'-I want that to be normal." Teigen also shared her thoughts on cultural appropriation. Overall, she had pretty mixed feelings on the subject, stating, "I personally am not offended by cultural appropriation of any sort because I feel like it does pay homage, but at the same time there are a lot of beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, Asian women that could do the same thing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Committee of Administrators, headed by former CAG Vinod Rai, today barred three top BCCI officials from attending the IPL players' auction scheduled to be held tomorrow in Bengaluru. "Mr C. K. Khanna, Mr Amitabh Choudhary, Mr Anirudh Chaudhry and any other persons who claim to be ex-officio members of the IPL GC on account of being office bearers of the BCCI shall not be entitled to attend the IPL Player Auctions since the issue regarding validity of the undertakings filed by such persons pursuant to the order dated 2nd January 2017 is still pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the CoA said in a statement. While Khanna is the BCCI's seniormost Vice President, Anirudh has been the treasurer. Amitabh, on the other hand, was serving as joint secretary before all three were rendered powerless following the institution of the CoA. The CoA said only those officials, who conform to the reforms made mandatory by the Supreme Court, would be eligible to attend the auction. "In respect of other members of the IPL GC, only those persons who are not disqualified in terms of the strict understanding/interpretation of the disqualifications in terms of the various orders issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court may attend the IPL Player Auctions," the committee stated. "The Committee of Administrators does not have complete data to determine whether each of the members of the IPL GC other than the ex-officio members are disqualified or not. In view thereof, the said other members are requested to assess for themselves as to whether they are disqualified or not. "Should they attend the IPL Player Auctions, the concerned members would be deemed to have undertaken and represented that they are not disqualified as aforesaid," the committee said. The CoA said it might designate specific individuals for the auction in case the IPL Governing Council does not have more than two eligible officials. "In the event less than 2 of the members are available to attend the IPL Player Auctions on 20th February 2017, any role that may ordinarily have been performed by the IPL GC in relation to the IPL Player Auctions will be performed by such persons as the Committee of Administrators may separately designate for the purpose, if required," it said. Over 350 players will go under the hammer in the IPL players' auction tomorrow. Taking a cue from the UP Police's Women Power Line, the Delhi Police plans to increase its telephone lines to ensure that all distress calls from women are aptly answered. Currently, Delhi Police isn't able to get back to all the callers who call on its women's helpline owing to space constraints and lack of telephone lines. Following a recent visit to the control room of UP Police's Power Line, a helpline for women facing harassment, Delhi Police's PCR unit has decided to learn some lessons from the world's largest police force. "We saw that they get back to every caller who calls on 1090. But here, we aren't able to do so since we have an old system in place. We have 10 telephone lines for women's helpline and two telephone lines for getting back to callers. "We are only able to call back a few callers and that is one area of concern," said a senior police officer. In run up to launch of the ambitious helpline 112 which will be India's equivalent to 911, an all-in-one emergency service of the US, Delhi Police's PCR unit is looking to pluck all the gaps that exit in its current system. "We visited UP Police's Women Power Line control room because they have a new system in place and to see how they function. We will also be visiting Bangalore Police's control room to see how they function," the officer added. Delhi Police's women helplines handle over 50,000 calls in a year. In 2015, they handled 53,554 calls and last year, they handled 53,297 calls. After a visit to Bangalore, a report will be prepared and submitted to Delhi Police commissioner for the future course of action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Drones have been deployed in Maoist-hit Malkangiri district of Odisha for aerial surveillance during the fourth phase of panchayat elections today to ensure smooth voting. "Drones have been deployed to conduct aerial surveillance on several highly sensitive polling booths in the district during voting for panchayat polls," said Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Mitrabhanu Mohapatra. While drones played a significant role in keeping sensitive areas under close observtion, CCTvs have also been installed to keep an eye on the election booths and areas around, the SP said, unwilling to specify the number of drones deployed during Panchayat polls. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Malkangiri, Rahul PR said polling was held in 23 gram panchayats under three zilla parishad zones of Kalimela block of the district during the 4th phase of polling during the day. Out of 334 polling booths where polling was held today, as many as 175 booths were identified as sensitive and 53 as hyper-sensitive, he said. The drones, equipped with sophisticated cameras, were used for the first time in the naxal-hit district for the first time for aerial surveillance of the hypersensitive booths to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of the poll, the SDPO said. According to Director General of Police (DGP), K B Singh, all possible steps were taken to prevent any untoward incident and additional forces were deployed in sensitive and hypersensitive booths besides others places. The move to engage drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), assumed significance since the Maoists had warned people in the tribal-dominated region to boycott the panchayat elections. The red rebels, who had warned to take drastic action against people who participate in the polling process and cast their votes, had also unleashed violence in some areas in the run-up to the three-tier panchayat polls, police said. Meanwhile, the State Election Commission (SEC) said all arrangements were in place for the fourth phase of the five round panchayat elections held today. Polling took place in 28 out of the 30 districts of Odisha barring Jharsuguda and Boudh districts. According to SEC Secretary Rabindranath Sahu, a total number of 50,61,974 people were eligible to exercise their franchise for electing 1324 sarpanchs and 17,876 ward members in 162 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones. The SEC asked the police to provide escort to polling parties in view of incidents of snatching of ballot boxes, setting fire to ballot papers and attack on polling officials during the first phase polls on February 13. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Oil-rich Ecuador votes today in general elections that could lead to fugitive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being evicted from the country's London embassy. Socialist presidential candidate Lenin Moreno, who leads in opinion polls, favors continuing to grant the Australian whistleblower asylum, which was granted to him under outgoing leader Rafael Correa. But two conservative contenders, Guillermo Lasso and Cynthia Viteri, each told AFP they would end Assange's asylum if they win the election. Under Correa, Ecuador grabbed world headlines when it defied the United States by granting Assange refuge as he fights against Swedish rape charges. The move has also shielded him from arrest over possible extradition to the United States for leaking diplomatic cables that embarrassed Washington. WikiLeaks has said Assange could travel to the United States to face investigation if his rights were "guaranteed". The Ecuadoran elections could see a pillar of the Latin American left swing to the right in a country at an economic and political crossroads. After a decade of leftist rule, voters must decide whether to follow Argentina, Brazil and Peru in switching to a conservative government. Over his decade in power, leftist economist Correa, 53, oversaw an economic boom in the country of 16 million. But he is not up for re-election. The economy shrank by 1.7 percent last year, suffering notably from falling oil prices. Correa is accused of failing to save any petrodollars for a rainy day, and of hampering businesses with high taxes and duties. "When Correa came to power he promised to diversify the production model," Alberto Acosta-Burneo, an economist at the Spurrier Group consultancy, told AFP. "But he is leaving behind a country in which it is very difficult to produce things." Correa's ally and would-be successor Moreno, 63, promises to continue the outgoing president's tax-and-spend social policies. "The Ecuadoran people have affection (for us) and are determined to continue with this process," Moreno told AFP on Wednesday at a campaign event. But in an uncertain contest, Moreno faces a challenge from ex-banker Lasso, 61, second in the opinion polls. Lasso has vowed to cut spending and taxes, lure foreign investment and create a million jobs. He has slammed Correa's allies over alleged links to a corruption scandal. "We have to vote for change to fight against corruption," Lasso said at a campaign rally on Wednesday. The third-placed candidate is conservative former lawmaker Viteri, 51. Correa says Latin America needs a strong leftist movement to resist US President Donald Trump's hard line on immigration and trade. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Film actor turned BJP leader Locket Chatterjee today alleged that she was getting less number of offers as the Bengali film industry, popularly known as Tollywood, has become thoroughly politicised. "At one point of time I had done a lot of works (films). (Later) I decided to work for the people and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The number my films, my shows were much less now. Our industry has been thoroughly politicised over the past few years," Locket told PTI. The trained dancer who started her acting career in television said she had been anticipated that this would happen as the industry has been painted with political colour. "It was not so a few years back. Pure friendship between individuals is on the wane. I am hurt but not surprised over the developments," said Locket whose upcoming 'Hothat Ekdin' (On a sudden day) is slated for release soon. But, she said, it is a satisfaction that people are coming to her with their problems as "I am in the party not with the tag of a celebrity". "You cannot fool people by waving to them from stage and bank on your heroine image to win their faith. I had been sent to different places by my party. As politics has become my passion while acting is my profession," said the actress. Locket, who had acted in around 70 films till 2014-15, said this identity is more important than anything else and her party has been fully supportive to her acting career. "Despite decline in my number of films, I will continue to play my assigned role in BJP which gave me the support and space," she said. Locket was part of the intellectual-Tollywood brigade, most of whom had joined Trinamool after it swept to power in West Bengal in 2011. She was inducted into the state women's panel as a member in 2014. Locket had joined BJP after quitting the Trinamool Congress on February, 2015. She had also stepped down from the state women's panel around the same time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five college students were today arrested for allegedly consuming liquor at a residential apartment at Vastrapur locality here, police said. "Five students were arrested in the wee hours after police raided the Mayur apartments following a complaint received on control room that they were consuming alcohol and creating loud noise," Vastrapur police station inspector BJ Sarvaiya said. No liquor bottle was recovered from their possession, he said. "Some of them were living there as paying guests and they had gathered there to celebrate the birthday of their friend when they consumed liquor and created nuisance for neighbours," Sarvaiya added. A case under section 66(1)(B) of the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Act was registered in this connection, the officer said. Gujarat is a dry state where consumption and storage of liquor is prohibited and is a crime under provisions of the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five persons including an advocate and three outsourcing employees of the Osmania University (OU), were arrested today for allegedly obtaining fake transcripts from the varsity's examination branch. The prime accused in the case, Shaik Abdullah has been absconding, police said. Among the arrested persons is one Shaik Saifullah who is an advocate cuum secretary of the city-based organisation DJS which trains Muslims youths in self-defence and holds protests on 'Black Day' every year. The arrested persons are identified as T Ramesh, C Aravind Kumar and M Ramu who all are working as the office attenders on the contract basis at the OU's examination branch, besides one G Santhosh Reddy, a data entry operator at a private firm, said Osmania University police station Inspector V Ashok Reddy. Police seized fake transcripts in the name of Abdullah who is on the run apart from the photocopy of his fake degree from the arrested persons. They are booked on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust by public servant, using as genuine a forged document and under other relevant sections of the IPC. Police said Abdullah, who is the elder brother of Saifullah, was working in a Jeddah-based Bin-Laden Company (a construction firm) as an engineer on a fake certificate pertaining to OU, though he did not study in OU. A complaint in this regard was lodged by the OU Examination Controller M Kumar who found a list of the transcripts (obtained from the counters) pertaining to BE certificate on the issuing table at the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) section during a surprise check. After verifying the applications related to the list of transcripts, he found that a specific application in the name of Abdullah showing he passed the BE (Civil) in June, 1985 was not found in records. Kumar enquired in the engineering section (Professional -I) and found the said application was a fake certificate as no such roll number was found in BE course. On verifying, he came to know the transcripts were prepared by the EDP section without verification of the application and that the EDP office staff M Ramu took the printout of the candidate's transcripts. "As his (Shaik Abdullah) office, recently asked him to show transcripts and medium certificate on suspicion of genuineness of his certificate, Abdullah informed his brother Saifullah to obtain the same from Osmania University," the officer said, adding Saifullah in turn approached Santhosh Reddy and paid him Rs 2 lakh. The duo then went to the OU and paid the challan. However, when it got stuck up in the office of the Additional Controller of Examinations, Ramesh, Ramu and Aravind who were already in touch with Santhosh Reddy helped them to obtain the fake transcripts without the knowledge of office staff, the officer said. NBWs are pending against Saifullah in connection with other cases, police said, adding his nephew Naziullah Aqil had underwent training in Pakistan and is absconding. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court has cancelled the bail granted to a woman and others, accused of running a prostitution racket and administering growth harmones to minors, including a nine-year-old girl, to force them into flesh trade. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and D Y Chandrachud considered the seriousness of the crime which entails punishment ranging from seven years imprisonment to life sentence for setting aside the Allahabad High Court order of July 27, 2016 granting bail to the woman and other accused in the case. It held that the approach of the high court "cannot be said to be proper at all while enlarging the accused persons on bail in such a serious crime". The accused have charged with section 370 (buying or disposing of any persons as a slave), section 373 (buying or obtaining possession of minor for the same purpose) and provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. "As many as 41 minor girls were rescued during a raid which was conducted on May 1, 2016. All of them were kept confined and were subjected to torture and harassment. "It was also alleged that growth hormones were given to a nine-year-old girl for purpose of prostitution and similar treatment was given to others. "They were forced and were actually put into prostitution. They were kept hungry, intoxicated with drugs etc. There is a gang which is operating to force minor girls into prostitution and is involved in human trafficking," the bench said. The apex court said, "Considering the seriousness of the allegations, we are of the opinion that the high court ought not to have granted the bail in a mechanical manner without even noticing the facts of the case". The woman and others were arrested after the raid was conducted at a brothel being run by her and 41 minor girls and other girls were rescued by the police. The court said that since charges have been framed against the accused and a large number of witnesses need to be examined in connection with the case, it will be appropriate that the prosecution first examines the material witnesses. It also directed the trial court to record the evidence at least for ten days in one month and complete the trial expeditiously. The court asked the accused persons to cooperate in the trial and granted them liberty to approach it if there is undue delay in the trial. The court's order came on a petition filed by NGO Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan challenging the bail granted to the accused. Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir is in a critical condition and is undergoing treatment at a city hospital here. "He is on a life support system since his condition is very critical," former Supreme Court judge Ashok Ganguly, who was present at the hospital, told PTI. "He is suffering from a kidney-related ailment," Justice (retd) Ganguly, also a close friend of Justice (retd) Kabir, said. "He is in a critical condition and is undergoing treatment," spokesperson of Apollo Hospitals Anjali Singh said. Kabir, 68, was appointed the 39th Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012, a post he held for 292 days, before his retirement on July 19, 2013. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has held a meeting with stent makers and importers to review its availability in market amid reports that artificial scarcity is being created in the garb of withdrawing the device for price relabelling. There are reports of shortages of stents in hospitals after the government reduced their prices by up to 85 per cent by capping rates of bare metal stents at Rs 7,260 and drug- eluting ones at Rs 29,600 on February 13. "The government held a meeting with all domestic stent manufacturers as well as all the importers and their associations. They have all assured that the supplies would be maintained and no shortage will be allowed to develop. There is enough stock," Pharma Secretary Jai Priye Prakash told PTI. It was also decided that if needed, a separate meeting with associations and bodies of hospitals will be called with the assistance of health secretary to sensitise the hospitals too, he added. Senior officials of Department of Pharma and NPPA had met the stent manufacturers and importers to review the availability of stents in the market, amid reports of artificial scarcity being created in the garb of withdrawing stents for re-labelling of prices. "We are keeping an eye on all those who are engaging in unethical practices such as creating artificial shortage of stents, not abiding by the fixed ceiling price etc, against whom strict action will be taken," Prakash had earlier said. The Department of Pharmaceuticals has already written separately to NPPA, DCGI and Healthy Ministry requesting them to take "necessary action" to curb artificial shortage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Budget session of the Gujarat Assembly will commence tomorrow with Governor O P Kohli's inaugural address. The state Budget would be presented on February 21 by Finance Minister Nitin Patel. While Congress has announced to disrupt the House proceedings in a bid to corner the government on the issue of Naliya gangrape, ruling BJP has urged the opposition to co-operate and maintain decorum during the session. The House will meet for 26 days for the Budget session, which will end on March 31. Discussions and voting will be held for 9 government Bills and 12 private member Bills during the session, Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora said in a statement. Some of the key Bills to be tabled in the House include two Bills replacing Ordinances seeking to make necessary amendments in the current Gujarat Prohibition Act and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) of 2003. Both the Ordinances were issued during December last year by the government with an aim to introduce harsher punishment for those involved in liquor trade and consumption and to ban all kinds of hookah bars in the state respectively. This will be the first Budget of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who took over the reigns from his predecessor Anandiben Patel in August last year. Gujarat BJP legislators today held a meeting at Gandhinagar to chalk out their strategy for the session. After the meeting, Minister of State for Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Pradeepsinh Jadeja urged Congress to co-operate during the session. "We appeal Congress legislators to remain present during the session and make proper representation. We also appeal them not to disrespect the Governor by creating ruckus during his speech tomorrow," said Jadeja. However, Leader of Opposition Shankersinh Vaghela reiterated that Congress MLAs will not allow the Governor to deliver his address if he or the BJP government do not give any definitive assurance to conduct a free and fair probe in the Naliya case. "If the Governor gives us assurance that government will do the needful in the Naliya gangrape case, we will allow the House to function. If no such assurance comes, we will disrupt the proceedings," said Vaghela. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) His career got a face-lift after starring alongside Salman Khan in last year's blockbuster "Sultan" and Amit Sadh says he was amused to see how the film also gave a major boost to his social media profile. The actor says he would get very few likes on his photos which he would share online but post the wrestling-based drama he saw a major increase in his followers on Facebook and Instagram. "'Sultan' was a huge film with Salman. I had a great part. I got so much love and attention. My Facebook followers have increased. I was never the digital guy, I used to feel 'why should I post pictures when I only manage to get 20 likes where as some actor who has done lesser work than me gets 1000 likes'. "After 'Sultan', someone asked me to put a photograph and I got 1600 likes within minutes. Now I try to be active on social media," Amit told PTI during a recent visit here. The actor's latest film "Running Shaadi" released this Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is not in competition with China or any other country in pursuing its policy of development cooperation with foreign nations, particularly Africa, Vice President Hamid Ansari today said. Interacting with reporters en route to Kigali to begin his five-day tour to Rwandan and Uganda, Ansari said, "We are not in competition with China or anyone else, as far as our development cooperation with foreign countries is concerned, particularly in Africa. They have their own style of work, own capacities." "We are development partners in Africa, once they decide what they want to benefit from Indian expertise then we transform them into concrete projects of assistance. And, our experience so far has been satisfactory," he said in response to a question. This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda and first high-level bilateral visit to Uganda since 1997. Asserting the importance of the visit, Ansari said this is part of a "conscious effort" of the Indian government to "intensify" our interaction with African nations. "Our President has made visits to three African countries, the Prime Minister to four and I have visited five already. And, now Rwanda and Uganda visit is on the same line," he said. The Vice President has made official visit to Nigeria, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Ansari also hailed the African nations in making "remarkable progress" as attested by international economic experts and underlined the role of "economically relevant" Indian community in the two East African countries, particularly Uganda. "With Rwanda we have a strategic relation while 30,000 Indians in Uganda are economically very relevant," he said. On India's role in its development cooperation in Africa, Ansari said, "We don't try to force them to do anything, we let them decide which areas they wish to cooperate. Areas of expertise we can share, that is our objective. We let them decide what are the areas they would like to cooperate, in education, capacity building. "India's engagement with Rwanda has been consultative, response-based and focused on developing Rwandan capacities and human capital. India's assistance to the country has been guided mainly by the announcements made by India at the India-Africa Forum Summits in 2008, 2011 and 2015," a senior MEA official said. India has engaged with Rwanda and Uganda on many levels. A 28 MW hydroelectric power project on the Nyabarongo River in Rwanda was constructed with a Line of Credit worth USD 80 million from India. Besides, 35 schools in Rwanda have been solar-electrified, she said. "India has also stationed a four-member military training team in Uganda since 2010 to train Ugandan defence personnel and has also deployed a telecom expert, the MEA official said. Ansari during his visit is slated to address India-Uganda Business Forum and launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. "Regarding our relationship, both Rwanda and Uganda are important from the point of view of trade, especially in the pharmaceuticals, automobiles and mechanical appliances and machinery sectors. Our trade with Rwanda has doubled over the last five years while we are one of Uganda's largest trading partners," the MEA official said. Ansari, however said, "The trade from our side has been good but not so good from Uganda side. 'Laila' is among seven cows that were destined to be slaughtered but are now being sheltered by the Indian-American community in the US state of Arizona as part of efforts to promote peace. The communitry has started a 'Goshala cow sanctuary' that protects cows from slaughter while educating people about how saving these animals promotes a sustainable ecosystem. "We believe that kindness to animals leads to kindness to humans and hence a peaceful world," President Naren Koka of the organistaion was quoted as saying by the Casa Grande Dispatch newspaper. At Goshala, the cows are respected, honoured and adored. Protecting them promotes peace and good health, said Koka. "We spread the message of how important it is to protect cows and educate people on how protecting them builds a sustainable ecosystem for future generations," Koka added. "Cows eat grass, and the cow dung is very good for the earth. It protects the topsoil, and the manure can be used to feed the corn," he said. The organisation was started in 2010 when Laila, a black Jersey cow with a white star on her forehead, was saved from slaughter. "Her owner was moving and planned to have her slaughtered, but he offered her for sale on Craigslist to see if he could sell her," said Prayag Narayan Misra, a Goshala founder and volunteer. "We raised the money and purchased her." The organisation now has seven cows but hopes to add more - as many as possible, the report said. Caring for the cows comes with a price tag of about USD 150 per animal per month. Since healthy cows can live up to 20 years, funding is important to the organisation. Much of the financial support for caring for the cows comes from the Indian community but some animal activists are also involved. Goshala also maintains a bull training project so the animals may be used to plow fields. Using bulls rather than tractors to plow fields reduces agricultural dependence on fossil fuels and promotes a more sustainable ecosystem, Koka said. "The organisation promotes a vegetarian lifestyle and frequently serves meatless meals to homeless shelters and the poor. They also hold cooking demonstrations to teach others how to make food with "love and compassion," Koka said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President Hamid Ansari today asserted that India's ties with the African continent have always been "very strong" but friendship is something that needs to be "reiterated and renewed" and not taken for granted. The Vice President, on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda, told reporters that his tour was part of a "conscious effort" by the government to intensify the country's interaction and engagement with Africa. Sources indicated that India is likely to sign a few MoUs during Ansari's visit in various sectors, though no official confirmation has been made. "India's ties with the African continent have always been very strong but friendship is something that needs to be reiterated and renewed. It's a plant that needs to be watered, and no friendship can be taken for granted," Ansari told a group of reporters en route to Rwanda. The Vice President has already visited five countries in Africa - Nigeria, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Ansari's visit is India's first high-level visit to Rwanda and first high-level bilateral visit to Uganda since 1997. "Our President has made visits to three African countries, the Prime Minister to four and I have visited five already. Not, much of Central Africa though. And, now Rwanda and Uganda visit is on the same line," he said. Ansari hailed the two East African countries on their "remarkable progress" after going through a tough period in the past. "Rwanda is a country which has a living memory of very bad and unpleasant experience... And then the 1993-1994 genocide. There was a massive infighting. But they are making remarkable progress. And, international marketing experts are saying it. Also, their economic policies are being welcomed," he said. "We are development associates and I can say that road that these countries are travelling is the road that we (India) have travelled. So we can share our technology and innovation. We don't try to force them to do anything we let them decide which areas they wish to cooperate," Ansari said, when asked about possible areas of bilateral cooperation. To emphasise further the India-Africa link, the Vice President recalled the services rendered by the country in liberation movement and in fight against apartheid. "So we have friendship with old associations, as we assisted them in their national liberation movement. India's role in the struggle against the apartheid is very well known, especially in East Africa and the experience from India is something the Africans talk about without any hesitation," he said. So, this exercise of redoing and renewing partnership in a changing world offer areas of cooperation, and the present effort of the government since the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015 is to further engage Africa, and we are following it very consistently, Ansari said. India has engaged with Rwanda and Uganda on many levels. A 28 MW hydroelectric power project on the Nyabarongo River in Rwanda was constructed with a Line of Credit worth USD 80 million from India. Besides, 35 schools in Rwanda have been solar-electrified, a senior MEA official said. "India has also stationed a four-member military training team in Uganda since 2010 to train Ugandan defence personnel and has also deployed a telecom expert, the official said. Ansari, during his visit, is slated to address India- Uganda Business Forum and launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part opf which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. "As regards our relationship, both Rwanda and Uganda are important from the point of view of trade, especially in the pharmaceuticals, automobiles and mechanical appliances and machinery sectors. Our trade with Rwanda has doubled over the last five years, while we are one of Uganda's largest trading partners," the MEA official said. India has consistently been one of the top import sources for Rwanda. The major items of India's exports to Rwanda include pharmaceuticals, vehicles, textiles, electrical machinery, optical and other precision instruments and plastics. Major imports from Rwanda include coffee, tea, spices, salt, sulphur, precious and semi-precious stones. India has also extended a USD 120.05 million EXIM Bank Line of Credit to Rwanda for an irrigation project. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, at whose invitation Ansari is travelling to that country, at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year, had expressed his readiness to discuss and engage in business with investors from India. Rwanda has an Indian community of about 3000 people and the country's only sugar refinery, its modern textile mill as well as a soap and cosmetic factory are owned by PIOs (Persons of Indian-origin), according to officials. Officials from both countries say Iran and North Korea want to strengthen relations. A report today by ICANA.Ir, the agency of Iran's Parliament, quotes parliament speaker Ali Larijani as saying: "We have always been after stability of relations with North Korea." Larijani was addressing Choe Thae-bok, visiting chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly. He also said both countries should improve economic relations. Thae-bok responded, saying: "North Korea is seeking improved relations with Iran." He also praised Iran's economic and defense improvements. The report said both officials complained about "interventions in independent countries" by the United States. Thae-book is in Iran to participate in an international conference in support of the Palestinians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel's leader says President Donald Trump told him it was a "new day" in Israeli-American relations. Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that last week's meeting with Trump in Washington was "historic" and strengthened the two countries' longtime alliance. After eight years of testy ties with Barack Obama, Netanyahu seems to be relishing Trump's warm embrace. The new president has broken from his predecessor in adopting friendlier positions to the Israeli government regarding a tough line on Iran, a vaguer stance on Palestinian statehood and a more lenient approach to West Bank settlements. Netanyahu says the two leaders see "eye to eye" on Iran and have formed teams to work together on a host of issues. He says "there is a new day and it is a good day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After four years of organic growth, Bengaluru-based IT firm Happiest Minds is scouting for acquisitions in areas like IoT to rev up its revenues. Founded by industry veteran and former Mindtree Chairman Ashok Soota in 2011, Happiest Minds has a revenue run rate of USD 75 million. "So far, 100 per cent of our revenue is organic, but we will do some small acquisitions. We are reasonably close to one Indian IoT company, hopefully we will be able to close it this quarter. We have a couple of other targets in fairly advanced stages," he told PTI. Soota added that these will be up to USD 10 million in size as the company wants to utilise its own cash for acquisitions. Happiest Minds, which hit profitability last year, is aiming to become the fastest IT services firm to reach USD 100 million in revenues. It has 2,200 employees. Internet of Things or IoT refers to microprocessor and sensor fitted gadgets or 'things' within a network talking to each other, swapping real-time data and information to perform specific actions. Emphasising that the company is on track to meet its targets, Soota said the macroeconomic conditions affected the pace of growth, which is "fast" but could have been better. "We should get there...We have three years in terms of our commitment before we go public and I would say we are pretty much on track...(the pace of growth) is fast if not faster but that is because markets have slowed down. "Although we are growing at thrice the rate of Indian IT industry but that is not good enough for us given our size," he said. The digital transformation story has played out well for the company and it is doing "particularly well" in certain areas, he added. "One is the product engineering space because everybody now wants to create platforms and so, we addressed that business by creating digital platforms for our customers. Then is infrastructure support and security...And the third is the new upcoming disruptive technology getting a lot of momentum which is IoT," he said. Talking about the proposed work visa clampdown in the US, Soota said the development brings in opportunity as well. "Anytime they have made a change, Indian companies have found a way out and maybe what this will do is reduce dependence on visas. Also, Indian companies should give emphasis on product development so that we can go up in the value chain," he added. Happiest Minds gets about 70 per cent of its business from the US, around 20 per cent from the UK and Europe and 10 per cent from India. "We have entered into the Middle East and Australia, where we are beginning to get good traction but those numbers will begin to come in the next financial year," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It will be business as usual for the offshore casino vessels in Goa as they are situated beyond the 500 meters criteria decided by the Supreme Court while banning sale of liquor along the national and state highways. The Goa Excise Department, which is currently mapping the liquor outlets along the highways, said that casinos in river Mandovi are 800 metres away from the bridge on the national highway. The Supreme Court in its recent order has banned sale of liquor within 500 meters of the state and national highway. "If any casino vessel is within 500 metres of the bridge we will not renew their licence. But as per Google Map, they are 800 metres away from the bridge on national highway," State Excise Commissioner Menino D'Souza told PTI. The excise department has started the process to implement the order stating that all those covered by the Apex Court directives will not have their licences renewed after March 31, 2017. River Mandovi is home for four off-shore casino vessels which are approachable from the road crossing through Panaji city. While it is a relief for casino vessels, the cruise boats ferrying tourists will be impacted by the SC order. "The boat cruises are located within 500 meters of the national highway no 17. Right now we have to go as per the law and licenses will not be renewed after March 31," the official said. There are four boat cruises operating in Mandovi and the sunset cruises are permitted to serve liquor on board by the Excise department. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana is on the edge as the ongoing Jat agitation seeking reservation in education and government jobs has once again raised the spectre of last year's violence that killed 30 people. Members of the Jat community have been sitting on dharnas in 19 of the state's 22 districts since January 29. The fresh protests come at a time when Haryana is observing golden jubilee of its formation. The images of mobs setting houses, schools, eateries and other places on fire during last year's quota agitation are still fresh in public memory. The Delhi-Ambala National Highway, the gateway for travel to Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, had remained blocked for days. The Manohar Lal Khattar government had drawn flak from various quarters, including the opposition, for its alleged inept handling of the situation last year. A complete breakdown of the official machinery was witnessed between February 19 and 22 last year. Later, a committee headed by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Parkash Singh probed the acts of omission and commission of officers during the Jat quota violence and indicted several officers for not taking appropriate steps, thus allowing the situation to worsen. As many as 1,196 shops were set ablaze, 371 vehicles torched, 30 schools/colleges were burnt, 75 houses were set on fire, 53 hotels/marriage palaces were devastated, 23 petrol pumps were attacked and vandalised, the committee had observed in its report. An industry body had pegged the loss at around Rs 34,000 crore in last year's violence. The mode of protests this year is giving sleepless nights to the first ever BJP government in Haryana, a state carved out in 1966. Despite the government assuring the Jats that it will do whatever possible within the ambit of the law and the agitation leader promising that the stir will be peaceful, the growing number of protesters with each passing day is proving a tightrope walk for the Khattar government, which does not want to allow a repeat of last year's situation. Notably, opposition parties -- the Indian National Lok Dal and the Congress -- have given their support, asking the Khattar government to fulfil the promises it had made to the Jat community. Jats are demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, besides withdrawing of criminals cases registered against several youths of the community during last year, release of those lodged in jail, compensation and government jobs to the next of kin of those killed in last year's agitation. Like last year, this year too the epicentre of the stir is Rohtak, Sonipat, Hissar and Jhajjar districts. The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS) is spearheading the fresh stir and is being led by its national president Yashpal Malik (55), who hails from Uttar Pradesh and has no link with Haryana. Last year, Haryana Police had slapped a sedition case against him. However, Malik has been active and has been criss-crossing the state this year during fresh round of the stir to drum up support. The Haryana government's decision to grant reservation to Jats and five other communities in jobs and educational institutions under the newly created Backward Class 'C' category was challenged last year after a PIL was filed in this regard before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The PIL was filed by a Bhiwani resident, who challenged the constitutional validity of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, passed by the assembly on March 29 last year. The Act provides 10 per cent quota in Class III and IV posts and educational institutions and six per cent quota in Class I and II posts to Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Muslim Jats in Schedule-III. The government has been trying to defend its quota law since. While reservation continues to be the main demand of the Jats, the protesters are also putting pressure on the government for other demands as well. The state had last year enacted a law for providing reservation to Jats in consultation with all stakeholders, but later on the court has stayed it and now the matter would have to be dealt with in a legal manner only, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said. The state government has appointed a senior advocate to plead the case in the court, Khattar had said earlier. "Once the stay is vacated, the state government would request the Centre to include the Act (granting reservation to Jats and others) in the 9th Schedule," he said. The Khattar government has also announced a fresh compensation, this time for "innocent persons" who were injured during the 2016 Jat reservation stir. The BJP government in the state had last week formed a five-member committee, headed by Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, to hold talks with the agitating Jats. Recently, a meeting between representatives of a Haryana government-appointed committee and leaders of the Jat agitation remained inconclusive. The fresh round of stir is a sort of tightrope walk for the BJP government, which does not want to let the law and order situation get out of hands this time, even as it is wary of taking any strict action that alienates the predominant Jats totally. In view of the fresh Jat stir, paramilitary forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, while the state police is maintaining a strict vigil. The Haryana government will hold a fresh round of talks tomorrow with the leaders of protesting Jats who are demanding quota in jobs and educational institutions. In spite of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar saying that their demands will be fulfilled "within the scope of the law", the Jat body leading the agitation today threatened to step it up and passed resolutions asking the community members not to pay power and water bills till their demands are met. Haryana remained on high alert with maximum deployment of forces to prevent any untoward incident as the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS) observed "Balidan Divas" (day of sacrifice) in the memory of those who lost their lives in last year's agitation in the state. As a precautionary measure, the state roadways suspended its bus services for today on some routes in sensitive districts, including Hisar, Rohtak, Kaithal and Sonipat, an official said. The Chief Minister said that as per reports received, peace and harmony is prevailing in the state and the organisers of demonstrations have assured of conducting them in a peaceful manner. He hoped that the issue will be resolved soon. The AIJASS also agreed to participate in the second round of talks with the government in Panipat tomorrow. Meanwhile, its president, Yashpal Malik, who addressed sit-ins in Joli-Lath and Jassia in Sonipat and Rohtak districts, said eight resolutions were passed today by the protesters asking the community members "to stop paying their power and water bills till their demands are met". "From March 1, they will not cooperate with the government. No one will pay power, water bills and instalment of loans that they owe to the government," he said. He threatened that the stir will be intensified in Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Karnal, Dadri, Kurukshetra, Mewat and Panchkula from March 1. The AIJASS leader also said Jats from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will protest in the national capital on March 2 and submit a memorandum on the issue to the President. They also plan to gherao Parliament, the date for which will be announced on March 2. Malik said February 26 will be observed as "Black Day" by Jats and to protest against the state government's policies, the community members will wear black turbans and ties, ribbons and arm bands. The AIJASS president has appealed to the people to stop the supply of milk to Delhi and a date in this regard will be announced later. "I appeal to my brothers and sisters not to sell milk on that day. Prepare ghee, khoya and kheer from it but do not sell it as one-day milk hartal will be observed in Haryana," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tracing back India's connection with jazz music to the 1920s, American guitarist Stanley Jordan says the musical genre "found a welcome home in Bollywood". The musician is in the Capital to perform at the Jazz Utsav here today. "There is a long history of jazz in India going back to the 1920s. Many African-American jazz musicians toured to India to be free from the racial discrimination in the US at the time. The audiences here identified with the theme of freedom in the music as it validated their own aspirations to be free of colonialism. "Jazz also found a welcome home in Bollywood as it did in Hollywood. Besides that, both jazz and Indian classical music feature improvisation, so I think there was a common resonance in the cultural traditions as well," Jordon, an ardent fan of Pandit Ravi Shankar and L Shankar, told PTI in an email interview. The musician's tryst with Indian music happened as a teenager when he saw sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan and American jazz musician John Handy perform together in San Francisco. "It was a life-changing experience!" says the four-time Grammy nominee, who has himself collaborated with Indian musicians Jay Kishor(sitar) and Vedang Londhe (tablas), to record a CD of ragas, with influences of jazz music. "When it comes to ragas I know I have a lot to learn and I want to learn, but I'll say this for sure: When Jay and I play together there is a magic that happens," he told PTI. However, according to him, there exists a popular notion that jazz is complicated and the belief that only "simple music sells" has turned music into a "commodity with less cultural value". After the 1950s, Jordan says, pop-culture became a rage across the globe pushing music genres like jazz and classical to the back seat. "There was this belief that only simple music sells. Ironically, this has hurt the music industry in the long run because it's turned music into a commodity with less cultural value," he says. However, Jordan is optimistic with jazz staging a gradual yet steady comeback, following reduced profits in the pop genre. The musician sees this as an opportunity to restore the "true value" of music. "With reduced profits in pop, there's an opportunity to restore the true value of music and there are new business opportunities online. "Also, people are tired of the same old stuff, so I think there's an opportunity right now for resurgence of jazz around the world, including in India. My goal is to help make that happen. These are very exciting times!" he says. The artiste also has an ear for electronic dance music, and is currently working on developing his own form of "electronica, and combining it with jazz". Excited to be in India, Jordan will showcase his unique 'touch or two-handed tapping technique' on guitar where a string is hammered against the fretboard with the finger, to produce a note with one hand, during his performance here. He will also play the piano alongside guitar. "The touch technique was inspired by the piano, which was my first instrument. When I use the technique, I'm able to play guitar and piano at the same time, which allows me to orchestrate with a bigger palette of tonal colours. I treat the two as if it were a single instrument. It helps me to expand the musical possibilities," he says. Jeev Milkha Singh lost out in the shoot out in his first six-hole match against David Bransdon to end Tied-22 at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6, here today. On Saturday, Jeev survived an eight-way play-off for five places into Sunday's match play segment. Jeev and Bransdon won two holes each when the six-hole match ended and in the ensuring shoot out from 93 yards, the Australian beat the Indian. But the story on Sunday was local Perth man, Brett Rumford, who completed his remarkable return from injury and sketchy form over last two years with a splendid 2&1 win over Thailand's 17-year-old prodigy, Phachara Khongwatmai. This was Rumford's first win since 2013 in China. In the final, Rumford won first, fourth and fifth holes, while Phachara managed only the second. On Saturday, Phachara had secured the last play-off spot for the match play rounds but stormed his way convincingly into the final only to be beaten by the dominant Australian, who curiously was also was the 54-hole stroke play leader. As the top seed, Rumford received a bye in the first round and defeated Hideto Tanihara, Wade Ormsby and Adam Bland on his way to the final at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club. Phachara, on the other hand, had to produce a gallant effort to secure the 24th and final spot to the match play rounds. He finally prevailed after his third attempt at the play-off holes on Saturday and continued to shine by overcoming Australians Sam Brazel, Lucas Herbert, Matthew Millar and Jason Scrivener before facing off with Rumford. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 500 artists will showcase the centuries-old folklore culture and tradition of the country through different art forms here as part of the National Folk Festival of Kerala. Folk artists from 10 states including Rajasthan, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir would perform in three different locations in the capital city for three-days from February 24. The first such festival of its kind to be held in the state, the NFFK 2017 is organised by the state Youth Welfare Board, in association with Bharat Bhavan and the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan, the state-run cultural centers here. The event is envisaged as a platform to introduce the rich legacy of the country's folklore tradition before the art and culture buffs, the organisers said. A group of 20 artists from Kashmir would showcase over 10 dance and music programmes. Noted Bengal folk music band 'Sahajiya', known for taking the legacy of the state's folk tradition across the world through their performances, would be another attraction of the event. The usage of traditional music equipment of Bengal by the band would be a novel experience for artists, the organisers said. The artists from Punjab would perform the traditional dances like Bhangra, Giddha and Jago while those from Rajasthan would showcase 'Kalbelia', the famed folk dance mainly performed by tribes of the same name, they said. The performances of artists from Jaisalmer would help the audience here get an idea about the traditional dress and lifestyle of the place, located nearby Pakistan. The artists of Kerala would showcase the state's traditional art forms including 'Theyyam'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kraft Heinz has decided to withdraw its USD 143 billion offer to buy mayonnaise, tea and seasonings maker Unilever. The companies announced the decision today in a joint press release. Unilever, which has a head office in London, earlier had spurned the offer, saying the price was too low. Despite rejection, ketchup, cheese and lunch meat maker Kraft Heinz said last week it was still interested in the deal. Analysts say Kraft Heinz, co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, is still in the market for acquisitions. The deal would have brought together Kraft Heinz brands such as Oscar Mayer, Jell-O and Velveeta and Unilever's Hellman's, Lipton and Knorr. The combined company would have rivaled Nestle as the world's biggest packaged food maker by sales. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A parliamentary panel in Kuwait on today approved draft legislation calling for the scrapping of government plans to raise petrol and power prices to combat a budget deficit. The financial and economic affairs committee said in its decision that "no increases in public charges and commodity prices" can be applied without a law being passed in parliament, its secretary Safa al-Hashem told reporters. The decision will now go before the Gulf state's parliament for a vote that is expected to pass because a majority of lawmakers supports preventing the government from raising such charges. Under Kuwaiti law, the government has the power to reject parliamentary decisions -- but MPs can also override such a rejection by a two-thirds majority in a fresh vote. In a series of measures aimed at financing a budget shortfall resulting from low oil prices, the government increased fuel prices and also plans to apply sharp rises in power and water prices in May. Kuwait, which relies heavily on oil income, posted its first budget deficit of USD 15 billion in the 2015-2016 fiscal year after 16 years of healthy surpluses. It expects a higher deficit in the year ending March 31, and has also projected a shortfall for the next fiscal year. Austerity measures were implemented in the other five Gulf Cooperation Council members -- Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates -- with no problems. Kuwait is the only Gulf state to have a vibrant parliament in which the opposition controls half of its 50 seats following a general election in November. The International Monetary Fund urged Kuwait that month to enact further subsidy reforms to trim its budget deficit, despite their political sensitivity. Kuwait has already drawn down billions of dollars from its USD 600-billion sovereign fund and resorted to borrowing and plans to issue domestic and foreign bonds worth USD 16.6 billion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi-based French patisserie and bakery chain L'Opera is looking to add 50 outlets across India by 2021 for which it will raise around Rs 40 crore. The chain currently has 16 outlets in Delhi, Gurugram and Dehradun. "We plan to open 50 outlets across the country by 2021. The cities that we would be focusing on are Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi and NCR," L'Opera Executive Chairman Kazem Samandari told PTI. Out of these, up to seven will be added in Delhi and NCR, he said. The company will also open two more regional production centres in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company will also have satellite production centres in Pune and Chennai, Samandari said. Asked how the company plans to finance the expansion, he said: "We are right now in the process of completing a round of funding of roughly Rs 40 crore that will take us to our next development phase." For this the company has appointed Langham Capital as its financial adviser, he said, adding: "We have shortlisted two potential lead investors, who are private equity funds." L'Opera started operations in 2010 and opened its first flagship outlet in Delhi in March 2011. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) plans to launch a petrol variant of its flagship SUV XUV500 in the first quarter of next fiscal in the wake of customer preference shifting away from diesel vehicles in the segment. The company is also mulling launching a petrol variant of its popular Scorpio model depending on the demand for the same in XUV500. Besides, it plans to launch another SUV codenamed 'S201' that is being developed on the platform of Tivoli from the stable of its South Korean arm Ssangyong in the second half of 2018-19. In a communication to investors, (M&M) said: "The gasoline (petrol) version of XUV500 is likely to be launched in Q1FY18." Currently, the XUV500 is available only in diesel fuel option with two engine variants of 2,179 cc and 1,997 cc, priced in the range of Rs 12.47 lakh and Rs 17.57 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) "Depending on the response to this product, the company would launch gasoline version of Scorpio," M&M added. The company said the "S201, being developed on Tivoli platform, would be launched in H2 FY19". Apart from these, there would be periodic refreshes to the existing vehicles, it added. Big diesel cars and SUVs have been witnessing decline in demand due to regulatory concerns over pollution. Last year registration of such vehicles with diesel engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above were banned for eight months in Delhi-NCR by the Supreme Court. Subsequently, M&M had introduced downsized 1.99 litre version of its mHawk engine series to power the XUV500 and Scorpio models. Traditionally, demand for diesel options is higher in SUV segment compared to petrol. However, according to industry estimates, it saw a decline from around 90 per cent to about 80 per cent last year. Commenting on the implementation of new BS-VI emission norms for commercial vehicles from April 1, M&M said utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles could become expensive by around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. For medium and heavy commercial vehicles, it said "the price impact could be to the tune of 7-8 per cent". Malaysia's investigation into the murder of the North Korean leader's half-brother shows that the Pyongyang government was behind the assassination, South Korea said today. Malaysian police have arrested one North Korean suspect and are seeking four more North Koreans who left the country last Monday, the day Kim Jong-Nam was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur's main airport. "Based on various factors, our government is certain that the dead man is Kim Jong-Nam, and considering that the five suspects are North Korean nationals, we view that the North Korean government is behind the incident," said Seoul's unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Malaysian police today they were seeking four more North Korean suspects in the assassination of Kim Jong-Un's half-brother at Kuala Lumpur's main airport, but the four had already left the country. The suspects were all male and aged between 33 and 57, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference. In addition to the four, three North Koreans were being sought to assist with enquiries. Police yesterday arrested a North Korean man over the killing last Monday of Kim Jong-Nam after detaining a woman carrying a Vietnamese passport, as well as an Indonesian woman and a Malaysian man. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed deep condolences at the sad demise of former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. In her condolence message, Banerjee said with the passing away of Kabir the country has lost a legal luminary. "Condolences on the passing of fmr CJ Altamas Kabir ji. My thoughts with his family/colleagues. India & Bengal have lost a legal luminary," Banerjee tweeted. Kabir, who was suffering from kidney ailment and related complications, died at 2.52 PM, a senior hospital official told PTI. The former CJI is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Kabir was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 19, 2013. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man, facing charges of cheating and theft, who went into hiding in Rajasthan for over 12 years after getting bail has been apprehended by Delhi Police after he came to the national capital. Tariq Ahmad, who never faced trial in the two criminal cases against him and was declared a proclaimed offender with a Rs 25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, was caught near Old Delhi Railway Station on February 14. According to the police, he was arrested in 2004 in connection with a cheating case and for stealing documents of a flat from the office of Delhi Development Authority. An FIR was lodged in both the cases. After he was granted bail, he disappeared and in July 2016 the trial court declared him as a proclaimed offender. On February 14, the Crime Branch received information that Ahmad went to Fatehpuri, near Old Delhi Railway Station, in the evening hours and a trap was laid for him. He was apprehended the same day, police said. On being interrogated, he revealed that for the last 12 years he was residing at Ajmer in Rajasthan, police said, adding that since there was a possibility that he may be involved in crimes there, the authorities there have been informed about his arrest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A utility helicopter belonging to the Indian Air Force made a precautionary landing today at Bannerghatta near here after it developed a technical snag. "An Mi-17 helicopter made a precautionary landing at Bannerghatta after it developed a technical snag," IAF Public Relations Officer and Wing Commander Anupam Bannerjee told PTI. After attending to the technical snag, the helicopter was flown back to the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited airport in Bengaluru, Bannerjee said. In response to a question, Bannerjee said he did not know at what time the incident occurred. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis today said America's vast military continues to run smoothly, even though President Donald Trump's first month has been marked by consecutive crises. "Welcome to democracy," Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi during his first trip to the region as Pentagon chief. "It's at times wildly contentious, it's at times quite sporting, but the bottom line is this is the best form of government we can come up with." Mattis was responding to a question about a comment last week from Army General Raymond "Tony" Thomas, who said the US government was in "unbelievable turmoil." Trump's first few weeks have been notable for a growing scandal over possible White House-Kremlin ties, a botched travel ban and controversial cabinet picks. The new Pentagon chief said Thomas may have been taken out of context and, as far as he is concerned, everything is running smoothly from a military perspective. "The military job is to hold the line, to hold the line and to hold the line, while our government sorts out the way ahead and our people speak," he said. "We don't have any disarray inside the military and that's where my responsibility lies." Military commanders in the region say they have so far seen little impact from the presidential transition. Mattis also referred to Trump's continued diatribe against journalists and his branding of several media outlets as the "enemy of the American People." "I have had some rather contentious times with the press," said Mattis, a former Marine general whose fiery war talk has landed him in hot water on several occasions. "But the press as far as I am concerned are a constituency that we deal with, and I don't have any issues with the press myself," he told reporters. While campaigning and since his election, Trump has blasted the media on a near-daily basis, dismissing stories he dislikes of being "fake news" and calling journalists dishonest. He took his disdain to a new level Saturday, when he said several US networks were "the enemy." Mattis is well known for his pithy sayings but has also gotten in trouble for some of his comments while commanding in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the eve of the Iraq invasion, he told Marines to: "Engage your brain before you engage your weapon." He also famously -- and controversially -- said in regard to fighting the Taliban that it's "a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Malayalam superstar Mohanlal today wanted exemplary punishment to be handed over to those behind the attack on the young Malayalam actress at Kochi. "Exemplary punishment should be handed out to these criminals who are worse than animals so that it serves as a lesson to similar minded characters who I will not even term as humans," he said in a facebook post. "It's time we stop being candle holding and candle lighting sympathisers and ensure that the law of the land be strengthened in such ways that nobody even dares contemplating such acts leave alone commit it," he said. "My heart goes out to her in this time of distress. May justice be served without delay," he said. The actress was allegedly harassed for two hoursby a gang of men, who forced their way into her car before fleeing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T R Zeliang today decided to step down as Nagaland Chief Minister in a dramatic turn of events in the violence-hit state. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office confirmed Zeliang was stepping down and a consensus leader will be chosen tomorrow morning at Naga People's Front Legislature Party meeting. The NPF meeting will be followed by a meeting of DAN (Democratic Alliance of Nagaland) at 11 AM here. In the 60-member Assembly, an NPF source claimed, former Chief Minister and sole MP from the state Neiphiu Rio, commanded the support of 49 MLAs, including 8 Independents, while at least 3 are with party President Dr Shurhozelie Liezitsu. The three include Speaker Chotisuh Sazo. However, political analysts said that with ever-changing complexions, the strength of each side can be clear only after the back-to-back crucial meetings tomorrow. The legislators, holed up in a resort in Assam's Kaziranga, had started leaving Kohima Friday night as Liezietsu was preparing to stake claim to replace Zeliang soon after the arrival of Governor P B Acharya from New Delhi. NPF sources said both Rio and Zeliang met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi yesterday but they refused to divulge details. The BJP has four MLAs in the state. Zeliang had left for Delhi on February 16 after seeking two days' time to step down from the chief ministerial post. Protests had erupted after announcement of holding ULB elections with 33 per cent reservation for women. The Nagaland government had fulfilled the demand of Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) Kohima, declaring the entire process of Urban Local Bodies election with 33 per cent reservation for women as null and void. Its second demand of suspending the personnel involved in January 31 police firing on the protesters leading to the killing of two youths in Dimapur has been partially fulfilled as they have been transferred. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gambia's new president promised greater freedom, an improved economy and better education as thousands attended a ceremony marking his inauguration after a tense political standoff with the country's former longtime leader. "This is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for all Gambians," President Adama Barrow yesterday said to a packed stadium near the capital that included dignitaries and several African heads of state. The day, he said, was symbolic because it also marked the day in 1965 when the small West African nation declared its independence from Britain and the year in which the 52-year-old Barrow was born. Yesterday's ceremony was held to let Gambians witness a swearing-in that echoed the official one last month. Barrow first took the oath of office at Gambia's embassy in neighboring Senegal in January as former leader Yahya Jammeh refused to cede power. International pressure, including the threat of a regional military intervention, led Jammeh on Jan 21 to finally accept his December election loss and fly into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Hundreds of thousands welcomed Barrow's return to Gambia days later. Barrow has pledged to reverse many of the actions that Jammeh took during his more than two decades of power. Barrow has promised to stay in the International Criminal Court, rejoin the Commonwealth, and free political prisoners. Barrow arrived at Independence Stadium yesterday to fanfare, waving from his vehicle in flowing white robes. Gambians also cheered Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai, who had to flee to Senegal during the political crisis after standing by the election results that showed Barrow's win. After hours of ceremony, including a marching band, Barrow addressed the nation. He thanked Senegal for hosting him and promised improved relations, adding "we want the relationship between the two countries to be a model for African integration." He thanked Allah, the Gambian people, the African Union, United Nations and regional leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS for undertaking mediation efforts, including Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was in attendance. "Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put a government in office as well as remove it," he said, noting many challenges ahead as the country emerges from rule under Jammeh, who imposed a climate of fear with an administration that detained and sometimes tortured and killed opponents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raj Kummar Rao and Anjali Patil starrer political satire "Newton", which had its world premiere at the 67th Berlin Film Festival, has won the International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its Forum segment. Rao shared the on Twitter by congratulating the entire team of the Amit Masurkar-directed movie. "So happy to share 'Newton' has won the Art Cinema award for the Forum section at Berlinale. Congratulations team." The movie, which also stars Pankaj Tripathi, revolves around the story of a rookie clerk on election duty in a conflict-ridden jungle of Central India, who tries his best to conduct free and fair voting. The director, who rose to fame after helming 2014 film "Sulemani Keeda," earlier told PTI he believes that only Rao could have done justice to the character. "I thought of Raj Kummar because the character was somebody, for which I needed a person, who could pull of a huge range. Plus I needed an actor of his age. The amount of energy he could send to the role I couldn't think of anybody else. "Raj is extremely dedicated guy. He is with you one hundred per cent. And, I would love to work with him in more films." Amit had also confirmed that the movie will release in mid-2017. Some 43 films were screened in the Forum segment at the festival, which concludes on Sunday. Actress Huma Qureshi's Hollywood debut "The Viceroy's House" also had its world premiere at the 2017 Berlinale. Rao also gave his best wishes to the actress by tweeting, "As Berlinale comes to an end, sending my love and wishes to you @humasqureshi for making us so proud with #ViceroysHouse. Amazing job. Much love. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-owned iron ore miner Ltd is in discussions with Vietnam-based Masan Resources to acquire a "considerable stake" in its Nui Phao polymetallic mine, sources close to the development said. The mine, which has rich reserves of tungsten mineral, is located in Thai Nguyen province in Northern Vietnam. At present, India mostly imports tungsten for its domestic requirements due to high production cost of the metal. "Recently a team from visited the plant and held initial discussions with Masan Resources. is interested in acquiring a considerable stake in the mine as Ministry of Defence has also expressed interest to buy the metal from NMDC. A decision will be arrived only after a due diligence," sources told PTI. Officials of NMDC declined to comment on the issue, saying they have signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Vietnamese firm. According to Masan Resources Annual Report-2015, it has become the world's largest tungsten miner and producer, accounting for around 30 per cent of the total global supply of the metal. The Nui Phao polymetallic mine is the first tungsten mine successfully developed for production in the last 15 years. It has probable ore reserves of 66 million tonnes. According to a senior official of Ministry of Steel, currently there is no indigenous production of tungsten from the discovered deposits due to its economic unviability. India's requirements are being met partially through recovery from scrap and imports. NMDC and defence PSU Midhani signed an MoU in October last year to explore suitable tungsten assets in India and abroad for investment as well as development of technologies for converting tungsten ore into Ammonium Para Tungstate. Meanwhile, NMDC said it's two mechanised iron ore mines - in Bailadila (Chhattisgarh) and Donimalai (Karnataka) - and a diamond mining project at Panna (Madhya Pradesh), have received five-star ratings from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), an agency under the Ministry of Mines. The star ratings are awarded to the mining leases for their efforts and initiatives taken for implementation of the Sustainable Development Framework (SDF). The best performing leases are given five star ratings, the miner said. Bengaluru-based property listing site NoBroker.Com is planning to enter Delhi, Noida, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad this year, a top company official said. Launched in March 2014, NoBroker is currently present in five cities -- Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gurugram. "After the recent demonetisation and overall cautious market sentiment, the rental real estate has picked up significantly. Today, real estate is no longer an investor market but is driven by end-users. "We see this as a right opportunity to expand our presence in other cities as well," its Chief Executive Amit Agarwal told PTI here. He said after demonetisation, activity in the rental market has picked up more than in the sale/resale segment. "There is still a lull in the these two segments and developers are trying to woo buyers with certain incentives and discounts. On the other hand, the resale market, because of the lower rentals, is still a preferred option for customers," Agarwal said. He said the company will enter markets like Delhi, Noida, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad in 2017 and spend a significant amount on marketing and brand awareness. "We have so far raised Rs 135 crore and we plan to spend a significant amount for marketing and creating brand awareness through non-digital mode. We are planning to use hoardings as a medium to reach out to people, apart from radio," Agarwal added. NoBroker. Com initially raised Series-A funding of USD 3 million from SAIF Partners and Fulcrum Ventures. It later raised USD 10 million in Series B funding. Former Chief Product Officer Anand Chandrasekaran also invested in the firm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 24-year-old woman from the northeast was allegedly raped by a man near Delhi's Hauz Khas village, police said today. The incident happened last night when the woman, who belongs to Manipur, was returning from a party in Hauz Khas village along with her friends and cousins, said a senior police officer. The woman told police that around 11.30 PM she was offered a drop home by an unknown person. He apparently told her that his vehicle was parked at some distance near Deer Park. The accused, thereafter, on the pretext of guiding the woman, led her to an isolated stretch in the adjoining park area and allegedly raped her. The woman somehow managed to escape from the spot and later informed the police. A case under IPC section 376 (rape) has been registered and efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the accused with the help of local intelligence and electronic surveillance, said the officer. We have gathered vital clues in preliminary investigation and the accused will be nabbed soon, he added. "We are in touch with the woman, and she is being counselled to help her recover from the trauma," the officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 300 people, mostly Afghans, have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 worshippers. "More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody mostly Afghans since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road," Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today. He said the search operation of the law enforcement agencies will continue across the province and the Afghan nationals living here must keep their identification papers. At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly suicide attack claimed by the ISIS in the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province. "During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said. Some 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a protest demonstration of chemists outside the Punjab Assembly. According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), "police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted". Police used bio-metric machines for identification of people and those who failed to produce documents to prove their identity have been taken into custody, he said, adding illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification. Meanwhile, the police have taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler/facilitator Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast. According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road where he blew himself up. An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day physical remand. Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of the Lahore blast. Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country. The army over the weekend killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A pilot of a private airline today spotted a 'drone-like object' flying in vicinity of the domestic airport here, police said. Around 2 PM, the pilot of a Delhi-bound Indigo flight noticed a drone-like object in the sky. Following this, the pilot immediately alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC later brought the matter to the notice of police control room at 2:24 PM, a senior police official said. The pilot informed the ATC that he spotted a drone-like object approximately 3 nautical miles from the runaway, he said. According to the official, the pilot spotted the drone-like object around 900-feet from the ground level, seconds after the flight took off. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that BJP was "sidelined" when proposals were cleared in the Standing Committee of the BMC. He also asserted that BJP was not involved in corrupt deals in BMC despite being a partner in power with for the last 20-years. "...In fact, many times we were sidelined and they (Shiv Sena) joined hands with MNS and other smaller parties to get some proposals cleared in the standing committee meeting. Our corporators had a minor role. As far as I remember, there were 3-4 such incidents wherein we were sidelined," Fadnavis told reporters at his official residence. Standing committee is one of the most powerful committees in the civic body comprising corporators of all the parties. This committee is authorised to clear tenders of development works to be done in the city. The comments by Fadnavis assume significance as his party is being repeatedly questioned for maintaining silence on corruption in the BMC all these years despite being in alliance. BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Ashish Shelar have alleged corruption in some developmental projects undertaken by the BMC. Asked about the aggressive campaigning across Mumbai, Fadnavis said, "From day one as a chief minister, I have been looking into the issues of Mumbai and trying to solve them. has become complacent towards Mumbai's issues. I want voters to give them (Shiv Sena) some time to rest by giving us majority in the BMC elections this time". "According to primary information, BMC has spent as much as Rs 8,000 crore only on gutter cleaning. Why so much expenditure and so little result," Fadnavis asked. Commenting on the identity and Sena's attempt to appeal for 'sons-of-soil', he said, "BJP too has Marathi leadership; hence such appeal will no longer affect our party." "If is talking about Marathi people, why areas like Girgaon still face water problems. On the other hand, we are not only bringing metro to Girgaon but giving 500 sq ft of homes to affected people, though the current size of their house is less than that," he added. On Somaiya's allegations of sham companies being used for money laundering, the chief minister said, "I have asked him to submit these names to appropriate authority so that they can continue their investigation." "BJP wanted to maintain a certain decency during campaigning; hence we avoided speaking on such issues," Fadnavis said. A statue of Mother Mary was allegedly desecrated by unknown persons in suburban Kurla in the wee hours today, leading to tension in the area. The grotto of Mother Mary installed on a roadside in Kurla was desecrated at around 4 AM, police said. The incident led to tension in the area and police were trying to pacify the angry locals. They were also trying to obtain CCTV footage of the area. In one of the footages that they have managed to get, three persons were purportedly seen moving on a bike near the site, police said. Efforts were on to nab the culprits, they said. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone V, Paramjit Singh said police personnel are on the spot and the situation is under control. Reacting to the incident, social activist Nicholas Almeida said this kind of disturbance happens every now and then during election time. He demanded strict action against the culprits. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to improve ties with China, Switzerland has "revised" its immigration policy for Tibetan refugees, asking them to change their nationality to Chinese, state media here reported today. The "Tibetans-in-exile" community in Switzerland has found it more difficult to obtain an official identification of Tibetan refugee since Berne revised its immigration policy and asked those Tibetans to change their nationality to Chinese in July 2016, an article on the website of Global Times said. The report quoted Swiss media as saying that the approval rate for asylum seekers from Tibet fell to 50.2 per cent by the end of November last year, while the rate in 2015 ranged between 65-85 per cent. Switzerland, for a long time, has allowed Tibetans to identify themselves as the citizens of "Tibet" or "Stateless". According to the report, Switzerland has more than 4,000 Tibetans, the largest "Tibetans-in-exile" group in Europe, and is a major base for Tibetan separatists in the continent. As a small European nation, Switzerland has a high profile as human rights advocate and accepted some "Tibetans-in-exile" since China took control of Tibet in 1951, though Tibetan protesters were arrested during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the country last month, it said. The report said, Berne's denial of recognising the 'Tibet' nationality has "no doubt dealt a blow to Tibetan separatists, as well as the so-called 'government-in-exile' led by the 14th Dalai Lama." It claimed Switzerland's move is a result of the "positive Sino-Swiss diplomatic cooperation. Berne must have realised it has more to gain from a strong bilateral relationship with Beijing rather than supporting the Tibetan separatists." "Once Berne learns that it has a common vision with Beijing, it would certainly support China in its pro-globalisation efforts, despite the Tibet question. Western politicians used to play the Dalai Lama card to show off their ideological superiority. But, nowadays, the issue could be used to offset China's clout in the international community," it said. The article said, "apart from toning down the Dalai Lama issues, Beijing should work on finding other solutions while making efforts to better integrate China's minority groups as the Tibet question wouldn't vanish upon Dalai Lama's demise". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The leading Syrian opposition body today lambasted escalating attacks by government forces as a "bloody message" aimed at sabotaging peace talks that are due to open in Geneva next week. The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said recent attacks near Damascus, Homs city, and elsewhere were "obstructing the efforts aimed at a political transition in Syria". "It is a bloody message from a criminal regime just a few days ahead of political negotiations in Geneva that demonstrates its rejection of any political solution," the HNC said in an online statement. Armed opposition groups went even further, accusing the regime of eliminating any shot at a peaceful resolution to Syria's war. In a statement released Sunday, rebels said the shelling around Damascus, Homs, and northwest Idlib "undermines the ceasefire and finishes off opportunities for a political solution". At least 16 people were killed on Saturday when government forces shelled a funeral near Damascus, and three civilians were killed in air strikes on the last rebel-held district of Homs city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. And on Sunday, seven civilians were killed in air strikes on a town in southern Syria, while an exchange of shelling in Daraa city killed a nurse and a young girl, the monitor said. Peace talks in Geneva are set to begin on February 23, featuring a new chief opposition negotiator on behalf of the HNC, lawyer Mohammed Sabra. Formed in December 2015, the HNC has risen to prominence as the leading umbrella group for Syrian opposition factions. Sabra will replace Mohamed Alloush of the Army of Islam rebel group, which said it would participate in the delegation in an advisory capacity. Alloush has twice headed the rebel delegation to talks in Kazakhstan, where opposition backer Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran organised parallel negotiations. Meetings in Astana have focused on confidence-building measures and reinforcing a frail, seven-week truce deal also brokered by Ankara and Moscow. By comparison, negotiations in Geneva are expected to address the key issues that divide the two sides, including the fate of President Bashar al-Assad. His role in Syria's future remains the primary sticking point, with the opposition insisting that he leave at the beginning of any transition period. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The continuous whirl of hair dryers is a novel sound at the Blush Beauty Point parlour in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, which until just five months ago had to close at regular intervals because of power cuts. Scheduled power cuts -- known as load-shedding -- have been a part of daily life in the impoverished landlocked country for decades, forcing small businesses to rely on expensive generators or simply close when the lights went out. "We had to run our business according to the load-shedding schedule. Clients would call and check if there was light," the salon's owner Anita Shrestha told AFP. But that has all changed since Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year. Load-shedding -- previously up to 16 hours a day in the winter dry season -- has all but ended in the country's three largest cities and in other major towns been reduced to around two hours on alternate days. "When I was appointed I set the goal that I would at least make Kathmandu load-shedding free," Ghising told AFP. Demand for electricity has long outstripped supply in Nepal, with energy production severely depressed by chronic under-investment and inefficiencies in the power network. The result has been crippling for domestic industry and deterred foreign investment, while crucial infrastructure development has flagged in the years of political paralysis that followed the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006 and the overthrow of the monarchy two years later. Ghising's formula to end the power cuts involved tackling some basic inefficiencies. He overhauled the hydropower generation system -- storing water at times of low demand so more could be generated at peak hours. He also ended a policy that provided electricity round the clock to certain industries. "Before there was some mismanagement that some industries get 24 hours (of power), some industries get 12 hours, some industries get only 8 hours. There was unequal distribution of electricity that was not as per the rules of NEA," said Ghising. In addition, he brought online some power plants that had been sitting idle due to poor maintenance, and launched a public awareness campaign to encourage people to avoid electricity-guzzling activities -- like ironing and pumping water -- in the evenings when demand for power is at its highest. But while Ghising might have turned on the lights for much of Nepal, the country will need to harness its huge hydropower potential to keep the electricity flowing. Nepal with its mountain river system should be an energy-producing powerhouse. Construction on two long mooted projects is finally expected to begin later this year. That would be a game changer for the Himalayan nation, which currently relies on India for electricity in the winter dry season. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump has said he wants to speak to Americans "without the filter of fake news" and vowed to expose the "dishonest media" as he returned to campaign mode less than a month after assuming the office. The rally in Florida, similar in style to the ones during his presidential campaign, came on the back of an aggressive press conference in which Trump embarked on a lengthy tongue-lashing of the media. He also defended the achievements of his presidency so far, insisting that a spirit of optimism was sweeping the US. A visibly frustrated and agitated Trump vowed to never let the media "get away with lies". "I will do whatever I can that they don't get away with it," he told around 9,000 supporters packed into an airport hangar in Melbourne, Florida. The President said he wanted speak to his supporters without the filter of "fake news". He alleged that the media has its own agenda. "And their agenda is not your agenda." Though it wasn't clear what exactly Trump was "campaigning" for, he sought to assure his supporters that all was well with his administration, rebutting allegations that there were differences within the White House. The event organised by Trump's 2020 re-election committee is just the latest example of the never-ending campaign culture in modern politics, experts say. "You've seen what we've accomplished in a very short period of time. The White House is running so smoothly. So smoothly," he said, repeating his claim that he had inherited "one big mess". "The dishonest media, which has published one false story after another, with no sources, even though they pretend they have them. They make them up in many cases," he said. "They (media) just don't want to report the truth. And they've been calling us wrong now for two years. They don't get it. But they're starting to get it," he said. "They have become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system." But despite "all the lies, misrepresentations and false stories", the media could not defeat him in the election, he said. "We will continue to expose them for what they are. And most importantly, we will continue to win, win, win." He claimed that many American presidents "fought with the media and called them out often on their lies". It has been a chaotic four weeks for Trump. The tenure began with a controversy over the size of his inauguration crowd, which was followed by US federal courts halting his executive order that imposed a travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The past week also saw a furore over his national security adviser Michael Flynn's alleged ties with Russia, culminating in his resignation from the post. "I want to be in a room filled with hardworking American patriots who love their country, who salute their flag, and who pray for a better future. I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news," Trump said. He also repeated some of his major campaign promises like keeping the US safe by strengthening its borders. He vowed to rebuild the country's military and develop a plan to "totally destroy" ISIS. Trump also said he has started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and "revive" the economy. Earlier, talking to reporters travelling with him on Air Force One on his way to Melbourne, Trump said he was likely to make an announcement on the new National Security Advisor within a couple of days. "I have many, many that want the job that want to be a part of it, I'll make a decision in the couple of days, but we're meeting with actually four of them tomorrow, all of whom want it," Trump said. "I've been thinking about someone for the last three or four days, we'll see what happens. I'm meeting with that person. They're all good, they're all great people," he said. Asked if it was too early to be holding a campaign event, Trump said, "For me, it's a campaign. To make America great again is absolutely a campaign. It's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press," he said. "Life is a campaign. Making our country great again is a campaign," he said. US President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" ISIS and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe. "Here's the bottom line. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath. "We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing," he claimed. Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not "win anymore". "Instead of peace, we've seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don't fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don't win anymore. We don't win at trade. We don't win in any capacity. We don't win anymore. We're going to start winning again. Believe me," he said. Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "to develop a plan to totally destroy ISIS," and begin plans for "the great rebuilding" of the United States military. "We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. We're going to start using our best and most modern equipment," he said. Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely. "We were left a mess like you wouldn't believe. But we're going to build safe zones. We're going to have those safe zones," he said. "We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don't want people with bad, bad ideas. We don't want that," he said. He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy. Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the "so-called global elite", saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages. "We have the chance...To pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure. To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities," he said. The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a "level playing field for all women in the workforce. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turning a blind eye to multiple policy differences, Turkey is seeking a tighter alliance with Washington under President Donald Trump but the road to a rapprochement may not be easy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's relationship with the White House worsened drastically in the final months of the Barack Obama administration, mired in rows on issues from Syria to the extradition of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish leader's arch-foe. But Turkish officials repeated none of the gloom that some EU leaders expressed after Trump's election, instead hoping that he would open a new page in relations. Trump's administration has a "good opportunity to make bold moves" in his foreign policy after the previous administration's "disregardful" attitude, Ayse Sozen Usluer, head of international relations at the Turkish presidency, told AFP. She added the new administration would assess anew its relationship with Turkey regarding trade, military, the fight against terror among other issues and "take new steps to improve relations". So could a potential bromance now be brewing between two men who have made macho politics a trademark? Less than 48 hours after Trump and Erdogan had their first conversation of the new US president's term, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo came to Ankara last week to meet the Turkish leadership in his first foreign visit. In a sign of the importance of realpolitik in the relationship, Pompeo had only last year described Turkey as a "totalitarian Islamist dictatorship" in a now deleted tweet. Meanwhile in a flurry of activity, US joint chiefs of staff Joseph Dunford also visited Turkey on Friday. But for all the good intentions, analysts believe it is doubtful the two sides will progress much beyond a honeymoon period before traditional disagreements reappear. Ankara hopes Trump is "the man who can deliver (a rapprochement) to them, so they're quite obviously withholding any criticism of him even though his rhetoric in multiple cases is completely against everything they stood for," said Aaron Stein, resident fellow of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 50-year-old Tamil TV channel reporter was allegedly stabbed and seriously injured by a gang of drug peddlers here today, police said. Chandran, a reporter with Polimer TV, was attacked by four persons when he was buying milk at a grocery store near his house in P and T nagar this morning. The gang presumed that the reporter had lodged police complaint against them for selling ganja in the locality, they said. A case has been registered against the gang members and one of them detained for interrogation, police said adding a search is on for other members of the gang. The victim has been admitted to a private hospital with stab injuries in the shoulder, leg and stomach and is said to be in a serious condition. The gang had a year ago attacked the journalist's son presuming that he (Chandran) was responsible for complaining to the police about the illegal sales of ganja in the locality, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukraine's Russian-backed insurgents has accused a top official in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) of aiding Kiev's forces in the 34-month war. A separatist leader made the accusation at a joint conference in the rebel-controlled city of Lugansk with Alexander Hug -- the principal deputy chief of the group's special monitoring mission to Ukraine --- who denied the claim. The OSCE is a Cold-war era body drawn up to ensure peace in Europe. Its main role in the Ukrainian conflict is to report ceasefire violations and organise periodic peace talks. Alexander Zakharchenko of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic voiced suspicions that the OSCE was handing government troops the locations of civilian infrastructure that comes under fire. "The OSCE has several times asked for the coordinates of our schools and kindergartens," the Donetsk militia leader said. "As soon as we give you the coordinates of our facilities, by a strange coincidence those very facilities come under attack," he said alongside Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the self-declared Lugansk People's Republic. "Our towns and our infrastructure -- electricity pylons and water towers, schools and hospitals -- come under attack," Zakharchenko said. "This leaves us somewhat bewildered. How does the Ukrainian army get these coordinates?" Zakharchenko asked. Plotnitsky also came out with sharp accusations. "When I watched the Ukrainian forces attack you, how you yourself came under attack, somewhere in my soul a tiny hope flickered that one day, you would begin to tell the truth," he said, addressing Hug. "But it seems that politics has won the day." The OSCE has been a neutral observer throughout one of Europe's bloodiest crises since the 1990s Balkans Wars. It issues daily reports about truce breaches by both sides. The OSCE has around 600 monitors who risk their lives in the war zone that borders Russia, and another 100 across Ukraine. More than 10,000 people have been killed and around two million driven from their homes since the war began in April 2014. Ukraine has called for the monitors to be armed to turn them into a peacekeeping mission along the lines of the United Nations' blue helmets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN envoy Staffan de Mistura today questioned US President Donald Trump's engagement in solving the Syrian war, just days ahead of a new round of peace talks in Geneva. "Where is the US in all this? I can't tell you because I don't know," he said, adding that the new administration was still trying to work out its priorities on the conflict. The top three US priorities include fighting Islamic State jihadists, "how to limit the influence of some major regional players and how to not to damage one of their major allies in the region," de Mistura told the Munich Security Conference. "How you square this circle, that I understand is what they are discussing in Washington," he said. He did not say who the regional player or major ally were but the first reference appeared to be to Iran, with the second likely to be either Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Mistura stressed that what was ultimately key was an inclusive political solution to end the six-year conflict. "Even a ceasefire with two guarantors can't hold too long if there is no political horizon," he said, referring to a fragile truce brokered by Russia and Turkey in December. Any political solution has to be inclusive to be credible, he said, stressing that peace talks in Astana last week organised by Russia, Turkey and Iran, and the ceasefire deal provided an opening that should be explored. The US envoy for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, acknowledged that Trump's administration is "re-looking at everything, which is a very healthy process from top to bottom." "We will be very selfish about protecting and advancing our interests," he told the same forum. Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, Washington insisted President Bashar al-Assad had to go, putting it at odds with Moscow which backs the Syrian leader. At the same time, Trump has called for closer cooperation with Moscow to combat IS in Syria and Iraq, leaving the Assad question open. For Anas al-Abdeh, who heads the opposition National Coalition, the question over Assad's future is a clear roadblock in the path for peace. No solution can be found "as long as Assad remains in power," he told the Munich forum. More than 310,000 people have died since a popular uprising in 2011 against Assad morphed into all out civil war, with more than half the population forced to flee their homes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A US aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrolling in the disputed despite China's warning to America against challenging its sovereignty in the area. The US Navy's Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, an operational formation of the United States Navy, began routine operations in the on February 18, the Pentagon said. "We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," said Rear Adm James Kilby, commander, CSG 1. Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, the naval formation in its current shape established in 2009 includes Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, Destroyer Squadron 1's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E Meyer, and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2. CVW-2 includes the "Black Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron, the "Blue Hawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron, the "Bounty Hunters" of Strike Fighter Squadron, the "Blue Blasters" of VFA-34, the "Kestrels" of VFA-137, the "Golden Dragons" of VFA-192, the "Black Eagles" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the "Gauntlets" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 and the "Providers" of Fleet Logistic Support Squadron. China has a long history of maritime disputes with its neighbours. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including islands more than 800 miles from the Chinese mainland, despite objections from neighbours such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. Beijing has also created artificial islands in the area, outfitting some of them with military features. Friction between the US and China over trade and territory under US President Donald Trump have increased concerns that the South China Sea could become a flashpoint. China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned the US against challenging its sovereignty over reports the US was planning fresh naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said tension in the South China Sea had stabilised due to the hard work between China and Southeast Asia countries, and urged foreign nations including the US to respect this. "We urge the US not to take any actions that challenge China's sovereignty and security," Geng had said. Prior to their operations in the South China Sea, ships and aircraft from within the strike group conducted training off the islands of Hawaii and Guam to maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group, the statement said. While deployed, the Carl Vinson CSG will remain under US 3rd Fleet command and control, including beyond the dateline, which previously divided operational areas of responsibility for 3rd and 7th Fleets. Third Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. "This operational concept allows both numbered fleets to complement one another and provide the foundation of stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," the Pentagon said. Vice President Hamid Ansari today arrived in the Rwandan capital on the first leg of his five-day two-nation tour which will also take him to another East African country Uganda. He was received at the Kigali International Airport by President of the Senate Bernard Makuza. This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda. En route to this East African country, Ansari while interacting with a media delegation accompanying him onboard Air India One, said, the visit is "part of a conscious effort by the Indian government to intensify our interaction" with Africa. The Vice President along with his wife Salma Ansari, is accompanied by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, four MPs -- Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh Judev, Ranee Narah and P K Biju, senior officials and a media delegation. During his visit to Rwanda from February 19-21 and Uganda from February 21-23, Ansari will seek to broaden the country's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, said a senior MEA official, who is accompanying him. During the five-day visit, Ansari will hold bilateral talks with the leadership and participate in a host of programmes in the two African countries. The Vice President would pay homage at the genocide museum (in Kigali), interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda. Ansari's visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year. In Rwanda, Ansari will launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. The Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda would also address an India-Rwanda Business Forum. "India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, increasing bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contact and a deep sense of mutual respect," an MEA official said. "During his visit to Uganda from February 21-23, first high-level bilateral visit since 1997, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart and the President of Uganda. Ansari would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala," she said. "The visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationships," the official said. The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MUMBAI (Reuters) - Havells India Ltd, a leading maker of lights and fans, has agreed to buy a unit of Lloyd Electric and Engineering Ltd that sells air conditioners and televisions in a 15.5 billion-rupee deal ($231.14 million), the companies said. The deal, expected to close in eight weeks subject to final due diligence, will help Havells expand its reach into the $15 billion consumer durables market in India which, according to the company, is growing in the double digits. While consumer spending in the country has suffered a setback after India in November scrapped high-value banknotes that accounted for more than 80 percent of cash in circulation, analysts expect the growth to revive slowly in the fiscal year starting in April as the currency crunch eases. Lloyd will use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt, the company said in a statement on Sunday. It will also continue its industrial air conditioner business and supply room air-conditioners to Havells as a third-party vendor, it added. Havells plans to fund the acquisition through a mix of debt and internal accruals, it said in a statement. Standard Chartered advised Havells on the deal, while Ernst & Young advised Lloyd. ($1 = 67.0600 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Himani Sarkar) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first container ship from India has arrived in Bangladesh's Panagon river port here under the Coastal Shipping Agreement signed in 2015, allowing direct cargo vessel movement between the two countries. The ship, 'Shonartori Nou Kalyan-1' reached the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal at Keraniganj day before yesterday with 65 containers on board, bdnews24.com reported. At an event to mark the arrival of the ship, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said that cargo ships will now reach and depart from Pangaon to India every 15 days. He said there was progress in the field of river transport. With this, the Coastal Shipping Agreement signed in 2015, comes into effect, paving way for direct cargo vessel movement between the two neighbouring countries. Bangladesh Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Indian envoy to Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina's advisor Salman F Rahman also attended the ceremony. The link between the Pangaon terminal and India will save time and money, said Minister Khan. "The shipping ministry is in the process to procure 36 more ships to boost the use of this network," he said. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in 2015, the two countries signed the Coastal Shipping Agreement. With instances of cyber threats increasing, the banks, which are increasingly going digital prodded by government and regulators following note-ban, are looking for cyber insurance--a fledgling industry vertical for general insurers but having large growth potential. The country reportedly lost a whopping USD 4 billion in fiscal 2016 to cyber crimes, while globally, the economic loss due to cyber crimes stood at USD 455 billion in 2016. According to insurance industry reports, cyber crimes are growing at 40-50 per cent annually globally. Similarly, global cyber risk insurance premium stood at USD 3.5 billion in 2016, which was only USD 2.5 billion in 2015, amply indicating growing incidents of cyber crimes across the world. Country's largest lender State Bank, which fell victim to cyber frauds late last year, is now considering insurance to protect its over 30 crore customers. "As we are now planning to take cyber covers for our customers, we have already asked one of the companies which are on the bank's panel of insurance advisers to prepare a report for us in this direction," SBI Managing Director Rajnish Kumar told PTI. Similarly, Bank of Baroda, which had seen about 1 lakh of its debit cards being compromised in the recent episode, is also keen to go for such insurance covers in future. "We are here to ensure protection of our customers and hence we will definitely go for cyber insurance cover as and when it was required for the bank," BoB Managing Director P S Jayakumar said. While private sector lender Axis Bank is reported to have taken cyber insurance cover from HDFC Ergo, as many as 20 state-owned lenders are seriously in talks with insurers to get cyber insurance cover. The city-based private lender did not respond to text messages seeking for confirmation. General insurers also see a rise in demand for cyber risk insurance. "We are in talks with quite a few banks to provide cyber insurance cover to them," New India Assurance Chairman G Srinivasan said without divulging any details. "Cyber threat is on the rise in recent times for the banks and therefore they must go for cyber insurance cover," Srinivasan said. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Chief Technical Officer for non-motor business, Sasikumar Adidamu, said cyber insurance has seen close to 20 per cent rise at Bajaj Allianz in the current fiscal. He also said that in-line with rising incidents of cyber threats, the industry has seen a 10-15 per cent uptake of cyber liability covers. Police have taken two people into custody in connection with a 14-year-old Amalga girl, who was found in a dry canal bed in Smithfield, early Friday morning. In a weekend press release, Cache County Sheriffs Lt. Mike Peterson said detectives investigating the case have narrowed their focus on two males, after gathering evidence at the scene and interviewing several known associates of the victim. Both were detained for questioning and later arrested. Their identities are not being released yet, due to a follow-up investigation that is still being conducted. It is believed they may also be juveniles. Smithfield City Police Chief Travis Allen and Cache County Attorney James Swink will hold a joint press conference Tuesday morning to discuss the case in further detail. Peterson said the girl, who is not being identified publicly because of her age, was found at approximately 12:45 a.m. in the canal bed, east of Sky View High School. The girls description matched that of a girl deputies had been looking for earlier in the night, who didnt return home after school. The victim was semi-unconscious and reportedly suffering from a very significant injury. Peterson explained that the details of which are not being released at this point, due to the ongoing investigation. The girl was taken by ambulance to a Logan area hospital. She was later flown to a Salt Lake City area hospital, where she is still receiving medical treatment.He's not keynoting and the ACU board had nothing to do with this. Report: Milo Yiannopoulos tapped to keynote CPAC. https://t.co/iV4sYIN95v
Ned Ryun (@nedryun) February 18, 2017
will@cvradio.com
Talking to the press after the meeting, he said Vietnam was invited to almost meetings and activities of the G20 in 2017 since it is the APEC Chair this year.
At the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting on February 16th to 17th, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh reiterated his countrys foreign policy of multilateralising and diversifying external relations and proactively and actively integrating into the world.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R)
meets US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Bonn (Photo: VNA)
In the face of complex developments around the world, the Deputy PM called on countries to enhance global cooperation in maintaining peace, stability and sustainable development. He asked for the peaceful settlement of disputes and disagreements, and the compliance with international law and legal diplomatic processes.
He also asked the G20 members to increase assisting developing nations to realise the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in infrastructure building, human resources development, technology transfer, and climate change response, his assistant said.
In his speech, Deputy PM Minh stressed that protectionism and selfish isolation are not a solution to socio-economic issues. He called on countries to boost coordination to promote global and regional trade, exert efforts to build a balanced and rules-based multilateral trading system, and ensure that all counties and people can benefit from trade and economic growth.
The themes and priorities of the agenda of the G20 and APEC in 2017 share many similarities which are a foundation for the two forums to connect and coordinate in spheres of common concern such as promoting sustainable, creative and inclusive growth; economic, trade and investment connectivity; innovation; and cooperation in climate change response.
As the APEC Chair in 2017, Vietnam is actively taking part in and contributing to the G20s meetings. It is combining APECs priorities with its activities in the G20s events to step up regional and global coordination in settling global economic and governance issues amidst numerous challenges facing the world.
In the fringe of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh met with the foreign ministers of Germany, the US, the UK, Brazil and Spain, who highly valued Vietnams role and standing in the region and its active engagement in the G20 meetings as the host of APEC activities in 2017.
They also discussed ways to foster Vietnams bilateral ties and coordination with the countries at regional and global multilateral forums, Assistant Minh added./.
The films include Nhung nha ao thuat (Magic Men), Khong dong luc (Zero Motivation), Ngoai co thi sao (A Matter of Size), Sua (Jellyfish), and Nam tieng tu Paris (Five Hours from Paris). They will be screened for free at the National Cinema Centre at 87 Lang Ha Street in Hanoi from February 24th to 27th, and at the BHD Star Cineplex at No.2 Hai Trieu Street, District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City from March 3rd to 6th.
Israel Film Festival 2017 in Vietnam
In Hanoi, audiences can send email to consular@hanoi.mfa.gov.il or call 3843 3141 (ext.516), clearly mention name of the movies, screening date/time and number of tickets they want.
In HCMC, audiences can directly collect the tickets from February 27th to March 5th at Guest Services Counter, BHD Star Cineplex- Floor 3 Bitexco, No. 2 Hai Trieu Str., District 1.
The film festival is expected to contribute to tightening the strong co-operation between the two countries, as well as friendship between the two peoples./.
"Every Meal An Adventure!" ~ Food & Travel in Asia
Michael S.Hoza, Ambassadeur des Etats-Unis au Cameroun Archives
The U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, Michael S. Hoza, has described Cameroon as key to the economies of the Congo Basin.
The U.S. diplomat was speaking at the American Day at PROMOTE in Yaounde on Thursday February 16.
Ambassador Hoza said Cameroon is the key to the entire Congo basin economy and Cameroonian youth are the key to developing their future economy.
We believe Cameroon is the key to the entire Congo basin economy and Cameroonian youth are the key to developing their future economy, he said during a plenary to launch the American Day at the exhibition Fair.
We want to engage in the fight for Cameroons futurethat is promoting the peace and security of the Cameroonian people by giving opportunities to the youths and unleashing their potentials for the future of Cameroon, the Ambassador said.
Some 22 American companies are exhibiting their products at the 6th edition of the major trade fair in Central Africa.
We are bringing together corporations and entrepreneurs from all industrial sectors in order to connect Cameroonian partners with American partners, he said before prior to a ribbon cutting ceremony of the American pavilion at the fair.
The U.S diplomat was accompanied by five government ministers; Luc Mafloir Mbarga Atangana of Trade, Prof Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa of Small and Medium Size Enterprises, Marie Therese Obama of Womens Empowerment and the Family, Joseph Dion Ngute of External Relations in charge of the Commonwealth and Louis Max Ayina, secretary of state for Public Works.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car
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Visitors at the meeting (Photo: VTC)
Speaking at the meeting, Charge d'affaires Pham Toan Thang said that the spring atmosphere brings new vitality to both countries. In 2016, despite facing many difficulties and challenges, Vietnam has achieved many successes in completion of development goals; GDP growth of 6.21%. Total export revenue reached USD175.9 billion, up 8.6%, and foreign investment attraction grew by 9%.
In this context, the Vietnam-Netherlands relations are developing well in all respects, reliable political cooperation; strategic partnerships on adaptation to climate change, water management and sustainable agriculture is increasingly tightening; economic commercial cooperation grows impressively, in which the Netherlands is currently Europes leading trading partner and investor in Vietnam.
Mr. Pham Toan Thang stressed the achieved results are not only thanks to the determination and efforts of Vietnam, but also thanks to the valuable support and effective cooperation of Dutch friends and partners. He thanked Dutch friends for their attention and enthusiasm, and for contributing to developing the Netherlands - Vietnam relations.
The Charge d'affaires believed 2017, with the icon of the rooster, will be the year of new ideas, new successes for the cooperative relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands, based on the foundation of effective friendship and partnership between the two countries and attachment cooperation spirit formed among ministries, sectors and agencies of both sides.
At the meeting, officials and staff from the Vietnamese Embassy and Dutch friends together toasted the new year and wished the friendship and cooperation relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands to further develop./.
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The bank, the first of its kind in Vietnam, will collect, sterilise, test and preserve donated mothers milk and provide it for disadvantaged infants while offering consultations on breastfeeding.
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health's Maternal and Child Health Department Tran Dang Khoa said breastfeeding helps enhance babies health, and expressed his hope that the bank will help all local children access to safe mothers milk no matter what circumstances they are born.
It is also expected to lay a foundation for the ministry to expand the model to other medical facilities, Khoa added.
Ngo Thi Kim Yen, Director of the Da Nang Health Department, highlighted the establishment of the bank, saying that it will promote breastfeeding and health care for infants in the city as well as in the central and Central Highlands regions.
The international standards-met bank is funded by the Margaret A.Cargill Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Fund. The bank staff have received technical training with support from several international non-government organisations.
Despite positive achievements in child health care, the under-five mortality rate in Vietnam is still high, standing at 22 per thousand or 33,000 children per year.
Studies show that breastfeeding is among the measures to reduce the mortality rate among kids./.
Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal...
Ford will commence testing a clever new crowd-sourced virtual pothole map later this year.
The map will work in real-time, making drivers aware of potholes and how bad they are via their in-car displays, while also suggesting alternate routes.
In the UK alone, local authorities receive a pothole damage claim every 17 minutes with costs averaging 432. Back in 2011, around 20 million potholes were reported in Europe, but only half of them were filled, at an estimated cost of over 1.2 billion.
A virtual pothole map could highlight a new pothole the minute it appears and almost immediately warn other drivers that there is a hazard ahead, explained Uwe Hoffmann, a research engineer for Ford. Our cars already feature sensors that detect potholes and now we are looking at taking this to the next level.
Models such as the Mondeo, S-Max and the Galaxy already use on-board sensors for Continuously Controlled Damping with Pothole Mitigation which adjusts the suspension to help reduce any potential damage.
Ford engineers are now researching the use of cameras and embedded modems at the automakers Research & Innovation Center in Germany. The goal is to gather detailed information on potholes and beam it into the cloud, where other drivers can access it in real time.
PHOTO GALLERY
If you buy a Mercedes, you expect that its made by Mercedes right? Only thats not necessarily the case.
Take the new GLC, for example. Benzs second smallest crossover just started rolling off the assembly line in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The plant is run not by Daimler, but by Valmet one of Europes leading automotive contract manufacturers and the largest concentration of robots in the country.
Valmet has been producing the A-Class for Mercedes since 2013, and has now added a line for the GLC as well. The model takes the place of the previous GLK, and slots in between the smaller GLA and the larger GLE in the German automakers growing crossover lineup. The plan is to continue principal production of the GLC at Daimlers own plant in Bremen, Germany, but with demand soaring beyond capacity, Valmet is now handling additional production for its German client.
The GLC isnt the only model whose manufacturing Mercedes farms out, nor is Valmet the only contractor building cars and trucks for Mercedes. The G-Class, for example, is made in Austria by Magna Steyr, which also used to produce the E-Class and M-Class (not to mention major components for the SLK and SLS). The R-Class is made exclusively for export to China by AM General in Indiana. The CLK used to be made by Karmann in Germany. And the Smart Forfour is made by Renault in France. Daimler also produces several models in partnership with local automakers in China, and were sure this wont be the last addition to the list.
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1. Michael Dudok de Wit initially planned to draw the film on paper, but switched to digital 2D.
The film was drawn in TVPaint software on Cintiq tablets, the first time that Dudok de Wit had made a film by drawing digitally instead of on paper. Initially, Dudok de Wit had intended to draw on paper and then scan in the drawings, and between January and September 2011, he worked on a series of drawn-on-paper animation tests at Prima Lineas facilities in Paris.
The five test shots he created were intended to figure out the animation style, and determine aspects of the line, choice of tools, and treatment of the image in compositing. However, in fall 2011, he visited the studios Angouleme facilities to see a work-in-progress of Wolfy, the Incredible Secret, a film animated on Cintiq tablets. The trailer for that film is below:
He was encouraged to take a Cintiq back to his home in London and try some new tests. Dudok de Wit came to the conclusion that its more economical, gives you more creative freedom and increased control for retouching, as he told journalist Bernard Genin. The line of the digital pencil was more beautiful and that convinced us.
2. The backgrounds were drawn with charcoal on paper.
The backgrounds of The Red Turtle were drawn with charcoal on paper, very freely, with broad strokes smudged with the palm of the hand, said Dudok de Wit. This artisanal quality was very important and gave the image a lovely, grainy texture. Those drawings were then scanned, and color was added in Photoshop. Light and shadow effects were composited into the scenes afterward. The layout supervisor was Eric Briche, background supervisor was Julien De Man, and color supervisor was Emma McCann.
3. The film had a smaller animation crew than usual for 2D European features.
The animation phase of European animated features typically takes around 10 months, but Dudok de Wit wanted to work with a smaller team of around a dozen animators to maintain consistency of style and to be able to personally supervise all the artists. (There were also between 30-40 assistant animators.) The schedule for the animation production thus took more than twice as long as a typical European feature, extending to around two years. There was an additional team of another 10 or so animators who only worked on special effects, like waves, backwashes, storms, and smoke. (The sfx animation team was supervised by Mouloud Oussid.)
4. No rotoscope was used by the animators.
The controlled character animation style of The Red Turtle has led many viewers to wonder if rotoscoping was involved. Live-action reference was shot, but it wasnt rotoscoped, according to the films chief animator Jean-Christophe Lie. (Its similar to how live-action reference was used on classic Disney films like Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty, though the effect is markedly different.) We used what is termed analytic animation: actors are filmed and their strongest poses are isolated, Lie told Bernard Genin. The camera angles are readapted in the layout, then everything is redrawn, as you would do in a life drawing class. The footage of the actors is only used as a reference.
5. The turtles and rafted were cgi.
The turtles and raft were modeled and animated in 3D using Autodesk 3ds Max. Afterward, the turtle shell texture, which was created in Photoshop, was integrated onto the character using Blackmagic Designs Fusion. For the linework on the cg turtles and raft, the cg models were retraced frame-by-frame. The hardest part for the animators was to recreate the projected shadows that followed the curves of each bamboo shaft and which had to be animated manually, said Lie. The linework was subsequently integrated over the cg, again using Fusion.
The Red Turtle is distributed in North America by Sony Pictures Classics. Its currently in limited release in U.S. theaters.
You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.
CRIME: THEFT FROM VEHICLE
DATE: February 13, 2017
RCMP FILE: 2017-7170
A theft from vehicle was reported on February 13th when a vehicle was entered overnight at a home on Bernau Court in Lake Country. The black 2016 GMC Yukon was left unlocked with a wallet unknowingly left in it. All of the owners credit cards were taken with one of the cards being used at 7:00 a.m. at the local 7-11.
If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00.
CRIME: THEFT FROM VEHICLE
DATE: February 14, 2017
RCMP FILE: 2017-7352
Thieves were active on Bernau Court in Lake Country this past week. A vehicle was entered while parked in the driveway at a home on the street on February 14th (possibly not locked). Items taken include a hunting knife that folds from the middle, an old army knife, a red #3 pool ball, 2 black duffle bags containing gym gear, a grey Under Armour shirt, a red and white backpack and a poker set (chips and cards) in a steel case. When the complainant noticed the theft at 6:30 p.m. he saw a suspicious lifted black pick-up that may have been involved.
Photo: Crime Stoppers
You can help catch these suspects and qualify for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Al Price
A sewage lagoon breach on a dairy farm on Salmon River Road has concerned already frustrated Spallumcheen residents in the Hullcar Valley living with a tainted drinking water source.
I don't know how much of the liquid manure got out onto the ground but it's thousands and thousands of gallons, said Al Price of the Save the Hullcar Aquifer Team (SHAT). There were two huge, black streams through the white snow surrounding the lagoon and it had all pooled down at the base of the hill.
He watched efforts as a backhoe dug a trench and two vacuum trucks collected the manure one putting the stuff back into the lagoon and the other spreading it onto a field.
Residents have been demanding the province act to end farm practices that they believe have led to the cancer-causing nitrates in their drinking water, leaving them on a water advisory for almost three years.
It started on Thursday afternoon, confirmed Spallumcheen Mayor Janice Brown shortly before she left to look at the scene late Saturday afternoon. The Ministry of Environment has been there. The Ministry of Health has been there. We've been notified.
It sounds like the lagoon is overflowing and the field of concern is brown. The Ministry of Environment says the farm is in non-compliance.
Brown had no further details.
While the ground is still frozen, Price said the spill is still a cause for concern.
It borders Splatsin First Nation (land) and the aquifer is very close to the surface at the west end of the valley, said Price. It has been thawing and they are spreading whatever they can suck up on the fields. It will get into the aquifer at some point.
Photo: Google Maps
UPDATE: 9:20 a.m.
Power to 231 BC Hydro customers in the Grindrod area was restored Sunday morning after being out all night following a motor vehicle accident on Highway 97a, north of the community.
"A pole carrying the lines that serve those customers was hit and severely damaged," said Dag Sharman, BC Hydro's community relations manager. "Crews had to replace it with a new pole."
Sharman said the power was out from 11:46 p.m. until 7:21 a.m.
Original story: 7:20 a.m.
A crash on Highway 97A north of Grindrod late last night is having an effect on traffic.
Drive BC reports the road, four kilometres north of Grindrod, has been reduced to single lane alternating traffic.
According to a person living in the area, BC Hydro crews were at the scene early Sunday morning trying to restore power to some customers who had been without it for about eight hours.
A call has gone in to the RCMP for details of the crash.
Photo: Flickr/BC Gov't
Five things to watch this week in Canadian business:
Closed for holidays: Stock markets in Toronto and New York will be closed Monday, The United States will be marking Presidents Day while many Canadians will be off for various provincial holidays, including Family Day in Ontario.
Economic data: After a relatively sleepy week, Canadian economic data begins flowing again. Statistics Canada will release the latest wholesale trade figures on Monday, retail trade figures on Wednesday and the consumer price index on Friday.
B.C. budget: What goodies await British Columbians when the provincial government delivers its budget come Tuesday? Premier Christy Clark is on record saying it's time for the province give back to taxpayers. The fiscal plan comes three months before she seeks re-election in May.
The bottom line: It's another heavy earnings week. Some of the heavyweights include Loblaw, CIBC and Royal Bank.
Rail and drug talk: Two Canadian corporate titans are giving talks in the U.S. on Thursday. Keith Creel, CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway, speaks at the Barclays Industrial Select Conference in Miami Beach. In New York, Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO Joseph Papa will give a speech at the 2017 RBC Capital Markets' Healthcare Conference.
Photo: All Rights Reserved.
Kraft Heinz has decided to withdraw its $143 billion offer to buy mayonnaise, tea and seasonings maker Unilever.
The companies announced the decision Sunday in a joint press release.
Unilever, which has a head office in London, earlier had spurned the offer, saying the price was too low.
Despite rejection, ketchup, cheese and lunch meat maker Kraft Heinz said last week it was still interested in the deal.
Analysts say Kraft Heinz, co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, is still in the market for acquisitions.
The deal would have brought together Kraft Heinz brands such as Oscar Mayer, Jell-O and Velveeta and Unilever's Hellman's, Lipton and Knorr. The combined company would have rivaled Nestle as the world's biggest packaged food maker by sales.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault on the sidelines of the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on Feb. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
China has been consistently supporting the European integration and is willing to work with the European side for the world's peace and development, top Chinese diplomat said Saturday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks in meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault on the sidelines of the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
Wang began the talk by expressing his appreciation over Ayrault's support to the one-China principle, saying the Sino-French ties have maintained a good momentum of development.
Wang said the upcoming official visit of French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to China, the first high-level exchange between the two sides this year, testifies to close relations between the two nations.
Cazeneuve's visit, Wang said, will help send a positive signal to the international community about enhanced strategic communication and coordination between the two countries, and between China and Europe, against the backdrop of the current international situation.
For his part, Ayrault said maintaining high-level visits between the two sides and strengthening the strategic dialogue have practical significance.
As permanent members of the UN Security Council, France and China should jointly safeguard multilateralism, Ayrault said.
Ayrault also hailed positive results achieved during the G20 Hangzhou Summit last year and expected both sides to enhance cooperation within the framework of the G20.
The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on issues of common concerns, such as the situation in Europe.
Bis photo she posted on her Facebook [Photo: thepaper.com]
A British barman has been found guilty of murder after beating his Chinese girlfriend to death last August at their flat in Cardiff, the BBC reported on Saturday.
The judge also remanded Matthews in custody for sentencing next Tuesday.
The victim, 24-year-old Bi Xixi, was attacked by Jordan Matthews and suffered a broken jaw, ribs and widespread bruising. She died in hospital after a cardiac arrest.
According to the BBC report, Matthews, a black belt in karate and a cannabis user, said he did not think the incident had been bad enough to cause the injuries. He admitted manslaughter but denied murder.
But the crown court in Cardiff Crown found him guilty.
Pathologist Dr Ryk James told the court that the assault upon Bi was severe and involved dozens of impacts.
"She had died as a result of the multiple blunt force injuries," said the doctor.
The court also heard he regularly beat her and called her "worthless" as well as a weapon similar to a steel rod was used in the attack.
Matthews said he hit her because he believed she had cheated on him and he felt "insecure" when Bi visited her family back to China.
He suspected his girlfriend was in touch with someone named "Ben" on the Tinder dating app. But both the prosecution and the defence agreed that Bi did not have the app, nor contact with anyone of that name.
Bi grew up in Nanjing, in China, but travelled to the UK to study when she was 15.
She was a post-graduate student at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Her friend said she was smart and nice, and able to speak English, French, and Spanish. Her relationship with Matthews, a barman in a pub, started in 2015.
Bi financially supported Matthews by paying his rent and buying life's necessities for him.
Bi's friends said she wore thick makeup to cover bruising on her face.
In a statement following the verdict Bi's family described her as an "intelligent and energetic person who had a very bright future and her whole life in front of her".
Cardiff Metropolitan University said they were offering support to students and staff affected by her death.
Passengers take selfies in front of a Hainan Airlines' plane after a panda-themed flight from Haikou to Beijing in late January. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The International Air Transport Association said on Friday that it is bullish on the growth potential of China's aviation market and believed the new airport in Beijing, which will start operations in 2019, would ensure sufficient airport capacity to meet expected traffic growth.
By 2024, China will overtake the United States as the world's biggest passenger market, and in 2035, China will be a market of 1.3 billion passengers, forecast the Montreal-based trade association of the world's airlines.
"China's aviation development is impressive," said Alexandre de Juniac, the newly-appointed director general and CEO of the IATA.
"Today, Chinese airlines and airports rank among the top 10 by passenger numbers," de Juniac told a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
Meanwhile, the on-time performance of Chinese airlines was 76.48 percent between January and November last year, a 9 percentage point improvement over the same period the previous year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
"I recognize the authorities have taken steps to improve the situation," de Juniac said.
"Still more needs to be done to address the delay situation. That includes a restructuring of the air route network and closer civil and military air traffic control cooperation to allow rerouting flexibility, especially during bad weather," de Juniac added.
The IATA said the northern Asian region, including China, had the lowest accident rate for the first half year of 2016 and the lowest five-year average between 2011 and 2015.
In 2016, the global airline industry's profits reached $35.6 billion with a net profit margin of 5.1 percent, the highest-ever absolute profit generated by the sector and the highest net profit margin.
This year, with expected rising oil prices, the IATA forecast the global airline industry will make a net profit of $29.8 billion, with a 4.1 percent net profit margin.
"Airlines continue to deliver strong results. Even though the conditions in 2017 will be more difficult with rising oil prices, we see the industry earning $29.8 billion," the IATA chief said.
"That's a very soft landing which is safely in profitable territory. These last three years were the best performance in the industry's history - irrespective of the many uncertainties we face," he said.
A memorial is held in Deng Xiaoping's hometown of Guang'an, Sichuan province on February 17, 2017 ahead of the 20th anniversary of the death of the Chinese statesman. [Photo: Chinanews.com]
This Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Chinese statesman Deng Xiaoping.
Twenty years on, China continues to benefit from the late leader's wisdom and political legacy.
As the first Special Economic Zone in China, the city of Shenzhen has been transformed from a fishing village to China's gateway to the rest of the world, thanks to Deng Xiaoping's advocacy of reform and opening up.
Deng Xiaoping has been called "the architect of China's reform and opening-up" for his painstaking efforts in leading the country's modern-day transformation starting in the late 1970s.
Victor Gao, scholar, current affairs commentator, and a man who once worked as the interpreter of Deng Xiaoping, says his influence was far reaching.
"Deng Xiaoping saved the Chinese nation at the end of the 1970s, in my best judgement, Deng Xiaoping was the profit for the Chinese nation. And he charted the roadmap for the reform and opening up to the outside world, which even today, China is still in the shadow of his wisdom and foresight. Without Deng Xiaoping, at the end of the 1970s, China probably would not be able to break out from that huge ideological box, in which China was firmly locked up," he says.
Deng was recognized as the core of the second-generation leadership of the Communist Party of China.
While in office he pursued progressive measures that earned him respect from across the nation. By using pragmatic reforms, Deng came up with unique and innovative solutions.
"He has his particular way of looking at challenges, in a sense he is good at coming up with very unique and innovative solutions by avoiding being deadlocked in any particular situation. We know that his famous saying of it's not that important if the cat is black or white, and the most important thing is the cat catches mice," Gao says.
In June 1984, Deng Xiaoping formulated the concept of "one country, two systems", which later facilitated the peaceful settlement of the Hong Kong issue.
Under the concept, China was obliged to leave Hong Kong's economic status unchanged after the handover on July 1, 1997.
Even now, the policy has been important in framing the Taiwan issue.
"Despite many challenges and major changes in the political situation in Hong Kong, I think most of the people in Hong Kong as well as here in mainland still fully acknowledge the truthfulness and validity of the 'one country two systems' philosophy. Eventually, this great innovative concept may also be applied to Taiwan to resolve the return of Taiwan and the reunification of the motherland," Gao says.
Deng's far-sighted political wisdom has resulted in the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong today. His modernization plans have made China the world's second-largest economy.
These are seen as major milestones for the Chinese nation.
(Xinhua) 10:22, February 19, 2017
China will suspend coal imports from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the rest of 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement on its website that the suspension, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2321, will be effective from Feb. 19 to Dec. 31 this year.
The UN Security Council adopted the resolution on Nov. 30 that tightened sanctions on the DPRK in response to its fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9 last year.
Beijing electric bike-sharing service ordered to stop after four days
Electric bike sharing is mirroring the boom in regular bike sharing services. [Photo: Xinhua]
A Beijing based electric bicycle-sharing service has been ordered to stop trading just four days into operation.
The company was offering 50 electric bicycles to customers, mainly along the route of subway Line 10.
Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said the bikes didn't meet the required standards as they didn't have license plates. Local regulations stipulate that it is illegal to ride such vehicles on the open road without a license plate.
The service also aroused public safety concerns as electric bicycles travel at much faster speeds than regular bicycles.
Responding to the ruling, the electric bicycle-sharing company involved said their service was still being tested, and that their service would come into official operation after the bikes are equipped with license plates.
There are currently around 10 companies providing an electric bicycle-sharing service in China.
One of the leading companies, ZBJ.com, has nearly 30,000 registered users nationwide and around half of them are active users.
Electric bicycle-sharing services have been growing in popularity in the wake of the boom in the regular bicycle-sharing industry in the Chinese market.
Companies like ofo and Mobike, allow users to register via an app, and pick up bicycles wherever they find them, and then leave them at their destination without the need to find a docking station.
Market leader ofo has been active in 35 cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Chengdu.
A little under a month ago, a controversial tweet about Donald Trump's 10-year-old son, Barron, got "Saturday Night Live" writer (and former Chicagoan) Katie Rich suspended from the show indefinitely.
Well, anyone who thought Rich's tweet was in poor taste should be glad they missed comedian Kathy Griffin's two sold-out, high-energy, stream-of-consciousness sets at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday night, where her subjects included the entire Trump family (including a few unprintable remarks about Barron), her love of the elderly (everyone over 80 is a member of the Illuminati, she avows) and her usual insights into Hollywood culture.
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Griffin is a firecracker best known for her reality series "My Life on the D-List" and has certainly never shied away from controversyin fact, it's one of the cornerstones of her brand of tell-all comedy.
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The Grammy- and Emmy-winning comedian's current "Celebrity Run-In Tour" may be centered on celebrity gossip (and launched in support of her recent book, "Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index"), but the Trump administration has Griffin feeling much more political.
"I will not be holding back in this political environment," she declared in the first few minutes of her two-hour 6 p.m. set. "I've decided to become worse," she vowed, to applause, tacking on an additional laugh line for good measure: "Because I'm a lady."
Dressed all in black with her signature red locks framing her expressions of bewilderment and mischief, Griffin bemoaned that "political correctness" has become something that conservatives now bemoan. "I'm going to be old-fashioned politically incorrect," she declared.
And while Griffin certainly made good on that promise, she also made good on the promise implicit in any Kathy Griffin show (especially one with "Celebrity" in the title): there will be celebrity talk, it will be told breathlessly, and it will be much more silly than scandalous.
Griffin is like a live-action version of Us Weekly's "StarsThey're Just Like Us" section. But rather than exploring how celebrities shop, eat and run like us normal folk, she reports on how they have their own unique quirks and failings (hey, just like us).
From living next door to the Kardashian-Wests (she witnessed Kim Kardashian misspell her own name) to Sharon Stone meeting her mother at a Christmas party (her mother feigned ignorance of Stone and had her list out all her film credits) to Don Rickles and Sidney Poitier describing their morning routines (Vicodin and a fruit plate), Griffin constantly plays the audience's wide-eyed stand-in, wondering how she ended up in these situations with these famous people, while mining every beat of their interactions for comedic material.
"Let me see how much time we have," she said at one point, looking at her watch. "I'm not at all offended by walkouts or bathroom breaks, but I don't want to leave out one detail." She doesn't.
Two hours is a long time for any live comedy show, particularly one without an opener, but somehow Griffin makes it fly by. This is especially notable because she's not constantly funny. At the core of her act is the incredible gift she has for telling stories (which are different from jokes) and keeping an audience engaged between laugh lines.
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During a lengthy Thanksgiving tale, she mentionedin relation to her boyfriend's introversionthat she can't "think of anything easier than public speaking." Not only did this set showcase her comfort with being on stage, the speed with which she jumped from topic to topic was consistently impressive. In the midst of a story, a comment would frequently lead to a tangent that would lead back to a side note in the original story, before the thread was tied back together seamlessly.
So. A free-associating reality television star who relishes the spotlight and knows how to connect with a crowd (she told the audience how smart they were several times over the course of the evening), Griffin is perhaps not so dissimilar to Donald Trump, a sentiment she would likely loathe.
She even used his own method of attacking people's looks against him. "His physique, it's very specific," she said at one point, leading into a bit about the shape of his body. "He's an old, ugly man," she added unapologetically. "That's what I'm going to say because he's so vicious towards women."
The Forest Park native then described his hair using Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural stylings as a touchpoint. In the end, her lengthy takedown of Trumpwhich she interrupted several times with other storieswas set up the same way she sets up any celebrity takedown: based on her personal experiences.
"Any comedian can get up here and make fun of Trump! It's so easy!" Griffin declared. "But I actually know him."
Griffin's other great strength? Name-dropping.
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Zach Freeman is a freelance writer.
ctc-arts@tribpub.com
Twitter@ZachRunsChicago
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The pregnant looking rare Amur leopard in northeast China's Heilongjiang province [Photo: Chinanews.com]
Excitement over sightings of what was thought to be a pregnant rare Amur leopard has been dashed after it was revealed the animal was a male that had eaten too much.
The overweight leopard was spotted in a Siberian tiger national nature reserve in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, according to experts from the Longjiang Forest Industry, quoted by Chinanews.com on Saturday.
Rangers in the reserve filmed the leopard, with a big belly which almost touched the ground, and conjectured whether it was pregnant.
But closer inspection of the video by experts at the wildlife research institute in Heilongjiang province revealed the patterns on the back of the leopard appeared similar to those of a male found in September, 2014 in the same area.
The researchers confirmed the leopards were one and the same, and the male leopard's "pregnant" appearance was simply down to eating too much.
The male Amur leopard in northeast China's Heilongjiang province in this photo taken on October 27, 2014 [Photo: Chinanews.com]
"It's not hard to believe." said Zhou Shaochun, associate researcher at the wildlife research institute in Heilongjiang province. "In the winter of 2016, there were 2.6 roe deer and 3.2 wild boars in every kilometer, which means food was densely distributed. So, leopards eating too much is not hard to understand."
The abundance of wildlife in the national nature reserve in Heilongjiang province has brought joy and hope to staff members. In 2016, Siberian tigers were spotted on five occasions and wild Amur leopards 17 times by cameras. It later turned out that there were four individual Amur leopards and 6 individual Siberian tigers.
Fu Jingfeng, director of the Suiyang Forest Industry Bureau, said that the healthy condition of tigers and leopards are the result of concerted efforts by the whole of society. He said a reduction in tree cutting in the forest had encouraged the breeding of roe deer and wild boars, which provided stable living conditions for leopards which are at the top of the food chain.
The Amur leopard is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Data published by the World Wildlife Fund indicates that there are roughly 70 adult Amur leopards in the wild today.
A few months ago, my WOW air flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Keflavik, Iceland, was delayed. That caused me and my travel companion to miss our connecting flight to Baltimore.
The next day, WOW rerouted us to Washington Dulles International Airport on Icelandair. But our car was 60 miles away at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
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I filed a complaint four months ago and haven't heard anything. I also submitted receipts for the shuttle ($82) and extra day of parking ($10). I can't get a response from WOW, and when I try calling, the airline has a recording that says it doesn't hear anyone on the line and it disconnects the call.
I'd like to be reimbursed for the cost of the shuttle and extra day of parking we incurred because WOW placed us on a different flight home. Can you help?
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Colleen Lamont, Towson, Md.
A: Wow, what a nightmare! Of course the airline should have operated your first return flight on time and on schedule and given you plenty of time to connect with your next flight back home. Then we wouldn't be having this discussion at all.
But airlines are not required to operate their flights on schedule, and (at least in the United States) they face minimal consequence when they fail to do so. Not so in Europe. I'll get to that in a minute.
WOW, a discount airline, delayed the Edinburgh-to-Keflavik leg because of "technical" problems. When that happened, it should have booked you on the next available flight and covered any incidental expenses, including, you might assume, your shuttle ride.
But that's not exactly how it works. Unless you have a specific agreement with an airline representative preferably in writing WOW's contract with you is fulfilled when you land. You accepted its return flight and that's it. In other words, the airline is probably ignoring you because it has nothing to say. Still, that's no excuse for giving you the silent treatment or disconnecting your call. WOW can do better.
Once you were back in Baltimore, you could have sent a brief and polite email to one of the airline's executives. I list the names, numbers and email addresses for the WOW managers on my consumer-advocacy website: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/wow-air.
I have good news and better news. WOW agreed to reimburse you after I contacted the airline on your behalf. But EU law specifically a regulation called EU 261 requires that airlines compensate passengers when there's a lengthy delay. Under EU 261, you could be entitled to 250 euros each. Once my advocacy team pointed this out to WOW, the airline agreed to sweeten the deal. That compensation ought to pay for your parking expenses, and if fares stay low, another flight back to Europe.
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler." You can read more travel tips on his blog, www.elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.
A high-speed train could give travelers a quicker option than the Blue Line for getting between downtown and O'Hare airport. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Imagining an express train from downtown to O'Hare International Airport takes some suspension of disbelief.
It's not quite the effort needed to believe in elves, but enough to get over cynicism nurtured from years of living in Chicago.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel has set a three-year goal to start building high-speed service to the airport, though he has offered few details on how this would happen.
More than a decade ago, Mayor Richard M. Daley pictured the Block 37 shopping center on top of a high-speed rail station. The CTA and the city tossed more than $250 million into a hole in the ground before work stopped in 2008.
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So can it really happen this time? Emanuel officials and some transportation experts say the city needs it more than ever to be competitive in the world travel market. Various options are being considered for the route and downtown terminal.
But it is not clear how this project would be funded, outside of as-yet-unknown private investors. It's also not known whether a high-fare, express-only train would be financially feasible, or if more stops would be needed to make it worthwhile.
"It's become a litmus test for being a world-class city," said DePaul University transportation expert Joe Schwieterman of the need for the train. "There's huge traffic between downtown and O'Hare, so it's a logical step for our city but one that's been stalled for half a generation. The tricky part is who pays and how it's financed."
The idea is to provide a high-speed train to connect downtown with O'Hare in 20-25 minutes less time than either the Blue Line or a cab on the Kennedy Expressway. The concept is supposed to appeal to busy jet setters who want a quick trip, do not want to ride the CTA and would be willing to pay $25 to more for the privilege. Similar express trains operate in Toronto, Hong Kong, London and Tokyo.
An industry source familiar with the planning said the project could cost $1 billion to $3 billion. The city insists that this time, the project will not be paid for by state or local tax dollars, though federal funding was not ruled out. The aviation department awarded $2 million, from passenger facility charges and federal sources, last February to engineering firm WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff to study options. Emanuel said engineers had made progress identifying routes.
The city recently hired Bob Rivkin, a former general counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation, to provide legal expertise to find a way forward and work with potential partners. Rivkin, a Daley administration veteran who declined comment, has a contract for $25,000 per month, paid for through the aviation department.
Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans has said the city would look for a private company to cover construction costs and operate the system.
Congressman Mike Quigley, who represents the district that covers O'Hare, said he thought an express train is a fine idea, but he cannot see how it can get done without federal funding.
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"I just don't think there's enough of a market right now to do entirely private sector," said Quigley, a Democrat. He said there's "more uncertainty than certainty" under the new presidential administration about how infrastructure needs will be funded.
President Donald Trump campaigned on the idea of funding infrastructure through tax credits for private companies, though tax credits alone may not be enough of an incentive for investors to come in unless fare and/or other revenues can pay off capital costs. The express train idea might be one that appeals to the new Republican administration, since it would aid business and involve private investment, and Trump has expressed interest in high-speed trains.
Undercapitalized rail systems like Metra and the CTA are Quigley's main priorities, he said.
"I've got to focus on keeping the fleet going," Quigley said.
Options for the train
Evans has ruled out as downtown terminals both the Block 37 station because of technical concerns raised by the CTA and other travel agencies, and Union Station because it is already too busy.
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Other possible stations that could be used are Ogilvie, LaSalle and Millennium, all part of the Metra system, according to the industry source familiar with the planning. Possible route options would be to use property along part of the Union Pacific Northwest Line, or go over the top of the Kennedy Expressway. Another option is to use railroad property along I-290 and I-294, the source said.
Another version of this idea is to build tracks along the right-of-way next to the Metra North Central line to Rosemont, or using part of the Milwaukee West Line to River Grove and then picking up the North Central from there, Schwieterman said.
A choice touted by the Midwest High Speed Rail Association is to link Metra's North Central and electric routes, which could also connect to Millennium Park and Hyde Park.
"I think it's critical the city look at more than just an express train between downtown and Chicago," said Association executive director Rick Harnish. He imagines the "CrossRail" route even being able to take Amtrak trains coming from places like South Bend, Ind., with passengers connecting to O'Hare.
"The key is to build a very robust railroad that serves multiple markets and gets away from the focus on this very small market the business traveler trying to get downtown," Harnish said.
If the city built a high-speed express train, business travelers would use it, said Wayne Urbanek, president of the Chicago Business Travel Association. He said many of his constituents travel to London and appreciate the high-speed rail system to and from Heathrow, which operates every 15 minutes for a standard fare of about 25 pounds or about $31.
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"The business traveler would pay for that," said Urbanek, who noted that a cab ride can run $50, while the Blue Line has too many stops. "Time is money."
The city also needs to examine how many people would use an express train, how they would use it, and if the service needs to serve more than one market to make it work.
Toronto offers a cautionary tale. The Canadian city, which has a similar population to Chicago, built an express train to its airport in 2015, but ran into a problem with the price. A standard one-way fare on the Union Pearson Express was initially $27.50 ($21 U.S.), or $19 ($14.50 U.S.) with a "Presto" card, similar to Ventra.
Ridership for the line was so bad at just about 2,000 riders a day that the price was cut in half last year to $9 ($6.87 U.S.) for Presto card riders and $12 ($9.16 U.S.) for those paying cash, said Anne Marie Aikins, spokeswoman for Metrolinx, which runs the service. The Express is now seeing 9,000 passengers a day, Aikins said. She noted that the service, which takes 25 minutes from downtown to the airport, also serves two other stops.
"It's a hybrid system," Aikins said. She said to improve ridership, Metrolinx listened to the needs of people living near the other stops. Before the Express, transit riders took buses or cabs to the airport Toronto did not have the equivalent of Chicago's Blue Line to O'Hare, or Orange Line to Midway.
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the regional planning organization for the seven-county region, has not listed an O'Hare express train as one of its highest priority projects in its "Go to 2040" plan. Projects listed ahead of an express train include the Red Line South extension and express toll lanes for I-55 and I-290.
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The Active Transportation Alliance, which advocates for transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists, would support the express but only if it is privately financed, government relations director Kyle Whitehead said. The Alliance would not want it to compete with public funding for projects that provide greater community benefits, like the Red Line extension.
"We think those are higher priorities," Whitehead said.
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Stop texting and driving
Last week, the National Safety Council reported that motor vehicle deaths have shot up in Illinois and across the nation for a second year in a row.
One big cause is distracted driving. Safety experts say people have become so addicted to their mobile phones that it's tough to get them to see that texting and calling while driving is as bad as driving drunk. Little enforcement and slap-on-the-wrist fines are not helping.
So it's up to you, folks. Let's stop this. Put your phone in the trunk. Get a free app like AT&T's "DriveMode," which shuts off phone alert features when the car's moving. Get your kids to nag you.
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And then write to "Getting Around" and tell why you're taking the pledge never to look at your phone in the car again, and what you're doing to stay honest. A tale of repentance and reform would be especially appealing. The writer of the best letter will get it published, and get a stylish Chicago Tribune cap. You can be an inspiration to us all.
mwisniewski@tribpub.com
Twitter @marywizchicago
Chicago fire personnel transport a victim from the scene where five were shot, three fatally, in the 3900 block of South Albany Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood Feb. 15, 2017. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
A Cook County Judge on Saturday ordered held without bail an 18-year-old high school student in connection with a failed drug heist that ended with five people shot, three fatally.
Three days after the Wednesday shooting in a Southwest Side home in the Brighton Park neighborhood, Torrence Reese, of the 900 block of West 68th Street in the Englewood neighborhood, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas denied him bail during bond court Saturday.
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Reese, who was on track to graduate from Jane Addams High School, was not present in court, as he also was struck by gunfire and currently is hospitalized with gunshot wounds, his attorney said.
The charges are tied to the deaths of brothers Emmanuel Camacho, 18, and Filogonio Rivera-Camacho, 20, both of the 3900 block of South Albany Avenue, and 19-year-old Julian Miller, of the 1400 block of East 71st Street.
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Reese additionally is charged with attempting to kill a surviving witness and with armed robbery, prosecutors said. The witness, who was not named, was the fifth person shot.
Prosecutors said the witness was friends with the brothers and also knew Reese from high school. Because he knew the brothers occasionally sold marijuana from their apartment, and Reese was interested in purchasing 2 ounces of marijuana for $400, prosecutors said he arranged for Reese to purchase marijuana from the brothers.
About 2:45 p.m., Reese and Julian Miller arrived at the first-floor apartment. They entered and went into a bedroom connected to the kitchen, where the brothers and the witness were playing video games, prosecutors said.
Reese and Miller discussed purchasing marijuana from the brothers, and eventually Reese, Miller and the witness began to smoke marijuana together. The witness began to feel nauseated and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, closing the door of the bedroom behind him after exiting the room, prosecutors said.
While in the kitchen, the witness suddenly heard multiple gunshots from inside the bedroom.
The witness ran away from the bedroom, toward the back door of the apartment off an enclosed porch. Reese opened the bedroom door, pointed a handgun in the direction of the witness and fired several shots, striking the witness in the hip and left leg, prosecutors said.
The witness was able to hide in the basement, prosecutors said. While there, he heard sounds of a physical scuffle overhead, then heard additional gunshots, prosecutors said. The witness cried out to other residents of the building, who then entered the apartment to find Miller on the floor of the enclosed porch.
Miller suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to his back. Next to his body was a bag of marijuana, prosecutors said.
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The group of witnesses then discovered the brothers dead inside the apartment. Rivera-Camacho was on the floor in the hallway, between the kitchen and the front room, prosecutors said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and head.
Camacho was found in the front room of the apartment, prosecutors said. He also suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body and head.
The witness was driven by the neighbors to Mount Sinai, where he was treated for his gunshot wounds.
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After the shooting, Reese left the brothers' apartment, still armed with his handgun. He got into his vehicle and drove around the block before returning to the front of the brothers' apartment building. He appeared to slow down, waiting for his accomplice, Miller, to leave the apartment, prosecutors said.
When Miller didn't show, Reese drove to a nearby Dunkin Donuts and gave his car keys to an employee, saying he'd been shot and that his sister would come by to pick up his vehicle, prosecutors said. The employee saw that Reese had been shot and instead called 911.
Reese was still at the Dunkin Donuts when paramedics arrived and treated him for two gunshot wounds to his buttocks and arms. Police officers also arrived, and took Reese's car keys from the employee. Inside Reese's car, officials found a 9 mm handgun and traces of blood inside the glove box. Police also found a bag of marijuana, prosecutors said.
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At the brothers' apartment, police found five 9 mm shell casings and one live 9 mm round. Though the gun's test results are pending, police observed that the ammunition at the shooting scene was consistent with that of the ammunition recovered from Reese's gun, prosecutors said.
The surviving witness identified Reese as the person who was in the bedroom with the three victims Wednesday, and as the person who exited that bedroom and shot at the witness, prosecutors said.
Autopsies performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Rivera-Camacho, Camacho and Miller's deaths were homicides.
Reese is due in court Tuesday. Reese's family was absent from bond court Saturday, Reese's attorney said, as they were with Reese at Stroger Hospital. Reese is the father of a two-year-old child.
An off-duty Cook County sheriff's officer was shot in the leg in Englewood late Saturday evening, Chicago police said.
The deputy, a 36-year-old man, was standing in front of a house in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen Street when two people came out of a vacant lot nearby and opened fire, shooting him in the leg, police said.
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The deputy, who works as a correctional officer at Cook County Jail, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition.
A childhood friend of the deputy was inside a house on the block, eating, when he heard about seven gunshots, he said.
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His friend, the correctional officer, came inside the house and said he had been shot.
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"He's a good dude," said the friend, who declined to give his name.
While the shooting initially appeared to be deliberate, whether the off-duty deputy was targeted remains unclear, police said, and the motive unknown.
"When (the deputy) emerged, shots were fired in his direction," said Officer Kevin Quaid, a spokesman for the CPD. "But it wasn't just him who was on the porch. Whether he was the intended target or not, that's still under investigation."
Local activist Eric Russell said he was putting out a "clarion call" for the shooter or shooters to turn themselves in.
Russell said if the offenders surrender, he and his fellow activists will provide a legal escort of the shooter or shooters to the Englewood District police station, he said. That way, anyone else matching the description of the shooters would not get stopped or "murdered or harrassed" by police, he said.
A hand-painted sign near the scene of the shooting read: "Stop killing your brothers, God Allah loves U."
Tribune reporter Tony Briscoe contributed.
Divers from the Chicago Police Department's marine unit found the body of a Broadview man in a Columbus Park pond Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
About 2:45 p.m., authorities got a call about a person in the water at Columbus Park in the 500 block of South Central Avenue. The body of Darius Dobbs, 37, was found in the water about 3:45 p.m., authorities said. An autopsy Monday was inconclusive, with results pending further studies, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
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It was not clear if he was found in the Columbus Park Lagoon or another body of water at the park, which also has at least one pond at the south end of the park.
Dobbs had lived in the 100 block of 2nd Street in Broadview, according to the medical examiner.
Members of the Black Lives Matter Women of Faith group lead a chant during a protest against President Donald Trump and his agenda on Feb. 19, 2017, in Chicago. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)
Protesters took to the streets again Sunday afternoon in Chicago's Loop to voice their concerns about several parts of President Donald Trump's agenda, including immigration issues.
With a police escort, several hundred people marched from Trump Tower to Federal Plaza expressing displeasure with the Trump administration's court-paused travel ban, its policies on immigrants in the United States without legal permission and his promise to build a wall at the United States-Mexico border.
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Marchers held signs blasting Trump, including one reading "Will trade 1 Trump for 10,000 refugees." Organizers also led the group in shouting in support of Chicago's immigrant community, "What do we do when immigrants are under attack? Stand up, fight back."
The protest, which caused some traffic delays, ended with a rally at Federal Plaza, where Angelica Magana, founder of the group Rise and Organize, blasted Trump for recent raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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"He has already come after people like me," Magana said. "I'm an undocumented Mexican woman. I'm a DACA recipient. We were given a promise that we were going to be protected if we came out of the shadows. But that promise has been broken."
Demonstrators also denounced Trump's administration for its position on climate change, gender equality and other issues.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace cautioned his colleagues and the network's viewers Sunday that President Donald Trump's latest attack on the media had gone too far.
"Look, we're big boys. We criticize presidents. They want to criticize us back, that's fine," Wallace said Sunday morning on "Fox & Friends." "But when he said that the fake news media is not my enemy, it's the enemy of the American people, I believe that crosses an important line."
The "Fox & Friends" anchors had shown a clip of Trump recounting that past presidents, including Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, had fought with the press. They then asked Wallace whether Trump's fraught relationship with the media was a big deal.
In response, Wallace told his colleagues that Jefferson had also once written the following: "And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
Context was important, Wallace said. All presidents fight with the media, but Trump had taken it a step further in making them out to be "the enemy," he added.
"Yes, presidents have always had - and politicians have always had - problems with the press. They want good press. The press doesn't always give it to them," Wallace said. "But what Jefferson (was saying) is, despite all of our disputes, that to the functioning of a free and fair democracy, you must have an independent press."
Trump's contentious relationship with the press has again been in the spotlight in recent days after the president repeatedly attacked the media as "fake news" in several tweets. In one widely shared tweet on Friday, Trump said the media was "not my enemy" but "the enemy of the American People!"
In it, Trump tagged the New York Times, CNN and the broadcast news networks NBC, ABC and CBS. He did not mention Fox News, which has usually been exempted from his anger toward the media - a fact that Wallace acknowledged Sunday.
"We can take criticism, but to say we're the enemy of the American people, it really crosses an important line," Wallace said.
On "Fox & Friends," host Pete Hegseth countered that perhaps Trump was "taking on the hidden bias" of news outlets that "tell you they're unbiased."
"Is there something there?" Hegseth asked Wallace. "It's not about the independent press; it's about the bias of the press."
Wallace replied: "I think there's absolutely something there, and if he had said that, you wouldn't have heard a peep out of me. Lord knows, Barack Obama criticized Fox News. If Donald Trump wants to criticize the New York Times, that's fine. But it's different from saying that we are an enemy of the American people. That's a different thing."
Wallace finished with a word of warning to those watching who might agree with Trump because he happened to be a president who shared their views.
"And I know there are a lot of (Fox News) listeners out there who are going to reflexively take Donald Trump's side on this," he added. "It's a different thing when it's a president - because if it's a president you like trying to talk about the press being the enemy of the people, then it's going to be a president you don't like saying the same thing. And that's very dangerous."
Wallace is the host of "Fox News Sunday" and was the moderator of the third presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus also appeared on "Fox News Sunday," where he and Wallace sparred over the president's words.
Priebus defended Trump by saying that he was not talking about all news but about "certain things that are happening in the news that just aren't honest."
Wallace pressed Priebus and argued that the president was not referring to individual stories.
"You don't get to tell us what to do any more than Barack Obama did," Wallace said after continued arguments with Priebus. "Barack Obama whined about Fox News all the time, but I got to say, he never said that we were an enemy of the people."
Wallace is not the only high-profile figure to disagree with Trump's declaration about the media. On Sunday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he did not have any issues with the press and did not see the media as the enemy.
In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said making moves to shut down a free press was "how dictators get started."
"In other words, a consolidation of power," McCain told "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd from Munich. "When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history."
The 80-year-old senator told Todd that a free press was central to a functional democracy, even if news organizations' stories challenged those being held accountable.
"I hate the press. I hate you, especially," he said to Todd, who laughed. "But the fact is, we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital."
"If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press," McCain added. "And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started."
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Investigators are looking for four North Korean men who flew out of Malaysia the same day Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean ruler's outcast half brother, apparently was poisoned at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian police said Sunday.
Since Kim's death last week, authorities have been trying to piece together details of what appeared to be an assassination. Malaysian police have so far arrested four people carrying IDs from North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
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Malaysia's deputy national police chief, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said four other North Korean suspects were on the run. The men arrived in Malaysia on different days beginning Jan. 31 and flew out of the country last Monday, when Kim died, Noor Rashid said.
"I am not going disclose where they are," he told a room packed with journalists, adding that Interpol was helping with the investigation.
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Noor Rashid showed photographs of the four men, who were traveling on regular not diplomatic passports and are ages 33, 34, 55 and 57.
He also said there were three other people police wanted to question. He said that one was North Korean, but that police had not yet identified the other two. It wasn't clear if they were suspects or simply wanted for questioning.
A rotund man in his mid-40s, Kim Jong Nam was waiting for his flight home to Macau when, authorities say, he was set upon by two women. He sought help at an airport customer service desk and said "two unidentified women had swabbed or had wiped his face with a liquid and that he felt dizzy," Noor Rashid said.
Kim died en route to a hospital after suffering a seizure, officials say.
Noor Rashid said Sunday that he expected autopsy results to be released within days. "We have to send a sample to the chemistry department, we have to send a sample for toxicology tests," he said.
Investigators also want to speak to Kim Jong Nam's next of kin to formally identify the body. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
"We haven't met the next of kin," Noor Rashid said. "We are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and to assist us in the investigation."
Noor Rashid said charges against the four suspects in custody would be determined by prosecutors.
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According to police, the Indonesian woman is a spa masseuse and the Malaysian man, a caterer, is believed to be her boyfriend. The Vietnamese woman works at an entertainment outlet and the North Korean man works in the information technology department of a Malaysian company.
The Indonesian woman has told investigators that she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.
Police said the North Korean man's work permit had expired Feb. 6, a week before Kim's death.
The case has raised tensions between Malaysia and North Korea. Pyongyang demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to an autopsy. The Malaysians went ahead with the procedure anyway, saying they were simply following procedure.
Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, said that Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and that the autopsy was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance."
"We are investigating a case of murder ... we just follow our rules and regulations," Noor Rashid said.
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South Korea has been quick to blame its enemies in North Korea for Kim's death.
"Considering North Korea has so far committed crimes against humanity and terror acts, we, together with the international community, are closely watching this brutal, reckless incident with serious concerns," South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee told reporters in Seoul on Sunday.
Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is not known for his subtlety. But even by this standard, his tweet Friday night was extreme. Trump called the news media "the enemy of the American People."
The New York Times, which among others was called out specifically, labeled it "a striking escalation" from a leader who "routinely castigates journalists."
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Gabriel Sherman, national affairs editor at New York magazine, described it as "full-on dictator speak."
They're not being pedantic.
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Enemy of the people is a phrase "typically used by leaders to refer to hostile foreign governments or subversive organizations," the New York Times wrote. "It also echoed the language of autocrats who seek to minimize dissent."
Where did the expression come from? In its original incarnation, enemy of the people wasn't code for "enemy of my regime." In one of its earliest uses, the phrase was used to describe a leader himself - Nero. The Roman ruler was a disastrous emperor, and a careless one to boot. As his country fell into ruin, strained by construction costs and a massive devaluation of the imperial currency, Nero vacationed in Greece. He enjoyed musical performances and theater. He took a chariot to some Olympic Games. He considered whether to build a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth.
When he got back home, the political class was angry. And he didn't do himself any favors by ignoring a revolt in Gaul. The Senate grew so infuriated that they declared Nero an enemy of the people and drew up plans for his arrest and execution. Nero took his own life after a failed attempt to flee.
The term fell out of fashion among the political class, though it popped up in literature and art. Most famously, Henrik Ibsen wrote an 1882 play called "An Enemy of the People." It features a doctor who's almost run out of town because of an article he's written bashing the government. The idea came to Ibsen after his own brush with infamy - his play "Ghosts" challenged the hypocrisy of Victorian morality, and was deemed indecent.
Adolf Hitler was allegedly an Ibsen fan. (Some historians say they believe that he read the plays as prophecy of the Third Reich.) He reportedly read "An Enemy of the People" closely, even weaving some key lines into speeches. His administration deployed this rhetoric to describe Hitler's main enemy: the Jews. "Each Jew is a sworn enemy of the German people," Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels wrote in 1941. "... If someone wears the Jewish star, he is an enemy of the people. Anyone who deals with him is the same as a Jew and must be treated accordingly. He earns the contempt of the entire people, for he is a craven coward who leaves them in the lurch to stand by the enemy."
Around the same time, leaders of the Soviet Union were transforming enemy of the people into a major tool for oppression and silencing enemies. Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Bolsheviks, used "the peoples' enemies" as a label to stigmatize anyone who didn't fall into line when the revolution happened. Enemies of the people were ostracized and even their friends were under suspicion.
For foes of Joseph Stalin, being branded an enemy of the people was a death sentence. The Soviet leader deployed that language against politicians and artists he didn't like. Once branded, the accused were sent to labor camps or killed. Best case? An enemy would be denied education and employment. "It is one of the most controversial phrases in Soviet history," Mitchell Orenstein, professor of Russian and East European studies at the University of Pennsylvania, told Voice of America.
"For both Lenin and Stalin, journalists and intellectuals who didn't share their point of view were among the most hated enemies," University of Washington professor Serhiy Yekelchyk told VOA. "In attacking them, both appealed to the people."
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Chinese dictator Mao Zedong deployed the phrase against people critical of his policies and dictates. The leader, who created a famine that killed 36 million Chinese, was obsessed with identifying and rooting out his enemies. As Zhengyuan Fu explained in "Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics", every member of Chinese society, even children, were called on to root out the landlords, teachers, intellectuals and artists who opposed Mao. He wrote:
Members of society are divided into two major categories: the "people" and the "class enemy." People describes the in-group, within which are workers, poor and lower-middle-class peasants, soldiers and cadres. The "class enemies of the people" refers to the out group a highly arbitrarily assigned group whose members are defined by the party state.
While the "people" are described in terms of "warmth, friendliness, candor, courage, and everything that is good," the class enemies are depicted as "cruel, cunning, morally degrading, always scheming, and evil," Fu writes. In the enemies camp were who often were imprisoned.
Today, enemy of the people is still deployed. But mostly, you hear it from dictators. (Heads of former Soviet countries are particularly fond of the construction. Old dog, new tricks, etc.) It's never before been uttered by the leader of the free world. One more way in which Trump's presidency truly is unprecedented in U.S. history.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 19
Trend:
The UK is interested in developing bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan, said Alan Duncan, the UK minister of State for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He was addressing a meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, held on the sidelines of the 53th Munich Security Conference.
The sides discussed the current state of the Azerbaijan-UK relations and exchanged views on the prospects for further development of cooperation in a variety of fields.
Azerbaijani FM Mammadyarov hailed energy cooperation between the two countries, particularly collaboration with BP in exploration of Azerbaijans oil and gas fields.
He highlighted large-scale regional projects such as Southern Gas Corridor, TAP and TANAP, initiated by and carried out with participation of Azerbaijan, and noted their important role in ensuring European energy security.
Duncan, in turn, noted that the UK is interested in developing bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Further during the meeting, Elmar Mammadyarov informed Duncan about the negotiations to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Reporting from Washington As questions deepened about ties between President Donald Trump's administration and Vladimir Putin's Russia, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus flatly denied Sunday that the two camps colluded during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Priebus, in a series of news show interviews, also insisted that ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn had done nothing illegal in discussing sanctions against Russia with the country's ambassador to Washington prior to Trump's inauguration, and batted aside questions about disorder and disarray in the White House.
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Priebus, who was not on Trump's campaign, has previously said he could not speak to any involvement with Russia by campaign staff. But asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether there was collusion "between anybody involved with Trump and anybody involved with Russia" during the campaign, he replied: "No."
He was somewhat more equivocal in a separate interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," when asked about a New York Times article last week that alleged contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. U.S. intelligence assessments have said Russia interfered in the election with the aim of aiding Trump.
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"We don't know of any contacts with Russian agents," Priebus said. The chief of staff also told NBC he was not aware of anyone else in the White House, other than Flynn, who was forced to resign last week, having been interviewed by the FBI about Russian contacts.
Priebus, in the Fox News interview, cited "top levels of the intelligence community" as having assured him that the account of the Trump campaign's "constant contact with Russian spies" was incorrect, but he did not cite any official or agency.
The Flynn affair, coupled with Trump's strikingly harsh attacks on the news media in recent days, has stirred fresh unease among some lawmakers about the Trump administration and Russia.
"Russia is leading a movement around the world to spread autocracy and authoritarianism," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC's "This Week." He said it was of "profound concern" to him that Trump was more focused on attacking the media than "what Russia is doing."
Priebus' account of Flynn being forced out took a more accusatory tone toward the former national security adviser than Trump himself has in public statements. The president has defended the volatile retired general as a "good man" and repeatedly railed against what he described as "fake" news reports based on leaked information.
Priebus told NBC that questioning of Flynn led the White House to suspect that "he wasn't being straight" about his pre-inauguration discussions with the Russian ambassador.
Flynn's forced resignation followed a report in the Washington Post, which said the then-acting attorney general informed the White House weeks earlier that intelligence intercepts of the calls did not square with the account Vice President Mike Pence said publicly he had been given by Flynn.
Priebus confirmed that the conflicting accounts had been known to the White House since "sometime after" Jan. 27. The Post story was published online Monday, hours before Flynn was fired.
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Flynn maintained "that he never talked to the Russian ambassador about sanctions, but still, something wasn't adding up," the chief of staff told NBC interviewer Chuck Todd. "And eventually, we determined that he did."
Priebus brushed aside suggestions that the timing suggested that Pence had not been fully informed as doubts emerged within the administration about Flynn's truthfulness.
"The vice president's in the loop on everything," he said, adding: "It felt like it happened very quickly."
The Flynn revelations reignited long-standing worries by congressional Democrats and some Republicans about Trump's often-expressed admiration for Putin and about intelligence assessments that the Russians worked to sway the presidential election in Trump's favor particularly against the backdrop of Trump's escalating war on the news media, which he described on Twitter last week as an "enemy of the American People!"
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leading Russia hawk, said on NBC that he had more "hope than belief" that the Republican-controlled Congress would fully investigate the Trump camp's dealings with Russia. He also declared that suppression of a free and independent press was "how dictators get started."
"I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator," he said on "Meet the Press." "I'm just saying that we need to learn the lessons of history."
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more sympathetic to the White House view that coverage of Trump was at times "almost to the point of being hysterical," but agreed that there was cause for disquiet regarding Trump's stance on Russia.
"When it comes to Russia, the one thing that bothers me most about President Trump is that he never seems to forcefully embrace the idea that Russia's interference in our election 2016 is something that should be punished," Graham said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"Putin is not a friend of democracy," he added. "And if we don't hit them hard, you will be empowering Russia."
laura.king@latimes.com
Twitter @laurakingLAT
"It took 10 days for the glue that holds this country together to crumble," New York Daily News columnist Linda Stasi wrote Jan. 31, responding to President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders. Two weeks later, the country amazingly remains uncrumbled, but the media's Trump-related frenzy continues.
Thomas L. Friedman, the globe-trotting New York Times columnist, led the pack with a Valentine's Day doozy, comparing Trump's election to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. "We have never taken seriously from the very beginning Russia hacked our election," he told MSNBC. "That was a 9/11-scale event. They attacked the core of our democracy. That was a Pearl Harbor-scale event."
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Well, yikes. The specific event Friedman compared to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, it should be noted, was not Russia's literally hacking into voting machines, although MSNBC viewers could be forgiven for thinking so. It was, in Friedman's own words, Russia's "deliberately breaking into Democratic National Committee computers and then drip-by-drip funneling embarrassing emails through WikiLeaks to undermine (Hillary) Clinton's (presidential) campaign." In other words, it was the exposure of largely accurate information that made Clinton look bad, widely covered and condemned by the press.
Is Russia's enthusiastic foray into hacking a serious and alarming problem? Certainly. Should we be concerned about Russia's meddling in American politics, and its possible links to the Trump administration? Absolutely. Is there a good chance that the media will blow its remaining shreds of credibility by hyperventilating and exaggerating and bringing every single presidential kerfluffle to DEFCON 1? It sure looks like it.
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Friedman's column is a case in point. In the paragraph following his passionate call to arms regarding the serious issue of Russian hacking, Friedman blasts Trump, with equal venom, for wait for it criticizing the cast of "Hamilton" and actor Meryl Streep. I am not making this up.
This is simply not serious. It's also a perfect example of the media's inability to separate important news from run-of-the-mill Trump. Alas, perspective is in short supply these days, and Friedman seems to view himself as a hero, not a professional muddier of the waters.
And he's not the only one busy patting his own back.
Despite the dubious distinction of polling lower than Donald Trump his latest approval rating is 39 percent, while a Gallup poll found 32 percent of Americans have a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of trust in the media many esteemed journalists are seemingly six drinks in at their own self-congratulatory Me Party.
Over at the Daily Beast, Lloyd Grove penned an article titled "The Journalism Empire Strikes Back."
"Donald Trump and the people around him are being forced to confront a basic fact: Journalists matter," Grove wrote, adding that with the recent resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, "#journalism as an institution has reasserted itself. Big time."
In other words, hooray, journalists! You're apparently back and actually doing your jobs after checking out for eight years!
It gets worse. "Even presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway," Grove continues, "acknowledges the power of the journalism establishment in a way that her boss does not." Grove then goes on to cite one of Conway's most mystifying stock lines: "My big line about all this is that the White House and the news media are going to have joint custody of the country for eight years."
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Good heavens! Joint custody? That is not how any of this is supposed to work, but it is helpful in highlighting a distorted view of the roles of the media and the government. In case nobody noticed, the media and the Trump camps aren't exactly poised for a friendly divorce. "Journalists, battered and groggy, find a renewed sense of mission," Wednesday's New York Times declared. That mission, it turns out, comes from the exhilarating hunt for a scalp. When it comes to stories about the Trump administration's Russia connections, New York Times columnist Frank Rich noted, "You have what seems to be a story of Watergate proportions married to this red hot Wild West of the new mediasphere."
As we've seen, that "red hot Wild West" atmosphere has led to more than its fair share of hyperventilation and flat-out mistakes.
Certainly, journalists, by all means, do your jobs. But if the status quo remains, don't be surprised if the rest of the world tunes you out.
National Review
Heather Wilhelm is a National Review columnist and a senior contributor to The Federalist.
Washington-style intrigue will swirl through Des Plaines Monday when several aldermen say they'll take polygraph tests to prove they're not the source of a leaked document that has cast this northwest suburban town into an uproar.
It's the latest chapter of a long-running drama that has seen private investigators comb through computer servers and interview elected officials and staff members in a thus-far-unsuccessful attempt to unmask the perpetrators.
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When Mayor Matthew Bogusz vetoed the investigators' request for more money to conduct polygraph tests, some aldermen vowed to pay for the exams themselves.
"I'm taking the test to show I didn't do it, and I think we want to find out who did it," said Ald. Dick Sayad. "A lot of people want to forget about it. A crime has been committed and we want to find out what the truth is."
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The turmoil began in June, when Bogusz proposed a measure that would require elected officials to disclose on an ethics form whether they were suing the city. He said the measure was prompted by an internal report listing every lawsuit facing Des Plaines, and though he didn't say so at the time, one of them involved Ald. James Brookman.
The day after the mayor introduced his proposal, a story in the Daily Herald highlighted Brookman's case a workers' comp claim stemming from an injury he suffered as a Des Plaines firefighter.
Des Plaines Fifth Ward Alderman James Brookman (Lee V. Gaines / For the Chicago Tribune)
The Herald said it had obtained the report that included Brookman's claim from a city employee and an elected official, prompting some aldermen to demand an investigation. They said the document was protected by attorney-client privilege, and that its release violated the city's code of ethics.
Brookman said Thursday that the leak might have been politically motivated. He had been thinking about running for mayor, he said, and the disclosure of his claim could have been intended to scuttle his campaign. He said the case shouldn't even have been on the litigation list because he settled it in 2009.
"It puts me in a bad light makes me look like I'm constantly suing the city," he said.
Though some aldermen said they regarded the document as confidential, city manager Mike Bartholomew said much of the information it contains is publicly available. Details of Brookman's claim, for example, can be found on the website of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.
Even so, when every elected official in Des Plaines denied leaking the report, an all-out plumbing campaign began.
The city council asked the Cook County State's Attorney and the Illinois Attorney General to investigate the leak. Those offices declined to get involved, so the aldermen voted unanimously to pay the firm Hillard Heintze up to $30,000 to conduct interviews and search emails and other electronic data.
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The firm's gumshoes did their work Brookman said it involved looking through emails and phone records and interviewing aldermen and staffers but then asked for another $10,000 to conduct polygraph tests.
Five of the city's eight aldermen approved the request, but earlier this month Bogusz vetoed it, saying it was a waste of money.
"We paid Hillard Heintze for a report; they have charged us more than they said they would and we have no report, only a one-page memo asking for more money," he said in an interview Thursday. "I really question the credibility of the work to date."
Polygraphs are a controversial tool for arriving at the truth. They measure physiological responses such as blood pressure, sweating and respiration that supposedly can be linked to deception.
In an extensive research review, the National Academy of Sciences found that while the devices can differentiate between truth-telling and lying at a rate well above chance, they are not reliable enough to use in security screening. Courts also generally prohibit polygraph results from being introduced into evidence.
Bogusz's objection centered on cost rather than accuracy, but he would not commit to taking an exam even after a local resident promised to foot the bill, saying he didn't need a polygraph to tell the truth. He denied being the source of the leaked document.
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The mayor's office and four aldermanic seats will be up for grabs in April's municipal election Brookman ultimately decided not to run, though he said the workers' comp flap had nothing to do with it and Bogusz said the ongoing leak investigation was being used as a wedge issue.
"The timing really says it all," Bogusz said. "Why is it a conversation almost a year later? The few on our council who oppose our progress are intimidated by it, and try to grab onto anything (to derail it)."
But Ald. Malcolm Chester, one of five aldermen who volunteered to pay $200 apiece for their own polygraphs, said he was just trying to get to the truth.
"In my mind it's never had anything to do with politics," he said. "It's had everything to do with a violation of our ordinance and then someone trying to cover that up. I feel truly bound by my oath where I swore as an alderman to uphold the laws of the city of Des Plaines."
Brookman said he expected the polygraph results and Hillard Heintze's findings to be discussed in closed session at Tuesday's city council meeting.
Leak investigations are a staple of Washington politics, with presidents from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump pledging to stem the flow of unauthorized information, but they are relatively uncommon at the state and municipal level, said Lucy Dalglish, dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and former head of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
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She said federal law has clear guidelines about the type of information that is unlawful to release classified documents, for example. States and municipalities tend not to have such prohibitions, so "there's less to leak," she said.
Even at the federal level, leak probes often come up empty. Dalglish said that's because culprits are too hard to identify, or because someone at the top actually did the leaking. But that doesn't mean the exercise is pointless.
"One (consequence) this will have is that there will be a chilling effect in the future," she said. "Someone will think three or four times before (leaking documents) again which is probably why they're doing it."
John Keilman is a Tribune reporter; Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.
jkeilman@tribpub.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman
The now semi-retired principal at Cooke Magnet School received a three-day suspension as a result of calling 911 over an incident with a kindergartner last month, a district spokesman said Friday.
The discipline for former Principal Nan Heim concludes a district investigation into whether school staff violated any district policies or procedures when Heim called 911 the morning of the Jan. 5 incident, Waukegan School District 60 spokesman Nick Alajakis said.
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Heim, who had announced her retirement prior to the incident, will finish out the school year on a "modified schedule," assisting the district "in various educational assignments" like putting together individual educational plans for special education students across the district, Alajakis said.
Hyde Park Elementary School Assistant Principal Stephanie Jensen was named the new principal for Cooke at a school board meeting Tuesday, according to board documents. The hiring of a new principal for the district's Alternative/Optional Education Center, current Thomas Jefferson Middle School Assistant Principal Kevin Turner, was also approved Tuesday, though Turner will start July 1.
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Jensen has been Hyde Park's assistant principal for eight of her 16 years with Waukegan School District 60, according to a district-provided biography. She was previously a third-grade and fifth-grade teacher at Glenwood Elementary School.
While Alajakis declined in January to say what led up to the police being called, a copy of the 911 call obtained by the Lake County News-Sun revealed that Heim described the child as "out of control" to emergency dispatchers.
"He's punched staff members," Heim said in the 911 call. "He's ran out of the building. He's climbed a fence."
The responding police officer took the child to the home of a family member, Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said in January.
Alajakis said that it is the school district's general stance "not to call police for simple student issues," and that had been reiterated with Cooke Magnet School personnel prior to the call being made.
emcoleman@tribpub.com
Twitter @mekcoleman
2022 election guide: Here are Pueblo County's top races, ballot issues
Here's what you need to know about the local candidates and ballot questions in the 2022 election, as well as how to vote in Pueblo, Colorado.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 19
By Khalid Kazimov Trend:
Iran plans to import about 600,000 tons of oranges from Turkey over the coming month.
This amount of oranges is expected to be supplied in the market ahead of Nowruz, a festival marking the beginning of the new Iranian calendar year, Tasnim news agency reported.
According to the report, the countrys capacity for producing oranges over the current year has increased by 30 percent reaching three million tons.
The Islamic Republic exported 4.838 million tons of agricultural products during the first ten months of current fiscal year (March 20, 2016-Jan. 20).
The figure indicates a rise by 27.45 percent compared to the same period of preceding year.
Iranian agricultural exports shared 4.74 percent of the countrys total non-oil exports in terms of volume and 13.24 percent in terms of value respectively,
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China's environment minister has urged strict monitoring and crack-down on automobiles with excessive exhaust emissions to improve air quality.
Emissions from mobile sources, such as heavy diesel trucks and old cars, make up a large part of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, said Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, while inspecting an auto emission management center in Beijing Friday.
The Chinese capital is working to build a city-level environmental monitoring system over automobiles to comprehensively control emissions from mobile sources.
Chen called for accelerating the establishment of a national regulation platform for automobile emissions with a technical support system, as well as a network that monitors high-emission vehicles all the time and from all angles.
He said drivers or owners of vehicles with excessive exhaust emissions should be severely punished in accordance with the law and relevant punishment details will be made public.
Automobile emissions contribute 31.1 percent of Beijing's average PM2.5 density. With a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, the particulate matter has been a primary factor behind hazardous smog.
The pregnant looking rare Amur leopard in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province [Photo/Chinanews.com]
Excitement over sightings of what was thought to be a pregnant rare Amur leopard has been dashed after it was revealed the animal was a male that had eaten too much.
The overweight leopard was spotted in a Siberian tiger national nature reserve in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, according to experts from the Longjiang Forest Industry, quoted by Chinanews.com on Saturday.
Rangers in the reserve filmed the leopard, with a big belly which almost touched the ground, and conjectured whether it was pregnant.
But closer inspection of the video by experts at the wildlife research institute in Heilongjiang province revealed the patterns on the back of the leopard appeared similar to those of a male found in September, 2014 in the same area.
The researchers confirmed the leopards were one and the same, and the male leopard's "pregnant" appearance was simply down to eating too much.
"It's not hard to believe," said Zhou Shaochun, associate researcher at the wildlife research institute in Heilongjiang province. "In the winter of 2016, there were 2.6 roe deer and 3.2 wild boars in every kilometer, which means food was densely distributed. So, leopards eating too much is not hard to understand."
The abundance of wildlife in the national nature reserve in Heilongjiang province has brought joy and hope to staff members. In 2016, Siberian tigers were spotted on five occasions and wild Amur leopards 17 times by cameras. It later turned out that there were four individual Amur leopards and 6 individual Siberian tigers.
Fu Jingfeng, director of the Suiyang Forest Industry Bureau, said that the healthy condition of tigers and leopards are the result of concerted efforts by the whole of society. He said a reduction in tree cutting in the forest had encouraged the breeding of roe deer and wild boars, which provided stable living conditions for leopards which are at the top of the food chain.
The Amur leopard is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Data published by the World Wildlife Fund indicates that there are roughly 70 adult Amur leopards in the wild today.
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Flash
Thai police have seized a total of 7.4 million speed pills and 20 kilograms of crystalline methamphetamine (ice) in the northern province of Lambang in the last two days.
On Friday night, police found 3.4 million speed pills and 20 kilograms of ice in a pickup truck which sped past a local checkpoint, prompting police to chase it and shoot its tyres.
One of the three men in the truck was arrested while the other two fled into a forest on foot.
Chairot Iang-payung, chef of a local police station in Lambang's Thoen district, said the drugs found in the case were the province's largest haul in 20 years, Bangkok Post reported.
A police investigation found that these drugs had been smuggled from Chiang Rai province and were destined to capital Bangkok.
On Saturday, police found another 4 million speed pills some 3 km away from the first spot.
These drugs, in more than 20 fertilizer sacks, were left along the road when police found them.
Officials believed the drugs seized on Saturday were of the same lot as those seized on the previous day and they speculated those suspects might have dumped them before fleeing.
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The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is offering cash packages to any Rwandan refugee who returns home before end of 2017, according to UNHCR official.
Saber Azam, UNHCR Rwanda country representative told reporters on Saturday that the commission is giving 250 U.S dollars to each adult Rwandan refugee and 150 U.S dollars to any of their minors who returns home before Cessation Clause expires.
UNHCR approved Rwandan Cessation Clause in December 2011 but extended its application to June 30, 2013, and now to December 31, 2017.
The Cessation Clause provides for three options: voluntary repatriation, invocation of refugee status and local integration, as well as individual application for refugee status with convincing reasons.
"We have decided to provide financial resettlement packages in terms of cash to Rwandans returning home ahead of cessation clause expiry. The money will be a one-time assistance that will help the returnees to solve their problems as they settle," said Azam.
He added that on top of the money, the returnees are offered free medical insurance for a year, a free mobile phone and free transportation to any destination within the country.
The new cash incentive assistance replaces the distribution of essential household items that refugees used to be given upon return, tempting some of them to sell part or all of what was provided.
About 3.4 million refugees have been repatriated since 1994, majority of them from Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Rwanda ministry for disaster management and refugee affairs.
However, Seraphine Mukantabana, Rwandan minister for disaster management and refugee affairs said that the offer is likely to drive massive return of Rwandans fearing to lose refugee status in host countries.
"This is a good initiative and it will help them to resettle. Rwanda is safe and secure and ready to accommodate all Rwandan returnees. Both the travel facilitation and the resettlement cash package won't be available for those who will miss the December 31, 2017, deadline," she noted.
Mukantabana warned Rwandan refugees in different countries across the world that they won't be considered as refugees any more after December 31, 2017.
The ministry for disaster management and refugee affairs says that an average returning rate of Rwandans still living in exile has been around 2,000 a year.
According to UNCHR, a refugee can choose to settle in the host country through legal channels and or only if the person applies again for special refugee status.
Millions of Rwandans have fled to exile from 1959 through to 1994.
UNHCR is expecting at least 20,000 refugees from DR Congo, Zambia, Cameroon and other countries.
Presently, there are 1,000 Rwandan refugees waiting to return from the DR Congo.
Flash
Dozens of militants of Islamic State (IS) group were killed on Saturday in artillery shelling and airstrikes by U.S.-led coalition on IS positions in the western side of the city of Mosul, while paramilitary units of Hashd Shaabi repelled IS attack in west of the city, a security source and a statement said.
The international artillery and aircraft bombarded IS positions and headquarters in Shifaa neighborhood and the city's health department in the western bank of Tigris River, which bisects Mosul, leaving at least 24 IS militants killed and wounding dozens others, Mohammed Ibrahim al-Baiyati, head of provincial security committee told Xinhua.
The bombings on the IS-held western Mosul destroyed all the positions of the extremist militants and their headquarters, Baiyati said.
Also in the day, the Hashd Shaabi units backed by army helicopter gunships repelled an attack by dozens of IS militants at a village near the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, the statement by the paramilitary units said.
The IS militants, apparently, were trying to break the siege of Hashd Shaabi units in west of Mosul, which cut off the supply routes between Mosul and neighboring Syria, the statement said.
The clashes resulted in the killing of 20 IS militants and the destruction of three armored vehicles and a bulldozer, according to the statement.
The attack in west of Mosul came five days after another failed attack by IS militants who used tanks for the first time in the battles with the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units in west of Mosul
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Tehran, Iran, February 19
By Mehdi Sepahvand Trend:
A number of people who used to promote the campaign for not buying domestically made cars have been "identified", Irans Minister of Industry Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said.
"We have given their list to authorities," he said, accusing the campaigners of having conspired against one of the countrys booming economic sectors, ISNA news agency reported.
The minister has recently led a campaign in favor of an industrialism in Iran that disregards environmental concerns.
The "dont buy" campaign which went viral in Iran last year tried to prevent Iranians from opening the way for a new flow of outdated cars into the market.
Just a week ago the same minister lashed out at the Department of Environment for not allowing the ministry to authorize mining in central Iran in an area preserved for saving an endangered species of zebras.
Flash
China will suspend coal imports from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the rest of 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement on its website that the suspension, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2321, will be effective from Feb. 19 to Dec. 31 this year.
The UN Security Council adopted the resolution on Nov. 30 that tightened sanctions on the DPRK in response to its fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9 last year.
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The Australian government has not ruled out working with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in the Middle East, the nation's defense minister said Sunday.
Following high-level international defense talks in Brussels last week, at which Australia's Defense Minister Marise Payne met with counterparts including U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Australian government has said it would consider working with Russia to get a desirable outcome in war-torn Syria.
"Australia is willing to work with any nation that is willing to make a constructive contribution to the fight against (Islamic State)," Payne told Fairfax Media on Sunday.
"As matters advance in Syria, these are matters the government will consider but I'm not going to make any further comment on that at the moment."
Australia has previously been hesitant to throw its support behind Russia's foray into the Middle East, but following the election of Donald Trump, the United States, Australia's closest ally, has indicated it was open to forming closer ties with the Kremlin to defeat IS.
Payne's comments came after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was also open to the idea of increasing Australia's presence in the region, if requested by Australia's military allies.
"(But) I should say that Australia already has one of the largest, if not the largest presence in the alliance against IS, other than the United States in foreign contributions," Turnbull said Friday from New Zealand, where he met with counterpart Bill English.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of the city of Mosul.
The outlook for this year once appeared bleak with the United States seeming set on a collision course with China.
Pessimistic predictions of conflict, sparked by their differences over issues ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea to currency and trade, appeared particularly credible when weighed against Trump's tough talking tweet storm against China and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's pre-inauguration belligerency.
But the belated phone conversation between the Chinese and US presidents was the previously missing stabilizer that restored lost confidence that the two countries could get along, and Friday's meeting between Tillerson and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bonn, Germany, struck a positive note indicating the two countries were still willing to work together to forge friendly relations.
Although the meeting between the two countries' top diplomats was welcomely upbeat, there is no denying Beijing and Washington have different, sometimes competing, interests and priorities.
While Wang reiterated the US' adherence to one China as the precondition for China-US relations, Tillerson highlighted "a level playing ground for trade and investment", as well as cooperation on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The Trump administration has brought a change of style to the country's diplomacy and shifted its focus inwards, blaming the US' economic woes on globalization. The withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was widely viewed as being the new US president's first shot at globalization and the harbinger of an isolationist Trump era.
President Xi Jinping's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, on the other hand, was the ultimate Chinese assertion of faith in the process of economic globalization.
And differences exist between China and the US on some of Asia-Pacific's most sensitive issues, from the South China Sea to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear weapons program, that are just as obvious.
These differences run deep and broad, from historical facts to present-day international law.
But both Wang and Tillerson left their meeting expressing the conviction that working together, instead of against each other, will benefit their countries, and the world, more.
So long as there is a shared understanding of the harm of confrontation, and the benefit of cooperation, as well as a willingness to talk, there is little that cannot be handled.
This has been proven true through different leaders on both sides since diplomatic relations were established, and hopefully, that will continue to hold true through the Trump presidency.
Tehran welcomes the process of joining of new states to the Syrian settlement process, especially if such countries could contribute to the solution of the crisis in the country by political means, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Sunday, Sputnik reported.
Iran, along with Russia and Turkey, has made a number of efforts aimed at cessation of hostilities in Syria, such as convocation of settlement talks in Astana and establishment of a trilateral mechanism on monitoring the ceasefire in the war-torn country.
"Russia and Iran have a common goal to reach a political settlement of the Syrian crisis and now are contributing to rapprochement of the positions of the parties [to the conflict] We welcome joining of other countries, which could support the process of political settlement," Larijani said in an interview with the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen broadcaster.
The Kazakh capital has already held two rounds of the talks between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups brokered by Ankara, Moscow and Tehran. During the Astana talks, such countries, as Jordan and the United States had been playing the role of observer states.
MA XUEJING and SU JINGBO / CHINA DAILY
In: opening up of some sectors and contracts; new powers for provinces to okay proposals, and for foreign firms to issue bonds
The Chinese economy is on the threshold of a new era of consumption-led growth that will be driven by increased foreign direct investment or FDI in strategic sectors, according to business leaders and industry experts.
Thanks to governmental resolve to attract more FDI, segments newly identified as key to sustained growthautomation, digitalization, financial services, railway equipment, environmental technology and renewable energyare expected to benefit.
In January, the central government released a document outlining 20 measures to spur investment activities that have been sluggish. Among the measures are opening up of manufacturing, services and financial industries to FDI. Foreign businesses will be encouraged to bid for infrastructure projects through local franchises.
Eager to enhance the country's profile as an FDI destination, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, recently took an unprecedented step. It delegated power to provincial governments to approve proposals for foreign investment up to $300 million in areas not in the negative list, which specifies sectors where foreign investors are barred.
Foreign companies will also be entitled to participate in bidding for government procurement contracts, as long as their products are made in China. The government will also allow them to go public and issue bonds in local markets to diversify financing channels.
These measures suggest the government is not content with steady FDI growth in 2016 on the back of strong investment in services. FDI rose 4.1 percent year-on-year to reach $118 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the government branch in charge of the country's outbound and inbound investment.
"Pushed by rising labor costs and weak global market demand, China is planning to have its growth depend more on domestic consumption and less on exports," said Zhang Yunling, director of International Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.
Zhang said companies from Europe, Japan and the United States have already discovered that it is time to invest more in China's research and development or R&D, design, science and technology or S&T businesses. New growth points will present themselves as the economy becomes more sophisticated.
Under government policies, foreign companies will be encouraged to invest in high-end, smart and green manufacturing; set up R&D centers; and strengthen cooperation with domestic peers. They will also be allowed to join national S&T programs.
Things have already started happening on this front. For instance, Germany's Siemens AG opened an industrial facility at its Wuhan Innovation Center in Hubei province last month. It will work together with local companies to build digitalization laboratories, intelligent water-testing laboratories, industrial hardware and software platforms, and expert networks from a long-term perspective.
"The Wuhan facility will be geared to the situation and needs of local industries to provide such services as innovation project incubation, professional training and technical consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises," said Zhu Xiaoxun, senior vice-president of Siemens China.
The company kicked off the Siemens China Innovation Center initiative in China last year, focusing on research in the field of digitalization. Under the program, Siemens has opened innovation centers in Qingdao, Wuhan and Wuxi to develop digitalization technologies in the country.
China is now intent on persuading global corporate majors to emulate companies such as Siemens. "The government had noticed that the country's capacity to attract FDI had in recent years been challenged by a number of elements, including the monopoly of State-owned enterprises and disappearing cost advantages of domestic production," said Ma Yu, a researcher at Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Worse, changing global political scapethe Trump administration is keen to restore health of the manufacturing sector in the US; many countries in Europe will go to polls later this yearand slower economic growth in both Africa and South America, can affect global capital flows.
So, China must further revise its negative list to better protect investment from developed markets, as well as offer their companies the right to acquire or merge with domestic companies, instead of building only Chinese-dominated joint ventures, Ma said.
Industries not on the negative list are expected to treat overseas and Chinese companies equally. Such measures have acquired a competitive dimension of late.
"Neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand have been initiating their own moves to entice more foreign investment to their shores," said Huo Jianguo, former president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
China believes any drop in FDI due to competition from the neighborhood may prove temporary. The Ministry of Commerce has repeatedly said that "because of its huge market size, industrial infrastructure foundation and logistics network, China is, in the long term, the most attractive market for global companies."
Such confidence stems from the effectiveness of measures adopted so far. Johnson Controls Inc, the US-based manufacturer of energy storage, building equipment and control systems, will open its second global headquarters with a capacity for 1,200 employees in Shanghai in April.
"The Chinese government is seeking new solutions to improve energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions to design healthier environments in its cities," said Trent Nevill, vice-president of Johnson Controls and president for the company in the Asia-Pacific region.
"With incentives put in place and high demand from the market, we can experience fast growth in our energy efficiency solutions."
The US company experienced fast growth in its battery business in China over the past five years, thanks to surging demand for replacement and original equipment manufacturing. It invested $200 million to build a plant in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, to produce batteries for start-stop vehicles.
This type of vehicle battery can help automakers meet increasingly strict fuel economy and emissions regulations.
It will be a primary focus for the new facility. The Shenyang plant is scheduled to launch in late 2018 and will produce 6 million batteries annually, with the majority for start-stop vehicles.
BEIJING -- China's environment minister has urged strict monitoring and crack-down on automobiles with excessive exhaust emissions to improve air quality.
Emissions from mobile sources, such as heavy diesel trucks and old cars, make up a large part of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, said Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, while inspecting an auto emission management center in Beijing Friday.
The Chinese capital is working to build a city-level environmental monitoring system over automobiles to comprehensively control emissions from mobile sources.
Chen called for accelerating the establishment of a national regulation platform for automobile emissions with a technical support system, as well as a network that monitors high-emission vehicles all the time and from all angles.
He said drivers or owners of vehicles with excessive exhaust emissions should be severely punished in accordance with the law and relevant punishment details will be made public.
Automobile emissions contribute 31.1 percent of Beijing's average PM2.5 density. With a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, the particulate matter has been a primary factor behind hazardous smog.
Tsinghua University has denied suggestions the university's new system of admission for international applicants has made it easier for foreign students to get a chance to study in the university, reports People's Daily.
A heated debate was triggered after media reported that an updated procedure had been adopted for the university's international student recruitment.
According to the new rules regarding undergraduate programs, applicants will be admitted by Tsinghua University if he or she passes two hurdles: the 'Online Application' and a 'Comprehensive Evaluation', which includes an 'Application Review' and 'Interview'.
Outstanding applicants recognized by Tsinghua University may have the interview waived and get an offer directly.
One of the main differences from the previous year's rules is that applicants don't have to take academic tests.
Some critics say this has made it much easier for foreigners to get into Tsinghua University, especially those who are originally Chinese.
In response, the university has said the new rules do not lower standards for international applicants.
Applicants are required to provide a National/Regional Graduation Examination/Matriculation Examination Certificate.
If applicants don't have that certificate, they have to provide the GPA and/or the academic ranking certification from their high school.
Applicants should also have passed HSK Level 5 or above, scoring over 60 points in each subject.
For those applicants who have only reached HSK Level 4, they will have to attain Level 5 or above in each subject, scoring over 60 points within the first academic year at Tsinghua University. Students who do not achieve this will have to leave the university.
For those who have given up their original Chinese citizenship and have become foreign citizens, the applicant should have lived overseas for at least 2 years out four, before April 30th in the year they are admitted by Tsinghua University.
In addition, Tsinghua University stresses that it will offer admission to around 3,300 undergraduates from the Chinese mainland this year. The number of international undergraduates will be almost the same as in previous years. The number of domestic students won't be affected by international student recruitment.
Around 39 majors in 19 schools at Tsinghua University are open to international applicants at the undergraduate level.
Currently, around 286 international undergraduates are studying at the university.
China's e-commerce giant Alibaba says more than 200,000 online sellers were almost wrongly punished for fake complaints.
The figures released by Alibaba's intellectual property complaint center showed that appeals from more than 200,000 online retailers were upheld last year, after the original complaint was found to be false.
"The wrong complaints were attributed to fake reports, or some customers allegedly got refunds by providing fake materials to prove products they bought were problematic," Gu Jun, from Alibaba, said.
"The customers made the reports using counterfeit identity cards, and at the same time, they contacted online shops to ask them to pay them, or else they would not cancel the report," Gu said. "In other words, they made use of our report system to ask for compensation."
He regarded the behavior as damaging to the platform, as well as the online stores.
Ye Zhifei, chief of Alibaba's IP center, said that it is planning to clarify reports, hoping to effectively distinguish fake complaints from real ones.
"We are considering asking those who said they bought fake products to provide more evidence, in an effort to ensure our online shops' rights and avoid unnecessary disputes," Ye added.
Du Ying, a professor of IP rights at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, applauded the plan, saying better protection for sellers is a necessity.
Li Shunde, a professor of law and IP rights at Chinese Academy of Sciences, agreed with Du, saying that it is urgent to purify the online environment, taking measures to fight against those getting profits by fake reports.
Zhang Taolve, a professor at Tongji University, added that the government should play its role in keeping the e-commerce platform in order instead of relying on the enterprise itself to handle it.
WUHAN -- China Eastern Airlines will officially offer WiFi on a flight between Wuhan, Central China, and Sydney, on Monday, company sources said Sunday.
This is the first flight from Wuhan to offer its passengers Internet access, said Mei Xiaoling with the airline's Wuhan subsidiary, adding that mobile phones must still be switched off during the flight.
Passengers should reserve in advance, as the service is limited to 100 passengers on each flight, according to the company.
The airline company launched its Wuhan-Sydney route in January. An Airbus 330 departs Wuhan at 11:40 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (Beijing time), and leaves Sydney on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:15 pm (local time).
The pregnant looking rare Amur leopard in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province [Photo: Chinanews.com]
Excitement over sightings of what was thought to be a pregnant rare Amur leopard has been dashed after it was revealed the animal was a male that had eaten too much.
The overweight leopard was spotted in a Siberian tiger national nature reserve in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, according to experts from the Longjiang Forest Industry, quoted by Chinanews.com on Saturday.
Rangers in the reserve filmed the leopard, with a big belly which almost touched the ground, and conjectured whether it was pregnant.
But closer inspection of the video by experts at the wildlife research institute in Heilongjiang province revealed the patterns on the back of the leopard appeared similar to those of a male found in September, 2014 in the same area.
The researchers confirmed the leopards were one and the same, and the male leopard's "pregnant" appearance was simply down to eating too much.
Benefits unimaginable to earlier generations becoming necessary incentives
"Spacious rooms with air conditioner, Wi-Fi and hot shower 24 hours a day."
They are selling points you might read in an apartment rental ad. But, instead, this was part of a recruitment poster for migrant workers at a job fair this month in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
Posters at other booths promised free meals, apartments for couples and the guarantee of a place at a school for any children, in addition to a competitive salary and healthcare.
The use of such incentives has become the norm at job fairs, as employers struggle to attract workers amid a tighter labor shortage.
In terms of recruitment, "many large private enterprises are now behaving like State-owned enterprises in the 1950s and '60s", said Gan Mantang, a sociology professor at Fuzhou University in Fujian province. "They're offering good, free accommodation and help with their children's education, as well as providing some recreational activities.
"If they don't do this, it'll be difficult to recruit anyone in today's ultracompetitive labor market," added Gan, the author of Migrant Workers Are Changing China.
Only five years ago, many migrant workers endured cramped, often unhygienic dormitories, and long periods away from their families.
The job fair in Nanning on Feb 7 attracted 550 companies looking for 100,000 workers.
One booth was for Antoni International, a cotton processor in Foshan, Guangdong province.
Lu Jieling, head of its workers union, said 80 percent of its employees are migrant workers. Many had quit before Spring Festival, so workers were needed quickly.
Antoni was offering 4,000 to 8,000 yuan ($583 to $1,167) a month, 20-square-meter studio apartments for couples, and help with school admissions. The only requirements were that workers needed to be 18 to 45 years old, healthy and have "no bad addiction".
Lu said former employees had been promised a 1,500 yuan bonus if they returned to work after Spring Festival.
The challenges facing employers largely stem from the fact younger migrant workers are more demanding than previous generations. While a decent salary was once all that mattered, now quality of life counts.
"The shortage is of high-quality young people with a relatively good education," said Li Guoxiang, a researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences, who added that companies realize it has become more economical to retain employees than to train new recruits every year.
Large cities in eastern China are still the preferred option for young migrant workers because of higher salaries there, with many now moving with their families. Li said, the movement of factories to less developed areas and poverty relief efforts are attracting older workers who want to return home.
Tianrui Electronics, which makes electronic components and instruments in Tianmen, Hubei province, is struggling to find workers under age 35 with good eyesight.
Shi Yanjun, a company manager, has attended two big job fairs this year, including one held in a township. Just 20 people showed an interest, he said, and "very few young people visited either job fair".
Zhou Lihua contributed to this story.
Contact the writers at houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich,Germany, Feb 17, 2017. [Photo/XInhua]
MUNICH, Germany -- China has been consistently supporting the European integration and is willing to work with the European side for the world's peace and development, top Chinese diplomat said Saturday.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks in meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault on the sidelines of the 53rd Munich Security Conference.Wang began the talk by expressing his appreciation over Ayrault's support to the one-China principle, saying the Sino-French ties have maintained a good momentum of development.Wang said the upcoming official visit of French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to China, the first high-level exchange between the two sides this year, testifies to close relations between the two nations.Cazeneuve's visit, Wang said, will help send a positive signal to the international community about enhanced strategic communication and coordination between the two countries, and between China and Europe, against the backdrop of the current international situation.For his part, Ayrault said maintaining high-level visits between the two sides and strengthening the strategic dialogue have practical significance.As permanent members of the UN Security Council, France and China should jointly safeguard multilateralism, Ayrault said.Ayrault also hailed positive results achieved during the G20 Hangzhou Summit last year and expected both sides to enhance cooperation within the framework of the G20.The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on issues of common concerns, such as the situation in Europe.
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of Mosul.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, locally known as the left bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
However, the western side of Mosul, or the right bank, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces with its narrow streets and heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people, according to United Nations (UN) estimates.
The Iraqi forces have surrounded the western part of Mosul, while the US-led coalition forces have been carrying out air strikes on IS positions.
On Saturday, the UN aid agencies warned that tens of thousands of civilians in the western side of Mosul are at "extreme risk" as battles to drive out IS militants from the city could break out soon.
"Recent surveys with key informants confirm that food and fuel supplies are dwindling, markets and shops have closed, running water is scarce and electricity in many neighborhoods is either intermittent or cut off," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement posted on its website.
"The situation is distressing. People, right now, are in trouble. We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes," said the statement by OCHA's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump's executive order, at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, US on Jan 29, 2017. [Photo/VCG]
HOUSTON - About 1,700 people rallied in the US city of Dallas early Saturday to show their support for immigrants and refugees.
Police in Dallas, a city in the northern part of the US state of Texas, said that the crowd had gathered peacefully along the streets in downtown.
During their rally, some people carried US flags and chanted: "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "Do not normalize hate."
Some religious and civic leaders also took part in the rally to protest US President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Meanwhile, a protest against Trump's immigration policies was also held in San Antonio, a city in southern Texas.
Trump issued an executive order on Jan 27, barring travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees from entering the country for 120 days.
The order has prompted widespread protests across the United States. On Feb 3, federal judge James Robart in Seattle, Washington state, ruled to suspend Trump's travel ban nationwide, effective immediately. Then the Department of Justice appealed to restore Trump's ban before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Feb 9, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, ruled against reinstating the travel ban.
Trump said on Thursday that he will rescind his controversial executive order and replace it with a new one next week.
At least 4 people died after a powerful storm pummeled Southern California on Friday night, flooding numerous roadways in Los Angeles and San Diego, ABC News reported.
In the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, a falling tree brought down power lines and hit a car. A 55-year-old man was electrocuted and pronounced dead at a hospital, police and fire officials said.
Two others died in separate car accidents on Interstate 15 in San Diego amid heavy rain. And a motorist was found dead in a fully submerged vehicle in Victorville in San Bernardino County, officials said.
In the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, two cars plunged into a massive sinkhole. At least one person was trapped when the first vehicle fell into the hole until rescue crews were able to pull the woman out of the car. She was transported to the hospital for injuries and her condition is unknown, according to ABC owned-and-operated television station KABC.
Minutes later, the sinkhole swallowed a second vehicle, which was unoccupied at the time, KABC reported.
The massive Pacific storm swept into Southern California on Friday morning, bringing torrential rain and gusting winds to the region while also spreading precipitation north into the San Joaquin Valley and up to San Francisco.
Flash flood watches were in effect for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties from Friday morning through Saturday morning. Forecasters said the weather system could be the strongest to pelt the region in years, if not decades.
"The storm looks to be the strongest storm to hit southwest California this season," the National Weather Service office for the Los Angeles region wrote. "It is likely the strongest within the last six years and possibly even as far back as December 2004 or January 1995."
The storm was expected to generate a total of 3 to 6 inches of rain in Los Angeles County beaches and valleys and 5 to 10 inches of rain in south-facing foothills and coastal mountain slopes, according to the National Weather Service.
With soil already soaked from significant rainfall this winter, forecasters warned of the potential for flash floods and debris flows, especially near areas stripped bare by wildfires. Precautionary evacuations were requested in some neighborhoods.
As of 10 p.m. local time on Friday, more than 78,000 customers were affected by power outages in the Los Angeles area alone, where hundreds of trees and dozens of power lines had toppled, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Winds gusting to 70 mph or more lashed parts of the region, while heavy downpours turned creeks and rivers into brown torrents and loosened mud from hillsides left barren by recent wildfires. Several stretches of freeways and highways were shut down from floods.
Record-breaking rainfall was recorded across southwestern California on Friday. For instance, Santa Barbara Airport saw 4.16 inches of rain, beating the record of 2.08 inches set in 1980, according to the National Weather Service.
By Saturday morning, isolated locations had received up to 10 inches of rain. Parts of Ventura and San Bernardino counties had received over 8 inches of rain. The city of Los Angeles had received at least 2 inches of rain, according to ABC News meteorologists tracking the storm.
Heavy rain and high winds lingered over much of Southern California on Saturday morning. The rain is expected to move east as the day goes on, with the chance for scattered pockets of heavier showers in Los Angeles and San Diego. Drier weather is expected to move in Saturday afternoon and evening.
Meanwhile, a new Pacific storm will take aim at Central California's coastline on Sunday.
"The worst is over for Los Angeles this morning," said ABC News meteorologist Daniel Manzo. "Next storm is on the way late Sunday and will focus on Central and Northern California."
The new storm could dump an additional 3 to 4 inches on Northern California, according to Manzo.
"This is another dangerous situation developing due to swollen water ways and saturated ground," Manzo said.
The cause of death of the DPRK man still remained unknown, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference at the Malaysian police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 19, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]
KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian police said on Sunday that four suspects from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) related to the death of a DPRK man had fled the country.
The cause of death of the DPRK man still remained unknown, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference.
The 46-year-old man, who was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport, is believed to be Kim Jong Nam, the elder brother of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un.
But Ibrahim said they still need DNA samples from the next-of-kin of Kim to identify the dead man.
MUNICH, Germany - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called here on Sunday at the 53rd Munich Security Conference for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide.
"It is time to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide," said Zarif during his speech, adding that his country will never build a nuclear weapon.
Zarif told the audience that it is easy to make all Muslims "the culprit for our problems", but it does not help solve anything.
Instead, he suggested the problems should be redefined for a collective solution in a "neutrally acceptable way."
In addition, Zarif also proposed a new modest regional dialogue forum based on generally recognized principles which could promote understandings, encourage practical cooperation and lead to a security agreement for the region.
Noor Rashid Ibrahim,Malaysia's deputy national police chief (left),speaks at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday regarding the KimJongnamcase. ZHANGWENZONG/ XINHUA
Investigators are looking for four men from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea who flew out of Malaysia the same day Kim Jong-nam, the DPRK top leader's half brother, apparently was poisoned at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian police said Sunday.
Since Kim's death last week, authorities have been trying to piece together details of what happened. Malaysian police have arrested four people carrying IDs from the DPRK, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
One of the suspects in custody, an Indonesian woman, told investigators that she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.
On Sunday, Malaysia's deputy national police chief, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said four more suspects were on the run. He said the men were from the DPRK and had flown out of the country on Feb 13, when Kim died.
"I am not going to disclose where they are," he told journalists, adding that Interpol was helping in the investigation.
Noor Rashid showed photographs of the four men, who were traveling on regular passports and are ages 33, 34, 55 and 57.
He also said there were three other people police wanted to question. It wasn't clear if they were suspects or simply wanted for questioning.
Kim Jong-nam, in his mid-40s, was waiting for his flight home to Macao when, officials say, he was set upon by two women.
He sought help at a customer service desk and said "two unidentified women had swabbed or had wiped his face with a liquid and that he felt dizzy", Noor Rashid said Sunday.
Kim died en route to a hospital after suffering a seizure, officials say.
Noor Rashid said Sunday that he expected autopsy results to be released within days. "We have to send a sample to the chemistry department, we have to send a sample for toxicology tests," he said.
Investigators also want to speak to Kim Jong-nam's next of kin to formally identify the body.
The case has raised tensions between Malaysia and the DPRK. Pyongyang demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to an autopsy. The Malaysians went ahead, saying they were simply following procedure.
Kang Chol, the DPRK ambassador to Malaysia, said Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and that the autopsy was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance".
Twenty-five civilians were killed, most beheaded, in an ethnic attack in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Sputnik reported.
The Mai-Mai Mazembe militia perpetrated the violence against Hutus in and around the village of Kyaghala, a majority-Hutu area, Francis Bakundakabo, the local representative of the governor of North Kivu province, told AFP.
The Mai-Mai Mazembe militia, which killed 30 civilians in November, is made up of members of the Congo's Nande, Hunde and Kobo communities. It is only one of many such groups operating in the country, particularly in North and South Kivu provinces.
Twenty-four of the victims were killed with machetes and one woman shot dead, local civil society activist Hope Kubuya told AFP. Kubuya's group went to verify the attack.
"This raid by the Mai-Mai Mazembe in the Hutu village will inflame the inter-ethnic conflict in the region," he said.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in ethnic clashes in eastern Congo DRC over the past year. Conflict has never really died down in the region in the 20 years since hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hutus poured over the border from Rwanda, fleeing the genocide in that country.
Speaking before a rally in Florida on Saturday, US President Donald Trump claimed that only safe zones in Syria and other war-plagued countries can stop the migrant crisis, stressing that the Gulf states should pay for those zones, Sputnik reported.
It is necessary to create safe zones in conflict torn countries like Syria instead of taking people into the United States and the Gulf states should pay for those safe zones, Trump said.
"What I want to do is build safe zones in Syria and other places, so they can stay there and live safely we are going to have the Gulf states pay for these safe zones. They have nothing but money. And we are going to do that way instead of taking tens of thousands people into our country we want people that love us we want people that are going to be great for our country, we do not want people with bad ideas," Trump said at a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday.
The US president also expressed the intention to keep the United States "safe."
Since taking the presidential office on January 20, Trump has made controversial decisions aimed at curbing migration flows into the United States.
Trumps recent executive order, entitled 'Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, bars travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. In addition, the order prohibits entry into the United States for all refugees for 120 days, while barring Syrian asylum-seekers indefinitely. While its goal is to boost the country's security, the travel ban has sparked controversy around the world, and has even led to multiple protests in the United States.
On January 25, Trump issued an executive order aimed at facilitating the construction of the wall along the US southern border to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico.
(Photo : Getty Images) USS Carl Vinson.
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US aircraft carrier strike USS Carl Vinson, with a fleet of supporting warships, started patrolling in the South China Sea despite growing tension with China over the disputed waterway.
The deployment followed amid a stern warning from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday against challenging Beijing's sovereignty and security over the disputed waterway.
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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier started its routine operations in the region on Saturday, according to its Facebook page as cited by Reuters.
"We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners, and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," Rear Admiral James Kilby, strike group's commander, was quoted saying by Navy News Service. He also added that their weeks-long training in the Pacific improved their group's effectiveness and readiness.
The USS Carl Vinson has been last seen in the South China Sea two years ago as it carried out military drills with the Malaysian navy and air force. The aircraft career has made 16 voyages in the region in its 35 years of service.
The US has criticized Beijing's development of man-made islands and military facilities in the sea, saying these could be used to restrict free movement. President Donald Trump's administration also committed to stop China from ruling the region.
China, on the other hand, has recently finished its own naval drills using its own aircraft carrier on the South China Sea last Friday.
China claims several contested shoals, islets, and reefs in the region. It has also constructed artificial islands with airstrips. An estimated $5 trillion worth of trade passes through the South China Sea every year.
Neighboring countries including Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines are also claiming parts of the contested waters not only for its strategic sea lanes but also for its fish- and mineral-rich grounds.
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TagsAircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, South China Sea, disputed islands, donald trump, china
(Photo : IDEX 2017) Russian T-90MS MBT on display at IDEX 2017.
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Russia is displaying its weapons that have killed thousands of Syrian civilians in the Syrian Civil War at the ongoing IDEX 2017, or the International Defense Exhibition and Conference, billed as the most strategically important tri-service defense exhibition in the world.
Being held from Feb. 19-23 at Abu Dhabi, IDEX is the only international defense exhibition and conference in the Middle East, North Africa region. Russia has taken part in all 13 IDEX events, which are held every two years.
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Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms export agency which is coordinating Russia's participation in IDEX 2017, is offering cutting edge samples of weapons and military equipment and services to modernize existing Soviet-and Russian-manufactured equipment.
Russian weapons are well proven in the Middle East, proudly said Igor Sevastyanov, Rosoboronexport Deputy Director General.
Russia is exhibiting more than 240 weapons and military equipment for all branches of armed forces, many of which showed high combat effectiveness during "counter-terrorism operations" such as those being conducted by the Syrian Arab Army against anti-Assad rebels for the past five years.
Because of the huge number of weapons displayed, the Russian exhibit occupies 1,379 square meters.
Russian experts and Rosoboronexport specialists will also conduct a series of presentations for potential foreign customers. They will also meet with representatives of the military and political leadership and the business community of the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and the European Union.
Rosoboronexport is organizing exhibits belonging to 18 enterprises from the Russian military-industrial complex.
Russia expects visitors to take active interest in Sukhoi Su-35 (NATO reporting name Flanker-E) air superiority fighters; Kamov Ka-50 attack helicopters; S-400 air defense systems; Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems and the Igla-S man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
Visitors interested in naval equipment will get the chance to see project 14310 Mirazh and project 12150 Mangust fast patrol boats.
Russia will exhibit a T-90MS main battle tank, which is currently being used by Assad's army in Syria; a BMP-3M infantry fighting vehicle; a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier and Typhoon-K multipurpose and special-purpose motor vehicles.
As usual, potential clients are expected to take great interest in Kalashnikov Concern products, chief among which is the Kalashnikov family of assault rifles, which are also doing a lot of the killing in Syria.
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TagsRussia, Syrian civilians, Syrian Civil War, IDEX 2017, International Defense Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, Rosoboronexport, Igor Sevastyanov
I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up.
Remembering a Champion of Personhood
NORCROSS, Ga., Feb. 18, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) today honored the memory of Norma McCorvey, who went from being the face of the abortion movement to become a powerful pro-life advocate.
"Her conversion to Christianity lifted the veil hiding the lie at the heart of Roe v Wade and awakened her to the truth that a pre-born child is in fact a person and deserves constitutional protection," said GRTL President Ricardo Davis.
McCorvey, who died Saturday, was the Jane Roe in the infamous 1973 Supreme Court decision. In that ruling, the court denied that a pre-born child is a person, thereby unleashing a holocaust that has claimed 60 million precious lives.
"She is proof that God changes hearts and makes people aware that slaughtering innocent children is evil and must be ended," Davis said.
Georgia Right to Life promotes respect and effective legal protection for all innocent human life from earliest biological beginning through natural death. GRTL is one of a number of organizations that have adopted Personhood as the most effective pro-life strategy for the 21st century.
Operation Rescue's Statement on the Passing of Pro-Life Icon Norma McCorvey info.operationrescue@gmail.com Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue
McCorvey was a long-time friend of Operation Rescue and lived for several months with the family of Operation Rescue President Troy Newman in Wichita, Kansas.
WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 18, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Operation Rescue is saddened to learn of the passing of Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" of the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade. McCorvey later converted to Christianity and became a strong pro-life advocate calling for the reversal of that decision, which decriminalized abortion in the United States.McCorvey was a long-time friend of Operation Rescue and lived for several months with the family of Operation Rescue President Troy Newman in Wichita, Kansas. "I am deeply saddened at the loss of our dear friend Norma McCorvey. She spent the better part of the last 25 years working to undo the terrible Supreme Court decision that bears her name," said Newman. "Her work was not in vain. Norma became an inspiration for so many, and we at Operation Rescue work every day to achieve her goal of ending abortion in America." Read this statement online.
About Operation Rescue Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Click here to support Operation Rescue.
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A blast from a suicide car bomb ripped through a market in Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, killing 18 people and wounding at least 25, a local official said, days after the country elected a new president, Reuters reported.
Casualties were confirmed by Ahmed Abdulle Afrax, the mayor of Wadajir, the district of the city where the bombing happened.
"I was staying in my shop when a car came in into the market and exploded. I saw more than 20 people lying on the ground. Most of them were dead and the market was totally destroyed," witness Abdulle Omar said.
Al Shabaab, the Islamist insurgent group that is fighting the U.N.-backed Somali government, did not immediately claim responsibility.
Al Shabaab has been able to carry out increasingly deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory in the country to African Union peacekeepers supporting Somali government.
This month, Somalia elected a new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The dual U.S.-Somali citizen and former prime minister is better known by his nickname, "Farmajo".
The Horn of Africa country has been torn apart by civil war since 1991. Aid agencies are warning that a severe drought has placed large swathes of the country at risk of famine.
Christian Prayer: U.S. Court Rules It Illegal, But One City Fights To Bring It Back To Council Meetings
Some like it, but some don't. That's America, where people have different perceptions of even the simplest things such as praying.
In the city of Wilmington, Delaware, some local officials are seeking to bring prayer back to their council meetings, just a month after the council voted to stop the decades-old practice, CBN News reported.
However, in Jackson County, Michigan, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Christian-only prayer at commission meetings is illegal, saying it violates the U.S. Constitution by promoting one faith over others, according to another CBN News report.
In Wilmington, Delaware, city officials invited residents to join a public meeting to discuss the proposal to restore prayer during city council meetings. Voices were heard about the power of prayer in shaping people's lives.
"Prayer has brought me a long way," said state Rep. Charles Potter, Jr. "We've got to fight for the right thing. God is good, all the time, on to victory."
He said he will introduce legislation this year to bring prayer back to Delaware schools.
Bishop Aretha Morton said politicians also need prayer, noting that they often visit local churches just to ask for prayer.
"We pray, God hears and they get elected," she said.
For Councilman Sam Guy, prayer is important "because it helps keep the devil out."
However, these views were not shared by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which voted 2-1 to uphold the complaint of a resident in Jackson, Michigan regarding the invocation of a Christian prayer during meetings of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.
The two judges who sided with the complainant based their decision in the context of the U.S. Constitution.
For Christians, however, prayer is a powerful tool that is beyond legislation. As CT writer Patrick Mabilog wrote, "You can't do Christianity without prayer, period."
The power of prayer is perhaps best described in Psalm 107:28-30, "Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven."
Gangsters Set Fire To Christians' Van But Leave Bibles Intact, Then Find Same Bibles Again In Prison, Leading Them To Christ
What they removed from the stolen vehicle they later burned eventually saved their lives, as God must have planned it.
Two armed men attacked a team of Christian workers sharing the Gospel on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina late last year, according to God Reports.
The gangsters roughed up the missionaries from Every Home for Christ (EHC) stole their money, cell phones, and their van.
The missionaries later found the van or what was left of it as the gangsters had set it on fire.
Still, the Christian workers were relieved when they saw the boxes of Bibles and other Christian literature on the groundundamaged.
Agustin, one of the assaulted Christian workers, later learned that fellow EHC workers had started an evangelisation mission at a Buenos Aires prison. He decided to join them.
Later, while Agustin was meeting prisoners who had accepted Christ, one of the prisoners overheard him share the story of how he and fellow missionaries were attacked by two gunmen who stole and burned their vehicle.
As Agustin was telling them about the Bibles that were left undamaged, one of the prisoners suddenly spoke.
"It was me," he told Agustin. "I and one of the other inmates in this prison were the ones who attacked you and stole your van."
The prisoner cried and asked Agustin to forgive him, telling him that he and his accomplice had already accepted Christ.
Agustin then found out that the Bibles that he and his fellow workers were able to retrieve after the attack were the same Christian literature taken to the prison. These were the same Bibles that eventually transformed the lives of the inmates, including the two thieves who attacked the group of Christian workers from Every Home for Christ, but who took the trouble of removing the Bibles from the van and placing them on the ground undamaged before setting the vehicle on fire.
Every Home for Christ is an international Christian organisation dedicated to reaching out to the lost and making them disciples of Christ in more than 130 countriesa mission it has been doing since 1946.
In a message on its website, the organisation says that in the last five years alone, they have reached over 400 million homes and followed-up to disciple over 70 million people who have responded to the Gospel.
Pat Robertson Says Those Opposing Donald Trump Are 'Revolting ... Against God's Plan'
Televangelist and media mogul Pat Robertson has made known his full support of President Donald Trump, saying those who are opposing the President is indirectly opposing God as well.
Robertson, the Chancellor of Regent University and Chairman of CBN, expressed his support of Trump during his The 700 Club show on Wednesday. "I think, somehow, the Lord's plan is being put in place for America and these people are not only revolting against Trump, they're revolting against what God's plan is for America," the former Southern Baptist minister said.
Robertson accused those who are opposing Trump the left-wingers and "so-called progressives" of trying to destroy the country and rip Americans of their freedoms one by one.
"They want collectivism. They want socialism. What we're looking at is free markets and freedom from this terrible, overarching bureaucracy," he said. "They want to fight as much as they can but I think the good news is the Bible says, 'He that sits in the heavens will laugh them to scorn,' and I think that Trump's someone on his side that is a lot more powerful than the media."
In pointing out that those people opposing Trump are actually challenging God's authority, Robertson referred to Psalm 2:2, "The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed."
Before last year's election, Robertson also defended Trump after the latter was caught boasting about his sexual assault of women in a video released before the election, according to Patheos.
Commenting on the video, Robertson said Trump was simply "trying to look like he's macho."
Earlier, Robertson talked to Trump at the Regent University in Virginia. He was so impressed with Trump's answers that he gave him his seal of approval, according to CBN News.
Roe Vs Wade Landmark Abortion Ruling Plaintiff Dies Aged 69
Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff known as "Jane Roe" in the US Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalising abortion, died on Saturday at the age of 69.
McCorvey died on Saturday morning of heart failure at an assisted living home in Katy, Texas, Joshua Prager, a journalist who is writing a book about the ruling, said in an email.
Her lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym, resulted in the court's 1973 decision that established a woman's right to an abortion.
McCorvey lent her real name to supporters of the abortion-rights movement in the 1980s. But she later did an about-face and later spoke out on behalf of anti-abortion campaigners.
In an article titled "The Accidental Activist" published in Vanity Fair magazine in February 2013, Prager wrote that McCorvey had never set out to further a cause when the Roe v Wade lawsuit was filed in Dallas, Texas, in 1970.
Unwed and poor, she simply wanted an abortion after becoming pregnant for the third time and could not get one in the state.
Prager, who retraced her life through family, friends and advisers, said McCorvey told her doctor she did not want to bring the pregnancy to term. But she could not afford to travel to any of the six states where abortion was legal at the time: Alaska, California, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
McCorvey never actually had the procedure, Prager said.
Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who represented McCorvey when she supported abortion rights, said she was very proud to have been 'Jane Roe.'
'Even though at the end of her life Norma thought women should be prevented from having an abortion and that abortion should be criminalized, her legacy will be Roe v. Wade, which has provided millions of women the legal right to choose abortion,' Allred said in a statement.
The 1973 Supreme Court ruling has for decades been the focus of a divisive political, legal and moral debate. It established that the US Constitution protects the right of a woman to have an abortion until the point of viability.
The court defined that point as when the fetus 'has the capability of meaningful life outside the mother's womb,' generally at about 24 weeks into pregnancy. The court also recognized a right to abortion after viability if necessary to protect the woman's life or health.
Efforts to overturn the decision are heating up with the election of Republican Donald Trump as president and a conservative US Congress. Trump has said abortion should be largely banned and has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, a healthcare provider that draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, in addition to other services.
If the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe v. Wade, the procedure would remain legal only where state laws allow it.
Suppressing Free Press Is 'How Dictators Get Started' - John McCain
US Senator John McCain warned suppressing the free press was 'how dictators get started' as he defended the media against the latest attack by President Donald Trump,
The Arizona Republican, a frequent critic of Trump, was responding to a tweet in which Trump accused the media of being 'the enemy of the American people.'
The international order established after World War Two was built in part on a free press, McCain said in an excerpt of an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' that was released in advance of the full Sunday morning broadcast.
McCain's comments followed Trump's tweet and came days after the president held a raucous news conference at which he repeatedly criticized news reports about disorder in the White House and leaks of his telephone conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia.
Trump also used a rally in Florida to further savage the press saying they did not want 'to report the truth'.
He said: 'We will continue to expose them', and repeated his accusation of journalists being 'dishonest'.
But McCain told interviewer Chuck Todd: 'I hate the press. I hate you especially,' he said from an international security conference in Munich. 'But the fact is we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital.'
'If you want to preserve - I'm very serious now - if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started,' he continued.
'They get started by suppressing free press. In other words, a consolidation of power. When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history,' McCain said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel underscored the importance of a free press at the Munich conference on Saturday, saying, 'I have high respect for journalists. We've always had good results, at least in Germany, by relying on mutual respect.'
Merkel did not mention Trump specifically, but called freedom of the press 'a very significant pillar of democracy.'
There's A Single Christian Theme Running Through Modern Cinema. Is God Speaking Through Hollywood?
In the end, it was The Lego Batman Movie which finally convinced me that something weird was going on. The blockbuster animation (which by the way is a chaotic mess, but a hugely entertaining one) contains a central theme which I realise I've seen somewhere before, and not just once. Again and again, the major cinematic releases of the last six months or so have either centred or heavily touched on a single idea which is both deeply theological and incredibly relevant in 2017.
At which point, I owe a genuine apology to Dr Krish Kandiah, my fellow contributing editor on this site, and founder of the Christian charity Home for Good. Over dinner a few months ago, I told Krish who spotted this recurring theme way before I did that he was imagining things; that he was transferring his own biases into his cultural engagement. Like a Christian movie reviewer who thinks he's found a version of the gospel story in every movie he sees (gulp!), Krish was projecting his own passions on to the big screen.
Well, it turns out Krish was right. There is a huge concentration of cinematic story time being given over to one idea: the theme of adoption. And if, like me, you're filled with doubt at this assertion, let's look at the evidence.
Alleged kids' film The Lego Batman Movie (which is often playing to cinemas full of adults) centres on the relationship between Batman and his accidentally-adopted son, Robin. At first, the Plastic-Caped Crusader rejects the boy because of his own bereavement as an orphan, but slowly learns to realise the need for family again. In a weird way, this mirrors the story of much-more-serious Oscar nominee Manchester by the Sea, in which Casey Affleck's good-for-nothing janitor can't accept responsibility for the teenager for whom he's given guardianship, although with a different outcome.
A much more hopeful perspective on adoption comes in the form of Lion, the heartwarming and miraculous story of Saroo Brierley, the Indian child lost 1,500km from his mother, who is adopted by Australian parents modelling unconditional love. As part of this true story, Sue Brierley (Nicole Kidman) even confesses that she chose to adopt even though she could have naturally had her own children, because the world already contained so many children in need of a loving home.
Several other major releases have focused on what it means to be separated from your birth parents. That's the main focus of Finding Dory (explored in-depth here by Krish), in which the forgetful titular character remembers being swept away from her family as a child, and worryingly seems to take the blame a message which Krish warns could have damaging repercussions for young viewers in the care system. It's also key to the plot of The BFG, in which young orphan Sophie is taken from a children's home in the night by the eponymous giant, and apparently no-one notices or cares. In fact, adoption has arguably been even more present in children's cinema over the last 12 months: it's also a key theme in Kung Fu Panda 3, Storks, Pete's Dragon and The Jungle Book.
And we're not done there. Adoption is key to the plot of Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, where main character Jyn Erso loses her parents as a child and is taken in by an over-acting Forrest Whittaker. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children centres on an orphanage, and a similar facility also plays a key role in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And I can't believe I'm going to say this, but even the plot (such as there is one) of Fifty Shades Darker is driven by Christian Grey's abusive childhood and the subsequent adoption by a loving family which might just be key to his supposed redemption.
You may not agree with my personal perspective that sometimes God speaks through culture, but even if he's not involved, it seems irrefutable that Hollywood is currently fascinated by the subject of adoption. And whether you think that's Hollywood screenwriters or an all-powerful deity speaking, I think it's a prophetic conversation.
With thousands of children separated from their families due to the refugee exodus from Syria and other war-ravaged countries, the stories currently being explored on the big screen couldn't be more relevant. And closer to home, even excluding the children which Western governments seem intent on keeping outside their borders, there are still thousands of children and young people in need of loving and supportive homes. It's a challenge being addressed directly here in the UK by Krish's charity, Home for Good, and it's a direct challenge to a Church that claims to be the Light of the World.
Adoption is an important idea in the Christian faith. Whatever the circumstances of our own birth or family background, God invites us to join his family we're essentially adopted into it. More than that though, he calls us to love one another unconditionally, to treat other people as if they were part of our own families. 'We love because he first loved us' (1 John 4:19).
That's the central challenge of adoption can we love someone who wasn't born of our own flesh and blood, just as much as we could a biological child? It's a question answered affirmatively by millions of incredible adoptive and foster parents around the world, and it couldn't be a more relevant question for the Church to address in an age where tragically more and more children and young people will find themselves in need of a new family.
Hollywood seems to be taking a prophetic lead in helping us wrestle with this challenging subject, and perhaps there's no harm in that. Some Christians like to write off the film industry as anti-God, or at least anti-traditional values, but as the purveyor of the biggest and most engaged-with stories of our culture, I think we're foolish to do so. And perhaps this time at least, God is even speaking through it.
Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. Follow him on Twitter @martinsaunders.
Alaska and Sharon Needles -- known to fans as "RuPaul's Drag Race" royalty -- packed the house Saturday night in Houston.
The former couple performed together onstage in a rare joint appearance. Fans jammed the dance floor and much of the club for a look at the dynamic duo.
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Sometimes a girl's best friend is the creepy Guy Fawkes look-alike spying on her first date from a table away.
Dawsyn Eubanks and Georgia Hoyer, friends from Rockwall, Texas, are earning cheers from all over the internet this week after one of the girls initiated a first-date spy operation Thursday that went viral.
In less than a day and more than 400,000 likes and nearly 200,000 retweets later the Dallas-area besties are bona fide internet sensations.
Now the beloved masked wingwoman, Hoyer, is speaking up.
RELATED: Internet mourns young Texas man put in ultimate 'friend zone' after series of dates
"Since I had gotten off work, the first thing I did was call Dawsyn and ask if she wanted to hang out. She said she was getting ready for a date and I was like 'ohh where,' and she told me," 18-year-old Hoyer said.
With a location locked down, Hoyer's plan fell into place and she dropped by a nearby party store for a disguise.
"As I was leaving work, I got the idea to go in and buy a mustache and show up on the date," she said. "I got a few weird stares, but (Dawsyn) didn't notice me until I texted her. Her date didn't either."
The viral moment was captured by the completely unaware Eubanks after Hoyer sent her a text saying "Why aren't you eating your food."
RELATED: Internet loving this S.A. mom for sneaking corn on the cob into movie theater
"When your best friend wants to make sure your first date goes well," the 19-year-old said in a tweet of Hoyer with a hoodie and mask on.
The third wheel said she stuck around for about five minutes after revealing her true self and although she didn't speak much to her best friend's date, she thinks it went well.
As for being everyone's favorite Twitter best friends, Hoyer says neither of them expected the attention. According to Hoyer, Eubanks took a nap after she posted the tweet, then woke up to reactions by the thousands.
"We have a very strange sense of humor that only one another understand. It's never been to this extent though, usually its just funny texts," Hoyer added.
Eubanks wasn't at all embarrassed by her waiting-in-the-wings wing woman, if anything she said she "hopes everyone has a best friend like her in their life."
mmendoza@mysa.com
Twitter: @MaddySkye
Bethlehem High student and the first ever male CoverGirl cover model James Charles is getting national attention again after tweeting Thursday that he fears an upcoming class trip to South Africa would expose him to the ebola virus. He has since apologized.
"I can't believe we're going to Africa today omg what if we get Ebola. James we're fine we could've gotten it at chipotle last year...," he wrote.
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A small electrical fire destroyed a southeast Houston home early Sunday morning.
Around 3:30 a.m., fire crews responded to the blaze near the corner of Kingsley and Eton, where they found heavy flames coming from the back of the home.
The blaze started in the utility room, but later spread to the attic, authorities said.
Although an elderly woman and her adult son were home at the time, they'd already escaped safely by the time firefighters arrived.
After crews knocked down the blaze, the woman was rushed to the hospital with chest pains.
"This was her house, this was everything she lived for," her daughter-in-law Victoria Salinas told reporters at the scene. "This was her home, they've been here forever."
The house was not insured, but Salinas said the family plans to start a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of rebuilding
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Saturday on the sidelines of a security summit in Munich to discuss bilateral ties and highlighted the significance of a common stance against terrorism, Anadolu reported.
Recent contacts between the U.S. and Turkey were highlighted during the meeting in which an emphasis was made on a determination for strengthening the relationship, according to a prime ministerial source.
Yildirim focused on the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and the extradition from the U.S. of its terror leader, Fetullah Gulen, and assured Pence that Turkey is ready to cooperate in various ways with the new U.S. administration, which will open a new page in mutual relations, the source said.
The Turkish prime minister raised the issue of the fight against the Daesh terror group and said Turkey and the U.S. must take a joint stance in the effort.
Yildirim stressed the significance of cooperation between the pair of NATO allies to find a permanent solution to the war in Syria and to rid the country of all terror groups, including the PKK/PYD terror organizations.
Defense and security chiefs are meeting at the three-day Munich Security Conference to discuss international security matters.
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Two people were fatally shot in an early morning burst of gunfire at a west Houston strip club.
Just before 6 a.m., a disagreement between two groups of patrons sparked a massive brawl inside Fantasy Island Club on Westheimer near Ashford Oak, according to one witness.
The dispute started near the bar, but the club owner tried to intervene and push people outside as things got heated.
But the efforts to calm the crowd didn't work, and a cluster of at least 10 to 15 men ended up fighting in the club.
"It was a large, large group and once one got mad, it just got out of control," said the witness, who asked not to be identified.
"It escalated so quickly."
At one point, the club-goer saw two men sparring and watched one whip out a gun and shoot the other.
"Then another man came in the club - and fired about six or seven shots," the witness said.
"Then it went crazy. Everyone started running here and there and then the gunman ran out of the club."
When Houston Police Department and Harris County Precinct 5 constable deputies arrived on scene in response to a shooting call, they discovered two bodies.
The victims' identities have not been released.
Several people were taken into custody at the scene, but no arrests have been made and police do not have a suspect description.
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.
EVAN DELAHANTY (PEACEFUL FRUITS)
After Evan Delahanty pitched his Peaceful Fruits acai-infused fruit strips on the TV show "Shark Tank," he got $75,000 in orders, more than eclipsing his sales from 2016. And orders are still streaming in. "We got something like 1,000 orders within the first 10 minutes after our segment went up. It was amazing."
(Courtesy Disney/ABC Television Group)
AKRON, Ohio - When Evan Delahanty was invited to pitch his Peaceful Fruits acai-infused fruit strips to the self-made entrepreneurs on the TV show "Shark Tank," he thought he might get a bump of $15,000, maybe $20,000 in sales.
Instead, by the end of this week, "we're going to sell $75,000 worth of fruit snacks," more than eclipsing his sales from 2016, he said. And orders are still streaming in.
"From talking to some people who've appeared on Shark Tank, I know that's exceptional, especially for a food product," he said. "It's been crazy."
Related Plain Dealer stories:
Delahanty, a Peninsula native who volunteered with the Peace Corps in Pikin Slee, South America, northeast of Brazil, has been inundated with encouraging emails and voicemails since the episode aired on Feb. 10. He is a graduate of Old Trail School in Bath, Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, and Cornell University.
Mark Cuban told him: "I'm a big believer in social enterprise. I think it's the future of capitalism ... but still, the product has to be compelling."
Lori Greiner agreed, telling him: "Evan, you are a great entrepreneur. The only problem here is your competition in the arena is huge. There are a million fruit snacks out there: strips, rolls, bites ... I think you're fantastic and super-smart, and you're going to make it."
Even though all five "sharks" passed on his offer of 20 percent of his business for $75,000, viewers were moved to hear that he buys his acai berries from the Saramaccan villagers he worked with during the Peace Corps, and that he employs Akron workers with developmental disabilities to make, package and ship his antioxidant-rich fruit strips.
Walking off the set, Delahanty looked into the camera and said: "I didn't get that deal, but I'm still working really hard to make this a success. I'm building Peaceful Fruits to make a difference for the people in Akron and the people in the Amazon, so it's disappointing to not get that immediate bump up today, but I know we're going to get there."
Peaceful Fruits fruit strips:
Flavors: Wild Acai Apple or Pineapple
Each 0.25-ounce strip has 30 to 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat (0 grams trans fat), 60 mg of potassium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of natural sugars.
Ingredients (pineapple): Organic acai, organic pineapple, organic pear.
Ingredients (apple): Organic acai, organic apple, organic pear, organic lemon juice.
Price: $1.25 each, or $15 for a 12-pack.
Website: peacefulfruits.com
Retailers: Hattie's Food Hub, 395 Douglas St.; Acme Fresh Market; Krieger's Market; Mustard Seed Market & Cafe; Nature's Bin, Vita Urbana Bistro & Urban Market.
When the show aired in Akron, "We got something like 1,000 orders within the first 10 minutes after our segment went up," he said. "It was amazing. I had my phone in my back pocket, and whenever I got an order, an email popped up, and I got a little buzz."
He got so many orders that his phone was pretty much buzzing all night, he said.
His watch party at Mustard Seed Market & Cafe that night was standing-room only. "It was absolutely packed with some of our best customers, friends and admirers," he said. "People from Hattie's Food Hub, the Blick Center, the Cleveland Culinary Launch Kitchen, and MAGNET. It was pretty cool."
Even without the investments, "I still very much think the experience was a win, because you saw five of the most fiercely cut-throat business people in the world understanding that social enterprise is the future of business," he said. Even Mark Cuban told him he was right.
The downside of getting so many orders at once is that it will take a while to get them out. "We've already added a second shift at Hattie's Food Hub, as well as doubled our staff at both Hattie's and the Blick Center." And he has hired a couple more part-timers to help him run the business.
Delahanty has also pushed back on his plans to launch more flavors in addition to the current apple and pineapple, and to develop acai-infused chocolates.
"We've definitely gotten a huge amount of interest from smaller stores," including Lucky's Market in Columbus. "A grocery store in Austin, Texas, ordered 4,000 snacks before the 'Shark Tank' episode went up, our biggest order to date. They had a watch party and sold out of all of them."
"What you don't see from the show is how much goes into it," Delahanty said. "I've been on 19-hour days since [last] Thursday. You don't see what we've done for weeks and weeks just to get set up" for when the show aired.
He is determined that whatever happens to Peaceful Fruits going forward, that it will remain a sustainable and socially responsible enterprise. "If a General Mills or a [J.M.] Smucker bought me out to make this a $100 million business instead of a $10 million business, they can't abandon the rainforest; they can't abandon the folks at Blick," he said.
We didn't get the deal, but its only a matter of time before you see #peacefulfruits on shelves! Thanks for the opportunity @ABCSharkTank Peaceful Fruits (@Peaceful_Fruits) February 11, 2017
Until then, "I'm scrambling to put something together to tell folks: 'Give us your patience. We are a small artisan fruit snack company that employs people with disabilities. If we started mass-producing it, then it wouldn't be what you paid for.'"
[Delahanty appears at about 21 minutes into the episode...]
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A man and woman were indicted in connection to the stabbing death of their dog.
(File photo)
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A couple accused of stabbing their dog to death in Lakewood has been indicted on multiple charges in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Charles Hobbs, 30, and Cassandra Biddulph, 33, both of Lakewood, are charged with cruelty to a companion animal. Hobbs is due in court to answer to the charges on Tuesday. Biddulph's arraignment date is March 2.
WEWS News 5 reported the charges stem from an incident that happened just before 10:30 p.m. Feb. 10 on Idlewood Avenue. Police responded to a call that a woman had been shot at, according to the news station's report.
Officers learned that a dog had been stabbed to death, and that Hobbs and Biddulph claimed the dog had bitten their daughter, according to the news report.
Police found no evidence that the child had been bitten, according to WEWS.
In addition to cruelty against a companion animal, Hobbs is charged with animal cruelty, domestic violence, having weapons while under disability, receiving stolen property and endangering children, according to court records.
Biddulph faces the cruelty against a companion animal charge as well as charges of animal cruelty, endangering children, receiving stolen property and having weapons while under disability, according to court records.
If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
The upcoming constitutional referendum on April 16 will be a rebirth of Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, Anadolu reported.
Speaking at an opening ceremony for infrastructure projects in southeastern Gaziantep province, Erdogan said the new changes will make Turkish democracy better and stronger.
April 16 will be a rebirth. I hope this will be a new resurrection, [and] it will be a sign of revival. We will receive the outcome that would be shameful for those who do not trust you and those who dont believe in you, he said.
Constitutional reforms have been under discussion officially since Erdogan was elected president in August 2014.
The proposals aim to hand wide-ranging executive powers to the president and abolish the post of prime minister. The president would also be allowed to retain ties to a political party.
Erdogan again slammed opposition parties for criticizing the upcoming constitutional changes. Unwary people, who are opposed to the presidential system, always say something, but they always say it is wrong [and], unfortunately, what they say is a lie, he said.
Two opposition parties -- the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) -- are opposed to the constitutional changes while the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is supporting it along with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
About the opposition parties criticism, he said: They are saying the Turkish parliament is going to be suppressed, shamelessly. However, he reiterated the Turkish parliament would in fact become stronger with the new system, which he called both presidential system and presidential government system.
No one has the right to block change, [and] regeneration, he said.
Referring to recent terrorist attacks in Turkey, he said: Turkey needs strong governance while it passes through its fragile era.
We have to change the system to come to a conclusion for our fight against terrorism, [we have to change to the new system] for the success of our fight in the region and to reach our 2023 targets.
Erdogan kicked off the Yes campaign on Friday after the official referendum schedule was announced by the Supreme Election Board. The campaign began in southern Kahramanmaras, one of the areas that gave him the most votes in the 2014 presidential polls.
The reforms would remove parliaments power to question ministers or to stage a vote of confidence on the government. The minimum age for parliamentary candidates would be reduced to 18 and the number of deputies will rise to 600.
Simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019 under the new constitution.
Turkish nationals overseas will be able to vote in the referendum between March 27 and April 9 at polling stations in embassies and consulates as well as at Turkish ports and airports. These votes will be tallied in Turkey on referendum night.
The political parties can campaign until 6 p.m. on April 15.
The bill of constitutional changes was passed by parliament in January, with 339 votes in favor -- nine more than needed to put the proposals to a referendum.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- President Donald Trump, the so-called 'Leader of the Free World' escalated his attack on the free press with two repugnant tweets calling US news organizations the "enemy of the American People!"
Trump first tweeted: "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @CNN,@NBCNews and many more) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American people. SICK!"
That tweet was deleted and replaced 16 minutes later with this amended version: "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC,@CBS,@CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"
Trump's tweets read like they could have been written by Richard Nixon at the height of Watergate or any Authoritarian and Fascist leader throughout history.
"The Press is the enemy, the establishment is the enemy, the professors are the enemy." --President Richard Nixon
Carl Bernstein, who along with Bob Woodward, won the Pulitzer Prize for exposing Nixon's misdeeds, called Trump's attacks on the press "more treacherous than Nixon's."
"The most dangerous 'enemy of the people is presidential lying--always. Attacks on press by @realDonaldTrump more treacherous than Nixon's." --Carl Bernstein
"If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started. They get started by suppressing free press, in other words, consolidation of power-- when you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press," McCain told Chuck Todd, in an interview airing today.
Do Trump and Steve Bannon really want to "preserve democracy" or do they want to establish a Trumpocracy and Bannonocray?
Last year, Trump's ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz, said Trump's first move as president would be to target the free press.
"On day one he would end a free press. In any way that he could, he would use the government to shut down a free press, and listen, he has plenty of precedent for doing that, including his hero Vladimir Putin, " Schwartz told The Independent.
Here is what John F. Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson had to say on the topic.
"Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed-- and no republic can survive." --John F. Kennedy -
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong...is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt
"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." -- Thomas Jefferson.
American journalist James Foley was beheaded by ISIS. Does Trump think Foley is an enemy of the American people? Would he dare say that in person to Foley's parents?
While Donald Trump was getting dubious deferments to stay out of the Vietnam war and stay in New York City nightclubs, Dan Rather and plenty of other American reporters were embedded with American forces in Vietnam. Was Rather an enemy of the American people then? Are all the journalist who were and are embedded with American forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, enemies of the American people?
The Journalist Memorial at the Newseum in Washington D.C., names 2,291 journalist who have been killed covering the news around the world.
Trump can be considered an authority on 'Fake News'. He's not only Commander-in-Chief, he's been the Editor-in-Chief of Fake News.
When Trump talks about Fake News he's talking about himself, his favorite topic. Trump and his staff have been prolific in propagating fake news, starting with Trump adopting the racist Obama 'birther' story eight years ago.
During the Republican primary, Trump spread a story about Ted Cruz's father being involved with Lee Harvey Oswald in the assassination of JFK.
Since being sworn in, Trump and his staff have sworn that Trump's Inauguration crowd was the largest in history, that 3 to 4 million people voted illegally, and that Iraqi nationals carried out a massacre in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
While on the National Security Advisers staff, Michael Flynn Jr, spread a fake story that Hillary Clinton and her campaign staff were running a child sex ring from the basement of a D.C. pizza parlor. The fake story prompted a man to open fire in the pizza parlor.
On Air Force One, Trump falsely reported he knew nothing about the report that Michael Flynn talked to the Russians about sanctions, and misled Vice President Mike Pence. Trump knew the information back in January.
During his chaotic press conference last week, Trump boldly bragged that he had the largest Electoral College victory in history. The false claim was debunked in the press conference.
Trump's outlandish attacks on the press, only give more credence to what's being reported.
President Trump has been consumed with trying to kill the messenger. He needs to put that energy and effort into doing what he was elected to do -- govern, as a dignified leader of the United States, with a sound mind and principles, without denigrating its free press and without lying to the American people.
Photo from the "My Vietnam Experience" blog shows Chaplain John McNamara administering the last rite to Dickey Chapelle, the first American female reporter killed in action, on November 4,1965 in South Vietnam.
The photo above is taken from Dan Rather's 2014 post on the "My Vietnam Experience" blog.
The photo shows Chaplain John McNamara administering the last rite to photojournalist Dickey Chapelle in South Vietnam on November 4, 1965. Chapelle became the first American female reporter to be killed in action. She was covering a U.S. Marine unit when she and four Marines were wounded by an exploding mine. Chapelle died in the helicopter flying her to the hospital. I've cropped the photo to not to show her face, out of respect.
What was Donald Trump doing on November 4, 1965?
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Ohio Senator Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, wants to stop schools from suspending young students.
(Patrick O'Donnell/The Plain Dealer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio lawmaker said she was stunned to learn that thousands of elementary students are suspended for disobedience or disruptions each school year and plans to introduce legislation that would ban such punishment except in cases where a student threatens to harm.
State Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Kettering Republican who leads the education committee, said a better alternative is training for teachers on how to de-escalate misbehavior, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
According to a state database, there were more than 17,000 suspensions or expulsions in preschool through third grade for disobedient or disruptive behavior during Ohio's 2015-16 school year. More than 2,000 kindergartners were suspended for fighting or violence.
Lehner is seeking input from teachers and school officials before advancing her proposal. While local education officials agree early grade suspensions and expulsions should be rare, most oppose a state-imposed ban and prefer that discipline policies be left up school districts.
"Students do need to be in school. We should not be pushing them out of school, particularly at those young grades," said Mt. Healthy Superintendent Reva Cosby. "But I don't think that we should take that option away. I think we are knowledgeable, and we should know when it rises to that level."
Mt. Healthy City Schools had more than 600 suspensions and expulsions for kindergarten through third grade in the 2015-16 school year.
Greg Landsman, a Cincinnati City Council candidate who ran an education nonprofit, said a student who is repeatedly suspended will "inevitably come to the conclusion that he or she does not belong there."
"Dropping out becomes highly likely," he said. "And nobody wants that."
Landsman said schools should attack the root of the problem rather than symptoms of the misbehavior by making therapists and counselors available to unruly children.
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Guest columnist Ron Soeder, CEO and president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland, writes that street violence affects all of us. Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland is focused on constructing futures rather than prisons.
(David Liam Kyle)
Ron Soeder is CEO and president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.
Guest columnist Ron Soeder has been president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland since May 2006. He joined the organization after spending nearly three decades as a senior executive in the consumer products industry. In October, he was one of the presenters at 'Reality Shifts,' a TEDx/Cleveland State University event. He holds a bachelor's degree from Baldwin Wallace University and a master's degree from the University of Akron. He and his wife, Sherry, live in Concord Township.
Rayshawn Armstrong oozed charisma.
He told jokes that left our Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland kids giggling uncontrollably. He patiently helped children with homework. He played games with youthful joy. He helped change lives.
So when Rayshawn, 25, a BGCC staff member, was shot and killed while sitting in the passenger's seat of a car in 2014, his co-workers wept and an entire community felt a deep sense of loss. Unfortunately, street violence has claimed the lives of more than 50 members of our Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland family since I became CEO of the organization 10 years ago. I vividly remember the sobering response of one young, inner-city panelist who, when asked at a conference what he wanted for his 18th birthday, said, "I have it. I am still alive."
At another recent event, a Club alumnus who grew up in Cleveland's King Kennedy neighborhood was asked whether she had ever been personally impacted by a violent death. She replied, "I have experienced more (murders) than I have years in my life." She is 22.
Hopes and dreams wither in a world where kids can't get to school or work safely.
It doesn't have to be that way. We, as a community, can help restore those hopes and dreams by creating safe, positive places for youth, steering teens and young adults away from gangs and showing them the path to good jobs. Or we can ignore those issues, writing off those lost dreams as someone else's problem. We will pay either way. The difference is whether we invest in ways to help kids become productive citizens with bright futures or construct more prisons.
Here at BGCC, we've decided we cannot and will not look the other way. We are committed to working where we are needed most - in Cleveland neighborhoods and the inner-ring suburbs - rather than where it might be more comfortable. We agreed to take over Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance, an anti-gang initiative, because we believe this effort is vital, not because it is easy.
I urge you to join us by getting involved in efforts to help Cleveland's at-risk kids and young adults. Support or volunteer with one of the many organizations doing good work in the inner city. At our Clubs, for example, we teach kids how to be good citizens, live healthy lives and succeed in the classroom. Youth who aren't headed to college can get training for a good career. Those with a knack for growing things have opportunities in our urban farm program. Our new recording studio gives teens an outlet to express themselves and learn how to play instruments. None of these programs would be possible without our partners, supporters and volunteers.
I have grown tired of seeing the teddy bears that mark each death scene in our neighborhoods. I want to change the dialogue to celebrating a birthday, a promotion in school, a winning performance on the field and on the stage and a graduation from high school or college. Let's celebrate life.
It has been estimated that between all the expenditures for police investigations, emergency rescue services, medical treatment, legal services and incarceration, it costs $1 million each time a bullet hits flesh. For young people like Rayshawn Armstrong, the price is much steeper - and one we cannot afford.
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Readers are invited to submit Opinion page essays on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500-word essay for consideration to Linda Kinsey at lkinsey@cleveland.com. Essays must also include a brief bio and headshot of the writer. Essays rebutting today's topics are also welcome.
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Heroin, fentanyl, and assorted opioids are claiming victims of all ages.
(File photo)
A 7-year-old Berea boy survived a near-fatal heroin overdose last month. Kids are expected to occasionally get sick from overconsumption of chocolate. The prepubescent consumption of heroin is an indictment of a parent, if not a society. It's deeply offensive and saddening.
It's also the world in which we live. Not only are infants born with heroin already in their system courtesy of their mothers, young children are also routinely exposed to opioids through open consumption of the drug by parents and guardians.
The Berea boy's father and a female companion, who were in the house when the child ingested the drug, have both been charged with drug possession and child endangerment. The father admitted to doing drugs in the house earlier that day.
How are we supposed to react? Apathy is not an option. Are we supposed to react with anger, compassion or some combination of both? It's one thing to recognize that heroin addicts are desperate, sick people who need treatment, not prison. However, it's quite another thing to see children in the care of addicts who allow them access to the poison that is killing Americans in droves each day.
Police say the boy who overdosed is staying with relatives and appears to be doing well. We can only hope so. We can only hope that a child who consumed heroin can continue to develop properly.
We're losing so many young adults to addiction. Heroin and fentanyl are disrupting so many American families and communities. We cannot afford to stand by indifferently and lose a generation of children.
We must continue to search for ways to identify and punish those who peddle the poison, while working to creating accessible and affordable treatment options for those enslaved to opioids. We must also begin to hold institutions and people accountable for the roles they play in facilitating the addiction. Physicians who still overprescribe opioids and pharmaceutical companies that, wittingly or not, paved the way to deadly illegal drug use cannot be held blameless.
(BREAK HERE)
In a related note, China appears to be owning up to the role it has played in America's opioid crisis. The Chinese government announced that on March 1 it will outlaw the production of carfentanil and fentanyl, currently two of the most powerful and deadly opioids flooding the American illegal drug market. Some in American law enforcement are calling the production ban a game-changer.
The synthetic drugs, which are mass-produced in China, have directly contributed to the overdoses and deaths of thousands of unsuspecting Americans, including scores in Ohio, who believed they were ingesting heroin. Carfentanil, which is used as an anesthetic for elephants and other large animals, is so deadly it has been classified as a chemical weapon. The fact that China is finally moving decisively to cut the flow of opioids to America is encouraging.
"It's a substantial step in the fight against opioids here in the United States," Russell Baer, a DEA special agent in Washington told the New York Times. "We're persuaded it will have a definite impact."
We can only hope. In the meantime, the epidemic continues its deadly onslaught. Synthetic drugs can be produced in laboratories in Asia, Africa or an Appalachian farmhouse. Curbing demand will require relentless attack on the supply chain. It will also require effective drug treatment to rescue the sick; medical therapies that don't recklessly prescribe opioids; and educational programs to deter the young from ever starting down the path of opioid addiction.
It will also require families and neighbors to keep an eye out for each other. A 7-year-old child should never be able to gain access to heroin. That's unforgivable.
A CLARIFICATION:
In a column last week, I understated the number of heroin and fentanyl overdoses in Cuyahoga County in 2016. Nearly 600 people died from opioid consumption last year. In addition, the number of lives saved through the use of Narcan (a heroin antidote) was nearly double the number of victims who died from opioid overdoses.
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A nighttime view of Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Cleveland Orchestra's home away from home in Miami.
(The Plain Dealer)
MIAMI, Fla. - The sands that comprise the Cleveland Orchestra's residency in Miami may be shifting.
On my visit to the city last month, through the course of normal reporting, I learned that the orchestra appears to be poised to downsize the project to some extent next year, presumably in an effort to offset the $2.4 million deficit it reported in 2016.
Note my use of the word "downsize," not "eliminate." I have no reason to suspect, even for a moment, that the orchestra would leave South Florida entirely. What I foresee is a reduction, a reallocation of time and resources.
What exactly such changes might entail, I can't say. The orchestra declined to officially confirm or deny any of the information I gleaned from a source inside the institution, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The exact nature of what may be transpiring likely won't be known until March, when the group is expected to announce its 2017-18 Miami season.
It isn't difficult or unreasonable to speculate, however.
I can attest firsthand that Miami is expensive. Everything from lodging and food to transportation costs a pretty penny down there, and the orchestra is an enormous outfit. If saving money is a goal, an effective move would be to reduce the amount of time the ensemble spends there.
If I were running the show, I might economize by trimming flights and paring down the residency from three or four scattered weeks to two or three consecutive weekends. I'd also do my rehearsing in Cleveland, reserving time in Miami for income-generating performances.
The saddest result of such changes would be a possible reduction in educational activities. Were it to have, say, only two weeks at its disposal in Miami instead of the current four, the orchestra simply wouldn't have time to do as much of the good and ambitious work of visiting area schools, colleges and community centers.
This, in turn, could negatively impact fundraising. One "Leadership" level donor I spoke to, who may or may not be representative of her peers, said that if the orchestra were to cut back on education in Miami, she'd trim her annual gift accordingly.
I'm also concerned about the effects a potentially leaner Miami residency could have on the orchestra's image in the region. The Arsht Center hosts many orchestras; it would be a shame, after a decade of putting down roots all over South Florida, if the Cleveland Orchestra were to devolve in the minds of locals into just another touring act.
That image problem also could spread. In its early days, Cleveland's Miami residency was national news, a bold and creative experiment and a potential model to orchestras everywhere. No matter that Cleveland remains committed to Miami. A reduction of the residency still could be interpreted by some in the industry as a kind of failure.
Why the orchestra might be entertaining a cutback is impossible to say with certainty. That topic, too, is one the orchestra has opted not to address publicly at this point.
Again, though, it's not hard to read between the lines. The list of high-level donors ($100,000 or more) to the Miami Music Association, the orchestra's governing body in South Florida, is 40 percent shorter than it used to be: six names vs. last year's 10. That's a decent chunk (and potentially all or most) of that $2.4 million deficit.
What's more, conspicuously absent from the list is Daniel Lewis, a founder of the residency and longtime "Leadership" supporter. He, in many ways, was the linchpin, the foundation of the whole enterprise. Lewis, though, vigorously refused to comment when approached at a recent Cleveland Orchestra concert in Miami.
He's is far from the only person essentially keeping quiet. Aside from a few sources, almost everyone with whom I spoke on this subject - board members, musicians, staff, administrators - declined to go on the record, holding off at least until after a formal announcement.
As unfortunate as it would be for the citizens of South Florida, a reduction in Miami would not necessarily be bad news for Cleveland. In fact, local fans and supporters could see it as a boon.
Less time in Miami would almost certainly mean more time in Cleveland. More concerts, more opportunities for the orchestra to engage its home base. If two weeks suddenly opened up on my calendar, I know I'd be overjoyed, and eager to make good use of them.
A drawdown in Miami might also speak volumes about audience development in Cleveland. Not that long ago, the orchestra went to Miami to ease the burden of selling tickets at home. It could be that now, thanks to the recent influx of new and younger listeners, that burden is no longer quite so heavy.
Lastly, it would be hard to argue with a decision made with the orchestra's financial well-being in mind. If a reduction in Miami is what's best for the institution, so be it. We're a few months away from celebrating the orchestra's centennial, and all everybody wants is another 100 years.
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Ronald Reagan visited Cleveland in May 1980 during his successful bid for the presidency in a year when he carried Ohio by about the same percentage as Donald Trump did in 2016. One big difference? Thomas Suddes writes that in 1980 the percentage of congressional seats won by Republicans was roughly equivalent to the GOP presidential vote; in 2016, Trump took 51.7 percent of the state vote, but 75 percent of congressional seats went to the GOP.
(William A. Ashbolt, The Plain Dealer, File, 1980)
In 1980, when Ronald Reagan carried Ohio, he drew about 51.5 percent of the state's vote, and Ohioans sent 23 people to the U.S. House of Representatives. Thirteen (or 57 percent) were Republicans, 10 (or 43 percent), Democrats.
A few months ago, Donald Trump carried Ohio. He drew about 51.7 percent of the state's vote, and Ohioans sent 16 people to the House. Of those 16 House members, 12 (or 75 percent) are Republicans, four (or 25 percent) are Democrats.
Anyone wonder why most General Assembly Republicans (i.e., 66 of 99 state House members, 24 of 33 state Senate members) aren't in any rush to reform how Ohio draws congressional districts?
The legislature draws districts now. And it appears that Republicans don't want good-government busybodies gumming things up. (In fairness, though, Sen. Frank LaRose, a Hudson Republican, has called for districting reform. So has state Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat. Clyde and LaRose are considered likely 2018 candidates for secretary of state, Ohio's chief election officer.)
For some Statehouse legislators, a seat in Congress inevitably seems like it's the next rung up the career ladder. And only a saint would pass up the chance to draw himself, or herself, a congressional district.
(Footnote: If U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, a Wadsworth Republican, runs for governor in 2018 rather than seeks re-election, consider getting out of the way if you value your life: A Republican stampede for Renacci's seat could make Black Friday at the mall seem like a morning in church).
Not every state legislator in Columbus wants to go to Congress. But the congressional districts legislators draw can make or break other pols' careers. That's power. And power's hard to surrender.
True, Democrats and Republicans alike have used the federal Voting Rights Act to draw districts that concentrate black voters, who are overwhelmingly Democratic. On one hand, that can assure black Ohioans that at least some Ohioans in Congress are African-American (currently, Reps. Marcia Fudge, of Warrensville Heights, and Joyce Beatty, of suburban Columbus).
But concentrating Ohio's black Democrats in one or two districts cuts Democrats' prospects in neighboring Ohio congressional districts. Call it "packing" (if you don't like it) or "fairness" (if you do). Either way, it's a dilemma for Democrats. They don't want to shortchange a key constituency, but they'd sure like to have a fighting chance in more than four of Ohio's 16 congressional districts,
After 2020's Census, Ohio will lose one, maybe two, U.S. House seats because of national population shifts. That is, in redrawing Ohio's congressional map in 2021, the General Assembly will determine which Ohio politicians have a post-2020 future at the U.S. Capitol - and which don't. That'll require some very Machiavellian calls, politically: Members of Congress are no readier to surrender their cushy Washington billets than National Rifle Association members are to surrender their firearms.
Fix to Ohio gerrymandering picks up support: editorial (2016)
Districts as safe for one party or the other as Ohio's are mean that, as a practical matter, an Ohioan in Congress likely can only be unseated in a party's primary. So GOP incumbents must periodically kowtow to the GOP's no-compromises right wing, to ward off primary challenges. Same goes for Democrats, who periodically make nice with Democrats to their left (whatever "left" means to Democrats nowadays, given the Third Way, pro-business "triangulation" that's helped fracture their party).
Bottom line: Arguably, as things stand, Ohioans aren't so much electing members of Congress as ratifying choices already made for them by Paul Ryan's and Nancy Pelosi's caucuses, and by fat-cat campaign contributors. Call that anything you want. Except democracy.
Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.
To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@gmail.com, 216-999-4689
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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians have six weeks to settle on an Opening Day roster, but much of the work has already been completed.
Injuries can alter any roster planning, but the Indians might have as few as three open spots. The only question with the starting rotation is whether Danny Salazar's bleached hair is a better look than Trevor Bauer's blue Duke Blue Devils wig.
The unsolved outfield alignment hinges on the health of Michael Brantley. The Indians might not find the final pieces to that puzzle for a few weeks. The bullpen is mostly settled, too, with Boone Logan in the fold as the club's second southpaw.
So, what's left? Let's take a look.
Outfield
Well, at least right field is settled. Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer figure to share time, based on the handedness of the opposing pitcher, though both players could receive some additional playing time outside of their platoon. Guyer posted a .336/.464/.557 slash line against lefties last season.
Center field belongs, somewhat, to Tyler Naquin, who finished third in the balloting for American League Rookie of the Year. Manager Terry Francona shielded Naquin a bit from left-handed pitching last year. Will that continue in Naquin's sophomore season? If so, Abraham Almonte or Austin Jackson could share time with Naquin in center.
Then again, Almonte and Jackson might be needed in left if Brantley's shoulder barks. The Indians won't have a strong grasp of Brantley's outlook until he plays -- or can't play -- in some spring training games.
If Brantley is sidelined into the regular season, that could also create an opening for Yandy Diaz. The Cuba native has hit at every step of his minor-league journey. Where he fits best defensively remains a mystery, but he could factor into the mix in left field.
Bullpen
This is a free-for-all, a 12-man royal rumble with one -- and potentially two -- victors emerging toward the end of camp.
There are old-timers joining the fray in Steve Delabar and Chris Narveson. There are newcomers in Nick Goody, Carlos Frias, Hoby Milner and James Russell. There are young horses in Perci Garner, Joe Colon, Shawn Armstrong, Josh Martin, Tyler Olson and Kyle Crockett.
Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Dan Otero, Logan and Zach McAllister have already secured jobs. That leaves one vacancy, unless Francona opts to carry an eight-man bullpen.
Utility
This might not be as clear-cut as it would appear. The heavyweight -- OK, lightweight -- bout between Michael Martinez (the answer to a heck of a trivia question asking who made the final out of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series) and Erik Gonzalez might include a wrinkle.
Jose Ramirez is entrenched as the club's third baseman, but he'll also see time at shortstop during spring training. In theory, he could serve as the team's backup infielder, which would eliminate the need for a prototype utility guy.
Of course, the Indians would still need third base covered if Ramirez is playing middle infield.
Enter Diaz or Giovanny Urshela.
This is a multi-layered decision that could depend on Brantley's health and the composition of the outfield. Diaz might be needed there, too. Urshela was destined to start at third base for the Tribe last year before the club lured veteran Juan Uribe to Goodyear.
If it's just Martinez dueling with Gonzalez, the competition becomes simpler to gauge.
BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Dispute, Market Place Drive: Two men blocked each other 4:27 p.m. Feb. 12 from taking a parking space in the Walmart lot and had a verbal dispute, prompting a call to police. An officer sent both drivers on their way.
Fraud, Lake In The Woods: A Kenston school employee received a request for information from Comenity Capital Bank regarding a credit card he did not seek. The man alerted police Feb. 14.
Suspicious, Bainbridge Road: A man told police on Feb. 14 that his 18-year-old online friend said she had sex with both of her grandfathers. When he replied to her that he was going to contact police, she indicated she was kidding and told him, "get lost old man." An officer advised him to block further conversations with her.
Disorderly Conduct, Warren Court: A patient at South Franklin Circle refused to take his medicine and pushed a nurse away 8:48 p.m. Feb. 11. He later took his medicine with a police officer present.
Juvenile Complaint, Long Meadow Trail: A woman reported Feb. 14 that her son is receiving inappropriate text messages.
Fraud, Bainbridge Road: Someone attempted to retrieve a 2015 tax return from the IRS using a woman's information. She also received a letter from PayPal after an account was opened in her name and $2,700 was charged. She filed identity theft paperwork Feb. 13 and started a credit watch service.
Utilities, Stone Ridge: A tree fell and pulled down electric lines 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12. The tree blocked the entire road and CEI was notified. No one could enter or leave the area until the power company responded.
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Westlake police are investigating a reported internet fraud.
(Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com)
Fraud, Newbury Drive: A man advertised his dog-sitting service on the on the internet. He received a $2,945 check from a prospective customer with instructions to keep $300 for his first week's pay and forward the rest to a Texas man for pet supplies. The check bounced Feb. 4, and he reported the fraud Feb. 10.
Theft, Center Ridge Road: A 52-year-old man suspects a friend stole property from the victim's house while the victim was in jail between November 2016 and Feb. 9, 2017.
Theft, Bel Aire Circle: A resident reported a watch worth $220 was stolen Feb. 9 from his mail.
Weapons, Center Ridge Road: A 30-year-old man living in a homeless shelter who is a self-admitted junkie was one of three males hanging around a store at closing time Feb. 10. He was found to be carrying a hatchet, knife and syringes. Police arrested him for carrying various weapons and possession of drug abuse instruments.
Firearm violation, Center Ridge Road: Officers stopped a 21-year-old Brooklyn man Feb. 11 for driving with one headlight. He was carrying two knives, and a .38-caliber revolver was on the seat next to him. He was summonsed for improper handling of a firearm.
Firearm violation, I-90: Police stopped a 31-year-old Westlake man Feb. 11 on I-90 for equipment and moving violations. He was carrying a BB gun and knife and had a machete next to him. He was arrested for carrying various weapons.
Firearm violation, I-90: Police cited a 24-year-old Garfield Heights man Feb. 13 for driving under suspension and fictitious plates. He was carrying a loaded 9mm pistol, and police added charges of improper handling of a firearm and obstructing official business.
Burglary, Crocker Road: A job site was broken into between Feb. 10 and Feb. 13. A leaf blower and tools were taken. One tool storage bin had been forced open, while a second could not be.
Disorderly conduct, Center Ridge Road: An intoxicated 61-year-old Westlake man celebrated his St. Valentine's Day by sitting in the hallway of his apartment building with his urine-soaked pants and underwear down. He was arrested for disorderly conduct while intoxicated.
Theft, Cedarwood Drive: Someone rummaged through a man's unlocked 2014 Chevrolet Cruz late Feb. 14. Cash, cologne, and a necklace were taken.
Theft, Briarwood Court: A $400 bike was taken from a garage sometime within the past six months.
Theft, Cahoon Road: A resident put down a $1,387 deposit in September 2016 for gutter repairs. However, no repairs have been undertaken by the suspect, who faces felony charges in two similar incidents. The resident reported the theft Feb. 16.
If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
Trump (Photo : change.org)
An online petition spearheaded by American psychologists to have U.S. President Donald Trump declared insane because of his "malignant narcissism" has gained over 25,000 signatures since being placed online three weeks ago.
The petition on change.org started by psychologist Dr. John Gartner Ph.D. from Townson, Maryland has received 25,000 signatures as of Feb. 18.
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The total number of signatories qualifies the petition to be sent to Sen. Chuck Schumer (Democrat, New York). According to government rules, a petition needs 25,000 signatures to receive an official response from the government.
The petition begun by Dr. Gartner argues Trump is "psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States."
Its full text on change.org reads:
"We, the undersigned mental health professionals (please state your degree), believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States. And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 3 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."
A doctor who signed the petition said "We don't need Hitler #2!"
"Clearly we have a malignant narcissist who lives in his own reality and suffers extreme narcissistic injury when his "reality" is opposed," said Dr. David Kincaid from Maryland.
"We cannot have someone this unstable running our country. He is destroying our nation every day. Soon we will have no trust or standing in the world."
A clinical psychologist from Virginia, Melissa Sporn, said she's "concerned about the modeling of bullying, harassment and lying that is being presented by our now president."
The malignant narcissism Trump apparently manifests has been described as representing "the quintessence of evil," by the respected German social psychologist and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm.
Fromm first coined the term "malignant narcissism" in 1964. He described it as a "severe mental sickness" representing "the quintessence of evil."
He characterized malignant narcissism as "the most severe pathology and the root of the most vicious destructiveness and inhumanity."
Malignant narcissism is clinically defined as a psychological syndrome comprising an extreme mix of narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, aggression and sadism.
The malignant narcissist undermines organizations in which they are involved and dehumanizes the people with whom they associate.
Dr. Gartner has been a part time assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School for 28 years. His areas of specializations are Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Bipolar Disorder and Depression.
A political star for the masses has been born or perhaps reborn.
In a blistering campaign-style speech on Saturday, President Donald Trump once again assailed the media while attempting to defend his policy priorities. In an impromptu moment, Trump introduced the world to Gene Huber, a passionate Trump supporter who claimed to have been waiting in line since the wee hours of Saturday morning for the rally to begin.
Huber tweet
Huber, who in a television appearance openly confessed to having regular conversations with a cardboard cutout of the president, immediately launched into a defense of Trump. His appearance also took on a life of its own on social media, with legions of other Trump backers rising to his defense.
Huber cutout
Huber 2
Trump may have inadvertently anointed 2017's version of Samuel J. Wurzelbacher otherwise known as Joe the Plumber a voter who became an unlikely conservative working class hero during the 2008 campaign.
Wurzelbacher backed GOP Arizona senator John McCain's presidential bid, but rocketed to fame after having a confrontation with then-Democratic contender Barack Obama. Wurzelbacher, who moved on to become a grassroots activist, told Reuters in an interview prior to the election that he believed Trump could be successful in the White House.
One of the fixtures of Trump's insurgent campaign was the real estate mogul's rhetorical embrace of the working class, coupled with a stated rejection of cultural elites. Huber appeared to fit the mold of an every-man receptive to Trump's anti-establishment message.
Huber tweet
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi expressed his belief that the Trump administration could seek to soften the travel ban that was effectively overturned by federal judges, saying Iraq should be "removed from that list" targeting travelers from countries linked to terror.
He also dismissed suggestions by President Donald Trump that the U.S. should have seized Iraqi oil as little more than campaign talk.
The order from Trump sought to restrict travelers with visas from seven Muslim-majority countries linked to terrorism from entering the U.S. for 90 days, but is currently being reworked in response to widespread opposition and court rulings. Homeland Security chief John Kelly said that a new order is likely to exclude green card holders, and won't hold up travelers in transit.
The original executive order included Iraq. However, al-Abadi told CNBC on the sidelines of Munich's Security Conference that he has asked for a review.
"We've asked for the U.S. for a review. We want Iraq to be removed from that list. And I have received positive messages from President Trump and others," he said.
No to seizing Iraq's oil
In an NBC forum back in September, then-GOP candidate Trump claimed that Islamic State would not have formed "if we would've taken the oil," making a particular reference to Iraq and American intervention in the country. Currently, ISIS has laid claims to swaths of Iraq, and the country's forces are battling to rout them from key areas.
Since his election, Trump repeated the claim to ABC News in an interview last month, saying that "we should have kept the oil when we got out." And in a speech to CIA officials shortly after taking office, Trump made similar remarks suggesting that U.S. should have taken Iraq's oil in reimbursement for the 2003 invasion.
"I always used to say, keep the oil. I wasn't a fan of Iraq. I didn't 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." Trump said on January 21 at the CIA headquarters.
Yet the Iraqi prime minister suggested his country didn't take the idea seriously, telling CNBC on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that it was "an election speech."
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Al-Abadi told CNBC that Trump was simply referring to historical conflicts in the region with his comments, rather than making promises that the U.S. would try and grab the country's oil reserves, one of the world's largest at 153 billion barrels.
"I never hear that from any other officials and the U.S. administration. And of course to me this is an election thing. Otherwise how can he do it?," Al-Abadi asked.
The U.S. does not "have a combative army on the ground, they don't have a force which can control oil in the south or in the rest of the country," he added.
"It's impossible, but I think President Trump was talking about history, he's talking about when U.S. forces came to Iraq, they should have controlled the oil."
Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection to the murder of Kim Jong Nam, while a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have also been arrested. A Malaysian man is being detained to facilitate the investigation.
The four North Koreans flew out of Malaysia, but police would not reveal the flight's destination, just that they were coordinating with Interpol to track them down.
Malaysian police said on Sunday that four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.
Malaysian police at a press conference on February 19, 2017, following the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
Kim Jong Nam died on Monday after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he was catching a flight to Macau. South Korean and U.S. officials have said he was assassinated by North Korean agents using what was thought to be a fast acting poison.
"I can confirm today that they (four North Korean suspects) have left our country the very same day the incident happen," deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ismail told reporters at a press conference.
"The four suspects are holding normal passports, not diplomatic passports," he said.
"Next plan is to get them. We of course have international cooperation especially with Interpol, bilateral involvement with the country involved, we will go through those avenues to get the people involved."
Malaysian police said the cause of death was still not known and that they were waiting for pathology and toxicology tests after conducting a post-mortem.
A diplomatic spat between North Korea and Malaysia over the body has escalated. North Korea has said it would reject Malaysia's autopsy report and accused Malaysia of "colluding with outside forces" a veiled reference to rival South Korea.
The Malaysian police said they were trying to contact the next-of-kin of Kim Jong Nam. "The body must be identified. The most eligible to identify the body physically is the next-of-kin," Noor Rashid said.
"We will verify again through scientific means, so it is very important for close family members to come forward to assist us in process of identification base on legal procedures under Malaysian law."
The police is giving the next-of-kin two weeks to claim the body. South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that Kim had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under China's protection.
Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.
The young, unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.
Mongolia has agreed with the International Monetary Fund and other partners for a $5.5 billion economic stabilization package, according to a statement from the IMF on Sunday.
The landlocked nation saw a double-digit annual growth rate over 2011-2013 as foreign investors rushed in to take advantage of its vast untapped mineral deposits, but it has been roiled by an economic crisis since 2016 due to government overspending and declining revenues from commodity exports.
To bailout the country, which is now scrambling to avoid missing a $580 million sovereign-guaranteed debt repayment due in March, the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and bilateral partners, including Japan and South Korea, will provide up to $3 billion in aid, the IMF said in its statement.
People's Bank of China will expand a swap line worth 15 billion yuan ($2.19 billion), while the IMF will offer three-year loans worth about $440 million, the latter added.
The bailout plan is pending formal approvals from the IMF board in March, according to the statement.
"Fiscal consolidation is a key priority, as loose fiscal policy in the past was a major driver for Mongolia's current economic difficulties and high debt," said Koshy Mathai, IMF's team leader for the package.
Mongolia has pledged to implement fiscal reforms for greater budget discipline, but its social spending will be protected.
It plans to subsidize some drug costs, while a universal allowance for children will be given to those in need, Finance Minister Battogtokh Choijilsuren told reporters on Sunday.
Mongolian economy grew at 1 percent last year, its slowest pace in seven years, and may slip into recession when austerity measures imposed on the country for a debt bailout are rolled out.
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The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia believes that the new U.S. administration can extend an olive branch to every region of the globe, which includes forming strong alliances within the Arab world. Just weeks ago, the Trump administration jolted the world by slapping travel restrictions on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries linked to terrorleading some to accuse Trump of singling out Muslims. However, in a conversation with CNBC, Saudi Arabia's top diplomat struck a more constructive tone. "I believe (President) Donald Trump is a friend to everybody, potentially," Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abel Al-Jubeir, said on the outskirts of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Faisal Al Nasser | Reuters
"I have no basis to question his motives," he added, when asked whether he could be a friend to the Arab world. "I believe that he wants to do what is best for America, and this is what every leader should do for his country." The Middle Eastern nation is a long term ally of the States, and was not one of the countries included on the executive order that imposed the travel ban. Yet on the campaign trail, Trump hit out at the Saudis, saying the U.S. should block oil imports from the nation.
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However, officials and commentators from Saudi Arabia remain largely positive on future relations between the two nations. An influential member of the Saudi royal family told CNBC at the World Economic Forum last month that America will continue to enjoy a warm relationship with the country, and emphasized key areas of agreement between the two nations. "He (Trump) wants to have peace and prosperity," Prince Turki al Faisal, the former head of Saudi Arabian intelligence told CNBC. Prince Turki said that Trump has spoken of the importance of fighting the so-called Islamic State and reevaluating its relationship with Iran, two areas where he said the countries would find common ground.
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Adding to these comments at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Prince Turki said that Trump's election win may have surprised America's traditional institutions. Yet he added that since taking office, Trump had "brought himself back" more towards an "institutional outlook" with key cabinet appointments being one particular example. "His appointment of Rex Tillerson a secretary of State indicates that Mr. Trump has brought into his administration people who understand how these institutions in America operate and what affect they would have on the rest of the world," he said.
Israels new 20-new-sheqel note honors celebrated poet Rachel Bluwstein. It is one of two new Israel notes honoring women. The 100-new-sheqel note honors Leah Goldberg.
Following up on the introduction of the 50 new sheqel in September 2014 and the 200 new sheqel in 2015 in its new currency Series C, the Bank of Israel is now preparing for the introduction of the 20- and 100-new-sheqel notes before the end of 2017. This will complete a series where all issues are dedicated to Israeli poets.
Both new notes for 2017 feature women.
The 20-new-sheqel note has a portrait of Rachel Bluwstein (1890 to 1931), who is better know as Rachel the Poetess. Born in Russia, she emigrated to Palestine in 1909, where she became one of the pioneers in the Zionist movement. She is called the founding mother of modern Hebrew poetry by women.
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The note is predominantly red in color. In addition to Rachels portrait, the face of the note has a background of palm tree branches and words from her poem Kinneret (Hebrew name of the Sea of Galilee) in microtext. The back shows a view of the Galilee shoreline and a segment from the poem, Perhaps it was nothing.
The predominantly orange 100-new-sheqel note is dedicated to Leah Goldberg (1911 to 1970). She grew up in Lithuania and left for Palestine in 1935. In addition to several collections of poetry, she also wrote drama and childrens literature. She was well-known as a translator, her most famous work being the Hebrew adaptation of Tolstoys War and Peace.
Goldbergs head on the face is accompanied by almond tree blossoms and, in microprinting: In the land of my love the almond tree blossoms. Two gazelles on the back join a portion from the poem White Days.
Among the security features disclosed by the Bank of Israel are security paper with an embedded watermark containing the portrait and the denomination; a color-changing security thread with three windows in which the portrait and denomination appear; raised ink on both sides; tiny holes in the shape of the denomination; microtext; a security foil stripe; color changing ink; and transparent ink. Signs for the visually impaired are different sizes for each denomination an a unique symbol on each denominations margins printed with transparent raised ink.
Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun attend AMC's 'The Walking Dead' panel during Comic-Con International 2016 at San Diego Convention Center. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
"The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10 will see Rick's group run into a "mysterious" community. The upcoming segment is titled "New Best Friends" and it will see Rick and other survivors interact with a new group. Here are a few spoilers for the next chapter of the series. Read on to find out what happens next. Also, find out where to watch episode 7X10 online via live stream. Scroll down for the link.
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[Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10 "New Best Friends." Do not read further if you don't wish to know more about it.]
In the previous episode of "The Walking Dead" (TWD), fans saw Rick and other members of Hilltop prepare for a fight against the Saviours. Rick is introduced to the Kingdom and the group's leader Ezekiel. Meanwhile, Saviours set a deadly trap for Rick and his group. However, they manage to escape it. Also, Saviours plunder Alexandria in search of Daryl but they fail to reach him as he has been given refuge in Ezekial's Kingdom. Episode 9 ended with a major cliffhanger wherein Rick's group come face to face with a group of survivors in a location where Fr. Gabriel left supplies.
Moving on to "The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10, it is expected to reveal more about the new group. The synopsis for "New Best Friends" (as published on Spoiler TV) suggests that the upcoming segment will focus on the new group, the Alexandrians run into when they are searching for one of their own. The inhabitants of this new group are reportedly unlike any they have come across.
Meanwhile, The Spoiling Dead Fans have revealed more details from "The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10. According to the Facebook Page, "New Best Friends" will reveal the intentions of the new group. At the same time, fans can expect to see Rick try to convince this group to stand with them up against Negan and Saviors.
The group reportedly consists of hundreds of people. However, "The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10 will shed light on three characters Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), Tamiel (Sabrina Gennarino) and Brion (Thomas Francis Murphy).
According to TSDF, Jadis is the leader of the group, Tamiel seems to be a "right-hand lady to Jadis." Also, she is speculated to be the person behind Gabriel's kidnapping. As for Brion, not much is revealed about him. However, he is expected to play a significant role in the group.
In addition, Independent is speculating that Richard, the head of security of Ezekiel's group, will find an ally in Daryl. Daryl and Morgan have taken refuge in the Kingdom ever since he escaped the Sanctuary.
Also, as revealed in "The Walking Dead" Season 7 episode 10 trailer, Daryl will find a new crossbow. It may not be the one that was taken from him by Dwight but a new one.
"The Walking Dead" (TWD) Season 7 episode 10 airs Feb. 19 at 10:00 pm on AMC. Fans can also watch "New Best Friends" online via live stream on amc.com after its television broadcast. Stay tuned, spoilers and updates are expected soon.
What did Eli Drinkwitz say after Missouri's game vs. Kentucky?
Gong Yoo attends the 'Train To Busan' photocall during the 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Andreas Rentz)
Gong Yoo's popularity has risen to another level following the tremendous success of the tvN drama "Goblin." The 37-year-old actor, who starred as the titular character in the 16-episode fantasy series, is this month's reputational champ.
On Feb. 18, Saturday, the Korean Business Research Institute released the brand reputation rankings among film actors for the month of February. To come up with the list, they compiled 72,745,586 pieces of data for the period of Jan. 16 until Feb. 17, Friday. The said data included the actors' brand notoriety index, media coverage, communication, and community.
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Gong topped the brand reputation list with a total score of 10,728,767, pushing Jo In Sung and Yoo Hae Jin to the second and third spot, respectively, according to data from the Korean Business Research Insitute, as cited by Soompi. "The Producers'" Kim Soo Hyun came in fourth place, while "The Legend of the Blue Sea's" Jun Ji Hyun and "The King's" Jung Woo Sung is in the fifth and sixth spot.
The "Tunnel" actor Ha Jung-Woo came in seventh place along with Kang Dong Won and Lee Byung Hun in the eighth and ninth spot, respectively. Hwang Jung Min, who recently made his big screen comeback through Lee II-Hyeong's "A Violent Prosecutor," rounded out the top 10.
Even though Gong's tvN drama ended more than three weeks ago, the actor still enjoys tremendous popularity abroad. He has received several fan meeting offers from 15 different countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan and China. Gong, however, had fully booked his schedule until March.
"Currently, Gong Yoo is extremely busy filming for commercials," a representative from Management Soop said in a statement obtained by Korea Boo. "We think he will be taking a break away from schedules from mid-March and onwards."
The representative added that the actor will use this opportunity to figure out what he wants to do next. While nothing is set in stone yet, there is a high possibility that his next project will be a movie rather than a TV drama.
For now, check out Gong as Kim Shin in tvN's "Goblin" below:
Falcon 9 rocket with AMOS-6 satellite explodes on the launch pad on Sept. 1, 2016. (Photo : NASA)
SpaceX is delaying to 2020 from 2018 the first landing of its spacecraft on Mars. This vehicle will be a modified cargo-carrying Red Dragon spacecraft that will also drill about 1.0 meter underground to reach reservoirs of water ice that exist in the shallow Martian subsurface.
The disappointing delay was announced by SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell, who also said the company is shifting its focus to other projects and will go ahead with its Red Dragon landing on Mars by 2020.
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The delay seems to have been an offshoot of unlucky incidents during the second half of the year as compared to the first half when SpaceX on April 8 achieved the historic first of landing of a Falcon 9 first stage on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
This euphoric achievement, however, was dampened on September 1 when a Falcon 9 rocket supposed to have launched a satellite exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The explosion triggered an extensive investigation, and put launches on hold for the remainder of 2016. Those delays cost the company at least one launch order.
SpaceX experienced another launch delay on Feb. 18 when it scrubbed a planned launch seconds before takeoff. Despite these disappointments, SpaceX has not announced any significant changes to its original plans to land on Mars.
Those plans made in early 2016 include landing of the uncrewed Red Dragon measuring 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide on the Red Planet. Probable landing sites for Red Dragon will be polar or mid-latitude locations with proven near-surface ice.
This because Red Dragon might also drill about 1.0 meters underground to reach reservoirs of water ice that exist in the shallow subsurface.
NASA will assist SpaceX with the Mars landing mission. It will also provide technical assistance, communications and navigation support.
SpaceX said the Mars landing will showcase Red Dragon's ability to reach distant destinations throughout the solar system.
"Dragon 2 is designed to be able to land anywhere in the solar system," tweeted SpaceX founder Elon Musk at the time. "Red Dragon Mars mission is the first test flight."
Red Dragon will become the first commercial spacecraft to land on the Red Planet and will also be the heaviest spacecraft to land on Mars. It can also carry a 1 tonne (2,200 lb) payload.
The Red Dragon mission will be the cheapest landing mission to Mars. Total mission cost will come to less than US$400 million.
To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry.
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Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.
CORNWALL, Ontario Shoppers got an added dose of Canadian history as the annual Heritage Fair made its way to the Cornwall Square Shopping Centre this Saturday Feb. 18.
Weve got a few more participants this year, said event organizer, Debbie Ledoux. With the Akwesasne Kahwatsi:re Genealogy & Historical Society and the Bishops House taking part for the first time, Ledoux says she is happy to see new organizations get on board with the event.
In addition to the two new organizations being added to the participants list this year, other presenters included the Friends of Crysler Farm, the SD&G Historical Society, Genealogie & Archives St. Laurent, and the Ontario East British Home Child Family, to name a few.
While involvement has been strong this year, Ledoux says that the mall doesnt generate the foot traffic it once did.
The Cornwall Square is less busy now, and without the grocery store, we dont get that influx of people that we used to, said Ledoux. Despite the lower number of shoppers, she says that the event welcomes many returning history patrons.
Kim McInnis is a member of Friends of Cryslers Farm Battlefield, and has been involved with the event since 2014.
Its sort of gratifying to get to showcase Canadian history, said McInnis. Kids are starting to learn a little bit more about their heritage, and we like to think weve had a small hand in it.
We do tend to see some of the same faces from year to year, said Ledoux. They like to come out and see whats new each year.
In addition, Heritage-Patrimoine Cornwall will be giving out Heritage Awards to building owners in Cornwall as part of their contribution to Canada 150. For more information about the committee or upcoming events, please contact info@heritagepatrimoinecornwall.ca.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he never took it as a given that Williams would release Valtteri Bottas, joking deputy team principal Claire Williams made him "cry" and "beg" a lot to secure the Finn.
Bottas was finally confirmed as Nico Rosberg's replacement for F1 2017 on January 16, but Wolff said talks with Williams were anything but easy and that Rosberg's decision to retire certainly created a few headaches.
"It was a couple of difficult weekends and weeks and Claire is clearly Frank's daughter, tough in negotiations and it wasn't always so obvious for us that we would get Valtteri. Clearly we understood it would be a compromise for Claire to let him go," Wolff told BBC Radio 5 Live.
F1's best and worst team launches
"But we found a solution that helps Williams to continue to develop its capability and resource and strengthen the team mid-term and long-term - and I think taking Felipe [Massa] back was a good move.
"Maybe it would have been more inspiring to keep Valtteri but I think long-term, even if I would had been in Claire's shoes, it was a good move. She made me cry a lot [though] - and made me beg of course!"
Meanwhile, Claire added while Bottas was a big part of the teams plans, she felt it would be wrong to deny him the chance to move to Mercedes.
She also emphasised that there is no way they would have let him go had the terms for Williams not have been good.
5 Questions which need answering as F1 2017 begins
"That would be telling!" she quipped, when asked how Mercedes persuaded her to release Bottas."Obviously losing your driver, and Valtteri - everyone knows we had a contract with him - was a key part of our team. We have clear ambitions and Valtteri was part of that.
"We would never have made that decision to let him go unless the terms for us were particularly favourable and meant we came out of it in a strong position. We couldn't possibly allow someone, a key asset like that, to [just] leave us.
"I'd like to think I made Toto's life slightly uncomfortable for a good few weeks there and Valtteri's as well. Yes, we have lost Valtteri and that's a shame. But also it is not right to stand in a driver's way when a seat like the Mercedes seat becomes available.
"Valtteri has very clear ambitions and we unfortunately can't provide him with a platform to achieve those ambitions at the moment. To stand in his way probably wouldn't have been the right thing. But I am not going to go into what Toto has given me in return for Valtteri."
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Egypt's constitution prohibit the formation of political parties on the basis of race or religion
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court rejected Saturday a lawsuit that called for the dissolution of the ultra-conservative Salafist El-Nour Party.
Lawyers Rizq Al-Molla and Ahmed El-Shandedy filed the lawsuit complaining that El-Nour Party was created on a religious basis, something proscribed by the 2014 Constitution.
El-Nour Party, spawned after the 2011 uprising as the political arm of the Salafist Call, is the only potent Islamist party that survived as a legal entity following deadly confrontations between Islamists and authorities after the 2013 ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
El-Nour Party supported the toppling of Islamist leader Morsi, who hailed from the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.
The party garnered only 12 seats in parliamentary elections that took place over two phases in 2015.
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God KnowsWhen my Direction Needs Correction Part 2
Paul headed over to Macedonia. No doubt he revisited the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Somewhere along the way a man named Titus brought the good news that the Corinthians had accepted the instruction in Pauls letter to them. They had repented of their sins. Now they were growing again and being a blessing to others. Paul wrote a second letter to the Corinthians, reminding them again of the matchless love of Jesus, who though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
When Paul reached Corinth in person, he stayed three months to help the church. There, he wrote a letter to the little group of Christians in Rome, Italy. He hoped to come visit them and to preach also in Spain. We know this letter as Romans, another New Testament book. Paul powerfully pointed out that it is by faith in Christ that anyone who repents can find pardon and peace. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
Paul also wrote a letter, now called Galatians, to the churches in Galatia. It helped many misguided members regain Christian faith. Their lives began to produce the fruits Paul listed in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.
Finally en route back to Jerusalem, Paul and Luke and some others traveled back up to Philippi, down to Troas on the Asian continent, and south toward Ephesus. When the boat he was on stopped at Miletus, 30-40 miles (50-60 km) from Ephesus, Paul disembarked and sent a message to the church leaders in Ephesus. They hurried to Miletus to see him. He gave them good counsel, then knelt down and prayed with them before going back on board. He knew he would not see them againa sad parting.
Cargo was unloaded at Tyre (now in Lebanon) so Paul spent a week with the Christians there before going on to Caesarea. Then, Paul headed now for Jerusalem to conclude his third major trip. Paul knew he would find many enemies there. And he did.
At Jerusalem
In the Temple one day he was recognized by some of those who hated him. Men of Israel, help! they shouted. This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.
Though Pauls Greek friends were not with him in the Temple, a riot anyway. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple. As the angry mob was about to kill Paul, the chief captain of the Roman intervened. Soldiers arriving on the scene stopped the violence. The soldiers bound Paul with chains while the captain tried to find out what was going on. Everyone shouted a different answer. The captain couldnt understand anything because of all the noise. He ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the barracks at the Castle of Antonia.
Away with him! screamed the mob, following along. The soldiers saved Pauls life by shielding him from their violence. On the stairs to the barracks Paul asked if he could speak to the people. He bravely began to tell his personal story until the fury of the crowd broke out again. Soldiers hustled him inside. The captain intended to have him beaten, but when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen, he changed his mind.
The next day Paul was brought before the same council in Jerusalem he had once been a member of. Such arguing broke out in the council that the Roman captain again saved Paul from harm by returning him to the castle.
That night the Lord spoke to Paul, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.
The next morning more than forty men vowed, We will not eat or drink until we have killed Paul. They didnt know that a boy was listening. Pauls nephew heard the assassination plot! It was risky, but he told the chief captain what he had heard.
The captain immediately called two of his head soldiers and ordered them to ready 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen, for a trip to Caesarea. They would leave after dark for the 63-mile (100 km) trip to the city where the Roman governor lived. They would see that Paul arrived there safely. The commander also wrote a letter to Felix, the governor, explaining the case.
Decision Postponed Forever
Felix knew that the charges brought by Pauls enemies were false. Yet he kept him prisoner for the next two years. Felix treated him well and he and his wife, Drusilla, called Paul in for private talks. As Paul told them all about Jesus, the conscience of Felix was stirred. But instead of repenting and accepting Christ as his guide, Felix responded: Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you. But it never was convenient for Felix to accept Christ. Felix was later removed from office in disgrace.
Festus replaced him. When the new governor looked into the case of Paul, he asked, Paul, do you want to go to Jerusalem for trial?
Paul knew he would never have a fair trial in Jerusalem. So, as a Roman citizen, he asked to be sent to Rome to be judged by Caesar.
Festus replied, You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!
Where to find the story: Acts 18-26
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Patients could be caught at the centre of a "perfect storm" for healthcare in Croydon, as the borough's NHS struggles with a formidable array of problems.
A check-up by the Advertiser reveals issues with staff shortages, patient demand and huge social care cuts are increasing pressure on health services in Croydon.
Figures show the immense strain placed on the borough's healthcare system by a "national crisis" in funding.
Social care budgets in Croydon have been slashed by more than 10 million in the last three years, and more than 60 million has been cut from spending on elderly, mental health and other adult care.
During this time the borough's NHS trust has failed to meet its A&E targets, overspent on staff and suffered a relentless demand for hospital beds.
Unfilled vacancies for GPs make it harder for people to find an appointment, potentially forcing thousands to go to A&E or not seek treatment at all
"It can become a perfect storm," said Dr Kathryn Channing, head of Croydon University Hospital's A&E.
"You have a struggle to discharge people into residential care, which makes it harder to find space for people in A&E, and can increase waiting times for people in the department. It's very multi-factorial.
"But we're just here to save lives. It's all about the patients."
Figures obtained from years of NHS and Council financial records show a stark correlation between budgeting and a growing "crisis"
Croydon Council has contended with a major of loss of government funding, with more than 25% of its grant revenue being slashed.
This financial blow has led in turn to cut spending on adult social care from 165m in 2013/14 to 153m last year.
Part of this total is money spent on commissioning care in homes and other facilities for elderly, mentally ill or otherwise vulnerable patients.
Spending on securing these services has been slashed from just over 103m in 2013/14 to a far smaller sum of 43m this financial year.
Tony Newman, the Labour leader of Croydon Council, said: "This is a national crisis that the government are walking away from, and the effects are local to us.
"We're trying to raise funds for social care with the social care levy.
"But with budget cuts, it's like using a sticking plaster on a major wound."
These cuts can have a knock-on effect.
Lack of care places for vulnerable people to return to after treatment can stop them being discharged, so their beds remain occupied.
Coinciding with major Croydon Council cuts since 2013, the levels of bed occupancy in the borough's NHS facilities (acute and general) has skyrocketed from 88% of beds being filled, to 97% so far this year.
Croydon University Hospital's A&E has also slipped from comfortably hitting the national target of dealing with 95% of its patients within four hours, to seeing just 92% in 2016.
Dr Channing said: "We always bear the target in mind, but we are also juggling finding beds and specialist beds for patients on wards, assessing patients who come through the doors and treating the very sick people who come to A&E.
"That is our main focus, and we work extremely hard.
"Obviously there are factors which can make things difficult."
This struggle to meet the target has come even as the annual numbers of emergency visits to A&E have fallen.
Displaced demand for treatment may be falling to GPs to deal with.
However, in Croydon issues with limited resources extend into general practice.
There are currently15 key frontline vacancies for GP roles, each one of which would help around 50 patients every day.
Each vacancy creates an increased workload for other GPs, meaning patients are often facing long waits for an appointment with a doctor.
It is feared that some patients will give up on waiting - which could prove fatal - or wait so long that they don't get the treatment they need in time.
The number of these dangerous vacancies is set to double this year.
Dr Agnelo Fernandes, who works as GP in Croydon, has also described the healthcare situation in the borough as a "perfect storm".
Despite the mounting strain on general practice, there have been calls from government for a seven-day GP service, and for practitioners to work harder.
Dr Fernandes said: "This has obviously struck a nerve and has been demoralising to GPs already working under severe pressure as many only keep going on good will for the sake of their patients.
"They are being made scapegoats. This will no doubt have a negative impact on GP recruitment and accelerate early retirements.
"Unfortunately political understanding is not necessarily based on facts or the underlying issues or potential solutions."
Recruitment has also become a major issue for Croydon NHS Trust in general.
As social care spending decreased and occupancy levels rose dramatically, the demand placed on the trust's workforce has led to ballooning staff costs.
The trust has been millions of pounds over budget every year since 2013/14.
That year spending on healthcare was 25m over budget, the year after that 27m and last year the trust was a staggering 32m over budget.
Staffing remains an expensive issue, made more difficult by the fact staff in outer London aren't as well rewarded as their inner London counterparts.
A spokeswoman for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: "We have recruited more than 280 doctors, nurses and therapists over the last four years, but despite our best efforts staffing continues to be our biggest cost pressure.
"We have spent around 8m more than we planned last year on temporary staff to meet growing demand for our services.
"This challenge is not unique to Croydon, but is particularly difficult in London where there is limited availability of trained doctors and nurses."
The trust has agreed a financial recovery plan to get back on an even keel, and the council is seeking to secure further funding for adult social care, which may ease the strain on healthcare services.
Croydon's NHS trust is also seeking to direct patients to the most appropriate treatment without undue pressure on the system.
Despite all the challenges more than 90% of NHS users in Croydon would still recommend the service to their friends and family.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Tunisia on Saturday to take part in Sunday's tripartite meeting on the Libyan crisis with Tunisian and Algerian counterparts.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abou Zeid said that the Libyan conflict tops Egypt's foreign policy priorities, Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.
According to a Tunisian foreign ministry statement Friday, the initiative, which was proposed by Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, aims to tackle the results of consultations the three countries conducted with Libyan factions to reach a convergence of views between them and lay the foundations for a consensual political solution to the crisis.
In December, Egyptian officials and representatives from multiple Libyan factions issued a declaration of principles and five proposed amendments to the Skhirat agreement during a meeting in Cairo.
Foriegn affairs roundup
Abu Zeid also said that Shoukry will visit Washington on a two-day visit next week for talks with senior US officials including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Abu Zeid underlined the importance of the US meetings in light of the upcoming Arab League summit in March, explaining this would allow Egypt to present its vision on regional issues and bilateral relations with the new Trump administration.
On the Egyptian-Gulf relations, Abu Zeid stressed that they follow the framework of ties that bind the two sides.
He added that the Palestinian cause has always been one of Egypt's priorities, saying that Egypt is committed to the two-state solution.
The foreign ministry spokesman highlighted that Egypt is interested in bolstering economic and commercial relations with Iraq, in reference to the two recent visits of Shoukry to the country.
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It wakes us up in the morning. Brings friends together. It's even become its own subculture and a billion-dollar business.
Im talking about coffee.
Once thought of as a West-Coast indulgence, coffee brands have changed our taste in beverages, shifted our culture and succeeded commercially.
Lets learn what two pioneering coffee brands, Starbucks and Philz Coffee, can teach us about entrepreneurship:
1. Do something innovative of real value.
Starbucks has done this by offering one of the most successful rewards programs of all time and introducing an ingenious mobile payment system with the Mobile Order and Pay feature in their app. As the name implies, this feature allows customers to order and pay within the Starbucks app, then pick up their drink in the store, bypassing the line completely.
Related: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Says He's Not Afraid of Dunkin' Donuts
This accounts for 25 percent of their total transactions and is expected to rise. In this way, they have smartly combined their rewards program, their branded app, and an exclusive mobile payment system -- a pioneering move in the retail and restaurant industries. Insiders in the mobile payment industry note the correlation between rewards programs and mobile payments, and cite Starbucks as a clear leader in this arena.
2. Create experiences, not just a product.
Whether its for a coffee date, a catch up with an old friend or even an interview, going to Starbucks or Philz is an experience, and entrepreneurship means understanding how to create a feeling, rather than simply sell a product. These two coffee titans have tapped into that by focusing on creating a community and positive experiences between people as a foundational piece of their businesses. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was inspired by Italian coffee culture and how they treat it as a small community. Philz founder Phil Jaber has always loved bringing people together to create authentic experiences, an attitude hes passed on to his son and CEO Jacob Jaber.
3. Spark true engagement on social.
Starbucks is known for customer engagement, especially in the social media space. They engage customers with user-generated content and fun contests (including the Holiday Red Cup contest). The coffee giant is also succeeding at influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is the use of social media influencers to enhance brand awareness and engage the public.
Related: To Sell Products to Millennials, First Invite Them To Help Develop It
Other big brands like Pepsi and Origins are investing in influencer marketing also, using platforms like HYPR to increase their influence in the social media space. Entrepreneurship isnt only about what your product is, but how you engage the right audience to vouch for you.
4. Be authentic and personal in your approach.
Both Starbucks and Philz are masters at this. You may be thinking, How is Starbucks authentic and personal? Theyre a multi-billion dollar company! But, Schultz exemplifies being personal by taking action on his social stances, including providing healthcare for full- and part-time workers, which is a radical departure from most large American corporations who employ shift workers.
Related: How a Coffee Franchise With Russian Roots Made it in the U.S.
Philzs customers connect with the story of the coffee brand and its humble beginnings. Jaber's charismatic and eccentric persona is extremely authentic and personal, which allows him to connect with his customers -- which leads me to the next lesson:
5. Create an emotional connection.
This emotional connection accounts for a large part of Philzs commercial success. They are also succeeding with word-of-mouth recommendations and have a great reputation with the public, evidenced by their stellar Yelp reviews. Each customer has a personal connection to Philz -- which brand they like, which is their favorite blend, and so on. Starbucks also succeeds at fostering an emotional connection with customers, due in large part to the emotional connection most people have with coffee -- drinking it with friends, cozying up to a hot drink in the winter time and enjoying the inherent social nature of going out for coffee.
Coffee imitates life.
Coffee has become a mainstay in our global culture. It connects people from the same neighborhood as easily as those thousands of miles away. Starbucks and Philz, two creative and pioneering coffee brands, teach us a lot about the core of entrepreneurship -- how to create real and genuine experiences, introduce something valuable to your customers and imbue an emotional connection to your brand. The success of coffee, and these two companies in particular, shows how brands and even whole industries can touch a nerve with the public, one sip at a time.
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In the canon of literature, Quasimodo, the hideous, bell-ringing Hunchback of Notre-Dame, is a misunderstood freak of the 19th Century whose deformity and deafness made it impossible for him to win the woman he loved. An expert in the architectural ins and outs of the landmark Paris cathedral, he nimbly escaped the reactionary mob, for a while.
In Connecticut, quasi-public agencies such as the Connecticut Lottery Corp., Connecticut Innovations, Inc., the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the State Education Resource Center, have their own levels of deafness. Set up to be apart from state government red tape and touted for their nimbleness in the marketplace, more legislative leaders are wondering if they are becoming governmental freaks that need stricter oversight, if not a forced return to full government control.
Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano has been fuming about the issue for months, miffed over six-figure severance agreements that the Lottery and Housing Finance Authority gave to departing agency heads. He spoke to the legislative Government Administration & Elections Committee last week in favor of a bill that would require the state attorney general to approve any deals over $100,000 in value.
Thats taxpayers money, said Fasano, of North Haven. Thats a significant amount of money and we dont know anything thats going on. We gave birth to these quasies. Its under our privilege that they exist. Then we kind of push them off shore and we get busy with other things and we never hear from them again until something goes awry and somebody picks it up in a newspaper article.
Fasano told the committee that he has detected a level of arrogance in the agencies.
Maybe its a good deal. Maybe its a bad deal, but it should see a little bit of sunlight and have a little bit of conversation by the AGs office and by the committee that reviews, said Fasano, who has added clout now that the Senate has an equal number of Republicans and Democrats after 20 years of a solid Democratic majority.
The bottom line is very simple, he said. We create these quasies. We have a fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers. We have a fiduciary responsibility to the state. Theres no harm in casting some light on this. Theres no harm in looking at these issues to determine whether its a good deal or a bad deal. A lot of these quasies, and they have every right to, cut out the attorney generals office for legal opinions. But when they bind the state to financial obligations, contracts or otherwise, I think our AG should review them.
Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, co-chairman of the committee, noted that the Housing Finance Authority submitted testimony against Fasanos proposal, warning of unintended consequences and possibly and delaying CHFAs ability to act quickly.
Having the AGs office is a nominal period of time to wait, in my perspective, Fasano replied. I dont think there is a tremendous delay when these take place. I would argue that the little time delay is less important than our obligation to the state to ensure that our tax dollars are being spent appropriately.
Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, a committee member, supports Fasano. Its high time that something like this was put into a bill and ushered efficiently through the process, Frantz said. The quasies, we all know, were set up many years ago to have a certain amount of independence, but not too much independence.
Then Fasano went off on the Lottery. I talked to a few of the board of directors who basically said look, we run it as a business. Were making money for you. Why are you complaining about this severance? Youre the lottery. By definition youre making money. Youre not doing anything to say to me as a representative that I dont have to answer your questions because Im making you money. Stay out of my way. But that speaks to the audacity of the committee to believe they are totally autonomous from the state of Connecticut. They are not.
You raise some very valid and important points, said another committee member, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield.
The next day, the argument for tightening the leashes on quasi-publics came in the form of a scathing state auditors report on the governors vaunted Department of Economic and Community Development, a traditional Executive Branch agency that has spread hundreds of millions of dollars in pro-business grants and loans.
Auditors found a litany of problems. Grant recipients were allowed to hold unspent state money for excessive amounts of time. Employees were paid overtime or compensatory time without proper authorization. Eight out-of-state trips were not reported to the governors budget office. And semi-annual progress reports on Manufacturing Assistance and Urban Act projects were not submitted to DECD in a timely manner or were not submitted at all.
If the DECD has these kinds of problems, the bell towers of the nimble quasi-publics surely need more state oversight.
Ken Dixon can be reached in the Capitol at 860-549-4670 or at kdixon@ctpost.com. Visit twitter.com/KenDixonCT. His Facebook address is kendixonct.hearst. Dixons Connecticut Blog-o-rama is at blog.ctnews.com/dixon/
Bedouins from the town of Umm al-Hiran
in the Negev, southern Israel, seen in
the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, November 20, 2013.
While condemning polygamy, some activists claim justice ministers seemingly benign steps represent an attempt to curtail birthrates among Israels BedouinBY MARISSA NEWMANTimes of IsraelFebruary 17, 2017A broader Israel-Arab deal rare opportunity or diversion?PM: Im speaking up about Iran threat on behalf of Arabs tooJewish Home leaders vow new settlement will be builtHamas rejects Libermans offer of aid in return for disarmamentIsraels Miami consulate evacuated after bomb threatCo-ed battalions to get new home in Border Defense ForceGermany says settlement construction could lead to war8 families evacuated as heavy rains flood GazaAmal Abu Saad is the second Bedouin Israeli woman to obtain a doctorate. Married twice to two brothers in a shanty town in Israels southern Negev desert and widowed twice, she is a university lecturer who specializes in genetic diseases resulting from inbreeding. The latter of her husbands, Yaqoub Mousa Abu al-Qiaan, 47, was shot dead by police during the demolition of the Umm-al Hiran last month, in an incident that also claimed the life of an officer, and whose circumstances are still murky.The first time she decided to become a second wife, when she married her first husband Mohammed Abu al-Qiaan, it was in order to retain the freedom to pursue her academic goals, she told the HaMakom independent news website late last month.I was afraid to marry someone I dont know really know anything about. After the wedding, he could tell me, Now you are my wife, sit at home The only one who told me that he was interested in my studying and completing my doctorate was Mohammed, her first husband. He promised me freedom. That was the most important [thing].After Mohammeds death, Abu Saad became his brothers second wife (he later took a third) for social security and due to fears the extended family would take her children away should she leave. The children belong to the fathers family. Thats how it is, she said.He promised me freedom. That was the most important [thing]Less than two weeks after the razing of the town and violence that surrounded it, in which an Israeli policeman was also killed, the cabinet approved a welfare, health, and education plan to eradicate polygamy. The program largely targets the estimated one-third of Bedouin men who have more than one wife, which is illegal under an Israeli law carrying a five-year jail sentence that is rarely enforced. Joint (Arab) List MK Taleb Abu Arar, a sitting lawmaker in Israels Knesset, has two wives.(The cabinet on Sunday also approved a separate, multi-billion-shekel five-year plan to improve the socioeconomic status of the countrys Bedouin community by bolstering housing, providing employment training and improving public transportation.)The seemingly innocuous anti-polygamy proposal has been met with resistance from Arab Israeli womens rights activists, who despite their proclaimed opposition to the practice, say the plan has racist undertones. Some have gone as far as accusing the right-wing government of attempting to drive down Bedouin birthrates. The timing of the plan and the figures driving it are suspicious, the activists say, specifically questioning the motives of Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.The sudden awakening, from a right-wing government, specifically from the Jewish Home party, in my view, stems from racist motives. The Bedouin woman doesnt really interest Minister Shaked, but rather the demographic threat. And I think this program is a way to camouflage the demographic threat, said Dr. Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder, a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev expert on Bedouin women who was the first female in the community to obtain a PhD.The goal of the program is to reduce Arab fertility, she charged.Shaked dismissed the allegations out of hand as unfounded, insisting her sole consideration was the well-being of the women.Patronizing, racistWith the government poised to take action against polygamy for the first time, the plan would create both a task force of local authorities, government officials, activists and other professionals to hammer out a plan within six months, and a ministerial committee that would implement it. Headed by Shaked, the ministerial committee is composed of the education, interior, welfare, health, social equality and agriculture ministers.The proposal gives the Education Ministry and Health Ministry a four-month deadline to build educational curricula on polygamy and design special health services for women and children in polygamous families. It also tasks the Welfare Ministry with creating a program to integrate Bedouin women in the workforce, as well as offering other social services for their families.Joint (Arab) List MK Aida Touma-Sliman, who heads the Knessets Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality the first Arab to hold such a position in the Israeli parliament was among the first to express reservations about the plan.The timing of the plan to reduce polygamy raises serious concerns that it stems from a patronizing, racist approach and without any honest concern for the well-being of the Bedouin and Arab citizens, she wrote on Twitter earlier this month.Palestinian feminist groups and womens rights activists chimed in to condemn the proposal, while stressing their rejection of polygamy.We oppose the worrisome trend of polygamy, which must be eradicated, since it infringes the rights of women, discriminates against them, and causes psychological harm to the women and children, the Kayan Feminist Organization said in a statement. At the same time, this current program is part of the right-wing governments plan, which includes destroying houses, seizing land, and evicting the residents of the unrecognized villages in the Negev from their homes. What motivates Shaked is not the interests of the women, but the demographic balance and this we reject unequivocally.Lamia Naamnih Cimanuka is the general coordinator of the Welfare Ministry-funded Assiwar organization, which runs a hotline for sexual violence victims and offers educational programs against violence. She maintained the motives for the plan were very suspicious.Law enforcement against polygamy is something that should have been done a long time ago, and Im in favor, but everything that is proposed here is, in my view, at its core very, very racist Personally, and as a feminist organization, we have no confidence that the people sitting [on the committees] are really thinking about the well-being of the women and children, she said.She also noted that the proposal mentioned the large number of children born to polygamous families.I think that from the states perspective and from a Zionist perspective, there is much encouragement for be fruitful and multiply, and to have more and more children. That is, among one population it is very, very necessary to have children, and suddenly here, its something of a danger, she said.In a statement to The Times of Israel, Shaked said she was surprised to hear these sources think they have access to my intentions and thoughts.Obviously, these speculations that were raised are unfounded, she said. The well-being of the women and children living in polygamous families is the central issue guiding me.These women and children need state assistance, she said, beckoning the groups to take an active role in the program.Will reduced welfare help or harm?One of the specific criticisms of the plan was proposed cuts to child welfare benefits to men with more than one wife. Such sanctions, the activists argued, would ultimately hurt the women and children depending on them for financial support in a community where poverty rates are high.Insaf Abu Shareb, a Bedouin woman who is an attorney and the director of the Beersheba branch of Itach-Maaki, the Women Lawyers for Social Justice organization, described it as not a good plan, a plan of enforcement and economic punishment.Enforcement is part of the solution, but its not the initial step, she said. The Bedouin society is a poor one. There is so much poverty and so much unemployment, you cant discuss cuts as a penalty.If a husband is put in jail or fined, said Abu-Rabia-Queder, the Ben-Gurion University lecturer, who will take care of the women, who will take care of the children? Its a problem.Cimanuka, of the Assiwar organization, similarly noted that in the end, any money they dont give will harm the women and children.But all were in favor of education and advocacy to reduce the phenomenon, and both Abu Shareb and Cimanuka cautiously said they would work with the government program, if asked. Proponents of the plan, still in its preliminary stages, said it would be implemented in coordination with organizations and local municipalities linked to the Bedouin population.Abu Shareb said she would work with the government under my terms, my demands, without crossing any of my lines.Because at the end of the day, it serves my community, serves the women and thats my job, she said.Polygamy, she added, is bad, its something that destroys the women from inside. And its something that harms the whole society, it isnt just the women.Abu Shareb said she was optimistic about the prospects of change.We are looking toward the future. Women whom Ive met say, Okay, we got screwed over, we were hurt, but come on, for the next generation, for our daughters and granddaughters, I want it to be different. I dont want them to endure what Ive endured,' she added.http://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-feminists-fear-israels-anti-polygamy-plan-is-opening-volley-in-a-war-of-wombs/
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is set to fly to Washington D.C. this weekend for his first visit since the January inauguration of President Donald Trump, state owned news agency MENA reported on Sunday.
In statements to diplomatic reporters, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry will head to the United States capital on Saturday for talks with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other members of the Trump administration.
The two-day visit will include talks on bilateral relations between Egypt and the US and means of bolstering them.
Abu Zeid said there was a keenness from the American side to hear Egypt's view on several issues, including the war on terrorism, the Syrian, Libyan, Yemeni crises, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
He added that Egypt will participate in an anti-terrorism conference in March in London, where it plans to present a new strategy for combating the Islamic State group.
Saturday's visit comes one month after US President Trump told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a phone call that his administration is committed to maintaining annual US military aid to Egypt. During the call Trump praised El-Sisi's efforts in the war against terrorism and extremism.
Both leaders underscored their belief in the strategic importance of bilateral cooperation.
Egypt receives $1.3 billion yearly in military aid from the US.
According to statements by the Egyptian President's office, plans are underway for El-Sisi to visit Washington for discussions with Trump.
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The Salt Lake TribuneFebruary 19, 2017Hildale Shirlee Draper doesn't like polygamy.Her marriage was arranged. Later her husband married her younger sister. Draper says polygamy is patriarchal. She is glad she is no longer a plural wife, but she says it ultimately wasn't polygamy that caused her to leave.It was her faith's prophet, Warren Jeffs, and his overbearing control."I would have left four years sooner," Draper said, "if I hadn't been afraid of the government, afraid of what they would do to my husband and my younger sister."And so Draper opposes HB99, which amends the definition of bigamy, but keeps the offense a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.Other former plural wives, however, have been some of the bill's biggest advocates. They have lobbied the measure's sponsor, Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, who has said he decided to push the bill after hearing from some of those former wives and people who run assistance programs for those fleeing polygamous households.One of those former wives is Luann Cooper, who at age 15 was married to a 23-year-old cousin in the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. In testimony to the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, she said her husband left her and her children in an apartment and expected them to take care of themselves."Polygamy doesn't get prosecuted," Cooper testified. "People are getting away with it."Cooper and a small group of former plural wives also spoke to reporters recently at the Utah Capitol to advocate for HB99. One of their selling points was a provision that grants amnesty to a polygamist who reports abuses to police.As Cooper and other bill backers were speaking, polygamists rallied on the south steps to oppose HB99. The polygamists were joined by libertarians, who see polygamy as a civil right and want the criminal penalties discarded, along with a number of former polygamists who believe that, even with the amnesty clause, any bill that keeps polygamy a felony will encourage women to remain in abusive relationships.HB99 has cleared the House Judiciary Committee and is awaiting a vote before the full House.Kristyn Decker, a former plural wife in theand one of the women who spoke in favor of HB99, said the divide between former plural wives is not new. She says the women interpret the causes for the problems with polygamy differently.Decker said while she and women like Cooper see difficulties inherent in polygamy, other former plural wives view the problems as confined to men like Jeffs, the imprisoned president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."They think, 'My church was good until Warren Jeffs took over,'" Decker said. "They are just misinformed."Jeffs is serving a life sentence plus 20 years in a Texas prison for crimes related to sexually abusing two underage girls he married.Draper left thein 2004, went to college and is now a social worker. She doesn't dismiss the abuses other plural wives have suffered, she said, but, through her job, she encounters abuse victims from monogamous households, too.Draper acknowledges Jeffs was the cause of much of her problems in the sect. That is also one of her points.In an interview at the Merry Wives Cafe in Hildale, Draper said lawmakers should help prosecute abusive men rather than continue to outlaw what is a religious practice for thousands of Utahns."For 180 years of polygamy being illegal, it has never curbed the practice," Draper said.She also said the former plural wives supporting HB99 are looking through their own lens one that shows the ills they suffered as being a result of polygamy rather than of neglectful or abusive men."Polygamy is not the problem that [HB99 supporters] are trying to get at, and they admit that," Draper said. "They are trying to get at the abuses."ncarlisle@sltrib.comTwitter: @natecarlisle
The Egyptian army said on Sunday it had arrested eight terrorists in central Sinais Halal Mountain.
"The raids on caves in Halal Mountain resulted in the destruction of 33 workshops for manufacturing Improvised Explosives Devices," an army spokesman said on Facebook.
"The raids also resulted in the confiscation of 66 motorbikes and two off-road vehicles."
On Sunday, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree banning motorcycles in central and North Sinai for one year.
Egypts army and police forces have been waging a war over the past three years against an Islamist militant insurgency in North Sinai. Hundreds of security personnel and militants have been killed in the violence.
Two days ago, three army soldiers were killed and four others injured in an explosion in the Halal Mountain area.
In late January, Egypts army said it killed six terrorists and arrested another in central Sinai.
In October 2014, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree declaring a state of emergency in parts of North Sinai, which has since been renewed periodically.
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We must rethink the U.S. response to infectious disease. Here's why.
Dozens were arrested and faced trials for protesting against the Egypt-Saudi maritime borders deal
Last year, several opposition political parties and movements called for protests against the agreement on 25 April, a day which coincided with the anniversary of Sinai's liberation from Israeli occupation in 1982.
Dozens were arrested and put on trial for protesting against the deal, which placed the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir within Saudi territorial waters. Many have since been released after paying hefty fines.
On 16 January, Egypts High Administrative Court upheld in a final court ruling a previous decision that affirmed Egyptian sovereignty over the Red Sea islands, rejecting a government appeal against a lower court ruling.
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A Cairo Criminal Court will give on 19 June its verdict in the retrial of a police officer accused of fatally shooting activist Shaimaa El-Sabbagh during a peaceful protest in downtown Cairo in 2015.
The Central Security Forces (CSF) officer, Yaseen Mohamed Hatem, is to remain in custody until the court issues its verdict, which could be subject to further appeal.
In February 2016, the court ordered a retrial for Hatem, who was sentenced in 2015 to 15 years in prison for the shooting of 32-year-old El-Sabbagh during a march organised by Egypts Socialist Popular Alliance Party, of which El-Sabbagh was a member, to mark the fourth anniversary of the 2011 revolution.
Hatem was initially convicted of inflicting injury leading to death, a charge similar to manslaughter, as well as deliberately wounding other protesters.
El-Sabbagh was killed after being hit with a birdshot fired by the CSF police officer.
Egypt's CSF often uses birdshot and teargas to disperse protests.
The 15-year sentence against the CSF officer was the toughest against a policeman for killing protesters since the 2011 uprising.
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It will not be long now before a prison officer is killed on duty in a British jail. There will be a lot of shock and feigned horror on the part of politicians. And then it will happen again. And then we will get used to it.
The great pretence, that our society has crime and disorder under control, cannot continue much longer. It could only really last when the public had not seen in detail what goes on in our prisons.
But in last weeks BBC Panorama programme, brave reporter Joe Fenton took a job as an officer and filmed the reality of Northumberland prison. This is not some especially bad place. I suspect it is pretty typical.
In last weeks BBC Panorama programme, brave reporter Joe Fenton took a job as an officer and filmed the reality of Northumberland prison
Anyone who saw it now knows that the comforting fantasy of TVs Porridge is now nothing but nostalgia. Disorder, drug-taking and danger were constantly present.
Basic security was breached. Drugs and other contraband were easily smuggled in. Attempts to prevent this were met with dangerous attacks on officers by outside criminals. Prisoners openly threatened staff, and got away with it.
The smoke from illegal drugs was so dense on some corridors that one officer was overpowered by it and was taken, unconscious and twitching, to hospital.
Officers did not dare enforce the rules or assert themselves, because they knew that they were perilously outnumbered and would be overpowered and perhaps worse if they did.
Meanwhile, attempts to educate the prisoners were pathetic beyond belief. Some inmates were shown colouring in Peppa Pig cartoons.
I have visited prisons in several parts of the world, including Russia, the USA and South Africa. All had their faults and problems, and all made the heart sink.
But in two visits to British prisons, including a day spent in Wormwood Scrubs, I long ago detected an undercurrent of menace, only kept from bursting into full life by the presence of experienced and resolute staff.
The great pretence, that our society has crime and disorder under control, cannot continue much longer. It could only really last when the public had not seen in detail what goes on in our prisons
At that time, the officers were still more or less in control, at least by day. I do not think that they are now. Prisoners are obviously inside so that they can be punished but punished lawfully and by authority, not by other criminals.
In these places of menace and despair, the suicide rate is flying upwards 119 since last year, and a total of 1,864 since 1992. This is far greater than the number of executions we used to have (seldom more than 15 a year), but Left-wing liberals, in practice, accept it.
They secretly know it is the price of their policies.
Last year there was a 40 per cent rise in assaults on staff and a 28 per cent increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, plus a 23 per cent increase in incidents of self-harm, to a total of 37,784.
Many experienced staff have either given up or been made redundant. New recruits are carrying out grave responsibilities within a few weeks of starting work.
I do not know how closely this is connected with the privatisation of prisons. I will come to that. But when the absurd Justice Secretary, Liz Truss, said last week I want to transform our prisons from places of violence and despair to places of self-improvement and hope where all prisoners are given the chance to lead a better life, I could hear the low hum of pigs flying overhead in tight formation.
As I was considering this, word reached me that at Forest Bank Prison in Salford (like Northumberland it is run by the private contractor Sodexo), inmates were being given a leaflet explaining to them how to take drugs safely (as if it was ever safe).
While it says the best way to avoid danger is not to take these things at all, it then more or less accepts that they will. If you snort, it says, chop powders finely first. Dont inject but if you do, dont share works (needles) with other people.
Sodexo, which as far as I can discover is a French food-services company which has gone into the custody business (why not give the job to a chain of bookies, or a payday loan company, or a supermarket giant?), issued the following pathetic statement, which made me yearn for the lost days of nationalisation.
We have security policies in place and our staff work really hard to keep drugs out. However, the reality is drugs are an issue in prisons and we have a duty of care to our prisoners. Therefore, we provide advice and support to reduce levels of harm in the prison.
But what of Ms Trusss Justice Ministry with its soppy dreams of self-improvement and hope?
Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Justice, makes a speech at the Annual Conservative Party Conference at the Birmingham International Conference Centre
Basic security was breached. Drugs and other contraband were easily smuggled in
When I called them, they immediately tried to pass the buck to Sodexo, as if by privatising the prison they had shrugged off all responsibility for it. Eventually, they emitted this feeble, untrue statement: We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs in our prisons and those who are caught in possession of them can expect to spend longer behind bars.
This is the end of all their weakness the absent, uninterested police, the millions of crimes and disorderly actions ignored, unrecorded and unpunished, the useless cautions, the non-existent war on drugs, the tagging and the feeble fake sentences, the unpaid fines and flabby community service.
All these years of soppy failure and buck-passing finally drain into the hideous, blocked sump of our useless, miserable prisons, where they will, one day soon, explode in all our faces.
This picture of an assassin moments after his crime must be one of the most striking and memorable photographs ever taken
The image we foolishly try to ignore
This picture of an assassin moments after his crime must be one of the most striking and memorable photographs ever taken.
It shows an act of terror the murder by an Islamist fanatic of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey.
The man who took it, Burhan Ozbilici, was rightly honoured for it last week. He had no idea the killer would not turn on him.
But, unlike other pictures of terror outrages, this one has somehow not been used very much.
I think this is because of the crazy wave of anti-Russian feeling which many in the media and in politics have been stoking. Most people now believe, falsely in my view, that Russia is an aggressive power which deliberately targets civilians in war.
And so we do not disapprove quite as much as we should of this particular murder, because its victim was a Russian. Well, I do.
Russia is, in fact, our ally against this sort of fanaticism. That is why Mr Karlov died. We should realise this before we are drawn into a foolish and dangerous conflict with Moscow.
The image we foolishly try to ignore.
Why Blair must never be allowed near a cute kitten
Can someone tell the Blair creature that his support is worse than the kiss of death to any cause? He could make people hate fluffy kittens if he was photographed with one.
The only purpose of his public appearances is to allow another waiter or barman to make a citizens arrest for war crimes.
Can someone tell the Blair creature that his support is worse than the kiss of death to any cause?
Get back on the plane to Kazakhstan, Anthony, and make another speech to a congress of disinfectant manufacturers.
Its your fate from now on.
I wish wed stop boasting about how we spend more on defence than other Nato members.
Parliaments Defence Committee reported last year that our figures were only achieved by moving the goalposts, such as including Defence Ministry pensions.
Our real spending on troops and ships is miserable.
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Diane Abbotts retort to Brexit Secretary David Daviss crass Im not blind text to a pal, explaining he was not trying to kiss her in a Commons bar, was canny as well as feisty.
She also revealed worse abuse by others.
Few will dare criticise her now for fear of cries of sexist bully. One Abbott-bashing Tory grumbled: Its DD 0, DA 4. Lets hope he gets a better result in Brussels.
Diane Abbotts retort to Brexit Secretary David Daviss crass Im not blind text to a pal, explaining he was not trying to kiss her in a Commons bar, was canny as well as feisty
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been left fuming by the BBCs recent habit of leading bulletins with images of warzone-like A&E departments in its coverage of the NHS meltdown.
The hacks should watch out: as a former Culture Secretary, Hunt knows all their dirty secrets such as the fact that BBC employees can receive monthly wine deliveries as a tax-free perk.
They wouldnt want to lose that little treat, would they?
The reason why this lady IS gurning
A tart response to the photographs of Theresa Maybot May gurning at a Lego robot, right, during a photoshoot with schoolchildren on a visit to Cumbria ahead of this weeks Copeland by-election.
All Tories wear an expression like that when their chauffeur-driven limos go past Watford up the M1, says a campaigner for Labour candidate Gillian Troughton.
WITH bungling Ukip leader Paul Nuttalls bid to win Thursdays Stoke by-election hanging by a thread, his lover and fellow Ukip Euro MP Louise Bours seems coy about joining him on the Potteries campaign trail.
Former actress Bours appeared in TV soap Brookside and performed in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. None comes close to the farce that is Nuttalls campaign.
Angus flies into a row
Rebellion is brewing within the Commons International Trade Committee after chairman Angus MacNeil missed several of its Tuesday morning meetings.
Pals of the SNP MP think he deserves some slack: his commute to Westminster is over 500 miles from his remote Western Isles seat, via a plane that takes off from the beach weather permitting.
Critics arent persuaded. He should set off earlier or quit as chairman, they snarl.
John Bercows friends say the leaked film of him admitting he voted Remain in the referendum have scuppered a plot to replace him as Speaker with the emphatically pro-Brexit Tory bloodhound Jacob Rees-Mogg.
If Bercow is disqualified as Speaker because he loves Brussels, Jacob is disqualified because he hates Brussels, says one.
Or as ten-year-olds say in school playgrounds: Nerr!
After being lampooned for a bizarre public rant against cheese imports at the Tory Party conference three years ago, foot-in-mouth Justice Secretary Liz Truss was mocked when she addressed newly qualified QCs in Westminster Hall the other day.
La Truss droned on about trade, jobs, business and the economy and completely forgot to mention er the law.
One bored silk muttered: Wake me up when she has finished.
Unite Union General Secretary Len McCluskey at the Labour Party Annual Conference
Speculation is mounting that Jeremy Corbyn may be about to face a new leadership challenge. 'It all depends on the by-elections,' a Labour MP told me last week. 'If we lose both of them, then you could see people starting to move.'
Others say the key test will be the local and mayoral elections in the summer. 'If the Tories upset us somewhere like Birmingham, that could be the tipping point,' said another MP.
Such Westminster intrigue is fascinating. But it's also outdated. Because the election that will determine the fate of Labour has already begun.
On Friday, nominations closed in the battle to become general secretary of Unite, and leader of its 1.3 million members.
It will be a straight fight between the incumbent, Len McCluskey, and Gerard Coyne, a moderate who heads the union's West Midlands region.
It will also be a fight to the death. Because the two men are not actually contesting the leadership of a single trade union. Instead, they are engaged in a war over what one Shadow Minister calls 'the shadow leadership of the Labour Party'.
Corbyn long ago ceased to be the leader of his party in any practical sense. Control has been effectively ceded to McCluskey and his allies on the Left. And one in particular former Unison official Karie Murphy.
It is the McCluskey/Murphy power axis that rules Labour. It began with McCluskey's support for Murphy's candidacy in Falkirk, the selection that created the crisis which forced Ed Miliband to change the Labour leadership rules and led directly to Corbyn's election.
After that election, Murphy managed to get herself appointed with McCluskey's blessing as the executive director of Corbyn's office.
Karie Murphy, who works for the Labour Party deputy chair, pictured at the Scottish Labour Annual Conference in Aviemore
And now, as many of Corbyn's former allies begin to desert him, it is Murphy and McCluskey who stand as the final bulwark against any potential leadership challenge. The strength of this new political nexus first revealed itself during last summer's failed leadership challenge.
There was a moment when it appeared Corbyn might resign. But then Murphy and McCluskey began to mobilise. Murphy refused to let Shadow Ministers see Corbyn, and stopped passing on messages.
'She placed herself between him and the Parliamentary Labour Party,' said one Minister. 'She was almost physically protecting him.'
Simultaneously, McCluskey began to derail efforts by Labour deputy leader Tom Watson to broker a managed departure.
Since then, Murphy and McCluskey's control has solidified. Those who clashed with Murphy such as Corbyn's campaigns chief Simon Fletcher, who resigned last week have found themselves eased out. Others like Corbyn's political secretary, the former MP Katie Clark have simply been bypassed.
Unite leadership candidate Gerard Coyne during a visit to Edinburgh as part of his ''five capitals' tour of the UK and Ireland ahead of the leadership vote
'Katie and Karie weren't getting on. So Len sent someone else from Unite to be her deputy. Now they just work around her,' a Shadow Minister told me. At the heart of this is Unite's enormous financial and organisational muscle. Secondees from the union help bolster Corbyn's leadership team.
'This means they're effectively serving two masters,' said one MP. 'They're Unite employees with Unite pensions, but they also work for Corbyn.'
But that arrangement can only continue so long as McCluskey's leadership of the union is secure. Aware of this, Coyne has placed ending 'Westminster power games' at the heart of his campaign. That, in turn, has seen the Corbyn machine organising in defence of McCluskey.
Last week, members of Momentum, the Corbynite activist group, were informed the organisation was backing McCluskey. 'It is a straight Right v Left election and Len has been a firm supporter of Jeremy and the project,' they were told in a newsletter. 'It will be a serious blow to Corbyn/Momentum if we lose this election.'
That's a very big 'if'. Coyne is trailing badly in terms of nominations. But some believe McCluskey is vulnerable, pointing to Corbyn's stances on Trident and nuclear power, which have angered Unite workers in those sectors.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (left) and candidate Gareth Snell walk down Dawlish Drive during the party's campaign trail for the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election, which could be key in deciding his future
Corbyn has attempted to mitigate some of his policy positions in response. Recent moves to adopt a tougher stance on immigration were motivated in part by an attempt to help McCluskey, who had called for restrictions on EU nationals. This led to a clash between Diane Abbott and Murphy, which, according to one senior Shadow Cabinet member, saw Abbott accusing Corbyn of 'betraying black children'.
All of which underlines Murphy's importance to Corbyn. 'Jeremy hates confrontation,' a Shadow Minister said. 'So Karie has to do it for him. She's always stepping into the breach.'
She will need to step up again as the battle over the leadership of the UK's largest union intensifies. Indeed, it has now become a proxy war for the soul of Labour.
If McCluskey holds on, he and Murphy will be able to maintain the force-field they have constructed around Jeremy Corbyn. But if Coyne prevails, then Corbyn is vulnerable. The next Labour leadership election is already under way.
Donald Trumps bizarre press conference last week saw him hiss Heres another beauty at the BBCs Jon Sopel. But I understand the Corporations North America editor shouldnt take it personally.
Trumps gunning for the BBC, a Minister told me. It all goes back to Theresa Mays White House visit. Trump didnt want to take questions from the press, but May and her team told him it would backfire if they didnt.
So he agreed to take a couple, and then Laura Kuenssberg stood up and started having a go at him about torture and the Muslim ban. When he got off stage he was fuming. He kept saying to Theresa, The BBC? Thats your idea of a friendly media? Hes not going to forget it.
Tony Blairs entreaty to the British people to rise up against Brexit saw him taking political flak from all sides of the political divide. But senior Remain campaigners claim they were left with little option.
Its important we start to put in place the architecture in the event Brexit fails, said one. In an ideal world would you chose Tony Blair to lead that process? No. But the reality is that with the exception of Owen Smith, there was no one else prepared to do it. However, some Labour MPs believe there was a hint of Machiavelli behind the intervention.
This week Jeremy Corbyn faces make-or-break by-elections, and the conspiracy theory doing the rounds is Blair was trying to provoke the anti-Brexit vote as a way of sabotaging Labours chances. If Labour lose on Thursday, expect the Corbynites to grasp this theory with both hands.
The problem is not whether the NHS is good or bad. It is that no one agrees on anything
The NHS is the ultimate post-truth world fake news and alternative facts.
When he created the National Health Service, its founder Nye Bevan, explained what he was doing very simply: When a bedpan falls in Tredegar (his constituency in Wales), the echo will be heard in Whitehall.
What he meant is that when you are in trouble in the NHS, we will feel your pain in the corridors of power.
Times change. What that now means is that the NHS is the third rail of politics touch it and die. Apparently, the NHS is now so complicated that it is beyond the judgment and understanding of the human mind to comprehend all its variables.
The problem is not whether the NHS is good or bad. It is that no one agrees on anything.
Even those most closely involved cannot agree on whether there is a problem, or, if there is, what it is; or what the solution might be. And thats before we even start on the patients, thats you and me.
While the recent Winter crisis saw patients suffering in hospital corridors, critical operations cancelled and endless queues in casualty, some studies still suggest we have one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
So is the NHS close to meltdown, or was this just a statistical winter blip? Where does the truth lie? And who can we believe?
Todays new buzzphrase is alternative facts. And the conundrum of alternative facts goes to the heart of the problem with the NHS. These arent lies. It is just that there are so many different ways of looking at the same thing that rational discussion has become next to impossible.
A few examples. Is health spending up, as some say, or is it falling as a percentage of GDP and the lowest in the G7? Are doctors overworked and underpaid, or are too many people milking the system with bloated salaries?
Are performance levels getting worse, or are we carrying out record numbers of treatments providing safer, more effective care than ever before?
Is immigration a problem, or does the NHSs survival depend on foreign doctors and nurses? Is the NHS a national treasure or, like Stonehenge, an outdated relic? Does the NHS need more money or more efficiency?
All these alternatives are true to some people and all were given as answers to the NHSs ongoing problems during many fascinating meetings I have had with health professionals, politicians and administrators over the last year.
Some brilliant surgeons and professors think that everything is more or less manageable. Other equally brilliant surgeons and professors think the NHS is doomed. And those in the second camp couldnt begin to agree about what should be done.
It has long been recognised that discussions, particularly party political ones, about the NHS produce more heat than light. So the time has come to ditch the dogma and face one central, undeniable truth.
That truth is that we as a nation need to have a proper, grown-up talk about the NHS. What we can expect of it, how we should fund it and how we can shape it to tackle the enormous challenges that lie ahead: a rising and ageing population; the extraordinary but often extraordinarily expensive advances in medical innovation; how to integrate social care, to name but a few.
The future of the NHS is a huge, looming problem that affects us all. Its so central to our lives and our national identity that the very idea of change has become politically toxic which is exactly why the discussion should be taken out of the hands of the politicians.
That is why, as I explain in a Centre for Policy Studies report published today, I am asking the Government to set up a Royal Commission into the future of the NHS.
The future of the NHS is a huge, looming problem that affects us all
I hear you groan and I understand why. Official inquiries have had a patchy record of late. The Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War, for example, took seven years and was widely seen as a convenient, and very expensive, way of kicking a thorny political problem into the long grass.
But if properly set up and directed, a Royal Commission can be a very different beast. With a tightly defined remit and length, it can be a hugely effective mechanism for identifying and analysing the enormous long-term challenges the NHS faces.
A Commissions investigatory powers and capacity to provide solutions free from the political cycle can be a game changer. Its recommendations can carry a unique legitimacy and show a way forward that allows the NHS to meet the challenges of the future and sustain us all for decades to come.
To avoid accusations that the Commission is merely a vehicle for introducing politically difficult reforms, it should be invited to research a range of options and present a menu of fully investigated options and recommendations.
These could be rigorously examined and costed alongside more mainstream solutions with an aim of giving any future Government a range of options. It would also provide the opportunity to find consensus among health professionals and politicians on some of the most serious problems the NHS faces.
The Commission should look at the way we run the health service and how much we should reasonably pay to give it the best chance of relieving the growing pressures on the system.
The Commission should be asked to investigate how deteriorating clinical outcomes should be improved, how barriers to equal access should be eliminated and how the NHS should be future-proofed.
It can also be asked to make recommendations on innovations that could provide cost-effective improvements and to outline best practice.
The timing has never been better. We have the finest medical minds in the world. If they really believed it was Her Majestys wish that they would all sit down together to bring forward a good plan for the nations health, it would happen.
It will not be hard. All the Commission has to do is to find out what people expect and give it to them. All it needs is a blank sheet of paper and a pencil.
Lord Saatchi was the driving force behind the Access To Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act, designed to free the medical profession from the fear of litigation when using innovative treatments. His paper, An NHS Royal Commission From Fighting Fires To A Lasting Settlement is available at www.cps.org.uk.
While most would argue social media has had some impact on their relationships, 24-year-old Leonie Sii can pinpoint the exact Tweet that completely altered the direction of her life.
Sitting in her room after another night of no sleep in 2012, the Sydney teenager stumbled across a tutorial for a game which had her laughing during what she describes as 'a dark time' in her life, and she felt the need to thank the creator.
After finding the Swedish creator of the clip, Mattias Holmbom, on Twitter, she wrote to him to say: 'You sir, are amazing'.
Since their fateful meeting, the pair, now a couple, have travelled Europe together, lived overseas and now reside together in Sydney.
Fate: Leonie Sii (left) and Mattias Holmbom (right) met after the Swede replied to a tweet Leonie sent to him in the dead of the night
Mattias and Leonie had been speaking online for nine months before the then-19-year-old bit the bullet and decided to come and meet his sweetheart.
'My dad was very supportive, he actually paid for the ticket,' Mattias told Daily Mail Australia.
'I had a wonderful month here in Sydney.'
The tweet: The pair 'haven't stopped talking since' and nine months later Mattias flew to Australia to meet her
Seeing the sights: A few months later, Leonie moved to nearby Switzerland to fulfill the overseas portion of her international studies degree
Soon after, Leonie needed to spend a year abroad to meet the requirements of her international studies degree, and chose to spend it in Switzerland.
The couple met up often over the course of the year, and went on 'non stop adventures', which left them both certain they'd found a sure thing in each other.
'I really wanted to go to Norway and explore, so we booked a cruise for a week,' Leonie said.
'It was a dream come true, and it was great to be able to spend it with someone who was equally as excited.'
Here there and everywhere! The couple visited 15 countries in Europe during the year, and found excitement in every one
Supportive: The pair are still very much in love, and Leonie has built a following from blogging about their relationship among other things
Laughing together, they both recalled the moment the 24-year-old arrived in the country she was 'obsessed' with.
'She was crying on the floor,' exclaimed Mattias.
According to the 23-year-old, the couple rarely failed to find something new and exciting to do with each other and their year of travel 'laid the foundation' for their blossoming relationship.
Leonie told Contiki the couple had visited 15 countries over the 12 months, most of them chosen 'on a whim'.
'We went to Denmark without a plan, discovered beautiful nature we didnt even know existed, hiked through Switzerland and just explored the world together,' she said.
On a whim: Leonie revealed most of their European adventures were completely spontaneous
'Non-stop adventures': The couple did not stop travelling, and think it laid a solid foundation for their relationship
Now both living in Sydney and working, Leonie as a blogger and Mattias editing videos and producing content for the social media channels of companies, their opportunities to travel are less - but they still find a way.
'We value going new places, and something you realise after travelling is everywhere in the world is worth going to,' the Swede explained.
'Even though were stuck in one place, and we only have a day or two on the weekends to go somewhere, there are a lot of places to go to and a lot of things to do, so weve kept the excitement going even though it is a completely different phase of our lives.'
Home: Leonie and Mattias now live together in Sydney, and cope with the trials of everyday life by making the most of their weekends
For the couple, who are now the literal poster couple for how travelling can change your life, it has been a whirlwind - in the best way.
'We came from different parts of the world, and wed sort of been hiding in our own little dungeons in our own rooms,' Mattias explained of their life before the fateful tweet.
'Since we found each other, weve been going everywhere in the world and it brought us both a new perspective on what life is.'
The Gold Coast gym owner and social media star is often credited for her muscular physique.
But Sophie Guidolin showed she is more than your average Instagram model on her blog, where she shared her typical day.
Raising four young children and running a gym with husband Nathan sees her up at 4.30am each morning eating overnight oats 'so I don't make noise in the morning and wake the kids' before hitting the gym.
Working mum: Sophie Guidolin is a mother of two boys and twin girls (pictured) as well as the co-owner of a Gold Coast gym
The early wake up call is not her preferred lifestyle, but she says it's an unfortunate necessity.
'I am not a morning person so I love my sleep ins, but when life is a constant battle of fitting things in - it becomes a battle of how many more hours can I fit into my day,' she wrote.
By 7am, she is showered and feeding her children breakfast - food for the boys and bottles for the girls.
Busy bee! Sophie, 27, is up before the sun each day to fit in her own workout on top of her family and work commitments
Smashing goals: The mother-of-four owns a gym with her husband Nathan and the couple are often doing admin until about 10pm each night
Three days a week, an in-home carer looks after the one-year-olds while the boys head to school. On the other two days, either Sophie or Nathan are home with them.
By 3.30pm, dinner is underway, and the parents-of-four are preparing for tomorrow.
Food hits the table by 5pm, and all children are in the shower or bath soon after.
It's not until 7.30pm that the gym owners find a moment to themselves, which is usually spent working on the admin side of their gym.
Afterwards, Sophie will meal prep for the next day and put the washing on.
Non-stop: Sophie says if her life wasn't so jam packed, she would get bored. The Gold Coast woman also says her work and family life are both extremely rewarding
It isn't until after 10pm that the 27-year-old's head hits the pillow.
While her day is exhausting, the Gold Coast beauty wouldn't have it any other way.
'The hours never stop, but seeing our clients' results and being able to have our children with us most times is great,' she wrote.
'I'm the type of person who loves to be busy, I don't like sitting down and getting bored - which works in my favour because with my lifestyle there is no way that can happen!'
It is one of the most iconic film moments of all time.
Standing in a picturesque lake, Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey is lifted into the air by hunky co-star Patrick Swayze as the pair rehearse a dance routine outdoors.
But while the stunt appears effortless on screen, in reality Swayze was battling searing pain that made the scene almost unbearable, Grey has revealed.
Scroll down for video
Agony: Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze was in agony while filming the iconic lake scene, pictured. The actor was battling an ongoing knee injury that made dancing painful
Behind-the-scenes: Grey described how Swayze, right in 2005, fought through the pain as he was pushed to his limits. The actress, left, also revealed the lake was freezing cold
The actress, 56, told the Sunday People how Swayze was suffering from a knee injury that left him in agony during filming.
The stars, who later performed the same lift in the film's finale routine, also had to stand in freezing water to get the perfect shot.
'I remember swimming in the lake was very, very, very cold,' Grey said.
'You have to be really young and hungry to get in water that cold for that long.
'It was not good. I remember thinking: "Can you die if your nipples explode?" It just didnt feel healthy to be in that water.'
Grey also described how she and Swayze, who died in 2009 at the age of 57, also faced problems while filming the final Time Of My Life number.
Romance: The pair recreated the lake lift in the final Time Of My Life dance number, pictured
Getting stuck: Grey revealed the floor was painted shortly before the final routine, pictured
The actress told of how the floor was painted shortly before filming started and their feet kept getting stuck when they tried to turn.
Grey, who also starred in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, was speaking ahead of the release of a special edition of Dirty Dancing, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
In 2015 it was announced there will be a television remake of Dirty Dancing. The project is scheduled for release later this year.
Little Miss Sunshine Abigail is set to take on Grey's lead role of Baby Houseman while Modern Family star Sarah Hyland will play her sister, Lisa.
Actor Colt Prattes has the task of filling Swayze's shoes as Johnny Castle.
Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met in Cairo with a group of leaders from major US Jewish organisations to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, the Egyptian presidency announced on Sunday.
President El-Sisi told the delegation that reaching a complete and just solution for the Palestinian issue would end the Middle East conflict and usher in a new reality for the region, allowing for countries in the area to achieve economic and social development.
The Egyptian president also told the delegation that ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would put an end to one of the major justifications used by terrorist organisations to commit their attacks.
El-Sisi expressed during the meeting his keenness to meet with delegations representing different sectors of American society.
The meeting, which was attended by the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service Khaled Fawzy, also included discussion about US-Egyptian bilateral relations, Egypt's ongoing economic reforms and its war against terrorism.
The members of the delegation expressed their appreciation for Egypt's vision, promising to relay that vision to the US public and American decision makers.
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She is well known for her love of eccentric hats and flamboyant fashions and Queen Maxima did not disappoint as she stepped out in Dordrecht yesterday.
The Queen of the Netherlands sported a piece of enormous millinery as she visited the town's museum on Saturday.
The Argentinian born royal paired her wide brimmed head gear with an elegant olive dress which she added a flash of bling to with a golden brooch.
Queen Maxima cut an elegant figure on Saturday as she stepped out in Dordrecht to open the Royal Paradise exhibition in the city's museum
At 5ft 8in Maxima is one of Europe's taller royals but she never lets her height dissuade her from wearing heels opting for a pair of grey Gianvito Rossi pumps.
The Dutch queen sported a polished beauty look keeping her hair swept back in a low chignon and opting for a slick of berry lipstick.
Maxima wore an elegant olive dress which she added a flash of bling to with a golden brooch for her engagement
The Queen of the Netherlands is well known for her love of millinery and sported an enormous hat on Saturday
Famed for her enthusiasm Maxima, 45, was all smiles as she arrived at the museum on Saturday
At 5ft 8in Maxima had to crouch down in order to pose for a photograph with children awaiting her arrival at the museum
The mother-of-four visited the Dordrechts Museum on Saturday to open the Royal Paradise exhibition.
She performed her engagement solo as her husband King Willam-Alexander did not accompany her to the opening.
Famed for her enthusiasm Maxima, 45, was all smiles as she arrived at the museum on Saturday.
The queen then made her way inside where she was given a tour of the new exhibition by curators
The Queen spent time admiring the works that all revolved around nature on Saturday
The cheerful royal gave a wave to her well-wishers before squatting down to pose for a picture with a group of children awaiting her arrival.
The queen then made her way inside where she was given a tour of the new exhibition by curators.
She then made a brief speech in the grand hall of the museum which marked its official opening.
The Dutch queen sported a polished beauty look keeping her hair swept back in a low chignon and opting for a slick of berry lipstick
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In Saturdays Mail, we brought you part one of our exclusive preview of a blockbuster new exhibition tracing the fascinating evolution of Princess Dianas style and the woman behind the clothes.
Staged 20 years after her death, and on show at Kensington Palace, her former home, it is as poignant as it is beautiful, offering a unique insight into her life. Today, we reveal the secrets behind six more dazzling pieces from the collection
Lonesome in her 'Elvis' dress
Catherine Walker, 1989
Dubbed my Elvis dress by the Princess, this strapless white silk crepe sheath with its matching high-collared jacket embroidered with thousands of sequins and pearls is a work of art.
Dubbed my Elvis dress by the Princess, this strapless white silk crepe sheath with its matching high-collared jacket embroidered with thousands of sequins and pearls is a work of art
Worn for an official visit to Hong Kong in November 1989, it was intended as a tribute to the territory, sometimes called the Pearl of the Orient an example of diplomatic Diana at her best.
Designer Catherine Walker took inspiration from the Elizabethan ruff for the collar of this jacket, which frames Dianas face beautifully.
However Diana herself likened it to one of Elvis Presleys Las Vegas ensembles.
Diana, who also wore the dress to present the Designer Of The Year Award at the British Fashion Awards that same year, subsequently sent a letter to Walker, who had not been nominated, saying: Thank you, to MY designer of the year!
Yet this regal outfit which later sold for more than 100,000 at auction masked incredible sadness and vulnerability as Diana came to terms with the fact that her marriage, by now loveless, was beyond rescue.
The same year, Diana later revealed, she challenged her husbands long-term love Camilla at a party over their relationship. She said: I know whats going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that.
Here, the Princess wears it with the Queensdiamond and pearl Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara. The heirloom has since been worn by the daughter-in-law Diana would have loved, but never got the chance to meet Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Rare mistake she cringed at
Emanuel, 1985
Despite her model-like figure, Diana didnt always get it right: this checked coat was dubbed the horse blanket by the Press.
Despite her model-like figure, Diana didnt always get it right: this checked coat was dubbed the horse blanket by the Press
Inspired by the flappers of the Roaring Twenties, its padded shoulders were the height of fashion in the Eighties.
Yet it swamped the pitifully thin Princess, who was blighted by eating disorders during this early phase of her royal life.
I thought my bulimia was secret, but quite a few of the people in the house recognised it was going on but nobody mentioned it, she once said. They all thought it was quite amusing that I ate so much but never put any weight on.
Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who famously also made her wedding dress, the wool coat, with its matching broad-brim hat, was worn by Diana for an official visit to Venice in 1985. She and Charles stayed on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The coat was never seen in public again little surprise given that Diana always pored over the reviews of what she wore.
Fascinatingly, it seems that Diana gave the coat to a charity shop near the Queens private residence at Sandringham, where it was bought by an anonymous member of the public 20 years ago.
The buyer eventually sold it at auction in 2016, when it was bought by Historic Royal Palaces who are now displaying it for the first time.
The coats provenance has been confirmed by the original designers.
This blush pink day suit, worn to a childrens bravery awards at the Savoy Hotel in 1997, is a beautiful example of how Diana had pared down her style post-divorce
Simple suit that meant business
Catherine Walker, 1997
This blush pink day suit, worn to a childrens bravery awards at the Savoy Hotel in 1997, is a beautiful example of how Diana had pared down her style post-divorce.
Its hip-skimming jacket, flattering three-quarter-length bracelet sleeves, and short pencil skirt show off her toned, trim figure, while the discreet pearl earrings, nude heels and bag (subsequently adopted by the Duchess of Cambridge) have been chosen so as not to distract from the simple beauty of the suit.
For Diana this was a very deliberate choice: she wanted outfits that would focus attention on her work, not her wardrobe.
She still stuck to some of the rules of royal dressing wearing pretty colours that would appeal to children and dressing in fabrics that would not crease or crumple but towards the end of her life Diana liked to be able to grab something off the rail, run her fingers through her hair and go. It was her way of demonstrating her new-found independence.
As the Princess herself said: I think Im going to cut a very different path from everyone else.
Im going to break away from this set-up. I always felt so different I felt I was in the wrong shell. Ive learned to be assertive.
Mail style editor Dinah van Tulleken says: Her choices were never dull and this suit has some lovely touches, such as the turned-up cuffs and pearl button details.
The skirt stops above the knee. She knew how to make the most of her best assets and the combination of high hemline and nude heels gives the impression of endless legs.
Bruce Oldfield made this romantic cream and satin Thirties- style dress for her, which she first wore here, at Londons Somerset House, and then again the following year for a banquet at Buckingham Palace
Lavish lace made by a soulmate
Bruce Oldfield, 1990
Diana always felt like an outsider after she married into the Royal Family and in designer Bruce Oldfield she found a kindred spirit: a Barnardos boy from a broken home who had broken into the rarefied world of society fashion.
The Princess recalled how her late grandmother Ruth, Lady Fermoy, once said of her new in-laws: Darling you must understand that their sense of humour and their lifestyle are different and I dont think it will suit you.
For Oldfield, dressing Diana could be challenging at times, recalling that it was quite different to dressing the divas who were going to swish parties.
This was a question of dressing a young woman who was relying on us.
He made this romantic cream and satin Thirties- style dress for her, which she first wore here, at Londons Somerset House, and then again the following year for a banquet at Buckingham Palace.
With its deep but demure neckline, as well as a lace over-jacket and satin belt, it required no adornment but the Princesss golden tan, pearls and a simple matching clutch and heels.
Designed for Diana at the height of the so-called War of the Waleses, the dress is a poignant reminder of the ruffles and frills she had so loved as a fresh- faced bride less than ten years previously.
It is also one of the last occasions we see the Princess, who was fast approaching her 30th birthday, in such an overtly-girlish gown.
This impeccably cut pillar-box red suit is a fabulous example of Catherine Walker Dianas all-time favourite designer at her finest
Working it in royal red
Catherine Walker, 1996
This impeccably cut pillar-box red suit is a fabulous example of Catherine Walker Dianas all-time favourite designer at her finest.
Worn to a public engagement launching the HIV/Aids charity London Lighthouse appeal in 1996, the slim-fitting blazer, with trademark shoulder pads and gold button details, flares at the hips, adding feminine curves.
There was an instinctive bond between Diana and Walker.
The couturier knew not just how to play to the Princesss strengths but to use her clothes to send out a distinct message: I am a confident, working woman.
Eleri Lynn, curator of historic dress for the Historic Royal Palaces, says: This is a perfect example of Dianas new public uniform of simple suits, shift dresses and jackets.
The Mails style editor Dinah van Tulleken agrees. Her suiting never looked stuffy.
Diana deliberately chose not to wear gloves, particularly when meeting Aids patients, and liked to wear bright, cheerful colours in order to lighten the mood.
She was a great silent communicator through her clothes, says Eleri.
Diana rarely wore anything on her head by this period in her life. After all, she said, you cant cuddle a child in a hat.
Dazzling in her sexiest dress ever
Catherine Walker, 1994
Effortlessly sexy, this may break fashion rules with its thigh high split and daring neckline to show off both legs and decolletage but boy, does it work!
Finally free to spread her wings after officially separating from Charles in 1992, this is the Princess at the peak of her power and beauty. And she cannot hide the delight she feels at having the world at her feet.
I have learned much over the last years, she said. I no longer want to live someone elses idea of what and who I should be. I am going to be me.
Effortlessly sexy, this may break fashion rules with its thigh high split and daring neckline to show off both legs and decolletage but boy, does it work!
The new devil-may-care Diana had this gown made for her in beaded silk crepe for a UNESCO event at the Palace of Versailles in December 1994.
On catching sight of Diana, couturier Pierre Cardin said: This is the home of the Sun King of France, now we have the Sun Princess of Versailles.
The outfit was such a hit that she wore a similar version of it for her Vanity Fair shoot with Mario Testino in 1997, made from luxurious black silk velvet.
This is black-tie dressing down to a fine art, says the Mails style editor Dinah van Tulleken. An effortlessly elegant backless dress in silk, velvet and beading.
The halter-neck style creates the illusion of curves. With the thighhigh slit, its the perfect mix of sex and sophistication.
She teamed it with eye-catching accessories and striking red nail varnish the perfect way to lift a black dress.
It was recently sold after its owner, a Florida businesswoman, went bankrupt, for 108,000.
Picture research: Claire Cisotti
Zelda reads all your letters but regrets that she cannot answer them all personally
My husband is using Viagra behind my back
I found a receipt for Viagra when I looked at my husbands email account. He is 46 and I am 38. We have a four-year-old and twins who are less than a year old. I confronted him and he said he had bought it to use with me, as after drinking he has difficulty getting an erection.
Then, a few days ago, when he was undressing to go to bed, he had an erection for no reason. I think that he took Viagra and had sex on his way home from work. He doesnt have time for an affair so I assume it was with a prostitute.
When I challenged him he said I had imagined the whole erection incident. He is now saying he bought it because he wanted to last longer when we have sex. He has form in telling lies, normally over money, only admitting the truth when there is 100 per cent incontrovertible proof. Am I reading too much into this?
As your husband seems to have changed his story several times and he does not always tell the truth, I can understand your suspicions. However, if sex is good and the desire to make love is shared, there would be little incentive to visit prostitutes, so you may be jumping to the wrong conclusion.
He may have had an erection if he had taken Viagra because he wanted to have sex with you. Had he been drinking? He should really try to cut down his alcohol intake (which could indeed affect his ability to get an erection) rather than resort to Viagra.
Also, he is only in his mid-40s and if he were looking for excitement elsewhere he would be unlikely to need Viagra unless he has low testosterone levels, is depressed or there are other medical reasons (in which case he should see his GP).
I am not dismissing your fears. Are there any other signs that could indicate he is being unfaithful? Is he returning from work later than usual, never leaving his mobile unguarded or being secretive about his emails?
As a mother of three young children you must be exhausted and maybe lovemaking has slipped to the bottom of the agenda. Unfortunately, some men are unfaithful at a time like this, which is not fair.
Try to talk to him about all this: ask him why he is drinking too much and whether he is feeling stressed and perhaps unhappy with your sex life as there is so much on both your plates.
She has cut me out of her life
One of my daughters has deleted me from her life. This has been the case for many years and I am devastated. I have worked hard to be there for my four children and grandchildren, but my daughter has decided I am not necessary in her life. My husband was serially unfaithful and we had a very difficult divorce when my daughter was 16, her sister 17 and our two sons were little.
There was no financial support from my husband so I struggled, working part time. In the end my ex-husband and I managed to be friends. I still loved him but sadly he died at 61. My estranged daughter was close to him. People say she is an adult now and I should let it go. She has asked me not to contact her any more. Should I leave it or keep trying?
I know how devastated you must feel about your daughter I am so sorry. As a single mother with four children and little money, life must have been very hard.
As your sons were still young, a lot of your time would have been spent looking after them and perhaps your daughter resented this because she did not understand how difficult it all was.
Although it is completely understandable that you couldnt continue in your marriage, perhaps, as she was close to her father, she blamed you for the divorce as well, which is really hard.
She could also be grieving for his death and this is fuelling her anger. But keep the door open. Write one more letter telling her you love her and that you will always be there for her, and continue to send birthday and Christmas cards.
Then see lots of your other children and grandchildren and your friends. It is important that you have a life and I hope that one day she may be part of it again.
He controls my every move
I recently got engaged to the most wonderful man who I thought was my Mr Right. He introduced me to his family, telling them that he was going to marry me it was great. But since then he has become more controlling.
There are certain things he doesnt like about me and he wants to change. If I complain he gets angry. I cant visit my family and friends, who live nearby. He always wants me to stay indoors and if I go out and he spots me he says, I told you to stay indoors. Go home. His controlling ways are making me fall out of love with him.
The warning signs are loud and clear. Controlling men are often very charming at the beginning of a relationship but once they feel that you have fallen in love, their need to dominate soon emerges.
The classic sign is that he is trying to cut you off from family and friends, and controlling where you go and what you do. He is unlikely to change as he probably denies having a problem and blames you for his behaviour.
You need to end the relationship. This is not love and he could become even more controlling. Tell yourself that you are lucky you have seen the signs before you got married or had children.
If you have a problem, write to Zelda West-Meads at: YOU, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS, or email z.west-meads@you.co.uk
Q I wonder if a new at-home treatment to freeze off skin tags is a good option?
A Consultant dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe of the Cranley Clinic in London (drnicklowe.com) has concerns about cryotherapy freezing technology used as self-treatment, because it is difficult to get the level of freezing just right. You need enough to remove the problem, he says. But if the level is too high, you risk permanent lightening or temporary sometimes long-term darkening of the surrounding skin, particularly in Asian or olive skin tones.
Also, the instructions for such devices say to hold up the skin tag (presumably with tweezers) and freeze the stalk, but Dr Lowe says there is often little or no stalk.
Instead, he suggests consulting your GP or dermatologist who may use much more targeted methods, eg, needle electrocautery or CO2 laser.
After successful treatment, Dr Lowe recommends gently exfoliating the area (usually the neck, the underarms and under the breasts in women) twice weekly, which may help to prevent new tags forming.
We love The Little Green Sheeps adorable range of organic cotton baby sleepwear for newborns to six-month-old babies. Soft as a bunnys tummy, the Wild Cotton collection comes in shades of mint and pearl grey, decorated with bears, rabbits and woodland leaves.
Sleeping bag, from 38.95; matching sleepsuit and hat set, from 26.95, and blanket (available as part of bedding set), from 44.95, all The Little Green Sheep at johnlewis.com
There are matching bedding sets for cots and certified organic baby mattresses that do not contain potentially toxic fire-retardant chemicals. A donation of 25p for every item sold from the Wild Cotton collection goes to the Woodland Trust.
New hope for heart failure patients
In 2003, businessman Ian Rosenberg, then 67, was told his failing heart condition was so serious that he had just two months to live.
A pioneering treatment called cardiac stem-cell therapy offered a slim ray of hope, but it was only available in Germany. Ian had the treatment privately and lived until August 2006.
Pioneering stem-cell research could be the key to saving lives for those who suffer heart failure
During his extra lease of life, Ian and his wife Jenifer Rosenberg OBE set up the Heart Cells Foundation (HCF ) to raise money for UK trials of this groundbreaking therapy at Barts Health NHS Trust, London.
There is no NHS budget for this research, but the success of the HCF Regenerate trials has led to the first Compassionate Treatment Programme, headed by consultant cardiologist Professor Anthony Mathur of Barts Health, and funded by the charity.
This will offer stem-cell therapy to patients for whom there is no further option. Heart failure affects about 900,000 people in the UK every year.
Cardiac stem-cell therapy: How it works Stem cells are the bodys master cells, which can become any type of cell that makes up organs in the body. Regenerative medicine is exploring their potential to heal damaged parts.
They are harvested under local anaesthetic. A small needle is passed into the hip bone at the base of the back and a cupful of cells withdrawn from the bone marrow into a syringe.
The cells are purified in a specialised laboratory and the relevant cell type is returned into the patient via injection under local anaesthetic. Advertisement
It is caused by the heart muscle becoming too weak or stiff to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure.
Key symptoms are breathlessness and extreme tiredness, and it can lead to sudden death. Over the past decade, Professor Mathurs team has conducted four clinical trials in people to understand whether the use of a patients own stem cells [not embryonic stem cells, which have led to controversy] can repair the damage that causes the heart to pump weakly.
'We have demonstrated an improvement in the pumping action and [apparent] benefits that include better quality of life and reduced symptoms, he says.
Heart failure is a growing problem worldwide and the Barts team is keen to progress to larger phase 3 clinical trials, which will hopefully show that cardiac stem-cell therapy prolongs life and improves symptoms.
If the research proves positive, Professor Mathur hopes that the treatment will be available through the NHS and other healthcare systems.
Always consult your doctor if you have a health problem
SHANNON LEONE FOWLER was travelling in Thailand with her fiance Sean when he was stung by a box jellyfish. She describes the tragic events of that day and their traumatic aftermath
Sunrise Beach, Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand, where 25-year-old Sean was stung, and Sean and Shannon, 28, in China, 2002
We were holding hands, walking back to our cabana on Sunrise Beach. The tall palms lining the edge of the shore were motionless; the sea was calm. Darkness was starting to fall, though it was still warm and sticky. It was like every other evening on Ko Pha Ngan in Thailand. We were planning a quick shower, then drinks and dinner. We knew we were spending too much money on food, but had decided not to worry about our finances in paradise.
Outside our cabana, Sean grinned and flashed his dimple as he put down his glasses on the porch an invitation to wrestle. I hesitated; I knew that I had no hope of winning. But I kicked off my flip-flops and wrestled all the same, lost badly and was pinned to the ground. Soft white sand stuck to my coconut-scented skin, still oily from a massage on the beach that afternoon. I was not a good loser and threw sand at him as he disappeared inside.
I headed straight for the ocean to rinse off. Sean reappeared and made his way to the shore, but he couldnt see where I was without his glasses. I took off my wet vest and threw it at him. He waded over to me laughing and I hugged him and circled my legs around his narrow waist.
You didnt have to throw sand.
I made excuses. I was just playingand I was losing.
Yes, you were losing.
He paused and I felt guilty for being so immature and apologised.
He held me in the waist-deep water as I wrapped my legs tighter around him. We kissed and I could taste the salt on his tongue. I felt something large and soft brush against the outside of my thigh. I yelped. Sean had always been afraid of sea creatures, particularly sharks, and asked what it was. I was studying to be a marine biologist and knew how unlikely a shark attack was, particularly in Thailand.
I just felt something, I began, and hadnt finished the sentence when Sean flinched and dropped me, running through the darkening turquoise sea towards the beach.
His movements were urgent and awkward, his elbows held high, his fingers splayed.
Its all over my legs he sat down on the wet sand. I bent down in the fading light and could barely make out a faint red welt rising on his ankle.
Sean in 1999
Its probably a stingray. Whatever had bumped me in the water felt substantial. Other than the small welt, I couldnt see any marks on his legs. Id been with people stung by stingrays before and seen how excruciating it could be. So I wasnt surprised when Sean said, My head feels heavy. Im having trouble breathing. Go get help.
Come with me, I said as I looked at him sitting at the waters edge.
I cant. Sean started to sink down on to his elbows in the sand. The key is in your shoe. It was the last thing he said as I turned to go.
There was a bar several hundred feet away, but I was topless. As we were right in front of our cabana I ran inside, peeled off my wet shorts and threw on a thin purple sundress. I didnt realise Sean was dying. By the time I ran back out he had collapsed face-first on to the sand. I ran to him but it was difficult to turn him over. There was a brief sound of an intake of air, which was reassuring because I thought he hadnt been able to breathe with his face in the sand.
I rushed to the bar, which was crowded with tourists. My boyfriends been stung. Hes having trouble breathing. I was having trouble breathing myself.
A number of people followed me from the bar and when we reached Sean he had no pulse. A young female backpacker began compressing his chest, her slender white hands folded on top of each other. A thin Israeli with a goatee instructed her in English, criticising her counting. I waited for a reaction, a Hollywood-esque splutter and cough as Sean came round and gasped for air. I would tell him how much hed scared me. I still thought someone could save him. Save us.
Sean and Shannon on the backpackers trail at Huashan and Zhangjiajie in China, 2002
Wed been doing CPR for a few minutes when I realised how totally alone I was. I was the only person on the beach this was happening to. Everyone else was just watching.
Can we please get an ambulance? It didnt occur to me that Ko Pha Ngan wouldnt have one.
A truck was reversed down to the beach and Sean was moved into the back. With his head in my lap I continued mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. No one said a word as we jolted along a dirt road towards the Bandon International Clinic at Haad Rin. As I bent my mouth to Seans and forced my breath into his lungs, the Israeli whod criticised the chest compression counts on the beach looked away.
At the clinic two men carried Sean through the tiny waiting room to a bed against the far wall. Has he taken any drugs? a round-faced Chinese doctor asked from behind thick glasses. Has he been drinking?
We watched through open white curtains as the doctor leaned into Seans chest. A nurse pushed tubes down his throat. I paced. I shook.
I couldnt figure out what to do with my hands. I watched as a thick needle was plunged into his chest. There was hardly any medical equipment and certainly no antivenom. There appeared to be nothing there that could save Sean.
Im sorry, the doctor said as he came towards me and I collapsed, sobbing, on to the floor. There was nothing I could do. He was already dead when he got here.
Sean lay staring at the ceiling. I stood next to him, crying, one hand on the side of his face, the other on his chest. I am so sorry, I didnt know you were dying. I laid my head on his chest, my face in the crook of his neck as I had done so many times before. I am so sorryI love you. His only piece of jewellery was a wide silver ring engraved with pictures and figures. I slid the ring off his finger and felt the cold weight of it in my palm. He had often told me to remind him to put his ring back on after showering. Hed always been afraid of leaving it behind.
I kissed Sean once more, his ring heavy in my fist, before walking out of the clinic. But the Chinese doctor immediately ushered me back in and sat me down at a desk. Across the small space of the room, I could almost reach out and touch Seans curled fingers. The doctor handed me a pen and placed a piece of paper in front of me. Please sign the death certificate. He pointed to a line near the bottom of the document. The words were in Thai. It hardly seemed to matter. I looked at Seans half-naked body and wanted to climb up on to the bed and curl myself around him.
One of the two Israeli girls who had come with me from the beach walked into the room with her friend close behind. This needs to be translated; shes not signing until it is.
I listened to their conversation as if it didnt involve me, detached and staring at Sean. Wishing his eyes would stay shut. Wishing he were dressed. Wishing they would leave us alone. She can have it translated tomorrow after she signs.
Shes not signing something in Thai. Whats the cause of death? The two girls were looking over his shoulder at the certificate.
Drunk drowning.
I turned from Sean. The doctors face was calm, his jaw set.
But I told you that he wasnt drunk. I told you he didnt drown. He was stung.
The girls agreed. They had been on the beach and pointed to Seans exposed legs. Thin reddish-purple lines were wrapped over and over around his calves. A delicate tangle of inflamed knots twisted from his ankles to his thighs. The welts seemed to be swelling and darkening. I couldnt pull my eyes away from the rising marks. It hadnt been a stingray.
The doctor sighed and adjusted his glasses. He must have had an allergic reaction to a jellyfish then; he was just unlucky. He crossed out a short jumble of characters with a single thin line. Then he scribbled a long string of swirls, curves and scratches next to it.
After I signed we followed the doctor out through the curtains. The receptionist looked up from her desk. How are you going to pay? Cash?
* * * * *
For two months it had just been the two of us. Even after Seans death it was still just the two of us, me and his body on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, and then on to Bangkok, before finally flying his coffin home to Melbourne.
The customs doors parted and my chest tightened when I saw the faces of Seans parents. I stepped towards them unsteadily and hugged his father first and then his mother. It was the first time I had hugged either of them. His mother and I couldnt stop shaking.
At first I was relieved to be able to share the burden. Id all but stopped eating and sleeping and was close to collapse. I was grateful his father had organised the funeral.
But I missed Sean and it wasnt long before I missed the heavy pull of responsibility for his dead body. His body had been mine and mine completely. Once his parents took over I ached to have that ownership of what was left of him again.
My parents flew in from California and hovered at the edges, trying not to intrude on the heartbreak. I appreciated that they had come, but I preferred the company of those who had been closest to Sean. Yet I didnt really belong with his family and friends either. I wasnt from Melbourne.
The couple with Shannons parents Karen and Hugh in California, 2002
I wasnt even Australian. I hadnt grown up with him or known him for as long as they had. We hadnt had the chance to get married.
HOW DEADLY ARE BOX JELLYFISH? In Thailand I was told over and over again that Sean was the first person to die in decades from a jellyfish sting and the locals on Ko Pha Ngan had never heard of such deaths. Id thought Sean was allergic and incredibly unlucky until I discovered that a 23-year-old woman was stung on the same island and died a day after him. The box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri: the worlds most venomous animal Most jellyfish stings are not deadly to humans, but the stings of a box jellyfish can be lethal. On Sunrise Beach there were no warning notices, nor local talk of box jellyfish. Yet there have been deaths, and not only in Thailand. People are getting stung and killed all over the tropics, according to scientist and box jellyfish expert Jamie Seymour in an article in New Scientist. These people died from the sting of a box jellyfish: December 1995 Two people, Langkawi, Malaysia. May 1996 Two teenagers in the same location. October 1999 A 26-year-old British tourist, Ko Samui, Thailand. April 2008 An 11-year-old Swedish girl, Ko Lanta, Thailand. February and November 2010 Two Swedish women, Langkawi and Cha-Am, Malaysia, respectively. August 2014 A five-year-old French boy, Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand. July 2015 A 31-year-old woman from Bangkok, Ko Pha Ngan. October 2015 A 20-year-old German woman, Ko Samui. All of these deaths were most likely to have been caused by Chironex fleckeri, the largest species of box jellyfish and the most venomous animal in the world. Almost transparent, a single jelly has 60 tentacles measuring up to ten feet long which are covered in millions of sting cells. A victim needs only to come into contact with a few feet of tentacle to receive a deadly injection by its stingers. The box jellyfish population appears to be expanding. Global warming, overfishing and decreasing numbers of sea turtles who eat jellyfish may all be contributing factors. There have now been fatalities in Indonesia, India, China, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Solomon Islands, Australia and the Philippines. Last autumn the Tourism Authority of Thailand issued its first warnings about the presence of deadly jellyfish in its waters, offering advice on treating victims: visit tatnews.org/jellyfish for further information. Advertisement
On the afternoon of the funeral I walked with Seans family to the first pew. When Id said I wanted to give a eulogy I was told that his brother and a mate had planned to, and they didnt think the priest would allow three. But Id insisted. The packed rows of the church were quiet as everyone watched and waited for me to speak. My hands shook as I pulled the microphone down to my chin.
I didnt have any notes to hold on to but I knew what I wanted to say.
When my friends and family back in the US asked me what I love about Sean, I would tell them that hes spontaneous, affectionate, funny, loyal, honest, considerate, charming and silly. And that he has the most generous heart I have ever known. As we travelled through Thailand together hed hand out money and presents to the little kids we met. More than once the women he flirted with at the hotels where we stayed would tell me how lucky I was. And although its impossible to feel lucky right now when Ive lost the person I thought I would spend the rest of my life with, have children with, and grow old with, I know that I was lucky to have loved him, and so lucky to have been loved by him.
Later, I stepped forward to take the roses from Seans coffin before it was lowered into the ground.
* * * * *
I assumed Id have a life with Seans family I had an easygoing relationship with his father and Sean had said that his mother liked me. But after I left Melbourne, after Id hugged and kissed his parents goodbye and his father had driven me to the airport, but before the grass had begun to take root on Seans grave, his parents stopped returning my phone calls, emails and letters.
Maybe I was too terrible a reminder. Maybe they blamed me in some way. Maybe they couldnt help but wish it had been me instead. Maybe, even though I thought of them as family, all they could see when they looked at me was their dead son. In the end I lost Sean and the only people on earth who felt the same way about him.
The photo on the front of Seans memorial card had been taken at his parents house on Christmas Day the year before, in 2001. In the photo Sean smiles easily into the camera his dark hair short and spiky, his eyes crinkled near the edges of his square-shaped glasses. In the original picture I was sitting next to him, my thigh pressed against his and his arm thrown around my waist. But on the memorial card, Ive been cropped out of the frame.
I imagine, though, that I was smiling. I imagine I was thinking about spending many more Christmases just like that one.
After Seans death, Shannon travelled on her own around Eastern Europe to try to come to terms with her loss, and visited the two Israeli girls who had supported her when he died. She ended her tour in Barcelona, where she had met Sean four years earlier and fallen in love. Shannon is now a marine biologist, writer and single mother of three children living in London.
This is an edited extract from Traveling With Ghosts: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Shannon Leone Fowler, to be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on Thursday, price 14.99. To order a copy for 11.24 until 5 March, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; free p&p on orders over 15
Now you can sample the expertise of their go-to cosmetic gurus in the comfort of your own bathroom. Beatrice Aidin meets the doctors whose state-of-the-art skincare ranges are revolutionising anti-ageing
The future of anti-ageing
Dr Luca Russo believes good sun protection is the key to youthful skin
THE FRAZZLE FIXER
London-based cosmetic and dermatological surgeon Dr Luca Russo says the key to keeping skin youthful is SPF.
Dr Luca Russo is as close to evangelical as a dermatologist can be regarding the importance of sun protection, even on cloudy days.
Eighty per cent of ageing is due to sun exposure, he insists. People dont apply adequate sun protection. If they did, they wouldnt have enlarged pores, laxity, wrinkles, pigmentation and change of tone all signs of sun damage, 97 per cent of which could be prevented with the correct use of SPF 30.
But given that the sun doesnt shine that often in winter and, for the most part, SPF can be gloopy and leave you looking ghost-like, its easy to see why many of us are tempted to skip it.
Dr Russo explains: You should apply a whole tablespoon of SPF 30 to your face first thing in the morning, 15 to 30 minutes before leaving the house. Most people dont, so just taking the dog for a walk means they are exposing their skin to incidental sun damage before they even start their day.
To combat the problem, he has created his Dr Russo Skincare SPF 30 Sun Protective Day Cleanser (48). Used in the morning to wash the face, it works by binding SPF to the skin. The technology is simple and uses the same principle as hair colour, he explains. You apply dye to the hair and it binds; whatever is not needed is rinsed out. Here, the sun protection attaches to proteins on the skin and any excess is washed off.
For full coverage Dr Russo recommends following with Dr Russo SPF 30 Sun Protective Day Moisturiser (95) and, if you want to make sure your hands are protected, too, Dr Russo SPF 20 Sun Protective Day Soap (22, available from 1 April). By using proper UVA and UVB sun protection daily, Dr Russo says, You can reduce skin damage by 25 per cent.
drrussoskincare.com
Dr Maryam Zamani has created a straightforward but precise skincare range
THE EYE REVIVER
Dr Maryam Zamani, an Oculoplastic surgeon and facial aesthetic doctor at The Cadogan Clinic in London, has an eye for optimum skincare.
I believe skincare should be like lingerie: you wear it even if no one else is going to see it, and the sensorial experience is as important as its purpose, says Dr Zamani.
So when I couldnt find a scientifically precise skincare range fused with a beautiful sensory experience from texture to packaging I decided to create one myself.
The aim of her MZ Skin range is to reveal the clarity of beautiful skin, enhancing its best qualities and protecting it. Even at 90 years old, the Queen still has beautiful skin because it is so clear, says Dr Zamani.
The MZ Skin range consists of eight products. Its a capsule collection. I wanted to create a range that is as simple, effective and accessible as possible today our list of obligations is so long that skincare should be straightforward.
Being an oculoplastic surgeon and facial aesthetic doctor, Dr Zamani receives a lot of visits from patients concerned specifically about the eye area. The first place you see ageing is around the eyes, with lines, dark circles and puffiness, she explains.
We blink 20,000 times a day, so the orbicularis oculi the muscle that opens and closes the eyes gets a lot of wear. Added to this, the skin around the eyes has the least number of hydrating glands of the face and it is hard to maintain hydration in this area.
MZ Skin Collagen Activating Eye Complex (90) contains ceramides and a non-irritating retinol to hydrate the skin, plus bark extract designed to decrease dark circles over time.
But for a quick pick-me-up, Dr Zamani recommends applying her Hydra Bright Golden Eye Mask (65 for five) straight from the fridge, to brighten, rehydrate and firm the skin around the eyes. The effect is a close second to coming to see me, she says.
harrods.com
Dr Sturm's skincare focuses on a powerful antioxidant to help keep skin cells youthful
THE YOUTH BOOSTER
Cosmetic doctor Barbara Sturm, who has clinics in London, Dusseldorfand Los Angeles, has used her expertise in orthopaedics to pioneer skin rejuvenation.
Flying around the world to see her patients, Dr Sturm has discovered a universal truth. People dont want sagging skin or wrinkles. Today, thankfully, as well as cosmetic interventions there is state-of-the-art skincare, such as Dr Sturms Molecular Cosmetics range.
Dr Sturm reveals that she isnt your average aesthetics practitioner. I never planned a cosmetics line. Before going into the aesthetics business, I helped to pioneer a treatment against osteoarthritis which employed the bodys own proteins. It produced great anti-inflammatory, cell-regenerative effects on the joints using the bodys healing ability. Because skin cells are from the same family as cartilage cells, I knew that they would work in the same way, she explains. So I created my range.
For her Dr Sturm Molecular Cosmetics range she has focused on telomeres, the protective caps at each end of our strands of DNA. Telomeres degrade and get shorter over the years due to the natural ageing process and external factors such as UV exposure and oxidative stress, says Dr Sturm.
When the telomeres become too short, the cell either dies or mutates, which can lead to diseases. The aim is to keep regenerating the telomeres. Her answer? Topical telomerase, in the form of purslane, a very powerful antioxidant that can protect the telomeres and keep them young and healthy on a cellular level.
Dr Sturms skincare range claims to be the only one worldwide to have a telomerase activator among its ingredients and its long-lasting results, she says, are impressive.
By using my Hyaluronic Ampoules (132 for seven), your skin will remain moisturised even after six weeks.
net-a-porter.com
David A Colbert MD's skincare range offers clinic-quality results at home
THE RADIANCE REVEALER
To fight ageing, David A Colbert MD, founder and head physician of the New York Dermatology Group, goes to the heart of the Matter: the epidermis.
In my clinic, most women patients in their 40s and 50s ask to look younger because they feel younger than they actually are; they are doing the same activities as they were 20 years ago, says Dr Colbert.
Of course, the same goes for those of us not able to visit him, which is why he has created a three-step home-use range to mimic the results he achieves in his clinic: exfoliated, nourished and glowing skin. It is a range based on the New York Dermatology Group signature Triad facial, a 45-minute, three-step treatment of microdermabrasion to remove dead skin cells, laser to kick-start collagen production while removing pigmentation, and a gentle chemical peel to reveal fresh bright skin. All topped off with his nourishing Illumo Face Oil.
The home-use range is as similar as you can get to the clinic treatment, he advises. By using Colbert MD Tone Control Facial Discs (75 for 20), Stimulate The Serum (135) and Illumino Face Oil (110), I guarantee that 98 per cent of people will receive compliments, he says. These three products pack a wallop, and in just one day you will see a dewy glow.
What sets the Colbert MD range apart? So often skincare products just sit on the top of the skin, he says, but the unique Triad delivery system acts like a Trojan horse, tricking the epidermis into allowing active ingredients such as goji berry and coffee-seed extract to penetrate the deepest levels of the dermis, optimising collagen production.
In turn, this replaces the fibres in the skin, the fabric of the dermis that degrades over time, leading to signs of ageing. To use an analogy, if you have skin fibres similar to a 200 thread-count of cotton, using Colbert MD can take your skin up to an Egyptian cotton thread-count of 2,000. By following my skincare regimen, people can all but replicate the in-clinic experience.
spacenk.com
Stem cell renewal is at the heart of Dr Phillip Levy's products
THE GLOW GETTER
Switzerland-based Dr Phillip Levy believes that stem cell renewal within the skin is the key to looking youthful.
Despite the fact that he is the number one practitioner of Botox in Switzerland, Dr Phillip Levy believes that stem cells are crucial when it comes to rejuvenating the quality of the skin.
Whether I am using Botox, fillers, skin treatments or all of them, although they deliver magical results, treating the skin from within is important as well because it promotes qualities such as radiance, glow and plumpness, which reflect your vitality.
So what are stem cells? They are the mother cells of each of our organs and tissues, Dr Levy explains. We are born with them and they regenerate themselves continuously during our lifetime. However, as we age, stem cells become tired and worn out.
Dr Levy points out that each organ in the body has its own specialised stem cells that work differently and react to different types of stimulation and ingredients. And our skin the bodys largest organ is no exception. Hence the huge flurry of excitement back in December 2000 when dermal stem cell reservoirs were discovered.
These, says Dr Levy, opened the way to finding the most powerful skin-tightening, anti-ageing stimulation because they are the mother cells of the fibroblasts, which produce collagen the most important protein to have in a high quantity and quality for firm, young and healthy-looking skin.
Purporting to be the first proven topical product range to stimulate dermal stem cells, the key active ingredient in Dr Levy Switzerland skincare is ArganCellActiv, an anti-ageing complex sourced from the extracts of stem cells of the roots of the argan tree.
This ingredient is the Usain Bolt of dermal stem cell stimulators, says Dr Levy, and has been shown to increase stem cell renewal by up to 80 per cent in laboratory studies.
Stimulating stem cells provides a wake-up call to help them rediscover their youthful dynamism. He recommends starting with the Booster Serum (280) and Eye Booster Concentrate (165).
Isnt this too good to be true? Not according to Dr Levy. Stem cells are like a time machine, he says. They not only remember their youth, but they can actually go back in time.
cultbeauty.co.uk
No-make-up make-up and the natural look are concepts that have been around for years.
Now, as spring beckons, the buzzword in beauty is nude.
Models at Burberry's S/S 17 show demonstrated spring's 'nude beauty' trend
Australian brand Nude by Nature is one to watch, with its mineral, matt-effect Flawless Pressed Powder Foundation in Ivory (25) and Cashmere Pressed Blush in muted Desert Rose (22, both debenhams.com).
Nude by Nature is one to watch with its Flawless Pressed Powder Foundation (left) and Cashmere Pressed Blush (right)
The Topshop Nude Collection features Nude Lips in pale brown Coven (8) and Smoke Stick for eyes in cream Glory (6.50, both topshop.com, from tomorrow).
Nude Lips lipstick and Smoke Stick for eyes are featured in Topshop's new Nude Collection
Burberrys offerings include Eye Colour Contour in Pale Nude (23) and Full Kisses lipstick in Nude Beige (25, burberry.com).
Burberrys nude beauty offerings include Eye Colour Contour and Full Kisses lipstick
What this demonstrates along with the looks seen at the Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger S/S 17 shows is that beauty is embracing fleshy shades representative of all ethnicities and skin tones, from pale to very dark.
So its no longer about trying to match products to our skin instead, we can now play with shades that do the job for us.
Ski season isnt over yet.
If youre heading to the slopes and want to shield skin against sun exposure-related ageing (while skipping a face full of make-up), Nars Smooth & Protect Primer SPF 50 (27, selfridges.com) blurs lines, smooths and hydrates skin and defends against UV damage. Goodbye goggle marks.
Nars Smooth & Protect Primer SPF 50 blurs lines, smooths and hydrates skin and defends against UV damage
One of the industrys best-kept secrets is about to go public.
Having worked with the likes of Marks & Spencer and Gucci, hairstylist Larry King has also been busy snipping the locks of Poppy Delevingne and The Saturdays Mollie King.
Hairstylist Larry King boasts celebrity clients including The Saturdays Mollie King
And now hes opening his first salon.
In Londons South Kensington, the Redken-sponsored parlour offers cuts, colours and blow-dries plus visits from a cocktail mixologist and a social hub, where a photography studio-like backdrop invites clients to snap and post the perfect selfie.
Larry counts Poppy Delevingne as one of his high-profile clients
larryking.co.uk
Better-body maths
Chanel Chance Eau Vive Foaming Shower Gel (35, 020 7493 3836) boasts an invigorating grapefruit, blood orange and jasmine scent
Plus...
Rodins soporific and skin-soothing Lavender Luxury Body Oil (80, libertylondon.com)
The result? The luxe way to rise and shine and nurture, nourish, plump and perfect your body.
Beauty assistant: Alice Robertson
Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com
Q Can you give me the lowdown on toners? I gave up using them because they tended to irritate my sensitive skin but now I wonder if I should reconsider?
A Back in the day, toners were aimed at oily skin, which, it was thought, needed an extra stage of cleansing. We always used to suggest that women with touchy skins (like us) avoided toners, which could dry the skin and also provoke irritation. Now things have changed with the advent of sophisticated toners, many based on gentle botanicals, that are formulated for different skin types. NB They are not always called toners nowadays; you might find them as tonics, clarifying lotions, even some facial mists count as toners.
For more information follow Beauty Bible online here or on Facebook and Twitter
The good thing about toners has always been that as well as removing any teeny traces of the days dust, grime and make-up left after cleansing (although a grubby cotton wool pad means you simply arent cleansing properly), they lifted off any dead skin cells clustering on the surface. Additionally, the new formulations contain ingredients that, for instance, help to moisturise and hydrate the complexion or, as in your case, soothe and reduce inflammation. Your skin should be more even-toned and look brighter, with or without make-up.
According to skin expert Caroline Hirons (who we respect hugely), a good toner will also help to rebalance the pH level quickly after cleansing. Your skin can do this by itself, of course, but it will take about half an hour, she explains. As a counsel of perfection, Caroline recommends her own regime of using an exfoliating toner first and then spraying with a hydrating toner.
So which ones to recommend? Heres a thing: Sarah was in John Lewis Oxford Street at the Clinique counter recently and a sweet and zealous make up artist persuaded her to try Clarifying Lotion 1.0, 16.50/200ml, before she applied foundation. Somewhat to Sarahs surprise, her super-touchy skin was fine with this alcohol-free slightly gelled exfoliator (as the blurb has it), which also contains calming aloe vera, and yes, it did look brighter and smoother under make-up.
Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner, 22.50/200ml, which is alcohol-free, is definitely on our list, as is Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, 14.50/200 ml. This is also alcohol-free and includes aloe vera to hydrate plus soothing botanicals and vitamin E.
Finally, we turn to Pai, a natural brand founded for the needs of sensitive skin. Lotus & Orange Blossom BioAffinity Tonic, (an investment at 30/50ml but worth it if your budget can stretch), is formulated for sensitive, dry or mature skins to instantly soothe and calm redness, as well as hydrating and revitalising.
For de-puffed eyes, nothing beats massaging the affected area
Beauty Bible loves Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Eye Gelee, 40 for 8ml. For de-puffed eyes, nothing, but nothing, beats massaging the affected area.
And this sure beats a silver teaspoon (which can also be used to good, cooling, puffiness-banishing effect). The ultra-fine, cool metallic tip dispenses an energy-boosting complex designed to brighten dark circles and featuring sea lavender flower extract.
Simply squeeze the sides to dispense the eye-brightening formula, smooth into the eye area and massage in outward movements remembering to wipe the golden tip clean afterwards, to stay hygienic.
This whole collection (which also features a light-reflective, radiance-enhancing, use-it-anywhere Wake Up Balm/46) also contains nourishing moringa extract.
Great after late nights, too many glasses of wine or after a l-o-n-g day.
For more information follow Beauty Bible online here or on Facebook and Twitter
While the commotion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly over trust vote continues to shock many, it was the case of two torn shirts that resulted in a ruckus.
While speaker P Dhanapalan said that the DMK MLAs tore his shirt off, the DMK working president has come forward and refuted the allegations.
Stalin has accused the Speaker of tearing his shirt.
M K Stalin displays his torn shirt after the ruckus, during the confidence of vote was taken outside Fort St George in Chennai
Although several leaders called the incident a caste-based attack, the DMK president has accused the Speaker of falsely blaming his party MLAs.
While the MLAs had convened in wake of the floor test which is decisive for E Palaniswami to prove majority.
The DMK MLAs created ruckus in the Assembly by demanding postponement of the trust vote.
They even demanded a secret ballot. The clamour around O Panneerselvam soared with DMK MLAs resorting to slogans in support of him.
The irate MLAs huddled near the well of the house and two of them even attempted to usurp the Speaker's seat.
Sasikala loyalist Edappadi K Palanisamy won an easy trust vote by 122-11, which was followed by ugly eviction of main opposition DMK and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes.
The irate MLAs huddled near the well of the house and two of them even attempted to usurp the Speaker's seat.
Following the incident, the Speaker adjourned the House.
Although several leaders called the incident a caste-based attack, the DMK president has accused the Speaker of falsely blaming his party MLAs.
According to a report in NDTV , before the vote, Stalin was led out of the assembly, his shirt unbuttoned and pocket torn, along with other DMK lawmakers who were evicted after they.
In the evening, he was detained by policemen as he sat on a hunger strike at Chennai's Marina Beach.
'We were manhandled on the orders of the ruling party. I was dragged out of the assembly,' Mr Stalin said, displaying his torn shirt to the cameras at the assembly.
He later led a DMK delegation to meet Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to complain against the Speaker.
DMK working president M K Stalin arrives along with his party MLAs at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat
'If anything wrong happened, we regret it but we had to protest as the Speaker did not accept our demand for secret voting,' Mr Stalin said.
In the absence of the opposition, including 88 DMK lawmakers, only 11 votes were cast against him by rebels of the ruling AIADMK, led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
Opposition party DMK staged a protest led by MK Stalin who was later detained, near Mahatma Gandhi statue
Unspeakable chaos broke out in the assembly as the Speaker rejected the demand for secret voting by the Panneerselvam faction, the DMK and the Congress.
In edited visuals aired on local channels, DMK lawmakers were seen around the speaker's chair, yanking mics, picking up chairs and ripping up papers.
They were seen pushing the Speaker, who was escorted out by marshals.
After he left, a legislator was seen sitting in his chair and others stood on tables, depicting a complete breakdown of order in the house.
In a major step towards building consensus around the proposed Uniform Civil Code, a law college patronised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has launched a competition in which law students across the country will research the subject and the best report will go to the President and the Prime Minister.
The development comes close on the heels of a Law Commission questionnaire seeking public opinion on the bid to formulate common rules on issues such as marriage, divorce and property rights for all religions in India received 40,000 responses.
Analysts point out that while the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB) is not ready to debate the code and even rejected the law panel's survey, terming it an 'affront' to their personal laws, the CBCI has come out in support on the condition that the legislation must confirm the 'spirit and mandate' of the Constitution.
Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has launched a competition in which law students across the country will research various aspect of Uniform Civil Code
The AIMPLB had even accused the Law Commission of behaving like an agent of the Modi government, arguing that the proposed UCC - promised by the BJP in its poll manifesto ahead of the 2014 general elections - is a threat to the country's pluralism and diversity.
'This competition I hope will result in making a meaningful contribution towards the drafting of Uniform Civil Code on the basis of objective academic research findings true to the spirit and mandates of the Constitution', said Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, president of the CBCI and National United Christian Forum.
At present, laws governing inheritance or divorce among Hindus are different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians
He is also a member of the National Integration Council chaired by the PM.
The competition is being organised by Mar Gregorios College of Law from Thiruvananthapuram, of which Cleemis is the patron, in association with Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy Training.
The CBCI's stand is that the unity of India should be impeccably safeguarded.
All discussions on the UCC must be done taking into account the diversity and freedom ensured by the Constitution and without hurting sentiments of various religious groups.
'It will be a great learning process for the students and a big contribution towards evolution of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC),' Dr NR Madhava Menon, noted legal educator and founder of several prestigious law colleges including MILAT, told Mail Today.
'They will produce a draft incorporating the views of different communities by including constitutional values of secularism.
'Only if a draft is in public domain can people understand what UCC is about and whether it is acceptable or not.'
The contest comes at a time when the law panel is perusing more than 40,000 responses to its questionnaire.
It was issued after the law ministry on July 2 last year asked it to examine in detail all issues pertaining to the code and submit a report.
Article 44 of the Constitution says implementation of the UCC is the duty of the state.
At present, laws governing inheritance or divorce among Hindus are different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians and so on.
The organisers said duration of the competition for law students is of eight months from February 15 to September 30, and registration is open to law colleges and universities that are to form a team comprising 20 students.
The teams will select any one aspect of the proposed UCC like marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, custody and guardianship, inheritance or succession for study, research and reform.
They have to then study in-depth the existing law on the selected subject in different personal laws as codified in legislation or expounded in authoritative texts and their judicial interpretations.
For this, the teams may prepare codified versions of existing law among different religions separately for reference and also identify any areas of conflict.
Egypt is doing all it can to see a just and permanent resolution to the Palestinian issue based on the two state solution, the Egyptian Presidency said on Sunday.
"Egypt supports the right of Palestinians to have an independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," presidency spokesman Youssef said in a statement.
The Egyptian presidencys statement came hours after Israeli newspaper Haartez reported about a secret meeting in Jordan between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and senior US officials to discuss the future of a possible Palestinian state.
Alluding to the report, Youssef said it included "false information", without elaborating further.
"Egypts historical stance regarding Palestine does not go in line with the false information circulated in the media," he added.
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry launched his final peacemaking bid after U.S.-backed talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014 over issues that included Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories and Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's demand to recognise it as a Jewish state.
Prospects for a new peace push appear dim with Netanyahu in a political tight spot at home and under police investigation for alleged abuse of office, which he denies.
Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been emboldened by a suggestion by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was open to new ways to achieve peace that did not necessarily entail the creation of a Palestinian state, a benchmark of U.S. policy for decades.
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Condition of animals in the Delhi Zoo continues to be questionable, as a male Cape buffalo died on Saturday.
The death of the animal has raised questions over the maintenance, management and lax attitude of the zoo officials, who are already under the scanner for a series of animal deaths in the past.
According to sources, there were two Cape buffalos in the zoo.
The zoo officials have not confirmed the death of Cape buffalo, who allegedly died due to lack of treatment
The younger one had been unwell for three days, but he was allegedly not given any treatment, which led to his death.
The zoo officials, however, have not confirmed the death and are yet to issue an official statement.
Sources claim that all the giraffes have allegedly died inside Delhi zoo, and the entire enclosure is now empty and unused. (picture for representation)
Sources told Mail Today that the zoo also lost a rare monitor lizards, an ostrich and the only giraffe it had, in the past.
All the giraffes have allegedly died inside the zoo, and the entire enclosure is now empty and unused.
Enclosures of langur, king cobra, zebra are also vacant due to deaths. There were several Rhinoceros and Leopards, which have now reduced to just one each.
'A male Cape buffalo was keeping unwell for the last three days, the veterinarians in the zoo and other officials were informed about it. But, they chose to ignore and lack of timely action led to the death,' added the source.
'Now only one of this exotic animal is left,' the source said.
Cape buffalos or African buffalos have been a major attraction for the zoo visitors.
Since not many Indian zoos have these gigantic animal, which characterised by its huge size, horns and beautiful look- visitors specially came here to check out these animals.
The sources claim that cape buffalo can be found only in three zoos in the country - Delhi, Mysore and Thiruvananthapuram.
A newborn gibbon monkey, which comes in the category of endangered species, had allegedly found a place in the list of casualties in the Delhi Zoo.
Sources said that birth of the gibbon had given the department some hope of rejuvenation after the constant 'bad luck', but its death has added to the woes of officials.
The recent outbreak of swine flu in the Delhi zoo had led to its complete shutdown from October 14, 2016 and it was reopened in Jaunuary this year.
Kannauj's perfume industry is thriving on sandalwood smuggled from various states. (picture for representation)
In April 2016, when UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said that Kannauj's 'itr' (perfume) industry must be brought back to its old glory, little did he know that he could inadvertently spur sandalwood smuggling as well.
Senior police officers say that Kannauj, a town in central Uttar Pradesh, has now become the destination for 'red' and 'yellow' sandalwood fell illegally across the country.
According to authorities, criminal and smugglers are illegally cutting the scented deciduous trees all across Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sunderbans, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The logs are brought to Kannauj to be made into 'bhura' (powder), which is subsequently used in producing sandalwood oil and perfumes.
After dreaded sandalwood smuggler Veerappan led this illegal trade for more than three decades from 1970 to 2004 down south, the UP police is now facing a huge challenge.
The police team seized 230 kg of sandalwood which is allegedly used in the itr (perfume) industry
UP STF Additional Superintendent of Police Arvind Chaturvedi said: 'It's astonishing. Since our laws are not updated from time-to-time, it leaves the police department handicapped in dealing with such issues.'
'Though sandalwood is a highly-valued and most-trafficked commodity, it is still not covered under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972,' said Chaturvedi.
'Following the rules mentioned in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), we banned the export of red sanders (sandalwood) under Schedule 6 of the Customs Act in 2010.
'But felling and domestic trade of both red and yellow varieties are going on rampantly,' he added, ruing that the only IPC section under which they can book sandalwood fellers is theft.
Notorious sandalwood smugglers Mukesh (left) and Aziz (right) arrested by UP police
While yellow sandalwood (santalum album) is found in south Asia, Australia and some Pacific islands, the red variety (pterocarpus santalinus) is rare in India.
Red sanders is found in only three districts of Telangana now - Chittoor, Nellore and Kadappa.
UP STF officers discovered the channeling of sandalwood to Kannauj through a series of arrests that took place since December 2016.
DSP PK Mishra said: 'Mysteriously, 30-40 sandalwood trees were hacked and the logs were stolen overnight from high security areas.'
In Lucknow, these included the residence of Lieutenant General BS Negi, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI).
Similar thefts occurred in the residences of District Magistrate of Barabanki, Superintendent of Police of Sitapur, DFO and CMO of Bahraich, etc.
Mishra said: 'On December 1, 2016, we arrested Kuttu Pardhi, a notorious criminal from Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), who was wanted in seven tiger poaching cases.'
'His own men had tipped us off. He led us to a gang of 13 sandalwood smugglers (which also included six women) in Shahjahanpur in January,' he added.
'Further, this gang led us to a person named Mukesh, who got sandalwood from Odisha.
'He masqueraded as a dry batteries supplier to BSNL in Meerut and delivered sandalwood consignments to Kannauj every month. He told us that perfume makers here were his regular clients,' Mishra added.
About 230 kg of sandalwood were seized from him. Chaturvedi said these criminal elements are mainly into tiger poaching, but in 'off-seasons', they engage in sandalwood smuggling.
Police said the fading 'natural scents' industry of Kannauj received a fillip and thereafter a rise in demand after Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated a perfume park, museum and modern distillation centre.
While 1 kg of yellow sandalwood is sold for Rs 10,000-12,000, red sanders is worth crores and is allegedly smuggled to China and West Asia.
Sixty-nine years after Mahatma Gandhi was shot and killed by Hindu-nationalist Nathuram Godse on the steps of Birla House, one of the great unknowns concerning his death could soon be unraveled
Sixty-nine years after Mahatma Gandhi was shot and killed by Hindu-nationalist Nathuram Godse on the steps of Birla House, one of the great unknowns concerning his death could soon be unraveled.
The Central Information Commission, the country's transparency regulator, has asked several government agencies to investigate the fate of three 'absconders', listed as accused in the 1948 murder trial.
While there were 12 accused in the assassination case, including Nathuram Godse and VD Savarkar, nine were either punished or released.
Three other accused Gangadhar Dandwate, Gangadhar Jadhav and Suryadeo Sharma were declared as absconders even while the case was being heard and their whereabouts remains shrouded in mystery.
It is strange that the absconding accused just vanished in thin air and we did not care; and this is regarding (the man) we call the father of our nation RTI activist Harinder Dhingra
'The Mahatma Gandhi assassination case has been full of lacunae,' Tushar Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, told Mail Today.
'There was a very strange incident that day after the process of appeal in the Punjab high court was over and the sentences were upheld.
'It was announced in Gwalior that all the three absconders were found and arrested but then it was decided that there was no further need for them, and they be allowed to let go.'
Mug shot of the Indian political activist Nathuram Vinayak Godse, the killer of Gandhi sentenced to hanging. India, 12th May 1948
Tushar said these three were the ones who were involved in transactions through which Nathuram Godse got the Beretta pistol used in the assassination.
'Conversely, if one reads the investigation report, there was no attempt to find out where the gun came from and how,' he said.
The CIC too lamented that Indian authorities have no clue even after nearly seven decades, and said a new investigation into the matter was warranted.
It has directed the PMO, Union Home Ministry, Delhi Police and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to find out missing details, especially the efforts taken to trace the three absconding accused.
Gurgaon-based RTI activist Harinder Dhingra welcomed the move.
'We are extremely hopeful that dark clouds covering the events leading to Mahatma Gandhi's killing and those after that which have so far been kept away from common knowledge might now come out.
'It is strange that the absconding accused just vanished in thin air and we did not care; and this is regarding who we call the father of our nation.'
Tushar Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, told Mail Today that the case still has a number of unanswered questions
Secret files
One issue over which both Tushar Gandhi and the CIC seem to agree is that declassification of files related to Mahatma Gandhi - the events related to both before and after his assassination - would be of great help.
'If the CIC could order the classified files to be declassified, it would be very interesting,' Tushar Arun Gandhi told Mail Today.
The CIC judgment observed: 'The Prime Minister has declassified 100 secret files pertaining to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in January 2016 and promised to release 25 declassified files every month.
'This is a significant step towards transparency about history of national heroes.
'Similarly, the Prime Minister needs to place the official documents, declassifying them if necessary, regarding Gandhi.'
However, Tushar did not place much hope in a new inquiry.
'I don't believe that it is going to open new vistas in Indian history as there is no record of why that lacuna in so far as why the three were not nailed.
'If at all anything is more explosive is the J L Kapur Commission's report.
'These three were involved in how they got the gun. It is not significant anymore and any fresh investigation is going to unearth anything anymore as probably none is still alive,' said Tushar.
The funeral pyre of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi as police keep back large crowd, Delhi, India, 1948
The CIC judgment said that while the petitioner 'wanted to see the record containing the details about efforts of Delhi Police to apprehend these three accused persons and reasons for not arresting them,' the CPIO of ASI 'stated that their office's function is to receive the records as sent for archives and they were unable to say anything whether any important document like final charge sheet was missing or what happened to records showing efforts of the police to arrest three accused'
Judgement
The CIC also directed PMO to take necessary action to 'formulate appropriate policy to build archives of records regarding Mahatma Gandhi Assassination, investigation, trial, punishment, official correspondence, and action taken on the recommendations of J L Kapur Commission'.
It asked the SHO of Tughlak Road Police Station to provide 'case diaries or any other record showing investigation, including efforts to trace three absconding accused in Gandhi Murder case'.
Malaysian police have arrested a North Korean chemistry expert in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong Nam.
Ri Jong-chol, 47, who studied medicine and chemistry in Pyongjang was detained in Kuala Lumpur in connection with the murder.
Police are also hunting four North Korean men who flew out of Kuala Lumpur the same day Jong Nam was assassinated.
The four suspects are believed to have been part of a hit squad sent to murder the despotic leader's half brother on the tyrant's orders.
Malaysian police have so far arrested four people - including the chemistry expert - in connection with the murder probe.
Malaysian police have arrested Ri Jong-chol, centre, who is believed to be a North Korean chemistry expert in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong Nam
Jong-chol was arrested following a dramatic raid by Malaysian police hunting the killers
Malaysia's National Police Deputy Inspector-General Noor Rashid Ibrahim, left, said his officers have identified four North Korean men who flew out of Kualar Lumpur on the day of the murder
Kim Jong Nam, pictured, is believed to have been murdered using a fast-acting poison in Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13 on the orders of his half-brother Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong Nam is believed to have been murdered in a plot using a fast-acting liquid poison.
One of those arrested has been named by Malaysian police as Ri Jong-chol, 47, from Pyongyang.
It is understood Jong-chol graduated in chemistry and medicine from a North Korean university in 2000, later working in chemistry research in India.
A police source said it was too soon to conclude that Jong-chol was behind the liquid poison believed to have been used to kill Kim Jong-nam.
'He is being quized on this and he is also being questioned about the whereabouts of three accomplices who are still at large.'
One of the suspects, North Korean Hong Song Hac, left Malaysia on the day of the murder
Ri Jae Nam arrived in Malaysia on February 1 and left the country on February 13
O Jong Gil was only in Malaysia for a week before escaping on the day of the murder
Ri Ji U is also one of the suspects who Malaysian police are looking for following the murder
Police fear, however, that three other men - said to be part of a gang of four men working with two women in Kim's murder - might have already escaped from Malaysia.
Special branch officers studying CCTV footage from Kuala Lumpur Airport, where Kim was attacked last week, have allegedly pinpointed three men aged between 30 and 50 who boarded a flight to another South East Asian country immediately after the incident.
Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam and Siti Aisyah, right from Indonesia have both been arrested
North Korean Ri Jong chol, left is believed to be a chemistry expert while Malaysian Muhammad Farid Bin Jallaludin, right, has also been detained in connection with the murder
CCTV footage shows that the suspects changed their clothes before heading to the departure hall to board their flight.
'The suspects wore grey, purple and green clothing respectively prior to the attack,' said a police source.
'However, after the attack, they went to a restroom and changed before heading to the departure hall to board their flight.'
Police are convinced this was a pre-conceived plan as the two women allegedly involved in the attack - and who have claimed they were tricked into believing they were taking part in a tv prank - have told officers there was no sign of their male accomplices after the event.
Police also released a photograph of Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong
If the arrested North Korean man, Jong-chol, was part of the assassination team, either directly or indirectly, police believe he would know the names of the three men who remain at large.
This would enable Malaysian police to alert authorities in neighbouring countries to watch for them and detain them.
On Sunday, the Deputy National Police Chief of Malaysia, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said four other suspects were on the run. He said the men were North Korean and had flown out of the country last Monday, when Kim died.
'I am not going disclose where they are,' he told a room packed with journalists. Interpol was helping with the investigation, he said.
Noor Rashid showed photographs of the four North Korean men police were trying to track down. They were traveling on regular - not diplomatic - passports and are aged 33, 34, 55 and 57.
Kim Jong Nam, pictured, died shortly after the hit squad administered the poison on Monday
He also said there was a fifth North Korean man whom authorities wanted to question.
Kim Jong Nam was waiting for his flight home to Macau when, authorities say, he was set upon by two women. He sought help at a customer service desk and said 'two unidentified women had swabbed or had wiped his face with a liquid and that he felt dizzy,' Noor Rashid said Sunday.
Kim died en route to a hospital after suffering a seizure, officials say.
Noor Rashid said Sunday that he expected autopsy results to be released within days. 'We have to send a sample to the chemistry department, we have to send a sample for toxicology tests,' he said.
Investigators also want to speak to Kim Jong Nam's next of kin to identify the body. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
'We haven't met the next of kin,' Noor Rashid said. 'We are working, we are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and to assist us in the investigation.'
The case has raised tensions between Malaysia and North Korea. Pyongyang officials have demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to an autopsy, saying they will reject any results. The Malaysians went ahead with the autopsy anyway, saying they were simply following procedure.
Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, said that Malaysia may be 'trying to conceal something' and that the autopsy was carried out 'unilaterally and excluding our attendance.'
New Yorker Bryan Skilinski, 40, was found 'in relatively good health'
A man who spent five days and nights wandering lost in a snowy national park in Colorado has been found alive.
New Yorker Bryan Skilinski, 40, was found 'in relatively good health' by search crews about one-and-a-half miles south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve visitor center Thursday evening, according to the National Park Service.
The Great Sand Dunes National Park is in Alamosa County in southwestern Colorado.
Skilinski entered the park last Saturday and became disoriented while hiking in deep snow.
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Skilinski braved low temperatures, high winds and snow storms with little winter gear as he tried to find his car
More than 28 people from multiple agencies searched for Skilinski on Thursday after his car was found abandoned in the park's horse trailer lot
He braved low temperatures, high winds and snow storms with little winter gear as he tried to find his car.
More than 28 people from multiple agencies searched for Skilinski on Thursday after his car was found abandoned in the park's horse trailer lot.
'We could not have asked for a better outcome', said Great Sand Dunes National Park Acting Superintendent Scott Stonum.
Edward Putman,who fraudulently won a 2.5million Lotto jackpot, apparently showed off a fake ticket to friends five months beforehand
A convicted rapist who 'fraudulently' won a 2.5million Lotto jackpot showed off a fake ticket to friends five months beforehand, it has been claimed.
Edward Putman, 51, is believed to have submitted a 'deliberately damaged ticket' to trick the National Lottery into making the payout in 2009.
Now, his best friend Stephen Warner, also 51, has revealed that Putman apparently used his friends to test out the scam - later admitting that it was a wind-up.
Mr Warner said the ticket, which Putman had waved in front of neighbours, 'looked legit'.
However, he said that he and other friends were suspicious because they knew that Putman's friend Giles Knibbs worked at Camelot.
He told The Sunday Mirror: 'He just turned up and was waving this ticket. It was from two weeks before and I was looking at the ticket because I knew Giles worked at Camelot.
'But the numbers matched and all the neighbours were saying "Buy us this, buy us this"'.
Putman admitted three days later that it was a hoax, but did not explain how he got the fake ticket - which may in fact have been the same ticket he used to claim the jackpot with five months later.
Knibbs, 38, who worked in the fraud detection department at Camelot, is believed to have told Putman which shop the legitimate winning slip for the unclaimed 2.5million jackpot was bought from and the exact time of the purchase.
Putman allegedly then bought a ticket from the same shop using the winning numbers before carefully scratching off the barcode and date to fool Camelot's jackpot claims department.
Knibbs, 38, who worked at Camelot, is believed to have told Putman which shop the legitimate winning slip for the unclaimed 2.5million jackpot was bought from
Putman (pictured outside court in 2012, wearing a hooded jacket) may have used his friends to test out the scam - later admitting that it was a wind-up
Mr Warner, who is no longer in touch with Putman, says he told him he had made his new-found fortune on the property market and even took him and his family to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for a holiday.
He claims that on this holiday, Putman told him 'five people' were involved in the scheme, adding that he was willing to go for prison for it.
A Gambling Commission report into the suspected scam found there was evidence that the claim was 'more likely than not' fraudulent.
It also stated that the fact Putman waited almost six months to claim his winnings, and did so just ten days before the deadline, should have aroused suspicions.
Putman, who served four years of his seven-year rape sentence in the 1990s, agreed to share his winnings with Knibbs, sources have claimed.
But when he reneged on his promise, Knibbs allegedly smashed the rapists car and the CCTV cameras on his 700,000 house in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, last year.
Putman, a former builder, made a complaint to the police and Knibbs, who lived in St Albans, was then charged with blackmail and attempted burglary.
But three days before he was due in court Knibbs killed himself in October last year.
Putman was arrested two weeks later when friends of Knibbs told police about the apparent lottery scam.
However, the rapist was released without charge due to a lack of evidence.
In December, it was claimed that Putman was likely to keep all the money because Camelot has lost his slip.
Three unnamed suspects have been arrested in the alleged rape of a Massachusetts woman at the popular beach resort Playa Rosita, near Taganga, Colombia, according to Colombian newspaper El Heraldo.
They were arrested after the police raided several houses in the region on Friday night.
Citing an anonymous source, El Heraldo reports that police found unspecified objects allegedly owned by the suspects at the crime scene.
Three unnamed suspects have been arrested in the alleged rape of a 42-year-old Massachusetts woman at Playa Rosita, near Taganga, Colombia
Just after midnight on Friday, masked intruders invaded the popular resort and allegedly robbed a group of tourists from Spain, France and Belgium
Just after midnight on Friday, masked intruders invaded Playa Rosita - robbing a group of tourists at gunpoint and allegedly sexually assaulting a 42-year-old Massachusetts woman.
One of the victims told Colombian digital news site Seguimiento.co that he and another man were tied up and held at gunpoint while a woman from Massachusetts was raped on the terrace of a model house.
They bound and gagged nearly a dozen tourists and allegedly assaulted the unnamed woman
One of the victims tells Colombian digital news site Seguimiento.co that he and another man were tied up and held at gunpoint while a woman from Massachusetts was raped
He said there were at least four men demanding that the tourists tell him where the owner of the lodging site was, and that they had a Venezuelan accent.
The tourists reportedly include travelers from Spain, France and Belgium.
The thieves took around five million Colombian pesos, close to $1,734, and cell phones and personal items from the tourists.
A man is dead after he forced his way into a secure area at Honolulu International Airport and was detained.
The man ran through a security checkpoint at a small commuter terminal about 5:48 am early Saturday.
The unidentified man, who did not have a ticket, pushed aside a security officer and forced his way through the exit lane of the security checkpoint.
He ran through doors where airplanes were parked, and was stopped by an airport employee, who was backed up by other law enforcement and security officers, reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
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The moment that a man (wearing black) ran through the Honolulu airport and a security checkpoint around 5:48 am early Saturday morning
Picture shows the moment that he ran through doors where airplanes were parked, he was quickly stopped by airport security
Video courtesy of Hawaii News Now:
There was a struggle after he was detained, as the suspect became combative. The man then became unresponsive.
Efforts to revive him were made by the Honolulu Fire Department, EMS and Airport Rescue Fire Fighters, State Transportation Department spokesman Tim Sakahara told the Star-Advertiser.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified by authorities, but was known to be in his 40s, the newspaper said.
A man is dead after he forced his way into a secure area at Honolulu International Airport (pictured) and was detained
Efforts to revive him were made by the Honolulu Fire Department, EMS and Airport Rescue Fire Fighters, State Transportation Department spokesman Tim Sakahara told the Star-Advertiser
One law enforcement officer with the Securitas firm taken to the hospital with head injuries, Sakahara said.
A Hawaii News Now reporter Mahealani Richardson was at the airport, and reported that the incident frightened travelers.
'All of a sudden, this man, a very large man, ran through the terminal and started ramming himself through the doors. It was really scary during those moments, we had no idea what was going on,' Richardson reported.
Honolulu police detectives are investigating the incident, and have opened an 'unattended death investigation'.
Three teenage girls remain on the run after a young woman was stabbed at Melbourne's White Night festival.
The 21-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after she was allegedly slashed with a knife to her upper arm at the Southern Cross railway station on Saturday night.
Victoria police said a bitter dispute erupted after the victim was approached by three teenagers on Spencer Street.
Detectives have released images of the two females who may be able to assist with their enquiries after a 21-year-old woman was stabbed following a bitter dispute on Saturday night
Police lined the streets at Melbourne's White Night festival as thousands flocked to the event
The woman was then allegedly stabbed by a teenager of Asian appearance who was wearing pink thongs.
All three teenagers who have been described as Islander or Asian appearance fled the scene. They were last seen running down Spencer Street towards Flinders Street.
The St Kilda woman was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Detectives have released images of the two females who may be able to assist with their enquiries.
Police were called to Federation Square after two groups of youths clashed around 2am on Sunday (picture of the annual event)
Meanwhile, police were called to Federation Square after two groups of youths clashed around 2am on Sunday.
Up to 21 people were arrested for intoxication, drugs, assault, criminal damage and weapons offences.
But despite the tensions, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the city to watch the spectacular light display at the annual event.
'Police are happy with overall crowd behaviour at last night's White Night event in Melbourne's CBD,' a police spokeswoman said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
An epidemic of waste costs the NHS more than 2 billion a year, The Mail on Sunday can reveal today.
Hospitals across the country are routinely paying above the odds for everyday items such as toilet rolls, office paper and detergent wipes.
And they are burning further cash through costly mistakes such as failing to maintain equipment properly and making erroneous payments to staff.
Our revelations come a week after we told how one hospital the Royal Berkshire in Reading almost paid 855 for a simple blackout blind.
A matron put paid to that outrageous bill by visiting a local branch of Homebase and buying one for 22.95 instead.
But numerous examples of profligacy litter the Health Service at a time when many hospital trusts across England are desperately short of cash and some are being forced to ration operations.
In one of the most absurd cases of waste, we discovered hospital staff using Royal Mail to send documents to colleagues along the corridor rather than the free internal mail system.
An epidemic of waste costs the NHS more than 2 billion a year, The Mail on Sunday can reveal today (file photo)
We can also reveal that:
Some hospitals have been paying twice as much for loo roll, A4 paper and wet wipes as others;
Several have had to junk drugs worth tens of thousands of pounds because of faulty fridges;
Some have written off overpayments to staff which the employees themselves did not flag up with one NHS trust signing away more than 50,000 to one person.
Former Ministers who have tried to tackle the problem believe the waste is costing the NHS at least 2 billion a year and perhaps as much as 5 billion.
The Royal Berkshire hospital in Reading almost paid 855 for a simple blackout blind, an item which costs 22.95 in Homebase (file photo)
Even at the lower end, 2 billion would fund the construction of four or five major hospitals a year, or pay for 90,000 extra newly qualified nurses, or 36,000 salaried GPs.
Last night, former Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said NHS managers were costing the Health Service dear by failing to get the best prices for medical supplies. He also accused companies of ripping off the NHS by insisting on secret deals which prevented one hospital trust from telling another what it had paid.
Dr Poulter said: Procurement might not be the sexiest subject, but it is vitally important that the NHS drives a hard bargain.
City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust paid 66.72 for a 100-pack of toilet rolls, or around 66p a roll. That is almost double the 34.14 paid by neighbouring North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (file photo)
Every pound that can be saved on basic medical supplies is a pound that can be spent boosting the workforce or funding a life-changing new drug. Better buying saves lives.
Unfortunately, the sad fact is, too often NHS buyers havent got a clue if they are overpaying, because firms are doing all they can to keep their prices secret.
Startling examples of price differences are found in the NHS Procurement Atlas of Variation.
It shows City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust paid 66.72 for a 100-pack of toilet rolls, or around 66p a roll. That is almost double the 34.14 paid by neighbouring North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.
If staff at either trust had gone to Tesco they could have stocked up on nine-packs of Spring Force toilet roll, which sell for 2 or 22p a roll.
The price difference for A4 paper is even starker.
2Gether NHS Foundation Trust in Gloucestershire paid 4.34 per 500-page ream more than double the 1.84 paid by Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. It is a similar story with detergent wipes, with Croydon Health Services NHS Trust paying 2.60 a pack, while the Plymouth Hospitals trust pays just 1.38.
Procurement is not the only problem. Using Freedom of Information requests, we have also found how NHS trusts have written off millions of pounds due to drugs waste and salary overpayments. East Kent Hospitals wrote off 1.5 million because of a problem with a cleanroom in 2014-15, and another 437,515 in 2015-16.
When a fridge used to store medicines at University Hospitals Birmingham malfunctioned, drugs worth 239,697 had to be thrown out.
NHS trusts have written off millions of pounds due to drugs waste and salary overpayments (file photo)
A similar problem, with a faulty fridge thermostat at United Lincolnshire Hospitals, led to drugs losses of 77,000. Rather than continuing to chase an employee paid 51,060 too much, Frimley Health Foundation Trust in Surrey wrote it off, as did Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust in a similar instance, costing 6,130.
Last night NHS Improvement, the quango responsible for financial matters, claimed major steps were being taken to cut waste, after a damning report by Labour peer Lord Carter was published a year ago.
A spokesman said: Lord Carters report showed that 5 billion of efficiencies can be made if each hospital operated as efficiently as good performers. Since the report, NHS Improvement has been helping hospitals to implement the recommendations by supporting them to understand where they need to improve.
This programme is progressing at pace across every area of the hospital, and were pleased with the demonstrable enthusiasm being shown by NHS clinical leaders. Initiatives such as Getting It Right First Time have provided better outcomes for trauma and orthopaedics patients while also generating almost 50 million in efficiencies.
He said a new benchmarking tool being developed showed that up to 270 million could be saved per year if NHS trusts secured the best prices for most products. He added: It will provide full transparency and the ability for NHS Improvement to see what prices trusts are paying suppliers.
Trust sent its internal post on 90-mile round trip Former chief executive Jean O'Callaghan warned her 5,200 staff not to sent important internal mail with the Royal Mail, costing the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust BY JONATHAN BUCKS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY Like many large organisations, the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has a pigeon post internal mailing system. It is supposed to provide a speedy and cost-effective way of getting documents between departments. But for reasons not entirely clear, some staff used Royal Mail instead. It meant mail was sent on a 90-mile round trip from the hospital in Reading to a sorting office in Swindon and back again. The extraordinary waste of public cash was revealed in a blog written last year by then-chief executive Jean OCallaghan, who urged her 5,200 staff not to be so careless. In a post entitled Shooting ourselves in the foot, she wrote: Did you know that some staff send internal letters by first or second-class post? These letters are sent out and delivered back again costing us money which we cannot afford to waste. If you have letters for colleagues that need to go through the internal mail, especially to other sites, and it is urgent, you could either scan and email it, or mark it urgent and take it to the post room. We need to take more care of unnecessary waste like this. Last night a hospital spokesman said: While this is no longer a concern as most staff communicate via secure email, as with every organisation running a multi-site operation, staff are periodically reminded that internal mail to colleagues on other sites should go through the internal mail network. Advertisement
This cosy cartel of NHS suppliers is ripping us all off, says former health minister DR DAN POULTER
Dr Dan Poulter says: 'Our hospitals are getting ripped off left, right and centre'
The NHS has enormous purchasing power. Its hundreds of hospitals across England buy equipment from loo paper to CT scanners worth at least 22 billion every year.
But many people would be surprised if they knew just how poorly the NHS uses its financial muscle to strike a good deal from its suppliers.
In short, our hospitals are getting ripped off left, right and centre. And with 18 in every 100 you pay in tax being spent on the NHS, that means youre getting ripped off.
As a Health Minister in the Coalition Government, I had a team look into how much hospitals could save by buying better from their suppliers. The staggering answer? At least 2 billion a year. That sort of money would pay for a lot more doctors and nurses.
We made some headway by getting local groups of hospitals to work together so they could drive better deals with suppliers.
But we never achieved the big prize of forcing suppliers to state publicly a unit price for everything they sold to the NHS.
If managers in one hospital could see how much less their counterparts in the next town were paying for surgical gloves, disinfectant wipes or intravenous cannulas, they could get better deals. Transparent pricing would drive prices down across the board saving the NHS colossal sums of money, to be reinvested into frontline patient care.
We knew we were on to something when the big medical product companies made it clear they would fight us tooth and nail. These firms operate by giving NHS buyers the impression they are getting a good deal. But that can often be smoke and mirrors. For instance, a supplier will give a hospital trust what looks like a great price on a big-ticket item as a sweetener. But the firm will insist the hospital keeps the price secret and will also insist it has to buy a whole suite of other products.
So while NHS managers think they are getting a good deal, in reality they dont really know.
The big medical suppliers are using this price secrecy to divide and rule individual trusts.
That is why they started lobbying the Government at the highest level when I put forward the plan to have a price-transparency clause inserted in all NHS supplier contracts.
In quiet conversations, they implicitly threatened to cut investment in Britains life sciences industry if we forced them to come clean on prices.
I believed this was a largely empty threat, but to my intense frustration we failed to make progress in delivering the price transparency that could save the NHS so much money.
Its a great shame. Because as the NHS struggles to meet the demands of our growing and ageing population, it can ill afford to swell the coffers of a cosy cartel of companies.
Iraqi forces launched an offensive on Islamist militants defending Mosul's west bank Sunday, in what could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on the city.
"Our forces are beginning the liberation of the citizens from the terror of Daesh," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a short televised speech, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation. We are coming, Nineveh, to liberate the western side of Mosul," he said, referring to the province of which Mosul is the capital.
Federal police and interior ministry forces were expected to start the new phase in the offensive by moving on Mosul airport, which is on the southern edge of the city, west of the Tigris River.
The militants have put up stiff resistance to defend Mosul, their last major stronghold in Iraq and the place where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" in 2014.
After shaping operations around Mosul, it took Iraq's most seasoned forces -- the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) -- more than two months to clear the eastern side of Mosul.
After a pause in the operation launched on October 17, federal forces now face what was always billed as the toughest nut to crack: Mosul's west bank, home to the narrow streets of the Old City.
"West Mosul had the potential certainly of being more difficult, with house-to-house fighting on a larger and more bloody scale," said Patrick Skinner, from the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy.
The streets around the historical centre, which includes the mosque in which Baghdadi made his only public appearance in June 2014, will be impassable for many military vehicles and force government fighters to take on IS in perilous dismounted warfare.
Prior to the offensive that saw IS seize Mosul and much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland nearly three years ago, the east bank was more ethnically diverse than the west, where analysts believe the militants could enjoy more support.
"IS resistance could be greater in this area and it will be harder, but all the more important, to completely clear the networks from Mosul after its recapture," said Emily Anagnostos, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
While the federal forces' attrition is said to be high, IS's had been undoubtedly higher and commanders have said the jihadists may no longer have the resources to defend east Mosul effectively.
Recent incidents in liberated east point to the difficulty of ensuring remnants of IS have not blended in with the civilian population in a huge city which most residents did not flee ahead of the government offensive.
Aid organisations had feared an exodus of unprecedented proportions before the start of the Mosul operation but half a million -- a significant majority -- of residents stayed home.
Their continued presence prevented both sides from resorting to deadlier weaponry, which may have slowed down the battle but averted a potentially much more serious humanitarian emergency in the middle of winter as well as more extensive material damage to the city.
"Mosul is going better than we expected, but there are serious dangers ahead," Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, told AFP.
Residents of west Mosul have reported very difficult living conditions and warned that they were already low on food, with weeks of fighting expected to lie ahead.
IS fighters and Mosul residents remained able to move across both sides of the city during much of the fighting in the east but all bridges across the Tigris have now been dropped and the jihadists in the west are all but besieged.
IS has used civilians as human shields as part of its defence tactics and killed residents attempting to flee, making it both difficult and dangerous for the population to escape.
While specialised units may attempt to throw pontoon bridges across the river to attack from the east, the main initial assault of the upcoming phase in the Mosul is expected to come from the south on the city's airport.
Army, police, interior ministry and special forces have been gearing up for the push on Mosul's southern front, with a large concentration of fighters based out of Hammam al-Alil.
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Investigators spying on Robert Xie while gathering evidence against the mass-murderer were faced with a dilemma after watching him 'uncomfortably' touch his niece.
Should they tell the teenage girl that her uncle was the main suspect in her family's killings?
The revelation on Sunday that cops observed Xie touch his niece, Brenda Lin, in an 'uncomfortable' way was especially distressing in light of the recently revealed sexual motive for the slayings.
Earlier this week, it was reported that prosecutors argued Xie killed Ms Lin's parents, brothers and aunt so that he could have unfettered access to the teenage girl - whom he has been accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting after she moved into his house following the murders.
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Investigators spying on Robert Xie while gathering evidence against the mass-murderer observed him 'uncomfortably' touch his niece, Brenda Lin (pictured)
The revelation on Sunday that cops observed Xie touch his niece, Brenda Lin, in an 'uncomfortable' way was especially distressing in light of the recently revealed sexual motive for the slayings
'To this day, my biggest regret was not hugging (my father)': While Ms Lin was on the week-long trip to New Caledonia, her father Min (right) was brutally murdered
Police observed the 'uncomfortable' touching by hiding 'pinhole' cameras in Xie's home, the Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The cameras were installed after Xie, 53, became a main suspect in the July 2009 slayings.
Among several instances of touching captured by the hidden cameras, Xie was observed laying a hand on Ms Lin's shoulder while she was seated at a desk and studying.
Ms Lin was only 15 years old and had been abroad on a school trip when her family was killed.
While police said the touching they observed didn't amount to molestation, Ms Lin has accused her uncle of sexual assault. However, Xie has not been charged with sexual offences.
Xie was last week sentenced to five lifetimes in prison for the murders of Ms Lin's parents Min and Lily, aged 45 and 43, her two younger brothers Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, and her auntie Irene, 39.
Across four murder trials spanning seven years Brenda's identity was kept hidden, but that suppression order was lifted when she agreed to appear in an exclusive interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night program, Fairfax reported.
Brenda Lin's parents Min, 45, and Lily, 43 were killed after being bludgeoned with a 'hammer-like object' by Robert Xie
Ms Lin, who is now in her 20s, will break her silence and reveal the 'sexual motive' behind her uncle's horrific crimes in the tell-all interview.
'I do not even know how to begin to express how the murder of my immediate family have impacted my life there are not enough words to describe the pain and suffering caused me and those around me,' Ms Lin said in her statement to court.
She also spoke about the last time she saw her father.
Shortly before the murders, while about to board a plane for New Caledonia to go on a week-long school excursion, she chose not to hug or talk to her dad in front of her classmates.
She had no idea that while she was gone, her entire family - including both parents, two younger brothers and auntie - would be murdered by Xie.
'Being a prideful teenager I did not say anything to my father, I just stood there awkwardly and thought to myself 'It is just going to be a week, I am going to see them again really soon',' Ms Lin said in court during Xie's sentencing last week.
'To this day, my biggest regret was not hugging (my father) and telling him I loved him, to say thank you for being an amazingly loving and caring parent.'
'It has been seven-and-a-half years since I have lost my family. That's seven-and-a-half years without a loving mother, seven-and-a-half years without a loving father.
A furious struggle took place in the bedroom of her two young brothers Henry (left) , 12, and Terry (right), 9 - but both were killed by their sinister uncle
Irene - Brenda Lin's auntie - was the fifth member of the family to suffer a horrendous fate at Xie's hands
'Seven-and-a-half years without two exuberant brothers who were my best and closest friends and seven-and-a-half years without an extremely kind aunt.
'In this time I have finished my HSC, was accepted into uni, got my first part-time job and learnt to drive. But I have achieved all these things without my family beside me.
'These inherently happy moments are now at most bittersweet, they have now become a painful reminder of the family I have lost and I will never see again.'
During the trial police revealed that the killer appeared to be familiar with the layout of the home and chose to enter Ms Lin's room, pointing them towards Xie as a suspect.
The court also heard that Xie touched Ms Lin inappropriately and the assaults became more frequent after she had to move into his home after the killings.
Xie offered to adopt Ms Lin immediately after the murders, and allegedly assaulted Ms Lin up until he was charged with her family's murders in 2011, the court heard.
A former prison psychologist has converted to Islam and married a member of the Skaf gang notorious for raping teenagers across Sydney in 2000.
The former psychologist Joanne Natalie Senior, 36, converted to Islam after marrying the Skaf gang member who was released in 2013 - and it is her second relationship with a man from the Skaf gang, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Her husband was one of nine men responsible for a string of gang rapes across Sydney in 2000 led by Bilal Skaf, which a judge described as 'worse than murder'.
Parklea prison where Joanne Natalie Senior is believed to have met her husband from the notorious Skaf gang
The 36-year-old Joanne Senior married the gang rapist, changed her name to her husband's and is living with her partner and her parents in western Sydney.
The convicted rapist, who was serving time in Parklea prison, cannot be identified because he was 17 when he raped two girls in 2000. One was a 13-year-old and another in a separate assault was a 14-year-old committed with one of nine men responsible for the gang rapes across Sydney in 2000.
The Skaf gang member was requested by parole officers to provide the name of his wife to work out if she was an 'appropriate person' as a partner for him.
Despite breaking his parole terms in refusing to give out information about his wife - Joanne Natalie Senior - his parole was never revoked, according to a Corrective Services spokeswoman.
The Skaf gang were convicted over a series of rape attacks back in 2000
Joanne Natalie Senior was a psychologist at Parklea prison but was struck off in 2015
The publication claims Senior ran a sex offenders' program in Parklea prison back in 2010 and 2011.
She began her relationship with a man, whose name was suppressed at the time of the Skaf trials because of his mental and intellectual disabilities.
She visited the prisoner 24 times in jail without authorities realising she was an employee, which included organising a special birthday surprise for him.
During this relationship she took his surname, moved in with his mother and engaged in phone sex where he allowed him to call her 'a sl**'.
Bilal Skaf was the leader of the gang that raped teenagers across Sydney in 2000
The relationship with the man, who is now on parole, came to an end in 2012, before she was suspended from Corrective Services.
Senior was subsequently disqualified from practising psychology in 2015 after admitting to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal that she entered into relationship with the man.
Forensic psychologist James Ogloff, said psychologists can become emotionally vulnerable when working with inmates.
He said the 'forbidden attraction' can play a role as the reason psychologists fall for an inmate often during time of stress divorce or a bad relationship.
Rogue scientists are feared to have doctored the data confirming forensic test results of hundreds of people, sparking a massive miscarriage of justice inquiry.
Parents may have had children taken into care or been turned down for adoption as a result of the scandal, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Others could have lost driving licences or been jailed for drug-driving offences because data was allegedly tampered with.
Rogue scientists are feared to have doctored the forensic test data of hundreds of people, sparking a massive miscarriage of justice inquiry
As part of their inquiries, police are investigating whether disaffected lab workers at health company Randox falsified quality control data that verifies the accuracy of test results.
Sources said the company handles as many as 80,000 cases in a single year a number of which may now be challenged as a result of the alleged data tampering.
This could lead to the courts having to hear appeals against hundreds of convictions and family court judgments.
The motivation behind the alleged doctoring is unknown.
Lyn Brown, Labours policing spokesman, said: It is very disturbing to think about the scale of this miscarriage of justice and it raises serious questions about the privatisation of the Forensic Science Service under this government.
Tory MP Tim Loughton, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: Serious questions need to be asked about how this was able to happen, and what checks and balances are in place to scrutinise the quality of results that affect peoples lives.
The revelations could spark a crisis in the criminal justice system with hundreds of cases thrown out and a flood of appeals and compensation claims costing millions.
Last week two men were arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice as top police chiefs and prosecutors held crisis talks about the alleged quality failure at the leading science firm.
Randox, which pays former Tory Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson 4,166 a month as a consultant, has been used by every single police force in the UK.
Forces will now write to at least 500 people whose criminal and civil cases may have been wrongly decided on the basis of compromised results provided to the courts by the lab.
The inquiry comes weeks after a watchdog, Forensic Science Regulator Gillian Tully, warned that the integrity of the criminal justice system was at risk from poor-quality testing.
Last night a source said: Potentially a lot of people will have been prosecuted and lost their driving licences who shouldnt have done, and families will have been torn apart because the scientists worked on social services and adoption cases.
Ive never come across [claims of] deliberate manipulation of data like this its unprecedented.
National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Forensic Science, Chief Constable Debbie Simpson, said: We have been made aware of a quality failure with Randox Testing Services (RTS), which is currently being investigated and a criminal inquiry has been launched by Greater Manchester Police. Randox has provided each force with a list of cases that could have been affected.
National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Forensic Science, Chief Constable Debbie Simpson
Working in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), we have provided guidance to forces so they are able to review each case to determine if compromised data played a part in prosecution and the CPS will then take appropriate action in any cases identified.
The compromising of the test results is said to have happened at a site in Manchester run by Randox. The Northern Ireland-based health firm had a turnover of 92 million last year and will sponsor the Grand National for the first time in April.
As an approved Home Office supplier, its scientists analyse samples of blood, saliva and hair for traces of drugs and alcohol on behalf of police forces around the country as well as family courts that decide custody and adoption cases.
The two unnamed men who have been arrested are believed to have worked since 2006 at the lab. It was previously run by the now-defunct Trimega and Ingemino and taken over by Randox in 2014.
One insider suggested the men might have been unhappy at the way their company was being run.
Randox became aware of an anomaly in one case which led to a full internal investigation in January, and it then called the police in. It has dismissed one employee and is investigating another. Initially it was feared that results were altered in as many as 5,000 cases but the firm is now said to have narrowed it down to 484.
Randox Testing Services said in a statement: We are working round the clock to address the issues that resulted from this investigation.
Greater Manchester Police said: Two men, a 47-year-old and a 31-year-old, have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and released on bail until March 6.
Former police leader Lord Paddick, the Lib Dems spokesman on home affairs, said: Whenever you farm out forensic testing to private companies, it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure quality control.
The Cabinet Minister at the centre of the storm over savage increases in business rates was accused of betrayal last night after it emerged he previously backed calls for small firms to be spared crushing charges.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid is facing a growing Conservative revolt over the April rates rise, which will hit many small shops while bills fall for giant online retailers.
Furious MPs say shortly before Mr Javid entered Government he founded the influential Free Enterprise Group (FEG) of Tory MPs, which called for the cripplingly high rates to be axed to stop high streets turning into boarded-up wastelands.
Chancellor Philip Hammond was today said to be looking at ways of easing the MPs' concerns.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid is facing a growing Conservative revolt over the April rates rise
One of the groups reports, which The Mail on Sunday understands was written by present International Development Secretary Priti Patel, demanded a radical overhaul of the system to spare small businesses such as the chain of corner shops once owned by her father.
Tory MPs are putting intense pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to perform a U-turn in next months Budget before business rates change for the first time in seven years as a new valuation based on property prices comes into effect.
... as his constituency gets the biggest CUT in charges Sajid Javids constituency is set to receive the largest windfall in business rates in England. The Communities Secretary last week dismissed the revolt against the shake-up of business rates as scaremongering. But while revaluation will see 500,000 shops, cafes and other businesses pay up to 300 per cent more, Mr Javids Bromsgrove constituency is set to benefit with a cut of 11 per cent. Thats the biggest reduction of any English constituency, according to figures compiled for The Mail on Sunday by business rates advisers CVS. Fury over the revaluation has been made worse by claims from business groups that small firms could be blocked from appealing against bills if they are within a margin of error. Experts claim this could be as high as 15 per cent. Other beneficiaries include Treasury Secretary David Gaukes constituency of South West Hertfordshire, with bills falling four per cent. In Business Minister Greg Clarks Tunbridge Wells constituency, rates bills are set to fall by about four per cent. A spokesman for Mr Javid said that he did not recognise the figures. Advertisement
In an attempt to take the sting out of the revolt, rebel MPs were privately told this weekend they would receive letters from Mr Javids department setting out the scale of the proposed rates rise in their constituencies.
The aim is to persuade them that rates will not rise sharply outside the most expensive parts of the South.
The FEG, which also included current Culture Secretary Karen Bradley, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer, said the UK should follow the American example of driving down business rates.
The report, written in November 2013, said rate relief should be extended to keep very small businesses from potentially crushing rates.
It added: Reducing business rates should be a priority because it will not only allow businesses to continue growing, but allow new businesses to start. Revaluating rental properties more frequently could facilitate the growth of Britains high streets.
One MP and former FEG member said: The Cabinet is packed with Ministers who hold passionate free-market beliefs and think shop-owners who work 16-hour days should not be allowed to go to the wall. Sajid used to be one of them.
'But they just sit there, mute. Its a betrayal.
Mr Javid, who grew up over his parents shop in Bristol, left a formal position on the FEG to become an aide to then Chancellor George Osborne shortly before the report was published.
Furious MPs say shortly before Mr Javid entered Government he founded the influential Free Enterprise Group (FEG) of Tory MPs, which called for the cripplingly high rates to be axed to stop high streets turning into boarded-up wastelands
A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said: The FEG made a series of policy ideas on this before the Election and we want to see that spirit of radical reform of business rates harnessed to save our high streets.
A Government spokesman said: Nearly three quarters of businesses will see no change, or even a fall, in their business rates bills.
'Weve also introduced 3.6 billion in support for companies affected by the revaluation making the system accurate and fair for everyone.
June Brown revealed to BBC's Kirsty Young she had her heart broken by a Belgian man
When EastEnders star June Brown appeared on Desert Island Discs last week, she poignantly dedicated a song to her first love.
The actress, who plays Dot in the BBC soap, told host Kirsty Young she had fallen for dashing Belgian Ralph Latimer while the 23-year-old was living with her family in Ipswich but that he broke her heart by marrying another woman.
Latimer had fled to Britain after escaping his homeland following the German invasion. Now, The Mail on Sunday has tracked down his relatives, and they reveal how he became a fearless war hero who parachuted into Belgium as a member of Churchills Secret Army, and was later imprisoned and brutally tortured by the Gestapo.
The agents courage earned him the Military Cross, and his glowing citation spoke of how he was devoted to duty and fearlessness in the face of danger and betrayed no one.
Latimer moved to Jersey after a post-war career in pharmaceuticals, and died on the island in 1994.
His daughter Rosa Lia discovered her fathers astonishing story after finding his candid diaries, which also give a fascinating insight into secret operations in occupied Europe. Now 70, Rosa Lia said: He will always be my hero.
After the war, my father was very humble about his feats. He came back from Belgium emaciated and traumatised but he never mentioned what he suffered as a result of the torture and ill-treatment.
I only found the manuscript after he died. He was so brave. He was the most decorated man on Jersey but he was never pretentious about it. He was such a humble man.
Ralph Latimer (right) moved with June and her family in Ipswich, where she fell in love with him. He later broke her heart when he married his wife, Rosa (left)
June was just 13 when Latimer, ten years her senior, arrived at the family home in 1940 after her father found him living in digs and felt sorry for him. The actress, 90, told Radio 4: I was very much in love with him. He told his mother he was going to marry me when I was 16.
But Latimer was called up in February 1941, joining the Royal Army Medical Corps. The couple exchanged letters using the pet names Raoul and Juanita, but contact dwindled, leaving June disconsolate. In 1942, she wrote to him asking to meet at Piccadilly Circus, but he never turned up.
Latimer had, in fact, joined the Special Operations Executive, which conducted clandestine operations in occupied Europe. His first mission was to be parachuted into Belgium to equip resistance groups with arms, helping recover weapons dropped into the countryside by the British.
June (above) told Radio 4: I was very much in love with him. He told his mother he was going to marry me when I was 16'
Against orders, he handed explosives to an underground group, which blew up a signal box at Liege, delaying trains between Belgium and Germany. He was recalled to London, where he met his wife Rosa, but hated the citys continuous parties and was itching to get back to war.
He finally returned to Belgium in March 1944, to set up a communications network for the Belgian Secret Army, but was captured by the Gestapo two months later. Despite being tortured, Latimer did not break. He was loaded on to a train to Germany but escaped after railway workers blew up the tracks.
When Brussels was liberated, Latimer returned to Britain and married Rosa in January 1945.
His diaries can be bought at memoirsofraoul.wordpress.com.
Union baron 'Red' Len McCluskey (pictured) was accused of presiding over a 'culture of freebies and favours'
Union baron 'Red' Len McCluskey was accused of presiding over a 'culture of freebies and favours' last night as the battle for control of the Unite union exploded into life.
Gerard Coyne, fighting to topple the Unite general secretary in a leadership contest, targeted Mr McCluskey over his controversial purchase of a 700,000 London flat with the help of 417,000 union funds.
Mr Coyne, 49, the union's West Midlands regional secretary, said that the sum was equivalent to 2,293 years' worth of subscriptions from a Unite member.
The battle is crucial to the future of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader because Mr McCluskey, 66, is Mr Corbyn's main union backer.
But Mr Coyne dismisses Mr McCluskey as the Labour leader's 'puppet master'. McCluskey became the owner of the two-bedroom apartment near Borough Market a year ago.
Unite put forward 60 per cent of the cost after signing an equity share agreement.
Mr Coyne told Unite members in Stoke-on-Trent: 'I find it remarkable when I hear Len McCluskey talk about greedy bosses.
'The truth is the man who talks about greedy bosses is a greedy boss himself...Vote to end the McCluskey culture of freebies and favours.'
Mr McCluskey said the flat arrangement was an 'accepted and profitable investment for the union'.
The result of the contest will be announced in April.
A 33-year-old man accused of stabbing his wife to death had found out she was having an affair, his lawyer has told court.
Shahab Ahmed appeared in the Parramatta Local Court on Sunday, charged with the murder of his 29-year-old wife Khondkar Faihi Elahi.
The woman was fatally stabbed in the chest in a suspected domestic violence attack at a Parramatta unit in Sydney's west on Saturday night.
Ahmed's lawyer Zemarai Khatiz said his client had been in a distressed and emotional state since the incident.
'The deceased was having an affair. He found out about it and the relationship came to a very tragic end,' Mr Khatiz said outside court.
A 33-year-old man has been charged with murder after a woman was stabbed to death
Ahmed, originally from Bangladesh, moved to Sydney about five years ago, his lawyer says.
The woman suffered several stab wounds at the unit on Campbell Street shortly before 10pm on Saturday.
She was found in a cardiac arrest before being rushed to Westmead Hospital where she later died.
The man was arrested at the scene before he was taken to Parramatta Police Station where he was charged with one count of murder.
A crime scene has been established at the home and inquiries are continuing.
Ahmed did not apply for bail and will reappear at Parramatta Local Court on Monday.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
Police were called to the Parramatta home on Saturday night following reports of a stabbing
Theresa Mays threat to walk away from Brussels without a trade deal if Brexit talks end in failure faces a fresh challenge in the House of Lords tomorrow.
A group of rebel peers will try to change the Brexit Bill to force the Prime Minister to give Parliament a vote on Britains final exit terms regardless of the outcome of negotiations.
Their plan follows claims that anti-Brexit MPs were duped by the Government when they mounted a similar ambush in the Commons two weeks ago.
Theresa Mays threat to walk away from Brussels without a trade deal if Brexit talks end in failure faces a fresh challenge in the House of Lords tomorrow
Some Tory MPs cried foul after backing the Government at the last minute, only to hear Brexit Minister David Jones rule out the idea of Mrs May going back to the negotiating table if there was no EU deal.
The rebel peers hope to win a vote on the issue to gain further concessions from the Government.
The move will be led by Lord Pannick, the crossbench peer who led the successful High Court bid to stop the Government signing Article 50 which triggers Britains two-year departure from the EU without the go-ahead from Parliament.
He will be backed by former diplomat Lord Kerr, the author of Article 50, who has said that leaving the EU without a deal would be the worst possible outcome for Britain creating legal chaos and uncertainty for businesses.
The move will be led by Lord Pannick, the crossbench peer who led the successful High Court bid to stop the Government signing Article 50 without the go-ahead from Parliament
The bill for Britains exit could rise by more than 50 billion and it was naive to believe the economy would reach the sunlit uplands with a swift trade deal with America, he added.
Lib Dem Lord Newby hit back at threats by some Tory MPs to scrap the Lords if it tried to block Brexit.
He told The Mail on Sunday: 'We will not simply wave the Brexit Bill through.
'There is no point having the Lords if it does not exercise its constitutional powers to scrutinise legislation.
'Mrs May blows hot and cold. If she had any sense she would accept our amendments.'
But a senior Conservative pro-Brexit peer said it would be a terrible mistake if colleagues tried to overturn the result of the referendum.
The referendum proved that the elite who sit in their ermine cloaks on the benches of the Lords are out of touch. It is time they realised it.
Any final deal should be legitimised by a vote of all the people, says LORD NEWBY, Liberal Democrats leader in the House of Lords
Tomorrow, the House of Lords finally gets the Article 50 Bill.
A piece of legislation which would have been passed last July with little difficulty now faces choppy waters.
Since last June, we have had the decision to rip us out of the single market and customs union in order to allow us to curb EU migration and take us outside the scope of the European Court of Justice.
Lib Dem Lord Newby hit back at threats by some Tory MPs to scrap the Lords if it tried to block Brexit. He told The Mail on Sunday: 'We will not simply wave the Brexit Bill through'
We have had the sight of the Prime Minister, as part of a pivot to the US, dash across the Atlantic bearing the bauble of a state visit for the eccentric, Putin-supporting, protectionist President Trump.
And we have had a White Paper on the Governments Brexit plans which Ken Clarke described as having as much in common with reality as Alice in Wonderland.
So when the House of Lords debates the Bill, what will its attitude be?
The first thing it will not be is scared.
A number of anonymous Government sources and some not so anonymous Tory MPs have threatened the House of Lords with abolition if we dont simply wave the Bill through.
There is zero chance of that.
There is no point in having a House of Lords if it does not exercise its constitutional powers to scrutinise legislation and, where it thinks it needs improving, to amend it and ask the Commons to think again.
So where will the Lords be seeking to amend the Bill?
Lord Pannick will be backed by former diplomat Lord Kerr (pictured), the author of Article 50, who has said that leaving the EU without a deal would be the worst possible outcome for Britain
First, it will seek to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
The Government says it agrees with this principle but wont commit to it until the EU agrees to do the same with UK nationals living in the EU.
This might be a sensible negotiating tactic if we were discussing inanimate objects.
But the current uncertainty facing the three million EU citizens in the UK, who make such a valuable contribution to our economy and our society, is completely unacceptable and flies in the face of British values of tolerance and fairness.
We will then be seeking to protect our position inside the single market.
The new uncertainty facing Vauxhall plants in the UK underlines how vulnerable key parts of the economy really are.
And being outside the single market will impose bureaucratic costs and delays which could cripple some parts of the exporting economy.
We will be seeking to ensure that Parliament has a meaningful say on all the options at the end of the negotiating process.
The Government has trumpeted as a concession to Parliament that there will be a take it or leave it vote when the deal is struck.
But this could mean choosing between a costly Brexit package and crashing out of the EU altogether.
Parliament needs to be able to instruct the Government to seek improvements, or to vote against a harmful deal and to remain within the EU.
And finally, as Lib Dems, we are arguing that any final deal should be legitimised by a vote of all the people.
Lord Newby writes: 'There is no point in having a House of Lords if it does not exercise its constitutional powers to scrutinise legislation and, where it thinks it needs improving, to amend it and ask the Commons to think again'
The Brexit negotiations were triggered by last Junes referendum, but whilst we voted for departure, there was no agreement on the destination. Very far from it.
So, when we know what is on offer, everyone should have another vote on whether they think the deal is acceptable or as I suspect it is apparent that wed be more prosperous and secure if we stayed within the EU.
The Government will resist all these amendments, so what are our chances of success?
The Government doesnt have a majority in the Lords. There are roughly 250 Conservative Peers, compared with about 200 Labour, 100 Lib Dem and 180 independent Cross-Benchers.
So no party can win a vote on its own. It has to gain the support of others.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is strong cross-party support for the amendments I have described, particularly on guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens.
So it is highly likely that the Government will be defeated on several occasions.
How will they respond? It is very difficult to know what the Prime Minister really thinks. To put it charitably, she blows hot and cold on her approach to the Brexit talks.
But if she had any sense she would accept our amendments.
Giving EU citizens their rights is merely being decent. Giving Parliament and the people a greater say is being democratic.
But if the Government whips their troops in the Commons to reverse any Lords defeats and the Bill comes back to the Lords, the Lords will not significantly delay the Bill. Even with ping-pong between the two Houses, the Bill will be able to get Royal Assent before the Governments deadline of 31 March.
By then, if the Lords has done its job properly, it will be a better Bill.
How much has Russia's malevolent President Vladimir Putin influenced Donald Trump? For months this frightening suggestion has rattled around the free world, with suggestions of dark deeds and nefarious dossiers. Last week, we saw one answer with an astonishing press conference straight out of the Kremlin textbook. It was filled with falsehoods, phoney claims and vicious verbal assaults on his enemies, like nothing seen before in the White House's long history.
From the moment he strolled up to the East Room podium to present an epic one-man show, the delusions and the delirium of the 45th President of the United States were on full, and frankly, disturbing display. It marked a new low in the nation's political history. Behind the trademark bluster and bombast, the world's most powerful person revealed burning resentments and bristling insecurities rarely seen in a President, let alone one just four weeks into office.
Trump's rambling soliloquy was punctured with self-pity, sarcasm and sheer fury before the world's press presenting an alternative reality to that seen by almost everyone else here in Washington. There was one truth at the outset when he declared: 'I don't think there's ever been a President elected in this short period of time who has done what we've done.'
Behind the trademark bluster and bombast, the world's most powerful person revealed burning resentments and bristling insecurities rarely seen in a President
Certainly he has shaken up his nation, although not necessarily for the best. After just 30 days yes, it seems much longer Trump's approval ratings have plunged to historic lows, while his administration has been plagued by chaos. There has been the divisive inaugural speech, bungled immigration ban, bumbling talks with foreign leaders, swirling rumours of Russian links, and chaotic appointments culminating in the humiliating sacking of his key security adviser.
The buffoonish 70-year-old billionaire with orange face, small hands and strange hair has picked ceaseless fights with judges, journalists and television jokers.
And he seems to expend huge political capital pursuing silly feuds on social media. Yet as he stood before the cameras, his yellow bouffant lost in glitzy golden drapes behind him, this strange insurgent politician claimed to be a great success still adored by the American people who had handed him power against all expectations.
'I turn on the TV, open the newspapers, and I see stories of chaos,' he said. 'Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine despite the fact that I can't get my Cabinet approved.'
The 77-minute event, hastily arranged and featuring surreal flights of fancy, led one Senator to text: 'He should do this with a therapist not on live TV.' Another Republican insider described it to me as 'performance art'. Others simply wonder if their President is a bit bonkers prompting the psychiatry professor who defined narcissistic personality disorder to write to the New York Times saying it was stigmatising the mentally ill to be 'lumped with Mr Trump'.
For all the crass bragging and bogus claims, it was great theatre, although opinion is split whether it was comedy, tragedy or some inventive form of political drama that speaks to those voters turned off by traditional discourse who put him in power.
There were demands for 'friendly' questions, discussion of cable TV ratings, constant assaults on 'fake news', attacks on defeated rival Hillary Clinton, even telling an Orthodox Jewish reporter to 'sit down' for daring to ask about anti-Semitism.
At times it was terrifying, such was the detachment from the truth. Trump's travel ban went smoothly (despite being deterred by courts). Claims of Russian collusion were 'fake news' (despite the sacking of his security aide). And he won the biggest electoral college margin since Ronald Reagan (despite facts to the contrary).
At some points it was appalling. A black radio reporter raised a question, only to be asked if she was 'friends' with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and might set up a meeting for the President.
It was unintentionally funny. Trump disclosed he had known his wife Melania 'for a long time'. And after his briefing on nuclear issues, the new President could assure his people that 'nuclear holocaust would be like no other'. And at times it was even touching. 'I'm really not a bad person, you know,' he mused.
Above all, it was compelling a car crash of a press conference by a politician who is a unique showman. Name another world leader you might watch for more than an hour and a quarter even if it is with horror through your hands.
'Tomorrow they will say 'Donald Trump rants and raves at the press',' he said. 'I'm not ranting and raving. I'm just telling you. You know, you're dishonest people. But I'm not ranting and raving. I love this. I'm having a good time doing it.'
At least someone in Washington is enjoying the Trump takeover of their town. Most remain perplexed at best, fearful at worst and there are 1,353 more days of this until the next election. Perhaps this is the new politics amid anger against the established order. Yet one day this man and his 'fine-tuned machine' will be tested by real conflict, possibly with the spilling of American blood rather than silly skirmishes on Twitter.
And this is why, as you wander Washington's corridors of power amid those splendid neo-classical buildings reeking of history, the mutterings grow louder about America's bizarre new leader and his chaotic team. 'There are always going to be growing pains in any new administration but we have never witnessed such dysfunction and incompetence as this,' said one former White House aide, now advising a prominent Republican Senator.
This cerebral conservative rightly fears Trump is demeaning his office, fuelling US divisions and corroding his moral authority and that this could cause problems in a crisis if he must ask his nation and other Western powers to trust his actions.
Others put it more starkly. 'This is the most dangerous President in my lifetime,' said Eliot Cohen, a prominent defence analyst who served under George Bush. He was utterly scathing to me about the ineptitude and nastiness of Trump and his team.
Such fears are intensified by events such as last week's press conference.
A mural of Donald Trump and Theresa May dancing like the stars of La La Land was seen in London
Hours later came news that Robert Harward, a retired admiral who was next pick for National Security Adviser, had turned down the post.
This role determines intelligence seen by a President, so could not be more crucial. General Mike Flynn, Trump's foolish first choice with a fondness for conspiracy theories, was dismissed amid controversy that still rumbles over undisclosed links to Russia.
Yesterday, there was a rally in Florida, following a brief stopover at Boeing's plant in South Carolina on Friday to promote Trump's 'America First' focus on jobs.
'We want products made by our workers in our factories stamped with those four magnificent words Made In The USA,' he declared, standing in front of the aircraft manufacturer's new 330-seat Dreamliner. It is a popular message. But behind him sat a glistening example of globalisation and not just since it shrinks the planet. For the huge new plane has parts from across the world: British engines, French gears, Indian floor beams, Italian fuselage, Mexican thrust reversers, South Korean wingtips and Swedish cargo doors. Trump's proposed import tariff could hurt firms such as Boeing with highly complex supply chains, which underlines the difficulty this disruptive political force has in turning campaign rhetoric and simplistic pledges into hard political substance.
Already he has turned political certainties on their head.
First with his astonishing victory against all odds and now with his ranting, his use of social media, his assaults on mainstream media and his amazing ability to brazen out falsehoods.
Then there is the breathtaking hypocrisy. One minute he is on the campaign trail encouraging hacking that undermines American democracy; the next he stands before his people as President demanding an inquiry into security leaks.
Yet one of the weirdest aspects of his ascendancy is a seeming determination to carry on in power as if still campaigning.
Witness the Florida rally, continuing shrill attacks on Clinton and ceaseless torrent of tweets to his 25.1 million followers.
THIS behaviour defies expectations of establishment Republicans who reluctantly fell in line after he seized their party's nomination. Several told me they thought he would tone down his antics in power and were alarmed by his actions. Mitch McConnell, the highly disciplined Senate majority leader, has said Trump was making life harder for himself with distractions 'on a daily basis' and would be 'ten to 15 points higher if he allowed himself to stay on message'.
So will there be more of these revealing and disturbing shows in the White House? One Republican source told me that even one of Trump's closest friends says there is a good Trump and a bad Trump, before adding: 'The trouble is that while the good version is like Ronald Reagan, the bad version is Richard Nixon.'
The big question is whether this turbulent presidency will settle down perhaps restrained by establishment forces in courts, security and Congress already flexing muscles or end up like Nixon, forced to resign in shame?
Just one month into the Trump epoch, this astonishing suggestion is already being discreetly aired as the dark shadow of Putin looms large. 'It is not impossible if uncomfortable evidence emerges over Russia,' said a foreign policy expert in the Senate.
A Republican predecessor in the White House famously said nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. That person was Abraham Lincoln, often acclaimed as the greatest President for steering the nation through its most challenging crises. So have that dignified leader's wise words ever rung truer than with his dismal successor, Donald Trump?
Russia was behind a plot to kill Montenegro's Prime Minister and overthrow the government in an election day coup to stop the country from joining Nato, Whitehall sources say.
The Kremlin was allegedly behind a plot to assassinate Milo Djukanovic, who was then prime minister, on October 16 last year.
The revelations come after new Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic told Russia to stop destabilising the county while opposing its Nato bid.
The Kremlin was allegedly behind a plot to assassinate Milo Djukanovic (pictured), who was then prime minister, on October 16 last year
The Kremlin, opposed to further Nato expansion in Europe, has denied involvement in the alleged coup plot.
But senior Whitehall sources told The Sunday Telegraph that the planned coup demonstrated Russia's increasingly aggressive international policy.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is believed to have discussed the matter with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at a meeting last week.
The plot is said to have been constructed so that it could be blamed on rogue Russian nationalists if uncovered, and it is likely to have come from high-up within the Kremlin.
A source told The Telegraph: 'You are talking about a plot to disrupt or take over a government in some way. You can't imagine that there wasn't some kind of approval process.'
A special prosecutor in the former Yugoslav republic said in November that a group of 'Russian nationalists' had planned to assassinate Djukanovic to get an opposition party into power.
The Kremlin, opposed to further NATO expansion in Europe, has denied involvement in the alleged coup plot. But Whitehall sources said the planned coup demonstrated Russia's increasingly aggressive international policy
Montenegrin opposition parties claim the plot was fabricated and accuse Djukanovic of using the security services to help extend his quarter century of dominance.
Some 20 people - including two Russian citizens - have been suspected of participating in the October plot.
Predrag Bogicevic and Nemanja Ristic were arrested in January over the alleged plot, while Russians Eduard Shirokov and Vladimir Popov remain on Interpol's wanted list.
Montenegro's special prosecutor has urged the national assembly to lift the immunity of two senior opposition leaders allegedly involved in the attempted coup.
Predrag Bogicevic and Nemanja Ristic (left and second left) were arrested in January over the alleged plot. Russians Vladimir Popov (second from right) and Eduard Shirokov (far right) remain on Interpol's wanted list
The public prosecutor wants immunity removed so that Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic could be detained and eventually put on trial for criminal conspiracy and inciting 'acts against constitutional order and security of Montenegro.'
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said Montenegro had identified Russian nationals as behind the plot.
The spokeswoman said: 'Montenegro must itself deliver a competent, transparent judicial process and trial of the coup suspects.
'Success would be a major step in convincing the international community of real progress in Montenegrin rule of law reform and compatibility with NATO and EU standards.'
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that Washington was keen for a new start in relations between the two countries, sources in Yildirim's office said, after ties soured during the Obama administration.
Pence and Yildirim met on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, Germany, and discussed improving ties, boosting cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the need to work together to find a permanent solution in Syria.
Yildirim told Pence that moves by the United States to meet Turkey's demands over Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric blamed by Ankara for masterminding and orchestrating a failed coup last July, would pave the way for a fresh start in relations.
Ties between the United States and Turkey - which has the second largest army in the NATO alliance and is key to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq - have deteriorated sharply since the failed military coup.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the government want Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, extradited. Gulen denies involvement in the coup attempt.
Ankara has also been angered by U.S. support for a Kurdish militia group fighting Islamic State in Syria. Turkey sees the group as an extension of the outlawed PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey and has been behind a spate of recent bombings.
Erdogan believes ties will improve under U.S. President Donald Trump. A phone call between the two earlier this month was very positive, sources in Erdogan's office have said.
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A woman has been charged with murdering her own mother after allegedly shooting the 71-year-old in the head with a rifle.
The woman was arrested by Special Emergency Response Team officers after a five-hour standoff at a rural property in Queensland on Saturday, police said.
Police responded to the property on Cameron Creek Road, a dirt track in the community of Hope Vale, around 11am after a witness told cops they saw the elderly woman lying dead, a Queensland Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
After learning the victim's 46-year-old daughter was allegedly armed, police waited at 'some distance, by the driveway' for the tactical response team to arrive.
A woman has been charged with murdering her own mother after allegedly shooting the 71-year-old in the head with a rifle. Stock photograph
There was no communication with the woman during the standoff, and no violence, police said.
'There was never a violent siege or anything, it was staged for our own safety to ensure special officers were available,' the police spokesperson said.
The woman was arrested by Special Emergency Response Team officers after a five-hour standoff at a rural property in Queensland on Saturday, police said
'It was to protect our own people, and to assure the woman didn't injure herself.'
Police also declared a an emergency situation under the Public Safety Preservation Act and cordoned off the area.
The woman surrendered peacefully at around 4.30pm.
The suspect was believed to have lived with her mother at the property, which is located in a 'very sparsely populated area,' police said.
No one else was believed to have resided at the property. Police had no information on whether other family members had been notified of the incident.
It was unclear if the woman had a license for the rifle that was allegedly found at the property.
Police said the woman died from a single gunshot wound. According to the Cairns Post, the woman was struck in the head, but police would not confirm this.
The 46-year-old was charged with one count of murder and is due to appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday.
They are a popular kitchen gadget advertised in high street stores as being efficient and extra safe.
But trendy induction cooking hobs pose a potentially fatal threat to people fitted with pacemakers and insulin pumps.
Magnets in the hobs can prevent nearby medical equipment from working properly but warnings about the risks are often buried so deep in the instruction manuals that users can be unaware of their dangers.
Magnets in the hobs can prevent nearby medical equipment from working properly
Manufacturers and retailers are now being urged to print health warnings on the packaging and on websites where they are sold.
Induction hobs are advertised as being more efficient than traditional ceramic ones and extra safe. They work by generating a magnetic field that induces heat on to a pan when it is placed on to the hob.
But those with a pacemaker or devices such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillators should not come close to this kind of magnetism.
Joan Merchant, 70, a retired solicitor who began researching induction hobs because she was concerned that if she bought one it might pose a risk to family members, contacted The Mail on Sunday to raise the alarm.
Mrs Merchant, from Inverness, discovered their dangers only after she downloaded an instruction manual. It was about 30 pages long and the only warning was in there, she said. There was nothing to warn you on the websites selling the hobs.
Department store John Lewis thanked The Mail on Sunday for bringing the issue to their attention
My brother-in-law has a pacemaker and my son has type 1 diabetes and is about to be fitted with a pump so this is very relevant to us. My husband and I are retired, so we might find out we need to get a pacemaker.
Lucy Wilkinson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: Anyone with a pacemaker should keep a distance of at least 60cm when using an induction hob. If theyve had prolonged close contact with an induction hob, they should go to their pacemaker clinic to make sure the device is still working correctly.
Dan Howarth, head of care at Diabetes UK, said: We would support very big capital letter warnings they should not be in the small print at the very back.
Department store John Lewis thanked The Mail on Sunday for bringing the issue to their attention and promised to include the warnings on its website in the future.
The MoS contacted several major induction hob brands, including Bosch, but they failed to respond.
Mike Coupe, 56, called for a 'level playing field' after the Government faced a backlash over the controversial new levy
A Sainsbury's boss has called for an end to the business rates rise as it was revealed his supermarket will have to pay 17million more each year.
Mike Coupe, 56, called for a 'level playing field' after the Government faced a backlash over the controversial new levy.
Small firms will be hammered by the shake-up of a rates regime that will earn the Treasury 1billion more next year.
The first revaluation of the business levy in seven years will force 500,000 traders to pay more.
Some pubs, shops and nurseries face 300 per cent hikes. Even schools, GP surgeries and colleges are being hit.
MPs said it was scandalous that independent traders were being punished while online giants such as Amazon get a rates cut.
Sainsbury's announced it will pay an extra 17m as its bill hits 500m.
Mr Coupe told The Sun: 'The way it stands, there's an advantage for those without bricks and mortar operations.
'We believe it is an archaic and outdated system. Businesses like ours with lots of property and employees face a bigger burden than others.'
Business leaders urged ministers to scrap the new charges, which come into force from April.
Earlier this month, Money Mail launched a campaign to Save Our Shops. It called on the Government to urgently review how business rates are calculated before thousands of livelihoods and businesses are damaged.
Meanwhile, Mr Coupe said he expects competition authorities to have a field day after it emerged on Friday that the US owner of Heinz was trying to buy consumer goods giant Unilever.
Unilevers shares rocketed 13 per cent, valuing it at 108 billion, after news broke of an approach from Kraft Heinz.
Mr Coupe told The Sun: 'The way it stands, there's an advantage for those without bricks and mortar operations'
Any deal would be one of the worlds biggest ever takeovers and would result in a business with annual sales of more than 60billion.
Kraft Heinz is majority owned by Berkshire Hathaway the conglomerate headed by legendary investor Warren Buffett and investment group 3G Capital, which are believed to be strong supporters of the takeover bid.
Mr Coupe, said of the bid: Unilever is our biggest supplier.
'Given that Heinz is also a fairly big supplier, I would imagine the competition authorities would have a lot to say about it and that would be the case in every country they both trade in.
Supermarkets are portrayed as having a disproportionate amount of power in supplier relationships, but [critics] sometimes miss the point that Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Coca-Cola are massive monoliths many times our size and making massive profits.
The boss of Sainsburys said he expects competition authorities to have a field day after it emerged that the US owner of Heinz was trying to buy consumer goods giant Unilever
The group would have larger sales than Tesco and more than twice those of Sainsburys.
He added: Its huge a reflection of the way the world is changing. Its likely to be long and drawn out, simply because the competition authorities will have a field day.
Unilever said the offer of about 40 a share fundamentally undervalues its business and that it does not see the basis for any further discussions.
Chicago-based Kraft Heinz admitted there was no certainty of a deal but implied it would pursue the plan.
Military historian Sir Antony Beevor (pictured) faces up to five years in prison if he goes to Russia
Military historian Sir Antony Beevor faces up to five years in prison if he goes to Russia because of his account of the mass rape of German women by Stalins armies at the end of the Second World War.
Since he revealed the abuse in his 2002 bestseller Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Moscow has passed a law banning criticism of the Red Army.
Interviewed on Desert Island Discs, to be broadcast on Radio 4 today, Sir Antony says a Russian ambassador accused him of lies, slander and blasphemy.
Technically I am liable to five years imprisonment if I go back. The ambassador explained that the [Russian] victory in the war was sacred and obviously the appalling accounts of the rapes undermined the sacred element of the victory.
Sir Antony also tells host Kirsty Young that researching the crimes an estimated two million German women were raped led to him suffering a nervous breakdown.
Despite establishing a reputation as one of Britains finest military historians, Sir Antony reveals that he failed his history A-level at Winchester College in the 1960s.
Heartwarming photos capture the moment Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) greet a family of asylum seekers from Somalia who braved sub-zero temperatures to walk across the US border into Canada.
The officials were at the US-Canada border near Hemmingford in Quebec when they stopped the young Somali family of three as they illegally crossed over.
Family members dragged luggage and pushed their toddler in a stroller through the snow before officers detained them, per standard procedure for refugee claimants.
Canadian Mounties greeting asylum seekers from Somalia who walked across the US border into Canada near Hemmingford, Quebec on Friday
Officials stopped the young Somali family of three as they illegally crossed over the border
Family members dragged luggage and pushed their toddler in a stroller through the snow before officers detained them
'The RCMP aren't there to treat them like bandits. They're here to apply the law', retired Surete du Quebec police officer and Hemmingford resident Francois Dore told CBCNews.
They will go before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada tribunal at an unspecified date to apply for refugee status.
The small town of Hemmingford has seen a surge of asylum seekers since President Donald Trump took office and instated a ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia.
Though key parts of the ban have been blocked by a federal judge, there is still confusion.
Asylum seekers from around the world have shown up here cold and hungry from difficult border crossings in the dead of winter.
'Sometimes when youre left with no options and youre looking for a better life for yourself, people do take risks', Mohamud Noor, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota told Global News.
'It will increase rather than decrease This is not going to reduce'.
The Somali family will go before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada tribunal at an unspecified date to apply for refugee status
A number of refugee claimants are braving the elements to illegally enter Canada
The Canadian government does not have statistics on the number of people seeking refugee status who enter the country illegally.
But Sergeant Harold Pfleiderer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told The New York Times that 'there has been an increase in illegal migration in Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, with the largest increase being seen in Quebec'.
The reason they are crossing into Canada is because the country is part of an agreement that bars refugees that have already arrived in another 'safe' country from trying to trade up to another country.
A Canadian Mountie extends his hand to help a young man from Yemen cross into Canada at the US-Canada border near Hemmingford, Quebec
The Canadian government does not have statistics on the number of people seeking refugee status who enter the country illegally
This has put refugees and asylum seekers already in the US in a tough position, since many of them have become fearful about what will happen to them if Trump's travel ban is reinstated, or if he crafts an even tougher executive order.
The only way for them to gain refugee status in Canada is to physically cross the border illegally.
In fact, as soon as they arrive in the country, some people have been tracking down police officers to arrest them.
Members of a Somalian family are escorted to waiting vehicles by Canadian Mounties
The only way for refugees and asylum seekers already in the US to gain refugee status in Canada is to physically cross the border illegally
Some people have been tracking down police officers to arrest them immediately
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that he is 'very concerned' with the amount of asylum seekers crossing into rural areas
Because they need to report to the authorities within three days of entering Canada in order to claim refugee status, some have been banging on locals' doors to use the phone at 2 or 3am.
'It started with a trickle and has now increased to a flood stage', resident Brenda Piett said.
'Some people are scared, nervous. Locking their doors. This town most people never locked their doors. But recently they are'.
A Somali man wipes a tear after crossing the US-Canada border into Canada near Hemmingford, Quebec
The Somali man carries his belongings after crossing into Canada over the US-Canada border near Hemmingford, Quebec
He is frisked by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer after crossing the US-Canada border into Canada near Hemmingford, Quebec
Residents of US-Canada border towns predict the number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally will continue to increase, especially as the weather gets warmer
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that he is 'very concerned' with the amount of asylum seekers crossing into rural areas.
But Trudeau did not say whether he would seek to suspend Canada's agreement with the US and allow these people to apply for refugee status at official borders.
The majority of these crossings have been happening on the New York-Quebec border, which authorities attribute to its closeness to the major East Coast cities.
Some even take Ubers all the way up from New York City to the border so they can cross over.
This is the dramatic moment a man is sucked 300 metres out to sea by a torrent of fast-moving water after a river broke its banks.
Michael Hall, 36, went down to watch the Greeenough River burst into the ocean at Cape Burney, in Western Australia's mid-west, on Friday afternoon.
Crowds of locals lined the edges of the channel to watch the remarkable surge of water, but Mr Hall decided to swim in the raging rapids.
Underestimating the power of the flowing river, he was quickly washed out towards the ocean where huge waves were breaking.
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Michael Hall, 36, (pictured) was seconds from death after a burst river sucked him 300 metres out to sea
Shocked spectators looked on as the raging current swept Mr Hall further out to sea. A friend was able to borrow a surfboard and push him back to shore in a 'semi-conscious' state
Mr Hall is pictured floating happily in the rapids, before he realised he was in serious danger
Craig Wise, who had turned up to watch the river bank burst, watched the terrifying event unfold from the shore.
'All of a sudden he decided to ride the rapids down. As he was riding it he decided he wanted to come out, but he just couldn't,' Mr Wise told Daily Mail Australia.
'It was just too rough, the currents were unbelievable.'
As Mr Hall quickly swept further and further out of sight, one of his friends bravely grabbed a stranger's surfboard and started desperately paddling out to save him.
By the time he reached Mr Hall, he had taken on a lot of water.
'He was pretty much about 30 seconds away from going under, he swallowed a lot of a lot water,' Mr Wise said.
'It was pretty touch and go.'
A friend borrowed a stranger's surfboard and was able to prop Mr Hall on to the board and send him back to shore
But by the time he reached the shore he was in a dire condition, going purple in the face and struggling to breath
Craig Wise, who had turned up to watch the river bank burst, put Mr Hall in the recovery position until paramedics showed up (pictured)
Eventually paramedics were able to make their way onto the isolated beach and take Mr Hall to Geraldton Hospital
The friend was somehow able to prop Mr Hall onto the borrowed board and push him to shore.
Mr Wise, who is senior first aid certified, said Mr Hall was purple in the face, limp and 'only just conscious' when he finally reached the shore.
'We put him into recovery position, that's when he started throwing up all the blood and water in his lungs,' he said.
'If he had of been there for another 30 seconds he wouldn't have made it.'
Eventually paramedics were able to make their way onto the isolated beach and take Mr Hall to Geraldton Hospital, where he was discharged from on Saturday morning.
Geraldton Police Constable Stephen Caldwell told the Sunday Times that Mr Hall was lucky to escape with his life.
'They've gone down there for a good time, good intentions and they've done something 95 per cent of the public wouldn't do, and it could have ended very tragically,' he said.
Friends and family have been left shattered after the death of Che Jennar only a week after the 18-year-old celebrated her birthday.
The beloved teenager died after the car she was in veered off the road and rolled down an six metre embankment on Thursday west of Emerald, the central highlands of Queensland.
The driver, 17-year-old Shania Sobczak, remains in a stable condition in Rockhampton Hospital after sustaining serious head injuries, according to The Courier Mail.
Che Jennar, 18, died in a tragic car accident on Thursday only one week after celebrating her 18th birthday
The 17-year-old New South Wales woman was visiting Ms Jennar when the car rolled down the embankment, according to the publication.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Ms Jennar following the tragic incident, which has seen a flood of heartfelt messages pour in.
'Love and heartfelt sadness to Che's family. Another Angel just grew her wings,' wrote S. Poole.
Rebecca S wrote: 'Rest In Peace darling girl, You will be long remembered by me and my boy.'
'My thoughts are with the family and friends. Taken far too young from a small town suffering too much in past months. RIP,' wrote R. Douglas.
The GoFundMe page has raised $3,890 so far.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of Che Jennar
During a campaign-style rally on Saturday, Donald Trump used a quote from one of the nation's Founding Fathers out of context to vindicate his war against the media.
At the 'Make America Great Again' rally in Melbourne, Florida which mirrored the rhetoric throughout his campaign tour, Trump said he hoped to speak 'without the filter of fake news' - whom he declared the 'enemy of America' this week.
The President then referenced previous American leaders who combated the media during their time in the White House.
During a campaign-style rally on Saturday, Donald Trump used a quote from one of the nation's Founding Fathers out of context to spearhead his war against the media
He said: 'Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln: many of our greatest Presidents fought with the media, and called them out, often-times, on their lies.
'In fact, Thomas Jefferson said: 'Nothing can be believed which is seen in a newspaper'.'
However, this quote from Jefferson was not said at the time to criticize the media - but rather to highlight the importance of providing concrete facts
The clipped excerpt comes from a personal letter Jefferson wrote in June 1807 to John Norvell in regard to the First Amendment - which legally protects the rights for free speech and free press.
The actual quote says: 'It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more compleatly [sic] deprive the nation of it's benefits, than is done by it's abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.'
The document goes on to describe possible ways to construct newspapers to distinguish areas of undeniable fact from conjecture - much in the way we structure newspapers today, differentiating news and crime from opinion and feature pieces.
Several years earlier, Jefferson defended the necessity of the media, saying: 'were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.'
The parallels between Trump and Jefferson in regard to their relationship with the media are strong.
The parallels between Trump and Jefferson in regard to their relationship with the media are strong
Though Jefferson originally advocated for the importance of newspapers - he developed an ardent dislike for them when they painted a negative picture of him approaching his inauguration as President, similar to Donald Trump.
However, newspapers at that time were subject to far less regulation and scrutiny than they are today.
Ken Paulson, president of the Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center, told The Washington Post: 'For all the talk of media bias today, it can't compare to the overt partisanship and personal attacks appearing in papers in our nation's early years. But Jefferson also knew that our democracy could only flourish with a free press that would keep an eye on people in power and help protect our freedoms.'
Jefferson maintained the importance of the media later in life, when he said: 'the only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted, when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary to keep the waters pure.'
This is not the first time President Trump has wrongly quoted a Founding Father, after posting a widely discredited quote by Abraham Lincoln to commemorate the 16th US President's birthday
In addition to taking Jefferson's comments out of context, the President also presented a number of disproved claims during the rally on Saturday, including reports of satisfaction polls
This is not the first time President Trump has confounded quotes from a Founding Father, after posting a widely discredited quote by Abraham Lincoln to commemorate the 16th US President's birthday.
In addition to taking Jefferson's comments out of context, the President also presented a number of disproved claims during the rally on Saturday, including reports of satisfaction polls.
Trump said: 'Look at what's happening to every poll when it comes to optimism in our country. It's sweeping across the country.'
Throughout his month-long tirade against sources he deems 'fake news,' such as the New York Times, CNN, ABC, he has maintained that any negative reporting on him is incorrect
However, Trump and his administration have themselves reported falsely on their own performance, including their incorrect report that Trump received the most electoral college votes since Reagan in 1984
President Trump has failed to provide concrete evidence that the media has reported falsely on his administration
However, Trump and his administration have themselves reported falsely on their own performance, including their incorrect report that Trump received the most electoral college votes since Reagan in 1984
Politico reported that according to recent polls on Gallup, 57 per cent of Americans view our nation's status unfavorably on the world stage, and Trump's approval rating has bottomed out at 41 per cent, the lowest approval rating Gallup has measured of any president since Dwight Eisenhower.
Throughout his month-long tirade against sources he deems 'fake news,' such as the New York Times, CNN, ABC, he has maintained that any negative reporting on him is incorrect.
President Trump has failed to provide concrete evidence that the media has reported falsely on his administration.
However, he and his administration have themselves reported falsely on their own performance, including their incorrect claim that Trump received the most electoral college votes since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
One of Britains best-known bishops faced controversy last night after it emerged his diocese refused to punish two leading priests in a new church child sex abuse row.
The London diocese, headed by the Bishop of London Richard Chartres the third most senior Church of England cleric faced a call by the bishops own independent inquiry to consider punishing two priests criticised after a trainee vicar raped two Christian girls.
But the diocese did not take any action, saying it could cause further upset to the victims.
The London diocese, headed by the Bishop of London Richard Chartres (pictured) the third most senior Church of England cleric faced a call by the bishops own independent inquiry to consider punishing two priests criticised after a trainee vicar raped two Christian girls
Oxford-educated Timothy Storey was jailed for 15 years last April after a court heard how he groomed hundreds of children on Facebook, using his position as childrens pastor to prey on weak, insecure girls.
Judge Philip Katz lambasted the utterly incompetent failure of arrogant church leaders to protect young girls and accused them of a cover-up. Bishop Chartres apologised and set up an independent inquiry into the scandal.
The Mail on Sunday has established that it was concluded five months ago.
Oxford-educated Timothy Storey was jailed for 15 years last April after a court heard how he groomed hundreds of children on Facebook
Its full contents were kept secret, but this newspaper can reveal the inquiry said both clerics should face disciplinary action even though both had already been removed from their childrens supervisory roles.
We can also disclose that the two clerics identified in the report only as clergy person A and B are the Reverend Hugh Valentine and the Reverend Jeremy Crossley.
Valentine was Bishop Chartress adviser on child protection during Storeys reign of terror. The Storey trial judge criticised his arrogance in refusing to give evidence.
Valentine has carried on as curate at St Jamess Church, Westminster. In his sermon last Sunday, entitled Sexuality And Bishops, he accused the Church of treating gays and lesbians like embarrassing relations and said religion had helped breed hatred, including homophobia, misogyny and racism.
Valentine also works for a young persons charity, the Walcot Foundation. Crossley was Bishop Chartress director of ordinands, and is Rector at St Margaret Lothbury Church in the City of London.
During Storeys trial, Judge Katz said the diocese was stone deaf to complaints from the victims of self-confessed sex addict Storey, and shamefully tried to shift the blame to police. Some of its leaders seemed to be worried about the reputational damage to the diocese.
Police praised the media for finally bringing Storey to justice.
We can also disclose that the two clerics identified in the report only as clergy person A and B are the Reverend Hugh Valentine (left) and the Reverend Jeremy Crossley (right)
The review ordered by Bishop Chartres said the Church should consider an investigation under the Clergy Disciplinary Measure (CDM) into Valentine and Crossley.
It said the Church must face the consequences of its blunders.
A spokesman for the diocese said: Legal analysis concluded there were not sufficient grounds to pursue complaints under the CDM and any failed process would cause further pain to survivors.
The decision followed an assessment by the diocesian safeguarding team, not the bishop.
Dr John Bates was one of two NOAA principal scientists working on climate change
Revelations by the Mail on Sunday about how world leaders were misled over global warming by the main source of climate data have triggered a probe by the US Congress.
Republican Lamar Smith, who chairs the influential House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology, announced the inquiry last week in a letter to Benjamin Friedman, acting chief of the organisation at the heart of the MoS disclosures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
He renewed demands, first made in 2015, for all internal NOAA documents and communications between staff behind a controversial scientific paper, which made a huge impact on the Paris Agreement on climate change of that year, signed by figures including David Cameron and Barack Obama.
The paper dubbed the Pausebuster claimed that contrary to what scientists had been saying for several years, there was no pause or slowdown in the rate of global warming in the early 21st Century, and that in fact it had been taking place even faster than before.
The pause had been seized on by climate sceptics, because throughout the period, carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise.
This month, this newspaper revealed evidence from a whistleblower, Dr John Bates, who until the end of 2016 was one of two NOAA principal scientists working on climate change, showing that the paper based its claims on an unverified and experimental dataset measuring land temperatures, and on a then newly issued sea-temperature dataset that is now to be withdrawn and replaced because it exaggerates both the scale and speed of warming.
The Pausebuster papers claims were trumpeted around the world when it was published by the journal Science in June 2015, six months before the UN Paris climate-change conference. Its assertions were highlighted in scientific briefings to officials who hammered out the Agreement which commits the developed world to sweeping greenhouse-gas emissions cuts and pledges an additional 80 billion every year in climate-related aid to poor nations.
In his letter to NOAA, Congressman Smith expresses frustration that previous demands for documents about the Pausebuster were not met, although his committee took the unusual step of issuing a legal subpoena. NOAAs decision to withhold the documents was, he wrote, without any justification in law.
As for the revelations by this newspaper, Mr Smith said they raise additional questions as to whether the science at NOAA is objective and free from political interference. NOAA has said it intends to bring in independent outside parties to investigate the Pausebuster and the flawed datasets.
Somalia's new president visited victims wounded by the Mogadishu car bomb that on Sunday killed 34. President Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those who planned the blast.
The explosion hit a busy marketplace in the western part of the capital, said police Capt. Mohamed Hussein.
"It was a horrific and barbaric attack only aimed at killings civilians," he said from the scene of the blast.
Sabriye Abdullahi, an ambulance driver told The Associated Press that some of the injured victims died on their way to the hospitals.
"Many of them suffered extensive third degree burns and others were burned beyond recognition," he said.
The blast from a car parked near a restaurant went off when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle.
Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointed to a clothes shop devastated by the blast. "Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated," he said. Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that remained of the shop.
Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers moved bloodied bodies and wounded victims into ambulances.
"It's a painful carnage." said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with shrapnel wounds
The powerful explosion was the first major attack since Somalia's new president was elected on Feb.8. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, it bears the hallmarks of Somalia's Islamic extremists rebels, al-Shabab. In addition to visiting the wounded in hospital, President Mohamed condemned the blast in a tweet, saying that it shows the "cruelty" of al-Shabab.
A few hours before the blast, al-Shabab denounced the new president as an "apostate" and vowed to continue fighting against his government.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, in a statement condemning the attack, said that "Italy remains solidly on Somalia's side in the process of the country's stabilization." He added that "together we will act so that the terrorists don't succeed in stopping the path of peace and reconciliation that is underway."
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A man who was viciously mauled by a shark is in a critical but stable condition after he was saved by quick-thinking mates who tied his leg to stop heavy bleeding and then rushed him 30 kilometres back to shore.
Glenn Dickson, a 25-year-old father of two, was attacked almost instantly when he entered the water to go spearfishing at a remote reef off Hinchinbrook Island in North Queensland on Saturday morning.
A GoFundMe page, which has raised over $9,000, has since been set up to support Mr Dickson and his fiance Jessie Lee, who is pregnant with their third child.
Glenn Dickson, 25, is in a critical but stable condition after surviving a shark attack on Saturday. His fiance Jessie Lee is pregnant with their third child (pictured)
Mr Dickson was saved by quick-thinking friends, paramedics and emergency surgery but is still fighting for life in Cairns Hospital
Glenn Dickson was attacked almost instantly when he entered the water to go spearfishing at a remote reef off Hinchinbrook Island in North Queensland
'Glenn has a long battle ahead with his recovery after a shark bite to his leg - an attack that could have potentially been fatal if it wasn't for the quick thinking of his good mates whilst out on a leisurely fishing trip,' the fundraising page reads.
Mr Dickson lost a lot of blood during the attack as the shark, believed to be a bull or tiger, snapped down onto his legs and hip until he was rescued by a friend.
Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Neil Noble told the ABC that Mr Dickson was 'extremely lucky to have the outcome he's had so far'.
'Had that bleeding not been controlled with direct pressure and tourniquet applied, and blood being given to him by the helicopter rescue crew, I'd give him another 60 seconds and it's quite possible this gentleman would've died from his injuries.
'In the short term he's doing well and we just hope he will continue to improve.'
Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Neil Noble said Mr Dickson was just 60 seconds from dying from the injuries
Mr Dickson and his partner Ms Lee have two children together - he is currently in a critical but stable condition
According to Seven News Mr Dickson's friends dragged him back to the boat before applying a tourniquet to stop the excessive bleeding.
They then raced him to the mainland town of Cardwell 30kms away where he was stabelise by ambulance crews and rushed to Cairns Hospital.
It has been revealed one of Mr Dickson's friends was an ex navy officer with medical training.
Initial reports from the Cairns Post said Mr Dickson was attacked the moment he hit the water after jumping from a rock near a boat ramp.
The attack was reportedly seen by nearby swimmers.
Close friend Simeon Ballantyne said he was shocked to hear about the attack.
'He is an amazing person, it is terrible news I can't believe it,' Mr Ballantyne told Daily Mail Australia.
'He's a caring person who is always there for his mates and family and is loved by many.
'Hope he recovers from this accident.'
Mr Ballantyne will be flying to be by his friend's side tomorrow and to help support his friend's partner Jessie Janssen.
Mr Dickson loves fishing, according to his friend, who was shocked to hear about the attack
A homebuyer claims she has sought legal costs after jumping through hurdles to finalise the purchase of Pauline Hanson's Gold Coast apartment.
Wendy Carrafa exchanged contracts and bought the Hanson home for $265,000, but expected to take ownership of the place over Christmas.
The widow unselfishly purchased the Biggera Waters apartment for her disabled sister to live in.
Wendy Carrafa purchased Pauline and Adam Hansons' former Gold Coast apartment
Adam Hanson is claimed to have had a caveat on their title of the apartment that held up the ownership transfer, according to now owner Wendy Carrafa
However, she says the home owned by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and her son Adam, had a caveat lodged on the title.
This was a result of Adam Hanson owing another law firm payment for outstanding legal debts, according to Ms Carrafa.
After removing the caveat hanging over the title of the Biggera Waters apartment, Carrafa was left with a $550 legal bill.
The apartment has a nice large open living and dining room
The kitchen and living room has a nice open flow to the apartment
The bathroom and laundry in the former apartment of Pauline and Adam Hanson
She also said Adam Hansons' lawyers had requested she pay a further $175 administration fee to lift the caveat, but she refused.
Carrafa was not impressed with the bill she was left to pay and asked her lawyer to seek the $550 from the Hansons.
However, her lawyer Stephen Jensen said they had attempted to chase up the Hansons to pay the outstanding bill, but have come up short.
'It shows a lack of respect for one's own actions,' Mr Jensen from Monkey Conveyancing told Domain.
'Regardless of the law, the moral view is this is your mess, you should clean it up.'
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Pauline Hanson for comment.
Devastated friends and family have heaped praise on an Irish man who was allegedly stabbed to death by his fiancee outside their southwest Sydney home on Saturday.
Daithy Walsh, 29, who was nicknamed 'Motcha,' was described on social media as a respected and loving father of three young girls.
'You'll always be by their side Motcha they adored you and always will,' one woman wrote on a social media page belonging to the slain man.
Another friend wrote: 'Screwed his head on and got his s**t together.. never deserved this... devastating!'
Tina Cahill, 25, allegedly stabbed her fiance David Walsh, 29, outside a Padstow home in southwest Sydney on Saturday
Ms Cahill has been charged with murder following the death of David Walsh
Mr Walsh's fiancee Tina Cahill, 25, has been charged with murder after she allegedly stabbed him in the neck, following reports of a fight breaking out at a home on Watson Road in Padstow, on Saturday.
They were reportedly engaged on New Year's Eve, and recent social media pictures show the couple beaming with pride as Cahill flaunts a diamond engagement ring.
According to 9 News, Mr Walsh broke into jealous rage when he woke to find Ms Cahill and her friends had bought a Revesby man, 36, home from the pub.
Neighbours claim they heard glass breaking and people screaming before authorities arrived.
Ms Cahill and the 36-year-old man were arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station.
Ms Cahill, an Irish national who had been living in Australia since 2012, was charged with murder on Saturday afternoon.
She has been refused bail and appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday as the Revesby man continues to assist police with their inquiries.
Friends and family of Mr Walsh have expressed their devastation over his death.
An Irish community group wrote on a Facebook page:
'Our small community and town has been rocked to its core yet again at the horrific news of the death of David "motcha" Walsh..'
'Only a young man taken way too early with his whole life in front of him. All of us here at the neighborhood watch would like to offer our sincere condolences to all of the walsh family and especially davids three young daughters who were his entire life..'
'Sleep well motcha.'
Enniscorthy councillor John O'Rourke told The Independent.ie:
'The town of Enniscorthy is numbed by this tragedy. He was a respected and talented young gentleman who worked in the building trade.'
'David grew up in Moran Park in the town, the son of highly respected builder John Walsh and his wife Anna. He was one of six children.'
Ms Cahill, also an Irish national, was charged with murder and refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court tomorrow
The couple were engaged on New Years Eve, just weeks before the horrific tragedy
The 29-year-old was father to three little girls. It is alleged he broke into jealous rage when he woke to find Ms Cahill and her friends had bought a Revesby man, 36, home from the pub
Friends and family of Mr Walsh have expressed their devastation over the death of the father-of-three
A Revesby man was also arrested last night, but has since been released without charge
'At the location, we've established there are three females at the place and one other male. Prior to the actual incident, a second male has come home,' Inspector Fitzgerald told The Daily Telegraph.
'All five people are known to each other, albeit one of those males only tonight.
'Four of them seem to live at this address; one of the males was at an establishment with them earlier in the day.'
The 36-year-old man sustained minor injuries and was released without charge.
'The town of Enniscorthy is numbed by this tragedy. He was a respected and talented young gentleman who worked in the building trade,' Enniscorthy councillor John O'Rourke said
A crime scene has been established in Padstow after the 29-year-old was stabbed to death
A raid took place at an after-hours Brooklyn motorcycle club over the weekend, it has emerged.
Police at about 4am Saturday raided the God's Only Demons Motorcycle Club, located in Gowanus, according to the New York Post.
Twenty-four people were arrested and five handguns were seized by authorities, the newspaper reported.
A raid took place at an after-hours Brooklyn motorcycle club over the weekend. Police at about 4am Saturday raided the God's Only Demons Motorcycle Club, located in Gowanus
Police sources told the Post that ten people face gun charges, and 14 people were arrested on outstanding warrants.
Eighteen men and six women were taken into custody, sources told the outlet.
A witness was quoted by the Post as saying: 'The whole precinct was here. About 80 cops or more. Armored police vans, SWAT gear, dogs. Crazy.
'I haven't seen that many cops here ever. They went up on the roofs.'
That witness told the newspaper: 'I saw them leave with the "GOD" vests. I don't know why, but they were taking the vests.'
Twenty-four people were arrested and five handguns were seized by authorities. A close-up of the club's door says that only members are allowed
City lawyers filed a lawsuit to kick the club out of the building and described it as a 'public nuisance,' the Post reported in February 2014.
That article said that the lawyers referenced the 2012 murder of a man who'd fought with someone in the club and was shot outside of it.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment early Sunday morning.
Crowd violence has marred the Western Sydney Wanderers shock derby win with 15 people arrested in separate incidents.
Arrests were made on Saturday at ANZ Stadium for incidents including assaulting police, throwing a missile, possession of a prohibited drug and offensive language being among the charges.
An officer's eye was cut by a projectile thrown during a fight, but Superintendent Mark Jones said the majority of fans were well behaved.
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Crowd violence has marred the Western Sydney Wanderers shock derby win at ANZ Stadium with 15 people arrested in separate incidents.
'While the majority of the crowd were well behaved and abided by police directions, there were a small number who engaged in anti-social behaviour,' Supt Jones said.
'Police are there to ensure the safety of everyone and ensure that they can enjoy the event in a safe and friendly environment, and it is disappointing a small number of people choose to behave in this manner.'
Shocking mobile phone footage shows the field being littered with rubbish as fans throw chairs, bottles and other projectiles towards security guards.
Meanwhile 9News footage shows a clash between men wearing Sydney FC shirts and police breaking out.
Shocking mobile phone footage shows the field being littered with rubbish as fans throw chairs, bottles and other projectiles towards security guards
Security guards can be seen moving further and further back as the field is pelted with bottles
Two men, aged 25 and 30, allegedly began fighting when they were exiting, according to police.
The 25-year-old man was knocked to the ground in the attack.
Police arrested the 30-year-old man at the scene and took him to Auburn Police Station where he was charged with affray.
He will appear at Burwood Local Court on March 16.
Two men, aged 25 and 30, allegedly began fighting when they were exiting, according to police
The US has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to patrol the South China Sea, days after Beijing told Washington not to challenge its supposed ownership of the waterway.
China says the sea, which is resource-rich and a $5 trillion shipping lane for Asia, is almost entirely under its control, and has been militarizing islands there in an effort to bolster its claim over a host of other countries.
Trump is now continuing Obama's practice of sending US carriers through to assert that the sea is international waters, and has sent in the USS Carl Vinison.
But threats of military action from Chinese state media, Rex Tillerson's recent hint at a blockade, and recently emerged recordings of Steve Bannon, Trump's closest aide, predicting a Chinese was in 'ten years' mean the situation now is hotter than ever.
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The USS Carl Vinison has been deployed in the South China Sea, where its patrol will reaffirm that waters there are for international use. Beijing claims ownership of the lucrative area
In his confirmation hearing last month, Rex Tillerson sparked talk of war when he said he wanted to stop China from accessing islands in the sea that it has militarized
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group is engaging in 'routine operations in the South China Sea,' the navy said in a statement.
It noted that the ships and aircraft had recently conducted exercises off Hawaii and Guam to 'maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group.'
'We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,' strike group commander Rear Admiral James Kilby said.
The group will patrol an area that has seen China butting heads with neighboring countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei over ownership.
The Chinese foreign ministry has said ships and aircraft are allowed to operate in the area according to international law.
But on Wednesday, as reports that the Vinison was heading to China first emerged, a Beijing spokesman 'urged' the US to respect the region's 'efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea'.
Beijing 'firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight,' he said.
Concerns about a possible US-China conflict were raised in at the start of the month when a recording emerged of Steve Bannon, Trump's closest aide, saying that he expected a war with China within ten years.
'We're going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, aren't we?' Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016, according to The Independent.
China has artificially built up islands into military bases. It challenges Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Burma for the sea. Left: An island in 2014; right: same island, 2015
This is the island in 2016. Tillerson's remarks caused the Chinese army to say the possibility of war with the US was a 'practical reality' and state media to talk of 'nuclear strategy'
'There's no doubt about that. They're taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those.
'They come here to the United States in front of our face - and you understand how important face is - and say it's an ancient territorial sea.'
Just days before that report, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had posted a message on its website saying that war with America was becoming a 'practical reality'.
'"A war within the president's term" or "war breaking out tonight" are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality,' the PLA said, according to the independent Hong-Kong-based newspaper The South China Morning Post.
And last month, a report in the Global Times, a state media publication that represents the more hawkish wings of the Chinese government, talked of a possible 'military clash' with the US that would require a 'nuclear strategy'.
'The US has no absolute power to dominate the South China Sea,' the editorial, published without a byline, said.
'[Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson had better bone up on nuclear power strategies if he wants to force a big nuclear power to withdraw from its own territories.
'If Trump's diplomatic team shapes future Sino-US ties as it is doing now, the two sides had better prepare for a military clash.'
Both that editorial and the PLA's remarks came in response to Tillerson's remarks that China should be stopped from accessing the islands that it has been militarizing over the past several years.
Trump's closest adviser, Steve Bannon (right) said in 2016 that he believed war with China over the islands was 'five-to-ten years' away
Rex Tillerson met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (right) at a G20 meeting on Friday, cooling the situation. But the Vinison's voyage in the sea will not help tensions
'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,' Tillerson said.
He made the remarks in his confirmation hearing, in which he likened the expansion of China's influence to Russia's annexation of Crimea.
'We're going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops,' Tillerson said. 'And second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.'
Fires were dampened somewhat on Friday as Tillerson met Chinese foreign secretary Wang Yi at a G20 gathering.
Wang told the secretary that the US and China share more similarities than differences.
But the arrival of the Vinison will do little to help tensions.
The Vinson has deployed to the South China Sea 16 times in its 35-year history, the US Navy said.
Washington says it does not take sides in the territorial disputes, despite sending in warships and planes to assert freedom of navigation in the sea several times.
Police bosses reportedly 'covered up' investigations into claims that a TV wrestler dealt cocaine to Princess Margaret, insiders to the probe claim.
The wrestler's identity is not publicly known, and the case was covered up to protect the Princess's reputation, a police insider says.
It is unknown when the alleged drug deals took place, but Princess Margaret was known for her love of booze, cigarettes and partying, and has previously been accused of doing cocaine.
After receiving a tip that the wrestler was dealing cocaine to the royal, officers began planning ways to hold up the allegations.
Police received a tip that the wrestler was dealing cocaine to the royal, and soon after, officers began planning ways to hold up the allegations
The wrestler's identity is not publicly known, and it is unknown when the alleged drug deal took place. But top police officials decided not to pursue the investigation into the claims, fearing it could cause a big scandal
Their ideas were passed up the chain of command at Scotland Yard, but the top bosses decided not to pursue the investigation any further.
'We didn't necessarily see ourselves with our hobnailed boots on, kicking down the back door of Kensington Palace. But she did have a bit of a reputation for being a party princess,' a police insider told the Daily Star Sunday.
'A few of us would have been quite amused by the prospect of arresting a royal as her dealer turned up to supply cocaine. We weren't all slavish royalists,' the insider said.
The insider believes that the investigation was halted because senior officers feared a big scandal would have ensued.
'We would work the intelligence up into a package of information and it would then disappear off into the corridors of power for authorisation,' the source said.
The officers would then continue their ground work to see if the information they had supported what was happening on surveillance.
This isn't the first time people have alleged that Princess Margaret was involved in cocaine scandals. Author Brian Kellow claimed that actor Jack Nicholson offered the princess cocaine at a dinner party held in her honour in 1979
'But this particular piece of information disappeared off down the corridors of power, never to return,' the source said. 'We never did a day's work on it after that. There was no explanation at all, it was definitely a case of 'know your place'.'
The source said that if an officer 'rattled too many cages' at Scotland Yard, his or her career would come to a 'very abrupt halt'.
Because the investigation was cut short, officers were never able to know if the cocaine allegations were true.
A spokesman for the wrestler told the Daily Star Sunday: 'We have no comment to make.'
The Royal Family declined to comment on the allegations to Mail Online.
This isn't the first time people have alleged that Princess Margaret was involved in cocaine scandals.
Princess Margaret recently returned to prominence after the release of the Netflix drama, The Crown. Actress Vanessa Kirby plays the role of the royal in the hit show, where she's seen having an affair with the married Peter Townsend
In his book, Can I Go Now? The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent, author Brian Kellow claimed that actor Jack Nicholson offered the princess cocaine at a dinner party held in her honour in 1979.
The actor is said to have pulled her aside at the glamorous event in Los Angeles and made the offer in an effort to get to know her better.
But the princess declined and spent much of the night drinking and dancing with John Travolta instead.
Princess Margaret died in 2002, aged 71.
She recently returned to prominence after the release of the Netflix drama, The Crown.
Actress Vanessa Kirby plays the role of the royal in the hit show, where she's seen having an affair with the married Peter Townsend.
Jeremy Clarkson is on a romantic holiday with the ex-wife of a playboy known as Baron Bonkers.
He was spotted with Lisa Hogan, 46, an Irish-born mother-of-three who is ten years younger than him, outside an airport in Barbados.
The pair, who have been seen together three times in the last few months, will stay as guests of the English impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Jeremy Clarkson(right) was spotted with Lisa Hogan, 46, (left) an Irish-born mother-of-three who is ten years younger than him, outside an airport in Barbados
The 6ft 2in beauty was 'discovered' by John Cleese in the early 1990s when she was struggling to get a second-hand-clothes business off the ground
A passer-by told The Sunday Mirror, which reported they were dating: 'Jeremy looked very relaxed around Lisa, and they seemed very taken with each other.
'They were laughing and joking around like a new couple.'
Hogan separated from Baron Steven Bentinck in 2005 after they had three children together.
The couple had previously divided their time between an apartment in Norris Castle on the Isle of Wight and the Baron's chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Klosters.
Hogan separated from Baron Steven Bentinck (left) in 2005 after they had three children together
Hogan at the The Hurling Polo Association Polo Players Party (left) in 2006 and with Lance Gerrard-Wright in 2005 (right) who once appeared on a dating show 'Mr. Right'
The 6ft 2in beauty was 'discovered' by John Cleese in the early 1990s when she was struggling to get a second-hand-clothes business off the ground.
He subsequently employed her as a researcher, became a close friend and even gave her a role in Fierce Creatures, his follow-up to A Fish Called Wanda.
Despite reports to the contrary, they were never romantically involved.
Hogan was once involved in an accident in a Learjet in which she narrowly escaped with her life.
Hogan was once involved in an accident in a Learjet in which she narrowly escaped with her life. Pictured: Wreckage of the plane on the A40
Clarkson, who co-presents Amazon's The Grand Tour with James May and Richard Hammond, was divorced from his wife, Frances, in 2014, following 21 years on marriage.
She was on her way to film at Pinewood Studios in 1996 when the plane - chartered by Bentinck - overshot the runway at RAF Northolt and crashed onto the A40.
The aircraft then collided with a van, but Hogan amazingly escaped with just a cut on her leg.
Clarkson was divorced from his wife, Frances, in 2014, following 21 years on marriage.
Charles Bronson, Britain's most notorious inmate, said he urged serial killer Rose West to kill herself after she wrote to him
Britain's most notorious prisoner has admitted he encouraged serial killer Rose West to kill herself in her cell after she wrote to him in prison.
Charles Bronson, 64, who has been banged up for 43 years for multiple crimes including armed robbery and taking prisoners hostage - but never for murder - says the notorious female inmate once wrote him a fawning letter.
Rose West, 63, who was convicted of the murder of ten young women, wrote to Bronson - now known as Salvador - in what he likened to a bizarre 'love letter', the Sunday Mirror reports.
But Bronson wrote back telling the serial killer to hang herself in her cell.
Bronson said in a phone call from his HMP Wakefield cell that West had written to him while she was imprisoned in HMP Durham seemingly sounding him out for advice on how to survive behind bars.
'I sent her a card, a post card. On the bottom of it I put, "PS. The best thing you can do, Rose, is rip your sheets up and call it a day,"' replied Bronson, who said he did not know who she was in the first instance.
Murderer Rose West, who along with husband Fred West killed more than ten young women was sentenced to life in prison and had written asking for advice on how to do her time, according to Bronson
And in another frank admission, the inmate, who now paints pictures in his cell to be sold off, said that he also encouraged Rose West's child killer husband Fred West to hang himself too.
Suggesting that he used to reside two cells down from the despised murderer - who did kill himself in his cell in 1995 - Bronson said he would call through the prison door every day telling West to 'top himself'.
Originally from Luton in Bedfordshire, Charles Bronson was convicted in 1974 for armed robbery but has had his stay extended continuously for violence against staff, prisoners and even visitors.
Bronson, now called Salvador, is up for parole this year and hopes to marry his new fiancee
Now Britain's most notorious prisoner is up for parole this year and believes he is ready to begin a new chapter in his life.
Included in his new life could be new fiancee Paula Williamson, whom Bronson proposed to on Valentines Day by phone call from his prison cell.
In a bizarre twist, Mrs Williamson, an actress, actually played a role in an earlier dramatisation of the Rose West's murders.
West remains incarcerated at Low Newton in Co. Durham. a women's and young offenders prison, situated next to the high security men's Frankland prison, where she is due to spend the rest of her life having already ballooned up to 15 stone, according to reports.
The Royal Navy has banned posters of glamour models so as not to offend women sailors.
New rules have been brought in after women complained of feeling intimidated by the soft porn.
Sailors can no longer pin up nude pictures of their wives and girlfriends on board surface ships, submarines and at shore bases.
The Royal Navy has banned posters of glamour models so as not to offend women sailors. Pictured: Sleeping sailors with pin ups above Bunks, circa 1941
A Naval source told The Sun: 'To be fair, this is part of the service coming into the 21st Century, being more inclusive and not offending women.
'But a lot of the lads are moaning about this because porn has been rife across the fleet for generations, and this is the result of a few people complaining.'
Posters like this one of Katie Price are banned
Another insider said women complained after finding naked pictures of females intimidating.
Sailors were told about the ban when they were given an amended version of the Royal Navy's Queen Regulations.
A new section titled Pin-ups and Pornography reads: 'Possession of films/videos and all forms of digital media (e.g DvDs, or downloads from the internet) that have been certified by the British Board of Film Censors is permitted.
'All other pornographic material is prohibited.'
Royal Navy equality guidelines state: 'The causing of offence to anyone by unwittingly, recklessly or deliberately subjecting them to pornographic or sexually-offensive material or media against their will either visually or audibly will very likely be deemed to constitute sex harassment and may result in the perpetrator(s) being subject to administrative or disciplinary action.'
A Royal Navy spokesman said: 'The Royal Navy makes sure that the work environment, whether ashore or at sea, is inclusive and appropriate and we're proud to be recognised as a top 100 employer in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index 2017.'
Kuwait's supreme court on Sunday sentenced a top bureaucrat to 10 years in jail for joining and fighting with the Islamic State militants group in Syria and Iraq.
The court also fined the unnamed Kuwaiti national, who was a top official at the Kuwait municipality, $30,000 and convicted him of calling other people to join the group.
The ruling is final and cannot be challenged.
Kuwaiti courts have sentenced a number of IS members, sympathisers and financiers to various jail terms.
A lower court in December sentenced a Filipina to 10 years in jail after convicting her of joining the militants group and plotting attacks.
Authorities in July said they had dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a Shiite mosque and against an interior ministry target.
An IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers in June 2015 when he blew himself up in a mosque of Kuwait's Shiite minority, in the worst such attack in the Gulf state's history.
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Missing Madeleine McCann's parents have confirmed they are fighting a Portuguese court decision to side with former police chief Goncalo Amaral over his hurtful claims about her disappearance.
The country's Supreme Court last month rejected their last-ditch appeal over his 2008 book 'The Truth of the Lie' in which he alleged Maddie died in their holiday flat and they faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy.
Judges backed a lower court's April 2016 decision to reverse their 2015 libel win against the ex-detective, leaving the couple facing a huge legal bill and the nightmare prospect of being sued by Amaral.
Kate and Gerry, both 48, have said they will sue if 'The Truth of the Lie' is sold in Britain. Portugal's Supreme Court last month rejected their last-ditch appeal over former detective Goncalo Amaral's 2008 book
And they also challenged Gerry and Kate's insistence they had nothing to with their daughter's disappearance in a devastating put-down which is said to have sparked their fresh legal challenge.
The McCanns have now confirmed they are seeking to get the Supreme Court decision invalidated after launching a formal complaint against the judges' findings.
It was known they had 10 days to file an objection with court officials.
It is thought the McCanns' attempt to nullify the decision is based on comments made by the judges in their 76-page ruling that the 2008 shelving of the Portuguese probe into their daughter's disappearance 'was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the crimes by the appellants.'
The McCanns had their status as 'arguidos' or official suspects lifted on the same day - July 21 2008 - just three days before Amaral published his controversial book.
Judges backed a lower court's April 2016 decision to reverse their 2015 libel win against the ex-detective (pictured left). He alleged Maddie (right) died in their holiday flat and her parents faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy
Correio da Manha reported: 'The McCanns have requested the annulment of the Supreme Court decision, terming it frivolous for saying it 'had not been possible for public prosecutors to obtain sufficient evidence of crimes by the appellants.''
The newspaper said the McCanns had described the ruling as 'leviano' in the complaint lodged through their Portuguese lawyer - which in English translates as 'frivolous' but can also mean 'sloppy' or 'rash'.
No-one from the Supreme Court was available for comment this morning.
The McCanns' lawyer Isabel Duarte, asked if she had lodged a formal complaint against the Supreme Court ruling, confirmed: 'We delivered it.'
It was unclear today if another set of Supreme Court judges dealt with complaints about rulings - or they were handed to another judicial body to deal with.
Amaral was ordered to pay the McCanns 500,000 euros (430,000) by a Lisbon court in April 2015 after they won round one of their lengthy judicial battle over his book and a subsequent TV documentary.
The McCanns' lawyer Isabel Duarte (pictured), asked if she had lodged a formal complaint against the Supreme Court ruling, confirmed: 'We delivered it'
The former police chief got that ruling - and a ban on selling his book - overturned on appeal in April last year.
The decision by Lisbon's Court of Appeal sparked the Supreme Court fight which was resolved on January 31.
The full 76-page ruling said to have sparked a new legal challenge by the McCanns was released just under a week later.
Judges made it clear in their decision their job was not to decide whether the McCanns bore any criminal responsibility over their daughter's disappearance and it would be wrong for anyone to draw any inferences about the couple's guilt or innocence from their ruling.
But they added: 'It should not be said that the appellants were cleared via the ruling announcing the archiving of the criminal case.
'In truth, that ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal's Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn't committed a crime.
'The archiving of the case was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the practice of crimes by the appellants.
'There is therefore a significant, and not merely a semantic difference, between the legally admissible foundations of the archive ruling.
'It doesn't therefore seem acceptable that the ruling, based on the insufficiency of evidence, should be equated to proof of innocence.'
They added, highlighting the McCanns' Tapas Nine friend Jane Tanner's much-questioned sighting of the suspected 'abductor': 'It's true that the aforementioned criminal inquiry ended up being archived, namely because none of the apparent evidence that led to the appellants being made 'arguidos' was subsequently confirmed or consolidated.
'However even the archive ruling raises serious concerns relating to the truth of the allegation that Madeleine was kidnapped.'
The Supreme Court judges said the McCanns claimed Amaral's book and the TV documentary based on the book formed no part of case files made public in 2008 and would have damaged the honour and good name of any 'innocent person who had been cleared through the shelving of the criminal investigation.'
But they stated: 'We consider the invocation of the violation of the principle of innocence should not be taken into account here, since this issue is not relevant to the resolution of the question that needs to be decided here.'
The Supreme Court judges said the McCanns claimed Amaral's book and the TV documentary based on the book formed no part of case files made public in 2008 and would have damaged the honour and good name of any 'innocent person'
They said the 'crucial question' for them was how to resolve the rights of Kate and Gerry McCann to their 'good name and reputation' and the rights of Goncalo Amaral and the other respondents including the book editors to the constitutionally-inshrined right of 'freedom of expression.'
Concluding Amaral had not acted 'illicitly,' they ruled his book was not a personal and unjustified attack on the McCanns with a 'defamatory intention' behind it which would not be protected by freedom of speech rights.
Describing the book and the TV documentary based on it as an 'opinion' based on the logic of facts and evidence contained in the criminal case files, they added: 'Our opinion is that rather than an injurious animus, the intention was informative and defensive.'
The Supreme Court ruling meant Amaral was spared having to pay the McCanns the compensation he was ordered to hand them after the first court ruling in 2015.
Missing Madeleine McCann's parents are fighting a Portuguese court decision
The payment was frozen when he launched his successful appeal.
Earlier this month it emerged the ex detective, removed as head of the investigation into Madeleine's May 3 2007 disappearance after criticising British detectives, was writing a new book about the unsolved mystery.
It is understood he will be critical in the new book of some of the things Scotland Yard did in their review and later ongoing investigation of the case.
The former cop insisted from day one of his court fight with the McCanns that everything he wrote in his book was based on the publicly-available case files.
Kate and Gerry, both 48, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have said they will sue if 'The Truth of the Lie' is sold in Britain.
They said in a statement after learning of the Supreme Court ruling against them: 'What we have been told by our lawyers is obviously extremely disappointing.
'It is eight years since we brought the action, and in that time the landscape has changed dramatically, namely there is now a joint Metropolitan Police and Policia Judiciaria investigation which is what we have always wanted.
'The police in both countries continue to work on the basis that there is no evidence Madeleine has come to physical harm.
'We will of course be discussing the implications of the Supreme Court ruling with our lawyers in due course.'
It is believed the McCanns are discussing the possibility of taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
The 20,000 page 'Madeleine files made public in 2008 contained a report by public prosecutors which said: ' No element of proof whatsoever was found which allows us to form any lucid, sensible, serious and honest conclusion about the circumstance of Madeleine's disappearance from the apartment...including, and most dramatically, establishing whether she is alive or dead, which seems more probable.'
Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal, on May 3, 2007
Referring to the McCanns' much-criticised decision to leave their daughter, then three, alone with younger siblings Sean and Amelie while they ate tapas nearby, it added: 'We must also recognise that the parents are paying a heavy penalty over the disappearance of Madeleine for their carelessness in monitoring and protecting their children.'
Portuguese police chiefs said late last year they were 'completely in tune' with British detectives still investigating Madeleine's disappearance, appearing to end years of tension between the two forces whose theories on the youngster's fate have differed wildly.
Portuguese prosecutors reopened their probe into Madeleine McCann's disappearance in May 2014, and are now working in close coordination with Scotland Yard's scaled-down Operation Grange probe into Madeleine's fate.
Boris Johnson has held two secret meetings with Tony Blair to get the ex-PM's advice on the Middle East, it emerged today.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly publicly mocked the former Labour leader, particularly over the Iraq war, and in 2014 branded him 'unhinged'.
The Foreign Secretary this week dismissed Mr Blair's intervention urging people to 'rise up' against Brexit by telling voters to ignore him.
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Boris Johnson, pictured at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, has held two secret meetings with Tony Blair to get the ex-PM's advice on the Middle East, it emerged today
But despite the criticism, Mr Johnson held talks with Mr Blair in October and again in January, the Sunday Telegraph said.
Each meeting lasted between 30 and 45 minutes and came amid intense diplomatic efforts by Mr Johnson to broker a truce in Syria.
Together with former US secretary of state John Kerry, Mr Johnson worked to end the fighting in the brutal civil war.
The meetings were focused on the Middle East and did not mention Brexit, sources said.
A Government source told the Telegraph: 'It would be stupid not to listen to him.
'There are few people who have been doing this stuff for longer than Blair.'
On Friday, Mr Johnson laid into Mr Blair over his 'condescending' bid to reverse the EU referendum vote - saying people should switch off the TV when the former PM appears.
Mr Blair faced a huge backlash after he used a speech in London to unveil his 'mission' to keep us in the EU - despite conceding that the public do not agree with him.
Mr Blair faced a huge backlash after he used a speech in London (pictured) to unveil his 'mission' to keep us in the EU - despite conceding that the public do not agree with him
The ex-premier demanded that voters stop worrying so much about immigration and 'rethink' their decision before the country goes 'over a cliff edge'.
But Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson delivered a devastating response, pointing out that Mr Blair had wanted to join the euro and 'dragooned' the UK into the disastrous Iraq war.
'I urge the British people to rise up and turn off the TV next time Blair comes on with his condescending campaign,' he said.
In 2014, while still Mayor of London, Mr Johnson in a Telegraph column: 'I have come to the conclusion that Tony Blair has finally gone mad.
'He wrote an essay ... that struck me as unhinged in its refusal to face facts. In discussing the disaster of modern Iraq he made assertions that are so jawdroppingly and breathtakingly at variance with reality that he surely needs professional psychiatric help.'
It emerged last year Mr Blair had requested a meeting with the Foreign Secretary at which the former PM was said to have asked for more security resources for his Middle East work.
Mr Johson turned him down, telling the former premier 'I feel the hand of prudence on my shoulder'.
Mr Blair has regularly met with foreign secretaries since leaving office in connection with his work on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Angela Merkel has urged Europe to take in more refugees and said Islam is 'not the source of terror'.
Speaking at the Munich security conference, the German chancellor said Europe has an obligation to take displaced refugees from Syria and Iraq.
Mrs Merkel, who has been critical of a U.S. ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, also underlined that Islam itself was not the source of terrorism.
Speaking at the Munich security conference the German chancellor said Europe has an obligation to take displaced refugees from Syria and Iraq
She added that battling extremism can only be done in cooperation with Muslim countries and vowed to work closely with Vladimir Putin's Russia to fight ISIS in the Middle East.
Europe's ties with Russia are challenging, but it is important to work with them in the fight against Islamist terrorism, she said.
Germany has taken in more than one million refugees displaced by the war in Syria but the country's policy came under particular scrutiny after the Berlin Christmas market massacre last year in which 12 people died.
After the attack former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said events such as that would be 'Merkel's legacy'.
Mrs Merkel will go to the polls in September against Social Democrat candidate Martin Schulz, the former European Parliament President.
New US Vice-President Mike Pence was also at the conference and reaffirmed the US' commitment to NATO.
Germany has taken in more than one million refugees displaced by the war in Syria but the country's policy came under particular scrutiny after the Berlin Christmas market massacre last year in which 12 people died
He said European allies needed to step up their spending on defence reinforcing the Trump administration's message that NATO members must 'do more'.
Germany is under increasing pressure to increase military spending. The 28 member countries committed in 2014 to spending two per cent of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade.
Mrs Merkel said she was conscious of Germany's responsibility and would stick to the long-term aim of raising defence spending.
But added she was in no hurry to meet the Nato targets because there were other issues to deal with.
A petition demanding the ABC sack Muslim youth activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied as a television presenter has attracted more than 10,000 signatures.
The 25-year-old Sudanese-born writer and founder of Youth Without Borders stirred controversy last week when she told the national broadcaster's Q&A program she observed Sharia as a 'feminist' Muslim woman during a fiery exchange with Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie.
'Do you know what Sharia law is? Do you know what it is? Me praying five times a day is Sharia,' Ms Abdel-Magied said on Monday night.
It's also been revealed she reached out to global hardline Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir after her polarising television appearance, where she declared Islam to be 'the most feminist religion'.
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The change.org petition calling on the ABC to sack Yassmin Abdel-Magied as a TV presenter
The right-wing AltCon News group has called for Yassmin Abdel-Magied (pictured) to be sacked as the host of the ABC's Australia Wide program
Ms Abdel-Magied, who hosts Saturday morning program Australia Wide on ABC News 24, was responding to Senator Lambie's call to deport all Muslims who support 'Sharia law'.
Sharia is practised as a legal system imposed by faith courts across much of the Muslim world, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen and the Indonesian province of Aceh.
The Sharia system is controversial because it includes harsh punishments, known as 'hudud, where thieves have had their hands amputated in Saudi Arabia, Somalia and in Islamic State-controlled areas of northern Iraq and Syria.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May last year ordered a review into the 'harm' caused by Sharia courts operating in Britain, when she was home secretary.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, which operates in 50 countries including Australia, is campaigning for a pan-Islamic superstate that implements Sharia and has a constitution which calls for the killing of ex-Muslims, known as apostates.
A right-wing group called AltCon News has posted a change.org petition calling on the ABC to 'publicly condemn and fire Yassmin Abdel-Magied over pro-Sharia law comments'.
They argue that while she hasn't called for a new legal system in Australia, her support for Sharia means she is advocating for Islamic faith courts.
'As Yassmin Abdel-Magied made these comments on the taxpayer-funded Q&A program, and as she is a regularly paid commentator on the taxpayer-funded network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, needs to reassure the taxpaying public that they condemn her rhetoric and that Australians obey one set of laws, that no religious law is higher than the law of the land and that her blatant lies about this law will not be tolerated or funded by the Australian taxpayers,' the petition said.
In the heated clash with Senator Lambie, Ms Abdel Magied said her Muslim faith obliged her to 'follow the law of the land on which you are on'.
The petition has accused Yassmin Abdel-Magied of lying about Sharia law on the Q&A program
In a heated clash with Senator Jacqui Lambie (pictured), Yassmin Abdel-Magied said her Sharia faith meant obeying the laws of the land on which she was on
The petition has attracted 10,613 signatures since it was posted on Wednesday.
This is four times greater than another change.org petition last week calling on the ABC to 'apologise' to the Muslim community for allowing Senator Lambie to have a heated clash with Ms Abdel-Magied.
This petition, backed by 49 Muslim activists and community leaders, has attracted a more modest 2,419 signatures since it went live on Wednesday.
The writers of the petition calling on Ms Abdel-Magied to be sacked condemned her for 'lying to the public about the merits of Sharia law and the oppressive impact it has on non-Muslim groups, homosexuals and women'.
Yassmin Abdel-Magied (right) with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (centre), The Project host Waleed Aly (left) and his wife academic Susan Carland at Sydney's Kirribilli House last year
They also criticised her for posting a follow-up video arguing the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia was cultural and not due to Islam, as other Muslim nations didn't have such sexist restrictions.
'I'm not going to deny it: some countries run by Muslims are violent, sexist and do oppress their citizens,' Ms Abdel-Magied said.
'But again that's not down to Sharia, that's down to the culture, and the patriarchy and the politics of those particular countries.'
Ms Abdel-Magied last year went on a taxypayer-funded trip to Sudan, Saudia Arabia and the United Arabic Emirates to promote a book she had written, but has made no mention of female genital mutilation across the Muslim world or stoning for adultery.
After her television appearance on Q&A, the activist reached out to Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which wants a Muslim superstate or caliphate that enforces Sharia.
It has notoriously refused to slam Islamic State atrocities.
The group's spokesman Wassim Doureihi had criticised Ms Abdel-Magied for arguing through a 'secular lens'.
She responded on his private Facebook page by saying: 'Well, I am always happy to take feedback,' The Australian reported.
'What specifically was problematic and how can I do better in the future inshallah?
'I am young, and willing to learn, inshallah. Trying to do the best with the platform I can, Allah willing.'
Hizb ut-Tahrir's other Sydney-based spokesman, Uthman Badar, had condemned her on Facebook for presenting Sharia 'in the image of secular liberalism'.
He said she had failed to acknowledge Sharia is a set of laws and not just a personal relationship with a God.
Hardline Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir criticised Yassmin Abdel-Magied for presenting Islam in a 'secular' way yet she has reached out to this group
Somali-born writer and Islamic critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali has criticised Yassmin Abdel-Magied's appearance on Q&A
Somali-born writer and former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an internationally-prominent critic of Islam now based in the United States, has criticised Ms Abdel-Magied's assertion on Q&A last week that 'Islam is the most feminist religion' and how culture, and not Islam, were to blame for the oppression of women.
'That is absurd. Abdel-Magied fits into a familiar pattern, where the government of a free society such as Australia invests a considerable sum in an individual or a group in the hope that the person is a "moderate" Muslim and will advance the assimilation of their Muslim minority through constructive engagement,' Ms Hirsi Ali, a former refugee, said in a column for The Weekend Australian on Saturday.
'Then the supposed moderate the government has invested in is exposed as a closet Islamist, in this case sympathetic to Sharia law.'
The group behind the petition, Alt Con News, also sells hats with slogans appropriated from U.S. President Donald Trump's election slogan: 'Make America Great Again.'
It has caps with the slogans, 'Make Australia Great Again' and 'Greens Are For Salads Not Senates'.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Abdel-Magied for comment.
A Sydney escort has laid bare the secrets of her job in a very revealing Reddit AMA.
The 25-year-old woman, who does not give her name, answered questions which disclosed how much she makes, her preferences when it comes to clients and much more.
She revealed she charges $550 per hour for her company, never sleeps with Irish men and why she refuses to do incest role play.
'I don't have it in me to act it out. I have a few brothers,' she explains. 'I remember watching Gladiator with one of them. That was awkward for us.'
And she also revealed that escorts have more enjoyable sex with rotund clients.
'An industry secret: we always come with fat guys, provided we're on top, of course,' she says.
'I don't know why grinding on all that cushion feels so good.'
A Sydney escort has laid bare the secrets of her job in a very revealing Reddit AMA. File photo
In her AMA introduction, she revealed that she entered the industry in her late teens when she went to work at a high-profile brothel in the city five years ago
She also claims to have had sex with more than 1,100 men - and the oldest client she ever had was a Holocaust survivor.
In her AMA introduction, she revealed that she entered the industry in her late teens when she went to work at a high-profile brothel in the city five years ago.
That brothel's clientele included a lot of NRL players, she said later, as well as members of the Commancheros biker gang.
She says she's also worked in brothels in Melbourne and Perth before deciding to set herself up as a private escort in 2014.
A year later, a mental breakdown led to her quitting sex work for nine months but she started it up again a year ago.
Now, she has plans to quit in June when she moves abroad to study for a Masters degree.
She revealed her rates - $550 for the first hour, $500 for the next and then $300 for each additional hour.
Twelve hours with her would cost $2,500 and it's $5,000 for 48 hours.
'The most common comment I get on my physical appearance is more "cute" than anything,' she said.
'I have a more girl-next-door type of look. As for how cute I have to be to charge this amount?
'I'm no knock-out model, but I'm pretty and I have a good body and really soft skin. I get over 90% matches on Tinder.'
But although she charges relatively high prices, the woman revealed that the 'unpredictable' nature of it means she juggles it with a day job.
The woman also revealed that she has had sex with at least 1,100 men - including a Holocaust survivor
Although she charges relatively high prices, the woman revealed that the 'unpredictable' nature of it means she juggles it with a day job
Between December 23 last year and January 21, she says she didn't see any clients 'because it is typically the quietest time of year for the sex industry,' she said.
Then it picks up and she's had between two and three bookings every week since, making $3,000 a week on average.
'Last October, I didn't get any booking for about three weeks. It's unpredictable to say the least.'
Her usual clientele consists of mainly white-collar professionals - mostly Caucasians, Indians and Asians aged between 40 and 60.
'I'm happy with this, because these guys are well-mannered and really generous,' she adds.
She also revealed she often sees married clients between 7am and 8am.
'Try to sneak out at times you would otherwise be at work,' she advises. 'I often see married clients early in the morning, e.g. 7-8am.'
However, she revealed that she does discriminate when it comes to her clients and has a strict no-Irish policy.
'I have a no-Irish policy, for all the reasons you'd imagine,' she says, without elaborating further.
She adds she also has a no-Indian policy but she discriminates 'based on culture'.
'I have numerous clients who are Indian by race but they don't conform to the negative cultural norms that India is sadly renowned for,' she said.
She also revealed that her mother, best friends and ex-boyfriends knew about her job as an escort but she is afraid of her father and brothers finding out.
'I broke down and confessed everything to my parents about having been a sex worker for years about 2 years ago while I was on hiatus,' she wrote.
'Only my mum knows I've returned. She doesn't want me to tell [my dad] because otherwise she'd 'never hear the end of it.'
'But I think deep down he knows.'
A racist thug jailed for murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence is suing the government after he was beaten up in jail.
David Norris, 40, claims he was attacked by three black inmates with a knife and a sock full of tins cans at Belmarsh prison in South East London.
He was found covered in blood in his cell with his ribs and nose broken while awaiting trial in 2011.
David Norris (left), 40, who murdered Stephen Lawrence (right) claims he was attacked by three black inmates with a knife and a sock full of tins cans at Belmarsh prison in South East London.
The thug claims officers failed to protect him when they moved him to a section of the prison with black inmates with a 'propensity to serious violence'.
His lawyers say they failed to carry out a proper risk assessment, reports The Sun.
Norris was jailed for life in 2012 for being part of a gang that murdered 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence at a south east London bus stop in 1993, one of the highest profile racial killings in UK history.
He is seeking 10,000 damages for his beating that sent him to hospital needing 18 facial stitches in a legal case that could cost the taxpayer 70,000.
A judge at Central London county court outlined his claim: 'It is alleged he specifically requested he be returned to his previous location where he felt safe.'
The MoJ denies any breach of duty. A spokesman added: 'We have cut our compensation costs by more than 1million over the past year. We robustly defend all claims and are successful in two thirds of cases brought against us by prisoners.'
Norris was found covered in blood in his cell at Belmarsh (pictured) with his ribs and nose broken while awaiting trial in 2011
Norris is not the first high-profile murderer to seek compensation for injuries.
In 2014 Milly Dowler's killer won 4,500 compensation after being attacked in prison.
Levi Bellfield, 45, received the payout despite suffering only minor cuts. The triple-killer told friends that he will give the cash to his mother for rent on a holiday caravan in Kent.
In 2014 Milly Dowler's (left) killer Levi Bellfield (right) won 4,500 compensation after being attacked in prison
Bellfield won the compensation after being attacked by an inmate with a makeshift weapon at Wakefield prison in Yorkshire in 2009.
The burly former nightclub bouncer suffered minor injuries but took prison bosses to court, claiming they should have protected him.
Ministry of Justice lawyers fought for three years to stop Bellfield, jailed in 2011 for 13-year-old Milly's murder, from receiving a penny off taxpayers, but the MoJ was forced to admit full liability.
Women imprisoned in the jails of the Syrian government are sexually assaulted and tortured every day, according to a new report.
Each day, women are dragged from their cells to be tortured and raped, sometimes hung from a pole in the ceiling where they're assaulted for days.
The assaults are punishment for offences as minor as having a picture of the revolutionary flag on their phone, the report says.
The extent of the crimes against imprisoned women was revealed in a report by the centre for women, peace and security at the London School of Economics.
The findings were published before talks in Geneva, where world powers hope to reach a political settlement with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The full extent of the crimes against women in the jails of the Syrian intelligence service were revealed in a report by the London School of Economics. One woman has detailed her horrific experiences as a captive at a military intelligence centre. Pictured above, is a file photo of Syrian military forces unrelated to the study
The violence is systematic, the report says, and so frequent that guards pass out contraceptive pills to the imprisoned women.
The Syrian regime denies normalizing rape and abuse as a way of interrogation procedure and punishment for men and women.
In a report released earlier this month, Amnesty International found that up to 13,000 men were hanged in just one prison.
A lawyer from the port city of Latakia, identified only as Basima, has detailed to The Sunday Times the extent of the abuse she faced after being captured by the regime.
She was so brutally tortured on ther 37th birthday that her captors thought she was dead.
Basima had been dragged from her cell early that morning, and captors planned to beat and humiliate her.
One captor - who she says 'loved' to torture her - hung her from a wall that day.
She said: 'He tied a piece of cloth around my hair and hung me from a tube attached to the wall. It took my whole body weight.'
The tortures then used ropes to pull apart her legs until she was in pain and sexually assaulted her. Later they made her stand on one leg for an hour before being handcuffed.
She fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital.
Basima was arrested on suspicion for helping terrorist groups. She claims she was teaching civilians first aid with skills she learned as a volunteer for the Red Crescent.
Before being released in exchange for prisoners in a deal between the government and rebels, Basima says she spent two months in solitary confinement, in cell with no bed and no light. Every day she was pulled out for torture.
'They held me in front of my male friend and said, "We'll rape you if you don't confess",' Basima told The Times on Sunday. 'They called soldiers to bring my mum, who was 73, and threatened to rape her too.'
Another prisoner, Yasmin, a student and aid worker was arrested on suspicion of supporting the opposition. She was taken to a military intelligence centre in Damascus.
She claims one captor said she would be 'humiliated most' after he and other captors had ripped of her hijab and performed a 'virginity test'.
Yasmin was in captivity for 18 months, where she faced hours of interrogations, beatings and rape.
The United Nations said on Friday that it is no longer using the phrase 'political transition' to describe the goals of next week's Syria peace talks, in a potentially major concession to negotiators representing al-Assad.
'Political transition' is a phrase understood by the opposition to mean a removal of Assad or at least an erosion of his powers.
The United Nations said on Friday that it is no longer using the phrase 'political transition' to describe the goals of next week's Syria peace talks, in a potentially major concession to negotiators representing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (pictured above)
But his government has rejected any suggestion that it could be on the table, and at previous peace talks in Geneva his negotiators consistently tried to steer away from it.
Yara Sharif, spokeswoman for U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, initially told a regular UN briefing in Geneva on Friday that the talks, due to start on Thursday, would address the political transition.
'I think, yes, you can use the word 'political transition'. It is going to be a focus I guess as it has been in the past,' she said in response to a reporter's question.
But she later sent an email to clarify her comment.
'This morning at the briefing I was asked about the intra-Syrian negotiations and whether the issue of political transition would be discussed,' she said.
'For clarification purposes, please note that the negotiations will be entirely guided by (U.N.) Security Council Resolution 2254, which talks specifically about governance, a new constitution and elections in Syria.'
The December 2015 resolution was unanimously adopted as the basis for peace talks, which ran fitfully through the first months of 2016 but never resumed after the end of April.
The resolution says the UN Secretary-General should convene formal negotiations on 'a political transition process on an urgent basis... with a view to a lasting political settlement of the crisis'. It also refers to previous international agreements which called for a transition.
But its description of the political process contains no mention of the phrase, setting out the aims as a new constitution, free and fair elections administered under supervision of the United Nations, and transparent and accountable governance.
The last set of U.N.-led Syria talks in Geneva ended in April last year, with de Mistura setting out a summary of what had been agreed so far and what next steps were needed.
'No one is doubting any more that there is an urgent need for a true and credible political transition,' the U.N. envoy said at the time. 'You remember when the word transition, at least in certain area, was taboo? Not any more.'
Did he do it? Artist Walter Sickert is famous for depicting sex and sleaze in the city at the turn of the 20th Century
Top crime writer Patricia Cornwell has claimed she has vital evidence to prove the identity of Britain's most prolific serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
The bestselling author, 60, has long claimed the legendary Whitechapel killer was in fact influential artist Walter Sickert.
Her original accusations in her 2002 book, Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed, outraged art historians and were dismissed by Ripperologists as 'improbable'.
But now, in a new book to be released next week, Cornwell claims the proof of Sickert's guilt lies in the paper he used.
Three of the artist's letters and two of the grisly, mocking notes the Ripper supposedly sent to police at the time were scientifically analysed and were found to have come from paper run of just 24 sheets, according to the author.
And in addition to the small batch of stationery, the book claims to debunk Sickert's previous alibis and claims the artist would dress up as the Ripper when creating his paintings.
The American author, who has sold more than 100million books, also claims the artist confessed to a friend that 'he would not mind having to kill and eat raw flesh', which she compares to the killer's reference to cannibalism.
Cornwell has spent millions of pounds investigating the unidentified killer - who killed at least five women in Whitechapel in the late 1880s.
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Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell has spent millions of pounds investigating Jack the Ripper and claims the evidence makes her 'more convinced than ever of Sickert's guilt
An illustrated police news page on the murders of Jack the Ripper. During investigations the police received mocking letters from someone claiming to be the killer accusing them of being asleep
She even purchased Sickerts desk, plus 32 of his paintings to have them tested for DNA.
Sickert is renowned within the art community for his paintings, which depicted sex and sleaze in the city at the time.
All of the Ripper's victims, barring one, were prostitutes and were found horrifically mutilated, but the Ripper was never found.
There has been much speculation as to who could have committed the murders with Queen Victoria's grandson Prince Albert Victor and Winston Churchill's father Lord Randolph even being considered suspects.
In her new book, Ripper: The secret Life of Walter Sickert, Cornwell claims the killer's death toll could be more than four times as high.
She told The Sunday Times newspaper: 'I put his toll at a dozen, maybe as many as 20, or possibly more.'
The author claims that dated music hall sketches by Sickert defeat the alibi that Sickert was in France as the killings took place.
Gunthorpe Street in Whitechapel, east London, where Jack the Ripper is believed to have killed his first victim
A Victorian illustration of Catherine Eddowes, the Ripper's fourth victim. She was found dead in the early hours of September 30 1888
She instead alleges that this evidence puts the post-impressionist 'within days or even hours of at least three of the killings'.
She also says Sickert was in Cornwall at the same time a guestbook at a bed and breakfast there was vandalised with sexually crude imagery and the signature 'Jack The Ripper, of Whitechapel'.
The author also supports the claims of picture-framer, Joseph Gorman, who insisted he was the illegitimate son of Sickert and that the artist confessed Ripper details to him.
Cornwell believes the fact that the ripper and Sickert used the same stationary is more than just coincidence
The man was dismissed as a fantasist and died 14 years ago but Cornwell says she has proof that he received Sickert's publishing royalties after his death in 1942.
Although she has admitted previously that the identity of the Ripper can never really be proved, the Miami-born writer believes her book provides a compelling case.
'The majority of the book is new material,' she said. ' I'm more convinced than ever of Sickert's guilt.'
Speaking to the Evening Standard in 2013, Cornwell spoke about her claim that the killers shared the same stationery.
She said: 'The only real science that we can count on after all these years being the forensic analysis, which is really hard to feel is coincidental when you keep seeing water marks on paper that Jack the Ripper and Sickert had in common.
'What some detractors will point out, and it's a good point, 'So you proved that he wrote some of the Ripper's letters, that doesn't prove he was the killer'.
'In court, a jury might struggle with that. They are very confessional and violent letters.'
In his letters, the Ripper mocked the police's inability to capture him and accused them of being asleep.
Cornwell's team of sleuths, which includes art experts, have found that drawings the killer made in these notes, including one of a brutish face, are the work of a professional.
In her previous book, Cornwell alluded to Sickert's paintings as evidence, claiming they depicted the Ripper's crime scenes.
In one painting, a woman is stretched across a bed, mirroring the position the killer's final victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was found in.
In another, entitled What Shall We Do to Pay the Rent?, a well-dressed man sits at the end of a bed with his head bowed and his clasped will a bare-breasted woman lies beside him, her face turned to the shadows.
Sickert's fascination with the Ripper is certainly no secret and he even attributed the name Jack the Ripper's Bedroom to one of his works.
Cornwell has also previously claimed that the artist could have been linked to the royal family and what she calls ' the royal conspiracy'.
She said in 2013 that evidence suggests Sickert's family physician was Sir William Gull, Queen Victoria's physician, who was rumoured to have been tasked with helping to get rid of prostitutes.
The widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan is set to sue the Metropolitan Police.
Lord Brittan was accused of rape and child abuse, claims which later turned out to be unfounded.
He went to his grave in January 2015 unaware that police had found there was no case for him to answer over allegations he raped a 19-year-old student in 1967.
Leon Brittan (left) was accused of rape and child abuse, claims which later turned out to be unfounded. His wife (right) now plans to sue the Met over the investigation
Lady Brittan's lawyers have sent 'letter before action' to the Met warning them of the forthcoming legal challenge, reports The Times.
It is claimed that a warrant used to search Lord Brittan's homes in London and Yorkshire six weeks after his death was 'invalid' because it named him, but not the owner, Lady Brittan.
The Brittans' homes were searched along with those of former head of the Army, Lord Bramall, and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor in the Metropolitan Police's Operation Midland.
The 2 million operation was abandoned in March last year after police admitted there was no evidence to support astonishing claims that a network of Establishment figures were responsible for killing three boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
In march friends of Lady Brittan were urging her to sue the police over claims that the warrant used to search the couple's family home was flawed.
The Daily Mail was told the warrant named Lord Brittan, 75, who had died nearly two months earlier, but not his wife.
In march friends of Lady Brittan were urging her to sue the police over claims that the warrant used to search the couple's family home was flawed
The police investigation into Lord Brittan over historical sex abuse claims came after the peer denied failing to act on a dossier said to contain damning allegations of abuse including 'serious sexual impropriety' in Westminster during the 1970s and 1980s.
The police chief investigating claims that Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile is convinced the allegations are 120 per cent genuine, The Mail on Sunday revealed today.
More than 30 people have come forward with claims of sexual abuse by the former Conservative Prime Minister, according to well-placed sources.
MPs examining the Government's first extrajudicial killing of a British jihadist in a drone strike in Syria have accused spies of withholding information. Pictured: Reyaad Khan, who died in the attack
MPs examining the Government's first extrajudicial killing of a British jihadist in a drone strike in Syria have accused spies of withholding information.
The intelligence and security committee (ISC) want more details about the threat the terrorist posed to Britain and whether the risk of 'collateral damage' was properly considered.
The ISC, led by former attorney-general Dominic Grieve, told intelligence officials it was 'dissatisfied' with the information they had passed on about the 2015 strike.
Its criticism was contained in a draft report given to Number 10 in December, The Sunday Times reported.
In response, the intelligence services said the ISC should keep to its remit of examining intelligence, rather than questioning military decision-making.
Reyaad Khan, from Cardiff, was killed in September 2015 by an RAF Reaper drone.
David Cameron, who was Prime Minister at the time and ordered the attack, justified it because Khan presented an 'imminent threat' to Britain.
He said: There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him.'
But the ISC is said to be unsure the threat posed by Khan was high enough for the attack to go ahead, Richard Kerbaj and Tim Shipman reported.
The committee is also said to question whether Mr Cameron fully considered the risk of 'collateral damage' in the strike, which killed two other jihadists, including Rahul Amin from Aberdeen.
The ISC, led by former attorney-general Dominic Grieve, told intelligence officials it was 'dissatisfied' with the information they had passed on about the 2015 strike. Khan is on the left
The revelation Khan, 21, had been assassinated in the first RAF drone strike against a Briton provoked controversy.
But Mr Cameron insisted the attacks were an act of self-defence and not a softening-up exercise to persuade Parliament to vote for further military action against IS.
Some of the IS plots had been foiled while others were still active, he added.
Asked if he would do it again, the Prime Minister told MPs: If it is necessary to safeguard the UK and act in self-defence, and there are no other ways of doing it, then yes, I would.
'The choice we were left with was to think, this is all too difficult, throw up our arms and walk away, and then wait for the chaos and terrorism to hit Britain, or to take action in the national interest.
He claimed Khan and Hussain were orchestrating attacks on high-profile public commemorations over the summer from the IS stronghold of Raqqah.
In response, the intelligence services said the ISC should keep to its remit of examining intelligence, not questioning military decision-making. Pictured: Khan's Twitter profile picture
Jihad: Khan in training to become an ISIS fighter in Syria. On Twitter he posted the picture with the caption: 'Doin a lil training...'
Targets were said to include VJ Day and the VE day commemorations of May 8.
The commemorations were attended by scores of war veterans and dignitaries including the Queen.
At the time, Mr Grieve said the strikes were draconian, adding: I strongly suspect it will lead to a legal challenge.
Khan, who was previously a straight A student in Cardiff, became a poster boy for ISIS when he appeared in a propaganda video entitled 'There Is No Life Without Jihad' in June last year, urging Westerners to join the war.
Later attending St Davids Catholic sixth-form college in the city, he was described by friends as a studious pupil who loved sports.
At the time of his disappearance, Khans family said they were desperate for him to come home.
His mother Rukia, 41, pleaded: Please come back before it is too late. You are my only one son. I love you so much.
But after arriving in Syria in late 2013 along with his friend, 21-year-old medical student Nasser Muthana, Khan changed beyond recognition.
Like many ISIS fighters, he was a prolific Twitter user, frequently posting graphic images and bloodthirsty posts.
David Cameron used a speech in the House of Commons to unveil details of the RAF drone strike
Khan (circled, left) once met Labour MP and former shadow chancellor Ed Balls (circled, right)
In one, he posted gruesome images of the corpses of alleged ISIS victims, tweeting: Guys we caught and executed. This is how they looked less than an hr l8er [sic].
He also laughed about witnessing the longest decapitation ever and boasted in another: Executed many prisoners yesterday.
But his Facebook page, which also lists him as a Chelsea FC fan who enjoyed playing computer games FIFA 12 and Call of Duty, reveals how rapidly he transformed from a normal teenager to a bloodthirsty jihadi fighter.
After appearing in the propaganda video with a Kalashnikov assault rifle against his shoulder, his mother said she believed he had been brainwashed into joining ISIS.
But Mr Cameron insisted that the drone strike was 'entirely lawful' after taking legal advice from the Attorney General.
He said 'We were exercising the UK's inherent right to self-defence.
At the time of his disappearance, Khans family said they were desperate for him to come home. A stock photo of a Reaper drone
'There was clear evidence of the individuals in question planning and directing armed attacks against the UK.
'These were part of a series of actual and foiled attempts to attack the UK and our allies.
'And in the prevailing circumstances in Syria, the airstrike was the only feasible means of effectively disrupting the attacks planned and directed by this individual.
'So it was necessary and proportionate for the individual self-defence of the UK.'
Hamas military courts in Gaza have sentenced three Palestinians to death for allegedly spying for Israel and upheld the sentences of three others.
Sunday's verdicts raise the number of people on death row to 10, a number likely to increase since others are still appealing their death sentences. The courts have sentenced Gaza residents to death by hanging or shooting for convictions of murder or collaborating with Israel.
Human rights groups are concerned about the provision of fair trial standards under Hamas, an Islamic group which seized power in Gaza in 2007.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has issued a small number of death sentences over the years, but none have been approved by President Mahmoud Abbas or carried out.
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A crime boss was caught on tape offering to murder the drug dealers who sold the ecstasy pill that led to the death of teenager Leah Betts.
Three weeks after the recording was made Anthony Tucker, 38, Patrick Tate, 37 and Craig Rolfe, 26, who had controlled the supply of ecstasy in the Basildon nightclub where the tablet was bought, were murdered.
The crime lord's proposition to a retired detective, who was suspected of corruption, was revealed during a Scotland Yard bugging operation, reports the Sunday Mirror.
A crime boss was caught on tape during a MET bugging operation offering to murder the drug dealers who sold the ecstasy pill that led to the death of teenager Leah Betts. Leah's family released a photograph of her in a coma (pictured) to show the dangers of illegal drugs
Three weeks after the recording was made Patrick Tate (left), Anthony Tucker (centre) and Craig Rolfe (right), who had controlled the supply of ecstasy in the Basildon nightclub where the tablet was bought, were murdered
In a meeting on November 16, 1995, the day Leah died, he told the officer he could 'take out' the drug suppliers.
On December 7, Tucker, Tate and Rolfe were found shot dead in a Range Rover down a small farm track near Rettendon.
Leah collapsed on November 1, 1995 during her 18th birthday party after taking an ecstasy tablet. She died 15 days later in hospital.
Her death was thought to have been caused by a contaminated batch of drugs but an autopsy found she had consumed 12 pints of water, which caused swelling on the brain.
Paul Betts, Leah's father, who was a retired police officer, released a photograph of her in a coma to show the dangers of illegal drugs. The case sparked national outcry and led to a police crackdown.
Tucker, Tate and Rolfe were found shot dead in a Range Rover (pictured) down a small farm track near Rettendon
Leah (pictured) collapsed on November 1, 1995 during her 18th birthday party after taking an ecstasy tablet and died 15 days later in hospital
The revelations that the 'Range Rover murders' and the death of Leah Betts may be connected appeared in a secret 2002 Scotland Yard draft intelligence report called 'Operation Tiberius'.
The report is said to claim that organised criminals infiltrated the Met 'at will'.
An extract of the report, seen by the Sunday Mirror, reads: 'On 16th November 1995 [ex-officer named] met [crime lord named] who offered the hand of friendship, by offering to take out the supplier of the drugs to Leah Betts, who died of an overdose.'
The report is now expected to form part of legal bid by Michael Steele (pictured) and Jack Whomes, who were jailed for the three murders in 1998
The report is now expected to form part of legal bid by Michael Steele, 74, and Jack Whomes, 55, who were jailed for the three murders in 1998.
Steele and Whomes have always maintained their innocence. They were convicted in January 1998 based on evidence from supergrass and convicted fraudster Darren Nicholls who claimed he had been the getaway driver.
Steele and Whomes' claimed he had made up the story and the investigation was criticised when it emerged officers spent 30 hours in Nicholls' cell questioning him without recording.
Convicted criminal Billy Jasper also addmitted he was the real getaway driver and told Met detectives he was given 5,000 to drive a hitman, known only as Mr D, to the murder scene.
Last year Steele failed in his third attempt to appeal his conviction.
A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said it was 'not prepared' to discuss the details of Operation Tiberius as it is a 'secret document'.
Fraudulent Airbnb listings are on the rise with scammers using fake pictures in a bid to lure in unsuspecting tourists.
One example is this luxurious six-bedroom property just a stone's throw from Bondi Beach which can accommodate up to 12 people for $652 a night.
But there is a catch, the pictures advertising the 'luxury villa' depict a home that is nowhere near the world-famous stretch of beach in Australia.
A Google reverse image search reveals the pictures on the listing are actually of a four-bedroom property in Key Biscayne, Florida, that's worth $3.26 million and more than 15,000km away.
A luxurious six-bedroom villa just a stone's throw from Bondi Beach is listed on Airbnb for $652 a night - but the property depicted is actually in Florida
The pictures used in the advert actually show a property that is located in Florida in the US
The address for the listing appears to be hotel accommodation located above a Mexican restaurant.
In the property's Airbnb description, the host urges prospective visitors to contact them before booking.
'Please do not book before you contact me! All the bookings made without prior contact will be canceled [sic],' it says.
The owner responded to an enquiry from The Sydney Morning Herald saying payment could be made through the Airbnb app after details including a full name, address, ID and utility bill had been provided.
Airbnb removed the listing for the 'luxury villa' in Bondi after being contacted by the newspaper and said the host in question had been banned from the website.
The fraudulent Airbnb listing shows a property in Key Biscayne worth more than $3million
The address listed for the Airbnb advert is actually a backpackers hostel in Bondi Beach
The inside of the hostel is a far cry from the luxury of the six-bedroom villa it purports to be
But the advertisement and the host, who joined Airbnb in September 2016, remained active as of Sunday evening.
An Airbnb spokesman told Daily Mail Australia confirmed the listing has been removed from the platform after being relisted under a new host profile, account and identification credentials.
Both account holders have been permanently banned from the platform, the spokesman said.
'There is absolutely no place for fake listings on our platform, and we have zero tolerance for this type of illegal behaviour,' the spokesman said.
'More than 150 million guests have had safe, positive experiences on Airbnb and while incidents are incredibly rare, we take them very seriously and move fast to deal with them.
'Our global Trust and Safety team works 24/7 to protect our community and prevent attempts at fraud, and while no industry has a 100 per cent safety record, that is what we strive for and we will keep working as hard as we can to achieve that goal.
'Airbnb will never ask you to pay the cost of a reservation off-site or through email. The bottom line is when you book a reservation through our secure platform, you receive the benefits of Airbnb's global trust and safety team and the 40 safety features that kick in long before a transaction can take even place.'
In another instance, an Australian customer was urged to email the property's owner to book directly rather than through Airbnb.
That customer was duped into using a wire transfer service to send more than $5,000 to secure a ski chalet in Europe in response to emails purporting to be from Airbnb, Fairfax Media reported.
Later, the customer discovered the property was in a different country to what was advertised.
The fake Airbnb listing using several images taken from a sale listing for the Florida house
The host claims the property has six bedrooms and six bathrooms but it actually has four
The host also urges prospective visitors to contact them directly before making a booking
The adverts are among a growing trend of fake listings on property-sharing websites.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned holidaymakers to beware scams on accommodation booking sites, such as Airbnb.
The ACCC's Scamwatch received more than 150 reports about scams on these platforms last year, with $80,000 reported lost as a result.
Complaints tripled in 2016 from the year before, when there was $65,000 reported lost to such scams.
'Watch out for scammers advertising accommodation deals in great locations at cheap prices,' ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard warned.
'When you go to book a break, scammers direct you away from the site and ask you to pay them directly using money orders or wire transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.
'Any request for payment to be made via a method other than through the approved payment methods stated on the actual site, should be ignored.
'If you are directed to pay for accommodation using a payment method outside the on-site payment system, check advice on the official site and report the post to that site.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Airbnb for comment.
A British pensioner has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing his wife to death at a retirement home in the Costa Blanca town of El Campello near Alicante.
Ambulance workers took the suspect, aged 86, away by ambulance after he reportedly tried to harm himself. His injuries are thought to be superficial.
The incident happened around 9am this morning. The 79-year-old victim - known only as Margaret - is also British.
Ambulance workers took the suspect, aged 86, away by ambulance (pictured) after he reportedly tried to harm himself
The couple lived at the retirement home, Residencia Orpea de Muchavista, which is understood to function as a day centre as well as an OAP residence.
A worker confirmed the victim was British and her husband had been arrested.
She said: 'They hadn't been living here long.'
Managers at the centre were this morning said to be a meeting with police who are investigating.
A spokesman for the local Civil Guard confirmed: 'The Civil Guard is investigating the death of a woman aged 79 who was allegedly attacked by her 86-year-old husband with a bladed weapon.
'It happened around 9am this morning. The couple were living at a retirement home in the Muchavista Beach area of El Campello.
The incident happened around 9am this morning. The 79-year-old victim is also British. Pictured: Residencia Orpea de Muchavista, where the couple lived
'The man required medical treatment for injuries which are not thought to be serious.'
A source close to the inquiry said: 'The injuries were self-inflicted and are superficial.'
El Campello is a holiday resort lying between Alicante and Benidorm on the Costa Blanca.
Regional governors announced they would be holding a protest gathering to express their disgust at the murder of the Brit expat.
It is due to take place at today outside the Valencia Regional Government Palace.
The regional government's equality spokesman Monica Oltra condemned the crime, describing it as a 'new example of male violence which had ended Margaret's life.'
She added: 'Assassins of this kind have no place in our society and so society is with the victims in their fight against male violence so we can put an end to attacks of this kind.'
A top NASA scientist who led a mission to send a spacecraft to photograph Pluto has said the moon should be upgraded to planet.
Alan Stern, who headed the New Horizons project, which beamed back amazing photographs of the tiny planet which was first identified in February 1930.
In a lecture due to be delivered today in Boston, Massachusetts, Stern said the Earth's moon should be upgraded to a planet, as well as two moons which orbit Jupiter and a further two circling Saturn.
NASA scientist Alan Stern has said the moon should be upgraded to planetary status
Stern will make his lunar appeal at a conference in Boston, Massachusetts later today
Stern led the New Horizons project which sent a spaceship on a decade-long mission to photograph Pluto, which he also hopes will be returned to full planetary status
Stern will tell the American Association for the Advancement of Science that Pluto should also be returned to planetary status after it was downgraded by the International Astronomical Union in 2006.
According to the Sunday Times, Stern, along with five of his colleagues believe the criteria for determining what constitutes a planet is obsolete and needs to be rewritten.
On January 19, 2006 the New Horizons spacecraft was launched on its mission to photograph Pluto in a journey which took a decade.
The spacecraft is continuing out into the galaxy. The craft flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015.
According to Stern: 'In the mind of the public, the word "planet" carries a significance lacking in other words used to describe planetary bodies... many members of the public assume that alleged "non planets" cease to be interesting enough to warrant scientific exploration.
'A common question we receive is, "Why did you send New Horizons to Pluto if it is not a planet any more?" To mitigate this unfortunate perception, we propose a new definition of planet.
'In keeping with both sound scientific classification and people's intuition, we propose a geophysically based definition of planet that emphasises a body's intrinsic physical properties over its extrinsic orbital properties.'
Stern and his team believe that orbiting other planets - not just orbiting the sun, could be used as a method of determining whether a moon could be upgraded.
Stern's team managed to beam back this image of Pluto which is the most detailed ever
His team are continuing to operate the New Horizons craft which is now on its way to photograph an object in the Kuiper Belt on New Year's Day, 2019
The New Horizons spacecraft has travelled more than 3 billion miles over the past decade beaming back images taken with its powerful telescope.
However, this week, a technical glitch forced the New Horizons craft into a safe mode.
According to NASA, the craft returned to full operation after receiving new instructions form earth.
According to Alice Bowman, New Horizons operations manager, when the craft enters safe mode it automatically turns its antenna to Earth so it can communicate more efficiently.
She said: 'Our rapid recovery was supported by other NASA missions that provided New Horizons with some of their valuable Deep Space Network [DSN] antenna time. This is the norm for missions using the DSN we support one another when challenges arise.'
According to Bowman: 'New Horizons is healthy and continues to speed along toward its next target the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69.'
The craft is now more than 3.5 billion miles from Earth, and due to the distance it takes almost 10.5 hours for a message to reach the space ship and return to ground control.
Amie Dunsey celebrated the safe return of her daughter Sarah, 17, (above together) on Facebook on Friday
The mother of a 17-year-old girl found on Friday a month after she vanished from a Las Vegas hotel has thanked supporters for their help.
Sarah Dunsey from Logan, Utah, was found in Venice, California, on Friday with two men who are now being questioned by the FBI.
The 17-year-old disappeared from the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas on January 15 during a trip with her friends.
She was first reported to have run away with the men but fears arose she had been sexually trafficked when she stopped replying to text messages from loved ones.
Police have not revealed what led them to her in Los Angeles on Friday and are refusing to discuss details of the case as investigations continue.
Her 35-year-old mother Amie, who made an emotional plea for her return in a video campaign last week, returned to a Facebook page launched to find her to celebrate the news on Friday.
'We found our Sarah Bearah!!! Thank you all for sharing, getting Sarah's face out there, and helping us to find her.
'Thank you to the people that sent us the tips that found her.
'We ask to please give our family a little space and privacy. We are going to retreat into our safe place and heal.'
She was reunited with her daughter at a hospital in California over the weekend. Police have not given any details over the teenager's condition but her aunt said she had a 'long recovery' ahead.
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Sarah's mother Amie returned to Facebook on Friday to thank the public for their support
Sarah's aunt said that while she had been found, she had a 'long' recovery ahead of her
A vigil planned for Sarah before she was found went ahead on Saturday night in Logan, Utah
'She was found but her recovery is going to be a long time,' Karen Dunsey told Fox News on Saturday at a vigil that had been planned before Sarah was found.
The family went ahead with the event and dedicated it to victims of sexual trafficking who were never found.
Trina McCulloch, another aunt, pleaded for privacy for the family on Facebook and asked people not to speculate over what had happened while police continued investigating the circumstances of Sarah's disappearance.
'There is still an investigation going, and to all the people who don't understand I hope you never in your lifetime go through what our family has for the past month.
'We would love to be able to give specifics but that would not help authorities in this investigation.
The teenager went missing from the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 15
In her final text message to her loved ones, she said: 'If I die tonight it's a guy named'. The family shared the message in a video plea for her return but redacted the man's name
Sarah's mother Amie appeared in the video to urge her daughter to 'fight' her kidnappers
'Sarah's story is not over I'm sure with time and healing we will be able to release more details.'
Amie was reunited with her daughter at a California hospital this weekend
Police are yet to make any suggestion over the circumstances surrounding the case but Sarah's family are adamant in their belief she was trafficked for sex work.
Her mother definitively said as much in her video appeal.
'On January 15th our daughter Sarah Dunsey was abducted from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is being held against her will and Sarah is a victim of sex trafficking.'
In a final text message to friends before she went quiet, Sarah said: 'If I die tonight, it's a guy named....'
Her family redacted the name she wrote from its video campaign because they said they didn't want to alert her captors to their search.
Authorities have arrested two people accused of carjacking and running over a man preparing to flee when authorities ordered those living downstream from the Oroville Dam to evacuate last Sunday.
Cody Bowles, 27 and Lucia Ripley, 31, were arrested Friday in the town of Biggs, and are being held on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carjacking.
Cameron Asbury, 33, was loading his vehicle with the engine running when Bowles and Ripley allegedly jumped in and ran him over as he attempted to stop them.
Cody Bowles, 27 and Lucia Ripley, 31, were arrested Friday in the town of Biggs, and are being held on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carjacking
He was flown to a hospital with serious injuries, according to Butte County Sheriff's Office.
The Asbury family were among the 188,000 residents in Oroville, California, who were given less than an hour's notice to flee their homes after a spillway at the massive Oroville dam appeared to be near collapse.
The pair were armed during the attack, and the sheriff's office says Bowles was arrested on suspicion of carjacking, vehicle theft, mayhem, hit and run, and assault with a deadly weapon. Ripley was booked for vehicle theft.
Cameron's father told KPIX 5 that he and his son got into another car to chase the carjackers. However, when Asbury got out of the car, Bowles allegedly slammed on the gas and ran him over.
Cameron Asbury, 33, (pictured) was loading his vehicle with the engine running when Bowles and Ripley allegedly jumped in and ran him over as he attempted to stop them
Asbury, pictured after many surgeries, was flown to the hospital. He suffers major head and face injuries, but is in a stable condition
He suffers major head and face injuries, and his father said: 'The right side of his face is all tore off; crushed skull and nerve damage.'
After the accident and several surgeries he was in critical condition, but is now stable.
Officials say at least six people have been detained for burglaries and robberies committed during the evacuation.
Two men with a shotgun shot out the windows of Golden Feather Market in Oroville and stole items a day after the emergency evacuation, according to NBC Bay Area. Two men were later arrested and booked into Butte County Jail and Butte County Juvenille Hall.
A person also attempted to steal a safe from an evacuated home in Gridley Monday.
Police say the suspect was riding on a stolen all-terrain vehicle and became trapped on railroad tracks before fleeing on foot.
The safe on the back was stolen, cops say, as well as the firearms inside, and a suspect was later arrested.
Donald Trump's 'cruel and shameful' policies mean his state visit should be cancelled, Sadiq Khan has said.
Mr Khan said the tycoon's ban on refugees and travel ban aimed at people from seven Muslim-majority countries were reasons not to be 'rolling out the red carpet'.
Tomorrow MPs will debate rival petitions on the invitation extended by Theresa May to the president to make a state visit while protesters will gather outside Parliament to speak out against Mr Trump.
Sadiq Khan, pictured on today's Peston on Sunday, said Theresa May should cancel Donald Trump's state visit to Britain later this year
Mr Khan, who is a Muslim, told ITV's Peston on Sunday: 'I love America, I love Americans and I believe the special relationship is a good one and one that's here to stay.
'But when you're mates with somebody, when you've got a special relationship, of course you are side-by-side with them in times of adversity but when they are wrong you call them out.'
He added: 'I think this ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, ending the refugee programme is cruel and it's shameful.
'In those circumstances we shouldn't be rolling out the red carpet.'
Mrs May has been criticised for offering Mr Trump a state visit too soon in his already highly controversial presidency.
Barack Obama only received an invitation after 758 days, while it took 978 days before his predecessor, George W Bush, was offered a state visit, compared with seven days for Mr Trump.
Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames defended the invitation, even though Mr Trump's visit will be 'very controversial'.
Mr Khan told Peston on Sunday Britain should not be 'rolling out the red carpet' for the controversial President of the United States
He told Peston on Sunday: 'I think the Prime Minister was absolutely right to do this, I think this is very important and I think President Trump will make a state visit here. It will be very controversial but it's very important that he does.'
In Westminster Hall on Monday, MPs will debate a petition - signed by more than 1.85 million people calling for the visit to be stripped of the trappings of a state occasion in order to avoid causing 'embarrassment' to the Queen.
They will also consider a rival petition, backed by 311,000 signatories, demanding that the visit goes ahead.
While the debate proceeds, protesters will gather for a rally in Parliament Square which organisers claim will attract more than 20,000 people.
Mr Trump, pictured with First Lady Melania at a rally last night, has doubled down on his controversial immigration policies
Mr Trump is expected to fly into Britain on Air Force One, pictured at last night's rally, in the summer for his state visit
Cabinet minister Liz Truss defended the Prime Minister's decision to seek close links with the Trump administration.
The Justice Secretary told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News: 'These are our most important international allies. Of course, we should work with the US.'
She added that 'of course we don't agree with everything that happens in the US' but 'that doesn't mean we shouldn't work together'.
Ms Truss said: 'The US is vital - our partnership with the US, and in fact Europe's partnership with the US is vital for our economy, it's also vital for our security.
'I think the Prime Minister's work in securing that agreement on Nato was really, really important.
'There are big issues, big threats in the world that we face at the moment and it's important that countries work together.'
The third of four engraved 5 notes worth 50,000 has been found in Northern Ireland.
An elderly woman discovered one of the fivers, which were etched with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen by artist Graham Short, at Charlie's Bar in Enniskillen.
The Birmingham-based micro-engraver released the notes into circulation last year by spending one in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The third of four engraved 5 notes worth 50,000 has been found in Northern Ireland. File pic of one of the notes
An elderly woman discovered one of the golden fivers, which were etched with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen by artist Graham Short, at 'Charlie's Bar' in Enniskillen
A map showing where the five pound notes were distributed. The only one left in circulation was spent in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Mr Short told the Mollie Green show on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire: 'I went into a small bar called Charlie's Bar and actually that is where I spent it.
'It has just been found a couple of weeks ago. An elderly lady found it.'
The woman asked to remain anonymous, but said she would prefer to give the proceeds from any sale to 'young children'.
Mr Short painstakingly carved tiny 5mm portraits of the novelist onto the polymer cash next to the images of Sir Winston Churchill and Big Ben.
The outline of the golden engraving is visible to the naked eye - but a microscope is needed to see it properly.
Each image of the Pride and Prejudice author is surrounded by a unique quote from some of her most celebrated novels.
Mr Short is most famous for engraving the words of the Lord's Prayer on to the head of a pin.
The images on the notes were created by specialist micro-engraver Graham Short (pictured), who travelled to different locations in the UK to spend them
Mr Short (pictured) is most famous for engraving the words of the Lord's Prayer on to the head of a pin
The Birmingham-based artist released the notes into circulation last year, one in England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. Jane Austen was etched just next to Winston Churchill
The first special fiver was found in December last year by a customer taking change from a sausage and egg sandwich at a cafe in Blackwood, south Wales.
The finder, an elderly woman who asked not to be named, said she would give it to her granddaughter as a gift.
The second was discovered that same month in a Christmas card in the Scottish Borders.
The lucky recipient also asked to remain anonymous, but got in touch with Tony Huggins-Haig, whose gallery in Kelso commissioned Short for the project.
The first special fiver was found in December last year by a customer taking change from a sausage and egg sandwich at a cafe in Blackwood, south Wales
The person who discovered the note also wanted to remain anonymous, but got in touch with Tony Huggins-Haig,(left) whose gallery in Kelso commissioned Short for the project. Pictured also is Alan Malone of Granny Jean's Bakery
When he released the notes, the 70-year-old artist said: 'I'm always looking to do something different and as soon as I saw the new 5 note I thought "wouldn't it be good if I could engrave something on it?"
'I didn't know what but then I found out it was going to be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death and her image is also going on the new 10 note, so it ties in nicely with that.'
This is the moment a missing two-year-old boy was rescued from bushes by police.
River Schomaker was reported as missing from his Northeast Portland home, in Oregon, after his mother discovered he was not in his bed at 6am on Saturday morning.
Police launched a massive manhunt for the missing boy with local officers, FBI agents and around 50 volunteers as well as a canine unit.
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This is the moment missing two-year-old boy, River (right) was rescued from bushes by police (left)
Little River, found by K9 Ava and handler Becky Irving, of Mountain Wave, was discovered in a blackberry bush just two blocks from his parents' home almost six hours later.
Video shot from a police helicopter above captured the heroic moment that a police officer was able to pull the boy from the brush and took him in his arms.
'He was very distraught during the ordeal,' said Portland Police Sgt. Jeff Helfrich who described River cold and shaking.
'It brought a tear to my eye because he was alive, we found him, that's a very big deal to find a child alive like that, because the more these go on, the more things can take different turns.'
The boy's parents were overwhelmed with relief their son had been found.
An officer with the Portland Police Bureau, background left, carries the two-year-old boy to an ambulance
River was reported as missing from his Northeast Portland home, in Oregon, after his mother discovered he was not in his bed at 6am on Saturday morning (pictured is the rescue)
Police launched a manhunt for the missing boy with a canine unit and police helicopter captured the moment he was rescued and carried out by an officer
'I'm pretty beside myself,' Hollian Markusen, 27, told Oregon Live. 'My son was lost. My beautiful, 2-year-old boy who've I've never been away from for more than a couple of hours his entire life.'
River's father Aaron Schomaker, 28, added that he was incredibly grateful to all the volunteers and police who had turned out to help look for River.
He said that he had arrived home from his bar tending job at just before 5am, only to be woken up at hour later by Markusen's screams that their son was missing from his bed.
Schomaker believes his son may have got out through a ground floor door from their condominium and says he is planning to child-proof the door immediately.
River was cold and shaking by the time police found him, several hours after he went missing
The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment for cold exposure and scratches
River was then taken to the hospital for treatment for cold exposure and scratches where he remained as of 7pm last night.
Police believe the toddler escaped outside through an unlocked door.
'This is a great reminder for all parents,' said Portland Police Sgt. Jeff Helfrich. 'Make sure you have child safety locks on your doors and if you have adventurous kids, make sure you take care of those.'
Police said investigators will forward the report to the Oregon Department of Human Services as matter of procedure but no charges have been brought against the parents.
Muslim students at a Sydney public school can refuse to shake hands with women even at an awards ceremony.
The Hurstville Boys Campus of Georges River College introduced the policy to allow Muslim boys to instead put their hand on the heart as a greeting.
The Year 7 to 10 school's two principals told guests at its 2016 presentation day, including notable community members, that students may decline the gesture.
The practice comes from the Muslim teaching of hadith that states: 'It is better to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is not permissible to you.'
Muslim students at Sydney public school the Hurstville Boys Campus of Georges River College (pictured) can refuse to shake hands with women, even at an awards ceremony
The NSW Education Department told The Australian it approved of the 'agreed protocol' that was developed through consultation between staff, parents and students.
'The department requires its schools to recognise and respect the cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds of all students, with the intent to promote an open and tolerant attitude towards a diverse Australian community,' it said.
The department said principals were best placed to know the needs of their communities when following that requirement.
Such a literal interpretation of hadith, which describes the practices of the prophet Mohammed is controversial even among Australian Muslim leaders.
The practice comes from the Muslim teaching of hadith that states: 'It is better to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is not permissible to you'.
Australia's Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammed shakes hands with women as did his predecessor, Fehmi Naji El-Imam, and Islamic schools do not even have the policy.
Former Islamic Council of Victoria secretary Kuranda Seyit said many young students were taught to take it 'too seriously' and it shouldn't apply in a school context.
'For some young adults, when they meet people of the opposite sex, to shake someone's hand suggests a friendship,' he said.
Mr Seyit said it was an issue because Australians do not understand the custom and could be embarrassed if they were 'left hanging'.
'Students should be able to shake hands with the teacher or the principal, or receive a greeting from a visitor to the school,' he said.
Saudi Arabia and Israel both called on Sunday for a new push against Iran, signalling a growing alignment in their interests, while U.S. lawmakers promised to seek new sanctions on the Shi'ite Muslim power.
Turkey also joined the de facto united front against Tehran as Saudi and Israeli ministers rejected an appeal from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for Sunni Gulf Arab states to work with Tehran to reduce violence across the region.
While Saudi Arabia remains historically at odds with Israel, their ministers demanded at the Munich Security Conference that Tehran be punished for propping up the Syrian government, developing ballistic missiles and funding separatists in Yemen.
International sanctions on Iran were lifted a year ago under a nuclear deal with world powers, but Republican senators said at the conference they would press for new U.S. measures over the missiles issue and Tehran's actions to "destabilise" the Middle East.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called Tehran the main sponsor of global terrorism and a destabilising force in the Middle East.
He sidestepped a question about Israel's call for concerted action with Sunni Arab states amid growing speculation that the two countries could normalise relations and join forces to oppose Tehran, much as Turkey has done.
The six Arab members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Saudi Arabia, accuseIran of using sectarianism to interfere in Arab countries and build its own sphere of influence in the Middle East. Iran denies the accusations.
"Iran remains the single main sponsor of terrorism in the world," Adel al-Jubeir told delegates at the conference. "It's determined to upend the order in the Middle East ... (and) until and unlessIran changes its behaviour it would be very difficult to deal with a country like this."
Al-Jubeir said Iran was propping up the government of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, funding the Houthi movement in Yemen and fomenting violence across the region.
The international community needed to set clear "red lines" to halt Iran's actions, he said, calling for banking, travel and trade restrictions aimed at changing Tehran's behaviour.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Iran's ultimate objective was to undermine Riyadh, and called for a dialogue with Sunni Arab countries to defeat "radical" elements in the region.
"The real division is not Jews, Muslims ... but moderate people versus radical people," Lieberman told delegates.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also criticised what he called an Iranian "sectarian policy" aimed at undermining Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
"Turkey is very much against any kind of division, religious or sectarian," he said. "It's good that we are now normalising our relations with Israel."
Zarif opened Sunday's session with the call for dialogue to address "anxieties" in the region. This followed a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Oman and Kuwait last week to try to improve ties, his first visit to the Gulf states since taking power in 2013.
Asked if Iran's envisioned regional dialogue could include Israel, Zarif said Tehran was looking at a more "modest" approach. "I'm focusing on the Persian Gulf. We have enough problems in this region so we want to start a dialogue with countries we call brothers in Islam," he said.
Zarif dismissed any suggestions his country would ever seek to develop nuclear weapons. When asked about the new U.S. administration's tough rhetoric on Iran's role in the region and calls to review the nuclear deal, he said Tehran did not respond well to threats or sanctions.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said he and other senators were preparing legislation to further sanction Iran for violating U.N. Security Council resolutions with its missile development programme and other actions.
"It is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what theyve done outside the nuclear programme," he said.
Senator Christopher Murphy, a Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Washington needed to decide whether to take a broader role in the regional conflict.
"We have to make a decision whether we are going to get involved in the emerging proxy war in a bigger way than we are today, between Iran and Saudi Arabia," he said.
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The White House chief of staff says that Americans should take 'seriously' President Donald Trump's recent claim that the press 'is the enemy of the American people.'
'I think you should take it seriously,' Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said in a combative interview with CBS taped on Saturday, adding that 'the American people suffer' because of the news media.
Priebus was referring to a Friday tweet from the President slamming the 'Big Three' TV networks, plus the New York Times and CNN, as 'fake news.'
'The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!'
Reince Priebus, shown with Trump in a file photo from January, says Americans should 'take it seriously' when Trump calls the free press 'the enemy of the American people'
Trump made the attack on the press in this Tweet from Friday
Trump had previously called the press 'the opposition party.'
His latest verbal attacks on the free press, which he amplified at a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, followed a week of difficult news for his administration.
First, the revelation that National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador prompted Flynn's resignation.
Then Trump's nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration after reporters found a tape of his ex-wife sharing domestic abuse allegations with Oprah Winfrey in 1990.
Priebus, speaking with CBS's John Dickerson, singled out two other recent news reports for abuse.
Priebus defended Trump's remarks in an interview with CBS' 'Face The Nation' taped Saturday
'I think that the problem we've got is that we're talking about bogus stories like the one in the New York Times, that we've had constant contact with Russian officials,' referring to a report citing four current and former U.S. officials.
'The next day, the Wall Street Journal had a story that the intel community was not giving the president a full intelligence briefing,' Priebus continued, referring to a report that intelligence officials have withheld certain sensitive information from Trump over concerns that it could be leaked or compromised.
'Both stories grossly inaccurate, overstated, overblown, and it's total garbage,' Priebus said.
Trump has lambasted the reports as 'fake news' sourced from 'illegal leaks,' but confusingly conceded that 'the leaks are absolutely real.'
Priebus called on the press to 'stop with this unnamed source stuff,' adding 'put names on a piece of paper and print it.'
Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal stories relied on anonymous sources, a routine practice in national security and intelligence reporting.
The White House chief of staff appeared to suggest that journalists should only get information from the 'heads' of agencies, saying that 'intelligence reporting that is based on facts that's not coming out of the actual heads of these intelligence agencies' is 'stupidity.'
Dickerson asked Priebus how he'd respond to anyone who decided to 'act on that declaration by the president' that the press is an enemy.
'I don't know what you mean by act on it,' Priebus said. 'I mean, certainly we would never condone violence. But I do think that we condone critical thought.'
Trump appointee Craig Deare was fired from the National Security Council on Friday
A senior Trump administration official was fired after he criticized President Donald Trump's policies, spoke of dysfunction in the White House, and made lewd comments about Trump's daughter at a small private event.
Craig Deare, whom Trump appointed a month ago to head the National Security Council's Western Hemisphere division, was on Friday escorted out of the Executive Office Building, where he worked in Washington.
Current and former administration officials say Deare's termination was linked to remarks he made Thursday at a private talk at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
According to one person who attended the discussion, Deare slammed the Trump administration for its policies on Latin America, specifically its rocky start to relations with Mexico. That person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private event.
The person also noted that Deare made several remarks about how attractive Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, appeared, remarks that person described as 'awkward.'
Sources say Deare slammed Trump's approach to relations with Mexico in a private talk (file)
Trump himself has repeatedly commented on his daughter's appearance in recorded interviews.
'She does have a very nice figure,' he said on The View in 2006. 'Ive said that if Ivanka werent my daughter, perhaps, I would be dating her.'
The person who attended the talk also noted that Deare made 'awkward' remarks about how attractive Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump (pictured earlier this week) appeared
The person who attended the Wilson Center discussion also said that Deare openly expressed frustration over being cut out of most of the policy discussions about Mexico.
Deare supposedly said that members of Trump's inner circle, including chief strategist Steve Bannon and Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner (Ivanka Trump's husband), have not consulted with NSC directorates as the White House formulates policy.
Trump signed an order in the first week of his presidency to build a border wall with Mexico, jumpstarting a campaign promise.
The move prompted Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel his trip to Washington in late January.
A senior White House official confirmed that Deare is no longer working at the NSC and has returned to the position he previously held at the National Defense University.
Deare has been on the faculty of National Defense University in Washington since 2001. He joined the university's College of International Security Affairs in 2010 and most recently served as dean of administration.
Deare did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials with the Wilson Center also declined a request for information, saying the discussion was off the record.
Deare is the second senior NSC official to leave in under a week.
On Monday, Trump's national security adviser, retired General Michael Flynn, resigned after revelations that he discussed sanctions with a Russian diplomat before Trump was sworn in, then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of those conversations.
SAS troops led a fresh offensive yesterday to liberate Iraqs last remaining city under Islamic State control.
The special forces, along with US Green Beret and Delta Force commandos, are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish fighters in western Mosul, the countrys second city.
Elite soldiers from Britain and the US are supposed to be limited to advisory roles, but have been dragged into the battle to free 650,000 civilians, which expected to last several months.
Iraqi forces have attacked ISIS jihadists defending the west of Mosul. Pictured: Government soldiers in the south of the city
They were part of a massive Iraqi-led force, according to The Times, facing what is expected to be its toughest battle in the four-month offensive to retake Mosul because it has older, narrower streets than the eastern section, which has now been recaptured.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians still living in the west of the city have been told to shelter at home.
Iraq declared eastern Mosul fully liberated last month, but IS has continued to launch attacks, with suicide bombers targeting troops there yesterday.
Plumes of smoke rose into the sky early yesterday as US-led coalition jets struck militant positions southwest of Mosul and militarized Iraqi police fired artillery toward the city.
Sources said the immediate objective was to take the villages on the southern outskirts of Mosul airport.
But the UN warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside their houses were at extreme risk, with dwindling fuel and food supplies and scarce drinking water and electricity.
Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said: We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes. The UN said nearly half of all food shops were closed and bakeries had shut down.
Peter Hawkins, of the UN agency for children, said: Three out of five people depend on untreated water for cooking and drinking.
The Iraqi Army liberated the east of Mosul on January 24, but could face far harder fighting in the west, which is home to the narrow streets of the Old City. Pictured: Forces advance in the south
Islamic State has put up stiff resistance to defend Iraq's second largest city, where its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a 'caliphate' in 2014.
The Iraqi Army liberated the east of Mosul on January 24, but could face far harder fighting in the west, which is home to the narrow streets of the Old City.
Government troops are preparing for house-to-house fighting and the risk of ISIS fighters blending in with locals, including 350,000 children.
The terrorists have used civilians as human shields and killed residents attempting to flee, making it both difficult and dangerous for the population to escape.
Mosul's centre, which includes the mosque where Baghdadi made his only public appearance in June 2014, is inaccessible to vehicles, so troops will go in on foot.
All the bridges over the Tigris have been destroyed, hemming in the jihadists in the west.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said: 'Our forces are beginning the liberation of the citizens from the terror of Daesh.
Government troops are preparing for house-to-house fighting and the risk of ISIS fighters blending in with locals. Pictured: Iraqi soldiers on an armoured truck
Terrorists have used civilians as human shields and killed residents attempting to flee. Pictured: Iraqis fire a rocket at ISIS terrorists
An Army helicopter flies over the Iraqi rapid response forces' position during a battle against Islamic State militants
'We are coming, Nineveh, to liberate the western side of Mosul,' he said, referring to the province of which Mosul is the capital.
A top army commander then announced forces had destroyed two car bombs and killed several ISIS fighters while retaking villages to the south, including Athbah.
Military vehicles blared patriotic songs as heavy bombardment and shooting could be heard in the distance.
FEARS FOR CIVILIANS Residents of west Mosul have reported very difficult living conditions and warned that they were already low on food, with weeks of fighting expected to lie ahead. 'This is the grim choice for children in western Mosul right now: bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay - or execution and snipers if they try to run,' said the Iraq Director for Save the Children, Maurizio Crivallero. Advertisement
The jihadists overran Mosul and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, sweeping aside security forces ill-prepared to face the assault.
The Iraqi government launched the offensive to reconquer Mosul on October 17, with air and ground support from the US-led coalition.
It took Iraq's most seasoned forces - the elite Counter-Terrorism Service - more than two months to clear the eastern side of Mosul.
Patrick Skinner, from the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy, predicted fighting on a 'larger and more bloody scale' in the city's western districts.
Experts also predict the jihadis could enjoy more support in the west, which is less ethnically diverse than the east.
However, ISIS have suffered high levels of casualties, and Iraqi commanders hope they no longer have the resources to defend Mosul effectively.
Military vehicles blared patriotic songs as heavy bombardment and shooting could be heard in the distance. Pictured: A rocket launching of an Iraqi Army truck
Dressed in only white loincloths, 10,000 men gathered at a Japanese temple over the weekend to scramble for a pair of lucky sticks.
The men were taking part in Hadaka Matsuri - or the Naked Man Festival - which takes place every year at the Saidaiji Kannon-in temple in Okayama City in western Japan.
The men shoved each other for more than an hour on Saturday night in hopes of retrieving the lucky batons, thrown by a priest into the crowd.
The sacred batons - measuring 4cm in diameter and 20cm in length - are believed to bring good luck for an entire year to whoever catches them.
The men were taking part in Hadaka Matsuri - or the Naked Man Festival - which takes place every year at the Saidaiji Kannon-in temple in Okayama City in western Japan
The men donned white Japanese loincloths, put on with the help of their peers, before stepping into cold fountains, where they purified their bodies with water, before heading into the temple.
It's a cold outfit for a February night in Okayama, where temperatures can reach below freezing.
At 10pm, the lights were turned off in the temple and the sacred sticks were thrown into the crowd from a four-meter high window.
They then battled fiercely with each other in a bid to grab the pair of lucky sticks - known as the shingi.
The winners are dubbed 'fuku otoko', or lucky men, and are promised a year of good fortune.
According to Japanese tradition, the person who catches the batons and thrusts them in a wooden measuring box, called the masu, is blessed with 12 months of luck and happiness.
The men shoved each other for more than an hour on Saturday night in hopes of retrieving the lucky batons, thrown by a priest into the crowd
The unusual event - one of the most vibrant festivals in Japan - dates back 500 years when worshippers used to compete to receive paper talismans thrown by the priest.
Over the years, an increasing number of people receiving these talismans possessed good fortune - encouraging more worshippers to turn up.
However, the talismans were later changed to wooden sticks due to the fragile nature of paper.
The Hadaka Matsuri is not the only festival in Japan which requires participants to bare all.
The ancient Shinto festival of Kanchu Misogi - a winter purification ritual that is supposed to cleanse the body and soul and bring worshippers closer to mystical spirits, which they believe can bring them success - has about 100 participants each year.
In temperatures that hit just above freezing, the participants strip down to loincloths and headbands before taking a dip in the pool at Teppozu Inari Shinto shrine.
They then crouched down in the freezing water to pray - before hugging large blocks of ice.
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Britain is braced for a turbulent week of weather with temperatures of 17C expected to be hotter than Madrid tomorrow but 50mph winds and rain on the way.
Temperatures in the UK will be hotter than Spain, Greece and Saudi Arabia thanks to a 'blast of hot air from the Caribbean'.
But don't leave your barbecues out for too long because this is Britain and Tuesday's come down brings wind, rain and cloud.
Morning has broken: A stunning Mediterranean-like sunrise over the lengthy golden sands below the imposing fortress of Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast on Sunday morning
A bit nippy? Members of the Brighton Swimming Club brave the cold water and powerful waves to go for a Sunday morning swim in the sea
This three-day weather forecast shows the hot weather will not necessarily bring sunshine with rain and clouds set to move in
On Wednesday there will be severe gales of 50mph in the north and unsettled conditions across the country.
A 'nasty' low pressure system is feared to move in on Thursday bringing storms before colder conditions resume on Friday.
Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts told MailOnline: 'Tomorrow will see mild conditions and above average temperatures. It could be as hot as 17C in the south east and even 15C as far north as Aberdeen.
'Tuesday will be unsettled with rain and cloud and winds in the north could reach 50mph on Wednesday.
'We're watching closely to see if a nasty low pressure system will swoop in on Thursday bringing strong winds and even storms before colder conditions on Friday.'
The recent warm weather is due to a cloud of hot air making its way over the Atlantic Ocean from Florida and parts of the Caribbean.
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Warm blast: This Met Office graphic shows how the UK will enjoy a hot blast of air that is coming to us from the Atlantic
Heating up: Temperatures will reach 17C in the south east tomorrow and fall to only 8C at night due to a warm blast of air
Aberdeen, Wattisham and London are all tipped as likely locations for the highest temperatures, with the east of the country broadly enjoying the best of the warmth.
The rise could make the UK among the hottest locations in Europe, following bouts of snow and freezing temperatures that took hold earlier this month.
Madrid will be 15C on Monday Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh will be 13C, four degrees less than Britain.
The hottest recorded day in February was in 1998, when thermometers reached 19.7C.
Tourists: Visitors punt on the river Cam outside St John's college, Cambridge as temperatures rose to 15C on Sunday before they will hit up to 17C in the south east tomorrow
Imposing skies: A woman looks up at the looming clouds above as she enjoys a rest on Brighton beach before expecting rain
A member of the Brighton swimming club braves the cold water and powerful waves to go swimming in the Brighton Sea
Sandy: A young woman slides down a sand dune at Camber in east Sussex, as a tantalising taste of spring lifted her spirits
Early mornings: One lucky beachwalker had a view to die for when he strolled along the Northumberland coast this morning
On their merry way: Tourists enjoyed a tour of Cambridge by punting along the River Cam past St John's college
Progressive activists continue to take a cue from the Tea Party movement with plans to funnel into town hall meetings this week while members of Congress are at home and make a ruckus.
Groups, including President Barack Obama's Organizing for Action, are turning to a newer organization, Indivisible Guide, to coordinate tactics.
Launched in December by former Congressional staffers, Indivisible is providing activists with training manuals, such as one that explains how to have a 'successful' town hall.
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More members of Congress are likely to face progressive activists this week, as the group Indivisible has provided training manuals on how to have a 'successful' town hall
Earlier this month, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, faced a number of angry constituents at a town hall he held in Cottonwood Heights, Utah
This week, they tapped President Bill Clinton's Labor Secretary Robert Reich to record a PSA for the group.
'This is your chance to show Trump's agenda faces a powerful resistance,' Reich said in the spot, which was filmed to remind activists that members of Congress will be back in their home districts this week.
'The resistance has already begun and has serious momentum,' he added.
The group is using the hashtag #ReclaimRecess and is instructing activists to find their member of congress' town hall.
Another just-launched website, the Town Hall Project, is keeping track of when and where lawmakers plan to be.
The guide suggests attendees come up with questions in advance with the main focus on protesting any moves to repeal Obamacare and to cozy up to local reporters who cover that particular member of Congress.
Activists are to spread out throughout an audience, the group Indivisible advises, as 'this will help reinforce the impressions of broad consensus'
'Find and follow those reporters on Twitter, and build relationships,' the manual suggests.
Organizing for Action outlines immigration reform as a top key issue.
Indivisible advises that constituents also express their opposition for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and for his seven-country travel ban.
Additionally, the topic of Trump's tax returns, and his failure to release them, should also be brought up with lawmakers.
Indivisible tells activists to be 'respectful, polite, and non-confrontational' with the member of Congress and his or her staff.
'Get seated and spread out,' the guide says, telling activists not to sit together in one clump. 'Sit by yourself or in groups of two, and spread out throughout the room.'
'This will help reinforce the impressions of broad consensus,' the guide adds.
Reich and the training manual both note that the town halls should be recorded and those recordings should be given to local media.
The former labor secretary pointed out that while a member of Congress can snub a constituent to two, 'they can't ignore the local nightly news,' Reich pointed out.
The activists are also being told to hold members of Congress accountable for not facing their constituents.
There's a whole Indivisible training manual on how to deal with a 'missing' member of Congress.
In Indivisible's PSA, Reich tells liberals to hold their own town halls and invite those lawmakers in question.
'If they refuse to hold a town hall, hold your own and invite them,' he said. 'If your representative doesn't attend, bring a cardboard cut-out or an empty chair and let your local media know that your member of Congress didn't have the courage to show up and face constituents.'
Abby Ballin (left) has spoken movingly about her boyfriend, Matthew Badger (right), who died on February 9, and whose children were killed in a fire on Christmas Day in 2011
The girlfriend of Matthew Badger, who lost all three of his daughters in a fire at his ex-wife's house on Christmas Day in 2011, and tragically passed away earlier this month, has paid tribute to the artist.
Badger, 51, died of natural causes - the details of which have not been released - on February 9. His story made national news when his daughters, Lily, Sarah and Grace, died in a Connecticut house fire.
Speaking to PEOPLE, his girlfriend Abby Ballin - whom he was seeing up until his death - said: 'He was and will forever be the strongest man I have ever known. A fighter till the end. Im just so happy he doesnt have to fight anymore.
'He is free.'
Ballin was seeing Badger when his daughters - nine-year-old Lily and seven-year-old twins Sarah and Grace - died in a fire at the home of their mom, Madonna Badger, and her then-boyfriend Michael Borcina.
Ballin was with Badger when he received the horrific news.
And though he carried on despite the loss - opening up dyslexia charity the LilySarahGrace Fund with Ballin in April 2012 - he was forever haunted.
'On December 21, 2016, almost five years to the day of the last time we saw the girls, Matt texted me from Maine, "Dark day? The darkest of the year. Tomorrow the sun will begin to take back the nightuntil, one day, the day will come when?"' she said.
'I keep coming back to these words. He was speaking of winter solstice, but we both knew he was speaking of so much more.'
Ballin described Badger (pictured with daughters Lily, Sarah and Grace) as 'the strongest man I have ever known', and a 'true artist'. She says he is now 'with the girls'
This was the last photo ever taken of Matthew and his girls together before they died in a house fire in Connecticut. Ballin said she is glad Matthew 'doesn't have to fight any more'
Now, Ballin says, Badger - a 'true artist - although you would never hear him say that' has been reunited with his daughters.
'Every time I close my eyes I see him dancing his wild, chaotic, glee-filled dance and I know he is with the girls,' Ballin said.
'They are all dancing swirling in the love that all who mourn are sending to them.'
Badger's family have not said how he died, only that it came quickly and without pain.
His ex-wife Madonna Badger said in a statement on his death: 'He was a wonderful man with a generous heart. He was an amazing Dad to his girls, Lily, Sarah and Grace. His death was sudden and peaceful.
'He is with his children and his parents and his brother, Mark. Please send him light and love. My heart is broken but also joyous that they are together.'
Badger's three daughters were killed when a fire tore through the mansion of their mother, Madonna Badger, on Christmas Day in 2011
Matthew's ex-wife Madonna Badger took to Facebook saying the father-of-three's death was sudden and peaceful
A person close to the family told the Hartford Courant that he died of natural causes but would not reveal the exact cause of death.
Badger previously said in interviews that his brother and father both died of heart attacks.
He also admitted to being an on-and-off-again chain smoker in the years after his daughters' deaths.
Badger was living in a two bedroom rental with Ballin in New York's Battery Park City before he died.
Richard Cambria, executive director of the charity, told the New York Post that Matthew died surrounded by family members.
Badger was in New York when the fire broke out in 2011 at his ex-wife's home in Stamford, Connecticut where his daughters were spending Christmas Day.
Matthew (left), his girlfriend Abby Ballin (center) and Madonna Badger (right) were visibly distressed at the funeral of Lily, Sarah and Grace in New York
The girls and Madonna's parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, all perished in the horrific blaze. Madonna and Borcina both survived.
Authorities said embers in a bag of discarded fireplace ashes started the blaze. They had been discarded by Borcina because the girls were worried Santa wouldn't be able to get down the chimney.
Badger said in a 2012 interview that the loss of his little girls had devastated him.
'It ended my life,' he told People magazine. 'I'm a father... I wasn't there to save them.
'If I don't cry every day, the waves are bigger,' he said. 'If I cry every day, it is less dramatic. I don't think the loss is ever going away.'
Badger added that he was especially troubled when he thought of the girls suffering in their last moments as they dashed through the home, looking for an escape route.
Madonna and her then-boyfriend Michael Borcina (pictured with his hand on her shoulder) were the only two to survive the blaze. Matthew (left) later filed an unlawful death suit against Borcina whose business was behind the renovations on the home that caught fire
Firefighters arrived on the scene just six minutes after neighbors reported the fire, but they were unable to save those trapped.
Two of the girls were found on the second floor; their other sister died just feet from escaping through a window.
No criminal charges were filed as a result of the deaths.
A year after the fire, Badger told Katie Couric that he had contemplated suicide after losing his daughters.
'I wanted to go and be a parent to my girls wherever they went,' he said.
Fire and city officials said at the time of the fire that the house - which was under renovation by Borcina - should not have been occupied and the fire alarms weren't activated.
Badger later filed a wrongful death against the city and Borcina, claiming the house had become a fire trap.
Borcina and his company settled the lawsuit in 2014 for $5 million.
Matthew said in an interview in 2012 that the death of his daughters had ended his life and he was especially troubled when he though of the girls suffering in their last moments
Firefighters arrived on the scene just six minutes after neighbors reported the fire at Madonna's mansion, but they were unable to save those trapped inside
Unable to return to his job as television commercial director following the fire, Badger created the charity in the girls' memories with Ballin.
'We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Matthew Badger,' the LilySarahGrace Fund said in a statement on Thursday.
'When LSG first started, it was to honor the lives and memories of Matthew's daughters. While our hearts are broken, we are honored and committed to carrying on Matthew's legacy.'
Ballin's brother Joey Pedone posted an emotional tribute on Facebook on Thursday saying he wished he could have met him under different circumstances.
'I would have loved to see you and my sister together as a couple prior to the horrible event that forever changed you two. There's no doubt in my mind that you were an absolute clever, sarcastic, charismatic man full of life,' Pedone wrote.
'Thank you for the love you brought into her life... thank you for sharing yourself with my family. Even through the dark shadow that was cast over you I could see the man she fell in love with. We will all miss you and keep you and your girls memory alive.'
Badger, who had dyslexia, was an advocate for the learning difficulty throughout his life. Grace and Lily also had dyslexia.
Groups and advocates for the disability mourned Badger's death on Thursday, saying they hoped his legacy would last long after his death.
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If you've ever dreamed of truly getting away from it all on your own private island, here is your chance for just $6.9 million.
Melody Key, is a stunning private island in the Florida Key which is completely off the grid, running on solar panels for energy and desalinization for water supply.
But the 'Robinson Crusoe' experience doesn't mean forgoing the little luxuries. The property also boasts a It features a three-bedroom villa, freshwater pool, air conditioning, high-speed internet and an incredible rooftop platform with views across the island.
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Melody Key (pictured) is a stunning private island in the Florida Keys which is completely off the grid
The island comes with its own three-bedroom villa, which offers balcony views across the island and the crystal blue ocean
The property also has its own freshwater pool when visitors, or the island's new owners, decide to take a dip
The tropical paradise, which was once owned by the lead singer of 311, Nick Hexum, has plenty of trees to hang a hammock up and just relax
The entire estate, which can only be reached by boat, has gone on the market with Engel and Volkers for $6.9 million
The 3,500sq ft villa that comes with three bedrooms and three full baths, a kitchen, large living room, and elevator to access all three floors.
It also has storage shed for the island's many kayaks, sailboats, and snorkel equipment.
The private island, which is just 25 miles from Key West and a ten minute boat ride from the nearby Summerland Key, was previously owned by 311's rock star Nick Hexum who sold it in 2011 to a British developer.
That developer invested a significant amount into bring the island and its properties to a high standard before selling the island to French real estate developer Blaise Carroz.
The villa boasts a large open plan kitchen with breakfast bar, table and booth, and all the mod cons
The spacious living room is perfect for entertaining guests or for big families who choose the seclusion of their own island
The island is completely off the grid, running on solar panels for energy and desalinization for water supply. But the 'Robinson Crusoe' experience doesn't mean forgoing the little luxuries such as real wood flooring and balconies for every room
The property also boasts a It features a three-bedroom villa, freshwater pool, air conditioning, high-speed internet and an incredible rooftop platform with views across the island
'It's totally off the grid,' he said. 'We produce our own power with solar panels, and our water is taken from the sea with our desalination system.
'When you live there, you're a new-age Robinson Crusoe,' he explained.
Carroz said maintenance costs, which don't include the caretaker's annual salary or property tax, can run to around $30,000 a year.
But he and his family were able to make the island pay for its own upkeep by renting it out to vacationers - at $1,375 a night for a minimum of six nights. A reasonably good deal for the area where a five star hotel suite could ran into hundreds more.
The 3,500sq ft villa that comes with three bedrooms and three full baths, a kitchen, large living room, and elevator to access all three floors
Each bedroom has access to a balcony with views of the three acres of land, surrounded by 400-year-old mangroves
A rooftop viewing platform offers sunbathing with a view, looking across the island lush trees and mangroves, and surrounding ocean
A tiled walk-in shower and bath, double sinks and lots of storage are an attractive feature in one of the property's three full baths
Another bathroom at the Melody Key home which offers the ultimate in a secluded getaway on its own private island
Stairs in the main villa lead down to a cozy nook with a couch and armchair in the spacious villa
But Melody may not be quite the desert private island of your dreams for one reason; it doesn't have a beach.
Instead the island is surrounded by thick, 400-year-old mangroves which are home to iguanas, osprey and much more.
But the property's fresh water pool means visitors or homeowners can take a dip whenever they want.
Carroz explains that he bought the island as a vacation spot for his family. But with five children, the three-acres of traversable land have become a little small for them.
'Since I was a kid, I dreamed of owning an island,' he said. 'And it was the perfect spot for family vacations.'
He has decided it's time to sell up and move on - although he currently has no plans to buy an even bigger island.
Melody Key is on the market with Engel and Volkers for $6.9 million.
The island also has storage shed for the island's many kayaks, sailboats, and snorkel equipment
Carroz said maintenance costs, which don't include the caretaker's annual salary or property tax, can run to around $30,000 a year
But Melody may not be quite the desert private island of your dreams for one reason; it doesn't have a beach. But the property's fresh water pool means visitors or homeowners can take a dip whenever they want
There are fears drinkers could pay more for a drink after the government's business rates shake up.
Rents and rates specialists CVS said the cost of a pint at British pubs in general could go up by 5p - or as high as 30p when other factors are taken into account.
It predicts 17,160 pubs in England and Wales will receive increased demands in April, adding an extra 70.17million to their bills compared with 2016/17.
Rents and rates specialists CVS said the cost of a pint at British pubs in general could go up by 5p - or as high as 30p when other factors are taken into account
And even big chains like Wetherspoons could be affected, with founder and chairman Tim Martin telling MailOnline it faces paying 8,000 more per pub in rates.
The government's changes to business rates have drawn criticism for imposing small shops with huge hikes while internet giants such as Amazon see theirs cut.
Wetherspoons founder and chairman Tim Martin said the tax increase, which comes in this April, will take the rates his company pays on a pint up to 18p from around 16p
But Mr Martin believes supermarkets selling alcohol also face an unfair advantage, and called for 'tax equality' to be introduced into the system.
He told MailOnline: 'Our rates will rise by about 7 million per annum or around 8,000 per pub per annum.
'That is about 16 per cent. This will take rates per pint in a pub up to around 18p from the current 16p.
'Supermarkets, in contrast, pay only about 2p per pint in business rates and there will be almost no increase for them in April.
'This compounds the real unfairness supermarkets pay no VAT on food sales and pubs pay 20 per cent, enabling supermarkets to subsidise alcoholic drink prices.'
Business rates are pegged to property valuations so companies with branches in urban centres will be disproportionately impacted by the revaluation.
The Campaign For Real Ale fears rises will force some pubs to close, and wants a 5,000 reduction in business rates for landlords to avoid this.
CVS chief executive Mark Rigby told MailOnline: 'There has been talk of a 5 pence increase on a pint just to cover rises in business rates come April.
'But throw into the mix the lethal cocktail of other increased operating costs, with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy and an enhancement in the national living wage, we could potentially see the price of a pint rise by about 30 pence.'
Jackie Parker, CAMRA's National Vice Chairman, said: 'Many pubs are facing increases in the amount they pay in business rates and ultimately, it will be the consumers who pay the price as publicans are forced to put up prices.
'While some pubs will benefit from changes in business rates set to be introduced in April, others will face large increases and we must do more to reduce the tax burden.
Mr Martin believes supermarkets selling alcohol also face an unfair advantage, and called for 'tax equality' to be introduced into the system
'Pubs provide a vital role in the communities they serve. Enjoying a pint in a pub has a hugely beneficial impact on a person's wellbeing - making people feel happier and better connected to their local community.'
A government spokesman said: 'From April a third of all businesses will be taken out of business rates altogether and nearly a million businesses will see their bills cut thanks to the biggest ever cut in rates worth 6.7 billion.
'We know that the Great British pub is a national asset, providing thousands of jobs and boosting the economy by 21 billion a year, and have worked with the five major trade bodies to agree a method of valuing pubs.'
Chelsea Clinton has chimed in on blasting Donald Trump after the president made remarks about a nonexistent attack in Sweden during his rally last night.
'What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators?' she said in a tweet this morning.
The former first daughter also alluded to Kellyanne Conway's interview gaffe with Chris Matthews where the senior adviser mentioned a fictitious shooting in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Clinton made the rare decision to publicly criticize Conway on Twitter last month saying: 'Very grateful no one seriously hurt in the Louvre attacks... or the (completely fake) Bowling Green Massacre. Please don't make up attacks.'
Chelsea Clinton fired off a tweet mocking the president's comments on a nonexistent attack in Sweden
Trump's remarks were quickly ridiculed by Twitter users including Chelsea Clinton, who previously slammed Kellyanne Conway after making up the 'Bowling Green Massacre' last month
Kellyanne quickly fired back at Clinton's barbed tweet: 'I misspoke; you lost the election,' she said.
Conway later tweeted to say that she had meant to say 'Bowling Green terrorists', as opposed to massacre, before posting a flurry of tweets in which she said how 'honest mistakes abound' and suggested the media was unfairly targeting her.
Trump addressed his supporters about his efforts to protect US borders in Florida yesterday while referring to an attack that supposedly occurred in Sweden the previous night.
'You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden,' he said.
'Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden,' he added. 'They took in large numbers. Theyre having problems like they never thought possible.'
The president's remarks came as he vowed to protect the US borders while addressing supporters at his campaign-style rally in an aircraft hangar at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport.
He added: 'You look at whats happening in Brussels. You look at whats happening all over the world,' he said. 'Take a look at Nice. Take a look at Paris,' he said as he promised to keep the 'country safe.'
Chelsea couldn't resist weighing in on Kellyanne Conway's gaffe last month
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt sent out a tweet questioning Trump's remark
Clinton's comments come after former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who quickly pointed out there was no such incident.
'Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound,' Bildt said in a tweet. It has since been liked 17,000 times.
Trump's comments drew criticism from the Twitterverse and Sweden.
One user mocked the president by tweeting a manual on how to build a border wall from popular Swedish furniture store IKEA.
Some Swedes suggested Trump's remark was likely to have been based on a Fox News interview between host Tucker Carlson and documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz which aired the night before.
Horowitz spoke about his recent film which explores the seemingly increasing crime rates in Sweden as a result of the country's open-door policy.
This would be the third time the Trump Administration has been accused of referencing to fictitious terror attacks.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred to an 'Atlanta attack' earlier this month, but later corrected himself saying he had meant to say Orlando.
US President Donald Trump was speaking to supporters on Saturday when he apparently referred to the Scandinavian country as the site of a terror incident -- the latest example of his administration naming a non-existent attack.
He was addressing a campaign-style rally in Florida when he launched into a list of places that have been targeted by terrorists.
"You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible," he said, provoking mockery on social media.
His speech was aimed at defending his order last month that blocked refugees and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The order has been suspended by a federal appeals court, and Trump vowed to introduce a new order this week as a means of protecting Americans at home.
He went on to name Brussels, Nice and Paris -- European cities that have been struck by deadly terror attacks.
Sweden's embassy in Washington has asked for an explanation, the foreign ministry in Stockholm said Sunday.
"We have now contacted the American (State Department) to understand and receive clarity," ministry press officer Catarina Axelsson told AFP.
Users on Twitter, Trump's favorite communication platform, cracked jokes about the apparent miscue using the hashtags #lastnightinSweden and #SwedenIncident.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt asked: "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound."
Gunnar Hokmark, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, retweeted a post that said "#lastnightinSweden my son dropped his hotdog in the campfire. So sad!"
Hokmark added his own comment: "How could he know?"
Numerous internet wags responded with Ikea-themed tweets. Some posted photos of the impossible-to-understand instructions for assembling Ikea furniture, calling it "Secret Plans for the #SwedenIncident."
Posts flooded into @sweden, the country's official Twitter account which is run by a different Swede each week.
This week's curator, Emma, who describes herself as a school librarian and mother, said the account had received 800 mentions in four hours.
"No. Nothing has happened here in Sweden. There has not (been) any terrorist attacks here. At all. The main news right now is about Melfest," she said, referring to the competition to pick the performer who will represent Sweden at the Eurovision singing contest.
Top Trump aides in his month-old administration have faced criticism and ridicule after speaking publicly about massacres that never took place.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway -- who famously coined the term "alternative facts" -- referred to a "Bowling Green massacre" during an interview.
She later tweeted that she meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists" -- referring to two Iraqi men who were indicted in 2011 for trying to send money and weapons to Al-Qaeda, and using improvised explosive devices against US soldiers in Iraq.
And White House spokesman Sean Spicer made three separate references in one week to an attack in Atlanta.
He later said he meant to say Orlando, the Florida city where an American of Afghan origin gunned down 49 people at a gay nightclub last year.
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It has been 100 years since Madam CJ Walker, America's first female self-made millionaire, built a mansion in Irvington, New York.
However, the home is now in jeopardy. It has been granted landmark status, but preservationists worry about the home's future as the current residents prepare to move.
'Even though it's a national Historic Landmark, there's no oversight or review to stop an external agency to propose changes to the building,' Brent Leggs, a senior field officer at the National Trust for Historic Preservation told the New York Post.
It has been 100 years since Madam CJ Walker, America's first female self-made millionaire, built a mansion in Irvington, New York
However, the home is now in jeopardy. It has been granted landmark status, but preservationists worry about the home's future as the current residents prepare to move
A former wash-woman born from slaves, Walker made her fortune launching a line of hair-care products marketed specifically for black women
The 34-room Italianate manse in a neighborhood that was also home to the Astors and Rockefellers was dubbed Villa Lewaro, and was the pinnacle of Madam Walker's achievements, reported the Post
He explained that significantly altering it would be a blow to Walker's achievements, as it's one of the most important women's history sites in the country, specifically for African American women.
A former wash-woman born from slaves, Walker made her fortune launching a line of hair-care products marketed specifically for black women.
The 34-room Italianate manse in a neighborhood that was also home to the Astors and Rockefellers was dubbed Villa Lewaro, and was the pinnacle of Madam Walker's achievements, reported the Post.
Significantly altering the home would be a blow to Walker's achievements as it is one of the most important women's history sites in the country, especially for African American women
A $25,000 Estey organ that Walker had installed in her home regardless of the fact that she never learned how to play a musical instrument. It was in the home's music room, and was an astronomical cost at the time
When Walker first bought the property, Hudson river town's residents thought it impossible that a black woman could afford build an Italianate manse right on the main road, but they were proven wrong
Walker had it in her will that after Lelia's death the house would go to the NAACP, but property taxes and costs associated with the home were too much for the organization. They sold it in 1932, and it became a retirement home for 40 years
She was only able to live in her estate for a year before she died due to kidney failure at 51, and her daughter Lelia took it over following her mother's death.
Walker had it in her will that after Lelia's death the house would go to the NAACP, but property taxes and costs associated with the home were too much for the organization. They sold it in 1932, and it became a retirement home for 40 years.
The owners of the retirement home did not make many changes, but didn't keep it up either, according to the Post.
Helena Doley, the current owner who has lived in the house for nearly 25 years, said she cried when she first set foot on the property.
Walker paid $250,000 to have the three-story home built in 1917
The original lighting fixtures, moldings and architectural elements remained, but almost none of Walker's furnishings survived, many of the treasures having been sold off by her daughter after the depression
The owners of the retirement home did not make many changes, but didn't keep it up either, according to the Post
Her husband was the former US ambassador to the African Bank Development fund and was committed to saving it.
She told the New York Post: 'The front portico was taking on water like a swimming pool.
'The plumbing didn't work -- forget about any modern conveniences. The house was overridden with rats, with insects of all kinds.
'There were squirrels in the wall; the chimney was wide open so animals were getting in.'
She was only able to live in her estate for a year before she died due to kidney failure at 51, and her daughter Lelia took it over following her mother's death
In the time between Walker's death and when the Doley's bought it in 1993, the house was not kept up well. It was owned first by her daughter Lelia, then briefly by the NAACP, then it was a retirement home
When Walker moved to New York, she made aquaintance with journalists like Ida B Wells and WEB DuBois, hosted salons with writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and took on leadership roles with the NAACP
The original lighting fixtures, moldings and architectural elements remained, but almost none of Walker's furnishings survived, many of the treasures having been sold off by her daughter after the depression.
The Doleys upgraded the house's mechanical, electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and reconstructed the rest of the house with materials from the original manufacturer in an attempt to return it to its original grandeur, reported the Post.
Doley explained that it was a huge undertaking, and that while she loves the mansion, she and her husband are ready to downsize.
Pictured is the current owner Helena Doley in front of the magnificient house. The Doleys upgraded the house's mechanical, electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and reconstructed the rest of the house with materials from the original manufacturer in an attempt to return it to its original grandeur, reported the Post
The National Trust had the property designated as a National Treasure in 2014, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation is looking to procure an easement to monitor the property and protect it from structural changes. They hope the house will be a public monument to Walker's legacy
The National Trust had the property designated as a National Treasure in 2014, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation is looking to procure an easement to monitor the property and protect it from structural changes. They hope the house will be a public monument to Walker's legacy.
'We would hope that whatever is decided that it's open to a larger community, so that they can come and appreciate her and what she's done,' explained Doley to the Post.
'African-Americans have been contributing to the culture and growth and betterment of this country for a long time. It's just that we've been written out of history books'.
A violent gang of teenage girls battered a 14-year-old in a park after she was spotted hugging a boy in a Facebook picture.
The group of three ambushed the young teen and smashed her over the head with a metal wheelbrace.
Attackers Sophie Burrows, 19, Lauren Coveney, also 19, and a 17-year-old who can't be named for legal reasons all appeared in Guildford Crown Court.
Attackers Sophie Burrows, 19, pictured left and Lauren Coveney, also 19, pictured right
The female trio drove miles to track down their 14-year-old victim after seeing her photo on Facebook, hugging a lad.
They found her in a park in Surrey and, in pitch black, asked her to pick who to fight.
Burrows then slid the 30cms long black metal bar from her sleeve and said: 'You made the worst mistake of your life,' the court heard.
Burrows wept in the dock as she was sentenced to 14 months in a youth offenders' institution for the vicious attack which left the innocent schoolgirl with deep gashes to her head.
Co-attacker Lauren Coveney, aged 19 years, escaped with a suspended prison sentence and a 17-year-old girl was given a referral order by Judge Neil Stewart.
The victim, who cannot be named, was left with a head injury, fractured nose, bruised ribs and two black eyes in the brutal attack and has been left mentally traumatised by the horrific event.
The violent gang had sent insulting messages to the girl on social media before going to physically assault her on January 9 last year.
The attackers admitted one count of unlawful wounding with intent in Stoughton recreation ground in Northway, Guildford.
They had sent each other text messages boasting about leaving their victim with 'two gaping wounds' to the head and a scar across her nose.
Hannah Duncan, prosecuting at Guildford Crown Court, said the shape of the victim's head injuries matched the grooves on the end of the wheel brace.
'There was some kind of online chat none of which now exists,' she said.
'It was all on Facebook, about [the girl] who was the complainant in this case.'
Burrows, left, wept in the dock as she was sentenced to 14 months in a youth offenders' institution while Coveney, right escaped with a suspended prison sentence
She said it was the photo of the girl hugging her male friend that triggered the horrific attack.
'It would appear that someone alerted these defendants as to where she was,' said prosecuter Duncan. 'They then travelled some distance to go and seek her out.
'They go into the park... Sophie Burrows having taken a wheel brace from the car with her.
'There was another friend with her as well, Alan, who with the defendants it is fair to say tried to persuade Sophie Burrow not to take it with her several times - but she slid it up her sleeve and took it anyway.
'They went into the recreation ground and stormed straight up to the girl.
'Sophie then said to her "you have to pick one of us to have a fight".
'The girl was frightened but she didn't want them to know that because she thought that would make it worse.'
The prosecutor said that the girl picked Burrows, not knowing she had the wheelbrace hidden under her sleeve.
The terrified victim was backing away and threw a 'pre-emptive punch' at Burrows after her attacker told her: 'That was the worst mistake of your life'.
Ms Duncan added: 'She was set upon by all three girls. She ended up very quickly on the floor and there were blows being rained down on her - kicks and punches.
'To start with she tried to fight back but then she just had to cower on the floor and hope that they stopped. That was not before she had felt two or three blows across her head and face with something which was very cold, not a fist or a foot.'
Showing a photo of the black metal wheelbrace to the court, Ms Duncan said the victim was hit with such force that the grooves on the end used to remove car wheel bolts matched the shapes of her head injuries.
'One can see the end implement can fit in the end of a bolt on a car wheel and in fact some of the shapes [on its grooves] match her wounds,' she said.
The victim had to have two 'gaping' head wounds glued together after she was taken to hospital.
Her mother burst into tears as she walked through their front door still bleeding heavily from the attack, the judge heard.
'She had two open wounds to her head. They had to be glued and stitched back together.
'Her nose was bent, she did have a scar across her nose. There is a lump on her nose now and the Crown would say that that is something a young girl would be quite concerned about. She also had very sore ribs.'
The judge was told that she now suffered from depression and lived in fear of meeting her attackers again.
Texts and messages later revealed the the three bullies had boasted of the injuries to their friends, saying that video of the brutal assault would be uploaded onto social media.
The messages 5ft 4ins Burrows sent to her ex-boyfriend Taz were read out in court.
They said: 'She chose to fight me out of the three of us, she is bleeding hard, her fault.
'She has a cut, I was screaming at her and she was walking backwards.
'There is a video of me hitting her with a crowbar, that is the problem and she is known as a grass.
'I would not normally have the guts to hit someone with a weapon but I was really drunk.'
The female trio drove miles to track down their 14-year-old victim after seeing her photo on Facebook, hugging a lad
She sent another to her co-attacker saying: 'We need to discuss what we are going to do, what our story is going to be.'
The court heard the 17-year-old replied: 'Yes we do, ha ha', and that her mother had been telling her to deny the attack and delete the messages on her mobile phone.
The judge was told that Coveney, who appeared in the dock with bleached white hair, wrote to Burrows: 'I must have broke her ribs and given her a head injury.
Burrows replied: 'I cannot believe that, you did good.'
Officers found the wheelbrace and downloaded the phone messages when Coveney drove them to give voluntary interviews to police on January 12 last year.
Burrows and her victim's DNA were found on the weapon, which had been cleaned and left in the car.
The prosecutor said she said she had fought back in self-defence but denied possession of the weapon. The other two denied wrong-doing.
Burrows, from Long Gore in Godalming, Surrey, admitted wounding without intent at her first opportunity in court after officers found the messages on the phones.
Coveney and the juvenile admitted the charge on the first day of their trial.
Judge Stewart, who was told none of the defendants had a criminal conviction, sentenced Burrows, who works at a Gala Bingo hall, first. She gulped and started crying in the dock after she was sentenced to 14 months in a youth offenders' institution.
'There had been ridiculous and stupid arguments on Facebook - wholly unnecessary - and there had been insults flying and it was decided that the victim who was the other end of the argument, should be confronted,' he said.
'The three of you ended up in a car and arrived by the recreation ground in Park Barn where you knew she would be. When you left the car, Sophie Burrows, you had with you a wheelbrace.
'There is clear evidence to suggest the other two of you knew she had it.
'It ended up with the three of you attacking the one of her. She was 14 at the time and you were respectively 18, 18 and 16 and you Sophie Burrows used that wheelbrace and hit her over the head with it.
'Two open wounds on her head, which had to be glued together and bruising to her arms, elbow and a mark on her nose which was swollen and she also reported injuries to her ribs, serious injuries.
'She has been depressed and she lives in fear now. This sort of experience for a young girl must be absolutely devastating.
'As far as Sophie Burrows was concerned, you were the one who took the leading role in the attack, the others took a lesser role. You were the one who took the weapon to the scene and by your own admission, used it.'
He noted her remorse over the attack and previous good character and said 'no court wishes to impose a custodial sentence on a young person' but he said he could not justify suspending her sentence.
He jailed her to 14 months in a youth offenders' institution and said : 'This offence was too severe for anything other than that.'
Coveney, from Petersfield Road in Midhurst, West Sussex, received a 12 month jail sentence suspended for two years.
The girl juvenile was given a 12 month referral order, which had been recommended by a probation service report on her.
She and Coveney were ordered to each pay 960 compensation to the victim.
All three defendants were given a restraining order banning them from entering the Park Barn area of Guildford for three years.
He has been applauded for his liberal beliefs on refugees and climate change.
But today Pope Francis looked bewildered when a delighted schoolboy leaned over his shoulder to take a selfie.
The leader of the Catholic Church was visiting the parish of Santa Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus in Rome, where he met some children.
Pope Francis looked bewildered when a delighted schoolboy leaned over his shoulder to take a selfie
The leader of the Catholic church cracked a smile when the boy showed him the picture on his smartphone. Francis was visiting the parish of Santa Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus in Rome
When a boy in a grey hoodie came up behind him with a smartphone in hand, the Pope seemed a little surprised.
Francis still let his young fan take the photo and pulled his microphone down to accomodate the schoolboy's phone.
The Pope even cracked a smile when the beaming boy showed him the picture.
He met another schoolboy who also wanted to show Francis his phone.
The youngster, who wore a bright orange jacket, leaned in close to the Argentinian pope so they could both look at the screen.
Another youngster, who wore a bright orange jacket, leaned in close to the Argentinian pope so they could both look at the screen
Pope Francis made a quip about the young boy to his audience
Earlier today, the Pope gave his traditional Angelus address in the Vatican City, which is held every Sunday.
This week, the Catholic leader wrote a letter declaring there is no Islamic terrorism.
Defending all religions, he said: 'No people is criminal or drug-trafficking or violent.'
The Pope lets the schoolboy show him his smartphone at a visit in Rome. Earlier today, Francis gave his traditional Angelus address in the Vatican City, held every Sunday
This week, the Catholic leader wrote a letter declaring there is no Islamic terrorism. His message was read aloud at a meeting of grassroots political movements in California. Pictured, Pope Francis with fans at today's visit
His message was read aloud at a meeting of grassroots political movements in California.
The Pope also criticised people who deny climate change.
He wrote: 'Time is running out. Let us act'.
Vogue Paris is to feature a transgender model on its cover calling her a 'femme fatale who happened to be born a boy.
Valentina Sampaio from Brazil will grace the front page of the iconic publication for its March edition, becoming the first transgender model to do so in a French magazine.
A sultry Sampaio, bathed in dark purple and blue light, appears over the words 'Transgender Beauty', with a subtitle reading 'How they are shaking up the world,' on the cover to appear on newsstands February 23.
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Brazilian transgender model Valentina Sampaio poses during an interview in Milan, Italy
Vogue Paris is to become the first French magazine to feature a transgender model on its cover when Brazilian Valentina Sampaio (pictured) will grace the front page
Valentina is all smiles ahead of her big reveal on the front page of Vogue Paris this month
The Brazilian model walks through a leafy park in Milan (left) and poses for the camera (right)
The magazine has called Valentina Sampaio the 'glam standard-bearer of a cause that is on the march'
Calling Sampaio the 'glam standard-bearer of a cause that is on the march', the French edition of Vogue describes the 22-year-old as a 'femme fatale' who happened to be born a boy.
Emmanuelle Alt, the magazine's editor-in-chief, said: 'Beyond her evident physical qualities and her sparkling personality, Sampaio embodies a long and painful fight against being perceived as a 'gender exile.'
She is the latest transgender person to make the headlines.
Caitlyn Jenner, a former male US decathlon star, made history by coming out with the June 2015 cover of Vanity Fair, prompting Glamour US magazine to name her woman of the year.
Vogue describes the 22-year-old (pictured) as a 'femme fatale' who happened to be born a boy
'Vogue supports and chooses to celebrate' transgender people 'in a post-gender world,' Alt said.
'The day when a transsexual poses for a magazine cover and it will be no longer necessary to write an editorial on the subject, we will know that the fight has been won.'
She also paid homage to other transgender figures who have preceded Sampaio and Jenner such as Lea T, the muse of Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci.
In her editor's letter, she recalled the trauma endured by supermodel Caroline Cossey, who was an extra in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only and posed for Playboy that year before being outed by Britain's now-defunct News of the World tabloid in 1982.
In December, the US magazine National Geographic's cover story was titled Gender Revolution and featured Avery Jackson, a nine-year-old transgender girl.
Laverne Cox, who stars in the TV series Orange Is the New Black, was on the cover of Time magazine in June 2014.
Cosmetics group L'Oreal Paris has selected 24-year-old transgender model and actress Hari Nef to represent its latest foundation cream in a global ad campaign.
The father of a sixth-grade student from Paulo Intermediate School in Staten Island was outraged to see his 11-year-old daughter's assignment turned political.
The student's English teacher is under fire after slipping an anti-Trump question into the girl's homework.
The homework sheet contained a fill-in-the-blank portion where students were asked to provide vocabulary terms from a box of words for sentences about Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
Vincent Ungro (pictured) was outraged after his 11-year-old daughter's homework turned political
The correct words for the blanks about Donald Trump were meant to be filled with 'haughty' and 'humble'. Ungro told his daughter not to complete the sentences and wrote to the teacher instead
The lines read: 'President Trump speaks in a very superior and _________ manner insulting many people. He needs to be more __________ so that the American people respect and admire him.'
The correct words for the blanks were meant to be filled with 'haughty' and 'humble,' the Staten Island Advance said.
Another said: 'Barack Obama set a _________ when he became the first African American president,' the sentence was supposed to be completed with the word 'precedent.'
The assignment sheet had been drawn up by Adria Zawatsky, an English teacher who has taught at the school for 12 years, the Advance reported.
The father-of-four said he believes he taught his daughter a 'valuable lesson' of sticking to beliefs
Sixth-grade English teacher Adria Zawatsky from Paulo Intermediate School in Huguenot, Staten Island, was reprimanded for the assignment
Vincent Ungro said he told his daughter not to fill in the question as he believed the assignment was 'disparaging the president.'
Instead, the father-of-four wrote to the school teacher on the girl's assignment saying: 'Please keep your political views to yourself and do not try to influence my daughter.'
The sixth-grader received 15 points off her assignment for not completing three questions about Obama and Trump.
Zawatasky wrote back arguing she was not expressing her political views, but the terms were in reference to Trump's personality traits rather than his ability as president.
Ungro complained to school officials who later gave the teacher a letter of reprimand.
'I felt it was time to do that. To protect my daughter and protect my president,' he told Fox News.
A spokesman from the Department of Education told the Advance: 'We have clear standards and regulations in place to ensure school staff maintain neutrality with respect to their political beliefs while in school.'
Ungro said he taught his daughter a 'valuable lesson' of sticking to her beliefs.
The father pointed out that the incident was not a reflection on school, but on the teacher. Although he said that he did not want Zawatasky to be fired or suspended.
Karen Matthews, the mother who staged the kidnapping of her daughter, lied about her convictions to bag a job at a coffee shop, a source claimed.
The infamous Matthews, was jolted back into the spotlight by the BBC drama The Moorside, allegedly said she was on probation for petty theft and used an alias when interviewed.
In fact Matthews, was jailed for eight years for her part in faking the kidnap of her daughter, Shannon in 2008.
The infamous Matthews, was jolted back into the spotlight by the BBC drama The Moorside, allegedly said she was on probation for petty theft and used an alias when interviewed
But when she was pictured in the run up to the BBC series bosses at the coffee shop realised her true identity.
A source told the Daily Mirror that Matthews approached a coffee shop in 2013 looking for voluntary work and was taken on for three days a week.
'We knew her under an alias,' said the source.
'She had to go and see the probation officer every two weeks.
'She said she had done stupid things.
'When probed a bit she said it was to do with shoplifting.'
The source said they were 'shocked' when they discovered the truth and called Matthews a 'friend'.
Matthews became the most despised women in Britain after kidnapping her nine-year-old daughter Shannon.
Matthews became the most despised women in Britain after kidnapping her nine-year-old daughter Shannon (pictured)
The 41-year-old has dyed her hair and is using an alias while living in an undisclosed location in the south of England.
She claimed that her daughter Shannon had been kidnapped in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in February 2008.
Shannon was found, following a police search costing 5 million, 24 days later less than a mile from her home in a house belonging to the uncle of Craig Meehan, Matthews' boyfriend. She had been tied up, drugged and hidden in the base of a divan bed.
Karen Matthews, the mother of Dewsbury girl Shannon Matthews, who was missing and later found, and step-father Craig Meehan kiss in front of the cameras, outside their house in Dewsbury, northern England on March 15, 2008
It is thought that Matthews staged the kidnap in order to claim the 50,000 reward for her return.
She was convicted of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to eight years along with Michael Donovan, Meehan's uncle.
Matthews was released after serving four years at New Hall prison in West Yorkshire and Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus called a New York Time story about Trump campaign aides being in contact with Russian intelligence officials 'garbage' during a sit-down today with Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace.
'I can assure you and I have been approved to say this that the top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that that story is not only inaccurate, but it's grossly overstated and it is wrong,' Priebus said on Fox News Sunday. 'And there's nothing to it.'
Priebus complained about the Times using unnamed sources in the piece, which came out Tuesday night and cited 'four current and former American officials.'
Wallace was quick to point out that Priebus wasn't naming his own source to counter the claims.
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White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus called a New York Times story pinpointing conversations between the Trump campaign and the Russians 'garbage'
Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace (left) called out Reince Priebus (right) for not revealing who gave him information about the Times' reporting, as he had previously criticized the newspaper for not naming sources in its report
'Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Reince,' the veteran broadcaster said. 'You just complained about unnamed sources, you are using an unnamed source.'
The chief of staff replied saying he didn't get permission to use the individual's name.
'But I will tell you this, when I say top level people, I mean top level people, OK?' Priebus said.
The New York Times piece said that while American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted communications between the Trump team and the Russians, officials had seen no evidence of cooperation between the two in attempting to throw the election to now President Donald Trump.
Wallace asked Priebus about this again today.
'So, no collusion whatsoever between anybody involved with Trump and anybody involved with Russia in the 2016 campaign?' Wallace asked.
Priebus gave a quick 'no,' and then pointed to comments made by Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
'He was briefed by the FBI. And what did he do? He turned around and went on the record and said that this story is complete garbage, OK?' Priebus said.
Today on Face the Nation, Nunes said, 'As far as I know, our law enforcement agencies don't have that information,' referring to evidence that the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence officials had been in touch.
'I'd like for these people to bring this information to me so that we could investigate,' he said.
Priebus was trying to make a broader point about news coverage of the administration as Wallace took Trump to task for tweeting over the weekend that journalists were 'the enemy of the American people!'
'Here's the problem, Reince,' Wallace began.
'I don't have any problem with you complaining about an individual story we sometimes get it wrong, you guys sometimes get it wrong ... but you went a lot further than that, or the president went a lot further then that,' Wallace said. 'He said the fake media, not certain stories, the fake media are an enemy to the country.'
'We don't have state-run media in the country,' Wallace pointed out. 'That's what they have in dictatorships.'
Defending his boss, Priebus said it wasn't just the New York Times story or a Wall Street Journal story, which also annoyed the chief of staff, as it said members of the intelligence community were purposefully cutting material from the president's daily briefings, over an issue of trust.
'Then, it's followed up by 24 hours a day, seven days a week of cable stations not necessarily Fox,' Priebus said as an aside. 'That all day long, on every chyron, every seven minutes are talking about the Russian spies, talking about the intelligence community, talking about how me and Steve Bannon don't like each other, and what's Kellyanne doing?'
'All of this is just garbage, unsources stuff,' the chief of staff huffed.
Priebus said Wallace should be concerned about mainstream news outlets turning into 'Washington daily gossip magazines.'
'But to accuse an organization of being in constant contact with Russian spies is outrageous,' he said, trying to thread the needle. 'Every day, it's something different. It's some other source that is absolutely untrue.'
A husband charged with murder found out his wife was having an affair before allegedly stabbing her to death, his lawyer says.
Khondkar Faihi Elahi, 29, was found with stab wounds to her chest at the Parramatta unit she shared with her husband Shahab Ahmed, 33.
Ms Elahi later died in Sydney's Westmead Hospital.
Ahmed's lawyer, Zemerai Khatiz, said the 33-year-old had discovered his wife was having an affair.
A 33-year-old man has been charged with murder after his wife was stabbed to death
Police were called to the Parramatta home on Saturday night following reports of a stabbing
'The deceased was having an affair. He found out about it and the relationship came to a very tragic end,' Mr Khatiz said.
Ahmed had been in a distressed and emotional state since the incident, the lawyer said when Ahmed briefly appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday.
Mr Khatiz said his client intended to fight the charge.
Ahmed, a Bangladeshi migrant who moved to Sydney about five years ago, is expected to apply for bail on Monday afternoon.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
A female teacher has resigned after authorities discovered she was 'in love' with a student in the third scandal to hit the elite Brooklyn Technical HS in three years.
Marisa Cazanave, 33, is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with the teen after the boy's mother found dozens of text messages and emails professing their love for each other.
They were also planning a rendezvous to 'make one of those items on our list partially checked off,' the New York Post reports.
Both Cazanave, a married mother-of-two and the boy deny any sexual contact.
Marisa Cazanave, 33, (left and right) is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with the teen after the boy's mother found dozens of text messages and emails professing their love for each other
The Department of Education teacher, who had been at Brooklyn Tech for four years, quit rather than face misconduct charges after a Special Commissioner of Investigation concluded its probe in October.
Her resignation was not due to take effect until February, but she never returned to school after the Christmas break.
A source at the school told the New York Post that the school had 'hustled her out to avoid a scandal.'
Cazanave insists her doctor husband had asked her to resign to do 'what's best for my career, me and my children.'
She insists she never had sex with the male student and that the planned rendezvous was for a purely innocent trip into the city where they could see a Broadway show, visit a restaurant or a museum.
The 33-year-old said suggestions they had been physically intimate were 'disgusting!'.
'I've never been inappropriate with any of my students.'
This is the third time a member of staff has been accused of inappropriate behavior with a student in the past three years.
'Sick': Sean Shaynak (left and right) was jailed for five years for having sex with multiple students at the school
In 2014, teacher Sean Shaynak, then 44, was arrested for having sex with six students. The victims claimed he took them to nude beaches and sex clubs and demanded they have sex with others girls.
Shaynak, a divorced dad-of-one who taught math and physics at Brooklyn Technical High School - one of New York City's most selective public schools - also sent pictures of his genitals to a 16-year-old student and offered to buy her cigarettes.
He took one 15-year-old girl to a nude beach in New Jersey without her parents' permission and he also took her to his home, where he plied her with alcohol until she passed out, Mancino said.
He also gave the girls top grades even though they did no work, the prosecutor said.
Shaynak eventually took a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to dozens of charges, including kidnapping, in exchange for just five years in jail.
But he will never be able to teach again. The city paid $450,000 to settle lawsuits by five girls.
Cazanave resigned after authorities discovered she was 'in love' with a student in the third scandal to hit the elite Brooklyn Technical HS (pictured) in three years
Then in December, The Post reported that Tech aide Robert Sutton Jr., 23, was allegedly caught sending a girl a video of himself masturbating at the school.
The video was also allegedly filmed on school grounds. Sutton was fired but so far, no criminal charges have been brought against him.
In the latest scandal, Cazanave and her student's inappropriate relationship was discovered by his parents. His mother came across hundreds of photos of the teacher, often pictured with her son, on his phone, as well as scores of videos, messages and emails.
'You make me unbelievably happy,' the teacher had emailed him on May 7. 'I honestly cannot reason how spending your time with me and sneaking around instead of time with your friends seems like the better way to spend your free time.'
The boy replied that: 'You feel like home and when I'm holding you in my arms time freezes and all of my worries and problems fade away for that moment. I know from the deepest part of me that this is real and that regardless of what happens you are the one for me . . . I love you.'
In another message, sent at 11.24pm, Cazanave said she was writing in his yearbook was too drunk and 'too in love with you to continue.'
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis does not think the free press is the 'enemy of the American people,' in spite of his boss' declaration otherwise.
'I don't have any issues with the press, myself,' Mattis said on Sunday.
The Pentagon chief broke ranks with President Donald Trump in remarks to reporters traveling with him in the United Arab Emirates, after he was questioned about Trump's tweet on Friday that branded the press 'the enemy of the American people.'
Mattis, a retired Marine general seen as one of the most influential voices in Trump's cabinet, did not mention his boss by name, but did take an entirely different position.
'I've had some rather contentious times with the press. But no, the press, as far as I'm concerned, are a constituency that we deal with,' he said. 'Welcome to democracy.'
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is shown at NATO defense conference earlier this week. 'The press, as far as I'm concerned, are a constituency that we deal with,' he said Sunday
Trump stepped up his verbal assault on the free press in this Friday tweet
Mattis spoke after talks with European leaders at a security conference in Munich, Germany, where U.S. Senator John McCain warned that suppressing the free press was 'how dictators get started.'
'If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time,' McCain told NBC's 'Meet the Press' program on Sunday.
Since his January 20 inauguration, Trump has fiercely criticized various news outlets that have reported unflattering revelations of dysfunction in the White House.
He has described them as 'lying', 'corrupt' and 'failing,' and late on Friday he said the news media was 'the enemy of the American people.'
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus doubled down on that assertion on Saturday.
Mattis disagrees with Trump that the press is 'the enemy of the American people' (file photo)
Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One on Saturday ahead of a campaign rally in Florida. On Friday he said the news media was 'the enemy of the American people'
'I think you should take it seriously,' Priebus said in a combative interview with CBS, when asked about Trump's tweet.
'I think that the problem we've got is that we're talking about bogus stories like the one in the New York Times, that we've had constant contact with Russian officials,' referring to a report citing four current and former U.S. officials.
'The next day, the Wall Street Journal had a story that the intel community was not giving the president a full intelligence briefing,' Priebus continued, referring to a report that intelligence officials have withheld certain sensitive information from Trump over concerns that it could be leaked or compromised.
'Both stories grossly inaccurate, overstated, overblown, and it's total garbage,' Priebus said.
Trump has lambasted the reports as 'fake news' sourced from 'illegal leaks,' but confusingly conceded that 'the leaks are absolutely real.'
His latest verbal attacks on the free press, which he amplified at a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, followed a week of difficult news for his administration.
First, the revelation that National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador prompted Flynn's resignation.
Then Trump's nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration after reporters found a tape of his ex-wife sharing domestic abuse allegations with Oprah Winfrey in 1990.
Any U.S. attempt to divide Europeans is doomed to fail as Washington lacks the capacity to offset the benefits the European Union offers its members, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview with newspaper Journal du Dimanche on Sunday.
Asked about the lack of unity of Europeans with regards to U.S. President Donald Trump's worldview, Ayrault said that the situation was changing, essentially because of Trump's "repeated attacks" against Europe.
"(...) I bet that any attempt to divide and rule Europeans will not work," Ayrault said. "For the United States absolutely do not have the capacity to offset the benefits the European Union offers to its members."
"Even (British Prime Minister) Theresa May felt compelled to say, despite Brexit, that it was in the interest of the United States to have a strong Europe as a partner," Ayrault added.
He also said that France will not accept any foreign interference, whether Russian or American, on its April and May presidential election.
"Some attitudes or statements may imply" that the United States and Russia want to weaken Europe, Ayrault said.
As an example, he said that Russia expressed its preferences for French right-wing candidates such as conservative Francois Fillon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, while pro-European independent centrist Emmanuel Macron suffered cyber attacks.
"This form of interference on the French democratic life is unacceptable ... France will not accept, the French will not accept to have their choices dictated," Ayrault said.
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Donald Trump's new Treasury Secretary is definitely a man who knows his numbers and his figures, as his glamorous fiancee proved without a doubt last week in the Oval Office.
While the President watched approvingly, Steve Mnuchin was sworn in alongside Scottish-born actress Louise Linton, 35, who revealed almost all in her latest movie, Intruder.
Stripping down for a steamy shower scene and bedroom romp, Linton achieved a level of notoriety last year when it was alleged she fabricated her experiences in Africa for her memoir.
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Creepy: Louise Linton appears in a trailer for her 2016 movie Intruder - about a terrifying home invasion
Steamy: The movie was produced by Linton and also starred musician Moby (who is not pictured)
Psychological: The movie was released and distributed by IFC Midnight in the United States
She has also starred alongside Tom Cruise and Robert Redford in minor roles during her rise to fame.
Worth $400m, Mnuchin, 54, is the wealthiest man to ever hold the Secretary Of Treasury position and the former banker and movie producer has been criticized for working on Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis.
It's claimed it makes him unfit to hold such a prominent position in the new administration.
He is an experienced movie producer whose most recent credit was as executive producer of The Lego Batman Movie.
His beautiful wife-to-be starred alongside musician Moby in Intruder, a 2016 psychological thriller about a woman home alone while her husband flies on a business trip to Japan.
Indeed, her co-star Moby is an outspoken critic of Trump and last week said that he has seen secret intelligence which proves the president is being blackmailed by Russia.
Solemn duty: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, right, swears-in Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, (second left), as his fiancee Louise Linton, (second right), and U.S. President Donald Trump listen during a ceremony inside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington last week
Espionage claims: Moby alongside Linton has said he has proof President Trump is colluding with the Russians
The musician claims he learned the details after 'spending the weekend talking to friends who work in DC'.
Linton meanwhile, held the bible for Mnuchin as he was sworn into office and his financial acumen has been praised by Trump and other Republicans in Congress.
Late last year, Linton was attacked for her memoir and allegedly making up a near death experience in Africa she says she experienced when she was an 18-year-old volunteer in Zambia in 1999.
She described how her 'dream gap year' turned into a 'nightmare' when she had to flee armed rebels from the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo.
But an extract of the book that was published online, provoked an angry reaction from Zambians, who took to social media to claim that her story is untrue, with one blasting her by saying 'the only thing missing is Tarzan and Mowgli'.
Style: Louise Linton (left in 2015) at Vanity Fair party and in 2016 with Steve Mnuchin at the New York Public Library
The book, In Congo's Shadow, is billed as 'the inspiring memoir of an intrepid teenager who abandoned her privileged life in Scotland'.
It is further claimed to be 'a tale of lost innocence and one daring young girl's bittersweet journey to the heart of Africa', where she writes about how she was terrified of what the rebels from Congo 'would do to the "skinny white muzungu with long angel hair"'.
Gala: Steven Mnuchin, Louise Linton at the Chairman's Global Dinner in Washington DC last month
In her book, the actress also wrote: 'I had come to Africa with hopes of helping some of the world's poorest people.
'But my gap year had become a living nightmare when I inadvertently found myself caught up in the fringes of the Congolese War.
'I witnessed random acts of violence, contracted malaria and had close encounters with lions, elephants, crocodiles and snakes.'
But since the story emerged following her fiance's new appointment, her agent Mike Sitrick told the Hollywood Reporter that Linton was targeted unfairly.
He added: 'Had her critics checked, they would have found that articles written contemporaneously with the events reported in Louise's book, by among the most respected media in the world, were consistent with Louise's reporting of those events, as was a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees briefing in March 1999.'
Linton was born and grew up in the Scottish capital Edinburgh and spent her teenage years living at the family home, Melville Castle in the nearby town of Dalkeith.
After boarding at Fettes College, she spent part of her gap year in Zambia and also trained with the The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
She then attended Pepperdine University in California to study journalism and later gained a law degree while waiting for her green card.
Honor: Steve Mnuchin signs a document in front of U.S. President Donald Trump (right), Vice President Mike Pence and his fiancee Louise Linton after being sworn in as Treasury Secretary
Linton then began to pursue her career as an actress and she gained minor roles in shows such as CSI:NY.
Her big break when she landed a role in the drama movie Lions for Lambs alongside Robert Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep.
She has also appeared in several horror movies and her first lead role was in the film Intruder.
It is believed she first met her husband-to-be while serving on the committee of environmental non-profit group Conservation Internationals Los Angeles gala.
They have since been pictured together at a number of glitzy events and are believed to have become engaged this summer and live in Bel Air.
Mnuchin meanwhile divorced his second wife Heather deForest Crosby in 2014, with whom he had three children.
The pair married in 1999 in New York and before they split, they were regarded as a high powered couple in the world of philanthropy in both New York and Los Angeles, attending star-studded galas.
George Christensen is a 'nobody backbencher' who only gets media attention for threatening his own party, commentator Graham Richardson believes.
Mr Christensen, a Nationals MP representing the seat of Dawson in Queensland, has received nationwide attention over speculation he will defect from the Coalition.
But the attention is 'bizarre' because he is a 'nobody backbencher', Sky News host and former Labor powerbroker Mr Richardson says.
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George Christensen (pictured earlier this month) is a 'nobody backbencher' who only gets media attention for threatening his own party, commentator Graham Richardson believes
'He's in a powerful position because we as in the media and his own party allow him to be. This bloke's a nobody and he's on national television every single day. It's bizarre,' Mr Richardson told Lisa Wilkenson on Nine Network's Today Show on Monday morning.
'He's a nobody backbencher and yet every time he threatens to go he gets a front page.
'[If] the only time you can ever get a run is by criticising your own party then there's something seriously wrong with you.'
Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce travelled north over the weekend to persuade Mr Christensen not to leave the party (Mr Joyce and Mr Christensen are pictured together)
'I had a go at him on my show on Friday night on Sky, he tweeted then: "Oh, you don't know what it's like for these sugar farmers". You can't have every issue that comes up: "Unless the government fixes it I'll resign",' Mr Richardson said (Mr Christensen's tweet is pictured)
'He's a nobody backbencher and yet every time he threatens to go he gets a front page,' Mr Richardson (pictured) said
Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce travelled north over the weekend to persuade Mr Christensen not to leave the party and ease tensions over a dispute which could see jobs lost in the sugar cane industry.
Mr Richardson said Mr Christensen can't use every difference of opinion to wedge his own party.
'I had a go at him on my show on Friday night on Sky, he tweeted then: "Oh, you don't know what it's like for these sugar farmers". You can't have every issue that comes up: "Unless the government fixes it I'll resign." It's just nonsense,' Mr Richardson said.
He told Wilkinson to forget the 'numbers game' of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's slender one-seat majority.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured on Saturday) has a slender majority in parliament
South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi defected from the Liberal Party earlier this month (he is pictured last Monday)
'There's no way in the world he's not going to vote for that government to stay in office, he's not going to vote to help Bill Shorten. So whether he's in the party or out of the party, it won't make a difference to his vote,' Mr Richardson said.
'He'll still vote for the government when they're in strife. I'm not at all concerned about it. What I am concerned about though is the amount of coverage we're giving this bloke. He doesn't deserve it.'
Mr Christensen has said he is loyal to the National Party and wants to remain a member after peace talks with Mr Joyce.
'I'm loyal to Barnaby Joyce, I'm loyal to the National Party, loyal to the LNP,' Mr Christensen told the Nine Network after Mr Joyce travelled to Mr Christensen's north Queensland electorate on Sunday.
'I said that I am a member of the National Party and I want to remain a member of the National Party,' Mr Christensen said.
Barnaby Joyce and George Christensen are pictured speaking with sugar cane farmers in Ingham, Queensland, over the weekend
Mr Joyce is pictured speaking to sugar cane farmers in Ayr, Queensland, over the weekend
He said his position on the banking industry had not changed.
'It does not dissuade me from the view that I have that there needs to be a royal commission into the banking industry,' he said.
Earlier on Sunday Liberal backbencher Scott Buchholz said Mr Christensen wasn't leaving the Nationals and that Mr Christensen spoke out to stand up for his electorate.
'As a former chief government whip, and George is the whip of the National Party in Canberra, we speak a lot. George is not leaving the National Party,' Mr Buchholz told ABC television.
Earlier this month, South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi defected from the Liberal Party, and has plans to form a breakaway conservative party.
This is the awkward moment the Western Australia Liberal Party were filmed dancing along to Daft Punk during their state election campaign launch.
If 2001 hit One More Time was meant to convince voters to hand them another term, then the sight of senators dancing along will surely see them booted out of office.
Bill Marmion was captured giving a token high-five while Liza Harvey showed off her dance moves and the entire cabinet managed to clap out of time - not only with the music, but also each-other.
The Liberal Party launched their Western Australia state election campaign with some very awkward dancing to Daft Punk song One More Time on Sunday
The saddening scene was filmed just before WA Premier Colin Barnett took to the stage to launch the party's re-election bid.
Under a banner with the slogan 'say yes to getting the job done', Mr Barnett promised stamp duty cuts for seniors downsizing their homes and a $110million shipping terminal near Perth for the state's animal export industry.
He also trumpeted his party's business record, saying the state's economy has grown by 40 per cent during his tenure.
But while Mr Barnett and his cabinet colleagues attempted to paint a positive picture, others launched a stinging attack on Labour challenger Mark McGowan.
Cabinet members and senators were filmed jigging awkwardly and clapping out of time - not just with the song but also with each-other
New South Wales Labour senator Sam Dastyari posted the footage online, branding it 'the saddest thing on the internet'
Christian Porter blasted Mr McGowan as 'slimy' and a 'junior, sweaty Navy layer', The Australian reports, while Michaelia Cash attacked his union links.
A poll conducted by Newspoll on February 6 shows that, if the election were held today, the Labour Party would seize power with a swing of 3.5 per cent.
Mr McGowan's party would take 85 of the 150 available seats, handing them a clear majority, while the currently coalition of Liberal, Liberal National Party, and Nationals would be left with 60 seats.
Other parties, such as Greens and Independents would take five seats, meaning there would not be enough support to return Mr Barnett to the premiership.
Only four weeks into his new digs in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump is complaining that living in the White House is giving him 'cabin fever,' according to a new report.
The presidential lifestyle is giving Trump headaches and frustration, a White House advisor tells Axios' Mike Allen, the veteran beltway reporter who recently left Politico.
Trump is irked that he can't dine out on a regular basis like he used to in Trump Tower, handsomely situated on Midtown Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, Allen reports.
Headaches and frustrations: Trump speaks at a news conference in the White House on Thursday. Trump is having trouble adjusting to life in the White House, says a new report
Trump's wife Melania and son Barron have remained living in the Trump Tower penthouse for now.
Trump himself has spent several weekends away since taking office on January 20, at Mar-a-Lago, his ritzy Florida getaway.
But that hasn't been enough to stave off the 'cabin fever,' the source tells Allen.
Trump misses being able to hit the town for dinner, like he did in Trump Tower, Axios reports
In fact, Trump's freewheeling campaign rally on Saturday was 'partially about Trump management,' Allen writes, an attempt to placate the crabby boss with the glow of his fans' adoration.
Trump's reported frustrations come after a week of White House turmoil that has seen National Security Advisor Mike Flynn resign and Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder withdraw his name from consideration, both after uncomfortable revelations.
Trump, however, has blamed the press for his troubles, and insists his White House is running 'so smoothly.'
Jeremiah Rivera, 5, was savagely mauled by a family pit bull, leaving him in critical condition on Friday night
A five-year-old boy in Brooklyn was savagely mauled by a family pit bull, leaving him in critical condition on Friday night.
Jeremiah Rivera was inside his home when he was attacked around 6:45pm, officials and relatives have said.
His father, Joel Rivera, broke into tears as he recalled the moment he walked in to find his young son on the living room floor, choking on his own blood.
Speaking to the New York Daily News, he said 'He didn't have a face, just teeth, that was all I could see. And the smell of raw meat.'
'I did the best I could to help that baby. I ran in there. It was so horrific. The baby was lying on the floor in a pool of blood and body matter,' witness Lloyd McCammon told the Daily News.
'All of his left face was gone. He couldn't breathe. I pressed a towel to his face but there was nothing left,' the 39-year-old said.
He lives in the first floor Brooklyn apartment with his father, his mother, his two brothers and two sisters.
Animal Care and Control took custody of both dogs, and their fate remains unclear
Jeremiah has deep lacerations on his face and neck, and his father estimates there are as many as 2,000 stitches on his face. He lost two pints of blood
One of Rivera's two dogs, who are typically kept in their crates, somehow escaped after Rivera made his children grilled cheese sandwiches and then fell asleep on the couch as they watched cartoons.
He said that he believes he fought the dog to save his sisters.
'He made a noise, and started breathing. I yelled ans screamed so loud everybody came running. I ran in the street everybody started calling on their phones calling for help,' Rivera told the Daily News.
Following the attack, witnesses saw his father running out of the house screaming 'Oh god,' before fainting on the front stoop.
He sprinted after medics as they wheeled away his son, collapsing on the sidewalk after first responders pulled him away from the waiting ambulance.
Looking at his bloodstained clothing, Rivera said: 'The last time I had his blood on me was when I cut his umbilical cord. I am responsible for this. This is my fault.
'Man's best friend? How you going to do this to my son and be called man's best friend.'
Following the attack, witnesses saw his father running out of the house screaming 'Oh god,' before fainting on the front stoop
Rivera sprinted after medics as they wheeled away his son, collapsing on the sidewalk after first responders pulled him away from the waiting ambulance
Jeremiah has deep lacerations on his face and neck, and his father estimates there are as many as 2,000 stitches on his face. He lost two pints of blood.
Neighbor Tarell Williams, 40, who owns a pit bull himself said he did not know the dogs to be violent, saying 'they were good dogs, they don't even bark.'
He also said that Jeremiah is famous in the neighborhood for his constant smile, and his wife even calls him 'her little boyfriend', reported the Daily News.
The Rivera family kept the dogs inside cages in the apartment kitchen, according to police.
Animal Care and Control took custody of both dogs, and their fate remains unclear.
An anti-Donald Trump rally held in New York on Sunday afternoon counted celebrities including former Trump-friend Russell Simmons and Susan Sarandon among those in attendance.
About 1,000 people of different ethnicity and faith attended the demonstration, called 'Today, I Am A Muslim Too,' in Times Square, Manhattan.
Simmons, who previously said he has not spoken to Trump since 2015, cheekily told the crowd: 'We are here, unified, because of Donald Trump, so we wont speak too harshly of him tonight today.
'We want to thank him for bringing us together,' Fox News reported.
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An anti-Donald Trump rally held in New York on Sunday afternoon counted celebrities including former Trump-friend Russell Simmons and Susan Sarandon among those in attendance
About 1,000 people of different ethnicity and faith attended the demonstration, called 'Today, I Am A Muslim Too,' in Times Square, Manhattan. Pictured: Sarandon at the rally
Sarandon said it is no longer possible to be neutral and that 'We will fight hatred with love'
Simmons, who previously said he has not spoken to Trump since 2015, cheekily told the crowd: 'We are here, unified, because of Donald Trump, so we wont speak too harshly of him tonight today. We want to thank him for bringing us together'
He added that 'Middle America' has been misled' and said: 'The seeds of hate that were small, and maybe just ignorance, cannot be watered, and that hate cannot grow'
Demonstrator chants included: 'I am a Muslim, too,' 'Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go' and 'No wall, No Muslim ban, no fascist USA'
He added that 'Middle America' has been misled' and said: 'The seeds of hate that were small, and maybe just ignorance, cannot be watered, and that hate cannot grow.'
Sarandon said it is no longer possible to be neutral and that 'We will fight hatred with love.'
Demonstrator chants included: 'I am a Muslim, too,' 'Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go' and 'No wall, No Muslim ban, no fascist USA.'
Simmons formerly considered Trump a friend and said he was there for Trump's first date with First Lady Melania. Pictured: Two participants in Sunday's rally holding signs with a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab
But the relationship soured as Trump's presidential campaign became serious and reached a breaking point when Simmons said he'd rather Kim Kardashian be President than Donald Trump. Pictured: A woman who evoked the Holocaust and Anne Frank's plight in her rally sign
Simmons wrote an open letter to his former friend following the election in which he said: 'I, like millions of Americans, will watch you very closely. Every statement you make. Every tweet you send out. Every person you hire. Every document you sign'
Simmons wrote: 'We will be watching you to make sure that your power does not corrupt the entire union. We will never be caught off guard by any move you make that would hurt the most vulnerable in this country.' Pictured: A man, the son of Muslim Libyan immigrants, at the rally
A woman dancing and wearing an American flag at an anti-Trump, Muslim solidarity rally in New York City
Simmons formerly considered Trump a friend and told the New York Daily News he was there for Trump's first date with First Lady Melania.
But the relationship soured as Trump's presidential campaign became serious and reached a breaking point when Simmons said he'd rather Kim Kardashian be President than Donald Trump.
Simmons wrote an open letter published by Huffington Post to his former friend following the election in which he said: 'I, like millions of Americans, will watch you very closely. Every statement you make. Every tweet you send out. Every person you hire. Every document you sign.
'We will be watching you to make sure that your power does not corrupt the entire union. We will never be caught off guard by any move you make that would hurt the most vulnerable in this country.'
Punny: A protestor holds a sign saying 'Yes We Qur'an.' Simmons helped organize the rally, as did local Rabbi Marc Schneier
Another of the woman's signs read: 'The way things are going, soon we'll all be refugees'
One sign in Arabic, English and Spanish read: 'Welcome immigrants and refugees'
A boy's sign read: "Immigrants make America (and all of us) great' at a Sunday rally in Times Square, New York
People wearing "Make America Great Again" caps walk past the 'I am Muslim Too' rally
One woman's artful sign featured three faces of different ethnicities and said: 'We all belong here. We will defend each other'
Simmons helped organize the Sunday rally, as did a group of interfaith leaders including Imam Shamsi Ali local Rabbi Marc Schneier.
Schneier said: 'The Muslim community is our greatest ally in fighting terrorism and extreme fundamentalism,' Newsday reported.
He added: 'In the United States it is open season on Muslims.'
Schneier said: 'The Muslim community is our greatest ally in fighting terrorism and extreme fundamentalism.' He added: 'In the United States it is open season on Muslims'
Imam Shamsi Ali echoed this sentiment, stating: 'This president is an obstable for Muslims to integrate into America.' Pictured: A woman holding a sign showing a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab
The New York demonstration follows protests across the world against Donald Trump's political agenda beginning with the women's marches held the day after his inauguration that attracted millions of demonstrators
Recent protests included a human wall formed by hundreds of Mexican residents of Ciudad Juarez on the border with El Paso, Texas and thousands coming together in San Francisco to spell out the word: 'Resist.' Pictured: People at the New York rally in Times Square
Ali echoed this sentiment, stating: 'This president is an obstacle for Muslims to integrate into America.'
This follows protests across the world against Donald Trump's political agenda beginning with the women's marches held the day after his inauguration that attracted millions of demonstrators.
Recent protests included a human wall formed by hundreds of Mexican residents of Ciudad Juarez on the border with El Paso, Texas and thousands coming together in San Francisco to spell out the word: 'Resist.'
Meanwhile, many immigrants skipped work or school last Thursday to demonstrate what a 'Day Without Immigrants' might look like.
Last night, Trump held a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Florida while staying at what he has termed the 'Southern White House,' his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Meanwhile, many immigrants skipped work or school last Thursday to demonstrate what a 'Day Without Immigrants' might look like. Pictured: Times Square demonstrators from Sunday
Last night, Trump held a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Florida while staying at what he has termed the 'Southern White House,' his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pictured: A demonstrator dressed up as Trump
Protesters march in New York's Times Square in solidarity with American Muslims and against the travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries ordered by US President Donald Trump which has since been halted
NYPD officers stand by as people take part in the rally. A new version of a Trump administration travel ban will not stop green card holders or travelers already on planes from entering the United States, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said
Protestors hold signs depicting a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab at an anti-Trump, pro-multicultural rally in Times Square, Manhattan
An NYPD officer walks along the rally. Signs depicting a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab said: 'We the people are greater than fear'
Signs expressed variations on a 'solidarity with Muslims in America' theme. One said: 'I am a Jew. Today, I'm a Muslim too'
Bill Clinton was moved to tears by an Albanian waiter at a New York City restaurant who credited the former president with saving his life.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were dining at The Seafire Grill on Friday night when one of the waiters dropped to his knees in front of them and said: 'Sir, I want to thank you. If not for you, I wouldn't be alive today.'
The waiter told them his harrowing tales of his time in war-torn Kosovo, a disputed borderland between Serbia and Albania.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were dining at the New York City restaurant The Seafire Grill on Friday night when one of the waiters thanked Bill for saving his life during the Yugoslav Wars
After dinner, the Clintons shook the hands of other members of The Seafire Grill's (pictured) waitstaff, the majority of whom are Albanian
He fled Kosovo at 16, after his dad and other family members were tortured by the Yugoslavs during the war, TMZ reports.
Now 32, the waiter, who came to the US in 1999, credits Bill with saving his life.
As president, Bill launched a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 to force Yugoslav troops out of the disputed territory, which paved the way for Kosovo's independence nine years later.
This 11-foot-tall bronze statue of the former president overlooks Bill Clinton Boulevard in Kosovo's capital city, Pristina
There's an 11-foot-tall bronze statue of the former president overlooking Bill Clinton Boulevard in Kosovo's capital city, Pristina.
When the waiter finished speaking, Bill grabbed the man's hand and wept.
The waiter spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of anti-immigration sentiment and did not want his photo published.
After dinner, the Clintons shook the hands of other members of the restaurant's waitstaff, the majority of whom are Albanian.
A widower searching for a fishing buddy on Gumtree to replace his late friend has gone on an idyllic trip around Sydney Harbour.
Ray Johnstone, 75, placed an advert on the classifieds website seeking a new friend to head out to sea with him after his fishing buddy died.
Within days, the Adelaide man was flooded with responses after he caught the attention of several fishermen from around the country.
And on Sunday, he was treated to another trip of a lifetime after kind strangers raised money to take the humble pensioner on a fishing trip in Sydney.
Avid fisherman Joe Forza, 32, and his friend Zac Shahin threw a line out to Australia's fishing expert Alistair McGlashan to have him on their boat.
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Ray Johnstone, 75, (pictured) went on another fishing trip around Sydney Harbour on Sunday
The Adelaide pensioner and Alistair McGlashan (right) bonded over their love for fishing
Avid fisherman Joe Forza, 32, (right) and his friend Zac Shahin (left) raised nearly $1,600 on GoFundMe to cover Mr Johnstone's airfares and accommodation around Sydney
'Morning started off a little slow and didn't pick up as much as we wanted to [but] it was great,' Mr Forza told Daily Mail Australia.
'We didn't get to find any big Sydney kingfish but we still had a good time out there.'
The group of men bonded over their love for fishing as they set sail around the water.
The fishing trip comes after Mr Forza and his friend raised nearly $1,600 on GoFundMe to cover Mr Johnstone's airfares and accommodation.
'Naturally, when I saw his ad, it made me want to put a smile on his face,' Mr Forza told Daily Mail Australia.
'I had a couple friends donated a decent amount. But we had plenty of other donations from across the world. He really did reach so many with his story.
'And what better place to go fishing than Sydney Harbour?'
The group of men bonded over their love for fishing as they set sail around Sydney Harbour
Mr McGlashan, Australia's fishing expert, spent the weekend fishing with Mr Johnstone
Kind strangers raised money to take the humble pensioner on a fishing trip in Sydney
The latest adventure comes after Mr Johnstone went on a fishing trip with Mati Batsinilas, 22, from Brisbane, after the young man responded to the ad.
The pair managed to reel in a number of massive whiting at Stradbroke Island after Mr Johnstone flew from Adelaide earlier this month.
Mr Johnstone made headlines after he posted an advertisement on the online classifieds website seeking for a fellow angler.
'What I want is a fishing mate in a similar position to myself who also wants someone to go fishing with,' he wrote.
The former toolmaker and quality control officer said he usually went fishing from land and had all the gear, but was happy to head out on the water.
He even offered to pay all the ramp fees if his new mate had a boat, in addition to splitting petrol, bait and other costs.
Mr Johnstone's ad, including a photo of himself and picturesque shots of his favourite fishing spots, was viewed more than 15,000 times.
Mr Johnstone on his first fishing trip with Mati Batsinilas after placing an advert on Gumtree
President Donald Trump sent out a tweet on Sunday saying he was citing a Fox News report when he made reference to a security incident in Sweden during a rally in Florida.
'My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden,' Trump said in the tweet.
The president addressed supporters during his Florida rally Saturday night saying: 'You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden,' he said.
'Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden,' he added. 'They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible.'
The Swedish embassy in Washington immediately asked the US State Department for an explanation of Trump's comments suggesting there been some sort of attack in Sweden on Friday.
They later tweeted: 'We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies.'
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President Donald Trump sent out a tweet on Sunday saying he was citing a Fox News report when he made reference to a security incident in Sweden
The Swedish embassy in Washington had asked the US State Department for an explanation of Trump's comments suggesting there been some sort of attack in Sweden on Friday. He responded with the tweet above
The Swedish embassy in Washington later tweeted: 'We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies.'
The White House responded saying Trump was referring to 'rising crime and recent incidents, in general,' and not 'a specific incident' in Sweden, according to ABC.
The president made reference to a security incident in Sweden that apparently occurred on the previous night, leaving many Swedes baffled.
'We have asked the question today to the state department. We are trying to get clarity,' said Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom apparently responded on Twitter with the remark 'owing to certain circumstances', followed by a passage from her speech in parliament last week on Sweden's foreign policy.
The excerpt said: 'In 2016, 'post-truth' was named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries. Both functioning democracy and constructive cooperation between states require us to speak with, and not about, each other, to honor agreements and to allow ideas to compete. They also require us to respect science, facts and the media, and to acknowledge each others wisdom.'
Trump's remarks came as he vowed to protect the US borders while addressing supporters at his campaign-style rally in an aircraft hangar at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport.
But social media users were left puzzled after the president's comments, including Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who quickly pointed out there was no such attack.
'Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound,' Bildt said in a tweet.
Axelsson told The Associated Press that 'the government wasn't aware of any 'terror-linked major incidents'.
Sweden's Security Police also said it had no reason to change the terror threat level.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt sent out a tweet questioning Trump's remark
Trump alluded to an apparent nonexistent attack on Sweden as he addressed supporters during a campaign-style rally at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport on Saturday. Bildt is pictured left August 2016
It was also suggested that Trump's remark were likely based on the Fox News interview between host Tucker Carlson (left) and documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz which aired the night before Trump's rally
Trump went on to allude to previous attacks in Europe.
'You look at what's happening in Brussels. You look at what's happening all over the world,' he said. 'Take a look at Nice. Take a look at Paris,' he said as he promised to keep the 'country safe'.
Trump's remarks were quickly ridiculed by Twitter users including Chelsea Clinton.
'What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators?' she said while also mocking Kellyanne Conway's interview gaff last month.
The former first daughter had previously slammed the president's adviser after Conway referred to the nonexistent massacre.
A Swedish librarian, who was using Sweden's official Twitter account sent out a tweet saying: 'No. Nothing has happened here in Sweden. There has not [been] any terrorist attacks here. At all. The main news right now is about Melfest.'
The woman suggested Trump's remark was likely to have been based on a Fox News interview between host Tucker Carlson and documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz which aired the night before.
Trump's remarks were quickly ridiculed by Twitter users including Chelsea Clinton, who previously slammed Kellyanne Conway
Thousands of people listened as Trump spoke during the rally at the AeroMod International hangar at Orlando Melbourne International Airport
A Swedish librarian, who was using Sweden's official Twitter account sent out a tweet debunking Trump's comments
Horowitz spoke about his recent film which explores the seemingly increasing crime rates in Sweden as a result of the country's open-door policy.
The country let in 200,000 refugees as migrants fled their war-torn countries during the summer in 2015, Huffington Post reported.
This would be the third time the Trump administration has been accused of referencing fictitious terror attacks.
Senior adviser Conway infamously made note of the nonexistent 'Bowling Green Massacre' during an interview with Chris Matthews last month.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred to an 'Atlanta attack' earlier this month, but later corrected himself saying he had meant to say Orlando.
Other Twitter users were quick to mock Trump's comments, tweeting a manual on how to build a border wall from popular Swedish furniture store IKEA
I would have settled for roses and chocolates, but Lady Alice Manners, 21, and her new beau Otis Ferry, 34, decided to fan the flames of love on their first Valentine's Day together by setting fire to their sofa. The Duke and Duchess of Rutland's daughter described the incident as just 'another day in Paradise' when she posted a picture on Instagram of Otis reclining on the smouldering soft furnishings. Luckily for society-girl-loving Otis Bryan Ferry's son the couple didn't copy that old Roxy Music song and have Both Ends Burning...
Otis Ferry, 34, decided to fan the flames of love on their first Valentine's Day together by setting fire to their sofa (pictured)
Meghan and her special Soho room service...
Of all the stars that visit London's exclusive Soho House members' club, only one gets a private room Prince Harry's girlfriend Meghan Markle. The 35-year-old Suits actress has visited with Harry in the past and when she was there last week having tea with two pals she was given a small room to herself. The club usually operates an 'open to everyone' policy, so long as they are members. The club's former director Markus Anderson supposedly set Meghan up with Harry, 32, at the Toronto branch last year.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday said he is compiling an assessment for President Donald Trump to weigh on Afghanistan, which remains mired in a brutal and seemingly intractable conflict.
The Afghan war is the longest in US history but Trump has scarcely given it a passing mention -- either while campaigning or since entering the White House.
Mattis said his commander-in-chief had been "rightfully reticent" on the matter, as he was waiting for input from his generals.
"We are putting our thoughts together now," Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi while on his first trip to the region as Pentagon chief.
Trump "is open to my advice on it, but first of all I've got to formulate where I stand, so this is the normal collection of... information."
Mattis met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Munich on Saturday and had been due to fly to Kabul on Sunday, but the trip was postponed due to bad weather.
Instead, Mattis held lengthy video talks with General John Nicholson, the chief US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
US-led forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for 16 years, making it America's longest-ever war, yet Nicholson this month told Congress the situation remains stuck in a "stalemate".
The US troop presence in Afghanistan is currently capped at about 8,400 after former US Barack Obama insisted on drawing numbers down and handing security responsibility to Afghan forces.
Nicholson said he needs thousands more troops to help the beleaguered Afghan forces, who have suffered catastrophic losses.
The question of whether to double down in the seemingly endless conflict will now become one of Trump's first major military strategy questions.
Trump would seek the advice of Mattis before deciding on Nicholson's request for reinforcements, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said.
Trump had suggested in a recent call to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani that he would consider sending more soldiers, according to media reports.
Further complicating the picture is Russia's role in the conflict.
Nicholson has accused Moscow of giving the Taliban encouragement and diplomatic cover in order to undermine American influence and to defeat NATO.
Mattis did not directly address the role of Russia, which as the Soviet Union fought a bitter war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Mattis said he needs to "assess what the other countries in the region are doing in Afghanistan to help or hinder us in our efforts. We are still sorting that out."
Earlier this month, a US government watchdog said the death rate among Afghan security forces soared last year and the Kabul government's overall control of the country dropped significantly.
While acknowledging the "very heavy price" the Afghans paid, Mattis said the local forces had succeeded in keeping the Taliban on the back foot.
It's "been a hard fight all the way through," he said.
"I would question who came out on the shorter end of the stick. I'd rather be in NATO right now than I would want to be in the Taliban's position."
Mattis visited NATO headquarters in Brussels last week to urge member countries to pay more into the alliance and to reassure them that America was committed to it.
Trump while campaigning spoke disparagingly of NATO, even though the alliance has been key to the fight in Afghanistan ever since the US-led invasion in late 2001.
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Party animal Spencer Matthews has been warned to swap cocktails and clubbing for cocoa and slippers if he is to be best man at big brother James's wedding to Pippa Middleton.
James has imposed a three-month 'keep out of trouble' curfew on Made In Chelsea star Spencer to spare the blushes of the Middleton clan and Pippa, 33, in the run up to the big day in May.
Spencer is in Austria for TV reality show The Jump, and has been ordered to swerve any parties. James, 41, is anxious that there is no repeat of the 2013 picture that went viral of Spencer, 27, in his birthday suit after a night on the tiles, or the one of him snorting a white powder at a house party.
Party animal Spencer Matthews (pictured) has been warned to swap cocktails and clubbing for cocoa and slippers
David Beckham's friendship with socialite Poppy Delevingne is all thanks to Guy Ritchie, I'm told. The director introduced them at a shooting weekend on his Wiltshire estate and gave them parts in his new film King Arthur. Few knew model Poppy, 30, and David, 41 who are, of course, both married had become friends until they were seen together falling out of a nightclub in LA this month.
The BBC reporter nicknamed the 'Beirut Beefcake' may get more attention for his dishy looks and perfect abs than his news reports, but they're clearly not enough to find him love. Foreign correspondent James Longman, 29, has been looking for love on dating app Tinder using screengrabs of himself reporting on the Syrian conflict from Beirut. The hunk's profile, linked to his Instagram account, also features a snap of him reporting from Paris and a racy shot of him in a chest-baring body stocking.
James was ticked off by the Beeb last month for breaking their social media policy after he shared an Instagram photo comparing Donald Trump's press conference to a speech by former Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi. What will they think of him using his role at the Corporation to get a date?
James Longman, nicknamed the Beirut Beefcake, reveals that he is a broadcast journalist at the BBC (pictured)
They fly all the way across the Atlantic to enjoy its luxurious and exclusive ambience.
But soon US-based regulars of Mayfair club 5 Hertford Street including Bella Hadid, Alexa Chung and a selection of rock stars and supermodels will be able to get their fix much closer to home.
I can reveal that the plush clubs owner Robin Birley is attempting to raise 100 million to open a New York branch.
It will be the coolest club move to the Big Apple since Soho House opened there in 2003. And it will be seen as a direct challenge by Birley to his London nightclub nemesis Richard Caring, owner of Annabels and a major shareholder in the Soho House empire.
Heather Kerzner, ex-wife of hotel billionaire Sol Kerzner, told me of her Valentines Day proposal from PR man James Henderson when I called to congratulate her last week. James took me to dinner at Scotts and gave me a Valentines present, but when he pushed it across the table I realised it was an engagement ring. She then put me on speakerphone so James, CEO of Bell Pottinger, could add: I bought it at Boodles. They will host a two-part wedding, with a Thursday Thanksgiving dinner followed by a party on Saturday, organised by Tom Freud, nephew of fellow PR guru Matthew.
He will call Australia home for a few months as he films The Voice Australia.
And according to The Sunday Telegraph, Boy George is leasing the multi-million dollar Sydney mansion owned by former television executive David Leckie and his wife Skye.
The 55-year-old Culture Club star will be staying at their Centennial Park pad, called Lactura, reportedly splashing out more than $27,500 a month, for three months.
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Lavish digs! Boy George is reportedly leasing the multi-million dollar Sydney mansion owned by former television executive David Leckie and his wife Skye while filming The Voice Australia
The publication reports the 1910 home was listed back in July for more than a whopping $12 million.
According to a previous listing on Realestate.com.au, the pad features five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a manicured lawn and a swimming pool.
It also has a media room and a separate pool house.
Idyllic: The 55-year-old Culture Club star will be staying at their Centennial Park pad, called Lactura, reportedly splashing out more than $27,500 a month, for three months
Paradise: The publication reports the 1910 home was listed back in July for more than a whopping $12 million
Grand: According to a previous listing on Realestate.com.au , the pad features five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a manicured lawn and a swimming pool
Handing over the keys for a bit? Pictured is David Leckie (in 2011)
Luxury: It also has a media room and a separate pool house
Boy George - whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd - was seen this week in Sydney heading to Bondi Icebergs for lunch with his The Voice co-stars.
He joined fellow judges Delta Goodrem, Kelly Rowland, and Seal on the day, as well as host Sonia Kruger.
The 80s pop icon has made headlines this week for revealing he was having a drug-induced 'psychotic episode' when he kept a male escort prisoner in his London Flat.
Home for a star: Boy George - whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd - was seen this week in Sydney heading to Bondi Icebergs for lunch with his The Voice co-stars
Heritage: The home features classic styling
Impressive: Seen is believed to be the formal dining room
Plenty of space: Seen is the kitchen, with white benches and cabinets and wooden floors
Stunning: A traditional stair case and stained-glass door is at the start of the house
Opening up: The 80s pop icon has made headlines this week for revealing he was having a drug-induced 'psychotic episode' when he kept a male escort prisoner in his London Flat
The fashion designer and DJ, shackled sex worker Audun Carlsen to a wall and whipped him with a chain while screaming abuse at him when he had a 400-a-day heroin habit.
The star was jailed for 15 months for the attack of 'gratuitous violence' but told Piers Morgan on his ITV's Life Stories show that he had not apologised to his Norwegian victim because it 'wouldn't make any difference'.
Breaking down in tears, Boy George said: 'I sent myself to prison. I told the police why I did what I did. In hindsight I was having a psychotic episode. I was a drug addict so I can't sit here and say my reasons for doing it were founded in any way.
'But I told the truth. I said, "This is why I did it. I was having a paranoid episode". I have always denied beating the guy.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted a representative for Boy George and Channel Nine for comment, in relation to this article.
Being honest: The star was jailed for 15 months for the attack of 'gratuitous violence' but told Piers Morgan on his ITV's Life Stories show that he had not apologised to his Norwegian victim because it 'wouldn't make any difference'
He's the Australian actor best known for his roles in Black Hawk Down and as Marvel hero The Hulk.
And Eric Bana has charmed fans as in Ireland as he arrived at The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy in Dublin.
The 48-year-old actor stopped by the talk show to promote about his film The Secret Scripture, ahead of the Dublin Film Festival.
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Aussie charmer: Eric Bana greeted fans as in Ireland as he arrived at The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy
The Hollywood A-lister cut a casual look in grey denim pants and form fitting a black T-shirt.
He donned a pair of brown dress shoes and completed his look with dark denim jacket.
The Munich star was ever the gentleman and even took the time to sign an autograph for a fan who appeared to have the DVD cover of The Other Boleyn Girl, where he starred as King Henry VIII, and even posed for photos with her.
Dynamic actor: The 48-year-old cut a casual look in grey denim pants and a black T-shirt
Hollywood A-lister: He was ever the gentleman and sign an autograph for a fan who appeared to have the DVD cover of The Other Boleyn Girl, where he starred as King Henry VIII
Talking the Ryan, he discussed working with the films director Jim Sheridan saying, '[he] is mad as a snake but I absolutely loved working with him!'
In the film Eric plays a psychiatrist dealing with an elderly patient who documented her time in a mental facility and the events that led up to her hospitalisation.
When asked about how he perfected the Irish accent, the actor said getting drunk helped him get into character.
New film: In the interview about his film he Secret Scripture, Eric said a psychiatrist dealing with an elderly patient who documented her time in a mental facility and the events that led up to her hospitalisation
'I used to warm up with my accent by just getting drunk and rumbling around temple bar and then I'd just go into work... It worked really well,' he added.
The Troy star also took to his Twitter to share a picture of him drinking Guinness, along with the caption: 'Just give me a minute whilst I solve the problems of the world.'
He is set to star alongside Tom Hardy in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword as Uther Pendragon, father of the legendary King.
He's best know for his role as Joey in the hit 90s sitcom Friends.
But it seems Matt Le Blanc is hoping his daughter does not end up with anyone like the soap opera actor he brought to life.
The 49-year-old opened up about his 13-year-old daughter Marina, with ex-wife Melissa McKnight, in an interview with Stellar.
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Doting father: Matt Le Blanc was announced as one of the new hosts of BBC's revamped Top Gear with Chris Evans
He talked in particular about dating advice.
'Well, she'll start dating when she's 45, and then she'll be old enough to make her own decisions. Hopefully, good ones,' he joked.
The Lost In Space star also revealed his over protective-fatherly streak describing himself as a 'shotgun' kind of father.
Protective father: He joked that his 13-year-old daughter Marina joked that she can start dating when she's 45
In early 2016, the actor was announced as one of the new hosts of BBC's revamped Top Gear, alongside Chris Evans who has since left the show.
Matt, an avid car enthusiast, revealed that he actually didn't audition for the part.
'I was a guest on the show and they just kept asking me back, then asked me to host. So here I am. And it's an honour,' he said.
Car enthusiast: The 49-year-old Matt revealed his over protective-fatherly streak when talking about he actually didn't audition for the presenter role on the revamped Top Gear
Friends stardom: The actor is best know for his role as Joey in the hit 90s sitcom Friends
Episodes success: In 2012, Matt won an Emmy for playing a fictionalised version of himself on the sitcom Episodes
Since the final episode of Friends when to air in 2004, the actor has had a string of success in other comedy shows in particular Episodes, which he won an Emmy Award for in 2012.
He is currently playing the lead in his most recent show Man With A Plan.
The new season of Top Gear will air next month on Foxtel's BBC Knowledge.
Leah Remini said that only Tom Cruise has the power to bring reform - or closure - to the Church of Scientology.
The King of Queens star, 46, made clear that the world-famous film star has the ability to make a monumental impact on the controversial institution as she appeared on Friday's edition of Real Time With Bill Maher.
Maher raised the notion of Cruise's power within the Church of Scientology, which Remini left in 2013 after more 35 years as a member in a contentious departure, as she said that members are 'self-brainwashing' in obeying the church's rigorous demands.
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Look who's talking: Bill Maher, 61, welcomed Leah Remini, 46, on his HBO show Friday. She told the host that only Tom Cruise has the influence to end the Church of Scientology
Top gun: The 54-year-old film star was seen at the Jack Reacher: Never Go Back premiere in Tokyo in November
Maher said to Remini, Cruise 'could end this single-handedly,' to which Remini responded, 'Yes, because he is single-handedly clearing the planet most Scientologists believe.'
Maher wisecracked, 'Clearing the planet? He couldnt even make Jack Reacher a hit!'
Remini told Maher her impression of his 2008 documentary Religulous - titled to blend the words religious and ridiculous. She recalled that she watched while she was still a member of the David Miscavige-led church.
'I watched it because I was a troublemaker, apparently, always, but I wasnt even at the level of what you were revealing in your documentary - so you seemed a little crazy to me.'
Expert analysis: Remini, a member of the church for more than 35 years, has been a critic of the institution since her 2013 departure
Mutual admiration society: Maher credited Remini as a vanguard in spreading awareness about the controversial church
Special treatment? Remini said 'that certain policies' the church holds its congregants to are bent for Cruise
Maher credited the actress, a close friend of Jennifer Lopez, for spreading unprecedented awareness about the church with her A&E series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and her 2015 book Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
'When the history of Scientology is finally written it will show that fate chose you to come on in Act Five,' he told the star. 'Youre like Reagan and "Tear down that wall" ... you're doing God's work.'
In her book, Remini said that she considered Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman a 'guardian angel' as she parted ways from the church four years ago, as the Oscar-winner braved the storm of leaving the church with grace.
'Although I never met her or attempted to meet her, I thought about her a lot,' she wrote. 'Her career is still going, and she has a husband and family ... she left and shes OK.'
The Church of Scientology responded to Leah's latest claims by saying she is pathetically exploiting her former religion, her former friends and other celebrities for money and attention to appear relevant again.
Better times: Remini gave Cruise a huge hug at the 2004 premiere of his thriller Collateral in LA
Face of the church: Cruise is the institution's most prominent name among a list of celebrity members such as John Travolta and Kirstie Alley
Julia Morris has worked hard for to drop a reported 20kg and maintain her trim size 12 figure, and she's nothing if not proud of her effort.
In this week's Sunday Life magazine, the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host says she 'doesn't mind' if others notice the effort she's made.
'I work hard on how I look, I don't mind if someone notices!' the actress, who has dropped two dress sizes, told the publication.
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Hard work: Julia Morris has worked hard for to drop a reported 20kg and maintain her trim size 12 figure, and she's nothing if not proud of her effort
But the 48-year-old did admit that it remains a concentrated daily effort to keep her trim size 12 figure.
'The way I look at 48, size 12, it takes not eating cakes during the day, not getting that Crunchie at the corner shop, not having another muffin,' she tells the magazine.
The comedian adds, 'It's all day, every day. The moment you stop doing that you won't have the same results'.
While the mother of two says it took dedication to win her new figure, her new look at first promoted speculation she had undergone lap band surgery.
Dedicated: 'The way I look at 48, size 12, it takes not eating cakes during the day, not getting that Crunchie at the corner shop, not having another muffin,' she says
But after showing off her newly slimmed down figure in a bikini on Instagram, the TV host said her weight loss has nothing to do with the knife.
'No sugar, low carbs, vodka and soda... that's pretty much it... but every day,' she wrote.
Strict on herself, the mother of Ruby, ten, and Sophie, eight, said her one weakness is sugar but she manages to avoid it other than on special occasions.
Just hard work: After showing off her newly slimmed down figure in a bikini on Instagram, the TV host said her weight loss has nothing to do with the knife. 'No sugar, low carbs, vodka and soda... that's pretty much it... but every day,' she wrote
'No cheat days, well since Christmas,' she told her followers of her weight loss regime. 'Oh and eight weeks working around the clock in Africa.'
The House Husbands star overhauled her lifestyle, committing to daily exercise sessions 'at gun point' she joked in an interview with Body & Soul magazine.
She joked, 'It helps to have a gorgeous trainer... You feel so disgusting next to them that it's a great motivator!'
Miranda Hart (pictured) is returning to the screen in a new comedy
She's the towering star of British comedy and drama who has been much missed in recent months.
But now fans of Miranda Hart can celebrate her return to the screen in the shape of a pint-sized alter-ego who features in a new comedy inspired by the actress's school days.
Written by Ms Hart, 44, The Disney Channel series So Sammy stars Harley Bird, 14, who has previously been the voice of Peppa Pig.
Sammy is a gawky, clumsy teenager with an insatiable appetite for playing pranks on her friends and family, such as placing whoopee cushions under chairs.
It's a character profile that will be pleasingly familiar to fans of the hit sitcom Miranda.
In one scene Sammy clears out her cuddly toy collection and makes them talk to each other before self-consciously admitting to viewers: 'I get a bit carried away sometimes.'
In another marked parallel, Sammy's mother runs a party shop a reminder of the joke shop where Miranda worked in her BBC series.
The new show also echoes Ms Hart's own childhood.
The star went to Downe House School in Berkshire, where she was friends with Clare Balding, now one of the BBC's top presenters.
While at the school, which was later attended by Kate and Pippa Middleton, Ms Hart indulged in pranks such as 'putting a hotdog' in the anorak hood of a teacher and 'blowing up a ginger beer bottle with a litre of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda'.
Written by Ms Hart, 44, (top left in the 1980s) The Disney Channel series So Sammy stars Harley Bird, 14, who has previously been the voice of Peppa Pig
The Disney Channel series So Sammy stars Harley Bird, 14, (pictured) who has previously been the voice of Peppa Pig
Of her new series, Ms Hart said: 'I hope kids everywhere will be enchanted by lovely, funny Sammy, who gets herself into many silly scrapes and adventures.'
Ms Hart has revealed that she was ill last year, perhaps accounting for her absence from recent episodes of BBC drama Call The Midwife, in which she plays Matron Camilla 'Chummy' Browne.
So Sammy is available on Disney Channel App and DisneyLife.
She famously turned down playing the now iconic Bridget Jones.
And it seems Toni Collette has no regrets over saying no the film, noting that her breakout role in Muriel's Wedding has had a significant impact on her career.
The 44-year-old actress has made a name for herself as one of Hollywood's most dynamic actors.
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Not so terrible: Toni Collette said her breakout role as the lead in Muriel's Wedding had a significant impact on her career
Toni said she was thankful for her hilarious lead role as the socially awkward, singleton and what it continues give her for her career.
'Those doors would never be opening now were it not for Muriel's Wedding,' she said in an interview with Stellar.
The Blacktown-born star said that she still gets stopped in the street by fans of the film who say 'you're terrible Muriel', more than two decades after it first hit the big screen.
Breakout role: She said, 'those doors would never be opening now were it not for Muriel's Wedding'
Early success: Playing Muriel changed her life, she said she had no idea what the film would do for her career
She said that playing the repressed, underdog character who became the unlikely heroine changed her life.
'It's pretty incredible that a film has stayed with people on such a deep level,' she said.
Reminiscing her early days film the 1994 hit, she said she enjoyed the process of making the film without contemplating what would happen next.
From there Toni had a succession of roles that catapulted her into international recognition with films such as The Sixth Sense, In Her Shoes, and Little Miss Sunshine.
International recognition: Toni had a succession of roles that catapulted her into international recognition including In Her Shoes alongside Cameron Diaz
Stardom: Toni was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in psychological thriller in The Sixth Sense
She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Lynn Sear in The Sixth Sense in 1999.
Toni has been based in Los Angeles for the past two years with her husband, musician Dave Galafassi, and their two children, daughter Sage, nine, and son Arlo, six.
In late 2015, she returned to Australia to film Jasper Jones in Pemberton, WA.
The coming-of-age movie sees the actress play the mother of a young boy from a small mining town who finds himself in a moral dilemma in 1960s Australia, which is set for release in March.
The London Palladium played host to LeAnn Rimes on Saturday night as she continued barreling through her tour of Britain.
Rimes, who's latest album Remnants enjoyed a UK release last October before debuting stateside this month, wore a figure-hugging black jumpsuit.
The glistening outfit's V-neck fell far enough to expose not only generous cleavage view, but also part of her enviably flat midriff.
Songbird: The London Palladium played host to LeAnn Rimes on Saturday night as she continued barreling through her tour of Britain
Her ensemble's trouser portion hugged her taut legs, complementing the pair of jet black stilettos she'd got on as she stood at the mic.
Elaborately designed silver earrings dangled at either side of her head, and her slicked-back blonde hair fell free.
The 34-year-old played her first UK tour date on Thursday night at Colston Hall in Bristol, before swinging into the Birmingham Symphony Hall on Friday.
Flaunting the figure: Rimes, who's latest album Remnants enjoyed a UK release last October before debuting stateside this month, wore a figure-hugging black jumpsuit
After playing the Palladium, she'll take Sunday off concerts and then light up The Bridgewater Hall on Lower Mosley St in Manchester on Monday.
The Sage Gateshead will be her venue next Tuesday, after which she'll travel up to Scotland for a gig at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday.
In December, she told Rolling Stone Country of the album that 'It's a very healing record. That's really what I hope people get out of it, is some sense of healing.'
When you got it: The glistening outfit's V-neck fell far enough to expose not only generous cleavage view, but also part of her enviably flat midriff
Crooner: Her ensemble's trouser portion hugged her taut legs, complementing the pair of jet black stilettos she'd got on as she stood at the mic
Adding: 'I'm not attacking anything; it's from a settled point of view, she noted that 'yes, it is vulnerable. I'm scared to death.'
After concluding her tour in the UK, she'll take a bit more time off before playing four dates at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas.
Four more US concerts will follow, flinging her from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Patchogue, New York to Washington, DC to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The interior ministry previously postponed the fair in December due to 'insufficient security measures'
Egypts prominent annual furniture fair, Le Marche, will be held in April after being postponed indefinitely by state authorities in December due to insufficient security measures," an official at co-organiser Tarek Nour Communications (TNC) told Ahram Online.
The 32-year-old fair, which was set to take place from 22 to 25 December, will be in April, but the exact date is not decided upon yet, according to TNC press secretary Hossam Hassan.
Le Marche organisers said it was postponed in a surprise move by authorities three days before the opening, causing millions of pounds worth of losses to local manufacturers and traders.
The interior ministry released a statement quoting an official as pointing to the "non-completion of the civil protection and firefighting system that ensures that attendees and contents are protected from fire risks" adding that "the postponement will provide the opportunity to meet the required conditions in this regard."
The losses incured by over 200 companies participating in the fair are estimated at between EGP 200 and EGP 300 million, Yousry Abul-Naga, head of the fair-organisers' division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, told Ahram Online in December.
Manufacturers and traders say they had hoped the event would boost this year's sales amid a stagnant economy.
The fair is co-organised by the Arab African Promoters for International Conferences and Exhibitions (AAPI) and Tarek Nour Communications (TNC), which is owned by advertising mogul Tarek Nour, who also owns satellite TV channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas.
According to the official statistic body CAMPAS, the furniture sector employed 270,222 workers across 104,250 establishments in 2013.
The value of exports by the furniture industry stands at EGP 305.1 million, according to a September 2016 press release by Egypt's Ministry of Industry.
Egypt's economy has been struggling since 2011 uprising, with a sharp drop in tourism and foreign investment, two main sources of hard currency for the country.
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They kept audiences glued to their TV screens on Gogglebox.
But now it's been reported the Moffatt family won't appear in the upcoming series of the hit Channel 4 show - because I'm A Celebrity winner Scarlett, 26, is now 'too famous'.
According to the Sunday People, her loving parents Betty and Mark have been 'dropped' by producers as the show 'wouldn't work so well without all three of them.'
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Back in with the parents: Insiders claim that Scarlett is back with mum Betty (left) and dad Mark (right) in the Bishop Auckland, County Durham home made famous by Gogglebox, while she recovers from the break-up
Speaking to publication, the TV insider suggested it was Scarlett's new status as a 'star' that led to her parents being axed.
They said: 'The whole premise of Gogglebox is normal people commenting on the TV. Scarlett is now a celebrity in her own right so it made sense she wouldn't continue.
'She and her parents came as a package. It wouldn't work so well without all three of them.'
A spokesperson for the Channel 4 show, which returns next week, confirmed the news to MailOnline: 'The Moffatt family will not be appearing in this series.'
Cheering up: Scarlett Moffatt enjoyed a pick-me up dinner with pals Ant and Dec just days following her heart-wrenching break-up
The recent news comes as Scarlett's set to take up a role on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, following her win on I'm A Celeb.
After her new career moves, it was revealed last week she split from her long term love Luke Crodden earlier this month.
According to The Sun, the star is said to have split from Luke as 'she needs to concentrate on her career.'
Just days after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend Luke Crodden early in 2017, the new star consoled herself with a pick-me up dinner with the famous duo - demonstrating she has come a long way from her first appearances on the reality show.
Scarlett's much needed catch up with her TV pals comes days after it was reported that she has split from her boyfriend Luke.
The Gogglebox beauty is said to be 'sad' about the break up, but hopes they can remain friends.
The couple looked to be in a good place, having moved in together in London, with Scarlett taking Luke to the National Television Awards where she was working as a backstage presenter.
Woo! Scarlett took to Twitter during the National Television Awards where she shared a snapshot with Ant & Dec, who'll she'll work with on Saturday Night Takeaway
But according to The Sun, the reality star star has been so busy following her return from the jungle, that she and Luke have been struggling to spend time together.
A source close to the couple told the newspaper: 'Scarlett is sad about her break up with Luke but she really hopes they can remain friends.
'Its a positive thing that Scarletts schedule is so busy at the moment as it will take her mind off the split.'
'At the moment she needs to concentrate on her career. After all, shes got plenty of time to settle down in the future,' the insider added.
He's a world famous action film star.
But it seems that Vin Diesel is in fact quite multi-talented, as he's been featured in a mix of a new Selena Gomez track titled It Ain't Me.
The 49-year-old xXx star took to social media throughout the week to drop hints about the unexpected news.
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Who knew? It seems that Vin Diesel is in fact quite multi-talented, as he's been featured in a mix of a new Selena Gomez track titled It Ain't Me
On Valentine's Day, the Furious 7 actor posted a snap of himself in a red recording booth.
Dressed in a black hoodie, camouflage pants and sunglasses, he stands behind a large microphone belting into the device.
Aside from a Valentine's greeting, he left the caption blank.
Then, on Wednesday, Vin posted a picture of himself with DJ Kygo, 25, with a very long explanation implying that he was asked to contribute to a track.
Friends! hen, on Wednesday, Vin posted a picture of himself with DJ Kygo, 25, with a very long explanation implying that he was asked to contribute to a track
'You all know how much I love music,' wrote the Hollywood strongman, 'so when one of your favorite producers @kygomusic invites you to the studio you go... what I didn't expect was to be asked to go into the recording booth. Haha... never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!'
Things then took a turn for the sensitive in his video post the next day, which showed Vin about to record with Kygo.
He states he's 'about to make some magic happen' before panning around the dim studio.
Up close and personal: Things then took a turn for the sensitive in his video post the next day, which showed Vin about to record with Kygo
His caption was remarkably candid and delved into what he was trying to achieve as well as his thoughts on the result.
'This was the day after I chilled with Kygo at my post Grammy party... for years I have done low tech karaoke for you die hard fans, often showing a different and emotional side. But I was never invited into a professional studio, or never had the courage to try it for real with an engineer and everything. The magician somehow took my voice and and added it to the super talented Selena... Kygo sent over the track today and I am Speechless. Wow. Just speechless.'
The same day, he also posted a video to Facebook that showed the superstar conversing with Kygo and several engineers, who couldn't stop praising the Hollywood vet for trying something new.
Again his caption was very appreciative and also revealed that the track was Selena's It Ain't Me.
Risk taker: The same day, he also posted a video to Facebook that showed the superstar conversing with Kygo and several engineers, who couldn't stop praising the Hollywood vet for trying something new
'I don't know how you did it @kygomusic,' he gushed. 'Who would have ever believed how mixing my voice with @selenagomez could be so powerful! Can't wait for the world to hear it. I literally can't stop listening to it. Speechless... a dream come true. #ItAintMe'
Finally, on Friday he was ready to drop his debut track, which he did via a Facebook video, which he described only with the phrase 'All love.'
On Instagram he posted a shot of himself standing beside a grand piano occupied by Kygo.
'WOW!!!! The new Kygo mix is up on my Facebook page. I stepped out of my comfort zone for this one, haha. Let me know what you think. Thank you @kygomusic for producing this 2017 HIT! Thank you for believing in me enough to ask me to sing. Thank you @Selenagomez for bringing that beautiful and magical voice. Pained and celebratory simultaneously. I followed your lead when I went into the booth...'
Della has constantly raved about her food knowledge on My Kitchen Rules.
And on Sunday's episode, it seems the pressure to perform at her instant restaurant got the better of her.
After bursting into tears and running out of the kitchen at one point, Della and Tully were left shocked when they scored a low 58 points out of a possible 110.
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'I want to be the underdogs in this competition': The pressure to perform at her instant restaurant got the better of Della and Tully during their instant restaurant with Della reduced to tears following their low scores
'I want to be the underdogs in this competition, and show everybody, we aren't silly, we are listening,' Della defiantly said to camera after the blow.
'And we're going to come back bigger and stronger next time,' she added.
Tully added: 'It's a bit of a sting, but we aren't going to dwell on it.'
The girls scored a measly 24 points from their rivals and 34 from the judges, Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.
Leaving the kitchen: After bursting into tears and running out of the kitchen at one point, Della and Tully were left shocked when they scored a low 58 points out of a possible 110
'We're going to come back bigger and stronger next time': The girls vowed to redeem themselves in the next round and not let it get to them
Entree: They served an entree of charred quail with couscous, pomegranate, feta and mint,
Bit of a sting: The girls scored a measly 24 points from their rivals and 34 from the judges, Pete Evans and Manu Feildel
They served an entree of charred quail with couscous, pomegranate, feta and mint, a main of smoked duck with beetroot, grapes and cherries, and a dessert of orange cake with yogurt sorbet, dubbed 'a homage to Malta' in a nod to Della's heritage.
They called their instant restaurant the Pepper Tree, because of one of the trees in Tully's backyard, giving it 'hobo boho' styling.
The women ended up serving raw quail for their entree, with Della having struggled to cook the meat properly on a barbecue, trying twice.
'I've lost my mojo and I don't know how to get it back...I cant believe this,' she said.
Mains: Then there was a main of smoked duck with beetroot, grapes and cherries
'A homage to Malta': For their dessert, the served orange cake with yogurt sorbet - a nod to Della's heritage
Giving his feedback at scoring, Pete told the pair that their 'cooking technique of the quail let down your dish dramatically.'
He said with their main, there was too much on the plate, and they could of done without the garlic aioli and the grapes.
He wanted a syrup on the dessert as their cake was 'dense', with the pair having intentionally left out the syrup after being told to hone back the ingredients on the plate.
Manu also agreed with Pete.
Before serving their main, Della had a meltdown that their duck was not cooking properly.
'The cooking technique of the quail let down your dish dramatically': Judge Pete Evans (pictured) gave his feedback on their dishes during the scoring, with Manu agreeing
Storming out! After storming out of the kitchen in disappointment while trying to cook the duck main, Tully returned when she thought of her daughter watching her give up on TV
'I don't want to f**k this up!' she said.
She added that she was disappointed in herself and felt like she let herself and Tully down, storming out of the kitchen.
After thinking of her little girl watching the show on TV, Tully returned to the kitchen, not wanting her to see mum had given up.
Upon her return to the kitchen, they continue to cook the duck and get it perfect, proving her perseverance paid off.
Strategic? Seafood King Josh was proving a tough critic on the night, and said that he wanted the girls to fail so that he and wife Amy still have a place in the competition
'Hope the snake strikes out when its her turn to cook in the kitchen': Josh admitted he wanted the final two teams to cook - Della and Tully and Alyse and Matt (pictured) - to do badly
Seafood King Josh was proving a tough critic on the night, and said that he wanted the girls to fail, so that he and wife Amy still have a place in the competition, being at the very bottom of the leader board.
He wanted the final two teams to cook - Della and Tully and Alyse and Matt - to do badly.
Upon hearing Della and Tully's feedback, Josh and Amy couldn't hide their glee when they went bad, smirking at the dinner table.
Referring to Alyse as a snake on the night - after having heard she vomited at his instant restaurant and accusing her of lying - he said at the end of the evening that he hopes 'the snake strikes out when its her turn to cook in the kitchen.'
Still beat Josh! The girls' score of 58 still beat Josh and Amy's score of 43
Tim Robards has hinted that a proposal to Anna Heinrich is imminent as a report emerged that the pair are already 'shopping engagement and wedding pictures' to magazines ahead of their engagement.
Speaking to the Date With Kate column in The Sydney Morning Herald, the 34-year-old said that he was waiting until their friend's weddings were out of the way before they planned their own.
Tim said, 'We've got to wait till the wedding season cools down, so that it can be kind of special.'
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Ready to wed? Tim Robards has hinted that a proposal to Anna Heinrich is imminent as a report emerged that the pair are already 'shopping wedding pictures' to magazines
The chiropractor indicated that he and his 30-year-old girlfriend had recently attended a slew of friends weddings 'every other weekend' and may be looking for a quiet spot on their calendars to make their nuptials stand out.
He added, 'Otherwise, literally, the next day you have to go and be celebrating someone else's wedding day'.
The comments come after the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the lovebirds are already 'shopping around' both engagement and wedding photos.
A source is believed to have told the paper the couple, 'are seeking a mid-range, five-figure sum for a two-part deal that includes their engagement and wedding'.
However the report was denied by their agency, Chic, who told the newspaper, 'We are not shopping it around and neither are Tim and Anna.'
Speaking to the Date With Kate column in The Daily Telegraph: The 34-year-old said that he was waiting until their friend's weddings were out of the way before they planned their own
Wedding bells? The pair shared a photo and drone footage taken at The Residences in Sydney's Centennial Park, where weddings are often held, to their Instagram accounts
The agency also indicated it is in fact magazines who regularly contact the pair for the rights to their engagement and wedding images, and not the other way around.
Meanwhile, there's been another hint that Tim and his criminal lawyer girlfriend may be looking to the future after they spent Valentines Day at a famous wedding venue.
The twosome shared a photo and drone footage taken at The Residences in Sydney's Centennial Park to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday.
No sale! Despite a report that the pair were looking to sell upcoming wedding images the claim was denied by their agency, Chic, who told the SMH, 'We are not shopping it around and neither are Tim and Anna'
The venue holds events and offers accommodation, and both Tim and Anna hashtagged their posts with 'sleep in the park' which is the venue's catchphrase.
However the historic location is also a stunning location for lavish weddings, regularly hosting nuptials.
Their choice of getaway led to speculation that the pair might be test driving a potential place to exchange vows or hold a reception.
There were a lot of crimes committed against Britney Spears on Saturday night the Lifetime movie itself chief among them.
But the one that might surprise fans the most is when the sex tape she supposedly made with Justin Timberlake got stolen.
The never-before-heard-of incident was just one of the head-scratching moments in the Britney Ever After premiere
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Britney Spears apparently made a sex tape and had a break-up dance-off with Justin Timberlake, according to her unofficial Lifetime movie Britney Ever After, which premiered on Saturday
Despite being two hours long, there was pretty much no mention of her childhood, discovery or lead-up to her fame; with just as little attention given to her life post-meltdown.
Another thing less surprisingly missing from it was a single Britney Spears song, since Britney herself wanted nothing to do with the film.
Besides cheesy anonymous muzak, her covers of The Rolling Stones Satisfaction and Joan Jett's I Love Rock n Roll were the only tunes that made the cut.
And cheese was the main dish for the first 45 minutes or so, which consisted mainly of Britney (Natasha Bassett) and Justin (Nathan Keyes) giggling and mauling each other.
Straight in: Despite being two hours long, there was pretty much no mention of her childhood, discovery or lead-up to her fame; with just as little attention given to her life post-meltdown
Got it: Justin's (Nathan Keyes) ramen hair was easily the most accurate thing about the film
Say cheese! Cheese was the main dish for the first 45 minutes or so, which consisted mainly of Britney (Natasha Bassett) and Justin giggling and mauling each other
'I'm just trying to be a gentleman,' he tells her as they fool around in a trailer. 'Don't be,' she replies, stripping off.
It being a Lifetime movie, it doesn't get any more R-rated than that in her frequent dalliances... and the audience certainly didn't get to see them make the alleged sex tape.
That comes to light when the family return from a trip to the beach, to find the house ransacked... and Justin realises 'they stole the tapes'.
Young love: 'I'm just trying to be a gentleman,' he tells her as they fool around in a trailer. 'Don't be,' she replies, stripping off
Permission woes: N'Sync sang Happy Birthday, one of the only songs in the film
Uh-oh: The family return from a trip to the beach, to find the house ransacked... and Justin realises 'they stole the tapes'.
Sex tape? 'Jesus H Christ... they stole a boudoir video? My little girl was in a boudoir video?' her dad James (Matthew Harrison) chimes in, suddenly remembering he is always drunk and storming out, distracting from the fact the biggest popstar in the world just had a sex tape stolen
'Jesus H Christ... they stole a boudoir video? My little girl was in a boudoir video?' her dad James (Matthew Harrison) chimes in, suddenly remembering he is always drunk and storming out, distracting from the fact the biggest popstar in the world just had a sex tape stolen.
Luckily the thieves were 'just some kids' and the sex tape is never mentioned again.
The disjointed format jumps back and forth between an interview with modern day Britney, who it is very clear has never gotten over Justin.
Seeds of discontent: Things start to go downhill between JT and Britney when he becomes jealous of her choreographer Wade Robson, who got very handsy during their dance sessions.
How it happened: Their eventual break-up is undoubtedly the highlight of the film
In real life: The two encounter each other in a night club and engage in a dance-off
Cry me a river: Justin is declared the winner when he walks off while she is in mid spin, leaving her standing confused and alone in the middle of the floor
His fault: The film appears to suggest her split from Justin - whom she was borderline obsessed with - was the beginning of her downward spiral
'Were you in love?' the interviewer asks. 'It was more than that... he was part of me.... he was everything, she replies.
'Sometimes I think that nobody knows me the way he did. He was the one thing in my life that was real.'
When asked if she regretted it not working out between them, she answered only with a pained silence.
Quickie: Her first marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander meanwhile is given as much airtime as it got in real life
Hitched: 'Britney's the sort of girl who needs a man in her life... always has been,' her mom Lynn (Nicole Oliver) tells the camera, before it cuts to Britney waking up in a Vegas hotel room a married woman
Bye: 'Any idea how this makes you look? Desperate,' her manager Larry Rudolph tells her... and Jason is never heard from again
Things start to go downhill between JT and Britney when he becomes jealous of her choreographer Wade Robson, who got very handsy during their dance sessions.
A tense moment in a club sees Britney catching him give a his number to 'some skank', before she scoffs at him: 'I'm not the one slipping in the charts'.
But their eventual break-up is undoubtedly the highlight of the film: the two encounter each other in a night club and engage in a dance-off.
Next: Kevin Federline (Clayton Chitty) shows up almost immediately afterward
Busy: It doesn't take to two long to get hot and heavy
Twice shy: Britney didn't learn her sex tape lesson the last time
Good idea: She suggests marriage, so he proposes
Justin is declared the winner when he walks off while she is in mid spin, leaving her standing confused and alone in the middle of the floor.
The film appears to suggest her split from Justin - whom she was borderline obsessed with - was the beginning of her downward spiral.
'You gotta reign it in,' he manager Larry Rudolph (Peter Benson) tells her as she starts her partying ways, 'or you're gonna do serious damage to you brand.'
Speeding through: The next chapter in Britney's life thumbs through like a flip book
I do: One scene the pair are getting married
Where's they come from? The one after that she's pining over her two fully grown children
'Your cheques will still clear if i decide to have a little fun,' she snaps back.
Her first marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander meanwhile is given as much airtime as it got in real life.
'Britney's the sort of girl who needs a man in her life... always has been,' her mom Lynn (Nicole Oliver) tells the camera, before it cuts to Britney waking up in a Vegas hotel room a married woman.
'Congratulations - you just gave away half your money,' Larry tells her after arriving at the door.
Busted: In the end its another girl's phone number that seals the deal for Britney, as she dumps him after he gets a sext
Pattern: Another relationship appeared to end in a nightclub
Quote: In a fitting revenge, she later texts him: 'I wnt 2 dvrce U' - a 'quote' that appears to have been taken from a Fox News headline after that news broke in 2006
'I don't care... were in love,' she retorts.
'Any idea how this makes you look? Desperate,' he tells her... and Jason is never heard from again.
The next chapter in Britney's life thumbs through like a flip book: one moment she's making out with Kevin Federline (Clayton Chitty), the next he's proposing, the one after that she's pining over her two fully grown children.
In the end its another girl's phone number that seals the deal for Britney, as she dumps him after he gets a sext.
Spiral: After that things rapidly fall apart for Britney, as she turns on her mother for 'being tight' with Kevin, warning her to stay away from her grandchildren
Wow: 'My lawyers coming for you so you better BUCKLE UUUUUP!,' she spits, wearing a purple wig
Down: From there it's just scene after scene off public Britney breakdowns: sitting in the middle of a road crying
Gross: Next she's wiping food on and not bothering to return a five-figure designer dress during a photo shoot
In a fitting revenge, she later texts him: 'I wnt 2 dvrce U' - a 'quote' that appears to have been taken from a Fox News headline after that news broke in 2006.
'I'd never say it was a mistake because I got my babies from it, but maybe it was too fast,' she says of K-Fed in her retrospective.
'I hadn't let loose in so long... I made some bad choices.'
After that things rapidly fall apart for Britney, as she turns on her mother for 'being tight' with Kevin, warning her to stay away from her grandchildren.
Money shot: Of course there's her infamous head-shave, which is flashed back to several times throughout the film
Leave Britney alone! hER subsequent brolly-swinging attack on a gang of paparazzi is also in there
'My lawyers coming for you so you better BUCKLE UUUUUP!,' she spits, wearing a purple wig.
From there it's just scene after scene off public Britney breakdowns: sitting in the middle of a road crying; wiping food on and not bothering to return a five-figure designer dress during a photo shoot; and of course her infamous head-shave and subsequent brolly-swinging attack on a gang of paparazzi.
Things continue downward, until Sam Lutfi's (Benjamin Arce) infamous entry onto the scene.
Grim: Things continue downward, until Sam Lutfi's (Benjamin Arce) infamous entry onto the scene
Crazy: Her new manager is shown basically holding her prisoner while her desperate parents attempt to wrest her away from him.
Her new manager is shown basically holding her prisoner while her desperate parents attempt to wrest her away from him.
When they eventually do, it is with the help of a doctor, who helps convince her to turn control of her affairs over to them.
'It's like a waterslide... suddenly everything is moving so fast,' she surmises in her interview. 'It's fun... it's scary. There's nowhere to go... you cat get off until you hit the bottom.
And would she do it all again?
'It's who I am... it;s all I've ever known. She concludes. 'I hear the crowd and I want them to be happy. I mean shoot, we all deserve to be happy.'
He's known for his confident opinions and for telling it like it is on My Kitchen Rules.
And on Sunday's show, seafood king Josh was put in his place by 'recovering vegan and vegetarian' Court.
Josh put his wife Amy down at the dinner table, saying his score will be their final score of the teams at each instant restaurant, with Court not having a bar of it.
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Not nice: MKR's Seafood King Josh (right) was put in his place by 'recovering vegan and vegetarian' Court (left) after Josh put his wife Amy down at the dinner table in front of all the other contestants on Sunday night's episode
'I want the girls to do badly as that's the only chance to stay in the competition...we need someone to fail really,' he said to the table, referring to Della and Tully, whose turn it was to cook.
'I don't know what Josh is going to do but I'll certainly be scoring the same as I've always done,' Amy said, which made Josh disagree.
'We might have a few disagreements about scoring but if Amy says five and I say four, then it's going to be a four,' he declared.
'Who does he think he is?' Court said to camera, with Josh saying scoring low is the last chance he and Amy have at staying in the competition after stuffing up the meal in their instant restaurant last week.
'I'll certainly be scoring the same as I've always done': Amy tried to say she wouldn't be doing any strategic scoring despite Josh's insinuations
Change of heart? Josh tried to back out of it, saying it may not happen
However, Court slammed him at the table.
'Where's your pride if you're scoring people poorly and overriding your wife and her opinion?,' she said.
'Why are you the king in this situation?'
Josh tried to back out of it, saying it may not happen.
Court added: 'I think people that score strategically need a kick in the shin.'
'I think people that score strategically need a kick in the shin': Court didn't mince her words
Trying to save face: Josh said scoring low is the couple's last chance at staying in the competition after stuffing up the meal in their instant restaurant last week
'I want the girls to do badly': Josh made no secret of his desire for Della and Tully, whose turn it was to cook, to fail
Amy joked to camera and to her man: 'You better go get some shin pads then love.'
Della and Tully served an entree of charred quail with couscous, pomegranate, feta and mint, a main of smoked duck with beetroot, grapes and cherries, and a dessert of orange cake with yogurt sorbet, dubbed 'a homage to Malta' in a nod to Della's heritage.
He and Amy are at the bottom of the leader board, on 43 points.
Entree: Della and Tully served an entree of charred quail with couscous, pomegranate, feta and mint
Australian actress Rachel Griffiths has made the decision to appear in some well regarded films over the course of her career.
But off-screen, the 48-year-old revealed there was one decision that was perhaps not her best move - when she bought a property without realising.
Speaking to Nova's Fitzy & Wippa on Friday, the Hacksaw Ridge actress admitted she won a house at auction in the midst of a 'bender' following Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and forgot all about it until the next day.
Woops! Rachel Griffiths has admitted she won a house at auction in the midst of a 'bender' following Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and forgot all about it until the next day
After talking about her upcoming miniseries When We Rise - which documents the struggles of the LGBTQ community - the beauty was reminded by her hosts about her actions during Australia's huge Mardi Gras parade.
'You had an all-nighter there once and bought a house the next morning,' Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald informed listeners.
Smiling, the actress replied: 'Do NOT buy real estate if you have been to the Mardi Gras [that day].'
The all-nighter: The interview, which took place on Nova's Fitzy & Wippa radio show, took a surprising turn when Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald reminded Rachel: 'You had an all-nighter there [Mardi Gras] once and bought a house the next morning,'
Don't do it! In response, the 48-year-old said: 'Do NOT buy real estate if you have been to the Mardi Gras [that day]'
'And the big question is: did you remember buying it?' co-host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli asked.
After a pause, the beauty sheepishly responded: 'No. Not until some time later that day.'
Laughs immediately erupted from Fitzy, as Rachel went onto explain she woke up next to her best friend who confirmed the worst had happened.
'Uh. Kate... did I buy an apartment this morning?' she said, re-enacting the event.
Party Gras: Australia's wildly popular Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is an annual pride event that shuts down several streets. This year, it will take place on March 4th
But wait, there's more: The Hacksaw Ridge actress admitted she 'attended the event dressed as a fairy'
'I think so!' Rachael said, impersonating her friend Kate.
'And what's all this glitter doing in my bed?' Fitzy joked.
The laughs didn't stop there, as Rachel then admitted she 'attended the event dressed as a fairy.'
'Bidding with wings': Further painting the hilarious picture, she said: 'We were bidding with wings!'
'We were bidding with wings!' she added.
Despite all the craziness, there was one rumour the film star put to rest.
'With Chris Hemsworth, you went through his phone and found some nudes, is that correct?' Fitzy asked.
Not true! Despite all the craziness, there was one rumour that the film star put to rest
'No, that is not correct,' she tersely replied.
'That's someone's very wishful thinking.'
Australia's wildly popular Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is an annual pride event that shuts down several streets in Sydney - this year, it will take place on March 4th.
She was outraged after being labelled a 'politician's wife' in the first promotional trailer for Real Housewives of Sydney.
Now, just weeks later, Lisa Oldfield's official description has been altered to 'politically incorrect' in revamped trailers for the upcoming Foxtel program.
The 41-year-old proudly showcased the updated advertisement on her Instagram this Friday, uploading a photo of a large banner baring her name alongside the new tagline.
It's her lucky day! Lisa Oldfield's official description has been altered to 'politically incorrect' in revamped trailers for the upcoming Foxtel program, just weeks after she complained about being labelled a 'politician's wife'
'Ever get the feeling someone is watching you ?' she simply wrote in the caption, adding the hashtags: 'rhos', 'rhosydney' and 'team Lisa'.
Last month, Lisa slammed Foxtel for labelling her incorrectly in the show's opening credit sequence.
The raven-haired firecracker took to Instagram to vent her frustration over the term 'politician's wife', uploading a screenshot of the ad alongside the caption: 'Can you believe after an enormously successful corporate career @foxtel have labelled me as a #politicianswife?'
Not happy! Last month, Lisa slammed Foxtel for labelling her incorrectly in the show's opening credit sequence
Frustrated: The raven-haired socialite shared a screenshot of herself in the sequence annoyed that her successful corporate career was over looked
'Nevermind that my husband left politics 10 years ago! I think I just became a feminist at 41,' adding the hashtags 'first world problems' and 'p**** off'.
Further in her comments she explained to a follower: '... I sold my first company for $43M at 29.
'In context, every other cast member had their achievements lauded in their title, yet I'm relegated to wife status and a career my husband had a decade ago??'
Success story: Further in her comments she explained to a follower: '... I sold my first company for $43M at 29
Thanks for the edit! A follower shared an edited version of her tag calling her 'Lisa: Force of Nature who knows David Oldfield'
Happy couple: She is the wife of former politician and controversial former One Nation co-founder David Oldfield
But a follower was quick to make an edit of her post by crossing out 'politician's wife' in red and writing underneath 'force of nature who knows David Oldfield'.
She shared the amended version with thanking the follower correcting her title.
The Angelica Huston lookalike is the wife of former politician and controversial former One Nation co-founder David Oldfield.
The couple have been married for 16-years and have two young sons together.
The Real Housewives of Sydney will premiere on Arena on February 26.
She was cuddling up to her pet pooch Pandora during the Funny Girl photocall earlier on in the day.
But on Saturday night, the focus was well and truly on Sheridan Smith as she left The Palace Theatre in Manchester after the opening night of the much loved musical.
The 35-year-old actress looked overjoyed as she lapped up the attention of adoring fans who clambered onto the star for photos and autographs.
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What an exit! Sheridan Smith, 35, lapped up the attention of adoring fans as she left The Palace Theatre in Manchester after the opening night of Funny Girl on Saturday night
Sheridan seemed in great spirits as she matched her funky outfit to her demeanour.
The star opted for a razor cut-out red tunic dress, with white underlay, which she teamed with a pair of baggy paisley trousers.
She wrapped up warm in an edgy biker jacket and kept it comfortable in a pair of white trainers.
Her hair was intertwined with a trendy red headband which placed emphasis on her glamorous make-up.
Funky: The star opted for a razor cut-out red tunic dress, with white underlay, which she teamed with a pair of baggy paisley trousers
Pleasing the people: She wrapped up warm in an edgy biker jacket as she posed for photographs with fans
The British sensation ensured to not disappoint excited fans as she mingled with them.
On Friday, Sheridan didn't mind sharing the spotlight with her adorable Pomeranian dog Pandora at the photocall for Funny Girl.
She was all smiles as she planted a smooch on her pet as she promoted the UK tour of the much-loved theatre show.
Not a ruff day! Sheridan and her adorable Pomeranian dog Pandora shared a kiss at the photocall for Funny Girl at The Palace Theatre in Manchester on Friday
Sheridan couldn't look happier as she sported an edgy biker jacket and a funky headband during the fun display.
The stage star opted for a glamorous slick of make-up including blush infused cheeks and a generous dose of mascara.
She also posed for a few solo shots inside the venue where she still couldn't wipe the smile from her face.
Sheridan sat on the set of seats which were the furthest away from the stage as she posed up for photographers.
Partner in crime: The actress was all smiles as she doted on her pet as she promoted the UK tour of the much-loved theatre show
Pucker up! Sheridan couldn't look happier as she sported an edgy biker jacket and a funky headband during the fun display
Joining her was her Funny Girl co-star Chris Peluso who looked handsome in a beige coat and jeans.
Meanwhile, Sheridan recently won rave reviews for her role of Julie Bushby - the leader of the community search for Shannon Matthews in 2008, in the new BBC drama The Moorside.
But Sheridan Smith has revealed that she and the woman herself struck up a firm friendship during the show - with Julie even supporting the blonde through her dad's cancer battle.
Like a pro: She also posed for a few solo shots inside the venue where she still couldn't wipe the smile from her face
The actress confessed to Radio Times that Ms Bushby taught her a lot about 'staying strong' in a late-night chat during filming for the series - and that she is still 'good friends' with the 'kind and courageous' woman.
Having spent a lot of time with Julie as part of her research for The Moorside, the West End star revealed the pair actually become close friends after they bonded over their mutual sense of loss.
Sheridan explained: 'I am still friends with Julie. She's a great mum and grandmother and, although she doesn't always let it show, she has a heart of gold.'
What's so funny? Sheridan, who recently won rave reviews for her role on The Moorside, was clearly in on a hilarious joke
Cast: Joining her was her Funny Girl co-star Chris Peluso
'There was a really emotional scene I had to play where my character talks about losing her baby boy to cot death. She stayed up all night with me discussing what had happened and how she had coped, just to help me play the scene.'
She added: 'I was so worried about my dad, but I learnt a lot from her that night about staying strong for those you love and for that I'll always be grateful.'
Colin sadly lost his battle with the disease in early December after filming had wrapped, and passed away at the age of 80.
She made a whooping four outfit changes on Saturday during London Fashion Week.
And it seemed like Daisy Lowe's last look of the night wasn't executed as she had hoped as she arrived at the Maybelline Bring on the Night party at the British capital's The Scotch of St James.
While the model, 28, looked absolutely attention-grabbing in a slinky white mini-dress, the extreme thigh-high splits proved to be quite the wardrobe malfunction as it threatened to bare her underwear
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Oops! Daisy Lowe, 28, suffered a wardrobe malfunction as her white dress caught the wind at the Maybelline Bring on the Night party at London's The Scotch of St James on Saturday
Despite the day full of outfit changes, Daisy still managed to look fresh-faced and glowing as she rocked up to the party held in honour of the cosmetics line.
Plunging at the chest, her white frock adorned with a funky asymmetric pattern displayed her famous cleavage as she posed up a storm on the purple carpet.
However, it wasn't long before a gush of wind toyed with the brunette's modesty by lifting up her dress to show the rest of her long, lean legs.
Playfully handling her very own Marilyn Monroe moment, Daisy utilised her hands to keep the material in place as she continued to pose up a storm in her chunky black heels.
Flashing flesh: While the model looked amazing in a slinky white mini-dress, the extreme thigh-high splits proved to be quite the wardrobe malfunction as it threatened to bare her underwear
Not planned: A gush of wind toyed with the brunette's modesty by lifting up her dress to show the rest of her long, lean legs
Sexy lady: Despite the day full of outfit changes, Daisy still managed to look fresh-faced and glowing as she rocked up to the party held in honour of the cosmetics line
Fashionista: Plunging at the chest, her white frock adorned with a funky asymmetric pattern displayed her famous cleavage as she posed up a storm on the purple carpet
Brushing it off: Playfully handling her very own Marilyn Monroe moment, Daisy utilised her hands to keep the material in place
After the near-embarrassing situation was dealt with, the stunner carried on with her modelling prowess as she worked her angles.
It was a long day for Daisy as she first made a stunning arrival at the Astley Clarke presentation, held at the Savoy Place, in a sexy LBD.
Styled like a lingerie slip, the slinky lace-lined number plunged slightly at her chest to tease at her famously ample bust beneath.
A woman of many styles however, Daisy later showed off her more frivolous side as she changed into a more playful ensemble for the fun-filled House of Holland Show.
Red carpet glamour: She continued to pose up a storm in her chunky black
Not letting it stop her: After the near-embarrassing situation was dealt with, the stunner carried on with her modelling prowess as she worked her angles
So happy: She couldn't wipe the smile from her face
The white tee, emblazoned with a red cartoon heart on the front, cut off just above her slender waist to reveal her enviably flat and toned tum to all.
Making a dash across town and another vibrant outfit change, Daisy slipped into a thigh-grazing khaki mini dress with flirty metallic detailing for the Versace Versus show.
Not satisfied with three killer looks however, the multi-talented star squeezed in one last sartorial ensemble to end her day on a bang - the Maybelline event.
The hectic week sees Daisy getting back to her fashion duties after spending the last few months touring the country with her Strictly Come Dancing co-stars.
Style queen: Daisy made four outfit changes during the day and first arrived at the Astley Clarke presentation, in a sexy LBD (L) before changing into a funkier look for the House of Holland Show (R)
Pin-credible: Daisy made her third stylish outing at the Versus Versace show in daring khaki green mini dress
As the tour came to an end on Sunday night, the beauty took to Instagram to pay tribute to her partner Aljaz Skorjanec, who she has formed a close friendship with since first appearing on the beloved BBC show in September.
Sharing a photo of the pair onstage together, she wrote to fans: 'For the last time last night.... our waltz- thank you @aljazskorjanec for truly being the greatest partner I could have ever wished for... it was such an honour.
'I love you with all my heart. @strictlycomedancinglive thanks for the best adventure to date! What a company.'
PhotoCairo6: Shadows of the Imperceptible opened 15 February and runs through 23 March, with an extensive programme of performances, workshops, publications, exhibitions and more
Titled Shadows of the Imperceptible, PhotoCairo returns to the city this month for its sixth edition after a four-year hiatus, meditating on the shades of visibility, and playing in the grey area of what is seen, what is veiled, and what is withheld, through a programme of multidisciplinary works.
The exhibition runs from 15 February to 23 March, at Cairo's Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) and Saad Zaghloul Culture Center.
Curators Andrea Thal and Nour El-Safoury spoke to Ahram Online about this years theme, the educational aspect that was central to their vision, and the outreach and collaboration with other institutions which resulted in a PhotoCairo that echoes far beyond the spaces that host this years programme.
"Invisibility was too binary"
The title, Shadows of the Imperceptible, directs viewers on how to enjoy PhotoCairo6 and engage with the this year's diverse works on a deeper level.
After a process of extensive brainstorming, Thal and El-Safoury said it was the Arabic version (Zelal El-Motawari) of the title that arose first. The curators refined this from the working title Invisibility, which indicated the general direction, but didnt capture the spectrum of the curators intent and what the featured artworks were exploring.
The term invisibility was too binary, and we were more interested in the grey zone between visible and invisible, making images with the awareness that it wasn't just about revealing everything, Thal says, adding that the conceptual and poetic title also balanced its straightforward counterpart: PhotoCairo.
While they vary in treatment and visuals, the works in the exhibition including commissions and material from workshops are conceptually cohesive. Each holds its own while responding to the larger theme.
Thal says the title materialised after looking at some of what emerged from workshops at CICthe organising body for PhotoCairo which started in May 2016.
The workshops included Playing with Light, a research group for alternative image-making techniques; An Open Space Between the Text and the Image, a photography and writing workshop with Heba and Ghada Khalifa; Invisibility, a photography workshop with George Awde; and Strategies of Conveyance, a film workshop with Kerstin Schroedinger.
Education, collaboration and context
El-Safoury said the workshops were a unique addition this year, focused on education in addition to the "imperceptible" theme.
"This time there was this focus on knowledge exchange, which continues into the five weeks of the exhibition. That was very important to us, stretching the time period of the festival so it becomes more of an on-going thing," she said.
"Sometimes all thats required for education or knowledge exchange is to provide an infrastructure or a framework, and to provide space and support. It doesnt always have to be in the format of an instructor lecturing. The people we worked with for the workshops were very interested in alternative education formats, and none of them used that classic format," Thal said.
The curators shared how one of the workshops the Playing With Light group emerged because there were a lot of people discussing alternative photographic chemistry and practices, who were working alone and lacked a space for exchanging ideas.
Some workshops were very intensive, like that given by the Khalifa sisters, who gathered twice a week for three months, in a group very intimately involved with one anothers work.
Others, like the reading group on Listening led by Haytham El-Wardany lasted only a weekend. So, the nature and structure of each workshop differed.
We didnt set the workshops up as production for the exhibition of PhotoCairo. In another setting, this kind of setup could just be a production machine, and thats not at all what we wanted, Thal says.
Rather, they let the workshops unfold, pressure-free, and afterwards as PhotoCairo approached considered how they could participate within its events, deliberating on if and how the participants wanted to show their work.
Having a four-year gap between this edition and the last provided the curators with an opportunity to rethink how they wanted to proceed with the festival. According to El-Safoury, this year constituted a conceptual shift in their vision.
Its very local in the sense that its focused on the surrounding environment in which artists work in this country and the local context, she says.
Even the international artists have been involved in the workshops since last year, so they were interested in a sustained engagement with [the local] context by thinking and working here, Thal says.
El-Safoury and Thal say they were also eager to open new channels of collaboration with other institutions.
Its something we really wanted to do, to open up to new and different places, and PhotoCairo really carries the potential for that, Thal said.
Some of their new allies include the Applied Arts Faculty of Helwan University, which re-opened its dormant darkroom - the largest in Cairo - for use by the Playing with Light Group, and by its own students.
The visibility topic comes up here too: what is seen where, what kind of visibility every institution or venue has, each with its own history and audience, Thal said.
The awareness that every venue has its type of audience usually prompts curators to consider which artworks are suitable for which space. They can choose between catering to a specific audiences taste and presenting artwork that is accessible to them, and teasing and provoking the audience with something different from what they're used to.
Thal said that for her, the most important consideration was "what the work wants and what makes sense for it." She was only wary of redundancy, trying not to showcase artists in venues where theyve been shown repeatedly.
Intermedia
The projects commissioned for CairoPhoto6 include two photography based; Nadia Mounirs Was That Really You? and Heba Khalifas 4 Atfet Elgetany Street.
Other mediums include Amanda KMs sound project Filtered Conversations; Dia Hamed, Basem Taha and Youssef Faltass artificial intelligence project Artifical Art Critic; Mohamed Abdelkarims performance Oh, I Am Sorry! I Didnt Mean to Scratch Your Face; and Raphael Cuomo and Maria Iorios mixed media project showcasing research on amateur film, titled For the Love of the Thing.
For the commissions, we were interested in finding artists who were working with concerns and topics related to what we had in mind, either in the way they engaged with material, or in conceptual ways, the curator said.
Thal said she felt there were many artists, not limited to those selected, who shared similar considerations in their work, exploring what it means to make something visible.
What is this claim of an image to reveal, or transport truth about a situation? This question of anonymity, and what can you show? she said.
She gave the example of Amanda KMs work (displayed at CIC), which is based on conversations, which are never fully revealed to the listener. They become edited into a sound piece that only exposes in part.
I think this illustrates quite well the idea of working with material without having everything laid open.
Thal said she values all the different works and use of mediums equally. The exhibition has no hierarchy between commissioned works and projects from the workshops, (some of which are works in progress), and whose participants range from established artists to experimental amateurs.
The exhibition features artists at very different moments in their practice who come from different contexts, some with a background in photography, others in painting or film.
Likewise, the curators see the transient performances and the pieces that will show for five weeks as different formats with equal importance and weight.
I wanted to treat all the shows similarly, mixing the commissioned works with the workshops. The performances are only different from the exhibition as far as the unique effect they each create for the audience, says Thal.
Linking back to the theme of visibility, this diversity in mediums shows the capacity and limitations of each: what a certain style of film, photography, or performance can or cannot reveal.
Many of the works, when they approach that idea of what becomes visible, you'll find this inter-medial dialogue happening, whether between photography and text, photo and video, or video and text. I think thats exciting, to approach the idea of what hides and how it hides, different modes of reception, which themselves hide certain things, said El-Safoury.
Thal observes that its sometimes interesting to think about a certain media through another one.
There is Hend Samir for instance, whose paintings use photography as a base; the way she brings photos together does something that photography cant do, and yet photography very much resonates in the work, Thal says.
Beyond the white box
PhotoCairo includes a series of conversations printed in booklets, which will be released throughout the festival and available at CICs library. The booklets are one of the means by which PhotoCairo expands beyond its galleries.
The four booklets capture conversations Thal, El-Safroury and Ahmed Refaat had with individuals from different backgrounds, from artists to researchers, engaging and critically reflecting on subjects relevant to PhotoCairos themes.
Even in this, El-Safoury noted that editing and reproducing conversations for print can obscure or illuminate, much like photograph or film. The discourse around art can also be part of this question of what becomes visible, and how, she said.
PhotoCairo6 also includes the Pan African Space Station, an online radio broadcast that will live stream readings, performances and conversations from CIC's Library, from 3 to 5pm between 17 and 19 February.
This year's PhotoCairo may not be the largest edition previous years have included more than two exhibition spaces yet the scope of its outreach is possibly the widest.
I feel that the number of people who've participated in PhotoCairo since May in the workshops, or who we spoke to for the conversations, or who helped with the programmes a lot of discussions happened because of this extended period of time. It may not be so much happening in the timeframe of these five weeks, but over time its been a lot more.
Programme:
Shadows of the Imperceptible exhibition will run at CIC and Saad Zaghloul Culture Center until 23 March. The weekly programme of events and performances will be announced through their social media.
Contemporary Image Collective, 22 Abdel Khalek Tharwat, Downtown Cairo
Saad Zaghloul Culture Center, 2 Saad Zaghloul St, El Mounira, Cairo
For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
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They confirmed their relationship last October.
And Stephanie Waring and Michael Greco looked in the throes of their honeymoon phase as they stepped out to celebrate her birthday on Saturday.
The Hollyoaks actress, who turns 39 on Sunday, looked sartorially in sync with the former Eastender star, 46, as they stepped out hand-in-hand.
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Loved-up: Stephanie Waring and Michael Greco looked in the throes of their honeymoon phase as they stepped out to celebrate her birthday on Saturday
Flashing a hint of cleavage, Stephanie showcased her lithe frame in a fitted halterneck black jumpsuit.
She matched the piece with strappy gold heels, wearing her blonde hair in a sleek low bun as she gazed adoringly at Michael.
Her beau coordinated her cocktail chic attire, looking dapper in a crisp shirt and black tailored suit.
Power couple: The Hollyoaks actress, who turns 39 on Sunday, looked sartorially in sync with the former Eastender star, 46, as they stepped out hand-in-hand
They were joined by her Hollyoaks co-star Nikki Sanderson, who showed off her tiny waist in a burgundy crop top and thigh-skimming patterned skirt.
Putting on a leggy display, the 32-year-old actress completed the ensemble with a pair of nude patent heels and matching clutch bag.
And it was an all-star Hollyoaks night, with Amanda Clapham and Alfie Browne-Sykes- who formerly played on-screen couple Jason Roscoe and Holly Cunningham, also present.
Abs fab: They were joined by her Hollyoaks co-star Nikki Sanderson, who showed off her tiny waist in a burgundy crop top and thigh-skimming patterned skirt
Taking to Instagram Stephanie posted a snap with her new flame during the night out, captioning it: 'Celebrating my birthday in style with my one @thegrecs', and adding a heart emoji.
Stephanie - who plays Cindy Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap confirmed her romance with Michael in October, but explained she was taking things slowly as she doesn't want her new romance to cause any disruption for her daughters Mia, 10, and Lexi, six.
Speaking to Mailonline, her agent Terry Mills revealed at the time: 'I can confirm they are dating however it's very early days, and Steph's focus right now is her daughters and Hollyoaks.'
All-star Hollyoaks night: Amanda Clapham and Alfie Browne-Sykes- who formerly played on-screen couple Jason Roscoe and Holly Cunningham, were also present
The relationship announcement came seven-weeks after she revealed how hard it is being a full-time actress and a single mother.
She wrote alongside a photograph of her daughters: 'See these two beautiful faces.. They are my girls! I have been a mother for 10 years.
'Before this I had no idea what was to lie before me, the challenges I would have to face, the comprises I would have to make, to let go of my freedom of being a carefree 20 something actress that needed to be here there everywhere at the drop of a hat.. I was never a girl who cared much for responsibility so I didn't have any.'
Michael appeared in the popular BBC soap between 1998 and 2002 and secured heartthrob status by claiming two British Soap Awards for Sexiest Male as well as being voted the Sexiest Male Soap Star Ever by Radio Times readers.
'Celebrating my birthday in style with my one @thegrecs', Stephanie wrote on Instagram
He's best known for his flair on red carpets and in front of the camera as a celebrity stylist.
But now, Queer Eye For The Straight Guy host Carson Kressley is going to test out if khaki is his colour in the South African jungle after he was announced as the latest intruder to enter the competition.
Appearing on Sunday's live episode, the 47-year-old was introduced to the audience by co-hosts Julia Morris and Chris Brown.
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Intruder alert! Carson Kressley was announced as the latest intruder to enter the jungle on I'm A Celebrity ...Get Me Out Of Here! during Sunday night's episode
After revealing he'd 'never been camping' he asked about the celebrity-filled camp, saying: 'It's like a spa, right?'
'Food, wine, back rubs. Sign me up,' he added.
With laughter from the crew at the assumption - similar to ex-campmate Tom Arnold who thought the whole thing was fake - Carson was told he'd be getting thrown straight into it with a Tucker Trial.
Trying to prolong his freedom, he joked: 'Let's talk for a long time. I don't want to go there too soon.'
New campmate: The new campmate (centre) was revealed to audiences by co-hosts Chris Brown (left) and Julia Morris (right)
Familiar face: The American TV star and fashionista is best known as the star of styling show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
Trying to prolong his freedom, he joked: 'Let's talk for a long time. I don't want to go there too soon'
Then spotting his 'must meet' Kris Smith in the camp, he changed his tune.
'Oh, God, maybe I should go down to camp after all,' he noted.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald before heading into the jungle, he revealed he had heard of but never met 'Dannii Mingoue's baby daddy' but was particularly looking forward to it.
'I'm going to definitely meet him because he's quite cute,' Carson admitted.
He also was looking forward to getting to know former Rogue Traders frontwoman, Natalie Bassingthwaighte.
'I'm going to definitely meet him because he's quite cute': Carson revealed his crush on fellow campmate Kris Smith in a pre-jungle interview
'Dannii Mingoue's baby daddy': He admitted he knew of the model through his former relationship with popstar Dannii Minogue
'I saw her at the Logies, like forever ago': Carson also was looking forward to getting to know former Rogue Traders frontwoman, Natalie Bassingthwaighte
'I saw her at the Logies, like forever ago, and she sang 1000 Stars and I was like "I must meet this woman". I never have but I'm going to now,' he added.
The flamboyant star arrived on set wearing a glitzy suit jacket and white trousers, before being handed his jungle attire.
Putting on his best Australian accent he marvelled at his Akubra hat and uniform before cheerily waving goodbye to the cast and crew.
Outfit change! The flamboyant star arrived on set wearing a glitzy suit jacket and white trousers, before being handed his jungle attire
I'm coming Kris! After spotting his 'must meet' Kris Smith in the camp, Carson was happy to head on over to the others and leave his luxuries
The American made his was across the rope bridge to enter the campsite, which will be shown on Monday night's episode.
While fans may think his biggest problem in the jungle will be going without his hair products, Carson say's he'll struggle more without his phone and contact with his family.
He also hopes to surprise fans, telling the SMH: 'People think I'm probably a prissy fashionista from New York but actually I am more rugged than that,
'I grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania so I've seen and done some unpleasant things and that's just farm life.'
She soared to prominence with her quirky style and catchy hits.
And Rita Ora proved she will continue to shine as she stepped out in a chic ensemble while celebrating a friend's birthday with a sushi date in London on Saturday.
The 26-year-old stunning wore a funky pinstripe crop top with a pink fluffy trim as she enjoyed her night on the town with her giddy pal.
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Stylish: Rita Ora proved she will continue to shine as she stepped out in a chic ensemble while celebrating a friend's birthday with a sushi date in London on Saturday
Rita is currently blazing the promotional trail with Fifty Shades Darker in which she plays Mia, Jamie Dornan's on-screen sister in the steamy franchise.
She did however take a break from promotion as she stepped out on Saturday looking stylish in her funky crop top paired with low-key jeans.
The high-waisted denim flashed just a peek of her taut abs while she almost concealed the look entirely with an oversized white coat.
Adding an extremely tough edge, she wore Nineties-inspired ankle boots with a red toe cap and thick sole while tied up with purple laces.
Stunner: The 26-year-old stunning wore a funky pinstripe crop top with a pink fluffy trim as she enjoyed her night on the town with her giddy pal
All white: Rita is currently blazing the promotional trail with Fifty Shades Darker in which she plays Mia, Jamie Dornan's on-screen sister in the steamy franchise
Her beauty regimen was as quirky and on-point as her ensemble as she wore her trademark bold blonde tresses slicked back in a tight ponytail.
Rita's make-up was minimal to help show off her stunning and dewy complexion, yet she shielded her eyes with chic round lens sunglasses - adding to her superstar air.
Her pal certainly appeared to be enjoying her birthday festivities as she beamed while strutting along and holding onto a fluffy tiara.
Chic: Her beauty regimen was as quirky and on-point as her ensemble as she wore her trademark bold blonde tresses slicked back in a tight ponytail
The blonde beauty's outing was undoubtedly a break from her movie promoting, which was previously dubbed her big break in Hollywood despite her screen time amounting to no more than 90 seconds.
While she was heavily promoting her role in the first flick, during interviews throughout, those who had seen initial screenings, ahead of the movie's release date, were puzzled at how little she had to say.
Rita , who has repeatedly called her role a cameo, plays Mia Grey, the adoptive sister of Jamie Dornan's kinky billionaire Christian Grey in the new flick.
A night off: The blonde beauty's outing was undoubtedly a break from her movie promoting, which was previously dubbed her big break in Hollywood despite her screen time amounting to no more than 90 seconds
Stunner: And while she is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful popstars in the world, fans were less than impressed with her make-under for the movie
And while she is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful popstars in the world, fans were less than impressed with her make-under for the movie.
After the first picture of her character was revealed last year, fans took to the movie's Facebook page to share their dismay.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: 'Everyone is going to have their own opinions. But for me this was such a great cameo to be involved in, and even though I'm only in it for a little bit, it's opened the door to a lot of movie things that I haven't actually announced yet.'
He's the Australian actor who's been bring gravitas to screen and stage for over 30 years.
Now, Hugo Weaving, 56, appears to be embodying the understated sophistication of a James Bond type.
The Matrix star cut a suave, elegant figure at the Sydney premiere of new Australian film Jasper Jones, being joined by a list of stars including Offspring's Dan Wylie.
Big name! Australian film icon Hugo Weaving headlined the list of actors in attendance at the Sydney Premiere of Australian film Jasper Jones on Sunday
Hugo wore a subtly tailored grey suit, going sans tie with a simple button-down white shirt, exposing his chest.
The lightly texture blazer fell over matching pants, which were held up by a black leather belt.
The open-jacket and tucked-shirt look is understated, but carried an elegant sophistication.
As did the Award-winning actor's untamed beard and long, pushed back hair - a look the star managed to own on the red carpet.
Sophisticated! The 56-year-old Matrix star cut a suave, elegant figure, managing to own his subtly tailored, open grey suit and simple button-down white shirt
Coming soon! Jasper Jones will his Australian cinemas on March 2
Schmick! Also looking schmick at the premiere to the Australian drama was Offspring star Dan Wylie, who sported a traditional all-black suit
Also looking schmick at the premiere to the Australian drama was Offspring star Dan Wylie.
The short-haired blonde smiled cheekily for camera, sporting a decidedly more traditional outfit than Hugo.
Still going without a tie and button-down white shirt, the 46-year-old's suit was a solid black, the buttoned blazer completing the more familiar look.
Charlie Silvey, the author of the book on which the film was based, was also in attendance, wearing a navy blazer and mismatched green-grey pants.
Write on! Charlie Silvey, the author of the book on which the film was based, was also in attendance, wearing a navy blazer and mismatched green-grey pants
His 2009 novel told the story of a young boy hailing from a mining town in Western Australia, who had his life changed after meeting the title character and helping him dispose of the body of a young girl.
While young Levi Miller, who plays the main character Charlie was not pictured at the event, his co-star Aron McGrath (playing Jasper) appeared to be having fun.
Sporting a wide-brimmed hat, ankle-cuffed pants and boat shoes, the actor lept into the air in one image, forming a leaping pose as he puffed out his cheeks.
Not present: His 2009 novel told the story of a young boy hailing from a mining town in Western Australia, who had his life changed after meeting the title character. Levi Miller (pictured), who plays the lead, was not in attendance
Still fun to be had! His co-star Aron McGrath (playing Jasper) appeared to be having fun, sporting a wide-brimmed hat, ankle-cuffed pants and boat shoes as he lept into the air
Youthful cast: Angourie Rice, 16, rounded out the teenage leading cast in attendance, wearing a black dress, accessorising with a simple clutch
But wait there's more: Also in attendance was actor Kevin Long, in a loose navy suit and red tie
Angourie Rice, 16, rounded out the teenage leading cast in attendance, wearing a black dress, accessorising with a simple clutch.
Also in attendance was actor Kevin Long, in a loose navy suit and red tie.
While Director Rachel Perkins, who donned a summery black dress with a white dream catcher pattern across the top of the sleeveless number.
Jasper Jones will hit Australian cinemas on March 2.
Next week, Scarlett Moffatt starts her latest gig - a regular stint on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts' former job.
And Ashley has now insisted that she has 'nothing but well wishes' for Scarlett, despite also seeming to confirm that Scarlett replaced her on the show.
'I don't really know Scarlett,' she admitted. 'I didn't watch the Jungle. But I'm sure the boys are going to have fun with her, and she'll have such a fun time.'
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Happy for her: Ashley Roberts has 'nothing but well wishes' for Scarlett Moffatt as she starts on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway... and seems to confirm she WAS replaced by the jungle queen
'I know they're all Geordies, I know they'll probably have a good time and have the same banter.
'I absolutely love and adore those boys and we've all talked. It's been a great run. I did four seasons with the boys and it's been awesome, I love them to pieces. I've known for a little while. Everybody reached out to me and we all had a nice discussion and it was handled well.'
Amicable: Next week Scarlett Moffatt starts her latest gig - a regular stint on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in place of Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts
Scarlett's star being on the rise since her I'm A Celebrity win means it was inevitable she'd get snatched away from the show that made her famous, Gogglebox, for other projects.
Unfortunately for her parents Betty and Mark, this has meant they have been axed from Gogglebox - the show that made Scarlett famous to begin with.
It would seem that it one Moffatt goes, the rest go.
Moving on: The new series returns next week; and Channel 4 have confirmed that the family will not be appearing on it
The new series returns next week; and Channel 4 have confirmed that the family will not be appearing on it.
A source close to the decision said: 'Well be sad to see the Moffatt family leave the show, but it does make sense. Scarlett was the star of the family, and without her there we dont know whether it would have worked.
'The whole promise of Gogglebox is normal people commenting on the TV. Scarlett is now a celebrity in her own right so it made sense she wouldnt continue.
Moff-axed! Betty and Mark Moffatt are dropped from Gogglebox after daughter Scarlett becomes too busy to remain on the show following I'm A Celeb... win
'She and her parents came as a package. It wouldnt work so well without all three of them.'
The family have already skipped a season; the late 2016 run didn't involve them as Scarlettm, 26, was appearing on I'm A Celeb in Australia, with her parents out there with her.
Rising star: A source close to the decision said - 'Well be sad to see the Moffatt family leave the show, but it does make sense. Scarlett was the star of the family, and without her there we dont know whether it would have worked'
Gogglebox was slammed for not airing any of Scarlett's scenes; but when it featured the 'cast' watching the jungle final - which saw Scarett win it -the reactions came across as relatively awkward.
Since her win, the star has been offered a plethora of other TV work.
She will be also appearing on a reboot of Streetmate, is set to shoot a pilot with Alan Carr, was the backstage correspondent at the National Television Awards, has appeared on Jamie Oliver's show, as well as panel series Virtually Famous.
They are two of the most in-demand models in the world.
And Taylor Hill and Stella Maxwell held hands as they strutted to the upscale Sexy Fish restaurant in Mayfair, London on Saturday night after walking for the Versus Versace's AW17 LFW show.
Keen on partying the night away, Taylor, 20, aimed to flash as much skin as possible with a sheer top and skimpy lace bra, while her equally stunning counterpart, 26, flashed her impossibly tiny midriff.
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All eyes on them! Taylor Hill and Stella Maxwell held hands as they strutted to the upscale Sexy Fish restaurant in Mayfair, London on Saturday night after walking for the Versus Versace's AW17 LFW show
Illinois born Taylor sizzled in her skimpy attire which bared her perky cleavage and modelesque figure.
The beauty teamed the barely-there top and Gooseberry Intimates bra with a pair of money-print ankle grazing trousers and grunge boots.
Taylor's heavy purple eye-shadow from the Versus Versace show was still visible as her red-tinted glasses fell down her nose.
Stella was just as attention-grabbing with her look, with a stomach baring crop top which boasted ribbed detailing down the front and puffy satin sleeves.
Brave beauties: Taylor, 20, aimed to flash as much skin as possible with a sheer top and skimpy Gooseberry Intimates lace bra, while her equally stunning counterpart, 26, flashed her impossibly tiny midriff
Super hot: Illinois born Taylor sizzled in her skimpy attire which bared her perky cleavage and modelesque figure
Edgy: The beauty teamed the barely-there top with a pair of money-print ankle grazing trousers and grunge boots
Kristen Stewart's rumoured girlfriend completed the edgy look with a pair of high-waisted trousers, which featured a chunky exposed zipper.
She kept Taylor close by as she strutted along in a pair of towering lace-up heels to their party venue of choice.
Both pals have also walked for the highly coveted Victoria's Secret Fashion show, with Stella making her debut in 2014 and Taylor first making an appearance in 2015.
Hard to miss: Stella was just as attention-grabbing with her look, with a stomach baring crop top which boasted ribbed detailing down the front and puffy satin sleeves
Fashionista: Kristen Stewart's rumoured girlfriend completed the edgy look with a pair of high-waisted trousers, which featured a chunky exposed zipper
They stunning twosome where joined by their model pals - Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin.
Upping the glamour for the girls' night out, Bella opted for a racy sheer crop top, which displayed most of her cleavage underneath to all.
Not afraid to show off even more skin, the brunette teamed the saucy number with a pair of grungy low-rise jeans, emblazoned with skull logos all over - which drew attention to her famously flat and toned stomach.
Saucy: Upping the glamour for the girls' night out, Bella opted for a racy sheer crop top, which displayed most of her cleavage underneath to all
Striking: Matching her pal's glamorous display, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star stood out from the crowds in a fluffy burgundy coat, which shrouded her famously slim frame
Matching her pal's glamorous display, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star stood out from the crowds in a fluffy burgundy coat, which shrouded her famously slim frame.
Hailey kept things casually cool for the dinner in a pair of slim-fitting tracksuit bottoms, which elongated her already slender frame.
Smartening up the look, the Ralph Lauren model paired the comfy strides with a crisp white shirt, which she tied at the front and draped across her shoulders in a bardot neckline to flash plenty of smooth skin.
Comfy: Hailey Baldwin kept things casually cool for the dinner in a pair of slim-fitting tracksuit bottoms, which elongated her already slender frame
She is a soap opera stalwart having starred in both Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
And Nikki Sanderson proved she has no problem getting on with her co-stars as she joined a crowd of Hollyoaks cast members for actress Stephanie Waring's birthday celebrations on Saturday night.
Nikki, 32, looked fabulous in an ensemble which made the most of her enviably sculpted stomach.
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Flat tummy: Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson showed off her incredibly toned stomach in a burgundy crop top as she joined her co-stars for Stephanie Waring's birthday night out
The brunette beauty showed off her tummy muscles in a cropped burgundy long-sleeved top.
She wore a hip-hugging white and silver patterned miniskirt, braving the cold to go bare-legged.
She finished her look with co-ordinated nude heels and a classic clutch bag.
Glamorous: Nicki wore a hip-hugging white and silver patterned miniskirt which she paired with nude heels and braved the cold to go bare-legged
The actress wore a slick of pale pink lip gloss and added some drama with black eyeliner.
Her wavy chestnut curls gleamed as she hurried in to celebrate her Hollyoaks pal Stephanie's 39th birthday.
The starry group included Stephanie's boyfriend and former EastEnders actor Michael Grecco as well as Amanda Clapham and Alfie Browne-Sykes.
The real-life couple formerly played on-screen couple Holly Cunningham and Jason Roscoe.
Incidentally, Holly was the daughter of Stephanie Waring's character Cindy Cunningham.
The birthday girl looked chic in a slinky black catsuit with a plunging neckline that revealed a glimpse of cleavage.
She wore gold cage-style stilettos and coiled her blonde locks into a simple chignon.
The honeymoon phase: Birthday girl Stephanie Waring, 39, looked adoringly at her boyfriend, former Eastenders star Michael Grecco as they made their way into the venue
After one year of dating, Scarlett Moffatt parted ways from her beau Luke Crodden earlier this month.
And now Amanda Holden has praised the former Gogglebox star's break-up, insisting she has 'done the right thing' in a bid to boost her career.
'Shes hot property right now, so needs to be by herself,' The TV personality, 46, told Fabulous magazine of the I'm A Celebrity winner - who has just bagged a role on the new series of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
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'She hot property!': Amanda Holden, 46, praised Scarlett Moffatt's decision to break-up with her boyfriend Luke Crodden for the sake of her soaring career
The Britain't Got Talent judge didn't hesitate in giving her opinion on the relationship status of Scarlett - who was said to have been 'too busy' for a romance.
According to The Sun, the star was said to have split from Luke recently as 'she needs to concentrate on her career.'
The dramatically slimmed-down star, 26, was said to be 'sad' about the break up, but hopes they can remain friends.
The couple looked to be in a good place, having moved in together in London, with Scarlett taking Luke to the National Television Awards where she was working as a backstage presenter.
A fan of her decision: The Britain't Got Talent judge didn't hesitate in giving her opinion on the relationship status of Scarlett - who was said to have been 'too busy' for a romance
Busy lady: According to The Sun, the star was said to have split from Luke recently as 'she needs to concentrate on her career'
But according to The Sun, the reality star star was so busy following her return from the jungle, that she and Luke were been struggling to spend time together.
A source close to the couple told the newspaper: 'Scarlett is sad about her break up with Luke but she really hopes they can remain friends.
'Its a positive thing that Scarletts schedule is so busy at the moment as it will take her mind off the split.'
'At the moment she needs to concentrate on her career. After all, shes got plenty of time to settle down in the future,' the insider added.
Leaving it on good terms: The dramatically slimmed-down star was said to be 'sad' about the break up, but hopes they can remain friends
Meanwhile, it's been reported the Moffatt family won't appear in the upcoming series of the hit Channel 4 show - because Scarlett is now 'too famous'.
According to the Sunday People, her loving parents Betty and Mark have been 'dropped' by producers as the show 'wouldn't work so well without all three of them.'
They said: 'The whole premise of Gogglebox is normal people commenting on the TV. Scarlett is now a celebrity in her own right so it made sense she wouldn't continue.
End of an era: It's been reported the Moffatt family won't appear in the upcoming series of the hit Channel 4 show - because Scarlett is now 'too famous'
'She and her parents came as a package. It wouldn't work so well without all three of them.'
A spokesperson for the Channel 4 show, which returns next week, confirmed the news on Saturday to The Sun: 'The Moffatt family will not be appearing in this series.'
Next week, Scarlett starts her latest gig - a regular stint on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts' former job.
Shiny new job: Next week, Scarlett starts her latest gig - a regular stint on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts' former job
She recently revealed her boyfriend prefers her in a tracksuit than glitzy ensembles.
Yet Sam Faiers proved while the cat's away, the glamourpuss will play as she enjoyed a night out in Los Angeles' celeb hotspot Chateau Marmont on Saturday, just hours after enjoying a family dinner with her partner Paul Knightley and baby Paul Tony.
The 26-year-old former TOWIE star looked incredible in a skimpy black gown which showed off her incredibly perky cleavage and endless legs - all ready for her night off mummy duties.
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Leggy: Sam Faiers proved while the cat's away, the glamourpuss will play as she enjoyed a night out in Los Angeles' celeb hotspot Chateau Marmont on Saturday, just hours after enjoying a family dinner with her partner Paul Knightley and baby Paul Tony
Sam met Paul at Essex hotspot Sheesh in Chigwell in 2014, shortly after her break up from then-fiance Joey Essex. The couple discovered Sam was pregnant with baby Paul Tony just five-months after meeting.
While she was previously famed for her scanty ensembles and skin-tight dresses, once the stunner met her beau she resigned herself to more minimal looks - particularly given her recent tracksuit revelation.
On Saturday however, Sam was back to her old self as she slipped into the sizzling gown which boasted a risque plunging neckline and raunchy split.
With her former career in glamour modelling, the reality star proved she still has all the assets for the job as she went braless beneath the scalloped number while also flashing the near entirety of her leg.
Stunning: The 26-year-old former TOWIE star looked incredible in a skimpy black gown which showed off her incredibly perky cleavage and endless legs
She boosted her height with the addition of coordinating scalloped heels complete with three straps extending across and a staggering heel.
Adding an uber glamorous touch, Sam draped a white shawl over her arms, which gave a feel of Hollywood glamour to the ensemble.
Sam and her pal were having an extremely giddy time as they frolicked outside the restaurant before enjoying some selfie snapping in the toilet, which Sam hastily posted to her Instagram feed for her 1.8million followers to enjoy.
Snap: Sam and her pal were having an extremely giddy time as they frolicked outside the restaurant before enjoying some selfie snapping in the toilet, which Sam hastily posted to her Instagram feed for her 1.8million followers to enjoy
Earlier in the night, she was having a much more tame evening as she headed for dinner with her two Pauls, a meal she documents on social media with a sweet snap of her 14-month-old son Paul.
She's a dedicated follower of fashion - but she revealed she gets a little help from Paul when it comes to clothing choices.
In an interview with MailOnline Sam said: 'Paul loves fashion and he'll send me pictures of women's clothes and say, "I like this".'
Happy families: Earlier in the night, she was having a much more tame evening as she headed for dinner with her two Pauls, a meal she documents on social media with a sweet snap of her 14-month-old son Paul
When asked if her beau was like Kanye West when he styles Kim Kardashian, Sam added: 'He really likes me in casual clothes, like a tracksuit. He's not as bad [as Kanye].'
Sam's trip to LA is extremely significant for the couple, after she revealed plans to move to the City of Angels with her partner and son during the final episode of The Mummy Diaries, upsetting her family, but she says they're fine about it now.
'We're going there for a little holiday in a couple of weeks, but that's all it is, she said, 'We just want to see how we get on there. Our families have got used to the idea now and have been supportive.'
She was recently unveiled as the face of Foxtel's new NRL channel.
And Jessica Mauboy, 27, has revealed that NRL has always been a code close to her heart.
'As a young kid I played a lot of sport. I was very tomboyish,' she told The Daily Telegraph.
'As a young kid I played a lot of sport': Jessica Mauboy, 27, has revealed that NRL has always been a code close to her heart
'My dad played a lot of AFL and league. We were constantly active as kids and I'm so grateful to have been brought up in that culture,' she said.
In Foxtel's new Fox League TV advertisement, the former Australian Idol star is seen relentlessly showing off her support for the Cowboys while taking cheeky jabs at rival teams.
Jessica was born in Darwin and was the fourth of five sisters.
Throwback! Jessica was born in Darwin and was the fourth of five sisters
Her father Ferdy is of Indonesian descent, while her mother Therese is Indigenous Australian.
Last year, Jessica moved into a $1.8 million two-level Sydney apartment with her partner of nine years Themeli Magripilis.
Speaking to The Australian Women's Weekly, she confessed that their cohabitation came as a relief after having done long-distance for so long.
Settling down: Last year, Jessica moved into a $1.8 million two-level Sydney apartment with her partner of nine years Themeli Magripilis
'We're finally living under the same roof': Speaking to The Australian Women's Weekly , she confessed that their cohabitation came as a relief after having done long-distance for so long.
'We're finally living under the same roof, waking up with each other every night when we come home,' she said.
The Secret Daughter star recalled feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness, particularly after performing, before she began living with Themeli, 27.
'You go on stage and sing and there's the crowd in front of you and the lights and all the noise and commotion,' she shared
'But then everyone goes home and I was left on my own. It was so quiet. That was really hard I don't have to worry about that now because 'Them' is here and I can talk to him.'
Awards were announced yesterday at the closing ceremony of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival
Ghost Hunting (Istiyad Ashbah), a French-Swiss-Palestinian co-production directed by Raed Andoni, won the Glashutte Original Documentary Award at this year's Berlin International Film Festival -- a new award added to the festival this year.
The film follows a group of Palestinians formerly detained in Israeli prisons, filming themselves and re-enacting some of their experiences.
Ghost Hunting competed in the Panorama Dokumenta section of the festival, which focused on the theme Authoritarian Regimes Under Surveillance.
Sixteen films competed for the The Glashutte Original Documentary Award, which drew entries from the festival's following programmes: Competition, Panorama, Forum, Generation, Berlinale Special and Perspektive Deutsches Kino, as well as the Culinary Cinema special series.
The prize is funded by the Saxony-based watch manufacturer Glashutte Original, and is worth EUR 50,000 to be split between the director and producer.
In September 2016, Ghost Hunting was among five films selected for the Venice Film Festival's Final Cut workshop, which supports film crews from Africa and the Middle East in the post-production stage.
Film director and producer Raed Andoni has addressed political issues in his work before, such as in Summer 2006, Palestine, a compilation of scenes shot by several Palestinian filmmakers, showing various aspects of life in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Berlinale's Golden Bear was awarded to the Hungarian film On Body and Soul.
For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
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Jesinta Franklin (nee Campbell) gave her AFL star husband Lance 'Buddy' Franklin the night off earlier this month, attending a fashion launch solo.
Now, fans are wondering whether Buddy's hiatus has extended to the whole weekend.
Jesinta, 25, shared several snaps on Instagram from a fun-filled Gold Coast getaway with friends on Sunday, but her beau was a notable absence in the pics.
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Where's Buddy? Jesinta Campbell shared several snaps on Instagram from a fun-filled Gold Coast getaway with friends on Sunday, but her husband Lance Franklin was absent in the pics
In one image, the beauty donned a partially see-through white gown, posing with friends in front of an idyllic Queensland wharf.
The ladies looked glamorous, with Jesinta's right-hand woman wearing a plunging green formal gown.
Her male pals went casual, all opting for t-shirts and shorts.
Not here either? While he might have been behind the camera, Buddy wasn't spotted in any of the snaps taken during Jesinta's weekend away
'WEEKEND away! Best ever. Paradise,' she wrote in the caption.
While it is certainly possible Buddy was behind the camera for the snap, he wasn't spotted in any of the subsequent snaps on the beauty's Instagram story.
One video saw the model flaunt her ample cleavage in what appeared to be the same high-waisted bikini she wore to the beach the day before.
With a different buddy: Later, a video showed her riding in what was either a car or a rollercoaster with one of her pals from the wharf picture
This time she accessorised with a yellow bandana and sunglasses.
Later, a video showed her riding in what was either a car or a roller-coaster with one of her pals from the wharf picture.
The black-and-white clip saw the beauty playing around with animated filters.
The bikini that appeared to be from her Instagram story got the black and white treatment in a stylish picture.
In her element! Jesinta Franklin took to Instagram on Saturday with an image of herself posing in a cleavage-baring, high-waisted bikini at the beach
While flashing a glimpse of her cleavage and covering her taut torso with her arms, the David Jones ambassador told fans alongside the photo: 'Always happy by the ocean'.
The two-piece's briefs rose to her navel in the stylised snap.
Accessorising with a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, Jesinta turned her head to look at the water.
Her ample cleavage and lithe legs were on display in the skimpy outfit as she propped herself up on her towel.
Six-pack stunner! Jesinta is one of Australia's leading models and has previously detailed her intense workouts in the lead up to fashion shows for David Jones
Wedding bliss: Jesinta tied the knot with Lance at a secret ceremony in late 2016
The personality moved her slender arms across her toned waist to form a relaxed pose.
While the face of David Jones was hard at work this weekend, it seems her husband was putting his feet up, with Lance given the weekend off from playing for Sydney.
Days earlier the smitten couple had shared a loved up pre-Valentines Day photo.
Ambushed with love! Last week the couple shared a loved up pre-Valentines Day photo where Jesinta trapped 'Buddy' in a loving embrace
'I've always had pilates in my workout regimen but just recently I've started doing it five times a week,' Jesinta said last year, adding that she had cut out all refined sugars and alcohol
Having tied the knot in a secret wedding ceremony at the end of 2016, 'Buddy' took to his social media account to share an intimate photo of him snuggling his wife.
The Sydney Swans star captioned his post: 'My [love].'
Smiling from ear to ear as his statuesque spouse hugs him from behind, planting a kiss on his cheek and showing off her big diamond ring.
Keeping her cool: The former Miss Universe contestant recently showed off her trim physique in an olive green bikini
He's the much loved Australian actor and global superstar, thanks to his turn as Wolverine in the Marvel X-Men franchise.
And after Hugh Jackman touched down in Brazil to promote his last star turn as the mutant character in Logan, he received a superhero's welcome on Sunday.
Fans flocked to the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro to greet the hunky Australian, who strolled through arrivals with a nude coloured bandage on his nose, where a skin cancer was recently removed.
Superhero's welcome! After Hugh Jackman touched down in Brazil to promote his last Wolverine offering, Logan, he received a superhero's welcome with fans clamouring to meet the Australian actor
Flying in from the movie's premiere at the Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, the actor looked slightly dishevelled after the long-haul flight.
Wearing a grey T-Shirt and black jeans, the 48-year-old actor sported salt and pepper stubble as he stepped off the plane with his sunglasses still on.
Showing he is far from a diva, the movie star held his own bags in hand and sported a leather backpack over his shoulders.
Fans flock to greet star: Fans flocked to the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday to greet the hunky Australian actor, who had flown in from Germany
Still healing? The 48-year-old strolled through arrivals with a nude coloured bandage on his nose, where a skin cancer was recently removed
Wolverine fans clamoured to get a selfie with the star, while some even pushed forward DVDs for the actor to sign.
Two burly security guards were charged with getting Hugh to a waiting vehicle and swiftly moved along the smiling star.
Hugh couldn't help but stay less composed when discussing his final performance as Wolverine in the upcoming film Logan.
Keeping him moving: Two burly security guards were charged with getting Hugh to a waiting vehicle and swiftly moved along the smiling star
The personality admitted in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that he got 'tearful' during the film's more tender scenes.
After 17 years playing the character, he revealed he didn't think he had 'got the heart of the character until this film [Logan],' further adding to the importance of the production and his apparent closure in leaving the role.
During the recent Berlin premiere of the picture, Hugh was still sporting a flesh coloured dressing from his surgery to remove skin cancer from his nose for the sixth time in two years.
Teary me: Hugh couldn't help but stay less composed when discussing his final performance as Wolverine in the upcoming film Logan, admitting in an interview he got 'tearful' during the film's more tender scenes
Still sharp: During the recent Berlin premiere of the picture, Hugh was still sporting a flesh coloured dressing from his surgery to remove skin cancer from his nose for the sixth time in two years. He looked sharp as ever in spite of the bandage
He looked sharp as ever in spite of the bandage, working a grey blazer over a simple white T-shirt, accentuating his broad frame.
Just earlier this month he was documenting the fifth skin cancer removal from his face on social media.
He shared: 'An example of what happens when you don't wear sunscreen. Basal Cell. The mildest form of cancer but serious, nonetheless.'
Always looking forward, Hugh's high-spirits are clearly set on the release of Logan, which launches Australia-wide on March 2.
Looking forward: Despite his documented surgeries, Hugh is always looking forward, his high-spirits clearly clearly set on the release of Logan, which launches Australia-wide on March 2
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She's made a firm name for herself in the modelling world.
And Sofia Richie certainly turned heads as she attended the much-anticipated Topshop London Fashion Week show at the Tate Modern in London on Saturday.
The 18-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie put on a seriously racy display in a sheer blue blouse, which revealed her white lace bra beneath - just one day after sharing a snap with rumoured beau Lewis Hamilton, 32.
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Sheer delight! Sofia Richie certainly turned heads as she attended Topshop's London Fashion Week show at the Tate Modern in London on Saturday
While the turquoise top remained demure with a high neck and long sleeves, it was formed of almost completely sheer material - revealing her sexy white lace balcony Gooseberry Intimates bra and delicate cleavage beneath.
Ever the fashionista, the young model teamed it with a pair of wide-legged camouflage trousers, which cinched in at her petite waist, and a pair of black ankle boots complete with chunky heel, to elongate her already leggy figure.
Adding further glamorous touches to the look, Sofia then layered a striking PVC coat on top, which packed a punch with its full length and bold high-shine material.
'With my lil germ nugget @lewishamilton': The American teen captioned the snap as they both posed with their black hoodies covering half of their faces
Date night? The duo were first spotted together on the January 31st, when they enjoyed dinner at a sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills
Namesake: Sofia - who wore a Gooseberry Intimates bra under her sheer top - posed alongside Sophia Stallone, whose sister was walking in the show
Making the most of her natural beauty, the model pulled her blonde hair off her face to reveal her pretty features - which she later accentuated with dewy, bronzed make-up and a light coat of mascara.
The beauty happily posed beside Sophia Rose Stallone at the event - who made an appearance beside her mother Jennifer Flavin and younger sister Sistine.
The daughter of famous actor Sylvester looked casually glamorous in a leather mini skirt and matching jacket, which she layered beneath a trendy denim shirt.
Leaving her long and lean legs on full display, the 20-year-old finished her outfit with a pair of black ankle boots with a chunky heel, to tie her look together in an effortless fashion.
Seeing double: Sofia wore the same top singer Dua Lipa, who paired hers with a leather miniskirt and red sock boots
Like mother like daughters: Sister Sistine Stalone showcased her minuscule midriff in a white crop top and skinny jeans as she reunited with her sibling and mum Jennifer Flavin Stallone
Good genes: Sophia and mother Jennifer later cosied up together as they took their place on the FROW - with the 48-year-old showing off an equally clear and glowing complexion to her daughter's
Unique: Will I am also posed alongside Sofia Richie, wearing an interesting top hat and snood combo
Sofia's racy display comes just one day after she shared an Instagram snap posing alongside F1 racing driver Lewis, sparking rumours of a romance between the unlikely pair.
Both posing with their black hoodies covering half of their faces, the American teen captioned the snap affectionately: 'With my lil germ nugget @lewishamilton'.
The duo were first spotted together on the January 31st, when they enjoyed dinner at a sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills, before they were then spotted sitting together at the the Balmain Menswear show, during Paris Fashion Week.
Ruling the runway: (L-R) Lottie Moss, Stella Maxwell and Lily Donaldson strutted their stuff at the Topshop Unique Autumn/Winter '17 show during London Fashion Week on Sunday
Nineties edge: The rising star added a black silky Bardot top with graphic-print lettering splashed across the front
Mane attraction: Lottie, who is dating Made In Chelsea Lothario Alex Mytton, 25, plumped her pout with a slick of scarlet lipstick, whilst she wore her golden locks in a super-sleek style
Humbled: Clearly excited about her stint on the fashion giant's runway, she later shared a snap of her on the catwalk and gushed: 'Thank you for having me @topshop such a dream!!'
While Sofia enjoyed a brief relationship with Justin Bieber last year, Lewis' six year romance with Nicole Scherzinger came to an end in 2015.
Neither parties have confirmed they are dating, MailOnline has contacted their representatives for comment.
Sofia is the youngest daughter of R&B legend Lionel Richie, who fathered her with his ex-wife #2 Diane Alexander.
Blonde beauties: Lottie was followed by Victoria's Secret star Stella Maxwell who also turned heads on the runway
Stealing the spotlight: Stella was followed by a bevvy of stunning models for the final walk
Ethereal: Stella, meanwhile, flaunted her lean frame in an ultra-feminine white silky midi dress adorned with delicate floral embroidery. Ensuring her figure was on display the dress cinched in her tiny waist thanks to subtle pleated detailing
Older sister Nicole recently revealed that they have very different tastes in fashion, telling People: 'I don't know if I've given her any [advice].
'I'm very particular about my clothes. We have different styles.'
Meanwhile back at the bash Sofia mingled with the star-studded crowd, posing alongside her namesake Sophia Stallone, who supported her sister alongside her mother - dressed in a monochrome tweed midi skirt and classic nude heels.
Following the show, woman of the hour Sistine showcased her minuscule midriff in a white crop top and skinny jeans as she reunited with her mum and sibling to celebrate her London Fashion Week debut.
Boy-meets-girl: British beauty Lily, 30, rocked a black slogan sweatshirt
Legs for days: She added a pair of wide-leg striped blue trousers and black barely there heels
Before and after: Model Lily Donaldson didn't need much work done as she got ready backstage - before stepping out raring to go later on (R)
Proving herself to be every inch a pro, the 18-year-old had stormed the catwalk earlier that day with confidence and ease, as she modelled a pretty lilac dress with a punky slashed open back for the new collection.
Joining her on the runway was model Lily Donaldson, who rocked a pair of wide-legged monochrome pants and a colourful oversized sweater.
Proving her versatile look, she arrived at the event in a pretty pink silk camisole and ripped jeans, teaming the ensemble with an oversized denim jacket and patent killer heels.
Big debut: Sistine Stallone showcased a colourful flower-embellished maxi dress as she took to the catwalk for the first time in London Fashion Week
Pixie Geldof joined in on the denim action, rocking a pair of her trademark high waisted jeans, which featured retro flared hems, with a khaki cargo jacket and a fresh face, to display her enviably clear and smooth skin.
Adding a splash of colour to the denim affair however was Chelsea Leyland, who made a bold statement in sexy red PVC trousers - which she paired with a clashing pink ribbed bandeau and pale yellow denim crop.
Tallia Storm later added a hint of glitz to the bash as she confidently showed off her figure in sequin-encrusted jeans, teamed with a saucy white sheer top to flash her bralet underneath.
Baby blues: Eleanor Tomlinson put on a more demure appearance in a trench coat and skinny jeans, while Ella Eyre rocked white jeans, silver metallic ankle boots and a black sweater
The budding popstar tied her look together with a leather pair of mule heels and a pastel pink coat, which she draped casually and effortlessly across her shoulders.
Meanwhile British beauty Eleanor Tomlinson put on a more demure appearance in a baby blue trench coat and skinny jeans, while singer Ella Eyre rocked white jeans, silver metallic ankle boots and a black sweater.
Not to be outdone, Charlotte Wiggins worked rock chic in ripped denim, a Slayer T-shirt and a bright pink coat as she posed up a storm outside the venue in a pair of killer silver court shoes.
Relaxed: Pixie Geldof and Chelsea Leyland joined in on the denim action, rocking high waisted jeans and cropped jackets, while Tallia Storm jazzed up her strides with silver sequins and rips all over (L-R)
Standing out: Arriving at the venue, Talia (left) paid homage to the nineties R&B look, donning semi-sheer shades and a fluffly pink coat
Both opting for monochrome, Louise Redknapp and Olivia Palermo later arrived in their co-ordinating ensembles - with the former Strictly star flashing her pins in a white linen skirt, while the American fashionista layered a black coat atop a white knitted dress in her typically chic style.
Following in her famous sister Kate's footsteps with her past Topshop appearances, budding model Lottie Moss, 18, strutted her stuff on the catwalk for the much-anticipated show.
Showing off her model statistics, the blonde beauty rocked a slash neck black sweater and floral skirt slashed high on the thigh as she walked alongside Stella Maxwell, who stunned in a silk fitted cream dress cinched in at the waist.
Monochrome: Ella Eyre (left) rocked white jeans, silver metallic ankle boots and a black sweater while Pixie worked understated chic
Last week, Jeremy Kyle took his new squeeze and ex-employee Vicky Burton on a trip on a luxury yacht in Barbados.
Meanwhile, his former wife Carla Germain was left holding the babies at home, without a husband or a nanny on hand to help.
Vicky is known for taking her job a little too seriously when Jeremy fell for her while she was employed as the Kyle family nanny.
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Nanny problem: Jeremy Kyle's ex-wife Carla Germain is on the hunt for a replacement nanny... after the original one Vicky Burton struck up a relationship with the chat show host and now lives with him
And now Carla is reportedly on the lookout for a replacement, to help care for her and Jeremy's children - Alice, 12, Ava, 11 and seven-year-old Henry.
A source has said: 'Its not been the easiest of times for Carla. Shes been trying to find a nanny who is right for her and the children. She is yet to find one she likes.'
Talking to the Sunday People, she added: 'It has obviously been tough given everything that has been going on between Jeremy and Vicky. For years and years Vicky was in their lives to look after the children and now everything has turned on its head.'
In a story that wouldn't look amiss as a caption on his daytime chat-show, Jeremy and Vicky were evidently drawn to one another while she worked under his and Carla's roof, looking after the kids.
Hire a Manny next time: Carla Germain was left holding the babies at home, without a husband or a nanny on hand to help
Irresistible: Despite being nearly 20 years younger than Jeremy, Vicky couldn't resist the wealthy TV star's alluring ways and Jeremy, 51, decided to leave his family life for Vicky, 35
Despite being nearly 20 years younger than Jeremy, Vicky couldn't resist the wealthy TV star's alluring ways and Jeremy, 51, decided to leave his family life for Vicky, 35.
Carla, 41, was left in the lurch, as Vicky and Jeremy ran off like a pair of carefree teens.
Reports claim that Vicky - who worked for the family for a decade - only officially started to see Jeremy at the end of last year, following the announcement in November 2015 that he and Carla were splitting up.
The pair have certainly not messed around since then though.
They have moved in together, and were looking pleased a punch on the Barbadian frolics.
The ex factor: Jeremy and Carla Germaine tied the knot in 2002, and announced their separation in September 2015. A decree nisi was granted in February 2016, after Carla filed for divorce, citing unreasonable behaviour on Jeremy's part
The pair had clearly gone shopping together in order to ensure a his'n'her look on the boat, as each of them donned a blue swimming outfit.
Vicky was seen chugging on some wine, while Jeremy dragged on a cigarette, clearly feeling in a naughty mood.
It's unclear how the nanny search is going back home, but Carla will surely be going through a rigorous selection procedure.
A fly in the ointment: Vicky (L) - who stopped being the former couple's nanny 10 months ago - was photographed with Jeremy, his ex-wife (C) and two of their children on a family holiday in Barbados in 2013
Carla was caught having an affair with England polo player James Carr, 25, previously, adding to the list of dramatic ups and downs surrounding the marriage.
Jeremy has been married twice and has four children in total, including a 26-year-old daughter, Harriet, from his previous marriage to Kirsty Rowley which ended in 1990.
Vicky - who stopped being the former couple's nanny 10 months ago - was photographed with Jeremy, his ex-wife and two of their children on a family holiday in Barbados in 2013.
She has been one of the most in demand models of this year's London Fashion Week strutting the catwalk for countless designers.
But Winnie Harlow showed no signs of fatigue as she attended a presentation of Malone Souliers shoes on Sunday.
The statuesque beauty flashed her grey bralet in an unbuttoned pale blue cotton shirt dress at the glitzy event, in-between her heavy show schedule.
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Supermodel poise: Winnie Harlow, 22, looked stunning as she posed at the Malone Souliers shoe presentation wearing vertiginous lace-up heels
The striking star, 22, paired the simple dress, with its flared skirt detail, to lace-up tan slingback heels.
Winnie left her long raven locks to cascade down her back and gave her skin a break from the heavy makeup of the catwalk by going au naturale.
The beautiful star, who appeared in Beyonce's acclaimed visual album Lemonade, has a distinctive skin condition named Vitiligo.
Fashion BFFs: The Canadian stunner flashed her grey bar-let in an unbuttoned shirt dress as she smiled beside founder and Managing Director Roy Luwolt who looked glam in a red velvet suit
The Canadian beauty excitedly tried on spindly heels and watched as artisans from the shoemaker's Italian factory handcrafted a high heeled shoe at the event.
She happily posed for pictures with the company's founder and Managing Director Roy Luwolt who looked suitably glamorous in a deep red velvet suit.
He showed Winnie the latest designs and helped her try some on.
Does it fit? Winnie beamed as Roy and Founder and Creative Director Mary Alice Malone helped her try on their classic heels
I like this one: Winnie looked particularly happy with a pair of ankle strap stilettos
LFW: Winnie and Roy chatted as they checked out the many shoes on show at the presentation
Curious: Winnie was delighted to see artisans construct a high heel before her eyes
The model's lively appearance belied the many shows she has walked in this London Fashion Week.
Winnie closed the highly anticipated Julien MacDonald collection on Saturday, stunning the audience when she strode out in a sizzling black mesh gown.
The dress' hip cut outs showed off Winnie's incredibly taut figure.
The busy fashionista also walked in Marc Jacobs' hip hop-inspired show in New York on Thursday.
City chic: American socialite Olivia Palermo also attended the presentation donning a fashionable monochrome outfit with an asymmetrical hemline detail
Bit of all white! Olivia dazzled in her cream pleated dress which flared out over her patent black biker style boots
Blonde bombshell: Olivia's golden locks were styled in a bun with loose tendrils framing her pretty features whilst not detracting from her stunning outfit
Purple princess: She accessorised with a small glittering plum clutch bag
Winnie wasn't the only star present at the glitzy presentation as American socialite Olivia Palermo was also eager to see the stunning shoes.
The City star, 30, looked demure in a monochrome ensemble.
She donned an interesting ribbed white dress which featured an asymmetrical hemline and a simple black coat to keep out the London cold.
The look was brightened by a pair of patterned slingback heels and the fashionista swept her highlighted locks into a loose ponytail.
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She has carved a career as a TV presenter and DJ over the years, having fronted popular shows such as Top of The Pops and the Red Nose Day telethons.
But Fearne Cotton turned her hand to modelling on Sunday afternoon as she took to the runway alongside model Alice Dellal at Pam Hogg's AW17 show for London Fashion Week.
The British beauty, 35, truly stole the show in a daring PVC dress and matching hat as she strutted her stuff in front of a whole host of celebrity guests at Freemasons' Hall.
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Model behaviour: Fearne Cotton turned her hand to modelling on Sunday afternoon as she took to the runway at Pam Hogg's AW17 show for London Fashion Week
The mother-of-two looked every inch a pro as she elegantly took to the catwalk in one of the British designer's signature quirky designs.
The frock, formed entirely of white PVC, certainly caught attention on the runway as it gently skimmed her figure to its sophisticated knee hem.
Clearly inspired by years gone by, the dress remained old-fashioned with a demure high neck, long sleeves and matching vintage hat - but packed a modern punch with its bold and racy material.
Easy peasy: The mother-of-two looked every inch a pro as she elegantly took to the catwalk in one of the British designer's signature quirky designs
Chic: The frock, formed entirely of white PVC, certainly caught attention on the runway as it gently skimmed her figure to its sophisticated knee hem
'What a terrifying/thrilling 10 minutes!': Clearly proud of her performance, the blonde later took to Instagram to gush of her relief and excitement at walking in such a high-profile show
She paired the look with chunky heeled lace-up boots and added a sweeping of dark eye shadow and a bold red lipstick to her face, in dramatic finishing touches.
As one of the first to take to the runway, the former BBC Radio 2 host oozed glamour and confidence as she debuted her killer walk, alongside the other models.
Clearly proud of her performance, the blonde later took to her Instagram to gush of her relief and excitement at walking in such a high-profile show.
She wrote excitedly to fans: 'Just got to walk in my mate @pamhoggfashion show. What a terrifying/thrilling 10 minutes that was! Pam you are brilliant! #LFW'
Before the storm: Fearne proved her model prowess at the event as she got ready backstage - looking stunning with a sweeping of dark eye shadow and perfectly curled hair
What a difference a day makes: Fearne later joked on her social media page of the 'vast contrast' in her day - posting side by side images of her after she woke up and after the show
Joining the fray: Joining Fearne on the catwalk was Alice Dellal, 29, who made a similarly striking entrance in another PVC ensemble of jet black
Later uploading a snap of her soaking up the applause on the catwalk with the designer herself, she added jokingly: 'Never has walking seemed so nerve wracking.'
Joining Fearne on the catwalk was Alice Dellal, 29, who made a similarly striking entrance in another PVC ensemble of jet black.
The high-neck mini dress fell into rigid pleats to its knee length, and was paired with a tall, fringed hat to give the look a military feel.
She did it! Fearne (right) later posed happily beside woman of the hour Pam Hogg herself (centre) and Alice (left) after their winning stint on the catwalk
Success: Pam looked delighted as she headed out to take her bow after the show, with her two leading ladies in each hand
However the dress was also adorned with a netted veil, which cascaded down the Brazilian-British beauty's back, to add a softer and more feminine touch to the look.
Finishing her look with matching laced-up boots and sexy full length gloves, the Chanel model truly made a statement as she smouldered for the audience at the end of the catwalk.
With the military-inspired collection met with rapturous applause, the two leading ladies later emerged onto the catwalk with Pam herself - beaming with pride as they took their bows and threw rose petals on the floor in celebration.
Power trio: The girls beamed as Pam's latest collection, which was military-inspired with endless neutral hues and high-shine materials
Star-studded: Many other celebrity guests were in the audience to watch and applaud another winning collection from Pam - including Love Island's Olivia Buckland (above)
A bit of all-white: The reality star, 22, shrouded her famously slim figure in the plain loose-fitting shirt - which she jazzed up with a quirky black tie choker that fell to below her bust
Stars not only pounded the concrete at the show however - with many other celebrity guests in the audience to applaud another winning collection from Pam.
Leading the way was Love Island's Olivia Buckland, who looked classically chic in an oversized white shirt dress and trendy thigh-high boots.
The reality star, 22, shrouded her famously slim figure in the plain loose-fitting shirt - which she jazzed up with a quirky black tie choker that fell to below her bust.
Not afraid to up the sex appeal however, the blonde teamed the dress with a pair of grey heeled boots, which elongated her already long and slender legs beneath.
That's how its done: Finishing her look with a sleek leather YSL handbag, the ITVBe star perfectly achieved casual glamour as she took her place on the FROW
Excited: Olivia, who is something of a fashionista herself with her own clothing line with Quiz, looked excited to be at the show as she prepared to view the new collection
Finishing her look with a sleek leather YSL handbag, the ITVBe star perfectly achieved casual glamour as she took her place on the FROW.
Adding to the glamorous line-up at the show was British model Lisa Snowdon, who looked effortlessly chic in a black suit patterned with punky studs all over.
Keeping her look low-key with white trainers and sunglasses on her head, and adding a red handbag for a touch of colour, the newly-engaged star looked truly stunning as she arrived at the show.
Gorgeous: Adding to the glamorous line-up at the show was British model Lisa Snowdon, who looked effortlessly chic in a black suit patterned with punky studs all over
Simplicity is key: Keeping her look low-key with white trainers and sunglasses on her head, and adding a red handbag for a touch of colour
Natural beauty: The recent I'm A Celebrity star happily chatted and caught up with her fellow guests, including Pandora Christie (right)
Leaving her hair in its everyday state and adding minimal make-up, the I'm A Celebrity star flaunted her enviably clear complexion and natural beauty as she caught up with her fellow guests.
Also taking some of the best seats in the house were Ray and Elaine Winstone, who have attended a number of the designer's shows in the past.
The Cold Mountain actor certainly dressed up for the occasion in a three-piece tweed suit, paired with smart brogues and a cool matching fedora.
Meanwhile his wife, who he met back in 1979, looked utterly sophisticated in a black floral tea dress with a pussy-bow neck, layered beneath a cropped blazer.
Big fans: Also taking some of the best seats in the house were Ray and Elaine Winstone, who have attended a number of the designer's shows in the past
Suited and booted: The Cold Mountain actor certainly dressed up for the occasion in a three-piece tweed suit, paired with smart brogues and a cool matching fedora
Smart chic: Meanwhile his wife, who he met back in 1979, looked utterly sophisticated in a black floral tea dress with a pussy-bow neck, layered beneath a cropped blazer
Bonding: Something of a family day out, the pair were also joined by daughter Lola and her sweet baby - who looked just as excited to be at the show as the adults as they posed together
Proving they were as in love as ever, the 'hard-man' actor attended the show with a large bouquet of red flowers, which he appeared to present to his wife later on.
Something of a family day out, the pair were also joined by their daughter Lola and her sweet baby - who looked just as excited to be at the show as the adults as they posed together for cameras.
Also making an entrance was Lady Victoria Hervey, who opted for a comfy but quirky metallic jacket and tight-fitting trousers.
Going for gold: Also making an entrance was Lady Victoria Hervey, who opted for a comfy but quirky metallic jacket and tight-fitting trousers
It's all in the accessories: Giving her look a modern vibe on top, the famous socialite broke up the black with a shimmering gold jacket, featuring sexy mesh sleeves and a glitter-lined hood
The 40-year-old showed off her sensationally slender legs in the figure-hugging strides, which she layered beneath racy stiletto boots.
Giving her look a modern vibe on top, the famous socialite broke up the black with a shimmering gold jacket, featuring sexy mesh sleeves and a glitter-lined hood.
Styling her blonde locks into tousled waves and carrying a sleek designer handbag, Victoria looked as glamorous as ever as she made her way to London Fashion Week - having returned to the city's social scene after a lengthy winter getaway in Barbados.
She's got it: Styling her blonde locks into tousled waves and carrying a sleek designer handbag, Victoria looked as glamorous as ever as she made her way to London Fashion Week
Bold: The blonde caught up with Daniel Lismore (L) at the event - who put on a typically striking display in a cape ensemble of black flowers and glitter
Following suit: Noelle Reno (L) kept things simple in a white shift dress and statement necklace while Isobelle Molloy (R) upped the glamour in leather trousers and a bold logo tee
TOWIE star Georgia Kousoulou revealed a little too much when she headed to a filming session for a TOWIE St Patrick's Day special.
The stunner went braless under a slashed bandeau top which left little to the imagination as she hit Faces club in Essex on Sunday.
Georgia, 25, stunned onlookers as she posed for pictures wearing the very sexy number which revealed plenty of golden skin.
Baby it's cold outside: TOWIE's Georgia Kousoulou opted to go bra-less in a very revealing slashed bandeau top and matching sarong with thigh-split to film St Patrick's Day scenes at Faces in Essex on Sunday
The top had a matching sarong which was slashed up to the top of her thigh which revealed her toned legs.
She accessorised the risque look with a gold choker and a pair of on-trend moss-green silk ankle boots.
She sported dramatic black eyeliner and a strong burgundy lip.
Brave: Georgia rocked her revealing look by pairing her skimpy outfit with an on-trend choker and a pair of moss-green silk ankle boots, showing off lots of leg
Her highlighted blonde locks were styled in an intricate up do with the top section plaited.
She later warded off the cold, draping an edgy black leather jacket over her shoulders as she made her way inside the venue.
Georgia was joined by her TOWIE co-stars, all dressed in green, as they arrived at Faces to film the St Patrick's Day episode.
Makeup fan: Georgia donned smoky eye makeup and a strong burgundy lip
Cover up: Perhaps feeling the cold, the TV star draped a leather jacket over her shoulders
Kate Wright, Megan McKenna, Pete Wicks, Chloe Lewis and Nathan Massey were among the cast members who posed for pictures.
Megan also opted for a strapless green dress as she clung to boyfriend Pete Wicks's arm.
The dress featured an interesting flowing detail and the glamorous star carried a nude tote bag.
Loved up: Megan McKenna and Pete Wicks put on a united front as they arrived to film the 20th series of the beloved reality show
She piled her hair into a top bun and opted for large hoop earrings and gold strappy shoes.
Kate Wright followed Georgia's lead with a busty display in a strapless low cut green dress which she paired with a peach fur coat.
The reality TV star let her golden locks cascade in beachy waves as she strode into the nightclub.
Amber Turning rocked a summery look in a flowing mint green jumpsuit.
Chloe Lewis went for a very different look to her costars with a white miniskirt and an emerald green ruffled shirt which she paired with gold strappy sandals.
Busty: Kate Wright dared to bare in a low cut strapless dress but she kept warm with a peach fur coat that she slung around her shoulders
SS-GB (BBC 1)
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Grand Tours Of The Scottish Islands (BBC 2)
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Buckingham Palace is bombed, giant swastikas hang from the Houses of Parliament and Churchill is dead. Stories of him giving a defiant V sign as he faced the firing squad abound.
The year is 1941 and Britain is under Nazi control having lost the Battle of Britain. In SS-GB (Sunday BBC1) the nightmare of what could have happened is imagined in the BBCs big-budget adaption of Len Deightons 1978 book.
In the opening sequence we saw a German-piloted Spitfire flying down The Mall in London to mark the start of German/Soviet Friendship week. Suddenly, a Resistance fighter broke through the crowds and shot dead a Luftwaffe officer. The message was clear: the war was lost but the fight continued.
In SS-GB the year is 1941 and Britain is under Nazi control. Stories of abound of Churchill giving a defiant V sign as he faced the firing squad
But SS-GB wasnt just a picture of life under German rule. There was also a story within a story. A grisly murder told against the backdrop of a grisly Britain.
German-speaking Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) worked at Scotland Yard, which was controlled by the SS. As far as colleagues were concerned, he was a shifty one. Compliant with his bosses, critical of the Resistance, even his own son questioned whether he was a traitor.
When Archer was called upon to investigate the murder of an antiques dealer, at first it looked to be a straightforward case of a black marketeer getting his comeuppance. But when Hitlers henchman Heinrich Himmler dispatched the thoroughly nasty SS Colonel Huth to oversee the investigation, you knew all was not as it seemed.
To complicate matters further, a glamorous American journalist, Barbara Barga (Kate Bosworth), was seen fleeing the scene. Who was she? What did she know? And would she or Archer ever pause between cigarettes long enough to have a proper conversation?
Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) is paired with a glamorous American journalist Barbara Barga (Kate Bosworth)
German director Philipp Kadelbach brilliantly captured the mood of a city under Nazi occupation. The skies and buildings were grey, its inhabitants downtrodden and generally terrorised.
Shot in the manner of film noir, SS-GB was slick and atmospheric. Yet, at times, it felt as though substance was being sacrificed for style. There were a tad too many scenes of characters lurking in the shadows, loitering in alleyways and moodily dragging on cigarettes.
Accompanied by the clipped dialogue, there were occasions when the odd scene felt only one French maid away from Allo Allo reimagined.
That said, SS-GB was bold, brave and largely carried by the excellent Sam Riley, who is surely the coolest Fedora-hat-wearer since Humphrey Bogart.
Looking anything but gloomy was the island of Berneray, one of Paul Murtons stops in Grand Tours Of The Scottish Islands (BBC2 Saturday).
In the first episode of a new six-parter, the beauty of Berneray was breathtaking. With its white sands and turquoise waters, it was understandable that the cheeky people at the Thai Tourist Board used pictures of its beach to promote Thailand.
Paul Murton's 'Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands' is enchanting and uplifting, and you can almost smell the fresh air coming through the TV screen
It was also the island where Prince Charles secretly spent time in 1987 learning the skills of a crofter, including the annual nightmare of taking dozens of sheep on their summer holiday.
The animals needed fresh grazing and, as Murton discovered, that could only be achieved by packing them all on to a boat and taking them to another island five miles away.
Herding sheep into a boat is difficult enough, keeping them there is something else. For if one goes overboard the rest follow ... like sheep.
Enchanting and uplifting, you could almost smell the fresh air coming through the TV screen.
Nicole Kidman wants her daughter Faith to meet her 'other mummy' according to a report in Monday's issue of Woman's Day magazine.
A source has reportedly told the magazine that the actress 'set up a meet and greet' between the six-year-old and the surrogate who carried her.
The surrogate, nicknamed 'Aunty Sheila' according to the magazine, had a 'touching meeting' with Faith at the Nashville home Nicole shares with husband Keith Urban.
Another mother? Nicole Kidman wants her daughter Faith to meet her 'other mummy' according to a report in Monday's issue of Woman's Day magazine
'It was incredibly emotional. Nic and her surrogate had difficulty holding back tears,' the source reportedly told the publication.
'Faith wasn't phased by it at all, but she did ask lots of questions afterwards,' the source is believed to have said.
Nicole and Keith have 'never shied away' from telling Faith she was carried by a surrogate but as she is young haven't often raised the topic, the magazine reports.
The 49-year-old recently revealed she is interested in adding to her family perhaps through fostering a child.
Family matters: A source has reportedly told the magazine that the actress 'set up a meet and greet' between the six-year-old and the surrogate who carried her
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour the Oscar winner revealed, 'I'm one of the few people in the world who has experienced so many different forms of (motherhood).
But I haven't had the child from a donor egg. I haven't also been a foster mother and I'm very interested in that... But I did foster a child that I met through school, an aboriginal boy.'
Despite being close to 50-years-of-age, Nicole revealed that she still holds out hope that she may fall pregnant naturally as female relatives had children quite late.
More to come? The 49-year-old recently revealed she is interested in adding to her family perhaps through fostering a child
'I still have the faintest hope that something may happen to me this year. Keith and I would love to have more babies,' she told the radio show.
Nicole added, 'My grandmother gave birth to my mother at 49! I would be beyond happy and just welcome it with open arms. Children are the joy of my life.'
Nicole has two adopted children, Connor, 22 and Isabella, 24, and two biological daughters, Sunday Rose, six, and Faith Margaret, eight, with husband Keith.
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She won the Best Actress gong at the 17th annual WhatsOnAwards for her role in Yerma - and Billie Piper pulled out all the stops to attend the event.
The 34-year-old headed to the Prince Of Wales theatre in London on Sunday, wearing an extremely low-cut polka dot print maxi dress worn under a black blazer, teaming the garments with a casual pair of ankle boots whilst her dyed red locks fell down past her face in a tousled style.
Accepting her award, the radiant redhead gushed: 'I'd like to share this award with my onstage husband Brendan Cowell.'
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Hot property: Billie Piper wore an extremely low-cut dotty dress as she paid tribute to her handsome Yerma co-star after winning Best Actress gong at star-studded WhatsOnStage Awards at the Prince Of Wales theatre on Sunday night
Billie is set to return to the West End this year with an extended stint in the acclaimed play.
She bewitched audiences and critics alike with her stage performance in the theatre show, about a woman driven wild by the desire to have a baby.
Last month, she was given just recognition at The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, where she proudly picked up the gong for Best Actress.
Gushing: Accepting her award, the radiant redhead gushed: 'I'd like to share this award with my onstage husband Brendan Cowell' (Pictured right)
Sharing the love: Whilst she may have picked up Best Actress award on the night, Billie was quick to gush about her co-stars instead as she praised her 'handsome' co-star
Going dotty! The 34-year-old headed to the Prince Of Wales theatre in London on Sunday, wearing an extremely low-cut polka dot print maxi dress worn under a black blazer ensuring she looked phenomenal on the evening
Sharing is caring: Billie took to the stage to thank her co-star and 'onstage husband' Brendan Cowell
Meanwhile, Billie revealed she has ruled herself out of replacing Peter Capaldi when the Time Lord regenerates at the end of the upcoming series - but has backed calls for the new Doctor to be female.
Capaldi announced that he will leave the Tardis in the Christmas special later this year, saying his time as the 12th Doctor has been 'cosmic'.
Billie played companion Rose Tyler opposite Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant's Doctors, reprising the role for later specials, and is one of the female stars fans have said they would like to see in the title role.
As she is: Billie stars as Yerma in Simon Stones new version of the play
Show-stopper: The singer-turned-actress posed for a number of promo pics for the critically acclaimed theatre show
Style mavens: Former EastEnders star Louisa Lytton looked lovely in a black strapless dress with keyhole detail, while Call The Midwife star Helen George wore a teeny dress with a marabou trim
Flack is back! Caroline Flack arrived on the red carpet with pal Paul Taylor Mills for the star-studded stage awards
Sleek: Caroline slipped into a frill detailed mini dress while Lauren Samuels and Emma Williams showcased her curves in a figure-flaunting mesh ensemble (Pictured L-R)
Taking it back in time: Louisa has already started rehearsals for her latest role in Grease: The Musical in which she will star alongside former The Wanted singer Tom Parker, who plays the iconic, leather jacketed Danny Zuko
Stunning: She wore her brunette locks in an elegant chignon as she posed with one hand on her hip for photographers
The stunner was in great company on the night as a host of other celebrities joined her on the red carpet.
Glee star and now Let It Shine judge Amber Riley shone in a lovely purple number.
Also present was former EastEnders star Louisa Lytton, who looked lovely in a black strapless dress with keyhole detail.
Television presenter Laura Whitmore opted for a very glamorous black number, while Call The Midwife star Helen George wore a teeny dress with a marabou trim.
Demure darling: Television presenter Laura Whitmore opted for a very glamorous black number
Golden gal: The blonde bombshell worked her glossy locks into a messy chignon, leaving a number of strands loose to frame her face
Dazzling: Former X Factor hopeful-turned-stage-star Lucie Jones commanded the carpet in a dazzling sequin gown
WHATSONSTAGE 2017 WINNERS...
Best Actor In A Play Sponsored By Radisson Blu Edwardian: Ian Hallard, The Boys in the Band Ian McKellen, No Mans Land Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Kenneth Branagh, The Entertainer Ralph Fiennes, Richard III Best Actress In A Play Sponsored By Live At Zedel: Billie Piper, Yerma - winner Helen McCrory, The Deep Blue Sea Lily James, Romeo and Juliet Michelle Terry, Henry V Pixie Lott, Breakfast at Tiffanys Best Actor In A Musical Sponsored By The Umbrella Rooms: Andy Karl, Groundhog Day Charlie Stemp, Half a Sixpence - winner Michael C Hall, Lazarus Michael Xavier, Sunset Boulevard Ramin Karimloo, Murder Ballad Best Actress In A Musical Sponsored By The Hippodrome Casino: Amber Riley, Dreamgirls - winner Carrie Hope Fletcher, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Devon-Elise Johnson, Half a Sixpence Glenn Close, Sunset Boulevard Sheridan Smith, Funny Girl Best Supporting Actor In A Play: Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Derek Jacobi, Romeo and Juliet Freddie Fox, Travesties Jonjo ONeill, Unreachable Paul Thornley, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Supporting Actress In A Play Sponsored By Tonic Theatre: Jenna Russell, Doctor Faustus Meera Syal, Romeo and Juliet Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Poppy Miller, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Vanessa Redgrave, Richard III Best Supporting Actor In A Musical Sponsored By Encore Radio: Adam J Bernard, Dreamgirls Ian Bartholomew, Half a Sixpence Joel Montague, Funny Girl Trevor Dion Nicholas, Disneys Aladdin - winner Tyrone Huntley, Jesus Christ Superstar Best Supporting Actress In A Musical Sponsored By Newman Displays: Amy Lennox, Lazarus Emma Williams, Half a Sixpence - winner Rebecca Trehearn, Show Boat Sophia Anne Caruso, Lazarus Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Murder Ballad Best New Play Sponsored By JHI Marketing: The Comedy about a Bank Robbery The Flick Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures The Mother Best New Musical Sponsored By Shine Creative Solutions: Disneys Aladdin Dreamgirls Groundhog Day Half a Sixpence School of Rock - winner Best Play Revival: The Boys in the Band The Deep Blue Sea The Dresser No Mans Land Travesties
Best Musical Revival Sponsored By R&H Theatricals: Funny Girl - winner Jesus Christ Superstar Ragtime Show Boat Sunset Boulevard Best Direction: Casey Nicholaw, Disneys Aladdin John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Matthew Warchus, Groundhog Day Michael Mayer, Funny Girl Rachel Kavanaugh, Half a Sixpence Best Choreography Sponsored By Encore Radio: Andrew Wright, Half a Sixpence - winner Casey Nicholaw, Disneys Aladdin Casey Nicholaw, Dreamgirls Drew McOnie, Jesus Christ Superstar Peter Darling and Ellen Kane, Groundhog Day Best Costume Design: Gregg Barnes, Disneys Aladdin - winner Gregg Barnes, Dreamgirls Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Matthew Wright, Funny Girl Paul Brown, Half a Sixpence Best Set Design Bob Crowley, Disneys Aladdin Christine Jones, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Lez Brotherston, Show Boat Miriam Buether, Wild Rob Howell, Groundhog Day Best Lighting Design Sponsored By White Light: Charlie Morgan Jones, Little Shop of Horrors Hugh Vanstone, Groundhog Day Jack Weir, The Boys in the Band Natasha Katz, Disneys Aladdin Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Best Video Design Sponsored By PRG XL Video: Andrzej Goulding, Groundhog Day Finn Ross, The Tempest Finn Ross and Ash Woodward, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - winner Laura Perrett, Murder Ballad Tal Yarden, Lazarus Best Off-West End Production Sponsored By Les Miserables: The Boys in the Band Grey Gardens The Last Five Years - winner Ragtime Side Show Best Regional Production Sponsored By MTI (Europe): Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flowers for Mrs Harris The Girls - winner The Grinning Man Rent Best West End Show Sponsored By The Wine Treasury: Kinky Boots Les Miserables - winner Matilda The Phantom of the Opera Wicked - winner Equity Award for Lifetime Achievement (So Far): Cameron Mackintosh Advertisement
Friday saw the start of the British leg of the fashion week calendar, exhibiting the work of creative talents on 50 catwalks and 30 presentations for five glamorous days.
The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) was launched in 2012 by the British Fashion Council along with the British Council as part of fashion and cultural cooperation.
Ahram Online talks with the curator of the Egyptian Exhibition Susan Sabet, the founder and editor-in-chief of Pashion magazine, about Egypt being the only Arab country in IFS this year. The designers participating in the exhibition are: Norine Farah (womenswear), Reem Jano (jewellery), Sabry Marouf (handbags and jewellery), Marsuma by Nour Omar (textiles painting), Okhtein (handbags) and Maram Paris (womenswear).
Sabet explains how the installation '100% Egyptian Cotton' is a manifestation of the IFS' 2017 theme; local/global.
Q: Why did you choose the "100% Egyptian cotton" term?
The theme the British Council gave us this year is local/global, so we thought the best thing to interpret local/global is the term 100% Egyptian cotton, because it is rooted in Egyptian history and has been the major income from the early 19th century financing the building of the Suez Canal and downtown Cairo.
Globally, it is a sign of excellence, the best quality cotton. Furthermore, right now theres a crackdown on fake Egyptian cotton, its a very hot topic. Many suppliers worldwide put on the label, but it is not real.
This has also spurred our government to increase production of long staple cotton, and apparently it is already expecting a double or triple yield this year.
Our interior set [and fabric placed as a backdrop to the display] was designed by Living in Interiors. They used an image dated from between the 1950s to the 70s. It is just a 2x3 cm image of a cotton field. They gave it to a young artist called Omar Marei, who opened it on Illustrator [editing programme] and add graininess and an oil paint effect to give it its texture.
So they enlarged the image digitally and gave it to a printing house in Menoufiya that does all the work for Shahira Fawzy of Sahara printing, who donated 100% Egyptian voile that she grows herself. The piece was printed with natural biological colours. It gets boiled in a solution that has glue and binder and then gets put in an oven so they colour sets and the fabric settles.
We chose the light effect behind it to give the feeling of from Morning till Night, so we have morning, noon, dusk and night. Our accessory designers and jewellery designers were inspired by the life cycle, from the cotton bud till the ready product.
Q: How did you get to participate?
This is the fifth year the British Council has done this initiative, where they invite countries to participate with a cultural installation, with the work of emerging fashion designers. The ambassador accepted and appointed me as the curator, and this is the second year for us.
I selected the designers based on certain criteria. They should not have had more than five years in the business and their work should be able to compete internationally, design-wise and quality-wise. Also they have to be able to work as a team, because it is not about the designer, it is about the country. It all has to blend.
I think you walk into our display and know where you are, and if you read the title 100% Egyptian cotton, you need no explanation. It is very clear and straightforward, and I think that for us local/global was the best theme to take.
Q: How do you evaluate young Egyptian designers in general?
The design scene has been booming in Egypt, and this is the moment now for young designers. It is probably a combination of growing social media, which has pushed forward and boosted their work.
They also have a reach through social media, and of course the devaluation of the pound, which has made imports so expensive, gives young local designers an edge [in Egypt].
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They're the reality TV stars who first fell in love as teenagers.
But on Monday, Seven Year Switch couple Ryan and Cass Thistleton revealed in an exclusive interview with New Idea that they have split.
The couple's shock separation comes less than a year after they welcomed their baby girl, Mena.
Shock split: Seven Year Switch stars Ryan and Cass (pictured with their children Ramani and baby Mena) have announced to New Idea that they have separated after six years together
Ryan and Cass are also proud parents to toddler Emmerson, as well as Cass' daughter from a previous relationship, 10-year-old Ramani.
Cass told the publication: 'Staying together for your children is not the right reason, you need to be happy'.
The couple - who had a teenage romance before going their separate ways only to reconnect six years ago - also suffered a tragedy, when their son Dex was stillborn in 2013.
Reality stars: The couple welcomed their daughter Mena just last year, but Cass told the publication 'staying together for your children is not the right reason'
Ryan told New Idea that the tragedy 'impacted' their relationship.
The 34-year-old stated, 'I went through severe anxiety and depression after it, and I put the weight of the family on her [Cass'] shoulders to stay strong and keep it together'.
However, the two are taking the amicable split in their stride.
'Family': On Sunday, a day before their interview with New Idea was published, Ryan and Cass shared an adorable family portrait on their shared Instagram account, proving that their split is amicable
The magazine claims that Ryan has 'moved into a place just around the corner from Cass' so as to create as much stability as possible for their young family.
He told the publication his focus is now staying busy and taking care of his mental health.
And it seems that despite the shock separation, which reportedly occurred two months ago, the pair will continue sharing adorable images on their joint Instagram account.
Proud parents: Ryan has reportedly moved just around the corner from Cass, so as to provide their young family with as much stability as possible
On Sunday, a day before the split news was published, the couple took to Instagram to share an adorable family photo
The entire Thistleton clan appeared playing at a playground, with smiles on their faces.
'Family', the caption read, accompanied by a love heart.
Amicable: Ryan and Cass first fell in love as teenagers, and reconnected six years ago, going on the star in the reality show Seven Year Switch
Her estranged husband is rumoured to be 'moving on' and 'getting serious' with stunning model Jasmine Yarbrough, 33.
And now mother of Karl Stefanovic's three children Cassandra Thorburn, 44, is reportedly facing yet another drama, becoming the victim of cruel street vandalism.
New Idea allege that 'I wake up with Karl' was written across the rear window of Cassandra's car.
Cruel joke: Karl Stefanovic's estranged wife Cassandra Thorburn is now facing yet another hurdle with as the victim of cruel street vandalism. With photos of Cassandra's car published in New Idea, the words 'I wake up with Karl' can be seen visibly written on the vehicle's rear window
The former ABC journalist and the Today host, 42, announced their shock separation in September, after 21 years of marriage.
The graffiti written on the car is ripped off the tagline 'I wake up with Today.'
According to the publication, an insider who spotted the vandalism, was 'appalled' that something so 'horrible' would occur on a family friendly street.
'I was shocked! It was very confronting. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in our street,' the insider revealed.
'I can't imagine who would do it. There aren't even any silly teenagers. I feel so sorry for Cassandra. You're supposed to feel safe where you live,' they added.
Split: The former ABC journalist and the Today host, 42, announced they had separated last September after 21 years of marriage
As soon as the Karl and Cassandra's split was announced their family home was put on the market, however this attack may force Cassandra out of the property sooner.
'Even if she doesn't move, I don't think she feel safe wherever she move to,' added the insider.
Meanwhile, it is said Karl's 'new girlfriend' Yasmine will be heading to a 'secret hideaway' to meet with the TV host after landing in Sydney last Thursday.
Touched down: The 33-year-old shoe designer flew into Sydney this week and was seen with her sister Jade at Darling Harbour cafe after touching down
A source close to the LA-based beauty told The Daily Telegraph this week that Karl 'rented a secret hideaway with water views' for the pair.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Karl for comment.
The home is said to be located, 'somewhere on Sydney's Northern Beaches' which boasts kilometers of pristine shoreline and upmarket getaway destinations.
The 33-year-old shoe designer flew into Sydney this week and was seen with her sister Jade at Darling Harbour cafe after touching down.
According to Woman's Day magazine, Jasmine and Karl have been seeing each other since December, after meeting at a boat party in Sydney.
And now, the duo are preparing to 'go public' according to one of Karl's friends, who has told the publication: 'Karl and Jasmine don't want to hide because they aren't ashamed of being together.'
Reports: A source close to the LA-based model told The Daily Telegraph this week that Karl 'rented a secret hideaway with water views' for the pair
The leggy beauty is said to have been invited by the TV star to his brother Peter Stefanovic's April wedding to co-star Sylvia Jeffreys, giving her a chance to meet the family.
It's also alleged Karl may introduce Jasmine to his three children - Jackson, 17, Ava, 11, and River, 10 - when she visits in April, which is also when they will step out together for their first public appearance at the Logie Awards that month.
Meeting up? It's also alleged Karl may introduce Jasmine to his three children - Jackson, 17, Ava, 11, and River, 10 - when she visits in April
Jeremy McConnell recently tweeted he'd had an 'amazing few' days meeting his new son Caben-Albi.
And Stephanie Davis appeared to be echoing his sentiment on Sunday as she took to Twitter to share a sweet post about the weekend.
Clearly in good spirits, the former Hollyoaks star, 23, shared a post which read: 'A Sunday well spent brings a week of content'.
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Chirpy: Stephanie Davis took to Twitter on Sunday to gush about her wonderful weekend after Jeremy McConnell met their son for the first time since it was confirmed he is the father
She captioned the tweet with several smiling face emojis but kept coy as to what had made her so full of joy.
The post coincided with Jeremy's visit to Steph's hometown of Liverpool where he met month-old Caben-Albi for the first time.
The reality star and model tweeted he had 'an amazing few days' with the newborn and is 'feeling blessed' after jetting in from Dublin to see his child.
Sweet words: Clearly in good spirits, the former Hollyoaks star, 23, shared a post which read: 'A Sunday well spent brings a week of content'
The news comes after Jeremy spent nine months vehemently denying the paternity of the baby.
Yet when he discovered last week that he is the father, he was quick to step up.
Sources told The Sun that the hunky Irish model, 26, is determined not to miss anything from the life of the tot, who was born last month.
Jeremy, who started his romance with Stephanie a year ago inside theCelebrity Big Brother house, learnt he was the father to month-old Caben-Albi last week.
'It was an emotional reunion': When Jeremy discovered last week that he is the father of Stephanie's baby son Caben Albi, he was quick to step up as he reportedly jetted to Liverpool
Feeling blessed: The model tweeted on Friday that he has had an 'amazing few days'
After awaiting the DNA results, having given a swab live on This Morning, the former Beauty School Cop Outs star was unveiled as his parent.
He has now reportedly spent the weekend with his child in Liverpool - where he and Stephanie were thought also to bury the hatchet - and insiders claim he has remained in the city to spend more time with his son.
A source said: 'Jeremy is still in Liverpool with Stephanie at the moment. Theyre using this time to get to know each other again away from the cameras and things are going well.
Conflicting stories: Sources tell The Sun that the hunky Irish model, 26, remains in England with the family as he is determined not to miss anything from the life of the tot, who was born last month
'Its been an emotional couple of days for them both but theyre beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Jeremy was keen not to miss out on any more time with Caben and Stephanie agrees its important for him to be there.'
It was revealed earlier in the week that Jeremy had finally met his son and spent time with Stephanie for the first time since their dramatic split.
Having hit it off in January 2016, during their time in CBB, Stephanie sacrificed her outside relationship with now-ex-boyfriend Sam Reece and continued to date Jeremy following their subsequent evictions from the show.
But by May last year things had grown acrimonious and the pair had split up, in what turned out to be a nasty, vitriolic and very public break up.
You're the daddy: After awaiting the DNA results, having given a swab live on This Morning, the former Beauty School Cop Outs star was unveiled as his parent
While Jeremy always insisted he would take a paternity test once the baby was born, there were remarks made that the child was not his; leading to further anger between the pair.
But last week, as the promised paternity test revealed that Jeremy is indeed the father, it seemed that the revelation had bridged the gap between the estranged parents.
A source said earlier his month: 'Stephanie and Jeremy are back on speaking terms. Theyre trying to rebuild a civilised relationship for the sake of Caben they both knew that the situation had to change for things to move forward. Its going to be a slow process but theyre gradually heading in the right direction.'
Yet to meet: Despite sharing a sweet snap of the newborn and gushing he 'loves the little monkey', Jeremy had not met his son at the time of the post
Where or not they will give their relationship another shot or not is another matter, with friends allegedly feeling concern that they will do, for the sake of it.
The insider explained: 'There has always been a spark there even if it did end badly the first time round. They have a child together now everythings changed.'
Jeremy shared a sweet snap of the newborn when the DNA results were revealed, gushing that he 'loves the little monkey' on Saturday.
He had - at this point - not met his son; and was reported that the picture of Caben shared by Jeremy was taken from one of Stephanie's private social media accounts.
First time father: After months of uncertainty, Jeremy, 26, announced on Saturday that he was the father of Stephanie Davis' three week old son Caben-Albi
Not his own: It's been reported that the picture of Caben shared by Jeremy as he announced the news was taken from one of Stephanie's private social media accounts
The reports come after Jeremy broke the news that he is the father by sharing a shot of Caben with his 495,000 Instagram followers.
Captioning the snap, he wrote: Happiest man alive, my new focus.
Showcasing his devotion to the tiny tot, he also wrote on Twitter, 'I'll love this monkey with every bit of me'.
Case of the ex: Jeremys confirmation brings to an end months of acrimony with former Hollyoaks actress Stephanie, who gave birth to their son on January 13
Jeremy appeared on This Morning last week, to address the issue, prior to taking the paternity test and prior to ironing out his differences with the actress.
'I'm upset,' he told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby as he spoke about the debacle for 'the first and last time.'
Jeremy claimed Stephanie wanted him to sign an 'unreasonable contract' in order to get the DNA results done - the contents of which cannot be discussed for legal reasons.
Jeremy said: 'No man in their right mind would sign that. It's disgusting. She's puppeteering the public. I'm sorry, I just can't.'
Speaking out: 'I'm upset. She's puppeteering the public,' he told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby
As seen on screen: The reality star had gone to great lengths to determine whether he was the father of Stephanie Davis' son, even taking a DNA test on live television
Tweet then delete: Following his appearance, Stephanie took to Twitter to share a statement in which she called her ex's display 'humiliating' but since deleted the note
Following his appearance, Stephanie took to Twitter to share a statement in which she called her ex's display 'humiliating'.
The now-deleted statement claimed: 'Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special time of their lives.
'Jeremy has at no point throughout the pregnancy or after the birth been in contact directly with Stephanie. Jeremy was categorically not banned from the birth nor did he ever ask to attend.'
President Donald Trump revisited the style of the campaign trail at a Florida rally, while First Lady Melania Trump prayed before launching a strident defense of her husband
President Donald Trump turned back the clock with a bold and aggressive Florida speech straight out of his 2016 campaign playbook, enthralling fans while insisting all is well in the White House despite weeks of turbulence.
He also took aim at his favorite foil, the "dishonest" news media that he said has become "part of the corrupt system."
At the end of a stormy first month in office, the billionaire took the power of the presidency on the road, revisiting the style and substance of the campaign trail.
After stepping down from Air Force One to a deafening cheer, he was drawn into the collective bosom of several thousand of his dearest followers -- mostly white, mostly male middle-class Americans who feel they have been left behind by the country's shifting economy.
"I'm here because I want to be among my friends and among the people," he said.
At the end of a stormy first month in office, President Donald Trump took to the road, revisiting the style and substance of the campaign trail at a rally in Florida
Trump employed a loud and muscular delivery -- one which won over millions of voters on the campaign trail last year -- to assure Americans he is fulfilling promises to shrink government, rebuild the military, restrict immigration, and tear up health care reforms enacted by predecessor Barack Obama.
"This will be change for the ages," the president said at the event in Melbourne, a sun-bleached city on Florida's Space Coast.
But Trump was completing his first month in office under a cloud in Washington, where lawmakers pledged to further investigate his possible pre-election ties to Russia, his national security advisor was forced to resign in disgrace, and a cabinet nominee withdrew amid controversy.
"The White House is running so smoothly, so smoothly," Trump stressed, before going on an extended rant about the US media.
"I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news," Trump said.
"They've become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system," he said, continuing the open warfare with the media that has marked his young presidency.
- First Lady's prayer -
Trump Job Approval
Aside from the fact that Trump is now leader of the free world, the event was eerily similar in style to his campaign -- from the layout, to the recorded music, to the president's largely impromptu delivery.
About the only thing missing was attacks on his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump acknowledged that he is always in campaign mode.
"Life is a campaign," he told reporters on Air Force One ahead of the rally. "To make America great again is absolutely a campaign. It's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press."
US President Donald Trump said he made the trip to a rally in Melbourne, Florida "because I want to be among my friends and among the people"
During his speech, Trump reiterated his pledge to crack down on terrorism, saying he has "ordered decisive action to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country."
And he said his administration would submit "in a couple of weeks" a plan to repeal and replace "the disaster known as Obamacare."
Republican leaders in Congress have said they will unveil their health care plans in the coming weeks as well.
Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump, who is usually soft-spoken, broke with form by reciting the Lord's Prayer to begin the event, then issuing a scathing rebuke of her husband's enemies and her critics.
"I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, no matter what the opposition is saying about me," she said.
At one point, the president broke security protocol by inviting a supporter to hop a barrier and join him onstage.
"Mr President, thank you, sir," said Gene Huber, a car salesman from West Palm Beach who said he arrived at 4 am to be first in line for the event.
"This is a world leader now who's taking control," Huber told AFP earlier. "No jitters at all."
- 'Total garbage' -
Protesters demonstrate outside a rally by US President Donald Trump at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Florida
The commander-in-chief was clearly seeking to reconnect with his tribe in a reassuring environment.
Tensions have soared in recent days as lawmakers pressed for more information about the Trump campaign's connections with Russia. On Thursday, Trump held a news conference that was startling in its vitriol against the media.
He later took to Twitter to call the media the "enemy of the American People."
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus warned the media not to brush off Trump's denunciation.
"I think you should take it seriously," Priebus told CBS in an interview Saturday, which will air in full on Sunday.
"I think that the problem we've got is that we're talking about bogus stories like the one in the New York Times, that we've had constant contact with Russian officials. The next day, the Wall Street Journal had a story that the intel community was not giving the president a full intelligence briefing. Both stories grossly inaccurate, overstated, overblown, and it's total garbage."
Robert Sponsler, 64, a retired railroad worker from Jacksonville who was attending the rally, turned his nose up at the stew in the capital.
"We don't care," he said of the various controversies. "He don't owe nobody nothing. I'm with him 100 percent."
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First Lady Melania Trump, usually a demure and soft-spoken presence at her husband's side, broke with form, reciting the Lord's Prayer before issuing a scathing rebuke of his enemies and her critics at a campaign-style stop in Florida.
Though she is not a traditional First Lady, she showed she would not be ignored by wearing a bright red $2,200 Alexander McQueen dress and a pair of $600 Louboutins to introduce the president in Florida.
Preceding her husband on the dais at a rally in the city of Melbourne not far from Orlando, the First Lady started her remarks with the words 'let us pray,' before beginning her recitation of the well-known Christian prayer.
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Finding her strike: Melania Trump gave the audience in Melbourne a taste of her First Lady style with a speech eschewing critics
In her speech, Mrs Trump said: 'I am committed to creating and supporting initiatives geared to my heart, which will have impacts on women and children all around the world'
Red alert: Melania Trump stuns in red, a bright contrast to her husband in a neutral navy blue suit
Last week, Mrs Trump publicly referenced her religion when she tweeted a photo of Mar-a-Lago saying: 'Proud to share part of my family history with Mrs. Abe @BBTSchurch where @POTUS & I were married, where we celebrate and we pray.'
Melania Trump steps from the stage after speaking at President Trump's MAGA rally
President Trump fared unprecedentedly well with white evangelical Christians in the 2016 election.
After the prayer, which was followed by a thunderous applause, she launched into an uncharacteristically strident defense of her husband - and her own brief tenure as First Lady.
'The America we envision is one that works for all Americans and where all Americans can work and succeed,' she said.
'A nation committed to a greater civility and unity between people from all sides of the political divide. I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, no matter what the opposition is saying about me,' the First Lady said, wearing an Alexander McQueen red frock with a fitted waist and flared skirt and Louboutin pumps.
This part about opposition may have been a jab at media coverage. President Trump's speech was heavily about his disdain for how the press has covered his time in office.
'I will act in the best interests of all of you. I'm committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart. Which will have impact on women, and children all around the world,' she said.
'My husband is creating a country of great safety, and prosperity,' she said before introducing President Donald Trump, ceding the podium to cheers and applause.
The first lady has been a rare presence with her husband since the inauguration. To the dismay of some critics, she has decided to continue living at their palatial residence in Trump Tower in New York until their 10-year-old son Barron finishes the school year.
Finding her stride: Usually a demure and soft-spoken Melania Trump broke from form at the Melbourne rally
First lady Melania Trump sits and listens to President Donald Trump speak after she introduced him at the Melbourne rally
Last week, First Lady Melania Trump showed her love for the outdoors by choosing to leave her penthouse in Trump Tower and trekking to Delray, Florida for a museum and garden tour with the Japanese Prime Minister's wife.
It was Mrs Trump's first public appearance as first lady without her husband.
All smiles, the First Lady joined the Prime Minister of Japan's wife, Akie Abe, in a tour of Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden.
Purists and traditionalists have been disappointed that the first lady has not kept with precedent and immediately joined her husband in the White House residence.
The former model from Slovenia is 24 years younger than her 70-year-old billionaire husband. She is Trump's third wife.
Her modeling career brought her in the mid-1990s to the United States, where she met the real estate mogul and reality television star she would eventually marry.
Expensive tastes: Mrs Trump wowed in a Alexander McQueen red dress and red Louboutin pumps
The First Lady has been scarcely seen with her husband since the inauguration
President Donald Trump points to First Lady Melania Trump as they walked on stage in Melbourne
Jetting off: The President and First Lady waved to supporters as they left the campaign-style rally
President Trump hit the campaign stump for a rally in Melbourne, a city on Florida's famed Space Coast, seeking to reconnect with his tribe of largely white, male middle-class voters.
He delivered a speech lasting about 45 minutes in what was billed by the White House as 'a campaign rally for America.'
Criticism of Melania has been mild compared to the blistering attacks lodged against her embattled husband, who is engaged in open warfare with the media and who faced major political contretemps over allegations of possible ties between his senior aides and officials in Russia.
The controversy led to the resignation earlier this week of national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Iraqi tanks and armoured vehicles advance towards the village of Sheikh Younis, after the offensive to retake the western side of Mosul commenced on February 19, 2017
Iraqi forces backed by jets and helicopters battled their way to Mosul airport Monday as they prepared to take on the Islamic State group's stronghold in the city's west bank.
The fresh push in the four-month-old operation to retake Mosul has sparked fears for 750,000 trapped civilians who risk getting killed trying to flee and face starvation if they stay.
"The federal police has resumed its advance... Our cannons are targeting Daesh defence lines with heavy fire," federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat said.
Federal police forces, as well as elite units from the interior ministry, army soldiers and Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary fighters, launched a major assault on Sunday.
On the second day of the renewed offensive, they pushed northwards towards Mosul airport, which lies on the southern approach to the city, on the east bank of the Tigris River.
Iraq forces launch operation to retake west Mosul
The assault marks a new phase in the broad operation launched on October 17 to retake Mosul, Iraq's second city and the jihadists' last major stronghold in the country.
The recapture of Mosul would deal a death blow to the "caliphate" which IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in the city in June 2014 but has been shrinking steadily for two years as anti-IS forces advanced.
But it took the Iraq's most seasoned forces, the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), two months to retake east Mosul, where IS put up stiffer than expected resistance.
Commanders and experts believe the city's west bank could prove even harder to retake, with the narrow streets of the Old City forcing Iraqi forces to undertake perilous dismounted raids.
IS also "likely has stronger support within western Mosul, and the ISF (Iraqi security forces) are more likely to encounter populations that are wary or hostile," said Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
- Strategic hill -
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announces the launch of military operations to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State group
Yet after a lull in the four-month-old operation, optimism was high on the front lines.
"I don't expect a very difficult fight: their end has arrived," Hakem Gassem Mohammed, an officer with the interior ministry's Rapid Response force told an AFP reporter south of Mosul.
The first day of the rekindled offensive saw forces advance in sparsely populated areas just south of the city itself and retake at least 15 villages.
The main focus of Monday's operations was to secure an area south of the airport called Al-Buseif.
"It's a strategic location because it is on a hill. We have to seize today because IS fighters can fight back from there," Jawdat told AFP near the front line.
Iraqi forces swiftly retook ten villages as they launched their offensive to recapture west Mosul
CTS forces, who have urban warfare experience and did most of the fighting in east Mosul, were seen heading across the desert to the western side of Mosul.
They are expected to breach the densely-populated western part of Mosul once other forces have moved all the way up to the city limits.
The jihadists defending Mosul's west bank have no choice but to protect their bastion. Bridges across the Tigris in the city have been destroyed and Iraqi forces have cut off escape routes.
The forces were receiving support from a US-led coalition that has delivered more than 10,000 munitions on IS targets since the start of the Mosul operation.
- Mattis in Baghdad -
The new Pentagon chief, James Mattis, arrived in Baghdad Monday to show support for the Iraqi security forces, more than 80,000 of whom have also received training from the coalition since 2014.
Iraqi forces were supported by the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries
Before landing in the Iraqi capital, he told reporters that the United States was not about to plunder Iraq's oil reserves.
US President Donald Trump repeatedly said both while campaigning and since his election that America, whose troops occupied Iraqi for years, should have "taken" the oil.
"All of us in America have generally paid for gas and oil all along, and I am sure that we will continue to do so in the future," Mattis said. "We are not in Iraq to seize anybody's oil."
As Iraqi forces advanced on besieged jihadists in Mosul, fears grew for the estimated 750,000 civilian also trapped there with dwindling food supplies.
Save the Children said on Sunday that all parties should protect the estimated 350,000 children among them.
"This is the grim choice for children in western Mosul right now: bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay -- or execution and snipers if they try to run," said the charity's Iraq director, Maurizio Crivallero.
More than half a million residents stayed home when Iraqi forces entered east Mosul to battle IS there, leading to smaller displacement than initially feared.
But the aid community said the assault on west Mosul could cause a bigger exodus and the UN said it was building more camps around the city.
Members of the Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service celebrate the announcement that east Mosul has been fully retaken from the Islamic State (IS) group
Iraqi government forces launched a major offensive to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group on October 17, 2016.
Here are key dates:
- Battle for Mosul begins -
- October 17: Iraqi forces launch an offensive to drive IS out of Mosul, where the jihadists declared an Islamic "caliphate" in June 2014.
IS overran Mosul and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, sweeping aside security forces ill-prepared to face the assault.
Tens of thousands of troops from army, police and counter-terrorism units are thrown into the long-awaited counter-attack with air and ground support from the US-led coalition.
By the end of October, the army has recaptured the Christian town of Qaraqosh, 15 kilometres (10 miles) from Mosul. Dozens of other nearby towns are retaken within two weeks.
- Entering Mosul -
- November 1: The army says it has entered Mosul itself for the first time since June 2014.
- November 3: IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi breaks a year-long silence to urge his fighters to defend Mosul to the death, and the advance of Iraqi forces begins to slow down.
- November 8: Kurdish peshmerga fighters say they have reached Bashiqa, a dozen kilometres (about eight miles) north of Mosul.
- November 13: Iraq says it has recaptured Nimrud, an ancient city southeast of Mosul.
- November 23: Shiite-dominated paramilitary units known as Hashed al-Shaabi say they have cut IS supply lines between Mosul and Raqa, the self-declared jihadist capital 400 kilometres (250 miles) to the west in Syria.
- Change of tactics -
- December 29: Government troops end a two-week pause by launching the second phase of their offensive on east Mosul with increased coalition support and improved coordination between fighting units.
- January 4: A US-led coalition spokesman indicates the number of Western advisers in the battle has doubled to around 450.
- Tigris River bank -
- January 8: Iraqi units reach the Tigris River that divides Mosul and take up positions near one of the city's five bridges, which have all been destroyed.
- January 14: Elite forces from the Counter-Terrorism Service take control of the sprawling campus of Mosul University.
- Getting there -
- January 18: The head of special forces announces the liberation of the east bank, two days after Iraqi forces reach the iconic Nabi Yunus shrine, also known as "Jonah's tomb" and which IS destroyed in 2014.
Sporadic fighting continues for four more days however, and the western side of Mosul, home to the Old City and traditional jihadists' bastions, is expected to offer much stiffer resistance.
- January 24: The Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against IS says that the east has been "fully liberated", after pockets of IS fighters in the north are cleared.
- Battle for western Mosul -
- January 24: The UN warns that 750,000 civilians in western Mosul are "at extreme risk" as Iraqi forces prepare to attack IS fighters in that part of the city.
In February it adds that up to a quarter of a million Iraqis could flee their homes. That figure comes on top of the 200,000 who have fled since October 17. Close to 50,000 of them have since returned to their homes.
- February 19: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the launch of operations to retake the western side of Mosul. The initial phase of that offensive is expected to focus on Mosul airport, just south of the city.
The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) is an elite special forces unit that has spearheaded assaults in most key battles against IS
A wide array of Iraqi and international forces are involved in the operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, which overran the country's second city in 2014.
The eastern side of the city has now been retaken and, four months into the offensive on Mosul, Iraq announced Sunday that its forces were launching an assault on the west bank.
These are the main forces battling the jihadists in and around Mosul:
- Counter-Terrorism Service -
The CTS is an elite Iraqi special forces unit that has spearheaded assaults in most key battles against IS. It did most of the fighting in east Mosul and is expected to enter west Mosul in the coming days.
Baghdad has not divulged casualty figures but the country's best-trained and most seasoned force is believed to have suffered heavy losses.
- Rapid Response Division -
The CTS's interior ministry counterpart that has developed into a key assault force in Iraq's war against IS. It has advanced on Mosul from the south and is a key component of the new phase of the operation announced Sunday and focused on Mosul airport.
- Army -
The army has begun playing an enhanced role in operations against the jihadists since it was revitalised by US-led training after several of its divisions collapsed during the IS offensive two years ago.
It struggled however when it entered east Mosul and needed the support of special forces. It is active on all four sides of Mosul and is acting as a holding force in reconquered east Mosul.
- Police -
Includes paramilitary federal police and provincial police forces. Many Iraqi police forces have played roles more akin to those of soldiers in the war against IS.
The federal police force has been mostly active on the southern front and is involved in the new phase of operations announced on Sunday.
- Hashed al-Shaabi -
An umbrella organisation created in 2014, which includes a dizzying collection of paramilitary forces who vary in skill and in the degree to which they are actually under government control.
The main groups are Iranian-backed Shiite militias, including Ketaeb Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Badr. The Hashed played a major role in the anti-IS fight in Iraq but forces within it have also carried out abuses.
It also includes Sunni tribal forces sometimes referred to as "tribal mobilisation" or "national mobilisation" that have supported operations on the edges of Mosul and in some Christian areas southeast of the city.
The Hashed's main focus since the start of the offensive has been the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul. They have retaken swathes of desert around it and cut off IS supply lines to Syria.
- Kurdish forces -
The peshmerga are the armed forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. They nominally answer to the federal government but in practice operate independently, battling IS along a long front in the country's north.
Kurdish forces operated north and east of Mosul but their involvement in the fighting was over in a few weeks and they are not expected to enter the city proper.
- US-led coalition -
A US-led international alliance is carrying out air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, and providing training, arms and equipment to forces opposing the jihadists.
There are thousands of coalition military personnel deployed in Iraq, over half of them from the United States. They have trained more than 65,000 members of the Iraqi security forces.
Most are in advisory or training roles, but special forces soldiers who have fought the jihadists on the ground have been deployed and coalition forces near Mosul have also targeted IS with artillery.
- Iranian advisers -
Iranian forces have provided advice and other assistance, including funding for various militias fighting IS in Iraq.
Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards foreign operations wing, has been repeatedly pictured in Iraq during the war.
- Turkish troops -
Deployed at a base near Mosul from which they have carried out artillery strikes against IS. Turkish troops are also present inside Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
The federal government has demanded their withdrawal. Turkey has so far declined to do so but its troops have not been drawn deeper into the Mosul offensive, as had been feared.
'Blush Beauty Point' parlour owner Anita Shrestha (C) attends to a customer's hair in Kathmandu
The continuous whirl of hair dryers is a novel sound at the Blush Beauty Point parlour in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, which until just five months ago had to close at regular intervals because of power cuts.
Scheduled power cuts -- known as load-shedding -- have been a part of daily life in the impoverished landlocked country for decades, forcing small businesses to rely on expensive generators or simply close when the lights went out.
"We had to run our business according to the load-shedding schedule. Clients would call and check if there was light," the salon's owner Anita Shrestha told AFP.
But that has all changed since Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year.
Load-shedding -- previously up to 16 hours a day in the winter dry season -- has all but ended in the country's three largest cities and in other major towns been reduced to around two hours on alternate days.
"When I was appointed I set the goal that I would at least make Kathmandu load-shedding free," Ghising told AFP.
"But at that time I felt that whatever I said I could manage more than that."
Demand for electricity has long since outstripped supply in Nepal, with energy production severely depressed by chronic under-investment and inefficiencies in the power network
Demand for electricity has long outstripped supply in Nepal, with energy production severely depressed by chronic under-investment and inefficiencies in the power network.
The result has been crippling for domestic industry and deterred foreign investment, while crucial infrastructure development has flagged in the years of political paralysis that followed the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006 and the overthrow of the monarchy two years later.
- Political alignment -
Ghising's formula to end the power cuts involved tackling some basic inefficiencies.
He overhauled the hydropower generation system -- storing water at times of low demand so more could be generated at peak hours. He also ended a policy that provided electricity round the clock to certain industries.
The policy was meant to give 24-hour power to around 20 big employers, but had expanded after decades of mission creep -- and backhanders.
"Before there was some mismanagement that some industries get 24 hours (of power), some industries get 12 hours, some industries get only 8 hours. There was unequal distribution of electricity that was not as per the rules of NEA," said Ghising.
Since Kulman Ghising was appointed head of the Nepal Electricity Authority in September last year load shedding has all but ended in the country's three largest cities
In addition, he brought online some power plants that had been sitting idle due to poor maintenance, and launched a public awareness campaign to encourage people to avoid electricity-guzzling activities -- like ironing and pumping water -- in the evenings when demand for power is at its highest.
But arguably the single greatest weapon Ghising has is the backing of the prime minister and the energy and finance ministers.
For one of the first times in Nepal's short history as a parliamentary democracy, all four are members of the Maoist party and that political alignment is bearing fruit.
The country is due to hold its first local elections in nearly two decades later this year and the Maoists need to show results to boost their chances at the polls.
- Hydro potential -
But while Ghising might have turned on the lights for much of Nepal, the country will need to harness its huge hydropower potential to keep the electricity flowing.
"It's cautious optimism because we are known to squander opportunities," said Sujeev Shakya, founder of the Kathmandu-based Nepal Economic Forum, of the recent drop in load-shedding.
He added: "Now at (the) NEA you have a good guy and he may try to reform, but the system is designed to take care of the interests of few."
Nepal with its mountain river system should be an energy-producing powerhouse.
Experts say it could be generating 83,000 megawatts of power, but its total installed generation capacity currently stands at less than two percent of that.
Construction on two long mooted projects is finally expected to begin later this year.
It will take around seven years before they come online, but even one would double Nepal's current generation capacity, eventually transforming it into an energy exporter.
That would be a game changer for the Himalayan nation, which currently relies on India for electricity in the winter dry season.
But with the average tenure of governments in Nepal at around seven months, many are concerned that another change at the top could reverse the recent gains.
"Development of hydro energy infrastructure requires a long-term view. And with these short-term governments it's very difficult to believe they can have a long-term view," said Shakya.
And on the now lit streets of Kathmandu, suspicion darkens the mood.
"I don't know the details, but I feel like Nepalis were kept in the dark for too long," said Shrestha as she styled a client's hair into cascading curls.
"There is a tension that there will be power cuts again if the government changes."
The US-led coalition assisting Iraqi forces against IS has been keen to keep its distance with the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary organisation dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias
The US-led coalition assisting Iraqi forces in their war on the Islamic State group on Sunday praised the militias involved in the fighting, despite some of those groups' links to Iran.
The coalition, which nominally includes more than 60 nations, has been keen to keep its distance with the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary organisation dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias.
But the commander of the coalition battling IS in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, had rare words of praise for them in a statement coinciding with the launch on Sunday of an offensive on the west bank of Mosul.
"The entire Coalition salutes and wishes God's blessings on the brave Iraqi soldiers, police and militias who today are fighting to liberate their country and make the region and the world a safer place," Townsend said in a coalition statement.
The Hashed al-Shaabi forces have played a key role in the fight against IS since the jihadists seized around a third of Iraq in 2014.
However their links to Iran and allegations of rights abuses against them have meant that the coalition has refrained from any direct support, focusing its assistance on the army, the police and elite forces.
In the four-month-old operation to retake Mosul, IS's last major bastion in the country, Hashed forces have operated mostly on a remote desert front southwest of the city.
Their forces have retaken swathes of land and dozens of villages in an effort aimed at surrounding jihadists holed up in the town of Tal Afar and cutting off supply lines between Mosul and the Syrian border.
"Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi forces have risen to the challenge," Townsend said in the statement.
"They have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq and the rest of the world," he said.
Ghada Salah Gad talks, in a recently published book, about how she turned tables on her illness, taking her life back into her own hands
It was not just a hard experience; it was not just a tough health challenge. It was a moment of revelation a moment where I decided that I would have not just to beat my illness but also to abandon anything that goes against my nature. It was the moment I decided to follow my heart, said Ghada Salah Gad.
A breast cancer survivor who decided to turn the tables on her illness by investing time and energy in promoting awareness, early detection and support mechanisms for potential and diagnosed breast cancer patients, Salah had this month issued the first edition of her book The Female Who Saved Me: My trip with breast cancer.
Issued by Dar El-Shorouk, in Arabic, Salahs book is a work of inspiration for women who have to face one of the most curable forms of cancer, but still a stigmatising strain of this harsh disease.
You know, we are brought up to appreciate our bodies in a certain way; it is something we sort of believe in. That we have to be slim and with perfect proportions. And when this is challenged, it's tough, she said.
Salahs book is exactly about that difficult and delicate search for a balance that she had to have between accepting the possible impact that her lumpectomy might have on her and the effort to accentuate her beauty and her womanhood in the way she wants.
It was not easy; I mean, I am not sure how it happened because it just came to me and I just followed my heart on it. I decided that no matter what, I will try to be beautiful and that I would not reduce my entire womanhood or my beauty as a woman to this operation, Salah said.
In her book, Salah talks about her decision to spend a few hours at the hairdressers and to have a pedicure just before going to her operation. She talks about how she prepared for the impact chemotherapy was bound to have on her body when she went shopping for new colourful outfits and headscarves and wigs, which she decided to abandon one summer evening when she was going with her sister to attend a concert and just went with her bald head and makeup with no scarf in my bag to make sure that I would not have cold feet about going out the way I was during my therapy.
Salah was not sure about writing the book and sharing so many of her feelings, worries and demons publicly. When I decided to write the book, I had already made several public appearances to talk about my journey and about how I made it through. That was not easy, but I thought it would be helpful for other women who have to go on the same path, she said.
However, Salah added: Writing the book was much more difficult because I had decided to be more open about what I felt and what I feared; it was important that I did this, I think, because I am sure the fears and feelings I had gone through are very similar to those faced by most other women who had to deal with breast cancer.
In her book, Salah tells women who are still being diagnosed or who are already being treated that having faith is the most essential part of beating the illness. She also shares what she thinks are ways to develop a sense of security despite the fear.
Listen, it really varies. Some women would get their sense of security from the love of a husband who just holds his wifes hands and tell her that he loves her and he finds her beautiful no matter what; other women find security in a supportive brother or sister or in the dependence her children have upon her, she argued.
For Salah, it was family and friends. And family was more about her sister and kids rather than her husband.
And I guess that this is something that women need to know: if you dont have your husband right beside, showing you the kind of compassion you hope for, and if you are not married at all, you could still make it if you hold on, she said.
For Salah, the experience with breast cancer, first as patient and then as a survivor and awareness campaigner, triggered awareness not just with her "inner woman" but also her "inner sense of strength."
I decided that in as much as I managed to tame my illness and defeat it, I should be able to break free from anything that I was not comfortable with; this is what happens when you recall your sense of strength; it is there for you to help you face things that you might have been too scared to face, she said.
Direct from chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Salah decided that she had found the woman inside and that this woman was not content with a marriage that was not emotionally rewarding. She decided to regain her single status with none of the worries she once had about being socially qualified as a divorced woman." "If managed to walk around with my bald head I could walk around without my wedding ring, she said.
Ultimately, Salah said that a great deal of her campaigning efforts are dedicated to help women to be happy and to be capable of living life with inner peace, because this is the first line of defence against falling prey to breast cancer.
Of course, it is genetic and all of this, but ultimately inner peace is a great deterrent against illness and a great reservoir of support for us when we have to go through a tough fight against a tough illness, Salah argued.
Having had the privilege of decent health insurance and sufficient financial resources to cope with costly medical bills, Salah is aware that an adequate health budget is not something most cancer patients in Egypt have.
This is why she is investing time and energy with the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt that help provides women with support for regular mammography check-ups, therapy, psychological support, wigs, prostheses, yoga and even lead the way towards possible reconstruction surgery for women who have to go through full mastectomy, in cooperation with the National Cancer Institute.
It is a tough fight that needs lots of resources and I am really convinced that helping women with the medical bills is a great help. It is tough enough as it is for women who are covered by insurance, she said.
Salah is convinced that there is certainly big room for more donations for foundations that help with early detection and prompt therapy for breast cancer.
She is also convinced that there is a room for wider awareness campaigns that might help women not just be diagnosed early, to make the therapy path shorter and less expensive, but also spared from the illness by reducing the instigating factors.
It is a tough fight, but it is a fight that society could win, and I think survivors have a leading role there because nobody better than a woman who has been there could tell other women about how it feels to be on this rollercoaster and how it is really possible to pick up the pieces, even if one hits rock-bottom, Salah said.
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The Amir Shakib Arslan mosque is intended to make visitors reflect on religion and modernity and the symbolic gesture of constructing a mosque in a village whose residents worship elsewhere
From a distance, there's little to suggest that the building at the entrance of the Druze heartland village of Mukhtara in Lebanon's Chouf mountains is a mosque.
After all, despite practising a faith that is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Druze do not worship at mosques, and the building strays far from the traditional rendering of a Muslim prayer house.
But the Amir Shakib Arslan mosque is intended to make visitors reflect on religion and modernity -- and on the symbolic gesture of constructing a mosque in a village whose residents worship elsewhere.
It is named after the grandfather of Walid Jumblatt, the head of Lebanon's Druze community, who commissioned and funded the project, and replaces a mosque that once stood in Mukhtara but was destroyed decades ago in a feud.
Its unusual design is the result of Jumblatt's decision to give architect Makram el-Kadi free reign to reinterpret what a mosque could look like.
Instead of the traditional domed roof alongside a minaret tower, a cage-like structure of white steel beams has been constructed to sit over an existing traditional Lebanese stone building like a "veil", Kadi says.
At one back corner of the roof, the white blades of the structure bend up towards the sky in a tower that implies a minaret.
The interior of the Amir Shakib Arslan mosque designed by Lebanese architect Makram el-Kadi at the entrance of the Druze heartland village of Mukhtara in Lebanon's Chouf mountains
Light and air flow between the blades, which contrast with the heavy sand-coloured stone of the one-storey traditional building beneath.
In places, the spaces between the blades are filled to create two words that can only be perceived from a distance: on the minaret above, "Allah" or "God", and below, the word "al-Insan" or "human being".
For Kadi, the project is the product of years of reimagining the architecture of the mosque.
"There's nothing scripted, neither in the Koran nor in the hadith (words and practices of the Prophet Mohammed) that tells you what a mosque should be," he told AFP.
- 'A new kind of calligraphy' -
But despite the lack of religious constraints and the young demographics of Islam, the design of mosques has remained largely static.
"Given this big number of young people in the religion, you don't see as much experimentation in the architecture of the mosque as you would expect," Kadi said.
The unusual design of the Amir Shakib Arslan mosque is the result of Walid Jumblatt's decision to give architect Makram el-Kadi free reign to reinterpret what a mosque could look like
Inside, the Mukhtara mosque's walls are largely bare and white, with the sun streaming in from a skylight cut into the vaulted roof.
At the back of the room, where religious texts are traditionally stored, the word "Iqra" or "read" appears in wooden latticework, a nod to the first word of the Koran and a reminder, Kadi says, of the religious imperative to read, not merely recite.
The interior is dominated by a striking carpet featuring an abstract black-and-white pattern -- a first-of-its-kind print of soundwaves taken from a recording of Koranic recitation.
"The carpet is a new kind of calligraphy, in the sense that it's a visual representation of spoken language," said artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who conceived the piece.
Moments in the soundwaves where the word "God" appeared were removed, in part to avoid the possibility of visitors stepping on the word.
"But also to reflect something that's very important in this mosque... that God is both concealed and ultimately very present," added Abu Hamdan.
For all the innovation of the mosque, it retains certain elemental features, including an orientation towards Mecca, which Muslims face to pray and, for now, a traditional adhan, or call to prayer.
Abu Hamdan produced a reinterpreted adhan, with the words spoken rather than sung, but it was deemed a little too avant-garde and has been replaced for now with a standard sung recording.
- 'Diversity and coexistence' -
For Jumblatt, the project's aims were twofold: to emphasise the ties between the Druze faith and other branches of Islam, but also to promote religious tolerance.
Lebanon still bears the scars of its 1975-1990 civil war, in which all factions and sects committed abuses, and it has been rocked by the consequences of the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
"I think the message that we have to say again and again, always in Lebanon, is that it's a place of diversity and coexistence," Jumblatt said.
"Lebanon cannot survive but through its diversity."
The Chouf area where Mukhtara is located witnessed some of the bloodiest massacres of the civil war, committed both by and against the Druze.
More recently, the Druze have been among the religious minorities targeted for forced conversions and expulsions by jihadists in Syria who consider them apostates.
For Mukhtara residents, the mosque is something of a curiosity, regarded as a gesture towards outsiders rather than a potential prayer house for themselves.
"I haven't been inside, but from the outside the design is really nice," said 50-year-old Sabah Abdel Samad, whose pharmacy is opposite the mosque.
"It's something very lovely, promoting pluralism and acceptance of the other," she added.
"Many of our Muslim brothers pass through here, it's a good thing for them to have a place to pray."
Kadi sees the mosque an "act of bridging" between the different branches of Islam at a time "when such gestures... are rarely being made".
"The fact that it's done in this way, that it's done at this time specifically, sends a strong message: that there's an alternative, you can be religious without being close-minded."
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe says he has no "acceptable" successor in place
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 on Tuesday, has no plans to give up power, saying he has no "acceptable" successor in place.
"The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee," Mugabe said in excerpts from a radio broadcast that will air this week and that were printed in the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper.
"But then what do you see? It's the opposite. They want me to stand for elections."
"The majority of the people feel that there is no replacement, a successor who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am," he added.
Mugabe, who has kept an iron grip on power since Zimbabwe declared independence in 1980, has repeatedly denied reports of health problems, fuelled in part by frequent trips to Dubai and Singapore.
He once quipped that he would rule until he turned 100.
"Of course if I feel that I cant do it any more, I will say so to my party so that they relieve me. But for now, I think I cant say so," he said.
But Mugabe, long known for his fiery speeches, has appeared unusually subdued in recent public appearances, speaking slowly and keeping his addresses short.
In September, he read a speech to parliament, apparently unaware that he had delivered the same address a month earlier.
Zimbabwe's economy has crumbled during Mugabe's rule, and opponents of his regime are brutally repressed by security forces.
Inflation is rampant, and in recent months the country has experienced cash shortages, with the government struggling to pay civil servants.
In December, however, Mugabe's ZANU-PF party endorsed him once again as its candidate for 2018 elections, but rival factions in the party are already jostling to succeed him.
He surprised many in the party in 2014 by naming his wife, Grace, head of its influential women's wing, spurring rumours that she could be nursing her own presidential ambitions.
And last week, Grace Mugabe, 51, appeared to dash any opponent's hopes for succeeding him, saying voters would continue to back Mugabe even when he is dead.
"One day when God decides that Mugabe dies, we will have his corpse appear as a candidate on the ballot paper," she said.
"You will see people voting for Mugabe as a corpse."
In the broadcast, Mugabe applauded US President Donald Trump for promoting nationalist policies that he said echoed his "Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans" stance.
"But he is a radical. I don't know whether the construction of the wall between America and Mexico is feasible, a feasible proposal. It appears quite nasty."
UN says 217,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Mosul offensive on October 17
The United Nations said Sunday as Iraqi forces launched their offensive to retake west Mosul that it was rushing to build more shelters ahead of an expected wave of displacement.
"We are racing against the clock to prepare emergency sites south of Mosul to receive displaced families," the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, said in a statement.
"The humanitarian operation is already stretched. We are trying to reach more than six million people across Iraq who need help. We don't have all of the funding we need and many partners are facing major capacity constraints," she said.
Iraqi federal forces on Sunday launched a new phase in the four-month-old offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second city and the last major stronghold IS has in the country.
Forces retook at least five villages and were heading towards the airport, as part of a push aimed at retaking the city's west.
Iraqi government forces last month cleared the eastern side, and while fewer people than feared fled their homes, the UN said a total of 217,000 people have been displaced since the broader Mosul operation started on October 17.
It also said a total of 57,000 had already returned to their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and John Kerry secretly met Arab leaders in 2016 to discuss a comprehensive peace plan, according to a report in the Haaretz
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with Arab rulers last year to hear then US secretary of state John Kerry pitch a regional peace plan, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the February 2016 talks hosted by King Abdullah II in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, Haaretz said, citing former senior officials in the Obama administration who asked to remain anonymous.
It said Kerry wanted the sides to endorse six principles, which he laid out publicly in a December speech.
They included a call for Israel to vacate territory it occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War, subject to land swaps agreed between the two sides.
A former Obama administration official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to AFP that the meeting was held but would not comment on the substance of Kerry's proposal.
Since 1967, Israel has pulled out of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip but annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
It continues to occupy the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements seen as illegal by the international community.
Kerry's parameters envisioned a Palestinian state, with Palestinians recognising Israel as a "Jewish state".
Both would share Jerusalem as the "internationally recognised capital of the two states".
Israel claims the city as its "undivided" capital. Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, rejects talk of ceding any part of it to Palestinian sovereignty.
"Netanyahu did not accept Kerry's proposal and said he would have difficulty getting it approved by his governing coalition," Haaretz wrote on Sunday.
Netanyahu's spokesman and Jordanian officials refused to comment on the report.
Meeting on Wednesday at the White House, Netanyahu and President Donald Trump each spoke of prospects of a regional Middle East understanding to end the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"For the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly as an ally," Netanyahu told Trump.
"We think the larger issue today is how do we create the broader conditions for broad peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab countries," Netanyahu said the following day on MSNBC.
Trump said Netanyahu's proposal for a regional alliance was something that "hasn't been discussed before", adding that it would take in "many, many countries and it would cover a very large territory".
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab states to have formal peace treaties with Israel.
Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish State, but they share informal links.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on February 19, 2017
Israel and the US will set up a joint team to discuss Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, days after talks with President Donald Trump.
During their talks on Wednesday in Washington, Netanyahu and Trump had "agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the US in all of the main areas," the premier said.
They will cover "security, intelligence, cyber, technology, economics and many others", he told ministers and media at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting.
"We also agreed to create a team in an area that we have not previously agreed on: I mean, of course, on settlement in Judaea and Samaria," he said, using a term Israel applies to the West Bank.
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.
The international community sees settlements as a major obstacle to peace, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
At the White House meeting, their first since Trump took office, the president asked Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit. We'll work something out."
During their joint White House news conference, Netanyahu said he believes that "the issue of the settlements is not the core of the conflict, nor does it really drive the conflict."
"I think it's an issue, it has to be resolved in the context of peace negotiations," he said.
The administration of previous US president Barack Obama strongly opposed the expansion of Jewish settlements, arguing that they hurt the longer-term search for a two-state solution.
Since Trump's January 20 inauguration, the Israeli premier has announced more than 5,000 settlement homes and the first entirely new settlement for more than 20 years.
Israel also passed a new law last week that legalises dozens of Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes built on private Palestinian land in the territory.
The European Union has condemned the legislation, which UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said "is in contravention of international law".
Islamic State jihadists established Raqa as their de-facto capital after capturing a swathe of territory across Iraq and Syria in 2014
Kuwait's supreme court on Sunday sentenced a top bureaucrat to 10 years in jail for joining and fighting with the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
The court also fined the unnamed Kuwaiti national, who was a top official at the Kuwait municipality, $30,000 and convicted him of calling other people to join the group.
The ruling is final and cannot be challenged.
Kuwaiti courts have sentenced a number of IS members, sympathisers and financiers to various jail terms.
A lower court in December sentenced a Filipina to 10 years in jail after convicting her of joining the jihadist group and plotting attacks.
Authorities in July said they had dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a Shiite mosque and against an interior ministry target.
An IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers in June 2015 when he blew himself up in a mosque of Kuwait's Shiite minority, in the worst such attack in the Gulf state's history.
US Vice President Michael Richard Pence (C), his wife Karen Pence (R) and his daughter Charlotte Pence stand at the International Memorial of former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau on February 19, 2017
US Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, Germany on Sunday, against the backdrop of concerns about a surge of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since Donald Trump was elected president.
Pence, his wife Karen and daughter Charlotte toured the camp where more than 200,000 political prisoners, Jews and others were incarcerated by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. More than 40,000 people died there.
Under gray skies, the Pences placed a wreath at a memorial in the center of the camp and visited the barracks, a crematorium and a gas chamber.
"It was a miracle that we survived," former Dachau prisoner Abba Naor told the vice president and his family, describing a typical meal as "a slice of bread."
Pence signed a guest book, ending his visit with an hour-long service at the Church of Reconciliation on the camp grounds.
"Moving and emotional tour of Dachau today," he tweeted on his official Twitter account. "We can never forget atrocities against Jews and others in the Holocaust."
The vice president and other senior figures in the Trump administration are touring Europe to assure nervous allies of Washington's "unwavering" support for NATO, as Pence put it Saturday in a speech to an international security conference in Munich.
But the stop in Dachau also had a US dimension to as it comes amid concerns over a surge of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States.
Nearly 60 bomb threats have been received by 48 Jewish community centers across the country, most of them in three days in January leading up to Trump's inauguration, CNN reported.
US Vice President Mike Pence (3rdL) and his family are joined by ex-Dachau prisoners as they visit the Dachau concentration camp in southwestern Germany, on February 19, 2017
A proliferation of post-election incidents involving swastikas painted on school walls and other anti-Semitic symbols have raised concerns that white supremacist groups have been emboldened by Trump's win.
Asked about the incidents twice this past week, Trump initially reacted by deflecting the questions and then by taking umbrage.
He angrily ordered an ultra-orthodox Jewish reporter at a White House news conference Thursday to "sit down," after he asked about the bomb threats to Jewish community centers, prefacing the question by saying no one in his community thought Trump himself was anti-Semitic.
"Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life," Trump said. "Number two, racism. The least racist person."
"I hate the charge, I find it repulsive, I hate even the question," he added, accusing the reporter of asking "a very insulting question."
Questions were previously raised when the White House marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 with a statement that made no mention of Jews or anti-Semitism.
Flames billow following a reported car bomb explosion at a Syrian pro-government position in Daraa on February 20, 2017
Syrian government forces Monday escalated their bombing campaign around Damascus, raining shells down on rebel territory and sending out a "bloody message" just days before renewed peace talks in Geneva.
Representatives from the opposition and of President Bashar al-Assad's regime are to head to Switzerland on Thursday for another attempt to end their country's brutal six-year war.
But regime forces Monday escalated their bombing of the edges of the capital, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activists on the ground.
"The toll in regime air strikes on (northern rebel district of Damascus) Barzeh has increased to seven people, including a woman and child," the Observatory said, adding that 12 more had been wounded.
The Britain-based monitor said rockets also hit the northeastern opposition-controlled neighbourhood of Qabun overnight and into Monday morning.
Rebels and regime forces reached a local ceasefire in Qabun in 2014, but violence erupted there at the weekend when 16 people were killed in government rocket fire on a funeral.
"This is the third day of bombardment -- rockets, artillery, mortars and air strikes," said media activist Hamza Abbas, speaking to AFP via internet from Qabun, where he said he could hear non-stop shelling.
"The bombardment is targeting three neighbourhoods -- Qabun, Barzeh and Tishreen," Abbas said.
A Syrian military source contacted by AFP declined to comment on the operations.
- Targeting Ghouta -
A Syrian woman sits with injured children at a hospital following a reported strike by government forces in the rebel-held distric of Barzah, on the north-eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on February 20, 2017
Syria's opposition on Sunday lambasted the government's renewed bombing campaign around the capital, alleging that its aim was to sabotage the peace talks.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said the attacks near Damascus and elsewhere were "obstructing the efforts aimed at a political transition in Syria".
"It is a bloody message from a criminal regime just a few days ahead of political negotiations in Geneva that demonstrates its rejection of any political solution," the HNC said in an online statement.
The HNC was formed in December 2015 and has emerged as the leading umbrella group for Syria's opposition factions. It has a new chief opposition negotiator for the Geneva talks, lawyer Mohammed Sabra.
He replaces Mohammed Alloush of the Army of Islam (Jaish al-Islam), a powerful faction headquartered in the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta.
That district, which has faced a blistering army offensive in recent months, is near opposition-controlled areas of Damascus increasingly targeted by the government.
Assad's regime is "bitterly determined to rid itself of the insurgent enclave, one way or another", analyst Aron Lund wrote in a post for the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Center.
- 'Scared of conferences' -
Thursday's talks in Switzerland will be the fourth round of UN-hosted peace negotiations, and Syrians caught in the six-year conflict do not hold out many hopes for a political solution.
Radwan al-Homsi, a media activist in northwest Syria, told AFP that violence always increased after previous talks in Geneva in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Instead of securing peace, "it's actually the opposite -- we're now very scared of anything called a conference, because after every conference, there's a military campaign", the 27-year-old said from the town of Binnish.
Rebel fighters, part of the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield alliance, pose with an Islamic State group flag as they advance on February 20, 2017, towards the city of Al-Bab
Since the last round of talks in April 2016, rebels have lost their stronghold in east Aleppo and seen a new partnership form between their main ally Turkey and government backer Russia.
Ankara and Moscow have teamed up to host two rounds of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan in a bid to bolster a faltering truce they brokered in December.
Syria's conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, morphing since 2011 from a protest movement against Assad into a fully fledged war that has seen jihadists rise to prominence.
Turkey in August launched an unprecedented incursion into Syria, backing rebels to oust the Islamic State group and Kurdish militia from the border area.
On Monday, 11 members of one family were killed in Al-Bab as Turkey-backed rebels advanced on the IS-held town, the Observatory said.
And in Raqa, the jihadist group's de facto capital, eight civilians were killed in air strikes by unidentified warplanes, the monitor said.
It added that 250 rebels and members of their families left the Serghaya area near the Lebanese border Monday under a local truce with the regime, heading to the northwestern province of Idlib, which is mostly rebel-held.
Also Monday, an attack by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front on a hospital in the southern city of Daraa killed three people, state news agency SANA reported.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he would make a decision over his new national security advisor "over the next couple of days"
A top aide denied Sunday that President Donald Trump is having difficulty filling the key post of national security advisor because of White House moves to politicize the office.
Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago getaway in Florida, was set to interview four candidates to replace Mike Flynn, the retired general who was ousted as national security advisor for deceiving Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to Washington.
Meanwhile, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus hit the Sunday television talk shows to push back at reports of disarray at the National Security Council, the president's main forum for decision-making about issues of national security and foreign affairs.
On Fox News Sunday, he was asked whether Trump was insisting that his controversial chief political strategist Steve Bannon play a major role in the NSC, reportedly a source of concern to candidates for the national security advisor position.
"The answer to that is no," Priebus said.
- Job Search -
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told "Fox News Sunday" any implication that the White House wants the national security council under the control of political operatives is "fake news"
Trump's search for a replacement has narrowed to acting national security advisor Keith Kellogg, a retired three star general; former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, an expert on counter-insurgency warfare; and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, the White House said.
Another leading candidate, retired general and former CIA chief David Petraeus, is no longer in the running.
The president told reporters on Saturday that he would make a decision over his new national security advisor "over the next couple of days."
Retired General Jim Jones, who served as national security advisor under former president Barack Obama, said the post requires a strategic thinker who enjoys direct access to the president and the confidence of key cabinet members.
"That relationship (with the president) has got to be a very strong and very direct," Jones said on CNN's State of the Union.
- 'Total and complete say' -
Robert Harward, a retired vice admiral and former Navy SEAL, turned down Trump's offer of the national security advisor job earlier in the week, citing financial and family reasons.
Media reports said he was concerned he wouldn't be able to bring in his own team to staff the NSC. Other reports said he was put off by apparent chaos in the White House.
Priebus said the staffing issue was never raised in the talks with Harward.
"The president has said very clearly that the new (national security advisor) will have total and complete say over the makeup of the NSC and all of the components of the NSC, and there is no demand made by President Trump on any candidate," he said.
Set to appear on the ABC's Sunday talk show "This Week," Harward dropped out at the last minute.
With the National Security Council reeling from Flynn's ouster, the White House delivered another shock on Friday when it abruptly dismissed the senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, Craig Deare, for criticizing Trump and his top aides, Politico reported.
However, Priebus told "Fox News Sunday" any implication that the White House wants the national security council under the control of political operatives is "fake news."
He also dismissed a New York Times report this week that members of the Trump campaign had repeated contacts with Russian operatives during the campaign as "garbage."
"The top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that that story is not only inaccurate, but it is grossly overstated," he said, declining to say who had given those assurances.
Smoke rises after an air strike by US aircraft on positions during an ongoing an operation against Islamic State militants in Kot district of Nangarhar province on February 16, 2017
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday said he is compiling an assessment for President Donald Trump to weigh on Afghanistan, which remains mired in a brutal and seemingly intractable conflict.
The Afghan war is the longest in US history but Trump has scarcely given it a passing mention -- either while campaigning or since entering the White House.
Mattis said his commander-in-chief had been "rightfully reticent" on the matter, as he was waiting for input from his generals.
"We are putting our thoughts together now," Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi while on his first trip to the region as Pentagon chief.
Trump "is open to my advice on it, but first of all I've got to formulate where I stand, so this is the normal collection of... information."
Mattis met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Munich on Saturday and had been due to fly to Kabul on Sunday, but the trip was postponed due to bad weather.
Instead, Mattis held lengthy video talks with General John Nicholson, the chief US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
US-led forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for 16 years, making it America's longest-ever war, yet Nicholson this month told Congress the situation remains stuck in a "stalemate".
The US troop presence in Afghanistan is currently capped at about 8,400 after former US Barack Obama insisted on drawing numbers down and handing security responsibility to Afghan forces.
Nicholson said he needs thousands more troops to help the beleaguered Afghan forces, who have suffered catastrophic losses.
The question of whether to double down in the seemingly endless conflict will now become one of Trump's first major military strategy questions.
Trump would seek the advice of Mattis before deciding on Nicholson's request for reinforcements, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said.
Trump had suggested in a recent call to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani that he would consider sending more soldiers, according to media reports.
- Russian support for Taliban -
Further complicating the picture is Russia's role in the conflict.
Nicholson has accused Moscow of giving the Taliban encouragement and diplomatic cover in order to undermine American influence and to defeat NATO.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis speaks to reporters at a hotel in Abu Dhabi on February 19, 2017
Mattis did not directly address the role of Russia, which as the Soviet Union fought a bitter war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Mattis said he needs to "assess what the other countries in the region are doing in Afghanistan to help or hinder us in our efforts. We are still sorting that out."
Earlier this month, a US government watchdog said the death rate among Afghan security forces soared last year and the Kabul government's overall control of the country dropped significantly.
While acknowledging the "very heavy price" the Afghans paid, Mattis said the local forces had succeeded in keeping the Taliban on the back foot.
It's "been a hard fight all the way through," he said.
"I would question who came out on the shorter end of the stick. I'd rather be in NATO right now than I would want to be in the Taliban's position."
Mattis visited NATO headquarters in Brussels last week to urge member countries to pay more into the alliance and to reassure them that America was committed to it.
Trump while campaigning spoke disparagingly of NATO, even though the alliance has been key to the fight in Afghanistan ever since the US-led invasion in late 2001.
I mentioned in the previous paper Nassers interesting statement in Philosophy of Revolution: if you want a consensus, national unity, then stimulate the passions, talk to the instincts, be maximalist but of course you will achieve nothing, as this comes at the expense of realism.
But if you want to achieve results, to progress, you should behave according to reason, you should talk to reason, you should be realistic, but this comes at the expense of consensus people never agree and you are exposed to accusations, as the definition of a satisfactory compromise greatly varies. Some people do not even accept the idea of a compromise.
This deserves some (rational) discussion, as it goes against the liberal mantra and may explain why liberalism is unpopular in Egypt.
Liberalism assumes deliberation is the main political activity, that it enables consensus building through compromise, and warily considers instincts and passions: they are violent, divisive, and dangerous. Moreover, liberalism does not easily accept the premise everybody has the same instincts. I should add Nassers statement goes against the findings of political psychology, which tell us people tend to understand their country is plural, and tend to consider people of other countries to be homogeneous.
A first explanation could be the context. Egypt, albeit independent, endured British occupation, and of course everybody wanted to end this. Moreover, between 1948 and 1977, Egypt was at war with Israel. These were times of national unity.
But things are more complicated. Nationalism tends to consider the people as united by destiny, language, culture and instincts. Of course intelligent nationalists know things are subtler: Nasser, in the same book, described a typical middle class Egyptian family: the father was a rural notable, the mother from Turkish descent, the sons spoke Arabic and English, and the daughters spoke Arabic and French.
Change and modernisation occurred at a quick pace; the successive generations had widely different mindsets. This situation was deemed necessary and accidental, it should not last. The target was a modern Egyptian culture. Nasser cleverly exploited all the talents willing to work for him, nevertheless the reins and the key positions were in the hands of those considered to be real Egyptians sharing the same nationalism and goals.
It is not clear to me if Nasser, who was wary of the divisive effects of rational solutions, thought these were divisive because many were unable of rational thinking (a common stereotype in Egypt), or because everyone had his own way of assessing things, or a mix of both.
I should add he was wary of personal and private interests, which had an impact on discourse. Anyhow, it is clear he thought discussion on nationalist hot issues and on many others (where, for instance, science was supposed to have a say) cannot bring results, probably because a perfectly rational deliberation is a utopia, and because powerful interests belonged to the old regime and are never rational.
Both traditional liberalism and mainstream Egyptian liberalism assume people are different and do not necessarily have the same instincts; society is pluralistic. Political trends and forces should calmly deliberate to solve their problems and issues.
Liberalism pays tribute to rationality and does not like passions, which are deemed dangerous. Rationality enables consensus building, while passions are inherently violent.
American philosopher Michael Walzer brilliantly proved liberalism should correct these assumptions: first of all, even in democratic regimes, politics is not only about deliberation and rational discussion.
Second, you cannot achieve real, major change without a huge dose of mobilisation and passion. Passion and reason are both needed.
Third, passion can achieve both the best and the worse, and the same goes for reason. In practice, everybody has both. The key distinction should be between good and evil, not reason and passion.
These corrections should strengthen, not weaken, liberal philosophy. Still, political liberalism has many weak points for instance it assumes people are de facto equal, and therefore it is very poorly armed for confronting huge inequalities as Nasser correctly saw.
But it also has many strong ideas: arguably, it is one of the best attempts to deal with human pluralism, pluralistic societies, human differences and human dignity.
I dont consider thoughtful liberalism to have problems with the idea of a difference between good and evil, or with the necessity of confronting foes, but this is a too complex issue for a column. Suffice to say liberals are not always thoughtful.
Let us return to the instincts issues. Nasser and the nationalists statement is unambiguous. The liberals prefer to say the contrary, though some would admit that some common instincts do exist and are necessary for a serious discussion to succeed.
It should be clear instincts, in Nassers mind, had a specific meaning. Instincts are and were related to the sacred, to the sacred causes. On sacred issues passions are aroused and quickly and legitimately become violent, while rational discussion is impossible and rational thinking is difficult.
Do Egyptians share the same instincts? Of course you can easily build a case for yes and a case for no, and of course it is difficult to know without reliable polls.
It also depends on your definition, on the issues, on the times. Of course here what is relevant is not how things are, but how you think they are, and how you deal with them.
However, it seems possible to say this: the case for the yes was much stronger during the so called liberal era and during the early Nasser years in other words, during British occupation, when Egyptians were unified against it, and when the society was basically rural, relying on agriculture and suffered from deep inequalities.
Now the case for no is much stronger, as nationalism and Islamism clash, as society is much more complex, and as different ways of living coexist with difficulty.
In other words, liberalism was once weakened by the overall Egyptian situation. But now the question is: is it suited for the current situation?
To be continued
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Unilever rejected a buyout bid from Kraft Heinz
The US food giant Kraft Heinz has dropped its bid to buy Unilever days after it rejected a $143 billion buyout offer, the companies said on Sunday.
Kraft Heinz had signaled on Friday that it would press ahead with its campaign after the British-Dutch consumer products manufacturer said the initial proposal "fundamentally undervalues" its worth.
However, strong resistance from Unilever reportedly persuaded Kraft Heinz over the weekend to back out.
"Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies," they announced in a joint statement.
"Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard," it added. "Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever."
The deal would have created a giant in global food -- second only to Nestle -- joining the maker of Kraft cheese and Heinz ketchup to its European counterpart, whose products include Q-tips, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Analysts had said the potentially massive merger -- which would have been one of the largest corporate deals in history -- could have raised red flags for antitrust regulators over the effect on consumers, and for politicians given the possibly large job cuts.
Kraft's pursuit of Unilever came as global food companies struggle with anemic economic growth in many key markets.
Kraft Heinz is the fifth-biggest food and beverage company in the world and the third-biggest in North America. It was formed by the 2015 merger struck between Heinz's controlling shareholders, US billionaire Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, and 3G Capital of Brazil.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Matt Mitrione was hospitalized with a kidney stone Saturday, forcing the cancellation of his fight against heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Bellator 172.
Mitrione took part in the pre-fight activities throughout the week despite being in discomfort. The pain worsened following Friday's weigh-in and continued overnight. Mitrione was eventually sent to a local hospital where doctors discovered the kidney stone.
Bellator President Scott Coker said discussions about a possible replacement for Mitrione were held but because of time constraints and other concerns, the decision was made to cancel only hours before the scheduled three-round bout.
"This morning (Mitrione) was in excruciating pain," Coker said. "We're not going to put Matt in any kid of situation where he's in harm's way."
Flyers announcing the cancellation were taped to poles in the parking lots and fans were offered full refunds, though few seemed to do that.
Coker hopes to reschedule the fight for later this year, possibly in May or June, at the SAP Center where the original fight was to be held.
"We just have to wait and see if Matt is going to be OK to do it," Coker said. "If not, we'll find Fedor another opponent."
Emelianenko, the 40-year-old Russian who once crafted a winning streak that spanned nearly a decade, is widely recognized as one of the greatest heavyweights in the MMA history and was scheduled to fight in the United States in more than five years. The fight against Mitrione, a former UFC contender, was to be Emelianenko's first in Bellator.
"It's disappointing," Coker said. "We all came here to see Fedor fight in the main event. I feel bad for him because the guy's in tip-top shape, ready to go, ready to fight, came here to fight and there's no fight."
Instead of fighting, Emelianenko worked the corner for Anatoly Tokov in a victory over Francisco France on the undercard. Tokov is a member of Emelianenko's team.
Afterward, Emelianenko spoke to the crowd from the ring through an interpreter and expressed his disappointment.
"We were preparing for this fight really very hard," Emelianenko said.
The rest of the card went on as planned.
Former UFC welterweight contender Josh Koscheck was stopped in the first round of his Bellator debut by Brazillian Mauricio Alonso. Alonso landed a right uppercut that staggered Koscheck and later knocked him to the mat before referee John McCarthy stepped in.
In the fight that was elevated to the main event, Patricky Pitbull knocked out Josh Thomson in the second round of their lightweight bout. The two appeared to collide heads and Pitbull followed with a right uppercut that dropped Thomson to the mat. After Pitbull landed two hard right hands McCarthy stopped the fight.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A paranoid dictator's estranged brother. Two young female assassins. A crowded international airport. And a mysterious poison that kills within hours.
It's the perfect recipe for a thrilling cloak-and-dagger spy novel. Except some - or possibly even all - of this tale could be true in the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And just like similar intriguing cases from the past, the public is hanging on to every detail because there's just something about murder by poison that captivates.
"A gun announces its mischief; poison can sneak in with a sip of champagne," said Robert Thompson, a pop culture expert at Syracuse University. "The question isn't why we are fascinated with this latest story, it's why wouldn't we be?"
Medical staff carry a metallic bed which is used for transporting dead bodies out of the forensic department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. Speculation that the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader was killed by two young female agents at the busy Kuala Lumpur airport last week left even the most seasoned toxicology sleuths shaking their heads. (AP Photo/Alexandra Radu)
Still, speculation that Kim Jong Nam was killed by two young female "agents" at the busy Kuala Lumpur airport last week left even the most seasoned toxicology sleuths shaking their heads. Add in that the portly sibling was apparently sprayed in the face with a substance so potent it killed him before he could reach the hospital, and you've got a scene straight out of a James Bond movie.
Four people, including the two women - one Indonesian and the other traveling on a Vietnamese passport - have been detained. The Indonesian told authorities she thought she was participating in a comedy show prank. Conspiracy theories and speculation abound as police scramble to unravel what really happened to Kim Jong Nam, aged 45 or 46, the son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and a mistress. After falling out of favor with the family, the son lived for years in exile and was about to catch a flight to Macau when the attack took place. He sought help at the airport clinic after suddenly falling ill and died en route to the hospital. An autopsy has been performed, but the results have not been released.
If a chemical agent really was to blame, finding it may be the hardest part of all. Tissue and fluid samples may need to be sent abroad for analysis at a facility with greater capabilities, such as in Japan or at the FBI's crime lab, if Malaysian experts cannot pinpoint the cause of death.
"The more unusual, the more potent, the more volatile a poison is, the less likely it is to be detected," said Olif Drummer, a toxicologist at Australia's Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine who has spent 40 years in the field.
Experts routinely tasked with finding answers in poisoning cases say the events at Kuala Lumpur's budget airline terminal are bizarre, but not impossible. They wonder: What substance could have been used to kill the victim so quickly without sickening the women who apparently deployed it, along with anyone else nearby? Difficult, they say, but doable.
"It's not an agent that could be cooked up in a hotel room. It's going to take a lot of knowledge regarding the chemical in order to facilitate an attack like this," said Bruce Goldberger, a leading toxicologist who heads the forensic medicine division at the University of Florida. He said a nerve gas or ricin, a deadly substance found in castor beans, could be possible. A strong opioid compound could also have been used, though that would likely have incapacitated the victim immediately.
"It would have to be cleverly designed in order to be applied in this fashion without hurting anyone else," Goldberger said.
History is filled with poisoners. From jilted lovers seeking revenge to greedy spouses looking to collect on life insurance policies. Arsenic, cyanide and strychnine are often the toxins of choice used in murders, but political hits are usually a much more complicated business.
Take the Cold War case of Bulgarian defector and journalist Georgi Markov. He was jabbed in the leg with an umbrella in 1978 at a bus stop in London. He died three days later, and a pellet of highly toxic ricin was found under his skin - shot there by a device concealed inside the umbrella. No one was ever arrested, but Bulgarian secret police were suspected with help from the Soviet KGB.
The Kremlin has been implicated in a number of high-profile cases including Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who fled to the United Kingdom and was lethally poisoned by radioactive polonium-210 in 2006. In a report published last year, a British judge wrote that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the assassination carried out by the country's security service.
And just this month, another loud Putin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, fell into a coma and was diagnosed with "acute intoxication by an unidentified substance." The Russian nearly died from a similar unexplained poisoning two years ago.
Though the dramatic cases linked to espionage tend to make headlines, many other killings are overlooked entirely.
"To me, murder by poison is the easiest thing to get away with," said John Trestrail, a forensic toxicologist who has examined more than 1,000 poisoning crimes. "If all those people in the cemetery who have been poisoned could raise their hands, we'd probably be shocked."
While murder using toxins is far less common than stabbings and shootings, he said his research shows that poisoners often strike more than once.
"These people get away with it time and time again until somebody says, 'Well, hell, she's had four husbands and they all died suddenly,'" Trestrail said. "Then the exhumations come and: Bingo!"
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Follow Margie Mason on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@margiemasonap
FILE - This combination of file photos shows Kim Jong Nam, left, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan, on May 4, 2001, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on May 9, 2016, in Pyongyang. Speculation that Kim Jong Nam was killed by two young female agents at the busy Kuala Lumpur airport last week left even the most seasoned toxicology sleuths shaking their heads. If a chemical agent really was to blame, finding it may be the hardest part of all. (AP Photos/Shizuo Kambayashi, Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 file photo, passengers line up at the check-in counter in the low-budget airline terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport where Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was assassinated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Speculation that the estranged Kim Jong Nam was killed by two young female agents at the busy airport last week left even the most seasoned toxicology sleuths shaking their heads. If a chemical agent really was to blame, finding it may be the hardest part of all. (AP Photo/Margie Mason, File)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Actor Shia LaBeouf has brought a performance-art piece against President Donald Trump to New Mexico's largest city.
The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2lWMbGd) that LaBeouf, along with two other artists, brought on Saturday a 24-hour live-streaming camera mounted to a wall with the message in block letters: "He will not divide us," referring to Trump. The artists want people to go up to the camera and repeat the phrase
LaBeouf told the Journal: "We are anti the normalization of division. That's it. The rest of the info is right there, chief, I got nothing else to say to you."
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, Shia LaBeouf arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Man Down" at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood. LaBeouf has brought a performance-art piece against President Donald Trump to New Mexico's largest city. The Albuquerque Journal reports that LaBeouf, along with two other artists, brought on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, a 24-hour live-streaming camera mounted to a wall with the message in block letters: "He will not divide us," referring to Trump. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
LaBeouf was arrested in New York City last month after he got into an altercation with another man during the performance art project. He faces a misdemeanor assault charge and is due in court April 4.
Draft DHS guidelines seek to aggressively detain immigrants
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Homeland Security Department has drafted sweeping new guidelines aimed at aggressively detaining and deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to a pair of memoranda signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly.
The memos dated Friday seek to implement President Donald Trump's broad directive to crack down on illegal immigration. Kelly outlines plans to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand on the priority list for immigrants marked for immediate removal and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests, according to a person briefed on the documents, who confirmed the details to The Associated Press.
"The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States," Kelly wrote.
He said apprehensions on the southern U.S. border had seen an additional surge of 10,000 to 15,000 per month from 2015 to 2016.
The memos leave in place one directive from the Obama administration, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows young people who were brought into the country illegally as children to stay and obtain work permits. The program has protected about 750,000 immigrants since its inception in 2012. Trump has previously indicated his desire to end the program, but at his press conference last week indicated that he would "show great heart" toward the program.
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Trump steps up security aide search, focuses on health care
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - President Donald Trump brought more contenders for national security adviser to his Palm Beach club for in-person interviews Sunday, hoping to fill the job in the coming days as he seeks to refocus his young administration.
Trump also drilled down on policy during his working weekend at Mar-a-Lago, attending a strategy session on how to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, with top aides including Health Secretary Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office.
While in Florida, the president found time for a few holes of golf on Saturday and Sunday. And with his wife, Melania, he stopped by a fundraiser Saturday night at his private Palm Beach club, put on by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Trump also took to Twitter to explain a comment he made about violence in Sweden at a Saturday rally. He suggested that some kind of major incident had taken place in the country Friday night, but on Sunday he said he was referring to something he saw on Fox News. That might have been a report Friday night about the influx of immigrants to Sweden.
Trump also spoke to the leaders of Panama, Trinidad and Tobago.
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AP source: Trump's revised travel ban targets same countries
WASHINGTON (AP) - A draft of President Donald Trump's revised immigration ban targets the same seven countries listed in his original executive order and exempts travelers who already have a visa to travel to the U.S., even if they haven't used it yet.
A senior administration official said the order, which Trump revised after federal courts held up his original immigration and refugee ban, will target only those same seven Muslim-majority countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya.
The official said that green-card holders and dual citizens of the U.S. and any of those countries are exempt. The new draft also no longer directs authorities to single out - and reject - Syrian refugees when processing new visa applications.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order before it's made public. The official noted that the draft is subject to change ahead of its signing, which Trump said could come sometime this week.
Asked about the revised order, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the document circulating was a draft and that a final version should be released soon. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Trump says remark about Sweden referred to something on TV
HELSINKI (AP) - Swedes have been scratching their heads and ridiculing President Donald Trump's remarks that suggested a major incident had happened in the Scandinavian country. The American president now says he was referring to something he saw on television.
During a rally in Florida on Saturday, Trump said "look what's happening last night in Sweden" as he alluded to past terror attacks in Europe. It wasn't clear what he was referring to and there were no high-profile situations reported in Sweden on Friday night.
The comment prompted a barrage of social media reaction on Sunday, with hundreds of tweets, and a local newspaper published a list of events that happened on Friday that appeared to have no connections to any terror-like activity.
On Sunday, Trump took to Twitter to explain: "My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden." A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, says that Trump was talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general, not referring to a specific issue.
The president may be referring to a segment aired Friday night on the Fox News Channel show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that reported Sweden had accepted more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year but that only 500 of the migrants had found jobs in Sweden. The report, which was illustrated with video of broken windows and fires, went on to say that a surge in gun violence and rape had followed the influx of immigrants.
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Iraqi forces launch offensive to drive IS from western Mosul
HAMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq (AP) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a major air-and-ground offensive Sunday to retake western Mosul from Islamic State militants and drive the extremist group from its last major urban bastion in Iraq.
Ground units pushed into a belt of villages outside the country's second-largest city, and plumes of smoke rose into the sky early in the morning as U.S.-led coalition jets struck militant positions southwest of Mosul and militarized Iraqi police fired artillery.
"This is zero hour and we are going to end this war, God willing," said Mahmoud Mansour, a police officer, as he prepared to move out.
The United Nations warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside their homes in Mosul "are at extreme risk," with dwindling fuel, food and water and scarce electricity.
Iraq declared eastern Mosul "fully liberated" last month after three months of fierce fighting, but the militants have continued to stage attacks there, including two suicide bombings against government forces on Sunday.
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As Trump makes foreign moves, Tillerson avoids the spotlight
WASHINGTON (AP) - When North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters between South Korea and Japan, President Donald Trump moved quickly to show U.S. resolve. He appeared within hours alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and said the U.S. "stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent."
Trump happened to be hosting Abe that day in Florida. Yet his lack of any mention of U.S. treaty ally South Korea didn't go unnoticed by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. So, while on his first official trip, Tillerson arranged a three-way meeting in Germany with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers to show the U.S. wasn't picking favorites, according to a senior State Department official.
The talks culminated in a joint declaration in which the U.S. pledged to defend a pair of Asian nations that don't always get along. There was no elaborate ceremony before the video cameras, no speeches, as their written statement went out in low-key fashion.
It was Tillerson's way.
Cautious, reserved and intent on avoiding the spotlight, the former Exxon Mobil CEO is proving to be everything his extroverted Oval Office boss is not.
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2 dams illustrate challenge of maintaining older designs
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Twelve years ago, widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast helped compel federal engineers 2,000 miles away in California to remake a 1950s-era dam by constructing a massive steel-and-concrete gutter that would manage surging waters in times of torrential storms.
The nearly $1 billion auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam, scheduled to be completed later this year, stands in contrast to the troubles 75 miles away at the state-run Oroville Dam, where thousands of people fled last week after an eroded spillway threatened to collapse - a catastrophe that could have sent a 30-foot wall of floodwater gushing into three counties.
Together, the two dams illustrate widely diverging conditions at the more than 1,000 dams across California, most of them decades old. The structures also underscore the challenge of maintaining older dams with outdated designs.
"Fifty years ago, when we were evaluating flood risk, the fundamental assessment was the climate was stable, not changing. We now know that is no longer true," said Peter Gleick, chief scientist with the Pacific Institute, a California-based think tank specializing in water issues.
"We need to look at the existing infrastructure with new eyes," he warned.
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SpaceX launches rocket from NASA's historic moon pad
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A SpaceX rocket soared from NASA's long-idled moonshot pad Sunday, sending up space station supplies from the exact spot where astronauts embarked on the lunar landings nearly a half-century ago.
It was the first flight from NASA's legendary Launch Complex 39A since the shuttle program ended almost six years ago, and SpaceX's first liftoff from Florida since a rocket explosion last summer.
The crowds at Kennedy Space Center watched eagerly as the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket took flight with a cargo ship bound for the International Space Station. They got barely 10 seconds of viewing before clouds swallowed up the Falcon as it thundered skyward.
As an extra special treat, SpaceX landed its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral eight minutes after liftoff, a feat accomplished only twice before. Most of SpaceX's eight successful booster landings - rocket recycling at its finest - have used ocean platforms. As they did during the shuttle era, sonic booms heralded Sunday's return.
SpaceX employees at company flight headquarters in Southern California cheered as the 15-story booster landed upright at its designated parking spot at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
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Doctor-lawmaker tries to restrict smoking in tobacco country
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - When Dr. Ralph Alvarado was elected to the Kentucky state Senate in 2014, he found his new colleagues had something in common with most of his patients: They knew smoking was bad, they just couldn't quit.
For more than two years, Alvarado has led the effort to restrict smoking in a state with the highest smoking rate in the country. He keeps a white lab coat in his Senate office, giving him a little more authority with lawmakers and lobbyists. But his efforts have so far been thwarted by the cultural legacy of tobacco, which along with coal has declined sharply because of a mix of market and political forces while still maintaining its grip on public policy in Kentucky.
Banning smoking in public places is still a politically perilous position for most of the state's Republican lawmakers, whose constituents view it as an attack on their personal freedoms. Alvarado - also a Republican - is insulated from this, even though his district includes parts of rural Montgomery and Clark counties where he says smoking bans are met with scowls.
"The comments from people (are), 'Well what do you expect, he's a doctor.' And so I'm almost excused," he said. "It takes off the shackles for me a little bit to be able to talk about this issue."
State lawmakers have focused most of their attention to the state's rising death toll from drug overdoses, including opioids, which killed more than 1,200 people last year. During that same time period, more than 8,800 Kentuckians died from tobacco-related illnesses, according to Shawn Jones, past president of the Kentucky Medical Association.
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Known for political temperance, Iowa moves sharply right
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - After decades as the crossroads of prairie populists and checkbook conservatives, Iowa has suddenly become solidly Republican like many of its Midwestern neighbors.
It was one of four states - along with Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire - that flipped to complete GOP control in the November election, but Iowa's rush of new legislation has been the most intense.
In an all-night session last week, Iowa lawmakers approved a bill similar to one enacted in Wisconsin six years ago that strips most public sector unions of long-held collective bargaining rights, including health insurance.
Jeff Orvis, a veteran northern Iowa high school teacher, said he sees the measure leaving permanent damage to Iowa's century-old reputation for quality schools, enshrined on the state's 2004 commemorative quarter: "Foundation in education."
"Now, I don't even see how Iowa is going to attract good teachers," said Jeff Orvis, a union representative from northern Iowa. "That's my biggest worry."
The so called Blind Sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted of plotting terror attacks in New York City in the decade before 9/11 has died in a federal prison. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman, blind since infancy from diabetes, had diabetes and coronary artery disease, died Saturday at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, North Carolina, said its acting executive assistant, Kenneth McKoy. The inmate spent seven years at the prison medical facility while serving a life sentence.
"We are saddened by your departure, father," the cleric's daughter, Asmaa, tweeted in Arabic.
FILE - This April 6, 1993 file photo shows Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman in New York. Kenneth McKoy of the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, N.C., said Abdel-Rahman died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease. Abdel-Rahman was sentenced to life in prison after his 1995 conviction for his advisory role in a plot to blow up landmarks, including the United Nations, and several bridges and tunnels. (AP Photo/ Mark Lennihan, file)
Abdel-Rahman was a key spiritual leader for militants and became a symbol for radicals during his decades in U.S. prisons, where his captivity inspired plots, protests and calls for violence. The only person charged in the U.S. in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui, had said he was training for a mission to fly a jet into the White House if the government refused to free Abdel-Rahman.
Abdel-Rahman was the leader of one of Egypt's most feared militant groups, the Gamaa Islamiya, or the "Islamic Group," which at its height led a campaign of violence aimed at toppling that country's onetime president, Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel-Rahman fled Egypt to the U.S. in 1990 and began teaching in a New Jersey mosque. A circle of his followers were convicted in the Feb. 26, 1993, truck bombing of New York's World Trade Center that killed six people - eight years before al-Qaida's suicide plane hijackers brought the towers down.
Later in 1993, Abdel-Rahman was charged and later convicted as the leader of a group that conspired to bomb the United Nations and other New York landmarks, including the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.
Those attacks were never carried out, but U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey, who later became attorney general, told the defendants at sentencing that if the plot hadn't been thwarted it would have: "brought about devastation on a scale that beggars the imagination, certainly on a scale unknown in this country since the Civil War."
Abdel-Rahman was also convicted of plotting to assassinate Mubarak.
Defense lawyer Ron Kuby, who once represented the sheik, said Abdel-Rahman's war was with a corrupt Egyptian government and he believes there was insufficient evidence to link him to the New York plots.
"I'm not in any way defending his vision," Kuby said. "He was an Islamist, he believed in Sharia law and that's what he wanted to see in Egypt. But he bore no malice toward the United States or the American people."
Since his imprisonment, Abdel-Rahman's influence had been seen as more symbolic than that of a practical leader. His Gamaa Islamiya, which led a wave of violence in the 1990s against Western tourists, Egyptian police and Coptic Christians, was eventually crushed, and its leaders - jailed in Egypt - declared a truce.
Abdel-Rahman's activities pre-dated Osama bin Laden's formation of al-Qaida in the late 1990s. But he was an influential figure in the generation of Islamic extremists that emerged from Egypt in recent decades.
He shared an ideology with another prominent group at the time, Islamic Jihad, that rejected the governments of Egypt and other Arab countries as infidels that must be overthrown by force.
Throughout his militant activities, however, Abdel-Rahman was faced by rejection by some fundamentalists, who argued that Islamic law forbids a blind man from being a commander.
Born in the Egyptian Nile Delta village of al-Gamalia in 1938, Abdel-Rahman was blind by the age of 10 months. Still, he said in his autobiography that he memorized Islam's holy book, the Quran, by age 11.
He attended Cairo's Al-Azhar University, a center of Islamic scholarship and then began preaching as an imam in a mosque in the oasis of Fayyoum, an agricultural area just south of Cairo.
He quickly ran into trouble as he turned toward a radical interpretation of Islam that holds that those who don't follow a strict version of Islamic Sharia law are infidels.
After the death of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser in 1970, he told followers not to pray for the soul of the leader of secular Arab nationalism because he was an infidel. That got him eight months in prison.
After the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants, Abdel-Rahman was jailed and accused of sanctioning the killing. He was later acquitted. He escaped several later scrapes with the courts - acquitted in 1984 of plotting to overthrow the government and in 1989 of sparking anti-government protests in Fayyoum.
In 1989, after Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for the death of British writer Salman Rushdie, Abdel-Rahman issued a similar fatwa ordering the death of Egyptian Nobel-winning novelist Naguib Mahfouz for writings some Muslims considered blasphemous. Mahfouz, who died in late 2006, was stabbed in 1994 by a radical who said he was following Abdel-Rahman's edict.
Before moving to the U.S., Abdel-Rahman travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he became a spiritual leader for the mujahedeen, then fighting Soviet troops with help from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Even though Abdel-Rahman was on a list of suspected terrorists and thus banned from the U.S., he managed to enter the country in 1990 because of a bureaucratic blunder. He was given permanent residence status under the name Omar Ahmed Ali.
Efforts to free him gained new strength when Islamist Mohammed Morsi was elected as Egypt's president and vowed to free the blind sheik in 2012. Before Morsi was ousted a year later, Abdel-Rahman's supporters staged a series of sit-in protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo demanding his release.
Since Morsi's ouster by the military in July 2013, Egyptian authorities have taken an uncompromising stand on Islamists, and hundreds have been killed in street clashes in 2013 and 2014 and thousands jailed.
No information was immediately released on burial plans.
Any possible effort to repatriate the body to Egypt and hold a funeral there would likely draw thousands of mourners, mostly Islamists, thus raising the specter of clashes with the police.
Egypt has effectively banned street demonstrations since November 2013 and security officials said contacts were already underway with leaders of the revived Gamaa Islamiya to ensure Abdel-Rahman's burial and funeral are peacefully held.
Abdel-Rahman had two wives and 13 children.
One of his sons, Ahmed, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2011 in Afghanistan, where he was fighting U.S. and NATO forces.
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Melley reported from Los Angeles and Keath reported from Cairo. Hamza Hendawi in Cairo and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.
MOLO, Kenya (AP) - Thousands of schoolchildren in Kenya are getting a rare opportunity to look at the stars.
The Traveling Telescope visits some of this East African country's most remote areas, showing students the night sky and the describing the science of astronomy with telescopes and virtual reality goggles.
One by one, the children in this Rift Valley town lined up to peer through the telescope.
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, a student looks up at the moon through a telescope, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Fourteen-year-old Evie Clarke gazed into the sky.
"Over there is Venus and just above it is Mars and there are loads of suns," she said, pointing. "You have such a nice picture of the moon and you can see all the craters. Oh man, it was amazing, yes!"
Students also enter an inflatable planetarium to learn more about astronomy, and they look at constellations using virtual reality goggles.
Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools.
The telescope "has been around for more than 400 years and yet very few people have looked through one," said Susan Murabana, who founded the Traveling Telescope project in 2013 with Daniel Chu Owen. They charge 200 to 300 Kenyan shillings, or about $2 to $3, per child at international or private schools. They do not charge at public schools.
They would like to expand the project across Africa
"There is something really powerful about seeing things for yourself and seeing those photons coming from a star or planet or whatever is going through the telescope hitting your eye, you know," Owen said. "You are not looking at a screen, you are not looking in a book ... It stays with you."
Fifteen-year-old Tamara Lugonzo said she is considering a career in astronomy after her experience: "It's so cool, yeah!"
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, students look up at a projected display inside an inflatable planetarium, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, a student looks up at the moon through a telescope, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, the moon is seen through a telescope, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, astronomer and company co-founder Daniel Chu Owen sets up a telescope during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, students and a teacher lie down to look up at a projected display inside an inflatable planetarium, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, an image of the planet Saturn is seen on the lens of the projector inside an inflatable planetarium, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, astronomer and company co-founder Susan Murabana is interviewed during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, astronomer and company co-founder Daniel Chu Owen, left, and an assistant, set up a telescope during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, students raise their hands to astronomer and company co-founder Daniel Chu Owen, left, during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, students walk around wearing Google Cardboard virtual reality goggles during a visit by The Traveling Telescope to show students the science of astronomy, at St Andrew's School near Molo in Kenya's Rift Valley. Although Kenya lies on the equator and has dramatic nighttime skies in rural areas, children find it hard to name planets and other bodies as astronomy is rarely taught in schools - but that is changing as The Traveling Telescope visits some of the country's most remote areas with telescopes and virtual reality goggles. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
MUNICH (AP) - The U.N. envoy for Syria says he's hoping upcoming peace talks in Geneva produce new momentum and that much depends upon the position the U.S. decides to take.
Staffan de Mistura said Sunday "the big question mark is where is the U.S.?" He told the Munich Security Conference "we have to push for momentum" at the talks starting Thursday.
But State Department diplomat Brett McGurk says "people will be disappointed" if they envision the U.S. suddenly finding a new "tool in the toolkit."
Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Syria, speaks on the last day of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Sunday Feb.19, 2017. (Tobias Hase/dpa via AP)
He says "I don't think the U.S. will come in with a one-size-fits-all solution, because there isn't one."
Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah said the opposition is "fully committed and prepared to negotiate a political solution," adding "we have a glimmer of hope."
WASHINGTON (AP) - When North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters between South Korea and Japan, President Donald Trump moved quickly to show U.S. resolve. He appeared within hours alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and said the U.S. "stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent."
Trump happened to be hosting Abe that day in Florida. Yet his lack of any mention of U.S. treaty ally South Korea didn't go unnoticed by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. So, while on his first official trip, Tillerson arranged a three-way meeting in Germany with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers to show the U.S. wasn't picking favorites, according to a senior State Department official.
The talks culminated in a joint declaration in which the U.S. pledged to defend a pair of Asian nations that don't always get along. There was no elaborate ceremony before the video cameras, no speeches, as their written statement went out in low-key fashion.
In this Feb. 10, 2017 photo, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson smiles while greeting the media during a meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at the State Department in Washington. In his first weeks as America's top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has gone to great lengths to avoid attracting attention. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
It was Tillerson's way.
Cautious, reserved and intent on avoiding the spotlight, the former Exxon Mobil CEO is proving to be everything his extroverted Oval Office boss is not.
In his first weeks as America's top diplomat, Tillerson has gone to great lengths to avoid attracting attention, despite a growing perception in Washington that the State Department is being sidelined by a power-centric White House.
Some State Department officials have been told by the White House to expect drastic budget cuts, with much of the reduction potentially coming out of U.S. foreign aid money. Trump and his team have also told those interviewing for top State Department jobs that significant staffing cuts will come. Some appear to have started already.
While Tillerson was in Germany, several senior management and advisory positions were eliminated. The staffers were reassigned. Some other top posts are vacant, and there are no signs they'll be quickly filled.
While Tillerson has met or spoken with dozens of foreign counterparts in his first weeks, the White House is driving the front-page diplomacy. The lack of State Department involvement has flustered many long-time diplomats.
When Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, acting Deputy Secretary Tom Shannon was assigned to represent the agency in the meeting because Tillerson was flying to Germany. At the last minute, Shannon was blocked from participating in the meeting. The meeting went on without State Department representation.
It was "modified to allow for a more personal discussion," according to a U.S. official, who was authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Tillerson had dined the evening before with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a White House aide who has emerged as Trump's top emissary to Israel, Mexico and other countries. That is a role that traditionally has fallen to the secretary of state.
Tillerson has barely spoken in public, save for greeting U.S. diplomats on his first day and brief comments after a get-together with Russia's foreign minister.
It's a sharp contrast with the Obama administration's last secretary of state, John Kerry, who routinely found his way to the center of global crises, enthusiastically fulfilling the "public diplomacy" part of the job. Whereas Kerry exhausted staff with impromptu, whirlwind foreign trips and constant press appearances, Tillerson has made it known to his staff that he wants a lower profile.
In private, the Texas oilman with the booming baritone voice is deliberate, independent and cool-headed, according to U.S. and foreign diplomats who have interacted with him and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to avoid possible diplomatic fallout from discussing private conversations. A common thread in Tillerson's meetings with diplomats has been an emphasis on safety of U.S. personnel, State Department officials said.
It's a continuation of a theme Tillerson touched on when he spoke to staffers on his first day, and one he plans to echo this coming week on a trip to Mexico City with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Tillerson will stop at the U.S. Embassy to meet with American diplomats, officials said.
Diplomats from several foreign countries said Tillerson is playing it safe in high-level meetings so far, avoiding extemporaneous comments. He shows up seeming well-prepared and confident on the substance of issues, rarely consulting his aides or written notes, they reported.
In Germany last week, Tillerson urged China to help address North Korea's nuclear threat. He called on Russia to honor a 2015 peace plan for Ukraine.
While those signs of continuity in U.S. policy may have assuaged some foreign leaders' concerns about Trump, Tillerson's tight-lipped nature unsettled others.
After meeting Tillerson, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault lamented the "vague" U.S. position on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tillerson told several of his international partners the U.S. is still in "listening mode," leaving some with the perception that Trump may craft U.S. foreign policy on the fly.
In a rare interaction with reporters, Tillerson said before leaving Germany he was bringing home "many" messages for Trump. Asked to share a few, he demurred.
"Not until I share it with him," he said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson boards his plane at Cologne Bonn Airport, western Germany, as he leaves after a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the G20 leading and developing economies on Friday Feb. 17, 2017. (Brendan Smialowski/pool via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives for a meeting on the conflict in Syria during a meeting of the G-20 Foreign Ministers in Bonn, western Germany, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (Oliver Berg/pool photo via AP)
PARIS (AP) - French activists are demonstrating against corruption amid a presidential campaign marked by a fake jobs investigation and other legal scandals.
Inspired in part by the weeks of anti-corruption that have rocked Romania, demonstrators from left-wing parties and other groups gathered at the Place de la Republique in Paris and in other cities on Sunday.
The organizers invited participants frustrated with politicians who "practice the opposite of what they defend" and who are "unconvinced by the excuses" of officials accused of corruption.
Protesters especially targeted conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who is under investigation for paying his wife and children for allegedly fake jobs as his parliamentary aides.
Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen's National Front party also face legal investigations. Both Fillon and Le Pen deny wrongdoing.
PRESIDIO, Texas (AP) - Two hunters accused in a shooting on a remote Texas ranch near the Mexican border had told authorities that they were attacked by immigrants who had entered the country illegally.
Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez told Odessa television KOSA (http://bit.ly/2llzxzr ) that a grand jury indicted Michael Bryant and Walker Daugherty last week on charges of using deadly conduct by discharging firearms in the direction of others.
The charges stem from a Jan. 6 incident where police responding to call about a shooting on a ranch near Candelaria found Daugherty and another man in the hunting party, Edwin Roberts, with gunshot wounds. The men were part of a group of hunters and told authorities they were attacked by people who had illegally crossed the nearby border and tried to steal an RV some of the hunters were using.
An investigation found that Daugherty shot Roberts and Bryant shot Daugherty, Dominguez said.
The hunters' claim became fodder for a Facebook post by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who wrote the attack was another reason why a wall must be built to secure the Texas border to halt "violent criminals and members of drug cartels coming in."
Dominguez at the time suggested the agriculture commissioner "needs to do his job and stick to that, and I'll do my job."
Miller has attracted attention for his social media posts, and his comments about the West Texas shooting were shared more than 6,500 times before being deleted.
Authorities say about 30 law enforcement officers searched the perimeter of the ranch where the hunters were staying, didn't find signs of people approaching the camp that night and that investigators found no evidence of "cross-border violence."
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Information from: KOSA-TV, http://www.cbs7.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
10:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump discussed what the White House calls "shared priorities" in phone calls to the leaders of Panama and the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters on board Air Force One as he arrived to speak at his "Make America Great Again Rally" at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In statements late Sunday, the White House says Trump spoke to President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago.
Trump invited both leaders to visit Washington, D.C., in the coming months.
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6:50 p.m.
The leader of Panama says he has spoken by phone with President Donald Trump ahead of an official visit to Washington.
Juan Carlos Varela says via his verified Twitter account that the two presidents discussed their countries' "excellent bilateral relationship on economic, security and regional matters."
Varela adds that they agreed to hold talks between high-level officials ahead of his trip to Washington, "which I will do at his invitation." He did not say when he is to visit.
Varela tweeted that he received the call from Trump on Sunday afternoon.
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5:40 p.m.
Swedes have been scratching their heads since President Donald Trump suggested that some kind of major incident had taken place in their country Friday night. Trump is now clarifying his comments, saying he was referring to something he saw on television.
Trump first referenced Sweden during a Florida rally on Saturday as he talked about past terror attacks in Europe. He told supporters, "Look what's happening last night in Sweden."
In Sweden, the remark raised eyebrows and sparked derision about a fact-challenged president. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said that the government wasn't aware of any "terror-linked major incidents."
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that his statement was in reference to a story broadcast on Fox News concerning immigrants and Sweden.
The president may be referring to a segment aired Friday night on the Fox News show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that reported Sweden had accepted more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year but that only 500 had found jobs. The report went on to say that a surge in gun violence and rape had followed the influx of immigrants.
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, says that Trump was talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general, not referring to a specific issue.
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5:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump's meetings with potential candidates to be his new national security adviser are continuing Sunday afternoon.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump is meeting with four candidates at his private Palm Beach club.
On the schedule were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
Sanders said Trump may interview more candidates and hopes to make the decision soon.
Trump also discussed strategies for repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's health care law with top advisers, including Health Secretary Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office.
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4:35 p.m.
The Homeland Security Department has drafted sweeping new guidelines aimed at aggressively detaining and deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
A pair of memoranda signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly outline the plans under consideration. The memos dated Friday seek to implement President Donald Trump's broad directive to crack down on illegal immigration.
Kelly outlines plans to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand on the priority list for immigrants marked for immediate removal and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests. Those details were confirmed to The Associated Press by a person briefed on the documents.
A White House official says the White House has raised objections with the documents and is working with DHS to finalize the policy.
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1:15 p.m.
The Congressional Black Caucus says it will meet with President Donald Trump after all.
Rep. Elijah Cummings is a senior member of the group. He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Trump answered the caucus' Jan. 19 request for a meeting "a day or so ago." The Maryland Democrat says he expects the two parties will meet when Congress returns from a weeklong break and discuss prescription drugs and urban issues.
The possible meeting stirred controversy during Trump's press conference last week. Responding to a reporter's inquiry, Trump suggested that Cummings had declined a meeting and asked the reporter, who is black, to set up a meeting.
Cummings says he never rejected a meeting. On Sunday, he attributed the late acceptance to Trump apparently not being "in contact with his staff properly."
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11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump plans to speak Sunday with leaders from Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
A White House official says Trump will speak to leaders of both countries. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the president's schedule.
Trump has been speaking to foreign leaders since he took office four weeks ago.
The calls come on a busy day for Trump. He is also interviewing candidates to be his new national security adviser and is planning a health care policy meeting.
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10:55 a.m.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he has no issues with the media, despite his boss' condemnation that the "fake news media" is "the enemy of the American people."
The Pentagon chief says he's had some contentious times with members of the media, but adds the press is a constituency he deals with.
He also rebuffed suggestions that disarray at the White House is affecting the military. His comments came days after the White House national security adviser was forced to resign.
Mattis says at a news conference in the United Arab Emirates that at times democracy is "quite sporting." But he says the military's job is to hold the line while the government sorts out the way ahead.
Says Mattis: "We don't have any disarray inside the military, and that's where my responsibility lies."
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10:50 a.m.
A top adviser to President Donald Trump says campaign aides didn't have any contact with Russia before the election.
Chief of staff Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that "we don't know of any contacts with Russian agents."
Priebus says he had "talked to the top levels of the intelligence community." He denies a New York Times report that multiple Trump advisers were in touch with Russian intelligence advisers during the election campaign.
During a news conference last week, Trump gave a lawyerly denial that his campaign aides had been in touch with Russian officials before last fall's election. He said: "nobody that I know of."
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10:45 a.m.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says President Donald Trump is behaving like a "tin-pot dictator" by making comments criticizing the news media as "the enemy of the American people."
Rep. Adam Schiff of California described Trump's tweet last week as "the most devastating" and "the most alarming" in attacking the First Amendment right to a free press.
He told ABC's "This Week" that the comment is what tin-pot dictators say "when they want to control all the information." He says people from both parties should reject the description.
Schiff says he agrees with Republican Sen. John McCain, who said a free press is vital "to preserve democracy as we know it." Schiff says the country is confronting a "new war of ideas" - authoritarianism vs. democracy.
DACHAU, Germany (AP) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp on Sunday, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during World War II.
Pence was joined by his wife, Karen, and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich.
The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought-iron gate bearing the inscription, "Arbeit macht frei," or "Work sets you free." The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the center of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and his daughter Charlotte, from left, stand behind the gate with the infamous writing "Work sets you free" as they visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camp's grounds.
The concentration camp for political prisoners and Jews near Dachau was the first such facility in Germany. In 1935 other groups, among them Jehovah's Witnesses, gays and emigrants, were sent there. After a larger facility was built, more political prisoners and more than 11,000 German and Austrian Jews were sent there in 1938. In time, more than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau and subsidiary camps, and more than 40,000 died. The camp was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945.
Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Dachau in 2015.
Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.
Shortly after his arrival in Brussels later Sunday, Pence said the American people appreciate the nation's alliance with Belgium and he's looking forward to his meetings with European Union and NATO leaders on Monday.
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Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC
United States Vice President Mike Pence, right, speaks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel during a meeting at Val Duchesse in Brussels on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. U.S. Vice President Pence is currently on a two-day visit to meet with Belgian, EU and NATO officials. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, second from right, his wife Karen and their daugher Charlotte, right, walk through the former crematories during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and his wife Karen listen to a guide during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, fourth from left, and his wife Karen, third from left, visit the memorial site in the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, second from left, and their daughter Charlotte lay a wreath during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, left, lay a wreath during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, visits the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and his daughter Charlotte, from left, visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and his daughter Charlotte, from left, visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen go through the gate with the writing "Works sets you free" as they a visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence looks into during a visit to the memorial site in the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, and his wife Karen visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and his daughter Charlotte, from left, stand behind the gate with the infamous writing "Work sets you free" as they visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and his wife Karen visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, second from left, stands behind the gate with the infamous writing "Labour makes free" during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, his wife Karen, second from left, and his daughter Charlotte, left, are lead by Holocaust survivor Abba Naor, right, as they visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (Sven Hoppe/pool photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, right, his wife Karen, left, and his daughter Charlotte visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (Sven Hoppe/pool photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and his wife Karen lay a wreath to commemorate the victims of the Nazi terror during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (Sven Hoppe/pool photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, his wife Karen, second from left, and his daughter Charlotte, left, are lead by Holocaust survivor Abba Naor, second from right, as they visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (Sven Hoppe/pool photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, right, visit the so-called 'deathagony chapel' during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, his wife Karen, left, and his daughter Charlotte visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, fourth from left, visits the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, his wife Karen, right, and his daughter Charlotte commemorate the victims of the Nazi terror during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, left, lay a wreath during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and his wife Karen lay a wreath to commemorate the victims of the Nazi terror during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, center, visits the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, one day after he attended the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
LONDON (AP) - Lincoln will play away at fellow fifth-tier side Sutton or Premier League power Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
Sutton hosts Arsenal on Monday looking to emulate Lincoln, which became the first non-league side in 103 years to reach the cup's last eight by beating Premier League side Burnley on Saturday.
Sunday's quarterfinal draw also handed Jose Mourinho another trip back to Chelsea with Manchester United next month.
Lincoln City's Sean Raggett , top, scores against Burnley during the English FA Cup, fifth round soccer match at Turf Moor, Burnley, England, Saturday Feb. 18, 2017. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
There will be a London derby between Tottenham and third-tier Millwall at White Hart Lane.
Middlesbrough will host the winner of the replay between Manchester City and second-tier Huddersfield, who drew on Saturday.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Police say an officer was injured when masked attackers hit the Athens headquarters of Greece's left-wing governing party with Molotov cocktails.
A police official says 35 suspects have been detained for questioning in the Sunday attack on the headquarters of the Syriza party. The source requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation.
Syriza Central Committee secretary Panayiotis Rigas condemned the "murderous" attack. Rigas says it was carried out by criminal thugs and wasn't ideologically motivated.
Five gasoline bombs were thrown and a car was burned.
Opposition parties have stepped up criticism of what they claim is the government's lax policing after recent gas bomb attacks targeting buses and ticketing machines.
They have accused Syriza of protecting the self-styled anarchist youth who commit the attacks.
A 23-year-old man has died after he was shot in the street in Sheffield.
People living in the Upperthorpe area said the man was either in, or close to, a black Mercedes car he had been driving when he was shot in the chest on Saturday lunchtime.
He was taken to hospital as large numbers of police, including armed officers, arrived in the area.
Police at the scene in Daniel Hill, Sheffield after a man was found with a suspected gunshot wound to his chest (Dave Higgens/PA)
The 23-year-old man who was shot in Upperthorpe, #Sheffield, today has died, @syptweet has confirmed. pic.twitter.com/xrHMeKbLif Dave Higgens (@DaveHiggensPA) February 18, 2017
Police confirmed that he died soon after.
Local residents said the man was a member of a family who live close to the scene of the shooting on Daniel Hill, between the Upperthorpe and Walkley areas of the city.
They said relatives had been gathering for a family celebration on Saturday when the man was shot. Many came out of the house to try to help him after hearing the incident, neighbours said.
After police officers established a cordon around the Mercedes on Daniel Hill, more relatives arrived in the street, clearly distraught.
Armed police from @syptweet have sealed off a #sheffield street following a lunchtime shooting - according to locals pic.twitter.com/3s5zvMNK1U Dave Higgens (@DaveHiggensPA) February 18, 2017
A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: A 23-year-old man has died following a reported shooting on Daniel Hill, Walkley, Sheffield, this afternoon.
There have been a spate of shootings in Sheffield in recent weeks, although all the previous incidents have been in the north of the city and none have been close to the Upperthorpe area.
People watching the police activity said they could not remember another shooting in the area.
One man said: Upperthorpe has had its problems but its been better recently. Ive never heard of a shooting here. Im shocked.
Paul Pogbas world-record transfer fee will one day look a bargain, according to Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
United paid Juventus 89m to sign the France midfielder for a second time last summer.
And Mourinho reckons that as other clubs begin to start spending such amounts on players he views as inferior, the Pogba deal will represent good value.
Paul Pogba (Martin Rickett/PA)
Remember pogs? #MUFC fan Richard Redman has used over 400 to pay a creative tribute to @PaulPogba. Check it out! pic.twitter.com/TugrpIoX5v Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 19, 2017
I am pretty sure next summer some players with only half his quality will cost the same money, Mourinho told a number of national newspapers.
I am waiting for that moment to release him from the scrutiny that goes with his price. Right now when he plays well, which he does many times, people think it is normal and when he does not perform quite so well pundits and even supporters go strong on him.
I am really happy with what he has been doing for us. He gives us an incredible balance and he is still very young. He starts build-ups from the back, he recovers the ball and at the top of the pitch he is a guy that can score goals. He can be fantastic and I think in a couple of years you will realise he was cheap.
Mourinho - who has been linked with extending his deal at Old Trafford - takes his side to Blackburn in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Donald Trumps cruel and shameful policies mean he should not be granted a state visit, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said as MPs prepared to debate the US Presidents forthcoming trip to the UK.
Mr Khan said the controversial tycoons travel ban aimed at people from seven Muslim-majority countries, which has run into trouble in the US courts, and the suspension of refugee admissions were reasons not to be rolling out the red carpet.
On Monday, MPs will debate rival petitions on the invitation extended by Theresa May to the president to make a state visit while protesters will gather outside Parliament to speak out against Mr Trump.
A protest will be held in London on Monday (Victoria Jones/PA)
Mr Khan, who is a Muslim, told ITVs Peston on Sunday: I love America, I love Americans and I believe the special relationship is a good one and one thats here to stay. But when youre mates with somebody, when youve got a special relationship, of course you are side-by-side with them in times of adversity but when they are wrong you call them out.
He added: I think this ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, ending the refugee programme is cruel and its shameful. In those circumstances we shouldnt be rolling out the red carpet.
Mrs May has been criticised for offering Mr Trump a state visit too soon in his already highly controversial presidency. Barack Obama only received an invitation after 758 days, while it took 978 days before his predecessor, George W Bush, was offered a state visit, compared with seven days for Mr Trump.
Theresa May meeting US President Donald Trump
Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames defended the invitation, even though Mr Trumps visit will be very controversial.
He told Peston on Sunday: I think the Prime Minister was absolutely right to do this, I think this is very important and I think President Trump will make a state visit here. It will be very controversial but its very important that he does.
Cabinet minister Liz Truss defended the Prime Ministers decision to seek close links with the Trump administration. The Justice Secretary told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News: These are our most important international allies. Of course, we should work with the US.
Write to your MP ahead of tomorrow's debate and tell them you want them to stand against Trump's state visit https://t.co/cTpkp0VIVf Stop Trump (@UKStopTrump) February 19, 2017
In Westminster Hall on Monday, MPs will debate a petition signed by more than 1.85 million people calling for the visit to be stripped of the trappings of a state occasion in order to avoid causing embarrassment to the Queen. They will also consider a rival petition, backed by 311,000 signatories, demanding that the visit goes ahead.
While the debate proceeds, protesters will gather for a rally in Parliament Square which organisers claim will attract more than 20,000 people.
Certain cars could be entirely banned from Londons streets in an effort to combat the citys toxic air, mayor Sadiq Khan has hinted.
The capitals mayor, who has already announced plans for drivers of some of the oldest and most polluting cars to pay a 10 toxicity charge to drive in central London from October, suggested he could go further.
Asked if that meant he was considering the option of banning some drivers from entering the city on certain days, Mr Khan said nothings off the table.
It isn't happening now but @MayorofLondon @SadiqKhan says banning cars from the city on days of high pollution isn't off the table #Peston pic.twitter.com/LrgNvYxtZT Peston (@itvpeston) February 19, 2017
He also said there was an issue with wood-burning stoves which have become popular in recent years.
Air pollution is linked to 9,000 early deaths a year in London, one of many places hit by the UKs air quality crisis, which has prompted the European Commission to issue a final warning to the Government for repeated breaches of legal limits.
On ITVs Peston on Sunday, Mr Khan was asked whether he was considering going further than the T-charge plan and could ban driving on certain days.
.@MayorofLondon @SadiqKhan sets out his plans for a 10 'T-charge' and other measures to tackle air pollution #Peston pic.twitter.com/NwB4ka0c5t Peston (@itvpeston) February 19, 2017
Mr Khan said: Well, nothings off the table but I want to address the issue of poor quality air 365 days a year, not only on those days where the air is dangerous.
Pressed on whether, if he was alerted that air was reaching dangerous levels of pollution he would announce a ban on certain cars driving that day, he again state that nothings off the table.
Asked about the impact of wood-burning stoves, Mr Khan said: Well theres an issue, I mean I issued the first ever very high air pollution alert a few weeks ago and the experts say one of the reasons was during that particular weekend lots of those stoves were being used.
(Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Weve got to work with manufacturers to make sure the right sorts of stuff are being burnt in these stoves but you know one thing by itself wont be enough, thats why the Government has got to help me in cities around the country to address this massive issue.
Mr Khan suggested the Government should introduce a scrappage scheme for diesel vehicles and a clean air act to combat pollution, but added: We need a clean air act, fit for purpose for the 21st century. Half of emissions come from road, the other half come from construction, housing and the river. The Governments got to step up to the plate.
Jeremy Corbyn will not have to consider his future as Labour leader if his party loses both upcoming by-elections, a shadow cabinet ally has said.
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said the Opposition is hopeful of retaining its seats for Copeland and Stoke-on-Trent Central on Thursday.
But she dismissed the prospect of leadership change in the event of Labour losing either or both contests.
Mr Corbyn is facing his most difficult electoral challenge so far with Ukip expected to pose the greatest challenge in Stoke, particularly given the Midlands citys support for Brexit in last years EU referendum.
But Ukip leader Paul Nuttall, who is standing for the seat, has faced criticism following claims over inaccuracies on his website.
The Conservatives are pushing to make a rare by-election gain for a governing party in Copeland, Cumbria.
Ms Abbott, speaking on Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday, said: These are difficult by-elections, theyre going to be quite tight. We are hopeful of winning both of them but its really important that every Labour supporter comes out to vote.
And if we lose one or we lose both, I think the party will go forward. It has to go forward.
In Stoke, we will defeat Ukips politics of hate with Labour's politics of hope and community. #lablocal17 pic.twitter.com/ar0LxaDRvP Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 18, 2017
Presenter Ms Ridge pressed Ms Abbott: So no questions over Jeremy Corbyns leadership then if he loses?
Ms Abbott replied: No, no. I mean there are people who have been opposed to Jeremy from the very beginning, Im not one of them and I think we have to move forward.
The resignations of sitting Labour MPs Jamie Reed and Tristram Hunt led to the by-elections being called.
#Labour4Copeland
Our NHS is precious. Labour built it, protected it and will defend it. Don't let the Tories deceive Copeland pic.twitter.com/jojSVU72X8 Ruth Rosenau #BLM (@ruthrosenau13) February 18, 2017
Ukips only current MP Douglas Carswell suggested victory in Stoke could be a turning point in British politics, similar to when Labour began ousting the Liberals in the early 20th century.
Its important, it could turn out to be like the Spen Valley by-election in 1919 when an established old party was finally seen off and defeated by the new insurgents the only difference being that Labour is no longer the insurgent party, its the old established party, he told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show.
If we win this, like that by-election almost a hundred years ago, it could mark the turning point at which Labour is displaced. And if it did, that would be wonderful.
Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Copeland is not a safe Labour seat and predicted tough contests in both by-elections.
I think those two by-elections are not going to be easy by-elections, contrary to some reports Copeland is not a so-called safe Labour seat, he told BBC Radio 5 Lives Pienaars Politics.
Lincoln produced one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history on Saturday by beating Premier League Burnley to reach the quarter-finals.
The Imps became the first non-league outfit since QPR in 1914 to make the last eight of the competition.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at what was happening in sport, and the wider world, 103 years ago.
A loaf of bread, a pint of milk and a pint of beer were each estimated to cost one penny.
Sunloch, ridden by Bill Smith, the winner of The Grand National in 1914 (PA Archive/PA)
Cambridge won the 71st Boat Race.
A gas explosion at the Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine in Japan killed 687 people.
Burnley Lincolns victims on Saturday won the FA Cup by beating Liverpool in the final.
(PA Archive/PA)
Hull won rugby leagues Challenge Cup.
Max Decugis won tennis French Open.
Tube services will be disrupted by a 24-hour strike from Tuesday evening, London Underground has warned passengers.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out at 9pm in a row over the displacement of staff.
The action will affect the Central and Waterloo and City lines, mainly on Wednesday.
London Underground
Tube drivers to strike again on Central Line East over cuts-led forced displacement of staff https://t.co/m20orcEXTU pic.twitter.com/wMYrzdd5K4 RMT (@RMTunion) February 15, 2017
Peter McNaught, operations director for the Central Line, said: "I apologise to customers for the disruption that this unnecessary strike will cause.
We have made all reasonable efforts to resolve this dispute through talking through the issues with the unions, and we have minimised the number of employees affected from over 30 to eight.
All of these moves are within the long-standing agreements we have made with the unions. We urge them to engage with us to resolve this issue and to withdraw the strike action, which will only cause needless disruption to Londoners."
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "RMT negotiators have made strenuous efforts through the Acas machinery to resolve this dispute but the door has been slammed in our faces.
To up the ante, LU have now written to us confirming that they will be bulldozing through the displacements regardless.
"Let us be in no doubt, if LU are allowed to get away with this move on the Central Line they will start shunting drivers around at the drop of a hat regardless of the consequences.
Our members will be sent out from pillar to post to plug gaps that are solely down to staffing shortages. With massive budget cuts in the pipeline at LU this is a straw in the wind as to how the company expects to operate in the future.
Denny Solomonas first-half hat-trick helped Sale edge closer to Aviva Premiership safety with a superb 34-28 triumph over Wasps.
Two Jimmy Gopperth penalties to Will Addisons one had given the visitors an early 6-3 lead, but the Sharks soon took command of the contest thanks to Solomona touching down three times. Gopperth kicked another penalty but the hosts went in at the break 24-9 up.
Mark Jennings secured the bonus point with a fourth Sale try early in the second period before the visitors mounted a revival when Josh Bassett and Ashley Johnson scored, but an Addison penalty swiftly extended the hosts buffer to 13 and, despite Kurtley Beales try making it a tense final 11 minutes, the Sharks held on.
FT: @SaleSharksRugby 34 - 28 @WaspsRugby #AvivaPrem rugby at its best! Sharks hold on after a fabulous Solomona hat-trick in the first half! pic.twitter.com/X1aArw89LP Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) February 19, 2017
After the home team moved into a 3-0 lead via the boot of Addison, the visitors got into their stride and immediately levelled via Gopperth after James Gaskells break had put them deep into opposition territory.
Wasps centre then kicked his second off the tee as the league leaders looked to assert their authority, but the hosts responded seven minutes later.
They went off the top of a lineout to TJ Ioane who barrelled into Cipriani. The number 10 made the tackle but was sent into reverse and Solomona picked up from the base of a ruck and touched down under the posts for a 10-6 advantage.
It was a surprise scoreline given the strength of the visitors starting XV, with Wasps able to call upon an almost first-choice squad.
They did manage to reduce the arrears through Gopperth, but Dai Youngs men were being outplayed. That was epitomised by the Sharks second try when Bryn Evans and Josh Beaumont linked up down the right.
Wasps' Matt Mullan is tackled by Sale's Mark Jennings during a 34-28 triumph for the home side
Excellent hands from the forwards sent Solomona clear and a piece of individual skill, aided by a slip from Christian Wade, allowed the New Zealander to cross the whitewash.
The Sharks had a third try minutes later and once again it was excellent work by Evans that gave Solomona an easy run to the line.
Addison added his third conversion and the home side held a 24-9 lead at the interval.
HALFTIME: Wasps rocked in the opening 40 minutes as Solomona gets a first-half hattrick, leaving us 15-points adrift at the break. 24-9 pic.twitter.com/lWBtixTVmJ Wasps Rugby (@WaspsRugby) February 19, 2017
Wasps were shell-shocked and the pain failed to relent at the start of the second half when Jennings crashed over following a dominant driving maul.
However, the visitors finally found their fluency and Beale was at the heart of it. The Australia full-back first broke down the right, drew the final defender and sent Bassett in for the try. He then latched onto Wades offload and gave Johnson the opportunity to barrel across the whitewash from close range.
Mike Phillips moves the ball on to another pair of Sale hands (David Davies/PA)
Sale regained their composure enough for Addison to slot a penalty, but Wasps refused to give in and another wonderfully worked attack saw new signing Willie Le Roux - on his debut - set up Beale.
Gopperth, for the second time in the match, added the extras and they were back to within six points.
Wasps pressed for the winning score, but the Sharks deservedly went away with the victory.
Denny makes his opportunities and takes his opportunities thats what we knew he would bring to the party. If he keeps doing that, he will go a long way. Whats happened over the last six weeks, where weve eked out wins and also lost narrowly, served us well today. We managed to keep control in the last five minutes.
Im sure the normal accusations will get thrown at us like complacency, thinking it was going to be easy and so on. I dont think that was the case, but its very hard to argue that mentally we werent where we should be.
US food giant Kraft Heinz has withdrawn a 115 billion bid for a mega-merger with Unilever, the firms have said.
In a joint statement on Sunday the Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Philadelphia cheese manufacturer said it had agreed not to proceed with the offer it made on Friday for the Anglo-Dutch Marmite and PG Tips maker.
Unilever had already snubbed the offer, which represented an 18% premium on its closing share price of 50 US dollars per share (40.26) on February 16, saying it fundamentally undervalues the firm.
The joint statement read: Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies.
Products made by Unilever include Marmite, Bovril and Flora
Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard. Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever.
Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever.
Unilever, which saw its London stock value rocket 12% on the news, had demanded its shareholders take no action after Kraft suggested a merger.
The Pot Noodle maker said it saw no merit, either financial or strategic, for Unilevers shareholders, adding: Unilever does not see the basis for any further discussions.
Kraft Heinz had remained optimistic a deal could still be reached, saying on Friday: While Unilever has declined the proposal, we look forward to working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction.
However, it said there was no certainty a formal offer would be made.
The US food giant had had until March 17 to table an official bid.
If successful, the tie-up would have been the biggest acquisition of a British company on record based on offer value.
MUNICH, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition is fully committed to peace talks in Geneva on Feb. 23, a senior official said on Sunday, adding the talks would need to pave the way for a political transition.
"We are fully committed for the Geneva talks," Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah told delegates at the Munich Security Conference. "We cannot address the profound security threats ... while Assad remains in power," he said.
Brett McGurk, the United States' envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, said the new U.S. administration was still reviewing its Syria position, but that it was seeking a role to reinforce Russian and Turkish efforts to cement a ceasefire in the country. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Mark Potter)
BERLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Germany deported a record 80,000 migrants denied asylum last year and that figure will rise again in 2017, a top official said, as Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to win back conservative voters before elections in September.
Peter Altmaier, Merkel's chief of staff, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that nearly half of 700,000 asylum requests made in 2016 had been rejected, spelling another record high in deportations this year.
To placate conservatives put off by Merkel's decision in 2015 to open German borders to refugees, leaders of her Christian Democrat party (CDU) have been pushing to deport more migrants whose applications have failed or foreigners who have committed crimes.
Altmaier said it was important to send these people home promptly in order to maintain a high level of public support for the asylum system.
Germany has taken in more than a million migrants in the last 18 months, often fleeing war and turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those seeking asylum need to show they would face persecution at home. Many whose applications are rejected have nevertheless been allowed to stay temporarily, a practice that Merkel's conservatives want to scale back.
"We sent home 80,000 last year whose asylum applications were rejected - that's a record," Altmaier said. "And the number will rise again further. There were some 700,000 asylum applications in 2016 and nearly 300,000 were rejected. We'll be sending these people home quickly because if we don't it'll damage our credibility as a state based on the rule of law."
Merkel has long argued the country needs to keep its doors open to those fleeing persecution while her Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), wants an upper limit of 200,000 refugees per year.
Merkel has refused that demand and the two parties have suffered a slump in support as a result of their squabbling before the Sept. 24 election.
A poll in Bild am Sonntag showed the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) moving ahead of the conservative bloc for the first time since 2006.
Some polls put the right-wing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany in third place.
Altmaier said he hoped the upper house of parliament, where the SPD and Greens can block the government, would soon agree to change the status of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco to allow automatic and swift rejections of asylum seekers from those countries. He also said that rejected asylum-seekers can live safely in some parts of Afghanistan. (reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, editing by David Stamp)
By Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A car bomb ripped through a market in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing 39 people and injuring around 50, a local official said, days after Somalia elected a new president.
The car was driven by a suicide bomber, said Ahmed Abdulle Afrax, the mayor of Wadajir district where the bombing happened.
"We carried 39 dead bodies and there were many others injured," Dr Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of the Aamin Ambulance Service, told Reuters.
Madina hospital took in 47 injured people, Dr Mohamed Yusuf, the manager, said.
Witness Abdulle Omar said the market was destroyed.
"I was staying in my shop when a car came in into the market and exploded. I saw more than 20 people lying on the ground. Most of them were dead," he said.
Al Shabaab, the Islamist insurgent group that is fighting the U.N.-backed Somali government, did not immediately claim responsibility.
Al Shabaab has been able to carry out increasingly deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the Somali government.
This month Somalia elected a new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a dual U.S.-Somali citizen and former prime minister.
Civil war has riven Somalia since 1991. Aid agencies warn that a severe drought has placed large swathes of the country at risk of famine. (Writing by Katharine Houreld; editing by Jane Merriman/Ruth Pitchford)
Abu Dhabi, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will explore closer defence ties after a meeting on Sunday between a senior Australian government minister and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Australia's Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne and Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, met on the sidelines of the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.
The two agreed to consider a 10-year defence plan that could include more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($767 million) in sales to the UAE, Pyne told Reuters.
"What the Crown Prince is talking about is a more mature long-term relationship built around security and procurement," he said.
Australia has military personnel stationed in the UAE, taking part in the United States-led campaign against Islamic State.
A final agreement has yet to be reached but could include a transfer of knowledge from Australian to UAE companies.
"They are looking for genuine partners, not just foreign military sales, and that suits Australia's attitude extremely well," Pyne said.
Sales could include everything from ammunition to large items such as "high-speed support vessels", he said.
"We have very significant capabilities, particularly around coastal protection and surveillance, which I think we should be sharing with our Middle Eastern partners."
Australian companies could finalise hundreds of millions of dollars in defence sales to the UAE at IDEX this week, Pyne added.
The UAE, a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, has invested heavily in its domestic defence manufacturing capabilities through international partnerships.
It is also a close U.S. ally and a global trade, transport and tourism hub. The development of its defence industries has been led by Abu Dhabi, the UAE's main petroleum-exporting emirate, to boost the non-oil economy.
"I think potential here for defence procurement partnerships as well as security partnerships is very significant," Pyne said, calling the UAE one of Australia's "closest friends in the Arab world".
The UAE is part of the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting in Yemen against the Iran-allied Houthi movement in support of the country's internationally recognised government.
It has also taken part in the United States-led effort against Islamic State.
IDEX opened on Sunday with a military demonstration watched by Sudan President Omar al-Bashir alongside Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. ($1 = 1.3040 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Noah Browning and David Goodman)
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's people and the ruling ZANU-PF party see no viable alternative candidate to President Robert Mugabe for general elections in 2018, state media quoted him as saying on Sunday.
"They want me to stand for elections, they want me to stand for elections everywhere in the party ... The majority of the people feel that there is no replacement, successor who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am," he said in comments to state media ahead of his 93rd birthday this coming week.
"The people, you know, would want to judge everyone else on the basis of President Mugabe as the criteria," Mugabe, who is Africa's oldest leader, said.
Mugabe has been in power in the southern African country since 1980 and in December his party confirmed him as its candidate for the next presidential election expected in mid-2018, when he will be 94.
"Of course if I feel that I can't do it any more, I will say so to my party so that they relieve me. But for now I think I cant say so," Mugabe said.
Mugabe, known for his combative style, said he agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump's "America for America" approach.
"When it comes to Donald Trump, on the one hand talking of American nationalism, well America for America, America for Americans - on that we agree. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans," he said.
The state-run Sunday Mail newspaper, which published the comments, said he added Trump might review the sanctions imposed on Mugabe and members of his inner circle by Washington in 2003 over alleged rights violations. The sanctions were extended by the Obama administration.
No reason was given as to why Mugabe felt Trump might re-examine sanctions and his direct comments on the matter were not published.
But Mugabe said he had not wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 White House election because "I knew she could slap sanctions on us as a legacy."
"We are just now under sanctions imposed not by Donald Trump, but by Obama. What arrogance is that?," Mugabe was quoted as saying.
The comments were published in advance of the full broadcast of the interview on state-run TV on Monday and Tuesday.
Critics accuse Mugabe of wrecking one of Africa's most promising economies through policies such as violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms and money printing. He and his party say the economy has been undermined by western powers. (Editing by Ed Stoddard and Ruth Pitchford)
Veteran journalist Dharman Wickremaratne released a book in December detailing the JVPs second insurgency. This 880 page work of non-fiction is a testament to the terror that was rife during the period from 1986 to 1990, which ultimately claimed 60,000 lives.
The book includes detailed facts and photographs on JVP leaders and activists, the JVPs role after its proscription in 1983, the events before and after the Indo-Lanka Accord, paramilitary groups and persons involved with them, trends of the Left movement in the 1980s, the SLFP, JVP attacks on the traditional Left, students struggles in schools, activities in the universities, academics and student leaders, military operations and other actions by insurgents and members of the clergy, lawyers, media personnel, artistes and others who were killed during the reign of terror.
A summary of the insurgency provided by the US State Department reads as follows:
In 1989, the JVP stepped up its campaign against the Government and population at large. Likened by some observers to Pol Pots Khmer Rouge and the Maoist Shining Path in Peru, the JVP sought to topple Sri Lankas elected Government through a campaign of murder, intimidation, and strikes designed to paralyse civil administration, cripple the economy and disrupt society. It did so despite repeated efforts by the Sri Lankan Government to bring the JVP into the political mainstream. In 1988, the Government had legalized the JVP and invited it to participate in the elections. The JVP responded by killing voters and candidates in an attempt to disrupt elections held in late 1988 and early 1989. In January 1989, in an effort to open a dialogue with the JVP, newly elected President Ranasinghe Premadasa released 1,800 JVP suspects and lifted the state of emergency. The JVP nonetheless continued its terror campaign of targeting hospitals, transportation, and other essential services, murdering union leaders who refused to participate in JVP-called strikes and killing the families of security force personnel. At mid-year, the Government began a massive crackdown on the JVP. It detained several thousand JVP suspects. By the end of the year, security forces had captured or killed many of the JVPs top leadership.
The Daily Mirror was able to speak to Wickremaratne regarding his book Javipe devani karalla
Excerpts:
How were you involved with the events?
During this time, I was working at a National Newspaper where I detailed many events of the insurrection. Through this position, I came into contact with many of the notable people that were involved in the events of that time.
Could you explain the process of the book?
For the book, I used many of the articles, diaries, pictures and details which I had accumulated over the years and kept with me safely. After 30 years, I continued to explore and research the events that took place, in order to uncover more facts for the book. For this, I conducted 376 interviews with people associated with the insurgency. These included Rohana Wijeweeras daughter Chithrangani, members of the Central Committee, family members of the students and many others who were involved here and abroad.
What was the nature of the casualties of the insurgency?
Between 1986 and 1990, the number of people that were killed or disappeared was 41,813. However, human rights groups report the number to be a much higher 67,652. The majority of these were residents of Hambantota and the district with the highest casualties was Galle. Out of the victims to die at the hands of the insurgents, the first was the Principal of Gonadeniya College, H. Jayawickrama.
What are some of the key differences between the first and second insurgencies?
In the first insurgency, the Government killed close to 5000 insurgents, whereas during the second insurgency, a total number of 60,000 people were killed by both sides. In the second insurgency, by the latter half, all discipline and order had vanished and there was a situation of terror. Force was being used to win over the public.
Why did you feel there was a need for a book of this nature?
It has been almost 30 years since these incidents occurred. Although numerous articles have been written about it, it is rarely that current publications including the true stories come out. There was a need to publish a book illustrating the events that those below the age of 40 today would have only heard about. This was therefore an attempt to fill the existing gaps. There maybe more stories however, that should be added into this work. Furthermore most of the leaders and activists of the second insurrection were killed, which means that the information they had was buried with them. This was not the case with the first insurgency, where there are many works detailing the events that unfolded. In addition, due to the nature of the conflict, many of those who live in Sri Lanka and abroad are unwilling to reveal what information they have. Therefore, I was in a well-placed position to gather this knowledge due to the nature of my relationships with many of them. Sinhala books that have been published on the insurgency revolve around personal stories, therefore this book is vastly different from those, since it details the accounts from an objective point of view.
The book is the true story of a dark period which ended 27 years ago, memories of which will haunt all those who lived during that time and will stand testament to the Hobbesian definition of man which is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
The 880-page book contains 74 chapters and 1,289 photos and is priced at Rs. 1,500.
This country has seen scores of elections (general, presidential and other) since its independence in 1948. But the three bloody rebellions by its youth (two in the south, and one in the north) have been crucial in shaping the countrys psyche more than the sum of all these elections. They are political barometers by which our political climate can be judged.
The Tamil rebellion in the north, popularly known as the Eelam Wars, gained wide international exposure, and many accounts of it were written by Western and Indian writers, while there are several books by Sri Lankan authors, too. The JVPs first rebellion in 1971 led by Rohana Wijeweera did not gain the same international exposure, but a few important accounts of it are available, written by high level participants as well as a judge. The JVPs bloodier second rebellion (1987-90) is murkier. No high level participant wrote any account of it. Most were killed, and the few remaining have bloodied hands, a factor which could prevent them from writing. There has been extensive newspaper journalism but these accounts are mainly about the detention camps and torture chambers where thousands of JVP members (and others not connected) were held and put to death. There has been no work giving us the bigger picture, reconstructing the history of these violent and chaotic years in an analytical and coherent manner.
Dharman Wickremaratnes book The JVPs 2nd rebellion (Javipe Deveni Kerella) is therefore an historically important work which fills a void. Running to almost 900 pages, it narrates the story of the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP), its leader Rohana Wijeweera and key members from 1971 to the second rebellion, from its humble beginnings on May 14, 1965, to the final blood-soaked chapters that followed the killing of Wijeweera in Colombo, in November 1989. In putting together the big picture, Dharman Wickremaratne traces the history of Sri Lankas labour agitation and trade union action going back several decades, such as the abortive July 1980 strike. This is important since the deep social malaise which gave birth and impetus to the JVP did not spring from thin air. While he doesnt attempt historical analysis in an academic sense, the author has researched the roots of these two rebellions and the result is a highly readable factual history of this countrys volatile politics from the 1970s onwards. According to independent estimates, over 72,000 lives were lost during the two rebellions, the vast majority of these during the second. While it is doubtful if the countrys leaders learned any lasting lessons from this mayhem, or if any meaningful reforms were brought about as a result, such a dark chapter in Sri Lankan history cannot go unrecorded. More than a gruesome record of the torture chambers is required, and Dharman Wickremaratne has put together here with consummate skill a narrative history of the 2nd JVP rebellion, with the story of its leader and the first rebellion included as a vital backdrop.
This is as close as we are likely to get to what actually happened at the time, because classified records do not exist (if they do by chance, no one knows where they are and the public has no access). By 1989, the police, the army and the paramilitary groups loyal to the government were given a carte blanche to crush the rebellion by whatever means available. This meant wholesale slaughter on an unprecedented scale and they obviously did not want to leave records. Any writer attempting a history of this mayhem faces a Herculean task because he or she would need to rely on survivors and eye-witness accounts and newspaper archival material, which are not always accurate. Dharman Wickremaratne was a 23-year-old reporter for the Sinhala newspaper Divaina in 1987. He covered the rebellion from its start to finish, had extensive contacts at all levels with both sides, and took considerable personal risks. As the author states in his foreword, he was on a flight to Germany in 1990, when it was recalled after take off and he was arrested and later questioned by the CID about his contacts.
Undeterred, he continued to collect documents, data, letters, photographs and diaries over the years, and mentions two persons who agreed to safeguard this vast collection, which is the source of material for this book. He emphasizes that the story doesnt end with it, nor does he claim that its complete. But it is ambitious in scope and offers in a logical and chronological order, the key events of a very violent and bleak period.
The author does not attempt socio-analysis or psychological profiles of key protagonists. Rather, he gives an outline of the historical factors and socio-economic forces which gave birth to the JVP, which was a radical but legally established political party as well as an underground political and military movement, according to the dictates of time and place. He concentrates on a detailed history of events and participants, major as well as minor, with an amazing attention to detail. Crammed into 74 chapters and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of black and white photographs of places and people (including the many victims of the JVP and the DJV, its shadowy military wing during the second rebellion), the narration becomes almost a day-by-day account of events meetings, protests, key decisions, armed attacks, assassinations and abductions. Its a factual thriller based on real life events.
Unlike many of the survivor-turned journalists who concentrated on the gory details of torture in their newspaper articles, Wickremaratne does not descend into the pornography of violence. He deals more with the causes of that gore, the monumental decisions, as well as mistakes made by Wijeweera, his central committee and their counterparts in the governments and security apparatus.
He does this in a logical, chronological order and discusses the role played by influential organizations such as the universitys independent students union and its third president Daya Pathirana (abducted and killed in 1986 by the JVP) and the Mavubima Surakime Vyaparaya led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) but manipulated by the JVP.
The narrative includes many, now-largely forgotten episodes, such as the abortive pact between the J.R. Jayewardene government and the JVP, signed on May 9, 1989 with minister Lalith Athulathmudali as state representative and the JVPs Upatissa Gamanayake, with Fr. Tissa Balasuriya as one of two witnesses, whereby the JVP agreed to disarm and enter the democratic process (it barely lasted a week).
The book makes it clear that the JVP was supremely able to harness the nationalist feeling (mainly Sinhala Buddhist but sometimes extending beyond), which became a rallying point for pent-up fury against then president J.R. Jayewardenes high-handed and authoritarian manner. This reached a boiling point when he signed the Indo-Sri Lanka accord with Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1987. Just as the July 1983-anti Tamil riots fuelled the LTTE, this accord and ensuing anti-government riots transformed the JVP into a highly potent alternative force fighting to topple the state, at least in the eyes of those who feared international invention and Indian meddling in Sri Lankas volatile politics. The regimes mix of virulent Sinhala nationalism and pro-Western diplomacy was countered squarely now by the JVPs xenophobia.
Many examples can be given for the authors attention to detail. For example, when describing the attack on Rajiv Gandhi on July 30, 1987 by naval rating Vijitha Rohana Wijemuni, he mentions the name of the only photographer able to capture the image (Lake House photographer Sena Widanagama) and how the decision to publish this picture only in their city editions was taken by Lake House. The author then describes in detail the family background of Wijemuni and the ensuing trial. Many such examples are found throughout the book.
The period is full of many such absorbing episodes, including the grenade attack inside the parliament in August 1987. Employee Ajith Kumara, accused of the attack, was later absolved of all charges after a trial. These facts are known. Less known perhaps is the fact that his wife and son (born in 1986) both disappeared after his arrest, and the author states that both were killed. He doesnt say by whom. The story of the Deshapremi Janatha Vyaparaya, the JVPs shadowy and brutal military wing, runs parallel. It was commanded by Saman Piyasiri Fernando, better known by his nom de guerre of Keerthi Wijebahu, a name that struck terror in the hearts of millions. According to the statistics given by the author, the DJV murdered 1,783 UNP members, 485 state officials and employees, 202 soldiers, 187 university and school students, 92 members of policemens families, 70 members of armed forces members families, 52 school principals, 41 Buddhist monks, 27 trade union activists, 18 estate superintendents, 9 journalists and artists, 7 lawyers, 6 leading businessmen, 1 Catholic priest, 200 SLFP members, 141 members of the Mahajana Pakshaya, 43 members of the Communist Party and many more.
The DJV punished those who dared disobey its dictates during the June 1989 SLTB bus strike ruthlessly. It started locally at Badulla but was soon orchestrated brilliantly by the JVP island-wide to cripple the entire country, with the railways and the private bus operators being forced to join. 137 SLTB employees who dared go to work were killed, and one drivers hands were hacked off and placed on the steering wheel of his bus as punishment.
With such senseless murder and brutality, by 1989 the JVP was self-destructing. Its terror was such that during the 1988 presidential election, not a single vote was cast at 270 polling centres and 15 opposition candidates for the 1989 general election were killed. The July 1989 JVP central committee decision to end its cohabitation with the SLFP and attack it too was another major blunder.
But its the August 1989 JVP order given to all armed forces members to quit or face reprisals which delivered the final coup de grace. The Ops Combine was formed under Maj. Gen. Cecil Waidyaratne, with another special ops unit under Col. Janaka Perera, and police SSP Premadasa Udugampola was given a free hand to fight the JVP and the DJV. The result was a bloodbath which wiped out almost the entire underground leadership within a matter of months. Despite its virulent nationalism, the JVP maintained contacts with a number of Tamil separatist groups and these details too are given along with a sketchy history of the Tamil armed struggle. Though the JVP was overwhelmingly Sinhalese, it had a few very active minority members too. One was a brilliant and popular Tamil student leader called Ranjithan Gunaratnam, who became the JVP leader for Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces. He was arrested in December 1989 and killed in January 1990. Among its few Muslim activists, engineering undergraduate S.M. Nizmi was one. When he was arrested in January 1990, he was a JVP central committee member and was killed soon after.
Many brilliant and capable people from both sides perished. What was achieved in the end after such enormous sacrifice? The author does not proceed to answer such questions. He sees his task as one of documenting in a coherent manner a mass of detail and reportage of a very murky era, and in this he has succeeded quite well. Has he been impartial? But total impartiality would be impossible in such an undertaking. Lord Russel of Liverpool, one of the chief legal advisers during the war crimes trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo after WWII, wrote two outstanding books about Axis war crimes The Scourge of the Swastika and the Knights of Bushido. He represented the Allied side and was a firm liberal. But this did not make him exaggerate or invent. Thats the most important thing. Similarly, one feels that author Wickremaratne has worked within the bounds of historical truth and decency. Because of the very nature of its subject matter, some parts of the book are bound to be controversial. But its hard to think of anyone else better placed to undertake such a monumental task and he doesnt consider it complete. The second part of the book will resurrect more of this unwritten history.
Dharman Wickremaratne can be contacted on 0712733986 or at ejournalists@gmail.com
The Sri Lanka Army yesterday categorically denied a recent statement, alleged to have been made by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the head of an ethnic reconciliation body on sexual exploitation and abuses of Tamil women by the Army in the post war scenario.
"At a time when the Government is genuinely committed to the Rule of Law and Reconciliation, baseless assertions of this nature would only jeopardize the reconciliation process," the army headquarters said in a statement.
Full Statement
The Army Headquarters has noted with dismay a recent statement, alleged to have been made by the head of an ethnic reconciliation body on sexual exploitation and abuses of Tamil women by the Army in the post war scenario. The Army categorically denies the same as a baseless allegation.
In 2010, civil administration was firmly established in the North and the Army withdrew from all forms of civil administration.
Since then, the Army has not been involved in administration concerning civilians, and the question of sexual exploitation and abuses during the said process does not hence arise.
Regrettably, the author of this statement has made unsubstantiated and baseless assertions without specifying any incident of sexual exploitation or abuse.
The Army wishes to place on record that it has a Zero Tolerance Policy on sexual abuses as evidenced in Premawathi Manamperi case in 1971, Krishanthi Kumaraswamy case and Rajini Vellaydunpillai case that took place during the period 1995-2005. In all these instances, the Army fully cooperated with the civil court cases against the accused who were on trial, resulting in death penalty.
In line with this principle, the Army always takes stern action on Army personnel against whom ex facie cases have been and discharged summarily from the Army despite acquittal/pending action in civil courts. It shall continue to pursue this policy.
At a time when the Government is genuinely committed to the Rule of Law and Reconciliation, baseless assertions of this nature would only jeopardize the reconciliation process.
I refer to the article headlined Wigneswaran and puppeteering with Ghosts, by Mr. Malinda Seneviratne, in the Daily Mirror of February 9, 2017.
I focus attention only on four (4) interconnected points of Mr.MS as follows: I quote-
(a) The claim of traditional /historical homelands is a load of balderdash unsupported by any kind of evidence
(b) There are no archeological props, there is no subaltern history and even literary kind of evidence, is at best weak and easily debunked.
(c) Just the fact that they blur the truth with multi-ethnic talk.when asked about numbers and percentages, and it is actually sad.
(d) Almost half the Tamil population lives outside the homeland and the bottom falls out of the argument.
I comment on above statements of Mr. MS, not as an ethnic Tamil, although I am a Hindu. My purpose is to present the facts objectively rather than view it with a racial bias.
Re- (a) above: I wish to ask Mr. MS whether there were any Sinhalese traditional homelands prior to the arrival of Vijaya (More correctly Vijay or Vijayan) from India in 500 B.C. and later during the introduction of Buddhism in 247 BC ?
Could Mr. MS give evidence of Sinhalese settlements prior to 500 BC?
Obviously not; because the Sinhalese race is said to be founded by Vijaya in 500 BC only, according to the historical chronicle Mahavamsa by Mahanama. In fact the founding of the race is a myth. Because, not a single race in the world have been founded by an individual. Can Mr. MS give the names of individuals, who founded the European, Slavonic, Chinese, Mongoloid, Japanese, Aryan and the Dravidian races, to mention a few? I bet not; because races evolve organically by people living together, with common customs, beliefs and dialects. Sinhalese are the only unique exception to this universal phenomena.
Who was Ravanas (more correctly Ravanan) grandfather Pulasthi, who ruled from Pulasthinagar in the North (Name later changed to Polonnaruwa by Sinhala historians) and Ravana, later king of Lanka?
Were they Sinhalese rulers? Mr. MS, can you provide an answer?
I dont think so. Because, the truth is the pre-Vijayan and later pre-Buddhistic inhabitants of Lanka were a mix of Dravidians, comprising Tamils, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalees. Can Mr.MS tell us who King Devanam Piyatissa (More correctly Devanambya Alwar Tissan) and his father Mutsiva (More correctly Muthusivan) were?
Were they Sinhalese rulers? What was the religion of King Devanam Piyatissa, before his conversion to Buddhism in 247 BC by Arahat Mahinda (Mahendra)? Surely, he must have had a religion.
Mr. M.S would, in his own words, have to indulge in navel and toe gazing to these questions. The truth is King Ravana was a Tamil and a Hindu and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and received the boon of Lord Shiva by observance of tapas. He was a great practitioner of Ayurveda and during his time the great Indian Ayurvedic Scholar, Danwanthri attended a Conference on Ayurveda in Lanka. There is Brahmi rock inscriptions to support this. King Devanambya Alwar Tissan was not even a Tamil but a Telugu Hindu.
Re- (b ) Mr. MS debunks that there is no evidence of any historical kind. He seems to be unaware of the architectural, epigraphical (Brahmi rock inscriptions) and literary , and place names etc, which establish the veracity of the fact the pre- historic population consisted of Hindu Dravidians, long before the emergence of a Sinhalese religio-linguistic identity.
There was no fully developed Sinhala language till about the 7th century A.D. Sinhala language was created , basing on Tamil Alphabatics and Grammar (Virasolium) and 90 % comprising modified Sanskrit and Tamil words. What more evidence is needed for Ravana, than the corroborative literary evidence of the Epic Ramayana authored by the great Sage Valmiki around 7000 years B.C, which refers to the King of Lanka, Ravana.
Other historical evidence in Lanka like the remnants of the Adams Bridge in the Palk Strait linking Lanka and India , place names as Seetha -Eliya, Ramboda (Correct name Ram Bhoda) and other temple architecture of the five (5) Iswarams, Thirukoneswaram of Trincomalee, Munneswaram of Chilaw, Thirukeetheeswaram of Mannar, Naguleswaram of Point Pedro and now defunct Thondeswaram, in Dondra, in the South.
Besides, the worship of Lord Shiva and Lord Murugan at the sacred temple at Kataragama (More correctly Kathirgamam) existed around 13, 000 years BC. Even the Sigiriya rock was in pre-historic times was called Shivagiri mountain, which later was changed to Sigiriya. There are over hundreds of Brahmi Rock inscriptions (Prof. Dr. Paranavitarane refers to them) confirming the Holy Yatra made by several Saints, Sages, Munis and Yogis, including the Great Agastya, who came to the sacred Kataragama and worshipped Lord Murugan.
Isnt this evidence enough to prove the existence of a mix of Dravidian Hindu inhabitants in Lanka during the period of the Ramayana and beyond? The existence of pre- Vijayan and pre-Buddhistic Hindu temples, millennia before the arrival of so-called Vijay and Arahat Mahinda, proves that the Tamils and other Dravidian Hindu races, was the majority population of Lanka.
Re- (c) about numbers and percentages of race break-down of population of the post-Christian era. With the conversion of King Devanam Piyatissa and large numbers of the subjects of his kingdom to Buddhism in 247 B.C, which comprised Tamils and other Dravidian races, the Hindu Tamils and others became a minority.
Although they were converted to Buddhism, they continued with their Hindu customs, religious practices and worship of Hindu deities. Some followed the strict adherence to the Precepts of Buddhism, and opposed the ritual worship of Hinduism.
This led to the Schism in Buddhism, not only in Lanka, it started in North India, and the dichotomy of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism came about. The Abhayagiri and Mahavihare became the centres of the respective schools of Buddhism.
Can Mr. MS deny this development? Thus the ancestral progenitors of present day Sinhalese are the converted Tamil Buddhists. With the creation of a separate language, by modification of Sanskrit and Tamil words (about 90%) and a sprinkling of Pali, Portuguese and English words, the Sinhala language was born.
Since the beginning of the Christian era, a period of over 1,000 years, by reproductive natural increase, the Sinhalese became, percentage-wise, the majority. These are the truths, which are unpleasant and unacceptable, to the Sinhalese psyche.
"The British were not that stupid to demarcate territorial lines for efficient rule without a rational basis. They were based on the rationale of a de-facto reality. Wasnt the same British, who gave a Unitary State and Constitution for their centralised government, when in reality, there was never a centralised Lanka"
Today, the residual Tamil population, a significant minority, is deemed as outsiders, who came from South India. Whereas, the prehistoric history, as averred above, establish the fact of they being the primordial inhabitants of Lanka. Of course, there must have been an inflow of Tamils during the Chola invasion and rule, which lasted for 44 years and in modern times the British bringing in the Tamils from South India to work on their plantations.
The Tamils and other Dravidians did not come from India. They came along with the land mass called Illankai in Tamil, when the Continental land mass connected to South India, called the Commorikandam in Tamil and the geological name Demuria, which sank and dismembered in the great Ocean Storm (Tsunami?) around 9,000 years BC.
The name Lanka was derived from the Tamil name Illankai by deletion of the first two letters and the last letter.
Re- (d) that half the Tamil population lives outside the homelands- the bottom falls out of the argument. This is a lame argument to deny the existence of an identifiable territorial region as homeland of the Tamils. The homeland does not disappear, merely because half the population is outside the region. This is due to two reasons:
(1) Job opportunities
(2) Security.
North East is the least developed region. Metropolitan Colombo district is the most developed and where job opportunities are.
So, the drift to Colombo is natural. They are settled and live in the Colombo District. Does this mean they have severed their connection with the place of birth? No. They have family connections with their homeland.
The other reason is their homeland was engulfed in a fratricidal war, terrorism and instability, constant aerial bombings, break-down of civilian life, lack of amenities, food, medicines, schooling , fear of child abductions, which perforce made them seek a safe and secure life in the South.
These two combined factors make up the reason detre for their living outside their Homeland. It is precisely for this that, a once and for all solution, is needed to settle the so-called Tamil problem.
If the Tamils are given the necessary political power to govern themselves, under a federal framework, development would result in job opportunities, and peace and stability will attract a backward inflow to the Homeland, not only from Colombo, even from abroad.
Living out of their homeland is not abandonment of their place of birth- the homeland. By extension of this irrational argument, thousands of Sinhalese settled down in the Western countries cannot call their place of birth, Lanka, as their motherland.
Mr. MS also refers to arbitrary lines of territorial demarcations made by the colonial Rulers ,the British.
The British were not that stupid to demarcate territorial lines for efficient rule without a rational basis. They were based on the rationale of a de-facto reality. Wasnt the same British, who gave a Unitary State and Constitution for their centralised government, when in reality, there was never a centralised Lanka, prior to the advent of the first colonial power, the Portuguese.
There existed only three independent and sovereign kingdoms- the Kotte Kingdom, the Kandyan Kingdom and the Jaffna Kingdom. Can this historical truth be denied by those who prattle about historical evidence of various kinds?
The Sinhala Government and their chauvinists, gleefully accept the British unitary State and Constitution, and insist on this, but not their regional lines of demarcation of the North and East. I think I have adequately dealt with the matters referred to by Mr. MS and he is welcome to counter my views, if I am wrong, and enlighten me.
authama Buddha not only accepted an invitation for alms by Ambapali, but acknowledged a donation of ashram by the lady sex-worker of Vaisali. On another occasion the Buddha used a corpse of a prostitute to convey a message to those who patronised her services by spending thousands of Kahavanu for a night. He first auctioned the carcass, there were no biddersnext he offered it free, yet there was no response : perhaps they gained insight over the repulsive nature of human body. Sex for sale is an ancient profession that needs to be legalised.
Roughly speaking, there are two types of prostitutes: those enforced into the trade by social deprivation or poverty [harlot, street walker or bandhaka in Buddhist literature] and those who wished to do it as they feel it is a convenient way to earn good money; this type is called a courtesan [ganika or nagarasobhini]. The intention of the first is survival and is therefore, karmmically far less harmful than the other type whose motive might be lack of self-respect. The first is not gladly involved in wrong occupation while the second obviously is. Buddha or kings never attempted to punish or ban the profession. Buddhist literature is full of stories about ganika or nagarasobhinis. The story of 30 young men and 29 wives plus a harlot hired by the only bachelor in a group of excursionists accidentally meet the Buddha while searching for the missing harlot, who vanished with valuables collected from the affluent party. The term sex worker was coined in 1978 by sex worker activist Carol Leigh. Its use became fashionable after publication of the text, Sex Work: Writings By Women In The Sex Industry in 1987. The term sex worker is widely used, including in academic work by agencies, such as WHO.
Hazards of free operation.
We use our laws to prohibit, ban and arrest the wrongdoers or sex workers like in most other countries, where sex workers are regarded as worthy of disgrace, disapproval and marginalized preventing them from seeking legal redress for discrimination that deem them spreaders of disease. We think they are a public nuisance and offenders against decency. Sex workers never disclose their work to medical authorities due to fear of such disapproval. The criminalization of sex trade leads to reluctance in disclosure as there is very little legal protection for them. In many cases, a victimized sex worker may not be able to take action against her attacker. Many sex workers, as per research do not use condoms due to the fear of confrontation and cruelty from clients. Education about disease prevention through condom use and other health practices needs a legally monitored healthcare system.
All professions are conspiracies against the laity - said George Bernard Shaw - the oldest profession is not excluded.
The society must treat all professions alike without discrimination. Its worth noting here what Tina Fey, the American actress, comedian, writer and producer once said, Politics and prostitution have to be the only jobs where inexperience is considered a virtue. In what other profession would you brag about not knowing stuff?
They rightfully opposed Casinos, the idea was dropped; but hoards of imported labour, working at construction sites since then have encouraged the trade. Latest news warns of brothels mushrooming around their lodging places in the city where long queues of mongoloids waiting for their turn are seen.
Kalidasa, Kumaradasa and Royal Courtesan
Hindu Scriptures always condemned Prostitution. Parashara Smriti says, selling Wine and meat, consuming prohibited foods, patronizing prostitutes a shoodra falls from his caste. But the greatest Indian poet Kalidasa, a Classical Sanskrit writer and dramatist was murdered by a courtesan in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Kumaradasa 513-522 AD. Kumaradasa, the poet and the son of King Mugalan, who defeated brother Kassapa of Lion Rock Sigiriya, during his eighteen year-stay in India had developed a close friendship with Kalidasa, the poet, dramatist and literati. Having read Janakiharanaya authored by the King, an elated poet visited him in Sri Lanka. During his sojourn Kalidasa patronised a high-end courtesan and found two lines of an incomplete poem inscribed on the wall of her luxurious bedroom.
The bee settled to draw the nectar
From the lotus with tender care , - [The forest bee got to the honey without hurting the flower, but got away only in the morning when the lily unfolded its petals.] The king who visited the lady on an earlier occasion, and whilst in the passionate company of her, inspired by a bee entangled in the petals of a lotus flower, wrote the two poetic lines, and offered an incentive to anybody who could complete the other two lines. Kalidasa recognized the handwriting of his friend Kumaradasa, and wanted to take the King by surprise, he completed the verse which read,Bursting the ensnaring petals it escaped like ensnared here the whole night awake, - [The relation of the sun seeking the society of the lotus-eyed enjoyed, indeed, her company , but sleepless was caught in his toils].
The courtesan was plagued with greed. The woman seized the opportunity; she murdered Kalidasa, concealed the body in order to claim the reward for herself. The king in turn on his next visit recognised Kalidasas handwriting bringing the whole fatal trick to light. As the story goes, at the State funeral accorded to his friend, King Kumaradasa, unable to stand the grief, he king threw himself upon flames of the pyre, followed by his five Queens. Though the validity or accuracy of the story, given in semi-historical records namely, Pujavaliya and Perakumba Sirita cannot be completely trusted, we could reasonably surmise that the Kings and their ilk [while enjoying the comforts of five queens] also frequented Deluxe abodes of Royal Courtesans in the good-old days as well.
"Sex workers never disclose their work to medical authorities due to fear of such disapproval. The criminalization of sex trade leads to reluctance in disclosure as there is very little legal protection for them"
Buddhist views on the practice
Buddhism does not support or oppose prostitution. Gauthama Buddha only seized an opportunity to prove a point or to explain that prostitution is an unpleasant act. Buddhists do not look down upon the worker. It provided and encouraged the practitioners an opportunity to practice dharma, that they have an equal opening to become liberated.
Theres no concept of sexual offence in Buddhism, that being a sex worker is morally wrong. It may be or it may not be, depending upon the person. Sex work takes a profound toll on a person physically and psychologically. Its probably not the best occupation to get into if you want a peaceful and steady life. But having said so, there is no crime involved and it surely wouldnt be unconditionally forbidden.
Legality of profession in ancient India
The Lords, Senators, Merchants, Generals; everyone had one wish.....get married to beautiful Ammbapali [Amrapali]. The State decided to make her a prostitute, they thought it was dangerous to hand over Amrapali to any one, that others would not accept it simply. It would create violence in Vaishali, the most influential democracy of ancient India. Amrapali was forced to be a Nagar Vadhu meaning wife of the city, a prostitute, by order of Parliament.
The Buddha never looked down upon sex workers. On the contrary he provided a chance for them to go into the correct path in the same manner as anybody else. When he accepted the invitation from Ambapali for lunch; the Licchavi princes offered an invitation too. He declined it honouring Ambapalis. Jivaka, the Buddhas physician was mothered by a prostitute. He was never grimaced upon for his birth. There are many instances where prostitutes attained enlightenment, after being diligently practised Dhamma. In fact, the experience of a prostitute might help her towards illumination sooner than others. Although cherished as the original expressions of the Buddha, these teachings were preserved vocally for about four centuries before being scripted, providing many openings for some passages to be intentionally or inadvertently corrected by people less enlightened than the Buddha.
Legal dimensions of sex work
Exchange of sexual services for money is legal in England, but a few related activities, like soliciting in a public place and owning or managing a brothel and pimping are crimes. Pornography is legal in the USA, but prostitution is illegal in most States. However, in other nations, both prostitution and pornography are illegal; whereas, in some both are legal. However, those who oppose the legalisation of the sex trade argue that it is naturally unfair and can never be practised in a way that compliments the rights of those who engaged in it. The World Health Organization recommends decriminalization of sex work. A recent WHO report says, Violence against sex workers is associated with inconsistent condom use or lack of condom use, and with increased risk of STI and HIV infection. Violence also prevents sex workers from accessing HIV information and services.
The Lancet, the top medical journal published that there is no other option to decriminalization of sex work in order to protect participants from HIV. Rhode Island legalized prostitution in 1980 by accident. When lawmakers deemed the State statute on prostitution to be overly broad they unintentionally removed the part defining the act itself as an offence while trying to revise it; they didnt realize the error for two decades. This caused the new cases of gonorrhoea among women statewide to decline by 39%, over the next six years. Interestingly, sexual brutality also declined by 30%.
As a first step, the health and law enforcement authorities may carry out a research on the local sex trade prior to introduction of guidelines regulating the running of ill-famed houses - the legal draughtsman could prepare the basic structure for liberalizing the trade on lines of similar legislation in other nations. The indecencies are not prostitutes; its the poverty which is indecent, and the criminal unreliability of the rulers who make this poverty a deadening certainty.
n November 29, 1947, in its collective wisdom, the UN General Assembly via Resolution 181 planned the carving up of what was originally Palestine, into two states - the state of Israel and the State of Palestine.
The partition plan allocated 55% of what then constituted Palestine to Jewish settlers who constituted around 30% of the population, and 45% to Palestinians who constituted 70%. The plan specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and an area of Jerusalem which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime. The UN plan to carve out the State of Israel in what was originally Palestine was opposed not only by the Palestinians but by all Arab states and people.
The United Nations which was set up to prevent conflicts world-wide in the aftermath of World War II, had with a stroke of the pen so-to-say, created a major zone of conflict which persists to this day.
Within months of the General Assembly resolution and before the founding of the state of Israel, Jewish settlers carried out numerous attacks on Palestinians, depopulating and razing villages. The attacks were followed by teams of cartographers being sent out to give the now depopulated towns and villages, new Hebrew names. Even rivers and hills were renamed. It appeared to be an effort to wipe out all vestiges of Palestinian habitation, history, and culture. These villages are occupied by Israel and are part of what is today known as Israeli-occupied Territories.
It is often believed the conflict escalated after Arab States entered the conflict, the fact was and is that a large number of attacks on Palestinian civilians were perpetrated before a single Arab country ever entered the conflict.
The Israeli militia attack on the village of Deir Yassin typified the massacres. On April 9, 1948, around 120 fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi attacked the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin comprising around 600 people. According to a count conducted by International Red Cross representative Jacques de Reynier, apart from bodies left lying in the streets, 150 corpses were found in one cistern alone, among them people who had been either decapitated or disembowelled. Several villagers were taken prisoner and may have been killed after being paraded through the streets of West Jerusalem. There were also cases of mutilation and rape.
In the aftermath of the massacre around 470,000 Palestinians fled the area and its neighbouring villages. A month later on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion Israels first Prime Minister- declared the establishment of the State of Israel.
Since then, Israel has continued to set up illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, which it still occupies and continues to acquire and illegally confiscate private Palestinian lands and houses. To make matters worse in January 2017, Israel passed a new law which gives any Israeli citizen the right to take over any Palestinian house land or orchard in the Occupied Territories for him/herself. Whereas the UN General Assemblys Resolution 181, set apart 45% of the then Palestine, to be part of a future State of Palestine; after the 1967 6-day War, Israel commenced building settlements of exclusive Jewish ethnicity on Palestinian lands.
Today, the rump State of Palestine has no contiguity; Israel today illegally occupies 22.6% of lands originally allocated for the State of Palestine and continues the illegal annexation of private Palestinian land. Israel also limits water consumed by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied Territories and prevents the building of new homes for Palestinians living in these territories.
Despite the United Nations repeatedly upholding Israels construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel continues to expand its exclusive Jewish settlement building programme in Palestinian territories. Palestinians today live in circumstances similar to that of non-white South Africans in the era of apartheid in that country.
To put an end to the evil apartheid regime in South Africa, the countries and peoples of the world had no option but to impose a boycott of South African goods and services until it dismantled the structures of apartheid.
Ultimately apartheid was brought to an end on April 27, 1994, when South African people of all races were able to vote for the first time in a national election, and the restrictions that defined Apartheid had been abolished.
Today, once again, the world is faced with a similar situation in Palestine where a system of laws has been instituted to ensure the strict segregation of people and the domination by an Israeli minority. Its time to end the new apartheid. Its time perhaps, to call for a boycott of Israeli products until the intransigent regime come to its senses.
Warasiya police in Gujarat nabbed two persons accepting bets on the Australia-Sri Lanka T20 match late on Saturday afternoon. An offence was registered against them on the same night.
Acting on a tip off, the police had raided the residence of one Prakash Savlani in the Sant Kanvar Colony in the Warasiya area of the city. It came to light that Savlani was accepting bets there along with one Pankaj Kavlani, a resident of Amar Duplex on the New VIP Road. Two laptops, five cellular phones and cash amounting to Rs 900 was recovered from the accused. The duo used to accept bets over the phones and post them on the laptops.
When the police raided Savlani's residence the duo were watching the match live on a television and speaking over the phone to accept bets. Sources said that the bets were being recorded on the laptop in code words.(Times of India)
The U.S. Navy announced the group began routine patrols Saturday. The group includes Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea, despite a warning from China on Wednesday not to interfere with Chinese sovereignty in the area.
The area where the U.S. group is patrolling is a disputed area; China has been asserting its rule over the waterway despite territorial claims from a number of other east Asian nations.
Nations competing with China for claims to parts of the South China Sea include Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Taiwan also claims part of the area.
The U.S. strike group trained off the coasts of Hawaii and Guam in preparation for the patrols.
It was a sight that likely had people standing in the streets of Charlottesville and staring at the heavens with mouths agape.
What they would have witnessed on the frigid night of Dec. 14, 1862, was one of the most dramatic presentations of the Northern Lights ever seen in recorded history. Eyewitness accounts tell of shafts of multicolored rays dancing and swirling across the sky.
Some of the best descriptions of the celestial event came from Civil War soldiers who were immersed in the Battle of Fredericksburg, being waged 66 miles to the north of Charlottesville. It was a particularly unnerving sight for the combat-weary men, many of whom had no idea what the phenomenon was.
One account said that the sky, turned as red as blood. Another warrior diarist wrote that a Florida outfit that had stood firm under fire on the battlefield ran off in a panic when the remarkable brilliancy first appeared.
The display started a little after 6 p.m., when the clear, black sky suddenly started to brighten along the northern horizon. This dawn-like apparition would have been enough to shake the stoutest constitution, but it was only the preamble.
The light increased in radiance and climbed higher into the sky. Then, as the light cast a disquieting glow on the ghastly battlefield strewn with dead, the heavens erupted with spinning colors.
It was as if gigantic Roman candles were firing spears of various colors into the firmament. Red, whites and blues caused some of the Federal troops to interpret the event as a favorable omen.
An account of the incident in the Richmond Daily Dispatch a week later saw it differently. The newspaper writer suggested that the crimson columns of light signified the blood of those martyrs who had offered their lives as a sacrifice to their native land.
Elizabeth Lyle Saxon wrote about the event in her book, A Southern Womans War Time Reminiscences. She recalled that an elderly woman told her, Oh, child, it is a terrible omen. Such lights never burn, save for kings and heroes deaths.
Of course, the Northern Lights or aurora borealis are caused when charged particles from the sun strike atoms in the Earths atmosphere. The impressive light shows are generally most often seen in northern climes, but on occasion are viewed farther south, as in the case of the 1862 event.
Red, blue and yellow seem to have been the predominant colors on that bone-chilling night in 1862. The colors that are said to be most often associated with the display are pink, green, yellow, blue, violet and, once in a while, white and orange.
Charlottesville citizens were presented with another impressive display on the night of Feb. 4-5, 1872. The New York Times said that many startled observers interpreted it as an omen that the world was coming to an end.
This might sound foolish, but I once thought that very thing. When I was about 12 years old, I was camping with a few of my friends next to a lake in Minnesota. We were sitting around the campfire one night when the sky suddenly lit up with bright, swirling green colors. None of us had ever seen anything like it, and we were convinced that the end had arrived. We got down on our knees and started praying with the fervor of the just converted.
The awestruck soldiers camping among the frozen dead of Fredericksburg had good reasons to believe this was a sign from God. It was a matter of conjecture as to whether the Almighty was pleased or angry with his battling subjects.
When the sky returned to its normal hue, a stillness settled on the fields of carnage. Then, from both sides of the lines, men were heard singing religious hymns far into the night.
The closest the first Republican debate of the 2017 election cycle came to onstage combat was when a candidate chucked a water bottle at the moderator.
Focused on relatively uncontroversial issues impacting millennials including higher education costs, lackluster economic prospects, opioid addiction and clean government the format of Saturdays event at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville didnt lend itself to fireworks.
As the debate came to a close, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck thanked the partys candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general for showing class and dignity. That prompted state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves, a Spotsylvania Republican running for lieutenant governor, to jokingly hurl the projectile at the party leader.
Whichever one of you is the nominee, as long as its not Bryce, we will be behind you 100 percent, Whitbeck said.
The debate, which was billed as a 90-minute affair but featured a little less than an hour of policy discussion by the candidates, was hosted by the Millennial Advocacy Council, a young Republicans group that was holding a two-day summit in Charlottesville.
Answers to the questions that the millennial group prepared and Whitbeck read didnt reveal major policy differences. All candidates seemed to generally agree that young people have gotten a raw deal paying for expensive college degrees that dont translate to good jobs after graduation and they declared Republican economic policies would help.
The forum had potential to create a face-to-face clash between Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman leading the four-man GOP field for governor, and Corey Stewart, fiery chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, who is known for strong anti-illegal immigration views and has made attacking Gillespie a key focus of his populist campaign.
Chief among Stewarts accusations is that Gillespie was insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump during last years presidential race. Stewart was Trumps Virginia campaign chairman until the Trump campaign fired him in October for participating in a protest outside the RNC headquarters in Washington.
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed Gillespie with 24 percent support among GOP primary voters, compared with 7 percent for Stewart, 5 percent for state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, of Virginia Beach, and 2 percent for Nelson County distillery owner Denver Riggleman.
Both Democrats running for governor Lt. Gov Ralph S. Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello, polled ahead of the Republican candidates, but were in a dead heat with one another about four months ahead of the June primary.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Saturdays debate came when Stewart announced his support for decriminalizing marijuana in response to a question about over-incarceration of millennials.
I think it is absolutely atrocious that we are jailing people simply because theyre in possession of marijuana, Stewart said. Thats got to end. And I am all for decriminalizing marijuana in the commonwealth of Virginia. Im not for legalizing it, because I dont think its good.
Stewarts comment came after Riggleman said his brother had been jailed for nine months on a marijuana-related charge.
When you have family members that have been through it, you sort of understand that trying to transition back into society is so daggone difficult, said Riggleman, owner of Silverback Distillery. Riggleman said in a news release that he supports marijuana decriminalization, though he didnt say so explicitly from the stage.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Gillespie said he doesnt support marijuana legalization, but said penalties should be aligned with offenses. He pointed to a pending study of Virginias marijuana laws coming at the request of Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City County.
Im not quite there yet, Gillespie said. But Im open to seeing data when that report is finished.
Wagner tried to portray himself as the candidate with the most knowledge of how state government works and stressed transportation and infrastructure.
For too long weve been treating symptoms in Richmond, symptoms of a bad economy, and not treating the economy, Wagner said.
Apart from agreement that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed, there was little discussion at the debate of Trumps first month in the White House. Democratic candidates have made it clear that they intend to link GOP candidates in Virginia to the turbulence in Washington.
Since day one of Trumps presidency, Virginias GOP gubernatorial candidates have supported Trump and his far-right policies at every turn, Becca Slutzky, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement before the debate.
Two of three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Reeves and Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr., of Virginia Beach attended the debate. State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, did not attend.
Both GOP candidates for attorney general participated, though Chuck Smith, a Virginia Beach attorney, arrived roughly 40 minutes late. Sounding like he wasnt expecting much of a primary fight, John Adams, a Richmond attorney, said he planned to start running right now against Attorney General Mark R. Herring, a Democrat who is seeking re-election.
Closing statements gave the candidates their best chance at red-meat rhetoric.
We dont need more Muslims or mosques or refugee resettlements until we protect the citizens weve got, Smith said as he warned the U.S. Constitution has never in history been more at risk.
Others talk, I deliver, Stewart said. Others talk about illegal immigration. Ive done it. I deported 7,500 illegal aliens.
Gillespie focused his fire on the legacy of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.
We cannot have Ralph Northam or Tom Perriello continue the McAuliffe failed policies, Gillespie said. We need to cut taxes, we need to repeal antiquated regulations, we need to reform our education system to meet the needs of the workforce of today and the future.
Gillespie said he wasnt surprised by the debates civil tone and the lack of attacks by Stewart, saying people are hungry for policies and solutions and ideas.
He added: Im not surprised that candidates, when theyre in front of an audience, respond to that demand.
Stewart called the event too cordial and said future debates will be different.
Just wait until the next one, Stewart said. Were gonna blast him good. I promise.
The tall, bearded gentleman, having been consumed by important matters, arrived late for the theatrical event being held to benefit sick and wounded soldiers.
While standing in the theaters vestibule, the man spotted an acquaintance in the audience. Not wanting to disturb the performance, he asked a nearby youngster to let the person know that he had arrived.
When the boy returned from his errand, the thankful man swept him up in his powerful hands and kissed him on the forehead. For the remainder of his days, Daniel Murray, with evident pride, would tell the story of how he met President Abraham Lincoln.
The warm encounter boded well for Murrays future, and that of all blacks living in the United States. And, for a time, it appeared that the scourge of prejudice had been vanquished, along with the shackles of slavery.
But, as Elizabeth Dowling Taylor reveals in her new book, The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era, this wouldnt be the case. African-Americans would enjoy only a relatively short reprieve before there was a return to the status quo.
Lincoln ended slavery, but he couldnt erase racism from the human heart. After years of progress during the Reconstruction period from 1865 to 1877, powerful forces in the government set about reversing the gains made by blacks.
The turnabout was especially cruel because hard-won advancements in jobs, education and quality of life were snatched away from African-Americans in the name of the law. Taylor spent five years researching and writing her new book to bring this largely overlooked chapter of American history to light.
The rise was glorious, said Taylor, who is an independent scholar and lecturer and a fellow at the Albemarle County-based Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Most specifically, I would refer to the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which granted all rights of citizenship, including the vote, to people of all colors.
This ushered in this rise in prospects for blacks. Then, what the government did after confirming the rights of blacks in the name of reconciliation with the South was to betray that advancement and adopt what was called a noninterference policy with the South.
Of course, white supremacists lost no time in re-oppressing the black man.
***
Murrays life is particularly well suited for telling the story of the rise and subsequent decline of the black elite in the U.S. during the 19th century. He was born free in Baltimore on March 3, 1851, and received a good education.
During his life, Murray acquired considerable wealth as a construction contractor, but took great pride in his job as an assistant librarian at the Library of Congress. He worked at the nations library for 52 years, even though he was dealt a tremendously painful, and undeserved, emotional blow.
In 1897, soon after being promoted and receiving a raise, Murray was demoted strictly because he was black. And his pay was reduced to where it had been years before.
He had steadily risen, Taylor said of Murrays time at the Library of Congress. And then, once the librarian Ainsworth Spofford, who had mentored him, was no longer in that top position, and there was a reorganization of staff, Murray lost his position as head of the periodical division.
If you asked me how I think Daniel Murray reacted to this, the two words that would first come to mind are utter humiliation. And in that remaining quarter of a century that he served at the Library of Congress, he never got another raise.
The erosion of rights for blacks started as soon as Reconstruction ended. The slide steepened in 1890, when Jim Crow laws started to be instituted throughout the South in order to enforce segregation.
By the time Murray died on New Years Eve 1925, the gains he had worked so hard to advance for African-Americans were all but gone. As Taylor pointed out, he died in a segregated hospital and was laid to rest in a segregated cemetery.
***
If not for Taylor, this iconic writer, businessman and civic leader likely would have been largely forgotten. She only discovered him herself while doing research at the Library of Congress on a man featured in her first book.
That man was Paul Jennings, who was one of James Madisons slaves. That book is titled A Slave in the White House.
I had a long career working in education and historical research at Monticello and Montpelier, said Taylor, who makes her home in Barboursville. So I have been a longtime student of history, and I appreciate that one must understand slavery and race to understand American history.
But I was a little bit slow in realizing that its equally important to understand the Reconstruction era. And that, in fact, racism was more ugly and more pervasive even than it had been in slavery days.
I felt that Americans at this point are well informed about slavery. They know about the modern civil rights era.
But I felt that more attention had to be paid to that middle period that some Americans think of as a black hole, or do not want to think of at all. But we have to own all our history, and that includes the dark passages.
Taylor said she is gratified by the reception her new book already has gotten. It has been covered by publications such as Time magazine, the New Yorker and The New York Times.
This past week, the author launched the book at an event at the Library of Congress. In attendance were a number of Murrays descendents who came in from around the country.
***
The story of Murray and the era he lived in likely will make many readers ponder what if questions. Perhaps the biggest question would be what race relations would be like today if blacks had been allowed to continue their upward march after the Civil War.
That question relates exactly to why I chose to focus on the black elite, Taylor said. First of all, I did it because I wanted to get the point across that African-Americans are not a homogeneous population now. People use phrases like the black community as if they were.
In fact, historically, African-Americans were a diverse population. Many Americans will be surprised to learn that there was a black elite as early as the 1840s.
A group of black individuals had proven that they were useful contributors to American society. They were well educated, accomplished, genteel and financially well to do. They were ready to think of themselves as Americans first, and people of color second.
Taylor said the next logical step for blacks would have been to assimilate into the mainstream of society. But, as she shows, white supremacists were loath to allow this to happen.
In some ways, white supremacists were all the more threatened by those African-Americans who had already proved themselves, Taylor said. They were Exhibit No. 1 showing that African-Americans at large, given education and opportunities, would be useful contributors to the society.
I can give you many examples of how well things were going. Murray was the first black to serve on Washingtons Board of Trade, and one of the founding members of the National Afro-American Council, which was an important predecessor of the NAACP.
And all of these race-related issues, probably a dozen that Murray worked really hard on, never came to fruition. I so admire the way he kept at it. He didnt put a toe in the water, but waded in and, disappointment after disappointment, he just kept fighting.
It was a futile effort. When Murray died, he left behind a wealth of written material, including the work he had hoped to see published as a six-volume encyclopedia The Colored Race Throughout the World.
It wasnt until the last decade of the 20th century that such an encyclopedia was published, Taylor said. This was a great loss to the nation.
Murray certainly realized that they had to use the weapon of the printers ink. He was convinced that prejudice, as he said, is the handmaiden of ignorance.
And he was convinced that if he could only get out the accomplishments of black people, whether it be in literature, the arts, science or inventions, that people would come to realize that prejudice was unfounded by every measure.
***
Taylor was so passionate about the book that she worked on it seven days a week until it was finished. She credits the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the University of Virginias inter-library loan service for helping to make her task easier.
I dont think I could ever write a book if I did not devote myself to it full-time, Taylor said. When you stop and start again, its like pulling on a wet bathing suit, so I had to get in the water and stay in the water.
It was clear while I was writing this book that it was a cautionary tale. We like to believe that there is such a thing as the American master narrative, and that its one of increasing freedoms over time.
And here was a case where there was a clear reversal in that trajectory. Its obvious to us, when we study it, that the American master narrative can turn direction at any time.
Two bills in the General Assembly, both prompted by transparency concerns at the University of Virginia, have near-unanimous support with lawmakers.
One of the proposals would require state colleges governing boards to post 30 days notice when they plan to vote on a proposed tuition increase. The notice would have to include a projected range of the proposed increase, an explanation of the need for the increase, and notice of the date, time and location of any vote, according to the bill, sponsored by J. Chapman Petersen, D-Fairfax City.
The bill passed unanimously in the state Senate earlier this month and was referred to the House of Delegates higher education subcommittee.
Petersen said he wrote the proposal in response to the UVa Board of Visitors 2015 vote to approve a new financial model that increased tuition over multiple years while lowering loan caps. On that day, the board had only planned to discuss the proposal, but decided to move ahead with the vote.
Student protesters who had been tipped off about the proposal were barred by UVa police officers from entering the public meeting room.
UVa is a high-profile case, Petersen said, but other state universities have been raising tuition for years with little oversight.
This forces them to give families a 30-day heads up and requires colleges to explain it [for example], we need to raise tuition because were running out of cash, Petersen said. Theyre required to step forward and explain.
Along with Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary, UVa has more autonomy than other state colleges under a deal carved out with the General Assembly in 2005. Only about 6 percent of UVas total operating revenue comes from the state. UVa administrators often point out that the school receives less funding on a per-student basis than many of its peer institutions, including the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan.
Petersen said hes fine with granting UVa more freedom, but is worried that the university is acting too much like a private institution. He was one of several legislators opposed to the universitys decision to create a $2 billion Strategic Investment Fund while raising tuition.
The fund created from the combination of investment earnings and operating reserves was formed to pay for improvements to the universitys academics, research and student life. Early characterizations by some of the SIF as a slush fund prompted a state investigation, in which the university was cleared of wrongdoing.
But some lawmakers say they still have problems with it.
The idea that the university could continue to raise tuition while getting more in investment returns I never signed off on that, Petersen said. The General Assembly never wouldve signed off on it. Theyre not an investment bank.
The SIF inspired another bill that would require universities to disclose investment earnings when they turn in budget plans to the General Assembly. The bill excludes funds derived from endowment donations, endowment income, or other private philanthropy.
The legislation, HB 2171, sponsored by Del. Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico, passed by a 97-0 margin in the House of Delegates, and passed in the Senate Education and Health Committee by a 15-0 vote on Thursday.
Massie said he supports the creation of the Strategic Investment Fund, but wants legislators to be better informed.
I think the SIF generated the idea [for the bill], he said. Having said that, I dont think UVa did anything wrong. I actually think it was a very astute business decision by the rector.
The University Investment Management Company which oversees investments of the endowment and other university funds reports annual earnings at the end of each fiscal year (in late June). There is no requirement that such information be included in the budgets submitted to the General Assembly by state universities.
Massie said many legislators werent aware of the high amount of investment earnings that UVa had accumulated over the years. He said he is simply trying to make UVas financial management more transparent to lawmakers and the public.
I wouldnt want to punish anyone for doing a good job, he said. But remember that, at the end of the day, the owners of the university are the people through the House of Delegates and the state Senate.
The university does not comment on pending legislation, said UVa spokesman Anthony de Bruyn.
Once again Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation to protect religious freedom. Once again, Gov. Terry McAuliffe will veto it. And so the debate goes on.
Supporters of such measures which, in various forms, are being debated around the country say they simply want to ensure that government does not force the faithful to violate the dictates of their conscience. Opponents retort that religious-liberty bills grant some people a license to discriminate.
Who is right? Both of them.
Many conservative Christians (and Muslims) sincerely believe gay marriage, among other things, is morally wrong. Forcing them to participate or endorse such practices is an affront to their most deeply held beliefs. So, they argue, they should not have to.
And in fact, some of them dont. Churches, for instance, are not obliged to host gay weddings and clerics are not obliged to officiate them.
Its another story for businesses such as photographers and bakeries that make wedding cakes. Three years ago the Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving Elane Photography, which had been sanctioned by New Mexico for turning down a request to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. Last year Colorados supreme court let stand a ruling against a baker who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding.
Gay-rights groups and their supporters say such refusal is nothing but rank discrimination, similar to the discrimination against blacks in the Jim Crow South. That is not entirely correct.
If a gay couple goes to a bakery run by a conservative Christian in search of a dozen chocolate chip cookies, the baker will gladly oblige. Likewise, a religious photographer will be happy to take pictures of a same-sex couples home so they can put it up for sale. The baker and the photographer are not refusing to do business with an entire class of people. They are refusing to participate in a certain type of activity.
In some cases, though, its impossible to separate the two. Certain states let adoption agencies refuse to place children with same-sex couples, and several more are considering it. Allowing adoption agencies to exercise their consciences does authorize discrimination against an entire class of people. Many agencies are one-service shops. Its not as if an adoption agency can say, We wont help you adopt a child but can we interest you in a box of cookies?
And in Oklahoma, lawmakers recently considered a sweeping measure that would let a wide range of individuals and groups refuse to provide goods, services or accommodations to certain groups if they were following sincerely held religious beliefs or conscience ... regarding marriage, lifestyle or behavior. Refuse to provide service to certain groups? That is indeed a license to discriminate.
But even more narrowly tailored measures, like the proposal recently passed here in Virginia, codify discrimination in another sense. The bill sponsored by Republican Del. Nicholas Freitas stipulates that no person shall be required to participate in the solemnization of any marriage or be penalized by the state for acting on a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.
In short, the bill carves out a special exception for religious belief in one very specific instance: gay marriage.
Yet people have intensely held religious beliefs about all sorts of things, not just gay marriage. So a bill that genuinely aimed to defend religious liberty would be broader. It would stipulate that no person should be required to participate in any activity he or she finds objectionable period. And it would stipulate that no person should be penalized by the state for acting on a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction period.
You can easily imagine the sort of difficulties to arise from a policy like that. Individuals could claim they have a religious aversion to paying taxes and obeying traffic laws and that their consciences command them to play with high explosives in heavily populated areas.
Those sorts of concerns motivated the Supreme Court a quarter-century ago, in a case about two workers who were denied unemployment benefits after they got fired for using peyote in Native American religious rituals. The majority on the court held that the right of free exercise does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability. The author of that majority opinion was Antonin Scalia, otherwise deemed a saint by the religious right.
This does not exhaust the issue by any stretch. Religious people point out, correctly, that exercising their faith means more than simply going to church on Sunday. For many of them, it is an around-the-clock affair. And the insistence by some that people of faith keep their beliefs locked up inside a house of worship looks like a form of discrimination in itself.
On the flip side is another question: Why should religious beliefs receive special deference? People can have intense moral convictions without God and they deserve consideration, too.
There seems to be no neat and tidy solution to all of this. If you run across one, drop a note to the Supreme Court. It will be grateful for the guidance.
A. Barton Hinkle is a writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Contact him at bhinkle@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6627.
We who live in Charlottesville-Albemarle often speak with pride and gratitude about being part of one community.
But theres a freshly realized downside to being thought of as one community.
Along with marches and demonstrations, economic boycotts are being implemented or at least threatened.
Weve heard from many people, both through letters to the editor and on the street, who say they plan to withdraw their consumer dollars from Charlottesville.
Through economic boycotts, some people plan to protest the citys decision on the Civil War parks and the statue of Robert E. Lee. Others are simply turned off in general by the citys increasingly leftward lean.
But heres the problem:
Many of us dont even know where Charlottesville is .
And because Albemarles urban ring looks like Charlottesvilles outer ring, Albemarle businesses are at risk of being boycotted by people who dont realize where the jurisdictional dividing line lies.
Yes, weve talked to a few folks who lack this awareness.
Its an American right to choose where you wish to spend your money almost a form of free speech. Inherent in the ability to choose where to shop is the ability to choose where not to shop.
It is a matter of individual conscience whether a consumer wishes to make a political point by joining an economic boycott or simply wishes to satisfy personal scruples by not contributing money to a business that follows policies with which the consumer disagrees.
Part of the economic boycott locally is the desire not to contribute tax money to Charlottesville via sales and other taxes paid to the city by businesses that Charlottesville then will use for purposes antithetical to the consumers beliefs.
The ultimate aim, of course, is to influence behavior either the business or the governments or both.
But one of the downsides is that innocent people are hurt. Businesses whose leaders also happen to disagree with City Council decisions may be damaged unfairly. Even nonprofits such as the Paramount Theater can suffer from generalized boycotts.
And not just city businesses are at risk.
Some area residents dont understand that city and county are two separate jurisdictions particularly if theyve moved here from elsewhere. Virginias system of independent cities and independent counties is unique, and hard to comprehend by non-natives.
Even when residents do understand that Charlottesvilles City Council has nothing to do with Albemarle Countys government or businesses, they dont know where the dividing line lies between the two. Anything that looks urban is assumed to be in the city.
Wegmans looks like its in the city but it isnt. Stonefields looks like its in the city but it isnt. Pantops looks like its in the city but it isnt. And these are just a few examples.
We cant say this strongly enough: Engage in an economic boycott if you must. But if you do, be very, very sure you know which businesses are in Charlottesville and which are not.
MONTPELIER STATIONWhen the National Trust for Historic Preservation acquired James Madisons Montpelier from the duPont family in the 1980s, the 2,650-acre property featured not only the famous mansion that was home to the fourth president of the United States and his wife, Dolley, but also scores of other buildings, many of them overgrown with weeds and in disrepair.
One such falling-down structure was across state Route 20 from the original Montpelier property but on land that had been acquired by the duPonts. No one seemed to know the significance of the old house, but Rebecca Gilmore Coleman did.
It had belonged to her great-grandfather George Gilmore, who had been born into slavery at Montpelier around 1810, but was emancipated after the Civil War. He moved across the road with his family, built a cabin and eventually gained full title to the land. Once owned as property, Gilmore became a property owner.
I approached them about it, and asked them to please save it, Coleman said in a phone interview from her home in Orange County. They agreed to have it restored. What a blessing, not only to my family but to the whole community.
The Montpelier Foundation, which was formed in 2000, began restoration of the cabin in 2001. Gilmore Farm is now a public stop on Route 20within sight of the main Montpelier entrancewith signage that explains the history of the Gilmores. That project also signaled a significant shift in the way the foundation approached the telling of Montpeliers story.
Beginning in the 90s, weve had specific African-American programming from an interpretive standpoint, said Christian Cotz, director of education and visitor engagement for James Madisons Montpelier. But our push to really do more from a big, holistic interpretative standpoint began with Rebecca Gilmore Coleman. Developing that relationship with Rebecca kind of started this whole journey for us.
That journey has come to include a major archaeological dig in what is known as the South Yard, next to the mansion, where a community of slaves lived and worked. Based on the findings of the dig, a half-dozen structuresincluding slave quarters, a kitchen and smokehousesare being reconstructed. Four of those buildings are scheduled to be completed and open to visitors by June, when a new exhibit opens in the mansions cellar that will focus on Montpeliers enslaved people and address the issue and legacy of slavery from Madisons time to today.
The title of the new exhibition is Mere Distinction of Colour, borrowed from Madisons acknowledgment of the evil of slavery in his speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787: We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man. However, slavery proved to be too thorny a predicament even for a problem-solver such as Madison.
The interactive exhibit and the reconstruction of the slave buildings are being financed through a $10 million gift from financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein. Part of the gift also will help complete the furnishing of the mansion, which underwent a major restoration a decade ago that returned the house to its configuration during Madisons time.
Over time, the foundation came to realize it could not properly tell the story of Montpelieror of the Madisons or the Constitutionwithout also telling the story of the enslaved people who lived there, said Elizabeth Chew, vice president of museum programs.
Its not African-American history, Chew said. Its American history.
A 90-minute drive northwest of Richmond, Montpelier is relatively new as a cultural institution because for generations Montpelier was privately owned and not opened to the public. James Madison died in 1836, and Dolley Madison moved to Washington and in 1844 sold the estate that James Madisons father had built. Montpelier was sold to a succession of owners until the duPonts acquired it in 1900.
The last duPont to own the estate died in 1983, and Montpelier was acquired by the National Trust, which opened it to the public. The Robert H. Smith Center for the ConstitutionMadison is considered the father of the U.S. Constitutionwas launched in 2003. The completion of an $8.8 million visitor center in 2007, along with the $24 million restoration of the mansion, transformed Montpelier into a full-fledged public attraction.
More than 125,000 visitors come to Montpelier every year, and what they find is a young museum devoted to the obvious history of Madison and the Constitution endeavoring to incorporate lesser-known and still-emerging stories of the people who were enslaved there. The result, foundation officials hope, is a more comprehensive and honest portrayal of Montpelier and its place in history.
The opening of the reconstructed slave buildings and the new exhibit in June represent another peak in the development of Montpelier, said Kat Imhoff, James Madisons Montpelier president and chief executive officer.
People find slavery a painful subject, but its also an amazing opportunity as Americans to know this more complete and fulsome story, Imhoff said. Its not a slavery story for the sake of a slavery story. Its about us as Americans, where weve been and where we can go.
In researching the history of the enslaved at the estate, Montpelier officials have enlisted the help of descendants of those slaves. In 2001, the foundation arranged a reunion of descendants. It was a small group, precise lineage being difficult to trace because of a paucity of records, so Montpelier also opened the group to those who think they might be descended from slaves at Montpelier or any other plantation.
The group also welcomes those who simply have an interest in that history. As a result, Montpeliers vibrant descendant community includes a range of participants, from university anthropologists to relatives of the enslaved, such as descendants of Paul Jennings, a household slave who served the Madisons at Montpelier and in Washington and wrote what is considered the first memoir about life in the White House.
Members have offered insights, information and critiques, as well as pitching in with hands-on help for archaeological digs and building projects.
We had a gathering in the spring of 2014 with a group of people we invited from the descendant community, Cotz said. We asked, What would you like to see happen? What can we do better? The overwhelming message that came back was, You have to put our buildings, our homes, the places we worked back on the landscape. You have to return the landscape to the way it looked at the time because its just too easy to ignore.
Six months later, we got the (Rubenstein) gift.
Montpelier was at one time the largest slave-holding plantation in western Orange County with more than 100 slaves working the entire estate. An estimated 20 to 30cooks, butlers, maids, seamstresses and laundresses among others who worked in the mansionlived in the South Yard, under constant scrutiny by those in the big house, just a few steps away.
The owners of Montpelier between Madison and the National Trust apparently did little in the way of soil disturbance around the mansion, meaning the South Yard yielded a multitude of treasures in the archaeological digs: writing slates and pencil tips, an abscessed tooth with marks from implements used to extract it, buttons, pieces of ceramics, dolls, bricks with fingerprints on them and a Masonic pipe bowl with Liberty inscribed on it. Some of those artifacts will be part of the upcoming exhibit.
Montpelier is in an uncommon position to tell the story of slavery and its legacy not only from Madisons time but also through the arc of history, Chew said, because ofamong other featuresthe restored train depot with its segregated restrooms at the edge of the property that was built by the duPonts during the Jim Crow era, and its emphasis on the Constitution, which enabled slavery and then abolished it.
And, of course, the Gilmore Farm.
Im just so thrilled that theyre being inclusive, said Coleman, George Gilmores great-granddaughter. Its very important to tell the story of the enslaved people and how they helped build this country. We have to tell the complete and truthful story of American history.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Its one of the greatest commandments, albeit in short supply in todays fast-moving world preoccupied with digital communication. Most people dont even know their neighbors anymore. Its something I have increasingly realized as important, drawing on a childhood in which neighbors were family.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew everyone else when I was growing up. It was not uncommon to have a few extra neighborhood kids in our house at any given time, sharing meals, doing homework, playing and attending one of the many summer time Bible school classes my mom hosted. It always felt natural to know our neighbors and we were welcome in their homes as wellnot all eight of us kids at one time, but we all had our spots of respite.
Me, I was lucky to have a best friend around the corner who had a built-in pool. I spent many long summer days at her place, sleeping over, listening to the Dirty Dancing tape over and over, sharing secrets, getting my first kiss from a boy. She was a generous friend who allowed my brothers and sisters over to swim on hot days, some of our most cherished times.
As a younger child when the family wasnt as big, we lived in an apartment next door to a Peruvian family. I remember the smells of delicious food, the lively Spanish music and my young mom and their young mom becoming close friends, comrades, mothers-in-arms. They had two boys who we went to school with and played with around the neighborhood, which we felt like we owned.
In an urban environment, we discovered and relished a small swatch of woods next to a river at the end of our street, down a dusty hill adjacent to a city parks and recreation department ball field. It was a secret spot known to all the neighborhood kids where plans were concocted and play dates planned.
I was in fourth grade when my parents bought their first home across town, a modest duplex next to a duplex where another Peruvian family lived. It was familiar territory and my mom and their mom connected quickly. I was older than their two daughters and would babysit them as a teen. The mom was a great cook like our old neighbor, exposing me to new flavors and elaborate food preparation as a family adhesive.
When I wasnt watching my own siblings, I got other babysitting jobs around the neighborhood, earning five or 10 dollars toward those pair of Reeboks at the mall I wanted. One particular family was rich in my mind, their refrigerator always stocked with the latest snacks and their living room immaculate. I felt out of place, but lucky to be therethough I probably ate too many snacks.
The fact that my siblings and I delivered newspapers around the neighborhood exposed us even more to the many families living nearby. One friend was an only child, adopted, who lived in a big fancy house around the corner. Going there made me feel privileged, if a bit suppressed. Another friends mom owned the dance studio where I got to go when I was a toddler. My mom and I cleaned their house for pay when our services were needed.
Other neighbors were elderly including a couple who had cute little dogs I walked as yet another childhood job. They were some of our best newspaper customers, too, giving us full-size candy bars and extra tips when the bi-weekly $2.60 was due.
The close relationships with the neighbors of my childhood set the standard for my life as an adult living in the country, where neighbors also need each other. My mother, as a grandmother, retains her open house policy, providing a lasting example with her own brand of hospitality.
Though its not like it was when I was growing up, my neighbors of today are known to me and my family. We help each other out in times of need and its comforting to know there is an open door if I need it. One of our neighbors is a former teacher whos always bringing over stickers or books for our daughter and another one recently unexpectedly became a father figure of sorts for my husband whose father died when he was a toddler. It only involved a few words, but they were impactfuland delivered in person.
In early January, I asked the universe to provide ways for me to become a better neighbor, and the opportunities have certainly come my way. This morning, as I was rushing out the door for work, half dressed, the young mother a few doors down knocked lightly to see if I could give her car a jump so she could take her two young boys to school, the same school my daughter attends.
Of course I helped her, and together we got her car going without any help from our husbands. We gave each other a high five. Being neighborly often involves the mundane, the necessary and the boring. But it builds security and community and its what the world needs now.
The government had earlier withdrawn the minimum import price it had imposed on cheap imports from China and South Korea.
Mumbai: The strength of Indian steel industry will be tested after the two-month extension of anti-dumping duties (ADD) expires. ADD has given the steel industry a breather but it will have to gear itself to face competition in the normal course as this protection cannot be expected to last forever.
The government had earlier withdrawn the minimum import price it had imposed on cheap imports from China and South Korea. This brought down imports sharply by 37.4 per cent to 5.49 million tonnes during April-December 2016.
Though India has a strong case for imposing long-term anti-dumping duties on up to 124 steel products in the next two months, the long-term anti-dumping duties could be imposed on a case-by-case basis within the next two months according to Care chief economist Madan Sabnavis.
However it cannot be expected that this protection will last forever and the industry has to gear itself to face competition in the normal course, he cautions.
Indias production of steel in April December grew 8.8 per cent to 72.35 mt but consumption grew just 3.2 per cent at 73.75 mt. In 2014-15 production was 88.97 mt and increased to 89.79 mt the following year. This increase however is not in sync with the production capacity in the country.
According to CMIEs CapEx database, large firms are expected to augment the sectors production capacity by around 9.7 million tonnes in the last quarter of 2016-17.
Mumbai: Sanjay Dutt, who has recently started shooting for his comeback film Bhoomi in Agra, seems to be having a gala time with his family. Sanju Babas wife, Maanyata Dutt, has posted a highly adorable picture of their family of four- Sanjay, son Shahraan, daughter Iqra and her- riding on a scooter in the busy streets of Agra city.
Appreciating the simple joys of life, Maanyata captioned her Instagram post: Nothing compares to a simple ride on a scooter with the family.... exploring the lanes of agra..
If this was not enough to moisten your eyes, what followed her post is all the more sweet and stands testament to the fact that Trishala and Maanayata are just like any other mother-daughter duo- pining for each others love and attention!
Trishala commented on the picture with a kiss emoji, to which her mother commented: Miss you honey. The eldest daughter of Munnabhai was quick to proclaim her love, saying: I miss you too.
Once known for being Sanjay Dutts daughter (her Twitter bio read that), Trishala now calls herself the daughter of her father and Maanayata. How sweet is that!
Meanwhile, the actor is currently shooting for revenge drama Bhoomi which revolves around the life of a father and his teenage daughter. Directed by Omung Kumar, Aditi Rao Hydari is playing the role of his daughter in the movie. Television star Sharad Kelkar and seasoned actor Shekhar Suman will also be seen in pivotal roles.
Mumbai: The otherwise omniscient superstar of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, is self-admittedly guilty of not knowing that Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency is a series. The actor took to social media to make this confession and ended up getting an offer to star in it from the Producer of the show. Wow!
So it all started with SRKs tweet upon learning that Dirk Gently is actually a series, he wrote: Dirk Gently is a TV series!! And I didnt know it! Woe be upon me. Sorry Adams. The pic is for no apparent reason.
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Arvind Ethan David, Executive Producer of the show, commented on SRKs tweet in a very dashing way. He said: Amazing to discover that @iamsrk is a #dirkgently fan. Come guest star in #Season2.
Now, Shah Rukh being Shah Rukh, replied to this offer in his usual funny little way. He wrote: Let me know the time and place. Will figure out my own accommodation!
What about discussing remuneration? The superstar is clearly a generous celebrity to work with!
Jokes apart, think about it, if one of the biggest stars of the country makes an appearance on an internationally successful show as the Dirk Gently, how crazy would that be?!
The series is an adaptation of Douglas Adamss novel by the same name. Shah Rukh Khan, do not hold back, please accept!
Thrissur: The special team looking into the death of actor Kalabhavan Mani in March last year has stopped the investigations owing to the lack of evidence on the alleged foul play in the incident. The family members of the late actor had alleged that Mani was poisoned at his outhouse Paadi on the banks of Chalakkudy river. SP P.N. Unniraja, who headed the SIT, was later shifted to the team formed to investigate the sensational Jisha murder case at Perumbavoor.
The probe into Manis death is being conducted now by a team led by Chalakkudy DySP Shahul Hameed. In July last year, the state government had asked the CBI to take over the case. But, the central agency has not yet responded to the request. We have almost stopped the investigation due to want of any credible evidence, Mr Shahul Hameed told this newspaper.
Soon after Manis death, the Regional Testing Lab at Kakkanad had found the deadly pesticide chlorpyrifos in his body along with methanol. But when the viscera samples were sent for testing to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad, it was found that there was only highly toxic methanol which is normally found in illegally brewed country liquor. Manis brother R.L.V. Ramakrishnan said that the SIT should explain how such a deadly pesticide was found in the body of his brother during lab test. The actors family would move the court for a further probe, he said.
Seven-member gang had conspired a month ago to blackmail and extort money from the actress.
Kochi: Interrogation of the three accused who have been arrested for the abduction and sexual assault of a mainstream actor revealed on Sunday that a seven-member gang had conspired a month ago to blackmail and extort money from her.
The interrogation revealed that a conspiracy was hatched to blackmail the actor and extort money, Ernakulam (Rural) district police chief A.V. George said. We cannot share further details now.
The investigation team, which arrested the actors driver Martin Antony on Saturday, picked up Vadival Salim, a native of Alappuzha, and Pradeep, a native of Kannur, from their hideout in Coimbatore on Sunday by tracing their mobile phones.
The duo, former roommates of the gang leader Pulsar Suni, told the investigation team that the latter had planned to extort Rs 30 lakh from the actor using videos of the molestation bid and offered money to them for their help.
They said Suni had asked them to join the gang from Kalamassery on February 17. They, too, were offered money, but were not paid by Suni after the incident, police sources said.
Antony, 24, who is in custody, told police that Suni offered him a due share for cooperating with the abduction. Martin was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by the Kalamassery Magistrate on Sunday evening.
The cops said the absconding accused Suni, Manikandan, Vijeesh and another unidentified person, will be caught soon. Weve issued lookout notices against them, Mr George said.
The probe team will examine whether any third party is connected with the episode, including from film industry at a later stage.
The incident took place on Friday night when the actress was travelling to Kochi from her house in Thrissur. The gang followed her in a tempo traveller and hit her vehicle from behind when it reached Athani near Nedumbassery.
The gang members forcefully entered her car and assaulted her inside the moving vehicle over the next three hours. They clicked her semi-nude pictures and recorded videos as the car was driven around Kochi. Finally, the attackers left her in the car near Padamughal and escaped in the tempo that was trailing behind.
The police has lodged an FIR with IPC sections 376 (rape), 365 (kidnap), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) 341 (wrongful restraint) 506 (criminal intimidation) and provisions under the IT Act.
A view of the mammoth crowd that took part in the funeral procession of the VII NIzam, at Pattherghatti, near Charminar. It was recognised as the largest gathering at a non-religious, non political event. (Photo: Dr Mohammed Safiullah)
Hyderabad: Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII and Nizam of Hyderabad from 1911 to 1948, carved a niche for himself in what was then Hyderabad State. He was not only one of the richest rulers of the time but also a benevolent one and the period of his rule saw several developmental and welfare programmes.
Family members offer funeral prayers for the VII Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan at Macca Masjid on February 24, 1967.
The construction of Osmania University, Osmania General Hospital, Nizams Hospital, the dam across the Musi river, the Osmansagar and Himayathsagar reservoirs to check floods, the postal system, railways, roadways, airways, and hospitals were some of the Nizams projects. He also promoted education, the arts and culture.
As a fitting tribute, the Deccan Heritage Trust will release 100-odd rare photos of the Nizams death, funeral procession and public congregation on his 50th death anniversary on February 24, on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.
Prince Muffakham Jah (extreme left), Nizam's son in law Ali Pasha, Prince Jah's wife Princess Esin (in black dress) and Princess Durru Shevar offering the Ziarat at Masjid-e-Judi, in King Kothi where the VII Nizam was buried.
Mir Osman Ali Khan was born on April 6, 1886 and died on February 24, 1967 in Hyderabad at the age of 81 years. His grave is located in "Masjid-e-Judi" opposite King Kothi Palace.
The Deccan Heritage Trust is also gearing up to celebrate his birthday on April 6 in a befitting manner with a photo exhibition recalling his contributions to the development of modern Hyderabad, welfare of citizens, art and culture and other aspects of life. Some are rare photographs of his childhood.
Nizam VII remains the unsung king of Hyderabad despite his immense contributions to the development of Hyderabad State. Many of the iconic buildings in Hyderabad were constructed during his reign. But none of the governments in undivided AP and now, paid him a fitting tribute, Dr Mohammed Safiullah, managing trustee of the Deccan Heritage Trust told Deccan Chronicle.
Dr Safiullah said the Nizam's funeral saw one of the largest non-religious and non-political congregations of people in the history of India.
Deccan Heritage Trust will request the Telangana Government to have a fitting memorial for the Nizam VII in Hyderabad.
The Trust has earlier requested the State government to rename Rajiv Gandhi International Airport after Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad City.
Forensic doctors say that autopsies will reveal not only medical negligence, if any, but also underlying diseases or pathologies in different organs and correlate clinicopathology in maternal deaths. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: In what is considered to be a blatant negligence on the part of the health departments of AP and TS, no autopsy is conducted following maternal deaths, a large number of which are preventable.
All maternal deaths in government and private hospitals are branded as natural deaths and the bodies are not sent to mortuaries for post-mortem examination.
Forensic doctors say that autopsies will reveal not only medical negligence, if any, but also underlying diseases or pathologies in different organs and correlate clinicopathology in maternal deaths. In the recent case of a woman dying in childbirth at Niloufer Hospital, no autopsy was conducted. Nor does the inquiry committee include forensic doctors.
Dr R. Sudha, associate professor of forensic medicine in Osmania Medical College, says that institutional deliveries are advocated to bring down the maternal mortality rate, but its shocking that huge numbers of deaths are reported from maternity hospitals in the city every month. My paper on maternal death autopsy is to be published in Recent advances in forensic medicine.
She says that only if there is an allegation of negligence or foul play leading to a criminal case, is an autopsy conducted. But pathological autopsy is essential and it is a useful tool in reducing the maternal mortality rate. Each maternal death is a tragedy but the bigger tragedy is failing to learn lessons from the preventable maternal deaths, she says.
80 per cent maternal deaths are preventable
Dr R. Sudha, associate professor of forensic medicine in Osmania Medical College, said a whopping 80 per cent of maternal deaths are preventable.
The Niloufer committee should have had a forensic doctor when it was formed to determine the cause of death. Government should bring in compulsory autopsy for all maternal deaths like in the United Kingdom. Following the determination of cause of death, suggestions are given to health authorities to rectify, she said. There should be a regular audit report of all tertiary care hospitals along with autopsy and other histopathology, toxicology, serology and microbiology studies. Deaths due to haemorrhage and sepsis are complication of perforation of the uterus. While perforation is a recognised complication of any procedure involving instrumentation of uterus, death due to sepsis or haemorrhage should not occur and it strongly suggests the possibility of medical negligence, Dr Sudha says.
The resident medical officer of Petlaburz Maternity Hospital, Dr G. Sridevi, confirmed that we dont send all bodies for autopsy. Whenever relatives of patients raise litigation we send them. Sometimes patients kin refuse an autopsy. Ours is a tertiary hospital and we get cases in serious condition and like in any tertiary hospital, deaths occur. Boasts by politicians about how women are at the centre of their concern seem like just so much rhetoric when so many maternal deaths can be avoided.
Politics in Tamil Nadu has brought the spotlight on the state once again after former CM Jayalalithas death and the Jalikattu standoff, as the power struggle between O Panneerselvam and VK Sasikala intensifies with new twists.
After the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala, Palanisamy from her faction emerged as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the social media was abuzz with people wondering who he was. As many must have flocked to Google him, someone changed the name on Palanisamys Wikipedia page to Sasikalas Slave.
This is true. Type CM of Tamil Nadu and you will get this. pic.twitter.com/Xb0RCWLmRU Pritam Sangwan (@sangwan_pritam) February 18, 2017
Twitter went berserk over it and images of another version also surfaced where Palanisamy was described as Mannargudi Mafia, indicating the closest aides of Sasikala.
The name has been corrected now, but the political storm in Tamil Nadu shows no signs of dying down anytime soon.
He said the forest department will register a case with police in this regard under relevant provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. (Representational Image)
Vadodara: A leopard was allegedly beaten to death, dumped in the river and later taken out and burnt, said a forest official on Sunday. A farm labourer, Bhagwan Mala, has been detained in connection with the leopards death.
He sustained a minor injury when he was attacked by the feline while working on his field in Chikhli village under Una tehsil of Gir-Somnath district. After managing to escape from there, Mala asked a few of his friends to come to his field with axe and wooden sticks.
The group of men then allegedly beat up the carnivore to death. They tied its legs to a heavy stone and threw the carcass in a river near the village, the official said.
However, after they learnt that other villagers and forest officials came to know of the incident, the men took out the animal's carcass from the river and burnt it after sprinkling petrol over it on Friday, to destroy evidence.
"We detained Bhagwan Mala last night and are on the look out of 5-7 other persons also allegedly involved in the incident," the official, who is a member of the team investigating the matter, told PTI over phone.
He said the forest department will register a case with police in this regard under relevant provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Lucknow: A charge sheet filed by the CBI on Saturday claimed that Samajwadi Party leader Amanmani Tripathi orchestrated the death of his wife Sara in an elaborate plan.
According to a report in the DNA, the politicians wife suffered physical torture and cruelty at the hands of her husband.
Sara Singh, who married Amanmani at an Arya Samaj temple, was killed by her husband in a premeditated murder on July 9 which was later made to look like an accident, the charge sheet claimed.
Sara was until now believed to have been killed in a car accident at NH-2 when the couple were en route to New Delhi.
Saras mother Seema lodged an FIR against Amanmani and his family alleging foul play in her daughters death after he escaped unscathed from the accident.
She also alleged that Amanmanis parents Amanmani and Madhumani were involved in the murder as they were against the marriage.
The case was later handed over to the CBI.
Amanmani Tripathi and his wife have earlier been convicted for the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla 12 years ago.
Madurai: A 50-year-old Tamil TV channel reporter was allegedly stabbed and seriously injured by a gang of drug peddlers in Madurai on Sunday, police said.
Chandran, a reporter with Polimer TV, was attacked by four persons when he was buying milk at a grocery store near his house in P and T Nagar this morning.
The gang presumed that the reporter had lodged police complaint against them for selling ganja in the locality, they said.
A case has been registered against the gang members and one of them detained for interrogation, police said. A search for the other gang members is on.
The victim has been admitted to a private hospital with stab injuries in the shoulder, leg and stomach and is said to be in a serious condition.
The gang had a year ago attacked the journalist's son presuming that he (Chandran) was responsible for complaining to the police about the illegal sales of ganja in the locality, they said.
Hyderabad: A week after a 14-year-old mentally ill girl was kidnapped and raped by two people, police arrested the suspects at Mughalpura. The duo, D. Ajay Kumar and G. Karan, allegedly lured the girl to their room and raped her. The girl was going home when the duo found her. Police said the suspects are petty offenders. The minor girl has identified the suspects, and they have confessed committing the crime, police said. The duo, who work as cleaners, saw the girl when she was walking along the road.
On February 10 the girl was walking home. The suspects called her, made her sit on their bike and took her to a room in the Lalitha Bagh area, where they raped her one after the other, said an official from the Moghalpura police station. Both Ajay Kumar and Karan are from the same neighbourhood, where the girl lives with her parents. They were waiting for a chance to sexually assault her. As the girl was mentally ill they thought that can get away, and no one would come to know about it.
On February 10, the girls parents approached the police and filed a complaint saying that she was missing. Next day the girl came back to her house and said that she was kidnapped and raped by two people. Police booked a case and started an investigation. The duo went absconding after we booked the case. Later, we traced and identified them with the help of the victim, said inspector R. Devender. Police booked a case against them under Section 376 (rape) and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso).
The autorickshaw was moving through ORR in the wrong direction, when the ORR patrol intercepted them.
Hyderabad: Three persons including an autorickshaw driver who were transporting red sanders in an autorickshaw were nabbed by the Shamshabad police.
The autorickshaw was moving through ORR in the wrong direction, when the ORR patrol intercepted them. Police seized around 50 red sanders from them.
The suspects are B. Naresh, 20, P. Ramana, 22, and B. Pamuleti, 24, hailing from Kurnool district. Police said the autorickshaw was going from Tondupalli towards Bengaluru in the wrong lane.
The ORR patrol intercepted them and alerted the police. When questioned, the passengers in the autorickshaw failed to provide details regarding their identity and vehicle documents. On further questioning and checking the vehicle the red sander logs were found under the seat. Some of them were packed in a bag, Shamshabad SI Md Ahmed Pasha said.
Initially the suspects claimed they were only passengers and were not aware of the smuggled material. The driver said that he was just transporting the material but was not aware of the nature of the material.
However, soon they admitted that they were smuggling the material from the Seshachalam forests in the Allagadda area of Kurnool district in AP..
They told the police that the kingpins behind the racket were Mahendra and Prasad, who had told them to go ahead and that they will join later. But as the autorickshaw was moving much ahead, the other two following in another vehicle lost their way. The seized material and the suspects were handed over to the forest department for inquiry.
New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday left on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two East African nations besides attending a host of events.
This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda. He is travelling on the invitation of the heads of state of the countries, a senior official said.
His two-nation tour also seeks to broaden India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa.
From Rwanda, Ansari will go to Uganda on February 21, the first high-level bilateral visit to that country since 1997.
The Vice President is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, MPs Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh, Ranee Narah and P K Biju and senior officials.
In Rwanda, Ansari would pay homage at the genocide museum (in Kigali), interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda.
His visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January.
"India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, increasing bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contact and a deep sense of mutual respect," a senior MEA official said.
In Rwanda, Ansari will launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. The Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda would also address an India-Rwanda Business Forum.
"During his visit to Uganda from February 21-23, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart and the President of Uganda. Ansari would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala," he said.
Relations between India and Uganda are characterised by historical cultural linkages, extensive economic and trade interest and a convergence on major bilateral and international issues, the official said.
"The visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationships," he said.
The forthcoming visit of the Vice-President is part of the conscious broadening of India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region.
The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja.
New Delhi: The Nitish Kumar government has held the Farakka barrage in West Bengal responsible for heavy floods in Bihar and asked the Centre to decommission it to de-silt the heavily loaded upstream of Ganga River.
The state has made the recommendation, observing that the dam is the "genesis of severe" flood consequences and responsible for "alarming" silt increase in the river's upstream.
The Nitish Kumar dispensation has made the demand before an experts' committee formed by the Centre to work out guidelines for de-silting Ganga following last year's devastating floods, sources told PTI.
The Farakka barrage was constructed in the early 60s with the main purpose of helping flush out sediment deposition from Kolkata Port, besides addressing drinking water requirement in West Bengal.
"The barrage is genesis of severe flood consequences and responsible for progressive silt increase in the upstream of Ganga between Patna and Bhagalpur (in Bihar)," the state government has told the committee, according to sources.
It has claimed, "Decommissioning the barrage will help automatically de-silt the heavily loaded upstream, allowing silt to move to deltas before the sea."
Such a move, the state has said, will further help in restoration of deltas and its eco-system which is also getting adversely affected due to this barrage.
To buttress its point, the state government has referred to Kolkata Port Trust's data, which suggests that silt dredging at the port has increased from 6.40 million cubic metres annually from pre-Farakka days to four times, i.e. at 21.88 MCM annually, during 2003.
The dam was made operational in 1975.
"So the barrage is of no help...functioning of the barrage is itself giving rise to consequences of flooding," the state has said in its submission.
Among other, the government has blamed the barrage also for constricting "severely" movement of habitations and normal cycle of aquatic species, mainly fishes like Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri.
"Their migration, reproductive cycle and survival have been affected to extent of being extinct. It also has adverse impact on dolphin sanctuary at Bhagalpur.
"The number of dolphins there is decreasing, which can be estimated from their frequency of sighting," the sources said.
The state government has also recommended the panel to come up with 'National Silt Policy' to address the problem.
Bihar faced one of its worst floods as Ganga swelled in August last year, claiming lives of over 20 persons and affecting 20 lakh people.
Coimbatore: A local AIADMK MLA on Sunday alleged he was receiving threat calls over phone for voting in favour of Edappadi K Palaniswami government in the Assembly.
Amman K Arjunan, who visited his Coimbatore South constituency, told reporters that he and his wife were being threatened over phone by some persons, using foul language for voting in favour of the confidence motion moved by Palaniswami in the assembly on Saturday.
When he was talking to the public, some persons called on phone and asked what he was eating, rice or anything else, he said. Arjunan claimed that some persons belonging to DMK in the guise of public abused him and his mother. His wife was also receiving such threatening calls.
The MLA said he voted for Palanisamy to continue the good governance provided by late chief minister Jayalalithaa and accused DMK members of deliberately creating a ruckus in the assembly.
Asked about two other AIADMK MLAs from the city V C Arukutty and Arunkumar joining the camp led by former chief minister O Paneerselvam, he said They have gone to his side for some reasons.
Both will return and support Palaniswami government. Arjunan said he would lodge a police complaint against those who were threatening and abusing him and his family members.
The actress was molested when she was returning home from her shoot. (Representational photo)
Kochi: Seven persons taken into custody in connection with the harassment of a noted South Indian film actress, police said here on Sunday.
Police had yesterday taken the driver of the actress' vehicle into custody soon after she complained about the ordeal she underwent the previous night while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi for dubbing.
The actress was allegedly harassed for two hours by a gang of men, who forced their way into her car before fleeing at a busy area here.
"Some people have been taken into custody. We would be able to talk about their role in the incident only after a proper verification", a top police officer said.
Police had deputed its various teams to places including Coimbatore in search of at least six more culprits involved in the crime.
Kerala DGP Loknath Behera has constituted a special investigation team to probe the case, following widespread condemnation of the incident.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the gang members involved in the crime have been identified and they will be arrested very soon.
The actress in her complaint to police stated that on Friday night her car was hit from the rear by a tempo traveller van at Athani, between Aluva and Angamaly.
The members in the van forcefully entered her car and took control of it before proceeding to Kochi.
Police suspect that seven men, including her driver, were involved in planning and executing the crime that sent shock waves in the state.
The actress' driver is suspected to have followed her car in the vehicle used by the gang members. During the drive, the men harassed her, by clicking her pictures and making a video, she has said in her complaint.
After nearly two hours of drive through Kochi city, they left the actress in the car in Palarivattam and fled the scene. She was later taken to the house of film director Lal in Thrikkakara by her driver.
A woman judicial magistrate has taken her statement about the incident. Police had also taken her for a medical examination at a hospital near Kochi.
Police suspect that blackmailing was the motive behind the crime.
Kalam finished the manuscript of "Pathways to Greatness" in March 2015, barely four months before he passed away.
New Delhi: Politicians breaking law misusing power, existence of irrelevant and old laws and expression of intolerance through violence are some of the concerns raised by A P J Abdul Kalam in his last book.
Kalam finished the manuscript of "Pathways to Greatness" in March 2015, barely four months before he passed away. The book, published by HarperCollins India and termed by the former president as a manifesto for a better human life, will hit stands next month.
"Political leaders should set an example for civil society by articulating a vision for the nation and engaging in development politics. There is a need for political leaders to respect the laws of the land and ensure that political power is not used to circumvent them," he wrote.
On laws, he stressed on the need to simplify them and discard irrelevant and old acts with a certain periodicity.
"The system should be such that the dispensation of justice is fast and fair. Our education system should promote legal literacy through formal and informal mechanisms, particularly for the rural community," he suggested.
He also reminded people of the necessity to work for the unity of minds in society for the smooth functioning of democracy.
"The increasing intolerance for others views and way of life - and the expression of this intolerance through lawless violence against people - cannot be justified in any context.
All of us have to work hard and behave in a civilised manner in our day-to-day lives to ensure that the rights of our fellow citizens are protected."
Touching upon the perennial problem of backlog of court cases, he wrote: "The speed of delivery of justice is crucial.
While deterrent laws, good role models and moral education at a young age can help reduce crime, timely delivery of justice will make the public less cynical about the system."
According to Kalam, the book offers his "observations about how the life of every average Indian can be transformed into one of dignity, purpose and, above all, divinity.
"I have evolved unique oaths for students, teachers, farmers, civil servants and medical professionals to ensure that this better human life becomes possible for all, He wrote.
Kalam urged parents to read the book and pass on its message to their children, teachers to discuss it with their students and political leaders to spread the word in Parliament and to the people of India.
He also appealed to the people to have respect for others rights.
"They should use the legal system for good purposes and not for petty, selfish ends. Moreover, feedback from citizens is most valuable in a democratic system, and their vigilance in selecting the right type of representatives helps create conditions conducive to growth," he wrote.
"All of us as citizens, irrespective of the profession to which we belong, have to regulate ourselves by a code of behaviour ordained by the Constitution. We should always act with discretion and be circumspect about our actions. I voice this thought as a citizen who is concerned about the denial of the fruits of the rule of law to others who are less privileged.
"Privileges are meant to be enjoyed with prudence by those on whom they are conferred; they are not meant to make others suffer. Certainly, they are not meant to be flaunted. Rights are meant to be exercised to achieve the right thing; they are not to be brandished. Politeness and moderation are virtues to be inculcated by each one of us," he further wrote.
New Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency cautioned the Centre that Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) successfully managed to copy at least 8 to 10 security features of the Rs 2,000 new currency note that were introduced in November after demonetisation drive. One of the objectives of the demonetisation was to crackdown on fake currency, most of which was in Rs 500 denomination.
In a recently classified note to the Centre, details of which have been accessed by this newspaper, the agencies have stated that the ISI and its operatives, however, have still not been able to get hold of fine quality of paper used for printing the new currency notes. The government must ensure and take immediate preventive measures to ensure that the ISI or its operatives are not able to get the paper from those who supply this to the Indian printing press or mint.
The NIA, in a joint operation with the BSF earlier this week, had seized high-quality Rs 2,000 notes from Malda area near the border that were being smuggled in from Bangladesh. Sources said the notes were of very high quality while the miscreants had even managed to incorporate a number of safety features, although the quality of the paper was not very good.
It was against this backdrop, sources said, that the agencies cautioned the government to ensure that proper safety measures are in place so that the ISI operatives are not able to source the same quality of paper used in India.
ISI mint likely on Karachi outskirts
Top intelligence sources claimed that in the past also the ISI and some members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang have made attempts to procure ink, paper and machinery from the form the same source that was at some point in time also supplying it to the Indian printing press.
Now that there has been a case where subversive elements have managed to copy the safety features in Rs 2,000 notes and would be trying for the new Rs 500 notes also. We just want all government agencies to make their security arrangements absolutely foolproof to ensure that the ISI or its associates dont succeed this time around, a senior intelligence official said.
Both the IB and the NIA have also stated that ISI already has set up a state-of-the-art printing facility on the outskirts of Karachi where members of the D-company have also been roped in.
We suspect the Karachi facility would surely be used for printing the fake new Indian currency and ISI has also roped in the Dawood gang for it,'' the official added.
These agencies also suspect that the fake notes being routed through the porous Bangladesh border were also sourced from the Karachi press considering the good quality of notes.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has provided the much needed financial assistance to rights activist Irom Sharmila's party. Kejriwal on Saturday donated Rs 50,000 to Sharmila's People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), which is fighting the elections in Manipur.
Punjab MP Bhagwant Mann also promised his one months salary towards Sharmilas PRJA.
Mann, who is the AAP MP from Sangrur, Punjab, tweeted earlier this morning, As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n injustice in Manipur.
The salary for an MP is nearly Rs 2 lakh a month inclusive of all benefits.
With severe shortage of funds and manpower, PRJA has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds. The party members are campaigning on cycle to reach out to masses. The Delhi Chief Minister said he was donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her while sharing the link.
"I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her," he tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her.
PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur which has resorted to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state.
According to PRJA sources, online crowdfunding with a slogan "Ten For a Change" is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses.
The PRJA so far has collected Rs 4.5 lakh through crowdfunding.
"The online crowdfunding is in line with the party's call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds.
"Online funds are transparent and normally political parties face a backlash because they don't have transparency in their funds," PRJA's convener, Erendro Leichonbam told reporters.
PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur, which has resorted to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state. The PRJA so far has collected Rs 4.5 lakh through crowdfunding.
Imphal: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday alleged that the over 3-month long economic blockade of Manipur was the result of a conspiracy hatched by the state's Congress government to divert attention from its failures.
"I think there is a political conspiracy to divert the attention from the failures of the Congress government here. I want to know why despite Centre extending all help, the economic blockade is still there," the senior BJP leader said.
"I had told the state to sit for tripartite talks with the UNC and Centre to solve the problem. We have given the state enough central forces, but the state is not using those forces," Singh said after the release of the party's Vision Document for the Assembly elections next month.
The United Naga Council (UNC) has imposed a blockade on two National Highways of Manipur since November 1 last year to protest the state government's decision to create 7 new districts which, the UNC said, would bifurcate ancestral lands of Nagas in Manipur.
The state government, however, has claimed that the decision was taken to improve administrative efficiency.
Supply of essential commodities to Manipur has been severely hit due to the blockade on NH2 (via Dimapur) and NH 37 (via Jiribam) - the two lifelines to the state.
"The law and order is a state subject.... When the economic blockade began, I myself had called up him (Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh) several times and told him we will extend all help to lift the blockade," Singh said.
On the framework agreement signed in August 2015 between the Centre and the NSCN(IM) and allegations levelled by Congress that BJP has put the territorial integrity of Manipur under threat, Singh said the state government was trying to 'fool' people by spreading canards.
"I want to reassure all of you here that the central government and BJP will never compromise with the territorial integrity with Manipur. In the framework agreement, even the name of Manipur is not there. So why are they spreading lies? They should pursue healthy politics," Singh said.
Singh lashed out at the Ibobi Singh government for being 'unable' to provide jobs, infrastructure and proper drinking water despite being in power for 15 years.
"If we come to power, we will ensure employment generation. BJP and good governance are synonymous," he said, adding that intellectuals of the state would also have a say in providing good governance.
At the same programme, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also accused Ibobi Singh of shifting the blame of the economic blockade to the Centre.
If such a problem persisted in his state, Khandu said, it would become his responsibility to address the problem rather than blaming the Centre.
Khandu, a former Congress leader who joined the saffron party and formed a BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh on December 31 last, urged his Manipur counterpart to "do his duty" and solve the matter by talking to the stakeholders.
The North East has lagged behind in various sectors as the people of the region were inclined towards Congress, he claimed and said that time has come to follow the vision of the Prime Minister and allow the region to prosper.
Sarma, the Assam Finance Minister, charged Ibobi Singh with using the blockade as a tool to evoke emotional sentiment of the people and play politics in his favour.
Stating that no BJP ruled state has experienced economic blockade, he said if BJP comes to power in Manipur, it will solve the problem within 48 hours.
Kohima: T R Zeliang on Sunday decided to step down as Nagaland Chief Minister in a dramatic turn of events in the violence-hit state.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office confirmed Zeliang was stepping down and a consensus leader will be chosen on Monday morning at Naga People's Front Legislature Party meeting.
The NPF meeting will be followed by a meeting of DAN (Democratic Alliance of Nagaland) at 11 am in Kohima.
In the 60-member Assembly, an NPF source claimed, former Chief Minister and sole MP from the state Neiphiu Rio, commanded the support of 49 MLAs, including 8 Independents, while at least 3 are with party President Dr Shurhozelie Liezitsu.
The three include Speaker Chotisuh Sazo.However, political analysts said that with ever-changing complexions, the strength of each side can be clear only after the back-to-back crucial meetings tomorrow.
The legislators, holed up in a resort in Assam's Kaziranga, had started leaving Kohima Friday night as Liezietsu was preparing to stake claim to replace Zeliang soon after the arrival of Governor P B Acharya from New Delhi.
NPF sources said both Rio and Zeliang met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi yesterday but they refused to divulge details.
The BJP has four MLAs in the state.Zeliang had left for Delhi on February 16 after seeking two days' time to step down from the chief ministerial post.
Protests had erupted after announcement of holding ULB elections with 33 per cent reservation for women.
The Nagaland government had fulfilled the demand of Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) Kohima, declaring the entire process of Urban Local Bodies election with 33 per cent reservation for women as null and void.
Its second demand of suspending the personnel involved in January 31 police firing on the protesters leading to the killing of two youths in Dimapur has been partially fulfilled as they have been transferred.
Guwahati: In a dramatic turn of political development in trouble-torn Nagaland, former CM Neiphu Rio is all set to become the new chief minister of Nagaland.
Informing that at least 45 legislators of the ruling Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF) on Saturday deserted its party president Shurhozelie Liezietsu who was contemplating to replace CM T.R. Zeliang, sources in the NPF told this newspaper that 45 legislators have reached a resort at Kaziranga National Park in Assam where they are meeting Mr Zeliang and Mr Rio on Saturday. Mr Zeliang and Mr Rio who were in New Delhi have also left for the Ayora Resort where the legislators are camping.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday directed the Indian High Commission in South Sudan to help the family of an Indian man shot dead there in bringing his body back to India.
"Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan Plz contact the bereaved family and help them (sic)," Swaraj tweeted in response to an appeal for help by a man who said his cousin had been shot dead in Juba.
Syed Ejaz Hussain tweeted that his cousin Syed Farooq Basha had been shot dead in Juba, South Sudan on Saturday. He sought Swaraj's help in bringing back Basha's body to India.
Swaraj also tweeted the Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan's response, saying that the Embassy had spoken to the family of Basha and promised them all help.
Lucknow: A 25-year-old man from Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad district was made to stand on one leg, thrashed and forced to drink urine for allegedly peeping into his neighbours bedroom.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the incident happened on the February 10, when Sumit (name changed) peeped into the bedroom of his neighbour Amit when he was with his wife.
Sumit was later summoned by a panchayat on February 14, which saw an attendance of close to 125 people.
Sumit was thrashed by Amit, his wife, parents, uncle and his brothers.
Amit brought a bottle containing urine. He claimed that the urine was of himself and his wife. The bottle was half full. Four to five people from his family held the victim and forced the content to his mouth, a villager privy to the incident said.
No one came forward to save Sumit, and ever since the incident, the family has left their home unable to face the humiliation. Other villagers also revealed that Sumit ran back to his house and tried to set himself on fire after the incident.
Authorities took cognisance after Sumits wife approached the police with a complaint.
Several people have been booked by the police.
Amit and his family meanwhile lodged a complaint against Sumit claiming that he peeped into their house with the intention of stealing.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday promised to support handloom and powerloom industry in the state with various incentives and direct government procurement. The state government will ensure that each weaver earn an income of up to Rs 20,000 a month, he said.
He said the government will procure cloth only from weavers during festivals and promised to give subsidy on yarn and chemicals.
Mr Rao said that the government would soon come out with a comprehensive policy to enable the handloom and powerloom weavers to lead comfortable and happy lives.
After a long meeting on Sunday at Pragathi Bhavan with ministers, senior officials, weavers and representatives of handloom and powerloom industries, the Chief Minister said: Weavers in Siricilla and Pochampally should never think of committing suicide.
The silk and Ikkat sarees produced in Narayanpet, Gadwal and Pochampally had a very good name. I would be really great if people buy Pochampally sarees for marriages instead of Kanchi sarees, he said.
Hyderabad: The Budget Session of the Telangana State Legislature is likely to be convened in the first week of March and will sit for a minimum of 18 days.
According to sources even Andhra Pradesh State Legislature will have its budget session around the same time at temporary buildings constructed for legislature at Velagapudi.
Budget sessions in both the states need to begin with the address of the Governor to the joint sitting of both the Houses as it is the first session in the calendar year.
It is learnt Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had tentatively decided to convene the Budget session from March 3 and Telangana Chief Minister proposing the Session from March 8.
However, sources in the legislature department told this newspaper that so far the date of commencement has not been finalised.
Employees claim that amount deducted from their salaries by the state government from 2004 to 2010 for contributory pension scheme is untraceable. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: The amounts deducted from the salary of the state government employees for Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) between 2004 and 2010 have not been credited with the Central governments Pension Trust.
The state government had deducted 10 per cent of salary from its employees every month under the new CPS, which came into force in 2004. The government also needs to contribute an equal amo-unt towards its share.
However, no details are available with the treasury department over the deductions made from 2004 to 2010 and the details are ava-ilable only after 2010. Nearly 1.25 lakh employees in Telangana are part of the CPS.
According to Telan-gana Udyogula Sangh-am president A. Padma Chary, the state government had deducted `600 crore from their salaries between 2004 and 2010 and the amo-unt remains untraceable.
He asked the government to clarify where these funds were parked and whether the government had contributed its share.
Employees have dem-anded scrapping of CPS and revival of the old pension system. The government in undivided Andhra Pradesh had adopted CPS in 2004. But the agreement with Pension Trust happened only in 2010.
After its 2010 agreement, the state government provided permanent retirement accou-nt numbers to its staff.
Since 2010, the amo-unt deducted from salaries and governments contribution are being regularly credited into their accounts. But the employees have no clarity over the amo-unt deducted between 2004 to 2010.
The finance department, however, said funds are lying under Miscellaneous Account Head. Since there were no guidelines over crediting the amount till 2010, these funds are lying unutilised. The Telangana State government has to take a call on its contributi-on, said sources in the finance department.
However, the government is going slow because it needs to contribute an equal amount of `600 crore at one-go if it credits these funds with the Pension Trust and it could not afford to do so in the current financial condition.
The government allots 15.46 per cent of all Plan spending for the SC Sub-Plan and 9.08 per cent for the ST Sub-Plan, on the basis of population. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: Officials have differed with TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raos proposal to carry forward unspent funds of the SC/ST Sub-Plan.
During a review meeting last month, Mr Rao had said that there should be a provision to carry forward unspent SC/ST Sub-Plan funds to the next year. At present, the unspent funds lapse.
The government allots 15.46 per cent of all Plan spending for the SC Sub-Plan and 9.08 per cent for the ST Sub-Plan, on the basis of population. In the current year, the SC Sub-Plan got Rs 10,483 crore and the ST Sub-Plan, Rs 6,171 crore.
Of the total, the government had spent Rs 6,514 crore till the end of the third quarter of the financial year, leaving about Rs 10,000 crore to be spent in the last three months.
Officials said even if Rs 5,000 crore of this is unspent and carried forward, it will add to the fund for next year which may cross Rs 20,000 crore. If this continues to grow, there would be no funds left for the Budget.
A senior IAS officer said that in Karnataka the government was carrying forward the unspent funds for just one year, after which it would lapse. Instead of carrying forward the funds, the government should take strict action if any department does not spend the money, he said.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state government has been pitching for a clause in the GST Act to ensure that the benefit of lower taxes is passed on to consumers.
Apart from this, the state government will ask the Centre to set up a National GST Appel-late Tribunal to resolve tax-related disputes between all the stakeholders without any delay.
The transition of traders from VAT to GST is going on at a brisk pace in the state. The linking of local traders with national GST networks is expected to be completed by April to enable GST rollout from July 1, as planned by the Centre.
Senior officials of the commercial taxes department have submitted a report to finance minister Etela Rajender on the issues to be taken up in the GST Council. The report noted that the benefit of taxes that come down due to GST should be passed on to the consumers.
It also suggested that there should be a mechanism like Appellate Tribunal to examine whether input tax credits availed by any registered taxable person, or the reduction in the price on account of any reduction in the tax rate have actually resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of goods and/or services supplied by him.
For instance, if a manufacturer pays Rs 500 GST on final product and claims Rs 350 input credit later (tax he paid on inputs to make final product) from the government, the net tax paid is only Rs 150 and this deducted Rs 350, should be passed on to the consumers.
At present, nearly 70 per cent of goods attract average tax of about 27 per cent. In many cases, it is 30-32 per cent. This rate is expected to come down to less than 25 per cent, after GST comes into force. This tax reduction has to be passed on to the consumers. We should not allow profiteering by manufacturers on account of this. The same will be taken up with the Centre, an state commercial tax official said.
Hyderabad: The lack of a cloak room in the iconic tourist attraction, the Charminar, is forcing tourists to leave their bags with a private contractor who charges heavily.
Every day thousands of tourists from different parts of India and the world visit this historical 16th Century site, but they cannot take their bags and luggage inside for security reasons and there is no facility to keep their belongings safely outside.
The tourists are upset over the fact that such a great historical structure doesnt have the facility to keep their belongings.
There is no cloak room for visitors. It's distressing that the authorities are unable to provide a separate space for our luggage, said Riya Malhotra, a tourist from Delhi.
When we wanted to climb to the top of the Charminar, we werent allowed to take our bags. A person guided us to keep our belongings in a room in front of the monument or in Macca Masjid.
The person who takes care of the bags enters our details in a register and also takes our Aadhaar card number, which sounded very odd to us! We had to keep our bags with him because we wanted to climb the monument. Moreover, he charged Rs 20 per hour and the amount doubles for the next hour, said Ms Malhotra.
There is no issue in paying the money to a private contractor, but the officials should make arrangements for our luggage and provide separate space in the monument for our belongings, said Darsheel Khurana, a tourist from Mumbai.
The security officer at the monument, Ratan Kumar, says he has been instructed by the police not to allow any baggage inside the monument.
Many visitors complain, quarrel and also try to persuade us, saying that they have small tiffin bags for their children. But we have to do our duty and we dont allow them bring in any bags, he said.
Mohammed Taher, who is in charge of the monument, says the space will be provided for a cloak room for luggage once ongoing renovations are over.
Inspector of police, Charminar, Chandrashekhar Reddy, confirmed that for security reasons nobody is allowed to carry bags inside the monument.
Mumbai: A reported communication failure onboard a Jet Airways aircraft while flying in the German skies gave a scare to German authorities who feared a hijack and scrambled their fighter jets.
The incident happened three days back when the Mumbai-London flight 9W-118, with 330 passengers and 15 crew members, lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for a "brief period" while flying over Cologne.
The pilots of the Boeing-777 lost contact due to a reported communication failure, the Jet Airways said in a statement in Mumbai on Sunday.
However, the communication was safely restored within minutes and the flight landed at its destination without any hitch, the statement said.
The airline has de-rostered the pilots of the flight pending investigation and reported the matter to the civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
"Contact between Jet Airways flight 9W-118 from Mumbai to London Heathrow, of February 16, 2017, and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace," the airline statement said.
"As a precaution, the German Air Force (GAF) scrambled its fighter jets to ensure the safety of the flight and its passengers," it said.
The communication was, however, safely restored within a few minutes, the statement said.
Mysuru: In an embarrassment for the Congress, its MLA, K. Venkatesh virtually admitted on Saturday that corruption was inevitable in government.
Responding to the charge that the Congress government in the state was corrupt, the Periyapatna MLA said candidly, When we come to seek votes during elections people ask for money. If we dont indulge in corruption how can we get the money? His comment assumes significance in the backdrop of allegations that the Congress had received kickbacks in the steel flyover project in Bengaluru. Interestingly, Mr Venkatesh heads the BDA, which has commissioned the flyover.
The MLA was addressing a crowd in Muththina Mulusoge village of Harnalli hobli in Periyapatna taluk, Mysuru district. His candid confession came in response to a Congress worker, M.B. Shivakumar's observation that villagers were accusing his party leaders of being corrupt. But the minute Mr Venkatesh realised the proceedings were being recorded by an electronic media reporter,he strongly objected, asking him to stop.
Later, he went on to say that the CM and several ministers planned to come to Muththina Mulusoge in March to launch a project to lift water from the Cauvery to lakes in Periyapatna taluk. Villagers should take responsibility and ensure that the programme is a grand success, he added.
A former CPM councillor suspects that the ongoing tussle to emerge as the next Thiruvananthapuram district secretary could have played a part in the letter fiasco.
Stalin sat on a protest at the Marina along with his MLAs. However, police detained the protesting MLAs including Stalin. (Photo: PTI)
Chennai: An FIR has been filed against DMK working president M K Stalin, his party MLAs, MPs and cadres for holding a protest at Marina beach against the alleged attack on him and his MLAs during the trust vote in the Assembly.
Police said an FIR has been filed against them for unlawful assembly and violation of public order.
"DMK staged the protest without obtaining prior permission as required under law", a senior police official said.
Besides Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK cadres who participated in the protest have been named in the FIR, he said.
Stalin was detained yesterday after he sat on a protest at Marina beach here against the alleged attack on him and his party MLAs during the trust vote.
After alleging that he was manhandled in the Assembly by the marshals during the vote of confidence, which the Palaniswami government won with a comfortable margin of 122-11, Stalin sat on a protest at the Marina along with his MLAs.
Several DMK workers had blocked vehicular traffic and indulged in stone-pelting in different places in the state to protest the alleged attack on Stalin.
Indian women show their index finger marked with indelible ink after casting their vote at a polling station in Saifai, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)
Lucknow/New Delhi: Over 61.16 per cent of the electorate on Sunday exercised their franchise in the third phase of polling to decide the fate of 826 candidates in Uttar Pradesh's 69 Assembly constituencies considered crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party.
The turnout, which is higher by more than 1 per cent as compared to last Assembly polls, is expected to go up and touch 63 per cent as many voters were still in queues outside polling booths when the percentage was collated at 5 pm, officials said.
"The turnout of voters was 61.16 per cent when polling drew to a close at 5 PM," UP Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said in Lucknow.
About 2.41 crore people, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 people belonging to the 'third gender' category, were eligible to vote in this phase.
He said the polling was by and large peaceful in this phase for which tight security arrangements were put in place at all the 25,603 polling booths.
"At 5 pm, voting percentage was recorded as 61.16 per cent. There were huge queues outside some of the polling booths. We expect voting to reach or cross 63 per cent," Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Dev told a press conference in Delhi.
"The polling in 69 Assembly constituencies passed off peacefully, without any incident," he said.
In the 2012 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout in these constituencies was 59.96 per cent and 58.43 per cent, respectively.
The percentage was, however, less than that witnessed in the first two phases of polling during the ongoing elections.
The first phase saw polling of 64.2 per cent while the second phase recorded a little over 65 per cent.
In today's phase, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah) while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his family voted in Lucknow where BSP supremo Mayawati also cast her ballot.
Dev said this phase was incident-free and violence-free which assumes significance as the areas were votes were cast traditionally had a tag of witnessing a lot of disturbances.
"These areas had difficult kind of history of violence. But the voting was done peacefully. It is testimony to the peace-loving nature of the voters. I would like to congratulate all for this," the EC official said.
He hoped the same trend will be witnessed in the remaining four phases of polling.
"A record seizure of Rs 38.40 crore cash and 2.014 lakh litres of liquor has been effected (from the areas of third phase of polls)," Dev said.
Polling was today held in 12 districts and included SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah besides Lucknow (the Lok Sabha constituency of Rajnath Singh), Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur. Etawah is the native place of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, while Mainpuri is represented in Lok Sabha by SP's Tej Pratap Yadav. Dimple Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh, is the MP from Kannauj.
The leaders, after casting their votes, claimed that their parties will form the next government in the state. Mayawati, who cast her vote in the Mall Avenue area in
Lucknow, told reporters that BSP would win over 300 of the 403 seats.
"Unlike the Congress and BJP, I am not saying this without any basis. The way the people are attending my rallies, I can say that I am going to form the next government. The people of the state want change as they are fed up with the misrule and 'goonda raj' of SP," she said.
In a similar refrain, Rajnath Singh claimed that the BJP would secure an absolute majority in UP.
In Saifai, Akhilesh said, "The voters have made up their mind in favour of the SP-Congress alliance."
Polling in this phase began slowly but picked up pace later. There were reports of minor skirmishes between the supporters of the candidates at some polling booths.
SP leader and Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav complained that his supporters were attacked by the "political opponents" in his Jaswantnagar constituency.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, the SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while the BSP, BJP and Congress had secured only six, five and two seats respectively. One seat was won by an Independent.
Duputy Election Commissioner Dev said in Delhi that 28,167 Electronic Voting machines (EVMs) were used for the polls, of these 167 had to be replaced due to technical reasons.
Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were also used in five constituencies under Lucknow and Kanpur areas. Of these, 47 had to be replaced for some issues, the officer said.
VVPAT machines, which are attached to EVMs, generate a slip to verify that a vote has been cast correctly.
Dev said 208 flying squads and 237 static surveillance teams were formed to ensure cash and liquors are not used to lure voters.
After US President Donald Trump devoted much of his Kafkaesque press conference on Thursday to attack the American media for not depicting his first few weeks in office in favourable light, and describing them as fake, on Twitter next day he called them the enemy of the American people. Marquee media names like the New York Times, CNN and many others were placed in this category by the leader of the free world. In that world, a media independent of the state apparatus is evidently no longer a requirement, bringing it unobtrusively closer to authoritarian regimes, one-party states and despotisms of varying description. This takes away one of the defining features of American life.
The Chinese appear to be truly excited. Beijings English-language publication Global Times noted editorially that the American leaders war with (his countrys) mainstream media makes it difficult for Trump to ally with the media on the ideological front against China. That, however, is unlikely to be true. The Chinese may not believe this, but the US media doesnt criticise them as it takes dictation from its government, even if it is the case that the US medias take on key questions relating to developing countries doesnt vary too much from that of US administrations by and large. Indian leaders too like to manipulate the media to their advantage and hate it when the media sings its own song. If the Chinese call their press people news workers, PM Narendra Modi, when campaigning in the 2014 general election, derisively called them news traders.
The reports of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence having copied many of the safety features of the new Rs 2,000 notes and making passable fakes, albeit on poor paper, and sending them through the porous Bangladesh border should be a wake-up call: the war on counterfeit currency can never end. One of the three main objectives of demonetisation, announced on November 8 last year, was to root out counterfeit currency circulating in the country. The speed with which Indias enemies operated new Rs 2,000 notes reportedly crossed the LoC hours after being issued by banks show how alert state agencies must be to counter Pakistani moves to source the same security paper and make better fakes than they churn out now. News of ISI mints near Karachi printing fake Indian currency cant be discounted.
This isnt just the intelligence agencies figment of imagination such nefarious operations are just what ISIs dirty tricks unit can be expected to do. To debase an enemys currency is actually more devastating than any terror strike, and such insidious operations are par for the course for Pakistan. But there is no use railing against an enemy, saying we can expose them to the world by protesting to the UN. It is more important to protect our own interests by making our currencys safety features harder to replicate. Closer home, the fear that demonetisation may have to be rated as an even greater failure after the surfacing in such short time of our new currency notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 is now real. The stated objective of the drive was to drive out black money. More than 100 days have gone by and the government has not made public the quantum of money that has come into the banks. If outing black money as well as counterfeit currency were two great objectives of demonetisation, the other was to stem the flow of terror funding.
The increasing pattern of terrorists slipping in across the border, as seen in the daily reports of encounters in the Kashmir Valley, shows how the war against terror can never end. India has lost 26 soldiers just this year while killing 22 extremists. It was not as if demonetisation was going to stem terrorism; it would probably just slow it down, as we are seeing now. The price we pay for our freedom is eternal vigilance, and protecting our currency is as important as continuing to gather intelligence and stopping terrorists from carrying out their attacks.
Yes, it is debatable but could London be considered the fashion capital of the world, specially if one examines the amount of time spent discussing who wears what? And now that the former Prime Ministers wife, Samantha Cameron, has launched her own line, we know that there is a fashionable life post-Downing Street. Perhaps she can thank the years spent thinking about what to wear for high-profile occasions for giving her the cutting edge on couture. It seems that in between her high-flying job at Smythson, (which reportedly paid her more than the PM) and looking after her four children one of whom tragically passed away before David Cameron became Prime Minister she was able to find time to sit and sew at Downing Street, and learn how to pattern cut. The fact that she could host the London Fashion Week, and also meet the top international designers, must have been undoubtedly inspirational. How many of us can call up Anna Wintour for advice? Hmmmm
So, unlike other new children on the block, her designs, meant for the modern working woman (and only go up to size 14), are already on the front pages of newspapers and magazines. Like Britains present PM, Theresa May, and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, she has also topped fashion lists in the past. And clothes that she wore have reportedly flown off the shelf. But as she sympathises today with Melania Trump being out there in the limelight and critiqued over everything, clothes undoubtedly maketh the woman! No white crushed handloom saris will do out here Now do we have style icons like that in India? Perhaps the chic Shaina NC and Neelam Pratap Rudy? Can you think of some more?
As we gear up for the 70th year of the Partition of India, and Gurinder Chadhas film, Viceroys House, wins accolades it is interesting to see the other efforts being made to educate the British about their erstwhile colony. Recently I (representing the Partition Museum) was invited to speak in a panel at a meeting at the House of Lords over the importance of teaching schoolchildren about Partition. Interestingly, in a pilot project, a play was written by Sudha Bhuchar called Child of the Divide based on a Bhisham Sahni short story Pali. The play examines what happens to four children as they experience the Partition and separation from their homes and families.
The play was shown to some select schools to teach and sensitise students about events in 1947 and it was discovered to be a great medium of instruction. Not just the British children, it was found that even Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian children had no idea that once upon a time they had all belonged to one country, India! This whole effort is the brainchild of Canon Michael Roden, who set up the Partition History Project after interacting with the large Sikh community at Hitchen where he lives. He discovered their painful stories and thought that some interfaith dialogue needed to be initiated. The discussion over this very emotive subject also made many want to connect with the work of the Partition Museum at Amritsar, where too we receive large numbers of school and college children who feel they know very little about Partition. It was, of course, ironical that this time it was a devout Christian, Michael Roden, who brought us all from different communities together, in the UK!
Now this is a conundrum for literature festival enthusiasts: celebrity autobiographies that exist, and which celebrities claim to have never written. Can one really become so forgetful specially if it is a 75,000-word tome? Well, while he cant get no recollection Mick Jagger says that a book written in the 80s and which lies with publisher John Blake was simply not written by him. But then whodunit? As various scandalous and juicy bits are excerpted from the manuscript, and we are forced to recollect the Rolling Stones rather colourful life this non-book is fast becoming a bestseller.
The wonderful part of living in London is meeting so many friends from India who, one way or the other, consider this their home. Recently, we met old friend Karan Thapar at the home of the new high commissioner, Y.K. Sinha, and his charming wife Girija Sinha. It was an evening spent discussing many twists and turns of history. And now the high commissioner has arrived here as the UK stands at the cusp of history and makes a final break from the European Union. The Brexit debates begin in the House of Lords this week, and with more than 150 speakers it promises to be a session that goes late into the night it will be very interesting to follow, but one can only anticipate the anger and frustration of those who want to remain.
One does not require the wisdom of the great American naval historian Alfred Mahan or British admiral Julian Corbett to state the obvious: no nation can aspire to be a sea power without producing its fighting ships indigenously. Being the smallest of the three arms of Indias defence forces (taking personnel strength as the parameter), attaining expertise in the manufacture of quality (surface) fighting ships of up to 8,000 tonnes is the best to have happened to the Indian Navy. However, in the sub-surface and aircraft-carrier category, India is a late bloomer due to the lack of any sustained, long-term initiative. Hence, it is obvious that one cannot manufacture sophisticated, technologically-complex submarines and aircraft-carriers without having long experience in the sea. And that is exactly the case with the Indian Navy. It was the second Asian Navy, after Japan, to induct a used 20,000-tonne aircraft-carrier of British origin, INS Vikrant, on March 4, 1961. (It was eventually scrapped in 2014-15.)
A long active sea-time gave the right exposure to the Indian Navy men before India launched the first phase of building its own aircraft-carrier (also named INS Vikrant) on February 28, 2009 at Kochi. Although French DCNS and Italian Fincantieri were reportedly involved in its initial conceptualisation and design work, the completion of the 40,000-tonne-plus first indigenous aircraft-carrier will be a feather in the cap for the Indian Navy, thereby fulfilling a long cherished dream. China has recently announced that its first indigenous aircraft-carrier Liaoning is combat-ready. Unlike India, China has been a case of first produce, then use. It would be interesting to see how the carriers of Delhi and Beijing sail in the future, though prima facie the Chinese aircraft-carrier is bigger at 60,000 tonnes (full load). They have emphasised on speed as one of the key elements. Being a late entrant in submarine warfare perhaps helped India to be bold, brave and wise. Without producing a single indigenously-conceived and designed conventional underwater vessel, Delhi leapfrogged into the nuclear strategic missile submarine (SSBN/SSGN) club in 2004 at Visakhapatnam.
No doubt Russian cooperation was acknowledged at the time of launching the 600-tonne submarine INS Arihant on July 28, 2009; nevertheless, it speaks volumes about Indias naval achievement and fulfilment of its Make in India vision. Here, one has to concede that China has been the Asian pioneer in nuclear submarine building, beginning its voyage before India way back in 1980 with three 5,700-tonne Han class nuclear subs. As is well known, if a submarine succeeds in diving deeper than the standard 300 metres (985 feet) under the sea, things become that much more difficult for the anti-submarine assets to detect, identify and take position, defensive or offensive. Hence a recent report on Indias nuclear submarine INS Arihants diving depth of 450 metres approximately is promising. Another reported feature of the dived speed of 24 knots gives it an edge over other South Asian or West Asian submarines operating in the combat radius of the Indian Navy. The positive story of Indias naval buildup, however, is overshadowed by chronic time and cost overruns. The Navy continues to struggle to maintain the minimum deployable and to-be-deployed fleet as often the speed of decommissioned ships outpaced the speed of commissioned ships. The classic example is reflected in the depleted strength of Indias submarine squadrons.
Indeed, things became acute at the beginning of the 21st century owing to the spill-over effect of former Soviet-origin ships on the Indian Navy. Precious time was lost on production, delivery schedule and maintenance programme of the ships, owing to breakup of the USSR in 1991 and the resultant disarray of Moscows shipbuilding industry. This setback was reflected in the 2011 CAG report: Between 2011 and 2013, the Indian Navy would have only 61 per cent of its envisioned frigate fleet, 44 per cent of its envisioned destroyer fleet, and 20 per cent of its envisioned missile corvette fleet. It must be remembered that the frequency, duration and out-of-area operational deployment of the Indian Navy is no longer what it used to be 25 years ago. The fleets sea-time has increased manifold, thereby putting pressure on its wear and tear as well as logistics and material management.
Admiral Gorshkov, an USSR-made, Russia-refurbished, India-used, carrier is another classic case of a monumental disaster due to cost overruns. A ship is neither produced overnight nor an FMCG product. Aircraft-carriers had been built by only seven (US, UK, France, Russia, China, Italy and Spain) countries; thus India became the eighth producer. Indeed, a blessing in disguise if India successfully commissions the carrier in 2019. Good things apart, there still exist matters requiring urgent action, as can be gleaned from the CAG report tabled in Parliament on February 18, 2014: Between 2005 and 2010, 113 of 152 Indian Navy refits were completed after an accumulated delay of 8,629 days, or 23.6 years. It attributed the delay to growth attributable to the ageing ships, and the inability to ensure timely induction of new ships. Very serious stuff surfaced subsequently as Navy stated that delays of five to 67 months in commencing mid-life upgrade (MLU) of naval platforms had prompted cascading delays in refitting other ships which resulted in operational unavailability.
Another angle to Indias indigenous shipbuilding enterprise is the uncooperative bureaucracy. Indian Navy officials have long claimed that although it had received new platforms in the past decade, the defence and finance ministries had declined to provide additional funds to pay for the consequent increase in staffing levels, leading to meagre resources being stretched and to officers with limited experience assuming charge of technically-advanced vessels, many of which experienced mishaps. Indeed, a serious matter pertaining to safety and security of the State even if half of these claims are found to be correct. The bottomline, therefore, comes down to administering and interfacing man and machine. India traditionally has never had an acute shortage of trained and qualified manpower. However, what is required now is time management. That itself will give boost to the indigenisation enterprise of the Indian Navy.
The police force in Rampur, the hometown of SP minister Azam Khan, had been on its toes since the past one week when, during an election meeting of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, bees attacked the crowd just before his arrival. The cops had a tough time controlling the crowd and driving away bees. Several cops were also stung. The bee attack is considered an evil omen because in 2012 when bees were seen hovering on the dais during Mayawatis rally, she got voted out of power.
All district police chiefs have been told to ensure that there are no beehives in areas where VIP politicians address election rallies. First we went around looking for Azam Khans buffaloes and were then asked to track BJP MLA Dharam Pals buffaloes, after which we were made to search for BJP MP Ram Shankar Katherias missing dog. Now, it is the bees. It seems we have not joined the police force but are a part of the animal husbandry department, grumbled a senior police official.
SAFFRONISING ISI
The Congress in MP has accused the right-wing Hindutva brigade of attempting to saffronise Pakistans spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Opposition party was making a mockery of the ruling BJP in the wake of the exposure of alleged links of some saffron activists with the recently-busted espionage ring run by the ISI in MP.
The revelation on some saffron activists involvement in the espionage racket promoted by the ISI indicates the Sanghs design to saffronise the Pak spy agency, a Congress spokesman in MP quipped. At least two of the 11 accused in the espionage racket have allegedly been found to be associated with the saffron outfit. While Dhruv Saxena had been one of the key members in the IT cell of the BJP, as per allegations by the Congress, local VHP leader in Satna, MP, Ashish Singh Rathore, was said to be an associate of Balram Singh, the reported mastermind of the ring.
In a major development, a team of scientists have officially named a minor planet as 'Bernardbowen' that sits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The minor planet was discovered on October 28, 1991, and until now has been known as (6196) 1991 UO4, but the name has been given by an Australian citizen science project 'theSkyNet', who won a competition to name the celestial body.
The planet was named by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in honour of their founding chairman Dr. Bernard Bowen.
'Bernardbowen' sits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and takes 3.26 earth years to orbit the sun and is one of the 17 minor planets to be christened today.
Other newly named minor planets include Kagura, after a traditional Shinto theatrical dance, and Mehdia, which is equivalent to the Arabic word for gift.
Based at ICRAR, theSkyNet has been running since 2011 and sees citizen scientists donating their spare computing power to help Australian astronomers uncover the mysteries of the Universe.
Its 50,000-odd volunteers entered an International Astronomical Union (IAU) contest to name planets beyond our Solar System.
The project founders ICRAR also won the right to name a minor planet within our Solar System.
Dr Bowen is renowned as one of the country's finest science administrators and has presided over scientific advances ranging from the oceans to the skies. He was instrumental in the establishment of ICRAR in 2009, and helped bring part of the Square Kilometre Array telescope to Western Australia.
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SpaceX aborted its planned Dragon cargo launch to the International Space Station just seconds before liftoff today due to a "slightly odd" technical issue with the Falcon 9 rocket engine.
The delay was made "out of an abundance of caution," a SpaceX spokesman said, and came a day after engineers discovered a small helium leak in the engine's second stage.
"All systems go, except the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd," SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk said on Twitter after the launch was scrubbed.
"Standing down to investigate." Musk added that the issue was "99 per cent likely to be fine."
"But that one per cent chance isn't worth rolling the dice. Better to wait a day."
The next launch attempt is scheduled for 9:38 am tomorrow (1438 GMT).
In the meantime, engineers plan to "take a closer look at the position of the second stage engine nozzle," SpaceX said. The Hawthorne, California-based company has endured two costly disasters in the past two years -- a launchpad blast that destroyed a rocket and its satellite payload in September, and a June 2015 explosion after liftoff that obliterated a Dragon cargo ship packed with provisions bound for the space station.
SpaceX has since made one successful return to flight in January of this year, from Vandenberg Air Force base in California.
But this flight is particularly significant because of its starting point at Kennedy Space Center's launchpad 39A, used for the pioneering Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, and later for the space shuttle launches from 1981 to 2011.
SpaceX negotiated a lease for the launchpad with NASA in 2013, beating out its competitor Blue Origin, headed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
By the time the launchpad is completely outfitted for sending astronauts to space in 2018, the company will have spent over USD 100 million to adapt it for modern-day spaceflights, SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said.
A report out this week by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the first crew flights by SpaceX and Boeing were likely to slip from 2018 to 2019 because of schedule delays and reduced budgets from Congress.
Since the US space shuttle program ended in 2011, the world's astronauts have relied on Russia's Soyuz capsules for transport to the space station. Russia currently charges USD 82 million per seat, the GAO said.
Asked by reporters yesterday if SpaceX's Dragon V2 capsule for crew would be held back until 2019, Shotwell said: "I'm confident we will fly in 2018."
The current cargo resupply mission, known as CRS-10, is the 10th of up to 20 planned trips to the space station as part of a contract between SpaceX and NASA.
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German regulators have banned an Internet-connected doll called "My Friend Cayla" that can chat with children, warning Friday that it was a de facto "spying device".
Parents were urged to disable the interactive toy by the Federal Network Agency which enforces bans on surveillance devices.
"Items that conceal cameras or microphones and that are capable of transmitting a signal, and therefore can transmit data without detection, compromise people's privacy," said the agency's head, Jochen Homann.
"This applies in particular to children's toys. The Cayla doll has been banned in Germany. This is also to protect the most vulnerable in our society."
The doll works by sending a child's audio question wirelessly to an app on a digital device, which translates it into text and searches the internet for an answer, then sends back a response that is voiced by the doll.
The German regulators in a statement warned that anything a child says, or other people's conversations, could be recorded and transmitted without parents' knowledge.
"A company could also use the toy to advertise directly to the child or the parents," it said.
"Moreover, if the manufacturer has not adequately protected the wireless connection, the toy can be used by anyone in the vicinity to listen in on conversations undetected."
Genesis Toys, which manufactures the doll, says on its website that it "is committed to protecting your and your family's personal information.
"Our objective is to ensure that our products and services are safe and enjoyable for our customers".
It also says Cayla "is programmed to not utter, display or say words or images that would be inappropriate for children to see or hear".
The company regularly reviews "encryption and physical security measures" to guard against unauthorised access to customers' personal information.
But it warns on its website that "unfortunately no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure".
The regulation agency added that it would "inspect other interactive toys and, if necessary, will take further action".
The European Consumer Organisation said it welcomed the decision but criticised the fact consumers would struggle to get compensation.
Its head Monique Goyens said that "if connected toys, such as this speaking doll, can be hacked to spy on or talk to children, they must be banned."
She added that "EU product laws need to catch up with digital developments to deal with threats such as hacking, data fraud or spying".
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Telecom watchdog TRAI on Friday said it will look into the proposed Vodafone and Idea merger "as and when" regulatory issues crop up.
"That's (merger of Idea and Vodafone India) a business decision. I would not like to comment. As and when there is regulatory issue I will certainly give advise to the government," TRAI Chairman R S Sharma said on the sidelines of Momentum Jharkhand in Ranchi on Friday.
On January 30, Britain's Vodafone Group confirmed it is in discussions to merge its Indian unit with Idea Cellular in an all-share deal to create the country's largest telecom operator with 43 percent revenue marketshare.
The combined entity is expected to pose formidable competition to the current market leader Bharti Airtel and aggressive new entrant Reliance Jio.
The merger of Vodafone - the country's second-largest cellphone network operator - with the Aditya Birla Group firm - India's third-largest cellular operator would create a company with over 395 million users and form one of the largest telecom companies in the world.
Lauding the IT policies of Jharkhand, Sharma said companies can come and invest here as right skill-sets are easily available.
He also added that Jharkhand is the first state where TRAI is testing open duct policy in which any service provider can come in and take their fibre without digging again.
"Jharkhand is crucial for testing our new policies," he said, adding that Ranchi has the potential to become the Bangaluru of the East India.
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Abdel-Rahman, 78, died of natural causes at 9:40 a.m. (1440 GMT) at a medical center at a federal prison compound in Butner, North Carolina, according to Greg Norton, a spokesman.
North Carolina: Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Muslim cleric known as "the blind sheikh" who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and of planning a broader "war of urban terrorism" in the United States, died on Saturday in a North Carolina prison, authorities said.
Abdel-Rahman, 78, died of natural causes at 9:40 a.m. (1440 GMT) at a medical center at a federal prison compound in Butner, North Carolina, according to Greg Norton, a spokesman.
The cleric, who had diabetes and coronary artery disease, had been incarcerated at the complex for nearly 10 years, Norton said.
Earlier, the cleric's son Ammar said his family had received a phone call in Eygpt from a U.S. representative saying his father had died.
The Egyptian-born Abdel-Rahman remained a spiritual leader for radical Muslims even after more than 20 years in prison.
With his long gray beard, sunglasses and red and white clerical cap, the charismatic Abdel-Rahman was the face of radical Islam in the 1980s and 1990s. He preached a fiery brand of Islam that called for the death of people and governments he disapproved of and the installation of an Islamic government in Egypt. His following was tied to fundamentalist killings and bomb attacks around the world.
"Abdel-Rahman was at the vortex of some of the bloodiest and most consequential terrorist incidents of the 1990s - incidents that would establish the patterns of global terrorism that continue to bedevil us today, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University in Washington.
He was a tireless and enthusiastic in projecting his message of violence and hatred, said Hoffman, who served on the U.S. governments commission that reviewed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington and over Pennsylvania.
Abdel-Rahman, who was born in a village along the Nile on May 3, 1938, lost his eyesight due to childhood diabetes and grew up studying a Braille version of the Koran.
As an adult he became associated with the fundamentalist Islamic Group and was imprisoned and accused of issuing a fatwa leading to the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, against whom he had railed for years. The sheikh said he was hung upside-down from the ceiling, beaten with sticks and given electric shocks while held but he was eventually acquitted and went into self-imposed exile in 1990.
He managed to get to New York after the U.S. Embassy in Sudan granted him a tourist visa in 1990 - despite the fact that he was on the State Department's list of people with ties to terror groups.
U.S. authorities blamed a computer error for the visa, but the mistake was compounded in 1991 when Abdel-Rahman was given a green card and permanent U.S. resident status. The New York Times reported the CIA had approved the visa application for Abdel-Rahman, who had supported the anti-Soviet mujahedin in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Abdel-Rahman preached his radical message and lived in the New York City borough of Brooklyn and nearby Jersey City, New Jersey, building a strong following among fundamentalist Muslims. Even in exile, he remained a force in the Middle East, where followers listened to cassette tapes and radio broadcasts of his sermons decrying the Egyptian government and Israel.
While in the United States Abdel-Rahman and his disciples would be linked to the 1990 slaying in New York of militant Rabbi Meir Kahane, the 1992 killing of an anti-fundamentalist writer in Egypt and attacks on foreign tourists in Egypt.
U.S. authorities took action in 1992 by revoking Abdel-Rahman's green card on the grounds that he had lied about a bad check charge in Egypt and about having two wives when he entered the country. He was facing the possibility of deportation when a truck bomb went off in the basement parking garage of the World Trade Center on Feb. 26, 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 in an attack that made Americans realize that they were not immune to international terrorism.
Four months later Abdel-Rahman was arrested and went on trial with several followers in 1995, accused of plotting a day of terror for the United States - assassinations and synchronized bombings of the U.N. headquarters, a major federal government facility in Manhattan and tunnels and a bridge linking New York City and New Jersey.
The indictment said Abdel-Rahman and his followers planned to "levy a war of urban terrorism against the United States" as part of a jihad - or holy war - to stop U.S. support for Israel and change its overall Middle East policy.
The defendants were not directly charged with the 1993 World Trade Center attack but were convicted of conspiring with those who did carry out the bombing.
Abdel-Rahman's convictions also included plotting to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a visit to the United States in 1993, a Jewish New York state legislator and a Jewish New York State Supreme Court justice.
Much of the case against Abdel-Rahman and his followers was based on video and audio recordings made with the help of a bodyguard for the sheikh who became an FBI informant. A video also showed four defendants mixing fertilizer and diesel fuel for bombs.
After a nine-month trial, the sheikh and nine followers were found guilty in October 1995 on 48 of 50 charges.
He did not testify at his trial but at a sentencing hearing Abdel-Rahman gave a passionate speech of more than 90 minutes through a translator, proclaiming his innocence and denouncing the United States as an enemy of his faith.
"I have not committed any crime except telling people about Islam," he said.
Abdel-Rahman was still an important figure in radical Islam even after years in prison. A year before his al Qaeda followers pulled off the most destructive assault on U.S. soil, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Osama bin Laden had pledged a jihad to free Abdel-Rahman from prison. When Mohammed Mursi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, began his short-lived presidency of Egypt in 2012, he said winning the sheikh's freedom would be a priority and the jihadists who attacked an Algerian oilfield and took hostages in 2013 also demanded his release.
In 2006 one of Abdel-Rahman's lawyers, Lynne F. Stewart, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for helping smuggle messages from the cleric to his followers in Egypt.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" ISIS and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe.
"Here's the bottom line. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath.
"We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing," he claimed. Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not "win anymore".
"Instead of peace, we've seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don't fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don't win anymore. We don't win at trade. We don't win in any capacity. We don't win anymore. We're going to start winning again. Believe me," he said.
Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "to develop a plan to totally destroy ISIS," and begin plans for "the great rebuilding" of the United States military.
"We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. We're going to start using our best and most modern equipment," he said.
Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely. "We were left a mess like you wouldn't believe. But we're going to build safe zones. We're going to have those safe zones," he said.
"We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don't want people with bad, bad ideas. We don't want that," he said.
He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy.
Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the "so-called global elite", saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages.
"We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure.To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities," he said.
The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a "level playing field for all women in the workforce."
Florida: In the latest example of his administration naming a non-existent attack, US President Donald Trump apparently referred to Sweden as the site of a terror incident when speaking to supporters on Saturday.
The Republican was addressing a campaign-style rally in Florida when he launched into a list of places that have been targeted by terrorists.
"You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible," he said in an energetic stream-of-consciousness speech, defending his order last month that blocked refugees and travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The order has been suspended by a federal appeals court, and Trump vowed to introduce a new order this week as a means of protecting Americans at home.
He went on to name Brussels, Nice and Paris -- European cities that have been struck by deadly terror attacks.
A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an AFP request early Sunday for clarification on the president's comment.
Users on Twitter, Trump's favourite communication platform, cracked jokes about the apparent gaffe using the hashtags #lastnightinSweden and #SwedenIncident.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt asked, "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound."
Gunnar Hokmark, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, retweeted a post that said, "#lastnightinSweden my son dropped his hotdog in the campfire. So sad!"
Hokmark added his own comment, "How could he know?"
Numerous internet wags responded with Ikea-themed tweets. Some posted photos of the impossible-to-understand instructions for assembling Ikea furniture, calling it "Secret Plans for the #SwedenIncident."
Nothing has happened:
Posts flooded into @sweden, the country's official Twitter account which is run by a different Swede each week.
This week's curator, Emma, who describes herself as a school librarian and mother, said the account had received 800 mentions in four hours.
"No. Nothing has happened here in Sweden. There has not (been) any terrorist attacks here; at all. The main news right now is about Melfest," she said, referring to the competition to pick the performer who will represent Sweden at the Eurovision singing contest.
Top Trump aides in his month-old administration have faced criticism and ridicule after speaking publicly about massacres that never took place.
White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway -- who famously coined the term "alternative facts" -- referred to a "Bowling Green massacre" during an interview.
She later tweeted that she meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists" -- referring to two Iraqi men who were indicted in 2011 for trying to send money and weapons to Al-Qaeda, and using improvised explosive devices against US soldiers in Iraq.
And White House spokesman Sean Spicer made three separate references in one week to an attack in Atlanta.
He later said he meant to say Orlando, the Florida city where an American of Afghan origin gunned down 49 people at a gay nightclub last year.
Quito: Oil-rich Ecuador votes on Sunday in general elections that could lead to fugitive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being evicted from the countrys London embassy.
Socialist presidential candidate Lenin Moreno, who leads in opinion polls, favours continuing to grant the Australian whistleblower asylum, which was granted to him under outgoing leader Rafael Correa. But two conservative contenders, Guillermo Lasso and Cynthia Viteri, each told AFP they would end Assanges asylum if they win the election.
Under Correa, Ecuador grabbed world headlines when it defied the United States by granting Assange refuge as he fights against Swedish rape charges. The move has also shielded him from arrest over possible extradition to the U.S. for leaking diplomatic cables that embarrassed Washington. WikiLeaks has said Assange could travel to the United States to face investigation if his rights were guaranteed.
The Ecuadoran elections could see a pillar of the Latin American left swing to the right in a country at an economic and political crossroads. After a decade of leftist rule, voters must decide whether to follow Argentina, Brazil and Peru in switching to a conservative government.
Over his decade in power, leftist economist Correa, 53, oversaw an economic boom in the country of 16 million. But he is not up for re-election. The economy shrank by 1.7 per cent last year, suffering notably from falling oil prices. Correa is accused of failing to save any petrodollars for a rainy day, and of hampering businesses with high taxes and duties.
When Correa came to power he promised to diversify the production model, Alberto Acosta-Burneo, an economist at the Spurrier Group consultancy, told AFP. But he is leaving behind a country in which it is very difficult to produce things.
Correas ally and would-be successor Moreno, 63, promises to continue the outgoing presidents tax-and-spend social policies. The Ecuadoran people have affection (for us) and are determined to continue with this process, Moreno told AFP on Wednesday at a campaign event. But in an uncertain contest, Moreno faces a challenge from ex-banker Lasso, 61, second in the opinion polls.
Lasso has vowed to cut spending and taxes, lure foreign investment and create a million jobs. He has slammed Correas allies over alleged links to a corruption scandal. We have to vote for change to fight against corruption, Lasso said at a campaign rally on Wednesday.
The third-placed candidate is conservative former lawmaker Viteri, 51.
Correa says Latin America needs a strong leftist movement to resist U.S. President Donald Trumps hard line on immigration and trade.
Washington: A senior Trump administration official was fired following criticism in a private speech of President Donald Trump's policies and his inner circle of advisers.
Craig Deare, whom Trump appointed a month ago to head the National Security Council's Western Hemisphere division, was on Friday escorted out of the Executive Office Building, where he worked in Washington.
A senior White House official confirmed that Deare is no longer working at the NSC and has returned to the position he previously held at the National Defense University. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an incident not otherwise made public, and provided no further details.
But current and former administration officials say Deare's termination was linked to remarks he made Thursday at a private talk at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter.
According to one person who attended the discussion, Deare slammed the Trump administration for its policies on Latin America, specifically its rocky start to relations with Mexico. That person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private event.
Trump signed an order in the first week of his presidency to build a border wall with Mexico, jumpstarting a campaign promise. The move prompted Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel his trip to Washington in late January.
The person who attended the Wilson Center discussion also said that Deare openly expressed frustration over being cut out of most of the policy discussions about Mexico, saying that members of Trump's inner circle, including chief strategist Steve Bannon and Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, have not consulted with NSC directorates as the White House formulates policy.
Deare has been on the faculty of National Defense University in Washington since 2001.
He joined the university's College of International Security Affairs in 2010 and most recently served as dean of administration.
The person who attended the Wilson Center talk also noted that Deare made several remarks about how attractive Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, appeared, remarks that person described as "awkward."
Deare did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials with the Wilson Center also declined a request for information, saying the discussion was off the record.
Deare is the second senior NSC official to leave in under a week.
On Monday, Trump's national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, resigned after revelations that he discussed sanctions with a Russian diplomat before Trump was sworn in, then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of those conversations.
Asylum seekers who fail the credible fear test can be quickly deported unless they file an appeal. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)
Washington: The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process.
The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution if sent home.
The guidance instructs asylum officers to "elicit all relevant information" in determining whether an applicant has credible fear of persecution if returned home, the first obstacle faced by migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border requesting asylum. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2m4aPAs)
Three sources familiar with the drafting of the guidance said the goal of the new instructions is to raise the bar on initial screening.
The administration's plan is to leave wide discretion to asylum officers by allowing them to determine which applications have a "significant possibility" of being approved by an immigration court, the sources said.
The guidance was first reported and posted on the internet by McClatchy news organization.
In 2015, just 18 percent of asylum applicants whose cases were ruled on by immigration judges were granted asylum, according to the Justice Department. Applicants from countries with a high rate of political persecution have a higher chance of winning their asylum cases.
A tougher approach to asylum seekers would be an element of President Donald Trump's promise to crackdown on immigration and tighten border security, a cornerstone of his election campaign and a top priority of his first month in office.
The DHS declined to comment for this story, referring questions to the White House, which did not respond to a request for comment.
What is credible fear?
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an applicant must generally demonstrate "a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion."
Immigration lawyers say any applicants who appear to meet that criteria in their initial interviews should be allowed to make their cases in court. They oppose encouraging asylum officers to take a stricter stance on questioning claims and rejecting applications.
Interviews to assess credible fear are conducted almost immediately after an asylum request is made, often at the border or in detention facilities by immigration agents or asylum officers, and most applicants easily clear that hurdle. Between July and September of 2016, U.S. asylum officers accepted nearly 88 percent of the claims of credible fear, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.
Asylum seekers who fail the credible fear test can be quickly deported unless they file an appeal. Currently, those who pass the test are eventually released and allowed to remain in the United States awaiting hearings, which are often scheduled years into the future because of a backlog of more than 500,000 cases in immigration courts.
Between October 2015 and April 2016, nearly 50,000 migrants claimed credible fear, 78 percent of whom were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala or Mexico, according to statistics from USCIS.
The number of migrants from those three countries who passed credible fear and went to court to make their case for asylum rose sharply between 2011 and 2015, from 13,970 claims to 34,125, according to data from the Justice Department.
Former border patrol chief Mike Fisher credits that trend to advice from immigration lawyers who know "asylum officers are going to err on the side of caution and refer most cases to a judge."
The new guidance on asylum seekers is for border personnel implementing Trump's Jan. 25 executive order on tightening U.S. border security.
Among other measures, the presidents directive calls for expediting eligibility claims of those attempting to stay in the United States and promptly deporting those whose claims are rejected.
Complicated Logistics
Some immigration officers familiar with the draft guidance say they are concerned that a rapid increase in deportations of asylum seekers could strain overcrowded detention facilities and create transportation problems.
Deportations take time and coordination, even when immigrants are quickly targeted for expulsion. U.S. officials must get approval from a deportees home country before repatriation can take place, and transportation can be complicated and expensive. Immigrants from non-contiguous countries are flown home by plane, while Mexicans are often bused across the border.
Homeland Security personnel who worked on the guidance say they hope to expand detention space by at least 8,000 beds. The money to pay for that would require congressional sign-off.
The extra beds, they say, would further the president's goal, expressed in his executive order on border security, of ending the practice known as "catch and release" in which migrants, including asylum seekers, are freed pending a court hearing. The new guidance calls for expanding detention, but acknowledges that ending the practice "may not be immediately possible."
A congressional aide familiar with the administrations plans said DHS is considering expanding its contracts with private prison companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic, which currently hold most immigrant detainees.
Immigrants rights advocates say they fear that raising the bar on the credible fear test could screen out migrants with a rightful claim to asylum, because asylum officers may dismiss cases that could make it through court if the asylum seeker were given legal counsel, said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
Asylum applicants have the right to appeal denials of credible fear claims and may request to see a judge to assert their claim to be in the United States for other reasons, such as family ties. For that reason, raising the bar on credible fear might not deter asylum seekers as much as the Trump administration hopes, said former border patrol head Fisher.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on extreme vetting during an event at the Pentagon in Washington. (Photo: AP)
Washington: A new version of a Trump administration travel ban will not stop green card residency holders or travellers already on planes from entering the United States, US Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly said on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump's initial attempt to clamp down for security reasons on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries and on refugees snarled to a halt amid a judicial backlash and chaos at airports.
"The president is contemplating releasing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (order). And I will have opportunity to work (on) a rollout plan, in particular to make sure that there's no one in a sense caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports," Kelly said at the Munich Security Conference.
Asked whether green card residency permit holders would be allowed in, Kelly said: "It's a good assumption and, as far as the visas go, ... if they're in motion from some distant land to the United States, when they arrive they will be allowed in."
He promised "a short phase-in period to make sure that people on the other end don't get on airplanes. But if they're on an airplane and inbound, they'll be allowed to enter the country."
Trump's original order, which he said was meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants, barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and excluded all refugees for 120 days, except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
The abrupt implementation of the order last month plunged the immigration system into chaos, sparking a wave of criticism from the countries affected, and from Western allies and some of America's leading corporations, especially technology firms.
Washington: 'Laila' is among seven cows that were destined to be slaughtered but are now being sheltered by the Indian-American community in the US state of Arizona as part of efforts to promote peace.
The community has started a 'Goshala cow sanctuary' that protects cows from slaughter while educating people about how saving these animals promotes a sustainable ecosystem.
"We believe that kindness to animals leads to kindness to humans and hence a peaceful world," President Naren Koka of the organisation was quoted as saying by the Casa Grande Dispatch newspaper.
At Goshala, the cows are respected, honoured and adored. Protecting them promotes peace and good health, said Koka.
"We spread the message of how important it is to protect cows and educate people on how protecting them builds a sustainable ecosystem for future generations," Koka added.
"Cows eat grass, and the cow dung is very good for the earth. It protects the topsoil, and the manure can be used to feed the corn," he said.
The organisation was started in 2010 when Laila, a black Jersey cow with a white star on her forehead, was saved from slaughter.
"Her owner was moving and planned to have her slaughtered, but he offered her for sale on Craigslist to see if he could sell her," said Prayag Narayan Misra, a Goshala founder and volunteer. "We raised the money and purchased her."
The organisation now has seven cows but hopes to add more as many as possible, the report said.
Caring for the cows comes with a price tag of about USD 150 per animal per month. Since healthy cows can live up to 20 years, funding is important to the organisation.
Much of the financial support for caring for the cows comes from the Indian community but some animal activists are also involved.
Goshala also maintains a bull training project so the animals may be used to plough fields. Using bulls rather than tractors to plough fields reduces agricultural dependence on fossil fuels and promotes a more sustainable ecosystem, Koka said.
"The organisation promotes a vegetarian lifestyle and frequently serves meatless meals to homeless shelters and the poor. They also hold cooking demonstrations to teach others how to make food with "love and compassion," Koka said.
Munich: US vice president Mike Pence on Saturday brought a message of support for Europe from Donald Trump, but failed to wholly reassure allies worried about the new presidents stance on Russia and the European Union.
In Pences first major foreign policy address for the Trump administration, he told European leaders that he spoke for Trump when he promised unwavering commitment to the NATO alliance.
Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: the United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance, Pence told the Munich Security Conference, offering greetings from the president.
But he also repeated US calls for more defence spending in return: As you keep faith with us, under President Trump we will always keep faith with you.
While Polands defence minister praised Pence, many others, including Frances foreign minister and US lawmakers in Munich, remained sceptical that he had convinced his allies that Trump would stand by Europe.
Trumps contradictory remarks on the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, scepticism over the 2015 deal to curb Irans nuclear ambitions and an apparent disregard for the future of the European Union have left Europe fearful for the seven-decade-old US guardianship of the West.
After Pence spoke, former NATO deputy secretary general Alexander Vershbow, who is American, summed up the mood, telling Reuters: Many in this hall are still asking if this is the real policy.
Pence, whose meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel was described by German aides as very friendly, also marked out a divide on Iran, which the European Union sees as a business opportunity following the nuclear deal.
Pence called Tehran the leading state sponsor of terrorism, language never used by European officials. Pences strident vow to consign Islamist militants to the ash-heap of history also raised eyebrows, European officials said.
US Homeland Security secretary John Kelly defended Trumps directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, since blocked by US judges, which was condemned by EU governments.
Kelly said he would produce a tighter, more streamlined version soon, saying: We need to find ways to vet in a more reliable way to satisfy us that people coming to the United States are coming for the right reasons.
Two US governments?
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed disappointment that Pences speech did not mention the European Union, although the vice president will take his message to EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday.
I hope that we will have a clear response (in Brussels) ... because Donald Trump has said he was overjoyed by the Brexit and that there would be others, Ayrault said, referring to Britains decision to leave the European Union.
US senator Chris Murphy, a member of the opposition Democrats, said he welcomed Pences address but saw two rival governments emerging from the Trump administration.
Pence, Trumps defense secretary Jim Mattis and his foreign minister Rex Tillerson all delivered messages of reassurance on their debut trip to Europe.
But events in Washington, including a news conference in which Trump branded accredited White House reporters dishonest people, sowed more confusion.
I like a lot of what I heard from vice president Pence, Murphy told Reuters. Its just hard to square that speech with everything Donald Trump is doing and saying, citing an assault on the free press.
The resignation of Trumps security adviser Michael Flynn over his contacts with Russia on the eve of the US charm offensive in Europe also tarnished the message Pence, Mattis and Tillerson were seeking to send, officials told Reuters.
US Republican Senator John McCain, a Trump critic, told the conference on Friday that the new presidents team was in disarray.
The United States is Europes biggest trading partner, the biggest foreign investor in the continent and the European Unions partner in almost all foreign policy, as well as the main promoter of European unity for more than 60 years.
Tepid Applause
Pence, citing a trip to Cold War-era West Berlin in his youth, said Trump would uphold the post-World War Two order.
This is President Trumps promise: we will stand with Europe today and every day, because we are bound together by the same noble ideals freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law, Pence said.
Pence received little applause beyond the warm reception he got when he declared his support for NATO. His warning that the time has come to do more on military spending was met with an awkward silence.
The United States provides around 70 percent of the NATO alliances funds. European governments sharply cut defence spending after the fall of the Soviet Union but Russias resurgence as a military power and its seizure of Ukraines Crimean peninsula has started to change that.
Baltic states and Poland fear Russia might try a repeat of Crimea elsewhere. Europe believes Moscow is seeking to destabilize governments and influence elections with cyber attacks and fake news, an accusation denied at the conference by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Pences tough line on Russia, calling on Moscow to honour the international peace accords that seek to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, were welcomed by Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz. Lavrov said after a meeting with his French, German and Ukrainian counterparts that there would be a new ceasefire from Feb. 20.
Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found, Pence said.
Ankara: US Vice President Mike Pence has told Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that the new administration wanted a "new start" in relations between the two NATO member states, local media reported Sunday.
Turkey is looking to improve relations with Washington under President Donald Trump after ties soured during Barack Obama's time in office.
Pence said the United States was ready to further develop ties during a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, the private NTV channel reported.
Last week, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo visited Ankara less than 48 hours after Trump spoke for the first time by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Yildirim told Pence that Turkey was "ready for all kinds of cooperation" on the issue of Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, NTV said.
Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is accused by Ankara of ordering the failed coup which tried to overthrow Erdogan last July.
He strongly denies the charges but Ankara has repeatedly called for his extradition.
The issue became a bone of contention between Ankara and the Obama administration after Washington said a possibly slow legal process should take its course.
Yildirim said moves towards his extradition by the new administration would "open a new page" in relations, according to NTV.
The official statement from the White House on their meeting said Pence reiterated the US commitment to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally.
"The two leaders also discussed ways to accelerate our joint efforts to defeat ISIS (the Islamic State group)," the White House added.
The two men also discussed finding a permanent solution to the Syrian conflict, NTV added.
Turkey launched an ambitious military operation in northern Syria in August, supporting opposition fighters to clear IS elements from its border and halt the advance of Syrian Kurdish militia.
At a rally in the southeastern city of Gaziantep on Sunday, Erdogan said one of the next steps in the operation would be to clear the de facto IS capital Raqa with the support of the US and other countries.
"If we agree with the US, if we agree with the coalition forces, if we agree with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, we will clear those killers called Daesh (IS) from Raqa," he said.
But issues remain over whether Trump will continue to support the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) against IS and any future Raqa operation.
Turkey views the PYD and YPG as sister organisations of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
The individual in question had taken the decision to become an Amritdhari, or an initiated/baptised Sikh, and as per the mandatory Sikh code of conduct was required to carry the five articles of Sikh faith, or the 5 Ks, on his person at all times kirpan, kada, kanga, kesh and kachera. (Representational Image)
London: A British Sikh man, working at an international telecom firm in the UK, has been given permission to wear kirpan to the workplace after initially being refused.
The Sikh Council, among the largest representative bodies for the Sikhs in the UK, had intervened on behalf of the unnamed worker to explain the Sikh articles of faith following which the employer conceded and has since adopted a policy permitting the individual to wear his kirpan in the workplace.
"It is unfortunate that cases such as these still occur too often for our liking, especially in large multi-national organisations. However, we are pleased with the outcomes in these cases, which has meant these Sikhs are now able to practice their faith whilst at work," said Jagtar Singh, secretary-general elect of the council.
"Casework like this is a regular feature of the work of Sikh Council UK and we frequently receive queries seeking our assistance in such matters. Subject to capacity we of course seek to assist any Sikh who faces any issues at work or elsewhere in connection with their articles of faith. If any Sikh is facing any such problems they are requested to get in touch with us without delay," he added.
The individual in question had taken the decision to become an Amritdhari, or an initiated/baptised Sikh, and as per the mandatory Sikh code of conduct was required to carry the five articles of Sikh faith, or the 5 Ks, on his person at all times kirpan, kada, kanga, kesh and kachera.
He informed his employer of the circumstances following which his employer had initially refused consent. The council claims this was the second such case in recent times where it successfully intervened in connection with the wearing the kirpan in the workplace.
The other case involved two Sikh employees initially being stopped for wearing kirpans at a large international airport based in south-east England.
The airport has now adopted a policy around the wearing of the kirpan by employees in the workplace in consultation with the Sikh Council UK.
More than 310,000 people have died since a popular uprising in 2011 against Assad morphed into all out civil war. (Photo: AP)
Munich: UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Sunday questioned US President Donald Trump's engagement in solving the Syrian war, just days ahead of a new round of peace talks in Geneva.
"Where is the US in all this? I can't tell you because I don't know," he said, adding that the new administration was still trying to work out its priorities on the conflict.
The top three US priorities include fighting Islamic State jihadists, "how to limit the influence of some major regional players and how to not to damage one of their major allies in the region," de Mistura told the Munich Security Conference.
"How you square this circle, that I understand is what they are discussing in Washington," he said.
He did not say who the regional player or major ally were but the first reference appeared to be to Iran, with the second likely to be either Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
Mistura stressed that what was ultimately key was an inclusive political solution to end the six-year conflict.
"Even a ceasefire with two guarantors can't hold too long if there is no political horizon," he said, referring to a fragile truce brokered by Russia and Turkey in December.
Any political solution has to be inclusive to be credible, he said, stressing that peace talks in Astana last week organised by Russia, Turkey and Iran, and the ceasefire deal provided an opening that should be explored.
The US envoy for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, acknowledged that Trump's administration is "re-looking at everything, which is a very healthy process from top to bottom."
"We will be very selfish about protecting and advancing our interests," he told the same forum.
Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, Washington insisted President Bashar al-Assad had to go, putting it at odds with Moscow which backs the Syrian leader.
At the same time, Trump has called for closer cooperation with Moscow to combat IS in Syria and Iraq, leaving the Assad question open.
For Anas al-Abdeh, who heads the opposition National Coalition, the question over Assad's future is a clear roadblock in the path for peace.
No solution can be found "as long as Assad remains in power," he told the Munich forum.
More than 310,000 people have died since a popular uprising in 2011 against Assad morphed into all-out civil war, with more than half the population forced to flee their homes.
A new round of UN-led talks is due to be held in Geneva on February 23, involving Syrian regime and rebel representatives.
Bana became known worldwide with her tweets from flashpoint city Aleppo giving an insight into the raging conflict. (Photo: Twitter)
Ankara: Two Syrian children who have become powerful symbols of their homeland's conflict met Saturday, vowing that "the war will not stop us" despite the horrific violence around them.
Seven-year-old Syrian girl Bana al-Abed -- whose Twitter account gave a tragic description of the bombing of Aleppo -- met 10-year-old Abdel Basset who lost his legs after bombardment in Idlib.
Abdel was caught in a barrel bomb attack by regime forces in the town of Al-Hbeit, in northwest Idlib province on Thursday.
A video of the young boy screaming for his father spread on social media and images of Abdel were shared by Bana as well.
Turkish NGO the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said Bana visited Saturday Abdel in hospital in Hatay, southern Turkey where he is being treated.
In a live Periscope video on Twitter, Bana gave Abdel presents before she urged people to "help the children of Syria".
She added: "We will go to school, we will play. The war will not stop us. We are strong."
Sharing the clip, Bana said she was "very happy" to meet Abdel in a tweet.
The IHH said Abdel's mother and three-year-old sister were killed during the bombardment while his other two sisters are suffering from unnamed health problems.
The family came to Turkey from Syria with the help of the IHH.
"Look, Abdulbaset Ta'an, little Syrian boy lost both legs because of the bombing," she said Friday.
Bana became known worldwide with her tweets from flashpoint city Aleppo giving an insight into the raging conflict.
In December the city's rebel areas fell back into government control while Bana was evacuated with her mother to Turkey.
Abdel Basset was caught in a barrel bomb attack by regime forces on Thursday in the town of Al-Hbeit, in northwest Idlib province. (Photo: AFP)
Idlib: In the aftermath of a barrel bomb attack in Syrias Idlib, nine-year-old Abdel Basset Al-Satuf tries to sit up, his legs blown off, and screams Daddy, pick me up!
Abdel Basset was caught in a barrel bomb attack by regime forces on Thursday in the town of Al-Hbeit, in northwest Idlib province.
The harrowing footage of the young boy screaming for his father as he struggles to sit up, his legs turned to bloody stumps, quickly spread on social media.
The child was taken to a hospital in the provincial capital Idlib city for preliminary treatment, but on Friday he and his father were transferred to Turkey for specialised care.
In an ambulance about to head to the border, Abdel Basset recounted the incident as his father Taan tried to keep his composure.
We were sitting having lunch when the barrel bombs started to fall on the town and my father told us to get in the house, he said. But as we arrived at the door of the house a barrel fell on it and when it exploded fire blasted towards me and amputated my legs.
My father immediately picked me up and moved me and put me down on the ground (away from the house) and then an ambulance came and they treated me, he added.
In the video, Abdel Basset can be seen sitting stunned as desperate voices scream for an ambulance and paramedics.
His father had run back to the house to search for the rest of the family, three of whom were killed in the attack.
In Al-Hbeit, the familys landlord described the incident as a massacre.
The family was having lunch and I was walking with his father, and at first we didnt notice anything until the aircraft arrived, he said. Then a barrel bomb came down and there was a big explosion, Walid Abu Ras said.
Taan ran back towards his house, trying to warn his family to take cover when their home was hit.
Abdel Bassets legs were blown off and one of his sisters was killed, and another one was wounded. His mother was killed and he doesnt know yet, Abu Ras added.
The attack also killed the husband of one of Abdel Bassets sisters.
Abu Ras said the family had arrived in Idlib less than two years ago from Latamneh in neighbouring Hama, displaced by war like more than half of Syrias population.
The video of Abdel Basset is just the latest footage to refocus attention on the plight of Syrias civilians, particularly children.
In August 2016, haunting images of a four-year-old called Omran, shell-shocked and covered in dust after an air strike, reverberated around the world.
Syrias government and rebel forces are technically observing a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia that began on December 30.
Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the launch of military operations to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State group Sunday, four months into a massive offensive on the city.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation, we are coming Nineveh to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised speech, referring to the province of which Mosul is the capital.
"Our forces are beginning the liberation of the citizens from the terror of Daesh," Abadi said, using an Arabic acronym for the group that took over the northern city in June 2014.
Iraqi federal forces launched a huge offensive on October 17 to retake Mosul, the jihadists' last major bastion in the country, and secured the east bank of the city last month after weeks of fierce fighting.
The west bank of Mosul is a little smaller than the east but even more densely-populated and home to some of the jihadists' traditional strongholds.
Federal police and interior ministry forces were expected to start the new phase in the offensive by moving on Mosul airport, which is on the southern edge of the city, west of the Tigris River.
A fighter of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitaries poses for a picture carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle next to an Iraqi flag at a defensive position near the frontline village of Ayn al-Hisan, on the outskirts of Tal Afar west of Mosul. (Photo: AFP)
Mosul: Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake the western half of Mosul from the Islamic State group on Sunday morning.
The Iraqi defence ministry had announced on Saturday they had dropped millions of leaflets on the western side of Mosul, telling the population that a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State from their neighbourhoods is imminent.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the operation early Sunday morning on state television, saying government forces were moving to liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression forever, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
The militants are essentially under siege in western Mosul, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians, after US-backed forces surrounding the city dislodged them from the east in the first phase of an offensive that concluded last month.
The leaflets contain instructions for the citizens to get ready to welcome the Iraqi forces that are coming to liberate their areas and to warn the Daesh (Islamic State) members to lay down their weapons and surrender, the ministry had said in a statement on Saturday.
Your armed forces (..) are advancing in the direction of the right side, relying on God, read one of the leaflets, referring to the western side of the northern Iraqi city.
Get ready to welcome the sons of your armed forces and to cooperate with them, as your brothers on the left side have done, in order to reduce losses and speed up the conclusion of the battle, added the leaflet.
Other leaflets warned Islamic State members to lay down their weapons and surrender, the ministry said in a statement.
The offensive to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, its last major city stronghold in Iraq, started in October. The hardline Sunni group declared in 2014 a self-styled caliphate that also spans parts of Syria.
The defeat of the group in Mosul would effectively end the Iraqi half of the caliphate.
Mosul is the largest city it captured in both countries and its de facto capital in Iraq. Raqqa is its capital in Syria.
Up to 400,000 civilians could be displaced by the offensive as residents of western Mosul suffer food and fuel shortages and markets are closed, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande told Reuters on Saturday.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq. (Representational Image)
Baghdad: The Islamic State group is hemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the group's "business model" is on the path to failure.
The analysis released on Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphate's financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land.
The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016.
"One of the mistakes that's been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization but it is more than that. It holds territory," said Peter Neumann, director of the center at King's College London. "That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al-Qaida never had to."
But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said.
"We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive," Neumann said.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq.
Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the group's promise of a caliphate.
A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic State's revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion. According to the court filing, the group received at least 20 percent of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artifacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group.
But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62 percent of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30 percent of its territory in Syria.
"The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion," Neumann said.
A US defense official said IS still has enough money to pay its bills, despite the fact that it has lost sources of income and has reduced what it pays foot soldiers. The official said the US certainly has not seen IS' financial situation damaged to the point that it has degraded its ability to conduct external attacks. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss IS and spoke only on condition of anonymity.But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term.
"The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said.
Near-daily car bombings in Baghdad indicate that the group's ability to inflict carnage is undiminished in Iraq, even as it cedes ground it once controlled.
BAGHDAD: The Islamic State group is hemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the group's "business model" is on the path to failure.
The analysis released on Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphate's financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land.
The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016.
"One of the mistakes that's been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization but it is more than that. It holds territory," said Peter Neumann, director of the center at King's College London. "That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al-Qaida never had to."
But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said.
"We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive," Neumann said.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq.
Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the group's promise of a caliphate.
A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic State's revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion. According to the court filing, the group received at least 20 percent of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artifacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group.
But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62 percent of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30 percent of its territory in Syria.
"The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion," Neumann said.
A US defense official said IS still has enough money to pay its bills, despite the fact that it has lost sources of income and has reduced what it pays foot soldiers. The official said the US certainly has not seen IS' financial situation damaged to the point that it has degraded its ability to conduct external attacks. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss IS and spoke only on condition of anonymity.But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term.
"The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said.
Near-daily car bombings in Baghdad indicate that the group's ability to inflict carnage is undiminished in Iraq, even as it cedes ground it once controlled.
But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term.
"The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia," Neumann said
Jerusalem: Israel and the US will set up a joint team to discuss Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, days after talks with President Donald Trump.
During their talks on Wednesday in Washington, Netanyahu and Trump had agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the US in all of the main areas, the premier said.
They will cover security, intelligence, cyber, technology, economics and many others, he told ministers and media at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting.
"We also agreed to create a team in an area that we have not previously agreed on: I mean, of course, on settlement in Judaea and Samaria," he said, using a term Israel applies to the West Bank.
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.
The international community sees settlements as a major obstacle to peace, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
At the White House meeting, their first since Trump took office, the president asked Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit. We'll work something out."
During their joint White House news conference, Netanyahu said he believes that "the issue of the settlements is not the core of the conflict, nor does it really drive the conflict."
"I think it's an issue, it has to be resolved in the context of peace negotiations," he said.
The administration of previous US president Barack Obama strongly opposed the expansion of Jewish settlements, arguing that they hurt the longer-term search for a two-state solution.
Since Trump's January 20 inauguration, the Israeli premier has announced more than 5,000 settlement homes and the first entirely new settlement for more than 20 years.
Israel also passed a new law last week that legalises dozens of Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes built on private Palestinian land in the territory.
The European Union has condemned the legislation, which UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said "is in contravention of international law".
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (Photo: File/AP)
Jerusalem: Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu says President Donald Trump told him it was a "new day" in Israeli-American relations.
Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that last week's meeting with Trump in Washington was "historic" and strengthened the two countries' longtime alliance.
After eight years of testy ties with Barack Obama, Netanyahu seems to be relishing Trump's warm embrace.
The new president has broken from his predecessor in adopting friendlier positions to the Israeli government regarding a tough line on Iran, a vaguer stance on Palestinian statehood and a more lenient approach to West Bank settlements.
Netanyahu also said the two leaders see "eye to eye" on Iran and have formed teams to work together on a host of issues. He says "there is a new day and it is a good day."
An Iraqi man distributes potatoes to civilians in the Samah district of Mosul, Iraq. (Photo: AP)
Arbil, Iraq: The first four months of the Iraqi offensive on Mosul were marked by relatively low displacement but the civilians who remain in the city's west face more dangers than ever.
In the east, the Iraqi forces adopted a strategy of protecting civilians by keeping them at home, and the mass exodus expected by humanitarian organisations did not occur.
Since the Mosul offensive against the Islamic State group was launched in October, around 200,000 civilians are estimated to have fled their homes, and some 50,000 have already returned, according to the United Nations.
In the early stages of the offensive, the army dropped tens of thousands of leaflets into Mosul, some bearing safety instructions for residents, most of whom remained in the city.
This prevented both sides from resorting to heavier weapons, avoiding large-scale destruction, as was the case in the battles of Fallujah and Ramadi.
"We know that IS targets people who try to flee, causing many casualties," Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a top commander of the elite Counter-Terrorism Service that did most of the fighting, told AFP.
"Of course it would be easier for us to bomb the jihadists with heavy weapons if the city was emptied of its inhabitants, but as our main goal is to preserve the lives of civilians, we are convinced they will be better protected if they stay at home rather than try to flee," he said, stressing this strategy had been a "success" in the east.
'Better to flee'
It is a strategy that has been endorsed by some, including Hazem Ghanam, a 58-year-old resident who was in east Mosul during the battle.
"It's a good plan, it worked for us in the eastern side," he said.
Although he is worried about a brother and two nieces who live in the west, Ghanam said it is better to stay put.
"Even though God spared some, the people who tried to flee got hurt. It's better to stay home."
But 19-year-old Taha Ahmed thinks those who can should leave the city, as he did with his family after two months of brutal fighting.
"We escaped at 2:00 am. There were a lot of families with us. IS was shooting at us but we kept running," he said.
"I would tell the people (on the western side) if there is heavy shelling they should hide at home in a safe place. And if they have a chance to get out, it's better to flee."
It took Iraq's most seasoned forces -- the CTS -- more than three months of heavy fighting to retake the left bank of the Tigris River that divides Mosul.
Taking back the city's west bank promises to be even tougher, as the narrow streets of the Old City will be impassable for many military vehicles and force government fighters to take on IS in dangerous dismounted warfare.
Thousands of casualties
Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said it remains to be seen if security forces are able to spare the lives of civilians in the latest assault.
"The Iraqi security forces were able to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians in eastern Mosul" and "their intention is to use a similar humanitarian concept of operations in western Mosul," she said.
"If it develops that the army cannot protect civilians, then other arrangements will be made. That could include helping families cross the front line... (and) opening humanitarian corridors."
No official figures are available on the number of deaths during the offensive in the east.
But the government of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan said 14,000 wounded civilians and soldiers had been admitted to hospitals in Arbil since the start of operations on October 17.
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with Arab rulers last year to hear then US secretary of state John Kerry pitch a regional peace plan, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the February 2016 talks hosted by King Abdullah II in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, Haaretz said, citing former senior officials in the Obama administration who asked to remain anonymous.
It said Kerry wanted the sides to endorse six principles, which he laid out publicly in a December speech.
They included a call for Israel to vacate territory it occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War, subject to land swaps agreed between the two sides.
Since 1967, Israel has pulled out of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip but annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
It continues to occupy the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements seen as illegal by the international community.
Kerry's parameters envisioned a Palestinian state, with Palestinians recognising Israel as a "Jewish state".
Both would share Jerusalem as the "internationally recognised capital of the two states".
Israel claims the city as its "undivided" capital. Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, rejects talk of ceding any part of it to Palestinian sovereignty.
"Netanyahu did not accept Kerry's proposal and said he would have difficulty getting it approved by his governing coalition," Haaretz wrote on Sunday.
Netanyahu's spokesman and Jordanian officials refused to comment on the report.
Meeting on Wednesday at the White House, Netanyahu and President Donald Trump each spoke of prospects of a regional Middle East understanding to end the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"For the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly as an ally," Netanyahu told Trump.
"We think the larger issue today is how do we create the broader conditions for broad peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab countries," Netanyahu said the following day on MSNBC.
Trump said Netanyahu's proposal for a regional alliance was something that "hasn't been discussed before", adding that it would take in "many, many countries and it would cover a very large territory".
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab states to have formal peace treaties with Israel.
Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish State, but they share informal links.
Lahore/Peshawar: More than 130 suspected terrorists have been killed and over 350 people, mostly Afghans, arrested in Pakistan as part of a nationwide crackdown by security forces following a string of suicide bombings in the country.
At least 15 terrorists were killed in another targeted strike by the Pakistani forces across the Afghan border on Sunday, Geo News reported.
A high-value target, known for recruiting terrorists and training suicide bombers, was also reportedly gunned down and at least 12 terror sanctuaries, including a hideout and weapon depot camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar's commander were also pounded.
In Pakistan's northwest tribal region, at least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed during a gunbattle with the security forces. The gunbattle occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency.
Pakistan had reportedly launched "strikes" against militant bases in Afghanistan on Saturday.
The killing of militants and arrests were part of a nation-wide crackdown following a spurt in terror attacks.
Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI on Sunday that, "More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody (in Punjab), mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road."
"During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department, "Police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted."
He said illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Police have also taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road.
An anti-terrorism court on Saturday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day remand.
Tahrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility for the Lahore blast.
Meanwhile, an imminent attack on a shrine in Multan was thwarted with the killing of five terrorists, police said. The terrorists belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group.
The army by Friday had killed more than 100 suspected terrorists.
Senior police officers were among 13 people killed when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during a protest rally outside Pakistan's Punjab assembly in Lahore last Monday.
On Wednesday, at least seven people were killed and several others, including judges, injured in two separate suicide attacks in Pakistan's restive northwest region.
One of the deadliest suicide bombing in Pakistan in recent times struck Thursday night at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province where at least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in an attack claimed by the ISIS.
Islamabad: Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has been placed under Pakistan's anti-terrorism act by the provincial Punjab government in a tacit acknowledgement of his links to terrorism.
The Dawn News reported that the Punjab government has included names of Saeed and one of his close aides, Qazi Kashif, in the fourth schedule of the Anti-terrorism Act (ATA). Three other men were also added to the list, include, Abdullah Obaid from Faisalabad, Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid from the Markaz-i-Taiba, Muridke.
Saeed and the four men added to the fourth schedule of the ATA were placed under house arrest on January 30 in Lahore following an uproar in the political circles.
The five men were identified by the Interior Ministry as, "active members of the JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat (FIF)," the report said. The ministry directed the Counter Terrorism Department to "move and take necessary action" against them.
The names of Saeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders had been earlier placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), barring them from leaving the country.
The Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, empowers the government to mark a person as "proscribed" and to place that person on the fourth schedule on an ex-parte basis.
The mere listing of a person in the fourth schedule of the ATA shows that he is linked with terrorism in some way, the report said.
Those listed face a barrage of legal consequences like travel bans and scrutiny of assets.
Any violation of provision of the fourth schedule may result in imprisonment of up to three years and fine or both. The action against Saeed was taken after the country was hit by at least eight terror attacks, which killed more than 100 people.
"Detention of Saeed shows that army supported the step taken by the civilian government, and it was viewed by many as a sign of changing security priorities," the daily said.
Saeed was also earlier put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by the court in 2009. He also carries a reward of US $10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" ISIS and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe. "Here's the bottom line. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath. "We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing," he claimed.
Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not "win anymore". "Instead of peace, we've seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don't fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don't win anymore. We don't win at trade. We don't win in any capacity. We don't win anymore. We're going to start winning again. Believe me," he said. Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "to develop a plan to totally destroy ISIS," and begin plans for "the great rebuilding" of the United States military.
"We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. We're going to start using our best and most modern equipment," he said. Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely. "We were left a mess like you wouldn't believe. But we're going to build safe zones. We're going to have those safe zones," he said.
"We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don't want people with bad, bad ideas. We don't want that," he said. He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy. Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the "so-called global elite", saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages.
"We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure. To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities," he said. The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a "level playing field for all women in the workforce."
After nearly two hours of drive through Kochi city, they left the actress in the car in Palarivattam and fled the scene. She was later taken to the house of film director Lal in Thrikkakara by her driver. A woman judicial magistrate has taken her statement about the incident. Police had also taken her for a medical examination at a hospital near Kochi. Police suspect that blackmailing was the motive behind the crime.
Some persons have been taken into custody in connection with the harassment of a noted South Indian film actress, police said here today. Police had yesterday taken the driver of the actress' vehicle into custody soon after she complained about the ordeal she underwent the previous night while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi for dubbing.The actress was allegedly harassed for two hours by a gang of men, who forced their way into her car before fleeing at a busy area here. "Some people have been taken into custody. We would be able to talk about their role in the incident only after a proper verification", a top police officer told PTI. Police had deputed its various teams to places including Coimbatore in search of at least six more culprits involved in the crime.Kerala DGP Loknath Behera has constituted a special investigation team to probe the case, following widespread condemnation of the incident. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the gang members involved in the crime have been identified and they will be arrested very soon. The actress in her complaint to police stated that on Friday night her car was hit from the rear by a tempo traveller van at Athani, between Aluva and Angamaly.The members in the van forcefully entered her car and took control of it before proceeding to Kochi.Police suspect that seven men, including her driver, were involved in planning and executing the crime that sent shock waves in the state. The actress' driver is suspected to have followed her car in the vehicle used by the gang members. During the drive, the men harassed her, by clicking her pictures and making a video, she has said in her complaint.
DMK today appealed to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to "nullify" the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist E K Palaniswami, alleging it was adopted by contravening the rules of the state Assembly.
DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the state Assembly before the voting on the Confidence Motion yesterday, also announced a state-wide hunger strike on February 22, protesting what it called was "murder of democracy".
In a representation submitted to Rao, Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".
DMK Rajya Sabha members R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan, and Tiruchi N Siva submitted the representation.
Recalling his demand for secret voting on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapal's rejection of it, he said, "Finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House."
He, however, said, "The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK without following the procedure."
"Assembly guards forcibly evicted us and many of us sustained injuries. Other opposition parties staged a walkout strongly protesting the action of Speaker," he said.
The DMK leader claimed that the Speaker "ignored the rule that if the House is adjourned after moving a motion, it lapses". He said it was "a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution".
He claimed that in 1988 "when voting on the Confidence Motion was held by the Speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House (it was) later declared as invalid and void by the then Governor".
It appealed to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in the state Assembly, focusing on the Speaker's declaration that the Confidence Motion moved by Palanisami was adopted in absence of members of all the opposition parties.
It urged him to invoke his constitutional powers to nullify the proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and Constitution.
Stalin in a statement said his party would stage the hunger strike from 9 AM to 5 PM and condemned the adoption of trust vote after eviction of his party members.
Alleging that the Motion of Confidence was adopted contravening the House rules, he called it a "murder of democracy".
Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin after the eviction of DMK members and and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn and hurled around.
Immediately after the eviction of DMK, Stalin had met the Governor and urged him to postpone the trust vote.
The police on Sunday arrested two more suspects in connection with the abduction and molestation of a popular actor in Kochi.
The two men were arrested from Coimbatore by a police team from Aluva in the early hours of Sunday. The actor was reportedly abducted and molested by a gang of five men in a moving car near Kochi on Friday night. Martin, a native of Thrissur, who drove the film unit vehicle the actor was travelling in, was arrested on Saturday.
The police said six men were involved in the incident. A look-out notice for the suspects has been issued. A magistrate court had on Saturday recorded the actors statement.
The accused had staged an accident after ramming the vehicle into the car the actor was travelling in near Angamaly. After forcibly entering the car, three men molested the 30-year-old actor and photographed her during the act.
Martin followed the car in the culprits vehicle for about two hours before the men dropped the actor near Palarivattom. Sunil Kumar aka Pulsar Suni, who has faced criminal cases and had earlier worked as the actors driver, has been identified as the key suspect in the case.
On Sunday, a forensic team collected evidence from the culprits vehicle that was found abandoned in the city. The culprits are learnt to have taken the vehicle on rent from a food-catering outlet. Popular actor and CPM MLA from Kollam Mukesh said Sunil had earlier worked for him as a driver, leading to questions over criminals getting employment in the film industry.
Indias geography presents a land occupying a very unique position etched on the map of the world. A mighty peninsula surrounded by an endless oceanic expanse, with lofty, snow-capped mountains towards her crown. History is witness to the numerous attempts by invaders who saw strategy in making this land their own, setting the context for a strong defence and security apparatus since ancient times.
This need to bolster national security and build on existing strengths to protect the country against foreign, as well as internal aggression, is all the more urgent today, for which, India has also emerged a mega marketplace for defence procurement.
Over the last ten years, Indias defence spending has grown 12%, and is expected to hit $57 billion by 2018. The country would have the third largest military budget in the world next year, from the current tenth.
Elucidating the scope of Indias defence market to DH, Tom Captain, Global and US Aerospace and Defence Sector Leader and Vice Chairman at Deloitte, says, The market size may be high by historical standards, but in relation to global benchmarks, its still not as high as it may become eventually. Many countries, like the US and Saudi Arabia, defence spending is more than 4% of their respective GDPs, and even with $57 billion in India, its about merely 2.3% of its GDP. There is a lot of room to grow.
Statistics show that over the next 10 years, India would be spending over $250 billion in modernisation of its existing military infrastructure. Among the major reasons for the defence market to grow at this scale is the countrys rapid progress as an economic powerhouse, as well as its elevation to an important member-state on the regional, as well as international scene, requiring as much the need to be on guard. India has two threats (Pakistan and China) on its borders. The country needs to be protected, and there is a commitment to ensure security and stability in the region, Captain says.
Marketplace to manufacturer
Aero India 2017 concluded only a couple of days ago, and like the 10 previous editions before it, offered aerial spectacles and techno marvels from across the world.
The echo rings Make in India. The question being asked now is, can this market create and sell its own defence know-how, given that a sizeable number of public sector and private players have already devised some remarkable hardware.
According to T S Suvarna Raju, Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), the importance of Make in India in the current situation is due to the acquisition cycle which the government is processing through. India is one of the few countries that has designed and produced a fourth-generation fighter aircraft (Tejas), an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in the range of more than 5,000 km, besides its own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Yet, there is an overwhelming dependency on imports, reflects Raju.
The governments target of 70% self-reliance in defence procurement set for 2005 is yet to be achieved. Currently, the self-reliance index stands under 40%. However, due to various reasons, despite a vast industrial base, India continues to import a majority of its defence and aerospace needs, deciding in favour of foreign products, instead of supporting domestic innovations. During a significant part of Indias defence history, the focus has been licensed production, rather than indigenous innovation, despite having proven design capabilities, Raju adds.
India boasts of large, state-of-the-art defence platforms serving its army, air force, and navy, apart from many other paramilitary and security forces. In order to firm up existing orders of fighters, helicopters and UAVs from the armed forces, HAL has planned a massive investment of Rs 17,500 crore over the next five years.
There is a balancing act required between obtaining the right kind of defence platforms with the right kind of capability, as well as the economic balance to make sure that the value is being placed in the country, and jobs are being created.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments forward-looking DPP (Defence Procurement Procedure) 2016 has helped address certain key issues that had resulted in decades of disappointment. The era has also forged new strategic alliances.
Offset credit resolutions, to long-standing issues in FDI now increased to 49% from the earlier 26%, and there is scope to reach 100% on a case-by-case basis. This is attracting many companies, predominantly from Europe and the US. There are efforts to fix problems in the bureaucracy and extended timelines. There is high degree of interest and optimism to invest, says Captain.
Meanwhile, in terms of the ease of procurement, the Centre has said that the US export licensing process is very slow and restrictive, while the technology transfer restrictions are hard to deal with. The US government is making progress on taking certain technologies off the US Munitions List, in order to ease out trade in defence.
India has been on a list of 60 friendly nations of the US, but now there is a move to elevate that position in sharing sensitive defence technology, through a list of only 20 friendly countries. Beyond that exists a list of perhaps only two countries with whom top-secret classified military technology might be shared. Hence, says Captain that the real prize lies in co-producing defence platforms and exporting them to countries that lack, or need the capability, but cannot afford it. The JVs with low-cost Indian resources can produce equipment with much-lower price-points, which will be attractive to many countries.
As part of its alliance-bridging exercise with India, Swedens Saab, for instance, wants to offer complete aerospace capabilities, enabling the former to become a major defence export hub. As the terms of the understanding, Saab India Technologies Chairman and Managing Director Jan Widerstrom says, There may be an opportunity to locally manufacture the Gripen fighter in India, and sell to neighbouring markets. Thats the plan behind setting up a full-fledged aerospace capability in India, which will be a part of our global supply chain. In future, systems and products produced in India could be exported to our other markets.
India not only provides a market, flexibility, or companies willing to partner on business, but also low-cost sourcing and a cheap workforce. While end-to-end solutions being manufactured here are possible, they must, however, be done by different companies and brought together. Also, India must possess the requisite capabilities and knowhow to work on those solutions, let alone replicate them. Hence, a JV would help in transferring some part of the technology, depending on the sensitivity regimes of the countries involved.
To put it in perspective, in India, there is neither capability nor a skilled workforce to be able to deliver the amount of platforms needed. The country needs to partner with other nations to develop the skills in defence electronics, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, and all other platforms such as land vehicles, ocean vehicles, and flying assets, Captain says.
According to Bharat Forge Chief Managing Director Baba Kalyani, We have a policy, and the intention, both in public and private sector, as well as foreign companies. But, we still dont see an order inflow. And after we do start seeing orders, we will start finding it difficult to make things. This is where skills are important.
Another area is in balancing costs. Around 20% of military equipments life cycle cost is taken by acquisition, while 80% is in its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Balance is needed to buy more equipment, which are strategically important, easy to use and maintain, and within the countrys budget. There is also a need to boost the role of MSMEs.
With a visionary government at the helm, and the above issues fixed, India could well take its rightful place as a stabilising influence and symbol of sovereign security on the world stage.
A day after he won a crucial floor test in the Assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami called on Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Sunday.
Though Raj Bhavan sources said it was a courtesy call, Palaniswami briefed the governor about the violence in the Assembly on Saturday, during which the Opposition DMK MLAs were evicted for creating a ruckus and stalling the proceedings.
Secretariat sources said Legislative Assembly secretary A M P Jamaludeen has also submitted a detailed report to Rao with regard to the floor test.
Soon after Palaniswamis visit to the Raj Bhavan, rebel AIADMK leader and former chief minister O Panneerselvam met the governor and submitted a memorandum, seeking the trust vote won by Palaniswami be declared invalid.
Panneerselvam, who was accompanied by party MPs, also detailed the governor about the incidents in the House.
DMK working president M K Stalin, for his part, sent a petition to the governor, urging him to nullify the entire proceedings, which were held in the absence of the Opposition parties, to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution.
The petition, handed over by a delegation of DMK MPs, said that in 1988 when voting on the confidence motion was held by the Speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House, it was declared invalid and void by the then governor.
Cases against Stalin
The Tamil Nadu Police have registered cases against Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK workers on charges of staging protests near Marina Beach, defying the ban.
Stalin had staged a demonstration on Saturday evening, condemning the assault on him and other DMK MLAs during the confidence motion proceedings.
The DMK announced that it would observe a state-wide day-long fast on February 22 in protest against the eviction of its party MLAs.
A worker died after accidentally falling from the first floor of an under-construction building in Rajajinagar 5th Block, north Bengaluru, around Sunday midnight.
Nagaraj, a native of Arsikere, Hassan district, was sleeping on the first floor of the building located at 64th Cross. Heavily drunk, he woke up around midnight to relieve himself. As he walked to find a place where he could urinate, he slipped into the open lift shaft. Sambayya, a fellow construction worker, was woken up by a loud thud.
He ran up to the shaft to see what happened and was stunned to find Nagaraj bleeding. He ran down and took him to hospital but it was too late.
Nagaraj had arrived in Bengaluru just two weeks ago and was working at the building site alongside 15 other workers. The jurisdictional Rajajinagar police have booked the contractor for causing death due to negligence under IPC 304A.
Gang robs bizman of Rs 3L
A gang of five robbed a businessman of Rs 3 lakh in cash in Vijayanagar on Monday. Kedarnath, a resident of SVG Nagar, was riding home when the gang tailed him on two motorcycles. The gang rear-ended his two-wheeler as he reached Sampige Layout and waylaid him as he fell off.
Brandishing lethal weapons, the men robbed him and rode off. Kedarnath told the police that the robbers were wearing helmet and that the number plates of their motorcycles were covered with pieces of cloth.
Police are looking into surveillance camera footage to identify the robbers whom they suspect to be known to the victim. Kedarnath runs a firm named Bhavani Enterprises in Moodalapalya.
A gang of eight men lifted a bag of cash from a car after bluffing its owner into believing that the fuel tank was leaking.
The incident occurred near Halasuru lake, east Bengaluru, on the night of February 15, 2017. Asha Kiran, a private firm employee, was driving back home when the unidentified men riding on motorcycles waved her down. When Asha pulled in, they drew her attention to the leaking fuel tank.
Just as she got out of the car to check the fuel tank, the men lifted the bag kept on the front seat and rode off. When a bewildered Asha returned to the car after finding that the tank was not leaking, she was stunned to find the bag missing. She raised an alarm but there was no one to help her.
Asha, however, didnt immediately approach the police and chose to make the complaint on their Facebook page on Sunday. She said similar incidents had happened recently in
RT Nagar and on Nandidurga Road. She demanded that these incidents should be taken seriously.
Everybody says these things happen! Its a small incident!! But why are we letting it happen? This is not the city I grew up in (sic), she wrote.
Police are looking into CCTV footage to identify the suspects.
A flare-up in the Kashmir Valley this summer, as is being forseen by the Indian security agencies, may throw cold water on the prospects for re-establishing India and Pakistan ties this year.
Army Chief Bipin Rawats stern warning last week that those who oppose the armys operations during encounters will be treated as anti-national elements is seen as an indication of the apprehension of the authorities in the coming months.
The army chief's statement made after paying tribute to personnel who lost their lives in encounters with militants in Kashmir was seen as a sign of exasperation over Pakistani handlers repeatedly mobilising sections of local population to oppose the security forces whenever an encounter took place with suspected terrorists. Even as Gen Rawats remark has generated a political controversy, intelligence inputs have suggested that stones could be replaced by Molotov cocktails in small bottles once summer sets in and the battle against the army waged by Pakistan-supported terrorists and their overground workers will increase in the Kashmir Valley.
Just before the latest encounter in Kashmir and resultant deaths of an army major and three soliders, there were signs that Islamabad and New Delhi could be preparing for a political dialogue of sorts. So much so that the talk in diplomatic circles was that things may improve between the two prime ministers and Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif could meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan on June 7-8.
Even as the security establishment in Delhi insists that India would not be in a hurry to resume such a dialogue, major changes in the Pakistan Army and Foreign Office are being read positively.
The recall of Pakistans high commissioner to India Abdul Basit after completion of three years is seen as yet another sign that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wants a change in foreign policy.
New Delhis attention was also drawn to reports about Pakistans new army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa being less hawkish about ties with India compared to his predecessor Gen Raheel Sharif.
Gen Bajwas advice to his officers to read a book, Army and Nation, by political scientist Steven Wilkinson on the Indian Armys relationship with its civilian administration was seen positively in this context. He had said the military has no business running the government.
A few days ago, Pakistan handed over an Indian soldier who had strayed across the border in September. India facilitated the return of a Pakistani boy who had been brought here illegally by his father.
Interestingly, there was also invite to Indian authors and commentators for the Lahore Literary Festival being held between February 24 and 26 close on the heels of Indian participation at the Karachi Literature Festival earlier this month.
A day ago, the Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the attack at the Sufi shrine in Sindh that left over 70 dead. This was the first such condemnation since a suicide bombing outside a Lahore park in March 2016 that killed 74. Then, Modi had telephoned Sharif to convey India's condolences.
Start of cold phase
The start of a cold phase after the January 2016 attack on Pathankot airbase and the September 2016 attacks in Uri by terrorists from Pakistan saw Indias surgical strikes on militant camps across the Line of Control. Therefore, any decision to revive a comprehensive bilateral dialogue would depend on how the situation fares in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.
Notwithstanding Army chief General Bipin Rawats tough warning to those who try to disrupt counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir, people continue to help militants escape from cordons by pelting security forces with stones during search operations.
On Saturday, a search party of security forces which had gone for a search and cordon operation in Urivan village of south Kashmirs Pulwama district, came under heavy attack by a few hundred people armed with stones.
Sources said the army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police had launched a search operation following inputs about the presence of some militants in the area. However, within minutes, people from at least five villages gathered and fought a pitched battle with the forces, forcing the army and the police to call off the operation.
The latest incident came just three days after General Rawat said that people creating hurdles during anti-militancy operations and displaying flags of Pakistan and IS in Jammu and Kashmir would be dealt with harshly. A day later, the state government also issued an advisory, asking people to stay away from encounter sites.
However, militant sympathisers rushed to help the holed up ultras to escape the security net. The militants ran away from the area and joined hundreds of people who had assembled there. They mixed with the crowd, to use them as a shield, and managed to escape, a senior police officer told DH.
There were children and women among the stone-pelters and the forces had no option but to withdraw in order to avoid collateral damage. It was almost impossible to control the crowd which had gathered and blocked the roads leading to the Urivan village, he said.
The alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh may be intact elsewhere, but not in Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency of party president Sonia Gandhi.
Of the five Assembly seats in the Lok Sabha constituency, Congress and SP nominees are facing each other on two seats Unchahar and Sareni. Given the fact that the electorate of Raebareli, who remained loyal to Sonia, had rejected the candidates in the 2012 Assembly polls, the party finds itself in a tight corner.
The Congress exerted tremendous pressure on Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to give it all the seats in Raebareli, but the SP refused to part with the two seats.
The Congress, however, managed to rope in the daughter of the independent Raebareli City MLA Akhilesh Singh, and gave her a ticket from the same seat.
Local Congress leaders said that the alliance trouble had initially prevented partys star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from campaigning in support of the party nominees. Priyanka and her brother and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi made their first appearance here only on Friday, barely five days ahead of the polling.
Priyanka to campaign
Sources in the party said that Priyanka is likely to hold a roadshow in Raebareli before the campaigning comes to an end on Tuesday. The friendly fight between the alliance nominees could cost the party dear in the Assembly polls. In both Sareni and Unchahar seats, the BJP may gain owing to our fight, a local Congress leader told DH.
He said the party nominees have urged Priyanka to hold election rallies in their constituencies to boost their electoral prospects. The fight is not easy here... the person who votes for Sonia in the Lok Sabha polls supports rival candidates in the Assembly elections, said Ashok Kumar Maurya, a resident of Jagatpur near Raebareli.
Local scribe Madhav Singh said that barring the Raebareli City seat, the Congress will face a tough challenge from its rivals. Congress leaders here said that a good performance in the polls in Raebareli will go a long way in boosting the morale of the workers and help the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Just a few weeks after taking office, US President Donald Trump has proved that he has every intention of delivering on some of his more extreme pre-election pledges, which observers had earlier hoped were just part of his campaign rhetoric.
His incendiary order to ban citizens of seven Muslim countries even those holding valid visas and, initially at least, those with US green cards created chaos at US airports, alarmed civil rights activists, and raised fears among some that he will deliver on other promises, too, like moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
Citizens of the seven countries in question Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia have never carried out any major terror attack in the US (an American of Somali origin was involved in a knife attack in Minnesota last year, which injured 10). And given that this is a blanket ban on these countries, their governments have no incentive to cooperate with the US on the issue that has been used as a pretext for the ban: terrorism.
The travel ban will impact tens of thousands of tourists, students, relatives of American nationals/residents, and those seeking medical treatment in the US. Available data suggests in 2015, citizens of the aforesaid countries were granted about 89,000 US visas.
However, the visa decision may have little or no bearing on the policies of the Trump administration in West Asia and North Africa (WANA). What follows is a brief overview of what key WANA states can expect from the new man in Washington.
Iran: US Defence Secretary James Mattis has a decades-old grudge against Iran, and wasted no time in labelling the Islamic Republic as the biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Such is his hatred towards the country that former President Barack Obama had replaced him as the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Iran, always a hard nut to crack, responded to the heightened rhetoric by testing a medium-range ballistic missile, which flew 600 miles. The US hit back with more sanctions. It is clear that Trump is far more hawkish on Iran that his predecessor. But international geopolitics is bound to come in the way of any serious measures that Washington may be contemplating against Tehran.
Iran has a major ally in Vladimir Putin, and the world order is currently experiencing the unusual phenomenon of a Russian leader exercising serious influence on a Republican US president.
Israel: Under the Trump administration, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can expect an even smoother ride than what it has become accustomed to under other US administrations. In the first week of February, the White House issued a statement saying new Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories may not be helpful.
However, the statement did not say that existing settlements were a hindrance to peace. And, pointedly, there wasnt even a mention of an independent Palestinian state existing side-by-side with Israel, which has always been Washingtons stated policy.
Assad regime safe
Syria: Syrian leader Bashar al Assads joy at the prospect of a Trump presidency was palpable, and with good reason. Trump has made it clear that he has no intention of helping topple the Assad regime in Damascus. In fact, he has been highly critical of Obamas and former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons policies in Syria, which he blames for the rise of IS, and the refugee crisis engulfing the world.
In Trumps eyes, while Assad may not be Washingtons first choice, he is still preferable to those who might replace him. Currently, there is a convergence of US and Russian policies in WANA, especially on the key battleground of Syria. In fact, Trump seems to want to cooperate with Putin in destroying IS while allowing Assad to continue to hold on to whatever remains of Syria.
Turkey: The US relations with its Nato ally have come under strain throughout the course of the six-year-old Syrian civil war. Ankara is furious with Washington for supporting the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or the YPG, which Turkey sees as a front for its arch-foe, the Kurdish separatist group PKK, which both the European Union and the US have branded a terrorist organisation.
Plus, theres the issue of the extradition of Fetullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based cleric, held responsible by Turkey for the failed coup attempt in July last year.
However, under the Trump administration, ties between the two countries look set to improve. This is due in no small part to the thaw in Russian-Turkish relations, which had reached dangerous lows as a result of the two historical adversaries differing policies in Syria.
For both Washington and Moscow, Turkey remains a key country. It has Natos second largest army, and is an important powerbroker in the region. And in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump sees a figure similar to himself: Authoritarian and anti-establishment; someone who seems to believe he has his countrys best interests at heart.
(The writer is an editor at The Delma Institute, a foreign affairs research house based in the UAE)
The body of Nakayaki Florence, 24, a BCom student and an Ugandan national, who was murdered at her house in Kothanur on February 2, 2017, will be flown home on Monday.
Citizens of various African countries held a service at Baptist Hospital on Sunday. The body has been kept at the hospital after post-mortem.
There was no financial help from the police and the state government. Florences parents are very poor. The African community members collected Rs 1.65 lakh to send the body to Uganda, Bosco Kaweesi, legal adviser, All African Students in Bengaluru, told DH.
The murder seems to be intentional. We have absolutely no information about the progress made in the investigation, he said. There is no evidence to establish that she was a sex worker. Even if she was a sex worker, it was not the way to punish her. The Bengaluru police and members of African Community Peace Coordination Committee prevented the riot in the area on that day, but efforts were not acknowledged.
The police have failed to consider our constructive approach with local residents, he said. Ishaan (27), an MTech graduate and part-time tutor from BTM Layout, is said to have struck a deal with Nakayaki. However, the two began a fight over the financial matter under the influence of alcohol. She attempted to stab him, but he snatched the knife and repeatedly stabbed her to death. The police arrested him hours after the murder.
In a bid to encourage the revival of the neglected Arekere Lake in Hulimavu area, a Kere Habba was held there on Sunday.
Organised by Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF), in association with Arekere Neighbourhood Improvement Trust (ANIT) and BGS National Public School, the day-long festival witnessed activities such as painting competition, tree plantation, streetplay and poster making. About 50 students from different schools took part in the painting competition that was themed lake preservation and pollution. ANIT said the events objective was to encourage people to connect with their surroundings, explore and participate in preserving their lakes and become stakeholders in keeping them alive.
Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of NBF, said, The rising pollution in Bengalurus lakes, as was seen in the recent fire in Bellandur Lake, is a strong reminder of our duty as citizens to engage with the government in cleaning our lakes on a war footing. He said it was encouraging to see community and neighbourhood collaborating to restore, rejuvenate and protect lakes.
Volunteers carried placards with messages on lake restoration and its importance as they walked around the lake. The Kere Habba is being conducted by NBF for five years from 2015-2019, in association with lake activists.
This is the first time the festival took place at Arekere lake and we plan to hold it every year. The BWSSB had taken up the project of diverting sewage flow away from the water body. However, it is yet to take off, said ANIT member Veena Hegde.
The local residents said the water body was encroached upon by builders and the lake that was originally around 36 acres had shrunk by 7-8 acres in the last few years. They said besides sewage flow and encroachments, garbage was dumped in and around the lake by miscreants. They pressed for awareness campaigns and immediate measures by civic bodies to preserve the lake.
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, 9 February 2017 (University of Maryland) A new scientific paper by a University of Maryland-led international team of distinguished scientists, including five members of the National Academies, argues that there are critical two-way feedbacks missing from current climate models that are used to inform environmental, climate, and economic policies. The most important inadequately-modeled variables are inequality, consumption, and population. In this research, the authors present extensive evidence of the need for a new paradigm of modeling that incorporates the feedbacks that the Earth System has on humans, and propose a framework for future modeling that would serve as a more realistic guide for policymaking and sustainable development. Twelve of the interdisciplinary team of 20 coauthors are from the University of Maryland, with multiple other universities (Northeastern University, Columbia University, George Mason University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University) and other institutions (Joint Global Change Research Institute, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the Institute for Global Environment and Society, Japans RIKEN research institute, and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center) also represented. The study explains that the Earth System (e.g., atmosphere, ocean, land, and biosphere) provides the Human System (e.g., humans and their production, distribution, and consumption) not only the sources of its inputs (e.g., water, energy, biomass, and materials) but also the sinks (e.g., atmosphere, oceans, rivers, lakes, and lands) that absorb and process its outputs (e.g., emissions, pollution, and other wastes). Titled Modeling Sustainability: Population, Inequality, Consumption, and Bidirectional Coupling of the Earth and Human Systems, the paper describes how the rapid growth in resource use, land-use change, emissions, and pollution has made humanity the dominant driver of change in most of the Earths natural systems, and how these changes, in turn, have critical feedback effects on humans with costly and serious consequences, including on human health and well-being, economic growth and development, and even human migration and societal conflict. However, the paper argues that these two-way interactions (bidirectional coupling) are not included in the current models. The Oxford University Presss multidisciplinary journal National Science Review, which published the paper, has highlighted the work in its current issue, pointing out that the rate of change of atmospheric concentrations of CO2, CH4, and N2O [the primary greenhouse gases] increased by over 700, 1000, and 300 times (respectively) in the period after the Green Revolution when compared to pre-industrial rates. See Figure 1 from the Highlights article, reproduced below. Many datasets, for example, the data for the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases, show that human population has been a strong driver of the total impact of humans on our planet Earth. This is seen particularly after the two major accelerating regime shifts: Industrial Revolution (~1750) and Green Revolution (~1950) said Safa Motesharrei, UMD systems scientist and lead author of the paper. For the most recent time, we show that the total impact has grown on average ~4 percent between 1950 and 2010, with almost equal contributions from population growth (~1.7 percent) and GDP per capita growth (~2.2 percent). This corresponds to a doubling of the total impact every ~17 years. This doubling of the impact is shockingly rapid. However, these human impacts can only truly be understood within the context of economic inequality, pointed out political scientist and co-author Jorge Rivas of the Institute for Global Environment and Society. The average per capita resource use in wealthy countries is 5 to 10 times higher than in developing countries, and the developed countries are responsible for over three quarters of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from 1850 to 2000. University of Maryland geographer and co-author Klaus Hubacek added: The disparity is even greater when inequality within countries is included. For example, about 50 percent of the worlds people live on less than $3 per day, 75 percent on less than $8.50, and 90 percent on less than $23. One effect of this inequality is that the top 10 percent produce almost as much total carbon emissions as the bottom 90 percent combined. The study explains that increases in economic inequality, consumption per capita, and total population are all driving this rapid growth in human impact, but that the major scientific models of Earth-Human System interaction do not bidirectionally (interactively) couple Earth System Models with the primary Human System drivers of change such as demographics, inequality, economic growth, and migration. The researchers argue that current models instead generally use independent, external projections of those drivers. This lack of two-way coupling makes current models likely to miss critical feedbacks in the combined Earth-Human system, said National Academy of Engineering member and co-author Eugenia Kalnay, a Distinguished University Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland. It would be like trying to predict El Nino with a sophisticated atmospheric model, but with the Sea Surface Temperatures taken from external, independent projections by, for example, the United Nations, said Kalnay. Without including the real feedbacks, predictions for coupled systems cannot work; the model will get away from reality very quickly. Ignoring this bidirectional coupling of the Earth and Human Systems can lead to missing something important, even decisive, for the fate of our planet and our species, said co-author Mark Cane, G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Columbia Universitys Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who recently won the Vetlesen Prize for creating the first coupled oceanatmosphere model with feedbacks that successfully predicted El Nino. The result of not dynamically modeling these critical Human-Earth System feedbacks would be that the environmental challenges humanity faces may be significantly underestimated. Moreover, theres no explicit role given to policies and investments to actively shape the course in which the dynamics unfold. Rather, as the models are designed now, any intervention almost by definition comes from the outside and is perceived as a cost, said co-author Matthias Ruth, Director and Professor at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University. Such modeling, and the mindset that goes with it, leaves no room for creativity in solving some of the most pressing challenges. The paper correctly highlights that other human stressors, not only the climate ones, are very important for long-term sustainability, including the need to reduce inequality, said Carlos Nobre (not a co-author), one of the worlds leading Earth System scientists, who recently won the prestigious Volvo Environment Prize in Sustainability for his role in understanding and protecting the Amazon. Social and economic equality empowers societies to engage in sustainable pathways, which includes, by the way, not only the sustainable use of natural resources but also slowing down population growth, to actively diminish the human footprint on the environment. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, who was not a co-author of the paper, commented: We cannot separate the issues of population growth, resource consumption, the burning of fossil fuels, and climate risk. They are part of a coupled dynamical system, and, as the authors show, this has dire potential consequences for societal collapse. The implications couldnt be more profound. Modeling Sustainability: Population, Inequality, Consumption, and Bidirectional Coupling of the Earth and Human Systems is available at: https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nww081/2669331/Modeling-Sustainability-Population-Inequality and https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nww081.
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Royal Bank of Scotland will be forced to supply funding to 'challenger' banks and allow access to its branches to help increase competition for SME business banking as part of a new deal by the Treasury with European regulators that means the bank will not have to sell off its 300-branch Williams & Glyn business.
As RBS failed to agree a deal to sell the branches by the end of 2017, which the European Union demanded as part of the bank's 46bn state bailout in 2008, the government rushed to obtain a new agreement to allow RBS to meet its remaining State Aid obligations.
On Monday RBS announced through the regulatory news service the same message it had released on Friday night, announced that it has taken a new 750m provision within its 2016 results as a consequence of the new proposal.
As part of the Treasury's proposed alternative plan, RBS will create a fund, administered by an independent body, to be accessed by eligible challenger banks to increase their business banking capabilities.
RBS, which this coming Friday is forecast to rack up ninth consecutive year of annual losses, will also deliver funding for eligible challenger banks to help them incentivise SMEs to switch their accounts fromRBS paid in the form of 'dowries' to eligible challenger banks.
To support these measures, RBS will make its branch network open to business customers of eligible challenger banks for cash and cheque handling.
Finally, the 73%-state owned bank will also set up an independent fund to invest in fintech "to support the business banking of the future".
EC competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager will ask commissioners to look at the plans "in the coming weeks".
RBS chief executive Ross McEwan said: Todays proposal would provide a path to increased competition in the SME market place. If agreed it would deliver an outcome on our EC State Aid divestment obligations more quickly and with more certainty than undertaking a difficult and complex sale and would provide much needed certainty for customers and staff.
Analysts at UBS said the move looked positive for shareholders, reducing uncertainty and raising the prospect of dividend payments again.
Much of Abraham Lincolns recent birthday afternoon was spent revisiting late-winter, early-spring 1967, when, for the third time in four years, Enterprise High Schools Wildcat Marching Band was preparing for a St. Petersburg, Florida, Festival of States trip.
No, the third time wasnt charming; we claimed no trophy.
The recent 50-year revisit was prompted by TCMs airing of How the West Was Won, a selection we played in concerts, 1967s Encoala and some Orange Blossom aftershave which smells like Central Florida did before that big mouse moved there.
Carol Baker was in How the West Was Won trying to become the next Marilyn Monroe as many Hollywoodites predicted; she never did, any more than Tom Tresh became the next Mickey Mantle.
Studying the Encoala created questions:
* What became of over-elbow, evening gloves class beauties wore in pageants?
* What became of majorette boots?
Without doubt, senior first-chair player and band president Chris Byrd was our best musician and the leader of a powerful 19-count trumpet section, which combined with six trombones, four basses, four baritones and four French horns, nailed their crucial parts in How the West Was Won and everything else.
Our director, the late Bob McMillan, deputized Chris to chaperone junior saxophonists Burns Whittaker and R. Adams, caged in our luxurious Soreno Hotel fifth-floor cell, overlooking the historic hotels front courtyard.
Sorenos guestrooms werent air-conditioned, but gentle Gulf of Mexico breezes wafted into our room nightly.
Ditto for every sound from the courtyard, including blatant caterwauling by several members of Bethlehem, Pennsylvanias, Liberty High School Marching Grenadier Band, whose caravan included a red and silver 18-wheel equipment rig.
Opening night, the Grenadiers howling began post-midnight and lasted until our threesome had a bate of it and, like Dan Mathews in Highway Patrol, sprang into action.
At least one of us repeatedly filled our garbage can and ice bucket with hot tap water someone poured on those noisemakerswho hastened inside.
Our windowsills were quickly toweled dry, and in about six minutes, there came a knock on our door.
When one of us opened the door, and flicked on the lights, there stood the house detective and four drenched Grenadiers.
Youse guys been throwing water out the windows? asked the detective, while quickly inspecting our windows for latent water beads.
Yeah, we stay up all night throwing water out our windows, one of us quipped, as the detective, seemingly satisfied we werent the culprits, gave us a warning and bade us good night.
Fast forward.
Our last night in St. Pete, the detective returned to our suite, bearing a sack brimming with hamburgers, expressing his pleasure wed nipped the caterwauling in the bud.
Youse guys missed some water the other night! he grinned.
The burgers were handy, as our last Orange Blossom Cafeteria supper was especially dissatisfying.
Chriss roomies, leading the chow line, were shocked upon finding individual peach cobbler servings beside the ever-present tub of institutional banana pudding; we captured a cobbler apiece and moved on, with Mr. McMillan standing nearby when the OB manager suddenly, without warning, bull-rushed us, arms a-flailing, screaming:
X$#& it, Bob, that cobblers not for you!
Despite already fingering the cobbler, we returned it and triple-slopped pudding onto our plates.
Reckon what we did with it?
FYI: Murray & Lanman makes the aftershave.
Teal was not Dollys color.
Costume designer Zac West had sketched a lovely teal outfit for the character Dolly Levi in the Chipola Theatre production of Hello, Dolly! It was meant to be the dress for Dollys opening scene. But after seeing Gabriela Merz portray Dolly during rehearsals, West knew the teal just wasnt right. Dolly was a brassy woman and needed a deep maroon color for her introduction.
So, West thought hed save the teal costume for the musicals second act. But, it just didnt work there either, and West opted to create a rich hunter green period costume.
A lot of times, the acting performances can inspire a decision, West said.
At 26, West has already worked on a variety of shows from television to Broadway since he graduated from the University of South Alabama. A few years ago, West began designing costumes for the theater department at Chipola College in Marianna a connection he made through the theater technical director at Chipola who taught West in college.
Audiences for Hello, Dolly! set for Feb. 22-26 will see Wests costume work on stage. Visitors can also view his work in the art gallery located inside the colleges Center for the Arts.
The exhibit, The Art of Costuming, is on display until April 2 and includes Wests costume designs from Chipola Theatre productions of The Addams Family and The Wizard of Oz (including a crow costume for a number added for the stage version). The exhibit also features Wests original sketches and research boards for Hello, Dolly! and will feature costumes and hats from the musical once performances are over.
Zac West grew up in Mobile and became interested in theater while in high school, where he learned some of the backstage technical details of live theater, such as set design. He later attended the University of South Alabama with plans to pursue a life in musical theater. But once he got into the college theater program, he fell in love with costume design.
I guess in the end youre going to end up doing what youre supposed to be doing, West said. Its so odd because it just seemed to fit so well it didnt seem like there was much of a learning curve. It just all came so naturally, oddly enough.
He had no skills when it came to sewing, cutting patterns or costume design, so he took classes. As he learned the technical skills he needed, things just seemed to click and make sense to him.
I learned how to sew; I learned how to drape and thats what I got my degree in costume design and construction, West said.
Two years ago, he made the move to New York to work on his first Broadway show, On the Town. That show was followed by work on other theater shows in New York City, such as Dames at Sea, and Matilda. Hes worked on Netflix original programs The Get Down and the second season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as well as ABCs Quantico.
He dressed Joel Grey for a Broadway production of Anton Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard.
It was kind of surreal, West said of working with Grey. When they asked me if it would be something I would be interested in, I was like, Well, of course. How many times does that come up that you get to hang out with Joel Grey eight shows a week for five months?
After The Cherry Orchard closed in early December, West returned to Florida to work on Chipola Theatres Hello, Dolly!
Charles Sirmon, the theater director for Chipola College, said having West come in to work with the theater department has resulted in both great costumes and lessons for students who may have an interest in costume design.
Its actually been an educational tool for the students, Sirmon said. Theyre actually getting to work with a Broadway professional and learning the design process. We dont have a costume full-time position so he really comes in and not only does he build and design and put his work together but he also shares a lot of his knowledge.
Sirmon said Chipola Theatre is looking into ways to share the costumes West has helped create with other schools, especially costumes that are difficult to find or are too expensive for other schools.
When designing costumes, West starts with the script and notes any lines that specifically describe a characters wardrobe. He does research, prints out images that inspire him and puts them on a large board that he keeps nearby for reference as hes drawing sketches of costumes. He looks to the director for what they have in mind. And for a period piece like Hello, Dolly! set in the 1890s he has to research the clothing styles of the time.
And then he attends rehearsals, which is when he discovered that the lovely teal late Victorian-style dress he envisioned just wasnt right for Dolly Levi.
Not only did West design the dresses for Dolly, but there was a large ensemble cast that had to be outfitted. And because some wardrobe changes have to be quick, West had to hide modern details like zippers in the period pieces.
Its quite a challenge with a corset, a petticoat, boots, hat, West said, laughing. Yeah, its very challenging.
But its the challenge and the variety of the work that West said he loves.
I get to use a lot of skills at once, he said. I get to craft, I get to hot glue. I like the historical aspect of it I get to research and look at all these things. I think its just a combination of all of that. Theres so much creativity in it.
The Alabama Legislature, like most lawmaking bodies, is infamous for its tendency toward knee-jerk legislating. Pass a law first; ask questions later. Even the absence of a need for a law doesnt deter many of them.
Take, for example, a sanctuary campus bill that passed the Alabama House last week. Rep. Phil Williams brought forth the bill that would authorize Alabamas attorney general to block state funds to colleges that do not follow state and federal immigration law. Its designed to be an incentive to our university presidents to follow state and federal law, Williams told the lawmaking body amid complaints from some lawmakers that the House was wasting time and money on silly bills.
They could also add the descriptor irrelevant. There are no colleges in Alabama with a stated intent to disregard immigration laws. And with state funding for public education on the wane state funds account for only 12.5 percent of the University of Alabamas budget the threat rings hollow.
However, a measure that passed a senate committee last week has the potential for far greater impact: it would require Alabama high school students to pass a basic civics test before graduating. If the idea for this legislation didnt come from the political climate of the last couple of years, it should have.
Many people have seen segments on late-night talk shows that feature a reporter asking man-on-the-street questions Americans should be able to easily answer, then using ignorant replies as comedic fodder. And how many among us have taken a look at the examination given to those seeking citizenship and realize how little we know about the structure of government and our Constitution?
The bill under consideration would employ an exam identical to the one used by the federal government in the naturalization process.
Its not too much to ask, and a better-informed electorate would serve our communities, states and nation well.
The death took place on the 17th of January, of Eithne Ui Uallachain, An tAscal Fada, Dun Dealgan, in her 97th year.
She passed away very peacefully in the early hours of Tuesday morning with her family around her bedside.
She was born on the last day of 1920 in Cullyhanna, Co. Armagh, a place she loved very much all her days and to which she returned on many an occasion. She was the daughter of Michael Devlin, the local schoolmaster, and Violet McPhelimy.
Though her mother was not educated herself she believed strongly in the value of education and was proud of the fact that all 8 of her children got 3rd level education, a rare occurrence in rural Ireland in the 1930s and 40s.
Eithne was educated in Cullyhanna Primary School, then by the Louis Order in Middletown and Kilkeel, and finally at UCD where she studied English, Irish and Maths. There were not too many girls studying Maths in UCD in the 1930s. She qualified as a teacher and taught in the Sacred Heart Grammar School in Newry until her marriage in 1944 to Padraig O hUallachain (Paddy Weldon) a teacher and school inspector from Dundalk. They both had a great love for Irish and the spoken language of their home was always Irish. They had a family of eight; Eamonn, Meabh, Lorcan, Padraigin, Ruairi, Ide, Eithne agus Feilimi; all eight were teachers. Eithne really believed that there was no career more important to society than that of a teacher.
She stopped teaching to rear her family and when her youngest child, Feilimi, reached school-going age Eithne went back to teach in the Sacred Heart and taught there until the 1970s.
When her husband Padraig died in 1974 she began teaching in the Vocational School in Dundalk and she taught there until 1981 when she retired. Great sadness struck her in subsequent years with the tragic death of her two youngest, Eithne and Feilimi, her daughter-in-law Breda and her dear grand-daughter, Aoife.
Her retirement years were dedicated to her family, especially her 20 grandchildren whom she loved very much and whose progress in life she followed with great interest and enthusiasm. All came from many parts of the world to be present at her funeral and all played a part in her funeral service with readings, music, gifts and prayers. A very poignant and powerful moment was the carrying of Eithnes coffin into the Church by her four grand-daughters, Roisin, Cliodhna, Grainne and Brona.
Eithne lived at home on the Avenue Road until her 94th year when her health began to fail and she needed full-time medical care.
She went into the Abbey Nursing Home in Blackrock and she was very well cared for by the kind, compassionate and professional staff there. Her family were most grateful for that care.
The family were also greatly heartened by the wave of sympathy they received from many quarters on Eithnes death.
Hundreds went to her wake in the Abbey and to her funeral mass in Irish in the Holy Family Church, read warmly by Fr. Brian Mac Raois, a friend of the family. He was assisted by Fr.Chris O Brien (London) and by a number of other priests. The music was provided by her own children and grandchildren; Padraigin, Ruairi, Meabh, Donall, Roisin and Cliodhna. She was buried in St. Patricks Cemetery, Dowdallshill with her husband, Padraig, and her son, Feilimi. The pipes were played at her graveside by her son Ruairi and the Salve Regina was sung. A note of hope and optimism was struck by the presence of almost all of her 23 great-grandchildren around her grave, all under 10 years of age.
Eithne inspired numerous people with whom she came into contact. She had many strong qualities, none more so that her great ability to keep going, regardless of the trials and sadness that befell her, in the form of illness and the death of loved ones. Her Months Mind is in the Church of the Holy Family, Dundalk, on Sunday 19th of February at 11 oclock Mass.
Spreag si moran agus bhi bron ar mhoran faoina h-imeacht. Iarraimid go mbeidh ruinnin bideach da spiorad do-bhriste ionainne i gconai.
Dia go deo leat, a thaisce.
Get Help to Buy a stylish apartment at Repton Park, Ashford
Home-hunters in Kent are being offered a helping hand to snap up a stylish new apartment at Taylor Wimpeys Repton Park development in Ashford.
A new collection of fabulous one and two-bedroom apartments in Woodlark House is now on sale at this sought-after development, with prices starting from 161,995 and 185,995 respectively.
Under Help to Buy, eligible purchasers can access a Government loan for up to 20% of their new homes full price, so they only need a 75% loan-to-value mortgage and a 5% deposit as low as 8,100!
This is the first selection of apartments to be released for sale at Repton Park for a while and with just nine Woodlark House plots available, these stunning properties are not expected to be on the market for long!
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South East, says: Our Repton Park development continues to prove incredibly popular with savvy purchasers in Kent, thanks to the excellent range of properties on sale and the availability of the fantastic Help to Buy scheme.
The stylish new homes in Woodlark House are ideal for buyers who want a contemporary new apartment in a desirable location close to Ashfords excellent amenities, good schools and great nightlife and Id urge prospective purchasers to get in touch now to ensure they dont miss out!
Ideal for first-time buyers, all of the Woodlark House apartments at Repton Park feature light and airy open-plan kitchen/living/dining rooms with double doors to private balconies or terraces and good-sized bedrooms, with a main bathroom and a handy storage closet off the internal entrance hallway, while two-bedroom designs include en-suite master bedrooms.
Repton Park lies within easy reach of Ashfords large range of high street shops, traditional boutiques and bakers, as well as the Bluewater and Lakeside shopping centres.
A choice of primary and secondary schools is also located close by. Repton Manor Primary School, Ashford St Marys C of E Primary School and Godinton Primary School are all within a mile of home and all were rated good at their most recent Ofsted inspections.
Meanwhile, theres the opportunity of a grammar school education for children passing the 11 plus examination, with Highworth Grammar School for Girls rated outstanding just half a mile from home and The Norton Knatchbull School for boys rated good.
Ashford also offers a dynamic nightlife, with a vibrant mix of pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs and live music venues.
Good public transport is a vital part of the overall plan for Repton Park, and a new bus service will link the community with Ashford town centre and railway station, with rail connections to central London, Maidstone, Folkestone and to continental Europe. The high-speed rail link means it is now just a 38-minute journey from Ashford International to London St Pancras.
To find out more about the apartments available with Help to Buy at Repton Park, property-seekers can visit the Sales and Marketing Suite, located at 4 Park View, Sir Henry Brackenbury Road, Repton Park, Ashford, Kent, TN23 3HX, and open daily between 10am and 5pm, or visit taylorwimpey.co.uk.
Four in 10 working Brits dont think they will ever fully retire
It seems that the aspiration of a work-free life in old age is just a pipe dream for many Brits, as new research from Mintel reveals that four in 10 (39%) working Brits dont think they will ever fully retire.
Mintel research indicates that there is little optimism surrounding retirement, and for many the situation is negative enough to call the very concept of retirement into question. In fact, today, Brits who arent retired are more likely to agree that they will never fully retire (39%) as compared to those who believe they will retire (35%). Those most likely to have resigned themselves to a life of work are aged 18-34 (42%), in comparison to around one in three (36%) of those aged over 54 who say they will never fully retire.
Regionally, there are also vast differences in the proportion of consumers who do not believe they will fully retire. A staggering 45% of working consumers living in London cannot imagine a work-free future; however just one third (32%) of Scottish consumers say the same.
But while many Brits see no end to a working life, it seems some have their eyes firmly fixed on their golden years. One third (32%) of Brits who are not yet retired say they plan to do so as soon as they can claim the state pension, peaking at 42% of men aged 25-44.
And while the decision of whether and when to retire is split between different age groups, so too is the vision of retirement. Overall, some 61% of non-retirees think that their generation will not have as comfortable a retirement as previous ones, rising to 65% of Generation X (defined by Mintel as those born between 1965 and 1979).
Rich Shepherd, Senior Financial Services Analyst at Mintel said: Too many people have a negative view of retirement, with many expecting their generations retirement to be less comfortable than both those who came before and those to follow. Rising state pension ages and the struggle to save adequate funds for retirement make it easy for consumers to compare their prospective retirement with previous generations and see that they will have to work longer and receive a less comfortable pension. For some, the situation is negative enough to call the very concept of retirement into question.
Perhaps explaining the low number of consumers opting for retirement, when it comes to pension ownership, Mintel research shows only a minority of Brits own a plan. In terms of saving and investment product ownership, 42% of non-retirees say that they hold some form of pension, up from 38% in 2015. However, Mintel research also reveals there has been a four percentage point increase in defined contribution workplace pension ownership up from 8% in 2015 to 12% in 2016. This has contributed to an increase in ownership of all workplace pensions in the last year, up from 28% in 2015 to 36% in 2016.
Despite an increase in pension ownership there remain significant gaps in ownership between demographics. While over half (55%) of full-time employees and 42% of men report having any type of pension, this falls to 35% of part-time workers, 17% of self-employed individuals, and 31% of women.
Away from pensions, one fifth (20%) of non-retired consumers expect to use funds from their Cash ISA to help fund retirement, while one third (33%) expect to use money from a savings account.
The success of the auto-enrolment scheme in providing pension provisions for millions who previously had none, is perhaps the biggest good news story seen in the financial services industry in recent times. However, there remain significant gaps in ownership between demographics, which must be addressed. It should be a priority to encourage everyone to save as much as possible in a pension. This means specifically targeting groups falling short such as women, part-time workers and self-employed individuals. Rich continues.
While many argue that paying in minimum contributions to a workplace pension will not be enough to provide a comfortable standard of living in old age, Mintel research reveals that workplace pension holders are almost twice as likely to make minimum pension contributions (48%) as to voluntarily increase their contributions (25%). And while 57% of non-retirees are concerned about saving enough for retirement, only 29% say that planning for retirement is a priority for them at the moment, compared to 55% who say that it isnt. Today, just 30% of Brits who arent yet retired expect to receive a comfortable income when they retire.
Increasing the amount that consumers save in their pension will be a priority for providers and the Government over the next two to three years. While there is an awareness among consumers that they should contribute more, relatively few do anything about it. More could be done to help consumers bridge the gap between knowing that they should save more, wanting to save more, and actually saving more. Rich concludes.
New Discovery arrives in uk retailers
Land Rovers new Discovery arrives in retailers this week giving customers the first opportunity to test the most versatile SUV on sale today on UK roads. Even before the fifth generation of the world-renowned and much loved Discovery reaches retailers, more than 4,000 have already been sold in the U.K. alone with more than 20,000 sold globally.
Jeremy Hicks, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover UK said, It's a special moment when a new vehicle arrives in our retailers and after months of planning, that moment is finally upon us. As of this moment our customers can see the new Discovery at their local retailer in the metal. We are very proud of the new Discovery, it does everything its predecessor does and more. With increased efficiency, improved versatility and clever technology for the whole family we have seen over 4000 new and existing UK customers order the new model even before its arrival at the retailer.
Since its star-studded reveal at Packington Hall, Solihull in September when the new Discovery was unveiled against a Guinness World Record-breaking lego backdrop, the new Discovery has been on display as part of a national tour. New and existing customers were invited to Land Rovers Solihull manufacturing site where the Discovery is built; it then continued to visit all Land Rover retailers nationally. Discovery has also been making an impact at high-profile events and locations including Big Game 9 at Twickenham in December and the London Boat Show in January.
Outside of these exclusive activities, customers have only been able to experience the new Discovery though a Virtual Reality experience, but as of today, customers can see, touch and drive the UKs most anticipated SUV.
Retailers have been preparing for the new arrival for some time, undertaking rigorous training at Land Rovers off-road facility at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. Driving new Discovery against a sample of competitor vehicles, the new Discovery was put through its paces on- and off-road with classroom-style sessions demonstrating the vehicles capability, versatility and connected technologies.
Today, the new Discovery will be launched to the international press with a comprehensive on- and off-road drive in Utah, USA. The new Discovery will be put to the ultimate test across some of the toughest terrain Utah has to offer. In late March the new Discovery domestic media launch will be held for UK media where they will be invited to experience the 'seven wonders' of Discovery:
1. The Magnificent Seven: every seat is the best seat in the house
Flexible interior provides seven full-sized adult seats, instantly configurable from your smartphone using the world-first remote Intelligent Seat Fold technology
2. A much loved member of the family: keeping you safe for the last 26 years
Semi-autonomous safety technology provides the family peace of mind
Premium interior combines leading design with durable, high-quality materials and space for the whole family
3. King of the hill: unstoppable on all surfaces, all terrains and in all weathers
Land Rovers full-sized SUV architecture delivers world-beating all-terrain capability
Lightweight aluminium construction saves 480kg, delivering enhanced efficiency and CO2 emissions from 171g/km
Super clean Ingenium family grows with adoption of 240PS, four-cylinder diesel engine with 500Nm of torque
Towing king: best-in-class 3,500kg towing capacity and semi-autonomous Advanced Tow Assist take the stress out of difficult reversing manoeuvres
4. British creativity: designed with charm & sophistication loved by the world
Design retains key Discovery family cues, adding optimised proportions and sophisticated surfaces
5. Storage addiction: discover the space for everything
Up to 2,406 litres of luggage space with seven seats as standard in the UK and clever storage for 21st century family essentials
6. Connects every generation: Ingenious features that make life easier
Digital Discovery equipped with up to nine USB ports, four 12-volt charging points and an in-car 3G WiFi hotspot for up to eight devices
7. After the roads end: reaching threatened habitats and vulnerable people
New Discovery will continue Land Rovers work in humanitarian aid and conservation projects around the world
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Antarcticas Pine Island Glacier lost another large chunk of ice at the end of January. The section of ice that broke off the glacier on the western coast of Antarctica was roughly the size of Manhattan. It was 10 times smaller than the piece the same glacier sloughed in July 2015.
After the enormous piece of ice broke off The Pine Island Glacier in 2015, cracks were spotted during a late 2016 flyover, Climate Central reported. The recent smaller, though still substantial, ice breakage is considered an after-shock event, Ohio State glaciologist Ian Howat told NASA. NASAs Operational Land Imager captured a series of images documenting the ice loss.
The Pine Island Glacier is known as a fast stream glacier because it moves quickly and commonly sheds ice. It is already responsible for 25 percent of Antarcticas ice loss, according to Digital Journal.
The phenomenon of rapid glacial calving or ice loss fits into the larger picture of basal crevasses in the center of the ice shelf being eroded by warm ocean water, causing the ice shelf to break from the inside out, Howatt said. Basal crevasses are cracks that extend upward from the base of the body of ice.
Sometimes, basal ice cracks are not visible. Small rifts of this nature exist about six miles into the Pine Island Glacier and are expected to result in further calving.
Also in Antarctica, a crack longer than 80 miles in the Larsen C ice shelf is currently being monitored. As the rift grows, the shelf gets closer to shedding a more than 3,000 square mile iceberg.
https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/817709957646864387
In March 2016, a study, Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise, in the journal Nature explained how ocean warming was driving rising sea levels and the collapse of the Western Antarctic ice sheet.
Antarctica has the potential to contribute more than a meter of sea-level rise by 2100 and more than 15 meters by 2500, if emissions continue unabated. In this case atmospheric warming will soon become the dominant driver of ice loss, but prolonged ocean warming will delay its recovery for thousands of years, the study states.
By Clara Chaisson
Like so many citizens of the world, Monica Rowand spent the weeks following the presidential election feeling panicked about how the Trump administration could roll back years of hard-fought environmental progress. I really didnt know what I could do, she said. But as she watched the Trump cabinet fill with climate change deniers, an image of a protester she saw kept coming back to mind: a woman wearing nothing but body paint that spelled out a simple fact, Climate change is real.
Polar Bear Plight, painted by Cheryl Ann Lipstreu on Bethany Tuttle. People, Planet, Paint
The photo, from a protest in November, became a symbol of hope to Rowand. She channeled her frustrations into action, and less than a month later, People, Planet, Paint was born. The project is using body painting to spread awareness about environmental issues. It officially went live on Inauguration Day.
Naked bodies slathered in depictions of swirling seascapes and glowing coals are attention grabbing, to be sure. And we need as many eyes on climate change as we can get. But its more than that. I feel its more relatable, Rowand said. Its an actual human thats delivering the message to you, as opposed to something thats stagnant on a wall or on a computer screen.
Devon Weiland paints CR Hall at the event in Boulder, Colorado Skyelar Habberfield
Rowand spent three years working in communications for the environmental nonprofit Global Green before enrolling in a sustainability-focused MBA program. It was really hard to get people to listen as she tried to communicate the threats of global warming, she said. I would do the check of Wait, would I look at this? Would I read this?'
The medium of the human form also reminds us that climate change will leave no body untouched. Accordingly, Rowands project is all-inclusive. All shapes welcome, all sizes welcome, all colors welcome, definitely, she said. [Its] just inherent to the art form.
Drowing Waters painted by Jocelyn Goode on Amy Hope. Jarrett Robertson
So far, People, Planet, Paint has held two painting events, one in Boulder, Colorado and one in Baltimore. Artists and models in the two cities created Bodies of Change, which depicts the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other global environmental issues. Each image is paired with additional information on whats at stake and concrete actions individuals can take.
Rowand takes inspiration from how quickly people came together to make People, Planet, Paint a reality. Artists, models and other volunteers answered the call, a local business in Boulder donated space and photographers pitched in to document the event. Its not me on an island. Clearly, other people are willing to step up and take action.
Wood You? painted by Niazja Rios on Coral Lopez Jarrett Robertson
Going forward, People, Planet, Paint aims to produce two projects a year, focusing on specific issues related to climate change and sustainable development. Next up: the Peoples Climate Movement on April 29. Get ready for some skin, Washington, DC.
Reposted with permission from our media associate onEarth.
By Alleen Brown
Under orders from President Trump, the Army Corps of Engineers on Feb. 7 approved a final easement allowing Energy Transfer Partners to drill under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Construction has re-started, and lawyers for the company said it could take as little as 30 days for oil to flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline.
While the Standing Rock Sioux and neighboring tribes attempt to halt the project in court, other opponents of the pipeline have launched what theyre calling a last stand, holding protests and disruptive actions across the U.S. In North Dakota, where it all began, a few hundred people continue to live at camps on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, using them as bases for prayer and for direct actions to block construction. Last week, camps were served eviction notices from Governor Doug Burgum and from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, demanding that they clear the biggest camp, Oceti Sakowin, by Wednesday and a smaller camp, Sacred Stone, within 10 days.
https://twitter.com/SierraClub/status/831593891564490753 expand=1]
The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline didnt come from nowhere. Its a direct descendant of the Keystone XL fightboth pass through the territory of the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires, which includes bands of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people. And when Standing Rock tribal members saw that it was time to mobilize, they turned to relatives that had fought the Keystone XL.
In 2014, Joye Braun was living at an anti-Keystone XL camp called Pte Ospaye, on the Cheyenne River reservation, when she first heard about a new pipeline that would pass just outside the border of the Standing Rock reservation, on land leaders said would be tribally controlled if the U.S. government obeyed its treaties. I went holy crap, here comes another one, she said. Two years later, she would find herself helping set up Sacred Stone camp, the first anti-Dakota Access pipeline camp.
Now, most of the thousands of people that visited Standing Rock last fall have returned home, and some have taken up long-shot local fights against the oil and gas industry. In Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee its the Diamond pipeline; in Louisiana, the Bayou Bridge. In Wisconsin, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa actually voted to decommission and remove the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline from their reservation.
Many communities have turned to direct action as a last resort. The city of Lafayette, Colorado, which has long attempted to block fracking in the area, has even proposed a climate bill of rights, enforceable via nonviolent direct action if the legal system fails.
In at least four states, encampments built as bases for pipeline resistance have emerged. They face corporations emboldened by Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, which have used their first month in power to grant fossil fuel industry wishes, overturning environmental protections, appointing former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, and reviving the halted Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines.
[facebook https://facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1448710808475185/ can wipe us out in one day, and were pretty much done, Orona said.
A march of solidarity on Sept. 30, 2016 in Alpine, Texas, included the American Indian Movement (Central Texas division), members of Defend Big Bend, Big Bend Conservation Alliance, Sierra Club and many local citizens. Nicol Ragland/Director of Trans Pecos Documentary
A second camp called Camp Toyahvale opened soon after Two Rivers in objection to plans by Apache Corporation to use hydraulic fracturing to access newly discovered oil and gas. For now, it is dedicated to education rather than direct action.
For years, the idea of stopping the Trans-Pecos pipeline seemed to be a lost cause, said Glover, who has been trying since 2014. She and others oppose the pipeline because it boosts the economic sustainability of fracking operations and opens the door to further industrialization of the remote area. But neighbors once fired up over the project had begun to let it go. All the money that was spent, all the meetings just wasted, just worth nothing, she said, and the pipeline permitting agency did not give it a second thought.
But then Orona, head of a group called Society of Native Nations, was called to North Dakota last August by fellow members of the American Indian Movement to fight the Dakota Access pipeline. When he returned, he began protesting at the headquarters of Energy Transfer Partners, which is also in charge of the Trans-Pecos pipeline. He met Glover there.
I thought, that doesnt look good for us, Orona said, if were working on this pipeline in North Dakota, but were not working in our own backyard.
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2. Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
Less than a week before the Army Corps announced it would approve an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which permits interstate natural gas pipelines, gave the okay for the pipeline operator Williams to begin constructing the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline in Pennsylvania. It awaits an Army Corps permit. The 42-inch pipeline is an extension of largest volume natural gas pipeline in the U.S., the Transco line. Part of the point of the Atlantic Sunrise project is to allow the Transco to switch directions, carrying gas from Pennsylvanias Marcellus shale region, a center of the U.S. fracking boom, to markets in the south, rather than from south to north as it has run historically. The 183 miles of new Atlantic Sunrise pipeline will increase the systems capacity by 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, some of it destined for export.
Williams Atlantic Sunrise pipeline will carry 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas 183 miles from the Marcellus shale region, where gas is extracted using hydraulic fracturing, south to connect with the massive Transco pipeline, which carries gas to southern states. Graphic: The Intercept Source: Atlantic Sunrise web site, Feb. 17
The line will cross 388 water bodies and 263 acres of forest. Last week, in comments submitted to FERC, the Environmental Protection Agency questioned the rushed permitting process. One of FERCs commissioners resigned as Trump took office, leaving the agency unable to approve any new projects. The Atlantic Sunrise was okayed on his very last day.
Landowners have argued that the extension is being constructed for the benefit of a private corporation and is not a public good that merits the taking of private property via eminent domain. The Clean Air Council has pointed to energy analyst predictions that said the area is being overbuilt with pipelines and that markets ultimately will not support the extraction of enough gas to fill the expanding network that includes the Atlantic Sunrise.
In October 2016, the group Lancaster Against Pipelines held an opening dedication for a structure called the Stand, that sits on the Atlantic Sunrise pipelines right-of-way, across the road from an encampment that will serve as a base for nonviolent direct actions. David Jones
With FERCs announcement, the fight for communities opposed to the project enters a new phase. Lancaster Against Pipelines announced the opening of an encampment that will serve as a base for nonviolent direct actions. Until the final permits are decided, the camp organizers are focused on preparing the site for campers, and are active mostly on weekends.
Mark Clatterbuck, one of the camps organizers, and his daughter Alena traveled from Pennsylvania to visit Standing Rock over Labor Day weekend. Alena joined the prayer group that, in an incident now infamous, unexpectedly encountered construction at a site that had, only one day before, been identified by the tribe as burial grounds. Video footage of security guards using biting German shepherds to fend off the nonviolent group galvanized people across the U.S. to go to Standing Rock.
The Clatterbuck family and some of their neighbors had been fighting the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline since 2014. Standing Rock provided a jolt for the group. They had been considering building tree stands along the planned route, Then North Dakota happened, Marks wife Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck said, and the group began drawing up plans to camp.
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3. Sabal Trail Pipeline
Last August, on the same day that Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman Dave Archambault was arrested in one of the first direct actions to block construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, the Army Corps of Engineers granted the final federal permits needed to construct another pipeline, the Sabal Trail. The 36-inch pipeline, owned by Spectra Energy Partners, NextEra Energy, and Duke Energy, would carry more than a billion cubic feet per day of natural gas along 515 miles from Alabama, through Georgia, to Central Florida. Its set to begin operating at the end of June, and according to the company would fuel natural gas plants. Export terminals have been proposed near the pipelines endpoint.
Spectra Energy Partners, NextEra Energy and Duke Energy are building the 515-mile Sabal Trail pipeline. Graphic: The Intercept Source: Sabal Trail web site, Feb. 17
Back in 2014 Ted Turner was already petitioning for an alternative route, worried that his Georgia plantation, where he hunts quail, sat too close to a compressor station that would worsen air quality. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the economic spectrum, most of the project passes through places whose low income and racial or ethnic composition qualify them as environmental justice communities.
The Environmental Protection Agency has raised issues as well, sending a letter to the permitting agency FERC in 2015, noting, The EPA has consistently expressed concerns over the preferred route. It added, The EPA is requesting that the FERC develop an alternative route to avoid impacts to the Floridan Aquifer and its sensitive and vulnerable karst terrain. Karst is a geological formation made up of limestone or other soluble materials, marked by sinkholes and caverns.
A month later, the EPA abruptly changed its position, filing another letter stating that the agency had received new information and now believed that the Applicants fully considered avoidance and minimization of impacts during the development of the preferred route.
The Sierra Club, Flint Riverkeeper, and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper are in the midst of a lawsuit over the construction, arguing in part that FERC did not consider the climate impacts of the pipeline. Meanwhile, construction is underway, and many have turned to direct action.
A network of encampments and planning hubs have sprung up since last fall, run by a range of organizers with various missions. The two biggest camps held 40 to 50 people total the week prior to Trumps inauguration, but since then theyve both stopped inviting overnight campers and transformed into an educational center and a meeting house for planning actions. Visitors to the Crystal Water camp are trained to recognize construction violations.
Four small camps in the Goethe State Forest, called the Heartland camps, are jumping off points for direct action. Visitors are advised to reach out to organizers before coming. This is not the Standing Rock experience most think they are coming to see. Many people have come and not been prepared for the realities of primitive camping. said Christine DeVore Santilo, adding that a few days is the most anyone has stayed.
According to Panagioti Tsolkas, whos been involved in fighting the project for years, Standing Rock shaped the last six months. Its a different context in many ways, but the inspiration thats come from organizing in indigenous communities is a lot of whats sparked whats happening now.
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4. Pilgrim Pipeline
Along one of the busiest traffic corridors in the northeast, New Yorks thruway, the Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings is considering building a parallel duo of pipelines that would move 178 miles between New York and New Jersey. In one pipe, 200,000 barrels of crude per day, obtained from North Dakotas Bakken shale formation via hydraulic fracturing, would run south to refineries and marine terminals in Linden, New Jersey, and from there its sister pipe would send 200,000 barrels per day of petroleum products north toward Albany, New York.
If the Pilgrim pipeline is approved, two parallel 178-mile long pipelines would travel along the New York thruway between Linden, New Jersey, and Albany, New York, sending 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day south and 200,000 barrels of refined petroleum products like gasoline north. Graphic: The Intercept Source: Pilgrim Pipeline Statement on Issuance of New York State Positive Declaration, Sept. 14, 2016.
The company has not submitted a full application to New York or New Jersey, and this preferred route is not yet the chosen route. According to a draft environmental impact statement from September 2016, the potential route would pass through the Ramapo river basin aquifer system, and over two aqueducts that supply New York City, the Catskill Aqueduct and the Delaware Aqueduct. The company argues that the pipeline is a safer alternative to crude traveling via barges on the Hudson River or by trains.
The line would also pass through the Ramapo Mountains. All the major infrastructure comes through Ramapo Pass these mountains we took refuge in when we had the genocide against native people, said Owl, a member of the Ramapough-Lunaape tribe. Owls people are descendants of the Munsee band of the Lenape tribe, whose members were largely forced by white settlers to migrate in the 1700s to Canada and other places.
After a visit to Standing Rock last fall, Owl helped his tribe found a camp, called Split Rock Sweetwater, in protest of the Pilgrim pipeline. No one is living at the camp permanently, but theres always someone on site available to explain its purpose to visitors.
The Split Rock Sweetwater camp was opened by the Ramapough Lunaape tribe in New Jersey in opposition to the Pilgrim pipeline. Split Rock Sweetwater Camp
The original decision was in solidarity with Standing Rock. We realized theyre not just fighting for water there but for all of our waters, he said. When he visited North Dakota, Owl presented Standing Rock tribal leaders with a Ramapough-Lunaape resolution banning fossil fuel infrastructure from passing through their traditional territory.
The Ramapough-Lunaapes are perhaps most famous for the paint sludge that Ford Motor company dumped near their territory, linked to contamination of food and water sources with lead and benzene, and nosebleeds, leukemia, and other ailments among tribal members.
Although New Jersey and New York recognize the Ramapough-Lenaape as a tribe, the federal government does not. When leaders applied for recognition in the 1990s, Donald Trump campaigned to stop them, concerned they would open gambling businesses to compete with his Atlantic City casinos. I look more like an Indian than they do, Trump said in 1995, after tribal members demonstrated outside Trump Tower. The federal government declined to grant status.
In a sense we have seen the future under a Trump administration with the path hes going toward, with rolling back regulation, Owl said. Weve seen that future because thats our past.
Reposted with permission from our media associate The Intercept.
By Mike Jacobs
Last years solar deployment numbers just came in and they are, in a word, phenomenal. Utilities bought more new solar capacity than they did natural gas capacity: an astounding 22 states added more than 100 MW of solar each.
At the same time, there is grim news about delays in construction and associated cost over-runs for nuclear plant construction projects in Georgia and South Carolina. SCANAowner of South Carolina Electric & Gas and sponsor of the VC Summer Nuclear Projecthas just reported new delays in the in-service dates of its new reactors to 2020. Construction started more than 7 years ago, with energy deliveries promised to begin in 2016.
Past hopes for a renaissance in nuclear power in the U.S., with four to eight new nuclear plant facilities projected to come on line in America between 2016 and 2018, have been overwhelmed by competition. Union of Concerned Scientists predicted this trend in costs many times.
Great Solar News
Meanwhile, there is much to say about the solar boom. Just ask one of your 1,300,000 neighbors who have solar on their property.
To put these achievements in perspective, lets talk about solar jobs and productivity. The solar industry employs more than 260,000 people in the U.S. The continuous improvement in know-how in construction techniques and in manufacturing drives down solar deployment costs every three months. The pricing for new solar projects is coming in the range of 4 cents (Texas) to 5 cents (California) per kilowatthour.
In comparison with nuclear, the amount of solar power built in 2016, taking into account how many hours each can operate each day, is the equivalent of more than three new nuclear plants.
To dive in a little deeper: lets use a 25 percent capacity factor for new solar, making the 14,626 MW installed equivalent to 3,650 MW of theoretically perfectly running nuclear plants. The Westinghouse AP 1000 units under construction for the last seven to 10 years produce about 1,100 MW. So, in one year, solar additions were equal to what takes more than seven years to build. The difference in speed of deployment is why Union of Concerned Scientists is clear that nuclear power isnt a near-term climate solution.
The Demise of the Nuclear Option
In the energy business, nuclear is fading fast. Struggles to keep existing plants open in competitive markets are roiling the electricity markets. But the recent news about the very few manufacturing firms supplying nuclear construction illustrates how very different the nuclear industry is from solar.
Cost over-runs in the U.S. plants are so large that when state regulators finally put a cap on what South Carolina and Georgia consumers would pay, manufacturer Toshiba (owner of Westinghouse) found itself with $6 billion in losses and the likely end of its business in nuclear power plant construction.
The concentration of nuclear component manufacturing in so few companies has shown how a problem with quality led to a single point of failure plaguing the fleet of French nuclear plants. Policy in the U.S. has been to shield the utility companies from the risks of their business decisions to construct nuclear plants, continuing with the Vogtle plant in Georgia.
Would We Ever Go 100% Solar?
Would we ever build only solar? Maybe, but thats not the right question. What can we do with lots of solar? is a better one.
We can keep absorbing the solar pattern of production with the tools we have. We can plan to adjust to cheap energy in the middle of the day with time-varying rates. And if we can get energy storage further along, we can get to the end of this debate.
Mike Jacobs is a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists with expertise in electricity markets, transmission and renewables integration work.
Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...
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NEET PG mop-up round registrations to end today Candidates can lock their choices from 3 pm to 11.55 PM on November 5, 2022
After Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand to have MBBS taught in Hindi from next year The Medical Education Minister said a committee will prepare a draft of the new syllabus after studying the
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.
This Monday is President's Day, a federal holiday which honors the birthday of George Washington and the other great Presidents of the United States.
Because the day is recognized as a holiday, several businesses, offices, and other places may have altered hours as a result. Below is a list of expected hours for various places.
OPEN:
National Parks: Parks are all expected to be open, and will all include free admission in honor of the holiday
Private Businesses: Check with local establishments to see what hours they may have. Some may be closed entirely, operate on a normal schedule, or have reduced hours.
Restaurants: Expect most chain restaurants to be open and operating with normal hours, though call ahead to check.
Retail Stores: If you need to do some shopping, all stores, including Costco, Walmart, Target, Kohls, Macy's Rite-Aid, CVS and more are not only expected to be open with normal hours, but most are also expected to offer big sales and deals in honor of the day.
Transportation Services:
Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA): All Commuter Rail, Buses and Trackless Trolleys will operate on a Saturday Schedule. Red, Orange, Blue, Green B/C/D/E and Mattapan Subway lines will also operate on a Saturday schedule. Silver Line subways, as well as all boat services, will operate on a weekday schedule.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA): Trains and buses will operate on Saturday Service schedules
CLOSED:
Banks: Most banks should be closed, though check with your specific financial institution to be sure.
Courts: State and Federal courts are closed
Department of Motor Vehicles: DMV Offices are closed
Federal Offices: Federal Organizations (FDA, IRS etc.) are closed
Libraries: Libraries are closed
Municipal Offices: These offices, usually dealing in more localized governmental affairs, are closed
Post Office: All post office locations are closed and mail delivery is suspended
Sanitation Department: Sanitation services and garbage collection are suspended for the day and landfills are closed
Schools: Public and Private schools are closed. As for colleges, check with your specific institution
State Offices: State offices are closed
U.S. Stock Market: Financial markets are closed
As per the announcement made in a release on Thursday, February 16 from the AITA, Bengaluru is supposed to host India's Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group-1 counterpart Uzbekistan from April 7 to 9.
Mahesh Bhupathi, captain of the Indian team expressed his contentment while accepting the team's request. He said "we have some bombers in our team. So, the quick conditions should suit them."
Yuki Bhambri, one of India's singles players, said: I hope we can take advantage of the conditions.
Indias top six singles players and the top four doubles players will be asked to make themselves available, and the squad will be picked from them.
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Ashton Kutcher appeared before the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate to testify on the significance of software that can help in the campaign against modern slavery and child trafficking. Kutcher is chairman of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, an organization that fights human trafficking by building applicable software.
Kutcher celebrated Valentine's Day with wife Mila Kunis and had to catch a red-eye to make it for his Washington appointment. He thanked the Senate for the opportunity to speak on human trafficking, even as he talked about meeting trafficking victims from Russia, India, Mexico, New York and other parts of the United States.
"I've seen video content of a child that's the same age as mine being raped by an American man that was a sex tourist in Cambodia," Kutcher said, "and this child was so conditioned by her environment that she thought she was engaging in play."
Kutcher stressed how the software "Spotlight" helped identify more than 6,000 victims of trafficking, enhanced the law enforcement operations of 4,000 officials working in 900 agencies and reduced the investigation period by 60 percent, according to CNN.
"Spotlight" was developed by Kutcher's company and it works by sweeping the massive sex trafficking data online to make tracking easier for law enforcers. Kutcher urged the Senate to create legislations that would not only provide funding for anti-trafficking technology but would also look into helplines for trafficking victims. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the committee, acknowledged Kutcher's work and said it was an inspirational testament on how entrepreneurs can help society.
Kutcher said people especially children have a right to pursue happines but they are stripped of this when they are raped, abused or taken by force,' according to Business Insider. The actor, who has tagged along on various FBR anti-trafficking raids, stressed the importance of fighting sexual exploitation and how it can be achieved through technology. Kutcher said technology is sometimes used to enslave children but it can also be used to disable and stop slavery.
Hi, any recent good experiences of a dentist? Preferably around Business Bay or Marina or in between. I've noticed The Scottish Dental Centre on driving up SZR. Must be pretty good at pulling teeth with a name like that. I did search the forum but couldn't find anything.
Thanks.
Hi
I would like to see if anyone know which / what outdoor market during weekend in Dubai that I can sell homemade bakery. Without any license hassles etc.
Thanks very much!
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German politician and chancellor Angela Dorothea Merkel said that she wants to discuss cyber the attack with Russia. Angela expressed her wish on Saturday, as she was talking about the fake news.
When Munich Security Council asked Angela about the fake news issue, she said, "We know that Russia communicates very openly that it views hybrid warfare as a form of defense."
Angela then expressed her view saying that "If I could wish for one thing, it would certainly be very good to get this topic, for example, on the agenda in the framework of NATO-Russia talks."
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OK what are you looking for exactly? Are you looking for someone to come to your house occassionally or a set schedule (or several days a week). Do you want them to only come to your home or are you willing to take them to someone else's place?If you are looking for someone just occassionally, then that is a babysitter here. No contract, no help from CAF and 15 or more euros an hour.If you are looking for someone to come only to your home on a regular basis, that is an assistant parentale or just garde a domicile.If you are looking for someone to care for your child in their home, that is an assistante maternelle.In either case you will need a contract, you will need to declare their salary and such to PAJEMPLOI and follow the convention collective. You will also receive aid from CAF if your kids are under the age of 6.I believe although I am not positive, a garde a domicile is paid the smic (or more) but the assistant maternelle is a salary that is set by the assistante maternelle (and in some cases negotiated depending on how many hours/days you need them).These are not positions that someone can just jump in to. I'm not exactly sure of all the regulations with a garde a domicile, but with an assistante maternelle they are first approved by the department, must attend two different formations, must take their CAP EP1 and must renew their agreement every five years. They also have a puericultrice who inspects their home and ensures they are not only physically capable but mentally also.I suggest looking at the two links I sent. Also find the RAM in your area (Relais Assistante Maternelle), as they can answer questions and maybe help you find someone. Also, check out the CAF site as they have a lot of information as well as a search you can do to find someone in your area (assistante maternelle ou assistante parentale).It is not a difficult process and depending on where you live, you shouldn't have trouble finding someone. But if you want aid from CAF you need to find someone with an agreement, not just someone who decides they want to keep kids without going through the proper channels (otherwise you'll be paying that person in black, and cannot benefit from any aid).If you have any questions, just let me know. i've been doing this for several years now and am actually lucky enough to still be caring for the first kid I ever had a contract with (he is trisomic so that situation is special, but so is he
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WASHINGTON Auto manufacturers, refiners and conservative groups, buoyed by Republican efforts to roll back climate change polices, are targeting fuel-efficiency standards that require the nations car and truck fleets to operate on less gasoline and diesel.
The standards, toughened in the final days of the Obama administration, were part of a suite of rules designed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and are expected to dramatically reduce demand for gasoline and other fuels produced by refineries such as those along the Texas Gulf Coast in the decades ahead.
Hoping for a receptive audience, lobbyists are pressing President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress to take a second look at fuel-efficiency regulations on both cars and heavy-duty trucks, which they say will raise prices on new vehicles and hurt workers in the auto and energy sectors.
The previous administration jammed through a final determination on (fuel efficiency) standards more than a year before the deadline, circumventing full analysis and public debate, said Chet Thompson, president of the trade group American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
The pushback comes after Gina McCarthy, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a week before leaving office that she was carrying through on a proposal that would require car manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleets to an average 36 mpg by 2025 10 miles more per gallon than todays average.
The move caught many by surprise the EPA had said it would render a final decision before April 2018.
But with Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, regulations governing everything from greenhouse gas emissions to banking are coming under attack.
On Friday, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as the new head of the EPA. He was sworn in later that day. Pruitt, as Oklahoma attorney general, made a career of suing to block or overturn federal environmental regulations.
So far, Trump has offered no indication whether he would support reversing the Obama fuel-efficiency standards. A White House spokesman didnt respond to a request for comment.
But any move to do so is certain to face keen opposition from environmentalists, who have made a priority of blocking Trumps attempt to upend Obamas climate change policies.
Cars and trucks, after power plants, are the largest source of global warming pollution, said Luke Metzger, director of the advocacy group Environment Texas. There are cars on the market getting 100 mpg. Theres no reason in a little less than a decade the auto manufacturers cant achieve what we think is a pretty modest goal.
Fuel efficiency also is popular with American voters. A Consumer Reports survey released last summer found 7 of 10 people considering a new car planned to buy one that gets more miles per gallon that their current vehicle
Trump already has signed into law legislation reversing Obama rules requiring oil companies to disclose payments to foreign governments and cracking down on water pollution by coal mines.
Republicans are moving legislation through Congress that would overturn a rule limiting the flaring of methane a potent greenhouse gas at drilling sites on federal lands.
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.
Fuel-efficiency standards pose a long-term threat to a refining sector that has seen U.S. gasoline consumption decline 1.5 percent since 2007, as cars became more efficient and more and more corn-based ethanol is blended into the fuel supply.
Industry lobbyists are rushing to target rules they believe ripe to be overturned.
A paper circulated by Freedom Partners, a nonprofit funded by billionaires Charles and David Koch, lists 11 regulations that could be overturned in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency including one requiring the development of more fuel-efficient medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Koch Industries is one of the largest privately held companies in the country, with industrial operations that include oil refineries and chemical and fertilizer plants.
We realized in meeting with folks on the Hill, everyone was very excited to roll back the Obama regulatory overreach, said Andy Koenig, vice president of policy at Freedom Partners. They figured Trump could walk in with a eraser and get rid of a lot of these regulations.
James.osborne@chron.com
Twitter.com/osborneja
Second of two columns
My house in Mahncke Park first was owned by the family of U.S. Army Air Corps Maj. William N. Hensley, who flew in 1919 aboard the first trans-Atlantic crossing of a dirigible and was a flying instructor near Dallas in the early 1920s, according to the Handbook of Texas. I have understood that he was associated with the Air Corps at Fort Sam Houston but have no documentation. I wonder if Hensleys service fits in somehow with the (World War I observation balloon training) activities in Olmos Basin? He would have been living on Elmhurst beginning in 1927, but I dont know when he moved to San Antonio. Its possible that the Elmhurst house was purchased at or near his retirement. If your sources can provide more information about him, I would be interested.
Unrelated but interesting, his son, also William, was a World War II flying ace who became Bexar Countys youngest district attorney, who died on his way to join his unit during the Korean War. Hensleys daughter, Barbara Hensley Halbardier, was concertmaster (with orchestras) in both New Orleans and San Antonio. I cant find much on Mrs. Hensley but she must have been pretty special to support her husbands career and raise two exceptional children. Hensley died when his son was about 12 years old.
Francille Radmann
Last Sundays column dealt with the achievements of the pioneering Army aviator William Nicholas Will Hensley Jr. (1881-1929), who died March 23, 1929, en route to the Mayo Clinic where he was to be treated for stomach cancer.
Hensley left a wife, Matie Manard Hensley, and two children, William N. Hensley III (who didnt use the suffix), age 10, and Gertrude Barbara (who didnt use the Gertrude), 5. Mrs. Hensley decided to stay in San Antonio, where the family had moved in 1927 when her husband was assigned to be air officer of the 8th Corps Area at Fort Sam Houston.
Within the family, Mrs. Hensley was known as a genius maker. An accomplished pianist and a writer who had published books on her childhood and a military stay in the Philippines, she pushed her children intellectually, says her granddaughter Patrice Hensley. While Matie and Will Hensley were stationed abroad, she reportedly refused to start a family because she was certain she would produce a potential presidential candidate. At the dinner table with young Bill and Barbara, she discussed the works of Shakespeare.
An undated, unattributed newspaper article about Bill born in 1918 in Pasadena, California notes that Maties Army widows pension would have provided comfortably for the family, but at age 11, he became a magazine salesman with a regular neighborhood route and won a great many prizes for boosting his sales. Bill attended Lamar Elementary School and Hawthorne Junior High School, where he made the honor roll and was a drummer in the band. (His drums were bought with money made from the sales of his magazines.) From there, he went on to Texas Military Institute, where he was valedictorian of the Class of 1935 and editor of the school paper.
As if he knew his life might be short given his fathers death at 48 Bill Hensley front-loaded a lot of accomplishment into his early years. At 21, he had earned bachelors and masters degrees in law from Cumberland University in Tennessee, where he was valedictorian of his class and made the law schools highest-ever grade-point average. He took part of the Texas bar examination when he was 20; because of his age, he was not allowed to complete the exam until the following year which he waited out by teaching law at Cumberland. On both occasions, he made the highest grades of the hundreds of would-be lawyers taking the test and was admitted to the Texas bar in 1939.
Back in San Antonio, Hensley went to work for the firm of Johnson and Rogers, soon qualified to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas and those of three other states and, as he had since college, continued to publish papers in law journals and was appointed legal adviser to the Lie Detector Bureau of the San Antonio Police Department on the strength of his research on The Medicolegal Aspects of Physiological Deception Tests. One of the cases he worked on as an attorney was in defense of San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick, found not guilty of a poll-tax violation.
Hensley somehow found time to take a flight-training course in the summer of 1940 at St. Marys University, where he also took courses in the law school. With an air-minded father, says the San Antonio Express, June 27, young Hensley developed an inherent fondness for the air and was working toward a pilots license and a specialization in the expanding field of aeronautics law.
The experience qualified him to enter the Army Air Corps (later Air Force) as a pilot upon our countrys entry into World War II, learning to fly P-47 pursuit planes while in officer training school in Miami Beach, Florida. Assigned to missions in the Asian-Pacific Theater, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Post-war Hensley returned to San Antonio to take up his legal career, almost immediately declaring his political ambitions and declaring his intent to run for district attorney on a reform platform. Surprising some career politicians, Hensley won and the 28-year-old was sworn in Jan. 2, 1947, to command 14 assistants in the business of fighting crime.
As district attorney, he reduced an inherited docket of 1,400 cases to 200 with four months of taking office. Re-elected twice, he crusaded against illegal gambling, narcotics offenses and election fraud. Hensley also proposed legislation with harsher penalties for sex crimes, promised fair treatment for African-Americans on trial and established the first county law library.
Before and after his election, he was a frequent speaker, addressing trade unions, professional associations, fraternal organizations, school PTAs, college graduations and the state Democratic convention. Perhaps in memory of his father, he headed the Bexar County fundraising drive for the American Cancer Society. He campaigned for Lyndon Johnsons first run for U.S. Senate and dumped hundreds of pounds of DDT on Bexar County as commander of the 182nd Squadron of the Texas Air National Guard and its Operation Anti-Polio (mosquitoes were thought to spread the disease).
Somehow Hensley found time to find a wife; he and Patricia Lundgren, a local doctors daughter who was studying art, were married Dec. 6, 1947. Having stayed active as a military pilot, it wasnt surprising that the flying district attorney was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. Hensley had made one last visit home before he was expected to go overseas with the 138th Bomber Group. On May 10, 1951, he stopped at the courthouse to accept a pocket Bible and Texas flag from his office staff. Then he was off to Kelly Field for a return trip to Langley Field in Virginia, where his father had been an early commander.
Eyewitness accounts differ: Hensleys plane, flying at about 40,000 feet, either caught fire and started to drop or burst into flames after the engine cut out. It struck a utility pole outside Cleveland, near Houston. Whatever the cause, the pilot radioed that he was going down, and the plane dropped, nose down, into a rice field. An officer dispatched from an Air Rescue squadron said, The pilot apparently was headed for a perfect, dead-stick landing but couldnt outrun the flames.
Hensley, like his father, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His daughter, Patricia Louise, was born three months later. Coincidentally, she married a San Antonio architect named William Anthony Hensley (no relation); having inherited her grandmothers talent, she teaches piano at a local private school.
You are right that both children of Will and Matie Hensley were exceptional. Barbara born in 1922 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas studied violin and music composition at Incarnate Word and Our Lady of the Lake colleges (as the universities then were known) and at the McDowell Colony, an artists colony in New Hampshire. She played with and was concertmaster of the New Orleans and San Antonio symphony orchestras and of the Trinity University Orchestra. Married with children, she also taught until her retirement in the early 1980s and was an early proponent of music therapy for people with mental illness, according to her obituary in the Express-News, June 29, 2009.
If Bill Hensley had lived, there are those who have conjectured he might have gone much further in electoral politics. Patrice Hensley, who never knew her father, recalls her mother saying that he had absolute charisma, star quality when he entered a room. A July 1947 issue of Glamour magazine includes Hensley in an article titled Young Men Who Care, along with two other veterans on the rise in public life newly elected U.S. Rep. John F. Kennedy and Cord Meyer Jr., a writer on international affairs who became a high-level CIA official.
Hensley was a hard-hitting crusader and idealist whose name was on everybodys lips here in the years immediately after World War II and whose career had limitless potential before his sudden, tragic end, columnist Paul Thompson wrote in the Express-News, May 9, 1989. In another column on Hensley, May 20, 1989, Thompson quoted his successor Harvey Hardy, who remembered his former boss as intelligent, alert, high-minded and a world-class stump speaker. Next to then-Mayor Henry Cisneros, the columnist concluded, Hensley was the hottest young political property San Antonio ever had.
Patrice Hensley, born too late to remember her father, hopes the city wont forget him. Shes working with Bexar County officials to return a copper plaque with the likeness of her father, donated by some of his supporters when he first took office in 1947.
historycolumn@yahoo.com
Twitter: @sahistorycolumn
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HOUSTON Norma McCorvey, the Texas woman behind the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, died Saturday morning at an assisted-living facility in Katy. She was 69.
After three years of deteriorating health, she died of heart failure following a brief stay in the intensive care unit, according to a close family friend. Shed been hospitalized more than a dozen times, mainly for breathing troubles, since moving to Katy in January 2016 to be near her oldest daughter.
She was very much at peace at the end, said close friend and pro-life advocate Karen Garnett, who traveled from Dallas to be at her bedside for several days last week.
McCorvey was 22, unmarried and struggling with addiction and poverty when she unwittingly gained national fame as the anonymous lead plaintiff in the watershed Supreme Court ruling that allowed women to seek abortions in the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
Im really kind of just saddened by this, Linda Coffee, the Texas attorney who represented McCorvey in the high-profile case filed in 1970 said Saturday after she learned of McCorveys death. For so long theres been three people when you think of this case: You think of Sarah Weddington, and Norma McCorvey and me.
Weddington, Coffees co-counsel, said she was sorry to hear the news but also offered a more biting take on the controversial woman at the center of one of the most contentious court decisions in history.
One thing Ive learned is that around Norma you have to know you cant believe almost anything she says, Weddington said from her Austin home Saturday.
Although McCorveys lawyers pursued the ground-breaking legal action under the pseudonym Jane Roe in order to preserve their clients anonymity, McCorvey later shed her Roe mantle and eventually came out as an abortion foe and born-again Christian.
Im 100 percent pro-life. I dont believe in abortion even in an extreme situation. If the woman is impregnated by a rapist, its still a child. Youre not to act as your own God, she told the Associated Press in 1988.
After her passing, anti-abortion groups stepped up to mourn.
Texas Right to Life President Jim Graham called McCorvey who never actually had an abortion a beautiful soul who transformed her life.
Texas Right to Life was blessed and honored to befriend and to work closely with Norma for decades, and her contributions to the Pro-Life movement are too great to be estimated, he said in a statement.
National Director of Priests for Life Father Frank Pavone praised McCorveys conversion to Christianity and offered condolences.
Im sorry she wont be here to celebrate with me when we finally abolish legal abortion in this country, but I know she will be watching, he said.
Garnett, former executive director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas, described her as passionate and fiesty.
She did not have any idea what actually would follow from that case when she was first involved in it, Garnett said. She was so sorry that so many millions of childrens lives were lost over the last 44 years and yet she came to a place of tremendous peace through the grace of God.
Born in 1947 in a small village in Louisiana, McCorvey lived in Houston and Dallas before her family shipped her off to reform school in the North Texas town of Gainesville.
At 16, she married Woody McCorvey, then left while pregnant and came out as a lesbian.
My mom screamed, What did a lesbian know about raising a child? I lost my child, and my home, she said in 1988, claiming her mother took custody of the baby.
She gave a second child up for adoption and was pregnant for the third time when an adoption attorney put her in touch with lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.
The three women met up in a Dallas diner and decided to make McCorvey their lead plaintiff although the lawyers had their doubts.
I was worried about taking the case because she looked so far along, said Coffee.
But to make their case, the two young attorneys only needed their client to be pregnant when the case started.
In the end, Coffee and Weddington were satisfied that McCorvey could be the plaintiff they needed, though Weddington expressed some retrospective doubt about the fateful decision.
I was too young to know that your clients lied, said Weddington. It would have been nice if Id picked somebody else.
But, despite the troubled client, ultimately the case a class-action suit naming Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade as the defendant made it to the Supreme Court and scored an overwhelming victory on the national stage.
Its meant a lot to many women around the nation, said Weddington.
Justice Harry Blackmun appointed by President Richard Nixon wrote an opinion declaring the Constitutions right to privacy broad enough to encompass a womans decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.
The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent, Blackmun wrote.
After the Jan. 22, 1973 decision issued long after McCorvey had given birth and offered the baby up for adoption the troubled woman at the center of the case made her identity public. In the 1980s she became a pro-choice activist and for a time worked at an abortion clinic in Dallas.
And though she initially claimed the pregnancy that sparked the high-stakes legal wrangling was the result of rape, she later recanted.
In 1994, she put out a tell-all autobiography, offering gritty details on her dysfunctional family, reform school, history of petty crime, struggle with alcoholism and an attempted suicide.
Then the following year she did an about-face with a televised baptism performed by abortion foe Rev. Philip Flip Benham.
After finding her faith, McCorvey abandoned her long-time lover, Connie Gonzalez, decrying homosexuality as a sin.
In 1998, she put out a book detailing her evangelical conversion, but by the end of the year shed converted again to Catholicism.
She later called her involvement in Roe vs. Wade the biggest mistake of my life and publicly disparaged her attorneys as self-interested women who exploited her. In 2003, she embarked on a failed bid to have the case overturned.
She lives for the day that Roe vs. Wade will be reversed, her lawyer Allan Parker said at the time.
But Weddington, now 72, has her doubts.
I have never been sure if she was really against abortion, she said, describing McCorvey as someone who was always looking for money.
But as the controversial, ever-changing activists legacy is put to rest, the women of her erstwhile legal team worry about whats ahead for the decision that bears her name.
All of us who want to be sure that women can continue to make their own choices are very concerned about what the future is, Weddington said. If you look at whats the future, it just depends on whos on the Supreme Court.
If the court were to overturn Roe vs. Wade, abortion rights would be decided on a state-by-state basis.
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LAREDO George Washington was having a ball.
Whether quizzing others on his preferred hunting dog Cornwallis or obscure revolutionary-era trivia, Douglas Howland, dressed as the inaugural president, was thoroughly enjoying this most American of traditions: the Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball.
But as conversation drifts to the current state of the union, Howlands mood turns dour.
For the past 120 years, Laredo has put on one of the largest and most elaborate festivals celebrating Americas first president. But since Donald Trump was inaugurated a month ago, the flurry of executive orders by the 45th president has cast a pall over perhaps the citys most closely held tradition.
We dont know what to expect, said Howland, 66, a retired road engineer. So naturally theres a lot of concern.
Mixed amid this years celebration was a measure of uncertainty as the Trump administrations words and actions threaten to reshape the geopolitical landscape along the border. The presidents description of the Texas-Mexico border as a lawless hinterland, and his early promise to slap a 20 percent tax on goods from Mexico has rattled locals.
Yet as families came together once more to celebrate the bicultural heritage of this border city, including close ties with its sister city in Mexico, the festival is a unique reminder of how the heated rhetoric in Washington often fails to reflect the reality on the border.
Even with the political atmosphere you see in Washington, it has nothing to do here in Laredo, said Eddie Villarreal, president of the Washingtons Birthday Celebration Association. We have our own culture, our own traditions, along with Mexico, and we come together at this time.
Conceived in 1898 as a way for Laredoans to distinguish themselves as American, the citys leaders settled on a theatrical display honoring one of the nations founding fathers. In 1939, the Society of Martha Washington put on its first colonial pageant, a coming out to society of 13 young women.
Now the celebration spans several weeks and dozens of events, including two major parades and a jalapeno festival, drawing around 400,000 people while infusing an estimated $20 million into the local economy.
Its a tradition celebrated across generations, said Veronica Castillon, 60, who counts nibbling on chicken salad sandwiches as the Washingtons Birthday parade moved past her among her lasting childhood memories. There were about 190 participants who marched through the streets of Laredo during the parade Saturday, several of them bands from Mexico.
Laredo is not Mexico and Laredo is not the U.S. During the celebration, we feel like the center of the universe, said Castillon, a Martha Washington honoree and past president of the Washingtons Birthday Celebration Association. We invite everybody, and include everybody.
Over the years, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, a former Mr. South Texas, has invited his colleagues in Washington to come to Laredo and see for themselves what the Washingtons Birthday celebration is all about. The distinct cadence of Mexican military bands marching in the parade ring in his ear to this day.
When Cuellar was home recently, his ears were ringing with something else: people on both sides of the river voicing their concerns over Trumps proposed border tax and pleading with him to protect NAFTA, the free trade agreement that brings $284 billion in goods across international bridges here.
Though the festival and its auxiliary celebrations put on their best face to defuse rumors that the festival had altered its schedule because of a changed political landscape, the discontent here is undeniable.
Theres this great unease out there, a fear that exists with many people that are of Mexican ancestry, said Jerry Thompson, regents professor of history at Texas A&M International University. Trump is almost like a giant shadow hovering over the border.
When LULAC canceled its Senor and Senora Internacional event, some saw that as evidence of the Trump effect, but a spokesman for organization said the people they had chosen declined their offer, citing concerns over social unrest in Mexico. The spokesman said the organization expects to host its event again next year.
Nevertheless, Carlos Villarreal, a former city manager and former LULAC president, made no attempt to conceal his distaste for the heated political discourse that permeated the festival this time around.
Its sad, it seems like the meaning of the celebration has basically evaporated because of politics, Villarreal said. Instead of an abrazo, now being scared of whats going to happen prevails.
The way Nuevo Laredo Mayor Enrique Rivas sees it, the abrazo may be a symbolic gesture, but it represents something larger: two communities that aspire to a shared prosperity. After all, temporarily shutting down car and commercial bus traffic during the ceremony that takes place on the international bridge is no small task.
In the early days of the Washingtons Birthday festival, the international bridge was opened to all, and people were allowed to cross freely. While that tradition ended long ago, dignitaries from Mexico and the United States, and two children from both countries dressed in traditional attire, still exchange an abrazo at the middle of the bridge in one of the more anticipated ceremonies.
Here in the Two Laredos region, we are proud of this tradition, Rivas said. Its something that represents the essence of our shared history.
For his part, Pete Saenz, Laredos mayor and a one-time mariachi, describes the embrace as a moment when differences are set aside in an act of unity. He takes issue with the foreboding plans of a border wall for his community of 250,000, where residents exalt their binational heritage, speaking effortlessly in English and Spanish, and often all at once.
We want the bad guys out. too, but we disagree as to the manner, Saenz said. A wall is divisive, its un-American.
Far from talk of politics, Linda Leyendecker Gutierrez, 75, is busy at the ball. For the lucky teenage debutantes there usually are around 13 of them being part of the ball is a rite of passage, the young women outfitted in full 18th-century regalia. And this quick-witted septuagenarian is the designer behind most of their baroque dress with a Tex-Mex flair, as she is most years.
A Leyendecker Gutierrez dress can cost between $15,000 and $30,000, and are so heavy that the debutants require a moving van for transportation.
As a former debutante whose family has deep roots in the borderlands, and traces its lineage to Patrick Henry, Leyendecker Gutierrez stopped going to Nuevo Laredo a decade ago as drug cartel violence spiraled out of control. Yet, the intertwined nature of the border endures.
Why are a bunch of Mexicans running around dressing up like George Washington? Leyendecker Gutierrez said. We are a country of immigrants, and were not afraid of it.
As the debs began dress rehearsal, the IBC Youth Parade was getting underway in the streets outside. Standing among the screaming crowds, Carlos Tejada, 37, came out to watch one of his kids in the youth parade.
Street vendors hawking, Elotes! and Paletas! walked alongside parade floats decorated in red, white and blue, blasting popular Norteno music as they touted their wares.
Tejada owns and operates a small trucking business, transporting automobile parts from Mexico to all points north. With fewer orders coming in, Tejada said his business already has taken a hit, and he fears the worst may be yet to come.
Like many people here, Tejada has family on both sides of the border. A decade ago, his father was deported to Mexico. He lives just across the river in Nuevo Laredo, where Tejada still visits him. Tejada recently suggested that as a citizen, he could help to legally bring his father back to the Texas side of the border.
He said no, Tejada said. He doesnt want to be here now.
anelsen@express-news.net
Twitter: @amnelsen
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AUSTIN As Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick relentlessly pushes a bill that would restrict the public restrooms that transgender people can use, opposition to the measure is pouring into his office.
Patricks office had received more than 10,000 calls, emails or letters opposing the Texas Privacy Act and just over 200 cheering it on within two weeks after it was filed, according to a tally provided to the San Antonio Express-News in response to a Texas Public Information Act request.
His spokesman attributed the lopsided communications to an orchestrated phone and email campaign organized by the left wing.
Patrick didnt release copies of correspondence from the Texas residents, citing a part of the public information law that allows the lieutenant governor and lawmakers to keep communications confidential in the interest of peoples privacy.
But the level of opposition and support was evident in more than 800 emails, letters and messages to Gov. Greg Abbott and nearly 200 to House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, stretching back through last summer and obtained by the Express-News under the open records law.
The communications to Abbott, who has been fairly non-committal on the need for a new law, were about evenly divided on the issue of transgender bathroom restrictions. Those to Straus, who has voiced concern over the potential economic effect of a bathroom bill, were heavily against such restrictions.
A number of people who contacted officials to oppose restrictions said they are Republicans, as are the three leaders and a majority of lawmakers. A lot of the residents said there are more important issues for the state to worry about.
I was voting Republican before you could spell it. This is stupid. Do I wear my birth certificate and drivers license on my shirt before I make a bathroom call or do I just drop my pants before I go in so that someone can check the plumbing, asked a Sinton rancher in an email to Abbotts office. I dont vote for stupidity. Dont expect another vote from me if you support this.
One letter from a Texan that was released by Patricks office came from Donald Rhodes, superintendent of the Damon Independent School District southwest of Houston.
While this issue is one that is major concern for you, I personally feel there are far more immediate concerns weighing on my district, Rhodes wrote to Patrick in June, when the transgender bathroom issue already was bubbling. While you advocate for charter schools and vouchers without adding new money for such programs, and deducting such funds from public education, I spend my days serving a campus with 100 percent of my students receive a free or reduced price lunch.
An Ohio couple, however, last year applauded Patricks stand against a directive from then-President Barack Obamas administration telling public schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
As Christians, we have seen so many that have turned from our Judeo-Christian values that this country was founded on, in order to be politically correct; and it breaks our hearts, the couple wrote.
Poll contradicts dissent
Patrick has cited poll results showing wide support for the proposal in Texas. His consultant shared findings of a Baselice & Associates survey conducted in November, which couched the question in terms of whether it should be illegal for a man to enter a public womens restroom, locker room or shower. It found 69 percent support for a law banning that.
A memo said support didnt change when people were told some business groups say that passing a law to prohibit men in womens restrooms would look discriminatory and hurt business while adding that Texas lawmakers are concerned about sexual predators.
A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll in October found a majority of Texans overall want transgender people to use restrooms based on their birth gender rather than their gender identity, and that a whopping 76 percent of Republicans have that opinion.
Among those motivated to contact Patricks office, wide support isnt evident.
According to the tally released by his office, the lieutenant governor received 4,822 written communications against the measure between Jan. 7 a couple of days after Senate Bill 6 was filed and Jan. 20. In addition, Patricks office counted 6,074 calls against the bill through early afternoon of Jan. 23, although it was unclear what day that tally started.
Only 165 written comments for the measure came into Patricks office during the January time period. His office counted 65 calls for it.
Patrick spokesman Alejandro Garcia said the poll data stands in sharp contrast to this orchestrated phone and email campaign organized by the left-wing after a misinformation blitz targeting Senate Bill 6. The vast majority of Texans support the Texas Privacy Act and are counting on the lieutenant governors leadership in getting the bill passed. We have not requested that supporters call or email our office.
Transgender advocates have urged people who oppose a state bathroom law to contact Patrick, including through the progressive Daily Kos blog, which could help account for the large number of communications.
People also are less likely to write to an official with whom they agree on an issue, Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones said.
But Jones said its telling that theres no evidence of a similar campaign on the pro-SB 6 side that would have pumped up communications to Straus.
One thing it could demonstrate is that that the opposition to the bill is far more intense than the support for the bill, Jones said.
Patrick by far got the largest number of overall communications on the issue received by any of the three officeholders, according to records received by the Express-News, which requested emails, letters and calls for a time period beginning May 31.
Abbotts office received more than 400 in support of transgender people being able to use the restrooms they choose, and about the same number against the idea, over that time period.
Both sides included form letters, but they made up a bigger share of those who wrote to Abbott in favor of transgender bathroom restrictions. Just two form letters backing restrictions against transgender people together made up more than 200 pieces of correspondence to Abbott.
Straus office received 174 calls or written communications against the idea of legislating transgender bathroom restrictions, two calls against discrimination and seven comments or calls for the idea.
One opposing the bathroom bill told Straus that we as Republicans are better than legislation that is being proposed here in Texas recently.
Spurred by Obama rule
Patrick has gone to the mat on the bathroom issue since last years Obama administration directive to public schools. Abbott also spoke out against Obamas action, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued over it.
Patrick has followed up by aggressively bringing the crusade into the legislative arena, championing a bill filed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, that would specify that restrooms, dressing rooms and locker rooms in government buildings, schools and universities be designated for use by people according to their biological sex.
Opponents of the bill who wrote or called include transgender women and their loved ones who said their safety would be threatened if they used mens restrooms looking as feminine as they do; a business owner who said hed move his operations from Texas if the bill becomes law; Texans who cited other issues, such as saving abused or neglected children, as far more deserving of leaders attention; and people from out of state who said theyll cancel their Texas trips if the measure is enacted.
Television personality Montel Williams sent a Twitter message to an Abbott staffer saying that he would like to see the bathroom bill fail quickly. Williams said that he believes Abbott doesnt want to rush down the North Carolina rabbit hole. Happy to come meet him any time.
North Carolina lost NCAA events after enacting a bathroom law, an action that hits home for San Antonio and Straus, since the Alamo City is scheduled to host the NCAA Mens Final Four in 2018.
Supporters of restroom restrictions cited safety, privacy and moral issues, and sometimes went much further than the matter at hand.
One caller who expressed support for Texas lawsuit last year against the Obama administration over the matter would also like it to become illegal for people to be homosexual in Texas, according to a call log.
Other backers of restroom restrictions were more focused.
Gov. Abbott, please do not let transgender people use my bathroom we have 9 year old and 13 year old granddaughters and I want them to be safe, a Seguin woman wrote in January.
Transgender advocates are quick to emphasize there is no evidence of a transgender person assaulting anyone in a restroom in Texas.
Leadership split
The emails highlight a perceived power dynamic among the three officeholders, with some asking Abbott to join in pushing the bathroom bill, some asking him to veto the measure if it gets to him and others saying he should control Patrick on the issue (Honestly, cant you get Patrick to go on a mission to Antarctica or somewhere like that? a Garland man wrote.)
While I keep hearing that Patrick is more powerful than you, I do not believe this, a Plano woman wrote to Abbott.
Some wrote Abbott to praise the positions of Straus, who has put his focus on core services and programs while warning about the bathroom bill.
As Republican voters, my wife and I are opposed to most of Dan Patricks agenda and are in favor of Speaker Straus agenda, wrote a Katy man to Abbott. We dont want our legislators wasting their time and our money on Patricks Womens Privacy Act. It is not needed.
pfikac@express-news.net
Twitter: @pfikac
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Volunteers with a San Antonio nonprofit that helps refugees and immigrants spoke Saturday about the plight of women and children seeking U.S. asylum after fleeing violence and other extreme hardships in their homeland.
Even when mothers and children are dropped off by authorities at a local bus station, to join family members elsewhere in the country after attaining asylum, they get their first taste of freedom following family detention, but at the same time are vulnerable, said Nora Jacquez, a teacher and author from Colorado who has worked with some of them.
It has its positive side, in that they are no longer in detention, Jacquez told about 50 people training at a local church hall for an advocacy program of the Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).
But the women are sent off with packets of bus tickets, including transfers for long-distance travel, that they cannot read, she said, speaking of the need for more volunteers, especially those who are bilingual, to help.
Its very important, because it orients these women for their journey, Jacquez added. They need that kind of support and explanation.
San Antonio is a hub for the women and youth arriving mostly from Central America and placed in detention facilities that hold up to 2,500 in Dilley and 800 in Karnes City, then granted asylum if they can clear the gauntlet of legal hurdles, officials said.
Patrice Yates, the RAICES volunteer coordinator who helps with its emergency refugee shelter, said she often strains to contain her emotions as she sends the women, often with sick in tow, off to board a bus and hopefully begin a new life. They are given a backpack containing a blanket, food and water.
I know its not enough for a two to three day trip, but at least its more than what they have to begin with, Yates said.
The daylong forum focused on family detention, which was criticized as unfair and cruel. Yanira Lucas Lopez, a Guatemalan refugee who sought asylum two years ago, said her family was executed and her children threatened in her homeland. Through an interpreter, she said she was separated from her three children and could not speak to them, and encountered bad food and lack of health care in the Karnes City facility.
Its sad to be in those places that are so difficult, she said.
Andrea Meza, a lawyer and equal justice works fellow with RAICES who provides services at the Karnes center, said President Barack Obama ended family detention in 2009, then restarted the practice in 2014 with the so-called surge of mothers and children coming in to send a message that people shouldnt be coming in this way.
In nearly all cases, everyone came immediately, not because they wanted to, but because there was an immediate threat to their life and/or their childrens lives, Meza said.
The 6,000 refugees RAICES served last year at its shelter was a 350 percent increase over the 2015 figure, the group told the Express-News last month. Many are coming to join families that established here after Central Americas last period of instability in the 1980s, but are confronted with a biased legal system that even sometimes confuses lawyers, Meza said.
Its designed for people to fail, essentially, she said.
Jonathan Ryan, executive director with RAICES, said the organization does not know what it will be faced with in the months and years to come, but will have to be ready. Family detention is especially problematic because it poses a threat to basic human rights in America, he said.
This is really where desensitization begins. This is where we start to normalize things that are not normal, which allows us to stigmatize people and persecute them and commit violence against them. That is why we focus so strongly on family detention, Ryan said.
To volunteer, call 210-294-5305 or write to volunteer@raicestexas.org.
shuddleston@express-news.net
Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
Carlos Uresti just got re-elected to the Texas Senate last November, but he has been something of a lame duck for months.
Thats because the FBI has been digging into Urestis connections to FourWinds Logistics, a defunct oil field services company accused of defrauding investors. Among his other roles with FourWinds, Uresti recruited investors for the company, including Denise Cantu of Harlingen, one of the senators former legal clients.
After the death of two of her children, Cantu won a personal-injury case, and, with encouragement from Uresti, invested $900,000 in FourWinds. Uresti earned a $27,000 commission on Cantus investment, and she lost about $800,000.
Ever since San Antonio Express-News reporter Patrick Danners August 2016 expose on Urestis questionable dealings with FourWinds, San Antonio political watchers have speculated on how long the senator could (legally and politically) survive.
The question came into sharper focus on Thursday, when FBI and IRS agents raided Urestis law office, and spent six hours collecting documents related to FourWinds.
Keep in mind that an investigation doesnt guarantee an indictment, and an indictment wouldnt guarantee a conviction. If the example of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who has hung on to his office for nearly two years with three felony fraud indictments hanging over his head teaches us anything, its that we should never underestimate the ability of a stubborn politician to ride out a scandal.
But its worth considering the line that many politicos are whispering at the state Capitol: that Urestis situation is Ken Paxton on steroids.
Uresti responded to the raid by saying he instructed his staff to fully cooperate with the federal investigators, and adding, I will help them in whatever way I can.
Meanwhile, some local Democrats are already speculating on all the dominoes that could fall if Uresti is forced to step aside.
The most obvious contender for his Senate seat would be state Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, a former South Side councilman who was rewarded last week by House Speaker Joe Straus with the chairmanship of the Committee on Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Thats important because a 2010-14 survey of Urestis winding Senate district which covers 400 miles along the Texas-Mexico border determined that there are 60,121 veterans and 12,412 active-duty military personnel living in the district. The Defense and Veterans Affairs chairmanship proved to be a helpful springboard for Jose Menendez, a fellow San Antonio Democrat who won a 2015 special-election to the state Senate, two years after securing the committee assignment.
Gutierrez has been pretty open with legislative colleagues about his interest in Urestis seat, and his desire to break up the dynastic stranglehold that a few political families (Uresti and his brothers Albert and Tomas; Chico and Ciro Rodriguez; the Tejedas) have exerted on the South Side.
But it never looks good to start talking about the inheritance when the bequeather is still alive, so Gutierrez chooses his words carefully.
Right now, Ive got my focus on my priorities for the (House) district, he said Friday. Im going to focus on veterans affairs and do whats right for Texas.
Of course, a successful Gutierrez move on Urestis Senate seat would leave a vacancy in Gutierrezs House District 119. Already, there is speculation that District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, who is seeking a third term on the council, would be an obvious candidate for that seat.
Understandably, Viagran responded to that suggestion with a statement very similar to the one offered by Gutierrez.
Theres still a lot of investigation happening (with Uresti), so we dont know. Theres a lot of uncertainty, Viagran said. Right now, my focus, 100 percent, is my re-election in District 3.
Urestis troubles have also raised questions about the future of his brother Tomas, who was elected to the Texas House last November, largely on the strength of his brothers coattails. Tomas demonstrated little policy acumen during the campaign, and its hard to imagine him functioning in the House without being able to lean on his brothers guidance.
Even Carlos Urestis detractors have always acknowledged the mans drive and ambition. The former Marine has always invited comparisons with Al Pacinos mafia-don character, Michael Corleone, from The Godfather (Urestis favorite film). These days, the Corleone comparisons are getting a little uncomfortable.
ggarcia@express-news.net
Twitter: @gilgamesh470
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Fayetteville woman says anti-abortion laws hurt her mom, then herself
Judy Pittard said her and her mother's pregnancy complications that required abortions were made worse by the decisions of "old men in big buildings."
Millie Mackintosh has moved in with Hugo Taylor.
Millie Mackintosh
The former 'Made In Chelsea' star has confirmed she has decided to take the next step with her boyfriend.
Uploading a picture of the pair at London Fashion Week, Millie posted three red hearts and wrote: "My new roomie (sic)"
It comes after Hugo insisted his relationship with Millie is "going brilliantly".
He said: "Everything is going brilliantly. She won't be here tonight, she's preparing for a new show and is chained to her desk."
And Millie is equally "very happy" with Hugo, who she was romantically linked to before she met and got married to Professor Green.
She added: "I'm great. He's great. I'm very happy, that's all I can say."
And Professor Green - whose real name is Stephen Manderson - recently admitted he felt "quite sad" when his marriage to Millie broke down.
Asked what the split taught him, he said: "I didn't get married to get divorced. Neither of us did. So all that really comes from it is it's quite sad that it ended.
"I definitely [still believe in love], because I love people I've had relationships with. I love friends - even friends I'm not friends with any more. And family members.
"I can't tell you that I don't love my mum, because I wouldn't be here without her. So even though we don't have a relationship, she's still someone I love - all be it from a distance."
Professor Green had initially said he would keep a "dignified silence" in the wake of his split from Millie but later released a song, where he opened up about the end of their marriage.
Asked if Millie would be unhappy with the lyrics of his upcoming LP, he said: "I think that can be assumed. But I'm not worried about that.
"People assume they know me and they know the box I fit into but I grew up rapping a totally different way. I hope people will let me release the music and the style that I want. I'm not going to be nice just to sell records."
Bastille want to perform on the moon.
Bastille
The 'Pompeii' hitmakers - comprised of Dan Smith, Chris 'Woody' Wood, Kyle Simmons and Will Farquarson - are interesting in being a part of tycoon Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic commercial space travel scheme in order to achieve their ambition.
Asked what world record they would like to break, frontman Dan told Q magazine: "It would be fun to be the first band to play on the moon. We'd sign up for Richard Branson's space flights and play."
And there could be space for Bastille on the first flight as The Killers recently revealed they had cancelled their seats on the voyage because they felt "nervous" about it.
Guitarist Dave Keuning previously said: "It's something I'm still interested in, but Virgin has kept pushing that date back. They said it was going to be 2010, and then '11, and then '12, and they still haven't done it.
"It's actually made me a bit nervous about being on the first one. Whenever it happens, I'll probably let other people do it first for a few years because I don't want to be the one who blows up."
The 40-year-old musician admits it is still his dream to travel into space and he hopes that one day there will be a hotel on Mars which he can stay at.
However, the 'Mr. Brightside' hitmaker doesn't think he will live to see the day it happens.
Keuning - who is joined in The Killers by Brandon Flowers, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. - said: "It's definitely a dream of mine to go to space. It's unfortunate how slow the space program is moving. That's my biggest reason for wanting to live a long life, to see what happens. Will we get to Mars? Will there be a hotel on the moon someday? I don't know. Stuff like this fascinates me.
"It's moving really slow when you think about how long ago we were on the moon landing and what we've done since. I don't know if we'll ever come close to what you see in movies."
'EastEnders' bosses insist Danny Dyer is a "consummate professional".
Danny Dyer
The 39-year-old actor is currently taking a break from playing loveable landlord Mick Carter on the long-running soap and show bosses have rushed to quash recent claims he was difficult on set.
A spokesperson told the Sunday Mirror: "Danny is always a consummate professional.
"Danny has never walked off set, nor has he ever lost his temper or been rude to anyone at work.
"Danny is an extremely popular member of cast and respected by everyone on the show."
Danny has jetted off to South Africa for a holiday and friends believe he is exhausted after working non-stop since joining the show in 2013.
An insider explained: "Danny knows he has to rest-up and recuperate. He has been ground down by the workload on 'EastEnders' and then partying on top of it.
"This trip is going to do him the world of good. He can remain anonymous there and he can properly rest. He's hoping to come back refreshed and back into work."
His decision to have a temporary rest from filming comes five months after he tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart Joanne Mas in a romantic ceremony in Hampshire.
The smitten couple may have only just got hitched officially but they have been together since 1992 and have children Danni, 19, Sunnie, nine and Arty, two, together.
And Danny's break from the show will unlikely cause any issues for writers as his on-screen wife Kellie Bright - who plays pub landlady Linda Carter in the soap - is also enjoying some time off following the birth of her second child Gene in November.
Kellie - who also has five-year-old son Freddy with her husband Paul Stocker - said at the time: "It's such a cliche but it really is a love like nothing else. In that moment you feel like everything you need is right there in that room ... I couldn't believe in only seven hours he'd arrived and my whole world and changed again."
It's not known when Danny's alter ego - who has become one of the soap's biggest characters - will leave screens.
1. Virat Kohli made his relationship with Anushka Sharma official, ON VALENTINES DAY!
2. Saif Ali Khan finally said all what he had to about naming his and Kareena Kapoor Khans son, Taimur Ali Khan. He said, Im aware that theres a certain amount of Islamophobia in the world today and as Muslims, if we dont somehow own it then who will? I cant very well name my son Alexander and realistically cant name him Ram. So why not a nice Muslim name and bring him up with secular values so that people meeting him say what a nice guy and thats the end of the name. I am aware that there is a Turkish ruler who is possibly a little violent. That was Timur and this is Taimur. It might sound similar because it has similar roots. Also, to judge the past by todays lens is a little far out. A name doesnt really mean anything. Asoka is a violent name then. Theres Alexander too. 2. Saif Ali Khan finally said all what he had to about naming his and Kareena Kapoor Khans son, Taimur Ali Khan. He said, Im aware that theres a certain amount of Islamophobia in the world today and as Muslims, if we dont somehow own it then who will? I cant very well name my son Alexander and realistically cant name him Ram. So why not a nice Muslim name and bring him up with secular values so that people meeting him say what a nice guy and thats the end of the name. I am aware that there is a Turkish ruler who is possibly a little violent. That was Timur and this is Taimur. It might sound similar because it has similar roots. Also, to judge the past by todays lens is a little far out. A name doesnt really mean anything. Asoka is a violent name then. Theres Alexander too.
He also joked about the whole controversy saying, one of Timurs most able generals was his son, and his name was Shah Rukh.
3. Karan Johar hosted a Valentines Day party but only for singles. While Sushant Singh Rajput and Sonakshi Sinha hinted at their relationship status by attending it, Shraddha confused us about her relationship status with Farhan Akhtar.
5. Shah Rukh Khan officially announced that he'll host TED Talks India: Nayi Soch, a global first Hindi TV talk show created in partnership with TED, a non-profit devoted to 'ideas worth spreading'. "I believe TED Talks India: Nayi Soch will inspire many minds across India. It is a concept I connected with instantly, as I believe that the media is perhaps the single most powerful vehicle to inspire change. I am looking forward to working with TED and Star India, and truly hope that together, we are able to inspire young minds across India and the world," Shah Rukh said in a statement.
6. And since we love being extra, heres point 6.
The Jio Filmfare Awards were telecast last night and Bollywood went ga-ga over it
critic's rating: 4.0/5
Rating: 4 stars
Quick take: Powerful and dramatic look at religion
Religion is one helluva concept. For centuries, it has given human beings a reason to love and hate. Its given people immovable faith, but its also misguided folks. Wars have been fought over it, they still do. Trust Martin Scorsese to give you a film on this complex and layered subject. Silence is about Christian priests trying to propagate their faith and religion in Japan, during the 17thcentury. Apart from its Christian persecution leanings, this film does offer an in-depth insight into the faith and religion. Beautifully shot, deliberately paced, perfectly inquisitive, Silence has been crafted like a classic. We used to see movies of this caliber back when names like David Lean, Cecille DeMille and Sergio Leone were part of the filmmaking scene. This is the kind of film that will stay with you, that will force you to introspect on your own experiences with religion. Evocative and gritty in equal parts, this one of the most hard hitting films of our times. Pity, it doesnt always stand above from its pro-Christianity leanings.
The story starts off as Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) writes back to the Church in Portugal about his suffering and sordid situation in Japan. His followers and priests are tortured by the Japanese in an attempt to squash the Christian missionaries. When Ferreira goes incommunicado priests Rodrigeus (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) go on a perilous quest to trace their mentor and shoot down the rumour that hes apostatized. Rodrigues and Garupe are greeted with the cold weather and hostility in Japan. They witness the inhuman conditions in which Christians survive in Japan. The priests are also treated like criminals and constantly tracked down by the Japanese authorities. On their tumultuous quest, the priests witness and endure insane levels of torture. Their experiences turn out to be an acid test for their own faith in the Lord and Christianity.
The dramatic power of Silence comes in the form of the constant friction between Japanese authorities and the Christian belief. The Japanese Inquisitor (Issei Ogata) and his men, are ruthless in their treatment of Christians, but they also offer a logical explanation as to why a country like Japan does not need Christianity. Their recourse of faith is in direct contrast to the preaching of Jesus fables and writing in the Bible. The Japanese offices try their level best to convince Father Rodrigues to understand and accept the fact that, Christianitys truths are not absolute. Rodrigues faith on the other hand is deep and profound. Scenes where some sublime dialogue establishes the differences between Western and Japanese culture are mind boggling. The themes of Silence are deep enough to shakes up the common mans belief in God and religion. This film really draws out everything that religion means to humanity and puts it all out in the open.
While that may sound like a heavy-duty concept to the casual movie goer, the beauty of Silence comes in the way this niche contrast is presented. The images in Silence feature the Japanese islands, seas and terrain in all their glory. The way Scorsese, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and the Silence team use Japanese geography, weather and settings to convey the brutality of the characters experiences is pure genius. The use of mist, the grey tones, the morbid faces Silence presents a swampy effect of Japan. A hostile country that has no place for the optimism of Christianity. Liam Neesons involvement in the story during the third act, elevates this film to sublime standards. His alternate discourse to religion and relevance of Christianity is phenomenal.
The performance that drives this movie is that of Andrew Garfield. He plays a young priest, one who starts off with great enthusiasm and holds on to his Christian virtues with immovable faith. Hes so dedicated to the Christian dream that one point he imagines his own reflection to be that of Christ. Like the son of God, he attributes his personal sufferings to absolving the crimes and confessions of his followers. Garfield is superb all through. He draws out the suffering, the hope, the pain, the madness with great effect. Adam Driver and Liam Neeson have supporting roles, but both actors give impactful and measured performances. Issei Ogata as the patient but ruthless Japanese Inquisitor is fabulous.
While Silence isnt Scorseses best film ever, it is certainly his most epic film. This movie can leave you with a phenomenal dramatic punch. And best of all, it looks like it was crafted in movie heaven. Its just that the final nail in the coffin, pushes the stance of the film sympathetically towards Christianity. That just robs the movie of its great impact and build up, based on a balanced view of spirituality. Neesons dialogue of human faith being unchangeable drives a stake through your heart. Despite all and any shortcomings, chances are, youve never ever seen a film that can question your faith as much as Silence. This is a once in a lifetime movie, alright.
Katrina Kaif
The Baar Baar Dekho actress looked pretty in a floral printed dress as she was spotted at the birthday bash of Shahid Kapoor, who will be turning 36 on February 25, 2017.
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone does it again! The actress left us in awe of her spectacular fashion statement and looked like a million bucks at Sasha's birthday bash.
Everyones Favourite, Ranveer Singh
Shahid Kapoor's Padmavati co-star and Deepika's alleged boyfriend, Ranveer Singh was also seen at the party and see how cool does Ranveer Singh look in his funky attire!
Sid & Alia
The cutest love-birds of the tinsel town, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt also attended the birthday bash of Sasha and later, the duo left the party together.
Shahid & Mira
Sorry Shahid Kapor, but this time, it's your wife Mira Rajput Kapoor, who is slaying us with her gorgeous avatar and we can't stop drooling over her pretty look for the day!
Karan & Sara
It seems like Saif Ali Khan's daughter, Sara Ali Khan has already started hanging out with her mentor Karan Johar and that's why they were seen attending and leaving the party together.
Ganesh Hegde With Shahid & Mira
"It was a sundowner but you guys just made the sun shine brighter.@shahidkapoor n mira thank u for being such perfect hosts..#happybdayshasha," wrote choreographer Ganesh Hegde, while sharing this cute selfie from the birthday bash.
Sonakshi Sinha
Actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has worked earlier with Shahid Kapor in R Rajkumar, was also spotted at the pre-birthday bash of Shahid Kapoor and looked every bit wow!
Shahid & Mira Are Couple Goals!
Shahid and Mira always give us couple goals with their perfect candid pictures and yesterday was no different. The duo waved at the media, gathered outside their house and looked so cute, while posing for he pictures.
Shahid Cuts The Cake
The Rangoon actor is seen cutting the cake and celebrating his birthday with the media.
Further Upside Expected for Marijuana StocksThis once frowned-upon sector of the underground economy is going mainstream, and it will eventually only share the same level of stigma as alcohol. Every day that passes, we inch closer to the long-anticipated day when marijuana will be legalized.Hot money continues to flow into marijuana stocks in anticipation of the federal government announcement that will outline the framework for legalized marijuana, including for the recreational market.This anticipation has caused a.
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.
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.
BroadGroup's Datacloud Asia, Singapore, 23rd February 2017 debates enterprise infrastructure opportunities in the region
BroadGroup, the international event company suggests in new research that the market in Asia continues to expand with growth in capacity and power availability across all countries over the next three years, included in the study. In countries such as Malaysia, growth could be as high as 36%. Outsourcing to third party data centers by companies local to the region is also expected to be sustained. The firm also points to Industry estimates which suggest that around 70 hyperscale data centers are planned for deployment in Asia over the next 3 years.
"2017 will herald large-scale Internet of Things deployments, and the need for new edge computing strategies," commented Philip Low, chairman of BroadGroup. "Asia has the opportunity to build on increased IT deployment by local and international enterprises making it incredibly timely to bring the first ever Datacloud event here to debate the drivers and challenges now afforded in the region."
Omer M. Wilson, Senior Director of Marketing, APAC at Digital Realty Data Centres added: "The Asia Pacific region is at the forefront of the digital economy. Many of the markets here are mobile-first which require companies to have a robust IT infrastructure in order to cope with the substantial consumer demand. Naturally, the need for data centres is surging. We see a significant opportunity for colocation to close the gap and meet this demand, especially in locations such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore and India where it is critical for them to have effective and efficient ways of running large data centre operations. We expect Asia to continue registering high growth in the colocation market as companies from across the region (and also those entering from other parts of the world) look to agile and flexible data centre solutions that can help them scale up and enable their digital transformations."
Commenting on the China opportunity, Wing-Dar Ker, President of Shanghai Blue Cloud Technologies Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 21Vianet Group, Inc said: "Internet companies in China are investing billions into their own cloud businesses in coming years, seeking to take advantage of a market with 680 million internet users. Cloud computing is a strategic priority for the Chinese government, which has piloted cloud schemes in a number of cities, will only drive the growth of data centers further."
Continued Ker, "The average growth rate of data centers in the next two years is expected to be 35% or above and market demand for cloud computing and internet services combined with a willingness to invest will drive infrastructure build-up in the next few years."
On provision for the continuing momentum of the Asia data center market, Charles Lee, Founder and CEO of OneAsia commented: "This large wave of growth will definitely request a substantial amount of connectivity for service providers as well as promote network virtualization and software defined networks. The demand for interconnecting or peering between service providers will increase. In view of this, OneAsia is also expanding its data center and connectivity footprints in the Greater Shanghai Area."
"As the Cloud revolution continues and innovation becomes even more rapid and breath-taking, there will be a rising tide in data center requirements, especially in the emerging markets. Networked data centers and cloud orchestrators will be the big winners in this revolution," concluded Bill Barney, CEO Reliance Communications and Global Cloud Xchange.
(http://www.datacloudasia.com/) - Datacloud is the foremost networking and business deal making forum brand for data center and cloud players, their customers, investors and suppliers and offers unique networking opportunities in addition to many facilitated 1-2-1 meetings taking place throughout the event.
The event taking place at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa Island in Singapore is also host to a new annual Awards for Asia in an evening ceremony that will be compered by a well-known television personality. Tickets are available for the conference and the awards ceremony.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170219005041/en/
Contacts:
For BroadGroup
Julia Vockrodt, +44(0)7710942943 (mobile)
julia@vp-pr.com
Accion Venture Lab, Accions financial inclusion seed-stage investment initiative, sold its stake in Clip, a Palo Alto and Mexico City-based company that provides digital payment solutions to financially underserved micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mexico.
The seller was not disclosed.
Led by Adolfo Babatz, CEO and Co-Founder, Clip combines a card reader plug-in for smartphones with an innovative back-end risk management platform to enable merchants in Mexico to accept all types of debit and credit cards.
Venture Lab, which announced its first successful exit from India-based lender Varthana in November 2016, co-led the first institutional investment round in Clip in February 2013. As of December 2016, with Venture Labs active support, Clip has become one of Mexicos largest digital payment solutions providers for MSMEs.
FinSMEs
19/02/2017
Malayalam actor Manju Warriers assertion of nationalism and Hindu faith, to defend her right to play the lead role in a biopic based on controversial writer Kamala Surayya aka Madhavikutty, has raised eyebrows in Kerala.
The actor took refuge in the Sangh Parivar's definition of what they call a 'true' Indian, after supporters of the Hindu right wing unleashed a virulent campaign against her decision to play the role of the iconic writer in a film, to be directed by Kamaluddin Mohammed Majeed popularly known as Kamal.
Kamal had turned into an eye sore for the Sangh Parivar after he had criticised the Narendra Modi government and the Sangh Parivar on the demonetisation issue and the national anthem row. The controversy had snowballed, with a few senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders even asking him to leave the country.
Manju had made her stand clear in light of these controversies. She urged her critics not to consider her decision to act in the film, dubbed Aami, either as a declaration of her political stand or her alignment with director Kamals political beliefs.
I see Kamal Sir as my Guru. I am excited to associate with the great artist in him once again after 20 years... not his politics. My country is my politics. I go to the temple twice a day to offer prayers. Just the same way I bow my head in reverence when I am in front of a church or a mosque, Manju said.
In a Facebook post, in response to the barrage of criticism unleashed against her decision to act in the film, Manju pointed out that people who work in a film may have their own ideologies and politics, but they set all that aside when they work on a film. Their sole objective then is to create good cinema.
Manjus fans came out in large numbers on social media to support her, but a sizeable section of them expressed their disappointment for her attempt to prove her credentials in a bid to justify her decision for accepting the role. They view it as surrender to the Sangh Parivar.
I congratulate Manju for remaining firm on her decision to act in the film, but I felt sad after reading her comment on Facebook on the issue. It all looks like an anticipatory bail, says Sreenivas Panampally, a Facebook user.
Thrissur-based college lecturer, Deepa Nishanth, who had recently courted trouble by speaking against the beef ban, said various reasons cited by Manju for accepting the lead role in Kamals films need not be true.
Manju is not an illiterate person not to understand the politics behind her decision. She is hiding them and upholding her nationalism and faith to defend her decision in view of the threats looming large over her, said Nishanth.
Well-known writer and activist MN Karaserry believes that the atmosphere of intolerance prevailing in the country may have forced her to take refuge in faith and nationalism.
I dont blame Manju if she feels insecure. She has already gone through several tragedies in her life so far. She is a tender-hearted artist and not a politician. She doesnt know the politics of hate, says Karaserry.
He told Firstpost that the proponents of religious nationalism had no love for art and artistes. He said that this was the reason why they oppose the works of eminent artistes and writers like MF Hussain, Salman Rushdie etc, and added that both Muslims and Hindus were the same when it came to opposing creative freedom.
Karaserry said that Manju was a young woman who may not understand the nuances of politics and may have only considered the scope that the character offers her while accepting the role.
The life of Kamala Surayya is indeed very fascinating. She revolutionised writing with her honest treatment of female sexuality. She courted controversy by converting to Islam in search of love in the last years of her life. Her life is full of controversies. All these offer a lot of challenges to an artist, Karaserry said.
Initially, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was signed for the role, but she quit the film citing 'divergent approaches' as the reason. However, many in the film industry believe that she may have withdrawn from the project due to pressure from the Sangh Parivar.
They believe that those who are spearheading the campaign on social media may be trying to dissuade Manju similarly. The Hindu radicals apparently dont want the film to be produced. Apart from their personal differences with Kamal, they are also opposed to Surayya. They feel that the author had offended Hindu sentiments by embracing Islam.
The radicals are opposing the film as they fear that a depiction of the life of the controversial writer would encourage 'love jihad'.
Many who have come out against the film on social media have warned Manju against this danger.
One such Facebook user said that the conversion by Madhavikutty was the result of a Muslim betrayal. He alleged that a self-declared Muslim scholar had deceived her by taking Rs 15 crore from a Muslim organisation in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the conversion.
When you act in this movie, you will do injustice to her soul. This movie will bomb, as Madhavikuttys curse is sure to be upon it, said the Facebook post.
Santhosh Raghavan, a non-resident Keralite from Dubai, supports the allegation. He agrees that the role of Surayya will be a cursed one. Today or tomorrow, you will realise it. Don't fall prey to Kamal's trap, Santhosh said.
Kamal is not deterred by the mounting attack against him and his actress on social networking sites. He said that he had a strong belief that Manju will not succumb to external threats. He is all set to begin shooting the film and complete it in two schedules before Keralas harvest festival of Onam.
Senior BJP leaders have denied any role behind the social media campaign against the film director and the actor. Party state secretary B Gopalakrishnan said that neither the party nor any organisations associated with it had taken any official stand against the film.
The BJP and the Sangh Parivar are being accused of running a campaign against the film because of the ongoing discussions on social media. What appears on social media is not BJPs stand. We are not responsible for it, he added.
However, social activist NN Pearson refused to accept the denial. He said that the ongoing debate was part of a campaign orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar, in tune with its fascist agenda.
It is a guerrilla fight. They are trying to make all those who take bold positions in the society silent. It is part of their political agenda in the state, Perason told Firstpost.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) member of Parliament MB Rajesh said that the campaign against Manju and Kamal was part of the attempts by the Sangh Parivar to take their hate campaign that claimed the lives of several writers like MM Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dhabholkar to Kerala, which has a tradition of accepting all shades of thoughts.
Film festivals are about cinema, business, acclaim, glamour and premieres. Usually. But living as we are in times of Trump, Brexit and the rise of the alt-right, desperate times call for the theatre of protest to take centre stage.
The 67th Berlin International Film Festival kicked off eight days ago. It was attended by more than 20,000 professional visitors from 122 countries which included more than 3,800 journalists.
I had the privilege of attending it. I say privilege, not just because of the amazing films I got to watch and the awesome people I got to meet. It was a privilege because the Berlinale this year has set a standard for how film festivals can actively enable the widespread protests that are rippling through the world.
And thankfully, they are not subtle about it because the festivals opening ceremony itself was an exercise in showing the middle finger to global divisive forces. At the red carpet, Green Party politician and Bundestag vice president Claudia Roth threw some sly shade at Trumps misspelt tweets by wearing a dress with the word Unpresidented written in bold.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we said never again would walls divide people. We mean that now more than ever, said Berlin mayor Michael Muller at the ceremony. Jury member Maggie Gyllenhaal spoke up for Americans when she said, I want people around the world to know that there are many, many people in my country that are ready to resist. Also in attendance at the ceremony was celebrated Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Last year Weiwei attached 14,000 life jackets used by refugees to Berlins Konzerthaus concert hall to create a provocative installation that highlighted their plight.
It didnt stop there. The festivals selection of films features many that deal squarely with the issue of refugees and immigration. The opening film Django by Etienne Comar tells the true story of jazz great Django Reinhardt who as a gypsy in Germany, had to deal with the Nazi persecution. Other titles in the lineup include Aki Kaurasmakis The Other Side of Hope which centres on a Syrian refugee.
Indian films are not far behind either. Haobum Paban Kumars Lady of the Lake and Amit Masurkars Newton both present a critical view of government misrule in Manipur and Chhatisgarh respectively. And even films that did not deal with the subject of politics, immigration and refugees head on, made their contribution to the sentiment of protest. At the press conference for his film The Dinner, actor Richard Gere railed against US President Donald Trump for spreading fear and said what he had done was, conflating two words: refugee and terrorist. The number of hate crimes in the US went up enormously when Donald Trump began running for President. There are leaders who spread fear. Its happening here, too.
The atmosphere of #Resist tempered even the bustling European Film Market at the Martin-Gropius-Bau which welcomes over 9,230 producers, buyers, sales agents, distributors, exhibitors and financiers. Amidst talk of rights, territories and million dollar deals, a group of protestors walked around peacefully with signs that denounced censorship and government interference in Turkey.
What is even more noteworthy about the role that Berlinale plays in providing a platform for dissent is that there is no one person/country/party that it is directed at.
So, the Romanian delegation at the 67th edition of Berlinale film competition staged a protest on the red carpet in Berlin, in support of the thousands of Romanian that were out on the streets, calling for the government to resign. The group of filmmakers included producer Ada Solomon, director Tudor Giurgiu, and actress Crina Semciuc. They raised signs that read: Romanian Cinema #resist.
Away from the red carpet, Agnieszka Holland, Volker Schlondorff, the European Film Academy, and Amnesty International staged a protest against the incarceration of the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov at the screening of The Trial: The State of Russia Versus Oleg Sentsov by Askold Kurov. Six hundred and fifty members in the audience held up signs demanding the release of the director.
As I write this, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is being hounded to halt the shooting of his opus Padmavati. Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan who made India proud by making the first film ever to win the Hivos Tiger award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), has received death threats because his film is titled Sexy Durga. Now more than ever, cinema needs the freedom of expression to tell stories. I came away from the Berlinale with the renewed feeling that film festivals matter. Even more so now.
When Koffee With Karan started, what set it apart from any other celebrity chat show, was the equation its host shared with his famous guests.
Karan Johar wasn't an outsider, or an observer or a journalist who was interviewing celebrities; no, the people he had on his couch were his friends and what was promised to the viewer was a camaraderie of the sort they wouldn't find on other chat shows.
The problem of course with having your friends over even if you happen to be Karan Johar and share a warm equation with pretty much every other person in the film industry (cough, did anyone say Kajol and Ajay Devgn?) is that you do run out of them sooner or later. And after five seasons, and having repeated a fair number of those famous friends, we suppose even Karan must find himself in a situation where he says, Who next?.
The answer, in season 5s latest episode, is the Rangoon team of Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan. Their co-star Shahid Kapoor (who has already been on the show this season with wife Mira Rajput) also puts in a cameo at the end.
While Karan tells us that this isn't about promoting a movie, it very clearly is and it shows. Large swathes of this episode were dull, boring and awkward, presumably a result of the guests and their host not being able to rely on the ease of familiarity that has worked in previous instances.
Here's what happened in this episode, in a nutshell: Kangana schooled Karan, repeatedly. Saif got a few zingers in, but was flat for the most part. Shahid brought in some energy. And Karan seemed almost to suffer from verbal diarrhea, rattling away inanities at his guests to cover up the lack of spontaneity.
Here's a look at how each celebrity performed on the show:
Kangana Ranaut
From the moment she walked (nay, sashayed) in, cool and controlled and elegant in a white sheath dress, her mass of curls artfully styled, there was no doubt about what Kangana Ranaut would be like on her maiden Koffee With Karan. She had a very clear idea about the image she was portraying on the show, and the act didn't slip for a moment. She was the serious artiste, the one who placed values above all else and spurned mindless frivolity. And except in some rare instances, she was also a bit boring. For example, when Karan asked her and Saif if either of them had experimented with a member of the same sex, Kangana went into a ramble about a girl who once kissed her. Since, as per the story, the girl declared her love for Kangana the next day, the kiss must have been a whole lot more exciting than Kanganas telling of it.
What was interesting was seeing her take on Karan not just accusing him of writing her off when she started off in the industry, but also of being the flagbearer for nepotism. And when Karan simpered and asked Shahid at the end about his steamy scenes with Kangana in Rangoon, and how that had worked out with him being recently married, Kangana scolded her host about making frivolous something they had worked so hard to get right on screen. She constantly had Karan on the back foot presumably a novel experience for the otherwise quick witted filmmaker.
She finished her KWK turn just as poised as she began it.
Saif Ali Khan
Kangana said of her co-star, he has to be the center of attention wherever he goes. But whether out of chivalry or disinterest, Saif was content to keep the focus firmly on Kangana on his third appearance on the Koffee couch. He spoke in a restrained, sensible way about the controversy surrounding his babys name, was diplomatic and nawabi in his rapid fire answers and horribly, painfully embarrassing on the subject of sexual preferences. His repeated insistence that a man who kissed another man was gay (but the same didn't hold true for women who kissed other women) seemed to get Karan on edge.
The few laughs in the episode, however, were mostly courtesy Saif. There was a very nicely handled moment when Karan asked him what it was like working with Shahid since they both had history in the form of Kareena. Saif replied, I like history, but this would be medieval! He then pointed out that Shahid and Kareenas relationship was long in the past, and both he and Shahid had recently become fathers and there was no awkwardness between them.
He also had a very cheeky quip for when Karan asked him who should wear a t-shirt with the slogan: "Should not be left unsupervised". "Ranveer Singh," Saif replied, flashing that dimpled grin, and making us laugh out loud.
Shahid Kapoor
The energy on the sets received a boost when Shahid walked in for the last 5 minutes. He was a good foil to Kangana and Saif, and generally helped the conversation regarding Rangoon move along smoothly.
Karan Johar
Any time the host talks more than his guests, it's not possibly a good sign. And there was a lot of that going on, on this episode of Koffee With Karan. After giving Saif a talking to, for his comments about men kissing men being gay, Karan displayed some juvenile behaviour of his own, when he asked Shahid about his sexy scenes with Kangana. The question may still have been passed off as funny, except for a wink that he gave Shahid (that we expect was meant to be saucy), which is what set Kangana off.
But, like a Hindi movie, all was well that ended well, and the episode ended with Kangana, Shahid, Saif and Karan posing for selfies and signing coffee mugs.
Key takeaways from this episode:
1. Kangana was called by Aditya Chopra to the Yash Raj Films office, where he congratulated her on her success and apologised for thinking that she wouldn't make the cut when she first entered the industry.
2. Kareena Kapoor tried very hard to convince Saif to take up the role that eventually went to Fawad Khan in Kapoor & Sons. She told him that Shakun Batra (with whom she'd worked in Ek Main Air Ekk Tu) was a marvellous director. However, Saif decided not to take up the role.
3. Shahid can be extremely moody.
And that was pretty much that.
Until next time then.
Watch the episode here.
By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel Coles
| BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the offensive in the northern Iraqi city, asking the armed forces to "respect human rights" during the battle and to take care of those displaced by the fighting.Islamic State militants are essentially under siege in western Mosul, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians, after they were forced out of the eastern part of the city in the first phase of an offensive that concluded last month, after 100 days of fighting. Up to 400,000 civilians could be displaced by the offensive as residents of western Mosul suffer food and fuel shortages and markets are closed, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande told Reuters on Saturday.Iraqi federal police units are leading a northward charge on the Mosul districts that lie west of the Tigris river, aiming to capture Mosul airport, just south of the city, according to statements from the armed forces joint command.They dashed through several villages, reaching Zakrutiya, a hamlet 5 km (3 miles) south of the airport by the end of the day, the statements said, and captured a power distribution station along the way, killing several jihadists, including snipers.The Rapid Response, an elite Interior Ministry Unit, is advancing alongside the federal police and captured several villages, according to an officer, who said they were largely abandoned."Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world," the commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, said in a statement.To date, the coalition has conducted more than 10,000 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and trained and equipped more than 70,000 Iraqi forces, the statement said.Islamic State has escalated its insurgency in retaliation for the military setbacks that have, over the past year, forced it out of most Iraqi cities it had captured in 2014 and 2015. Two militants blew themselves up in eastern Mosul on Sunday, killing three soldiers and two civilians, and wounding a dozen people, security sources said.
LEAFLETS
Iraqi planes dropped millions of leaflets on western Mosul warning residents that the battle to dislodge Islamic State was imminent, the Iraqi Defence Ministry said on Saturday. The leaflets told the jihadists to surrender "or face a fatal end".Commanders expect the battle to be more difficult than in the east because tanks and armoured vehicles cannot pass through its narrow alleyways.The militants have developed a network of passageways and tunnels to enable them to hide and fight among civilians, disappear after hit-and-run operations and track government troop movements, according to residents.
Western Mosul contains the old city centre, with its ancient souks, Grand Mosque and most government administrative buildings.It was from the pulpit of the Mosul Grand Mosque that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.The city, Iraq's second biggest, is the largest urban centre captured by Islamic State in both countries and its de facto capital in Iraq. Raqqa is its capital in Syria.Islamic State was thought to have up to 6,000 fighters in Mosul when the government's offensive started in mid-October. Of those, more than 1,000 have been killed, according to Iraqi estimates.The remainder now face a 100,000-strong force made up of Iraqi armed forces, including elite paratroopers and police, Kurdish forces and Iranian-trained Shi'ite paramilitary groups.The westward road that links the city to Syria was cut in November by the Shi'ite paramilitary known as Popular Mobilisation. The militants are in charge of the road that links Mosul to Tal Afar, a town they control 60 km (40 miles) to the west.
CIVILIAN LIVES
Coalition aircraft and artillery have continued to bombard targets in the west during the break that followed the taking of eastern Mosul.The United States, which has deployed more than 5,000 troops in the fighting, leads an international coalition providing key air and ground support, including artillery fire, to the Iraqi and Kurdish forces.Islamic State imposed a radical version of Islam in Mosul, banning cigarettes, televisions and radios, and forcing men to grow beards and women to cover from head to toe. Citizens who failed to comply risked death.Capturing Mosul would effectively end the Sunni group's ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. The militants are expected to continue to wage an insurgency, however, carrying out suicide bombings and inspiring lone-wolf actions abroad.About 160,000 civilians have been displaced since the start of the offensive in October, U.N. officials say. Medical and humanitarian agencies estimate the total number of dead and wounded - both civilian and military - at several thousand."The ultimate success of the offensive will be judged not on how many districts and villages are taken back but on how well Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition protect civilians in the coming weeks and months," said the Norwegian Refugee Councils Country Director in Iraq, Wolfgang Gressmann. "The lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians are on the line." (With additional reporting by Stephen Kalin in Erbil; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Erik Kirschbaum
| BERLIN
BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble denied on Sunday that he had said Greece would have to leave the euro zone if it failed to implement economic reforms.Schaeuble said in an ARD television interview that Greece would not have problems if it implemented agreed reforms, but would if it fails to carry these out."I never made any ('Grexit') threats," Schaeuble told ARD's Bericht aus Berlin programme just before the network played recent comments in which he said Greece was "not yet over the hill" and the "pressure needed to stay on" Greece or it "couldn't stay in the currency union".Schaeuble said he was giving Greece the same message that it has received throughout its crisis from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. "If Greece carries out the reforms, there won't be any problems. If they don't, then there will be problems."Schaeuble added: "I'm confident. Greece is on the right path."
Schaeuble also said he expects the IMF to participate in a third bailout package for Greece after German magazine Der Spiegel said the Fund would contribute up to 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion). The IMF declined to comment."I assume it will," Schaeuble said when asked about the IMF's participation. He noted the IMF had said in 2015 it would participate if Greece fulfils its reform targets. "I assume that can be achieved in the coming weeks."It remains unclear whether the Fund will be involved in the programme, and this is likely to be one of the main talking points when Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde meet on Wednesday.
Germany's government, gearing up for what is forecast to be a tight national election in September, opposes debt relief for Greece as sought by the IMF. Still, Berlin says the current programme can only continue if the Fund joins in. "European law does not allow (national) debt relief," Schaeuble told ARD ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Monday with euro zone finance ministers. "Greece has to become more competitive. That's the what the programme is for."
A spokeswoman for Schaeuble had said on Friday that the German government has always considered IMF participation to be essential in Greece's third aid-for-reforms package.The Fund has insisted on debt relief and precautionary fiscal measures to ensure that Athens can meet its fiscal targets before it will consider participating in the bailout. Without new policies, the IMF believes Greece can only meet a primary fiscal surplus target of 1.5 pct of gross domestic product by 2018.($1 = 0.9424 euros) (Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
COLOMBO Sri Lankan police arrested an army officer and two soldiers on Saturday over the alleged abduction, assault and illegal detention of a leading journalist in 2008 during the war against separatist rebels, the police said.The island nation saw abductions and killings of high-profile journalists and rights defenders during the final months of the war that ended with the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists in May 2009.The previous government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to probe the crimes despite international pressure. A special police team arrested an army officer and two soldiers over the abduction and illegal detention of journalist Keith Noyahr, police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said in a statement.
A local court ordered the three held until Feb. 23.Noyahr was an associate editor of the English language weekly The Nation when he was abducted in May 2008. He was severely beaten before being released, barely able to walk. After the attack, he fled the country with his family fearing for his life.
Rights groups have blamed the Rajapaksa government for several abductions, assaults and killings of high-profile journalists or editors who were critical of his government and the war against the Tamil Tigers.President Maithripala Sirisena, who unseated Rajapaksa in an upset win in 2015, has promised to probe human rights abuses including war crimes.
However, Sirisena's administration has been sluggish in probing key allegations due to resistance by members of his own party and some government officials. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Adrian Croft)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away at a Kolkata hospital on Sunday, the media reported.
Former Chief Justice of India #AltamasKabir passes away at a Kolkata hospital. Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 19, 2017
Born on 19 July, 1948 in Kolkata, Justice Kabir did his LLB and MA from the University of Calcutta and was made a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court on 6 August, 1990. He was appointed Supreme Court judge on 9 September, 2005 and was sworn-in as the 39th Chief Justice of India on 29 September, 2012. His tenure ended on 19 July, 2013.
The former CJI had sparked controversy during the last days of his tenure when former Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya had alleged that Kabir blocked his elevation to the Supreme Court because he opposed the elevation of Kabir's sister as Calcutta High Court judge.
Kabir had rejected the allegations and accused Bhattacharya of making "insensitive" references about his sister. He had told Bhattacharya that he should know that the collegium of judges have their procedure for choosing a judge and that he had recused from meetings held to decide on his sister.
He had also denied another charge that he favoured Sahara group in its battle against Sebi on refunding Rs 24,000 crore to investors.
Kabir had also been part of the bench hearing the case of the two Italian Marines who allegedly shot dead two Kerala fishermen, taking them to be pirates.
He had also decided the important issue of whether an MP suspended from a political party can continue as MP. The bench headed by him had held that even after being removed or suspended from a party, the person can continue as MP and participate in its proceedings and shall be entitled to vote.
Kabir had also created controversy when a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court scrapped the National Eligibility Entrance Test (Neet) for admission to medical courses. While the verdict found favour among two judges on the three judge bench, Justice AR Dave had dissented with the verdict and in a 35-page dissent hinted that he was rushed into the judgement by the imminent departure of Kabir.
"As the Chief Justice is to retire within a few days, I have to be quick and also short," he had written. The judge had also noted that prior to the preparation of the draft judgments, the three judges had 'no discussion' due to the lack of time. It had also been alleged that the judgment had been leaked before pronouncement, though Kabir had denied this allegation later.
With inputs from PTI
For a city that flouts the tag of richest Municipal Corporation in the country, it is baffling that its populace has shown little interest in its politics. In the last civic body elections, Mumbai saw a voter turnout of just about 40 percent (exact turnout was 44.75 percent but we normalise the number, given 15-20 percent of Mumbaikars are not registered to vote).
These elections are primarily important because they elect a government that is closest to its people, one that determines the fate of civic life in the city for the next five years. But data on voter turnout suggests that Mumbai houses a big chunk of sleeping, dormant, apathetic populace that forgets to fulfil the most basic obligation of casting their vote. In Mumbai, the least voting is recorded for the municipal body elections, while the voting percentage goes up in the case of State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, quite paradoxical given that the citizens interface with the government is highest in the case of local government.
In a city of more than 21 million people, only 46 lakh votes were cast in the 2012 elections. In areas like Versova and Colaba, where civic life is relatively better than the others, voter turnout was a mere 31.6 percent and 24.6 percent respectively.
Mumbai today has 5 major parties BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress, MNS and NCP fighting the electoral battle. This field is tougher, given the presence of several smaller parties and independent candidates contesting from many constituencies. To put the numbers in perspective, approximately each of Mumbais 227 constituency has an average of 50,000 voters. The low voter turnout of 40 percent in 2012 BMC election means only 20,000 voters cast their vote. Taking into account a five-way split, and even more in constituencies that have independent candidates, the margin of victory in many wards was as low as a few hundred votes. A fact slightly more overwhelming than the previous one is that a candidate can win by securing only 5,000-8,000 votes. This means that s/he has an approval from only 10 percent of people of that ward to be their representative. In Kandivali West, the winning candidate got only 5,222 votes.
Mumbaikars' attitude towards these elections can be attributed to voter apathy, lack of good candidates, the seeming insignificance of a single vote, and a voting process that wont win any user-friendly awards.
In higher-income neighbourhoods, the number of people casting their vote is relatively low. Colaba, Churchgate, Bandra West and Versova's turnouts can be directly attributed to their residents' satisfaction with civic amenities. But this attitude can be contested by the simple argument that their civic life extends beyond their ward and encompasses all of Mumbai. They often traverse through pothole-filled roads, walk the captured footpaths, face the ever-growing traffic, and deal with inefficient governance. All reasons are enough to go out and vote to change the status quo.
The calculation that a few hundred votes can swing the election sounds the death-knell for the long-held belief of the insignificance of a single vote. If latent votes are channelised properly, we could have a much better, more accountable city government.
The introduction of a fourth option in the civic polls, NOTA (None Of The Above), allows many to vote despite their dissatisfaction with all the candidates. If a large population votes and chooses NOTA, it is sure to send a direct message that citizens demand a better government and better governance.
The past few months have seen many organisations, civic groups, and NGOs working hard to boost voting. In fact, as incentives, restaurants are offering discounts to voters, offices are granting leaves to encourage voting, and an army of citizen-volunteers are working tirelessly to get Mumbai to cast their vote. The State Election Commission, to make the voting process friendlier and accountable, has developed apps called Citizen on Patrol, to help the voter watch out against electoral malpractice, and TrueVoter, to give voters access to voting information and election expenditure.
Mumbai needs to get rid of its collective snob mentality and realise quickly that not voting deprives one of the right to complain. Furthermore, a close competition among political parties makes it imperative for every voter to vote, as not voting results in our netas getting away with avoiding a populace that may have challenged the status quo. It is critical that we vote wisely so that we can push for policy reforms that will give us more accountable, transparent, and efficient government. The journey begins with willingness to vote.
Noopur Patel works with Free A Billion in Mumbai.
Kochi: Two more persons who were involved in the kidnapping of a popular Malayalam film actress have been arrested, Kerala Police said on Sunday.
The two were arrested in Coimbatore on Saturday night.
The popular actress was abducted for a while on her way from Thrissur to Kochi on Friday night by some people, who reportedly took pictures of her to blackmail her.
Her former driver is a suspect in the case and has been taken into custody, soon after the actress told about her harrowing experience to actor-cum-director Lal, who informed the police after hearing her tale of the abduction.
While the victim's statement has now been recorded before a magistrate, the police probe team has zeroed down on six others who were in the gang, of which three have been already identified, while three others are yet to be identified.
Police chief Loknath Behra on Saturday claimed that they have identified those behind the "kidnap" of the actress and it is a matter of time before the entire gang is arrested.
Veteran producer Suresh Kumar whose wife, Maneka, a yesteryear actress, said that his wife too had a similar experience a few years ago at Kochi, when the prime suspect in the present case - Sunil, a driver in the film industry, chased her vehicle for some time.
"I did raise a complaint, but nothing happened," said Kumar to the media.
Counterfeit notes of the new Rs 2,000 denomination are being seized, only weeks after they were introduced. The first such fake notes were found in November in Gujarat. And now reports of fakes are coming from all over the country. We were told that one of the reasons for demonetisation was that it would check counterfeit currency and that has turned out to be untrue.
The fake currency issue was tied by the prime minister to violence. He said that demonetisation was being done to check militancy and terrorism. This was a promise that should not have been made by the prime minister because it showed little understanding of the causes of militancy in India. Demonetisation happened in the winter months when violence in Kashmir against the army is low. As the snows are melting, the violence has returned, as it returns every year, and the claims have been shown as being untrue.
Four soldiers, including a major, have been killed in recent days in Kashmir. There has not been any lowering in the levels of militancy because of demonetisation. This seems to have come as a surprise to the army which was told that demonetisation would check violence against them. The army chief has made an angry statement accusing the "local population" which he says is preventing the army from doing its work and "at times even supporting the terrorists to escape".
More worryingly, he has promised that those Indians who display flags of Pakistan and the Islamic State would be treated as "anti-nationals" and that his soldiers would "get them" and take "tough action". If the army chief and his soldiers spot what they think is a crime, they should report it to the Jammu & Kashmir police. They are not constitutionally authorised to act against flag-wavers and slogan-shouters.
The army chief, General Rawat, has also revealed something many Indians may not have known, and that was the hostility to the army from the population in Kashmir. He said, "As we are conducting operations against them, we find that the local population is somehow not supportive of the actions of the security forces." This should be a cause of alarm to the central government, which is also a partner in the state government. It is one thing to believe that there are elements being sent from across the Line of Control that are causing mischief in Kashmir. It is quite another to admit that the entire population is against you.
That, rightly or wrongly, is what General Rawat is admitting too. He said: "While our aim has been to conduct people-friendly operations, the manner in which the local population is preventing us from conducting the operations, at times even supporting the terrorists to escape... It is these factors which are leading to higher casualties among the security forces."
BJP and Congress are now fighting over this statement. But there is no essential difference between them on this issue, as we have seen in the last 30 years. There is a sameness to the recent events in Kashmir because the attitude from Delhi and the rest of India is not changing. This week, a Kashmiri student was acquitted on terrorism charges after he was found to have been in college in Srinagar on the day a bomb went off in Delhi. The attendance on his college register was marked and so, he should not have been charged in the first place. But he believes he was scapegoated because he was Kashmiri. And this was in 2005, when it was the UPA under Manmohan Singh which was in power in Delhi and not NDA under Narendra Modi.
The harder India pushes its nationalism on to its population, the further away we send Kashmiris. We should understand that the unrest in that state cannot be solved by demonetisation. There are much deeper causes. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the new army chief understands them. He added this statement, aimed at his own citizens: "Our idea is not to kill these young boys. Our idea is to bring them into the mainstream. But if they wish to remain in this manner, we will target them with harsher measures."
What possible harsher methods can India use against Kashmiris that we have not used before? We already use pellet guns to disperse crowds, blinding hundreds, we are charging them with crimes without thinking and we are treating their entire population as criminals. Whatever other success we claim for demonetisation, it is failing on the count of militancy. We should accept that and begin considering new solutions that do not treat the issue as a currency problem and one that has internal dimensions as much as it does external ones.
The media is yet again in hyperdrive over the possibility of a military restructuring in the country: With ongoing talks of appointing a single-point military adviser, tri-service commands/integrated theatre commands/China-style commands being formed, synergy being brought into the military; all signalling that the greatest ever restructuring of the Indian military is in the works.
But somehow, we fail to remember that similar hype over the restructuring is created periodically; which may well be termed as the bureaucratic great game. Reference to political masters is irrelevant here because they depend on the bureaucracy; and as the bureaucracy says, governments come and governments go, but we are there forever."
New chapters in the 'great game' have unfolded from time to time, with some resulting in minor tinkering. To say that the present hype is more than just a political statement, with policy makers taking defence seriously, doesnt gel well after the second successive negative Defence Budget announced on 1 February which meets vital criticalities of operational components only fractionally, not the dearth of ammunition.
No amount of paid news or articles inserted by former defence accounts employees can convince that the current budget allocation is a right mix for the economy and national security, as they apparently have little idea of the rising security threats to the country and about how hollow the military has been made over the past years.
In the mid-1980s, symbolic cross services postings amongst the three Services Headquarters were affected; one-two officers posted in directorates dealing with operations, perspective planning etc. Subsequently, the Services Headquarters were renamed as Integrated Headquarters (IHQ) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) (army/navy/air force).
That was the end of the synergy, but the media became used to announcing that the army, navy and air force headquarters had fully integrated with the MoD. Post the Kargil conflict, the then defence minister George Fernandes established the HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), which was to be an integral part of the MoD.
However, it came up as a separate HQ (just like another Service HQ) and when Fernandes expressed views to the contrary and tried to push for other reforms, the deep state (elucidated in the NN Vohra Committee Report of 1993) implicated him in the coffin scam, forcing his resignation a charge of which he was exonerated years after his demise.
Take the present instance where, instead of appointing a Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) from the military, the sole two star military post in the national security advisory board (NSAB) has been eliminated. The 'deep state' would reason that the NSA can summon Service Chiefs for advice, as done during the Pathankot IAF base terror attack. It sure helps cover up ground realities even if smoke from fires is wafting out.
Both the Kargil Review Committee and the follow up Group of Ministers, headed by the then deputy prime minister and home minister LK Advani, had strongly recommended appointing a chief of defence staff (CDS). But, 18 years after the Kargil Conflict, where are we?
The excuse of differences amongst the army, navy and air force continues to be played out, even though the Service Chiefs unanimously affirmed to the then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee (now President) during a tri-services meeting on 8 September, 2005 that not only a CDS must be appointed immediately, he must be given full operational powers."
Twelve years after the Kargil Conflict, the government appointed the Naresh Chandra Committee in 2011 to review defence management. This committee, in its report submitted in 2012, recommended appointing a permanent chairman to the chiefs of staff committee (PC COSC) instead of a CDS. In December 2013, media reports reflected that the government was planning to appoint a PC COSC shortly.
Subsequently, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar stated during the India Today Conclave in March 2015 that the CDS position was a must and hoped to propose a mechanism for the creation of the post within the next three months. In July 2015, media reported that the proposal to create the new post of a PC COSC was in "an advanced stage of planning". Not surprisingly, a faux pas has emerged on whether a CDS or a PC COSC will be appointed. A national daily mentions consensus about having a PC COSC instead of a CDS but consensus amongst whom?
In 2005, news appeared that an Aerospace Command would be established soon, till the issue was killed because of a purported turf war between the navy and air force. Last year, there was much talk about the government being very keen to establish the Special Operations Command, Cyber Command and Aerospace Command, as proposed by the Naresh Chandra Committee.
But after the usual excitement, the issue was drowned among reports that the government wants the military to first create such capabilities before raising these commands. In the case of Cyber and Aerospace Commands, it was reasoned that if the military could create the required capabilities within the existing structures, then why would they need these commands?
In the case of special operations, the policy makers' unwillingness to think beyond direct type of raids was reflected in their argument that what capabilities does the military need to create beyond the existing capability.
As to the tri-service/theatre commands, what are we really looking at? A media report quotes a South Block source as saying that the government is looking at: Integrated Commands broadly based on the US military command structure, with theatre commanders reporting to the defence minister and ultimately to the prime minister; Western Command facing Pakistan likely stretching from Karakoram pass in Jammu & Kashmir to Kanyakumari, with complements of army, navy, air force integrated; Northern Command likely responsible for Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and borders with Nepal and Bhutan; Eastern Command likely responsible for borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar; Strategic Command and Transport Command based on functionality with pooled resources; and the Indian Ocean Command likely responsible for all seaboards and protecting Indian influence from Gulf of Aden to Malacca Straits.
Now here is the catch: With the CDS/PC COSC charged with only acquisition and logistics and without any operational powers, he will merely play the role of an emoji for the MoDs bureaucracy; the vital necessity of merging HQ IDS with MoD has been cunningly deflected; reports about middle rung posts in MoD being identified for manning by MoD indicates that bureaucracy will retain full control; without a merger of HQ IDS with MoD, induction of military professionals at the senior level in MoD and an impotent CDS/PC COSC, this so called greatest restructuring will be largely regressive.
Now this raises some important questions: With all theatre commanders reporting to the defence minister (through bureaucratic filters), will the Service Chiefs be left looking after logistics and acquisitions only? Do we require a Naval Chief with the Indian Ocean Theatre Commander directly under the defence minister? What muscle is being provided for these restructured commands?
If the so called single-point military adviser is not a CDS, with full operational powers, the whole exercise will be a waste.
The CDS must actually be a single-point military adviser, overruling what the bureaucracy craftily scripted in the CDS note under which HQ IDS was raised, wherein it said that, As and when a CDS is established, he will have equal voting rights as the Service Chiefs and if two Service Chiefs disagree, MoD (read babus) will arbitrate.
This line must be deleted because the CDS can hardly be a single-point adviser with such slanderous provisions. As for the MoD, we want to copy the US structures only to the point where it suits the bureaucracy. In Chinas Central Military Commission, all members less, the defence minister, are military. Even Chairman of CMC (President Xi Jinping) has donned a military uniform as commander-in-chief of People's Liberation Army. In our case, the grossly, inadequately restructured MoD only facilitates continuation of bureaucratic rule.
This gives rise to two pertinent questions: Why, with all the importance of the Indian Ocean, is the MoD sitting on navys case for a Marine Brigade for the past 20 years. And why is it that the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) has not been given adequate teeth, when this group of islands is a natural aircraft carrier adjacent to the Straits of Malacca?
The bottom-line is that if we are not going in for establishing a CDS with full operational powers, merging the HQ IDS with MoD fully and then establishing integrated theatre commands and integrated functional commands in a cohesive manner, it would be a fruitless exercise. But then, this requires a rare quality of political leadership that can stand up to the 'deep state'.
The author is a retired Lieutenant-General of the Indian Army
I was in Delhi last week. We went to a restaurant a sign informed patrons that alcohol would not be served to anyone below the age of 25 for sheer idiocy this is hard to beat. In a nation where the booze policy is steeped in sermons and soda water and splashed with rocks of hypocrisy this age limit is truly laughable.
You can be a captain in the army and die for your country but you cannot have a flipping beer. Take a bullet but no booze. You can be a doctor and save lives but you cannot have a vodka tonic. You can be a director in a company or head of a company branch or the editor of a paper but you cannot pour yourself a whisky.
This age limit is effective in Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. No one has ever asked why in a nation where thousands die drinking moonshine such absurd laws are allowed to be on the books.
Then we had a diktat this week from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar banning all officials from drinking anywhere in the world. How the heck he is going to police them is beyond comprehension but you cannot legislate how to run peoples lives.
Imagine a bureaucrat from Bihar sitting on an international flight surreptitiously pouring rum into coke like a rascal of a schoolboy up to a prank and looking around in fear of getting caught.
These are individuals with great bureaucratic power whose moods, let alone decisions, affect the lives of thousands of people. And if they are treated like children when they are in their fifties then at what price public confidence in them?
I took a trip to Gujarat recently. That booze was so easily available in the dry state was a joke. I think just about everyone had alcohol in their checked-in baggage. In any case, bootleggers abound and booze is as cheap as duty free. The delivery system works beautifully.
And while we are on the subject, why are the armed forces exempt? Ironically, contrary to the common imagery of a .12 bore carrying Col Blimp at the bar, most officers do not drink and those that drink do so responsibly. Go check the mess bills and the Canteen Stores Department in military bases and you will find that alcohol consumption is lower but the sale may be higher because stock is being sold to civilians.
If soldiers are given tots of rum to keep up their morale, why cant civilians also feel good? Where is it written that the services must drink? And if they are posted in a dry state then take your piety all the way to its logical conclusion and ban alcohol consumption for men and women in uniform. But you won't do thatso there goes the credibility of your sanctimonious command. Are you telling me when a brigadier invites the Collector or the District Collector for dinner they drink nimbu pani?
Consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Gujarat, Bihar, Manipur and Nagaland as well as the union territory of Lakshadweep. It's not a big problem, just a little hassle. Those from Bihar go to the Nepal border or to Uttar Pradesh, spend the night, have a binge and return home, as sober as judges. Those in Gujarat either link up with their supplier or trot off to Rajasthan where alcohol is plentiful. Right across the border are dozens of rest houses to fit every budget.
It is much a of a muchness and a cruel blockade because the illegal industry thrives and moonshine of the deadly variety becomes the alternative to controlled alcohol consumption. According to modest estimates, every hour, one Indian dies of alcohol poisoning. Multiple deaths following hooch drinking are so common they don't even rate follow up stories in newspapers.
Prohibition can never succeed. By all means, control it. Limit the official distribution through a licences, earning power and even outlet service...sorry, Sir, that is your quota. It may not work always but it is a lot more mature and safe than the underground option. Twenty-four years old and you can't have a gin and lime.
New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday left on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two East African nations besides attending a host of events.
This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda. He is travelling on the invitation of the heads of state of the countries, a senior official said.
His two-nation tour also seeks to broaden India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa.
From Rwanda, Ansari will go to Uganda on 21 February, the first high-level bilateral visit to that country since 1997.
The Vice President is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, MPs Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh, Ranee Narah and PK Biju and senior officials.
In Rwanda, Ansari would pay homage at the genocide museum (in Kigali), interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda.
His visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January.
"India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international\ issues, increasing bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contact and a deep sense of mutual respect," a senior MEA official said.
In Rwanda, Ansari will launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of India's low-cost innovations. The Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda would also address an India-Rwanda Business Forum.
"During his visit to Uganda from 21-23 February, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart and the President of Uganda. Ansari would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala," he said.
Relations between India and Uganda are characterised by historical cultural linkages, extensive economic and trade interest and a convergence on major bilateral and international issues, the official said.
"The visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationships," he said.
The forthcoming visit of the Vice-President is part of the conscious broadening of India's diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region.
The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja.
On 8 November 2016, the Indian Government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bank-notes as invalid currency, leaving much of the Indian population, 93 per cent of which works in the informal sector, high and dry. This was done citing populist justifications of curbing corruption, terrorist funding, and resolving Kashmirs separatism conflict. What followed was increased media and public scrutiny on the aftermath of GoIs decision. In the midst of what was primarily bad press, there were reports of paid tweets condoning the move, and absurd rumours of the scientific and security capacities of the replacement notes. These messages were disseminated through various social media, but also propagated by select news outlets, notably Zee News and Aaj Tak. The content of this reportage was generally aligned with the messages in PM Modis Mann Ki Baat on demonetisation, designed to resonate with the aspirations of the voting urban middle-class demographic.
Propaganda is not a novel political tool, particularly in the post-truth political era we seem to be residing in. Historically, governments from diverse socio-political philosophies have utilised propaganda as a means to direct public discourse. Lately, the Aam Aadmi party and Congress have upped their game in employing social media to disseminate their ideology, and shift their pre-election mudslinging to a virtual platform. Manipulating public opinion through media can be achieved through direct or indirect censorship, fake news outlets, suppression of facts or relevant context, historical revisions, etc. Absolute media objectivity might be unrealistic considering media houses are composed of human beings, each person a collection of conscious and unconscious biases and agendas; albeit some measure of objectivity could be achieved by investigating the primary source of regurgitated news items, and declaring sources of funding, ideological leanings, political agendas, and affiliations of top leadership.
There is an important difference between viewing ambiguously false information (disinformation) and too much of any information (i.e. an information overload). Most recently, Donald Trumps easy lies before and during the elections derailed conversations from facts and serious discussions of his proposed policies, into the abyss of emotionally volatile rhetoric. Trump, a master rhetorician, even compelled the White House to release Obamas certificate of birth, as evidence of his being born on American (Nation of Immigrants) soil. In the ensuing battle to disprove Trump, attention was diverted from his slandering immigrants, Muslims, African-Americans, Democrats, and women as belonging to the collective Other. His speeches resonated with middle-class white Americans, already hassled with the neo-progressive left. The predominantly liberal media has easily been baited by many of his outrageous lies, some of them supposedly predicated in alternative facts.
The dangers lie not just in an epidemic of disinformation, but also in information overload. One consequence of having to navigate data in the digital age is that we are constantly inundated with a large stream of information, including online articles, tweets, trends, memes, soundbites, videos, satirical sketches, talk-shows, news, debates, radio and so on. Outrageous sound-bytes make for great headlines, but subsequent retractions and corrections dont. This is critical considering headlines framed to be emotionally loaded strongly persuade our judgements regarding politics and policies, than neutral ones. Research demonstrates that anger and outrage elicit more potent responses than do sadness, pity, or positively-loaded emotional headlines. Subsequent perceptions about the issue are coloured by this fairly persistent affective judgment. Additionally, lies repeated often enough begin to seem factual, even to people who know the facts. This is called the Illusory Truth Effect. To be inundated with a constant stream of lies exhausts our brain already functioning on a cognitive budget. Unable to handle the cognitive load of sifting through a large stream of information and then having to verify its accuracy, our brains begin to rely on mental short-cuts, or heuristics (such as stereotypes), which arent necessarily well-reasoned. To be overwhelmed by emotionally loaded headlines and content, never mind their accuracy, can eventually cause outrage fatigue and information avoidance. Essentially, your brain gives up.
So how does one survive in a world where accurate information is scarce but poorly verified reports thrive? To summarise an expansive to-do into a sentence-only suggestion engage in evidence-based thinking.
First, bear in mind that a majority consensus does not signal the veracity of facts: even large numbers of people can be mistaken. Social media algorithms sift through your personalised web searches and past activity, to provide more of what you find agreeable. This corporatised system of data consumption creates an ideological echo-chamber, enabling the perception that your stance is commonly held, hence valid. This is exacerbated by peoples tendency to faster assimilate information that is congruent with their preexisting beliefs. The confirmation bias persists despite being shown evidence to the contrary. Such an illusory consensus might even inflate a groups sense of ideological solidarity, and influence important decisions.
Second, the factual correctness of an online article is not dependent on how much its been cited. In the age of click-bait, trends and covertly sponsored marketing content masquerading as news, virality is seen as a measure of public attention. This is misleading, since various social media marketing agencies offer services to trend opinions, creating an illusory consensus, as demonstrated in the demonetisation case.
Third, as difficult and counter-intuitive as it may seem, it is always important to scour for viewpoints ideologically different from your own. Its not sufficient to be privy to non-partisan content to remain objective regarding all the information we receive. Since we dont have control over the quality of information, particularly information in which correctness falls into a grey area, it makes sense to accumulate as much data on the problem at hand, including those ideologically different to your own. The idea is to form an alternative hypothesis to your perceived truth, and not fall for the confirmation bias. Researchers have found that persons who were more scientifically curious, were more likely to circumvent the trappings of partisan ideology and find their way to the factually correct conclusion more often than those who were not.
Fourth, there is perhaps a lot of merit in precise use of language in online and offline discussions. Facts and medicine do not have the luxury of being alternative. Claims to the contrary are engaging in subjectivist fallacy, a form of circular logic premised in my truth is different from your truth. As inclusive and open-minded as that sounds, it is unhelpful in drawing conclusions, particularly in governance and public policy, in which large populations are better off being well-informed. Deliberately ambiguous phrasing analogous to the Orwellian concept of doublespeak has culminated in phrases like alternative facts, post-truth and fake news that essentially mean misinformation, or bullshit.
Finally, the trouble with scapegoating based on nomenclature is that it dilutes the truth by legitimising conjecture as a possibility. The implication is that you, the reader, dont just have to verify the veracity of what you are reading, but also scale it on a degree of truthiness. Lies should not be normalised under the guise of alternative facts; opinions and facts are not interchangeable.
To conclude, it is worth quoting Orwell on the deceptive nature of political language, Political language and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase some jackboot, Achilles heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno, or other lump of verbal refuse into the dustbin where it belongs.
Saloni Diwakar is junior research assistant at the Department of Psychology, Monk Prayogshala, a not-for-profit academic research organisation based in Mumbai
Chennai: DMK on Sunday appealed to Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to "nullify" the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist E Palaniswami, alleging it was adopted by contravening the rules of the state Assembly.
DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the state Assembly before the voting on the Confidence Motion on Saturday, also announced a state-wide hunger strike on 22 February, protesting what it called was "murder of democracy".
In a representation submitted to Rao, Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".
DMK Rajya Sabha members RS Bharathi, TKS Elangovan, and Tiruchi Siva submitted the representation.
Recalling his demand for secret voting on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapal's rejection of it, he said, "Finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House."
He, however, said, "The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK without following the procedure."
"Assembly guards forcibly evicted us and many of us sustained injuries. Other opposition parties staged a walkout strongly protesting the action of speaker," he said.
The DMK leader claimed that the Speaker "ignored the rule that if the House is adjourned after moving a motion, it lapses". He said it was "a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution".
He claimed that in 1988 "when voting on the Confidence Motion was held by the Speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House (it was) later declared as invalid and void by the then governor".
It appealed to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in the state Assembly, focusing on the Speaker's declaration that the Confidence Motion moved by Palanisami was adopted in absence of members of all the opposition parties.
It urged him to invoke his constitutional powers to nullify the proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and Constitution.
Stalin in a statement said his party would stage the hunger strike from 9 am to 5 pm and condemned the adoption of trust vote after eviction of his party members.
Alleging that the Motion of Confidence was adopted contravening the House rules, he called it a "murder of democracy".
Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin after the eviction of DMK members and and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn and hurled around.
Immediately after the eviction of DMK, Stalin had met the Governor and urged him to postpone the trust vote.
In 2016, Mumbai-based NGO Free a Billion put forth a draft bill to change the way the city particularly its municipal corporation is run.
According to the NGO's official website, "Mumbai needs a 21st Century system with strong and directly elected leadership, an accountable, transparent, autonomous and effective government. We must change the archaic laws of our city". To that effect, the Modern Urban Governance Bill, 2016 was written up. And with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election less than 48 hours away, it's worth revisiting what the draft bill proposes.
Key points:
1. The city government shall be run by a directly elected mayor: Mayor to function as the executive head of a city government, directly elected by Mumbai citizens with full power to delegate and decide on appointments and departments.
2. The city government shall have financial and legislative autonomy: The city government shall have complete financial and legislative autonomy to be able to generate its own revenue for delivering urban services, as well as make its own laws for the purpose of city governance.
3. The city government shall provide for but not produce public services: The role of the city government will be to spend tax collections on those things that cannot be produced privately. The city Government shall endeavour to move in the direction of limiting its role in the production of public services.
4. The city government shall not create or maintain monopoly over institutions and services: No sector or area shall be reserved exclusively for the city government.
5. The city government will expand choices for consumers by encouraging competition for delivery of services: The delivery of public services must be designed to provide consumers with more choices and should be aimed at increasing efficiency.
6. The city government will deregulate and de-license to reduce complexity: The city government shall strive towards minimal regulation and shall create a transparent system of licencing.
7. The sity government will ensure decentralisation of decision-making and greater citizen participation: Decision-making on expenditures should be left to the lowest rung of government that can effectively look after it. The city government should allow for
citizen involvement in terms of major policy deliberations.
8. The city government will not discriminate amongst citizens and shall treat everyone equally: Whether for employment opportunities or for contractual purposes or anything else involving city government, it shall follow a principled policy of non-discrimination.
9. The city government shall ensure complete accountability and transparency: The city government shall, through all means possible, regularly publish all information in the simplest and easiest form.
10. The city government shall maintain a balanced budget: The city government shall maintain a balanced budget and should not run deficits or surplus under any circumstances
Full text:
Modern Urban Governance Bill-2016 by Firstpost on Scribd
Jammu: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday attacked the Congress for being "politically bankrupt" and speaking the language of Kashmiri separatists.
"On Congress reaction to Gen Rawat's statement, we have already cleared our stand. Some newspapers have carried it. In one word, it can be summed up as 'political bankruptcy" (of Congress)," Singh said demanding a clarification from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on whether the party endorsed
remarks of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad criticising army chief Bipin Rawat's statement on tough action against locals hampering counter-militancy operations in Kashmir.
Fully defending Gen Rawat, Singh said "What army chief has said, Congress people are twisting it as if he has said that army should go after youths and beat them up. His statement should not be read as a challenge or warning but as a concern and worry expressed by him".
"Indian army is only army which has such a concern and worries. Army chief is worried that nobody should get hurt during counter insurgency operations," he said. On India's acceptance on global level for its viewpoint on terrorism, Singh said "except for a handful of people, rest of 125 crore people understand that entire world is slowly accepting the viewpoint of PM Narendra Modi over global terrorism. That is why Pakistan is under pressure and will continue to remain under pressure".
"Modi government has zero tolerance and also zero tolerance to those helping terrorism. During past two and half period under PM Modi, whole world is coming to point of view of India, which was lacking earlier. It is because of the diplomatic consistency of India and policy of conviction and clarity of India followed by Modi government," he said.
On Kashmiri separatists, Singh said "as far as separatists are concerned we have always being saying that they have the cake and eat it too. The separatism being followed in Kashmir valley, it is not separatism by conviction but convenience".
"So called separatist leaders have been following mainstream legislators and they are still mentioned as former legislators and are drawing privileges and perks under the Constitution of India but publicly they subscribe that they do not follow the Constitution of India," he said.
"But more worrisome is that so called mainstream political parties have also resorted to separatist jargon once they are out of power. Once they are in power, they said J&K is integral part of India," Singh said.
He expressed confidence that BJP will win elections in five states as it is the only alternative in these states.
On UP elections, he said "BJP will emerge as victorious because the people of UP want liberation from corruption to crime. They see BJP as an alternative. BJP can provide an alternative. In Manipur also, we have hope of victory there also. BJP is an alternative in Manipur as well".
Chandigarh: Haryana is on the edge as the ongoing Jat agitation seeking reservation in education and government jobs has once again raised the spectre of last year's violence that killed 30 people.
Members of the Jat community have been sitting on dharnas in 19 of the state's 22 districts since 29 January. The fresh protests come at a time when Haryana is observing golden jubilee of its formation.
The images of mobs setting houses, schools, eateries and other places on fire during last year's quota agitation are still fresh in public memory.
The Delhi-Ambala National Highway, the gateway for travel to Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, had remained blocked for days.
The Manohar Lal Khattar government had drawn flak from various quarters, including the opposition, for its alleged inept handling of the situation last yearA complete breakdown of the official machinery was witnessed between 19 and 22 February last year.
Later, a committee headed by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Parkash Singh probed the acts of omission and commission of officers during the Jat quota violence and indicted several officers for not taking appropriate steps, thus allowing the situation to worsen.
As many as 1,196 shops were set ablaze, 371 vehicles torched, 30 schools/colleges were burnt, 75 houses were set on fire, 53 hotels/marriage palaces were devastated, 23 petrol pumps were attacked and vandalised, the committee had observed in its report.
An industry body had pegged the loss at around Rs 34,000 crore in last year's violence.
The mode of protests this year is giving sleepless nights to the first ever BJP government in Haryana, a state carved out in 1966.
Despite the government assuring the Jats that it will do whatever possible within the ambit of the law and the agitation leader promising that the stir will be peaceful, the growing number of protesters with each passing day is proving a tightrope walk for the Khattar government, which does not want to allow a repeat of last year's situation.
Notably, opposition parties the Indian National Lok Dal and the Congress have given their support, asking theKhattar government to fulfil the promises it had made to the Jat community.
Jats are demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, besides withdrawing of criminals cases registered against several youths of the community during last year, release of those lodged in jail, compensation and government jobs to the next of kin of those killed in last year's agitation.
Like last year, this year too the epicentre of the stir is Rohtak, Sonipat, Hissar and Jhajjar districts.
The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS) is spearheading the fresh stir and is being led by its national president Yashpal Malik (55), who hails from Uttar Pradesh and has no link with Haryana.
Last year, Haryana Police had slapped a sedition case against him. However, Malik has been active and has been criss-crossing the state this year during fresh round of the stir to drum up support.
The Haryana government's decision to grant reservation to Jats and five other communities in jobs and educational institutions under the newly created Backward Class 'C' category was challenged last year after a PIL was filed in this regard before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The PIL was filed by a Bhiwani resident, who challenged the constitutional validity of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, passed by the assembly on 29 March last year.
The Act provides 10 percent quota in Class III and IV posts and educational institutions and six per cent quota in Class I and II posts to Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Muslim Jats in Schedule-III.
The government has been trying to defend its quota law since. While reservation continues to be the main demand of the Jats, the protesters are also putting pressure on the government for other demands as well.
The state had last year enacted a law for providing reservation to Jats in consultation with all stakeholders, but later on the court has stayed it and now the matter would have to be dealt with in a legal manner only, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said.
The state government has appointed a senior advocate to plead the case in the court, Khattar had said earlier.
"Once the stay is vacated, the state government would request the Centre to include the Act (granting reservation to Jats and others) in the 9th Schedule," he said.
The Khattar government has also announced a fresh compensation, this time for "innocent persons" who were injured during the 2016 Jat reservation stir.
The BJP government in the state had last week formed a five-member committee, headed by Chief Secretary DS Dhesi, to hold talks with the agitating Jats.
Recently, a meeting between representatives of a Haryana government-appointed committee and leaders of the Jat agitation remained inconclusive.
The fresh round of stir is a sort of tightrope walk for the BJP government, which does not want to let the law and order situation get out of hands this time, even as it is wary of taking any strict action that alienates the predominant Jats totally.
In view of the fresh Jat stir, paramilitary forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, while the state police is maintaining a strict vigil.
The annual budget allotted to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is a staggering Rs 37,052 crores. When an average Mumbaikar hears this number, he or she can't help but be amazed. After all, this amount, along with a fixed deposit of Rs 51,000 crores, is not being used for the welfare and upkeep of the city but rather to adorn the coffers in the iconic South Mumbai office of the municipal corporation.
To help you comprehend the amount of money at BMC's disposal, heres a fact: the BMC budget is equivalent to the budget of 10 other municipal corporations of India put together including tier one cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and tier two cities of Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Nashik and Patna.
Yet, this budget fails to fix the problems faced by Mumbaikars. The residents' sufferings are further compounded by the number of lives lost due to the sheer callousness of the government.
Over 10,000 lives were lost due to tuberculosis, accidents in Mumbai's suburban railways and diarrhoea last year. While 28 percent residents commute as pedestrians, there is not a single stretch of walkable footpath in the citys suburbs. Potholes have taken away the lives of many a two-wheeler riders every monsoon.
Clearly, the corporation fails to effectively use the money it amasses by way of taxing Mumbaikars and state grants. If it were, the outcomes would be much better.
The breakdown of the budget is one of the biggest mystery to surface in Mumbai as Rs 11, 952 crores or about a third of the budget is categorised, bizarrely, as others. The BMC conveniently swindles this big chunk without caring to maintain a system of transparency and accountability.
While services continue to harass Mumbaikars, the BMC talks big money. A general breakdown of the budget shows that Rs 5,570 crores is spent towards water supply and sewerage disposal, Rs 5,184 crores towards roads, traffic and bridges, Rs 3,694 crores is allocated for the health budget, Rs 2,852 crores for solid waste management and Rs 1,969 crores towards education.
Whats alarming is that a provision of Rs 3,863 crores is made for road repairs and constructions in the city. The budget for this head alone is equivalent to that of the total budget of the Indore Municipal Corporation and it doesn't take a road engineer to guess that the huge potholes in the city have gobbled away the 'road repair' funds.
The money allocated for water supply and sewerage management, close to Rs 5,570 crores, is equivalent to the total budget of the Municipality of Hyderabad. But this is not all. The budget is bound to be increased in the coming years. It has seen a rising trend, with a 34 percent increase from the budget of 2013-14.
The BMC is a giant setup of bureaucracy with an estimated 50 percent or more of its budget going towards salaries and pensions alone of its 1.1 lakh employees. It is more than unfair for Mumbaikars to continue to pay exorbitant taxes for the operation of an agency that has stubbornly kept Mumbai from becoming a global city. On top of this, many of its employees are under the scanner for corrupt exchanges and rent-seeking harassment for getting work done.
A RTI revealed that a total of 2,067 BMC employees are facing interdepartmental probes, out of which 104 Class A employees (includes senior bureaucrats from the All India Services and Central Civil Services) are under the scanner, including 2 deputy municipal commissioners, three chief fire officers, 19 doctors and 44 executive engineers. The state of affairs is nothing less than appalling.
BMC chooses to pay its unaccountable bureaucrats handsomely and spend crores in capital expenditure, while the development of Mumbai takes a backseat.
An analysis by a leading daily pointed how over a ten-year budget period, with a total allotment of Rs 2.19 Lakh crores, only 18.3 percent or Rs 40,267 Crores was spent on the creation or maintenance of infrastructure. The remaining money went in several administrative costs.
The current state of Mumbai can be compared with its biggest dump yard, where garbage is piling up higher than the Leaning Tower of Pisa; so it does put the city on the world map, one way or another.
The author works with Free A Billion, an NGO that aims to empower Indians by creating a popular demand for a new set of rules
After a long agitation from various tribal bodies and civil society groups of Nagaland, Cheif Minister TR Zeliang has finally decided to resign from his post on Sunday, IANS reported.
In a letter to MLAs of the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF), Zeliang said he has decided to resign to break the deadlock between the agitating groups and the government.
The Chief Minister has called for an emergency meeting of the NPF legislature party on Monday at the state banquet hall. This will be followed by a meeting of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) legislature party at the same venue.
In the 60-member assembly, the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition government comprises 48 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and eight Independents.
On Saturday, more than 50 legislators "signed a letter of support" in favour of the state's lone Lok Sabha member, Neiphiu Rio, as the new legislature party leader, to replace Zeliang.
Zeliang had been facing tough resistance from various tribal groups across the state after his government conducted the urban local body election in early February with 33% reservation for women, something various tribal parties in the state found as an interference into the tribal way of life.
The election followed public outrage with various tribal groups and citizen bodies demanding the resignation of the chief minister.
Even though Zeliang had called the elections null and void, protesters refused to call off strikes until Zeliang stepped down.
In fact, Zeliang had even taken to the All India Radio to appeal to the various protesters' groups to call off the strike and resume normal functioning of life, but his requests went unheard.Following the impasse, earlier, on Thursday, the NPF legislators had backed party supremo Shurhozelie Liezietsu to take over as the new chief minister. Forty-two of the 49 NPF legislators had "unanimously supported" supremo Liezietsu to take over from Zeliang as the new legislature party leader.
(With agency inputs)
"Kaam Bolta Hai" (Its work that speaks) is the catchphrase of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadavs election campaign.
In each and every rally including the recent ones at Hamirpur and Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand, while criticising his opponents especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for doing nothing, he emphasised on the development work his government has done over the past five years. Addressing a large gathering of more than 5,000 people at the Police Line Ground surrounded by hills in Khoh village, Chitrakoot on Saturday, Akhilesh read out a list of development work carried out by him and his Samajwadi Party from improving police emergency service in the state to distribution of laptop.
Akhilesh who is articulate in his speeches and spices them up with a generous smattering of humour and puns received wide applause from the public, who came to attend his rally from nearby villages, tehsils and the adjoining Assembly constituency of Manikpur. The gathering seemed to agree with what he said as they replied in the affirmative when the chief minister asked questions.
Although Akhilesh succeeded in connecting with the masses that had patiently waited for him under the scorching sun for over four hours, does his work really speak?
"Kya unka kaam sahi mein bolta hai (Does his work really speak)? You neednt go far, just visit the adjoining Assembly segment of Manikpur 40 kilometres from here (Khoh village). Almost throughout the year youll find the schools closed due to the fear of dacoits, as the ravines of Manikpur were once ruled by the dacoit Dadua. It is the same with Fatehganj under the Naraini Assembly constituency that is infamous for banditry and where schools remain closed throughout the year. And, here the chief minister presented a list of achievements in fields ranging from education to development," said Banda-based social activist, Ashish Sagar after the chief minister's rally ended.
"Its true that the government has given laptops, but due to either the lack of electricity or an irregular supply in many villages, the beneficiaries sold them off at discounted rates. While Bundelkhand continues to suffer from a water crisis and drought, the scenario is worst in Patha in the Chitrakoot district. Although pipelines had been laid and overhead water tanks constructed in Asias biggest drinking water project (inaugurated by former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1973), there is no water. Funds from the Bundelkhand Package were transferred into it but nothing happened. Not even five percent of the total revenue generated (Rs 510 crore per annum) from sand and stone mining in Bundelkhand, is utilised for the welfare of this belt," he added.
Before Akhilesh addresses his rallies, the party ensures that public should get a feel for his achievements. Songs based on local folk songs like Dumadum mast kalandar and others eulogise him and simultaneously remind the gathering that Samajwadi Party should be voted to power for the next five years.
"Yes, what the chief minister said is right. There is no doubt that the government has done a lot of work, but its visible in Lucknow and other cities only. Not much has been done for Bundelkhand. The villagers in Chitrakoot need a supply of water for drinking and irrigation; they also need electricity and the construction of roads in rural areas. Perhaps Akhilesh will focus on Bundelkhand if he comes to power and forms the government for a second term," said Munna Nishad, who was wearing a red-coloured Samajwadi Party topi (cap) and waving a party flag at the venue.
Among the thousands, many came to have a look at the chief minister, while many others wanted to hand over applications and memoranda to him with individual demands.
One such person found meeting government officials at the venue with a bunch of papers in hand was Ram Moonat, a labourer.
"For the past five years I have been trying to get a ration card but failed. During rains, our shanties get submerged due to water-logging in the area. Despite visiting departments with applications, none of the work has been done. I even went to Lucknow and stayed there for three days to meet chief minister sahab, but failed. As were poor people, officials dont listen to our pleas. Ive come here to give this application to the chief minister, but I dont know how to go about it," added Moonat, who too was wearing a red topi with the Samajwadi Party logo on it.
Shyam Singh Patel, a small farmer, who came all the way from Dhaura village with his family and neighbours remarked, "Theres no boring, no tube well, no water for irrigation in our area. In the past two years, weve suffered a lot due to drought. Yahan koi kaam nahi hua hai, kisaan pareshan hain (No work has been done here; farmers are frustrated)."
Akhilesh's rally was not just about men; there were large number of women who too were part of it. That was perhaps because in this hinterland of Uttar Pradesh, wives of farmers who shoulder responsibilities and burdens along with their husbands. "Im here to see if Mukhyamantri ji announces something that may solve our water crisis. Forget water for irrigation, its hard to get even drinking water. We travel long distances everyday to fetch water for household purposes," remarked Shanti Bai, who came from Mau village.
In the summer of 2016, when Bundelkhand was reeling under drought, Yogendra Yadav, the president of newly-formed political party Swaraj India and co-founder of the Swaraj Abhiyan movement visited the region with his team and conducted a survey. "If a drought is an invisible disaster, the burden of its consequences placed on womens shoulders is also an invisible burden. Men talk and complain. They talk about the non-delivery of compensation promised by the government. They talk about the recovery of loan instalments and non-availability of fresh loans. They talk about the unbearable burden of running a household after crops have failed. And if they cannot take it anymore, they commit suicide. It is for women to gather all the pieces of everyday life and carry on with it somehow. Women experience drought in its quotidian cruelties where exit is not an option," Yadav commented.
However, there are staunch party supporters, who would like to believe what Akhilesh has been claiming in his rallies in Bundelkhand. And, hell do so again on Sunday at his rally in Jhansi with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
"Lots of work has been done in five years. Now, a supply of regular electricity and water is needed. Well vote for Samajwadi Party," asserted an enthusiastic Bhola Prasad Yadav.
A fresh wave of political bickering is likely to take over the political battlefield in Uttar Pradesh as third phase of polling came to an end, and extensive campaigning for the fourth phase reached its pinnacle.
While voter turnout remained relatively low with only around 62 percent voters turning up to polling booths, politicos upped the ante in the electioneering for the next phase. Fresh barbs were traded at election rallies for the fourth phase and all eyes remained fixed on the high-stake competition in Lucknow and the Yadav bastion of Mainpuri-Etawah belt. The entire Yadav clan was also under intense public scrutiny for any signs of distress within the family as they cast their vote. Stray incidents of violence firing, preventing some from voting and stone pelting were reported from some places though voting was by and large peaceful in most constituencies.
Here are the key highlights from the day:
Voter turnout
As many as 69 Assembly constituencies in the Yadav heartland, considered crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, went to the polls in the third phase of the ongoing polls. Voter turnout, however, remained low at 61.16-percent. But it was slightly higher than the turnout observed in the 2012 Assembly (59.96 percent) and 2014 Lok Sabha polls (58.43 percent). The polling percentage was observed at 64.2 percent in the ongoing election, whereas in the second phase voter turnout was little over 65 percent.
UP Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said that the exercise was held by and large peacefully in this phase, adding that tight security arrangements were put in place at all the 25,603 polling booths.
Polling in this phase began slowly but picked up pace, later. There were reports of minor skirmishes between the supporters of the candidates at some polling booths.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, the SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while the BSP, BJP and Congress had secured only six, five and two seats respectively. One seat was won by an Independent candidate.
There were 826 candidates in the fray in the third phase whose fate will be decided by 2.41 crore voters, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 people belonging to the "third gender" category.
Apart from SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah Lucknow (the Lok Sabha constituency of Rajnath Singh), Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur were among the 12 districts where polling was held on Sunday.
Etawah is the native place of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, while another key district is Mainpuri, which is represented in Parliament by SP's Tej Pratap Yadav. Dimple Yadav, the wife of Akhilesh, is the MP from Kannauj.
In the third phase, the maximum of 4,98,573 voters exercised their franchise in the Sarojini Nagar seat in Lucknow, while the minimum of 2,72,294 voters were exercised in Sisamau. The highest number of 21 candidates were in Etawah and the minimum of three in Haidergarh (Barabanki). Lucknow West and Central had 17 candidates each.
Prominent among those, whose prestige is at stake, are Nitin Agarwal, son of SP leader Naresh Agarwal (from Hardoi), BSP turncoat Brijesh Pathak from Lucknow (Central) on a BJP ticket and Congress turncoat Rita Bahuguna Joshi (now in BJP), who is pitted against Mulayam's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav from Lucknow Cantt. SP leader Shivpal too is a key figure in this round. He is contesting from Jaswantnagar.
Congress leader PL Punia's son Tanuj Punia is trying his luck from the Jaidpur seat in Barabanki. Interestingly, the much-vaunted 'kaam bolta hai' (work speaks) slogan of Akhilesh faced a litmus test in the battle of ballots in the state capital, the crucible of his dream projects.
Akhilesh has used the development card to the hilt during his campaign across the state, often highlighting his work in and around Lucknow, the city of Nawabs, doing away with the traditional SP politics that hinged on caste equations and dependence on the "M-Y" (Muslim-Yadav) factor.
Which way the youth vote will swing
Akhilesh remained a clear favourite among most of the youngsters Firstpost spoke to. Youngsters from across party lines said that the government's scheme to distribute laptops and scholarships benefited them. Female students also lauded "Akhilesh bhaiya" for Kanya Vidya Dhan scheme. Predominantly, the mood was that at least the youth is ready to buy the development dream being sold by the Samajwadi Party.
Even a sizeable majority of BJP-leaning youngsters weren't critical of Akhilesh but preferred Modi's credibility over him.
In all this, Mayawati didn't appear to hold much sway among the educated urban youth, who are unlikely to vote on caste or communal lines. She also seemed to be aware of it as she has gone out of the way to seek the support of Maulavis who, she thinks, have the ability to influence the Muslim vote share. But the youngsters do not take Maulavis seriously. Also, voting Mayawati in urban areas is perceived as helping BJP.
The impact of social media in urban areas is noticeable. The BJP-tilting youngsters often cite WhatsApp forwards when asked about demonetisation. The SP has also upped its game on social media with a full-fledged team operating from the Vikramaditya Marg. The lack of effective use of social media is another reason why Mayawati is struggling in urban areas and among the urban youth.
Conversely, another point of view was that because of social media, the electorate is getting increasingly cagey about expressing their views. A senior professor, speaking about the youth, said they are aware of how a single tweet about them can expose their inclinations. They are intimidated considering the vitriol on social media. People haven't been this reluctant to express their inclinations since emergency, he says. Also, a reason why opinion polls are getting it wrong.
Heavyweights turn up to cast their vote
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the entire Yadav family, BSP supremo Mayawati and Home Minister Rajnath Singh exercised their votes in the third phase of UP elections and claimed that their parties will form the next government.
Mayawati, who cast her vote in the Mall Avenue area in Lucknow, told reporters that BSP would win over 300 of the 403 seats.
"Unlike the Congress and the BJP, I am not saying this without any basis. The way the people are attending my rallies, I can say that I am going to form the next government. The people of the state want change as they are fed up with the misrule and goonda raj of SP," she said.
In a similar refrain, Singh, after casting his vote, claimed that the BJP would secure an absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh. BJP leader and Union Minister Sakshi Maharaj also cast his vote from Unnao where he again raked up the Ram temple issue and said that no one could stop BJP from building the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
At Saifai, Akhilesh said, "The voters have made up their minds in favour of the SP-Congress alliance," adding that he voted not just for his party but for the "development and prosperity of Uttar Pradesh." However, Akhilesh subtly, but decisively ducked any questions framed to seek a response on the family feud that eclipsed most part of the party's campaign in the run up to the crucial polls.
Who said what in the Yadav clan
Flanked by his by cousin and Budayun MP Dharmendra Yadav and sporting the red-colour party cap, Akhilesh looked a little shaky and snapped back at certain journalists who asked some uncomfortable questions. He also got angry when the media persons asked about his father Mulayam Singh Yadav not accompanying him for vote like he always does.
Replying to a question whether he would like to wish his estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from Jaswantnagar, the Chief Minister wished that all SP candidates won the polls.
On the question why Mulayam Singh, whom he ousted as the National President of the party in January, did not turn up for joint rallies with him, Akhilesh Yadav said he probably wanted to cover other areas.
Amid reports of a not good performance in the erstwhile strongholds, the chief minister also ruled out "bheetarghat (internal sabotage)" against the ruling party candidates.
However, his uncle Shivpal was a little more forthcoming on the question of sabotage, amid reports of poll-related violence coming from his assembly.
Shivpal, who had a near escape as his motorcade was stone pelted, and later police lathi charged his supporters at a poll booth, complained that his supporters were attacked by the "political opponents" in his Jaswantnagar constituency. Without taking any names, Shivpal also expressed fear of attempts to sabotage the polls.
Meanwhile, Mulayam put up a composed front and refrained from sounding condescending towards anybody in particular. The SP patriarch, who came to cast his vote with his younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, expressed hope that the Samajwadi Party will win under Akhilesh, adding that his son has delivered on the ground and people will vote for him.
Mulayam's wife Sadhana Gupta tried to quell speculations about a possible rift between her and Akhilesh. "Akhilesh aur Prateek meri do aakho ke samaan hai... koi sautelapan nahi hai, koi ladai nahi hai (Both Akhilesh and Prateek are like my two eyes, there is no step-motherly treatment towards any of them from my side)," she said.
The next four phases of polling will be held on 23 and 27 February and on 4 and 8 March. Counting of votes will be taken up on 11 March.
With inputs from agencies
The battle for Uttar Pradesh has begun. Two phases of the seven-phase election are over and the polls to elect the 403-member state Assembly is reaching fever pitch. The biggest state in India is witnessing a three-cornered fight this election between the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Multi-cornered contests have been the trend at least since 2002, when elections that year had thrown up a hung Assembly, while in the 2007 and 2012 polls, the BSP and the SP won clear mandates to form the government. With such contests emerge the possibility of many seats being won by a whisker.
In the 2012 Assembly elections, 109 seats were won by either less than three percent of the total votes polled or by a margin of less than 6,000 votes. This translates to more than 25 percent of the total seats of in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Of the 109 narrow margin victories witnessed last election, 50 of them were registered by the SP, which ultimately emerged victorious in 226 seats. BSP, its arch-rival was victorious in 28 such seats.
Interestingly, 24 of the 109 seats were won by less than a thousand votes. The narrowest of victory was recorded in the Baheri constituency, where Ataurrehman of the SP defeated his nearest rival Chhtrapal Singh of the BJP by just 18 votes.
In caste-dominated Uttar Pradesh politics, close contests were recorded in 12 of the 85 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates.
Of the 12 reserved constituencies, Ghatampur recorded the lowest margin of victory, as Inderjeet Kori of the SP barely managed to win a nail-biting contest by a margin of 700 votes.
42 of the 150 seats in western Uttar Pradesh were won by narrow margin
In 2012 elections, 22 of the 73 western Uttar Pradesh seats were won by a margin of less than three percent of the votes polled. Known to be communally sensitive, especially after the riots of Muzaffarnagar, the Dadri lynching case and alleged exodus in Kairana, western Uttar Pradesh is in the centrestage of this year's elections. In fact, the key accused in the 2013 riots, Suresh Rana, managed to win the Thana Bhawan seat by a margin of a paltry 265 votes. Western Uttar Pradesh went to polls in the first phase of Assembly election on 11 February 2017.
In 2012, however, it was another BJP leader Bimla Singh Solanki, who recorded the lowest margin of victory in the western part of the state. In a close contest with BSPs Saleem Akhtar Khan, Solanki pulled off a victory in the Sikandrabad constituency by a margin of just 123 votes.
In the second phase of election on 15 February, 67 seats in the Muslim-dominated Rohilkhand region, a part of western Uttar Pradesh, went to polls. Twenty of those seats were won by less than three percent of the total votes polled in the last election. Behat constituency had witnessed a close contest last time, as Mahaveer Singh Rana of the BSP narrowly defeated Naresh of the Indian National Congress by 518 votes. Behat went to polls on 15 February.
Awadh and Purvnachal hold key to Uttar Pradesh
Voters in 150 constituencies have already exercised their right to vote after the first two phases of polling. After western Uttar Pradesh, the focus now has shifted to the historically and politically significant region of Awadh and Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh). These two densely populated regions, lying on the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, have 234 seats between them. The political significance be gauged by the fact that eight of the 15 prime ministers India has had were elected from these regions.
Of the 109 constituencies that recorded a low margin of victory in the 2012 elections, 61 were situated in Awadh and Purvanchal. That amounts to one-fourth of the total seats in the region. Such a high percentage of narrow-margin victories point out to closely fought electoral battles in the two politically crucial regions of the state.
However, of the 89 Purvanchal seats which go to polls in the final two phases, only 16 were won narrowly in the 2012 elections.
This means that the next three phases of Assembly election taking place in the Awadh region would cover 45 seats that had been won by a margin of less than three percent votes in 2012.
The last elections data throws some interesting bits of information.
Take for instance, the Farrukhabad constituency, which is located in the Awadh region. The constituency, which votes on Sunday, witnessed an interesting contest last time, when an Independent candidate Vijay Singh trounced BJPs Major Suneel Dutt Dwivedi by a nerve-wrecking margin of just 147 vote.
In fact, Singh was only one of the two Independents candidates who managed to scrap through to a win the other instance was in the Sayadraja constituency which goes to polls on 8 March.
Similarly, the Ghazipur constituency, which comes under Purvanchal, recorded a narrow victory in 2012 polls.
Last election, the constituency it goes to poll in the final phase witnessed a SP versus BSP battle that went down to the wire. Ultimately, the SP candidate Vijay Kumar Mishra defeated his nearest BSP rival Raj Kumar by a margin of 241 votes. Mishra went on to be a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government before joining the BJP on 16 February.
While Awadh and Purvanchal hog the limelight in the electoral battlefield of Uttar Pradesh, the impoverished and politically insignificant Bundelkhand is often ignored.
Bundelkhand the forgotten backwaters of Uttar Pradesh
The region, which has been facing severe drought problems since many years, saw the BSP doing better than the rest as it secured seven out of 19 seats. Seven seats in the region were won narrowly the BSP winning four while the SP emerging victorious in two. However, with just 19 seats, Bundelkhand may play no major role in determining Uttar Pradesh's political destiny.
The scenario looks different this time
The race to Lucknow seems to be much more interesting this election. Unlike 2012, this time around the SP has joined hands with the Congress, while BJP now looks a much more formidable opponent after its astonishing victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. On the other hand, BSP seems to be on the backfoot after its debacle in the Lok Sabha polls.
The ruling party is banking on its young chief minister Akhilesh Yadavs development image to ride back to power a factor which may have encouraged Rahul Gandhi to tie up with his party. On the other hand, the BJP in its bid to form its first government since 1997, is seeking to reap electoral benefits from the note ban saga.
Notably, for the first time since 2007, the party ruing the Centre is in serious contention to rule Uttar Pradesh. If one looks at the opinion polls that have come out so far, it has been either SP-Congress or BJP at the pole position. Every pollster has relegated BSP to the third place.
However, history has been witness to many opinion polls going totally wrong (read Bihar pre-poll surveys). One might never know if Mayawati could spring a surprise.
The results, expected on 11 March, can shape the political destiny of not just Uttar Pradesh but also India. It is then we will know whether the elephant is able to trump the cycle or if the lotus will bloom after two decades. And it is worth remembering that the road to New Delhi passes through Lucknow.
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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.
Second mandate for Akhilesh? Amit Shah doesn't think so
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.
Karan-Arjun aa gayo, says a placard made of a thermocol sheet fraying all around.
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
Those who were fighting, have joined hands: Narendra Modi | ANI
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?
Women can't walk out of their homes: Narendra Modi
Why only one family from Safai with so many politicians: asks Narendra Modi
Two families who destroyed Uttar Pradesh and India have joined hands: 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.
We have to end family rule from Etawah: Amit Shah
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.
Noida: Number of voters expected to increase after 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.
Reports of first phase of voting very positive: BSP chief Mayawati
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.
BJP's Hukum Singh does a U-turn, says Kairana exodus 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.
BJP puts one last-ditch effort to woo Jats in western UP
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.
BJP makes a grand start to UP polls, bags three MLC seats in Kanpur, Bareilly, Gorakhpur
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.
Will the high voter turnout swing undecided voters in favour of BJP
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.
Voting remained slow in Aligarh according to our ground reports.
Voting ends for the first phase, around 63% turnout recorded till 5pm
"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.
Women in UP are scared to wear chains: Modi
"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.
Corrupt are joining hands against me, says PM 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.
Politicians should stay away from issue of Triple Talaq: Rampur voters
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.
Plight of sugarcane farmers and mills missing from poll campaign
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.
Yadav family image matters just as much as seats
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.
Gayatri Prajapati should not be allowed to contest elections: BJP leader Laxmikant Bajpai
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.
Third phase is a matter of prestige for Samajwadi Party
BSP has given ticket to Rajiv Srivastava in Lucknow.
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.
Gupt Rog and a sure way to lose clients
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.
Muslim voters know who to vote for
"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.
Black patches on the walls tell an election story
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
Dhaka: Hundreds of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar have returned home, community leaders said on Sunday, adding that most had gone back temporarily to fetch relatives.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since October to escape a bloody crackdown by troops and police.
Dudu Mia, a refugee camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, said nearly 1,000 Rohingya mostly young men had returned to their home villages to collect elderly family members left behind earlier.
"Most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh. It's been four months and they have barely even talked to their parents back home," Mia told AFP.
Myanmar's army has halted its operations in the north of Rakhine, a senior official said last week, ending the four-month crackdown which the UN has warned may amount to crimes against humanity.
Hundreds from the Rohingya Muslim minority are thought to have died and almost 70,000 have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched a campaign to find militants who attacked police border posts.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh, including the 70,000 most recent arrivals.
Escapees have given harrowing accounts of how security forces raped, killed and tortured Rohingya and burnt their houses to the ground.
Another Rohingya leader said some of the refugees had left Bangladesh permanently because their home villages had not been damaged by the Myanmar army and they had properties to protect.
"They left (their homes) because they were panicked. They didn't want to stay here as beggars, rather they would live in their own houses and work at land back home," he said on condition of anonymity.
The Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed that some Rohingya refugees had gone back to Myanmar.
"Scores of Rohingya people have reportedly returned home in last few days," said local commander Abujar al-Jahid.
"But we're remaining on high alert about any illegal infiltration."
A satellite image published last year by Human Rights Watch showed how Myanmar troops burned down Rohingya villages, displacing thousands.
Most of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh are now living in squalid conditions in refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar district, which borders Rakhine and is also home to the country's biggest tourist resort.
Bangladesh has already approved a controversial plan for their relocation to an island and instructed officials to identify undocumented Myanmar nationals as part of the campaign.
London: The European Union (EU) fears millions of its nationals living in the UK will be left stranded in a legal no mans land after the country leaves the bloc because of the weaknesses of the British immigration system, according to a leaked document.
Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and senior European diplomats fear that chaos will ensue as the Home Office does not have the information or systems in place to select who can stay, once the UK restricts access to nationals from the other 27 EU member states, The Guardian reported.
It is widely assumed that, at an early stage of article 50, the official process of exiting the EU negotiations, Britain and the bloc will agree a cut-off date after which foreigners who have settled in the country will not have an automatic right to remain.
But the leaked document on Saturday, drawn up by MEPs on the European parliament's employment committee to aid the EU's Brexit negotiations, warned: "The UK has no population register. In practice it would be difficult to determine which EU27 citizens were residing legally in the UK before the Brexit would have taken effect.
"If all 3.3 million EU citizens were to initiate procedures aimed at proving the exercise of treaty rights', the administrative system would be overburdened."
Former British prime minister Tony Blair's government was forced to drop plans for a national identity card and population register in 2007 because of concerns over the security of citizens' data.
The Cabinet Office advises that EU nationals do not need to register for any documentation in order to enjoy free movement rights and responsibilities in the UK, reports the Guardian.
The government does not track EU nationals as they enter and leave the country. The databases of the Department for Work and Pensions, Revenue and Customs and the Home Office do not share information.
EU nationals who have lived in the UK for five years can gain automatic permanent residency status, although there have been numerous cases of employers asking for their foreign employees to acquire permanent residency cards in order to guarantee their jobs.
There has been almost a 50 percent increase in the number of EU citizens applying for permanent residency documentation since the vote on 23 June.
EU nationals say that to obtain permanent residency cards they have to complete an 85-page form requiring huge files of documentation.
The European parliament is also due to debate the rights of EU nationals in both the UK and on the continent on 1 March.
BERLIN Germany deported a record 80,000 migrants denied asylum last year and that figure will rise again in 2017, a top official said, as Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to win back conservative voters before elections in September.Peter Altmaier, Merkel's chief of staff, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that nearly half of 700,000 asylum requests made in 2016 had been rejected, spelling another record high in deportations this year.To placate conservatives put off by Merkel's decision in 2015 to open German borders to refugees, leaders of her Christian Democrat party (CDU) have been pushing to deport more migrants whose applications have failed or foreigners who have committed crimes.Altmaier said it was important to send these people home promptly in order to maintain a high level of public support for the asylum system.Germany has taken in more than a million migrants in the last 18 months, often fleeing war and turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those seeking asylum need to show they would face persecution at home. Many whose applications are rejected have nevertheless been allowed to stay temporarily, a practice that Merkel's conservatives want to scale back."We sent home 80,000 last year whose asylum applications were rejected - that's a record," Altmaier said. "And the number will rise again further. There were some 700,000 asylum applications in 2016 and nearly 300,000 were rejected. We'll be sending these people home quickly because if we don't it'll damage our credibility as a state based on the rule of law."Merkel has long argued the country needs to keep its doors open to those fleeing persecution while her Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), wants an upper limit of 200,000 refugees per year.
Merkel has refused that demand and the two parties have suffered a slump in support as a result of their squabbling before the Sept. 24 election.A poll in Bild am Sonntag showed the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) moving ahead of the conservative bloc for the first time since 2006.
Some polls put the right-wing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany in third place.Altmaier said he hoped the upper house of parliament, where the SPD and Greens can block the government, would soon agree to change the status of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco to allow automatic and swift rejections of asylum seekers from those countries. He also said that rejected asylum-seekers can live safely in some parts of Afghanistan. (reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, editing by David Stamp)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Malaysian police said on Sunday that four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.
The four North Koreans flew out of Malaysia, but police would not reveal the flight's destination, just that they were coordinating with Interpol to track them down.
Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, while a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have also been arrested. A Malaysian man is being detained to facilitate the investigation.
Kim Jong Nam died on Monday after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he was catching a flight to Macau. South Korean and US officials have said he was assassinated by North Korean agents using what was thought to be a fast acting poison.
"I can confirm today that they (four North Korean suspects) have left our country the very same day the incident happen," deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ismail told reporters at a press conference.
"The four suspects are holding normal passports, not diplomatic passports," he said.
"Next plan is to get them. We, of course, have international cooperation especially with Interpol, bilateral involvement with the country involved, we will go through those avenues to get the people involved."
Malaysian police said the cause of death was still not known and that they were waiting for pathology and toxicology tests after conducting a post-mortem.
A diplomatic spat between North Korea and Malaysia over the body has escalated. North Korea has said it would reject Malaysia's autopsy report and accused Malaysia of "colluding with outside forces" a veiled reference to rival South Korea.
The Malaysian police said they were trying to contact the next-of-kin of Kim Jong Nam. "The body must be identified. The most eligible to identify the body physically is the next-of-kin," Noor Rashid said.
"We will verify again through scientific means, so it is very important for close family members to come forward to assist us in process of identification base on legal procedures under Malaysian law."
The police is giving the next-of-kin two weeks to claim the body. South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that Kim had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under China's protection.
Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.
The young, unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.
By Phil Stewart
| ABU DHABI
ABU DHABI U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday distanced himself from President Donald Trump's assessment of the media as "the enemy of the American people," saying during his first trip to the Middle East that he had no problems with the press.Mattis, a retired Marine general seen as one of the most influential voices in Trump's cabinet, did not mention his boss by name. But asked about Trump's Tweet on Friday that branded the media as America's enemy, Mattis took a different position entirely."I've had some rather contentious times with the press. But no, the press, as far as I'm concerned, are a constituency that we deal with," he told reporters traveling with him in the United Arab Emirates."And I don't have any issues with the press, myself," Mattis added.Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has fiercely criticized various news outlets that have reported unflattering revelations of dysfunction or other problems in the White House. He has described them as "lying", "corrupt" and "failing," and late on Friday he said the news media was "the enemy of the American people."
Asked about the latest salvo, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told CBS's "Face the Nation" program, "I think you should take (Trump's Twitter statement) seriously.""Certainly we would never condone violence. But I do think that we condone critical thought," Priebus said, adding the media, in some cases, needed to "get its act together.""HOW DICTATORS GET STARTED"
Mattis spoke after talks with European leaders at a security conference in Munich, Germany, where U.S. Senator John McCain warned that suppressing the free press was "how dictators get started.""If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time," McCain told NBC's "Meet the Press" program on Sunday.On Friday McCain told the Munich forum that the resignation of Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over his contacts with Russia reflected "disarray" in Washington.
But Mattis played down any concerns about the reshuffling within the administration."Welcome to democracy. It's at times wildly contentious, it's at times quite sporting. But the bottom line is this is the best form of government that we can come up with," he said.Mattis added that the military was very ready to "hold the line" as the political process played out."We don't have any disarray inside the military and that's where my responsibility lies," he said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and Andrea Shalal in Munich and Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Mark Potter and Jeffrey Benkoe)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch
| WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn.Trump fired Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration and later misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.His first choice to fill the job, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, is also no longer on the president's short list.Sources familiar with the candidates' thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority.White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace' that the new adviser "can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing".
He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they "hadn't really gone down the road" with Petraeus.The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies.
Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon's addition has drawn sharp criticism due his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News.Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen are currently on the president's list.
McMaster holds a senior post with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Caslen is superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point."I'll make a decision over the next couple of days," Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Kieran Murray and Mary Milliken)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
After much speculation, we now know that the title for Star Wars: The Last Jedi is referring to multiple individuals.
Because Jedi is both the singular and plural form of the word, there was a debate about how many Jedi were being referred to in the title for "Episode VIII." Finally, foreign-language posters let the cat out of the bag.
READ: 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Gets Official Title
Thanks to the conjugation of adjectives in French, German and Spanish, there is no longer a question that there is more than one last Jedi in the film.
"Star Wars: Los Ultimos Jedi," the Spanish poster reads. If it was referring to one Jedi, the title would have read "El Ultimo Jedi."
But one question still remains: Who will the Jedi be?
EXCLUSIVE: Laura Dern Opens Up About Carrie Fisher & 'Star Wars: Episode VIII': 'What an Incredible Gift'
The film will follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she continues her epic journey with Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the next chapter of their saga.
The movie will also carry on the legacy of "Star Wars" icon Carrie Fisher, who finished shooting scenes for the film before her death in December.
"Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi" opens Dec. 15.
Americas veterans are being treated with more than psychotherapy to manage mental health problems after combat. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies can include acupuncture, meditation and yoga but what about diving with sharks?
CAM therapies were used more commonly than conventional therapies to treat self-defined anxiety attacks and severe depression, according to a nationally representative survey by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs.
Now, soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), in collaboration with Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, are diving with sharks to help treat pain, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The major benefits are more on the emotional realm, Louis McGranaghan, chief physical therapist for JBLMs Warrior Transition Battalion, told Fox News. Theres certainly a thrilling adrenaline rush because youre eye to eye with these creatures; [its] an emotionally driven experience, so one aspect is for each soldier to manage those emotions in an appropriate way.
Stress management and anxiety control also play a part in the experience, McGranaghan said. By using a scuba regulator to breathe under water, soldiers have to use diaphragmatic breathing, or deep breathing, to reduce stress and anxiety. Research has shown that deep abdominal breathing can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure.
McGranaghans program, Operation Shark Dive, is offered to eight soldiers a month and is financed through grants.
After an initial briefing on safety and protocol, the soldiers spend about 50 minutes in an open cage underwater with about 16 sharks in the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquariums 225,000-gallon warm water shark exhibit.
JBLMs Warrior Transition department also offers more widely known therapies like aquatics, yoga, lumbar stabilization and spin class, but their shark dive is growing in popularity.
It was great. I need to bring my family here, one JBLM soldier, who was not named, told Q13 Fox.
Although studies have not been able to confirm the exact health benefits of shark diving, giving soldiers an alternativeand somewhat dangeroustherapy option could be helpful in the long-term healing process, experts say.
The programs we offer are really cool and some have some inherit risk, but life is about risk, McGranaghan said. We could put the guys in bubble wrap and sit them on the couch and they would get through this program without a hitch but that doesnt help them with their healing that would only institutionalize them. Getting them to understand the types of risks that are out there so they can manage it is really the big picture.
For more visit the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium website
The Department of Homeland Securitys plan to crack down on illegal immigration includes the hiring of thousands of additional federal agents and accelerating deportation hearings, according to memos signed this weekend by agency Secretary John Kelly.
The memos were signed Friday by Kelly and, if approved by President Trump, would give federal authorities more power to aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the country and along U.S. borders.
The guidelines also call for expanding the priority list for illegal immigrants marked for immediate removal and enlisting the help of local law enforcement agencies, reported first by CNN and The Washington Post, which has a copy of the memos.
If adopted, the changes would be in connection with executive orders Trump signed in late-January on illegal immmigration.
Kelly is calling for 10,000 additional ICE officers and agents and 5,000 new hires at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.
The surge of immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States, wrote Kelly, citing 10,000 to 15,000 more apprehensions along that border between 2015 and 2016.
He also wrote that building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, as Trump has called for, necessary.
Former President Obamas executive orders on illegal immigration focused on deporting those with criminal records and terrorist connections.
Criminal aliens have demonstrated their disregard for the rule of law and pose a threat to persons residing in the United States, Kelly writes in the memorandums. As such criminal aliens are a priority for removal.
The expanded relationship with local law enforcement would be carried out through what is known as 287(g) -- a section on the federal Immigration and Nationality Act that allows DHS to deputize state and local law-enforcement officers so they can function as federal immigration agents.
The memos are purportedly draft documents now under review by the White House Counsels Office, which will likely recommend changes.
The Muslim call to prayer rang out through Times Square in New York City on Sunday afternoon as a large, mixed-faith crowd of merchandise hawkers, social activists, organizers, curious tourists and genuine protesters declared their allegiance with Islam.
I am a Muslim, too! the group chanted several times at the anti-President Trump rally organized by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons and a local rabbi and imam.
We are here, unified, because of Donald Trump, so we wont speak too harshly of him tonight today. We want to thank him for bringing us together, Simmons said.
Simmons used to be friends with Trump, and the two men reportedly socialized nearly every weekend at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump even wrote the foreword for two of Simmons books, and Simmons has said he was with Trump during Trumps first date with now-First Lady Melania Trump.
But a rift developed when Simmons said he would rather Kim Kardashian be president than Trump, after the business magnate announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination. The two havent spoken since 2015, Simmons told The New York Daily News. Now, instead of speaking to Trump, Simmons only speaks out against his ex-buddy.
We are here today to show Middle America our beautiful sides, Simmons said on Sunday. And through our beautiful actions and intentions, that they have been misled. That the seeds of hate that were small, and maybe just ignorance, cannot be watered, and that hate cannot grow.
Simmons was followed by actor-vist Susan Sarandon, who told the crowd that if you are silent, then you are complicit in the dismantling of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
We will fight hatred with love, she said. We will fight bigotry with inclusivity.
But though Sarandon spoke of love, many of the messages printed on signs and emanating from the speakers podium carried a decidedly intolerant tone.
One protester yelled at fascist police officers engaged in directing crowd control for being un-American and squelching freedom of speech.
Trump was drawn as both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini on different signs, and a college-aged man held a sign that crossed out the Love Trumps Hate slogan and replaced it with Smash The State.
Chants of Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go and No wall, No Muslim ban, no fascist USA were frequently encouraged, and host Dean Obeidallah, a comedian, contrasted the crowd in New York City with those who turned out for Trumps Saturday campaign rally in Florida, describing the Trump crowd as all different shades of angry white people.
While profiling or so-called bans based on race and religion were often decried, there was one notable exception: white males. Even Simmons, in the press release for the event, said, Everyone except white privileged males are in immediate danger.
An activist who also served as a social media team member for The Womens March wore a pin with the words F--- the police.
Elsewhere, disinformation or misrepresentation was rampant, particularly when it came to Trumps executive order temporarily restricting travel from seven countries an order that made no mention of the Islamic religion, but has nevertheless gained a reputation as a Muslim ban.
One imam termed the order a ban for Muslims, while signs carried the slogans No ban or No Muslim ban.
Rabbi Marc Schneier called it a Muslim refugee ban and said in the United States it is open season on Muslims.
To announce a discriminatory ban against countries that, actually there is no data that says that is where terrorists have come from in this country, protester Vicki Sell told Fox News, when asked what specifically Trump has done that had troubled her.
But numerous convictions of Somali immigrants accused of trying to aid terror groups, and the case of Iraqi jihadis discovered in Kentucky several years ago renders that argument flat.
There were also hiccups in the program.
Several times the crowd chants were drowned out and interrupted when the public address system appeared to accidentally switch on, blaring a big band version of New York, New York. One early speaker, attempting to deliver a put down against Trump, unwittingly acknowledged that he helped build the New York skyline. After screams from the crowd, the man backtracked.
Inside the two fenced-in pens housing close to an estimated 1,000 people far from the 5,000 expected anti-Trump buttons were in high demand, and available for $2 each. Other protesters dressed up as caricatures of Trump, walking by event organizers who had a seemingly never-ending supply of posters to hand out.
Free posters! Hold em up high! Stick em to a wall! one woman implored.
But not everyone was at the rally to declare they, too, were Muslims. Some just wanted to see a protest firsthand.
One family who was approached for an interview politely turned it down.
Sorry, the mom said. Were just tourists.
Officials in Texas acknowledge that hundreds of people were able to bypass voter ID laws and improperly cast ballots in the presidential election.
Voters were able to sign a sworn statement instead of showing ID.
The chief election officers in two of Texas' largest counties are considering whether to refer cases to prosecutors for possible charges.
Officials in many other areas say they will let the mistakes go, adding that there was widespread confusion among workers and voters.
The law requires voters to show one of seven approved forms of identification.
The affidavit process was adopted after an appeals court ruled that the voter ID law discriminated against minorities. The change was intended to help voters who could not obtain identification for a variety of reasons, including disability or illness, lack of transportation or conflicts with work schedules.
The revelations come as President Trump has made frequent claims that the nation's voting systems are vulnerable to fraud.
An Associated Press analysis of roughly 13,500 affidavits submitted in Texas' largest counties found at least 500 instances in which voters were allowed to get around the law by signing an affidavit and never showing a photo ID, despite indicating that they possessed one.
Questionable affidavits were identified in over 20 counties around the state.
Tarrant County alone had at least two dozen. In Bexar County, home to San Antonio, the top election official estimated that a large chunk of the nearly 600 affidavits submitted should have been declined and voters instructed to cast provisional ballots instead.
Election officials were not permitted to question a voters reasoning for signing an affidavit, under a court order issued last year.
Nearly 9 million Texans cast ballots in the presidential election, according to state data, and Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 800,000 votes statewide. That means the hundreds of disputed ballots could never have made a difference in the outcome at the top of the ticket.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that top U.S. intelligence officials have told him that Donald Trumps presidential campaign did not collude with Russia -- attempting to end widespread new reports about potentially compromising, illegal talks with the former Cold War enemy.
I can assure you, the top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that [the allegation] is not only grossly overstated, but also wrong, Priebus told Fox News Sunday. They have made it very clear that the story is complete garbage.
However, his statement is unlikely to end the controversy, amid bipartisan calls on Capitol Hill to hold investigative hearings on the matter.
New stories about a potential Trump-Russia connection began to surface during the 2016 campaign when Trump lauded Russian President Vladimir Putins forceful governing style.
And they appeared to reach a peak following reports that retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, before he officially became Trumps national security adviser, spoke with a Russian official about U.S. sanctions, which led last week to Flynns forced resignation.
In a freewheeling press conference Thursday, the president repeatedly said he had no knowledge of campaign officials talking to Russian officials.
Priebus attempted Sunday to close the matter but declined to name his contacts within the intelligence community, which raised questions about him using the same kind of anonymous sources for a story that the administration opposes.
He also said officials within the intelligence community -- which includes the CIA and FBI -- have dismissed reports that they have denied Trump intelligence reports, fearing a national security breach.
Priebus defended Trumps tweet in which he called the fake news media the enemy of the American people.
I understand where he is coming from, he said. There are certain things that are happening in the news that just arent honest. We arent talking about everyone. There is nothing wrong with background. We need to communicate with reporters and give context.
John McCain isnt the only senator who can toss barbs at a fellow Republican.
After McCain on Sunday criticized President Trumps attitude toward the press, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul castigated the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, saying, were very lucky John McCains not in charge.
Everything that he says about the president is colored by his own personal dispute hes got running with President Trump, and it should be taken with a grain of salt, because John McCains the guy whos advocated for war everywhere, Paul said on This Week.
Paul added that if McCain were in charge the country would be in perpetual war.
If you look at the map, theres probably at least six different countries where John McCain has advocated for us having boots on the ground, said Paul, who noted that McCain supported the Iraq war.
McCain on Meet The Press had earlier compared Trump with whom hes long had myriad differences and squabbles to a dictator.
"The first thing that dictators do is shut down the press," McCain said. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history.
But Paul said McCains issue with Trump is less about the First Amendment and more about the mens views on overseas engagements.
I think it's more a foreign policy debate, and Trump and McCain are on opposite sides of that debate, Paul said. And I tend to sympathize more with the president. We don't need to continue to have regime change throughout the world, nation-building.
As far as McCains rhetoric saying Trump is trying to shut down the press, Paul cautioned against hyperbole.
I don't agree with his analysis and applying that to the president, he said. I haven't seen any legislation coming forward that wants to limit the press. I see President Trump expressing his opinion, rather forceful in his own -- you know, his own distinct way.
Sen. Lindsey Graham is urging President Donald Trump to take action against Russia over the allegations that Moscow interfered in the election.
Speaking to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, the Republican senator from South Carolina said Congress needs to get involved to ensure there are consequences for the alleged hacking.
'UNWAVERING' COMMITMENT: PENCE TRIES TO ASSURE EUROPE THAT US WILL SUPPORT PARTNERSHIP
"2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress," Graham said. I promise everybody in this room that Congress is going to take a long hard look what Russia did to undermine our elections, so you'll be better prepared when they come your way.
Graham said he plans to introduce a bipartisan motion for new Russia sanctions and that it will get north of 75 votes.
"My goal is to put it on Trump's desk and I hope he'll embrace the idea that as the leader of the free world he should be working with us to punish Russia," Graham said.
The longtime senators comments follow the reports from U.S. intelligence officials to the new president that Moscow tried to influence voters by hacking Democratic emails and trolling social media sites. Trump has sought to downplay Russias role in the election and wants better relations with the Kremlin.
TRUMP'S 1ST MONTH: RAPID-FIRE EXECUTIVE ACTIONS, DONALD DIPLOMACY AND CONTROVERSY
Russia denies meddling in the election, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying Saturday that "I have seen no facts. There were just some accusations that we tried to hack some Democratic Party website."
Though the allegations are that the hacking was directed at the Democrats, Graham said "we should have an Article 5 that an attack on one party is an attack on all." He was referring to NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is seen an attack of the entire alliance.
"My biggest concern with President Trump ... is that he's never really looked the camera in the eye and said, 'Even though it was the Democratic Party that suffered from Russian interference, I am now the leader of the free world and I can assure you they're going to pay a price on my watch for trying to interfere in our election.'"
The conference opened Friday with criticism of Trump from another senior Republican senator, Arizona's John McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who said "more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent."
Later, answering question about the ouster of Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn for misrepresenting his contacts with Russia, McCain said that the issue "is something that shows in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do."
McCain, who has openly quarreled with the president, added that Trump often "contradicts himself" in his statements, and that "some of us have learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says."
Vice President Mike Pence also took the stage at the conference on Saturday to assure European leaders that the U.S. will hold Russia accountable.
The Associated Press contributed this report.
President Trump is scheduled to interview at least four candidates for the U.S. national security adviser position in Florida on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Saturday, Trump said he had "many, many that want the job."
Trump also hinted he had a favorite to fill the position.
"I've been thinking about someone for the last three or four days, we'll see what happens," Trump said. "I'm meeting with that person. They're all good, they're all great people."
Reuters reported that Trump also told reporters on Air Force One that he plans to make a decision over the next couple of days.
Scheduled to discuss the job with the president at Mar-a-Lago were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said more meetings for the job could happen, which is now open after retired Gen. Michael Flynn was asked to resign earlier this week.
Flynn resigned at Trump's request Monday after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition. Trump said in a news conference Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence, but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.
Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.
Trump tweeted on Saturday that he will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Get ready to hear a whole lot of 1970s classic rock at Disneyland.
Disney's California Adventure theme park announced they'll be kicking off a "Summer of Heroes" with the opening of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! ride on May 27.
Inspired by the hit Marvel film franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy will replace the old Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which had been in operation since 2004, but closed earlier this year on Jan. 3. Like the Tower of Terror, the new Guardians of the Galaxy-themed attraction will be a free-fall ride, but with all-new visual and audio effects and music inspired by the popular film soundtracks, according to Disney.
Mission Breakout! will take riders on a mission to help Rocket [Raccoon] bust his pals out of the Collectors Fortress. In a previous blog post, they also describe the ride as a randomized experience, so you never know which adventure you will get!
The attractions opening coincides with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, which hits theaters on May 5.
MICKEY MOUSE BUSTED FOR CONNING TIMES SQUARE TOURIST
Plans for Mission Breakout! were first announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016-- but the news was initially met with criticism by Tower of Terror fans on social media.
You still have 23 hours to stop yourself from making the worst decision in the history of @Disney #savethetower pic.twitter.com/0jwd60eWSd ang (@aaaannng) January 2, 2017
Even as the opening date of the Guardians ride draws closer, nostalgic Tower fans are still tweeting about their disappointment with Disney.
This week, Disney also announced several smaller attractions as part of their Summer of Heroes, including superhero encounters with the Avengers, an awesome dance-off opportunity with costumed "Guardians" characters, and plenty of superhero-themed souvenirs and foods throughout the park.
Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind firebrand Islamist cleric behind the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, has died in federal prison, Fox News has learned. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian radical who maintained a global following even while imprisoned for more than two decades, died Saturday morning at Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina, where he was serving a life sentence.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Abdel-Rahman died at approximately 5:40 a.m. Saturday of natural causes after a long health battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
His son Ammar told Reuters that his family had received a phone call from a U.S. representative saying his father had died.
Andrew McCarthy, who was the assistant US attorney who prosecuted Abdel-Rahman for the federal government, told Fox News on Saturday that the sheikh was globally notorious as the emir of jihad long before there was an al-Qaeda or ISIS.
"He provided the international jihadist campaign its deep roots in sharia supremacism," McCarthy added.
"His scholarly heft made him highly influential, in the deadliest of ways. The only thing he could do was lead [the terrorist organization] provide it with inspiration and a sense of diving mission. His life is a testament to the centrality of sharia supremacist ideology to the terrorist threat."
Abdel-Rahman was convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks throughout New York City, targeting the United Nations and other New York City landmarks. He was also linked to the 1993 World Trade Center attack in which six people died and more than 1,000 others were injured.
Known as The Blind Sheikh, Abdel-Rahman lost his eyesight when he was 10 months old. By the time he was 11 years old, he had memorized the Braille version of the Quran and was sent to an Islamic boarding school.
He went on to study at Cairo Universitys School of Theology and later earned a doctorate in from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Abdel-Rahman went on to become one of the countrys most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypts secularism.
In the mid-1980s, Abdel-Rahman made his way to Afghanistan, where he built a strong rapport with former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden once credited Abdel-Rahman as the inspiration and justification for the September 11 attacks which destroyed the World Trade Center.
Adbel-Rahman was the spiritual leader of Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya. The Islamic group was believed to have been behind other terror attacks such as the 1997 killing of tourists in Luxor, Egypt.
He remains revered in his native Egypt, and his supporters had demonstrated throughout Cairo for his freedom in the past.
A man photographed on a hiking trail where two murdered Indiana teens were last seen is officially "the main suspect" in the case, authorities said Sunday.
The bodies of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were found near an abandoned railroad bridge Feb. 14, one day after they went hiking near their home in Delphi, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. The girls were reported missing after they failed to appear when relatives arrived to pick them up.
Authorities initially released a grainy photo of the man on Wednesday, but did not describe him as a suspect at the time. On Sunday, however, Indiana State Police said the man "is suspected of having participated in the murders."
Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum told the Indianapolis Star that the man was photographed at the same time Liberty and Abigail were walking on the trails east of the city.
The case has been described as the town's first double homicide in more than 20 years.
On Thursday, officers executed a search warrant at a home in Delphi, but investigators said no solid evidence was found.
Private funeral services for the girls were held Sunday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call a special tip line at 844-459-5786.
Click for more from Fox59.com.
Police say a man shot by an officer after opening fire at residents, cars and police officers in Oakland died hours later at a hospital.
Oakland Police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson says the man was identified as 32-year-old Jesse Enjaian.
Watsons says officers were called to a neighborhood near the Oakland Zoo on Friday morning for a report of a man armed with a rifle and shooting in the neighborhood.
When officers arrived, the suspect was in the street and began shooting at the officers.
Police returned fire, and the suspect was hit. Officers found a rifle with a scope at the scene.
No other injuries were reported.
The mayor of Arizonas second largest city has reported being carjacked in front of his home by a man who pointed a gun at him, KGUN-TV reports.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild was walking to his car Saturday morning when the armed thief ran up to him and demanded the keys to his city-owned Prius.
Tucson police said on Facebook that as the carjacker fled in the Prius he pointed what appeared to be a gun at a mail carrier who was in his way.
Officers recovered the Prius about 2 hours later in another part of the city, near a local park.
Rothschild was not hurt in the incident. His spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.
Based on the entire investigation, it does not appear that the suspect was specifically targeting the mayor, Tucson police said on Facebook.
They said the suspect encountered Rothschild moments after trying to steal a parked car at another address.
He ran off on foot when the owner of that vehicle said he was calling the police.
Another homeowner then gave chase until the suspect pointed a gun at him, police said.
Irans foreign minister brushed aside pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that they respond well to respect, saying the country is "unmoved by threats."
President Trump has criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasn't yet announced what he plans to do about it.
Trumps administration put Iran on notice over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.
"Iran doesn't respond well to threats," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defense officials. "We don't respond well to coercion. We don't respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios."
"Everybody tested us for many years all threats and coercions were imposed on us," Zarif added.
Iran has said it has no interest in nuclear weapons.
"We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period, Zarif said.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said that Iran has been working towards building a nuclear weapon, and "if they say they haven't, they're lying."
He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of U.N. resolutions and destabilizing the Mideast.
"I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly," Graham said. "I think most Republicans are on board with that concept and we'll see where President Trump's at."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a large-scale military operation on Sunday to retake the western half of Mosul and dislodge Islamic State militants. It is the latest phase in a 4-month-old offensive to retake Iraqs second largest city.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the operation on state TV, saying government forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression and terrorism forever," using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. He called on security forces to deal with civilians properly and to respect human rights.
Iraqi forces declared eastern Mosul fully liberated last month, however ISIS militants continued to launch attacks there. Hours after the latest operation was announced, suicide bombers struck troops and pro-government Sunni militiamen in eastern Mosul.
"ISIS's cruelty, brutality and reach show they are not just a threat in Iraq and Syria, but to the region and the entire world," said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, in a statement.
Plumes of smoke were seen rising into the sky early Sunday morning as U.S.-led coalition jets struck militant positions southwest of Mosul and militarized Iraqi police fired artillery toward the city. Heavily armed police units were getting ready to move north with their armored vehicles from a base just southwest of the city.
"This is zero hour and we are going to end this war, God willing," said Mahmoud Mansour, a police officer, as he prepared to move out.
The battle for western Mosul promises to be the most daunting yet, as the half of the city west of the Tigris River has older, narrower streets and is still home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, who have been told to shelter in place.
"Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi forces have risen to the challenge," said Townsend. "They have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq and the rest of the world."
The immediate objective was to take the villages on the southern outskirts of Mosul airport, a police spokesman told The Associated Press. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
Police units quickly moved into the village of Athba, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) southwest of the airport, encountering only light resistance, according to an AP reporter traveling with them. Separately, the army's 9th Division moved into the village of Bakhira, also southwest of the city, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said.
The United Nations meanwhile warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside their houses "are at extreme risk," with dwindling fuel and food supplies and scare drinking water and electricity.
"The situation is distressing. People, right now, are in trouble," Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement. "We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes," Grande said.
Citing witnesses in western Mosul, the U.N. said nearly half of all food shops were closed and bakeries had shut down due to a lack of fuel and an inability to purchase costly flour. Prices of kerosene and cooking gas have skyrocketed, and many of the most destitute families are burning wood, furniture, plastic or garbage for cooking and heating.
"Three out of five people now depend on untreated water from wells for cooking and drinking as water systems and treatment plants have been damaged by fighting or run out of chlorine," said Peter Hawkins, of the U.N. agency for children.
The humanitarian agencies were gearing up to aid 250,000 to 400,000 civilians who may flee due to fighting, the statement said. The U.N. estimates that about 750,000 civilians may be left in western Mosul.
Iraqi forces spent three months driving ISIS from eastern Mosul, but the militants appear to have left sleeper cells to carry out attacks behind the front lines.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, an Iraqi military spokesman, said a suicide bomber set off struck a patrol of Sunni tribal fighters in Zihoor neighborhood, while another targeted Iraqi troops in Nabi Younis.
Rasool declined to provide casualty figures. Two policemen said one Sunni fighter was killed and nine wounded in the first attack, while the second attack wounded five soldiers. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Iraqi special operations forces, regular army and federal police units are taking part in the offensive along with government-approved paramilitary forces, mainly consisting of Shiite militias, which are operating on the city's outskirts.
Mosul fell to ISIS in the summer of 2014, along with large swaths of northern and western Iraq. It is the extremist group's last major urban bastion in Iraq.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israel's leader says President Donald Trump told him it was a "new day" in Israeli-American relations.
Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that last week's meeting with Trump in Washington was "historic" and strengthened the two countries' longtime alliance.
After eight years of testy ties with Barack Obama, Netanyahu seems to be relishing Trump's warm embrace. The new president has broken from his predecessor in adopting friendlier positions to the Israeli government regarding a tough line on Iran, a vaguer stance on Palestinian statehood and a more lenient approach to West Bank settlements.
Netanyahu says the two leaders see "eye to eye" on Iran and have formed teams to work together on a host of issues. He says "there is a new day and it is a good day."
Investigators are looking for four North Korean men who flew out of Malaysia the same day Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean ruler's outcast half brother, apparently was poisoned at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian police said Sunday.
Since Kim's death last week, authorities have been trying to piece together details of what appeared to be an assassination. Malaysian police have so far arrested four people carrying IDs from North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
FOURTH SUSPECT ARRESTED IN NORTH KOREAN LEADER'S HALF-BROTHER'S DEATH IN MALAYSIA
One of the suspects in custody, an Indonesian woman, told investigators that she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.
On Sunday, Malaysia's deputy national police chief, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said four more suspects were on the run. He said the men were North Korean and had flown out of the country last Monday, when Kim died.
"I am not going disclose where they are," he told a room packed with journalists, adding that Interpol was helping with the investigation.
Noor Rashid showed photographs of the four men, who were traveling on regular not diplomatic passports and are ages 33, 34, 55 and 57.
WAS IT BROTHER? LOVER? OR CRIME GANG? N. KOREA RUMORS ABOUND
He also said there were three other people police wanted to question. He said one was North Korean, but that police had not yet identified the other two. It wasn't clear if they were suspects or simply wanted for questioning.
A rotund man in his mid-40s, Kim Jong Nam was waiting for his flight home to Macau when, authorities say, he was set upon by two women. He sought help at a customer service desk and said "two unidentified women had swabbed or had wiped his face with a liquid and that he felt dizzy," Noor Rashid said Sunday.
Kim died en route to a hospital after suffering a seizure, officials say.
Noor Rashid said Sunday that he expected autopsy results to be released within days. "We have to send a sample to the chemistry department, we have to send a sample for toxicology tests," he said.
Investigators also want to speak to Kim Jong Nam's next of kin to formally identify the body. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
"We haven't met the next of kin," Noor Rashid said. "We are working, we are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and to assist us in the investigation."
The case has raised tensions between Malaysia and North Korea. Pyongyang demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to an autopsy. The Malaysians went ahead with the procedure anyway, saying they were simply following procedure.
Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, said that Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and that the autopsy was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance."
South Korea has been quick to blame its enemies in North Korea for Kim's death.
"Considering North Korea has so far committed crimes against humanity and terror acts, we, together with the international community, are closely watching this brutal, reckless incident with serious concerns," South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee told reporters Sunday.
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The growing popularity of green fragrances, and especially those with mint notes, inspired me to write about this plant and its role in modern perfumery. Mentha (also known as mint, from Greek mintha) is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae (mint family); there are also basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, melissa and many other aromatic herbs in the same family. There are more than 40 species and hybrids of mint.
Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) is a plant originated allegedly from either the Mediterranean or England. This is a cultivated species obtained with the help of selection. Botanically, peppermint is a blended hybrid of Mentha spicata (aka Mentha viridis, or spearmint) and Mentha aquatica (water mint), with spearmint already being a hybrid of Mentha longifolia (or Mentha silvestris aka horse mint) and Mentha rotundifolia L. (round-leaved mint); round-leaved mint is a hybrid of horse mint and Mentha suaveplens Ehrh. As we can see, the mint family tree is quite impressive.
There are two types of peppermint: rubescens nigra, black or English mint, and pallescens alba or white. Black mint is more important, as it offers a larger amount of oil from 0.3 to 1%. Essential oil is obtained with steam distillation of the whole plant. Usually, the shorter the distillation process, the higher the quality of oil you get as a result. Usually peppermint essential oil undergoes additional fractionating to remove some unwanted components: the lightest fraction contains the unpleasant smelling dimethyl sulfide and the heaviest one contains the resins. English mint is cultivated everywhere: in England, France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Morocco, India, Ukraine and many others. White mint essential oil is quite rare, it's often of a very high quality.
The main components of a quality peppermint essential oil are menthol (32-50% and even more), menthone (13-20%), menthyl acetate, isomenthol, isomenthone, neomenthol, menthofuran, and different terpenic entities. Mint enfloressence contains menthofuran (quite a lot) and is often accompanied by bad smelling materials, that's why the essential oil of best quality is obtained from fully deflorated plants.
Menthol crystals
Menthol has a very characteristic "cold" smell, transparent and clean with camphoric, green and spicy shades. Its corresponding ketone, menthone, also has a characteristic minty smell with much brighter, herbal-green, anisic aspects. Menthone is contained not only in mint, but also in geranium, Agathosma betulina leaves, sage, melissa and other plants.
One of the peppermint chemotypes is so called lemon or bergamot mint (Mentha citrata Ehrh.). Such an essential oil is produced in the USA and has a smell that recalls lavender and bergamot essential oil; the main components of this essential oil are linalool (20-40%) and linalyl acetate (30-70%). Menthol and all the entities depicted above are nearly non existent there. This oil is rarely used as it's much more expensive than bergamot and lavender oils.
Another rather important species is spearmint, originated from Italy and France. There are different types of spearmint cultivated: in the USA it's mostly Mentha spicata Huds. var. tenuis (Michx.) Briq, in England it's Mentha spicata Huds. var. trichoura Briq, in Germany it's Mentha spicata Huds. var. crispata (Schrad.) Briq, in Scotland it's "Scotch spearmint" Mentha cardiac Gerard et Backer; and "Japanese spearmint" oil, close in composition to the American one, is obtained from Mentha viridis L. var. crispa Benth.
Chemically, spearmint essential oil has little in common with peppermint essential oil. Generally menthol and menthone content doesn't exceed 1%. The key component of spearmint essential oil is L-carvone, a material with a sweet herbal smell that is difficult to confuse with menthol.
Unlike peppermint oil that has a range of therapeutical qualities, spearmint oil is medically absolutely useless but it is widely used in toothpaste and chewing gum production.
L-carvon is a perfect example to remember from the school chemistry class. We live in a three-dimensional space and molecules surrounding us are also dimensional. When a molecule is asymmetric and it has at least one carbon and four different neighbors around it, an amazing thing happens: such a structure can exist in two variants. One of these will be like a mirror reflection of another. Such an effect is called optical isomerism or chirality (from Greek hand), and these two materials are called optical isomers or enantiomers. Physical attributes (melting point, boiling point, solidness etc.) of such twins are absolutely the same, that's why its mix can't be separated with classical methods, like for example, distillation. Their chemical attributes are also the same except those cases when they interact with similar asymmetric chiral molecules. Life as we know it is formed of protein bodies and proteins are formed of chains of amino acids; only the simplest amino acid, glycine, is symmetrical and doesn't have optical isomers. In the overwhelming majority of biological processes, chirality plays an extremely important role. Enantiomers can be radically different in their bioactivity, often one "variant" is a medicine and its mirror reflection is absolutely useless (very often there is only one chiral molecule present in a living organism). And you should already understand what I want to say yes, exactly, enantiomers can smell absolutely different! More often one isomer has a more powerful smell than another. More rarely one of the twins has no smell at all, rather often enantiomers differ in scent, for example, as with linalool that consists of two enantiomers: coriandrol and licareol. Coriandrol, an isomer that is contained in coriander seeds, has a sweeter, woody-spicy smell, and licareol, lavender oil isomer, has a more flowery transparent scent. Carvon is an example of an entity, whose enantiomers has an absolutely different smell. L-carvon has a sweet minty smell and its mirror brother D-carvon (from lat. laevo - left and dextro - right) smells spicy and harsh, with caraway, which isn't surprising as D-carvon is a main component of caraway essential oil.
Another widespread mint species is corn mint (lat. Mentha arvensis L.). There are three known main chemotypes of this plant: carvonic (81% of carvon, citronellol, delta-carene), mentholic 65-80%, menthyl acetate, menthone) and pulegonic (up to 70% of pulegone). Pulegone has a fresh minty smell recalling menthol but with more prominent camphoric aspects and a characteristic sour-metallic hint of black currant and Agathosma betulina leaves. There are also more exotic forms of corn mint, like Mentha arvensisvar. Parietariaefolia (Becker) Fiori and Mentha arvensisvar. agrestis (Sole) Fiori, whose essential oils have very low conversions of about 0.006% containing up to 80% octanol-3 and its acetate. In Japan, there is Mentha arvensis L. subsp. haplocalyx Briquet, with up to 90% of menthone in its essential oil. Despite this fact such an essential oil isn't as popular as peppermint oil and is used mainly for menthol (the oil is frozen and the resulting menthol crystals are centrifuged and dried). The residue (with about 45-60% of menthol and 10% of neomenthol) is often used for bakery flavoring. Reportedly, menthol in crystals was known to the Japanese more than 2000 years ago while in European texts it appears for the first time only in 1771.
And, of course, talking about menthol it's impossible not to mention its amazing ability to stimulate skin and mucosa cold receptors; basically it provokes the feeling of cooling. Menthol's cooling effect is explained by the calcium ions feeding a neuron, and this is interpreted by a brain as cold. But menthol in cosmetics and alimentary coolants has certain disadvantages: it's volatile; has a bright smell that is hard to implement in aromatic compositions; it has a bitter taste; and in a high concentration it provokes a rather unpleasant burning. Menthol isn't unique in this: camphor and eucalyptol also provoke a light feeling of cold (it means that the carbon skeleton of menthol isn't a necessary condition for such an effect to exist), but for the artificial creation of "cold", menthol is the number one material.
Of course, chemists are interested in whether there are any other entities with stronger effects of this kind. Investigations for such materials have been conducted for several decades already and during this time there were about 1200 similar entities synthesized; some of them lack the above-mentioned disadvantages of menthol: they are heavy enough not to be too volatile and don't have any smell or bitter taste. Many materials seriously surpass menthol in their cooling ability. But as this topic is beyond perfumery and smell in general, I confine myself with quatation of several nice formulas.
Until recently, mint wasn't frequently used in perfumery mainly because of the fact that a fragrance with a bright minty note unavoidably evokes associations with toothpaste or something hygienic and not so exalted. Besides the amazing Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca, its less successful and almost forgotten sister Mentafollia and certain summer limited editions like Cologne Le Male Summer, we can see that the majority of experiments with mint note occur in niche perfumery. As we know, mint doesn't strictly offer only fresh greenery or menthol, so there are many possibilities to develop this note in a scent.
Among niche fragrances you can find prominent (or bright) mint notes: in CdG S5 Sherbet: Peppermint (for sweet tooths) and in S1 Leaves Mint (for those who count calories), Heeley Menthe Fraiche develops an accord of cool mint tea, Phaedon Oriental Mint by Pierre Guillaume combines mint with tobacco and resins, in 27 87 Wanderlust mint (essential oil of Moroccan spearmint Nana) is accompanied by anis, Agathosma betulina leaves, a sea and mineral accord, recalling beach sand.
Fragrances with the smell of refreshing mint cocktails can be allocated into separate groups: mojito, caipirinha etc. Such accords can be found in vintage cK Crave, in LArtisan Parfumeur Batucada, Tom Ford Costa Azzurra, A lab on Fire Eau dIpanema, Demeter Caipirinha, Pierre Guillaume Collection Croisiere Mojito Chypre, Guerlain Homme and many others. Mint essential oil or menthol can be a part of fresh citrusy accords. In Diptyque Oyedo, for example, the citrusy unit (of about 35%) is enhanced by 5% of menthol and synthetic herbal green odorants.
One more classic rhyme for mint is geranium thanks to the presence of menthone; a generally cold-metallic tone from these components can be nicely combined. Mint and geranium (and geranium says that finally, we get a fougere fragrance) can be found in the stunning Frederic Malle Geranium pour Monsieur by Dominique Ropion, a scent inspired by fragrant Moroccan soap and classic shaving products.
The same combination of mint and geranium we can find in the recent MUGLER launch, Mugler A*Men Kryptomint, a 2017 limited edition. Literally and figuratively there is a freezing overdose of peppermint at the top notes, metallic geranium that seems especially unique with the classical A*Men patchouli-woody accord at the background. If you like mint, classic A*men or really strange perfumes in general, I do recommend to try this supernatural liquid in the luminescent green bottle.
It was rather difficult to choose several illustrative examples among so many minty fragrances. But I'm sure you have your own favorites that we will be happy to hear about. Tell us in the comments!
For 40 years, Maggie Kidder worked in restaurants, making tips and a salary that averaged $2 an hour and changehardly enough for health insurance.
When she was diagnosed in 2011 with lung cancer, which eventually spread to her brain, there was no way she could pay for screenings when one test cost more than $6,000.
She turned to the Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic in Fredericksburg for help.
They really are awesome here, the 58-year-old said. God bless this place.
Between the clinic and limited coverage from Medicaid, the Stafford County woman got the treatments she needed to keep the cancer at bay. Shes only halfway kidding when she says she should have been dead a couple times.
Im very, very grateful to Moss, Kidder said.
Not every patients story is as dramatic, but 2,157 residents of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford turned to the free clinic for help in 2015, the latest figures show.
More than 16,000 residents ages 18 through 64 in the region dont have health insurance, according to the Virginia Atlas of Community Health. Despite ups and downs in the economy and changes in health care, their numbersand the clinics clientelehavent changed much in recent years, said Karen Dulaney, executive director of Moss Free Clinic since 1995.
Ten to 12 new patients come to the clinic every week.
Were lucky theyre not all sick at the same time, Dulaney said.
Two-thirds of them are just like Kidder: people who work in restaurants and for cleaning services, in retail or landscaping, construction or childcare, according to 2015 statistics.
They have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. They want to stop smoking or they need annual well-woman checkups. They go to the clinic for the same reasons those with insurance seek medical care, except they cant afford health-insurance premiums along with rent and food, clothes for the kids and car payments.
There are a lot more families just getting by around this area than we think, said Barbara Guarino, a nurse who worked in hospitals for 30 years, then started volunteering weekly at Moss after her 2007 retirement.
Carl Ackerman, a licensed clinical social worker and the only mental health therapist at Moss, put it more bluntly.
Fredericksburg and the surrounding communities are relatively affluent, and this tends to mask the ugly face of poverty that does exist here, Ackerman said. Working with clients, you get a true perspective of how draining and stressful poverty is. It is a daily struggle, and my clients face this with grit.
LITTLE BIT OF A CRISIS
Theres not a paid doctor, dentist or therapist on staff at the Moss Free Clinic.
Since the clinic was founded in 1993 by the late Lloyd F. Moss Sr., who practiced locally for 41 years, it has relied on volunteers in white coats to provide the bulk of care. Most of the clinics $1.94 million budget in 2015 was funded by private donations, local hospital foundations and charitable groups, churches and individuals. About 3 percent of the 2015 funding came from the local governments the clinic serves.
More than 600 people volunteered in 2015. That includes doctors and nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, dentists and dental studentsand 125 people who help with administrative duties, such as filing extensive paperwork to get expensive medicine for free from drug companies.
The clinics paid staff of 28 includes coordinators, specialists and three nurse practitioners who work during the day. Volunteers typically fill the evening shiftsand if theres one message almost every staff member and volunteer stressed, its that the clinic needs more help.
We have got to get more providers in here, said Deborah Rhodes, director of clinical operations.
On a recent evening, she bustled around the examining rooms and nurses station at the clinic, which looks like the inside of any doctors office. She joked that shes got the cellphone numbers of some doctors memorized because shes called them so much.
The clinic traditionally has asked doctors to work 2.5 hours every three months. But Dr. Ed Walsh, an emergency room physician at Mary Washington Hospital, was volunteering a second time in a month because Moss is having a little bit of a crisis.
PART AND PARCEL OF MEDICINE
When medical offices switched from paper files to electronic records, doctors and staffs had to undergo a lot of training to be able to scroll through their patients histories and add new information. Rhodes said they didnt have the time to take on the clinics electronic recordkeeping as well.
The clinic came up with a scribe program and trained volunteers to record what was said between doctors and patients. That way, physicians could focus on patient care, not how to get to the next computer screen.
The scribes role, said Juliette Guilloux, a 20-year-old clinic volunteer and pre-med student at the University of Mary Washington, is to be a help to the doctor so he doesnt have to write down anything, but not to interfere.
The clinic also provides liability insurance and offers tax credits. Staff members try to make volunteering as easy as possible because the more physicians they recruit, the more patients they can serve, Dulaney said.
Some doctors already provide a lot of free care in their daily duties.
For instance, federal law dictates that hospital emergency rooms provide care, regardless of a patients ability to pay. When someone cant cover the bill, hospitals write off the expenses and doctors dont get paid if they work in a fee-for-service group, as those at Mary Washington do, Walsh said.
But then, reimbursement from other patients clearly makes up the difference.
Lets be honest, physicians are pretty well compensated, and I think its the cost of doing business, Walsh said, adding hes proud he can help out those less fortunate. Im still young and idealistic enough to believe thats part and parcel of medicine.
PATIENT ADVOCATE
Dr. Patrick Neustatter is at the opposite end of the career spectrum from Walsh. Hes retired, but serves as the clinics medical director as his way of giving something back for the comfortable income that practicing in America has provided. He also had trouble putting away his stethoscope when he retired as a family physician in 2010.
British born and trained, he comes from a country where nationalized health care is provided to everyone, the same as education or law enforcement. The number of people in the Fredericksburg area without health insurance speaks to the crappy health care system in the U.S. as a whole, he said.
Sometimes, the degree of medical neglect some of our patients have suffered is reminiscent of the work I have done in medical missions in Africa and Haiti, Neustatter wrote in an email.
Theresa Woolfrey certainly knows what a struggle her roommate, Deborah Slack, goes through each month. Slack is 63, lives in Spotsylvania and has a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. Even with the reduced prices the clinics pharmacy charges$3 to $4 for a 30-day supply of one medicineSlack cant always afford to pay for her bills and pills.
Every month is touch and go because of how many medicines shes on, said Woolfrey, her caregiver. She has to get help from the church.
But no matter what tests or screening she needs, the clinic provides them or makes arrangements for Slack to get them elsewhere.
The staff here is fantastic, Woolfrey said.
Michael Miller agreed. Hell retire in July after 20 years with the Marine Corps, and the 39-year-old will embark on a new career as a physician assistant. Hes been accepted into the top-rated program at Duke University Medical Center and hopes to model his primary-care practice after what hes learned from a year of volunteering at Moss Free Clinic.
I love how they play the patient advocate, Miller said. They really push to make sure the patients get what they need.
CHARLOTTESVILLE The closest the first Republican debate of the 2017 election cycle came to onstage combat was when a candidate chucked a water bottle at the moderator.
Focused on relatively uncontroversial issues impacting millennials including higher education costs, lackluster economic prospects, opioid addiction and clean government the format of the event Saturday at Charlottesvilles Paramount Theater didnt lend itself to fireworks.
As the debate came to a close, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck thanked the partys candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general for showing class and dignity. That prompted state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves, a Spotsylvania Republican running for lieutenant governor, to jokingly hurl the projectile at the party leader.
Whichever one of you is the nominee, as long as its not Bryce, we will be behind you 100 percent, Whitbeck said.
The debate, which was billed as a 90-minute affair but featured a little less than an hour of policy discussion by the candidates, was hosted by the Millennial Advocacy Council, a young Republicans group that was holding a two-day summit in Charlottesville.
The questions, which the millennial group prepared and Whitbeck read, didnt reveal major policy differences.
All candidates seemed to generally agree that young people have gotten a raw deal paying for expensive college degrees that dont translate to good jobs after graduation, and they declared Republican economic policies would help.
The forum had potential to create a face-to-face clash between Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman leading the four-man GOP field for governor, and Corey Stewart, fiery chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, who is known for strong anti-illegal immigration views and has made attacking Gillespie a key focus of his populist campaign.
Chief among Stewarts accusations is that Gillespie was insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump during last years presidential race. Stewart was Trumps Virginia campaign chairman until the Trump campaign fired him in October for participating in a protest outside the RNC headquarters in Washington.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Gillespie with 24 percent support among GOP primary voters, compared with 7 percent for Stewart, 5 percent for state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach and 2 percent for distillery owner Denver Riggleman.
Both Democrats running for governor Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello, polled ahead of the Republican candidates, but were in a dead heat with each other about four months ahead of the June primary.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Saturdays debate came when Stewart announced his support for decriminalizing marijuana in response to a question about over-incarceration of millennials.
I think it is absolutely atrocious that we are jailing people simply because theyre in possession of marijuana, Stewart said. Thats got to end. And I am all for decriminalizing marijuana in the commonwealth of Virginia. Im not for legalizing it, because I dont think its good.
Stewarts comment came after Riggleman said his brother had been jailed for nine months on a marijuana-related charge.
When you have family members that have been through it, you sort of understand that trying to transition back into society is so daggone difficult, said Riggleman, the owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County. Riggleman said in a news release that he supports marijuana decriminalization, though he didnt say so explicitly from the stage.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Gillespie said he doesnt support marijuana legalization, but said penalties should be aligned with offenses. He pointed to a pending study of Virginias marijuana laws coming at the request of Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City.
Im not quite there yet, Gillespie said. But Im open to seeing data when that report is finished.
Wagner tried to portray himself as the candidate with the most knowledge of how state government works and stressed transportation and infrastructure.
For too long weve been treating symptoms in Richmond, symptoms of a bad economy, and not treating the economy, Wagner said.
Apart from agreement that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed, there was little discussion at the debate of Trumps first month in the White House.
Democratic candidates have made it clear that they intend to link GOP candidates in Virginia to the turbulence in Washington.
Since day one of Trumps presidency, Virginias GOP gubernatorial candidates have supported Trump and his far-right policies at every turn, Becca Slutzky, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement before the debate.
Two of three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Reeves and Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr., R-Virginia Beach attended the debate. State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, did not attend.
Both GOP candidates for attorney general participated, though Chuck Smith, a Virginia Beach attorney, arrived roughly 40 minutes late. Sounding like he wasnt expecting much of a primary fight, John Adams, a Richmond attorney, said he planned to start running right now against Attorney General Mark R. Herring, a Democrat who is seeking re-election.
Closing statements gave the candidates their best chance at red-meat rhetoric.
We dont need more Muslims or mosques or refugee resettlements until we protect the citizens weve got, Smith said as he warned the U.S. Constitution has never in history been more at risk.
Others talk; I deliver, Stewart said. Others talk about illegal immigration. Ive done it. I deported 7,500 illegal aliens.
Gillespie focused his fire on the legacy of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.
We cannot have Ralph Northam or Tom Perriello continue the McAuliffe failed policies, Gillespie said. We need to cut taxes, we need to repeal antiquated regulations, we need to reform our education system to meet the needs of the workforce of today and the future.
Gillespie said he wasnt surprised by the debates civil tone and the lack of attacks by Stewart, saying people are hungry for policies and solutions and ideas.
He added: Im not surprised that candidates, when theyre in front of an audience, respond to that demand.
Stewart called the event too cordial and said future debates will be different.
Just wait until the next one, Stewart said. Were gonna blast him good. I promise.
The Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office will equip 112 deputies with body cameras to record encounters with the publica nationwide trend following controversial police shootings in recent years.
Maj. Carter Wells said all patrol deputies and school resource officers are scheduled to be outfitted with the cameras in January, after they receive training. Spotsylvania will join the Fredericksburg Police Department, the King George County Sheriffs Office and the Orange County Sheriffs Office in equipping its deputies with body cameras.
The body-worn camera program will help in our mission as being transparent to the community we serve and provide a nonbiased video account of frontline community policing, Wells wrote in an email.
The Sheriffs Office is buying the Vista model cameras from Texas-based WatchGuard at a cost of $108,000, Wells said in an email. It will purchase 120 cameraseight of which will be backupsin July using drug asset forfeiture money.
Sheriff Roger Harris approved a policy for body cameras in December 2015, around the time a company donated 14 cameras for a pilot program.
The policy says deputies should activate the cameras to record all contacts with citizens in the performance of official duties.
Deputies should tell residents they are being recorded whenever possible, it states. People may ask a deputy not to record them at their homes or other locations with a reasonable expectation of privacy, unless an arrest or search is in progress, the policy states.
Deputies who do not activate a camera in accordance with the policy must document the reason why. The Sheriffs Office can limit or restrict deputies from viewing footage if they are suspected of wrongdoing or involved in a shooting, the policy states.
It says media outlets can view recordings only as specifically authorized by the sheriff or major.
Wells said it will take about four to five months to order the equipment, train deputies and set up video storage technology. The cost of storing the footage will be about $55,000 annually, he said.
County Administrator Mark Taylors proposed budget for the next fiscal year also includes an additional assistant prosecutor to help review the camera video.
Harris said in his 2015 campaign for re-election that a local businessperson had offered to buy cameras for every deputy. Wells said in an email Wednesday that the offer was based on [a] needed tax deduction by an individual in 2015, but a county official recommended against it because storage issues had not been addressed.
A nationwide push for the cameras began in 2014 after a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., stirring protests across the country. The Justice Department cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.
The Stafford County Sheriffs Office is requesting money from the Board of Supervisors to purchase 100 body cameras during the fiscal year that begins July 1, spokeswoman M.C. Morris Moncure said. The first-year cost of the cameras, video storage, training and personnel is $534,802$117,892 of which would come from a seized assets fund, she said.
The Sheriffs Office unsuccessfully applied for a federal grant last year that would have gone toward the purchase of 105 cameras.
The board is considering the funding request as they fully weigh the merits of the program, as well as the ongoing costs associated with it, Moncure said. Our agency realizes that these decisions are not made in a vacuum and know that many difficult funding decisions will be made in the coming months.
Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa said hes still looking into body cameras for deputies, adding: I havent closed the door on it. He noted that the Sheriffs Office purchased dashboard cameras for cruisers in 2007.
He said he thinks a negative of body cameras is that deputies have to manually turn them on. By comparison, Lippa said, the dashboard cameras start recording as soon as deputies activate the flashing lights atop their vehicles.
He also mentioned the abundance of companies selling the cameras. It just seems like theres so many pros and cons to whichever cameras youre looking at, Lippa said.
The King George Sheriffs Office began equipping patrol deputies with body cameras late last year, making it the most recent Fredericksburg-area police agency to adopt the technology, Sgt. Kecia Wharton said. It received a grant to help pay for the cameras.
Its been working very, very well for us, Wharton said.
The Fredericksburg Police Department purchased 75 body cameras in April 2014, becoming the first law-enforcement agency in the area to do so.
The Orange Sheriffs Office started using 26 cameras in September 2015.
Clarification: The Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office plans to apply for grants to help pay for 120 body cameras. Asset forfeiture money will fund any cameras not covered by the grants, Maj. Carter Wells said. An article Sunday did not include that information.
It makes no difference in what era they served, whether they took up arms during the Revolutionary War or fought in the War on Terror.
All of those who served or are serving in the militaryand their familieswill be honored by the Stafford County Armed Services Memorial.
It wasnt long ago the memorial existed only as an idea many thought would take years to roll out. But on March 4, county officials will burrow their shovels into dirt at the site of the future memorial.
The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. behind the George L. Gordon Jr. Government Center at Stafford Courthouse. The public is encouraged to attend.
Officials expected that raising $675,000the minimum sum needed to get started on the memorialwould take several years. They reached that goal in a matter of months.
Dan Chichester, chairman of the Armed Services Memorial Working Group, said the purpose of the memorial is to honor all veterans who served the nation as well as the families who kept the home fires burning while their loved ones were away.
Chichester said the inspiration behind the memorial started with a tragedy: the loss of a young marine from Stafford. After Sgt. Donald Lamar died in Afghanistan, his parents approached the Stafford Board of Supervisors with a petition to name a road after their son.
On that day, the idea was born for an armed services memorial that would honor not only Lamar, but all of those who served. The board established a commission that immediately got to work on a plan to make the memorial a reality.
They invited Stafford high school students to participate in a design competition to share their vision of the memorial. Five finalists were selected, including the winnerAaron Brown of North Stafford High School. The finalists drawings were used by the architect to prepare the final design for the memorial.
That has been an important partinvolving the school children, Chichester said. Those kids are the ones who will be serving in the future and honoring veterans.
The working group established to lead fundraising efforts set up a new goal of $838,000 to fund safety upgrades and additional enhancements to the memorial.
Chichester said their ability to meet the initial goal is a testament to the generosity of the Stafford community. There were many major donorsincluding Larry Silver of Silver Cos., Atlantic Builders and the Russell G. Sullivan Estatewho were excited and proud to be a part of the project.
We had no idea wed be done by October, he said. But I am not surprised how fast we got donations. All my life I have seen people in this county being this generous.
As of Feb. 8, they have raised $720,540 of their $838,000 goal. One way to help the county meet its goal is by purchasing a commemorative brick for $200 to honor a loved one who served or is serving in the armed services. The personalized, engraved bricks will be installed on the walkway of the memorial.
Supervisor Gary Snellings, a member of the commission and a driving force behind the project from the beginning, said the memorial is very important to the board.
Every member of the board is committed to this project, Snellings said. Once completed this summer, the memorial will serve as a constant reminder of how much we owe our veterans and their families.
The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for July 15, and county staff is preparing an extravaganza to celebrate the occasion.
For those of us who have served, this memorial means everything, Chichester said.
TO ANYONE even remotely aware of our nations civil rights history, the name of Rosa Parks is instantly recognizable.
The woman, who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955, became a crucial figure in the civil rights movement. Her place in history is unquestionably and justly deserved. She helped change the Jim Crow laws that discriminated against blacks during that era.
But before Rosa Parks, there was Barbara Rose Johns.
Her name is not readily identifiable, but it should beparticularly to Virginians. In 1951, Johns took steps that began a journey that eventually struck down Plessy v. Ferguson, the 58-year-old U.S. Supreme Court case that established separate but equal racial laws and practices that perpetuated discrimination in the South.
Johns was a 16-year-old junior at Robert Russa Moton High School in Prince Edward County, some 64 miles west of Richmond. She was bright and involved in the student council and other school activities that sometimes afforded her visits to other schools in the state.
Her high school for black students had been built in 1939 and it was to designed to accommodate 180 students. By 1950, there were 450 students at the school. It had no gymnasium, cafeteria, lockers or auditorium. The books were outdated hand-me-downs, if there were books at all. To house the additional students, the School Board built plywood structures covered with tarpaper and heated them with pot-bellied stoves. The all-white School Board promised to build a new school, but never followed through.
Frustrated with conditions at her school, Johns went to a teacher she liked and trusted and shared her feelings. The teacher listened and responded: Why dont you do something about it?
Barbara Johns did.
She began talking with John Stokes, vice president of the student council, and his sister, Carrie, president of the student council at Moton, according to detailed descriptions of Johns actions in Simple Justice, a two-volume book by Richard Kluger about the history of Brown v. Board of Education, the historic U.S. Supreme Court case that desegregated public schools in 1954. The three of them quietly began including other students in their discussions.
Johns plan was for the entire student body to stage a strike and stay out of school until the School Board committed to building a new school.
On April 23, 1951, a phony crisis took the principal away from the school for several hours and Johns and her group arranged for a student assembly. The teachers were asked to leave and then Barbara Johns addressed all 450 students. She told them of her walkout plan and it won overwhelming support.
The students went on strike.
Barbara Johns and Carrie Stokes carefully composed a letter to the Richmond lawyers who had been representing the NAACP.
Gentleman: We hate to impose as we are doing, but under the circumstances that we are facing, we have to ask for your help ... is how the letter from Johns and Stokes began.
Civil rights lawyers Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson arrived a few days later. They would represent the students on one condition: That any lawsuit be to end segregation completelynot just for their school. It was agreed, and a lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of 117 students. The first student to sign on as a plaintiff happened to be a 14-year-old 9th-grader named Dorothy Davis, which is why the lawsuit was styled Davis vs. County School of Prince Edward County. Not surprisingly, after a five-day trial, a three-judge panel ruled against the students. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Prince Edward case became one of five civil rights cases the Supreme Court consolidated under the title of Brown v. Board of Education. That case involved schools in Topeka, Kan. The Virginia case was unique because it had the most plaintiffs and because it was the only one in which the plaintiffs were all students.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision, ruled unanimously in 1954 to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson, striking down segregated schools nationwide.
The reaction by Prince Edward County officials was to shut down public schools completely and open a private academy for white students. When Virginia was ordered to desegregate its schools, the state government reacted with Massive Resistance, a strategy devised by U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd and future Gov. Mills Godwin to block integration. Eventually, those actions were ruled unconstitutional.
But black students in Prince Edward County went without education for five years. Some went to live with relatives in other states and some were tutored by volunteers. For her own safety, Barbara Johns was sent to Alabama to live with the family of her uncle, Vernon Johns, a civil rights leader and the pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. When he left that church, he was replaced by a 27-year-old pastor named Martin Luther King Jr.
The story of Barbara Johns and Moton school remained largely untold in Farmville and Prince Edward County for decades. Those who lived there at the time dont talk much about it.
But that has changed in recent years with the publication of a revealing book by Kristin Green, who grew up in Farmville unaware of the racial history. Green, who began her journalistic career as a student at Mary Washington College, wrote Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle and it became a New York Times bestseller. The title is attributed to comments made by then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who was concerned about the civil rights violations there.
Just recently, the 9th Street Office Building, a prominent 12-story state government building in Richmonds Capitol Square, was renamed for Johns by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. In Farmville, the former Moton school now houses a museum that presents the history of the Prince Edward County case that was, after all, about education.
Two of the key players went on to become educators. Barbara Johns became a school librarian before she died in 1991. Carrie Stokes became an educator at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina; she died in 2014.
Historians seem to link the civil rights movements birth to the Brown case in 1954. In fact, it began earlier with the courage of rural teenager Barbara Johns. Her legacy deserves a more prominent place in history.
Dick Hammerstrom, a former editor at The Free LanceStar, is a retired journalist who lives in Fredericksburg.
W E ARE slowing down.
A recent story in The Free LanceStar noted that the Fredericksburg areas population grew 0.6 percent between July of 2015 and July of 2016, a rather mediocre growth rate, one that would come out to well below 10 percent over a decade.
As a comparison, the city of Fredericksburg grew about 25 percent between 2000 and 2010. The populations of the two largest counties around the city, Stafford and Spotsylvania, grew by 39 and 35 percent in that decade.
In Virginia as whole, the growth is even slower than the region: 0.3 percent over the same year. And the growth rate from 2010 to 2016 is the lowest it has been since the 1920s.
Nationally, its more of the same. The United States population grew only 0.76 percent in 2016, the lowest rate in the last 60 years. In 2000, the rate was 1.22 percent. And the current numbers signify a virtual baby boom compared with whats projected for the future. The national forecast for 2050 is 0.38 percent growth rate annually.
It seems only yesterday that the Baby Boomer demographic had us worried about the countrys population growing at an unsustainable pace. These days, we face another kind of unsustainability.
A reader might think: Great. Fewer people, more stuff for me. Except it doesnt quite work that way. Businesses need customersand a goodly supply of potential employees. Home builders and banks need people to take out a mortgage.
And then theres Social Security. Today, there are about 33 working adults for each American 85 and older. By 2050, that ratio is expected to fall to 13 to 1. For the current system to work, there have to be younger workers feeding into a system that will, in turn, take care of them when they get older. Without fresh blood or a reduction in benefits, it turns into a Ponzi scheme.
Are we headed in the direction of Italy, which has basically had flat growth for the last decade, or France, where the growth was less than 5 percent in that period?
It should be noted that those people in other, less-affluent countries arent exactly overrunning the world, either. The growth rate for the planet as a whole is slowing, with the 20002010 rate at 12.6 percent and the 20102020 rate estimated at 8.7 percent.
Immigration has been, since well before we became a country, the driving force that keeps us moving forward. It populated areas where many native-born Americans didnt care to venture, and let us claim everything to the Pacific as our own. Immigrants provided a stable workforce for the mills and factories that built the nation and for the farms that fed the people.
There always have been new Americans willing to work two jobs in order to have a better life for themselves and, more importantly, their children. The American dream fuels capitalisms engine. And we need immigrants now as much as we ever have. Our political leaders must adopt programs and enact laws that foster legal immigration.
By all means, do what it takes to keep terrorists from slipping through the cracks, understanding that all the vetting in the world wont let us bubble-wrap ourselves against the dangers of a world that gets smaller by the day. But an America without immigrants who come here through legal means will be an America that is not sustainable for long.
The United Stateswithout natural population growth and a healthy supply of legal immigrantswill be an old, tired place, the antithesis of everything we always have been.
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The hunt is on to find the best livestock farmers in the industry as entries and nominations open for the Farmers Weekly Awards.
Now in their 13th year, the awards aim to recognise those who make this industry so special. They celebrate the achievements of ordinary farmers doing extraordinary things.
See also: Look back at past winners
If you are a beef, sheep, dairy or pig producer who is achieving good performance results, and turning over a healthy profit then you are the sort of person we want to enter. Or if you know someone who fits this remit you can nominate them too.
Shortlisted farmers will be visited by a panel of three judges, last years category winner, an independent judge and a member of the Farmers Weekly team.
They are then invited to attend the lavish awards night at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on 5 October, where the winners will be announced.
The categories livestock producers can enter are:
Beef Farmer of the Year
Dairy Farmer of the Year
Poultry Farmer of the Year
Pig Farmer of the Year
Sheep Farmer of the Year
Mixed Farmer of the Year
Entries and nominations are open until 30 April 2017. Find out more at the Farmers Weekly Awards website.
The Betting Control and Licensing Board in Kenya shot down a draft bill proposed to collect taxes on Internet gambling activity in that nation.
Known as the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the draft law sought to introduce higher taxes and tougher regulations in order to prevent betting firms from evading taxes.
The legislation, introduced by Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, more specifically would have required gamblers to be taxed at 20 per cent.
Withholding tax has already been tried and posed a challenge due to the nature of some of the gaming activities, the Betting Control and Licensing Board noted. The best way would be to make income from gambling above Sh100,000 taxable at normal rates and the onus be on the winner to declare the same, while the operators file the requisite documentation.
Ronald Karuru, CEO of betting firm SportPesa and chairman of the Association of Gaming Operators Kenya, believed the bill featured implications that Web gambling might help to fuel money laudering activities. Karuru insisted that the laundering of money was close to impossible with online gambling.
Everything is online, transactions are with the bank and it is impossible to do any money laundering, especially with online gaming, he stated.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
Readers, we need your help to prove a merry Christmas for victims of domestic violence.
Oregon State University will host its fourth OSU Housing Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
The fair is designed to connect students with resources that will help them adapt to off-campus living. On hand will be representatives of apartment complexes and property managers, city housing, police and fire officials and OSU representatives with tables featuring on-campus resources and information.
This one should be much improved, said Jonathan Stoll, OSUs community relations coordinator. We did more advertising and outreach to students, much of which is a result of our new partnership with Orange Media Network."
Stoll also is taking a new approach with the universitys preferred renters program. His office has produced a Corvallis Living Guide and will be offering educational workshops in an effort to inform prospective tenants about their rights and responsibilities.
Students who pass a 25-question exam will be eligible for deposit discounts from participating Corvallis property managers and landlords. Some property managers are offering a flat discount of $50 per unit, while other are offering $50 per student, which would mean a savings of $250 for those in five-bedroom units.
Those offering the per-tenant discount are Chateau Management, Hellesto Properties, Homeport Property Management, The Retreat, Trilliant Property Management and Trinity Property Management.
The $50 per unit discount is available at units managed by AG Campus Housing, Corvallis Property Management, Crest Properties, Duerken & Associates, Grand Oaks Apartments, Principle Property Management and Windermere Willamette Valley Property Management.
In the flurry of issuing executive orders the new president and staff might overlook a unique and effective alternative to building an unimaginative, ugly southern border wall. Dig a big trench from West Texas to California (the United States has trenching experience: see the Panama Canal) and fill it with water diverted from the Rio Grande River. Voila! A moat is born. That should keep most of those pesky immigrants from crossing into the United States, except for individuals who can walk on water. And when the often cited, much maligned swamp is drained, the runoff (including alligators, water moccasins, scum, etc.) has to go somewhere, so why not channel it into the moat to enhance security. There's the additional benefit of increased water sports.
xspraise at 19-02-2017 01:22 AM (5 years ago) (m)
Kemi Olunloyo's son, Enitan, is not taking Georgina Onuoha's birthday wishes for him.
Kemi Olunloyo's son, Enitan, is not taking Georgina Onuoha's birthday wishes for him.
Controversial journalist, Kemi, shared a letter Enitan sent her, where he accused Georgina of feeding her fans with "vicious wrong facts".
Here's what he wrote;
"#HNNBirthday LETTER RECEIVED LAST NIGHT FROM MY SON ENI ROBERTS AFTER HIS 30th birthday dinner in Philly, USA. 2/17/17
Dear Mom. Thank you for the birthday greetings. My friends noticed my name trending in Nigeria on a lot of posts when they googled me. I want to thank all the #HNNAfricans for the love. However, I am going to keep it real with your audience and the Sacramento woman Ms Georgina Onuoha and her birthday greetings. Why did this woman start showering FAKE birthday praises on me after what she said to her fans about me and even Lade and KJ?
When you started investigating her, she got shady and instead of her answering her reporter questions she got us involved FIRST. Ms Georgina, you told your fans that our mom segxwally molested us and that we were taken away from her by the government. You said that my grandfather a honourable high ranking Nigerian politician slept with my mom and fathered me. You poisoned your audience with vicious wrong facts. Yes I've hear about some nonentity Ireland based Nigerian woman called #TokunboAboderin who made up these lies because my grandfather jilted her after an old inappropriate relationship in the 80's. However nobody thought I would speak. I am a human being too.
My father was abusive to my mom and she left and raised me alone and good too. Connie was the only one at my first birthday 29yrs ago and my cake was baked by my mom. She is simple. Connie is still my friend today. As 30yo adults we value our moms. Whatever happens between you and my mom should not border around other people's lies and my paternity. My own children may google these lies some day. My mother should never and I repeat never have cursed your kids in retaliation. She was extremely angry at you and the other lady Angela Okorie making up a sex tape you had with my mom being sodomized while high on crystal meth. You crossed the line Ms Georgina and you should apologize to my brothers @iamswagkid, Lade and I. Your birthday prayers meant nothing to me and the same fake fans u poisoned also wishing and praying for me. Keep it real like my mom Ms Ouoha.
E.R #Philly #MadeinAmerica"
Controversial journalist, Kemi, shared a letter Enitan sent her, where he accused Georgina of feeding her fans with "vicious wrong facts".Here's what he wrote;"#HNNBirthday LETTER RECEIVED LAST NIGHT FROM MY SON ENI ROBERTS AFTER HIS 30th birthday dinner in Philly, USA. 2/17/17Dear Mom. Thank you for the birthday greetings. My friends noticed my name trending in Nigeria on a lot of posts when they googled me. I want to thank all the #HNNAfricans for the love. However, I am going to keep it real with your audience and the Sacramento woman Ms Georgina Onuoha and her birthday greetings. Why did this woman start showering FAKE birthday praises on me after what she said to her fans about me and even Lade and KJ?When you started investigating her, she got shady and instead of her answering her reporter questions she got us involved FIRST. Ms Georgina, you told your fans that our mom segxwally molested us and that we were taken away from her by the government. You said that my grandfather a honourable high ranking Nigerian politician slept with my mom and fathered me. You poisoned your audience with vicious wrong facts. Yes I've hear about some nonentity Ireland based Nigerian woman called #TokunboAboderin who made up these lies because my grandfather jilted her after an old inappropriate relationship in the 80's. However nobody thought I would speak. I am a human being too.My father was abusive to my mom and she left and raised me alone and good too. Connie was the only one at my first birthday 29yrs ago and my cake was baked by my mom. She is simple. Connie is still my friend today. As 30yo adults we value our moms. Whatever happens between you and my mom should not border around other people's lies and my paternity. My own children may google these lies some day. My mother should never and I repeat never have cursed your kids in retaliation. She was extremely angry at you and the other lady Angela Okorie making up a sex tape you had with my mom being sodomized while high on crystal meth. You crossed the line Ms Georgina and you should apologize to my brothers @iamswagkid, Lade and I. Your birthday prayers meant nothing to me and the same fake fans u poisoned also wishing and praying for me. Keep it real like my mom Ms Ouoha.E.R #Philly #MadeinAmerica"
Post Reply I am Victor, I write reportage on sport news and latest metro happenings in Nigeria. Posted: at 19-02-2017 01:22 AM (5 years ago) | Hero
Quote from: Afriqueenn on 19-02-2017 07:18 PM
Nigeria... No preservation culture whatsoever... An example of revenue generating facilities in developed countries has no fire protection system...SMH.
The only thing we know how to copy from them are: pornography, indecent dressing, homosegxwality and other evils... The good things, we never copy!
There is no diety worthy of worship except Allah, take it or leave it!
Posted: at 19-02-2017 09:54 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac
you've said it all jawe
Red Tail legacy comes full circle
By Master Sgt. Benjamin Wilson, 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs / Published February 18, 2017
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Airmen assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing take great pride in the heritage created for them by the Tuskegee Airmen.
Today a key piece of the wing's history has once again returned to its flightline.
The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen was born in Montgomery, Alabama, when the Tuskegee Institute's application to conduct civilian pilot training was approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in the fall of 1939.
About one year later President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration announced the Army Air Corps would begin training black military pilots, and the place to do it was Tuskegee, Alabama.
So began the storied history of the Tuskegee Airmen. Flying their P-51 Mustangs, with tails painted bright red, the Airmen fought valiantly through World War II under the crest of the 332nd Fighter Group.
Now more than 75 years later, a red-tailed fighter jet from Montgomery again flies with the 332nd.
The lineage of the Tuskegee Airmen has been passed to Alabama Air National Guard's 187th Fighter Wing. An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the unit is currently flying with the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which is one of the squadrons assigned to the 332nd AEW.
"It is well documented that our WWII bomber pilots would look out their windows and gain confidence from Red Tail fighters flying beside them. It has been stated they took comfort in knowing their chances for survival were higher with a Red Tail escort than from any other outfit in 12th and 15th Air Force," said Col. David C. Lyons, the 407th Air Expeditionary Group commander. "Now we have one of those Red Tails on our flightline, once again flying with the 332nd and creating the next chapter of Red Tail history."
The mission of the unit is to support Operation Inherent Resolve in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria by providing air-to-ground combat airpower at the request of the combined joint task force commander.
The 134th EFS has been heavily involved in the fight, flying more than 500 missions, delivering more than 800 weapons, and making significant contributions to the fight in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria.
"We are talking about liberating cities," Lyons said. "That is something we haven't talked about in this way since WWII."
The Airmen of the 134th EFS flying the missions to liberate cities in Iraq and Syria are deployed from the Vermont Air National Guard.
The red tail was provided to the Vermont ANG along with F-16s from the New Jersey and Wisconsin ANGs to ensure the squadron had enough capable aircraft to meet the short-notice deployment to support OIR.
At least one Airman from the Vermont ANG takes a special amount of pride in seeing the red tail on the flightline with his unit.
During a formal dinner hosted by the Vermont ANG, Chief Master Sgt. Brian Senecal, of the 407th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, had the opportunity to host Col. Charles McGee. McGee is one of the Tuskegee Airmen and also holds an Air Force record for flying 409 combat missions in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
"Honestly it was the highlight of my whole military career to spend time with the guy to meet someone who gave some much," Senecal said. "Most Soldiers and Sailors were welcomed back from World War II with open arms and the Tuskegee Airmen had to come back to a still-segregated America."
Despite the discrimination the Tuskegee Airmen faced at the time, their trailblazing efforts have left a legacy of which all Airmen can be proud.
"It is an honor to continue the tradition started by the original Tuskegee Airmen and to be carrying on their good name 75 years later," Senecal said.
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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release
SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 18, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 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
Coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes consisting of 19 engagements against ISIS targets in Syria:
-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.
-- Near Bab, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a tactical vehicle and a weapons cache.
-- Near Raqqa, seven strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; damaged a bridge , and destroyed 70 oil barrels, three oil storage tanks, three fighting positions, two oil refinement stills and a weapons storage area.
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed five oil wellheads.
Strikes in Iraq
Coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:
-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.
-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building and a fighting position.
-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; damaged 11 supply routes; suppressed five mortar teams and an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed eight front-end loaders, four excavators, three watercraft, an ISIS-held building and a barge.
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 ISIS vehicle is a 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 ISIS 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 ISIS 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 ISIS' ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
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Coalition Forces Strike Five-Story Facility in Mosul
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release
SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 18, 2017 With the approval of the government of Iraq, Coalition forces struck an ISIS command and control headquarters and propaganda facility yesterday in western Mosul, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported.
In a release issued today, officials said the five-story Bab Sinjar administration facility was located in the Jumhuri medical community complex.
The ISIS terrorists continue to ignore the Law of Armed Conflict and use protected sites such as hospitals, schools and mosques to try and shield themselves from Coalition airstrikes, the release said. In this instance, coalition forces were able to determine through intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts that ISIS did not use the building for any medical purposes and that civilians were no longer accessing the site, the release said.
The intelligence showed that the building's sole function was as a military command and control facility for ISIS to oversee its operations against the people of Iraq.
Coalition forces comply with the Law of Armed Conflict, work diligently to be precise in airstrikes and take all feasible precautions during the planning and execution of air strikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, the release said.
The strikes conducted against legitimate ISIS military targets are just one of the ways the Coalition continues to work by, with, and through its Iraqi partners to defeat ISIS in Iraq, the release said.
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Pence Outlines 'Unwavering' U.S. Commitment to NATO
By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2017 The United States strongly supports NATO and will be "unwavering in its commitment to the transatlantic alliance," Vice President Mike Pence said at the Munich Security Conference today.
President Donald J. Trump has a promise that the United States will stand with Europe, Pence said, "because we are bound together by the same noble ideals -- freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law."
The Munich Security Conference, founded in 1963, is an annual event that brings together hundreds of people from around the world. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis addressed the forum Friday.
Pence outlined a myriad of global security challenges, saying the world is now a more dangerous place than at any point since the collapse of communism in Europe and the Soviet Union a quarter century ago.
"Rogue nations developing nuclear weapons now jeopardize the safety of the entire world," Pence said. "Radical Islamic terrorism has fixated on the destruction of Western civilization."
Pence noted the U.S. commitment to Europe over the past century -- from World War I to modern day -- and said the United States will remain the strongest of allies to its European partners.
Maintaining Peace and Prosperity
Peace and prosperity in Europe and the North Atlantic must be continually maintained through shared sacrifice and commitment, the vice president said.
The United States is currently developing plans for "significant increases in military spending to ensure that the strongest military in the world is stronger still," Pence said. "We will meet our obligations to our people to provide for the common defense, and we'll continue to do our part to support our allies in Europe and in NATO."
To confront the threats facing the alliance, NATO must build upon its 20th-century tactics and continue to evolve to confront the crises of today and tomorrow, Pence said.
"We must always stay at least one step ahead of our adversaries," he said, "for our shared goal of peace and prosperity can only be achieved through superiority and strength."
Pence called on members of the 28-nation bloc to ensure they are working on the commitment made in 2014 to spend two-percent of their gross domestic product on defense within the decade.
"The promise to share the burden of our defense has gone unfulfilled for too many for too long, and it erodes the very foundation of our alliance," he said.
Holding Russia Accountable
On the Russian threat to NATO's eastern flank, Pence said NATO has markedly improved its deterrent posture by stationing four combat-ready multinational battalions in Poland and the Baltic States.
"In the wake of Russian efforts to redraw international borders by force, rest assured the United States, along with the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany, will continue its leadership role as a framework nation in the enhanced forward presence initiative," he said. "We will support other critical joint actions to support this alliance."
Regarding Ukraine, he said the alliance must continue to hold Russia accountable and demand it honors the Minsk Agreements, beginning by de-escalating the violence in eastern Ukraine.
"The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which, as you know, President Trump believes can be found," Pence said.
Fighting Tirelessly Against ISIS
While outlining the threat from Islamic terrorists, Pence said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is "perhaps the greatest evil of them all," with a "savagery unseen in the Middle East since the Middle Ages."
Trump has pledged to "fight tirelessly to crush these enemies -- especially ISIS and its so-called caliphate -- and consign them to the ash heap of history, where they belong," Pence said.
"President Trump has no higher priority than the safety and security of the American people and ensuring the security of our treaty allies," Pence said.
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U.S. Department of Defense
Press Operations
News Release
No. NR-070-17 February 18, 2017
Readout of Secretary Mattis' Meeting with Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani
Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Cmdr. Sarah Higgins provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met Friday with Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani in Munich, Germany. The two affirmed their commitment to their partnership to defeat ISIS. They discussed the latest developments in the Mosul operation and the key role Peshmerga forces have played in the counter-ISIS fight. Secretary Mattis and President Barzani both noted the important military cooperation between the government of Iraq and the KRG. They agreed battlefield success over the past year was made possible by strong cooperation between the government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the United States.
http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1088198/
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U.S. Department of Defense
Press Operations
News Release
No. NR-071-17 February 18, 2017
Readout of Secretary Mattis' Meeting With Singaporean Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen
Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Cmdr. Sarah Higgins provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met yesterday with Singaporean Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen on the margins of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on Friday.
The secretary and the minister of defence affirmed the long standing security partnership between the United States and Singapore. They discussed a range mutual security interests, including cooperation on maritime security and countering violent extremism from terrorist organizations such as ISIS. The secretary expressed appreciation for Singapore hosting U.S. forces and emphasized the importance of its contributions to the Counter-ISIS coalition.
They also discussed shared interest in regional stability and the rule of law and the importance of regional architecture and the U.S.-ASEAN relationship. With regard to the South China Sea, the two reaffirmed the importance of the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.
http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1088200/
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Carrier Strike Group 1 Conducts South China Sea Patrol
Navy News Service
Story Number: NNS170218-01
Release Date: 2/18/2017 8:03:00 AM
By From Carrier Strike Group One Public Affairs
SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS) -- Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, began routine operations in the South China Sea, Feb. 18.
Prior to their operations in the South China Sea, ships and aircraft from within the strike group conducted training off the islands of Hawaii and Guam to maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group. The strike group recently enjoyed a port visit to Guam and after departing the Marianas, conducted operations in the Philippine Sea.
"The training completed over the past few weeks has really brought the team together and improved our effectiveness and readiness as a strike group," said Rear Adm. James Kilby, commander, CSG 1. "We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region."
Vinson last deployed to the Western-Pacific in 2015 and conducted a bilateral exercise with the Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force in the South China Sea. Vinson first operated in the South China Sea in 1983 and in total, has operated there during 16 previous deployments over its 35 year history.
While deployed, the Carl Vinson CSG will remain under U.S. 3rd Fleet command and control, including beyond the international dateline, which previously divided operational areas of responsibility for 3rd and 7th Fleets. Third Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. This operational concept allows both numbered fleets to complement one another and provide the foundation of stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
CVW-2 includes the "Black Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4, the "Blue Hawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, the "Bounty Hunters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2, the "Blue Blasters" of VFA-34, the "Kestrels" of VFA-137, the "Golden Dragons" of VFA-192, the "Black Eagles" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the "Gauntlets" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 and the "Providers" of Fleet Logistic Support Squadron (VRC) 30.
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Yemeni snipers kill 2 Saudi troopers in retaliatory attacks
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 5:31PM
Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have shot dead a Saudi trooper in the kingdom's southwestern border regions of Jizan and Asir in response to Riyadh's aerial bombardment campaign against their country.
Yemeni forces and their allies targeted the Saudi troopers in the al-Farizeh military base of the region, located 969 kilometers south of the capital, Riyadh, on Saturday afternoon, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.
Army troops and Popular Committees fighters also launched an attack on the al-Alab border crossing of Asir region, killing a Saudi trooper there.
Separately, several pro-Saudi militiamen loyal to resigned Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were injured when Yemeni forces fired a barrage of artillery rounds at their gatherings in the Usaylan district of the central Yemeni province of Shabwah.
Earlier, Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired artillery shells at a gathering of Saudi mercenaries in the Kahboub area of southwestern Lahij Province, though no words on possible casualties and the extent of damage were reported.
Yemeni forces also launched a salvo of Katyusha rockets at an outpost of pro-Saudi militiamen in the al-Jadid region of the southwestern province of Ta'izz. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Moreover, Yemeni soldiers and Popular Committees fighters fired a domestically-manufactured Zelzal-2 (Earthquake-2) missile at a position of Saudi mercenaries in the Jabal al-Thalab region of the northern province of Ma'rib. No reports of casualties were available.
Meanwhile, Saudi warplanes carried out two airstrikes against separate areas in the Kitaf wa Al Boqe'e district of Yemen's northwestern province of Sa'ada, with no immediate word on possible casualties. Saudi jets also bombarded the Harad district of the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, has said the Saudi military campaign has claimed the lives of 10,000 Yemenis and left 40,000 others wounded.
McGoldrick told reporters in Sana'a last month that the figure was based on casualty counts given by health facilities and that the actual number might be higher.
Meanwhile, local sources say the Saudi war, which was launched in March 2015 in an attempt to bring back the country's former government to power, has so far claimed the lives of at least 11,400 Yemenis.
The Saudi military aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.
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US will continue to hold Russia accountable: Trump's VP
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 3:24PM
The US will continue to hold Russia accountable for its actions, says Vice President Mike Pence, even though President Donald Trump is looking for better ties with Moscow.
In his first major foreign policy address, Pence told Washington's European allies in the German city of Munich on Saturday, "The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found."
Delivering a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Pence also accused Russia of "redraw[ing] international borders by force."
He said Washington would demand that Russia honor the 2015 Minsk agreement, which was reached back in February 2015, to end the Ukrainian conflict--erupted almost one year after people in the Crimean Peninsula voted for the territory to rejoin the Russian Federation in March 2014.
After one month, the Ukrainian government launched military operations to crush pro-Moscow protests in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The conflict has so far left more than 9,500 people dead and over 21,000 others injured, according to the United Nations. The Minsk deal reduced the violence in the restive region but failed to put an end to the conflict.
Relations between the West and Russia have particularly soured since the conflict began. The West has imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, accusing the country of intervening in Ukraine and the 2016 US presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, denies the accusations and blames the West for the bloodshed in Ukraine.
U-turn on NATO, Europe
During the Munich gathering, the US vice president reassured member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) "on behalf of President Trump," that Washington "strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance."
Trump has repeatedly called NATO "obsolete," and "useless," and called for its reforming during his presidential campaign. Now his vice president and Defense Secretary Jim Mattiswho was on a visit to Europe-- appeared to be concentrating more on pushing the allies to meet NATO defense spending commitments.
"The president of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment, and for most, that means the time has come to do more," Pence added.
He also said the president would maintain deep ties to Europe, while also significantly increasing military spending in the US.
"The fates of the United States and Europe are intertwined. Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success. And ultimately, we walk into the future together."
Trump constantly praised Britain's vote to leave the European Union. His controversial policies on Europe, prompted Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem to warn finance ministers of the Eurozone about his administration.
Earlier this month, Dijsselbloem said that there are risks to the group "from the outside relating to new government in the US."
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Pence Tells Europe U.S. Remains Its 'Greatest Ally,' Urges More Defense Spending
Steve Gutterman February 18, 2017
MUNICH, Germany -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has told European leaders that the United States "is now and will always be your greatest ally," seeking to assuage concerns about Washington's commitment to transatlantic ties under President Donald Trump.
Speaking on February 18 at the Munich Security Conference, Pence said the "enduring bond" between the United States and Europe was built not only on "strength of arms" but on shared values and principles "that we cherish: freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law."
He said he brought a message from Trump: "The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering" in its support for the alliance.
At the same time, Pence forcefully repeated Trump's calls for European allies to shoulder their share of the financial burden, saying that only five NATO members had reached a target set in 2014 of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense within a decade, and that several had no clear path to that goal.
"It's time to do more," Pence said.
He said the United States will "hold Russia accountable" for interference in Ukraine even as it seeks "common ground" with Moscow, which he said Trump believed can be found.
Russia must uphold the 2015 Minsk cease-fire and peace deal signed in Belarus, starting by de-escalating violence in eastern Ukraine, Pence said.
Turning to broader issues, Pence said that the United States was committed to ensuring that Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons, and to fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" as well as threats from "rogue nations" and other "new adversaries" he said had emerged following the end of the Cold War a quarter-century ago.
The focus on this year's edition of the prominent annual security conference in Munich has been fears that Trump might loosen U.S. ties to Europe, withdraw or reduce U.S. backing for NATO, and sacrifice the interests of countries from Ukraine to Western Europe in the name of a new "reset" with Russia.
Those worries stem from comments from Trump, who in the past year has expressed enthusiasm for Britain's exit from the European Union, called NATO "obsolete," voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested he might scrap sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
"Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found," Pence said.
Lavrov Rejects Blame On Moscow
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the blame placed on Moscow for the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine, where the fighting between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 9,750 people since it erupted in April 2014 -- shortly after Russia seized control of Crimea from Ukraine.
Lavrov accused Ukraine of failing to meet its commitments under the Minsk agreement and suggested that the remarks of Western officials about the conflict reflected a Cold War mind-set that he said persists in the West.
In a pointedly short statement a few hours after Pence spoke, Lavrov repeated Russian accusations that the enlargement of NATO to include former Soviet republics and satellites has created tension in Europe -- rejecting the alliance's position that it is Russia's aggressive actions that are to blame.
Lavrov said that the "post-Cold War order" had come to an end and that he hoped "responsible leaders" will choose to create a "democratic and just world order -- if you want you can call it a post-West world order."
Lavrov was speaking 10 years after Russian President Vladimir Putin used the Munich Security Conference as the stage for a sriking denunciation of the United States as a dangerous hegemon that was ignoring state borders, violating international law, and "plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts."
While repeating Kremlin criticism of the West and its military alliance, Lavrov called for the resumption of military cooperation between Russia and NATO, and said Moscow wanted relations with the United States that are "pragmatic" and marked by mutual respect and acknowledgement of a shared responsibility for global stability.
Lavrov said the badly strained ties that existed now are "unnatural" and the two countries have huge potential for cooperation.
Pence, for his part, did not go into much detail about the prospects for "common ground" between Washington and Moscow.
Focusing on the transatlantic relationship, he painted a powerful picture of what he suggested were the historical affinities between the United States and Europe, using anecdotes about two previous visits to Germany to make his point.
During the Cold War, he crossed from a Western Europe seeking to rebuild after World War II into drab communist East Germany, he said -- then traveled to Germany again after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and saw flowers and other signs of mourning and solidarity.
"Europe stood tall with the United States" at that time, Pence said, adding that "the American people will be forever grateful."
But he warned Europe that "peace only comes through strength" and that "Europe's defense requires your commitment as much as ours."
"The United States will be strong -- stronger than ever before," he said, stressing that Washington plans to spend more on its military.
Merkel Backs Minsk Pact In Ukraine
Pence addressed the conference just after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said she was committed to meeting the defense-spending goal set by NATO in 2014, and the two met for talks later in the day.
Merkel said Western states must protect the principle of territorial integrity, calling it a crucial foundation of the post-World War II order, and that NATO needed to strengthen its eastern flank following Russia's interference in Ukraine.
Merkel said that there was "great anxiety" about the situation in eastern Ukraine and that Russia's interference in Ukraine "highlighted" the importance of NATO. Stressing the need to maintain international alliances, Merkel told the audience -- with Pence seated a few meters away -- that NATO was "in the American interest."
Merkel said she was committed to seeking a political solution to the conflict and supported the Minsk agreement, which she called "the only thing we have at the moment to move forward talks and the possibility of solving the problems. When we don't have anything else, I am against throwing something away that may still be useful."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told other leaders at the Munich conference on February 17 that they must not "appease" Russia by lifting sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union for seizing Crimea and stoking conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"It would be a mistake to think that Russia's appetite is limited" to Ukraine.
After talks with Pence in Munich on February 18, Poroshenko said he received a "very strong message supporting Ukraine" in that meeting and in phone calls with Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the last two weeks.
Pence also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the security of the Baltic countries in a meeting with the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Pence's office said he noted the Trump administration's support for the collective defense of NATO allies -- a crucial concern for the Baltic states, which are wary of Russia's intentions.
Pence held separate meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and Masud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. U.S. officials said he thanked both for committing to fight the extremist group Islamic State (IS) and encouraged close cooperation between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government.
Meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Pence voiced U.S. support for Afghanistan's national unity government, and officials said the two affirmed the importance of continuing what they called the "strategic partnership" between the United States.
And Pence met with Bono, the Irish rock star and social activist.
Also on the sidelines of the security conference, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and mediators Germany and France agreed to press for implementation of the existing and much-violated cease-fire in eastern Ukraine starting on February 20.
"All parties will use their influence to implement the agreement of the trilateral contact group from February 15," referring to a body comprising Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"The aim is to have a cease-fire starting from February 20 and to do what has long been agreed but never implemented: To withdraw the heavy weapons from the region, to secure them and enable the OSCE monitors to control where they are kept," German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.
Merkel, meanwhile, said she wanted good relations with Russia and believes it is in the common interest of Russia and the West to fight international terrorism.
She also said that Western countries had a "responsibility to bear" in accepting refugees and tackling the root causes leading people to flee their countries.
Merkel called for countries to work together, saying they must do so if they are to be strong. "Will we be able to act in concert, or will we fall back into parochial policies...? Let us stand together and make the world a better place," she said.
Speaking after Pence, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said all allies must contribute their share in funding the alliance and stressed that NATO's "bond remains essential" on both sides of the Atlantic.
"Europe needs North America and North America needs Europe," he said.
"I don't think America First means America alone," Stoltenberg said, referring to a policy Trump set out in his inaugural address on January 20.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa, Interfax, and TASS
Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-germany-russia-pence -europes-greatest-ally-defense spending/28317063.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.
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Merkel Says NATO, West Must Protect Principle Of Territorial Integrity
RFE/RL February 18, 2017
MUNICH, Germany -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that Western states must protect the principle of territorial integrity and NATO needs to strengthen its eastern flank following Russia's interference in Ukraine.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on February 18, Merkel said that territorial integrity is a crucial foundation of the post-World War II order.
She said there was "great anxiety" about the situation in eastern Ukraine, where a war between Russia-backed separatists and government forces continues nearly three years after it erupted following Moscow's seizure of Crimea.
Those Russian actions "highlighted" the importance of NATO, she said, and made clear it needed to bolster its strength on its eastern flank.
Merkel said she was committed to seeking a political solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine and supported the 2015 Minsk agreement, and she was "against throwing something out that may still be useful."
She added that she was committed to meeting NATO's goal of each member spending 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
Merkel said she wanted good relations with Russia and believes it is in the common interest of Russia and the West to fight international terrorism.
She also said that Western countries had a "responsibility to bear" in accepting refugees and tackling the root causes leading people to flee their countries.
Merkel called for countries to work together, saying they must do so if they are to be strong.
"Will we be able to act in concert, or will we fall back into parochial policies...? Let us stand together and make the world a better place," she said.
Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/germany-merkel -nato-west-must-protect-principle- territorial-integrity/28317048.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.
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NATO Warned Of Increasing Security Threats To Kosovo From Serbia
RFE/RL February 18, 2017
NATO members Croatia and Albania are warning that Serbia poses an increasing threat to Kosovo's security as well as stability across the wider Balkans.
In a joint letter this week to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the Munich Security Conference, the defense ministers of the two countries called on the military alliance to "revise" its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in light of the increased threat.
Tensions between Serbia and its former province Kosovo escalated after Belgrade last month sent a train painted with the slogan "Kosovo is Serbia" toward Kosovo, and Kosovo police stopped it at the border.
Serbia's president since then has accused Pristina of wanting to start a war, while his Kosovar counterpart has warned that Serbia might try to annex the predominantly Serb-populated northern part of Kosovo just as Russia annexed Crimea.
The letter to NATO from neighboring Croatia and Albania decried the "nationalistic rhetoric from Serb politicians and concrete actions on the border" that have raised tensions to be point that they threaten security and stability.
Aides said Albanian Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli and her Croatian counterpart, Damir Krsticevic, in particular wanted to focus NATO's attention on the threat to Kosovo.
The ministers told Stoltenberg that they would support transforming Kosovo's Security Force, which is lightly armed and engages in crisis response, civil protection and ordnance disposal, into a full-fledged army.
But to create such an army, Kosovo would need the support of its Serbian minority in parliament, and their representatives likely would oppose the move.
Majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008, a decade after a war with Serbian forces.
Serbia has refused to recognize the move, although Kosovo is recognized by 110 other countries. Still, until recently Serbian leaders had taken part in European Union-sponsored talks aimed at normalizing ties with Kosovo.
Both states are seeking to join the EU, and their integration into the bloc is seen as a way to guarantee peace in the region. But while Kosovo also seeks to join NATO, Serbian leaders have said they want to maintain ties with Russia and stay neutral.
NATO deployed peacekeepers in Kosovo after a 1999 air campaign that ousted Serbian forces fighting pro-independence ethnic Albanians. The 1998-99 conflict claimed 13,500 lives.
After receiving the letter, NATO officials said the alliance remained committed to continuing its mission in Kosovo "for as long as necessary."
At the start of its mission, NATO sent some 55,000 soldiers to Kosovo, but its contingent currently has dwindled to around 4,500.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/nato-warned-croatia -serbia-increased-security-threats-kosovo- serbia-balkans/28316831.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.
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Finland Plans to Replace SovietMade Artillery with South Korean Howitzers
Sputnik News
03:32 18.02.2017(updated 08:32 18.02.2017)
Finland's Ministry of Defense confirmed Friday that the country will purchase K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled howitzers from South Korea. Jussi Niinisto, Finnish defence minister, approved the purchase of 48 K9s that formerly belonged to Seoul's army, at a cost of $155 million.
According to the MoD, the contract includes maintenance, spares, training, and the option to procure additional weapons. Finland announced that it was in negotiations with South Korea for the K9s in July 2016, citing the weapon's price and adaptability with their conscription-based military.
The acquisition will also allow Helsinki to retire the bulk of its aging Soviet-era artillery systems.
IHS Jane's reports that the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) have conducted trials with the weapons beginning at the end of 2016. For staff training to commence, the howitzers are scheduled to be delivered this year, with conscripts expected to begin training on the weapon in 2019.
Deliveries are set to compete in 2024, with 48 systems in total.
The FDF currently operates the self-propelled 152 mm 2S5 Giatsint-S, the self-propelled 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika, the towed 122 mm D-30, and the towed 130 mm M-46. Current artillery pieces deployed by the forces, like the towed 155 mm 155 GH 52 APU, will be supplemented by the K9s.
Estonia plans to procure 12 South Korean howitzers of their own.
Sputnik
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Pence Says US Will Hold Russia Accountable; Moscow Calls for 'Post-West' Order
By Henry Ridgwell February 18, 2017
In his first major foreign policy speech, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence has said that America will be 'unwavering' in its support for the NATO alliance, but warned European allies that they must step up defense spending.
"I bring you this assurance - the United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance," Pence told delegates at the Munich Security Conference Saturday.
He repeated calls for European allies to keep their NATO commitment of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.
"The President of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment and for most that means the time has come to do more."Amid controversy over the Trump administration's ties to Moscow, the vice-president said the U.S. would continue to hold Russia accountable, "and demand that they honor the Minsk agreements, beginning by de-escalating the violence in eastern Ukraine. And know this. The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground."
Russia sees new world order
Among the hundreds of delegates listening to Vice-President Pence was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He took to the stage a few hours later - and said the world was at a moment of change.
"The responsible leaders have to make a choice. I hope that they will choose a democratic and fair world order. You might want to call it a post-West one," he said.
Questioned on accusations that Russia had hacked computers and tried to influence the U.S. election, Lavrov said he had found no evidence of this.
"Which kind of relations do we want with the U.S.? Pragmatic relations with mutual respect and acknowledgement of our responsibility for global stability."
Lavrov later told reporters that after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and Ukraine, the four countries had agreed to try to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine starting Monday, alongside the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line.
Fighting has escalated in recent weeks, threatening to sink the Minsk accords, an agreement signed in 2015 that aims to secure a cease-fire and more autonomy for eastern rebel-held regions of Ukraine.
Russian media reported Saturday that President Vladimir Putin had signed an executive order recognizing passports issued by pro-Moscow rebel groups in Donetsk and Luhansk. The move is likely to further escalate tensions with Kyiv and the West.
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NATO Officials Say Russian 'Fake News' Seeks to Undermine Alliance
By Jamie Dettmer February 18, 2017
Emails accusing German soldiers stationed in Lithuania of rape were sent this week to local news outlets, the latest incident in what NATO officials say is a Russian "fake news" campaign aimed at eroding public support for the military alliance.
The emails, which were sent to several Lithuanian media outlets on February 14, claimed German soldiers based in the Baltic state had raped an underage Lithuanian girl.
Some Lithuanian outlets reported the claim, which was dismissed by Lithuanian police, who are trying to track the internet protocol address involved in the distribution of the allegation.
"To our knowledge, Lithuanian police investigations came to the conclusion that there were neither a victim nor possible witnesses nor any perpetrators," said a spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense.
The misinformation incident bears similarity to the so-called Lisa case last year in which Russian media outlets first reported and then fomented a media storm in Germany about a claim made by 13-year-old Russian-German girl who said she'd been abducted and raped by Arab migrants in Berlin.
It transpired that the girl had made up the story, hoping to disguise from her parents that she'd spent the night at a boyfriend's home. The Lisa case affected already strained relations between Berlin and Moscow.
NATO officials say that Germany's leading role in the Ukraine crisis and support of sanctions has made the country a key target of Russian disinformation. German troops deployed in Lithuania this month, and they are part of an increased NATO presence in the Baltic states and Poland a response by the Western alliance to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Moscow's support for pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Effort to sow discord seen
The past year has seen a series of fake news and misinformation incidents that NATO officials maintain are conceived in Moscow and conducted as part of an active-measures campaign seeking to shape Western public opinion and sow political discord in the U.S. and European countries.
In December, the head of Britain's espionage service, Alex Younger, in his first major public speech as "C," the designation given the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, accused Russia of waging a hybrid war. He warned that Britain and Western nations were facing grave threats to their security and political systems from hostile propaganda and cyberattacks by rival states.
In October, U.S. intelligence chiefs accused the Kremlin of being behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee's computer system and of the emails of Hillary Clinton's staff during last year's presidential campaign. The computer intrusions were directed by some of "Russia's senior-most officials" in an unprecedented effort to influence the elections, the chiefs alleged.
In July, a senior European Commission official said that Russian propaganda had deeply penetrated all EU member states, helped by local politicians eager to exploit the confusion sown for their own purposes. Speaking in Brussels, Jakub Kalenski, a member of the European External Action Service task force assigned to study Russian propaganda, said Russian-sourced disinformation could be seen across Europe.
Methods vary
EU officials say the Kremlin is using different tactics and methods, depending on the countries being targeted. In the Baltic countries, the target is generally the Russian-speaking population, via Russian television channels. In Central European states such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, however, the subversion is more disguised, with hundreds of disinformation websites being used. In Scandinavia, propaganda is being put out on social media by state-sponsored internet trolls posting inflammatory comments.
The Western military alliance's online magazine, the NATO Review, outlined recently what it saw as the progression and coordination of Russian-inspired disinformation involving Russian media, populist parties on right and left determined to break up the political status quo, and the use of a network of friendly former politicians and sympathetic think tanks to spread the false news and influence political debate.
After the Lithuania allegation broke, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels that there had been several previous attempts to spread disinformation about NATO.
Last month, Sweden's most authoritative foreign policy think tank, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, issued a study accusing Russia of using underhand methods, including fake news, counterfeit documents and other disinformation, to try to influence Swedish decision-making. The campaign was focused, it said, on steering the country away from joining NATO.
The study said an array of active measures were being used, including broadcasting misleading reports on Russia's state-run news website Sputnik that were then picked up in Sweden. At other times, forged documents and fabricated news items consistent with Russia's strategic objectives have first appeared in obscure Swedish media outlets, which were picked up subsequently by Sputnik and "other sources of Russian public diplomacy" and broadcast to an international audience.
Twitter trolls
According to the report, Russia's active measures are aimed at hampering the Swedish government's ability to generate public support in pursuing policies. Measures have included the Russian government deploying trolls on Swedish Twitter and launching its own Swedish-language version of the news site Sputnik.
The study identified 26 forgeries that surfaced in the Swedish media between the end of 2014 and mid-2016. Most first appeared on "obscure Russian- and/or Swedish-language websites."
One forged document purported to show a conspiracy involving Sweden and NATO to send weapons to the Islamic State terror group via Turkey. Another fake letter purportedly concerned an attempt to quash prosecution of a Swede for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
On Monday, aides of French politician Emmanuel Macron said he had become a fake-news target of Russian media and that his presidential campaign had been facing thousands of cyberattacks. Richard Ferrand, secretary-general of Macron's En Marche! (Onwards!) party, said Russian state-controlled media Russia Today and Sputnik had spread false reports with the aim of swinging public opinion against him.
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UN: Malnourishment Threatening Hundreds of Thousands of Somali Children
By VOA News February 18, 2017
The U.N. is warning that hundreds of thousands of Somali children will be malnourished this year, including 185,000 who will be in need of urgent lifesaving support. To avert a major humanitarian disaster, the U.N. is calling for "scaled up" humanitarian assistance for the country.
The worst hit regions in Somalia are Bay and Bakool in the south followed by Sool and Sanaag in the north, according to humanitarian workers. The situation in those areas is said to be "pre-famine."
UNICEF country representative Steven Lauwerier just visited hard hit areas and said he saw hundreds of carcasses of dead animals. He said in the Bay region people have lost nearly 90 percent of their harvest due to two consecutive failed rainy seasons.
"If nothing is done now, then we are going to probably see high mortality figures affecting women and children," he said.
He said the area affected is very vast and urgent action is needed.
"What we have to do now is buy supplies and get them out to different places and really see that we prevent this drama happening," he said.
"What we also need to do is see that the money is available at this moment so that we can scale up our programs before it's too late and save hundreds of thousands of people that could perish if nothing is done."
UNICEF and WFP say they need more than $450 million in the coming months to prevent famine.
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Ecuador - Election 2017
Ecuador made history by choosing a prominent disability rights activist as the worlds first head of state elected with open paraplegia. Progressive candidate and renowned disability activist from the ruling Alianza Pais party, Lenin Moreno, won the Ecuadorean presidential election 02 April 2017. With 99 percent of the official vote counted, Lenin defeated former banker Guillermo Lasso, candidate for the right-wing CREO-SUMO alliance, with 51.16 percent to 48.84 percent, according to results issued by the countrys National Electoral Council. In what many had already predicted, right-wing vice presidential candidate Andres Paez has called for a recount, even though the CNE said it was a transparent and successful election process, calling for everyone to respect the results.
Ecuador kicked off its election campaign 03 January 2017 ahead of the Febrary 19th vote that would determine whether President Rafael Correas progressive policies and so-called Citizens Revolution would continue in the South American country for another four years. After the 45-day campaign, Ecuadoreans would cast their ballots for president and members of the National Assembly and also vote on a referendum on whether to block elected officials and public servants from stashing wealth in offshore tax havens.
The election came as President Correa and his Alianza Pais party wrap up 10 years in government championing social and economic policies that have lifted 1.5 million people out of poverty since 2007, tripled tax collection through more efficient processes, expanded universal health care and education, and made advances in controlling unemployment. As the campaign officially gets underway, Alianza Pais Lenin Moreno Correas vice president from 2007 to 2013 and former U.N. Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility holds the favored spot in the polls with 28.6 percent of the popular vote, according to a recent Market survey. Lenin Moreno, in a wheelchair since being shot in 1998, has been a leading champion for rights of people with disabilities in Ecuador.
Trailing behind the frontrunner, the Social Christian Partys Cynthia Viteri polled at 19.3 percent, CREOs Guillermo Lasso at 17.7 percent and the National Agreement for Change coalitions Paco Moncayo at 14.8 percent. But despite Morenos clear lead, the presidential election is likely to go to a second round vote, which would be held on April 2 and could open the door for the conservative opposition to unite against the left-wing Alianza Pais.
Meanwhile, more than 3,500 candidates are vying for 137 seats in Ecuadors National Assembly and five more seats in the Andean Parliament, the legislative assembly of the Andean Community made up of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
Nearly 13 million Ecuadoreans were expected to go to the polls to vote in the key election for a new president and National Assembly, as well as a referendum on tax havens, in an ballot that would decide whether the country would stay on its left-wing path for another term or follow other South American countries in making a turn to the right after years of progressive governments. Voting in Ecuador is mandatory between the ages of 18 and 65, though there are some exemptions. Ecuadoreans can begin voting at age 16 and the country allows permanent residents who have lived in the country for two years to vote alongside citizens.
The referendum question asked voters, "Do you agree that, for those holding a popularly elected office or for public servants, there should be a prohibition on holding assets or capital, of any nature, in tax havens?"
Guillermo Lasso, candidate of the right-wing neoliberal Alianza Creo-SUMA an entrepreneur and banker, played a major role in the country's banking crisis in 1999 as economic minister under the government of Jamil Mahuad. Lasso ran against Correa in 2013, obtaining 23 percent of the vote. Lasso has been the main opponent of the social and economic achievements of Correa and Alianza Pais, which have benefited the poor in the country. A recent book revealed Lasso as the mastermind of right-wing attacks to discredit Correo and his government's progressive agenda.
Presidential candidate Lenin Moreno, of President Rafael Correa's Alianza Pais party, led the polls with a wide margin over his closest rival throughout the campaign, but ahead of the election it remained uncertain whether or not the race would go to a second round. If none of the eight presidential candidates has won at least 40 percent of the popular vote with a 10 percent margin over the second place candidate, there would be a second round of voting on April 2 between the top two contenders. A new president and national assembly would be sworn in on 24 May 2017.
The designated successor of Correa, Moreno led in the latest polls. He was vice president from 2007 to 2013 and has been in a wheelchair since being shot in 1998. He has since served as special envoy on disability and accessibility at the United Nations. Hugely popular in Ecuador, Moreno was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 by lawmakers in Ecuador's National Assembly for his "Ecuador Sin Barreras" project, which has transformed governmental policy on people with disabilities and helped thousands through job placement guarantees and subsidies for caregivers.
This election would determine the fate of Correas 10-year-old Citizens' Revolution now represented by his former vice president, Lenin Moreno which cut poverty in half under a system of 21st Century Socialism which created what the Overseas Development Institute judged as the worlds most inclusive period of economic growth.
AP Alianza Pais 74 CREO /
SUMA Creating Opportunities
Society United for More Action 28 PSC Social Christian Party 15 CREO Creating Opportunities Movement 4 Pachakutik 4 Local Movement 3 ID Democratic Left 3 SUMA Society United for More Action 2 PSP Party of the Patriotic Society 2 ID Pachakutik - Democratic Left 1 FE Fuerza Ecuador 1
Lenin Moreno, a former deputy to leftist President Rafael Correa led the first round vote to become the Andean country's leader 09 February 2017. Moreno beat pro-business banker Lasso by more than 10 points in the eight-way first round vote. But he did not gain the 50 percent he needed for a first round win against conservative opponent Guillermo Lasso. The count following the February poll was criticized for being slow. The electoral authorities attributed the delay to the slow arrival of ballots from remote regions and consulates abroad, as well as to inconsistencies.
On Sunday, 02 April 2017, 12.8 million Ecuadorians were called to elect a president and vice president, between the two finalists of the first round of elections on February 19. For the election weekend, the dry law is in effect, campaigning prohibited and early voting took place in prisons and assisted balloting for the handicapped. The election campaign closed without a clear favorite and the assumptions of analysts are that the vote would be close. Opinion polls were prohibited from 10 days before the voting day. In the last opinion poll held ten days before the run-off vote on Sunday, Moreno had risen to a 52 percent share over 48 percent for Lasso.
Guillermo Lasso, the candidate for the party Alianza Creo-SUMA, had been a tough critic of the social and economic achievements of President Rafael Correa. Lasso accused the Correa government of being corrupt and inefficient. The entrepreneur and banker was an economic advisor and ambassador during the government of Lucio Gutierrez (2003-2005) and had a major economic post in the government of Jamil Mahuad that was responsible for the disastrous Bank Holiday fiasco that hurt millions.
Lasso proposed to create 1 million jobs, set interest on credit at 1 percent, eliminate entrance exams for university, cut taxes, "modernize the laws" to allow campesinos to once again carry weapons. Lasso is a right-wing entrepreneur, politician, banker, who defends the free market economy and the increased role of the private sector.
Lasso also promised to remove Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he has been since 2012 after asking for asylum, fearing extradition via Sweden to the US.
Lenin Moreno proposed to generate 200,000 new jobs, give preferential credit ratings to young entrepreneurs and businesspeople, guarantee access to higher education by creating orientation centers, improve the living conditions of senior citizens through a program called "My Best Years," establish dialogue with different political groups. The former vice president was the candidate for the governing PAIS Alliance and the favorite in the polls to win the presidential race.
A Lenin Moreno government would represent a continuity of some aspects the Ecuadors Citizens Revolution, while also representing some significant shifts. The proposal from Moreno and his PAIS Alliance, which also stemmed from the 10 Revolutions outlined by the governing party as the basis for a 2017-2021 government plan, continue the redistributive mantra of the Ecuadorean government since Rafael Correa took office in 2006.
Under the Correa government, there were some notable rifts with movements and social sectors that at one point were in support of the government. Moreno would have a more inclusive approach to these groups, as well as towards dialogue around issues that had yet to be addressed by the Citizens Revolution.
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Lenin Voltaire Moreno Garces
Lenin Moreno, won the Ecuadorean presidential election 02 April 2017. Ecuador made history by choosing a prominent disability rights activist as the worlds first head of state elected with open paraplegia. While US President Franklin Roosevelt is perhaps the most well-known elected official with a disability he used a wheelchair after polio left him largely unable to walk without great effort his paraplegia was actively downplayed and largely made invisible to the American people.
As Rafael Correa departed after 10 years of consecutive rule and a number of social gains made under the Citizens Revolution, the victory for Moreno was seen as key not only for Ecuador but for the wider Latin American region. Ecuador would remain a part of the pink tide that swept the region in the past two decades, not following the right-wing shift that took place in 2016 in Argentina and Brazil.
For many supporters of former President Rafael Correa, the February 2018 referendum marked yet another attempt by the increasingly right-wing administration of Lenin Moreno to dismantle the legacy and the achievements of the country's 10-year-long process of change. Moreno gained support for institutional changes through a seven-part referendum, carried out in February 2018 without the approval of the constitutional court. The main goal of the referendum was to block Correas eventual return to power by banning re-election.
The reactionary nature of Moreno's government became more apparent when analysing the different groups and individuals that pledged to support the "Yes" vote for each question. Prominent political figures on the right, such as Jaime Nebot and the Social Christian Party, Guillermo Lasso and the conservative CREO party, and former President Abdala Bucaram, who was removed from office on the grounds of and embezzlement, all actively campaigned in support of the "Yes" vote. The private media outlets that traditionally opposed Correa's government and played a prominent role during the 2010 coup, such as the newspapers El Commercio, El Universo and TV stations Ecuavsia and Teleamazonas, had also been broadcasting messages and adverts in support of the "Yes" campaign.
Since being elected on the platform of continuing the left-wing economic policies of the Correa administration in May 2017, Moreno had undertaken a number of actions that won praise from the right-wing political opposition. Commencing a "national dialogue" of reconciliation, he proceeded to foster closer cooperation with members of the opposition such as Jaime Nebot and Abdala Bucaram Jr., going as far as appointing individuals close to the latter's family. At the same time, he began to mimic the opposition's previous rhetoric about high levels of public debt and corruption, after criticising the 10-year period of Correa's administration (during six of which he served as his vice-president) for economic mismanagement and excessive public and social spending.
He then proceeded to replace the administrations of public newspaper El Telegrafo and the publicly owned Ecuador TV in July 2017. The control and distribution of electronic cash, long demanded by Ecuador's financial and corporate sector, was then transferred from the hands of the Central Bank of Ecuador to the Association of Private Banks. Most prominent of all, he supported the corruption allegations regarding now-dismissed Vice-President Jorge Glas, seen by many as a staunch loyalist of Correa.
A package of economic measures was announced on 02 October 2019 by President Lenin Moreno. The decree eliminated the state's subsidies for fuel, among other legislation, to comply with suggestions presented by the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a US$4.2 billion loan announced on 11 March 2019. Moreno said the price of gasoline would go up to $2.30 a gallon from $1.85 and the cost of diesel up to $2.27 from $1.03. Panic and speculation sent prices soaring, with costs of some products - papayas, rural bus fares - doubling or more. Moreno said "There will be a mechanism to alleviate the effects that (the end of the subsidy) could have on some sectors, of course, and we are ready to do that, but under no circumstances will we change the measure."
Massive protests erupted across the country to protest against the neoliberal economic measures announced by Moreno. Taxi, bus and truck drivers blocked streets and bus stations were closed for a nationwide transport strike, forcing the government to suspend schools. Despite meeting severe police repression and declaration of State of Exception, the protesters continued demonstrations in various parts of the country. Protests significantly intensified since the arrival in Quito of the Indigenous march on 07 October 2019. Most of the center of Quito and the Ejido Park saw pitched battles between anti-IMF protesters, and police who used armoured vehicles and motorized units to help clear areas, often unsuccessfully. A flashpoint was the National Assembly, near Ejido Park, where protesters briefly broke police lines and seized control of the legislature.
In response, the government announced that they were moving the seat of government to the coastal city of Guayaquil, and shortly after, that a curfew was being imposed from 8 PM till 5 AM across the country in areas of strategic importance. In a defiant national television address, the Ecuadorean president announced that he was moving the government's seat to Guayaquil, a city which has been the traditional trench of the far-right and is located near the navy's main barracks. Moreno issued Executive Order 888 in which he decreed the move of the seat of government to Guayaquil, reaffirmed the state of exception and announced a special curfew around state buildings. The last time an Ecuadorean president decreed a curfew with regards to mass protests against neoliberal and austerity measures was Oswaldo Hurtado in 1982, who was the first head of state to sign a letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund in exchange of structural reforms.
Protests continued as the government shows no sign of withdrawing the current austerity measures. Likewise, protesters across the country remained determined to push on until the paquetazo (package of IMF imposed measures) is reversed. According to official figures, over 510 protesters have been arrested by 07 October 2019. However, the number of injured and dead had not been announced yet, although social media users reported at least three people killed as a result of demonstration-related events.
Vnezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno is "out of reality" and incapable of understanding the reasons for the massive social protests which have been taking place in his country since the beginning of October. "Lenin is brave to take social benefits from the people," Maduro said and added "he is brave to deliver Ecuador to the International Monetary Fund."
Latin America is currently the scene of the dispute between two different visions of the economy. "We have two models: the IMF model which privatizes everything and takes away the people's rights to health, education and work; and the humanist-progressive model which is emerging in Latin America and has the Bolivarian Revolution at the forefront," Maduro he said.
Moreno accused the leftist Correa, his one-time mentor and boss when he was vice president, of seeking a coup with the help of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. Speaking in Belgium, where he lives in self-exile, Correa has strongly denied the accusation, while movements like France's Unbowed, a polictical umbrella of former leftist presidential candidate and senator Jean-Luc Melenchon, denounced the accusations, saying Moreno was "pitiful for running away from his people."
Background
From 2007 to 2013, Lenin Moreno was Vice-President of Ecuador. Sylvan Hardy notes that within months of leaving office in 2013, Moreno publicly criticized his former bosss governance style, referring to it as confrontational, mean-spirited, and vindictive. He cited Correas fight against the news media and non-profit organizations that opposed his policies. He objected to the presidents habit of school-yard name-calling to attack political opponents.
Moreno, who remained a strong supporter of Correas social and infrastructure programs and policies, said the presidents temperament harkens back to an era of loud-mouthed Latin American strong men, not forward to a spirit of consensus building Moreno said is necessary to build a modern Ecuador. Moreno also claimed that Correas anti-business attitude discourages investment and keeps Ecuadors economy dependent on revenue from non-renewable resources, especially oil.
A lawyer by profession, Morenos term as vice-president took Ecuadors people with disabilities from being barely regarded as citizens to people receiving housing and economic assistance, including guaranteed social security from their government. Moreno conveys a mature, serene demeanor and a genuine commitment to making a positive difference for his country.
Born in 1953, he is married and has three children. He has published ten books on philosophy and humor, including a book of jokes. He reportedly enjoys painting, swimming, singing, and playing guitar with his wife and three daughters in Quito. Moreno is known as the author of writings with titles such as Humor in Theory and Practice, Being happy is easy and fun, The best jokes in the world and Laugh, dont not be sick.
Born into a middle-class family, Moreno enjoyed a normal and happy childhood. His father Servio Tulio Moreno was a professor, named after Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome was a reformer and builder who supposedly gave the plebeians of Rome the rights of citizenship. Servio Tulio Moreno believed in helping the less privileged sections of the society. As an educator he worked hard to promote integration of the schools in their town so that indigenous children and mestizo children could learn together. Lenin studied at the Instituto Nacional Mejia (Mejia National Institute), in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, before moving on to the Colegio Nacional Sebastian Benalcazar (Sebastian Benalcazar National School).
Later on he went to the Universidad Central del Ecuador (Central University of Ecuador), from where he earned a degree in public administration. He was a good student and had an innate interest in understanding the psychology of human beings. He was also a very principled young man.
Moreno ventured into politics and soon built a reputation for himself in this field as well. During his initial years in the public sector he served in an administrative post with the Minister of Government.
Moreno became a paraplegic in 1998 after two men robbed him in a grocery store parking lot and one of them shot him in the back. For several years he was bedridden and fought depression. Being the resilient soul that he was, he turned to laughter therapy and gradually began to recover from the physical and mental trauma of the shooting.
Clearly familiar with the U.S. from many visits, he noted that his three daughters (ranging in ages from 19 to mid-20's) all have lived there either currently or previously and are very American-oriented. As a person confined to a wheelchair, he particularly admires the U.S. sensitivity and inclusive approach to people with physical challenges, unmatched by any other country.
Moreno remained committed to the social causes with which he had been associated throughout his political career. Moreno had active and positive ties with the grassroots "forajido" movement in Quito, which helped organize the popular uprising that toppled President Palacio after his shift to the right in 2005. Upon assuming office President Correa assigned Moreno responsibility for the National Technical Secretariat for the Development of Human Resources (SENRES), the National Council for Disabilities (CONADIS), the Council for Amazonic Development (CODA), and the Secretariat for Citizen's Solidarity, to which Moreno devotes most of his time.
The Secretariat for Citizen's Solidarity launched three major initiatives under Moreno's guidance: "Ecuador without Barriers" which promotes the social integration of the disabled, "Ecuador without Children in Prisons," which aims at protecting the children of incarcerated individuals and "Smile Ecuador, We are Nice People," which has promotes social cohesion and kindness through public service announcements.
Moreno spearheaded a partnership program with Microsoft which provided information technology training for persons with disabilities and was the driving force behind Ecuadorian adoption of the United Nations Convention on Persons with Disabilities. Ecuador's adoption of the convention allowed it to go into force. USAID had a positive working relationship with Moreno on disability issues. Moreno remained fully committed to a major role in these initiatives.
During the critical hours in an assumed coup attempt 30 September 2010, it was he who appeared on the screen, spoke calmly, and gave people confidence in the public institutions. President Correa himself was captive in a hospital. With his close relationship with the powerful Minister for Internal and External Security Gustavo Larrea, Moreno remained a figure important to watch.
Vice President Lenin Moreno, a paraplegic with a history of health difficulties linked to the shooting accident that crippled him, was hospitalized on 22 April 2008 for a urinary tract infection and remained in intensive care for six days, then remained hospitalized for several more days. Though he returned to his office for the first time on May 5, the press continues to report that he has not resumed a normal work schedule. Moreno remained very popular among the Ecuadorian electorate (as evidenced by the response to the prayer to his health offered at the Israeli National Day celebration on May 7.)
Morenos work earned him an appointment as the United Nations Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility in 2013. We have taken enormous steps in Ecuador, but much work remains, wrote Moreno for Americas Quarterly in 2012. Our goal is for no disabled person to be denied comprehensive attention. In recognition of his achievements, Moreno was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 by members of Ecuadors National Assembly. He has received a number of awards, including the Grand Cross Grade of the Andean Parliament.
"Solidarity not as charity, but rather as the recognition of others as equals is the basic pillar for initiating social inclusion," Moreno wrote in 2012. "We political actors are temporary; we can, at best, give these great processes a push forward, but the true protagonists of these changes are society, people with disabilities and their families. The efforts of all these actors have allowed Ecuador to leave behind the years of exclusion and marginalization to which disabled people were subjected, and to integrate them now into work, education, culture, the arts, and sports."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Lenin Voltaire Moreno Garces of Ecuador as his Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility on 19 December 2013. He was Chairperson of the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities of the Organization of American States. Moreno is a globally acclaimed advocate for persons with disabilities and inclusive society. Under his leadership as Vice-President, Ecuador greatly advanced social inclusion and the integration of persons with disabilities into national development efforts as well as regional and international cooperation.
In a public address, Correa stated in November 2016 Lenin is a working machine, with clean hands and a burning heart for this country. He held a 37 percent lead in polls over right-wing banker Guillermo Lasso from CREO; Cynthia Viteri of PSC; former military member Paco Moncayo from the National Agreement for Change; and Dalo Bucaram from Fuerza Ecuador and son of former president Abdala Bucaram. In his public remarks, Moreno said he will continue to work toward providing free education and healthcare for children and adults and ensure the country does not only depend on exporting oil.
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Gama'a al-Islamiyya
aka Islamic Group,
aka GI,
aka IG,
aka alGamaat,
aka Islamic Gama'at,
aka Egyptian alGama'at al-Islamiyya
The Egyptian cleric convicted of participating in a plan to blow up landmarks in New York City died in prison 18 February 2017. The spiritual leader of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, the blind sheik named Abdel-Rahman, was serving a life sentence in the U.S. for plotting to blow up the World Trade Center and other New York landmarks. Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman died early Saturday after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
There are many different spellings for the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, which is the most common spelling. Egypts largest militant group, active since the late 1970s; appears to be loosely organized with no single readily identifiable operational leader. The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya is not a single group; it has become factionalized. The original group has broken down into smaller factions, in part due to the imprisonment and/or exile of its leaders.
The Islamic movement in Egype was fragmented into a multitude of autonomous factions that shared the common goal of an Islamic state but differed in social origin and in tactics. The more activist Jamaat al Islamiyah (Islamic Associations), an amorphous movement of many small groups, were drawn from a cross-section of the student population, while the most radical Islamic groups, such as At Takfir wal Hijra (Atonement and Alienation) and Al Jihad (Holy War), were made up of educated, lower middle-class elements and recent urban emigrants from the villages. Various populist preachers in the traditional urban neighborhoods enjoyed broad personal followings. The more violent messianic groups, such as Al Jihad, were the targets of continual repression and containment, apparently only partly successful.
Abdel Rahman was born in a village along the Nile on May 3, 1938. Blinded shortly after birth because of diabetes, Omar Abdel Rahman had memorized the Koran by the age of eleven. One report describing Abdel Rahman as blind, with one eye without a pupil, the other an empty socket. With his long grey beard, sunglasses and red and white cap, he was a famous religious figure in the 1980s and 1990s.
Abdel-Rahmans fiery oratory had inspired the creation of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad the organization responsible for the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. In September 1981, Sadat ordered the biggest roundup of his opponents since he came to power, at least 1,500 people according to the official figure but more according to unofficial reports. The Muslim Brotherhood bore the brunt of the arrests. The supreme guide of the Brotherhood, Umar Tilmasani, and other religious militants were arrested. Also arrested were such prominent figures as journalist Mohamed Heikal.
On 06 October 1981, while observing a military parade commemorating the eighth anniversary of the October 1973 War, Sadat was assassinated by members of Al Jihad movement, a group of religious extremists. Sadat's assassin was Lieutenant Colonel Khalid al Islambuli. The conspirators were arrested and tried. In April 1982, two of the conspirators were shot and three hanged. As a result of the assassination, the military dismissed 30 officers and 100 enlisted men because of their extreme religious views.
Abdel Rahman was tried but acquitted in Egypt as an accomplice in the murder of President Anwar el-Sadat. He was later included in an arrest of 1,500 Muslims regarded as extremists, but he was freed several months later. Abdel Rahman said in Egypt he was hung upside-down from the ceiling, beaten with sticks and given electric shocks while held.
By the summer of 1989, Abdel-Rahman was being held under house arrest by the Egyptian government. In June 1990 Sheik Abdel-Rahman arrived in New York after absconding from house arrest in Egypt. He managed to get to New York after the US embassy in Sudan granted him a tourist visa in 1990 - despite the fact that he was on the state department's list of people with "ties to terror groups".
US authorities blamed a computer error for the visa, but the mistake was compounded in 1991 when Abdel Rahman was given a green card and permanent US resident status. The New York Times reported the CIA had approved the visa application for Abdel Rahman, who had supported the anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Abdel-Rahman began preaching at the al-Farooq mosque in Brooklyn, and then at the Jersey City mosque. Sometime that summer, the blind Sheik issued a fatwah, calling on his Muslim brothers to rob American banks and kill Jews anywhere they were found.
In the fall of 1990, El Sayyid began stalking Rabbi Meir Kahane, the outspoken 58-year-old founder of the Jewish Defense League. On the evening of November 5, Nosair, wearing a yarmulke to disguise himself as a dark-skinned Sephardic Jew, approached Kahane, pulled a .357 revolver and fired two shots into Kahanes jugular vein, killing him.
Abdel-Rahman's followers plotted to assassinate Egypts president, Hosni Mubarak, during a March 1993 visit to the United Nations in New York City. But the plot was foiled when a confidant of Abdel Rahmans, Abdo Mohammed Haggag, informed the Egyptian government of the assassination plan, and Mubaraks New York trip was canceled.
According to the 9/11 Commission, After it was discovered that Abdel Rahman, the Blind Sheikh, had come and gone almost at will, State initiated significant reforms to its watchlist and visa-processing policies. The 9/11 Commission Report 95 (2004) reported that the government allowed Abdel Rahman to remain free pending his deportation appeal because he was not considered a flight risk and the conspiracy evidence against him was weak. But after his van evaded federal agents following him on 30 June 1993, the government decided to arrest him on an immigration detainer. Abdel-Rahman faced a deportation order at the time of the World Trade Center bombing.
On Friday, February 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, killing six people and injuring more than one thousand. On April 24, 1992, Ahmad Mohammad Ajaj moved from Houston, Texas, to Pakistan, where he attended a terrorist training camp on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan called Camp Khaldan. He learned how to make bombs, and he met Ramzi Ahmed Yousef. On September 1, 1992, Ajaj and Yousef entered the United States using false identities. Ajajs passport was discovered to be a forgery. He was indicted in the Eastern District of New York, where John F. Kennedy International Airport is located, and imprisoned for six months on a guilty plea. Yousef was stopped for traveling on an Iraqi passport without a visa but released on his own recognizance because the detention center was full.
In the United States, Yousef assembled a conspiracy of terrorists. With the assistance of Mahmoud Abouhalima, Yousef and Mohammad A. Salameh rented in Jersey City, New Jersey, an apartment and a storage unit, where they made and stored explosive materials. Nidal Ayyad, a chemical engineer, acquired the explosives. On February 23, 1993, Salameh rented a Ryder van, which the conspirators loaded with explosive materials.
Originally, the slightly built Palestinian, Salameh, was scheduled to be the wheel man for the rented yellow Ryder truck that would deliver the device. But by the fall of 1992 Salameh was involved in no less than three separate traffic accidents. In one, Yousef was injured and hospitalized. Three days later, Yousef and Eyad Ismoil drove the van to the World Trade Center, where they exploded the bomb by timer at 12:18 pm.
Ayyad anonymously contacted the New York Daily News by telephone and the New York Times by mail to take responsibility for the bomb as retaliation for the United States support of Israel. Salameh was arrested when he returned to the Ryder rental office on March 4 to recover a $400 rental deposit on the destroyed van, which he had reported stolen.18 Because [Yousef] was the financier and had fled the country, leaving his accomplices on their own, Salameh was broke and desperately needed the cash from the deposit. It was not until February 7, 1995, that Yousef was captured in a guesthouse in Pakistan.23 For a $2 million reward, and to avoid prison, one of Yousefs recruits turned him in to the FBI. Yousefs uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), was staying in the same guesthouse and was an on-the-scene witness.
Much of the case against Abdel Rahman, a preacher at a New Jersey mosque, and his followers was based on video and audio recordings made with the help of his bodyguard, who became an FBI informant. One of those videos showed four defendants mixing fertiliser and diesel fuel for bombs.
On May 24, 1994, the court sentenced each of the four defendants to 240 years in prison. The terms varied according to the defendants ages, because for some of the counts, Judge Duffy used a sentencing method recently approved by the court of appeals of imposing a sentence of one month less than a defendants life expectancy if the sentencing guidelines suggested a life term.
They were convicted of conspiracy to conduct a campaign of urban terrorism, including participation in the bombing of the World Trade Center, the murder of Rabbi Kahane, the plot to assassinate President Mubarak, and plans to bomb New York landmarks. Public attention to the trials was diminished somewhat by the coincident criminal trial of O.J.Simpson for the murder of his wife and her friend. While the trial was in progress, on April 19, 1995, the federal building in Oklahoma City, including the courthouse there, was partially destroyed. On January 17, 1996, Judge Mukasey sentenced Abdel Rahman and El Sayyid Nosair to life in prison, and other defendants to long prison sentences.
Lynne Stewart was one of the lawyers for Sheik Abdel-Rahman during his trial in 1995. She kept communications open after he was sentenced. In 1999 she was charged with passing messages from the sheik to his supporters in the Egypt-based terror organization, the Islamic Group. Stewart, considered by many a left-wing radical and a tough courtroom fighter, has had her share of unpopular defendants over a 40-year career.
It has an external wing with supporters in several countries world-wide. Activities included armed attacks against Egyptian security and other officials, Coptic Christians, Western tourists, and Egyptian opponents of Islamic extremism. It assassinated the speaker of the Egyptian assembly in October 1990 and launched a series of attacks on tourists in Egypt in 1992. The group wounded the Egyptian Information Minister in an assassination attempt in April 1993.
Overall, the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya avoided conflicts with Americans, as its leaders felt they would be fighting a powerful adversary that they cannot match. Rather the group focuses on fighting its enemies within Egypt, mainly the government. The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya began fighting the state in 1992 when Egyptian volunteers who fought the Islamic mujahedeen in Afghanistan returned.
Conflicts with armed Islamic groups in Egypt since 1992 have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people on both sides, and have been blamed for many human rights abuses. The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya was associated with the following attacks:
January - April 1996: at least 46 civilians throughout Egypt were killed by members of armed opposition groups.
February 19, 1996: On the eve of 'Id al-Fitr, 3 gunmen believed to be members of al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, shot and killed 5 civilians in a coffee shop in the village of al-'Aqal al-Bahri.
February 20, 1996: 2 Coptic Christians brothers were killed when 3 gunmen (believed to be members of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya) attacked house in the village of Sahel Salim.
February 24, 1996: 8 people were killed, including 6 Coptic Christians, when 2 armed men (allegedly members of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya) opened fire on civilians sitting outside their house in al-'Uthmaniya village near al-Badari in the governate of Asyut.
April 18, 1996: 4 armed men killed 18 Greek tourists including 14 women outside a hotel in Cairo, while 15 others were injured including nine women and an Egyptian man. The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya claimed responsibility for this attack saying they had mistaken the Greek tourists for Israeli nationals and attacked in retaliation for the Israeli attacks in Southern Lebanon.
September 18, 1997: 2 gunmen (believed to be members of al-Gama'a al-Islamiya) killed 9 tourists and injured 35 others on a crowded tourist bus in Cairo.
November 18, 1997: 71 tourists were killed by Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatsheut, which is across the Nile form the town of Luxor and near the Valley of the Kings.
According to a 1997 Amnesty International report, "...the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya has been charged with plotting to overthrow the regime, threatening peace and national unity through the use of violence, and illegally importing weapons and ammunition into the country..." among other things. In July 1997, six imprisoned leaders of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya called for a cease fire followed by talks with authorities. However, an unyielding leader of al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, Rifai Ahmed Taha who was based in Afghanistan, denied any offer of a cease fire.
The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, Gihad, and Talai'al-Fatah have been responsible for serious human rights abuses and have carried out attacks on the Coptic minority, foreign tourists, and opposition writer Farag Foda. Experts said that Osama Bin Laden may have subcontracted the al-Gama'a'-Islamiya to bomb the embassies in Africa.
The President's Daily Brief received by President William J. Clinton on December 4, 1998 reorted " Reporting [...] suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadiq 'Awda. One source quoted a senior member of the Gama'at al-Islamiyya (IG) saying that, as of late October, the IG had completed planning for an operation in the US on behalf of Bin Ladin, but that the operation was on hold. A senior Bin Ladin operative from Saudi Arabia was to visit IG counterparts in the US soon thereafter to discuss options - perhaps including an aircraft hijacking. IG leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the "next couple of weeks" to free 'Abd al-Rahman and the other prisoners, according to what may be a different source."
The group issued a cease-fire in March 1999, but its spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman, sentenced to life in prison in January 1996 for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and incarcerated in the United States, rescinded his support for the cease-fire in June 2000. The Gamaa had not conducted an attack inside Egypt since August 1998. Senior member signed Usama Bin Ladins fatwa in February 1998 calling for attacks against US.
It is unofficially split in two factions; one that supports the cease-fire led by Mustafa Hamza, and one led by Rifai Taha Musa, calling for a return to armed operations. Taha Musa in early 2001 published a book in which he attempted to justify terrorist attacks that would cause mass casualties. Musa disappeared several months thereafter, and there are conflicting reports as to his current whereabouts.
The emergence of democratic, accountable governments in Muslim countries might help undermine the appeal of extremist groups and encourage radical Islamists to refrain from violence. The revelations of the leaders of al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group) in Egypt confirmed this view. A careful reading of the statements of this groups leaders in Al-Ahram al-Duwali (published in Cairo in February/March 2002) clearly indicated the role of humiliation and state violence in pushing the group toward violence in the 1980s and 1990s.
By 2006 Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya exhibited an ideological reversal. This includdd not only a rejection of terrorism, but also revised views on fundamental issues in the interpretation of the Koran, the hadith, and Islamic law - views which challenge the theoretical bases of militant Islamist ideology.
Primary goal is to overthrow the Egyptian Govern- ment and replace it with an Islamic state, but disaffected IG members, such as those potentially inspired by Taha Musa or Abd al-Rahman, may be interested in carrying out attacks against US and Israeli interests.
Group conducted armed attacks against Egyptian security and other govern- ment officials, Coptic Christians, and Egyptian opponents of Islamic extremism before the cease-fire. From 1993 until the cease-fire, al-Gamaa launched attacks on tourists in Egypt, most notably the attack in November 1997 at Luxor that killed 58 foreign tourists. Also claimed responsibility for the attempt in June 1995 to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Gamaa has never specifically attacked a US citizen or facility but has threatened US interests.
Strength is unknown. At its peak the IG probably commanded several thousand hard-core members and a like number of sympathizers. The 1999 cease-fire and security crackdowns following the attack in Luxor in 1997, and more recently security efforts following September 11, probably have resulted in a substantial decrease in the groups numbers.
Operates mainly in the Al-Minya, Asyut, Qina, and Sohaj Governorates of southern Egypt. Also appears to have support in Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban locations, particularly among unemployed graduates and students. Has a worldwide presence, including the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Austria.
The Egyptian Government believed that Iran, Bin Ladin, and Afghan militant groups supported the organization. Also may obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations.
Egypt's President-elect Mohamed Morsi addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square 29 June 2012, insisting that he intended to be the president of all Egyptians. The president-elect also made a pointed reference to Egypt's blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is being held in a US prison for collusion in the 1993 attack on New York's World Trade Center. He expressed sympathy for the Sheikh's family, and indicated that the Sheikh, and all other prisoners like him, should be freed.
In NOvember 2009 Bernard Madoff, also known as prisoner 61727-054, was moved to a medium security facility in Butner, North Carolina. He was one of thousands of convicts in the prison complex. They include spy Jonathan Pollard, bomb plotter Omar Abdel-Rahman, and John and Timothy Rigas, a father-and-son team convicted in a separate massive fraud case.
On 28 June 2012 a US federal appeals court upheld a 10 year prison sentence for a disbarred lawyer who helped her jailed terrorist client smuggle messages to his followers. The three-judge panel in New York wrote that Lynne Stewart still refused to understand the seriousness of her crime. Stewart was originally sentenced to 28 months in prison in 2006, and showed apparent contempt for the court by telling reporters that she could serve the time standing on her head. Federal prosecutors appealed the sentence as being too light and a court re-sentenced her in 2010.
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Terrorist Nicknamed 'Blind Sheik' Dies in US Prison
By VOA News February 18, 2017
U.S. prison authorities say an Egyptian cleric convicted of participating in a plan to blow up landmarks in New York City has died in prison.
An official at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, North Carolina, confirmed Saturday that Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman died early Saturday after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Abdel-Rahman was linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center that killed six people but was not convicted of a crime directly related to it.
He had been incarcerated since 1995 for his advisory role in a failed plot to blow up Manhattan landmarks, including U.N. headquarters, as well as a key bridge and two heavily traveled highway tunnels leading into the city. His stated goal was to interfere with U.S. support for Israel and for Egypt.
A prison spokesman said Abdel-Rahman was 78.
His son told the Reuters news agency his family had received a call from U.S. authorities confirming the death.
Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian, was nicknamed "the blind sheikh" because he lost his eyesight during childhood because of diabetes. He read Braille and attended an Islamic boarding school as a child. He became one of Egypt's most outspoken Muslim clerics, boldly denouncing the country's secularism.
Abdel-Rahman eventually moved to Afghanistan and developed a strong relationship with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Despite spending the past two decades in U.S. federal prison, Abdel-Rahman still had a strong following in Egypt at the time of his death.
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Xi calls for overall national security outlook
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 09:01, February 18, 2017
BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Friday called for an overall national security outlook at a seminar in Beijing, emphasizing the importance of political, economic, territorial, social and cyber security.
Xi, who heads the National Security Commission (NSC), presided over the seminar on national security on Friday. Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang, the two deputy heads of the NSC, were present at the seminar.
After listening to reports by Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, Hubei Province Party chief Jiang Chaoliang, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party Chief Chen Quanguo, Xi said national security has become more and more important in the work of the Party and the state, adding that national security work is all about the people's interests.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that safeguarding national security requires the grasp of rules in the context of the great changes in the international order, and that the planning work must give priority to the prevention of risks.
National security planning must consider the general background that China is in a period of important strategic opportunity for development, Xi said.
"The overall direction of multipolarization of the world, the globalization of the economy and the democratization of international relations has not changed," said Xi.
"No matter how the international situation changes, we must maintain our strategic steadiness, strategic confidence and strategic patience," the president said.
He called for global vision in national security work, coordinating development and security, combining principles with tactics, and taking the strategic initiative in China's own hand.
Xi called for enhancing a prevention and control system for public security, improving overall capability in social management, and solving problems and disputes at their roots.
Xi stressed efforts should be made to enhance security in fields including transport and production of hazardous chemicals and improve fire prevention and control so that major accidents do not occur.
A firm fence of cyber security should be consolidated, and efforts should be made to better safeguard cyber security and key information infrastructure, Xi said.
Xi said the development of core technologies should be facilitated and early warning and monitoring of cyber security should be strengthened, in addition to ensuring the security of big data.
Xi stressed the need to proactively shape China's external security environment, adding the country must strengthen cooperation in security field and guide the international community to jointly safeguard international security.
Xi called for enhanced capacity building in terms of materials, technology, equipment, talent, law and mechanism to safeguard national security.
He underscored that it was a fundamental principle for national security work to adhere to the leadership of the Party, adding local Party leaderships must fulfill their national security obligations.
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China, U.S. agree to work for greater development of relations
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 09:31, February 18, 2017
BONN, Germany, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson agreed here Friday that the two countries should work together for greater development of bilateral relations during the term of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Wang and Tillerson met on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) to exchange views on bilateral ties and issues of mutual concerns. The meeting is the first of its kind since Tillerson assumed office.
Wang said the recent telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump had been of great significance.
During the conversation, Wang said the U.S. side had made it clear that it would continue to honor the one-China policy and the two leaders agreed that China and the United States could be great partners and should promote greater development of their bilateral relationship from a new starting point.
This key consensus has safeguarded the political basis of Sino-U.S. relations, charted the course of the relationship in the new era, and created the necessary pre-conditions for the two nations to engage in strategic cooperation on bilateral, regional, and global issues, Wang noted.
Wang said that China and the United States, both shouldering the responsibilities of securing world stability and enhancing global prosperity, had more common interests than disputes.
China is ready to work with the U.S. side to implement the consensus reached between President Xi and President Trump, and move bilateral relationship forward in the direction that features no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, Wang said.
He said the two sides should increase communication, enhance trust, handle differences properly, and deepen cooperation in a bid to ensure greater development of bilateral relations during Trump's presidency, bring tangible interests to the two countries' peoples, and make more contributions to world peace and prosperity.
For his part, Tillerson reiterated the U.S. stance to abide by the one-China policy, which carries specific significance, not only to the bilateral relationship, but also to regional stability and development.
The U.S. secretary of state said the U.S. side looked forward to working with China to conduct high-level exchanges, facilitate understanding, and maintain, improve and consolidate mutual dialogue and cooperation mechanisms in all fields.
Tillerson also expressed the U.S. side's hope for strengthened cooperation with China in areas such as economy, finance and security and pushing for greater development of bilateral ties.
Wang and Tillerson also exchanged views over the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.
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DPRK citizen arrested in connection with Kim Jong Nam's death
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 12:38, February 18, 2017
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police said on Saturday they have detained a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen suspected to be involved in the death of a DPRK man identified by Malaysian authorities as Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un.
The male suspect was identified as "Ri Jong Chol," who was born on May 6, 1970, in the DPRK, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement, citing information on the ID card in the suspect's possession, known in Malaysia as "i-Kad," used by foreign workers living in the country.
Abdul Samah Mat, police chief of Selangor state who leads a criminal investigation in the case, told Xinhua that the suspect was caught Friday after police forces raided a condominium in Selangor.
He declined to reveal the links between the DPRK man and two female suspects detained previously, one with Vietnamese travel document and the other an Indonesian. A local Malaysian male has also been detained to assist investigation.
The 46-year-old Kim Jong Nam was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Though police has completed postmortem on the deceased, Abdul said the police still need the body in their investigation and will not transfer the body to the DPRK embassy before they receive DNA samples from the next-of-kin.
Meanwhile, DPRK Ambassador Kang Chol said on Friday that they will "categorically reject" the results of the postmortem conducted by Malaysia and demanded an immediate transfer of the body.
The DPRK embassy in Malaysia has not confirmed the identity of the suspect.
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DPRK to reject Malaysia's autopsy report on citizen's death: envoy
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 09:22, February 18, 2017
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will "categorically reject" the post mortem conducted by Malaysia on its national who died here on Monday and demands the immediate transfer of the body, said the DPRK embassy here on late Friday.
"The Malaysian side forced the post mortem without our permission and witnessing, we will categorically reject the result of the post mortem conducted unilaterally excluding our attendance," DPRK's ambassador Kang Chol said in a statement delivered to the media outside the forensic department of Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
The victim, whom the Malaysian authorities claimed as Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of the DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un, was murdered in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
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Malaysian police working on DNA profiling of Kim Jong Nam
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 14:06, February 17, 2017
Malaysian police are working on a DNA profiling of Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of the top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a senior police officer said on Friday.
Abdul Samah Mat, the police chief of Selangor state told Xinhua that they will ask the DPRK embassy in Malaysia to provide the DNA samples from Kim Jong Nam's next-of-kin, which will be used for a positive identification to prove the relationship.
Kim died at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday. Next-of-kin may include brothers, sisters and maybe kids, said Abdul, who is leading the criminal investigation in the case.
DNA samples may include blood, saliva and other body fluids in criminal investigation.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed Kim's identity on Thursday, telling reporters at the briefing that Malaysian authorities will, per international laws, ask the next-of-kin of the deceased to claim the remains after the investigation procedures.
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China deprives N Korea of crucial source of foreign exchange
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 3:59PM
China is set to stop all imports of coal from North Korea depriving the country of a crucial source of foreign exchange following its latest missile test.
"China will temporarily stop its imports of coal from North Korea for the rest of this year including coal for which customs applications have been made but not yet processed," China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
The suspension, which is part of existing UN sanctions will start on 19th February and will last until the end of 2017.
The decision comes less than a week after North Korea's latest missile test, as tensions escalate over the reclusive state's defiance of UN resolutions.
The United Nations Security Council sharply criticized North Korea last week for the missile test and described it as a grave violation of UN resolutions.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called out China for doing too little to help stop North Korea's nuclear program.
China traditionally ensured that UN Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Pyongyang included humanitarian exemptions, and had continued to purchase huge amounts of North Korean coal - $101 million worth in October alone - a crucial source of foreign exchange for Pyongyang.
But the latest resolution, passed in December, had no such clause and Beijing suspended purchases of coal from the North - for three weeks to December 31.
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EU calls for full, effective implementation of JCPOA
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Feb 18, IRNA -- European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has stressed the "need for a full and effective implementation by all sides throughout the lifetime of the agreement" known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
According to the EU website, Mogherini made the remarks during her bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano.
As the website reported on Friday, High-Representative/Vice-President (HRVP) Mogherini reiterated the need for all sides to firmly stick to their commitments under the JCPOA.
In this respect and in her capacity as coordinator of the Joint Commission, the HRVP recalled that the deal is delivering on its objectives and underscored the need for a full and effective implementation by all sides throughout the lifetime of the agreement, the EU website wrote.
The JCPOA is a stabilizing factor and a key part of non-proliferation architecture and has to be kept and thoroughly implemented, Mogherini was quoted as saying.
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EU, IAEA reiterate support for nuclear deal
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Feb 18, IRNA -- The European Union (EU) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a joint statement reaffirmed support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) based on their respective mandates.
The fifth annual senior official meeting of IAEA and EU was held in Brussels last week.
According to the IAEA official website, the statement released on Thursday said, "The EU High Representative, as Coordinator of the Joint Commission established under the JCPOA, will remain in close contact with the IAEA regarding continued implementation of the agreement."
"The EU will provide technical support to the IAEA such as equipment and training."
"The EU also informed about its bilateral cooperation with Iran in the implementation of Annex III of the JCPOA, particularly in the area of nuclear safety, including research, " the statement noted.
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Guterres: JCPOA important factor in international peace, stability
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Feb 18, IRNA -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres by referring to nuclear deal between Iran and Group 5+1 said that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an important factor in international peace and stability and announced his own and the UN support for continuation of the deal.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday afternoon on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference.
Guterres welcomed invitation of Mr. Zarif to pay visit to Iran, and said that at the first opportunity he will travel to Iran.
During the meeting, different regional and international issues, including Muslims situation in Myanmar, situation in Yemen, Syria and Iraq and role of the UN were discussed.
Zarif, for his part, called for more active presence of the UN in these crises, and expressed readiness of Iran for cooperation with the secretary general and supporting his efforts.
Zarif , who is in Germany to attend the 53rd Munich Security Conference, met with a number of foreign ministers, presidents and senior diplomats from different countries.
Foreign minister' deputies, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, are accompanying Zarif in this trip.
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No to US troops in Syria, nuclear deal to stay, Iran's foreign minister says
ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency
Sat / 18 February 2017 / 14:09
Tehran (ISNA) - Sending US ground troops to Syria to fight ISIS will fan flames of extremism in the region that will impact the security of the whole world, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told CNN's Christiane Amanpour Friday.
He also said that the agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear program -- brokered in 2015 by the US, Iran and five other world powers -- will stay in place, despite noises to the contrary from members of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Zarif said there was an international consensus not to let the agreement -- which took two years to negotiate -- unravel.
"I believe everybody, including experts in the United States, know this was the best deal possible for all concerned, not just Iran but the US too," he said.
"It was a triumph of diplomacy over coercion, because coercion doesn't work anymore."
Regarding Syria, where Iran is in alliance with Russia in supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, the 57-year-old Iranian diplomat emphasized it was the US "occupation" of Iraq that had created ISIS.
Zarif added that a nationwide ceasefire in Syria -- brokered by Russia and Turkey in December -- was largely working, and said that sending US soldiers to fight ISIS would add fuel to the fire.
"We cannot commit to solutions that are part of the problem," he said. "I believe that the presence of foreign troops in Arab territory is a recipe for those extremists to rally behind and gain new fighters from disenfranchised youth."
Regarding the global effort to destroy ISIS, Zarif pointed out that Trump himself had accused then-President Barack Obama of creating ISIS, and repeated criticisms of the US policy to arm opposition groups in Syria.
Shortly after Trump took office, the White House put Tehran "on notice," applying sanctions on 25 individuals and companies connected to Iran's ballistic missile program and those providing support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.
Zarif said that sanctions won't work with Iran.
"Everybody in the past who has tested Iran knows we don't respond well to threats. We respond well to mutual respect and mutual interests."
Zarif said the Obama administration tried to use economic sanctions to curtail Iran's nuclear program, but eventually failed, with Iran increasing their number of nuclear centrifuges tenfold in that period.
"The reason Obama came to the negotiating table was because sanctions did not work," Zarif told CNN.
He added Trump's proposed, but currently stalled, travel ban on seven mainly Muslim countries including Iran "was an affront to the entire nation."
"You cannot find any Iranian who has committed a single act of terror against Americans, in any of these atrocities that have taken place," he said. "Iran has always condemned every single terrorist incident in the United States since 9/11."
Zarif continued, the ban was a departure from previous US policy that took issue with the government but not the Iranian people, and added that Iranians were among the most successful immigrants to the US.
"The US doesn't understand in a globalized world you cannot contain threats to one locality. Syria is now a training ground for terrorists creating havoc everywhere," Zarif said.
Amanpour asked the Iranian Foreign Minister why Tehran chose to intervene in Syria on behalf of President Assad. "There are 500,000 people dead, there are twelve million refugees, there is torture, there is mass hanging -- it is not my impression, those are the facts," she claimed.
"Mistakes were made in Syria, as in the past mistakes have been made," he replied. "The same people, who armed Daesh [ISIS], armed the terrorist groups, were the same people who armed Saddam Hussein, were the same people who created and armed al Qaeda."
"We should not continue to repeat history and then blame people who were on the right side."
Responding to a question about people fearing Iran -- partly because of its support for Hezbollah -- Zarif said the Lebanese Shia group entered Syria on the request of Assad "to prevent these extremist forces (ISIS and other Sunni Islamist groups) from infiltrating into Lebanon, which would be a threat against all of us."
End Item
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JCPOA instrumental in promoting global peace, stability: UN chief
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 6:9PM
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has hailed the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, saying it plays an important role in promoting international peace and stability.
The UN chief made the remarks during a Saturday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference.
Guterres also threw his weight behind the implementation of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the nuclear agreement, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
Guterres also welcomed an invitation extended to him by the Iranian foreign minister to visit Iran and said he would travel to the Islamic Republic at the earliest possible time.
The top Iranian diplomat and the UN chief also discussed several regional and international issues, including the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the latest developments in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Zarif, for his part, said the UN must play a more active role in resolving the ongoing crises in the region and expressed the Islamic Republic's readiness to cooperate with the world body in this regard.
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Iran weighing sale of heavy water to some European countries: AEOI
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 2:57PM
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran is weighing requests from some European states to purchase heavy water from the Islamic Republic.
"Following the sale of 70 tonnes of heavy water to Russia and the US, some European countries have asked for [the purchase of Iran's] heavy water and we are considering their requests," Ali Asghar Zare'an, special assistant to the AEOI head, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Saturday.
The AEOI chief said in October last year that Iran had sold 32 tonnes of heavy water to the United States and delivered 38 tonnes of the nuclear substance to Russia.
Pointing to the increasing demand for heavy water worldwide, Salehi said Iran had become a major international supplier of the substance.
He also added that heavy water was not used only in reactors but could also be utilized in various industries, including pharmaceuticals.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zare'an said that Iran would unveil the first domestically-manufactured centrifuge which would be utilized in the country's oil industry on April 9.
He said that the Islamic Republic had joined the world nuclear club and added, "In addition to the production and sale of heavy water with a high-level purity, we are witnessing the purchase of a large quantity of high-enriched uranium."
The AEOI official also pointed to the injection of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into advanced domestically-manufactured centrifuge machines, known as IR-8, and said the move was aimed at supplying uranium for power plants.
On January 28, the AEOI said that Iran had started injecting uranium hexafluoride into IR-8 centrifuge machines to launch an important phase of the country's research and development plans.
Iran has successfully conducted all mechanical tests of the machines over the past three years, the AEOI said, adding that the IR-8 centrifuge machines had the capacity to enrich uranium some 20 times more than the IR-1 ones.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany -- signed the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the nuclear agreement, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
As part of the JCPOA, Iran is expected to keep its heavy water stockpile below 130 metric tonnes. The deal requires that Tehran sell or dilute the extra amount of its heavy water.
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EU, IAEA reaffirm commitment to Iran deal in joint statement
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:15AM
The European Union (EU) and the United Nations' nuclear agency have reaffirmed their support for the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six other countries.
Media outlets reported on Friday that the two sides had communicated the stance in a joint statement a day earlier following the fifth meeting of their senior officials.
The deal, officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached after hard diplomatic work by the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries, comprising the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany. Under the accord, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were terminated, and Iran in return agreed to apply certain limits to its nuclear program and provide enhanced access to international monitors to its nuclear facilities.
In their joint statement, the EU and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "reaffirmed support for the JCPOA based on their respective mandates," the joint release read, detailing the outcome of the EU-IAEA summit.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini "will remain in close contact with the IAEA regarding continued implementation of the agreement" in her capacity as coordinator of the Joint Commission established under the JCPOA, the statement added.
The Commission, which brings together representatives of the parties to the agreement, is tasked with monitoring its implementation.
"The EU will provide technical support to the IAEA such as equipment and training," the statement further read.
"The EU also informed about its bilateral cooperation with Iran in implementation of Annex III of the JCPOA, particularly in the area of nuclear safety including research," the statement concluded. Annex III addresses the issue of civil nuclear cooperation.
Mogherini on Friday separately stressed the importance of the nuclear deal, saying it was "delivering on its objectives" and underlined the need for "a full and effective implementation by all sides throughout the lifetime of the agreement."
Such assertions by the EU and the IAEA are in contrast with the bellicose rhetoric of the administration of US President Donald Trump toward the accord. Trump has called the deal "the worst accord ever" and "one of the dumbest" ones he has come across.
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Pakistan closes second major border crossing with Afghanistan
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 6:33PM
Pakistan has shut down a second major border crossing into Afghanistan, two days after a huge explosion killed scores of people in the southern province of Sindh.
Islamabad closed its border crossing with Afghanistan near the city of Chaman in the southwest province of Baluchistan late on Friday, said two senior Pakistani army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Saturday. The move blocked trade supplies to the neighboring landlocked country.
Chaman is one of the two border crossings between the neighbors and thousands of people use it daily to visit relatives on the other side. In addition to that, trade between the two countries can be badly hit due to the closure of the border in the restive province.
On Thursday evening, a massive explosion ripped through Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine while a large number of people had gathered for a special Sufi ritual. The blast killed at least 80 people, including 20 children, and wounded some 250 more in the city of Sehwan.
According to security officials, the assailant entered the main hall of the shrine and detonated his explosives in the middle of the crowd. The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistani authorities say terrorists infiltrate from Afghanistan into Pakistan through the border crossings. A few hours after the attack, Islamabad shut down Torkham border crossing, another key route which is one of the major international border crossings between the two countries.
Shortly after the tragic incident, Pakistan launched nationwide security raids against "terrorists," saying over 100 of them had been killed until Saturday.
On Friday, Pakistan's army said it had called in Afghan diplomats and gave them a list of 76 suspected "terrorists" who were hiding in Afghanistan, requesting swift action by Kabul.
In a tit-for-tat move, the Afghan government on Saturday summoned Pakistan's Ambassador to Kabul Abrar Hussain in protest to recent shelling in Afghanistan's eastern provinces.
Pakistan has been witnessing violent terrorist attacks over the past decade. Militants with the Pakistani Taliban have largely been blamed for the violence.
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Militants, Afghanistan Question Pakistan's Anti-terror Crackdown Claims
By Ayaz Gul February 18, 2017
A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban is accusing security forces in Pakistan of killing its detained members in "fake encounters," and has denied as false army attacks on the group's "imaginary" camps.
The Pakistan military's media wing says security forces have killed more than 100 "terrorists" in a nationwide crackdown in response to this past week's deadly militant attacks, including the suicide bombing of a famous Sufi shrine in the country's south.
Authorities say that militants killed in the crackdown belonged to terrorist groups, including the splinter Jammat-ul Ahrar (JuA) faction, which has taken credit for most of the violence, although Islamic State claimed responsibility for bombing the shrine, which killed around 90 devotees and wounded more than 300 others.
In a statement sent to reporters Saturday, Jammat-ul Ahrar asserted its recent bombing and other attacks in Pakistan have "embarrassed" the military and prompted it to falsely demonstrate "bravery" through a baseless media propaganda campaign.
Pakistani officials maintain Jammat-ul Ahrar used its sanctuaries in border areas of Afghanistan to mastermind the violence.
On Friday, the military also handed over a list of 76 "terrorists" to Afghan diplomats in Islamabad, saying they are hiding on their side of the border and demanded Kabul swiftly take action against the militants and hand them over to Pakistan.
Pakistani troops have also shelled areas across the Afghan border since the attack on the shrine. Local media quoted sources as saying the targets were JuA's camps and killed "a large number of militants."
"Our fighters are safe in their camps and the enemy cannot even think of going into those areas," the JuA statement said, without elaborating. It was not possible to independently verify the militant claims.
The United States is among countries that have designated Jammat-ul Ahrar as a global terrorist group.
Successes overinflated?
Pakistani troops have been conducting major security operations in tribal areas near the Afghan border since June, 2014, and claim to have cleared most of them of insurgent bases and terrorist networks blamed for years of violence in the country that killed tens of thousands of people.
The actions led to a significant decline in militant attacks in recent months. But the latest spike in violence in Pakistan suggests the militants are still capable of staging attacks at will.
Meanwhile, the Afghan military welcomed and promised Saturday to look into the Pakistani list of 76 suspected terrorists because the Afghan government is determined not to allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities in other countries.
But speaking to reporters in Kabul, Army Chief General Qadam Shah Shaheem reiterated long-running Afghan demands for Islamabad to take action against sanctuaries on its side of the border being used for insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.
"We will investigate it (the Pakistani list), and if there is a need for more evidence and documents we will ask for it. But we also handed over a number of lists with enough evidences and documents to Pakistan and we hope they will also sincerely take action on them," asserted General Shaheem.
He also criticized Pakistan for unilaterally sealing border crossings with Afghanistan following recent militant attacks, calling the action against "all diplomatic norms and unfortunate."
The Afghan general also alleged that on Friday alone Pakistani troops fired about 200 shells into a border district of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. He did not say whether the firing caused any damage.
Mutual terrorism allegations have plunged relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan to new lows in recent months. The latest round of a "war of words" is likely to present challenges to efforts to improve ties.
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Lavrov Says Russia Wants Military Cooperation With NATO, 'Pragmatic' U.S. Ties
RFE/RL February 18, 2017
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the "post-Cold War order" has come to an end but that Cold War thinking persists among some leaders in the West.
In a brief statement at the Munich Security Conference on February 18, Lavrov repeated Russian accusations that the enlargement of the NATO alliance has created tension in Europe.
But he called for the resumption of military cooperation between Russia and NATO, saying that political meetings were pointless without it.
He said Russia wanted relations with the United States that are "pragmatic" and marked by mutual respect and acknowledgement of a shared responsibility for global stability.
Lavrov said the badly strained ties that existed now were "unnatural" and the two countries had huge potential for cooperation.
Lavrov spoke a few hours after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would "hold Russia accountable" for its interference in Ukraine while also seeking common ground with Moscow, which Pence said U.S. President Donald Trump believed can be found.
Lavrov rejected the blame Kyiv and Western countries have placed on Russia for continuing war in eastern Ukraine, accusing Ukraine of failing to meet commitments under the 2015 Minsk cease-fire deal.
He said a quarter-century after the Cold War, the world was neither "West-centric" nor "less dangerous," and that a "unipolar world" -- meaning in which the United States is dominant -- cannot last long.
Addressing allegations that Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential election in 2016 and is seeking to influence elections in Europe this year, Lavrov claimed that no proof of such interference had been provided.
"Show us facts," he said.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia used hacking, leaks, and other methods to interfere in the U.S. election in an effort to undermine U.S. democracy, discredit presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and tilt the November vote toward Trump.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and TASS
Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-lavrov -want-cooperation-with-nato-pragmatic -us-ties/28317270.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.
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Russia fighter jets pound Daesh positions in Syria's Raqqah
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:32AM
Russia says its warplanes have successfully hit positions held by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in Syria's northern province of Raqqah, the stronghold of the militant outfit in the war-torn Arab country.
In a statement released on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Tupolev Tu-95 jets had taken off from Russia and flown over Iran and Iraq to get to Syria's Raqqah, where they targeted Daesh positions "using X-101 cruise missiles."
The Russian warplanes successfully destroyed the terrorists' bases and training camps as well as a Daesh command center, the statement said.
It further said that Sukhoi Su-30CM and Su-35 fighter jets based at the Hmeymim air base, in Syria's Latakia Province, provided air cover for the Raqqah operation.
All Russian aircraft returned safely to their bases after the Friday mission, the statement added.
Russia launched its campaign against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria at the Damascus government's request in September 2015. Its airstrikes have helped Syrian forces advance counterterrorism operations against foreign-backed militants wreaking havoc in the Middle Eastern state since 2011.
Daesh ringleaders fleeing stronghold in Syria: Pentagon
In a separate development on Friday, the US Defense Department said that Daesh ringleaders were fleeing Raqqah amid advances by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed militant group comprised mostly of Syrian Kurds.
"We are starting to see now that a lot of senior ISIS leaders, a lot of their bureaucrats... are beginning the process of leaving Raqqah," said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis, using an English acronym for Daesh.
"They have definitely taken note of the fact that the end is near in Raqqah," he said, describing the Daesh withdrawal as "very organized, orderly."
Davis also said that Daesh now controls only one road that connects Raqqah to the city of Dayr al-Zawr and lies along the north bank of the Euphrates River.
Daesh after flooding areas in eastern Aleppo
Separately on Friday, Aleppo Governor Hussein Diab warned that Daesh had pumped large amounts of Euphrates' water and was seeking to flood areas in eastern Aleppo, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.
He said all public construction companies and concerned bodies were on alert to do everything necessary to mitigate possible damage from the Daesh sabotage.
Last December, the Syrian army managed to wrest full control over Aleppo, which had long been divided between government forces in the west and the militants in the east. Aleppo's liberation came after the completion of the city's evacuation process under a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey between Syria's warring sides.
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Syrian Army Drives Daesh From Strategic Areas Near Airbase in Aleppo Province
Sputnik News
19:28 18.02.2017(updated 19:29 18.02.2017)
The Syrian army has liberated eight settlements located near the Kweires airbase in northern Syria, which have been previously occupied by Daesh terrorists, local media reported Saturday.
BEIRUT (Sputnik) The country's armed forces continue their offensive to create a safe zone around the base to ensure its stable operations.
According to the Syrian National TV, the liberated settlements have strategic importance, because of their location near the airbase, as well as the Aleppo-Raqqa road.
In January, the Syrian government forces repelled Daesh's attempt to take control over the strategic Kweiris airbase in the eastern part of Aleppo province.
In November 2015, the Syrian Army, popular forces, and Hezbollah forces backed by Russian airstrikes lifted a two-and-a-half-year long siege of the Kweiris military base, having killed hundreds of Daesh militants.
Sputnik
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ICRC Concerned About Refugee Push-Backs on Syrian Border With Jordan President
Sputnik News
13:02 18.02.2017
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the disrespect of non-refoulement principle toward Syrian refugees on the border with Jordan, ICRC President Peter Maurer told Sputnik on the sidelines of the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
MUNICH (Sputnik) In late January, a delegation from the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO) visited the Saudi National Campaign in Jordan's Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees.
"Neighboring countries host well over 4 million Syrian refugees. This is a very heavy burden, in particular for small countries such as Lebanon, where one in four people is a refugee, and Jordan. We are concerned about the situation of Syrian asylum-seekers at the border between Syria and Jordan. It is important to remind states of their obligation to respect the principle of non-refoulement," Maurer said.
He underlined that refugees were often forced to live in overcrowded camps and faced difficulties securing their basic needs, with their presence putting an ever growing strain on local resources.
Therefore, "the international community at large bears a responsibility towards Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers, who must be treated with humanity and given legal avenues to flee to safety," Maurer stressed.
According to UN data, over 650,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan, with more than 140,000 comprising an in-camp population.
Jordan has been granted the right to be an observer of the talks in Astana on Syria settlement.
Sputnik
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Top US General Hears Turkey's Complaints About Kurdish Fighters
By Dorian Jones February 18, 2017
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, met his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar Friday at NATO's Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey. Talks between the NATO allies reportedly focused on Washington's support for Syrian Kurdish militias in the fight against the Islamic State group.
The United States says it chooses carefully among Kurdish fighters when lending its support to Syrian rebels battling Islamic State. Ankara dismisses the Americans' arguments and says they are actively supporting the People's Protection Units, the YPG, whose fighters the Turks contend are terrorists group united with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, fighting against the Turkish state.
"Turkey has made its view on this organization (YPG) very clear," says political columnist Semih Idiz of Al Monitor, "and any step back at this moment would entail a loss of face for the government in Ankara and of course indirectly for President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan."
'Ultimate issue for Turkey'
"It is the ultimate issue for Turkey, and if there is no movement as far as Turkey's requests and demands, it seems that this crisis issue between the two countries will remain," Idiz added.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence likely will hear the same message when he discusses the fight against Islamic State on Saturday in Germany with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. The two will hold talks on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference.
The United States and European Union agree on the PKK, which both have designated a terrorist organization. Washington maintains its military does not assist the PKK but does support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a coalition of Syrian Arabs and Kurds that has proven itself to be by far the most effective force against Islamic State extremists in Syria.
The SDF is a multiethnic and multireligious alliance of militia fighters opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, but its military leadership comes from the YPG, and that is what has drawn Turkey's intense opposition.
Ankara wants YPG sidelined
Support from U.S. and European special forces, along with American air power, has enabled the SDF to advance to within a few kilometers of Raqqa, the large Syrian city that is the jihadists' self-declared capital.
"The bulk of the forces advancing on Raqqa are Arabs, but I say the bulk of the forces, not all the forces. The Arab and Kurds (of SDF) actually work hand in glove (together)," British Lieutenant-General Rupert Jones said in a press briefing this week by the international coalition against Islamic State. "And my expectation is, if the SDF is the assault force into Raqqa, that is how they will operate; they will work together in concert with each other."
Experts say such comments are infuriating to Ankara, which has been intensely lobbying Washington to exclude the Syrian Kurdish militia from plans to capture Raqqa. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Fikri Isik declared Washington was moving closer to the Turkish position, after word came that the Pentagon is working on an action plan to defeat Islamic State, as ordered by President Donald Trump.
Analysts point out that Ankara has so far failed to provide Washington a detailed alternate plan to using the Syrian Kurdish militia.
Raqqa mystery
"This is the big mystery, because obviously, to have an operation against Raqqa, you are going to need a massive amount of ground troops," said columnist Idiz. "It's not clear what Turkey is offering and how it's planning to make up for the absence of the YPG forces, should they somehow be weeded out by the American side. So none of this has been clearly spelled out."
"I don't think personally that the American side and the allies supporting the Americans are going to change horses midstream unless there is some guarantee on what Turkey can do," Idiz added.
Experts warn Ankara is finding itself increasingly isolated over its stance of absolute opposition to the YPG and its political wing, the PYD. "Turkey has a very weak hand," warns international relations specialist Soli Ozel of Istanbul's Kadir Has University.
Ozel, who says Ankara could temper its hostility, pointed out that Erdogan reaffirmed his position that the YPG is nothing but a terrorist organization after a meeting he had earlier this month with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Ankara still has some cards to play with Washington, since Turkey shares a long border with Syria and U.S. forces depend on Turkish airbases for operations against IS.
Regional experts warn Ankara could also play spoiler to U.S. military plans to capture Raqqa, by sending Turkish military forces toward the Syrian town of Manbij. The town was liberated by Syrian Kurdish forces from Islamic State, and any battle for its control could see the YPG pulling out of an offensive against Raqqa in order to defend it.
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Truce may begin between Ukraine army, pro-Russians on Monday: Lavrov
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 6:19PM
A truce between pro-Russia fighters and the Ukrainian army is likely to be enforced on Monday in the volatile eastern Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.
Lavrov, who has participated at the Munich Security Conference, said on Saturday that a ceasefire had been brokered at a conference between Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.
The Russian foreign minister described the ceasefire as a positive step but noted that there was an absence of "major progress" in talks.
Leader of pro-Russia fores in eastern Ukraine Alexander Zakharchenko has threatened to drive out Ukrainian troops from Donetsk and Luhansk provinces if political measures to "free the occupied territories" do not bear fruit.
Moscow said Zakharchenko's statement defied the 2015 Minsk agreement between Ukraine and pro-Russia forces, but added that it came in reaction to tensions provoked by Kiev's actions.
On Friday, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned Western governments during the Munich Security Conference in Germany against any "appeasement" of Moscow.
Poroshenko insisted that cutting a bilateral deal with Russia on his country would only lead to further deterioration of armed clashes in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko also stated that the administration of new US President Donald Trump had a "historic chance" to halt "Russian expansionism" in Ukraine.
The development comes as some European nations remain concerned over Washington's position toward Moscow under Trump amid persisting reports of a more cooperative relationship.
Nearly 10,000 people have perished in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 during fighting between government forces and pro-Russia fighters. Fighting escalated for several days earlier this month, the worst outbreak of armed clashes since a 2015 truce deal.
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Pro-Russia leader hints at force to take east Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:55AM
The leader of east Ukraine's Russia-backed forces has threatened to drive out Ukrainian troops from the area if political measures to "free the occupied territories" do not bear fruit.
Alexander Zakharchenko declared that the pro-independence fighters intend to liberate the "occupied territories" in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces through political means.
However, they may have to resort to military force if political efforts fail to achieve results, said the commander who is the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow said Zakharchenko's statement defied the 2015 Minsk agreement between Ukraine and pro-Russia forces, but added that it came in reaction to tensions provoked by Kiev's actions.
On Friday, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned Western governments during the Munich Security Conference in Germany against any "appeasement" of Moscow.
Poroshenko insisted that cutting a bilateral deal with Russia on his country would only lead to further deterioration of armed clashes in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko also stated that the new administration of US president Donald Trump has a "historic chance" to halt "Russian expansionism" in Ukraine.
"I hear increasingly obsessive calls for at least some degree of appeasement toward Russia's appetite. To move in that direction would be naive, wrong and dangerous not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and for the world," he said.
"This is an absolutely historic chance for all of us, but above all this is a historic chance for the new US administration and solid trans-Atlantic unity," he added.
The Ukrainian leader, however, also told the conference that he had been reassured of Western unity and solidarity earlier in the day by the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The development comes as some European nations remain concerned over Washington's position towards Moscow under Trump amid persisting reports of a more cooperative relationship.
Nearly 10,000 people have perished in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 during fighting between government forces and the pro-independence forces backed by Russia. Fighting escalated for several days earlier this month, the worst outbreak of armed clashes since the 2015 truce deal.
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Poroshenko Claims Putin's Decree on Donbass Passports 'Violates' Int'l Law
Sputnik News
21:07 18.02.2017(updated 21:34 18.02.2017)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claimed that the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, validating the documents of the residents of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR) in Russia is a "violation of international law."
KIEV (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, Putin signed a decree that declared documents issued to permanent residents of several areas in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions valid in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained the decision on the sidelines of the Munuch Security Conference. He said that Russia decided to validate Donbass residents' documents for humanitarian reasons and the presidential decree will stay in force until the Minsk peace deal is implemented.
"I informed [US Vice President Mike Pence] about the recent decision of President Putin to validate the passports of the occupied territories, the so-called LPR and DPR, for me it is yet another proof of Russia's violation of international law," Poroshenko told reporters after a meeting with Pence.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also condemned Russia's decision to recognize documents of Donbass residents on its territory.
"Ukraine strongly condemns and does not recognize Kremlin's decree that recognized so-called documents, issued in parts of Donetsk and Lugansk territories," the ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it regarded the decree as "de facto recognition of illegal Donbass authorities," and accused Russia of "violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, its international obligations and the groundwork of the Minsk agreements."
After the eruption of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, over a million of Donbass residents applied for a refugee status and temporary shelter in Russia. According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup. In 2015, the two sides reached a ceasefire deal brokered by the leaders of the Normandy quartet including Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in Minsk. Throughout 2016, the Normandy Four and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have been stressing the need to implement Minsk provisions but Kiev has stalled in giving a special status to Donbass as specified in the agreement. Ceasefire violations have continued.
Sputnik
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Lavrov Explains What's Behind Putin's Decision on Donbass Residents' Passports
Sputnik News
20:03 18.02.2017(updated 21:05 18.02.2017)
Russia decided to validate Donbass residents' documents for humanitarian reasons and the presidential decree will remain in force until the Minsk peace deal is implemented, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday.
MUNICH (Sputnik) Kremlin's press office has released a statement saying Putin had signed a decree that validated IDs, birth certificates and vehicle registration plates, among other documents issued by eastern Ukrainian authorities to permanent residents, on Russian territory.
Lavrov said this issue had not been brought up during foreign ministers' talks in the so-called Normandy Four format in Munich.
"The decree stated clearly this was made out of humanitarian concernsuntil Minsk agreements have been fulfilled. The presidential decree validated IDs of Donbass residents so that they could enter Russia legally and use Russian rail transport and air carriers," he explained.
After the eruption of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, over a million of Donbass residents applied for a refugee status and temporary shelter in Russia. According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
Sputnik
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Putin's Decree Declares Donetsk, Lugansk Residents' Docs Valid in Russia
Sputnik News
17:22 18.02.2017(updated 19:21 18.02.2017)
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Saturday that declared documents issued to permanent residents of several areas in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions valid in Russia, the Kremlin press office said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) The decree concerns academic certificates, birth certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, documents evidencing name changes, death certificates, transport registration certificates, and vehicle license plates.
"IDs, academic certificates, birth certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, documents evidencing name changes, death certificates, transport registration certificates, and vehicle license plates, issued by corresponding local authorities to permanent residents of these regions who are citizens of Ukraine or are stateless, are hereby declared valid," the statement read.
The leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) praised the decision later in the day.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a fateful decision This is another sign that the republic has achieved statehood. Today we made a step closer toward international recognition of our sovereignty," Igor Plotnitsky said in a statement circulated by the Lugansk information center.
Meawhile, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) leader told Sputnik that Putin's decision to make documents issued to permanent residents in parts of eastern Ukraine valid in Russia means the struggle has not been in vain.
"The decree proves that Russia has always upheld and will continue to uphold the right to defend our lives, culture, language, our dignity. If motherland is so adamant about standing by our side and supporting our fight then our fight is fair, our sacrifices are not in vain and our hopes are justified," Alexander Zakharchenko said.
After the eruption of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, over a million of Donbass residents applied for a refugee status and temporary shelter in Russia. According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
Sputnik
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SOUTH BOSTON Southern Virginia celebrated its place in Revolutionary War history Saturday by hosting the 236th anniversary of the Crossing of the Dan, a strategic maneuver credited as a turning point in the war.
Its hard to imagine what it was for those soldiers when they crossed the Dan River behind us, said Tunstall High School JROTC Commandant David King. It wasnt like this at all. It was cold, wet and miserable. You wonder what devotion led them to continue fighting.
The re-enactment of the historic crossing began with a speech from Revolutionary War Gen. Nathanael Greene, who was played by Dan McMichael. McMichael delivered an address on Greenes life, from his early years to his leadership during the war.
Early on, Greene loved to read and would even sell toys he made as a smith. After his education, he helped organize a militia force and grew close to George and Martha Washington.
After the war began, Greene lobbied to be in command of the southern front.
The South was in a very bad fix, McMichael said.
After assuming control in 1780, American forces began a strategic retreat.
Part of our plan is we are going to attack differently, McMichael said. We will not meet the enemy on his terms. We will meet him on our terms.
Using 700 men as a decoy, Greene crossed the Dan River on Feb. 14, 1781 at spots near South Boston and Turbeville. British troops under Charles Cornwallis arrived shortly afterward, but lacked the boats necessary to cross.
The maneuvers across the river cost Cornwallis 48 percent of his troops in a three-month period, helping lead to the end of the Revolutionary War. The British Army surrendered six months later.
After the speech, the re-enactors, led by McMichael and Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution member Henry Williams, marched the short distance from The Prizery venue to Boyds Ferry. There, King presided over the wreath laying ceremony and the honoring of area veterans.
After the cannons fired and the ceremonial wreath was thrown into the river, McMichael and the 7th Virginia Regiment crossed over the river and back to cheers and applause.
(TNS) - Forecasters with the National Weather Service offered a stark warning Sunday for just about everyone living in the soggy, soaked California Central Valley.Pretty much anybody needs to be prepared for the possibility that they may have to evacuate quickly, said Sacramento meteorologist Brooke Bingaman.Though most of the valley avoided further flooding Saturday night, the worst may be yet to come Monday and Tuesday, Bingaman said.Those living anywhere near a slough, a levee, a creek or a canal need to be ready to flee flood waters at a moments notice, she said.Case in point: Maxwell, a rice-farming town of 1,100 people an hour north of Sacramento. It suddenly flooded early Saturday morning as storm runoff overwhelmed a local creek, filling a neighborhood and small business district with more than a foot of water.Bingaman said the same scenario in Maxwell could happen in just about any low-lying area.We have been hit hard with storm after storm after storm since early January, so our soils are very saturated and its getting to the point where theres no place for the water to go, she said.In Maxwell, the floodwaters were receding and only one person was still at a Red Cross shelter in nearby Williams Sunday morning, said Jim Saso, assistant sheriff at the Colusa County Sheriffs Office. But with the next storm approaching, he urged residents to be ready to get out again.If they were affected (by the floodwaters) before, theyll probably be affected again, Saso said.Highways in the area remained a mess Sunday.State Route 162 between Willows and Oroville was closed due to flooding, according to the California Department of Transportation.About 5 miles north of the Glenn County town of Willows, traffic on Interstate 5 was reduced to one lane in each direction Sunday because of flooding, Caltrans saidState highway officials also warned motorists heading west toward Clear Lake on Highway 20 to expect delays of up to three hours.On the other side of the Sacramento Valley at the troubled Lake Oroville dam, engineers said the lake is ready to handle the influx of water from the approaching storms.Officials said Sunday morning that the the lake levels continued to dip and are where they should be for this time of year to catch flood waters.The lake was at 852 feet Sunday morning, 48 feet below the dams emergency spillway.On Feb. 7, in the midst of winter storms, DWR engineers discovered a cavernous hole in the lower section of the dams main spillway, a 3,000-foot concrete span that acts as the dams primary flood-control outlet during the rainy season. Fearing the spillway would become inoperable, dam operators stopped the flows for a time, then gradually reactivated releases.With runoff from the stormy Sierra Nevada still rushing in, reservoir levels climbed, and on Feb. 11, water overtopped the dams emergency spillway for the first time in its 48-year history. Unlike the main spillway, which is lined in concrete, the adjacent emergency spillway dumps water in uncontrolled sheets over a 1,700-foot concrete lip onto a steep, wooded hillside.The next afternoon, a day and a half after the emergency system activated, the hillside just below the spillway lip was showing serious erosion, raising fears the structure would collapse. The concerns prompted mandatory evacuation orders for Butte, Yuba and Sutter counties covering nearly 200,000 people.The order was lifted Tuesday, after DWR cranked up releases on the main spillway, despite the damage to its midsection, and managed to lower reservoir levels below the emergency lip.On Sunday, the flows out the main, damaged spillway had been reduced to nearly half as much as much as they were during the heat of the crisis. Officials said the lower flows were allowing crews to use cranes and dredges to clear the debris that formed in the channel below the spillways. The debris has raised water levels to the point that Orovilles power plant the dams primary release outlet outside of flood season cant operate.Once the debris is cleared and the power plant is restarted, the facility is capable of draining another 14,000 cfs from the lake.Were shooting to be able to re-operate it a week from Monday if we need to, said Chris Orrock, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, which manages the dam. But he noted its not a guaranteed date.Meanwhile, despite of the wet weather, crews continue to haul rock and cement into the eroded areas below the emergency spill in case it should need to be used again.Ryan Sabalow: 916-321-1264, @ryansabalow2017 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
More than 117,000 visit mourning altars set up across Seoul for Itaewon victims More than 117,000 people paid their respects at mourning altars set up across Seoul for the victims of the Halloween crowd crush that killed at least 156 people in the city's night...
1 rail worker killed, another injured while working One railway worker was killed and another injured after being struck by a cargo train in Uiwang, just southwest of Seoul, officials said Sunday. The accident occurred at 8:20 p....
There are many known risk factors for preterm birthfrom the mothers age, to illness, to poverty and other social factors. Recent research has suggested that exposure to air pollution could also be a risk factor. The researchers combined national, population-weighted, annual average ambient PM 2.5 concentration, preterm birth rate and number of livebirths to calculate the number of PM 2.5 -associated preterm births in 2010 for 183 countries.
A new study, led by a team from The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York, has found that in 2010, about 2.7 million preterm births globallyor 18% of all pre-term birthswere associated with outdoor exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ).The open-access study is published in the journal Environment International.
Uncertainty was quantified using Monte-Carlo simulations, and analyses were undertaken to investigate the sensitivity of PM 2.5 -associated preterm birth estimates to assumptions about the shape of the concentration-response function at low and high PM 2.5 exposures, inclusion of provider-initiated preterm births, and exposure to indoor air pollution.
Percentage of total preterm births which were associated with ambient PM 2.5 in 2010 using a low concentration cut-off of a) 4.3 g m3, and b) 10 g m3. Malley et al. Click to enlarge.
This study highlights that air pollution may not just harm people who are breathing the air directlyit may also seriously affect a baby in its mothers womb. Preterm births associated with this exposure not only contribute to infant mortality, but can have life-long health effects in survivors. Chris Malley, a researcher in SEI at York and lead author
When a baby is born preterm (at less than 37 weeks of gestation), there is an increased risk of death or long-term physical and neurological disabilities. In 2010, an estimated 14.9 million births were pretermabout 45% of the total in some European countries, but up to 1518% in some African and South Asian countries.
The study revealed that while many other health impacts of air pollution have been documentedmost notably through the Global Burden of Disease studiesthe focus has been mainly on premature deaths from heart disease and respiratory problems.
The new study adds an important new consideration in measuring the health burden of air pollution and the benefits of mitigation measures, Malley said.
A pregnant womans exposure can vary greatly depending on where she livesin a city in China or India, for instance, she might inhale more than 10 times as much pollution as she would in rural England or France. The study did not quantify the risk in specific locations, but rather used the average ambient PM 2.5 level in each country, and analyzed the results by region.
India alone accounted for about 1 million of the total 2.7 million global estimate, and China for about another 500,000. Western sub-Saharan Africa and the North Africa/Middle East region also had particularly high numbers, with exposures in these regions having a large contribution from desert dust.
SEI is working to support more than 20 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to develop plans to reduce emissions leading to particulate air pollution.
It is important to realize that action needs to be taken on all the major sources. In a city, maybe only half the pollution comes from sources within the city itselfthe rest will be transported there by the wind from other regions or even other countries. That means that often regional cooperation is needed to solve the problem. Dr Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna, co-author of the study and SEIs director of policy
The analysis grew out of SEIs Initiative on Low Emission Development Pathways (LED-P), which includes the development of a benefits calculator to help policy-makers and planners assess the potential benefits of undertaking measures that reduce air pollution.
This work in LED-P is contributing to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), where SEI is working with UNEP and other partners to support more than 20 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to develop plans to reduce emissions leading to particulate air pollution.
Global modelling and satellite data analysis were conducted by Daven Henze, co-author of the study from University of Colorado, Boulder, through his membership on the NASA Air Quality and Applied Sciences Team (AQAST).
PM 2.5 particles include a variety of substances, such as black carbon (soot), sulphates, nitrates and ammonium, as well as dust from soil and from industrial processes such as cement production.
To reduce the PM 2.5 problem, you need to control many different sources, but in many developing countries, certain emission sources dominate. This includes emissions from cooking with biomass fuels (which is also associated with very harmful indoor pollution), diesel vehicles and other transport, and particles emitted when agricultural residues are burned in fields. Forest fires also contribute to regional haze. Dr Kuylenstierna
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Members of the Supreme Courts conservative majority are questioning the continued use of affirmative action in higher education. In lengthy arguments Monday, the justices wrestled with persistent, difficult questions of race. The justices heard from six different lawyers in challenges to policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard. Those policies consider race among many factors in evaluating applications for admission. One conservative justice likened affirmative action to giving some college applicants a head start in a footrace. But a liberal justice said universities are the pipelines to leadership in our society and suggested that without affirmative action minority enrollment will drop.
GIBSONVILLE The town of Gibsonville celebrated its birthday Saturday and honored a man whose work building mills in the 1880s helped industrialize the area.
Ancestors of Berry Davidson, a former mayor and millwright, gathered to recognize him with a historical marker on property where the 1897 home he built still stands.
Davidson had a hand in creating more than 40 mills, mill homes and religious buildings in the state, according to N.C. State Universitys library on architects and builders.
In 1880, he built the Altamahaw Cotton Mill, which is one of the few structures he erected that remains standing today.
A Randolph County native, Davidson moved to Gibsonville in the late 1880s where he became a leading citizen as well as a major industrialist, according to N.C. State library records. He served as mayor from 1907 to 1911.
Davidson, who specialized in saw mills, grist mills, and cotton mills, industrialized Gibsonville and the central Piedmont, according to the history marker.
His efforts transformed Gibsonville from a mostly agricultural village into a more prosperous town adjacent to the vital tracks of the North Carolina Railroad, the town said in a news release.
After the marker dedication, Davidsons descendants, civic leaders and Gibsonville residents celebrated the towns 146th birthday with cake, ice cream and punch at the nearby library.
The state legislature issued a charter on Feb. 18, 1871, that officially established the town.
Commander Glenn McNeills controlled demeanor and alert gaze never wavered as he described in calm, measured sentences his mothers murder more than 35 years ago.
He asked that the details of his highly personal story not be published, and for good reason.
This aint about me, maam, McNeill said, referring to his recent appointment by the governor to the top post in the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. McNeill is only the second African American to lead the organization since its inception in 1929; the first was Col. R. W. Holden, was commander from 1999 to 2004.
Im a 10-year-old poor black kid from Reidsville, McNeill explained, referring to himself when the first of two deep, personal losses occurred. Im still that poor black kid even today. Im just trying to do the best that I can. I dont think Im nobody special.
McNeill views his new responsibilities as a pinnacle of public service rather than an emblem of importance.
But it is about him: The tragedies propelled him to the highway patrol, and the lessons from those tragedies inform his leadership.
Six years after his mothers murder, McNeills family suffered another horrific loss.
McNeill was 16 and driving to his part-time job at 4:30 a.m. when he saw his godmother walking up the street, crying uncontrollably. When McNeill called out to her son, who was walking with her and trying to console her, he was assured everything would be fine.
It wasnt.
When McNeill returned from work, he discovered my sisters best friend, our neighbor her parents are my godparents their daughter Rita was killed by a drunk driver. What McNeil unwittingly witnessed was the mothers grief just moments after hearing the news from a state trooper: Rita was dead at 19.
Ritas death is at the forefront for me, McNeill said last week, some 30 years later, his voice composed and his hands folded neatly on a conference table in the patrols downtown Raleigh headquarters, just days before his swearing in.
Early on, I made a commitment to what the highway patrols mission is all about. Its easy to be committed to a life of public service when youve experienced the loss of someone like Rita.
The way troopers handled Ritas and his mothers deaths deepened his empathy and directed his ambition.
His empathy stems from the grief he experienced and witnessed, and my awareness that a five- to 10-second interaction with a 9-year-old kid can change (the childs) mind forever, McNeill explained, referring to his younger brother on the night of their mothers murder.
Ive always been very aware of every interaction law enforcement has with individuals, he added, his voice firm. The standard is excellence. Our troopers are going to be held accountable for how they treat and interact with people. Were ambassadors, the most recognized law enforcement agency in North Carolina.
His mothers murder remains unsolved. I had always hoped that someday, some way, before my mothers mother passed away, we would be able to find the person who took (my mothers) life, he said, then paused. His grandmother died a few years ago.
For me, I wanted to enter into this profession to try to give back and do something I wasnt able to receive for myself.
By the time he was a senior at Reidsville High, McNeills goal was common knowledge. I was voted most likely to be a police officer in high school, and that was because they didnt have most likely to be a state trooper, McNeill said, a smile sliding onto his face. Theres not a person in my circle who didnt know I wanted to be a state trooper. Even all the state troopers in my city growing up knew I wanted to be a trooper.
After graduating, McNeill enlisted in the Army so that he could join the Military Police, his preparation for his ultimate goal. He chose the Army because it allows soldiers who score high enough on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to choose their jobs.
In 1994, McNeill joined the highway patrol as a trooper in Durham. By 2014, he was a major, and in 2015 he graduated from the 262nd Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.
The governors appointment well, he didnt see that coming.
The interview with him has been a highlight of my professional career, McNeill said. What comes in second place is that phone call telling McNeill he was the governors choice. Third place is my wifes reaction and her tears of joy, cause I didnt get here by myself.
The poor black kid from Reidsville is somewhere he never expected to be.
I was not supposed to be sitting in the governors office. It was an out-of-body experience, he said, his smile swelling into a grin. I will exceed his expectations.
Reaching the highest post in the agency he esteems the most offers him a whole new set of goals, McNeill says.
The pinnacle of my career is going to be what I hope to accomplish for our troopers and civilian staff within our organization, he says.
The pinnacle will be if Im able to do outstanding things for them make their work life better, address quality of life issues like pay raises, new facilities.
Very humbly do I say the following: Ive never been stationed any place where all I do is my job. I immediately look for ways to improve upon it. And I expect to do the same thing with the job Ive just been appointed to.
Our new president and I are both concerned about freedom of religion. He wants an end to the prohibition against churches and nonprofits getting involved in partisan politics and candidate campaigns. I am appalled that people are barred from reuniting with families or beginning new lives in America because of the religion of the majority of people in their countries.
He is adamant that keeping out all refugees and persons from seven countries is necessary for security. I am confident that, while some churches and nonprofits would use this rule change to support Trumps choice of candidate, many others may become more vocal in their insistence on welcoming, transparency and protection of Gods creation.
Steve Bannon, the presidents chief strategist, who engineered the executive order suddenly banning entrance to the U.S., is critical of Pope Francis because the pope preaches Gods love for all, rather than just those selected by Mr. Bannon. (If he thinks the pope is naive, he may want to talk to the popes boss, Jesus.) Freedom for government to meddle in religion as well as for religion to get involved in partisan politics?
The terrifying travel ban reminded me of my own experience being detained. In 1985 President Reagan issued a ban on travel by U.S. citizens to Nicaragua, one week before my mission trip there for Habitat for Humanity. I changed my reservations to fly through Costa Rica but on the return flight authorities in Costa Rica interrogated me, confiscated items from my luggage and held my passport. After delaying the flight, they finally returned my passport but at the U.S. border I was questioned again before U.S. Customs finally let me through.
Of course, this was mild compared to what people face now but a reminder that even U.S. citizenship and white privilege and Christian faith do not protect from suspicion if one is not approved by our government. I suppose building homes in rural Nicaragua was considered a threat to the U.S., perhaps similar to the perceived danger posed now by refugees fleeing violence, family members returning from visits to home countries and international scholars. The U.S. government (and airport authorities in other countries implementing U.S. bans) decided it cant be too careful.
Obsession with security, growing out of fear, views those different from us as enemies. My faith says that we love our enemies even politicians who dont acknowledge that any of their constituents have different positions. Caring for each other is the foundation of other religions, as well, and is a key value for many people who espouse no religion. Not that we ignore safety concerns but that we seek to overcome dangers and differences by building relationships with all of Gods children.
To put that into practice in Greensboro, we are welcoming refugees, building bridges between leaders of many faiths, working for racial reconciliation, feeding the hungry and housing those experiencing homelessness, raising up a new generation of peacemakers, and reconnecting life-long activists. Almost daily, we are distracted by another distressing outburst, conflict of interest, alternative fact, or confirmation of appointees whose main qualification is readiness to dismantle protection of most of Gods children. Our day-to-day progress in community partnerships is set against the backdrop of chaos and divisions that tear apart the fabric of democracy.
Now even our deepest faith is drawn into the partisan fray where we are supposed to assume that God is on our partys side. Instead, let us seek Gods will for all of Gods world, sharing across the divides of religion and party.
When it comes to mobilizing the base, realists on the right will grudgingly concede that liberals outperform conservatives. Its not even close. Progressives march, demonstrate, boycott and raise hell at the drop of a hat; the traditionalist, in response, rolls his eyes, bites his tongue and goes to work.
The efforts of noisy, left-wing agitators do not always or even, usually lead to electoral success. Still, to those of us who prefer order over chaos, law over anarchy and assimilation over multiculturalism, progressives domination of the news cycle, day after day, is tiresome.
A partial explanation comes to mind: Liberals typically argue with emotional appeals, while conservatives are persuaded by reason and evidence. Of the two forms of persuasion, an emotional appeal is more likely to inspire protests (which often include vandalism, arson and assorted acts of violence). Those who read newspapers or watch serious television news understand that professional journalists are highly skilled practitioners of the emotional appeal.
Reason and evidence might persuade, but they dont drive frenzied mobs into the streets. A high-profile illustration is the manner in which each camp has reacted to President Donald Trumps executive action on immigration.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals began its convoluted, legally indefensible ruling on Trumps immigration order as follows: To rule on the Governments motion, we must consider several factors, including whether the Government has shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal, the degree of hardship caused by a stay or its denial, and the public interest in granting or denying a stay.
Of the three factors mentioned by the court, the second and third are irrelevant; only the first (legal merit) matters. But, for obvious reasons, the court studiously avoided the law most pertinent to its decision: Title 8 US Code, section 1182(f). That law had to be ignored, for it represents an insurmountable stumbling block (or should I say wall?) in the path of the courts predetermined ideological outcome: a defeat for Trump.
Judge for yourself. Here is Title 8 US Code, section 1182(f): Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States 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 or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
Passive news consumers, those who obtain their information (if any) from celebrities, Facebook and the E! television network, have never heard of the relevant immigration law. Because of the limited, largely inaccurate and inflammatory information they receive, they take to the streets to shout, burn and loot.
Only active news consumers, those who seek out additional (and legitimate) sources of information are aware of section 1182(f). If the law is what matters, its a slam-dunk. Case closed. That is a rational, evidence-based argument.
But among progressives, including the frequently overturned, activist Ninth Circuit Court, whether Trumps executive order is legal doesnt matter at all; what matters is delegitimizing the Trump administration and obstructing its progress. By any means necessary legal or not.
The Ninth Circuits decision advances the left-wing portrayal of Trump as an ignorant bigot who discriminates against Muslims (and blacks, women, gays, lesbians, the poor, the handicapped, etc.). That is an emotional appeal. Among leftists, the illusion of hate is a great motivational tool. It is quite effective, unfortunately, but it has nothing to do with the law.
Do governors and state legislators really have much to do with the performance of state economies? If governors and state legislators are to be believed, their policies are responsible for all good economic news and rarely responsible for the bad news.
Its easy to ridicule the self-importance of politicians. But the position on the opposite extreme, that state government has little effect on the economy, is also unwarranted. While everyone agrees that state policies can influence the growth of population, jobs and incomes in the long run, many analysts believe that state decisions dont have much to do with economic fluctuations in the short run.
Thats mistaken. North Carolinas experience during the Great Recession suggests otherwise. And a new academic study demonstrates that North Carolinas experience was hardly a fluke.
The story begins back in early 2006, when then-Gov. Mike Easley and the General Assembly then controlled by Democrats were greeted with the news that North Carolina had a budget surplus of about $2.4 billion. After years of deficits or tight budgets during the early 2000s, it was a welcome relief.
But what should policymakers do with the surplus? Phil Berger, then minority leader of the state Senate, argued that the legislature shouldnt go on a spending spree but should instead shore up the states reserves, pay down some debts and roll back the Democratic tax increases that were partially responsible for the higher revenues. Other conservatives made similar arguments.
They were largely ignored. Although Easley and Democratic leaders did edge down the states sales and income tax rates, most of the surplus funded new expenditures. In fact, they increased state spending by 10 percent. Making matters worse, the 2006-07 budget contained hundreds of millions of dollars of recurring spending funded by one-time money.
This became a recipe for disaster when the Great Recession hit. By the 2009-11 budget biennium, new Gov. Bev Perdue and Democratic legislators faced billions of dollars in deficits. They were forced to cut back the very areas that got gigantic spending hikes in 2006-07. They also resorted to a new round of economically destructive tax increases.
Heres where the new academic study I mentioned comes into the picture. Published in the Journal of Monetary Economics, it explored why some states fared far worse than others during the Great Recession. Co-authors Daniel Shoag of Harvard University and Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute examined the role of policy uncertainty the extent to which business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs had reason to believe some states were in better shape than others to ride out an economic storm without adverse fiscal shocks such as budget gaps and tax hikes.
Shoag and Veuger used an archive of news stories from 2006 to 2009 to construct an index measuring increases in policy uncertainty. They also looked at conditions that may well have produced or contributed to such uncertainty, such as state budget rules. The authors found that greater policy uncertainty among states was associated with larger increases in state unemployment rates. According to the study, North Carolina had the eighth-highest policy uncertainty score in the country in the run-up to the Great Recession people did actually take note of the fiscal recklessness of Easley and legislative Democrats as well as the sixth-largest jump in unemployment.
But what caused what? Perhaps some states were destined to have horrible recessions and just experienced more policy uncertainty as a result. The authors used other techniques to test this explanation, and found it unlikely. Uncertainty is likely to be not merely a by-product of economic conditions, but an independent driver of outcomes, they concluded.
The lesson for North Carolinas current leaders should be obvious. Once again, we have a healthy revenue surplus this year. If used wisely to build up savings, pay down liabilities, and address other critical needs it will make North Carolina a more attractive place to live, work, invest and create jobs. If squandered, that will create uncertainty about our fiscal future, with deleterious results.
President Trump continues to call for The Wall with Mexico paying for it. Funds for the very expensive, 40-foot-high concrete wall could best be spent on both sides of the border, resulting in better living conditions and higher wages. This approach should reduce trafficking and use of drugs.
There are technological advances that could be used by the Border Patrol, thereby making the wall obsolete.
Other problems such as tunnels, fly-overs, explosives and terrain present trouble.
My wife and I camped in Texas beside the Rio Grande River. I remember a lot of turns in the river. This could result in new channels, which has happened to many rivers. Visualize the wall ending up in Mexico!
I consider the wall to be the second-worst mistake to date by Mr. Trump. It could be No. 1, but I am reserving that for his next mistake, which is likely underway. Mistakes could include war prisoner torture camps, his love affair with Putin of Russia and his pompous attitude toward other nations.
Now is the time for Congress to speak up.
Lewis Webb
Greensboro
Many North Carolina residents are unhealthy.
The facts have been documented extensively: Diabetes, stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and many other diseases take a heavy toll. Obesity and smoking are leading contributors. Poverty and lack of regular medical care for many let chronic ailments develop into disabling conditions.
No wonder so many North Carolinians have signed up for Affordable Care Act programs since coverage became available in 2011. They had no alternative. Many more would enroll in Medicaid if the state had accepted the expansion offered by the federal government.
North Carolinas 2017 ACA enrollment is 549,158, fourth-highest in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Yet, theres just one insurer in the market: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and it expects to lose money despite hiking premiums by 24 percent.
The reason for the losses is directly related to the poor general health of the North Carolina population. People who have high incidences of severe diseases or even chronic conditions consume a lot of costly medical care. Meanwhile, healthier younger people without other coverage still tend to avoid enrolling in ACA plans. Without their premiums coming in to help pay for their sicker elders, the insurance company cant make a profit. Worse, if the same healthy younger people come down with unexpected illnesses or experience catastrophic accidents, theyll be unable to pay medical providers leaving others to pick up the bills.
The final burden is that so many ACA enrollees in North Carolina about 90 percent qualify for federal subsidies, according to a study by Wake Forest University researcher Mark Hall. Most of them pay less than $75 a month out of their own pockets. Taxpayers cover the rest.
This adds up to an unsustainable system but also poses a difficult problem for policymakers in Washington who promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
They can repeal it, but President Donald Trump has set a high bar for a replacement. He says it should cover everyone, provide better care and cost less.
No one should believe that will be the end result. And, despite Trumps vow to produce his plan immediately, it is yet to materialize and probably doesnt exist.
Nevertheless, his administration is taking steps that could both help and hurt the ACA in the short run. Its moving to restrict open enrollment periods that have allowed consumers to sign up when theyre sick and drop coverage when theyre better. If the effort is successful, it could plug some losses. At the same time, its relaxing enforcement of the individual mandate requiring people to purchase insurance. That will rob the system of revenue.
In the meantime, Republican representatives and senators around the country are hearing from constituents who demand health care coverage so many of them that the politicians are starting to worry about the political cost of casting millions of Americans off the insurance rolls.
Some are avoiding town hall meetings and other forums where they might have to face angry voters. U.S. Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolinas 13th District has set up telephone town halls with constituents, which lets him address them in a tightly controlled environment.
Years of promises to repeal Obamacare have yielded to a complex reality: Replacing it will be terribly difficult and potentially unpopular. People dont want to be excluded from coverage if they have pre-existing conditions. They dont want low ceilings on annual or lifetime benefits. They dont want to be forced to enroll in insurance if they dont think they need it. Employers dont want to be required to insure their employees. And, most vexing of all, no one wants to pay what good medical care really costs.
The smartest way to address the root problem would be to provide preventive care and health maintenance for everyone. If Americans were healthier in the first place, insurance might be affordable. Getting there wont be accomplished simply by repealing Obamacare.
EDEN Elizabeth Boles, who majored in fine arts at Western Carolina University, always wanted to be a great artist and be known for my work.
Her latest recognition comes from work she did with residents of a local retirement center a beach scene mural at Brookdale in Eden.
The mural on the walls of the activity room was entered into the companys art contest and placed in the top five nationwide, said Boles, who teaches art at the center.
Boles has received many accolades in her long career, but her most rewarding accomplishment is teaching seniors at long-term facilities, she said.
When I see the eyes of a 101-year-old woman glowing when she looks at a piece of art she has completed, it brings tears to my eyes and a warm feeling in my heart, Boles said.
It gives me a feeling of accomplishment that overrides everything else, she said.
The fame I had hoped to achieve when I was a somewhat innocent child dreaming of worldwide success could never match the feelings I have when I see the expressions on the faces of my elderly students, she said.
Boles received a grant for artist residency at Vermont Studio Center for the Arts in 2009, and awards in art shows and juried shows across the region.
One of her paintings is on display in the Molly Hancock exhibit at the Museum of Archives of Rockingham County.
She serves as president for the Fine Arts Festival Association of Rockingham County, and is a representative for Grumbacher and Molotow art supply companies.
Her story and work have been featured in books, magazines and newspapers, and she has been a guest on local radio and TV.
At Brookdale, where Boles has taught for five years, residents wanted to create a mural, a beach scene to bring back memories of places they can no longer visit.
Activities Director Roxanne Hanmack would sometimes drive residents around Eden on a bus and show them local murals, including many Boles had done.
Over the years, Boles has done 59 murals in North and South Carolina and Virginia.
During a class one day, the topic of murals arose.
After discussing the project, the students agreed they wanted to do a mural as a Christmas present to themselves, Boles said.
Everyone had different ideas, but eventually they decided to do ocean scenes because they all had fond memories of visiting the beach, and that was one thing most could not do anymore, said Boles, a Rockingham County native.
She sketched a design on paper.
Once the students approved that, Boles covered the mural site with acrylic, and used a pencil to draw the scenes on the wall.
For the next six weeks, residents worked diligently several hours a week on their project.
Excitement grew as the scenes came to life, Boles said. Often, the artists didnt want to quit, but Boles told them she had other classes waiting.
It was not unusual for Boles to stop by the facility and catch two or three students sitting in the activity room, gazing at their work.
Whenever the students had visitors, the first thing they did was take the visitors to the activity room to see their progress.
When the mural was finished, the staff gave the teacher and students a tropical-themed party to celebrate.
Boles began teaching art 20 years ago.
She taught at childrens summer programs at Rockingham Community College.
Soon that expanded to courses for people of all ages.
Many of those students were empty-nesters, looking for something to do after their children were grown.
Eventually, the state of North Carolina decided to fund programs for senior citizens, so Boles began classes for people of retirement age.
Boles teaches classes in Greensboro for Grumbacher Art Supply in conjunction with Michaels, at St. Pius X Catholic School, in Greensboro, and in retirement centers and nursing homes every day to work with people in their golden years, including some classes with seniors suffering from memory loss.
All her classes are full with people on waiting lists.
To see that and know I am that popular with them is the best feeling in the world, Boles said.
Teaching them has helped her achieve her childhood dream, she said.
Ive come to realize Ive gotten what I asked for because I am rewarded and being told every week how much these seniors enjoy discovering talents they never realized they had, she said.
I did get exactly what I always wanted. I just got it in a different way.
RALEIGH State Rep. Kyle Hall filed legislation Monday providing tax relief for North Carolina small businesses. House Bill 61, Small Business Income Tax Relief, allows small businesses to deduct their first $50,000 of income.
Small businesses are the backbone of North Carolinas growing economy. As I travel throughout my district and state, small business owners stress the importance of further tax relief in order to invest in their local economies and grow their businesses, Hall said in a news release. The Small Business Income Tax Relief bill filed today will continue to move our state in a positive direction, making North Carolina an even better place to launch new business and industry.
Joining Rep. Hall as primary sponsors of House Bill 61 are House Finance Senior Chairman Jason Saine (R-Lincoln), Reps. Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) and Beverly Boswell (R-Dare).
Im proud to be a sponsor of this legislation with Representative Hall. Small businesses across the state are truly the life blood of what continues to make our economy successful, said Chairman Saine in the news release. This reinvestment demonstrates our continued commitment to our states greatest job providers.
House Bill 61 reinstates the income tax benefit for businesses providing that the first $50,000 of net business income is deductible. The act applies to those businesses with $1 million of net business income per year or less, ensuring that the states smallest businesses receive this needed relief.
In instances where both spouses receive or incur net business income and file a joint return, the maximum dollar amounts apply separately to each spouses' net business income.
In addition to introducing H.B. 61, Rep. Hall is a co-sponsor of House Bill 54, Protect the Hardworking Taxpayers Act. This fundamental tax cut will lift the $20,000 cap on the mortgage interest and property tax deduction helping citizens attain the American dream of home ownership.
Both bills will not become law until passed by the House and Senate, ratified, and if required, signed by Governor Roy Cooper.
EDEN A longtime Army instructor in the Rockingham County School District was recognized for the difference he has made in the lives of young men and women in the Morehead JROTC.
Sgt. David Bray was named the Community Hero of the Month by Congressman Mark Walker on Feb. 15. Each month, the 6th District representative awards a constituent, business or organization for displaying extraordinary acts of service.
Sgt. David Bray is a prime example of living a life of service to others, whether it was serving in our nations military or shaping todays young people to become citizens of character, purpose, and honor, Walker said in a release. I extend my thanks to Sgt. Bray for his many years of service to the community of Eden and beyond."
Bray was nominated by Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Destiny Fish, who leads the enlisted JROTC cadets at Morehead. The four-year JROTC student has had several siblings graduate from the program. Fish personally contacted the congressmans office and nominated her instructor for the award.
He has really encouraged me, said Fish. You have teachers that are just teachers but he is different. He literally cares about every cadet and takes time to make sure that we all know what we want to do with our life and to better us as a person. Its not specifically teaching us the school material we need to know but to prepare us.
Hes honestly been my motivation for deciding what I want to do with my life. Considering the fact that Im a senior, I wanted to do something special for him to let him know that hes appreciated.
Fish was quick to remind her instructor following the award presentation that he told classmates that he could never be surprised.
Yet, when the 20-year veteran stepped into the ROTC room at Morehead High School on Wednesday, he was visibly taken aback by the unpredicted visit of school officials, family members and a representative from Walkers office, who presented him a flag that flew over Washington D.C. in his honor and a certificate of recognition for being of service to the community.
After receiving a round of applause, the youth minister at Word of Life Tabernacle Church thanked God, his family and the community for continuing to show the same level of support in the JROTC program as when it began 12 years ago.
It means that evidently we are doing something right, said Bray following the presentation. Its all about making a difference and the young people we have in this program, I think, will grasp the idea of what we are trying to do as we attempt to mold them into being better citizens. Being recommended by one of them a fifth generation is definitely special.
Bray says that like the community hero recognition, the JROTC program is about making a difference, despite the misconception that its used as a recruitment tool for the armed forces. Of the 20-30 seniors in the program every year, Bray added that only five or so move on to a service branch. Some years, zero students make that decision.
One constant, though, is that every student that has joined JROTC has graduated.
Anyone will tell you the JROTC program is not to develop people for the military, Bray said. Our goal is to get students involved in citizenship programs through community service and service learning. We want help them graduate from high school and become productive citizens.
Without a doubt, Bray plays an important role in the growth of students at Morehead High School.
Sgt. Bray is very important, said Fish when asked about the importance of her ROTC instructor to the makeup of Morehead High School.
The cadets in here are the students who are the student body presidents, valedictorians and things of that nature, because the ROTC program shapes us into the students we need to be as well. He really helps us out in every aspect, Fish said.
When most of us think of Muslim-majority countries, certain images dominate our thoughts, and they aren't pretty. Some of us will go immediately to the tragedy in Syria, for instance: tiny bombing victims, covered in ashes and blood; destroyed buildings. Others will picture horrifying terrorists doing unimaginable things.
Almost all of us will draw on images of women covered from head to foot.
Newscasts also play a part, making it hard to remember that, not long ago, places like Syria hosted modern cities full of well-educated, creative people, with dreams and businesses and aspirations. People who dressed in clothing you might see anywhere in the world.
But those images have faded; today, we don't see much evidence of the vibrant culture, art, and fashion that once emanated Muslim-majority countries. But it exists, and it is glorious.
Entrepreneurs are still very much alive and well in Muslim countries around the world. Here are some examples:
Strutting the Middle East runway
Fashion magazine Savoir Flair gives us a peek into the UAE fashion scene. I'll admit I was surprised and delighted to find stunning, sparkling and surprisingly bare couture worthy of any runway in Milan or New York.
Syrian designer Rami Al Ali, for one, takes my breath away. Stunning, besparkled couture dresses with silhouettes at once classic and ultra-modern, architectural and softly feminine.
Saudi Arabian designer Mohammed Ashi of Ashi Studio, meanwhile, relies on highly detailed, structural pieces to bring dimension to each unique signature piece. His fashion is highly embellished, strictly architectural and undeniably regal.
Capturing one of life's signal events with stunning photography
Award-winning wedding photographer Yoong Siang Lee immigrated from the Muslim-majority country Malaysia to Canada on his own at the tender age of 16. Just ten years later, his studio, Focus Photography, is a successful business well known for breathtaking wedding cinematography. His talent lies in capturing the intimacy of the moment, highlighted with artful dramatic lighting worthy of Hollywood productions.
His latest venture, Focuscorps, aims to bring the same cinematographic creativity to businesses, with photography, video, website design and marketing services.
Yes, a Muslim woman has designed a mosque.
In 2008, Turkish designer Zeynep Fadillioglu made history. She became the first woman ever to design a mosque. Istanbul's spectacular Sakirin Mosque is elegant, ornate and symbolically traditional, blending contemporary beauty seamlessly with religious requirements for a serene place of worship as beautiful on the inside as it is from a distance.
Painting a canvas highlighting the dichotomy of the Muslim world
Mixed-media interdisciplinary artist and Anglophone poet Shurooq Amin is the daughter of a Kuwaiti father and Syrian mother. Her work is controversial and political, often highlighting the dichotomy of the Muslim world by juxtaposing the trappings of wealth and the horrors of excess or war.
It was not difficult to choose one artwork from the Shurooq Amin Gallery. While each evocative piece spoke to me, nothing captured more perfectly what I want to convey than The Mistress of Vices. Here it is:
Image credit: Shurooq Amin
The title indicates that Amin may have intended a different impression, but I see devastation and destruction, with ordinary people like you and I going about their daily lives amid the rubble. Modern, well-dressed women, silenced, perhaps, by their culture? Wealthy women silent by choice, willfully ignoring their surroundings, insulated by money and class structure? The powers of the world represented as the woman dominating the scene, reaping the obscene profits of devastation?
Whatever the artist intended, wealth and destruction combine to create a Mad World, the title of the series, and it's perfect.
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It has been a while since we last took a trip down memory lane, but the impending Mobile World Congress sparked some memories. The MWC has been the traditional stomping ground of the Samsung Galaxy S phone.
Last year, it was the Galaxy S7. The year before was the Galaxy S6. Three years ago, Galaxy S5 rumors were flying. Four years ago, the Galaxy S4 didnt come to the MWC - instead, it was unveiled in New York. This year it may be the same, Samsung will bring miscellaneous devices to the MWC and leave the Galaxy S8 for a March reveal.
Speaking of four years ago, it was when the original Sony Xperia Z was unveiled. You know how this story ends - the Z-series was canceled, replaced by the X-series. Replaced being a strong word for the original X gang, though Sony did bring the Xperia XZ later on, a proper flagship.
February has seen more greats rise and fall. It was six years ago when Windows Phone 7 was getting basic features like copy and paste. Nokia had a slow start but eventually jumped on the Windows bandwagon. Fate wasnt kind on the Lumias, they started dropping in price, until they were essentially sold for pennies. Of course, Nokia had a backup - the Android-running Nokia X. That died on the vine quickly, but now the Nokia brand is all in on Android (HMD instead of Microsoft took it there).
Three years ago, BlackBerry still thought BB OS will make it. It didnt. Now TCL makes BlackBerry-branded phones that run Android. Samsungs backup, Tizen, didnt do too hot either. At one point it was ahead of BB OS, but the latest reports from analyst show that Android + iOS account for 99% of the market.
And lets not forget the drama surrounding the $4 phone from last year - the Freedom 251. The interest was there, Freedoms servers buckled under the traffic. Ultimately, reality hit the fan.
Everyone is subject to the cycle of rise and fall. Samsung was mostly on the rise, until the Note7 fiasco made it hit pause and expand the testing procedure for the Galaxy S8, causing it to miss the MWC. Freedom 251s rise was meteoric, but soon it fell back to earth with enough force to kill the dinosaurs.
Welcome to the week 7 edition of our Sunday Q&A. This week we talk the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Nougat update, the resolution vs pixel size debate and benchmarks.
Ravi: With the release of the Huawei Mate 9 and the Cortex A73 cores inside it, the mighty Kryo cores inside Snapdragon 82x chips finally had a competitor that fared better in benchmarks. However, even the latest and greatest offering from ARM didn't even come close to the raw single-core computing power offered by A10 fusion cores inside iPhone 7/7+.
My question is how did Apple manage to create a chipset that is way ahead of its competitors when at the end of the day, even they rely on ARM licensed procedures and techniques to make their chipsets? Is it perhaps because of the optimised software, or is it because of plain old cheating like in the recently revealed cases of OnePlus and Meizu? Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
The most important thing to note here is that benchmark results arent directly comparable between platforms. Even those cross-platform benchmark tests warn that scores obtained under Android and iOS arent meant to be directly compared.
That said, theres no doubt that the A10 is a beast of a chipset with beastly single-core performance. Part of the reason is that it only has two high-power cores with each of those much larger footprint than the Snapdragon and Kirin CPU cores. Theres also more to performance than just the architecture stuff like L2 and L3 cache size and memory speed, which isnt normally officially announced by manufacturers so we dont have the full picture.
Finally in day to day operations software optimizations are just as important as sheer processing power and Apple having full control over the hardware and software is having quite the advantage there. When you know the specific hardware and software that you will run its much easier to extract the best performance. Compare that to ARM, who designs cores that should power an enormous number of devices from high-end smartphones through entry-level ones to stuff like smart refrigerators and Wi-Fi routers.
Nikolas: 1. In iPhone 6s camera spec, you write 1.22 m pixel size on iPhone 6s. How about iPhone 7? Do they have the same pixel size?
2. iPhone 5s has 8 MP camera, and 1.5 m pixel size, while iPhone SE has 12 MP camera, but smaller pixel size (1.22 m) Which one is better? And which one is more important for picture quality in general - resolution or pixel size?
1. The iPhone 7 has the exact same sensor size and resolution as the iPhone 6s, which means pixel size is also identical between the two.
2. That a question as old as digital photography itself. The short answer is higher resolution leads to more fine detail in the shots, while smaller but larger pixels bring wider dynamic range and less noise. So we cant simply say that one is better than the other it all depends on the specific use case. If you are doing most of your shooting in good lighting then a higher-resolution sensor might yield better results. If you shoot mostly in low-light environments you will lose most of the resolution advantage anyway so the larger, less noisy pixels of the lower-res sensor will give you better shots.
Therere also other things to consider putting a very high-res sensor on a smartphone means you also need the optics that are able to resolve as much detail to take full advantage of it. And thats really asking a lot from a tiny lens that can fit inside a modern ultra-slim smartphone.
Finally, theres the thing that the images a smartphone produces have just as much to do with the decisions manufacturers make regarding their processing as with their sensors. To give you one example making images more contrasty and with more saturated colors leads to an increase in the noise levels as well. Its all about finding the right balance and it really isnt a one-size-fits-all thing so some will inevitably prefer one cameraphone, while others will go for another.
SaRPeR: Can you test the Sony Xperia XZ's battery life again after the Nougat update? Lots of people are saying Xperia XZ's battery life improved drastically after updating to Nougat?
Unfortunately we dont have the Sony Xperia XZ unit with us anymore as we had to return it following our review. That said, we are looking to obtain another unit so we can retest its battery life after the update and if we succeed well bring you the updated scores as soon as possible.
Alien: A lot of trolls are saying that Sony's mobile division is dying. Do you agree with them or is it just jealousy? Would you use the Xperia XZ as a daily driver?
Judging by its financial results lately the Sony Mobile division is certainly going through a rough patch. I wouldnt go as far as to say that its dying, but if it keeps losing money Sony might consider selling it to reduce its losses. Hopefully that wont happen though as the company has brought plenty of innovation through the years and in recent times, so I hope it finds a way to improve its results.
As for the Xperia XZ Id gladly use it as a daily driver as its really an awesome. Its exorbitant initial pricing meant it was out of reach for many people, but not that its settled down a bit, its actually a pretty good value flagship.
Vineet: Is it really wise to update the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to Nougat, while it looses battery life with the latest OS. Besides looks of UI nothing has improved so much.
We have a whole article detailing the changes brought by the Nougat update on the Galaxy S7 edge. The short answer is yes the update is worth it, but you should probably check the complete review to know about all of the changes and then decide for yourself if its worth it.
Anonymous: Hello guys. I have a really burning question that I need to ask and hope you can answer it, so I can compare phones specification. My question is which Soc is better for gaming? Snapdragon 430? Snapdragon 625? Snapdragon 650? HiSilicon Kirin 655? Mediatek Hellio X10? MTK Hellio X20? And which of this SoCs is power efficient when playing intense games?
Its a rather tough question to answer in a straightforward way. Power-efficiency seems to be the easier bit the Snapdragon 625 has an advantage here with its 14nm manufacturing process, with the Kirin 655 coming a close second with its 16nm build. At the other end of the spectrum the MediaTek Helio X10 and Snapdragon 430 and 650 use the archaic 28nm process so they use the most power for the same amount of work. The Helio X20 is in between, on 20nm, and since it has a tri-cluster structure it actually does decently.
In terms of sheer performance Wed suggest you check out our mobile chipset guide to get a better idea on how they compare. Depending on the use case, the Snapdragon 625, 650, the Helio X20 and the Kirin 655 could all be the best.
If you have any questions for us - you can send them by using the form over here.
Haiti - FLASH : Venezuela becomes the poorest country, ahead of Haiti
While Haiti had occupied for many years the first place of the ranking of countries, as the poorest of the hemisphere, now it is dethroned by Venezuela of this first position unenviable.
Indeed, the Venezuelan national survey conducted in Venezuela in 2016 on the living conditions of Venezuelan households confirms that Venezuela has become one of the poorest countries in the world and at the top of the list in America Latin.
The figures show that 82% of Venezuelan households live in a decadent condition, of which 52% are in extreme poverty and 18% are close to entering this category. In 2014, 51% of Venezuelan households were not considered poor, 24.8% were in moderate poverty, and 23% were in extreme poverty.
This ranking of Venezuela highlights the economic and political crisis affecting the country today, which also makes it possible to understand that the revenue gap, particularly at the oil level, prevents the increase in national finances, as a result of poor decisions taken by the government.
SL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - News : Zapping politics...
In the North, a verdict in favor of the PHTK
The National Electoral Litigation Office (BCEN) ruled in favor of Ralph Fethiere, candidate for the Senate in the North under the banner of PHTK. It therefore rejected in this final appeal, the challenge raised by the candidate Theodore Saintilus of the Platform "Pitit Dessalin". 'Whereas the candidate's request is subject to material errors, sometimes his identity, and sometimes his department of belonging, which can not be covered by equipollents."
Congratulations from Jovenel Moise
"I congratulate Jhenie Thimot (26-year-old Capoise) who honored Haiti at the prestigious Golden Classic Music Awards 2017," said President Jovenel Moise, to Jhenie Thimot for winning the second prize in the Category Voice and chamber music.
Towards legislation on Carnivals
The deputy Caleb Desrameaux, President of the Culture and Communication Committee of the Lower House, intends to endow the country with a law on the organization of Carnivals, legislation currently non-existent in Haiti. On the one hand, this law should avoid conflicts of authority between the central government and the municipal authorities and, on the other hand, impose on cities that wish to officially carry out a Carnival, to comply with a set of criteria and standards to be defined.
A rare situation in the Senate
Since the beginning of the 50th Legislature, the Senate has for the first time this week been able to hold meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the three days devoted to statutory meetings, in accordance with the rules of procedure. It must be said that with a minimalist opposition and 26 senators, it is no longer as easy as before to block the quorum.
Pre-Carnival parade at PAP
This Sunday, February 19, the order of the pre-carnival parade of the Carnival of Port-au-Prince will be: DJ Blue, DJ Steezy, DJ NG MIX, Chaloska / DJ Bullet, DJ Bmixx, Djakout #0, DJ Jack, DJ Valmix, DJ Tonymix, DJ Fanfan.
New exhibition "Haitian Art in two dimensions"
The Museum of the Haitian National Pantheon (MUPANAH) once again opens its collections and presents to the public "Haitian Art in two dimensions". This exhibition shows, through paintings and sculptures, the various currents marking the history of art in Haiti. From the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, the Center d'Art, to the era of moderns and contemporaries, including the School of Cap, the South School, the Brochette Gallery, the Beauty School and the St-Soleil movement. The exhibition "Haitian Art in two dimensions" is visible in the MUPANAH Art Gallery, accessible every day.
HL/ HaitiLibre
Published on 2017/02/19 | Source
Korea has seen increasing exports of chocolate on the back of Korean pop culture across Asia. Chocolate exports totaled US$22.68 million in 2015, up 43 percent from $15.83 million in 2011, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday.
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Mongolia and Southeast Asian countries have become the fastest growing markets for Korean chocolate.
In the last five years, exports to Mongolia rose by 309 percent, to Thailand by 205 percent and to Vietnam by 109 percent.
Overall, 42 percent of Korean chocolate was exported to China, followed by 14 percent to Hong Kong and 12 percent to Japan.
But imports still substantially outweigh exports. In 2015, Korea imported $211.4 million worth of chocolate, nine times more than exports, with 18.5 percent coming from the U.S.
Korea's chocolate market was worth W1.16 trillion as of 2015, accounting for 1.2 percent of the global market.
Published on 2017/02/19 | Source
North Korea has a long history of using female operatives, not just as honey traps but also as fanatical assassins who often prove tougher than men.
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One was Won Jeong-hwa, an agent who came to South Korea posing as a defector and was arrested in July of 2008, having wheedled military secrets out of a number of officials here.
She Came From a good family and was chosen to join the elite Socialist Youth League and later joined a special commando unit to be trained as a secret agent. There she learned to use lethal weapons like poison-tipped needles, trained in martial arts and mountain warfare, and received ideological indoctrination.
Once in South Korea, Won approached senior military officers and stole sensitive information.
Female agents apparently undergo the same tough training as their male counterparts, mastering Taekwondo to a high level and practicing endurance swimming. They are also trained in assassination and abduction skills and the use of explosives.
In the 1970s, female agents were widely used in the North's bizarre campaign to adapt Japanese and other foreign nationals.
And the only surviving bomber who blew up a Korean Air passenger plane in 1987 was a female agent, Kim Hyon-hui.
More recently, North Korea has been using attractive women to carry out operations in cyberspace, where they open Facebook accounts posing as staff of fictitious companies to steal sensitive data from South Koreans.
Read this article in Korean
By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2017/02/18
A co-production between South Korea, Hong Kong, China and the United States, it is the fourth remake of the now-lost 1966 Lee Man-hee-I homonymous melodrama classic.
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Anna Chen is imprisoned in Washington after man-slaughtering her husband, 7 years ago. The actual story begins when she is informed of her mother's death and is granted a three-day leave to attend the funeral in Seattle. On the bus to Seattle, she comes across a Korean immigrant named Hoon, who initially asks her for money to pay his fare. Eventually the two are acquainted, with Hoon revealing that he is a gigolo. The two of them spent many of Anna's days together, with him on the run from a client's husband and her revealing facts about her situation in the grey and foggy surroundings of Seattle.
Kim Tae-yong directs a film that, despite having a dramatic base, is actually a subtle romance. The story focuses chiefly around the character of Anna, who desperately tries to hide her situation from those close to her who aren't informed, and particularly from Hoon. It is also quite fascinating watching her struggle against her needs and wishes as a woman, in order to act according to her circumstances. This notion is particularly exhibited in two scenes. The first one occurs when she buys clothes and make-up in order to feel like an actual woman again, only to shift back to her somewhat ragtag prison appearance after a while. The second one occurs when she decides to pay Hoon for sex, although her whole relationship with him falls under that particular motif.
The unrecognizable Tang Wei ("Lust, Caution") is quite convincing in her role as Anna, as is Hyun Bin as Hoon, who plays a charming and overall attractive bon-viveur, although in a less demanding role, which draws heavily from his looks. However, the quality they present occurs mostly through their silences, when they communicate with pauses in speech and meaningful glances, rather than when they are actually speaking. The reason for this is that most dialogues are in English, a language that evidently makes both of them uncomfortable, although they are much better at it than other Asian actors are.
The films permeating melancholic mood is heightened by both the slow pace and the Jo Seong-woo's mellow music, while Seattle itself has a major role in it, with many shots portraying its various attractions, as the two protagonists roam in the streets with Hoon functioning as the tour guide and Anna as the tourist. In that fashion, Kim Woo-hyung's cinematography, presents a number of beautiful, but moody and colorless images of the city, that seem to fit the general aesthetics perfectly. Steve M. Choe and Lee Jin's editing implement the mellow and relatively slow pace of the film nicely, without doing anything impressive, though.
"Late Autumn - 2010" is a beautiful film to watch. However, and although it is far from being a "chick-flick", it is obvious that its main target audience is women.
Review by Panos Kotzathanasis
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"Late Autumn - 2010" is directed by Kim Tae-yong and features Hyun Bin and Tang Wei.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from YESASIA
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2017/02/18
I cannot count the times when fiction mistakenly believes a "strong woman" character means someone who behaves in a traditionally masculine manner, swears and hits people. "Strong Woman Do Bong-soon" is clearly not of the same opinion, taking a different approach by giving us a heroine who seems as feminine as she does deadly.
Premise
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Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) is a woman with super-human strength. She is hired as a bodyguard to a temperamental rich man called Ahn Min-hyeok (Park Hyung-sik). When they become involved in a serial murder case, the two end up cohabitating with Bong-soon's crush, detective In Gook-doo (Ji Soo) for protection.
The Worrying
Rom-Com to Die For
I am wary of shows which sell themselves as cheerful and quirky, but also including violent crimes. It takes some dedication to both conflicting tones and the story parts related to them in order to make things smooth and succeed. I hope this one has an approach similar to "The Girl Who Sees Smells", which handled its tone well.
Delicate Themes
By including violent crimes, a lead who is a champion of women like Bong-soon and one whose sexual orientation is misunderstood like Min-hyeok the series chooses to approach sensitive topics. JTBC has done well with them in the past, but the promotional material here is not encouraging. I hope the drama does not use these elements as tools for fanservice and derogatory comedy.
The Reassuring
Familiar Premise with a Twist
Cohabitation and romantic triangles have been done enough to make them tropes which are familiar and therefore not too challenging to make something decent out of. At the same time, the super-human element of the series and the fact that this cohabitation is not romantic allows for creativity and fun interactions. This sounds like a series which can be easily entertaining.
Progressive Potential
Assuming that the series does not brand the beating of random men as feminism or turn sexual and gender identities into a joke, it is exciting to see these topics increasingly pop up in Korean drama as casually present elements. "Strong Woman Do Bong-soon" will do just fine as a cute drama about romantic mishaps and crime solving, but hopefully its choice to use these elements means that is has something useful to say about them.
Final Thoughts
The drama's premise and its characters look quirky and endearing and it also makes promises of investigative thrills. It offers us a heroine who is a walking contradiction of perceived gender roles and femininity and it features an unlikely cohabitation and love triangle. With some smart writing and a whimsical approach, this might become a new favorite for many.
"Strong Woman Do Bong-soon" begins its run on February 24th and will air every Friday and Saturday at 23:00, on jTBC. It is directed by Lee Hyeong-min, written by Baek Mi-kyeong and features Park Bo-young, Park Hyung-sik and Ji Soo.
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Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'
Published on 2017/02/19 | Source
The 123-story Lotte World Tower, the capital's tallest building, is awaiting its grand opening on April 3. But on Wednesday, some of the more exclusive parts were unveiled for the first time, including the royal suite in the hotel, which costs a cool W20 million per night, and the ultra-fast elevator (US$1=W1,141).
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The Seoul Metropolitan Government finally gave the final green light to the building's opening last week. With just 40 days to go, staff were still busy putting the finishing touches to the skyscraper.
An observatory on 118th floor has a sky deck with a vertiginous transparent glass platform 477.63 m above the ground. It is made with toughened 45 mm-thick glass "and it will not break even if an elephant stands on it", according to a press release.
The royal suite in the "six-star" Signiel Seoul hotel on the 100th floor will be the most expensive hotel room in Korea at 25 to 30 percent more than equivalent rooms in other hotels. It has a lavishly decorated reception, a meeting room and separate rooms for accompanying staff.
The hotel swimming pool on the 85th floor has two 20-m lanes.
The ultra-fast elevator takes just one minute and five seconds from the first basement level to the 118th floor. Ears popped, but otherwise it was a smooth ride.
Then there is the "Premier 7" luxury office space. One company can use the whole of each floor.
Ailing Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho is reportedly going to be moved to the 114th floor, while Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin is planning to move into the 70th and the 71st floors, the highest floors of the Signiel Residence serviced apartments that mainly target rich people from the Persian Gulf.
Visitors look down from the glass observation deck at Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
Lotte corporate headquarters will move into floors from 14th to 38th. Lotte Corporation will move to the 19th floor, and Lotte Chemical will also move in sometime in the first half of this year.
On the 22nd floor, there is evacuation safety zone big enough to accommodate 1,680 people in an emergency. There are 1,680 gas masks and 1,680 LED flash lights, and two automated defibrillators and CPR machines, and two sets of heat proof clothes.
There are similar safety zones on 40th, 60th, 83rd, and 102nd floors, making it possible to reach any of them within 15 minutes from any part of the building and enough for 6,200 people.
For the sake of structural safety there are 509 sensors with cutting-edge technologies that monitor changes or unusual signs within the building through information delivered by GPS in real time. The control center has a dozen staff present around the clock to check fire safety, security, and the smooth running of machines.
The tower is also designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons of the magnitude of the 1995 Kobe earthquake or hurricane Katrina.
Published on 2017/02/18 | Source
Added the upcoming Korean movie "Wife's Friend Reunion"'s page to HanCinema database
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"Wife's Friend Reunion" (2016)
Directed by Lee Ri-dan
With Seo Won-I, Lee Tae-jin, Hyeon Ah, Lee Jae-gwan, Jo Gi-tae, Wang Hoon-ah,...
Synopsis
Ji-yeong is a good looking, slim and big-breasted insurance planner who is really bad at her job. Dae-cheol, her school friend, suggests she sells some insurance at the friends' reunion where alot of wealthy friends will show up. Ji-yeong doesn't really feel like it but she dresses up sexily and goes to the reunion. For some reason, her results at work are getting better and better every time she goes to the reunion...
Release date in Korea : 2017/03/09
The Need for Tax Vigilance in 2017
By Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii
It's been a month into the legislative session. The sheer number of bills related to tax or public finance is staggering. It's much more frenetic this year than in any other year I've been in this position, and my sentiments are shared with some of the rules attorneys from the Department of Taxation who cover many of the same matters at the legislature as I do.
This year, there appear to be many different and creative approaches to public financing. For taxpayers, that means that people are coming up with new ways for the government to get more out of your pocketbook. So, this is a year to be especially vigilant. Here are some examples of the tax bills moving through the system:
The Honolulu rail surcharge extension bill is morphing into a strange and dangerous monster. One version of the bill now includes, in addition to a perpetual extension of the surcharge and an outright grab of part of the money to feed the Department of Transportation, a 12.5% increase in the general excise tax rate, from 4% to 4.5%. That means the tax on Oahu would go up to 5%, and people would start seeing a tax of 5.263% on their store receipts.
The teachers' bill for education funding includes a whopping surcharge in the real property tax for any property that is residential and is not the owner's primary home. For a property on Oahu just shy of $1 million in value, for example, the tax due would go from $3,500 to $9,000. This bill cant go into effect without a constitutional amendment, so lawmakers may be tempted to let the measure pass and let the voters decide its fate.
Another bill would quadruple the conveyance tax, which is charged whenever real property as bought and sold. Under that bill, the top rate goes from $1.25 to $5.00 per $100 in price.
There are several bills moving that would modify our individual income tax rates. Many would reinstate the 9%, 10%, and 11% rates that we just got rid of at the end of 2015. Some of these bills are tied to enhanced credits to provide poverty relief, but other bills just tinker with the rates. For some reason, the rates for corporations, estates, and trusts are all left alone, as is the 7.25% rate on capital gains for individuals.
One bill would add hefty surcharges on traffic fines earmarked for law enforcement. The money is expected to go to law enforcement only, and wouldn't be available for K-12 education, natural resource conservation, homelessness, or anything else. It might not be called a tax, but the result will be more money from peoples wallets going to the government.
And then, our department of transportation is continuing its quest to jack up the fuel tax (this year they want six cents more per gallon of gasoline), the vehicle weight tax, and the vehicle registration fee. The latter two taxes would add $65 or so to the annual registration cost of a small carand that doesnt consider the county weight tax and fees, which could get bumped up by county government.
Last but not least, there is a substantial contingent of people who are so worried about Obamacare being repealed at the federal level that they want it written into Hawaii law. That would include an individual mandate, similar to the federal one, that is enforced through the Hawaii income tax system.
All of this goes to show that you probably want to be watching the legislature like a hawk this year. Remember, you wont be able to influence the result if you dont participate in the process.
TODAY IS FIRST LATERAL
From Hawaii Family Forum February 17, 2017
All legislative bills referred to more than one committee (i.e., those with multiple referrals) must move to their final committee in the originating chamber by today.
Note, however, that any bill pending at the adjournment of a regular session in an odd-numbered year, i.e., the first year of a legislative biennium, will automatically carry over to the regular session of the next even numbered year, i.e., the second year of the legislative biennium, with the same bill number and bill status; therefore, for these carryover or carried over bills, reintroduction in the second year of the legislative biennium may not be necessary.
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Assisted Suicide Bill Passes In Spite of Overwhelming Testimony in Opposition
SB1129, according to the Senate Committee report, received testimony by individuals in support by "over 200" while the opposition was reported as "over 500!"
The committee, after voting to pass the bill, stated in its report that it "finds that medical aid in dying is a medical practice in which a mentally capable, terminally ill adult with six months or less to live may request a prescription for a medication that the terminally ill adult can self-administer to achieve death in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner." Sadly, they call the action of a physician who intentionally writes a prescription for a lethal dose of barbituates with a known outcome of ending their patient's life, as a "safe and trusted practice."
The bill passed by six legislators voting in favor (Senator(s) Baker, Nishihara, S. Chang, Ihara, Kidani, Ruderman) and one (Senator Espero) being excused.
The bill will now move to the Senate Judiciary & Labor Committee. If you haven't done so already, please sign our online petition against assisted suicide. The number of people signing this petition has grown astronomically since yesterday. Mahalo for signing!
Upcoming Assisted Suicide Events:
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There is NO ALOHA IN SUICIDE!
SB1129 SD1 (Relating to Health) will now move to the Senate Judiciary & Labor Committee. Although the bill has not been scheduled for hearing by the JDL committee at this time, we expect it will be very soon.
Please be prepared to contact the Senate JDL committee. Many offices will not take your call in opposition if the bill has not been scheduled for hearing, especially if you are not a constituent from their district. If you are a medical professional and you are opposed to assisted suicide, contact us. Our team of physicians and nurses against assisted suicide is growing.
Visit Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care for new videos and resources to use in your educational campaigns. Also visit this site for legal analysis by Margaret Dore, Esq. and this site for the Patients Rights Council.
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Court Rules Against Florist's First Amendment Rights
[from Family Policy Alliance]
The Washington Supreme Court ruled this week that the government can force Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene's Flowers, to create floral arrangements for same-sex weddings or face heavy penalties.
Stutzman's attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) argued that she was protected by the First Amendment.
"This case is about crushing dissent," said Kristen Waggoner, ADF senior counsel. "In a free America, people with differing beliefs must have room to coexist. It's wrong for the state to force any citizen to support a particular view about marriage or anything else against their will. Freedom of speech and religion aren't subject to the whim of a majority; they are constitutional guarantees."
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Send your message to President Trump to protect religious freedom.
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Marriage GALA Video Message
We are pleased to release this video message of our 2017 Marriage GALA.
RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI) president Nasim Akhtar has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to ban the import of childrens garments to save Pakistans garment industry from catastrophe, so that the local garment industry can be encouraged and the industries in the country can be further developed.
He also demanded to reduce taxes and duties to save Pakistans garment industry from disaster.
Nasim Akhtar said all over Pakistan, especially in Karachi, high quality childrens clothing is manufactured. But due to low duty on imported childrens garments, the local garment industry is facing severe financial losses and has reached on the brink of collapse, raising fears of millions of workers losing their jobs.
Due to very low duty on import of baby baba garments, it has become very difficult for the local garment industry to survive in the price race as the taxes on local garments industry are double, which doubles the prices, and they cannot compete in the market with imported childrens clothing.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
TIMING PROGRAM TITLE
06:00 NEWS HOUR
06:25 HEADLINE NEWS
06:30 NEWS HOUR
06:55 HEADLINE NEWS
07:00 PAISA BOLTA HAI
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09:00 BEST OF AAJ PAKISTAN
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17:00 REGIONAL NEWS
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19:00 SIYASAT SE HUTT KE
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20:00 AAJ RANA MUBASHIR KAY SATH (LIVE)
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21:00 AAJ 9 BAJE
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00:00 NEWS HOUR
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01:00 AAJ RANA MUBASHIR KAY SATH
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02:00 RUBAROO
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02:30 RUBAROO
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04:00 AAJ RANA MUBASHIR KAY SATH
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05:00 RUBAROO
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The book cover of Analects Annotated. [Photo/dangdang.com]
It might be two millennia old, but Confucius's work is still as popular as ever.
A leading Chinese publishing house released its annual sales figures this week and one of its top bestsellers turns out to have been the legendary thinker's Analects, a classic text composed over 2,000 years ago.
The Analects Annotated sold no less than 450,000 copies over the past year, twice as much as the previous year, the Beijing-based Zhonghua Book Company, which is dedicated to humanities titles, especially classical Chinese works, said.
A collection of Confucius's sayings and ideas, the Analects is one of the central texts of Confucianism. As such, it has been one of the most read and studied texts in China over the past 2,000 years, annotated by the most prominent scholars.
Not just the Analects but other Chinese classic texts are also doing well on the market. The phenomenon has surprised publishers, who have been impressed by readers' eagerness to read the original texts - composed in an ancient script not easily accessible to modern Chinese speakers - first-hand. Observers believe this reflects a desire to seek new interpretations of time-honored classics, unfettered by the words of authorities from the past.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Bhartiya Janata Party rally in Fatehpurs Uttar Pradesh as the 12 districts of the state voted in the third phase of assembly elections on Sunday
Modis rally comes two days after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared the stage in Rae Bareli, attacking Modis suit boot ki sarkar.
403 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh vote in seven phases, starting February 11. The election results will be counted on March 11.
Here are the live updates:
Modi ends the address by appealing to crowd to opt for BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2017.
On November 8, I jolted the nation. Those people who had black money will speak against me, conspire against me, but I did this for the common man: Modi on the Centres decision to demonetise currency.
My fight is with the big fishes, not the ones who dedicatedly work... Im sure I have the blessings of the common man.
On employment, Modi asks if anyone can get a job in todays time without connections or references. Should such a practice be allowed. Development for has to be for everyone... We (BJP) didnt say we will provide amenities according to caste or religion. Well provide services to all who are in the line.
UPs biggest issue is discrimination.
There was a time when farmers had to face hurdles to get urea; We neem-coated urea & stopped its black marketing: PM Modi in Fatehpur
Modi talks about providing gas cylinders to every household: My mother used to use wooden stoves to give us food. Ive felt the pain of seeing my mother suffer. It gives me inspiration to provide gas cylinders to 5 crore homes... Within 11 months, 1.75 crore houses have cyclines.
PM Modi says, I want to congratulate the UP BJP. They have promised to waive farmers debts if they come to power.
Modi talks about womens safety, referring to UP minister Gayatri Prajapati who was held for allegedly gang-raping a woman and attempting to rape her daughter... Today, Uttar Pradesh is known for crimes. Shouldnt UP improve its law and order situation.
The Samajwadi Party thought they are already sinking, so they joined hands with Congress to sink together: PM
Jab unhone hath pakda,tab nikle rath par;Taar k taar latak rahe the,kaanp rahe the ki current na lag jaye;Akhilesh nhi,unke naye saathi: PM pic.twitter.com/FKHD7rTFBW ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 19, 2017
Why is the Samajwadi Party shying away after the third phase only. They were claiming theyll win the elections, asks Modi
People can discern if the government is fooling them or not. The Samajwadi Party thought they could, but the public knows better.
Read | UP ka beta to wannabe sainik: How PM Modi tailors his life story to suit election crowds
The country is moving ahead, now I want Uttar Pradesh to develop as well. The exile in UP must end now. The country is moving at a fast pace and as should Uttar Pradesh
Would like to recall Sardar Sahabs work. Had the previous governments implemented his guidelines, the fate of our country would have been different: PM Modi
PM pays tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji on his birth anniversary.
(With agency inputs)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday donated Rs 50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharilas party which is fighting elections in Manipur.
With severe shortage of funds and manpower, Irom Sharmilas party Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses.
Kejriwal said that he is donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her while sharing the link.
I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her, he tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her.
#Honest #Politics always gets support of genuine people who want to shake up the status-quo & build up grassroots movement. Thank you Sir. https://t.co/MmMWC9FUQ3 PRJA Party Manipur (@PRJAManipur) February 18, 2017
PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur which has resorted to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state.
According to PRJA sources, online crowdfunding with a slogan Ten For a Change is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses. The PRJA so far has collected Rs 4.5 lakh through crowdfunding.
The online crowdfunding is in line with the partys call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds.
Online funds are transparent and normally political parties face a backlash because they dont have transparency in their funds, PRJAs convener, Erendro Leichonbam told PTI.
AAP leader and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann said on Twitter he was going to donate hisone months salary to Irom Sharmila.
As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n injustice in Manipur... Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 19, 2017
Sitting on a charpoy in the Muzaffarabad village near Akbarpur bazaar, Farooq Qureshi and Sangapriya talk about the new parties they will vote for on Sunday.
A driver, Sangapriya is a Chamar and he voted for Narendra Modi in 2014. He spoke the truth. It was for the country, Sangapriya says. But this time, he is returning to the party he says is his own, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party. This time, it is about making Behenji CM. There is anarchy under the SP; officials do not work, he told HT on Saturday, the eve of the third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh.
The return of Jatavs to the BSP is now apparent across the state. But what is striking is that Qureshi adds his voice to that of his Dalit neighbour.
I voted for SP in 2014, I have voted cycle for 15 years. But the government has not done much for us; this time, I am voting for Mayawati. She should get a chance. The BSPs decision to field 100 Muslims has increased his faith in the party, he says.
Both Sangapriya and Qureshi are voters in Kanpur Dehats Rania constituency, one of the 69 seats going to the polls on Sunday.
UP 2017 is not one election, but as a journalist put it, 403 elections, for all seats have their own dynamics.
Yet, Rania is representative of the challenges the ruling Samajwadi Party faces in retaining seats in its stronghold.
It is representative of the shift of Muslims to the BSP in seats where local arithmetic does not favour the SP. It also points to the fact that the BSP is making inroads in the areas where it has not been traditionally strong.
Rania also offers a glimpse into the mechanics of the Muslim vote and what motivates them.
Local arithmetic
In Akbarpur Chowk, Mohammad Ibrahim says he likes chief minister and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav but law and order is a concern.
How will the people vote? Is baar haathi lagta hai (it seems like elephants turn this time). Mayawati will come back, at least in this seat, he says. Elephant is the poll symbol of the BSP.
Sitting next to him, Ejaz explains the local dynamics. Rania voted SPs Ram Swaroop Singh Gaur in the last election. This time, a relative, Niraj Gaur, is in the running. Gaur is a Thakur.
There is another Thakur candidate, who will cut Gaurs votes. And there is also a rebel Yadav candidate. Yadavs dont want to vote for Gaur even if he is from the SP. And that is why the SP candidate is weak here, Ejaz says.
Wherever the SP is weak, Muslims have shifted to the BSP to defeat the BJP, which, Ibrahim says, is their prime objective.
Why?
We dont have any problems with the BJP candidate, Anil Shukla. He even believes in a Sufi saint and so do I. In fact, if he were from any other party, I would have voted for him. But how can we vote for a party that says so many bad things about us?
Seeds of doubt
Satish Yadav, a tempo driver, joins in. He tells Ibrahim, You are making a mistake. Mayawati wont be able to make a government on her own. She will go with the BJP. What will you do then?
Ibrahim acknowledges there is confusion among Muslims -- Mayawati has in the past joined hands with the BJP and may do it again despite her assurances, and that is why he wants Akhilesh as the CM.
We will talk at night, through Whatsapp and phone calls and try to ask all Muslims to vote for one side.
But, Ibrahim says, votes may still get divided. And if that happens, the BJP may win. We want Akhilesh but in this seat, SP wont win. Out best hope is that Muslims vote for the elephant so that at least the MLA is not from the BJP.
In towns and villages across central UP, these debates and conversations were playing out ahead of Sundays vote. Their impact will only be known on March 11, when the votes are counted.
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By Sunday end, the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will have crossed the half-way markboth in terms of number of districts and constituencies.
Of 75 districts and 403 assembly constituencies, after Sunday, only 194 assembly segments in 37 districts will be left for polling in the remaining four phases.
The third phase with 24 million voters in 69 seats is the most crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party as it contains the ruling Yadav familys strongholds, including home districts of Etawah and Mainpuriand the critical Lucknow, the state capital.
Despite having won 55 of these seats in 2012, the SP is on the edge because of the protracted bitter infighting and resurgent opposition. Now, even the safest of SP seats might see a tough contest.
The BSP, with only six MLAs, and the BJP, with five, are trying their best to take advantage of the Yadav family feud.
Sundays polling will decide the fates of Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadavs younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, his nephew Anurag Yadav and Akhileshs aide Anurag Singh.
Also in the fray are BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who is fighting against Aparna Yadav, SP ministers Nitin Agarwal and Abhishek Mishra and BSP heavyweight Nakul Dubey.
SP minister and MP Naresh Agrawals son Nitin is contesting from Hardoi while minister Farid Mahmood Kidwail is contesting from his current seat Kursi (in Barabanki). Another minister, Arvind Singh Gope is fighting to retain his Ramnagar seat in Barabanki.
Union home minister Rajnath Singhs influence on the five Lucknow seats under his Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency, will come under test.
The polls will also tell whether the big-ticket projects of Akhilesh Yadav government in Lucknowthe Metro, Janeshwar Mishra Park, Gomti River Frontwill convert into votes.
Unlike the previous two phases, the third phase has the highest number of big fights, and figures many first-timers among the 826 candidates.
The phase will be critical for both Akhilesh and Shivpal, who were locked in a bruising months-long feud for party control. The chief ministers move to replace 20 winners with new candidates will be put to test. For Shivpal, it will determine whether the leader, who is contesting the elections as a loner without any support from the party, is able to win on his own.
Read | UP elections: Why a hung assembly cant be ruled out in this battleground state
The region where voting takes place is one through which the SP governments flagship Agra-Lucknow expressway passes through. The area comprises the potato belt, and Kannaujs famed perfume industry.
The usually predictable Yadav pocket boroughs of Etawah and Mainpuri and the rest of the Yadav landcomprising Kannauj, Farukkhabad and Auriyamight see close contests this time.
Election machinery too would be under observation for voters turnout. Last time, the third phase polled 59.75% whereas the first and second phases this time have polled 64.22% and 65.16% votes.
After Sunday, there will be four more polling daysphase 4 on February 23, phase 5 on February 27, phase 6 on March 4, and the last one on March 8.
The results will be declared on March 11.
Atal Bihari Vajpayees disappearance from the BJP posters has reinforced for the Brahmins of Uttar Pradesh a message theyve long received and mulled over that the space they once occupied on the saffron platform has got ceded to other backward classes (OBCs).
Its a subject of debate in this politically articulate community that perceives the change as OBCisation of Hindutva. A BJP insider summed up the alienation: UP ki chunav chaalisa mein haashiye pe khada vipr (Brahmin).
He saw two BJPs on display: one of Vajpayee that gasps for breath and the other of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah which gave tickets to 80-odd lateral entries from other parties.
The Brahmins have felt punished by the new BJPs caste-and-class politics of backward versus forward and poor versus rich. The marginalisation is illustrated by their token representation in the BJPs top echelons. The party has no Brahmin state unit chief in any big state.
UP was an exception until elections. Here an OBC leader, Keshav Prasad Maurya, elected from Allahabads Phulpur Lok Sabha seat once associated with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijayalakshmi Pandit replaced Lakshmi Kant Bajpai as the BJPs state president.
Read| UP elections: BJP looks to ride on an invisible alliance of backward castes
What applies to the erudite community is true of Allahabad thats home to 400,000 Brahmins.
It boasts of five prime ministers: Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and VP Singh. Even Chandrashekhar cut his teeth in politics as a student leader at University of Allahabad.
The pantheon is completed by HN Bahuguna, the best PM India never had, and veteran socialist Janeshwar Mishra whose political struggles earned him the sobriquet of chota Lohia.
Mishras portrait on SP posters is a reminder to the new BJP that legacies count in regions steeped in history. Also, it sits well with Akhilesh Yadavs new SP seeking or pretending to rise above sectoral interests.
Ye Brahmin daab (influence) ka shehr hai, noted former AUSU president Baba Awasthi. The names he rattled out to make the point included two from the BJP: MM Joshi and Kesri Nath Tripathi. The new BJP has little use for these superannuated Hindutva heavies.
So when they arrive to campaign here next week, Modi, Shah and the Akhilesh-Rahul Gandhi team would realise that 2017 isnt 2014 or 2012. The Allahabadis who gave them brute support to rule in Delhi and Lucknow are disturbingly conscious of their diminished presence in the power structure.
None of the nine SP legislators elected out of the districts 12 seats was made minister by Akhilesh, who rode to power on the wave that originated from eastern UP. Even when the BJP triumphed, Varanasi got a PM, Allahabad nothing!
Read| UP election: How BJP changes its narrative within 50 kms, from Hindutva to secularism
Let down by both, the electorate are driven more by the urge for local empowerment of social groups to which they belong.
The bulky minority support for the SP-led coalition does trouble certain sections. But theres no perceptible communal polarisation that lifted Modi sky high in the general elections. Credit for it is given to Akhileshs personable image and his tie-up with Rahul Gandhi.
But for demonetisation and the SPs partnership with the Congress, the BJP wouldve swept to power, said another AUSU president Shyam Krishna Pandey. The BJP cadre disaffected by candidatures of outsiders is inert or furtively helpful to the alliance.
The SP-Congress are rated to win at least six seats and the BJP sure of just two. The rest may go to the BSP or the pro-Kurmi Apna Dal thats in alliance with Modi.
Compared to 2012, thatll be an improvement for the BJP that won no seat in Allahabad. But the prognosis is disheartening in contrast with the general polls when the party pocketed both Lok Sabha seats.
Regardless of who wins, will Allahabad regain its lost clout, its past glory?
Surmised Baba Awasthi: Regional players have bigger stakes in western and central UP and national parties are scared of our brilliance and sense of history. Add to that the Congresss unchecked decline and Allahabads life story will be complete.
(Allahabad goes to polls on February 23)
Vinod Sharma is the political editor of Hindustan Times
Read| UP elections: Why a hung assembly cant be ruled out in this battleground state
To kya hua mantriji jail mein hai, hum unhi ki wajah se surakshit hai aur is chhetra ka vikas sirf wohi kar sakte hain, (So what if he is in jail? We are safe only under his rule and he has developed this area), said Sunil Yadav, a contractor of Bharwa Kala village in Nautanwa assembly seat of UP referring to Amar Mani Tripathi, a four-time MLA from the area and a former minister, who is serving life term for a murder.
Yadav and hundreds of others welcomed Tanushri Mani Tripathi, daughter of Amar Mani, who is campaigning for her brother Aman Mani, also in jail for allegedly murdering his wife and contesting from the seat.
Gang wars may be considered a stuff of legend and blaring guns may have fallen silent in badlands of UP, but yet the voters favour lawmakers with criminal backgrounds. Of the 403 MLAs elected to the state assembly last time, 189 had criminal cases against them, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Read | UP election: Akhilesh Yadav alleges BJP-ruled states have worst law and order
In the past two decades, electorates in Nautanwa, in eastern UPs Maharajganj, have chosen between Amar Mani group and Akhilesh Singh group both camps with criminal background. The sitting MLA, Kunwar Kaushal Singh alias Munna Singh, is brother of Akhilesh, the former MP from Maharajgang.
Voters in Mau (sadar), 100 km from Gorakhpur, have also created a record of sorts by electing Mukhtar Ansari, lodged behind bars for plotting the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, four times over. Contesting this time on BSP ticket, Ansaris chances to make it to the house remain as good as ever.
Like any other bad men in politics, Ansari, grandson of former Congress president and freedom fighter Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, is one of the most celebrated Robinhoods in the region. He takes care of our daughters weddings and helps our sons get jobs. He is our messiah, said Mohammad Ayub, a Mau resident.
Why? According to Dr AK Verma, director of Kanpur-based Centre for the Study of Society and Politics, criminals are favoured by voters primarily because they set up a virtual parallel system of justice. He attributes this to the disconnect of the collapsed administrative/police system with the common man.
When a villager is fed up with the existing system, he gets relief from the local lawmaker who might as well be a murderer. Voters feel more secure and protected under their rule than the weak administration that already exists, he said.
In Pratapgarhs Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya is not only the MLA for the fifth time, he is also a cabinet minister in Akhilesh Yadav government. With 48 criminal cases against him, Singh wields sway in the region in such a way that it is said a case goes to police later and comes to his darbaar (court) first. We know he is a gunda (strongman), but he controls all criminals who cannot dare to harm us if we have his patronage, said a Kunda villager.
The criminalisation of politics emerged in UP in 1980s when the village panchayat and assembly polls were held under the shadow of dacoits. In 1985, Hari Shankar Tiwari became one of the first to win an election while in prison from Chillupar seat in Gorakhpur. Tiwari remained an MLA for over two decades irrespective of the political party he was affiliated with.
In 2007 assembly elections, out of 403 MLAs, 142 had declared criminal cases against themselves. Things have not changed much over the years. Eighty -eight sitting MLAs in UP assembly have serious charges, including murder, rape and kidnapping, against them.
In the first three phases of UP elections, out of 2,368 candidates analysed by ADR, 385 have declared criminal records and 309 of them have serious cases against them.
During election, all leaders claim that their party is winning. And that is why the assertion of an influential Unnao district Samajwadi Party block-level leader, who has to remain anonymous for it will cripple his future prospects in the party, is striking.
Next time, in 2022, Akhilesh Bhaiya will come back with a majority.
And what about this time?
Yeh chunav gaya haath se, this election has slipped out.
In that assertion of the SP local neta lies the story of why the Gatbandhan of SP and Congress is stumbling in the area where it was meant to do well.
Why Unnao should have been easy
In 2012, SP had won five of the six assembly constituencies in Unnao district, next to Lucknow.
It dipped to four when one MLA died, and the BJP bagged the seat in a by-election. Another MLA has now defected to BJP, and is contesting on its ticket.
This is also the district Akhilesh Yadav used to showcase his flagship Lucknow-Agra expressway scheme eight fighter jets landed in Unnao last November to mark its opening.
The alliance with the Congress should have been the icing. In 2012, in each of the six constituencies, Congress got anywhere between 10,000 to 30,000 votes, which would now get added to the alliance kitty. And so this district, given past strength and the achievements, should have been an easy ride for the alliance.
Yet, the buzz in the district is that four out of six seats are now witnessing a BJP-BSP battle and in two, SP could possibly win.
One reason is anti-incumbency against local SP MLAs. The other is that in seats where BSP seems to be the most viable alternative to BJP, Muslims are shifting to the party. And the third is that in two of the seats that Congress is contesting, SP hasnt invested in the contest.
Unhappy lot
Mohan is a reserved seat, bagged by the BSP in 2012. It now has a Congress candidate in the fray, representing the alliance. When a block-level leader and several village pradhans of different castes who have been with SP are asked, they are pessimistic.
If this seat had been given to SP, we would have swept. Unfortunately, we have a weak Congress candidate. He hasnt even approached us for help. Why should we help him? asks the block leader.
When asked wouldnt they help him because the battle is not just for the MLA, but for the CM, he said, Yes. But in this seat, Congress will not win even if we help it. And we will be on the wrong side of the winning candidate.
He added that this alliance is peculiar. SP is being able to take advantage of the limited Congress votes, but despite us being the larger party, Congress is not being able to take advantage of our votes. At his block office, a Muslim pradhan nodded and said that BSP - not the Congress - could defeat BJP here. A Thakur pradhan said he would have voted for SP, but the alliance for him was a suicide note Akhilesh had signed. Why should I vote for Rahul Gandhi?
The block leader and pradhans may not be representative of the SP in a large and complex state as UP, but Unnao does highlight the challenge a alliance faces on the ground.
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Women of Nagepur, one of the two villages Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted in his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna, want him to replicate the Gujarat policy in UP ban liquor. The women, however, feigned ignorance about a similar ban in neighbouring state, Bihar.
Ignorant about the fact that banning liquor is the state governments prerogative and that Modis BJP is not in power in Uttar Pradesh, local women, mostly from the Harijan Tola, asserted that a PM has supreme powers and hence he should have solutions to all our problems.
These smooth metal roads, bus shelters, Ambedkar Park, swanky ICDS centres are of no use to us as long as the thriving hooch dens keep luring our men and ruin our lives, said Guddi Devi, 30, who said every night her husband comes home in an inebriated state and brutally thrashes her over trivial issues.
Nobody is helping us. We want Modiji to intervene. She even solicited HTs help, questioning, So many mediapersons are visiting our village, but no one has raised the evil that plagues us. Guddis husband is a labourer and so are majority of men in the village. Besides Harijans, there are Patels, Rajbhars, Maurya and Yadav all backward castes.
Read | UP election: Whats at stake for BSP, SP, BJP and RLD in phase 1
Most of these men travel to Varanasi town, around 17 kilometres away, to do odd jobs. While returning, they stop by the thekas or government-licensed country-made liquor shops.
Most of the men HT spoke to agreed they drink, but declined torturing their women. After a hard days work, you need a drink to relax your exhausted muscles, said Bhotu Yadav, a farmer. He said cases of men torturing women in their families under the influence of alcohol are mostly heard in Harijan Tolas.
But Vinita Devi, the lone graduate of the village, also a literacy and rights activist, supported the liquor ban demand.
She said, due to rampant alcohol abuse, several families do not have any savings or a bank account. Many women often come to me complaining that their husbands take away their little savings and waste them on hooch. We have written to the collector to close down all hooch dens around our village. Given a chance, we would meet the PM to drive his attention towards this social evil, she added.
Read | In Modis Varanasi, his lookalike jumps into poll fray, against BJP
The brewing resentment has already started exploding. During a recent visit of the rural SP and other administrative officials to the village, women stood up to lodge formal complaints against the alcoholic men.
They wanted a theka next to the primary school to be shut. I have written to the DM recommending the same. Post election, we will launch a drive to check crime related to alcohol abuse. The women need to be empowered to fight the social malady, rural SP Ashish Tiwari said.
A man, believed to be the key link in a Pakistani espionage ring which used international calls to spy on Indian military operations, has been arrested from Delhi.
Jabbar, from Jama Masjid area of national capital, was arrested in a joint operation by Delhi police and MP ATS late on Saturday night, MP police sources told HT.
He is likely to be produced before a special court in Bhopal at 3 pm on Sunday. Its the 14th arrest in the case since February 9.
Jabbars grilling revealed that he was the crucial link with ISI operatives in MP and Jammu and Kashmir. He helped route the lottery and online fraud money parked in banks of Satna and Rewa district of MP to operatives in Jammu and Kashmir via his couriers and hawala.
The arrest of two ISI operatives, Satwindar and Dadu in November 2016 from Jammu had thrown the lid off a Chinese SIM box-enabled international call ring in UP and MP which was being used by Pakistani handlers to fund spying and terror in J&K.
Since last week, 13 men linked to the ring have been arrested in MP. The arrested men include ruling BJP leader Dhruv Saxena.
Jabbar was the key link of the racket working in tandem with Satna (MP) resident Balram and Rajjan Tiwari.
On Saturday evening, Chhattarpur (MP) native Sahyog Singh became the 13th person to be arrested in the case by MP ATS.
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has said Hoshangabad and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh were cleaner than Mumbai.
Cleanliness visible in Hoshangabad and Bhopal is better than Mumbai, Akshay told reporters on Saturday.
A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) on Nov 5, 2016 at 10:54pm PDT
He lauded setting up of changing rooms for women and garbage collection boxes on the banks of river Narmada.
The credit for promoting cleanliness goes to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, he added.
Akshay, who was in Hoshangabad for the shoot of his upcoming film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, said maintaining cleanliness and using toilets were necessary to prevent outbreak and spread of diseases.
A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) on Feb 14, 2017 at 3:32am PST
He said open defecation cause diseases and rued 54% the people in the country dont have access to toilets.
On-screen heroes are going all out to do their bit for the real-life heroes. From giving financial aid to the next of kin of martyred soldiers to bringing a smile on the faces of the jawaans on duty, Bollywood has Indian Armed Forces on its mind.
After extending financial help to the families of soldiers killed in action in his personal capacity, actor Akshay Kumar recently proposed an online platform to help people donate directly to the bereaved families.
The best thing is peoples response... they feel so strongly about their country, says Akshay, who recently met with the Union Home Secretary to take the idea forward.
Akshay Kumar has proposed an online platform through which people can transfer money to families of soldiers killed in action. (Viral Bhayani)
Actor Kunal Kapoor, who co-founded crowd funding platform, Ketto, too, raised funds for families of the 19 soldiers killed in the terror attacks in Uri, J&K in September.
Like everyone else in the country, we, at team Ketto, were deeply affected by the cowardly Uri attacks and wanted to do something for the families of our martyred soldiers. We started a campaign called #supportsoldiers. In the last few months, a lot of corporates and individuals have come forward from all across the world, and helped us raise Rs 44 lakh for the sustenance of these families. We will continue to keep this initiative active, says Kapoor .
The best thing is that people feel so strongly about their country. In Twitter and Facebook comments, people are telling me they want to contribute
Then there are those who recently visited the armed forces personnel.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan celebrated Republic Day with soldiers in Delhi and danced with them to his hit songs, while promoting his film Raees that had just released.
The actor shared a video online and posted, Celebrating the Republic Day with army jawaans full Punjabi style.
Actor Kunal Kapoor raised money for families of soldiers killed in the Uri Attack (Viral Bhayani)
Actors doing films that have a connect with the armed forces, are also on a spree to meet soldiers. While some see this as publicity gimmick, the actors call it a way to thank the soldiers after realising what they go through.
Actor Kangana Ranaut recently visited Border Security Force soldiers in Jammu and told them, While working on the film, I came to know so much about the jawaans. It was my idea that we visit the BSF to promote the film. Its been an experience of a lifetime... to be able to spend time with the real life heroes.
Actors of the upcoming film Commando 2 Vidyut Jammwal and Adah Sharma, along with producer Vipul Shah will travel to Varanasi to meet CRPF soldiers today.
Vidyut JAmmwal will meet CRPF commandos in Varanasi today.
Says producer Vipul Shah, It is a morale booster for soldiers when you spend time with them and tell them that the work they do is loved and valued. The film is about a commando, and Vidyuts father was in the army so it was only natural for us to do this. We will be doing the evening Ganga aarti with them. Its going to be a nice experience.
Its been an experience of a lifetime to visit you all here. I am excited to be able to spend time with the real life heroes
The makers of Ghazi Attack, which is a war film, are planning screenings of the film for naval officers. Rana Daggubati, who plays a Naval officer in the movie, has written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee saying that stories of unsung war heroes should be acknowledged. As a civilian I did not know about these victorious tales and like me there are many others who did not know much about it. To us, its a wa to acknowledge these heroes and make sure we know more about these unsung heroes and their tales of victory, he said.
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Bollywood director Madhur Bhandarkar said on Saturday that his next film about the Emergency will be an eye-opener for the current generation who does not know much about what happened in India in 1975.
Indu Sarkar is definitely on Emergency. One should wait for the trailers to know the political reaction about it, Madhur said on the sidelines of 7th National Science Festival & Competition valedictory session in Kolkata.
I travelled back 42 years and the shoots were wrapped up in 41 days. The film talks about how freedom of expression and civil liberties were suppressed during those times. Emergency is a subject which todays generation does not know, Madhur said.
We have a whole set-up of Delhi in 1975. We have recreated Chandni Chowk. We have collected so much materials. From radio, to typewriter to automobiles of that era. It was a very human story to which I have added fiction, Madhur said. He also said that Indu Sarkar is different from his previous movies.
My earlier films dwelt on current affairs but Indu Sarkar rewinds to 1975, said Bhandarkar, who is best known for directing films such as Chandni Bar and Page 3. The film stars Kirti Kulhari, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher and Tota Roy Choudhury.
Reacting to reports on the ban on Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farookis No Bed of Roses, which stars Indian actor Irrfan Khan (who is also the co-producer), Madhur said, I feel a film should not be banned after being cleared by the Censor Board.
I am against this. No point in banning films after Censors see the work and it is cleared, he said about the film which is reportedly inspired by late Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker Humayun Ahmeds life.
Even my films have ben banned in past. My Calendar Girls had been banned in Pakistan. I feel sorry for film makers, he said.
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Richa Chadha produced a Punjabi short film Khoon Aali Chithi last year. The short film was set against the backdrop of the Khalistan movement that took place in the 80s. This was showcased in two film festivals. Now encouraged by the response, the Fukrey (2013) actor is planning to take her interest in production forward. Richa has collaborated with an all-women production house in New York owned by her friend Sameena, which makes features and documentaries.
A source has been quoted saying, Richa has been constantly involved in promoting women empowerment as a cause. She has been raising voice for women to be respected as much as men are in the society. Furthering her belief, Richa will be working with her friend to develop and maintain productions in India starting this summer. The first few projects are supposed to be shot in May this year, in California, USA and Delhi. They will announce the first few projects soon.
NOT FAIR BUT LOVELY A post shared by Richa Chadha (@therichachadha) on Feb 17, 2017 at 12:00am PST
When asked about her collaboration, Richa says, My friend runs a fun, all-women company, which I think is fantastic. It has an amazing energy. I collaborated to co-produce content with them in India. More power to such initiatives.
To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance~ Oscar Wilde. #selflove #happyvalentinesday #loveyourselfnofilter A post shared by Richa Chadha (@therichachadha) on Feb 14, 2017 at 3:45am PST
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State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) received a fresh order from the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to supply eight sets of cargo doors for the main deck of Boeing 737, said an official of the defence behemoth on Saturday.
The IAI has signed a fresh contract with us to supply eight more sets of the main deck cargo door for Boeing 737 jets, the official told IANS on the sidelines of the biennial Aero India 2017 expo in Bengaluru.
The city-based defence aerospace major has already supplied 30 similar doors to IAI.
The IAI has placed the additional order in view of our quality and timely delivery of the earlier order, added the official.
The company has been making doors for the single aisle A320 aircraft of the global aerospace major Airbus Industries since 2009.
In Pics: Daredevil aerobatics, fighter jets on display at Aero India 2017
The IAIs new order reflects the confidence reposed by our valued Israeli customer, asserted HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju in a statement on the occasion.
The company, however, did not disclose the value of the new or the previous orders and delivery schedule of the fresh one.
As the leading maker of military and passenger aircraft, Boeing has sold about 6,500 jets in the 737-200C series worldwide.
The Boeing 737 aircraft has the capacity to carry 21,500 pounds of cargo and 112 passengers, said the US-based aerospace major.
The Tel Aviv-based IAI is leading supplier of subsystems and components to Boeing.
Also read | Aero India-2017: IAF inducts first indigenously developed surveillance plane
As I write, three of the five phases of panchayat elections in Odisha have been completed. Few would have cared for these elections but for the big surprise sprung by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Coming from nowhere, Prime Minister Narendra Modis party has won more than 190 seats, or 35%, of 538 seats that have so far polled, and the winning ratio keeps getting better with each round, according to unofficial results. If this trend continues, the BJP will end up winning more than 300 of the 854 zilla parishad seats almost a 10-fold increase over the 36 seats the party won in 2012 when these elections were last held.
It is a phenomenal feat for a party that has never been a force to reckon with in Odisha politics, which often revolved around two centrist parties the Congress and the ruling Biju Janata Dal of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. That is why Modi was quick to react. He spoke about the results at a campaign rally in Uttar Pradesh and then tweeted to congratulate his party colleagues in Odisha for the good work done.
Naveens BJD will still win the most number of seats, but it will have little to celebrate -- because the lead will be so narrow and the message from the voters so unnerving. Also, the effective opposition space in the state will now be taken by a party that rules at the Centre and sets the political agenda for the nation. The outcome of the panchayat elections will shape the course of the states politics between now and 2019 when Odisha holds assembly polls simultaneously with parliamentary elections.
Read | BJP upbeat, Congress worried: Whats happening in Odisha panchayat elections
Naveen loses TINA card: One message that rings out loud and clear is that Naveen Patnaik is no more invincible, no more infallible; that the voters of Odisha no longer believe there is no alternative (TINA) to his Biju Janata Dal.
A political outsider who was thrust into Odisha politics after his father Biju Patnaik -- a legendary politician and a folk hero died in 1997, Naveen has never been out of power since winning the state in 2000. His lineage, his image of being not a run-of-the-mill politician and a bachelor with no temptation to hoard wealth made the people of Odisha swoon over him. He came on the political stage at a time when the Congress party, discredited by decades of misrule, had turned rudderless. The lack of an effective opposition meant Naveen had everything going for him to consolidate his power, both within and outside the party.
Also, a good part of Naveens tenure overlapped with Indias economic rise and a mining boom in Odisha, which meant more money by way of both higher central transfers and the states own revenues -- for vote-winning welfare programmes such as offering rice to the poor for Rs 2 per kg (later reduced to Re 1/kg) and building rural roads. In cities, the middle class was happy as the service sector was on an upswing. Information technology companies such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services set up large operations in the states capital, Bhubaneswar, creating lucrative jobs for the local educated youth many of them have since risen through the ranks to take up US and Europe-based assignments for their employers. The expansion of the IT sector coupled with dodgy money from mining also fueled a realty boom that hugely benefited people living in the urbanizing landscape around the states capital and other cities.
All of these kept reinforcing the image of Naveen Patnaik as a leader who stood for development and progress, even though his populist schemes came at the expense of longer-term welfare of the people. Critical sectors such as education and healthcare were neglected, as was investment in agriculture that provides livelihood to more than three-quarters of the states population. No one questioned or challenged Naveen, because there was no one to do so. The results of the panchayat elections suggest that may no longer be the case.
In the simmering discontent over unfulfilled aspirations and the growing clamour for an alternative to the current dispensation, the BJP seems to have spotted an opportunity.
Read | Odisha panchayat elections: CM Patnaik losing grip? Rise of BJP worries Congress
Not a flash in the pan: Since Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, the BJP has assiduously worked to expand its footprint in Odisha. Rarely a month has passed without a central minister visiting the state. As PM, Modi has gone there four times.
The narrative built through these visits goes something like this: the BJP cares for Odisha; money for Naveens welfare schemes come from the Centre; and the state has very little to show for his 17 years in power.
The success in the panchayat polls shows the strategy has worked and the BJP has been able to build a well-entrenched organisation at the grassroots. Its ambitions have been helped by a steady disintegration of the Congress party, which has now been pushed to the margins of Odisha politics -- thanks to the lack of a leader who can steer the partys local unit. The whimsical decisions of the central leadership of the Congress in choosing local leaders and frequently changing them have only made it worse for the party, which once ruled the state with a brute majority. I will keep it for a later date to elaborate on this.
For now, the BJP has effectively snatched the opposition space from Congress. The assembly elections in the state may be two years away, but Naveen already has a fight on his hands.
(An abridged version of this article appeared in Hindustan Times on February 19)
Click here for full coverage on assembly elections 2017
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Ever heard of Najima Bibi? If you havent, let me do an introduction for you. She is trying to script history in a little-known part of India. The consequences will be dangerous for her, the extremists have threatened her. So fatal, that she wont even find place for a burial.
Najima Bibis difficulties began when she made up her mind to participate in the assembly polls in Manipur. If she had joined hands with an established party, things wouldnt have been tough. But she chose the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance, founded by her equally strident comrade Irom Sharmila. Irom is living proof of the perversities of our society. She went on a hunger strike for 16 years, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa). As long as she was on hunger strike, her family and the people she considered her own kept praising her. It helped boost their prestige. People said Irom came from this family and stayed in that neighbourhood. In the process, they became victims of the VIP syndrome.
Read: Irom Sharmilas PRJA awaits EC nod for whistle as party symbol
But their attitude changed when she fell in love with an outsider and decided to shift her battle to a new paradigm. Subsequently, Irom decided to break her fast and join politics. This was the juncture when her family and her closest supporters turned against her. As her illusions were shattered, she must have realised that the people for whom she gave everything, only wanted to deify her as a goddess of sacrifice. They never intended to stand by her. Irom and Najimas struggle is also extraordinary because theyve both decided to follow their own beliefs. Which moneybag businessman would finance their endeavours? In the absence of funds, they are campaigning on bicycles. Will their voices go unheard?
Whether they win or lose, the example that they have set with their dignified struggle will keep inspiring young people for a long time.
If we look at the assembly elections seriously, we discover that politics may boast of a few names, decisions and events, but they disregard the needs of close to half our population. Statistics from the 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand reveal that the voting percentage for women might have increased but their participation as candidates and the possibilities of their victory are shamefully low.
Read: After 16 years of fasting, Irom Sharmila continues her fight on a cycle
According to www.indiaspend.com, the number of women candidates went up in 2012 but 85% of them lost their deposit. On reserved seats, 79.8% women could hold on to their deposit and 7.1% women won on reserved seats and on non-reserved seats, 4.7% women emerged victorious.
Will the assembly elections play a part in increasing the representation of women in politics? I am not so optimistic.
Just scan the list of candidates and youll realise what I am saying. Most of the winnable women candidates come from political families. They are being fielded so that another seat comes into the family fold. Over three-and-a-half decades of reporting, I have always felt that many women who are made to file nominations from certain constituencies cannot even retain their deposits. Their name is used only to split the votes going to the opponents of their family members. If the women from political families are considered winnable, how does one perceive these women who are forced to be scapegoats for others ambitions, owing to their humble background.
Read: If people abandon me, I will go away, leave Manipur: Irom Sharmila
In many villages of Uttar Pradesh, where women are village panchayat chiefs, their husbands introduce themselves as pradhan pati (husband of the panchayat chief). These are people who could not contest on their own owing to womens reservations, but they fielded their wives instead. They still want to confine women within the walls of their homes. Can there be a bigger betrayal of democracy than this?
This is the situation in Uttar Pradesh that prided itself as a role model for womens emancipation many decades ago. The countrys first woman chief minister was Sucheta Kriplani in Uttar Pradesh. She presided over the largest state from 1963 to 1967. She was married to Acharya JB Kriplani. Kriplani was an opponent of the Congress and his wife the chief minister from the same party. What can be a better example of democracy within a family? The same state also gave us Indira Gandhi, the only woman prime minister so far. This is the state from where Congress national president Sonia Gandhi has been elected to Parliament. Mayawati, one of the leading contenders in these assembly elections, has many records in her name. Not only was she the first Dalit chief minister, she has also set a record by becoming chief minister four times.
Until when will the first democracy in the history to bestow equal voting rights to women keep preening about its glorious past?
We have to get into the habit of setting new records.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan
letters@hindustantimes.com
Dehradun: With the election hullabaloo coming to an end, the state Congress will now work towards accelerating its organizational activities to strengthen its base that took a hit in some segments in the run up to the assembly polls.
Post completion of polls, the grand old partys focus has now shifted towards deciding its future course of action by fortifying its organizational structure, based on the feedback received from different assembly segments.
Uttarakhand underwent polling for 69 assembly seats on February 15, while elections for the remaining one seat (which were postponed after the death of a candidate) will be held on March 9. The results for elections are scheduled to be announced on March 11.
State Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay said that the whole party came together and fought the assembly elections as a single unit.
However, weve got preliminary reports that some of our workers went against the partys interests. While necessary punitive action has already been taken against them (many such workers have been expelled from the Congress for six years), our efforts will now be aimed at boosting the partys organization structure in the respective areas, Upadhyay said.
The Congress has expelled a large number of its party workers more than 50 in Sahaspur constituency, where Upadhyay contested the assembly polls for anti-party activities, including fighting as Independents against the partys official candidates or working to damage the official nominees electoral prospects.
Upadhyay has called a meeting of Congress office bearers, assembly poll candidates, district and town heads of the party, assembly level observers, and heads of various frontal organizations, departments and cells in Dehradun to discuss area specific strategy for future.
There is still some time before the election results are out (on March 11) and the party wants to capitalize on this period by reaching out to the grassroots workers and reinforcing the partys spirit, a senior party leader, who did not wish to be named, told HT.
Ends.
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Notorious for holding durbars in Bihar prisons where he had been lodged, RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin on Sunday found himself locked alone in a cell in a high-security ward of Tihar Jail.
Shahabuddin, who was brought to Delhi after a Supreme Court order, will have no access to other prisoners in Tihars sub-jail number two that also houses gangster Chhota Rajan and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, said a senior jail officer. Sushil Sharma, who is serving a life sentence in the Tandoor murder case, too was housed at the same sub-jail. Sharma at present is out on parole.
The prisoner will not mingle with other inmates. Like other prisoners lodged in the high-security ward, Shahabuddin will have a small courtyard connected to his cell where he can take walks during fixed hours, said the officer.
The policeman added that a bathroom was attached to the cell itself and Shahabuddin will not have to leave the cell for meals either. He will be watched on CCTVs and like other occupants of the high-security ward, will be guarded by over a dozen hand-picked personnel from the Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP), apart from a few jail staffers.
Most of the men chosen for Shahabuddins security are not fluent in Hindi and it is expected that a language barrier will deter any attempts by the don to influence or threaten them.
Having arrived in Delhi in the sleeper compartment of a train on Sunday morning, Shahabuddin was taken to Tihar around 8.30am and was examined by jail doctors.
He has made no special demands. He will be provided the same food and facilities that other prisoners receive. He can spend a maximum of Rs 6,000 a month in form of coupons for buying snacks and basic necessities, said another officer.
Tihar prisoners generally sleep on mattresses spread on the floor. We make exceptions in cases where the doctors have prescribed cots or the inmates are aged. Sometimes prisoners also make individual requests for cots, but no such demand has been made by Shahabuddin, added the officer.
Sudhir Yadav, director general (Delhi prisons), said the Supreme Courts directions in connection with Shahabuddin will be followed strictly.
He will have no problems in attending court proceedings in the cases pending against him as we have video-conferencing facilities in every jail, said Yadav, adding Shahabuddin will not be accorded any special privileges.
The only advantage for Shahabuddin on shifting to Tihar, jail sources said, would be easy access to some of his family members, including his son, who live in Delhi-NCR. He can meet his family twice a week and make two phone calls of five minutes each every week, said an official.
For over a year now Bikaner House has been bustling with cultural activities. Every week, its grand ballroom, art gallery and rear lawns come to life with events ranging from book launches to art exhibitions to jazz performances.
The erstwhile residence of the maharaja of Bikaner at India Gate hexagon, which served as a bus terminal for decades before being restored to its original glory and opened to public, has emerged as one of citys hottest cultural hubs. These days it attracts a steady stream of a whole new kind of visitors art lovers and those who want to have a guided tour of the former princely palace.
Read more| Delhis once omnipresent kaali-peeli cabs are fading away silently
Not just art, Bikaner House, restored by Abha Narain Lambah, a conservation architect, also plays host to haute couture events. From Rohit Bal, who organised India Couture Week 2016s finale to Tarun Tahiliani, who launched his range of handmade carpets last month, the place has emerged as the top choice for famed designers.
We are a multi-art, multi-conference venue. We have had a variety of events, but we ensure that every event has a strong cultural component. Our art gallery is booked till March 2018, says Priya Pall, curatorial director of Bikaner House. We stand somewhere between a museum and an art space.
The cultural space, managed by the Bikaner House Management Society, an independent body that gets grants from the Rajasthan government is set for the second phase of restoration on the first floor. The first-floor restoration will be complete by the year end, she says.
Read more| Breaking into a male bastion: Delivery girls ride their way to freedom
Many like well-known author William Dalrymple, whose book Kohinoor was launched at the Bikaner House in December 2016, believe that it is the most beautiful venue for cultural events and can serve as a model for restoration of other neglected princely houses. It is a classic place, a wonderful addition to Delhis cultural landscape. Delhi is short of beautiful auditoriums that can host cultural and literary events, says Dalrymple. I could not have got a better setting for the launch of my book, says Dalrymple, who along with co-author, Anita Anand, presented photographs, paintings, and illustrations from the book, which traces the story of the worlds most coveted diamond.
State of neglect
Post Independence, princely palaces in Delhi became victims of Indias outright rejection of its colonial legacy. As a result, very few Delhiites know the history of the palaces, some of which became government offices, courts, bus terminals.
I always thought they were like any other government building. But the restoration of Bikaner House got me interested in their history. These palaces are so grand and give a peek into the lives of erstwhile royalty, says Smriti Goyal, 45, an artist, who visited the restored Bikaner House with his children. Princely palaces are an integral part of the citys history. They must be restored and converted into public spaces.
A view of Bikaner House at India Gate in 1930s before its restoration. (Princely Palaces in New Delhi (Niyogi Books))
In 2007, the Union tourism ministry came up with a plan to turn the area around India Gate lawns into a world-class museum hub. The proposal made a case for shifting all government offices in India Gate area and convert them into theme museums. The ministry made a pitch for converting Baroda House (presently the Northern Railway headquarters) into Rail Museum, the Princes Park defence officers hostel into Space Museum, Patiala House (currently district court) into War Museum, but nothing came out of that proposal.
An inside view of Bikaner House hall at India Gate after its restoration. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)
Ironically, while the government has put up information boards outside former princely palaces such as Patiala House and Baroda House with QR codes for more information about their history, nothing has been done to conserve them. The history of the grand royal residences was well documented in a recent book Princely Palaces in New Delhi, by Sumanta K. Bhowmick. Full of anecdotes, it gives insights into the lives of the royal families who lived in these houses for a couple of weeks in February when they come to Delhi to attend the meetings of the Chamber of Princes.
Conservation architect Lambah says that the restoration of Bikaner House was quite a challenge. I must give a lot of credit to the Rajasthan chief minister. She had a very clear vision about what she wanted Bikaner House to be. The idea of converting what had served as a bus stand into a cultural hub was quite a challenge. We needed to restore the building to its old glory and bring in freshness at the same time. I did a lot of archival research to understand the original intent of the building, she says.
Travancore takes a cue
The restoration of Bikaner House seems to be spurring a change. Taking a cue from the restoration, the Kerala government plans to turn Travancore House, an eight-acre property on the Kasturba Gandhi Marg, into a cultural hub. The government offices operating out of the place, including that of resident commissioner, have been shifted to Kerala House on Jantar Mantar Road.
The government of Kerala has sanctioned 4.1 core for the restoration of Travancore House built in 1930 as the Delhi residence of the ruler of the erstwhile state of Travancore.
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Its facade, built in neo-classical style, has been restored. We want to convert it into a cultural space that will host art exhibitions, have an Ayurveda centre and host a range of cultural activities, says Vishwas Mehta, resident commissioner, Kerala. Conservation experts have approached the government. We are considering their proposals, adds Mehta, who visited the Bikaner House to understand the nuances of restoration
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The Aam Aadmi Party government has decided to allocate 350 crore as Swaraj Fund in the budget for the next financial year, even as an equal amount under the same head is all set to lapse in the current financial year because it could not be utilised.
Also called Citizen Local Area Development (C-LAD) Fund, all development works under the Swaraj Fund was to be decided through mohalla sabhas. However, the funds remained unutilised as the proposal to constitute mohalla sabhas is still pending with the lieutenant governor.
Sources in the Delhi government said the AAP leadership is hopeful that unlike previous L-G Najeeb Jung, Anil Baijal would clear the proposal that includes the modalities of implementation and its monitoring.
Holding mohalla sabhas is one of the flagship projects of the AAP government, aimed at decentralisation of governance by ensuring citizen participation in decision making. However, the government has not been able to notify the mohallas and conduct public meeting as the Cabinet decision has been pending with the L-Gs office for past several months.
In a recent interview to HT on the occasion of completion of two years of AAP government, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had counted pendency of mohalla sabhas as one of the biggest regrets to not have been able to implement it on the ground.
To begin with Rs350 crore will again be allocated under Swaraj Fund in the upcoming budget. If required, we will increase the amount in revised estimates. We are hopeful that the L-G will clear the proposal at the earliest. If its done soon, we can even start work on funds earmarked for this financial year, a senior official involved in the budget making said.
Sources said that the deputy CM, in one of the regular meetings with Anil Baijal, had requested the L-G to expedite the clearance of the file.
In June last year, the Arvind Kejriwal Cabinet had cleared proposal to constitute 2,972 mohalla sabhas, besides creating a project management unit (PMU) called Mission Swaraj to co-ordinate the entire project. Both proposals were then sent to the L-G for his approval.
Mohalla sabhas were conducted in 11 assembly segments including Karawal Nagar in May 2015 as a pilot project. Development works worth R 50 lakh in each of the 11 assembly segment were decided in these meetings. Government wants to take the model to all the 70 constituencies in the city.
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Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a 29-year-old MBBS dropout for allegedly stealing high-end bikes and selling them on popular e-commerce websites in a bid to repay his student loan.
The accused, Sarfaraz Ahmed, had taken a loan of Rs 17 lakh a few years back to study medicine in Warsaw, Poland.
Ahmed has been sent to three-day police custody by a local court after an FIR on charges of forgery and theft was registered against him.
According to police, he was operating under several fake names in the capital for the past two-and-a-half years and had sold more than 60 motorcycles through classified advertising platforms for used goods.
He was in the process of purportedly selling 18 stolen motorcycles when a team of southwest Delhi Police, led by ACP Rajender Singh, arrested him.
Eighteen stolen motorcycles and scooters were recovered from a godown in Bindapur that Ahmed had hired for `2,000 per month. We have cracked 25 vehicle theft cases committed by him, said Surender Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (southwest).
Several fake number plates, forged registration certificates (RCs) and pre-activated SIM cards were seized from him, he added.
Ahmeds arrest, the DCP said, was made after probe in recent theft cases pointed at involvement of some well-educated men.
We caught Ahmed from Uttam Nagar following information that a youth involved in such crimes will arrive on a stolen bike. Initially, he tried to mislead with his fluent English and confident attitude. But after the recovery of two fake driving licences and two fake RCs on the spot, he broke down, said Kumar.
Ahmed and his wife, both natives of Raipur in Chhattisgarh, met during the course of their stay in Poland and got married in 2013. While the wife managed to complete her course, Ahmed dropped out in the final year due to financial difficulties.
They returned to India together in 2014 but failed to clear the test conducted by the Medical Council of India to qualify as registered medical practitioners. While the wife started working with an AIIMS doctor on a freelance basis, Ahmed remained unemployed, said an investigator.
With mounting loan and no source of income in sight, Ahmed took to stealing motorcycles. He used to recce various areas across Delhi in his car and spot high-speed bikes parked on streets in isolated areas. Using a master key or breaking the lock, he would steal the bike and take it to the rented godown where he replaced the number plate with a fake one, the officer said.
Read | Delhi bikers, who did stunts for likes, arrested for robbing 300 in 18 months
To sell the stolen bikes on the internet, Ahmed not just prepared their fake documents but also fake accounts on the portals using mobile numbers obtained on the basis of forged documents. As soon as a bike was sold, Ahmed would delete the account and destroy the SIM card. He used a new account and mobile number for each attempt, said the officer.
The Delhi Police have written to the ministry of home affairs for a proposal to buy 10,000 CCTV cameras for electronic surveillance across the city. The cameras, police said could be bought from the 1,000 crore Nibhaya fund, sanctioned by the finance ministry for the safety of women in each state.
In the last eight years, police have bought only 4,074 cameras. Last year, they could manage to install only 85 cameras. Also, most of the cameras installed in markets and roads are lying defunct. In a meeting at the police headquarters last month, senior police officers discussed that more than 20% of these cameras across the city were not functioning because of the digging of roads.
Though over the last two years, around 1.82 lakh CCTV cameras have been installed in housing societies and markets by residents and shopkeepers in a tie-up with the local police, there are still many pockets that are yet to come under CCTV surveillance.
We have cameras in main markets, courts, railway stations and other important landmarks. Besides that, 1.82 lakh cameras in housing colonies which are connected with server of police stations are owned by private individuals. There could be around 5-8 lakh cameras on Delhi streets but that is not enough, said a senior police officer.
Police sources said if the proposal of additional 10,000 cameras is sanctioned, they will be installed at the dark stretches identified by the police, where most crimes are reported. A senior officer said that in the citys smaller markets, all beat officers have been told to get in touch with shopkeepers and advise them to install the cameras. These days most of the crimes are caught on cameras. It wasnt like this around five years ago. Because everyone is aware of the importance of cameras, in the next 5 years, 90% of the street crimes will be caught on tape, added the officer.
For around 24 hours till Saturday evening, Abdul Jabbars family did not know where the police had taken the 62-year-old man.
The Delhi police special cell and Madhya Pradesh anti-terror squad on Friday evening had come knocking at his hotel, Basheer guest house in Jama Masjid area, and said Jabbar was needed for a quick interrogation by a senior officer. Within minutes, the police had huddled him into their gypsy parked near the hotel on the busy road towards Jama Masjid.
Jabbar, a father of two, has been accused of being a part of Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence spy, where his alleged role was to supply hawala money to Pakistan ISI operatives in Jammu and Kashmir.
Uncle (Jabbar) was here in the hotel when three police officers came to the guest house and said they were from special cell. They were wearing plain clothes and said that a senior officer had summoned uncle and took him in a police gypsy within minutes. They did not say anything. There were around 15-20 police officers outside the hotel, said Fahad, a relative.
The family said they were informed about Jabbars arrest in Bhopal only on Saturday evening.
Jabbars relatives denied allegations and said that he was being framed. Jabbar owns the Basheer guest house while his son runs a fisheries business. Relatives said Jabbar has a clean record and lives with his family in a first floor house, near Jagat cinema in Jama Masjid.
Uncle has a limp. He has difficulty walking and needs to be taken around in a scooter. It is difficult to believe he is a spy. He does not have a criminal record. Fahad said.
Police reportedly took his bank account details, passbook, laptop and cell phone from his house. DCP (special cell) Pramod Kuswah told HT that Jabbars case was handled by the MP police. We were only assisting them because they requested for local assistance.
The familys lawyer Sumeet Kaul told HT that Jabbar was first taken to the Lodhi Colony special cell office where the MP police completed formalities and then took him to Bhopal. My client does not have any links with anyone. We are co-operating with the police.
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Memories, conflicting and confusing emotions, are some of the demons that haunt survivors of child sexual abuse, calling for help and Positively Shameless comes at that juncture, as a devised theatre performance about surviving childhood sexual abuse and working through the residues as an adult.
Performed by five women, who have survived child sexual abuse, the play not only worked to create awareness about a personally and socially relevant issue, but also provided an avenue for the actors and audiences to express and examine their emotions and feelings in a safe environment.
Every story we have used here is true. But we are not necessarily always acting out our own stories. It can get a little too close for comfort if we do our own stories, said an actor.
The five actors, who are based out of Bengaluru, had all been a part of the director, Maitri Gopalakrishnas, drama therapy workshops, conducted as part of her PhD thesis. After the therapy, some of us wanted to take it forward, explained the actor.
Read: Lets talk about rape:
Drama therapy has many forms and functions. One is of course catharsis, where one can release their emotions and get relief. The other way it helps is to make sense of the sometimes jumbled and confusing event, as theatre does not have to be linear, said Gopalakrishna.
The Delhi Police south district had organised a staging of the play on Friday at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. This is an area which is yet to be explored. Normally, we talk about womens issues, domestic violence, and drug abuse. But we realised that around 50% of people had experienced some sort of inappropriate behaviour as a child. This is a problem that surpasses all divides and it needs to be dealt with, said an officer.
Though we have had the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since 2012, child sexual abuse is still a problem that looms large. According to the National Crime Records Bureaus latest numbers, 8,800 cases were registered under POCSO in 2015. The victims knew their abusers in 8,341 cases, and in 929 cases the assaulter was a close family member or relative.
The play not only looked at the conflicting and confusing emotions that one feels even years after the abuse, but also how the reactions of those close to us can impact the survivor and their perception of the abuse.
One of the most powerful performances was about a woman who had been assaulted by her cousin, when her father had sent her out with him. The woman is constantly battling conflicting emotions when it comes to her father, including anger, for sending her with him, guilt, for blaming him, and even gratitude, for all that he has done for her otherwise.
Family support is very important. Personally, my sister had visited to watch my play. It was a very special moment, claimed an actor of the play.
Another micro-narrative in the play looks at how an adolescent girl, who had been abused, was reprimanded by her mother after a dance performance for her indecent costume. The mother, who slaps her daughter in front of her friends, also claims how he, presumably her abuser, was in the audience, and what would he have thought? The woman recalls how she had retired her ghungroos on that day, and had not danced since.
The audience also sought solace in the play and many were visibly moved to tears. If somebody has personally gone through something similar, it can be very emotional, powerful and cathartic for them. Otherwise, people may feel a certain disconnect, said Freya, a viewer.
Cathartic or not, it was next to impossible not to be affected by the tear-jerking performance. The sheer rawness and realness of the play touched a note with most people.
Busy bus depots, heavy traffic, unpaved roads, landfill sites and industries are a common sight at the Capitals pollution nodes. Air quality data now reveal that with such factors remaining unchecked, a number of areas could be turning into new pollution hotspots.
Anand Vihar along with RK Puram and Punjabi Bagh leads the polluting list and the government is struggling to find a solution to the plight of these areas.
Even as the Delhi High Court directed all agencies concerned to chalk out a traffic plan for Anand Vihar, air quality data from System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) show that Mathura Road and Dhirpur now require similar attention.
Residential areas are being used for commercial purposes and commercial areas are used for industrial purposes. Garbage is dumped haphazardly and burnt indiscriminately. Public roads are used for parking, causing congestion, said Dr Dipankar Saha, additional director and head of the Air Laboratory at the CPCB, adding that these factors are now leading to increasing number of areas in metros turning into critical pollution nodes.
According to SAFAR data, Mathura Road did not have even a single good air quality day between December 1, 2016 and January 31, 2017. There was just one moderate day while the rest saw severe, poor or very poor air quality. In this period of 62 days, 8% days were severe, 79% were very poor, 11% poor and 2% had moderate AQI. At Dhirpur, in the same period, 16% days were severe, 53% very poor, 10% poor, 11% moderate and 10% satisfactory in terms of air quality.
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In this 62-day period, across 10 monitoring stations in Delhi, 3% days were severe, 66% very poor, 24% poor, 5% moderate and 2% were satisfactory.
HT visited Mathura Road and Dhirpur to find out the reason behind these extreme pollution levels.
Mathura Road
Traffic congestion is the most visible issue. The monitoring station is almost 5 km away from points like Ashram Chowk and Kalindi Kunj but pollution levels here are in the red.
Shubham Kumar, a 30-year-old slum dweller, says winter brings bouts of cough and cold in his family. Things have got bad in recent years. Either my two daughters are sick or my parents are. We can fight the cold weather with warm clothes but what about this haze? he asks.
Read more| Pollution body says error in RK Puram figures, air quality not that bad
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy) and head of the air pollution and clean transportation programme, says Mathura Road has become a pollution hotspot and it is primarily because of the traffic volume. A large number of commercial vehicles, including trucks, pass through this area as it on the route between Faridabad and Noida, she said.
A 2015 CSE study revealed that on an average 85,799 light and heavy goods vehicles enter and exit Delhi from the nine busiest points daily. Delhis own vehicles are responsible for 62% of the particulate load from the transport sector and 68% of the NOx load. The total number of light and heavy trucks that enter Delhi spew close to 30% of the total particulate load and 22% of the total NOx load from the transport sector, the report said.
Read more| Odd even II: Air quality will be checked at 7 entries to Delhi
Another factor is the Badarpur Power Plant, located near Mathura Road. Though closed now, it still has a huge ash pond spread over hundreds of hectares of land. In the summers, high wind speed easily suspends the fly ash. Okhla Industrial Area and Okha landfill site also add to the foul air quality here.
Dhirpur
Located between Kingsway Camp, Mukherjee Nagar and Burari - a few kilometres away from Majnu Ka Tilla - this area is a dust bowl. KB Hegdeshwar Marg runs through with unpaved sides causing vast dust pollution. With PWD construction in the middle of the road, waste dumped on the sides add to the dust cloud.
Vehicular congestion is also a daily problem here. Patches at the nearby Bhalaswa landfill keep burning all night. Small industrial units have also spread in nearby villages, said Ashok Bhasin, president of the North Delhi Resident Welfare Association Federation.
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A man allegedly raped a 24-year-old student from a northeastern state at south Delhis popular Deer Park around 2.30am on Sunday when she was returning home with a cousin after dinner at a restaurant in Hauz Khas Village.
The woman said in her complaint that the man, who she couldnt identify, raped her twice at the park adjacent to the Capitals signature hang-out with 48 restaurants, art galleries and designer boutiques.
Police detained on Monday six men in connection with the incident. Investigators are recording the statements of eyewitnesses.
The cousins, who stay at a rented flat in Munirka, had gone to Hauz Khas with friends on Saturday night. After dinner, around 1am, the two women were trying to hail a cab to return home when two men approached them.
They struck a conversation and offered to drop them home, saying have a car parked at a distance. The women accepted the offer and walked with the men towards the car.
In the meantime, the suspect offered to show his target a dry lake inside the park, a police officer said.
The park a sprawling green space and popular for family outings is closed for the public at night.
The duo scaled a wall to get in as the gates were locked, the officer said.
The cousin, meanwhile, was walking towards the car with the other guy, unaware of her sisters detour.
When the suspect and the student reached an isolated stretch, the man allegedly tried to grope her.
Angry over the mans shock assault, the woman tried to put up a fight and hit him with a stone. But he was too strong for her.
Read: Lets talk about rape | Do not take the blame on yourself, dont break: Uber rape survivors letter
He slapped her and then raped her twice, the officer said.
After the crime, the man bolted taking away with him the students mobile phone and wallet.
The traumatised woman got out of the park a while later and ran towards a police picket outside the market around 2.45am. When she finished recounting her ordeal, the policemen searched the area for the man fitting her description of the rapist.
They recovered the wallet near the spot where the woman was allegedly raped. The contents of the purse were untouched, but for a Rs 500 note.
Her phone was not found, though. It was switched off. Our electronic surveillance shows the phone is somewhere in the Hauz Khas area, the officer said.
The phones location could lead investigators to the suspect whose sketch has been prepared, based on the womans description. Police have other definite leads as well, DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said.
A CCTV camera installed near the market had caught the suspects friend chatting with the cousin, who went home leaving her sister behind.
The woman, doing a part-time job and a course in spoken English, was sent for a medical examination and counselled to help her overcome the trauma. Her statement was recorded to register a case of rape.
The food and drugs administration of Haryana has dismissed rumours of shortage in cardiac stents at government hospitals and has urged people not to panic.
Residents had started calling private hospitals after rumours started spreading on social media that the price of cardiac stents increased and there is a shortage of stents across the state.
Fuelled by the rumours, stent prices shot up in various parts of the state. I visited several prominent hospitals and discussed the issue with them and I can assure residents that the state has a sufficient stock of stents in all hospitals. There is no shortage of cardiac stents in the market and they are being sold at new prices as fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). Somebody is deliberately trying to cause panic by spreading rumours. The state government will nab them with the help of police, Amandeep Chauhan, district drug control officer, said.
Black marketers have spread the news on social media to create panic and people should not pay attention to them. The government has taken a serious note of this, and will soon find the source of the rumours, Chauhan said.
Chauhan has asked government officials to keep an eye on the situation and help people understand the reality.
The officer has asked residents to inform the food and drugs administration or the drug controller if they are being overcharged for stents.
Recently, the government had cut down the prices of cardiac stents, and Rs 7,260 was fixed for bare metal stents and Rs 29,600 for bioresorbable vascular stents.
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Jailed AIADMK chief VK Sasikalas proxy Edapaddi Palaniswami may have won the trust vote in Tamil Nadu but his governments legitimacy and longevity is in doubt, political observers say.
Picked as the CM candidate after Sasikalas march to the top job was cut short by the Supreme Court which found her guilty in a corruption case, Palaniswami is legally on a sound footing but faces a trust deficit and a crisis of credibility.
The ugly scenes in the state assembly on Sunday and the days of political drama before it have done little to inspire confidence among the people of Tamil Nadu.
For how long the government stays stable, it remains to be seen, political analyst Sumanth C Raman told HT.
The Sasikala camp, for now, has managed to keep its flock together.
Legally, it (the government) is going to stand. It has got 122 votes and no one has disputed the number. It is legally right but not morally, he said.
In 234-member Tamil Nadu House, 118 is the majority mark.
The government would have had more legitimacy if the Opposition was not thrown out of the House during the trust vote, which was shrouded in secrecy. Media was not allowed to watch the proceedings and even the audio feed, as is the practice in the southern state, was not available.
Even before the trust vote, the Edapaddi government had little credibility. The presence of Opposition would have given more legitimacy to the trust vote, said Prof Ramu Manivannan of Madras University.
All the 88 DMK members were evicted while eight of the Congress and one of the IUML walked out.
Edapaddi, in fact, should thank rival O Panneerselvam for staying on and voting.
Had OPS (Panneerselvam) walked out and ensured that the entire Opposition stayed out and the verdict was 122-0, the message would have been far more damaging, Manivannan said.
Panneerselvam, who rose in revolt against Sasikala, could have formed a larger political alliance. But then, his mentors have told him what to do but not how to do, said Manivannan.
Opinion is divided over the future of Panneerselvam, who turned a hero in public eye for his opposition to Sasikala taking over the government and the party after chief minister J Jayalalithaas death on December 5.
He has a tough job at hand -- to turn public support into a potent political force.
It will depend on him, how best can he salvage the situation with the public support but we also have to see how long this support lasts, Raman said.
But, all is not lost for the former caretaker chief minister. The election commission is looking into complaints against Sasikalas election as the AIADMK general secretary.
If the order goes against Sasikala, all party appointments made by her would be scrapped. It will give a big boost to the Panneerselvam faction in the party.
As far as the government goes, said Raman, its initial days would be of an uneasy stability.
It would be a big achievement if the government would last for more than two years, said Manivannan, adding Tamil Nadu could face elections sooner than 2021, when the term of the current assembly ends.
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An AIADMK MLA from Coimbatore alleged on Sunday he was receiving threat calls over phone for voting in favour of the Edappadi K Palaniswami government in the assembly.
Amman K Arjunan, who visited his Coimbatore South constituency, told reporters that he and his wife were being threatened over phone by some persons, using foul language for voting in favour of the confidence motion moved by Palaniswami in the assembly on Saturday.
When he was talking to the public, some persons called on his phone and asked what he was eating, rice or anything else, he said.
Arjunan claimed that some persons belonging to DMK in the guise of the public abused him and his mother. His wife was also receiving threatening calls.
The MLA said he voted for Palaniswami to continue the good governance provided by late chief minister Jayalalithaa and accused DMK members of deliberately creating a ruckus in the assembly.
Asked about two other AIADMK MLAs from the city -- VC Arukutty and Arunkumar -- joining the camp led by former chief minister O Paneerselvam, he said, They have gone to his side for some reasons. Both will return and support the Palaniswami government.
Arjunan said he would lodge a police complaint against those who were threatening and abusing him and his family members.
BJP-backed Maharashtra MLC Prashant Paricharak has triggered a political row after making controversial remarks about soldiers at an election rally.
A soldier gets a telegram from his wife that she has delivered a baby. As he distributes sweets to his colleagues on the border as celebration, his colleagues ask him the reason behind it.
He happily tells that his wife has given a birth to a baby boy...but he has not visited home during whole year. This is the level of politics we have stooped to, Paricharak said in Solapur district on Saturday at the rally held in support of BJP candidates in the fray for the local body polls.
The remarks were made in the context of his criticism of the NCP leaders who he said were taking credit for water supply from Ujani dam in Solapur district, which is a sensitive issue in the arid belt.
As the video clip of his speech went viral, Paricharak got slammed.
NCPs Dhananjay Munde, who is the leader of Opposition in the legislative council, said, Paricharaks statement reveals the BJPs mindset towards the jawans and their wives. He has insulted the brave jawans and the party (BJP) should be punished by voting out.
Eleven Zilla Parishads and 118 Panchayat Samitis in the state are going to polls in the second and final phase tomorrow.
Paricharak, however, today expressed regret over his choice of words.
In a video released, the MLC said he was only trying to highlight the credit-seeking mindset of his political opponents.
I made the statement in that context, but later I realised that it has hurt the sentiments of jawans and their wives. I had no such intentions and I express my regrets. It will not happen again, he said.
Basically an NCP leader, Paricharak was elected to the Upper House of state legislature last year on the support of BJP as an independent.
The CBI has registered a case against a senior Chhattisgarh bureaucrat for allegedly trying to settle his old corruption cases, being probed by the agency, by paying bribes through hawala operators.
Chattisgarh governments principal secretary, higher education, BL Agarwal allegedly agreed to pay Rs 1.5 crore to scuttle CBI probes into two cases registered against him since 2010.
One Hyderabad-base Syed Burhanuddin, alias OP Singh, who claimed to be a PMO official, offered to help Agarwal. The CBI said Burhanuddin is a private person and not a PMO staffer.
In one of the cases, the investigating agency has already filed a chargesheet against the 1988-batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre.
The CBI alleged that to get a favourable probe result, the bureaucrat got in touch with one Bhagwan Singh, who lives in the Black Cat Enclave of the NSG housing society in Greater Noida.
Singh in turn introduced Agarwal to Burhanuddin.
On February 11, Agarwal, Burhanuddin and Bhagwan Singh met in Delhi, according to the CBIs FIR. In the meeting Agarwal agreed to pay Rs 1.5 crore to get his case transferred to the Economic Offence Wing of the Chhattisgarh government.
Following the deal, the IAS officer paid more than Rs 45 lakh between 11 and 16 February to two contacts of Bhagwan and Burhanuddin in Raipur. The money was meant to be sent to Delhi through hawala route.
According to the CBI FIR, after paying the amount in cash, Agrawal promised to pay rest of the amount in the form of two kilogram gold.
It was also alleged that the receivers agreed to accept part gratification payment in the form of two kg of gold to be delivered by brother-in-law of the said public servant to the contact of Hyderabad-based private person at Raipur, the CBI said in its formal statement.
During investigation, searches were conducted at the premises of accused persons and hawala operators at Raipur, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Greater Noida.
The CBI said it recovered two-kg gold during the searches and also around Rs. 20 lakh in cash which was earlier delivered to Bhagwan Singh.
The Centre need not consult the judiciary on introducing Hindi and regional languages in higher courts, a parliamentary panel has said despite the Supreme Courts objection to the move that could trigger a controversy.
The Parliamentary Committee on Personnel, Law and Justice, in its report tabled in both the Houses earlier this month, said Article 348 of the Constitution is clear on the matter.
The consultation process with judiciary is not required as the Constitutional provisions are amply clear on the use of Scheduled Languages in the High Courts and accordingly, the use of Scheduled Languages should be decided as per mandate of Article 348, the panel said.
The recommendation goes against a 51-year-old convention adopted by the Centre through a cabinet decision that says the Chief Justice of India must be consulted on the matter.
Proceedings are held in all 24 high courts across the country and the Supreme Court in English.
An SC bench headed by former CJI TS Thakur had in April 2016 thrown out a petition by lawyer Shiv Sagar Tiwari seeking amendment of the Constitution to make Hindi the official language of SC and HCs, saying it was frivolous and dubbed it an abuse of the process of law.
In rejecting the PIL, the SC observed that the petitioner had failed to appreciate the scope of Articles 343 and 348.
The 18th Law Commission of India, in its 216th report on Non-Feasibility of Introduction of Hindi as Compulsory Language in the Supreme Court of India, had recommended that the higher judiciary should not be subjected to any persuasive change.
The panel opposed thrusting a language on any section of people against their will and spoke of how it would affect the work of judges who are right now freely transferred to any part of the country.
Centre had relied on the law panels report to oppose Tiwaris plea in 2015.
It had received proposals for use of Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, Hindi and Kannada in the High Courts of Calcutta, Madras, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka from the state governments, which it referred to the SC. On October 11, 2012, a full bench of the SC rejected the proposals.
The parliamentary panel in its recommendations has also asked the Union Cabinet to re-examine the 1965 convention of consulting the CJI and take an early decision.
Also Read: No concept of National Song in Constitution, says SC
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The DMK on Sunday announced it will hold a hunger strike on February 22 in all district offices of the party across Tamil Nadu to protest what it termed as the illegal trust vote moved by chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami.
The decision was taken after DMK MLAs met at their headquarters. Party leader Tiruchi Siva said the trust vote moved on Saturday was illegal, and the party has submitted a memorandum on the issue to Tamil Nadu governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who has promised to look into the matter.
Sans participation of the opposition in the state assembly, the trust vote moved by the chief minister was passed. Its illegal. Weve submitted a memorandum on the issue to the governor. He has promised to look into the matter, Siva told the media after meeting governor Rao.
Earlier on Sunday, DMK working president MK Stalin held a special meeting with party MLAs at the DMK headquarters.
An FIR has been filed against Stalin, his party MLAs, MPs and cadres for holding a protest at the Marina beach in Chennai against the alleged attack on him and his MLAs during the trust vote.
Police said the FIR was filed on charges of unlawful assembly and violation of public order.
DMK held a protest without obtaining prior permission as required under law, a police official said.
Besides Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK cadres, who participated in the protest, have been named in the FIR, he said.
Opposition DMK leaders led by working president MK Stalin (sitting, centre) during their protest in Chennai on Saturday. (PTI)
Stalin was detained on Saturday after he sat on the protest at the Marina beach.
He alleged that he was manhandled in the assembly by the marshals during the vote of confidence, which the Palaniswami government won with a comfortable margin of 122-11.
Several DMK workers on Saturday blocked vehicular traffic and pelted stones in different places to protest the alleged attack on Stalin.
An FIR has been filed against DMK working president MK Stalin, his party MLAs, MPs and cadres for holding a protest at Marina beach against the alleged attack on him and his MLAs during the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
Police said an FIR has been filed against them for unlawful assembly and violation of public order.
DMK staged the protest without obtaining prior permission as required under law, a senior police official told PTI
Besides Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK cadres who participated in the protest have been named in the FIR, he said.
Read | Stalin questions the legitimacy of floor test in Tamil Nadu
Stalin was detained on Saturday after he sat on a protest at Marina beach here against the alleged attack on him and his party MLAs during the trust vote.
After alleging that he was manhandled in the Assembly by marshals during the vote of confidence, which the Palaniswami government won with a comfortable margin of 122-11, Stalin sat on a protest at the Marina along with his MLAs.
Several DMK workers had blocked vehicular traffic and indulged in stone-pelting in different places in the state to protest the alleged attack on Stalin.
What is the symbol of the BJP? When was the BJP formed? Who is the Prime Minister of India and to which party does he belong? Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Gauri Shankar Bisen asked these general knowledge questions not to any party worker but to students of elementary classes at a government primary school in Indore.
Bisens questions came during the governments mass teaching event Mile Banche Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. His queries flummoxed not only students but also the teachers. For good measure, he told the students that these are important things and they must be aware of them.
Bisen also asked students who was providing mid-day meals to them and who was the chief minister of state.
Not only this, he concluded his teaching assignment by shouting Jai Jai Shree Ram and asked students to repeat it.
Read | Ministers want education system to make students more patriotic
When HT asked Bisen about the motive of asking questions related to the BJP, he had no qualms about it. I am a minister of BJP-led government. The Prime Minister is also from BJP. Its my party why shouldnt I ask these questions to the students. They must know about the ruling party, he said.
Another faux pass
In Khandwa district, the governments exercise backfired to reveal a low standard of education. In a primary school where school education minister Vijay Shah went to teach, not only students but a teacher also failed to read out from a Hindi book of fifth standard.
Shah asked students to read a lesson of their Hindi book but students failed to read. Shah, then, asked the teacher Rewaram Banethia to read it. But he also failed to read it properly.
The infuriated minister asked the teacher and asked what salary he was drawing. Shah said he wouldnt punish anyone but told the teacher that he should be ashamed.
Read | RSS holds high-profile event to influence Indias education policy
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Cut off from subsidised ration. Deprived from welfare schemes. Harassed and assaulted for just being outsiders.
But the long sufferings of migrant workers in India could be a thing of the past if the government accepts the recommendations of a panel that looked into the working conditions of millions of people who move to other states in search of better opportunities.
In India, migrants constitute approximately 29% of the workforce but are often cut off from government schemes including the benefits of subsidised ration in fair price shops. The Working Group on Migration constituted by the Union ministry of housing and poverty alleviation has recommended that states should do away with domicile provisions in laws relating to work that place migrants at a disadvantage in terms of employment.
In many states such as Maharashtra strong anti-outsider sentiments have led to attacks on migrant workers over fears of them usurping job opportunities of local residents.
Read | A combination of aspiration and desperation is fuelling migration in India
In its report submitted last month to the ministry, the panel headed by Partho Mukhopadhyay, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, has pushed for portability of public distribution system (PDS) benefits across fair price shop system, affordable housing options and setting up of migrant helpline to provide information about protections and benefits available to them.
Under the PDS, ration cards are invalid in their work state. The panel has recommended expanding and accelerating portability of PDS as well as healthcare benefits within states with appropriate technology and universal coverage.
Read | Delhi, Gurgaon, Gautam Buddh Nagar favourite with migrants: Economic Survey
Many argue that the provisions outlining domicile/minimum duration of local residence are required in order to protect local workers. But these arguments are ill-founded and mischievousWhat is needed are strong regulations pertaining to wages and conditions at work, which would prevent all workers -- local or migrant -- from being exploited, said Indrajit Roy, research fellow, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.
Roy, the principal investigator of University of Oxfords study titled Lives on the Move said that some states are already ahead on the curve.
For example, Punjab is one of the states to have instituted a migrant welfare board and Kerala inaugurated an inter-state migrant worker scheme, implemented through the Kerala construction workers welfare fund.
Read | Modis achhe din reality check: Pressure builds to deliver on election promise
The 2017 Economic Survey report has also recommended portability of PDS benefits.
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, Roy said.
The ministry is yet to take a call on the working groups report.
Implementing these recommendations is easier said than done. It is the states, which will have to implement them and they may not agree because of political pressures, said a government official.
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Five college students were arrested on Sunday for consuming liquor at a residential apartment at Ahmedabads Vastrapur locality, police said.
Five students were arrested after police raided the Mayur apartments following a complaint received by the control room that they were consuming alcohol and creating loud noise, Vastrapur police station inspector BJ Sarvaiya said.
However, no liquor bottle was recovered from their possession, he said.
Some of them were living there as paying guests and they had gathered there to celebrate the birthday of their friend when they consumed liquor and created nuisance for the neighbours, Sarvaiya added.
A case under the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Act has been registered, the officer said.
Gujarat is a dry state where consumption and storage of liquor is prohibited and is a crime under the Act
India on Sunday committed to provide $ 340 million in soft loans to Nepal for building infrastructure projects.
Railways minister Suresh Prabhu, who arrived here on Saturday to attend the Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017, signed a letter of exchange with Nepalese minister for Physical Infrastructure and Planning Ramesh Lekhak in which India committed to a bridge project and 15 road projects totaling $ 340 million of soft loans to Nepal.
Prabhu also called on Nepals President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Rastrapati Bhawan here and discussed key issues in the bilateral relations.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations, according to a press release issued by the Presidents office.
Prabhu is in Nepal to attend Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017 that is being organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in association with the Nepal government and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors (YCNC) to be held between February 19-20.
The minister, who is the guest of honour and keynote speaker at the summit, said the infrastructure meet would be pivotal for accelerating Nepals economic growth at a time when the country is striving to graduate to the league of developing nations.
Read| India, Nepal to build new cross-border power lines
Shops were shut and vehicles off the road in south Keralas Kollam district on Sunday in response to the BJPs call for a strike to protest the death of a party worker in a clash with CPI(M) men.
Ravindranth (58), a retired sub-inspector of police, succumbed to his wounds at Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital on Saturday, two weeks after he was stabbed in Kadakkal during a row over a temple festival.
Five Communist Party of India (Marxits) workers arrested in connection with the attack would now be charged with murder, police said.
Ravindranths decision to join politics angered the Left party, his family said. The murder was a classic example of CPI(M)s politics of intolerance, BJP leader VV Rajesh said.
Last week, a 20-year-old BJP worker was stabbed to death in Thrissur.
Clashes between the BJP and the CPI (Marxist) are on the rise as the Rashtriya Sawayamsewak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP, makes inroads in the southern state where politics has been dominated by the Left parties.
It is a vicious cycle of violence, which has left many people dead on both sides. Every time a life is lost, the two sides trade charges, setting off a new round of revenge killings.
Two weeks ago a BJP delegation met home minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, saying police were highly partisan and party workers were being annihilated in a planned manner.
They complained that the CPI(M) was experimenting with the Kannur-model of attacks in other parts of the state.
Notorious for violence between the two sides, Kannur in north Kerala has reported eight murders since the LDF government came to power in May.
To calm tempers, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was recently forced to call an all-party peace meet in Kannur.
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Injured in a leopard attack, a farm labourer and his friends allegedly beat up the carnivore to death with an axe and wooden sticks, tied its legs to a heavy stone and threw the carcass in a river in Gujarats Gir-Somnath district.
The villagers did not stop the atrocity at that and went on to retrieve the carcass from the river and burnt it, a forest official said.
Farm labourer, Bhagwan Mala, has been detained in this connection, he said, while describing the incident as shocking.
On Thursday, Mala had sustained a minor injury when the feline attacked him while he was working at his field in Chikhli village under Una tehsil in Gir-Somnath district.
After managing to escape, Mala asked a few of his friends to come to his field with axe and wooden sticks. The men then allegedly beat up the carnivore to death. They tied its legs to a heavy stone and threw the carcass in a river near the village, the official said.
However, after they learnt that other villagers and forest officials had apparently got a whiff of the incident, the men took out the animals carcass from the river and burnt it after sprinkling petrol over it on Friday, in a bid to destroy evidence of the offence.
We detained Bhagwan Mala last night (Saturday) and are on the look out of 5-7 other persons also allegedly involved in the incident, said the official, who is a member of the team investigating the matter.
He said the forest department will register a police case under relevant provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Upping the ante, the protesting Jats on Sunday decided to take their fight for reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to Delhi.
All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) chief Yashpal Malik announced that a big protest will be held in the national capital on March 2 and submit a memorandum to the President, followed by gherao of the Parliament after Holi, to mount pressure on the Centre and the Haryana government to meet their demands. The government is advised to arrange for as much security as it can. It will be the biggest protest in the history, he said, adding that Jats from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana will arrive only on tractor-trolleys and bullock carts to join the protest in Delhi.
Also read | Jat stir: Amid push for Digital India, internet services suspended in Haryana districts
Malik, who outlined the protesters strategy at a dharna in Jassia village of Rohtak, urged his supporters to stop paying water and electricity bills, and repayment of loans to the government agencies from March to mount pressure on the government. To add to the troubles of Delhi, he also urged dairy owners in Haryana to stop supplying milk to Delhi on March 1 as a symbolic protest.
Also read | Haryana tense as Jats threat to intensify stir looms large
We are also increasing the number of dharnas (sit-ins) from 20 to 30 from March 1. New dharnas will come up in Bhiwani, Kaithal, Jind, Kurukshetra and other towns. In Rohtak, Sonepat and Jhajjar, protests will continue at one spot each only and will remain the epicentres. The protests will continue till all our demands are met, he said. The protest strategy was decided by Malik and two representatives each from all 20 dharna spots two days ago. AIJASS is spearheading the three-week-long stir in the state.
Protesters at dharna site at Jassia village in Rohtak district on Sunday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)
The Jat leader also asked all MLAs to extend support to them by February 27, or face ire of the community during elections. He said the Jat community will commemorate every third Sunday of the year as Balidan Diwas.
Also read | Beneath the second phase of protests for Jat quota, old wounds fester in Haryana
Earlier, the Rohtak-Gohana-Panipat national highway (NH-71 A) remained clogged Sunday afternoon as thousands of pro-quota supporters thronged Jassia village to observe Balidan Diwas (martyrdom day) in memory of those killed in the Jat stir last year.
A large number of Jat supporters from all walks, including women, could be seen moving towards Jassia in vehicles, tractor trolleys and even on foot. Vehicles were parked along the road for kilometres from the protest site. A large number of commuters were stuck on the stretch of the highway despite the government adviseries since Saturday for taking the alternative routes. However, traffic movement remained smooth on most other highways passing through the state.
At Ramayan village in Hisar district, where AIJASS observed the Balidan Diwas with a hawan, hundreds of community members turned up, raising pro-quota slogans. Heavy police force had been deployed near the venue to maintain law and order near the railway line. No untoward incident was reported except for some tense moments when Jat youths tried to cross the rail track just before a train was to cross by. Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Ashok Bansal dissuaded the youths from crossing the track.
Traffic jam near the dharna site at Jassia village in Rohtak district on Sunday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)
MALIK GROUP TO JOIN TALKS WITH GOVT
ROHTAK: After refusing to hold talks with the government, the AIJASS led by Yashpal Malik on Sunday changed its stance and agreed to hold talks with the government panel on Monday. The first round of talks between AIJASS and government panel had remained inconclusive, after which the Jat leader had refused to hold further dialogue. Changing stand, Malik said they will raise their concerns with the government panel on Monday over the issue of compensation paid to those injured during the last years stir. During our talks, they had promised Rs 2 lakh each. But now they have announced between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh. We had given a list of 270 injured, but they announced compensation for only 20-30 people, Malik said. Earlier, ADGP (law and order) Mohammad Akil, who is also a part of the government panel, said they have invited all pro-quota groups, including AIJASS, for talks on Monday.
Stepping up pressure, the DMK on Sunday demanded the nullification of the proceedings of Saturdays special session of the Tamil Nadu assembly, during which chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami breezed through the trust vote after the opposition was evicted.
DMK working president MK Stalin described the speakers conduct and the trust vote as undemocratic and unconstitutional, and urged governor C Vidyasagar Rao to declare it null and void as the custodian of the Constitution.
This is unethical and unlawful. This is a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution. The speaker was not mindful of his neutral position and he was bent upon favouring one faction of the ruling party, with ulterior motive, Stalin said in a memorandum submitted to the governor.
In this connection, he recalled a similar situation three decades ago, when, during a confidence motion only two factions of the ruling party were present.
Then in 1988, the governor had declared the trust vote invalid and void, Stalin said, urging governor Rao to treat Saturdays trust vote by Palaniswami similarly.
DMK leader MK Stalin and other party leaders during their protest in Chennai on Saturday. (HT Photo)
Stalin also highlighted the fact that the ruling party MLAs were kept hostage at a seaside resort in Koovathur, 70 km from Chennai, and alleged that they were brought to the assembly under tight security and they appeared to be under constant threat.
He stressed that extraordinary police presence was mobilised around the assembly complex to give an impression of a war-like situation and that a thick atmosphere of terror was prevailing.
When l was going in my vehicle to attend the session, police intercepted and made a thorough check, suspecting something unlawful was hidden, without paying heed to my protest, which is totally unethical. This was done deliberately and intentionally, completely ignoring my official status as the Leader of Opposition, Stalin said to reinforce the charge of the DMK that there seemed to be undue pressure mounted on the MLAs of AIADMK.
When the confidence motion was moved, I rose and demanded to conduct secret voting to enable the MLAs to cast their vote in a fair and free manner following their conscience. As the speaker did not respond to my request and appeared to be very eager to go ahead speedily with open voting, there was a protest by the members of the DMK. As the protest persisted, the speaker adjourned the House.
Other opposition parties also demanded secret voting. When the House met again, the protest continued as the Speaker tried again to carry out open voting, the leader of opposition in TN assembly said.
Finding no other way out to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the house, Stalin said, skirting the fact that the DMK MLAs behaviour was unruly and violent during which they attacked the speaker.
Stalin went on to allege that the speaker ordered expulsion of all the DMK members without following the laid down procedures.
Police entered the house presumably on instructions given in advance by the Speaker. Police and the assembly guards forcibly evicted us from the house and in this process many of us sustained bleeding injuries. The other opposition parties staged a walk-out strongly protesting against the action of the speaker, Stalin said.
The DMK leader alleged that the speaker conducted the proceedings as per a pre-conceived design and ignored the rule that if the House was adjourned after the motion of confidence was moved, the motion lapsed.
Soon after the entire opposition was out of the house, either because of expulsion or by way of walkout, for which moment the speaker apparently seemed to been waiting, he had hurriedly conducted open voting and decided in favour of the motion. This act of the speaker is unconstitutional and highly undemocratic, the DMK leader said.
On such a very important motion, which has in it the fate of the state for more than four years, the speaker conducted the voting without any opposition member present in the house. The speaker has allowed a choice between two factions of one political party i.e. AIADMK, similar to an election of office bearers for which contest is between two factions of the party, he said.
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He is a stranger in his town.
Back home after 12 long years, Mohammad Hussain Fazili is still taking in the changes around him.
Buchpora, his locality, is an unrecognisable maze of lanes. But, for the 43-year-old shawl weaver from Srinagar, the biggest shock is the way his parents have aged.
A stroke has left his mother partially paralysed and his father is battling a heart condition.
Fazili spent 12 years in Delhis high-security Tihar Jail and that, too, for doing nothing.
On February 16, Fazili along with Mohammed Rafiq Shah, also from Kashmir, was acquitted in the 2005 Delhi blasts case, the worst terrorist attack on the Capital that left 67 people dead and more than 200 wounded.
We were accused of something we had not done. Who will return me the lost 12 years of my life? Can anyone undo what my parents have suffered? Fazili said, sitting with his parents at his home on Sunday morning.
A day earlier, he reached Srinagar on a flight from Delhi.
Hussain Fazili (right) with his father Ghulam Rasool Fazili in his home in Buchpora on the outskirts of Srinagar. (Waseem Andrabi/ Ht Photo)
It is not just the city that has expanded, his family has grown too. When Fazili was arrested he had only one nephew. But, now all his three brothers are fathers each has two children.
But the relief of being back is tempered with the reality of home.
My mother is very sick. Like my mother, the mothers of those killed in the blasts, too, have suffered. But does that mean you take away the sons of others and frame them? Fazili said.
The cold November night of 2005 still haunts him. He had come back from the mosque after evening prayers and was working on a shawl when the knock came.
Rest of the evening was a blur. A police team came and took him away for questioning, saying they wanted information on Delhi blasts. That was the last his parents would see of him for 12 years.
During his years in jail, Fazili didnt meet his parents even once. There was not enough money.
The moment my mother saw me walk through the gate, she started screaming with joy. Three people had to hold her back. We were scared she might suffer another stroke, Fazili said.
She was telling everyone she felt as if she had given birth to me all over again.
The years have taken a toll on Fatima.
Her health is poor and she cant move on her own. I am very worried about her, her health and treatment, Fazili said, as he helped her sit up on the bed.
Hussain Fazili outside his home in Buchpora on the outskirts of Srinagar. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)
Fatima, who is on heavy medication, said she was happy beyond words, her eyes shining bright, lighting up her wrinkled face.
His father struggled to control tears as Fazili talked about the arrest, the beatings and the other torture he suffered in Tihar.
All I can say is I am very happy. Beta barah saal baad ghar aa gaya. (My son is back home after 12 years), was all that 76-year-old Ghulam Rasool could say, his voice barely above a whisper.
Fazili said police wanted information about the blasts he had nothing to do with. They kept saying Aap militant hai (you are a militant), he said.
What next?
Fazili has a lot on his mind. He hasnt slept well since his release. I have to take care of my mother, my father. Have to stay with them, take care of their treatment, he said.
Money is a big worry. Fazili plans to look for a job as he has not weaved in years.
There is a pressure to earn. I have to find a job I can do. Prices are high and a person needs to earn his sustenance.
Picking up the threads of his life after 12 years is not going to be easy but Fazili has seen worse.
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A dalit family from Baran district took out a wedding procession here with the groom sitting on a buggy, and his relatives riding horses, camels and an elephant a sight that draws attention in Rajasthan, which has reported attacks on dalits for riding mares during marriages.
In Bhilwara and some parts of Alwar and Jaipur, Dalit grooms have been assaulted for riding mares during weddings.
Groom Rajkumar Dandoriya (24) of Kevda village rode a horse-drawn vehicle, instead of a mare, before the procession rolled out in Nayapura area of Kota on Saturday night. His grandfather Sultan Lal (70) sat on the elephant and senior male members of the family rode 11 camels and five horses.
Young wedding guests danced to the tune of disc jockey (DJ) playing pre-recorded music. Another music band and beats of Bhangara dhols (drums) added colours to the wedding procession that went to Om Valmikis residence in Nayapura area where the groom married Barkha Valmiki (23).
There is no particular reason for the lavish procession; it was the wish of the family as Rajkumar is their only child, said grooms father Ghasilal Dandoriya.
About the line-up of the buggy, horses, camels and the elephants when dalits riding wedding mares have been attacked, he said, It does not occur everywhere, so we have not thought about it. Such incidents have not been reported in Kota.
Ghasilal, who runs a pest control business in Baran and owns farmland, said hiring the buggy, elephant, camels and horses cost him around 50,000.
Dalit grooms riding wedding mares is now common in cities but such an elaborate wedding procession is rare, said Dalit priest Nathulal who solemnised the marriage.
Such wedding procession was organised because of the familys enthusiasm. This procession by the Dalit community shows social change to a certain extent.
Two persons were arrested by police as it busted a child trafficking racket in North Bengal. Chairperson of a NGO home and its chief adoption officer was arrested by police in raids since last night in Jalpaiguri district around 600 kms from Kolkata. The racket allegedly sold and trafficked over two dozen babies and children.
We have arrested two officials of the NGO home and more people are detained. Interrogation is on. We are also conducting raids in different places, said a senior officer of CID. According to sleuths, children were also sold out of the country.
Saturday night a seven member Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team raided the premises of Bimala Shishu Griha, a local NGO which runs a childrens home. Police arrested Chandana Chakraborty chairperson of the NGO. Sunday morning sleuths arrested Sonali Mondol who was the chief adoption officer of the NGO.
Sleuths had information that the NGO was engaged in trafficking of children and kept watch for the past couple of months. According to police, the NGO sold babies and children at a price, disregarding adoption rules.
November last year, CID busted an inter-state baby trafficking racket following raids in Kolkata and North 24 parganas districts. It rescued thirteen babies and arrested 20 persons including doctors, quacks and nursing home staffs. The racket involved nursing homes, hospitals, NGO homes in atleast four districts of Bengal and spread to different parts of India where babies were sold.
Police said dark-complexioned girls were sold for anywhere between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh, while fair ones got them as much as Rs 1.5 lakh. Male infants were sold for Rs 2 lakh or more. Dr Santosh Samanta of Sree Krishna Nursing Home was entrusted with preparing the death certificate for the infants sold. He made around Rs 60,000 from each sale.
February this year, CID named two doctors including a local BJP leader among 19 people in the charge sheet. The charge sheet was submitted to additional chief judicial magistrates court in Basirhat (in North 24 Parganas district).
About twenty-seven years ago, on March 11, 1990, a dalit of Rudayan village in Hathras district applied colour to an upper caste villager on the occasion of Holi. The mistake cost him not just his life but the ruination of other fellow dalits. Data Ram was burnt alive and the houses of 42 dalit families residing in the village were reduced to ashes. They never dared to celebrate Holi again.
But this year, the dalits of Rudayan village will play with colours just like the rest of the country.
The reason: On February 15, 2017, the court of the third additional district and sessions judge SN Tripathi in Aligarh awarded death penalty to one Kunwar Pal and life imprisonment to 13 others accused of the 27-year-old carnage in the village. The jubilant dalits will celebrate the judgement by playing Holi. They have demanded protection from authorities so that they can enjoy the day without any fear of reprisal.
Hari Shankar, Data Rams brother said, For 27 years, the villagers have not celebrated Holi or Diwali. But after the courts order, our confidence has returned. This year, we will play with colours. We have demanded security from the administration.
Located just 2km from Sasni town, with a population of 5,000, Rudayan village has three government schools, electricity supply, roads as well as a primary health centre. But, even today, one can sense the caste tension in the area. The March 1990 incident tore apart the social fabric of the village. However, with time, the hatred between upper castes and dalits slowly began to abate. Until now, when tension has again raised its ugly head after the sessions court judgement.
The dalits are keeping their fingers crossed that nothing untoward would happen to disrupt the fragile peace of their village. Ramwati, a villager, told HT, In 27 years, the memories of the incident have blurred. In this time, our village has seen quite a bit of development also. Now, after the courts judgment, we are hoping that the social fabric of the village continues to remain intact.
Flashback
After the ghastly incident, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had staged dharna in the village. The caste politics was at its zenith at the time. Mayawatis involvement gave the issue the attention that it deserved and also helped speed up action against the injustice that had been inflicted on the dalits. However, there were allegations that after Behanji (Mayawati) became the chief minister of UP, she did not extended any further assistance, especially financial help, to the victim families.
With all the dalit families having lost their homes, taking the fight to the court was an uphill task. However, they collected donations and managed to drag the accused to the court.
As far as compensation was concerned, a meagre Rs 10,000 was given to Data Rams family, while only Rs 2,000 each were granted to those who lost their houses.
Today, the villagers are happy with the sessions court verdict. But at the same time, they are fearful of any possible revenge from upper castes. They are also worried about the possibility of the legal fight being taken to high court. With passing years, interaction between us and the Brahmins and Thakurs has resumed. However, we carried on with legal proceedings against the accused and refused to make any compromise. Now, justice has been delivered. But we will be unable to plead the case in high court, said Hari Shankar.
Prime accuseds wife refuses charge
Meanwhile, Saroj Devi, wife of Kunwar Pal, the only accused to have been awarded the death penalty in the case, said that her husband was innocent. Police have accused the wrong man. Those who actually committed arson and murder are safe. My husband has been very ill for a long time. He cannot even walk.
Four labourers were charred to death in a fire that broke out at a plastic factory in Bhiwandi following an alleged short circuit on Sunday morning. Besides the loss of life, raw material worth lakhs was also gutted in the fire. The deceased were identified as Sarika Anand Dasare, 25, Nirmala Madhukar Jadugar, 35, Anuradha Dyaneshwar Nimbode,17, and Manoj Kumar, 25.
Officers from Narpoli police station said 16 people were working at Sarvoday beads factory at Harihar compound in Dapoda when the mishap occurred around 10.45 am. Within minutes, the fire engulfed the entire factory.
The four were standing in a corner, hoping to avoid coming in contact with any of the burning equipment. However, one of the machines in front of them caught fire and they all got trapped. Eventually, they were charred to death, said Suresh Jadhav, senior inspector from Narpoli police station.
Their bodies were sent to Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM ) hospital and were handed over to their respective families after post-mortem.
More than two fire engines and a dozen water tankers were pressed into action. It took fire fighters more than three hours to bring the situation under control. However, it was in the evening that the fire was finally doused.
Jadhav said, We have registered an accidental death report (ADR) and are in the process of adding more sections. Investigation is on to ascertain the cause of fire, which prima facie appears to be short circuit. The factory owner will be summoned to the police station and his statement will be recorded.
The police had to resort to head count of the workers in the factory when the fire broke out to identify the deceased. Those trying to identify the deceased were shocked after seeing at the charred bodies, said an officer from Narpoli police station.
A fireman said, The deceased hardly got time to leave the factory, as there was no emergency exit. We want the police to ask the owner to make proper arrangements in case of an emergency. This is the third fire incident in last three days, and a total of five people have died and raw material worth crores have been lost in these mishaps.
He added that a similar incident took place in the evening at Aangaon.
The second fire broke out at a chemical factory, which falls in the jurisdiction of Bhiwandi rural police. Six water tankers and two fire engines were rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control. Fortunately, no one was injured in the mishap.
Also read: 2 labourers fall to death from under-construction building in Mumbai
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After political parties slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government over its plan to house a car depot for Metro-3 project inside Aarey Milk Colony, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that he has asked the project implementing authority to explore Kalina as an option.
We are open to other alternatives too. An option of a plot at Kalina was suggested and I have asked Ashwini Bhide [managing director, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd] to explore it as an alternative, Fadnavis told a group of reporters on Sunday. The chief minister added that his government is not keen on building the carshed inside Aarey colony and have not made it a prestige issue.
According to officials, the plot at Kalina, which the MMRCL will now survey, measures 26.2 hectares and is located near the Mumbai Universitys Kalina campus.
Aarey has become an election issue with a sustained Save Aarey campaign by citizens. In the run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has supported environmentalists and residents, who have opposed the car depot inside Aarey.
Last week, Shiv Sena youth wing leader and son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, appealed to Mumbaiites via tweet to vote in favour of those parties wanting to save Aarey colony from destruction. Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), along with citizen activists, urged citizens to vote for those in favour of protecting Aarey.
A couple of days ago, MNS chief Raj Thackeray attacked the BJP government for giving away huge tracts of land under the Mumbai Port Trust to private builders, while they chopped hundreds of trees at Aarey in the name of development. During a campaign speech, Raj said, Why the government could not use Port Trusts land for Metro carshed?
Meanwhile, the chief minister said that he has already declined MMRCLs demand of commercial exploitation of the proposed car depot at Aarey Colony. There will be no commercial activity in Aarey. It was MMRCLs demand and the government has not accepted it, he said.
MMRC had sought floor space index (FSI) of 3 on the Aarey plot for real estate development and raise around Rs 1,000 crore by commercially exploiting part of the land.
Also read: Citizens to be part of MMRCL team to monitor hacking of trees for Metro 3
Bombay HC will not withdraw restraint for tree cutting for Metro 3
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Recently a resident of a government-run students hostel in Chembur found a dead lizard in the food served by the canteen just when he sat to eat the food.
The quality and taste of the food served at the canteens in student hostels have been a keenly discussed issue in colleges. Around 10 city colleges including St Xaviers (Dhobi Talao), Sophia College (Peddar Road), DG Ruparel College (Matunga), Wilson College (Charni Road), have hostel facilities available for students.
The food served at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) hostels became a matter of discussion at the recently-concluded campus elections as candidates, while seeking votes, promised better food. While students have often complained about bland food and unhygienic conditions in the canteens, colleges and hostel owners say they do not compromise with the health of students, especially when it comes to food.
More than the menu, our focus is on the quality, and we have put in place a list of violations for which the mess contractors get fined. If the contractor uses brands not authorised by the hostel, he has to pay a fine, said Soumyo Mukherji, dean, student affairs, IIT-B.
Another big hostel complex is at the Somaiya campus at Vidya Vihar. The hostel houses close to 1,000 students. We have a certified external agency that conducts a food audit regularly and ensures that the quality of food is maintained. There have been times when contractors have been fired if they were found at fault, said Vijay Joshi, principal of KJ Somaiya College.
The Kalina campus of University of Mumbai houses three womens hostels, all three catered to by the same contractor. While authorities conduct regular checks at these hostel canteens, students say more needs to be done about the quality and taste of food. Just providing food should not be the only focus here, we should also be provided with good food. Since we dont have the option of cooking in our rooms, we have to depend on this food, the quality or the menu which hasnt changed in a long time, said a student.
The menu is much more varied at the new-age hostels that have mushroomed across the city, especially in the Juhu-Versova area. The hostels opened in buildings near colleges serve breakfast as well as lunch or dinner (depending on every students need) and are very particular about the quality of food. We personally check the food before it is served. Complaints against food, if any, are taken up immediately and action is taken to ensure the children are fed good quality food, said Chander Matta, owner of Bright Youth Hostel, Vile Parle.
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At least 330 passengers on board a London-bound Jet Airways flight from Mumbai experienced a major safety scare on February 16 when the Boeing 777-300 aircraft lost contact with the local air traffic control tower for a few minutes.
The cockpit crew was temporarily grounded following the incident which ostensibly happened after they tuned in an incorrect radio frequency.
Two Eurofighter Typhoons belonging to the German Air Force were sent to intercept the Jet flight 9W 118 after all efforts by the local ATC tower to establish communication failed. But officials said the contact was restored by the time the fighter jets were airborne.
Contact between Jet Airways flight 9W 118, from Mumbai to Londons Heathrow Airport and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace. Communication was safely restored within a few minutes. As a precaution, the German Air Force deployed its aircraft to ensure the safety of the flight and its guests. The flight with 330 guests and 15 crew subsequently landed at London, read a statement issued by Jet Airways. It added that the matter was reported and the crew was taken off the roster pending a probe.
Incidentally, a video shot by the pilot of another European airline flying 2,000 feet above 9W 118 indicated that the flight was incommunicado for 10 to 15 minutes.
The video that went viral on Sunday showed two Eurofighters flanking 9W118 on both sides. Sources added that the mid-air blip happened during hand over between the ATC of Bratislava and Prague.
The Jet crew is suspected to have tuned in to 132.980MHz while the correct frequency was 132.890MHz. But officials from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which is probing the matter said it was too early to comment.
Also read: Jet Airways plane tail hits runway on landing in Dhaka airport, 168 escape unhurt
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Investigation into the seizure of mephedrone (MD) by officials from Anti-narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police crime branch have revealed that the two accused from Mumbai sold the contraband to celebrities, aspiring actors and those from advertising industry. The contraband was sold for Rs3,300 a gram.
Acting on a tip-off deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Shivdeep Lande, ANC chief , formed a special team which arrested four accused from Ghatkopar (East) on Friday evening and confiscated 2.4 kilograms of MD worth Rs48 lakh.
An ANC source said, The accused sold the drugs to aspiring actors trying to make it big in films and television industry. They also sold the contraband to those from advertising professional. The crackdown has resulted in confiscation of 20.5-kg MD, worth Rs4.2 crore, in the last 45 days.
He claimed the price of the contraband has almost doubled, as peddlers sell it at higher rates to high profile customers. The source said that while the street price has increased to Rs2,300 per gram, the same quantity is sold for Rs3,300 to rich clients.
Explaining the reason behind the growing demand for MD, an ANC official said the drug is indigenous unlike cocaine and heroin, which is imported, and is easier to consume. Most of all, its cheaper and readily available on the streets if one knows where to look for it.
Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty, who has treated people addicted to MD,said, It provides high level of ecstasy and makes one fell happy and joyous. Now, even professionals are consuming it. The addicts lose weight and require rehabilitation, which takes a long time. Most cases of addiction are seen in the age group of 16-40 years.
Also read: Four arrested for smuggling mephedrone worth Rs48 lakh
A man allegedly beat his wife to death, in Virar early on Sunday, suspecting her of cheating on him.
Dharmaraj Yadav, 36, hit his wife Amravati on the head repeatedly with a wooden log in public after which the 30-year-old collapsed in a pool of blood. Neighbours who witnessed the incident informed the police after which Yadav was arrested.
According to the police, Yadav would quarrel with his wife regularly as he thought that she was being unfaithful to him.
Around 3am on Sunday, Yadav reached his first floor flat in Raj Govind Apartment, Phoolpada, Virar (East) drunk but refused to enter the house. He asked Amravati to step out of the house as he wanted to speak with her but she refused and told Yadav to step inside the house and not create a scene. Enraged at this, Yadav dragged Amravati down the stairs where they had a heated argument in which Yadav accused Amravati of having extra marital affairs whenever he went out of town. His wife denied the allegation but in a fit of rage, Yadav picked up a wooden log used to wash clothes and hit Amravati repeatedly on the head after which she collapsed, claimed sources from the police.
The neighbours who witnessed the incident early in the morning ruckus informed us about it and we arrested Yadav from the site, said inspector Younis Shaikh of Virar police station. He added, Yadav showed no remorse for his act and we have collected the murder weapon from him. He will be produced before the Vasai court on Monday.
According to police sources, Yadav was allegedly involved in illegal construction of chawls and buildings. He stayed in a joint family and has three children.
Also read: Two minors injured after man throws chemical at them in west Delhi
Concerned about the falling enrolment in schools run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the states education department is looking to private schools for help. The department has approached an India-UK school network to raise the education standard in civic schools through twinning programmes and resource sharing with private schools.
If all goes to plan, around 20 civic schools will take part in a pilot, along with 30 private schools, to create national leaders of education (NLEs) scheduled to begin from June, 2017 to March, 2018. The programme is conducted by the School Leaders Network (India) and Education Development Trust (UK) in association with the Archdiocesan Board of Education (ABE), which runs 150-odd schools in Mumbai.
Leaders from these schools will be paired with each other to improve the quality in their schools. They will be mentored by 19 private schools that have been trained under the same programme in the past and they will act as hubs to support the new school leaders. This will create a positive relationship between our schools leaders and the government, which will go a long way in improving the perception of private schools in the government circles, said Francis Joseph, co-founder, School Leaders Network.
A report released by Praja Foundation, a Mumbai-based NGO, in December 2016 had showed that enrolment rate in 2014-15 in BMC schools dropped by 3%, and by 13% in Marathi schools over the last five years.
According to information acquired by the NGO through RTI queries, around 3.8 lakh students studied in municipal schools in the academic year 2015-16, 3% fewer students compared to the 4 lakh who enrolled in 2014-15 in Marathi-medium schools. We are trying to improve the overall quality of government schools in Maharashtra, said Nand Kumar, principal secretary of the department. We are considering this programme because it has been carried out across the globe.
After the pilot, the department wants to extend it to other government schools and especially those with poor grades in the state accreditation programme Shaala Siddhi. Schools getting C or D grades will be asked to go through the leaders programme so that their quality can be raised, said Kumar.
Also read: Mumbai students guide the way to a cleaner, greener future
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After some harsh criticism of former ally Shiv Sena, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has now hinted at a possibility of a post-poll alliance with the party if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fails to secure a majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Fadnavis, however, did reiterate he is confident about BJP emerging as the single-largest party. During an interaction with the media at Varsha his official bungalow on Sunday, Fadnavis called the BMC election a bipolar contest between the Sena and the BJP.
After the results, the BJP will emerge on top, he told reporters. He said the strength of the Congress, which is currently the second-largest party in the BMC with 52 corporators, will reduce drastically.
The chief minister said if BJP is the single-largest party and there is a need for an alliance, they would take a decision based on the agenda of transparency.
We will be prepared to take or give help on the agenda of transparency. But right now, we are confident we will not need any support. Power is not important, transparency is, Fadnavis said.
The Sena and the BJP ended their 25-year-old alliance on Republic Day and following that, both parties have engaged in a fierce war of words.
When asked if entering into an alliance with a party they have been slamming during the campaign wont be a betrayal of voters trust, Fadnavis responded, People are voting for us on the agenda of transparency, and if we compromise that agenda, it would be a bigger betrayal. But we are confident of a complete majority.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis attacked the Sena on Sunday and said the party had taken Mumbaiites, and especially the Marathi manoos, for granted. They [Sena] had taken the Marathi people for granted. But we have given them the vision of development. Girgaum, which is the oldest Marathi-dominated area, has water woes today despite long water pipes the BMC has laid. But we are giving them a Metro. The people affected by its construction will get 500 sqft houses each, in place of the existing 120 sqft ones. So we think they [Sena] should be given five years for self-analysis, he said.
After the split, the Sena put the Fadnavis government on notice period, but Fadnavis claimed his government is not in any danger. We will remain in majority and will complete the full-term. Can a person, whose government is supposedly in danger, look so relaxed and be smiling? he asked.
Fadnavis, being the face of the municipal corporation polls in the state, has put a lot of his political capital at stake, but he said there was no threat to his job. The BJP will emerge as the number one party in the municipal corporation poll and 25 Zilla Parishad polls in the state.
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On Thursday three people died while cleaning a sewage tank in Malad, poisoned by toxic gases generated by rotting sewage. Groups working with sewer workers estimate that, since 2014, over 30 people have died in Mumbai after entering dangerous sewers without any safety equipment.
There are no nation-wide data on such deaths. Navsarjan, a group campaigning for safer working conditions and compensation for such workers, estimates that there were six such deaths in Karnataka last year. Ahmedabad reported an average of 20 deaths every year. Many more cases go unreported.
Sewage ducts and septic tanks have to be cleaned in other countries too, but why do so many people die in India doing this work? People do not die in other countries because they provide safety equipment, said Martin Macwan of Navsarjan Gujarat. Here it is a caste-based occupation (most workers are members of castes that traditionally cleaned dry latrines), so the deaths do not matter.
India has rules that mandate safe working conditions for these workers. A law, revised in 2013, makes it a criminal offence to make people work in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. Some workers who die are employees of municipal corporations or other local bodies, but many, like those who died in Malad, were casual labourers. The law protects both municipal employees and casual workers. Workers who do the dangerous work have to be given gas masks, safety harness belts and helmets. Municipal bodies are to provide mechanised equipment at dangerous sites like clogged underground sewers, but the safety measures are non-existent or at its best, rudimentary. Usually, the workers only tool to gauge risk levels at the site is a box of safety matches. A match stick is lit at the mouth of the sewer to find out the presence of poisonous gases and the absence of oxygen, said Macwan. The workers go in if the match does not get extinguished, but the gases (like methane) are trapped under the sediments and are released when workers enter the sewage duct and start removing the debris.
Though the law lays down a prison term and fine for those who hire workers to the dangerous work without safety equipment, there have no reports of criminal cases having been registered against offenders. The government enacts the law and the state governments deny that the law is violated in their areas, said Manjula Pradeep of Navsarjan Gujarat. Government agencies (like municipal corporations) are not providing safety gear and mechanised equipment for this work. This is a caste-based occupation.
According to Neeta Sane, who did a doctorate in 2008-9 on the subject, around 25 conservancy workers die every month in Mumbai from health complications caused by unsanitary and unsafe work conditions. This was the figure given by the municipal corporation to the court, said Sane. The law also covers contract workers who have to be compensated in case of accidents, but the law is so tricky that contractors can escape criminal cases.
Nobody uses the law, said Macwan. Until there is punitive action the situation will not change.
Dinesh Berdia of Sangharsh, a group working with conservancy workers in Mumbai, said there are statutory bodies like the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis that looks at the implementation of the law. The Commission, in its annual reports, has recommended that the work of handling filth and garbage should be totally mechanised, but this and other recommendations have been ignored. Even though these are not judicial bodies, they can persuade authorities to take action, but it has rarely happened, said Berdia. These rules are there only on paper; the people responsible for getting that kind of work done do not care for the rules. That is why these accidents happen. Mumbai has one of the richest and well managed municipal corporations. If workers die in this city, just imagine the condition in poorer and badly managed districts.
Also read: Bohras: Rival factions are counting their flock
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Nearly five days after a 25-year-old man was allegedly beaten up and forced to drink urine in a panchayat in Bhojpur village on February 14, a detailed inquiry by the administration has blamed the police of laxity in dealing with the situation.
The 25-year-old man, a daily wager, had allegedly peeped into the house of one of the accused in the case on February 10, after which he was summoned by a panchayat on February 14 and allegedly beaten and forced to drink urine.
After the panchayat, the man tried to commit suicide by pouring kerosene over himself but was thwarted by his neighbours. He left his house with his family and a written complaint was forwarded to the police.
After the February 10 incident, police officials of the area were expected to keep an eye on the situatuin but they failed to do so. This led to further escalation and resulted in a panchayat, Atul Kumar, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Modi Nagar, said.
However, in the report, we have taken statements of four villagers and the report is divided over the liquid being urine or something else, Kumar said.
Following a preliminary inquiry on Saturday, a detailed inquiry was ordered by district officials. The report, blaming the police, was submitted by officials to the sub-divisional magistrate on Sunday evening.
However, when the incident was brought to the knowledge of senior police officials, they ordered for an immediate FIR which was lodged on February 17 under sections 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of IPC.
On February 18, the police arrested four persons, prime accused Amit, Rajvir, Deepu and Vikas. Officials, in the preliminary inquiry on Saturday, confirmed that a panchayat was held but they failed to reach a conclusion over the liquid.
On Sunday, the police made a fifth arrest. They arrested Satish, uncle of Deepu and Vikas. So far, police have arrested Amit, Rajvir, Deepu, Vikas and Satish.
A detailed inquiry was ordered as villagers were divided over the liquid being urine. This is why a detailed inquiry was ordered. A panchayat was, in fact, held, the SDM said.
After Amits arrest, his wife Sushma Devi had admitted that a panchayat was held but said that the liquid was tea water. It was not urine. We had prepared the tea water by adding tea leaves to water and made him drink it to scare him into admitting his mistake, Devi had said on Saturday.
However, a few villagers said that the 25-year-old man was forced to stand on one leg, made to apologise and beaten up.
Chiranji Lal, a villager, had said that Devi also hit him with a pair of slippers.
Then too, the victim was apologising. He was made to write a mafinama (apology letter), in which he said that he is sorry for the mistake and will not be seen in the locality post evening. After this, Amit brought a bottle containing urine. He claimed that it was his and his wifes urine. Four to five people from his family held the man and forced it into his mouth, he said.
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The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has sought an action taken report from the principal chief conservator of forest, wildlife, Uttar Pradesh, on multiple threats to the natural Hasanpur wetland.
Spread over 37.749 hectares, the wetland is located near Bambawad village on the border of Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur districts. The wetland, the biggest in Delhi-NCR, is around 10 km away from Greater Noidas Dadri. However, since it is located in two districts, its protection has been nobodys priority.
I will look into the issue and ensure appropriate action on it. If the wetland is natural and large, it should be protected properly, said Umendra Sharma, UP principal chief conservator of forest (UPPCF), wildlife .
The Union ministry sought an action taken report after Vikrant Tongad, of the NGO Social Action for Forest and Environment , lodged a complaint on teh destruction of the wetland and its wildlife. He lodged a complaint on January 23 this year and the ministry wrote to UPPCCF on January 30.
The complaint to the ministry speaks for itself. A copy of the action taken report may be provided to the ministry on priority, said the letter.
Tongad has also filed a complaint against the Greater Noida authority, National highways authority of India (NHAI), the district forest department and other local bodies. However, no action has been taken so far by any of these bodies.
The buffer zone and catchment area of the wetland is witnessing constant construction activity, which is a threat to the wetland. The farmers are making excess use of pesticides and insecticides on their agriculture land, which is flowing in the wetland, thereby damaging the aquatic life. Contaminated water is polluting the water of the wetland, said the complaint.
According to Tongad, fish in the wetland have already started dying due to the contaminated water and steps need to be taken on a war footing to check the damage.
The complaint added that the NHAI and Greater Noida authority also plan to construct two major roads around the wetland, which will destroy it to a large extent.
As per law, if a wetland is larger than 2.5 hectares, it should be notified for its protection. We have demanded that it be notified and conserved because it is a catalyst for groundwater conservation and also helps in controlling flooding in nearby areas, said Tongad.
The Hapur district forest department said that fishing activity is underway in this wetland on a large scale.
I have directed those involved in fishery activities that they should not use noise (firecrackers) to scare away birds. It is the biggest natural wetland of the two districts and water is available throughout the year, said PN Singh, divisional forest officer, Hapur.
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The Bihar government is now working on a pilot project purporting to improve the modest learning outcome of school children in the state on quantifiable parameters.
The pilot project will be launched in the first week of March in 625 habitations of chief minister Nitish Kumars native Nalanda district in south central Bihar. The focus will be on children of dalit/mahadalit and and religious minority communities, who continue to be at the bottom of the ladder in terms of learning outcome.
An initiative of the directorate of mass education, the project envisages involving both parents and children to fashion a sustainable model christened Koi bachcha peeche nahin, mata-pita bhi chhute nahin (No child is laggard and mother-father are also not left behind).
The 2016 annual status education report (ASER) report has once again underlined how Bihar frittered away its traditional superiority in mathematics. While it was way ahead of national average in 2007, it has now got closer to it even in high schools.
Percentage of class 3 children who are able to do subtraction
Year India Bihar 2007 42.4% 55.5% 2008 38.9% 44.9% 2009 39.1% 45.6% 2010 36.3% 44.3% 2011 30.0% 29.7% 2012 26.4% 28.1% 2013 26.1% 27.7% 2014 25.4% 24.2% 2016 20.2% 20.0%
Source: Department of education, Govt of Bihar
The national average has also showed a steady fall, though some states have shown a marked improvement of late.
Though Bihar has been able to achieve nearly 99% enrolment in schools due to targeted government interventions, drop out rate, poor learning outcome and regular attendance remain a big challenge
The objective is to ensure improvement in learning outcome of children and also involve parents in the process. We have got a baseline study done in the habitations through NGO Pratham, UNICEF and the department of education. After four months another study will be done to assess the improvement. If it is in the range of 60-70%, the model may be replicated in other parts of the state, said director, mass education, Binodanand Jha.
On Tuesday, a residential training programme for the trainers, comprising volunteers of Pratham, Shaakshar Bharat and Akshar Anchal, concluded at Noorsarai (Nalanda). Now, all the trainers will be sent to schools for actual teaching in schools spread across 20 blocks of Nalanda.
As the project is rolled out, around 20,000 tola sevaks and 10,000 Talimi Markaz volunteers will be used for quality movement in schools and the outcome would be assessed periodically.
Though Bihar has been able to achieve nearly 99% enrolment in schools due to targeted interventions of the government, drop out rate, poor learning outcome and regular attendance remain a big challenge. The chief minister expressed his concern over poor attendance in schools despite huge state investment and incentives, recently.
The challenge is to improve learning outcome, which means class-commensurate learning in key spheres like reading, writing and mathematics, through specifically designed modules. Besides, there will be regular sessions for mental ability and comprehension. What the statistics suggest is that it has fallen alarmingly since 2007, with children from the deprived sections being the worst sufferers, he added.
During day time, mother and father of the children will be engaged in literacy programmes, which would also double up to drive home the importance of education of their wards to make it a sustained effort.
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A new rule laying down the procedure for any government in Bihar to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the Bihar assembly, will be approved and put in place during the coming budget session of the state legislature, commencing on February 23.
Till now, the practice was to seek a trust vote by moving a motion in the house and putting it to vote.
Bihar assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary confirmed the new provision defining the procedure for seeking a trust vote would be incorporated in the rules of procedure of the Vidhan Sabha, after being approved by the house during the budget session.
Thus far, the procedure for seeking a trust had not been laid down in rules of procedure. We want to remedy this situation. The matter is under consideration of the rules committee of the state assembly and its report is expected soon, the speaker said.
Constitutional experts, including former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap, had been consulted on the matter in last few months, he added.
Legislature sources claimed once in place, Bihar would become the first state to have a defined procedure for a trust vote.
Trust votes in Bihar have been fairly common since minority and coalition governments started.to come to office in the 1990s. In February 2015, Nitish Kumar faced a crucial floor test after Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned as CM and was succeeded by Kumar after a power struggle.
The new rule will come at a time when the ruling grand alliance has exhibited signs of strain among its constituents - the JD (U), RJD and the Congress, over differences on a variety of issues. For instances, in the elections for four legislative council seats, on March 9, the Congress has fielded nominees against two RJD candidates.
There is talk in political circles that the new rule was being incorporated as a safety clause to tackle any constitutional crisis for the coalition government in Bihar, arising out of differences among GA constituents..
However, assembly officials claimed the new rule was being brought in just to facilitate the smooth conduct of the house. No other meaning should be read into the move, said a senior officer of the assembly.
In the past one year, several amendments have been made in the rules and procedure of the state assembly including those pertaining to financial business and budget presentation.
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A day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal donated Rs 50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharilas party which is fighting Manipur elections, Aam Aadmi Party Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann followed the suit and donated his one month salary.
As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n justice in Manipur(sic), Mann, tweeted on Sunday.
As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n injustice in Manipur... Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 19, 2017
In response, Sharmilas PRJA party tweeted Thanks a lot Mann sir for supporting our campaign and believing in us. We will change Manipur for good.
Thanks a lot @BhagwantMann sir, for supporting our campaign & believing in us. We will change #Manipur for good @FightAnand @GeetikaSehmay https://t.co/zmWNRcI3Gm PRJA Party Manipur (@PRJAManipur) February 19, 2017
Maan himself is fighting Punjab Assembly elections as AAP candidate from Jalalabad seat against deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
With shortage of funds and manpower, Sharmilas Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses.
Kejriwal had yesterday said he is donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her.
Also Read | Manipur elections: Arvind Kejriwal donates Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmilas party
I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her, he had tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her.
PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur which has taken to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state.
According to PRJA sources, online crowdfunding with a slogan Ten For a Change is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses.
The online crowdfunding is in line with the partys call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds, a PRJA source said.
Two of the eyewitnesses in the murder case of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singhs wifes nephew Akansh Sen appeared in a local court to record their statements, with one of them maintaining that It is an open-and-shut case.
While recording their statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC) in the court of civil judge (junior division) Nisha, Rajan Pupneja and Karan Yog backed the version in the first information report (FIR).
The two said they saw their friend Akansh being crushed under the BMW at 5:15am when they had arrived outside a house in Sector 9. Rajan said he received calls from Akansh and his cousin Adamya Singh Rathore at 5am to pick up Shera from the Sector 9 house fearing that something might happen to him after the arguments that broke out that evening.
Rajan called up his friend Karam and the two reached the house. Karan said they had barely got out of the car and werent even able to locate the doorbell of the house when the incident occurred. They immediately rushed Akansh to the PGIMER in Rajans car, he said.
Also Read | BMW hit-and-run: Tussle brewed after Farid shot Sheras partially nude video
Talking to mediapersons after recording their statement, Rajan got emotional and shared memories of time he spent with Akansh.
He said he knew Akansh for over 10 years as they studied together at Pinegrove, School, Solan, following which they spent time together in Delhi when Akansh was studying, while he studied at an institute in Chhatarpur.
Rajan is also partner of BoomBox Cafe, Sector 9, which Akansh owned.
I was in a state of shock that I wasnt able to drive over a speed of 40-50 kmph while taking Akansh to hospital, an emotional Rajan said.
Also Read | BMW hit-and-run: Friends deny being witness to crime
Rajan and Karan said Akansh was known as a very humble and polite person among their friends. It is so unfortunate that someone who always returned home by 6:30pm from the cafe every day stayed this late and it cost him his life, he said. He hoped that the main accused, Balraj Singh Randhawa, will be arrested soon. It is an open-and-shut case, he said.
Karan recalled how he, Akansh and Adamya would hang out together very often.
Finding the station house officer (SHO) and an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) posted at Badhni Kalan police station in Moga guilty of having links with a gangster, the cops have been given forced retirement.
The cops SHO Joginder Singh (sub-inspector) and an ASI Gurmej Singh allegedly received illegal gratification from gangster Kuldeep Singh Keepa, who was shot dead by unidentified people, in form of liquor and money to help him secure interim bail in an attempt-to-murder case.
Keepa, 27, was shot dead by three unidentified assailants at Butter village in Moga on January 27. Keepa, who was said to be an aide of gangster Davinder Bambiha, aka Sharp Shooter, who was kiled in a police encounter at Rampura on September 8 last year, was facing seven cases, including those of murder and attempt to murder.
The forced retirement order of the two cops was issued on Thursday by the superintendent of police (investigation) Balvir Singh, bearing signatures of senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Toor, (a copy procured from sources is with Hindustan Times).
Had both the officials acted according to the law, the incident of gang war (in which Keepa was shot dead) could have been avoided. The friendly attitude on their part and mixing up with the gangster like Keepa is a serious threat to the law and order in the state of Punjab in future also, the order reads.
Sources said the collusion between the cops and the gangster came to fore after the Punjab Counter Intelligence Team (PCIT) recorded a verbal communication between Gurmej and Keepa, in which the latter can allegedly be heard demanding liquor and cash from the gangster.
The order also reads that in her statement Ganga Bai, wife of Keepa, had clearly stated that Gurmej and his husband were in constant touch and her husband used to take advice from the cop.
After the death of my husband, both cops SHO and ASI came to my home and asked me that senior officials are investigating the case and she shouldnt give any statement against them, the order quotes Gangas statement.
THE CASE
Keepa was booked for attempt to murder after he shot at a Prabhjot Singh, a resident of Badhni Kalan and also injured another Basant Singh on November 11, last year. The case was registered at the Badhni Kalan police station and ASI Gurmej was made the investigating officer (IO). The IO made little efforts to arrest the accused (Keepa) and also didnt seize the weapon used in the crime, the order reads.
SHO TRASHES ALLEGATIONS
Joginder, when contacted, said before taking this action, the department should have considered his clean service record spanning over 31 years. How could I have links with the Moga-based gangster, as I was transferred at Badhni Kalan police station only a week before Keepa was shot dead, he said.
He said the sole basis for action against him was his being the supervising officer.
I request director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora to thoroughly reconsider the decision, keeping in mind my service record, he said, adding the department decision has spoiled his childrens future.
Meanwhile, SSP Toor was not available for a comment.
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A week after the Punjab counter-intelligence team (PCIT) arrested Nabha jailbreak mastermind Gurpreet Singh Sekhon and his three aides from an NRIs house at Dhudike village in the district, the police have failed to nab the house owner and a mediator, who had harboured the criminals.
The accused, including house owner Kultar Singh Goldy, an NRI and native of Dhudike village, and Gurwinder Singh Gori, a resident of Moga who facilitated the gangster and his aides in getting the shelter, were booked by the local police on Wednesday.
Also read | Nabha jailbreak: Gangster Gounder, three aides used stolen car to flee from Moga village
Gori, who is a relative of Sekhon and a friend of Goldy, had worked as the main link between them. On Goris request, Goldy had provided the men shelter at his house, police sources said.
The case was registered under Sections 130 (aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring a prisoner), 212 (harbouring offender), 216 (harbouring offender who has escaped from custody), and 216 A (penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Ajitwal police station, Moga.
Also read | Nabha jailbreak: Police remand of gangster Sekhon, aides extended
Showing a lackadaisical attitude, the Moga police have even failed to issue a red corner notice (RCN) or look out circular (LOC), giving an advantage to the accused to flee the country.
Sources said that Goldy, who came from Australia in January, was to return on February 23 and his flight ticket was already booked. Goldy was an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporter and had participated in the rallies organised in support of Nihal Singh Wala candidate Manjit Singh Bilaspur ahead of assembly elections on February 4.
The police are conducting raids to nab the accused. The issuing of LOC is under process and it will be issued at the earliest, Gurpreet Singh Toor, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Moga, said while adding that both the absconders will be arrested soon.
On February 12, the PCIT had arrested Nabha jailbreak mastermind Gurpreet Singh Sekhon and his three aides his cousin Manvir Sekhon of Makhu village, Rajwinder Singh Raja alias Sultan of Mangewal village in Moga, and gangster Kulwinder Sidana, brother of gangster Surinder Sidana, after raiding a house at Dhudike village.
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Harminder Singh, 62, lost his left leg and two toes of his right foot after he survived an electric shock in 2013. Holding Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam responsible for the mishap, a local court ordered the government undertaking to pay him Rs 8 lakh.
On the fateful day of September 10, 2013, a wire which was sparking fell on Harminders Scorpio parked outside his house in Sector 4, Panchkula. He wanted to move the SUV to a safer location. But as soon as he entered the key, he suffered a massive electric shock. He fell on the ground and his wife Kanta Devi, who was standing nearby overlooking construction work at the house, rushed towards him but passers-by did not allow her to touch him.
He is my husband and I had to rescue him. He was unconscious. I shook him and he opened his eyes. But his body had turned pale. I took him to the general hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, with the help of a neighbour. From there, he was referred to PGIMER, she said.
Harminder lost his left leg and two toes of his right foot. He remained admitted at PGIMER up to October 12, 2013. He survived with 94% disability in both the lower limbs which was permanent in nature. The tragedy changed his life. He lent money on interest which he had to stop. We sold off the Scorpio because it was useless for us and bought a smaller automatic car, he said.
Harminder added, The accident left me physically ineligible for work. Do not publish my picture in the newspaper. A number of wires are still hanging from electricity poles and people have met with similar accidents but nothing improves.
Harminder spent Rs 2.7 lakh for treatment. It was proven in court that the injuries sustained by Harminder were caused by high voltage current. We demanded a compensation of Rs 8 lakh which was allowed, said his lawyer Vishal Madan.
WHAT THE JUDGE SAID
Civil judge ( junior division) Prateet Singh Dhonchak said, Had the defendants (UHBVN) acted well in discharge of their duty to maintain the electricity wire in a safe condition, the incident would have been avoided. The defendants (UHBVN) did not exercise due care and caution... it is more than apparent that the defendants failed to discharge their duty in maintaining the electricity wire and pole in safe condition, which resulted in electrocution of plaintiff (Harminder Singh) and consequent injuries or amputation sustained by him.
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Gurdev Chauhan is one of the most gentle and sensitive of Punjabi poets who has made significant contribution to prose as well as encouraging young talent. It was a fine gesture by the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi to have a face-to-face with him on Saturday morning.
A poet who has published five anthologies of poetry and several books of prose and translations besides editing a literary journal called South Asian Ensemble in the past eight years.
However, what has always struck me is his passion for reading and more so in times when many writers read perhaps only the books they write, or perhaps not even that.
Before speaking to him on his journey with letters in an aside, one made it a point to talk about reading for as the Joseph Brodsky quotable quote goes, There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. This may be an outdated concept if one were to go by the success of Chetan Bhagat or Ravinder Singh or Gulshan Nanda of yore in the context of the Hindi language. But here the concern is literature and not commerce.
Talk about reading and Chauhan smiles because he has often been the butt of jokes for being the man who reads too much: and that too not just in Punjabi but English too. I recall late satirist friend Bhushan holding Chauhan suspect for reading Western literature and probably bringing its elements into his writing. When reminded of this, Chauhan laughs, My first reading was of Punjabi qissas which I brought from Anandpur Sahib during Hola Mohalla when I was still in school and the first novel I read was Perbal Vehan by Dalip Kaur Tiwana and there has been no stopping after that, he says.
He was a frequent browser at the old books stalls in Sector 15 and now he is a regular in Toronto downtown looking for exciting books that have changed many hands. He adds that it is presumptuous to write without reading for illiteracy and originality should not be confused.
His own journey began in Kukran village in Hoshiarpur district and he went on to study in Khalsa College at Mahlpur. His accountability would be clear from the job he took on for bread and butter was as a senior officer in office of the Controller of Defence Accounts in the city.
Chandigarh was to influence me greatly and also give me the distance to weave my rural experience into poetry, he says. His notable literary works include poetry anthologies Makki de Geet, Nikkian Berian Nikke Chappu, a collection of satirical writing Kutta, Kitab te Gulab in Punjabi and Sahitya Satyanaash in Hindi.
He has also translated Amrita Pritams book on Pakistani poet Sara Shagufta, Ek Thi Sara. And his favourite gifts to writer friends are of course books and his joy to see someone turning the leaves of a book in a bus or a train. A rare sight indeed in our part of the world!
Kerala police arrested two men in neighboring Tamil Nadus Coimbatore on Sunday for the abduction and molestation of a leading Malayalam actor, an incident that triggered outrage equally among the public, film fraternity and political parties.
An intensive hunt has been launched to capture main suspect Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Suni, a former driver of the actor. Lookout notices are issued in airports and railway stations.
We have definite leads about the remaining five, inspector general of police Dinesh Kashyap said.
The popular actor was allegedly taken hostage on the way from Thrissur to Kochi on Friday and molested for by a five-member gang. The criminals took pictures and videos to blackmail her before letting her go.
The 30-year-old actor, who had worked in more than 75 movies in several southern languages since debuting as a teenager, was returning home from a film shoot.
The actor said in her statement to police that her car was hit by a van somewhere in Athani. When her driver, Martin, stopped to check the damage, the gangsters boarded her car and took off.
Read | Malayalam actress molestation case: Police says took best foot forward; probe on
After nearly two hours of drive through Kochi city, they left the actor in her car at Palarivattam. A while later, she pulled herself up and alerted a movie director, who called police.
Officers arrested Martin, who was allegedly driving the actors car, on Saturday. After examining his mobile phone call log, they found he was in constant touch with Suni, the lynchpin.
The actors driver is suspected to have followed her car in the gangsters van.
Police suspect the gang of having assaulted women in a similar way in the past, and blackmailed them.
Leading film producer Suresh Kumar said his wife Maneka, a yesteryear actor, had a similar experience five years ago in Kochi when prime suspect Suni, a known driver among the film fraternity, chased her car for some time. I did complain, but nothing happened, Kumar said.
Suni had worked for actor-turned politician Mukesh, too.
Mukesh, now a CPM legislator, said the driver was his driver for a while, but he couldnt fathom that he had such a criminal mind.
Malayalam stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Prithviraj led the film fraternitys support to the traumatised actor. We need action now, Mohanlal said.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan promised on Saturday to bring the culprits to book.
The ruling CPM and the CPI described the case as an isolated incident, prompting the opposition Congress and BJP to accuse the Left Democratic Front coalition government of failing to ensure womens safety.
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Worlds first transgender doll inspired by US teenager Jazz Jennings was launched at the New York Toy Fair on Saturday.
The 18-inch limited edition doll will dressed in a pink top and jean shorts, just like Jennings on the cover of her 2016 memoir Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen.
Shopping with this beautiful lady! A post shared by Jazz Jennings (@jazzjennings_) on Oct 15, 2016 at 7:14am PDT
It has been manufactured by New-York based Tonner Doll Company that specialises in creating collectible fashion dolls, including TV, comic and film characters such as Harry Potter, Spider Man and Wonder Woman. The model is priced at $89.99 ( 6,000), with a red carpet edition in the works that would cost over $100 ( 6,700) .
Born as male, Jennings came out at the age of five, reports The Guardian. At the age of six, she appeared on a talk show 20/20 with Barbara Walters, where she talked about being a transgender. She continues to be an advocate for transgender rights and has addressed young people in schools and universities across America on the subject. She has also authored two books and started a foundation to support transgender youth.
Jennings also stars in an award-winning TV docu-series on her life called I am Jazz.
So many people attempt to cloud the purity of this child's happiness with their tenacious hatred. Her eyes glisten with hope, yet they are still denied by the intolerance of society. Her heart beats with the gratifying rhythm of freedom yet so many others prefer the trepidatious sound of fear or the unrelenting drum of cruelty. But the hope in her eyes and the love in her heart are confident that one day everyone will be able to hear that alluring melody of freedom if we can all just wish for one another to smile in the way of that little girl A post shared by Jazz Jennings (@jazzjennings_) on Oct 15, 2016 at 7:50pm PDT
Doll artist Robert Tonner, who has designed the doll, told CBS that watching Jennings 20/20 interview turned around my thinking on transgender issues. Jazz stands for everything I respect from a human nature point of view - shes incredibly brave, intelligent, warm-hearted and creative, Tonner said in a statement.
On her part, Jennings is understandably thrilled.
Im a doll! Jennings posted on her Facebook page while thanking Tonner for being so progressive.
In a NYT interview last week, she said she was looking forward to owning one of the dolls. I think this sends a very positive message about the transgender community, she said.
Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
A car bomb ripped through a market in Somalias capital Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least 39 people and injuring around 50, officials said, days after Somalia elected a new president.
The car was driven by a suicide bomber, said Ahmed Abdulle Afrax, the mayor of Wadajir district where the bombing happened.
We carried 39 dead bodies and there were many others injured, Dr Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of the Aamin ambulance service, told Reuters.
Madina hospital took in 47 injured people, said the manager, Dr Mohamed Yusuf.
The car was parked near a restaurant, and the blast went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said Ahmed Abdulle.
The powerful blast was the first major attack since Somalias new president was elected on February 8.
Traders try to salvage their goods after the suicide bomb explosion in Mogadishu on Sunday. (Reuters)
Witness Abdulle Omar said the market was destroyed.
I was staying in my shop when a car came in into the market and exploded. I saw more than 20 people lying on the ground. Most of them were dead, he said.
Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated, said Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointing his finger at a clothes shop devastated by the blast.
Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that remained of the shop.
Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers were transported bloodied bodies and wounded victims into awaiting ambulance vehicles.
People stand near a car destroyed in the suicide bomb explosion in Mogadishu on Sunday. (REUTERS)
Its a painful carnage, said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with multiple shrapnel wounds.
The blast occurred a few hours after Somalias Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, denounced the newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as an apostate and vowed to continue fighting against his government.
Al Shabaab, the Islamist insurgent group that is fighting the UN-backed Somali government, did not immediately claim responsibility.
Al Shabaab has been able to carry out increasingly deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the Somali government.
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is a dual US-Somali citizen and a former prime minister.
Civil war has affected Somalia since 1991. Aid agencies warn that a severe drought has placed large swathes of the country at risk of famine.
An imminent attack on a shrine in Multan in Pakistans Punjab province was thwarted with the killing of five militants, police said on Sunday, days after a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Sindh claimed 88 lives.
The militants belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) group, which claimed a suicide blast in Lahore earlier this month in which 15 people died, the Crime Terrorism Department of Punjab police said.
A CTD spokesman said the department received information that eight JuA terrorists had planned to attack a shrine in Multan. The terrorists were hiding in Layyah district, some 350 km from Lahore, and waiting for orders from JuA chief Omer Khalid Khorasani to launch the attack on Sunday, he said.
The spokesman said five militants were killed in a gunbattle with a CTD team after they refused to surrender. Three escaped.
The spokesman said four hand-grenades, 1 rifle, 2 pistols were recovered from them.
The CTD has killed 11 JuA terrorists since a member of the group carried out a suicide blast in Lahore on February 13, killing 15 people including senior police officers.
Last week, the CTD killed six JuA terrorists in Khanewal district of the province.
Pakistan has stepped up its offensive against militants after a suicide blast on Thursday at the famed Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in southern Sindh province killed 88.
A day after the bombing, Pakistan Army claimed to have killed 100 suspected militants in intelligence-based operations across the country. And, law enforcement agencies have beefed up security at all holy places.
Read| Pakistan kills over 100 militants in crackdown after Sufi shrine blast by IS
The Bank of England invited members of the Hindu Council UK for a meeting over concerns that the new 5 polymer currency note contains traces of beef tallow -- an issue that has led to anger among vegans, Hindus, Sikhs and other communities in Britain.
The Hindu Council UK representatives -- chairman Umesh C Sharma JP, director of interfaith relations, Anil Bhanot OBE and director of Hindu temple engagement, Arun Thakur -- were personally invited to a meeting with the chief cashier of the Bank of England, Victoria Cleland, at its headquarters in Threadneedle Street on February 8.
In November 2016, the Bank of England announced that it had been informed that small traces of animal-derived products were used by a supplier in the manufacture of the new polymer 5 notes.
Tallow is a hard, fatty substance made from rendered animal fat. It is commonly used to make soap and candle. The new polymer note uses beef tallow made from suet, which is hard fat found around the animals kidneys, stomach and other organs.
The new 5 notes (and the 10 notes) contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK, the Hindu Council UK said in a statement.
As soon as this announcement was made, the Hindu Council UK together with a number of individuals and representatives of certain communities and organisations had publically expressed concerns about this.
It said that over the last couple of months, the Hindu Council UK has been in communication with the Bank of England and raised the concerns of the Hindu Community, Hindu Temples and Hindu Organisations in the UK over the issue.
It said the Bank of England assured that they were treating those concerns with the utmost seriousness and wanted to understand better what impact the use of small traces of animal-derived products in polymer banknotes may have within the community before making any further statement on the issue.
The Hindu Council UK representatives had a full and frank discussion with Cleland and highlighted that many Hindus were concerned due to the animal-derived products in the new notes, because one of the key virtues in the Hindu faith is ahimsa -- which is the practice of non violence; avoiding harming any living thing, and also avoid the desire to harm any living thing, including protecting animals, which symbolise many of our most important deities, it said in a statement.
The Hindu Council UK representatives informed the Bank of England that it had received many calls from various temples across the UK who had banned the use of the new 5 note as donations and offering to deities within the sanctuary of the temple environment.
Hindus respect, honour and have a special affection for the cow as it represents life and the sustenance of life, the symbol of the earth, the ever giving, undemanding provider for mankind. As a consequence of not allowing the 5 notes in the Temple environment, many of the temples had seen a huge decrease in their temple economy, which relies totally on donations in order to operate, the statement said.
The Hindu Council UK is pleased that the Bank of England have listened to our concerns and halted the issuing of the new 20 notes until a full consultation has been done. In addition, the Bank of England has assured us that they are working with polymer suppliers to investigate alternatives (including some that are plant-based) for the future, it said.
The Bank of England said that it will not withdraw the current 5 polymer banknotes from circulation and will go ahead with plans to withdraw legal tender status of the 5 paper bank notes on May 5, 2017.
The bank will also continue with the proposed launch of the new 10 polymer banknotes in September 2017, using the existing polymer substrate.
The new polymer 5 note, which features a portrait of Winston Churchill, is the first of the Bank of Englands notes not to be printed on paper. The new flexible plastic notes are designed to be cleaner, more secure and stronger.
Production of the new 10 notes began in August last year and are planned to be released into circulation in September this year. The new 10 plastic notes will feature author Jane Austen.
Over 190 speakers have been listed for a two-day debate in the House of Lords on the Brexit bill starting Monday, that seeks to authorise the Theresa May government to begin the process of leaving the European Union.
However, the bills passage is unlikely to be smooth the current composition of the upper house is overwhelmingly pro-EU and the ruling Conservative party does not have a majority. The house cannot overturn the referendum vote, but amendments could delay the Brexit timetable, scheduled to begin by the end of March.
Listed speakers include Indian-origin peers such as Meghnad Desai, Bhikhu Parekh and Karan Bilimoria. Several amendments to the bill have been drafted, most notably one on guaranteeing continued stay of EU citizens already in Britain, including thousands of Goa origin. This is one of the key areas that figured in the debate in House of Commons earlier this month.
The May government has so far refused to give guarantees of their future, linking it to the fate of British citizens living in other European countries to be decided during negotiations.
There have been veiled threats that demands to abolish the House of Lords would be revived if the house did not pass the bill intact. but several peers have expressed confidence that the bill would be returned to the House of Commons in an amended form.
Senior Labour peer Peter Mandelson told BBC on Sunday that the government could be defeated in the House of Lords on the issue of guaranteeing rights of EU citizens post-Brexit, and giving parliament a meaningful vote at the end of Brexit talks.
There is strong body of opinion across the parties and independent peers as well that both these issues are very seriousIf its not good for Britain, send the government back to the negotiating table, he said.
Read| Blair bats to reverse Brexit, revives divide
Known for his proximity to former prime minister Tony Blair, Mandelson defended the formers intervention this week, asking people to rise up against Brexit in a speech that revived divisions on the issue.
The reason why we asked (Blair) to make it last week is that we firmly believe many people had no idea of the terms by which the government would decide leave the EU. There are many people across the country who dont have an extreme view way one way or the other they are not extreme left or right. They feel their views are being bulldozed, he said.
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Stung by the Indian governments recent initiatives to erode support for Khalistan in Canada, the hardline activist group Sikhs for Justice has complained of intimidation to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs.
The letter, sent last week, is based on a report in the Hindustan Times about visits by Indias Consul General in Toronto Dinesh Bhatia to gurdwaras in the Greater Toronto Area, which were once considered pro-Khalistan.
Under the cover of community outreach, the Indian diplomats are creating an atmosphere of intimidation among the Canadian Sikhs who have taken refuge in this country from India's constant persecution, SFJs legal advisor Gurpatwant Pannun alleged in the letter to Canadas Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
However, that complaint appears to have been ignored so far and there has been no communication in that regard between the ministers office and the Indian mission. Global Affairs Canada also did not respond to queries from Hindustan Times on this subject.
Approaching the foreign minister is an initial step towards blocking Indian diplomats from attending events in Canadian gurdwaras, Pannun said in a statement.
The presence of Indian representatives at public events at such gurdwaras is a recent trend, and is indicative of a softening of stance at even those shrines once considered hardcore bastions of the Khalistan movement.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Pannun criticised these visits to what he termed hotbeds of Sikh self-determination.
Another recent gesture by the Indian government has also drawn SFJs ire. Indian missions in Canada, particularly in Vancouver, have started issuing visas to those who had come to the country as refugees. This measure is gradually being rolled out and those with refugee status will be allowed visas of up to 10 years for themselves and their dependents. This is part of a larger effort to wean away support for Khalistan.
Pannun, meanwhile, accused the Indian government of asking those seeking such visas to sign a document disavowing support for Khalistan and argued that ran counter to Canadas policy of freedom of expression. He said he had collected affidavits from individuals who were asked for action before their visa request was processed. That matter will be raised by SFJ with Global Affairs Canada, he said.
However, Consul General Bhatia, in an emailed response, stated: The documentation required for an Indian visa is listed lucidly at the Consulate Generals website, cgitoronto.ca. The question of asking any other document than those at the website, does not arise.
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Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif gave the go-ahead for a military clean-up in his province as Pakistani security forces continued to hunt, arrest and kill militants across the country. The move came on Sunday after a meeting between Sharif and military commanders in Lahore.
As many as 130 suspected terrorists have been killed and more than 350 people arrested across Pakistan in the last three days.
Pakistanis counter-terrorism forces killed five militants in an overnight raid and seized weapons and explosives from their hideout in Punjab province, while more than 300 people, mostly Afghans, were arrested in the region as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Sufi shrine in Sindh province that claimed 88 lives last week, Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider said.
Haider said the militants opened fire when the police raided their hideout. Five militants were killed in the ensuing firefight, while four escaped. He said maps recovered from the raid show the gang was planning attacks on shrines and an air base in Multan.
At least 11 Afghan terrorists were also killed in the countrys restive northwest tribal region during a gun battle with the security forces, security officials said on Sunday. During the gunfight with the terrorists at Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency, at least two soldiers were also wounded. The terrorists were trying to enter Kurram Agency via Khyber Agency from Afghanistan when they were intercepted by the security forces and heavy exchange of fire took place, officials said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed on Saturday that the army targeted a training camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar the banned terror group which had claimed responsibility for the February 13 suicide bombing in Lahore and another suicide attack on the headquarters of the Mohmand Agencys political administration on February 15.
The camp was located near the Pak-Afghan border in areas adjacent to Mohmand and Khyber Agency, and was reportedly overseen by Jamaat-ul-Ahrars deputy commander Adil Bacha. The group on Sunday claimed that both Adil Bacha and Abdul Rahman Baba, leaders of the JuA were alive.
READ| Hours after shrine attack, Pakistan hits militant bases in Afghanistan; envoy summoned
SHOOT-AT-SIGHT ORDERS OVER ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO PAKISTAN
Meanwhile, as Pakistans border with Afghanistan at Chaman remains closed for the third consecutive day on Sunday, authorities issued shoot-at-sight orders for those found trying to cross over. The Friendship Gate was closed on Friday as part of tightening security in the wake of the suicide attack on the shrine in Sehwan. As a result, traffic and transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan also remained suspended.
A spokesman for the Punjab police said the CTD, police and intelligence were focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results from it, while all the arrested suspects were shifted to some undisclosed location for further interrogation. He said the deployment at all sensitive government installations had been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province was also being conducted.
(With agency inputs)
The Islamic State group is haemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the groups business model is on the path to failure.
The analysis released Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphates financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land.
The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016.
One of the mistakes thats been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organisation. It is a terrorist organisation but it is more than that. It holds territory, said Peter Neumann, director of the centre at Kings College London. That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al-Qaeda never had to.
But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said.
We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive, Neumann said.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from the IS leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq.
Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the groups promise of a caliphate.
A fighter of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries stands guard by defensive positions near the frontline village of Ayn al-Hisan, on the outskirts of Tal Afar west of Mosul. (AFP File Photo)
A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic States revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion.
According to the court filing, the group received at least 20% of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artefacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group.
But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62% of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30% of its territory in Syria.
The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion, Neumann said.
A US defence official said IS still has enough money to pay its bills, despite the fact that it has lost sources of income and has reduced what it pays foot soldiers. The official said the US certainly has not seen IS financial situation damaged to the point that it has degraded its ability to conduct external attacks. The official was not authorised to publicly discuss IS and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
People, who fled the violence from Islamic State-controlled northern Syrian town of al-Bab, cheer to rebel fighters upon their arrival in the rebel-held outskirts of the town, Syria. (Reuters Photo)
Near-daily car bombings in Baghdad indicate that the groups ability to inflict carnage is undiminished in Iraq, even as it cedes ground it once controlled.
But Neumann said the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul could be a lethal blow in the long term.
The brand of Islamic State will suffer and the attractiveness of wanting to carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islamic State will suffer because it is no longer projecting strength and utopia, Neumann said.
Irans foreign minister brushed aside new pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that his country is unmoved by threats but responds well to respect.
Iran doesnt respond well to threats, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defence officials. We dont respond well to coercion. We dont respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the US and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. His administration has said Iran was on notice over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.
Everybody tested us for many years all threats and coercions were imposed on us, Zarif said. The minister mocked the concept of crippling sanctions, which he said merely ended with Iran having acquired thousands more centrifuges, used for enriching uranium.
Asked how long it would take Iran if it decided it wanted nuclear weapons, Zarif replied: We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period. So it will take forever for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Irans regional rivals aired a laundry list of grievances about Tehrans behaviour, pointing to the wars in Syria and Yemen, among other issues.
Saudi Arabias foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, argued that the Iranians stepped up the tempo of their mischief during the negotiations on the nuclear deal and have continued to do so since then.
I believe that Iran knows where the red lines are if the red lines are drawn clearly, and I believe that the world has to make it clear to the Iranians that there is certain behavior that will not be tolerated, and that there will be consequences, Jubeir told the conference. And those consequences have to be in tune with the financial side.
Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted that the main challenges facing the region are Iran, Iran and Iran. Asked what approach he seeks against Iran, he replied: Its a combination of economic pressure, very tough policy and of course to impose the resolutions of (the UN) Security Council, for example the ballistic missiles.
US senator Lindsey Graham said that Iran has been working to try and build a nuclear weapon, and if they say they havent, theyre lying. He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of UN resolutions and destabilising the Middle-East.
I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly, he said. I think most Republicans are on board with that concept and well see where President Trumps at.
Officials from both countries say Iran and North Korea want to strengthen relations.
A Sunday report by ICANA.ir, the news agency of Irans Parliament, quotes parliament speaker Ali Larijani as saying: We have always been after stability of relations with North Korea.
Larijani was addressing Choe Thae-bok, visiting chairman of North Koreas Supreme Peoples Assembly. He also said both countries should improve economic relations.
Thae-bok responded, saying: North Korea is seeking improved relations with Iran. He also praised Irans economic and defense improvements.
The report said both officials complained about interventions in independent countries by the United States.
Thae-book is in Iran to participate in an international conference in support of the Palestinians.
Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake the western half of Mosul from the Islamic State group on Sunday morning.
The Iraqi defence ministry had announced on Saturday they had dropped millions of leaflets on the western side of Mosul, telling the population that a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State from their neighbourhoods is imminent.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the operation early Sunday morning on state television, saying government forces were moving to liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression forever, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
The militants are essentially under siege in western Mosul, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians, after US-backed forces surrounding the city dislodged them from the east in the first phase of an offensive that concluded last month.
The leaflets contain instructions for the citizens to get ready to welcome the Iraqi forces that are coming to liberate their areas and to warn the Daesh (Islamic State) members to lay down their weapons and surrender, the ministry had said in a statement on Saturday.
Your armed forces (..) are advancing in the direction of the right side, relying on God, read one of the leaflets, referring to the western side of the northern Iraqi city.
Iraqi security forces advance towards the western side of Mosul, Iraq on February 19, 2017. (Reuters Photo)
Get ready to welcome the sons of your armed forces and to cooperate with them, as your brothers on the left side have done, in order to reduce losses and speed up the conclusion of the battle, added the leaflet.
Other leaflets warned Islamic State members to lay down their weapons and surrender, the ministry said in a statement.
The offensive to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, its last major city stronghold in Iraq, started in October. The hardline Sunni group declared in 2014 a self-styled caliphate that also spans parts of Syria.
The defeat of the group in Mosul would effectively end the Iraqi half of the caliphate.
Mosul is the largest city it captured in both countries and its de facto capital in Iraq. Raqqa is its capital in Syria.
Up to 400,000 civilians could be displaced by the offensive as residents of western Mosul suffer food and fuel shortages and markets are closed, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande told Reuters on Saturday.
A new version of a Trump administration travel ban will not stop green card residency holders or travellers already on planes from entering the United States, US Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly said on Saturday.
US President Donald Trumps initial attempt to clamp down for security reasons on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries and on refugees snarled to a halt amid a judicial backlash and chaos at airports.
The president is contemplating releasing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (order). And I will have opportunity to work (on) a rollout plan, in particular to make sure that theres no one in a sense caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports, Kelly said at the Munich Security Conference.
Asked whether green card residency permit holders would be allowed in, Kelly said: Its a good assumption and, as far as the visas go, ... if theyre in motion from some distant land to the United States, when they arrive they will be allowed in.
He promised a short phase-in period to make sure that people on the other end dont get on airplanes. But if theyre on an airplane and inbound, theyll be allowed to enter the country.
A draft of the replacement executive order shows that the administration aims to put restrictions on citizens of the same seven Muslim-majority countries covered by the initial order, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites an internal State Department memo.
The replacement order could be issued as early as Tuesday, the Journal reported, citing a US government official.
The administration would seek to implement the new order a week to two weeks after it is signed, and covers citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the Journal said.
Trumps original order, which he said was meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants, barred people from those same countries from entering for 90 days and excluded all refugees for 120 days, except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
The abrupt implementation of the order last month plunged the immigration system into chaos, sparking a wave of criticism from the countries affected, and from Western allies and some of Americas leading corporations, especially technology firms.
More than 130 suspected terrorists have been killed and over 350 people, mostly Afghans, arrested in Pakistan as part of a nationwide crackdown by security forces following a string of suicide bombings in the country.
At least 15 terrorists were killed in another targeted strike by the Pakistani forces across the Afghan border on Sunday, Geo News reported.
A high-value target, known for recruiting terrorists and training suicide bombers, was also reportedly gunned down and at least 12 terror sanctuaries, including a hideout and weapon depot camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrars commander were also pounded.
In Pakistans northwest tribal region, at least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed during a gun battle with the security forces. The gun-battle occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency.
Pakistan had reportedly launched strikes against militant bases in Afghanistan on Saturday.
The killing of militants and arrests were part of a nationwide crackdown following a spurt in terror attacks.
Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today that, More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody (in Punjab), mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road.
During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent, he said.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department, Police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted.
He said illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Police have also taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road.
An anti-terrorism court on Saturday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day remand. Tahrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility for the Lahore blast.
As Pakistans border with Afghanistan at Torkham and Chaman checkposts remains closed, authorities have issued shoot-at-sight orders for illegal entries into the country.
The Friendship Gate at Chaman was closed on Friday night due to security concerns in the wake of the suicide attack on the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan town of Sindh province in which nearly 90 persons were killed and over 200 injured.
Traffic and transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan also remain suspended for the second consecutive day, Dawn online reported.
Shooting order has been issued for those found trying to enter Pakistan illegally from any area of the border, Dawn quotes a security official as saying.
Read | Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine blast in Pakistan: What we know about the IS attack
The Friendship Gate has been sealed for an indefinite period, a Frontier Corps spokesman said.
Shops in the Vash Mandi area across the border in Afghanistan were closed and traders in Chaman also did not open their businesses in protest against the terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
Hundreds of trucks and long vehicles carrying transit trade goods and Nato supplies have been stranded on both sides of the border.
Life is a campaign, President Donald Trump told reporters just a short while before launching his re-election bid for 2020 at a rally in Florida on Saturday, not even a month into his first term that has seen one high-level firing, an immigration order that outraged the world and a White House plagued by infighting.
The administration plans to issue a new immigration order this week, which, according to a leaked draft, will target the same seven Muslim-majority nations, but will spare permanent residents (holders of green cards) and which will be rolled out in a way that will give the government time to deal with lawsuits.
Speaking in Munich over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the new version will not stop green card residency holders or travellers already on planes from entering the US.
The president is contemplating releasing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (executive order). And I will have opportunity to work (on) a rollout plan, in particular to make sure that theres no one in a sense caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports, Kelly said on Saturday.
Asked whether green card residency permit holders would be allowed in, Kelly said: Its a good assumption and, as far as the visas go, ... if theyre in motion from some distant land to the United States, when they arrive they will be allowed in.
He promised a short phase-in period to make sure that people on the other end dont get on airplanes. But if theyre on an airplane and inbound, theyll be allowed to enter the country.
The administration would seek to implement the new order a week to two weeks after it is signed, and covers citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a memo from the State Department.
The original executive order, which Trump said was aimed at Islamist terrorism, had banned people from these countries for 90 days and excluded all refugees for 120 days, except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
Trump is also expected to name a successor soon to Michael Flynn, the National Security Adviser he fired over dealings with Russians, but has had trouble finding one, after his first choice, a widely regarded vice-admiral of US navy, turned him down after failing to get an assurance he will be allowed to pick his team.
On Saturday, the president went into full campaign mode, with supporters holding up Trump for 2020 signs, blasting, for starters, the media as he used to, accusing it of having its own agenda, which he told supporters, was not your agenda.
And he also told them Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers, and Abraham Lincoln, one of the most venerated of US presidents, had also complained about media. He quoted Jefferson, who had once extolled the virtues of a free press before souring on it, saying nothing can be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Trump is not the first US president to feel frustrated about unflattering news reports and leaks, but he has gone public about it like few before.
We are here today to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, Trump told supporters. I hear your demands, I hear your voices and I promise you I will deliver. I promise that. And by the way, youve seen what weve accomplished in a very short period of time.
The White House is running so smoothly. So smoothly. And believe me, I and we inherited one big mess.
Both these assertions have been questioned. The White House has been called dysfunctional and rocked by infighting as competing power centres jockey for advantage. At his now famous news conference last week, the president claimed it was operating like a fine-tuned machine. He repeated that claim Saturday in an obvious attempt to counter the narrative taking root that the White House was out of control.
Trump also reprised the claim of having inherited a mess, which has been angrily challenged by aides of former president Barack Obama who have pointed to continuous job growth for 75 months running, and extensive healthcare coverage in their bosss defence. But Trump can be selective, and creative, with facts.
Repeating his vow to fight terrorism, Trump said, You look at whats happening. Weve got to keep our country safe. You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?
But there was really nothing to believe or disbelieve; nothing had happened in Sweden. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, wrote on Twitter, Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. (With inputs from Agencies)
An exchange of angry words is expected as a US aircraft carrier entered the South China Sea for routine patrolling over the weekend amid fresh tensions between Beijing and Washington under the month-old presidency of Donald Trump.
USS Carl Vinson, accompanied by a fleet of warships, is no stranger to the disputed waters and has been deployed in the region several times before. But this time could be different, with tension and unease running high between the two countries despite a phone call between President Xi Jinping and Trump.
Trump has already angered China by talking to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the head of a country that China claims as a breakaway region.
China claims almost the entire SCS, and reacting to the visit of the aircraft carrier, its ministry of foreign affairs warned the US it should not challenge Chinas sovereignty in the region.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea which countries enjoy under international law, but firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight, ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on the routine patrol by the US aircraft carrier.
We also urge the US to refrain from challenging China's sovereignty and security and to respect regional countries' efforts to maintain peace and stability in the SCS, Geng said.
Beijing lays claim to several islands and reefs in the SCS and is locked in dispute with Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam over their ownership.
On its part, the US has spoken out against China building new islands in the SCS and has blamed Beijing for militarising the region.
Official Chinese media warned the US about the visit as early as January when the Carl Vinson-led warship fleet began its journey, alleging its always the US which stirs up trouble in the region.
Facts again show that it is the United States along with its regional allies that have never stopped stirring up trouble in peaceful waters and militarising the South China Sea. Over the past decades, certain countries in the region, under the US double standard, have continuously been deploying heavy weapons on illegally occupied islands and reefs that actually belong to China, official news agency Xinhua said in a comment piece.
The US, self-proclaimed world police, itself has developed a habit of putting on a military show of force on China's doorstep. Even though the region is thousands of miles away from its soil, US warplanes and warships have been patrolling dangerously close to Chinese territory, it said.
Swedes have been scratching their heads and ridiculing President Donald Trumps remarks that suggested a major incident had happened in the Scandinavian country.
During a rally in Florida on Saturday, Trump said look whats happening last night in Sweden as he alluded to past terror attacks in Europe. It wasnt clear what he was referring to and there were no high-profile situations reported in Sweden on Friday night.
The comment prompted a barrage of social media reaction on Sunday, with hundreds of tweets, and a local newspaper published a list of events that happened on Friday that appeared to have no connections to any terror-like activity.
Read | Is Sweden trolling Trump? Deputy PM posts all-female picture signing climate bill
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said that the government wasnt aware of any terror-linked major incidents. Swedens Security Police said it had no reason to change the terror threat level.
Nothing has occurred which would cause us to raise that level, agency spokesman Karl Melin said.
Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted :
Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. https://t.co/XWgw8Fz7tj Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) February 19, 2017
The Aftonbladet tabloid addressed Trump in an article Sunday, This happened in Sweden Friday night, Mr President, and listed in English some events that had happened in Sweden, including a man being treated for severe burns, an avalanche warning and police chasing a drunken driver.
One Twitter user said:
After the terrible events #lastnightinSweden , IKEA have sold out of this: pic.twitter.com/Bs1XI7ffKG Jeanna Skinner (@JeannaLStars) February 19, 2017
Sweden, which has a long reputation for welcoming refugees and migrants, had a record 163,000 asylum applications in 2015 and it has since cut back on the number it annually accepts. Its most recent attack was in the capital, Stockholm, in December 2010, when an Iraqi-born Swede detonated two devices, including one that killed him but no one else.
At the rally, Trump told his followers to look what was happening in Germany, and also mentioned Paris, Brussels and Nice, in apparent reference to the terror attacks there. He didnt specify what was supposed to have happened in Sweden, simply saying Sweden, who would believe this, Sweden.
Over the past few weeks, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway has also referred to a Bowling Green Massacre that never occurred, and she was caught up in a public feud with CNN.
Read | Donald Trump launches re-election bid as US readies new travel ban
Pakistan has reacted and has killed more than 100 militants after Thursday's attack on a shrine that killed no less than 80 people. A suicide bomber blew himself at the Sufi shrine in the town of Sehwan, thus, Pakistan has attacked terrorists and it also lashed out at Afghanistan because it is tolerating militant sanctuaries.
So-called Islamic State stated it had carried out the attack, it was the latest in a string of bombings by the jihadists. In response, Pakistan killed 18 militants in Sindh province, where the Sufi shrine is located, and it also killed another 13 in the north-west.
Borders with Afghanistan have been closed and rockets have been fired into Afghan provinces. Funeral for victims has been taking place on Friday, some 250 people were also wounded in the attack.
Complaints against Afghanistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the bombing and Pakistan's army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, declared that each drop of the nation's blood will be avenged. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor declared more than "100 terrorists" were killed and many others were arrested.
The government also summoned officials from the Afghan embassy, protesting that Afghan soil is used as a base for militants. Pakistani officials gave a list containing the names of 76 "most wanted terrorists", insisting that Afghanistan must take action against them.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday condemned the shrine attack, declaring: "Terrorists once again proved that they have no respect for Islamic values." A number of militants moved to Afghanistan after the Pakistani military's operation in 2014.
They are mostly based in eastern Afghanistan in areas outside the Afghan government's control. The Afghan government declares it has been targeting them and has killed many Pakistani Taliban commanders over the past two years.
Pakistanis blame the Afghan intelligence agency and India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for supporting militants who fight against Pakistan. Afghan officials think this is hypocrisy, accusing Pakistan of discriminating between "good" and "bad" militants.
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US troops have been sent to Bulgaria as part of NATO operations to support Eastern European countries from potential aggression by Russia. The move is the last one in a series of multinational training and security cooperation activities.
This move comes at a tenuous time in the relationship between Russia and the fledgling administration of President Trump, who voiced unusually strong support for NATO. One hundred twenty troops from Fort Carson, Colorado, arrived Wednesday at the Novo Selo training range in eastern Bulgaria.
US combined-arms battalions with some 4,000 soldiers are moving to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. This campaign began in response to Russia's meddling in Ukraine in 2014 and its annexation of Crimea.
NATO operations are disliked by Russia
Moscow has criticized the deployments, calling them provocative and a threat to Russia. Vladimir Putin reiterated that position at the annual board meeting of the Federal Security Service. He said that Russia was declared the main threat to NATO for the first time since 1989, and that the alliance stated that containing Russia is its new mission.
Putin declared that they are provoking us constantly and are trying to draw us into confrontation. NATO is seen as dangerous by many Russian politicians and people.
US leaders opinions on NATO and Russia
Trump has questioned NATO's importance, although last week he committed to attend a May meeting of NATO leaders in Europe. US Defense Secretary James Mattis described Russia's actions around the world as destabilizing and aggressive.
Mattis added that we are not in a position to collaborate on the military level in this moment, but our political leaders will try to find common ground. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated on Thursday that US will consider working with Russia when practical but will stand up for US and allies' interests when both nations disagree.
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Carolyn Van Houten/Staff
U.S. shale oil production, which reshaped the global energy equation, will begin to wane in less than a decade as reserves are drawn down and well output decreases, the Energy Department reported.
Shale and tight oil production is projected to peak in the U.S. in 2026 before beginning to decline as fields and wells become less productive, the Energy Department said. Shale and tight oil production will rise to more than 6 million barrels a day - the majority of all U.S. production - from about 4.9 million barrels a day in 2016.
The best way to boost the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. is to create new, high-paying jobs, not to bring back jobs from poor countries.
That may sound like a subtle difference from what President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail, but it is a distinction that makes a big difference. The United States shouldn't want low-paying, low-skilled jobs using 20th-century technology. To boost the economy, we need the latest technology operated by the most highly skilled workers.
"Manufacturing today is very different from manufacturing that existed 10, 20 or 30 years ago. It is technology-driven, it is efficient, it is very focused on a different type of production," said Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, which represents 14,000 companies.
The only reason many companies found it economical to move manufacturing overseas was that the jobs didn't require a lot of education. Almost anyone can do basic assembly work, which is repetitive and boring. Bringing that work home makes no sense if lower-cost labor in another country is willing to do it for us.
The real challenge comes when a company wants to invest in a new plant using new technology that requires more highly skilled workers. Timmons said U.S. taxes and regulations discourage American companies from investing here.
"In my mind, it's not about moving jobs from one country to another," Timmons said in an interview. "Our goal is for investments in the jobs of the future to be made here."
The new administration and Congress are ready to do their part by overhauling the tax code and regulations, he added. But the United States also needs to invest in better roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure.
Preparing students
What's missing from the policy debate, though, is talk of investing more in education. And that's a problem, since American workers aren't prepared for the jobs currently available, let alone the jobs of the future.
"We've literally got hundreds of thousands of jobs right now in manufacturing in the United States that remain unfilled because we don't have folks with the right skill set or the right technology background," Timmons said.
Manufacturers would like to see more investment in education, but they aren't waiting for lawmakers to wake up to the problem. They are explaining to high schools, community colleges and universities what kind of workers they need, Timmons said.
"Yes, the government has a role in providing training dollars, block grants and those types of things, but ultimately, manufacturers have a role themselves to make sure we are building the programs locally to address the need," he added.
The National Association of Manufacturers will launch their State of Manufacturing Tour on Wednesday at a $70 million Emerson plant in Round Rock. The plant develops automation processes for oil and gas companies. The tour will then go to Austin to visit the General Motors IT Innovation Center and the Helm Boots factory.
Hopefully, lawmakers across the country will pay attention to what American manufacturers say they need, rather than simply responding to voter anger.
What businesses need
For example, many American plants purchase parts and inputs from overseas factories, and a border tax adjustment could make those parts more expensive. As Texas lawmakers consider cutting billions from education, they should recognize that employers need students with more education, not less.
How the Republicans in control of Washington and Austin translate political slogans into policies that actually achieve the intended consequences will not be easy. But they should start by listening to what businesses say they need, not what may sound good in a fundraising letter.
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The owner of the iconic Greenway Plaza and neighboring Phoenix Tower is selling nearly half of its interest in the two high-profile office properties for $512.1 million.
Parkway Inc., a Houston-based real estate investment trust that spun out of last year's merger between Atlanta-based Cousins Properties and Orlando-based Parkway Properties, announced late Friday that it will sell a 49 percent stake to a group of three investors with which Parkway will form a joint venture.
The deal represents an especially large transaction in a city whose office market has been trounced by the oil bust. Rents and occupancies have fallen as oil and gas companies have retrenched or consolidated amid collapsing energy prices.
The Greenway area, however, has held up better than other parts of town. Downtown and the west side have seen energy companies unload large blocks of space onto the sublease market.
A recent report from commercial real estate firm JLL said Greenway Plaza should remain one of the top-performing submarkets in 2017.
Parkway said it will form a joint venture with affiliates of TH Real Estate and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners, which together will acquire a 24.5 percent interest in the portfolio, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which will take a 24.5 percent interest. Parkway will retain a 51 percent ownership stake in the 5 million-square-foot portfolio that includes 11 office properties.
The implied per-square-foot price of the transaction is $210, the company said.
James R. Heistand, Parkway's president and CEO, said the transaction accomplishes several objectives for the company.
"First, we have established a great partnership with three well-capitalized and highly regarded institutional investors that share our view of the long-term resiliency of the Houston market and the expectation of an eventual recovery in Houston office fundamentals," Heistand said in the announcement. "Second, this transaction helps to mitigate risk in a single office campus that represents 57 percent of our company's overall square footage."
The company expects to gain approximately $315.8 million in proceeds from the joint venture, which it said will help strengthen its balance sheet and allow for "the flexibility to further diversify the portfolio through future acquisitions as the Houston market recovers," Heistand said.
The transaction is a good sign for commercial real estate in Houston, said Neil Tofsky, who worked for Greenway Plaza's developer, the late Kenneth Schnitzer, and handled commercial leasing among other operations at the property for many years.
The investors, he said, "are buying into the eventual recovery of the Houston market at good valuations. It's an encouraging sign."
Greenway Plaza last changed hands in 2013 when it was sold Atlanta-based Cousins Properties for $950 million, one of the largest single commercial real estate transactions ever conducted in Houston.
The joint venture expects to assume existing mortgage debt secured by Phoenix Tower, which has an outstanding balance of approximately $76.2 million and matures on March 1, 2023, the announcement said.
It also received a signed commitment letter from Goldman Sachs for a new five-year mortgage loan totaling $465 million to be secured by the other properties in the portfolio. That is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, the same time of the joint venture is to be finalized.
Parkway said it intends to terminate its existing loan and term loan credit facility and prepay the $350 million outstanding balance using proceeds from the joint venture.
Greenway Plaza dates to the 1960s when Schnitzer began developing office towers, condominium buildings and retail space. It once included a below-ground movie theater along the north side of the Southwest Freeway near Edloe.
In its early days, the property housed many of Houston's leading businesses: Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Union Carbide, Travelers Insurance, Dresser Industries and Conoco. Later, Occidental Oil and Gas, Transocean, Invesco and Direct Energy joined the tenant roster.
Parkway will provide property management and leasing services for the joint venture.
HFF represented Parkway in the transaction. Parkway's portfolio also includes buildings in the Galleria and Westchase submarkets.
Close your eyes while Joey Alexander plays the piano and you can easily imagine an old man, a veteran of bebop who maybe grew up in the clubs of New Orleans, whos plunking away for the millionth time but never gets bored and always gives the show his all. In fact, Alexander is 13, and hes barely taller than the instrument he commands with a captains confidence. The Indonesian prodigy I usually avoid this overused word, but let me just this one time has lit up the jazz world like no one since the Pat Metheny Group in the 1980s. His playing, like the playing of any jazz great, embodies contradictions that complement rather than clash with each other. It's muscular yet subtle, deliberate yet relaxed, bright-eyed and vivacious like the young talent he is yet wistful and knowing, like a ghost.
It was no surprise that the audience at the Wortham Center Friday night brought to Houston by the Society of the Performing Arts was ecstatic. They cheered and yelled and clapped anytime they felt Alexanders big energy fill up the room. Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and bassist Dan Chmielinski were kings of the stage in their own right, spiraling out from Alexanders melodies and patterns like a rocket venturing beyond its orbit, then whipping back into recognizable, cathartic territory. And of course the crowd was with them.
But the night was Alexanders Houston debut, so there was an element of courtship as well. Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship? It was as if the audience was hungry for this young man theyve heard all about (Alexander, a Grammy nominee, has played with many of the best jazz players in the world) yet were still curious what he had to offer. Because they knew the stereotype of young virtuosos, the hotshot conservatory kind, who can play their brains out but forget to stop and ponder, those inexperienced faux-prodigies who are too obsessed with showing off to let the musics slow poetry marinate.
But Alexander doesnt have a chip on his shoulder. He has Monk, and friends. On Friday night, Alexander played tribute to old gospels, Thelonious Monk and real book standards of the swing era. Because each historical homage also contained moments of innovation Alexander likes to treat time like taffy and stretch and savor it as he pleases they blended lyrically with the more manic original compositions.
Soul Dreamer, off of Alexanders 2016 LP Countdown (Motema Music), for example, begins with a sorrowful, ambling introduction whose soft rubato crystallizes into harder-pressing grooves. Listen to his solos, and think of how young players typically choose to play more notes, in faster tempo, with predictable accelerandos that build up to a usual climax. Notice how Alexander instead makes deliberately light choices, evoking that old adage jazz is about the notes you dont play. To not show off in the way he knows he can is to have the maturity to put the music above the performer. This is the mark of an artist rather than a technician.
I dont know how Alexander reached the pinnacle of artistry which he now embodies, nor can I predict the heights he may reach in later decades. But to see him lead Countdown, performed as an encore to the voracious audience, with such precision and glee was to feel like being in the same room as history.
The piece was, like the entire concert, an evocation of past and present, a sizzling double-time tune that draws inspiration from both bebop and stranger, darker places. It begins with Owens Jr. on the snare with the rigid, cubic patterns of a marching band drum line, which builds itself up into a fiery, swing-y mess that invites hollers from the crowd. Then the batons passed to Chmielinski for a fierce and lyrical solo, and then to Alexander to guide the melodic vehicle to a soft landing.
What precision. The way the trio times its moments of unison feels almost whimsical. Can a group of three be spontaneous together without losing their sense of individuality? Modern jazz seems to be more and more about answering that question, and Alexander, bebop nerd though he may be, is entirely in tune with the current song-meets-improvisation vernacular.
The end of the concert didnt feel like a conclusion but a beginning. Where is Alexander headed now? With two albums under his belt, and a roster of collaborators to make any jazz artist envious Larry Grenadier and Chris Potter just to name two Alexander could seek to make jazz accessible the way Wynton Marsalis has, or perhaps to push it into new territory. Because even if he is a sensation, Alexander is not yet creating new music. The Friday night concert presented a zenith of execution, but not genre-challenging ideas. This challenge may matter later.
On Friday it wasnt the point. The point was simply to play some great music. But Joey Alexander may outdo himself yet.
A Houston man has received an 80-year sentence for producing, possessing and distributing child pornography, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
William Lee Niver, 49, pleaded guilty last June to the charges of sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography two counts of distributing child pornography, admitting he took explicit images of a young female relative and emailed them to others.
Niver's victim testified at sentencing that she was sexually assaulted and psychologically abused from age 8 to 14, according to a release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which investigated the case.
Officers first spotted Niver after he sent pornographic photos of children, including the victim who testified Friday, to an undercover agent, the release stated. A subsequent search identified more than 7,000 sexually explicit images or videos of young children on his computer.
The public can report suspected child predators to 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, and possible victims to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
JERUSALEM - Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has sparked an uproar in Israel with the publication of a catalog without women.
In an effort to appeal to the country's ultra-Orthodox Jews and their increasingly stringent modesty norms, the niche catalog Ikea Israel released this month depicts Orthodox men with side curls and boys wearing yarmulkes in domestic settings - at a table set for a Sabbath meal, in a study with display cases lined with religious books. But not a single woman or girl.
The move was a departure for the retailer, whose catalogs normally offer an idealized glimpse of diversity.
The regular Israeli Ikea catalog distributed nationally looks like the one distributed in other countries, with both sexes and no identifiably Jewish content other than being in Hebrew.
Ikea's retail manager for Israel, Shuky Koblenz, expressed regret over the women-less publication.
"We realize that people are upset about this and that the publication does not live up to what IKEA stands for and we apologize for this," he said in a statement sent to RNS. "We will make sure that future publications will reflect what IKEA stands for and at the same time show respect for Haredi community."
The ultra-Orthodox - also known as Haredim - make up about 10 percent of a population of 8.5 million.
Koblenz said the brochure had been "customized specifically for the Haredi community in an attempt to reach this minority community in Israel with commercial messages."
Writer Miriam Metzinger, who once led an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, said Haredi consumers, who tend to have large families, are important for Israeli retailers because they need "low-cost furniture, given their birthrate and income level."
It's not the first time the company has waded into trouble in the Middle East. In 2012, Ikea apologized for photoshopping out photos of women from catalogs distributed in Saudi Arabia.
In Israel, critics say efforts by ultra-Orthodox rabbis to keep images of women out of advertisements and segregate men and women on public buses and other public places amount to a human rights violation.
Sam Sokol, a modern-Orthodox reporter for IBA News, said the catalog "is part of the growing trend of purging the images of women from ultra-Orthodox publications and is presented by its proponents as being consistent with religious tradition ... but it's actually misogynistic market segmentation."
Marion Takehara's family woke up one day to a government notice posted on their door. They were to move to a temporary stay in horse stalls before being relocated to an internment camp in Colorado, far from their Los Angeles home.
"As a teenager, I was more worried about whether my friends would end up at the same camp," Takehara recalled.
Signed 75 years ago Sunday, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans, many U.S.-born citizens, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Now living at Parkway Place, a Houston senior living community, the 91-year-old Takehara spends her time sharing her family's story of survival at schools and community centers, saying it is pertinent given that fear of the Muslim and immigrant communities in the U.S. echoes sentiments expressed against Japanese-Americans in World War II.
"There was a time we had to go into hiding because we looked like the enemy," Takehara said. "We feel so sorry for the people who are really suffering right now."
Forced from home
Takehara was 17 when her family and entire Japanese-predominant neighborhood were uprooted from their homes and forced to sell most of their belongings. Prior to receiving the relocation notice, she recalls her parents avoiding decorating their home with Japanese items as a precautionary measure.
Though they spent six months in the camp, Takehara notes that her parents have never once said a bad thing about the U.S. and endured their suffering with gaman, a Japanese term that means enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.
Over the years Takehara learned to look back at her time in the camp with a sense of gaman herself, using it to help her share her experience with others. Most recently, she spoke at a high school where a Muslim student came up to her to thank her for her story that he said helped him find positivity in the face of discrimination.
Still she and others believe that this piece of American history needs to be put in the spotlight. That's the same sentiment shared by the creators of the 2015 Broadway musical "Allegiance," starring George Takei of "Star Trek" fame. The show is loosely based on Takei's own experience in an internment camp.
Lorenzo Thione, a lead producer and writer of the show, said that when team members started working on the project in 2008, they never could have imagined how American politics would play out with xenophobic rhetoric and an "us vs. them" worldview taking center stage.
He noted how much of the public discussion of the Muslim and immigration communities in the U.S. today is reminiscent of the dialogue that led to mass incarcerations in the 1940s.
Trump was a no-show
While the show was still on Broadway, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a Time magazine interview that he wasn't sure whether he would have supported Japanese internment camps. Thione said that the show's team, in response, held a seat for Trump for 70 performances so that he could learn how the camps affected families. He never attended, Thione said.
A filmed version of the show will screen in theaters nationwide today through Fathom Events, including screenings in Houston at the Houston Marq*E Stadium 23, Willowbrook 24 and First Colony 24.
"We hope (the show) serves as a lens through which people can see the current political climate and learn from the past so that it never happens again," Thione said.
Takehara said she is frequently invited to speak at community gatherings and is excited to see the diversity of audiences who wish to learn more about the dark chapter in U.S. history.
And to communities currently fearful of discrimination and hatred against them, Takehara has some advice.
"I would say if you have faith in America and what it stands for, then it's going to be OK," Takehara said.
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Q. I have found a wonderful sleep aid. I am 94 and was having sleep problems until I found something that really works for me.
I drink about a half-cup of pure tart cherry juice every night before bedtime. Even after getting up to visit the bathroom, I go right back to sleep.
A: Thanks for the testimonial. Drinking tart cherry juice has been shown to improve sleep quality, perhaps because Montmorency cherries contain melatonin (European Journal of Nutrition, December 2012).
We would worry about someone your age taking melatonin pills because they can increase the risk for fracture (Age and Ageing, November 2016). Tart cherry juice seems unlikely to cause dizziness or grogginess, however, because the dose of melatonin is low. You might have hit upon the best sleep aid for you.
Readers who are interested in tart cherry juice and other natural approaches to overcoming insomnia may wish to consult our newly revised Guide to Getting a Good Night's Sleep. This online resource is available in the store atPeoplesPharmacy.com.
Q: Most people think that the old-fashioned cough medicine terpin hydrate has been banned. That's not true. Although it's no longer kept in stock at pharmacies, it can be ordered from a compounding pharmacy.
Four years ago, I came down with a bad cold and wicked cough. I asked my doctor if he could write a prescription for terpin hydrate and was surprised that he was willing to do so. I contacted my local compounding pharmacy, and they said they don't carry it in stock, but they would place a special order. They filled my prescription.
Last week, I came down with another bad cold and was coughing constantly. I went back to my doctor, who asked if the terpin hydrate had worked. When I said yes, he rewrote the prescription and the pharmacy filled it. Within 48 hours it made a huge difference, instead of taking three weeks for the cough to run its course.
A: Terpin hydrate was a popular cough medicine in the early 1900s. By the late 1980s, however, the Food and Drug Administration found inadequate evidence to support its continued sale.
This expectorant disappeared from pharmacy shelves, but compounding pharmacies might still make and dispense it. Like you, many readers remember it to be quite helpful for calming a hard-to-treat cough. It is made from oil of turpentine.
Q: I have had Hashimoto's disease since the late '90s. The doctor who diagnosed it said generic levothyroxine is fine as long as the pharmacy doesn't change pharmaceutical suppliers.
How do you know when they change? Lately, my hair is thinning terribly and breaking off. I also have brain fog, constipation, aching joints and insomnia.
I just had a thyroid test, and my doctor said it was fine. He said maybe my pharmacy was buying from a different manufacturer. The pills smell different, but there's no information on the bottle.
A: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the thyroid gland. As a result, the gland loses its ability to produce adequate thyroid hormone.
The usual treatment is levothyroxine, also known as T4. Brand names are Levothroid, Levoxyl and Synthroid.
Any of these forms of levothyroxine can be helpful, but they are not always interchangeable. That is why your doctor recommended sticking with the same generic manufacturer. You will need to talk with the pharmacist about that.
Your doctor's report that your thyroid is "fine" is not specific enough. You'll want to get the actual results of your tests and keep track yourself.
Q: I read about the person who got relief from psoriasis by bathing in the Dead Sea. I had almost the same experience at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
I had a bout of scalp psoriasis and dunked my head several times in the water. I didn't have any more flare-ups again for nearly four months.
On the way back to the U.S. on the plane, we met a woman who flies to Iceland every three months just to go to the Blue Lagoon to treat her eczema. Now I buy the Blue Lagoon shampoo and conditioner online, and my scalp psoriasis has not recurred for nearly three years.
A: The Blue Lagoon is a popular resort spa in Iceland. The water comes from a geothermal power plant that supplies electricity for the city of Reykjavik. It is rich in sulfate and minerals such as silica, sodium and potassium.
Researchers at the University of Iceland have studied the effect of exposure to the geothermal seawater together with exposure to narrowband ultraviolet B light (Photodermatology, Photoimmunology and Photomedicine, February 2014). Although narrowband UVB exposure is a standard treatment for psoriasis, they found that bathing in the Blue Lagoon in addition to light exposure worked faster and produced longer-lasting remissions than UVB exposure alone.
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Norma McCorvey, the Texas woman behind the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion and fueled decades of contentious political debate that continues to reverberate today, died Saturday morning at an assisted-living facility in Katy. She was 69.
After three years of deteriorating health, she died of heart failure following a brief stay in the intensive care unit, according to a close family friend. She'd been hospitalized more than a dozen times, mainly for breathing troubles, since moving to Katy in January 2016 to be near her oldest daughter.
"She was very much at peace at the end," said close friend and pro-life advocate Karen Garnett, who traveled from Dallas to be at her bedside for several days last week.
McCorvey was 22, unmarried and struggling with addiction and poverty when she unwittingly gained national fame as the anonymous lead plaintiff in the watershed Supreme Court ruling that allowed women to obtain abortions in the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
"I'm really kind of just saddened by this," Linda Coffee, the Texas attorney who represented McCorvey in the high-profile case filed in 1970, told the Chronicle on Saturday after she learned of McCorvey's death. "For so long there's been three people when you think of this case: You think of Sarah Weddington and Norma McCorvey and me."
Weddington, Coffee's co-counsel, said she was sorry to hear the news - but also offered a more biting take on the controversial woman at the center of one of the most contentious court decisions in history.
"One thing I've learned is that around Norma you have to know you can't believe almost anything she says," Weddington said from her Austin home Saturday.
Although McCorvey's lawyers pursued the groundbreaking legal action under the pseudonym Jane Roe in order to preserve their client's anonymity, McCorvey later shed her Roe mantle and eventually came out as an abortion foe and born-again Christian.
"I'm 100 percent pro-life. I don't believe in abortion even in an extreme situation. If the woman is impregnated by a rapist, it's still a child. You're not to act as your own God," she told the Associated Press in 1988.
After her passing, anti-abortion groups stepped up to mourn.
Texas Right to Life President Jim Graham called McCorvey - who never actually had an abortion - a "beautiful soul who transformed her life."
"Texas Right to Life was blessed and honored to befriend and to work closely with Norma for decades, and her contributions to the pro-life movement are too great to be estimated," he said in a statement.
National Director of Priests for Life Father Frank Pavone praised McCorvey's conversion to Christianity and offered condolences.
"I'm sorry she won't be here to celebrate with me when we finally abolish legal abortion in this country, but I know she will be watching," he said.
Garnett, former executive director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas, described her as "passionate" and "feisty."
"She did not have any idea what actually would follow from that case when she was first involved in it," Garnett told the Chronicle. "She was so sorry that so many millions of children's lives were lost over the last 44 years and yet she came to a place of tremendous peace through the grace of God."
Becoming Jane Roe
Born in 1947 in a small village in Louisiana, McCorvey lived in Houston and Dallas before her family shipped her off to reform school in the North Texas town of Gainesville.
At 16, she married Woody McCorvey, then left while pregnant and came out as a lesbian.
"My mom screamed, 'What did a lesbian know about raising a child?' I lost my child, and my home," she said in 1988, claiming her mother took custody of the baby.
She gave a second child up for adoption and was pregnant for the third time when an adoption attorney put her in touch with lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.
The three women met up in a Dallas diner and decided to make McCorvey their lead plaintiff - although the lawyers had their doubts.
"I was worried about taking the case because she looked so far along," Coffee said.
But to make their case, the two young attorneys only needed their client to be pregnant when the case started.
In the end, Coffee and Weddington were satisfied that McCorvey could be the plaintiff they needed, though Weddington expressed some retrospective doubt about the fateful decision.
"I was too young to know that your clients lied," said Weddington. "It would have been nice if I'd picked somebody else."
But, despite the troubled client, ultimately the case - a class-action suit naming Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade as the defendant - made it to the Supreme Court and scored an overwhelming victory on the national stage.
"It's meant a lot to many women around the nation," Weddington said.
Justice Harry Blackmun - appointed by President Richard Nixon - wrote an opinion declaring the Constitution's right to privacy "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."
"The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent," he wrote.
After the Jan. 22, 1973, decision - issued long after McCorvey had given birth and offered the baby up for adoption - the troubled woman at the center of the case made her identity public. In the 1980s she became a pro-choice activist and for a time worked at an abortion clinic in Dallas.
And though she initially claimed the pregnancy that sparked the high-stakes legal wrangling was the result of rape, she later recanted.
In 1994, she put out a tell-all autobiography, offering gritty details on her dysfunctional family, reform school, history of petty crime, struggle with alcoholism and an attempted suicide.
Religious conversions
Then the following year she did an about-face with a televised baptism performed by abortion foe the Rev. Philip "Flip" Benham.
After finding her faith, McCorvey abandoned her longtime lover, Connie Gonzalez, decrying homosexuality as a sin.
In 1998, she put out a book detailing her evangelical conversion, but by the end of the year she'd converted again to Catholicism.
She later called her involvement in Roe v. Wade "the biggest mistake of my life" and publicly disparaged her attorneys as "self-interested" women who "exploited" her. In 2003, she embarked on a failed bid to have the case overturned.
"She lives for the day that Roe v. Wade will be reversed," her lawyer Allan Parker told the Chronicle at the time.
But Weddington, now 72, has her doubts.
"I have never been sure if she was really against abortion," she said, describing McCorvey as someone who was "always looking for money."
But as the controversial, ever-changing activist's legacy is put to rest, the women of her erstwhile legal team worry about what's ahead for the decision that bears her name.
"All of us who want to be sure that women can continue to make their own choices are very concerned about what the future is," Weddington said. "If you look at what's the future, it just depends on who's on the Supreme Court."
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LOS ANGELES - A huge Pacific storm that parked itself over Southern California and unloaded, ravaging roads, opening sinkholes and leading to the deaths of at least three people, eased off Saturday. But it was only a temporary reprieve as new storms took aim farther north.
The National Weather Service predicted drying weather through Sunday followed by the return of wet weather in the region. But while flash-flood watches for Southern California were canceled, Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week before the storm moves out.
"Stronger southerly winds and widespread flooding will be likely as an atmospheric river (of moisture) takes aim somewhere along the central California Coast," a weather statement warned.
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north where damage to spillways of the Lake Oroville dam forced evacuation of 188,000 people last weekend. As of Saturday, the lake's water elevation had fallen more than 45 feet.
Meanwhile, authorities up and down the state were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing creeks, mudslide threats in foothill areas denuded by previous fires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighborhoods.
Northwest of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were evacuated Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond. Fire Chief Kenny Cohen said nearly 100 homes and the elementary school filled with a couple inches of water before the water began receding.
No injuries were reported.
In the desert town of Victorville, several cars were washed down a flooded street, and one man was found dead in a submerged vehicle after others were rescued, San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
And in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when a tree falling in heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car.
On Saturday, searchers found the body of a man in his 20s who was swept down a rain-swollen gully in Thousand Oaks a day earlier. KCBS-TV reported that the body was found in Arroyo Conejo Creek.
In the Studio City area of Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars, the second on live TV as viewers watched it teeter on the edge before plunging in. One driver was taken to the hospital in fair condition.
Carolyn Kaster/STF
Four weeks in, the man who says he inherited "a mess" at home and abroad is presiding over a White House that is widely described as itself being a mess.
At a stunning pace, President Donald Trump has riled world leaders and frustrated allies. He was dealt a bruising legal blow on one of his signature policies. He lost his national security adviser and his pick for labor secretary to scandal. He's seen forces within his government push back against his policies and leak confidential information. All of this has played out amid a steady drip of revelations about an FBI investigation into his campaign's contacts with Russian intelligence officials.
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Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport immigrants in the United States illegally and at the border.
In a pair of memos, Kelly offered more detail on plans for the agency to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests.
The new directives would supersede nearly all of those issued under previous administrations, Kelly said, including measures from President Barack Obama aimed at focusing deportations exclusively on hardened criminals and those with terrorist ties.
"The surge of immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States," Kelly stated in the guidelines.
He cited a surge of 10,000 to 15,000 additional apprehensions per month at the southern U.S. border between 2015 and 2016.
In a series of executive actions in January, President Donald Trump announced plans to make good on his campaign promises to build a wall on the border with Mexico and to ramp up enforcement actions against the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Kelly's memos, which have not been released publicly, are intended as an implementation blueprint for DHS to pursue Trump's goals.
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, was sworn in to oversee the Department of Homeland Security hours after Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20. His memos are copied to officials at Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman declined to comment on the documents but did not dispute their authenticity.
A White House official said the memos were drafts and that they are under review by the White House Counsel's Office, which is seeking some changes. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is not complete, declined to offer specifics.
The memos do not include measures to activate National Guard troops to help apprehend immigrants in 11 states that had been included in a draft document leaked to reporters on Friday. DHS officials said Kelly, whose signature did not appear on the draft document, had never approved such plans.
Immigrant rights advocates said the two memos signed by Kelly mark a major shift in U.S. immigration policies by dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement operations.
The new procedures would allow authorities to seek expedited deportation proceedings, currently limited to undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for two weeks or less, to anyone who has been in the country for up to two years.
Another new provision would be to immediately return Mexican immigrants who are apprehended at the border back home pending the outcomes of their deportation hearings, rather than house them on U.S. property, an effort that would save detention space and other resources.
The guidelines also aim to deter the arrival of a growing wave of 155,000 unaccompanied minors that have come from Mexico and Central America over the past three years. Under the new policies, their parents in the United States could be prosecuted if they are found to have paid smugglers to bring the children across the border.
"This memo is just breathtaking, the way they really are looking at every part of the entire system," said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
Joanne Lin, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement that "due process, human decency, and common sense are treated as inconvenient obstacles on the path to mass deportation. The Trump administration is intent on inflicting cruelty on millions of immigrant families across the country."
The memos leave in place one important directive from the Obama administration: a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that has provided work permits to more than 750,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children.
Trump had promised during his campaign to "immediately terminate" the program, calling it an unconstitutional "executive amnesty," but he has wavered since then. Last week, he said he would "show great heart" in determining the fate of that program.
The memos instruct agency chiefs to begin hiring 10,000 additional ICE agents and 5,000 more for the Border Patrol, which had been included in Trump's executive actions.
Kelly also said the agency will try to expand partnerships with municipal law enforcement agencies that deputize local police to act as immigration officers for the purposes of enforcement. The program, known as 287(g) was signed into law by the Clinton administration and grew markedly under President George W. Bush's tenure. It fell out of favor under the Obama administration.
Currently 32 jurisdictions in 16 states participate in the program, according to Kelly's memo.
Kelly called the program a "highly successful force multiplier," and instructed his deputies to expand it "to the greatest extent practical."
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council that represents federal agents and officers, had not seen the memos as of Saturday afternoon. In an interview, he said his organization fully supports the Trump administration's agenda on border security.
Judd said he thinks the effort to crack down on enforcement is already paying dividends. He said that apprehensions of immigrants crossing illegally in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the heaviest traveled areas of the border, have fallen by about 1,000 between the first two weeks of January and first two weeks of February.
Those figures could not be independently corroborated by the Washington Post. Judd attributed the purported decline to fear among immigrants that they would not be able to stay in the country under Trump.
"They're heading in the right direction," Judd said.
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This is how the muzzling starts: not with a boot on your neck, but with the fear of one that runs so deep that you muzzle yourself.
Maybe it's the story you decide against doing because it's liable to provoke a press-bullying president to put the power of his office behind his attempt to destroy your reputation by falsely calling your journalism "fake."
Maybe it's the line you hold back from your script or your article because it could trigger a federal leak investigation into you and your sources (so, yeah, jail).
Or, maybe it's the commentary you spike because you're a publicly supported news channel and you worry it will cost your station its federal financing.
In that last case, your fear would be existential - a matter of your very survival - and your motivation to self-censor could prove overwhelming.
We no longer have to imagine it. We got a real-life example last week in San Antonio, where a small PBS station sat atop the slippery slope toward censorship and then promptly started down it.
It's a single television station in a single state in a big country. And the right thing ultimately happened. But only after a wrong thing happened.
The editorial misfire bears retelling because it showed the most likely way that the new administration's attempts to shut down the free press could succeed, just as it shows how those attempts can be stopped.
The story began with a Jan. 24 speech that Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, gave on the House floor regarding what he described as the unfair way the national media was covering President Donald Trump. He said for instance that the media ignored highs in consumer confidence, which of course it did not. And he ended with an admonition for his constituents: "Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth."
His remarks caught the notice, and the ire, of a longtime San Antonio-area journalist and commentator, Rick Casey, who hosts a weekly public affairs program "Texas Week" on KLRN. He ends each week's show with his own commentary, which also runs in the San Antonio Express-News and occasionally is published in the Houston Chronicle.
Casey, a former Metro columnist for the Houston Chronicle, has been able to work for "40 years as a professional smart ass," he told me, because "I'm not really a bomb thrower - I've watched politicians for so many years that I know how to be strong about something without being unfriendly."
But Smith's comments bothered him enough that he wrote up a stemwinder of a closing commentary.
"Smith's proposal is quite innovative for America," it went. "We've never really tried getting all our news from our top elected official. It has been tried elsewhere, however. North Korea comes to mind."
All set to go, Casey mentioned the coming commentary on a Facebook promotion, which in turn caught the eye of Smith's office, which called the station to inquire about the segment.
Forty minutes before the show aired, the station's president and CEO, Arthur Rojas Emerson, left a message for Casey saying he was pulling the commentary and replacing it with an older one. Casey told me he missed the call but saw what happened with his own eyes.
At a meeting the next Monday, Casey said, Emerson expressed concern "that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was under attack and that this would add to it." The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides financing for public stations, including KLRN, and Trump's election has brought heightened fears that its financing will be cut.
It also happens that Emerson had left journalism for several years to run his own advertising firm and that Smith had at one point been a client.
Casey says he asked Emerson if he'd be willing to come on the program and discuss it all, but Emerson declined. And that seemed to be that.
But as we're learning this year, journalism has a safety net in the people who appreciate it and the people who work in it.
First, when Casey's commentary ran as planned in the San Antonio Express-News, astute readers noticed it was different than the previous night's televised commentary. The story of what happened began traveling around San Antonio journalism circles, making its way to Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia, who shared the details Feb. 10.
Another titan of Texas journalism, Evan Smith, who co-founded The Texas Tribune and regularly appears on Casey's program, noticed Garcia's column while he was in Washington.
"I had a hot coffee in my hand and I came very close to dropping it," Smith told me. "Holding people accountable in public life is so fundamentally important that this idea that somehow we're going stop doing that because we're worried about what the government's going to do to us, I so unbelievably reject that."
As it happened, Smith was in Washington for a meeting of the PBS national board, on which he sits, and "I certainly got into the boardroom and talked to people in the system." He also called Emerson, and told him "I didn't see why the Tribune or I should continue to be associated with this show or this station."
By late last week, Emerson had agreed to let Casey's original segment run this Friday, as long as it included a new "commentary" label that will run with his opinion segments.
When I caught up with Emerson last week, he acknowledged making "a mistake" that should not tarnish a career spent mostly in broadcast news, starting in a $1.25-an-hour job as a cameraman.
"I had to make a decision in what was about 20 minutes," he said.
He acknowledged that "clearly we always worry about funding for public television" but said that wasn't the "principal reason" for his decision to hold back the commentary. "We have to protect the neutrality of the station - somebody could have looked at it as slander," he said. The "commentary" label, he said, would take care of it.
Casey is satisfied with the result. But he acknowledged it was a close call and that he was uniquely qualified to push back in a way others might not be.
"I'm lucky to be in the position of being 70 years old and not in the position of being 45," he said, meaning that job security was not the same issue. "There's no level of heroism here."
In a week in which Congress is calling for a leak investigation into stories in the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN that led to Michael Flynn's forced resignation as national security adviser, heroism is what's called for. Hopefully there's enough of it to go around.
Rutenberg writes "The Mediator" column for the New York Times. Zach Wichter contributed research. 2017 New York Times News Service
"I love the poorly educated!" - Donald Trump
"Think! It ain't illegal yet." - Funkadelic
It's time we talked about the most consequential political divide in this country.
That divide is not between liberals and conservatives. Rather, it is between the ignorant and the informed, between those who have information and can extrapolate from it and those who do not and cannot. There is an education gap between left and right, and it poses a grave threat to our national future.
This gap has been empirically proven. A 2015 Pew Research Center study, for instance, found that only 24 percent of Americans with post-graduate degrees and 29 percent of those with college degrees identify as consistently or mostly conservative. The corresponding numbers for liberals were 54 and 44, with the rest not identifying strongly with either ideology.
But empirical proof is superfluous. The truth has been obvious since the knowledge-starved likes of Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin and Louie Gohmert first became stars of the political right. It has been obvious since Stephen Colbert found it necessary to coin the word "truthiness."
Now, however, that ignorance has reached the highest levels of American governance. Did The Great Trumpkin really sign an executive order without knowing what was in it? Did he really reportedly have to ask what Vladimir Putin was talking about when the Russian president brought up an arms-control treaty in a phone call? Is his Twitter feed really a blizzard of embarrassing misspellings? Was there really a misspelling in his official inauguration poster? Did his Education Department - repeat: his Education Department - really misspell "W.E.B. Du Bois" and then, misspell its apology? Did he really praise Frederick Douglass, stone cold dead since 1895, as "an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more?"
Sigh. Yes, all of it.
As he has already legitimized coarseness, misogyny and bigotry, the so-called president now legitimizes ignorance.
I'm aware of the potential for coming off like a snob or a bully in appearing to score people for lack of education. For what it's worth, my mother lacked education; she had about seven years of formal schooling - par for the course for a black girl in 1930s Mississippi. The woman had a reverence for knowledge, though. She was never book smart, but she was one of the wisest people I've ever known.
So I'm here not to mock those who lack information, but to lament those who fail to value it. We are asked, implicitly, repeatedly, to believe that failure equals authenticity.
Meantime, a new poll says that a third of us don't know that the Affordable Care Act and "Obamacare" are one and the same. And Jennifer Williams, an editor at Vox.com, recently received a note from a reader who was "dissapointed with your facts," and advised "teaching people the correct history" - all while talking about how we went to war "with Saudi Arabia" after Sept. 11.
That's not "authentic" - or funny. No, it's frightening. See, those people vote. They make decisions. Indeed, one of their decisions is in the White House.
The need to fix American education could not be more stark or urgent. We must wrench our local school boards free of partisan political hackery and redouble our efforts to teach our children not what, but how to think. The world is not growing less complex or challenging while we dither about, literally pretending ignorance is bliss.
With apologies to The United Negro College Fund: A country is also a terrible thing to waste.
Pitts, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Readers may write to him via email at lpitts@miamiherald.com.
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Unemployment has been relatively low for months now, but statistics never tell the whole story, and President Trump smartly capitalized during the campaign on the reality of workers left behind by a changing economy.
His crusade against Carrier, Ford and other companies that had announced plans to move jobs overseas began even before he took office. But ultimately - and even in the short term - keeping a handful of manufacturing plants in the United States does not mean large numbers of workers will remain on the factory floor.
If new public policy emphasizes "saving" jobs at the expense of "creating" jobs, the bleeding will continue. Do the math, and it becomes clear that forcing companies to remain in the United States or to retain jobs they planned to cut is, in many cases, a bad business decision.
New jobs will be different
The labor market is fluid. Thousands of jobs are created and destroyed every day, and the new jobs may bear little resemblance to the old jobs.
Many communities already understand this and are shaping their own futures through retraining programs at community colleges, support for entrepreneurs and other efforts aimed at people and paychecks rather than at the industries that defined the 20th century.
Midland is a good example. The West Texas city suffered devastating population losses during earlier oil busts, but this time, as the Houston Chronicle recently reported ("Midland primed for new boom" Page A1, Feb. 5), people stayed even as the Texas economy shed 100,000 energy jobs. Rather than pursue a dwindling number of oil field jobs elsewhere, people remained in Midland to start their own businesses - food truck permits grew 50 percent from 2015 to 2016 - or take lower-paying jobs that went begging during the boom. As hiring picks up, many will return to the oil patch.
But for many, their new jobs in the industry will be different from their old jobs. And there will be fewer jobs, thanks to automation, which previously upended manufacturing and other sectors.
An economy of ideas
Government pressure to hire in the face of these changes makes little economic sense unless the company is also protected in some way - import taxes, import quotas and the like, as the Trump administration is proposing. In that case, the company might be fine, at least for a while, but the rest of us will not be. Responding to pressure or the threat of a critical presidential tweet will mean higher prices for downstream businesses and everyone else.
In a market economy, new ideas and technology create new companies and new markets. The future will come from people with an idea. Witness the histories of Hewlett-Packard and Southwest Airlines, which are not exceptions. Indeed, startup firms are a major source of job creation. Between 1992 and 2005, firms less than one year old created about 3 million net jobs, according to the Kauffman Foundation, while older firms shed about 1 million jobs.
And like those pre-automation jobs in the oilfield, many are gone forever. Consider agriculture and manufacturing - two historically important economic markets. Both have shed millions of jobs over the past 70 years, but productivity has increased.
Worker resilience
Public policy can aid in this transition with an overriding strategy of eliminating the obstacles that prevent people from achieving their goals, directed by their interests and abilities.
Instead of focusing on existing business enterprises, policy should emphasize new tax and regulatory rules that reward risk and reduce barriers to the connection between new ideas and the investment they require.
And local communities must take responsibility for their futures, as well.
Sarah van Gelder offered some examples of that from the Rust Belt, where Trump's call to restore coal and factory jobs resonated with voters, in her book, "The Revolution Where You Live." She found people forming farmer's markets to sell local produce and creating an economy independent of decisions made in Washington, D.C.
That is not so different from Midland's food truck boom, or the surge in community college enrollment that Texas and other states reported during the 2008 recession. All are about local responses as new technology and industries replace older ones.
Odds are high you do something far different than your parents, and especially your grandparents. Employment policy should redouble efforts to improve worker resilience - including job retraining - so that workers can transition to different occupations without disrupting their ability to generate a robust income.
A renewed emphasis on what works in targeted skill-building, not just an attempt to stem job loss, and a variety of educational initiatives can improve our ability to adapt to the challenges we face.
Granato is executive director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and a professor of political science.
Another busy week has come to a close in Jefferson City, and just like many other weeks, quite a bit was accomplished in a short time. The senate was able to pass two bills that will assist in improving a business climate in Missouri. Senate Bill 237 and Senate Bill 45 both advanced in the Senate, and will help reform Missouris legal climate to attract more businesses and investment to our state.
Senate Bill 237 modifies definitions of employee and physician employee in actions against health care providers for personal injury or death. This bill returns the law to the intention of the 2005 tort reform that the Missouri Supreme Court broadened. Senate Bill 237 fixes the definition of employee and restores the language to what was intended by the General Assembly in 2005. The previous definition caused expanded and unnecessary liability increases to premiums. Increased premiums drive up the cost of health care for both patients and businesses. If it becomes law, SB 237 will limit malpractice liability to the responsible party and keep health care costs down for Missourians.
Senate Bill 45, modifies laws regarding arbitration agreements between employers and at-will employees. Mutual agreements, or arbitration agreements, between an employer and employee are a quick and cost-effective way to resolve employment issues. Senate Bill 45 reforms the arbitration process and will protect employers rights in arbitration agreements. The measure will ensure the arbitrator is mutually agreed to by both parties, and will allow businesses to better manage their legal risk. Arbitration is a lower-cost option than the court system process.
I would also like to use this opportunity to reassure the constituents of the 33rd Senate District about the current budget negotiations. The governors proposed budget contains some cuts for services used by senior citizens and the disabled. The proposed budget would change the criteria for nursing homes and in-home care and has the potential to leave thousands of Missourians without care. Receiving services at home ensures that seniors stay connected with their community and maintain relationships with friends, neighbors and church or social groups.
I want to assure you that I will do my homework and fully vet the proposed budget from the governor, and I will do everything possible within my power to continue to protect our senior citizens in the 33rd District and across the state of Missouri. I understand the seriousness of my position on the Senate Appropriations Committee and do not take lightly the decisions we are tasked to make.
Mike Cunningham is a Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 33. Contact him at 573-751-1882 or www.senate.mo.gov/cunningham
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Photos of RCMP officers helping asylum-seekers fleeing the U.S. and illegally crossing into Canada Friday have attracted international attention.
The Canadian Press (CP) captured the images in Hemmingford, Que. on the border with Champlain, N,Y. As a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer questioned a man, the rest of the group made a dash across the border where RCMP were waiting, according to Reuters.
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The man also successfully ran from the agent into Canada, according to CP photos.
Eight people four adults and four children were immediately taken into custody by the RCMP. If they make a refugee claim, they will go through an assessment process by Canadian officials.
It's unclear where the group is originally from; CP identified them as Somalian but Reuters reported that they are Sudanese.
Here's how the illegal crossing unfolded in CP photos:
RCMP Officers Help Refugee Claimants Into Canada From U.S. Border See Gallery
Just a day earlier, four people were arrested near the same town for crossing illegally into Canada. More than 450 people have claimed refugee status at Quebec land border crossings in January alone, said the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Most avoid official border crossings because of the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S. It requires that people apply for refugee status in the first safe country they land in. If they try to enter at a border crossing, they will be turned away unless a blood relative lives there.
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However, Canada generally hears asylum claims from people who enter the country via unregulated crossings.
The number of refugees making the frigid trip sometimes on foot for hours from the U.S. to Canada has jumped this year, following President Donald Trump's executive order to ban all refugees and travellers from seven countries. Both Somalia and Sudan are on the list.
Trump's order is in legal limbo as judges question whether it is constitutional.
A gala fundraiser in Florida got two surprises on Saturday when U.S. President Donald Trump showed up, followed by an impromptu serenade by former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney.
The event for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. was being hosted by Canadian musician David Foster. According to the Palm Beach Daily News, Trump and his wife Melania appeared after the dinner's main course and sat at Mulroney's table.
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Foster then called up Mulroney on stage and invited him to sing either "Danny Boy" or "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." The former Canadian leader obliged with the latter as Foster accompanied him on keyboards.
"Mr. President, I hope this doesn't fracture Canadian-U.S. relations," Mulroney joked with the Trumps, who are his longtime neighbours in Palm Beach.
Doug Kass, an author and trader, posted video of the performance (Mulroney's segment starts at around 2:30):
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David Foster performing at Mar a Lago tonite - as Donald Trump looks on with Melania.https://t.co/f2iFOHJllw Douglas Kass (@DougKass) February 19, 2017
Mulroney famously performed the song with former U.S. president Ronald Reagan in 1985 at what became known as the Shamrock Summit in Quebec.
The fundraiser for the Boston-based cancer research institute has been hosted at Mar-a-Lago before, but this year saw opposition from hundreds of medical students, doctors and health-care professionals, reported the Boston Globe. They argued that Trump's immigration ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries threatens overseas patients who may be treated at the facility as well as its research program.
Last month, the institute said it was too late to cancel the gala, but would try to avoid politically charged venues in the future, said the Toronto Star.
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Mar-a-Lago is both a private club and also houses Trump's private residence.
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Swedes have been scratching their heads and ridiculing President Donald Trump's remark that suggested a major incident had happened in Sweden.
During a rally in Florida on Saturday, Trump said, "Look what's happening last night in Sweden," as he alluded to past terror attacks in Europe.
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After announcing that the White House planned to renew its efforts to restrict immigration, Trump cited several European countries and cities that he said showed the dangers of admitting immigrants, particularly refugees.
You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden, Trump told a large crowd of supporters in a hangar at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport. "Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden," he added. "They took in large numbers. Theyre having problems like they never thought possible."
Trumps subsequent remarks made clear he was referring to European locales that had endured terrorist attacks in the past two years.
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Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted: "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound."
You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden." Donald Trump
The comment has prompted a barrage of sarcastic social media reaction on Sunday.
#TrumpRally#swedishincident Maybe there *was* an attempted attack in Sweden but it was thwarted by their counter-terrorism measures ...... pic.twitter.com/owAdUmGm8B Smile & Nod Politely (@mrbimler) February 19, 2017
UNCOVERED: plans for terrorist attack in Sweden last night. RT because the fake news MSM wont report it!#swedenincident via @LiogaYuklapic.twitter.com/aK8y7Ex8x8 The Hummingbird (@Alifaith55) February 19, 2017
Live camera footage from the #swedishincident; our prayers go out to them. pic.twitter.com/yyeAmP2lVY A Very Angry Hobbit (@VeryAngryHobbit) February 19, 2017
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Aftonbladet newspaper listed in English some events that had happened Friday in Sweden, including a man being treated for severe burns, an avalanche warning and police chasing a drunken driver.
Trump's White House has now made up three terrorist attacks to sell their #MuslimBan 1. Bowling Green 2. Atlanta 3. Sweden Zac Petkanas (@Zac_Petkanas) February 19, 2017
Others concluded that Trump had been referring to a segment on the Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight, which explored an alleged rise in crime following Swedens admission of a large number of refugees from Africa and the Middle East.
turns out "what happened last night in Sweden" actually just means "last night I was watching Tucker Carlson talk about Sweden" pic.twitter.com/6z5pfOJ7Yv Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 19, 2017
With files from Daniel Marans
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Rosalind Franklin and Ada Lovelace - among the great scientists who have paved the way for Women in STEM. But whilst these names and their passion for research may inspire women to pursue careers in the sector, there is a widespread issue in supporting women throughout their development in scientific roles.
65% of early career researchers in biomedical sciences are female, yet a huge drop off rate is reported when looking at progression to professor level with less than one in five biomedical professor positions across the research sector currently held by women.
I am fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for science in my role as Reader in Renal Sciences and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at Kings College London and King's College Hospital, whilst still having the flexibility to focus on my family, whenever they need me. It's very hard work, but also enormously rewarding.
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However, developing a career in science as a female is not without its challenges. Unfortunately, I think some work place processes discriminate against female employees in a completely unintentional way. For example, setting up decision-making meetings at 8am when female colleagues are on the school run - so it's harder to get involved - undoubtedly having an impact on career progression somewhere along the line.
Although I've always had faith in the system and have never personally felt discriminated against, I have occasionally witnessed attitudes towards colleagues change when they return to work part time after having children. Assumptions have been made about part time workers' commitments to their jobs and change in their personal priorities, which have effectively marginalised them from being full members of the team. Attitudes like this are not appropriate, and we are working hard to discourage them through programmes such as Athena SWAN charter, run by the Equality Challenge Unit.
I strongly believe we need to continue to work hard to eradicate all issues surrounding gender equality in the sector and to open up more opportunities for women across STEM based industries. There is clearly a disconnect between those entering scientific professions at entry level, and those progressing into more senior roles, so it's important that organisations look at their data to understand where the issues may lie and, more importantly, what can be done to address them.
This month, Kidney Research UK, who are pleased to report a 50/50 split of male and female researchers it funds, launched a Women in Science campaign. The campaign champions all the incredible female researchers we currently have working across the industry, with an aim to inspire the next generation of girls hoping to pursue careers in science.
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Inspiration derives from passion and people, and I believe that mentoring is essential in supporting female research Scientists. I have had a series of influential mentors throughout my career but in the early days all my mentors were men, as there just weren't many women to choose from. It would have been nice to have had strong female characters to look up to, who perhaps had been through some of the same things as me.
I have been interested in science for as long as I can remember but it was one, unexpected, comment in particular which I think drove me to turn my passion into a career. This was when my physics teacher said to me: 'girls really only do Physics A-Level as they know they will be in a class full of boys'.
It turns out that this comment only made me more determined to show my teacher, and everyone else, that I was going to do things differently, but it's important to remember that young girls can be very impressionable and it's vital that they have a solid support network in place and lots of great role models to help them reach their potential.
I've been lucky to have a fantastic network of people around me throughout my career including my husband, mentors, colleagues, and our nanny who provided invaluable and reliable childcare for 14 years.
These factors undoubtedly helped me to shape my career and enabled me to pursue something I absolutely love. My research studies are focused on the development of renal fibrosis - the main underlying cause of kidney failure - and I hope that one day soon this work will lead to the development of new drugs which will make Chronic Kidney Disease a treatable condition.
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My hope is that with that with the ongoing steps being taken to resolve gender equality issues within the science industry, plus people such as myself speaking out to share personal experiences, more and more women will feel empowered and confident enough to forge a career within the industry - regardless of the hurdles which may lie ahead.
Image Source via Getty Images
It never occurred to me that I had a choice. I endured the pain of a chemical relaxer every four weeks to get my natural afro hair straightened. Mine was four weeks as against the recommended six to eight weeks because my hair wouldn't 'take' to the relaxer. It didn't matter that I had sores on my scalp as a result, or that the pain was like putting acid on my skin, or that I got my earlobes burnt every single time despite the thick layer of Vaseline.
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To the uninitiated, you will be forgiven for wondering if having straight hair is worth all that pain? You see while some people might have a bad hair day once in a while, as a black girl you are born with a bad hair day, or so society makes you believe.
And hence we live for the day our bad hair day will end, it's like a right of passage of sorts. Mine was at 16 (some as young as four) and my mother took me to a salon to have the jheri curl - extremely greasy and smelly. The grease soiled my cloths and pillowcases but it was worth it because my hair had changed. I didn't believe that my natural hair could be as beautiful if not more, until...
I started my journey of self-acceptance and self-love. I had gone through all my life believing and giving in to the idea that I was born with undesirable features. I didn't really like myself. I was good at makeup (I think), I bought stylish clothes and of course had straight hair. To the outside world I appeared confident and happy, stylish looking even, but the disguises weren't changing the way I felt about myself. After going through depression, I knew something had to be done, because I couldn't going on living like this ... literally. I phoned a therapist and cried all through our 30 minutes telephone conversation. I couldn't afford to pay her but she got me thinking and I started reading relevant books.
I started learning to love myself, to love and appreciate my size, height, body shape, my talent, but there was one a part of me that was still ok not to love, still ok to discriminate against, one part that embracing it actually produced negative reactions...my hair. That just didn't sit down well with me. Why would embracing myself not include my hair texture?
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And this is where society fails black girls and women.
From early 20th century images of afro hair being depicted as ugly and undesirable to the 21st century images were the most popular and desirable black women sport mostly straight hair to the complete absence of natural afro hair in shampoo adverts, afro hair has been stigmatised.
Despite this there has been some progress, with Victoria Secrets featuring its first natural afro model Maria Boyes in 2015 to British models like Poppy Okotcha and Toyin Toni proudly wearing their afro textured hair in magazine shoots and on runways.
You see the problem is not that we appreciate beauty but that the definition of beauty is so narrow, too narrow to include afro textured hair, so while society is waking up to the damaging effects of its narrow definition of beauty, advocating for body acceptance, even skin colour acceptance, hair discrimination still goes largely unopposed.
According to a recent study by the Perception Institute, black women face social stigma for having textured hair with black women facing far more hair anxiety than white women. Their research also showed that when the stigma towards afro hair is internalised it can undermine the ability for black women to be their full selves, affect their professional trajectory, social life, and self-esteem. The anxiety caused by this social stigma has also lead to unhealthy and damaging hair practices leading to girls as young as four suffering traction alopecia.
In an interview I conducted with Dr Barry Steven of the Trichological Society he said: "Routinely using hair extensions and chemical relaxers on school children can lead to permanent baldness by the age of 20."
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In my attempt to dismantle narrow definitions of beauty and hair and to help myself, my own daughter and other girls like her fully embrace their image, I started the Project Embrace billboard campaign to showcase more diverse images.
The need to widen what it means to be beautiful and have beautiful hair is crucial to many girl's and women's self esteem. We live in a beautifully diverse society and we need to reflect that.
My hope is that the Project Embrace Billboard Campaign can contribute to that vision. And you can be part of it too by backing the crowdfunding campaign here: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/project-embrace-billboard-campaign
This February, HuffPost UK Style is running a month-long focus on our Fashion For All campaign, which aims to highlight moments of colour, size, gender and age diversity and disability inclusivity in the fashion and beauty world.
Predrag Vuckovic via Getty Images
As Director of Crustacean Compassion, the UK's only animal welfare organisation dedicated to crabs, lobsters and other decapod crustaceans, I am perhaps unusually attuned to conversations about crabs.
Sitting at a beachside restaurant last summer, I saw two children loitering around a lobster tank. Two glossy brown creatures were scraping listlessly at the sides with bound claws. "I'm not lying" I heard the older boy say. "The waiter said. They're from outer space, they fell from the sky into the sea and they're being looked after until they can be sent back up into the sky". The little girl gaped, wide-eyed. (She didn't seem to notice the connection between the live aliens here and the boiled aliens on the plate there).
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Decapod crustaceans are somewhat alien; weird scuttling screw-faces of the shore and graceful lumbering moonwalkers of the sea bed. The question is - how do we treat them before we eat them? They look tough enough to be comfortably numb - but should we really be hacking them apart or boiling them alive?
At Crustacean Compassion, we believe it's unfair, unscientific, and legally inconsistent that current animal welfare legislation only covers animals who wear their bones on the inside; and we're petitioning DEFRA to include them in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (England and Wales). Here's why. Research coming out of the University of Belfast in 2012 and 2016 confirmed what many restaurant diners and chefs have guiltily suspected; decapod crustaceans were likely to be able to feel pain. This makes boiling them alive, a process that can take them up to 3 minutes to die, incredibly inhumane. Chilling them beforehand may just render them paralysed, rather than unconscious; indeed they may wake up rather quickly and have several minutes left. All the way back in 2005 the EU Animal Health and Welfare Panel stated that many of the ways in which decapods were currently slaughtered were inhumane. Many countries, including Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand, include them in their animal welfare legislation, meaning anyone farming them, storing them or slaughtering them has to take account of basic animal welfare protections; enough food, a suitable environment, and a humane slaughter method. This week in Sydney, Australia, a fishmonger was convicted of cruelty for removing live lobsters' tails with a hacksaw.
Yet in the UK nothing has changed. Our Freedom of Information request has just revealed that the DEFRA has conducted no assessment of the welfare needs of decapod crustaceans since the new research was released; in fact no assessment since 2005, when their decision not to include them in the Animal Welfare Bill proved controversial. Recognising that the evidence was mounting, however, they included an important caveat; invertebrates could be included under the Act's protections if the scientific evidence of their ability to feel pain became satisfactory.
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Ray Kroc was a magnificent businessman. As a milkshake machine salesman in 1955, he saw in the McDonald brothers' San Bernardino restaurant the seeds for something much greater - greater than the brothers could ever imagine and even greater than his ambitions for coast to coast expansion. Through bloody-minded perseverance, the quinquagenarian Kroc finally started to live up to the superhuman ambitions he had for himself.
Without the McDonald brothers there would be no McDonald's. Their unique assembly line approach made food fast. But without Kroc those golden arches wouldn't grace the world's highways and byways. He drove through the automation and standardisation that makes the franchise model such a success. And, crucially, he invested in people, specifically franchisees who shared his passion and drive. Fred Turner, who went on to become head of McDonald's, started off flipping burgers in Kroc's first restaurant, and Hamburger University - the 130,000-square-foot training facility in Oak Brook, Illinois - is testament to the company's commitment to training. In his own words: "None of us is as good as all of us."
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Though he wasn't born a McDonald, Kroc eventually owned the name - not just figuratively. He bought the brothers out for $2.7m after an increasingly fractious relationship and then built a McDonald's right next to the original restaurant to drive it out of business. Michael Keaton's portrayal of him in The Founder will leave many people with a nasty taste in their mouth. A taste that Kroc might well wash out with a hose. "If any of my competitors were drowning, I'd put a hose in their mouth and turn on the water," says Keaton in particularly powerful scene.
Kroc's business acumen is beyond question, but the film's tension lies in the audience's judgement of the man. It's not easily done as there are different ways of thinking about right and wrong. Virtue ethicists and deontologists will weigh up Kroc's actions - particularly contrasting the way unpleasant ways he appears to have treated his first wife and the McDonald brothers with his largely fair treatment of employees and franchisees. That's no easy balancing act.
Utilitarians might take a couple steps back, judging Kroc on whether his actions resulted in greater happiness for a greater number. But that's not a straightforward calculation either. Hundreds of thousands of employees have benefited from Kroc's expansion of McDonald's. Of course, without McDonald's many of these people would be working elsewhere, but at the margin it would be hard to deny that the company trains and employees people who would otherwise be in lesser jobs or unemployed.
Nutritionists might counter that McDonald's and the spread of fastfood in general has resulted in obesity and health problems that outweigh the benefits of employment, but it doesn't have to stop there. When the economic writer Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics fame suggested that the McDonald's McDouble cheeseburger might be "the cheapest, most nutritious and bountiful food that has ever existed in human history" he caused a backlash from many who instinctively dislike the company. But Dubner and others have a point - compared to viable alternatives, McDonald's gives poor people satisfactory nutrition at a good price.
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Kroc probably would have found all this pretentious and unnecessary. He was a man of his generation with an ambition beyond the empathy of most. For better or worse, men (and it was mostly men) like Kroc made the world we live in. Anecdotally, the new generation of entrepreneurs appears to be more conflicted by these meta questions of the impact of what they do, but how many of them actually do more good in this world than Kroc is a matter for healthy debate.
The Founder is out in UK cinemas 17 February.
Here are 5 takeaways from Kansas' 37-16 win against Oklahoma State
The Jayhawks are bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. Kansas just topped Oklahoma State for that pivotal sixth win.
* Aimed to convene wider regional peace summit: Haaretz
* Former U.S. Secretary of State Kerry behind reported bid
* Netanyahu met Jordan's king, Egypt's president
* Report says Israeli leader cited coalition problems
JERUSALEM, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly a year ago with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in a failed attempt by the Obama administration to convene a wider regional summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israel's Haaretz daily said on Sunday.
At the White House on Wednesday, Netanyahu again raised the possibility of what he described as a "regional approach" to Israeli-Palestinian peace at a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump, who appeared to embrace the idea.
Citing unidentified senior officials in former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, Haaretz said Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry convened on Feb. 21, 2016 in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba.
But the initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled, the newspaper said, after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not attend the Aqaba meeting but was updated by Kerry, Haaretz said.
A spokesman for Netanyahu did not respond to requests by Reuters via telephone and email to comment on the report. No immediate comment was available from Egypt or Jordan.
Kerry launched his final peacemaking bid after U.S.-backed talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014 over issues that included Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories and Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's demand to recognise it as a Jewish state.
Prospects for a new peace push appear dim with Netanyahu in a political tight spot at home and under police investigation for alleged abuse of office, which he denies.
Story continues
Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been emboldened by Trump's suggestion that he was open to new ways to achieve peace that did not necessarily entail creation of a Palestinian state, a benchmark of U.S. policy for decades.
"I'm looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like," Trump said.
On Thursday, however, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States still supports a two-state solution.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, speaking at the Munich security conference on Sunday, said he believed a Middle East peace push was possible. "My country stands ready together with other Arab countries to work and to see how we can promote that," Al-Jubeir said.
(Writing by Maayan Lubell; additional reporting by John Irish and Vladimir Soldatkin in Munich; Editing by Jeffrey Heller/Ruth Pitchford)
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Before a book is published and released to the public, it's passed through the hands (and eyes) of many people: an author's friends and family, an agent and, of course, an editor.
These days, though, a book may get an additional check from an unusual source: a sensitivity reader, a person who, for a nominal fee, will scan the book for racist, sexist or otherwise offensive content. These readers give feedback based on self-ascribed areas of expertise such as dealing with terminal illness, racial dynamics in Muslim communities within families or transgender issues.
The industry recognises this is a real concern, says Cheryl Klein, a children's and young adult book editor and author of The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults. Klein, who works at the publisher Lee & Low, says she has seen the casual use of specialised readers for many years but that the process has become more standardised and more of a priority, especially in books for young readers.
Sensitivity readers have emerged in a climate fuelled in part by social media in which writers are under increased scrutiny for their portrayals of people from marginalised groups, especially when the author is not a part of that group.
Last year, for instance, JK Rowling was strongly criticised by Native American readers and scholars for her portrayal of Navajo traditions in the 2016 story History of Magic in North America. Young-adult author Keira Drake was forced to revise her fantasy novel The Continent after an online uproar over its portrayal of people of colour and Native backgrounds. More recently, author Veronica Roth of Divergent fame came under fire for her new novel, Carve the Mark. In addition to being called racist, the book was criticised for its portrayal of chronic pain in its main character.
(Pottermore (Pottermore)
This potential for offence has some writers scared. Young-adult author Susan Dennard recently hired a fan to review her portrayal of a transgender character in her Truthwitch series. I was nervous to write a character like this to begin with, because what if I get it wrong? I could do some major damage, Dennard says. But, she added, she felt the voice of the character was an important one that wasn't often portrayed, so she hired a fan, who is a transgender man, just to be sure she did it right.
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For authors looking for sensitivity readers beyond their fanbase there is the Writing in the Margins database, a resource of about 125 readers that was created by Justina Ireland, author of the YA books Vengeance Bound and Promise of Shadows. Ireland started the directory last year after hearing other authors at a writing retreat discuss the difficulties in finding people of different backgrounds to read a manuscript and give feedback about such, well, sensitive matters.
One reader for hire in Ireland's database is Dhonielle Clayton, a librarian and writer based in New York. Clayton reviews two manuscripts per month, going line by line to look at diction, dialogue and plot. Clayton says she analyses the authenticity of the characters and scenes, then points writers to where they can do more research to improve their work.
Clayton, who is black, sees her role as a vital one. Books for me are supposed to be vehicles for pleasure, they're supposed to be escapist and fun, she says. Theyre not supposed to be a place where readers encounter harmful versions and stereotypes of people like them.
Ireland underscores the value of sensitivity readers both for authors and for readers. (She was a strong voice behind the push to get Keira Drake to make changes to the advance readers' edition of The Continent.)
Even if authors mean well, even if the intention is good, it doesn't change the impact, Ireland says. Its nice to be that line of defence before it gets to readers, especially since the bulk of people who come to me write for children. Fees for a sensitivity readers generally start at $250 (200) per manuscript.
Children's book author Kate Messner has used sensitivity readers for many of her books, some of which deal with poverty, abuse and race. I wouldnt dream of sending those books out into the world without getting help to make sure Im representing those issues in a way that's realistic and sensitive, she says. Messner, whose works include The Seventh Wish and All the Answers, asks a reader for feedback on whether the experience shes written reads realistically or whether anything stands out as problematic.
Her forthcoming book, tentatively called Breakout, focuses on three girls coping with a prison escape in their small town. Messner has enlisted multiple sensitivity readers to help her work out the class and race issues affecting the town and her characters. A reader has called out when her language doesnt ring true, and has questioned when her character does something that seems inauthentic and provides her perspective on why that is. Messner says it's been encouraging to hear when shes gotten something correct, but also she's had to make adjustments.
Lee & Low Books has a company-wide policy to use sensitivity readers. Stacy Whitman, publisher and editorial director of Lee & Low's middle-grade imprint Tu Books, says she will even request a sensitivity reader before she chooses to acquire a book to publish. Its important for authors to consider expert reader feedback and figure out how to solve the problems they point out, Whitman says. Everyones goal is a better book, and better representation contributes to that.
Still, some sensitivity readers feel they are in part contributing to the problem. Clayton says shes unsettled by the idea that shes being paid for her expertise, but also is helping white authors write black characters for books from which they reap profit and praise. It feels like Im supplying the seeds and the gems and the jewels from our culture, and it creates cultural thievery, Clayton says. Why am I going to give you all of those little things that make my culture so interesting so you can go and use it and you don't understand it?
Concerns about cultural appropriation have been around for years think of William Styron writing as the slave Nat Turner in 1967. (Thats what were paid to do, isnt it?" Lionel Shriver says in a controversial speech last year. Step into other peoples shoes, and try on their hats.)
veronica-roth.jpg, by Megan Townsend (Getty)
But sensitivity readers introduce a new twist in the debate. On the one hand they help a writer create the experience of a marginalised group more authentically. On the other, they legitimise the mimicking of marginalised voices by non-marginalised writers.
Why not just publish more books by black people, Latinos, Native Americans and others, some ask? Despite the efforts of groups like We Need Diverse Books, its more likely that a publishing house will publish a book about an African-American girl by a white woman versus one written by a black woman like me, Clayton says. So until publishing is equitable and people are still writing cross-culturally, sensitivity reading is going to be another layer of what's necessary in order to make sure that representation is good.
The Washington Post
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Some senior ministers reportedly want to divert aid from wasteful projects in Africa and Asia to allies in eastern Europe in a bid to get a better Brexit deal.
Downing Street officials and senior cabinet ministers believe part of the Governments 12bn aid budget should be used to win support for a favourable deal from Brussels.
According to The Sunday Times, the proposed plan would see aid money being diverted from projects described as questionable in developing countries in Asia and Africa to Poland, Hungary and the Baltic states, which so far have been allies of the UK.
The manoeuvre is reportedly designed to persuade eastern European countries to back the demands of the UK, when negotiating its exit from the EU.
But the controversial proposal has already started a war between ministers and officials at the Department for International Development (DfID), the newspaper suggests.
DfId insists the plan is illegal under international rules since the only countries that qualify for overseas development spending in eastern Europe are Ukraine and Albania, neither of which are members of the EU.
Rules over which country is eligible for development spending are set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
One senior government source told The Sunday Times ministers were looking at the aid budget with hungry eyes.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA
Other senior sources said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon and other ministers wanted to see the aid budget go towards efforts to improve the Brexit deal. Chancellor Philip Hammond is also reported to be interested in the idea.
This comes after Mr Johnson announced he would set aside up to 700m from the aid budget to boost soft power for Ukraine and the Baltic states, which face the threat of increasing Russian aggression.
This empowerment fund comes at a time of growing criticism over the way the UK spends money on foreign aid.
Labour MP Mike Gapes, a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told The Independent the information was leaked only a few weeks before the new budget is due to be announced and that for the time being this was a matter of wait and see.
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The full extent of illegal faith schools operating in England has been revealed for the first time in official figures seen by The Independent.
Ofsted inspectors have identified at least 170 suspected illegal schools, which up to 3,000 children could be attending since a special task force was set up to tackle the issue last year. It is a huge increase on previous estimates of around 100 schools.
Of the faith schools inspected by Ofsted so far, 57 per cent are run by Islamic faith groups, 31 per cent are run by Jewish faith groups and 12 per cent are run by Christian faith groups.
The suspected schools are thought to be operating throughout England, with London and the Midlands being home to the highest concentration of sites. Inspectors have probed concerns 340 children are being taught at 16 settings in London, and 386 children are feared to be attending some 27 suspected schools in the Midlands.
Ofsteds figures show London has twice the number of illegal Orthodox Jewish faith schools in London than Islamic schools, where many only study religious texts for their entire education meaning they leave with no qualifications and in some cases unable to speak English.
Investigations by The Independent have previously exposed serious failures to close the schools and protect children in the London Borough of Hackney, where more than a thousand boys have gone missing from the education system and are thought to be attending illegal ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools. In light of the findings, the schools watchdog Ofsted and the Department for Education announced a clampdown on the institutions, sending out inspectors to investigate claims of suspicious groups.
Former pupils and whistle blowers have alleged corporal punishment takes place at some schools, where teachers often have no training and have not been subject to criminal record checks.
School inspectors found allegations at one site that a teacher had physically beaten children. At others, teachers have been working without any criminal record or child protection checks. Other concerns recorded by inspectors include dilapidated premises, unlocked doors, broken windows.
Ofsteds deputy director of education inspector, Victor Shafiee told The Independent: Some of the safeguarding issues weve seen have been shocking and Ive been inspecting for 14 years.
The figures come as Ofsted revealed they are preparing a number of cases against suspected illegal schools in the courts. Mr Shafiee said inspectors were absolutely optimistic about their ability to shut down illegal schools. If I thought this was going to take 10 years [to fix] I would be really, really disappointed. Its not. We need to make an impact very, very quickly and act as quickly as we can, together with the DfE [Department for Education] and the local authority.
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Mr Shafiee said he would not shy away from calling out sections of religious communities for trying to educate their children outside of the law. There are certain sections of communities Islamic communities, Jewish communities that want their children to be educated in a particular way, and that doesnt include sending them to normal maintained schools.
But he said the issue was one of safeguarding, rather than religion. I want to be clear, this is not a politically correctness thing for me to shy away from, because I dont, its not in my nature to do that. Its because we focus on children safeguarding, it gives us the even-handedness to be able to be as effective as possible.
People in England, in a pluralist society, have their own right to decide how they want to educate their children, as long as its done well, as long as children are safe and able to take part in life in England after theyve finished. I'm not sure how useful it would be to think about particular faiths.
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
However, to fully tackle the issue, Mr Shaifee said the law needed to be strengthened around home education and what constitutes a school. Many ultra-Orthodox Jewish institutions in Hackney are currently not considered to be operating as schools under the law despite offering intensive tuition for a number of hours to children.
Instead they are considered to be out of school settings, or supplementary schools which means Ofsted does not yet have the power to inspect them.
Of the suspected schools investigated, Ofsted says just 21 have ceased to operate illegally.
* Aimed to convene wider regional peace summit: Haaretz
* Former U.S. Secretary of State Kerry behind reported bid
* Netanyahu met Jordan's king, Egypt's president
* Report says Israeli leader cited coalition problems (Adds Egyptian presidency statement in paragraph 7)
JERUSALEM, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly a year ago with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in a failed attempt by the Obama administration to convene a wider regional summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israel's Haaretz daily said on Sunday.
At the White House on Wednesday, Netanyahu again raised the possibility of what he described as a "regional approach" to Israeli-Palestinian peace at a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump, who appeared to embrace the idea.
Citing unidentified senior officials in former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, Haaretz said Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry convened on Feb. 21, 2016 in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba.
But the initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled out, the newspaper said, after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not attend the Aqaba meeting but was updated by Kerry, Haaretz said.
At a meeting with ministers from his Likud party, Netanyahu acknowledged the meeting took place, though he said it was his own initiative to try and bring about a regional summit, according to a cabinet member present, who declined to be identified.
A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment on the report. Sisi's office issued a statement referring to the news report, though it did not name Haaretz, as having "incorrect information" but did not deny that a meeting took place. No immediate comment was available from Jordan.
Kerry launched his final peacemaking bid after U.S.-backed talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014 over issues that included Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories and Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's demand to recognise it as a Jewish state.
Story continues
Prospects for a new peace push appear dim with Netanyahu in a political tight spot at home and under police investigation for alleged abuse of office, which he denies.
Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been emboldened by Trump's suggestion that he was open to new ways to achieve peace that did not necessarily entail the creation of a Palestinian state, a benchmark of U.S. policy for decades.
"I'm looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like," Trump said.
On Thursday, however, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States still supports a two-state solution.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, said he believed a Middle East peace push was possible. "My country stands ready together with other Arab countries to work and to see how we can promote that," Al-Jubeir said.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also at the Munich conference, said he supported the creation of a Palestinian state. "The end game is no doubt a two-state solution," Lieberman said, adding a peace accord should be reached within a regional deal.
Asked whether Lieberman would be meeting in Munich with any senior Arab officials, his spokesman declined to comment.
(Writing by Maayan Lubell; additional reporting by John Irish and Vladimir Soldatkin in Munich, Ahmed Aboulenein in Cairo; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Ruth Pitchford, Mark Potter and Andrew Bolton)
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Theresa Mays Brexit Bill is facing a stumbling block as peers from all major parties prepare a joint offensive to force the Prime Minister into making concessions.
Labour, Liberal Democrat and up to a dozen potential rebel Tory Lords are now increasingly confident they can make the Government do more to guarantee EU citizens rights and give Parliament more say over the final Brexit deal.
Senior Tories also admit that despite Downing Streets desire for the bill to pass unchanged, ministers could find themselves outnumbered if opponents plans for altering Ms Mays bill are put to a vote.
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Few Lords talk about blocking the Brexit Bill outright. But a failure by the Government to address the peers concerns raised in a two-day debate starting Monday, could well delay a Brexit timetable already being stretched towards the limits Ms May set herself.
One senior Tory member of the Lords told The Independent: The challenge we have is between those colleagues who want to make the agreement better, who want to think long and hard about the negotiation, and those colleagues who are saying its time to fight back.
What we can do is refine and make the bill better, but what we cant do and I know there are colleagues who want to do this is undo the decision of the referendum.
The peer said: There will be areas where the Government may give way and one could be on EU citizens rights. But the more reasonable the Lords are in accepting the referendum, the more reasonable the Government will be in working with some of the amendments.
The upper house, where the Conservatives are in a minority, comes to debate the bill after it passed through the Commons unchanged earlier this month with the support of Tories and most of Jeremy Corbyns group of Labour MPs.
How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15 a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto
But Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the Lords have tabled a string of amendments to the legislation, including one supported by Conservative peer Patience Wheatcroft, who is said to represent a handful of rebellious Tories.
Another Tory Lord said: There are going to be amendments put down and there is going to be cross-bench support for some of them.
Among changes sought by the Liberal Democrats is the amendment to guarantee the rights of EU citizens already living in the country before the Brexit process begins.
Party Leader Tim Farron told The Independent: We will make protecting these citizens rights a top priority. We have tabled amendments in the Commons on this matter and we will do so again in the House of Lords.
We believe we have support on all sides and I urge the Prime Minister to not force a fight and to accept the Liberal Democrat amendment.
A Downing Street source said the Prime Minister had already signalled a desire to secure the rights of EU citizens in this country and those of British citizens living in Europe, but there has been a question over when and how it can happen.
Guy Verhofstadt says he's received thousands of letters from Brits wanting to remain EU citizens
Whispers that Ms May could be amenable to doing something on the issue in the face of a strong Lords challenge, and has even put out feelers to the Lib Dems, persist. But officially No 10 still insists it should not be contemplated as part of the legislative process around Article 50.
Labour peers have followed the footsteps of the partys MPs in the Commons in tabling an amendment to secure a meaningful Commons vote on the final deal that Ms May secures.
The Commons amendment was not passed, though shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer claimed a victory of sorts after receiving a verbal assurance that MPs would get to approve Ms Mays final Brexit deal before the European Parliament does, thus allowing time for a potential renegotiation of terms if Westminster politicians do not like it.
But Labour Lords believe they may have more luck at locking the meaningful vote measure into statute, with the support of cross-bench peers like Lord Pannick, who was involved in the Article 50 Supreme Court case.
A party source said: The amendment is backed by Lord Pannick, one of the most respected peers in the House, who should be able to rally cross-bench support.
Any votes on amendments will take place after the two days of debate at a later point in the Lords stages of the bill.
The Government had originally signalled it wanted all stages of the bill completed by 7 March, opening the way for Ms May to potentially trigger Article 50 at the EU Summit on 9 March.
But with the prospect of a Lords battle on the cards, Brexit Secretary David Davis has signalled that a summit launch is unlikely, with Ms May due to fire the starting gun on Brexit by the end of March at latest.
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Lord Mandelson says the public will change its mind about Brexit when it sees the dismal likely outcome to the negotiations including no fall in immigration.
The former Labour Cabinet minister also predicted the House of Lords will force changes to the Article 50 Bill this week, on the key issues of the rights of EU citizens and a meaningful vote on the final deal.
And he urged fellow peers to press the Commons hard to accept those changes saying: I hope the House of Lords will not throw in the towel early.
On whether the public could yet swing against Brexit, Lord Mandelson said people would realise they were being offered less trade, at a high cost and no real cut in immigration.
Is that a reasonable deal? Dont you think the public will have something to say about that outcome when the negotiations end? I think they will, he told the BBCs Andrew Marr programme.
Many people were having collywobbles about the prospects for Brexit, he insisted despite polls suggesting voters have not changed their minds since last June.
But Elizabeth Truss, the Justice Secretary, dismissed Lord Mandelson as a blast from the past who was trying to frustrate the will of the people.
Theresa May has made cutting immigration her red line in the Brexit talks, by ending freedom of movement of EU citizens raising expectations that numbers will fall.
But Lord Mandelson said: We're going to see less trade, you're going to see Britain paying through the nose for the access that we want to negotiate.
But you're also going to see, broadly speaking I suspect, the same number of migrants coming to this country as now - partly because already half of the migrants don't come from the EU, they come from the rest of the world, and, in the case of those who come from Europe, we need them to fill jobs in our economy.
The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill reaches the Lords tomorrow, when up to 150 peers are expected to try to speak in an initial two-day debate.
Lord Mandelson said he was confident an amendment will be passed to give 3m EU citizens in the UK an immediate, unilateral guarantee that their rights will be protected after Brexit.
He also forecast success for an attempt to ensure Parliament is given a decisive vote on any final deal that the Prime Minister secures and, crucially, if she fails to agree one.
In the Commons, Keir Starmer, Labours Brexit spokesman, claimed victory when ministers conceded a vote before the European Parliament starts its consideration, probably in late 2018.
But the assurance was verbal only and could leave Parliament with an unwanted take-it-or-leave-it choice, which would see Britain crash out of the EU with no deal if Ms Mays is rejected.
Lord Mandelson said peers wanted to reinstate a proper meaningful vote at the end of the negotiations kick-started by the triggering of Article 50.
The Government lacks a majority in the Lords, with 252 Conservatives among the 805 peers - giving the opposition and independent crossbenchers a chance to inflict defeats.
Asked if there will be a long parliamentary battle between the Commons and Lords over the Bill, Lord Mandelson said: At the end of the day, the House of Commons must prevail because it is the elected chamber.
But I hope the House of Lords will not throw in the towel early.
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The Government is set to extend the controversial Right to Buy policy to tens of thousands of new properties being built to ease the housing crisis amid warnings the move will "jepordise" future affordable house building.
New developments which are currently exempt from Right to Buy are expected to be brought into the scheme after the Government announced the policy in the small print of a recent white paper on housing. But the move has been condemned by Labour as completely counterproductive amid fears it will deter local authorities from building more homes despite a severe shortage of affordable accommodation.
Under the plans, ministers want to extend the policy to tenants in properties built by arms-length housing companies set up by councils to bypass Whitehall restrictions on homebuilding. Councils say these spin-out companies are one of the few viable ways for them to build new affordable homes, and that replacing the homes they lose through Right to Buy sales is now near impossible.
As many as 40 per cent of homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme have ended up in the hands of private landlords, rather than boosting numbers of owner-occupiers in Britain. The scheme gives tenants big discounts to purchase their home, often leaving councils out of pocket.
Councils cannot launch major building programmes because they are unable to borrow large sums from banks to fund such projects and cannot raise council tax to fund construction either. Councils that do manage to build, because they have surplus funding, are forced to offer the Right to Buy to tenants, which means they can be sold off at a discount of up to 100,000 per home.
They are working around these restrictions to help ease the housing crisis by setting up private building companies at arms-length from the public sector, but still controlled by councillors. These firms can borrow on capital markets and build homes on behalf of local authorities to offer at below-market rents, as well as new homes for private sale or rent on the open market.
Hammond: We will double spending on housing
More than a third of councils have set up these companies, with 36 local authorities creating such spin-out firms in the last year alone. Barking and Dagenham Council alone has already built 621 affordable rented homes through such a scheme and has plans to build as many as 42,000 properties over the next 15 years. Barnet Council is reportedly planning 500 affordable rented homes, according to research by Inside Housing magazine, while Newham Council is preparing to build 3,000 homes for both private and affordable rent.
Such development corporations have so far been exempt from Right To Buy. However, the Government now wants to extent home sales to those properties rented out to social tenants on the same basis as council housing.
Increasingly, and across the country, local authorities are using innovative new models to get homes built in their area, the white paper says.
There are a number of good examples of Local Development Corporations, local housing companies and/or joint venture models building mixed sites, which include new market housing for sale or private rent, as well as affordable housing.
We welcome innovations like these, and want more local authorities to get building. To that end we will seek to address the issues that hold them back.
However, we want to see tenants that local authorities place in new affordable properties offered equivalent terms to those in council housing, including a right to buy their home.
Anne Baxendale, head of policy, research and public affairs at the housing charity Shelter, said councils had taken a commendable step in setting up housing companies to build affordable housing. Local councils are struggling to replace existing council homes lost via Right to Buy, which is why theyve started building affordable homes via their own specialist companies. But this extension of Right to Buy would jeopardise any potential profit needed for future housebuilding," she added.
Instead of penalising local councils for using their initiative to build the affordable homes that local communities so desperately need, the Government should support them.
Labours shadow secretary of state for housing, John Healey, said: This is completely counterproductive. Ministers should be championing councils to play a big role in building new affordable homes, not discouraging them.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 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Last year affordable housebuilding fell to the lowest level in 24 years but ministers seem determined to drive it down even further," he said. A Labour government would give councils the freedom to build thousands more affordable to homes to rent and buy for people on ordinary incomes.
One housing expert told The Independent that the Government had not realised the chilling effect of its proposals. Most councils were planning to build homes for outright sale or private rent, to help boost councils' income during a time of austerity and meet local housing needs, he said. Meddling in their plans by extending the Right to Buy to the smaller number of properties aimed at social tenants could derail much bigger development plans which the country desperately needs.
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said: It is important that the Government support councils in their efforts to build homes. Councils are doing what they can to build additional homes that meet the various needs of local communities, such as setting up local housing companies.
This includes building homes for market rent and sale as well as affordable homes to own and rent, and often including ownership options into rented property. It is crucial that councils maintain this flexibility so that the delivery of additional homes remains viable.
Councils need the funding and flexibilities to replace every council home sold under the Right to Buy. Existing rules that restrict their borrowing and limit the use of sales receipts to just one third of the cost of building a new home make replacing council homes near impossible.
It is understood that the communities department is in the very early stages of developing the policy and that the details have not yet been agreed. Earlier plans to extend the Right To Buy to housing association tenants hit the rocks after the 2015 general election and ultimately a voluntary deal was adopted that allowed housing associations to negotiate some exemptions and workarounds to protect their housing stock.
A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government told The Independent that tenants should have the equivalent rights to council house tenants.
The Government supports innovative approaches, such as the use of local housing companies, to deliver new affordable and market housing, the spokesperson said. However, we are clear that, where a council sets up a housing company to deliver affordable housing, tenants should have equivalent rights to council housing occupants, including a right to buy their home.
Additional reporting by Hannah Fearn
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Gambia's President Adama Barrow has vowed revive the country's faltering economy with sweeping reforms as he sought to draw a line under the erratic 22-year rule of his predecessor.
Mr Barrow was sworn into office a month ago during a brief exile in Senegal as Yahya Jammeh refused to accept his defeat in a December election. Mr Jammeh fled into exile days later as troops from West African countries prepared to enter the capital and force him to go.
Saturday's inauguration event at the national stadium was ceremonial, timed to coincide with the date that Gambia won independence from colonial master Britain in 1965.
Tens of thousands of Gambians gathered at the stadium to watch military marches and brass bands performing before a giant banner reading #GambiaHasDecided, the slogan of a campaign to persuade Mr Jammeh to accept defeat.
"Few people would have thought that I'd be standing here today," Mr Barrow said, wearing a traditional flowing white robe with gold trim.
"For 22 years, the Gambian people yearned to live in a country where our diverse tribes will be bridged by tolerance and our determination to work together for the common good," he said. "One Gambia, one nation, one people."
(Getty Images (Getty Images)
Mr Barrow, 51, now faces the task of lifting the tiny nation which straddles the banks of a West African river out of grinding poverty, in part a consequence of Mr Jammeh's volatile rule during which thousands of dissenters were jailed and scores of businesses expropriated. "We have inherited an economy in decline," Mr Barrow said.
He pledged to introduce free primary education, which is guaranteed by the constitution but was not implemented during MrJammeh's rule.
Gambia's economy depends on exports of groundnuts from small-scale farming and on the hard currency brought in by thousands of tourists drawn to its sun, white sandy beaches and lively resorts.
Mr Barrow said his government would start work immediately to encourage investment in other sectors such as technology.
He also pledged to re-build institutions that had been hollowed out under Mr Jammeh. During his rule, Gambia's supreme court judges fled the country and the press was muzzled.
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. 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Mr Jammeh's cruel and eccentric antics often made headlines, such as when he vowed to rule for "a billion years" and threatened to slit the throats of homosexuals.
Mr Barrow, in contrast, is nicknamed "no drama Adama" because of his calm and quiet demeanour.
A self-made real estate developer who once worked at an Argos department store in London, he is softly spoken and plans to reverse Mr Jammeh's more capricious acts, such as a letter withdrawing from the International Criminal Court.
Reuters
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The wife of Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe has said that her husband could contest the next election even if he is a corpse.
Grace Mugabe accused some of the ruling party Zanu-PF members of plotting to oust her husband, and said that if he dies, supporters should still put his name on the ballot to show their support.
Speaking at a rally of supports in Buhera, eastern Zimbabwe, she said in the local Sona language: If God decides to take him, then we would rather field him as a corpse.
Some commentators have seen Ms Mugabes comments not as a macabre wish for her husband to rule from beyond the grave but of her own ambition to be the countrys first female leader.
Ms Mugabe is four decades younger than her husband at 51, and has been an increasingly vocal presence in Zimbabwes politics.
Mr Mugabe is the worlds oldest head of state and has been in power since white minority rule ended in 1980 following years of war. He and will turn 93 next week and has said he wants to live until he is 100 and to rule for life.
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
Ms Mugabe warned his enemies from the war era that while her husband might be advancing in years, they are in the same age bracket and too old to seize power.
Pointing to herself, she said: Anyone who was with Mugabe in 1980 has no right to tell him he is old.
If you want Mugabe to go, then you leave together. You also have to leave. Then we take over because we were not there in 1980.
Ms Mugabe has refused to rule out speculation that she might one day be the first female leader of Zimbabwe, saying she is already President because the couple make decisions together.
She divides opinion, with loyalists calling her Amai (Mother of the nation) or Amazing Grace, while opponents have named her Dis-grace, Gucci Grace or First shopper because of her legendary shopping overseas shopping trips for designer clothes.
She was formerly her husbands secretary, having an affair with him while he was married to his first wife, Sally Hayfron while she was also married. The couple had two children while their relationship remained out of the public eye.
They did not marry until 1996, following the death of his first wife in 1992.
Speculation about the possibility of her taking power in the future gathered momentum in 2014 after Mr Mugabe made her head of Zani PFs Womens League and a member of the partys Politburo.
She has used her influence to convince her husband to expel the previous Vice-President, Joice Mujuru and her supporters in the party for allegedly plotting against the President.
She has been linked to the G40 faction that is said to be opposed to the current Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeding her husband.
The womens league had been pushing for a female Vice-President, a move viewed as aimed at toppling 74-year-old Mr Mnangagwa to have him replaced with Ms Mugabe.
After two decades as a relatively silent companion, in recent years Ms Mugabe has flown in the Presidential helicopter without her husband to address rallies.
They say I want to be President. Why not? Am I not Zimbabwean? she said at a rally outside the countrys capital Harae, in 2014, fueling fears the ruling party could be headed for a damaging split upon her husbands death.
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Eighteen people have been killed and 25 wounded in a suicide bombing in Somalia.
Police captain Mohamed Hussein said the powerful explosion, thought to be from a car bomb, tore through shops and food stands in Mogadishu's Madina district on Sunday.
He said many of the wounded suffered horrific wounds. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
Recommended Donald Trump appears to invent Sweden terror attack at Florida rally
However, Somalia's homegrown Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, often carry out such attacks.
Despite being ousted from large parts of south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to carry out guerrilla attacks in this Horn of Africa nation.
Earlier on Sunday it was reported that the group had vowed to continue fighting the Somali government and opposed the election of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
Somalia was one of the seven countries named in US President Donald Trump's travel ban.
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Donald Trump's young presidency is being challenged by impeachment rallies across the United States, parodying the annual President's Day vacation with the slogan 'Not My President's Day'.
At least 25 cities across the country have rallies scheduled across the weekend. On Saturday, thousands demonstrated in Los Angeles, the site of the largest anti-Trump Women's March.
Another 3800 residents of the southern Californian city have signed up to attend a rally on President's Day itself this Monday. Thousands have also protested in Dallas, while 12,000 New Yorkers are signed up to the NYC Not My President's Day protest.
Other protests on President's Day, which commemorates the birth of George Washington alongside other American statesmen, will take place in Atlanta, Milwaukee and Denver.
At a separate demo in New York, protesters clad in black gathered for a mock funeral, singing a parodic version of a well-known hymn with the lyrics "Amazing Disgrace".
A protester in Dallas told NBC: "My parents are immigrants, they came here in the late '80s, and I can't allow their memory of what they've done and I can't let their sacrifices be impugned by people wanting to scapegoat brown people and black people for all the problems America has.
"We're not the problem, we're the solution."
Creative New Yorkers present you the song of "The Amazing Disgrace". #mourningthepresidentday, #amockfuneralforpresidentsday A post shared by Huarry from Bronx (@bulangkesi) on Feb 18, 2017 at 12:37pm PST
The Los Angeles 'Not My President's Day' organisers write: "Donald Trump is literally our President, but figuratively he has attacked every value Californians embody and does not represent our interests."
They list criticisms from federal funding cuts hitting the state's large immigrant population to Trump's "outrageous and Islamophobic religion ban".
Thousands of residents of Washington D.C., meanwhile, will "stand in support of our brothers and sisters of different nationalities, backgrounds, races, religions, ability and sexual identity," to show that "Donald Trump's hate does not have a mandate anywhere, especially not in our District."
Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Show all 18 1 /18 Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather outside the White House at the finish of the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds attended the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters hold up signage near the Washington Monument during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has 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. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive on the platform at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has 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. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators protest during the Women's March along Pennsylvania Avenue January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has 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. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A marcher holds a sign during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A woman chants while attending the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march in Washington, DC, during the Women's March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester gestures toward the White House on the Ellipse near the South Lawn of the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester, holding a Donald Trump doll wearing a pink cap, marches in Washington, DC, during the Womens March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters take to the National Mall to demonstrate against the presidency of Donald Trump Washington, DC on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators gather on The Ellipse during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protester's signs are left near the White House during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama/Getty
No US President has ever been removed from office through impeachment. Bill Clinton was the most recent President to be threatened with impeachment in 1999 but he was acquitted by the Senate.
In the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon stepped down at the point when articles of impeachment were being recommended to the House of Representatives.
An impeachment of Trump would have to pass through a Republican-led Senate and a Supreme Court which will soon have a Republican majority, making it an unlikely prospect at present.
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A supporter brought onstage at Donald Trump's first post-inauguration rally embraced the President, addressed the crowd, and later confessed he salutes a six-foot cardboard cut-out of the the reality tv star every day.
Mr Trump picked Gene Huber out of the crowd in Melbourne, Florida, and invited him to clamber onstage and address the 9,000-strong audience.
He said: "I saw this guy on television. He said 'I love Trump'... that's my guy, right there."
Addressing security concerns as the Secret Service swarmed around Mr Huber, the President reassured cheering supporters: "I'm only worried he's going to give me a kiss. I'm not worried about anything else."
After hugging Mr Trump, Mr Huber took the microphone and spoke to those gathered in the airplane hanger where the rally took place.
He said: "Mr. President, thank you sir. We the people, our movement, is the reason why our President of the United States is standing here in front of us today.
Trump held an identical rally to his one in Florida last year. Guess which one had a bigger crowd
"When President Trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, I knew he was going to do this for us."
As he left the stage in a flurry of handshakes and fist-pumps, Mr Trump said: "A star is born."
In an interview with CNN, a star-struck Mr Huber explained he was first in line for the rally, arriving at 4am. That meant he gave a number of TV interviews, some of which were evidently spotted by the president, who reportedly watches hours of cable footage about himself every day.
Trump accuses 'dishonest media' of fake news at campaign rally
He added that he had been campaigning on behalf of the Republican President for two years, and said he kept a six-foot cardboard cut-out of the billionaire mogul in his house.
He said: "I salute that every single day and I pray and I tell him, 'Mr. President, I pray for your safety today.' And I'm not lying, I do that every single day to the president, but he's cardboard."
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Hundreds of Mexicans have protested against Donald Trumps plan to build a wall along the USs southern border by making a human chain.
Up to 1,500 Mexicans, many of them students, linked arms and waved banners along the Rio Grande, near the city of Ciudad Juarez.
Hand in hand we show a national unity that makes no distinction between people, said Senator Armando Rios Piter, one of several politicians who addressed the protest. Mexico is more than a wall.
Up to 1,500 people took part in the protest AP (AP)
The DPA news agency said Armando Cabada, the mayor of Ciudad Juarez, said the human chain showed people in the border region were more united than ever.
The mayor of El Paso, Texas, just across the border from Ciudad Juarez, also took part in Friday's protest. We are one city, Oscar Leeser said.
Trump attacks media during rally
Mr Trump made construction of a wall along the Mexican border the highlight of his presidential campaign and signed an executive order on building a wall less than a week after taking office.
Relations between the US and Mexico have soured since Mr Trump's election (AP)
He said construction would start within months and that the US expected to be reimbursed by Mexico. Mexico has rejected the proposal, saying it will not pay for a wall and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a visit to Washington as tensions rose.
We have, as it is being demonstrated here, many friends on the other side of the river, on the other side where they intend to build this wall that will never separate two friendly peoples, said former Mexican presidential candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardenas.
Chihuahua Governor Javier Corral issued the call for people to form a human wall.
In the face of the intention of Donald Trump to build a wall we cannot bow down, because bowing down will mean things will go worse for you, he said, according to Mexico News Daily.
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Relatives of some of those who died in the 9/11 attacks have denounced Donald Trumps Muslim travel ban - condemning the presidents use of the Al-Qaeda assault on New York and Washington to justify his order.
Gathering at New Yorks Battery Park, half-a-mile from where the Twin Towers were destroyed, around ten people who had friends or relatives who died there, said Mr Trump was simply spreading fear.
Terry McGovern, whose mother died in the South Tower, wore her mothers earrings for the rally, telling the New York Daily News: I felt sick to my stomach to see that he lists 9/11 [as a rationale for the ban]. My mother would have hated this the use of her death to justify banning people.
She added: I think theres just a fear, and I think that they probably arent paying attention to where the terrorists on 9/11 were actually from, and I dont think theyre understanding that were talking about children and people who want to come to this country for the same reason we all come to this country.
Man who Trump called on stage at rally salutes cardboard cutout of president every day
Mr Trumps executive order banning travel to the US for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, received widespread condemnation from rights campaigners and ordinary citizens. It also halted the countrys refugee resettlement programme.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco has refused to reinstate the order after a judge in Seattle blocked it. The White House has said it is considering whether to launch a further legal challenge, or introduce a separate order.
Talat Hamdani, whose son - a police officer - killed while responding to the attack, said at Thursday's event that Mr Trump was using the spectre of 9/11 to achieve his political ends.
The current administration is trying to exploit our pain, said Ms Hamdani.
They are vultures. They are picking on the blood of 9/11. It is immoral and unethical. This country was founded by immigrants.
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Stress balls with the message stay calm and research have been sent to US scientists by the Research Councils UK amid concern over the impact of Donald Trumps presidency.
Scientific bodies, academics and others have all expressed concern about the Republican billionaires attitude to science, particularly about climate change.
There are also fears that Mr Trumps plans to cut taxes and spend large amounts of money on the military, a wall between the US and Mexico and other projects could leave little left to pay for research. His controversial immigration ban on people from seven mainly Muslim countries is also seen as retrograde step because of the need for scientists to collaborate.
The bright red stress balls, which bear an image of the royal crown, were delivered by staff promoting British science at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences annual meeting in Boston.
They echo a British poster made during World War II which urged people to Keep calm and carry on. It was designed for use in the event of a German invasion, so was never actually displayed in public during the war.
A source close to the stress ball campaign told The Independent that typical British humour was being deployed as part of efforts to promote UK science.
We want something that people will keep on their desk, so it has to be useful or funny, the insider said. We went with funny.
Some scientists in the US may see it as gallows humour.
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
The president of the AAAS, Professor Barbara Schaal, described a Trump administration ban on scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency from speaking publicly about their work as chilling at the opening of the annual meeting.
Trump officials use of phrases like alternative facts have also sparked concern.
In April, there are plans in the US and around the world plan to hold a March for Science because of concerns that politicians like Mr Trump and many in the public no longer trust scientific research.
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Americas defence secretary James Mattis has distanced himself from Donald Trumps repeated attacks on the media saying that he has no issues with the press.
The former Marine Corps general, nick-named Mad Dog, spoke as Mr Trump delivered another scathing attack on the press, telling a rally in Florida that the media will never get away with lies.
The president has repeatedly condemned the media, accusing them of creating fake news, even as he delivers falsehoods and statements that are not true. Earlier this week, he called the media the enemy of the American people, saying it had its own agenda.
But Mr Mattis, during his first visit to the Middle East as a member of Mr Trumps cabinet, made clear that he had no intention of repeating the president's comments.
Asked whether he agreed with Mr Trump's remarks, Mr Mattis said: Ive had some rather contentious times with the press. But no, the press, as far as Im concerned, are a constituency that we deal with. And I dont have any issues with the press, myself.
Donald Trump says General Mattis and him disagree on torture
Reuters said that Mr Mattis, who was in Abu Dhabi, announced that he had been forced to cancel a planned trip to Afghanistan because of bad weather.
He said that 2016 had been pretty disastrous for the Taliban in Afghanistan. And he said he had spoken with top US military commander in the country, along with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, about the next steps that need to be taken to counter the militants. Were putting our thoughts together now, he said.
On Saturday evening, Mr Trump held a campaign-style rally in Florida, where he delivered a rousing speech to his supporters.
Very quickly, he pounced on the issue of the media.
Many of our greatest presidents fought with the media and called them out on their lies, he said. When the media lies to the people I will never let them get away with it.
Amid reports of chaos and confusion inside the White House, Mr Trump claimed his administration was running like a fine-tuned machine.
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Yes, I voted for Trump. Only 31 people [here] voted for Hillary Clinton, said Bernie Spencer, peering from beneath the brim of his Stetson.
He told people what he was going to do, and what would happen. Hillary Clinton never said anything, other than how unfit he was to be president.
The 91-year-old retired rancher may actually have been too kind to Ms Clinton. Official tallies suggest that in Nebraskas Grant County, just 20 people voted for the Democratic candidate, compared to 367 93 per cent of the total for Mr Trump. Of all the 3,142 counties and county equivalents in the US, only two came out more strongly for the New York tycoon.
The 91-year-old dismissed attacks on Mr Trump as baloney (Andrew Buncombe ) (Andrew Buncombe)
And a month after Mr Trumps inauguration, amid what from Washington, or New York, or the other side of the world, can seem like chaos and confusion sackings of senior staff and allegations of double-dealings with Russia voters in Grant County have very few regrets. Its only been a month, say some, give him a chance.
Others suggest that with his flurry of executive orders, and his undoubted willingness to overturn the apple cart, Mr Trump has done more in a month than Barack Obama achieved in eight years.
Im very pleased with what he is doing. I think hes a true American. He has shown he can make money, I hope he can make peace, said Joyce Boyner, 75, who was taking an evening walk.
And I am very angry at the media. They are so rude, they are so ignorant. They way they argue with him, and think they know better than him.
Grant County sits in the Sandhills of western Nebraska, 350 miles from Omaha. The 2010 census put the population at 614, spread out over 783 square miles. Ranching, and the railways, are the most important industries.
A cup of coffee costs 50 cents. People who wear Carhartt-branded clothes invariably do manual work, unlike those Brooklyn hipsters who have made it trendy.
The county seat, Hyannis, which was established in 1888, sits alongside the rail tracks and the freight trains of the BNSF Railway, its engines sounding like the Memphis Horns as they scream through town.
Nicole White scored Mr Trumps first month 8.5 out of 10 (Andrew Buncombe ) (Andrew Buncombe)
Nicole White, 26, who has four children and whose husband works for the railway, said she thought the President was doing pretty good. She said she supported his tightening of immigration laws, as she believed it would make the country safer.
Asked about the series of scandals that have dominated political and journalistic circles since Mr Trump took office, she said she believed it had been created by his opponents.
I think its more noise than anything else, she said. And that womens march after his inauguration, that was bogus. I think I already have the same rights as any man, and the way some of those people were dressed some of them were half naked did not make me respect them.
Asked to score Mr Trumps performance, she said she would give him an impressive 8.5 as there was room for improvement in everything.
Indeed, there were very few people in the town willing to give Mr Trump anything lower than an eight. Similarly, there were few who believed the issues that have dominated the US and international media in the 30 days or so Mr Trump has occupied the Oval Office were genuine problems.
In contrast, many said they thought much of it was fake news, created by Mr Trumps critics, and the political establishment in Washington that he has vowed to take on.
Only 20 people in Grant County voted for Ms Clinton (Andrew Buncombe ) (Andrew Buncombe)
Troy Lyon, a truck driver who once worked with young offenders, said he believed the political elites in Congress people from both parties had for too long run things their way.
Damn right he is shaking it up. Hes not Democrat, hes not Republican, he said. That is why people voted for him.
Mr Lyon said he believed the intelligence agencies and others were trying to sabotage Mr Trump. He said he believed Michael Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversation with a Russian envoy.
But how this came out was like a coup, he said. It was the intelligence agencies leaking it.
Nebraska, overwhelming white and rural, located close to the geographic centre of the contiguous 48 states, went 58-33 in Mr Trumps favour last November, and he collected its five electoral votes. In many places, the scale of his victory was more impressive; the Omaha World-Herald said that Mr Trump secured 85 per cent of the vote in 19 of the states 93 counties.
In truth, Democrats have never fared well here. When Obama won one electoral vote in Nebraska in 2008 the state splits its five votes he was the first Democrat to do so since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Meanwhile, in Grant County, voters have not elected a Democratic presidential candidate since 1936, when Franklin D Roosevelt took his second of four presidential victories.
Donald Trump: Sweden baffled by reference to unknown terror incident
Reports suggest that just 40 out of the 600 or so residents are registered as Democrats. Tellingly, Grant County is one of ten counties in Nebraska where the Democrats do not have a county chair.
Ginger Fosse, who is retired and works part-time as curator of the Grant County Museum, did not vote for Mr Trump. I didnt like his attitude, and I didnt like the things he said, said Ms Fosse, who said she had worked outside the state and then returned. She added that she tended to keep her views on Mr Trump to herself.
Life on the ranches was tough, a constant struggle, she said, as she led The Independent through a collection of old photographs, newspaper clippings, and outfits from 100 years ago. Fewer people these days wanted to take it up.
She said she believed the same things that made people in Grant County independent had led them to vote for Mr Trump. They are very independent people and they dont like the government in their business, she said. And he said hed put an end to that.
Mr Trump never visited Hyannis. But Theodore Roosevelt did, and his campaign appearance here in 1900 is among Ms Fosses photographs. A number of people, former House Speaker John Boehner among them, have said that Mr Trumps outspokenness and willingness to upset people reminds them of Mr Roosevelt.
Nebraska voted 58-33 in favour of Mr Trump (Andrew Buncombe ) (Andrew Buncombe)
Ms Fosse also had a series of images of the late Chuck Hayward, a cowboy who was born in the city of Alliance, 60 miles away, and who became famous as a Hollywood stuntman, working with the likes of John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen. Mr Hayward died in 1998, ruling out the chance of asking his opinion of Mr Trump, a showman who does all his own stunts.
In Grant County, the median age is 40, and many of those who said they voted for Mr Trump were of retirement age. Gordon Juzenas, 69, whose family originally came from Lithuania and who works for the postal service, said he was attracted by what he said was Mr Trumps promise of quick action.
I think he is doing ok. Better than the last one, said Mr Juzenas. Its only been 30 days and hes done more than Obama. He is trying to do something, bringing jobs back to the US.
Dutch and Gisela Grathwahl, who are retired, said they were particularly supportive of Mr Trumps stance on immigration. While his Muslim travel ban, blocking entry to the US for people from seven Muslim-majority countries, has sparked outcry in many parts of the US, the couple said they supported it.
You cant just let anyone in, said Mr Grathwahl. When it was pointed out their families had emigrated to the US from Germany, Ms Grathwahl, said: That was legal. There was vetting. She said they had previously lived in Florida, where too many people spoke Spanish rather than English. You should have to learn English, she said.
Yet younger people in Grant County also said they supported Mr Trump. Ryley Johnson, 17, was filling up the family truck with fuel, having driven into town from their ranch 17 miles away. Ms Johnson, who said she was planning to study agricultural science at the University of NebraskaLincoln, said she was too young to vote, but would have cast her ballot for Mr Trump.
Were feeling very happy right now, she said. It feels like he is looking at the economy from our point of view.
Asked to score Mr Trumps performance in his first month in office, she paused only briefly. Id say 9.5.
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Melania Trump has hit back at her critics - saying she will always remain true to herself and to Americans.
The First Lady made the remarks in a short address before introducing husband Donald Trump at a campaign-style rally in Florida on Saturday.
She has come under growing scrutiny after being mostly absent from public appearances during the first month of her husbands Presidency.
Addressing the crowd in Florida, Ms Trump said: I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you no matter what the opposition is saying about me.
Her comments come after the 46-year-old faced criticism for not following her husband into the White House, but deciding to continue living in New York until their 10-year-old son, Barron, finishes the school year.
The US President previously defended his wife, saying she was the highest quality you will ever find and that she had been "unfairly maligned".
Before introducing her husband, Ms Trump started her address by saying let us pray and recited the words of the Lords Prayer.
It is my honour and great pleasure to stand here before you as the First Lady of the United States," she said.
The America that we envisioned is one that works for all Americans and where all Americans can work and succeed.
A nation committed to a greater civility and unity between people from all sides of the political divide."
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 First Lady also pledged to act in the best interest of all Americans and pursue initiatives to help women and children across the world.
I will act in the best interest of all of you. I am committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart, which will have an impact on women and children all around the world, she said.
A stylist and friend of the Presidential couple Phillip Bloch previously said Ms Trump was miserable in her new role as First Lady, where she faces increasing media scrutiny, and she she was staying hidden, in the New York Trump Tower.
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The former head of one the United States leading scientific agencies has said she fears for the very future of our democracy if scientists are muzzled and intimidated by Donald Trumps administration.
Speaking to a packed house of about 250 people at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) annual meeting, former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chief Professor Jane Lubchenco said she was even concerned for the health and well-being of scientists amid warning signs that she described as very sobering.
Since Mr Trump was elected he has appointed a string of climate change deniers to key positions in government, information about climate change has been deleted from federal websites and staff at the Environmental Protection Agency were told not to speak out publicly without approval.
This gag order was described by Professor Barbara Schaal, president of the AAAS, as chilling when she opened the meeting.
An event organised by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) at the annual meeting saw emotions run high as some people in the crowd compared Mr Trump to the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini and his administration to the Nazis in 1930s Germany.
However, one of the founders of the UCS, Kurt Gottfried, who was a child in Austria when the country was annexed by Germany in 1938, said such comparisons were ridiculous at the moment but also warned they might not be in the future.
Ms Lubchenco, who was the NOAA administrator from 2009 to 2013, told the audience: My biggest worry is about the consequences to society if scientists are muzzled and intimidated, if science is defunded, data deleted and scientific institutions are undermined.
I fear for the health and well-being of scientists and the economy and the environment, indeed the very future of our democracy and our world.
Why? We need science at the table for individuals and for institutions to make smart decisions. We need data to help citizens and businesses be smart about what they do, we need science to create the new knowledge that will help society solve many of the big problems that are facing us.
She said it was unclear whether her worst fears would become reality but added we have warning signs that are very sobering.
I fear that neither policymakers nor citizens will have access to the best available science because federal scientists are afraid or unable to do their best science and to share it with the public and policymakers, Ms Lubchenco said.
I fear that the scientific integrity policies that are essential for wise decision-making will be either ignored or dismantled. I fear that science will seen increasingly as partisan and untrustworthy.
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
Scientists could decide to quit Government jobs or not apply for them, affecting everything from the quality of weather forecasts to new sources of renewable energy and the safety of medicines, she said.
But Ms Lubchenco also appealed to people not to make science a partisan issue.
It isnt, it shouldnt be and dont buy into that framing of the debate, she said.
The eminent physicist, Professor Lewis Branscomb, who has advised four US Presidents, echoed that point as he suggested some politicians in Mr Trumps own party might prove to be allies.
A great many of the leading Republicans are very nervous about where all this is going to lead, he said.
If there is a chance of having strong friends anywhere in the conservative community, then dont put them in the pot with everything else we plan to cook.
He appeared taken aback by the heady atmosphere of the meeting.
The energy is right here in the room, look at it, weve never had a meeting like this, Mr Branscomb said.
But some among the audience expressed fears that the dangers posed by Mr Trump were being underestimated.
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
Jeremy Grantham, the Boston-based investment strategist known for steering investors away from coming crashes and who set up the Grantham Foundation For the Protection of the Environment, accused scientists of having a lack of passion.
I think scientists actually think passion is not scientific. They have enormous respect for the dignity of science, he said.
They understate their work on climate change and that is simply dangerous if it leads to a lack of understanding by senior politicians.
This is a matter of real survivability for certainly our society as we know it and for many species including our own.
Mr Grantham said there was a need for scientists to speak out more strongly on such issues and it shouldnt take the second coming of Mussolini to provoke such a response.
And Dr Phil Rice, of Harvard Medical School and an emergency doctor, went further.
This is an authoritarian fascist government. All these institutions that people are hoping to rely upon to keep him and his group in check I think are just going to fold, he said.
This is a locomotive coming at us just like they did in Germany, they will come for the scientists, this is just the first salvo.
They will attack the scientists and they will imprison them. I think part of the response has to be that we are going to protect each and every one of us that gets attacked.
Even if you just do your science and dont speak out, you will get attacked. The universities are going to be gone after just as they are beginning to.
However Mr Gottfried advised against comparing Mr Trump to the far-right leaders of 1930s Europe.
I saw my school yard filled with tanks and my sky filled with German fighter planes, he said.
Ive experienced what you are talking about and I want to warn you about over-stating the case.
I think the US is not Germany or Austria in 1938. We have a lot of strengths we can rely on.
We damage ourselves by exaggerating the threat. This country has strengths that Germany did not have, to equate the two is ridiculous.
Unfortunately you may turn out to be right, but to talk now as if it is a forgone conclusion is a mistake.
You may help the people who want [a] Hitler to come to power. Ive seen what you are talking about and its not what we are facing. It may be, but we help it come about if we make exaggerations that are really way off.
No one was available for comment at the White House on Saturday evening.
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The Swedish Embassy in Washington has contacted the White House asking for clarification over President Donald Trumps comments suggesting a terrorist incident had occurred on Friday night in Sweden.
During a campaign-style rally in Florida on Saturday, Mr Trump pointed to incidents in Germany and Sweden as a justification for his controversial travel ban temporarily denying entrance to refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.
While his remarks about Germany were in reference to the Berlin Christmas market attack, his specific reference to what happened last night in Sweden, left officials, journalists and members of the public wondering if they had missed something.
When you look at whats happening in Germany, when you look at whats happening last night in Sweden Sweden! he said.
Who would believe this? Sweden! They took in large numbers, theyre having problems like they never thought possible.
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Caterina Axelson said the Government is not aware of any terror-linked major incidents.
Ms Axelson told Swedish news agency TT that Stockholm is now demanding an explanation.
Our embassy in Washington has been in contact with the US foreign affairs office to get clarification. Were of course wondering [what he referred to].
Lets see if we get an answer.
Swedens security police spokesman Karl Melin said nothing had occurred that would cause them to raise the terror threat level in the country.
Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was also left baffled by the Presidents comments.
Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound, he tweeted.
Twitter ran wild with speculation as to what Mr Trump could have meant, with suggestions including the fact that it had snowed or that herds of reindeer had crossed the border.
A series of hashtags were coined, including #lastnightinSweden and #jesuisikea.
Mr Trump did not elaborate during the rally as to which Swedish incident he was referring to and has not issued any comment or tweeted on the matter since.
The Trump administration faced a similar backlash after the Presidents top aide Kellyanne Conway referenced the Bowling Green Massacre, a non-existent attack, to defend the President's travel ban.
Ms Conway later said she misspoke.
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Bernie Sanders has suggested Donald Trumps administration is displaying signs of totalitarianism.
The Vermont Senator also called the President a pathological liar after the President referred to several news outlets as being the enemy of the American People.
The 75-year-old, who lost out to Hillary Clinton in his bid to be the presidential nominee for the Democrats, took to social media in response to Mr Trumps attack on the media.
In Trump's view people should ignore all the news except what comes directly from him. That is what totalitarianism is all about, Mr Sanders said on Twitter.
He had previously called Mr Trump delusional and said the President might move the United States into authoritarian mode.
The comments come as Mr Trump spoke at a rally in Florida where he said the media had become "part of the problem" and "part of the corrupt system".
"Many of our greatest Presidents fought with the media and called them out on their lies," he said. "When the media lies to the people I will never let them get away with it."
In his speech, Mr Trump also promised miners would go back to work and that an Obamacare replacement plan would be ready "in a few weeks".
"The White House is running so smoothly," he said. "So smoothly. Believe me, I and we inherited one big mess."
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
He also praised Department of Homeland Security secretary John Kelly, who wrote a draft memo which proposed the National Guard should round up undocumented immigrants.
"For the most part, get them [immigrant criminals] the hell out of here and get them back to where they came from," Mr Trump said.
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The White House fired a senior National Security Council aide after he reportedly criticised President Donald Trump.
Craig Deare, the NSCs senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, was dismissed after he publicly mocked Mr Trump at an off-the-record event earlier this week, Politico reports.
A source told Politico Mr Deare criticised the president and his chief strategist and closer adviser Steve Bannon at the Woodrow Wilson Centre think-tank in front of around two dozen scholars.
Trump accuses 'dishonest media' of fake news at campaign rally
Mr Deare also complained that senior NSC aides did not have direct lines of communication with the president.
His public criticism also reportedly included an embarrassing readout of Mr Trump's call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Mr Pena Nieto announced he would not meet Mr Trump after the US president threatened to cancel a series of upcoming meetings with Mexico if the country did not agree to pay for his promised US-Mexico border wall.
Less than 24 hours later, the two leaders held a call amid rising tensions, which Mr Trump described as a "friendly call". The content of the call has not been disclosed.
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
Mr Deare had been selected for the role by Michael Flynn, who resigned less than a month after taking office over revelations he had spoken to a Russian diplomat about US sanctions before Mr Trump took office.
It is illegal for a private citizen to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the US.
Vice-Admiral Robert Harward, Mr Trump's choice for Mr Flynn's successor, turned own the role for personal reasons.
Mr Trump reportedly interviewed other candidates at his Mar-a-Lago resort this weekend.
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A Fox News anchor has berated Donald Trumps chief of staff over the presidents attacks on the media, declaring you don't get to tell us what to do.
Chris Wallace confronted Reince Priebus, a day after Mr Trump held a rally in Florida in which he launched another attack on the media
Many of our greatest presidents fought with the media and called them out on their lies, Mr Trump said. When the media lies to the people, I will never let them get away with it.
Earlier in the week, Mr Trump had tweeted that the media was the enemy of the American People.
Mr Wallace asked the White House chief of staff to justify Mr Trumps comments, suggesting that the president had crossed a line.
He said that the fake media, not certain stories, the fake media are an enemy to the country. We dont have a state-run media in this country. Thats what they have in dictatorships, said Mr Wallace.
Mr Priebus said that unsourced stories about turmoil inside Mr Trumps administration were total garbage.
If you're going to come out with a story that says Russian spies are talking to your campaign, my God, he said. I mean, I think you should in some cases, or in most cases, actually have a named source.
Mr Wallace compared Mr Trumps furious response to critical media coverage to that of Barack Obama.
You don't get to tell us what to do, Reince. You dont get to tell us what to do any more than Barack Obama did, said Mr Wallace said. Ive got to say he never said that we were an enemy of the people.
Mr Priebus responded: He said a lot of things about Fox News, Chris. I think you ought to go check the tape. He took plenty of shots.
Mr Wallace said that Mr Obama had criticised Fox News with a number of shots and we didnt like them, and frankly we dont like this either.
But he never went as far as President Trump has, and thats whats concerning, because it seems like he crosses a line when he talks about - that were an enemy of the people, he said. That is concerning.
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Sen. John McCain has said a free press is vital "to preserve democracy as we know it", saying efforts to muzzle the media is "how dictators get started."
The Arizona senator was asked in an interview for NBC's "Meet the Press" how he felt about President Donald Trump's tweet criticising "the fake news media" that said "it is the enemy of the American people."
McCain tells "Meet the Press," "The fact is we need you."
He added: "When you look at history, the first thing dictators do is shut down the press."
McCain said he was not saying Trump is trying to be a dictator but "we need to learn the lessons of history."
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
President Trump has frequently attacked the media but had not called it an enemy of the American public until Friday. In a rally on Saturday evening he said the media was "part of the problem" and "part of the corrupt system". "Many of our greatest Presidents fought with the media and called them out on their lies," he said. "When the media lies to the people I will never let them get away with it."
Earlier in the week Mr Trump attacked newspapers for publishing stories based on a series of leaks from within his administration.
He said: "Information is being illegally given to the failing New York Times & Washington Post by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?). Just like Russia. Leaking, and even illegal classified leaking, has been a big problem in Washington for years. Failing New York Times (and others) must apologize!"
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The New York Times has hit back at Donald Trump in a scathing editorial that accuses the US President of being desperate, incompetent and an apprentice.
After a week in which the Republican leader was rocked by the resignation of his national security adviser and renewed his assault on the US media, the Times one of the most common targets of Mr Trumps attacks responded by criticising his first month in office.
In an article published under the name of its editorial board, the paper said: Its with a whiff of desperation that President Trump insists these days that hes the chief executive Washington needs, the decisive dealmaker who, as he said during the campaign, alone can fix it.
What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice."
The papers editorial team dismissed Mr Trumps claims he inherited a mess from Barack Obama
Mr Trump is well on his way to creating a mess of his own, weakening national security and even risking the delivery of basic government services, they wrote.
Within his first week in office the Republican triggered a huge backlash over an executive order that banned immigration to the US from seven mainly-Muslim countries. He has also issued a raft of other orders on issues ranging from healthcare to business regulations.
The president confuses executive orders with achievements, the Times said. Orders are dashed off without input from Congress and the government officials who would implement them," it said.
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
The White House is a toxic mix of ideology, inexperience and rivalries; insiders say tantrums are nearly as common as the spelling errors in the press offices news releases. [Chief strategist] Steve Bannon writes the presidents script, and Reince Priebus, the embattled chief of staff, crashes meetings to which he has not been invited.
If there is any upside here, it is that the administrations ineptitude has so far spared the nation from a wholesale dismantling of major laws, including the Affordable Care Act, though he may yet kill the law through malign neglect.
Mr Trump has frequently attacked the US media, and the New York Times in particular, for reporting what he claims is fake news. He often takes to Twitter to write early-morning posts criticising the press for negative coverage of him and his team.
The US President tends to refer to the Times as failing, despite the paper saying it has seen a tenfold increase in subscribers since Mr Trumps election.
On Friday, he called the Times and several other media organisations not my enemies [but] enemies of the American people.
He made a similar claim at a rally in Florida telling supporter the media was "part of the corrupt system".
"When the media lies to the people I will never let them get away with it", he added.
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A United States aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tensions with China.
The US Navy said the force, which includes the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and a fleet of supporting warships, has begun routine operations in the disputed waterway.
The operations come amid concerns the South China Sea could become a flash point under President Donald Trumps administration.
Rex Tillerson calls China's actions in the South China Sea 'illegal'
Steve Bannon, Mr Trumps closest adviser and chief strategist, has said he thinks there will be a US-China war over the South China Sea within the next five to 10 years.
Similarly, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently appeared to call for a blockade of the South China Sea islands.
China is building an artificial chain of islands to bolster its claim to the South China Sea (US Navy)
Chinas Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea.
The US strike groups commander, Rear Admiral James Kilby, said weeks of training in the Pacific had improved the groups effectiveness and readiness.
We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, he was quoted as saying by the Navy News Service.
China wrapped up its own naval exercises in the South China Sea on Friday. War games involving its own aircraft carrier have unnerved neighbours with which it has long-running territorial disputes.
Beijing lays claim to almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the waters that command strategic sea lanes and have rich fishing grounds, along with oil and gas deposits.
The US has criticised Beijings construction of artificial islands, along with airfields and military facilities, in the sea.
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It wasnt all pop festivals. The sixties saw so many breakthrough liberalising and progressive laws passed, under both Conservative and Labour administrations. Three that spring to mind are the legalising of homosexuality between consenting adults (1967), the decriminalisation of suicide (1961), and the prohibition of capital punishment (1965). I am not proposing rolling back any of this enlightened legislation. But I wonder if we have missed an opportunity here, a kind of grand synthesis of these laws, or at least something implied in the interstices between them, and yet never publicly and overtly embraced and legislated for. There isnt even a word for it, not yet anyway, but I propose to call it consensual execution.
Home Secretary Liz Truss, faced with her toxic cocktail of understaffing and overcrowding and drug-smuggling and self-harm and plain old harm and mobile phones and drones and the rise of crime inside prison, not to mention super-spicey Northumberland, high on the agenda this week, might like to give the idea serious consideration.
I was just a nipper when the last villains (but were they?) were legally put to death in this country. Albert Pierrepoint (our Lord High Executioner) still had a job then. One of the first stories I wrote was called The Hangman (the hero was given a choice be hanged or become the hangman. Guess which he chose) Back then it was horror unlimited, especially when there was the whiff of a miscarriage of justice. Which was practically always. Was Hanratty guilty? Was Ruth Ellis? Would a jury find them guilty now? Had they been wrongly convicted? But irrespective of the fallibility of the legal system, all of these executions seemed to me barbaric. I was brought up on George Orwell and Albert Camus, both of whom loathed and rejected capital punishment.
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In A Hanging (1931), Orwell bears witness to a judicial execution in Burma. This is not an essay or a polemic, more a prose poem or a hymn or lament. He doesnt make any of the usual objections to capital punishment, he only draws attention to how poignant and pathetic the whole procedure is. The legal killing of someone who clearly does not want to be killed: a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes and a big bushy moustache that seems to be disproportionate to the rest of his body. A dog runs up and gives him a lick before he is hauled off to the gallows. He is handcuffed and tightly bound. Finally he has a hood placed over his head. Only at the moment when he steps to one side to avoid a puddle does Orwell realise the unspeakable wrongness of cutting a life short when it is in full tide.
Orwell was there as a young officer in the Indian Imperial Police. He was, in effect, one of those supervising the Burmese Death Row. He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone one mind less, one world less. This was only a hanging, but there were plenty more in the pipeline, in Burma and other countries closer to home. In the US the death penalty is still legal in 32 states. President Trump is an enthusiastic supporter. A dead man kills no one. Logical.
It is easier to get drugs in Brixton prison than clean underwear (Getty)
So far as I know, Albert Camus, the French Orwell, never personally witnessed an execution. But his father did. According to Camus, his father felt duty-bound to attend the execution of a child murderer in Algeria. He had to make a long bus journey to get there and finally returned home only to throw up in disgust at what he had seen. Camus is unimpressed by the technology of the guillotine itself. The brainchild of a Dr Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, invented for the purpose of despatching large numbers of political prisoners during the French Revolution, its claim to fame was that it was virtually painless, and certainly quick, and that, according to its inventor, the blade on the neck will have been felt only as a slight breeze. According to legend, the scientist Lavoisier, who was guillotined (The Revolution has no need of experts or hang on, was that Michael Gove?), was supposed to have carried out a final experiment at the very point of death, blinking his eyes a certain number of times (some reports say 27) even after his head had been removed. Camus argues that we cannot know how long that moment feels to the person dying, that it is therefore a refined form of torture.
In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas Show all 6 1 /6 In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas 'Old Sparky', the decommissioned electric chair in which 361 prisoners were executed between 1924 and 1964, at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, Texas. AFP AFP In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas The Polunsky Unit, where death row inmates are held, in Livingston, Texas, about 40 miles from Huntsville. AFP AFP In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas A holding cell for death row inmates that are scheduled to be executed in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville. Hulton Archive Hulton Archive In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas A bed used for administering the lethal injection to death row prisoners in Huntsville, Texas. Getty Images In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas The front door to a Texas death chamber in Huntsville. Getty Images In Pictures: Capital punishment in Texas A cemetery for prisoners, with some three thousand graves since the 19th century in Huntsville, Texas. Last year, Texas executed its 500 convict since the death penalty was restored in 1976, a record in a country where capital punishment is elsewhere in decline. AFP AFP
And he surely has a point. I dont fancy looking at the inside of a basket either, while the whole lower portion of my body is lying detached some distance away. Unpleasant. But surely the greater torment for me at least would be to be stuck in a cell for years, and much longer in any case than 27 winks. In the relatively upbeat if bittersweet ending of The Outsider, the novel by Camus published in 1942, Meursault is in prison but gazing out of his cell window, hearing a ship toot its horn somewhere in the harbour far below, but above all looking forward to his execution, when he expects to be greeted with cries of hatred. The earlier unpublished novel is entitled The Happy Death (La mort heureuse) and Meursaults fate to some extent fits the bill. Eu-thanatos, a good death. Isnt that what we all want?
James Hanratty, covered by a blanket, leaves court where he is on trial for the A6 road murder of Michael John Gregsten. Hanratty was later convicted and executed for the murde (Getty)
Camille Paglia, author of Sexual Personae, professor of English in Philadelphia, self-professed penis-loving lesbian, shocked me a couple of times. The first time was at the South Bank when she punched me. She was actually aiming to punch someone else (a woman) and hit me instead. The second was back in the US when she told me she was in favour of capital punishment. She said she wanted to see em fry. I think she added something like, Doesnt everyone? She felt that those who didnt want to see em fry were deluding themselves. The desire for vengeance was natural and healthy and there was no point trying to work around it. She saw a certain aesthetics in execution: it was a matter of symmetry, of balancing up the universe. And if a few innocents have to die along the way, then so be it. She is ruthless like that. Extreme quasi-machismo.
I find I have to dissent from Orwell, Camus, and Paglia. I find myself inspired, instead, by Broadsword. There is a scene at the end of the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare when everyone is in a plane flying back to England and the villainous Colonel Turner, brilliantly played by Patrick Wymark, who has just been exposed as a Nazi spy and traitor, says to Richard Burton (aka Broadsword), Do I have an alternative? And Burton, who has just outlined the prospect of a trial, a guilty verdict, and the shadow of the scaffold, replies, cryptically, If you want it. Nothing is said but soon the door is swinging open on to the void and there is no more Colonel and Clint Eastwood is springing up to close it again. Upper lips remain stiff. No more needs to be said. Justice has been done.
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Admittedly, this narrative is (a) fiction who in heavens name (other than Alistair MacLean) would come up with such an absurd, improbable and risky plot as this one, a mission impossible to extract information from the German high command and (b) historically specific: no one is going to open a door in a (pressurised) plane these days, not unless you want everyone else to get sucked to their deaths as well. But I remain firmly convinced that at the end of every trial for a serious offence (murder, for example), which is going to result in a very long jail sentence, the prisoner should be able to say, Do I have an alternative? And we, the jury, or judge, or indeed executioner, should be able to respond, If you want it. Personally, I would probably pass on the chair and lethal injection. I might, like Gary Gilmore in Mailers The Executioners Song, opt for the firing squad.
As Orwell said, when a murderer is executed, there is only one person who is not guilty of murder. We all become accomplices in legally tolerated murder. This is, it seems to me, the fundamental objection to any state-sponsored execution. But what if nobody (other than the convicted felon) was a murderer? What if we were only carrying out the prisoners clearly expressed final wish?
In my imaginary trial of the future, the judge will not be sentencing at all. Or rather she will be uttering a sentence, but it is not a declarative assertion. There is no the prisoner will be taken hence and thence conveyed etc. It is an interrogative. There is a question mark at the end. The future remains open. And thus the dignity of convicted felons is retained. Because they are presented not so much with a sentence as a menu. My hypothetical judge might say something like this: You have been found guilty of the crime of murder. However, you still have a choice. You can choose to go to prison for the next 25 years or to have your life terminated.
Rioting prisoners congregate on the roof of Manchester's Strangeways prison in 1990 (Rex)
Let me hasten to add: I am all in favour of prison reform. I see no reason why prison should be hell on earth. I have been in Sing Sing in upstate New York, where they used to but no longer carry out executions, and I gather that this prison is sought after by prisoners, especially black ones (the vast majority), who feel they get decent treatment in there. But in every prison, no matter how lenient or permissive or comfortable, there is always a deprivation of choice. That is the primal punishment. In my Sing Sing seminar I happened to quote Jean-Paul Sartres Hell is other people. One veteran jailbird said: That line has been going around my head for the last twenty years and I was wondering who said it. Given the overcrowding in our prisons, from Parkhurst to Barlinnie, the menu alternative to straight incarceration should at least free up a bit of space. But it has to be genuinely voluntary and consensual.
Another Old Sparky once resided in Sing Sing, where 600 prisoners were executed before 1972
I remember following a Bedford prison rugby XV back to their home ground, Bedford prison itself (where James Hanratty was hanged for murder and rape). Except it was only a prison XIV since one of their number to the great dismay of the rest of the team had done a runner at half-time. It made no sense for this prisoner to make his escape because he didnt have that much longer to serve and was almost certain to be recaptured. But perhaps he couldnt face any longer what struck me most forcibly: the sound of the main gate slamming shut. I say gate but it was in truth a metal door, very thick, and it slid shut rather than slammed. But the sound it made, like a giant gong being struck with a hammer, resonated in my mind. It still resonates.
I could easily imagine killing someone who really (in my view) deserved killing and being stuck in a cell for 20-something years. And I would not like it, with or without rugby. I would be like a caged animal, one who is used to roaming about in the wilderness. It is the cage that is the ultimate sanction. I would be crying out, in these circumstances, to be offered a choice. And I would definitely opt for jumping out of the plane. A running jump probably. There would be just enough time to say my prayers, if I was a praying kind of guy.
Andy Martin is the author of Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me (Bantam Press, RRP 18.99). He teaches at Cambridge University. Follow him @andymartinink
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Islam itself is not the source of terrorism and it is critical to include Muslim countries in the fight against Islamist terror, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
Ms Merkel, who has been critical of the US ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, made her remarks at the annual Munich Security Conference, with US Vice President Mike Pence in the audience.
The Chancellor said European countries could not fight Islamist terror alone and urged predominantly-Muslim countries to join the fight.
I think, those countries, first and foremost have to give a contribution. Because only in this way we would be able to convince people that it is not Islam that is the source of terrorism. But a falsely understood Islam, she said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for burka ban
Ms Merkel also renewed calls for Islamic religious authorities to speak clear words on the demarcation of peaceful Islam and terrorism in the name of Islam.
She added: We as non-Muslims cannot do this, it should be done by Islamic clergy and authorities.
Her comments come after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travel to the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
However, the Department of Homeland Security suspended the enforcement of Mr Trumps immigration ban following a nationwide locking of the executive order by a Washington federal judge.
The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Show all 11 1 /11 The iron Frau: Angela Merkel The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351161.bin EPA / WOLFGANG KUMM The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351162.bin GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351163.bin AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351164.bin The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351165.bin REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351166.bin AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351167.bin AFP / GETTY IMAGES The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351168.bin The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351169.bin AP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351170.bin EPA The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351171.bin REUTERS
Ms Merkel also called on Europe and its allies to cooperate with Russia in the fight against Isis, in spite of tensions over Ukraine, Syria, alleged cyber attacks and the spread of fake news.
The joint fight against Islamic terrorism is one area where we have the same interests and we can work together, she said.
In her New Years message, Ms Merkel said Islamist terrorism is the most severe challenge facing Germany.
It is particularly bitter and sickening when terror attacks are committed by people who claim to seek protection in our country, Ms Merkel said.
She added: As we go about our lives and our work, we are saying to the terrorists: You are hate-filled murderers, but you do not determine how we live and want to live. We are free, considerate and open.
All this is reflected in our democracy, rule of law and values. They are the opposite of the hate-filled world of terrorism and will prove stronger than it. Together we are stronger. Our state is stronger.
She defended her decision to allow around a million refugees into the country over the last two years, stressing how important and right it was for [the] country to help those who really need our protection find their feet here and integrate.
We are stronger together. Our state is stronger. Our state is doing everything to guarantee its citizens security in freedom, she said, before pledging that in 2017 the government will take action quickly where political or legal changes are necessary.
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At least 160,000 protesters have marched in Barcelona to demand that Spain's conservative-led government increase its efforts to take in refugees from war-torn countries like Syria.
Spain has accepted just 1,100 refugees of the over 17,000 it has pledged to take in.
Marchers held a large banner and signs in Catalan with the slogans 'Enough Excuses! Take Them In Now!' and 'No More Deaths, Open The Borders!' as they made their way through the city centre to its Mediterranean coast.
Barcelona police said 160,000 people took part in the march, while organisers said it reached 300,000 participants.
There is an ample consensus in Catalonia to demand that the (government's) commitments are upheld, said organiser Ruben Wagensberg.
In September 2015, Spain's government pledged to bring 17,337 refugees in within two years: 15,888 from camps in Italy and Greece and 1,449 from Turkey and Libya.
Demonstrators march as they take part in a protest along the street in downtown Barcelona, Spain (Associated Press)
On Thursday, a group of 66 refugees 65 Syrians and one Iraqi who arrived in Madrid raised the total number of refugees that Spain has taken in to just 1,100.
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, a former anti-eviction activist who has pushed Spain's government to let her city accept more refugees, joined the march.
It is very important that in a Europe of uncertainty where xenophobia is on the rise for Barcelona to be a capital of hope, Ms Colau said.
Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Show all 5 1 /5 Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures Refugee dinners in Berlin - In pictures
She also criticized the federal government's stance toward refugees in December at a Vatican conference on Europe's refugee crisis.
In contrast to Spain, fellow European Union member Germany took in 890,000 asylum-seekers in 2015 and another 280,000 in 2016.
Germany decided last year on more than 695,000 asylum applications. Nearly 60% of the applicants were granted either full refugee status or a lesser form of protection.
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The world reacted with confusion after Donald Trump cited a Swedish terrorist attack during a campaign-style rally in Florida that appeared never to have happened.
One of the country's official Twitter accounts, controlled by a different citizen each week, said: "Nothing has happened here in Sweden. There has not [been] any terrorist attacks here. At all."
However, despite widespread debunking of his claims, it has since emerged a largely underreported attack did, in fact, occur last month.
Three suspected neo-Nazis were arrested in January after a Gothenburg Asylum centre became the target of a homemade bomb attack, leaving one person seriously injured.
Security services said all three suspects had previously been members of the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR), a group that openly promotes racist and anti-Semitic views and has vocally opposed non-white immigration to the country.
Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Show all 28 1 /28 Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Bob Moran for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' KAL for The Economist Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian
The Swedish intelligence service Sapo said the incident on 5 January, which was also linked to two others in Gothenburg in recent months, appeared to be politically motivated.
The NMR was set up in 1997 by former members of the White Aryan Resistance and employees of Folktribunen, a neo-National socialist magazine. The group is considered as the figurehead for Swedens white power movement.
Sweden took in more refugees per capita than any other European country in 2016, which Mr Trump cited in his speech as creating problems "they never thought possible."
The former real-estate mogul focused on migration in Europe and linked it to terror attacks in Brussels, Nice and Paris - before adding Sweden to the list.
We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden, he told supporters in Melbourne.
Who would believe this? Sweden! They took in large numbers, theyre having problems like they never thought possible.
It came as a 2016 report found immigration had helped fuel Sweden's biggest economic boom in five years.
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Madeleine McCanns parents have launched a fresh legal battle to overturn a Portuguese court ruling that failed to clear them of involvement in their daughters disappearance.
Kate and Gerry McCanns lawyer confirmed they would use money from the Find Madeleine fund in a bid to overturn the ruling, and challenge claims by former police chief Goncalo Amaral that they had faked their daughter's abduction.
Portugals Supreme Court rejected their libel appeal last month relating to Mr Amarals 2008 book, The Truth of the Lie, that alleged their three-year-old daughter had died in their holiday flat and they had faked her kidnapping to cover up the tragedy.
The couple were successful in their 2015 libel action against the former police chief on the case, however a lower court overturned the decision in April 2016, opening them up to huge legal costs and the possibility of being sued by Mr Amaral.
The McCanns, both 48, reportedly decided to launch the new challenge based on comments made by the judges in the 76-page ruling, which stated the decision was determined by the fact that public prosecutors hadn't managed to obtain sufficient evidence of the crimes by the appellants.
The McCanns were considered official suspects at one stage, however their arguido status was lifted on the same day it was issued in July 2008.
Judges said the archiving of the criminal case did not equate to the McCanns being cleared of criminal responsibility.
Madeleine McCann: Unfinished business Show all 2 1 /2 Madeleine McCann: Unfinished business Madeleine McCann: Unfinished business pg-16-madeleine-1-pa-blythe.jpg PA/Teri Blythe Madeleine McCann: Unfinished business pg-16-madeleine-2-pa.jpg PA
"In truth, that ruling was not made in virtue of Portugal's Public Prosecution Service having acquired the conviction that the appellants hadn't committed a crime," they wrote.
Even the archive ruling raises serious concerns relating to the truth of the allegation that Madeleine was kidnapped."
They also found Mr Amaral had not acted "illicitly" ruling the content of his book had no "defamatory intention" behind it.
"Our opinion is that rather than an injurious animus, the intention was informative and defensive, they wrote.
The McCanns said in a statement after the ruling: "What we have been told by our lawyers is obviously extremely disappointing.
"We will of course be discussing the implications of the Supreme Court ruling with our lawyers in due course."
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Russia was behind a plot to kill Montenegros pro-Western former prime minister to stop the country from joining Nato, senior British government officials have claimed.
Senior government sources told The Sunday Telegraph the alleged plot to kill Milo Djukanovic had been constructed in such a way that it could be blamed on rogue Russian nationalists if uncovered.
In November, a special prosecutor in the former Yugoslav republic said a group of Russian nationalists had planned to assassinate Mr Djukanovic to get an opposition party into power.
Moscow has denied any involvement in the plot, and Montenegrin opposition parties have said it was fabricated and accuse Mr Djukanovic of using the security services to extend his quarter century of dominance.
Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser over Russia row
However, the newspaper reports the alleged plot was foiled hours before it was due to take place on 16 October, on the eve of the nation joining Nato.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Montenegro to ditch its plans to join Nato. If Montenegro joined the Western military alliance, Russia would lose strategic access to the Adriatic Sea and Serbia would remain its only ally in the region.
You are talking about a plot to disrupt or take over a government in some way. You cant imagine that there wasnt some kind of approval process, an unnamed source is quoted as saying.
Two Russian intelligence officers reportedly spent months recruiting and equipping a small force of Serbian nationalists to attack the parliament building.
The alleged plot would have seen the attackers, disguised as police, open fire on a crowd of opposition party supporters as the election results were announced.
In the resulting confusion, other conspirators planned to force their way into the parliament building and kill the Prime Minister.
Such a massacre could have tipped the country into civil war and derailed any hopes it had of joining Nato and, later, the EU.
The Montenegrin police reportedly arrested more than 20 people on the eve of the election, including a former commander of Serbias special forces, while Serbian authorities detained others across the border.
After winning the parliamentary elections, Mr Dukanovic announced he would resign as Prime Minister and his deputy Dusko Markovic would take over the role and form the new government.
The newspaper said Britain and the United States intelligence agencies had gathered evidence of high-level Russian involvement in the plot.
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
When asked about the newspaper report, Britains foreign ministry said Montenegro had identified Russian nationalists as behind the plot.
Montenegro must itself deliver a competent, transparent judicial process and trial of the coup suspects, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Success would be a major step in convincing the international community of real progress in Montenegrin rule of law reform and compatibility with Nato and EU standards, she added.
The director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, said in November that Russia was pushing its foreign policy in increasingly aggressive ways including cyber-attacks and espionage, posing a growing threat to Britain and the rest of Europe.
Moscow has denied this, and has challenged Britain to produce hard evidence.
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A cafe in a small French town has been flooded with customers after it was accidentally awarded a prestigious Michelin star.
Bourges' Bouche a Oreille is a cheerful eatery which serves homemade food such as lasagne and beef bourguignon to local workmen on long tables covered with a plastic dotted tablecloth.
But gourmet customers started streaming through the doors of the local establishment following the news it had been awarded a Michelin star.
The unexpected publicity boost was the result of a mistake by the respected Michelin guide, when it announced its top tables for 2017 on its website. The Michelin star was meant for a restaurant also called Bouche a Oreille located in Boutervilliers, Essonne, about 200 kilometres north.
Veronique Jacquet, who runs the cafe, told the French newspaper Le Parisien that she had been "overwhelmed" with bookings. "I have new clients that want tables for three and four but at the same time I have my regulars. The problem is that we dont have that much space, she said.
TV crews and reporters descended on the small cafe to find out what the buzz was all about and Ms Jacquet said that when she told her Parisian son what had happened, he could not stop laughing.
How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15 a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto
The more up-market Bouche a Oreille offers customers choice from a 48 (41) menu, which includes calfs brain, lobster flan, chocolate pear crisp and a glass of champagne all served on a double tablecloth laid table.
Claire Dorland-Clauzel, a director at Michelin told Le Parisien: This is a technical mistake on a map. We have apologised to both establishments and we are sorry to have misled our clients.
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Iraqi government forces have started their offensive aimed at capturing the western half of Mosul, Isiss last big urban stronghold in the country. There are an estimated 4,000 jihadi fighters defending the close-packed houses and narrow alleyways in the half of the city west of the Tigris River, which is inhabited by some 650,000 civilians.
Iraqi paramilitary federal police and interior ministry units are advancing from the south of Mosul with the initial aim of seizing the city airport. But the heaviest fighting is likely to come when the soldiers get into built up areas where the militant group has been digging tunnels and holes cut through the walls of houses so they can conduct a mobile defence away from artillery fire and airstrikes.
The fighting could be as fierce as anything seen in the Iraq war, which has been ongoing since the US invasion of 2003 overthrew Saddam Hussein. The operation is being largely planned by the US, which has 6,000 soldiers in Iraq and which leads a coalition that has carried out more than 10,000 airstrikes and trained and equipped 70,000 Iraqi soldiers. Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, said Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, the commander of the coalition, in a statement.
The struggle for Mosul is the climactic battle in the bid by the Iraqi government and its foreign allies to destroy Isis, which established its self-declared caliphate in June 2014 when a few thousand fighters unexpectedly captured Mosul from a 60,000-strong government garrison. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Isis leader and self-appointed caliph, is in west Mosul according to Hoshyar Zebari, the former Iraqi finance and foreign minister, speaking to The Independent in an interview last week. This gives Isis an extra reason to hold the city to the last man.
The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the operation early on Sunday morning, but intense fighting has yet to start as Iraqi forces advance through empty outlying villages. Going by the well-planned resistance put up by Isis in east Mosul over the last three months since the first offensive began on 17 October, casualties on all sides are likely to be heavy.
Isis depended on mobile squads of snipers, booby traps and over 600 suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives to slow the advance of the counter terrorism service and other elite formation, some of which suffered 50 per cent casualties during a snails pace advance. By the end of 2016, the Iraqi Kurdish health ministry was complaining that its hospitals were full to overflowing with 13,500 wounded soldiers and civilians from the fighting in Mosul.
Though Baghdad announced that it had seized all of east Mosul, its grip on captured districts appears shaky as Isis sleeper cells carry out assassinations and bombings. Two suicide bombers, who emerged today, blew themselves up, killing three soldiers and two civilians and injuring many more. Last week a restaurant owner in east Mosul, who had reopened his business and was serving soldiers, was killed by another bomber. The Iraqi army is short of well-trained troops and their dispatch to the front line means that districts already taken are vulnerable to infiltration by Isis.
While Mr Abadi called on the Iraqi forces to be careful of the human rights of civilians in Mosul, videos are emerging of young men being beaten and summarily executed in places already taken by Iraqi troops. Despite frequent claims that it is liberating Mosul, the Shia-dominated Iraqi government is effectively assaulting the last great Sunni Arab city in Iraq. Away from the television cameras Iraqi soldiers often suspect civilians in Mosul of having been much more cooperative with Isis since 2014 than they now claim.
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
Civilians in Mosul have no alternative but to cooperate with warring armies that are destroying their city. Iraqi planes have dropped millions of leaflets on west Mosul telling Isis fighters to surrender, and people to stay in their houses and to display white sheets to show they are not resisting. But since Isis kills anybody who shows signs of surrendering, this tactic is unlikely to be very effective.
Government military commanders say they have learned from their experiences in east Mosul and will try to advance on west Mosul from all sides in order to spread out the Isis defenders. They will also be strongly supported by US artillery and airstrikes seeking to eliminate Isis strongpoints. The government says that it is seeking to minimise civilian casualties, but it is impossible to know from a distance how many families have taken refuge in the interior of buildings or in cellars. If, as seems inevitable, government forces use greater firepower than before to capture west Mosul, then civilian loss of life and material destruction will be greater than in the east.
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An Israeli newspaper reported Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-American Secretary of State John Kerry, in apparent contradiction to his stated goal of involving regional powers in resolving Israel's conflict with the Palestinians.
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organised in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba last February and included Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
According to the report, which cited anonymous Obama administration officials, Kerry proposed regional recognition of Israel as a Jewish state -- a key Netanyahu demand -- alongside a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians with the support of the Arab countries. Netanyahu reportedly rejected the offer, saying he would not be able to garner enough support for it in his hard-line coalition government.
The initiative was also reportedly the basis of short-lived talks with opposition leader Isaac Herzog to join the government, a plan that quickly unraveled when Netanyahu chose to bring in nationalist leader Avigdor Lieberman instead and appoint him defence minister.
Herzog tweeted Sunday that "history will definitely judge the magnitude of the opportunity as well as the magnitude of the missed opportunity."
Netanyahu himself did not address the report in his weekly Cabinet meeting and his office refused to comment. Instead, the prime minister focused on last week's visit to Washington to meet new President Donald Trump. Netanyahu called the meeting "historic" and one that strengthened the two countries' longtime alliance. He said at the end of meeting, Trump shook his hand and told him it was a "new day" in Israeli-American relations.
After eight years of testy ties with Barack Obama, Netanyahu seems to be relishing Trump's warm embrace. The new president has broken from his predecessor in adopting friendlier positions to the Israeli government regarding a tough line on Iran, a vaguer stance on Palestinian statehood and a more lenient approach to West Bank settlements. He's also promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to fortify Israel's claim to the city as its capital, and appointed an ambassador with close ties to the settlement movement.
Netanyahu said the two leaders see "eye to eye" on Iran and a host of other issues. "There is a new day and it is a good day," he said.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets Theresa May
In a joint press conference last week with Netanyahu, Trump offered unwavering support for Israel with the only hint of distance coming in his request of Netanyahu to "hold off" on Jewish settlement construction in territories the Palestinians claim for a future state. Netanyahu said Sunday that the sides have formed joint teams to coordinate settlement construction along with other issues.
In a striking departure from longtime American policy, Trump also refrained from supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying he would defer to whatever solution the sides agreed upon. Netanyahu pleased his coalition partners by holding back from mentioning a potential Palestinian state as well, even though he is on record as supporting the concept.
In a further wrinkle, Lieberman chimed in that for him a Palestinian state remains the preferred outcome -- and it should come through the type of regional structure Netanyahu reportedly rejected.
"My vision, it's the endgame no doubt, two-state solution. I believe that it's necessary for us to keep the Jewish state," he said at the Munich Security Conference. "The Palestinians don't have capacity to sign a lone final status agreement with Israel. It's possible only as a part of an all-regional solution, not an incremental process but simultaneously."
Associated Press
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Diversity in schools is a good thing. Indeed, one of the weaknesses of education in the UK is that schools are too similar. Secondary schools in particular tend to be uniformly large, with a uniformity of teaching style, when many pupils would benefit from being in smaller groups and from a wider range of teaching methods.
Schools should also offer variety in their culture and value systems, the intangible quality of a school known as its ethos. Most people recognise a strong ethos when they come across it, but struggle to define it. Which may be why governments have so often in the past looked to religious institutions as a way of taking a school ethos off the shelf.
Usually, this is either beneficial or neutral a Church of England ethos is often close to no ethos at all but in some cases a religious identity for a school is against the interests of its pupils. That is why there are protections in law against the teaching of creationism as science and against the promulgation of racism, sexism and homophobia.
Unfortunately, the desire of some parents to provide a religious education for their children is so strong that they seek to avoid the laws designed to protect the rights of those children. This is taking diversity too far.
The Independent has led the way recently in reporting the existence of illegal faith schools in Britain, and today we report exclusively estimates by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, of the extent of the problem, which goes wider than simply religious schools. It suspects that there are at least 170 unregistered schools in England, attended by perhaps 3,000 children.
This is a serious problem that demands an urgent response. Previous investigations by The Independent have reported allegations from former pupils and whistleblowers about children being beaten and teachers working without criminal record checks. These are basic issues of child safety, in addition to the concerns about an unbalanced curriculum in ultra-Orthodox Jewish or fundamentalist Muslim or Christian schools. In light of the findings, the Department for Education and Ofsted announced their own investigations.
As we report today, Ofsted is now preparing a number of court cases against suspected illegal schools. Victor Shafiee, Ofsteds deputy director of education, said inspectors were absolutely optimistic about their ability to shut down illegal schools. If I thought this was going to take 10 years [to fix] I would be really, really disappointed, he said. Its not. We need to make an impact very, very quickly and act as quickly as we can, together with the DfE and the local authority.
The most expensive schools in the world Show all 10 1 /10 The most expensive schools in the world The most expensive schools in the world La Rosey, Switzerland This prestigious Swiss boarding school is believed to be the most expensive in the world. Le Rosey hosts pupils from seven to 18 and has been co-educational since 1967. The school takes in pupils from more than 60 countries, but allows no more than 10 per cent of its students to come from any one country in order to prevent a single nationality dominating. The school has two campuses winter is spent in Gstaad, where pupils can make use of the ski slopes after their morning lessons. Come spring, the whole school will uproot to the Chataeau du Rosey in the village of Rolle by Lake Geneva. Le Rosey also boats a 1,000 seat concert hall, equestrian centre and 38-foot yacht. Notable alumni: Shah of Iran, Prince Rainier of Monaco and King Farouk of Egypt. Sir Roger Moore and Elizabeth Taylor also send their children here, along with John Lennons son Sean and Winston Churchills grandson. Fees: approx. 86,657 pa The most expensive schools in the world Aiglon College, Switzerland With a view of Mont Blanc, this high altitude school lends itself to outdoor pursuits. The school caters for boys and girls aged nine to 18 and is modelled on the traditional British Boarding school. Unlike most schools, however, the whole school body comes together for 20 minutes of meditation on three mornings each week. Notable alumni: Actor Michel Gill, Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, Sheherazade Goldsmith Fees: up to 80,810 per year (upper school boarding) The most expensive schools in the world College Alpin International Beau Soleil Founded in 1910, Beau Soleil is one of the oldest private boarding schools in Switzerland. It is positioned 1,350 metres above sea level on the Swiss Alps and hosts pupils from more than 40 different nationalities aged 11-18. The curriculum is taught in both French and English and focuses on outdoor sports, with a ski slope and ice skating rink on site. Notable alumni: Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve, Princess Marie of Denmark, Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg Fees: 79,528 College Alpin International Beau Soleil The most expensive schools in the world College du Leman International School, Switzerland Taking in children from as young as one year old, College du Leman teaches a bilingual programme of French and English up to age 18. The school campus stretches out across eight hectares and offers access to both Geneva city and the mountains. Pupils from more than 100 nationalities attend. Noteable alumni: Anna Ovcharova, Swiss, Russian figure skater Fees: 68,960 pa The most expensive schools in the world Leysin American School, Switzerland Another high-profile Swiss school, popular for its exclusive ski and snowboard facilities. LAS Students are allowed to spend Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on the mountain for sports. Despite its name, around 12 per cent of students are from the US. Notable alumni: According to Bloomberg, alumni include members of Saudi Arabias royal family, the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Fees: Approx 66,700 per year Leysin American School The most expensive schools in the world Institut auf dem Rosenberg With just 260 boarding pupils from over 40 countries, emphasis is placed on one-on-one time at the Institut auf dem Rosenberg. The school has a staff to student ratio of 1:4 and average class sizes of 8 students. Pupils can choose fromn one of five curricula, including British A level,s German Abitur and the Swiss Matura program. Notable alumni: Countless politicians and business leaders as well as international royalty the school operates a strict privacy policy but most studenrts come from entrepreneurial families or are heirs to large businesses. Fees: 66,160 pa The most expensive schools in the world Think Global School The worlds first travelling high school takes pupils to four different countries each year allowing pupils to experience subjects out in the field. The school has one teacher for every three students and has a 100 per cent pass rate for the International Baccalaureate qualification. Notable alumni: The school is only seven years old, but will no doubt become a popular choice with the next generation of rock stars children. Fees: 63,980. Sliding-scale scholarships offered. The most expensive schools in the world The American school in Switzerland (TASIS) The first US boarding school to be set up in Europe, TASIS lies on the Dollina dOro in the Swiss mountains. Fine art is central to the school curriculum and TASIS hosts its own Spring Arts Festival which attracts a number of famous artists and musicians each year. Notable alumni: American mountain climber Francys Arsentiev, Performer Jeanie Cunningham and Italian-American film director Francesca Gregorini Fees: 63,561 pa The most expensive schools in the world Brillantmont, Switzerland A family-run, traditional Swiss school for 130 years, Brillantmont overlooks Lake Geneva and sits just a five-minute walk away from Lausanne. Brillantmont boasts that 100 per cent of its students continue their studies to higher education. Notable alumni: kept suspiciously on the down-low Fees: 52,010 - 59,680 pa Brillantmont, Switzerland The most expensive schools in the world Hurtwood house, Surrey Hurtwood house, surrey Several of the best UK boarding schools top their fees around this mark. Set in an Edwardian mansion with 200 acres of grounds, Hurtwood House is one of the most unique. The school hosts just 340 pupils and is known for its focus on creativity and the arts a recent school production of Chicago cost 75,000 to stage, according to Tatler. Notable alumni: Emily Blunt, Jack Huston, Hans Zimmer Fees: 39,555 pa
This is an encouraging response. No one wants to see heavy-handed surveillance of children, such as the ContactPoint database started in England by the Labour government in 2005 but abolished by the coalition in 2010, or the Named Person scheme currently being disputed in Scotland. But it should be possible to monitor unregistered schools without an intrusive database of all children.
Let us promote diversity in education, including the right of parents to teach their children at home, but ensure that we have a responsive system of regulation to keep children safe, to guarantee minimum standards and to make sure children learn about their place as citizens in a tolerant and inclusive society.
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The annual Munich Security Conference concluded on Sunday after discussions among a first-class international line up, including US Vice President Mike Pence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Unusually for this event, the focus was on domestic policy as much as international relations. Debate centred on growing concern outlined in the Munich Security Report 2017 that especially with Donald Trumps election, the world is facing an illiberal moment... across the West and beyond and in a post-truth age.
With populist groups now part of government in around a dozen Western democracies, this theme is a fitting one for such an important event given that Europe in 2017 is the primary test bed for whether anti-establishment forces will continue to make political ground. Starting with the Netherlands next month, where polls indicate the far right Freedom Party will emerge as the largest single party, mainstream politicians are under pressure from insurgents championing eurosceptic, anti-immigrant platforms.
However, while it is left and centrist parties bearing the brunt of this battering, the Munich conference has highlighted that a key political dividing line is increasingly less between left and right but between a liberal cosmopolitan pole and a populist or even xenophobic authoritarian one. In this dichotomy, it is populist parties making the running by dismissing pluralism, liberalism and cultural modernisation, and revolting against what they perceive as threats to the nation state, including international institutions such as Nato and the EU.
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
A good case in point is National Front leader Marine Le Pen in France, currently leading the polls. She has questioned the need for Nato in the 21st century, asserting that it now exists to serve Washingtons objectives in Europe, and called instead for closer ties with Russia. She has also called for a French referendum on the countrys EU membership if she pulls off an upset victory this spring, it would be a more savage blow to the bloc than Brexit, not least given Frances eurozone membership.
The conference also highlighted that even those populists with only a relatively small share of the vote are sometimes exerting a defining influence by shifting debate or pressuring mainstream parties to adopt different policy agendas. This is exemplified by Germany where incumbent Angela Merkel is presently tipped to win power again but is facing her toughest ever election fight and could yet lose out. This is partly because of growing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, a group founded in 2013 as an anti-euro body. It has led opposition toward the Chancellors immigration policies and is polling around 15 per cent across France with seats in more than half of state legislatures.
However, there do appear to be limits to the spread of this conservative breed of anti-establishment politics. For instance, Decembers presidential election in Austria saw the convincing defeat of the Freedom Party leader, Norbert Hofer, who would have become Europes first far-right head of state since 1945.
In France, support is on the rise for an insurgent, albeit of a liberal centrist stripe, in presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, who is now second in polls behind Le Pen. Macron, whose top aides complained this week that he is being targeted by negative, fake news reports spread by Russian state-controlled media, is a 39-year-old former cabinet minister, who is pro-EU, and running as an independent.
His rise partly reflects a vacuum of power in the political centre ground created by scandals surrounding centre-right Francois Fillons candidacy; and also the fact that the Socialists have chosen far-left contender Benoit Hamon. Should Macron get through to the run-off election in May (in which the two candidates with the largest votes from the first round in April go head to head), polls indicate he could win handsomely if the other candidate is Le Pen. One survey last week suggested most voters would rally around him and that he could win as much as 63 per cent, although such polls should be taken with caution at this stage of the race.
Marine Le Pen launches presidential campaign with hardline speech
The next few weeks will tell if the Macron bubble, as some critics call it, has staying power. For now at least he is proving a foil to far-right populists by positioning himself against the old left and right and rejecting traditional class politics through his new En Marche political movement.
What Macrons success also appears to underline is that politicians of the centre ground benefit from having an optimistic, forward-looking vision for tackling complex, long-term policy challenges such as tackling stagnant living standards and re-engaging people with the political process, to help build public consensus and confidence around solutions to them. Tackling these first-order challenges is a significant hurdle that centrist politicians across much of the world are widely perceived to have failed on, helping give rise to perceptions of a broken process and that democracy itself is failing.
This has fuelled the rise of more extreme populist politicians with the often half-baked, damaging agendas they champion. Contrary to what some of this ilk assert, there is no silver bullet agenda that can address, overnight, challenges such as stagnant living standards.
Recommended EU leaders defiant over US pressure to increase Nato defence budgets
Instead long-term concerted efforts are needed to better address these issues through a range of educational, home affairs, economic and other policies. Collectively, as Macron appears to appreciate, such an agenda can move towards demonstrating more effectively how a fair, inclusive democratic politics can help overcome or ameliorate the multiple challenges that many people are experiencing in a world changing fast in the face of globalisation.
Taken overall, forthcoming European elections will test the limits to which there are still buffers to the spread of far right anti-establishment politics in Western democracies and beyond. The key race to watch will be in France where an insurgency victory by Macron would be a fillip to liberal, centrist politics despite his rejection of the political establishment in the country.
Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS (the Centre for International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy) at the London School of Economics
One month into Donald Trump's presidency, much remains unclear about the precise direction and form of future US economic policy. But the tilt towards protectionism promised during the campaign has materialised in multiple ways - from the people appointed to important positions to the actions and statements made by the new administration.
While the impact on Ireland of the proposals announced are impossible to calculate with any accuracy, the new president's posture on a number of issues should give cause for very real concern. That's because of Ireland's huge trade and investment links with the US.
Before looking at the issues around the proposed taxes on imports, on corporation tax and specific investment-related issues, a brief description of the importance of the US for the Irish economy is necessary.
Last year, Ireland exported almost 40bn worth of goods and services across the Atlantic to the US, a figure that has been rising over the long term. According to a recent study by Citi Bank on Trump's proposed protectionist measures, Irish exports to the US as a percentage of GDP, at 10pc, is the highest in Europe. Globally, only Mexico and Canada are more dependent on exports to America, according to the report.
The second pillar of the Ireland-US economic relationship is foreign-direct investment (this is closely linked to exports owing to the role of US companies in Ireland exporting back to their home market, although the exact scale of this activity is unknown as there is no data available on Irish exports to individual markets disaggregated by ownership of firm).
As the accompanying chart shows, the cumulative value of all US direct investment in Ireland over the years stood at $350bn in 2015, more than twice the amount invested in Germany and France combined. It is important to state that this enormous figure comprises both the traditional type of FDI - money invested in factories and offices - as well as FDI related to financial engineering practices such as corporate inversions. The eagle-eyed might notice the huge jump in 2015, which was ultimately reflected in a GDP growth rate that year of 26pc.
As US pharmaceutical companies in Ireland tick all the boxes that enrage Trump about corporate America, this sector could be the one most subject to change.
Trump summoned the CEOs of the US pharma industry to the White House at the end of January. Apart from berating them - with considerable justification - for their pricing of medicines in the US, he also made it clear that he wanted them to return production to the US. Given the scale of US pharmaceutical activity in Ireland, if even a chunk of these activities, say 20pc, were relocated back to the US, the impact on the Irish economy would be large - the wider pharma and chemicals sector accounts for more than half of all industrial output and goods exports, and directly for more than 30,000 jobs in the economy.
It is not widely known, but Ireland is the single largest source of pharmaceutical imports into the US, according to American trade figures. The value of Irish-made pharma products stood at a massive $25bn in 2015, exceeding even the big traditional producers, such as Britain and Germany, according to US trade data. As mentioned above, there is no data available on exports by the ownership of firms, but as many of the big players in the US industry have production facilities here - think of products from Botox to Viagra - it is certain that a sizeable amount of total Irish exports to the US of pharma products are accounted for by American companies.
The implications of Trump's policy proposals and thinly-veiled threats are already being felt in the sector. Eli Lilly was recently reported to have delayed a 200m investment in its Kinsale operation for fear that it could be targeted by the Trump administration. It is easy to see plenty more decisions along these lines being made. Even more worryingly, there is a real risk that jobs here could be relocated to the US - it is not hard to see companies making very public gestures of job-shifting to appease the administration.
Companies in all sectors involved in exporting to the US appear increasingly at risk on another front. The proposal put forward last summer by Republican lawmakers to reform the US corporation tax code includes a proposed "border tax", which envisages slapping a 20pc de facto tariff on imports. Although there are many uncertainties around the proposal, such barriers to trade have real effects. Some companies exporting to the US from Ireland could try to get round the tax by shifting production to the US, if they are in a position to do so. For those that are not, it would make their products less competitive and would inevitably have a trade destruction effect.
The trade-diplomacy aspects of the matter are discussed in an accompanying column in the main section of this newspaper, but suffice to say here that when it comes to international economic matters, the EU collectively has superpower status. It would certainly take a case to the World Trade Organisation, as the EU trade commissioner made clear last week if a border tax was imposed. Retaliatory measures against US imports would also be very likely.
EU barriers to US imports would have a disproportionate impact on Ireland, given the density of supply-chain linkages that the American multinational sector has here. And matters could get worse. If Trump were to attempt to intimidate the EU by taking a fresh round of measures, a full-scale trade war could break out.
But even if the reform of the US corporate tax code that eventually makes it through the US congress - if that indeed ever does happen - and it does not contain measures that are in breach of WTO rules, there is still plenty to worry about for Ireland.
A reduction in the headline rate of corporation tax and an ending of the (unusual) taxing of foreign earnings would bring the US into line with other developed economies. That would remove one - of many - motives for American companies to invest in Ireland. In some cases servicing the European market by exporting American-made goods and services from the US, rather than by locating production within Europe, could become more cost effective.
Given the sunk costs of investments already in Ireland, the effect of a radical overhaul of the tax code would not lead to a sudden exodus in investment and jobs, but it would almost certainly reduce the amount of new investment. Given the ever-changing nature of business, if investment does not keep coming through the pipeline, depreciation and other effects lessen its impact on the real economy over time.
The Irish economy has carved out a highly-specialised niche for itself as a hub in the transatlantic economy. That has happened because the political, fiscal and legal context facilitated it. Very big changes in context are looming. It is not an exaggeration to say that the basis of the entire model now faces real threats.
While Brexit continues to be a concern for Irish farmers, their number one problem is still prices.
According to IFA president Joe Healy, farmers in Ireland and across Europe are being squeezed by market fluctuations on one side, and by big supermarket chains on the other.
He lashed out again at recent promotions by SuperValu, offering free vegetables when customers bought roast beef, which was sold at knock-down prices.
"That's an insult to food and an insult to the producers of food," he told the Irish Independent. "It also adds to food waste."
Farm input costs - particularly fertilisers - and access to affordable loans are the other two major issues Mr Healy hopes the EU will tackle as a matter of urgency.
"The cost of fertilisers is hammering farmers and damaging the competitiveness of Irish and EU agriculture," he said, calling on the EU to abolish duties and tariffs on fertiliser imports.
Fertiliser is the second-largest expenditure for Irish farms, particularly since the introduction of anti-dumping duties on imports of mainly Russian fertilisers in 1994.
He says the move has sent fertiliser prices rising at twice the rate of other farm inputs.
New trade deals and emission-reduction targets coming down the road will also hit farmers hard.
The EU recently kicked off a public discussion on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which is likely to link farm subsidies more closely to environmental efforts.
A new study by the European Parliament found that if farmers adopted new technologies and agricultural practices, they could cut livestock emissions by around 30pc, but it said many would be expensive to implement, suggesting as an alternative, a tax on meat products or mandatory livestock emission reductions.
"Agriculture is always going to be responsible for a high percentage of emissions in Ireland," Mr Healy said.
than 40 countries around the world from its production facility in Athlone, according to its website (Stock picture)
Athlone Extrusions, a 60m turnover plastics business that was formerly part of the Quinn Group, is up for sale, the Sunday Independent has learned.
The owners are in talks with a European potential buyer as part of a sale process run by IBI Corporate Finance, it is understood.
The company, founded in 1971, has had many changes of ownership. It was floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in the late 1990s before being bought by the Barlo group. Quinn later bought Barlo and then Athlone's management bought the business from Quinn in 2004 for a reported 55m.
Current chief executive James McGee, who was nominated in the International category of EY's 'Entrepreneur of the Year' competition last year, was unavailable for comment.
Athlone Extrusions Investment Management - the parent company of the Athlone Extrusions group - had turnover of more than 61m for the year ending September 31 2015, and pre-tax profit of almost 6m, according to its most recently filed accounts. The group had shareholder funds of 21m, the accounts state.
The accounts state it employed an average of 150 people in that financial year.
In the previous year, it completed a restructure of its balance sheet with the support of shareholders and lenders which saw its debt slashed by 25m.
That year the group also wound up its defined benefit pension scheme.
The business supplies more than 40 countries around the world from its production facility in Athlone, according to its website.
New Aryzta chairman Gary McGann will have to ask himself if the group can become the global force CEO Owen Killian thought it could be Picture: Mark Condren
Aryzta chief executive Owen Killian and his senior management team had been on borrowed time since a dismal profit warning wiped well over 1bn off the value of the company last month.
Investors were livid about the shockingly bad update and new chairman Gary McGann was left in no doubt of what was expected next - a clear-out at the very top of the company.
The action came on Tuesday, with the company announcing a series of dramatic moves designed to shake-up the par-baked food business.
Long-serving ceo Killian is to go, as will two key lieutenants; chief operating officer/chief financial officer Patrick McEniff and ceo of the Americas John Yamin. Aryzta's unpopular stake in French company Picard is likely to be sold, while banking covenants have been loosened.
While the market welcomed the moves, this is only the beginning of a period of immense change and uncertainty for the company.
In the coming weeks and months, McGann will have to ask himself if Aryzta can once again become a fast-growing and innovative food group and fulfil Killian's vision of a global food company. Or decide if shareholders would be better served if the company was broken up and sold to the highest bidders.
Killian was correct in believing in the potential for the Cuisine de France par-baked goods model, bringing it from the retail sphere to the commercial market. But some market sources are now questioning if it can work as a business of vast scale covering both the US and Europe.
It is now accepted that there are fundamental issues in the business that will take time to fix. The financial performance and outlook are disappointing, with profitability and margins under pressure. "They are losing volumes, they are losing sales, they are losing customers and they are losing margins," said one source.
In basic terms, the company is not selling enough product at the right price - and that is because it is losing customers. As economies of scale diminish, margins are eroded.
One market source said that there was a suspicion that Aryzta had an issue with customer relationships. Its customer base is made up of the biggest players in the global food business - McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway and Burger King are just a few.
They are extremely powerful entities and successful relationship management for any supplier is crucial.
But in the US Aryzta rubbed some customers up the wrong way.
In its recent profit warning, Killian outlined how an investment in Cloverhill Bakery in the US had not delivered. At the heart of the issue had been Aryzta's belief that it could grow its Otis Spunkmeyer consumer brand, which is produced at the facility. However, rival brands - essentially Aryzta's core customer base - did not take to it well.
"I can understand [why] my competitors [decided to] withdraw their volumes from Cloverhill. They have said to us, 'Why should we leave you our money to grow your brand?' I would probably do the same the thing. And it does hurt us financially," said Killian at the time of the profit warning.
A note to clients from Berenberg expressed surprise that the company had not identified this conflict between its business customers and its ambitions to grow its own branded business in direct competition.
Berenberg added that Aryzta had been "befuddled" by these sort of issues in the past, claiming this had not been a one-off. The broker also warned that risks of such mistakes being repeated remained - for now at least.
One long-time critic of Aryzta, Warren Ackerman of Societe Generale, said that the US would remain a problem. "The fundamental issue is that Aryzta has too much spare capacity in the US. In our view, a full review of its cost base is needed and we suspect US factory closures will be required," said Ackerman in a note.
The future plans for the US are uncertain, but McGann is moving quickly on Picard. Although there are deeper problems at the company, the acquisition of 49pc in the French frozen food company has come to epitomise what was seen as wrong with Killian's strategy.
It will be sold but the question now is, at what price?
Berenberg said: "Any net proceeds from the exit of Picard will be used to strengthen the balance sheet. However, given the nature of the situation and the lack of other plausible buyers (and limited IPO options due to its debt levels), we believe that Aryzta will likely have to take a hit to the price that it paid for its initial stake."
Ackerman had never been a fan of the Picard deal. "Our view has been that Aryzta couldn't afford it and the synergies weren't compelling."
It will now work with Lion Capital, owners of the other 51pc stake in Picard, to 'monetise' Aryzta's interest in Picard.
"This could mean selling back its 49pc share to Lion, possibly at less than the 447m it paid - an IPO where Aryzta exit on listing or finding a trade buyer for the entire business. We believe Aryzta is not in a strong negotiating position, but even so we would like to see the cash monetised asap."
Some brokers believe that the price could be 300m or even less, given that Aryzta is on the backfoot. Other believe the company may get lucky and make a small profit.
Fintan Ryan of Berenberg said much remains unknown. "There is certainly a lot more to do, we don't yet know who is taking over and what plans they might have or the strategic views the chairman might have himself. Whether they need to wipe the slate clean, will there be asset write downs and further asset sales beyond Picard," said Ryan.
"There is a lot of goodwill on the balance sheet from acquisitions, so that's an obvious one. And there are a lot of intangible assets that have become part of the acquisitions, so they could also be looked at with a more critical eye."
McGann will have to stand back and ask how many of these problems can be fixed and how long it may take.
Ackerman said "a quick turnaround is not likely" and that there would "still be bumps" ahead.
Ryan agreed. "We believe that there is little that can be done in the short term to turn around the operational headwinds which have stemmed from volume pressures in both North America and Europe. These headwinds have weighed on margins and look set to persist into 2017 and 2018," he said.
McGann is perhaps helped by the fact that he is new to the job and was not involved in the strategy in the past, so should be able to take a cold look at the company.
Some in the market feel that patience with Aryzta has already run out and that his best option will be to break up the company rather than try to push it back onto an uncertain track.
Faith in the Aryzta vision has been badly eroded and McGann will have an uphill battle if he tries to re-tell the company's story to a doubting investor community.
The world is a much more uncertain place than it was this time last year. For Alan Murphy, it is a time of opportunity. Murphy (46) is managing partner for Ireland of law firm Eversheds Sutherland - a newborn business sprung from a merger of British firm Eversheds and American firm Sutherlands Asbill & Brennan.
Soft-spoken by lawyers' standards, Murphy sees the deal as the chance to provide multinational clients with local services in multiple jurisdictions.
"With the market becoming more and more internationalised, clients have needs now well beyond the jurisdictions in which they're present.
"For example, there's a number of Irish plcs which now don't headquarter in Ireland any more, and the majority of their businesses are not even European but global. The international legal market needs to follow that.
"It isn't really enough to say 'well I can service your needs within the borders of this country'. You need to be able to offer a client a multi-jurisdictional offering, across multiple practice areas, whether it's reviews of HR contracts, or reviews of commercial contracts, or data privacy advice across 20 different jurisdictions.
"Clients are increasingly demanding that, so the combination in the US gives us that added ability to provide top-quality premium advice across the United States."
Monaghan man Murphy is in his third term as managing partner. He might never have been a lawyer at all, saying that his parents "don't have a huge amount of time for the law". He did his Leaving Cert at 16 and then went to study arts in Queen's University in Belfast. But the law still appealed to him and after moving to Dublin for a conversion course he became a solicitor.
"I had a very analytical mind, so I liked the analysis, I liked the detail. I suppose in a sense I liked the purity of the actual law, but then having to implement that into practice requires a commerciality, so that aspect of it has always appealed to me.
"I never really thought about the barrister piece, it wasn't really in my mindset at the time. Parts of it I think I would have liked and been good at but it was never in my sights."
Something that is in his sights is the potential for growth sparked by the current global uncertainty. Murphy says tax, FDI, and financial services regulation are among the areas Eversheds Sutherland's Irish office will be targeting.
At the end of last year - before the merger with Sutherland - Eversheds was ranked ninth-biggest law firm in Ireland by number of solicitors employed, according to Law Society statistics.
It employs 260 people here overall but Murphy won't say what he'd like that number to become, saying it will be driven by client needs.
The business has been growing by 15pc a year over the last four years and the strategy is to continue that until 2020. Split across two buildings in Dublin, the firm is on the hunt for a new Irish headquarters in the range of 60,000-70,000 sq ft.
It's a time of change for Eversheds Sutherland and indeed for lawyers in general. Murphy says the profession has transformed since he first qualified.
"The legal market has become much more internationalised over the last 10 years ... what's required of a lawyer has changed, you need now to be a leader, you need now to be someone who is interested in team-building, in growing a business and developing a client base.
"So it's become much more interactive than it was when I would have qualified first - and it'll become much more interactive still," says Murphy.
Developments in technology are having a major impact too. The firm has launched a virtual document-signing programme that allows for things to be signed by people on the move. It's also built IT systems allowing clients to log in and monitor the progress of cases.
All this is part of the effort to make Eversheds Sutherland stand out from the crowd.
But what really matters in law is the quality of the service a firm provides.
Tax is going to be a major area of focus for the firm in the aftermath of the merger, with the election of Donald Trump in the US creating major uncertainty about the future tax treatment of multinationals with Irish bases.
"Won't there be an even greater need for tax advice now? Because obviously what may have been considered certain is no longer certain and what we may have taken for granted a year ago, we now don't.
"There'll be a lot of need for specialist tax advisers who know what they're talking about and we'll be able to do that," Murphy, who is also chairman of Eversheds International, says.
"A quarter of Sutherland in the States is tax attorneys. They're one of the premium tax attorney firms in the United States, and we're building our tax offering here.
"We're bringing in some very senior people from other law firms. I can't tell you who they are yet because they're still working out their notice periods.
"But they are FDI specialists, they have specialised in the re-orgs of multinationals, so they will fit very well," Murphy says.
After his interview, he's flying to Washington in part to explore further tax opportunities in the US.
The company will also look to get a slice of the action from what has been christened "Britflux" - the relocation to Ireland of financial services firms for whom EU membership is important.
It has hired Ciaran Walker, formerly deputy head of the enforcement division at the Central Bank of Ireland, as a consultant - he's giving a presentation to clients on the morning Murphy and I meet.
"We have a division of Eversheds, as it was called then in the UK, called Eversheds Consulting - which is akin to what the accountancy firms do in terms of advisory. It's not in some instances pure legal advice, it's more on the regulatory side ... I think that's a big set of needs.
"As to what's going to happen around Brexit, it's anybody's guess. We'll see where [the "Britflux] gets us."
In the business community, lawyers are typically the ones who get blamed when a business project faces a delay. Murphy acknowledges the perception exists.
"We're advisers. We're not the commercial people. So the advisers are always the people who delay a project or are seen to delay a project. Obviously I don't believe that they do," he says.
"But for every person you'll hear say 'bloody lawyers', you probably will hear someone who will say 'do you know what, I know somebody who got me out of a scrape'. But they don't talk about it the way the 'bloody lawyer' people talk about it.
"Perceptions are perceptions - you've just got to show that they're wrong don't you? There's no point getting excited about perceptions."
Murphy says he's a firm believer in taking the opportunities.
He never set out to be a managing partner - which requires a whole other set of skills on top of being a legal practitioner.
"I really enjoyed being a full-time practitioner. I really liked the client work, the interaction, working with my team and building it up. So no, I didn't set off to be managing partner, but at the time, the powers that be thought that I was the best man for the job, and I was interested in it."
One of his priorities is to focus on employees' wellbeing. Murphy himself is a practitioner of 'mindfulness'.
"We have this habit of rushing through everything we do, so rushing through a meal, rushing through a meeting.
"I do think that to take a step back and actually concentrate on the present and appreciate the present, and appreciate the day you're having is hugely important," he says.
"I don't think you can ever be too mindful. I think actually it's linked to resilience because you can't keep on working at the same rate in the same way for 30 years of your life if you're going too work hard.
"So you do need to be resilient but I think part of resilience is mindfulness.
"I fundamentally believe that you take every opportunity that comes at you, that would be a core belief I have in life. You don't shy away from an opportunity that comes your way.
"Obviously, if I was asked to play rugby for Ireland I might not find myself on the rugby pitch but I think you embrace every opportunity that comes your way and you see where it goes. Because you regret it if you don't."
He believes there's lots of opportunity in the Irish market.
"It's in some ways quite a unique market because it has a lot of multinational presence, it has the aviation-financing piece, and it also has the funds piece. So it's an interesting market from a legal perspective.
"It's a very sophisticated market from a legal perspective in terms of services and the level and quality of advice that needs to be provided.
"It's competitive but I would believe that if you're the right competitor, you'll always do very well, so I don't think it's crowded to the extent that there are too many good people in it.
"There's lots of opportunity in the Irish market for the right provider. Now the trick is to be the right provider.
"It's about being relevant to your client and adding value and giving good advice and helping your client. That's what it's about fundamentally."
'My main preoccupation is playing Cluedo'
In my spare time I ...
My main preoccupation at the moment is playing Cluedo with my eight-year-old, who beats me hands down nearly every time. But apart from that, I read a lot, and swim.
The book I'm reading is ...
"I'm reading one by a guy called Ian McGuire called The North Water. It's about whalers and set in the 1850s. It's a bit gruesome in parts but it's very interesting, and very well written.
My music taste is ...
"I'm tone deaf... Leonard Cohen would be my favourite musician. I like him a lot, but musically I'm a complete savage.
The best piece of business advice I've received is ...
"It was about the need to recalibrate and adjust to the particular job or task that faces you and the ability to look forward and to strategise ... so while something might not necessarily look like the right decision on the particular day, will it be the right decision in 10 years' time?
The extent to which your premium gets loaded typically increases the more penalty points you have (Stock picture)
Keep your driving record as clean as you can - penalty points or driving convictions will push up the cost of your car insurance and make it harder for you to get a quote. Insurers typically start to load your car insurance premium if you have two or more penalty points.
For example, Liberty Insurance will increase your premium by 10pc if you have two or three penalty points; and by 20pc if you have four penalty points.
Aviva gives a 27pc discount to customers with no penalty points but that falls to 12pc after two penalty points - and is removed altogether after four penalty points.
"If there are two drivers on the policy, and both have two penalty points, the discount is removed in total," said an Aviva spokeswoman.
The extent to which your premium gets loaded typically increases the more penalty points you have.
None of the insurers contacted by this paper would reveal by how much they loaded premiums for a customer with five or more penalty points.
Should you have five or more penalty points on your licence, most insurers - including Aviva and Liberty - will refuse to offer you a quote if you're a new customer. A spokeswoman for Zurich confirmed that the insurer won't quote a new customer if that individual has more than five penalty points. Drink-driving convictions will cost you dearly with motor insurance. Liberty, for example, will load your premium by up to 100pc if you have one. You will also struggle to get an insurer to cover you if you have been disqualified from driving or have a driving conviction.
Liberty, for example, will not quote any driver who has been disqualified from driving in the last seven years. Aviva does not quote for drivers with a disqualification unless they are a current or previous customer - though the circumstances of the disqualification would be reviewed before the company declined to quote someone.
Berkshire would be involved in financing if an agreement is reached, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. Unilever said it rejected the $143bn (134bn) proposal (Stock picture)
Warren Buffett's ability to provide billions of dollars and his willingness to defend job cuts are seen as valuable assets for the buyout firm 3G Capital as it seeks to combine Kraft Heinz and Unilever.
Buffett backed 3G's acquisition of HJ Heinz and then the ketchup maker's tie-up with Kraft. Now the combined company, which counts Buffett as a director, has added to its ambitions, announcing on Friday that it made an offer for the maker of Dove soap. Berkshire would be involved in financing if an agreement is reached, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. Unilever said it rejected the $143bn (134bn) proposal.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has made billions of dollars by financing deals through debt or preferred-stock purchases, and if the consumer giants reach an accord, "It seems very plausible that they would participate in the funding," said Meyer Shields, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. "I'd be shocked if not."
Berkshire had a cash pile of more than $80bn (75.4bn) as of September 30, and the hoard has been growing because Buffett hasn't announced a mega-deal since the 2015 agreement to buy Precision Castparts. Also, some lucrative financing deals have expired, including the decision last year by Kraft Heinz to redeem $8bn (7.5bn) in preferred shares that were held by Buffett. Berkshire was paid 9pc a year on that holding.
Though Buffett has said his favoured path for building Berkshire is through acquisitions, the company has been more active in recent months buying stock in public markets, building stakes in US airlines and Apple. Given the premium that is required to buy out a whole company, it may make more sense at current market valuations for Buffett to lock in a fixed rate of return in a financing deal, Shields said.
Buffett, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive officer, sometimes gets warrants on such transactions, too. This allowed Berkshire to buy shares at a discounted price in 3G-backed Restaurant Brands International, the parent of Burger King and Tim Hortons. Buffett didn't return a call seeking comment.
"It's safe to say that with Buffett they can overcome any financial hurdles to get the deal done," said Ken Shea, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "It's a good partnership - 3G is the operator and Berkshire is the banker."
The public support that Buffett provides can be valuable too, especially since 3G's approach typically involves slashing thousands of jobs, a strategy that can draw public ire in an era of populism that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House.
Buffett has said that 3G is fair with severance payments, and that it makes no sense for companies to employ more people than they need. "Efficiency is required over time in capitalism," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting in 2015. "I really tip my hat to what the 3G people have done."
The billionaire is among the most popular figures in American business because of his homespun wisdom, wit and charitable giving. He has further emphasized the point on efficiency in his letters.
Buffett's remarks are "another way of saying 'expense reductions,"' Shields said. "And that's another way of saying 'firing people."'
(Bloomberg)
The latest issue of Playboy contains a surprise: the magazine is full of images of naked women.
This might be considered a bombshell of Pamela Anderson / Channing Tatum proportions. In January 2016, the original R-rated publication announced it was banning nudity. Playboy was growing up.
Now, just a year later, it's full steam backwards. There's even an official hashtag: "Naked is normal".
"I'll be the first to admit that the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but nudity was never the problem because nudity isn't a problem," said the magazine's new creative officer Cooper Hefner, 25-year-old son of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
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"Today, we're taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are."
The turnabout was, he said, the latest chapter in Playboy's ongoing mission "to promote a healthy conversation about sex while also encouraging dialogue on social, philosophical and religious opinions".
Playboy has long been one of the most divisive brands in publishing. Some have argued that the magazine, founded by Hefner in 1953 as a lifestyle guide for the sophisticated modern man, was a driving force in the Sixties sexual revolution.
Others will claim that, beneath the Don Draper veneer, Playboy was, and continues to be, a lowest-denominator ogle-fest. How could the relentless objectification of woman as "playmates" and "bunnies" be anything else?
What can be agreed is that Hefner the younger's announcement comes at a significant moment. America recently elected to the presidency a man with a track record in treating women in a demeaning fashion. Political correctness is under assault as never before.
"We are seeing a more misogynistic, more pornified culture," says Meghan Murphy, founder and editor of the website Feminist Current.
"How does someone like Donald Trump survive and thrive, never mind become president? We accept women exist as decorative objects, to be used by men. This is how Trump sees women: pretty things for him to use and look at - things he is entitled to access, sexually. That so many Americans voted for him demonstrates he isn't alone in his opinions.
"The fact is: it's not just Trump who believes this. Most will deny they support Trump's ethos, but any man who uses pornography or pays for sex sees women exactly the same way Trump does, and therefore participate in and perpetuate a misogynist culture."
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Yet Playboy has its defenders. Indeed, within feminism there is an argument that the magazine has elevated rather than repressed women.
"Playboy championed birth control, equal pay and abortion rights, something both impressive and surprising," feminist writer and editor Rosie Boycott wrote in Stylist Magazine in 2013.
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"Again, it can be dismissed as a cynical ploy to disguise soft porn as something campaigning and serious, but Hefner went further, writing about civil rights, racism and gay liberation at a time when those topics were mainly confined to small-selling alternative publications."
Beyond question is the fact that political correctness is being attacked on both sides of the Atlantic.
"The big problem this country has is being politically correct," Trump declared on the campaign trial. In Britain, the UK Independence Party - a driving force behind Brexit - has declared war on PC-culture.
"We would end political correctness in schools and introduce a specific act aimed at banning damaging political propaganda being passed off as fact," the party promised in 2016. "Indoctrination of young minds is wrong. What we must give them is the desire and capacity to think freely for themselves."
All of which leaves Playboy at an impasse. As the culture turns increasing toxic and divisive, can it really profit from the high moral ground?
On the other hand, it finds itself locked in an unwinnable existential struggle with internet pornography. Going upmarket clearly hasn't worked - but sinking to the fetid depths of web porn isn't an option for a magazine that, along with the nudity, sees itself as a purveyor of quality journalism.
Thus Playboy is caught in the middle: excessively sleazy for the mainstream, too prim and old-school to compete with the free titillation available online.
"The problem with Playboy is it not only lost its powerful interviews, but it lost its lead," says Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Centre at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism.
"This is no longer the Fifties and Sixties when people talked about the interviews. And who cannot see the girl next door naked in this day and age?"
"The bottom line is that boobs aren't going to save Playboy," says Feminist Current's Meghan Murphy. "People who want to see naked women are going to watch porn online. And people who want thought-provoking articles are going to read... literally anything else.
"The fact that Playboy thought it could maintain readership without literal porn is, in my opinion, deluded. Playboy appears not to understand its own legacy. The line that men 'read Playboy for the articles' was always a joke, but one that, apparently, even Playboy didn't get."
Director Jim Sheridan has answered author Sebastian Barry's claims that his movie adaptation of The Secret Scripture has changed dramatically from the author's original storyline in the novel of the same name.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent ahead of the film's premiere at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival last night, Sheridan said he received similar criticism when he adapted both My Left Foot and The Field from their original works.
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Both movies went on to receive worldwide critical acclaim.
Speaking about Barry's comments, Sheridan said: "It is a no-win situation. If you change it, you are in trouble, and if you don't change it, you are in trouble.
"So it's difficult, especially with such a strong literary work as that is."
Citing from his earlier works, the six-time Academy Award-nominated director added: "It is always going to be different when you adapt a book. My Left Foot stops when Christy Brown is 17 and we went on until he was 45 and we changed everything. The Field changed an awful lot too. Things change when you make films. You can't help, it you know?"
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Paying homage to Barry's work, Sheridan also said the generational scope of the novel proved impractical to squeeze into one movie.
"It is never easy when you adapt a book," he said. "Especially when it goes for 100 years. How do you do that? It's impossible. You can't. The literary work of The Secret Scripture would be impossible to adapt faithfully outside of doing an eight-hour mini series."
The Dublin-born director went on to say he had also received criticism for staying true to the book's ending.
"The entire story about Vanessa [Redgrave] and Eric Bana - that's in the book, you know? And, in the book, in the last few chapters, there is a sudden change that I had to write - even though, when the book came out, nobody accepted it.
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"So I tried to make that work. And the biggest criticism we got was the part that actually stays true to the book. People maybe thought that you can't have such an 'up' ending in such a heavy story. But that's the whole book. That's the reason I did it."
Sebastian Barry declined to comment when contacted yesterday. However in recent months, when asked about the movie version of his novel, Barry said: "There is no dialogue from the book in the film, there are no scenes from the book in the film, and the backstory is entirely new... no Sligo, no father, no ballroom, the things that are important to me are not there."
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He added that "it's not a bad film, it is just Jim's film".
Speaking about the comments, Sheridan said: "I don't think he was too heavy. I think he was just saying it's a different experience, which I agree with. This is a no win. If I don't change it, I lose, if I do change it, I lose, you know?
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"But I must say when John B Keane saw The Field and saw all the changes, initially he was a little bit put out, you know?
"But in the longer term the family were delighted with the success of the movie - because it kept the play going."
The adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted and best-selling novel features an all-star cast including Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, Vanessa Redgrave, Jack Reynor, Aidan Turner and Love/Hate's Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.
The Secret Scripture tells the story of a 100-year-old woman, Roseanne McNulty (played by Redgrave), who has lived in a Co Roscommon Mental Hospital for almost half of her life when she decides to write her autobiography triggering memories from her eventful past.
Speaking st the film's Dublin premiere last night, Bana said:
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"It's the same with any film. Especially when you are working with such a strong director, you work with those kind of directors because they have a very unique vision. The book is source material and then it is adapted and the film becomes its own piece in itself - and that's what makes it exciting."
He added that he has read several of Barry's books to find an Irish voice.
The Australian actor also expressed his love of Ireland and said he had time to fit in a quick pint of Guiness yesterday afternoon before he jets out today.
The Secret Scripture is in cinemas nationwide now.
When she drew up her 'Family Constitution' seven years ago, Marian O'Gorman, matriarch of the Kilkenny Group, sought to draw a line under a series of high-profile disputes with her brothers and sisters that had tarnished an otherwise outstanding reputation as an entrepreneur and chief executive of one of Ireland's leading, luxury retail dynasties.
The O'Gorman Family Business Constitution, which established the agreed principles and practices to be observed by O'Gorman and her four adult children with regard to the ownership and management of the Kilkenny Group, aimed to "encourage the family to stay together as a unit and enjoy the fruits of the business for generations to come".
Under the partnership agreement, which contains an "inviolate" personal code of conduct, drugs and gambling are banned, abuse of alcohol can not be condoned and family members are expected to dress appropriately.
Marian O'Gorman and her four adult children - Greg, Michelle, Melissa and Christopher - could not apply to the group for loans as this was agreed to be "bad business practice".
Personal guarantees were banned outright and no one could pledge their holdings as security for personal loans or third party borrowings.
In the event of her premature death, or incapacity prior to her planned retirement date, O'Gorman's husband of 40 years, Michael O'Gorman, would receive 100,000 a year until he reached the age of 65.
Conflict management was key - 'family fun' was high on the constitution's family code of ethics and younger members of the families were encouraged (but not pressurised) to apply for summer jobs "to encourage a business ethos" in the next generation.
Under the rules of conduct for siblings, parents and in-laws, siblings were obliged to support one another in public and speak positively of one another to spouses. Disputes were to be discussed privately and, in the event of major fallout, a mediator - and ultimately an arbitrator - would be deployed to resolve any issues and keep them far from public view.
Every contingency, it seemed, had been catered for in the 28-page constitution.
But last week a rip tide tore through the heart of the O'Gorman family when Greg O'Gorman sued his mother Marian in the High Court alleging she had reneged on the 2010 deal which, he says, means the Kilkenny Group is held in trust for him and his siblings.
Greg O'Gorman is at pains to stress that he has no dispute with his siblings: they are notice parties in the action as his legal action may affect their interests. In an explosive statement of claim, O'Gorman describes his mother as "by nature a domineering, aggressive and belligerent person" with a "well-documented propensity for acrimonious dispute with close family members".
The opening salvo, which included claims that Greg O'Gorman, his wife and three children aged under the age of eight had been left "financially destitute" after he was "summarily" dismissed from his job last summer, was enough to lead High Court judge Mr Justice Brian McGovern to implore mother and son to seek mediation to prevent a family dispute involving a successful business being explored publicly.
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"Unfortunately," Greg O'Gorman's senior counsel Rossa Fanning told Judge McGovern, there was a "history of acrimonious disputes" which Mrs O'Gorman had found herself at the centre of over the years.
If the family feud tearing through the O'Gorman family feels like history repeating itself, it is because the Kilkenny Group, with 15 retail stores around the country and a thriving online portal, is itself the offspring of number of prior, bruising family conflicts.
The first split emerged over the future of Blarney Woollen Mills, a company which was founded by Marian's father, Christy Kelleher.
Christy Kelleher's death in 1991 led to a power struggle among his children - Marian and her sister Freda had a major falling out that year, the latter going on to form another business, the hugely successful Meadows & Byrne lifestyle chain.
This dispute was followed in 1999 by a High Court battle when Marian, her husband Michael and her sister Bernadette Kelleher Nolan went to court to stop their brothers Pat, Frank and Kevin from removing Michael from the group's board.
At the time it was thought that the move was part of a plan to remove Marian as chief executive. The stand-alone Kilkenny Group, which had originally been owned by the government, and bought by Blarney, was carved out from the group as part of the settlement, with the brothers retaining the Blarney Woollen Mills shop on Nassau Street in Dublin, and a share in the Blarney Park Hotel as well as other assets.
Relations between the various factions of the family remained strained - Greg O'Gorman claims that "significant business assets" were sold following the settlement of the second family dispute when Marian Gorman had a separate acrimonious family row with her sister Bernadette.
Greg O'Gorman has also claimed in court papers that there are a series of recent or pending employment law disputes involving key personnel, including "serious allegations of bullying" against his mother by named staff members.
The underlying tensions were acknowledged in 2015 by Marian O'Gorman when she told the Sunday Independent that she still doesn't speak to some of the family members who opposed her in the two court cases.
"We try very hard to keep the emotional side out of it," O'Gorman told this newspaper. "There isn't a lot of conflict."
Whatever the internal dynamics, to the outside world the family-owned Kilkenny Group was an extraordinary success that looked set to be passed to future generations without the turmoil that had afflicted previous ones.
According to Greg O'Gorman, Clydaville Investments Ltd - which carries on the business of luxury design under the "Kilkenny" brand and employs 300 people - increased its turnover under his watch from 18m in 2010 to approximately 30m in 2016 and that profits rose from 300,000 to 1,500,000 over the same period.
Turnover was 27m in 2015, says Greg O'Gorman whom the High Court has heard secured a preliminary desktop valuation of some 50m for the business, including its "significant" property assets. Greg O'Gorman says he returned home from London in 2003 at his mother's request to work as retail manager in the company's then under-performing Galway store. In the intervening years, he worked his way through the upper echelons of the group driven, he says, by his mother's promises that his efforts would be rewarded by way of a transfer of a shareholding in the company to him.
O'Gorman said he became the "public face" of Kilkenny and identified a series of initiatives he led that fuelled this growth.
These include the sourcing and securing of new retail locations at Swords Pavilions and Whitewater Shopping Centres and other locations, the initiation of the Kilkenny Irish Craft and Design Week that went on to secure external corporate sponsorship, the introduction of May and November sales events which he says have been the "key drivers" of some 2m increased turnover and associated profitability.
O'Gorman also claims that he developed and grew www.kilkennyshop.com, which achieved annual 50pc revenue growth and in excess of 1m in 2016 alone.
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He also claims he developed and managed the company's database, which has details of more than 350,000 customers, which he describes as "a key business resource".
O'Gorman says he worked tirelessly, through long days, nights and weekends - at "significantly" below market-level compensation - to drive growth in the business, a growth he would enjoy as a 25pc equity holder - his siblings also enjoying a 25pc shareholding each.
One former company board member told the Sunday Independent that Greg was regarded as hard-working and disciplined, a far cry from a privileged son who inherited the silver spoon.
The peaceful transfer of ownership of the Kilkenny Group to Marian O'Gorman's children appeared to have been given effect to in the O'Gorman Family Business Constitution, a September 2010 draft of which has been submitted to Judge McGovern as part of the litigation.
The Constitution seeks to perpetuate the family's shared values "through the generations to come". The Constitution states that while the shares in the group are currently held by Marian, it is her wish to pass the benefit of her shareholding to her children equally with the creation of a structure that allows the family to own and control the business collectively rather than through individual shareholdings. This was to be done by Marian O'Gorman transferring her shares to a family partnership, initially comprising five partners - Marian and her four children. The document states that Marian will have "ultimate and final voting rights and decision-making authority", the quarter owning the value of the partnership. "At a time of her choosing Marian will transfer decision-making authority to the collective will of the partnership," reads one clause.
That clause was followed by another which states "Marian will continue as the named shareholder of Clydaville Investments Limited but will hold the holding in trust for the O'Gorman family partnership".
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The document goes on to state that The Family Partnership will comprise four equal partners - Greg, Michelle, Melissa and Christopher - with Marian as managing partner.
"Marian, as managing partner, will have no direct equity participation in the partnership but will have a deciding vote in all decisions of the partnership for so long as she retains the managing partner role," read another clause.
The succession plan appeared to be working well, with reference to the children as "shareholders" when Marian O'Gorman announced new plans to grow the company, requiring potential changes to the family constitution.
Minutes from an O'Gorman Family Partnership meeting of March 5, 2015 cited the success of the Constitution, Michael O'Gorman noting how "respect and openness" underpinned it.
Changes to the family constitution were referenced once again in an August 2, 2015 email sent by Marian O'Gorman to EY, the accountancy firm, noting an agreement by each family member that the company could be sold within five to 10 years if profits were doubled within such a time frame.
Just a year later, Marian O'Gorman - according to her son Greg - read a prepared statement at an executive meeting of the company which turned the constitution on its head.
According to Greg O'Gorman, his mother declared at the June 22, 2016 meeting that the company would no longer operate as a family business and would no longer be referred to as a family business.
She is alleged to have told her family that she would have full control of the business going forward, that there would be no overlap between business and family and that those present at the meeting - including Greg O'Gorman - had "responsibilities but no rights".
Within weeks, Greg O'Gorman was no longer working at the family business and hasn't worked since. He claims he was "summarily dismissed" with a demeaning letter and lodged a claim for unfair dismissal with the Workplace Relations Commission last December.
Staff were told that Greg had simply moved on and that there was no conflict.
But there had been rancour for some time.
According to sources, a difference of opinion occurred about advice from external consultants, which led to clashes within the family about the direction of the business.
This in turn led to the formation of two factions within the family, with Greg and his father Michael on one side, and Marian and her daughters Melissa and Michelle and brother Christopher on the other.
Greg O'Gorman makes no criticism of his siblings, but the dispute is tearing the family apart.
The validity of the constitution, which is subject to a biannual review and can be amended or changed at any time by a majority of 75pc of all the partnership votes cast, is the crux of the legal action between mother and son.
The Sunday Independent put questions to Marian O'Gorman. Her spokesman replied: "No comment."
The constitution could also prove key to the Kilkenny Group's future. Greg O'Gorman wants a declaration that the September 2010 document is valid, was repeatedly affirmed since its inception and holds that he, along with his siblings, is a 25pc equity partner. Should the court find that the constitution was aspirational or is otherwise a non-binding document, O'Gorman wants the court to declare that he - buoyed by his mother's representations about the future ownership of the company - has part-performed it in any event by growing the business for more than 13 years.
This nuclear family is also facing the nuclear option of a winding up order or the appointment of a receiver - Greg O'Gorman is seeking these extreme options "in so far as is necessary".
He has asked the Commercial Court to fast-track the case as he believes the Kilkenny Group is set to make major decisions about its future within months. "There is a particular urgency in having this claim resolved in early due course due to its significant commercial importance to all parties and especially the company stakeholders and numerous employees who are not party to these proceedings," he said in a sworn statement.
"I am aware that over the course of the next number of months, there are critically important decisions to be taken concerning the future strategic direction of the company of a commercially sensitive nature."
His mother has consented to the case being admitted to the Commercial Court, but hopes of a happy ending for this retail dynasty appear remote.
The State solicitor for minors and wards of court has been ordered by the High Court to halt the sale of a 1.6m farm owned by an elderly man who has been put in to care.
The farm was put on the market after he was made a ward of court and the elderly sister who cared for him also became unwell. Neither the man (Mr G) nor his sister can be named for legal reasons after he was made a ward of court due to a worsening neurological condition. Both of them have no children or immediate family who could care for them as they aged.
A committee was formed in 2014 to look after their affairs. Their care and medical expenses cost more than 200,000 per year and as money was being used up by care costs the committee decided it was necessary to sell the family farm.
A relative (Mr P) tried to halt the sale saying it would be against the wishes of the owner to see the land leave his family.
The court heard these wishes were shared by the owner's sister.
It was not possible to take the owner's view into account due to his neurological condition and the fact he is a ward of court.
Mr Justice Donald Binchy said he considered farming traditions during his deliberations on the matter. He ruled Mr P, a distant relative, will have to pay for care costs while Mr G and his sister live in order to prevent the land from being sold.
The relative will then be reimbursed when Mr G dies and his estate can be handled as per his will. Legal costs from the court case will also come from Mr G's estate.
"There is a strong tradition in Irish agriculture for families to not sell the land," said Mr Justice Binchy.
"Any funds expended by Mr P in the case of Mr G or on his behalf shall be charged to the lands. Mr P is not seeking to execute the charge on the lands during the lifetime of Mr G."
The court heard the land had been split in to two parcels of approximately 35 acres by the committee and then put on the market in order to achieve a maximum sale value.
However, the judge ordered that the land be removed from the market immediately after Mr P said he was willing to use the 31,000 the farm generates every year through rents and single farm payments, and his own money, to cover the care costs of Mr G and his sister and bills associated with maintaining the estate.
Senior counsel for the committee said it was concerned that Mr P had not yet provided any indemnity to cover costs despite having numerous opportunities to do so.
However, the judge said he was satisfied that Mr G had been cared for sufficiently to date and this was the main priority.
The ruling also means the family member will have access to Mr G's medical records, something that had previously been refused.
"The status quo seems to be very satisfactory to Mr G," said the judge. "That seems to me to be very desirable and if that can be maintained I am happy with that.
"If there are practical issues such as medical records and communication with the ward of court's GP, if Mr P is concerned about the ward of court he should be allowed to pick up the phone."
As part of the ruling Mr P will also have to keep account of funds being spent on Mr G's care and log them with the committee every six months.
A hotel worker cleared of murdering Michaela McAreavey will begin his bid to win 1m in compensation next month.
Six years after the honeymooner was found dead in her Mauritius hotel suite by her husband, a man acquitted of the killing is claiming damages for "trauma, humiliation and stress" as a result of his alleged treatment by police and investigators.
Avinash Treebhoowoon was one of two hotel employees acquitted in the high-profile murder case.
He and another hotel employee, Sandip Moneea, had been charged with murdering Michaela.
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However, they were both acquitted following the trial in 2012.
Mr Treebhoowoon spent 18 months in custody before being found not guilty in Mauritius's Criminal Court.
But his claim for damages has angered Michaela's widower, John McAreavey. On Twitter he said Mr Treebhoowoon should be "more concerned about defending a potential civil suit rather than more of his lies".
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr Treebhoowoon's lawyer, Sanjeev Teeluckdharry, said Treebhoowoon felt "very sorry for whatever has happened" but "has nothing to do with the murder".
"He does not know anything about how the lady was killed."
He confirmed the first stage of the case will begin within weeks when the Mauritian government files its defence. He claimed Treebhoowoon's arrest was arbitrary, his detention illegal, and also alleges he was tortured and deprived of his rights.
"It was a big conspiracy involving high-ranking officers, and other authorities, just to make it look like an open-and-shut case.
"Instead of making a serious inquiry, and to look for the murderer, they tortured one of them to make a false confession. That's the basis of the claim. He is seeking about 1m (1.1m) for the torture that he suffered in police cells, as well as the trauma he underwent.
"My client has a good case. It is very clear from the trial, through the answers we obtained, that the police have failed in making a proper inquiry. Who were the personnel that left the hotel compound earlier than usual? They have not analysed the CCTV cameras. Instead, they were in a hurry to find scapegoats."
He also alleged the police misled the public by claiming they had obtained DNA evidence and videos from CCTV cameras.
He maintained his client was mistreated while in custody, and that police forced him to make a false confession, having "brutalised" him.
Previously, he claimed that his wife suffered a miscarriage because of his arbitrary arrest while his family were "humiliated" by what happened to him.
Don't all families fight sometimes? Siblings Ben Dunne and Margaret Heffernan. Asked about his relationship with his sister, Ben answered: 'Normal'
Take an iconic Irish brand, add in the second-generation family behind its success and you have at least some of the ingredients for a family feud.
A succession of such families has ended up embroiled in public and damaging litigation over the years. It was the first thing Judge Brian McGovern recognised when the dispute involving the Kerry-based Kilkenny Group came before him last week.
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Kilkenny, originally Kilkenny Design, emerged from previous disputes among the seven children of Christy Kelleher, founder of the Blarney Woollen Mills. The first led to daughter Freda Hayes leaving to found the Meadow & Byrne chain and after a further split in the family her brothers took ownership of Blarney Woollen Mills, while Marian O'Gorman emerged with the Kilkenny brand and its flagship store in Nassau Street, Dublin.
The company behind Kilkenny Group, Clydaville, had a turnover of 30m, 17m in shareholder funds and made more than 1m in profits, according to its last accounts.
Now after being ousted from the company, Greg O'Gorman has mounted a High Court action against his mother, Marian, saying that she had summarily torn up a Family Business Partnership in June 2016 - as a result of which he had lost his job and a promised share in the business.
It was "very undesirable" for the O'Gormans to have their family dispute aired in public and they should consider mediation, said the High Court judge. But Rossa Fanning SC, for Greg O'Gorman, said that because Marian O'Gorman had a "history of acrimonious disputes" this was unlikely to solve matters and asked that her other children, Christopher, Melissa and Michelle, be included as 'notice parties' in the forthcoming action because their interests might be affected.
So what is it that tears families apart?
While on the surface it might seem to be about money that is rarely the case. In many such disputes, typified by the warring members of the Dunne family, there was already so much money available to them all so it couldn't be just that simple.
"When there's a battle between family members it's not just about the item on the official agenda, it's about all the painful experience we had in the family that nurtured us," said one psychologist. "It's the force of the resulting pain that causes the bitterness that erupts."
The family battles between Ben Dunne and his sister Margaret Heffernan for control of the Dunnes Stores retail empire defined an era in Ireland. The acrimony between the two led to the McCracken Tribunal, which established that Ben Dunne had given three cheques totalling 210,000 to the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, who replied, "thanks a million big fellah" when accepting them.
This in turn led to the Moriarty Tribunal and the shredding of the reputations of a fair cross section of the Irish business community.
Nearly 15 years after airing their dirty linen in public, Ben Dunne, who went on to found a successful chain of gyms, was asked about his relationship with his sister.
"Normal," he answered.
The battle for control of hotelier PV Doyle's empire pitted his three daughters - Eileen, Anne and Bernadette - against their brother David over the running of their flagship hotel group, which included iconic Dublin hotels, The Berkeley Court, now demolished, the Burlington Hotel, The Westbury and others.
After working his way to the top of the group, David Doyle left "to pursue other interests" because of tension in the family. He returned as managing director and when differences resurfaced again attempted to buy out his three sisters, an offer they refused.
In a statement issued in 1997, it was announced that he had been voted out of office as managing director and replaced by his younger sister, Bernadette.
He was later paid an estimated 40m for his share in the hotel group.
Despite the acrimonious nature of his departure, the Doyle family fought their own battles in their family setting. Although some detail leaked into the media they had the good sense not to go legal - which not only saved them a lot of money, but also shielded them from the courtroom warfare that almost always destroys family relationships into the future.
The tragedy of family feuds was probably best illustrated in recent years when the warring pub family, the Comans, ended up in the High Court with the elderly Pat and Mary Coman pitted against all but one of their sons over the family empire, which started with a pub in Rathgar, Dublin and developed into a large-scale bottling and drinks distributions business.
Pat Coman was an old style patriarch who mixed family and business and when his sons attempted to keep them separate, the relationship broke down irretrievably.
"We have lost everything we valued, we have lost our fatherhood and motherhood," Mary Coman almost sobbed in the witness box, describing how she and her husband were "outcasts in sections of the family" and excluded from some normal events grandparents would expect to attend.
Although their very public dispute was characterised by bitterness and rancour, it is said that afterwards the family found a form of reconciliation, despite the scars inflicted during the feud.
Over the years various attempts have been made to help businesses come to terms with family succession, but a recent survey by the accountancy firm PwC shows that half of Irish family businesses have no plan in place and are ill prepared for handing over to the next generation, even when they have good intentions of doing so.
There is some irony that after being down this road before the O'Gormans developed a 'Family Constitution' in which Marian O'Gorman held the shares in the Kilkenny Group.
According to her son, Greg, she repudiated the 'O'Gorman Family Business Partnership' in June 2016 leading to the present dispute.
Now, given what we've heard in the preliminary round, Judge McGovern's concerns about the family's affairs becoming the subject of public wrangling seem highly likely to be justified.
By Jack Stubbs and Gleb Stolyarov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ford has become the first major foreign carmaker in Russia to see sales grow after three bad years, potentially vindicating its decision to double down on a notoriously volatile market when rivals decided to cut and run. Sales of cars in Russia have fallen by more than half since a 2012 peak of 2.9 million vehicles, due to an economic crisis brought on by low oil prices and Western sanctions. The market fell by 11 percent last year, and was down a further 5 percent in January from a year earlier. Ford's big U.S. rival General Motors pulled out of Russia two years ago. But Ford chose not only to stay, but to keep investing, launching new models with modifications designed to suit the country's harsh driving conditions. Since 2011, its joint venture with Sollers , a Russian partner, has ploughed $1.5 billion (1.2 billion) into making cars locally to local specifications. Now Ford's sales have turned a corner and rose 10 percent last year, an achievement the company says is proof its strategy is at last paying off. The 40,000 Fords sold in Russia last year are still barely more than a fifth of the almost 190,000 vehicles the company sold in 2008, before the global financial crisis brought the first of two collapses in the Russian car industry in less than a decade. During the latest crisis, Ford's share of the market for foreign cars fell at the expense of Korean competitors Kia <000270.KS> and Hyundai <005380.KS>, which chose to shore up market share through aggressive pricing. But now their sales are still falling, while Ford's are on the rise. The Russian market is "starting to turn", Ford CEO Mark Fields told Reuters last week, promising to stand by the company's investments in Russia. "Our intent is to build on that." The Association of European Businesses lobby group forecasts the Russian car market to finally stabilise this year and grow by 4 percent. But it will still be years before a full rebound. "Despite the economic turbulence, we didn't cut investments and delivered the initial plan to launch seven new vehicles with a significant level of localisation," Mark Ovenden, CEO of the Ford Sollers joint venture, told Reuters. He noted that the company opened a $275 million engine plant in 2015, a year in which Ford's Russia sales nosedived 41 percent. The joint venture now operates four plants in Russia. New models, such as the Fiesta hatchback and EcoSport SUV, have been adapted for Russian conditions of bad roads and extreme cold, with higher ground clearance, anti-corrosion finishes and engines adapted for lower grade fuel, Ovenden said. Ford would not say when it thinks its Russian operations will earn money. A spokeswoman declined to comment on profitability in Russia, saying Ford does not break down its European operations by individual market. Vladimir Bespalov, an analyst at Russia's VTB bank, said Ford's Russian operations were still loss-making but could be profitable as soon as 2018. IHS analysts predict Ford's sales in Russia could rise to 60,000 vehicles by 2020. "But it's going to be a long, slow build up," said Tim Urquhart, principal analyst at IHS Automotive. Even at such small numbers, sales growth in Russia would mark a bright spot for Ford's European operations after it warned last month that the impact of Britain's vote to leave the EU would put a $600 million dent in its 2017 earnings. http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/RUSSIA-AUTOS-FORD/010031WC498/RUSSIA-AUTOS-FORD-01.jpg "POINT OF NO RETURN" Russia has been one of the great dream markets for carmakers since the automobile was invented. Ford first entered Russia in 1907 under the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, but foreign automakers were shut out during the Soviet era when Moscow built its own industry. Well into the 2000s, the market was still dominated by boxy Ladas built on a design licensed by the Soviets from Fiat in the 1960s, leaving huge pent-up demand for more comfortable and reliable models. A decade after the Soviet Union fell, Ford opened Russia's first foreign car plant in St Petersburg in 2002. By the time of its sales peak in 2008, some Russian automotive experts predicted the Ford Focus could become Russia's new national car. Although that ambition now seems far off, the decision to invest so heavily in building cars locally was one reason Ford decided to stay when GM left, said Bespalov. "Ford passed the point of no return in terms of investment," he said. "Ford and GM were in different situations. For Ford the decision to continue to invest meant fewer losses than a decision to leave. For GM, it was the other way round." Urquhart noted that GM had also been hurt worse than Ford globally by the 2009 downturn, giving it more reason to be cautious in the years that followed. While Ford saw sales grew last year, other foreign car companies suffered further falls, in line with the wider market. Kia, now Russia's second-biggest seller behind domestic top producer Avtovaz , fell by 9 percent, and third-place Hyundai fell by 10 percent. France's Renault , which sunk $1 billion into an initial 25 percent stake in now struggling Avtovaz in 2008, saw sales slide 3 percent last year. Sales of Volkswagens fell 5 percent. IHS' Urquhart said it was still unclear whether Ford's bet on Russia would pay off in the long term, but its presence in Russia would help cement its position among the world's biggest car producers. "If you want to be a global carmaker, you've got to be in the Russian market," he said. (Additional reporting by Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Graff)
In custody: Tina Cahill from New Ross who has been charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Daithi Walsh, right
Two Wexford towns were yesterday in shock after a "lovely, lovely girl" was charged with the murder of her 'Good Samaritan' boyfriend in Australia.
Cathrina Cahill (25) from New Ross was due to appear in court early today in Sydney charged with the murder of Daithi Walsh (29) last Friday.
A police spokesman said she was due to be brought before Parramatta Bail Court.
However she chose not to appear via video link as her lawyer said she was too distressed to do so. She was further remanded in custody and is due to appear before Burwood local court on Wednesday.
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Ms Cahill's family are well known and respected in New Ross where she grew up above the family-owned shop near the Three Bullets Gate in the old town. She was described by neighbours yesterday as "a lovely, lovely girl".
The neighbour added: "The Cahills are the finest people you could meet. No one can understand one bit of this. Tina was a good student at school and, I understand, very successful at whatever she worked at. There's total shock here."
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Mr Walsh (29) was known for carrying out building work for free for needy people in Enniscorthy, local Independent Councillor John O'Rourke, a friend of the Walsh family said yesterday.
Mr Walsh moved to Australia following the break-up of his marriage last year, it is understood.
He met Ms Cahill and they became engaged at New Year and they have been living together in the Padstow area of the city.
Sydney police yesterday charged Ms Cahill with murder and were still questioning another man, a 35-year-old local, over what was described as a fracas at the couple's home on Watson Road, Padstow.
Local sources were quoted in the Australian media as saying Mr Walsh was at home when his fiancee, two other women and a local man arrived at the house. A row ensued during which Mr Walsh was stabbed in the neck. It was unclear if a broken glass or knife was involved. Locals said those involved appeared to be drunk.
It is understood the two women also live at the house and the Australian man, who was still in police custody yesterday, was invited back after the women had been out socialising. Local people reported 'screaming and wailing' around midnight before police and ambulance crews arrived.
Detective Inspector Glen Fitzgerald said the victim had been in the house, possibly asleep, when the three women and man arrived and a fight broke out.
"Four of them seem to live at this address. One of the males was at an establishment with them earlier in the day," he said.
Ms Cahill was being held in police custody prior to her appearance before Parramatta Local Court in Sydney.
Friends and relatives were gathering around the Walsh family home in Moran Park in Enniscorthy as arrangements began for the return of Mr Walsh's body. The family are well known in the building trade, Councillor O'Rourke said.
"David really was a gentleman like his father, always ready to give a hand and he often did work for people who were in need. I asked him a couple of times if he could do a bit of plastering for people who were living in poor conditions and he was only too happy to volunteer. He really was one of those great decent guys who are important in a community. His loss will be felt greatly here."
FOUR Units of Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene of a domestic fire in north Dublin city this afternoon.
The incident, on Sean McDermott Street Lower, saw fire fighters wear breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze.
It is understood to have started on the top floor of the building.
The fire has since been extinguished and no injuries are reported.
Kerry Darcy O'Brien with her Mother Helen O'Brien and her son Kai (4) in her Travel Lodge Hotel yesterday. Photo: Colin O'Riordan
Kerry Darcy O'Brien with her Mother Helen O'Brien and her son Kai (4) in her Travel Lodge Hotel yesterday. Photo: Colin O'Riordan
Kerry Darcy O'Brien with her Mother Helen O'Brien and her son Kai (4) in her Travel Lodge Hotel yesterday. Photo: Colin O'Riordan
Kerry Darcy O'Brien with her Mother Helen O'Brien and her son Kai (4) in her Travel Lodge Hotel yesterday. Photo: Colin O'Riordan
Kerry Darcy O'Brien with her Mother Helen O'Brien and her son Kai (4) in her Travel Lodge Hotel yesterday. Photo: Colin O'Riordan
A young woman has revealed she is living in a hotel room with her young son and her mother who is battling cancer.
Kerry Darcy OBrien (23) said she has run out of options in her quest to find a home and has now issued a heartfelt plea for help to Dublin City Council.
Speaking to Independent.ie, Ms Darcy OBrien, who lives with her mother Helen OBrien and son Kai (4), said they have no cooking and washing facilities in their room at the Travelodge on the Navan Road, Dublin.
We are just so stressed every day. I haven't been able to sit down and think, she added
I just want anything, it's like we're just existing here. I know it's hard out there, I know there are plenty of people in this situation but we would just appeal for a home.
Ms Darcy OBrien explained that she and son Kai had been living in rented accommodation in Finglas, North Dublin. Over the summer they lost the house after their landlord decided he wanted to live in the home.
Ms Darcy OBrien, who qualifies for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), said she searched for alternative accommodation but was unable .
In the meantime her mother Helen (48), who was living in Liverpool, was diagnosed with multiple mylenoma cancer. Helen decided to return to Dublin to be around family during her chemotherapy treatment and started living with Kerry, who is now acting as her full-time carer.
We were living with family and friends but after a while that just became too much. We got in touch with TDs and about two months ago we got this room in the Travelodge.
She explained that there are no cooking facilities in the room so they mostly eat take-away food.
Up to recently they had no fridge but one was recently donated by a kind friend.
My mother is going through chemotherapy at the moment, her immune system is down, so everything should be spotless in the room, but thats impossible.
This is not a place for a young child to be living or a woman going through cancer treatment.
Their living arrangement is having a significant toll of Ms Darcy OBrien who admits that she is booking an appointment with a psychiatrist for the family.
She said: We cant go on living like this.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney has promised an end to homeless families being housed in hotels.
Last month he repeated that promise claiming were ahead of schedule.
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Mr Coveney said the Government exceeded its target of 4,200 social housing solutions last year by almost 1,000 through acquisitions, bringing voids units back into use, long-term lease arrangements, and new construction.
"There's a real acceleration happening here in terms of delivery," he said, pledging that there would be more than 21,000 social housing solutions provided in 2017.
A 53-year-old man was rescued from the Wicklow mountains earlier today following a "very busy weekend" for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team.
About 30 volunteers from the group, along with Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue responded to a call this morning about a man who had fractured his leg on Djouce mountain, located above Lough Tay.
An advanced paramedic on site provided pain relief and put the injured man on a stretcher before the rescue team carried him off the hill and into an ambulance.
John Kavanagh of Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team told Independent.ie that this is the sixth callout they received this weekend.
"It's been a very busy weekend for us.
On Friday night we were sent out to look for a female walker who got disorientated and lost, then on Saturday we helped the Guards look for several suspected missing people.
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"Yesterday afternoon we also got call to rescue an 80-year-old hill walker who suffered a fractured leg as well."
Last year the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue rescue team received 66 callouts and 13 so far this year.
"We work right throughout the year and have a very responsible team of volunteers, added Mr Kavanagh.
"No one gets paid for their work and they are all very dedicated. When we receive a callout we generally need a minimum of 20 people to carry the injured person off a mountain, which takes a lot of work," he said.
A man jailed for raping his then-girlfriend while she slept was released from prison a day early so he could fly home to his native Norway.
Magnus Meyer Hustveit was jailed for 15 months after a judge originally suspended a seven-year sentence.
With remission he was due to be released on Saturday. However the Sunday World is reporting that he was freed "under cover of darkness" early on Friday morning.
His victim Niamh Ni Dhomhnail told the newspaper that this was the latest example of her rapist being treated as the "victim".
"This is not okay," she said. "When you consider that my case is part of just one per cent of the rape cases in Ireland that are actually prosecuted and then look at how this was handled it completely sends the wrong message."
She continued: "It's beyond disappointing and I do want to know on what gorunds he is being treated so differently. What they [authorities] have done is not normal and it is not okay."
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Hustveit was freed from Arbour Hill prison in Dublin's North Inner city at 7am on Friday.
The rapist's girlfriend Carina Marie Rose - who stood by him throughout his trial - travelled from Oslo on Thursday to meet him.
A source told Independent.ie: "This man's sentence finished on Saturday but the Prison Service does not generally release people on weekends as as there are no services available.
"Another factor was that there are no flights to Oslo in Norway on Saturdays. It is believed that Hustveit intended to fly directly to Oslo once he was released."
Hustveit pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault committed against his 28-year-old girlfriend between 2011 and 2012.
He was given a wholly suspended seven year sentence by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy on July 13, 2015.
However this was overturned on appeal last March at the Court of Appeal.
When Margaret Thatcher was evicted from 10 Downing Street in November 1990, one of her former cabinet ministers came up with a striking analogy to describe the drama he had witnessed.
"You know those maps on the Paris Metro that light up when you press a button to go from A to B?" John Biffen asked. "Well, it was like that. Someone pressed a button and all the connections lit up."
Today, many people in Leinster House will understand exactly what Biffen was talking about. The last week has been a truly extraordinary period in Irish politics, one which initially threatened to destroy Enda Kenny's government and ended up effectively toppling the Taoiseach himself. It all began when RTE's Prime Time pressed a button, unearthing a false sex-abuse claim in the child protection agency Tusla - and immediately turning the garda whistleblower controversy into a full-blown political crisis.
One television clip in particular this week summed up exactly why Kenny had to go. On Monday evening he was doorstepped by reporters in Cork and asked if he would set up a public inquiry into the smearing of Sergeant Maurice McCabe. "Well," he replied, "I'm going to talk to Micheal Martin in the morning, actually."
For some Fine Gael TDs, this public deference to the Fianna Fail leader was the ultimate sign of Kenny's weakness - and convinced them that they could not afford the slightest risk of stumbling into a snap general election with his face on their posters.
So how did the self-styled party of law and order end up abandoning its leader in such chaotic circumstances?
At the start of last week, everything seemed to be under control. The Government had received a report on the McCabe affair by retired judge Iarfhlaith O'Neill, which was deemed serious enough to justify a full-blown commission of inquiry. When the Cabinet met on Tuesday, February 7, it drafted the terms of reference for an investigation headed by Supreme Court Justice Peter Charleton - one that would presumably keep the controversy behind closed doors for at least another nine months.
The following day, Labour leader Brendan Howlin provided an intriguing curtain-raiser for the political drama about to explode. Speaking under parliamentary privilege in the Dail, he detailed his conversation with an unnamed journalist who claimed that Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan had personally made allegations of "sexual crimes" against Maurice McCabe. The Commissioner promptly denied this in no uncertain terms and Howlin found himself widely accused of using cheap tittle-tattle to gain publicity for his struggling party.
By Thursday night, everything looked very different. RTE's Prime Time (which Howlin had not referenced in his Dail speech) delivered a spectacular scoop, revealing that wholly fictitious claims of sexual abuse carried out by Sgt McCabe had been contained in a Tusla file sent to An Garda Siochana. The agency's explanation was that one of its counsellors had made a clerical error, copying and pasting details from another report - an excuse that even the most charitable observer found exceptionally tough to swallow.
Now the focus shifted to Government Buildings. Children's Minister Katherine Zappone had met Sgt McCabe and his wife Lorraine on January 25, 10 days before the Cabinet meeting that drew up Judge Charleton's brief. Remarkably, however, those terms of reference made no explicit reference to Tusla - and the opposition immediately demanded to know how there could have been such a glaring omission.
As chance would have it, the US-born Zappone had flown to Seattle on family business just as things were hotting up. This may explain why the communications from her office on Friday were so inept.
At 3.30pm, the Minister issued a worryingly vague statement to insist that she had discussed the matter with "relevant colleagues" after her meeting with McCabe. Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald quickly denied having any knowledge of the Tusla file before Thursday night's Prime Time, prompting fevered speculation that they were prepared to throw the Independent TD Zappone under a bus. She responded with a second statement of her own at 8.15pm, insisting that it would have been "highly inappropriate" for her to brief the Cabinet on such a sensitive and confidential issue.
The stage was now set for an exceptionally tense weekend. On Saturday, Sinn Fein announced that they would table a motion of no confidence in the Government, a cynical move designed to embarrass Fianna Fail as much as Fine Gael. Thanks to the fragile Dail arithmetic, everything now depended on whether Micheal Martin's thumb would turn up or down.
By sheer coincidence, Saturday evening also brought news of a dramatic opinion poll that showed just how much Fianna Fail might have to gain from bringing the Coalition down. The Sunday Times/Behaviour & Attitudes gave Martin's party (32pc, up three) a whopping 11-point lead over Fine Gael (21pc, down two), less than a year since the general election in which they won 24pc and 25pc respectively. Scared of looking like opportunists, however, Fianna Fail stuck to the line that justice for the McCabes was their top priority and refused to support Sinn Fein's motion on the basis of a single poll.
On Sunday, Kenny and Fitzgerald both gave RTE interviews designed to show that they were on top of the situation. The politest summary of their efforts is that they did not quite succeed.
Speaking on RTE One's The Week in Politics, the Justice Minister became increasingly flustered as she insisted that the Prime Time revelations had come as a complete shock to her. "It's the truth, you can keep saying it's not credible all you like," she protested to a hostile and incredulous panel of political opponents. Although Fitzgerald was still standing at the end, most pundits believe that this controversy has destroyed whatever ambitions she had for either the leadership of Fine Gael or the presidency of Ireland.
In the long run, however, Kenny's interview on RTE radio's This Week turned out to be far more significant. The Taoiseach caused some confusion by suggesting that Katherine Zappone had only met the McCabes "in a personal capacity", forcing a spokesperson to later clarify that he meant "confidentially". He also recalled his own discussion with Zappone before the meeting in some detail, claiming that he had told her to "make sure you have a very thorough account of it".
We now know the Taoiseach was describing a conversation that never actually happened.
Read more: 'The transgression isn't the fatal offence... it is the efforts to cover it up'
Monday morning began with Fianna Fail ratcheting up the pressure another notch. Jim O'Callaghan, the party's justice spokesman and a rapidly rising star, declared himself "100pc certain" that he had told Frances Fitzgerald about the rogue Tusla file "three or four times" during a conversation in the Dail bar on the previous Wednesday evening - ie, 24 hours before the Prime Time bombshell.
Fitzgerald acknowledged the conversation but denied just as vehemently that Tusla had been mentioned. An awkward standoff ensued, with O'Callaghan adding the ominous rider: "Sometimes people can have different views about what happened by forgetting things."
Meanwhile, Micheal Martin was signalling a shift in Fianna Fail's attitude towards Noirin O'Sullivan. Having given her the benefit of any doubt so far, Martin told Cork's 96FM that it was now time for the Garda Commissioner to "assess where she stands". O'Sullivan responded with a blistering statement later that day, pointing out that "A campaign of false accusations, repeated and multiplied, do not make me guilty of anything I am innocent." This was interpreted as a warning that the Government should not even think about sending a civil servant out to her house to sack her - as Kenny is strongly suspected of doing to her predecessor Martin Callinan in March 2014.
The political temperature was now approaching boiling point. Leo Varadkar, regarded by many Fine Gael TDs as their leader-in-waiting, returned early from his trip to Colombia with President Michael D Higgins. His internal message to party colleagues via WhatsApp was stark: "Worrying poll and trend. Important not to panic or be seen to panic. Everyone needs to stick together this week." The ambitious Fine Gael backbencher Noel Rock apparently disagreed, since a few hours later he went on RTE radio's News at One to complain that Fine Gael was suffering from a leadership vacuum and needed Kenny to set a retirement date.
Read more: Smears, insinuations, allegations and charges
By 4.30pm, Zappone was back in town and determined to give to give her side of the story. She delivered an emotional performance on the Dail plinth, outlining her meeting with the McCabes and claiming, "I didn't sleep that night. How could you?" She admitted that not briefing the Cabinet might have been overly cautious, but explained that she did not want to play any part in putting such information into the public domain. Crucially, she then appeared to directly contradict Kenny - by insisting that she had told him about Tusla before the Cabinet meeting on February 7.
Zappone, it must be remembered, is a relatively inexperienced politician who was not even in the Dail 12 months ago (although she had served five years in the Seanad). She has also built up a fund of goodwill due to her crusading work on the marriage equality issue. By effectively pleading guilty to nothing worse than naivety, the Children's Minister enhanced her chances of escaping with the political equivalent of a yellow card.
The Government itself, however, still seemed to be floundering. It then received a lifeline from a most unexpected source. The McCabe family issued a statement, declaring that they had no interest in another private investigation and demanding a public one instead. They also set out a number of questions that they wanted answered immediately, adding: "We are entitled to the truth today. Justice can follow in its wake."
Suddenly Fine Gael and Fianna Fail both had a cause that they could unite behind. Although ministers had previously rejected calls for a public tribunal of inquiry, they now saw it as the only solution to their problem. The deal was duly sealed at a meeting between Kenny and Martin on Tuesday morning.
Now the Government's short-term survival was assured. Unfortunately for the Taoiseach, he was about to pass the point of no return. Tuesday afternoon saw him give perhaps the most disastrous Dail performance of his entire career, during which (to borrow a phrase from Sinn Fein TD Louise O'Reilly) he adopted more positions than the Kama Sutra on what exactly had been going on between himself and Zappone.
Kenny at first tried to strike a note of humility, announcing, "Mea culpa. I am guilty here of not giving accurate information." He admitted to only speaking with the Children's Minister on February 7 after she had met the McCabes, not before as he had claimed in detail on radio.
At one point, the Taoiseach insisted that he was "not aware of any of the details of the discussion", then a few seconds later stated, "What Minister Zappone did say to me was that she had met the McCabes and that they had discussed false allegations of sexual abuse that had been sent to Tusla". Later on, Kenny blatantly contradicted himself yet again by saying that he never heard of any such allegations until Prime Time was broadcast on February 9.
If all this sounds thoroughly confusing, that's because it was. Kenny's credibility had rapidly drained away and the glum faces behind him showed that his own TDs knew it. "Paddy likes to know what the story is," the folksy promise he made on the night of his general election triumph in 2011, seemed like an eternity ago.
The end was remarkably swift. While the Government easily survived its confidence motion on Wednesday night, this was just a sideshow. The real action had taken place earlier at Fine Gael's parliamentary meeting where Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, apparently acting in tandem, both declared that the party needed to get ready for an early election.
Everybody in the room knew exactly what this meant - Kenny's choice now lay between resigning soon with dignity or facing an internal heave that he was virtually guaranteed to lose.
"It's a funny old world," Margaret Thatcher told her cabinet back in 1990 when she had finally run out of road. She wasn't laughing - and neither is Enda Kenny at the end of a traumatic week that means this whole, sorry mess will soon be some other Taoiseach's problem.
FINE GAEL is in a frenzy after a senior Cabinet minister suggested in an internal party Whatsapp group that Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald is encouraging Health Minister Simon Harris to run for the leadership.
Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan also posted in the group - which is made up of dozens of TDs and senators - that Mr Harris wants out of Health.
But he told Independent.ie this evening that the remarks were a gag and tongue in cheek.
The full post by Mr Flanagan at 2.40pm today reads:
Thanks. He hasn't announced yet but Frances is encouraging him. He wants out of Health.
He later responded with the message: Clarity for leakers and fake newshounds. Earlier tongue in cheek re Simon & Frances just that!
Mr Harris, who is considering entering the leadership race, responded:
Thanks for clarifying Charlie! Working as hard as I possibly can in my job and not engaging in speculation. Lots to do.
Mr Flanagan then responded: And doing a good job in difficult times.
A senior Fine Gael source described the leaked exchange as embarrassing. It is one of many examples of details of internal whats app conversations entering their way into the public domain.
Leo Varadkar, a leading contender in the Fine Gael leadership race, is to close the party's WhatsApp group following leaks to the media.
The Dublin West TD, who set up the group during the government formation talks, announced the decision to ministers, TDs and Senators on Sunday night.
Fine Gael TDs will move on to a new group on the Confide messaging app at the suggestion of Chief Whip Regina Doherty.
The Confide app means messages will be sent via end-to-end encryption, will be automatically deleted once read and cannot be screen shotted - meaning leaking will become far more difficult.
Mr Varadkar said he is to set up a new, more confidential social media group so that messages "cannot be leaked to our dear friends in the media."
The move was taken after a message by Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan about Health Minister Simon Harris was leaked to the media.
The message suggested that Mr Harris wants to leave the department and is colluding with Frances Fitzgerald over the leadership.
A number of senior ministers have not been members of the Varadkar WhatsApp group for some time, including his leadership rival Simon Coveney and Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is a member though.
In a message posted tonight, Mr Varadkar said the group is being closed due to leaks. But he said a new form of messaging service will be set up which will be more secure.
A raft of TDs and senators quit the group after the leaks, including: Simon Harris, Alan Farrell, Maria Bailey, Josepha Madigan and senator Gabrielle McFadden.
The fiasco surrounding the issue has infuriated TDs and officials.
Simon Coveney has dramatically narrowed rival Leo Varadkars lead as the publics favourite to succeed Enda Kenny but there is also clear evidence that a third candidate could emerge to win a Fine Gael leadership contest, according to a Sunday Independent/Kantar Millward Brown opinion poll.
Expand Close Leo Varadkar at a colleague's wedding in Dublin. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook
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This is the first time that those polled were offered a choice of just two candidates to succeed Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Mr Kenny.
Mr Varadkar (37pc) extends his lead over Mr Coveney (28pc) among Fine Gael supporters, according to the opinion poll, but again almost one-quarter of party supporters favour somebody else (15pc), or neither front-runner (7pc), should Mr Kenny decide to step down.
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Yesterday, Mr Varadkar increased the pressure on Mr Kenny to make his continued leadership intentions known, but the Taoiseach told the Sunday Independent he intended to focus on the job in hand which, his spokesman said, he would carry out with continued dedication and dignity.
But todays opinion poll contains further findings which will add to the mounting pressure on Mr Kenny to resign. The state of the parties shows Fianna Fail (33pc) up six points since a comparable poll in October has opened up an eight-point lead over Fine Gael (25pc), down four points.
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Fianna Fail is extending its lead it is now at its highest point since 2008 at a time when there has been a marked increase in consumer confidence.
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The poll finds 23pc believe they are better off than they were last year, a seven-point increase, and 21pc feel worse off, a nine-point decrease, while 27pc feel they will be better off next year, a sevenpoint increase, and 14pc feel they will be worse off, a nine- point decrease.
The poll also shows Sinn Fein (20pc) unchanged, Labour (6pc) down two points, the Greens (2pc) unchanged and Independents/others (14pc) down one point.
Mr Varadkar told the Sunday Independent: Everyone is waiting to hear from the Taoiseach. The current situation is distracting and destabilising for the Government, the party and the country. I have full confidence in the Taoiseach to settle it.
Expand Expand Previous Next Close Simon Coveney and his wife Ruth at the wedding Photo: Gerry Mooney Click here to view full-size graphic / Facebook
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However, Mr Coveney said the Taoiseach should not be forced to set a date for his departure.
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Enda is still the leader of our party - he has been for 15 years. I think he deserves the respect to be given time and space to make any decisions he thinks he needs to make.
Todays poll also finds Mr Kennys satisfaction rating (27pc) down just two points and dissatisfaction rating (62pc) up three points since October. Furthermore, satisfaction with the Government (27pc), down four points, and dissatisfaction (64pc), up two points, have not significantly changed despite recent political turmoil.
The poll, among a representative sample of 960, was carried out between February 6 and 16 and has a margin of error of 3.2pc.
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Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin (44pc), up one point, remains comfortably the most popular party leader with an unchanged dissatisfaction rating of 40pc.
However, only a slim majority (53pc), down one point, want Mr Kenny to resign as Fine Gael leader while 25pc, up one point, want him to remain. Fascinatingly, a majority (57pc) of Fine Gael supporters say Mr Kenny should remain leader, a finding which may encourage him to resist pressure to resign and choose the time of his own departure. Furthermore, 73pc of Fine Gael supporters are satisfied with his leadership.
Also interestingly, of those who believe Mr Kenny should remain, more opt for Mr Coveney (29pc) than Mr Varadkar (27pc) as his successor, a finding which indicates that the Housing Minister is in a position to win the backing of more of Mr Kennys supporters in a leadership contest.
Of those who believe Mr Kenny should resign, 31pc would support Mr Varadkar and 28pc would support Mr Coveney.
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These findings show that while Mr Varadkar must be the favourite to succeed Mr Kenny, a Fine Gael leadership contest would be far from a foregone conclusion.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said Fine Gael needed to keep calm and measured over the next few months or the party would catapult ourselves into a messy general election that will play into the hands of Sinn Fein and the loony left.
Todays opinion poll, however, finds that support for Independents and smaller parties has almost halved since the General Election.
Furthermore, when asked which party or political grouping they would not consider voting for in the next election, the poll finds that the Socialist Party (22pc), up seven points; AAA-PBP (22pc), up four points; Greens (20pc), up three points; and Social Democrats (14pc), up four points, appear to be falling out of favour with voters, while 36pc, down two points, say they would not consider voting for Sinn Fein.
On your marks: Dr Ciara Kelly and Kathryn Thomas get set for the 5k run in Phoenix Park yesterday Photo: Gerry Mooney
More than 5,000 people joined the Operation Transformation team leaders on their final challenge yesterday - a 5km run in Phoenix Park in Dublin.
All the leaders, Chris McElligott, Marie Grace, Mairead Redmond, Sean Daly and Yvonne Keenan-Ross successfully completed the distance.
And thousands more Operation Transformation followers took part in parkrun 5ks at more than 60 locations around the country.
Presenter Kathryn Thomas said: "The Operation Transformation 5k was a huge celebration for all five of our leaders.
"They have been training and increasing their fitness for the last seven weeks and this was a real testament of how far they've come."
Minister for State for Health Promotion Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, who also took part said: "I am delighted to be able to support Operation Transformation and the very positive effect it is having in encouraging people across Ireland to get active."
Operation Transformation has teamed up with the parkrun organisation, and attendances at parkrun events nationwide has quadrupled this year.
There have been more than 15,000 new registrations with parkrun since the programme started in January, and last week alone there were 9,500 runners pounding the pavements in parks across Ireland.
Operation Transformation is now the biggest parkrun group in the world.
Buyers queued from as early as Tuesday of last week for the launch of Silverbanks in Baldoyle, with family members taking shifts to hold queue places.
It's a sign of the times, with queues becoming something of a regular feature at launches in the last few months, but in this case, it is also reflective of the fact that this development offers a chance for first-time buyers to purchase in an area surrounded by some of North Dublin's most sought-after suburbs, at a price that would typically be seen in the commuter belt.
Prices range from 155,000-380,000, and the development includes two- and four-bed terraced houses, two- and three-bed duplex units, and one-, two- and three-bed apartments, with sizes ranging from c57sqm-155sqm. In total, there are 205 A3-rated units.
Silverbanks is minutes from Baldoyle village, and Portmarnock village and Sutton Cross are approximately 3km away. The area has good bus, Dart and train links.
Situated on Red Arches Road, many of the units enjoy uninterrupted views over the estuary and Howth Head. The Rowan block, an apartment block of 14 units, is positioned right at the periphery of the site, facing out over the old Baldoyle racecourse lands, none of which is zoned residential. This structure was actually started pre-crash, and the exterior shell had stood empty until work began again in the last few months.
Buyers are expected to be "predominantly first-time buyers," says selling agent Gavan Ryan of Savills. There has also been interest from trade-down buyers and queries from potential investors on what kind of rents these units could be expected to yield.
The duplex is making a return as an option for first-time buyers who are unable to stretch to a three-bed semi-detached unit, but want something more than an apartment.
"Assuming that it's well-designed, and assuming that you're still getting a good hierarchy of bedrooms - so a good master bedroom - and little things like the ability to entertain guests and have a proper dining space are important," explains Ryan of the qualities buyers look for in a duplex. "You will generally find it is people who are first-time buyers. The price isn't always hugely different between a duplex and an apartment, so you're usually getting more floor space, more area, but over two storeys. If they can't get a three-bed semi-detached, the choice then is a nice two-bedroom apartment, or sometimes the price wouldn't be that different between a two-bed apartment and a three-bed duplex."
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Surely it would be feasible to construct taller, quality buildings in designated areas around the capital. This would increase density and provide more affordable and accessible city living for smaller household units. It would also help to reduce urban sprawl
It may take another decade before supply matches demand in the Irish property market, Standard & Poor's found last week.
A report by the rating agency said the property market here remains restrained by what it called "crisis legacy issues".
In particular, it alluded to household debt remaining very high in this country despite the fact that we are eight years on from the onset of the crash.
The key question remains: how are we going to improve supply in our major cities to bring it within reach of the prevailing demand? The Government continues to implement the Rebuilding Ireland strategy, which focuses on five different pillars, or sectors, of the housing industry. The rental sector, which is one of these, is still reeling from the recent introduction of up to 25 rent-controlled zones, including Dublin and Cork city. This is without doubt driving the buy-to-let investor out of the market in those areas.
For many investors the financial returns have reached the point where they no longer stack up. There are simply too many barriers to entry. This may be one step too far. While there are some short-term gains for renters from these moves, I don't believe they will last. Many investors now believe that they can secure a better return from alternative asset classes.
Historically, the planning laws and policies in our cities have favoured low-rise development. Is it now time to start building upwards instead of outwards? Last year, the Dublin city manager, prior to the publication of the Dublin City Development Plan (2016-2022), appealed for the maximum permissible height to increase to nine storeys.
Still, height was limited to eight storeys. Why exactly was this? What is the issue with taller buildings? With our weather, it's not as if it is keeping the sunlight out. And while Dublin has always been regarded as a low-rise city, does that mean this cannot change?
I can already hear the murmurs of dissent. With the notoriously high standards of building regulations that persist in this country, surely it would be feasible to construct taller, quality buildings in designated areas around the capital. This would increase density and provide more affordable and accessible city living for smaller household units. It would also help to reduce urban sprawl. There are many people for whom location is of far greater importance than total living space and, while admittedly many householders like to live in the suburbs, a large number desire city centre living. If residential units are made using a high standard of construction combined with the provision of complementary services and amenities, standards can be retained.
It seems clear now that one upside of Brexit for Ireland will be an additional demand for residential homes, primarily in Dublin city centre, from those moving to work here. Many of these will be based in the city centre. Figures just released confirmed that the number of UK-based individuals looking for an Irish passport in January this year had doubled over the same period last year. This demand, which was unforeseen just 12 months ago, will only create additional pressures on an already limited resource. The population of Dublin city is expected to rise by 180,000 by 2030. Time for us to refresh our traditions.
New homes on the rise
The way in which the total number of new builds is compiled in Ireland is a topic for much debate. For more than 40 years it has been measured using the number of new connections to the ESB grid. This is not an exact science. These particular numbers also include buildings which have been vacant for some time and have been renovated or refurbished and so, technically, are not new homes.
Another significant red herring is the fact that, of the 14,900 new homes added to the grid last year, 42pc were one-off builds.
As a nation, we love statistics. What can be garnered from these figures is that the supply of new homes, while increasing every year, will continue to fall well short of demand for many years. This is likely to mean higher prices.
The number of new homes registered back in 2012 was 8,450. By 2015, this figure had increased by 75pc to nearly 15,000 units - a significant increase - however, it was coming off a very low base. Recently released figures confirm the number of house commencements is also up by more than 50pc year on year. However, the number of completions is still unlikely to surpass the 20,000 mark in 2017.
The actual number of new homes required in 2017 to satisfy demand has now increased to approximately 35,000 as a result of pent-up demand. Delivery of anything above 50pc of this figure in 2017 will be an achievement.
How is the Rebuild going?
When the Rebuilding Ireland strategy was undertaken by Housing Minister Simon Coveney and his department, a monthly progress report was promised. True to his word, an update has been released providing figures to the end of last month. Needless to say the figures are presented in the best possible light. One example? Confirmation that 350 rapid houses are at different stages of construction, which could mean anything really. Originally the plan was that 300 houses would be ready for occupation by the end of 2016. The actual figure came in at just 22.
The update also promises that an additional 2,000 social housing units will be delivered by the end of this year. The ultimate aim is the construction of 26,000 social housing units by 2021. At this juncture this figure looks ambitious but it is too early to cast judgment.
Another pillar of the strategy was to address the accelerating rental crisis. I have grave reservations in relation to the recently introduced 25 rental pressure zones. There are too many anomalies. Two standout examples are Galway city and Co Kildare. Most of Galway city has been included but Oranmore, which has a strong and undersupplied rental market, has been omitted.
In Co Kildare, the towns of Naas, Newbridge and Rathangan are included whereas Maynooth, which is a thriving town with probably the highest demand in the county, is not. Whatever way you dress it up, this does not make sense.
The Government has indicated a strong commitment under the direction of Minster Coveney to address the chronic housing crisis. With the impending leadership battle in Fine Gael and the possibility of a general election around the corner, it's to be hoped that the key driver of this process is not redeployed elsewhere or distracted.
Valuable momentum would be lost if a new Minister for Housing were subsequently appointed. And, while I believe he has not done enough to address the supply issue, to his credit, whether you are in agreement or not, he has been proactive and committed to the role.
How times change
The well-touted announcement last week of work commencing on the expansive Cherrywood development in Dublin is significant in many ways. While many people are still licking the wounds sustained by the demise of the Celtic Tiger - and will be for many years to come - Cherrywood is a sign that we have moved into a new era which is positive, forward-looking and progressive.
The site, which is 60pc owned by the international fund Hines, will eventually comprise of 8,000 residential units, 4,000 of which are to be built by Hines. The other 4,000 will be constructed by a variety of alternative developers. Originally owned by the Liam Carroll property group, the site ended up in the hands of Nama and was subsequently sold to Hines for 270m.
Imagine trying to introduce the concept, back in 2010, of 8,000 new homes over a five-year period in one location. What this highlights is how quickly market sentiment can change. Let's not forget we have just come out of the worst recession for many decades and, no doubt, we will see another in years to come. If we've learnt anything, it is that the property market is all about cycles.
But maybe, just maybe, we've learnt our lesson and will invest in a higher standard of insulation against potential future shocks.
Philip Farrell is a market commentator and property consultant
A wobbly minority government. A train-wreck of cock-ups, conspiracy theories and communications blunders with the garda authorities at their heart. A Taoiseach and a Justice Minister with questions to answer about what they knew about who, and when and where. If all this comes with large dollops of deja vu, then you're old enough to remember the original GUBU mega-mess, which tumbled CJ Haughey from office in 1982.
In FF's short nine months in power, the jobless figures soared by 30,000, but what really had the public's attention fully glued was a Grand Prix of car-crash government which has entered posterity as GUBU (Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented). The acronym had been cobbled together by Labour's Conor Cruise O'Brien from Haughey's own words after double murderer Malcolm MacArthur was captured in the home of the Taoiseach's Attorney General, Patrick Connolly. But by year's end, GUBU had come to stand for a wider and deeper malaise in the Irish State.
Early on, the Taoiseach had pulled a misbegotten stroke, depriving his own dismayed tribe of a prized European post and giving it to FG's Dick Burke. The cunning plan was to win the ensuing by-election, gaining a badly needed seat. It came horribly unstuck when FF bombed in the poll.
Then the rumour mill started whispering that Justice Minister Sean Doherty had placed illegal phone taps and was throwing his weight around like a latter-day Wyatt Earp, a rogue lawman riding roughshod over the niceties of the law. It later emerged journalists Geraldine Kennedy, Bruce Arnold and Vincent Browne were targeted. Then, a garda car on protection detail with Doherty crashed in mysterious circumstances. The vehicle, containing a pistol and Uzi sub-machine gun, was abandoned for a time.
FG tabled a no-confidence motion. Chief Whip Bertie Ahern worked to seal a deal preventing an election, to no avail. In the Dail, FF went down kicking and screaming. Minister Gene Fitzgerald accused FG of "personal vilification and accusations". He accused his namesake Garret of "a campaign of national sabotage that reflects no concern for the people".
"Smears, insinuations, allegations and charges have been made," he continued. "We had this great story about telephone tapping, and we all know now the true story there. We know now that that was concocted."
Justice Minister Doherty raged: "I have been vilified, I have been pursued by certain elements in the media, by politicians in the Fine Gael party, in this House and outside it. I do not wish to say more than that I will not allow my character, my integrity, nor indeed that of my wife or children to be impugned and vilified in the way it has been attempted.
"It seriously damages parliament and in many ways affects the capacity of the Minister for Justice, whether the office be held by me or by somebody else, to pursue his function in the way which is so essential at this difficult time."
He complained about the "scurrilous" media coverage of his involvement with the crashed garda car. Then, under parliamentary privilege, he named four opposition deputies, calling it strange that "there has been no mention of the accidents involving" them. With this, FG's Enda Kenny asked Doherty why he hadn't included on his list an accident involving a certain FF TD?
As the tit-for-tat continued under Dail privilege, Doherty accused FG's absent ex-Justice Minister Jim Mitchell of "direct interference with members of An Garda Siochana in the course of their duty". He claimed a relative of Mitchell's had been stopped behind the wheel while over the limit. Doherty said Mitchell was Justice Minister at the time that the medical report, necessary to a prosecution, had mysteriously gone missing. Doherty said the gardai insisted they'd never received the report, despite the fact it had been sent to them by registered post.
The reputation of the force was further tarnished in the dying days of the first GUBU government, when the socialist deputy Jim Kemmy told reporters that there was a special cupboard in the interview room of Dublin's Bridewell Prison which was designed to allow detectives to illegally eavesdrop on private conversations between prisoners and their solicitors. Kemmy showed reporters photos of a door with 20 spy holes drilled in it, which he described as "a form of dirty tricks by gardai in Detective Branch". He claimed that the photograph had been sent to him by a whistleblowing officer (although the term whistleblower wasn't current back then).
Kemmy told the media: "Some gardai are afraid of what is going on in the force now."
The photo showed that the cupboard door had a second highly unusual feature apart from the spy holes. This was a bolt which allowed it to be locked from the inside. Kemmy questioned why anyone would want to lock themselves into an ordinary innocent cupboard. The hidey-hole was positioned convenient to where a consulting solicitor would sit facing his client.
The garda press office issued a statement saying: "It does not exist. There is no such cubbyhole in the Bridewell." A follow-up statement from the force admitted that the cupboard in the photo did exist, but for the sole purpose of storing books, not spooks. A garda spokesman then assured the public that a senior officer would carry out a full investigation to establish the truth of the matter. And that was the end of that.
Deja vu, only more so.
Its the worlds hottest honeymoon destination, but homework is required to get the most out of the Maldives. Jillian Bolger, Pol O Conghaile and Sarah Siese have all the travel tips you need.
It's a honeymoon image set to stun.
Floury-white beaches. Finding Nemo reefs. Holidays that begin like James Bond movies, with guests delivered to small yet perfectly formed Indian Ocean islands via speedboats and seaplanes. Water villas, infinity pools, spectacular spas and cocktails at 11am what could possibly go wrong?
Well, a thing or two. The Maldives is made up of some 1,200 coral islands flung like a necklace into the world's most ooh-inducing ocean. But choosing the right resort is only the beginning. Even paradise has its pros and cons, and anyone thinking of splashing out thousands of euro on a trip should know what they're getting into... hence our bumper collection of Maldives travel tips.
Simply put, this awesome archipelago could be the holiday of a lifetime, or an ultra-expensive exercise in boredom.
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Mirihi Island... read about Sarah Siese's visit here...
How so? First off, the Maldives doesn't do cities. Apart from the tiny capital of Male, tourism centres on scattered small island resorts. Shopping, nightlife and local interactions are in short supply (anyone looking for a city or cultural buzz should skip it, or add a stopover - in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, for example).
Then there are the costs. The Maldives has its relatively affordable resorts, but these can feel cheap and generic. Luxury is the calling card, so my advice is to splash on a shorter stay, rather than scrimping on a longer one.
Talk to travel agents about resort options. What are the restaurants like? Is there a house reef? How many guests will be there? How long are the transfers? Does it have a spa? Is it near a famous dive site or surf break?
The Maldives can be heaven (I've swum with whale sharks here, and eaten some of the best tuna of my life), or just another beach holiday.
Do your prep work, pack smart, and you'll make sure it's paradise.
When to go
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Arrive like James Bond with a seaplane transfer...
Temperatures average out at a pretty consistent 27 to 30 degrees, but there are distinct seasons in the Maldives. December to February is peak holiday time, with the least rainfall, clouds and humidity but blue skies bring high prices.
March to April is hot and clear-skied for the most part (you'll find the best deals outside of the Easter holidays). May to November is off-peak - rain is more likely during these months, but conversely, it's when you'll find the best value breaks.
Our tip? Ask your travel agent for advice, particularly if you're planning a visit based on encounters with wildlife such as manta rays and whale shark.
Read more: Pol O Conghaile visits the Maldives
Five things to know before you go
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A turtle swimming among the Maldives' countless reefs...
1. Flight Fatigue
Getting to the Maldives from Ireland can involve three flights - typically a seven-hour trip to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, followed by a four-hour haul to Male, and a transfer to your resort. Don't underestimate the journey or the jetlag, especially after a wedding. You'll need at least a week for your visit.
2. Dive in...
A week in the Indian Ocean is the ideal opportunity to learn to dive, or to dive at some of the world's great sites. If you plan on either, make sure that your resort has a dive centre, and book any courses ahead of arrival. Remember, divers are advised not to fly for circa 24 hours after their last dive (to lessen the risk of decompression sickness). Schedule accordingly!
3. Love & Money...
Holidaymakers are captive on the Maldives' island resorts. Blissfully captive, but captive nonetheless. Expect high prices for everything from meals and drinks to activities, listed in US dollars (and topped up with taxes). To control costs, consider going all-inclusive or half-board. "Keep your shopping for the duty-frees in Dubai or Abu Dhabi on the way home," Pol advises. "There's a far greater selection, prices are lower, and you don't have to carry the extra load on hols."
4. Early nights...
Don't expect nightclubs or party pubs in the Maldives. Resorts can fall quiet by 11pm or midnight, with just a few customers whispering sweet-nothings in the bars. Night owls need to manage expectations, or entertain themselves.
5. Living la vida local...
Local experiences and immersions tend to be limited to staged shows, catch-and-cook-it-style fishing trips and the like in luxurious Maldivian resorts. If you want cultural excursions and town visits as part of your honeymoon, you may be better off going with a resort in Mauritius or the Seychelles.
Visas & Vaccinations
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Jumeirah Dhevanafushi... read Jillian Bolger's take here
No visas are required for the Maldives - a 30-day free visa is issued on arrival for all nationalities, provided you possess a passport with at least six months' validity. You are also required to hold a valid departure ticket.
No vaccinations or malarial measures are required at present. If you have questions about travel health, talk to your GP beforehand.
Did you know?
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A whale shark in the Maldives. Photo: Marielle Ruiz/Mirihi
The Maldives is a 'shark sanctuary', with all types of shark fishing banned since 2010. That means some 30 species, including hammerheads and whale sharks, can roam freely in its 90,000sq km of the Indian Ocean, not only creating a paradise for divers and snorkelers, but helping to sustain local marine ecosystems. The import and export of shark fins is banned too.
The Maldives: What to pack for Paradise
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Conrad Madives Rangali Island. See more underwater hotels here...
1. Leave the heels at home
Island pathways are made of powder-white sand, making high heels redundant in paradise. "By all means take some glamorous flats," Jillian recommends.
2. Smart Casual is standard
Suits, ties and formal dresses have no place on the Maldives. Dressing up for dinner involves smart casual gear, so edit the evening wear. "Pack your floatiest dresses and thinnest shirts," Sarah advises. "A kaftan or loose beach dress can be thrown on over swimwear," adds Jillian. "You can also cover up before opening the door, should housekeeping or a butler drop by at the villa."
3. Wear sunscreen
"The chance of sunburn is high near the equator, so pack sunnies, high SPF sunscreen, sun hats and after-sun lotion," Pol recommends. "High-end resorts will have sunscreen in their shops (at high-end prices, of course) but not all resorts offer this service, so bring your own supply." Keen snorkellers should bring rash vests for sun protection too.
4. Books & gadgets
Stock up on books or load up your Kindle. "With beach loungers, a cabana and sunbeds by the pool you're likely to find yourself horizontal for much of your holiday," Jillian says. If you're diving or snorkeling, don't forget a waterproof camera, phone case or GoPro. "These should have a lanyard to attach to your wrist," Pol adds.
5. Carry cash
Take out cash (US dollars or rufiyaa) at the airport in Male. You can sign for everything during your stay and even add a staff tip to your credit card bill on checkout, "but it's nice to put dollars or rufiyaa into your butler's hand on departure," Jillian advises.
6. Manage the mozzies
Many higher end resorts spray the islands, but these pesky little critters love paradise as much as anyone, so bring along your bug spray and bite-relieving cream. Similar to bathroom products, these are expensive to buy on-site - not least because almost everything in the resorts is imported.
Can I do the Maldives on a budget?
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The short answer is no. Given the long-haul flights, transfers and exclusive nature of its island resorts, trips to the Maldives do not come cheap. That's not to say budget travel is impossible, however, just that prep-work and patience is required.
Guesthouses do exist. Airbnb (airbnb.ie) has shared rooms from as little as 14pp per night, for example. These tend to be located on islands inhabited by locals, so independent travellers can get more of a feel for Maldivian life, as opposed to the luxury idylls of the island resorts.
Be mindful however, that you'll also see a different side to paradise - relative poverty, coral bleaching and beaches that haven't been magically cleared of their litter, for example. The Maldives is also a Muslim country - alcohol and swimwear are fine in resorts, but you'll need to dress and behave appropriately among locals.
Elsewhere, public ferries are much cheaper than seaplane and speedboat transfers (though you need these to access most luxury resorts). You can also save on snorkelling excursions by choosing islands with reefs close to shore. From Male, consider taking both US dollars and rufiyaa in cash.
For more tips, Irish travel blogger Janet Newenham has a solid intro on her blog, journalistontherun.com.
Did you know?
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The Maldives is considered to be the flattest country on earth, with no point rising higher than a streetlamp. The average height of the islands is just 1.8m above sea level so you can leave the hiking boots at home.
Get there
The Maldives is widely available as a honeymoon (and holiday) package from Ireland. Try Travelmood (travelmood.ie), Trailfinders (trailfinders.ie), Classic Resorts (classicresorts.ie), Tropical Sky (tropicalsky.ie), Topflight (topflight.ie), Abbey Travel (abbeytravel.ie) and Sunway (sunway.ie) for starters.
See also visitmaldives.com for tourist info.
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Greece's EU-IMF lenders have reached a "common position" on Greece that should allow them to return to Athens to resolve a deadlock over its bailout, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said (AFP Photo/Odd ANDERSEN) (AFP/File)
Berlin (AFP) - Germany said Sunday that it expects the International Monetary Fund to continue participating in the bailout for debt-stricken Greece, despite the lender's doubts on the issue.
Ahead of key talks over the Greek debt saga, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told ARD public television he was "starting from the principle" that the Washington-based IMF would carry on supporting Greece alongside the eurozone.
Athens said this week that it intends to reach "a political agreement in principle" with its creditors on Monday, in order to unblock loans required to repay its debts.
Schaeuble and other eurozone finance ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday, with a crucial meeting two days later in Berlin between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF chief Christine Lagarde.
Concerns over Greek debt have been rising in recent weeks, sparking fears of another eurozone crisis.
Schaeuble said he remained optimistic "because we have clear commitments which provide that if Greece fulfils its obligations" over economic reforms to cut spending and increase its revenues, "the IMF is committed" to maintaining its support.
"I think this will be achieved in the coming weeks," he added.
Merkel's right-hand man Peter Altmaier, the chief of staff in her chancellery, gave a similar assessment.
"For us in the German government, things are clear -- we want the IMF to stay involved and we are working to ensure that this is the case," he told the Bild newspaper.
"I think there is a good chance that we will have a solution with the participation of the IMF."
The IMF has threatened to walk away from the bailout, saying Greece's debts are so huge that it is unable to stay on top of the repayments. It has demanded the eurozone reduce the debt burden to make the repayments more sustainable.
The German government has been steadfast in its opposition to this -- not least because such a prospect is unpopular with voters, months ahead of legislative elections.
Athens faces debt repayments of seven billion euros ($7.43 billion) this summer that it cannot afford without completing the current review of its rescue which would unblock new loans from the country's 86-billion-euro bailout.
Ireland 2021. The country has been laid waste to after Donald Trump caused nuclear Armageddon. Early in his second term, Trump unleashed the nukes on Russia to prove that he wasn't in bed with Putin. Indeed, Trump rode cowboy-style on the back of the first bomb to land on Moscow, shouting, "I told you it was fake news muthafuuuuaaaaaaargh!"
There is just one man left alive, a ginger lad who cycles the roads of Ireland with a kind of half-smirk on his face, chuckling now and then to himself, waving at imaginary people. One day, to his astonishment, he sees a figure emerge out of the debris. It is a woman. She emerges fully and dusts herself off, She appears to be wearing a uniform.
"Commissioner?' he says in an astonished voice. "Is that you?
"Taoiseach for Life?" she responds "Is it you?"
"You survived?" he asks incredulously.
"Of course I survived," she says. "I didn't even hear the rumours or know anything about a nuclear holocaust until now."
"But I thought you'd be long gone," he said.
"Taoiseach for Life. Think back. After you had to resign as leader of Fine Gael, because of me and my force, I survived that. And then as the tribunal dragged on, Leo didn't last three months. After him, Simon only lasted a few weeks, then Paschal was brought down for phoning me and telling me to sort out the force, and then Simon was brought down after he sent someone around to my house to try and persuade me to resign. I saw them all off, Taoiseach for Life. I may not have a force any more, but I am still Commissioner, and I will still be expecting my full pension. And you survived too?"
"Of course I did, Commissioner. Remember, the only way they could get rid of me was to create the special post of Taoiseach for Life, which allowed me to travel the country high-fiving and to go off having meetings in Brussels. Initially I was supposed to stay to sort out Brexit. But then, even when Tony Blair stopped Brexit from happening, I had to stay on to meet the new Pope, Pope Mary. A mere nuclear Armageddon wasn't going to finish me off."
"And are you thinking of resigning now, now that there is no one left to rule, Taoiseach for Life?"
"Well obviously I have to hang around to see the end of the nuclear winter. I can't go before then. And then I'll need to be there for the first green shoots of life showing again. And the rebuilding of the human race and of civilisation. I'll need to stay for that. So it could be a while. And you Commissioner?"
"Well, obviously I'm doing a great job of modernising the force and I need to see that out."
"True. Well, I look forward to working with you"
"And you Taoiseach for Life. Or can I just call you Taoiseach?"
"You can, Commissioner."
Piers Morgan has pulled out of hosting the awards
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said he has pulled out of hosting the Royal Television Society (RTS) Programme Awards over a "silly" campaign to ban him.
The former tabloid newspaper editor was only announced as host on Thursday, accepting the offer because he said the opportunity might be "fun".
But he announced on Sunday evening he was withdrawing from his duties over the furore surrounding his appointment.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Morgan said: " I was recently invited to host the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
"As someone who has worked in British and American television for most of this Millennium, on a variety of shows, I thought it might be fun and agreed to do it without any fee.
"After my role was announced, a campaign was started to have me banned.
"It suggested that I lack the 'creative excellence' criteria required for presenting such an event and therefore my presence would be 'damaging' and 'inappropriate'.
"Further, I have 'failed to understand a social movement that values equality and diversity of voice'.
"Apparently, this movement does not extend to tolerating my own diverse voice.
"I have no wish to serve as an unnecessary distraction from award winners whose hard work and skill should be celebrated without any of the silly noise this campaign has generated.
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"So, I am now withdrawing from hosting the evening.
"Good luck to everyone who has been nominated."
It comes after a series of public spats involving Morgan and celebrities including author JK Rowling, Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor, and pop talent manager Scooter Braun.
Susanna Reid tweeted in support of her co-presenter on the ITV breakfast show shortly after he went public with his decision to pull out of hosting.
She said: " There's a lot that @piersmorgan and I disagree on.
"But as someone who knows what a very good presenter he is, I think this is a real shame."
The awards are due to be held on March 21 in central London.
Originally announcing his decision to host the awards, Morgan joked he agreed to do so because it would be the only way he would "ever stand on a podium at a TV awards ceremony in Britain".
RTS chief executive Theresa Wise said of Morgan's appointment: "The RTS Programme Awards recognise programmes which have made a material and positive contribution to their genre through originality, creative risk-taking and their standard-setting quality.
"Morgan's reputation for being opinionated and his wealth of experience working within the industry make him the perfect host and we look forward to a lively event."
The United Nations does not have the troop numbers to forcibly disarm the militias in the Central African Republic or intimidate them into dumping arms but it is successful in that its presence is ensuring that rebels in Bambari and outside the town refrain from massacring their opponents Photo: SIA KAMBOU/AFP/Getty Images
I doubt very much there is such a thing as closure. It already feels like a word from a bygone age - the age of fluffy, half-thought-out ideas that preceded our current epoch of ideological knife fights.
There is no closure. The dark experiences of another time cannot be erased or "closed". There is what is accepted or not, what you look in the face or turn away from. The windows that open on to the past are never locked.
I have just come back from a part of Africa I avoided for nearly a decade having realised that avoidance did not bring closure.
For the first decade after the Rwandan genocide, I was almost obsessively preoccupied with understanding how people in one small village had set about murdering their neighbours in the spring of 1994. I had gone to the place when bodies were still strewn in the grounds of the church where the Tutsi people of Nyarubuye sought sanctuary. I made friends there. I returned repeatedly. Rwanda was the defining moment of my life in journalism, perhaps too much so.
After that, everything I did was subjected to a perverse yardstick: well, at least it isn't as bad as Rwanda.
Then I began to find I could no longer cope with the dreams and flashbacks that came unbidden with ever-greater regularity. I felt as if something immense and malign was reaching out of the past to destroy me. This was where my head was. It did not reflect the reality. So I turned away. I stopped visiting. I stopped writing about Rwanda.
I still cannot bring myself to go back there. For all its vaunted progress in health and education, the tidy streets and booming construction, President Kagame's country is effectively a police state.
One of the great lessons of pre-genocide Rwanda - that you do not create stability by crushing dissent - is ignored in the interests of preserving the power of one party.
But this is not a column about Rwanda. It is about the value of the United Nations. I was back in the geographical heart of Africa last week, in a country not very far from Rwanda, a place with a very present potential for genocide.
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been mostly known as a basket case since independence from France in 1960. It was used as a military base by the French, who indulged a succession of authoritarian rulers, among them the self-proclaimed "emperor" Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who murdered schoolchildren and made a present of diamonds to President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
Mr d'Estaing's support for murderous dictators is little remembered these days. It happened in Africa where, in the infamous words of Francois Mitterrand, "genocide is not too important".
The CAR has gone through three years of massacre and instability. To their credit it was the French who brought the initial spasm of slaughter under control. They then departed and the job is now being done by the United Nations.
I watched the UN fail dismally in Rwanda, largely because the big powers made sure it did not have the resources for the job. On the Security Council, the United States and Britain lobbied actively to ensure a dearth of meaningful action. It was a shameful episode that will forever stain the legacy of the Clinton administration.
In CAR, the mission - known as MINUSCA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR) - faces many of the same problems that bedevilled the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).
In CAR, there are too few troops - only 12,000 in a country the size of Ukraine - and the Security Council has little or no interest in increasing that number.
The mission ensured notoriety when it failed to address in time horrendous allegations of child sexual abuse by its soldiers. The quality of troops is, to put it delicately, uneven. The Mauritanians I went on patrol with in the beleaguered town of Bambari were disciplined and looked tough enough to meet any contingency.
There are Portuguese and Rwandans with the wherewithal and will to fight. Others I came across were less confidence-inspiring. A detachment from the Democratic Republic of Congo was sent home because of allegations of child abuse and exploitation. Others are accused of murdering civilians and burying the bodies outside their base.
Like all UN missions, MINUSCA is subject to bureaucratic manoeuvrings at every level, from New York to the remote outposts, and also to the interests of regional power players anxious to see their own proxies gain influence.
So all in all there is a lot to criticise. But what then? Who else will stop Bambari descending into slaughter? The place is bristling with guns and hatred. There are militias in the town and outside who would massacre their ethnic and political enemies tomorrow were it not for the UN presence. I sat among the straw huts of displaced people huddled next to a UN base and listened to stories of the attacks that destroyed their villages. The UN does not have the troop numbers to forcibly disarm the militias or intimidate them into dumping arms. But the hardy Mauritanians and the helicopters of the Senegalese detachment are so far ensuring guns are not used on the civilians of Bambari.
The tentative peace in the town may not last. Now the Trump administration is threatening cuts to US contributions to the UN budget. America supplies 28.57pc of the peacekeeping funds, a figure often ignored by those who are ideologically anti-American.
The old compact whereby America paid while others did the fighting for peace is under genuine threat. The Central African Republic is already far down the priority list of international conflict resolution. Shorn of American funding, the UN mission would have to be drastically scaled back.
I said this column wasn't about Rwanda. I was wrong. It is about Rwanda if you believe, as I do, that Rwanda was about all of us, about the kind of world in which we wish to live. The UN we have is deeply flawed. But when things fall apart it is the only UN we have.
Fergal Keane is a BBC special correspondent.
Malaysia's National Police Deputy Inspector-General Noor Rashid Ibrahim (L) gestures during a news conference regarding the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, at the Malaysian police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Malaysian police say four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.
The four North Koreans flew out of Malaysia, but police would not reveal the flight's destination, just that they were coordinating with Interpol to track them down.
Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection to the murder of Kim Jong Nam, while a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have also been arrested. A Malaysian man is being detained to facilitate the investigation.
Kim Jong Nam died on Monday after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he was catching a flight to Macau. South Korean and U.S. officials have said he was assassinated by North Korean agents using what was thought to be a fast acting poison.
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"I can confirm today that they (four North Korean suspects) have left our country the very same day the incident happen," deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ismail told reporters at a press conference.
"The four suspects are holding normal passports, not diplomatic passports," he said.
"Next plan is to get them. We of course have international cooperation especially with Interpol, bilateral involvement with the country involved, we will go through those avenues to get the people involved."
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Malaysian police said the cause of death was still not known and that they were waiting for pathology and toxicology tests after conducting a post-mortem.
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A diplomatic spat between North Korea and Malaysia over the body has escalated. North Korea has said it would reject Malaysia's autopsy report and accused Malaysia of "colluding with outside forces" -- a veiled reference to rival South Korea.
The Malaysian police said they were trying to contact the next-of-kin of Kim Jong Nam. "The body must be identified. The most eligible to identify the body physically is the next-of-kin," Noor Rashid said.
"We will verify again through scientific means, so it is very important for close family members to come forward to assist us in process of identification base on legal procedures under Malaysian law."
The police is giving the next-of-kin two weeks to claim the body. South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that Kim had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under China's protection.
Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.
The young, unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.
Father and son: Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il with the 10-year-old Kim Jong-nam in Pyongyang in August 1981 Photo: AFP/Getty Images
Kim Jong-nam, who was assassinated last Monday, aged 45, was the eldest son of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and half-brother of the country's current leader Kim Jong-un.
For some years Jong-nam was thought to be his father's preferred successor, but he fell out of favour after attempting to visit Disneyland in Tokyo, Japan, with a fake passport in 2001.
Kim Jong-nam was born in Pyongyang on May 10, 1971 to Song Hye-rim, an actress with whom Kim Jong-il had begun an affair in 1968. It seems that the birth was kept a secret from Kim Jong-il for some time. However, after learning of his son's existence, he was said to have begun grooming him for a future leadership role.
Following a supposedly ancient tradition of raising potential successors separately, Jong-nam and his much younger half-brother Jong-un (born in 1984) seem never to have met.
Indeed Jong-nam had a lonely childhood, being restricted to just one, much older, friend and taught by his mother until he was 10 years old, though he had the run of a 990 sq m playroom, restocked each year with toys bought overseas by "gift purchase teams" from "div 2; dept 9" of his father's personal security staff.
His favourite bedtime reading was Anne of Green Gables.
As he grew older Jong-nam showed a striking similarity to his father, from his pudgy physical appearance to his playboy personality.
According to Yoji Gomi's book My Father, Kim Jong-il, and I: Kim Jong-nam's Exclusive Confession (2012) based on conversations with the subject, Jong-nam claimed that one reason he fell out with his father was that after an education in Switzerland and Moscow, he returned to North Korea in 1993 bent on reform. "I grew further apart from my father because I insisted on reform and opening up the market, and was eventually viewed with suspicion," he was quoted as saying.
In fact Jong-nam held several senior positions in his father's regime in the 1990s, including on a committee that headed the fearsome domestic intelligence apparatus. His highest profile role came as head of the Korea Computer Centre in the late 1990s, when he led efforts to equip his country's elite with the latest information technology. His claim that he had grown apart from his father is also thrown into doubt by reports that his stepmother, Ko Yong-hui, was at one point so worried that Jong-nam was a possible rival for power with her own sons, Jong-un and Jong-chul, that she wanted to have him assassinated on a trip to Europe.
In May 2001 Jong-nam was arrested at Japan's Narita airport trying to enter the country on a forged Dominican Republic passport, using the Chinese alias Pang Xiong ("fat bear"), and accompanied by two women and a boy (his son) aged four. He told Japanese police that he wanted to visit Disneyland.
After being detained for several days, he was deported to China.
The arrest was humiliating for his father, who was forced to cancel a state visit to China, and it is believed that Kim Jong-un became the new heir apparent due to the embarrassment caused. By late 2003 Jong-nam was reported to be living a freewheeling life in exile in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.
In the years before his father's death in December 2011, Jong-nam resurfaced from time to time to give interviews.
In 2010 he was said to have told one contact that North Korea was "collapsing" and he had no desire "to take over the baton" when his father left the scene.
He became more outspoken still after the accession of Kim Jong-un, expressing the view, according to Yoji Gomi's book, that his youngest half-brother was a "nominal figure" whose regime would "not last long".
Of his arrest in 2001, he observed that it was common practice for high-ranking North Koreans to travel using fake identities, and asserted that Jong-un himself had visited Japan on a forged Brazilian passport.
Unsurprisingly, Jong-nam was reported to have been the target of several assassination plots, most recently in late 2012, when he was said to have fled to Singapore after South Korean authorities arrested a North Korean agent who confessed to planning to bribe a Chinese taxi driver to drive into Jong-nam and disguise it as an accident.
Kim Jong-nam reportedly had two wives, at least one mistress and several children, including a son and a daughter by his second wife, Lee Hye-Kyong.
Policemen and Buddhist monks walk inside Dhammakaya temple to search for a fugitive Buddhist monk in Pathum Thani province, Thailand
Police in Thailand sent fresh forces to a Buddhist temple on Sunday hunting for a monk accused of money laundering.
Around 3,000 police have been outside the Dhammakaya sect temple north of Bangkok to confront followers and monks at the gate of the huge compound.
Meanwhile, smaller squads of police searched for its chief, Phra Dhammajayo, who is accused of accepting 40 million dollars (40,000) in embezzled money.
Security forces and Dhammajayo's followers had gathered in growing numbers at the temple on Sunday after the Department of Special Investigation - Thailand's FBI - ordered all people not living there to leave. Numbers on both sides were difficult to estimate.
Sunday's stand-off ended peacefully, with the police forces withdrawing shortly after dark.
Dhammajayo has been charged with money laundering and receiving stolen property. His defenders claim he did not know the money was stolen.
Some devotees believe his legal troubles are politically motivated because the temple and its followers are seen as supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup. Thailand had another coup in 2014 and currently has a military government.
The police are operating under an emergency order issued on Thursday by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha allowing them to short-cut normal legal procedures with broad powers to search property and arrest people.
They have sought to block people from entering the temple, but many seemed to have got through on Sunday after senior monks issued statements suggesting the temple was under threat.
Police also issued summonses for more than a dozen senior monks, including Dhammajayo - who has not been seen in public for months - to present themselves at the local police station.
"Our hearts break because we love Buddhism. We can die, but Buddhism, never," said Dhammakaya devotee Manoj Hemprommaraj. "We will protect our temple, (even) if we die."
Floods on Interstate 5 hit drivers in Maxwell, California as the state was warned of further heavy rain (Andrew Seng/The Sacramento Bee/AP)
Further heavy rain is forecast for California after a h uge Pacific storm left three people dead, and forced hundreds to leave their homes.
The National Weather Service predicted the return of wet weather in the region, and warned of possible flooding in parts of the state.
Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of the heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week.
The a uthorities said the San Joaquin River is reaching flood stage, and told residents in Manteca to be ready to evacuate in case it reaches dangerous levels.
"Stronger southerly winds and widespread flooding will be likely as an atmospheric river (of moisture) takes aim somewhere along the central California Coast," a weather statement warned.
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north, where damage to spillways of the Lake Oroville dam forced the evacuation of 188,000 people last weekend.
Meanwhile, authorities up and down the state were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing creeks, mudslide threats in foothill areas denuded by previous fires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighbourhoods.
North-west of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were evacuated on Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond, with some homes getting two feet of water.
Fire Chief Kenny Cohen said nearly 100 homes and the elementary school filled with a couple of inches of water before the water began receding. The area received about three inches of rain by Saturday morning.
No injuries were reported.
In the desert town of Victorville in Southern California, several cars were washed down a flooded street, and one man was found dead in a submerged vehicle after others were rescued, San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
In the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when a tree falling in heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car.
On Saturday, searchers found the body of a man in his 20s who was swept down a rain-swollen gully in Thousand Oaks a day earlier.
KCBS-TV reported that the body was found in Arroyo Conejo Creek. Three other people stranded by the water were rescued.
In the Studio City area of Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars, the second on live TV as viewers watched it teeter on the edge before plunging in. One driver was taken to the hospital in fair condition.
AP
Colombia's peace deal seeks to end more than five decades of armed conflict
Almost 7,000 members of Colombia's largest rebel group have arrived in special transition zones to begin disarming, completing a key step in a revised peace deal that seeks to end more than five decades of armed conflict.
The M onitoring and Verification Mechanism overseeing the peace process said the final 300 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia fighters arrived on Saturday at a zone in Caqueta province.
Thousands of combatants, travelling from their jungle camps by foot, vehicles or boat, have gathered in recent weeks in more than 20 demobilisation areas where they will begin turning over their weapons to United Nations-sponsored monitors.
Carolina Azevedo, chief of communications for the UN mission in Colombia, confirmed that the movement of the rebel fighters to the zones had been completed.
President Juan Manuel Santos signed a revised peace agreement with the Farc in November after an initial accord was rejected by voters in a referendum.
AP
US President Donald Trump greets people after he arrived at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida (AP)
President Donald Trump waits to speak at his rally in Melbourne, Florida (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Donald Trump kicked off his campaign rally in central Florida by castigating the news media as purveyors of fake news and part of the corrupt system.
Appearing at an airport hangar in Melbourne, Florida, Mr Trump a ccused the "dishonest media" of publishing one false story after another as his administration gets under way.
Mr Trump said that when the media lie to the people, he will "never, ever let them get away with it".
First lady Melania Trump introduced her husband at the rally.
She recited the Lord's Prayer before offering her own pledge to act in the best interest of all Americans as she pursues initiatives she said will help women and children around the world.
Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if a campaign rally was too early, Mr Trump said "life is a campaign" and that making America great again is a campaign.
He added that "it's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press and the media".
High on Donald Trump's to-do list is finding a replacement for ousted Michael Flynn as national security adviser (AP)
President Donald Trump has been stepping up his search for a national security adviser as well as focusing on healthcare in talks with his health and budget chiefs.
Reince Priebus, Mr Trump's chief of staff, used appearances on Sunday news shows to echo the president's complaints about media coverage of the White House, citing what he said were multiple accomplishments in the first few weeks of the administration.
"The truth is that we don't have problems in the West Wing," Mr Priebus told NBC's Meet the Press.
He also denied a report that Trump advisers were in touch with Russian intelligence advisers during the 2016 campaign and said he had assurances from "the top levels of the intelligence community" that it was false.
After weeks of tumult in Washington, Mr Trump returned to Florida and his private club for a third straight weekend as he tries to refocus.
After a raucous campaign rally on Saturday night, Mr Trump and his wife Melania stopped by a fundraiser at his private Palm Beach club, put on by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
High on Mr Trump's to-do list is finding a replacement for ousted Michael Flynn as national security adviser.
Scheduled to discuss the job with the president at Mar-a-Lago were his acting adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lieutenant General HR McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point.
Mr Trump pushed out Mr Flynn last Monday after revelations he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the US during the presidential transition.
Mr Trump said in a news conference on Thursday that he was disappointed by how Mr Flynn had treated Mr Pence, but did not believe Mr Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.
Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, Mr Trump's first choice to replace Mr Flynn, turned down the offer.
Mr Trump was also expected to discuss healthcare policy in a meeting with Health Secretary Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office.
Top House Republicans last week presented a rough sketch of a health overhaul to rank-and-file lawmakers that would void President Barack Obama's 2010 law and replace it with conservative policies.
It features a revamped Medicaid program for the poor, tax breaks to help people pay doctors' bills and federally-subsidised state pools to assist those with costly medical conditions in buying insurance.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has said Republicans would introduce legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act after Congress returns in late February, but he offered no specifics.
Mr Trump has lurched from crisis to crisis since the inauguration, including the botched roll-out of his immigration order, struggles confirming his Cabinet picks and a near-constant stream of reports about strife within his administration.
Mr Priebus said: "The fact of the matter is the level of accomplishment that he's put forward so far in the first 30 days has been remarkable."
AP
The Kremlin sees itself as being hemmed in by an expansionist Nato - and had hoped to secure access to Montenegro's Adriatic ports Photo: Reuters
Russia plotted to assassinate the prime minister of Montenegro and overthrow its government last year, according to senior intelligence sources in the UK.
An election day coup plot to attack Montenegro's parliament and kill the pro-Western leader was directed by Russian intelligence officers with the support and blessing of Moscow, to sabotage the country's plan to join Nato.
The plot was foiled only hours before it was due to be carried out. It underlines the extreme concern in Russia over the expansion of the transatlantic alliance. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, yesterday criticised Nato as a "Cold War institution" whose expansion had led to unprecedented tensions in Europe over the past 30 years.
The planned coup scheduled for October 16 last year was one of the most blatant recent examples of an increasingly aggressive campaign of interference in Western affairs, UK newspapers have been told. Interpol is now hunting two Russians the Montenegrin government says are intelligence officers who hatched the plot.
The pair spent months overseeing the recruitment and equipping of a small force of Serbian nationalists to attack the parliament building, disguised as local police, and kill Milo Djukanovic, the prime minister.
The Kremlin has strongly denied any involvement, and the Montenegrin special prosecutor has publicly stopped short of alleging Moscow's involvement in a plot it has blamed on "Russian nationalists". But US and UK intelligence agencies which were called in to help unravel the conspiracy are understood to have gathered evidence of high-level Russian complicity. Encrypted phone calls, emails and testimony from plotters-turned-informants are part of the investigation into 21 alleged conspirators.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his UK counterpart Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson are understood to have discussed the issue last week at their first meeting.
Predrag Boskovic, the Montenegrin defence minister, said there was "not any doubt" that the plot was financed and organised by Russian intelligence.
Sources said the plot appeared to have been constructed so it was deniable and could be blamed on rogue Russian agents and nationalists. But one source said: "You are talking about a plot to disrupt or take over a government in some way. You can't imagine that there wasn't some kind of approval process."
One of the alleged plotters wanted by Montenegrin authorities was recently photographed standing next to Mr Lavrov as he visited Serbia.
Details of the conspiracy have been disclosed after the UK's Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon warned of a "step change" in the Kremlin's meddling in Western countries during 2016.
The chief of MI6, Alex Younger, also warned recently that attempts to subvert democracy by states like Russia pose a fundamental threat to sovereignty for Britain and its allies.
The October plot followed repeated warnings from Moscow that Montenegro should abandon plans to join Nato later this year.
Moscow has been keen for the country of 600,000 people to remain inside its own sphere of influence, or at least neutral.
In the months before the coup was due to take place, the Kremlin is suspected of pouring millions of pounds into a slick pro-Russian election campaign run by the country's main opposition bloc, the Democratic Front.
Yesterday the US vice-president tried to reassure European nations worried that Donald Trump intends to sell them out while forging a new relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Mike Pence told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference that the new Trump administration would "hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which as you know President Trump believes can be found".
Mr Pence said the US would be "unwavering" in its support for Europe, but he reinforced Mr Trump's ultimatum that its countries must spend more on defence.
Yesterday Mr Lavrov told US and European leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference that Russia desired a "post-West world order."
He said Russia wanted "pragmatic relations, mutual respect, understanding our special responsibility for global stability."
Meanwhile Gen Petr Pavel, who heads Nato's military committee, claimed Russia was behind a false report of a rape by German soldiers in Lithuania that was intended to undermine support for Nato's new eastern force.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
As President Trumps administration rumbles toward the end of his first month in office, one of his most visible emerging critics is octogenarian Arizona Sen. John McCain. The recently re-elected national defense hawk has by no means joined the burgeoning #Resist movement -- he has voted for all but one of Trumps cabinet nominees -- but more than most of his GOP colleagues on Capitol Hill, he has been willing to stand up and push back against the new administration in a very public way.
McCain stepped in as the champion of the news media on Saturday, in the face of Trumps increasingly strident attacks on the free press, which he characterized as the enemy of the American people in a tweet Friday afternoon.
Related: Does Anyone Still Want to Work for the Trump Administration?
I hate the press. I hate you, especially, McCain said jokingly in an interview with Chuck Todd of NBCs Meet the Press. But the fact is, we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital.
He continued, If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press, McCain added. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started.
When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history.
McCain also went after Trump, albeit indirectly, at a high-level summit on global security in Munich last week. In remarks to attendees, McCain systematically repudiated the presidents nationalist rhetoric and his repeated insistence that the US should be less engaged in international affairs.
Related: 6 Remarkable Moments From Trumps Wild Press Conference
The Munich conference, an annual event that draws senior leaders from around the world, was founded as a means of promoting peace and stability. Those founders, McCain said, would be alarmed by an increasing turn away from universal values and toward old ties of blood and race and sectarianism.
Story continues
They would be alarmed by the hardening resentment we see towards immigrants and refugees and minority groups -- especially Muslims. They would be alarmed by the growing inability -- and even unwillingness -- to separate truth from lies. They would be alarmed that more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent.
But what would alarm them most, I think, is a sense that many of our peoples, including in my own country, are giving up on the West ... that they see it as a bad deal that we may be better off without ... and that while Western nations still have the power to maintain our world order, it is unclear whether we have the will.
He promised the attendees, again without specifically mentioning Trump, that senior figures in the administration and in Congress do not share the belief that the US can safely shed its leadership role in global affairs.
Related: White House Denies Plan to Use Guard Troops as Deportation Force
McCains rise as a symbol of Republican resistance to some elements of the Trump agenda is the result of a combination of factors. He has not been the most consistent or even the strongest critic of the administration within his party. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul were strong critics of Trump during the presidential campaign, at a time when McCain was playing the role of a loyal supporter while enduring Trumps insults in an effort to assure his own re-election.
But McCain has a combination of things that make him stand out. The first is his visibility. As a former Republican presidential nominee, he has extraordinary name recognition with the public. He also has close relationships with many in the media, his claim of hating the press notwithstanding, and tends to get lots of generally favorable coverage. See, for example, this cover story in New York Magazine.
The second, and perhaps most significant, is that he has the ability to get under Trumps skin. This is most likely a side effect of his visibility. Trump is known to be a voracious consumer of cable news, and can hardly have avoided seeing McCains critical comments about him. The presidents personal Twitter feed overflows with negative comments about McCain, often in reaction to the senators public statements.
Last week, when McCain criticized a US military raid in Yemen that went badly and resulted in the death of an American special operator, Trump responded furiously on Twitter, accusing him of emboldening the enemy. His White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, also criticized McCains comments, questioning his understanding of military operations (McCain is a Navy veteran and serves as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee) and suggesting that he was somehow dishonoring the fallen warrior.
Related: Trumps Historically Low Approval Rating Proves One Thing Hes Doing It His Way
McCains response was cutting.
John McCain vs. Sean Spicer. Watch. pic.twitter.com/pEjg8H4Frc Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 9, 2017
This is, in all likelihood, a self-reinforcing cycle. Trumps focus on McCains criticisms assures that they will get more air time, which will further anger Trump, leading to even stronger responses, and so on. The result is that, whether or not he really is Trumps harshest critic in the Republican Party, McCain is becoming the de facto face of GOP resistance.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Mike Pencestands behind the gate with the infamous slogan 'Work sets you free'.
Mike Pence and his wife visit the so-called 'deathagony chapel' in Dachau
US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen lay a wreath in Dachau
US Vice President Mike Pence has paid a sombre visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during the Second World War.
He was joined by his wife, Karen and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich.
The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, Arbeit macht frei, or Work sets you free.
The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the centre of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium.
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camp's grounds.
More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau, and more than 40,000 prisoners died there. The camp was liberated by US forces in April 1945.
Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Mr Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defence officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.
He was traveling to Brussels later on Sunday for meetings on Monday with Nato and European Union officials.
AP
A senior US Republican senator has urged President Donald Trump to take action against Russia over allegations that Moscow interfered in the election that brought him to power.
US intelligence officials have told Mr Trump that Moscow tried to influence voters by hacking Democratic emails and trolling social media sites, but the President has sought to downplay Russia's role in the election.
Speaking to world leaders, diplomats and defence officials at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said Congress needs to get involved to ensure there are "consequences" for the alleged hacking.
"2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress," Mr Graham said.
Referring to forthcoming elections in France and Germany this year and concerns of outside interference, Mr Graham said "I promise everybody in this room that Congress is going to take a long hard look what Russia did to undermine our elections, so you'll be better prepared when they come your way."
He said he planned to introduce a bipartisan motion for new Russia sanctions and it will get "north of 75 votes".
"My goal is to put it on Trump's desk and I hope he'll embrace the idea that as the leader of the free world he should be working with us to punish Russia," Mr Graham said.
Russia denies meddling in the election. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday: "I have seen no facts. There were just some accusations that we tried to hack some Democratic Party website."
Though the allegations are that the hacking was directed at the Democrats, Mr Graham said: "We should have an Article 5 that an attack on one party is an attack on all." He was referring to NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is seen an attack of the entire alliance.
"My biggest concern with President Trump ... is that he's never really looked the camera in the eye and said, 'Even though it was the Democratic Party that suffered from Russian interference, I am now the leader of the free world and I can assure you they're going to pay a price on my watch for trying to interfere in our election.'"
The conference opened on Friday with criticism of Mr Trump from another senior Republican senator, Arizona's John McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who said "more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticising it as our moral equivalent".
Later, answering question about the ouster of Mr Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn for misrepresenting his contacts with Russia, Mr McCain said that the issue "is something that shows in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do."
McCain, who has openly quarrelled with the president, added that Mr Trump often "contradicts himself" in his statements, and that "some of us have learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says".
AP
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysia's ambassador to North Korea has been recalled from Pyongyang amid rising tensions between the countries over the death in Kuala Lumpur of an estranged scion of North Korea's ruling family.
The Malaysian foreign ministry said in a Monday statement that it had recalled its ambassador "for consultations" and had summoned Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, "to seek an explanation on the accusations he made against the Government of Malaysia."
Kang said Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and that the autopsy on Kim Jong Nam was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance." Kim Jong Nam is the half brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
The statement called Kang's comments "baseless," adding it "takes very seriously any unfounded attempt to tarnish its reputation."
John McCain
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) defended the free press on Saturday following President Donald Trump's attacks on the media.
"I hate the press, I hate you especially," McCain told NBC's Chuck Todd on Saturday. "But the fact is, we need you we need a free press. It's vital."
McCain was responding to Trump's tweet on Friday where the president attacked the media as the "enemy of the American people."
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" Trump tweeted. He followed that with another tweet on Saturday morning, telling his followers not to "believe the main stream (fake news) media."
"That's how dictators get started," McCain said. "They get started by suppressing the free press, in other words, a consolidation of power."
Trump spent a large portion of his rally on Saturday evening lashing out at the media, while spewing falsehoods about nonexistent attacks in Sweden and railing against the "dishonest" media for publishing stories with "no sources."
Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff, told CBS's John Dickerson on Saturday evening that Americans should take Trump's comments seriously, and called multiple stories regarding the Trump Administration's ties to Russia "bogus," and "overblown."
"If you want to preserve I am very serious now democracy as we know it, you have to have a free, and many times adversarial, press," McCain said. "And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time."
McCain added he has "more hope than belief" that a Republican-controlled Congress would thoroughly investigate the Trump Administration's ties to Russia. Mike Flynn, Trump's former National Security Adviser, resigned on Monday after he misled Vice President Mike Pence over the contents of a December phone call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Though McCain has taken up the mantle of Trump critic, The Washington Post's Dave Weigel notes that McCain has voted with his party to confirm every Trump cabinet nominee except for Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. And, Weigel adds, Trump thrives off of mainstream Republican opposition.
Story continues
Watch McCain's comments in full here:
John McCain: "I hate the press! But the fact is we need you. We need a free press." Missed #MTP? Catch highlights in this week's #ComPRESSed pic.twitter.com/TD1m6XnKlK Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 19, 2017
NOW WATCH: 'It's a lie': Jake Tapper calls out Trump during a fiery interview with Kellyanne Conway
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The resident of Bashiqa, a small town in northeast of Mosul has nothing left to cherish since ISIS. The terror outfit which occupied the town till late December has destroyed almost everything. It is even now a ghost town and despite the Iraqi forces ousting ISIS, barely 40 families have made a comeback.
But the town is learning to get back on its feet and that too with help of beer, vodka and whisky.
AFP
Bashiqa now is back on the bottle to clear the ISIS hangover which was nothing lesser than a nightmare. And Wissam Ghanem is one of the few who sells liquor in order to make the town get over the ISIS hangover.
"Only about 40 families have come back. There's still no electricity nor water and schools haven't reopened yet," AFP quoted Ghanem while he in his little shop wore the traditional sherwal baggy trousers.
Ghanem is the member of Yazidi community which was particularly targeted by the ISIS. Yazidi was the dominant community in the town before ISIS came and changed the demography by unleashing mayhem on them. Bashiqa was known for its religious diversity because ethnicities from different faiths used to live in the town. Bashiqa was also considered an Iraqi alcohol capital of sorts, with its countless outlets which are now almost destroyed.
Ghanem is now trying to resurrect the old hegemony which is unlikely to happen to give the damage incurred by Jihadists.
Yazidis, who are neither Arabs nor Muslims, are considered worse than heretics by the jihadists, who committed crimes against the minority which the United Nations has described as genocide.
AFP
Ghanem and family were displaced more than a year and a half back, but they didnt think twice before making a return to their roots post the IS was uprooted from here. His cousin Jalal Khalil was less fortunate.
"Daesh torched my shop, ransacked my house and erased all the alcohol brands on the shopfronts in the name of Islamic values," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
ISIS bared the consumption of liquor in name of Islamic values in all the areas it controlled.
But when we returned we found recently opened beer cans and bottles of alcohol in our homes, opened packets of cigarettes... The jihadists smoked and drank," said Ghanem. A few hundred metres (yards) away, Bassam Abdel Mahmud runs a convenience store that stocks all basic items.
"Alcoholic beverages account for 50 percent of sales," he said.
Though there is hardly any buyers left, but Mahmud stays open every day from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. "There were dozens of jihadist bodies on the streets. Daesh had booby-trapped our homes and blown up our places of worship. The town walls were covered in slogans to the glory of the Islamic State," Jalal Khalil, another resident was quoted by AFP.
At noon, the first clients started arriving at Ghanem's shop.
AFP
Nazar Amer, who moved back to Bashiqa with his parents a week earlier, is only 15 but is purchasing six cans of beer to share with his friends.
His eyes stray towards pictures pinned above the door from a 2011 promotional calendar by a major European beer brand showing models in bikinis or underwear striking racy poses. Ghanem chuckled. "Daesh made sure not to destroy those posters."
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Ramdev's Patanjali Will Do Tax-Free Business Now, Tax Tribunal Exempts It Because Of 'Yoga' Tag
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pti
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Islamic State's Business Model Is Crumbling, It's Bleeding Money And Heading To financial Ruin
Reuters
The Islamic State group is haemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the group's "business model" is on the path to failure.
The analysis released on Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphate's financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land. Read More
Soon Indians Will Be Able For Passports At Their Nearest Post Offices
Finally, a few of our fellow citizens will be relieved to know that they will not have to spend days at a nearby passport office for getting a passport. They will be able to apply for passports from their nearby post offices. The External Affairs Ministry has come out with this initiative aimed at making passport issuance process hassle free and also to ease the burden on passport offices across the country dealing with too many applications.
In the first phase of the initiative, passport service will be made available in selected post offices of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jharkhand. The initiative is likely to kick off in mid-March. Read More
Practising What They Preach, Hyderabad Bureaucrats Travel To Warangal Villages And Clean Toilet Pits
BCCL
Over a dozen top bureaucrats from 23 states, including Central drinking water supply and Swachh Bharat Mission secretary Parameswaran Iyer, undertook a four-hour bus journey early Saturday morning from Hyderabad to Warangal to practice what they preach.
Parameswaran Iyer and others officials visited Gangadevipally to witness the "twin pit technology" that converts human waste into useful manure within a short period of time. It also helps in eliminating open defecation. A Unicef team also accompanied the bureaucrats. Read More
Indias efforts finally bear fruits as Pakistans Punjab government has listed Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and mastermind of Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed, under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terror Act, Dawn newspaper reported on Saturday. Four other members of Saeeds Jamaat-ud-Dawa have also been included in the list including Saeed's close aide Qazi Kashif.
AFP
The fourth Schedule implies that the individuals who are put in its lists are found to be or suspected to be involved in anti-state activities and terrorism.
Delivering hate speeches is also a crime that attracts inclusion in the fourth schedule. The move is a big departure as till now, Pakistan has officially denied Saeed's role in terror activities even though he was recently placed under house arrest and on the exit control list following pressure from the Trump administration.
The Dawn report, quoting a senior police officer, said the counter-terrorism department (CTD) had added the names of Saeed and Kashif to the list of the 1,450 "fourth schedulers" on the orders of the federal home ministry. The other three JuD members on the list are Abdullah Obaid, Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid.
The five men, according to the home ministry, were identified as active members of the JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat (FiF), JuD's charity wing. The report said the federal home ministry directed the counter-terrorism department (CTD) to "move and take necessary action" against them.
AFP
Despite India's attempts at his extradition and an Interpol notice against him, Saeed has been detained and released in Pakistan several times in the past. In 2012, the US even announced a bounty of $10 million on Saeed for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Earlier this year, on January 30, when Pakistan placed Saeed under house arrest in Lahore, the move was lauded by the military, which has been accused of using him and his terror group as strategic assets and proxies against India.
When Akhil Suhas went on a six-month road trip across New Zealand, he wanted to capture his travels as no one had ever done before. And what better to have done it in a Gandalf costume!
The Lord of the Rings fans will agree that New Zealand became integral to the movies as most parts of the film adaptations were shot there. Suhas named his adventure as #GandalfTheGuide and documented the entire series on his Instagram account.
Suhas was watching LOTR for the fifth time and decided to combine his travels with the movies. And viola! Here are the stunning results.
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Image Source: Ahil Suhas/Instagram
Worried about power cuts in your region, well it's just a matter of years now before we fix it all up. In fact, we may have just found an untapped source of power - the Moon!
Hey, we aren't going loony baloney over here, this was confirmed by an ISRO scientist.
According to this scientist associated with the ISRO, India may be able to meet all its energy requirements from resources on the moon by 2030.
Sivathanu Pillai, a distinguished professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said here that India's all energy requirements can be met through Helium-3 mined from the moon.
"By 2030, this process target will be met," Pillai said while delivering the valedictory address at the three-day ORF-Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue, organised by Observer Research Foundation.
Pillai, a former chief of BrahMos Aerospace, said mining lunar dust, which is rich in Helium-3 is a priority programme for the ISRO.
According to an ORF release, Pillai said other countries are also working on the project and there is enough helium on the moon, which can meet the energy requirements of the world.
"In a few decades, people will be going to the moon for honeymoon," Pillai quipped.
FRANKFURT, Feb 19 (Reuters) - PSA Group has pledged to the German government to continue operating all four of Opel's German production sites as part of the French carmaker's planned takeover of General Motors' European arm, German Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag reported.
The planned sale was confirmed by both companies on Tuesday, raising the spectre of cutbacks in the wake of a deal because Europe's car industry has been dogged for years by overcapacity.
Government sources told Reuters that PSA had signalled it was open to German demands to preserve sites, jobs and existing collective bargaining contracts but talks with Britain, home to Opel's sister brand Vauxhall, would also have to tie into a final job deal.
The paper said PSA's General Counsel Olivier Bourges told two deputy ministers and an adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday that Opel would continue as a separate entity within PSA group and that no German sites would be closed, without specifying its sources.
The takeover deal will likely be signed by March 9, the beginning of the Geneva auto show, the paper added.
Germany's economy minister Brigitte Zypries on Thursday said she expected the deal to go ahead, after the U.S. carmaker sought to allay fears of large-scale plant closures in the country.
Two sources close to PSA have, however, told Reuters that job and plant cuts were part of the tie-up talks, with the two British sites of Vauxhall in the front line.
PSA's chief executive will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss the deal, officials said on Saturday, amid concern Britain's departure from the European Union could put Vauxhall sites at a disadvantage to Opel's.
Germany accounts for about half of GM Europe's 38,000 staff, while there are 4,500 in Britain. Other countries with Opel production sites include Spain and Poland.
A PSA spokesman confirmed only that a meeting between PSA representatives and German officials had taken place last week and that discussions had been constructive.
Opel declined to comment.
(Writing by Ludwig Burger; Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski, Gernot Heller, Ralf Bode in Berlin, Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, Jan Schwartz in Hamburg; Editing by Mark Potter)
War Criminal
John McCain Systematically Dismantled Donald Trumps Entire Worldview
By Aaron Blake
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " WP " - John McCain is increasingly mad as hell about President Trump . And on Friday, he went after Trump hard.
During a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Republican senator from Arizona delivered a pointed and striking point-by-point takedown of Trump's worldview and brand of nationalism. McCain didn't mention Trump's name once, but he didn't have to.
And even considering the two men's up-and-down history and the terrible things Trump has said about McCain , it was a striking display from a senior leader of a party when it comes to a president of the same party.
In his speech , McCain suggested the Western world is uniquely imperiled this year even more so than when Barack Obama was president and proceeded to question whether it will even survive.
In recent years, this question would invite accusations of hyperbole and alarmism; not this year, McCain said. If ever there were a time to treat this question with a deadly seriousness, it is now.
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In case there was any doubt that this was about Trump. Here's what followed:
"[The founders of the Munich conference] would be alarmed by an increasing turn away from universal values and toward old ties of blood and race and sectarianism.
They would be alarmed by the hardening resentment we see towards immigrants and refugees and minority groups -- especially Muslims.
They would be alarmed by the growing inability -- and even unwillingness -- to separate truth from lies.
"They would be alarmed that more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent."
That's Trump, Trump, Trump and Trump.
McCain continued: But what would alarm them most, I think, is a sense that many of our peoples, including in my own country, are giving up on the West, that they see it as a bad deal that we may be better off without, and that while Western nations still have the power to maintain our world order, it's unclear whether we have the will.
Trump has repeatedly suggested a desire to pull out of or scale back on international involvement and agreements. His slogan is America first, after all. And it's not just on free trade: It's also when it comes to things like NATO, the transatlantic military alliance that Trump has suggested the United States is getting a bad deal on and has flirted with not enforcing.
Then McCain invoked some of those close to Trump and emphasized that his message won't square with theirs:
I know there is profound concern across Europe and the world that America is laying down the mantle of global leadership. I can only speak for myself, but I do not believe that that is the message you will hear from all of the American leaders who cared enough to travel here to Munich this weekend. That's not the message you heard today from Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. That is not the message you will hear from Vice President Mike Pence. That's not the message you will hear from Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. And that is certainly not the message you will hear tomorrow from our bipartisan congressional delegation.
McCain then concluded with another direct shot at Trump.
I refuse to accept that our values are morally equivalent to those of our adversaries, he said. I am a proud, unapologetic believer in the West, and I believe we must always, always stand up for it. For if we do not, who will?
Two weeks ago, you may recall, Trump suggested the United States didn't exactly have the moral high ground on Russia. Asked by Fox News host Bill O'Reilly about wanting good relations with a killer like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump demurred.
There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers, Trump said. Well, you think our country is so innocent?
Ever since, it seems, he and McCain have been on a collision course. McCain didn't fight back when Trump questioned his war-hero status long ago perhaps because both men were trying to win elections but the battle between McCain and the White House is picking up steam .
Pushing Propaganda For President Pence?
Some Might Call It A Palace Coup
Trumps term will last less than 200 days the second shortest ever
By Ronald L. Feinman
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Raw Story " - The news of the forced resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, due to the scandal that he, as a private citizen, spoke to the Russian ambassador in December after President Barack Obama issued sanctions on Russia for their aggressive behavior, has rocked the Donald Trump Presidency.
Trump, already under fire by many conservatives and Republicans for his bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is suspect as to his loyalty to traditional American foreign policy, as a result of him having hired Flynn in the first place. Critics had observed that Flynn seemed unreliable and had poor judgment. Former colleagues darkly joked that there were Flynn facts, a reference to his penchant for making up stuff. Flynn had also been criticized for being too close to Putin. At the Republican convention he joined in a chorus of Lock her up, a reference to Hillary Clinton.
Many foreign policy professionals are shaking their head at Trumps inappropriate behavior and language every time he speaks in public, or issues a Twitter comment, and his instability and recklessness. His having a security meeting over the North Korean missile test in public space at dinner in full vision of other guests is a sign of his failure to act responsibly. His abrupt ending of a phone call to the Australian Prime Minister, our loyal ally in four wars in the past hundred years, is alarming. His inconsistent message in his dealings with China, first indicating he accepted the idea of two Chinas, and then backing off under pressure, is disturbing. His inconsistency on the two-state solution in the Middle East is a major problem, as is his seeming lack of respect for Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, and lack of strong support for NATO.
The fact that Vice President Mike Pence played a major role in pushing Flynn out is a sign that Pence is already asserting himself with Trump, and it seems clear that Pence will not stand by and allow our foreign policy to be damaged, or our national security to be endangered. The American people, ultimately, would not expect anything less.
Mike Pence is an establishment Republican, with 12 years in the House of Representatives, where he served in a leadership position as Republican Conference Chairman in his last four years in the House before running for Governor of Indiana. Pence is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed Republican whose strong Christian convictions have shaped his politics, including his stands on womens issues, gay and lesbian matters, and his refusal to accept the concept of global warming. His stands on these and other issues alienated moderate Republicans in his state. His poll numbers were low when Donald Trump picked him for vice president. Many doubted Pence would have been able to win a second term as governor.
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Pence knows how to play hard ball and it is clear by his demeanor and body language that he is often uncomfortable with Trumps freewheeling and careless behavior. An investigation into the Flynn matter will develop, with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promoting it. Additionally, Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John McCain of Arizona all are pushing for hearings. As the FBI investigates this situation further, which would be expected to occur as a normal procedure after such a high level and immediate scandal, the earliest ever in any Presidential term (25 days), there will be calls for Trump to resign or be impeached.
Pence will have the difficult job of defending Trump in public appearances, but can be expected to work behind the scenes to insure that Trump stabilizes his utterances and actions, particularly on foreign policy and national security matters. Pence faces now a situation that has some similarity to Gerald Ford under Richard Nixon during a time of trouble and controversy, and the possibility of future Congressional action against Donald Trump if his mental behavior continues to disturb the top leadership of the Republican Party and the foreign policy establishment.
As this author wrote on January 22 on History News Network, Pence could, even if Trump vehemently opposed it, invoke the 25th Amendment, Section 4 with the approval of a majority of the cabinet, which would make Pence Acting President. Some might call it a palace coup but Pence could make a convincing case that it is too risky to leave Trump in power. Pence faces a great burden, and whether one agrees with his own agenda on domestic and foreign policy, it seems clear that the Vice President would do what he feels compelled to do if the situation further deteriorates.
One would imagine that if such a scenario occurred, that Donald Trump would resign, as Richard Nixon did in 1974 after the House Judiciary Committee approved his impeachment. But with an unhinged person such as Trump, who can say what would happen in such a circumstance?
Who Americans Consider Their Greatest Enemies
By Niall McCarthy
The Stakes for Trump and All of Us
By Paul Craig Roberts
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - We need to understand, and so does President Trump, that the hoax war on terror was used to transform intelligence agencies, such as the NSA and CIA, and criminal investigative agencies, such as the FBI, into Gestapo secret police agencies. Trump is now threatened by these agencies, because he rejects the neoconservatives agenda of US world hegemony that supports the gigantic military/security annual budget.
Our secret police agencies are busy at work planting intelligence among the presstitute media that Trump is compromised by Russian connections and is a security threat to the United States. The plan is to make a case in the media, as was done against President Nixon, and to force Trump from office. To openly take on a newly elected president is an act of extraordinary audacity that implies enormous confidence, or else desperation, on the part of the police state agencies.
Here you can see CNN openly cooperating with the CIA in treating wild and irresponsible speculation that Trump is under Russian influence as if it is an established fact. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46476.htm
The evidence provided by CNN and the CIA is a report by the New York Times that, with little doubt, was planted in the NYT by the CIA.
This is so obvious that it is clear that CNN and the CIA regard the American people as so gullible as to be completely stupid.
Glenn Greenwald explains to Amy Goodman that the CIA is after Trump, because Trumps announced policy of reducing the dangerous tensions with Russia conflicts with the military/security complexs need for a major enemy.
The deep state, although theres no precise or scientific definition, generally refers to the agencies in Washington that are permanent power factions. They stay and exercise power even as presidents who are elected come and go. They typically exercise their power in secret, in the dark, and so theyre barely subject to democratic accountability, if theyre subject to it at all. Its agencies like the CIA, the NSA and the other intelligence agencies, that are essentially designed to disseminate disinformation and deceit and propaganda, and have a long history of doing not only that, but also have a long history of the worlds worst war crimes, atrocities and death squads. This is who not just people like Bill Kristol, but lots of Democrats are placing their faith in, are trying to empower, are cheering for as they exert power separate and apart fromin fact, in opposition tothe political officials to whom theyre supposed to be subordinate.
And you gothis is not just about Russia. You go all the way back to the campaign, and what you saw was that leading members of the intelligence community, including Mike Morell, who was the acting CIA chief under President Obama, and Michael Hayden, who ran both the CIA and the NSA under George W. Bush, were very outspoken supporters of Hillary Clinton. In fact, Michael Morell went to The New York Times, and Michael Hayden went to The Washington Post, during the campaign to praise Hillary Clinton and to say that Donald Trump had become a recruit of Russia. The CIA and the intelligence community were vehemently in support of Clinton and vehemently opposed to Trump, from the beginning. And the reason was, was because they liked Hillary Clintons policies better than they liked Donald Trumps. One of the main priorities of the CIA for the last five years has been a proxy war in Syria, designed to achieve regime change with the Assad regime. Hillary Clinton was not only for that, she was critical of Obama for not allowing it to go further, and wanted to impose a no-fly zone in Syria and confront the Russians. Donald Trump took exactly the opposite view. He said we shouldnt care who rules Syria; we should allow the Russians, and even help the Russians, kill ISIS and al-Qaeda and other people in Syria. So, Trumps agenda that he ran on was completely antithetical to what the CIA wanted. Clintons was exactly what the CIA wanted, and so they were behind her. And so, theyve been trying to undermine Trump for many months throughout the election. And now that he won, they are not just undermining him with leaks, but actively subverting him. Theres claims that theyre withholding information from him, on the grounds that they dont think he should have it and can be trusted with it. They are empowering themselves to enact policy.
Now, I happen to think that the Trump presidency is extremely dangerous. You just listed off in your newsin your newscast that led the show, many reasons. They want to dismantle the environment. They want to eliminate the safety net. They want to empower billionaires. They want to enact bigoted policies against Muslims and immigrants and so many others. And it is important to resist them. And there are lots of really great ways to resist them, such as getting courts to restrain them, citizen activism and, most important of all, having the Democratic Party engage in self-critique to ask itself how it can be a more effective political force in the United States after it has collapsed on all levels. That isnt what this resistance is now doing. What theyre doing instead is trying to take maybe the only faction worse than Donald Trump, which is the deep state, the CIA, with its histories of atrocities, and say they ought to almost engage in like a soft coup, where they take the elected president and prevent him from enacting his policies. And I think it is extremely dangerous to do that. Even if youre somebody who believes that both the CIA and the deep state, on the one hand, and the Trump presidency, on the other, are extremely dangerous, as I do, theres a huge difference between the two, which is that Trump was democratically elected and is subject to democratic controls, as these courts just demonstrated and as the media is showing, as citizens are proving. But on the other hand, the CIA was elected by nobody. Theyre barely subject to democratic controls at all. And so, to urge that the CIA and the intelligence community empower itself to undermine the elected branches of government is insanity. That is a prescription for destroying democracy overnight in the name of saving it. And yet thats what so many, not just neocons, but the neocons allies in the Democratic Party, are now urging and cheering. And its incredibly warped and dangerous to watch them do that. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46476.htm
The United States is now in the extraordinary situation that the liberal/progressive/left is allied with the deep state against democracy. The liberal/progressive/left are lobbying for the impeachment of a president who has committed no impeachable offense. The neoconservatives have stated their preference for a deep state coup against democracy. The media obliges with a constant barrage of lies, innuendos and disinformation. The insouciant American public sits there sucking its thumb.
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What can Trump do? He can clean out the intelligence agencies and terminate their license granted by Bush and Obama to conduct unconstitutional activities. He can use anti-trust to breakup the media conglomerates that Clinton allowed to form. If Bush and Obama can on their own authority subject US citizens to indefinite detention without due process and if Obama can murder suspect US citizens without due process of law, Trump can use anti-trust law to break up the media conglomerates that speak with one voice against him.
At this point Trump has no alternative but to fight. He can take down the secret police agencies and the presstitute media conglomerates, or they will take him down. Dismissing Flynn was the worse thing to do. He should have kept Flynn and fired the leakers who are actively using disinformation against him. The NSA would have to know who the leakers are. Trump should clean out the corrupt NSA management and install officials who will identify the leakers. Then Trump should prosecute the leakers to the full extent of the law.
No president can survive secret police agencies determined to destroy him. If Trumps advisers dont know this, Trump desperately needs new advisers.
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
Flynns Head Rolls. Is Trumps Next?
By Finian Cunningham
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " SCF " - Just three weeks into the Trump presidency, and his political enemies in the Washington establishment have scored big, with the forced resignation of Trumps National Security advisor Michael Flynn. The establishment includes state intelligence agencies and aligned corporate news media, who have been gunning for Trump ever since his shock election last November.
Its a hugely damaging blow to the inner circle of the Trump White House. The US media reporting on Flynns resignation this week had the unmistakable air of victory-crowing. Like sharks in a pool, they smell blood.
Flynn had to go after the Washington Post and others reported that he wasnt telling the truth about phone calls he had been holding with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition to the Trump administration. Flynn hadnt denied the calls in late December, but he had maintained that the subject of US sanctions on Russia were not discussed.
Persistently the US media did not give up on the charges against Flynn, which shows that their confidence on the subject was underwritten by intelligence sources. Or put another way, this was an intelligence-led witch-hunt which was based on the illegal disclosure of private information.
Flynn had told the US Vice President Mike Pence that sanctions were not discussed and that the conversation with the Russian diplomat was only about seasonal pleasantries and making arrangements about a forthcoming phone call between President Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that call was finally made on January 28.
Pence stood by Flynn initially, telling media outlets that there was nothing untoward in the phone calls.
Legally, a private US citizen which Flynn was at that stage before Trump became inaugurated on January 10 is not permitted to talk about government policy with a foreign state in a presumptive official capacity.
Apparently now, as it turns out, sanctions were discussed between Flynn and Kislyak, according to FBI investigators and US officials quoted by the Washington Post. Russia has refused to comment on the nature of the phone calls.
What was Flynn thinking of? At one stage during the Obama administration, he had served as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency one of the 16 US federal spy organizations. It seems incredible that given his expertise in matters of US state surveillance practice, Flynn could have been so reckless as to hold phone conversations with Russias top diplomat in Washington on national security issues outside of his then remit.
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Especially considering too that Flynn was shortly about to assume office as a senior national security advisor to the new president, Donald Trump, who was already under intense media scrutiny over his alleged links to Russia.
Not only hold phone conversations, but as seems likely, Flynn broached the subject of how US sanctions levied by Obama might be lifted under the Trump administration. For Flynn not to realize that every word would be tapped by US intelligence seems an incredible lapse of judgment on his part.
The suspect phone contact occurred at the time Obama sanctioned several Russian diplomats over allegations that Russian hackers had interfered in the presidential elections. Those allegations of Russian state-sponsored hacking have never been proven.
The way the Washington Post tells it, US intelligence officials were surprised when Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reciprocate with Obamas sanctions announced on December 29, instead choosing to respond by wishing Americans a Happy Christmas.
According to the Post, US intelligence began searching for a possible explanation for Putins unexpected response, and they found their putative answer in Flynns call to the Russian ambassador. It is claimed that Flynn indicated to the Russian diplomat that the new sanctions imposed by the outgoing Obama administration would be duly reversed by Trump.
It seems more plausible, however, that the US intelligence agents did not engage in some retrospective random search for a mole, but rather they had Flynn in their sights all along, having listened into this phone call with the Russian ambassador.
And as the Washington Post pointedly noted this week, Trump promptly praised Putin for not taking retaliatory action to Obamas sanctions.
The inference here is that Flynn was acting as mediator with the Russians under instruction from Trump.
The current and former officials said that although they believed that [Vice President] Pence was misled about the contents of Flynns communications with the Russian ambassador, they couldnt rule out that Flynn was acting with the knowledge of others in the transition, reports the Washington Post.
Trumps administration had already caused deep consternation among the Washington establishment of State Department, foreign policy think-tanks, intelligence-military apparatus and aligned corporate news media. Trumps avowed intentions of normalizing relations with Russia before and after his election on November 8 have collided with Washingtons long-term geo-strategic agenda of fomenting hostility with Moscow.
The forced resignation of Michael Flynn, who was an influential advocate in the Trump White House for normalizing relations with Russia, can be seen as a much-desired blow against Trump over Russia inflicted by the US Deep State operatives.
There seems little doubt that Flynn was set up in a sting operation. The only wonder is that he seemed to walk right into the trap.
It seems very likely that having procured Flynns scalp, the political enemies of Trump will not stop there. The big prize is Trump himself and his ousting from the presidency through impeachment on charges of conspiring with an enemy state.
All the hoopla over Flynn in the US media is just the beginning of a campaign to finger Trump as the person who gave him clearance to illicitly contact the Russians.
Who Rules the United States?
By Matthew Continetti
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " WFB " - Donald Trump was elected president last November by winning 306 electoral votes. He pledged to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C., to overturn the system of politics that had left the nation's capital and major financial and tech centers flourishing but large swaths of the country mired in stagnation and decay. "What truly matters," he said in his Inaugural Address, "is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people."
Is it? By any historical and constitutional standard, "the people" elected Donald Trump and endorsed his program of nation-state populist reform. Yet over the last few weeks America has been in the throes of an unprecedented revolt. Not of the people against the governmentthat happened last yearbut of the government against the people. What this says about the state of American democracy, and what it portends for the future, is incredibly disturbing.
There is, of course, the case of Michael Flynn. He made a lot of enemies inside the government during his career, suffice it to say. And when he exposed himself as vulnerable those enemies pounced. But consider the means: anonymous and possibly illegal leaks of private conversations. Yes, the conversation in question was with a foreign national. And no one doubts we spy on ambassadors. But we aren't supposed to spy on Americans without probable cause. And we most certainly are not supposed to disclose the results of our spying in the pages of the Washington Post because it suits a partisan or personal agenda.
Here was a case of current and former national security officials using their position, their sources, and their methods to crush a political enemy. And no one but supporters of the president seems to be disturbed. Why? Because we are meant to believe that the mysterious, elusive, nefarious, and to date unproven connection between Donald Trump and the Kremlin is more important than the norms of intelligence and the decisions of the voters.
But why should we believe that? And who elected these officials to make this judgment for us?
Nor is Flynn the only example of nameless bureaucrats working to undermine and ultimately overturn the results of last year's election. According to the New York Times , civil servants at the EPA are lobbying Congress to reject Donald Trump's nominee to run the agency. Is it because Scott Pruitt lacks qualifications? No. Is it because he is ethically compromised? Sorry. The reason for the opposition is that Pruitt is a critic of the way the EPA was run during the presidency of Barack Obama. He has a policy difference with the men and women who are soon to be his employees. Up until, oh, this month, the normal course of action was for civil servants to follow the direction of the political appointees who serve as proxies for the elected president.
How quaint. These days an architect of the overreaching and antidemocratic Waters of the U.S. regulation worries that her work will be overturned so she undertakes extraordinary means to defeat her potential boss. But a change in policy is a risk of democratic politics. Nowhere does it say in the Constitution that the decisions of government employees are to be unquestioned and preserved forever. Yet that is precisely the implication of this unprecedented protest. "I can't think of any other time when people in the bureaucracy have done this," a professor of government tells the paper. That sentence does not leave me feeling reassured.
Opposition to this president takes many forms. Senate Democrats have slowed confirmations to the most sluggish pace since George Washington. Much of the New York and Beltway media does really function as a sort of opposition party, to the degree that reporters celebrated the sacking of Flynn as a partisan victory for journalism. Discontent manifests itself in direct actions such as the Women's March.
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But here's the difference. Legislative roadblocks, adversarial journalists, and public marches are typical of a constitutional democracy. They are spelled out in our founding documents: the Senate and its rules, and the rights to speech, a free press, and assembly. Where in those documents is it written that regulators have the right not to be questioned, opposed, overturned, or indeed fired, that intelligence analysts can just call up David Ignatius and spill the beans whenever they feel like it?
The last few weeks have confirmed that there are two systems of government in the United States. The first is the system of government outlined in the U.S. Constitutionits checks, its balances, its dispersion of power, its protection of individual rights. Donald Trump was elected to serve four years as the chief executive of this system. Whether you like it or not.
The second system is comprised of those elements not expressly addressed by the Founders. This is the permanent government, the so-called administrative state of bureaucracies, agencies, quasi-public organizations, and regulatory bodies and commissions, of rule-writers and the byzantine network of administrative law courts. This is the government of unelected judges with lifetime appointments who, far from comprising the "least dangerous branch," now presume to think they know more about America's national security interests than the man elected as commander in chief.
For some time, especially during Democratic presidencies, the second system of government was able to live with the first one. But that time has ended. The two systems are now in competition. And the contest is all the more vicious and frightening because more than offices are at stake. This fight is not about policy. It is about wealth, status, the privileges of an exclusive class.
"In our time, as in [Andrew] Jackson's, the ruling classes claim a monopoly not just on the economy and society but also on the legitimate authority to regulate and restrain it, and even on the language in which such matters are discussed," writes Christopher Caldwell in a brilliant essay in the Winter 2016/17 Claremont Review of Books.
Elites have full-spectrum dominance of a whole semiotic system. What has just happened in American politics is outside the system of meanings elites usually rely upon. Mike Pence's neighbors on Tennyson street not only cannot accept their election loss; they cannot fathom it. They are reaching for their old prerogatives in much the way that recent amputees are said to feel an urge to scratch itches on limbs that are no longer there. Their instincts tell them to disbelieve what they rationally know. Their arguments have focused not on the new administration's policies or its competence but on its very legitimacy.
Donald Trump did not cause the divergence between government of, by, and for the people and government, of, by, and for the residents of Cleveland Park and Arlington and Montgomery and Fairfax counties. But he did exacerbate it. He forced the winners of the global economy and the members of the D.C. establishment to reckon with the fact that they are resented, envied, opposed, and despised by about half the country. But this recognition did not humble the entrenched incumbents of the administrative state. It radicalized them to the point where they are readily accepting, even cheering on, the existence of a "deep state" beyond the control of the people and elected officials.
How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail
Why worldview threats undermine evidence
By Michael Shermer
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Scientific American " - Have you ever noticed that when you present people with facts that are contrary to their deepest held beliefs they always change their minds? Me neither. In fact, people seem to double down on their beliefs in the teeth of overwhelming evidence against them. The reason is related to the worldview perceived to be under threat by the conflicting data.
Creationists, for example, dispute the evidence for evolution in fossils and DNA because they are concerned about secular forces encroaching on religious faith. Anti-vaxxers distrust big pharma and think that money corrupts medicine, which leads them to believe that vaccines cause autism despite the inconvenient truth that the one and only study claiming such a link was retracted and its lead author accused of fraud. The 9/11 truthers focus on minutiae like the melting point of steel in the World Trade Center buildings that caused their collapse because they think the government lies and conducts false flag operations to create a New World Order. Climate deniers study tree rings, ice cores and the ppm of greenhouse gases because they are passionate about freedom, especially that of markets and industries to operate unencumbered by restrictive government regulations. Obama birthers desperately dissected the president's long-form birth certificate in search of fraud because they believe that the nation's first African-American president is a socialist bent on destroying the country.
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In these examples, proponents' deepest held worldviews were perceived to be threatened by skeptics, making facts the enemy to be slayed. This power of belief over evidence is the result of two factors: cognitive dissonance and the backfire effect. In the classic 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, psychologist Leon Festinger and his co-authors described what happened to a UFO cult when the mother ship failed to arrive at the appointed time. Instead of admitting error, members of the group sought frantically to convince the world of their beliefs, and they made a series of desperate attempts to erase their rankling dissonance by making prediction after prediction in the hope that one would come true. Festinger called this cognitive dissonance, or the uncomfortable tension that comes from holding two conflicting thoughts simultaneously.
Two social psychologists, Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson (a former student of Festinger), in their 2007 book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) document thousands of experiments demonstrating how people spin-doctor facts to fit preconceived beliefs to reduce dissonance. Their metaphor of the pyramid of choice places two individuals side by side at the apex of the pyramid and shows how quickly they diverge and end up at the bottom opposite corners of the base as they each stake out a position to defend.
In a series of experiments by Dartmouth College professor Brendan Nyhan and University of Exeter professor Jason Reifler, the researchers identify a related factor they call the backfire effect in which corrections actually increase misperceptions among the group in question. Why? Because it threatens their worldview or self-concept. For example, subjects were given fake newspaper articles that confirmed widespread misconceptions, such as that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. When subjects were then given a corrective article that WMD were never found, liberals who opposed the war accepted the new article and rejected the old, whereas conservatives who supported the war did the opposite ... and more: they reported being even more convinced there were WMD after the correction, arguing that this only proved that Saddam Hussein hid or destroyed them. In fact, Nyhan and Reifler note, among many conservatives the belief that Iraq possessed WMD immediately before the U.S. invasion persisted long after the Bush administration itself concluded otherwise.
Coming Soon to a City Near You: The U.S. Militarys Plan to Take Over America
By John W. Whitehead
Our current and past strategies can no longer hold. We are facing environments that the masters of war never foresaw. We are facing a threat that requires us to redefine doctrine and the force in radically new and different ways. The future army will confront a highly sophisticated urban-centric threat that will require that urban operations become the core requirement for the future land-force. The threat is clear. Our direction remains to be defined. The future is urban. Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity , a Pentagon training video created by the Army for U.S. Special Operations Command
February 18, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The U.S. military plans to take over America by 2030.
No, this is not another conspiracy theory. Although it easily could be.
Nor is it a Hollywood political thriller in the vein of John Frankenheimers 1964 political thriller Seven Days in May about a military coup detat.
Although it certainly has all the makings of a good thriller.
No, this is the real deal, coming at us straight from the horses mouth.
According to Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity , a Pentagon training video created by the Army for U.S. Special Operations Command , the U.S. military plans to use armed forces to solve future domestic political and social problems.
What theyre really talking about is martial law, packaged as a well-meaning and overriding concern for the nations security.
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The chilling five-minute training video, obtained by The Intercept through a FOIA request and made available online , paints an ominous picture of the futurea future the military is preparing forbedeviled by criminal networks, substandard infrastructure, religious and ethnic tensions, impoverishment, slums, open landfills, over-burdened sewers, a growing mass of unemployed, and an urban landscape in which the prosperous economic elite must be protected from the impoverishment of the have nots.
And then comes the kicker.
Three-and-a-half minutes into the Pentagons dystopian vision of a world of Robert Kaplan-esque urban hellscapes brutal and anarchic supercities filled with gangs of youth-gone-wild, a restive underclass, criminal syndicates, and bands of malicious hackers, the ominous voice of the narrator speaks of a need to drain the swamps.
Drain the swamps.
Surely, weve heard that phrase before?
Ah yes.
Emblazoned on t-shirts and signs, shouted at rallies, and used as a rallying cry among Trump supporters, drain the swamp became one of Donald Trumps most-used campaign slogans, along with build the wall and lock her up.
Funny how quickly the tides can shift and the tables can turn.
Whereas Trump promised to drain the politically corrupt swamps of Washington DC of lobbyists and special interest groups, the U.S. military is plotting to drain the swamps of futuristic urban American cities of noncombatants and engage the remaining adversaries in high intensity conflict within.
And who are these noncombatants, a military term that refers to civilians who are not engaged in fighting?
They are, according to the Pentagon, adversaries.
They are threats.
They are the enemy.
They are people who dont support the government, people who live in fast-growing urban communities, people who may be less well-off economically than the government and corporate elite, people who engage in protests, people who are unemployed, people who engage in crime (in keeping with the governments fast-growing, overly broad definition of what constitutes a crime).
In other words, in the eyes of the U.S. military, noncombatants are American citizens a.k.a. domestic extremists a.k.a. enemy combatants who must be identified, targeted, detained, contained and, if necessary, eliminated.
Welcome to Battlefield America.
In the future imagined by the Pentagon, any walls and prisons that are built will be used to protect the societal elitethe havesfrom the have-nots.
We are the have-nots.
Suddenly it all begins to make sense.
The events of recent years: the invasive surveillance, the extremism reports, the civil unrest, the protests, the shootings, the bombings, the military exercises and active shooter drills, the color-coded alerts and threat assessments, the fusion centers, the transformation of local police into extensions of the military, the distribution of military equipment and weapons to local police forces, the government databases containing the names of dissidents and potential troublemakers.
This is how you prepare a populace to accept a police state willingly, even gratefully.
You dont scare them by making dramatic changes. Rather, you acclimate them slowly to their prison walls. Persuade the citizenry that their prison walls are merely intended to keep them safe and danger out.
Desensitize them to violence, acclimate them to a military presence in their communities and persuade them that there is nothing they can do to alter the seemingly hopeless trajectory of the nation.
Before long, no one will even notice the floundering economy, the blowback arising from military occupations abroad, the police shootings, the nations deteriorating infrastructure and all of the other mounting concerns.
Its happening already.
The sight of police clad in body armor and gas masks, wielding semiautomatic rifles and escorting an armored vehicle through a crowded street, a scene likened to a military patrol through a hostile city , no longer causes alarm among the general populace.
Few seem to care about the governments endless wars abroad that leave communities shattered, families devastated and our national security at greater risk of blowback. Indeed, there were no protests in the streets after U.S. military forces raided a compound in Yemen, killing at least eight women and seven children, ages 3 to 13 .
Their tactics are working.
Weve allowed ourselves to be acclimated to the occasional lockdown of government buildings, Jade Helm military drills in small towns so that special operations forces can get realistic military training in hostile territory, and Live Active Shooter Drill training exercises, carried out at schools, in shopping malls, and on public transit, which can and do fool law enforcement officials, students, teachers and bystanders into thinking its a real crisis.
Still, you cant say we werent warned.
Back in 2008, an Army War College report revealed that widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security. The 44-page report went on to warn that potential causes for such civil unrest could include another terrorist attack, unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order , purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters.
In 2009, reports by the Department of Homeland Security surfaced that labelled right-wing and left-wing activists and military veterans as extremists (a.k.a. terrorists) and called on the government to subject such targeted individuals to full-fledged pre-crime surveillance. Almost a decade later, after spending billions to fight terrorism, the DHS concluded that the greater threat is not ISIS but domestic right-wing extremism.
Meanwhile, the government has been amassing an arsenal of military weapons for use domestically and equipping and training their troops for war. Even government agencies with largely administrative functions such as the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Smithsonian have been acquiring body armor, riot helmets and shields, cannon launchers and police firearms and ammunition. In fact, there are now at least 120,000 armed federal agents carrying such weapons who possess the power to arrest.
Rounding out this profit-driven campaign to turn American citizens into enemy combatants (and America into a battlefield) is a technology sector that has been colluding with the government to create a Big Brother that is all-knowing, all-seeing and inescapable . Its not just the drones, fusion centers , license plate readers, stingray devices and the NSA that you have to worry about. Youre also being tracked by the black boxes in your cars , your cell phone, smart devices in your home, grocery loyalty cards, social media accounts, credit cards, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and e-book reader accounts.
All of this has taken place right under our noses, funded with our taxpayer dollars and carried out in broad daylight without so much as a general outcry from the citizenry.
Its astounding how convenient weve made it for the government to lock down the nation.
So what exactly is the government preparing for?
Mind you, by government, Im not referring to the highly partisan, two-party bureaucracy of the Republicans and Democrats.
Im referring to government with a capital G, the entrenched Deep State that is unaffected by elections, unaltered by populist movements, and has set itself beyond the reach of the law.
Im referring to the corporatized, militarized, entrenched bureaucracy that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officials who are, in essence, running the country and calling the shots in Washington DC, no matter who sits in the White House.
This is the hidden face of a government that has no respect for the freedom of its citizenry.
What is the government preparing for? You tell me.
Better yet, take a look at the Pentagons training video .
Its only five minutes long, but it says a lot about the governments mindset, the way its views the citizenry, and the so-called problems that the military must be prepared to address in the near future. Even more troubling, however, is what this military video doesnt say about the Constitution, about the rights of the citizenry, and about the dangers of using the military to address political and social problems.
The future is here.
Were already witnessing a breakdown of society on virtually every front.
By waging endless wars abroad, by bringing the instruments of war home, by transforming police into extensions of the military, by turning a free society into a suspect society, by treating American citizens like enemy combatants, by discouraging and criminalizing a free exchange of ideas, by making violence its calling card through SWAT team raids and militarized police, by fomenting division and strife among the citizenry, by acclimating the citizenry to the sights and sounds of war, and by generally making peaceful revolution all but impossible, the government has engineered an environment in which domestic violence has become almost inevitable.
Be warned: in the future envisioned by the military, we will not be viewed as Republicans or Democrats. Rather, we the people will be enemies of the state.
As I make clear in my book, Battlefield America: The War on the American People , were already enemies of the state.
For years, the government has been warning against the dangers of domestic terrorism , erecting surveillance systems to monitor its own citizens, creating classification systems to label any viewpoints that challenge the status quo as extremist, and training law enforcement agencies to equate anyone possessing anti-government views as a domestic terrorist. What the government failed to explain was that the domestic terrorists would be of the governments own making, whether intentional or not.
We the people have become enemy #1.
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute . His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org .
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Rogue Elephant Rising: The CIA as Kingslayer
By David Price
February 19, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Counterpunch " - With members of the CIA and NSA leaking materials on Michael Flynns communications with Russian officials, we are witnessing a slow boiling domestic coup that will transform American governance and the Executive Branchs relationships with intelligence agencies. It remains to be seen whether these moves signal broader attacks on the Presidency by agencies long accustomed to taking out administrations threatening the Agencys perceived interests.
This moment tells us more about the CIA revolting against a particular administration than it does about Trumps people engaging in unusually diabolical-illegal activities designed to undermine an outgoing administration. We know enough about Reagans pre-election dealings with Iran to know that the CIA and NSA knew about these transactions, yet these agencies were content to remain silent; apparently glad to see Carter ousted and welcoming a new era of unparalleled peace time military and intelligence spending. Similarly, American intelligence agencies knew of Nixons efforts to sabotage the Paris peace talks before the 1968 election, and the CIA did nothing to undermine a new president who was going to give the agency the war it wanted. The leaking of Flynns information tells us little new about how incoming administrations act, but it suggests something new about US intelligence agencies willingness to take out an administration not to their liking.
To be clear: I see nothing wrong with the leaks themselves. I like intelligence leaks. I think they are generally good for democracy and reveal important truths about power. I am not worried about leaks, I am worried about the CIA and other intelligence agencies making a significant power grab that is not being critically considered. This is a move that no future president will soon forget, and that will make him or her think twice before crossing these agencies.
The lefts widely shared disdain for Donald Trump makes the current rushing national wave of schadenfreude understandable, yet there are few on the left who appear worried about what this domestic CIA coup portends for American democracy. Because of the long history of liberals attractions to using the CIA, perhaps we should not be too surprised at this elation, but we need to cautiously think beyond this moment.
It is no secret that many at the CIA hold disdain for Flynn. His years at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and in command of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) coincided with efforts to move many of what had been CIA operational activities and covert operations away from CIA to DIA. With the CIA attacking the Trump administration so soon after the election with leaks of the Russian hacking report there were clear public fissures appearing between the Agency and the new Executive.
I assume that there are lots of reasons why many at the CIA and NSA wish to undermine the Trump administrationI even assume I may share a few of these reasons with them. While the agency is comfortable with much of the corporate looting that Trump appears ready to unleash, few in the agency like the sort of instability that Trump generatesand I suppose some within may take his ongoing barbs and attacks on Agency incompetence seriously.
As it is to many of us on the left, it is obvious to me that Trump is the most dangerous, unqualified, and reckless US President I have ever seenmuch less imagined. And while it seems as if he will soon enough seize some opportunity to declare a national security disaster granting himself new unlimited powers, I know no reason to trust the CIA and other intelligence agencies any more than we trust Trump.
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This attack on the Executive Branch is like nothing weve ever seen before. The most historically interesting element of this moment is the rarity of seeing the CIA operating, in real time, not in its usual historical role as a covert arm of the presidency (which Congressman Otis Pike argued was its primary function), but as the sort of rogue elephant that Senator Frank Church and others long ago claimed it is. As members of the Republic, no matter what momentary joy we might feel watching this rogue elephant canter towards our incompetent Commander and Chief, we must not ignore the danger this beast presents to one and all.
We should welcome calls to investigate Trump, Flynn, Bannon, Pence and others within the administration, but we need to also investigate and monitor the CIA for this latest in its long history of attempted coups.
David Price
A 24-year-old Chitungwiza woman was on Saturday allegedly beaten to death by her husband following an altercation over a used condom she had found in his pockets while doing laundry.
Police confirmed the incident yesterday and said investigations were underway.
Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi expressed concern over the increase in crimes of passion.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating a case of suspected murder in which a 24-year-old female was found dead in her house in Chitungwiza.
On 11 February 2017 at around 0100 hours, the now deceased had a quarrel with her 34-year-old husband over a used condom that she had found in one of her husbands pockets while doing laundry, she said.
Chief Supt Nyathi said on Sunday at around 8am, the informant who is the husbands sister-in-law, and had heard the quarrel, went to investigate in the womans house after being attracted by an unpleasant smell.
She opened the door and found the body under the bed facing downwards with a string around the neck, a swollen face and blood coming out of the mouth, she said.
A report was then made to the police and the body was taken to a hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police are disturbed that crimes of passion continue to rise in spite of our efforts to urge people to seek a third person for assistance, to settle down misunderstandings.
We will, however, continue to emphasise that couples should not try to resolve such disputes on their own as in most cases, they end up worsening the situation, Chief Supt Nyathi said.
The latest incident comes after at least 46 people were murdered in various parts of the country since the beginning of the year, with some of the cases due to crimes of passion and armed robberies.
This comes as the force and its counterparts in the region recently conducted research to analyse the nature and extent of murder crimes.
Of the 46 killed, 40 were murdered in January alone, while the other six were killed this month.
Police chief spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said the force was concerned with the murder cases.
She said a joint study conducted by Sadc countries to analyse the nature and extent of crimes of passion in the region indicated that in general; the majority of passion killing occur between a husband and wife.
Passion killing cases are as a result of infidelity, jealous, poverty, unequal power relations, drug abuse and cultural beliefs.
The 31-35 year age group was the most prominent in passion killing, with most perpetrators being men.
Source: BreakingTimes
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump brought more contenders for national security adviser to his Palm Beach club for in-person interviews Sunday, hoping to fill the job in the coming days as he seeks to refocus his young administration.
Trump also drilled down on policy during his working weekend at Mar-a-Lago, attending a strategy session on how to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, with top aides including Health Secretary Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office.
While in Florida, the president found time for a few holes of golf on Saturday and Sunday. And with his wife, Melania, he stopped by a fundraiser Saturday night at his private Palm Beach club, put on by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Trump also took to Twitter to explain a comment he made about violence in Sweden at a Saturday rally. He suggested that some kind of major incident had taken place in the country Friday night, but on Sunday he said he was referring to something he saw on Fox News. That might have been a report Friday night about the influx of immigrants to Sweden.
Trump also spoke to the leaders of Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.
After weeks of tumult in Washington, Trump returned to Florida and his private club for a third straight weekend. High on Trump's to-do list is finding a replacement for ousted Michael Flynn as national security adviser.
Scheduled to discuss the job with the president at Mar-a-Lago were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump may interview more candidates and hopes to make the decision soon.
Trump pushed out Flynn last Monday after revelations that Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the presidential transition. Trump said in a news conference Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence, but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.
Story continues
Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.
Trump's chief of staff used appearances on the Sunday news shows to echo his boss' complaints about media coverage of the White House and cited what he said were multiple accomplishments in the first few weeks of the Trump presidency.
"The truth is that we don't have problems in the West Wing," Reince Priebus told NBC's "Meet the Press."
Priebus also denied a report that Trump advisers were in touch with Russian intelligence advisers during the 2016 campaign, and said he had assurances from "the top levels of the intelligence community" that it was false.
On health care, top House Republicans last week presented a rough sketch of a health overhaul to rank-and-file lawmakers that would void President Barack Obama's 2010 law and replace it with conservative policies. It features a revamped Medicaid program for the poor, tax breaks to help people pay doctors' bills and federally subsidized state pools to assist those with costly medical conditions in buying insurance.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has said Republicans would introduce legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act after Congress returns in late February, but he offered no specifics.
The day of presidential business follows a return on Saturday to campaign mode when Trump held a rally before thousands of supporters at an airplane hangar in Melbourne. He revived campaign promises to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, reduce regulations and create jobs and continued his attacks on the media.
The rally was put on by Trump's campaign, not the White House. Trump told reporters he was holding a campaign rally because "life is a campaign."
Trump, who held a rally in the same spot in Florida in September, clearly relished being back in front of his supporters, welcoming the cheers and letting one supporter up on stage to offer praise for the president. He also enjoyed reliving his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump has lurched from crisis to crisis since the inauguration, including the botched rollout of his immigration order, struggles confirming his Cabinet picks and a near-constant stream of reports about strife within his administration.
Priebus would have none of it.
"The fact of the matter is the level of accomplishment that he's put forward so far in the first 30 days has been remarkable," he told CBS' "Face the Nation."
A baby factory syndicate have been arrested by security operatives of the special task force, Operation Safe Haven, maintaining peace and security in Plateau and part of Bauchi state.
Commander of the task force, Major General Rogers Nicholas, said the group which specialises in producing babies for onward sales to other states of the federation was intercepted after intelligence report by the troop.
According to him, the group comprised of eight men and three women operating in Jos, north central region of Nigeria.
Giving details of their operation, one of the suspects said the group has a network spread across the country and they usually entice unsuspecting young ladies with mouth-watering offers and in other cases drug them with substances that lead to forced labour.
According to Nicholas, the suspects would be released to the Police to commence further investigation into their activities and arrest all their accomplices.
A group known as the Coalition of Urhobo Nation Youth Leaders and Stakeholders (CUNYLS) has demanded that the presidency release a video recording of President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently in the United Kingdom on medical vacation.
The group made the duggestion on Friday, February 17 in a statement signed by Its convener, Comrade Rex Emojite Ekiugbo Anighoro and its acting Coordinator, Comrade Blessed Ughere.
According to Daily Post, the group also demanded a public presentation of the presidents health status.
The group further suggested that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme should lead a delegation of statesmen to visit the president.
Part of the statement read: We demand that a delegation of statesmen led by a former president pays a courtesy visit to Mr President in London, or wherever he is, and this visit be visually recorded and relayed to all Nigerians.
We demand that the presidents state of health be immediately publicly declared for the benefits of all Nigerians.
We recommend former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme to lead such delegation.
We must state here that efforts by the presidency to stifle these rumours have rather given more impetus to the rumours.
Perhaps it has not come to the realisations of the relevant authorities, but we must state here, that this current state of cul de sac and grave yard silence is an open invitation to power tussle, political imbroglio capable of destabilising the current government from actualisation of their campaign promises to our people.
The desperation of members of the Presidency begs the question, if the President of Nigeria is healthy enough to receive guests stemmed from his political partys leadership, why couldnt he grant a live audience to multitude of Nigerians who thronged to demand that he addresses them.
President Buhari has been in London since January 19. The presidency had first announced that he was there for a 10-day leave. But he has since extended the leave on medical grounds.
Meanwhile, Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi state has directed religious leaders in the state to commence prayers for President Muhammadu Buharis quick recovery.
The governor said they should direct Jumaat Mosques and Churches in their domains to commence the prayers as soon as possible.
Source: Daily Post
On Wednesday night at the old banquet Hall of the presidential Villa, state governors held a farewell dinner in honour of outgoing governors of Ondo and Edo States, Olusegun Mimiko and Adams Oshiomiole.
Coincidentally, both men were made governors through the courts where they went to fight for their mandates at the election petitions tribunals.
The event was the first of its kind; this was the first time the governors will be honoring their outgoing colleagues. It was well attended by former governors and had Acting President Yemi Osinbajo as the special guest of honour.
It was a night of fun and glamour as all the governors and former governors that spoke were at their witty best. Those who spoke tried to outsmart each other with rib cracking jokes. You would be forgiven if you had mistaken the gathering for a night of thousand laughs.
Former Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan was the first person to give his remarks. He praised both governors, saying even though his state shares borders with Ondo and Edo, problems associated with boundary did not stop his relationship with the two governors from being cordial and excellent. He also spoke of his admiration for Oshiomiole and that one thing he has more than him was that he was taller, a remark which drew laughter from the audience.
Uduaghan turned to Mimiko whom he said has an impressive CV, having been a minister and governor. The former governor said he would also like to be a minister and since the acting President was listening, he hoped he will make his dream a reality.
On his part, The chairman of APC governors forum and governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, said he will miss Oshiomiole, especially during the National Economic Council (NEC) meetings where the former Edo governor had been a constant thorn in his flesh. He said Oshiomhole had a reputation of troubling all his colleagues.
Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el- Rufai said he was proud to belong to the class of short men like Oshiomiole because they have one of their own as the Acting President. He recalled how he met Oshiomiole when he was serving in President Olusegun Obasanjos government when the former Edo governor was the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). el-Rufai recalled that Oshiomhole always put the then President on his toes whenever fuel prices increased.
The Kaduna governor recalled an incident when he went for Oshiomholes inauguration with former EFCC boss, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Obasanjo berated them for attending an event that had to do with someone who belongs to the opposition party. el- Rufai said he told Obasanjo that he decided to attend the event because he went to support his fellow short man. He added that Ribadu, for his part, said he went because Oshiomiole was simply a good man.
He also eulogised Mimiko who he said they served together in Obasanjos government where the Ondo governor was the Minister of Housing and Urban development. He said even though Obasanjo opposed Mimikos bid to run for governor of Ondo, it still didnt deter him as he contested and won.
Former governor of Akwa Ibom, Obong Victor Atta who was a former chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum chided the governors for breaking the Nigeria governors forum into the APC and PDP governors forum, saying that was not the idea and dream of the forum. He also called for restructuring and devolution of powers at the centre.
Also, governor of Ekiti, Ayo Fayose made the shortest remarks; those who were expecting him to act true to type were disappointed. He simply advised both governors to prepare for life outside office, noting that he alone had the experience of being a governor, a former governor and now a governor again.
When Oshiomiole was called to give his vote of thanks, he was at his witty best as he held the audience spellbound with his jokes. He said he was now a pensioner and that if the pensions are not paid on time he will not hesitate to mobilise pensioners and take over the ring road in Benin.
He thanked his colleagues and praised the acting president for his fairness in dealing with all the governors in the National Economic Council, a trait which was missing in previous governments.
On his part, Mimiko also thanked the acting president and called for restructuring, which he said was the only way the governors could truly be independent. He said rather jocularly that one cannot have everything, like Oshiomiole who was vertically challenged but blessed with the gift of the garb. He asked the gathering to imagine a vertically endowed Oshiomiole with his boldness and all the mouths he took over from his dead relatives.
In his closing remarks, Osinbajo thanked both men for their service to the nation and also joked that he was proud to part part of the small men like the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige; el- Rufai and Oshiomiole. He recalled one of the Federal Executive Council meetings when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal told President Muhammadu Buhari that the average height of the leadership of the APC was decreasing.
Gifts were presented to both Mimiko and Oshiomiole by the acting president and group photographs were taken with.
Source: Leadership
More states are expanding the crimes punishable by death sentence in the face of reluctance of some governors to sign warrants for condemned prisoners to be executed. In this report, OLUGBENGA SOYELE examines the implications of the refusal of the governors to implement the law alongside the arguments for and against capital punishment
Over the years, the Federal and state governments in Nigeria have always reacted to an upsurge in a particular crime by enacting laws to make such crimes punishable by the death penalty. The moment a crime assumes notoriety or begins to overwhelm law enforcement agents, governments response has always been to impose the death penalty for such crime.
This trend started during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon, when in 1970, just after the Nigerian civil war, he introduced the death penalty for armed robbery in response to the alarming increase of the crime in the country. Many experts argued that this move did not solve the problem; in fact, they insisted, robbery is as common today as it was then.
During the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari between December 31, 1983-August 27, 1985,the junta enacted Decree 20 which carried a death penalty of which 10 persons were executed by firing squad, all for drug-peddling.
Also when the effect of terrorism became too unbearable for the government and Nigerians, after the advent of the deadly terror group, Boko Haram, the federal governments response was the enactment of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 and the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013, which introduced the death sentence for terrorism-related offences.
However, according to a Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, in 2014, Nigeria witnessed the largest increase in terrorist-related deaths ever recorded by any country, after the laws were passed. The index put the increase at over 300 per cent since 2011.
Though the Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to life, some other offences punishable by death across the Federation, include: Murder & Armed Robbery. Aiding the suicide of a child or lunatic, fabricating false evidence leading to the death of an innocent person, instigating an invasion of Nigeria, treason and conspiracy to treason.
Also 12 states in Northern Nigeria use the Sharia law, which prescribes death penalty for apostasy, incest, rape, Liwat (homosexual sodomy) and Zina (adultery). The states include Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.
In the same vain, the Nigerian Military under its military laws punishes misconduct in action, mutiny and dereliction of duty with the death penalty.
There are even clamours from many Nigerians that the death penalty be made to apply to official corruption, vandalization of oil installations, and oil bunkering.
Over the last eight years, one crime that has reached epidemic levels in the country is kidnapping and the government particularly the states governments in their efforts to effectively fight the crime have once again turned to the death penalty.
Kidnapping is a capital crime in some states in the south-south and south-east of the country and recently the Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode signed into law the state kidnapping prohibition bill, 2016.
The bill which was passed into law by the State House of Assembly on January 5, 2017, provides for the death penalty for kidnappers whose victims die in their custody, and life imprisonment for the act of kidnapping.
The lawmakers also approved 25 years imprisonment as penalty for anyone found guilty of threatening to kidnap another person through phone call, e-mail, text message or any other means of communication.
Many stakeholders have described this action as mere political moves and the government pandering to the outrage of society against the violent crime, this conclusion is based on the fact that the only authority recognised by law to issue death warrant authorising the execution of death sentences ordered by the judiciary are the executive arm of government and this has not happened for a while.
Since the military disengaged from Nigerian politics in 1999, only two governors have signed death warrants in the country. They are the former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, who signed the first warrant in 2006, and the Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, who signed the warrants of four death row prisoners executed by hanging in Edo State in June 25, 2013.
To demonstrate the unwillingness of governors to sign the warrants, the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje recently suggested that the law, which mandates state governors to sign death warrants of condemned prisoners should be amended by the National Assembly to enable the task to be reassigned to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Ganduje was speaking in reaction to a call from the Comptroller of Prisons, Kano State Command, Alhaji Aliyu Achor, who to him that most of the governors refused to sign execution documents in their respective states, saying it was a factor contributing to prisons congestion across the federation.
The governor stated Life is valued in African culture perhaps that is why governors are reluctant to sign execution documents. Since judges are the ones who make the sentences, I think the National Assembly should amend the law so that the CJN signs the warrants. I think the CJN is in a better position to assent to the execution.
However, in a recent comment the Chief Judge of Delta, Justice Marshal Umukoro, has urged state governors to develop balls and sign death warrants of inmates on death sentence in order to decongest the prisons.
Justice Umukoro who spoke in Ibadan during the 2017 Aquinas Day colloquium of Dominican Institute, said that recent statistics from the National Human Rights Commission indicated that no fewer than 1,612 inmates are on death sentence in Nigeria prisons.
The chief judge said that signing the death warrants would reduce prison congestion, and serve as deterrent to others.
As at July 2014, according to a report titled, Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Nigeria, released by a civil society organization, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), prisons in River States had 157 inmates consisting of 149 males and eight females on death row, which is the highest in the country. Delta follows, with 149 convicted inmates, comprising 146 males and three females. Ogun State has 132 condemned felons, while Plateau State is left with 125 males and one female awaiting the governors execution order.
Other states with high death row inmates are Lagos 83, Kaduna 79, Enugu 75, Kano 51, Katsina 43, Edo 35, Cross River 17, Jigawa 18, Kebbi 13, Kwara 12, Federal Capital Territory 10, Niger 10, Ondo 7, Benue 6, Sokoto 6, Osun 5 and Taraba 4.
Those against the use of the death penalty in Nigeria argue that there is a high likelihood of wrongful conviction stemming from poor investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and the imperfections of the Nigerian criminal justice administration.
They also contend that the law is settled on the principle that it is better to set a hundred criminals free than to wrongfully convict and kill one innocent person and that it would be unjust to retain death penalty in the face of such imperfections in the Nigerian criminal justice administration.
Those who favour the use of death penalty maintain that anyone who has willfully killed, especially terrorists, simply deserves not to live. According to them, applying the death penalty on such people will completely foreclose the possibility of their wrecking more havoc on the society in the event that they are pardoned and released.
They also insist that killing heinous criminals will also serve as deterrence for others who may want to toe the same path.
Commenting on the issue, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) said The Truth is that death sentence is still part of our law .The law has not been abolished and the Governors are compelled by law to sign the convicts death warrant.
We should ignore the European system that has discountenanced death penalty. As long as we still have that law as part of our system, then we should be able to abide by it. If we dont want that law again then we should go to the National Assembly and abolish it, he said.
In his own views, a Lagos lawyer, Collins Okeke said, It has never been conclusively shown that the death penalty deters crimes more effectively than other punishments. The correlation between crime rates and the death penalty seems to be even less relevant in the case of terrorism, where the act is politically motivated, with often no cost-benefit calculation.
As the argument for and against the death penalty rages, a very vibrant group, the Nigerian Death Penalty Group with the support of the UK government believes its time for Nigeria to stand with modern democratic states that have abolished or drastically restricted the use of the death sentence.
The reports of various groups that were set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo including the National Study Group On Death Penalty and Presidential Commission on Reform of the Administration of Justice also all recommended a moratorium on executions pending when total abolition can be actualised.
With all of these coupled with the growing reluctance of state governments to also sign death warrants, the self-imposed moratorium stance of the country and the calls especially by civil society groups for the abolition of the death penalty, many of the convicts on death row may not see the hangmans noose anytime soon.
Source: Leadership
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas took to Instagram to celebrate his 100th start for the club as he helped the Premier League leaders reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Spain international made a rare start for the west London side under Antonio Conte after being out-of-favour for most of the 2016-17 season since the Italian took charge.
However, Fabregas produced a stylish performance in spite of his lack of playing time as helped Chelsea ease to a comfortable 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineaux in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Chelsea are looking to do a domestic double in their first season under Conte, while Fabregas is bidding to win his second FA Cup after lifting the trophy in 2004-05 with Arsenal.
Fabregas posted the above photo on his Instagram page and wrote the following caption:
100 starts for @chelseafc .
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQq3WkVloW4/?taken-by=cescf4bregas
John Manger, the former Chief Security Officer to the ex-governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam has been abducted by unknown gunmen.
The Police Superintendent, it was gathered, was on his way to Benue State when he was stopped by the kidnappers and whisked away.
Confirming the incident, a family source said, Manger was abducted along Abuja Keffi road but his captors are yet to contact the family to state their demands.
Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the proposed plan to build a new official residence for the Vice President, was initiated by the Goodluck Jonathans administration.
This was contained in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, on Sunday.
The project which started in 2010, was initiated and funded by the immediate past administration, but had never featured in the two budget proposals of the Buhari administration: neither in the 2016 nor the 2017 spending plans, the statement said.
Any suggestion therefore that this project benefits our administration or that it reflects our spending style or preferences is not only misleading but blatantly false.
Besides, the incumbent Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said publicly that he considers Aguda House, which he currently occupies, a befitting official residence for the Vice President and sufficient for his needs.
While the project is now about 85% complete, the Federal Government, in the circumstances, will decide at the appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on the project site.
The Chairman of Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye, revealed that the budget for the VPs residence was N250million .
Source: Dailypost
Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators under the umbrella of Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAM) have described Lagos State governments planned reform as likely to increase the burden on the citizenry.
The waste managers alleged that it appeared like the reform was designed to send them out of business, jeopardise their lives, those of their employees and the communities they serve..
The PSP operators, who stated that as a group that has been in charge of getting Lagos clean in the past 18 years and has succeeded to an extent, said they were in full support of the Cleaner Lagos initiative of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration, but stressed the need for government to carry them along.
Lagosians are used to paying monthly/bi-monthly waste bills, introducing an annual Public Utility Levy will further increase the burden on the citizens, the waste managers stated.
The state government had, last year, announced its intention to effectively tackle waste management and produce a cleaner environment through a new measure tagged the Cleaner Lagos Initiative.
Under the new scheme, which will see the government phase out the PSP Waste Operators and invest over N85billion in domestic waste management in the next five years, it planned to review the activities of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), the PSP operators, other aspects of the waste disposal processes and collection and eliminate the dumpsites to strengthen waste management in the state
All efforts by the operators to get the administration to change its stand, according to them, have come to nought with government only conceding 100 percent to them the waste collection from commercial premises largely made up of religious homes and schools, among others and the revenue thereof as against the prevailing arrangement, where they collect the wastes and revenue but share it on a 60:40 ratio with government.
Mr. OlalekanOwojori of Wellbeck Consulting Ltd and consultant to AWAM faulted the state government claims against the operators, stating that government on the contrary was largely to blame for much of the problems besetting waste management in the state.
According to Owojori, private sector involvement in waste management in Lagos, which started as a pilot scheme under the Marwa administration, blossomed under the government of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 1999.
The state was completely taken over by waste as mountains of refuse littered and turned most parts of the city of Lagos into slums. The government toyed with the idea of hiring an Israeli firm to handle the states waste management. The foreign firm offered to do the job for N7billion monthly but Tinubu refused and opted for the full involvement of the private sector in the cleaning of the city.
The PSP operators commenced operations and consolidated on their activities from time to time as they acquired more experience and the wherewithal. Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola built on that efforts. Government was paying the operators unsustainable huge sums of money for their services until 2007 when it decided to make it a full-fledged private initiative. 18 years down the line, stupendous achievements have been recorded. We made Lagos clean and the country and the international community acknowledged it.
The programme has today birthed 350 successful small and medium sized businesses, which have within this period injected over N6billion into the industry in equipment like trucks and other assets, all privately funded with facilities sourced from local financial institutions just as they have created over 25,000 direct and indirect employment,. Lagos has since been transformed from one of the dirtiest cities to the cleanest in Africa. The numerous awards bestowed on the state government to that effect attest to this. There are no more dump sites or heaps of wastes as it used to be anywhere in the metropolis notwithstanding the daunting challenges we are faced with, the Lagos model of wastes disposal has been copied and replicated by many other states in the country, just as a number of other West Africa countries. But challenges before the operators were well known to government, the AWAM consultant said.
He listed the challenges to include the failure of government to develop the dumpsites and make them accessible for by trucks, which currently spend days on queues in the bid to discharge wastes, lack of sustainable and effective enforcement to compel regular payments by clients and compliance with the specified guideline for the packing of wastes for disposal, delayed and short payments of commercial entitlements by government and the recent drop in public enlightenment and advocacy. According to him, the complaints have been about delayed remittances of the share of the operators from the commercial waste revenue, which sometimes take as long as five months to process. And since September 2015, government has arbitrarily reduced the agreed 60% payment ratio in favour of the operators by 27%, leaving them with a paltry 33% and 67% to itself notwithstanding the current skyrocketing cost of their operations, he added.
The consultant wondered why government was blaming the operators for the non-provision of bins, transfer loading stations, and other supporting infrastructure, pointing out that under the current operational arrangement, the operators are vested with residential and commercial waste collection while provision of disposal locations and facilities and their maintenances is the responsibility of government. He similarly queried the decision of the Ambode government to reduce spending on the maintenance of the dumpsites by 33 percent, which he said has worsened the performance of the PSPs as the sites have become no go areas.
In fact, with every pronouncement of government on this matter, one gets the impression that the planned reform was hatched without proper understanding of the industry, Owojori noted, pointing out: They have just embarked on a verification exercise, something they would have done before now. They even said LAWMA could not manage 350 operators alone when in fact the agency has successfully managed a higher number in the past and won accolades.
We just hope that this governments misgiving against an enterprising agency like LAWMA, is not an excuse to scrap it as many of the agencys satellite outposts across the council areas are currently being renovated preparatory to handing them over to a foreign waste manager it is bringing in to work with three other Nigerian private firms, two of which were incorporated between October and November last year, to take over the job of the 350 PSP operators.
Meanwhile, one big concern to the waste managers is the advert in a national daily of May 5, 2016, soliciting for applications for employment as waste management staff without the identity of the advertisers. The advert directed applicants to submit their applications at the nearest Local Government Secretariat to them. The operators reportedly drew the state governments attention to it but it denied any knowledge of it but the operators were not convinced as they wondered how such an action without government backing could have directed prospective applicants to drop their applications with local governments.
But before the dust could settle over that, the state Ministry of Environment placed another advert on August 11, 2016 to invite tenders for residential and street waste collection, the main job of the over 350 operators across Lagos. The operators were not only aghast, they made several attempts to see the governor and finally succeeded on Monday, September 7, 2016. Ambode Allegedly told them at the meeting that he was ready to outsource residential wastes collection to foreign operator(s).
The operators feel let down and bore out their minds: We are not against foreign direct investment, but it should not be at the expense of existing local businesses. The proposed foreign investors efforts should be geared towards resolving the areas of challenges, namely: building more material recovery facilities, treatment facilities and establishing Engineered Sanitary Landfilled sites as none exist in the state at the moment. Government should realise that the foreign firms it is bring in to take over from local businesses also started as small businesses in their respective countries. With the support of their governments, they grew to become large organisations. Our appeal is that government provides us with such an enabling environment. Unlike the foreign companies, our profits will be reinvested here as we have no other place to repatriate the.
Source: Vanguard
Erstwhile Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Kano to order the Federal Government to return to him, over N3billion that was found in his home in Kaduna.
Yakubu, in a motion on notice with suit number FHC/ICN/CS/24/2017, filed by his lead counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji, SAN, asked the court to set aside the forfeiture order that granted FG ownership of the money which was discovered by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on February 9.
Specifically, he wants the court to set aside the order and return the $9,772,800 and 74,000,000 which he said belongs to him.
The former NNPC boss insisted that the court lacked the jurisdiction to grant FG ownership of his money.
According to him, the court, was bereft of the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the motion that culminated to the forfeiture order since it related to a crime that was alleged committed in Abuja.
Raji, SAN, contended that going by section 45 of the Federal High Court Act, an offence should be tried only by a court exercising jurisdiction in the area or place where the offence was committed.
No aspect of the perceived offence in respect of which the Order of February 13, 2017 was made, was committed within the Kano judicial division of this Honourable Court, Raji argued.
He further maintained that FG lacked the locus-standi to seek the interim order of the court granted on February 13.
By Section 28 of the EFCC Act, only the commission, i.e. the EFCC has the vires to seek an order for the interim forfeiture of property under the Act.
The power of this Honourable Court to make interim forfeiture order(s) pursuant to sections 28 & 29 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004 (herein after referred to a EFCC Act) is applicable ONLY to alleged offences charged under the EFCC Act and not to offences cognizable under any other law.
The ex-parte order of this honourable court dated February 13, 2017, was made in respect of alleged offences under the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission Act (herein after ICPC Act) and not the EFCC Act as prescribed by section 28 & 29 thereof.
The conditions precedent to the grant of an interim forfeiture order under sections 28 & 29 of the EFCC Act were not complied with by the Applicant (FG) before the Order was made, he submitted.
Besides, he argued that the combined effect of sections 28 and 29 of the EFCC Act was that a charge alleging infractions against the provisions of the EFCC Act ought to be brought against a suspect before the powers of the court under cections 28 & 29 of the EFCC Act, to order interim forfeiture of property, could be activated.
He insisted that without a formal charge, no prima-facie evidence could be established in order for the provisions of section 28 and 29 of the EFCC Act to be activated.
In the instant case, no charge was brought against the Respondent/Applicant before the provisions of section 28 and 29 of the EFCC Act were activated to grant the ex-parte Order of February 13, 2017, he stated.
Yakubu was Group Managing Director of the NNPC between 2012 and 2014. He was sacked by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for alleged insubordination and corruption.
EFCC operatives raided his house situated in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State, following a tip-off by a whistle-blower. The agency disclosed that it discovered the sum of $9.7m and 74,000 that Yakubu hid in a fireproof safe inside the house.
Source: Vanguard
Nigerian newspaper headlines February 19, 2017.
Punch
The Christian Association of Nigeria (Youth Wing) has given the Federal Government and security agencies one-week ultimatum to identify and prosecute the hoodlums who razed the Redeemed Christian Church of God (Root of David Parish) in Dei Dei, a satellite community in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Guardian
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has alleged that there were plans to destroy opposition in the country and make it a one-party state.
Vanguard
One person died, yesterday, in Lagos, when a tanker, laden with fuel, reportedly, fell on two buses.
The Nation
Lawyer, activist and businessman Audu Maikori was freed from security custody yesterday on bail following his arrest on Friday for allegedly spreading false information on the Southern Kaduna killings.
The Sun
Commander of the Special Task Force (STF) in charge of internal security in Plateau State, Major General Rogers Nicholas, has arrested 10 suspected operators of baby factories at Bukuru Park, in Jos North Local government area of Plateau State.
Thisday
The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday assented to seven bills earlier passed and transmitted to the Presidency by the National Assembly.
Leadership
A man believed to be in his early 60s said to be a Chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Isaac Ojukwu, has set himself ablaze in a rented hotel apartment in Nyanya, a satellite town of Abuja, FederalCapital Territory (FCT).
Premium Times
Tragedy struck Saturday night when a silver-coloured Kia Rio car plunged into the Lagoon at Mekwen Bridge, Bonny camp, Marina, at about 7.47 p.m., killing a woman.
The Nigerian Community in South Africa have confirmed attacks and looting of Nigerian-owned businesses in Pretoria West on Saturday.
Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, President, Nigeria Union, told the News Agency of Nigeria on telephone from Pretoria, South Africa, that the attacks began at 4.00 a.m.
He said that the union had reported the incident to the Nigeria mission and South African police.
As we speak, five buildings with Nigerian businesses, including a church have been looted and burned by South Africans.
One of the buildings is a mechanic garage with 28 cars under repairs, with other vital documents, were burned during the attack.
Also, the pastor of the church was wounded and is in the hospital receiving treatment, he said.
Anyene said the union had informed Nigerians in South Africa to be vigilant in the face of renewed xenophobic attacks.
According to him, the union received information that there will be xenophobic attacks against foreigners on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.
We began taking precautionary measures when the incident took place today.
The attack in Pretoria West is purely xenophobic and criminal because they loot the shops and homes before burning them, he said.
Anyene called on the Federal Government to persuade its South African counterpart to protect Nigerians in their country.
These attacks should not be allowed to continue because it is a big setback, he said.
A zoo in Thailand is encouraging humans to clean up after themselves by training an otter to clean up after some particularly pigs.
A video of an animal performance at Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand shows a group of pigs living up to their name by knocking over a wastebasket and spreading around the trash.
An otter then arrives and methodically puts the trash back into the bin.
The filmer said the message of the performance was: Dont litter or someone else will have to clean it up.
A man inn the US returned home to discover his pet squirrel had protected his home from would-be burglars while he was away.
Adam Pearl noticed several signs of break-in before walking into his home on Tuesday, where his pet squirrel Joey had been left alone.
I came in the front door and I saw snow prints out in the front driveway going to the back of the house, so I thought something was awry because no one usually goes through the yard, Pearl told KIVI.
He soon walked into his back room and had his suspicions confirmed when he noticed scratches around the locking area of his gun safe.
He called the police, and when Meridian Police Officer Ashley Turner arrived at his home, she was startled by the presence of the friendly pet squirrel.
During her investigations Joey had run in the bedroom just screwing around like he always does between her legs and kind of startled her, Pearl said.
Turner managed to track down the burglars within hours and learned that Joey left the suspects with multiple scratches in his attempt to defend Pearls belongings.
She said while she was questioning the individual, he had scratches on his hands, so she asked him, So did you get that from the squirrel and he says yeah, damn thing kept attacking me and wouldnt stop until I left, Pearl said.
Pearl had his belongings returned and he rewarded Joey for his heroics by feeding him his favorite candy, whoppers.
Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff has said he is willing to step down as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), if it is in the best interest of the party.
I am willing to relinquish the position for the party to move forward into achieving its goals, he said while speaking to journalists in Abuja.
I will consult other leaders of our party to see how we can organise our national convention, to stop our division and leadership tussle, he added.
Sheriff stated that the victory at the court was for all PDP members, including those belonging to the Makarfi faction.
He disclosed that he would start consulting every stakeholder in the party, including the Governors, National Assembly and BOT members in order to organize a unified National convention.
He expressed hope that all aggrieved members will come back to the party.
Sheriff said: There are no victors or losers. We are tired of losing elections and must unite to return to winning ways.
He, however, added that all the State Congresses held prior to the Port Harcourt convention stands. Therefore, existing State Executives remain intact.
Sheriff said he already spoke to chairman of PDP reconciliatory committee, Governor Seriake Dickson, the Deputy, Senator Ibrahim Mantu as well as the BOT Chairman of PDP in a move to reconcile all aggrieved members as soon as possible.
A timetable for that will be released as soon all consultations are concluded, he assured.
Sheriff added that his faction will take over the PDP headquarters at Wadata House next week once it gets the court papers.
Sheriff further refuted the statement credited to him that he would deal with Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose.
In attendance at the press conference were Senators Hope Uzodinma and Chris Uba, among others.
Sheriff was on Friday declared the authentic PDP chairman by a Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt.
His victory however drew mixed reactions from prominent members of the party.
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described the ruling as a rape on democracy.
Fayose also hinted that they will take the case to the Supreme Court.
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, said it was time for him to dump PDP. He also called the court ruling a victory for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Source: Naijaloaded
In its bid to sanitise the capital market, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has probed a total of six dealing member firms and 17 stockbrokers over unauthorised sales of investors shares and impersonation between January, 2016 and February, 2017.
SEC had turned the heat on some operators in the capital market with a view to rid the sector of those perceived as bad influence in the system.
Expectedly, one of the case that served as a litmus test for SEC was its celebrated case with Albert Okumagba, the group managing director (GMD) of BGL Group.
SEC had suspended Okumagba and BGL from operating in the market a year ago and has since been investigating the complaints, even as he was also removed as the President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).
Okumagba was also banned from operating as a registered sponsored Individual with SEC.
SEC had last year expelled the BGL Group from the capital market after receiving over 30 petitions from aggrieved investors who claimed to have been defrauded by the company.
The BGL Group was allegedly involved in N28.9 billion fraud and malpractices for which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arrested Okumagba.
Specifically, the commission had grilled Okumagba over alleged diversion of N28.9 billion being proceeds of private placements of 4.3 billion ordinary shares of 50k each at N7 per share in 2007.
The company, whose subsidiaries include BGL Capital, BGL Private Equity, BGL Security and BGL Asset Management, allegedly lured 50 investors from across the country into subscribing to the companys shares, promising them options of liquidity and exit within two years.
Also, SEC investigated complaints against WT Securities Limited and handed over life bans to its directors, Mr. Taofik Lawal and Mrs. Iyabode Lawal from operating in the Nigeria capital market for mismanagement of stocks and unauthorised sale of shares.
Besides, SEC had suspended Heritage Capital Markets Limited, a stockbroker and dealer on the NSE, for alleged fraudulent sale of investors shares.
SEC also suspended the directors and sponsored individuals of the company, including two former presidents of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu and Mrs. Ibironke Osiyemi. Ajaegbu is the Managing Director of Heritage Capital Markets Limited, while Osiyemi chairs the board.
Other suspended directors include Dr Elijah Ogbuokiri, Prof Emmanuel Emenyonu and Oluseyi Olanrewaju, while Suspended sponsored individuals include Paul Onalo, chief compliance officer and Oyafemi Titus, a stockbroker.
SEC in January banned a capital market operator, Mr. George Nchedo Okafor, from being employed anywhere in the capital market. Okafor was also banned from holding the position of director in any corporate entity operating in the Nigerian capital market.
A copy of decisions of the SEC Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) in the matter of APC/2/2016: Ideal Securities & Investment Limited V. Mr. George Nchedo Okafor, revealed that Okafor was handed over to the anti-corruption agencies for further action.
In February, the managing director/CEO, Partnership Investment Company Plc, Victor Ogiemwonyi was arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos sequel to a petition by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which accused him of fraudulent misappropriation of the sum of N1.24 billion and $80,000 and for sundry offences including stealing and dishonest conversion of proceeds of share sale.
Some of the defrauded investors had revealed that over 300 investors of Partnership Investment Company Plc (PIC) were swindled of over N4.8 billion.
Also, Alhaji Maina Muninga, Mr. John Nsofor, Mr. Oye Oyefeso, Mr. Ayokunle Oyedeji, were blacklisted by the market regulatory bodies for unauthorised sales of clients shares.
Other banned by capital market regulatory bodies for unauthorised transfers and sales of clients shares are Mr. Taju Folaji, Mr. Ichie Mike Ejezie, Mr. Segun Adebayo Adams , Mr. Olorunfemi Ayorinde, Mr. Abioye Eluwole and Mr. Gregory Otsu.
Source: Leadership
Two of Australias deadliest creatures faced off when a redback spider attacked an eastern brown snake.
North Vic Engines Cobram automotive company in Victoria shared video of the battle after the redback descended and trapped the eastern brown in its web.
We had a visit today from a baby snake, the auto company said. Lucky our pet redback found it and killed it for us!
The snake can be seen struggling to free itself from the web as the spider gradually makes its descent before delivering a fatal bite.
Brenton Maher, who filmed the video, told the Herald Sun hes encountered snakes and spiders feuding with each other before.
We had exactly this situation happen about this time last year, and yes the spider won that time too, he said.
Piqued by the frequent displacement of traders in Lagos State cause by demolition of markets, the Iyaloja General, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo on Thursday urged the state government to stop demolition of markets within the state or face the wrath of traders .
Tinubu-Ojo spoke at the stakeholders forum for Lagos East and Central Senatorial district, themed Participatory Democracy: Essential for sustainable development, held in Epe Local Government.
She lamented that the traders were not often well informed before the government embark on demolition of markets in the state.
Tinubu-Ojo said, All we will see is bulldozer and when we ask, the argument will be that the traders have been informed earlier. But the notices often come too early because two months is not enough for traders to leave a particular location.
I remember that recently the government gave traders at the Alausa Mini-mart three days notice to leave without provision for alternative. I called the wife of the Governor (Mrs. Bolanle Ambode) that I will lead other traders on protest before the issue was resolved.
The government should not forget that larger percent of the traders especially the women are breadwinners in their home. If the market is demolished or shut, the traders will have nothing to eat during this period.
All we demand from the government is to carry us along whenever they intend to embark on any policy.
She argued that the markets were placed under the supervision of the councils but the traders feel the presence of the councils whenever they intend to collect levies from the traders.
Source: Leadership
Vandals in Australia ripped several seats out of a train and piled them up in a massive barricade near the exit.
Commuter Steve Mateer boarded the train in Katoomba headed toward Sydney about 10:30 p.m. when he discovered the giant pile of seats and shared a photo of the obstruction to Facebook.
Just a usual night, finished work, go to sit upstairs on the train and thenok apparently not sitting upstairs, he wrote.
The train continued to run, but Mateer said station staff asked him to move to another train car before closing off the area to other passengers.
I was just bewildered that anyone would go to that sort of length for something so insignificant, he said.
No video was available from inside the train car, but police are searching for three people after reviewing security footage from the station.
Those who think theyre getting away with this behavior, theyre wrong, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.
Rob Mason of NSW Trains called the incident an act of deliberate vandalism.
Its really infuriating, he said. Its no fun at all, people may think this is fun but its not.
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A major industry body has launched a fresh review of the code of practice that commits insurers to provide services to consumers in an open, fair, and honest way, to keep pace with recent developments affecting the industry.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) will carry out a new review that will examine seven of the 15 sections of the General Insurance Code of Practice, and will consider the need to expand the Code to cover additional areas of insurer behaviour.
The sections that will come under review include standards for employees and authorised representatives; standards for service suppliers; financial hardship; complaints and disputes; and monitoring, enforcement, and sanctions.
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The Code is a living document that evolves to remain the benchmark for industry self-regulation in Australia, said ICA CEO Rob Whelan. Though it remains fit for purpose following a thorough review in 2012, external developments mean that a more focused review is now merited.
Two Senate inquiries examining general insurance are underway, so now is an appropriate time to consider whether the Code needs an update.
The new review of the Code was also prompted by the following developments:
The independent Ramsay Review of the external dispute resolution framework, which was due to report by March 31;
The General Insurance Code Governance Committees ongoing own-motion inquiry into claims investigations and outsourced services; and
The commencement of the Financial Services Councils Life Insurance Code of Practice in October last year.
An interim report of the review is expected to be released within six months.
The Code, introduced in 1994 and monitored and enforced by the independent Code Governance Committee, has been previously reviewed four times.
Related stories:
ANZIIF launches Insurance Brokers Code of Practice training
Compliance training for the Life Insurance Code of Practice unveiled
Israel's leader said President Donald Trump told him it was a "new day" in Israeli-American relations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that last week's meeting with Trump in Washington was "historic" and strengthened the two countries' long-time alliance.
America's commitment to Nato is "unwavering", US Vice President Mike Pence has said.
In his first foreign trip as vice president, Mr Pence sought to address concerns raised by President Donald Trump's earlier comments questioning whether Nato was "obsolete".
Mr Pence told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of diplomats and defence officials: "I bring you this assurance - the United States of America strongly supports Nato and will be unwavering in our commitment to our trans-Atlantic alliance."
"Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success," Mr Pence said. "And ultimately, we walk into the future together."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking before Mr Pence, told him and other leaders that "acting together strengthens everyone".
Her address came amid concerns among allies about the Trump administration's approach to international affairs and fears that the US may have little interest in working in international forums.
"Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles?" Mrs Merkel asked. "Let's make the world better together and then things will get better for every single one of us."
Mr Trump has praised Britain's decision to leave the 28-nation EU, and a leading contender to be the next US ambassador to the EU, Ted Malloch, has said Washington is "somewhat critical and suspicious" of the bloc and would prefer to work with countries bilaterally.
Mr Pence did not mention the European Union in his speech, something picked up on by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who wrote on Twitter: "In Munich, Vice President Pence renews America's commitment to the Atlantic alliance. But not a word on the EU."
Mr Pence did say, however, that the US was on a path of "friendship with Europe and a strong North Atlantic alliance".
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also indicated scepticism about Mr Pence's pledges, saying that he agreed Europe needed to work with the US on the basis of common values.
But in a barely veiled reference to Mr Trump, he said "both countries must define their interests, and our foreign policies should not be driven by ideology.
"Ideologies lead to hostile concepts that might not be able to be overcome," said Mr Gabriel, who is chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Mrs Merkel's junior coalition partner.
He said Europeans "should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".
In pledging the Trump administration's support for Nato, Mr Pence said the US expected all countries to live up to commitments to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product spending on defence.
"Europe's defence requires your commitment as much as ours," he said.
Mrs Merkel reiterated that Germany is committed to the 2% goal though Germany currently only contributes about 1.3%.
"We will do everything we can in order to fulfill this commitment," she said. "But let me add, however, that I believe while Nato is very much in the European interest, it's also in the American interest - it's a very strong alliance where we are united together."
Mr Gabriel suggested that development aid and humanitarian moves - such as in Germany's decision to take in nearly 900,000 refugees last year - should also be part of the consideration when looking at defence spending.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press, however, that both things were necessary.
"We need a comprehensive approach and of course development aid and funding for refugees is also very important," he said. "But there's no contradiction between being focused on development aid and security - actually the only way we can create development is to preserve the peace. We need security to be able to facilitate economic development."
US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the security conference that Mr Trump is working on a "streamlined" version of his executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim nations to iron out the difficulties that landed his first order in the courts.
Mr Kelly said that next time Mr Trump will "make sure that there's no one caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports" during the travel ban.
The nations affected by the original ban were Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Mr Kelly mentioned "seven nations" again on Saturday, leading to speculation they will all be included in Mr Trump's next executive order on immigration.
French police have sprayed tear gas at bottle-throwing demonstrators on the margins of a rally in support of a young black man allegedly raped with a police baton.
Two police officers were injured and 13 people were arrested in the clashes, which involved about 150 of the thousands of mostly peaceful anti-racism demonstrators.
The skirmishes marked the latest in a string of protests around the alleged rape that have degenerated into violence.
Police had installed a security perimeter around Paris's Place de la Republique for the rally.
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, meanwhile, urged the government to ban the protest out of respect for police.
Demonstrators carried banners reading Justice for Theo, the name of the 22-year-old alleged rape victim.
The protesters argue that Theo is just one example of many young minority men unfairly targeted by French police in ID checks and sometimes abused.
One officer has been charged with rape in the case, and three others with aggravated assault. All deny intentional wrongdoing.
Former French national soccer star Lillian Thuram was among the Paris marchers on Saturday calling for justice.
"Living in the public space is not the same, depending on the colour of your skin," he said. "We're in 2017. This is a real shame."
Theo, whose last name has not been released, was hospitalised for two weeks after the reported attack in his home town of Aulnay-sous-Bois north east of Paris..
After an apparent video of the attack circulated online, angry youths torched cars and clashed with police for several days in suburbs around Paris.
The violence was reminiscent of riots in 2005 that exposed France's long-running problems between youths in public housing projects with high immigrant populations and police.
Demonstrator Hamid Djudi, 57, expressed frustration that successive French governments have failed to prevent abuse and discrimination.
"In the 1980s, we were protesting racism ... I was 20 years old in the '80s. I used to face (police) controls four times a day," he said. "History repeats itself. My own children are facing the same troubles.
"One of them is an engineer, the other is a doctor, and my daughter is at the Institute of Political Studies. And they are controlled by police every time they go out of our building," he lamented.
"This is not normal. That's why I decided to come here. To protest for my children."
- AP
HERE'S a good quiz question, courtesy of UCC Professor John Cryan. What weighs about 3lbs and influences everything we do?
No, its not the brain but the bacteria within your gut.
As Prof Cryan puts it, those pesky little critters might just be the master puppeteers of our brain and our bodies.
With Prof Ted Dinan and the team at the APC Microbiome Institute in Cork, he has already shown how taking a probiotic daily can reduce stress and improve memory.
In a small study last year, researchers at the Institute gave 22 healthy male volunteers the bacterial strain, Bifidobacterium longum 1714, daily, for four weeks.
The volunteers taking it said they felt less stressed, something that was confirmed by tests on their levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
They also felt other benefits. Their brain function improved significantly and, in particular, memory.
Now, the Institute is exploring other ways of harvesting gut bacteria to improve mental health. The early results are very encouraging.
In a recent study on mice, researchers focused on the health benefits of prebiotics as opposed to probiotics.
Unlike probiotics, which have to be alive and survive the acid in the stomach, prebiotics come from the diet.
UCCs Prof John Cryan and his team have shown how beneficial bacteria in the gut can increase memory and decrease anxiety. Picture: Clare Keogh
In the study, mice were given a high concentration of two prebiotics, soluble fibres fructo (FOS) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), which are similar to those found in green vegetables, onions, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes and breast milk.
We were amazed by the robustness of the changes we saw and how effective [the prebiotic] was it could change brain chemistry quite dramatically.
"The study showed that gut microbiota could counter a lot of the effects of stress, including how it affects the immune system, behaviour and what is going on in the brain. By promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, we can modulate brain function, Prof Cryan said.
If those findings could be translated to humans, he added, it would open the way for a whole new psychobiotic way of managing stress-related disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders.
And that possibility is a lot closer than you might expect.
The first study on diet and depression, carried out recently in Australia, found that a Mediterranean-style diet helped those suffering from depression.
Researchers at Deakin University put dozens of patients who were treating their depression with antidepressants on a diet of wholegrains, legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables, olive oil and nuts, which are all rich in prebiotics.
One third of those taking part reported a significant improvement in their mood after 12 weeks on the diet further evidence that our gut microbiota has a role to play in mental health.
The researchers, however, warned that diet alone should not replace traditional medical treatments for depression.
Back in Cork, Prof Cryan and his 45-strong team in the gut-brain division of the APC Microbiome Institute are in the early stages of translating these, and other encouraging findings into ways of using prebiotics to improve mental health.
Prebiotics are already in the diet so you dont have to manufacture them, Prof Cryan explains.
Thats a plus, but more evidence is needed along with time-consuming clinical trials.
All the same, the introduction of stress-busting psychobiotics could happen within the next five years, he predicts.
In the meantime, there is still a lot we can do to nurture and protect our microbiome.
Its been shown that antibiotics destroy beneficial bacteria, but its also harmful to live in an over-clean, sterile environment as those conditions kill good bacteria as well as bad.
You can also eat to help your gut.
A diet rich in fermented foods, such as kefir, green vegetables and fibre has been shown to be beneficial, Prof Cryan says.
Foods to eliminate include all processed foods, those high in emulsifiers, such as ice cream, and artificial sweeteners.
The jury is still out on alcohol.
It has been shown to have a negative effect on mice, but red wine is high in polyphenols, which are good for the microbiome.
All the findings need further study but, as Prof Cryan says, it looks as if the secret to our own happiness may not lie in the self-help bookshop of the local bookstore but maybe within in your microbiome.
We are strolling past The Quiet Man cafe in Cong, on the Mayo-Galway border, on a stretch the legs mission before arriving to The Lodge at Ashford Castle.
Everywhere in the village, where the John Ford movie was shot in 1951, are mementos to the time Maureen OHara and John Wayne brought Hollywood glamour to this idyllic spot in the west.
In between the original film locations, by the gentle river at Circular road, youll find the Quiet Man Cottage Museum.
The ground floor of the cottage has been redesigned as a replica of the typical 1920s White-o-Mornin cottage, complete with artifacts from the film, costumes and furnishings.
The whole village pays homage to the time movie stars hung out in Cong.
When we arrive at The Lodge, nestled at the back of the 350-acre estate of Ashford Castle, the kids ask are we on another movie set.
Overlooking the glittering Lough Corrib, with fairy lights on all the trees on the way to reception, its a fair question.
Standing since 1865, the country house is a wonderful mix of old fashioned luxury and modern convenience.
We are staying in a Quay Suite, the first thing that elicits an ooh is the shiny bright red leather couch, its worthy of a starring role, the boys think its the coolest piece of furniture, ever.
We have a huge four poster bed, with extra pull outs set up for the three boys, theres plenty of room, and our very own outdoor terrace is like another room, from here we can see polytunnels where the kitchen grows as much as they can to include on the menu.
All the little things that make a visit so special are there - Handmade Soap toiletries, a huge tv and DVDs, as well as homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk.
These suites are great for families, youre a walk away from the main hotel, not worried about bothering the neighbours when the 1-year-old is roaring his head off at 4am, and you have ample space to walk the floors with him to get him back to the land of nod.
For the older two, the activities at the Lodge were the highlight of the trip.
Zip lining through the woods was one of the highlights of the weekend.
The 8-year-old got a unique view of the woods by zipping through the branches. Dad went with him and thought he was Tarzan.
The full course covers a combined total of 300 metres, expertly guided and it took a good hour and a half.
There are two scheduled session every day, from 9-11am and 4pm-6pm. Adults are 25 and kids are 18. Highly recommended.
The four-year-old was just a little bit too young for this particular aerial adventure, so he went horse riding instead.
He got a gorgeous dappled grey beauty called Biscuit and I like to think he channelled a bit of John Wayne, moseying around the arena. He loved it.
The equestrian centre caters for everyone from complete beginners to experienced riders and a 1-hour trail ride costs 60 per adult and 50 per child.
We ate outside in the garden terrace area on the first evening, choosing from the Quay Brasserie menu.
It was perfect as the kids could ramble around without disturbing anyone, we watched as the friendly staff came out, picking lavender and herbs out of the garden, that landed on our plates a few minutes later.
The junior menu had really impressive choices, our boys had homemade soup, fish goujons with tartare sauce, and pasta barrels with tomato sauce and parmesan.
I chose the Sean Thorton cheese burger, with onion rings and fries. At 15 it was the best value and best-tasting burger Ive had in a long time.
Husband was hungry after his high flying forest antics, he went for Andarl farm pork belly, mustard mash and chasseur sauce, really good value again at 19.
Dessert was creme brulee and sticky toffee icecream for the boys.
It was a picture perfect weekend.
In a Friday press conference reported by Mashable, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said the company was delaying its first mission to Mars. The company had initially hoped to launch a robotic mission known as Red Dragon sometime next year, but Shotwell said the company is shifting focus to other projects and will move its Red Dragon target to 2020.
The delay comes after a challenging 2016 for the Elon Musk-headed company. The September explosion of a Falcon 9 during a firing test triggered an extensive investigation, and put launches for the remainder of the year on hold. Those delays cost the company at least one launch order.
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Meanwhile, NASA recently awarded SpaceX, along with , new contracts for shuttling astronauts to the International Space Station. Mashable points out that a GAO report issued this week suggests neither SpaceX nor Boeing are on track to meet the original timeline for that contract.
And today, SpaceX experienced another (probably less severe) delay, as it scrubbed a planned launch seconds before takeoff.
So, as exciting as Elon Musk's proclamations about Mars are, it would appear to be time to focus on the (revenue-generating) tasks at hand.
See original article on Fortune.com
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This is a slightly modified version of a talk delivered to the Department of History and Civilisation, European University Institute, Florence, on May 21, 2020.
*
A question, to begin: What would intellectual history look like if its pedigree were traced back not to G. W. F. Hegel, but to G. W. Leibniz?
Peter Gordon has observed that German nationalist historians of the nineteenth century tended to believe that history is first and foremost a study of political narrative. They thus modeled themselves on the ideal of historical Wissenschaft as national-historical narration. No author embodies this approach more fully than Hegel. For him, the home of history is in Europe, as history is nothing other than the coming-into-self-consciousness of Absolute Spirit. Hegel thinks it is the work of European philosophers to help Spirit along, to birth it, while European states are for him, as it were, the armed wing of philosophy. Beyond the boundaries of Europe, what we find in terms of statecraft is either its absence, or some species of more or less eternal and unchanging despotism, while in terms of philosophy what we find is its admixture into, and vitiation by, mythology and other expressions of culture. For Hegel, the Greek miracle lay in the separating out of mythology and philosophy, so that the articulation of questions about, say, the nature of time, could be addressed in a universal idiom that would not presuppose the existence of Chronos as a divine personification of time. For the ancient Persians, by contrast, to use Hegel's own example, reflection on the nature of time could only proceed through culturally embedded narratives inseparable from religion and lore.
Thus for Hegel only those expressions of philosophy that descend from the Greeks have any claim to universality, and thus only these expressions deserve to be exported from their place of origin throughout the world. This 19th-century Europeanisation of philosophy witnessed the destruction of millennia-old disciplinary divisions in India and China, notably, as newly subjugated institutions of learning rushed to model their curricula on those of European universities, creating neologisms for philosophy where these had not existed before. Thus, to note one striking example from China, the cultivation of wisdom was separated from the perfection of calligraphic technique.
This disruption of intellectual traditions throughout the world is just one of the many measurable shockwaves of imperialism. Hegel's articulation of it is not surprising, yet it is a far cry from the common view among European philosophers of barely more than a century prior, where we find, for example, Leibniz calling for a commerce of light, a bidirectional exchange of wisdom that would piggy-back upon the commerce of goods between Europe and Asia. Nor, for Leibniz, would this exchange be limited to the textual traditions of literate non-Western civilisations; it would also extend to the oral traditions and natural languages of Indigenous peoples. Thus Leibniz writes in 1704, that
When the Latins, Greeks, Hebrews and Arabs shall someday be exhausted, the Chinese, supplied also with ancient books, will enter the lists and furnish matter for the curiosity of our critics. Not to speak of some old books of the Persians, Armenians, and Brahmins... And when there is no longer any ancient book to examine, languages will take the place of books, as they are the most ancient monuments of mankind.
In time, Leibniz thinks,
all the languages of the world will be recorded and placed in the dictionaries and grammars, and compared together; this will be of very great use both for the knowledge of things, since names often correspond to their properties (as is seen by the names of plants among different peoples), and for the knowledge of our mind and the wonderful varieties of its operations.
The fruit of such research, Leibniz thinks, will be a sort of mirror of the rational order of nature itself; it would amount to a sort of global survey of human reason, differently inflected according to circumstances, but nonetheless unified and universal.
In what follows I would like to look at three complexly intertwined cases of transregional philosophical encounter in the early modern period, each of which illustrates in its own way the challenges, for us, of studying the history of philosophy across borders, and the challenges, for the people we are studying, of understanding one another.
1.
Hegel's view is not without precedent in the early modern period, and it should not be surprising that its clearest expressions come from figures we may fairly associate with the radical Enlightenment: materialists, crypto-atheists, neo-Epicureans. Francois Bernier, to turn to our first of three case studies, furnishes a vivid example of this incipient tendency.
A devotee of the French Epicurean philosopher Pierre Gassendi, and a physician by training, Bernier found himself working as a doctor in Shiraz for six years, where, according to his own claim, he passed his time translating Descartes and Gassendi into Persian. Subsequently he was assigned in 1658 as the court physician to the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, in Delhi, where he befriended the Persian prince and philosopher Dara Shikoh.
A Muslim keenly interested in interfaith dialogue, Dara Shikoh nonetheless understands this in a very different way than today's multiculturalist. For him, the possibility of finding truth in the Brahminic faith is premised on the conviction that the Upanisads, properly understood, reflect and confirm the fundamental, revealed truth of the Quran. He has translated large portions of the Sanskrit text into Persian, thus working towards the same target language as Bernier, but is doing so within an intellectual framework that calls to mind nothing so much as Jesuit figurism, as for example in Athanasius Kircher's interpretation of Chinese sources, which buys the harmony of traditions at the expense of understanding foreign traditions on their own terms: figurism, that is, argues that, properly understood, the claims of foreign wisdom traditions corroborate and deepen the truth of our own.
Bernier himself is far less ecumenical; he tends to understand Sanskrit learning as the crystallization of Indian folk tradition. In this judgment, Bernier is in part importing battles he has already long been fighting in Europe. In effect he is disappointed to see Indian popular tradition unwittingly favoring the world-view of Gassendis adversaries, such as Robert Fludd, particularly in their interpretation of a recent eclipse as a harbinger of supernatural wrath, rather than as a natural phenomenon of the same nature with so many others that had preceded without mischief. Bernier believes that his Muslim interlocutors are better disposed to appreciate the force of his own rigorously naturalistic philosophical views. He discerns a spirit of toleration in the political order of the Mughal empire that he himself would not support in Europe, describing the emperor, though he be a Muslim, as suffer[ing] these Heathens to go on in these old superstitions, simply for the sake of maintaining social harmony.
When for his part Bernier listens to the pandits, he hears only tales, that is, articulations that, whether they contain any philosophical insight or not, are so vitiated by local cultural forms as to make the philosophy unrecoverable. He writes that when he grew weary of explaining to his Muslim host those late discoveries of Harvey and Pecquet in Anatomy, and of discoursing with him of the Philosophy of Gassendi and Descartes, the two of them would turn to the Hindu pandit in their midst, and beseech him to discourse and to relate unto us his stories, which he delivered seriously and without ever smiling... At last we were so much disgusted with his tales and uncouth reasonings, that we scarce had patience left to hear them.
Bernier listens attentively enough to be able subsequently to recall from memory, and more or less accurately, the six schools of astika philosophy. He also correctly identifies Buddhism as a nastika school, whose members are despised by the pandits as a company of irreligious and atheistical people. He is simultaneously attentive and dismissive, curious and contemptuous, and his negative judgments flow from his status as a libertine materialist philosopher in the battle against superstition back home in Europe. Bernier does recognize tendencies that bring certain Indian traditions closer to his view than others, traditions for example which approach the opinions of Democritus and Epicurus.
At one point Bernier relates a remarkable, indeed absurd, effort he had made, during a particularly tense interfaith dialogue session, to give an impromptu lesson in physiology by cutting open a live goat and thereby displaying the truth of Harvey's theory of the circulation of the blood. The image of Bernier sacrificing an animal in front of an audience of horrified Brahmins could very well serve as an emblem of the difficulties of communication between intellectual traditions.
2.
Some decades later, another noteworthy philosophical encounter took place in an aristocratic court after a long voyage. This time, however, the court was in Germany, and the voyager, when he arrived in 1706, was still a small boy. Anton Wilhelm Amo, who first came on a Dutch West Indies galley ship from Guinea to Amsterdam, and was sent from there to work at the court of the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel, was baptized into the local faith, Lutheran Christianity, in 1707. He soon began learning Latin, and it is likely that as a boy he also conversed with Leibniz on the philosopher's frequent visits to the Wolfenbuttel Hof. In 1727 Amo is sent to the University of Halle to study, first law, then philosophy. He produces two philosophical dissertations, and one lengthy treatise on logic. His patron Duke Anton Ulrich dies in 1731, initiating several years of financial hardship partially mitigated by precarious employment at the Universities of Halle, Wittenberg, and Jena. In 1746 Amo writes a letter to the Dutch West Indies Company, requesting transit on a slave ship back from Amsterdam to Guinea, and he departs in January of the next year. If the somewhat unclear circumstances of Amo's arrival in Europe are anything like those of his fellow Ghanaian Jacobus Capitein, the author of a 1741 work entitled Slavery, Not Incompatible with Christianity, it was likely with the intention of training Amo up as a pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church and sending him back to Africa to lead an orphanage school that he made the initial voyage. How he ended up in Germany instead of stopping in the Netherlands, and how he passed from theology to philosophy, are questions we are still seeking to understand.
I have read every known word written by Amo, and I can report that nowhere in his writing does he mention even once his identity as an African, let alone does he speak as a representative of any native African tradition. Unlike Bernier, Amo arrives in the foreign court still too young and pliable to see it as his mission to mediate between traditions, to represent one tradition while witnessing another. Amo is, therefore, I maintain, a German philosopher, the author of a handful of minor works in the Lutheran academic tradition of the early 18th century.
It may or may not be surprising, however, to learn that Amo has been posthumously taken up and restyled as, precisely, an African philosopher. The founder of the Republic of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, for example, gives significant space to Amo in his 1964 philosophical treatise, Consciencism, depicting Amo as a materialist thinker and thus as an embodiment of traditional African thought's anticipation of Marxism-Leninism. Nkrumah's speculation is interesting in its own right as a matter of intellectual history. What interests me more, however, is to determine what significance the case of Amo might have for our understanding of the global context of early modern intellectual history, even in the absence of any explicit engagement with the question of cross-cultural encounter in Amo's work?
Part of the answer to this difficult question lies in the history of institutions, and the way German universities came to conceive their mission in the early 18th century. Halle, in particular, from its origins deeply symbiotic with the Pietist Orphanage in the same city, had an academic mission that was inseparable from missions in the narrow sense. It is to the Halle Pietists that Leibniz turned with his vision for a Protestant emulation of the Jesuit missions to Asia. It is also to Halle that, for a time, scholars from Europe and beyond would turn to study the Orient, conceived broadly as the cultures and languages reaching from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Kamchatka peninsula. The learning was, as Leibniz always insisted it must be, bidirectional, with missionaries heading out, and young students coming in: Salomon Negri from Syria, a certain Ahmet Gul from Rajasthan, a handful of Jewish students (a first in Germany), and Anton Wilhelm Amo-Afer of Guinea, via Wolfenbuttel.
In his elogious afterword to Amo's 1734 dissertation, On the Impassivity of the Human Mind, the rector of Halle Johannes Gottfried Kraus appears to mistakenly identify Amo's place of origin is not Axim, in West Africa, but Axum, the ancient Ethiopian city associated with the antiquity of African Christianity. In this way and many others, Amo was a representative of Africa, and of African learning, whether he wrote of it or not.
But Amo, who spent the last part of his life back in Africa, represents the Leibnizian bidirectionality of which we have spoken in surprising ways, in ways that might confound our expectation of the respective intellectual goods that Europe and Africa have to bring, as it were, to the exchange. Two fragmentary but revealing documents may illustrate this. The first is a description from the archives of the University of Jena, for a course Amo was to offer in the Michaelmas term of 1736. He promises to cover for his students parts of the more elegant and curious philosophy, including:
physiognomy; chiromancy; geomancy, commonly known as the art of divination; purely natural astrology; ... dechifratory, or the art of deciphering, which is opposed to the superstitions of the common people.
For any philosophy professor who complains today that curricular standards are slipping, it might help to remind them that in the early 18th century you could teach palm-reading in a philosophy classroom. We also see, as with Bernier, a concern to disavow superstition, and an identification of superstition with the beliefs of the benighted masses. However, the boundaries as to what ought to count as superstition are drawn differently in the two cases.
This document is mirrored in a curious way by the final documentary testimony of Amo's life recorded in 1753 by the Swiss traveler Henri David Gallandat, who met the philosopher in Axim after his return home. We learn from Gallandat that in Africa Amo lived as a hermit, and was reputed to be a soothsayer. He spoke various languages, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, High and Low German, was very learned in astrology and astronomy, and was a great philosopher. This description suggests that Amo had taken up a social role in his late life in Africa that was in some respects analogous to that of a philosopher in Europe. It also suggests that he had acquired or re-acquired the Nzema language to which he would have been exposed in early childhood, as he would not have been able to gain the reputation ascribed to him without the ability to communicate with local people.
Together with the Jena course description, it also suggests that Amo's restyling of himself for a local audience might not have been as radical an overhaul as some may imagine. Bernier had expressed his disdain for Brahminical superstition by comparison to those of the common people of Europe; Amo, whether in Europe or Africa, was more adaptable to the interests of the common people, whether first-generation university students in Jena, or, we may suppose, African merchants operating in the liminal trade zones between Africa and Europe. It is of course possible that Amo had not only adapted his soothsaying to the local idiom, but was also helping to promote the bidirectionality of the exchange of ideas, and just as Bernier had translated Gassendi into Persian, Amo may have been busily discoursing, between or during his fortune-telling sessions in Africa, on Leibnizian preestablished harmony in Nzema. This remains a matter of pure speculation, but is somewhat more grounded in plausibility than Nkrumah's transformation of Amo into a proto-Marxist.
3.
But let us move back now to the path carved from Halle to Russia. We know, incidentally, from a 1736 letter discovered by my student Dwight Lewis in an Estonian archive, that Amo himself had sought to go down this path, writing to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and requesting a research position there. His letter goes unanswered, and a few months later he will begin his Michaelmas course at Jena. If he had made it to the new Russian capital, he might have been swept up in some capacity, like so many other former Halle students, in the Great Kamchatka expedition that was currently under way. As I have shown elsewhere, this expedition might justly be seen as the systematic, institutionally backed mise-en-oeuvre of a vision of science that Leibniz had spelled out to Peter the Great some decades before, beginning from their first encounter in Hannover in 1698.
The list is long of desiderata that Leibniz, before his death in 1716, spelled out to Peter and his advisors, for an eventual scientific mission across the eastern reaches of the Empire. These desiderata included the determination of whether northeast Asia and northwest North America are connected by a land bridge; the establishment of research stations at fixed intervals for the measurement of magnetic variation; the collection of unknown plant species, pressed dry in books; and the collection, as well, of samples of unknown languages, also pressed into books, in the form of short translations of the Lord's Prayer or the Apostle's Creed in the indigenous languages of North Asia. The choice of canonical prayers as the standard unit of such samples was part of Leibniz's thoroughgoing commitment to bidirectionality: we European researchers get a fragment of Samoyed or Yakut, the Samoyeds and Yakuts get access, by the same gest, to an article of Christian faith. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that, throughout the 18th century, Leibniz would be principally known as a Sprachmeister, that is, as a collector and classifier of language samples. He received many such samples from the Dutch naval architect and voyager Nicolaes Witsen, corresponding from Moscow. Witsen sent him not only indigenous languages of the polyglot Russian empire, but others he had collected from his own global network of Dutch seafarers. One such sample sent to Leibniz from Moscow was a bilingual transcription of the Lord's Prayer in Dutch and Hottentot, which is to say a Khoi-San language of Southern Africa. I have found as late as 1809, demotic editions of polyglot prayer manuals would include the Hottentot prayer with the notice: ex Leibnitio.
Leibniz never made it to Russia himself, let alone to Siberia, though he became a Privy Councillor to the Tsar in 1712, and like Amo he spent some years petitioning to relocate to the new Russian capital. If Leibniz came to have the posthumous reputation of a language-prospector, this is in large part thanks to his many proxies working in the field to realize his vision. No one demonstrates this relationship more clearly than the Swedish officer, geographer, and linguist Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, the author of the 1730 work Das Nord und Ostliche Theil von Europa und Asia. Like many Swedish officers, Strahlenberg had been taken prisoner in the 1709 Battle of Poltava, which ended Swedish military ascendancy, and yielded the first wave of prisoners to be sent to Siberia, with all the connotations that phrase would come to have. Like many generations of intellectuals who suffered a similar fate, Strahlenberg passed his time studying the region and the peoples around him, distinguishing himself in particular as a pioneer of Yakutology and thus of comparative Turkic linguistics.
At several points in his 1730 work, Strahlenberg explicitly cites Leibniz as his guide and director in the collection of language samples. The Swedish author has read and internalized a set of instructions that Leibniz had decades earlier sent to Giovanni Batista Podesta, interpreter at the court of Vienna and author of a 1677 trilingual Ottoman-Persian-Arabic dictionary. Podesta had been in charge of an expdition into deepest Tartary, which is to say to the region of the Caspian Sea, and Leibniz took this opportunity to send the Italian dipomat a list of queries pertaining, particularly, to the diversity of the Tatar language subfamily: which region do the speakers of Karakalpak inhabit? What of the Tatars of Cathay, whom we today know as Uighurs? And so on. This list of queries was published in the first posthumous edition of Leibniz's writing, in 1718, a miscellaneous compendium of Leibniz's notes and letters principally on linguistic questions.
We know with certainty that Strahlenberg read Leibniz's vocabulary list, because it is substantially the same list that appears as a fold-out appendix to Strahlenberg's book, to which he gives the title Tabula Polyglotta Harmoniae Linguarum: The Polyglot Table of the Harmony of Languages. The invocation of harmony is also explicity Leibnizian, and it shows that Strahlenberg followed Leibniz not just in practical matters, but in philosophical commitments as well. For Strahlenberg, the study of comparative linguistics reveals the preestablished harmony between the different perspectives or points of view that rational beings have on one and the same world. Languages, like monads, are mirrors of the rational order of nature.
Like Dara Shikoh, Strahlenberg presupposes the unity of human reason, but he discerns this unity not at the level of textual traditions, but rather of natural language. Unlike Dara Shikoh, he does not suppose that any of these monuments has any pride of place alongside the others, as the Persian prince had supposed the Quran stands in relation to the Upanisads. Stripped of their canonical texts, every society stands naked with its bare words, and is seen to be substantially the same as every other. This, as Han F. Vermeulen has also remarked, is the key conviction that underlies the newly emerging science of ethnography, which Leibniz did so much to stimulate. It is also the central commitment of the communitarianism of Johann Gottfried Herder, which we might fairly describe as a monadological egalitarianism. It is also, finally, the ideal to which the Soviet model of the autonomy of ethnic groups often sought to adhere: the union of socialist republics and oblasts as a sort of imaginary museum of folk costumes and songs and traditions, each with its own room and none primus inter pares.
Except that of course Russia was always de facto first among equals. This is inscribed in the first lines of the anthem of the USSR; and it is detectable too in Leibniz's earliest explanations to Peter of the value of a comprehensive linguistic survey of the empire: Leibniz is no friend of, say, Samoyed nationalism, but rather believes that knowledge of ethnolinguistic diversity brings into relief the magnitude of the empire and thereby glorifies its sovereign. Here, then, we may reach a limit of the cosmopolitan aspiration of Leibniz's thought: our equality as rational beings does not translate into an imperative for political equality. And yet, as an alternative to the project, as exemplified notably by Immanuel Kant and others, of bringing indigenous peoples within the fold of reason by expanding the boundaries of European historical agency, the Leibnizian alternative, and its reverberations in Herderian communitarianism and elsewhere, continues to hold out some attraction as we negotiate, in the 21st century, the delicate balance between the preservation of dwindling Indigenous communities, on the one hand, and on the other the universal claim to basic rights, such as to education or to medical care, that in some cases only the homogenising apparatus of the modern state is capable of furnishing.
*
But to conclude, in this talk I have, by way of a tour of some case studies, attempted to convey an idea of what intellectual history may look like when it is decisively decoupled from national narratives. I have effected this decoupling by shifting the point of anchorage of the tradition of intellectual history from Hegel, often taken as the tradition's patron saint, to Leibniz, seldom if ever considered for such a role. I have taken the history of philosophy, against the protectionist interests of those who study this history from within academic departments of philosophy, as itself an appropriate, indeed ideal, focus of intellectual history. I have shown that with such a focus, when we depart from the history of political philosophy narrowly conceived, and consider also the history of natural philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysics, we do not so much abandon the political as rather enhance our capacity to discern its contours.
Finally, in showing some of the ways in which early modern European philosophy was implicated in the commerce of both goods and light with the world beyond its borders (and here I emphasise only some of the ways, for I have not even mentioned America and the conceptual revolutions unleashed by the Columbian exchange): in showing some of these ways, I have shown that, far from Western philosophy being the unfolding of Absolute Spirit, it was all along, but particularly from the early modern period on, much sooner an enfolding of foreign spirits, faintly discerned, generally misunderstood, often held in contempt by the voyagers who first encountered them and by the philosophers who got reports of them, but nonetheless fundamental for the emerging shape and character of modern European thought.
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan police arrested an army officer and two soldiers on Saturday over the alleged abduction, assault and illegal detention of a leading journalist in 2008 during the war against separatist rebels, the police said. The island nation saw abductions and killings of high-profile journalists and rights defenders during the final months of the war that ended with the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists in May 2009. The previous government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to probe the crimes despite international pressure. A special police team arrested an army officer and two soldiers over the abduction and illegal detention of journalist Keith Noyahr, police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said in a statement. A local court ordered the three held until Feb. 23. Noyahr was an associate editor of the English language weekly The Nation when he was abducted in May 2008. He was severely beaten before being released, barely able to walk. After the attack, he fled the country with his family fearing for his life. Rights groups have blamed the Rajapaksa government for several abductions, assaults and killings of high-profile journalists or editors who were critical of his government and the war against the Tamil Tigers. President Maithripala Sirisena, who unseated Rajapaksa in an upset win in 2015, has promised to probe human rights abuses including war crimes. However, Sirisena's administration has been sluggish in probing key allegations due to resistance by members of his own party and some government officials. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Adrian Croft)
Seven-year-old Natalia Jones thought long and hard as she pondered what to write in her letter to a hero overseas.
Finally, she decided on an encouraging, You can do it, scrawled in big looping kid script with a heart and smiling stick figures below.
Is this gonna go to granddaddy? she asked her mom, Tashia Jones.
No, baby, granddaddys retired, her mom replied as she helped her 3-year-old daughter, Haliena, write Please be safe on her drawing.
While Natalias grandfather is an Army veteran, her letter could be going to somebodys grandfather or father in active duty overseas through the national nonprofit Operation Gratitude.
The organization sends more than 200,000 care packages each year crammed with personal letters, handmade gifts and necessities to service members deployed overseas and to others in the field.
Its a very good thing to open your hearts to these people that protect us and let them know were thankful for their service, Tashia Jones said.
The Jones family was among a handful of attendees at a family-friendly event Saturday to collect donations and letters for the military.
The collection drive, hosted by Liberty Tax Service off Silas Creek Parkway, kicked off with Saturdays event, but the business will continue accepting donations throughout February.
Some of the items the organization accepts are socks, gum, toothbrushes, razors, unused stationary and used cell phones, said Jeff McManus, Liberty Tax Service branch owner. They also accept cash donations, which are used to send the packages overseas.
Weve received shampoo, disposable razors, everyday items we take for granted, McManus said, as he grilled hot dogs for community members. Were a service company, but we also strive to do things in the community to give back.
Employees Ken Brady and Diana Revell of nearby business Modern Home Furnishings manned a booth at the event. The charitable cause struck a chord with them as they both had fathers in the military.
Revell remembers the days when her dad would leave and they didnt think he would make it back home. He was honorably discharged after being shot, she said.
They put their lives on the line every day and theyre working their butts off every day to keep us safe, Revell said. The least we can do is give back.
Liberty Tax Service plans to hold a couple more events throughout the year to raise donations and awareness for charitable organizations such as an event for the Food Bank in March.
Its a good way to help those less fortunate, employee Gail Gentry said.
How neat thing is it to think someone far from here is going to get that letter or that package and smile, Gentry said of Saturdays event. Theres so many people who could use a bit of extra help, so were just trying to do our part.
The nations largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group is requesting a federal investigation after death threats were made against the Muslim community during a meeting in Kernersville on Thursday.
The meeting, attended by about 20 people at a seafood restaurant, included a focus on a supposed Muslim plot to conquer the United States, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). This allegation apparently incited violent ideas by some participants.
My only recommendation is to start killing the hell out them, one Winston-Salem participant said, according to CAIR. Im ready to start taking people out. Shed some blood, too.
The moderator at the meeting said people should be more concerned about Muslims who appear to be integrated into American society than other outwardly extremist groups, like ISIS, according to Triad City Beat, which reported on the meeting, saying it took place at Captain Toms Seafood.
Members of the Washington, D.C.-based organization CAIR called for the FBI to investigate the meeting, especially on the heels of a terror attack on a mosque in Canada last month that killed six worshipers and wounded 17.
A speaker at the meeting asserted that Muslim people had infiltrated high positions of influence, often behind the scenes, in government, academia, medicine, the media and the judiciary, according to the Triad City Beats account of the meeting.
In reference to the comment of Muslim masterminds infiltrating the country, Khalid Griggs, imam of the Community Mosque of Winston-Salem, posted on Facebook: It must be emotionally painful to be that paranoid about a non-existent, made up threat. I shudder at the thought of my grandchildren potentially growing up in a hate-filled, xenophobic environment in 21st century America.
Anti-Muslim groups have nearly tripled in the U.S. since 2015, according to a Southern Poverty Law Center study.
Calls to violence against members of any minority group warrant a criminal investigation by state law enforcement authorities and the FBI, said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIRs national communications director.
We call on President Trump to repudiate the growing bigotry in our nation targeting Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants, refugees and other minority groups.
Stephen Colbert believes Putin is the reason Trump is already on campaign trail
Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally on Saturday in Orlando, Florida. It may seem early to start preparing for his 2020 presidential bid, but Stephen Colbert believes he knows the real reason for the event.
During Fridays Late Show, Colbert noted that, while it seems like Trumps already been in office for four years, it hasnt been that long. When discussing why the rally is happening, the host posited, Trump cant enjoy being president because the buzzkills in our intelligence agencies keep leaking that Vladimir Putin might be the real president.
Colbert went on to explain that, to clean up the leaks, Trump is bringing in a New York billionaire named Stephen Feinberg, with the host joking that its surprising that there is a billionaire that wasnt already in Trumps cabinet.
See the clip below, where Colbert also makes sure to point out the name of Feinbergs company.
The Late Show airs on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.
GREENSBORO Over nearly two decades, trade agreements meant to revive industry and supply jobs to America brought many industries to their knees, displacing millions of workers, including tens of thousands in the Triad.
President Donald Trump wants to tear up those agreements, block new ones and slow the flow of cheap goods made by cheap labor in foreign countries.
Before he had hardly warmed up his seat in the Oval Office, Trump took the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new trade agreement that would open up the flow of goods between a dozen countries in Asia and the Americas.
Jobs are pouring out of the country, he said last week. You see whats going on with all of the companies leaving our country.
Trumps plan sounds as simple as it is nostalgic: He wants to bring back the big factories that once employed legions of workers, reminding voters that those aging buildings can become economic engines again.
Ultimately, he wants American workers to make the products we now buy from factories overseas.
Only its not that easy.
Trade isnt so simple anymore. A car made in America, for example, may have scores of imported parts.
Some American jobs depend on foreign operations to provide cheaper goods. In turn, that makes it possible for Ford Motor Co. and hundreds of other businesses to make their products here.
Tom Conley, the president and chief executive officer of the High Point Market Authority, said the furniture industry, which depends on global trade for access to big consumer markets, is nervous about trade policy right now.
I think a lot of people have good intentions with American jobs, and I think sometimes there are unintended consequences and that has people concerned, Conley said.
One concern: the cost of doing business here versus elsewhere.
Take Apples popular iPhone, for example. The Marketplace business news webpage reported that some researchers think that an iPhone made in China and sold for $800 might cost up to $2,000 if all the components were made in the United States.
Thats because Chinas labor is cheaper.
Apple spends about $190 to make the phones components in China, according to the Marketplace website. In America, those same components would cost $600.
Bryan Toney, UNC-Greensboros associate vice chancellor for economic engagement, said the first rule of todays global trade is that other countries will adapt to any trade restrictions we offer so our business must be ready to adapt.
Were never going to get manufacturing back to where it was in the past, Toney said.
Still, Trumps promise to make America great again is a powerful, well-meaning sign of hope for a generation of workers who still remember when jobs were plentiful. Workers who havent forgotten the unfulfilled promises of past administrations. Workers who elected Trump president.
Workers right here in the Triad.
The Greensboro-High Point region has a big stake in the trade debate. Its economy is changing, but the region is still connected to global trade as a legacy of its textile, tobacco and furniture industries.
North Carolinas stake is smaller than it once was because industry has poured out of the state. The state exported only 2 percent of the goods sent overseas by American companies in 2015.
That same year, it imported $51 billion in foreign goods. The top products included aircraft engine parts, shirts, sweaters, trousers and raw cotton.
The state exported tobacco and $30 billion worth of other products in 2015 as well.
The Greensboro-High Point region, which covers Rockingham, Randolph and Guilford counties, is a big part of the states total, exporting $7 billion in goods during 2014.
Pharmaceutical company Patheon in High Point and Greensboros Qorvo, a maker of semiconductors, are big players in the local export market.
Even as Trump encourages exports, a war on imports could create unintended consequences. The countries that buy those goods would likely retaliate with their own tariffs, making exports more expensive.
And thats a big worry for businesses in the Greensboro-High Point region, which depend on exports more than most in the country.
A new study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington.-based research group, shows that exports make up 17 percent of this regions economic output, establishing the Greensboro-High Point area as the sixth largest in the nation for percentage of exports in its economy.
Klaussner Furniture Industries and tobacco giant ITG Brands lead the way, but smaller companies are growing to fill the void.
A company called ERD Ltd. in Kernersville is one of them.
ERD has a specialty that businesses and governments around the world need: repairing and overhauling decades-old electronic equipment.
Five years ago, executive vice president Tom Robinson and company founder Glenn Flaherty decided to cut out their sales staff and work directly with customers. It was tough, but they learned a lot more about what they do.
And we discovered we were accidental exporters, Robinson said.
The vintage industrial control modules, electronic gear and machines his company was fixing from the U.S. and around the world had to flow unimpeded across borders just the same as factory-made goods.
The 21-person company operates by word-of-mouth and has 6,000 customers, 1,000 of whom are international.
Robinson and Flaherty have built their tiny workforce on their own, without any change in national trade policy.
ERD was recognized last year by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which awarded it the Presidential Award for Export Achievements. In 2015, the company won the N.C. Exporter of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
In a digital world, ERD keeps the analog age alive.
But a sweeping change by the Trump administration, Robinson and Flaherty said, could upend a complex web of supply partners, manufacturers and product buyers around the world.
Were all connected in the supply chain whether we like it or not, Robinson said. Change something and there will be unintended consequences.
Economist Joseph Parilla, a fellow at Brookings who wrote the report, agreed.
Its important to acknowledge exports are no longer something that can really be done in isolation, Parilla explained. Companies rely on supply chains that stretch far beyond any state or any country.
North Carolina economic development officials dont have inside information on future trade policy, so theyre making plans for everything.
And the presidents rhetoric may mean more foreign companies will start looking for plant sites in the state.
One thing that we are beginning to see in some of the statements that come out of the new presidential administration is if you intend to sell to the U.S. population, we expect you to manufacture your goods here, said Christopher Chung, the chief executive officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the states industrial development contract agency.
That may already be happening.
Samsung Electronics, for example, said earlier this month that it may build a manufacturing plant in the United States.
U.S. companies will likely bring their manufacturing back home as well.
If the United States continues to get more of a look from U.S. companies that are bringing more activity over here ... that will certainly impact North Carolina, Chung said.
He added that the states economic development representatives around the world will be ready to go to work whichever way Trumps policies play out.
Nobody can know whats going to happen, Chung said. If those things are going to come to pass, then those exporters around the nation and including in North Carolina are going to be facing some headwinds.
As quickly as Trump has been acting on his checklist, it shouldnt be long before he turns to international trade by beginning to change regulations.
At his news conference Thursday, the president praised Ford, which decided to build a factory in the U.S. instead of Mexico.
And in his inaugural speech, Trump took an image straight from the devastated textile towns that once knitted fabric and community across North Carolina. He described the rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation.
Before those factories became that way, they were lively places where hundreds of thousands of people trooped to work every day and supported their families.
Small towns like Liberty in Randolph County, with its empty factories on the main railroad line downtown, hold out hope that one day a big car company will decide to build a plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite just a few miles away.
Greensboros White Oak Denim plant, the oldest of its kind in the country, has survived by turning a common product into a fashion item knitting expensive jeans on old looms.
Revolution Mill is now offices and apartments.
Greensboro-High Point and all the other communities studied in the Brookings report cant be fixed with presidential pressure. Brookings and other experts say changes and improvements must filter deeply into the nations new economy.
The business of export is now entwined with imports in a hundred different ways. Small companies are finding they can enter that system without big factories or even lots of employees.
As big business copes with billion-dollar trade wars, those small companies may quietly keep products flowing through international channels.
How do we create better jobs ... in the U.S. rather than presuppose were going to tax imports and erect trade barriers? asked Larry Chavis, an economist at the UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School.
No solution is easy, Chavis said.
There still is no free lunch no matter what you say, he said. There certainly would be winners from a trade war, but there will be losers and the losers might certainly outnumber the winners.
WASHINGTON Heres a look at how area members of Congress voted last week.
Along with roll call votes last week, the Senate also passed the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act (H.R. 255), to authorize the National Science Foundation to support entrepreneurial programs for women.
The House also passed the Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act (H.R. 512), to permit veterans to grant access to their records in the databases of the Veterans Benefits Administration to certain designated congressional employees.
U.S. House
VA contracting preferences: The House passed the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act (H.R. 974), sponsored by Rep. Kathleen M. Rice, D-N.Y. The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to give preference, when awarding contracts, to companies that employ a large percentage of veterans. Rice said the preferential treatment would give veterans more opportunities to be hired by potential contractors, helping them bring their unique skills, training and experience to the civilian workforce. The vote, on Monday, was unanimous, with 407 yeas.
Yeas: Reps. Ted Budd, R-13th Congressional District; Virginia Foxx, R-5th District; and Mark Walker, R-6th District.
Red River land dispute: The House passed the Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act (H.R. 428), sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas. The bill would direct the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to make a gradient boundary survey of some lands along the south bank of the Red River on the border between Texas and Oklahoma. The survey would be used to settle private and public claims to land bordering the river. The vote, on Tuesday, was 250-171.
Yeas: Budd, Foxx, Walker.
Worker retirement plans rule: The House passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 66), sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., disapproving of a U.S. Labor Department rule authorizing state governments to enroll nongovernment employees in payroll-deduction retirement savings plans. The vote, on Wednesday, was 231-193.
Yeas: Budd, Foxx, Walker.
Drug tests and unemployment compensation: The House passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 42), sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, expressing disapproval of a U.S. Department of Labor rule restricting state government from requiring drug testing for people applying for unemployment compensation. The vote, on Wednesday, was 236-189.
Yeas: Budd, Foxx, Walker.
Hunting in Alaska: The House passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 69), sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, disapproving of a U.S. Department of Interior rule regulating hunting and fishing activities on national wildlife refuges in Alaska. The vote, on Thursday, was 225-93.
Yeas: Budd, Foxx, Walker.
Family-planning grants: The House approved a resolution (H.J. Res. 43), sponsored by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., disapproving of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule for issuing family-planning grants that limited the scope of eligibility reviews to an applicants ability to provide family-planning services. The vote, on Thursday, was 230-188.
Yeas: Budd, Foxx, Walker.
U.S. Senate
Treasury secretary: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Steven T. Mnuchin to serve as U.S. Treasury secretary. The vote, on Monday, was 53- 47.
Yeas: Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, both R-N.C.
Veterans Affairs: The Senate confirmed the nomination of David J. Shulkin to serve as secretary of veterans affairs. The vote, on Monday, was unanimous, with 100 yeas.
Yeas: Burr, Tillis.
Small Business Administration: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Linda E. McMahon to serve as the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The vote, on Tuesday, was 81-19.
Yeas: Burr, Tillis.
Gun sales and mental disorders: The Senate passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 40), sponsored by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, disapproving of a Social Security Administration rule adopted in December. The rule would add individuals who receive disability insurance or supplemental security income benefits related to having a mental disorder in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for would-be firearms purchasers. The vote, on Wednesday, was 57-43.
Yeas: Burr, Tillis.
Budget agency head: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Mick Mulvaney, formerly a Republican House member from South Carolina, to serve as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The vote, on Thursday, was 51-49.
Yeas: Burr, Tillis.
When I first became a pastor, my mentor, the Rev. J. Alfred Smith Sr., told me: Get you some authority before you try to use it! It still stands today as the most sage advice I ever received on leadership. It also appears to be counsel President Trump did not receive before assuming the presidency.
Based on the external evidence, the president has governed thus far as if he were the head of a privately held corporation that was not accountable to shareholders. In spite of declarations to the contrary, running a business is not like running a government.
Just a month in, the White House finds itself embroiled in its first scandal. How it handles it may go a long way in determining its fate over the next four years.
We know Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser. We also know that, in December, Flynn was in conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding the sanctions that President Obama placed on Russia in response for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Such discussions were potentially in violation of the Logan Act. And we know that Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence, who went on national television defending him.
This is where the administration wants the narrative to end. The problem with this approach is two-old. First, attempting to control the narrative while the subject of a scandal is not an effective tactic. It tends to raise more questions. Second, there are more questions to be answered.
Why did the administration take no action when the Justice Department informed it of the Flynns conversation with Kislyak, and that he was vulnerable to Russian blackmail?
Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated repeatedly in the post-resignation press conference that Flynns resignation was based on an eroding level of trust.
This is a clear indication as to why attempts to control the narrative are tricky. Even parsing Spicers words at the cursory level, it doesnt make sense. Its already been reported that the president was told on Jan. 26 that the Justice Department had concerns about Flynns conduct. The vice president remained in the dark until Feb. 9.
Did Flynn take it upon himself, unbeknownst to anyone else in the incoming administration, to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador?
This is critical because the way the narrative is currently shaped assumes that someone whose career has been based on respect for the chain of command went rogue before he officially became national security adviser. The best that can be offered in the presidents defense is that he is guilty of not fully vetting a key member of his staff, of which he is not the first and certainly will not be the last.
And of course, what did the president know and when did he know it?
Its never a good sign when the chattering class are raising Howard Bakers infamous question posed during the Watergate hearings. For this is the question that is juxtaposed against any attempts to shape the narrative in the midst of potential scandal.
The president hasnt exactly excelled at Dale Carnegie training. He has systematically discredited any media that does not correspond with his beliefs. The president and key surrogates have also displayed a penchant for mendacity.
Trump has called into question the judiciary for its failure to support the travel ban against Muslims as his executive order articulated. He praised Chief Strategist Stephen Miller for going on the Sunday talk shows promoting the idea that judicial review, which has been a hallmark of constitutional law since Marbury v. Madison, was not applicable in the Trump administration.
I recently spoke with Victor Hanson of the Hoover Institution, who offered the observation that President Obamas use of executive orders weaponized Trump. The difference being that Obama had a Congress hostile to his programs while Trump enjoys a majority in both houses. Either way, the outcome is the same: The legislative branch is ignored.
The presidents early behavior could potentially leave him few allies beyond the White House and those who voted for him.
Who the president appoints to replace Flynn and how he responds to the aforementioned questions will be key. He cannot tweet his way out of this one.
Political power is based in some measure on perception. The initial perception of the president was one of authoritarian that could quickly morph into not-ready-for-primetime.
But the president can still hit the reset button and get him some authority before he tries to use it.
RALEIGH The recent appointment of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos exhibited much that is destructive, even demented, about our current political discourse. While objections to her lack of experience in government were understandable, critics went far beyond that to attack her character and question her intentions. She was also subjected to personal threats, both before and after her narrow Senate confirmation.
Conservatives like DeVos who believe that applying conservative principles to education policy would benefit students and the public at large could certainly be mistaken. But we have good reasons for advocating the reforms we do. They stem from personal experience, empirical evidence and basic insights about why organizations succeed or fail. In our view, those who question our motives are implicitly granting that they cant refute our arguments. They are surrendering the high ground, not fighting for it.
There are at least three core principles that inspire conservative education reformers: innovation, motivation and competition. We believe that schools and other providers must be flexible and nimble enough to respond to changing conditions, technologies and student needs. We believe that both students and educators respond to incentives, just as all human beings do, as long as those incentives are carefully designed and not limited to cash. And we believe that when parents have choices among competing schools, the overall quality of those schools goes up, along with student performance, parental satisfaction, economic opportunity and societal benefit.
On innovation, many talk a good game. But when it comes right down to it, policymakers all too often think of schools as if they were public utilities, rather than social enterprises that may differ widely in how they are structured and run depending on the backgrounds, personalities and beliefs of the educators, parents and students who populate them.
All children deserve the opportunity to attend a great school. But those great schools need not, and probably should not, look the same. Distributing knowledge and skills isnt like distributing clean water or electrical current. What conservative reformers have in mind is an education system full of bright people trying new things, other bright people emulating successful models and still other bright people diagnosing failures and coming up with their own models to solve particular problems or serve particular groups of students.
When it comes to motivation, both progressives and conservatives support higher pay to improve teaching. But progressives tend to focus on averages. Conservatives know the empirical evidence, that there doesnt appear to be a statistically significant relationship between average teacher salaries on the one hand and teacher quality or student performance on the other. They conclude that differentiating pay according to the roles, responsibilities and demonstrable performance of teachers is the right answer because motivated teachers may well improve their skills, yes, but also just because its more important to retain high-performing teachers than it is to reduce teacher turnover in general.
As for competition, conservatives favor parental choice within school districts as well as offering charter schools, private schools and homeschools as alternatives. While our impulse does comport with our general market inclinations, it is also based on decades of empirical research that, on balance, confirms the benefits of competition in education.
The most recent peer-reviewed paper Ive seen concerns public school choice. In some states, there are many more school districts than counties. In others, such as North Carolina, there is either an explicit or implicit preference for larger districts that conform with county boundaries even though that reduces the options of parents in those communities. In a just-published study, Florida-based economists Katie Sherron and Lawrence Kenny examined these state-by-state differences. They found that student test scores are higher in larger metro areas that do not require countywide or statewide districts.
To favor innovation, incentives and competition does not prevent conservatives from favoring other education policies that progressives also like. Nor does it constitute animus against public education. Accusations to the contrary do Betsy DeVos and other reformers no real harm. They simply embarrass and discredit the accusers.
George and Panthea were emigrants, leaving their respective homes for promising opportunities in a new land to build new lives alongside others. They traveled together for a while, but eventually they made different choices, and that made all the difference.
Panthea was escaping hostilities, those her husband had brought upon them, choosing as he had to favor the religious preferences of one group over another. Her husband, Lilburn Boggs, governor of Missouri from 1836-1840, had issued the infamous Extermination Order, calling for the persecution of Mormons. And, during 1838, Mormons died at the hands of other Missouri Christians because of ignorance, fear and prejudice.
After Lilburn was nearly assassinated, he and Panthea decided in 1846 to move west from their home in Independence, Mo., to California. She had the pioneer spirit herself, being the granddaughter of Daniel Boone, the daughter of Jesse Bryan Boone, he born in Wilkes County, N.C., in 1773.
George lived in Illinois, but he was born near Salem, N.C., just after the Revolution, in 1784, of good German stock. His family moved in his youth to Kentucky and he eventually to Indiana and then Springfield, Ill. At the age of 62, George was drawn to the California paradise by the glowing accounts he read.
The Great Overland Caravan departed Independence in May 1846 for the 4-to-6-month journey along the Oregon Trail. George and his family joined in there. The challenge was to get through the Sierra Nevada Mountains before the winter snows.
They all crossed the Great Plains without much incident into the Wyoming Territory. At Fort Bridger, George and some other travelers chose to follow a new route through the Wasatch Mountains and across the Great Salt Lake Desert. The Hastings Cutoff would save them a full month in reaching California, claimed Landsford Hastings. He eagerly promoted his new route, but had never actually guided a wagon train along it. And Jim Bridger, wanting to profit from more travelers coming by his small supply station, lied to George about an easy route with plenty of grass for the animals and water for all.
Panthea and Lilburn, however, along with the larger portion of the wagon train decided to follow the proven route to the north, a track well worn by countless, successful migrating families.
A nightmare soon befell George and his party of 87 fellow travelers, including over 40 children. The steep mountain passes were too narrow for wagons. The party moved boulders and cut trees. They progressed only a mile or two each day. Axles broke. From the crest, they could see no better trail ahead. Once at the bottom, they crossed 80 miles of the salt flats with no water in sight. They abandoned exhausted oxen, leaving them yoked together. Cattle and horses lumbered off, crazed with thirst. The nights were bitter cold and days scorching hot. The heavy wagons sank deep in the soft, salt-crusted soil.
Upon recovering the California Trail, they had lost, not gained, a month. Some families had depleted their provisions. Two men rode ahead to Fort Sutter for supplies. Indian raiders stole and shot 100 cattle. The group banished one man for killing another. An early snow trapped them all in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Unable to see any trail, they built rough cabins, using ox-hides for roofing. When provisions ran out, they ate the ox-hides. Small parties left to get help, but each returned defeated, thwarted by 22 feet of snow and their own diminished stamina.
In mid- February, 1847, the first rescue party, one raised by the banished emigrant, reached the survivors. George Donner was dying. Thirty-eight others in the Donner Party would die too, the flesh of some victims eaten by the others. Two more rescue parties would have to come before May to rescue the 48 survivors.
Meanwhile, Panthea and Lilburn Boggs reached Napa Valley, having followed the tried and tested path. They established a store and prospered, selling goods and provisions to the waves of forty-niners who came during Californias Gold Rush.
In the parlance of 19th century risk-taking mountain men, sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eat you. But, as in the case of the Donner Party of 1847, when we follow an unproven path promoted by an inexperienced and questionable leader and suffer people sharing deliberate falsehoods to gain for themselves at our expense, we can end up devouring each other. And that is no way to build a thriving community in paradise or anywhere else.
Sherlock Holmes is always among us. Since he first appeared in print in 1887, the legendary detective has been a continual presence on stage, radio, screen and television. BBCs Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is one of the latest in the characters innumerable reincarnations.
For those who cant get enough, Michael Simss engaging new book, Arthur and Sherlock, describes how Arthur Conan Doyle invented his famous detective. Sims reminds us that both Conan Doyle and Holmes were creatures of their times. The rise of modern detection was a product of Victorian London, and Charles Dickens was one of those fascinated by its impact. In a story, Dickens explained how different the Detective Force was from the earlier Bow Street Police, who were men of very indifferent character, and far too much in the habit of consorting with thieves. In contrast, modern detectives used a scientific method to capture the criminals clogging Londons fog-filled streets. Sims writes that by the 1870s these sleuths both real and fictional had become heroic figures in the public imagination.
Young Conan Doyle was riveted by the new detective writings of Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Although trained as a medical doctor, he always fancied himself an author. In his 20s when he opened a surgery in Portsmouth, England, he spent every spare moment writing stories of mystery, adventure, and the supernatural. Sherlock Holmes made his debut in A Study in Scarlet.
Sims agrees with other scholars that Edgar Allan Poe was a major literary influence on the creation of Holmes. Conan Doyle was first drawn to Poes story The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) and particularly to the intellectual acuteness that led to an unraveling of a puzzle by means of reason and observation. Later, Conan Doyle wrote, On this narrow path the writer ... sees the footmarks of Poe always in front of him.
Sherlock Holmes was also influenced by one of Conan Doyles medical school professors. Joseph Bell used a rigorous method of observation and deduction to diagnose illness, and Conan Doyle once told an interviewer: I began to think of turning scientific methods ... onto the work of detection. ... If a scientific man like Bell was to come into the detective business, he wouldnt do these things by chance. Hed get the thing by building it up scientifically. Conan Doyle even appropriated some of Bells physical attributes for Holmes, giving him the professors sharp and piercing gray eyes and thin, aquiline nose.
Although Sims has carefully tracked Holmes origins, he glosses over Conan Doyles own evolving character. Notably, he fails to explore how the science-oriented Conan Doyle embraced spiritualism the same year that A Study in Scarlet was published. According to biographer Andrew Lycett, Conan Doyles passion for spiritualism overtook his other pursuits and ultimately left him a figure of ridicule.
When The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1892, Conan Doyle dedicated the collection to my old Teacher Joseph Bell, M.D. Sims abruptly ends his enlightening but limited study at this point far before Conan Doyle was through with Sherlock. Readers can hope for a second volume.
Viet Thanh Nguyens new collection of stories, The Refugees, is as impeccably written as it is timed. The book, a follow-up to Nguyens Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer, is dedicated to all refugees, everywhere. This is an important and incisive book written by a major writer with firsthand knowledge of the human-rights drama exploding on the international stage and the talent to give us inroads toward understanding it.
Nguyens acknowledgments do not shy away from his relationship to the books title. Thanks to my father and mother, he writes. Refugees in 1954 and again in 1975, they are the most courageous people I know. They saved my life. He also thanks his partner, refugee writer Lan Duong, and his Harvard-educated older brother, Tung, whom he calls the original refugee success story. There is no effort to avoid the identity of refugee this book interrogates the term on political and spiritual levels, and the results are saturated with pain, memory and beauty.
The protagonists of Nguyens stories are haunted by past lives and the dead. In the first story, Black-Eyed Women, the narrator and her mother are visited by her brothers unblinking adolescent ghost, who wears the mildewed shorts hed worn the day he died on an overcrowded boat. Looking back, the narrator thinks, I could see that we had passed our youth in a haunted country. She recalls stories from the ancient crones who chewed betel nut and spat its red juice while squatting on their haunches in the market, and who spun stories about the dead. She cries for the other girls who had vanished and never come back, including myself.
In this collection, towns are altered by war, relatives by time. In some stories, decades pass between letters home to Vietnam, as in Fatherland. There is a thorny dissonance between past and present. The living protagonists are often forced to carry traumatic visions with them as they try to make their way in a new country. In Id Love You to Want Me, a wife wonders whether her aging husband remembered their escape from Vung Tau on a rickety fishing trawler. She recalled washing their faces with saltwater and spit, urging decorum. Among Nguyens characters, it seems painful to remember life as a refugee, but unwise to forget it. I had not forgotten our nameless blue boat, the narrator of the first story says, and it had not forgotten me. She could recall its scent, rancid with human sweat and excreta.
Nguyen is skilled at making us feel the disorientation and alienation of these characters navigating displacement. The narrator in The Other Man is anxiously scanning the strange faces as he lands in San Francisco, weary, unsettled by the traffic and the plaintive sound of radio jingles. Hes even aware of a different quality of light, which differed from the tropical glare hed always known. He sorts through idioms and contractions, and impresses a dinner companion from Hong Kong by sucking the dimpled skin off a chickens foot, leaving only the twiggy bones. A feeling of homelessness often persists, and the characters are frequently outsiders, forced to ask: Who am I now? One narrator sees his reflection in a windowpane and fails to recognize himself.
The book is fresh, too, in its portrayal of work, central to the refugee experience. One narrator feels lucky to have a job at a liquor store and compares his fate to that of his friends: The underage ones, like him, had become bar sweeps or houseboys for Americans, while the older, luckier ones dodged army service, becoming thieves or pimps or rich mens servants. Unlucky ones got drafted. Characters recall shining boots of American soldiers, and one works in his mothers grocery store in New Saigon, pricing cans on his knees. Others have forged ahead and become professors, hearing-aid salesmen, ghostwriters and high school counselors, but do so with the knowledge of what hardships came first: penniless months, janitorial jobs and harrowing journeys across the sea.
The Refugees is a surprisingly sensual book, despite operating in difficult political and emotional terrain. Nguyen crafts sentences with an eye toward physicality and a keen awareness of bodies and their urges. A brother saves his sister by rendering her androgynous, slashing her long hair with a machete, binding her breasts with the fabric from a ripped T-shirt.
In an era where writers and readers debate who gets to write what, it is refreshing and essential to have this work from a writer who knows and feels the terrain on an intellectual, emotional and cellular level it shows. Nguyen offers stories of aftermath, but also of complexity. He gives us human beings weary of pity and tired of sharing rehearsed stories that make them seem like one more anonymous young refugee. In topic and in execution, The Refugees is an exquisite book.
- By Shuda Xia
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) reached $37.66
The price of Comcast Corp. shares has declined to $37.66, which is 26.8% under the 3-year low of $47.74.
Comcast is an American international telecommunications conglomerate that is the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue. The company is also the second largest pay-TV company, largest cable TV company and largest home internet service provider in the U.S.
Comcast has a market cap of $178.95 billion; its shares were traded around $37.66 with a P/E ratio of 21.12 and P/S ratio of 2.30. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Comcast stocks is 1.45%. The forward dividend yield of Comcast stocks is 0.83%. Comcast had an annual average earnings growth of 12.7% over the past 10 years.
On Jan. 26 Comcast announced that it has increased its dividend by 15% to $1.26 per share on an annualized pre-split basis. On an annualized post-split basis, the dividend will be 63 cents per share. The company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.1575 along with the increase, payable on April 26 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 5.
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) Reached $47.06
The price of TripAdvisor (TRIP) shares has declined to $47.06, which is only 3.0% above the three-year low of $45.63.
TripAdvisor is an American travel website company that provides reviews of travel related services such as hotels, flights, vacation rentals, restaurants and travel guides. The website also includes interactive travel forums that utilizes user generated content. The website services are free to users, supported by an advertising business model.
TripAdvisor has a market cap of $6.86 billion; its shares were traded around $47.06 with a P/E ratio of 59.57 and P/S ratio of 4.64.
Story continues
On Nov. 17 TripAdvisor Inc. announced that its Viator CEO, Barrie Seidenberg, is resigning from TripAdvisor to pursue opportunities outside the company. The company will expand Dermot Halpin's role to serve as president for both its global vacation rentals and attractions divisions.
Gulfport Energy Corp. (GPOR) reached $19.48
The price of Gulfport Energy Corp. (GPOR) shares has declined to $19.48, the same as its three-year low of $19.48.
Gulfport Energy is an American independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with its principal producing assets located in the Utica Shale of Ohio along and along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Furthermore, the company holds position in the Alberta Oil Sands in Canada through its 24.9% interest in Grizzly Oil Sands ULC.
Gulfport Energy has a market cap of $3.09 billion; its shares were traded around $19.48 with and P/S ratio of 6.02.
On Feb. 13 Gulfport Energy announced financial and operation results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31 and provided an update on its upcoming 2017 activities. End of year total preserves of 2016 grew to 2.3 Tcfe, compared to 1.7 Tcfe at end of 2015, an increase of 36%. The company had a net loss of $979.7 million, or $7.97 per diluted share, for 2016.
Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) reached $42.60
The prices of Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) shares have declined to $42.60, which is only 3.3% above the three-year low of $41.20.
Huron Consulting Group is an American international management consulting company offering services to the health care, higher education, life sciences and commercial industries. The company has 2,671 employees as of 2015. Its most recent acquisition was Healthcare Services Management Inc., a healthmcare technology consultant.
Huron Consulting Group Inc. has a market cap of $925.45 million; its shares were traded around $42.60 with a P/E ratio of 17.67 and P/S ratio of 1.14. Huron Consulting Group had an annual average earnings growth of 7.2% over the past 10 years.
On Feb. 16 Huron Consulting Group Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Innosight Holdings LLC, a growth strategy firm focused on helping companies navigate disruptive change. Huron Consulting Group Inc. will purchase Innosight Holdings LLC for $100 million upon closing, consisting of $90 million in cash and $10 million in Huron common stock.
Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Shes made more than 100 films over 45 years, not to mention her frequent stage work, and is recognized as not only one of the best actresses to come out of France, but as one of the leading actresses in the world.
And yet, Isabelle Huppert wont call herself an artist. No, I dont think actors are artists. We use that word too much. I am an interpreter someones universe is being expressed through me.
OK, so are you the paintbrush?
She considers that term for a moment. Lets say I am the canvas.
So well call her the canvas and now, theres another thing we can call her: Oscar nominee. For the first time in her lengthy career, Huppert, 63, has received an Academy nod, for the much-discussed, rape-themed Elle, by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. Its an honor many feel is long overdue, but Huppert seems somewhat surprised, given how difficult it is to be nominated for a foreign-language film.
Its a huge event for the American profession, for the public, so imagine what it is for a French actress, she said. It happens so rarely. So you have amazement. And gratitude, also.
Hupperts Oscar nod culminates a remarkable season of recognition by various critics groups for the actress, who has informally been dubbed the French Meryl Streep. She also won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for Elle, and has been recognized for a second film, too, Things to Come by director Mia Hansen-Love. She doesnt quite understand why all the acclaim is coming precisely now, but shes not complaining.
Its a mystery, when it (suddenly) seems to be your momentum, as they say, she said. It might be that this role is a very strong character. Maybe it pleases people to see a woman like this on screen. It could be also be the memories of all the films Ive done before. I dont have any other explanation.
Today
Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Tonight
Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow
Sunshine and clouds mixed. Near record high temperatures. High 79F. Winds light and variable.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |
Trump made up another alleged terrorist attack at his rally on Saturday, this one about a figment of his imagination that did not actually take place in Sweden on Friday night.
It is clear that Trump and his white supremacist mafia (Steve Bannon et al.) despise Sweden and Germany for having taken in more than their fair of refugees since the crisis began. Trump and his henchmen see refugees and immigrants as inherently dangerous.
This allegation is not true. In fact, in some places immigrants appear actually to cause the local crime rate to fall! A scientific study of crime and immigration in Canada found that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born. Haimin Zhang of the University of British Columbia writes,
not only do immigrants themselves commit less crimes, they can reduce the crime rates in the long run through channels such as changing the neighbourhood characteristics or impacting the behaviour of natives.
The same effect can be seen in the United States. Walter Ewing and his colleagues point out,
Between 1990 and 2013, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population grew from 7.9 percent to 13.1 percent and the number of unauthorized immigrants more than tripled from 3.5 million to 11.2 million. During the same period, FBI data indicate that the violent crime rate declined 48 percent -which included falling rates of aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder. Likewise, the property crime rate fell 41 percent, including declining rates of motor vehicle theft, larceny/robbery, and burglary. According to an original analysis of data from the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the authors of this report, roughly 1.6 percent of immigrant males age 18-39 are incarcerated, compared to 3.3 percent of the native-born. This disparity in incarceration rates has existed for decades.
In countries where this effect cannot be seen, i.e. where immigrants do not reduce the crime rate, it is because of the class of immigrants admitted. The US mostly lets in fairly high-skilled immigrants. As for the undocumented, who tend to do menial labor, they are careful not to commit crimes on the whole because they dont want to be sent back. A tiny number of gang members who are confident that their gang will bring them back if they are deported casts a shadow over millions of people. But only because we let the far right dominate this discourse.
Ironically, it is precisely people like Donald Trumps grandfather Frederick who are responsible for some minor problems in Sweden. Frederick at least allowed prostitution in his gold rush hotels, and indeed the prospect of a crackdown on that trade along with other law enforcement actions caused him to try to go back to Germany (the German government did not want him).
Moreover, it should be noted that a lot of the refugees taken in by Sweden are from Afghanistan and Iraq. That is, they are fleeing conditions created by the United States in their countries. So actually it should have been the US who took them, not Sweden. The United States is responsible for the displacement of 4 million Iraqis out of 32 million, or over 12% of the population. The US did not displace all of them directly, but its invasion, overthrow of the government, and abolition of the army did lead to these millions losing their homes and being forced to try to find some other place to live. This would be like 40 million Americans being made homeless, a little more than the combined population of Texas and Georgia.
As for Europe, since all human populations have a certain crime rate, if you let in more people, you are letting in more crime. But the real question is relative. Compared to how many people you let in, is the crime rate out of the ordinary? We have seen that in Canada and the US, it is lower than ordinary.
In Germany, Heather Horn of The Atlantic points out, Although the number of refugees in the country increased by 440 percent between 2014 and 2015, the number of crimes committed by refugees only increased by 79 percent. (The number of crimes against refugees increased as well.) Sexual offenses are less than 1%, despite the wild allegations of the far right.
As for refugee rape in Sweden, Doug Saunders at the Globe and Mail quoted an actual academic who actually studies these things: What were hearing is a very, very extreme exaggeration based on a few isolated events, and the claim that its related to immigration is more or less not true at all, says Jerzy Sarnecki, a criminologist at Stockholm University who has devoted his career to the study of criminality, ethnicity and age.
Swedes are extremely feminist and define all sorts of things as rape (taking off a condom during sex without informing ones partner e.g.) as rape that would not be considered rape in other countries.
To any extent that refugees in Sweden commit petty crime, they do so at the same rate as other people of their social class. A study cited by Saunders shows that 75% of the difference between native and foreign-born crime rates is accounted for by where people live and how much they make. He adds, Among the Swedish-born children of immigrants, the crime rate falls in half (and is almost entirely concentrated in lesser property crimes) and is 100-per-cent attributable to class they are no more likely to commit crimes, including rape, than ethnic Swedes of the same family income. Saunders also points out that where rapes do occur, the victims also tend to be immigrants, so the lurid picture painted by Neonazis and Islamophobes of white women assaulted by brown men is a fiction.
In fact, a widely reported, premeditated gang rape in Germany attributed to Muslim immigrants never happened. I wrote Friday, There was, for instance, the fake news about the alleged Muslim immigrant mass rapes in Cologne a little over a year ago. Breitbart beat the drums for it, but the the story was not true. Or then there was the phony story about Muslims burning a church in Germany, also played up by Breitbart and also not true. Trump is deeply influenced by Bannons insane conspiracy theories; if you want to know why he keeps saying false and/or unbalanced things, consider that he gets his news from alt-Neonazi toilet paper like Breitbart.
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TeleSur |
Geert Wilders hopes the global upsurge in anti-establishment and xenophobic feeling that has helped propel Trump to power will propel him to power.
Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders promised to crack down on Moroccan scum who he said were making the streets unsafe and urged the Dutch to regain their country as he launched his election campaign on Saturday.
Wilders was surrounded by police and security guards during a walkabout in Spijkenisse, part of the ethnically diverse industrial area surrounding the vast port of Rotterdam and a stronghold of his Freedom Party.
Not all are scum, but there is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who makes the streets unsafe, he told reporters, speaking in English. If you want to regain your country, if you want to make the Netherlands for the people of the Netherlands, your own home, again, then you can only vote for one party.
Crime by young Moroccans was not being taken seriously, added Wilders, who in December was convicted of inciting discrimination for leading supporters in a chant that they wanted Fewer! Fewer! Fewer! Moroccans in the country.
Wilders who has lived in hiding since Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was shot and killed by Mohammed Bouyeri in 2004 pledges to ban Muslim immigration, close all mosques and take the Netherlands out of the European Union.
Wilders hopes the global upsurge in anti-establishment, xenophobic and anti-immigrant feeling that has already helped to propel Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency and to persuade Britons to vote to quit the EU will propel him to power in the March 15 parliamentary election.
A win for Wilders would boost French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and the Alternative for Germany party, both hoping to transform European politics in elections this year through their respective brands of xenophobic nationalism
Despite all the hate and fear-mongering of the elite both in Britain and Brussels, people took their fate in their own hands, he said. I think that will happen in Holland, in France, Austria and in Germany.
Wilders party leads in opinion polls with 17 percent, a whisker ahead of the neoliberal Liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has closed the gap by matching some of Wilders anti-immigration rhetoric and received a boost from a surging economy.
But if he wins, Wilders will struggle to form a government, since most major parties have ruled out joining a coalition with him, viewing his policies as offensive or even unconstitutional.
The fragmented political landscape means a coalition government of four or more parties is all but inevitable.
A study published by the Social Affairs Ministry on Tuesday found that up to 40 percent of the Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands do not feel that they belong or are accepted.
Via TeleSur
Related video added by Juan Cole:
Euronews: Dutch politician Geert Wilders calls Moroccans scum
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By Nadia Prupis, staff writer |
Meanwhile, some experts say there is a case for appointing a special prosecutor.
Republicans are dismissing the mounting call to thoroughly investigate the Trump campaigns connection with Russian intelligence, and party leadership is seemingly pushing for members to fall in line behind the president amid growing outrage.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Wednesday accused Democrats of politicizing the issue and told Politico he would not alter the panels ongoing Russian probe.
The Democrats can play their politics all they want; theyre welcome to do that, this is Washington, Nunes said. But as far as Im concerned, we will continue to investigate the Russian activity like weve done for many years.
Nunes and ranking committee Democrat Adam Schiff, also of California, announced plans in January to investigate Russias alleged influence on the 2016 electionbut that was before President Donald Trumps national security adviser Michael Flynn stepped down over reports that he had secretly been in touch with Russian diplomats.
Now, Nunes says he will not form a select committee to look into the allegations specifically, despite a growing demand, telling Politico, There is not going to be one; I can tell you there is absolutely not going to be one. And I am not going to be lectured by people who are speaking out of both sides of their mouths.
According to reporters John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade, several senior House Republicans and GOP sources privately echoed those comments, even as some party leaders, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have publicly stated plans to look into alleged Russian involvement in Trumps 2016 campaign.
Brenahan and Bade write:
Another senior House Republican who did not wish to be named downplayed the need for further action in the House to investigate the matter. While the source said there is great angst and concern about this amongst members, he added that theres already an active investigation [of] the campaign in the intelligence community.
Indeed, inoculating President Donald Trump from criticism and softening the severity of the accusations seems to be a central prescription in the House of Representatives. The source continued, We support the president and were not flinching on this one.
[Its] not a story playing back home. Our focus is on other issues; we have big agenda items we want to accomplish, he said.
But the GOPs tone has not sat well with progressives and advocacy organizations. The Los Angeles-based Courage Campaign on Wednesday called on Nunes to resign as chair, stating, National security and the intelligence that protects the American people should never be subject to political partisanship. Nunes failure to take the allegations against Flynn seriously is proof positive that Nunes is either incapable or unwilling to do his joband that is unacceptable.
With so much at stake, we need a Congress that will hold the members of the Trump administration accountable when they undermine and risk the security of the American people, said Courage Campaign executive director Eddie Kurtz. Nunes has proven that he is not up to the task.
The House investigation is just one of several inquiries into what Trump knew about Flynns contact with Russian officials. Similar probes are underway in the Senate and among intelligence agencies.
However, as Ken Gude and Kate Martin write at Just Security, the existence of such investigations is not sufficient grounds to determine that no special counsel is needed because questions have also been raised about the impartiality of the FBI Director and the Bureau which suggest the existence of a conflict.
There is a case for a special prosecutor to look into Trumps ties with Russia, they write, outlining numerous conflicts of interest that range from newly-confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions key role in the presidents campaignthe U.S. Department of Justice is charged with investigating members of the administrationto moves by the FBI that seem calculated to be helpful to the Trump campaign and transition.
In sum, it is hard to imagine a case for concluding that these circumstances do not present both a conflict of interest and extraordinary circumstances, Gude and Martin write. These questions about the Trump administration also undermine public trust in the legitimacy of the government and democratic institutions and thus the public interest would be served by an outside independent and impartial Special Counsel conducting the investigation.
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by Megan Rose | ProPublica |
In 2006, when I arrived at Camp Taqqadum in Iraq to embed with the U.S. Marines, I was immediately invited for tea by the units interpreter. A quiet, exceedingly courteous father of three young girls, Haider told me how he spent three months at a time away from his family, but didnt dare carry their pictures. He was a wanted man for helping the Marines, and couldnt risk insurgents seeing his family should he be captured.
Haider longed to get them out of the country, envisioning the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan home to a large contingent of Arabs as something of a promised land.
In 2009, he got his wish and quickly embraced the American dream, starting a small business and buying a house. In November, Haider, now 46, passed his immigration interview for U.S. citizenship.
But even though he is one step away from becoming an American, he is still affected by the 90-day ban on his countrymen a status unchanged by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporary hold on President Donald Trumps executive order. Though he has been in the country for eight years, leaving now would be a risk. That has quickly become a dicey financial problem for Haider, whose company buys damaged cars at auction, scraps them for parts, then exports them for sale in Iraq. The week after the ban, he said, he was supposed to meet a 15-ton shipment of auto parts at a port in southern Iraq. But it remains unclaimed because he fears if he departs the country he now calls home, he wont be allowed back in.
Im not taking the risk, Haider said.
After the ban, I had reached out to him on Facebook to see if he was okay, and he told me he was scrambling to find people in Iraq to help him sell his goods at a discount. Hes anticipating that hell lose a significant amount of money.
Ill do my best, he said. I have no choice.
Haiders immigration lawyer, an Iraqi-American named Farah Al-Khersam, had herself been detained at the border the day Trump signed the executive order. Even though she is a U.S. citizen and her husband has Canadian citizenship, they were held for hours at the U.S.-Canadian border. They were both eventually allowed to return to their home near Detroit, but Al-Khersam said she immediately called all her clients and told them not to travel.
They might let you in, but maybe not, she said she told them about the order that even now, despite several Department of Homeland Security clarifications, is sowing confusion and misgivings. She is also concerned that some clients, like Haider, might think it is safe to leave for several months and come back after the ban is over, only to find it has been extended or more restrictions have been added.
Like many interpreters who aided the U.S. military, and U.S. journalists, in Iraq and Afghanistan, Haider remains vulnerable in his home country. It was only years after I first met him that I learned his real name, instead of the nickname used by the Marines to protect his identity. His family, which now includes two sons, still lives in Iraq and the danger is such that ProPublica isnt using his full name.
Haider told me while I was embedded that he accepted the risk of his work near Fallujah in the dangerous Anbar Province hours from his relatively safe home because he believed the Americans were trying to help. In Iraq and Afghanistan, where I reported for Stars and Stripes, I relied on people like him to help me do interviews in the field, just as the military and State Department did. The entire counterinsurgency strategy in both countries hinged on developing strong ties with the locals something that wouldnt be possible without those who, like Haider, were willing to defy death threats.
Haider came to the U.S. on a Special Immigrant Visa designed to help those who worked for the U.S. mission in Iraq and Afghanistan escape potential retaliation and start over. He was one of the nearly 15,000 Iraqis and Afghans who were granted the special status through 2015, according to the Congressional Research Service.
When Trumps order first came out, there was immediate outrage from veterans and the Pentagon that Iraqi interpreters still trying to make their way to the U.S. were affected by the ban. In early February, Homeland Security said that Special Immigrant Visa holders could apply for and receive a national interest exception to the pause upon arrival. Officials did not respond to questions about how the exception worked at the border, what Iraqis had to do to apply for it, and how many have been granted or denied.
Ironically, the State Department has been routinely criticized by Congress for taking too long to process these types of visas a lag time blamed in part on the security measures in place to vet the applicants. In 2013, a bi-partisan group from Congress wrote to President Barack Obama to decry the encumbered process that had kept more of the visas from being issued, pleading for more efficiency and effectiveness.
Our allied military translators are quite possibly the most vetted individuals aligned with our military, wrote Matt Zeller, a combat veteran and co-founder of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit that helps interpreters immigrate to the United States.
Interpreters like Haider have to provide a letter of recommendation from a military officer, in some cases from a general, as a first step to qualify for the visa. (Haider has recommendations on USMC letterhead from 10 officers attesting to his loyalty and dedication.) And interpreters are essentially vetted with security checks twice: once before being allowed to work alongside U.S. service members and then again when applying for the visa.
Zeller and other military advocates say the ban could have damaging long-term consequences, scaring off people willing to work with the U.S. military abroad. Marines are once again back in Al Taqqadum to help the Iraqis fight the Islamic State.
Back in 2006, Haider questioned the cumbersome process for Iraqi interpreters to get visas, wondering how after working closely with the military for years, the U.S. government still didnt trust them. Now he finds that even after assimilating into American culture for nearly a decade, he remains suspect.
Despite that attitude, and the damage to his business, Haider feels warmly about his adopted home and hopes to bring his family to live with him once hes a citizen.
America, he told me, is a place of work and good chances.
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Related video added by Juan Cole:
CBS This Morning: Whats next for President Trumps travel ban?
By John Irish and Andrea Shalal MUNICH (Reuters) - The United Nations and other parties to Syrian peace efforts on Sunday softened any expectations of a major breakthrough at U.N.-led talks in Geneva next week, with U.S. policy on the crisis in disarray and its ties with Russia unclear. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura told the Munich Security Conference the lack of a clear U.S. position made resolving the complex issues of the six-year civil war far more complicated than his earlier mediation efforts for Iraq and Afghanistan. "I can't tell you (if it will succeed), but we have to push with the momentum. Even a ceasefire cannot hold too long if there is no political (solution)," he said, referring to the shaky ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana. Questions abound over Washington's approach to ending the war, even after the first international foray by members of U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy team. It remains unclear if Trump will make good his promise to build closer ties to Russia, especially in the fight against Islamic State. "One thing Im missing at the moment ... is a clear U.S. strategy, de Mistura told delegates. "Where are the United States (on a political solution)? I cant tell you, because I dont know. The U.N.-led intra-Syrian talks will resume in Geneva on Thursday after de Mistura broke them off almost nine months ago following several rounds that led ultimately to an escalation of violence. President Bashar al-Assad is in his strongest position since the early days of the civil war, which began as a popular uprising in the spring of 2011 before spiralling into a war that has killed up to 400,000 combatants and civilians. He told French media last week that he deemed all those fighting him to be terrorists, signalling that the government delegation is likely to remain steadfast in the Geneva talks. U.S. officials have ruled out cooperating with Russia militarily until it has persuaded Damascus to take a broader view, European diplomats said last week. De Mistura said the talks will focus on a new constitution, free and fair elections administered under supervision of the United Nations, and transparent and accountable governance. Several delegates questioned him on why the U.N. was no longer using the phrase "political transition" to describe the goals of the talks. The opposition considers the term to mean a removal of Assad or at least an erosion of his powers. De Mistura did not answer directly, but said he remained focused on U.N. Security Council resolution 2254, with its focus on governance, a new constitution and elections. Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah said it was clear that Assad had to go. "We cannot address the profound security threats ... while Assad remains in power," he said. WAITING FOR TRUMP The United States, Gulf Arab states and Turkey back rebel forces but the situation is complicated by the role of hardline Islamist factions, including Islamic State, in the anti-Assad movement opposed by both Washington and Moscow. U.S. envoy Brett McGurk said the administration was doing a full review of its Syria policy that is due to be completed in the coming weeks, but cautioned against setting expectations too high. "I dont think the U.S. will come in with a one-size fits all solution because there isnt one," McGurk told delegates to the annual security conference. McGurk said Washington was focused heavily on liberating Raqqa from Islamic State control, adopting Trump's America First theme. "We will be selfish about advancing our interests. Number One we have to defeat Daesh. It is a significant threat to all of us. Right now Daesh is sitting in Raqqa and it is where they are planning major attacks against all of us." Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, called for urgent efforts by other states, warning that the Syrian government could repeat brutal tactics seen in the siege of Aleppo. "God help the Syrian people if we are waiting for Donald Trump to provide the solution, he said. "It is incumbent on all of us to step forward while the U.S. is in disarray." (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
Following Bosnia-Herzegovinas vow to appeal a 2007 International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] ruling clearing Serbia of genocide during Bosnias civil war, many fear political crisis [The Guardian report] may be brewing in the Balkans. Serbias foreign minister, Ivica Dacic, said the move was very dangerous and could destabilize regional and bilateral ties between Serbia and Bosnia, two countries which are already ethnically divided. Several Bosnian Serb officials have expressed their dissatisfaction with the potential appeal, calling upon citizens to challenge the legitimacy of the appeal. On Tuesday, the Bosnian presidencys Serb chairman stated the potential appeal would violate the countrys constitution and threaten peace and stability in Bosnia, creating a further ethnic divide in the Balkans. The appeal, announced by Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the countrys tripartite presidency, is set to occur next week, only a few days before the 10-year appeal limit expires. The original case before the ICJ alleged Serbia was responsible for the genocide of 8,000 Muslim males by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica. That court found that there was not enough evidence that Serbia had spearheaded the genocide, though they did acknowledge that Serbia had politically and militarily backed the Bosnian Serbs. Bosnias legal team now has new arguments [JURIST Student Commentary] that could potentially prove more widespread genocide than was previously thought. Bosnian Serb officials contend that Izetbegovic cannot appeal the decision without a consensus within the tripartite presidency, though Izetbegovic claimed it could and would be done.
The appeal would follow a trend of continued legal action against those accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity that left more than 100,000 people dead and millions displaced during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s. In October a Croatian prosecutor charged eight ex-Yugoslav military officers [JURIST report], including commander Borislav Djukic, with war crimes perpetrated during the Croatian War of Independence. In July Brazilian authorities arrested a man charged with committing war crimes in 1992 [JURIST report] against the civilian population of former Yugoslavia. The search for wanted criminal Nikola Ceranic began in late June after Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities forwarded an extradition request to the Brazilian Justice Ministry and Supreme Court. In April a French court ruled to extradite Radomir Susnjar [JURIST report], who is suspected of war crimes committed during Balkan conflict of the 1990s, to Sarajevo where he will face charges concerning his involvement.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] on Friday ruled against [opinion] Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine [official website] in his states challenge to the certain tax aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The lawsuit, brought on behalf of several state subdivisions, alleged that the federal government tax on health insurance providers and certain self-insuring employers encroached on the states independence in violation of the 10th Amendment. The parties included such state universities as Youngstown State and Akron [official websites], and demanded repayment to the state of all taxes applied against such entities. The 6th Circuit affirmed the district courts finding that the Program applies to state and local government employers just as it applies to private employers, and that the Program as applied to Ohio does not violate the Tenth Amendment.
Trump promised to repeal the ACA while on the campaign trail, and made his first efforts [JURIST report] to do so immediately after being sworn into office. The Senate had prepared for the repealing of the ACA last month when it voted [JURIST report] 51-48 to prevent the process from being subject to a filibuster. Earlier this month, Professor James Hodge, Jr. discussed the possibility of repealing and replacing the ACA.
US Magistrate Judge James Donohue [official website] on Friday ruled that Daniel Ramirez Medina [IBT backgrounder], a Mexican immigrant-detainee, must be granted a bail hearing during the pendency of his immigration case [JURIST report]. Ramirez Medina was granted permission to stay and work in the U.S. by the Obama Administrations Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but is now being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE alleges that Ramirez Medina has gang ties and should therefore be deported in accordance with President Donald Trumps mandate to deport DACA beneficiaries with criminal ties. According to his lawyers, Ramirez Medina is the first DACA beneficiary the Trump administration has sought to deport.
DACA has been a contentious issue in recent weeks. In January DACA-protected Mitzie Perez and the California League of United Latin American Citizens filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against Wells Fargo alleging that the bank refused to extend Perez and other similarly situated students loans solely because of their immigration status. A Georgia state court refused last month to back down from its earlier ruling granting in-state tuition to Georgia university students protected by DACA. Also in January the US House of Representatives passed a funding bill [JURIST report] that included amendments designed to repeal key elements of DACA. A collection of mayors from major US cities, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, warned [JURIST report] then president-elect Donald Trump in December about potential negative economic consequences of repealing DACA.
[JURIST] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Sunday that Iraqi forces, backed by the US, have begun their offensive push into the western sector of the city of Mosul, currently occupied by the Islamic State (IS). IS forces have been confined [Reuters report] to the region since last years offensive that forced the IS to abandon the eastern sector. An estimated 650,000 civilians still reside in IS-controlled Mosul. The IS reportedly had about 6,000 troops in Mosul before the push began, at least 1,000 of which were killed during the last offensive. The forces now face a coalition of several countries and Iraqs estimated 100,000 ground troops. The coalition forces have dropped leaflets into western Mosul warning civilians of the upcoming charge and telling IS forces to surrender. Al-Abadi in his announcement urged armed forces to respect human rights and to care for those displaced by the fighting. About 160,000 civilians have been displaced since the last offensive, and that number is currently expected to rise by about 400,000.
Iraqi civilians have recently been victimized by the forces fighting in Iraq. The UN reported last month that 19,266 Iraqi civilian casualties occurred in 2016 [JURIST report], with 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded. Since 2014, the IS has reportedly launched [JURIST report] over 19 chemical attacks against Mosul. In November, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein called for immediate action [JURIST report] for the victims of the IS to ensure their rights are upheld in Iraq. In November, Amnesty International (AI) accused [JURIST report] Iraqi police force of torturing and unlawfully killing villagers near Mosul during last years offensive in the city. In October, AI accused Iraqi government forces of human right abuses [JURIST report], citing them as possible revenge killings.In September the UN reported that two-thirds of those injured or killed the prior month were civilians [JURIST report].
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FILE - This April 6, 1993 file photo shows Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman in New York. Kenneth McKoy of the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, N.C., said Abdel-Rahman died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease. Abdel-Rahman was sentenced to life in prison after his 1995 conviction for his advisory role in a plot to blow up landmarks, including the United Nations, and several bridges and tunnels. (AP Photo/ Mark Lennihan, file)
Police officers guard the main gate of forensic department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. Investigators are looking for four North Korean men who flew out of Malaysia the same day Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean ruler's outcast half brother, apparently was poisoned at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian police said Sunday. (AP Photo/Daniel Chan)
Kiplinger's interviewed Barry Kirk (pictured above), who creates and consults on consumer loyalty programs for Maritz Motivation Solutions. Read excerpts from our interview below.
Yahoo recently disclosed a 2013 breach that exposed personal information from more than 1 billion user accounts. Are loyalty rewards accounts vulnerable to hacking, too?
Consumers tend not to see loyalty accounts as housing sensitive data. But points and miles are currencies that have a real dollar value, with $48 billion worth at stake among U.S. consumers, according to an industry study conducted a few years ago. That number is probably significantly higher now. Criminals recognize that the store of value sitting in unprotected loyalty programs is ripe for the picking.
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How do crooks steal points and miles?
Criminals attempt to hack loyalty accounts daily. Sometimes they focus on a single account to, say, exchange rewards for airline tickets, usually redeeming them outside the U.S. Other attacks target hundreds or thousands of accounts at once. In such large-scale compromises, hackers often redeem points for gift cards, which they sell on the black market. Weve also seen hackers use credit card accounts not only to make fraudulent purchases but also to rack up points, which they then move out of the account. Loyalty managers have kept a low profile with regard to breaches that have occurred, but its just a matter of time until theres a well-publicized breach of a large programmost likely in airline or hotel rewards because members accrue significant value in those programs.
How can customers protect their loyalty rewards?
Treat your loyalty accounts, especially the ones that hold the most value, as you would your bank accounts. Set aside time once a month, at a minimum, to review activity in your loyalty accounts. If youre earning rewards daily with a program, check it multiple times a week. Dont use the same passwords for your loyalty programs as you do for your e-mail, bank or credit card accounts. If hackers breach one account, they have a skeleton key to the sensitive data in other accounts. Take advantage of a password managersoftware that generates, stores and encrypts passwords.
What should you do if points or miles have been stolen?
Immediately contact the loyalty programs call center. By and large, programs are generous in refunding points or miles because its usually not a fuzzy situation. For instance, if points in the account of a customer who lives in Chicago were redeemed and sent someplace in Russia, its pretty clear that it wasnt the owner accessing the account.
Oliver Hartwich writes at NBR:
We should acknowledge the past years have been challenging for New Zealand because of the combined effects of the global financial crisis and the natural disasters that have occurred domestically. Against these odds, New Zealand has done much better than most of the developed world. It has produced solid economic growth, created jobs and thereby established a much better fiscal position than, say, Australia. As a nation, we have worked hard to get to where we are. Now is the time to share our progress. We have to share it with those who have contributed to it. We also want to share it with our children to whom we want to leave a bright future. To do so, we want to help those who need it most. For high income earners, the top income tax rate is modest and internationally competitive. But that top rate of income tax is reached relatively early, so we should focus tax cuts in the lower bands and look as much to the effective marginal tax schedules as to the income tax rates. These tax cuts would make a difference to middle New Zealand, particularly at a time when people on ordinary incomes are stretched by high rents and property prices.
I agree. The rate of the top tax rate at 33% is pretty good internationally. While a case could be made for lowering it, I think the better thing is to focus on increasing the threshold at which people move to the top and second top tax rates.
People move onto the top tax rate at $70,000 which is very low. And the second top tax rate of 30% gets hit at $48,000 below the average income.
Acknowledging this housing crisis, we should use a second tranche of the surplus to help councils deliver more infrastructure quickly. For example, the government could pass on the GST revenue from new housing construction to councils. This would be an investment into the infrastructure that New Zealand needs for the future, and it would address one of the main reasons for the housing crisis.
Some extra spending on infrastructure would be a good thing.
Finally, we should use the surplus to pay down debt. Circumstances beyond our control have increased the Crowns indebtedness over the past years. We should not leave it to our children and grandchildren to pay for it. Instead, lets sort out our books now and reduce government debt to where it was before the global financial crisis. Bringing down the Crown debt ensures the government has fiscal room if another natural disaster strikes.
Or another recession. On average we get one every ten years or so. We have had:
1967 recession
1976 recession
1987 sharemarket crash recession
1997 Asian crisis recession
2008 GFC recession
This would be my narrative, to share New Zealands progress in equal measure between lower income-band tax cuts, investment in local infrastructure and leaving a better fiscal future for future generations.
This is what Id like to see from the Government. The parties of the left sadly seem hostile to any reduction in the tax burden. They would blow everything on extra spending. But a balanced Government would have everyone share in the progress the New Zealand economy has had.
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Actress Kim Min-hee poses for a photo holding the "Silver Bear for Best Actress" trophy at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday (local time). She is the first Korean actress to clinch the honor at the festival. / AP-Yonhap
South Korea's Kim Min-hee has won best actress at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival for a film exploring the meaning of love through unconventional relationships.
She took home the Silver Bear for Best Actress on Saturday for "On the Beach at Night Alone," beating tough competition from 17 other films. She became the first Korean to clinch the honor at the Berlinale.
In the film, she plays the role of Young-hee, an actress pondering her relationship with a married movie director while drinking together with friends in a seaside town shortly after returning from a trip to Germany.
"This film will hopefully bring great emotions for those who see it and therefore I'm very proud of it," Kim said during her acceptance speech. "This award that I receive here and this happiness that I feel is all thanks to Hong Sang-soo, my director in this movie. I honor you, and I love you."
This is the renowned director Hong's 19th feature film and third foray to the Berlinale after "Night and Day" (2008) and "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" (2013).
"On the Beach" earned South Korea the first best actress prize in any of the top three European film festivals in 10 years. Jeon Do-yeon won best actress in the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 for director Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine." In 2010, Hong's "Hahaha" won the Cannes' fringe "Un Certain Regard" category.
The latest film has drawn much media attention for its story possibly based on the director's intimate relationship with Kim in real life and the main characters' conversations strongly advocating the relationship.
Hong, 57, and Kim, 34, have been engulfed in an extramarital relationship since last June. On Thursday, they made their first public appearance since the scandal broke out by attending a news conference for the new film at the Berlin festival. Neither of them have officially confirmed the reports but were spotted displaying some affection at the festival.
Hong filed for divorce from his wife in November.
After gaining fame as a magazine and commercial model, Kim debuted as an actress for the KBS TV drama "School 2" in 1999. She got her first lead role in the SBS TV series "Age of Innocence" in 2002 and has since appeared in various TV dramas and movies. Dogged by constant criticism of her poor acting performances, Kim was better known for her fashion styles as a former model.
In 2012 and 2013, however, she received great reviews and displayed great potential as an actress for her roles in the psychological thriller film "Helpless" by director Byun Young-joo and "Very Ordinary Couple," a romance film by director Noh Deok. Most recently, Kim walked on the red carpet at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for her role in "The Handmaiden." She played Lady Hideko, a wealthy heiress who is seduced by a con man in the erotic thriller directed by Park Chan-wook of "Old Boy."
"On the Beach" is set to open in local theaters next month. It also stars Jung Jae-young, Kwon Hae-hyo, Song Seon-mi and Moon Seong-geun.
The 11-day Berlin festival closes Sunday. (Yonhap)
By Park Hyong-ki
The financial regulator's revision of the Capital Market Law aimed at promoting local brokerages to become large investment banks (IB) is drawing skepticism from the industry given the still relatively high barriers to corporate financing operations.
Even though the revision will enable securities companies with equity capital of more than 4 trillion won to issue short-term commercial papers to raise funds for IB services, they will still face limits in using and investing the money for corporate bonds, loans and real estate.
Brokerages such as NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo would fall under the Financial Services Commission's (FSC) regulatory revision, which is expected to be implemented in April.
They will be restricted to investing more than 50 percent of the money raised via promissory notes in corporate bonds rated below "A," or lending it to companies. Given that conglomerates would mostly prefer to take out loans from commercial banks, securities companies are likely to provide loan services to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with lower credit ratings.
The Korean IBs will also only be allowed to invest less than 10 percent of the funds they raised in real estate, including property investment management.
The FSC's initial purpose for the revision was to encourage corporate financing for companies smaller than conglomerates.
However, limiting the scope of their IB operations will only make the already small market much smaller because the brokerages will be reluctant to risk investing in low-rated companies or venture tech firms, analysts say.
"There is a dilemma here given that the regulators are trying to boost capital for SMEs, while seeking to preemptively manage potential risks associated with real estate, and the brokerages want to expand their corporate financing services for bigger companies that pose a less credit risk," said an industry source.
In addition to raising funds via commercial papers, the revision will allow brokerages with more than 8 trillion won equity capital to launch investment management accounts (IMA) for investors, and use the funds raised via IMAs to extend corporate loans, like banks' deposit accounts.
Korean securities companies have been pushing to raise their equity capital since the FSC announced the revision last August.
Korea Investment Holdings, the holding company of Korea Investment & Securities, raised 200 billion won via bonds to inject the capital into its securities unit in an effort to meet the regulatory conditions to perform as an IB.
Samsung Securities sold its own shares worth 300 billion won in Samsung Life Insurance. Mirae Asset Daewoo announced a merger with Mirae Asset Securities late last year, becoming the country's biggest securities company with 7 trillion won equity capital.
As large brokerages seek to become bigger and expand their IB services, analysts say small securities companies will either have to cut costs or seek mergers and acquisitions to stay afloat in the market.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, left, greets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before their talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Saturday. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
By Yi Whan-woo
The foreign ministers of South Korea and China clashed again over Seoul's plan to host a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, during talks on the sidelines of the three-day 53rd Munich Security Conference, which ended in Germany, Sunday.
In a protest to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Saturday, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se asked Beijing to drop its retaliatory measures against Seoul over the planned deployment this year despite China's objection, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It said Yun expressed "strong concerns" over a widening ban and inspection of Korean imports and businesses in China and that Beijing should take action accordingly.
Wang denied Seoul's claim that the Chinese government had been orchestrating the hostile measures against South Korea and also asked Seoul to "not hurry" in deploying THAAD.
The 45-minute meeting at the Marriott Hotel took place amid President Donald Trump's pressure on China to step up its leverage on North Korea. It also came amid speculation about an early presidential election in South Korea and a possible change in government.
Against this back drop, South Korea and China took a slightly different approach from their previous dispute over THAAD.
This was the first time for Yun to officially protest about China' s retaliation in addition to renewing Seoul's argument that THAAD is exclusively to deter North Korea's ballistic missile attacks.
By Chung Hyun-chae
The independent counsel team on Sunday asked a Seoul court to issue an arrest warrant for ex-presidential secretary for civil affairs, Woo Byung-woo, Sunday, for his role in the influence-peddling scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil.
The move came a day after investigators summoned him for questioning.
Woo, 50, returned home Sunday after being questioned for 19 hours on charges of abuse of power and negligence of duty.
The counsel team now has one week left to complete the investigation.
Walking out of the special prosecutors' office in southern Seoul, at 4:44 a.m., Woo told reporters: "I sincerely answered all the questions."
Asked if he received favors from Choi to become presidential secretary for civil affairs, Woo said, "That is not true." He made no further comment.
The prime charges against Woo are that he overlooked or abetted Choi, who did not hold a government post, in meddling in state affairs. He also faces charges of interfering with former presidential inspector Lee Seok-soo's investigation into the Mir and K-Sports foundations controlled by Choi, and exerting influence to get him dismissed.
The investigation team, led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo, reportedly focused on examining those charges in the night-long interrogation.
The team said it had already secured circumstantial evidence that Woo involved himself in the culture ministry's personnel affairs. Five anonymous culture ministry officials testified that Woo had them demoted to ministry-affiliated agencies last year because they had refused to comply with illicit instructions from the ministry.
Woo denied all the allegations, stressing that he had never met Choi.
After checking records related to Woo from the prosecution's special investigation team that previously looked into his case, the team is also investigating alleged personal corruption, including embezzling money from a family-run company and using his influence to get his son an easy post during his compulsory military service.
Samsung heir questioned again over bribery
By Jung Min-ho
President Park Geun-hye has requested the Constitutional Court put off the final hearing on her impeachment to early March.
According to the court Sunday, her lawyers requested the court to postpone the date of the hearing to March 2 or 3, claiming that the schedule change is necessary for a fair decision.
The court announced last week that the last hearing would be held Feb. 24, suggesting a decision will likely come before acting court President Lee Jung-mi's March 13 retirement.
If the court accepts the request, the ruling may be made later than the planned date by only seven justices. The court is expected to respond to the request at Monday's hearing.
It is unclear whether President Park will appear at the final hearing. Her lawyers reportedly asked the court to allow Park to deliver her final testimony without answering questions from the judges.
Park is awaiting a decision by the court on whether she will be permanently removed from the presidency after the National Assembly impeached her in December over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving her and her confidant Choi Soon-sil.
Meanwhile, the independent counsel team questioned Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Group, for the second straight day over bribery allegations related to the scandal.
By Choi Ha-young
The nation's four opposition parties have jointly urged acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, Sunday, to extend the mandate of the independent counsel team by one more month for a more thorough investigation into the presidential corruption scandal.
The ruling Liberty Korea Party (LKP), however, said the probe should not be extended, adding it was improper for political parties to press Hwang on a matter which should be solely left up to his own discretion.
"We shared the view that Hwang should extend the mandate of the team to help it complete its investigation into President Park Geun-hye," the floor leaders of the four parties said after a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly.
The participants were Reps. Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, Joo Seung-yong of the People's Party, Joo Ho-young of the Bareun Party and Roh Heo-chan of the Justice Party.
The mandate of the counsel team, led by Park Young-soo, is scheduled to expire on Feb. 28. If it is extended, the team is likely to question President Park as a civilian, on the assumption that the Constitutional Court upholds the Assembly's impeachment in early March as predicted.
Hwang, who may run for the presidency, has remained ambiguous over whether the team's mandate should be extended.
If he rejects the call for 30-day extension, the opposition-led National Assembly can extend it by revising the Special Prosecution Bill that it passed last year. "If it doesn't go well, we can revise the bill on Thursday," Rep. Kim Kwan-young of the People's Party told reporters.
However, the LKP dismissed the call, saying the "high-handed" opposition was overstepping Hwang's authority. "This is merely pressuring the Constitutional Court," party spokeswoman Rep. Kim Jung-jae said in a statement after the meeting.
The counsel team had ex-cultural minister Cho Yoon-sun and ex-presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon arrested and put in jail over blacklist of artists they helped to draw up. On Saturday, it summoned ex-presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo who allegedly abused his authority to collude with President Park's confidant Choi Soon-sil.
The team also had Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong arrested on bribery allegations, Friday. To complete the investigation including face-to-face questioning of President Park and other conglomerate heads, the team has called for an extension of its mandate in line with citizens' demands during street rallies.
Presidential hopefuls from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea An Hee-jung, left, and Moon Jae-in participate in a candlelit rally at Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Saturday, to call for the removal of impeached President Park Geun-hye from power. / Yonhap
By Choi Ha-young
South Chungcheong Governor An Hee-jung is expanding his support base rapidly, becoming a serious opponent for former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Moon Jae-in in the race for the presidency.
An's rising popularity is casting a shadow over Moon's prospects of winning the DPK primary, although the latter is still in the lead.
Even a few months ago, An, the self-described democracy fighter, was among a pack of presidential hopefuls with low popularity. However, the governor, 51, has been picking up the supporters of former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, a native of Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, since Ban withdrew from the race last month.
Unlike others, An has not revealed any pledges on key issues, including youth unemployment, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and welfare. He also has not revealed how to deal with President Park Geun-hye loyalists and corrupt conglomerates at the center of the influence-peddling scandal.
However, his popularity is increasing rapidly. According to a Gallup Korea poll Friday, An's support soared to 22 percent from less than 5 percent in early January. Meanwhile, Moon's rating was 33 percent, compared to 31 percent in early January.
How the DPK primary will unfold has now become unpredictable, as DPK floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho stated last week.
Former DPK leader Rep. Kim Chong-in said, "An reminds me of former President Roh Moo-hyun, who made a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the 2007 party primary to become a presidential candidate.
Jang Min-seok, 26, said he would back An, even though he voted for Moon in 2012.
"An once dreamed of revolution. Because of his hard-line background, his centrists proposals such as power-sharing with the conservatives are appealing to liberal voters," Jang said.
According to his autobiography published in 2007, An, then 17, decided to devote himself to socialist revolution, after learning about the government backed killings in Gwangju during democracy protests.
"I will drop out of school soon to be a revolutionary, so I cannot assume the role as a class leader," he told his classmates.
In 1987, he was imprisoned for anti-government activities. Later, he said he was lost after realizing the radical student groups failed to develop alternatives to replace capitalism. He then got a job as an aide at the National Assembly, where he ran into Roh Moo-hyun.
"Please impose severe punishment on me to prove that winners are not free from justice," he told judges in 2004, shouldering responsibilities for illegal fundraising for Roh.
This provides another clue behind An's popularity.
"Unlike many politicians evading responsibility for their wrongdoings, An fully served his term in prison," said Baek Aram, 30, a businessman from Chungcheong region. "Even if he was a radical activist back in the day, I think he refined his ideology because he has shown self-reflection."
Roh's suicide a result of the prosecution's alleged revenge investigation of him for his previous move to reform it gave him another chance for reflection.
"I determined not to attack anyone after analyzing Roh's death," he said on a TV talk-show, Monday. Actually, he has maintained a close relationship with conservative politicians including Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil of the Bareun Party.
Baek, who participated in anti-President street rallies, said, "I oppose suggestions that conservatives should be eradicated. This is no different from President Park Geun-hye's blacklist against opponents."
Office worker Yu Dong-han, 30, said he liked An's stability. While the DPK and other opposition parties are calling for the government to nullify the deal to deploy an anti-missile system in South Korea, An vowed to respect President Park's decision.
"I'm curious what's next if we withdraw the deployment," Yu said. "An's capacity of integration makes him as an ideal president."
An also does not approve of ex-President Park Chung-hee's legacy.
"Traditionally, government has engaged in a market economy with a subsidy and licensing system," he said in his 2013 autobiography "I believe mature citizens can solve problems autonomously."
Firm belief in democracy
This view, which goes against the traditional boundary between ideologies, is also persuasive to conservatives.
"An has his own point of view," said a Gyeonggi Province resident surnamed Kim, 60, who calls himself a conservative. "The lack of pledges is better than irresponsible pledges."
An's zeal for democracy, a local autonomous system and power-sharing has been consistent as seen on his second autobiography "247 Presidents" published in 2010. The title means the nation's president, 16 governors, 230 local government leaders should cooperate.
This idea dates back to 1994 when he worked at Roh's think-tank, the Local Government Practice Research Institute, as its secretary general. His proposals to vitalize grassroots communities and disband centralized authoritarian rule are in line with Roh, who relocated the administrative capital to Sejong and dreamed of revitalizing the rural economy through eco-friendly agriculture.
An's slogans are refreshing for Song Ji-won, 26. "So far, democracy in Korea has been built up with elitism and masculinity," she said. "However, An's envisaged democracy respects social minorities including the elderly, females and children."
Gay TV star Hong Seok-chon attended the press conference at which An declared his bid for the presidency.
"I was impressed by An's courage to support us openly," Hong said.
An had earlier said that homosexuality was "not a matter of controversy," citing human rights, a statement that went viral on social media.
By Jhoo Dong-chan
CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik / Korea Times photo
CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik is likely to lead the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), which is on the verge of falling apart due to the departure of the country's four largest conglomerates.
The FKI announced shortly after a board meeting Friday that it would hold a general meeting Feb. 24 to appoint a president, as is its common practice.
According to the business circles, incumbent FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo and other executive members decided to promote Sohn, who was chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for eight years from 2005, because of his vast industrial expertise and experience.
An FKI official declined to comment, but sources said Sohn was likely to accept the nomination.
The FKI has experienced difficulties in appointing a chairman and vice chairman since all possible nominees have dropped their candidacy since the political scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil erupted.
The FKI reportedly tried to recruit former Finance and Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Since incumbent Chairman Hun and Vice Chairman Lee Seung-cheol's terms expire this month, the FKI's fate depends on who can save the lobby group because of its involvement the unprecedented corruption scandal.
Amid a growing number of public calls for the FKI to be dissolved, Samsung Electronics announced this month that it would withdraw.
LG Group already decided to leave the FKI last year while Hyundai Motor and SK Group are soon expected to do the same.
After failing to nominate its head from the top 10 conglomerates, the FKI has tried to look for a chief from outside.
CJ Group is one of the nation's top 20 conglomerates.
WeWork Euljiro
This is second in a series of articles on companies with innovative work cultures. ED.
By Yun Suh-young
We've heard the phrase "work hard, play hard" which refers to working hard in the office and playing hard during off-hours.
But what if work becomes play and play becomes work? What if the boundaries between the two are so blurred that it is hard to tell what is work and what is play? What if work is so much fun that you can't wait to get to work when you wake up Monday morning?
If there's one company in the world that collectively celebrates the start of the week, it's WeWork.
Grateful
At WeWork, employees celebrate the beginning of Monday every week in an internal event called "Thank God It's Monday!"
It is that grateful and exciting to be at work for WeWork employees, so much so that they publicly share their thanks to God and to each other.
"We share the good news within the company, any compliments we have to say about each other, and the company's vision every Monday, eating delicious food," says Kim Soo-jin, director of community at WeWork Seoul. The co-working space opened its second office in the city, Feb. 2, in Euljiro, central Seoul, six months after opening its first in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Aug. 1.
"The company recognizes the employees' achievements and even applauds those efforts that didn't pan out. This makes employees feel as if they're respected and valued in the company. And this happens globally. It can be small things such as I found so-and-so working hard until late at night and because of that person we were able to do such-and-such.'"
WeWork community managers greet members at the front lobby of WeWork Euljiro.
Authentic
In fact, the minute anyone steps into a WeWork office, they will get an indescribable vibe a positive one that's unique to the company. The vibe is consistent throughout any WeWork space across the world.
When asked what it means to "feel like WeWork," Matthew Shampine, Asia Pacific managing director of WeWork, said, "I can't put it into words. It's just the vibe. The energy is part of what makes it feel special."
It sure feels special. There's something that's hard to detect in many other companies spaces full of energy and excitement. The minute you enter the co-working space, you're greeted by smiling WeWork staff who seem genuinely happy to be there. They'll be chatting and laughing with each other, almost constantly, confusing a newcomer as to whether the staff is actually working or slacking off.
"We get that question a lot. Whether we're working or playing. It looks like we're playing, but that's actually part of work," Kim said.
"It's when we're hanging out that great ideas are generated," she says. "It's so funny when we're together. I think most of us come to work just because it's so much fun to be around each other."
Together
If that sounds surprising, wait to hear this. They go on trips on the weekends with colleagues, not for mandatory training, but voluntarily, for fun. WeWork staffers say colleagues are more like "friends and family."
By Walt Gardner
The controversy over the date for the "foundation of the nation" in history textbooks in Korea is emblematic of similar battles fought in the United States. In both countries, facts take a back seat to ideology.
In Korea, the brouhaha involves an attempt by the Park Geun-hye administration to glorify the achievements of her father, former President Park Chung-hee, despite the human rights abuses under his ruthless dictatorship. Which side will ultimately prevail is unclear because of the existence of state-authored and private publishers' textbooks. In the face of the present corruption scandal, however, the South Korean government is backpedaling on its plan to use only state-issued textbooks. Instead, the education ministry is leaning toward allowing schools to choose between the new government-issued textbooks and the current privately published books. Since 2010, schools in South Korea have the option of selecting from a list of privately published textbooks, although the education ministry still has the final say in the matter. In the U.S. what should be included in history textbooks and how it should be treated similarly depends on special interests.
Religious groups exert great pressure to have their faiths portrayed in a favorable light. For example, Muslims want to delete or soften references to anything deemed unfavorable in light of terrorist attacks committed by extremists among them.
The major difference between South Korea and the U.S. in textbook adoptions involves locus of control. In the U.S. each state adopts a list of history books from kindergarten through eighth grade. School districts spend designated state money only for books on this approved list. There is no national book list. But because of the size of California, books adopted there tend to be adopted by other states.
In the final analysis, students in both countries are shortchanged if historical accuracy becomes subservient to outside pressure groups. That's particularly troubling if critical thinking is to be more than a slogan.
Walt Gardner writes the Reality Check blog for Education Week in the U.S. Write to walt.gard@verizon.net.
By Arthur I. Cyr
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the United States has underscored the vital importance of the alliance between our two nations. Military defense as well as economics is involved.
Growing nationalism is evident in Japan, and reflected in the prime minister's own public statements, but there is no wide support for any massive change in defense posture.
The substantial arms buildup by China receives continuing global attention and concern, along with the wider regional arms race, and ongoing maritime disputes. North Korea's often violent rhetoric, combined with nuclear weapons development, make that country a particularly dangerous wild card.
Last December U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Crater visited the new Izumo, Japan's largest military ship since World War II. Forces from Japan have been in the Indian Ocean in support of the NATO and United Nations military and economic mission in Afghanistan. This is the first time warships flying the Japanese flag have appeared in that part of the world since 1945.
Sustained trade negotiators between Japan and the U.S. seemed to be nearing success and then became stalled. In 2014, hopes were disappointed that negotiations would succeed before a trip by President Barack Obama to Japan. There was also frustration that an accord was not reached in time for Abe's trip to the United States in April-May 2015, though there was useful ceremonial discussion with President Obama and an address to a joint session of Congress.
The abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the U.S. has overshadowed, but only for a time, the steady growth of Pacific regional institutions for economic cooperation. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was created in 1967 and has growing influence.
APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) was conceived by Australia Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1989. The initiative was embraced enthusiastically by President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker, as the Cold War with the Soviet Union was clearly ending.
In the Atlantic region, NATO and the European Union can trace their origins back to the late 1940s and early 1950s respectively. By contrast, Asia lacks the same long-established framework of collaborative institutions.
Since 1980, United States trade with Asia overall has been greater than with Europe, and that differential continues to expand. The Pacific region encompasses a steadily expanding share of the world's economic product, investment and trade.
President Obama in 2009 participated in an APEC summit in Singapore and thereafter continued to underscore Asia's importance. This sustained emphasis by Washington helped to strengthen Asia's regional organizations as global as well as Pacific partners.
This in turn facilitated efforts to mitigate the financial crisis and consequent recession, which was worldwide in scope but concentrated in the Atlantic region. Asia's economic strength has been crucial to the slow but continuing recovery.
The 2006 APEC summit was held in Vietnam. The gathering provided an opportunity to highlight that economy. Vietnam did not join ASEAN until 1995, reflecting the lingering influence of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was honored during the 2006 summit. Vietnam continues active policy engagement.
Today, free markets, and global trade and investment, gradually encourage stability and the rule of law in Asia and elsewhere in the world. At the same time, the enormous arms buildup in the Pacific region requires sustained monitoring and countermeasures.
Japan-U.S. military cooperation is now imperative. Diplomacy and strength are joined.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin and author of After the Cold War' (Macmillan/Palgrave and NYU Press). Contact acyr@carthage.edu.
Seoul and Beijing clashed again at the Munich Security Conference, Feb. 18, on the U.S. deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Korea.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the conference to discuss various bilateral issues, but reaffirmed their strong differences on the deployment of the anti-missile defense system here.
Underlining Beijing's objection to THAAD, the Chinese foreign minister said that the security of a nation should not be achieved at the expense of harming others. China has been concerned that the THAAD system's radar can cover its territory.
Beijing's repeated opposition to THAAD shows little consideration of South Korea's grave security needs in the wake of North Korea's continued military provocations and nuclear development. Earlier this month, Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile. This was North Korea's first threat to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20.
It was inappropriate for Beijing to bring up the THAAD issue at a multilateral diplomatic event, which showed a lack of respect toward Seoul. China should refrain from meddling in South Korea's national security decisions and respect Seoul's need to protect its citizens.
China should also pay closer attention to Yun's request to stop retaliatory measures against Korea over the planned THAAD deployment. Yun raised strong concern over China's widening ban of Korean imports and restrictions on Korean businesses in China. Also, Korean entertainers and artists have been experiencing difficulty in entering China, such as renowned soprano Jo Sumi and Kim Ji-young, the principal dancer with the Korean National Ballet. But Wang reportedly denied that Beijing was carrying out hostile measures against Koreans.
If China keeps up such measures, they will damage bilateral ties and trigger anti-Chinese sentiment among Koreans. The two countries' differences over THAAD should not sour the strong friendship in other areas.
By Andrei Lankov
As early as the 1980s, many observers both in and outside the communist bloc assumed North Korea, with its hereditary rule, grossly inefficient economy, and comedic personality cult propaganda was quite fragile. However, they were all proven wrong: the communist regimes in Europe have long disappeared, while North Korea is alive, and is still run by the same "one hundred families," who are the same that ran the country some forty years ago.
There are several reasons why North Korea has demonstrated such outstanding staying power. Arguably, the unity of the NK ruling elite is among the most important factors that have enabled such longevity.
Indeed, contrary to conventional thinking, revolutions seldom, if ever, are start by the downtrodden masses. The revolutionary impulse always originates from the educated, well-connected, and powerful, some of whom come to believe things can and should be done differently. When revolution happens, it frequently entails only the top layer of the upper crust being removed, replaced by persons from the lower echelons of the same privileged group. A cobbler may become a cabinet minister, for example. It's a safe bet, however, that many of his deputies will come from pre-established bureaucratic apparatuses.
The 1989/91anti-communist revolutions in Europe were no exception. One prominent historian describes the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe as a management buy-out.' Indeed, the political and business elite in the post-communist states still overwhelmingly consists of the Soviet-era former communist party apparatchiks and industrial managers, and, increasingly, their children.
Tellingly, out of the fifteen newly independent post-Soviet states that came out of the early 1990s, at least eight have, at least at some point of their post-Communist history, been run by people who once used to be their top Communist party bosses.
This is exactly the reason why, contrary to many pessimistic predictions, the Soviet ruling class did not fight to prop up or protect the system in 1989/90. By that time, more flexible, less principled members of the old elite came to understand that they and their families will retain their power with or without the communist system.
However, this is not the case in North Korea. The existence of a rich, attractive South Korea means that instability and revolution in the North is not going to end with merely the emergence of a new regime, whose elite will be largely recruited from the Kim-era ruling class. Much more likely is that such a crisis invokes a German-style revolutionary reunification, with a vast majority of North Koreans demanding a fast and complete unification with the South.
This would spell disaster for the entirety of Pyongyang's upper and middle crusts. In the former Soviet Union or, say, Bulgaria, capitalism has been constructed by Communist party apparatchiks and police operatives. However, in a post-unified Korean peninsula, a new government will likely be constructed by South Korean carpetbaggers and resident managers of the South's conglomerates. The offspring of the North Korean elite will most likely be in a position to be much more successful than their counterparts in other former bloc countries. The North Korean apparatchiks have no reason to expect they will retain any control if the system goes belly up.
Moreover, North Korean's ruling elite is afraid to be held responsible for their participation in human rights abuses. In other words, they are afraid that if the regime collapses, they will be imprisoned. The North Korean party apparatchiks are well aware how they themselves would treat South Korean CEOs, economics professors, and lawmakers, had they taken over the South. They don't expect to be treated differently, even if they themselves are without skeletons in their closet.
This fear is well-placed and far from paranoid. It means that North Korea's leadership is remarkably united. Many may and do harbor critical thoughts of Kim Jong-un and his policies, but they do not want to rock the boat. The understanding is clear: if Kim disappears, their fate will be quite regrettable as well.
This elite unity combined with an unusually brutal and highly efficient surveillance system are two key reasons why the North Korean regime continues to persist, and will quite possibly continue for many years to come.
Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul. Reach him at anlankov@yahoo.com.
By Lee Min-hyung
Samsung Electronics will push ahead with its planned business activities this year despite growing signs of external uncertainties following the unprecedented arrest of Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong.
The nation's largest conglomerate by market cap looked to have overcome last year's nightmarish turmoil after the global recall of "exploding" Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, posting a stunning fourth-quarter and yearly operating profit backed by its booming semiconductor business.
This was a surprising leap-forward, as it came only a quarter after the firm's thriving mobile unit suffered its worst-ever profitability during the July-September period.
The outlook for this year remained rosy until the Samsung Group de facto chief was arrested Friday on charges of giving bribes to President Park Geun-hye's close aid Choi Soon-sil and her family. This came about a month after an independent counsel team led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo requested a first arrest warrant for Lee, which was dismissed by a Seoul court Jan. 19.
But with the prosecution widening its investigation into the snowballing corruption scandal, the counsel requested an arrest warrant again which the Seoul Central District Court approved Friday. The court said it acknowledged new charges and additional evidence from the prosecution to support Lee's involvement in the political scandal.
This is the first time that a leader of the family-owned tech behemoth has been arrested, leaving a series of concerns that the leadership vacuum may put a brake on the firm's planned business activities.
Following the court decision, Samsung Group issued a statement, saying: "We will do the utmost to unveil the truth at the upcoming trial."
Samsung Electronics officials declined to comment, but said that the firm would continue to push for its businesses as planned including its $8 billion (9.2 trillion won) acquisition of Harman International and the unpacking event of the Galaxy Tab S3 during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 next week.
On Thursday, shareholders of the U.S.-based auto-parts manufacturer approved the high-profile merger by Samsung Electronics, clearing one major hurdle for the latter's plan to finalize the deal no later than the third quarter of this year.
Samsung still requires some antitrust regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities here and abroad before officially acquiring the U.S. firm. The deal is the biggest achievement since Lee took office as the de facto head of the company in March 2014 when Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized due to a heart attack.
Regardless of the unprecedented arrest of Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics will also proceed with its earlier plan to launch its latest smart devices including smartphones and tablets.
The first major step is the launch of the flagship Galaxy S3 Tab device on Feb. 26, a day before the opening of the world's largest mobile tradeshow. The move comes as part of its efforts to fill the void left by its failure to launch its flagship Galaxy S smartphone series there, due to its later-than-expected announcement over root causes behind the unconfirmed battery fires in the Note 7 devices.
Samsung Electronics' mobile chief Koh Dong-jin confirmed last month that it would not launch the flagship smartphone at the MWC. The company is rumored to be holding an unpacking event for the device around April.
The gig: Deryck van Rensburg is the new dean of Pepperdine Universitys Graziadio School of Business and Management in Malibu. He took over in November after spending 32 years in international business with consumer-products giant Unilever and then Coca-Cola Co. His task: To reinvigorate the business schools vision and strategy.
Early years: Van Rensburg, 57, was born and raised in South Africa when apartheid reigned. His father worked for the railroads and my mother left me when I was four, she walked out, he said. It was complicated. He eventually served his mandatory two years in the South African military.
Needed change: After getting a bachelors degree in commerce, van Rensburg joined Unilever in its brand-management unit, married and then moved to England for postgraduate studies in part because being Christian I really struggled with the whole situation with apartheid, he said. We decided to find our footing elsewhere.
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Lasting impression: Van Rensburg earned an MBA and the equivalent of a doctorate in England, then rejoined Unilever as a marketing manager in London. A few years later, a search firm hired by Coca-Cola came calling and van Rensburg moved to the Atlanta beverage giant. But van Rensburg never forgot the effect some professors had on him. I said, Thats what I want to do one day, he recalled.
Far-flung posts: With Coke, van Rensburg took turns heading operations in Austria, Romania, Greece and Germany. He often consolidated Cokes bottlers and made other sweeping changes to increase efficiency and boost sales. He also learned a key part of Cokes culture: That its crucial for executives to visit stores where Coke is sold and talk to customers. They had this fundamental belief that you immerse yourself at the street level, he said.
Riding a wave: By 2007, van Rensburg was back working in Cokes Atlanta headquarters. His oldest son, a surfer, was looking for U.S. colleges near the ocean and picked Pepperdine. Hes to blame actually, or to thank for leading van Rensburg to the school, the father said with a laugh. Another son attended Pepperdine as well, so van Rensburg bought a house in Malibu and came to know the schools senior administrators.
Opportunity knocks: One day a Pepperdine vice chancellor came through Atlanta, met with van Rensburg and asked if hed consider becoming the business schools new dean. Id always had this desire to develop myself and challenge myself intellectually, and [the offer] just came at the right time, he said. The job also came with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean from the deans office on the hillside campus.
The challenge: Youve got a good school, were having good momentum and we have our highest enrollment in 12 years with 500 full-time students and 1,500 part-time and executive students, he said. But its been a little while since we really got clear about who do we really want to be and how do we want to be distinguished?
Setting goals: Van Rensburg has launched a program to figure out the schools vision and strategy, and he expects to produce a plan for both in the fall. The process has included talking to the faculty, alumni, students and staff, all with the goals of making the student experience transformational, spreading the word that Pepperdine stands apart and creating leaders of the future, he said. Also, its incumbent on us to get the very best students in the door. Before taking the job, van Rensburg also spoke with the deans of 26 other business schools to get their input.
Watch the fringes: When youre in a large company you typically benchmark yourself against your principal competitor, van Rensburg said. But in his last job at Coke, running a business unit that identifies and develops independent brands with big sales potential, what we found was, disruption comes from all kinds of places and typically from the fringe of the industry. That peripheral vision needed in the corporate world also applies to academia, he said. I believe higher education potentially will undergo disruption. I bring that perspective of always looking at the fringe of the industry, what are some of the technologies or trends that could impact what we do today?
Off the clock: Van Rensburg and his wife, Rozanne, have three sons and a daughter. International travel is still part of van Rensburgs life. He and his family recently went to Kenya to visit one of seven children in Africa they sponsor through Compassion International, and other recent travels took them to Israel and the Galapagos Islands. Theyll also return to South Africa this year for a family reunion.
james.peltz@latimes.com
Twitter: @PeltzLATimes
Question: Ive been living in a great apartment close to work for three years. My lease ended after a year, and I am now going month to month. I love the location, felt safe and planned to live here a long time. Last week, my landlord served me with a 60 Day Notice to Quit. I dont know what to do. Can she do that when Im a good tenant who pays rent on time?
Answer: If you were on a lease, the landlord could not give you a 60 Day Notice to Quit without cause, but you stated that you are now on a month-to-month tenancy. Because you are now month to month, the general rule under California Civil Code section 1946.1 is that your landlord can serve you with a 60-day notice to terminate tenancy in writing without saying why she wants you to move out.
In some cities, local ordinances establish no cause eviction rules that require a landlord to give a reason for terminating the tenancy. So its very important to check with your city about the rental ordinances that may apply.
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In Los Angeles, landlords of rent-controlled properties must provide a legal reason for eviction even if the tenants dont have a lease.
The 60-day notice period is required because you have lived on the property one year or more, according to state law. If you had been renting there less than a year, then the landlord is only required to give 30-day notice terminating your tenancy. If you are renting with a Section 8 Housing Choice voucher, your landlord must give you a 90-day notice.
Assuming that 1) you were properly served under the California Civil Code section 1946.1(f), which references California Code of Civil Procedure section 1162, 2) no local ordinances apply and 3) you plan to return possession by the due date on the notice, you do not need to take any other action other than be sure you have moved out of the apartment by day 60.
However, if you have found housing and plan to move out sooner than day 60, then you, as the tenant, need to give the landlord a 30-day written notice of your intent to move out and return possession by day 30. By notifying the landlord of your last day in the unit, you give the landlord a chance to advertise for a new tenant to move into the unit as soon as possible.
If you receive a 60-day notice and move out sooner without giving your 30-day notice, the landlord may charge you rent for the remainder of the period even though you no longer occupy the unit. The exception is when the landlord finds a new tenant to mitigate her damages before the 60th day. In that case, she can charge you only for the days the unit wasnt rented.
One last thought: Although your landlord does not have to tell you why he is terminating your tenancy, if you suspect that your landlord might be discriminating against you because of your race, national origin, familial status, religion or other protected class status, be sure to contract a Fair Housing agency about your suspicions.
Remember that any notice needs to be in writing per the California Civil Code section 1946.1(a). It also will minimize later misunderstandings. Keep copies of the written communications in a safe place.
In some situations, mediation can offer an avenue for a conversation between tenant and landlord to rescind a notice or extend the time for the tenant to move out.
Current is fair housing director for Project Sentinel, a Bay Area nonprofit. For more information, contact Project Sentinel at 1-888-324-7468, info@housing.org, visit www.housing.org or contact your attorney or local housing agency.
SpaceX launched almost 5,500 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station on Sunday morning after scrubbing its Saturday attempt because of a potential issue with its Falcon 9 rocket.
The rocket lifted off at 6:39 a.m. PST from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the Hawthorne-based space companys first launch from Launch Complex 39A, the historic pad where the Apollo and space shuttle missions launched.
This was the first commercial launch from the pad the last mission to lift off from 39A was the final space shuttle launch in 2011.
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About eight minutes after liftoff, the first-stage rocket booster landed back on land at the companys Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Baby came back, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted, followed by a snapshot of the return landing.
The Dragon spacecraft, which is carrying the supplies, deployed about 10 minutes after launch. It is set to arrive at the space station early Wednesday morning.
Saturdays launch was postponed just 13 seconds before liftoff so SpaceX could look into a potential issue with the thrust vector control system on the rockets second stage.
Shortly after, the company tweeted that it would take a closer look at the positioning of the second-stage engine nozzle.
99% likely to be fine, Musk tweeted Saturday. But that 1% chance isnt worth rolling the dice. Better to wait a day.
SpaceX determined that the potential issue was with one of two thrust vector control actuators, which help steer the second-stage engine nozzle through flight, Jessica Jensen, Dragon mission manager for SpaceX, said in a post-launch news conference.
The company replaced the actuator Saturday night and then ran tests on the pad before launch, she said.
This was the companys second launch since a launch pad explosion in September destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and a commercial communications satellite.
Sundays launch was SpaceXs 10th mission to deliver supplies to the space station for NASA.
This is the beginning of what SpaceX hopes will be a busy period for Launch Complex 39A.
The pad has been configured to accommodate the first flight of the companys highly anticipated heavy-lift rocket, Falcon Heavy, as well as the first flight of a previously launched first-stage booster, which is slated for March, Jensen said.
The company is hoping to launch from Pad 39A again in about two weeks, she said.
Meanwhile, Jensen said renovations will continue on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, which was damaged during the September explosion. SpaceX has completed all of its inspections at the launch pad but still needs to do a majority of the work there, Jensen said.
During a Friday briefing with reporters, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Space Launch Complex 40 should be operational by the summer.
samantha.masunaga@latimes.com
Twitter: @smasunaga
UPDATES:
9:21 a.m.: This article was updated with details from a post-launch news conference.
8:45 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction from Elon Musk.
6:59 a.m.: This article was updated to include details of the launch.
This article was originally published at 5:30 a.m.
Conductor Christopher Rountree stands illuminated by a spotlight on the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage. He takes a soothing breath and encourages the 2,100 middle school students seated before him to help perform John Cages seminal composition, 433, which requires the audience and musicians to participate in silence for four minutes and 33 seconds.
For this young audience, Rountree asks for just a minute of silence in order to hear the music that resides within.
For the record: An earlier version of this article omitted the word Composer from the name Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program. It also misstated the number of applicants for the fellowships; the number was 20, not 60.
Try not to perform coughing, try to perform listening, he says after an initial attempt goes awry. This is an incredibly difficult piece to perform. OK, everybody with their full attention on listening.
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Silence ensues for a beat, beat, beat and then a lone throat in the audience hawks a ginormous loogie and the kids in the great hall dissolve into hysterics.
Rountree gives up with a good-natured shrug. This piece is really hard to get right. But for a moment while there was silence, there was this little shuffling that was quite beautiful.
Christopher Rountree conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic during a concert celebrating the work of high school composers work at Walt Disney Concert Hall. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Its such a foreign concept that people are alive writing classical music today. Luca Mendoza, 18
Right now is all about educating young people about the joy of classical music. Four teen composers, graduates of the Los Angeles Philharmonics Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program, will hear their compositions performed by the orchestra for the first time in Disney Hall.
The event is part of a weeklong outreach program for young people called Symphonies for Schools. The junior composers, however, are completing an intensive curriculum that lasts two years and includes classes and mentoring under program director Andrew Norman and others.
Before and after the goofball Cage moment, the students are remarkably well behaved, lavishing explosive applause on Rountree and the orchestra and proving to be particularly attentive during the pieces written by the young fellows: Benjamin Champion, Robby Good, Luca Mendoza and Ethan Treiman.
Rountree is a natural with his young charges, knowing just how to talk to them and breaking down explanations of the art form into easily digestible nuggets of wisdom. His performance is scripted and employs a foil in the form of a young actress who wanders onstage snapping selfies.
Actress Sarah Yarkin poses with Luca Mendoza, one of four students to have his music performed by the L.A. Phil. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Selfies, Rountree says, are an art form because you are using your everyday life to create art. Art is anything done with intentionality.
The fellows are keenly aware of intentionality. Each of their compositions was informed by something in daily life the migration of birds (Champion), the unexpected community found on the L.A. Metro (Mendoza), the moody sun rising over the Arctic (Treiman), and a roaring wildfire that devastates the landscape (Good).
After watching one of the worlds finest orchestras perform their compositions in one of the worlds most famous concert halls, the fellows arent simply celebrating a monumental sense of accomplishment. They are talking about what they could have done better.
This has been as much a learning experience for them as it was for their audience. The solitary nature of their chosen art form has left them alone with their computers; hearing real musicians perform their pieces clued them in to the power of certain notes above others, and the way particular phrases fell flat.
The teens amble into the green room at Disney Hall dressed in smart suits. They laugh about the loogie gag. For a moment they appear to be just a group of pals, horsing around and full of jokes. But once they settle shoulder-to-shoulder on a couch, they unleash a torrent of feelings and insights about the nature of classical music and their future within it that reveal them to be extraordinarily articulate, thoughtful and intellectually curious.
There is a reason these four, out of the more than 20 students who applied to be fellows, are sitting here, says Norman, director of a program celebrating its 10th anniversary.
We wanted kids who were capable of pushing themselves and pushing the art form, he says. The L.A. Phil is not just interested in preserving classical musics past but in taking it forward.
More than 2,000 middle-school students filed into Disney Hall to hear orchestral music written by their peers. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
That goal was front and center during the program at Disney Hall. For starters, the fellows werent anxious to have their work showcased in front of so many teens, a prospect that might put the most seasoned composer on edge. The baroque social structure, puzzling pecking order and cacophonous clamor on display made it easy to conjure the inspiration for Lord of the Flies.
Treiman, 18, a student at Crossroads school in Santa Monica who was recently accepted to Yale, is pragmatic about the experience.
I wasnt very nervous. I know each of them have something they like to do, and Im sharing this thing I love to do, he says. I think this style of music is becoming more accessible as it breaks rules and really allows composers to express whats in their hearts.
Mendoza, 18, who also attends Crossroads and is embarking on a tour of conservatories, builds on that thought: When I hear people talk about classical music, which is never, its Bach, Beethoven, Mozart. Its such a foreign concept that people are alive writing classical music today. But classical musicians are pushing boundaries in ways that other genres are not.
Good, a 16-year-old from Hart High School in Santa Clarita who is the most jocular of the group and wants to compose for video games and film, says classical music first blew his mind during a performance of Polish composer Krzysztof Pendereckis Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima.
I was absolutely terrified and I was like: People make this? This is the craziest thing Ive ever seen in my life, he says while the group nods emphatically. Thats what drives us to make music. We want to keep experimenting and trying new things.
For this type of music to resonate with audiences, young and old, those audiences have to be as inquisitive as the creators. They have to be open to it, the fellows say.
I would hope that my music, even if its not obviously accessible, is enjoyable for just about everyone, says Champion, 16, who left his home in South Dakota to attend Idyllwild Arts Academy. But I know that world doesnt really exist yet. My dream is to create a world where my music can thrive.
Its hopeful that some of the joyful seeds scattered by the L.A. Phil, Rountree and the fellows will sprout in the minds of the young people filing out of Disney Hall while the junior composers talk about their dreams.
A scent beyond a mixture of bubblegum, stale school lunch and sweaty socks emanates from the old yellow school buses that temporarily block Grand Avenue outside the hall. If the astute passersby pause long enough, they may detect the fragrant bloom of curiosity. It is young and fresh and exquisite like a moment of pure silence inside Disney Hall.
jessica.gelt@latimes.com
@jessicagelt
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I watched President Trumps news conference the other day, and I thought: Hes kind of crazy. Not crazy crazy. But you know, just weird.
He is self-absorbed, unabashed about repeating falsehoods, and rude. He doesnt listen to questions before launching into misguided tirades. He thought a reporter from a Jewish newspaper had accused him of anti-Semitism when the poor guy went out of his way to do the opposite.
So maybe hes hard of hearing, too.
Anyway, the mental state of our commander-in-chief has recently been the subject of a fierce public debate.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu is proposing a bill that would require the White House to have a psychiatrist on staff. A Change.org petition accusing Trump of mental illness, and asking for his removal from office, has been signed by nearly 25,000 health professionals. The New Republic published a story this week speculating that Trump may have an untreated sexually transmitted disease that has led to a condition called neurosyphilis, characterized by irritability, loss of ability to concentrate, delusional thinking, and grandiosity.
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On Tuesday, the New York Times published a letter signed by 35 psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers accusing the president of grave emotional instability that makes him incapable of serving safely as president. Though it is considered a breach of ethics to evaluate or diagnose public figures, they wrote, We fear that too much is at stake to be silent any longer.
This was too much for Allen Frances, a renowned psychiatrist, who dashed off his own letter to the New York Times in response.
Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled President Trump with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder, wrote Frances. I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. Trump doesnt meet them. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesnt make him mentally ill because he does not suffer from the stress and impairment required to diagnose mental disorder. (Trump isnt crazy; he makes other people crazy.)
He can, and should, be appropriately denounced for his ignorance, incompetence, impulsivity and pursuit of dictatorial powers, Frances wrote. But, he added, The antidote to a dystopic Trumpean dark age is political, not psychological.
::
On Thursday, Frances greeted me at the door of the waterside condominium he shares with his wife, psychiatrist Donna Manning, and ushered me into their beachy living room, all light colors and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Palm trees swayed in the breeze of an absolutely spectacular day. The San Diego skyline was visible off in the distance. Frances, 74, was tanned and fit. Barefoot, in khaki shorts and a royal blue zippered pullover, he looked like he should be sailing on the bay.
Instead, we sat at his glass dining room table talking about why it is both an insult to mentally ill people, and dangerous politically, to speculate about the state of Trumps mental health.
Most mentally ill people are nice, theyre well mannered, they are decent, they are unselfish, they are good people, Frances said. Trump is none of these. When you lump someone who is bad with people who have mental illness, it stigmatizes the mentally ill population. Less an insult to him and more an insult to them.
Frances is a former chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Duke University School of Medicine. He also chaired the task force that wrote the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or D.S.M-IV.
When I wrote the criteria for narcissism, we were not thinking about its possible use in a political mudslinging contest, he said. The idea that this would be a vehicle for expressing disapproval or delegitimizing a president didnt occur to us 40 years ago. If it had, I would have suggested leaving it out.
Shortly after Trump declared his candidacy, Frances was approached by a producer for a national TV news show who asked him to come on air to analyze Trumps motivations. She wanted me to give him a diagnosis, Frances said.
He refused, partly because that would be unethical and partly because he saw no evidence of a mental disorder.
I told her, I will come on your show if I can call him a classic schmuck. And she said, Not newsworthy. Everyone knows that.
Personally, I have no problem with mental health professionals making judgments about a president whose behavior does seem erratic and who also has the power to blow up the world.
Of course we cant forget about the swath of Americans who are delighted by Trumps unpredictability and his follow-through, constitutional or not, on promises to keep bad hombres out of the country. Theyll probably come to their senses eventually. But we all may be speaking Russian by then.
::
Frances is not a typical partisan. Hes a Democrat, but only recently registered to vote. My wife made me, he said.
He grew up in New York in a household where his family would vote for the person not in office on the grounds that it would take the new guy time to catch on to schemes and corruption.
Until recently, he said, I would not have felt wedded to either party, but my highest political principle is fairness. Republicans do everything to rig the system against fairness. I dont have personal love for the Democratic Party, but its the last salvation against the Dark Age.
Frances said hes been getting lots of emails and tweets from people asking the same questions about Trump: Does he know hes lying? Is he doing it consciously, or does he believe the things hes saying?
He doesnt think any of that matters.
Its irrelevant, Frances said. It doesnt matter what goes on in his head; the goal is to tame this guy. We are not going to do it by analyzing his motivations. What we have to do is reduce his power in 2018, which may be an uphill struggle, or 2020.
As we spoke, Manning was typing away on a laptop. The pair are collaborating on a book for Harper Collins, tentatively titled Trumps Not Crazy. We Are.
Frances and I laughed.
Yeah, he said, because weve allowed this to happen.
robin.abcarian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AbcarianLAT
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With big storm coming, heres how to stay safe
With the big storm coming, here are some basic storm tips from the Los Angeles Fire Department:
Ensure that your drains, gutters and downspouts are clean and functioning properly. This is especially important for flat-roofed buildings.
Keep stormwater troughs, pipes and culverts on your property free of debris.
Move valuable or easily damaged items away from low-lying areas prone to flooding.
Secure trash containers, household waste, chemical spills and outdoor storage before they are swept away, spread contamination or block storm drains.
Closely examine windows, skylights and doors that may benefit from caulking or weatherstripping.
Inspect your attic for leaks of sunlight, or signs of previous water damage that may indicate where pre-storm repairs are needed.
Establish household supplies (bucket, mop, towel and tarpaulin) to minimize damage from a sudden leak or stormwater seepage.
Prepare your household to remain safe (battery powered lamps, no candles) and functional (fully charged cellphone, manual garage door operation) in the event of a storm-related power outage.
Review how to safely turn off your homes electric, water and natural gas service in the event of severe storm damage.
Put the Flood Safety and other free mobile apps from the American Red Cross on your smartphone.
Discuss your family emergency plan, including what every member of the family will do in the event of a flood or mudslide.
Prepare an emergency supply kit that includes food, water, medications, flashlight, battery-powered radio, rain gear and first aid supplies.
Gather and safely store important documents to take with you in case of evacuation.
Confirm out-of-state family contacts so that friends and relatives can determine your location and status.
Consider the safety of those with disabilities or access and functional needs.
Plan for the needs of pets at home and if you are evacuated.
Identify multiple safe routes from your home or workplace to high ground and practice your evacuation plan.
Have sturdy, sensible shoes with nonskid soles for use in a rainstorm. Pack an umbrella, small flashlight and rain coat.
Check your cars wipers, lights, tire inflation and tread wear to assure safe operation, and keep your vehicle fueled in case power is cut off to local fueling stations.
Be prepared to monitor local news for official warnings, evacuation orders and the status of streets, highways and transit systems.
Be aware of local driving laws, and how to operate your vehicle safely or use public transit in conditions altered by weather.
Lower the level of your swimming pool to prevent overflow and flooding.
Determine if your home is located in a flood hazard or landslide prone area.
Landscape slopes with plants that are fire retardant, water wise, suitable for erosion control and allow for smart water retention or reuse. Consider the temporary use of plastic sheeting on slopes prone to erosion.
Large trees that could threaten your home should be examined by a certified arborist. Confirm that any hillside on your property has been evaluated by a licensed soil engineer.
If necessary, consult an engineer or licensed contractor to design or build permanent water and debris control systems for your property.
Contact your insurance agent to assure that your flood and storm coverage is adequate and in effect. Confirm the 24-hour contact, policy and claim filing numbers for your insurer(s). Place that information in your mobile phone and keep a printed copy in the glove box of your car.
Keep sandbags, plywood, plastic sheeting, lumber, hand tools and other materials handy for addressing additional stormwater issues.
Hes 94 years old and still clearly remembers.
Tokuji Yoshihashi remembers Japans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and wondering what would happen to Americans like him who looked like the enemy. He soon found out.
Exactly 75 years ago Sunday, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the incarceration of Yoshihashi and 120,000 other Japanese Americans in desolate camps scattered across deserts and swampland. Yoshihashi remembers his anxiety at being locked up and the shock of seeing the barbed wire and armed military guards at his camp in Gila River, Ariz.
He left camp in 1944 to fight for the country he still loved as a member of the U.S. Armys celebrated 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of second-generation Japanese Americans known as Nisei. The battles were brutal one comrade threw himself on a grenade to protect fellow soldiers in the 1945 fight to break the German Gothic Line in Italy.
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But Yoshihashi still remembers, with pride, President Harry S. Trumans words to his fighting unit: You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice and you won.
Today, however, the aging veteran wonders what his service to safeguard American freedoms and civil rights means at a time of President Trump and his executive order banning the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.
I hope theyre not being wasted, Yoshihashi said of the veterans sacrifices during a recent interview in his San Gabriel home. That order to ban all the Muslims I dont think thats right.
Yae Aihara of Los Angeles and Haru Kuromiya of South Pasadena -- who were both incarcerated in Crystal City, Texas -- meet Saturday at the remembrance after decades of not seeing each other. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
The uneasy parallels between two presidents and two executive orders singling out a class of people were repeatedly invoked Saturday at a packed Little Tokyo forum about the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066.
As Japanese Americans who were directly affected by incarceration, we have a particular moral obligation to remind people that measures like the Muslim ban are not just unconstitutional, they are un-American, former U.S. Rep. Norman Mineta said in a statement delivered to the forum. They undermine the very thing that sets our country apart: our enduring commitment to freedom and justice for all.
The forum featured poems, songs and performances, along with remarks from African American, Jewish, Muslim and Latina speakers who connected the Japanese American experience with discrimination against their communities and vowed to fight intolerance together.
The Japanese American National Museum, which hosted the forum with other community groups, opened an exhibit Saturday on Roosevelts order and its aftermath, featuring the first display on the West Coast of the actual document bearing the presidents signature.
The exhibit also features copies of the government orders for all persons of Japanese ancestry to leave their neighborhoods along the West Coast and in Arizona. A timeline charts the communitys experiences from Pearl Harbor to the closing of the last camp in 1946, including efforts to challenge the constitutionality of the government orders. (The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the orders, but courts three decades ago overturned the convictions of three men who disobeyed them.) Modern art installations include an arresting sculpture of the name tags of those interned.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a law that offered a formal apology and granted $20,000 in redress payments to surviving camp internees.
The forum and exhibit drew more than 2,000 visitors Saturday a turnout that stunned museum officials, who set up multiple overflow rooms and still had to turn people away.
You just cant target a group of people based on race, religion or culture. Evan Seki Matsuyama, Oxford University graduate student
Arlene Inouye of the United Teachers of Los Angeles sheds a tear at the Day of Remembrance 2017. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Its the confluence of energy around both the anniversary and Trumps actions, said Clement Hanami, the museums art director. Were trying to help people see that in the end, the goal of our society is to really stand up for each other because at any time, it could be something that happens to us.
Visitors to the forum from across cultures and generations seemed to share that sentiment. Hollis Stewart, a 77-year-old retired computer specialist, said he came to stand for peace and justice at a time of growing national divisiveness. He teared up as he recalled his father, a union organizer, taking him to visit the Gila River camp after it closed when he was 12 so I would understand that these things cannot be allowed.
Its not who we are, Stewart said.
Leandra Culver and Rachael Stein, both twenty-somethings of Jewish heritage, said the Japanese American experience struck eerie and disturbing parallels with their communitys struggles against anti-Semitism and the current climate of fear-mongering and unjust actions.
But they said their generation was confronting intolerance head-on. Our generation as millennials is incredibly outspoken, Culver said. Facebook and Instagram are on fire every second of the day speaking out against the current administration, the Muslim ban and (for) womens rights.
Among many Japanese Americans, the impact of Executive Order 9066 is reverberating across generations.
Sumiko Seo Seki was a teenager at the time she and her family were forced to leave their San Pedro farm for incarceration in Jerome, Ark. One of her most vivid memories was her stoic father weeping as he pet his horses goodbye the first and only time she had ever seen him cry.
The man who would become her husband, Don Seki, lied about his age so he could leave his native Hawaii and join the U.S. Armys 442nd Regimental Combat Team a year early. He lost his left arm to German machine-gun fire a few days after his unit rescued a Texas infantry division trapped in the Vosges Mountains of France suffering more than 800 casualties to save 211 lives.
The family experiences have prompted their grandson, Evan Seki Matsuyama, to pursue a doctorate in U.S. history at Oxford University to answer a question he said had long haunted him: Why did my grandfather lose his arm for a country that put my grandmother in a concentration camp?
Matsuyama said he hopes his research will honor his grandparents and help prevent history from repeating itself.
You just cant target a group of people based on race, religion or culture, he said.
Mitchell T. Maki, president of a national nonprofit dedicated to education about the history of Japanese American veterans of World War II, said he is optimistic that many Americans have learned those lessons. Although there are parallels between 1942 and 2017, he said, there are also crucial differences.
America of today is different than the America of 42, said Maki, of the Go For Broke National Education Center. To have people of all races and religions coming together and standing against discriminatory practices is very inspiring.
He added that the veterans sacrifices were hardly wasted, as Yoshihashi wondered. They kept freedom and justice alive and its incumbent on us to ensure they stay intact for all people.
Back in San Gabriel, Yoshihashi shared his stories and old photo albums of his childhood and Army days over green tea and rice crackers. He is modest about his framed display of several of his military medals, badges and a copy of the Congressional Gold Medal the nations highest civilian honor awarded to the Japanese American members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service in 2010.
After the war, he joined his family in Ohio for five years and returned to the Los Angeles area in 1951. He started a family, rebuilt engines for the Department of Water and Power and retired at 72.
With characteristic Nisei reticence, he paused when asked what he wanted America to learn on the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066.
Thats tough, he said, resting his cheek in his hand.
Im just glad I went into the service and served my country.
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
Twitter: @TeresaWatanabe
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8:55 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details.
This article was originally published at 5 a.m.
An Escondido family has been split in two after a mother was deported to Mexico, leaving her twin 18-year-old daughters without a parent.
Just before lunchtime on Feb. 7, Maria Robles-Rodriguez said she was with a female friend parked in a car outside of a home where the U.S. Border Patrol was conducting an investigation. She said a relative of her friend lived in the house.
Robles-Rodriguez said that plainclothes law enforcement officers approached the car and knocked on the window. She said they never identified themselves and took her into custody.
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They asked us, what are we doing there, who are we going to see, Robles-Rodriguez said in an interview from Tijuana this week.
Robles-Rodriguez, as well as immigration organizations working on her behalf, said she does not have a criminal record. I never had any problem, I lived for my daughters and worked, she said, speaking in Spanish.
The Border Patrol later confirmed there was an investigation going on at the Escondido home and that their agents contacted Robles-Rodriguez and a second person, Silvino Hernandez-Aguas. The agency made no reference to a woman with Robles-Rodriguez as she described in her account.
In a statement, the Border Patrol said, During the course of their investigation, agents encountered Silvino Hernandez-Aguas and Maria Robles-Rodriguez. After conducting interviews, the agents established that both individuals were residing in the U.S. illegally and placed them under arrest.
The statement did not include details of the investigation.
David Loy, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties, questioned whether Robles-Rodriguezs civil rights were violated.
If they werent the target of the investigation at the house, Loy said agents would need probable cause to detain Robles-Rodriguez and Hernandez-Aguas
Why was Border Patrol scrutinizing them? Why was Border Patrol detaining them? Why was Border Patrol focusing on them at all if they were not the targets of the investigation? Loy said.
He added that it raises questions about whether they are running targeted enforcement or a dragnet that targets an entire community.
Robles-Rodriguez originally entered the United States before her daughters births on a tourist visa and has since supported the family as a single mother by cleaning houses and selling used items such as toys, clothes and shoes at swap meets. She continued returning to Mexico, and was in Tijuana as recently as a month ago, she said.
After the officers took them into custody, Robles-Rodriguez said that she and her friend waited hours for someone to take her friends 2-year-old child before they were driven to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. The Border Patrol made no mention of a child. A sign on the wall said she could make a phone call, but she was not afforded the opportunity, she said.
I made signs with my hand that I would like to make a call, she said, but the guard shook his head to say no. She was also given a voluntary departure form that officials told her to sign, but she didnt fully comprehend the document. She said she was never told if she could speak with an attorney.
A spokesman for the Border Patrol said procedures were followed.
As with any foreign national apprehended by our agency, Ms. Robles-Rodriguez and Mr. Hernandez-Aguas were advised of their privilege to speak with the consulate of their country of citizenship. Attorney privileges did not apply to these individuals because they did not face criminal charges, Supervisory Agent Mark Endicott said in the statement.
At 6:30 p.m., Robles-Rodriguez was deported to Tijuana. Shes staying with her daughters paternal grandmother.
The expediency of the deportation is alarming and might violate due process rights, including rights to a hearing, Loy said.
Robles-Rodriguez had a right to speak with an attorney even if she wasnt detained on a criminal charge, and its insulting that Customs and Border Patrol described access to an attorney as a privilege, he said.
Thats an outrageous violation of due process, Loy said. Maybe the government doesnt have to pay for that attorney, but they cannot deny you the right to call your own attorney at your own expense.
It left her children, American citizens, in the lurch, and the loss of their mother has put them on the verge of homelessness, Greg Anglea, the executive director of Interfaith Community Services, said.
There are a lot of deportations that happen all the time, on a daily or weekly basis. This may well be par for the course. he said. It is particularly heartbreaking given this particular family situation.
Anglea said his organization is trying to get the teenagers assistance.
Recent deportation actions across the country have heightened concern among immigrants and their representatives that the federal government is stepping up enforcement after pledges by President Donald Trump of increased crackdowns.
Immigration agency officials have denied that, though the president has lauded what he called stepped-up activity.
On Jan. 25, Trump signed executive orders that began the process of building a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico and to enhance efforts to track and deport people who are in the country illegally.
While the Trump administration said he would focus on criminal aliens, his order directed immigration officials to focus on people who had not only been convicted of a crime, but also people who have done something that might be considered a crime.
Media reports show that people without criminal records have been deported in increasing numbers. An article in USA Today said that 74% of the 678 people who were detained in 12 states last week had been convicted of a crime, while 90% of people detained in 2016 during the Obama administration had records.
joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com
sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com
Stewart and Dibble write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
As Southern California dug out of damaging winter storms, there was growing anxiety in Northern California that another round of punishing rain and snow forecast for this week would further tax the regions already strained flood control systems.
Parts of Northern California are already on track to have the wettest winter ever recorded, and that has placed strain on river, dam, levees and other water works in places including the Central Valley that are prone to flooding.
(For) almost all of Northern California we are going to be telling people to get ready for area flooding, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Rasch. It just doesnt take much rain to cause many problems ... which is only going to exacerbate all the current situations going on.
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Many Northern and Central California dams are close to capacity thanks to all the rain. And some communities experienced flooding.
Water was still a foot high in Maxwell, a small rural town in Northern Californias Colusa County, on Saturday morning. Crews had to evacuate 100 people in the town about 2 a.m. because of flooding, some by boat.
At least 50 older wood-framed and stucco homes took in water, said Jim Saso, assistant sheriff of Colusa County. No reported injuries were reported.
As debris-laden water the color of chocolate milk rushed past Bill Barretts driveway, he nodded toward a row of hills in the distance and said, The runoff of heavy rains slid down those hills last night and turned this place into a bathtub.
The trouble started at about 4 a.m. Saturday when Barrett, a retired firefighter, was awakened by a report issued from the emergency radio scanner by his bedside, about law enforcement assisting a neighbor out of his home.
I jumped out of bed to help, said Barrett, 80, a 47-year resident of this small agricultural community.
Shaking his head, he added, There have been floods in this town before. But nothing like this one.
Blanca Velasquez, 31, was sloshing ankle-deep up and down Maxwells flooded San Francisco Street on Saturday afternoon with an iPhone pressed to her ear, trying to find a clear signal to reach worried friends and relatives.
Like many neighbors, she was awakened early morning by sheriffs deputies banging on the front door and yelling, Its flooding! Get out! Get out!
We all threw on some clothes and galoshes and headed to the door, Velasquez said. When I stepped outside and took a look around, the streets were rivers.
She and her three siblings jumped in their pickups and drove off in the dark searching for dry ground.
A block away, she said, one lady was floating down Orange Street in a boat.
Maxwell is about 50 miles from Oroville, which for the last week has been the scene of a national drama as both spillways at the Oroville Dam were damaged, sparking fears of a catastrophic flood and forcing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
Officials were able to reduce the water levels at the dam this week and say they are prepared for the new storms.
As the sun rose over the beleaguered Oroville Dam on Saturday, an aerial lineman performed the high-risk task of cutting power lines over the facilitys damaged main spillway while attached to the end of a cable dangling from a helicopter.
Hundreds of feet below, construction workers manning trucks, cranes, skip loaders and dredging equipment gathered near a pool of turbulent murky water churning at the bottom of that spillway, preparing to remove a mountain of debris piled up beneath the surface.
1 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dam main spillway, in Oroville, Calif., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dams main spillway on Feb. 21. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 66 Reduced water releases at the Oroville Dam have made damage to its main spillway more visible. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway; it has broken through and is flowing down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 66 Juan Alvarez reassures his girlfriend, Sarah Hendrix, after helping her move out of her home in rural Maxwell. Water was a foot high and crews had to evacuate 100 people because of flooding-- some by boat. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 66 Ron Chambers lets Duke out of his crate for the first time in hours since the flooding began n Maxwell, Calif. on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 66 Kevin Anfinson and other volunteers help shovel the muddy sediment that has built up in the salmon raceway at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 66 Fernando Martinez and his mother, not pictured, wade through a road in Gridley, Calif., flooded by the Feather River as it continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 66 A man in a 4x4 truck turns around on Gridley Road after having second thoughts about making it across the flooded road, which had been closed. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 66 Randy Boheim packs up his tools and emergency supplies in anticipation of having to evacuate his whole family as floodwaters creep closer to his home in an Oroville, Calif., mobile home park. The nearby Feather River continued to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 66 A plantation in Oroville, Calif., sits in floodwaters as the Feather River continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 66 Helicopters ferry sand and rocks to the Oroville Dams emergency spillway reconstruction project in Oroville, Calif., ahead of coming rains. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 66 California Water Service district manager Toni Ruggle surveys the Feather River at Bedrock Park downstream from the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 66 McKenna Harvey, 9, left, Kylie Atteberry, 11, and Brooklyn Atteberry, 7, hold signs thanking workers in the repair effort at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 66 A helicopter flies over as water flows from the main spillway at Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 66 Reconstruction continues in a race to shore up the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 66 As rain clouds gather, friends from left, Johnny Eroh, Cody Balmer, Kristien Bravo and Jerel Bruhn hang out by the flooded Feather river in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville, Calif., last week. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., listen to Butte County sheriffs deputies in February as the mandatory evacuation order was lifted. An evacuation advisory was lifted Wednesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall get the news from Butte County sheriffs Deputy Jeff Heath that the evacuation order has been lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 66 Evacuee Sharon Dalton, right, hugs Raiden Ellis, 10 months, and Chris Ellis as they say their goodbyes as she leaves the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 66 David McGlamery returns to his Oroville home with his belongings after the evacuation order was lifted. The family had to retreat to Chico, where they initially stayed at a Walmart parking lot with other evacuees. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 66 Bill Tirey helps family members move back into their home in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville near the Feather River after evacuation orders were lifted. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 66 Maria Alancar returns home to greets her pet pig Bacon, who was left behind when the family moved to higher ground in Honcut, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 66 Sulet Lopez, 21, left, Melissa Mendoza, 3, and Yeanet Lopez, 18, pack up their car at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., to head home after the evacuation order was lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 66 Erica Stenholm, left, Ronnie Vaughan, and Brooklyn Jackson, 7, unpack their car upon returning home after the evacuation order had been lifted in Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 66 Jonah Avina, left, and his wife, Eileen, pray before lunch at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. The Bangor-area Mennonites are hosting several immigrant families evacuated from the nearby town of Honcut. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 66 Evacuee Estafani Reynoso, left, colors with Mennonite children at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 66 Crews work on a damaged section of the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday. (Josh Edelson / AFP/ Getty Images) 31 / 66 An Oroville property is flooded on Monday as thousands were under evactuation orders. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 32 / 66 The Marysville cemetery underwater along the Feather River. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 66 Nirmal Singh, a Sikh priest, conducts a morning prayer ritual as evacuees sleep in the background at the Shri Guru Ravidass, a Sikh temple that has opened its doors for evacuees of the Oroville Dam crisis in Rio Linda, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 66 Kamlesh Nahar, far left, talks to fellow evacuees at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 66 Maria Lopez reads on her smartphone as she spends a second night in her fathers car in the parking lot of the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 66 Sharon Dalton finds a quiet spot under a table as she spends a second night with her dog Cruiser inside the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 66 Verna Chadwick and 10-month-old son Raiden Ellis during a second night in the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 66 The emergency spillway, left, and the damaged main spillway at Lake Oroville are seen in an aerial photo Monday. (Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images) 39 / 66 A dump truck crosses the primary spillway to deliver boulders to the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 66 Helicopters place large rocks on the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 66 Around-the-clock monitoring continues on the damaged primary spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 66 Water rushes down a spillway at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 66 California Department of Fish and Game wardens view the damaged spillway on Monday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 66 Bill OKelley, 86, and wife Doris OKelley, 84, of Oroville sit near a flagpole Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 66 Coua Tha, of Oroville prepares a meal for her family in the parking lot at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 66 Desiree Garcia and daughter Kaylee Pearl Garcia, 3, of Oroville look over donated clothing Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 66 Members of Orovilles Jordan Crossing Mission pray with a volunteer service member Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation shelter in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 66 The swollen Feather River flows through Oroville, Calif., on Monday. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) 49 / 66 A building is submerged in Riverbend Park as more water is released from Lake Oroville. (JOSH EDELSON / AFP) 50 / 66 Siblings Zach Soto, 11, left, and Gabby Soto, 13, keep an eye on the Feather River along a railroad bridge in Oroville, Calif., on Monday. The family decided to stay in Oroville as they live on high ground near downtown. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 66 Water flows down the damaged main spillway of the Oroville Dam at 55,000 cubic feet per second into the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the damaged main spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the emergency spillway of the Oroville Dam toward the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 66 Pacific Gas & Electric crews aided by a helicopter removed transmission lines and insulators from towers standing in the bed of the emergency spillway of Lake Oroville. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 66 A rainbow appears over Feather River as water cascades down the damaged spillway at Lake Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below Oroville Dam. The water is being released by authorities to avoid flooding at Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For The Times) 57 / 66 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews move two electric transmission line towers on the bank of Feather River as a precaution if the Lake Oroville Dam emergency spillway needs to be used. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 66 A California Highway Patrol cruiser patrols Lake Oroville Dam, which is closed to the public due to the damaged spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below the Oroville dam. The water is being released by authorities to ease flooding in Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For the Times) 60 / 66 Butte Country Sheriff Kory L. Honea speaks with department of water and power workers at an overlook as the observe runoff from the Oroville Dam. (David Butow / For the Times) 61 / 66 Water trickles down as workers inspect part of the Lake Oroville spillway failure in Oroville, Calif. (Randy Pench / Associated Press) 62 / 66 A boat launch at Bidwell Canyon is still hundreds of yards above the current lake level on Jan. 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 66 California State Park Ranger Bryan Taylor searches for signs of disturbance or theft as Californias severe drought conditions are revealing historic artifacts at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 66 Severe drought conditions are evident as a family treks across a long path back to their car at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 66 Houseboats are dwarfed by steep banks that show the water level down 160 feet from the high water mark at the Bidwell Bar Suspension Bridge over Lake Oroville on June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 66 Houseboats at Bidwell Canyon Marina at Lake Oroville, January 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
At the same time, state Department of Water Resources engineers began incrementally decreasing the flow of water in the spillway from 70,000 cubic feet per second to 55,000 cfs to give crews room to remove the estimated 150,000 square yards of debris.
It was all part of the effort to pump enough water out of the lake to absorb runoff from incoming storms and to keep the lake from overflowing as it did last weekend. That overflow badly eroded an emergency spillway and sent debris flowing into a pool at the bottom, forcing the closure of an underground hydroelectric plant.
As of Saturday, the estimated costs of shoring up the dams main spillway and adjacent emergency spillway had climbed to roughly $10 million, according to a report reviewed by The Times.
The area will still be under a flood watch Monday, said Rasch, the meteorologist.
Whats next for Los Angeles
Though Southern California might see scattered showers Sunday and Monday and possibly another storm next weekend, rains as heavy as this weekends are unlikely, said National Weather Service meteorologist Carol Smith.
A storm of this magnitude would be something that we see every five to 10 years in Southern California, Smith said.
More than 100,000 people across Southern California lost power, and 50,000 Los Angeles County residents remained without power Saturday afternoon.
A San Bernardino County fire truck plunged off the southbound 15 Freeway just south of Highway 138 when the right lane and shoulder caved in after heavy rains in the Cajon Pass. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
In San Bernardino County, two lanes of the southbound Interstate 15 near Highway 138 in the Cajon Pass remained closed Saturday after a section of the road, weakened by rushing water, collapsed Friday night, toppling a fire engine into the creek below. Caltrans estimates emergency repairs on the 15 will cost $3 million.
The crew of three firefighters managed to escape when the engines back tires began sinking into the road before the road gave way, San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Mike McClintock said.
Amtrak suspended service Saturday morning between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo because of mudslides in the Santa Barbara area, officials said. They hoped to resume service Saturday night once crews finish removing debris from the tracks, Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Justin Jacobs said in an email.
In the San Fernando Valley, two cars fell into a giant sinkhole Friday night. One occupant was briefly trapped but was rescued unharmed by Los Angeles firefighters.
Maggie Prvinic, who lives near the sinkhole, said she was looking out the window of her familys second-floor apartment when she saw the second car fall into the sinkhole.
Prvinic, who is expecting another child in two weeks, said she was concerned that the sinkhole might threaten her apartment building. Do I need to evacuate? Im scared the ground is fragile and the sinkhole will expand, she said.
City officials said the sinkhole, at Woodbridge Street and Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City, was probably caused by a combination of excessive rain and a possible sewer failure.
City crews and emergency contractors were working Saturday to shore up the sinkhole, which could take several days to repair.
At least five fatalities have been attributed to the storm.
On Friday, a 55-year-old man was electrocuted by a downed power line Friday in Sherman Oaks, and rescuers found a dead person inside a submerged vehicle in Victorville.
Two passengers died in separate crashes on rain-slick Interstate 15 in Mira Mesa and City Heights on Friday, the California Highway Patrol said.
The drivers involved in the collisions were suspected of driving too fast, CHP Officer Jake Sanchez said. In these types of conditions, speed plays a huge factor because if you drive fast its very easy to lose control, he said.
Swift-water rescues also continued Friday and Saturday.
Santa Ana police rescued a mother and her 8-year-old child after they fell into the Santa Ana River on Saturday afternoon, as well as a man who had jumped in to try and save them.
At Arroyo Conejo in Thousand Oaks, law enforcement rescued three men on Friday afternoon and found the body of a drowning victim in the creek Saturday morning, said Ventura County Sheriffs Det. Tim Lohman.
The area is a common hiking spot, but its closed during extreme weather.
When we have two days of rain like we did these rivers or washes or arroyos are unpredictable, Lohman said. This swift water can carry somebody away or sweep them off their feet if they get close enough.
Evacuation orders were lifted early Saturday in Duarte, where mudflows threatened dozens of homes Friday night. The city had erected concrete and wood barriers to protect neighborhoods after wildfires last summer made the area vulnerable to mudslides.
But some residents decided to remain.
Theres no need to go, said Mike Shane as he stood in front of his house Saturday morning and watched as crews scooped up the thin layer of mud that covered his sidewalk. I want to be here with my house and dog.
To read the article in Spanish, click here
As floodwaters recede Saturday, residents get out for a ride in Maxwell, about 50 miles from Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
sonali.kohli@latimes.com
melissa.etehad@latimes.com
Sahagun reported from Maxwell, and Kohli and Etehad from Los Angeles.
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Blanca Velasquez, 31, was sloshing ankle-deep up and down flooded San Francisco Street in the small Northern California farming town of Maxwell on Saturday afternoon with an iPhone pressed to her ear, trying to find a clear signal to reach worried friends and relatives.
She, like many neighbors, was awakened in the early morning hours by sheriffs deputies banging on the front door and yelling, Its flooding! Get out! Get out!
We all threw on some clothes and galoshes and headed to the door, Velasquez continued. When I stepped outside and took a look around, the streets were rivers.
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Water was still a foot high in Maxwell, a small rural town in Northern Californias Colusa County, on Saturday morning. Crews had to evacuate 100 people in the town about 2 a.m. because of flooding, some by boat.
At least 50 older wood-framed and stucco homes took in water, said Jim Saso, assistant sheriff of Colusa County. There were no reported injuries.
1 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dam main spillway, in Oroville, Calif., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dams main spillway on Feb. 21. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 66 Reduced water releases at the Oroville Dam have made damage to its main spillway more visible. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway; it has broken through and is flowing down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 66 Juan Alvarez reassures his girlfriend, Sarah Hendrix, after helping her move out of her home in rural Maxwell. Water was a foot high and crews had to evacuate 100 people because of flooding-- some by boat. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 66 Ron Chambers lets Duke out of his crate for the first time in hours since the flooding began n Maxwell, Calif. on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 66 Kevin Anfinson and other volunteers help shovel the muddy sediment that has built up in the salmon raceway at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 66 Fernando Martinez and his mother, not pictured, wade through a road in Gridley, Calif., flooded by the Feather River as it continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 66 A man in a 4x4 truck turns around on Gridley Road after having second thoughts about making it across the flooded road, which had been closed. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 66 Randy Boheim packs up his tools and emergency supplies in anticipation of having to evacuate his whole family as floodwaters creep closer to his home in an Oroville, Calif., mobile home park. The nearby Feather River continued to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 66 A plantation in Oroville, Calif., sits in floodwaters as the Feather River continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 66 Helicopters ferry sand and rocks to the Oroville Dams emergency spillway reconstruction project in Oroville, Calif., ahead of coming rains. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 66 California Water Service district manager Toni Ruggle surveys the Feather River at Bedrock Park downstream from the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 66 McKenna Harvey, 9, left, Kylie Atteberry, 11, and Brooklyn Atteberry, 7, hold signs thanking workers in the repair effort at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 66 A helicopter flies over as water flows from the main spillway at Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 66 Reconstruction continues in a race to shore up the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 66 As rain clouds gather, friends from left, Johnny Eroh, Cody Balmer, Kristien Bravo and Jerel Bruhn hang out by the flooded Feather river in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville, Calif., last week. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., listen to Butte County sheriffs deputies in February as the mandatory evacuation order was lifted. An evacuation advisory was lifted Wednesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall get the news from Butte County sheriffs Deputy Jeff Heath that the evacuation order has been lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 66 Evacuee Sharon Dalton, right, hugs Raiden Ellis, 10 months, and Chris Ellis as they say their goodbyes as she leaves the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 66 David McGlamery returns to his Oroville home with his belongings after the evacuation order was lifted. The family had to retreat to Chico, where they initially stayed at a Walmart parking lot with other evacuees. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 66 Bill Tirey helps family members move back into their home in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville near the Feather River after evacuation orders were lifted. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 66 Maria Alancar returns home to greets her pet pig Bacon, who was left behind when the family moved to higher ground in Honcut, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 66 Sulet Lopez, 21, left, Melissa Mendoza, 3, and Yeanet Lopez, 18, pack up their car at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., to head home after the evacuation order was lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 66 Erica Stenholm, left, Ronnie Vaughan, and Brooklyn Jackson, 7, unpack their car upon returning home after the evacuation order had been lifted in Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 66 Jonah Avina, left, and his wife, Eileen, pray before lunch at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. The Bangor-area Mennonites are hosting several immigrant families evacuated from the nearby town of Honcut. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 66 Evacuee Estafani Reynoso, left, colors with Mennonite children at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 66 Crews work on a damaged section of the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday. (Josh Edelson / AFP/ Getty Images) 31 / 66 An Oroville property is flooded on Monday as thousands were under evactuation orders. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 32 / 66 The Marysville cemetery underwater along the Feather River. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 66 Nirmal Singh, a Sikh priest, conducts a morning prayer ritual as evacuees sleep in the background at the Shri Guru Ravidass, a Sikh temple that has opened its doors for evacuees of the Oroville Dam crisis in Rio Linda, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 66 Kamlesh Nahar, far left, talks to fellow evacuees at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 66 Maria Lopez reads on her smartphone as she spends a second night in her fathers car in the parking lot of the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 66 Sharon Dalton finds a quiet spot under a table as she spends a second night with her dog Cruiser inside the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 66 Verna Chadwick and 10-month-old son Raiden Ellis during a second night in the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 66 The emergency spillway, left, and the damaged main spillway at Lake Oroville are seen in an aerial photo Monday. (Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images) 39 / 66 A dump truck crosses the primary spillway to deliver boulders to the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 66 Helicopters place large rocks on the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 66 Around-the-clock monitoring continues on the damaged primary spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 66 Water rushes down a spillway at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 66 California Department of Fish and Game wardens view the damaged spillway on Monday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 66 Bill OKelley, 86, and wife Doris OKelley, 84, of Oroville sit near a flagpole Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 66 Coua Tha, of Oroville prepares a meal for her family in the parking lot at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 66 Desiree Garcia and daughter Kaylee Pearl Garcia, 3, of Oroville look over donated clothing Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 66 Members of Orovilles Jordan Crossing Mission pray with a volunteer service member Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation shelter in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 66 The swollen Feather River flows through Oroville, Calif., on Monday. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) 49 / 66 A building is submerged in Riverbend Park as more water is released from Lake Oroville. (JOSH EDELSON / AFP) 50 / 66 Siblings Zach Soto, 11, left, and Gabby Soto, 13, keep an eye on the Feather River along a railroad bridge in Oroville, Calif., on Monday. The family decided to stay in Oroville as they live on high ground near downtown. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 66 Water flows down the damaged main spillway of the Oroville Dam at 55,000 cubic feet per second into the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the damaged main spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the emergency spillway of the Oroville Dam toward the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 66 Pacific Gas & Electric crews aided by a helicopter removed transmission lines and insulators from towers standing in the bed of the emergency spillway of Lake Oroville. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 66 A rainbow appears over Feather River as water cascades down the damaged spillway at Lake Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below Oroville Dam. The water is being released by authorities to avoid flooding at Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For The Times) 57 / 66 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews move two electric transmission line towers on the bank of Feather River as a precaution if the Lake Oroville Dam emergency spillway needs to be used. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 66 A California Highway Patrol cruiser patrols Lake Oroville Dam, which is closed to the public due to the damaged spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below the Oroville dam. The water is being released by authorities to ease flooding in Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For the Times) 60 / 66 Butte Country Sheriff Kory L. Honea speaks with department of water and power workers at an overlook as the observe runoff from the Oroville Dam. (David Butow / For the Times) 61 / 66 Water trickles down as workers inspect part of the Lake Oroville spillway failure in Oroville, Calif. (Randy Pench / Associated Press) 62 / 66 A boat launch at Bidwell Canyon is still hundreds of yards above the current lake level on Jan. 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 66 California State Park Ranger Bryan Taylor searches for signs of disturbance or theft as Californias severe drought conditions are revealing historic artifacts at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 66 Severe drought conditions are evident as a family treks across a long path back to their car at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 66 Houseboats are dwarfed by steep banks that show the water level down 160 feet from the high water mark at the Bidwell Bar Suspension Bridge over Lake Oroville on June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 66 Houseboats at Bidwell Canyon Marina at Lake Oroville, January 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
As debris-laden water the color of chocolate milk rushed past Bill Barretts driveway, he nodded toward a row of hills in the distance and said, The runoff of heavy rains slid down those hills last night and turned this place into a bathtub.
The trouble started at about 4 a.m. Saturday when Barrett, a retired firefighter, was awakened by a report issued on the emergency radio scanner by his bedside, about law enforcement assisting a neighbor out of his home.
I jumped out of bed to help, said Barrett, 80, a 47-year resident of this small agricultural community.
Shaking his head, he added, There have been floods in this town before. But nothing like this one.
Velasquez said she and her three siblings jumped in their pickups and drove off in the dark searching for dry ground.
A block away, she said, one lady was floating down Orange Street in a boat.
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
Bill Croyle stood in front of an aerial photo of Lake Oroville and swept his hand across the top of the emergency spillway that was helping drain water out of the brimming reservoir.
Solid rock. All this is rock, Croyle, acting director of the Department of Water Resources, said with an air of confidence at the Feb. 11 briefing.
The flows over the concrete lip of the unpaved spillway were tiny compared with what it was designed to handle. Orovilles first-ever emergency spill was going smoothly.
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Some 27 hours later, state officials told Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea that erosion was chewing away at the base of the spillways concrete lip. It was on the verge of collapse, threatening to send a towering wall of flood water surging through downstream communities, endangering tens of thousands of people. Honea ordered a mass evacuation.
The erosion slowed and dam managers succeeded in getting enough water out of the reservoir to stop the emergency spill late Feb. 12. California narrowly averted what could have been one of the worst dam disasters in state history.
Interviews and records suggest that the near-catastrophe grew out of fundamental problems with the original design of the emergency spillway that were never corrected despite questions about its adequacy.
1 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dam main spillway, in Oroville, Calif., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 66 An aerial view of the water flowing out of the Oroville Dams main spillway on Feb. 21. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 66 Reduced water releases at the Oroville Dam have made damage to its main spillway more visible. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway; it has broken through and is flowing down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 66 With a reduced flow on Sunday, most of the water being released from the Oroville Dam is not going down the spillway, its broken through and is going down the hillside. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 66 Juan Alvarez reassures his girlfriend, Sarah Hendrix, after helping her move out of her home in rural Maxwell. Water was a foot high and crews had to evacuate 100 people because of flooding-- some by boat. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 66 Ron Chambers lets Duke out of his crate for the first time in hours since the flooding began n Maxwell, Calif. on Saturday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 66 Kevin Anfinson and other volunteers help shovel the muddy sediment that has built up in the salmon raceway at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 66 Fernando Martinez and his mother, not pictured, wade through a road in Gridley, Calif., flooded by the Feather River as it continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 66 A man in a 4x4 truck turns around on Gridley Road after having second thoughts about making it across the flooded road, which had been closed. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 66 Randy Boheim packs up his tools and emergency supplies in anticipation of having to evacuate his whole family as floodwaters creep closer to his home in an Oroville, Calif., mobile home park. The nearby Feather River continued to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 66 A plantation in Oroville, Calif., sits in floodwaters as the Feather River continues to swell from the water being let out of Lake Oroville ahead of this weekends storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 66 Helicopters ferry sand and rocks to the Oroville Dams emergency spillway reconstruction project in Oroville, Calif., ahead of coming rains. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 66 California Water Service district manager Toni Ruggle surveys the Feather River at Bedrock Park downstream from the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 66 McKenna Harvey, 9, left, Kylie Atteberry, 11, and Brooklyn Atteberry, 7, hold signs thanking workers in the repair effort at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 66 A helicopter flies over as water flows from the main spillway at Lake Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 66 Reconstruction continues in a race to shore up the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 66 As rain clouds gather, friends from left, Johnny Eroh, Cody Balmer, Kristien Bravo and Jerel Bruhn hang out by the flooded Feather river in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville, Calif., last week. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., listen to Butte County sheriffs deputies in February as the mandatory evacuation order was lifted. An evacuation advisory was lifted Wednesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 66 Evacuees at the Bangor Community Hall get the news from Butte County sheriffs Deputy Jeff Heath that the evacuation order has been lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 66 Evacuee Sharon Dalton, right, hugs Raiden Ellis, 10 months, and Chris Ellis as they say their goodbyes as she leaves the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 66 David McGlamery returns to his Oroville home with his belongings after the evacuation order was lifted. The family had to retreat to Chico, where they initially stayed at a Walmart parking lot with other evacuees. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 66 Bill Tirey helps family members move back into their home in the Bedrock neighborhood of Oroville near the Feather River after evacuation orders were lifted. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 66 Maria Alancar returns home to greets her pet pig Bacon, who was left behind when the family moved to higher ground in Honcut, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 66 Sulet Lopez, 21, left, Melissa Mendoza, 3, and Yeanet Lopez, 18, pack up their car at the Bangor Community Hall in Bangor, Calif., to head home after the evacuation order was lifted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 66 Erica Stenholm, left, Ronnie Vaughan, and Brooklyn Jackson, 7, unpack their car upon returning home after the evacuation order had been lifted in Oroville. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 66 Jonah Avina, left, and his wife, Eileen, pray before lunch at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif., on Tuesday. The Bangor-area Mennonites are hosting several immigrant families evacuated from the nearby town of Honcut. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 66 Evacuee Estafani Reynoso, left, colors with Mennonite children at the Maranatha Mennonite Fellowship in Bangor, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 66 Crews work on a damaged section of the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday. (Josh Edelson / AFP/ Getty Images) 31 / 66 An Oroville property is flooded on Monday as thousands were under evactuation orders. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 32 / 66 The Marysville cemetery underwater along the Feather River. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 66 Nirmal Singh, a Sikh priest, conducts a morning prayer ritual as evacuees sleep in the background at the Shri Guru Ravidass, a Sikh temple that has opened its doors for evacuees of the Oroville Dam crisis in Rio Linda, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 66 Kamlesh Nahar, far left, talks to fellow evacuees at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 66 Maria Lopez reads on her smartphone as she spends a second night in her fathers car in the parking lot of the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 66 Sharon Dalton finds a quiet spot under a table as she spends a second night with her dog Cruiser inside the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 66 Verna Chadwick and 10-month-old son Raiden Ellis during a second night in the Bangor Community Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 66 The emergency spillway, left, and the damaged main spillway at Lake Oroville are seen in an aerial photo Monday. (Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images) 39 / 66 A dump truck crosses the primary spillway to deliver boulders to the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 66 Helicopters place large rocks on the damaged emergency spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 66 Around-the-clock monitoring continues on the damaged primary spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday evening. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 66 Water rushes down a spillway at the Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 66 California Department of Fish and Game wardens view the damaged spillway on Monday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 66 Bill OKelley, 86, and wife Doris OKelley, 84, of Oroville sit near a flagpole Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 66 Coua Tha, of Oroville prepares a meal for her family in the parking lot at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 66 Desiree Garcia and daughter Kaylee Pearl Garcia, 3, of Oroville look over donated clothing Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 66 Members of Orovilles Jordan Crossing Mission pray with a volunteer service member Monday at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation shelter in Chico, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 66 The swollen Feather River flows through Oroville, Calif., on Monday. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) 49 / 66 A building is submerged in Riverbend Park as more water is released from Lake Oroville. (JOSH EDELSON / AFP) 50 / 66 Siblings Zach Soto, 11, left, and Gabby Soto, 13, keep an eye on the Feather River along a railroad bridge in Oroville, Calif., on Monday. The family decided to stay in Oroville as they live on high ground near downtown. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 66 Water flows down the damaged main spillway of the Oroville Dam at 55,000 cubic feet per second into the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the damaged main spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 66 Water from Lake Oroville flows down the emergency spillway of the Oroville Dam toward the Feather River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 66 Pacific Gas & Electric crews aided by a helicopter removed transmission lines and insulators from towers standing in the bed of the emergency spillway of Lake Oroville. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 66 A rainbow appears over Feather River as water cascades down the damaged spillway at Lake Oroville Dam. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below Oroville Dam. The water is being released by authorities to avoid flooding at Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For The Times) 57 / 66 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews move two electric transmission line towers on the bank of Feather River as a precaution if the Lake Oroville Dam emergency spillway needs to be used. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 66 A California Highway Patrol cruiser patrols Lake Oroville Dam, which is closed to the public due to the damaged spillway. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 66 Water cascades down the spillway below the Oroville dam. The water is being released by authorities to ease flooding in Lake Oroville because of recent heavy rain. (David Butow / For the Times) 60 / 66 Butte Country Sheriff Kory L. Honea speaks with department of water and power workers at an overlook as the observe runoff from the Oroville Dam. (David Butow / For the Times) 61 / 66 Water trickles down as workers inspect part of the Lake Oroville spillway failure in Oroville, Calif. (Randy Pench / Associated Press) 62 / 66 A boat launch at Bidwell Canyon is still hundreds of yards above the current lake level on Jan. 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 66 California State Park Ranger Bryan Taylor searches for signs of disturbance or theft as Californias severe drought conditions are revealing historic artifacts at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 66 Severe drought conditions are evident as a family treks across a long path back to their car at Lake Oroville, June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 66 Houseboats are dwarfed by steep banks that show the water level down 160 feet from the high water mark at the Bidwell Bar Suspension Bridge over Lake Oroville on June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 66 Houseboats at Bidwell Canyon Marina at Lake Oroville, January 21, 2016. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The solid bedrock that Croyle thought would stand up to the force of the spill was soft and easily eroded. The long concrete lip of the spillway was not anchored into the rock. Critical power lines were strung across the spillway, which consists of nothing more than an earthen hillside covered with trees and brush.
There is no way to rationalize running water down a hillslope with deep soils and a forest on it and weak bedrock, said Jeffrey Mount, a UC Davis emeritus professor of geology and expert on California water.
Federal and state officials said the cause of the spillways near-failure was under investigation.
The key reservoir in the State Water Project that typically provides Southern California with roughly a third of its supplies, Oroville started operation in 1968. Routine water releases are made through the powerhouse at the base of the dam, which is the nations tallest.
Higher releases go down the main spillway, a long, gated concrete chute off to the side of the dam. The emergency spillway which until Feb. 11 had never been used is to the side of the main spillway.
After a hole big enough to swallow a small house appeared in the main spillway, chunks of concrete and dirt tumbled into the channel at the base of the dam, raising water levels and forcing managers to stop the powerhouse discharges.
Operators reduced flows down the main spillway to avoid further damage, leaving them with limited discharge abilities just as storm runoff was pouring into the lake. Oroville which at the same date a few years ago was less than 40% full was suddenly full to the brim.
The morning of Feb. 11, what Croyle called a little water started spilling over the concrete lip like an overflowing bathtub. At the peak of the spill, roughly 1 feet of water was sheeting out of the reservoir, spreading over the top of the hill and forming a stream as it followed a ravine down to the Feather River.
The 1,700-foot long lip, known as a weir, was supposed to handle up to a 16-foot flow over its top.
Beneath it was mostly schist, metamorphic rock that Mount described as weathered and fractured. It started to erode under the force of the spill.
There are unlined spillways elsewhere that perform well, Mount said. But they tend to be in resistant rock, and this rock is not very resistant. That is one of the design errors, not fully considering how soft and erodible that bedrock is. This stuff is all busted.
More than a decade ago, several environmental groups asked federal regulators to require the state to armor the hillside that forms the emergency spillway. The dams operating rules called for use of the spillway as part of flood-control operations, they argued, so the slope needed to be armored to prevent damaging and potentially dangerous erosion.
In filings with the agency that oversees the dam the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the groups cited a 2002 technical memo prepared for the Yuba County Water Agency that concluded emergency spills would cause extensive erosion on the hillside, potentially destroying high-voltage transmission towers and a road. Soil, rocks and debris would clog the Feather River.
Life below Oroville Dam: Stoicism, faith ... and cars poised for a fast getaway
We had real concerns that even if the spillway itself didnt fail, moving all that erosion of topsoil down the river would cause major damage to a very important fishery, said Allan Eberhart of the Sierra Club.
The 2005 filing by Friends of the River, the Sierra Club and the South Yuba River Citizens League also warned of a loss of crest control which would have happened if the top of the spillway had collapsed, as it almost did Feb. 12.
A crumbling weir would have taken a dangerous bite out of the side of the reservoir, unleashing catastrophic torrents that Robert Bea, a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of engineering, said could have rushed more than 100 miles down the Feather and Sacramento rivers, breaching levees all the way to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
In a May 2006 filing with FERC, the Department of Water Resources insisted that the emergency spillway was sound.
DWR recently reviewed the geologic conditions at the emergency spillway and concluded that the spillway is a safe and stable structure founded on solid bedrock that will not erode, the department stated. The Project Geology Section determined that there are only one to four feet of erodible top soil in the downstream area and that erosion would not compromise the stability of the emergency spillway.
A few months later, an internal FERC memo echoed Water Resources, saying the spillway had been reviewed as part of a 2004 safety analysis: It is important to emphasize that during a rare event with the emergency spillway flowing at its design capacity, spillway operations would not affect reservoir control or endanger the dam, states the memo by a FERC senior civil engineer.
FERC patted us on the head and said its all good, dont worry about it, said Ron Stork, a senior staffer at Friends of the River.
Stork is not an engineer, but his decades of river work have made him a dam geek. I tried and failed to get the state to upgrade the spillway, he said. Maybe nature gave us a wake-up call that what I suggested is needed.
FERC spokeswoman Celeste Miller said the agency could not comment on the 2006 memo or the basis of it because the Oroville events were under review. The memo was written during a periodic review of the dams operating license.
DWR spokeswoman Nancy Vogel said, We dont know the cause of the spillway erosion and we wont know the cause until we get experts in there to do a full investigation and analysis.
John France, a veteran dam safety consultant with Aecom, noted, In 1968, quite frankly, there werent probably a lot of methodologies available to evaluate how rock erodes if you had flowing water on it.
Certainly we have to acknowledge that the performance we saw on that spillway was not consistent with [the DWR] conclusion, he added. We saw a significant erosion occur in that formation with far less than the design amount of water that would go over that structure.
When the spillway issue came up during relicensing, Mount said, the state could have dug test pits and conducted lab analysis of rock corings to determine if the bedrock was as strong as they thought it was.
They operated with an assumption that turned out to be incorrect, he said.
Soft bedrock is not the only problem, he added. The concrete weir at the top of the emergency spillway was just plopped on top of that ridge. Its a design area that will probably get a lot of scrutiny and had to be a major concern as [the spillway] was eroding up the hill.
Vogel confirmed that the weir, which she said ranges in height from 25 feet to 45 feet, was not anchored.
As to why the state never moved transmission lines that cross both spillways and connect the dam powerhouse to the electrical grid, Vogel said, The main spillway performed well for the past 50 years, so there was no perceived need to relocate.
State contractors worked around the clock last week to strengthen the top of the emergency spillway with thousands of tons of rock sealed in place with concrete slurry as dam operators shoved as much water down the broken main spillway as they safely could.
By late Friday afternoon, reservoir levels had fallen more than 40 feet below the trigger point for emergency spills.
bettina.boxall@latimes.com
Twitter: @boxall
Staff writers Adam Elmahrek and Ralph Vartabedian contributed to this report.
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Seventy-five years ago today, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, declaring parts of the United States to be military zones from which particular groups of people could be excluded for security reasons. The order set the stage for the relocation and internment, beginning the following month, of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens living on the West Coast.
To our lasting shame, heres what The Times editorial page had to say about the matter at the time:
For the record: An earlier version of this editorial stated that President Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Fred Korematsu in 1988. Korematsu was awarded the medal in 1998.
This is war. And in wartime, the preservation of the nation becomes the first duty. Everything must be subordinated to that. Every necessary precaution must be taken to insure reasonable safety from spies and saboteurs so that our armed forces can function adequately and our industrial machinery may continue to work free from peril.
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And this:
The time has come to realize that the rigors of war demand proper detention of Japanese and their immediate removal from the most acute danger spots. It is not a pleasant task. But it must be done and done now. There is no safe alternative.
And this, a year or so later, when some people were calling for the release of those who had been interned:
As a race, the Japanese have made for themselves a record for conscienceless treachery unsurpassed in history. Whatever small theoretical advantages there might be in releasing those under restraint in this country would be enormously outweighed by the risks involved.
Even in times of stress and fear, we need to keep a firm grip on our core values and bedrock principles.
That was another time, and another Times. This newspaper has long since reversed itself on the subject. Not only was some of our reasoning explicitly racist, but in our desperate attempts to sound rational by supposedly balancing the twin imperatives of security and liberty in the midst of World War II we exaggerated the severity of the threat while failing to acknowledge the significance of revoking the most fundamental rights of American citizens based solely on their ancestry. In the 1980s, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians found there had been no military justification for the exclusion and noted that no Japanese Americans had been convicted of spying or sabotage. The incarceration was a grave injustice, the congressional commission concluded.
Korematsu vs. United States, the 1944 Supreme Court decision that found Executive Order 9066 to be constitutional, has never been officially overturned, but it is widely viewed as odious and discredited, and in 1998, President Clinton awarded its plaintiff, Fred Korematsu, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The original executive order, signed by President Roosevelt, and many other artifacts of the period are currently on display in an exhibit titled Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.
Strange things happen in times of turmoil, hysteria and populist anger. Given what we wrote in 1942, the 75th anniversary is a time for The Times editorial board to exercise some humility and to reflect on how we reach our positions on the passionate issues of the day. Heres one obvious conclusion: Even in times of stress and fear, we need to keep a firm grip on our core values and bedrock principles.
For Americans more generally, the mistreatment of innocent Japanese people and Japanese Americans (and thousands of Germans and Italians as well) during the war is particularly relevant as a new administration in Washington stokes fears of a surge in nationalism and xenophobia rejecting humanitarianism and internationalism in favor of isolationism and America First-ism. The simplest and clearest lesson from the exclusion and internment is that it is wrong to view entire populations as monoliths and attribute to all members of a group be they Japanese or Muslims or Mexicans or Iranians or even Americans the characteristics of a few. This is at the heart of what it means to not be prejudiced.
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The scariest new catchphrase of the Trump era and were only one month in is the deep state, a term borrowed from countries like Turkey and Egypt, where networks of military officers and intelligence operatives control much of the government.
Last week, President Trump complained that illegal leaks from the FBI and other intelligence agencies forced him to fire his national security advisor, Michael Flynn.
The leaks revealed that Flynn had secretly discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador, then falsely claimed he hadnt. The talks didnt bother Trump; the leaks did.
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The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by intelligence like candy, he tweeted. The spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers! They will be caught!
In a country controlled by the deep state, members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies can overthrow presidents they dont like.
Others worried, too. Republican members of Congress condemned the leaks as a misuse of classified information. Critics of the intelligence community, both conservative and liberal, warned that unelected bureaucrats were exerting too much political power.
Was the American deep state, panicked by Trump, revealing itself?
The intelligence agencies are pretty hard to roll, a former top CIA official told me last week. These guys are trained to manipulate people and overthrow governments, and theyre rather good at it.
But no, this wasnt the deep state seizing power. Were not there yet.
In a country controlled by the deep state, members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies can overthrow presidents they dont like; thats what happened in Egypt in 2013. They hold veto power over major decisions. They often run large parts of the economy, or at least enough government contracts to make their families rich. And theyre rarely held accountable for their actions. They act with impunity.
U.S. intelligence agencies, on the other hand, are restrained by law. Sometimes they overstep, but eventually they are reined in. The officials who leaked the details of Flynns conversations knew that Trump would order the FBI to track them down. They put themselves at risk.
Trumps problem isnt the deep state; its the broad state. Hes facing pushback not only from intelligence agencies, but from civilian bureaucracies, too.
When his White House staff drafted an executive order to reopen CIA black sites and reintroduce torture, it leaked and the decision was promptly put on ice.
When they drafted another order to repeal protections for LGBT federal employees, that leaked too and the presidents daughter and son-in-law blocked the idea.
When Trump banned travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the attorneys general of several states sued, and federal courts blocked the orders enforcement.
There have been less-dramatic forms of defiance, too. Bureaucrats in the State Department and Environmental Protection Agency have signed petitions protesting the new administrations policies.
In a different category, Trumps own Cabinet appears to harbor a modest dose of dissent: Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sound distinctly less enthusiastic than their boss about cooperating with Vladimir Putin.
Just about every segment of the federal government has struggled against White House actions it didnt like, and when you add up all those varieties of resistance, it begins to look almost like a Resistance. But and this is crucial theres no central power organizing or directing the fight.
Its not unusual for a new Republican administration to encounter recalcitrant bureaucrats in domestic agencies like the EPA, or for a Democratic president to clash with hawks in national security agencies. In 2009, for example, President Obama believed the Pentagon tried to force him to send more troops to Afghanistan than he wanted.
But Trump and his chief theoretician, Stephen K. Bannon, have taken aim at both sides: not only Democratic bureaucrats, but also much of the Republican establishment. The bureaucratic resistance theyve met has been unusually bipartisan.
The result, especially in the wake of Flynns ouster, has been chaos. The National Security Council is leaderless and understaffed. Domestic agencies are gripped by uncertainty, too, a state that induces self-protective bureaucrats to move even more slowly than usual.
The main danger in a Trump presidency is not that it will be too strong, but that it will be too weak, Jack Goldsmith, an assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush, argued last week. The U.S. government cannot work well without a minimally staffed, well-organized, energetic, competent executive branch. Right now we dont have such an executive branch.
We may still be heading for several kinds of trouble: an international crisis with an unready NSC, a constitutional crisis if Trump ignores a court order he dislikes. But a shadow government? Its a peril to guard against, to be sure but its far from the biggest danger we face.
doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com
Twitter: @DoyleMcManus
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
On the campaign trail and now in office, President Trump has made his position on torture very clear: It works, and even if it doesnt, they deserve it anyway.
Trump delivered this applause line at a rally in Ohio in late 2015, and again a few months later in South Carolina. In a debate among Republican presidential candidates early last year, he said he would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. Last month, as president, he affirmed his stance, telling ABC News: We have to fight fire with fire.
Until the president signs an executive order on the treatment of terrorism suspects, we will not know what his administrations exact designs are, or if they are legal or achievable. But in at least one significant way, damage has already been done. Based on my and my colleagues analysis of public attitudes toward torture over time, Trumps repeated pro-torture statements have already created a more permissive atmosphere for torture. The effects may be felt sooner, and closer to home, than we would like to think.
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I and my colleagues Paul Gronke and Peter Miller compiled an archive of American and international public opinion surveys on torture, encompassing individual data from 43 polls released between 2001 and 2015.
Trumps rhetoric can be read by law enforcement as a green light to work outside the rules.
According to our research, support for torture has slowly increased in the United States since 2001. Contrary to media reports, there was no pro-torture majority during the presidency of George W. Bush 56% of Americans were opposed to torture even in a ticking time bomb scenario, while 39% supported its use. Public opinion began to sway in 2009, and data now show that a majority of Americans are accepting of state torture 58% considered it justifiable in 2015, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
Republicans accounted for most of this increase. Indeed, over this same period, torture shifted from a nonpartisan issue to a highly partisan one, not unlike the death penalty. In 2004, four out of 10 Republicans and three out of 10 Democrats supported the use of torture. By 2015, Republican support had grown to roughly eight out of 10, while support by Democrats rose only slightly, to four out of 10.
We discovered that, when it comes to torture, people appear to be driven more by social cues, superstition, resentment and indecision than by philosophy, morality or rational outcomes whether it works, as Trump often claims. In particular, in our controlled survey experiments, so far we have found that respondents who favor torture dont care whether it produces a positive or negative security outcome.
Although American public support for torture overall was lower under a pro-torture president (Bush) than an anti-torture president (Obama), we also found that presidential signaling was the most powerful predictor of where people would stand on the issue. If a president condones torture, those who favor him will support torture. If a president does not, those who favor him will not. The Republican Partys base is more likely to take cues from President Trump than from other top Republicans, such as Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Trumps favorable view of torture may mean that fewer Americans would oppose the reestablishment of the CIAs extraordinary rendition program, an idea the administration floated in a draft of an executive order and later backed away from.
That program is unlikely to be reinstated, even if it found its way back into an executive order. (Both Congress and the Supreme Court played a role in shutting it down.) But the black sites run by the CIA after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were not the only places where Americans have interrogated and tortured detainees.
Secret interrogation locations appeared domestically decades before the CIA began using them overseas. In the 1920s, police coerced confessions from suspects in off the books hotels and homes while their families and lawyers searched for them, as was documented in the 1931 assessment of organized police violence known as the Wickersham Report. (Though it is doubtful, at best, that torture works for intelligence gathering the Senate report on CIA interrogations concluded the program was ineffective we know its quite effective at producing false confessions.) More recently, in 2015, the Guardian broke the story of a police-run black site in Chicago, Homan Square, noting that the citys police practices had begun to echo the abuse of detainees in the war on terror.
There is a long history of soldiers bringing torture techniques into police departments. American soldiers were introduced to waterboarding in the Philippine-American War, for instance, and police interrogators in the United States began using the water cure as these veterans returned home. By 1930, the American Bar Assn. had declared the practice common nationwide.
Wartime contemporaries of the Chicago police detective Jon Burge, who used torture to elicit confessions from more than 110 African American men over 19 years, recognized an electrical technique described by Burges victims as bearing a striking resemblance to one used by Americans in Vietnam, where Burge served as a military policeman. Other detectives in Burges group also used electricity and other forms of torture, sometimes in off the books areas.
Another longtime Chicago police detective, Richard Zuley, has illustrated that police brutality can morph into military misconduct. Zuley exported torture techniques he used over 20 years as a detective on Chicagos north side to Guantanamo, where he was later stationed as a Navy reserve lieutenant.
As statistical research done by the scholars Avery Schmidt and Kathryn Sikkink has shown, the CIAs detention program even had deleterious effects on other countries that complied with it. Governments that kidnapped terror suspects for the CIA or hosted black sites subsequently had worse human rights records. Collaboration with the program signaled to local police and soldiers that they may work outside the rules. Call it the Black Site Effect.
Trumps stance on torture is dangerous regardless of whether he succeeds in reviving its use in the war on terror. His rhetoric can be read by law enforcement as permission to work outside the rules. Fifteen years after the start of the war in Afghanistan, 13 years after the start of the second war in Iraq, and 12 years after the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison came to light, torture may be coming to a neighborhood near you.
Darius Rejali is a professor of political science at Reed College and the author of Torture and Democracy, which won the American Political Science Assn.s Human Rights Book of the Year Award in 2007.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook.
As questions deepened about ties between President Trumps administration and Vladimir Putins Russia, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus flatly denied Sunday that the two camps colluded during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Priebus, in a series of news-show interviews, also insisted that ousted national security advisor Mike Flynn had done nothing illegal in discussing sanctions against Russia with the countrys ambassador to Washington prior to Trumps inauguration, and batted aside questions about disorder and disarray in the White House.
Priebus, who was not on Trumps campaign, has previously said he could not speak to any involvement with Russia by campaign staff. But asked on Fox News Sunday whether there was collusion between anybody involved with Trump and anybody involved with Russia during the campaign, he replied: No.
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He was somewhat more equivocal in a separate interview on NBCs Meet the Press, when asked about a New York Times article last week that alleged contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. U.S. intelligence assessments have said Russia interfered in the election with the aim of aiding Trump.
We dont know of any contacts with Russian agents, Priebus said. The chief of staff also told NBC he was not aware of anyone else in the White House, other than Flynn, who was forced to resign last week, having been interviewed by the FBI about Russian contacts.
Priebus, in the Fox News interview, cited top levels of the intelligence community as having assured him that the account of the Trump campaigns constant contact with Russian spies was incorrect, but he did not cite any official or agency.
The Flynn affair, coupled with Trumps strikingly harsh attacks on the news media in recent days, has stirred fresh unease among some lawmakers about the Trump administration and Russia.
Defense secretary breaks with Trump on declaring that media are enemy of the American people
Russia is leading a movement around the world to spread autocracy and authoritarianism, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABCs This Week. He said it was of profound concern to him that Trump was more focused on attacking the media than what Russia is doing.
Priebus account of Flynn being forced out took a more accusatory tone toward the former national security advisor than Trump himself has in public statements. The president has defended the volatile retired general as a good man and repeatedly railed against what he described as fake news reports based on leaked information.
Priebus told NBC that questioning of Flynn led the White House to suspect that he wasnt being straight about his pre-inauguration discussions with the Russian ambassador.
Flynns forced resignation followed a report in the Washington Post, which said the then-acting attorney general informed the White House weeks earlier that intelligence intercepts of the calls did not square with the account Vice President Mike Pence said publicly he had been given by Flynn.
Priebus confirmed that the conflicting accounts had been known to the White House since sometime after Jan. 27. The Post story was published online Monday, hours before Flynn was fired.
Flynn maintained that he never talked to the Russian ambassador about sanctions, but still, something wasnt adding up, the chief of staff told NBC interviewer Chuck Todd. And eventually, we determined that he did.
Priebus brushed aside suggestions that the timing suggested that Pence had not been fully informed as doubts emerged within the administration about Flynns truthfulness.
The vice presidents in the loop on everything, he said, adding: It felt like it happened very quickly.
The Flynn revelations reignited longstanding worries by congressional Democrats and some Republicans about Trumps often-expressed admiration for Putin and about intelligence assessments that the Russians worked to sway the presidential election in Trumps favor particularly against the backdrop of Trumps escalating war on the news media, which he described on Twitter last week as an enemy of the American People!
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading Russia hawk, said on NBC that he had more hope than belief that the Republican-controlled Congress would fully investigate the Trump camps dealings with Russia. He also declared that suppression of a free and independent press was how dictators get started.
Im not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator, he said on Meet the Press. Im just saying that we need to learn the lessons of history.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) was more sympathetic to the White House view that coverage of Trump was at times almost to the point of being hysterical, but agreed that there was cause for disquiet regarding Trumps stance on Russia.
When it comes to Russia, the one thing that bothers me most about President Trump is that he never seems to forcefully embrace the idea that Russias interference in our election 2016 is something that should be punished, Graham said on CBS Face the Nation.
Putin is not a friend of democracy, he added. And if we dont hit them hard, you will be empowering Russia.
laura.king@latimes.com
Twitter: @laurakingLAT
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President Trump returned to campaign mode Saturday with a clear opponent in mind the media declaring before thousands of cheering supporters that fake news was undermining his nascent administrations accomplishments.
The White House was running so smoothly, Trump said in an airport hangar here. He said the rally was about sharing our incredible progress in making America great again.
I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news, he said. Theyve become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system.
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In its first four weeks, Trumps administration has faced setbacks with little precedent, chief among them the resignation of his national security advisor after just three weeks amid a deepening controversy over Russian interference in the U.S. government.
Trumps approval ratings are historically low for a new president; one of his Cabinet nominees withdrew despite a new lower threshold for confirmation; and the courts stalled a major early initiative, Trumps temporary ban on travel to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim nations.
Trump painted a far different picture.
A great spirit of optimism is sweeping and you see it is sweeping across the country, he said, citing recent stock market highs as his chief evidence.
The president has shown frustration with what he considers successes being drowned out by high-profile missteps. That was part of the calculation behind the decision in the West Wing to hold a campaign-style rally so early in Trumps term.
Trump has often found comfort in crowds of his passionate supporters, and the 9,000 in Melbourne erupted in cheers throughout his remarks, which lasted about three-quarters of an hour. Their adoration, in the White Houses view, is an important public signal to congressional Republicans who have appeared increasingly wary of Trumps stumbles.
Lawmakers are beginning a weeklong recess in which many will head to their districts to confront tough questions from constituents about Trump and the GOP agenda. Many Republicans represent solidly conservative districts where Trump is more popular than he is in the nation as a whole.
But gratified as the White House may be from Saturdays performance, a crucial test looms in just over a week, when Trump will appear for the first time before a joint session of Congress. Hell give what is typically a speech outlining specific policy priorities.
Trump campaigned at the same venue in Florida nearly five months ago, on the day after the first of three election debates against Hillary Clinton.
Then, he touted nonscientific online surveys that credited him for a dominating performance over Clinton, his Democratic rival, when in fact more reliable data showed the public deemed Clinton the clear victor. He described her as crooked 20 times. This time, it was the fake press.
He portrayed his media criticism as, well, presidential.
Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln and many of our greatest presidents fought with the media and called them out oftentimes on their lies, Trump said. When the media lies to people, I will never, ever let them get away with it.
Saturdays rally bore a striking resemblance to the last, with one key difference: the plane.
Instead of the Boeing 757 private jet bearing his name that was a staple of his campaign, Trump arrived on Air Force One. In September he spoke with his prized jet behind him, but Air Force One was not a backdrop at Saturdays rally that would have risked flouting restrictions on mixing political activity with the trappings of the presidency.
Its an unprecedented discussion to be having this early in a presidential term. Trump filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to set up a 2020 campaign committee on the day he was sworn in as president (a cover letter indicated that doing so does not constitute a formal announcement of my candidacy, however).
President Obama waited until 2011 to file paperwork to seek a second term in the 2012 election. Three incumbent congressmen who are seeking reelection two years earlier than Trump just filed their paperwork on Friday.
But, asked by The Times about criticism he has faced for resuming a campaign posture so early, Trump answered bluntly: Life is a campaign.
To make America great again is absolutely a campaign, he said on Air Force One just before the rally. Its not easy, especially when were also fighting the press.
White House officials, while emphasizing that the rally was a political event and therefore one they were not involved in, also stated emphatically that the rally was not for any campaign, but rather for America.
Trumps political organization funded the event, the White House said.
But some of the costs associated with the presidents travel for the event here are borne by taxpayers. While the president and his assistants are required to reimburse the government for airfare, according to a 2012 report from the Congressional Research Service, the costs of Secret Service and staff who are always considered to be on official duty are paid by the government.
Trump himself frequently attacked Obama for using Air Force One during campaign travels.
Days before the 2016 election, as Obama campaigned for Clinton, Trump tweeted after seeing Air Force One in Miami. Why is he campaigning instead of creating jobs & fixing Obamacare? he asked. Get back to work for the American people!
Why is President Obama allowed to use Air Force One on the campaign trail, he asked in July, as Obama was set to travel with Clinton for a joint campaign event. Who pays?
Trump owes his victory to the kind of unexpected surge in Republican turnout in counties like Brevard, where he campaigned Saturday. While Clinton improved upon Obamas performance in key Democratic strongholds in the state, Trump overcame that by driving up turnout in conservative and Republican-leaning areas.
He earned nearly 182,000 votes in the county in November, an increase of more than 22,000 from Mitt Romneys total four years earlier. His 62,169-vote margin of victory here marked a 71% increase from Romneys lead over Obama.
Palm Beach County, where Trump began and ended the day at his Mar-a-Lago resort, went solidly for Clinton.
michael.memoli@latimes.com
Twitter: @mikememoli
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The word is hurled like a thunderbolt: Treason!
There are few more serious charges than taking up the cause of Americas enemies and colluding to undermine the country from within.
Yet that very accusation has been leveled against President Trump by some of his most fevered critics. They cite, among the particulars, the presidents evident high regard for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and Russias meddling in the 2016 election, which helped Trump and badly undermined Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Its not just left-wing celebrities like film director Michael Moore who are wielding the T-word. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Iraq war veteran, used it during a CNN interview.
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If members of the administration are essentially conspiring with Russia thats the definition of treason, Moulton said. This is a very, very serious affair.
Trump and his top aides have emphatically denied any knowledge of Russias efforts to tilt the election, much less involvement. The president has repeatedly insisted he would have won the White House regardless and suggests the focus on Russian interference is a way of undercutting his administration.
The whole Russian thing, thats a ruse, Trump said at last weeks frenetic news conference. Its a ruse.
Casually tossing out political rhetoric is one thing, provocative as it may be. The laws that define treason are quite specific, however, making it unlikely in the extreme the accusations that Trump and his aides conspired against America will go anywhere beyond the purview of late-night comedians and the presidents hardest-core detractors.
What is treason?
It is the one crime that is spelled out in the Constitution. Article III, Section 3 states: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
It is a distinct crime from others covered by law, such as sedition inciting revolt against the government or espionage.
What is the punishment for treason?
That was left up to Congress. Lawmakers decreed the mandatory minimum punishment would be five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In the most egregious cases, the penalty is death.
Presumably the accusations against Trump et al dont go to waging war against the United States but rather the matter of alleged aid and comfort.
Yes.
So what does the law say in that regard?
Offering aid and comfort covers a range of activities. Giving shelter to an enemy soldier or providing material assistance to a hostile government would be two examples. Merely sympathizing with a foreign government does not, in itself, constitute treason. The law requires a specific action to be undertaken.
How difficult is it to obtain a conviction?
Very. A guilty verdict requires either a confession in open court or the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act.
How common are prosecutions for treason?
Rare. In the whole history of the country, there have only been a few dozen cases brought to trial. Less than half resulted in convictions.
Wasnt Benedict Arnold convicted of treason?
Actually, no. Even though he is perhaps the most famous traitor in U.S. history, his collaboration with the British occurred during the Revolutionary War, before the Constitution was drafted.
Perhaps the most celebrated case of treason involved Aaron Burr, in 1807. In what was then known as the Trial of the Century, the former vice president was accused of waging war against his young country by allegedly seeking to entice western territories to break away and form their own nation.
President Jefferson helped direct the prosecution from the White House. Nonetheless, Burr was acquitted after a trial presided over by the Supreme Courts chief justice, John Marshall.
Wow! Sensational stuff!
Indeed. And something were unlikely to see replicated anytime soon.
Tracking Trump: The first 100 days
mark.barabak@latimes.com
@markzbarabak
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San Diego Rep. Scott Peters has held town halls for years. The reality? It was common for the Democrats staff to outnumber the constituents who showed up.
Since Donald Trump won the White House and took office a month ago, Peters says thousands of people have asked to meet with him, many of them asking, What can I do?
The 700 seats available at a how to get involved workshop hes hosting this week with fellow San Diego Democrat Rep. Susan Davis were claimed in two days and they say people are pushing them to hold another.
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They just want direction. People are hungry for places to go and ways to be helpful, Davis said. Theres this element where people think someday their grandchild will say to them, where were you when all this was happening in the country?
For the Democrats in Californias congressional delegation, this weeklong Presidents Day recess reflects both a new opportunity and a dilemma: Can the surge of anger and activism in Democratic California be harnessed to win more elections?
In a state where 6 in 10 voters picked Hillary Clinton, many of them are looking for a way to resist the new Republican administration and Democratic leaders are looking for a way to turn the blue state even deeper blue. Nationally, theyre targeting 61 Republican districts, including seven California districts where voters elected a Republican to the House but picked Hillary Clinton for president.
Some of the districts targeted by Democrats have seen the biggest outpouring of activists. Protesters have appeared repeatedly outside the offices of Reps. Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher, Darrell Issa, Duncan Hunter and others, asking for in-person town halls.
If they can harness the protest energy, there could be some parallels between the lefts resistance movement and the tea party wave that swept Republicans into power after Barack Obama took office. Democrats need to pick up 24 seats nationwide to take back the House in 2018.
Peters said getting there will require being disciplined enough to turn the current protests and meetings into longer-term momentum.
We have to point it in the right direction, not at each other, Peters said. Elections have consequences and theres elections all over the country in two years.
California Democrats have planned more than 25 town halls or meetings in the next few weeks, according to a list curated by the progressive Town Hall Project 2018. Despite activists repeated protests and petitions, only one Republican Rep. Tom McClintock has scheduled any in the near future. (McClintock, who was escorted out of Roseville town hall by police earlier this month, is planning two more town halls this week.)
Across the country, progressive activist groups are forming under a variety of names, including Resistance, Indivisible and Huddles, to try to direct the progressive energy embodied in town hall efforts, and a few members of the California delegation are jumping in to help.
Ethics rules bar members of Congress and their staffs from using federal funds to encourage constituents to grass-roots lobby, so some events are organized and paid for by their reelection campaigns.
Noisy town hall protests show how the left is trying out tea party tactics
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) said 950 people RSVPed for her town hall in San Francisco last Saturday, an event that would normally draw 200 people at most.
They feel that democracy is about to implode in front of their eyes and they desperately want something done, Speier said. The argument that we dont have a majority doesnt cut it for them. They werent satisfied [hearing] I dont have any control over that.
Shes planning to have her campaign rent space and direct her dissatisfied constituents toward activist groups they can work with.
In a town hall meeting I cant direct them to do anything politically, Speier said.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) planned two organizing meetings this weekend with activists in her district. She expected at least 100 people to show up. Then shell hold a town hall funded by her congressional office on Wednesday.
There is the awareness that 2018 is where people need to be focusing, Bass said. Protesting without a goal of changing something, I think, makes you feel good, but we need to channel it into taking back the House.
sarah.wire@latimes.com
Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter
Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics
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Updates on California politics
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Killing with kindness, GOPs McClintock faces down hostile questioners as town hall goes into overti
An Anaheim man was sentenced Friday to 12 days in jail and three years informal probation after he pleaded guilty to damaging a police patrol vehicle and inciting a group of protesters to riot outside an April rally by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Orange County fairgrounds.
Luis Fernando Alarcon, 20, pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to misdemeanor vandalism and misdemeanor riot charges. He was sentenced immediately, according to court records.
Alarcon previously was charged with a count of felony vandalism, but the court reduced it to a misdemeanor, according to the Orange County district attorneys office.
Authorities said Alarcon ran toward a California Highway Patrol vehicle during the April 28 protest in Costa Mesa and yelled "[expletive] the police at an officer through the cars open window. He reached into his pocket and hurled what appeared to be a rock or roof tile at the patrol car, prosecutors said.
Police did not immediately arrest him and he continued to protest and block traffic as officers tried to clear the scene, prosecutors said.
Dreaming about living in another country is easy, but creating a budget to make it happen is hard. Heres help.
Name: theearthawaits.com
What it does: The Earth Awaits website helps you get a financial picture for what the amount of money it would take to live abroad. Indicate your monthly budget, family size, accommodation size and location, your economic style of living (Very Lean, Lean, Modest, Ample, Opulent), drive rate and pollution preference, and the Earth Awaits will suggest destinations around the globe. See a gallery of destinations, save favorites, view ratings and check a general cost breakdown. Monthly memberships range from free to $6 a month for increased data to a $48 annually.
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Whats hot: Can a family of three live in a two-bedroom apartment in Europe for $3,500 a month? Yes, and for considerably less too. I found enticing cities in Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania, Germany, Lithuania and more. If becoming a location independent digital nomad is a priority, youll love that you can browse destinations and sort cities by Internet download/upload speeds. If you want to do that search within a specific continent, just use the filter to narrow your results. For example Bogota and Cali, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, ranked highest when I did this search in South America. Click on the Advanced section of your Search to sort according to quality of life, budget, language, attitudes about the LGBT community, healthcare and other attributes.
Whats not: The cost breakdowns are general. If you want to see specifics such as the cost of an apartment by size in your city of interest, or the price of a dozen eggs, boneless chicken breasts, domestic or imported beer, etc. make sure you click on the Budget section once you are on the main page for your destination.
travel@latimes.com
Re Read Between the Stars, On the Spot, Feb. 12, by Catharine Hamm: Sometimes the deception of the websites of both the airlines and search app companies is downright frustrating.
One thing I have found: You must be careful when using an app or website and know whether youre working with a third party. Any problems with your itinerary must be taken care of by the third party, not the airlines or hotel you are using.
It can be a nasty experience.
Even though your booking shows a major hotel or airline, they often will not be able to help you.
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I have seen more than one unhappy traveler arguing with an employee who has no power to make it right. Unpleasant for everyone.
Paul Brown
Santa Ana
Id like to suggest as a follow-up to Hamms article: the Italian film A Five Star Life. A wonderful take on world-class hotels and how they may or may not stay that way.
Linda Lennon
Los Angeles
::
The lowdown on high tea
Rosemary McClures recent article on various afternoon teas was delightful [Take Tea in High Style, Jan. 8], especially because not once were the occasions described with the pretense of the inaccurate adjective high, except as high style.
My British friends are amused by our highfalutin insistence on that term, which they use only for a soup-and-sandwich supper at home.
Afternoon teas are lovely occasions, but they are never called high tea. Except by Americans.
Patti Garrity
Manhattan Beach
::
The frills were smiles and songs
Rosemary McClures article highlighting the Aranui 5 and its itinerary reminded me of my trip on the Aranui in 1988 [When Low Frills Make for Thrills, Jan. 29]. Now that was low frills.
The owners had been in financial difficulty. With amazing forethought, they added a few basic cabins and a dining room to their cargo ship, which served as the transportation lifeline and supply link to the remote Tuamotos and Marquesas Islands.
The ships only amenity was an incredible French chef no pool, sundeck, air con, shopping, gym or cabin service.
The Polynesian crew and 28 passengers of various nationalities (mostly European) communicated in French and some English. As a single traveler, I arbitrarily shared a cabin with a German woman.
We docked only a few times. We climbed down a scary narrow metal ladder flung over the side of the ship, into the boats that ran up the beach, and out you jumped. The muscled, tattooed crew carried women to the shore.
Time spent on each island was generally dependent on cargo size cars, building materials, machinery, fuel, food, staples and even livestock (horses were lowered into the surf to swim to shore) all unloaded in rope hammocks.
Our boat was always greeted by islanders, but not to sell trinkets; we were their amusement. For our small group, there were no organized shore excursions or meals. We just figured it out and walked, hiked, rode bikes, horses, scooters, trucks and tractors around the islands. We were invited into homes, schools and churches and to parades and parties.
We saw tapa made from scratch on verdant Fatu Hiva. My cabin mate bought a huge black pearl from a fisherman for a few dollars on the craggy island of Ua Pou (wish I had); on Hiva Oa, we trekked to Paul Gauguins and Jacques Brels gravesites; and on Nuka Hiva where a 22-year-old sailor named Herman Melville jumped ship, we sampled popoi (breadfruit poi somewhat less nasty than the Hawaiian version).
In the evenings on Aranui 1, we ate superb dinners with unlimited wine. Then you went to bed or joined the crew in the small lounge where they sang to guitars and ukuleles or danced to cassettes of Polynesian music.
Im still glad I made the trip back then. No phones, videos, email or TV; just incredible fun and food, sights and smiles and songs.
Sheila Maynes
Beverly Hills
travel@latimes.com
@latimestravel
The snipers bullet hissed like a sharp exhalation of breath, scattering the clump of soldiers observing the battle unfolding down the hill. They ran, stumbling over stones as they raced for a row of vehicles behind them. Another hiss came. They ran faster.
The sister of a whore, hes too far. We cant hear where the shot is coming from, said one soldier as he ducked behind a Humvee, smiling as he cursed.
Another wondered if the helicopters swooping overhead had destroyed a car, presumed to be driven by an Islamic State suicide bomber, that had disappeared from view moments before.
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A 60-foot-high plume of smoke rocketing into the sky was his answer. A beat later came the shock wave, followed by the roar of the blast.
The Iraqi soldier raised his arm to shield his eyes. Shrapnel, he said by way of explanation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi, in a screen grab from a video released by his press office, announcing the launch of military operations to retake western Mosul from Islamic State on Feb. 19. (AFP/Getty Images)
Fighting was heavy Sunday as the Iraqi military, aided by U.S. special forces, launched the second phase of its campaign to drive out Islamic State from the western half of Mosul. In a televised speech, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi hailed the offensive as the dawn of a great victory.
We [call upon] our heroic forces to mobilize with all bravery to liberate what remains of this city and the citizens and to rid them of Daesh forever, he said, employing the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
The battle for Mosul, which Islamic State seized in mid-2014, began in October when Iraqi troops punched their way into the citys eastern districts. It took them 100 days to reach the Tigris River, which bisects the city and now forms one of the launching points for government forces bearing down on the west.
It was a grueling fight and the final phase promises to be even harder. The jihadists weapons of choice car bombs, suicide bombers and snipers inflicted casualty rates as high as 50% for some units, reports said. The government declared the eastern bank liberated on Jan. 24, but paused the offensive to give security forces a chance to recuperate.
More than three weeks later, as dawn approached on Sunday, hundreds of vehicles from the Federal Police and Emergency Response Division rumbled their way to the village of Lazakah. It would be the staging point for the approximately six-mile run to the town of Albu Sayf, on the southern outskirts of Mosul. There they would be joined by other forces advancing toward the village of Athbah on the Baghdad-Mosul highway before entering the citys western flank.
Iraqi forces bear down on the village of Lazakah on the outskirts of Mosul on Feb. 19. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times)
What began as a celebratory jaunt through the desert, with vehicles festooned with flags and a pickup blaring patriotic songs, abruptly changed just beyond Lazakah when the militants began shooting. The columns of vehicles stopped, waiting as helicopters burped heavy machine gun fire and launched rockets at the militants.
We dont know how many of these snipers there are down there, but we dont think its more than 10 fighters, said Lt. Yarub Mhanni, looking down at a dust-covered clump of structures.
Although this skeleton force of Islamic State fighters would offer little more than token resistance, Mhanni said, it would nevertheless be hard to advance.
If theres a sniper, theyll stop us. In eastern Mosul, one of them stopped us for an entire day and I got shot in the leg.
As the soldiers pushed on, U.S. special forces in fearsome MRAPs (a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle) were giving fire support near the front line, while others consulted with Iraqi commanders on setting up defensive positions.
Despite the sight of U.S. special forces in the fray (U.S. officials insist American servicemen in Iraq are not in harms way), Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said Sunday during a visit to Arab allies in Abu Dhabi that there had been no change to rules of engagement regarding U.S. forces role in the Mosul operation since President Trump took office.
He plans to present the White House with a more aggressive plan to combat Islamic State by months end, he said, but acknowledged that U.S. airstrikes pounded Islamic State targets in western Mosul in the days ahead of the Iraqi assault, hitting militant command and control facilities.
U.S. pilots say the airspace above western Mosul is thick with aircraft. At any given time, up to 50 warplanes are flying in an increasingly compressed area.
Many of the aircraft are drones scouring for targets. The overhead imagery and intelligence thats captured is relayed to air commanders who line up coalition fighter jets to strike and help the advance of Iraqi forces on the ground.
Were focused on intelligence collection to make sure the Iraqis are successful in this mission, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Corcoran, an air commander at an undisclosed base in the region.
Air Force Lt. Col. August Pfoto Pfluger, an F-22 pilot and squadron commander, said American pilots have been operating over a compact area where dozens of strike aircraft circle high above western Mosul, which is more densely populated than the east side of the city.
Eastern Mosul was a little more open, he said. You could look out and identify things like Mosul University. In the west, its a high-density environment. People live in apartment buildings and areas that are in much closer quarters.
Pilots have to remain mindful of the risk of hitting civilians, which has grown in western Mosul as the militants mix among communities and take up fighting positions inside mosques, schools and hospitals.
The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday that warplanes had destroyed a building in a sprawling medical complex that was suspected to be repurposed as a Islamic State command hub. The extremist group later disputed the claim, saying the coalition airstrike killed 18 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 47 others.
U.S. air commanders insist that any building hit with an airstrike is watched for days to diminish the chance civilians are killed.
By the end of the day, the Joint Operations Command announced that Iraqi forces had seized a number of villages before Albu Sayf, and would soon head for Mosuls airport. It would be the prelude to entering western Mosul, where narrow walkways and alleys will force security forces to abandon their vehicles and clear densely populated areas on foot.
Aid groups, however, fear that the difficulties may push units to forgo the restraint that had marked the assault on eastern part of the city, where many neighborhoods were spared wholesale destruction.
The ultimate success of the offensive will be judged not on how many districts and villages are taken back but on how well Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition protect civilians in the coming weeks and months, Wolfgang Gressmann, Iraq director of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement Sunday.
It would be a Pyrrhic victory for Iraq if west Mosul is brought back under government control at the expense of the lives of all those who have suffered under [Islamic States] horrific rule for nearly three years.
Meanwhile, the U.N. has also warned that the estimated 750,000 to 800,000 people remaining in western Mosul face acute shortages and have little access to clean drinking water and electricity.
On Friday, Islamic State released a series of images on social media purporting to show Mosuls markets. Bearded men peruse stalls, including one where an old man is preparing pickles.
And as a preview of what government troops will face, the group also released other photos offering a glimpse into the lives of those keeping watch in southern Mosul, where fighters loaded weapons, cooked meals and watched Islamic State propaganda videos in what appeared to be bunkers.
In thousands of leaflets thrown into Mosul before Sundays attack, the government said its troops were determined to win.
The days in which ignorant people reigned over your storied Mosul are over, it read.
Prepare to greet the sons of your armed forces and to cooperate with them as your brothers did in the [eastern] side, so as to reduce losses and hasten victory.
Special correspondent Bulos reported from Lazakah, Iraq, and staff writer Hennigan from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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Iraqi forces early Sunday began a large-scale offensive to seize the western side of Mosul, Islamic States de facto capital in Iraq.
It was the long-expected second phase of the campaign to retake the remainder of the crucial city, Iraqs second-largest, launched 26 days after the government declared that it had liberated the eastern part of the city.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the offensive early Sunday on state television.
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We announce the start of a new phase in the operation, we are coming to Nineveh to liberate the western side of Mosul, he said. Our forces are beginning the liberation of the citizens from the terror of [Islamic State].
Throughout the night, a steady barrage targeted Islamic State positions just north of the village of Areyj, about seven miles outside of Mosul.
As the sun rose, the crash of ordnance crescendoed into a sustained volley. It was soon joined by the rumble of dozens of armored vehicles from the Iraqi federal police and Emergency Response Division, mustering near the village of Lazaaqah.
Sundays advance aimed to bring Iraqi forces to the town of Albu Seyf, just beyond Mosuls southern edge.
Once there, Iraqi officials expect fierce resistance from the jihadists. The terrain is in Islamic States favor; Mosuls western districts, poorer than those in the east, have narrower streets. It means the troops will have to clear buildings without the benefit of the tanks and Humvees they had used in eastern Mosul.
#Iraq-i helicopter flying over troops for 2nd part of #Mosul offensive from south. pic.twitter.com/QXLYKwA31H Nabih (@nabihbulos) February 19, 2017
#Iraq-i forces bearing down on Lazaaqah village. Today's target is Albu Seif, just south of #Mosul. pic.twitter.com/DOfOApwn0d Nabih (@nabihbulos) February 19, 2017
But on Sunday, troops appeared eager to begin.
We will be victorious, God willing, said one soldier riding on top of an armored vehicle as he mugged for a cameraman. Beside him, his colleague ululated.
Were all doing this in the service of Iraq. We want to protect our people, said police officer Zaid Tareq, a 24-year-old Baghdad native.
An Isuzu pickup truck, with two large speakers blasting patriotic songs from its flatbed, added to the cacophony.
Interspersed among the columns were U.S. special forces, their M-RAP armored vehicles sporting stickers such as Its a free country. Live like it. Lets ride! Another had Liberty Promise scrawled in pink crayon on its bumper.
But the carnival-like atmosphere quickly dissipated when troops reached the hills beyond Lazaaqah. Bullets whistled past the soldiers heads.
Islamic State snipers hiding in the nondescript buildings of a village named Kafour had stopped the columns advance.
I want those houses destroyed, shouted one commander into a walkie-talkie. Go forward and take that position out.
Moments later, a rocket launched from a Humvee slammed into a building on the villages edge. On the adjacent mountain, a missile arced toward another set of structures.
Throughout the assault, helicopters streaked above, firing heavy machine guns and rockets ahead of the advancing columns.
American support for the operation has included daily airstrikes, intelligence, training and special operations forces advisors.
Despite the sight of U.S. special forces near the front lines, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said Sunday during a visit to Arab allies in Abu Dhabi that there has been no change to rules of engagement regarding U.S. forces role in the Mosul operation since President Trump took office.
He plans to present the White House with a more aggressive plan to combat Islamic State by months end, but acknowledged that U.S. airstrikes pounded Islamic State targets in western Mosul from the air in the days ahead of the Iraqi assault, hitting militant command and control facilities.
The multinational coalition led by the U.S. has conducted more than 10,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, the Pentagon said, while more than 70,000 Iraqi forces have been trained and equipped.
The isolation phase has been going on for some time now, Mattis said. The attack into the city is something I dont want to get into details about because I owe confidentiality to the troops who are actually making the attack.
U.S. pilots say the airspace above western Mosul is thick with aircraft. At any given time, up to 50 warplanes are flying in an increasingly compressed area.
Many of the aircraft are drones scouring for targets. The overhead imagery and intelligence thats captured is relayed to air commanders who cue coalition fighter jets to strike, helping the advance of Iraqi forces on the ground.
Were focused on intelligence collection to to make sure the Iraqis are successful in this mission, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Corcoran, an air commander at an undisclosed base in the region..
Air Force Lt. Col. August Pfoto Pluger, an F-22 pilot and squadron commander, said American pilots have been busy operating over a compact area where dozens of strike aircraft circle high above western Mosul, which is more densely populated than eastern neighborhoods.
Eastern Mosul was a little more open, he said. You could look out and identify things like Mosul University. In the west, its a high-density environment. People live in apartment buildings and areas that are in much closer quarters.
Pilots have to remain mindful of the risk of hitting civilians, which has grown in western Mosul as the militants mix among communities and take up fighting positions inside mosques, schools and hospitals.
The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday that warplanes destroyed a building in a sprawling medical complex that was suspected to be repurposed as a Islamic State command hub. The Sunni Muslim extremist group later disputed the claim, saying the coalition airstrike killed 18 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 47 others.
U.S. air commanders insist that any building hit with an airstrike is watched for days to diminish the chance civilians are killed.
Iraqi commanders say it is too early to know the condition of civilians inside western Mosul, as the worst of the fighting is about to get underway.
The United Nations warned Saturday that the estimated 750,000 to 800,000 people in that part of the city are at extreme risk due to dwindling food and fuel supplies, as well as acute shortages of drinking water and electricity.
People in the eastern part of the city had been terrorized before the offensive, yes, but they were not in the same dramatically dire circumstances that we believe those in the west to be, Lise Grande, the U.N.s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a phone interview Saturday.
But reaching the main part of the city could take time.
By mid-morning, the troops were still three miles away from Albu Seyf.
May God bless you, oh sons of the Emergency Response Division, blared a voice coming in over the radio.
To the side, Brig. Gen. Abbass Jboori, the divisions chief of staff, surveyed the field before conferring with an American special forces operator on where to place defensive positions.
The terrain here is open and the enemys morale is shaken, he said.
Asked what he expected in the way of resistance once troops advanced beyond Albu Seyf, he smiled.
Mosul? Lets go and see.
Bulos reported from Qunaiterah, and Hennigan reported from Abu Dhabi
Bulos is a special correspondent.
ALSO
In Arab world, fresh doubts about the chances for a Palestinian state
In the half of Mosul freed from Islamic State, life returns to not-quite normal
Pakistan launches military crackdown as death toll in shrine bombing rises to 88
UPDATES:
11:20 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from a U.S. squadron commander.
7:10 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, along with other U.S. military sources.
1:10 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the operation.
Feb. 19, 12:05 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and additional background on U.S. operations.
This article was originally published on Feb. 18 at 10:30 p.m.
Starting in 2018, General Motors Co. is allegedly planning to take off a huge number of self-driving cars in a partnership with Lyft Inc. It is expected that this will be the biggest trial of completely independent vehicles by any significant automaker before 2020.
According to Reuters, a large portion of equipped version of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle will be utilized by San Francisco-based Lyft, which will test them in its ride-sharing fleet in a few states. However, General Motors has no quick plans to sell the Bolt AV to individual clients.
The report claims that there are many vehicles created for this test would go to Lyft's ride-sharing fleet all over the country, where the cars could be tested in true circumstances. There does not have all any intent on giving these cars beyond public on what a rider may experience when requiring a Lyft.
CNET reported that General Motors said it had nothing to include, however, there are claims that the organization stated, " We have said that our AV innovation will show up in an on-demand ride-sharing system application sooner than everyone might suspect."
GM's Maven car offers operation likely will be included to Lyft in building up a commercial ride-sharing business around self-driving vehicles like Bolt AV. In mid-December, Chief Executive Mary Barra said that GM would start constructing a completely independent version of the Bolt EV in early 2017 at its Orion Township plant north of Detroit.
GM has heavily invested in Lyft of $500 million in the company known for its pink mustaches, and it struck the leftover of another ride-sharing start-up to support Lyft's offerings. GM declared in early December that it would build and test self-sufficient Bolt EVs locally. Lyft competitor Uber additionally said it would assemble an autonomous research center in Michigan, which is great since it is not on the best of the term with California.
Feb 19, 2017, 4:01am ET
Alpina previews B5 ahead of Geneva debut
Germany\'s other hot-rodded 5 Series is taking shape
Famed BMW tuner Alpina has released a teaser video that previews the next-generation B5. Germany's other hot-rodded 5 Series will make its public debut in a few short weeks at the Geneva Auto Show.
Based on the brand-new 5 Series, the B5 receives a discreet body kit that includes a deeper front bumper with a wide air dam, model-specific side skirts, and a rear diffuser. Multi-spoke wheels and four exhaust tips round out the low-key look.
The next B5 will likely use a revised version of BMW's turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine tuned to produce about 600 horsepower. We know that an eight-speed automatic transmission will come standard, but it's too early to tell whether it will send the eight-cylinder's power to the rear wheels or to all four wheels.
Alpina will release a second teaser video in the coming days, and we'll be on-location in Switzerland to bring you live images of the B5 as soon as it breaks cover. Sales will begin shortly after the Geneva Auto Show.
While BMW hasn't shown an interest in bringing back the M5 Touring, Alpina will offer a long-roof version of the B5 in Europe. The standard 5 Series wagon just came out, so we'll have to wait a little longer to see the family-friendly model.
The National Secretary of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI) will open Kiltyclogher Drama Festival this year.
The Festival takes place from March 4- 11 in Kiltyclogher Communty Centre.
This year Ms. Mary Torsney, National Secretary, ADCI will perform the official opening of the Festival. Mary's interest in drama started as a young girl in Lovely Leitrim.
As a member of the local youth club she performed in sketches, short plays and concerts in Ballinagar and Dromahair parish halls. She moved to Dublin in 1977 and has been involved in Amateur Drama since then. She became a member of Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI) in 2004 and was elected National Secretary in 2013.
The new main sponsor for the 35th Annual Drama Festival is Killasnett Co-op & Dairy Society Ltd., Manorhamilton. The committee is very grateful for their generous support and indeed the support of all our sponsors.
They would also like to take this opportunity to thank Belleek China who has been their main sponsor for many years.
The Festival opens with two groups in the confined section on March 4, Bailieborough Drama Group, will perform a new play The Tide by Tara Lovett, a darkly comic tale about the journey taken by two unlikely strangers who meet on Tullaghan Strand.
On Sunday 5th a new group is welcomed to the Festival, Clann Machua, Killtimagh, with the renowned Sean OCasey play, Juno & the Paycock.
Monday 6th the first play in the open section is Butt Drama Circle's, Dancing at Lughnasha.
Tuesday night 7th the very popular Corn Mill Theatre return with another Brian Friel classic, Philiadelphia Here I Come.
On Wednesday night 8th last years winner in Kilty, Ballyshannon Drama Society will perform The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard. A play about love and adultery.
Thursday night 9th the third play in the confined section is Phoenix Players, Tubbercurry with an adaptation of Flann OBriens play The Third Policeman.
Friday night 10th is the final play in the confined section when Newtownstewart Theatre Co. with The Hen Night Epiphany by Jimmy Murphy. A play that asks should some secrets never be kept no matter what the cost?
The final play in the open section closes theFestival on March 11th with Dalkey Players, Runner Up in the RTE All Ireland Drama Finals 2016, performing Sarah Ruhls award winning comedy Dead Mans Cell Phone.
So clear your diary for the week and sit back and enjoy eight great nights of top class Drama.
The Adjudicator this year is Ciaran McCauley, ADA, from Co. Sligo. Season tickets remain at the great price of 45 and nightly tickets are 10. Tickets can be booked by phoning (071) 9854368 / (071) 9854021 and collected at the door.
This week the House of Lords starts its 5 days of deliberation on the Article 50 Bill. The Brexiteers in Government have basically told them not to muck about with it or else. David Davis has even told them that its their patriotic duty to simply vote in favour of it.
Actually, theres a very strong argument that it is their patriotic duty to put a brake on this Governments relentless pursuit of the most damaging Brexit possible Tony Blairs Brexit at all costs. Hard Brexit doesnt quite capture how relentlessly difficult the lives of many of the poorest people in our society are going to become if the Government gets its way.
Its actually quite shocking to think that a Bill of this significance should pass through all its parliamentary stages in less than a month. Invoking Article 50 will be the biggest and most major change of direction in decades and it deserves much more careful consideration. Its not being done in a vacuum. We have Theresa Mays statement of intent to pull us out of the single market and customs union. If that had been on the ballot paper, I doubt Leave would have won their majority. The people did not vote for this and so their consent must be sought.
There is every reason for the Lords to say to the Government something along the lines of: We will vote for Article 50 to be invoked but only when certain conditions are met. One of those conditions, given that they are unelected, would have to be one which brought the people into the equation giving them a final say on the terms of Brexit, with an option to Remain which, entirely coincidentally, just happens to be Lib Dem policy.
The Lords runs on convention and gentility. These are unprecedented times, though. A Government elected on barely a third of the vote has put this country in a perilous situation. They need to be made to think again.
Now, the Lords cant stop the Bill completely. If they really played hardball, though, they could delay it for a year. They would certainly have the entirety of the right wing media on their case and the Government would call them every name under the sun, but their comeback would be very simple. Why not give the people their say? If you buy a kettle, you have the right to change your mind on that under consumer law. If you get married, you can change your mind on that, too. Why must the decision made on 23 June bind us for all time especially when the claims made by the Leave campaign wouldnt pass normal advertising standards?
The Lib Dems in the Lords will be arguing for staying in the single market, giving EU nationals the right to remain and, crucially, that referendum. Quite a few of them are in the almost 200 lined up to speak in the next couple of days. Sharon Bowles, Lindsay Northover, Judith Jolly, Roger Roberts, Malcolm Bruce and Ming Campbell to name but a few. Well be bringing you all their speeches.
I just hope that they will be willing to persuade others to fight with them on behalf of the British people to give the Government an ultimatum. Either you accept the referendum on the deal or you have to wait a year. And if the Government doesnt give way, they just need to be asked, very simply, every time, What are you scared of? Dont you think the people will back you?
I dont hold out much hope for anything so dramatic, but if I were writing the script for the Brexit movie, that is what Id have them do. The country needs the Government to govern in the interests of the people and not to stick with what keeps the Conservative Party together. An opposition worth its name in the Commons would have pushed them to the wire on every vote. Instead, the whips could have spent the entire debate in their offices with their feet up on their desk playing Candy Crush and drinking the finest champagne. The Lords now have the right and the duty to hold the Governments feet to the fire and they should do it.
The House of Lords is not what we would want it to be. It is ridiculous that people who are unelected have this role. However, it is the system we have, and the system that both Conservative and Labour MPs lumbered us with. If we Lib Dems had had our way, the first elections to the House of Lords would already have happened.
So, I say to the Lords, this could be your finest hour. Be brave, be bold, be radical. The reason that the Parliament Acts (which stopped the Lords vetoing legislation) were introduced is because historically your predecessors did their damnedest to block great social change like Lloyd Georges Peoples Budget and political reforms, the Hunting Act and equalising the age of consent for gay people. Tomorrow you have to deal with a Bill, the consequences of which could roll back much of the social and economic progress we have made in the last half century. Go get us, the British people, the best Bill possible and give us the chance to have our say on how (or even if) we leave the EU.
The House of Lords is a very polite place. What could be more polite than asking the people if the Government has got it right? The world isnt going to explode if we wait a bit before invoking Article 50. Theres no reason it has to be done by the end of March. And if the Government is hell-bent on driving us over the cliff edge, the very least the Lords could do is attach a parachute.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
NEW figures show that more than 4.5m was paid to the operator of the Limerick Tunnel last year under the Variable Operation Payment Mechanism.
Figures obtained by this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act show DirectRoute (Limerick) Ltd received 4,577,041 in payments under the scheme from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) during 2016.
The amount of money paid last year, which equates to around 12,500 per day, is more than 200,000 less than what was paid in 2015 suggesting the number of vehicles using the Limerick Tunnel increased last year.
The original PPP agreement dictates that payments should be paid when daily traffic volumes using the Limerick Tunnel are below 23,000 vehicles.
The 675 metre long tunnel which connects the N7 with the N18 - opened in July 2010 following four years of construction.
Currently, motorists pay 1.90 to use the tunnel, which cost more than 660m to construct.
The operator of the Limerick Tunnel is a consortium of companies which includes Lagan, Roadbridge, Sisk Contractors, Austrian-based Strabag, AIB and Meridiam Infrastructure.
Figures contained in accounts filed last year show the tunnel and associated road network had a book value of almost 350m at the end of 2015.
The Limerick Tunnel is due to revert to State ownership in 2041.
A LIMERICK councillor has spoken of his joy after being declared free from Hepatitis C after almost 30 years' suffering.
Independent member, Cllr John Loftus, was diagnosed with the viral infection in his early 30s.
He took a 12-week course of Harvoni, a wonder drug which cleared him of what could have proven to be a deadly disease.
To have it work in less than four months, wow, it just blew me away, he said.
The councillor, who lives in Glentworth Street, received a telephone call from medics in the hepatology department at Cork University Hospital informing him of his clean bill of health.
Its hard to put into words how I feel. When I got the call off the head nurse at Cork University Hospital to tell me, I have to say I was crying a bit. When I was first diagnosed, the doctors told me there was a good chance I might not reach 50 since Hep C was such an unknown quantity in terms of how destructive it could be, said Cllr Loftus, who is now aged 61.
It was the news he might not reach half a century which hardened his resolve, for the sake of his two daughters, who were in primary school in Scotland at the time.
I have never ever been negative about anything. But it had gone through my mind whether I was going to survive this, he added.
For the last 30 years, Cllr Loftus has been taking a cocktail of drugs to keep the condition at bay, including a year injecting interferon, a substance which was developed to fight leukemia.
He described this as like giving yourself a heavy dose of the flu three times a week.
Three months from now, the former Anti-Austerity Alliance councillor, who moved to Ireland from Port Glasgow in Scotland, will have a final check-up at Cork University Hospital.
If there is no trace left of Hepatitis C, he has been told the condition will be gone for good.
He added: I feel so much stronger now. All the tablets have knocked me sideways. I was forever falling asleep. They affected my memory and I could not concentrate on more than one thing at a time. And I usually have so many things going on in my head!
Speaking specifically about the Harvoni, he said: Every day I was taking them, I was thinking of my grandkids, and knowing I had longer to spend with them. And ill also be here longer to represent the people of Limerick too!
Cllr Loftus paid tribute to the staff at Cork University Hospitals hepatology department for looking after me the last 15 years.
A CONVICTED drug dealer who was caught with a significant quantity of heroin within months of being released from prison faces a mandatory ten-year-sentence a court has heard.
Patrick Hickey, aged 37, who has an address at Churchfield, St Patricks Road in the city has admitted having the drugs at two locations in the city almost two years ago.
During a sentencing hearing, Detective Garda David Boland of the divisional drugs unit said heroin worth around 57,000 was seized when the defendant was arrested and searched in the Rathbane area of the city.
He said when approached by gardai Mr Hickey who was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car produced a package from inside his trousers which contained the drugs.
A further quantity of heroin, worth around 27,000, was seized in the defendants bedroom during a follow-up search at his home.
Detective Garda Boland told John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, the defendant was co-operative with gardai and made admissions following his arrest.
He told gardai he had been given the consignment of drugs a number of days earlier and was asked to drop it to an unknown person.
He had his own discretion as to when he would drop it off, he said.
Judge Tom ODonnell was told the former security guard was sentenced to three years imprisonment in 2011 after he pleaded guilty to possession of a cannabis worth around 36,000 in Dromkeen in 2010.
Det Garda Boland said the defendant was threatened following his release from prison by the owners of the cannabis who, he said, wanted their money back.
Colman Cody SC said there was an element of duress as his client had been put under pressure to pay back a debt for the drugs lost.
He said there are some mental health issues in the background and he told the court that Mr Hickeys addiction problems spiralled out of control following his mothers death a number of years ago.
He said the defendant, who is working, appreciates he is going to jail but said he is anxious to sort out his affairs.
John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, said the law dictates that anyone convicted of a second offence under Section 15(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act must receive the mandatory sentence of ten years imprisonment.
Judge ODonnell adjourned sentencing to May 2 next as he wishes to consider the various reports and character references which were submitted to the court on behalf of Mr Hickey.
Limerick City and County Council has given the green light for a solar farm in County Limerick.
Dublin-based Terra Solar Limited received a ten year permission for the development of a solar PV farm consisting of up to 35,582 sqms (almost nine acres) of solar panels on ground mounted steel frames at Woodstown, Lisnagry.
Andre Fernon, director, Terra Solar said they are very pleased planning has been granted for their proposed development.
We feel that the council adopted a rigorous, diligent yet fair assessment of our proposals and we are committed to making sure that the solar farm is developed responsibly. The planning grant is obviously only the first step and will hopefully mark the beginning of a successful long term relationship with the county and the local communities in Woodstown and the surrounding areas, said Mr Fernon.
It will have the capacity to produce about 4 megawatts of electricity from solar energy.
We applied to ESB Networks for permission to connect the solar farm to the national grid and the ESB are currently preparing the connection contract. Once this is agreed and signed they will decide when they wish us to plug into the grid. We will commence construction 12 weeks before the grid connection date, said the director.
At nearby Grange Upper, Annacotty, Rengen Technologies Ltd is awaiting a decision on a 30 acre solar farm following a request for further information.
Terra says solar power is one of the cleanest sources of energy. It does not emit any pollution when it is produced or consumed. In comparison to other sources of energy such as coal and natural gas, solar energy projects exert minimal impact on their environment and support biodiversity, they say.
However, over 50 locals arent convinced. They have concerns about possible impacts for neighbouring areas arising from glint and glare reflections.
They say they are very disappointed that Terra received planning for the solar farm in our area and will be strongly objecting.
Some of our issues were not dealt with. Planning permission was previously refused in this area due to traffic issues but for some reason this is now not an issue. The planners kept using the phrase to protect the residential amenities in the interest of proper planning.
Then they grant 35,582 sqms of glass panels beside residences and a salmon river feeding into the Shannon how can this be? said the spokesperson.
DANCE Limerick will play host to a double bill next week, including a piece by David Bolger, one of Irelands best known choreographers.
Leading integrated dance company Croi Glan present the double bill, celebrating their 10th anniversary with new works created by Bolger and another by Jess Curtis, an American choreographer based in San Francisco.
Tara Brandel, artistic director and performer with Croi Glan - a professional contemporary dance company based in Cork, which performs work that includes dancers with and without physical disabilities - said to mark the company's tenth anniversary, it had invited back two of our favourite, most performed choreographers to create these two new works.
In David Bolgers Fancy Dress, audiences will experience some funky moves, a few fancy dress tips and a kicking soundtrack, while with Remote, Jess Curtis applies his Berlin/San Francisco-influenced post-modern choreographic style to create this new duet which explores the effect on our bodies of our use of technology, she explained.
Dance Limerick director Jenny Traynor said the centre for professional dance was delighted to welcome Croi Glan back to celebrate their 10th anniversary.
As Irelands leading integrated dance company, Croi Glan has continually broken new ground, creating and presenting work with dancers of all abilities. With this double bill of Fancy Dress and Remote, audiences are in for an eye-opening evening of dance with a difference, she added.
Breaking down the two pieces, Croi Glan explained that Bolgers Fancy Dress challenges what, really, is fancy dress: Is it something we wear to parties? Something to disguise our true selves? In this short, snappy trio, a walking stick becomes a magic wand in the hands of performers.
Curtis Remote asks are we mobilised or frozen? At home, alone in front of our screens, do we transcend or are we trapped in our bodies? Performers use electronic media and social networking to investigate the ups and downs of our bodies within our evolving digital culture.
Croi Glan are in Dance Limerick on Thursday, February 23 at 8pm. Tickets are 12/10 from www.dancelimerick.ie or on the door.
Feb 18, 2017, 12 PM
The 5 France stamp at left shows the normal printing sequence of the flag colors, with the black shading lines on top of the red and blue stripes. At right is a partial reverse printing: red over black, and black over blue.
The normal printing of the 5 Greece stamp (Scott 916a, left) features dark blue shading over pale blue stripes. At right is a Scott-unlisted variety of the reverse printing (916) that shows a double impression of the pale blue shading.
Its fun to look for Overrun Countries printing varieties. The left close-up of a 5 Luxembourg stamp pictures a normal flag. At right is a variety the author calls long nose: a protuberance at the top-right corner of the red stripe of the flag.
By Keith Lichtman
One of the first sets of United States stamps my father bought me was the 1944 5 Overrun Countries (Scott 909-921). This was the beginning of my U.S. stamp collection.
I never forgot seeing the set in the window of a stamp store in Brooklyn, N.Y., selling for $1.
In 1989, I bought my first Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers, and it opened a new world of varieties to me.
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It was also the first time that I read about the reverse printings of the Overrun Countries series. However, with no time to go to stamp shows I had very few opportunities to search for these varieties.
That all changed when I discovered stamp auctions on eBay. This was a great way to buy stamps and fill the spaces in my album.
Ebay allowed me to see what I was trying to buy. I have always tried to find new ways to keep my U.S. stamp collection alive and exciting, and online auctions were the way to do it.
I used eBay to search for reverse printings of the Overrun Countries. At the time, dealers were offering these varieties at prices anywhere from $50 to hundreds of dollars.
Looking at the comparisons that were shown on the auction sites got me thinking. Could I tell the difference between a normal printing and a reverse printing by looking at images online? Yes, I could. Not with 100 percent certainty, but good enough.
The original color printing sequence for these stamps is not known for certain. The American Bank Note Co. refused to release printing information for this series, stating that their new printing press had secret proprietary components.
Therefore, the first printing sequence for the stamps, as well as the quantity printed of each combination, is not known. The normal printing order is considered to be black ink printed over the colors of the flag (red, blue, and/or yellow).
A reverse printing of colors has the black ink under the other colors. Two exceptions are Greece and Korea.
Greece has a normal printing of usually dark blue shading over pale blue stripes, and a reverse printing of usually pale blue shading over pale blue stripes.
Korea has normal printing gray over light blue and reverse printing of light blue over gray.
It is believed that ABNC experimented with the color sequence so as to produce the best image. All varieties were satisfactory enough to pass inspection, and so rather than destroy any, all were released.
I started searching every set offered on eBay. If the seller didnt provide a clear picture or if the image could not be enlarged to see details more clearly, I disregarded that set.
I also disregarded multiple lot offerings because there was no guarantee what you would get.
Lots offered had to state what you see is what you get.
The easiest reverse-printing variety to spot was France (Scott 915). Greece (916) is also easy to identify. Others were a little more challenging.
Pictured nearby are two France stamps. On the left is a normal stamp, with the black shading printed on top of the blue and red stripes of the flag. A partial reverse printing (red stripe over black shading, and black shading over blue stripe) is shown at right.
Also illustrated here are an example of a normal Greece stamp (Scott 916a), left, that shows the shading over the flag stripes, along with an unlisted variety of the reverse printing (flag stripes over shading, Scott 916) that also shows a double impression of the shading.
I knew from catalogs and online offerings that other variety types existed. I started examining each stamp I purchased more closely.
I started with a 10x magnifying glass, and then a few years later I bought a 40x microscope. Before long, I had hundreds of Overrun Countries sets. The number of varieties I found was astounding.
I made my own stamp album for each of the countries. Without working hard, I found multiple examples of all the reverse printings, a few double impressions, and more shade-line varieties than can fit onto a two-sided album page.
There are broken flag pole varieties, torn flags, and different color shadings in the flags and in the country names.
Illustrated here are close-ups of the flag on the Luxembourg stamp. A normal flag is shown at left.
On the right is what I call the long nose variety, which shows a noticeable extension of the corner of the red field of the flag at top right.
My favorite varieties include letters in the country name that look like numbers, letters that appear to misspell the country name, and missing letters.
There are so many varieties and most can be seen with the naked eye, making it that much easier to find online.
I knew most of what I was finding would not be found in a standard catalog, so I went online and posed questions to other collectors.
I contacted the American Philatelic Research Library for any publications that would help me in my efforts. I found that little research has been done on these stamps.
Therefore, I decided I would write a book on each of the stamps in the series. In researching and writing about stamps, I found another way to keep stamp collecting alive for myself.
Feb 18, 2017, 10 PM
By Michael Baadke
Sven Hedin has been described as Swedens most famous explorer. Hedin traveled throughout much of Asia, carefully documenting his findings and mapping regions that previously had been unrecorded.
Born Feb. 19, 1865, in Stockholm, Hedin studied in Stockholm and Uppsala in Sweden, and Halle and Berlin in Germany, earning his doctorate in geography. His travels took him through Persia and into uncharted regions of Central Asia, and his published findings and drawings brought him considerable fame. He was honored by Swedens King Oscar II and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary.
Hedin also traveled into India and Japan, significantly expanding western knowledge of distant locations. A 1923 trip around the world included a tour of the United States. Findings from his expeditions into Asia were used to develop railroads and other infrastructure.
Hedins reputation suffered significantly later in his life because of his public support of German national socialism into World War II. He died at age 87 on Nov. 26, 1952.
Recognizing the contributions of Hedins extensive explorations, Sweden honored him on a 1-krona stamp (Scott 1009) issued in 1973 as part of a set of five honoring Swedish explorers.
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Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (Feb. 18), Vice President Mike Pence said that the United States would "hold Russia accountable" for their actions, such as the violence in Ukraine, and would stick by NATO, the military alliance that President Donald Trump had once said was obsolete, according to news reports.
But what power does the VP really have, and what does the vice president do while in office? If you don't know, you're not alone.
The vice presidency is "the least understood, most ridiculed and most often ignored constitutional office in the federal government" in the words of the Senate Historical Office. Confusion about the VP's role reflects the fact that the office has evolved throughout history, and varies greatly depending on the personality and talents of the individuals who fill it.
Vice presidents have two official, constitutionally mandated capacities. First and foremost, they stand first in the presidential line of succession, ready to ascend to the nation's highest office upon the death, resignation or removal of the president. This has often been more than just an honorary role; fourteen former vice presidents have subsequently become president more than half of them after a president died.
Secondly, the VP serves as "president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be evenly divided" according to the U.S. Constitution. In other words, the VP may cast a tiebreaking vote when members of the U.S. Senate are locked in a 50-50 stalemate about whether or not to pass a law. But these Senate deadlocks occur infrequently. On Feb. 7, however, Pence cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education, the first time in history the vice president has cast a tiebreaker to confirm a cabinet secretary.
So what else does the VP do as "president of the Senate?"
The Constitution doesn't elaborate on the matter, and so the extent to which the vice president presided over Senate sessions has varied greatly from one administration to the next throughout the 19th century. According to the Senate Historical Office, some VPs had great parliamentary skill and presided well, while others disliked the task, performed it badly, or chose to spend most of their time away from Washington, leaving in charge a "president pro tempore" usually the longest-serving senator in the majority party.
Since the time of the nation's founding, the involvement of a member of the executive branch in legislative affairs rankled many. Over time, vice presidents' senatorial duties have diminished. They now preside over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tiebreaking vote is needed. And as their senatorial role has shrunk, their influence in the executive branch has grown. Most recent vice presidents have acted as integral members of the president's cabinet, weighing in on important decisions and helping the president relay his ideas to the rest of the government.
The former vice president, Joe Biden, explained how all this works to a fifth-grader during the 2008 campaign: "I've been a senator a long time. A lot of things, I know a little bit about. And my job is to say to Barack Obama when I think he's wrong, 'Well Barack, what do you think about this?'" Biden said. "And when the President comes up with an idea and he introduces a law and he sends it up to the Congress and says Congress, vote for this, well, I have a lot of experience in the Congress and what I do I literally go up to the Congress and I'll say guys and women, this is what we want to do, and try to convince them to change the law ... That's the kind of thing the vice president does."
Original article on Live Science.
Members of the Longford/Westmeath branch of the Social Democrats were brought on a tour of the Houses of the Oireachtas on Wednesday February 8 by party co-leader Roisin Shortall. The Dublin North West TD brought the Midlands group on a tour of both the Dail and the Seanad.
The Longford/Westmeath group watched the Dail debate of the Media Ownership Bill, introduced to the Dail by the party co-Leader Catherine Murphy.
The Bill sought to rebalance the media landscape in Ireland to improve media plurality and minimise the potential for over-concentration of media ownership with any one individual or company.
BothRoisin Shorthall TD and Catherin Murphy TD met with the branch members after the debate to listen to their concerns around business rates, hospital waiting times and the erosion of public services in the Midlands.
The branch members were impressed by the leaderships willingness to engage with rank and file members and that their concerns for the future of Longford and Westmeath were shared by the leaders.
The next meeting of the branch will take place on Wednesday March 1 in the Longford Arms in Longford town and all those interested are invited to attend.
More information can be found on the Social Democrats Facebook or the Social Democrats website at www.socialdemocrats.ie.
One should normally be subsumed by the recent smear campaign, for once I can say it's not alleged. It's actually true, beyond contradiction, and is awaiting the latest twist as I write. Suffice to say, it's not unbelievable, although it is grotesque.
But I don't want to allow what most of the media have allowed happen, which is to blow the RTE programme on the health 'service' off the pages.
Simon Harris said "I'm embarrassed"; "We can't stand over these figures"; "I'm genuinely unhappy".
The doctor wheeled out by the HSE to defend the indefensible used PR words like "challenging", "focus" and "unhappy with the figures"!
Horrific scenes from real people, with real serious medical problems.
Meanwhile, the troika come into Ireland and satisfy themselves that austerity is being enforced. Ireland is seeing growth.
A young girl is clearly beginning to grow grey, while the rules of austerity are maintained by the government, and the troika are reassured that enough austerity is being enforced.
A man with a growing tumour is waiting, and waiting, and not even a single phone call - from anyone who cares for patients.
It's the pain, the stress, the mortgages, the suffering. It's the pain, most of all.
One man says with emotion in his voice "I promised her I'd look after her; it looks like I can't" - husband of Betty Rogers from Offaly.
Girl with curved spine caused by scoliosis. 13 years of age, and she cannot get an appointment.
But still, the government enforce austerity (cutbacks) without relenting, while the troika are well satisfied. After all, Ireland has one of the best growth rates in Europe.
Another patient is shown obviously in stress. The doctor says, "we're watching her deteriorate".
They showed an X-ray from 2014.
If she'd been operated on in a timely manner, she wouldn't be so excruciatingly painful.
The girl has to lie down several times a day, to alleviate the pain.
Ciara Carberry is from County Longford, so this shows how the decision by government, has affected everyone. No county is immune to the decisions taken by the government.
Living on the list.....
Patricia is from Cork. She can't leave the room so bad is the pain. Patricia is 112 weeks on the waiting list.
We cannot provide a service to treat patients without borrowing money said a person who was one of the people who are part of Cork Gynecological service.
A boy who has a spinal injury is shown trying to swallow a glass of milk! He's in desperate pain trying to gulp the liquid down.
He was only listed in April 2016, when he should have been placed on the waiting list in August 2015. Eight months earlier.
The hospital told her he was appropriately placed on the list. Next they were told that it was a clinical issue. Third time they eventually told the family the truth and "they apologised and said that it was a human error'.
But meanwhile the government are satisfied that Ireland has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. Moreover, the Troika are quite satisfied with Irelands measures to curb spending.
"Keep the recovery going" has taken on a real meaning.
The girl from Longford featured again, and her mother, who told a harrowing story of how the girl was delayed, and delayed, and further delayed. Sixteen months it took, to get the second operation carried out. By then, it was inevitable, given the nature of the complaint, that everything was terribly wrong.
Betty Rogers from Offaly has been waiting to have her leg cared for. She's in incredible pain.
She was interviewed and couldn't hold back the tears.
Collette Hitchings is two years waiting for an operation.
Another man with severe neck pain is waiting two years for an operation,
Still, the government is happy to carry on as if everything is okay. If they're not, then why do we spend endless millions building everything and anything from parks to office blocks?
The government don't care enough, simple as that. That's the fact.
Dara Cahill from Kilkenny is waiting fourteen months for an operation on his spine.
Dara is little more than a baby. His mother says "my son has to get worse before he gets his surgery'"
A consultation said that "Dara's situation was critical and that he must have surgery".
In other words, when it got so bad that he had no option but to operate on Dara.
Dara had spent fifteen months on the waiting list, for surgery that should have been done "urgently". Anywhere except in Ireland, and of course, the third world..
Meanwhile, the Troika are happy that Ireland is holding its end up, in their side if the bargain.
The government speak proudly that Ireland is one of the highest growth rates in Europe.
"She's not having surgery if she had surgery she could start living her life..."
The government - and I'm not talking just Fine Gael here - are absolutely clear on this crisis. The government knows that two or three million has little or no real bearing on whether or not the health service will improve. Three million wouldn't even make a real difference. And the health minister should stop talking about 'best international practice". That's utter rubbish, as there was a time, Ireland was one of the most compassionate states in the world, that's what's called best international practice!
The Irish should demand that Ireland recoups its history and starts standing up for itself.
Time to stop refurbishing cities, and investing in politicians and others who don't seem to know the first thing about the people of this country.
It's long past time for someone to shout STOP.
Does the government really think that people don't know?
They're not stupid.
The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistans intelligence service, confirmed that its forces killed Qari Saifullah Akhtar, a top Pakistani al Qaeda leader, during a raid last month in the southern province of Ghazni. Akhtars involvement with jihad spanned four decades, and he has been directly linked to Osama bin Laden and Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI-D).
The NDS said it killed Akhtar and one of his comrades during a raid in the district of Nawa in Ghazni on Jan. 9. It is unclear why the NDS took more than five weeks to confirm Akhtars death.
Akhtar, operating under the orders of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri, managed a terrorist hub in the Bagram and Reshkhor regions of Kabul province, according to the NDS.
The Pakistani press reported just one day after the raid, based on statements from jihadists in the region, that Akhtar was killed on Jan. 9. However, these same accounts indicated that he was killed in Paktikas Bermal district.
Akhtars death has not been announced by al Qaeda or Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, the Pakistani jihadist group which he commanded.
Akhtar waged jihad since the 1980s, when he fought the Russians in Afghanistan with the help of Inter-Serves Intelligence Directorate. He took control of the radical Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI, or the Movement of Islamic Holy War) after its leader was killed and quickly became an important jihadist figure. He also was a valuable asset to Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI-D), so much so that he was released from custody four separate times, most recently in 2010, despite being directly linked to multiple terror attacks and plots inside Pakistan.
HUJI and Akhtar were also knee deep in the complex web of terrorist alliances in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By the late 2000s, he was working closely with al Qaeda. According to The New York Times, he met with Osama bin Laden in Pakistans tribal areas to ask for support in attacking the Pakistani Armys General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Bin Laden reportedly declined to support the attack and instead urged him to focus his mens efforts against US forces in Afghanistan.
Akhtar was not the only HUJI leader to serve as a senior al Qaeda leader. Ilyas Kashmiri, who was HUJIs operations chief, became al Qaedas military commander before he was killed by the US in a drone strike in south Waziristan in 2011. Kashmiri was also in direct communication with Osama bin Laden, according to files captured during the raid on the al Qaeda founders compound.
US continues to target al Qaeda in Afghanistan
Nawa district, where Akhtar was killed, is a known haven for the Taliban, which provides shelter for al Qaeda in Afghanistan. In June 2016, the Afghan government admitted that Nawa is under Taliban control. An assessment by FDDs Long War Journal indicates the district remains under Taliban control to this day.
Akhtars presence in Afghanistan should come as no surprise. Al Qaeda has maintained a significant presence in Afghanistan, despite claims by the Obama administration that the group was decimated in the country. Al Qaeda began moving some of its leaders, operatives, and their families to Afghanistan after the US government began targeting them in drone strikes in Pakistans tribal areas in 2008. However, the drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan in 2011 allowed the Taliban to retake territory and establish safe havens.
The US military continues to target senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan to this day. In Oct. 2016, the US killed Faruq al Qahtani, al Qaedas leader for eastern Afghanistan, and his deputy, Bilal al Utabyi, as well as a senior explosives expert known as Wahid al Junabi.
Background on Qari Saifullah Akhtar and the HUJI
Qari Saifullah Akhtar and HUJI have worked with the Taliban and al Qaeda for decades. In 2002, The Friday Times described the HUJI as the biggest militia we know nothing about.
HUJI was formed by Islamist extremists inside Pakistans Punjab province in the early 1980s to help battle the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. After the defeat of the Soviets in 1989, HUJI turned its focus to fighting the Indian Army inside Jammu and Kashmir. The group maintained camps throughout Pakistan. The largest camp, in Kotli, which is in Azad Kashmir, reportedly had a capacity for training 800 warriors. As of 2002, more than 650 HUJI fighters had been killed fighting the Indian Army.
Like many Pakistani-based jihadi groups fighting in Kashmir, the HUJI received support from Pakistans military and the ISI-D. The group has offices in more than 40 locations inside Pakistan and maintained organized seminaries in Karachi, Chechnya, Xinxiang (China), Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Its members have participated in attacks and fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The leader of the Bangladeshi branch of HUJI was one of the original signatories of Osama bin Ladens 1998 fatwa against the West. This fatwa, or religious ruling, established the International Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders and incorporated various Islamic terror groups, such as Ayman al Zawahiris Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Akhtar took control of the HUJI after the groups previous leader was killed fighting the Soviets in 1985. Akhtar expanded HUJIs infrastructure throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. He largely stayed off the radar until emerging as part of a plot to overthrow the Pakistani government in 1995. He was implicated along with Major General Zahirul Islam Abbasi and three other senior officers in an attempt to assassinate military leaders during a Corps Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Charges against Akhtar were dismissed after he testified against his conspirators.
The Pakistani government released Akhtar in 1996 and he promptly fled to Afghanistan, where he became a close confidant and adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Three members in the Talibans cabinet and 22 judges were members of HUJI. Akhtar has been described as a crucial figure in the efforts to unite Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden.
HUJI established training camps in Kandahar, Kabul, and Khost. Taliban military and police forces were also trained at HUJI camps. HUJI became a critical force in the Talibans efforts to consolidate power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, when more than 300 HUJI fighters were killed fighting against the Northern Alliance. HUJI also leveraged its bases in Afghanistan to conduct operations in Chechnya, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
Akhtar accompanied Mullah Omar when he fled the US onslaught during Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001. Omar moved his operations to Quetta in Pakistans Baluchistan province. Akhtar took shelter in South Waziristan, where he was born, and established links with Baitullah Mehsud, the former commander of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Mehsud was killed in a US Predator strike in Aug. 2009.
After being implicated in two attempts to assassinate Pervez Musharraf in Dec. 2003, Akhtar fled to Saudi Arabia, ultimately taking refuge in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE arrested Akhtar in Aug. 2004 and deported him to Pakistan, where he was held for more than two years without trial. The Pakistani security services released Akhtar in May 2007 after the Supreme Court began inquiring about a number of missing persons.
Pakistani security forces detained Akhtar once again in Feb. 2008 after he was implicated in several bombings. These operations included the Oct. 2007 suicide attack in Karachi that aimed to assassinate former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as she returned from exile to begin her political campaign.
Bhutto, who was later assassinated in an attack in Rawalpindi in Dec. 2007, implicated Akhtar in her posthumously released book. I was informed of a meeting that had taken place in Lahore where the bomb blasts were planned. However, a bomb maker was needed for the bombs, Bhutto wrote. Enter Qari Saifullah Akhtar, a wanted jihadi terrorist who had tried to overthrow my second government in the 1990s. He had been extradited by the United Arab Emirates and was languishing in the Karachi central jail. According to my sources, the officials in Lahore had turned to Qari for help. His liaison with elements in the government was a radical who was asked to make the bombs and he himself asked for a fatwa making it legitimate to oblige. He got one.
The Pakistani government released Akhtar from jail on bail in June 2008 after claiming that the evidence was insufficient to link him to recent attacks. After his release, he is thought to have fled to North Waziristan.
Akhtar is one of the main plotters of the Sept. 2008 suicide attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. Akhtar acted in concert with Qari Zafar, the leader of the al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Fedayeen-i-Islam. The US killed Zafar in an airstrike in Feb. 2010 in the town of Dargi Mandi near Miramshah in North Waziristan, a known haven for al Qaeda.
The Pakistani government placed Akhtar in protective custody in Aug. 2010, just three months after he was implicated in recruiting five American Muslims to join al Qaeda. Before the year ended, he was released from custody and rejoined the jihad once again.
Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The Turkistan Islamic Partys French-born fighter who was reportedly killed in Syria.
A social media account linked to the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) has confirmed that a second French national within the groups ranks has been killed in Syria. Little is known about the fighters background. However, he appeared in a video released by the TIP last November.
The fighters alias was given as Ubeydullah from France. And he was referred to as a shahid, or martyr, on social media. Another al Qaeda group in Syria, Firqat al Ghuraba, reported that he was killed in July 2016 in Jabal Turkman, which is in Syrias Latakia Province. Both the online confirmation by a TIP official and the Nov. 2016 video indicate that he was killed while fighting alongside the TIP in Latakia. Firqat al Ghuraba, which is led by a US-designated global terrorist, has fought alongside al Qaedas forces in Syria and long highlighted its loyalty to al Qaedas leaders.
This is the second time a French fighter is known to have been killed fighting with the group. The first one, identified as Reda Layachi from Herouville-Saint-Clair near Caen, was killed in Idlib Province in late 2015.
The TIP is an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group comprised mainly of Uighurs from Chinas western Xinjiang Province. However, it has also highlighted non-Uighur members. Its former military leader in Syria, Abu Rida, was a native Syrian. Other Syrians and jihadists from Central Asia have also been referenced. It is now known that at least two French-born combatants have been killed fighting for the TIP in Syria as well. The death of Ubeydullah alongside the TIP demonstrates the close relationship the group maintains with al Qaeda.
Article has been updated with new information on the French fighter.
Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.
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.
Properties / Hotels
Feb 19, 2017 | By Teri Chong
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has recently unveiled its plans to open a new luxury hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. The hotel group, known for its luxury establishments in prime global locations, has announced that it has its eyes set on an early 2020 release. This marks a new venture for the group that has not set up new properties since the Kahala Hotel and Resort was rebranded as an independent property.
Honolulu presents itself as a great opportunity for the Asian group to establish deeper roots across the ocean, having already an extensive list of establishments in locations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Paris. Named Manaolana Place, the building will stand at 36 storeys high and will consist of both a hotel and private residences. The groups first Hawaiian hotel will have 125 rooms and suites. Visitors in search of higher-end luxury will even have the option of checking into the private residence managed by the Mandarin Oriental, located on the higher floors of the Manaolan tower.
Just a few minutes walk from Waikiki Beach one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii guests can soak in the scenery right from the comforts of their own home. Alternatively, they can also head to Ala Moana Beach, three kilometers from Waikiki for a quiet lounging. The Honolulu Mandarin Oriental will have a spa, including eight treatment rooms, an outdoor pool and a fitness center. Coupled with a rooftop restaurant and bar with views over Diamond Head, the famous Hawaiian volcano, the hotel promises an exquisite luxury experience.
We are delighted with this opportunity to open a hotel in Honolulu and look forward to bringing Mandarin Orientals legendary hospitality back to Hawaii, said James Riley, Group Chief Executive of Mandarin Oriental.
The first one is: Why is Samsung caught in the presidential investigation?
So, why should this company give this amount of money?
We will do our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court proceedings, the company declared in a statement after the courts ruling.
The national economy is important, but upholding justice is more important, has declared Lee Kyu-chul, spokesmen for the independent counsel investigating the case.
The independent counsel considers this money a bribe related to Lees succession within Samsung, has declared the spokesman for the independent counsel.
Jay Y. Lee, Samsung Groups de facto leader, was caught into an influence-peddling scandal that has transfixed South Korea, involving the highest rank of politics and business.This situation took a huge turn when a South Korean court accepted Jay Y. Lees arrest on allegations of bribery and embezzlement.This is a huge surprise, especially for a person who is on top of the countrys most powerful corporation. So, this decision raises some important questions.Samsung is accused of playing an important role in a scandal that has already led to the impeachment of the countrys President Park Geun-hye.First, lawmakers started to question the heads of approximately nine Korean companies to find out whether they gave money to foundations controlled by Park Geun-hyes friend, Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for political favors.This investigation managed to unveil that Samsung gave a horse valued at approximately 1 billion won to Chois daughter. In dollars, we are talking about 850.000 dollars.Jay Y. Lee admitted in his testimony that Samsung gave this sum of money, but he also declared that the company had done nothing wrong. He said that Korean companies are often asked to donate money to support sporting and charity events.The prosecutor managed to win approval on the second attempt for an arrest warrant on allegations of embezzlement and bribery for the name of Jay Y. Lee.All this time, Samsung has consistently denied that it ever offered bribes.On the other side, the special prosecutor declared that Samsung made these payments in purpose to win government support for Lees wishes to take over management controls from his father.More specifically, the company wanted to merge two of its affiliated companies to give Lee greater control over Samsung Electronics Co.As we know, Samsung is known as the worlds largest maker of smartphones and the crown jewel of South Korea.We must also add that three other senior Samsung officials, alongside with the president of the flagship Samsung Electronics, were placed under investigation. However, it is important to know that they were not been sought for arrest.Unfortunately, Samsung was also suspected of having agreed to an 18 million dollars contract with a Germany-based consulting firm owned by Choi.The special prosecutors declared that they had objective, physical evidence showing that Choi had been sharing profits with the President of South Korea. So, this means that paying bribes to Choi is approximately the same thing as paying bribes to President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye.
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Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) Vice President Chen Chien-jen () said Sunday that the government is determined to clear up Taiwan's air and fight global warming, while admitting air pollution has been a long-term problem for the country and relevant laws should be revised to resolve it once and for all.
Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan took to Twitter soon after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswami won the trust vote yesterday in the Legislative Assembly. There you go. Seems like we have another CM. Jai de-mockcrazy, Haasan tweeted.
The actor had been in the forefront in supporting O.Paneerselvam for the post of Chief Minister. He also tweeted the official email address of TN Governor and asked people to email their grievances directly and humbly to the Governor.
Interview with Dr. Nabeel Abdul Haleem Ali, Consultant to Chairman for Shareholders Affairs at Combined Group
What is your evaluation of the current state of the contracting sector in Kuwait? What are the major projects that Combined Group is participating in?
We are participating in many sectors, such as construction, roads, oil, bridges, and infrastructure. We participate in any projects announced through the CTC. The value of the projects varies for each sector. The sectors which the greatest value are roads and bridges, followed by the oil sector, construction, building, and lastly, other divisions. We have bid the lowest price for many major projects that we expect to receive letters of intent for within the next two months. Some examples are Tender #242, which is a large road, valued at 197.9 million KD for a duration of 48 months. Another is Tender #RFP2037219 in the oil sector, with a value of 72.9 million KD, for a duration of five years. Another road we have is through the Ministry of Public Works and it is valued at 108.8 million KD. For this project, we participated as an agent of China First Highway Engineering Company, which is an international company with experience in executing large projects such as these. We also have plans for a large building in the Ministries Complex that is being coordinated with the Ministry of Finance.
What are your major competitors in Kuwait?
Our main competitors in Kuwait are Mushrif, Kharafi National, Al Ahmadiah, and Gulf Construction Company.
Our vision is to be one of the ten biggest contracting companies in not only the Gulf area, but throughout the Middle East.
You also have projects in Qatar and even Albania. Are you currently looking into other markets?
No, we have completed our expansion. We have subsidiary companies and branches in Qatar, UAE, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. We have branches in Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, and most recently in Bahrain. We cover the entire Gulf area. We did work on a project in Albania, but it was a joint venture with a company there executing it. We have had good experiences executing large projects in Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Georgia.
How do you differentiate yourself from competitor companies?
We have many other companies competing with us for tenders published through the CTC. Based on our past experience, we know how to price the tender quite well. Sometimes, we lose the bid, but more often we win.
What certifications does Combined Group hold?
We currently hold ISO 9001 certification, ISO 14001 for environmental, and certification from OHSAS for safety and security. We have three certificates recognized, currently. We are also under audit from these organizations. Every six months, they send auditors to check our quality systems and to assure that we are abiding by all the rules of the system itself.
"Our vision is to be one of the ten biggest contracting companies in not only the Gulf area, but throughout the Middle East."
What internal and external challenges does your company face?
Externally, we have much competition from small companies. Essentially, they are breaking the prices for the projects. For instance, an owner has a budget of 100 million KD and they put it in a tender officially through the Central Tender Committee. Some of these not very reputable, smaller companies are competing by submitting their bid for far less than the budget. For a budget of 100 million KD, they are submitting bids for only 80 or 70 million KD. If you calculate the major elements of cost for that project, comprising materials, labor, equipment, subcontractors and other expenditures, it would never be feasible for that price. After they win the project, while they are executing it, they face many problems. Sometimes, the owner stops dealing with them, takes penalties, then has to shift the project to another contractor. Another challenge we have here in Kuwait is the circulation of documentation. In order to get the project or tender itself, it must go through many different channels, such as the CTC, the Kuwait Audit Bureau, or even the Minister of Finance for budget approval. The circulation itself takes a great deal of time. If we submit our bid and the Central Tender Committee announces that we are the lowest and orders the letter of intent, it can take four months or more. Another obstacle is the signing of the contract. Once we have received the letter of intent, the signature of the authorized person on the other side can take a long time. Sometimes, we are waiting for the Minister, himself, because he is the only one who is authorized to sign for that specific value. Another issue is the constant increase in the price of raw materials. During the pricing of any tender, the cost element comprises the materials, labor, equipment, and subcontractors. The materials represent 40 to 50 percent of the entire project and that price depends on the materials being imported. The prices continue to increase. The owners are not compensating us for these issues.
What is your personal vision for the Group in the medium term of one to two years time?
Our vision is to be one of the ten biggest contracting companies in not only the Gulf area, but throughout the Middle East. We have a timeframe, but there are certain problems that we continue to encounter in reaching our target. We have faced issues in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar regarding the payment of the presage of work from the government itself. They are not releasing our money, which amounts to millions of KD. In Saudi Arabia, we were not paid the advance payment for one of our projects. Advance payment is where the client pays ten to twenty percent in advance, in order to assist the contractor during the mobilization period. It is normal practice for any project we do, and it is in the contract itself. Even still, we have not received anything. Whether this is due to a budget problem or some other issue, we have not been told. We have had the same issue in Qatar. We do not have this issue in Kuwait. If we execute any project for The Ministry of Public Works, they pay according to the agreement. We want to expand and we are a reputable company. How are we going to succeed in Saudi Arabia and Qatar without receiving our dues? The timeframe to reach our goals is very much affected by these obstacles.
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Interview with Bader Al Humaidhi, Former Minister of Finance
Kuwait is seemingly one of the mostif not the mostliberal countries in the Gulf with the Kuwaiti parliament being fully elected by people. In your perception, how is this affecting the economy?
Kuwait is a vital state; it has been democratic for many years since 1962, one year after independence. From that year until the end of the 80s, i.e. from 1962 until the invasion of Kuwait I think it had had very democratic processes. After the invasion and the reparations many factors have affected things. First of all, the demographic structure of Kuwait has changed a lot. Secondly, all of the old politicians that created and developed the political system in Kuwait are no longer here and at the same time we have not seen a very good respect for democracy from some of the members of the royalty. Also since the 90s until now, we have seen that many members of the parliament were using their right to question the ministers and sometimes even the Prime Minister. This sometimes lead to the resignation of that minister, like what happened yesterday or a couple of days ago actually, when there was a debate about one of the ministers, no vote of confidence was taken but only a calculation that the parliament would vote against him so he has already submitted his resignation. From the 90s up to 2012 we have had between eight to ten elections as no parliament has completed its four year duration because every time there is dissolution of parliament. There is no stability at the political level; sometimes every few months we have new ministers and a new cabinet and that means that there is no stability and no good relations between the executive and the legislative power. Also it means that no ministers can implement their plans and so development has been hampered by that. Nevertheless since 2013 we have had a new parliament but unfortunately it has been on standby because they did what the government wants but the government does not seem to like that parliament in the proper way and doesnt seem to like it for the sake of development. Development has not been good. Corruption is rife, Kuwait jumped up 20 places in the ranking for corruption. Unfortunately up to now, democracy has not been helping the development of Kuwait as it used to in the 60s, 70s and partially in the 80s.
What would you suggest as a solution going forward?
It has to be a kind of national contract with all parties especially the leaders and intellectuals from this side or that putting together a change in the constitution. The constitution of Kuwait was drawn up and has been accepted since 1962. That is almost 60 years. Things are changing though, with the economy and the culture changing there has to be a change. I remember I spoke to one of the old politicians of Kuwait who was involved in writing the constitution and he said to me that if he knew the composition of the population of Kuwait were to change as dramatically as it has nowadays, we wouldnt have the same constitution as we made in 1962. There has to be a change to the constitution. Secondly, I think we should adopt what we call the two system of democracy like in America where you have the Representative parliament and you have Congress and like in the UK where you have the Commons and the Lords. We have to have this kind of system because you need to have one to check on the other. Then I think there has to be an acceptance by the legislative side that these members of parliament have the right to question. They have the right to follow all of the implementation. Most importantly we have to select good ministers. I shouldnt select a minister because he comes from this tribe or the next, he should be selected properly. I dont want to generalise but some of the ministers if not most of them today are not the best for the country. Some ministers have been in power for many years and have not done anything but they are still there because they belong to this side or to that side. In the 60s and 70s, Kuwait used to be number one in the Gulf. Now we are at the bottom, for many reasons. I am not saying that democracy is not good but if you dont use it in the proper way it doesnt work.
Bureaucracy in Kuwait is killing everything.
Kuwaits non-oil GDP is forecasted to grow by 3% in 2017. Is this predication realizable?
For us, our GDP growth goes up and down according to the oil prices. A year ago the price of oil was around 30 US dollars per barrel, today it is between 50 and 55, and Kuwaiti oil is worth around 55 US dollars. To calibrate between expenditure and revenues of the budget we need to get to around 69 US dollars per barrel. For us the main thing is the oil prices but no one can control oil prices, they go up and down according to supply. Nowadays there is an agreement between Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran about the projection level and that is why oil prices are stabilising and increasing gradually but if that agreement is lost you will see the prices go down.
Kuwait Financial Outlook 2017 by Bader Al Humaidhi: "Kuwait May Have Budget Deficit beyond 2025"
As you say the prices are stable at around 50-55 US dollars per barrel and they are going to stabilise more and some people predict that the demand will be higher than the offer in the second half of 2017.
I have a friend who is a specialist in oil, he said to me if you ask me tomorrow what would be the price of oil, I would not judge it. In the past, if you remember, the oil prices in a week or even a month could go up or down by 50 cents or maximum by a US dollar, but now they can drop or rise by one US dollar or by three. Last night it went up by one US dollar so the volatility in the oil demand and supply is very high. If you look at Iran, they want to pump as much as they can, the same applies to Iraq, there are no controls happening. Saudi Arabia wants to maintain their share of the market. Also the demand comes from China, it is the main source of demand for us, not America, but China and India. And as you know, growth in China three years ago was at 9% and now it is at 6% or so. Dont forget also the other sources of energy, solar etc.
Unfortunately in our country 95% of our revenues in the budget is derived from oil. We dont have any other source of income. If you go to Dubai for example, they have tourism and other revenues. Even Saudi Arabia derives 70% of its revenue from oil and now they have 30% from other sources. We have not done anything to diversify. I shall give you an example; just yesterday the Minister of Finance said that our budget for 2017-18 will be 21.3 or 21.4 billion Kuwaiti dinars and this is comparing with 19 billion Kuwaiti dinars previously so it is about a 10% increase. But you know what? 50% is wages and salaries, 25% subsidies, so that leaves 25% and out of that 25% only 13% is for developmental projects. Furthermore there is going to be a deficit in the budget. In 2015-2016 the deficit was 3 million; now in 2016-17 the deficit may rise to 6 or 7 million and so on because in the budget we have some items which you cannot reduce or stop such as the salaries and wages, whereby every year there is a 5% increase. The budget is building up and the oil reserves we have are our income but we dont have controls on that income. In Saudi Arabia they have cut salaries, not the basic salary but other wages, some have been cut by 40%; they have to accept it, it is the way of life. We are countries, we are not like human beings; human beings live 60, 70 or 100 years; Kuwait has been here for three hundred years and hopefully will be here forever. What if after 10 or 20 years we run out of money? What will happen then? No one thinks about that unfortunately.
It is lack of vision. You talk of the budget, the deficit in 2015-2016 reached 5.98 billion Kuwaiti dinars which is around 18 million euros, and is 20% higher than the past two years. It is growing. Do you think that Kuwait will carry on having this budget deficit until 2025?
And maybe more. Nobody knows. In the end, IMF and World Bank only give projections. Have you seen that from time to time either World Bank or IMF change their mind? They say that GDP all over the world will grow by 3.5%, and then three months later they change that to 3.2% or 3.6%. Everything changes. We are a country that cannot live on a projection. The late Emir established the Future Generation Fund in the 70s, and now it is worth around 600 billion US dollars. During the invasion of Kuwait we utilised that fund for feeding the Kuwaitis outside Kuwait, for supporting the liberation of Kuwait etc. If we didnt have that at that time, what would have happened? No one can liberate Kuwait if you dont have money, no one can feed the people without money. If you are going to finance the deficit in the budget from this Fund, at one point in time there will be nothing left. Then what will we do?
Non-oil GDP growth was up 3%. It is also affected by the projects in infrastructure under the development plans. How do you see this growing? What is the progress in the development plan?
You have to look at Kuwait and see where we can derive the other sources of income from. I can give you an example, in the last few years if you look at FDI, Kuwait is the only country in the Gulf who has positive outflow and negative inflow. The net shows we are exporting more than we are importing. Unfortunately the investment environment in Kuwait is not attractive. If you want to establish a company in Dubai, you can do it in one day over the computer. I had the experience of changing the structure of my company and it took me almost one year to do it here, I dont mean to establish a company but to change the structure of one existing company. Bureaucracy and corruption is so great in the country. If you are going to get electricity for your factory, sometimes you have to pay money to get it, to bribe people to get it. How can you create a sector to be a source of income like this? Kuwait in the 60s and 70s and part of the 80s used to be the best financial centre in the Gulf, it was in fact the main centre in the Gulf. It is still a financial centre and some people debate whether we should create a new financial centre or revive the existing one. There are many multinational and Arabian companies based in Kuwait, but we dont add to them and some are leaving to go to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain etc. Other places like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai and even Doha became much more attractive to foreign investors. If you ask me, the only hope we have is within the financial track. We do have Citi, HSBC, etc. but they have very small offices. Just a few days ago I asked my colleagues at Citi and they said they have 500 people in Dubai. It is easy to get visas for them, it is easy for the social life there... It is very difficult here. We do have to diversify but it is not easy. Yesterday the Prime Minister and some ministers came and talked about the vision of Kuwait for 2035, they talked about general things and many people doubt it. I am one of them. If you want to diversify, you have to have a plan, a project, and to tell us how it will be implemented, who will finance it, who will run it etc. It is not just the vision itself. I am sorry if I am very negative. I am sorry, and everybody feels sorry in Kuwait, even some officials will tell you these things.
KDIPA is saying that the new FDI law is actually very attractive for foreign investors and you are saying that there is higher outflow of investment, which is contradictory.
Last year or the year before, I think we had 2 major investments that came in and improved the FDI but they didnt change it from negative to positive. One was from Microsoft and the other from Huawei. They were only 2 investments, no more than that comes now you see. For example, there is a Privatisation Agency of Kuwait that was established I think 5 years ago, but they have done 0 projects. I spoke to their manager; he said how can I do it if it takes me sometimes 6 months to get the permission from the civil labour agencies for my structure and so on. They have done 0 projects. The Public Private Partnership Agency was established around 8 years ago and they have only done around 3 or 4 projects up to now. Bureaucracy in Kuwait is killing everything.
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Deep State Power v. Trump
Americas deep state is divided on Trump. He couldnt have been elected without enough support.
Post-inauguration, things changed. The balance of power shifted against him, leaving him vulnerable, already weakened this early in his tenure, unprecedented for a US president.
His record so far in office is another matter, though too soon to judge him definitively. Still, disturbing signs arent encouraging. More on this below.
Jack Kennedy transformed himself from a warrior to a peacemaker. He paid the supreme price.
Trump is no Jack Kennedy - never was, never will be. JFK surrounded himself with young intellectuals as advisors, a cadre he called the best and the brightest.
He advocated progressive taxation, increased social welfare including more low-cost public housing, civil rights legislation, medical care for the elderly at a time it was affordable, and federal aid for public and higher education.
He wanted nuclear weapons abolished, the Cold War ended, followed by a general and complete disarmament. Heady stuff!
He opposed imperial wars, notably in Southeast Asia. He wanted all US forces out of Vietnam by December 1965.
He believed America should no longer use its might to enforce Pax Americana worldwide. He fired CIA director Allen Dulles and his assistant general Charles Cabell. He wanted to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds, reason enough to kill him.
He supported Palestinian rights. He opposed Israels nuclear weapons program. He offended energy giants, wanting their oil depletion allowance cut or eliminated.
Throughout the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, he said he never had the slightest intention of attacking the island state.
He favored Federal Reserve reform. His Executive Order 11110 authorized replacing central bank notes with silver certificates.
Its believed he wanted United States notes issued, returning money creation power to Congress as the Constitution mandates.
Had he lived and won reelection, imagine the possibilities of a transformational administration, unlike any before or since in US history.
Trumps first month in office wasnt encouraging. Killing TPP and likely TTIP leaves the proposed Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) unaddressed.
Covering over two-thirds of world trade in services, it aims for deregulating global financial services markets more than already - allowing unrestricted exchange of personal and financial data.
Global Trade Watch director Lori Wallach explained itll roll back the improvements made after the global financial crisis to safeguard consumers and financial stability and cement us into the extreme deregulatory model of the 1990s that led to the crisis in the first place and the billions in losses to consumers and governments.
Lawyers and lobbyists for bankers and other financial interests wrote the legislation - a wish list for them at the expense of the general welfare, including supranational rules overriding national laws.
Imperial wars still rage in multiple theaters, continuing the horrors under the Clintons, Bush/Cheney and Obama. Trumps war on immigrants is all about politics, unrelated to protecting Americas borders and national security.
Accomplishing these objectives requires no longer attacking other countries, ending support for ISIS and other terrorist groups, waging peace, not war, as well as fair, not free, trade - creating, not destroying jobs.
Firing Michael Flynn eliminated his key foreign policy advisor, leaving others in his administration vulnerable including himself.
It likely shattered hopes for improved ties with Russia other than possible changes to minor to matter.
Hostile comments from Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Sean Spicer arent what turning a new leaf in bilateral relations is all about - especially given a hostile Congress and major media.
Trump and key administration officials expressed disturbing hostility toward China and Iran. He wants increased spending for Americas bloated military, including boosting its nuclear capability.
After bashing NATO earlier, he now calls himself a fan of the alliance. He wants so-called safe zones in Syria Bashar al-Assad opposes. So does Russia without his authorization.
He wants Wall Street deregulated, enabling financial giants to be more predatory than already.
His executive orders on crime fighting and keeping America safe sound ominously like increasing police state powers.
His new FCC chairman said Net Neutralitys days are numbered. His education secretary wants public education destroyed. His plan to repeal and replace Obamacare promises something worse instead.
His defense secretary is a hardened warrior. James Mattis didnt earn four stars by waging peace. He and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed hostility toward Russia, China and Iran.
Trumps first few weeks in office were disturbing, likely indicating whats to come.
Lofty rhetoric is one thing, policymaking another. America should be great for everyone.
Rising equity prices suggest Trump wants things better for the privileged few - the way its always been.
By Stephen Lendman
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
His new book as editor and contributor is titled Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
He lives in Chicago and can be reached in Chicago at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national topics. All programs are archived for easy listening.
2017 Copyright Stephen Lendman - 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.
MARTINSVILLE City public schools officials have decided to postpone their presentation of a budget proposal for the coming fiscal year by a week out of convenience for school board members.
The Martinsville School Board had slated a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday during which a spending plan for fiscal 2018, which will start July 1, was to have been presented and discussed. A public hearing also was to have been held, followed by a second public hearing at the same time on Feb. 27.
On Friday, the Martinsville City Public Schools sent a notification that Monday nights meeting has been canceled. According to Superintendent Zeb Talley, several board members indicated they would not be able to attend the meeting.
The budget proposal now will be presented and discussed during the special meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at the schools administrative offices in the former Druid Hills School on Indian Trail. The first public hearing will be held immediately after the presentation and discussion.
A second public hearing will be held during the next regular school board meeting at 6 p.m. March 13 in the city council chambers at the municipal building on West Church Street uptown. A final budget likely will be approved during that session.
School board meetings held in the council chamber usually are televised so the public can watch the proceedings. Asked why the budget proposal presentation and the initial discussion and hearing will be at the Indian Trail offices, where it cannot be televised, Talley said there is no particular reason.
Were just trying to avoid a scheduling conflict with any other city activities for which the council chambers might be needed, he said.
If the room is available for use, the board might decide to move the Feb. 27 meeting there, he added.
Past special meetings of the school board have been held at the Indian Trail facility.
State law requires that only one public hearing on the budget proposal be held. However, Talley said that schools officials want to be sure that everyone who wants to comment on it has the opportunity.
In 2016, the school board asked Martinsville City Council for an increase in local funding. But the council dropped the schools yearly allocation from $6,757,537 to $6,437,654. In January, though, the council voted to return to the schools $614,509 that they did not spend in the past fiscal year.
Council members learned last week that the city is facing a roughly $1 million budget shortfall for 2018. They indicated that the schools and other city operations could see funding cuts.
Still, two city budget proposals will be prepared, officials said one in which all departments see cuts and one that spares the schools and public safety agencies from reductions.
Talley said the schools budget proposal still is being prepared with input from administrators, school principals and parent-teacher organizations.
Therefore, I dont have a clue, he said, as to what budgeted amounts including the sum for which the city will be asked will be.
Yet he did not rule out the possibility that the schools will seek a funding increase.
Were going to propose what our students need to be educated well, Talley said. Whatever that amount comes out to be is fine.
Our priority will be the education of our students, he said. As the superintendent, my responsibility is making sure the students have what they need.
He declined further comment.
School board Chairwoman Joan Montgomery could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The new and completed edition of Stalin, which Leon Trotsky was working on at the time of his death, was officially launched in Canada at a meeting in Toronto this past Thursday, February 16.
The meeting was held at the University of Toronto before a packed room with some 70-80 in attendance and was hosted by Fightback, the Canadian section of the IMT.
Alan Woods, editor of the In Defence of Marxism website, spent years painstakingly translating and restoring the work, and gave a presentation on the new and completed biography.
Alan began by explaining that every book has its own destiny. The Stalin book in particular had an extraordinary destiny. It was never supposed to see the light of day.
Trotsky was working on the biography when he was killed in a cowardly manner in August 1940 by a Stalinist agent. While the book itself was not the cause or the reason for the assassination, it did play a role in Trotskys murder. The execution had already been decided and prepared long in advance, but the biography undoubtedly hastened the execution.
We know from the Soviet archives that Stalin was obsessed with Trotsky and had his latest works delivered to his desk every morning. When Stalin learned that Trotsky was writing a book about him, which would expose his real history and his actual role in the Russian Revolution, it only added to Stalins determination to kill Trotsky.
One must wonder of course how it was that Stalin, who by this time had absolute power and the entire Soviet police, army and bureaucratic apparatus at his disposal could fear Trotsky, who at this time was isolated.
Stalin was one of the greatest criminals in history, and like all criminals he was intent on eliminating and destroying all witnesses witnesses to his true past crimes. To that end, Stalin murdered rivals, supporters and friends alike. As Trotsky was the last surviving Bolshevik from the days of October, he was the last witness to the truth. And for this Stalin killed him.
Stalin was never an outstanding leader of the Bolshevik party. He was largely unknown, even in Russia. If one compares Stalin to the other Bolshevik leaders, not just Lenin and Trotsky but men and women such as Bukharin, Zinoviev and others, they were all brilliant, cultured, intellectual revolutionaries who had lived abroad, were cultured and familiar with foreign languages.
Stalin was none of these things, spoke no foreign languages and had no connections or interest in the international labour movement.
He was a bureaucrat, an apparatchik, a committee man, with a strong and forceful personality.
In reality, Stalin was a mediocrity a capable man and an outstanding mediocrity, but mediocre nonetheless.
If Stalin were such a mediocrity then how was it that he could have defeated Trotsky and the Left Opposition? This really comes down to the question of the role of the individual in history.
There is a widespread misconception, which in reality is a distortion of Marxism, that Marxism reduces everything to economic factors. Neither Marx nor Engels ever said any such thing. In fact, they explained the opposite, at length. Marxism understands that men and women make their own history, but that this history is made within certain limits, determined by the concrete historical circumstances.
If one takes the example of the Russian Revolution, the role of the individual in history can clearly be seen as can the changing nature of this role. If left to the Bolshevik leaders prior to the February Revolution, the October Revolution would never have happened.
Stalin, Kamenev and the other Bolshevik leaders at the time supported the provisional government, opposed the workers taking power, and proposed a merger with the Mensheviks. They simply were not up to tasks posed by history.
Lenin and Trotsky reached the same conclusions as each other about the Russian Revolution, and played a key decisive role in events. Had they not been present, then the Russian Revolution would not have unfolded as it did.
The role of the individual in history is determined to a large degree by the balance of class forces. Years later, with the Soviet Union isolated following the defeat of the German Revolution, amongst others, Lenin and Trotsky were unable to change the tide of history.
Every revolution has a heroic period, a time of revolutionary ascent and unity. This period requires heroes, the giants of history. If we look at the French Revolution we see in this period the rise of figures like Marat, Danton and Robespierre. These are now hated figures according to bourgeois history, precisely because they are feared by the ruling class. The same goes for Lenin and Trotsky, two giants who played a prominent role in the heroic period of the Russian Revolution.
However, every revolution will also tend to pass through a phase of decline, where the masses cannot go any further. The participation of the masses declines, giving rise to mediocre figures such as Napoleon or Stalin.
We know that Stalin was abused. By all accounts he was sullen, vindictive, vengeful and sadistic. But these psychological qualities do not explain the rise of Stalin. The rise of Stalin was a reflection of powerful social forces, and cannot be explained by psychology. Not every abused boy becomes a Stalin, just as not every failed artist becomes a Hitler. The rise of figures such as these are determined by a concatenation of social forces and events.
Stalin didnt defeat Trotsky because he was smarter or cleverer. He defeated Trotsky because at this time, after four years of war, revolution and civil war the Russian working class was exhausted, hungry and desperate. The hopes of the Bolsheviks and Russian working class were dashed in Germany. The Soviet Union was isolated and surrounded by enemies.
This meant a profound change in the correlation of forces based on the exhaustion and apathy of the masses. Trotsky tried to fight Stalin and the rising bureaucracy and was defending the genuine ideas of Bolshevism and October, but was waging a struggle on the basis of a class that was exhausted.
At this point in time, the bureaucracy did not need a hero or a giant of history such as Trotsky, who could never accommodate himself to the new correlation of forces. What they needed was a mediocrity who could preside over the period of decline of the Revolution.
Alan finished by explaining that the volume of water flowing over Niagara Falls could not possibly match the volume of lies about the Russian Revolution. The main lie peddled by the ruling class is that Stalinism and Bolshevism are the same thing, or at least that Stalinism is the natural outcome of Bolshevism.
If this were true, why in order to consolidate power did Stalin have to kill all the old Bolsheviks? The fact that Stalin had to exterminate the Bolshevik party, the old revolutionary guard, demonstrates that Stalinism and Bolshevism are entirely incompatible.
Human beings are frail and fragile and can easily be killed. But ideas are not so easily destroyed, and it is impossible to kill an idea whose time has come. In this sense, Trotsky was victorious. The ideas of Trotsky, the ideas of Leninism, Bolshevism and the October Revolution did not die in August 1940. In fact, the struggle based on these ideas continues to this very day.
The fact that Trotskyism continues to haunt the bourgeoisie and the reformist and Stalinist leaderships of the labour movement is evidence of the power of these ideas and show that they are more relevant now than ever before.
The crisis of global capitalism can be seen everywhere around the world. We are witnessing the collapse of the centre and polarization to the left and the right. The wheel of history is turning. Socialism and communism did not fail in the USSR. It was Stalinism that failed, a bureaucratic totalitarian system.
The bourgeoisie were euphoric when the Soviet Union collapsed. It was proclaimed as the end of history. But history is on the march again. Capitalism is being questioned everywhere, especially by the youth. There has almost never been a situation where people are so skeptical of capitalism, searching for an alternative, and open to the ideas of Marxism and socialism.
It is our duty to take up the banner, clean it from the stains of the crimes of Stalinism and raise it as the only banner the working class can support the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky, the ideas of the Bolshevik party and the October Revolution.
You can buy a copy of Stalin from Wellred Books (Britain) or Marxist Books (US).
HARTFORD A 27-year-old Hartford man was found dead in his car Saturday morning, shot several times, the
Hartford Courant
reported.
Hartford police said Chace Hernandez was found sitting in the driver's seat of his Audi parked near the intersection of Winchester and Auburn streets in the city's North End just after midnight Saturday. He had been shot multiple times in the neck and torso and was transported to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Police are continuing their investigation, but have no suspects at this time, they said.
A Newburyport man wanted for a parole violation in New Hampshire led police on a chase through several communities and struck other vehicles while trying to avoid capture, according to authorities.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Barteaux stopped an Infinity QX4 on the Lynnway, near the intersection with Harding Street in Lynn, around 1:50 p.m. Saturday for motor vehicle violations.
Police said the driver, Stephen Staffiery, 48, of Newburyport, ran from the car, but then circled back around and got back inside. He then drove away.
The vehicle was spotted on Route 1A in Revere by Transit Police officers. Staffiery fled from the Transit Police officers, who were also assisted by Saugus police.
"The suspect motor vehicle continued to flee onto Revere Street. As the suspect continued to attempt to evade capture, the Infinity struck one vehicle on Revere Street and the suspect then continued onto Route 60 westbound," State Police said. "The Infinity struck two vehicles on Route 60 in Revere as the suspect continued to flee. None of the collisions resulted in injuries."
The chase ended in Saugus. Staffiery ran from his vehicle in a neighborhood on Dale Street, but was caught by police. Staffiery was arrested on 16 different charges and will be arraigned in Lynn District Court Tuesday.
A 37-year-old Massachusetts man is facing federal drug charges in Wyoming after authorities recently charged him in connection with a 135-pound marijuana bust.
Federal court records show Frisnel Guerrier of Randolph was in a Wyoming federal court Friday for a detention hearing. He had been charged earlier in the week with possession with intent to distribute over 50 kilograms of marijuana.
The charges against Guerrier, who told police he works as a school bus driver, stem from a July 17, 2016 traffic stop on a highway in Laramie County, Wyoming.
A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper pulled over Guerrier for speeding as the Massachusetts man drove a white van on the highway. The trooper smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to court records on file in Wyoming federal court.
Troopers searched the van and found 135 pounds of marijuana inside, authorities said
Investigators said they discovered 78 vacuum-sealed plastic bags tucked inside speakers and subwoofers, which were in the back of the van.
Guerrier denied knowing marijuana was inside the van and told authorities he could not smell the marijuana because he has asthma, records said.
The Massachusetts man told investigators he had been driving the van between Boston and California for about 15 months. He was hired by a man to transport speakers for the man's sound company, Guerrier told investigators.
The van was driven to California then left in a motel or apartment complex parking lot and Guerrier then flew back to Boston. If the man needed the van again, Guerrier would fly to California and drive it back to Boston.
Records show Guerrier was paid $2,000 per trip with another $1,000 to help pay for hotels, food and fuel. Someone also paid for Guerrier's plane ticket. Guerrier kept records on his phone of the trips and allegedly drove the van back and forth almost 22 times in 15 months.
A federal judge released Guerrier on $10,000 unsecured bond after his appearance in federal court Friday. Guerrier was ordered to follow numerous conditions as part of his release such as: check in with probation in Massachusetts, turn over his passport and refrain from travelling outside of Massachusetts unless it involves his court case in Wyoming.
SPRINGFIELD -- It was a miserable end.
Two street junkies led police to a body wrapped in a filthy blanket, dropped in a dumpster behind an apartment block near 30 High St. It is among the city's most drug-ridden pockets.
The date was Dec. 3, 2016, a Saturday, an investigator said. Detectives determined that the mystery corpse was a young woman, slightly built, with shoulder-length blonde hair badly in need of a shampooing.
She was so tiny, police may have initially believed she was an adolescent but for a pair of distinctive tattoos on her forearms that appeared too adult. One was a Kurt Cobain tribute and the other an homage to the state of Maine, according to Springfield Police Capt. Trent C. Duda, head of the Major Crimes Unit.
No obvious trauma. Her remains were shipped to the state medical examiner's office and she remained a "Jane Doe" over the weekend. A couple of slim stories ran in local media outlets -- including in The Republican -- about the body dump of an anonymous woman. Fingerprints proved unhelpful. Detectives got no hits after running them.
But, a woman from Greenfield called Duda the following Monday.
"She said, 'I saw on the news that you found a girl's body in a dumpster. I think that may be my daughter.' She just had a feeling," Duda recalled during a recent interview at police headquarters at 130 Pearl St.
Her mother's instinct was right about one thing. The body in the dumpster was 25-year-old Judith Kimball, the caller's daughter. Kimball was a Greenfield native in the grips of addiction since her late teens. She was previously a brunette. Her mother had coaxed her into rehab many times, playing tug-of-war with a force that overtook her daughter's life, then may have snuffed it out altogether.
Or, Duda said, Kimball's death may have been murder.
More than two months later investigators don't know. The autopsy report is still pending and Duda and his team of six homicide detectives ran down every lead available to them.
This included canvassing and re-canvassing potential witnesses; poring over physical evidence, even though much of it was sullied by a literal heap of trash piled on top of her body; talking to shop owners, neighbors and police-shy transients who frequent the area; collecting bank records; and searching squalid apartments where she may have stayed. They also made arrests on warrants and pursued secondary charges on actors they believed may know something about Kimball's sad end.
Police discovered she made an ATM withdrawal on Dec. 1 and made a purchase at a convenience store on High Street later the same day. After that, her movements are unclear. She had no fixed address, no job and no regular routine, Duda said. When and where and how she died, and with whom, remains a mystery. Duda believes she was not wrapped in a blanket with care, but for ease of transport.
He concedes it's about as likely her death could have been an overdose by a "hot batch," another casualty of the heroin scourge. Or she could have come to a more violent end. There is a distinct possibility they may never know.
"I honestly can't say right now," Duda said. "But I can tell you this: No matter what her lifestyle was, I'm going to do everything I can to find out what happened to her. No one's daughter deserves to end up in a dumpster. I don't care what she was into."
Looking for clues
The business of finding a killer is not an exact science. And in Kimball's case, even labeling a homicide can be complicated.
In the late afternoon glare of sun on snow in December, members of the homicide unit returned to the neighborhood where Kimball's body was found. Street dealers' antennae immediately went up, and calls of "Po-po!" echoed throughout High Street. Spotters scattered from street corners and others hung from upper-floor windows of the densely packed apartment blocks wearing knowing grins.
Dancing away from police is clearly a sport for some. But a few locals have cooperated with investigators in the probe of Kimball's death. Duda said her street name was "Snow." He doesn't know why. Many in the neighborhood seemed to like her. They were troubled by her death, he says.
This is the hardest work. Kimball's crime scene was a mess. Her recent history was a mess. And some potential witnesses are so strung out they can't recall which month it is, he added.
This is what inner-city homicide detectives deal with, most of the time. Cases are seldom wrapped up in neat bows like crime television shows that fascinate viewers and end in a formulaic hour. Even when there are a dozen shell casings scattered at a street shooting, with no reliable witnesses willing to go on record or testify in court, detectives must piece together crime scenes in other, tedious ways.
"There are very few homicides where we don't know who's involved and what the circumstances are. It's a matter of what we can prove," Duda said.
There are two phases to a murder investigation: arresting a suspect and proving it in court. Duda and his team labor to find willing and reliable witnesses. In the inner city, where residents are wary of police and fearful of the repercussions, this is rare. More often investigators encounter stubborn and reluctant witnesses, absent ones, and marginal ones who may talk a good game but risk falling apart once they get on the witness stand. The last scenario creates a particular headache.
"No one wants to be that guy: the guy who gets slapped around by a defense lawyer on the witness stand or spanked by a judge. I'd hate to see an acquittal because we made a mistake," Duda said, so he vets his witnesses and collects and logs evidence carefully.
The homicide unit logged 13 cases in 2016 and cleared seven.
There are three murder trials teed up in Hampden Superior Court between now and March, all of which will require one homicide detective or more from Duda's unit as key witnesses or lending other assists to prosecutors.
Managing their typical workloads while murder trials are ongoing can be challenging, Duda said. Last week, he and his detectives spent full days at court minding witnesses and conducting interviews. On one night they had to hustle back to the police station to put together a search warrant application for an entirely different case. They wrapped up at 1 o'clock that morning.
Teamwork
A 20-year veteran of the force, Duda's lifelong ambition was to be a cop. Coupled with a longstanding fascination with science and forensics, that ambition led him toward homicide investigation. He has been at the helm of the unit since 2015 but worked as a sergeant and lieutenant in homicide before he was promoted to captain.
Duda has a master's degree in forensics from the University of New Haven and has studied under Henry Chang-Yu Lee, one of the world's leading forensic scientists whose profile was forever raised by the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the JonBenet Ramsey case and the revisiting of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
His neatly kept office includes shelves lined with textbooks and manuals on forensics, evidence and police work. He rarely reads works of fiction.
His team is tight-knit and relies on one another for certain niches and collective expertise. Duda says: Detectives Tim Kenney and Kevin Lee, two of the veterans, can craft crystalline affidavits for search warrants. Detective Jimmy Crogan is an encyclopedia of local gang intelligence and ongoing street rivalries.
"(Detectives) Jose Canini, Eric Podgurski and Joe Brodeur are very good at talking to witnesses. They're our on-the-ground guys. They do the footwork on the streets and are the guys we send out to canvass and re-canvass," Duda said, adding that the entire team does street canvassing in the aftermath of a killing.
Sgt. Jeff Martucci is Duda's closest partner in working homicides. He plays dual roles as both administrator and an investigator carrying his own caseload.
Duda is the gatekeeper, tracking and organizing leads and forging a path in the early days of an investigation. Cases don't solve themselves. Angst-filled confessions elicited by a psychologically savvy investigator are largely fiction. Most people lawyer up. It's a rarity that suspects waive their Miranda rights and fall on the sword -- or the gun, as it were.
When asked to weigh in on his temperament as a leader within one of the grittiest pockets of police work, Duda doesn't have a whole lot to say.
"I hate shoddy work. I can't f---ing stand it," he responds.
Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni had a bit more to say, lauding the team's toughness and dedication.
"I know firsthand the dedication and skill that Captain Duda and his team bring to the most serious, complicated cases in Springfield. Their work often calls them to duty in the middle of the night to the toughest places," Gulluni said.
"However, they approach every investigation with compassion for the victims and their families and with the spirit of justice in mind. The Major Crimes Unit includes many of the finest detectives in the region," the county's top prosecutor added.
The overall unit includes dozens of detectives who cover all manner of crimes against people in addition to murder: rape, robbery, felony assault, motor vehicle theft, burglary and larceny. In 2015, the Major Crimes Unit investigated 8,297 alleged crimes in total. These included 18 homicides, 76 rapes, 518 robberies, 1,400 burglaries, 640 car thefts, 4,601 larcenies and 1,044 felony assaults, according to statistics provided by the Springfield Police Department.
In 2016, the unit investigated 7,220 alleged crimes. These included 13 homicides, 81 rapes, 529 robberies, 1,538 burglaries, 628 car thefts, 3,432 larcenies and 999 felony assault, department statistics show.
Duda and his team seldom get a entire week's worth of solid sleep. They are typically rousted in the middle of the night several times a month by calls on the city's latest fatal shooting or stabbing or for suspicious deaths, which include suicides and other brutal endings.
In addition to gang shootings, they encounter baby deaths, suicides by hanging and other means, freak industrial accidents, horrific car crashes and the occasional oddity -- like when they encounter a decomposing body partially eaten by pets. Duda, an animal lover, shrugs off the last.
"People have dogs. Dogs get hungry," he said mildly.
Weighing every angle
As for Judith Kimball, a family member told Duda she was a free spirit who began dabbling in drugs in high school, and later moved to Maine to become a glass-blowing artist. She had a daughter two years ago. Health problems brought her to a Springfield hospital over the summer. Duda believes this is when she became entrenched in the High Street drug culture.
Duda says the area has been in decline and is a hotspot for violence and death -- mostly drug-driven, as opposed to the gang gunplay of Eastern Avenue, for instance.
"This entire street, it used to be overwhelmed by crack, and controlled by Latin Kings. But now it's a free-for-all and crack is secondary. Heroin is the thing. And heroin takes over people's lives entirely," Duda said.
After personally investigating dozens of homicides and suspicious deaths, it is not the gore and haunting images that keep him awake nights. It's the possibility he may miss an angle.
The potential for burnout for homicide detectives is high, but Duda says he is nowhere near it. He encourages his team to watch for the telltale signs, however. With other career trajectories at his disposal, Duda is asked why he stays in the trenches of homicide. He responds with a quizzical stare and a momentary silence.
"Why? Because I don't think anyone should walk around and get away with murder," he said.
Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization created for the purpose of administering programs to help improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy's Indian Reservations.
More than 140,000 families have been cut off from receiving childcare benefits for failing to vaccinate their children.The first figures from the Federal Governments No jab, no pay policy show parents in Adelaide city and the Gold Coast Hinterland were most likely to not vaccinate their children.Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told TODAY this morning the controversial policy had seen a lift of 200,000 more children being vaccinated.Thats good news but there is more to do so were going to keep pushing hard, Mr Hunt said.Its a tough policy because this is about public health and the safety of our beautiful kids.The policy, introduced in January 2016, states that 'conscientiously objecting' to vaccinations on non-medical grounds is not a valid exemption.Parents of an estimated 142,793 children under the age of five were cut off from up to $15,000 in taxpayer-funded child care payments under the policy.The average immunisation rate across Australia is 92.2 percent.In Sydney, the suburbs in the north, inner west and east recorded some of the highest rates of unvaccinated children.Sydney's eastern suburbs recorded child vaccination rates lower than Australia's average, with only 88.9 per cent of five-year-olds vaccinated for diseases including whooping cough, measles and hepatitis.Read more at More than 140,000 families cut off from childcare payments for not vaccinating their kids - 9news.com.au
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"The vaccine will prevent rotavirus diarrhea in children, which accounts for about 40% of hospitalizations for diarrhea in India. Rotavirus diarrhea is responsible for nearly one lakh deaths, 32-35 lakh out-patient visits and nearly eight to 10 lakh hospitalizations every year," Nadda said.He said, "Rotavirus diarrhea can also lead to dehydration, malnutrition and delayed physical and mental development in children. Rotavirus vaccination would help in reducing the infant mortality rate."Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given instructions to the central ministers to give top focus to the eastern and northeastern part of India, as these regions got less attention in various aspects earlier, the union minister added.Nadda, who came here on Saturday from New Delhi, said that diarrhea is one of the biggest killers of children and rotavirus is one of the most common causes of severe diarrhea in children less than five years of age.He said, "The government is also committed to increasing full immunization coverage and ensuring that the benefit of the life-saving vaccines is provided to every child in every part of India."The minister urged the states to "successfully roll out of the mission Indradhanush, which has already created a significant impact across the country."In March 2016, the Rotavirus vaccine was first introduced in four states - Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. So far, about 38 lakh children have been vaccinated with Rotavirus in these four states.Additional Secretary of Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Sanjeeva Kumar said: "Currently in India, one of the main cause of deaths is diarrhoea in children under the age of five years. Globally, diarrhoea is responsible for 576,000 child deaths every year."He said that the fourth phase of mission Indradhanush was launched in northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura - on February 7, 2017, and would be rolled out in the remaining part of the country in April.Terming the introduction and now scale-up of Rotavirus vaccine in India as a momentous initiative of the government to build a strong foundation for a healthy nation, Sanjeeva Kumar said, "All children are at risk of Rotavirus infection, irrespective of their socio-economic status. The Rotavirus vaccine would be provided free of cost at all government health facilities."He said that the universal immunization program provides life-saving vaccines to all children across the country free of cost to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Hemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis and Rotavirus diarrhea.Tripura health minister Badal Choudhury said that the state government has been implementing all health related schemes of the central government with full sincerity."The central government must come forward in helping the state to prevent cancer and other dreaded diseases in the northeastern states," he added.Source: IANS
Vishal Bhardwajs new film Rangoon stars Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in a love triangle against the backdrop of World War II and all everybody is talking about is Shahid and Kanganas intense love making scenes.
But if reports are to be believed, Shahid and Kanganas equation off screen is quite the opposite. The two seem to have locked horns with each other and their recent interviews are proof. It all started when Kangana was asked what it was like to kiss Shahid in the film. Never to mince her words, Kangana called her experience of sharing a cottage with Shahid on the sets of Rangoon a nightmare. "Shahid's moustache was horrible and it (kissing) would be disgusting. Then he would keep telling me that he has a runny nose which helps it to stick," she recently said.
DNA reported that Shahid Kapoor was rather surprised to hear the statement. He obviously didnt hold back either. I have to tell you that Kangana makes up things in her head. She has a vivid imagination. I don't remember telling her all this at all. He told DNA.
Things only escalated from thereon. Kangana Ranaut hit back at him in an interview with Pinkvilla where she said that line he (Shahid) must have borrowed from Hrithik. He would have thought that dude I will borrow these claims from Hrithik. She compared him to her alleged ex Hrithik Roshan. Looks like this cold war is only going to get worse.
Proud of your eyesight? Cute. The whole internet is losing its shit over this new camouflage picture. There are 12 British soldiers hiding in this picture. While a couple of them are fairly easy to spot, most people give up too soon. This picture is of the Brunei jungle where 12 members of the Household Cavalry practiced hiding as a part of their Close Target Reconnaissance training. The British Army posted this picture on social media and the caption read, The intelligence gathered by this complex, deadly art will determine the British Armys success in battle. Look closely. How many can you spot?
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Mind-boggling, right? Well, if youve given up already. Here they are all of the 12 soldiers!
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Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.
Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
MERIDIAN TWP., MI - Police were looking for a man who robbed a sushi restaurant Saturday east of Lansing.
The man entered Maru Sushi and Grill, 5100 Marsh Road in Meridian Township, after it was closed, displayed a handgun took cash and let, the township police department reported.
The man was wearing a blue jacket and jeans. His face was covered.
Police were called to the business shortly before 11 p.m. Feb. 18. A police dog tried to track the man, who fled on foot, but was unsuccessful.
An investigation is ongoing.
East Lansing police, Michigan State Police, Michigan State University police and the Ingham County Sheriff's Office assisted the township.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the township police department at 517-853-4800 or submit a tip through the township department's social media sites.
Walmart sign
(File | MLive.com)
CLARE, MI -- Walmart has cancelled plans to build new stores in Clare and Kalkaska.
Company spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said the company is building fewer new stores and instead investing more in its existing stores and its associates in the form of training and pay raises.
"Our mission is simple -- saving people money so they can live better, while also finding ways to save them time," Hatfield said in a statement.
"The future of retail will be a mix of eCommerce and physical stores and we are focused on investing in new ways to serve our customers through innovative in-store and online offerings, by improving our existing stores, and investing in associate training in order to provide superior customer service."
The Walmart Supercenter planned for Clare was expected to bring 300 jobs to the community 16 miles north of Mount Pleasant, a company spokesman said in 2014.
Hatfield said Walmart is "evolving as retail is evolving."
"We're taking a more streamlined approach to new store growth," she said. (We're) making some big investments in our existing stores."
Although the Clare and Kalkaska projects are no more, Walmart does plan to open a new store in Whitehall and reopen its newly expanded store in Portage this year.
Walmart is remodeling about 500 of its stores this year in addition to the 500 it remodeled last year, Hatfield said.
Walmart also is investing in "training academies" for its associates, including opening training academies in Clinton Township and Kalamazoo.
Run, run, run.
Some days, it feels like thats all you do. Run the kids to school, dash to work, rush with errands, and run yourself ragged before bed. Youre always on the go, always moving, and in the new book Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, your breath isnt the only thing to catch.
Twenty-one-year-old Mulatto Betty mustve breathed a sigh of relief.
When Martha Custis married George Washington, slaves were shuffled as the mistress moved to Mount Vernon ; miraculously and notably, Betty moved and was allowed to keep her baby son with her.
She was pregnant, too, by a white man with an indenture agreement and an eye for opportunity; their eldest daughter was born in mid-1773, and given the unusual name of Ona Maria.
At age ten, Oney Judge was brought inside the Washington household, in service to Martha Washington. There, the illiterate girl learned to care for Marthas clothing, to bathe the mistress, tend her grandchildren, and soothe anxieties one of which was that Marthas husband had been asked to be the nations first president, a post that Martha Washington wasnt keen on and neither was Judge.
But, of course, Washington did take the position, which meant a household move from Virginia to Manhattan (the site of the first Executive Mansion ) for the family and a handful of slaves, including Judge. Its there, says Dunbar , where Judge most certainly tasted freedom through rare autonomy.
She was undoubtedly unhappy, therefore but couldnt speak her mind when the Executive Mansion was relocated to Philadelphia in 1790.
But there was a twist, for Judge and for the Washingtons: laws in Pennsylvania mandated freedom for any slave living in the state for six continuous months, meaning that the Washingtons would shuttle their slaves between Philadelphia and Virginia, to reset their status. Judge surely knew what was going on, but when she learned that she would be permanently gifted as a wedding present to Marthas moody granddaughter, she could stand things no longer.
And so, as the Washingtons dined on a Saturday evening in May 1796, Oney Judge slipped out the door and ran
Its been a long time since Ive read a thriller as heart-pounding as the one I found in this book. The difference is that Never Caught is all true.
But Judges astounding, audacious story isnt the only thing author Erica Armstrong Dunbar brings to vivid life: she also sets the tone by explaining the times in which Judge lived, and what life was like for slaves and whites alike.
Thanks to Dunbar, its easy to feel the busyness of Manhattan, to absorb the fear Judge surely felt, and to picture the elegant drawing rooms of the Washington home. On that note, we learn some not-so-savory things about George Washington, which makes the meat of this story an even bigger reason for gleefulness.
Now you have to find out what happened. If you love biographies, history, stories about remarkable women, or really exciting thrillers, Never Caught you need to read this book. Run for it.
you are here:
Having gone off the rails offensively, reality has bitten into the Phillies magical playoff ride. The streakiness that mostly defined the 2022 Phillies under Joe Girardi and occasionally reared its ugly head after Rob Thomson took over as manager has...
Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity
CLEAR LAKE | Its usually hard to beat local knowledge and experience when it comes to ice fishing.
Three out-of-state teams proved its not impossible by claiming top honors in the 2017 Yellow Bass Bonanza held at McIntosh Woods State Park in Ventura last Sunday.
Jim Hesse and Zach Nadolski of Lincoln, Nebraska, fish plenty of ice tournaments, but were taking part in their first Bonanza last week. And their experience with yellow bass was limited to say the least.
Id never caught one until Thursday, Hesse said.
A few days of pre-fishing were all the training the duo required as they captured first place with a 30-fish tournament limit of 15.76 pounds.
Hesse estimated they caught about 250 fish during the five-hour event. There were not very many lulls, he noted.
The pair fished at depths of 8 to 10 feet along the north shore using gold or metallic red jigs and jigging spoons tipped with spikes.
They won a pair of Vexilar FL-28 fish finders and two Vexilar jerseys.
Bryan Wintz and Mark Schneider, also of Lincoln, took second place and a pair of Clam Kenai Pro Stealth ice shacks with 15.33 pounds.
It was my first time ever fishing in Iowa, Wintz said, noting he and Schneider hit the ice on Friday and Saturday in preparation for the competition.
We caught a lot of fish (on Sunday), close to 200 I bet, he added.
Wintz said they found their fish at a depth of about 10 feet out in the middle of the main lake basin away from other competitors. They landed most on gold tungsten jigs tipped with cut bait.
Nathan Shafer of Blaine, Minnesota, and Tad Westermann of Otsego, Minnesota, claimed third place and a Clam Yukon ice shack with 14.57 pounds.
Fishing their second Bonanza, the pair used a variety of jigs and cut bait while staying mobile in search of active fish.
We worked for it, Shafer said. It wasnt just sitting and waiting for them.
Most of their fish came from depths of around 9 feet and in areas with few other anglers.
Each team in the top 25 won prizes, while other prizes were awarded at various slots throughout the field down to 175th place.
Chad Garton and Dan Brus of Ames won the big fish option pot of $398 and a Berkley prize package for the largest white bass at .97 pounds.
Chad and Drew Ditter of Mason City won $261 for second place with a .21-pound white bass, the only other qualifying fish weighed.
Drawings were held for a pair of new 2016 Polaris Sportsman ATVs provided by title sponsor Mason City Powersports.
Winners were Shaylon Lahr of Allison and Ronny Leonard of Mount Ayr along with Pete Hjelmstad and Nick Humpal of Mason City.
A total of 264 teams registered for the event. Of those 236 turned in 4779 yellow bass, including 96 teams with a tournament limit of 30.
There is no daily bag or possession limit on yellow bass, which are prolific breeders whose population is rarely impacted by fishing pressure.
Organizers reduced the tournament limit from 50 fish to 30 this year due to a somewhat slower bite and to encourage anglers to keep larger fish.
The overall (fish) numbers were down, but the quality has really gone up, said area fishing guide and bait shop owner Kevan Paul, who owns and operates the tournament along with fellow guide and business partner Chris Scholl.
Many anglers were complimentary of both the tournament and the fishing opportunities on Clear Lake.
I try to make it up here as often as I can, said Brian Ruby of Palo. Kevin and Chris have brought a lot of money in. I cant believe how much theyve done for this town.
We always look forward to coming up here and doing this tournament, said Kurt Kuiper of Fort Dodge, who was part of a group of 10 anglers from the Fort Dodge and Indianola areas.
They brought their wives up here, Kuiper said of the Indianola contingent. Now theyre out shopping. It doesnt just help the bait shops out.
This is the best-run tournament weve ever been to, said Zach Dowell of Dubuque. Its unbelievable. I plan on coming back this summer with my camper and boat.
Were happy to be able to do this for everybody, Paul said. The compliments we get are above and beyond what we deserve.
A great volunteer crew makes it easy on us, Scholl added.
Both Paul and Scholl said they are already looking forward to the 2018 Bonanza slated for February 10th and 11th.
For complete Bonanza results and additional information go to www.yellowbassbonanza.com.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)
Today
Partly to mostly cloudy. High near 80F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..
Tonight
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
FOREST CITY They have food packers. Now all that's needed to pack that food is more donations.
"People come and pack, but we need monetary support more than anything else," Stop Hunger committee member Sharese Hall said.
This is the 11th year Immanuel Lutheran Church and Waldorf University have teamed up for the annual Stop Hunger event. This year's event is 1:60 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Last year, around 64,000 meals were packed and sent to Tanzania.
The committee's goal is to again pack 60,000 meals, Hall said.
Their goal is to raise $18,000 to fund packing, Hall said. Fundraising totals were close to $11,000 late last week.
Hall said it's a big goal.
"We will reach it, though," fellow committee member Antoine Cummins said.
"He said that when we were at $6,000. Two days later and we were at $10,000. So it is doable," Hall said.
It's doable, she said, with with help of the community.
"In the past, people have been generous with their donations. We would just love more community support," Hall said.
Donations can be sent to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 246 S. Clark St., Forest City, IA 50436. Checks should be made payable to Immanuel Lutheran Church with "Stop Hunger" indicated in the memo.
"We'll take it up until that day," Cummins said of donations. "And even after. Just keep it coming."
Volunteers are needed for one-hour sessions, as well as set-up and break-down. Contact Mary Reisetter at 641-585-8681 or reisettem@waldorf.edu to sign up.
WEN Holds professional development meeting
The Permian Basin chapter, Womens Energy Network will host its 2017 Professional Development event February 20 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Petroleum Professional Development Center, 221 N. Main St.
Amy Hall, sales representative at Core Laboratories, will share her dos and donts of written and verbal communication.
There is no cost but RSVP is required. Reservations may be obtained online at www.WomensEnergyNetwork.org/Permian Basin under the Events tab.
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PBS-SEPM to discuss reservoir characterization
Members of the Pemian Basin section, SEPM will meet February 21 in the Carrasco Room at Midland College beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Dr. Robert Lindsay, Lindsay Consulting LLC, will present Rock-Based Integrated Reservoir Characterization.
Cost is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Reservations may be made by calling 279-1360 or by email at info@pbs-sepm.org. Online reservations are also available at www.pbs-sepm.org and clicking on the Talks tab.
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Alpine High topic for SPE ESG group
The Environmental Study Group of the Society of Petroleum Engineers will meet February 23 at the Petroleum Professional Development Center, 221 N. Main St. beginning at 11;30 a.m.
George Veni, executive director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, will be presenting The Alpine High Play and the San Solomon Spring Group: Can Oil and Water Mix?
Cost is $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Reservations should be made by noon February 21 by email at christa@etechenv.com. Online reservations and prepayment can be made at http://mkt.com/spe-esg-permian-basin/spe-esg-guest-speaker-luncheon.
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Chesapeake Energy to boost drilling budget, rig count
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Chesapeake Energy Corp. has announced plans to increase its drilling budget and rig count in 2017, saying that confidence is growing in the hard-hit energy market.
The Oklahoma City-based company will increase its capital expenditures to $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion this year. Thats compared to 2016 numbers of $1.65 billion to $1.75 billion.
Chesapeake CEO Doug Lawler said in a statement that the move will position Chesapeake for significant production and earnings growth in 2018. Chesapeake says it plans to operate an average of 17 rigs in 2017, compared to an average of 10 rigs in 2016.
The company will release its fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 23. In November, Chesapeake reported a loss of $1.16 billion, or $1.54 per share, in its third-quarter results.
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ND winter leads to record single-month oil production drop
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Snowy, frigid weather hampered oil and gas producers in North Dakota in December, leading to the states largest production decline in a single month.
A report from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources shows Decembers production fell to 942,455 barrels per day from Novembers 1,034,484 barrels per day. The difference, more than 92,000 daily barrels, made history and officials say almost all can be blamed on the weather.
The Bismarck Tribune reports Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, as saying three blizzards, 15 days of winds higher than 35 mph and nine days of temperature below minus-10 degrees made oil and gas production nearly impossible for much of the month.
Helm says effects of the production loss will linger into the second quarter of this year.
If Educate Midlands rollout in 2016 was about awareness, then the upcoming unveiling of the school districts governance report is about action.
And while the community showed up in force for a dose of awareness in 2016, involvement must be greater during rollout meetings this year because residents will have the opportunity to examine a document that lays the foundation for reform for at least a decade.
We write this because community members need to see what all the fuss is about. This new Midland ISD school board is presenting a governance report -- mission, goals, constraints and a theory of action -- that sets up the district for success better than any time in the past 10 years.
How good is it? That is where you come in.
Community members, including teachers, should see the report by attending one of the four meetings scheduled over the next two weeks. We have asked this community to hold the school board accountable. Now is your chance. Challenge them on what is good and what is not as good. Challenge teachers -- who were introduced to this report last week -- about what they like and what should be improved.
Board President Rick Davis told the Reporter-Telegram last week that superintendent candidates who are not on board with the governance report need not apply, so that should tell our community members that they need to find the holes in the report (if there are any) before its too late.
We dont know if the board has hit a home run with this report. Parts of it have been taken straight from the playbook of interim Superintendent Rod Schroder, and in our view, thats a good place to start.
Should we go all-in with In Rod we trust?
Do you have a better answer?
Can you do better than the professional learning communities his leadership has legitimized?
Do we want our educators approaching the teaching of students with a growth mindset and no-excuses philosophy?
The answers to this pop quiz are why not, probably not, no and absolutely.
But we will defer to our community. Go to these meetings with a decades worth of skepticism. Be ready to challenge this board about how this governance plan is different than leadership we have seen from the district in the past.
This report was created with the help of the Texas Education Agency, Midland ISD Central Office staff, Schroder and the board. It was done entirely in open sessions. Will it be a document worthy of a Tall City-sized reform effort? We can only hope so. Will you make the effort to check their work? The future of education in Midland requires that you do so.
MASON CITY | The City Council will be asked Tuesday to act on a capital improvements plan that includes more than $20.5 million in projects.
The council meets at 7 p.m. in the Mason City Room of the public library.
Finance Director Kevin Jacobson said the plan calls for $20,573,299 in projects that includes $3.3 million in general obligation bonding for police, fire, development services, transit, museum, airport, cemetery, street and water projects.
He said the plan also has $8 million in TIF bonds to cover costs for potential development and the planned parking ramp.
The plan calls for a 1 percent rate increase in the water fund and an increase of 25 cents a month in the sanitation fund.
Jacobson said about $10.5 million in projects are funded with grants, donations or TIF revenues.
"There is very little city money needed to help these projects," he said in a memo to the council. "The largest of these is the parking structure for the Reinvestment Iowa project to be funded by TIF bonds. If the revenues are not secured, these projects will not take place."
A complete listing of the projects is included in the City Council packet that can be found on the city's website, www.masoncity.net. On that site, visitors should click on "Your Government," then "City Meeting Agendas."
Selena Gomez will always last Fred Armissen close to her heart. When the Murders Under Construction star had a kidney transplant in 2017, she knew she wanted to give her new organ a special name. "I named it after Fred Armisen because I
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 []
OSAGE | Osage may form a junior firefighting program for teens ages 16 to 19, according to discussion at the City Council meeting earlier this month.
Seen as a mentoring program, the group would allow those considering becoming a volunteer firefighter the opportunity to assist the fire department in a limited capacity.
While there have already been teens, including sons of current volunteers, expressing an interest in the program, a launch date has not been set.
Osage fireman Tim Blake presented the idea to the council. He stated the program would allow junior firefighters to roll up hoses and remain beside a mentor running a pump, while experiencing a burning structure.
The teens would not be allowed at crash scenes or real emergency events, though they would be able to assist at the firehouse afterwards by cleaning or restocking vehicles, Blake said.
Council members voted to allow the fire department to pursue the program, as long as permitted by insurance.
There is a similar program in Manly and other districts around the state, with regulations already in place to assist with establishing the group.
Murphys Creek at Algiers St., Jan. 10, 2017 View Photos
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties until 4 PM Thursday.
Northern California is experiencing another significant uptick in flooding problems as an intense Atmospheric River storm continues to move through until tonight.
The entire region has saturated soils and many flooded areas already. This is enhancing the impact of additional heavy rains.
Additional stress is being placed on levees, rivers, creeks, and streams.
There is likely flooding in locations which haven`t been impacted in many years.
The National Weather Service is strongly advising all residents in Northern California to be prepared for flooding.
Be prepared to evacuate if flooding should affect your area. Gather a go bag with important items like medications and hard to replace documents. Don`t forget to plan for your pets and animals. Please never drive across flooded waters, especially flowing water. Most people who are killed or injured during floods are attempting to drive through flooded waters.
Additionally, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the Sierra Nevada until 10 PM Tuesday.
Eight to eighteen inches of snow is expected around the 7,000 foot elevation. Twenty inches to five feet of total snow accumulation is likely above 8,000 feet.
Snow levels are around 7,000 feet today. Snow levels will range between 4,000 to 5,000 feet on Tuesday.
Winds of twenty-five to thirty-five mph will continue in the Sierra, with gusts up to seventy mph.
Finally, a Wind Advisory has been issued for the Northern San Joaquin Valley until 4 PM this afternoon.
Gusts up to forty mph are likely.
Afterwards, a High Wind Warning has been issued for both the Mother Lode and the Northern San Joaquin Valley from 4 PM Monday through 4 AM Tuesday.
Wind gusts of fifty-five to sixty-five mph are likely.
A High Wind Warning means a hazardous high wind event is expected or occurring. Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph or gusts of 58 mph or more can lead to property damage.
A Wind Advisory means that winds of thirty-five mph are expected. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.
A Winter Storm Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.
An East Texas minister was sentenced to 55 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to murder in the beating death of his wife.
The Rev. Mike Tabb had originally accepted a plea bargain that would send him to prison for 50 years, but prosecutors increased the sentence after Tabb tried to commit suicide this spring on the day he was to plead guilty.
Marla Tabb, 35, was savagely beaten to death in August 2002 in the parsonage behind the Methodist church in the tiny town of Troup where her husband was pastor. She was left lying in the bedroom in a pool of blood, still wearing pajamas.
The minister's lawyer, F.R. "Buck" Files, said Tabb accepted the plea in state district court to spare his family and his wife's family the pain of a trial and to ensure that his children were never hurt by hearing about the unpleasant details.
"The question was never whether Mike killed Marla, but rather, why he killed her," Files told The Associated Press. "I agreed with his decision that it would be better to avoid the issue of why."
The minister sat stone-faced as Marla Tabb's sister, Melanie Owen of The Woodlands, gave an emotional victim's impact statement in court. She told Tabb he had orphaned his two young children _ a 3-year-old and a 15-month-old.
Owen told him that she and her family are "haunted by thoughts and images of what you did to Marla."
"Did she suffer? You mutilated her so badly that we did not have the chance to look at her beautiful face one more time," a teary-eyed Owen told Tabb during a victim impact statement in court.
Tabb started serving his sentence Monday and will be eligible for parole in about 27 years.
On the evening Marla Tabb was killed, just six weeks after she gave birth to a second son, authorities received a frantic 911 call from her husband, who said he had come home to find his wife dead.
Overturned picture frames and lamps in the bedroom showed Marla Tabb struggled fiercely with her attacker. Autopsy results indicate she sustained blunt force trauma to her head, and a jaw broken in several places. The murder weapon was never found.
The minister, a former Navy chaplain who had just moved to the town of 1,900 with his young family, maintained his innocence. Friends said his grief was convincing when he attended his wife's funeral in Beaumont.
But authorities charged Tabb with murder after finding blood on his shoes and in his truck bed
At his trial scheduled for next month, prosecutors had planned to show proof Tabb was at a gentlemen's club while his wife's family was burying her, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in its Tuesday editions.
They said witnesses would have testified about a secret life Tabb tried to keep from his wife.
"It was very important for our family for Mike to show up, confess that he murdered Marla," Owen said. "We didn't want him to proclaim his innocence. We wanted him to stand up before everyone and admit he murdered her."
Owen said later that she was disappointed that Tabb showed no remorse in the courtroom.
There may be nothing better protected by Iowa law than hair. Yes, hair.
State statute prohibits anyone without thousands of hours of training and a state license from curling, arranging, straightening, shampooing, perming, cutting or performing "similar works" on hair. Wigs and hairpieces are also protected from the untrained worker. The law requires extensive education and state permission to remove "superfluous hair" from the face or body using tools that include wax, sugars and tweezers.
And no unlicensed hand is going to apply fake eyelashes to a customer, either.
Never mind that anyone can go to a drug store, purchase eyelash extensions in the cosmetics aisle and put them on. Instructions are included. But if you want to open a little shop or mall kiosk that offers only, um, eyelash services, prepare to spend months training at a for-profit school and securing a license from the Iowa Board of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences housed in the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Such ridiculous requirements in state law beget ridiculous proposed amendments to state law. And now we have Senate File 106. Sen. Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, introduced the bill after a woman contacted her about opening an eyelash extension business and said she would have to undergo training "completely unrelated to her business" to do so.
The bill would allow this woman, and perhaps others interested in such a business, an alternative to obtaining a full-fledged license. Instead, they could seek less onerous certification from the cosmetology board to partake in the practice of "applying, removing, or trimming natural or synthetic fibers from the eyelash or eyelashes of a person."
While Petersen is trying to do the right thing, such measures only further muck up a section of Iowa Code that should be completely revisited. Why not draft a bill striking all references to "eyelashes" in the statute? It took a lawsuit against the state last year to get African-style hair braiders exempted from cosmetology licensing law. Perhaps eyelash workers will mount a legal challenge, too.
Also, Senate File 106 requires individuals applying eyelashes to have completed high school. Why? And applicants for certification must complete an "eyelash extension application course approved by the board." Exactly what course will the state require Iowans to attend?
Perhaps one of the many offered online by entities with names including Minkys, NaturalLash, DreamLash or LashOut! The website for Lavish Lashes was offering a one-day basic certification whatever that is for $695 last week. The two-day training was also "on sale" for $1,295.
About 20,000 Iowa workers, nearly 4,000 salons and 30 barber and cosmetology schools are already under the thumb of a state cosmetology board comprised largely of members who work in the beauty industry. They have the power to grant and strip licenses to work from cosmetologists, manicurists and many others.
Now this board of private-sector industry workers is supposed to devise, enact and enforce a certification process for Iowans who only want to touch eyelashes.
Here's a better idea this editorial board has repeatedly suggested: Iowa lawmakers should comprehensively revisit Iowa's ludicrous job licensing laws that frequently do nothing but make it harder to enter a profession or open a business. And they can start with the Code sections that treat every lock of hair like a sacred gem.
This editorial appeared in the Feb. 7 edition of the Des Moines Register.
Once a year Texas school districts are required to publically review and seek public comment on the preceding years Texas Academic Performance Report, also known as TAPR.
Much of this months regular school board meeting Thursday was taken up with that required review the TAPR and other reports. Following the presentation by Sharon Wright, executive director for curriculum and instructional services, Plainview ISD Board President Bryan Wood opened a public hearing over the 2015-16 TAPR. Moments later he closed the session since there were no comments or questions from the audience.
The key information from the annual report is that the district and all campuses earned a Met Standard rating, and several campuses earned distinctions in various areas.
--Plainview High School: Math, Closing the Gap, Post-Secondary Readiness
--Estacado Middle School: Student Progress
--College Hill Elementary: Science
--Edgemere Elementary: Student Progress, Closing the Gap, Post-secondary Readiness
--Highland Elementary: Student Progress
--Hillcrest Elementary: Science
The data in this report is older than what we currently are using, Wright explains. Our administrators and teachers spent time analyzing preliminary data before the school year began in August and used those results in planning for instruction and setting priorities for the professional development we would provide for staff during this school year.
We continue to assess and monitor student progress unit-by-unit throughout the school year so that we are using the most current data and can intervene quickly when greater mastery is needed, she added.
The annual report consisted of seven components. The first was TAPR.
--The PEIMS Financial Standard Report component reviews the 2014-15 Financial Actual Report for the district as well as each campus. A link to that report is online at http://www.plainviewisd.org/Page/2848
--The 2015-16 District Accreditation Status. The Texas Education Agency assigns each district one of four statuses to indicate current standing: Accredited, Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, and Not Accredited-Revoked. Plainview ISD is an Accredited district, Wright reports.
--Campus Performance Objectives. According to the Texas Education Code, each campus is required to have a Campus Improvement Plan, which includes performance objectives based on data analysis and needs assessments for that particular campus. The Campus Improvement Plans for Plainview ISD campuses are posted online and routinely updated throughout the year. They can be viewed at http://www.plainviewisd.org/domain/53
--Report on Violent or Criminal Incidents on Campuses. This report is available for review at the PISD Central Office. It shows the number, rate and type of violent or criminal incidents that occurred and information on violence intervention policies and procedures the district is using to protect students. The 2016-17 Violence and Safety Report shows no instances of attempted murder, indecency with a child, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault on student, sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault against a student or aggravated robbery. There were four instances involving assault on a student.
--Student Performance in Postsecondary Institutions for each high school campus. Data compiled by the Higher Education Coordinating Board for 2013-14 high school graduates show the GPA earned by those graduates attending a public two-year or four-year institution of higher education during fiscal 2015. In the 2013-14 report latest available PISD students were at 59.4 percent, which was higher than both the state and area at that time. District officials expect to see high numbers in the future since the district has a heightened emphasis on college and career readiness, and the increasing number of seniors now applying for post-graduate programs of study.
--2015-16 TAPR Glossary. Definitions, methodologies and sources for each data point.
Additional information on the 2015-16 Annual Report is available on the districts website, http://www.plainviewisd.org, under the Assessment & Accountability heading.
In other action at Thursdays meeting the board:
--Recognized Plainview High School senior Claire Daily who has been selected to participate in the Texas All-State Choir which is one of the highest honors any Texas secondary music student can achieve. She performed as a Soprano 1, 5th chair, with the All-State Choir at the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio during the TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) Clinic/Convention Feb. 8-12.
--Approved an interlocal agreement to participate in the 2017-18 West Texas Food Service Cooperative through the Region 17 Educational Service Center. Being a part of the cooperative, particularly in the Commodity Processing section, allows the district to purchase food items at a reduced cost.
--Meet in closed session on an issue involving a specific public school student.
Two board members were absent at Thursdays board meeting Sylvia De La Garza and Adam Soto.
WALLINGFORD Responding to the governors proposed plan to redistribute state education funds to poorer school districts, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo says the state needs to hold those districts accountable for how the money is used.
The assumption that more money is going to make a difference is not always the case...I think its really about accountability of the money you do have, Menzo said.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloys proposal, released Feb. 9, would provide more education aid to cities like Hartford ($21.3 million) and Waterbury ($38.1 million), according to figures provided by the state Office of Policy Management.
Other municipalities in better financial condition stand to lose education funds. Wallingford would lose about $3 million in total.
It was a little bit of a shock to the system, Menzo said, adding the district is not pushing any panic buttons quite yet.
He added, I think we need to take one day at a time and one step at a time, but I do think that we would be remiss if we werent concerned.
The governors proposal is now before the state legislature. When it was released, many lawmakers pointed out that it was a starting point and likely to change.
Menzo made the comments while being interviewed for the Record-Journals On the Record podcast. Hear the full conversation by clicking the podcast above.
The Board of Education is expected to approve a roughly 3 percent budget increase for 2017-18 school year, which will go to Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr for consideration. Last year, the board sent a 4.4 percent increase to the mayor.
Malloy says he is reforming how the state distributes education aid to address last years state court ruling that Connecticuts current aid distribution has been inequitable and unconstitutional.
We are failing children in urban environments, Malloy told reporters earlier this month. We dont want a public education system run by the courts.
To determine how much education aid municipalities should receive going forward, Malloys administration looked at several fiscal indicators such as mill rate, taxable grand list and financial reserves. Wallingford has $29.2 million in financial reserves, more than most municipalities.
Menzo said he believes Wallingford is being punished somewhat for fiscal responsibility and saving.
Malloys administration also considered enrollment declines when allotting education funding. Wallingfords student enrollment dropped 415 from 2011 to 2016. But Menzo said the cost of special education services in the district have nearly doubled during that period of time.
Menzo said other demographic trends in that period have required the district to spend more money. The district has seen an increase in bilingual students and the number of students receiving free or reduced lunches has doubled from 600 in 2008-09 to 1,200 this school year.
Yes, our population has decreased, but those areas have increased, which brings the need for additional services, Menzo said.
Board of Education member Michael Votto agreed with Menzo about holding districts accountable for spending, saying If theyre going to get more funds, they need to show what theyre going to do with them.
Votto, an educator for 47 years, emphasized that impoverished districts need to work together with parents and students.
When you have more groups working together, its always more successful, he said. Its got to be a two-way street.
Board member Patrick Reynolds, a New Britain high school teacher for 18 years, said he believes many problems in struggling districts stem from social and societal problems outside the school, something that giving schools more money might not fix.
Reynolds was a 9th grade science teacher in New Britain. He said he worked with several students who struggled and failed to graduate due to social and emotional problems. He said schools would be best to use funds to address these problems, suggesting schools use resources for counseling services for students and families.
In the inner cities, you need to get outside the schools and into the community, he said. You could put the 10 best teachers in the state in the inner city and the test scores might not budge.
Tax fairness is the best argument for more effectively collecting Nebraska sales taxes on Internet purchases.
State law sets a 5.5 percent state sales tax on goods bought at brick-and-mortar stores as well as those bought online. But while those brick-and-mortar stores are required to collect the tax, online sales tax collection is left to an honor system in which taxpayers are expected to report and pay when they file their state income taxes.
Not surprisingly, fewer than 1 percent of taxpayers self-report.
The state, by looking the other way, gives online retailers a price advantage over local stores, which employ more than 100,000 people statewide. This failing honor system is unfair to retail employers and employees who live and invest in our communities.
State senators can consider one of two bills before them that would require online businesses of varying sizes to collect the sales tax. This is already being done by states such as South Dakota and Colorado. The Colorado law passed muster in federal court.
The fiscal stakes are large for the state. Amazon, the nation's largest online retailer, has voluntarily started collecting Nebraska's sales tax. The Nebraska Department of Revenue estimates the state will collect about $28 million in sales taxes on those purchases in 2017-18. That's from one, albeit large, online retailer.
But setting aside revenue considerations, this is a matter of principle. Lawmakers should focus on fixing a flawed process by fairly applying an existing tax. It's time to level this playing field.
This editorial appeared in the Feb. 10 edition of the Omaha World-Herald.
The Railroad Commission of Texas fined an oil and gas wastewater management company for disposing of contaminated water without a permit, and releasing toxic chemicals in fresh water on a piece of property in West Texas.
The company, Clean Tech Waste Solutions, based in Austin, was fined more than $5,000 on Tuesday for multiple violations spanning several months, commission documents show. But Commissioner Ryan Sitton argued that fine wasnt enough for a company that repeatedly broke state rules regarding water protection. The Railroad Commission issues permits for the disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production, which can be injected deep underground or put into surface containment ponds.
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Albany
Alejandro del Peral admits hard cider is "the ugly stepchild" of the craft beer movement. He embraces it.
"We're kinda riding the coattails of the craft beer movement," said del Peral, the owner and founder of Albany-based Nine Pin Cider. And those coattails have been lucrative: In the last four years, he's watched his company and the statewide hard cider market explode in popularity in New York, where an abundance of apple farms and varieties has positioned the state as a national leader in producing the beverage.
On Saturday, Nine Pin hosted 15 other cider producers and roughly 800 fans of the beverage at Gathering of New York Farm Cideries, a sort of birthday party for the state's cider sector. In 2013, New York state, recognizing the economic potential of being a national leader in apple production, passed a law to license cideries that exclusively use state crops.
Since that time, "there's been a fantastic response," del Peral said. "We were struggling to produce it fast enough."
Nine Pin has already expanded its distribution into Massachusetts. Del Peral said the biggest hurdle right now is educating people to the diversity of cider, much like the massive transformation craft beer underwent two decades ago.
It certainly helps that New York has the most diverse crops of apples in the nation. "It really is the dream spot," he said. And if New York is the dream spot, Albany is "the dream location," he said, noting the city's proximity to a variety of apple farms.
At Kaneb Orchards in St. Lawrence County, Ed Kaneb Jr. has in recent years used his family farm to produce hard cider and cider donuts. His father started the farm decades ago, but as fuel became more expensive, it was increasingly difficult to make a profit hauling fruit to local farmers markets. The company, which is situated only a few miles from the border, wants to make Canada a focal point of its growth strategy, but regulations on the transfer of alcoholic beverages has made that difficult.
"It's been a lot of work," said Kaneb Orchards Marketing Coordinator Nancy Badlam. Still, the two said there's work ahead. In smaller, less-populated reaches of the state like St. Lawrence County, building a brand requires spending many weekends trucking products to conventions and shows across the state.
But it's been worth it: "There's a revolution of people drinking cider again," she said.
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STAMFORD Mayor David Martin knows that Harry S. Truman might not make most peoples list of their top five presidents, but the nations 33rd president has always been a favorite of his.
Martin recalled riding the bus to elementary school past Trumans boyhood home in the mayors native Kansas City, Mo., and said the leader might have been one of Americas more underrated presidents. Martin especially respected Trumans politically risky decision to desegregate the U.S. military and his efforts to steady the economy through a post World War II recession.
Quite frankly, that gave rise to a huge battle with the Southern Democrats, which gave rise to a three-way race, Martin said, referring to the 1948 election, which Truman won despite losing key states.
Martin and several other Fairfield county residents picked their favorite Commander in Chief Sunday afternoon at My Favorite Presidents Day, a one-hour forum at the Ferguson Library sponsored by the Womens March on Stamford. Though the event only drew about a dozen people, organizer Lisa Boyne, a Fairfield resident said she extended invitations to a roster of bi-partisan elected officials and local notables to weigh in.
I wanted it to be an event to really promote positive free speech and reject hate speech, said Boyne who chose Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican who served from 1901 to 1909, as her favorite president.
A federal holiday, Presidents Day will be celebrated Monday.
Several times, participants invoked Republican presidents of yesteryear to compare favorably to current Republican President Donald Trump and modern Republican Congressmen. Boyne cited Roosevelts progressive policies and initiatives, such as minimum wage, workers compensation and creation of the U.S. Forest Service, as anathema to the modern Republican party.
Weve come a long way from Theodore Roosevelt, and todays GOP could learn a lot of lessons, including that their party doesnt have to stand for the destruction of our government, Boyne said.
Ginny McLevey, a retired nurse from Fairfield, offered a more personal justification for her admiration of President Barack Obama. McLevey said she admired Obama for his 2015 speech in Selma, Ala. on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday,: when non-violent civil rights protesters were attacked by Alabama state troopers during their march to Montgomery.
Selma was the event which helped me decide to become part of the world that would stand up for justice and those who dont have what they should have, McLevey said.
She said the Great Recession wiped out about half of the retirement savings her late husband Charles and she had built up. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and storm aid after Hurricane Sandy helped Charles McLeveys small building company return from the brink of bankruptcy, she said.
We came back to life in no small part because of President Obama pulling our country back from the brink of a depression, McLevey said.
twitter.com/martincassidyst, mcassidy@scni.com .
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STAMFORD Before approving close to $1 million for salt, the Board of Finance blasted the citys road maintenance supervisor for wrongly believing its members were to blame for slashing his budget.
Winter storms, particularly one earlier this month that dumped a foot of snow, have left Stamfords supply at 20 percent and its salt budget depleted, traffic and road maintenance supervisor Thomas Turk told the board last week.
Mid-fiscal year appeals for added salt money are nothing new. Since March 2014, the Board of Finance has approved four requests totaling $1.8 million, in addition to what the operations department receives each year in the budget, according to data compiled by the board.
I shouldnt have to keep coming back here for emergency appropriations, said Turk, who added it takes up to three weeks to get salt after the money is approved, leaving the city vulnerable to a shortage.
Board members told Turk he could receive the funds immediately with an emergency appropriation, which needs to be approved by the mayor and Board of Finance chairman. This would give Turk the money before meeting with city boards.
Turk said he was unfamiliar with how appropriations work and when the citys legislative boards meet.
How can you be this naive when youre here this many years and youre a manager? Democrat vice-chairwoman Mary Lou Rinaldi said. Thats your job. Thats what we pay you for.
Rinaldi and other members were also upset by Turks appearance on a television news program saying budget cuts by fiscal boards prevented him from keeping the salt supply at full capacity.
I see you on TV talking to a reporter saying the budget process is too long, youre not getting what you need from the fiscal boards, and essentially telling the people on the other side of the screen that were not responsive to your needs and thats not the case, she said.
You have volunteers who are doing the best they can and have been more than responsive to you, she continued. So if you dont understand the process, my suggestion is to learn it before you go on television.
Before the budget is scrutinized by city boards, Mayor David Martin meets with department heads about their needs for the upcoming year.
The Board of Representatives last year cut the 2017-18 salt request to $380,000 from $530,000.
That was not this board, Democrat chairman Richard Freedman said. Its not productive for you to go through this ... I would say this board understands this stuff pretty well.
We shouldnt sit here and be blamed, Republican Sal Gabriele said.
The mayor sets the budget, Rinaldi said. We dont.
It bothers me that within your department you didnt get more guidance around how this works, Democrat Dudley Williams said.
You need to understand that to the public, (your comments) infer that this board is hedging on an issue of public safety, and thats a big deal.
Turk said it was not his decision to appear on television.
I dont want to do that stuff, he said. I had to do it again today I was ordered to go do it.
While he would like $1 million a year for salt, Turk said he has been able to make due with less, supplemented by appropriations. But the situation is not ideal, he said.
(Salt) burns faster than people think, Turk said.
The boards $800,000 allotment which still requires approval by the Board of Representatives will buy about 10,000 tons of salt at $78 a ton. Highway crews use the salt on 320 miles of roads after snowstorms.
The city can go through several salt domes in one winter with 10 to 15 storms, Turk said.
Even if you give me the money, it takes two to three weeks to get, he said. In the meantime, mother nature is throwing snowballs at me.
eskalka@stamfordadvocate.com
The family, friends and supporters of Liberty County Pct. 1 Constable Justin Johnston will gather Sunday evening, Feb. 19, 6 p.m., at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church to offer prayers of recovery.
Johnston was seriously injured Feb. 15 when he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic on SH 146 south of Dayton. Since that time, Johnston has undergone numerous medical procedures at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
Photos by Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News
MEXICO CITY (AP) Five suspects and a taxi driver were killed in two shootouts between drug cartel gunmen and marines Friday in the border city of Reynosa in northern Mexico.
The government of Tamaulipas state, where Reynosa is located across the border from McAllen, Texas, said another three people died late Thursday in other confrontations.
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GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the families of a Montgomery ISD teacher and Conroe man who were killed in a head-on crash late Wednesday afternoon on FM 2854.
The tragic accident affected families of the two deceased drivers dearly.
Floyd "JJ" Nelms Jr. and Jenny Runnels died as a result of the crash, which critically injured Runnels' 10-year-old daughter Calliem, who still is recovering at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
The Runnels Family Fund
Runnels, a Lone Star Elementary School teacher, would have celebrated her 41st birthday Saturday. Instead, her fourth-grade elementary students sang the tune without her Friday during a memorial balloon release.
The Runnels Family Fund GoFundMe page has been set up by close family friends for her surviving family: her husband Joe, who is employed in the oil field sector; her son Dalton, who is a student at Sam Houston State University; and her recovering daughter Callie, who is also in the fourth grade.
Harris noted that the family will be losing Jenny Runnels' income as a school teacher and the family already had felt the impact of the oil industry's downturn, along with many others, in the last few years. Dalton is in college and Callie's medical expenses will be a financial strain, he said.
"As you can imagine, little bitty things add up for something like that," he said.
Joe and Dalton Runnels are confident they will pull through the difficult time and are concentrating on Callie's recovery, Harris said.
"The mother did so much for the family that the father is going to have to take care of that role," said Harris whose son Daniel Moon said he has already observed Joe making an effort to keep the family's spirit high. "It's a very strong, big, faith family that's very close. They'll get through this."
To donate, search The Runnels Family Fund on the GoFundMe website. The page raised $1,200 of a $50,000 goal by 14 people in four hours by Saturday afternoon.
The family attends Cowboy Church in Montgomery and is thinking of Nelms.
"The first thing the father (Joe) did was to be sure everyone said a prayer for the victim of the other car accident and his family," said family friend David Harris. "He (Nelms) was apparently on his way to pick up his 2-year-old to take him to the emergency room and for whatever reason he veered off and went over the stripe. They have a strong faith in God and Christ and want to make sure the other families are remembered as well during all this."
The Department of Public Safety was unable to confirm where Nelms was traveling.
The Nelms Family Fund
Described as a loving husband and father, Nelms, 31, of Conroe, was traveling down FM 2854 when he collided into Runnels' SUV.
A "Help Us Lay JJ Nelms To Rest Please" GoFundMe page has been set up for Nelms, who leaves behind a 2-year-old son and a wife. The page has raised $920 of a $5,000 goal by 23 people in two days as of Saturday afternoon. The page is set up by family member Stephanie Alexander.
"Unfortunately he didn't have any insurance and his wife and family are in desperate need with the help of giving him a proper burial," Alexander stated in the post. "Sudden deaths are always hard because nobody ever expects it will affect them until it happens."
Alexander and the Nelms family were unable to be reached by press time for more information.
If you paid even the slightest attention to tech media and conferences in 2016, you heard how the Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big thing. While theres hype surrounding the tremendous opportunity the IoT offers, there are still hazards that have yet to be properly addressed. The biggest concern -- safety -- is a thorny topic with which enterprises are still grappling. For example, 2016s DDoS attack on Dyn that took down several major websites such as Twitter was caused by a bot army of unsecured IoT devices. This attack is only the tip of the iceberg, and in 2017 we should expect more of the same, but websites and companies wont be the only targets. Unless manufacturers and users of connected devices get serious about security, we will see these attacks evolve this year. I believe that theres a significant chance these attacks could extend to major government institutions and hospitals.
Why these attacks are coming
According to a study from HP, 70 percent of IoT devices are currently vulnerable to an attack. While both manufacturers and their customers are certainly working to reduce that, a significant number of IoT devices will still be unprotected in 2017. Additionally, Gartner predicts over 20 billion IoT devices by 2020. Lets say that in the next three years the number of secure IoT devices doubles, which means that only 40 percent will be insecure. According to Gartners estimate that means a total of 8 billion devices by then that are free to be enlisted in a hackers arsenal: roughly equivalent to the population of the Earth. That security risk is beyond anything weve currently seen in the realm of cybersecurity.
The risk isnt necessarily coming from the sophistication of attacks but poor security practices of IoT users. Bad practices such as using the default usernames and passwords that are supposed to be used only for setup and then changed, are making it easy for attackers to take those devices and using them as botnets. Companies arent doing much to stop this or other potential sources of breaches. A study showed over 90 percent of corporate executives said they cannot read a cybersecurity report and are not prepared to handle a major attack and a stunning 98 percent of the most vulnerable executives have little confidence that their firms constantly monitor devices and users on their systems. Its clear that most C-Suite executives dont give cybersecurity enough consideration.
Even more chilling news came from a report back in April, which ranked the U.S. government (including federal, state and local agencies) as having the worst cybersecurity protocols compared to 17 major private industries, including transportation, retail and health care. As these agencies face pressure to virtualize, move to the cloud and embrace connected devices, this lack of security will leave them greatly exposed. I believe that as a result of these vulnerabilities, there is a 50/50 chance that a significant cyber warfare attack is instrumented against the U.S. government, the U.S. military, U.S. critical infrastructure or the U.S. banking infrastructure. This organization will be ill-prepared and vulnerable; it is also likely that the attack wont originate on IoT devices owned by the government but instead will come from the outside.
Can IoT breaches threaten your health?
Government infrastructure wont be the only new source of an attack that reaches tomorrows headlines. I also predict that a major hospital will face a HIPAA violation for using an unsecured smart medical device. Hospitals have a lot to gain from deploying the IoT for crucial data/insights to improve patient care, but so do hackers. Theyre already targeting connected MRI machines, CT scanners and dialysis pumps to steal patient medical data, which is worth more than twice as much as financial information on the black market. While the FDA already recognizes that cybersecurity/HIPAA compliance is an important issue, it is not certain they get practices ready in time to prevent a major breach. And more important than data, theres an ever-increasing chance that an IoT attack will put lives at risk if it can cause a shutdown of needed medical services.
How will hospitals fight back? The best prepared ones will do so by adopting improved security practices such as: password management, policies to ensure all devices are up to date/passwords get changed, network segmentation, software-defined network overlays with security built in and improved data management policies. Vital to ensuring that these practices get used successfully will be administrators that make them part of the hospitals workplace culture.
Change your culture, build your defenses
My advice for entrepreneurs and startups is to make IoT security a serious and valued part of company culture. Bake it in while the company is still young and theres no complacency from doing things the way weve always done them. Furthermore, do not make it solely the IT departments responsibility to keep enterprise data safe. Every member of the organization needs to help take responsibility, follow security procedures to the letter and be vigilant for signs of danger. The good news is that there are security solutions out there to help, even with technology as nascent as the IoT. There is also a great deal of advice on the best practices to put in place, from a variety of experts and trusted sources. As Gartner cautioned at last years ITxpo, developing best practices can only prepare you for threats that are already known. Only innovation can prepare you for tomorrows threats that have yet to be discovered. A combination of advanced software and a strong internal culture will create a cybersecurity defense ready to take on potential attacks.
Adrenaline building, Campbell Willis busied herself with a bag of stage makeup and a tiny compact mirror as her dance teacher fixed her pointe shoes with last-minute stitches.
The 15-year-old from Dallas flexed her ribboned ankles in a final warm-up and smoothed a new tutu that would transform her into Dulcinea, the woman from Don Quixote's dreams, in a variation from that famous Russian ballet. In minutes, she would perform for the third time in a competition that earns promising young dancers recognition from some of the world's best ballet judges.
"I feel much less nervous," she said. "I've been preparing since August."
Willis joined more than 300 other dancers at the University of Houston Saturday for the Youth America Grand Prix regional semi-finals, part of a global competition that offers ballet students professional feedback and the chance to earn scholarships to world's best dance schools. Top competitors are invited to perform in New York in April for 40 judges.
The organization, established in 1999 with a relatively small competition, has since grown to tour 21 cities across the U.S and others abroad. Representatives from eight premiere ballet schools and theaters gathered in Houston to assess this group of dancers, many of who traveled from other states.
"We are growing quite fast," said Alexei Moskalenko, assistant artistic director for the competition. "It's unusual for a competition to bring such caliber."
Hundreds evaluated
Most dancers had about two minutes to make an impression on the judges, who worked quickly to evaluate hundreds of entries. Claire Baulieu, a teacher at the Paris Opera Ballet School who judged contemporary and classical pieces, said she pays particular attention to expressiveness and artistry, regardless of skill level.
"To see all of the young dancers perform is always very moving," she said.
Stanislav Issaev, ballet master at CityDance in Washington, D.C., circled the names of his students in the program as he waited for them to appear before the judges. Once an acclaimed dancer who for years toured the world with the Moscow State Ballet Theater, he eventually retired from the stage and chose instead to mentor others in the pursuit.
"When you start teaching, you have to change your entire approach and focus just on your students," he said. "Now, I live through my students."
He fretted from a seat on the side of the auditorium as one of them, Lope Lim, prepared backstage for a demanding performance filled with jumps and turns. Lim typically practices on a far larger stage, and Issaev worried that the more confined space might throw him off.
If the stage was too small, Lim made the best of it. He leapt to its center for a variation from the Flames of Paris, leg muscles visible beneath gray tights as he propelled himself through the air.
"He was good, but he can be even better," Issaev said as Lim finished, breathing heavily. "His movements are so much bigger than this stage."
Balancing act
In the dressing room, Ricako Suzuki claimed a spot on the floor for the core exercises she completes before every show. The 16-year old moved from Texas to Indiana to train at the highly competitive Indiana Ballet Conservatory with a goal to join a professional company within the next several years. She began homeschooling to make more time for training.
"It's what I have to do to," she said.
On stage, she commanded attention with a dramatic maroon and black tutu and a tambourine held constantly aloft. Her legs, straight as arrows, lifted well above her head in her variation from La Esmeralda.
By early afternoon, Willis' time had finally come. She appeared on the stage as a cloud of powder blue, sparkling as she twirled in the spotlight.
She returned to the dressing room with a smile, clearly pleased. Her mother and teacher rehashed the performance with pride.
As she packed up and changed into sweats, the conversation turned to how she would balance training and high school classes before her next show. At the end of the week, she will again compete in the Youth America Grand Prix regional semi-finals when the judges arrive in Dallas.
"We're weighing priorities, year by year," said her mother, Jill. " But that's when she really lights up, when she's performing."
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San Francisco
Satsuki Ina was born behind barbed wire in a prison camp during World War II, the daughter of U.S. citizens forced from their home without due process and locked up for years following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Roughly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans were sent to desolate camps that dotted the West because the government claimed they might plot against the U.S. Thousands were elderly, disabled, children or infants too young to know the meaning of treason. Two-thirds were citizens.
And now, as survivors commemorate the 75th anniversary of the executive order that authorized their incarceration, they're also speaking out to make sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Muslims, Latinos or other groups.
They're alarmed by recent executive orders from President Donald Trump that limit travel and single out immigrants.
In January, Trump banned travelers from seven majority Muslim nations from entering the U.S., saying he wanted to thwart potential attackers from slipping into the country. A federal court halted the ban. Trump said at a news conference Thursday that he would issue a replacement order next week.
"We know what it sounds like. We know what the mood of the country can be. We know a president who is going to see people in a way that could victimize us," said Ina, a 72-year-old psychotherapist who lives in Oakland, California.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, to protect against espionage and sabotage. Notices appeared ordering people of Japanese descent to report to civil stations for transport.
Desperate families sold off belongings for cheap and packed what they could. The luckier ones had white friends who agreed to care for houses, farms and businesses in their absence.
"Others who couldn't pay their mortgage, couldn't pay their bills, they lost everything. So they had to pretty much start from scratch," said Rosalyn Tonai, 56, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco.
Tonai was shocked to learn in middle school that the U.S. government had incarcerated her mother, aunts and grandparents. Her family hadn't talked about it. Her mother, a teenager at the time, said she didn't remember details.
Her organization, the Japanese American Citizens League and others oppose the use of the word "internment." They say the government used euphemisms such as "internment," "evacuation," and "non-alien" to hide the fact that U.S. citizens were incarcerated and the Constitution violated.
The groups say this White House has what they see as the same dangerous and flippant attitude toward the Constitution. Japanese-American lawmakers expressed horror when a Donald Trump supporter cited the camps as precedent for a Muslim registry.
The Japanese American Citizens League "vehemently" objected to executive orders signed by Trump last month, to build a wall along the Mexican border, punish "sanctuary" cities that protect people living in the country illegally, and limit refugees and immigrants from entering the country.
"Although the threat of terrorism is real, we must learn from our history and not allow our fears to overwhelm our values," the statement read in part.
Hiroshi Kashiwagi was 19 when his family was ordered from their home in Northern California's Placer County and to a temporary detention center.
He remembers slaughtering his prized chickens New Hampshire Reds for his mother to cook with soy sauce and sugar. She stored the bottled birds in sturdy sacks to take on the trip. The family ate the chickens at night to supplement meals. The birds didn't last long.
Today, Kashiwagi, 94, is a poet and writer in San Francisco who speaks to the public about life at Tule Lake, a maximum security camp near the Oregon border. Winters were cold, the summers hot. They were helpless against dust storms that seeped inside.
"I feel obligated to speak out, although it's not a favorite subject," he said. "Who knows what can happen? The way this president is, he does not go by the rules. I'm hoping that he would be impeached."
Orders against Japanese-Americans were revoked after the war ended in 1945. They returned to hostility and discrimination in finding work or places to live.
A congressional commission formed in 1980 blamed the incarceration on "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to compensate every survivor with a tax-free check for $20,000 and a formal apology from the U.S. government.
Ina said that only then did her mother, Shizuko, feel she got her face back, her dignity returned. By then her father, Itaru, had died.
"This is a burden we've been carrying, and if we can make that burden into something meaningful that could help and protect other people, then it becomes not so much an obligation but more as a responsibility," Ina said.
After Trump's election, Ina vowed to reach out to the Muslim community and protest and tell everyone about what happened to her family. She brought her message to a gathering of camp survivors in the Los Angeles area.
"And this old woman, she had a cane, she said, 'OK. I'm going to tell everybody about what happened. This is very bad. It's happening again,'" she said. "It's that kind of spirit."
Mosul, Iraq
The Iraqi intelligence agent knew something was wrong. An Islamic State group member working for him as an informant in the city of Mosul called him on his mobile, but he didn't identify himself by the code name they always used in their communications. Then the informant started talking to him about selling his car.
The agent played along.
Days later, the informant called back and explained: The militants had seen the number on his phone and, always on the hunt for spies, demanded he call it. So he did and pretended he was talking to the guy who sold him his car.
Iraqi intelligence has some 300 people working as informants inside the city of Mosul, part of an enormous information-gathering operation unfolding on the sidelines of the intense urban fighting for Mosul, according to officials. They have pinpointed militants' positions and movements, warned of car bombs or hidden explosives and helped fill a list of names of IS supporters.
The work is extremely dangerous.
IS militants in Mosul are known to kill at the slightest suspicion of espionage. People caught speaking on mobile phones have been shot by snipers or killed and hung from lampposts, according to accounts from the city. And when Iraqi forces recapture a neighborhood, informants face getting caught up in residents' revenge attacks against militants.
More than half a dozen Iraqi intelligence officials interviewed by The Associated Press described their operations. They said trust of the security forces among Mosul's residents has been key to their efforts. However, reports of long, arbitrary detentions of men and boys suspected of IS-links risks undermining that trust.
During the Mosul operation, intelligence agencies have built a database of some 18,000 names of suspected IS fighters, according to two Iraqi intelligence officials in Baghdad who have access to the database. Male residents of retaken parts of the city are checked against the list, leading so far to the arrest of 900 people, they said.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The informants have a variety of motives. Some do it for money, since some agents pay for information.
Others do it out of hatred of IS. One operative was an Iraqi IS member beaten because he was caught smoking a crime under the militants' rule.
"That was the first spark," said a Baghdad-based intelligence official in contact with the man. As time went on, the man grew disillusioned. So he started feeding information to intelligence officials.
Another is a 70-year-old man who escaped the militants' suspicions because of his age, the official said. But then after his neighborhood was retaken by Iraqi forces, neighbors blew up his house in anger at IS, unaware he was secretly betraying the group.
After months of fighting, troops have taken Mosul's eastern half and are about to move into the west. The intelligence gathering effort has been crucial there since Iraqi forces were under pressure for precision to avoid casualties among the hundreds of thousands of civilians still in the city.
A concentrated punch of drenching weather began slamming into the Bay Area as residents and emergency officials prepared for widespread flooding and landslides around much of the region and beyond.
The atmospheric river a plume of moisture accompanied by strong winds began its hose blast overnight on its way into the increasingly vulnerable Central Valley, where residents were warned to prepare for destructive rising waters.
Its going to be pretty ugly, Bob Benjamin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Sunday. Were going to have some significant wind and definitely the potential for some major mudslides and power outages.
Commuters staying home for the Presidents Day holiday will be spared from chaos on Bay Area roadways, as the worst of the rain was set to hit around daybreak Monday. But flooded roadways, standing water, and surging streams and creeks will nevertheless wreak havoc across the region.
State water resource officials are closely monitoring Lake Oroville and the Feather River basin in the mountains above the reservoir. Across the watershed, up to 10 inches of rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday, increasing inflows into the lake behind the troubled dam.
The middle fork of the Feather River upstream from the reservoir is forecast to swell more than a foot and a half over its 8-foot flood stage between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations river forecast center.
But dam operators at Oroville are confident theyve flushed enough water out of the reservoir in the past week to handle the deluge. Officials said they dont expect a repeat of what happened Feb. 12, when water gushing over the emergency spillway caused erosion and prompted an evacuation order for more than 180,000 people in downstream communities.
I think were looking good for that amount of rain that will be coming in, said Capt. Dan Olson of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and acting spokesman on the spillway incident. I think what the Department of Water Resources has done by building a buffer, they should be able to sustain any water that comes in from the storm.
By Sunday afternoon, the elevation of Lake Oroville was 49 feet below the lip of the emergency spillway. The Department of Water Resources began increasing the outflow out of the lakes primary spillway from 55,000 to 60,000 cubic feet per second on Sunday afternoon.
As things are expected to stay stable around Oroville, forecasters were warning residents in the path of the storm up and down California to brace for weather-related trouble.
Showers on Sunday began to intensify into the evening as the stretched-out front made landfall.
Travelers in and out of San Francisco International Airport were already feeling the effects of the incoming storm, with about 10 percent of the daily 1,200 flights delayed and an additional 50 canceled, most because of wind and low visibility as well as weather problems at other airports, said SFO duty manager Charles Navigante. The average delay by late afternoon Sunday was 30 to 60 minutes.
The rain, coupled with intense wind, is forecast to continue all day Monday into Tuesday morning. The weather service issued a wind advisory for the Bay Area, along with a flood warning for the entire northern Central Valley.
The main message is all residents in Central and Northern California should be prepared for flooding, said Brooke Bingaman, a meteorologist with the weather services Sacramento office. Have important items gathered in case you have to evacuate quickly.
In Colusa County over the weekend, residents were flooded out of their homes when water spilled into towns and covered part of Interstate 5. About 100 people were evacuated by boat in the town of Maxwell when they were swamped by 2 feet of water on Saturday.
The problem is our area has been hit hard since January and the soils are saturated to the point where there is not anywhere for the water to go, Bingaman said.
Forecast models showed the band of precipitation was on track to make landfall just below the Golden Gate along the Peninsula and the South Bay down to Monterey.
The Santa Cruz Mountains were expected to get some of the heaviest rain. The area has been hammered this especially wet winter, and landslides are expected to be a major problem this week.
Highway 17 was reduced to one lane in each direction over the weekend near Granite Creek Road between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz as crews continued clearing a huge mudslide that came down earlier this month.
We are preparing for the worst, said Deputy Chief Jake Hess with Cal Fires San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit. The mountains have literally been melting. They are so saturated that the soil is just giving way, and in our mountainous terrain, we are anticipating more trees down and slides.
The South Bay, meanwhile, has its own reservoir issues. For the first time in 11 years, the spillway was activated Saturday at Anderson Dam in Santa Clara County after the reservoir exceeded capacity. Despite the overflow, officials dont anticipate problems.
The North Bay, which has seen major flooding from storms in recent weeks, appears to be outside the focus of the storms core. But that doesnt mean residents shouldnt be alert.
Even if the primary flow is to the south, the North Bay will be getting significant rainfall, Benjamin said. It could be problematic for any part of the central coast.
Highway 37 between Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue in Novato remains closed due to flooding in recent weeks. The Napa and Russian rivers were forecast to rise near flood stage after Mondays storm.
From Sunday night into Wednesday, 4 to 5 inches of rain is forecast in parts of the Bay Area. Sacramento is looking at around 3 inches during the same period, and South Lake Tahoe is forecast to get more than 7 inches of rain. Some of that precipitation, though, will come down as snow in higher elevations in the Sierra as snow levels begin to drop on Tuesday.
Up to 3 feet of snow is forecast to fall above 6,500 feet in the Sierra, while torrential rains soak everything below that. Drivers traveling over mountain passes were warned about the likely possibility of mud- and rock-slides.
Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker contributed to this report.
Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
West Palm Beach, Fla.
During President Donald Trump's transition to power, his team reached out to Elliott Abrams for help building a new administration. Abrams, a seasoned Republican foreign policy official, sent lists of possible candidates for national security jobs.
One by one, the answer from the Trump team came back no. The reason was consistent: This one had said disparaging things about Trump during the campaign; that one had signed a letter opposing him. Finally, the White House asked Abrams himself to meet with the president about becoming deputy secretary of state, only to have the same thing happen vetoed because of past criticism.
Abrams' experience has become a case study in the challenges Trump still faces in filling top positions a month into his presidency. Trump remains fixated on the campaign as he applies a loyalty test to some prospective officials.
Many Republicans reacted to what happened to Abrams with dismay, leaving them increasingly leery about joining an administration that cannot get past the past.
As Trump brings candidates for national security adviser to meet with him in Florida this weekend, he presides over a government where the upper echelons remain sparsely populated. Six of the 15 statutory Cabinet secretaries are still awaiting Senate confirmation as Democrats nearly uniformly oppose almost all of the president's choices. Even some of the Cabinet secretaries who are in place may feel they are home alone.
It is not just the State Department that has no deputy secretary, much less Trump-appointed undersecretaries or assistant secretaries. Neither do the Treasury Department, the Education Department or any of the other Cabinet departments. Only three of the 15 have even named a nominee for deputy secretary. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has a deputy only because he kept the one left over from President Barack Obama's administration.
That does not even begin to cover the rest of the more than 4,000 appointments that a president typically makes. In some cases, the Trump administration is even going in reverse. A senior political appointee at the housing department, who had started the job, was fired this past week and marched out of the building when someone discovered his previous statements critical of Trump. The State Department laid off six top career officials in recent days, apparently out of questions about their loyalty to Trump.
"Many tough things were said about him and by him" before last year's election, Abrams, who served as President Ronald Reagan's assistant secretary of state and President George W. Bush's deputy national security adviser, said in an interview. "I would have hoped he would have turned toward just hiring the most effective people to help him govern rather than looking back to what we said in that race."
Trump has fallen behind the pace of his last three predecessors in naming senior officials who require Senate confirmation and in securing their confirmations, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. Whereas Obama had nominated 40 senior officials by Feb. 11, 2009, Trump had named 34 of them as of Friday. Obama had 24 confirmed at that point, while Trump has 14.
The trouble assembling an administration reflects the deeper rift between Trump and the Washington establishment of both parties. A reality-show businessman with no government experience, Trump catapulted to power on a promise to break up the system. Even after he won the Republican nomination last year, he did little to win over those who had opposed him, while his "never Trump" critics within the party kept up a steady assault on his qualifications and temperament.
Trump faces other hurdles, too. With no cadre ready to go from past political service, he has been starting from scratch. His team has been slow to vet candidates, and in some cases his choices have had troubles with their business backgrounds or other matters.
Marine Corps veteran Mark Phillippe just opened one of Austins newest breweries thanks in part to the advice of two close friends and mentors who have made careers through the local beverage industry.
He is the founder of Hi Sign Brewing, which quietly opened this month just north of the intersection of U.S. 183 and Texas 71 and plans to celebrate a grand opening in mid-March during South by Southwest. The brewery, in a 6,600-square-foot warehouse space that includes an airy taproom, an automated brewhouse and a private events room, is the result of seven years of Phillippes hard work.
After a deployment to Afghanistan and nearly four full years in the military, he needed to find a new career. After many talks with Tito Beveridge, founder of Titos Handmade Vodka, and Clayton Christopher, founder of Sweet Leaf Tea and Deep Eddy Vodka founder, that owning a brewery in Austin would bring him the most satisfaction.
It seemed like a career you were passionate about wasnt about the money, he said. Id see them and how much they were enjoying their lives, and it was because theyd found something they had a lot of passion for.
Although Christopher and Beveridge both found their fortunes through vodka, Phillippe is banking on beer because of a love for the fermented beverage that he discovered at his familys Montana cabin in the early 2000s. Hes enlisted Andrew Shelton, formerly of Revolver Brewing, to take on the head brewer position at Hi Sign Brewing -- a job that has so far stretched Sheltons creative brewing muscles.
Hi Sign opened with four beers: a blonde ale, a pale ale, a New England IPA and a blood-orange coffee stout made with Cafe Ubuntu beans roasted by Allegro Coffee.
The New England IPA -- a quasi-style of beer marked by hazy, juicy and not-so-bitter characteristics from lots of hops -- is relatively new to Austin, providing Hi Sign a niche. In town, IPA master Pinthouse Pizza is the most known for experimenting with them (most notably with the highly sought-after Electric Jellyfish), but Hi Sign is hoping to draw attention to the style as well.
Shelton, who arrived most recently from Big Storm Brewing in Florida, had never done one before but researched New England IPAs (also called Northeastern-style IPAs) before drafting a recipe for Hi Signs version. The result is a cloudy, tangerine-colored brew that someone might drink and be like, Is this orange juice? In my mind, that means weve got a brewer who knows what hes doing, Phillippe said.
Although the beer hasnt proven easy to do because of the amount of hops required to make it, Shelton said he is excited to continue experimenting with the unique project. How do you come up with new techniques that will keep it hoppy but not lose the flavor, the haziness? Its going to be fun to work out.
Introducing Austin to a true-to-style New England IPA was Phillippes idea. So was the blood-orange coffee stout made with lightly roasted Kenyan beans, a caffeinated collaboration with his friend Zane Wilemon, the founder of Cafe Ubuntu. Shelton, however, decided a pale ale in the lineup was a good idea to have a safe beer. Its kind of in between the blonde ale and the New England IPA in terms of hoppiness, he said.
The blonde ale, the first Hi Sign brew, was the result of needing a simple, easy-to-produce beer that would calibrate the new 15-barrel brewhouse system, which has been automated through Siemens technology. Having a system that heavily automated -- and able to more easily produce the same good-quality beers over and over again, a consistency that Phillippe has sought from the start -- is unusual for such a young brewery, but he believes keeping the beer consistent is important.
Thats part of what he has learned is key from the counsel of Beveridge and Christopher, who pushed him to pursue Hi Sign Brewing from the conception of his vision. Both have taught him that its OK to fail but that its best to learn enough to be dangerous and then go out and hire the best, he said.
The brewery gets its name from a sign he would regularly see during visits to his familys Montana cabin when he was in college, in the small town of Lincoln. Those vacations, it turned out, would mark the start of a growing passion for craft beer. The sign just seemed to symbolize the turning point those days served for him, he said.
Someone had taken a barrel top, a big white barrel top, and some red reflective tape and written the word hi on it. And then nailed it to this post. So it acted as a sign marker. So what youd say is, Turn at the hi sign, he said.
Before you turned at the sign, however, youd make sure you were armed with beer to last you the trip.
The thing to do up there, 15 years ago and still to this day, is fly into the airport, find a brewery and pick up your five or six growlers of beer for the weekend and then go to your cabin, he said. You go fish and hang out. We would be sitting on these little handmade benches around a bonfire at night and drinking beer out of growlers. That was the first time I could remember drinking an IPA and thinking, Wow, what is this? This is really good beer.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
ROANOKE, Va., Feb. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness announced its support of American Heart Month, also known as National Heart Health Month, which is dedicated to the continued reduction of cardiovascular disease. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), about 75 million American adults have high blood pressure. This is often seen as a precursor to more serious cardiovascular problems, so lowering it is a priority. Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness notes that studies indicate that chiropractic treatments may improve several key heart-related stats in patients, including the heart rate and blood pressure. Therefore, these treatments can have more benefits than the pain and musculoskeletal problems they are often used to treat.
Studies have noted a correlation between lowered blood pressure and chiropractic treatment. One such study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number) when compared to a placebo.
"An atlas adjustment has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination," said study leader George Bakris, MD. And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems," adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.
Patients often experience improved blood pressure and lowered pulse rates not only as a result of treatment but also because of reduction in pain and anxiety associated with musculoskeletal issues. Chiropractic treatments have a beneficial influence on the whole body without the unnecessary side-effects often associated with prescription medication usage," said Joshua Rhodes, DC of Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness.
Taking care of seemingly-unrelated problems often helps cardiovascular markers that are related to stress, pain, and anxiety. Such markers range from the heart rate and blood pressure to chemicals the body produces in response to inflammation.
Even if an injury seems relatively minor, it's important to get and follow an appropriate treatment plan. Often, the body responds to such issues in ways that can cause problems elsewhere later down the road, which could result in a multitude of cardiovascular problems. In recognition of American Heart Month, everyone is urged to see his or her doctor regarding any new or developing cardiovascular symptoms.
About Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness
Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness specializes in chiropractic treatments to help patients relieve pain and change their lives. It is led by Dr. Joshua Rhodes, who was voted Platinum as the Best Chiropractor in the Roanoke Valley.
Additional information on their services and hours can be found on their website at http://peakperformanceroanoke.com/.
To the editor:
I have confirmed with the office of U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady that he will not be available for town hall meetings with constituents during his upcoming recess. His staff cited a very busy schedule, including a trip to Austin to meet with state lawmakers.
When I pointed out that Brady's obligations lie with his constituents rather than his political pals in Austin, his staff gave a bizarre explanation: Our concerns will be conveyed to Mr. Brady by our Texas state congressmen. In other words, Brady will hear about our concerns secondhand from his fellow politicians. That makes no sense and it amounts to a dereliction of duty. He serves the people of District 8, not his clique of political buddies in Austin.
I see only one solution (other than, of course, ousting Brady at the earliest convenience). We must write, call and visit the offices of state Sen. Brandon Creighton, and our representatives Cecil Bell Jr. and Will Metcalf. Let them know that they have been appointed the messenger boys of Brady and that you have a strong message for them to deliver: "Mr. Brady, face your constituents in transparent meetings open to the public."
Whether you are a progressive who fears the wrecking of the Affordable Care Act or you are a conservative with strong opinions about the replacement that will be put forth, you must demand that Brady hear our concerns and answer for his legislative record. If Brady prefers the cozy echo chamber of his fellow politicians, he is unfit to represent the people of our district.
B. P. Herrington
Conroe
Snuffing out Ligon's enforcement argument
To the editor:
On Feb. 16, The Courier published a fine story by Jay R. Jordan about Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon lashing out at Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg on her stance on marijuana. The purpose of this letter is not to debate the issue of whether pot should be legalized, to each their own. But I do feel it is worth discussing how Ligon couched his criticism.
He made three arguments critical of Ogg's actions. One, he said all D.A.s should "defend and protect the constitutions of the United States and Texas." Two, it is the Legislature that enacts laws, and the D.A. should enforce those laws. Three, when a D.A. chooses which laws to enforce, this is giving into a "mob mentality."
I think these three arguments are misguided. Let's start with the easiest to debunk. I have read the entire U.S. Constitution and parts of the Texas Constitution more than once; and I have never found the word marijuana in either. In fact, constitutions are designed to give a set of boundaries that elected officials cannot exceed. It is like the frame of a building. The founders left it up to the free people of the nation and states to fill in the gaps of accepted behavior based on current social norms.
As a smart lawyer, Ligon should know, that in the broad context, the concept that legislators with executive approval enacts laws and D.A.s enforce them all, has never been how our system works. Every state, including Texas, has old laws on their books that were passed by the Legislature that for various reasons D.A.s cannot not legally enforce. Plus all states including Texas, by enacted laws, give some leeway to each county D.A. to choose how much or how little to prosecute and punish people for certain violations.
Finally, the implication that the Harris County D.A. is following a mob is a corny argument. Ligon is an old dude establishment politician. And like his peers, he mistakenly believes that our elected officials lead the nation and states in a direction they feel is appropriate. In reality, the opposite is true. Politicians are just hired hands, paid by the people to implement the social norms citizens feel are appropriate. For our entire history, it is through populism that the people lead the call for change and it is often years later, or sometimes never, that the politicians enact laws codifying these changes.
Populism, grassroots, power to the people or whatever you want to call it, is how Americans alter the economy and our social fabric. Sometimes to accomplish this, we use a powerful tool called nullification. This tool is sometimes used for ill, like the Civil War or juries unwilling to convict people who lynched fellow Americans. But most of the time, it is used for good; think about anti-trust laws, the 40-hour work week, banning child labor, race integration or most recently same-sex marriage, for example.
Everybody knows and agrees that any possession or use of marijuana for any reason is 100 percent a violation of enacted federal law in every state of the union. Yet through nullification, more than 30 states now have some form of decriminalization. I guess in Ligon's eyes this is one humongous mob taking over.
The district attorney's tirade reported in The Courier is his personal opinion, and I will always defend his right to his opinion. However, in the big picture, he has no more influence on where this issue is heading than the rest of us. Like me, he is only one man with one vote. On certain social issues, politicians are like a cork floating in a river. They cannot paddle nor steer, they can only go where the populist currents take them.
I was discussing this issue with a conservative Republican friend of mine and stated that Texas and Montgomery County might be the last locale to change, because we are a red state. He looked at me with a wry smile and said: It's not because we are a red state, but it is because we are a redneck state.
Tim Doherty
Conroe
President Donald Trump wants to kick-start the process to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he has called the worst deal ever. Texans should be concerned.
Texas consumers have a huge stake in NAFTA, which currently lowers the price we pay for many goods. One-third of goods imported from Mexico by the U.S. are imported by Texas more than any other state.
The president has proposed new taxes on imports from Mexico. But these taxes would not be paid by Mexico. They would be paid by Texas consumers. They would also exact a heavy price from Texas companies and the Texans who work for them.
Many of these exports are parts, accessories and components made in Texas by Texas workers. These are exported to Mexico to be assembled and returned to the U.S. as part of final products, such as automobiles, flat-screen TVs and other consumer electronic products. If we import fewer final products from Mexico, we will also reduce sales of the parts used to make those products and cut jobs for people who make those parts.
New U.S. import taxes will certainly be met by new Mexican import taxes, resulting in lost sales and lost jobs for the many other Texan companies that currently export their products to Mexico.
New import taxes could also increase illegal immigration from Mexico along the border. During the past 10 years, increased economic prosperity has led to a significant decline in illegal immigration from Mexico. A tax on imports from Mexico could reverse that trend. Even if a wall is built along the border, economic hardship would give more Mexicans reasons to climb it.
Arguments used to support import taxes should also raise grave concerns for Texans. Although new businesses might step in to make the products we currently import from Mexico, this would not necessarily create new jobs for workers in Texas or anywhere else in the country. Businesses in China will be happy to step into Mexicos place instead.
It is true that the value of U.S. imports from Mexico currently exceeds the value of exports to Mexico by $60 billion. But our trade deficit with Mexico is not the real problem. Imports from Mexico are full of parts and components made in the U.S. And we are currently running a $366 billion trade deficit with China. If trade deficits are the problem, why focus on Mexico?
Trump supporters argue that import taxes can be an important negotiating tool. But they are also an extraordinarily dangerous tool especially for Texas. The threats have already provoked a backlash in Mexico, which can retaliate with its own threats. Mexico could negotiate new agreements with President Xi Jinping of China instead, or it could threaten to reduce its cooperation with U.S. authorities on border issues such as drug trade and immigration. These threats would have their greatest impact on Texas.
What U.S. negotiating goal will justify wielding such a risky tool? Trump has yet to give us any clear indication. Mexicos president has announced he will take 90 days to consult with business leaders in his country prior to negotiations. Trump has expressed impatience and a desire to speed things up.
In fact, the U.S. could pursue many productive goals in negotiations with Mexico including increased cooperation in energy, environmental and labor policy. No state has a bigger stake in these issues than Texas.
It is time for our political leaders to stop standing silently by. Texas business, workers, local governments and community leaders should all demand to be part of the negotiating process. Import taxes eliminated by NAFTA must not be brought back. Provisions in NAFTA aimed at improving border cooperation and environmental and labor protection need to be upgraded, not dialed back. Opportunities for energy cooperation need to be explored. We have far too much at stake to leave negotiations to the president alone.
Patricia Hansen is the J. Waddy Bullion Professor of Law and affiliated faculty at the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
In Texas, 17-year-olds are not allowed to vote, join the military, enter into a binding contract, serve on a jury or buy cigarettes, but they can land in adult prisons.
Its time to change the state law.
Texas remains only one of nine states in the country that prosecute 17-year-olds as adults.
In the past seven years, several states, including Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, have raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 18. At least three states have considered raising that age to 21.
Support for a change in the way Texas treats its youngest adult-court defendants has been slowly gaining support.
Several bills on the issue were introduced in the last legislative session, including one by former San Antonio Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon. They were not approved.
This session, the Houses Juvenile Justice and Families Issues Committee Chairman, Harold Dutton, D-Houston, and Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, have filed separate bills aimed at keeping the state from automatically sending 17-year-olds into the adult criminal justice system.
The proposed legislation would give judges the authority to certify 17-year-olds for adult prosecution if warranted by the criminal activity alleged. In Texas, approximately 96 percent of all 17-year-olds arrested are charged with misdemeanor or nonviolent offenses.
A January 2015 report from the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence made a great case for the policy change. Recidivism is 34 times higher for teens who go to an adult prison compared to those who end up in the juvenile system.
Suicide rates are higher for young people in adult detention compared to those in juvenile facilities, and two-thirds who end up in an adult facility at 17 report being sexually assaulted by other inmates, according to the report.
Keeping younger inmates segregated from the older population comes at a high cost and not just in terms of money. Many counties have had to retrofit their jails to comply with the 2003 federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. But many do not have the space or funding. They resort to placing younger inmates in solitary confinement up to 23 hours a day for their own protection.
Most 17-years-old are still in high school. Charging them as adult criminals, even if they end up with probation, can hinder access to college loans, and keep them from joining the military, getting a job, renting an apartment, receiving public housing and obtaining certain vocational licenses.
Juvenile court records do not follow defendants when they seek education and employment opportunities.
The Vera Institute of Justice estimates a young adult starting life with an adult criminal record could lose an average of $61,691 in earnings over a lifetime.
The state committee report also addresses the differences between adolescent and adult brains. It cites scientific research showing that the human brains frontal lobe is not fully developed until a person is in his mid-20s as a way to explain why many teenagers struggle with shortsighted decision-making and impulse control.
Allowing 17-year-olds an opportunity to straighten out their lives and head into the adult world without a criminal record that would haunt them for their rest of their lives is good public policy.
Texas has a reputation for being a tough-on-crime state. Lowering the age of juvenile jurisdiction should not be interpreted as going soft on criminal defendants.
By Paul Griffin, Professor of Management at the University of California, Davis and Amy Myers Jaffe, Executive Director for Energy and Sustainability, University of California, Davis. Cross-posted from DeSmogBlog.
Prior to President Donald Trump taking office, there was a push to require oil and gas companies to inform their investors about the risks of climate change. As governments step up efforts to regulate carbon emissions, the thinking goes, fossil fuel companies assets could depreciate in value over time.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, was probing how ExxonMobil discloses the impact of that risk on the value of its reserves. And disclosure advocates have been pressing the agency to take more decisive action.
Now that Republicans control Congress and the White House, will the SEC reverse course? And should it?
The Trump administrations apparent skepticism regarding climate change may portend such a change in direction. And Congress decision to roll back transparency rules for U.S. energy companies in the Dodd-Frank Act suggests transparency policy more broadly is being loosened.
The terms of this debate, however, remain premised on the notion that investors dont have enough information to accurately assess the impact of climate change on company value. A growing body of academic research, including our own, suggests they already do and that a compromise path that improves the terms and conditions for voluntary disclosure might be optimal.
Stranded Assets
Such a change in direction would be good news for ExxonMobil in its fight with the SEC over climate change disclosure.
Last year, ExxonMobil announced that 4.6 billion barrels of oil and gas assets 20 percent of its current inventory of future prospects may be too expensive to tap. That would be the largest asset write-down in its history. So far, the company has written down US$2 billion in expensive, above-market cost natural gas assets. More write-downs this time possibly oil sands may be forthcoming.
Its not clear how much of that are tied to the risks of climate change, but some took it as evidence that the fossil fuel industry is not doing enough to inform investors about those risks.
Disclosure advocates in the United States and Europe have been urging oil and gas companies to say more about the potential for their booked assets to become stranded over time. Stranded assets are mainly oil and gas reserves that might have to stay in the ground as a result of a combination of new efficiency technologies and policy actions that seek to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The collapse in coal equities last year highlighted that concern. Intensifying price competition from cleaner energy sources such as natural gas and solar energy and the increasing cost of developing cleaner coal overwhelmed the industrys already declining revenue.
Whatever policy direction the SEC takes on climate risk, it is unlikely to deter those investors who believe the present system of voluntary and mandatory disclosure has failed to provide them with sufficient information on the risks of climate change. And some market participants, such as Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, worry that the underreporting of climate change information is creating a big risk for financial markets a carbon bubble that could lead to a major market failure.
Currently, the SEC requires mandatory disclosure of all material information, while everything else is voluntary. This system has created a vast amount of publicly available information on the costs and risks of climate change.
But as the recent ExxonMobil revelations highlight, the market clearly does not have all information. There are good reasons for this. For competitive reasons and business survival, certain company information is kept confidential and private.
The courts and the SEC have always acknowledged a companys right to privacy regarding certain information. Companies, moreover, argue it could be harmful to shareholders if disclosed prematurely. An appropriate balance is required.
Costs of Carbon
Our own research confirms that financial markets already price climate risk into oil and gas company stocks based on company reports and other data available from public and proprietary sources. These data allow investors to estimate reasonably accurately the effects of climate change on companies, including the expectation of write-downs.
For example, our work suggests that investors first began pricing in this kind of data as early as 2009, when the scientific climate change evidence about stranded assets first became known. Our latest research, soon to be published in Contemporary Accounting Research, shows that the share price of the median company in the Standard & Poors 500 reflects a penalty of about $79 per ton of carbon emissions (based on data through 2012). This penalty considers all S&P 500 companies, not just oil and gas firms. Importantly, this research also shows that investors are able to assess this penalty from company disclosures and the noncompany information available on climate change risk.
This penalty comprises the expected cost of carbon mitigation and the possible loss of revenue from cheaper energy sources.
Exxon, for its part, says it prices the cost of long-term carbon internally at $80 a ton, matching our market model.
The Right Mix
All this begs the question of what level of additional mandatory disclosure is needed to improve the total mix of information available for investors on which to base decisions.
With climate change a pressing concern, investors certainly have a right to demand more disclosure, and we agree with that. But at what cost?
Indeed, the cost of disclosure can be significant, and its not just the direct out-of-pocket costs that policymakers should consider when drawing up new regulations. Indirect costs, such as forcing oil and gas companies to disclose vital confidential information to rivals, could be particularly burdensome to particular companies. And society could pay a heavy price if new rules lead companies to make unwise operating or investment decisions or postpone investment unnecessarily. Energy costs could increase or supplies decrease because of miscalculations.
Additionally, the private sector is trying to fill the gap on its own. Moodys Investor Service, for example, announced in June that it will now independently assess carbon transition risk as part of its credit rating for companies in 13 sectors, including oil and gas.
SEC Voluntary Disclosure Program
Given these and other factors, rather than mandate any new disclosures now, we urge the SEC to first implement a voluntary program along the lines of its successful 1976 program for the disclosure of sensitive foreign payments (like bribes). The SECs report on this program showed no harm to the stock prices of participants after they disclosed payments.
In fact, it is often the lack of participation that invites a negative stock price response, as markets often view nondisclosing businesses as those with something to hide.
This voluntary program also helped pave the way for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which formalized the accounting requirements for bribery payments to foreign officials.
We would hope that a voluntary disclosure program for climate change would achieve a similar goal: that is, formal SEC disclosure requirements that consider the interests of all parties.
Such a program could initially target a defined group, such as the 50 largest SEC-registered oil and gas firms. That would give the SEC and private organizations like Moodys the additional hard data and experience needed to examine the costs, benefits and financial market impacts of climate change risk disclosures.
Doing this would pave the way for more permanent rule-making to better serve the needs of investors, companies and, ultimately, the public.
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(Natural News) Beating or preventing cancer is a war of attrition. By continually and systematically reducing and eliminating chemicals from your food, water, personal care products, supplements, medicine, and the air you breathe daily, your good cells defeat the bad cells and you live cancer free. Its no easy task, and it certainly cant be accomplished overnight, but for the health enthusiasts who know what to eat and especially what not to eat, cancer isnt really much of a concern at all. Ultimately, the worst thing you can do that opens the floodgates for cancer to invade and take over your body is to weaken or destroy your immune system. Good gut bacteria is the seat of your biological defense against cancer, and to wipe out your gut flora with soda, vaccines, flu shots, fast food, GMOs, and chemotherapy is just inviting cancer cells to divide, multiply, and invade your cleansing organs.
Why are lung, liver, kidney, and pancreatic cancers so lethal, with such low human survival rates?
The first thing to note is that no doctor has ever cured anyone of cancer. Only the human immune system has to power to heal you of any disease. Therefore, if you have survived cancer, please realize that it wasnt the doctor, the medicine, the chemotherapy, or the radiation that saved your life. Your immune system is what healed you of cancer.
Similarly, when you get a cold, flu, pneumonia, virus, or bacterial infection, your immune system mounts an attack using fever, mucus, inflammation, and other natural tools to defeat it.
The immune system is the first line of defense against cancer cells, so when you take antibiotics that wipe out good gut bacteria, youre empowering cancer cells. When you go through chemotherapy, even the stuff that targets cancer cells specifically, youre crippling your immune system and flooding the blood with chemicals, and thats why chemotherapy leads to other cancers in the body.
When someone gets cancer of the lungs, liver, kidneys, or pancreas, its because those cleansing organs have been overwhelmed with chemicals for years on end, unable to do their job, which ironically is to filter chemicals from the body. Once the main body filters are filthy, clogged and infected, a good dose of chemotherapy could be the end of you. Then, if cancer reaches the lymph nodes, they function like a catapult, and many doctors will simply send their patients home to die.
No matter your stage of cancer, organic food may save you, and be your best odds of survival and permanent remission
What strengthens the immune system better than anything else on planet earth? Whole, raw, organic produce provides the minerals, vitamins, nutrients, enzymes, and thus fosters good gut bacteria. Alkalizing the body is of vital importance to beating cancer, as most people suffering from cancer have acidic systems that have been that way for extended periods of time. Hospital food and prescription medications are a formula for more cancer and a mostly acidic, low pH system.
An acidic body means a compromised immune system, which cant do its job properly to beat back cancer and kill free radicals in the body. People need to supplement with probiotics and amino acids.
Every cancer patient has a compromised immune system. Patients will not survive if their immune system is not stimulated. Ben Johnson, MD, NMD, DO, Truth About Cancer
The problem with chemo is that it only targets the non-stem cells, not cancer stem cells
Radiation and chemo only target non-stem cells that form the bulk of typical cancer tumors, which can reduce tumor size, but does nothing to eradicate cancer stem cells. This is when oncologists send you home and say we got it! The problem is that the immune system is incapacitated by the chemical based drugs that are continually prescribed to the patient, and the cancer stem cells go on living, often becoming even more active and more aggressive.
Eventually, the patient goes back to the oncologist for follow up exams just to make sure we got everything, and thats when the doctors often find a recurrence or metastases. Will those doctors ever blame the chemotherapy and pharmaceuticals for killing your good gut bacteria and crippling your immune system? Hell no. Theyd lose their license to practice medicine. The AMA, FDA and CDC would come in and shut them down faster that you can say seek natural remedies.
Enhancing the immune system naturally gives any human the very best odds of beating cancer and preventing relapses
There are many ways to enhance the human immune system and eradicate cancer stem cells. There are nutritional programs that have been proven to attack cancer stem cells and bolster the immune system at the same time. Red berries and green tea extract are great examples. High doses of vitamin C and D are other great examples. Without proper nutrition, its like your body is going to war without any weapons against an enemy whos heavily armed with biological and chemical weapons of mass destructionlike chemotherapy, artificial sweeteners, MSG, flu shots, prescription medications, tap water, soda, hydrogenated oils, GMOs and chemical-laden gluten, just to name a few.
If you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, your first order of business is to do no harm and consult with a Naturopathic Physician who can closely examine everything youve been eating, drinking and putting on your skin. Remember, your immune system is your best defense against cancer, so you better check with doctors who have degrees in nutrition!
Sources:
Hope4Cancer.com
Hope4Cancer.com
BurzynskiClinic.com
CDC.news
Vaccines.news
Sunday, February 19, 2017 by: JD Heyes Tags: native advertising , Russian Propaganda , Washington Post This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author
(Natural News) Within days after Donald J. Trump took the country (and the world) by storm and won the Nov. 8 election, the Washington establishment media, suddenly shaken to its core by the realization it could not must enough power and influence to push Hillary Clinton into the White House, began a smear campaign against the president-elect.
Launching the first in what would become a series of fake news salvos, the Washington Post published a story full of baseless, unsubstantiated allegations made by a shady organization no one had ever heard of that Russian intelligence fed information to hundreds of alt-right web sites aimed at hurting Clinton and helping Trump.
Among the named sites: Natural News, which prompted founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, to demand a retraction. (RELATED: Trump calls out press for sabotaging his efforts to improve relations with Russia)
The Post, within a day, essentially did that, all but admitting that its fake news story about fake Russian newswas fake. But the die had been cast and the Post put the narrative in play: Without proof or any evidence, the paper claimed (and others followed) that Russia unduly influenced the election outcome for Trump because Moscow hated Clinton and anyway, thats the only way she could possibly have lost to a former reality TV host and billionaire real estate mogul non-politician.
Now, we find out that the real recipient of Russian largess isthe Washington Post.
As reported by Liberty Blitzkrieg, a recent interview between Fox News Tucker Carlson and Eric Wemple of the Post, who covers the media, was forced to answer why his paper accepted so-called native advertising from Russia, which is essentially the Post receiving money from Moscow to publish propaganda.
While that may be news to most Americans, it certainly is a poorly-kept secret within the world of the Washington media. In fact, in 2007, Slate lampooned Russias Washington Post propaganda effort, Russia: Beyond the Headlines.
Soviet propaganda hit the skids during the Gorbachev era, and as the empire broke up, its propaganda essentially vanished. But the heavy-handed purveyors of party-line orthodoxy and nationalist cant have returned with the rise of President Vladimir Putin, Slate reported, not mentioning that the return of propaganda was largely thanks to Putin, a former KGB agent himself who is familiar with the intelligence tactic.
The Daily Caller also reported on this and in fact, its not just Russia, but China also pays homage to the Post to run its propaganda:
Chinese and Russian propaganda supplements are regularly included in The Washington Post, but the widely read newspaper wont say how much money it gets on the deals.
Fast forward to the 2016 election coverage by the Post in particular, Washingtons quasi-official paper of record. Reporting on alleged Trump-Russia ties without a modicum of evidence or proof is the equivalent of journalistic malpractice; doing that while actually taking money from the Russian government and then trying to defend it is just reprehensible. (RELATED: The Top 10 Fake News Stories Of The Last Two Years That Were Relentlessly Pushed By The Fakestream Media)
During his interview with Carlson, Wemples initial excuse for allowing the propaganda to be placed in his paper was that he believes readers of the Post fully understand that such inserts are propaganda though its not how they would know since, while they are marked as an advertisement, they are not clearly marked.
Thats really your answer? Carlson responded, noting that Wemple once attacked Politico co-founder Mike Allen for running native advertising, saying he was all spun up about it.
He also took Wemple to task for as a media reporter pointing out that his own paper takes native advertising designed to fool people into thinking a certain way about Russia that isnt accurate.
Watch the full exchange below, but the main point here is this: The Post has been merciless in its effort to push the unsubstantiated and unproven narrative that Russia used fake news to help Trump, all the while padding its bottom line with money from the Russian government
Heres the clip:
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
Sources:
DailyCaller.com
LibertyBlitzkrieg.com
Freedom.news
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The evidence is clear that mercury is still being added to some vaccines, in the form of thimerosal, and yet the mainstream media, along with the establishment medical community, continue to cover it up despite what damage is being done to certain ethnic groups.
Vaccine truth activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, noted in a recent press conference hosted by investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson that black communities, in particular, are being targeted in a sort of medical genocide aimed at harming black babies with mercury-filled vaccines.
It is the black neighborhoods that are getting the thimerosal vaccines, Kennedy said at the press conference, held Feb. 15 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. And it appears to be that African-Americans are much more susceptible to vaccine injury than other Americans. (RELATED: Americans Wake Up To The Dangers Of Vaccines And Begin Rejecting Dangerous Medicine)
Continuing, he said that poor Americans who have to use publicly-funded clinics will get the cheapest vaccines, and those are the ones that contain thimerosal.
In August 2014, Natural News reported not only that MMR vaccines do lead to an increase in autism, but that black babies are 340 percent more likely to develop autism after receiving the shot. And it turns out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knew about it long before the truth came out:
As it turns out, the CDC fudged some numbers in a 2003 study it conducted on the MMR vaccine that, if honestly reported, would have revealed a 340 percent increased risk of autism among male African American infants.
Kennedy, chairman of the World Mercury Project, noted as well that it was virtually impossible for anyone within the traditional medical establishment to discuss or expose the horrific nature of mercury-laced vaccines, mostly because of the outsized influence of Big Pharma, which makes billions a year off of selling them.
As for De Niro, he was actually threatened by the pro-vaccine medical establishment to censor a film, VAXXED: From Cover-up to Catastrophe, at his Tribeca Film Festival, an annual event featuring indy films.
As Natural News founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reported at the time:
There has never been an assault against a documentary film in the history of America like the one weve just witnessed over the last 48 hours. The entire mainstream media waged a coordinated, simultaneous attack against the Tribeca Film Festival to censor a film none of them had even seen.
In this video published Feb. 15, Adams featured prior audio of CDC whistleblower Dr. William Thompson, who was the first to disclose his agencys fake science regarding vaccines and mercury content and how they related to a rise in autism.
Adams challenged detractors to actually drink mercury if its really so safe. He calls them mercury vaccine pushers.
If you really think mercury is safe, I challenge you to drink a liter, he says in the video. Prove to the world its safe to inject into children. (RELATED: The Unvarnished Truth About Mercury In Vaccines: Not One Modern Safety Test Has Ever Been Done)
De Niro said his autistic son changed overnight following an MMR vaccine.
Theres a lot of things that are not said. Nobody seems to want to address that, or they say theyve addressed it and its a closed issue, he said during an interview after the VAXXED film was pulled from his festival.
But it doesnt seem to be because there are many people who say they saw their kid change overnight, he said, as reported by the UKs Daily Mail. My wife says that (is what happened to my son). I dont remember. But my child is autistic.
De Niro said hes not convinced the issue is settled. Lets find out the truth.
Check out additional information at the World Mercury Project. The organization has offered $100,000 to the first person who finds a scientific study proving that injecting thimerosal into children is safe.
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
Sources:
NaturalNews.com
YouTube.com
Medicine.news
Researchers at the University of Bristol and the Hefei University of Technology in China recently published a paper in Nature Communications, describing their discovery of a fossil of a pregnant sea serpent that they found years ago.
Although this is not the first case of an unearthed pregnant fossil, what they have found changes our understanding of how the reptile's reproductive system evolved.
The marine reptile was identified as Dinocephalosaurus, from a group called the Archosauromorphs, a distant ancestor of modern-day birds and crocodiles.
It was previously thought that this group of living vertebrates only gives birth through eggs, until the recent discovery of the fossil. To their surprise, the embryo found inside the 240-million-year-old fossil was not inside an egg, indicating that Archosauromorphs could also adopt live birth, or viviparity.
The researchers initially thought that the tiny skeleton they found in her belly was her last meal. Upon further analysis, they came to realize that it is her unborn.
Verge notes that Dinocephalosaurus usually gulped their food down head first, facing backward. However, the skeleton, located in the reptile's pelvic region was in the canonical fetal position and facing forward. In addition, the researchers have found a partially digested fish which rules out the theory that the tiny skeleton was a prey. Lastly, the embryo's skeleton is strikingly similar with the reptile, indicating that they are of the same species.
How did the Dinocephalosaurus become viviparous?
Matthew Brandley, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Sydney, and one of the authors of the study said being an aquatic creature might have something to do with it.
"Just like in sea snakes, if you're aquatic you can't lay eggs underwater, so over evolutionary time, as these terrestrial ancestors moved to an aquatic habitat, they started to develop this viviparous reproductive mode," he told ABC News.
As mentioned by the press release, Dinocephalosaurus has a long neck and is a fish-eater. Their huge body, long necks and small heads had probably made it difficult for them to come to land and lay their eggs.
The instance of live birth pushes back evidence of reproductive biology by 50 million years. But above all, this makes scientists question why despite the Archosauromorphs' ability to give birth to a live young, they evolved away from it and became egg-laying creatures.
What happens when one of the most venomous spiders goes head to head with one of the deadliest snakes?
A video posted by North Vic Engines Cobram shows a battle between a redback spider and a brown snake.
And while the snake obviously has a length advantage, it did not matter, as the spider's fatal bite killed it in one shot.
As mentioned by CBS News, some skeptics claimed the snake was caught on a fish hook, which made it unable to defend itself from the spider. The next day, however, Brenton Maher who was able to witness the heart pounding battle took to Facebook to discredit the claims, posting another video of a snake which was also defeated by a spider, judging from how it was tangled up in a spider web.
While spiders and snakes are common in the area, Australian Reptile Park's Michael Tate advises that people who are met with this kind of spectacle should not intervene as baby snakes are as venomous as adult snakes.
"If you were lucky enough to observe this, don't intervene. Baby snakes are just as toxic as adult one's, so just stand back and let nature take its course," he told Daily Mail Australia.
Redback spiders (Latrodectus hasselti) belong to the Family Theridiidae, which is found worldwide. It is often mistaken as the "black widow," because of their similar features, except the redback has a dorsal stripe on its back.
But not all redback spiders are dangerous. Only female redback spiders are.
National Geographic notes that the redback in the spider is a female, which probably explains why it ended up victorious. Their venom contains a protein, called latrodectine, which makes their prey unable to move. In humans, their venom may cause severe systemic pain on the whole body.
A bite from an Eastern brown snake meanwhile, can kill a human in 15 minutes. But as mentioned by the news site, the snake in the video probably lost because of its "youth."
A massive Caltrain project to convert the commuter train system from diesel fuel to electric power was derailed Saturday when the Federal Transit Administration decided to hold up a nearly $650 million construction grant.
The FTA said that it will defer a final decision about the money until the Trump administration develops its 2018 fiscal year budget.
That might effectively kill the Caltrain project because the transit agency needs to meet a March 1 deadline to issue a Notice to Proceed to its contractors, said Caltrain spokesman Seamus Murphy.
"We're evaluating what our options are to extend that date. We might not have any good options," Murphy said. "A decision to defer the decision on the grant could have the same result as rejecting the grant itself."
The entire project price tag is $1.98 billion, with $1.3 billion already committed from local, state and regional sources, Murphy said.
The final $647 million was to be from the FTA's Core Capacity grant program and the project was already vetted and approved by the federal agency's staff after a two-year evaluation process.
The FTA's decision comes on the heals of a letter critical of the funding sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao by the 14 members of California's Republican caucus, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.
The letter, sent Jan. 24, urges Chao to reconsider the grant on the basis that it is tied up with California's high-speed rail project, which the letter says ballooned in price from $33 billion to over $100 billion and is already the beneficiary of roughly $3.55 billion in federal funds.
The letter says providing any further federal money to the project would be "an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars" until there is "a full and complete audit of the project and its finances can be conducted."
The Caltrain project would electrify the tracks between San Francisco and San Jose for commuter trains but it would also serve as the high-speed rail corridor along the Peninsula.
The FTA, however, gave no reason for its decision to defer a final decision on the $647 million grant.
"We don't know what the reasons are for this decision," Murphy said. "They've held up this grant and certainly we're the canary in the coal mine here."
Murphy said the Caltrain project would be the first project to ever lose funding after making it so far down the approval process.
On Feb. 3, House Democrats from California also sent a letter to Chao, but in support of the Caltrain grant.
Today, U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier issued a statement urging President Donald Trump to intervene to save the funding.
"Caltrain is the backbone of the Silicon Valley transportation system and this decision to delay would threaten to break the backbone of this economy," Speier said. "To make America great again, the president should order that this grant be made and then join us to turn dirt as 9,600 good American jobs related to this project-spread over thirteen states-are created."
Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council, a business group that regularly weighs in on public policy, also decried the FTA's decision.
"This unfortunate decision jeopardizes an important shovel-ready project that is critical not just to our region, but to the state and the nation," Wunderman said.
A driver traveling Saturday night near the Dublin-Pleasanton border was transported to the hospital after their car rolled over and engulfed in flames.
The fiery crash occurred just before 8 p.m. along southbound Interstate 680 near Interstate 580, according to California Highway Patrol Commander Christopher Sherry. The driver was ejected from the car before flames consumed the entire vehicle.
The driver suffered non-life threatening issues, according to Alameda County fire officials.
California Highway Patrol officers are investigating the crash.
Wet weather lingered on Saturday with parts of the Bay Area experiencing scattered rain, mild temperatures and strong winds.
The Anderson Reservoir reached over 101 percent of its maximum capacity and spilled over for the first time in 11 years. But in Oroville, a few days after a damaged spillway led to the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people, the dam dropped to 82 percent of its total capacity.
A high surf advisory was also in place till 12 p.m. along the San Francisco and Peninsula coast. Waves of between 12 and 15 feet were expected, with breakers reaching 17 feet. Beachgoers were warned to pay attention to rip currents, beach erosion and large shore breaks.
Meanwhile, tombstones were half submerged under water at Valley Cemetery on East MacArthur Street in Sonoma. Firefighters said three large oak trees fell overnight, causing a water main break, which flooded the cemetery.
The surge of water also created a mess for homeowners nearby. Water rushed through their driveways and backyards, but many were able to keep the water out of their homes by using sandbags.
Further south in Pacifica, the California Highway Patrol reported that a portion of southbound state Highway 1 was closed due to a mudslide.
Two more wet weather systems are expected over the next five days in the San Francisco Bay Area before the air gets cooler and drier late next week, National Weather Service officials said.
The first system will start on Sunday by dropping rain in the North Bay and impact the rest of the region on Sunday night and Monday. A second weaker system will move into the area Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The storms could cause the flooding of creeks, streams and rivers such as the Russian River at Guerneville and the Napa River in Napa, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia said.
The current forecast shows the Russian River topping out at 32.5 feet during the storms. The Napa River is expected to reach monitor stage, according to Garcia. The Salinas River is expected to stay below flood stage.
Both storms will bring higher winds and moderate to heavy rain along with the possibility of mudslides, rockslides, downed trees, hydroplaning and flight delays and cancellations.
Coastal erosion is possible in Pacifica where at least one apartment building was demolished because erosion threatened to cause the building to fall into the ocean.
Flash flood warnings are possible from late Sunday into Tuesday, weather officials said. A flash flood warning means flash flooding is occurring or imminent.
Police said a woman and five boys were detained in connection with a standoff that began Saturday morning on Treasure Island in San Francisco.
At 10:43 a.m., officers responded to the 1300 block of Gateview Avenue where someone said a male suspect had a gun.
Police said the suspect ran into a home in the 1200 block of Mariner Drive, but said officers have not recovered a gun and that a fight took place between the six suspects and a man in his 20s.
The man was treated at the home for injuries and released. Police said two of the boys were found hiding in the attic of the home when tactical officers searched it at about 3 p.m.
Initial callers said a robbery had occurred, but officers are now not sure whether a one did.
In a meeting Thursday with a coalition of students and campus workers, Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne declined to officially declare the university a "sanctuary campus," according to a campus spokesman.
Members of the student group Stanford Sanctuary Now, who also go by SSN, met with Tessier-Lavigne in his office to urge the university to not share student and staff citizenship information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI and to declare the school a "sanctuary campus."
According to university spokesman E.J. Miranda, Tessier-Lavigne explained to the group that the term sanctuary is not well-defined, and that it could be detrimental to students and employees to use such a label, putting them at risk of federal sanctions.
Additionally, Miranda said that Tessier-Lavigne noted that none of Stanford's peer institutions had declared themselves sanctuary campuses.
The term "sanctuary campus" is modeled after sanctuary city, which is any municipality that has adopted policies to protect undocumented immigrants.
Miranda said that Stanford is deeply concerned about the potential impact to individual members of the community, and to the academic mission of the university amidst the possibility of immigration restrictions under President Trump's ban on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
SSN member Emma Hartung said that while she was happy with Tessier-Lavigne for reaffirming shared values, she was really hoping for more concrete actions.
"Essentially, I think the president didn't express willingness to commit to specific further action, and we're really pushing for the university to be a leader in the campus movement to adopt sanctuary and extend that to students and anyone employed," Hartung said.
Frankie Preciado, executive director of SEIU Local 2007 said that he supports the efforts from SSN, and that a sanctuary campus is a priority for his union.
"We are committed to supporting workers and their families in the struggle for social justice, irrespective of immigration status," Preciado said.
University officials said Stanford would continue to actively engage in addressing questions and providing resources to the community.
Authorities are still investigating the "messy" scene where a man and a woman were found slain inside a home in Peabody, Massachusetts, according to the Essex County District Attorney's Office.
Law enforcement has been at the home at 19 Farm Ave. since Saturday night when a resident who lives there flagged down a motorist to ask for help. Police said the motorist took the resident to state police barracks then authorities returned to the home where they discovered the gruesome scene.
Officials say one body was found in the cellar and another was found in the main part of the house. Jonathan Blodgett, the Essex County District Attorney, says they are waiting to notify family members before identifying the victims. The scene is described as "messy" and an x-ray machine was brought in to help assist with the investigation.
A medical examiner also arrived at the scene to help determine what kind of trauma the victims underwent.
Peabody police say they believe all parties knew one another and it was not a random act. Authorities also said they have been called to the home multiple times over the years, but would not specify as to why. Neighbors say the troubles at the home were well-known.
Its actually very sad, but Im just really not surprised, said Peabody resident Rachel Hrubes.
No one is in custody but the district attorneys office confirms there is an active search for multiple suspects.
A routine traffic stop led to a dramatic car and foot chase throughout Massachusetts.
On Saturday at 1:50 p.m., Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Barteaux pulled over a Honda Civic for motor vehicle equipment violations on the Lynnway at Harding Street in Lynn. The driver, 48-year-old Stephen Staffiery of Newburyport, got out of the car and immediately started to run from the police.
The officers hurried after him, but officials say Staffiery managed to get back into his car and drive away. Transit Police continued chasing him through Revere and into Saugus.
Staffiery struck multiple vehicles during the pursuit: one vehicle on Revere Street, and two more on Route 60. None of the collisions resulted in injuries.
The pursuit ended on Dale Street in Saugus after Staffiery pulled his vehicle over and fled on foot. According to State Police, Staffiery ran through backyards of the residential area in an attempt to evade officers.
After a brief struggle, State Police took Staffiery into custody. He faces multiple charges including failure to stop for police, possession of heroin, resisting arrest, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Staffiery is currently being held without bail at the Middleton House of Correction awaiting arraignment at the Lynn District Court on Tuesday.
An off-duty Cook County correctional officer was shot Saturday night in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.
At 8:37 p.m., the 36-year-old was standing in front of a home in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen when two males emerged from a vacant lot nearby and fired shots in his direction, according to Chicago police. The shooters then ran away.
He was shot in the right leg and taken in good condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.
The sheriffs office confirmed the man is a correctional officer who was off-duty at the time, but did not provide additional information.
No one was in custody Sunday morning as police searched for the two suspects involved in the shooting.
An unseasonably warm Presidents Day holiday weekend saw at least 37 people shot across the city, leaving five dead, according to Chicago Police.
Last year, six people were killed and 19 wounded in shootings over the same weekend.
The latest homicide happened at 8:14 p.m. Monday in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood on the Far South Side, where officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 900 block of East 132nd Street found a man in his 20s in a field with gunshot wounds across his chest and torso. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died, police said. Authorities were still trying to identify him late Monday.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the West Side Austin neighborhood, 33-year-old Eddie Thomas was sitting in a vehicle in the 4900 block of West Van Buren when someone in a silver car pulled up and opened fire, according to police and the Cook County medical examiners office. Thomas suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died at 5:11 p.m. He lived nearby.
Earlier Saturday, a man was found shot to death in Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. Officers responded about 4:30 a.m. to a call of a person shot in the 4500 block of South Wood and found John Gonzalez, 36, with a gunshot wound to his head being put into a vehicle by several friends, authorities said. He was taken to University of Illinois Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:43 a.m. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting.
Two men wounded in the same attack, ages 26 and 32, later showed up in good condition at Stroger Hospital, police said. The older man was shot in both legs and the younger man shot in one of his hands.
Just before 3 a.m. Saturday in the same neighborhood, officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 5000 block of South Ashland found 23-year-old Willie Cooks in a building with a gunshot wound to his back, authorities said. Cooks, of the Roseland neighborhood, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3 a.m. Officers also found a 28-year-old man nearby who had run away and was shot in the right leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
At 6:23 p.m. Friday, 31-year-old Travis Joseph was on a porch in the 1400 block of West 71st Street in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, when another male walked up, pulled out a weapon and opened fire, authorities said. Joseph was shot in the chest and taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:11 a.m. Saturday. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting.
An off-duty Cook County sheriffs correctional officer was wounded shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday in another Englewood neighborhood shooting on the South Side, according to police and the sheriffs office. The 36-year-old was standing in front of a home in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen when two males emerged from a vacant lot nearby and fired shots in his direction. The shooters then ran away. He was shot in the right leg and taken in good condition to Christ Medical Center.
One 13-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting about 8:15 p.m. Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. He was standing outside in the 7600 block of South Peoria when a dark-colored SUV pulled up and someone inside fired shots, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm and was taken in good condition to Comer Childrens Hospital.
Another 13-year-old boy was walking with a 16-year-old boy about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 5100 block of West Concord in Austin when the pair heard gunfire and realized theyd both been shot, police said. They were taken to Stroger Hospital, where the younger boy was in critical condition with a chest wound and the older boys condition was stabilized with a leg wound.
At least 25 more people were wounded in Chicago shootings between 7:30 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday.
Authorities are searching for a woman and her child who were reported missing from Streator, Illinois, and may have been abducted by the child's father.
Kayla Stratton, 24, and her 11-month-old son Paul Merritte were last seen around 11 p.m. on Friday, according to the LaSalle County Sheriff's office.
Authorities said in a missing persons alert that the child was "consensually taken" by his father, 33-year-old Clarence Merritte, who is a suspect in the case. [[414197493, C]]
According to police, Stratton was in a car in the 1900 block of East 1st Street as the suspect chased her in another vehicle, ramming her car multiple times and forcing her off the road, where she crashed into a utility pole.
The suspect then struck and took Stratton from her car by the hair, officials said, forcing her into his vehicle, which was later found abandoned several blocks west of the incident.
All three remain missing, and the sheriff's office, along with the Streator Police Department, continue to investigate.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the LaSalle County Sheriff's office at (815) 433-2161.
Police at the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign have issued a letter about sexual assaults after three were reported in a little over a week.
Campus police sent out public safety notices via mass emails on Feb. 6, Feb. 9 and Feb. 12 about cases of students who'd been assaulted at a residence hall or fraternity house.
The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports that university police then posted the letter Friday on the department's blog after the "mass emails prompted a number of questions."
The letter focuses on how the campus handles sexual assault reports, addressing concerns about what the university does to prevent assault, why safety notices don't include more specific information, and if offenders are being prosecuted.
When it comes to safety notices, authorities said publicly releasing identifying information about the crime could, in some cases, be dangerous for the survivor.
Police also noted that assaults detailed in notices are "only a small fraction of the actual number of incidents." Those that occur off campus are not shared in mass emails, and nearly 90 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses go unreported, according to the university's Womens Resources Center.
Of those cases that are reported to law enforcement, police said they often know the identity of the offender but arrests are rare, most commonly because the survivor asked authorities not to proceed with an investigation.
"To the legal extent that we can, we always respect the wishes of a sexual assault survivor," U of I Police Chief Jeff Christensen said in the letter. "There are a lot of reasons why a survivor would choose not to pursue an investigation. The crime itself was trauma enough we want to put the survivor back in control."
U of I police spokesperson Patrick Wade said sexual-assault reports happen at all times of year but "three reports in eight days is a lot," adding that the incidents all involved someone known to the victims and he didn't expect charges to be filed.
East Windsor police are searching for a man accused of stealing a car from the Mercury Fuel on South Main Street Friday.
According to police, the owner of the car left it running when he went into the store and the suspect hopped in and drove away. The car has Connecticut plate # AF66578 and is a red 2006 Ford Taurus. Police believe the suspect was heading to Enfield.
The same man is a suspect in the theft of a coin jar from the 7-11 at 183 South Main Street and police think he frequents the area. Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact East Windsor police at 860-292-8240.
Granby police are investigating after someone rearranged the letters on a Granby school sign into a racist message.
Someone rearranged a message on a sign at the Granby Memorial School campus off Route 10 to include the racial slur which was spotted by Anna Rogers, of Middletown, who driving through town around noon Saturday. Rogers snapped a photo and called police. Rog told NBC Connecticut when she drove by again about a half hour later, the slur had been removed.
Capt. William Tyler confirmed that police were informed of the message and that the situation is under active and vigorous investigation.
Residents were surprised by the news and said hateful speech isn't what they expect from their town.
I think Granby is a welcoming town and a very tight town. So I dont know if its some kind of prank. But I think its concerning the rise of racist things weve seen across the United States, said Granby resident Katie Dunnington.
I usually think of Granby like nothing bad ever happens here, said Hannah Council, who is a sixth-grader in Granby.
Granby Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley released the following statement:
This is certainly disturbing and disappointing for many reasons, but most importantly because it doesnt represent the values of the school community or the values of the town of Granby.
Anyone with information on this should contact Granby police at 860-844-5335.
A woman is dead after a house fire in Norwalk Sunday morning and fire officials said hoarding conditions in the home made it difficult for firefighters to reach her.
Officials said the fire broke out on Bettswood Road around 7 a.m.
Crews had trouble reaching the woman because of "extreme hoarding conditions" in the home. Officials said every room was filled with junk and, in some rooms, the debris almost reached the ceiling. Firefighters crawled on top of the trash to find the woman, according to fire officials.
When firefighters found the victim, they started CPR and she was taken to Norwalk Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Officials have not released the victim's name.
No one else was inside at the time of the fire and no firefighters reported any injuries.
State fire marshals were called in to investigate the cause of the fire.
While conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos insulted comics Lena Dunham, Leslie Jones, Amy Schumer and Sarah Silverman, his appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" was relatively tame at least until the television cameras were turned off.
It was later, during an online-only "Overtime" segment of Maher's Friday night show, that two of Maher's three panelists hurled expletives at the Breitbart News senior editor.
Maher's booking of Yiannopoulos, author of the upcoming book "Dangerous," drew attention earlier this week when journalist Jeremy Scahill backed out of the show because of his "hateful diatribes." The conservative gadfly has become a lightning rod; his planned speech at the University of California, Berkeley, was cancelled earlier this month when protests erupted.
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Maher, a free speech advocate, told Yiannopoulos that he thought he was "colossally wrong" on most issues, "but if I barred everyone from the show who I thought was colossally wrong, I would be talking to myself."
Yiannopoulos called Maher his "favorite liberal" and directed most of his ire at female comedians.
"Your side has gone insane," he said. "The Democrats are the party of Lena Dunham. These people are hideous, mental people. The more the American people see of Lena Dunham, the fewer votes the Democratic Party is going to get."
Responded Maher about the "Girls" creator: "Let's not pick on fellow HBO stars."
The Breitbart editor said Schumer and Silverman "used to be funny before they contracted feminism." After the subject was brought up by Maher, he renewed hostilities with Jones that had begun with his review of the "Ghostbusters" film. Yiannopoulos' Twitter account was suspended last year after a series of racially insensitive tweets were directed at Jones, who is black.
On Maher's show, he called Jones "barely literate."
Still, the interview segment featured few harsh exchanges with Maher, and Yiannopoulos was not included in a panel discussion that featured comedian Larry Wilmore, author and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance and U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican. But online, Yiannopoulos joined the other three to answer questions from viewers.
That's when things got interesting.
The starting-off point was when Yiannopoulos defended his criticism of a transgender person and saying, without offering evidence, that transgender people were involved in a disproportionate number of sex crimes. Wilmore objected, saying that reminded him of the attitudes people directed at gays and blacks to demonize them in society. He noted that for a long time, homosexuality was considered a disorder.
"Maybe it is," said Yiannopoulos, who is gay.
"Maybe you are," Wilmore said, "But most homosexuals are not."
Nance observed that Yiannopoulos seemed confused about who and what he was. When Maher tried to referee, Yiannopoulos said that he always seemed to have "awful" people on the show, "who are so stupid."
Zoe Kravitz, Joel McHale and Jimmy toast to Tonight Show's third anniversary with Dark 'n' Stormys served by her famous dad, Lenny Kravitz.
That's when Wilmore exploded, telling Yiannopoulos to "go f--- yourself." Maher defended Nance, telling Yiannopoulos that "this guy has done things that allow you to" live.
When the oddity of an openly gay man being seen as a leader of the alt-right movement was pointed out, Yiannopoulos said that "the worst people on the far left and far right all hate me."
Retorted Wilmore: "I think you're leaving out a lot of people."
Nance added another expletive when the Breitbart editor said he had no problems with the issue of President Donald Trump and ties to Russian, profanely dismissing him because he was not an American. Yiannopoulos is British.
Jimmy pens thank-you notes to American Girl, all-in-one shampoo and conditioners and other things.
It stopped there. Kingston declined a chance to be the third panelist to swear at Yiannopoulos.
The family told NBCDFW that a missing mother of two from Euless was found safe and unharmed on Saturday evening. The family did not provide any other details.
Alina Cole, 32, disappeared on Thursday afternoon near her father's home in Euless.
On Saturday, the family assisted Euless Police with the search for Cole. Friends and family went door-to-door on Saturday and handed out Cole's picture.
Iraq's prime minister on Sunday announced an offensive to seize control of the western coast of the city of Mosul from the terror group ISIS, NBC News reports.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on state television Sunday morning that the new push has begun. Hours earlier, Iraq's military said planes dropped leaflets into the area, urging those who joined ISIS to surrender and warning that the military would move into the western coast of the city, which straddles the Tigris River.
"I announce today the start of military offensive to liberate the western coast of Mosul," al-Abadi said. He added, "our mission is to liberate people before land."
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin is demanding an apology from Mayor Ed Lee over what he believes was a hurtful and crass attack.
In a private group text, Lee used the word gestapo to describe legislation backed by Peskin, a Jewish-American. The legislation in question sought to make witnesses testify under oath before the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. Perjury could result in criminal punishment. It failed 7-4.
On Friday, Peskin said he takes the message very personally, especially in recent unsettled, racially tinted times.
When things like this happen, you have to say it like it is, he said. When the mayor is talking about a Jewish-American person and using Nazi terms, it chills me to my core.
When asked about the text message that was sent to six people, NBC Bay Area received a statement from the mayors spokesperson, Deirdre Hussey.
It read in part: "Mayor Lee apologizes for inappropriately and insensitively using the word Gestapo to describe Supervisor Peskin's failed legislation.
It goes on to talk about the concerns the mayor has with that particular legislation, calling it McCarthyesque. The letter also says that Lee has reached out to Jewish faith communities to apologize for the inappropriate word usage.
Peskin says he's tried to reach Lee by phone, text, email and letter, but says he hasn't heard a word or apology from the mayor. San Francisco leader's need to stand together and be beacons of hope, tolerance and unity, he said.
I welcome his call and I'm hoping we can move forward together for the betterment of San Francisco, Peskin added.
San Jose police officers are investigating two bizarre instances of men being shot by mysterious blowgun darts on Thursday.
One said that he was struck in the area of Meridian and Hillsdale avenues around 7:30 p.m. as he walked out of a restaurant with his family.
The second man was hit at about 8:20 p.m. while he rode a bike near Meridian Avenue and Ridgewood Drive. Police found a dart lodged in the mans jacket.
Neither mans injuries are considered life-threatening, police said, and the suspect or suspects remain unidentified and at large.
The owner of Nick the Greek on Meridian Avenue said on Friday that is he worried about his workers and his customers.
I think it's going to put us on a little higher alert - I mean keep us on our toes - so we know what's going on and make sure our customers know to watch out, Komiel Mohsen said.
Diners who learned about the attacks were at a loss and couldnt understand why anyone would act that way.
Its very bizarre, weird, said customer Nick Cigars.
The darts look very similar to the ones used in the random shootings on the Golden Gate Bridge almost exactly year ago, but police say there is no connection between the two incidents.
The Anderson Reservoir, which has hovered around 99 percent of its maximum capacity for the past few days, began to spill over early Saturday morning for the first time in nearly 11 years.
As the Morgan Hill dam's water level rages, people who live along Coyote Creek could be under risk of flooding. So officials opened the spillway on Saturday to relieve pressure on the reservoir and make room for more water from the approaching storms.
"I think its amazing. Its never been so full," said Nick Smith of Morgan Hill.
During a years-long historic drought in California, the reservoir's water level dipped so low that homeless encampments cropped up in the area and trees began growing in the middle of San Jose's Coyote Creek. However, after a storm-drenched winter, the dam has become something of a tourist destination. Many have flocked to Anderson Reservoir, watching transfixed as millions of gallons were released into the creek below.
"It's pretty awesome," said Kelly Truman of Morgan Hill. "We rarely get this much water and we got our show."
However, Marty Grimes, a spokesman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, warned of potential flooding as a string of storms make a beeline for the Bay Area in the coming days.
Homeowners near the dam arent at high risk for flooding, but downstream in San Jose, there are a few low-lying vulnerable spots. One is the Golden Wheel Mobile Home Park in the Berryessa neighborhood, he said.
The Anderson Reservoir sits in an earthquake zone and the dam, which was built in 1950 when seismic standards were not as strict as they are today, could be damaged by a 7.25 magnitude or greated earthquake, according to water district spokesperson Marty Grimes.
Until the dam is seismically retrofitted, the water district is required to keep the reservoir level below 68 percent capacity. To that end, officials have been releasing about 400 cubic feet of water per second for the past week, but that's not been fast enough to keep up with relentless rain.
At the current pace that the Anderson Reservoir is taking on water, Grimes estimated that it could take between four and nine weeks to reduce the water level so the dam is compliant with seismic regulations.
"Thats the physical reality," Grimes said. "We opened this release valve in January when the reservoir was only half full, in anticipation of that."
Officials have been developing a plan to retrofit the dam since 2009, but the soonest the water district would commence construction would be in 2020.
The $400 million seismic retrofit project, which would partially be paid for by a parcel tax and increased water rates spread out over 30 years, would likely take at least four years to complete, according to Grimes.
Customs and Border Protection agents have seized 42 pounds of horse meat, including 13 pounds of horse genitals, from two women arriving from Mongolia at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The horse meat was hidden in juice boxes. One of the women said the horse genitals were for medicinal purposes.
CBP announced the seizures Thursday; the meat was seized on Jan. 29.
Neither woman was criminally charged.
Three liters of yak milk was also seized and incinerated, along with the horse meat.
CBP says horse meat is prohibited from entering the U.S. without an official certification due to fears of foot-and-mouth disease. Mongolian horse meat is always prohibited because of concerns about diseases.
Following heavy rains and powerful winds that drenched southern California this week, Los Angeles County officials are asking residents to report storm related damage.
Residents and business owners can complete an online damage assessment survey by clicking here or visiting www.211la.org and clicking on the banner for Damage Assessment Survey.
Residents can also call 211 LA County by dialing 211 to complete the survey and get information and referrals for assistance. The toll-free 211 number is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week
"This information will be used to determine if the County has enough damages to seek a Federal declaration for assistance through the U.S. Small Business Administration," Leslie Luke, OEM Deputy Director said in a press release.
The 211 LA County website also provides up-to-date weather outlooks, road closure notices and information on being prepared for emergencies.
As her loved ones mourn their loss, one Ohio woman found a source of comfort in her own passing by taking a shot at President Donald Trump in her obituary.
Elizabeth "Liz" Smith died Monday at the age of 87, surrounded by her family, who then made her political views well known.
"Liz is smiling now, not to be living during the Trump presidency," her obituary reads.
A member of Huron County Democratic Party and a poll worker, Smiths daughter told the Sandusky Register that her mother "doesnt like the man, she never has."
"She had seen that in somebody elses obituary and kind of made a note of that," said Deborah Lucal.
Smith was a lifetime member of Girl Scouts USA and an avid volunteer, as well as an active member of her church and a travel enthusiast.
Despite Smiths preference for blue when it came to her politics, Lucal told the Register that her mother requested everyone wear red to her funeral, in celebration of her life.
Smith was hardly the first to make a political statement in her departure.
A Pennsylvania chiropractor who passed away in Jan. 2016 at the age of 70 had just one request for his mourners: "In lieu of flowers, please don't vote for Donald Trump."
His son told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and his brother decided to include the line after seeing a New Jersey womans obituary the previous August, asking loved ones not to vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Though commentary came from both sides of the afterlife aisle, one Virginia womans obituary broke with the partisan trend in her post-mortem political plea.
"Faced with the prospect of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Mary Anne Noland of Richmond chose, instead, to pass into the eternal love of God," her May 2016 obituary said.
A 55-year-old Islamorada man is in jail Sunday and charged with stabbing his wifes boyfriend.
Fredrick Kimble was arrested Saturday after authorities responded to a report of a stabbing, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Police say they found the 40-year-old victim outside of trailer holding his stomach. He said hed been stabbed by a Kimble inside the trailer.
The man lives in the trailer with Kimble and Kimbles wife, according to police. Kimble and his wife are reportedly estranged and the victim and the wife are a couple.
Investigators say the three of them were all outside the trailer when Kimble and his wife began to argue. The victim told police he stepped in and told Kimble to stop yelling at her. As the wife began to pull him away from Kimble, the boyfriend felt a stab to his abdomen and realized Kimble had stabbed him with a pocket knife.
He was airlifted to a Miami hospital for treatment of a stab wound. Kimble is charged with aggravated battery.
Two women were arrested and charged with child neglect after two toddlers were found wandering a Keys trailer park alone late Friday night, authorities say.
A deputy responded to Roys Trailer Park shortly around midnight after a tow truck driver reported seeing the small children wandering around by themselves, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
A MCSO report states the girls, both 2 years old, were crying and appeared to be cold. One was nude and the other was wearing only a T-shirt and underwear. The deputy got a towel out of his car to cover the nude child and began searching for someone responsible for the children.
Jessica Saintil, 24, and Yveline Saintal, 23, showed up a short time later and said they were the ones responsible for the children.
Upon investigation, the two women, who said they had been drinking alcohol, left the children alone in a nearby trailer while they went to visit friends. The women told police they were only gone a short time and when they returned, they found the door to the trailer open and the children gone.
Both women were arrested on charges of child neglect.
An off-duty Indian River County sheriff's deputy was fatally shot outside a relative's home.
The sheriff's office says Deputy Garry Chambliss was killed Friday night after gunshots were fired as he and other relatives were standing near a road.
Chambliss yelled for people to ``get low,'' and then fell with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Deputies arrested 21-year-old Makhail Chambliss and charged him with discharging a firearm from a car. He is being held without bond. Multiple news agencies reported he is related to the slain deputy. Investigators were searching for a second suspect on Saturday.
Deputy Chambliss had served on the department for 27 years and was less than three years away from retirement.
Police continue their search Sunday for two suspects involved in a Wilton Manors home invasion robbery.
The robbery occurred on Saturday at about 2:45 p.m. at a home located along the 600 block of Northwest 22nd Street, according to Wilton Manors Police Department.
Authorities say the suspects are described as two black males, one with short hair with a stocky build. The other has black dread locks, clear glasses a medium build and was seen with a black revolver.
Both men are believed to have fled in a black Kia with possible front-end damage.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wilton Manors police at 954-764-HELP(4357).
A dog fell through the ice of a New York pond Saturday and a boy followed the pooch into the water, firefighters said.
Firefighters arrived to the pond at 15 Beckett Close in Irvington to find the boy out of the water and the dog hanging on to a thin piece of ice.
An assistant fire chief put on a cold water suit and jumped into the pond and pulled the dog to safety, Fire Chief David Dowd said.
The dog was brought to the vet, he said.
Temperatures reached 60 degrees Saturday in some parts of the tri-state.
More than a thousand people rallied in support of American Muslims in Times Square on Sunday afternoon, with pumping fists and chants of "We are One" resonating through the so-called Crossroads of the World.
The "I Am a Muslim Too" march was co-organized by the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding and the Nusantara Foundation in response to the uncertainty and anxiety created by President Donald Trump's now-rescinded executive order.
American flags waved through the air alongside picket signs that read "I am a Muslim too", "No Muslim Ban" and "Yes we Qu'Ran!" as demonstrators pumped their fists in the air.
Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons headlined the rally.
"We are focused on things that are not helpful to America, we're using the Muslim community as a scapegoat. We are being mean to the people who are the victims of terrorism," he said. "All of the diversity we see here today will prevail."
The entrepreneur, who was a former friend of Trump, said the president doesn't realize that he will leave a "legacy of hate" in America" once his term is done. Simmons took Trump to visit a Mosque in 2011, and he believes a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus could impact his thinking.
"I think now that he's in office, people need to talk to him," he said. "He doesn't realize how much his works will be looked at as horrible in the future. He will leave a legacy of hate and America is moving towards greater love."
"This is an outreach effort to the American public," said Rabbi Marc Schnier, the president of the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding. "Today in the United States it's open season on Muslims. We recognize that with the American Muslim community that we share a common faith and a common fate."
Schnier says that he wants the Trump Administration and Americans nationwide to understand that American Muslims champion the country's values and that "they are our most natural ally."
Chelsea Clinton participated in the rally and tweeted a photo from the crowd.
Thank you to all who organized #IAmAMuslimToo today - Charlotte's 1st protest rally. #NoBanNoWallNoRaids pic.twitter.com/5mSXGQtPJU Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 19, 2017
"Thank you to all who organized #IAmAMuslimToo today - Charlotte's 1st protest rally. #NoBanNoWallNoRaids," she said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio took the stage to cheers and rounds of applause. He thanked the 900 Muslim members of the NYPD for protecting New Yorkers and risking their lives to do so daily.
"Think about the origins of this country, a country founded to respect all faiths and all beliefs," he said to the crowd. "This is who we are as Americans and this must be protected! An attack on anybody's faith is an attack on all people of faith."
Thousands across the country have vowed to spend their President's Day protesting against Trump and his policies at the "Not My President" rallies scheduled to take place in at least 25 cities nationwide.
More than 13,000 people said on Facebook that they planned to attend a peaceful demonstration in front of Trump Hotel Monday afternoon.
[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
A police officer is recovering after she was injured during a dirt bike chase in North Philadelphia Saturday night.
Police first responded to the 2000 block of Judson Street at 7:16 p.m. where they heard what they believed to be gunshots, officials said. Several men on dirt bikes then fled the scene and the officers pursued them.
"He cut in front of all those cars and then he shot down this way," said Angel Vasquez, a witness. "He drove really fast and came down Allegheny Avenue."
One man on a dirt bike was stopped at 3rd and Allegheny, a second dirt bike rider was stopped at Front and Gurney Streets and a dirt bike with no rider was recovered at 5th Street and Erie Avenue. Police have not yet revealed the charges against the two men. A weapon has not been recovered.
A highway patrol officer was also injured while stopping the first dirt bike rider at 3rd and Allegheny, police said. She was taken to the hospital and is currently in stable condition.
UPDATE: Video and latest details on the fire HERE
Firefighters are battling flames that have burned more than 100 acres of the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in southern New Jersey.
The state Forest Fire Service says the fire in Manchester Township was reported Sunday morning.
Officials say the flames are not threatening any homes or businesses. But drifting smoke has forced the closure of a stretch of nearby Route 539.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, and it wasn't clear Sunday afternoon if the fire would continue to spread.
The Greenwood Forest site spans about 29,000 acres, mostly in Ocean County.
Philadelphia protesters used Mondays holiday as another opportunity to speak out against the Trump administration.
Instead of celebrating Presidents Day, a number of guest speakers and advocates joined protesters for a Not My President's Day Rally and March Monday afternoon in the Thomas Paine Plaza.
At noon, guest speakers addressed protesters regarding their growing concerns around the new policies under President Trump.
Speakers included Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym, who advocated for the citys position as a sanctuary city, and University of Pennsylvania Professor Nicholas Pevzner who addressed issues around climate change. Joseph Assali, a Temple University student whose family was denied entry to the country following the Presidents travel ban, spoke about immigration concerns.
Other guests spoke about LGBTQ rights, healthcare, and racial justice.
Protesters began their march at the Thomas Paine Plaza and continued up to 6th & Market streets in the Independence Mall area. Protesters then returned to the plaza.
The march also arranged for local organizations to be in attendance so people could learn who to contact about important issues in Philadelphia.
The process of closing a massive state prison complex in Pittsburgh has made progress in the weeks since it was announced, including the transfer of some inmates to other facilities and a decision by the Corrections Department about where it will relocate the prison's medical and therapeutic programs.
Members of the union that represents corrections officers at Pittsburgh State Prison have until Friday to fill out and return a survey in which they will tell the agency where they would prefer to be transferred, and work has begun on figuring out how best to use the 24-acre property on the Ohio River, just north of downtown.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf decided to shut down the aging prison in a move designed to capitalize on shrinking prisoner numbers to save about $81 million annually.
The facility had nearly 1,900 inmates on Jan. 26, when Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the administration chose to shut down one prison, not two as previously announced, from a list that also included Frackville, Mercer, Retreat and Waymart.
The inmate population at Pittsburgh State Prison is already down to just under 1,600, and the Office of Population Management is working to determine where they will be relocated.
For now, counties in western Pennsylvania are still sending their freshly sentenced defendants to Pittsburgh, but a new receiving facility will soon be established. From there, they're transferred to Camp Hill State Prison to be classified and diagnosed.
The Corrections Department will be offering jobs elsewhere to all of the 555 employees.
Jason Bloom, president of the corrections officers' union, said his members "aren't happy'' and warned that shuttering the prison had implications for the rest of the system.
"Their lives have been changed dramatically with very little notice,'' he said. "It's imperative that the Legislature put into statute a transparent process that properly determines if there's a need for future closures. Our system is bursting at 105 percent capacity. We have inmates in county jails. Public safety decisions should be based on prison population, not tax dollars.''
A meeting will be held in the coming days for the facility's employees to learn about the institutions where they may be transferred.
State Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Democrat who represents the district where the prison is located, said he has encouraged the administration to do what it can to help affected workers with relocation costs.
"I wish I could still fight it, but the decision has been made,'' Fontana said. "The process of how these employees are going to be transferred is a concern. What kind of costs are going to be incurred by them, if any?''
The state has also determined where it will relocate the specialized units and programs that were housed in Pittsburgh, including facilities that provide cancer treatment and mental health services. They are being transferred to eight other prisons among the 25 other facilities.
Experts are also looking into the future use of the property, which has been a prison since 1882 and includes 42 structures and 10 housing units.
Fontana said the neighboring area consists largely of industrial, manufacturing and commercial enterprises, including a nearby county sewage treatment plant, making the prison land an unlikely candidate for residential development. He said the future tenant or owner may simply raze the buildings.
"Put this back on the tax rolls and create jobs, that's the idea,'' Fontana said.
Wetzel has brought back a retired warden, former Albion State Prison Superintendent Nancy Giroux, to oversee issues related to the closing so Pittsburgh's superintendent can focus on day-to-day prison operations.
Officials said Friday the plan is on track to meet the projected closure date of June 30.
A North Park resident backed her Mustang into a neighbors apartment building Sunday Morning, San Diego Police said.
The incident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday at an apartment complex on Texas Street.
San Diego Police said the woman may have accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.
The vehicle broke through the living room of Benjamin Bulanadi, the man living in the apartment. Bulanadi was not home when the incident occurred.
Luckily I stayed over at a friends house last night, Bulanadi said. It was pretty intense to come home to that.
"Pretty shocking." #NorthPark man comes homes to this damage after neighbor rams car into his apartment. #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/6h2qHqW78i Liberty Zabala (@LibertyNBC7SD) February 19, 2017
Bulanadi said if he was in his living room, he could have been hit by his dresser or TV.
Bulanadi rents the apartment through Airbnb. The owner was on the scene Sunday morning and exchanged information with the Mustang driver. Bulanadi is looking for another place to stay.
Sandy Vinge may have gained notoriety from her 2008 kidnapping, but listening to friends and family speak about her at her funeral Saturday, you quickly realize the octogenarian's whole life has been captivating.
I don't know how much time you have. I could spend all evening telling you about her, one of her friends tells NBC 7.
Vinges best friend describes what a great personality she had.
She says we're not going to lunch today, we're going to Costco. I says why? She says because everybody there knows me and they'll give us doubles and triples.
In 2008, Vinge was choked unconscious by a door-to-door salesman. Her hands were tied with duct tape and she was thrown into the back of her own station wagon. Over the next 26 hours her captors beat her badly and used her stolen credit cards. She was finally rescued by a deputy who stopped them for a traffic violation.
One of the officers who rescued her, who she called her hero, and the prosecutor who represented Vinge both spoke at her funeral. The prosecutor flew in from Tennessee for the event.
Look how many lives she's touched. You guys are all here, Marc Snelling said at the reception.
Her son, Dan Allen, says she hated funerals. And she made it clear she wanted no one to mourn for her at her death.
Vinge didn't like the taste of champagne so they toasted her with chocolate truffles, and then to honor the former swing dance club president - they danced.
Her other son Wayne says he'd try to catch up with her and plan a time to see her. She'd go okay, wait a minute hon. And grabs a calendar and she'd turn looking into the calendar and every day was filled. And she goes, what are you doing a month from Wednesday?
A group of close to 40 students at the University of San Diego is preparing for a humanitarian mission to the West African nation of Ghana this summer.
Since the Ebola crisis spawned in West Africa in late 2013, the Medical Brigade chapter of USD and other factions like it across the continent were kept out of the country for a considerable amount of time.
Now, USDs Medical Brigade chapter is one of eight chapters under the Global Brigade umbrella cleared to return to Ghana where they will provide free medical aid and supplies to thousands throughout the country.
The group traveled to Panama last June, and a few weeks ago returned stateside from a trip to Honduras. They met once again on Saturday in an on-campus apartment to begin planning their summer trip to Africa.
Its very important to me because I really like working in this fluid machine and being able to help give care to hundreds of people, said Bryce Olbert, a USD student on the leadership team for the chapter. Were going to possibly be seeing 1,000 people per day in Ghana just because theres so much back-up from not having any brigades go for several years.
While in Africa, students will provide various healthcare services to people in need and will hand out free hygiene products like shampoo and toothbrushes. Theyll even lead education efforts focusing on hygiene and personal healthcare for adults and children.
Although the Ebola crisis has calmed considerably since the World Health Organization declared the disease a world health emergency in August of 2014, concern over contracting the disease while visiting Ghana is a legitimate concern.
Olbert, though, says that he isnt really worried.
No, because I havent heard of anything recently, He said. And the only thing we actually have to get done is get a yellow fever vaccine because they have a lot of problems with mosquitos.
The chapter works throughout the semester to raise money for their trip and for medication and equipment for patients.
You can learn more about the USD Medical Brigade and donate to their cause here.
Arlington County, Virginia, police are searching for a man they say was involved in a murder at a house party early Sunday morning.
About 3:30 a.m., officers found 23-year-old Michael Gray, of Manassas, suffering from a gunshot wound at a house in the 6300 block of 29th Street North in the Williamsburg neighborhood, police said. They immediately started performing CPR on Gray.
He was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Arlington County police are looking for 37-year-old Jason Allen Johnson, of D.C. He is wanted for murder for "his role" in Gray's killing, police said.
Arlington County Police Department
Johnson is considered armed and dangerous, according to police. He is described as a black man who is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs about 145 pounds. Police said he was last known to be headed toward Maryland.
Investigators said the shooting stemmed from a dispute at the house party.
Anyone with information about Johnson's whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately and should not approach him.
Police in Massachusetts are searching for a driver who sped away from an officer and fled the scene after crashing into a minivan.
An officer from the West Bridgewater Police Department was near the intersection of Spring and North Elm Street when another car passed him. Around 6:30 p.m., the officer signaled the vehicle to pull over, but when he approached the car the suspect sped off. Rather than chasing after the car, the officer called for backup.
Police say the car was traveling at speeds up to 100 miles per hour when it slammed into another car shortly after. The crash happened in between Copeland and North Elm Streets in Brockton. The person in the car that was struck was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
With the help of a K9 unit, Massachusetts State Police along with the West Bridgewater Police Department tracked one of the suspects to Samuel Avenue in West Bridgewater.
No arrests have been made at this time, but an arrest warrant has been issued.
Police said further details would be available when the suspect is in custody.
A woman was hospitalized Sunday morning with life threatening injuries after being struck and dragged by a vehicle in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.
Boston Police said the incident happened at 4:30 a.m. at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Peirson Street.
Authorities said four women had been near the Victoria Diner when two of them got into an altercation. One woman, Brianna Smith, of Dorchester, got into her vehicle and struck the victim, dragging her a considerable distance.
Police said a taxi driving in the area was unable to avoid Smith's vehicle and struck both it and the pedestrian.
The 29-year-old victim was taken to Boston Medical Center where she is said to be suffering from life threatening injuries.
Police said another victim in the group of women was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries as a precaution.
Smith was arrested and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and operating under the influence causing bodily injury. It was unclear if she has an attorney or when she will be arraigned on the charges.
Getting pulled over by the cops can be stressful, especially if one of the cops is shouting, cursing and threatening to sic a 90-pound dog on a motorist to rip the *bleep* out of him. The Atlantic City cop was dropping f-bombs all over the place, doing so at least 10 times in a one-minute, 20-second video clip of the traffic stop incident which was posted on Facebook.
I dont see how you could help but be offended by the video. If not by the cops spewing of foul-language, then by the threats the officer made.
It is unclear why the cops pulled over the young men, but one of the cops nuked out upon discovering the driver was using his phone to film them. One of the unidentified cops said, Listen theres two ways that this can go. Take that phone and stick it out of my face. Im not gonna tell you again.
The driver puts down the phone, which is still recording, and asked the cop that since he hadnt committed a crime, Whats the probable cause, bruh?
The cop mentioned that his camera is on so dont worry about it. Well, it is worrying on many different levels; after the drivers video of the encounter was leaked online, Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White ordered an Internal Affairs investigation. But if the cop, who is on paid administrative leave, did have his body cam turned on, then how many times has he acted like this in the past with the police department taking no action?
The cop started screaming, Im going to explain this one time and one time only. Its gonna go two ways; you can act like a gentleman and Im going to treat you like a gentleman. You frog the f**k up I guarantee you that 90-pound dog is gonna come out and gonna rip the f**k out of you.
While being screamed at and threatened by the cop, one of the guys stated, I dont want no problem, over and over.
But the cop was on a roll with the f-bombs and continued yelling that if your hand goes and disappears, Im gonna knock you the f**k out. Put your hand in my face and Im gonna knock you the f**k out. Im that f**king guy. You understand me? So calm the f**k down.
All right, sir, one of the young men replied.
The cop kept yelling, You feel me?
Yes, sir, was the calm reply.
Youll go away, the cop continued. Real cool.
Again, the passenger stated, Yes, sir.
Yet the cop didnt stop. You start acting like a f**king fool and I will drag you out of this f**king window. You understand?
The driver told his cuz to just be quiet before the passenger said to the cop, Youre right, sir; youre absolutely right, I apologize.
However, with the volume of his voice still high, the officer said, Im not disrespecting you. You wanna frog the f**k up? Ive got no problem. Well step outside and bang. I got no f**king problem.
One of the young men said it didnt need to go down like that. You dont gotta do all that; it dont have to be like that. He claimed all he was trying to do was grab his phone.
The cop claimed, Youre on lawful detention. Youre not allowed to have your cell phone. You understand? Youre not allowed to use it, so you can turn yours off right now. Otherwise, Im going to skip it right down
The video recording on the phone was shut off.
The Facebook version of the video has been viewed over a half-million times; 587,000 views at the time of publishing.
After the video was released online, the Atlantic City Police Department released a statement which said the Internal Affairs Section would immediately investigate the incident. The language and tone used by our officer in the video is concerning and is not condoned by this department. The officer involved was wearing a body worn camera which will be reviewed by detectives. The cop was placed on administrative assignment pending the outcome of the investigation.
If thats the way it goes down when getting pulled over in New Jersey, then people should know their rights and be sure to record the cops.
Cop allegedly threatened non-Trump supporters via social media
Unrelated in other than the abuse factor, another New Jersey cop, who happens to be a Trump supporter, used social media to allegedly threaten non-Trump supporters. He told a journalist to watch your back; told a congressman that he would get his butt kicked; and told a women to die b***h and go kill herself. The cop claimed his Twitter account was hacked and deleted it, but people have months of screenshots of similar vulgar and threatening messages. The matter is under internal review.
If nothing negative toward the officers is decided in either case, then who is going to watch the internal review watchers?
Clever collie keen to learn agility training
AN ACTIVE young collie is seeking an equally active new owner with a view to agility training.
Sweet youngster Lollie is a very active girl. She is searching for an equally active home with an owner who will keep her mentally and physically stimulated.
Lollie loves to make canine chums, and after a busy day playing, she enjoys chilling out on the sofa for snuggles.
Nicki Barrow, rehoming centre manager at Dogs Trust Newbury, said:
Nine-month-old Lollie is currently in a foster home, enjoying her home comforts, but she is looking for a permanent loving home. Her foster carer tells us that she has settled in extremely well.
Lollie is an affectionate girl who loves training shes a very clever Collie who has great potential to learn fly ball and agility.She is looking for an adult-only home, with four-legged friends to play with and show her the ropes.
Ideally, she would like owners who have breed experience, and a rural setting would be perfect for our countryside-loving lady.
If you are interested in giving Lollie a home, then please contact Dogs Trust Newbury, telephone 0300 303 0292 or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk. Given that Lollie is in foster care, please call in advance of visiting the rehoming centre.
Dogs Trust Newbury is located at Plumbs Farm, Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, Berks, RG20 0HR.
Dogs Trust is the UKs largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 15,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year through its network of 20 Rehoming Centres across the UK and one in Ireland.
Englefield Estate woodland ceremony
A JEWISH holiday was marked on Saturday by the ceremonial planting of a tree on the Englefield Estate.
Tu BShvat New Year of the Trees is a celebration of nature and the coming of spring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat.
Members of the Reading Liberal Jewish Community (RLJC) celebrated their 10th Tu BShvat by planting the tree in a wooded area on the estate, where they have planted a tree annually since 2007.
The estates forestry manager, Richard Edwards, who supplied a Scots pine, said: We are proud to support the RLJC with its annual celebrations and, over the years, they have planted a small woodland of trees, which is an impressive sight.
Noya Noble, of the RLJC, said the group was grateful to the estate.
She said: The planting, and sharing of fruits, always takes place on the designated day, regardless of weather.
In the past weve planted in the snow and heavy frost, as well as the occasional brilliant sunshine.
The Tu BShvat ceremony dates back to 70CE (Common Era), when the Jewish people left Jerusalem.
For more information about the RLJC, visit www.readingljc.org.uk
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: In what could speed up the rollout of the goods and services tax (tax) by July 1, 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-led GST Council met in Udaipur on Saturday and agreed on the draft of the compensation Bill that looks into how much states should be paid for the losses they would incur once GST is implemented. The compensation Bill is one of the four enabling laws under the GST constitutional amendment.
According to Jaitley, the remaining laws state GST, integrated GST (IGST) and central GST (CGST) will be cleared in the next meeting slated for March 4-5 in Delhi.
The GSTs compensation law states that if any state suffers loss it will be covered in the first five years. Its legally vetted draft came before the Council and was the first law formally passed, Jaitley said.
The next meeting of the GST Council will be held in Delhi on March 4-5 to give final touches to these laws. This will include the time for exemption for industry such as the works compensation for services and value-added tax, where they need to be categorised, what will be the definition of agriculture, etc.
The FM said that once all drafts are approved by the Council, those will be placed in Parliament. In Budget Sessions second half (that begins on March 9), all enabling laws under GST constitutional amendment should get approved, he noted.
The SGST law will go before the state legislature and come up at the March 4-5 meeting.
He added that after the March 4-5 meeting, officers would start slotting the commodities. We will require another major meeting to give approval to the specific items in each of the slabs.
Responding to a question of the power of the Comptroller and Audit General under GST, Jaitley said, CAG is already empowered to seek clarification from the state under CAG Act, the issue did come up and it was agreed that since the law exists there is no need to for separate laws.
According to Pratik Jain, partner and leader, Indirect tax, PwC, Once the laws are passed by the Council, the focus would shift to determination of GST rates on various products.
NEW DELHI: In what could speed up the rollout of the goods and services tax (tax) by July 1, 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-led GST Council met in Udaipur on Saturday and agreed on the draft of the compensation Bill that looks into how much states should be paid for the losses they would incur once GST is implemented. The compensation Bill is one of the four enabling laws under the GST constitutional amendment. According to Jaitley, the remaining laws state GST, integrated GST (IGST) and central GST (CGST) will be cleared in the next meeting slated for March 4-5 in Delhi. The GSTs compensation law states that if any state suffers loss it will be covered in the first five years. Its legally vetted draft came before the Council and was the first law formally passed, Jaitley said. The next meeting of the GST Council will be held in Delhi on March 4-5 to give final touches to these laws. This will include the time for exemption for industry such as the works compensation for services and value-added tax, where they need to be categorised, what will be the definition of agriculture, etc. The FM said that once all drafts are approved by the Council, those will be placed in Parliament. In Budget Sessions second half (that begins on March 9), all enabling laws under GST constitutional amendment should get approved, he noted. The SGST law will go before the state legislature and come up at the March 4-5 meeting. He added that after the March 4-5 meeting, officers would start slotting the commodities. We will require another major meeting to give approval to the specific items in each of the slabs. Responding to a question of the power of the Comptroller and Audit General under GST, Jaitley said, CAG is already empowered to seek clarification from the state under CAG Act, the issue did come up and it was agreed that since the law exists there is no need to for separate laws. According to Pratik Jain, partner and leader, Indirect tax, PwC, Once the laws are passed by the Council, the focus would shift to determination of GST rates on various products.
M Rajendran By
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With the government clearing the merger plan of State Bank of India (SBI) and its five associate banks State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad Indias largest bank is gearing up to become even larger.
While SBI plans to complete the merger in the next financial year, it will need to address a handful of issues including convincing trade unions which are opposed to the merger.
It will not help the employees or customers. The merged entity will be too unwieldy and prone to risk, said Rajen Nagar, president All India Bank Employees Association.
He said now that the Cabinet has decided to go ahead with the merger, all related unions have come together and a new course to oppose it will be taken on February 28. Nine major bank employees union have formed a United Forum of Bank Unions, which also includes existing major unions such s All India Bank Employees Association and All India Bank Officers Association.
When contacted for response, a senior official in the Department of Finance Services in the finance ministry told Express, It is not an issue to be discussed through the media. The government is open to hearing the unions concerns, which it will do in the greater interest of the employees of the banks.
The merger was announced last May 2016 and the central board of the bank approved the proposal in August along with the share swap ratio. The Union Cabinet put its stamp of approval on February 15, 2017.
After the merger, the new entity will have 23,899 branches and an employee strength of 2,71,765. The merged entity will have an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore with 22,500 branches, 58,000 ATMs and 50 crore customers. Currently SBI alone has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.
According to SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, the issues relating to the wages of the employees of the associate banks have been taken into account and employees wages would be protected as assured by the finance ministry.
Analysts representing the firms that are likely to advise SBI in the merger told Express, on condition of anonymity, that the preliminary examination of the balance sheets of the banks indicates good synergies in terms of treasury, offices, auditors and information technology infrastructure.
NEW DELHI: With the government clearing the merger plan of State Bank of India (SBI) and its five associate banks State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad Indias largest bank is gearing up to become even larger. While SBI plans to complete the merger in the next financial year, it will need to address a handful of issues including convincing trade unions which are opposed to the merger. It will not help the employees or customers. The merged entity will be too unwieldy and prone to risk, said Rajen Nagar, president All India Bank Employees Association. He said now that the Cabinet has decided to go ahead with the merger, all related unions have come together and a new course to oppose it will be taken on February 28. Nine major bank employees union have formed a United Forum of Bank Unions, which also includes existing major unions such s All India Bank Employees Association and All India Bank Officers Association. When contacted for response, a senior official in the Department of Finance Services in the finance ministry told Express, It is not an issue to be discussed through the media. The government is open to hearing the unions concerns, which it will do in the greater interest of the employees of the banks. The merger was announced last May 2016 and the central board of the bank approved the proposal in August along with the share swap ratio. The Union Cabinet put its stamp of approval on February 15, 2017. After the merger, the new entity will have 23,899 branches and an employee strength of 2,71,765. The merged entity will have an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore with 22,500 branches, 58,000 ATMs and 50 crore customers. Currently SBI alone has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries. According to SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, the issues relating to the wages of the employees of the associate banks have been taken into account and employees wages would be protected as assured by the finance ministry. Analysts representing the firms that are likely to advise SBI in the merger told Express, on condition of anonymity, that the preliminary examination of the balance sheets of the banks indicates good synergies in terms of treasury, offices, auditors and information technology infrastructure.
By PTI
NEW DELHI: UK's Vodafone and Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular are likely to finalise within a month the mega merger deal that will create India's largest telecom firm, according to sources.
"The companies are likely to announce a definitive signing agreement by February 24-25," says a source. "They are almost ready to sign the agreement and should not take more than a month to announce it," according to another source. However, both Vodafone and Idea declined to comment on the matter.
The British telecom major has brought its ex-India unit chief Marten Pieters to work on the proposed merger. Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao is also likely to brief all business heads of the Indian arm on a conference call next week about the proposed merger. If the deal is successful, the combined entity will create India's largest telecom firm with a revenue share of around 40 per cent and a subscriber base of over 380 million, according to India Ratings and Research.
The proposed merger of Vodafone India and Idea will create an entity with a revenue of around Rs 77,500-80,000 crore besides eliminating duplication of spectrum and infrastructure capex, the rating agency said in its report.
Further, the spectrum of Vodafone India in seven circles and that of Idea in two, whose permits are expiring in 2021-22, is together valued at around Rs 12,000 crore as per last auction price. These permits are not in common circles, and hence there could be potential spectrum capex synergies between the two companies, the report said.
However, given the present spectrum holding, revenue and subscriber base, both the companies need to work on synergy to comply with rules.
According to the merger and acquisition rules, an entity should not hold more than 25 per cent spectrum allocated in a telecom circle and 50 per cent on spectrum allocated in a particular band in a service area.
The merger entity should also not have more than 50 per cent revenue and subscriber market share. As per CLSA report, the merged entity would breach revenue market share, subscriber and spectrum caps in five markets. The combined entity as per present scenario will breach spectrum cap in 900 Mhz band in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Haryana and UP West and in 2500 Mhz band in Maharashtra and Gujarat, it said.
CLSA estimated that the excess spectrum which would need to be surrendered or sold off is valued around Rs 5,400 crore and for the merger both the companies will also have to shell out Rs 5,700 crore for liberalising radiowaves that they were allocated administratively.
NEW DELHI: UK's Vodafone and Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular are likely to finalise within a month the mega merger deal that will create India's largest telecom firm, according to sources. "The companies are likely to announce a definitive signing agreement by February 24-25," says a source. "They are almost ready to sign the agreement and should not take more than a month to announce it," according to another source. However, both Vodafone and Idea declined to comment on the matter. The British telecom major has brought its ex-India unit chief Marten Pieters to work on the proposed merger. Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao is also likely to brief all business heads of the Indian arm on a conference call next week about the proposed merger. If the deal is successful, the combined entity will create India's largest telecom firm with a revenue share of around 40 per cent and a subscriber base of over 380 million, according to India Ratings and Research. The proposed merger of Vodafone India and Idea will create an entity with a revenue of around Rs 77,500-80,000 crore besides eliminating duplication of spectrum and infrastructure capex, the rating agency said in its report. Further, the spectrum of Vodafone India in seven circles and that of Idea in two, whose permits are expiring in 2021-22, is together valued at around Rs 12,000 crore as per last auction price. These permits are not in common circles, and hence there could be potential spectrum capex synergies between the two companies, the report said. However, given the present spectrum holding, revenue and subscriber base, both the companies need to work on synergy to comply with rules. According to the merger and acquisition rules, an entity should not hold more than 25 per cent spectrum allocated in a telecom circle and 50 per cent on spectrum allocated in a particular band in a service area. The merger entity should also not have more than 50 per cent revenue and subscriber market share. As per CLSA report, the merged entity would breach revenue market share, subscriber and spectrum caps in five markets. The combined entity as per present scenario will breach spectrum cap in 900 Mhz band in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Haryana and UP West and in 2500 Mhz band in Maharashtra and Gujarat, it said. CLSA estimated that the excess spectrum which would need to be surrendered or sold off is valued around Rs 5,400 crore and for the merger both the companies will also have to shell out Rs 5,700 crore for liberalising radiowaves that they were allocated administratively.
Jayendra Chaitanya T By
Express News Service
HYDERABAD: A group of around 300 students from the twin Telugu states, who were earlier issued deportation orders by the Immigration New Zealand authorities allegedly for producing fraudulent papers to get a visa, has claimed ignorance. The Indian students maintained that the fraudulent documents in their student visa applications were prepared on their behalf by unscrupulous education agents in India.
When contacted, Sunil Chinta, a student from Hyderabad, who is also about to be sent back from New Zealand, said that a group of 10 students are protesting the decision of the INZ authorities.
There are nearly 370 Indian students and 300 are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. We are 10 people fighting against deportation from last eight months. Students are worried about their reputation at home, as they cannot reveal the problem they are facing with their family members, he shared.
When asked about the response from Indian Embassy, Sunil said, They never responded to the issue. Several students are afraid of informing their parents about the issue. I told my parents about the issue, but several did not.
Sunil said that the educational consultancies submitted fake documents of bank balance without their knowledge and did not inform the students in fear of losing their commission.
There are different consultancies responsible for this. Meanwhile, a record of the New Zealand government said there are 58 such consultants in India, who are indulging in a similar fraudulent process. The Immigration officials knew about the fraud when they verified bank records, he said.
HYDERABAD: A group of around 300 students from the twin Telugu states, who were earlier issued deportation orders by the Immigration New Zealand authorities allegedly for producing fraudulent papers to get a visa, has claimed ignorance. The Indian students maintained that the fraudulent documents in their student visa applications were prepared on their behalf by unscrupulous education agents in India. When contacted, Sunil Chinta, a student from Hyderabad, who is also about to be sent back from New Zealand, said that a group of 10 students are protesting the decision of the INZ authorities. There are nearly 370 Indian students and 300 are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. We are 10 people fighting against deportation from last eight months. Students are worried about their reputation at home, as they cannot reveal the problem they are facing with their family members, he shared. When asked about the response from Indian Embassy, Sunil said, They never responded to the issue. Several students are afraid of informing their parents about the issue. I told my parents about the issue, but several did not. Sunil said that the educational consultancies submitted fake documents of bank balance without their knowledge and did not inform the students in fear of losing their commission. There are different consultancies responsible for this. Meanwhile, a record of the New Zealand government said there are 58 such consultants in India, who are indulging in a similar fraudulent process. The Immigration officials knew about the fraud when they verified bank records, he said.
P Ramdas By
Express News Service
KOCHI: The NIA team investigating the case related to the radicalisation of Kerala youths by terror groups, has found key accused Shajeer Mangalassery had created a group titled The Gate on the Telegram app for coordinating terror activities in South India.
Shajeer, a hardcore ISIS ideologist, is the 13th accused in the Kanakamala secret terror camp case. Earlier, the agency had arraigned seven persons as accused in the case.
Shajeer is suspected to be fighting for the IS in the Nagarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He was one of the leaders of the South Indian module of the IS, which was busted at Kanakamala.
Holed up in the IS stronghold in Afghanistan, he had been in contact with the IS operatives in Kerala through Telegram and regularly posted comments on his Facebook page.
According to an NIA officer, seven Telegram groups were created by the local IS activists, and their administrators are different persons.
Currently, the agency is trying to retrieve information from the accounts.
KOCHI: The NIA team investigating the case related to the radicalisation of Kerala youths by terror groups, has found key accused Shajeer Mangalassery had created a group titled The Gate on the Telegram app for coordinating terror activities in South India. Shajeer, a hardcore ISIS ideologist, is the 13th accused in the Kanakamala secret terror camp case. Earlier, the agency had arraigned seven persons as accused in the case. Shajeer is suspected to be fighting for the IS in the Nagarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He was one of the leaders of the South Indian module of the IS, which was busted at Kanakamala. Holed up in the IS stronghold in Afghanistan, he had been in contact with the IS operatives in Kerala through Telegram and regularly posted comments on his Facebook page. According to an NIA officer, seven Telegram groups were created by the local IS activists, and their administrators are different persons. Currently, the agency is trying to retrieve information from the accounts.
By Express News Service
KOCHI: An all-women team of the Indian Navy will embark on circumnavigation of the globe in August, to become the first all-women crew to take up such a challenging task in the country.
The expedition will be carried out on INSV Tarini, the sail boat that was inducted into the Navy on Sunday at INS Mandovi Boat Pool in Goa. It is a sloop built by Aquarius Shipyard at Divar in Goa. After inducting Tarini, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba said the crew had logged over 10,000 nautical miles on INSV Mhadei, including a voyage to Mauritius and another from Goa to Cape Town braving the rough seas and heavy wind.
The boat is skippered by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The crew include Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, Lieutenant Patarapalli Swathi, Lieutenant Sh Vijaya Devi and Lieutenant Payal Gupta.
The dignitaries who attended the ceremony were briefed about the advanced features of INSV Tarini.
On completion of the ceremony, the crew sailed the boat out of the harbour, displaying its agile handling capabilities.
The keel of the vessel was laid at the Aquarius Shipyard on March 27, 2016. The builder delivered the vessel before the scheduled date.
KOCHI: An all-women team of the Indian Navy will embark on circumnavigation of the globe in August, to become the first all-women crew to take up such a challenging task in the country. The expedition will be carried out on INSV Tarini, the sail boat that was inducted into the Navy on Sunday at INS Mandovi Boat Pool in Goa. It is a sloop built by Aquarius Shipyard at Divar in Goa. After inducting Tarini, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba said the crew had logged over 10,000 nautical miles on INSV Mhadei, including a voyage to Mauritius and another from Goa to Cape Town braving the rough seas and heavy wind. The boat is skippered by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The crew include Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, Lieutenant Patarapalli Swathi, Lieutenant Sh Vijaya Devi and Lieutenant Payal Gupta. The dignitaries who attended the ceremony were briefed about the advanced features of INSV Tarini. On completion of the ceremony, the crew sailed the boat out of the harbour, displaying its agile handling capabilities. The keel of the vessel was laid at the Aquarius Shipyard on March 27, 2016. The builder delivered the vessel before the scheduled date.
By ANI
NEW DELHI: Like always, Khiladi Kumar has managed to give a good competition to the Khans as his recent release Jolly LLB 2 was received well, despite releasing on a normal weekend, unlike SRKs Raees.
A satire on India's legal system, the flick has earned over Rs. 80 crore in the first week of its release.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, #JollyLLB2 continues to dominate, despite new releases... [Week 2] Fri 4.14 cr. Total: Rs. 81.85 cr. India biz... Strong Weekend 2 on cards!
#JollyLLB2 continues to dominate, despite new releases... [Week 2] Fri 4.14 cr. Total: 81.85 cr. India biz... Strong Weekend 2 on cards! taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 18, 2017
Also, the Subhash Kapoor-directorial went past Singh Is Bling (Rs. 77.60 crore) to become Akshay's fifth biggest opening week of all time.
NEW DELHI: Like always, Khiladi Kumar has managed to give a good competition to the Khans as his recent release Jolly LLB 2 was received well, despite releasing on a normal weekend, unlike SRKs Raees. A satire on India's legal system, the flick has earned over Rs. 80 crore in the first week of its release. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, #JollyLLB2 continues to dominate, despite new releases... [Week 2] Fri 4.14 cr. Total: Rs. 81.85 cr. India biz... Strong Weekend 2 on cards! #JollyLLB2 continues to dominate, despite new releases... [Week 2] Fri 4.14 cr. Total: 81.85 cr. India biz... Strong Weekend 2 on cards! taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 18, 2017 Also, the Subhash Kapoor-directorial went past Singh Is Bling (Rs. 77.60 crore) to become Akshay's fifth biggest opening week of all time.
Vinodhini By
Deep in the forests of the Nilgiris, well beyond the reach of automobiles, tribals walk in search of beehives to tap honey. They instinctively know which hive needs to be tapped and which one is to be left alone.
They zero in on a hive that lies on a 300-foot cliff overlooking a sea of green thick forests 2,000 feet below. While undoing a ladder made of vine, a member decides to climb up the cliff holding a smoker to make the bees dizzy, a knife and a cantilevered six-foot pole with a container to collect the honey. After waiting for the smoker to play its part, he nimbly cuts of the hive and keeps it in the basket.
The honey is filtered and not treated with preservatives.
Sridhar Lakshmanan and his team of six that run Ecologin, a social entrepreneurial venture, sell this raw, untreated honey that preserves its natural medicinal properties. The group preserves the indigenous art of tribals that might face extinction, if not nurtured.
The honey that we sell is pure and raw, better than the industrial honey where bees are reared by feeding sugar water and antibiotics. Though it is difficult to guarantee that the nectar consumed by the bees producing honey naturally in forests is free of chemicals, ours is a more natural procedure of collecting honey. The bees are not killed or deprived of their food. They go back to collecting nectar once the process of extraction is over, says Tamil Nadu-based Lakshmanan, who founded Ecologin in 2009 to promote eco-tourism.
After providing a natural holiday experience to tourists without damaging the environment, it ventured into marketing and selling tribal producefrom embroidered garments and shawls to ornamental itemsto provide a mode of earning to scheduled castes and tribes.
Tribals were selling honey to passers-by and tourists. There is less awareness about commercially produced honey, and the purity and benefits of wild forest honey. They could not get a good price all the time, says the 40-year-old, who got into the honey business in 2014. We have obtained a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and want to make people aware of this product and hand over the benefits to the tribal community.
Lakshmanans team, which has received training from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, engages with tribals in obtaining honey and takes care of transportation, storage, distribution, sales, accounting and marketing. Ecologin sells four types of honeyDammer Bee honey, Indian Bee honey, Little Bee honey and Rock Bee honeywhich have a refreshing natural flavour of eucalyptus in the Nilgiris and the medicinal blend of Javadhu hills of Tamil Nadu.
In the three years of starting, honey worth Rs 50 lakh has been sold. A half litre of honey is priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,300. The Ecologin team hopes that the business will help save the Dammer and the Rock Bee species, which are dwindling in number due to construction and noise pollution, says Lakshmanan.
The supply of honey is not steady throughout the year. It varies according the weather and rainfall patterns.
Our sales have mainly happened through social media, by word of mouth and stalls in events, says Lakshmanan.
He is planning to expand the business to other parts of the country.
He is in talks with tribes in north-eastern states through whom he wants to scale up the business and keep the supply steady throughout the year.
We are planning to register the tribal groups as producer companies so that there is a formal structure and they will be assured of their share for the effort they put in, adds Lakshmanan.
Deep in the forests of the Nilgiris, well beyond the reach of automobiles, tribals walk in search of beehives to tap honey. They instinctively know which hive needs to be tapped and which one is to be left alone. They zero in on a hive that lies on a 300-foot cliff overlooking a sea of green thick forests 2,000 feet below. While undoing a ladder made of vine, a member decides to climb up the cliff holding a smoker to make the bees dizzy, a knife and a cantilevered six-foot pole with a container to collect the honey. After waiting for the smoker to play its part, he nimbly cuts of the hive and keeps it in the basket. The honey is filtered and not treated with preservatives. Sridhar Lakshmanan and his team of six that run Ecologin, a social entrepreneurial venture, sell this raw, untreated honey that preserves its natural medicinal properties. The group preserves the indigenous art of tribals that might face extinction, if not nurtured. The honey that we sell is pure and raw, better than the industrial honey where bees are reared by feeding sugar water and antibiotics. Though it is difficult to guarantee that the nectar consumed by the bees producing honey naturally in forests is free of chemicals, ours is a more natural procedure of collecting honey. The bees are not killed or deprived of their food. They go back to collecting nectar once the process of extraction is over, says Tamil Nadu-based Lakshmanan, who founded Ecologin in 2009 to promote eco-tourism. After providing a natural holiday experience to tourists without damaging the environment, it ventured into marketing and selling tribal producefrom embroidered garments and shawls to ornamental itemsto provide a mode of earning to scheduled castes and tribes. Tribals were selling honey to passers-by and tourists. There is less awareness about commercially produced honey, and the purity and benefits of wild forest honey. They could not get a good price all the time, says the 40-year-old, who got into the honey business in 2014. We have obtained a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and want to make people aware of this product and hand over the benefits to the tribal community. Lakshmanans team, which has received training from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, engages with tribals in obtaining honey and takes care of transportation, storage, distribution, sales, accounting and marketing. Ecologin sells four types of honeyDammer Bee honey, Indian Bee honey, Little Bee honey and Rock Bee honeywhich have a refreshing natural flavour of eucalyptus in the Nilgiris and the medicinal blend of Javadhu hills of Tamil Nadu. In the three years of starting, honey worth Rs 50 lakh has been sold. A half litre of honey is priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,300. The Ecologin team hopes that the business will help save the Dammer and the Rock Bee species, which are dwindling in number due to construction and noise pollution, says Lakshmanan. The supply of honey is not steady throughout the year. It varies according the weather and rainfall patterns. Our sales have mainly happened through social media, by word of mouth and stalls in events, says Lakshmanan. He is planning to expand the business to other parts of the country. He is in talks with tribes in north-eastern states through whom he wants to scale up the business and keep the supply steady throughout the year. We are planning to register the tribal groups as producer companies so that there is a formal structure and they will be assured of their share for the effort they put in, adds Lakshmanan.
By IANS
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday donated Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila's party Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRAJA) and also urged the people to donate generously and support her.
"Please donate generously to Irom Sharmila," Kejriwal tweeted.
"I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her (Irom Sharmila) and appeal to everyone to support her," he said in another tweet.
Sharmila had last year ended a 16-year fast in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur and had said that she would contest elections to continue her movement politically.
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday donated Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila's party Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRAJA) and also urged the people to donate generously and support her. "Please donate generously to Irom Sharmila," Kejriwal tweeted. "I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her (Irom Sharmila) and appeal to everyone to support her," he said in another tweet. Sharmila had last year ended a 16-year fast in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur and had said that she would contest elections to continue her movement politically.
Prasanta Mazumdar By
Express News Service
GUWAHATI: Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang has resigned but the political and social unrest in the state is far from over.
Zeliang, accompanied by several of his senior Cabinet colleagues, submitted his resignation to the Governor of Nagaland P.B. Acharya.
Acharya accepted the resignation of Zeliang, but asked him "to continue in office till an alternative arrangement is made."
I, T R Zeliang, have decided to step down from office. And to select a new consensus leader to succeed me, I hereby call for an emergency meeting of the NPF (Naga Peoples Front) Legislature Party at 10 am tomorrow (Monday) at State Banquet Hall (in Kohima), he said in a statement on Sunday evening.
The NPF Legislature Party meeting will be followed by a meeting of ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Legislature Party at the same venue. DAN enjoys the support of all 60 members in the House - 48 from NPF, four from BJP and eight independents.
Zeliang requested the NPF MLAs to attend the legislature party meeting to ensure smooth transition of office but the process is likely to throw up more trouble. Former chief minister Neiphiu Rio, who is currently a member of the Lok Sabha, and NPF president Shurhozelie Liezietsu were in the race for chief ministers post. But the MLAs are insisting on the appointment of a sitting member of the House as CM. Given their stand, tempers are likely to be frayed during Mondays meetings.
Meanwhile, the MLAs, who had sneaked out of Kohima on Friday night and stayed in resorts near the wildlife of Kaziranga, some 200 km away in Assam allegedly at the behest of Rio, returned to Kohima on Sunday.
The political instability in the state was triggered by a social unrest after the Zeliang government had gone ahead with elections to civic bodies with 33 per cent reservation of seats for women. Some influential tribal organisations were opposed to the polls arguing that quota would infringe upon Article 371(A) of the Constitution which commits to protect Naga customary laws and rights. The Naga society is thoroughly patriarchal.
Earlier, the tribal organisations directed Zeliang to resign and set a deadline for it. When he refused to do so, they enforced an indefinite bandh. Subsequently, they directed the NPF MLAs to step down or face public boycott in next years election. It was then that the MLAs started looking for a substitute for Zeliang.
(With inputs from IANS)
GUWAHATI: Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang has resigned but the political and social unrest in the state is far from over. Zeliang, accompanied by several of his senior Cabinet colleagues, submitted his resignation to the Governor of Nagaland P.B. Acharya. Acharya accepted the resignation of Zeliang, but asked him "to continue in office till an alternative arrangement is made." I, T R Zeliang, have decided to step down from office. And to select a new consensus leader to succeed me, I hereby call for an emergency meeting of the NPF (Naga Peoples Front) Legislature Party at 10 am tomorrow (Monday) at State Banquet Hall (in Kohima), he said in a statement on Sunday evening. The NPF Legislature Party meeting will be followed by a meeting of ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Legislature Party at the same venue. DAN enjoys the support of all 60 members in the House - 48 from NPF, four from BJP and eight independents. Zeliang requested the NPF MLAs to attend the legislature party meeting to ensure smooth transition of office but the process is likely to throw up more trouble. Former chief minister Neiphiu Rio, who is currently a member of the Lok Sabha, and NPF president Shurhozelie Liezietsu were in the race for chief ministers post. But the MLAs are insisting on the appointment of a sitting member of the House as CM. Given their stand, tempers are likely to be frayed during Mondays meetings. Meanwhile, the MLAs, who had sneaked out of Kohima on Friday night and stayed in resorts near the wildlife of Kaziranga, some 200 km away in Assam allegedly at the behest of Rio, returned to Kohima on Sunday. The political instability in the state was triggered by a social unrest after the Zeliang government had gone ahead with elections to civic bodies with 33 per cent reservation of seats for women. Some influential tribal organisations were opposed to the polls arguing that quota would infringe upon Article 371(A) of the Constitution which commits to protect Naga customary laws and rights. The Naga society is thoroughly patriarchal. Earlier, the tribal organisations directed Zeliang to resign and set a deadline for it. When he refused to do so, they enforced an indefinite bandh. Subsequently, they directed the NPF MLAs to step down or face public boycott in next years election. It was then that the MLAs started looking for a substitute for Zeliang.(With inputs from IANS)
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: A senior Union Home Ministry official has slammed the Delhi police for framing two youths from Jammu and Kashmir in the serial blasts case ahead of Diwali in 2005 and has also raised a question mark on the kind of policing and criminal justice system in the country.
Senior IPS officer and Joint Secretary (North East) in the Home Ministry Satyendra Garg took to the facebook to slam the shoddy investigations by the Delhi police in the 2005 terror case.
"If you are in jail for more than 11 years for a crime which court finds you have not done, you must be sick of the system. I try to imagine the mental states of two persons arrested for 2005 Delhi blasts, who spent 11 long years in Jail and now the court clears them of all charges, one wonders the type of policing we have, the type of criminal justice system we have where innocents can be made to spend as much as 11 years in Jail," Garg said in his comment posted on the facebook page
This is the first time a senior serving police officer has spoken about the injustice meted out to the two youths wrongly implicated in terror cases on flimsy grounds and false charges.
After wasting 12 long years in Tihar jail here, the two -- Mohammad Rafiq Shah and Mohammad Hussain Fazli -- were acquitted earlier this week by a Delhi court that ruled the evidence against them were "fabricated and flimsy".
Rafiq was attending classes at a college in Kashmir but the Delhi Police claimed that he planted a bomb at a Delhi bus stand. Fazli, a shawl vendor in Srinagar, was arrested the same day by the police in the case.
NEW DELHI: A senior Union Home Ministry official has slammed the Delhi police for framing two youths from Jammu and Kashmir in the serial blasts case ahead of Diwali in 2005 and has also raised a question mark on the kind of policing and criminal justice system in the country. Senior IPS officer and Joint Secretary (North East) in the Home Ministry Satyendra Garg took to the facebook to slam the shoddy investigations by the Delhi police in the 2005 terror case. "If you are in jail for more than 11 years for a crime which court finds you have not done, you must be sick of the system. I try to imagine the mental states of two persons arrested for 2005 Delhi blasts, who spent 11 long years in Jail and now the court clears them of all charges, one wonders the type of policing we have, the type of criminal justice system we have where innocents can be made to spend as much as 11 years in Jail," Garg said in his comment posted on the facebook page This is the first time a senior serving police officer has spoken about the injustice meted out to the two youths wrongly implicated in terror cases on flimsy grounds and false charges. After wasting 12 long years in Tihar jail here, the two -- Mohammad Rafiq Shah and Mohammad Hussain Fazli -- were acquitted earlier this week by a Delhi court that ruled the evidence against them were "fabricated and flimsy". Rafiq was attending classes at a college in Kashmir but the Delhi Police claimed that he planted a bomb at a Delhi bus stand. Fazli, a shawl vendor in Srinagar, was arrested the same day by the police in the case.
By ANI
SAIFAI: As the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections concluded with 61.16 percent voter turnout, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Sunday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the stone pelting incident during his motorcade that took place in Jaswantnagar city.
Shivpal said, The attack on the motorcade was a conspiracy by a BJP candidate from Jaswantnagar.
The incident took place earlier today at Etawah districts Katiapur village.
Shivpal also informed that people were lathi-charged by the police during the voting process, without any specific reason.
Everything was proceeding smoothly in Jaswantnagar. The pooling was taking place peacefully but, the police baton charged people without any reason. Women, children suffered injuries. There was no commotion during the polls process, yet they were lathi-charged. The district administration is to be blamed, he said.
Jaswantnagar is considered to be the stronghold of the ruling Samajwadi Party. Shivpal Yadav has been elected four times from the constituency.
Earlier, the Samajwadi party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav used to contest from the Jaswantnagar constituency.
With over 826 candidates from 105 political parties contesting for 69 seats, polling began on Sunday morning for the crucial third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.
The districts that went to polls in this phase are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur and Barabanki.
SAIFAI: As the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections concluded with 61.16 percent voter turnout, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Sunday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the stone pelting incident during his motorcade that took place in Jaswantnagar city. Shivpal said, The attack on the motorcade was a conspiracy by a BJP candidate from Jaswantnagar. The incident took place earlier today at Etawah districts Katiapur village. Shivpal also informed that people were lathi-charged by the police during the voting process, without any specific reason. Everything was proceeding smoothly in Jaswantnagar. The pooling was taking place peacefully but, the police baton charged people without any reason. Women, children suffered injuries. There was no commotion during the polls process, yet they were lathi-charged. The district administration is to be blamed, he said. Jaswantnagar is considered to be the stronghold of the ruling Samajwadi Party. Shivpal Yadav has been elected four times from the constituency. Earlier, the Samajwadi party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav used to contest from the Jaswantnagar constituency. With over 826 candidates from 105 political parties contesting for 69 seats, polling began on Sunday morning for the crucial third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. The districts that went to polls in this phase are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur and Barabanki.
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has declined a plea by a Pakistani national seeking extension of visa to stay in India, saying it is a call to be taken by the Executive.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said it cannot allow the request of Syed Waseem Ur Rehman, a Sufi cleric, who had approached the apex court against a Bombay High Court order asking him and his wife to leave India.
"That (extension of visa) will be a call to be taken by the Executive. We cannot extend visa if the government is not doing it," the bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Mohan M Shantanagoudar, said.
Rehman's lawyer had pleaded to the bench that the government be asked to take a "compassionate view" in the matter as there was no adverse report against him or his wife.
The counsel had also argued that since Rehman is practising Sufism, there is a threat to him in Pakistan.
The apex court did not accept the contentions and said it was for the government to take such a decision.
His counsel had also contended that Rehman should be granted time to make a representation before the government in the matter but the bench said, "We cannot allow it."
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, representing the Centre, opposed the plea and told the bench that the couple had given an undertaking before the high court that they would leave India.
The couple have been staying in India since October 2010.
The high court had dismissed their plea against last year's order of Mumbai's foreigner regional registration officer who had refused to extend their visa.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has declined a plea by a Pakistani national seeking extension of visa to stay in India, saying it is a call to be taken by the Executive. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said it cannot allow the request of Syed Waseem Ur Rehman, a Sufi cleric, who had approached the apex court against a Bombay High Court order asking him and his wife to leave India. "That (extension of visa) will be a call to be taken by the Executive. We cannot extend visa if the government is not doing it," the bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Mohan M Shantanagoudar, said. Rehman's lawyer had pleaded to the bench that the government be asked to take a "compassionate view" in the matter as there was no adverse report against him or his wife. The counsel had also argued that since Rehman is practising Sufism, there is a threat to him in Pakistan. The apex court did not accept the contentions and said it was for the government to take such a decision. His counsel had also contended that Rehman should be granted time to make a representation before the government in the matter but the bench said, "We cannot allow it." Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, representing the Centre, opposed the plea and told the bench that the couple had given an undertaking before the high court that they would leave India. The couple have been staying in India since October 2010. The high court had dismissed their plea against last year's order of Mumbai's foreigner regional registration officer who had refused to extend their visa.
By Online Desk
LUCKNOW: A total of 61.16 percent voter turnout was recorded as voting ended in the third phase of the ongoing assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Till 3 p.m., the turnout was estimated to be 53 percent.
With over 826 candidates from 105 political parties contesting for 69 seats, polling began on Sunday morning for the crucial third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.
The districts that went to polling in this phase are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur and Barabanki.
There were 2 crore and 41 lakh voters, including over 1 crore 10 lakh women and 1028 third gender who decided the political fate of 826 candidates including 105 women in the fray.
Sixteen thousand 681 polling centers and 25 thousand 607 polling stations were erected for polling.
Elaborate security arrangements were made for the smooth functioning of the polling process.
Stray incidents of violence - firing, preventing some from voting and stone pelting - were reported from some places though voting has been by and large peaceful in most constituencies.
Besides BSP supremo Mayawati, Home Minister Rajnath Singh with his family cast their votes in Lucknow while Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah).
Singh's Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow, and SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah, figure in this round.
Also, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, accompanied by his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, has cast his vote at Saifai.
"Developmental work has been done in UP and Akhilesh will once again be the CM," he said.
The party patriarch also added that Shivpal Yadav would win by a large margin.
Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav and MP from the Kanauj district, said that the ongoing election should be about the state's progress.
On the other hand, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj cast his vote in Unnao.
ALSO READ: Stone pelting on Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav's motorcade
In Kanpur, 20.68 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 11 AM. The polling began slowly but picked up pace later. At some polling booths, there were reports of minor skirmishes between supporters of the candidates.
Singh's Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow and SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah figure in this round.
Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur are among the 12 districts where these Assembly seats are spread.
Etawah is the native place of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, while another key district is Mainpuri from where Tej Pratap Yadav is an SP MP. From Kannauj, Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh, is an MP.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while BSP, BJP and Congress secured just six, five and two respectively. One seat went to an Independent.
The fate of 826 candidates in this phase will be decided by 2.41 crore voters, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 persons belonging to third gender category.
In this phase, the maximum number of 4,98,573 voters are in Sarojini Nagar seat of Lucknow, while the minimum of 2,72,294 voters are in Sisamau.
The highest number of 21 candidates are in Etawah, while the minimum of three candidates are in Haidergarh (Barabanki).
Lucknow West and Central have 17 candidates each.
There are 25,603 polling booths in this phase.
For free and fair polling, the Election Commission has appointed 4,609 micro-observers and 61 general observers and deployed over 83,000 personnel of central paramilitary forces.
Besides this, 9,119 sub-inspectors of police, 3,357 head constables, 58,789 constables and 58,025 homeguards of state police are on duty today.
There are 1,707 sector magistrates, 200 zonal and 271 static magistrates to ensure peace.
Prominent among those whose prestige is at stake are Nitin Agarwal, son of SP leader Naresh Agarwal, BSP turncoat Brijesh Pathak from Lucknow (Central) on BJP ticket and Congress turncoat Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Cantt who is pitted against Mulayam's daughter-in-law Aparna.
SP leader Shivpal is also a key figure in this round. He is contesting from Jaswant Nagar seat.
Congress leader PL Punia's son Tanuj Punia is trying his luck from Jaidpur seat in Barabanki.
In 2012 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout in these areas was 59.96 per cent and 58.43 per cent respectively.
The next four phases of polling will be held on February 23, 27 and on March 4 and 8. Counting of votes will take place on March 11.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
LUCKNOW: A total of 61.16 percent voter turnout was recorded as voting ended in the third phase of the ongoing assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Till 3 p.m., the turnout was estimated to be 53 percent. With over 826 candidates from 105 political parties contesting for 69 seats, polling began on Sunday morning for the crucial third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. The districts that went to polling in this phase are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur and Barabanki. There were 2 crore and 41 lakh voters, including over 1 crore 10 lakh women and 1028 third gender who decided the political fate of 826 candidates including 105 women in the fray. Sixteen thousand 681 polling centers and 25 thousand 607 polling stations were erected for polling. Elaborate security arrangements were made for the smooth functioning of the polling process. Stray incidents of violence - firing, preventing some from voting and stone pelting - were reported from some places though voting has been by and large peaceful in most constituencies. Besides BSP supremo Mayawati, Home Minister Rajnath Singh with his family cast their votes in Lucknow while Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah). Singh's Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow, and SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah, figure in this round. Also, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, accompanied by his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, has cast his vote at Saifai. "Developmental work has been done in UP and Akhilesh will once again be the CM," he said. The party patriarch also added that Shivpal Yadav would win by a large margin. Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav and MP from the Kanauj district, said that the ongoing election should be about the state's progress. On the other hand, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj cast his vote in Unnao. ALSO READ: Stone pelting on Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav's motorcade In Kanpur, 20.68 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 11 AM. The polling began slowly but picked up pace later. At some polling booths, there were reports of minor skirmishes between supporters of the candidates. Singh's Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow and SP strongholds Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah figure in this round. Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur are among the 12 districts where these Assembly seats are spread. Etawah is the native place of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, while another key district is Mainpuri from where Tej Pratap Yadav is an SP MP. From Kannauj, Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh, is an MP. In the 2012 Assembly polls, SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while BSP, BJP and Congress secured just six, five and two respectively. One seat went to an Independent. The fate of 826 candidates in this phase will be decided by 2.41 crore voters, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 persons belonging to third gender category. In this phase, the maximum number of 4,98,573 voters are in Sarojini Nagar seat of Lucknow, while the minimum of 2,72,294 voters are in Sisamau. The highest number of 21 candidates are in Etawah, while the minimum of three candidates are in Haidergarh (Barabanki). Lucknow West and Central have 17 candidates each. There are 25,603 polling booths in this phase. For free and fair polling, the Election Commission has appointed 4,609 micro-observers and 61 general observers and deployed over 83,000 personnel of central paramilitary forces. Besides this, 9,119 sub-inspectors of police, 3,357 head constables, 58,789 constables and 58,025 homeguards of state police are on duty today. There are 1,707 sector magistrates, 200 zonal and 271 static magistrates to ensure peace. Prominent among those whose prestige is at stake are Nitin Agarwal, son of SP leader Naresh Agarwal, BSP turncoat Brijesh Pathak from Lucknow (Central) on BJP ticket and Congress turncoat Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Cantt who is pitted against Mulayam's daughter-in-law Aparna. SP leader Shivpal is also a key figure in this round. He is contesting from Jaswant Nagar seat. Congress leader PL Punia's son Tanuj Punia is trying his luck from Jaidpur seat in Barabanki. In 2012 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout in these areas was 59.96 per cent and 58.43 per cent respectively. The next four phases of polling will be held on February 23, 27 and on March 4 and 8. Counting of votes will take place on March 11. (With Inputs from Agencies)
Ravi Shankar By
Justice is blind. The enforcers of justice, however, are cockeyed. Over a decade after the 2005 bombings in Delhi in which 67 died, the court acquitted two men last week, lamenting that the prosecution had miserably failed.
One of the accused was freed because he had spent 10 years in jailthe maximum sentence for such cases involving terrorism. Ten years for 67 livesnot even a year per victim! Thousands skirt judgment day simply because the police dont get the facts right.
With outdated laws and shoddy police investigation, justice is rarely served, and the ghosts of the innocent haunt the wasteland of blood-splattered history without hope of retribution.
In India, as in many other countries, which follow the outdated colonial law enforcement system, police regularly botch up investigations. The nexus between cops and powerful politicians is darkly symbiotic. Former Bihar MP Shahabuddin was shifted to Delhis Tihar maximum security jail because he ruled Siwan, his bloody playground, through fear. The police have been unable to protect witnessesmany have been murdered, and some are too terrified to testify. In Uttar Pradesh, victims of murder and gang-rape, witnesses to political murders, and social workers are routinely murdered by gangsters in the pay of powerful politicians and landowners. It took a Supreme Court order to the UP Police for an FIR to be filed against minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati for rape.
Money and votes are the usual catalysts of violent death, and the police is an instrument to protect the powerful with dodgy investigations. The judiciary is helpless, because the law requires proof. Policemen get rough reprimands from courts, and that is as far as justice goes. In many cases, upright officers are transferred for looking too closely at criminal activities. Innocents are framed, the disadvantaged are intimidated and evidence goes missing from police laboratories. Even in cases, which have become cause celebressuch as the Sheena Bora murder, the Malegaon blasts, the Jessica Lal killing and othersenough evidence was not collected. Public opinion influenced verdicts in the Jessica Lal killing and the Aarushi Talwar affairnot the ideal way to bring criminals to justice.
The roots of this scandalous state of affairs lie in the origins of the Indian police force. British historian David Arnold noted that the Indian police had an unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration. The Indian Police Service started as lawkeepers who had to even raise their own salaries from the people they were supposed to protect. This not only led to massive corruption, but also made policemen puppets of powerful zamindars and local despots. They were controlled by colonial masters hostile to the native population after the 1857 MutinyThe Police Act, 1861, and Indian Penal Code were passed in British Parliament to set up a dedicated force to crush freedom fighters. In Independent India, the system remains unchanged, though rulers have changed. The police still prey on the weak and prosecute the innocent. They arrest opponents of the ruling parties and act as enforcers for criminal leaders.
Police reform must be driven by governments with the will to protect the truth. Rulers cannot own the truth but have to be its subjects. The police should be more than just the arm of the law, but a moral force to bring justice for all.
Ravi Shankar
ravi@newindianexpress.com
Justice is blind. The enforcers of justice, however, are cockeyed. Over a decade after the 2005 bombings in Delhi in which 67 died, the court acquitted two men last week, lamenting that the prosecution had miserably failed. One of the accused was freed because he had spent 10 years in jailthe maximum sentence for such cases involving terrorism. Ten years for 67 livesnot even a year per victim! Thousands skirt judgment day simply because the police dont get the facts right. With outdated laws and shoddy police investigation, justice is rarely served, and the ghosts of the innocent haunt the wasteland of blood-splattered history without hope of retribution. In India, as in many other countries, which follow the outdated colonial law enforcement system, police regularly botch up investigations. The nexus between cops and powerful politicians is darkly symbiotic. Former Bihar MP Shahabuddin was shifted to Delhis Tihar maximum security jail because he ruled Siwan, his bloody playground, through fear. The police have been unable to protect witnessesmany have been murdered, and some are too terrified to testify. In Uttar Pradesh, victims of murder and gang-rape, witnesses to political murders, and social workers are routinely murdered by gangsters in the pay of powerful politicians and landowners. It took a Supreme Court order to the UP Police for an FIR to be filed against minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati for rape. Money and votes are the usual catalysts of violent death, and the police is an instrument to protect the powerful with dodgy investigations. The judiciary is helpless, because the law requires proof. Policemen get rough reprimands from courts, and that is as far as justice goes. In many cases, upright officers are transferred for looking too closely at criminal activities. Innocents are framed, the disadvantaged are intimidated and evidence goes missing from police laboratories. Even in cases, which have become cause celebressuch as the Sheena Bora murder, the Malegaon blasts, the Jessica Lal killing and othersenough evidence was not collected. Public opinion influenced verdicts in the Jessica Lal killing and the Aarushi Talwar affairnot the ideal way to bring criminals to justice. The roots of this scandalous state of affairs lie in the origins of the Indian police force. British historian David Arnold noted that the Indian police had an unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration. The Indian Police Service started as lawkeepers who had to even raise their own salaries from the people they were supposed to protect. This not only led to massive corruption, but also made policemen puppets of powerful zamindars and local despots. They were controlled by colonial masters hostile to the native population after the 1857 MutinyThe Police Act, 1861, and Indian Penal Code were passed in British Parliament to set up a dedicated force to crush freedom fighters. In Independent India, the system remains unchanged, though rulers have changed. The police still prey on the weak and prosecute the innocent. They arrest opponents of the ruling parties and act as enforcers for criminal leaders. Police reform must be driven by governments with the will to protect the truth. Rulers cannot own the truth but have to be its subjects. The police should be more than just the arm of the law, but a moral force to bring justice for all. Ravi Shankar ravi@newindianexpress.com
T J S George By
There is a tragic inevitability about the doom of the Congress party. Its a Greek tragedy where the heros powerful wish to achieve a goal is defeated by a flaw in his character complicated by fate and the will of the gods. Why the will of the gods should go against the Congress, we do not know. For past sins, perhaps. For present sins, the BJP may face similar wrath of the gods in due course. But that can be no consolation for the Congress now.
Rahul Gandhi, as the Congresss Greek hero, revealed the flaw in his character when he stormed into the Delhi Press Club in 2013, declared an ordinance issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as nonsense and tore up a copy before the cameras. Manmohan Singh took the insult lying down. S M Krishna did not. Resenting various humiliations Rahul Gandhi heaped upon him, he gave up the primary membership of the party he had served with distinction for a lifetime.
The fate of the Congress in Karnataka is now sealed. When the state goes to the polls next year, the Congress will perforce hand over its only state in the south to the BJPs Yeddyurappa. On a silver platter. For free.
An elated Yeddyurappa was quick on his feet to exploit the opportunity. He called on Krishna and ensured wide publicity for the meeting. Talk of Krishna joining the BJP filled the air. Krishna inadvertently contributed to the rumours by merely saying that he had not decided about future action. More masala came from Delhi with reports of the Vice Presidents post being offered to him.
We can see the Greek tragedy entering a three-pronged denouement here, highlighting the moral bankruptcy of the BJP, the political bankruptcy of the Congress and, interestingly, the dilemma of those of our political veterans who still have some experience-enriched wisdom that only they can contribute.
The Congress has made itself so unwanted in Karnataka that the BJP can afford to plan a clean government in the next round and surprise the country to its advantage. But it cannot see beyond Yeddyurappa. That a chief minister who was jailed for corruption is again being projected as the partys leader is a pointer to the BJPs political morality. Other cabinet-level jailbirds can now return to power, making a mockery of the BJP leaderships claim that it has freed India from corruption. Is this burlesque or sarcasm? Perhaps its humour.
The Congresss role as the facilitator of the BJPs return to power in Karnataka underlines its political bankruptcy. Karnataka was the state that rescued Indira Gandhi when the rest of the country rejected her. From that pinnacle of influence, it has fallen to a level where the chief ministers main concern seems to be the installation of his life-size posters at every bus stop. This is burlesque. Its not humour.
The heros character flaw brought out a problem thats generic to all partiesthe role of their veterans. There are two types of veterans, those who brought shame to the party who should be kept out, and those who earned respect and should therefore be kept in. S M Krishna has had his share of mistakes and lapses, but they did not diminish
his glamour value in public life. Admired for his patronage of classical music, his social graces and his consideration for colleagues, he is seen as the most cultured leader from the south, with perhaps only Ramakrishna Hegde matching him. Parties must find ways to benefit from
such personages.
The BJP sidelined L K Advani, but extended all respect to him, enabling him to retain his dignity. The CPM resented V S Achuthanandan for his mass appeal, but gave him a position of honour in the government structure. The Congress seems incapable of such gestures. The will of the gods?
The veterans themselves need to approach the problem with equanimity. Joining a rival party out of pique is the worst course to adopt. If, for example, Krishna were to become Vice President courtesy BJP, he will be seen as politically second fiddle to Yeddyurappa and indebted to the Prime Ministera fall from the frying pan into the fire.
Krishnas education and standing equip him to popularise in India what is routine for retired American presidentsgive lectures, write books, promote education and research, as APJ Abdul Kalam did with great impact. He has in him more than one book that would add substance to current history.
Power passes. Work of value lives on.
There is a tragic inevitability about the doom of the Congress party. Its a Greek tragedy where the heros powerful wish to achieve a goal is defeated by a flaw in his character complicated by fate and the will of the gods. Why the will of the gods should go against the Congress, we do not know. For past sins, perhaps. For present sins, the BJP may face similar wrath of the gods in due course. But that can be no consolation for the Congress now. Rahul Gandhi, as the Congresss Greek hero, revealed the flaw in his character when he stormed into the Delhi Press Club in 2013, declared an ordinance issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as nonsense and tore up a copy before the cameras. Manmohan Singh took the insult lying down. S M Krishna did not. Resenting various humiliations Rahul Gandhi heaped upon him, he gave up the primary membership of the party he had served with distinction for a lifetime. The fate of the Congress in Karnataka is now sealed. When the state goes to the polls next year, the Congress will perforce hand over its only state in the south to the BJPs Yeddyurappa. On a silver platter. For free. An elated Yeddyurappa was quick on his feet to exploit the opportunity. He called on Krishna and ensured wide publicity for the meeting. Talk of Krishna joining the BJP filled the air. Krishna inadvertently contributed to the rumours by merely saying that he had not decided about future action. More masala came from Delhi with reports of the Vice Presidents post being offered to him. We can see the Greek tragedy entering a three-pronged denouement here, highlighting the moral bankruptcy of the BJP, the political bankruptcy of the Congress and, interestingly, the dilemma of those of our political veterans who still have some experience-enriched wisdom that only they can contribute. The Congress has made itself so unwanted in Karnataka that the BJP can afford to plan a clean government in the next round and surprise the country to its advantage. But it cannot see beyond Yeddyurappa. That a chief minister who was jailed for corruption is again being projected as the partys leader is a pointer to the BJPs political morality. Other cabinet-level jailbirds can now return to power, making a mockery of the BJP leaderships claim that it has freed India from corruption. Is this burlesque or sarcasm? Perhaps its humour. The Congresss role as the facilitator of the BJPs return to power in Karnataka underlines its political bankruptcy. Karnataka was the state that rescued Indira Gandhi when the rest of the country rejected her. From that pinnacle of influence, it has fallen to a level where the chief ministers main concern seems to be the installation of his life-size posters at every bus stop. This is burlesque. Its not humour. The heros character flaw brought out a problem thats generic to all partiesthe role of their veterans. There are two types of veterans, those who brought shame to the party who should be kept out, and those who earned respect and should therefore be kept in. S M Krishna has had his share of mistakes and lapses, but they did not diminish his glamour value in public life. Admired for his patronage of classical music, his social graces and his consideration for colleagues, he is seen as the most cultured leader from the south, with perhaps only Ramakrishna Hegde matching him. Parties must find ways to benefit from such personages. The BJP sidelined L K Advani, but extended all respect to him, enabling him to retain his dignity. The CPM resented V S Achuthanandan for his mass appeal, but gave him a position of honour in the government structure. The Congress seems incapable of such gestures. The will of the gods? The veterans themselves need to approach the problem with equanimity. Joining a rival party out of pique is the worst course to adopt. If, for example, Krishna were to become Vice President courtesy BJP, he will be seen as politically second fiddle to Yeddyurappa and indebted to the Prime Ministera fall from the frying pan into the fire. Krishnas education and standing equip him to popularise in India what is routine for retired American presidentsgive lectures, write books, promote education and research, as APJ Abdul Kalam did with great impact. He has in him more than one book that would add substance to current history. Power passes. Work of value lives on.
Prabhu Chawla By
Express News Service
Spring is in the political air. The autumn of the patriarchs is fading into the winter of public oblivion. As the slogan of UP ke Ladke gets thunderous endorsement in the Assembly elections, the budhas (old men) of Indian statecraft are voluntarily etiolating into irrelevance. The signs are evident in Amethi, the fiefdom of the Gandhi Parivar. For the first time in almost three decades, 70-year-old Sonia Gandhi chose to be conspicuous by her meaningful absence. It is also the first time she has stayed away from campaigning extensively for the Congress party, which she leads notionally, literally handing over the baton of belief to her son and daughter. Though news-starved journalists have been reading the tea leaves about Rahul replacing his mother as party president, the omens will translate into reality sooner than later.
The accompanying act in the national theatre of dynasties is the rise of the hottest son in Uttar Pradeshs skies, overcast with caste and community pollutants. One of the countrys youngest chief ministers, Akhilesh Yadavs bloodless coup set an example with painful palace politics. Unlike Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh was unwilling to ride into the political sunset. He was clueless that the character of the cadre of the party he had nursed for four decades had significantly changed. The overwhelming majority of youth saw their future in Akhilesh and not his ailing father and tainted uncle Shivpal Yadav. Mulayam surrendered before his son after a symbolic show of resistance. After four decades, the UP electorate and SP candidates will be deprived of his words of wisdom during elections. The unchallenged rise of Rahul and Akhilesh is a clear indication that political power is finally moving from GenThen to GenNext.
In the South, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, germinator of Dravidian realpolitik, has found place in the album of political has-beens. During the latest inner-party Mahabharata in Tamil Nadu, the patriarch is absent in action. His son, DMKs Working President M K Stalin, wields the sceptre in the legislature and the organisation. Though in the early 60s, his ascendency reflects the change in style and substance of the states political milieu. Akhileshs rise and Stalins grandstanding during the floor test to prove Palaniswamis majority showed the consanguine shift in identity power. Most of Indias clan-driven regional parties are in DNA transition.
In Karnataka, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has almost taken political sanyas, leaving elder son HD Kumaraswamy to call the shots. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrashekar Rao are respectively delegating political authority to their sons, who will eventually succeed their fathers. Jagan Reddy, son of the late united-Andhra CM YSR Reddy, has emerged as the regional alternative to TDP and has replaced the Congress in the state. In Maharashtra, Maratha maven Sharad Pawar has left organisational matters to daughter Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, her paternal constituency. She has softly walked into his shoes though she hasnt been named his successor yet. In Jammu and Kashmir, former chief minister and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has almost vanished from the political landscape, leaving it to son Omar to shape and shake their 60-year-old party created by Sheikh Abdullah.
Moreover, J&K is the battleground of two political scionsOmar versus Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who anointed her with the legacy and philosophy of the Peoples Democratic Party, the regional outfit he founded. Even Indian National Lok Dal and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by O P Chauthala and Ajit Singh respectively, are experiencing a seismic change of guard, with young and educated sons gathering the reins. Though Lalu Yadav remains politically panoramic in Bihar, he chose younger son Tejaswi, all of 29 years, as his political heir and got him appointed the Deputy Chief Minister. In Punjab, the recently-concluded Assembly election is perhaps the political swan song of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who has led the Akali Dal from the front for almost six decades.
It is abundantly clear that the possibility of regional parties losing their sheen or disintegrating after the retirement of their founders is quite dim. The Legatees are not only more educated and discerning than their parents, but also have the strategic mettle to adopt and apply new tactics to connect with voters. Their ideological foundations are different than that of their sires who cut their teeth in the tailspin of Independence and the Emergency. Although most of the young successors wish to retain their outfits core alchemy of caste and regional aspirations, they strive to make development their default philosophy for winning elections. For example, Akhilesh has rarely invoked the caste card while seeking votes this time. His mass mantra is his performance on the development front. Even Sukhbir Singh Badal refrained from using religion and promotes himself as the Moderniser of Punjab who removed its infrastructure inadequacies.
These sons and daughters with degree and pedigree have a common factor. Barring Sukhbir, they are all ideologically antagonistic to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and have hardly dealt with its senior leadership. Rahul senses an opportunity in the hierarchical transformation in the regional parties. He stuck a temporarily disadvantageous alliance with Akhilesh in UP because he understands the states importance in 2019 when India goes to polls again. In age and cultural temperament, he cannot connect with Mayawati or Mulayam.
His calculation is that no party will score a majority in 2019. By forging a political marriage with the ascendant ladkas and ladkis (young boys and girls) in regional outfits, Rahul hopes to challenge the might of Narendra Modi. The Congress youngster is drafting a replacement plan for party elders by appointing young regional captains in the states, as in Rajasthan. The new generation of regional power players will find it socially, culturally and in years more ideologically aligned with Rahul than the BJP leadership. Moreover, he doesnt pose a threat to any of them since he needs them more than they need him. If the UP experiment succeeds, it will define the possible contours of UPA-III which will comprise younger leaders without permanent ideologies, but with permanent interests.
Prabhu Chawla
prabhuchawla@ newindianexpress.com
Follow him on Twitter @PrabhuChawla
Spring is in the political air. The autumn of the patriarchs is fading into the winter of public oblivion. As the slogan of UP ke Ladke gets thunderous endorsement in the Assembly elections, the budhas (old men) of Indian statecraft are voluntarily etiolating into irrelevance. The signs are evident in Amethi, the fiefdom of the Gandhi Parivar. For the first time in almost three decades, 70-year-old Sonia Gandhi chose to be conspicuous by her meaningful absence. It is also the first time she has stayed away from campaigning extensively for the Congress party, which she leads notionally, literally handing over the baton of belief to her son and daughter. Though news-starved journalists have been reading the tea leaves about Rahul replacing his mother as party president, the omens will translate into reality sooner than later. The accompanying act in the national theatre of dynasties is the rise of the hottest son in Uttar Pradeshs skies, overcast with caste and community pollutants. One of the countrys youngest chief ministers, Akhilesh Yadavs bloodless coup set an example with painful palace politics. Unlike Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh was unwilling to ride into the political sunset. He was clueless that the character of the cadre of the party he had nursed for four decades had significantly changed. The overwhelming majority of youth saw their future in Akhilesh and not his ailing father and tainted uncle Shivpal Yadav. Mulayam surrendered before his son after a symbolic show of resistance. After four decades, the UP electorate and SP candidates will be deprived of his words of wisdom during elections. The unchallenged rise of Rahul and Akhilesh is a clear indication that political power is finally moving from GenThen to GenNext. In the South, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, germinator of Dravidian realpolitik, has found place in the album of political has-beens. During the latest inner-party Mahabharata in Tamil Nadu, the patriarch is absent in action. His son, DMKs Working President M K Stalin, wields the sceptre in the legislature and the organisation. Though in the early 60s, his ascendency reflects the change in style and substance of the states political milieu. Akhileshs rise and Stalins grandstanding during the floor test to prove Palaniswamis majority showed the consanguine shift in identity power. Most of Indias clan-driven regional parties are in DNA transition. In Karnataka, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has almost taken political sanyas, leaving elder son HD Kumaraswamy to call the shots. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrashekar Rao are respectively delegating political authority to their sons, who will eventually succeed their fathers. Jagan Reddy, son of the late united-Andhra CM YSR Reddy, has emerged as the regional alternative to TDP and has replaced the Congress in the state. In Maharashtra, Maratha maven Sharad Pawar has left organisational matters to daughter Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, her paternal constituency. She has softly walked into his shoes though she hasnt been named his successor yet. In Jammu and Kashmir, former chief minister and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has almost vanished from the political landscape, leaving it to son Omar to shape and shake their 60-year-old party created by Sheikh Abdullah. Moreover, J&K is the battleground of two political scionsOmar versus Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who anointed her with the legacy and philosophy of the Peoples Democratic Party, the regional outfit he founded. Even Indian National Lok Dal and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by O P Chauthala and Ajit Singh respectively, are experiencing a seismic change of guard, with young and educated sons gathering the reins. Though Lalu Yadav remains politically panoramic in Bihar, he chose younger son Tejaswi, all of 29 years, as his political heir and got him appointed the Deputy Chief Minister. In Punjab, the recently-concluded Assembly election is perhaps the political swan song of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who has led the Akali Dal from the front for almost six decades. It is abundantly clear that the possibility of regional parties losing their sheen or disintegrating after the retirement of their founders is quite dim. The Legatees are not only more educated and discerning than their parents, but also have the strategic mettle to adopt and apply new tactics to connect with voters. Their ideological foundations are different than that of their sires who cut their teeth in the tailspin of Independence and the Emergency. Although most of the young successors wish to retain their outfits core alchemy of caste and regional aspirations, they strive to make development their default philosophy for winning elections. For example, Akhilesh has rarely invoked the caste card while seeking votes this time. His mass mantra is his performance on the development front. Even Sukhbir Singh Badal refrained from using religion and promotes himself as the Moderniser of Punjab who removed its infrastructure inadequacies. These sons and daughters with degree and pedigree have a common factor. Barring Sukhbir, they are all ideologically antagonistic to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and have hardly dealt with its senior leadership. Rahul senses an opportunity in the hierarchical transformation in the regional parties. He stuck a temporarily disadvantageous alliance with Akhilesh in UP because he understands the states importance in 2019 when India goes to polls again. In age and cultural temperament, he cannot connect with Mayawati or Mulayam. His calculation is that no party will score a majority in 2019. By forging a political marriage with the ascendant ladkas and ladkis (young boys and girls) in regional outfits, Rahul hopes to challenge the might of Narendra Modi. The Congress youngster is drafting a replacement plan for party elders by appointing young regional captains in the states, as in Rajasthan. The new generation of regional power players will find it socially, culturally and in years more ideologically aligned with Rahul than the BJP leadership. Moreover, he doesnt pose a threat to any of them since he needs them more than they need him. If the UP experiment succeeds, it will define the possible contours of UPA-III which will comprise younger leaders without permanent ideologies, but with permanent interests. Prabhu Chawla prabhuchawla@ newindianexpress.com Follow him on Twitter @PrabhuChawla
Biju E Paul By
Express News Service
ALAPPUZHA: There is a new hustle and bustle around the Norton Bungalow, the official residence of the Church of South Indias(CSI) first missionary -- Thomas Norton.
The CSI managed to wrench its cherished landmark free from a decade-long legal wrangle at the beginning of its bicentenary year. Since then, its vision has been taking shape by the day.
Representatives of the Netherlands Embassy visited the bungalow at the invitation of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac last month. Along with the church authorities, the state government is doing all it can to make the 200-year-old structure a heritage monument.
Thomas Isaac says, The government plans to protect the heritage buildings of Alappuzha and has given priority to the Norton Bungalow.
The Regent of the erstwhile state of Travancore Rani Gowri Parvati Bai donated it to the CMS in the first quarter of the 19th Century.
The CSI authorities have been planning to undertake renovation and maintenance work on the two-storied mansion but were unable to do so as the NCC that had taken the building on lease refused to vacate it. In November 2016, the High Court of Kerala judged in favour of the CSI.
Fr Sumod Cheriyan, a CSI vicar, says, The Norton Bungalow was allotted to NCC 40 years ago on lease and they were using it as their district office. About 10 years ago, when the church demanded the NCC vacate the premises, they did not agree to do so. This led to a long legal battle. The NCC left the building last December.
The Church has been planning to preserve the building as a monument. The Netherlands government has extended its support for the preservation of the bungalow, the vicar says.
ALAPPUZHA: There is a new hustle and bustle around the Norton Bungalow, the official residence of the Church of South Indias(CSI) first missionary -- Thomas Norton. The CSI managed to wrench its cherished landmark free from a decade-long legal wrangle at the beginning of its bicentenary year. Since then, its vision has been taking shape by the day. Representatives of the Netherlands Embassy visited the bungalow at the invitation of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac last month. Along with the church authorities, the state government is doing all it can to make the 200-year-old structure a heritage monument. Thomas Isaac says, The government plans to protect the heritage buildings of Alappuzha and has given priority to the Norton Bungalow. The Regent of the erstwhile state of Travancore Rani Gowri Parvati Bai donated it to the CMS in the first quarter of the 19th Century. The CSI authorities have been planning to undertake renovation and maintenance work on the two-storied mansion but were unable to do so as the NCC that had taken the building on lease refused to vacate it. In November 2016, the High Court of Kerala judged in favour of the CSI. Fr Sumod Cheriyan, a CSI vicar, says, The Norton Bungalow was allotted to NCC 40 years ago on lease and they were using it as their district office. About 10 years ago, when the church demanded the NCC vacate the premises, they did not agree to do so. This led to a long legal battle. The NCC left the building last December. The Church has been planning to preserve the building as a monument. The Netherlands government has extended its support for the preservation of the bungalow, the vicar says.
By Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: The turnout of the voters during the ongoing panchayat polls is on an upwardly mobile graph with each passing round. On Sunday, the fourth phase elections saw 76 per cent polling amidst reports of errors in ballot papers.
The third phase of the rural polls had recorded 75 per cent polling following 73 per cent in second and 71 per cent in the first round of voting. Sonepur district, which had reported the highest 86 per cent polling in the third phase, went a notch above and recorded 87 per cent polling on the day.
The lowest voter turnout of 65 per cent was reported in Ganjam district. In the last phase, it was 66 per cent.
As many as eight districts of Sonepur, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Cuttack and Balangir recorded above 80 per cent polling.
State Election Commissioner RN Senapati told mediapersons that barring minor disturbances at a few places, the fourth phase polling was by and large peaceful across the State.
As many as 162 Zilla Parishad (ZP) member posts went to election in 62 blocks of 28 districts in the State on the day across 17,876 Wards under 1,324 gram panchayats (GPs). The SEC said measures were initiated to facilitate voting by 50.6 lakh voters during the fourth phase polls.
Senapati said the election process was disturbed at some polling booths due to erroneous ballot papers. We can take a decision on re-polling in these booths after getting a detailed ground report from the Collectors, he said.
The SEC said polling could not take place at four booths under Begunia block of Khurda district and one booth in Banspal block of Keonjhar where the election was to be conducted for Sarpanch post.
In the fourth phase, election to all posts in Angul, Boudh, Jharsuguda and Malkangiri districts have come to an end.
Meanwhile, campaigning for the fifth and last phase of elections on Tuesday came to an end on the day. In 58 blocks of 26 districts, fate of 150 ZP member seats will be decided in the final phase of what has turned out to be a fascinating rural polls so far.
The polling will be held across 16,148 Wards in 1,137 GPs where 44.5 lakh voters would exercise their rights.
For Belapada ZP zone in Balangir, election results would not be announced as election to one GP has been stayed as per court orders. Later, the polling would be held as per court direction and the final result declared.
BHUBANESWAR: The turnout of the voters during the ongoing panchayat polls is on an upwardly mobile graph with each passing round. On Sunday, the fourth phase elections saw 76 per cent polling amidst reports of errors in ballot papers. The third phase of the rural polls had recorded 75 per cent polling following 73 per cent in second and 71 per cent in the first round of voting. Sonepur district, which had reported the highest 86 per cent polling in the third phase, went a notch above and recorded 87 per cent polling on the day. The lowest voter turnout of 65 per cent was reported in Ganjam district. In the last phase, it was 66 per cent. As many as eight districts of Sonepur, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Cuttack and Balangir recorded above 80 per cent polling. State Election Commissioner RN Senapati told mediapersons that barring minor disturbances at a few places, the fourth phase polling was by and large peaceful across the State. As many as 162 Zilla Parishad (ZP) member posts went to election in 62 blocks of 28 districts in the State on the day across 17,876 Wards under 1,324 gram panchayats (GPs). The SEC said measures were initiated to facilitate voting by 50.6 lakh voters during the fourth phase polls. Senapati said the election process was disturbed at some polling booths due to erroneous ballot papers. We can take a decision on re-polling in these booths after getting a detailed ground report from the Collectors, he said. The SEC said polling could not take place at four booths under Begunia block of Khurda district and one booth in Banspal block of Keonjhar where the election was to be conducted for Sarpanch post. In the fourth phase, election to all posts in Angul, Boudh, Jharsuguda and Malkangiri districts have come to an end. Meanwhile, campaigning for the fifth and last phase of elections on Tuesday came to an end on the day. In 58 blocks of 26 districts, fate of 150 ZP member seats will be decided in the final phase of what has turned out to be a fascinating rural polls so far. The polling will be held across 16,148 Wards in 1,137 GPs where 44.5 lakh voters would exercise their rights. For Belapada ZP zone in Balangir, election results would not be announced as election to one GP has been stayed as per court orders. Later, the polling would be held as per court direction and the final result declared.
By PTI
CHENNAI: A farmer was shot dead in a remote village in the northern Tamil Nadu district of Krishnagiri sometime after he left home Saturday night on his motorcycle to go to his farm Upparthammandrapalli village near Sanamavu.
The body of farmer Shesadri, aged 43, was found Sunday morning lying on his motorcycle with bullet injuries in the stomach and chest.
Police said they have no clue to the motive behind the killing. The wounds on the body appeared to be of the kind made by projectiles from a crude gun. The local area is forested and crude guns are commonly used by poachers. There are frequent incidents of country guns being used to carry out murders in the remote villages of the Krishnagiri district.
CHENNAI: A farmer was shot dead in a remote village in the northern Tamil Nadu district of Krishnagiri sometime after he left home Saturday night on his motorcycle to go to his farm Upparthammandrapalli village near Sanamavu. The body of farmer Shesadri, aged 43, was found Sunday morning lying on his motorcycle with bullet injuries in the stomach and chest. Police said they have no clue to the motive behind the killing. The wounds on the body appeared to be of the kind made by projectiles from a crude gun. The local area is forested and crude guns are commonly used by poachers. There are frequent incidents of country guns being used to carry out murders in the remote villages of the Krishnagiri district.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: At the end of an increasingly farcical political potboiler that began two Sundays ago, Edappadi K Palanisamy, the AIADMK leader from western Tamil Nadu who was chosen as the replacement for convicted general secretary VK Sasikala, won an incident-filled trust vote in the State Assembly on Saturday.
The fortnight-long drama that had its share of twists and turns, allegations of betrayals and conspiracies, climaxed in theatrics inside the Assembly, which left the Speaker, P Dhanapal, and Opposition Leader MK Stalin with torn shirts.
Trouble began as soon as the House met at 11 am. The Opposition led by MK Stalin backed rebel leader O Panneerselvams demand that the vote should be deferred or secret ballot permitted, which the chair rejected.
DMK members began protests by tearing up documents and standing on chairs to raise slogans, before storming the well of the House.
It quickly escalated to snatching the Speakers microphone, pushing his podium down, scuffling with the Watch and Ward staff and even heckling the Speaker, who was taken to safety by the staff.
This strategic virulence was met with calculated silence from the treasury benches led by Chief Minister Palanisamy, who sat through the ruckus without a word despite taunts from the DMK.
Having survived a testing time holed up at resorts outside Chennai in the run-up to the voting day, the Sasikala faction was not going to be provoked into making a mistake at this hour.
During a meeting with Stalin at his chamber, Speaker accused the DMK members of tearing his shirt. Dhanapal ordered their eviction, which the opposition MLAs resisted, before finally being pushed out. It was later known that the Speaker had deployed some senior police officers on Watch and Ward duty, who were key in the eviction operation.
Later, speaking to the media, Stalin alleged Dhanapal had torn the shirt himself and put the blame on his party.
Stalins shirt was without a few buttons and had a torn pocket by then after the forcible eviction. When the confidence motion was finally put on the vote at 3 pm after two adjournments, eviction of DMK MLAs, and Congress and the lone IUML member walk-out the AIADMK factions headed by the CM and OPS came face to face. Final result: 122 ayes against 11 nays, and one abstention.
It is not yet clear what action it will take against the rebels, as disqualification, while valid, would bring about by-elections. The DMK, on the other hand, gained momentum and has set its sights on the near future where it believes people will choose it over the AIADMK, which has been weakened by revolt and Sasikalas conviction.
CHENNAI: At the end of an increasingly farcical political potboiler that began two Sundays ago, Edappadi K Palanisamy, the AIADMK leader from western Tamil Nadu who was chosen as the replacement for convicted general secretary VK Sasikala, won an incident-filled trust vote in the State Assembly on Saturday. The fortnight-long drama that had its share of twists and turns, allegations of betrayals and conspiracies, climaxed in theatrics inside the Assembly, which left the Speaker, P Dhanapal, and Opposition Leader MK Stalin with torn shirts. Trouble began as soon as the House met at 11 am. The Opposition led by MK Stalin backed rebel leader O Panneerselvams demand that the vote should be deferred or secret ballot permitted, which the chair rejected. DMK members began protests by tearing up documents and standing on chairs to raise slogans, before storming the well of the House. It quickly escalated to snatching the Speakers microphone, pushing his podium down, scuffling with the Watch and Ward staff and even heckling the Speaker, who was taken to safety by the staff. This strategic virulence was met with calculated silence from the treasury benches led by Chief Minister Palanisamy, who sat through the ruckus without a word despite taunts from the DMK. Having survived a testing time holed up at resorts outside Chennai in the run-up to the voting day, the Sasikala faction was not going to be provoked into making a mistake at this hour. During a meeting with Stalin at his chamber, Speaker accused the DMK members of tearing his shirt. Dhanapal ordered their eviction, which the opposition MLAs resisted, before finally being pushed out. It was later known that the Speaker had deployed some senior police officers on Watch and Ward duty, who were key in the eviction operation. Later, speaking to the media, Stalin alleged Dhanapal had torn the shirt himself and put the blame on his party. Stalins shirt was without a few buttons and had a torn pocket by then after the forcible eviction. When the confidence motion was finally put on the vote at 3 pm after two adjournments, eviction of DMK MLAs, and Congress and the lone IUML member walk-out the AIADMK factions headed by the CM and OPS came face to face. Final result: 122 ayes against 11 nays, and one abstention. It is not yet clear what action it will take against the rebels, as disqualification, while valid, would bring about by-elections. The DMK, on the other hand, gained momentum and has set its sights on the near future where it believes people will choose it over the AIADMK, which has been weakened by revolt and Sasikalas conviction.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: A day after Edappadi K Palanisamy won the confidence vote in the Tamil Nadu state assembly, the rival camp in the ruling AIADMK party led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has decided to hold interactions with the public and party cadres as their next course of action.
Since Saturday night, the core team in Panneerselvam's camp have been holding discussions on what their next strategy should be. Saturday's trust vote won by Palanisamy, who had the backing of the party's general secretary V K Sasikala, has been a huge setback for Panneerselvam.
Only 11 MLAs from the AIADMK party supported the rebellion by Panneerselvam and voted against Palanisamy.
"This public interaction is to save the AIADMK party and the government," Ma Foi Pandiarajan, former minister for education and an important leader in the Panneerselvam camp, told Express. "MGR and Amma (former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa) have made so many sacrifices to build this party and now it has been completely captured by Sasikala and her family. This is not the way to keep Amma's legacy alive," he said.
Pandiarajan said so far 8,000 party cadre and leaders have signed up to support their cause. When asked what went wrong yesterday, he said a secret ballot would have changed the scenario. "There should have been a secret ballot yesterday," he opined.
"The result would have been different. So many people are being intimidated (by pro-Sasikala leaders) which is why they couldn't support OPS," he said.
CHENNAI: A day after Edappadi K Palanisamy won the confidence vote in the Tamil Nadu state assembly, the rival camp in the ruling AIADMK party led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has decided to hold interactions with the public and party cadres as their next course of action. Since Saturday night, the core team in Panneerselvam's camp have been holding discussions on what their next strategy should be. Saturday's trust vote won by Palanisamy, who had the backing of the party's general secretary V K Sasikala, has been a huge setback for Panneerselvam. Only 11 MLAs from the AIADMK party supported the rebellion by Panneerselvam and voted against Palanisamy. "This public interaction is to save the AIADMK party and the government," Ma Foi Pandiarajan, former minister for education and an important leader in the Panneerselvam camp, told Express. "MGR and Amma (former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa) have made so many sacrifices to build this party and now it has been completely captured by Sasikala and her family. This is not the way to keep Amma's legacy alive," he said. Pandiarajan said so far 8,000 party cadre and leaders have signed up to support their cause. When asked what went wrong yesterday, he said a secret ballot would have changed the scenario. "There should have been a secret ballot yesterday," he opined. "The result would have been different. So many people are being intimidated (by pro-Sasikala leaders) which is why they couldn't support OPS," he said.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: As many as 11 AIADMK MLAs on Saturday voted against the confidence vote motion moved by Chief Minister K Palanisamy, despite a whip issued from the AIADMK (Sasikala faction).
One MLA Arunkumar, did not attend the session. As such, there are expectations that the Sasikala faction would take steps to disqualify the MLAs who had voted against the confidence motion and the one MLA who was absent.
Of the 12, former chief minister O Panneerselvam and former school education minister K Pandiarajan would not warrant disqualification.
However, AIADMK sources said, We will discuss the issue with senior leaders and take a decision on this in due course. This indicates that the Sasikala faction is not in a hurry to disqualify the rebel MLAs.
As per Supreme Court orders, the party whip should complain about the MLAs who had failed to heed to the whip to the Assembly Speaker.
The Speaker is the final authority to take a decision on the issue. Prior to this, the party should issue a show cause notice to the MLAs concerned. If the party is satisfied with the reply of the errant MLA, it can even condone that legislator.
CHENNAI: As many as 11 AIADMK MLAs on Saturday voted against the confidence vote motion moved by Chief Minister K Palanisamy, despite a whip issued from the AIADMK (Sasikala faction). One MLA Arunkumar, did not attend the session. As such, there are expectations that the Sasikala faction would take steps to disqualify the MLAs who had voted against the confidence motion and the one MLA who was absent. Of the 12, former chief minister O Panneerselvam and former school education minister K Pandiarajan would not warrant disqualification. However, AIADMK sources said, We will discuss the issue with senior leaders and take a decision on this in due course. This indicates that the Sasikala faction is not in a hurry to disqualify the rebel MLAs. As per Supreme Court orders, the party whip should complain about the MLAs who had failed to heed to the whip to the Assembly Speaker. The Speaker is the final authority to take a decision on the issue. Prior to this, the party should issue a show cause notice to the MLAs concerned. If the party is satisfied with the reply of the errant MLA, it can even condone that legislator.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: Even as a delegation of DMK Rajya Sabha Members urged the Governor (in-charge) Ch Vidyasagar Rao to nullify the entire proceedings relating to the trust vote in the Assembly on Saturday, party working president M K Stalin on Sunday announced a statewide protest on February 22 against the way the entire proceedings were conducted.
A delegation, including TKS Elangovan, Tiruchy N Siva and RS Bharathi, visited the Raj Bhavan on Sunday and submitted a memorandum on behalf of Stalin, who is also the Leader of the Opposition. The memorandum alleged that the Speaker conducted the proceedings with a pre-conceived design, ignoring a rule stating if the House was adjourned following the introduction of a motion, the said motion lapsed. The DMK leaders accused the Speaker of shepherding the motion in an unconstitutional and highly undemocratic manner. Appealing to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in in the light of Speakers announcement in the absence of opposition legislators, the DMK urged him to nullify the entire proceedings with a view to protecting the spirit of democracy and the Constitution.
Hunger strike
Protesting the anti-democratic act of assaulting and forcibly removing the main opposition party members, the DMK working president announced a fast across the State on February 22 between 9 am and 5 pm. Stalin said he would preside over the fast in Tiruchy.
Legal recourse
The Leader of the Opposition, after chairing a meeting of his party MLAs, said the party would resort to legal recourse to nullify the trust vote. Meanwhile, he disapproved of the conduct of two MLAs - B Ranganathan and KK Selvam - for occupying the Chair of the Speaker. He added that the party had sought an appointment with the President to represent their grievances.
DMK blamed for ruckus
Meanwhile, AIADMK MP A Navaneethakrishnan blamed the DMK for orchestrating the entire mayhem with an intention to disrespect the party in power.
DMK entered the House with a conspiracy to bring the Assembly proceedings to a halt by creating a ruckus, he said, rejecting claims that the resolution passed was unconstitutional.
CM, rebels meet Rao
Even as the opposition was seething against the way Edappadi Palanisamy managed to scrape through the floor test, the Chief Minister and party elders made a courtesy call on Governor. Senior cabinet ministers too were present during the meeting, which lasted 20 minutes.
Later, leaders from the rebel faction, including O Pannerselvam, K Pandiarajan and S Semmalai, rushed to the Raj Bhavan with complaints against the way the trust voting was conducted.
We urged the Governor to declare the trust vote null and void as the entire vote of confidence motion took place under violent and chaotic circumstances, Pandiarajan said. The rebel team urged the Governor not to ratify the motion.
CHENNAI: Even as a delegation of DMK Rajya Sabha Members urged the Governor (in-charge) Ch Vidyasagar Rao to nullify the entire proceedings relating to the trust vote in the Assembly on Saturday, party working president M K Stalin on Sunday announced a statewide protest on February 22 against the way the entire proceedings were conducted. A delegation, including TKS Elangovan, Tiruchy N Siva and RS Bharathi, visited the Raj Bhavan on Sunday and submitted a memorandum on behalf of Stalin, who is also the Leader of the Opposition. The memorandum alleged that the Speaker conducted the proceedings with a pre-conceived design, ignoring a rule stating if the House was adjourned following the introduction of a motion, the said motion lapsed. The DMK leaders accused the Speaker of shepherding the motion in an unconstitutional and highly undemocratic manner. Appealing to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in in the light of Speakers announcement in the absence of opposition legislators, the DMK urged him to nullify the entire proceedings with a view to protecting the spirit of democracy and the Constitution. Hunger strike Protesting the anti-democratic act of assaulting and forcibly removing the main opposition party members, the DMK working president announced a fast across the State on February 22 between 9 am and 5 pm. Stalin said he would preside over the fast in Tiruchy. Legal recourse The Leader of the Opposition, after chairing a meeting of his party MLAs, said the party would resort to legal recourse to nullify the trust vote. Meanwhile, he disapproved of the conduct of two MLAs - B Ranganathan and KK Selvam - for occupying the Chair of the Speaker. He added that the party had sought an appointment with the President to represent their grievances. DMK blamed for ruckus Meanwhile, AIADMK MP A Navaneethakrishnan blamed the DMK for orchestrating the entire mayhem with an intention to disrespect the party in power. DMK entered the House with a conspiracy to bring the Assembly proceedings to a halt by creating a ruckus, he said, rejecting claims that the resolution passed was unconstitutional. CM, rebels meet Rao Even as the opposition was seething against the way Edappadi Palanisamy managed to scrape through the floor test, the Chief Minister and party elders made a courtesy call on Governor. Senior cabinet ministers too were present during the meeting, which lasted 20 minutes. Later, leaders from the rebel faction, including O Pannerselvam, K Pandiarajan and S Semmalai, rushed to the Raj Bhavan with complaints against the way the trust voting was conducted. We urged the Governor to declare the trust vote null and void as the entire vote of confidence motion took place under violent and chaotic circumstances, Pandiarajan said. The rebel team urged the Governor not to ratify the motion.
V V Balakrishna By
Express News Service
HYDERABAD: In a major embarrassment to power distribution companies, Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has decided to determine the power tariff for the year 2017-18 on the Suo Motu basis.
The reason is that the discoms, which had filed the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) in November itself, have failed to submit the tariff proposals for the next financial year till now.
With the inordinate delay on the part of discoms in filing tariff proposals, the TSERC on Saturday communicated to the Discoms that the ERC will determine the tariff on its own.
Sources in discoms told Express that the delay was due to the busy schedule of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. We are ready to file the tariff proposals, once the chief minister vets them. The delay is on the part of the chief minister, an official disclosed while pleading anonymity.
Initially, the delay was due to the state joining Centrs UDAY scheme. But now the chief minister has to look into the proposals and finalise the state governments subsidy portion. Once, the subsidy is finalised, then we will decide on the tariff and file the proposals before the ERC, the official said.
However, with the ERC administering shock to the discoms, the officials are planning to meet the chief minister on Sunday or Monday. We will definitely file the tariff proposals on Monday or Tuesday, after taking CMs permission, an official said. In its communication to discoms, the TSERC said the discoms were supposed to file ARRs and retail supply tariff proposals for 2017-18 by November 30.
The TS discoms have filed the ARRs on November 30 and requested the ERC from time to time for extension of time for filing of tariff proposals citing certain reasons. Considering the requests of the discoms, the ERC granted an extension for the filing of tariff proposals thrice, the ERC secretary said.
Though sufficient time was given to the discoms, they failed to file tariff proposals. Instead, they have now sought further time for filing of tariff proposals till February 28. Hence, the commission expressed its displeasure in not filing the tariff proposals, the communique stated.
File tariff proposals on or before February 23 and in default, the ERC will act Suo Motu for determination of the tariff for 2017-18 based on information available to the commission in the form of ARR/FPTs for 2015-16 and 2016-17 and ARR for 2017-18. The commission will reckon the information filed by licensees after the commencement of the Suo Motu proceedings fo the determination of the retail supply tariff for 2017-18, the ERC told discoms.
HYDERABAD: In a major embarrassment to power distribution companies, Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has decided to determine the power tariff for the year 2017-18 on the Suo Motu basis. The reason is that the discoms, which had filed the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) in November itself, have failed to submit the tariff proposals for the next financial year till now. With the inordinate delay on the part of discoms in filing tariff proposals, the TSERC on Saturday communicated to the Discoms that the ERC will determine the tariff on its own. Sources in discoms told Express that the delay was due to the busy schedule of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. We are ready to file the tariff proposals, once the chief minister vets them. The delay is on the part of the chief minister, an official disclosed while pleading anonymity. Initially, the delay was due to the state joining Centrs UDAY scheme. But now the chief minister has to look into the proposals and finalise the state governments subsidy portion. Once, the subsidy is finalised, then we will decide on the tariff and file the proposals before the ERC, the official said. However, with the ERC administering shock to the discoms, the officials are planning to meet the chief minister on Sunday or Monday. We will definitely file the tariff proposals on Monday or Tuesday, after taking CMs permission, an official said. In its communication to discoms, the TSERC said the discoms were supposed to file ARRs and retail supply tariff proposals for 2017-18 by November 30. The TS discoms have filed the ARRs on November 30 and requested the ERC from time to time for extension of time for filing of tariff proposals citing certain reasons. Considering the requests of the discoms, the ERC granted an extension for the filing of tariff proposals thrice, the ERC secretary said. Though sufficient time was given to the discoms, they failed to file tariff proposals. Instead, they have now sought further time for filing of tariff proposals till February 28. Hence, the commission expressed its displeasure in not filing the tariff proposals, the communique stated. File tariff proposals on or before February 23 and in default, the ERC will act Suo Motu for determination of the tariff for 2017-18 based on information available to the commission in the form of ARR/FPTs for 2015-16 and 2016-17 and ARR for 2017-18. The commission will reckon the information filed by licensees after the commencement of the Suo Motu proceedings fo the determination of the retail supply tariff for 2017-18, the ERC told discoms.
By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: The TRS government came under fire at a meeting on education and employment situation in the state organised by a group of NRIs from Telangana here on Sunday. The meeting was organised by Telangana Global Technologists Association (TGTA), a group of around 200 NRIs from Telangana residing in various countries. The NRIs expressed their unhappiness over the state of affairs in Telangana.
C Achyuth Reddy, a TGTA member working in the United Kingdom, said, When the state was formed, we were very excited and had high hopes from the TRS government. However, we have not seen much change since it came to power. For example, the number of students belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities who go to the UK or other countries for higher studies is still very low which was the case before Telangana became a state. When TRS leaders visited other countries, our members raised questions which they could not answer.
Another member of TGTA, Krishna Chaitanya from the US, said, In the US the student bodies are very strong. Universities spend the money given to them by the government only after getting approval from the student body. There is no democratic space in universities in Telangana.
PL Vishweshwar Rao, a former professor at Osmania University who is now with the Aam Aadmi Party, raised the issue of high dropout rate among schoolgirls in Telangana which is one of the highest in country. He also said that last year only 8.8 pc of the budget was earmarked for school education and of this amount almost 95 pc was just for salaries of employees. Vishweshwar Rao said, Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised lakhs of jobs but till now just 5,940 posts have been filled. Where are the jobs?
Senior cardiologist and Telangana Jana Samiti president Dr MF Gopinath said, Just 2.1 pc SC students, 1.5 pc ST students, 2.5 pc OBC students and around 5 pc OC students reach up to Class 10 in Telangana. The rest are not dropouts but are driven out due to state governments policies. The educated youth in the state are against the ruling TRS and the family which runs it.
DK Aruna, senior Congress leader, attacked the Telangana government for starting new residential and day schools without adequate staff and infrastructure.
HYDERABAD: The TRS government came under fire at a meeting on education and employment situation in the state organised by a group of NRIs from Telangana here on Sunday. The meeting was organised by Telangana Global Technologists Association (TGTA), a group of around 200 NRIs from Telangana residing in various countries. The NRIs expressed their unhappiness over the state of affairs in Telangana. C Achyuth Reddy, a TGTA member working in the United Kingdom, said, When the state was formed, we were very excited and had high hopes from the TRS government. However, we have not seen much change since it came to power. For example, the number of students belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities who go to the UK or other countries for higher studies is still very low which was the case before Telangana became a state. When TRS leaders visited other countries, our members raised questions which they could not answer. Another member of TGTA, Krishna Chaitanya from the US, said, In the US the student bodies are very strong. Universities spend the money given to them by the government only after getting approval from the student body. There is no democratic space in universities in Telangana. PL Vishweshwar Rao, a former professor at Osmania University who is now with the Aam Aadmi Party, raised the issue of high dropout rate among schoolgirls in Telangana which is one of the highest in country. He also said that last year only 8.8 pc of the budget was earmarked for school education and of this amount almost 95 pc was just for salaries of employees. Vishweshwar Rao said, Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised lakhs of jobs but till now just 5,940 posts have been filled. Where are the jobs? Senior cardiologist and Telangana Jana Samiti president Dr MF Gopinath said, Just 2.1 pc SC students, 1.5 pc ST students, 2.5 pc OBC students and around 5 pc OC students reach up to Class 10 in Telangana. The rest are not dropouts but are driven out due to state governments policies. The educated youth in the state are against the ruling TRS and the family which runs it. DK Aruna, senior Congress leader, attacked the Telangana government for starting new residential and day schools without adequate staff and infrastructure.
Ritu Sharma By
NEW DELHI: India and Sri Lanka are ready to make way for better ties by resuming a ferry service from Kochi to Colombo.
The ferry service is mooted between Kochi in Kerala to Colombo. We are finalising the modalities and working out if it would be purely a passenger service. To make it economically viable, we will include freight service, a Ministry of External Affairs official said.
More than three decades ago, the shadow of the ethnic strife in the teardrop island had adversely impacted its ties with India. The two countries are linked via air, but the sea link from Chennai was severed after the 1983 ethnic cleansing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Over 100,000 Tamil refugees had landed in Tamil Nadu, triggering a sympathy wave in the state.
In 2011, a ferry service was resumed between Thoothukudi in south Tamil Nadu to Colombo, but it was stopped due to less traffic.
There has been demand to revive the links between Tamil Nadu and the Tamil-speaking north and north-eastern part of Sri Lanka Jaffna and Trincomalee. Considering the political sensitivities around the revival of the transport links, we would like to go one step at a time, the official added.
Ferries are one of the cheapest modes of transport and will be within the framework of increasing connectivity under the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) regional forum.
India has shared a volatile past with its maritime neighbour for sending the Indian Peace Keeping Force to the island nation to fight the LTTE. The conflict saw then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi being assassinated by the LTTE in 1991.
NEW DELHI: India and Sri Lanka are ready to make way for better ties by resuming a ferry service from Kochi to Colombo. The ferry service is mooted between Kochi in Kerala to Colombo. We are finalising the modalities and working out if it would be purely a passenger service. To make it economically viable, we will include freight service, a Ministry of External Affairs official said. More than three decades ago, the shadow of the ethnic strife in the teardrop island had adversely impacted its ties with India. The two countries are linked via air, but the sea link from Chennai was severed after the 1983 ethnic cleansing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Over 100,000 Tamil refugees had landed in Tamil Nadu, triggering a sympathy wave in the state. In 2011, a ferry service was resumed between Thoothukudi in south Tamil Nadu to Colombo, but it was stopped due to less traffic. There has been demand to revive the links between Tamil Nadu and the Tamil-speaking north and north-eastern part of Sri Lanka Jaffna and Trincomalee. Considering the political sensitivities around the revival of the transport links, we would like to go one step at a time, the official added. Ferries are one of the cheapest modes of transport and will be within the framework of increasing connectivity under the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) regional forum. India has shared a volatile past with its maritime neighbour for sending the Indian Peace Keeping Force to the island nation to fight the LTTE. The conflict saw then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi being assassinated by the LTTE in 1991.
Pradip R Sagar By
NEW DELHI: India has launched the worlds biggest hunt for fighter jets in recent years. From single-engine to twin-engine, global players have been invited to build nearly 300 fighter jets here on the basis of foreign technology under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make in India campaign.
Though all eyes are on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to announce its much-awaited strategic partnership model, the main focus will be towards developing an indigenous defence industry.
In view of Indias biggest hunt for its fighter jets inventory, all defence majors showcased their best products in Aero India in Bengaluru from February 14 to 18. In the category of singleengine jets, Swedens Saab and Americas Lockheed Martin have offered to shift their production line of fighter jets, the Gripen-E and F-16 (Block 70) respectively, to India, if chosen by the Indian government.
While aviation giant Boeing pitched its F-A/18 Hornet, Swedens Saab AB also offered the naval version of its Gripen fighter to the Indian Navy with an offer to build it in India. However, last week US President Donald Trump asked US-based Lockeed Martinwhich makes F-16sto take a fresh look at its proposal to set up a production line in India for combat jets.
The IAF announced its fresh fighter programme last year, months after it signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale warplanes from France for $8.85 billion. IAF placed a requirement of over 200 single-engine fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of Russian MiG-21s, which have been in service for nearly 50 years.
The IAF is operating with a depleting fleet of 34 squadrons compared to the sanctioned strength of 42, and it is desperately eyeing to fill the shortage of its fighter jet strength in the multi-medium role category. In 2015, the government had scrapped the decade-old multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract and finalised 36 Rafale jets in place of 126 MMRCA to meet the urgent requirement of the IAF.
Last month the Navy invited global manufacturers to pitch for 57 planes for its aircraft carriers, a multi-billion dollar order that the government had hoped would go to the state-run producers of indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
Earlier, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the sea version (LCA Navy) was not up to the mark and it could not take off from an aircraft carrier once weapons were loaded. The Indian Navy has 45 MIG-29K jets for operations from INS Vikramaditya and from the under construction aircraft carrier .
The proposed procurement for multi-role carrier-borne fighter jets comes after 10 years when the Navy decided to buy MIG-29Ks from Russia for INS Vikramaditya. The aircraft carrier was also built by Russia. INS Vikrant is now under construction at Cochin and is likely to be inducted by 2019.
NEW DELHI: India has launched the worlds biggest hunt for fighter jets in recent years. From single-engine to twin-engine, global players have been invited to build nearly 300 fighter jets here on the basis of foreign technology under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make in India campaign. Though all eyes are on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to announce its much-awaited strategic partnership model, the main focus will be towards developing an indigenous defence industry. In view of Indias biggest hunt for its fighter jets inventory, all defence majors showcased their best products in Aero India in Bengaluru from February 14 to 18. In the category of singleengine jets, Swedens Saab and Americas Lockheed Martin have offered to shift their production line of fighter jets, the Gripen-E and F-16 (Block 70) respectively, to India, if chosen by the Indian government. While aviation giant Boeing pitched its F-A/18 Hornet, Swedens Saab AB also offered the naval version of its Gripen fighter to the Indian Navy with an offer to build it in India. However, last week US President Donald Trump asked US-based Lockeed Martinwhich makes F-16sto take a fresh look at its proposal to set up a production line in India for combat jets. The IAF announced its fresh fighter programme last year, months after it signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale warplanes from France for $8.85 billion. IAF placed a requirement of over 200 single-engine fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of Russian MiG-21s, which have been in service for nearly 50 years. The IAF is operating with a depleting fleet of 34 squadrons compared to the sanctioned strength of 42, and it is desperately eyeing to fill the shortage of its fighter jet strength in the multi-medium role category. In 2015, the government had scrapped the decade-old multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract and finalised 36 Rafale jets in place of 126 MMRCA to meet the urgent requirement of the IAF. Last month the Navy invited global manufacturers to pitch for 57 planes for its aircraft carriers, a multi-billion dollar order that the government had hoped would go to the state-run producers of indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Earlier, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the sea version (LCA Navy) was not up to the mark and it could not take off from an aircraft carrier once weapons were loaded. The Indian Navy has 45 MIG-29K jets for operations from INS Vikramaditya and from the under construction aircraft carrier . The proposed procurement for multi-role carrier-borne fighter jets comes after 10 years when the Navy decided to buy MIG-29Ks from Russia for INS Vikramaditya. The aircraft carrier was also built by Russia. INS Vikrant is now under construction at Cochin and is likely to be inducted by 2019.
Rakesh k singh By
NEW DELHI: Emboldened by Chinas support in blocking Indias efforts to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) boss Maulana Masood Azhar by the United Nations, the outfit is now planning to wage jehad against interests and operations of American and European MNCs in the region in order to emerge as a regional terror player in the subcontinent.
Jaish-e-Mohammad boss
Maulana Masood Azhar
Till now, the terror agenda of JeM was primarily limited to carrying out attacks in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir even as the outfit has sympathiser base in Bangladesh, Maldives, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The maximum following of the outfit is in Pakistan. The group is also seeking to extend its operational bases, according to inputs with security agencies. Earlier this month, Azhar exhorted his sympathisers that it is an obligation of the Muslims to target businesses run by non-Muslims in general and Christians and Jews specially. He has also released a list of about 20 MNCs whose products should be boycotted and operations hit.
As a tactical ploy, Azhar has refrained from specifically naming the US or its MNCs. The support and shielding against ban by China at the UN has apparently made JeM and its chief more confident and now Azhar is fancying chances of becoming a regional terror stalwart. The group has now become more vocal not only against India and its entities but also against Western world in general and American and Jewish entities in particular, an official said.
Through its article, Bad state of farmers and role of US multinationals and way out for Pakistan, the outfit sought to target the farmers as a recruitment base to further its jehadi tactic.
JeMs efforts are aimed at fuelling discontent amongst farmers by blaming MNCs for their plight, enhancing recruitment base and subsequently trageting the interest of MNCs.
NEW DELHI: Emboldened by Chinas support in blocking Indias efforts to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) boss Maulana Masood Azhar by the United Nations, the outfit is now planning to wage jehad against interests and operations of American and European MNCs in the region in order to emerge as a regional terror player in the subcontinent. Jaish-e-Mohammad boss Maulana Masood AzharTill now, the terror agenda of JeM was primarily limited to carrying out attacks in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir even as the outfit has sympathiser base in Bangladesh, Maldives, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The maximum following of the outfit is in Pakistan. The group is also seeking to extend its operational bases, according to inputs with security agencies. Earlier this month, Azhar exhorted his sympathisers that it is an obligation of the Muslims to target businesses run by non-Muslims in general and Christians and Jews specially. He has also released a list of about 20 MNCs whose products should be boycotted and operations hit. As a tactical ploy, Azhar has refrained from specifically naming the US or its MNCs. The support and shielding against ban by China at the UN has apparently made JeM and its chief more confident and now Azhar is fancying chances of becoming a regional terror stalwart. The group has now become more vocal not only against India and its entities but also against Western world in general and American and Jewish entities in particular, an official said. Through its article, Bad state of farmers and role of US multinationals and way out for Pakistan, the outfit sought to target the farmers as a recruitment base to further its jehadi tactic. JeMs efforts are aimed at fuelling discontent amongst farmers by blaming MNCs for their plight, enhancing recruitment base and subsequently trageting the interest of MNCs.
By ANI
ISLAMABAD: As many as 11 militants were killed by security officials in Kurram Agency on Sunday after they allegedly tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.
According to security officials, exchange of fire took place after the militants, who had tried to enter Pakistan via Khyber Agency, were surrounded by the forces.
Two security personnel were also killed, reports the Dawn.
This comes after shoot-on-sight orders were issued by Pakistani authorities for those attempting to cross the Pak-Afghan border illegally.
A nationwide intelligence operation was launched by security forces in wake of the recent rise in terror attacks.
At least 88 people were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan on Thursday.
ISLAMABAD: As many as 11 militants were killed by security officials in Kurram Agency on Sunday after they allegedly tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan. According to security officials, exchange of fire took place after the militants, who had tried to enter Pakistan via Khyber Agency, were surrounded by the forces. Two security personnel were also killed, reports the Dawn. This comes after shoot-on-sight orders were issued by Pakistani authorities for those attempting to cross the Pak-Afghan border illegally. A nationwide intelligence operation was launched by security forces in wake of the recent rise in terror attacks. At least 88 people were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan on Thursday.
By ANI
NEW DELHI: Taking cognizance of the initiative taken by Pakistan for including the name of Jamaat Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed in the 'Fourth Schedule' of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Defence Experts have warned that India should not claim satisfaction already, as it is not a very major achievement.
I dont think the Pakistan Government has come to a political determination yet about terrorism and support to such group, Hafiz Saeed in particular. Let us not over-interpret it, let us see what happens next, defence expert Commodore (Retd.) Uday Bhaskar told ANI.
Bhaskar further said that this, not a very major step taken by the neighbouring country which has restricted Hafiz Saeed that India can claim a satisfaction on it.
Echoing similar sentiments, another defence expert Qamar Agha said that the India should not take the step taken by Pakistan very seriously as such restrictions are just for namesake.
They basically did this because they were threatened by America. We should not take thing very seriously. Earlier whenever Pakistan has imposed a restriction on people they use to talk to media, it was just for namesake, Agha told ANI.
Earlier on Saturday, the provincial government of Punjab in Pakistan included names of Saeed and his four aides in the 'Fourth Schedule' of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
According to Dawn, a senior police officer privy to the development said on Friday that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) added their names to the list of the 1,450 'Fourth Schedulers' on an order of the federal Interior Ministry.
The men were identified by the Interior Ministry as "active members of the Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat". The ministry directed the CTD to "move and take necessary action" against them.
The names of three prisoners transferred to Pakistan from Guantanamo Bay had also been placed on the list, he said.
Saeed was placed under house arrest on January 30 and his name has also been put on the Exit Control List.
NEW DELHI: Taking cognizance of the initiative taken by Pakistan for including the name of Jamaat Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed in the 'Fourth Schedule' of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Defence Experts have warned that India should not claim satisfaction already, as it is not a very major achievement. I dont think the Pakistan Government has come to a political determination yet about terrorism and support to such group, Hafiz Saeed in particular. Let us not over-interpret it, let us see what happens next, defence expert Commodore (Retd.) Uday Bhaskar told ANI. Bhaskar further said that this, not a very major step taken by the neighbouring country which has restricted Hafiz Saeed that India can claim a satisfaction on it. Echoing similar sentiments, another defence expert Qamar Agha said that the India should not take the step taken by Pakistan very seriously as such restrictions are just for namesake. They basically did this because they were threatened by America. We should not take thing very seriously. Earlier whenever Pakistan has imposed a restriction on people they use to talk to media, it was just for namesake, Agha told ANI. Earlier on Saturday, the provincial government of Punjab in Pakistan included names of Saeed and his four aides in the 'Fourth Schedule' of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). According to Dawn, a senior police officer privy to the development said on Friday that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) added their names to the list of the 1,450 'Fourth Schedulers' on an order of the federal Interior Ministry. The men were identified by the Interior Ministry as "active members of the Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat". The ministry directed the CTD to "move and take necessary action" against them. The names of three prisoners transferred to Pakistan from Guantanamo Bay had also been placed on the list, he said. Saeed was placed under house arrest on January 30 and his name has also been put on the Exit Control List.
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.
By Online Desk
An online petition has asked Harry Potter author J K Rowling, who has been an ardent supporter of allowing refugees from the Middle-East, to give shelter to 18 refugees in each of her 18 spare rooms. The petition has been started on the platform change.org, and the name of the petitioner is shown as Marcus Aurelius, from France.
The petition first details Rowling's continued advocacy for open borders and allowing refugees into Europe and then alleges her and other rich elites to be 'disconnected from the ugly reality.' The petitioner claims Rowling has a total of 18 spare rooms combined in all her mansions in Britain, and then makes the case that she should provide long-term housing to 18 refugees, and also provide refugee shelters at the space available on her property.
The strongly-worded petition further states, "The refugee crisis will require 250,000 homes to be built every year in her homeland Britain. Helping refugees in Europe will cost 10 times as much as helping them in neighbouring countries would.
Donations by the superrich, even in the millions, are a drop in the ocean, as the taxpayer will have to pay billions for the following decades. Elites, that echo the MSM narrative, defending open borders, are hypocrites that will never share the outlook of the working class, which has to encounter refugees every day. So let's bring one of the loudest virtue-signaling apologists of globalism back to reality and give her some new roommates." The petition currently has 7,366 supporters, with the number increasing by the minute.
An online petition has asked Harry Potter author J K Rowling, who has been an ardent supporter of allowing refugees from the Middle-East, to give shelter to 18 refugees in each of her 18 spare rooms. The petition has been started on the platform change.org, and the name of the petitioner is shown as Marcus Aurelius, from France. The petition first details Rowling's continued advocacy for open borders and allowing refugees into Europe and then alleges her and other rich elites to be 'disconnected from the ugly reality.' The petitioner claims Rowling has a total of 18 spare rooms combined in all her mansions in Britain, and then makes the case that she should provide long-term housing to 18 refugees, and also provide refugee shelters at the space available on her property. The strongly-worded petition further states, "The refugee crisis will require 250,000 homes to be built every year in her homeland Britain. Helping refugees in Europe will cost 10 times as much as helping them in neighbouring countries would. Donations by the superrich, even in the millions, are a drop in the ocean, as the taxpayer will have to pay billions for the following decades. Elites, that echo the MSM narrative, defending open borders, are hypocrites that will never share the outlook of the working class, which has to encounter refugees every day. So let's bring one of the loudest virtue-signaling apologists of globalism back to reality and give her some new roommates." The petition currently has 7,366 supporters, with the number increasing by the minute.
By PTI
LAHORE: Over 300 people, mostly Afghans, have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 worshippers.
"More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody, mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on Mall Road," Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today. He said the search operation of law enforcement agencies will continue across the province and the Afghan nationals living here must keep their identification papers.
At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly suicide attack claimed by the ISIS in the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province. "During Saturday and Sunday, the police have arrested more than 200 people, mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said.
Some 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a protest demonstration of chemists outside the Punjab Assembly.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), "police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted". Police used bio-metric machines for identification of people and those who failed to produce documents to prove their identity have been taken into custody, he said, adding illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Meanwhile, the police have taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler/facilitator Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast. According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road where he blew himself up. An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day physical remand.
Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of the Lahore blast. Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country. The army over the weekend killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border.
LAHORE: Over 300 people, mostly Afghans, have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 worshippers. "More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody, mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on Mall Road," Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today. He said the search operation of law enforcement agencies will continue across the province and the Afghan nationals living here must keep their identification papers. At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly suicide attack claimed by the ISIS in the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province. "During Saturday and Sunday, the police have arrested more than 200 people, mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said. Some 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a protest demonstration of chemists outside the Punjab Assembly. According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), "police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted". Police used bio-metric machines for identification of people and those who failed to produce documents to prove their identity have been taken into custody, he said, adding illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification. Meanwhile, the police have taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler/facilitator Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast. According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road where he blew himself up. An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day physical remand. Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of the Lahore blast. Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country. The army over the weekend killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border.
By Associated Press
DALLAS: Norma McCorvey, whose legal challenge under the pseudonym "Jane Roe" led to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision that legalized abortion but who later became an outspoken opponent of the procedure, died Saturday. She was 69.
McCorvey died at an assisted living center in Katy, Texas, said journalist Joshua Prager, who is working on a book about McCorvey and was with her and her family when she died. He said she died of heart failure.
McCorvey was 22, unmarried, unemployed and pregnant for the third time when in 1969 she sought to have an abortion in Texas, where the procedure was illegal except to save a woman's life. The subsequent lawsuit, known as Roe v. Wade, led to Supreme Court's 1973 ruling that established abortion rights, though by that time, McCorvey had given birth and given her daughter up for adoption.
Decades later, McCorvey underwent a conversion, becoming an evangelical Christian and joining the anti-abortion movement. A short time later, she underwent another religious conversion and became a Roman Catholic.
"I'm 100 percent pro-life. I don't believe in abortion even in an extreme situation. If the woman is impregnated by a rapist, it's still a child. You're not to act as your own God," she told The Associated Press in 1998.
After the court's ruling, McCorvey had lived quietly for several years before revealing herself as Jane Roe in the 1980s. She also confessed to lying when she said the pregnancy was the result of rape.
Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, she remained an ardent supporter of abortion rights and worked for a time at a Dallas women's clinic where abortions were performed.
Her 1994 autobiography, "I Am Roe: My Life, Roe v. Wade, and Freedom of Choice," included abortion-rights sentiments along with details about dysfunctional parents, reform school, petty crime, drug abuse, alcoholism, an abusive husband, an attempted suicide and lesbianism.
But a year later, she was baptized before network TV cameras by a most improbable mentor: The Rev. Philip "Flip" Benham, the leader of Operation Rescue, now known as Operation Save America. McCorvey joined the cause and staff of Benham, who had befriended her when the anti-abortion group moved next door to the abortion clinic where she was working.
McCorvey also said that her religious conversion led her to give up her lover, Connie Gonzales. She said the relationship turned platonic in the early 1990s and that once she became a Christian she believed homosexuality was wrong.
She recounted her evangelical conversion and stand against abortion in the January 1998 book "Won by Love," which ends with McCorvey happily involved with Operation Rescue.
But by August of that year, she had changed faiths to Catholicism. And though she was still against abortion, she had left Operation Rescue, saying she had reservations about the group's confrontational style.
McCorvey formed her own group, Roe No More Ministry, in 1997 and traveled around the country speaking out against abortion. In 2005, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by McCorvey to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
In May 2009, she was arrested on trespassing charges after joining more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators when President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Notre Dame. In July 2009, she was among demonstrators arrested for disrupting Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination hearing.
McCorvey was born in Louisiana, spending part of her childhood in the small village of Lettsworth. Her family then moved to Houston and later Dallas, where in "I Am Roe" she recounts stealing money at the age of 10 from the gas station where she worked afternoons and weekends and running away to Oklahoma City before being returned home by police. She was eventually sent to a state reform school for girls in the northern Texas town of Gainesville, living there from the age of 11 to 15.
She married at the age of 16, but separated shortly after while she was pregnant. She says her mother tricked her into signing away custody of her firstborn and then threw her out of the house.
"My mom screamed, 'What did a lesbian know about raising a child?' I lost my child, and my home," she told the AP in 1998.
She gave a second child up for adoption, but when she got pregnant a third time she decided to have an abortion. She said she couldn't afford to travel to one of the handful of states where it would have been legal.
In her book "I Am Roe," she said her adoption attorney put her in touch with Texas lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, who were seeking a woman to represent in a legal case to challenge the state's anti-abortion statute. She gave birth to the "Roe" baby in June 1970.
DALLAS: Norma McCorvey, whose legal challenge under the pseudonym "Jane Roe" led to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision that legalized abortion but who later became an outspoken opponent of the procedure, died Saturday. She was 69. McCorvey died at an assisted living center in Katy, Texas, said journalist Joshua Prager, who is working on a book about McCorvey and was with her and her family when she died. He said she died of heart failure. McCorvey was 22, unmarried, unemployed and pregnant for the third time when in 1969 she sought to have an abortion in Texas, where the procedure was illegal except to save a woman's life. The subsequent lawsuit, known as Roe v. Wade, led to Supreme Court's 1973 ruling that established abortion rights, though by that time, McCorvey had given birth and given her daughter up for adoption. Decades later, McCorvey underwent a conversion, becoming an evangelical Christian and joining the anti-abortion movement. A short time later, she underwent another religious conversion and became a Roman Catholic. "I'm 100 percent pro-life. I don't believe in abortion even in an extreme situation. If the woman is impregnated by a rapist, it's still a child. You're not to act as your own God," she told The Associated Press in 1998. After the court's ruling, McCorvey had lived quietly for several years before revealing herself as Jane Roe in the 1980s. She also confessed to lying when she said the pregnancy was the result of rape. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, she remained an ardent supporter of abortion rights and worked for a time at a Dallas women's clinic where abortions were performed. Her 1994 autobiography, "I Am Roe: My Life, Roe v. Wade, and Freedom of Choice," included abortion-rights sentiments along with details about dysfunctional parents, reform school, petty crime, drug abuse, alcoholism, an abusive husband, an attempted suicide and lesbianism. But a year later, she was baptized before network TV cameras by a most improbable mentor: The Rev. Philip "Flip" Benham, the leader of Operation Rescue, now known as Operation Save America. McCorvey joined the cause and staff of Benham, who had befriended her when the anti-abortion group moved next door to the abortion clinic where she was working. McCorvey also said that her religious conversion led her to give up her lover, Connie Gonzales. She said the relationship turned platonic in the early 1990s and that once she became a Christian she believed homosexuality was wrong. She recounted her evangelical conversion and stand against abortion in the January 1998 book "Won by Love," which ends with McCorvey happily involved with Operation Rescue. But by August of that year, she had changed faiths to Catholicism. And though she was still against abortion, she had left Operation Rescue, saying she had reservations about the group's confrontational style. McCorvey formed her own group, Roe No More Ministry, in 1997 and traveled around the country speaking out against abortion. In 2005, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by McCorvey to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In May 2009, she was arrested on trespassing charges after joining more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators when President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Notre Dame. In July 2009, she was among demonstrators arrested for disrupting Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination hearing. McCorvey was born in Louisiana, spending part of her childhood in the small village of Lettsworth. Her family then moved to Houston and later Dallas, where in "I Am Roe" she recounts stealing money at the age of 10 from the gas station where she worked afternoons and weekends and running away to Oklahoma City before being returned home by police. She was eventually sent to a state reform school for girls in the northern Texas town of Gainesville, living there from the age of 11 to 15. She married at the age of 16, but separated shortly after while she was pregnant. She says her mother tricked her into signing away custody of her firstborn and then threw her out of the house. "My mom screamed, 'What did a lesbian know about raising a child?' I lost my child, and my home," she told the AP in 1998. She gave a second child up for adoption, but when she got pregnant a third time she decided to have an abortion. She said she couldn't afford to travel to one of the handful of states where it would have been legal. In her book "I Am Roe," she said her adoption attorney put her in touch with Texas lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, who were seeking a woman to represent in a legal case to challenge the state's anti-abortion statute. She gave birth to the "Roe" baby in June 1970.
Express News Service
COLOMBO: Factionalism within the multi-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been at the root of the on-going agitations in Kepapilavu and Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaitivu district and the just concluded stir on the issue of disappearances in Vavuniya, sources in the TNA told Express on Sunday.
The Vavuniya agitation was directed by the Eelam People Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) led by Suresh Premachandran and Sivasakthi Anandan against the current leaders of the TNA, especially M.A.Sumanthiran and Charles Nirmalanathan of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), and Selvam Adaikalanathan of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).
Within the ITAK itself there is a cleavage between the radicals and the moderates, with the former challenging the leadership of the latter. The leader of the Puthukudiyiruppu agitation is T.Ravikaran, a radical TNA member of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).
The EPRLF, which is a junior partner in the TNA, has been of the view that the ITAK-led TNA has not been effective in putting forward the Tamils case in regard to burning issues like land release by the military; the tracing of war-time missing persons; and the release of political prisoners or LTTE cadres from detention.
The EPRLF accuses the ITAK-led TNA of becoming a loyal opposition of the Sri Lankan government and not using its position in parliament and its influence over the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to solve the Tamils problems. While the ITAK believes in the long term efficacy of the politics of cooperation, the EPRLF, long with radicals within the ITAK, still believes in the politics of confrontation.
The organizers of the agitations in Vavuniya and Kepapilavu, propped up by the dissidents, had kept out the TNAs leaders on the plea that the affected people should engage the government independently, without the mediation of political parties.
However it was Charles Nirmalanathan and M.A.Sumanthiran of the ITAK who had spoken to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe and got the State Minister of Defense, Ruwan Wijewardene, to visit Vavuniya to talk to the women who were fasting on the disappearance issue. He got them an appointment to meet key ministers at the Prime Minister office in Colombo on February 9.
But the representatives of the fasting women, instigated by the EPRLF and the radicals, did not allow TNA MPs to participate in the meeting.
The meeting took place without the TNA MPs but there was no result other than another assurance from the ministers that they will talk to the Prime Minister when he returns from Australia.
In the case of the non-return of lands in Puthukudiyiruppu, TNA MP Sumanthiran was able to get the Prime Minister to ask the Forest Department to vacate some lands for the resettlement of the displaced. When the people said that they would not stop the agitation till they actually set foot on the released lands, the Prime Minister understood their sentiments and suggested that they sit on a relay fast and not a continuous fast.
In the case of Kepapilavu, however, the government said that land cannot be released because the people have no the necessary deeds or permits. During the war, the LTTE had taken over the lands to be used as an airfield by its air force called Air Tigers. When the war ended, the Sri Lankan Air Force confiscated the lands saying that they were LTTE assets. When the original civilian owners demanded their lands, the Air Force asked for their deeds or permits. But the people did not have them (because of the war).
However, due to the intervention of the TNAs leadership, the Air Force agreed to release some lands which are not necessary for the maintenance of the airfield. Others would be compensated by the grant of lands elsewhere it said. But the people would have none of this.
TNA MP Sumanthiran thinks that people should get their lands back even if they do not have deeds or permits. These could be provided by the government as they might have got lost or were not renewed because of the war. This can be achieved by engaging the government. Sumanthiran pointed out that the Air Force has already removed the notice at the airbases entrance which had warned that trespassers would be shot.
However, the radicals are expanding the agitation. A TNA member of the Northern Provincial Council, T.Ravikaran, has appealed to students of the 57 schools in Mullaitivu district to agitate in their schools on Monday. The agitation has now spread to Kilinochchi district also.
COLOMBO: Factionalism within the multi-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been at the root of the on-going agitations in Kepapilavu and Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaitivu district and the just concluded stir on the issue of disappearances in Vavuniya, sources in the TNA told Express on Sunday. The Vavuniya agitation was directed by the Eelam People Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) led by Suresh Premachandran and Sivasakthi Anandan against the current leaders of the TNA, especially M.A.Sumanthiran and Charles Nirmalanathan of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), and Selvam Adaikalanathan of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO). Within the ITAK itself there is a cleavage between the radicals and the moderates, with the former challenging the leadership of the latter. The leader of the Puthukudiyiruppu agitation is T.Ravikaran, a radical TNA member of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). The EPRLF, which is a junior partner in the TNA, has been of the view that the ITAK-led TNA has not been effective in putting forward the Tamils case in regard to burning issues like land release by the military; the tracing of war-time missing persons; and the release of political prisoners or LTTE cadres from detention. The EPRLF accuses the ITAK-led TNA of becoming a loyal opposition of the Sri Lankan government and not using its position in parliament and its influence over the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to solve the Tamils problems. While the ITAK believes in the long term efficacy of the politics of cooperation, the EPRLF, long with radicals within the ITAK, still believes in the politics of confrontation. The organizers of the agitations in Vavuniya and Kepapilavu, propped up by the dissidents, had kept out the TNAs leaders on the plea that the affected people should engage the government independently, without the mediation of political parties. However it was Charles Nirmalanathan and M.A.Sumanthiran of the ITAK who had spoken to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe and got the State Minister of Defense, Ruwan Wijewardene, to visit Vavuniya to talk to the women who were fasting on the disappearance issue. He got them an appointment to meet key ministers at the Prime Minister office in Colombo on February 9. But the representatives of the fasting women, instigated by the EPRLF and the radicals, did not allow TNA MPs to participate in the meeting. The meeting took place without the TNA MPs but there was no result other than another assurance from the ministers that they will talk to the Prime Minister when he returns from Australia. In the case of the non-return of lands in Puthukudiyiruppu, TNA MP Sumanthiran was able to get the Prime Minister to ask the Forest Department to vacate some lands for the resettlement of the displaced. When the people said that they would not stop the agitation till they actually set foot on the released lands, the Prime Minister understood their sentiments and suggested that they sit on a relay fast and not a continuous fast. In the case of Kepapilavu, however, the government said that land cannot be released because the people have no the necessary deeds or permits. During the war, the LTTE had taken over the lands to be used as an airfield by its air force called Air Tigers. When the war ended, the Sri Lankan Air Force confiscated the lands saying that they were LTTE assets. When the original civilian owners demanded their lands, the Air Force asked for their deeds or permits. But the people did not have them (because of the war). However, due to the intervention of the TNAs leadership, the Air Force agreed to release some lands which are not necessary for the maintenance of the airfield. Others would be compensated by the grant of lands elsewhere it said. But the people would have none of this. TNA MP Sumanthiran thinks that people should get their lands back even if they do not have deeds or permits. These could be provided by the government as they might have got lost or were not renewed because of the war. This can be achieved by engaging the government. Sumanthiran pointed out that the Air Force has already removed the notice at the airbases entrance which had warned that trespassers would be shot. However, the radicals are expanding the agitation. A TNA member of the Northern Provincial Council, T.Ravikaran, has appealed to students of the 57 schools in Mullaitivu district to agitate in their schools on Monday. The agitation has now spread to Kilinochchi district also.
By AFP
DHAKA: Hundreds of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar have returned home, community leaders said on Sunday, adding that most had gone back temporarily to fetch relatives.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since October to escape a bloody crackdown by troops and police.
Dudu Mia, a refugee camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, said nearly 1,000 Rohingya -- mostly young men -- had returned to their home villages to collect elderly family members left behind earlier.
"Most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh. It's been four months and they have barely even talked to their parents back home," Mia told AFP.
Myanmar's army has halted its operations in the north of Rakhine, a senior official said last week, ending the four-month crackdown which the UN has warned may amount to crimes against humanity.
Hundreds from the Rohingya Muslim minority are thought to have died and almost 70,000 have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched a campaign to find militants who attacked police border posts.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh, including the 70,000 most recent arrivals.
Escapees have given harrowing accounts of how security forces raped, killed and tortured Rohingya and burnt their houses to the ground.
Another Rohingya leader said some of the refugees had left Bangladesh permanently because their home villages had not been damaged by the Myanmar army and they had properties to protect.
"They left (their homes) because they were panicked. They didn't want to stay here as beggars, rather they would live in their own houses and work at land back home," he said on condition of anonymity.
The Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed that some Rohingya refugees had gone back to Myanmar.
"Scores of Rohingya people have reportedly returned home in last few days," said local commander Abujar al-Jahid.
"But we're remaining on high alert about any illegal infiltration."
A satellite image published last year by Human Rights Watch showed how Myanmar troops burned down Rohingya villages, displacing thousands.
Most of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh are now living in squalid conditions in refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar district, which borders Rakhine and is also home to the country's biggest tourist resort.
Bangladesh has already approved a controversial plan for their relocation to an island and instructed officials to identify undocumented Myanmar nationals as part of the campaign.
DHAKA: Hundreds of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar have returned home, community leaders said on Sunday, adding that most had gone back temporarily to fetch relatives. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since October to escape a bloody crackdown by troops and police. Dudu Mia, a refugee camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, said nearly 1,000 Rohingya -- mostly young men -- had returned to their home villages to collect elderly family members left behind earlier. "Most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh. It's been four months and they have barely even talked to their parents back home," Mia told AFP. Myanmar's army has halted its operations in the north of Rakhine, a senior official said last week, ending the four-month crackdown which the UN has warned may amount to crimes against humanity. Hundreds from the Rohingya Muslim minority are thought to have died and almost 70,000 have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched a campaign to find militants who attacked police border posts. Bangladeshi authorities estimate 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh, including the 70,000 most recent arrivals. Escapees have given harrowing accounts of how security forces raped, killed and tortured Rohingya and burnt their houses to the ground. Another Rohingya leader said some of the refugees had left Bangladesh permanently because their home villages had not been damaged by the Myanmar army and they had properties to protect. "They left (their homes) because they were panicked. They didn't want to stay here as beggars, rather they would live in their own houses and work at land back home," he said on condition of anonymity. The Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed that some Rohingya refugees had gone back to Myanmar. "Scores of Rohingya people have reportedly returned home in last few days," said local commander Abujar al-Jahid. "But we're remaining on high alert about any illegal infiltration." A satellite image published last year by Human Rights Watch showed how Myanmar troops burned down Rohingya villages, displacing thousands. Most of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh are now living in squalid conditions in refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar district, which borders Rakhine and is also home to the country's biggest tourist resort. Bangladesh has already approved a controversial plan for their relocation to an island and instructed officials to identify undocumented Myanmar nationals as part of the campaign.
By PTI
INDORE: Afghanistan National Assembly Speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi today described terrorism as the "biggest threat" for the South Asia region and said it is "originating from Pakistan".
"Today cross-border terrorism is the biggest threat for peace and prosperity in the region and no one better than India and Afghanistan can understand as both of us are victims of this menace," Ibrahimi told PTI on sidelines of the South-Asian speakers' summit.
"In case of both India and Afghanistan, cross-border terrorism is originating from Pakistan which is, unfortunately, patronising it also. This should be stopped, you don't expect this from neighbours," he said.
Taking strong note of Pakistan absence's from the summit, Ibrahimi had said India's neighbour is not here "for the reasons are best known to them".
"As a neighbouring nation we would have felt better if they were here," he had said.
INDORE: Afghanistan National Assembly Speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi today described terrorism as the "biggest threat" for the South Asia region and said it is "originating from Pakistan". "Today cross-border terrorism is the biggest threat for peace and prosperity in the region and no one better than India and Afghanistan can understand as both of us are victims of this menace," Ibrahimi told PTI on sidelines of the South-Asian speakers' summit. "In case of both India and Afghanistan, cross-border terrorism is originating from Pakistan which is, unfortunately, patronising it also. This should be stopped, you don't expect this from neighbours," he said. Taking strong note of Pakistan absence's from the summit, Ibrahimi had said India's neighbour is not here "for the reasons are best known to them". "As a neighbouring nation we would have felt better if they were here," he had said.
By IANS
NEW YORK: Thousands of people across the US are planning to protest on President's Day against President Donald Trump and his policies, according to media reports.
The President's Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February in honour of George Washington, the first US President.
According to a report in NBC News, people in large numbers spent their President's Day Weekend at "Not My President's Day" rallies and more such rallies are expected to take place in at least 25 cities across the US on Monday.
On Facebook, more than 12,000 New Yorkers said they would attend "Not My President's Day" on Monday while 47,000 have showed their interest in the event.
Another rally that is expected to take place on Monday in Chicago is claimed to be aimed at uniting the people.
"Focusing on just one issue, like immigration, would serve the administration's purpose and further divide the country," Laura Hartman, Chicago rally coordinator, was quoted as saying.
"We want to fight the entirety of the administration," she said.
The rally is expected to witness a gathering of around 3,000 people and members from the American Federation of Government Employees, Sousaphones Against Hate, and others are scheduled to speak at the event.
According to the report, Georgia organisers are planning a 'peach-ful' march in Atlanta that hundreds of demonstrators have signed up for on Facebook.
Nearly 1,000 protesters in Dallas took to streets on Saturday and chanted "Immigrants are welcome here" slogans.
"My parents are immigrants, they came here in the late 1980s, and I can't allow their memory of what they've done and I can't let their sacrifices be impugned by people wanting to scapegoat brown people and black people for all the problems US has," one protester was quoted as saying.
"We're not the problem, we're the solution," the protestor added.
The organiser of the protests, Eric Ramsey, said he hoped that the rallies would let the establishment know that people do not agree with its policies.
"We do not agree with the hateful policies they are putting into place that further marginalise these communities," Ramsey was quoted as saying.
Protesters also demanded "an immediate stop to the ICE raids and deportations," and pressed for Los Angeles to be established as a sanctuary city.
Dressed in black, hundreds of protesters in New York City's Washington Square attended a mock funeral for President's Day and listened as a eulogy was delivered for the US presidency.
NEW YORK: Thousands of people across the US are planning to protest on President's Day against President Donald Trump and his policies, according to media reports. The President's Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February in honour of George Washington, the first US President. According to a report in NBC News, people in large numbers spent their President's Day Weekend at "Not My President's Day" rallies and more such rallies are expected to take place in at least 25 cities across the US on Monday. On Facebook, more than 12,000 New Yorkers said they would attend "Not My President's Day" on Monday while 47,000 have showed their interest in the event. Another rally that is expected to take place on Monday in Chicago is claimed to be aimed at uniting the people. "Focusing on just one issue, like immigration, would serve the administration's purpose and further divide the country," Laura Hartman, Chicago rally coordinator, was quoted as saying. "We want to fight the entirety of the administration," she said. The rally is expected to witness a gathering of around 3,000 people and members from the American Federation of Government Employees, Sousaphones Against Hate, and others are scheduled to speak at the event. According to the report, Georgia organisers are planning a 'peach-ful' march in Atlanta that hundreds of demonstrators have signed up for on Facebook. Nearly 1,000 protesters in Dallas took to streets on Saturday and chanted "Immigrants are welcome here" slogans. "My parents are immigrants, they came here in the late 1980s, and I can't allow their memory of what they've done and I can't let their sacrifices be impugned by people wanting to scapegoat brown people and black people for all the problems US has," one protester was quoted as saying. "We're not the problem, we're the solution," the protestor added. The organiser of the protests, Eric Ramsey, said he hoped that the rallies would let the establishment know that people do not agree with its policies. "We do not agree with the hateful policies they are putting into place that further marginalise these communities," Ramsey was quoted as saying. Protesters also demanded "an immediate stop to the ICE raids and deportations," and pressed for Los Angeles to be established as a sanctuary city. Dressed in black, hundreds of protesters in New York City's Washington Square attended a mock funeral for President's Day and listened as a eulogy was delivered for the US presidency.
The US Is Not Abandoning Asia
Newly minted Secretary of Defense James Mattis wrapped up his first international trip this past weekend. According to a Defense Department press release about his visit to South Korea and Japan, Mattiss purpose was to listen to the concerns of South Korean and Japanese leaders.
The two countries are crucial US allies in Asia, and both face serious threats in their near abroad.
Discussing security threats, however, wasnt the primary purpose of Mattiss visit. The purpose was to reassure both countries that the administration of President Donald Trump will not abandon the US alliance structure in the Pacific.
In light of Mattiss visit, we thought it might be useful to examine current US military and investment positions in the Asia-Pacific region.
US Military Commitments in Asia-Pacific
The United States used containment as its primary strategy in blocking the Soviet Union.
Looking at the map above, we can see that the US is following a similar strategy with China. US military assets stationed in Asia-Pacific countries have two purposes. First, they ensure US naval power projection in the Pacific Ocean. Second, and by extension, they help contain Chinese ambitions.
Besides Guam (which is US territory), the US has no sovereign soil in the Western Pacific Ocean. The US must therefore have good relationships with strategically located countries in the Pacific where it can base ships and soldiers. Japan, South Korea, and Australia are the most important US allies in the region, but the US also maintains varying degrees of cooperation with countries like the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.
The Philippines is a key part of this strategy. But it is also being courted by China . Geopolitical Futures is bearish on Chinas long-term (even medium-term) future. Currently, however, China is the second-largest economy in the world. It is pouring money into its military development and trying to attract cooperation from other countries. The Philippines is the prettiest girl at the dance right nowManila has Washington, Beijing, Tokyo, and others chasing it around with promises of investment and protection in return for security guarantees.
The Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and Philippines remains in place, but the two sides only recently agreed on which Philippine bases the US can use. The US still hasnt been given permission to return to the much-coveted naval base at Subic Bay. The Philippine president is also full of anti-US rhetoric these days .
The US wants naval control of the oceans. It has a strong navy, but a navy by itself isnt enough. Containing China is another major part of its Pacific strategy. Even if China could be contained by means other than US power, the US would still want Pacific partners to help project its naval power.
Beneath all the noise is the simple fact that the US maintains an impressive military presence in the Pacific. Mattis will remind US allies how important they are to US interests and that US intentions can be measured in commitments, not headlines.
US FDI in Asia-Pacific
In addition to its military strategy, the US is employing an economic strategy. It wants countries to see the economic benefits of cooperating with the US. The United States is the largest economy in the world. It has used this economic power very effectively in the past.
The first thing to note from the map above is that the largest destination for US foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Asia-Pacific region is not an American ally but China. Chinas economy is in the midst of a huge transition. The US-Chinese economic relationship is important to both sides, but particularly for China. The US is Chinas largest export market. This happened in part because US companies could profit by moving production to China. Now, Beijing needs to move up the value chain by attracting foreign investment and technology (of which the US is a major source). If China seriously challenges the US, it risks these economic benefits.
The next five largest beneficiaries of US FDI in the region are crucial American allies and partners. Japan, South Korea, and Australia are at the top of the list. Singapore, located on the strategically important Strait of Malacca, is next. The military containment strategy displayed by the first map focuses mainly on blocking Chinese access to the Pacific. In contrast, this map of US FDI distribution shows a strategy not of containment but of widespread US economic influence across Asia-Pacific.
It should also be noted that some US FDI is directed to small countries, such as the Marshall Islands. The amount of FDI is lower because these are smaller economies, but the investments are arguably more important for the economic development of those countries. Being a US ally, or even a US partner, means access to US investment. The price of being a US ally can be high, but it also comes with key benefits.
Mattiss Trip
These two maps are snapshots of US power. They are also snapshots of US needs. The US imperative is to maintain its dominance of the worlds oceans. Ships need ports. Planes need bases. For these basic necessities, the US must have good relationships with strategically located countries in the Pacific. These countries, in turn, rely on the US for protection and for preservation of the status quo.
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On Sunday at 12 p.m., a large gathering is expected in Times Square to show solidarity with American Muslims at a rally titled "Today, I'm a Muslim, Too."
The Facebook event page, which shows "1.8K Going", offers more details:
We invite you all to join us for a day of solidarity in support of equality and tolerance, supporting American Muslims. The event starts at 12pm in Times Square - 48th St and Broadway. Family friendly. There is no greater time than now to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters who are under increasing threat and pressure. See you in Times Square! Please join Russell Simmons, Imam Shamsi Ali, Rabbi Marc Schneier, Dr. Debbie Almontaser, Daisy Khan, Linda Sarsour, Q-Tip and many other leaders from the community for this powerful event.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is also expected to speak.
Update: The crowd was already large even before noon:
In other ways to resist President Trump news, there is a fundraiser for Emily's List in Brooklyn Sunday night.
Reporter
Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
Pigeons are a facet of New York City life that are so ubiquitous that you probably wouldn't even notice if one or two or a dozen of your neighborhood flying rats went missing. Which seems to be the theory a man wandering around Greenpoint is counting on, considering that earlier this week he was seen snatching up pigeons in a huge net. And sadly, it's probably not because he's just a very eager pigeon trainer.
According to CBS2, at least one witness saw a man place down birdseed as a lure on a Greenpoint street, lunge at the pigeons who came to eat it with a big butterfly net and then quickly take his net full of pigeons into a van. The anonymous witness' account is corroborated by surveillance footage from the area, which shows the net-wielding man leap off the screen and re-appear with a net full of squirming birds. Other footage from the same block, taken at the same time, shows startled birds flying away from something, but the actual trapping of the birds wasn't caught on camera.
"Its obvious that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he was probably doing something kind of nefarious with the pigeons and thats why he didnt want to be caught," the witness told CBS.
She was right to assume the man was up to no good, since as we went over that time someone was suspected of stealing all the pigeons from Washington Square Park, the birds are most likely brought across state lines to Pennsylvania, where they're used as live target practice. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that still allows the birds to be used as live target practice according to CBS. Even if the man didn't have a nefarious end for the pigeons, it's still illegal to trap the birds in New York City without a permit.
Last year, a similar-looking man from the CBS story was seen stealing pigeons off the street in the East Village, before throwing the squirming bag of birds into a van:
The practice of illegally trapping pigeons became enough of an issue that people put up flyers decrying the practice, one of which a tipster sent Gothamist in 2015:
One thing I know for sure: This dude better pray that Mike Tyson doesn't catch him stealing pigeons.
The recent announcement that Merck is halting a Phase II/III study for a promising Alzheimer's treatment (verubecestat) was another setback in the continued and intensive effort to deliver an innovative therapy by 2020. UsAgainstAlzheimer's, which works collaboratively with industry partners to see near- and long-term progress against this destructive disease, applauds the vast investment of Merck, the diligence of the many principal investigators involved in the study and the courage of the clinical trial participants, as well as their caregivers, for their deep commitment to the fight.
"The spirited work of Merck and other drug companies that are concentrating vast resources into a cure for Alzheimer's is not underappreciated. Each outcome, while assuredly disheartening, builds our knowledge and leads us closer to a solution for the millions of people with Alzheimer's or related dementias," said UsAgainstAlzheimer's Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg. "Just as we have before, we will keep working incessantly, passionately and strategically so that the next round in this fight goes to us."
Similar to Eli Lilly's recent negative Phase III trial of the once-promising therapy solanezumab, verubecestat was assessed by an oversight committee as having "virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect" on people with mild to moderate symptoms. Verubecestat, like other drugs in the pipeline, targets the beta amyloid protein that forms most of the plaque that builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patient.
"The drug will continue to be studied on people with a very early form of Alzheimer's disease where we are hopeful for a better outcome," Vradenburg said.
Following the solanezumab news, Vradenburg issued a letter, acknowledging lessons learned in the aftermath of negative trials and providing a blueprint for moving forward on the path to a cure. His guidance, directed at policymakers, advocates and researchers, rings true following the verubecestat news. It includes these pivotal next steps:
Obtaining a minimum of $2 billion in annual U.S. federal funding for Alzheimer's research, with an insistence that, in the near future, every government in the world provide funding equivalent to one percent of their Alzheimer's care costs (which, in the United States would equal $2.3 billion, according to 2016 figures).
Calling upon President Trump to exercise global leadership in this effort.
Building a high-speed specialized Alzheimer's trial network to enable the more rapid and efficient testing of therapies.
Utilizing "big data" to enable doctors to detect Alzheimer's disease at the earliest possible moment when prevention therapies now in testing could have their greatest effect.
Achieving greater racial, income and educational diversity among clinical trial participants, realizing that, by 2030, a majority of Americans with Alzheimer's are expected to be members of what are today called "minority" populations.
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Despite the recent news, there is hope, as there are more promising innovations on the horizon. An analysis of the Phase III Alzheimer's drug pipeline, conducted by ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer's (RA2), shows that there are now 21 Alzheimer's drugs in Phase III clinical trials, 19 of which may be on track to launch in the next five years. In addition, RA2 reports that 10 drugs are scheduled to have trial completion dates in 2017 and 2018.
"UsAgainstAlzheimer's was founded because we wanted to turn the pain we experienced with this disease to drive our shared purpose to boldly break down the barriers to a cure," Vradenburg said. "We are grateful to the researchers and clinical trial participants, as well as the enormous financial contributions of Merck and other industry leaders, who have a similar passion to eradicate this disease."
UsAgainstAlzheimer's is an innovative non-profit organization demanding - and delivering - a solution to Alzheimer's. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, UsAgainstAlzheimer's presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure - accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.
Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer's has worked across sectors to: (1) secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 and help secure nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer's research over the past few years; (2) drive global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world's most powerful nations, the G7 group, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration; and (3) forge industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process.
A multidisciplinary team of surgeons, physicians and other health professionals recently completed a near-total face transplant on a Wyoming man on Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus. The extensive, life-changing surgery will improve the patient's ability to chew, swallow, speak, breathe and smell. The recipient, Andrew Sandness, is a 32-year-old man from eastern Wyoming whose face was devastated by a gunshot wound at the age of 21. He is doing well.
"I am absolutely amazed at the outcome so far," says Sandness. "I am now able to chew and eat normal food, and the nerve sensation is slowly improving, too. My confidence has improved, and I'm feeling great - and grateful. I am so thankful to my donor and the donor's family, and to all of the people who have supported me throughout this process."
The care team led by Samir Mardini, M.D., and Hatem Amer, M.D., the surgical director and medical director, respectively, for Mayo Clinic Essam and Dalal Obaid Center for Reconstructive Transplant Surgery. The team includes specialists from Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Transplant Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Infectious Diseases, Immunology, Pharmacy, Regenerative Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, Rehabilitation, and Speech and Language Pathology. The team also includes staff from LifeSource, the federally-designated nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and healing lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest.
"Mayo Clinic has a long history of specialized teams of experts providing complex care to patients who need hope and healing," says Dr. Mardini. "This is an extraordinary example of the teamwork, collaboration and compassion that we provide at Mayo Clinic, and I couldn't be more proud of this team. Andy has been our patient for 10 years. He has worked so hard to prepare for this, and during his entire recovery period, he has been strong, gracious and determined. Andy is an amazing person and so well-deserving of this gift."
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The surgery, which spanned more than 50 hours, occurred in the summer 2016 and involved restoring Sandness' nose, upper and lower jaw, palate, teeth, cheeks, facial muscles, oral mucosa, some of the salivary glands and the skin of the face (from below the eyelids to the neck and from ear to ear). The surgical team used virtual surgical planning technology and 3-D printing to optimize the aesthetic and functional outcomes of the surgery. Sandness has been recovering in Rochester and likely will return home to eastern Wyoming this month.
"We are grateful that the guiding principles of the Mayo Brothers have endured and shepherded the development of the Reconstructive Transplant program, and for Andy's dedication to his medical care," says Dr. Amer. "Throughout the entire journey, we have shared Andy's concern and sympathy for the donor family who have made this amazing gift possible. Their selfless gift gives hope to so many other people who are living reclusively, have limited function, and are socially isolated due to facial deformities."
Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of victims injured by medical devices, comments that medical device problems have prompted regulators to call for better reporting. Congress required hospitals to report adverse events in 1990.
Safety concerns involving power morcellators and duodenoscopes prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate how hospitals report injuries and deaths related to medical devices. Morcellators are gynecologic tools used during hysterectomy or uterine fibroid removal and may spread undetected cancers in women, worsening their prognosis. Duodenoscopes are specialized endoscopes used in gastrointestinally and contaminated duodenoscopes were linked to antibiotic-resistant bacteria outbreaks in several hospitals.
In December 2015, a number of hospitals were surveyed involving facilities where cancer was spread via morcellators or patients were infected through contaminated duodenoscopes. The inspection found that many cases were not submitted to the agency's adverse event report database; that hospitals had no system in place for staff to submit reports to the FDA or device makers; and that staff did not always know, or were not properly trained, concerning the mandate to report injuries and deaths associated with medical devices.
Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., Director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health wrote that, "Based on the number of user facilities in the United States and the number of reports we receive, we believe that these hospitals are not unique in that there is limited to no reporting to FDA or to the manufacturers at some hospitals." He added that, "we feel certain there is a better way to work with hospitals to get the real-world information we need, and we should work with the hospital community to find that right path, especially in light of developments in the creation and evaluation of electronic health information."
Parker Waichman comments that improved reporting may benefit future patients. "The firm supports efforts to improve medical device adverse event reporting," said Keith Gitman, Managing Attorney at the firm. "Through improved reporting methods, manufacturers and regulators may identify medical device problems quicker."
He added, On March 1, we will start our non-cooperation movement. Jats will not pay their water and electricity bills. They will not pay any debts they owe to the government. If the government continues to ignore our demands, this non-cooperation movement may be intensified further.
Our demands are quite simple. The first demand, which had brought these young men to the streets, is the demand for reservations for the Jat community. We also demand that the cases filed against protesters from last year be withdrawn. Those who are lodged in jails should be released," said Malik.
After 22 days of the Jat quota agitation in Haryana, leaders of the movement have decided to intensify the quota stir by announcing a non-cooperation movement against the BJP government in the state.Yashpal Malik, president of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) and the face of the protests, on Sunday addressed rallies in Rohtak and Sonipat districts during Balidan Diwas (Sacrifice day) to mark the memory of those who died in last years protests. In March, Jat agitators will also protest in the national capital.The indefinite protests going on all over Haryana will be intensified from March 1 onwards. In ten districts, there will be an increase of ten protests per day. These are Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Karnal, Dadri, Kurukshetra, Mewat and Panchkula districts. On March 2, we will announce a date on which Jats from all over the country will march to Delhi and protest outside Parliament when it is in session, Malik said while addressing a rally in Rohtak.While speaking to News18 Malik insisted that the movement would remain non-violent. This will be a completely peaceful movement. We will not allow any kind of violence to take place. In fact, we will neither do rail-roko nor paani-roko protests which happened last year.He hit out at the Manohar Lal Khattar government in the state and said they were not serious about their demands.The BJP, meanwhile, denied the allegations. Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala said, The charge that we are not serious about meeting the demands of the protesters is simply not true. However, we cannot simply withdraw our cases against everyone. Due process of law needs to be followed in this regard. We have also been reaching out to members of the community and are trying to resolve the deadlock.
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday termed the kidnap and assault on a Malayalam actress as horrendous. It is horrendous. There is fundamentally wrong with our society, he told CNN-News18.
The entire thing is horrific. I applaud her for the courage to fight back. Many people brush these kinds of things under the carpet. Our patriarchal society somehow managed to give the impression that the victim is responsible, he added.
The incident reportedly occurred on Friday night when the actress was travelling from Thrissur to Ernakulam. Sources said a tempo-traveller rammed into the vehicle in which she travelling. When the driver of the actresss car got down after the collision, two men entered the car and assaulted her and tried to click pictures. They then drove the actress towards Ernakulam for the next half an hour, sources said.
On Sunday, police arrested the actresss driver on suspicion of colluding with the attackers. They suspect a gang, led by the actresss former driver, Pulsar Suni alias Sunilkumar, to be behind the attack.
We should all stand by her. A member of society is not safe unless there is someone to protect. Everyone cannot walk around with Z plus security. People have the right to go for their work, to come back from work. The police needs to look into this thoroughly, Tharoor said.
Law and order is for the protection of everybody We should use her courage and start educating our people how deeply criminal this is. This is criminal misbehavior. The government has the responsibility to improve law and order, he added.
Image: Reuters Pictures
Image: Reuters Pictures
Image: Reuters Pictures
: Actress Angelina Jolie made her first public appearance after she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in September 2016, when she stepped out for a press conference ahead of the Cambodia premiere of her new film First They Killed My Father.She made her appearance on Saturday in Siem Reap, Cambodia.The film will be presented in the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex with Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and senior government officials are expected to attend, reports people.com.During the press conference for the film, Jolie said she thinks of Cambodia "like a second home"."Maddox (her son) is happy to be back in his country," she added."First They Killed My Father" is based on the autobiography of the same name by Cambodian human-rights activist Loung Ung, a friend of Jolie's. The memoir tells the true story of the devastation inflicted on Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge communist party in the 1970s."I read Loung's book many years ago. It helped to open my eyes to what was going on the world," said Jolie."First They Killed My Father" will be released globally via Netflix later this year.
Mumbai: With Hungry, a co-production between India and Britain, actress Sayani Gupta says she has realized her wish to work with veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Hungry, written and directed by Bornila Chatterjee, also features the critically acclaimed Tisca Chopra. It is based on William Shakespeare's tragedy Titus Andronicus.
About being a part of the Film London production, Sayani said in a statement: "Just working with such a splendid cast by itself was out of the world. Naseer sir, in fact, had come once to FTII (Film and Television Institute of India, Pune), when I was a student there, as a guest faculty."
"I always wished I would once work with him. The fact that I'm working with him in such a short duration of my career is extremely rewarding. The shoot of the film was absolutely a learning experience for me to be around such talented individuals."
Sayani had started out her international work by being part of a short film called Leeches. Her latest Bollywood release in the Akshay Kumar starrer-Jolly LLB 2.
Mumbai: No Bed of Roses, a film said to be loosely based on late Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed, starring and co-produced by Indian actor Irrfan Khan, has been banned in Bangladesh. The filmmaker says the action is against freedom of expression, while Irrfan hopes the ban is lifted soon.
"I'm surprised with this decision. It is a story of emotions between a man and woman. How can it cause any harm to the society? I hope that the ban is lifted and the audiences can see the film soon," Irrfan said in a statement issued here on Saturday.
The actor is acclaimed for his work in Indian films like The Lunchbox, Paan Singh Tomar and Piku and known in Hollywood for being a part of movies like Jurassic World and Inferno. He plays the lead role in No Bed of Roses, a co-production between Bangladesh's Jaaz Multimedia and India's Eskay Movies with Irrfan's IK Company as co-producer.
Helmed by Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the movie is said to be about Ahmed, who divorced his wife of 27 years and married an actress 33 years his junior. But the filmmaker has denied that it's a biopic.
According to variety.com, the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation's (BFDC) Joint Venture Preview Committee approved the script of the movie on March 8, 2016, after which the film went into production. The completed film was previewed for the BFDC on February 12, 2017 and received a No Objection Certificate on February 15.
But just a day later, the BFDC sent the production a letter stating that the certificate had been cancelled due to a letter from the Bangladesh Information Ministry.
Farooki, who is known in Bangladeshi cinema for works like Television and Ant Story, is now taking the matter to court.
"We have been blocked at the first gate," said Farooki.
"As the order does not explain any reason, I don't know why they thought screening of the film would be inappropriate. Yes, my film handles a so-called taboo subject but it doesn't show anything explicit and hence doesn't violate any censor code. This goes against the freedom of expression," he added.
The variety.com report claims they have had access to the film and it starts with a disclaimer that the film has no resemblance to any real life characters alive or dead.
BFDC Managing Director Tapan Kumar Ghosh told variety.com that it is not the BFDC's prerogative to issue the certificate and it was up to the Bangladesh Film Censor Board to issue it.
However, Variety claims having copies of all the letters issued to the production from the BFDC and they are all on the organization's official letterhead. In reality, international co-productions cannot approach the Censor Board without the BFDC certificate.
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Kolkata: National Award winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, whose Calendar Girls faced the heat in Pakistan, says he "feels very sorry" for makers of No Bed of Roses, which has been banned in Bangladesh. It stars and is co-produced by Indian actor Irrfan Khan.
"'Calendar Girls' was banned in Pakistan. We are talking about liberalisation, we are talking about freedom of speech and the world having changed so much. Irrfan is a talented actor and he has the same amount of fan following in Bangladesh as in India.
"I feel very sorry for Irrfan and the filmmakers, including director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, to face such a ban," Bhandarkar told the media here on the sidelines of the seventh National Science Film Festival.
No Bed of Roses is said to be loosely based on late Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed, who divorced his wife of 27 years and married an actress 33 years his junior. But the filmmaker has denied that it's a biopic.
"I feel it should not have been banned. I don't know what the film is about but I am very against films getting banned, especially after the censors pass it," he added.
Heartfelt thank you to "The Brand Laureate" for honouring me with the "Legendary Award" 2017. pic.twitter.com/ybvK2590zX Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) February 17, 2017
I have lived through a gratifying career for which I am and will always remain in deep gratitude to all my well wishers.. Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) February 17, 2017
: Indian melody queen Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the 'Legendary Award' by The Brand Laureate. She says she is thankful for her gratifying career and well-wishers."Heartfelt thank you to The Brand Laureate for honouring me with the Legendary Award 2017," the 87-year-old posted on Twitter alongside an image the award.The Brand Laureate recognises world-class achievement in branding amongst individuals and companies.Mangeshkar's award reads: "Asia Pacific Brands Foundation awards Lata Mangeshkar, Legendary Award as a veteran melody queen who has given a plethora of memorable hits and soulful melodies in Hindi film music."In a heartfelt message to her fans, she tweeted: "I have lived through a gratifying career for which I am and will always remain in deep gratitude to all my well-wishers."Known for songs like Lag jaa gale, Aayega aanewala, Aye mere watan ke logon, Luka chuppi and several more, Mangeshkar's career in films has spanned several decades.
As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n injustice in Manipur... Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 19, 2017
A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal donated Rs 50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharila's party which is fighting Manipur elections, Aam Aadmi Party Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann followed suit and donated his one-month salary."As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n justice in Manipur(sic)," Mann, tweeted on Sunday.In response, Sharmila's PRJA party tweeted "Thanks a lot Mann sir for supporting our campaign and believeing in us. We will change Manipur for good."Mann himself is fighting Punjab Assembly elections as AAP candidate from Jalalabad seat against deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.With shortage of funds and manpower, Sharmila's People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses.Kejriwal had on Saturday said he is donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her."I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her," he had tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her. PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur which has taken to crowd-funding to finance the poll expenses in the state.According to PRJA sources, online crowd-funding with a slogan "Ten For a Change" is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses."The online crowdfunding is in line with the party's call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds," a PRJA source said.
Mumbai: Taking a jibe at the Shiv Sena over its #karun dakhavle (we did it) poll campaign slogan, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Saturday asked Uddhav Thackeray to withdraw support to the BJP-led state government.
"Uddhav should implement what he says and withdraw support to the BJP-led government by asking his ministers to resign. Congress is ready for the mid-term polls," Chavan said while addressing an election meeting at Antop Hill.
On BJP's 'transparency' plank for the BMC polls, Chavan wondered why the party had not thought of transparency for the 22 years it has been in power in the civic body.
"Congress works to unite people, while BJP wants to polarise society on the mandir-masjid issue. BJP says 'mandir wahi banayenge' and Shiv Sena says they will withdraw support to the BJP government, but both the parties don't give a date for it," he alleged.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the tagline "parivartan tar honarach (change will happen)" denoting its resolve to dethrone the Sena in the BMC, Chavan said, "Change will happen not in favour of BJP, but in favour of Congress."
The Congress leader added that villages in Maharashtra had better roads than in Mumbai.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said if Congress is voted to power, it will start canteen service for the common man, where full meal will be available for Rs 20.
Former MPs Milind Deora and Eknath Gaikwad were present at the meeting.
In another rally at Sion held later, Chavan said his party was responsible for whatever development was seen in Mumbai, like Metro rail, Mono Rail and Eastern Freeway.
"However, Shiv Sena and BJP, despite being in power for 22 years in Mumbai, failed to provide basic amenities like water, roads and health services to the citizens," he said.
"In all these years, instead of spending the civic resources on the development of the city, leaders of these two parties failed to live up to the people's expectations and are now busy attacking each other," Chavan said.
Demonetisation hit the common man hard and cost people of their livelihood, he said.
Lucknow: 5, Vikramaditya Marg is not quite the mansion youd expect. It is an old colonial bungalow, barely a kilometer away from the Samajwadi Party office, with a fresh coat of white paint and French windows. The whole look is pretty non-fussy if you discount the 10 security personnel hanging around.
They say Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav is in residence. He is getting ready to go campaigning for his daughter-in-law Aparna, who is the wife of his younger son Prateek Yadav and is contesting from Lucknow Cantt. It is only the third time he is stepping out this election season after his elder son and Chief Minister Akhilesh orchestrated a coup and took control of the Samajwadi Party.
There is talk in Lucknow of how the Uttar Pradesh CM cannot stand his father's second wife, Sadhna, and step-brother, Prateek, and that they are the reason behind the father-son feud.
Prateek dismisses this gossip. Every evening, till two months ago, bhaiyya and I played badminton together. It has stopped now because of elections. Even when the party was in a state of crisis, every day the family met. The gate between our house and Akhilesh bhaiyya's house was always open," he says. Akhilesh recently shifted to the bungalow next door with his wife and three kids.
Prateek, 30, is a businessman with a real estate empire. But his latest passion is Sparta, the gym he has opened in upmarket Gomti Nagar. He has been working out for the last 13 years and has the built of a 'pehelwan' (wrestler). "It is one of the best gyms in India. In the next 10 years, I hope to have 100 branches across the country. I have worked very hard to build my own identity and earn my own money.
Prateek is the only 'non-politician' in the Yadav family and wants to keep it that way. "We have 22 elected members in our family. I didn't want to be the 23rd. Politics is not for me. But my wife Aparna is fit for it, he says.
Prateek and Aparna were school sweethearts who dated for 12 years before getting married. Both went to England for their post-graduation he to Leeds, she to Manchester.
He helps take care of their four-year-old daughter Prathama when Aparna, 28, is away campaigning. Wasn't there pressure on him to join politics? Enough journalists in Lucknow talk about how his ambitious mother wanted him to be the 'inheritor of Mulayam's political legacy and how he is really at the root of the feud between his father and step-brother.
"I don't know why my mother has been painted as a villain. Maybe because she is the second wife. She has, for the last 30 years, kept the family together. The step-mom narrative really upsets her. What happened was a party problem, not a family problem. You should interview her and see if she really is the evil person she is made out to be."
During this conversation, the lady in question steps out to see off a group of women. She gives an apologetic smile for being dressed in a nightie. She doesn't want to be interviewed. But she stays on, peeping from behind a pillar, to see the cameraman capture Prateek in his much-talked about blue Lamborgini.
It made headlines when Prateek decided to race it down Lucknow just as Akhilesh and Mulayam were locked in a bitter fight over the cycle, the partys electoral symbol. It is the only Lamborgini in UP, he says. "I had seen one in London 10 years ago and it was love at first sight. But I had never thought I would be able to afford it." With a price tag of Rs 5.3 crore, it isn't exactly a samajwadi car. "But I am not a samajwadi. And neither am I the spoilt prince I am made out to be. I pay an EMI of Rs 6 lakh every month for the car. Maybe people should meet me before they make up their minds about me."
Maybe they should. But chances are that we are going to be seeing more of Aparna than of him in the coming days. The daughter of a journalist, she insists it is her father-in-law who was keen on her joining politics. "Prateek was asked. He said no. But Netaji insisted I fight elections. He said that as a politician, I will be able to do more for the people. Else, I was happy with my social work, she says.
Lucknow Cantt, where Aparna is contesting from, is a curious pick. It was with the BJP for the last 20 years. In 2012, Rita Bahugana Joshi won on a Congress ticket from here. The Samajwadi Party was fourth. "Why are you calling her (Joshi) a veteran? Just because she is an old woman? She has done no work here," says Aparna.
Whatever the equation at home, both Akhilesh and his wife Dimple have come out to campaign for Aparna. But there are skeptics from within Aparna's own team who say there is little beyond this public show of support. "Tell me, who gave me the ticket? Bhaiyya (Akhilesh), right? Then why all this controversy? Our relations are very cordial, the Yadav bahu, clad in a kani shawl and white sneaker, says while on her way to her next rally where Akhilesh Yadav is expected. He is running three hours late.
Ghulam Nabi Azad has already looked at his watch twice. When the CM does arrive, the crowd roars. She smiles and touches his feet. She is not the star today. But if she beats the odds and wins this election, she will be.
Mumbai: Forecasting that mid-term assembly elections in Maharashtra are "inevitable", NCP President Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there is no question of his party propping up the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the state.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief told the media that he is even ready to put down his decision in writing and submit a copy to the state Governor if the Shiv Sena withdraws support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"I can right now give a letter to this effect and forward it to the Governor. But even Shiv Sena should submit a letter to the Governor, saying it has withdrawn support and make it public," Pawar said, putting the ball in the Sena court over the fate of the government headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Shiv Sena in the past few weeks has bitterly criticised the BJP in the state and at the Centre, saying the Maharashtra government was "on a notice period", indicating that it may withdraw support after the outcome of the civic elections on February 23.
However, Pawar termed the recent demand by the Sena leaders of continuing support in return for complete farm loans waiver as "an escape route".
Soon after the 2014 October assembly elections, the NCP had extended outside support to the BJP's minority government as Shiv Sena sat in the opposition for a month before joining the government.
The NCP chief had then justified its decision to provide external support to the BJP "in the interest of political stability and to avoid a fresh round of elections".
In the last assembly elections, Maharashtra threw up a fractured House as all the main parties had contested separately and against each other.
Attacking the Centre for demonetisation, Pawar said the November 8 move had resulted in massive losses in the farming sector and rural areas, besides job losses in the economy.
"Demonetisation has had an adverse impact on the powerloom and manufacturing sectors, causing 60 per cent increase in unemployment in rural areas. There is a severe displeasure among the rural masses in the state on the performance of the Fadnavis government," Pawar said.
Questioning Fadnavis' claims on the "transparency agenda", Pawar demanded to know how the BJP could spend so much money on advertisements and publicity for the ongoing civic elections in Maharashtra.
Referring to a demand by the BJP to ban the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana Group of Publications for some days during the election period, Pawar said this indicated "dictatorial" attitude of the central government part and expressed his opposition to it.
"I have been in power for long. It is surprising how power has gone to their heads in such a short time and they can demand banning of a newspaper. It's an indicator of a dictatorial tendency," Pawar remarked.
On the NCP's prospects in the ongoing civic elections, Pawar said he is not making any claims that his party would perform well in Mumbai, as it is strong at the state-level.
Bhopal: Faction-ridden Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is meeting the city on Monday to elect the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, with the party satraps vying for the plum post.
The post fell vacant after the death of then Opposition Leader Satyadev Katare in October last year.
AICC general secretary and Madhya Pradesh in-charge of the party affairs Mohan Prakash and the Central Observer for the LoP's election, Ajay Maken are expected to arrive in the state capital on Sundaynight.
Names of former LoP Ajay Singh, belonging to Digvijaya Singh camp, and Mukesh Nayak, a former minister, are doing the rounds.
According to party insiders, Nayak, a Brahmin, and Digvijaya, a Thakur, are rivals.
Among the leaders whose names are also in the reckoning for the post are Ramniwas Rawat, who belongs to Jyotiraditya Scindia camp, and deputy LoP Bala Bachchan of former Union minister Kamal Nath-led faction.
During the last election of the LoP, the factions led by Digvijaya Singh and Scindia, which had supported Ajay and Katare, respectively, almost came to blows in front of the state Congress office Indira Bhawan.
Sources said the party high command might hand over an envelope to Maken mentioning their choice of the leader to avoid embarrassment to the party should the factions create ruckus.
State Congress chief spokesperson KK Mishra said all party MLAs have been asked to be present at Monday's meeting.
Etawah: Shivpal Yadav meets his supports, only a dozen at SS Memorial College in Sefai. With less than twenty-two hours to go for the elections, his aides from as far as Azamgarh in the far east have come here to manage the elections in Jaswantnagar, one of the three assembly segments in Etawah.
Jaswantnagar, after all, is Mulayam's pocket borough. The seat from where MSY started his political career in 1967. And Mulayam won from here all along except only once when Congress fielded his local adversary Balram SINGH Yadav in early eighties.
Later MSY handed over the legacy, at least this seat in the heart of Yadav stronghold to his brother Shivpal.
In the last one month, Mulayam had had to play a reluctant referee between his son Akhilesh and brother Shivpal in the bitter power struggle to carry forward the legacy of perhaps one of the most power regional satraps to challenge the Congress hegemony in the Hindi heartland.
Akhilesh towards the fag end of the election campaign for the third phase of electioneering in UP addressed rallies in Etawah and adjoining Mainpuri. He, however, skipped Jaswantnagar, his Chacha's seat.
Everything is fine in Mainpuri, he said while addressing a rally in Bharthana, an assembly segment in Etawah. But then there are people who are trying to create trouble within the adjoining Etawah.
The chasm within is evident in Etawah city seat where SP has fielded a close aide of Ram Gopal Yadav instead of the sitting MLA close to Shivpal Yadav. Shantu Gupta is also a chairman of the municipal corporation. He faces a stiff challenge from Ballu Chadhary of the BSP and Sarita Bhaduria of the BJP.
Shantu is considered Ram Gopal Yadav nominee in Etawah. The fight for the city seat has fast developed into a direct battle between Ram Gopal and Shivpal.
At his residence on Sefai - Etawah Road, Ram Gopal sits quietly amidst the hullabaloo of the election campaign. He is confident SP will be able to repeat it's performance of the last assembly election when the party won 55 out of 69 seats in this region and central UP.
BJP here backs on non-Yadav OBC votes, especially Lodhs and Shakya. BSP, on the other hand, is relying on Brahmin, Dalits and Muslims.
In the adjoining Bharthana seat, again SP is up against BSP. Bharthana again has a high concentration of Yadav votes. Mulayam has represented this assembly seat in UP assembly. These are different times. SP, however, feels Yadavs for whatever reasons will mobilise around a symbol and party associated with their social and political empowerment.
It's for the first time that SP since its inception has had a pre-poll alliance with Congress. There are no remnants of the Grand Old Party in this part of the state. Though Congress by some strange quirk of fate is linked to Etawah.
Congress' founder Allan Octavian Hume was the Collector of Etawah around 1870. The renowned ornithologist thought of creating a pressure valve in the pre-independence India to let the natives manifest their political aspirations within the realms of the British Raj.
The baton later was taken over by the local leadership to win freedom from the imperial rule.
MSY's son this election has decided to align with the Congress.
Though Congress is not contesting from any seats in Etawah, Mainpuri and Auraiya districts.
The challenge for SP is from within.
After his election Sunday morning, Shivpal Yadav some say will not be as cautious in his utterances as he has been thus far.
It's a matter of survival after all. And in the last six months, he's has been at the receiving end all along.
West Palm Beach: As he seeks to get his struggling administration back on track, President Donald Trump is interviewing at least four potential candidates to serve as his new national security adviser.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer says that Trump will interview his acting adviser, retired Army Lt Gen Keith Kellogg; a former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; Army Lt Gen H R McMaster; and the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, Lt Gen Robert Caslen.
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his private Palm Beach club, could potentially talk to a few others, Spicer said on Friday.
Trump is also planning to talk with several foreign leaders on Saturday, and will have a health care strategy meeting.
Trump is working to replace ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump's first choice -- retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward -- turned down the offer.
The president tweeted last morning that he "will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House."
Trump also planned a campaign rally Friday afternoon, and he continued his Twitter attacks against the news media.
Finding a new national security adviser has proved challenging for the president. He had also expressed interest in former CIA Director David Petraeus, but Spicer said Petraeus was no longer under consideration.
Petraeus, a retired four-star general, resigned as CIA director in 2012 and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanour charge of mishandling classified information relating to documents he had provided to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair.
Flynn resigned at Trump's request on Monday after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the US during the transition.
Trump said in a news conference on Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence, but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.
Pakistans, and in particular Sindhs, union with Islam, Sufism, and Hinduism dates centuries back. Sitting along the west bank of the Indus River in Sehwan Sharif is the famous shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Jhulelal) a Sufi saint revered in many forms across religious sects. The multifarious synergy between Shahbaz Qalandar and Jhulelal, the Hindu deity, has resulted in countless mystic tales surfacing across Sindh and the rest of Pakistan.These tales of cross-religious altruism and harmony have prompted millions of visitors to the shrine myself being one of them.The fused and fluent culture of Lal Shahbaz Qalanders tomb embraces worship, spiritualism, poetry, and quite prominently, music in the form of Dhamaal.Every Thursday, as the sun sets after the Maghreb prayer, the entrancing beat of the rhythmic drum meanders through the town of Sehwan, slowly getting louder as you approach the Shrines gate. What follows is a classic case of religious transcendence. While tracing your way along the Indus River towards Sehwan Sharif, one can already experience the warm-welcome from the locals imitating the philosophy of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar himself. Built in 1356, the shimmering, golden dome of the shrine can be seen from miles away. The shrine has gone through various upgrades since its foundation. Here, the intricate Kashi-tiles are reminiscent of Persias influence on Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. Much of the Shrines recent decoration is owed to the Shah of Irans donation. Unlike most Islamic sites around the world, this Shrine is not gender segregated a testament to Sindhs long-standing progressive values. The inner sanctum of the Shrine is much quieter than the outer-courtyard, where the Dhamaal takes place. Here, worshippers pay their religious dues to the Sufi Saint and indulge in Zikr, a form of rhythmic devotion. Next to the grave, devotees scramble to get a few drops of the blessed rose water (Arq-e-Gulaab), commonly thought of as a body cleanser at Sufi shrines across Pakistan. Female worshippers reach for the rose water dispenser, tied to the grave of Shahbaz Qalandar. A visit to the Shrine acts as a form of both bodily and spiritual cleansing. Each Thursday, the outside courtyard is filled with worshippers dancing and whirling to the beat of the drum the act is known as Dhamaal. A local female devotee in a state of trance during the dhamaal the piece of cloth acts as a veil to cover her body. The woman had lost all sense of being and surrounding as she whirled to the hypnotizing percussion. Worshippers during dhamaal reaching out for the sky, asking for Shahbaz Qalandars blessings and chanting Hazrat Alis name in remembrance. The Shrine is illuminated with earthen oil lamps a custom found common in both Hindu and Muslim rituals. Devotees can pay any amount as Sadaqah, charity, and light an oil lamp at the Shrine. This reminded me of the famous words by Amir Khusrow uttered in Lal Shahbaz Qalandars honour Chaar charaag tere baran hamesha, Panjwa mein baaran aayi bala jhoole laalan [Translation: Your shrine is always lighted with four lamps, And here I come to light a fifth lamp in your honour] The Shrine is paramount to Sehwan Sharifs retail economy. Locals sell varieties of dried fruit and chadars as a form of Sufi offering. Local dried fruit and sweets are a favorite for millions of worshippers that visit the Shrine each year. With over a million visitors each year, Sehwan Sharif is bound to bounce back despite the recent unfortunate incident. A day after the bombing, devotees returned to the Shrine as a sign of defiance and sent a clear message to the terrorists who have tried to mar the inclusive Sufi heritage of Pakistan The Dhamaal will continue, and must continue.(Photos: Sameer Shafi Warraich)
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.
SEOUL: As Malaysian police continue their inquiry into the death of Kim Jong Nam, the outcast half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, there's plenty of speculation surrounding what seems one of the stranger killings the world has recently seen.
North Korea killed Kim Jong Nam because he planned to create an exile government around defectors, says one rumour. Kim Jong Un was furious after learning about secret Chinese plans to enthrone his estranged sibling in Pyongyang if something happens to him, says another.
Or maybe Pyongyang wasn't involved at all. Perhaps, Kim Jong Nam, known for his carefree lifestyle and gambling habits, angered crime organisations over money problems and that got him killed, say some online arguments.
Some theories are more bizarre. South Korean newspapers have reported on rumours making rounds on the Chinese internet that impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who faces a court ruling on whether she should permanently step down over a corruption scandal or be reinstated, plotted Kim's death to create a distraction.
South Korea's spy agency, which has consistently described Kim Jong Un as an irrational and unstable dictator, argues that he killed a non-threatening sibling out of "paranoia." The fuming North Korean ambassador to Kuala Lumpur says the country will reject the autopsy results on Kim Jong Nam because Malaysian officials may be "trying to conceal something" and "colluding with hostile forces."
While imaginations run freely, most South Korean experts think there's a straightforward explanation behind the alleged assassination of Kim, who appears to have been killed by two women at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday in what has been suspected as a poison attack.
Kim Jong Un, who has executed or purged a slew of high-level officials since taking power in 2011, most likely made another move to remove a potential challenger to his power, the experts say. Kim Jong Nam had been the only member of the Kim clan who regularly talked to foreign journalists and sometimes went so far as to openly criticize the country's hereditary power transfer.
North Korea has been seen as tightening control on its high-profile individuals overseas since the defection of Thae Yong Ho, a senior North Korean diplomat in London who arrived in South Korea last year. There's also a possibility that Kim Jong Nam, who continued to stay in Macau and the Chinese mainland, was taken out because he disobeyed orders to return home, according to some experts.
But others find North Korea's involvement hard to believe. Both of the women arrested for suspected involvement in the killing were non-Koreans and some think their methods were too unorthodox and careless to be considered a North Korean hit job.
"(The attack on Kim) was unbelievably sloppy," Kim Jongdae, a South Korean lawmaker, told a radio interview. He pointed out that one of the women reportedly got arrested by returning to the scene a day later with the same clothes.
"Kim Jong Nam led a free-wheeling life, and loved to travel, and mingle with women ... He might have had problems with crime organizations. Or maybe this was a crime based on a love affair gone bad," he said.
Seo Jae Pyoung, a North Korean defector and anti-Pyongyang activist, thinks it's unlikely that Kim's death involved crime organizations. While Kim was believed to have profited from helping Chinese firms trade with North Korea when his father and the North's second leader Kim Jong Il was alive, he probably stayed away from risky business activities after Kim Jong Un came to power, Seo said.
While some think the attack on Kim Jong Nam was careless, others see it as ingenious. It's possible that the women might have not even known they were part of an assassination attempt one of the detained female suspects reportedly told police she was tricked into thinking she was part of a TV comedy show prank.
"Whoever did it came up with a careful plan that effectively concealed criminal intent until the job was done," said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University. "That person had great understanding of how Western TV media works."
Getting foreigners to do the job, rather than directly using its own operatives, might have been a logical choice for North Korea because it will likely continue denying involvement.
North Korea used its own operatives when it set off a bomb meant for then-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during a 1983 visit to Burma. Although Chun narrowly escaped the blast, more than 20 people were killed, including several of Chun's Cabinet ministers and top aides. One North Korean agent was shot dead by police, a second one was sentenced to death and executed, and a third reportedly died in Myanmar prison in 2008.
Burma, now known as Myanmar, responded by cutting its diplomatic ties with North Korea, and relations between the countries weren't restored until 2007. The costly experience of three decades ago might have ensured North Korea would use borrowed hands for the alleged assassination in Malaysia, which is one of its few diplomatic partners, Koh said.
The identities of the three people involved in a fatal Bedford County crash near Big Island Friday night were released Saturday.
Candice Paige Clark, 25, of Nellysford, died at the scene, according to a Virginia State Police news release. Darlene Spinner, 55, and Brian Edward Dabney, 24, both of Buena Vista, were injured.
Brandon Cocke, chief of Big Island Fire Company, said the two suffered severe injuries and were flown to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
According to the news release, Dabney was driving south in a 2004 Buick Rainer on U.S. 501 around 8:26 p.m. Friday when he lost control and ran off the side of the road. Cocke said the vehicle then hit a telephone pole and rolled four times. All three occupants were ejected from the vehicle, he said.
None were wearing seat belts, and alcohol and speed were factors in the wreck, the release states. Charges are pending.
The Virginia State Police Accident Reconstruction Team was called in to assist with the crash, according to the release.
U.S. 501 was completely blocked for vehicle traffic during the accident and its cleanup. Bedford County Fire and Rescue, Big Island Emergency Crew responded to the wreck.
- Alissa Smith, Margaret Carmel
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Shawn Keough's report from Boise February 19, 2017 By Idaho Senator Shawn Keough
Greetings from our state Capitol! Thank you to those who have contacted me to let me know your perspectives on the idea of renaming our Long Bridge across the Pend Oreille River the Veterans Memorial Long Bridge. I appreciate hearing from you.
So far, most of the response has been that though we support our veterans and their sacrifices renaming the Long Bridge is not desired. Most feel that the name Long Bridge is historic and should remain unchanged.
Some add that it would likely be called the Long Bridge even if the name was changed and so the goal of honoring our veterans would not be achieved. Still others articulated that our Veterans Memorial Field in Sandpoint is one place to focus showing our gratitude to our veterans as well as appreciating them each and every day.
Thank you again for your feedback.
The deadline for introductions of the bills to be considered with exceptions for the budget bills and a few last minute stragglers has now passed. 573 bills have been prepared as I write this on Friday, February 17.
This is fewer than last years 707 but more than this time of the session in 2015. Of the 573 bills that have been prepared, only 322 of those have been actually introduced.
Much of my work is focused on setting our states budget as Im co-chair of our Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee.
We have completed our budget hearing process and beginning Tuesday, February 21, we will start setting the budgets for the state fiscal year which begins July 1.
There are 104 budget bills that make up our states budget. One of my responsibilities as the co-chair is to make certain all 104 budget bills or some alternative to them should they fail to pass makes it all the way to the governors desk by the time the Legislature completes its work at the end of March.
In the budget process Im looking out for our statewide needs for funding the services we expect from our government, producing a balanced budget and being a wise steward of the publics tax dollars.
Im also paying attention to the needs we have at home in our legislative district. One of those needs that impact us and the entire state is to try our hardest to keep aquatic invasive species from entering our water ways.
A few weeks ago we learned that the Department of Agriculture was running short on money to run the boat inspection stations. On Monday, I will be introducing a bill to secure the additional funds we need to get our boat stations open and underway for the summer.
I have support of many other legislators in this effort. We will also be proposing to add three new stations in light of the recent discovery of quagga mussel larvae in the Canyon Ferry Reservoir near Helena, Montana.
These three new stations, combined with the others will place a station on almost every major route that a boat is likely to be hauled into our state. This is a situation of pay me now or pay me later. We can invest in prevention and efforts to keep these invasives out of our state or we can pay millions more later to try to mitigate the damage they will do to our water ways, our drinking water intakes and much more.
Im about out of space and there is so much more activity occurring at your state legislature. With the internet, the miles between us and the Capitol can be shrunk and you can keep tabs on the work being done at the Legislatures website: www.legislature.idaho.gov.
You can see all the bills, the meeting agendas, listen to committee hearings, watch the work on the Senate and House floors, email your legislators or every legislator if you wish to and even construct your own list of bills youd like to keep track of if you are not interested in every one of them on the list.
I encourage you to stay tuned and to stay in touch. I can be contacted via our Information Center as follows: Toll free 1-800-626-0471 or via email at idleginfo@lso.idaho.gov. I can be reached directly at skeough@senate.idaho.gov.
Please let me know your thoughts, concerns, and positions on the bills of interest to you as the session moves forward. I look forward to hearing from you. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
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Malaysian police investigating the murder of Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother have arrested a North Korean man, reports the Wall Street Journal, and they're looking for four more North Koreans believed to have left the country the same day Kim Jong Nam was killed. Ri Jong Chol, 46, was arrested Friday night in a raid based on information given police from one of two women earlier arrested; he's now the fourth person arrested in the incident, but apparently not the last. "We are searching for a few more," says a local police chief. Those few more, reports the AP, are four North Korean men who left Malaysia the day Kim died. The men hold regular, not diplomatic passports
That's all enough for South Korea to throw the blame for his death at Pyongyang, reports the BBC. "We believe the North Korean regime is behind this incident considering five suspects are North Koreans," says a unification ministry spokesman. "Considering North Korea has so far committed crimes against humanity and terror acts, we, together with the international community, are closely watching this brutal, reckless incident with serious concerns," he added. Malaysia's national police chief says he expects autopsy results within days, a procedure that was performed over North Korea's protestations. North Korea's ambassador accused Malaysia of "trying to conceal something," and complained that the autopsy was performed "unilaterally and excluding our attendance." (South Korea also plans to let North Koreans know about the death.)
Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp on Sunday, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during World War II. Pence was joined by his wife, Karen Pence, and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich. The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, "Arbeit macht frei," or "Work sets you free." The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the center of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium, reports the AP.
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camp's grounds. More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau, and more than 40,000 prisoners died there. The camp was liberated by US forces in April 1945. Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Dachau during a trip to Germany in 2015. Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders. Pence was traveling to Brussels later Sunday for meetings on Monday with NATO and European Union officials. (On Saturday, Pence signaled to NATO allies that it was time to pay their fair share.)
"Weve got to keep our country safe," opined President Trump at his rally Saturday in Florida. "You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this? ... Theyre having problems like they never thought possible," he said, comparing those problems to terror attacks in Brussels, Nice, and Paris. The comment was news to Swedes, reports the Guardian, who are engaging in some collective head-scratching over the decidedly non-existent attacks. "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound," tweeted former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt. One tabloid listed the incidents that did in fact happen in Sweden on Friday, notes the AP, which included "a man being treated for severe burns, an avalanche warning, and police chasing a drunken driver."
Trump could have been confusing Sweden with Sehwan, Pakistan, notes the Guardian, where a suicide bomber struck on Friday, killing 85 people. The other possibility is an interview with documentary maker Ami Horowitz that aired on Fox News; Horowitz's latest film examines Sweden's crime rate and whether it's related to the nation's open-door policy toward refugees. Regardless, the internet was off to the races, reports Mashable, with #SwedenIncident trending and no shortage of jokes about ABBA, IKEA, and the occasional randy and/or drunken moose: "Four extremists responsible for #swedenincident are still at large, if you see these people phone @realDonaldTrump at once," tweeted one user beneath a photo of ABBA. (Read more President Trump stories.)
It's just not a good party until the stuffed animal head goes missing, and now the AP reports that police in Delaware are searching for a mounted elk's head valued at $65,000 that went missing from a home during what was apparently a heck of a party. Police said in a statement that they were called Monday to a home in Wilmington in Delaware's New Castle County. Police say when they arrived they were told that the elk's head was taken from the home at some point during a Feb. 10 party thrown by the homeowner's daughter, reports the Journal News. Police say about 50 people were at the party and that officers who walked through the home afterward saw multiple holes in walls and three broken windows. Police are asking that anyone with information about the missing elk's head to contact them. (Read more elk stories.)
The head-scratching over President Trump's reference on Saturday to a Friday night incident in Sweden is moving up the chain. Reuters reports the Swedish embassy in Washington has asked the State Department to explain what Trump meant when he said, "You look at what's happening in Germany. You look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible."
The AP reports that Sweden last recorded a terror-related incident in December 2010, when an Iraqi-born Swede set off two explosive devices in Stockholm; the perpetrator was the only one to die. As for what Trump was referencing at his Florida rally on Friday, "We are trying to get clarity," Swedish foreign ministry rep Catarina Axelsson tells Reuters. Here are some theories about what may have been at the root of Trump's comment. (Read more President Trump stories.)
There was apparently no incident in Sweden on Friday, but there was a minor one in West Palm Beach. USA Today cites a Facebook post by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office regarding the 2pm incident, in which a "small hard object" was thrown at a vehicle in President Trump's motorcade as it traveled on Southern Boulevard. "Immediately after completing the motorcade movement several members of the motorcade returned to the scene and began canvassing the area looking for witnesses and any small hard objects along the roadway in that area," per the post.
Police ultimately got their man, er, child: A juvenile from an area middle school admitted to having thrown a piece of a 2x4. The juvenile gave up the names of four other students who were involved, though how wasn't specified. The post states "charges will be filed with the PBC States Attorneys Office." USA Today notes there were no injuries or damages reported. (Read more President Trump stories.)
Afghan speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi
Indore : Afghanistan on Saturday dubbed Pakistan's absence from the South Asian Speakers Summit as "unfortunate" and said Islamabad has adopted terrorism as its policy which would prove a serious threat for it.
"It is unfortunate that Pakistan is not attending the summit. We don't know the reason, perhaps they can say it better. Being the neighbouring country we would have been happier if Pakistan would have attended the summit," Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of National Assembly of Afghanistan, told IANS.
Dubbing terrorism as a serious threat to South Asia, Ibrahimi said that Pakistan has adopted terrorism as it policy.
"Terrorism remains a threat to the South Asian countries, including Pakistan but unfortunately rulers of Pakistan have always supported terrorism. This policy of Pakistan is not in the interest of the South Asian region. In the future it is going to be a big threat to Pakistan," he said.
Ibrahimi also said that terrorism is a very serious threat to Afghanistan.
"We invite cooperation from India towards improvement in people's life, security and political areas in the region. We believe that this is in the interest of the people of South Asia," he said.
Lauding India for its approach towards Afghanistan, the Speaker said, "India is a big country and is an effective and influential power in the region. India has been a brotherly friend to Afghanistan and in the last 15 years it has supported Afghanistan with more than $2 billion aid."
"What we want from India is this relation to be further improved and developed. We want improvement in security and also enhanced relations between both countries. Hopefully it will continue in the future," he added.
Afghanistan has several times in the past voiced concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan, and accused its neighbour of harbouring the Taliban in the border areas. India and Afghanistan, joined by South Asian neighbours Bangladesh and Bhutan, had boycotted the Saarc summit in Islamabad in November, leading to its deferment.
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New Delhi:
The unrest in Kohima calmed down late on Thursday night after the Army was called in, Around 375 soldiers were deployed across the city, which witnessed violent protests on Thursday against Nagaland Chief Minister's refusal to postpone the municipal elections, in which seats were reserved for women.
Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang has rejected the demand for his governments resignation following the death of two persons in anti-ULB poll agitation in Dimapur. He appealed to the people to stop violence and not fall prey to rumour mongers.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that it was wrong for attacking the Cabinet over the issue.Have to save Nagaland CM. We understand peoples sentiments but not right to attack Cabinet. Appeal to people to talk to the government, Rijiju said.
The Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC), representing different tribal organisations, had on Thursday served an ultimatum to Zeliang and his cabinet to resign by 4 PM.
ALSO READ | Nagaland: Violence erupts over urban local bodies polls in Kohima; Municipal Council building on fire
Assure to ppl of North-East we're sensitive about their security & have provided all arrangements incl Army & Air Force-MoS Defence S Bhamre pic.twitter.com/J8FOnIpfLN ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2017
Well aware of situation of North-East, PM & Defence Minister sensitive about it. We've taken due precautions: MoS Defence Subhash Bhamre pic.twitter.com/w0U4dAuTDO ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2017
In view of the violence, the Kohima District administration has promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in certain areas including Raj Bhavan, Ministers Hill, and Jail Colony.
ALSO READ | Violence in Nagaland: CM Zeliang rejects resignation demand, urges people to stay calm
The curfew came into effect from 9:30 tonight and would continue till further order, a notification said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Kohima:
The indefinite bandh has been partially lifted, Government offices, vehicles and Public emergency services exempted after Violence erupted in the Nagaland capital on Thursday with those opposed to the ongoing elections to urban local bodies (ULB) and bandh was called in the state. While protesters continue to demand the resignation of the cabinet.
In the face of demand for its resignation by various Naga tribal organisations, 42 of the 59 MLAs of the parties comprising the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) reaffirmed their support to the TR Zeliang government.
Out of the 60 members of the state Assembly, ruling DAN consists 48 MLAs of Naga People's Front (NPF), 4 of BJPand 7 Independents. Only one Independent MLA, Thomas Ngullie, was the sole opposition member.
Also Read: Nagaland: Violence erupts over urban local bodies polls in Kohima; Municipal Council building on fire
Of the 42 legislators present at the meeting today to express support for the leadership of Zeliang, 32 were of NPF,3 from BJP and 7 were Independent, officials in the Chief Minister's Office said.
Other MLAs were unable to reach due to bandh enforced by the tribal organisations in parts of Nagaland while some are out of station, the officials said.
Also Read: Violence in Nagaland: CM Zeliang rejects resignation demand, urges people to stay calm
Those a present in the meeting unanimously agreed to stand by the leadership of Zeliang till the tenure of the present government which ends in early 2018.
The Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) representing different tribal organisations has been demanding the resignation of the DAN government following the death of two persons in anti-ULB poll agitation in Dimapur.
Also Read: Nagaland: Violence erupts over urban local bodies polls in Kohima; Municipal Council building on fire
Zeliang had rejected the demand and said the ministry "has undisputed, unquestionable majority and support of the entire Assembly".
At the meeting, the legislators also decided to hold further consultation with various stakeholders and Naga tribal bodies on the present imbroglio over urban local bodies (ULB)polls for an amicable solution and conduct the elections, which has been withheld, at the earliest.
The MLAs observed a minute's silence to condole the death of two persons who died in Dimapur during a clash with police over the anti-ULB election agitation, officials said.
The DAN legislators also appealed to the Naga people to let peace prevail.
New Delhi:
Bullish on Indian market, European airliner group Lufthansa plans to enhance bilateral ties with Jet Airways for increased connectivity to new cities and launch flight from Brussels to Mumbai next month.
Lufthansa Group, which operates 60 flights to and from India per week, has recently introduced the fuel-efficient A350-900 aircraft on Munich-Delhi route.
"We are also looking to intensify the bilateral relationship between Jet Airways and Lufthansa," chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG Carsten Spohr said on Wednesday.
Already, Lufthansa and Jet Airways operate code share flights on certain routes and this collaboration is likely to be expanded further.
Code share allows an airline to book its passengers for destination where it does not fly through a partner carrier.
Recently, the European major had expanded its partnership with Gulf carrier Etihad Airways -- which is a strategic partner of Jet Airways. All the three carriers have significant presence in the European market.
"We have some code share going with Jet Airways. We would like to intensify and may be enlarge our portfolio of code share... That means flights to second tier cities which we are not operating directly could be destinations where we cooperate in terms of code share," senior director (South Asia) at Lufthansa Group Wolfgang Will said at a press meet.
He also noted code share has been a healthy component in their services. Soon, Lufthansa would be introducing the A350-900 plane on Munich-Mumbai route apart from increasing the frequencies of its services between Pune and Frankfurt. "The services between Brussels and Mumbai would start by end of March," he noted.
Besides, the group would be naming one of its big aircraft flying to India as 'Delhi'. "This shows the importance of Delhi as a hub and India as a market to us," Spohr said.
Meanwhile, the Airbus 350-900 plane has been configured to seat 293 passengers, including 224 in economy class. This aircraft consumes 25 per cent less fuel, emits 25% less carbon dioxide and generates 50% less noise. In the Asia-Pacific, Lufthansa Group flies to 18 destinations in eight countries, operating 249 weekly flights from this region to Europe.
London:
Prime Minister Theresa May is soon going to meet with PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares to draw a complete road map to take over the European arm of General Motors, which includes Britain's Vauxhall cars, her office said.
"We have received a meeting request. The meeting will take place, in principle, subject to diary availability," a Downing Street spokesman told AFP.
It emerged this week that PSA, which owns the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, is in talks to take over GM's European brands Opel and Vauxhall.
The plans have sparked fears of job losses in Britain, where Vauxhall employs about 35,000 people, as well as in Germany. Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Britain's biggest union, Unite, is also due to meet with Tavares next week.
"I will be using this meeting to press the case for the UK's world class facilities and workforce," he said.
British economy minister Greg Clark met Thursday with GM president Dan Ammann in London, and said he was "reassured" by the US firm's plans for its European interests. He noted that GM had recently made "significant investments" at its Ellesmere Port and Luton plants.
Clark later travelled to Paris for separate meetings with French Industry minister Christophe Sirugue and board members of PSA Group.
The Financial Times reported today that, during those talks, Clark offered PSA similar assurances to those given to Nissan last year in a bid to save Vauxhall jobs.
Britain's automobile sector is expected to suffer from Brexit, which would entail leaving the EU's single market. Japanese carmaker Nissan said in October that it would continue to invest in its Sunderland plant after securing unspecified guarantees about Brexit from the British government.
New Delhi:
Indian software major Tech Mahindra views the proposed merger of telecom giant Vodafone and Idea as a "seismic" event that will impact the IT sector, but asserted that it will benefit from such a deal.
The software firm derives over half of its revenue from servicing communication companies.
"It is a big market where these people are merging together. In my world, it is a seismic change. It is not an ordinary change. Clearly, it means that certain part of the IT spend will either come down or get re-directed," Tech Mahindra MD and CEO CP Gurnani told PTI here over the weekend.
However, he said that rather than being affected, Tech Mahindra may benefit from such a merger. "The reason it may not have any impact on us, as a matter of fact it will get better for us, because for both the companies our primary focus is on customer service management."
He said the vendor servicing of both the company's traditional information technology needs will be impacted because of the merger, but sought to distinguish Tech Mahindra from it because of nature of the job it does.
"I do project work for both the companies, and I don't do the main or traditional IT work. Since I am working more on change and customer experience management, my pie should grow," Gurnani said.
He also said that over 50 per cent of his revenue of his company, which was formerly Mahindra British Telecom, come from the communication segment, and the company is trying to balance it out by growing faster in other segments.
Vodafone and Idea Cellular, the second and third biggest telcos in the country, have confirmed last month that they are in talks to create a telecom giant which will take on Reliance Jio, the aggressive new entrant flush with cash, and the entrenched leader Bharati Airtel.
An all stock merger is in the works to create an entity which will command 40 per cent of the revenue market share and boast of over 380 million subscribers, according to India Ratings.
New Delhi:
Telecom regulator TRAI is verifying the limited fixed-mobile telephony services of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd after a few objections were raised by the cellular operators, and a decision is expected soon.
"Our team is working with BSNL...we have asked them for certain clarifications with a view to understand the entire architecture of the limited FMT service. And then we will take a view quickly," TRAI Chairman, R S Sharma told.
Cellular operators under industry body COAI approached the telecom regulator against the limited fixed-mobile telephony services announced by BSNL. BSNL's limited fixed-mobile telephony is an app-based calling service that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phones working in sync with landlines to make and receive calls within home premises.
When contacted, BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava said, "TRAI has asked for certain clarifications from us to which we are responding" but did not give details.
Last month, COAI had asked TRAI to intervene and direct BSNL to withdraw the new service. The industry body alleged that although the new service was being marketed as "distinct", it is "in-principle same version of their Fixed Mobile Telephony (FMT) services" which was launched last year but subsequently withdrawn.
The operators - all except Reliance Jio, which COAI said has divergent views - further claimed that the new service is disguised as a Public Switched Telephone Network or PSTN service and a violation of numbering plan and breach of licence conditions.
Launching the new service last month, BSNL had emphasised that the limited Fixed Mobile Telephony (FMT) service was "different" from the Fixed Mobile Telephony service announced last year.
Last year, the telecom PSU was forced to put on hold an unrestricted version of FMT service following an outcry from cellular operators. BSNL has argued that while the earlier service allowed customers on roaming in India and overseas to connect their landlines through mobiles and make calls, the new service is restricted within the home premises.
"Landline subscribers find it inconvenient to fetch the contact details from mobiles and then dial the number on fixed line... This service will turn mobile handset into a cordless device within the home premises, which means that customers can still avail the attractive landline tariffs of BSNL," Shrivastava had said earlier.
New Delhi:
India's metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta will invest USD 10 billion in the next 3-4 years on expanding business across verticals, company's Chairman Anil Agarwal said.
He also said the merger of Cairn India and Hindustan Zinc with Vedanta is likely to be completed in the current quarter, creating India's largest diversified natural resources firm that will compete with the likes of BHP Billiton and Vale SA.
"We have the potential to spend USD 10 billion over a period of five years; we are looking at 3,50,000 barrel of oil... to have 100,000 barrel equivalent to gas. We are looking to integrate 3 million tonnes capacity for the aluminium," the mining baron told PTI in a telephonic interview.
"We are looking to have over a million tonnes of zinc and lead, 1,000 tonnes of silver. We are looking to put up a fertiliser plant for DAP for a million tonnes in Rajasthan," he added.
Vedanta Resources subsidiary Cairn produces over 2,00,000 barrels oil and oil equivalents per day and plans to enhance its production by another 1,00,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Its operations span across India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Liberia, Ireland and Australia.
About the proposed merger of cash-rich Cairn India and Hindustan Zinc into the flagship Vedanta Group to create a global natural resources giant, Agarwal said that in all likelihood the process will be completed this quarter.
"The process is going on. It should be over this quarter.It takes time...some clearance here some clearance there...but it is almost through. Shareholders have given approval,SEBI has given approval... It should be over in this quarteronly," Agarwal said.
The merger will mark a significant step towards achievinggroup's long-term vision of a simplified group structure andcreation of long-term sustainable value, Agarwal said.
The average gross production of Cairn India Ltd, one ofthe largest independent oil and gas companies, produced203,703 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2015-16.
In June 2015, Vedanta Ltd (formerly known as SesaSterlite Ltd/Sesa Goa Ltd) had announced its proposed mergerwith Cairn India.
Last year, Cairn India shareholders approved merger ofthe company after LIC and Cairn Energy PLC of UK voted infavour of the sweetened merger ratio. LIC holds 9.06 per centstake in Cairn India while Cairn Energy has 9.82 per cent
Shareholders of Vedanta Ltd and LSE-listed VedantaResources had approved the merger under a revised all-sharedeal.
Under the revised offer, Vedanta will give minorityshareholders of Cairn India one equity share and fourredeemable-preference shares with a face value of Rs 10 each.The preference shares will carry a coupon of 7.5 per cent andtenure of 18 months.
New Delhi:
The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that they and other partners have agreed on terms for a more than USD 5 billion loan package to Mongolia with an aim to revive the country's debt ridden economy.
The deal is subject to approval by the IMF's executive board, which is expected to consider Mongolia's request in March.
Under the preliminary agreement, the IMF would provide USD 440 million over three years. The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Japan and South Korea are together expected to provide up to USD 3 billion, and the People's Bank of China is expected to extend its 15 billion RMB (USD 2 billion) swap line with the Bank of Mongolia for at least another three years, the IMF said in a statement.
Finance Minister Choijilsuren Battogtokh said that the six-month negotiations had been tough, and that the government would be revising its 2017 budget before the IMF executive board considers whether to approve the loan.
He said the government proposed to bring in more money for the budget by increasing income, fuel and other taxes, and by raising the retirement age from 55 to 65 for women, and from 60 to 66 for men.
Its proposals have to be approved by parliament during a session in March, which is likely because the ruling Mongolian People's Party has a clear majority.
Battogtokh said that with the loan package, the government estimated growth would be "below zero per cent" in 2017, 1.8 per cent in 2018 and 8.1 per cent in 2019.
The economy of mineral-rich Mongolia has been hit hard in recent years by a sharp decline in commodity prices and a collapse in foreign direct investment.
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New Delhi:
Former Bigg Boss 10 contestant Om Swami's close aide Swami Santosh Anand has been denied anticipatory bail after the two were accused in a molestation case in Delhi.
Anand was denied bail by a Delhi court saying that the investigation is still at a nascent stage and the allegations against him are grave.
"In view of the fact that the investigation is at a nascent stage and that the allegations against the accused are grave in nature, I am not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the applicant. Resultantly, the present bail application is dismissed," Special Judge Hemani Malhotra was quoted as saying.
It was reported that the self-proclaimed godman has molested and threatened woman. The victim also alleged that Swami Om and aide had torn her clothes and even attempted to rape her.
They also threatened her that they will not spare her and that they had already ruined her husband's life, it said.
When the complainant requested them to leave her, they dragged her in their room and attempted to rape her, the FIR said. They also threatened her that they will not spare her and that they had already ruined her husband's life, it said.
During the hearing, the investigating officer informed the court that the woman has recorded her statement before a magistrate in which she has fully supported the allegations made in the FIR.
"The statement also reflects that the accused/applicant and his associate (Swami Om) had torn the salwar kameez of the complainant while molesting her," the court noted.
Advocate Rajesh Kumar, who represented Anand, had sought bail on the ground that he has been falsely implicated as a case under the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged against the woman's husband at his behest.
He had claimed to be the president of Yoga Shakti Sadhna Kendra which has held various yoga workshops abroad.
The bail plea, however, was opposed by prosecutor Atul Shrivastava who had said the allegations against the man were serious and he could tamper with the evidence.
The woman had said in her complaint that Swami Om and his associate Anand had allegedly ripped off her clothes on February 7. The victim alleged that the duo attacked her and ripped off her clothes in an attempt to humiliate her in full public view a few days earlier in Rajghat area here.
While no arrest has been made in the case so far, we wonder what Om Swami has to say in this case.
Bhopal:
The Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Sunday arrested a hawala operator named Jabbar from Delhi in connection with the Bhopal ISI espionage case. Jabbar worked closely with Balram, who was arrested earlier in the same case.
In a major breakthrough, the ATS on February 9 busted an international call racket that allegedly helped ISI agents to spy on India's military operations.
"Two men were arrested in Jammu in November '16 for collecting and using information of strategic interests for espionage. They were being funded by a person in Satna. Five persons from Gwalior, three from Bhopal, two from Jabalpur and one from Satna arrested," MP ATS chief Sanjeev Shami had said then.
Shami said the accused converted internet calls to cellular network and acted as medium for overseas handlers to contact people in India.
"The arrested men are accused of supplying information regarding army and Air Force in Madhya Pradesh. Complicity of some employees of telecom companies also surfaced," he said.
In January, the Uttar Pradesh ATS had arrested 11 people who were running a similar exchange.
(with inputs from agencies)
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New Delhi:
Four people died and two persons were injured on Sunday afternoon when a major fire broke out at plastic factory in Bhiwandi of Maharashtra.
The fire took place at the Dedia plastic factory and the two injured people were shifted to Airoli burn hospital.
The fire officials said that fire took place on Sunday afternoon after which a fire team was sent from Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Thane to control it. Fire is under control now and the cooling process is going on.
In the last three days, this is the second such incident in Bhiwandi. Earlier on Friday, one person died due to fire in a power loom unit.
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New Delhi:
A Jet Airways Boeing-777 aircraft, in-flight from Mumbai to London on February 16 (Flight - 9W-118), overflying close to the German city Cologne lost contact with Air traffic control when its cockpit crew did not respond to ATC communications.
With no response from the Indian aircraft, German Air Force sent jets to escort the Jet aircraft. However, these planes managed to establish an intercept contact following which the Jet pilots established contact with the ATC. Once the communication was restored, the aircraft (VT-JEX) continued its flight to London.
Speaking on the incident, the Jet Airways spoksperson made the following Statement -
Contact between Jet Airways flight 9W 118, from Mumbai to London Heathrow, of , and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace. Communication was safely restored within a few minutes. As a precaution, the German Air Force deployed its aircraft to ensure the safety of the flight and its guests. The flight with 330 guests and 15 crew subsequently landed at London without incident ".
Jet Airways has duly reported the matter to the concerned authorities including the DGCA. As part of the standard process, the flight crew of 9W 118 has been de-rostered pending investigation.
A jet Airways flight 9W-118 while flying from Mumbai (India) to London Heathrow, EN (UK), was enroute at FL360 being handed over from Bratislava (Slovakia) to Prague (Czech Republic) Center when radio contact was lost with the aircraft, that continued along its planned flight track. Germany dispatched two Eurofighters to intercept the aircraft, the fighter aircraft were already airborne when radio contact with 9W-118 was restored via the emergency frequency about 60nm north of Nuremberg (Germany).
Although radio contact was re-established, the fighter aircraft continued the intercept, ATC informed 9W-118 as well as the aircraft flying above and behind 9W-118 about the pending intercept. About 20nm north of Cologne (Germany) 9W-118 was seen accompanied by two fighter aircraft. 9W-118 continued to London for a safe landing.
On Feb 19th 2017, following release of initial coverage, The Aviation Herald received information that radio contact with the aircraft had been lost on hand off from Bratislava to Prague Center, a swap of digits is being suspected (the crew tuned 132.980MHz while the correct frequency was 132.890MHz). Germany dispatched two Eurofighter Aircraft when the Boeing 777 entered Germany's Airspace.
Radio contact with the aircraft was restored about 60nm north of Nuremberg, the fighter aircraft began to slow down expecting the intercept would be aborted, a decision was made however to continue and complete the intercept. Air Traffic Control informed 9W-118 as well as the other aircraft, flying above and behind 9W-118, about the pending intercept.
The fighter aircraft met with 9W-118 northeast of Frankfurt (Germany) and were seen by ground observers at about 16:50Z about 20nm north of Cologne still at the side of 9W-118.
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Jammu:
Jammu and kashmir police appealed to people of Jammu region to cooperate in maintaining security due to the upcoming Shivratri festival. Further, police issued advisories on Sunday to ensure peaceful celebration of the festival. While directing police personnel deployed for duty atvarious places in the city to remain extra vigilant, a senior police official asked police personnel to perform foot patrolling during the day and night.
The police also asked the people to cooperate at frisking points and not complain about harassment. "The people have been asked to remain vigilant while travelling in passenger vehicles (or in) crowded areas (especially the places of worship)," a senior police officer said.
He said that the people have been asked not to touch any abandoned object and inform the police if they see any suspicious person or object in the area. "If you have any information about any anti-national, anti-social elements (who can disturb the holy occasion ofShivratri) please inform the police immediately. Identity of informant shall be kept confidential," he said.
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New Delhi :
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday donated monetary help of Rs 50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharmila's party which is fighting elections in Manipur.
With severe shortage of funds and manpower, Irom Sharmila's party Peoples' Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses. Kejriwal said that he is donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her while sharing the link.
"I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her," he tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her. PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur which has resorted to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state.
According to PRJA sources, online crowdfunding with a slogan "Ten For a Change" is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses. The PRJA so far has collected Rs 4.5 lakh through crowdfunding.
"The online crowdfunding is in line with the party's call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds. "Online funds are transparent and normally political parties face a backlash because they don't have transparency in their funds," PRJA's convener, Erendro Leichonbam told.
On the other hand, Aam Aadmi Party Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann also followed the suit and donated his one month salary.
"As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system justice in Manipur(sic)," Mann, tweeted on Sunday.
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Names and faces
Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) welcomes an all-new staff to their Central Divide Regional office in Helena.
Adam Hein has joined the Helena regional staff at MCC. Most recently, Hein worked as a crew supervisor with the Washington Conservation Corps. After working alongside Montana Conservation Corps on an AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team in Louisiana this fall, he now comes on board as Montana Conservation Corps newest regional director. Hein will be focusing on building community connections and partnerships with local nonprofit and government agencies.
Amy Freund has joined the Helena regional staff at MCC. Freund is no stranger to the corps world, having served with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, Maine Conservation Corps, Alaska Service Corps and Montana Conservation Corps. With two seasons as a field coordinator with Montana Conservation Corps under her belt, she returns this season as a program manager. Amy will provide programmatic support to field crews this season and will plan local service opportunities on Helenas public lands.
Madie Padon has joined the Helena regional staff at MCC. Padon has taught in science museums and classrooms throughout the greater Portland, Oregon, area, and spent over a year teaching biology in Uganda. After serving two seasons as a youth crew leader and roving crew leader with Montana Conservation Corps out of Bozeman, she joins the Montana Conservation Corps team in Helena as a youth program coordinator. Padon will be focusing on building connections with local schools and recruiting local youth into Montana Conservation Corps youth programs.
Marcella Oldshas joined the Helena regional staff at MCC. Olds has served with both the Student Conservation Association and the Appalachian Mountain Club. After living in five different states over the course of four years, Olds will be settling in Helena for the upcoming field season as a field coordinator with Montana Conservation Corps. She will help oversee day-to-day operations in the field this season.
Taylor Curry has joined the Helena regional staff at MCC. Curry has served with both Montana Conservation Corps and the Minnesota and Iowa Conservation Corps. Last season, Curry served as a roving crew leader with Montana Conservation Corps, providing support to Veterans Green Corps crews. He now comes on board as a field coordinator for the 2017 field season. Taylor will help oversee day-to-day operations in the field this season.
Learn more about MCC at www.mtcorps.org.
***
Guidelines
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There is no charge for items appearing in the Business Briefcase. Items are run on a space-available basis, and we reserve the right to edit and use information as we see fit.
The deadline is Tuesday at noon to be considered for publication the following Sunday.
Chennai :
An FIRA was registered on Sunday against DMK leader MK Stalin for staging aA protest at Marina beach. Stalin alleged that he was mishandled during trust vote at the behest of ruling party, AIADMK. A
LeaderA of opposition in Tamil Nadu assembly M K Stalin held a crucial meeting of DMK MLAs on Sunday.
Stalin had participated in Saturday's protest which later turned violent. Chief Minister E Palanisamy won the trust vote amid chaos. The DMK leader was evicted from the Assembly along with his partyas MLAs. He was seen unbuttoned and his shirt was torn.
In the evening, the leader reached Marina beach and sat on aA protest.
During the trust vote, the Speaker P Dhanapalas chair was broken and he was shoved by the DMK lawmakers. A few MLAs were seen standing on tables.
Stalin had also met governor C Vidyasagar Rao and had lodged his complaint with the latter at Raj Bhawan.
Stalin had regret over the incident, but justified his action, saying that the Speaker was not accepting their demand to conductA secretA ballot. A
Here are key highlights from the series of events took place on Sunday:A
#A We're trying to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi on this regard; Have sought time to highlight the Assembly situation: MK Stalin,DMK
#A I will participate in Tiruchi for the hunger strike on Feb 22: MK Stalin, DMK
#A O Panneerselvam reached Raj Bhavan to meet TN Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao
#A DMK announces hunger strike on 22 Feb in all district offices of the party in Tamil Nadu
#A We've submitted a memorandum on the issue to TN Governor; He has promised to look into the matter: Tiruchi Siva, DMK
#A Sans participation of Opposition in Assembly, the trust vote moved by CM was passed; It's illegal: Tiruchi Siva, DMK after meeting Governor
#A TN Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami reaches Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao
#A DMK's working President MK Stalin holds a special meeting with party MLAs at the party headquarters
#A FIR filed against DMK leader MK Stalin for his party's protest at Marina Beach
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Jaipur:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Saturday discussed the problems of Special Backward Class (SBC) members in the state and their reservation issue.
During a high-level meeting review meeting, she took feedback from ministers about the meetings with the representatives of Gurjar community.
State Social Justice Minister Arun Chaturvedi briefed the Chief Minister about the outcome of the meetings and the demands of the Gurjar leaders. Advocate General Narpatmal Lodha, state Chief Secretary O P Meena, DGP Manoj Bhatt and others were present in the meeting.
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New Delhi:
The Supreme Court asked the Maharashtra government to appoint an IAS officer as the chief executive officer of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust ahead of its centenary year celebrations at Shirdi.
A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar asked the counsel appearing for the state government as to why it is not appointing an IAS officer as the CEO to look after the affairs of the trust.
Advocate Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, appearing for the state, said that the government has agreed to appoint an IAS officer for the post to look after the affairs of the trust ahead of the centenary year celebrations starting this year.
He also sought permission to withdraw the petition filed by the previous Congress government in Maharashtra against a Bombay High Court which said that an IAS officer not below the rank of a deputy collector be appointed as the CEO.
The direction had been given by the high court's Aurangabad bench on May 2, 2014.
The bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana, D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul, granted permission to withdraw the plea but directed that an IAS officer be appointed as the CEO by March 15 this year. As per section 13 (2) of the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shridi) Act, 2004, the CEO may be selected from amongst officers not below the rank of a deputy collector.
Then Congress government had challenged the said order of high court and the apex court had granted stay on the interim order. On February 13, the apex court had directed the state government counsel to seek instruction on appointment of an IAS officer as the CEO of the trust.
Also Read: SC pulls up Centre on issue of Hazardous waste dumping in India
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Mumbai :
Taking a jibe at the Shiv Sena over its #karun dakhavle (we did it) poll campaign slogan, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Saturday asked Uddhav Thackeray to withdraw support to the BJP-led state government.
Uddhav should implement what he says and withdraw support to the BJP-led government by asking his ministers to resign. Congress is ready for the mid-term polls, Chavan said while addressing an election meeting at Antop Hill in Mumbai.
On BJPs transparency plank for the BMC polls, Chavan wondered why the party had not thought of transparency for the 22 years it has been in power in the civic body.
Congress works to unite people, while BJP wants to polarise society on the mandir-masjid issue. BJP says mandir wahi banayenge and Shiv Sena says they will withdraw support to the BJP government, but both the parties dont give a date for it, he alleged.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the tagline parivartan tar honarach (change will happen) denoting its resolve to dethrone the Sena in the BMC, Chavan said, Change will happen not in favour of BJP, but in favour of Congress.
The Congress leader added that villages in Maharashtra had better roads than in Mumbai.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said if Congress is voted to power, it will start canteen service for the common man, where full meal will be available for Rs 20.
Former MPs Milind Deora and Eknath Gaikwad were present at the meeting.
In another rally at Sion held later, Chavan said his party was responsible for whatever development was seen in Mumbai, like Metro rail, Mono Rail and Eastern Freeway.
However, Shiv Sena and BJP, despite being in power for 22 years in Mumbai, failed to provide basic amenities like water, roads and health services to the citizens, he said.
In all these years, instead of spending the civic resources on development of the city, leaders of these two parties failed to live up to the peoples expectations and are now busy attacking each other, Chavan said.
Demonetisation hit the common man hard and cost people of their livelihood, he said.
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PTI:
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY) will help deal with the menace of drought as more area will be covered under the irrigation scheme.
Speaking at the inaugural session of an agriculture fair at Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agriculture University in Bikaner, the Minister said the government launched the irrigation scheme PMKSY while keeping the water conservation and its management on the priority.
He said that the schemes objection is to extend the coverage of irrigation and improving water use efficiency. In future, the scheme would also be beneficial for tackling the issue of drought.
The government is committed to the village, poor and farmers. The government wants to double the income of farmers by the year 2022 and this will happen when agriculture production will increase and input cost will come down, he said.
Union MoS for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said the university should conduct research on medicinal and desert plants found in the region and make a detailed project report on the research.
The state agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini and others were present during the inaugural ceremony.
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New Delhi:
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday directed the Indian High Commission in South Sudan to help the family of an Indian man shot dead there in bringing his body back to India.
Indian High Commissioner in South SudanPlz contact the bereaved family and help them, Swaraj tweeted in response to an appeal for help by a man who said his cousin had been shot dead in Juba.
Syed Ejaz Hussain tweeted that his cousin Syed Farooq Basha had been shot dead in Juba, South Sudan, yesterday. He sought Swarajs help in bringing back Bashas body to India.
Swaraj also tweeted Indian High Commissioner in South Sudans response, saying that the Embassy had spoken to the family of Basha and promised them all help.
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Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy, opposition DMK and the dissident camp of AIADMK led by O Panneerselvam had separate meetings with Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Sunday.
The meetings come a day after the Palanisamy government won the vote of confidence by a margin of 122-11 in the Assembly. Palanisamy was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues including P Thangamani, S P Velumani, C Ve Shanmugam and D Jayakumar during his meeting with Rao which an official release described as a "courtesy call".
Palanisamy had a brief discussion with Rao, it said. DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the Assembly before the voting on the confidence motion, appealed to Rao to"nullify" the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist Palanisamy, alleging it was adopted by contravening the Assembly rules.
In a representation submitted to Rao, DMK working president M K Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition, urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".
DMK Rajya Sabha members R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan, and Tiruchi N Siva met Rao and submitted the representation. Later, O Panneerselvam also met Rao and requested him not to recognise the confidence motion adopted in the Assembly.
Panneerselvam, along with some of his supporters including MLA S Semmalai, met the Governor for about 20 minutes. K Pandiarajan, a former minister and Panneerselvam loyalist, told reporters that they told Rao "the trust vote does not fit into the Constitutional scheme of things".
"Hence, we have urged the Governor that he should not recognise the trust vote (and its outcome)," he said, adding Rao has been requested "to fix another date for the motion of confidence". Panneerselvam also apprised the Governor that he and opposition parties had demanded secret ballot for voting on the trust motion so that legislators could "express their choice in a free manner".
Rao was also informed about the unsavoury incidents in the House on Saturday. After having separate meetings with Palaniswami, DMKMPs, and Pannerselvam and his followers, Rao left for Mumbai.
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Kohima:
T R Zeliang resigned from the position of Nagaland Chief Minister on Sunday while making way for a new leader to take over in the trouble-torn northeastern state. Official sources said Governor P B Acharya accepted Zeliang's resignation and told him to continue till further arrangements were made.
Earlier on Sunday, Zeliang announced his decision to step down. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office confirmed Zeliang was stepping down and that a consensus leader will be chosen on Monday morning at Naga People's Front Legislature Party meeting. The NPF meeting will be followed by a meeting of DAN (Democratic Alliance of Nagaland) at 11 AM in Kohima.
In the 60-member Assembly, an NPF source claimed, former Chief Minister and sole MP from the state Neiphiu Rio commanded the support of 49 MLAs, including eight Independents, while at least three including Speaker Chotisuh Sazo are with party President Shurhozelie Liezitsu.
NPF sources said both Rio and Zeliang met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Saturday but they refused to divulge details. The BJP has four MLAs in the state. Zeliang had left for Delhi on February 16 after seeking two days' time to step down from the chief ministerialpost.
Protests had erupted in Nagaland after the state government announced that in the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)election, 33 per cent of the seats would be reserved for women.
Different organisations in the state had demanded that the state government declare the ULB elections null and void, suspend the police and security personnel involved in January 31 firing on the protesters leading to the death of two youths in Diampur and that Zeliang step down from the post of the Chief Minister.
The Nagaland government had fulfilled the demand of Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) Kohima and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), declaring the entire process of Urban Local Bodies election with 33 per cent reservation forwomen as null and void.
Its second demand of suspending the personnel involved in January 31 police firing on the protesters leading to the killing of two youths in Dimapur has been partially fulfilled as they have been transferred.
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Kolkata:
Metro train services was disrupted for a brief period late night on Saturday after a woman allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at Netaji Bhawan station, police said.
The woman and her child jumped into the track when a Kavi Subhash bound train was approaching the Netaji Bhawan station a little after 9 pm, the police said. The woman died but the child survived with injuries and has been admitted to the city hospital, they said.
The identity of the woman and the cause of suicide was not yet known, the police said adding investigations were on. The suicide led to disruption of Metro train services for a brief period.
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Colombo:
At least 11 people were killed and 19 others rescued today in Sri Lanka after the boat they were travelling in capsized off the country's southwestern coast.
The incident happened in the seas off Kalutara district, about 40 kilometres south of capital Colombo, police said.The boat was part of a religious festival procession from the fishing town of Beruwala to a site close by.
The tragedy happened when the boat was returning from the pilgrimage.At least 11 people were killed and 19 others have been admitted to a hospital after being rescued, police added.
A search is on for other survivors with the help of navy and air force, reports said.Authorities were still trying to ascertain the number of people travelling on the boat.
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Beirut:
Sixteen people, including two women, were killed on Sunday when government forces launched a massive offensive with a barrage of rockets that hit a funeral on the edges of the Syrian capital, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "seven rockets and several shells hit areas on the edges of Qabun", a northeastern district of Damascus held by rebels. "The shelling targeted a cemetery while someone was being buried there," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Abdel Rahman had earlier given a toll of nine killed, but several people succumbed to their wounds in the hours after the attack.
"There are still some people who are critically wounded, "he said.
Rebels and regime forces reached a local truce deal in Qabun in 2014, but violence steadily escalated in the neighbourhood which is now bombarded regularly.
Also today, three civilians were killed in government airstrikes on Waer, the last opposition-held district of the central city of Homs. The Observatory said two young brothers were among the dead.
The toll brought to 30, including 10 children, the total number of people killed in an "escalating air campaign and clashes in Waer", Abdel Rahman told AFP. Homs was dubbed the "capital of the revolution" after vast demonstrations there early in Syria's anti-regime uprising.
But after months of siege and bombardment, rebels agreed to quit the city in a 2014 evacuation deal with the government. Another local deal was struck specifically for Waer inDecember 2015, and hundreds of rebels have left the neighbourhood.
More than 310,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011. But after nearly six years, the conflict has morphed intoa multi-front war that has drawn in foreign powers and seen jihadist groups rise to prominence.
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Dhaka:
Hundreds of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar have returned home, community leaders said on Sunday, adding that most had gone back temporarily to fetch relatives.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmars western state of Rakhine since October to escape a bloody crackdown by troops and police.
Dudu Mia, a refugee camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, said nearly 1,000 Rohingyamostly young menhad returned to their home villages to collect elderly family members left behind earlier.
Most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh. Its been four months and they have barely even talked to their parents back home, Mia told AFP.
Myanmars army has halted its operations in the north of Rakhine, a senior official said last week, ending the four-month crackdown which the UN has warned may amount to crimes against humanity.
Hundreds from the Rohingya Muslim minority are thought to have died and almost 70,000 have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched a campaign to find militants who attacked police border posts.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh, including the 70,000 most recent arrivals.
Escapees have given harrowing accounts of how security forces raped, killed and tortured Rohingya and burnt their houses to the ground.
Another Rohingya leader said some of the refugees had left Bangladesh permanently because their home villages had not been damaged by the Myanmar army and they had properties to protect.
They left (their homes) because they were panicked. They didnt want to stay here as beggars, rather they would live in their own houses and work at land back home, he said on condition of anonymity.
The Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed that some Rohingya refugees had gone back to Myanmar.
Scores of Rohingya people have reportedly returned home in last few days, said local commander Abujar al-Jahid.
But were remaining on high alert about any illegal infiltration.
A satellite image published last year by Human Rights Watch showed how Myanmar troops burned down Rohingya villages, displacing thousands.
Most of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh are now living in squalid conditions in refugee camps in the Coxs Bazar district, which borders Rakhine and is also home to the countrys biggest tourist resort.
Bangladesh has already approved a controversial plan for their relocation to an island and instructed officials to identify undocumented Myanmar nationals as part of the campaign.
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Islamabad:
Pakistan has reportedly launched strikes against militant bases in Afghanistan, hours after the army said it has found links that terrorists from across the border were behind a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 people.
The army on Friday summoned Afghan diplomats and handed them a list of 76 militants who, they say, were supporting terrorist activities in Pakistan. The move came after 88 people died in a suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in southern Sindh province on Friday night.
Immediately after the bombing, Pakistan claimed the attack was planned in militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan, in remarks that can renew hostility between Kabul and Islamabad.
Geo TV, quoting military sources, reported that the strikes were launched last night. But there have been no official word on the strikes, which, if confirmed, would be the first such operation on Afghan soil by the Pakistan Army.
The report said four camps of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar terror group were targeted in the strikes across the border of Pakistans Khyber and Mohmand tribal agencies. Some reports said several militants, including the deputy commander of Jamat-ul Ahrar, Adil Bacha, were killed in the strikes.
The report quoted the Afghan media reporting that the Pakistani ambassador in Afghanistan has been summoned by the Afghan government over recent shelling in eastern part of the country.
Pakistan has often warned Afghan authorities to prevent the use of their soil for terror activities in Pakistan.
Related Read: Pakistan shrine blast victims bodies found dumped in garbage, Sindh CM vows strict action
On Saturday, Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa told Gen John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, during a telephonic conversation that terrorist activities and inaction against militants in Afghanistan were testing our current policy of cross-border restraint.
Pakistan Army has launched intelligence-based operations combing operations across the country and claimed it has killed 100 terrorists since the attack on the shrine.
The army has so far provided no details of how and under what circumstances the militants were killed. In a statement recently, it claimed it has found linkages to militant support networks operating from Afghanistan and it has closed the border due to security reasons after the shrine bombing.
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Lahore:
Over 300 people, mostly Afghans, have been arrested in Pakistans Punjab province as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 worshippers.
More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody mostly Afghans since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road, Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI on Sunday.
He said the search operation of the law enforcement agencies will continue across the province and the Afghan nationals living here must keep their identification papers.
At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly suicide attack claimed by the ISIS in the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province.
During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent, he said.
Some 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a protest demonstration of chemists outside the Punjab Assembly.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted.
Police used bio-metric machines for identification of people and those who failed to produce documents to prove their identity have been taken into custody, he said, adding illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Meanwhile, the police have taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler/facilitator Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road where he blew himself up.
An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day physical remand. Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of the Lahore blast.
Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country.
The army over the weekend killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border.
Also Read: Lal Shahbaz Qalandar suicide attack: Pakistan strikes Afghanistan for the first time, several militants killed
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Lahore:
An imminent attack on a shrine in Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province was thwarted with the killing of five terrorists, police said on Sunday, days after a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Sindh claimed 88 lives.
The terrorists belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) group, which claimed a suicide blast in Lahore earlier this month in which 15 people died, the Crime Terrorism Department of Punjab police said.
A CTD spokesman said the department received information that eight JuA terrorists had planned to attack a shrine in Multan.
The terrorists were hiding in Layyah district, some 350 km from Lahore, and waiting for orders from JuA chief Omer Khalid Khorasani to launch the attack today, he said.The spokesman said five terrorists were killed in a gunbattle with a CTD while three succeeded to escape.
The spokesman said four hand-grenades, 1 rifle, 2 pistols were recovered from them.The CTD has killed 11 JuA terrorists since a member of the group carried out a suicide blast in Lahore on February 13, killing 15 people including senior police officers.
Last week, the CTD killed six JuA terrorists in Khanewal district of the province.
Pakistan has stepped up its offensive against militants after a suicide blast on Thursday at the famed Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in southern Sindh province killed 88.
A day after the bombing, Pakistan Army claimed to have killed 100 suspected militants in "intelligence-based operations" across the country. And, law enforcement agencies have beefed up security at all holy places.
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Mogadishu:
The death toll from a car bomb at a marketplace in Somalias capital has risen to 34 with 52 injured, said a police officer.
Many of the dead were carried away by their relatives soon after the blast, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein.
It was a horrific and barbaric attack only aimed at killings civilians, he said from the scene of the blast. Sabriye Abdullahi, an ambulance driver told The Associated Press that some of the injured victims died on their way to the hospitals.
Many of them suffered extensive third degree burns and others were burned beyond recognition, he said.
The blast by a car bomb parked near a restaurant went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle. Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointed to a clothes shop devastated by the blast. Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated, he said.
Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that remained of the shop.
Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers moved bloodied bodies and wounded victims into ambulances.
Its a painful carnage. said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with shrapnel wounds.
The powerful explosion was the first major attack since Somalias new president was elected on Feb.8. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, it bears the hallmarks of Somalias Islamic extremists rebels, al-Shabab. In a Twitter post, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemned the blast, saying that it shows the cruelty of al-Shabab.
A few hours before the blast, al-Shabab denounced the new president as an apostate and vowed to continue fighting against his government.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, in a statement condemning the attack, said that Italy remains solidly on Somalias side in the process of the countrys stabilization.
He added that together we will act so that the terrorists dont succeed in stopping the path of peace and reconciliation that is underway.
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Washington :
As the position lying vacant after ouster of Michael Flynn, US President Donald Trump asserted that he will be interviewing four candidates for national security advisor and will take a decision on the appointment within a couple of days.
"I have many, many that want the job that want to be a part of it, I'll make a decision in the couple of days, but we're meeting with actually four of them tomorrow, all of whom want it," Trump told reporters travelling with him on Air Force One on his way to Melbourne, Florida for a rally.
"I've been thinking about someone for the last three or four days, we'll see what happens. I'm meeting with that person. They're all good, they're all great people," Trump said. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump will interview his acting adviser, retired Army Lt Gen Keith Kellogg; a former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; Army Lt Gen H R McMaster; and the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, Lt Gen Robert Caslen. The new appointment has been necessiated following Flynn's resignation at Trump's request after revelations that he misled colleagues about his Russian contacts.
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Ankara:
Turning a blind eye to multiplepolicy differences, Turkey is seeking a tighter alliance with Washington under President Donald Trump but the road to rapprochement may not be easy.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's relationship with the White House worsened drastically in the final months of theBarack Obama administration, mired in rows on issues fromSyria to the extradition of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, theTurkish leader's arch-foe.
But Turkish officials repeated none of the gloom that some EU leaders expressed after Trump's election, instead hoping that he would open a new page in relations.
Trump's administration has a "good opportunity to make bold moves" in his foreign policy after the previous administration's "disregardful" attitude, Ayse Sozen Usluer, head of international relations at the Turkish presidency, told AFP.
She added the new administration would assess anew its relationship with Turkey regarding trade, military, the fight against terror among other issues and "take new steps to improve relations".
So could a potential bromance now be brewing between two men who have made macho politics a trademark?
Less than 48 hours after Trump and Erdogan had their first conversation of the new US president's term, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo came to Ankara last week to meet the Turkish leadership in his first foreign visit.
In a sign of the importance of real politics in the relationship, Pompeo had only last year described Turkey as a"totalitarian Islamist dictatorship" in a now deleted tweet. Meanwhile in a flurry of activity, US joint chiefs of staff Joseph Dunford also visited Turkey on Friday.
But for all the good intentions, analysts believe it is doubtful the two sides will progress much beyond a honeymoon period before traditional disagreements reappear.
Ankara hopes Trump is "the man who can deliver (rapprochement) to them, so they're quite obviously withholding any criticism of him even though his rhetoric in multiplecases is completely against everything they stood for," said Aaron Stein, resident fellow of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East.
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Gordon Bennett was many things to many people.
Bennett, 94, died Feb. 9 at his winter home in Green Valley, Arizona. Before retirement, had been a District Court judge in Lewis and Clark County for 18 years.
To Norma Tirrell, his wife of 40 years, he was her life partner, moral compass.
He was also someone with a great sense of humor, she said, a man who didnt take himself too seriously.
To others, Bennett was a close friend. He could be counted on for a candid assessment when asking advice. His legal colleagues say he was a mentor, and those who wrote the news called him a man of integrity and one of the wisest people in the state.
He epitomized what I think a lot of people take for granted: people who are actively interested in public policy and trying to figure out what the right thing to do is, said Mike Shields, who had a 35-year friendship with Bennett.
He was a dedicated public servant, and he took the publics business seriously.
A week before his death, Bennett spoke with him about his concern with the politicization of judicial elections across the country. Reading the New York Times daily allowed him to remain engaged with events, as did watching C-SPAN.
He was always looking at things, Shields said before concluding, There wont be another like him.
John Wilkinson arrived in Montana in 1970 as a VISTA volunteer. Those in his group were placed through Gov. Forrest Andersons administration, which is how he came to meet Bennett, who was then director of the Unemployment Compensation Commission.
That was the beginning of their long friendship.
After Wilkinson held a seat on the Lewis and Clark County Commission for six years, Bennett asked him to apply to be the director of the Deaconess home for children, now known as Intermountain. He retired from there after 15 years.
The role he played in my life was central, absolutely central, Wilkinson said. He was really kind of a father figure to me.
He saw in Bennett a wise man, someone who would tell him if an idea was half-baked. And Wilkinson will remember Bennett's wisdom, knowledge, deep sense of Montana history and common-sense.
It was really a privilege to know him, both him and Norma.
I really miss him, Wilkinson said. Hes just one of those guys Im going to miss deeply.
Lasting influence
Bennetts death truly marked a changing of the guard in Montana, said Micheal Lamb, a Helena attorney with Lamb & Carey.
Lamb, Wendy Holton, a Helena attorney, and Dorothy McCarter, who like Holton was at one time a law clerk for Bennett, all nominated Bennett for the State Bar of Montanas prestigious James J. Jameson award that he received in 2007.
The award is the highest honor bestowed by the association and is given annually since 1989 to an attorney who exemplifies ethical conduct and professionalism, devotion to the public good, promotes competence of lawyers and judges and participates in educating the public about the legal system.
Dozens of emails from friends, colleagues and others have crossed Lamb's desk, speaking to the loss of his friend of some 25 years.
He provided a great positive influence for generations of lawyers in Montana, Lamb said, characterizing Bennett as one of the lions of the profession.
Montana was incredibly important to him, Lamb said. The justice system, the sense of justice that he believed everyone was entitled to; he brought a great sense of humor and perspective as well.
Providing a level playing field to the businesses and individuals appearing before him in the courtroom was a guiding principle for Bennett, Lamb said.
Bringing resolution to the tragedies that brought people to court was important to him and was something he tried to convey to lawyers, Lamb noted.
Bennett was passionate about the things he became involved in and his belief that everyone had a right to be treated fairly and to be treated equally, he continued.
Even in his 90s, retirement for him didnt mean a soft, warm place to relax. It meant doing your best for the people of the state of Montana," he said.
Lamb, like Shields, listened to their friends concern with the money that had gone into judicial elections. Bennett also told of his belief that people often dont have the background that qualifies them to be a judge, nor a sense of morality and desire to do the right thing every day regardless of predilections.
Bennett will be remembered for his passion and energy with which he served the public both as a judge and later as a mediator, Lamb said.
He was the gold standard for judges in the state of Montana," he said. ... He was that most important of things. He was a fine man. He was one of the good guys. Even those he disagreed with politically, personally or philosophically, he brought out the best.
Holton was drawn to Bennett through a newspaper story where he confronted a crowd angry at the bond he set for a man accused of the abduction and assault of an 11-year-old girl.
The most compelling fact was that he faced down a mob on the courthouse steps that was protesting his respect for the right to a reasonable bail -- a right that embodies the presumption of innocence, she wrote when nominating him for the Jameson award.
His courage and integrity, she said, were reasons to ask him for a job as a law clerk. She also saw in Bennett someone from whom she could learn.
That he would trust her on her first day on the job to read the law and write an opinion as she saw it applying to a case told her much about him as a judge and as a person, she added.
Working for him was probably the best legal education I had," she said.
Her nomination letter also spoke to what she saw in him.
Judge Bennett brings honor to the legal system. He is a true jurist thoughtful, compassionate and tireless in his quest for justice. The integrity he brings to the system gives it credibility not only with attorneys but, more importantly, with the parties and the community as a whole," she wrote.
Today, when Holton goes into court, she carries a reminder of her time with Bennett. Perhaps on her coat or worn on a blouse will be a dragonfly pin that he gave her.
He said you can wear it for courage. I always have that dragonfly pin on," she said.
He was a very meaningful part of my life, she said. Im grateful that I got to work for him.
Dorothy McCarter, a judge from 1989 until 2013, was Bennetts law clerk from 1978 until 1981. Theirs was a long-standing friendship and one that led her to conclude, Hes the essence of a good guy, a good man.
From her desk in his courtroom as his clerk, she observed him during trials and hearings, so I was there watching and we would talk about cases. He taught me how to be a good lawyer and what not to do, how not to be a bad lawyer.
I think Judge Bennett inspired a lot of people because he was a very fair, apolitical human being. He never let political pressures affect him," she said.
He was my mentor. I learned more law from him than I did from law school, McCarter said. He was an amazing person.
He loved legal issues, he loved constitutional issues, she said. That was his passion. That was always his passion.
McCarter wanted to work in government law and worked in the state Attorney Generals Office for several years after her time with Bennett.
The retirement of a district court judge created an opportunity for her to consider becoming a judge. She asked Bennett for advice. He discouraged her.
No one knows you, she remembered him saying, and there were no other women District Court judges at that time. Even still she applied. Gov. Stan Stephens appointed her.
Her time in Bennetts courtroom as his clerk helped shaped her for the years when she too sat in judgment.
The statute says what the statute says, Bennett told her. And with this counsel came a caution against reading between the lines.
He believed in the law. He was a black-letter law person. The law said what the law said, McCarter explained, but noted that she wasnt talking about the Montana Constitution, a document thats open to interpretation.
But the law, the statutes, are there in black and white, she said.
He was interested in the law, and he was interested in applying the law to the facts. And sometimes he didnt like the outcome of his decision, but he stuck to it because he knew thats what the law was," she said.
Bennett could laugh when the state Supreme Court disagreed with him and would explain, Id rather be right than overruled.
Even in the court of public opinion, Bennett was willing to stand for his belief in the application of the law. The same incident before an angry crowd that impressed Holton left its mark on McCarter, who said the encounter was hard for him.
I think that was Judge Bennetts toughest go, she said.
Theres no question in my mind. He was a great judge, she added.
Bennett retired early, she said, and she attributed his decision to the contested divorce cases that came before him.
Without a doubt, he hated divorce cases the most," she said.
The fighting and dividing of worthless property, she explained, Thats what drove him off the bench.
He traded the black robe of a judge for the role of a mediator to help people settle disputes. His knowledge of the courtroom and juries helped bring disparate parties together for compromise before going to court.
Wisdom and integrity
Chuck Johnson, who retired as a Lee Enterprises State Bureau reporter, got to know Bennett while a reporter with the Great Falls Tribune.
Johnson enjoyed his conversations with Bennett, whom he described as knowing a lot about a lot of things.
He was a farmer, a journalist, a lawyer and a judge, Johnson said. Bennett is someone he said hell remember as a true Montanan.
Bennett knew the state and its people well, said Johnson, who called him one of the wisest people in the state.
John Kuglin was the bureau chief in Helena for The Associated Press in 2005 when he retired after 20 years in that role. Contained in his career in the news business are bylines with the Independent Record and the Great Falls Tribune.
Kuglin knew Bennett for more than 50 years and said Bennett was indirectly responsible for the launching of a freedom of information hotline in Montana. The hotlines website says it provides legal counsel to news media personnel, citizens and even government officials to facilitate access to public meetings and records.
Bennett lectured the news media about not intervening in Belth v. Bennett, which he presided over as judge, Kuglin said of the case that extended the right of individual privacy to corporations.
Bennett ruled that the public should have access to financial information about insurance companies held by the Montana auditor and insurance commissioner Andrea Bennett (no relation to the judge). In a rather eloquent ruling, he said, There is an absolute right for citizens to know what is going on in their government and a right to participate in government untrammeled by the government itself. He was reversed by the Montana Supreme Court.
A year later, the Montana FOI Hotline was in place, Kuglin added.
One of Bennetts legacies, Kuglin noted, is the states stream access law that came from a case involving the Dearborn River. His decision eventually resulted in legislation that opened Montanas waterways up to the high-water mark for the public.
He was soft-spoken. He was kind," he said.
Adherence to the law was important to Bennett, said Kuglin, who called him a man of integrity.
Gordon was a humble man who had a lot of compassion for people, he continued and added, He was a good judge.
Man of principles
Children were important to Bennett, who saw them come before him during divorce custody cases and when they were accused of crimes.
He believed that every kid had potential and opportunity, McCarter said. He loved seeing children succeed.
He served on the boards of organizations that sought to help children, including that of Intermountain.
"Gordon was a great board member and supporter of Intermountain's 108-year-old mission for Montana's youth, said Jim FitzGerald, the organizations CEO.
With his clear thinking, incisive wit, and the least amount of words, Gordon could illuminate an issue, turn it inside out, and upset most everyone on either side. It was hard to really know if you had been hugged or slapped, but the discussion always pivoted after Gordon offered his thoughts.
More than anything, Gordon personified the compassionate power of a well-trained mind, and we are grateful for the seeds he planted," FitzGerald said.
Despite what Bennett contributed through his role as a District Court judge, he was troubled and frustrated by what he saw happening to children who came before him.
Sarah Sullivan saw her father struggle with the failures or limitations of the justice system when it came to handling children.
He knew this was deeply flawed, she said and offered this to explain his respect for social workers.
People and human relations fascinated him, Sullivan said, and his time working with the Blackfeet Nation expanded his perspective as it introduced him to a different culture and another way of life.
It's hard to characterize my dad because he was a complex figure, Sullivan said. There was a solemnity and austerity in much of the way he lived, but he also had a wicked acerbic wit and a genuine sweetness to him that was especially evident in the way he interacted with his grandchildren. He listened to them intently and took their thoughts and ideas very seriously.
Sullivan said she doesnt believe that her fathers prostate cancer alone could be blamed for his death.
Instead, I think the body just kind of gave out.
He was able to orchestrate a very graceful exit, she said.
He ended his life with an enormous amount of gratitude and love. And I will always appreciate that, Sullivan said.
Bennetts journey in life began in 1922 in Scobey, a place his obituary said he affectionately referred to as the Athens of Northeastern Montana.
He was the third of his parents four children.
He was a child of the Depression, said Tirrell, his widow, who spoke from their home in Arizona. They grew up in the Depression. They had nothing.
She recalled him telling her about his family sitting around the radio in their home listening to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he addressed the nation during the Depression.
It was a very hopeful thing when times were so hard, she said and explained Roosevelts fireside chats colored his outlook for the rest of his life.
He saw what government could do for people when times were hard," she said.
Education was important to his family. He obtained a degree in economics and then a masters degree in journalism before turning to the law as a way to pursue solutions to economic and social woes. He graduated in 1956 with a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Education, Tirrell said, it just made him the person who he was.
Bennett was active in politics and helped Sen. Lee Metcalf, D-Mont., win re-election. He helped Forrest Anderson win the governors office. His obituary said he declined the title of campaign manager for either man and said, They ran their campaigns we were only there to help.
He believed in the values and convictions of the people he worked to elect, Tirrell said.
The late Sen. Lee Metcalf and the Late Gov. Forrest Anderson were among his heroes," she said.
Being a judge was important to Bennett, but when in the courtroom he set aside politics, Tirrell said.
Many of the decisions for Montanas 1972 Constitution ended up in his court, the states 1st Judicial District, which allowed him to help with its implementation.
This proved to be a wonderful coincidence for Bennett -- the right guy in the right time, Tirrell said.
The courtroom also brought the two of them together: Bennett as judge and Tirrell as a court reporter for the Independent Record. Ours, she said, was a courthouse romance.
In him she saw a man who was bright, intelligent and engaged.
He was a man of strong convictions who never wavered in his convictions or values, Tirrell said. He acted on his values.
He did not blow with the wind," she said.
He was bright and intellectually curious, she added. He loved life.
Did you see Senator Daines' performance the other day on national TV? He refused to let another senator speak during a confirmation hearing, gaveling her down. He was chairing the meeting and he keeps glancing over at Mitch McConnell for verification. He looked like a little boy using his daddy's hammer. He ended up boasting about it, as if he was doing something good, that he thought up, not just following orders from the Republican party bosses. How embarrassing for Montana.
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DANBURY Paul Enos 47-year career studying the paranormal has allowed him to investigate ghosts, UFOs and exorcism cases around the world, but the most frightening thing that ever happened to him, he said, was here in Connecticut.
Eno, along with his son and fellow paranormal researcher, Ben, described the story of the Bridgeport poltergeist of 1974 at a lecture Saturday at the Danbury Library. At the time, Paul was working with Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Bridgeport natives and paranormal investigators famous for their involvement in the Amityville Horror case, among others.
At the Bridgeport poltergeist house, Paul said, he watched a refrigerator float off the ground, was hit by a flying television set and encountered four parasitical entities.
I did not know what to do or what to think, he said. I kind of panicked.
The library lecture promoted the fathers and sons latest book, Behind the Paranormal: Everything You Know is Wrong. Several Connecticut haunting stories, including the Bridgeport poltergeist, can be found in the book, which discusses the afterlife, parallel worlds and even cases of animals and paranormal activity.
The Enos, who live in Rhode Island, told the crowd about how they got their start in paranormal research. Paul, who was studying for the priesthood when he was expelled for studying paranormal activity, said his interest in the subject started when his father committed suicide when he was 7 years old.
That stayed with me, he said. I encountered a need to know what happens after you die. That was really the genesis of my interest in the paranormal.
His first case was at a cemetery in New Britain, where he said a figure appeared in a tree. Litchfield County is the site of one of the Enos more recent cases. The father and son described what they call a triangle of activity enclosed by three locations of paranormal cases, including a farm in Goshen.
Ben began studying the paranormal alongside his father, helping in his first cases when he was around 13 years old.
Those in the audience asked questions after the lecture and met Paul and Ben during a book signing.
Stacey Ramsey, of Oxford, said she came to the lecture because she has always wanted to learn more about the paranormal.
Its always something Im curious about, said Ramsey, who has attended lectures by the Warrens. Its just always one of those things you want to have proof to believe, and so you look for that proof.
After he left the seminary, Paul was a newspaper and magazine reporter and editor. Ben took up journalism, becoming the countrys youngest syndicated talk-show host at the age of 16.
In addition to Pauls own books, the duo has contributed to other paranormal books, host a radio show and both speak on the subject at events and talk shows.
Paul said after going public with their experiences, they were surprised by the reaction of people who started contacting them, many of whom said they had similar paranormal experiences.
We thought the world would be laughing at us, he said. But we received almost 3,000 emails, and only about two were negative.
Aside from specific cases, the lecture focused on the Enos belief in a multiverse, or the idea countless parallel worlds exist. This theory, Paul said, can explain the connections between all the different types of paranormal activity, like alien or UFO sightings, ghosts, the afterlife and more.
Its really the idea that everything we think and know is wrong, he said. And this really is just the first day of school.
President Donald Trump complained that Boeing was building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but the costs are out of control and were projected to be more than $4 billion.
Wright Williams and Kelley reported that the best cost-cutting solution for the executive aircraft might just be to replace those grand 747s with a fleet of modified Boeing 737s, which are much smaller. Another alternative would be to use the next stealth bomber the B21.
The 747 is a fat radar target, about the size of a B-52[The B-21] has stealth built in, its nuclear-rated and heavily shielded right off the bat. Its going to be terribly cramped but man, it would be a survivable platform, especially if operated in twos and threes.
The B-21 wont even enter service until the mid-2020s, assuming the thing ever gets built. Optimistically, the current Air Force One aircraft are slated for retirement around the time the B-21 is expected to come online.
Military planes are generally not safe. About 4.7% B2 bombers have crashed and another 4.7% had engine fires.
So the stealth bomber is projected to cost about $600 million each and would be nuclear war and stealth ready, but it would be at high risk for crashing.
Russias RSK-MiG is working on a new lightweight fifth-generation stealth fighter to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-35 Fulcrum series fighters.
Called the Liogkiy Mnogofunktsionalniy Frontovoi Samolyet (LMFS)or Light Multi-Function Frontal Aircraft in EnglishUnited Aircraft Corporation is developing the new aircraft out of its own funds, reports aviation journalist Piotr Butowski in the French-language trade journal Air and Cosmos.
The LMFS will use a canard configuration reminiscent of the now-defunct Mikoyan Project 1.44 design, which was developed in the late 1980s as the Soviet Unions answer to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
The aircraft will likely have an empty weight of roughly 33,000lbs and a maximum takeoff weight of 55,000lbs. The aircraft will be equipped with internal weapons bays and advanced avionicsassuming it ever reaches fruition.
As currently envisioned, the new fighter will be equipped with a pair of the Klimov VK-10M afterburning turbofanswhich are advanced derivatives of the MiG-29-series RD-33 powerplantrated at 22,000lb thrust each. That should enable the aircraft to reach speeds of between Mach 1.8 and Mach 2.0 with a range of 2485 miles when configured with external droptanks.
It is possible that Mikoyan may revise the design into a single-engine configuration if the PAK-FAs next-generation izdeliye 30 engines reach a suitable level of maturity in time. There are few details available about the izdeliye 30 engines, but the new powerplant is expected to deliver 24,054lbs dry thrust and 39,566lbs of afterburning thrust.
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 ...
HAMILTON -- State election administrators are seeking a one-time exception to conduct a federal election by mail ballot when it comes time to elect Rep. Ryan Zinkes replacement.
Plans call for submitting a bill to the Montana Legislature this week that would allow for that option.
Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg said the uncertainty on when the election will be held is concerning to those in the state charged with administering elections.
We still dont have anything final on when that election will be held, Plettenberg said. The fact that were dealing with a moving target has election administrators worried.
The election date cant be set until Zinke is confirmed as secretary of Interior by the U.S. Senate, which is expected to happen in early March.
Once Zinke vacates his U.S. House seat, Gov. Steve Bullock will set a special election within 100 days.
Election administrators believe a mail ballot would not only provide for a better voter turnout for the unusual election, but it would also save money for already financially strapped counties, Plettenberg said.
A lot of folks think the costs for this election would be picked up by the state or federal government, but thats not the case, Plettenberg said. All of the money will come out of the counties budgets. The counties are begging the Legislature and governor to allow them to run a mail-in ballot election.
County governments felt the financial pinch for the historically high cost of the last general election, she said.
Normally a general election costs about $2 million to administer statewide. Last Novembers election cost $3 million due to an exceptionally high turnout and a requirement to reprint ballots when Libertarian candidate Mike Fellows died after the ballots had already been printed.
Reprinting the ballots cost Ravalli County $11,000, and Missoula County spent $40,000.
If the mail ballot proposal is approved, large counties, such as Missoula, Flathead and Gallatin, would see up to a 50 percent savings in election costs. Ravalli County expects to save upwards of $70,000, Plettenberg said.
About 50 percent of election costs are personnel-related.
Under normal circumstances, Plettenberg said election administrators have about two years to plan for a federal election and arrange for polling places and workers.
In this case, there would only be three months to pull it all together.
Some polling places and trained election judges might not be available. Plettenberg said there wouldnt be enough time to recruit and train new judges.
Beyond all of that, Plettenberg said off-year elections are notorious for low turn-out rates. If the mail ballot proposal was approved, every active registered voter in Montana would receive a ballot.
Mail ballot elections are very secure, she said. When ballots are returned, voter signatures are verified before the ballot is accepted and counted. If the signature does not match, the ballot is rejected.
Montanas election administrators have been running mail ballot elections for local and school elections for over three decades, Plettenberg said. They have the experience and ability to run this special election as a mail ballot.
This is a really big deal, she said. We do need some public support. We could use peoples support in contacting their legislators, the governor and county commissioners.
Nigerian army has described Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOP, as a criminal gang, dismissing as untrue the groups allegation that it mur...
Nigerian army has described Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOP, as a criminal gang, dismissing as untrue the groups allegation that it murdered 11 of her members during her protest on January 20 this year in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.Spokesman of 6 Division of the army in Port Harcourt , Colonel Aminu Ilyasu in a statement Sunday recalled that the army complied with the rules of engagement when it overwhelmed the alleged violent protest of the group in Port Harcourt that January 20, stressing that no soldier fired any shot at the protesters.He further warned spokesman of IPOP, Mr Emma Powerful to stop peddling false allegations against the army that it killed 11 IPOP members during the protest.His words, The attention of 6 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a baseless and unsubstantiated allegation by one Mr. Emma Powerful who claims to be the Media and Publicity Secretary of a criminal gang that goes by appellation Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in which he claimed through the media that 11 of its members were killed by soldiers on 20th January 2017 in Port Harcourt while conducting a solidarity rally to commemorate the election of Mr. Donald Trump as President of the United States of America. The allegation is false, malicious and existed in the figment of his imagination.We therefore wish to warn Mr. Emma Powerful and other like minded mischief makers that the Nigerian Army will no longer tolerate such spurious and unfounded allegations that are injurious to the hard-earned image and reputation of the Nigerian Army, its selfless and dedicated officers and soldiers by any group of criminals regardless of their appellation.It would be recalled that on 20th January 2017, members of the group were mobilized from Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Cross River States for an alleged rally with dubious intent of molesting innocent citizens, intimidating passers-by and wrecking havoc on commuters thereby disturbing public peace, safety and security.Despite all provocative attempts occasioned by the stoning of security agents and the smashing of commuters windscreens by the violent protesters, troops refused to be cajoled into the criminal gangs trap to fire a single shot.This is indicative of the troops total compliance with their Rules of Engagement. The violent protest was subsequently subdued with the use of tear gas and arrests were made by a sister security agency with no casualty recorded on either side. It is however worrisome and disturbing for anyone to falsely accuse troops deployed in support of civil authority who conducted their duty professionally under the beaming lenses of cameras of allegedly killing 11 citizens of our great country.A well observed trend of this criminal gang is the malicious posting of old videos and pictures from their archives on social media platforms which has no bearing on their claims to attract public sympathy and whip sentiments among the citizenry.To this end, Headquarters 6 Division Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, wishes to inform the public that the allegation is not true and should be dismissed as mere propaganda by the separatist group. We wish to restate our total commitment to the protection of lives and properties within the Divisions Area of Responsibility."
The Presidency on Saturday said there was no truth in a media report that President Muhammadu Buhari had made several medical trips to Lo...
The Presidency on Saturday said there was no truth in a media report that President Muhammadu Buhari had made several medical trips to London in the past, under the guise of embarking on official trips to other countries.The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said this in an interview with our correspondent.Adesina was reacting to a Reuters report titled Nigeria signals normality by putting Buharis deputy in charge published on Friday.According to the report, some unnamed diplomats had claimed that Buhari had made several visits to Britain to see his doctor, routing official trips to destinations as Asia via London so as not to declare medical leave all the time.But the presidential spokesman denied the report, saying Buhari is a straightforward person.Adesina said as a honest man, the President would only go to where he said he was going.The presidential spokesman said, President Buhari is a straightforward person. Where he tells you he is going is where he goes.Anyone making spurious claims is simply using his own standards to judge Mai Gaskiya, the honest man.Investigations by our correspondent showed that among the numerous foreign trips embarked upon by Buhari last year, he was sighted in London three times only.
Acting EFCC Chairman may be rejected by the Nigerian senate for the second time.
Acting EFCC Chairman may be rejected by the Nigerian senate for the second time.According to reports, against his Senate confirmation as substantive Chairman of the anti-graft agency appear to be unwilling to back down.They are even contemplating heading to the courts to ensure that Magu does not get the job."I am aware of talks of fresh petitions being received against the confirmation of Magu as EFCC boss. Aside the DSS report that nailed him the last time, it appears he will have some explanation to make whenever he appears before us," a source reportedly said.From what I learnt, the new petitions contain weighty allegations. Of course, the Senate will be properly guided by the rules in handling the matter. It is not for me to say whether the allegations are true or false. But I can tell you that we will expect the nominee to painstakingly convince us of his innocence in all the matters raised against him.Magu's initial nomination was shot down last December by the Senate citing a security report by the Department of State Security (DSS).
Governor Ayo Fayose says the Federal Government has released the withheld January Budget Support Fund to the state.
Governor Ayo Fayose says the Federal Government has released the withheld January Budget Support Fund to the state.Fayose made the claim while speaking a live programme tagged, Meet Your Governor aired on the state-owned Ekiti Television and Radio Stations. On Thursday, a letter was sent to the Central Bank of Nigeria that the money be released and it has not been released because the CBN Governor was not in town,'' Fayose said.What is important now is that the money has been released. I wont want to go into details.''
The convener of the Niger Delta Peoples Congress, NDPC, Mike Loyibo on Saturday said the recent visit of the Acting President, Yemi Osinba...
The convener of the Niger Delta Peoples Congress, NDPC, Mike Loyibo on Saturday said the recent visit of the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo to the Niger Delta has brought peace to the region.Recall that Osinbajo recently visited Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States respectively.During his visits to the oil rich region, the acting President engaged relevant stakeholders on how to bring relevant peace to the area.Addressing journalists in Abuja, Loyibo claimed the ceasefire agreement secured with the militants who had carried out several attacks on oil installations would remain unbroken.Loyibo noted that the acting Presidents visit was part of the yearnings of the people who had longed for inclusion in the activities of the region.He said, When we assess the issues generally, my view has been that you cant develop the Niger Delta without her peoples participation and this is the first time that any government ever is involving the critical stakeholders at all levels and so the consultation is a continuous one.The Acting President has visited Delta State, Bayelsa State, Rivers State and he was also in Imo State (Oil Producing) and now hes slated to go to Ondo by Monday. So, these are some of the proposals and suggestions we gave to the presidency.
MISSOULA -- Montanas lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives has been silent for more than six weeks.
Republican Ryan Zinke was still hanging around the Capitol last week -- one Huffington Post reporter tweeted on Thursday that Zinke was spotted wearing jeans in the Senate, an hour or so after another noted he was hanging around the House floor, without a tie, living, if not his best life, at least a better life.
In a process that looks like itll stretch into March (see related story), Zinke awaits Senate confirmation to become President Donald Trumps Secretary of Interior. His last vote on the floor of the House came on Jan. 5, the third day of the Congressional session.
That comes as a surprise to Pat Williams of Missoula, a Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 1979 to 1997.
Entirely, Williams said Friday. Hes no doubt working on his acquaintances and interests at the department, and hes certainly got a lot of work to do there. But I cant imagine him missing all the votes. Montana then has no vote in the House.
Zinke, who was elected to a second at-large term in November with 56 percent of the Montana vote, has remained active on at least two Facebook accounts. He has tweeted or retweeted on occasion since the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved his nomination by a 16-6 vote on Jan. 17. But he has issued no press releases since mid-December.
Aaron Flint, hired in December as Zinkes Billings-based state director, said he could not comment on his bosss voting abstentions and referred inquiries to Emma Benjamin in Zinkes Washington office. Benjamin was Zinkes press secretary in Missoula during the last five months of the 2016 campaign. (Heather Swift, his communications director in Washington, has already moved over to the Department of Interior, as has Micah Chambers, Zinkes deputy chief of staff.)
Benjamins current title is press assistant and legislative correspondent in the U.S. House of Representatives. Multiple calls and emails to her on Friday drew no response.
Matthew Koehler had a bit more success.
Executive director of the WildWest Institute in Missoula, Koehler said he started noticing in the past two or three weeks that Zinke was abstaining from House votes on issues he was following.
He said Friday he decided to call Zinkes office in Washington on Feb. 10 and ask point-blank why Rep. Zinkes not voting, to see what they would say.
Koehler identified himself to the woman who answered, said hed noticed Zinke wasnt voting the past couple of weeks, and asked why.
She said the Trump administration has advised us not to vote, Koehler said.
Jeff Essmann, a state representative from Billings and head of the Montana Republican party, said Zinke is caught in a damned if you do, damned if dont situation."
Hes making the transition between two branches of government, from legislative to executive, Essmann said. If (critics) want Montana to be represented, they should call Jon Tester and tell him to cut the crap and let us get to a vote.
Essmann blamed Tester, a Democratic Senator and Montanas senior Congressman, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, for holding up confirmation hearings of Trumps cabinet nominees, Essmann said.
The Democrats are slow-walking every congressional appointment and theyve having to stay in session 24-7 in order to get maybe two or three a week because of obstruction by Chuck Schumer and Jon Tester, Essmann said. You could call him and ask why the hell theyre obstructing this.
A look at the Congressional roll call indicates that Trumps two other cabinet nominees from the U.S. House, both Republicans, also stopped voting in early January. Mike Pompeo of Kansas was confirmed as Central Intelligence Agency director on Jan. 23. He was one of four representatives from that state. Tom Price, among 14 representatives from Georgia, gained Senate confirmation for Secretary of Health and Human Services on Feb. 9.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, cast key votes in the Senate up to the time he was confirmed as Attorney General on Feb. 8.
Zinke, of Whitefish, was announced as Trumps nominee for the Department of Interior post on Dec. 15. He voted on all nine measures that came before the House on Jan. 3-5, the first three days of the 2017 session. Zinke came under fire after voting on a rules measure on Jan. 3 that allows federal land transfers to be considered cost-free and budget-neutral, making it easier for drilling and development.
Zinke issued no explanation of his vote. In his committee confirmation hearing two weeks later, he made clear he opposes all sales or transfer of federal lands.
Youll remember the media caught wind of that and he got blasted pretty darn good, Koehler said of the Jan. 3 vote. I have a feeling thats when the Trump administration said, 'OK, youre done voting.'
Two days later, he was.
Williams said hes not sure if its usual for a cabinet nominee in Congress to refrain from taking part.
With regard to the rules, theyve got me, he said. I dont know whether theyre expected to keep voting. I do think Montanans expect them to keep voting.
Its true, Koehler said, that Zinkes lone vote in a Republican-heavy House has little impact. Thats the lot of a representative from a sparsely populated state, one of seven that send just one person to the U.S. House, along with Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware and Vermont.
But basically Montanans, whether were Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians, we are taxation without representation in the House of Representatives, Koehler said. We have no one there who is actually showing up and voting.
If hes not doing it because President Trump doesnt want him to, he owes Montana an explanation as to why. And I think the White House has to explain why.
This story has been updated to include the correct number and full list of states with just one U.S. House Representative. There are seven.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has ruled out retirement as he looks forward to his 93rd birthday next Tuesday.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has ruled out retirement as he looks forward to his 93rd birthday next Tuesday.There had been calls for him to retire due to old age.According to him, he has no "acceptable" successor in place, hence he won't give up power."The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee," Mugabe said in excerpts from a radio broadcast that will air this week."But then what do you see? It's the opposite. They want me to stand for elections.""The majority of the people feel that there is no replacement, a successor who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am," he added.Mugabe, who has kept an iron grip on power since Zimbabwe declared independence in 1980, has repeatedly denied reports of health problems.
The Nigerian Army on Sunday denied that its troops shot 11 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to death during Jan. 20 sol...
The Nigerian Army on Sunday denied that its troops shot 11 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to death during Jan. 20 solidarity rally in Port Harcourt.Col. Aminu Iliyasu, the Armys spokesman, 6 Division in Port Harcourt said that the army adhered strictly to rules of engagement in spite of provocation from some IPOB members.Thousands of youths believed to be IPOB supporters took to the street on Jan. 20 to commemorate the election of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States of America.Iliyasu said that troops from its 29 Battalion were only deployed to assist other security agencies to prevent possible breakdown of law and order during the rally.The attention of 6 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a baseless and unsubstantiated allegation by one Emma Powerful, who claimed that soldiers killed 11 IPOB members during Jan. 20 rally.The allegation is false, malicious and existed in the figment of imagination of Mr Powerful, who claimed to be the Publicity Secretary of IPOB.Despite all provocative attempt occasioned by the stoning of security agents and smashing of commuters windscreen, troops refused to be cajoled to fire a single shot.In spite of the provocation, the violent protest was only subdued with the use of tear gas while arrests were made by a sister security agency with no casualty recorded on either side, he said.Iliyasu said that pictures and videos that put on Social Media were old materials picked from IPOB archives.He said IPOB used the pictures and videos as propaganda to attract public sympathy and raise sentiment among citizens in its favour.The division spokesman said that the army would no longer tolerate any spurious and unfounded allegations aimed at injuring its image and reputation.We wish to inform the public that the allegation is untrue and so, should be dismissed as mere propaganda by the separatist group.We wish to restate our total commitment to the protection of lives and properties within the divisions area of responsibility.To this end, Mr Powerful and other like-minded mischief makers are hereby warned that the Nigerian Army will no longer tolerate such allegations.Iliyasu urged residents of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers to corporate with security agencies to enhance peace and socio-economic development of the region. (NAN)
Reinstated National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, said he would organize a national convention of th...
Reinstated National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, said he would organize a national convention of the party within the shortest time.He said the convention was imperative as it would enable interested party members to aspire for positions. Sheriff, who addressed a news conference on Saturday in Abuja, said that Fridays Appeal Court judgment in Port Harcourt affirming his chairmanship of the PDP was the beginning of good things to come to the party.He said that he was not interested to be chairman of the party, but was more interested in reuniting the members and made sure the party had credible leaders, who would make it win the 2019 elections.He said that following the judgment, he had received many telephone calls from PDP leaders and that he had also reached out to many persons over the unity of the party. All the leaders of the party will be consulted between now and the next one week and we will come out with a firm roadmap that will lead to successful convention.I can assure you that within the shortest possible time we will organize a successful national convention so that people can aspire for whatever positions they want. Regarding the ruling of the Appeal Court on Friday, I want to assured that nobody is victor and no one is a loser. In fact, I have spoken to almost all the people that are affected by the court decision and assured them of my readiness to work with them to ensure that the party returns as one family, Sheriff said. He added that he would also reach out to the partys reconciliation committee to ensure that it came up with roadmap leading to the national convention. Sheriff said that though he had full confidence in the countrys judiciary, he believed that litigation was not the best way to settle a dispute.I am determined to make my honest contributions to the success of this party. By doing that, I am ready to make any sacrifice for the success of this party. We dont want PDP to lose elections again. It is painful to lose elections. We need people to patronize our party, democracy is about people, you either give them their right or they leave. What we are trying to do is to give the party back to the people, he said.The chairman announced that all states congresses held prior to the Port Harcourt national convention remained valid, adding that congresses would only be conducted in states where it was not held. He, however, warned those speaking for him on the social media to desist from that in order not to compound the problem of the party. He advised that people should not look at the leadership tussle as fight between him or Makarfi or any other leader of the party. On the reopening of the locked PDP national secretariat, Sheriff said that it would be done as soon as an order on it was given by the Police.
The Federal Government has blamed the poor power generation and distribution in the country on the destruction of gas pipelines by suspect...
The Federal Government has blamed the poor power generation and distribution in the country on the destruction of gas pipelines by suspected vandals, who made the supply of gas to gas turbine power plants difficult.The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said this on Saturday during an inspection of ongoing projects at the Aduwawa axis of the Benin-Ehor-Lokoja road in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.Fashola explained that power generation in the country had stepped up to 4000mw in the last two weeks and could be increased to 7000mw, if the destruction of gas pipelines ceased.He said, Three thousand megawatts of power is not available because of vandalism of gas pipelines, which is not helpful to the country. If we can recover the 3000mw lost to vandalism and add (that) to the 4000mw, we will have 7000mw.We cannot continue to destroy something and say it is unavailable to us. All of us must begin to speak to each other and sensitise against vandalism.The minister, who was accompanied by Governor Godwin Obaseki and some officials of the ministry, noted that bad portions of the road under inspection would be reconstructed.Fashola added, I have got recommendations about the failed portions of the Ekpoma axis of the road. I have asked them to get money for the contractor to do full reconstruction of the bad portions, instead of patching it up, which will wear away soon.As soon as we get money, the contractor will come back to site.Also speaking, Obaseki expressed confidence that the federal attention drawn by damaged portions of the would prevent a total collapse and ease the movement within the metropolis.The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, however, listed the busy Ramat commended the Minister for the inspection tour, saying that it would ensure good quality and speedy completion of the road project.Earlier, a Federal Controller of works, Okey Oweh, explained that the road, which was awarded in 2012, was divided into three phases.Oweh said that a 12-km carriage way had been constructed along the Auchi axis of the road while the accident-prone section at Ewu had been improved upon.
Prophet T.B. Joshua released an alarming set of prophecies to his congregation at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) on Sunday ...
Prophet T.B. Joshua released an alarming set of prophecies to his congregation at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) on Sunday 19th February 2017, specifically calling for prayer for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buharis health.I have some burning issues which I want to share with you, Joshua began before breaking his silence on the tensions currently engulfing Nigeria in the wake of Buharis prolonged absence on medical leave in the United Kingdom.Your president has good intentions, Joshua calmly stated in a message televised live on the popular Christian channel Emmanuel TV. Good intentions cannot be carried out alone without good followers.Sensing that his message may not be well received by all, the controversial cleric admitted that some would hate him for his statements but he was okay with that.The priority of every Nigerian citizen now is the good health of your President because it can be anyones turn tomorrow. What you wish for others, God makes happen to you.Calling on congregants to rise up in prayer for President Muhammadu Buhari, he prayed specifically for strength where is weakness.Joshua went further to offer a profound prayer for Nigerias democracy. More importantly, we also have to rise up and pray that the Lord should give us the grace to sustain democracy. Pray for an uninterrupted democracy, he said, much to the surprise of the congregation.The cleric then re-echoed his well-publicised prophecy in December 2015 about the devaluation of the Nigerian currency and a widespread scarcity of food.According to him, the Naira would reach a ratio of 650 to one US Dollar on the black market before it stabilises if the system agrees with Divine will. Joshua said these issues would continue to plague the country until June.The cleric further addressed the political crisis engulfing the Democratic Republic of Congo, stating he turned down an invitation from President Joseph Kabila several years earlier to visit the nation as he was waiting for a revelation from God.According to the cleric, he sent a delegation in his stead with a message warning the Congolese government of an impending crisis.Pray for Gods intervention in DRC because I am seeing trouble coming a big trouble, Joshua stated, also calling on the congregation to pray for parts of Southern Africa affected by natural disasters and against an impending famine in Ethiopia.Joshua described the bane of the African political sphere as the pursuit of good leaders as opposed to good institutions.Shedding more light, he said that many African leaders chose cabinet members based on their hefty campaign contributions, as opposed to their qualities and loyalty, a trend that has led many Presidents to be frustrated during their stints in office.That someone gives you money does not mean they are your friend, Joshua explained. Your enemy can even establish you in a big way for reasons known to him. Why should those in the same political party be fighting themselves?Joshua said the lack of right people around a leader has led to both businesses and churches. The people that represent their branches often crumble their vision, he described.According to the Nigerian cleric, The way out is as you are growing, take time to train and impart to people. If not, by the time you finish growing, you will end up using an enemy to help you.Furthermore, Joshua decried the attitude of blaming a countrys government for an individuals woes, stating the main challenge was that the world is running out of ideas.Where there is no idea, money is useless, he counselled. When you run out of ideas, you begin to imitate others.T.B. Joshua wields an immense amount of influence across Africa, largely due to the popularity of his Christian station Emmanuel TV, the proficiency of his prophecies which have allegedly come to pass and his extensive humanitarian endeavours.Since President Buharis departure on a medical vacation to London on January 19th 2017, rumours have been rife as to the true nature of his health predicament.
Senator Ben Murray Bruce has urged for a stop to the leadership tussle in the PDP, saying he has accepted Ali Modu Sheriff as the party...
Senator Ben Murray Bruce has urged for a stop to the leadership tussle in the PDP, saying he has accepted Ali Modu Sheriff as the party's National Chairman.In a statement released during the weekend, he said: Concerning the PDP, the current bickering is childish and irrelevant. I am not in support of any more litigation.We will work with Ali Modu Sheriff and go to a convention. Right now, PDP is on a course towards destruction and abiding by the judgment of the court is the only thing that can save us.In the first place, it is never the job of the judiciary to choose the leader of a party. I, therefore, call for an end to the fighting. And I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party. Right now, what Nigeria has is a one-party state there is no opposition.Enough is enough. This is the time for PDP to unite, we are a formidable force!
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Sunday insisted that he wont recognise Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP National Chairman.
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Sunday insisted that he wont recognise Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP National Chairman.He said those who are willing to work with Sheriff are misguided and naive.Fani-Kayode in a statement added that anyone that calls for members of the PDP to rally behind him and recognise him as our National Chairman is a simpleton and a fool.The statement further reads: I say this because the man is evil: he is an agent of destruction and no good can come out of him. I was the first to see him for what he was and I said so publicly.Then came the PDP Ministers Forum who also stood their ground. At first no-one believed us until eventually 90 per cent of our party members lined up behind those of us that opposed Sheriff and that supported Makarfi.I read his insulting comments about Fayose and Wike and I laughed. Are these not the very same people that brought him in the first place and convinced others in the PDP Governors Forum to support him?Now he has finished using them to get what he wanted he is insulting them and saying that they must be kicked out of the party and dealt with.I say shame on him because that will never happen. Fayose particularly has proved his worth to Nigeria and Wike has stood firm and strong in defence of his people and state. They are both lions and I am proud to stand with them and Makarfi.Sheriff is nothing but a traitor who is biting the fingers that fed him. Fayose is one million times the man he is. As a matter of fact so are almost all the governors and other party leaders. Sheriff comes nowhere near any of us in any shape or form.Only a blind, deaf and dumb simpleton or prancing village idiot would line up behind a man with such filthy and evil antecedents.This is a man whose fundamental purpose and ambition in life is to sell the PDP down the river and to help the ruling APC and the Buhari government to destroy us and win the presidential election in 2019.Sheriff is the Angel of Death to the PDP. He is worse than the bubonic plague: not only is he a curse to our party but he is also an affliction to our nation.I stand with Ahmed Makarfi and our Caretaker Commitee and unless and until the Supreme Court says so he remains our National Chairman.
Nicole Bass, a former bodybuilder, WWF wrestler and a longtime member of Howard Stern's Wack Pack crew, has died at the age of 52, according to reports.
The Howard Stern Show mourned her passing:
The Stern Show is incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of longtime Wack Packer Nicole Bass #RIP #WeSpeakYourName pic.twitter.com/OCOIOPnbm3 Stern Show (@sternshow) February 18, 2017
Kristen Marrone, a friend, posted the news on Bass' Facebook page.
"A few days ago Nicole got very sick," Marrone said on Facebook. "She was brought into the hospital and they did everything they could to help her. I have been sitting here with her in the room 24/7 since she got here making sure she was being given the best possible care. Today we learned that there is nothing else that can be done."
Sources told Pro Westling Sheet her official death was approximately 8:40 p.m. Friday at a hospital in New York. Bass, Pro Wrestling Sheet continued, had been rushed to a hospital and put on life support for undisclosed reasons.
Nicole's first national exposure came via Howard Stern. A contestant on The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant in 1993, she would go on to make countless appearances on Stern's radio show.
She later went on to join the WWF at Wrestlemania XV as wrestler Sable's bodyguard. According to the wrestling website Cageside Seats: "She feuded with Debra McMichael and became a love interest of Val Venis. She briefly aligned with Ivory before abruptly leaving the company in 1999, then suing them for sexual harassment. The suit was dismissed in 2003.''
In 2015, Bass was arrested in Queens for shoplifting $1,045 of groceries and $159 of beauty supplies from a Stop and Shop in Glendale, according to The New York Post.
Bass is one of three Howard Stern "Wack Pack" members who have died in the past year. Joey Boots, best known for helping to popularize the nickname "Baba Booey," died last December. Another popular figure, George "Crackhead Bob" Harvey, also died in 2016.
Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.
BILLINGS When chainsaw artist Chad Buscher is plying his trade, nothing else matters, he said Friday standing beside his latest work, a life-size river otter he carved for a friend whose husband died recently. Everything else can be going wrong, and if Im doing this, it doesnt matter.
Buscher, 41, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran, participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, where he suffered a traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome. Hes endured 23 operations on his left arm and one brain surgery.
Its tough for me. Ive lost a lot of ability to communicate, he said during a 30-minute interview during which he communicated effectively and passionately about his work and his love of nature. When I do this, I dont need a drawing. I saw that otter in the wood. Its the best therapy Ive found, hands down.
Buscher employs six chainsaws of varying sizes in his work, as well as other tools. The otter is perched on a large rock, and it holds a smaller heart-shaped rock from the homeowners collection.
(Sea) otters pick up a rock and use it as a tool for life, he said. She and her husband would float the Yellowstone or the Stillwater River and look for heart rocks, and for river otters.
Buscher glued in African porcupine quills as whiskers, wood-burning and sealing the pine work to give it a long life. Once he took down the tree and stripped off the bark, Buscher estimates he put 25 hours of labor into his creation.
She was happy with it, he said of his friend, the homeowner. I would have kept working until she was pleased. Part of a brain injury makes you impulsive.
Her comment to Buscher: I have my own otter now!
While Buscher isnt disclosing the otters location to protect the homeowners privacy, he did note that word of mouth has apparently traveled fast.
Already Ive had three emails, he said with a grin. Im a disabled veteran and Im not doing this to make money. But its a craft that does have expenses gas, tools and maintenance.
Before he returned to Billings, Buscher lived several years in the Chicago area, where he was receiving medical care through the Veterans Administration. Hed purchased an RV and was going to travel the country with his two dogs, but decided hed better visit Billings first. After a few months in town, he now has housing lined up, with no plans to embark on that road trip.
Im just going to stay here and do this, he said.
Buscher said hes been hiking the Boulder Mountains between Helena and Butte since he was a child. During his hikes he looks down at least as often as he looks up.
I can bring people a log from there, unless a potential customer has a tree or log of their own theyd rather use, he said. I still go there a lot, and Im always on the lookout.
To arrange for a commission or to discuss his work, Buscher may be reached at buscherc@yahoo.com.
I usually dont sign my work, he said. But if people want me to, I will.
SOUTH ORANGE -- As deli legend has it, New Jersey's version of the Sloppy Joe started in Havana, Cuba.
According to local folklore, in 1935, then mayor of Maplewood Thomas Sweeney returned from a trip to Cuba with stories of a delicious deli sandwich he had at a Cuban restaurant, Sloppy Joe's Bar and Eatery. Sweeney persuaded the then-owners of the Town Hall Deli in neighboring South Orange to recreate it, and it caught on.
This month, the Town Hall Deli is celebrating its 90th anniversary. In that time, ownership has changed hands, and the deli has moved four times. But, Matt Wonski, who owns and runs the store with his father, Tony, says the "important things" at the deli, have remained the same.
"It's still a family business. It always has been, and it always will be," said Wonski, whose family bought it in 2001 from Ron Joost and Jack Burdorf - the men who had taken over from their fathers, who started the Town Hall Deli in 1927. Jack Burdorf, who is now 78-years-old, still works in the deli.
"Our ingredients are fresh, and good quality. We make everything here ... (and) we cut everything fresh in the deli. We are starting from scratch on every sandwich," Wonski said.
That includes the Sloppy Joe, which has become the eatery's most well-known product.
Made much the same way it was in 1935, the sandwich is on rye bread baked in a white bread mold that is cut long ways. In Cuba, the sandwich was made with cow tongue and ham. The Town Hall deli version includes turkey, roast beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and dry cole slaw. Not including cooking the turkey (the deli doesn't use Boar's Head - "we make two forty-pound birds every morning," Wonski says), or the three-day prep time to make the cole slaw, the Sloppy Joe takes about 20 to 30 minutes to assemble. One sandwich, which usually sells for $22.99, can feed two to three people.
"As someone who has participated in two Sloppy Joe eating competitions, I can personally vouch for how delicious they are," South Orange Village President Sheena Collum told NJ Advance Media.
Wonski said the sandwiches are "definitely what we're known for." For the deli's busiest day of the year, Super Bowl Sunday, it makes about 700 Sloppy Joe's, he said. It also ships sandwiches all over the world.
This winter, in honor of the eatery's landmark anniversary, Wonski took the sandwiches somewhere special - to the Sloppy Joe's in Havana. With them, Wonski brought the story of how the Joe's came to South Orange. He ate them with the current managers of the bar in Cuba.
"It was really one of the most amazing things I've ever done," he said.
To celebrate the deli's birth year, Sloppy Joe's this week are being sold for $19.27.
"Town Hall Deli is an institution in our community," Collum said. "We congratulate Tony and Matt and all the staff and look forward to the next 90 years."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Federal auditors want the Newark non-profit that ran the city's Head Start program for a half century to refund $10 million in taxpayer money, claiming the agency "inflated" its enrollment numbers.
But officials with the now-defunct Newark Preschool Council Inc. say the group is bankrupt and has no way to return money already paid to teachers and other staff for work done several years ago.
They also insist their enrollment reports were accurate, and they had met their obligation to serve nearly 2,500 preschoolers at more than 30 locations in the city.
Head Start sites in Newark are now operated by other non-profit groups, particularly La Casa de Don Pedro and The Leaguers.
An audit by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services looked at 17 months of Newark Preschool Council's Head Start program from 2013 through 2014.
In a report issued last week, auditors said the Council misrepresented the number of children it reached, falling about 35 percent below the "inflated" number listed in its reports.
Since its federal grant was based on the number of children served, the audit concluded the agency should refund nearly $10 million in grant money.
Newark Preschool was one of the original Head Start sites, opening in 1965 when the landmark education program burst on the scene. Its federal contract was automatically renewed every year until 2014, when it was denied a renewal.
That stemmed from a dispute about the proper oversight of one of the daycare centers they partnered with.
Newark briefly sued the federal government over the funding withdrawal, but withdrew its lawsuit a few months later to focus on closing out the program and transitioning its operations to other community groups.
"We had to begin to look at cutting our losses for the betterment of the kids," said Patrick Council, president of the community board affiliated with the organization. "Once you lose the federal grant, it really vanquishes your economic power to sustain and run an organization."
That had a cascading effect: Once the agency lost its big federal Head Start grant, it no longer had access to the outside vendor's enrollment software it had used when it was up and running, Council said.
That meant it couldn't provide auditors with proof its true enrollment. Instead, it had to rely on lower figures compiled through the school system's records for children attending so-called "Abbott" preschools.
The federal auditors were told about the agency's inability to access its old enrollment data, but chose to ignore that, he said.
"They were trying to say we owe them all that money. But that's not true," Council said.
Newark Preschool was hoping it could get its grant back as late as 2015, but then heard through the grapevine that other local agencies were in the running to become the main providers of Head Start.
Faced with a bleak future, the agency filed for bankruptcy last October. It listed about $300,000 in assets beyond the properties it had purchased. Its liabilities were mortgage payments for those properties, pension payments, and unused sick pay owed to many of its 600-plus workers.
Calls to the group's bankruptcy attorneys were not returned Friday.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MISSOULA -- At a court hearing in Missoula on Friday, a federal agent admitted he had no idea how much marijuana a pair of Bozeman medical marijuana providers were allowed to have when agents raided their store and home last spring.
Another agent testified that the only patients using the maximum allowed were doing so illegally.
Federal prosecutors have charged Jesse Walter Campbell, a Bozeman-based provider, and Michael James Mason, who worked for the statewide dispensary Montana Buds, with conspiracy and possession of marijuana. Charlton Victor Campbell, the third man charged in the case, has accepted a plea agreement from prosecutors, but has yet to plead guilty.
The attorneys for Mason and Campbell asked for a special hearing, claiming that a prior decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals means that the U.S. Department of Justice cant prosecute cannabis providers who are obeying their state medical marijuana laws.
What that decision doesnt say, however, is which side needs to prove whether a provider was in compliance or not, and how stringent the burden of proof needs to be.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dana Christensen started the hearing by saying he would allow for a shifting burden of proof, asking first for prosecutors to show how the defendants violated the state law; then, if necessary, calling on the defense attorneys to show how their clients were in compliance. He said after the hearing was over that he would make a determination on what each side needed to prove, and whether they met their burden.
Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Bryan Fillinger, who filed a search warrant for Campbells home, said he based the warrant on information from a source who told him he regularly went to the house and bought large amounts of marijuana.
Under cross-examination from Campbells attorney Lisa Bazant, Fillinger said he never corroborated whether the purchases actually happened. And he said that at the time, the source was charged with 10 different felonies in the Bozeman area for forgery and identity theft.
Bazant questioned whether the agent knew how many plants and how much processed marijuana Campbell was legally allowed -- under state law -- to own as a provider in Montana. Fillinger said the amount his source told him had been purchased was above the limit.
Bazant added that the law at the time allowed providers to have an ounce per customer per day, and to keep a stockpile of 17 days supply on hand.
Fillinger took issue with the state limits, saying anyone using the maximum was clearly reselling it illegally.
Nobody in this country smokes an ounce of marijuana a day. Nobody, he said. I think you know that the people youre selling to are selling it on the black market.
He also said he never talked to the Montana agency that regulates medical marijuana patients to see how many Campbell had, saying that in a prior case a state worker had leaked to the provider they were being investigated.
Lee Herd, another DEA special agent who conducted the raid on Campbells house in spring 2016, also agreed that he didnt know the state laws at the time and had no idea what Campbell was allowed to have under the regulations.
The search found 185 marijuana plants, as well as roughly $80,000 in cash and 35 pounds of processed marijuana. DEA agents also found 29 cartridges containing hash oil that could be smoked using an e-cigarette device.
At the end of the day Friday, Christensen said the matter would have to be finished later. Because he will be out of the office on vacation for several weeks, Christensen said its likely to be about a month before the second half of the hearing can take place.
MISSOULA There are more Charlie Ann Wyricks out there.
Thats what worries domestic violence experts and prosecutors following an eight-day trial that saw Emmanuel Gomez convicted of homicide in the December 2015 murder of Wyrick, his 26-year-old girlfriend.
In the months leading up to her death, Wyrick came to work with black eyes, hanks of hair missing, bandages over a broken nose, and bruises covering her arms, her coworkers testified. Near the end, she told a friend Gomezs abuse was getting worse, his attacks more severe and more frequent. She told others he threatened to kill her, and that he drove her to the places in Pattee Canyon where he could dump her body.
The evidence to those around her that Wyrick was increasingly in danger from a violent and volatile Gomez grew from suspicion to belief to certainty as the weeks passed. A friend took her away to Helena, only to have Gomez come and take her back again. The day before her death, her brother offered to help her leave.
But what many seemed to struggle with on the witness stand was how they best might have helped Wyrick, who grew increasingly isolated as time went on.
For Shantelle Gaynor, senior grants administrator at the countys office of Relationship Violence Services, the Wyrick case has broader significance. She wants people to know that what happened to Wyrick is happening to other women in the city, and wants the people close to victims to know how they can help before the worst happens.
For 10 years, Missoula didnt have a single domestic violence-related homicide, Gaynor said. But that ended in 2015, when there were two Wyricks and the double murder-suicide of Kalee Scolatti and T.J. Dupras by Scolattis estranged husband Nicholas Scolatti.
To Gaynor, the No. 1 resource is the YWCAs 24-hour crisis hotline at 406-542-1944 and 800-483-7858. Despite the name, Gaynor said it isnt just for victims or crises. It can also connect victims' friends with an advocate who can help them help someone else in a way that is anonymous and confidential.
You need to build your team, bring people in and ask for help. The YWCA, advocates, they are out there and they will help you, Gaynor said.
It's common for a victim to leave and go back to an abuser several times before being able to truly break away, but Gaynor said looking at what a victim should do is the wrong way to view the problem.
The right question is why is he hurting her, not why isnt she leaving, she said. Leaving doesnt always equal safety. Having friends and family intervene doesnt always equal safety.
Women stay in domestic violence situations for a broad range of reasons, Gaynor said, including stability. A 2010 study by the city found that domestic violence was the leading cause of homelessness for women and children.
So parents are choosing, 'Gee, homelessness for me and my kids, or occasional violence and then it gets better for a while,' Gaynor said. Why dont victims leave? They are trapped by violence, addiction, finances, by not having a way out.
And looking at a relationship solely in terms of its violence misses another key point.
Most people want the violence to end but not the relationship. You dont get into what does the relationship do for the victim. You can ask someone to leave, but really youre asking them to leave a lot more than just violence, Gaynor said. We want there to be clean solutions and its not that easy.
As with suicide, Gaynor said anyone who has concerns or suspicions that something is wrong in a friends relationship shouldnt be afraid to talk to the person about it directly.
I think its important to start inserting language that nobody has a right to hurt you, it doesnt matter what happened, she said.
She shied away from the idea that a friend who believes there is a significant danger should take the decision of what to do out of the hands of a victim and go directly to the police.
A person needs to evaluate whether making that call will break that relationship and further isolate the person, she said. You can call the police but she can say (to police), 'Nothing happened, go away.' She might not be ready to get out.
YWCA executive director Cindy Weese said while typically she would agree not to take the decision away from a victim, she felt Wyricks case was so over the top, she would have made an exception.
I would think that Charlie was depending on someone who would witness it would do something. It is hard for me to read and hear what happened in Charlies case and not feel that friends, coworkers should have intervened and notified police earlier, she said.
Its typical for those around a victim to feel helpless and not know what to do, Weese said.
I think one of the most important things is just to be a friend. Its important to acknowledge that they are in a very difficult situation, its a very scary situation and that you are afraid for them and want to help, Weese said.
She said friends should help a victim trying to leave to plan how to do it and be safe.
If and when they are ready to leave, what do they need to have? Can they give anything to you right now that you can keep? Clothing, money, copies of birth certificates. Encourage them to talk to the YWCA, offer to take them there, she said.
Weese said in those conversations, its important not to be judgmental, to tell a person what they need to do. She said talking down about their partner also isnt helpful, and can make many victims pull away.
What I would encourage people to do is take some action, dont be afraid to reach out. Dont be a bystander who does nothing, Weese said.
***
Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst said Gomez exercised an extreme power and control over Wyrick during their relationship, which ratcheted up after Wyrick made ultimately unsuccessful attempts to leave him. She said for friends and family of someone in a similar position, its paramount to make sure a victim knows they have outside support.
Because its the most dangerous when a person is trying to leave, thats when they need the most help, she said. Ask questions, offer support in developing a plan, offer to help facilitate a plan and follow up with them.
If the police do get involved, Pabst said they bring with them more than just law enforcement. They can help a victim engage with professional support services. Prosecutors and judges can set restrictions on a perpetrator that carry consequences.
Pabst said she was shocked earlier this year when she was putting together an annual crime report to discover that more than 60 percent of all violent crimes her office charged in 2016 were based in assaults on a partner or family member.
A common thing her office sees in such cases is victims, for a variety of reasons, recant as prosecution moves forward. For that reason, Pabst said her office develops evidence-based cases documenting specific injuries and testimony at the time of an arrest to make sure that even if a victim is being pressured to stop participating in a prosecution, the case can move forward.
We take a real hard line on domestic violence," Pabst said. "When we see a first charge of (partner or family member assault) we take it as a potential worst-case scenario."
A Louisiana House bill filed to expand the people to which domestic violence laws apply could have affected Louisiana State Senator Troy Brown, who plead guilty to assaulting his wife and girlfriend in two different incidents.(Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
BILLINGS It wasnt lost on Jace Killsback that President Donald Trump chose an Indian racial slur to disparage Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Nor was it lost on Killsback that his senator, Jon Tester, was sitting two seats left of the president, but said nothing.
Trump derogatorily referred to Warren as Pocahontas, a racially offensive stereotype that conjures up images of American Indian women as sexual objects, while also ignoring that the real Pocahontas, according to National Park Service historians, was taken like property by white colonists in the early 1600s and converted to Christianity.
Killsback is chairman of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of southeast Montana.
What she represents is what we call, in the Indian community, the white mans view of native women. Its a reflection of their view of the land in relation to their colonization of the North Americans and includes the capture, the rape, the abuse of Pocahontas, the chairman said.
Theres also a Pocahontas stereotype of American Indian women who are considered too friendly to whites, as the Powhatan girl in colonial storytelling is portrayed as helpful to whites. In those stories, Pocahontas is also portrayed as part of a native monarchy, which is also false, Killsback said. The Disney cartoon version of Pocahontas as a princess is equally offensive.
Walter Fleming, head of the Native American Studies department at Montana State University, said the Pocahontas stereotype puts American Indian women in a position of being not only overly friendly to whites, but also overly lascivious depending on how the slur is used. The historical figure has been so tarnished, association with the name for American Indian women is a no-win situation.
Warren has been called Pocahontas by Republicans since 2012 when the Massachusetts senators claims of being one-thirty-second Comanche turned out to be impossible to prove. Supporters of Warrens opponent, Republican Scott Brown, called her Fauxcahontas, a fake, but the phrasing was lost in the political churn against Warren, who is wildly popular among Democrats and a possible presidential candidate in 2020.
Warrens claim to Cherokee lineage, as well as who gets to decide whether a person is native, is yet another controversy. The decision would not belong to Warren, but certainly would not belong to her detractors, either, Killsback said. It should be up to the Comanche.
Killsback and other native leaders in Montana told The Gazette that Trumps remarks needed to be challenged. Anytime the racist remark is made people need to speak up, they said.
Tester would not answer questions about the interaction with Trump. He wouldnt explain why he said nothing. Right after the meeting, which was a luncheon between the president, six Democrat senators and four Republican senators, Tester described the meeting as non-confrontational.
"Dont take this the wrong way, but it wasnt confrontational at all," Tester said at a press conference. "It was just flat non-confrontational. It was very open conversation, very, very much, very much an open dialogue. He did more talking than everybody else and Vice President (Mike) Pence did less talking than everybody else. But everybody in that meeting had the opportunity to visit with the president directly, and I appreciate that."
Later, Testers staff acknowledged Trumps offensive remarks, as well as the presidents assertions of mass voter fraud against him in the 2016, something thats been widely declared false. Testers staff suggested Trump didnt need to be called out because the presidents remarks werent new.
These were not new statements from President Trump, said Marnee Banks, Testers press secretary. He has routinely called Sen. Warren this derogatory name dating back to May last year. Also, President Trump has made unfounded claims of voter fraud since before the 2016 election and continues to offer no evidence to back these claims up. Jon is deeply concerned that the President repeats offensive rhetoric and untrue statements.
For Vernon Finley, chairman of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes of Northwest Montana, there is an obligation to tell the president that his remarks were offensive, while also recognizing Trumps right to say offensive things.
You know, sometimes I might do or say things that would be offensive to you for whatever reason, your ethnic background or your gender, or whatever, Finley said. "I might say or do something offensive, but my intent is to never do that.
If I say something that offends you and you dont say anything, thats on you. If you tell me its offensive and I continue to say it, thats on me, Finley said.
The context of the Trumps remarks about Warren involve not only Tester, Finley said, but also Montanas Republican Sen. Steve Daines.
Trump brought up Warren while referring to a Feb. 7 episode on the Senate floor in which the Massachusetts Democrat was gaveled down by Montana Republican Steve Daines.
Warren was speaking against the confirmation of Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions to become attorney general. Daines was overseeing the debate and ordered Warren to take her seat after she began to read from a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King, in which the civil rights leader said Sessions had undermined the rights of black voters.
Daines cited Rule 19, a not-often-referenced conduct order that prevents senators from impugning each other on the Senate floor.
Warrens right to free speech should have prevailed, Finley said, criticizing Daines for doing otherwise.
So the tribal chairman found fault in Tester for not speaking truth to power and Daines for not allowing Warren to speak at all.
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.
Welcome to nonleaguedaily.coms news provision, your go-to source for all non league updates, rumours, interviews, and much more besides.
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Council Bluffs residents were among those that answered the call during the Great War.
I really think Council Bluffs influenced the situation on the front lines in World War I, said Dick Warner, a member of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie Countys board of directors.
Warner will be one of the presenters for World War I in Council Bluffs at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave.
The event is being held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into the war.
Guests will see vintage photos of Council Bluffs, World War I memorabilia and propaganda posters displayed on the librarys second floor through a partnership with the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa World War I Centennial Committee. They will also hear music from the World War I Era.
Besides Warner, presenters will include Patricia LaBounty, museum and collections manager at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum; Kori Nelson and Danette Hein-Snider of the Historic General Dodge House; Marlys Lien of the Council Bluffs Public Library; and Mary Lou McGinn of Preserve Council Bluffs.
Dr. Donald Macrae Jr., former mayor of Council Bluffs, got the idea that a mobile medical unit should be formed that could treat injured soldiers on the front lines so they could receive care immediately instead of after a long ride to a permanent facility, Warner said. The Army thought it was a good idea but didnt offer any funding for it.
Not to be defeated, southwest Iowa residents raised the money for Unit K, as it was called. Macrae, a veteran of the Spanish-American War who was an officer in the Army Reserve, resigned his commission so he could join the Army and carry out the units mission. He took other Council Bluffs doctors and nurses overseas with him to staff the unit.
They were right there at the front lines, Warner said. They were actually doing surgeries right on the battlefield.
It was the first time American women served at the front lines in a war even in a medical capacity. Warner believes the unit made a difference.
Having to transport soldiers to care would have meant a lot more casualties, he said.
Railroads played an important role in the war, LaBounty said.
Motor transport and air transport were still in their infancy, she said. Around 1916 was the pinnacle of track miles in the United States. Every solder going to war left by train.
In addition, 69,000 railroad employees were sent to Europe to carry supplies and support to the troops. In all, 83,000 railroad employees were part of the Military Railway Service, including those who remained stateside.
Trains were well suited for wartime duty, LaBounty said. They were durable, could recover quickly from damage and owned their own infrastructure. But U.S. trains moving military supplies to the coast to be shipped overseas ran into some obstacles.
World War I was just long enough after the Civil War that some lessons of efficient transportation had to be relearned, she said. Congestion in rail yards left supplies languishing.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson solved the problem by seizing control of the railroads, LaBounty said, which was allowed by railroad act signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862.
In Council Bluffs, Camp Graham, a training camp for Company L (a descendant of the 1st Iowa Infantry founded by Grenville M. Dodge) was set up in Fairmount Park bordering the Dodge familys property, said Hein-Snider. The temporary tent city was named in honor of one of the citys early parks department directors.
After their initial training, soldiers at Camp Graham were sent to Camp Dodge (named in honor of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge) near Des Moines or deployed overseas.
Although Gen. Dodge, who died in 1916, had thought the United States should stay out of the war, his family still pitched in and offered support, Hein-Snider said.
The whole Dodge family was always very supportive of the United States and helping the military, she said. They were extremely patriotic.
Ella and Lettie Dodge took apples, lemonade and pies up to men at the camp. The local Daughters of the American Revolution also provided support to the camp and to the American Red Cross, making bandages and helping with other supplies.
The whole city really did a lot, Hein-Snider said.
The years between World War I and World War II were a transitional period for home architectural styles, said McGinn.
There wasnt much building going on during the war, she said. Ill just show the progression of the different house styles at that time in Council Bluffs. There were some examples of craftsman and Tudor styles.
In addition, some people with foursquare houses built craftsman-style porches or additions onto their homes, resulting in an eclectic blend of styles, McGinn said.
After the war, we saw a proliferation of Tudor revivals, she said.
The Council Bluffs Public Library displayed posters asking Americans to support the war effort and buy Liberty Bonds, Lien said. It provided meeting space for the local Red Cross and also offered additional support to the soldiers.
The program is the fourth collaboration among the groups, and Lien said it has been a good team effort.
I love working with these people, she said.
The event Tuesday is free and open to the public. Copies of McGinns book, The History We Live In, also will be available for purchase.
Hy-Vee is launching a new Hy-Vee Market Grille Express concept at several of its stores in Omaha as well as Council Bluffs West Broadway location. The new Hy-Vee Market Grille Express will open inside the West Broadway store in early March.
At the Hy-Vee Market Grille Express, customers will be able to walk up to a pay station and order their favorite breakfast, lunch or dinner items and then sit and enjoy their meal in a casual self-service, contemporary atmosphere, Hy-Vee officials said.
The menu will range from scrambled eggs, breakfast burritos, pancakes and oatmeal in the morning to appetizers, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, salads and flatbread pizzas in the afternoon and evening. Breakfast skillets and omelets also will be available all day long.
In addition, each Hy-Vee Market Grille Express will offer a full-service bar where customers can enjoy a variety of beverages while watching their favorite game or sporting event on TV, according to the company. Customers using the full-service bar area of the Market Grille Express will be able to order food items from the bartender without going to the pay station, according to Tina Potthoff, senior communications manager for Hy-Vee.
Our Hy-Vee Market Grille Expresses are just another way we can make our customers lives easier. Statistics show more people are eating out these days, so our in-store restaurants fit the trend of what people are looking for, she said.
Additionally, our Market Grille Restaurants and Market Grille Express facilities allow us to highlight our culinary expertise and the talents of our many in-store chefs in a casual dining environment.
Hy-Vee currently has 101 Market Grille Restaurant and Express locations across its eight-state region.
The full-service Market Grille Restaurants have customers seated by a member of the wait staff. Customers order from a menu and their order is delivered by a member of the wait staff. At the more casual Market Grille Expresses, customers order their food items and pay for their meal at a pay station. The order is then delivered by a store employee.
Potthoff said in fiscal year 2017, which ends Sept. 30, the company plans to open either a Hy-Vee Market Grille Restaurant or a Hy-Vee Market Grille Express at 39 new locations. That total includes three in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Minnesota and one in Des Moines.
She said company officials are considering either a Market Grille Restaurant or Market Grille Express for Hy-Vees Madison Avenue location, but no concrete plans have been developed at this time.
Potthoff said the square footage of the Market Grille Restaurants and Market Grille Express locations varies from store to store.
When existing stores are remodeled to include a Market Grille Restaurant or Market Grille Express, they are limited to the square footage of the existing stores dining area, she said.
Plans for Hy-Vee stores that have not yet been built can be modified to provide a larger Market Grille Restaurant or Market Grille Express facility if company planners think the market would support a larger facility.
In addition to the Market Grille Express set to open at the West Broadway Hy-Vee store, Hy-Vee Market Grille Expresses will open in the following Omaha locations in March:
14591 Stony Brook Blvd. in Omaha expected to open in early March.
5150 Center St. in Omaha expected to open in late March.
8809 W. Center Road in Omaha expected to open in late March.
10808 Fort St. in Omaha expected to open in late March.
Try to comprehend 12 million pages of newspapers.
Heres an exercise: The five sections in this newspaper combine to make 38 pages. Youd need nearly 316,000 copies of this edition to reach 12 million pages.
A little more math: It takes approximately 3,000 of our current news pages, laid end to end, to stretch a mile meaning 12 million pages would be about 4,000 miles long, roughly the straight-line distance from Miami to Anchorage, Alaska.
Thats a lot of news and thats why its so important that the State Historical Society of Iowa has announced its digitizing that much fragile, yet irreplaceable, history.
An agreement the state announced Thursday lends more than 12 million pages from 300-plus Iowa newspapers, dating back to the 1830s, to a Cedar Rapids company for preservation.
The deal, which comes free of charge to taxpayers, is designed to give Iowans substantially more access to millions more snippets of history as it happened. It will increase by half the number of pages from 650 newspapers Iowans can access at sites in Des Moines and Iowa City.
One of the first businesses that set up in nearly any Iowa settlement was a newspaper. Back in the frontier days, these newspapers were vastly different than we see today, but they served a vital role in detailing the happenings in town and the world.
Nearly 200 years later, this history remains in high demand. Scarcely a week goes by in our office without a phone call or an email of someone seeking a newspaper to find a story about a relative or an obituary that could be the key to unlocking a family tree.
Long after its printing, this news has retained its value. Given the high demand and historical importance, such access is vital to preserve the story of how we, as Iowans, got to where we are today.
In Council Bluffs, were lucky. The Council Bluffs Public Library has digital, searchable archives that include our very first edition in 1857. The second phase of an ongoing project is digitizing the last gap 1983 to 2002 in their collection documenting every publication weve ever produced.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, too, has preserved in Utah pages of The Nonpareils forerunners to document the days before Council Bluffs assumed its present-day name.
But not every community has had as good of fortune or community partners as Council Bluffs to save this history for eternity.
By 2022, if everything goes to plan, Iowans should have 36 million pages a mind-boggling number, really of newspapers, including some dating back to before statehood, available to browse. Preservation of these documents is critical for telling the story of both this state and individual Iowans.
The philosophy of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Omaha is to always provide area veterans with the best possible health care, a hospital spokesman said.
One way to achieve that is for veterans and their families the chance to speak directly to VA leadership, whether its seeking answers to particular issues, learning more about the VA or simply offering feedback from previous VA experiences, said Will Ackerman, communications director for the Nebraska/Western Iowa VA Health Care System.
Area vets, family members and the general public are invited to talk with VA officials from Omaha at a town hall meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the multipurpose room of the Pottawattamie County Veterans Affairs office, 623 Sixth Ave., in Council Bluffs.
Well have people there to answer a wide variety of things, Ackerman said.
These officials hold a town meeting once a month through the systems area, which stretches from western Iowa to North Platte, Nebraska.
Officials usually begin by briefly discussing some of the latest happenings at the VA, but the majority of the meeting is set aside for the audience to ask questions or simply provide feedback on whats working and what needs improvements, Ackerman said.
The whole idea is to give veterans and the families and anyone the opportunity to provide feedback and get answers to their questions, he said. We want to find out what is on their minds.
Information on a wide range of topics about the VA will be available and officials from the local veterans agency, headed by Darlene McMartin, will also be on hand.
MISSOULA Brent Elliott spoke to about 40 firefighters at the Wingate Inn in Missoula Saturday afternoon, touching on his experience in the line of duty, losing a department member while fighting a structure fire.
I still remember the sights, the sounds, he said.
Some 20 to 40 firefighters die in the United States every year in structure fires, Elliott said, mostly from getting lost or disoriented inside the building. Thats where Flir thermal imaging cameras come in handy.
Its dark, its smoky, its scary, but youve got a camera, Elliott, a Flir representative, told the group. The quicker we get out, the better.
Elliott was making the case for Montana fire departments, from Red Lodge to Dixon, to use thermal image cameras, Flirs preferably, for every structure fire call.
The handheld cameras are small-about the size of a compact radar gun-and use electronic sensors rather than an actual camera lens to measure temperature.
A firefighter making his or her way through a building looking through one of these is infinitely safer, Elliott said, because they can quickly search rooms, locate people and find a cool spot (i.e., outside).
These guys here whore pulling the hose? he said, pointing to some firefighters at the front of the room. These guys here are going to like it 'cause it helps them to do what they do and stay safe.
Flir cameras were one of about 10 different structure firefighting products available for fire crews to peruse Saturday, in an event put on by Axmen.
Kory Koski, who manages fire sales for Axmen, said this is their first foray outside of wildland firefighting products.
He started making calls earlier this year to the 40-odd departments they service and found a high enough level of interest he organized the weekend trade show.
Aside from Flirs cameras, there were firefighting suits from Innotex, boots from Thorogood and Haix, SCBA masks from Interspiro and water pumps from Hale.
The companies, help us help the fire crews, Koski said.
After initially offering just wildland boots a few years ago, Koski realized there was no Montana-based dealer through which to funnel these brands and products, so he expanded.
We have competition all over the country, Koski said. But they dont have a local presence.
Plains-Paradise Rural Fire Department Chief James Russell stepped out of the Flir talk to look though a rack of structure fire suits, in the corner of a room of tables stacked high with boxes of boots, coiled fire hoses and bags of gloves, as well as the ubiquitous trade show swag like beer coozies and company pens.
He said coming to events where the gear is present, along with company representatives who know their products, goes a long way to helping him choose new equipment for his 25-person crew.
It lets us actually see the equipment in person, Russell said. Test it, touch it, try it on.
While he was examining a jacket, George Stratton, an Innotex rep, came over to answer some questions.
Russell wanted to know if there was a difference between the four suits hanging on the rack.
How many firefighters do you have? Stratton wanted to know. Whatre you usually doing? Structure, medical, wildland?
Russell told him, and Stratton pointed to the suit already in his hand.
Go with this, he said. Save yourself $250, $300.
We can look at spec sheets all day long, Russell said. But it doesnt mean a whole lot until someone says, This means this.
BUTTE -- Andrew Schneider, an acclaimed investigative reporter and public-health journalist, died Friday. He was 74.
Schneider, who lived in Missoula, died of heart failure in Salt Lake City, where he was being treated for pulmonary disease.
Schneider, who twice won the Pulitzer Prize, journalisms highest honor, was remembered by many of his colleagues Saturday as a relentless, inspiring reporter who built indelible relationships with people from all walks of life -- colleagues, news sources, and the ordinary people on whose behalf he worked.
Schneider won two Pulitzer Prizes while working at the Pittsburgh Press -- one for specialized reporting in 1986 and another for Public Service in 1987.
The public service Pulitzer was for Danger in the Cockpit, co-written with Matthew Brelis and photographed by Vincent Musi, a story revealing dangerous gaps in airline safety, including the fact that pilots with alcohol and drug issues were not prevented from flying. The 1986 winner, written with reporter Mary Pat Flaherty, detailed violations and failures in the organ transplantation system in U.S. medicine.
Schneiders wife, the journalist Kathy Best, is editor of The Missoulian in Missoula and a former editor of The Seattle Times. The couple moved to Missoula last year when she took the job at the Missoulian. Since his arrival in Montana, Schneider had been working part-time as a public health reporter for Lee Montana Newspapers.
Flaherty, now with the Washington Post, said Saturday, "The man never had anything but a big, big plan when it came to a story he was chasing and if you were part of the hunt he raised your game, too."
Later, working for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he broke the story of the asbestos contamination of Libby, which ended up making global headlines and resulted in an EPA Superfund cleanup that continues today, nearly two decades later. More than 400 people have died and a thousand more are sick in the tiny town of Libby due to asbestos-related disease. He co-wrote the book An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal, published by Putnam in 2004, and then wrote an updated version, An Air that Still Kills, which was honored last year as iBook of the Year by iBA.
The community of scientists and public-health advocates who have worked on asbestos issues for years remembered Schneider Saturday.
In the 45 years Ive worked on asbestos and other public-health issues, Ive worked with a lot of journalists, said public health scientist Barry Castleman. Andy Schneider was by far the best.
For decades, he passionately fought for truth and justice for asbestos victims of the past, present and future, said Linda Reinstein, president of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.
Keven McDermott of Seattle, retired manager of field investigations for EPA's Region 10, worked with Schneider on several stories. She said Schneider "was our hero, our friend, our inspiration. He encouraged us to be brave and do good work. He told the stories that needed to be told and saved lives in the process. He will be forever missed.
The photographer Musi marveled at Schneiders insatiable curiosity and his refusal to quit on a story -- a sentiment echoed by several colleagues.
His skill at befriending news sources led him to achieve a kind of access to information journalists almost never get today. Staff at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh became so used to seeing him that they gave him a lab coat and a Dr. Schneider name tag to wear.
Musi remembered Schneider talking his way behind secured areas at Miami International Airport. People wanted to tell him things, Musi said.
On another occasion, Musi and Schneider were covering a dangerous derailment where emergency workers were trying desperately to plug a leak in an overturned rail car full of poisonous gas. I sat up on top of a bluff with my 600-millimeter lens, hidden because I was inside the evacuation area, and I saw Andy right down by the rail car in a HazMat suit with a notepad in his hand.
Even though he won many awards, Musi said, Schneider was driven by public service, not accolades. It was about helping people who couldnt help themselves, he said. He never forgot that.
Don Winslow, now the managing editor of the Amarillo Globe-News, worked with Schneider in Pittsburgh, where their desks were side by side. He said Saturday, I spent 12 or 14 hours a day staring at his back as he was interviewing people. It was a masters degree in journalism, listening to how he asked questions.
His managing editor at the Press, Madalyn Ross, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Saturday that Schneider should be remembered for more than the two Pulitzers.
What he really should be known for is setting the standard for quality journalism.
Flaherty said, "For many years in many cities, (Andy) delivered a body of work that held movers and shakers accountable to the moved and shaken. We should all be so lucky to leave that as our legacy."
Kimberly Hartnett was a 19-year-old rookie reporter in Concord, N.H., when she met Schneider. One of the stories she remembers working with him on was the anti-nuclear protests at Seabrook, N.H. in the '70s. He made sure we were covering it like a blanket, she said. With stories like that its easy to cover from the sidelines, talk to two protesters and one police official and file. Andy didnt believe that. He didnt believe in quitting on a story. For him there was never an end to the reporting.
She said he was generous to a fault. "You had to be careful, going to his house," she said. "If you said, 'that's a nice chair,' he would soon be sending you that chair or one just like it."
Andrew Jay Schneider was born Nov. 13, 1942 in the Bronx, but spent much of his childhood in Miami. His father, Jack, was a chef and maitre d at the famed Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach and his mother, Fran, was a waitress there -- a background that helped produce Schneiders formidable culinary skills.
While working in Washington, D.C., as a Scripps-Howard Bureau reporter, he was known for throwing dinner parties on the spur of the moment in his Capitol Hill home. He hosted Thanksgiving for those with no local family.
I got invited there twice, remembers Joann Byrd, at that time ombudsman for The Washington Post. The food was spectacular and all of us crowded around to watch him cook on a restaurant-sized stove.
Byrd, who was editorial page editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer during Schneiders tenure there, said, He was always on the side of people who were suffering or being treated badly. And he never stopped reporting any story.
Soon after he arrived in Seattle, Schneider and reporter Mike Barber collaborated on a series of stories about a supposed child sex ring in Wenatchee, Wash., ultimately exposing the supposed ring as a fraud and freeing more than 40 people from jail.
Byrd said that while Andy had thousands of stories about his reporting and photojournalism, he was never self-aggrandizing, but rather was famous for supporting and affirming everyone he knew.
His son, Patrick Schneider, is a photographer in Charlotte, North Carolina. He said Saturday, My dad made me the photojournalist, father and man that I am today. He taught me to always push to be my best. He remembered that when he became obsessed with photojournalism as a young boy, he would sleep with a police scanner in his room and then wake his father to get a ride to the scene of a crime or accident so he could photograph it.
He never once complained, Patrick Schneider said. I think the best day of his life was when I got my drivers license and he could get a good nights sleep.
Early in his career, Schneider covered the Vietnam War as a freelance photographer, working for Life, Newsweek and Time magazines. He became by necessity a writer as well as a photographer, which prepared him well for work with the Associated Press when he returned stateside.
Many of his colleagues remember him cooking meals, for small groups or entire newsrooms. Wherever Schneider went in his career, a newly remodeled kitchen and great food would surely follow.
Andy was a force of nature, said investigative reporter Bill Lambrecht. He was the fiercest antagonist, the truest advocate, the most loyal friend, the most generous host and cook. He would hear none of it when someone in his business bemoaned having little good to write about.
He would say, So many stories, so little time.
Schneider is survived by his wife, Kathy Best; two children, Kelly Schneider of Seattle, and Patrick Schneider of Charlotte; his former wife Carol Schneider of Charlotte; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned but arrangements are not yet set.
State Sen. Mike Groene on Saturday renewed his vow to return Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement land to private ownership before about 100 participants at a town-hall meeting at North Plattes West-Central Extension Center.
Ive been hearing the budget is the biggest issue, Groene said. I introduced my N-CORPE bill last week, and we had a good head-to-head, hard-nosed debate in committee. Im still going to push about selling that land and putting it back on the tax rolls so it does fund our schools and our public safety.
After a brief introduction on what is happening in the Legislature, Groene opened the meeting up to questions. Topics included tax increment financing and a charter-school bill he said probably will not get out of the Education Committee, which he chairs.
What are the chances of getting that wording on the tax increment financing changed to where [recipients] only are able to do only what it was meant to do? asked John Owen, an area resident.
One of the things the auditors came up with is that this [TIF] law is so broad that its hard to regulate it, Groene replied, referring to a State Auditors Office report on TIF in December.
I dont have the language of the law with me, but theres a section that says you can spend the tax dollars for streets, roads, sewers basically public expenses, he said. Then the very last line says or anything else you feel like spending it on. Im going to try to get that last line struck.
Another question asked about LB 568, a bill by Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard involving the temporary teaching certificates for substitute teachers.
Its confusing, Groene said. So I talked with Sen. Erdman about that. I told him he needed to change that. He brought that bill because rural schools cant find local substitutes. The way it was originally written, it messes with teacher certification. Teachers spend a lot of time getting certification and are up in arms about it, and they should be.
Groene said the Nebraska Department of Education also has rules governing who is allowed to substitute locally in classrooms.
Administration cant fill substitute positions in small towns, Groene said. Youve got to put somebody in that room, and theyre not finding anybody. Theres nobody better than a small town to know who a good person is to fill in while that teachers gone.
There were also questions about a bill to base agland property valuations for tax purposes on the lands income potential. Groene said he is not a fan of the idea.
Saturdays town-hall meeting was sponsored by the Lincoln County Farm Bureau.
The Nebraska Legislatures main budget-crafting panel has proposed a slightly more charitable approach to higher education than the governor has.
Higher education leaders were somewhat appreciative Friday but not exuberant, saying cuts in their operations would still be required under the Appropriations Committees preliminary plan.
The committees initial recommendation does not change the prospect of a budget gap north of $50 million for the University of Nebraska over the next two years, NU President Hank Bounds said in a written statement. He said cuts to programs and people would be required, as would increases in tuition, if this plan or the governors is adopted by the Legislature.
Our unique role in growing Nebraskas economy and workforce would be put at risk, Bounds said. I will continue to urge state leaders not to make decisions that will harm Nebraskas long-term momentum and competitiveness.
Over the 2017-19 budget period, the NU system would receive a total of about $3.4 million more under the Appropriations Committees preliminary proposal than under Gov. Pete Ricketts plan.
The $576 million NU would receive from the state in general fund money in 2018-19 would still be about $7 million less than NU started with in 2016-17. Since then, NU has absorbed about a $13 million mid-year cut in state money.
State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said NUs mid-year budget cut totaled 2.3 percent compared with most state agencies 4 percent cuts.
NU, the state college system and the community college system will have hearings before the Appropriations Committee later this month. The committee could alter its proposal after that. A state revenue forecast is due in the near future, too.
This is a tough time, Stinner said of the states financial situation. Were just trying to be fair and level in our approach.
In the second year of the Appropriations Committees preliminary plan, NU would actually end up with slightly less $576 million than the $577.7 million the governor recommended for that year. But the Appropriations Committees recommendation for the first year is high enough that it more than offsets the second year when comparing the committees proposal to Ricketts proposal over the two years.
Nebraskas community college system, made up of six colleges, would be restored to the same level it started at in 2016-17. The Appropriation Committee plan would give them no more and no less than that $100.8 million over each of the next two years.
We are cautiously, cautiously optimistic that we would be able to return to that base and stay at the base, said Greg Adams, head of the Nebraska Community College Association. But we understand that theres a long way to go yet in the budget process.
The two-year colleges, under the Appropriations Committee plan, would receive a total of about $6 million more over the two years than under the governors proposal.
And the state college system, representing Peru, Wayne and Chadron State Colleges, would receive a total of about $650,000 more over the two years under the committees proposal than under Ricketts. The Appropriations Committee would restore the state colleges to the exact level they were at when 2016-17 began $52.4 million over each of the next two years.
Like NU, the community colleges and state colleges took mid-year cuts this year.
Stan Carpenter, head of the Nebraska State College System, said his colleges would have to make cuts and raise tuition under the committees preliminary plan.
Our core costs will increase, he said, while state appropriations would remain flat. Obviously that still leaves some gaps for us as we try to go forward the next two years.
Balancing the budget is not only a tradition in Nebraska, but its also a requirement because our state cannot borrow money to finance the states budget. Just like Nebraska households, state government does not spend money we do not have.
This principle is so foundational to who we are as a state that Nebraskas constitution places strict limits on the states ability to borrow in Article XIII. This fiscal responsibility has earned Nebraska the distinction of ranking second-best in the nation for fiscal health according to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Lagging tax revenues caused in part by lagging commodity prices have put the budget front and center during this legislative session. Since June 2016, I have been working with my agencies to prepare for budget cuts to address the gap between appropriations and revenues.
Last month in my State of the State address, I unveiled budget plans that will allow us to balance the budget and address the revenue gap without raising taxes. Accomplishing this goal is my No. 1 priority this session. We must put the taxpayer before special interests by balancing the budget without raising taxes.
To this end, I am working with the Legislature to balance the current years budget as well as pass a new budget for the next two years. Last week, I signed LB22, a bill to enact cuts to the current fiscal year 2017 budget. Thank you to Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner and his entire committee for their swift action.
To put this in perspective, we have not passed two budget packages during a single session in recent memory. LB 22 cuts $137 million from the current years budget while protecting key investments in K-12 education, continuing Corrections reform and supporting programming for our most vulnerable Nebraskans.
While LB 22 was a key step toward balancing our budget and addressing the revenue gap, there is still much more work to do. The Appropriations Committee is now considering my recommendations for the next two-year budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. They will release preliminary recommendations and hold hearings on the next two-year budget proposal before moving a budget package out of committee for consideration by the full Legislature.
The recommendation I outlined in my State of the State address balances the budget for the next two years without raising taxes. Spending constraint is critical to balancing the budget. Before I became governor, the state budget was growing at about 6.5 percent. In my first budget, I worked with the Legislature to cut the rate of budget growth to 3.6 percent. My current budget proposal limits government growth to 1.7 percent.
My two-year budget does not cut the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund, and it fully funds $400 million in direct property tax relief for all property taxpayers as well as $40 million in direct property tax relief for agland taxpayers. Additionally, I proposed increasing state aid to schools by 2.7 percent on average over the next two years, or nearly 60 percent faster than the rest of the state budget is growing. This budget also builds on critical reforms in the Department of Corrections by financing additional workforce initiatives, capital improvements and security upgrades.
These next steps will also include tough decisions. Every agency is contributing in some way toward balancing the budget by cutting back on spending. My own office is reducing our budget and has 13 percent fewer team members than a year ago. There are many tough decisions ahead, but I know that we can balance the budget without raising taxes by working together. I look forward to working with the Appropriations Committee and full Legislature as they consider my recommendations.
Editors note: This letter to state Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte was shared with The Telegraph by Bill Troshynski.
Senator Groene:
As I am sure you are aware, this session, Sen. Tom Briese introduced LB 312. Among other things, LB 312 imposes a tax on certain professional services, including legal services. A sales tax on legal services is not a tax on lawyers. It is a tax on our clients. On behalf of our clients, my office and I oppose LB 312 for a number of reasons:
Constitutional concerns:
A sales tax on professional legal services is a tax on the basic, constitutional right of citizens to access justice and the courts.
Nebraskans have a fundamental right to access the courts. The defense or assertion of basic legal rights, whether in a criminal or civil court, should not be taxed. The right to counsel is protected in the Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendments.
Taxing a persons ability to defend him/herself in a criminal defense case, taxing the poor for legal services or taking money from a workers compensation award raises serious constitutional problems that already have been identified in other states.
A tax on legal services will negatively impact Nebraskans:
The majority of legal services are necessary, not discretionary. Nebraskans seek legal representation out of necessity. This bill will tax Nebraskans who are seeking delinquent child support, custody of their children, compensation for being injured on the job, guardianship of an elderly parent, protection from domestic abuse, or representation of a family member who has been charged with a traffic offense or crime. This is a misery tax it would place yet another burden on those already vulnerable or suffering financially.
A sales tax on legal services would tax people for taking responsible steps in managing their affairs: persons who wish to protect their families by drawing a will and appointing guardians, individuals buying and selling their homes or businesses, and those who are trying to incorporate a new business.
Many transactions already taxed would be subject to additional taxes on legal fees. Examples include estate administration and real estate transfers.
A service tax is highly regressive and penalizes the working poor, who will pay a higher percentage of their taxed income than the wealthy.
LB 312 does not tax all legal services equally; it only taxes individual consumers. LB 312 excludes legal services performed in the furtherance of a for-profit business. This means, for example, that a personal injury plaintiff pays sales tax on attorney fees, but the insurance company defending the claim does not pay tax on its attorney fees. This inequality would extend to any situation where an individual is adverse to a business, including landlord-tenant disputes, workers compensation claims, etc.
This tax causes administrative difficulties:
Only three states currently tax legal services. Florida and Massachusetts enacted sales taxes on services but promptly repealed the measures when they proved unpopular and difficult to administer. There is almost universal recognition that it is not sound public policy to impose this tax.
Increasing the cost of legal services would deter individuals from retaining lawyers at the outset, resulting in more costly legal problems and greater burdens on our states judicial system in the long run.
The attorney-client privilege will be compromised by this tax. If the state has to determine what types of services an attorney performed (i.e., for an audit), confidentiality may be breached. An audit of attorneys client fund accounts in administering the tax would disclose the work that is being performed for the client and the nature of the clients need for service, thereby invading the attorney-client privilege and, as a consequence, possibly weakening or abolishing the claim to privilege itself.
Please join my office and me in opposing this provision of LB 312.
Bill Troshynski
Attorney at Law
Brouillette, Dugan & Troshynski P.C., LLO
Who won, who lost and which players impressed in the weekend's trial matches and World Club Series.
Cowboys leave it late to tame the Tigers
Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco made a successful return for the Tigers but it was the Cowboys who prevailed 18-16 in Friday night's trial in Campbelltown.
Bulldogs earn trial win over Storm
Canterbury have some strong options to fill vacancies in their line-up based on their four-point NRL trial win over Melbourne in Hobart.
Manly sneak past Roosters in NRL trial
Manly has beaten the Sydney Roosters in an NRL trial match in Gosford thanks to a late converted try from Dylan Walker.
Knights hammer Raiders 44-0 in trial
Newcastle have hammered Canberra in a NRL trial match in Queanbeyan, piling on 44 unanswered points.
Penrith ease past Eels in feisty trial
The Panthers ran away with a comfortable win over the Eels at Pepper Stadium in each team's final trial of the pre-season in an entertaining clash.
Warrington upset Broncos in World Club Series
A quickfire start by the Warrington Wolves has helped them to an upset victory over Brisbane Broncos in a fiery World Club Series.
RTS steers Warriors to NRL trial win
The Warriors defeated the Gold Coast Titans 26-6 in their NRL trial in Palmerston North.
Rabbitohs beat Dragons in Charity Shield
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have retained the Charity Shield after a strong victory over the Dragons in the Charity Shield at ANZ Stadium.
Wigan down Sharks in World Club Challenge
Joe Burgess scored a hat-trick as an impressive and physical Wigan outfit downed NRL premiers Cronulla 22-6 in the World Club Challenge at DW Stadium.
TAYLORVILLE Zachary T. Bland, 23, of rural Pana was arrested Tuesday on a preliminary charge of possession of cannabis with intent to deliver after police said he was found with about 10 pounds of marijuana.
Agents of the Central Illinois Enforcement Group and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group Southwestern Illinois conducted the investigation in Christian County that led to his arrest in Hewittville, said a news release from the Christian County Sheriff's Office.
Bland was released from custody after posting $3,000 cash bail. He is due in court to present his attorney March 17.
The street value of 10 pounds of marijuana is about $6,000 to $8,000.
Ronald Rowzman says few people enjoy his level of stupid.
A growing number of over 27,000 YouTube followers might beg to differ.
Rowzman performs public pranks and trolling videos on his YouTube channel Super Stupid Poop.
The Michigan City resident describes his physical comedy as crazy, awkward, creepy, insane, weird, silly, gross, clumsy and, of course, stupid.
Some of his videos are in Spanish, which has resulted in even more growth to his channel.
Rowzmans collection includes Clearing Out The Public, Haircut Massacre in Public and Drive Thru Eating. Many of them were filmed in Miami, but now that Rowzman is in the Region, people are being subjected to his super stupid poop at places like the Lighthouse Outlet Mall.
A manager in the restaurant business, Rowzman said by the end of the year he was working maybe two days a week so he could focus full time on his YouTube channel.
Rowzman said the money from YouTube can be good.
I can only pay a couple bills on average though, but I had a couple months that made rent money, he said. I'm still a small fry, but I have big YouTube friends who make a ridiculous amount. Plus they have sponsors and paid product placement."
Here's a Q and A with Rowzman:
What made you get into pranks like this?
"I was always the class clown and the funny kid in every group. Even as an adult I was known as the funny guy at work or in the family. It wasn't until 2000 when I saw an avenue for my comedy. There was this show back then called 'Trigger Happy TV.' He (Dom Joly) did all the goofy stuff I normally do without cameras. I said to myself that I'd like to have a show like that someday. But it wasn't until 2010 that I discovered a way to make that possible. I stumbled across the great 'Edbassmaster' doing hidden camera pranks on YouTube the same way I would. So not long after I decided to start my own channel. It grew very slow at first because I didn't start taking it serious until about 2012 when I realized that I could actually make a living doing this."
What brought you to Indiana from Florida?
"I was born in Texas but went to school in Northwest Indiana. Most of my family lives here. I lived in Miami for 20 years. A couple years ago my wife and I decided to move up to Indiana. It's a much cheaper cost of living, plus I can live close to family. The only negative is the cold and my wife now misses her family in Miami."
Your wife is used to you acting goofy all the time?
"She hated me filming and bothering strangers up until about a year ago when I was making enough to start paying some bills. Today, she still frowns every time I go out to film but she sure doesn't mind spending my YouTube money.
"Everyone who knows me is so used to my strange behavior that they're immune to it. They didn't care for me doing a prank channel in my mid 30's. I'm 40 now, but now that I'm showing them my earnings reports they are all supporting me."
How do you come up with your ideas for the pranks?
"To be honest I have notebooks full of well-thought-out, great ideas that I haven't done yet. Most of what I end up filming is random and unplanned. For some reason I can't stick to script. I start the filming day off with a planned video but once I press the record button my mind goes blank and it's spontaneous from there."
Have you ever got in trouble in a store?
"My Indiana videos have been less 'crazy' so I haven't had any problems so far since I've been here. My first four years of my channel was different. That's when I lived in Miami. I got in a lot of trouble there - banned from a mall, banned from several stores, escorted out of stores by security, threatened and even confronted by police. Sometimes I'd forget what stores kicked me out before and go back into them just to be escorted right back out again."
To check out Rowzman's channel, visit www.youtube.com/user/SuperStupidPoop.
While technology has given us tools to increase productivity and efficiency, it also introduced more distractions than ever.
Multitasking often has been praised as a way to do more, but research has consistently shown that doing more than one thing at a time can hinder productivity. Some researchers say that while multitasking can be bad for our performance, it could also be bad for our brains.
Cal Newport, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at Georgetown University, says while many people feel compelled to engage in multitasking, constantly bouncing around from task to task deteriorates the muscle that allows one to focus.
He says the more a person multitasks, the less comfortable they become in engaging in "deep work" for extended periods of time. Newport's book "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World," highlights how moving away from multitasking and doing one task at a time in deep thought, can produce superior results.
"For an effort to be considered deep work and for it to reap the rewards depth can offer there can be no distraction," Newport says.
Years ago, students and workers were encouraged to close their doors, eliminate distractions, and "concentrate" on work. Nowadays, a constant barrage of calls, emails, text messages, open browser windows, and devices forces most people into a world of multitasking.
Newport says when a person is multitasking, they aren't actually doing both activities at the same time, but are diverting attention from one part of the brain to the other. Each time they do that, they not only reduce attention on the other task, but reduce the bandwidth of the brain needed to move attention back and forth.
"To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction," Newport says.
Time management experts say eliminating multitasking can reduce stress while improving performance and potentially freeing up some of your schedule.
Laura Vanderkam, time management expert and author of "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think," recommends starting by tracking your time with a spreadsheet for a couple of weeks to get a clear view of how you spend your time. This information can help spot ways to eliminate wasted time and to better schedule tasks.
Many productivity experts use the Pomodoro Technique, a strategy that calls for 25-minute sessions of intense, distraction-free work, followed by 5-minute breaks.
Setting an MIT (Most Important Task) and scheduling workdays and weeks in advance can also help reduce the compulsion to multitask. During periods of heavy work, phones and social media alerts should be turned off. Close all browser windows and programs except for those you need to complete the task.
Multitasking also can have a physical impact on our brains. One study at the University of London discovered that people who multitask can actually experience a temporary drop in their IQ while doing so.
Another study at the University of Sussex's Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science found that simultaneously using phones, laptops and other devices could actually be changing the structures of our brains.
MonoSol, LLC, the Merrillville-based water soluble film division of Kuraray, has promoted Christian Herrmanns to serve as senior vice president of marketing and sales. He will report to P. Scott Bening, MonoSols president and CEO, and will lead the companys global marketing and sales initiatives for water-soluble film technologies. Previously he worked in several global market categories and supported several regions at The Dow Chemical Company.
Franciscan Healths Northern Indiana hospitals have welcomed Dr. Dennis Prohaska, a vascular and interventional radiologist. Prohaska specializes in minimally invasive procedures done mostly with a needle, which allows for more rapid recovery and healing than traditional procedures. He is an independent physician who chooses to practice with Franciscan Health.
400 North Medical Center has welcomed board-certified family nurse practitioners, Tracy Novak and Rae-Londa Woodard to the practice of Dr. Minesh Patel. Novak graduated from the Chamberlain College of Nursing in Downers Grove and holds a certification in family medicine. Woodard is a graduate of Valparaiso University College of Nursing and also has a certification in family medicine.
HAMMOND An East Chicago police officer has admitted to evading taxes.
Willie R. Askew Jr. pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file federal income tax forms between 2008 and 2010.
His plea was part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney, which will recommend leniency at his sentencing, now scheduled to take place May 31.
His plea agreement states that he failed to pay $38,686 in taxes, for income related to his police duties. The government alleges he was paid between $70,000 and in excess of $80,000 annually during that period.
He agrees to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
The plea agreement also states that in January 2012 Askew signed more than 50 State of Indiana certification documents falsely claiming he had physically inspected watercraft and motor vehicles that he never inspected.
The government has agreed not to charge him with this violation.
East Chicago police pulled Askew from patrol duties in March 2015 after a federal grand jury indicted him.
His attorney and the East Chicago Police Department didn't return telephone calls requesting comment on his status with the department in the wake of his guilty plea.
MERRILLVILLE Town leaders have discussed numerous ideas for a possible new community center in Merrillville, but the first step in the process could be coming soon.
The town's Redevelopment Commission on Tuesday is expected to consider issuing a request for proposals from engineering companies to complete a feasibility study for the proposed project.
Councilman Shawn Pettit said funding from the Broadway tax increment financing district could be used to pay for the study, which could identify ideal locations for a center, estimated prices to undertake the project and possible operating costs.
Council President Richard Hardaway said town leaders want Merrillville to be a community of choice, but the municipality doesn't have much to offer young families.
Hardaway views the creation of a community center as an opportunity to improve the quality of life in Merrillville.
Town leaders met with Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana officials regarding the possibility of partnering with the organization on the endeavor.
The Boys & Girls Clubs has offered a program at the Merrillville Intermediate School for about a decade. Hardaway said he would like to see the town and the organization expand on that.
Ryan Smiley, interim president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana, said the organization's strategic plan doesn't include a campaign for a new facility in Merrillville, but the entity would be willing to continue to have conversations with the town about the matter.
Pettit said he views the Boys & Girls Clubs as an important piece to the success of a community center. He explained a possible scenario in which the town would create the facility and partner with the organization to cover operations and maintenance for the facility.
We need to figure something out for the community, Pettit said.
Councilwoman Chrissy Barron said the two entities about 11 years ago had discussions about partnering on a similar project, but that never transpired.
Barron said they have another chance to collaborate, and she wants to pursue that opportunity.
Officials discussed whether it would be better to build a new structure or renovate a vacant building for the proposed facility. Whatever choice could be selected, the town would want a community center near public transportation routes and schools.
No final decisions have been made about the issue. The feasibility study is expected to give guidance on the best options for the potential project.
It's a common question I hear regarding my not altogether common but not entirely unusual family makeup.
"When you're out and about with your kids, do you get strange looks from people?"
My wife and I have heard the question plenty for nearly five years regarding our diverse household. Our two oldest children happen to be white. Our two youngest are black and came to our family through the wonders of adoption.
It's only natural for some folks to view my family with an inquisitive eye.
But whenever folks ask me about the strange or questioning looks we might receive, the story of a little girl named Ruby Bridges comes into focus.
Ruby's story hits close to home because my daughter, Izzy, is not much different in age than when Ruby became a titan of the civil rights movement.
It also makes me grateful for the evolution American culture has experienced since then.
At age 6, Ruby endured a whole lot more than strange looks in 1960 when she performed what should have been the innocent act of walking into school.
It was an era in which much of our society believed blacks and whites should attend separate schools, use different restrooms and water fountains and assume segregated seats on public buses.
But times were changing. Courts were beginning to rule against school segregation, and Ruby became the first black child to attend what had been an all-white elementary school in Louisiana.
With her chin up and flanked by security, the little girl faced angry slurs, thrown debris and and a slew of parents who pulled their white children from the school when Ruby arrived for her first day of first grade.
Former U.S. Deputy Marshal Charles Burks, who escorted Ruby to school that day, would recall, "She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn't whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier, and we're all very, very proud of her."
It's difficult to imagine a young child today facing such belligerence simply based on the hue of her skin.
Ruby absorbed it all. Her first steps into the school in the face of ugliness were among the first steps of our society toward a sort of enlightenment.
Our nation is far from a racial utopia. Racism, racial unrest and violence based on skin color still explode in ugly physical or verbal displays.
But in so many ways, our society also has evolved.
Northwest Indiana, in all its grand diversity, rarely exhibits "a strange look" toward a family made up of two white parents and four children, two of whom happen to be white and two of whom happen to black.
There are many people to thank for this social openness that becomes more the norm by the day, and Ruby Bridges is certainly one of them.
As a 6-year-old black girl in an era of intense racial volatility, Ruby bravely pushed our society toward a greater enlightenment.
She did the unusual so that nearly six decades later an integrated society including integrated families could be a whole lot more usual.
Economic growth must be nurtured and cultivated, or it won't come to fruition.
It's a pretty simple concept driving legislation recently proposed by Indiana House Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, to maximize economic growth along the planned future expansion of Northwest Indiana commuter rail.
Slager's bill targets areas ripe for development along the existing South Shore Line and a proposed Hammond-to-Dyer rail extension.
In essence, it provides a tool by which communities can foster local economic growth frequently afforded by commuter rail stops.
The bill would create at least eight transit development districts of less than one square mile each and centered on the rail stations in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Miller and Portage along with the proposed new stops in Hammond, Munster and Dyer.
The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority would manage the districts, selling bonds to speed construction of residential, retail and commercial property adjacent to the commuter rail.
Growth in local income and property taxes within the defined districts would then be used to repay the bonds over time.
Slager's bill, which faces tweaking and debate in the Legislature, is worthy of consideration and support.
In addition to the potential for financing important development, the plan also opens the door for LaPorte County to join the Regional Development Authority.
LaPorte County stands to gain economically from a separate initiative to double-track the commuter line and speed commutes to Chicago. Joining the RDA would allow the county to take advantage of the new transit development district benefits, and it wouldn't be required to pay any back fees or penalties to join.
It's time for LaPorte County to board the figurative regional train of economic development and cooperation that the RDA truly represents.
The transit development districts concept encourages growth without affecting existing flows of tax revenues to government services. It only would impact the future tax revenues generated by the new development in question, and that money would rightly go to satisfy debt repayment.
We see only a financial upside to this formula.
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DECATUR One thing that new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is known for is her support of school vouchers -- that's also the biggest concern for local parents and educators.
Her main cause is that she wants to give vouchers for students to go to more conservative religious schools, and I fear for the separation of school and religion for one thing, said Sarah Brice, a teacher at Garfield Montessori School.
Created in 1980 under then-President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Department of Education is in charge of national education research and statistics, student loan information, focusing national attention on education issues, prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education, according to its website.
DeVos is the 11th secretary of education since the department's creation. She attended parochial schools and has been active in the Republican Party in her home state of Michigan for many years. She is known for her support of vouchers, charter and magnet schools and school choice.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the National Education Association have both released statements expressing concern that vouchers could contribute to tax support of religious schools.
As the NEA phrased it, About 85 percent of private schools are religious. Vouchers tend to be a means of circumventing the constitutional prohibitions against subsidizing religious practice and instruction.
A bill has already been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, which would repeal the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
It would reduce the authority of the Department of Education and federal funds would be awarded to states in the form of block grants, which the states would distribute to local educational agencies, or LEAs, based on the number of eligible children in each LEA's geographical area.
The LEAs would then award a portion of those funds to parents who choose private/parochial or home-schooling for their children, and awarded in such a way as to ensure that the funds are spent only on educational expenses.
Randy Grigg, administrator of Decatur Christian School, said called Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to voice his support of DeVos and urge them to vote in favor of DeVos' confirmation.
I came out of public schools, said Grigg, who was a teacher and administrator in the Central A&M district before retiring from public education and joining Decatur Christian in 2012. I know a lot of the opposition is just fearful thoughts about her not supporting public schools, and I think we have a responsibility as a society to support public schools.
However, he said, DeVos supports school choice, and the idea that children's educational opportunities should not be limited by where they live, and he thinks that's a good thing.
Nobody should be fearful of school choice, Grigg said. It ought to make school systems better. If you're competing for kids it ought to make you better, and nobody has to be afraid of it. Most of the schools around here do an outstanding job and school choice isn't going to affect them, anyway.
"It should not come down to where you live what education is going to be imposed on your child.
From a private school standpoint, he said, parents who pay tuition to a private school are still paying property taxes that support public schools, and he would hope that a voucher system or tax credits would ease the financial burden on those parents.
His only concern is the possibility that state money could open the door to state interference in a parochial school's operation. Though most private schools, including Decatur Christian, are accredited and have to meet certain state standards, the state does not get involved in curriculum and faith-based organization.
If a family with a voucher should come to Decatur Christian, that family would have to go through the same application process anyone does, and would have to agree to let their child learn in a faith-based atmosphere, or the school would not accept that student.
While Decatur Christian is nondenominational, he said, the Lutheran and Catholic schools teach specifically Lutheran and Catholic doctrine, and those students' families agree to that, also, even if they're not Lutheran or Catholic.
Sister Dale McDonald, director of public policy and educational research for the National Catholic Educational Association, said in an interview that in states that already have vouchers, no attempt has been made to prevent parochial schools from maintaining their religious identity, teaching the faith or continuing to require certain standards for admission.
The voucher or a scholarship is awarded to a parent, not to the school, and the parent takes it and chooses the educational option they want for their child, McDonald said.
The important thing is the construct of the voucher. Not every choice program is a good choice program. A good one gives parents options for faith-based and secular schools, that's one option that would be important, and whether there are limits or not limits.
"The second (question) is, does the voucher allow the school to operate as an autonomous, mission-driven school. If there are requirements that would go against autonomous operation, religious liberty and admissions policies of the school, in all likelihood, Catholic schools would not participate.
Decatur School District interim co-Superintendent Michael Dugan said pulling money from public schools for vouchers could hurt the students who are still enrolled in public schools.
In Illinois specifically, public education has not been fully funded for seven years. This is the first year that the full foundation grant has been paid. With budget cuts and the state's lack of a budget, funding is already a serious challenge for school districts.
He's also concerned about Common Core standards, another issue that Republicans have expressed opposition toward.
We think it's important that nationwide, there should be a common standard that we all shoot towards, Dugan said. I don't necessarily agree with all of Common Core, but I think it's important that we as a nation have common standards and common goals.
"We spent a lot of curriculum work trying to align our instruction to those common goals and if those go by the wayside, I think we take a step back as a nation.
Another objection public school educators have in regard to DeVos as education secretary is her lack of connection to public education, and another is that she is not herself a trained educator.
She does not have previous connections to public education at all, said Sarah Pritts, who teaches at Garfield and whose own children attend the school as well. I worry for the students I work with. In listening to a few of the interviews, (DeVos) does not seem to understand the rights of our students in special education. It seems like she wants everyone to be treated the same, and that's not the way it should be.
"These students have had these rights for many years and are entitled to receive the best free and appropriate education they can possibly receive. Many times in public schools, we have assets that private schools have not provided for those students.
Funding of special education is a concern for Kathy Horath, director of the Macon-Piatt Special Education District, and she's also heard that concern from parents.
If federal funding of special education is reduced or halted, leaving the burden on state and local coffers, it could create problems for districts already stretched thin. As it is, the federal government accounts for 17.6 percent of funding for special education, though when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was passed, Horath said, the promised funding was 40 percent.
As far as special ed in local schools, nobody's going to change way they do business, Horath said. I would feel comfortable saying kids will still get what they need. I have no doubt our teachers are there for the kids.
Parochial schools do offer special education services to students and have access to Macon-Piatt Special Education staff for services such as interpreters for the deaf. Schools also provide accommodation if the student's disability is physical. Decatur Christian's Grigg said that the school has a student now who uses a wheelchair, and while that student is very independent and manages well, if he does need assistance, it's readily available.
Parent Phillip Outzen, whose children attend Decatur public schools, looks at the controversy over DeVos from another angle. It's motivating parents to pay attention to education issues.
I have seen my liberal Facebook friends from across the country all up in arms and screaming for local control so DeVos can't affect their schools, he said. Of course, local control is part of what DeVos advocates. If people start paying attention to their local schools and get involved, that is already a success.
Parent Julie Boeckenstedt said she chose to send her children to public schools, though she is a product of parochial schools and both parents are parochial school educators.
We didn't have the money to send them to private school, but putting them (in public school) has been the greatest blessing for us and our kids, she said.
Her daughter discovered the cello thanks to the school band program and loves it, and might never have found that interest otherwise. One son blossomed at Stephen Decatur Middle School thanks to a teacher who mentored him and extracurricular activities, and the other son, who is her sports kid, has discovered a talent for art. For some kids, she said, those kinds of activities are what keeps them in school.
What I'm saying is, if we take money away from public schools, I think society is going to become worse than it already is, she said. What happens to all those kids that found a way to get out of the poverty they're in?
"It feels like we're taking a step backwards.
Several decades ago, George Saunders and his wife were visiting Washington, D.C., when their cousin mentioned that anecdotal evidence indicated President Abraham Lincoln had surreptitiously visited the tomb of his 11-year-old son, Willie.
For years, the story of Lincoln, so overcome by grief, that he stole into the monument where his son was interred, nagged at the edges of Saunders mind. But Saunders, who teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University, had never written a novel and besides his writing was mostly satirical in nature.
But this material has been calling me all these years, says Saunders, author of "Lincoln in the Bardo" (Random House 2017; $28). Its like their story was a stalker, it kept showing up at my window and it needed to get out.
Justifying his foray into a new literary form by telling himself hed had a nice run regarding his career Saunders is an acclaimed short story writer who is included in Times list of the 100 most influential people the world, he decided why not try this Lincoln thing.
Saunders still had doubts about his ability to tell the story in the way the way it needed to be told. But having grown up in Chicago as part of a devout Catholic family and now having adapted some of the tenets of Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition, he has written a book that though just recently released is already garnering great reviews.
Bardo is a Tibetan concept a kind of transitional zone, Saunders says.
"We're all in the bardo right now that goes from birth to death," he says, noting that Buddhists would call these transition stages reincarnation and noting that the book takes place just after that, in the bardo that goes from death to whatever comes next. "Now is the time to live knowing that death is coming if we can accept ourselves as a mess.
With all his research, Saunders has come to see how Lincoln persevered despite the immense weight of the Civil War, the deaths of so many Americans and that of his son as well.
We had a president back then who bent, he says, when others would have broken.
Sigrid Toye woke in the middle of the night to the wail of a siren.
It was Dec. 7, 1941 the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Sitting upright on her bed in her second-floor room at the familys house in Los Feliz, the 4-year-old Toye looked down the hallway and saw nothing but darkness.
What she also didnt see but would soon learn was that her German-born father, Eugen Banzhaf, was under arrest.
It was frightening, recalls Toye, now 79.
And unexpected. While FBI agents were rounding up some Japanese American men in the hours after the Pearl Harbor attack, they also launched a sweep of German-born men. Her father would be one of about 11,000 people of German ancestry, joined by a few thousand Italian nationals, who eventually were interned.
Toye ran downstairs and found her mother sitting quietly on the couch. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Then she told Toye how men had come to the door and taken her father away.
I didnt understand, Toye recalls. She knew her parents were German citizens and that Germany was involved in the war in Europe.
But what did that have to do with her family?
ALIEN ENEMIES
The story of Executive Order 9066 signed 75 years ago today and the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans is well-known, but few remember the order also applied to some German and Italian families.
Though they were not held in camps like the Japanese Americans, several hundred German and Italian Americans were forced to move away from coastal areas as a result of individual exclusion orders.
They werent put in camps, but they had to leave the West Coast and get away from the coastline by 150 miles, says Stephen Fox, a professor emeritus at Humboldt State University and author of The Unknown Internment: An Oral History of the Relocation of Italian Americans during World War II and Against All Enemies: The United States v. German Americans in World War II.
Fox said Germans and Italians were not incarcerated en masse like the Japanese for the same reason the Japanese in Hawaii were not held they were a big and growing part of the economy.
The Italians and Germans were a hugely greater number of the population and they were in occupations that were part of the larger economy.
Conversely, most Japanese nationals were ineligible for citizenship and were prohibited from owning land, whereas Germans and Italians could still be naturalized.
On the West Coast, the Japanese were completely isolated and vulnerable, Fox added. There was no avenue for them to assimilate into a greater America.
Still, as with the its push against the Japanese, the governments actions against Germans and Italians began with presidential proclamations issued immediately after Pearl Harbor.
Pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, which remains in effect today, the government may apprehend and deport alien enemies upon declaration of war, an invasion or the threat of an attack.
On Dec. 7 and 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed identical proclamations formally designating natives and citizens of Japan, Germany and Italy as alien enemies, restricting their movements and authorizing their arrest.
More than 6,600 Japanese, Germans and Italians from Latin America also were deported and interned in the United States on the basis of hemispheric security, according to the National Archives and Records Administration website.
By the end of the war, more than 31,000 suspected enemy aliens and their families had been interned at detention stations and military facilities across the country.
Not a single person was ever charged with a crime, Fox said, adding that their only crime was their nationality.
WHO SHE WAS
Most of the people held were men. But due to economic concerns, some wives and children voluntarily joined them.
Toye says she always wondered if she and her mother would have been better off at the family detention center in Crystal City, Texas.
After her father was taken, the government confiscated his steel import business and took over his personal finances. They had to sell the house in Los Feliz and move to Echo Park.
We didnt have a whole lot of food and nobody wanted to hire my mom. She did get a couple of jobs, but she always got fired. She had a very heavy accent.
Eugen Banzhaf was released after three years. But he was on parole and, as a parolee, he had a tough time finding work in post-war America.
Like the Japanese, Toye and other German Americans faced raw discrimination. Kids at school called Toye a Nazi. People spat on her mom when they were in public.
There was nothing she could do and she wasnt at fault. She couldnt help herself for being who she was.
Contact the writer: sbaer@scng.com
Irvine-based ValueRock Realty Partners, a real estate investment and operating company, has acquired a two-story office building at 6700 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach. The firm acquired the 76,939-square-foot coastal infill property for $24 million from Colton Cos. Built in 1983, the property known as Congressional Place is fully occupied. Its home to Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, among others. Congressional Place is located across the street from the Long Beach Marina.
HOM Sothebys International Realty sold a four-unit apartment complex in Sunset Beach for $1.28 million. The buyer was Matthew Wright. The complex at 16784 Pacific Coast Highway was owned by Rowland and Carole Hodge. Mike Thornton of HOMs Huntington Beach office represented the sellers in this transaction.
New ventures
Ladera Ranch-based Money360 has debuted a commercial real estate debt fund managed by affiliate M360 Advisors with the South Korea Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The FSS registration allows South Korean hedge funds, corporations, pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors to participate in the fund. M360 anticipates receiving more than $250 million in aggregate funding throughout the first half of 2017. M360 Advisors works with foreign investors from South Korea, China, Singapore, South Africa, Europe, Canada, the Netherlands and Kuwait. South Korea is the latest in the companys strategic business plan to bolster its global reach, with an intensified push into South Africa and China planned in the near future, according to a company statement.
Savills Studley has acquired Cresa Orange County, a real estate advisory firm for tenants based in Newport Beach. Part of London-based Savills plc, Savills Studley has had an office in Orange County since 1987, and was founded by Executive Vice President Royce Sharf. He, along with Pat Murphy at Cresa, will co-manage the expanded operation. Murphy, former managing principal, has been named senior vice president and branch manager. Savills Studleys existing Irvine office and the former Cresa Newport Beach office will consolidate into a single workplace midyear. Together, the group will continue to provide tenant representation, transaction management, project administration and workplace solutions to occupiers across all industries, with a particular emphasis on the aerospace, technology and professional services sectors. Between the two offices, there will be a total headcount of 56.
The real estate briefs are compiled by contributing writer Karen Levin and edited by Samantha Gowen, business editor at the Register.
Send related items to sgowen@scng.com. Allow one week for publication. High-resolution photos also can be submitted.
Los Angeles and Orange counties dominated a list of the nations most heavily-traveled structurally deficient bridges in an annual report card released Wednesday. Six of the worst seven can be found along Interstate 110.
The Inland region fared better, with one of Riverside Countys bridges rated 88th in the report compiled by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. No San Bernardino County bridge cracked the list of the 250 bridges of most concern.
Still, the report stated that 78 bridges in San Bernardino County and 14 in Riverside County were classified as structurally deficient, based on data collected in 2016.
There are definitely some challenges out in California, said Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the Washington, D.C.-based research group.
The report branded as deficient more than 55,000 bridges in the U.S.
Black said there are huge implications.
Some of these are very well traveled interstates, part of our national freight network, she said. There are some economic repercussions when these bridges arent performing as they should be.
It used to be worse
Despite the words of warning, Californias bridge scenario has improved, the reports rankings revealed.
California had the nations fifth-highest number of structurally deficient bridges in 2013 before sliding to sixth place in 2014, 10th in 2015 and, in this years report documenting 2016 information, to 14th.
Last year, California had 1,388 structurally deficient bridges, representing 5.5 percent of the states 25,431 spans. The report said California had more than 2,000 bad bridges the year before.
Its hardly surprising that many remaining deficient bridges are in Los Angeles and Orange counties, said Hasan Ikhrata, executive director for the Southern California Association of Governments, a six-county regional planning agency.
We had the biggest infrastructure-building program in the country in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and we havent done a good job maintaining that, Ikhrata said.
Black said bridges are designed to last 40 to 60 years and when they age problems surface.
We have many bridges peforming beyond their design life, she said.
And, of course, it doesnt help that Southern California has been hammered repeatedly and is about to get pounded again by rain, the likes of which we havent seen since the start of this decade. Thats not doing bridges any favor.
Not about to fall apart
Officials said the report isnt reason, though, for motorists to panic and worry about their safety on commutes to the office or drives to the beach.
That doesnt mean they are going to fall apart tomorrow, Ikhrata said.
But he said it means the bridges could be more vulnerable in floods or, God forbid, an earthquake.
Former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, said it also translates into a jarring ride.
Gatto said Los Angeles Countys prominence on the list came as no shock to him.
Im on the same roads and bridges every day, he said. Its very palpable to my spinal column.
The report analyzed the nations bridges and found that nearly 56,000 were structurally deficient. Notable examples were the Brooklyn Bridge and Washingtons Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Besides the half-dozen bridges along the 110 freeway, the list highlighted Orange Countys 55 freeway at Santiago Creek and several spans of the 22 freeway.
Coming in at 88th worst was the 60 freeway near Riverside where it bridges a set of railroad tracks just west of Opal Street.
Not enough money
While no San Bernardino County overpass cracked the top 250, 78, or 6 percent, of the countys 1,406 bridges were classified as structurally deficient.
In Los Angeles County, 207, or 6 percent, of 3,546 bridges were deemed structurally deficient.
In Orange County, 30, or 3 percent, of 1,158 bridges were said to be deficient.
Of Riverside Countys 1,091 bridges, the report said 14 were deficient.
Structurally deficient means one or more of a bridges central elements the deck, superstructure or substructure is considered to be in poor condition, the report stated.
Infrastructure in Riverside County is deteriorating, said Anne Mayer, Riverside County Transportation Commission executive director. There isnt enough money to keep bridges in a good state of repair.
Indeed, said Gatto, the report is another reminder of the need for California policymakers to find a way to boost funding for transportation maintenance.
Reactionary society
I think its a tough time to ask Californians to shell out more in taxes, he said, noting that voters approved a ballot measure in November to extend state taxes that were originally sold as temporary measures to fill holes in the state budget.
But, he said, This will increase the calls for us to do something this year.
Just maybe, this is where California leaders could benefit from the Donald Trump presidency. In perhaps the only thing the president and Gov. Jerry Brown agree on the need for, Trump has proposed to invest in infrastructure up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
According to state officials, there is a backlog of California road and bridge fixes that exceeds $130 billion.
In 2015, Brown convened a special session to explore options for shoring up financing for transportation, in an era of declining revenue largely due to efficient cars that burn less and, in some cases, no gas. But that concluded in November without a deal.
Legislative leaders are trying again this year, proposing a fix that would raise $6 billion for roads and bridges.
In any event, something needs to be done, Ikhrata said.
We are a reactionary society, he said. We wait for things to happen. And we should be proactive and set aside some money to fix the structures that are old.
Staff writer Anne Millerbernd contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9699ddowney@scng.comTwitter: PE_DavidDowney
We were gripped by a riveting video of the 20-foot sinkhole in Los Angeles that swallowed two vehicles in the wake of Fridays storm and the I-15 collapse in the Cajon Pass that flung a fire engine around like a toy truck.
But for some, it wasnt just dramatic, breath-taking video, it was reality TV.
Besides undermining roads in a vivid way, the monster soaker underscored the need to bolster Southern Californias aging transportation network, current and former officials said Saturday.
Im not surprised by any of this that is happening right now because we have been delaying maintenance everywhere, said Hasan Ikhrata, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Southern California Association of Governments.
And former San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris quickly drew the same conclusion.
I guess thats testimony of the amount of maintenance needed in California, Morris said by phone.
When you get rainstorms like weve experienced over the last several weeks, suddenly reality sets in, he said.
State Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Temecula, termed the damage a wake-up call and symbol.
Its symbolic that were not paying attention to infrastructure, Stone said. Its a symptom of a greater problem. It all comes down to neglect.
SCREAMING FOR HELP
It was just after 8:15 p.m. Friday when firefighters rolled up at Woodbridge Street in Studio City, just west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and found a Mercedes-Benz SUV in a huge hole broiling with rushing water.
A 48-year-old woman was standing on top of the upside-down vehicle. She had scrambled out of the SUV and was screaming for help.
Firefighters jumped into action and rapidly lowered a (20-foot) extension ladder down to the woman, allowing her to climb out, said Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
At about the same time, dozens of miles to the east, a San Bernardino County fire truck that had been hanging seemingly by a thread tumbled off to the side as a 200-foot section of an I-15 slow lane collapsed. Rain water had been undermining the section and the pavement suddenly gave way.
The three firefighters assigned to the engine had gotten out before that and no one was hurt. But Caltrans estimated in a Twitter message that the cost of repairs would run about $3 million. It was unclear on Saturday how long repairs will take.
Those were some of the most glaring examples of problems that surfaced as the storm, stoked by the mid-air collision of a low-pressure system and a massive plume of moist Pacific air, soaked the region with up to 5 inches of rain in 24 hours.
ECONOMIC DISASTER
It reminded Stone of the time remnants of a tropical storm unleashed downpours that knocked out an I-10 bridge in the Riverside County desert in July 2015, crippling the major transportation link between Southern California and Phoenix. While the bridge was being fixed, detours added several hours to trips along a route heavily used by truckers and crucial for product delivery.
Similarly, the damage to I-15, which temporarily squeezed southbound traffic into two lanes between Highway 138 and Cleghorn Road, isnt just an inconvenience, Ikhrata said. Its a hit to Southern Californias economy.
He noted the 15 links the region with Las Vegas and points beyond, and that Cajon Pass is one of two main gateways into Southern California from the north the other being I-5 over the Grapevine.
The pass is so important, said Ikhrata, whose agency represents Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and two other counties. Its an economic disaster as well.
Meanwhile, the damage comes a few days after a research groups annual report card spotlighted numerous aging Southern California bridges on a list of the nations 250 most heavily-traveled structurally deficient spans.
Los Angeles and Orange County spans dominated the top spots on the American Road and Transportation Builders Association list, which mentioned several bridges along the 110 freeway. A Riverside County freeway bridge was rated 88th worst nationally.
HUMAN NATURE
Sadly, said former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, the list and the storm damage reflect the lack of attention California leaders have given to transportation lately.
Theories abound as to whats the reason for that.
Some of it is human nature, Gatto said.
He said public officials, like everyday people, often react to problems and challenges rather than plan for them in advance.
But you cant attribute all of this to human nature, he said. We need a little more forethought in our state.
Many have been saying that as road damage has multiplied in recent years.
And Ikhrata said a recent analysis estimated there is a 10-year, $296 billion backlog of maintenance for the state as a whole, and a $190 billion backlog for the six counties the association represents.
This is just to bring the system up to par, he said.
BACK TO THE WELL
However, leaders disagree on how the backlog should be financed.
Ikhrata said the problem is so large that existing revenue sources cannot handle the challenge. He generally supports a proposal by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, to raise $6 billion in new money.
Beall has proposed boosting the per-gallon gas tax by 12 cents, the diesel excise tax by 20 cents and the sales tax by 4 percent, plus enact an annual $100 fee on zero-emission vehicles.
Stone opposes any new tax because, he said, the state has had a habit of diverting some of existing transporation revenue away from roads to balance Sacramentos budget.
I dont think its right to go back to the well and ask for more, Stone said.
The solution, he said, is to use all available sources that were originally intended for roads.
Perhaps, said Morris, there is a sliver of hope in President Trumps vow to launch a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure building program across the country. But to say he is cautiously optimistic about that would be putting it mildly.
Promises made are not promises kept, Morris said.
In any event, seeing I-15 and a Los Angeles street crumble is just more frustration for officials who view transportation as one of the states most pressing concerns.
We always prided ourselves in the 60s, 70s and 80s as having the finest transportation system in the country, Stone said. No longer.
Staff writers Dana Bartholomew and John Blodgett contributed to this report.
CHARLESTON -- Eastern Illinois University and the thousands of students who flock there influence the local and state economy substantially, according to a recent study evaluating the financial impact the university has on the area.
In a 16-page study conducted by Coles Together, a local economic development agency, they concluded that when more money is funneled into the university, more local and state economic growth follows suit.
The economic impact of Eastern Illinois University on the local economy is remarkable in its breadth and depth, the study reads. The institution outperforms the economic impact of most industries in Coles County. For every dollar spent by the university, additional employment, revenue, and wealth are created in the county.
The figures from the study depicted the positive impacts the university makes on the local and state economy excluding the cultural, philosophical or intellectual impact the university makes in Charleston and the surrounding areas.
According to the studies findings, for every 100 persons employed by Eastern, an additional 71 jobs are added to the region and a total of 79 are added in Illinois.
Additionally, they calculated that for every $100 the university spends in operating costs, an additional $83 in economic output is generated in the region and a total of $99 is generated within the Illinois economy.
Despite these numbers, and others included in the study, the appropriations from the state have dwindled, even before the budget impasse.
According to Eastern figures dating back five years, there has been a continued decline in state financial support to the university. In fiscal year 2012, the university received near $47 million, however in 2015, the university got a full appropriation, they received almost $43 million.
Angela Griffin, Coles Together president, said the idea to conduct such as study was percolating for a while before actually pulling the trigger on the study, starting in fall 2015. The organization was wondering if it had been measured or quantified in a while.
It turns out it had not, Griffin said.
An internal study done by Eastern in 2000 was the last time a comparable study of the universitys impact on the area had been conducted.
For Griffin and Coles Together, it became clear there was a need for the study after the start of the budget impasse that still has yet to waver between lawmakers in Springfield.
At that point (in 2015), we were just exploring that idea, Griffin said. Then the budget crisis occurred and Easterns funding was in jeopardy, and so then it became even more clear that we as a community should understand the economic impact Eastern has.
The study was run through a couple of modeling programs, IMPLAN 3.1 and Regional Economic Modeling, to reach the figures reached in the study. Griffin said the funding for the study came from local investors in Coles Together who earmarked their funding for this study.
A lot of people in the county wanted their resources to go to this project to find out the exact impact the university has on its surrounding areas, she said.
Griffin said Coles Together saw it as information tool not only for the community, but specifically for Eastern to use to make their case when seeking more state support.
It will help (EIU President David Glassman) build a case for funding for EIU, she noted. I think this will give (state lawmakers) a very clear picture that an investment in higher ed is a substantial return on investment for the state of Illinois at a time when the state is struggling with revenue.
Glassman sees the report of the study as an opportunity to show hard numbers on what the university means to the area financially.
This report is very important to share with our legislators as it presents hard data that documents the value of investment by the state to supporting EIU, Glassman said.
Other state universities communities have done similar studies depicting their impact to their economy as well, Griffin said.
A study showing Eastern's impact on the local economy would be good to have, but the university's success with academics is a better selling point, state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said.
It's not Coles Together's role to address academics but any economic impact "has to be in tandem with what we're doing for students," Righter said.
"The view people here have is whether Eastern and all the institutions of higher learning are best using their resources in the most efficient way to prepare students for the 21st Century economy," he said.
Outside of sharing it with legislators, Glassman said the report will be used for marketing purposes, in grant proposals, and to assist Cole County in recruiting businesses into our area.
Not all anniversaries are meant to be celebrated. One such occasion is Feb. 19, the anniversary of executive order 9066 signed by then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt which led to the creation of Japanese internment camps in the aftermath of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. This year it is a particularly sensitive subject not only because it is the 75th anniversary of the heinous order but also because the use of executive orders has once again become a national issue.
Executive order 9066 is a stain on American history but its also something that todays elected leaders should heed as a reminder. Its a lesson that must not be forgotten and should inform what policies we as a nation pursue in the name of safety, security, protection or otherwise.
The order itself was born of fear and was sold to the American people as national security and military necessity, but a federal commission the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians later concluded that the actual motivation was race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.
Failure is too generous a word. Its an atrocity where more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps, not to mention thousands of German-Americans and Italian-Americans. The U.S. citizens and long-time residents who had been incarcerated had lost their personal liberties, and many also lost their homes, businesses, property, and savings, as was noted in a University of California exhibition.
The UC exhibition gave a more vivid description of the scene in 1942: [F]amilies left behind homes, businesses, pets, land, and most of their belongings. Taking only what they could carry, Japanese Americans were taken by bus and train to assembly centers hastily converted facilities such as race tracks and fairgrounds. It was like living in a military barracks.
California was home to many of the Japanese-Americans forced from their houses and communities at the time. In fact, misguided politicians throughout California supported the internment. At the time even the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors passed a resolution encouraging the federal government to act in such a despicable manner, as reported by NBC News.
Lisa Chiya, a second-generation Japanese American businesswoman in Southern California, recalled the experiences of her family: They were only allowed to take one suitcase and were taken advantage of because they had to rapidly try and sell their businesses and other assets.
They had no choice but to acquiesce, she told me. They were essentially stripped of everything. Even Japanese churches were lost.
Decades after World War II the United States formally acknowledged the use of internment camps as an injustice. Republican President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to officially acknowledge the offenses, provide some recompense, apologize and establish an education fund to ensure that such a practice would not occur again in the future.
Here we admit a wrong, Reagan said. Here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.
Reagan gave the speech in San Francisco, whose Japantown was cleared out by interment, wrote Alexander Nazaryan for Newsweek. Some of the survivors of the camps, many of them now aged, watched as Reagan, in a mustard-colored suit, apologized for the sins of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Its unfortunately common in times of war or rampant terrorism to act rashly and reactionarily in making public policy, generalizing and casting blanket blame on an entire group of people. But history never looks kindly on such actions and such policies frankly do not work.
In 1942, sadly, there was widespread support or at least consensus over the internment camps. In fact, only a few voices stood up and rabidly opposed the efforts, like the Orange County Register, which published numerous editorials and columns fighting the abuse. In fact, then publisher R.C. Holies was a near singular, contrary voice in battling the executive order, the internment camps and the confiscation of property.
Too few stood up to the injustice and thus it is a permanent mark on our history.
As the United States grapples with national security, global terrorism and cybersecurity, its important to think first about the lessons of history before acting. A discussion and policy framework for dealing with national security in the age of terrorism is a necessary debate to be had. But lets not take drastic measures punishing or marginalizing an entire group of people for a relatively small percentage of bad actors just because they share a heritage or religious faith.
On this, the 75th anniversary of one of Americas darkest political decisions, lets reflect on our history and use it as a guide for policymaking.
Brian Calle is Opinion Editor for the Southern California News Group.
Why sit home because you dont want to spend any money? Here are five things you can do this week that cost nothing at all.
Sunday
Miniature train ride: Woo woo! Ride the rails of the miniature Goat Hill Junction Railroad on a five-mile track through Costa Mesas Fairview Park, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the third weekend of each month. Kids must be old enough to walk. Free, but donations and volunteers are welcome. Hope it doesnt get rained out! 2525 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa Information: ocmetrains.org.
Monday
The newly renovated Richard Nixon Presidential Library, including the museum and birthplace in Yorba Linda, will be free to visit on Presidents Day. Have your picture taken with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. The first 300 people get free cherry pie, and theres a concert at 2 p.m. Regular adult admission is $16. Location: 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. Yorba Linda. Learn more and RSVP here: 714-993-5075 or nixonfoundation.org.
All national parks and monuments will be free to visit Monday, in honor of Presidents Day, so head on out and see some nature! I suggest getting there first thing in the morning because these free days are very popular. I went out to Joshua Tree National Park on the last free day. It made a good day trip, but head out early.
Thursday
Join others and learn how to search your family tree, share what you know and have fun learning genealogy. Open to all levels, this club at the Los Alamitos-Rossmoor library meets the first Thursday of every month from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. 12700 Montecito Road, Los Alamitos. Learn more: 562-430-1048.
Saturday
Check out the Wolf Discovery and Recovery workshop, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Skie Bender of Wolf Haven International holds a fun, family-friendly session teaching learn about behavior and communication, the differences between wolves and dogs, the importance of wolves in an ecosystem, and the history and current status of wolves in California. At the San Clemente library, 242 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente. Learn more: 949-492-3493.
Contact the writer: mfisher@scng.com or 714-796-7994
When you enter Pavilions on Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita, you might stop and wonder if your eyes are deceiving you. Close to the front door of the supermarket stands a huge refrigerated display case filled with champagne and sparkling wine.
Behind it is a 500-bottle walk-in cooler stocked with some of Californias most prestigious wine labels: Pahlmeyer, Daou, Paul Hobbs, Grgich. Theyre surrounded by row after row of wine, beer and spirits more than 4,000 items in all, making this Pavilions inventory roughly the size of a mid-size standalone liquor retailer.
Bringing an expanded selection of alcoholic beverages to the front of the store is a concept thats going big soon. Orange County is home to the first two: the Antonio Parkway location, which officially opened on Wednesday, and Pavilions store No. 1911 on Newport Coast Drive in Newport Beach, which will bow on Wednesday.
Then the plan is to take it to more than 50 of the 354 Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores in Southern California.
The bubbly display was put there to make a statement that were serious about this, said Phil Markert, sales manager for liquor at Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions Southern California division. He added that the company plans to match the impressive selection with expertise.
We have 100 wine stewards on staff throughout the division. We do training every eight weeks with wine sommeliers and whiskey ambassadors. We have a vibrant training program.
His company aims to train and inform its customers too, Markert said. We do winemaker dinners throughout Southern California to educate our consumers on wine. Theyre very popular.
Jenna Watkinson, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions director of public affairs for Southern California, said her company has done its homework, matching inventory in each store with the preferences of its community. Markert showed what that means for the Rancho Santa Margarita Pavilions.
Picnics are popular around here, he said. (ONeill Regional Park is close by.) So we cater to the picnic set with a large selection of half bottles and wine in a can. On the opposite end, we know that entertaining at home is important to our customers, so were offering a nice selection of premium wines in magnums.
Like many supermarkets, Pavilions expanded wine inventory includes many familiar labels offered through large conglomerates such as Gallo, Constellation and Diageo. But surprisingly, independent winemakers are well-represented on the shelves, too.
We have great relationships with small, family-owned wineries, Markert said. Personally, Im more into finding those highly allocated niche wines from small producers. We have a wine shop mentality. This place will rival anything you see in a fine wine store.
Markert had just returned from a trip to Napa, where he talked business with several small-output wineries.
Imported wines are well represented here as well more than 800 labels from South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, New Zealand and Australia. Markert is fond of Provencal roses, and he stocks more of them than many wine stores.
On a different row youll find high-end liquor such as Bruichladdichs legendary interpretation of scotch. Close by is a brew section that includes some of Southern Californias most popular craft beermakers, including a healthy contingent from San Diego, one of the nations beer capitals.
Markerts enthusiasm is palpable, but if youre an O.C. resident, you could be forgiven for harboring a sliver of doubt about Pavilions gambit. Beverages & More, Total Wine & More, Hi Time, Costco, Trader Joes isnt Southern California already awash in a plethora of wine, beer and spirits choices, much of it at affordable prices?
Were confident in our research, Watkinson said. We think people will like the idea of buying quality wine at the place where they do their other shopping rather than making a separate trip for that.
Industry experts confirm the validity of Pavilions marketing strategy. It has been tried in similar situations in other parts of the country very successfully in the East, said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based consumer industry consulting firm.
Its a very savvy strategic initiative on the part of Vons, which tends to attract more of an upper-middle income shopper who is buying wine both for everyday (consumption) and special occasions. In terms of both buying and merchandising,
Vons has a tremendous amount of skill and expertise in fine wine. This (concept) is analogous to what (the late Trader Joes executive) John Shields did when he expanded to a finer palate of wines for Trader Joes at very good values.
Vons, like all retailers, undoubtedly keeps a close eye on larger retail and consumption trends, and for wine the numbers look very positive. Total U.S. wine consumption continues to rise Americans now drink an average of 2.83 gallons of wine per year, 15 percent more than 2008.
From 2010 to 2016, the U.S. wine industrys sales growth averaged 9.7 percent per year. Compare those two numbers and its obvious that were not only drinking more wine, but were also willing to pay more for each bottle.
Others are taking advantage of the trend, too.
Both Total Wine and BevMo are moving to expand their product portfolio in California, Flickinger said. Consumers increasing interest in high-end and small-production wine is good news for that part of the industry, he added. When powerful buyers such as Vons and Trader Joes start buying and marketing them, oftentimes they contract for (those wines) on a long-term basis.
They commit to a big percentage of their product, which gives (the winery) the cash flow to expand and prosper much more quickly. Vons is also capitalizing on Southern Californias higher-than-normal level of wine knowledge and appreciation as well as the areas many neighborhoods with high disposable income, Flickinger said.
The final factor motivating Vons new initiative could be consumers increasing knowledge of restaurant wine pricing. Twenty years ago, white-tablecloth restaurants would mark up their wine 200 or 300 percent, Flickinger said. Now its a lot more in many cases 500 percent and even more. Even with restaurant corkage charges of $20 or $25 per bottle, bringing in your own wine makes sense, especially for fine wine.
Wine, beer and spirits are an increasingly important portion of a grocery stores revenue, so displaying them more prominently makes sense, Flickinger said. He predicted that large front-of-store displays will become the new normal.
Its the most productive real estate within (a supermarkets) four walls. Putting it out front tells shoppers, We care. This is important. You dont have to walk to the back corner like your mom and dad did.
Voices singing Hallelujah and Amen rang out as choirs sang gospel music at Disney California Adventure.
We put our hearts, our minds, our souls and our spirits into it, said Kenneth Curry, pastor at the Friendship Baptist Church in Yorba Linda. The church had its choir at the eighth annual Celebrate Gospel event at the Disneyland Resort on Saturday as part of Black History Month.
There were 14 other choirs or singing groups taking part in the one-day event inside Stage 17.
Gospel music talks about our shared collective experience, Curry said.
One of the soloists in the Friendship Baptist Church Mass Choir was Danyelle Cerillo, 26, a severely visually impaired woman from La Mirada. At birth, she weighed only 1 pound, 12 ounces.
Doctors said I wasnt going to make it and here I am, Cerillo said.
She started singing at the age of 8, and added gospel music to her repertoire at 14. Besides gospel, she also sings R&B and pop music. But said her favorite gospel song is Never would have made it.
It speaks to my soul because I should not be here today, but God was so gracious and kind to allow me to have life. I might not be able to see physically, but Gods given me something greater, spiritual sight.
Along with the various choirs from around Los Angeles, Orange and other nearby counties, one group Lawyer Turner and the Lawyerettes came from Dallas to sing.
During an afternoon break, Keya Vance, a senior at Cal State Fullerton, was called to the stage, where she received a $1,500 scholarship that will help her finish her degree. Vance is studying theater and African-American studies.
I want to write and direct films and be a professor in African-American studies, she said.
Vance, who lives in Placentia, has already written several plays while at CSUF, including one about the issues behind generational differences in gospel music. She plans to use her studies in her career when she graduates.
Contact the writer: meades@scng.com or follow on twitter @markaeades
Caribbean rum will not be necessary to feel like one has escaped to the islands with the Tony Award-nominated musical Once on This Island, opening at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Friday.
Presented by 3-D Theatricals, the musical adaptation takes place in Haiti and has everything from African-inspired choreography, to flashy musical numbers, to a set that transports its audience to an island with natural weather elements hurricanes and all. The production just finished a run at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center and will run in Cerritos through March 5.
With music by the Tony Award-winning songwriting duo Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Seussical and Ragtime), musical numbers will include One Small Girl, Rain and Forever Yours. Director Rufus Bonds, Jr., who actually made his Broadway debut as a performer in the New York-run, added a musical number and other Haitian elements which he feels enhances the story.
Theres a part in the beginning where the workers are working in the fields. I saw these amazing Haitian movements with one person playing violin, and thats just a moment that I felt we had to create that speaks to the Haitians, said Bonds.
The story follows a peasant girl named Ti Moune, played by actress Leah Stewart, who yearns to know what life is like on the wealthier side of the island. She prays to the gods through song Waiting for Life and although the god of love, death, water, earth and other mystic spirits hear her prayers, each one has a different interpretation of what she is asking for.
When the well-to-do Daniel, played by actor Cooper Howell, crashes his car on Ti Mounes side of the island, she rescues and falls in love with him. However, the gods start a bet in her expense of what will conquer in the end: love or death?
The musical features a large cast, most of whom are onstage for the entire show. Bonds said its impossible to pinpoint the standout actors, because each one brings something to the table.
I cant say enough good things about this cast. Theyre all principle actors with lots of energy and special talent in singing, dancing and acting, said Bonds.
The tragic love story is a loose adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Little Mermaid, and based on the Rosa Guy novel My Love, My Love.
Its a love story that tells us that love will always conquer death, even if its tragic. Because even if one dies, their love has not died in us, we still feel and love them, said Bond.
The contemporary set is staged to look like a photo frame, Bonds said, with vibrant flowers, fruit trees, and other elements such as storms and mountains that portray a luscious island. The usage of LED lighting and projections also help to tell the story and present a stunningly colorful set.
The 3-D Theatrical production company is known for putting its own twist on Broadway musicals, including Beauty and the Beast, Spamalot and Oklahoma! The original Broadway production ran at the Booth Theatre from 1990 to 1991, where it received eight Tony Award nominations.
Bonds said he hopes that the one-act production, which runs about 90 minutes, will leave its audience with plenty of good messages:
I hope the audience is moved by everything they see: the dancing, the music, the colors. And it inspires them to love, live life to its fullest, and to believe, like Ti Moune, that there is more to life and anything is possible.
Contact the writer: jmoe@ocregister.com
WASHINGTON Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader, keeps a souvenir from a dinner the night before this years inauguration behind his desk: an embossed menu autographed by Donald Trump. The president-elect was at his table. McCarthy is not only the second-most powerful Republican in the House he is also one of the earliest and most earnest supporters of the new president.
But this weekend, McCarthy one of Trumps closest allies on Capitol Hill returns home to his district in Bakersfield, in a state that embodies the organized Democratic resistance to Trumps presidency.
By now, McCarthy said, he is getting used to the protesters who have turned up outside his home and district office since Election Day, the newspaper editorials demanding that he protect his state from Trumps policies and the state legislative hearings with testimony about the number of his constituents in danger of losing health coverage.
I get demonstrations all the time, McCarthy said Thursday, as he prepared to fly home for a week of events in his district. I assume there will be some form of them again.
One month into the Trump presidency, McCarthy is a man with a foot in two warring camps. He represents a 10,000-square-mile red rural stronghold in the farmland of central California, a state that Trump lost by 4 million votes. His seniority in the House leadership, and his ties to Trump, mean that he is indisputably the most powerful Californian in the nations capital.
And in an interview here, McCarthy left no doubt that his loyalties in this fight were east of the Mississippi River. He assailed Californias Democratic leaders for provoking the president, and warned that it could prove damaging to the state, particularly as the Trump administration created an infrastructure program to pay for public works projects across the nation.
Look, I will represent my district, and I will represent my state, McCarthy said in his first-floor suite of offices, between votes. But what they are doing, they are playing with fire. Donald Trump is not going out in any way or form to attack California. They are the ones who are attacking California right now. They are the ones who are putting Californians at risk in every shape and form. And they are doing it to make a political point, which is wrong.
It has been only 10 years since McCarthy, 52, arrived here as a freshman member of Congress, the latest stop in a career that began in the California Assembly, where he rose to become the minority leader. His family has lived in Bakersfield for generations, and he attended Bakersfield College and business school at California State University and owned a delicatessen in his hometown before he turned to politics full time.
McCarthy got his start in politics in college, where he was the head of the California Young Republicans. Soon after graduating, he sold his delicatessen and began working as the district director for Rep. Bill Thomas, before leaving to run for the Assembly. He represents Thomas former district today.
McCarthy, who is married and has two children, still sleeps weeknights on a couch in his office, awakening every morning for a 6 oclock workout, and flying home most weekends.
His quick ascension to power is partly a result of circumstance. The job opened after the previous majority leader, Eric Cantor, was upset in a primary by a Tea Party candidate in 2014. And McCarthy was an early supporter of Trump when many other Republican leaders, including Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., held back.
But another part of his success is what seems, in this contentious time, the almost throwback style of glad-hand politicking that McCarthy embraces as he moves across the Capitol. A portrait of Ronald Reagan, a wide grin on his face, fills most of the west wall of his office.
Everybody today wants to be a Reagan Republican, but how many walk around with that smile? McCarthy said.
McCarthy acknowledges that his friend the president may not exactly be a graduate of the smiling Reagan school of politics. I wouldnt characterize them the same way, he said.
Nevertheless, with a handful of exceptions including the presidents call for a 35 percent border tariff McCarthy has enthusiastically embraced Trumps early agenda, including tax reform, the immigration crackdown and paring government regulations.
McCarthy is known more as a political strategist than an ideologue. Among his memorabilia is a framed picture of Cantor, Ryan and himself, taken when they released their book, Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders.
Eric was the leader; Paul was the thinker. I was the strategist, he said. I analyzed peoples districts. I know them backwards and forwards.
McCarthy inevitably will bear much of the brunt of trying to mediate between the president and California. Trump has threatened to defund California, calling it out of control, and the Democratic-controlled Legislature has hired Eric Holder, a former U.S. attorney general, to lead the states legal challenge.
Farmers across central California who said they supported Trump have expressed concern that his crackdown on undocumented immigrants will leave them without needed workers.
Weve got to solve the immigration issue, McCarthy said. You have to have some form of guest workers program.
And McCarthy has been a strong advocate of replacing the Affordable Care Act. There are 70,000 federal health insurance recipients in his district, the highest concentration in the state. California receives over $16 billion a year through the Affordable Care Act, equal to one-tenth of the annual state budget.
Hes in a conundrum, said Kevin de Leon, the Democratic leader of the state Senate and a leading critic of Trump. Does he toe the Republican line? Its my hope that Kevin will do the right thing and stand by the values and the people of California, irrespective of partisanship.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who has mixed his attacks on Trump with efforts to find common ground on some issues, including a $100 billion high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles, declined to comment on McCarthy.
Trumps eye and ire have turned increasingly toward California. When the University of California, Berkeley, was roiled by protests over a scheduled appearance, ultimately canceled, by Milo Yiannopoulos, the right-wing writer, the president posted a tweet threatening to cut the universitys federal funding.
That happens over Kevin McCarthys dead body, Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a former senior adviser to Pete Wilson, a Republican governor, said in an email.
McCarthys own political position seems safe. He was elected to a sixth term in November with 70 percent of the vote, one of 14 Republicans in the states 55-seat congressional delegation.
De Leon and other Democrats said that given how integral California was to the nations economy, Trump, with McCarthy at his ear, would be reluctant to impose damage on the state.
Theres no way of knowing how formidable a line of defense McCarthy will be, said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at the University of Southern California and also worked as an adviser to Wilson. But hes the best shot theyve got.
At least four people are dead in the wake of the most powerful storm to slam Southern California in years, as officials assess the damage Saturday morning and scramble to fix sinkholes, restore power and reopen closed highways.
The giant storm created when a low-pressure system collided with a Pineapple Express-style plume of moisture out of the Pacific was a factor in San Fernando Valley, High Desert and San Diego deaths, authorities said.
Saturday broke much more quietly and its expected to stay that way. The National Weather Service in Oxnard predicted a cool and showery weather pattern will continue through Saturday night and on through Sunday, as the low-pressure system slowly moves out.
Thats not to say showers couldnt coalesce somewhere and trigger a downpour and flooding. But forecasters said that chance is low 5 percent to 10 percent and isnt high enough to warrant a flash flood watch.
Sunday is forecast to be dry. But dont put away the umbrellas. Wet weather is expected to return early next week as a series of low-pressure systems move ashore, the service said.
RELATED: Powerful storm to wind down Saturday for Inland valleys, but rain still likely
Just how big and bad was the storm that raged Friday and trickled into this morning? The system was estimated to be 150 miles wide and it unleashed 5 inches of rain on parts of urban Southern California. And it was blamed for a sinkhole in the Studio City area of Los Angeles that swallowed two cars, and for a collapse of pavement on I-15 in the Cajon Pass that threw down a giant fire truck as if it were a childs toy. No one was injured in either incident, both of which occurred Friday night.
That was not the case in Victorville, where cars were caught in roaring flood waters Friday night.
San Bernardino County firefighters plucked one person from atop a partially submerged vehicle but another person died, during a series of swift-water rescues, authorities said. The victim was found in another vehicle that was fully submerged.
In Sherman Oaks, a 55-year-old man was electrocuted Friday after a tree branch fell onto power lines and landed on a vehicle and he walked around the car, authorities said.
And in separate fatal accidents on San Diego freeways Friday evening, two people were killed.
The first accident occurred on northbound I-15 near Mira Mesa Boulevard when a vehicle hydroplaned across the freeway, crashing into multiple vehicles, San Diegos 10News reported. One person died and three others were injured.
The second accident occurred on the 15 near I-805. In that one, too, a car hydroplaned out of control across lanes, 10News reported. The vehicle slammed into a construction truck parked on the side of the highway, killing a passenger.
Air travel also has been widely disrupted.
Dozens of flight cancellations were reported at all of Southern Californias major airports. And more than 300 arriving and departing flights were delayed or canceled at Los Angeles International Airport alone.
Winds gusting to 70 mph or more lashed many parts of the region. Heavy rains turned creeks and rivers into muddy brown torrents, melting hillsides that were torched by wildfires a few months ago.
Mud removal on Hwy 138 heading into West Cajon Valley @sbsun @RickSforza pic.twitter.com/EfVSIFeblI Sarah Alvarado (@sarahalvarado) February 18, 2017
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Several stretches of freeways and highways were closed by flooding, notably the 110 freeway at Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles and the 101 at La Conchita north of Ventura. Storm water flooded the 110, while several feet of mud spilled onto the 101.
In San Bernardino County, a 20-mile stretch of Highway 138 in the vicinity of last summers Blue Cut fire closed as well.
And the San Bernardino County rescue at Victorville was hardly the only example of people caught in swift-running water.
In Sun Valley, 10 cars were trapped in swift-moving water on a roadway and 15 people had to be rescued, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
Using ropes and inflatable boats, firefighters rescued seven people and two dogs from the Sepulveda basin, a recreation and flood-control area along the Los Angeles River.
And did we mention trees? Hundreds of trees were toppled like matchsticks all over Southern California, as the storm packed monster winds alongside monster amounts of moisture.
Perhaps nowhere was that more clear than in a neighborhood near UCLA, where a 75-foot tree fell onto an apartment building, narrowly missing student. A total of 16 college students had to be evacuated.
And, of course, falling trees meant downed power lines.
At one point, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that more than 60,000 customers across the nations second largest city were without electricity. And Southern California Edison spokeswoman Sally Jeun said 57,000 Edison customers throughout Southern California including 22,000 in Orange County lost their power.
Of course, the storm carried benefits.
Enjoying their best winter in years, the regions mountain resorts rejoiced. For example, Snow Valley Mountain Resort Running Springs received 8 inches of snow, spokesman John Brice said, and was expecting more Saturday. Mount Baldy reported 2 feet of snow.
Rain totals were off the charts, too, according to Saturday morning updates from the National Weather Service.
Some examples: Crestline, 5.5 inches; Mount Baldy Village, 5.04 inches; Canoga Park, 4.84 inches; Malibu Canyon, 4.83 inches; Agoura Hills, 4.6 inches; Woodland Hills, 4.19 inches; Sepulveda Cayon, 3.51 inches; Laguna Hills, 2.93 inches; Long Beach, 2.77 inches; Pasadena, 2.74 inches; Lake Arrowhead, 2.62 inches; Claremont, 2.28 inches; Whittier, 2.22 inches; Yorba Linda, 1.81 inches; Huntington Beach, 1.69 inches; Lake Mathews, 1.51 inches; Ontario Airport, 1.49 inches; Norco, 1.3 inches; Riverside Airport, 1.26 inches; Yucaipa Regional Park, 1.14 inches; and Temecula, 1.1 inches.
The storm is, so far, the punctuation the point for a very wet winter following five years of drought.
And it sort of fits, suggested Bill Patzert, climate scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
There are three seasons in California, Bill Patzert said. There is drought, followed by fire, followed by deluge.
City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IRBIL, Iraq Several hundred thousand civilians are enduring desperate conditions and facing retribution by Islamic State fighters in western Mosul as Iraqi forces prepare to attack militants who control the citys western half, according to residents and humanitarian groups.
In telephone interviews, residents said Islamic State was using food as a weapon, doling out small amounts to hungry families in return for information gained by spying on neighbors suspected of aiding Iraqi security forces. They said several residents accused of phoning security forces with information about Islamic State activities had been killed in recent weeks.
Food, water and fuel for cooking and heating are unavailable or are being sold at prohibitive prices in the areas densely packed neighborhoods. Militants are hoarding food and supplies while restricting the movements of civilians in anticipation of a government assault, residents said. Stray animals are wandering nearly empty streets.
Were no longer afraid of the rockets and the buzzing of bullets we fear hunger more, said Abu Marwan, a government employee from western Mosul. Anyone who owns a bag of flour or rice is rich.
Like others interviewed, Abu Marwan, citing concerns about safety, agreed to speak on the condition that his full name not be published. He and others are identified by honorifics or nicknames. Residents said anyone caught using a cellphone risked being beaten or killed by militants.
Abu Salah, who lives in the Bab al-Tob neighborhood in western Mosul, said Islamic State had recruited three families as spies in return for food. He said they had identified eight young men who were subsequently arrested by militants and accused of providing information to Iraqi security forces.
We call this food for information, Abu Salah said. These are poor families. Hunger pushes them to abandon their principles.
The United Nations in Iraq said Saturday that most of the 750,000 to 800,000 residents of western Mosul had been living under extreme duress for weeks, creating a humanitarian crisis even before the start of military operations.
Once the battle for western Mosul begins, a top U.N. official said, 250,000 to 400,000 people may try to flee. Emergency sites are being built south of Mosul, where food and other supplies are being gathered to accommodate a rush of displaced people.
Tens of thousands of people may flee or be forced to leave the city, Lise Grande, United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of civilians might be trapped maybe for weeks, maybe for months.
Grande added: People, right now, are in trouble. We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes.
Few, if any, commercial supplies have reached western Mosul in the three months since the main road to Syria was cut, the U.N. said recently. With cooking gas and kerosene scarce, families are burning wood, plastic, furniture and garbage to heat homes and cook food.
The United Nations said that most essential food items were virtually unattainable. Half of all food shops have closed, and others have little for sale.
Staples like rice, flour, legumes, date syrup, baby formula and sugar have almost disappeared. There is enough cooking oil to supply only 10 percent of the population.
Umm Aisha, a widow with three children, said her two sons, ages 7 and 5, were weak and listless from hunger. She said her 10-year-old daughters face had turned yellow and sunken. I cant provide enough food to keep them alive, she said, weeping.
Food prices in western Mosul are almost twice as high as those in eastern Mosul, Sally Haydock, the representative of the World Food Program in Iraq, said in a statement. We are extremely concerned that many families do not have enough to eat, she said.
The price of a bag of flour has skyrocketed to 150,000 Iraqi dinars, or about $130, said a 41-year-old resident of Bab al-Tob.
U.S. military officials said Saturday that while the Mosul offensive was an Iraqi-led fight, U.S. firepower and expertise would support it.
Some of the 450 U.S. advisers in Iraq will be helping Iraqi officers plan and execute the offensive. U.S. and allied airstrikes in support of the Iraqi forces are expected to increase.
U.S. commanders say about 2,000 to 3,000 Islamic State fighters remain in western Mosul after the liberation of the citys eastern half last month.
Some are hard core and will stand and fight and die in place, some will want to escape, some will attempt to quietly quit the fight, and some will sympathize with the enemy but are not now participating, Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Baghdad, said in an email. And then, unfortunately, some will be pressed into the fight under threat of death or other harsh retribution.
Orange Coast College has turned its back on academic freedom and integrity with the suspension of Caleb ONeil for recording Olga Perez Stable Cox, his human sexuality instructor, who made incendiary comments about the election of Donald Trump and his supporters during class.
The school should reinstate ONeil immediately.
If the school does not do so, President Dennis Harkins and the entire Board of Trustees should be held accountable. And lets be clear about what being held accountable means: The board members should be recalled and the president should be fired.
The controversy has become national news. ONeil videotaped Cox as she called the election of Donald Trump an act of terrorism and declared that those leading the assault are among us, according to Register reports.
The student is being punished because the recording goes against Coast Community College District rules about recording on school grounds without consent from those being recorded.
To add insult to injury, the school has required ONeil to write a letter of apology and a three-page essay explaining his decision to record Cox, share it publicly and discuss the impact of the video going viral and the ensuing damage to Orange Coast College students, faculty and staff before being allowed to return to classes.
This is absolutely disgusting. And every advocacy group and political organization in Orange County and beyond should organize against OCC.
To be sure, the freshman broke the rules about recording in class, but those rules are also absurd, especially considering that recording lectures is a common way for college students to study course material. Furthermore, OCC is a public institution that receives public money. It is not some private company, and Coxs opinions should not be considered proprietary information protected by copyright.
Moreover, Cox opinions dont belong in the classroom. Teachers are meant to teach, not persuade or indoctrinate students with their bias. The public has a right to know if their money is being spent on education or on erecting a bully pulpit to demonize certain students and express inflammatory viewpoints.
At its core, this is a full-fledged assault on free speech. And a desire to intimidate and squash differing political opinions. If Cox did not want her words shared publicly, she shouldnt have uttered them in a lecture hall.
It also seems unlikely that this situation would have played out the same had the roles been reversed. Had ONeil recorded a teacher making inflammatory pro-Trump comments, he undoubtedly would have been held up as a hero of tolerance and inclusion. But the anti-free speech drive on college campuses of late is tolerance of only one viewpoint. It is inclusion only for those who agree.
I pulled my phone out, because I was honestly scared that I would have repercussions with my grades because she knew I was a Trump supporter, ONeil said, according to the Register.
OCC ought to be ashamed for what it has allowed to happen here.
These types of infringements of speech may be tolerated in other parts of the country or even state, but not here, not in our community.
This community will fight for freedom of speech. And these pages are committed to fighting OCC until there is justice.
If need be, we will write daily editorials updating readers in our community about this injustice until it is remedied.
In a free society, Cox has a right to her opinion and to express her opinion, but she also has a job to do. Her statements, and reportedly asking Trump-supporting students to stand and be counted, are not intended to further rational discourse in any way.
Academic freedom is not the right to spew rhetoric from a lectern, but rather to challenge ideas and beliefs, especially those from positions of authority, like your professors, free from recourse. Instead, in the era of safe spaces and trigger warnings, academic freedom seems to have come to mean the freedom to ignore scholarship and views of those with whom we disagree.
The school had previously said it would investigate Coxs comments but the findings of that investigation are being kept private as a personnel matter. But, judging by the concern the school has for Cox in its letter to ONeil and the ensuing damage to Orange Coast College students, faculty and staff, we likely already have our answer.
If the school was truly worried about its reputation, it would fix this now. Its commitment to the free flow of knowledge depends on it.
If it does not act, our entire community must join together and engage in this issue.
A lawsuit is under way but that is not enough. ONeil must be reinstated. The Board of Trustees must end the absurd policy of disallowing recording of lectures. Cox should be reprimanded. The school should publicly apologize to ONeil. And the college should take steps to ensure that students do not feel threatened by teachers because they have differing political views.
If the OCC Board of Trustees will not deliver this justice, they should be recalled and replaced.
Editors note: On Tuesday, we will publish an editorial following up this piece and will include information for donations to the legal fund to support ONeils case against the district.
JERUSALEM Israels prime minister turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, former American officials confirmed Sunday, in apparent contradiction to Benjamin Netanyahus stated goal of involving regional Arab powers in resolving Israels conflict with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organized in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba last February and included Jordans King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. The secret meeting was first reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz1.
According to two former Obama administration officials, Kerry proposed regional recognition of Israel as a Jewish state a key Netanyahu demand alongside a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians with the support of the Arab countries.
Netanyahu rejected the offer, which would have required a significant pullout from occupied land, saying he would not be able to garner enough support for it in his hard-line coalition government.
The initiative also appeared to be the basis of short-lived talks with moderate opposition leader Isaac Herzog to join the government, a plan that quickly unraveled when Netanyahu chose to bring in nationalist leader Avigdor Lieberman instead and appoint him defense minister.
Herzog tweeted Sunday that history will definitely judge the magnitude of the opportunity as well as the magnitude of the missed opportunity.
Two former top aides to Kerry confirmed that the meeting took place secretly on Feb. 21, 2016. According to the officials, Kerry tried to sweeten the 15-year-old Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-led plan that offered Israel peace with dozens of Arab and Muslim nations in return for a pullout from territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war to make way for an independent Palestine.
Among the proposed changes were Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, recognition of Jerusalem as a shared capital for Israelis and Palestinians, and softened language on the right of return of Palestinian refugees to lost properties in what is now Israel, the former officials said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were still not authorized to discuss the secret meeting publicly, said the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders reacted positively to the proposal, while Netanyahu refused to commit to anything beyond meetings with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
One of the officials said the main purpose of the meeting was to start a regional peace process that Netanyahu said he wanted. However, he said it was not clear if the Arab states would have gone along with it either.
He said it appeared that Netanyahu was not interested in more than meeting Abbas and some Arab leaders and promising unspecified confidence-building steps. This was not enough for anyone at the meeting and would not have been enough to get other Arab states to even express willingness to pursue a regional approach, the former official said.
We saw it as building on, or updating, but certainly not superseding the 2002 Arab initiative, one of the officials said.
A second former official said other Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, along with the Palestinians, the Europeans and the Russians, were also consulted as part of the process. The officials said opposition inside Netanyahus hard-line government, which is dominated by nationalists opposed to Palestinian independence, presented a formidable obstacle.
In Cairo, el-Sissis office issued a statement late Sunday that appeared to confirm the meeting took place. It said Egypt been working toward a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The boarded-up homes and storefronts line too many of our streets, serving as painful reminders of whats been lost.
There are so many, in fact, theres a risk weve become blind to the blight. But they must be seen as a threat to our quality of life and our future. They are eyesores and safety hazards that discourage neighborhood investments and drag down property values. One by one, they hurt all of us committed to this community.
As reported in the Herald & Review today, Decatur has more than 100 abandoned properties on its list for razing, and plans are in place to increase the effort to knock them down.
It cant happen fast enough.
Demolitions have stalled over the years for various reasons, including a lack of funding, and now some properties have been on the list for years.
To be clear, this is not only a Decatur problem. In fact, its something of an epidemic in communities that have lost jobs and are fraught with declining populations.
Springfield has faced it. So has Kansas City and Baltimore. All three have made solving the issue a priority.
Springfield in 2011 passed an ordinance requiring building owners to fix abandoned properties within three years or face demolition proceedings.
Kansas City created a land bank and then snapped up and sold off vacant buildings, in some cases for $1 to those who promise to make repairs within 120 days.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan last month launched an ambitious plan to demolish thousands of unoccupied structures and give incentives to developers who want to construct in their place.
Fixing whats broken in Baltimore requires that we address the sea of abandoned, dilapidated buildings that are infecting entire neighborhoods, The Washington Post quoted Hogan saying. They arent just unsightly, they are also unsafe, unhealthy and a hotbed for crime.
We agree.
We applaud any effort to accelerate demolitions in Decatur. Responsible property owners deserve a clear process for having problems resolved. The administrative court, which handles code issues, is a good tool.
But we need leadership to put more resources on solving this and the underlying issues of poverty and loss of well-paid, middle-class jobs. We need elected officials and stakeholders to take a progressive, imaginative approach.
California women appear to be losing ground in the pay-equality race.
Fresh 2015 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows womens median weekly earnings in the state running 15 percent below a similar benchmark for the pay of male workers. That gap roughly equal to a $7,000 annual shortfall is the widest since 2002.
The report cites no reasons for the pay disparity, a subject of wide debate, noting the comparisons do not control for factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization. Nonetheless, the report does highlight how the pay of Californias female workers fares against male counterparts in the state and women across the nation.
Here are five things my trusty spreadsheet told me:
1. Growing gap
Womens wage shortfall grew significantly in California in 2015, with the eighth largest percentage-point expansion in the pay disparity among the states.
Their median weekly wage was 84.8 percent of what men got in 2015 vs. 89.3 percent the year before. Still, only seven states had a smaller pay gap in 2015. Women also lost ground nationally: Wages were 81.1 percent of men in 2015 vs. 82.5 percent in 2014.
California women are not alone. The gap grew in 31 states and Washington D.C., where the gap grew by the largest amount tracked: 8.6 percentage points in 2015.
Curiously, in the 30 states that supported President Donald Trump in last years election, women averaged 79 percent of mens wages vs. 82 percent in the states he lost.
2. More opportunity
At least, employment is up for California women.
California employers had 5.3 million female workers in 2015, up 3.2 percent in a year. That hiring, however, was outpaced by male workers in the state, who gained jobs at an annual rate of 4.7 percent. But California women did enjoy faster job growth than the nations 2.7 percent increase.
Women in Trump states enjoyed twice the 2015 job growth (3.7 percent) as men (1.8 percent). South Dakota had the biggest growth in female workers, up 12.6 percent in 2015. Maine was worst, with a 4.9 percent drop.
3. Pay cuts
Simple math explains how the pay gap grew in 2015: California womens wages fell as pay for men rose.
California womens median weekly pay of $775 for 2015 12th best nationwide was down 1.3 percent for the year. That cut compares to a 4 percent rise in pay for Californias male workers to $914. Annualized, it adds up to $40,300 for women vs. $47,528 for men a pricey divide in a state with a high cost of living.
Nationally, there was a 1 percent rise nationwide in womens pay to $726 as pay fell in 23 states. Missouri dipped the most (down 5.7 percent), while Kentucky was best (up 12.7 percent.)
4. Mans world
Men also dominate Californias worker count.
Women made up 42.3 percent of the 12.6 million employed in the state in 2015.
Thats a smaller share than the nationwide pattern: 44.3 percent of U.S. workers were female. D.C. had the highest share of female workers at 49.8 percent. Utah was the low among the states at 36.9 percent.
5. Slow recovery
California women grabbed less of the post-Great Recession hiring spree as men claimed approximately two of every three new jobs with fatter paychecks.
In 2010-15, female employment in the state grew by 600,000 jobs or a 12.7 percent jump. That trails the mens 950,000 new jobs, 15 percent growth.
Its a similar tale for pay. California women saw median earnings up 3.7 percent in five years vs. mens pay hikes totaling 8.8 percent.
Thats how womens pay shortfall went from 88.9 percent of mens wages in 2010 to 84.8 percent five years later.
Contact the writer: jlansner@scng.com
Santa Ana Police officers rescued three people, including a mother and child, who were struggling to stay above rushing water in the Santa Ana riverbed, authorities said Saturday.
Police were called at about 12:30 p.m. for reports of several people screaming for help in the Santa Ana River, the department said in a statement.
Officers arrived at the river near First Street and found a mother and her 8-year-old son struggling to stay above waist-deep water along with a homeless man who had jumped in to try to save them, police said.
Four officers jumped in the water and rescued the trio from the rushing waters, which were swollen from the regions storm. Officers then learned that another child, the womans 12-year-old son, was missing.
They found the boy uninjured at the riverbed near the Fifth Street intersection. The mother told police she and her children had fallen in the water near Fairview Street. the 12-year-old boy was able to get out of the water himself.
The woman and her two children were transported to the hospital as a precaution. The man was treated at the scene, police said. No officers were injured.
Contact the writer: kpuente@ocreigster.com
SACRAMENTO If youre wondering why police officers sometimes lose the trust of the communities they serve, forget about the overheated rhetoric from Black Lives Matter and focus instead on an ongoing local matter.
Santa Ana police raided the Sky High Holistic medical-marijuana dispensary in 2015, accusing it of selling marijuana without a permit. The dispensarys lawyer released an edited video that made national news and later released the full, unedited version. As officers served the warrant, they ordered the people there onto the ground and appeared to make disparaging remarks about a Sky High volunteer, an amputee sitting in a wheelchair.
One officer allegedly said: Did you punch that one-legged old Benita? The other officer seems to have said: I was about to kick her in her (expletive) nub. Nice, huh? The video also shows an officer munching on snacks and apparently disabling the stores security cameras. Had there not been a hidden camera, its unlikely this case would have gotten much attention.
Because of union-backed rules and legal decisions that protect the privacy of officers, the city wouldnt comment on personnel matters related to three officers at the raid. In July, the Register reported that three of the officers, Brandon Matthew Sontag, Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo, were no longer on the force.
The Register later reported the three were fired and charged by the Orange County District Attorneys Office with petty theft and Sontag also was charged with vandalism. The three pleaded not guilty to the charges. Thats a fair way to handle the matter. But the issue returned to the news this month after the citys personnel board reinstated Sontag. It is still considering reinstatement appeals by the other two.
In an admirable act of courage, the Santa Ana City Council voted 4-3 to appeal the reinstatement to the Superior Court. But Mayor Miguel Pulido and council members Jose Solorio and Juan Villegas voted against appeal. All three had been elected with enormous support from the citys police union.
The raid already has cost city taxpayers $100,000 as part of a settlement to a federal lawsuit filed by the dispensarys owners. The Voice of OC noted that the raid was not the first time Sontags conduct cost the city. The city paid $2.45 million in 2011 to settle a case brought by the family of a woman Sontag shot to death and $100,000 to a man who was, according to the Register, rammed by a police cruiser in a parking lot.
Every profession attracts its share of characters, but this situation reinforces one of my theories about why policing problems often fester. A small number of officers can cause a lot of problems. Union political activism and protections make it inordinately difficult to discipline, fire and prosecute even those caught on camera doing atrocious things.
That lack of justice breeds community frustration and can have a corrosive effect within departments. Note that other officers at the pot-shop raid didnt appear, based on the video, to try to stop this behavior, which reinforces the point about corrosiveness. In an ideal world, other police officers should be the first line of defense if their fellows behave in such a manner.
Solorio was quoted expressing concern that an appeals could end up costing the city too much money if it loses, and said the firings were unfair because of insufficient discipline for the raids supervisor. But Ive seen him in action in the state Capitol. In 2007, Solorio was chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee when legislation was introduced to make it easier for the public to learn about police officers disciplined for their on-the-job power.
The hearing room was filled with boisterous police-union members. Solorio reserved the front seats for union lobbyists. As I wrote for the Register at the time: Solorio gave a bizarre, rambling speech complaining about the rapper Ice-T, about rap-music lyrics in (general) and claiming that police already are vilified by the public. He used his power to crush the bill without a vote.
The Santa Ana police union, which in May 2016 reportedly had a shake-up with the goal of taking a more aggressive political stance, certainly knew what it was doing in spending large amounts of campaign cash on behalf of Solorio, Pulido and Villegas.
Union backers typically say that unions are just doing their job protecting officers. Thats a fine argument if unions were one of many voices in the Capitol and City Hall. But they are a dominant force in the former and typically are the dominant presence in local elections. The result is serious and legitimate public concerns about the use of force, gang injunctions and poor community relations never get aired. Dont they work for us?
Until this kind of outsized union influence is scaled back, it will be nearly impossible to make reasonable reforms to police departments and to punish officers who clearly deserve punishment. If police officers really want to build better relationships within the communities they protect and serve, they need to spend less time worrying about over-the-top rhetoric and more time getting their own house in order.
Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. He was a Register editorial writer from 1998-2009. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed an executive order recognizing passports and other documents issued by Russian-backed separatists in southeast Ukraine, a controversial step that brings Moscow closer to de facto recognition of the breakaway republics.
The move triggered protests from Kiev and will provide an early test of the Trump administrations ability to manage the three-year-old conflict as it seeks to reassure allies that it will continue to counterbalance Russian influence in Eastern Europe.
The executive order, which was posted Saturday on the Kremlins website, said that those living in areas of southeast Ukraine outside of Kievs control can enter and leave the Russian Federation without applying for visas upon showing identification documents (birth certificates for children under the age of 16), issued by the corresponding authorities which are valid in the said districts.
Those authorities are the Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic, the heavily militarized separatist governments that appeared in 2014 after a revolution in Kiev and Russias annexation of Crimea.
The West has accused them of serving as Russian proxies and Moscow of supplying them with Russian soldiers and arms.
Like Crimea, they held controversial referendums and sought to join Russia formally, but Moscow demurred. Since then, they have been locked in a grinding conflict with Kiev that has killed more than 10,000, according to the United Nations. A peace process called the Minsk Agreement, agreed upon in 2015, provides steps out of the conflict, but it has largely gone unfulfilled.
This step by Kremlin completely destroys the Minsk process and is equal to Russias statement about an exit from that, Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said in a statement.
Moscow said it was motivated by humanitarian concerns, saying the decision would give residents of east Ukraine access to Russian public services and air and rail travel. Russia had previously denied quietly allowing the use of documents from the separatist republics, although an investigation earlier last year by the RBC television station showed that the documents were often accepted instead of Russian passports.
The executive order also covers license plates, marriage and divorce certificates, and university diplomas issued in southeast Ukraine.
The United States has previously punished Russia with sanctions for taking steps to integrate Crimea into mainland Russia. Banks and other companies doing business in Crimea have also been targeted.
The decision came just hours after a highly anticipated speech by Vice President Mike Pence in Munich, where he reassured European allies that the United States would urge Russia to respect the Minsk Agreement.
Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know President Trump believes can be found, Pence said.
Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI), with the support of Today FMs Matt Cooper, are encouraging people to get active for the second annual DSI Purple Run and help celebrate World Down Syndrome Day.
This year DSI is encouraging everyone to Run with us, not for us as the event is a celebration of people with Down syndrome in Ireland. The Purple Run will take place on Saturday, March 25 at 11am, in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
The event is open to all age groups and abilities and participants can choose to run, walk or push a buggy over the 5km or 1km distance, allowing all the family to take part. Registration for the event takes place online only and costs 20 which includes a Down Syndrome Ireland Purple Run 2017 t-shirt. People with Down syndrome and under-sixteens can enter for free.
The event promises to be lots of fun for all the family with clowns and face painters, as well as live music to keep everyone entertained. Down Syndrome Ireland would like everyone attending the event to wear something purple such as wigs, hats, boas, bow ties, etc. in support of the Purple Run and to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. It is expected over 2,000 people will participate in the event with people, including many DSI member families, travelling from all over Ireland.
Speaking at the launch of the Purple Run, Matt Cooper said, Im delighted to be involved with the Purple Run again this year for Down Syndrome Ireland. It is a fantastic all-inclusive event for a great cause and I encourage as many people as possible to register and join me on the day.
Speaking about the upcoming event, Mary Doherty, President, Down Syndrome Ireland, said, The Purple Run is more than just about creating awareness, it is a celebration of every person with Down syndrome, their families and those who support them. Down Syndrome Ireland is a family led organisation that places the person with Down syndrome at the centre of everything we do. We are urging everyone to get involved in the Purple Run on March 25th which like last year, is guaranteed to be a fantastic fun event for all the family.
To register for the Purple Run and find out more information on Down Syndrome Ireland, please visit www.downsyndrome.ie or find them on Facebook and Twitter.
BLOOMINGTON More than 100 explosive devices were found by Normal police Thursday during a search of a suspected drug dealer's home in Normal.
Gilbert Wilson, 32, of the 800 block of West College Avenue, is charged with unlawful use of weapons, unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver the drug and unlawful possession of marijuana.
According to a statement read in court by McLean County Assistant State's Attorney Emily Young, police found 128 explosive devices each containing about a half ounce of dynamite or explosive powder.
Police also found about 19 ounces of marijuana and items commonly used to package drugs for sale, said Young.
After he was taken into custody, Wilson admitted to being involved in marijuana sales, said Young "but he was vague about the explosives devices and what he intended to do."
The devices were picked by the Illinois Secretary of State's bomb squad for destruction.
Bond was set at $250,000, meaning Wilson must post $25,035 to be released. A March 3 arraignment is scheduled.
Associate Judge Pablo Eves granted a motion from the state that requires Wilson to prove that any bond money he posts comes from a legitimate source.
LINCOLN Its one of the states iconic images and its profile graces the Nebraska quarter-dollar coin jiggling in pockets everywhere.
And it was the most-mentioned geographic feature in Overland Trail emigrants journals during the mid-19th century.
So when Nebraskas new chief historian stood at the foot of Chimney Rock for the first time not long ago, he was awestruck.
I was deliriously giddy, said Trevor Jones, director and chief executive of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
As a boy in Minnesota, Jones read many fictionalized and diary accounts of traveling the Oregon and Mormon Trails. He recalls travelers writing about observing the geologic landmark along the North Platte River horizon for days and remarking how long it took to arrive near its base.
To actually stand in front of it was a powerful experience, he said. Even though I read about it, to actually go there was fairly transformative.
Jones wants all Nebraskans and visitors to the state to have similar adventures, whether theyre poking around a small-town museum, roaming a rural byway or exploring an urban neighborhood especially as Nebraska celebrates the 150th anniversary of statehood this year.
Jones, 44, came to Nebraska from Kentucky, where he was director of historical resources at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort. He replaced Michael Smith, who retired last summer after a decade leading the society.
Jones is ready for Nebraskas sesquicentennial. He helped Kentucky celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincolns 1809 birth in the state.
He later worked with filmmaker Steven Spielbergs sound director to record the ticking of Lincolns pocket watch preserved at the Kentucky Historical Society for the 2012 movie Lincoln.
Powerful connections to the past are the kinds of things I love, he said.
Jones said the Nebraska State Historical Societys extensive online collection of documents and artifacts is both impressive and growing.
One of the fears at museums was that if we digitize our collections, people wont come, they wont want to see the real thing, he said.
The opposite happened, Jones said. Once people are exposed to the facsimile, they want to see it for themselves.
Thats the power of museum collections, he said. Like Chimney Rock, nothing beats getting close to the real object. You can see the pictures but being in the place and connecting with the place where events happened or where someone stood ... its the power of the real deal. Its one of the things we can do that you cant get anywhere else.
Jones brings nearly two decades of experience in historical organizations and museums in Iowa, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Kentucky to Nebraska. He holds a bachelors degree in history and German from Iowas Grinnell College and a masters in history and a museum studies certification from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Jones said he was attracted to the historical societys diverse operations. There are divisions or programs for preservation, tax credits for historical site projects, highway archaeology and historical markers.
Nebraska has about 550 historical markers scattered across the state, and Jones has stopped at a number of them during orientation trips to places such as Bancroft, Bayard, Gering, Red Cloud, McCook, Neligh and other communities.
Jones said he quickly came to the conclusion that too many people from outside Nebraska dont appreciate the states geographic and physical diversity.
One of the sad things about Nebraska is that if you just go through it on Interstate 80, you dont get a sense of the place, he said. Thats been fun to explore and I still have a lot yet to see.
He said Nebraska has a thriving historical community.
One of the things I love about the state is that Nebraskans love their history, he said. People are very deeply passionate and its deeply personal. The historical memory and sense of place is very strong, and it doesnt matter how long the familys been here. Whether its 150 years or five years, theres a certain Nebraska pride that comes out about the state. Thats truly wonderful. You dont find it everywhere.
Jones said the historical societys job is to raise the bar and help Nebraskans appreciate their history.
Theres a lot going on around the state, he said.
Jones ranks the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering among the best regional facilities in the nation.
The historical society is at the center of the statehood celebrations, providing facilities and assistance to the three organizations wrangling the affair: Celebrating Nebraska Statehood, Nebraska Sesquicentennial Commission and Friends of the Nebraska 150 Foundation.
In addition to special programs and exhibits at its Lincoln and branch museums across the state, the historical society plans to publish a special double issue of its Nebraska History magazine this spring that will chart the states history in a photograph essay. Images will come from the archives of the historical society and The World-Herald.
The statehood anniversary is an opportunity for Nebraskans to reflect not only on where they came from but, more importantly, to think about its future as a state and society, Jones said.
Well have good parties and good events, but the point is to reflect on what these 150 years have meant for this state and where are we going. History is the study of the past, but the reason we study the past is to build a better future.
Eventually the celebrations will end and everyone will have had a good time, but there are larger issues to think about, Jones said.
What does it mean to be a Nebraskan? he said. What did it mean in the past? What is it going to mean next year and 50 years from now?
Solar panels are booming. According to the Solar Energies Industry Association, more than a million American homes now sport solar panels. Those million homeowners could agree that sporting solar panels gives their homes energy independence, more control over where their power comes from, increased property values and most importantly lower electric bills.
But for homeowners considering adding their own panels, the process can seem daunting.
We spoke to some experts, who suggested some questions that homeowners need to consider when researching getting solar power for themselves.
1. Does my roof get enough sunlight? How do I find out?
There are two factors to consider right off: roof orientation and shading.
Orientation is the simplest thing to determine. Anything other than North is fine, Vikram Aggarwal says. Aggarwal is founder and CEO of EnergySage.com, an online marketplace that makes it easy for consumers to comparison shop for rooftop energy systems. South is generally the best. West is the next best, East is the next best. South-facing roofs are ideal for solar because they capture the most light during the suns trajectory across the sky.
How much shade your roof receives is the second concern. Youll need about 4-6 hours of continuous sunshine. Do you have a lot of trees, adjacent homes, or other obstacles that block sun exposure on your roof? Jen Darrah of Direct Energy Solar, an installer active in the Northeast, says. If so, they could be a factor. Most of the time, trees can easily be trimmed.
Aggarwal mentions another factor to consider. If your roof is complex, with sharp angles or multiple gables, you might not be able to get the combined 300 square feet or so needed by most systems. In those cases, a ground-mounted system might be more appropriate, assuming that you have the yard space to accommodate the solar array.
2. How much can I save?
There really is no standard amount of money that people can save, because everyone is different, GREEN says. There are a variety of factors to consider, including the size of the system, its cost, the local electricity rate and available sunlight. However, the bottom line is that when you go solar, you immediately lower your out-of-pocket costs for electricity, and your system can save you thousands in electricity costs for decades, she says.
For consumers looking for a national view, Energy Sage publishes a data report every six months that summarizes costs and trends across the United States.
3. How do I decide what kind of system I need?
It really starts with talking with a professional solar installer, GREEN says. The installer can evaluate the home and roof to make recommendations for the best type of system. When you meet with us, you receive a selection of panel options to choose from, so you can decide the look and price-point thats best for you and your home.
Roof space and electricity needs are big determining factors. Others to consider are warranties and manufacturers. Some people are really interested in buying American made, and the options are increasing, Aggarwal says. You pay a slight premium, but from some people thats a very big deal.
4. Should I purchase or lease the solar panels?
This is a financial decision that many homeowners face, because the cost of a new solar system can be high. If you dont have enough cash on hand to buy the system outright, low-interest solar loans are available either through the equipment manufacturers or your local bank.
One advantage of purchasing your system is the array of incentives available through government agencies or your local utility. With solar ownership, you can take advantage of incentives, rebates, and grants, as well as special programs like net metering and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (or SRECs), GREEN says. These programs lower your system cost and speed up your solar payback.
Leases, on the other hand, will give you smaller share of the savings. On the other hand, you wont need to worry about maintenance or upkeep costs, since the lessor handles those. If you want to save the most money, ownership makes the most sense. If youre looking for something very simple, leasing is a good, Aggarwal says.
5. Can I get a tax break?
If you own your system, then yes! Several state-level tax incentives exist, but the shining star has been the popular Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) provided by the federal government, GREEN says. The ITC is a federal solar incentive that allows you to claim a tax credit for 30% of the total cost of installing your solar system, and its available at least until 2022. (Congress has yet to decide whether or not to extend it past them.)
Homeowners can check www.dsireusa.org, a website run by North Carolina State University, to see a list of local credits, rebates and incentives available in their area. Aggarwal also recommends the solar calculator available on the EnergySage website.
6. Will the system increase the value of my property?
Studies have shown that this is indeed the case, GREEN says. According to a 2013 study by the Appraisal Institute, a professional association of real estate appraisers, solar electric systems positively impact home values. After all, anyone who purchases your home in the future will inherit lowered energy bills.
7. How will this affect the look of my house?
Are the panels going on the front of the house or the back of the house? People are very focused on how the panels are going to look, Aggarwal acknowledges with a laugh. Thanks to advances in manufacturing, there are now an increased number of options available, including black-on-black panels, all-glass panels and rimless panels. If youre looking for a completely invisible option, California manufacturer SolarCity recently announced a premium product that integrates solar panels into individual glass shingles or roof tiles.
8. Do I need to get a new roof first?
Maybe. Installation is best done on a roof in good condition that will not need replacement for a while. If the roof is older say 20 years old most installers would recommend at least replacing the part of the roof where the panels are being installed.
Aggarwal points out one benefit for your roof. The panels do actually protect the roof, so they can extend the life of your roof, he says. Panels are relatively easy to remove in the event that your roof needs repair.
9. What happens if I move?
You have two options. Your first option, as mentioned before, is to keep your system at your house. It increases the value of your home and provides value to the new homeowner, GREEN says. The system could also be transferred to your new home. Direct Energy Solar provides a moving guarantee that assists customers if they decide to move.
10. So what do I do next?
Because solar power can vary greatly from location to location, our experts recommended speaking to local contractors and gathering bids from multiple installers, and speaking to each installer find out why the installer is recommending a particular option.
Aggarwal recommended his companys service, which takes place entirely online with no phone call required giving homeowners 3-7 options. When Im talking to my friends and family, one thing that I like to emphasize is why they should even think of solar, Aggarwal says. One is that its one of the really good investment options available to homeowners today. Two, youre locking in your electricity prices for the next 10-20 years.
Finally, Aggarwal says, its one of the greatest ways to generate economics growth in the U.S. Youre borrowing from a local bank, youre hiring a local contractor and youre not exporting your energy dollars. In other words, he says, solar is a triple bottom-line product that helps your pocketbook, helps the environment, and helps the local economy. In that context, its a no-brainer.
CTW Features
The Rev. Ernesto Medina, St. Marthas Episcopal Church, Papillion
I am often baffled as to why people choose to imprison themselves. I mean, too often folks, including our neighbors and ourselves, make the choice to enter a cell, close and lock the door, and then speak as if they/we enjoy the decision.
You may wonder, What is this crazy priest talking about?!?
Let me try to explain. To begin with, I will offer the following words: Anger, Hate, Vengeance, Envy, Getting even, holding off on forgiveness and resentment. These words are examples of the human choice to stand against love. These words, when we live into them, are the behaviors that imprison us, confining us and consuming us into a bizarre state of solitude.
Jesus, in the midst of the Sermon of the Mount, presents an option to humanity that is the option of God. He presents an option to love your neighbor, love your enemy and to love yourself. In some ways he is presenting an option to be generous.
So a person might say, I will be angry at [insert name of favorite enemy] and I will prove to them how awful they were/are to me! Now, be honest when this is you doing this, how much time and energy does it take away from you, your family, the people you really care about? Isnt it a prison? Wouldnt you rather be free?
When Jesus says to love and to forgive, it isnt about setting the person free, it is actually about you being set free! I am surprised that Jesus does not ask, Why do you give that person SO MUCH power? I think that would be a very good question.
Jesus says, Love them!
The option to love is real and always present. The option to love is actually freedom. The option to love is world changing. (Please note that the option to love does not mean you have to like them or agree with what they are doing.)
I have never been in a real prison cell, but I have been in a spiritual one. I hope you can agree with me that it is no fun.
An invitation: Take the key of your spiritual cell, the key you have been holding in your hand, ask God to be with you and open the door and make the choice to love. Freedom.
Blessings!
________________
Deacon Tim McNeil, Archdiocese of Omaha
Distractions are often a problem for people who pray.
According to author Brendan Geary, distractions are a nuisance and gift. Our distractions, perhaps more than anything else, have the capacity to reveal us to ourselves.
We often are afraid to look inward because we are afraid of what we might see. It may not reflect the self we want to see.
In 1954 the British Parliament commissioned a famous artist to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill as a gift from Parliament. Churchill hated the painting because it did not reveal him as the war hero that he wanted to see looking back at himself but painted him as he really was. Churchills wife destroyed the painting. The destruction of the painting is the equivalent of refusing to allow ourselves to look within in order to attend to and learn from what we see and hear.
Rather than blocking and avoiding thoughts, memories and feelings that come up in prayer, we can grow spiritually by noticing our distractions and listening to what they tell us about our real selves. They can tell us about our true values fame, fortune, attention, respect, achievement and disordered attachments.
The ability to pray in private, notice what occupies our mind, and in the presence of God, look at ourselves with fresh eyes, can free us from those things that prevent us from intimacy with God. It is only in noticing distractions and acknowledging that they are part of us that we can ever become free of them.
Such self-awareness invites conversion of heart. If we want to empty ourselves of our false selves, we need to pay attention to our actual selves, and this can happen only when we allow our distractions to be our teachers.
________________
The Rev. Al Trucano, United Methodist Church
Although we are in the midst of winter, we have rain. It seems so strange, but I have been reminded by many of my friends that we have had enough snow for a while.
So maybe the rain is appreciated, as it will help melt whats already covering the ground. There is something that comes to mind with rain. It reminds me of my Baptism.
This is the Grace of God, which draws us close to the One who brings renewal to our lives. When we feel dried up and unable to function, we pray to God for assistance.
A rainy reminder of our Baptism can bring us close to Our Lord Jesus. So remember your Baptism and attend your church. God will speak to you, as never before.
McIntosh, J. Paul Age 92 Norfolk, NE. J. Paul died on Thursday, February 16, 2017, at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk. When J. Paul McIntosh told his story, it would always start with a profession of his faith: that he gave his life to Christ as a young boy and tried to spend the rest of his life becoming more Christ-like to those around him. Many try, but few have walked in love and have become Christ-like to those they encounter the way. J. Paul McIntosh did. J. Paul walked the talk. He loved everyone. He encouraged those who needed encouraging. He believed in people when others did not. When you were with him, he focused on you and made you feel important; that you mattered, because to him, you did! He made a difference in people's lives. It is not an exaggeration to claim that J. Paul touched hundreds, if not thousands of lives. J. Paul was literally a world-changer, and he did it by loving one person at a time. Whether through scholarships, financial investments and partnerships, real estate ventures, business mentoring and advice, spiritual support, edifying words, or a variety of community organizations, J. Paul encouraged people to dream, and then equipped them to realize those dreams. He believed in hard work, not just as a theory, but in practice. But it was never toil for him - he cherished every minute and received great joy from his work. Even during his last days at the hospital, he was refining excavation plans for the next real estate development project. He was a model for true servant leadership. While he served on the Hospital Board, he spent countless hours visiting people at the hospital, letting each one know that he cared about them personally, both by his words and his presence. He faithfully visited the residents at the Veteran's home, even if they were unable to acknowledge his presence, he still let them know he was there and that he cared. He was not only a leader in the mental illness community, but he always spent time with the "clients", literally holding their hands and encouraging them to live their best possible life. He helped lead the creation of the local Nursing College, but loved spending time personally encouraging individual Nursing Students. He was a surrogate father and mentor to hundreds, from the powerless to the powerful, always available to listen and advise, at any hour of the day. He was blessed to be a blessing to others. Above all else, he loved his wife of over 71 years, Eleanor (Sokol) McIntosh with all his heart. She was the joy of his life! He is survived by his wife Eleanor; children, Jan (Glen) Einspahr, Jonathan (Barb) McIntosh, David (Kari) McIntosh, and Heather McIntosh; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. His daughter LaRayne Horn preceded him in death. All who know him will attest that J. Paul McIntosh lived according to John Wesley's creed - "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." In short, J. Paul McIntosh lived a life that was indeed a "fragrant offering and sacrifice to God". We Thank God for his spirit that will live on through the people whose lives he touched. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." FUNERAL SERVICES will be at 10:30am on Tuesday, February 21, at First United Methodist Church, located at 406 W. Phillip Ave in Norfolk. Pastor Dustin Petz will officiate. Burial will be in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Norfolk. VISITATION will be Monday, February 20, from 1-8pm at the Lifelong Learning Center, located on the Northeast Community College Campus at 801 E. Benjamin Ave in Norfolk. Military Honors will be provided by VFW Post #1644, American Legion Post #16, United States Army National Guard Honor Team, and American Legion Riders. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: First United Methodist Church in Norfolk; Salvation Army Norfolk; Northeast Community College McIntosh Legacy Scholarship; or to donor's choice. BROCKHAUS-HOWSER-FILLMER FUNERAL HOME 901 N 13th St., Norfolk, NE 402-371-2960 www.brockhausfuneralhome.com
Its a Watergate-era cliche that the cover-up is always worse than the crime. In the Mike Flynn affair, we have the first recorded instance of a cover-up in the absence of a crime.
Being covered up were the Dec. 29 phone calls between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to Washington. The presumed violation was Flynn negotiating with a foreign adversary while the Obama administration was still in office and, even worse, discussing with Sergey Kislyak the sanctions then being imposed upon Russia (for meddling in the 2016 elections).
Whats wrong with that? It is risible to invoke the Logan Act, passed during the John Adams administration, under which not a single American has been prosecuted in the intervening 218 years. It prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign powers.
Flynn was hardly a private citizen. As Donald Trumps publicly designated incoming national security adviser, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be talking to foreign actors in preparation for assuming office within the month.
Worst case: He was telling Kislyak that the Trump administration might lift sanctions and therefore, comrade, no need for a spiral of retaliations.
Flynn would have been giving the Russians useful information that might well have contributed to Russias decision not to retaliate. Im no Russophile. But again: Whats wrong with that? Turns out, the Trump administration has not lifted those sanctions.
The accusations of misbehavior by Flynn carry a subliminal echo of a long-standing charge against Richard Nixon that he interfered in the Paris peace talks in October 1968 to prevent his Democratic opponent from claiming a major foreign policy success on the eve of the presidential election.
But that kind of alleged diplomatic freelancing would have prolonged a war in which Americans were dying daily. The Flynn conversation was nothing remotely of the sort. Wheres the harm?
The harm was not the calls but Flynns lying about them. And most especially lying to the vice president who then went out and told the world Flynn had never discussed sanctions.
Up to this point, the story makes sense. Except for one thing: Why the cover-up if there is no crime? Why lie about talking about sanctions? Its inexplicable. Did Flynn want to head off lines of inquiry about other contacts with Russians that might not have been so innocent? Massive new leaks suggest numerous contacts during the campaign between Trump associates and Russian officials, some of whom were intelligence agents. Up till now, however, reports the New York Times, there is no evidence of any Trump campaign collusion or cooperation with Russian hacking and other interference in the U.S. election.
Thus far. Which is why there will be investigations.
At one end of the spectrum is the scenario wherein these campaign officials including perhaps Flynn, perhaps even Trump are compromised because of tainted business or political activities known to the Russians, to whom they are now captive.
At the benign end of the spectrum is that the easily flattered Trump imagines himself the great dealmaker who overnight becomes a great statesman by charming Vladimir Putin into a Nixon-to-China grand bargain we jointly call off the new Cold War, join forces to destroy the Islamic State and reach a new accommodation for Europe that relieves us of some of the burden of parasitic allies.
To me, the idea is nuts, a narcissistic fantasy grounded in neither strategy nor history. But that doesnt mean Trump might not imagine it after all, he maintains that if we had only stayed in Iraq to steal its oil, we wouldnt have the Islamic State.
I believe neither of these scenarios, but Im hard put to come up with alternatives. The puzzle remains. Why did Flynn lie? Until we answer that, the case of the cover-up in search of a crime remains unsolved.
The City of Omaha and Douglas County have drifted apart after two years of talks about merging crime labs. The citys new plans could create a significant competitor for the county crime labs business. And that competition could one day bring both sides back together.
Consider the situation:
In nine meetings over two years, most Douglas County leaders stood firm against City of Omaha proposals to merge city and county crime labs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Sheriff Tim Dunning and the bulk of the County Board said they saw taxpayers receiving no financial benefit for closing the countys west Omaha crime lab and building a new lab in midtown.
Yet forces beyond the countys control could change its calculus.
The Douglas County Crime Lab is about to lose its largest customer, the Omaha Police Department. Police Chief Todd Schmaderer announced last week that he is taking his departments $135,000-a-year in crime lab business to UNMC.
Mayor Jean Stothert noted her police chiefs judgment that these meetings were no longer productive, because we were not any closer to coming to an agreement.
The loss of $135,000 in Omaha Police business is a hit to a county lab that last year collected $193,600 from contracted crime lab work with outside police agencies, county figures show.
As soon as this fall, the county will face a new and credible competitor for other police agencies crime lab work in UNMC, because thats who Schmaderer says he will hire for Omahas toxicology and chemistry work.
Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold said UNMC would be willing to work with other law enforcement agencies. Gold said he plans to accomplish this work with existing UNMC staff and existing UNMC equipment, with an understanding that more of both might be needed later.
That means the county labs ability to absorb the loss of Omahas business may depend on its ability to compete in price, timeliness and quality of work with UNMC. The county, for its part, expresses confidence that it can. Dunning has said the county lab could attract spillover business from the state crime lab in Lincoln, Douglas County Board Chairwoman Mary Ann Borgeson said.
The question is whether the state would be more likely to pay a county lab or UNMC for that work.
This newspaper supports the concept and benefits of a merged crime lab at UNMC. But that goal should be pursued only if the projects finances are realistic and worthwhile.
At a minimum, taxpayers would have to lease space in a new crime lab built at UNMC by either the Med Center or a private developer. So Douglas County officials were correct to question who would cover what costs for a new lab.
This isnt a new concern. Its dogged the idea from its inception, given the estimated costs of building a new lab hover between $10 million and $20 million. A clear answer is needed.
The idea of a new, independently run, accredited crime lab on campus at UNMC could bring major benefits that outweigh costs. Several local and state leaders have said the new lab would process evidence more quickly, that investigators could solve more crimes and solve them faster and that prosecutors cases could be more clearly proven.
Its a viable model, an ideal model, Schmaderer told The World-Herald. There are some costs to it, but what price tag do you put on evidence thats presentable in court, for all of our citizens?
Its also a benefit that UNMC is creating a masters degree program to train the next generation of lab techs. And the new lab would run independently of law enforcement a plus Schmaderer noted for enhancing the credibility of evidence.
Douglas County should need no reminders of that point. David Kofoed, its former crime lab director, went to prison for planting evidence. The countys next lab director, Tracey Ray, resigned after questions about how she handled evidence.
County leaders said they were interested in merging labs only if the city and UNMC came out to the countys lab at the former Thomas Fitzgerald Veterans Home and the county kept final control. So Schmaderer made his choice.
Under the new arrangement, the chief said the city would get better results for the same or less money than the county lab. The county lab may thrive in their absence. If it doesnt, as Stothert, Schmaderer and Gold told The World-Herald last week, the door to a merged lab remains open.
As Borgeson said, Whenever youre talking about mergers, the issue is never dead.
Donald Trump assured Americans Thursday that he is not acting in covert concert with Vladimir Putin. I have nothing to do with Russia, he said during his news conference, insisting, The whole Russian thing, thats a ruse.
Those statements followed the firing of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, after it was reported that Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his pre-inauguration phone conversations with the Russian ambassador. Flynns deception was notable because it suggested he had something to hide.
When BuzzFeed published a secret dossier on Trump that contained all sorts of disturbing allegations, the fear was that the Russian strongman had the means to blackmail the incoming president. But the salacious bits were so outlandish that they discredited the entire story.
Given his record, the fact that Trump denies something automatically raises strong suspicions that its true. Maybe its not. But heres the crucial question: If Trump were in fact being directed by Putin, would he be doing anything different from what he has done?
Trump has taken a friendlier and more optimistic view of the regime in Moscow than anyone in American politics. As a candidate, he welcomed Russias military intervention in Syria on behalf of a vicious dictator. He said he would consider recognizing Russias seizure of Crimea and lifting the sanctions imposed in response to it.
He bragged that Putin had called him brilliant, and he extolled Putin as a stronger leader than Barack Obama. He invited the Russians to hack into Hillary Clintons email.
Its already hard to remember how bizarre this once would have seemed for any American politician particularly a Republican and particularly a president. Distrust of Russia has been a bone-deep instinct among Republicans since Warren G. Hardings day. One of their most durable themes was that they were tougher and less gullible about Russia than the Democrats. Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan made their names as implacable foes of Soviet communism.
There is nothing in conservative ideology that argues for overlooking the human rights abuses and state-dominated economy that characterize Putins country; again, nothing could be less compatible. If a Democratic candidate had taken a similar posture five, 20 or 50 years ago, Republicans would have vilified him as a cowardly appeaser.
Nor does Trumps indulgent posture serve any obvious American interest. The United States doesnt help itself by excusing Putins aggression against Ukraine, which could lead him to destabilize other pro-Western nations on his borders. Weakening NATO likewise would reduce our influence in Europe while ceding leverage to Russia.
The Trump record goes beyond mere statements. The New York Times recently reported that phone records indicate members of his campaign team had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election. Trump has denied it, but Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov confirmed the campaign was in regular communication with his government.
U.S. intelligence agencies say the Kremlin was behind the hacking of computers at the Democratic National Committee. Flynn had been a regular guest on Putins TV propaganda organ, RT.
Trumps first campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had done an abundance of business in Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson got the Order of Friendship medal from Putin. And we know very little about Trumps personal business interests in Russia which Donald Jr. once said were significant because he wont release his tax returns.
He made it plain Thursday that he was angrier at the press for reporting Flynns lie than he was at Flynn for lying. Trump didnt fire him for 17 days after learning about the deception and Flynn would probably still be national security adviser if the Washington Post had not broken the story.
At this point, the Kremlin could hardly ask for more than its gotten from Trump. And if we cant tell from Trumps policies whether hes being blackmailed or being naive, maybe it doesnt matter. Either way, we lose.
Army Chief visits injured CRPF Commanding Officer
India
oi-PTI
New Delhi, Feb 18: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday visited injured CRPF Commanding Officer Chetan Kumar Cheetah and enquired about his health at the AIIMS Trauma Centre here.
Cheetah had sustained grievous injuries in an encounter with militants in North Kashmir on February 14, following which he was airlifted to AIIMS, where he is battling for life. General Rawat visited Cheetah in the afternoon and enquired about his health from the doctors attending on him, AIIMS sources said. Yesterday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju visited the Centre to enquire about the condition of the injured CRPF officer.
Cheetah, the Commanding Officer of CRPF's 45th battalion deployed in Kashmir valley, had received gunshot wounds in his eye, hands, waist and pelvic region and suffered a fracture in the hand, after the encounter with militants in Kashmir on Tuesday, CPRF officials said. His condition remained "critical" after which he was admitted to the premier hospital early this week, they said.
Hailing from Rajasthan, Cheetah bore the initial brunt of the attack in Hajjan where a joint team of army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police had laid siege to the area following intelligence inputs that two foreign terrorists were hiding there.
PTI
Great tolerance, the CBI is sitting idle in Goa says its SP
CBI files chargesheet against SP leader Aman Mani Tripathi
India
oi-IANS
By Ians English
New Delhi, Feb 18: The CBI on Saturday filed chargesheet against Samajwadi Party leader Aman Mani Tripathi, son of jailed politician Amar Mani Tripathi, for allegedly killing his wife Sara Singh.
The agency filed the chargesheet in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh under sections of 302 (murder), 498-A (husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.
Aman Mani was on November 25, 2016, arrested by the CBI in connection with the alleged murder of his wife Sara, 27.
He had earlier claimed that Sara died in the road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad on July 9, 2015 when they were on their way to New Delhi for a holiday. The politician, however, had escaped unhurt in the accident.
Based on a complaint by Sara's mother Seema Singh, a case was registered against Aman Mani in Firozabad district on July 18, 2015. She had alleged that her daughter, who had married Aman Mani at an Arya Samaj temple in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on July 2013, was murdered.
She had also claimed that Aman Mani's parents, Amar Mani and Madhu Mani, were against the marriage.
The agency took over the case and registered a First Information Report (FIR) on October 19, 2015 on the request from Uttar Pradesh government and further notification from central government.
CBI investigators informed court that Sara was being subjected to physical torture and cruelty by Aman Mani since their marriage and was murdered with a premeditated plan by her husband and others.
The agency also said that Aman Mani framed the murder as a road accident. "The public is reminded that the above findings are based on investigation done by the CBI and evidence collected by it. Under the Indian law, the accused are presumed to be innocent till their guilt is finally established by a fair trial," a CBI officer said.
--IANS
DMK urges Guv to 'nullify' trust vote; To stage fast on Feb 22
India
oi-PTI
Chennai, Feb 19: DMK on Sunday appealed to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to "nullify" the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist E K Palaniswami, alleging it was adopted by contravening the rules of the state assembly.
DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the state Assembly before the voting on the Confidence Motion on Saturday, also announced a state-wide hunger strike on February 22, protesting what it called was "murder of democracy".
In a representation submitted to Rao, Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution". DMK Rajya Sabha members R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan, and Tiruchi N Siva submitted the representation.
Recalling his demand for secret voting on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapal's rejection of it, he said, "Finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House." He, however, said, "The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK without following the procedure." "Assembly guards forcibly evicted us and many of us sustained injuries. Other opposition parties staged a walkout strongly protesting the action of Speaker," he said. The DMK leader claimed that the Speaker "ignored the rule that if the House is adjourned after moving a motion, it lapses". He said it was "a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution". He claimed that in 1988 "when voting on the Confidence Motion was held by the Speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House (it was) later declared as invalid and void by the then Governor".
It appealed to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in the state Assembly, focusing on the Speaker's declaration that the Confidence Motion moved by Palanisami was adopted in absence of members of all the opposition parties.
It urged him to invoke his constitutional powers to nullify the proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and Constitution. Stalin in a statement said his party would stage the hunger strike from 9 AM to 5 PM and condemned the adoption of trust vote after eviction of his party members.
Alleging that the Motion of Confidence was adopted contravening the House rules, he called it a "murder of democracy". Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin after the eviction of DMK members and and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn and hurled around. Immediately after the eviction of DMK, Stalin had met the Governor and urged him to postpone the trust vote.
PTI
Mamata condoles death of ex-CJI Altamas Kabir
India
oi-PTI
Kolkata, Feb 19: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday expressed deep condolences at the sad demise of former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir.
In her condolence message, Banerjee said with the passing away of Kabir the country has lost a legal luminary. "Condolences on the passing of fmr CJ Altamas Kabir ji. My thoughts with his family/colleagues. India & Bengal have lost a legal luminary," Banerjee tweeted.
Kabir, who was suffering from kidney ailment and related complications, died at 2.52 PM, a senior hospital official told.
The former CJI is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Kabir was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 19, 2013.
PTI
Why is the DMK continuing to oppose the imposition of Hindi? - 50 years of struggle and the truth!
TN assembly ruckus: DMK announces hunger strike
India
oi-Anusha
Chennai, Feb 19: Following the ruckus in Tamil Nadu assembly during the vote of confidence in Saturday, DMK has announced a hunger strike on February 22. The party's announcement comes a day after its working president M K Stalin was forced out from near Gandhi statue at Marina beach along with his partymen while sitting in protest on Saturday.
Stalin alleged that he along with his MLAs were forced out of the assembly and manhandled by the martials in the process. He met the governor following which he led a protest at Marina beach
DMK cadre protested at various locations across the state condemning the attack on its their leaders in the assembly. The DMK has now called for a statewide protest on February 22 along with announcing a hunger strike.
Meanwhile, the Chennai police filed cases against M K Stalin under sections of 143 - unlawful assembly, 147 - assembly for riots and 188-disobedience of government order for protesting at Marina beach on Saturday.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Sunday, February 19, 2017, 12:54 [IST]
New Braunfels, TX (78130)
Today
Partly cloudy. High near 85F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
US did not share Osama bin Laden's location with Pakistan due to lack of trust
'Blind Sheikh' who was Osama bin Laden's inspiration dies
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Washington, Feb 19: Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian-born radical cleric serving a life sentence for plotting the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Centre and other terror attacks in New York, has died, officials said.
Rahman, 78, died in a US prison on Saturday. He died from natural causes in the federal correctional complex in Butner, North Carolina, Greg Norton, the prison's spokesman, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
He had battled diabetes and coronary heart disease for years, Norton was quoted by local media reports.
He was regarded as one of the most influential and fearsome theologians of the Islamist fundamentalism that swept the Middle East in recent decades.
Known as "the Blind Sheikh," Rahman lost his eyesight when he was 10 months old. By the time he was 11 years old, he had memorised the Braille version of the Qur'an and was sent to an Islamic boarding school.
He went on to study at Cairo University's School of Theology and later earned a doctorate in from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Rahman went on to become one of the country's most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypt's secularism.
In the mid-1980s, Rahman made his way to Afghanistan, where he built a strong rapport with former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The cleric came to the US in 1990 and began teaching in a New Jersey mosque.
The February 1993 attack, in which a bomb exploded in a parking garage under World Trade Centre, killed six and injured more than 1,000 people. Some suspects were found to have frequented the New Jersey mosque where he preached.
He was indicted in August 1993 for involvement in a broader terrorist plot that included the World Trade Centre bombing and other attempted attacks in New York.
In October 1995, he was found guilty of guiding a conspiracy to wage "a war of urban terrorism" and sentenced to life in prison.
Bin Laden once credited Rahman as the inspiration and justification for the September 11, 2001 attacks which destroyed the Manhattan landmark, said a Fox News report.
IANS
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Story first published: Sunday, February 19, 2017, 8:47 [IST]
China will stop coal imports from North Korea
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Beijing, Feb 19: China announced that it will suspend all coal imports from North Korea, a measure taken to comply with sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations.
The ban will be in place through December 31, according to a joint statement by China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs on Saturday, Efe news reported. The statement said the decision was made to ensure China was complying with the UN Security Council's Resolution 2321, which was approved in late November and imposes new sanctions on North Korea in retaliation for its September 9 nuclear test.
The Council decided then that annual imports of coal from North Korea by member states should not exceed $400.9 million, or 7,500,000 metric tons, whichever is lower. Saturday's announcement comes after news reports this week that China had turned back a shipment of North Korean coal worth around $1 million.
China in December had announced a temporary halt to imports of North Korean coal, saying the move was taken to ensure compliance with Resolution 2321. China is the lone customer for North Korea's coal, one of the North Asian nation's only sources of hard currency.
The announcement follows Monday's poison-attack killing at Kuala Lumpur's airport of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The Chinese government has not commented on that crime except to say it was closely following the local authorities' investigation.
IANS
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Story first published: Sunday, February 19, 2017, 8:57 [IST]
Donald Trump continues media bashing, says all is well at White House
International
oi-PTI
Washington, Feb 19: Less than a month into his tumultuous presidency, Donald Trump stepped back into familiar turf with a "campaign rally" in Florida where he continued his tirade against "dishonest media" and insisted that his administration was running "so smoothly".
Cheered on by a 9,000-strong crowd packed into an airport hangar in Melbourne, Florida, the President said he wanted speak to his supporters without the filter of "fake news". A visibly frustrated and agitated Trump also vowed to never let the media "get away with lies".
"I will do whatever I can that they don't get away with it," he said, alleging that media has its own agenda. "And their agenda is not your agenda." The rally, similar in style to the ones during his presidential bid, came on the back of an aggressive press conference on Thursday in which Trump embarked on a lengthy tongue-lashing of the news media.
Though it wasn't clear what exactly Trump was "campaigning" for, he sought to assure his supporters that all was well with his administration, rebutting allegations that there were differences within the White House. "You've seen what we've accomplished in a very short period of time. The White House is running so smoothly. So smoothly," he said, repeating his claim that he had inherited "one big mess".
"The dishonest media, which has published one false story after another, with no sources, even though they pretend they have them. They make them up in many cases," he said. "They (media) just don't want to report the truth. And they've been calling us wrong now for two years. They don't get it. But they're starting to get it," he said.
"They have become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system." But despite "all the lies, misrepresentations and false stories", the media could not defeat him in the election, he said. "We will continue to expose them for what they are. And most importantly, we will continue to win, win, win." It has been a chaotic four weeks for Trump.
The tenure began with a controversy over the size of his inauguration crowd, which was followed by US federal courts halting his executive order that imposed a travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The past week also saw a furore over national security adviser Michael Flynn's alleged ties with Russia, culminating in his resignation from the post. Reports have suggested that there are problems within his White House with sharp differences among his key team members.
PTI
Hafiz Saeed placed under Anti-Terrorism Act by Pakistan
International
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
In a surprise move Pakistan on Saturday listed Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and four of his aides under the Anti-Terrorism Act. This would impose further restrictions on his movements. Saeed is currently under house arrest.
According to Section 11EE of the act, persons who are involved in terrorism, members of an organisation that is banned or on the interior ministry's watch list or suspected to be involved with a group involved in terrorism can be included in the Fourth Schedule.
Saeed is the chief of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and its financial wing Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The JuD is banned by the US and the US. A senior police officer told the Dawn newspaper that the Counter-Terrorism Department added their names to the Fourth Schedule on the orders of the federal interior ministry.
The Fourth Schedule imposes a wide range of restrictions on the movements and activities of a listed person. Such a person is not allowed to visit schools, colleges and other educational institutions, parks, hotels and public places, airports, railway stations, TV and radio stations or attend public rallies and meetings.
Indian officials have wrelcomed the move. However officials say that action would be considered real if Saeed is brought to justice in the Mumbai 26/11 attack case. Some officials also say that this entire exerymay be an eye-wash. Similar action has been taken against Saeed in the oast as well. This was however to protect him from action from the United States of America.
OneIndia News
US navy aircraft carrier begins patrols in the South China Sea
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Washington, Feb 19: A US navy aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea, an official statement said.
The US navy in the statement announced the Carrier Strike Group 1 began the routine patrols on Saturday.
The group included a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 2.
"Prior to their operations in the South China Sea, ships and aircraft from within the strike group conducted training off the islands of Hawaii and Guam to maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group," the statement said.
The development comes after China's foreign ministry on Wednesday warned the US against challenging Beijing's sovereignty in the region.
The area where the group is patrolling is a disputed area; China has been asserting its rule over the waterway despite territorial claims from a number of other east Asian nations, the Voice of America said.
Nations competing with China for claims to parts of the South China Sea include Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Taiwan also claims part of the area.
IANS
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Fake news website The Resistance: The Last Line of Defense published a story on february 19th 2017 titled "BREAKING: Mexico Agrees To Pay For The Wall". This is not actually true.
The story opens:
Mark this day down in your history books. At just after 6:30 AM Eastern, President Donald Trump finalized the beginnings of a deal that will see a 30 foot tall by 3 foot wide solid concrete wall along the entirety of the border between Mexico and the United States. Once the deal is signed, the wall's construction will begin and should be completed within 2 years. Trump made it happen not by appealing to Mexico's government but to its economy. In an early morning meeting at Mar-a-Lago, 4 Mexican industrialists agreed to split the cost of the wall between them, meaning that Trump was right all along: The Mexicans will pay for the wall. According to the White House Information and Propaganda Office: In return for for some industrial leverage and a guarantee against additional tarrifs against their businesses, four top-ranked Mexican companies, El Nortonia, La Dima del Vintere, Montenegro and Dos Equis ITL will split the cost of the US-Mexico border wall equally. Each company will provide $7.3 billion to the US Treasury general fund before the beginning of the third quarter of 2107.
First off, there is no "White House Information and Propaganda Office", it simply does not exist (Google it).
Second, The Resistance: The Last Line of Defence includes this disclaimer on their 'about' page:
DISCLAIMER: The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that don't necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real.
Third, no other media are reporting the story and Donald Trump has not made mention of it on his Twitter account. One would think he'd be the first to tweet about this, even before the Mexican industrialists left his office...
Despite the complete lack of proof people are sharing the story anyhow as you can see in the Trendolizer graph at the end of this article. If you notice anyone spreading the rumor around you can help by pointing them to this article here because nobody likes fake news.
President Trump selected a U.S. senator known for his opposition to marijuana legalization to become the new attorney general for the country. Jeff Sessions raised concerns among marijuana legalization proponents during his confirmation hearings with comments such as this one: "The U.S. Congress has made the possession of marijuana in every state, and distribution of it, an illegal act. So if that's not desired any longer, Congress should pass a law to change the rule."
Now, Sessions isn't just a nominee anymore. He is the U.S. attorney general, with broad powers to enforce federal laws. What will change for the expanding medical marijuana industry? Possibly very little. Here are three reasons not to worry (too much) about marijuana stocks being negatively impacted by Jeff Sessions.
1. Trump's previous statements
Remember that the attorney general reports to the president. Sessions' views on marijuana legalization aren't nearly as important as Trump's views on it.
Trump has indicated that he is personally opposed to legalizing marijuana. However, during the presidential campaign, he said, "In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state." He has also expressed support for legal use of medical marijuana.
During Sessions' confirmation hearings, a spokesman for the Trump administration stated that the attorney general would implement the president's agenda. It seems unlikely that Sessions would go against Trump's policies.
2. Different priorities
Even if Sessions personally wanted to pursue targeting marijuana suppliers operating in states that have legalized marijuana, he's going to have many more critical things on his plate. For one, there's defending President Trump's immigration-related executive orders in court.
Prior to Sessions being sworn in, Trump announced several other executive orders that should keep his new attorney general quite busy. He wants to intensify efforts against international drug cartels. A new national task force charged with reducing violent crime will be created. Trump also wants measures enacted to address violence directed at law enforcement.
It seems pretty clear that Trump's law enforcement priorities will take plenty of time to implement. He hasn't mentioned anything related to cracking down on individuals and businesses that are violating federal laws in states that have legalized marijuana.
3. The other governmental branches
What if Sessions does direct the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to go after marijuana businesses? Even though federal laws clearly prohibit the sale of marijuana, there is legal uncertainty about the U.S. government's rights to shut down state markets. Expect states where marijuana is legal to fight in the federal court system.
Then there's Congress. Two congressmen from California, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Rep. Sam Farr, have successfully pushed for inclusion of an amendment into federal spending packages over the past three years that prohibits the federal government from using funds to enforce marijuana laws in states that have legalized medical marijuana. Rep. Rohrabacher and Rep. Farr are trying to keep that amendment in place.
Rep. Rohrabacher and 12 co-sponsors from both major political parties also introduced legislation titled the "Respect States Marijuana Laws Act of 2017." This bill would change the Controlled Substances Act to prioritize state law above federal laws.
There's no guarantee that these efforts by congressional representatives will gain traction, of course. However, any actions by Sessions to crack down in states where marijuana is now legalized could allow Rep. Rohrabacher and the other co-sponsors to win more support for their bill.
A reason to worry
I don't think there's much reason to worry about marijuana stocks being hurt by Jeff Sessions or the Trump administration in general. There is one reason for concern, though.
Falling cannabis prices will eventually make it more difficult for some marijuana companies to succeed. Marijuana could become just like any other commodity. Only the biggest and most differentiated companies will survive if that happens. The biggest risk for marijuana stocks probably isn't enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws but another more universal law: the law of supply and demand.
10 stocks we like better than Wal-Mart
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, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
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NaturalNews.com 03 Nov 2022
(NaturalNews)
(Natural News) More than 10,000 abortions were prevented in the first two months following the overturn of..
Eurasia Review 29 Oct 2022
China is one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world. China's energy consumption is currently facing serious threats..
Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation, or to choose governing officials to do so. Who is considered part of "the people" and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries, but over time more and more of a democratic country's inhabitants have generally been included. Cornerstones of democracy include freedom of assembly, association, property rights, freedom of religion and speech, inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.
Rumble 06 Nov 2022
The White House issued a statement saying that the U.S. Department of Energy will continue to release strategic crude oil reserves..
Rumble 05 Oct 2022
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Watch VideoA compensation program designed to head off radicalization and aid civilians who are unintentionally harmed by U.S...
Newsy 17 Dec 2019
The Age of Virtual Reality Comes to Pass in the VR/AR Conference
Published February 19, 2017 by Lee R
The technology and gaming benchmark of the millennium is about to become official.
For the first time ever, gambling business representatives and developers of virtual and augmented reality solutions for gambling are preparing to convene to discuss industry development issues and present their latest advancements.
The Event
On April 3, the teeming capital of Prague will host the first Virtual Reality industry conference ever! VR/AR Gambling Conference is set to finally to bring in the new and now long-awaited era of online casino games by implementing widespread provision of virtual and augmented reality by operators through the deals to be closed and networks to arise at this inaugural event.
First VR Promotions
Attendees will literally be part of the first conference group promoting VR/AR innovations to the world. The Smile-Expo organized event will bring all attendees online for the first time on the current market status of VR/AR products as they being the process of building precious and lucrative VR business networks.
Two Specialty Sections
The specialized conference will be broken down into the two sections: the Developers section will cater to the creators of VR/AR innovations, while the Business section will be geared towards the operators and marketing specialists who make VR/AR technologies publicly available.
Themes
Attendees will have abundant opportunities to expand business contacts and establish partnerships that VR/AR will make introduce through first-hand information from gambling operation company reps; marketing information from specialists updating the full range of technology tools available; the latest analytical data; and the best techniques for monetizing business using VR/AR technologies.
Demo Divinity
The Demo Zone is going to be the real star of the show, as the latest VR/AR products are unveiled to the world for the first time ever on a widescale basis. The VR/AR Demo Zone will be loaded with memorable exhibits to officially usher in the long-awaited era of Virtual Reality that we have talked about for years, if not decades.
Outlook
The magnitude of this conference speaks for itself. In this case what sounds too good to be true is not only real, but long overdue!
Will President Trump roll back the tough fuel-economy rules put in place by the Obama administration?
Detroit automakers supported the Obama rules when they were put in place in 2011. But things have changed since then. Today they seem unrealistic and likely to hurt Detroit -- and it looks like Donald Trump might do something about that before long.
Obama's rules made some sense -- in 2011
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) CEO Mark Fields made headlines a few weeks ago when he said that he had told President Trump that about a million U.S. jobs could be at risk if the fuel-economy rules aren't adjusted to align with the reality of the U.S. new-car market.
A million U.S. jobs? That might be a bit of hyperbole. But it's definitely true that the Obama-era rules stand to put heavy pressure on the Detroit automakers and their suppliers over the next few years, and that really could hurt employment.
Here's the background: Back in 2011, President Obama put in place a strict new set of fuel-economy rules for all of the major automakers, both domestic and foreign. The rules tighten gradually over time, up to a surprisingly strict corporate average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025.
Believe it or not, the automakers agreed to those rules at the time, and even supported them. Remember what it was like in 2011: Gas prices were high and thought to be headed higher over time. The automakers felt that the rules gave them a clear picture of what would be expected over the next 14 years, allowing them to plan their investments in advanced fuel-saving technologies accordingly.
Those rules are set to tighten considerably over the next couple of years. That's a problem because the assumptions that were in place when the Obama team set up the plan in 2011 haven't turned out to be true here in 2017.
How the Obama rules could crush profits at Ford and GM
The concern is that the tightening rules will restrict the ability of automakers, especially the Detroit automakers, to sell the kinds of vehicles that Americans want most.
Things have changed a lot since 2011. Gas prices are much lower. Electric cars aren't selling in anywhere near the numbers that the Obama team hoped to see by now. Instead, Americans are doing what Americans do when times are good -- they're buying lots of pickups and SUVs.
That's a very profitable situation for all of the automakers because SUVs and pickups have better profit margins than small cars. It's especially good for Ford, General Motors (NYSE: GM), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE: FCAU). All three sell huge numbers of SUVs and full-size pickups, and Ford and GM in particular have been booking fat profits in North America in the current market.
Those profits have allowed them to invest aggressively in new products and technologies, helping them to position themselves as leaders (instead of roadkill) as technological changes transform the auto industry. Those investments are also creating new U.S. jobs, which is a big priority for President Trump.
Automakers have the technology to improve the fuel economy of big pickups and SUVs without sacrificing a lot of performance. The problem is that the technology is expensive, adding hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the cost of building the trucks and SUVs.
That would be one thing if Americans were willing to pay the cost. But with gas prices hovering around $2 a gallon, Americans aren't interested in paying extra for incremental fuel economy improvements. That has the automakers worried that they will have to eat the costs of these technologies.
Absorbing those costs will erode those nice profit margins. That in turn will limit the automakers' ability to invest in new products and technologies that will create and maintain all those American jobs in coming years.
That's a real issue, and it's one that Fields was talking about well before the election. Now, he's talking to a president who seems likely to hear the message.
So what happens next?
It's always hard to predict exactly what will happen with President Trump, but it seems likely that we'll see these rules modified in some way before long. If so, that won't mean that the automakers will stop working on electric cars and more fuel-efficient technologies, as they'll still need them here and in other parts of the world, especially if gas prices rise again.
But it will mean that Americans will be able to keep buying the trucks and SUVs they love without big price increases -- at least for a while longer.
10 stocks we like better than General Motors
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.*
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Public safety 1
A Vancouver police officer struck two pedestrians while making a left turn in a patrol car on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, a police spokeswoman said.
(The Oregonian/OregonLive)
UPDATE: Police ID Vancouver officer who hit 2 pedestrians in crosswalk
A Vancouver police officer struck two pedestrians while making a left turn in a patrol car on Saturday morning, officials said.
The officer struck the pedestrians at about 10 a.m. in the intersection of Evergreen Boulevard and Columbia Street, police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said. The pedestrians were crossing Columbia Street in a crosswalk on Evergreen Boulevard, Kapp said.
The pedestrians, who have not been identified, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. They have both been treated and released, Kapp said.
Vancouver police are investigating the incident, Kapp said.
-- Samantha Matsumoto
smatusmoto@oregonian.com
503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55
IMG_2391.JPG
Portland Public Schools communications consultant Anna Richter Taylor whispers to Deputy Chief Executive Officer Yousef Awwad during a school board meeting.
(Bethany Barnes/The Oregonian)
Portland Public Schools' tainted drinking water scandal didn't just reveal years of deferred maintenance, but corrosion in the district's ability to communicate with the public and among key employees as well.
Fixing its inability to communicate is a big part of Oregon's largest school district's effort to overhaul core functions to regain community trust.
But it's a work in progress, as evidenced by a recent blunder and other, broader problems that persist.
That's true, even though the district is paying a top-drawer communications consultant $15,000 a month to help Portland Public Schools communicate like a champ.
Consultant Anna Richter Taylor, who ran communications for former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, was hired in June at $10,000 a month to lend her expertise in crisis communications to a district very much in crisis. Eight months later, she's still on the payroll and, as of January, acting as interim communications chief and charged with overhauling the department at a higher rate of pay.
Despite her help, the district continues to give out inaccurate information and struggles to get people in one part of the district informed about what those in another are doing.
In December, Willamette Week was pursuing a potentially embarrassing story and the district needed to respond. Through a simple public records search, Willamette Week had found that the district's director of school and family partnerships had a 1997 conviction for patronizing a prostitute. Why had they hired him despite the criminal record?
Spokeswoman Courtney Westling told Willamette Week the district couldn't say if it had known about the conviction because it had destroyed the background check records, per district policy.
On Jan. 5, The Oregonian/OregonLive followed up asking if it was true that those records were destroyed rather than kept as part of the personnel file. Westling said yes and told The Oregonian/OregonLive the district was revisiting its document destruction policy in light of the incident.
But the district did not in fact need to second-guess its records policy.
Both of Westling's statements -- that the man's criminal background check has been destroyed and that the district had a policy guiding it to do so - were untrue.
A records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive turned up the man's background check in his district personnel filed. That form showed Richard Gilliam had somehow cleared a background check and had lied when asked to disclose prior convictions.
More confusion ensued when The Oregonian/OregonLive tried to find out what the district's actual procedure on background check records is and why Westling told two media outlets a falsehood.
The Oregonian/OregonLive asked to speak to Westling and whoever in the district would be most familiar with personnel files, ideally the person tasked with handling them.
The Oregonian was directed to speak with Westling and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Yousef Awwad, who gave new, but ultimately also false, information about the issue.
"What we have learned after the fact is we haven't really followed that practice consistently," Awwad said, indicating clear retention schedules and procedures were needed. "We are looking at this process as we speak. It's unfortunate this happened."
That wasn't true either.
The district does consistently keep background check records on all of its employees. District officials figured that out after finally letting The Oregonian/OregonLive speak to an employee in human resources who actually handles the records.
Westling said some of the confusion occurred because she consulted the district's security department, which processes background checks, and not human resources, which handles personnel records.
Richter Taylor, who was only tangentially involved in the personnel file mishap, said in an interview this month that she's thought about the gaffe a lot. It's part of a question she's trying to answer as she tries to imagine what a communications overhaul should look like.
"How does the communications office, if its job is relay information to the public and to families and other concerned citizens, how do we ensure that there are systems in place to make sure the information they're receiving is accurate and answering the right questions?" Richter Taylor said. "I think this incident shows that internally that doesn't exist internally -- It doesn't exist consistently."
Richter Taylor said she wasn't placing blame on anyone and that in large organizations miscommunications happen.
The Chicago-based firm handling the search for a new superintendent flagged communications as a "significant issue."
"The internal and external communication needs in the organization are paramount," the firm's report assessing the district said. "While problems and issues exist within the system, they are often exacerbated by poor communication."
The communications department's current organizational chart, which will change, shows 23 jobs, five of which are vacant. That includes employees in translation services.
It's a committed crew, many of whom are doing two jobs, Richter Taylor said.
Westling is the district's lobbyist but has been having to also act as Portland Public Schools spokesperson since the summer.
The department has seen many departures, including the communications chief, who quit a few months before the lead scandal hit, though ended up implicated.
The investigation by an outside firm noted that "in one significant instance," former Chief of Communications Jon Isaacs "knowingly" gave Willamette Week incomplete excerpts of a water-testing database in 2015, causing confusion, according to the report.
The district has also struggled to meet its obligations when the public directly asks them for information.
Part of Richter Taylor's job is helping refashion how district officials respond to public records requests.
Not only have more people been filing requests, but more people are subsequently filing appeals with the Multnomah County District Attorney to complain about being denied records or sluggish responses.
In November the district attorney ordered Portland Public Schools to do better, noting the school district's problems were of its own making and not an excuse for failing to provide public information.
"One thing that has become clear is there has been a dramatic increase in public records requests and there definitely needs to be a clearer process and system for how those requests come in," Richter Taylor said. "There needs to be a clear policy and protocols for public records requests."
In hopes of doing that, the district has hired a temporary employee to help process requests and take notes on what's working and what isn't. In the long term, the district hopes to add a public records officer to its communications team.
As it is, Portland Public Schools lacks guidelines about when it charges for records.
This month, the district told The Oregonian/OregonLive it would cost $100 to search for and review two documents that together totaled four pages. The documents were notices from two two employees about their intent to file lawsuits.
The district's most delicate communication priority right now is a plan to put a $790 million bond on May's ballot. For that, the district is paying Strategies 360 $15,000 a month to have former Portland mayoral spokeswoman Amy Ruiz engage the public in a way that will "maximize the chances of a major bond passing in May," her contract says.
Once the board officially votes on the ballot language, the bond will be promoted by a campaign funded and operated by an independent organization.
Richter Taylor said working with Portland Public Schools has been eye-opening as the communications needs of a school district versus a governor's office where she's clocked time before are vastly different.
"(Portland Public Schools) is a school district that provides a direct service that has a responsibility to communicate in real time when urgent issues arise," Richter Taylor said. "I'm actually optimistic and excited. It has been a very difficult period of time, and there is so much going on, there is a lot of work still to do."
-- Bethany Barnes
Got a tip about Portland Public Schools?
Email Bethany here: bbarnes@oregonian.com
Lawmakers might ask Oregonians to reconsider part of their 1990s-era property tax revolt -- and perhaps get a tax break in return.
Their proposal would unwind a 1997 rewrite of the property tax system that effectively divorced property taxes from home values to guard tax rates against hot market surges.
But over time, it's created situations in which homeowners with comparable properties are thousands of dollars apart on their tax bills. The system also tends to benefit those whose neighborhoods have gentrified since the '90s while shifting more of the tax burden to poorer neighborhoods.
"We're trying to remove the inequities that exist in property taxes here," said state Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who chairs the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee, which is leading the effort. "Homes of equal value are paying vastly different property taxes, which is just a basic unfairness we have to remove."
A solution is elusive, however, because it generally means somebody's tax bill is going up -- and because it requires a voter-approved amendment to Oregon's Constitution.
A 2015 analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed that a return to rates based on home values would lower property taxes for most Portland-area homeowners, assuming the amount of taxes collected overall stayed the same.
The proposal before Hass' committee, Senate Joint Resolution 3, would take a similarly revenue-neutral approach by being paired with a "homestead exemption," which would exclude part of a home's value from taxation. Senate Bill 151 contains a placeholder exemption of $10,000, that likely would be closer to $100,000, Hass said.
The measure also would shift more of the tax burden to commercial property owners, whose property tax rates have stayed relatively low compared with rising property values.
But even when reform might be in their best interest, voters are wary of tinkering with a system that has kept tax bill increases slow and steady.
Polling from the League of Oregon Cities in 2013 found that many voters don't fully understand how the property tax system affects them personally, so their opinion of reform is easily swayed by how the question is framed.
"Great ideas get defeated at the ballot all the time," Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, said at Tuesday's hearing.
The latest proposal still has wrinkles to iron out.
For example, a homestead exemption could have vastly different outcomes across the state. Large tax districts in Multnomah County, for example, probably would see a windfall because of its high home values and glut of commercial property, while those in more rural counties would come up short. Small cities that are primarily residential could take a hit, while those with large swaths of commercial areas could get a boost.
Such disparities could partially be addressed by tailoring the homestead exemption to each county by benchmarking it to the area's median home price, Legislative Revenue Officer Paul Warner said.
Any property tax reform might prove an especially heavy lift this year, as the legislature grapples with proposals to raise business taxes and institute rent control.
The Oregon Association of Realtors took a neutral stance on the proposal in a hearing Tuesday, but its chief lobbyist called the ideas "intriguing."
"As advocates for homeownership, Realtors understand there's winners and losers in the current system," said Shawn Cleave. "I just want to make sure we're in the room as the fine details are worked out."
Cleave said the association's members also represent commercial and industrial property owners, so any proposal that shifts too much of the property tax burden to them would be concerning. The association also opposes proposals that reset property taxes upon sale, which can discourage homeowners with restricted property taxes from re-entering the market.
The bill has the support of the League of Oregon Cities, which also endorsed other reforms that would let cities vote to raise more revenue through taxes. They include a repeal or revision of 1990's Measure 5, which limited property tax to 1.5 percent of a home's total value.
Hass said those add-ons probably won't happen, if the bill is going to succeed.
"What I don't want is to have all these technical bills or other legislators' pet projects to collectively derail the proposal we have, which is fixing the property tax system and modernizing the business tax," Hass said. "If everybody understands that nobody's going to have exactly what they want, that this isn't going to solve all the problems, then I think we have a chance of getting it."
The Senate Finance and Revenue Committee will discuss the proposals again on Tuesday.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus
FISH2.JPG
Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish
(Mike Zacchino/Staff/File)
In the same week that Congress approved President Trump's appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, key officials from Portland and Oregon met at Portland City Hall to initiate action on a federally decreed $1 billion cleanup of toxic sediments beneath a 10-mile segment of the Willamette River.
They did not need to do this, but they did, and it was smart of them.
The cleanup zone, mapped as the Portland Harbor Superfund site, is a federal creation dating back 17 years and for which an official EPA cleanup plan was delivered only late last year. But the election in November of Donald Trump and, now, the arrival of Pruitt, historically an EPA-basher, could mean almost anything for the fate of EPA and Portland's cleanup, to be paid for by manufacturers and government entities sullying the harbor over decades. Portland has been on edge for years about the scale of the cleanup. The city, along with the state of Oregon, are among the river's significant historical polluters and could bear hefty cost burdens.
Against looming uncertainty, however, the meeting at City Hall represents a bold, if not rogue, step ahead of the federal government. Asked Friday about the decision to move forward in a time of such flux, Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish told The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board: "The river needs cleaning up. We can and must show leadership on this. We are painfully aware of what we do not control in this discussion.... But the benefit is that we could get unstuck. We're not just a potentially responsible party (for historical pollution), we're the City of Portland with a river running through it."
Richard Whitman, the newly appointed director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and in attendance at the City Hall meeting, on Friday told the editorial board that site-wide sediment sampling could begin soon to allow engineers to design dredging and capping work in some areas of concentrated pollution, advancing the solicitation of bids by cleanup contractors.
The Portland Harbor cleanup is a remedial deed whose necessity went unquestioned for more than a decade-and-a-half and which must remain unquestioned, no matter what shape Trump's EPA may take. Republican state Sen. Don Benton of Southwest Washington, serving as Trump's adviser on the EPA's transition under Pruitt, told the editorial board on Friday he could not immediately know whether Portland Harbor would be affected, if at all.
Fine. Portland and Oregon can and should move ahead.
Oregonian editorials
Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom.
Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, John Maher, Helen Jung, Mark Katches and Len Reed.
To respond to this editorial:
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If you have questions about the opinion section, contact Laura Gunderson, editorial and commentary editor, at 503-221-8378 or lgunderson@oregonian.com.
Gov. Kate Brown had placed a line item in her proposed budget to the Legislature that shows $10 million for early cleanup actions at Portland Harbor. While that allocation still needs approval by the Legislature, it turns out to be a prescient move underscoring Oregon's commitment to get the PCB-laden harbor, presently a human and wildlife health hazard, cleaned up.
It may seem paradoxical, but only when the Willamette is safe for recreation and fishing will the industrial harbor realize its full value as a site of commerce and integration with the broader community. Fish noted that another of his and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's motivations in moving forward now is to "capture the economic value" of cleanup work for the jobs and potential custom manufacturing it will create.
Rounding up those who will pay could prove tricky. A clear incentive for responsible parties to come forward - invitations will go out next week, Fish says - will be to get out from under the cloud of still-negotiable cost liability. But some might wish instead to bet against the new EPA's resolve to insist upon the cleanup as configured and to hope that environmental responsibilities in the Trump era can slide, discounting their liabilities.
Either way, Portland and Oregon have no choice but to make a move now.
-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
1hands.JPG
(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
By T. Allen Bethel, Jan Elfers, Steve Moore, Wajdi Said and Alexander K. Sample
On December 3, 1956, a year after the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott began, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. returned to the building where the boycott had been organized -- the Holt Street Baptist Church.
King delivered a speech titled "Facing the Challenge of a New Age," an age he described as "momentous," "exciting" and "filled with hope." Though others, he admitted, might have a vastly different view: "There are those who would contend that we live in the most ghastly period of human history."
A lot has changed in six decades, and plenty hasn't. Democracy is as messy and challenging as ever; the temptation to chase chaos and fear into the shadows remains strong. But anger alone won't move us forward any more than the object of that anger will. Both slash at the fabric holding us together.
As a nation, our communities are stronger and more vibrant when we embrace and honor a robust pluralism. It's not about conservative or liberal, moderate or independent; it's not whether you worship at a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, shrine or none of the above.
It's about justice, compassion, respect, understanding and, perhaps most importantly, the willingness to work toward greater understanding. To pause. To breathe. To listen. To learn. To engage and volunteer. To be inspired by the spirit of togetherness rather than torn apart by the specter of our differences. To see an opportunity where others might see only uncertainty.
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Consider Texas, where a mosque burned to the ground and leaders of all faiths offered space for worship, including Jewish leaders who handed over the keys to their synagogue. Or here in Tigard, where the Muslim Educational Trust called an emergency forum earlier this month and more than 1,000 everyday citizens and community leaders turned out to voice support for the rights of immigrants and refugees and their importance to our history and to our future.
The five of us believe in honoring our deepest differences while still coming together in friendship and engaging in the civil dialogue that builds stronger, safer communities benefiting from the contributions of all.
Are we there yet? No. Democracy is forever a work in progress, and it forever calls on our best to proceed.
In 1956, in those still early days of the civil rights struggle, King didn't call for disarray, and he didn't yield to negativity. "In this period of transition and growing social change," he said, "there is a dire need for leaders who are calm and yet positive."
The moment, he said, called for leaders not in love with money or fame, "but in love with humanity."
Though the current cultural moment is a challenging one, we believe it's worth the effort to work together for the common good. And though our culture feels stacked with obstacles and divisiveness, now is the moment to find common ground and address some of the most pressing challenges facing all communities: homelessness, mental illness, prejudice, economic development, educational opportunity and violence.
Regardless of how you voted in our recent elections, we must reaffirm our commitment that people of all backgrounds are integral to the success of our country. It's easy to welcome our friends. We must remember to welcome those we do not know, too.
When we choose service and understanding over violence, civil discourse over divisive rhetoric, and faith over despair, we extend the spirit of hospitality and strengthen the fabric of friendship and community -- the fabric of our nation.
T. Allen Bethel is president of the Albina Ministerial Alliance and senior pastor at Maranatha Church; Jan Elfers is executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon; Wajdi Said is the president and co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust; Alexander K. Sample is Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Steve Moore is executive director of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a private foundation partnering with organizations that seek to enrich life in the Pacific Northwest.
Pence.JPG
Vice President Mike Pence, in a file photo
(AP Photo)
By Jennifer Rubin
Not by accident did President Trump bring up Hillary Clinton's name multiple times at his mind-numbing news conference. Trump has been in office four weeks. He won the election 3 1/2 months ago. Nevertheless, his still feels compelled to bring up his former opponent.
"We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20 percent of the uranium in our country," he said. "You know what uranium is, right? This thing called nuclear weapons, and other things. Like, lots of things are done with uranium, including some bad things. Nobody talks about that." He's unintelligible and wrong, but his supporters hear: Hillary Clinton gave away uranium. (By the way, during her tenure at State, a sale of a Canadian company with mines in the United States was approved. The sale was to Russian oligarchs. Yes, it's bad to give Russians a strategic boost, Mr. President.)
Again bringing up Clinton, Trump said at one point, "Hillary Clinton did a reset, remember? With the stupid plastic button that made us all look like a bunch of jerks. Here, take a look. He looked at her like, 'What the hell is she doing with that cheap plastic button?' Hillary Clinton. That was the reset. Remember it said 'Reset'? Now if I do that oh, I'm a bad guy." Huh? He does want to do a sort of reset, in fact. The critique makes little sense other than as a critique of her prop, but again he in effect tells his base: Clinton was bad, the worst ever.
His Clinton obsession may be traceable to his popular vote loss, which still gnaws at him. More specifically, he knows a large number of voters chose him only because they thought Clinton was worse. Of the 25 percent of the electorate who voted for one candidate because the other was worse, Trump won 50 percent, Clinton only 39 percent. She won pluralities of voters who either strongly favored or had reservations about the candidate they chose. Surely 78,000 people in three states, enough to swing the electoral college to Clinton, voted for Trump because they thought Clinton was worse. His victory depended on voters afflicted with Hillary Derangement Syndrome. Now he must remind voters why they pulled the lever for him.
Trump, like most demagogues, needs an enemy -- the elites, the press, Clinton. If he had to survive on his own merits and accomplishments, he'd flop. Press or Trump? Clinton or Trump? It's all a tactic to keep his own popularity high, or as high as it can be.
Alas, the technique has not really paid off since people tend to judge presidents in office on what they do in office. Trump's historically horrendous approval numbers (38 approve, 56 disapprove in Gallup; Pew had a nearly identical split, 39/56.) As Trump's performance sends more voters, and lawmakers, reeling and the investigation of his and his aides' ties to Russia get underway, we should remember how critical Vice President Mike Pence becomes. If things get really bad -- impeachment or some 25th Amendment "solution" -- the choice will not be Trump vs. Clinton. It will be Trump vs. Pence, who'd take over if Trump left or was removed. Uh-oh. Pence is in positive territory (43/39 in the Pollster.com average), and among Republicans, especially those on Capitol Hill, he's exceptionally popular.
If you gave 52 GOP senators a secret ballot and asked if they would prefer Pence or Trump, would Trump get more than a handful of votes? I doubt it. And that, if the facts get dicey and Trump's behavior gets wackier, will be a big problem for Trump. Democrats, as much as they dislike Pence's conservative ideology, would no doubt jump for joy if they got Pence instead of Trump. Republicans would rejoice at the prospect of a "normal' president who might help accomplish their aims.
In other words, if down the road the president continues to unravel, there may be a very big bipartisan consensus to show Trump the door. It's not like they'd be getting Clinton; they'd be getting the not erratic, not flashy, not crazy Mike Pence.
We are along way from any of that, but Trump's barking up the wrong tree if he thinks the ghost of Hillary Clinton will keep his approval rating high. The American people have moved on from the election. Now the question is whether at some point they'll move beyond him -- into Pence's waiting arms.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post
What in the world are Republican lawmakers in Michigans House thinking?
A House panel voted 7-4 along party lines to send to the entire House legislation that would reduce the 4.25 percent income tax to 3.9 percent next year and then gradually eliminate it over several decades.
The sponsor, Republican Rep. Lee Chatfield of Levering, told the Associated Press that cutting the work tax would spur economic growth and allow people living paycheck to paycheck to see meaningful tax relief. This allows them more buying power. It allows them to keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pocket.
But the reality is that is a bunch of bunk. A person making $50,000 a year would see a tax cut of $175 about $3.37 per week. Thats hardly going to bail out people living paycheck to paycheck and is a very minimal increase in buying power.
But the impact on the state budget is huge a reduction of $680 million next year and even more the next fiscal year as general fund money begins being shifted to road work and other tax cuts are implemented.
Gov. Rick Snyder, also a Republican, rightfully expressed concern about the proposal.
I hope the House will be more deliberate before taking a full vote, Snyder said in a statement. Its important that each representative has time to hear from their residents and allow them to weigh in before making a decision on a bill that will have statewide impacts for the next 40 years. Id reiterate I have serious concerns about this bill.
So do a number of residents who were polled for the Michigan League for Public Policy. The EPIC/MRA poll of 600 Michigan voters has a margin of error of four points. The most telling poll question indicated that 74 percent of people oppose the idea of eliminating the income tax without a plan to replace revenue lost by the state.
Why would residents feel that way? Because they have good memories and remember those budget years when the state was using gimmicks to balance the budget each year while it was really deficit spending to the tune of more than $1 billion. Because they are tired of roads that are in horrible condition and cause damage to their vehicles and would rather see some of the extra money in the state budget go to solve that problem. Because they recognize Michigan pension plans for teachers and other employees are underfunded and know that some of this money could be allocated toward fixing that problem. And because they see funding for K-12 public education and Michigans universities and colleges as being more important than a $3.37 per week cut in their income taxes.
Local residents should let their lawmakers know how they feel about this proposal. Perhaps if there is a groundswell of opposition, Republican lawmakers will come to their senses. We sure hope so, because Michigans future financial stability and ability to keep its promises on road and bridge construction, among other things, are at stake.
Gov. Rick Snyders 21st Century Infrastructure Commission has announced that the state should spend $4 billion more each year on several policy areas, including transportation and energy. The commission says that it has set out goals for the next 30 to 50 years.
Heres a recap of five road funding principles that we published months ago, plus three more guidelines in light of the commissions report. These principles apply to virtually all public infrastructure, not just roads.
1. Advocate for high-quality, well-funded roads as a public good that serves taxpayers interests. Taxpayers will pay for poor government roads one way or another through excessive taxes, vehicle repairs or an impeded economy.
2. Illuminate and eliminate inefficient road spending practices and recommend reforms within road agencies.
3. Retain the user-fee principle. Those who drive more should pay more.
4. Identify and recommend ways to direct more money from current revenues to roads. This means reassigning state spending from lower-priority programs to the roads until they are adequately funded. It isnt as if people arent taxed enough, and it isnt as if government lacks sufficient revenue to have decent infrastructure. The problem is that government has prioritized relatively low-value things above some of its core priorities like infrastructure. For example, no amount of spending on Pure Michigan ads or MEDC business subsidies will undo the public relations damage (not to mention the more important public health damage) caused by poisoning Flints water supply with lead. Fulfillment of core government functions shouldnt result in new taxes; it should result in reprioritizing existing spending. Corporate welfare is a great place to start the reprioritization.
5. Refrain from advocating for bigger government overall. Imposing new road taxes should be a last resort as long as lower-priority spending remains untouched.
Three additional principles:
6. Define infrastructure as narrowly and precisely as possible. To do so sustains trust with the public, keeps infrastructure dollars focused, reduces politicization and encourages competition. Broadband internet and other services already provided by the private sector shouldnt be included. Goods within the definition should fit the criteria for true public use, not merely public benefit. Government infrastructure should be limited to things that the private sector cannot supply.
7. Revenue raised for infrastructure should be spent on infrastructure. This is so obvious it hardly needs stating. Its not only foremost a matter of integrity, its politically smart. Part of the reason Proposal 1 of 2015 (promoted primarily as a road funding measure) got drubbed in an historic rout was that voters perceived that a huge chunk of the $2 billion tax increase wasnt going to fund roads.
8. To the extent infrastructure taxes cannot be based on the user-fee principle, they should be consumption-based. Once every dollar spent on lower-priority programs has been shifted to infrastructure, if a shortfall remains, consumption taxes are generally preferred over income taxes for reasons of economic efficiency.
In 2015, lawmakers increased funding for roads with a combination of tax increases and a redirection of projected revenue. Limiting the size of the tax increases was a step in the right direction. Plenty more of our $50 billion state budget could be profitably dedicated to roads and other key elements of a modern economy without having to ask taxpayers to dig deeper to support core functions of government.
Joseph G. Lehman is the president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
There is in the land today a sense of restlessness. Women across the nation have arisen. They march in celebration of diversity and civil rights. They call and write elected officials advocating for compassion and reason. We have entered an era in which women will no longer accept the patronizing platitudes of men who preach smaller government, but use their power to promote misogyny, racism, homophobia, ablism and xenophobia.
Young and old, those with years of activist experience and those who have never marched before, are sharing their feelings and joining in a glorious sisterhood of resistance. The movement grows with each new harm inflicted on the American people, with each new lie from Washington, with each patriarchal tantrum from our child president. For men, the time has come to join our mothers, sisters and daughters and help them foment a long overdue change in this country.
Women have resisted the tyranny of men before. The Book of Exodus tells the story of two women defying the will of mighty Pharoah. The growing population of Jewish slaves in Egypt worried the ruler, so he called Shiphrah and Puah midwives to the Hebrews before him. He warned them that they must kill any newborn Hebrew boy at birth. He explained to them how they must do this horrible act and sent them forth to implement his demand.
But the women persisted in delivering every Hebrew child safely. One of the babies saved by these midwives was Moses, who would eventually lead the people from their cruel bondage.
Shiphrah and Puah were summoned once again before Pharoah. He demanded to know why boys were still being born to the Jews. Standing before this man who held their lives in his hands, they told him that the Jewish women were more vigorous than Egyptian women. They even used Pharaohs own bigotry against him, comparing the Hebrew slaves to the beasts of the field who gave birth without assistance. Their ruse worked, and the midwives saved a generation of Jewish boys from execution by a paranoid tyrant.
The Bible cites few women by name. But the Torah proclaims the identities of these women who defied a king and saved a people. Whatever your religious belief, this story inspires action, resistance to those who would oppress others, and opposition to those who use fear and intimidation to justify ignorance and injustice.
Recently, men warned Sen. Elizabeth Warren to stop speaking. They explained the consequences if she continued to share the thoughts of one of our most highly-regarded civil rights leaders. And she persisted until these men silenced her. They submitted to the will of a Pharoah and abrogated their responsibility to the American people to confirm qualified and competent individuals to high positions.
Men, the time of male rule in the United States draws to a close. The kakistocracy of Donald Trump will signal an era of women leaders that will fundamentally change the demeanor and spirit of our nation. I for one welcome such a change. Groups like WOMAN (Women of Michigan Action Network) are quickly changing the landscape of participation in the political process. We can join with them as allies, or be brushed aside into the ash pile of historical irrelevance.
Rev. Jeff Liebmann serves as minister to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland. The views expressed are his own and are not intended to represent a formal position of the congregation or its members.
Today we stumble toward a war with North Korea where nuclear weapons could be unleashed either intentionally or through accident or miscalculation. Einstein's words can guide us away from the precipice.
After years of angry opposition, fiery speeches, and showy, going-nowhere votes, Congressional Republicans finally clenched their angry, shaking hands on the throat of the Affordable Care Act Obamacare as the Senate, then the House, voted to repeal the 2010 law one week before Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president.
Well, thats the alternative reality of what they did. What they actually did was a whole lot less.
In fact, the Jan. 12 Senate vote gave the green light to a later, simple-majority vote to repeal. It was a classic Senate maneuver to snuff out any chance Democrats might try to save the ACA through filibuster.
The Jan. 13 House vote was less technical and more gassy. This law is collapsing while we speak, announced Speaker of the House Paul Ryan before the vote. So, in order to save it from its own death, the House must vote to kill it before things get worse.
The House vote didnt just kill Obamacare; in fact, that was its secondary target. The primary target of the vote was a bare bones budget bill The worst budget weve seen since Ive been in Congress, said Michigans Justin Amash, a tea party leader that proposes to add a whopping $9.7 trillion to the federal deficit.
Famously absent from either repeal and replace vote was one hint, word, sentence or paragraph on what exactly the red-hot repealers would replace the not-yet repealed ACA with.
The House did promise to keep the most popular parts of the law: children can stay on their parents health care plans until age 26 and the ban that denies anyone health care coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The Senate vote, interestingly, promised neither.
Republicans, however, now claim to be working diligently on a replacement plan they say will deliver better coverage for less money and less government interference than Obamacare. Stop talking, replied Democrats, and show America what you have.
More than a month after the votes, though, the replacers still have no replacement. That is understandable because, after all, theyve embarked on a near-impossible task: Build a better, cheaper ship out of one theyve already set on fire while at sea carrying more than 20 million Americans. Thats going to be either a very neat trick or a very mean one.
Whatever and whenever the new Obamacare alternative is introduced, rural America has a lot riding on it. Especially the sick, because being sick in rural America is a bad bargain compared to being sick anywhere else in America, writes Tim Size in a recent online edition of The Daily Yonder.
A new study from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), notes Size, shows that Americans living in rural communities are more likely to die prematurely from the top five causes of death heart disease, accidents, stroke, cancer, and respiratory disease than their urban counterparts.
The reasons for the divergence, he explains, are many. Here are two: Fewer than half as many doctors per 10,000 rural residents than city dwellers and only one specialist per 100,000 rural people while the same number of metro Americans have access to eight.
Rural Americans accept these differences and most know these divides will never be fully bridged. Its part of todays rural reality; a bad part.
What no American should accept, however, is a rewrite of the Affordable Care Act that makes health care less accessible and less affordable. Thats especially true for rural Americans who started this years repeal-and-replace race well behind everyone else.
If Obamacare needs to be fixed, fix it. If it needs to be fully replaced, replace it.
Self-employment definitely has an upside. You have a lot more control over your life when you work for yourself. The inevitable trade-off is that you lose the perks that many employees take for granted, like a steady paycheck, paid sick leave, and an employer-sponsored retirement account to help you someday leave the workplace forever. I can't help you out with the first two, but if you're self-employed, then you owe it to yourself to consider opening a SEP-IRA. These tax-advantaged retirement accounts have the benefits of a 401(k) and an IRA all wrapped up into one sweet package.
What is a SEP-IRA anyway?
A SEP-IRA, or simplified employee pension individual retirement arrangement, is designed as a simple way for small-business owners to fund their retirement savings (and those of their employees, if they have any). Businesses of any size can set up a SEP-IRA, but these plans are most valuable for self-employed individuals without any employees. You see, the big catch of a SEP-IRA is that if you make a contribution to any SEP account, including your own, you have to contribute an equally large percentage of income to the SEP accounts of all your eligible employees. This would certainly be a great perk for them, but it could quickly bankrupt a small-business owner with a lot of employees. But if you have no employees, there's nothing to worry about.
What makes SEP-IRAs so great?
For starters, the maximum annual contribution for a SEP-IRA is the lesser of 25% of your compensation or $54,000 (in 2017). This blows the traditional IRA limit of $5,500 out of the water. A $5,500 annual contribution is a good start, but it won't exactly get you a villa on the Mediterranean to enjoy in your old age. The high contribution limits of a SEP-IRA allow you to tuck away almost 10 times as much money, which gets you a lot closer to that villa.
And just to put the cherry on top, contributions you make to a SEP-IRA are tax-deductible. This gives you an excellent opportunity to review your situation at the end of the year and use SEP-IRA contributions to minimize your tax bill.
SEP-IRAs are much easier to set up and maintain than 401(k) accounts. Most 401(k) accounts have relatively high setup and annual fees, and if your 401(k) account balance reaches $250,000 or more, you have to file a report every year with the IRS. SEP-IRAs generally have lower fees and no annual reporting requirements.
Finally, SEP-IRAs have extremely flexible funding requirements. You can contribute to a SEP-IRA at any time during the year or wait until the end of the year to decide how much you want to toss in there. That makes it easy to assess your business's financial situation and your own before you decide how much to contribute. If money is particularly tight, you can skip contributing altogether for the year.
SEP-IRA distributions work much like other tax-deferred retirement plans. You can't borrow money from a SEP-IRA, but if you desperately need the funds, you can take an early withdrawal and suck up the 10% tax penalty. You can roll over the funds at any time into another flavor of retirement account, assuming the new account permits rollovers. Penalty-free distributions can began at age 59-1/2, and required minimum distributions commence on April 1 of the year after the year in which you reach age 70-1/2.
I'm sold! Where do I sign up?
Virtually every bank and brokerage firm offers SEP-IRAs. First, you'll need to create a written agreement laying out the basic details of the plan. The IRS has a simple template that you can use for this purpose, Form 5305-SEP (which will need to be updated with the current date and contribution limits), or you may be able to get a template from the firm setting up your account. It's wise to shop around and compare fees before picking a SEP-IRA trustee to ensure that you get the best deal. Once it's established, a SEP-IRA will keep going indefinitely. If you later decide to shut down your SEP-IRA, simply notify the trustee and ask them to close the account. You don't need to notify the IRS, but it's a good idea to inform your employees (if any) that you've canceled their retirement accounts.
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A universitys fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even most members to be offensive, unwise or immoral or wrongheaded The quote is from the University of Chicagos Committee of Freedom of Expression, in response to campus groups demanding an apology from a speaker who used a term deemed offensive in reference to transgender people.
In another well-known episode, University of Oklahoma expelled students caught singing a patently racist fraternity song. In both cases, campus free speech was a central issue.
Notwithstanding commitments to free speech, universities have by both law and policy made strong commitments to equal opportunity. In addition to nondiscrimination in admissions and access to programs and facilities, universities are required to provide an atmosphere free of hostility and intimidation. Protected classes are a lengthy and growing list. Basic civil rights law covers race, religion, national origin, creed and sex. Additional categories include age, disability, Vietnam-era veteran status and members of the LGBT community.
Most universities are strongly committed to free speech, nondiscrimination and inclusivity. Yet the tension when the two clash is and should be a front-burner issue.
I began my 2015 classes by writing the words Je suis on the board. Students in all classes finished the sentence with Charlie. Few approve of the tasteless and offensive satire of Charlie Hebdo, but in the West there was an overwhelming feeling to defend to the death their right to say these things. Then by chance on Martin Luther King Day in America, authorities in Dresden, Germany, forbade a march against what the group called the Islamization of Europe. Freedom of speech is more limited in other countries. Dresden authorities acted within German law and Charlie Hebdo has been summoned into French courts for a number of works illegally offending religion in violation of French law. No country has stronger traditions of free speech than the United States.
All know that free speech law begins with Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech The First Amendment applies to Congress but the 14th Amendment extends this to the state action in addition to the federal government. The words are absolute but exceptions are recognized. Free speech is a freedom from government. It does not apply to actions by private organizations. In the university context, a private institution has substantial room to clamp down on speech deemed by authority to be offensive or out of place. Public institutions are an arm of the state so constitutional rules apply. Within this, though, universities have an educational mission and in that context some limitation for speech that is disruptive behavior.
Private universities, however, are subject to federal civil rights laws so rules and procedures implemented to comply with these laws bring these campuses under the umbrella of the First Amendment. We will examine the tension between free speech and equal opportunity and look at how our traditions of free speech come together with the desire and law to provide equal opportunity.
Where are you traveling on this train? And where are you traveling in life?
I traveled around the U.S. on Amtrak for two weeks beginning in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 17 and stopping in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, El Paso and New Orleans, and many points between. I talked to dozens of people along the way fellow travelers, friends and family waiting for loved one at stations, train workers. I generally started the conversations with these two simple questions.
Tereseta, a 22-year-old from Texas, worries that a border wall will separate her from her Mexican grandparents. Pam is raising the children of her nephew, a drug addict. And Machelle, who just found out about her cancer, knows this month might be her only real chance to hold her 3-week old grandbaby.
The people I've met are folks who hate to fly or somehow can't fly, people from the heartland and from cities. Each person is aggressively pursuing happiness and trying to live life to the fullest.
Here are a few of their stories, in their own words.
IOWA: 'I need to hold that baby.'
Machelle Lowe is a 45-year-old hospice worker in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. She just learned she has cancer.
"I'm going to spend a week with my daughter in Wyoming before I get treatment. Melanoma. My daughter has a 3-week-old baby. So we're going to go cuddle.
"I had a mole on my arm, and at Christmas I was here with my daughter. They just moved here six weeks ago and then had the baby three weeks ago. So she was really harping at me about this mole on my arm. It was flat, I had it for all my life. But in the last year, it got bigger.
"It's advanced. Probably in the lymph nodes. Possibly my lungs. I don't know a whole lot yet. ... It may be irrational, but I hopped on a train.
"This trip means everything to me. I need to hold that baby.
"The other kicker is, I work for hospice. I know a lot. Maybe sometimes too much. It can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing. I'm just going to hold the baby for a week. I can't think of a better way to spend the week."
NEW YORK: 'Appalachian square-dance-type music'
Mike Jarboe, 63, lives in Clifton Park, N.Y. He retired after 40 years as a journalist.
"We play old-time Appalachian square-dance type music, is the best way to describe it to people who aren't familiar with it. I play fiddle, and Paul plays banjo.
"We went to New York City. I have pancreatic cancer, and my significant other couldn't come. And Paul was nice enough to come, because it's nice to have another set of ears with you when you're getting doctor's opinions. And all the opinions are good, which is rare for my cancer. So I'm pretty happy. My doctor is in Albany, and this was a second opinion. So all's good. Today I got information on upcoming surgery. It is rare with my illness that you can actually have surgery. I'm extremely lucky.
"This has been a happy day. I'm so happy that Paul came to be my ears. When you're dealing with something like cancer and talking to a doctor, your mind goes a million miles an hour. They recommend you have somebody to take notes. Also chemotherapy tends to fog your brain. Paul was just great. He's not only a great musical partner but a great friend.
"I'm having a great time. I retired at the end of 2015, I found out I had cancer nine months later, and I am fully intent on beating it. And I am enjoying my life."
OREGON: 'I stepped up. I love them.'
Pam Buresh, 54, is a business owner in central Oregon. She's taking care of her great-nephews and great-niece; she says their father is a drug addict.
"We're going to Disneyland. These are my kids. ... Actually, they're my great-nephews and -niece. They're with me, and I'm raising them now.
"We have a farm in central Oregon. I'm raising these guys, and they're super, super great and hardworking. And super polite. They've been through a lot. Their dad is my nephew.
"Family means a lot, but not just family, but kids period. They're the most important thing, and things are really tough. It's hard out there. Our environment is tough. And then you have other setbacks with family. My goal is for these guys to do great. And they're doing great. People love them. They are super awesome. They love God, and that was there when they were very young.
"I didn't think my life would turn out this way, but it's great. What better thing could I possibly do. There's so many kids who need homes. And the meth epidemic is everywhere, across the United States, and it hits every type of family. Kids get stuck, they're left with it.
"I work a lot; so does my husband. We're very busy. They ground me. They take me back. School gets out, I've gotta take care of the kids. It takes me away from everything else. We're always connected with our phones, now with them, because they require so much from me that I have to give my full attention and care. It's healthy.
"I stepped up. I love them. I tried to help their dad out, but he couldn't make it."
CALIFORNIA: 'I want my dream to play out.'
Sabrina Feldman is a 19-year-old from Clive, Iowa. She graduated from high school last year.
"We're going to Chico, Calif. Me and my friend are wanting to move there, and we're going to look at cosmetology schools. I want to own my own salon. For school I want to go to L.A. But we're going to Chico because my friend's aunt lives there. We're only staying for a week, and then I'm going back home, and then I'm going to work really hard to get some money for an apartment.
"I like making people feel pretty, so I want to just do good in school so then I can have a lot of clients and my own business. Whenever I go get my hair done, I'm always really excited. I want to have people leave feeling like they have new hair. I always feel good when I get my hair done.
"I think it will be a lot different in California. Where I live, we have a bunch of cornfields and livestock everywhere. In California, it's a lot busier. I don't know, I've never been to California. This is my first time going. So I'm pretty excited to see what the environment change will be like.
"I've never been to a big city before, so I'm kind of anxious to get there. I hope there will be cute guys. I've heard some things about how if you go to a bigger city, people won't be as nice. Where I'm from, everyone is super nice. There's really not many rude people in Iowa.
"I really want to go to L.A. That's where I want my dream to play out. I'm not scared."
WISCONSIN: 'We're train geeks.'
Tom Schultz, 68, of Watertown, Wis., was fascinated by trains from an early age.
"We're headed to Glenwood Springs, Colo. It's a very special stop for us. I hate to use the word, but it's kind of a yuppie place. It's very, very nice. You get off the train, and walk 100 feet, and the hotel is there. They've got a microbrewery. They've got this huge pool that's heated with water from the earth.
"I'm with two good friends. Once a year in January, when it gets to be the doldrums, especially after the Packers lose, we usually take a three- or four-day trip just to rejuvenate our lives. We always go on a train for this trip. I love training. Time is the issue. If you've got time, a train is the best.
"I guess we're train geeks. You have to be one to know what it is to be a train geek. I was born and raised ... about three blocks away from the train station in Watertown, Wis. It was kind of a weird deal, back in those days, that was almost like our park. We'd go up and meet the station agent, and we'd have fun and we'd take the train when they'd turn it around. At night you'd go to sleep and in the middle of the night, the train would go by and the horn and the noise and everything, you'd never hear it, because you got so used to it. But it became ingrained in us. I've always been a train fan.
"The station agent that took care of the place back when they had station agents he died some years ago. And I went to his funeral, and his wife cried with me: 'You were the guys that he talked about.' We were there all the time as kids.
"Getting on the train, it's just a chance to get away from the rat race. You just sit back and enjoy life."
TEXAS: 'The issue of a wall, it's really complicated.'
Tereseta Esqueda, 22, is a student at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her grandparents live in Mexico; she was at the station to send them off.
"I'm here to say goodbye to my grandmother and grandfather. I live in El Paso, and my grandparents live in Juarez. They're taking the train to visit my aunt in another part of Texas.
"I have pride in my ancestry. Even if we are not physically close, they are part of me. My grandparents will be gone now for three months. It will be really sad to me. I'm sad today to see them go. ... I'm in classes now, but probably during spring break I'll go to visit them.
"My whole family is here today because we care about my grandmother and grandfather, and we've come to say goodbye and make sure all will be fine.
"I just want to reach my goals in life. I want to be a graphic designer. I really enjoy all the arts. I want to have my own business here in El Paso. My biggest obstacle in reaching my goals is myself. Sometimes I'm really shy.
On Dec. 5, 1940, two of Bloomingtons favorite sons returned home to call upon Americans to support Great Britain in her greatest hour of need.
These were dark days. The U.S. had yet to enter the second world war, France had fallen six months earlier to the German blitzkrieg and now the Nazi war machine had turned its attention toward the British Isles, the last redoubt of liberty in Europe.
The two former Bloomingtonians, Chicago attorney Adlai E. Stevenson II and Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent Edgar Ansel Mowrer, appeared together at the Majestic Theater on behalf of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
With some 600 local chapters across the nation, this nonpartisan group maintained that dramatically increasing military aid to the United Kingdom was the best way to keep America out of the widening war. Its members supported the Destroyers-for-Bases bilateral agreement of September 1940 involving the transfer of 50 World War I-era destroyers to the British in exchange for naval bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland. And they were enthusiastic champions of the proposed Lend-Lease program (eventually approved in the spring of 1941), in which the U.S. transferred arms and supplies to allied nations. Even so, they steadfastly argued that the Franklin Roosevelt administration had to become far more proactive when it came to Great Britains defense.
The group also opposed a negotiated peace with the Nazis, calling such diplomatic outreach not merely appeasement, but treason to democracy.
In 1940, Adlai Stevenson, who would go on to become Illinois governor, two-time Democratic presidential candidate and United Nations ambassador, served as chairman of the Chicago chapter of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
He certainly had his work cut out for him, as Chicago was the center of America First isolationist sentiment. The powerful America First Committee was based in the Windy City, with Gen. Robert E. Wood of Sears-Roebuck serving as chairman. And the Chicago Tribune, under the publisher Robert R. McCormick, was the leading voice for the American First movement in the country. Firsters believed the American way of life and its democratic institutions and principles could be saved only by steering well clear of foreign entanglements and another European war. As horrible as the Nazis might be, they argued, they posed no threat to the U.S. mainland.
Elizabeth Buffie Ives, who shared her brother Adlai Stevensons interest in international affairs, played a leading role in establishing a Defend America chapter in the Twin Cities. Other local members included Florence Fifer Bohrer, Hazle Buck Ewing, Eugene D. Funk, Clyde Hudelson, G.J. Mecherle, Louis L. Williams and Carl and Julia Scott Vrooman.
The local committee sponsored lectures and patriotic mass meetings. For instance, an Oct. 22, 1940, gathering at Chenoa High School featured Carl Vrooman and George M. Palmer, an English professor at Illinois State Normal University.
On Dec. 5, 1940, the committee welcomed celebrated newspaperman Edgar Mowrer as its keynote speaker for a public forum at the Majestic Theater, an old vaudeville house in downtown Bloomington.
Although Adlai Stevenson given his later rise to national prominence is the much bigger name today, Mowrer was the main draw back in 1940. Edgar and his older brother Paul Scott Mowrer spent their early years in Bloomington, growing up in a modest residence at 418 E. Grove St. (its still there).
Stationed in Rome in the early 1920s, Edgar reported on the ascendency of Italian fascism and Benito Mussolini. The Daily News then assigned him to the Berlin bureau where he diligently covered the nightmarish rise of Adolph Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. In 1933, he earned his Pulitzer (his brother had picked one up four years earlier) and wrote the bestseller, Germany Puts the Clock Back.
For his steely-eyed reportage, Mowrer was targeted by the Nazis. With his life in serious danger he reluctantly left Germany and relocated to Paris, and from there covered Europe until Frances fall in June 1940. Now, six months later, he was back stateside and in Bloomington, beseeching his countrymen to wake up and squarely face the horrors unfolding overseas.
A 40-year-old Stevenson, who in eight years' time would be the governor-elect of Illinois, introduced Mowrer to the overflowing Majestic Theater audience, calling him the sparkplug of the greatest staff of foreign correspondents of an American newspaper.
Germany wants to rule with a gangster mentality and establish nothing less than a United Slaves of Europe, warned Mowrer. As such, he called for placing the U.S. economy on immediate war footing, with the nations industrial workforce beating plowshares into swords seven days a week and three shifts a day, all in order to aid the British and keep America out of the war.
Mowrer specifically called for the U.S. to dramatically ramp up production of military aircraft, believing, perhaps naively, that it could play a decisive role in ending the war before any American lives were lost. If we could give Britain mastery of the air so Germany could get what she has been dealing out in the way of devastation from the air, he said, the German people might give up their dictator and return to the role of a civilized people.
In his opening remarks introducing Mowrer, Adlai Stevenson recalled how in 1915, during World War I, he and a few of his teenage friends sneaked into the Majestic Theater (this gilded palace of pleasure he called it) to catch a vaudeville review, including a trick bicyclist and a bewitching girl in a short ballet skirt and pink tights.
On that epic evening at the Majestic the world was in flames, but somehow the bicycle rider (or the girl in pink tights!) seemed a lot more important to me than the war, Stevenson said. Tonight the world is in flames again and I wish I could feel about it now the way I did then. It would be nice to be complacent in the shadow of an awful catastrophe to be undisturbed while tyranny engulfs free peoples everywhere; to be light-hearted when we know we cant escape.
She teased us, she tempted us, she told us there'd be a new album and we finally have something to show for it--after papering LA with suggestive posters (that looked a lot like cover art), Lana Del Rey's new single "Love" came out today.
It's as deep, moody, and dark as you'd think. Expect it to be joyfully/lessly blasted out of every Urban Outfitters in America for the foreseeable future.
Stream the track below:
A mother is in distraught and crying foul over a homework her 13-year-old son got from a teacher. The teenager came home with a handout on how to cook and inject crystal meth, which he was supposed to learn for his drama class.
Mom Delight Greenidge said she was shocked to read the homework from the teacher at the Erin Mills Middle School in Ontario. Her son was one of five students tasked to play a meth addict in a drama assignment. The teacher, who has not been identified, apparently downloaded the instructions for cooking crystal meth on the internet to give to the students, CBC reports.
"It could undo a lot of what I taught him because sometimes he would think the things the teacher says are sometimes more important than the things mom says," Greenidge said, in explaining why she's angry about the assignment. Officials of the Peel District School Board confirmed that following the complaint, the teacher was made to go on paid leave pending an investigation.
"We share the parent's concerns around the appropriateness of the assignment," Carla Pereira of the school board said, The Star reports. "Certainly it's not something we would ever recommend as a lesson plan to be provided to students at any age," she added.
It's unclear at this point if the teacher had other intentions about giving the crystal meth instructions or what other disciplinary action he could face. Details regarding further sanctions won't likely be made public as the school cited it's a "personal issue." According to Global News, the students like this particular educator because he "thinks outside the box."
The distraught mom, however, urged that perhaps a retraining is in order for the said teacher even if he's well-liked in school. "If he can't be retrained, then get him out of the system!" Greenidge said.
There was a period between 2012 and 2014 where Apple was clearly working on facial recognition software (as noted here one, two and three) prior to shifting gears quickly to biometrics via fingerprint recognition. With the advent of cheaper Iris camera modules now available, smartphone vendors like Samsung and now Apple are looking to Facial Recognition as a secondary mode of user authentication. Samsung's feature never really got off the ground due to the Note7 being pulled from the market.
The combination of the two methods, fingerprint and facial recognition, could eliminate the use of the numeric pad as the secondary ID methodology in the future. Today it's being reported that Apple has acquired yet another Israeli company called Real Face.
The Times of Israel is reporting today that "RealFace innovates in the way people are recognized, creating frictionless face recognition. The company's real-time software underlies its scalable face-recognition solutions for businesses and consumers, verifying users on mobile and PC effortlessly and securely.
RealFace is the creator of the Pickeez app: a fun, innovative way to enjoy photos. The program's RealFace recognition software automatically chooses the best photos from every platform in which the user's photos are stored.
In February Digitimes reported that "In addition to an OLED screen, the iPhone 8 will come with wireless charging and iris scanning technology." Last year Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Snaps Up Yet More Talent in the Area of Facial Recognition with their Acquisition of Emotient"
Once again we see that Apple is building quite the portfolio of patents and talent on this technology front and if the rumors pan out, we may see it introduced into at least one model of iPhone later this year.
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.
INTIMATE, INTIMATE
On Friendship & the Spiritual Life
James Ishmael Ford
19 February 2017
Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach
Long Beach, California
You may have noticed Valentines Day was observed last week. Possibly you celebrated it. Jan and I, we exchanged cards in the afternoon, after which we took off for our regularly scheduled Zen meditation group here at the church. When we returned we shared a couple of chocolate covered strawberries. Im sure a lot of people who are here today did something more or less elaborate. Perhaps a nice dinner was in the offing.
Others among our friends, however, as a matter of principal do not celebrate Valentines Day, even when theyre coupled. This holiday does have some connection to a Christian saint of that name, although which one precisely, or, even what the connection is supposed to be to that saint, is not at all clear. Instead it is well known that this festival is largely the creation of a conspiracy amongst the greeting card association, the national confectioners association, and the national alliance of floral associations. Im pretty sure we have a solid paper trail on this one, including hotel bills and photographs of smoke filled rooms.
All that acknowledged this day has become a moment within our culture to celebrate romantic love. And, you know, thats a worthy thing, even if it does at the same time play into the nefarious hands of the greeting card manufacturers, candy makers, and florists.
Now, if were a little lucky, this holiday also inclines us to reflect some on the nature of love. Nearly always I find that a good thing. Love is, as you may have heard, a many splendored thing. In fact romantic love is just one, a very important one, but still one among many aspects of a larger mystery that is key, I believe, to our humanity.
And so today, I find myself thinking about that range of meanings encompassed within that one word we use, love. As anyone who has studied the New Testament knows the Greeks actually had four terms for aspects of what we in English cram together into that single word. The big ones are eros, erotic or romantic love, and agape, what we usually think of as Divine love. Given less attention, but nonetheless completely within the family of love, are storge, affection or familial love, and philia, or friendship.
The Christian apologist C. S. Lewis wrote a delightful if occasionally eccentric study of these titled the Four Loves, which if youve not read, I do commend to you. One of his theses in that book is that these loves each inform the other. And I am really taken with that. I believe as we look at one kind of love, each of the others are illuminated and illuminate the whole of the dynamic human experience of intimacy. And thats what its all about. Another word for love is intimacy.
That said I find myself particularly drawn to an aspect of love that has gotten pretty mixed up of late. Today I would like to reflect a little on the nature of philia, of friendship. Looking at it, I believe, can illuminate the whole project of love, complicated, messy, and ultimately necessary.
Its now been a bunch of years, but I remember it clearly. I received an email from a member of the congregation I was then serving in Massachusetts. It was an invitation to become her Facebook friend. While Id never before that moment given any thought to joining a web based social network, I found this invitation was just so sweet. It made me smile. I mean how long has it been since youve been asked by someone to be their friend?
So, I followed the link that had been provided and filled out the required form to join Facebook. However as I came to the part that asked if I would like to invite my email address book to be Facebook friends, as well; before I actually had finished reading the question and absorbing its meaning, I had already pushed the yes button. Pretty close to instantly I had a few more than four hundred friends. I put scare quotes around that word friends, and will return to that point in a moment. Today, a fistful of years later, I have something in excess of four thousand Facebook friends. In part, its because Im an author and these days a Facebook presence is pretty much required of anyone trying to hawk a book. Still, a lot of that number of Facebook friends is just because, well, because life happens.
Now, and this is connected, another aspect of my electronic life are the various list serves to which I belong, some official, most not, for the most part these days as special groups on Facebook, which today is the king of these things. Anyway, among these list serves, mostly hosted by Facebook are several for Unitarian Universalist ministers. I dont follow any of them closely. To be brutally honest about it, they can be phenomenally boring, when not just plain silly. In fact I tell seminarians to join the official email listserv as soon as they are allowed, if for no other reason than that following what people post will assure the seminarians how if some of these characters can be ministers, then there should be little doubt, so can they.
And, of course, not everything that is posted is a waste of time. So, I quickly scan the messages to at least see if my name has appeared, hopefully without an epithet attached. And over the years I have seen how there are patterns of a sort. We return over and over to one subject or another on these lists following some mysterious rhythm, probably related to the alignment of the stars. Among these regular subjects are flurries of queries and responses as to whether ministers should respond positively to Facebook friending requests from congregants. And related to it, should one unfriend people when they leave a congregation?
The concern is that in seminary theyd all been told there are two opinions about whether a minister can have friends within the congregation they serve. The larger majority opinion is that one may not. The minority opinion is that it is excruciatingly difficult. This, at least, is not a silly question. These writers, not all brand new ministers, are worried whether becoming Facebook friends would or could compromise their ministries. And whether remaining friends after leaving a congregation would compromise their successors ministry? Real questions.
However, first we need to ask who is a friend? A dear friend once gave me a good working definition. He said a friend is someone who will help you move. Being of a somewhat jaundiced nature he immediately added how a real friend will help you move a body. I suggest as sweet as the Facebook term friend is, no one should assume a Facebook friend will ever help you move, furniture or body. Its all pretty lightweight stuff. Or, is to all but the most naive.
On Facebook, for the most part, were actually talking about a different category of relationship. Think acquaintance. A sturdy and useful term that sadly has fallen out of common use. Were afraid of insulting someone by calling them an acquaintance, so we pretend friend. But, really, within most of our relationships were not talking about moving, furniture or bodies. And Facebook is a perfect example of that much looser connection. And so for my minister colleagues worried about friending or defriending on Facebook, I suggest, get a grip.
Of course for all of us the invitation buried within this is to try to get some perspective on what friendship is, as well as what it is not. Friendship is in fact more complicated than helping us move whatever. No doubt friendship as we use it, is a mutable term with casual and more profound meanings.
And with that lets turn to what Buddhism might have to say on the subject. Well be getting a lot of that sort of thing over these next couple of months. In fact, the Buddhist tradition has next to nothing to say about romantic love. Well, other than to avoid entanglements, if you can. The tradition is big on monasticism. But, it does have something to say about friendship. In fact theres a story from the Upaddha Sutta, one of the Buddhist scriptures that goes right to it. Heres my paraphrase of the text.
One day while walking quietly together, out of the silence the Buddhas attendant Ananda declared, Teacher, to have companions and comrades on the great way is so amazing! I have come to realize that friendship is fully half of an authentic spiritual life. They proceeded along quietly for a while more, before out of that silence the Holy One responded. No, dear one. Without companions and comrades, no one can live into the deep, finding the true harmonies of life, to achieve authentic wisdom. To say it simply, friendship is the whole of the spiritual life.
In my last settlement before retiring from parish ministry, near the end, I received a note from one of the congregation describing some desires for what would become her memorial service. In it in passing she mentioned how she saw me as one of her friends. And, she was right. With all the complications, all the difficulties, all the ways we fail each other when we try to be friends, yes. Yes.
The Buddha tells us friendship is in fact the whole of the spiritual life. And, you want to know something? The Buddha was right. It is all bound up together. And at the same time dividing out the four loves helps us get some perspective on the dynamic of it all. So, agape, divine love, or as I see it our individual experience of the whole, cant be understood without experiencing in some degree each of the other three. Here we find some of how all the loves inform one another. Some examples. Erotic love without a sense of affection inevitably becomes abusive. Familial love that doesnt extend beyond the boundaries of the house is narrow and tribal. And sadly, so sadly, we know what evils follow narrow, tribal loves.
Any friendship that isnt informed by all these aspects, all the dynamic variations of affection, misses its real value. Divine love informs erotic love which informs affection which informs friendship which informs all the others. We live in a multi-causal universe, and nowhere is this truth more obviously so than in how we engage and must engage our friendships.
Friendship has many faces, is complex. And there are no real lists of how one can do this. Boundaries are part of it. Thats important. And, so I repeat: boundaries are part of it. As is abandon. Getting the mix right is hard. And, me, Ive experienced getting it wrong a lot. But to have a worthwhile life, to live a life worth living, the mysteries of love becomes a dance we must give ourselves to, even if it means stepping on a toe now and again, or having our own foot trod on.
The mysteries of love. The truth of friendship. Intimate. Intimate.
To summarize. Take a chance. Be a friend. The healing of your own heart is deeply connected to it, as is within the mystery of intimacy, of true love, the healing of this world.
Its that important. Its the whole of the spiritual life.
Amen.
CAJON VALLEY >> Six months ago, the Blue Cut Fire ravaged the West Cajon Valley, charring hillsides and leaving only nubs of Joshua trees and scrub brush. By the time it was extinguished, more than 37,000 acres had burned.
On Friday, massive rainfall turned the region into a muddy, flooded mess, with more than a dozen cars reported stuck in flash floods and one flood-related death in nearby Victorville.
Arturo Hernandez, who has lived in the valley for more than 20 years, credited a retaining wall built three years ago for saving his property from Fridays mudslides and flooding.
The water went here and the water went there, he said Saturday afternoon, pointing at the edges of his property, but none of it went through.
Related:
Rain and snow totals from Fridays storm
4 southbound lanes now open on storm-damaged 15 Freeway in Cajon Pass
Storm reveals weak spots in Southern Californias road network
His front drive had been turned into a thick ramp of silt and, across Highway 138, a toy tractor and what appeared to be a road sign were part of the debris threatening to fall into a 5-foot deep ravine carved by running water the night before.
Hernandez was trapped in the house alone Friday night, unable to get to work in Fontana, and his family unable to get up the closed 138 to him. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department had announced a voluntary evacuation for the area.
It was enough to make some of his neighbors call it quits. Some of the other residents of the little cluster of houses off the 138 will be moving, they told him.
But not Hernandez.
No, I love it here, he said.
The California Department of Transportations decision to close much of 138 was a boon to the nearby Best Western hotel. Normally half-booked on a Friday night, it was full Friday, according to a clerk who declined to give his name.
It was less good news for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, when they saw a newly purchased fire engine, parked on the shoulder of the Interstate 15, collapse through the asphalt and fall more than 20 feet into a rain-carved ravine that had eroded the earth beneath the southbound freeway away. All three firefighters on board got safely out of the truck before a 200-foot-long section of the roadway collapsed.
The fire truck fell almost directly across the 15 freeway from a McDonalds restaurant that was badly damaged during the Blue Cut Fire months before. The restaurant which, along with other nearby businesses, closed Friday due to power outages and flooding is now restored, but the freeway will likely take longer to repair.
The heavy damage to roadways and mud and debris flows on the intact roads meant much of 138 and part of the 15 were closed on Saturday.
California Highway Patrol Officer Doug Corbett spend much of the day turning motorists away from taking 138 east toward Silverwood Lake and Hesperia.
Most motorists were understanding, he said.
Theyre mostly just confused about where to go, he said.
The answer: Back onto the 15 freeway and through the streets of Hesperia, the long way around.
Residents and visitors hoping to go to Wrightwood and other mountain communities had to take a similarly circuitous route to get to their destinations, as Caltrans had blocked off the westbound 138 to all but essential personnel. One Caltrans worker, who declined to give his name, said he spent 14 hours working in the area Friday night.
Most days of the week, Rumaldo Gonzalez stands near the Riverside Home Depot, trying to find work to provide for his family.
Lately, though, his opportunities have decreased.
Gonzalez, an immigrant from Guatemala, attributes that to President Donald Trump. He said people have been more hesitant to hire day laborers following the election.
Those who support us, give us work. But those who are with Donald Trump, dont, Gonzalez said. Work here has stopped.
Day laborers, who offer their services as painters, roofers, builders, tile workers and movers are some of the most visible immigrants in society.
Because many are undocumented, activists say that makes them easy targets for federal immigration officers.
Day laborers are the most vulnerable in our community right now because they congregate in (street) corners; theyre looking for jobs, said Javier Fernandez, director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice. Theyve become more vulnerable to these types of raids.
ICE Response
But Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stressed that her agency does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately.
ICEs week-long operation that started Feb. 6 was part of a series of nationwide raids netting more than 680 immigrants across the nation. Authorities said the operation targeted public safety threats in six Southern California counties. Ninety-four percent of those arrested in the region had criminal convictions ranging from identity theft to drug trafficking and sexual assault.
According to Kice, the majority of arrests made by ICE Fugitive Operations officers occur at or near the homes of their targets, not day labor centers.
As for the Border Patrol, which falls under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), most of their work is performed in the immediate border area, the agency said in a statement.
However, they noted that Border Patrol agents have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence anywhere in the country.
Its a myth that were here terrorizing people at Home Depots, said a CBP source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There have been incidents in the past but were focused on our primary mission, which is protecting the border.
Reasons behind the fear
Fueling the unease are Trumps repeated vows to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Just days after taking office, he signed a sweeping executive order that allows most undocumented immigrants to be prioritized for deportation.
Theres also general insecurity in the community after ICE arrested some immigrants who had been convicted of lower level crimes, such as using an improper Social Security number, rather than more serious ones, said Manuel Pastor, director of the University of Southern California Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.
According to Pastor, there is overall uncertainty about the communitys fate, which has many immigrants on edge.
One of the things that all of us have become more careful about is predicting what Trump and the Trump administration will do, Pastor said. Its both much worse than anyone thought and much weirder than anyone thought.
Community support
At a pickup site for day laborers in Signal Hill, workers said through a translator that they were not afraid of being targeted by immigration authorities, with some citing support from the city and its police department.
A decade ago, community activists worked with officials to set up an area outfitted with two portable toilets and a shaded structure where day laborers meet each morning. The workers gather around 7 a.m. in the back of a Home Depot parking lot where a man, paid by the city, manages the workers using a lottery-like system, according to Jose A. Hernandez, who manages the site.
Benjamin Wood of the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, which operates the Pomona Day Labor Center, said most of the workers at that communitys city-designated center are regularly instructed on their rights and know they have access to legal resources. They even do role-playing exercises so they know what to do or say when approached by a federal officer or agent, he said.
I think the mood at the center is probably a lot less on edge than the rest of the community that is not as well informed and is really in a state of panic, especially when they hear rumors about ICE being in the area, Wood said. The center also has regular contact with workers at three other informal hiring sites in Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside and San Bernardino, which Wood believes are more vulnerable to things like Border Patrol arrests, as have happened in the past.
Staff writer Alejandra Molina contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: bgazzar@scng.com@bgazzar on Twitter
Joey Aszterbaum chants with protesters as they march along Florida Avenue in Hemet from the Hemet Democratic Headquarters to City Hall during a solidarity rally for immigrants and undocumented residents Saturday.
Pomona police are looking for a man who stabbed an Ontario man early Sunday, Feb. 19, according to a police news release.
A local hospital called police about 12:30 a.m. Sunday to report that a 22-year-old stabbing victim had walked into the emergency room alert, cooperative and in stable condition, the news release states.
The victim told police he was stabbed by an unknown man after parking his vehicle in downtown Pomona. The news release does not specify the address, stating that officers are searching for a possible crime scene.
Police ask anyone with information about the stabbing to call the department at 909-620-2085 or the anonymous LA Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-222-8477.
76th anniversary
Arthur and Rae Bassett of Hemet are celebrating 76 years of marriage.
The two were married at a Danish Lutheran church in Los Angeles. They have six children, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Arthur was in the Army and served in Europe during WWII. He was a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Los Angeles for 30 years before retiring in 1979.
Rae was a production worker for Reuland Electric Co. in the City of Industry for 21 years. She retired a year after her husband.
The two enjoy going to the beach and watching sunsets.
Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
Paramount Chiefs of the Nzema Manle Council in the Western Region have strongly opposed the appointment and a possible confirmation of Dr Ben Asante as Chief Executive officer of the Ghana National Gas Company Limited.
President Akufo-Addo appointed Dr. Asante as caretaker CEO of Ghana Gas when former CEO of the company, Dr. Sipa Yankey stepped down.
At a press conference held at the palace of the Nsein Traditional area, Chiefs from various traditional areas argued that Dr. Asante has bad human relations with both the Chiefs and people in the area.
They also cited the failure of Ghana Gas to pay adequate compensation to farmers whose farms were destroyed during the construction of the Ghana Gas Company of which Dr. Asante was a lead member.
According to them, one Professor Sagary Nokoe best fits the position because he understands the socio-cultural, economic, security, political and environmental dynamics of the terrain
They insisted that should the President refused the concerns brought to the fore will in a long way sever the ties that bind us the people of Nzemaland to your party and leadership.
Source: kasapafmonline.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
22 people have been hospitalised after overdosing on what is believed to be the synthetic drug GHB at a Melbourne dance party last night.
A total of 30 people were treated at Electric Parade Music Festival in Melbournes Sidney Myer Music Bowl last night, an event which Ambulance Victoria State Health Commander Paul Holman described as awash with drugs:
The majority of those treated by paramedics had overdosed on GHB. We have transported 22 young people from that event alone and were now up to 30-plus from that event and across the city all with GHB overdoses, all critically ill. Its the highest number of overdoses we have seen at a music event for some time Theres always a risk that theyre going to die, and that we havent seen that tonight is probably good luck rather than anything else..
Ambulances took the 22 people, many of whom are described as critical, to the Alfred, Royal Melbourne and St Vincents hospitals.
GHB, a depressant usually taken in the form of a colourless, odourless liquid, can cause memory lapses, drowsiness, dizziness and headaches even in less-severe cases.
Overdose symptoms can include vomiting, sweating, irregular breathing, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, blackouts and seizures.
#electricparade #neelix #givetrenceachence A post shared by T ?? (@dougunuttt) on Feb 18, 2017 at 3:54am PST
A Victoria Police spokeswoman has also said officers arrested 40 people, 33 men and seven women, at the festival, including a man charged and remanded overnight after he was allegedly found with ecstasy, cocaine, MDMA, LSD, ketamine and cannabis.
Of those arrested, 28 people received diversions and two received cannabis cautions.
And as the ABC reports, even an emergency of this size isnt enough to change our outdated drug laws. Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said that, while their harm reduction efforts have clearly not been effective, the party has no plan to introduce pill testing:
This was a tragedy of the proportions that we have not seen when it comes to drug overdoses at these kind of events. What we need to do is ramp up our harm reduction efforts, the $192 million that we spend on all sorts of programs around peer support work. Getting the right messages about safe behaviour are clearly not working and we will consider how we have to do more.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has contacted Electric Parade Music Festival organisers for comment.
Source: News.com.au / ABC.
Photo: Instagram / electricparadefestival.
US President Donald Trump did a campaign event in Melbourne, Florida overnight, which included him forgoing a tie for more of a casual potato kind of look, and using Air Force One as a background prop (which he promised he would not do).
It also included Trump telling his audience and the world that Sweden had just been the victim of an awful terror attack, the reason for which he pinpointed as being due to their intake of refugees from the Middle East.
He told the crowd,
You look at whats happening in Germany, you look at whats happening last night in Sweden Sweden! Who would believe this? Sweden They took in large numbers. Theyre having problems like they never thought possible.
Trump, discussing terror, seamlessly mentions incident last night in Sweden. There was NO incident in Sweden last night. pic.twitter.com/XtcC4PRiNU Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) February 19, 2017
The only problem is, that Sweden hasnt had a terror attack. Like, literally nothing has happened in Sweden. Theres been no media reports or government agencies who have posted about an alleged terror attack.
Sweden is extremely confused. Poor Sweden.
Former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt even tweeted asking what in the ever-loving hell the old mates been smoking to come to such a conclusion:
Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. https://t.co/XWgw8Fz7tj Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) February 19, 2017
Questions do indeed abound.
However, information is now emerging from the US that there was actually a television program of some kind on last night. Some reports state there was a fictional documentary-style film in which a terrorist incident occurred in Sweden.
Other reports say that on that particular night, FOX News Tucker Carlson show aired a piece about documentary maker Ami Horowitz, and a film hed made about the effect of immigration on Sweden.
In the documentary, it links the rise in crime to immigration and refugee intake, alleging that the government tries to cover up the link.
So um, yeah. It looks a lot like El Trumpo saw something on television, thought it was real, and then told millions of people about it in a highly-publicised campaign speech. COOL.
It certainly aint the first time he and his government have used some heavy creative license or quoted things theyve seen on TV as legitimate intelligence briefings, and it likely wont be the last.
Previous to the Sweden gaffe, Trump told the crowd that he held the event to be around among my friends and among the people:
I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news.
The Swedish Embassy has now requested clarification from the US State Department, confirming there was absolutely no high-profile events on the evening Trump spoke of and that the countrys last high-profile terror attack was in 2010.
Hang on everyone its gonna be a bumpy ride. In the meantime, please see these two extremely good IKEA tweets about the aforementioned incident:
Uncovered: the plans for the terrorist attack in #Sweden last night. RT because the fake news MSM wont report it! #swedenincident pic.twitter.com/EMh1FmsFac Liora Yukla (@LiogaYukla) February 19, 2017
After the terrible events #lastnightinSweden , IKEA have sold out of this: pic.twitter.com/Bs1XI7ffKG Jeanna Skinner (@JeannaLStars) February 19, 2017
Source: 9 News.
Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty.
Friends, the meme economy has never been more volatile, so its important to invest in stocks when theyre white hot. The past week has proven exactly why, as Twitter analysts watched the value of newcomer Blinking White Guy fucking soar.
In case youve been, uh, living your life, you may have missed the GIF meme templates origins. Ripped from a video featuring GiantBomb producer Drew Scanlon, the split-second clip comprises a tightly-cropped split-second of his bemused face:
While its pretty vanilla in context, its a veritable meme bonanza on its own. Keen-eyed Twitter denizens have used that ever-so-sassy expression to provide some ~spice~ to any number of concepts:
me: i just failed that lol
teacher: you failed
me: pic.twitter.com/VzHnjE08FK bri (@floodedlung) February 15, 2017
waking up next to my enemy and pretending to be shocked after we hooked up sober pic.twitter.com/scXKyZWZ9N Carina Hsieh (@carinahsieh) February 18, 2017
Me acting surprised on judgment day when I get told Im going to hell pic.twitter.com/BihKoL7d6q John Wayne (@abedelrey) February 15, 2017
white people: dont wear thrasher if you dont skate!! someone: dont say the n word if youre not black white people: pic.twitter.com/wIZQZHfaf8 chanel (@hslaurent) February 15, 2017
me: i want to
my bank account:pic.twitter.com/cmTq5mWqt2 jaboukie young-white (@jaboukie) February 15, 2017
Of course, every memes value has a peak, and were just reaching it. At least, thats what we can infer, based on these meta-memes spawned from Scanlons perturbed mug:
Me- I love that meme of that white guy blinking. Friend- its kinda getting old. Me- pic.twitter.com/8HW7xptjKj Gabby (@gabbylemay11) February 19, 2017
Me: I know every meme.
Someone: Then whats the name of the one with the blinking white guy?
Me: pic.twitter.com/o7xRFZma8U Brendan Bergen (@carpetislava) February 15, 2017
At this point, all thats left is for Lush to throw it on a Melbourne wall. In fact, wed be so unsurprised, we might even be inclined to hijack this meme once more.
Source and photo: Twitter.
Most of the attendees at todays Western Australia Liberal Party election campaign launch were probably ready for a scotch finger and a lie-down by the time Premier Colin Barnett rocked up. Instead, they were greeted with this. THIS.
Hands down the highlight of the election so far. I give you Daft Punk. One More Time. The WA Liberal version. pic.twitter.com/ESfmfVhJDm Josh Jerga (@josh_jerga) February 19, 2017
Thats right. Footage captured by 9 News Perth shows a whole host of party members happy-clapping to Daft Punks seminal One More Time at the decidedly un-disco event.
It makes some kind of sense why theyd choose to ride on those vocoded vibes, as the party is chasing its third successive term in power. Extra enthusiasm is probably required as Labor was recently projected to win by as many as 20 seats.
Of course, the wild cards from One Nation are giving it a red hot crack, too. Theres so much momentum behind that rabid brand that the Libs recently penned an unprecedented preference deal with em.
All of this is to say French house is preferable to the gnawing sound of silence and the fear of getting wiped out, but if they lose, this might end up looking like one of those horrific team-building exercises from some craven American big-box retailer.
Source: ABC / Josh Jerga / Twitter / 9 News Perth.
Photo: Josh Jerga / Twitter / 9 News Perth.
Mummery isn't just for New Year's Day.
The Philadelphia Mummer String Bands celebrated Mardi Gras a week early with a parade in Manayunk, just outside of Philadelphia.
Hundreds upon hundreds lined Main Street in the town on Feb. 18 to see the signature Mummer strut and hear renditions of "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers."
It was much smaller than the traditional New Year's Day celebration, but packed just as much color, great music and revelry. Only 16 string bands performed, including South Philadelphia, Fralinger, Hegeman, Woodland, Quaker City, Durning, Avalon, Uptown and Duffy.
Due to the parade's smaller size, crowds were able to get up close and personal with the Mummers, walking to the street and grabbing selfies -- or just joining in to dance.
The parade kicked off the Mardi Gras season in Philadelphia. Mardi Gras is technically on Feb. 28. It is also known as Shrove Tuesday and is a day of indulgence ahead of the beginning of Lent.
The Manayunk Mardi Gras parade is relatively new for the Mummers, with 2017 being only the third year it has happened. Compare that to the New Year Day's 300-year-plus past.
You can see scenes from the Mummers Mardi Gras parade in the gallery at the top of this post. If you need more Mummers in your life, check out the video below from New Year's Day.
Want more Philadelphia stories? Click here for all our coverage of the City of Brotherly Love.
Who says you have to celebrate Mardi Gras on Mardi Gras?
The Philadelphia Mummers strutted down Manayunk's Main Street on Feb. 18, 2017 to start the party early.
It was a smaller shindig than the New Year's Day parade, which is around 300 years old and draws thousands upon thousands of people to watch. Only the string bands participated in the Mardi Gras festivities, with the Wenches and Fancy Brigades sitting this one out.
The show was visually stunning, as one would expect from the Mummers. You can see what it was like in the video at the top of this post, or, if you prefer, by clicking through the gallery below.
Mummers are a tradition in Philadelphia, getting their start with Swedish immigrants in the 17th century. The city made the New Year's Day parade official in 1901.
This is the third year the Mummers have celebrated Mardi Gras in Manayunk. Mardi Gras is a day of indulgence prior to the start of the Lenten season. It is also referred to as Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Fastnacht Day.
Interested in Mummery or other Philadelphia news? You may find these stories interesting:
Want more Philadelphia stories? Click here for all our coverage of the City of Brotherly Love. You may also enjoy these videos from our Life and Culture Team:
house fire.jpg
Fire crews responded to a house fire Sunday on the 100 block of Frost Road in South Middleton Township.
(Steve Marroni/PennLive)
Update: Two people, one dog, displaced by fire.
SOUTH MIDDLETON TOWNSHIP -- Fire crews responded Sunday morning to a blaze that broke out at a home in Cumberland County.
The call came just after 10 a.m. of a house fire on Frost Road in South Middleton Township.
Crews quickly responded and had the blaze under control in less than 30 minutes.
Firefighters remained on the scene after the fire was put out, venting the second story and spraying hot spots around the property.
It appears most of the damage was to the rear of the house.
The smell of smoke still lingered in the air as some firefighters examined the exterior of the home and others began clearing the scene and raveling up their hoses for the next call.
There is no word yet on what caused the fire or the extent of the damage. An ambulance was on the scene, but there appeared to be no serious injuries, though there has not yet been official word.
The Red Cross of Central Pennsylvania assisted two adults with food and clothing after the fire.
This story has been updated to include additional information.
SHAMOKIN -- The Shamokin mayor will not be prosecuted on charges he disturbed gravesites during the construction of a cell phone tower.
Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz has announced he has asked Shamokin police to withdraw all 42 counts against Mayor William Milbrand who was charged as president of Shamokin Cemetery Co.
There is a lack of probable cause Milbrand knowingly desecrated the gravesites between July 25 and Aug. 5 as charged, Matulewicz said.
The decision not to prosecute is the result of an investigation by chief County Detective Degg Stark that included multiple interviews and site visits, he said.
"Accidental or even negligent damage is not deemed to be criminal activity by Pennsylvania law," he said. "The damage may be civil in nature rather than criminal."
Milbrand said Sunday he is "very pleased" with the outcome of the case and was complementary of the district attorney. "I'm glad he saw through the charade," he said. "Justice was done."
Support for him not only from Shamokin but surrounding communities was overwhelming, he said,
Milbrand was charged Jan. 31 by Shamokin Officer William Miner just before he retired. He criticized the city administration in his retirement letter.
Neither Matulewicz nor Milbrand would comment on whether they believe the charges were a vendetta.
In Northumberland County, police do not have to seek district attorney approval to file charges except in major incidents like homicides and sex cases, Matulewicz explained.
The separate investigation by Stark was initiated after Andrew Garancosky, a former cemetery company president, provided information different than what was in the charges, he said.
Miner's investigation, which included a review of cemetery maps and on-site inspections, concluded 12 gravesites were covered by dirt and two by a road used a by a subcontractor on the tower project.
Stark's investigation confirmed some gravesites were somewhat covered with dirt but that was done by the contractor not Milbrand, the district attorney said.
Tombstones showed in media photographs along the side of a bank had nothing to do with the case, Matulewicz said.
They were broken or misprinted stones that were lawfully discarded before tower construction began, he said.
"The rules of Professional Conduct guided this decision and it was not taken lightly by any means," the district attorney said.
"A cemetery is a sacred place of rest for the dead and any disruption to that site needs to be thoroughly investigated in order to determine if a crime has been committed."
Grave penetrating radar was used to identify gravesites before the tower work began, Milbrand said.
The pad is in and he said he anticipates work on the tower, which had been suspended, to resume soon.
The cemetery company is counting on rent from the tower as a source of revenue.
Cindy Stewart campaign announcement.jpg
Cindy Stewart announced her campaign for mayor of Lancaster Saturday at Old San Juan Restaurant.
(Wesley Robinson | PennLive)
Touting her professional experience as an executive, Cindy Stewart announced her bid to run for Lancaster mayor on the Republican ticket. Paul Culbreth and Frank Cabanas also announced their campaigns for city council at the event. The announcements were made Feb. 18 at Old San Juan restaurant in front of a crowd of about 50 people.
Stewart is the sole Republican running for mayor. Norman Bristol Colon, Kevin Ressler and Danene Sorace are vying for the Democratic nod in May's primary.
Stewart is a retired former CEO of the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania and Family Service Lancaster. She was also the executive director of Welsh Mountain Health Centers and has worked as a consultant since her retirement.
LANCASTER -- November's races for mayor and city council in Lancaster may be more competitive after a handful of candidates announced their bids for public office Saturday.
Stewart said she would work to embrace transparency in city government, noting that the process would be open throughout so that the administration's goals were clear to all residents. Stewart described herself as a lifetime learner and said she would ask questions and solicit city residents for solutions to problems if elected.
East Lampeter Township Supervisor Ethan Demme, Stewart's campaign manager, said she is running for the future of Lancaster, which was embodied by her grandchildren and other younger family members in attendance. Demme noted that Stewart plans to expand on the things that have worked under Mayor Rick Gray, but wouldn't be afraid to abandon or alter policies that have not worked.
Demme pointed to past elections in saying it would take about 5,000 people to elect Stewart in asking attendees to volunteer and donate to the campaign. He said Stewart is more than qualified to hold the office, joking that she has more executive experience than the span of his lifetime.
Stewart said that with that experience, she is the only candidate who has the leadership to make the transition work with the momentum Gray has built.
"I want to create our future together ... I need your help," Stewart said.
Lancaster NAACP President Blanding Watson said there will be a forum for all four mayoral candidates at 6 p.m. March 16 at Stevens College. A separate forum for city council candidates will be scheduled in the near future, Watson said.
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James Robinson | jrobinson@pennlive.com
Triple amputee biker, former baseball star beat injury and odds to get back on slopes
Zach Sherman made numerous runs using a snowboard that allows him to sit. He did so during an outing put on by Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital and two companies that match people with disabilities with devices and equipment to enable them to do everyday things and take part in recreation, David Wenner reports.
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Janet Pickel | jpickel@pennlive.com
7 accused heroin dealers charged in Carlisle, $33K in drugs seized
Carlisle police say the arrest of 7 people accused of bringing heroin from Philadelphia is intended to curb the "pervasive distribution" of drugs in the community.
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Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
House manager of Penn State fraternity at center of student death faces drug charges
State College police have charged the house manager of Beta Theta Pi with multiple drug charges. The fraternity is embroiled in an investigation surrounding a student's death earlier this month.
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'When the squall died down you saw carnage:' I-78 pileup remains under review one year later
In a span of about 10 minutes on Feb. 13, 2016, a total of 64 vehicles crashed in whiteout conditions on I-78 in Lebanon County, killing three people and injuring 73. Barbara Miller looked at what caused the crash as well as speaking with people involved in the incident.
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James Robinson | jrobinson@pennlive.com
Small towns lose sleep over state police fee: Can places like Pillow afford crime protection?
The mayor of this picturesque borough on the northern edge of Dauphin County doubles as sheriff for its 305 residentsat least on paper. That won't ease the burden of the state police fee. Wallace McKelvey looked at the potential impact of the state police fee on a small Pennsylvania community and what it means to its people.
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Colin Deppen | cdeppen@pennlive.com
Audit of Pittsburgh's troubled water, sewer authority reveals problems 'everywhere we turned'
"It seemed like everywhere we turned at PWSA, there was a problem," City Controller Michael Lamb said of the audit in a Thursday press conference. Problems ranged from a revolving door in management to lead contamination. Read more about what Colin Deppen found here.
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Chad Blimeline/WFMZ-TV
God's will vs. medicine: Does Faith Tabernacle beliefs put children at risk?
Hundreds of children have died over the years as a result of religious exemptions that give faith-healing communities a legal defense. The tide is turning, but not in time to have saved a 2-year-old Pennsylvania girl, Ivey DeJesus reports.
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Northampton County
Pa county to fix 33 bridges in first-of-its-kind project
A northeastern Pennsylvania county is set to fix 33 bad bridges in one fell swoop and, if the project proves successful, potentially clear out its inventory of 99 structurally deficient or deteriorating bridges over the next few decades. Nick Malawskey reports on the comprehensive repairs and finds out why this important.
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The USDA recently announced changes to its website that removed public information about animal cruelty offenders. In Lancaster County, once an unofficial capital to underground puppy mills, the changes could have a larger impact than other areas in the state.
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Consensus: Consumers are biggest losers in USDA's website changes
A dog is shown after being rescued from a suspected puppy mill in Lancaster County.
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Paul Vigna | pvigna@pennlive.com
Harold Denton, voice of reason during TMI nuclear crisis, dies at 80
Harold Denton was the director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation when a partial nuclear reactor meltdown occurred at TMI in Londonderry Township in 1979. He died Feb 13 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Courtesy of Pa. Department of General Services
Selling former Harrisburg State Hospital site presents opportunity to save money and make money
Holding on to the Department of General Services Annex property located mostly in Susquehanna Township with only about 5 acres in Harrisburg costs taxpayers about $5 million annually to maintain. Jan Murphy details lawmakers plans to save taxpayers here.
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Parents of 13-year-old boy killed in Elizabethtown file federal lawsuit
Parents of the 13-year-old boy who was killed after being struck by a car while walking home from Elizabethtown Area Middle School are suing school and district officials as well as the driver.
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Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com
Matt Sandusky says he's concerned with victims; hopes justice prevails in estranged brother's case
Matt Sandusky, the adopted son who went to police with mid-trial sex abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky in 2012, said Monday he's only concerned about the victims in a new case involving another of Jerry's sons. Jeffrey Sandusky, 41, was charged by Pennsylvania State Police Monday with trying to entice two teenage girls into sex acts, and committed to Centre County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail.
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Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
Jury quickly convicts state trooper who kicked handcuffed Harrisburg activist in the face
You probably didnt miss this story, but just in case, Matt Miller covered Suspended state Trooper Ryan Luckenbaugh didn't have to wait long Friday to learn his fate for kicking a handcuffed Harrisburg activist in the face. Matt Miller covered the trial from gavel to verdict and has the details on the jurys decision that came in just 45 minutes.
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Steve Marroni/PennLive
Jehovah's Witness sexual abuse cover-up lawsuit settled
The lawsuit filed against a Jehovah's Witness church in York county was settled Monday in a confidential agreement. Most of the details remain sealed, but here's what PennLive reporter Steve Marroni was able to find out.
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Christine Vendel
Harrisburg announces new pay-by-phone parking service with $1 happy-hour rates downtown
Christine Vendel found out that Harrisburg is ditching Pango at the end of the month in favor of Parkmobile, a different mobile phone application, that will offer $1 hourly parking from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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Here are a few slideshows you might have missed:
A new New Cumberland?
I-78 fatal pileup anniversary: Recreating the crash
Sex crimes, Penn State's must-win game, vandalism and God: Biggest stories in Pa.
Harrisburg's 2016 crime statistics are in, and the results may surprise you
Kitten thrown in toilet; officers bitten; girlfriend left at crime scene: Offbeat Police Blotter
house fire.jpg
Two people and a dog were displaced after a house fire in South Middleton Township Sunday.
(Steve Marroni, PennLive.com)
No one was injured, but two people and their dog were displaced after a Sunday-morning house fire in South Middleton Township.
Chief Tim Yingst of the Citizen's Fire Company No. 1 in Mount Holly Springs said about six or seven departments were called to the two-alarm blaze on the 100 block of Frost Road.
Though a damage estimate is not yet available, he said the home was mostly destroyed by the fire and is unlivable.
"It's under investigation right now," Yingst said about the cause of the fire. "It definitely started on the rear porch and burned into the house from the outside."
The fire burned into the kitchen and up into the crawl-space attic of the split-level home.
Flames had fully engulfed the house when firefighters arrived. It took about 45 minutes to get the fire under control.
The American Red Cross of Central Pennsylvania assisted the residents with food and clothing.
CONESTOGA -- A 60-degree day and clear skies served as the backdrop for the first day of an indefinite protest against the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Conestoga.
The protest was originally billed as a weekend campout at the "The Stand" but organizers said they will remain at the protest site as long as necessary to stop the pipeline. More than 50 people came out to the camp at the cornfield in Conestoga as of Saturday afternoon, with many traveling to Kennett Square for a fundraiser before coming to the camp.
Once complete, newly extracted gas would flow into Williams' existing 10,500-mile Transco pipeline that runs from New York to the Gulf of Mexico.
Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, a co-founder of Lancaster Against Pipelines, said the organization has been protesting Williams since March 2014, adding that it is an injustice that the community doesn't have the right to legally stop the pipeline even though it affects them. She said nothing will change unless people speak up and protest the pipeline that protesters feel has nothing but private gain for a corporation.
"They have more power to exploit and destroy the lives and the health and safety of residents of this country than those communities, like ours, have the right to protect themselves," Harnish Clatterbuck said. "It's an injustice that I just can't even believe we have to deal with in America. It's not the democracy that I have grown up believing in and it's not the democracy that I think most Americans think we live under until the pipeline comes through their backyard, they're not aware of the injustices that are taking place."
Harnish Clatterbuck said the no one will be allowed at the encampment with alcohol, drugs or weapons. She added that non-violence is the core of the movement and said that most of the people involved are just regular residents, not activists, who are just tired of being violated and exploited by industry.
"We just can't afford to have people get out of control," Harnish Clatterbuck said.
If completed, the pipeline will transport 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day from shale fields to the north and west across central Pennsylvania. Condemnation efforts to obtain rights of way and temporary easements for the $3 billion project began this week, following last Friday's final approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
In addition to the roughly 200 miles of new pipeline, the Atlantic Sunrise project calls for the creation of two new compressor stations and various other infrastructure components to help push gas from the Marcellus Shale fields to markets along the eastern seaboard.
Nick Martin, an organizer with Lancaster Against Pipelines, said the tentative plan is to use the camp as a home base and then protestors will move near construction.
"If we don't stop this one there is more on the way," Martin said, pointing a possibility of more pipelines to transport natural gas.
David Jones said he's protesting the pipeline because it's a flashpoint of several issues: fracking, eminent domain, water contamination, and the archaeological implications in the area. He pointed to meetings where internationally know archaeologist, Chris Bergman, explained to Williams' staff that there is plenty of archaeological value to be had.
"We will be here as long as it takes," Jones said, echoing sentiments of Harnish Clatterbuck and Martin on Saturday.
Jones was emphatic in saying the pipeline isn't for public good. He said energy companies should be developing infrastructure for wind and solar power, not working to move the excess of excess of natural gas to sell across the country and abroad.
Dan Michael agreed with Jones, also explaining his frustration with tax breaks and a lack of responsibility on the companies in the pipeline agreement. Michael wondered if there would be any benefit to the people instead of for private company profit for Oklahoma-based Williams.
The property owner where the encampment is set up was served with eminent domain papers on Saturday, so organizers and protesters are expecting the fight to escalate in the near future as the case moves through court. Martin, a Mennonite, said several hundred people are signed up to participate in the non-violent civil disobedience. He said he expects more participation on weekends, but added that there will be a constant presence of protestors for the foreseeable future.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is asking more than a dozen agencies, organizations and individuals to preserve communications related to the panel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Shortly after Donald Trump questioned President Barack Obama's legitimacy as a U.S. citizen, he challenged his academic record.
"I heard [Obama] was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?" Trump said in an April 2011 interview with The Associated Press. "I'm thinking about it, I'm certainly looking into it. Let him show his records."
During the February 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said, "The people that went to school with him, they never saw him, they don't know who he is. It's crazy."
Pulitizer Prize-winning website Politifact rated Trump's statement as a "pants on fire" lie.
All queries and the Politifact report show Obama's time at those Ivy League schools was well documented and represented honestly.
Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983 with a degree in political science and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991. He was also the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
University of Pennsylvania records and documents uncovered by the school's student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, show it's President Trump's academic record that is now in question.
For decades, the national media has reported that Trump graduated "first in his class" at Wharton, often confusing his undergraduate degree with the Ivy League university's top-ranked MBA program.
In 1973 and 1976, the New York Times reported that Trump graduated first in his class in 1968 from the Wharton School of Finance.
During campaign stops in Pennsylvania, Trump frequently said he was "a very smart guy" and knew the state well because he went to Wharton.
When PennLive tried to delve into his academic record in the summer, a school spokesman said it's university policy to not release such information other than confirming graduation.
In Gwenda Blair's 2001 book, "The Trumps: Three Generations of Builders and a President," she said Trump transferred into Wharton from Fordham University with help from family connections. The president's older brother, Freddy Trump, knew an admissions counselor at Wharton, she said.
That book and some reports in the 1980s claimed Trump didn't graduate first in his class and didn't graduate with honors.
A 1968 commencement program shared Friday by the Daily Pennsylvanian backs that up. It shows that Trump graduated from the undergraduate school of finance and commerce, but he did not graduate at the top of his class or with honors.
The Daily Pennsylvanian also interviewed alumni from Trump's graduating class. Some remembered him as professional, focused and "different from the rest of his class."
Others suggested he was always more interested in real estate in New York than his time at Penn.
Trump's media team has not responded to questions from PennLive about his time at Wharton since April.
Donald Trump, Michael Flynn
In this Sept. 6, 2016, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he speaks with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn during a town hall in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
By Charlie Gerow
There's an old axiom in crisis management that the coverup is always far more damaging than the underlying act.
Republican strategist Charlie Gerow (PennLive file)
That truth was in full evidence in the case of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn whose abrupt resignation as national security advisor marked the shortest tenure in the history of the office.
Because his post did not require Senate confirmation, Gen. Flynn took office along with the new President on January 20.
He was asked to resign by the President just 24 days later, after misleading key administration officials, including the Vice President of the United States, about details of his communications with Russian diplomats.
To mislead or even outright lie to the Vice President of the United States and allow him to go on national television and repeat, in good conscience, the misinformation he had received, is an unpardonable political sin.
Flynn's termination was assured the minute he did that.
The president's chief spokesman, Sean Spicer, said, "The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation in a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for General Flynn's resignation."
The White House was very clear that the resignation was a matter of trust and not of law.
Some had suggested that General Flynn's actions may have violated a statute from the early days of the Republic known as The Logan Act.
The Logan Act is essentially a dead letter; there have been no convictions under it. That's because there have been no prosecutions and only a sole indictment--a truly bizarre story worth looking up--in the more than 200 years it's been on the books.
The White House Counsel first determined that there had been no violation of statutory law.
That left the question of whether or not Flynn still enjoyed the full confidence and trust of the President of the Untied States. He did not.
Good crisis managers know that within every crisis is opportunity.
There are three critical opportunities rising out of the Flynn resignation: 1) the opportunity for the Trump Administration to stabilize its national security operations, 2) for Congress to reveal the facts surrounding both Flynn's contacts with the Russians and 3) equally important, how intelligence agencies and the media obtained information about Flynn in the first place.
The emerging pattern of leaks that surround this controversy is very disturbing.
There are very strict laws that prohibit spying on private American citizens as well as very defined protocols for when U.S. citizens are inadvertently picked up in conversations involving foreign nationals. That's to protect the essential privacy rights of every American.
It is extremely rare for electronic intercepts of the kind involving Flynn to be leaked to the media.
There certainly appears the possibility that Flynn was targeted for embarrassment and ultimate destruction by intelligence folks bent on getting revenge for the comments made by him and then candidate Trump during the campaign.
Americans deserve to know how and why these leaks occurred. If they were the result of government insiders seeking political retaliation then a much more serious problem than anything Flynn may have done exists.
The very thought that the "surveillance state" could illegally do that kind of damage should be chilling to every American, and especially to those civil libertarians who have expressed shock and outrage to leaks of a much smaller magnitude.
The situation with Flynn is complicated by the fact that, although he asked for his resignation, the President continues to defend him and has gone so far as to say that while he didn't ask Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador, "I would have directed him if he didn't do it."
There will, no doubt, be congressional investigations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., also in the Senate Leadership, have both called for investigations.
Republicans should welcome the opportunity to get the facts on the table, including the identity of those responsible for the leaks, take ownership of the steps necessary to right the situation and work closely with a new national security advisor, fully invested with the authority to tighten and strengthen national security operations.
We're still a nation at war. Our national security is paramount and demands excellence and trustworthiness.
Butlers in the Buff has come to Kelowna and is auditioning good-looking men who want to serve women wearing nothing but a shortie, backless apron, bow tie and cuffs.
Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, speaks at a counter summit to the Conservative convention in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. Veteran human-rights crusader Barlow loathes all that Donald Trump stands for, except for one thing: his stance against economic globalization.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Saciido Shaie, founder and President of the Umma Project holds a picture of herself and close friend Mohamed Badal at a Somali restaurant in Minneapolis, Minn., on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Saciido Shaie says something seemed to be weighing on her friend Mohamed Badal in the days before he vanished. Badal, a Somali man who spent months trekking four continents before landing in the United States, had been preparing to appeal a rejected asylum application when Donald Trump became president. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
When Jason Hajdik was a student at Texas A&M in the late 1990s, he was the guy who stood out because of his choice of beer.
While most were gulping down cans of Lone Star, Hajdik had a Shiner Bock in his hand.
Of course the beer choices since then have exploded but Hajdik still wants to stand out and share his passion for craft beer. Thats why the software developer has teamed with business partner Brandon Dorman to open a stylish beer bar on one of the citys most gastro-centric corridors.
BarleyPop Tap & Shop, 2045 Atwood Ave., features 40 taps, an 18-foot-long bar made from birch and a seven-door cooler jammed with six packs of local and national craft beers along with a small selection of old-school offerings like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Hamms (the beer refreshing) and Miller High Life. There are shelves filled with single bottles of beer for custom-six packs, a wide selection of bombers while empty growlers and crowlers wait to be filled and taken home.
Wine and mixed drinks are absent. Instead, its all about the beer, but not all beer.
Weve tried to take a curation approach to it, Hajdik said. Were just not dumping in everything because you cant anymore. And frankly, we dont want to because, lets be honest, when you have a thousand beers out there theres a lot of junk.
The 1,800-square-foot shop that opened last week is in one of the citys trendiest neighborhoods. The offerings include two brewpubs, One Barrel Brewing Co. and Next Door Brewing Co.; a number of bars and restaurants; the Barrymore Theater; the Chocolaterian Cafe, and a Barriques. Later this year, Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier is scheduled to move out of its shop at 2086 Atwood Ave. and into a new and larger space across the street, further enhancing the offerings.
BarleyPop is also just a few doors down from Table Wine, a wine shop at 2045 Atwood Ave. that opened in December 2015. The shop sells wine by the glass, has over 250 different bottles of wine and over 70 different beers. Molly Moran, who opened the shop with her husband Conor Moran, said the addition of BarleyPop, while offering some competition, is good for the neighborhood.
It just means more people are on our block, said Molly Moran, who was a beer buyer for Steves Liquor for four years. Events are the cornerstone of our business.
Hajdik was living in Texas but when his wife took a teaching job at UW-Whitewater, the couple moved to Madison in 2011. Hajdik and Dorman have been working on BarleyPop for more than a year and a half. The idea was spawned after visits to similar businesses in San Diego and Seattle. But while Trixis Liquor in April opened Growlers to Go-Go adjacent to the liquor store at 2929 E. Washington Ave., BarleyPop offers a different and larger setting along with more taps.
I really like beer and Ive always been interested in doing a retail business but never found the one that scratched my itch, and this really grabbed me, Hajdik said. Its a well established neighborhood and has its own vibe and theres a lot of new things happening. Its a nice tight-knit community. This is turning into Madisons beer row, and it has a lot of potential.
Chamber VP recognized
Kevin Little, vice president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, has been named as one of the Development Counsellors International 40 Under 40 for 2017. The list is composed of 40 people from across North America who have achieved success in economic development before turning 40 years old.
Little leads the Chambers external relations, including its political advocacy, economic development, communications, programming and events. He has also served as the Chambers Director of Public Policy and Managing Director of Economic Development.
Little is the third person from Wisconsin to make the biennial list. In 2013, then-Ald. Scott Resnick was honored for spearheading just the second open data ordinance in the nation, and in 2015, Todd Battle, president of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance, was recognized for his role in bringing 4,000 jobs, $800 million in capital investment, and 7 million square feet of development to the Kenosha area.
Littles accomplishments have included initiatives like Accelerate Madison and HealthTech Capitol and programming the annual Pressure Chamber pitch competition. DCI specializes in economic development and tourism marketing and has worked for more than 400 cities, regions, states and countries since it was established in 1960
Madison tops U-Haul list
More people are moving into Madison than leaving the city, according to a migration report by U-Haul.
The truck and trailer rental company says Madison is at the top of its list of growth cities for populations of more than 50,000 people. Madison rose three spots from its 2015 ranking with Austin, Texas, ranked second and Boise, Idaho, third.
U-Haul locations in Madison saw 53 percent of one-way truck rental customers coming into the city as opposed to leaving. Madison had a 1 percent increase in one-way truck arrivals year-over-year, while departures dropped 2 percent over the same span. Growth rankings are calculated by the net gain of arriving U-Haul one-way trucks over departing one-way U-Haul trucks for the calendar year, according to the company.
FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, Egyptian protesters hold posters showing Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is imprisoned in the US, and call for his release outside a court in Cairo, Egypt. Abdel-Rahman died , Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 after suffering from diabetes and coronary artery disease, said Kenneth McKoy at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, N. C. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Co-working is not just for techies and Millennials. It is not limited to upscale Downtown buildings with sleek, modern interiors.
In Madison, co-working is taking increasingly different forms in diverse locations.
The concept is simple: Sharing space in a work environment, whether that means sitting side-by-side at a long table or occupying individual offices.
The goal is universal: To provide support and encouragement to people who want to try something new a new business or a new skill and creating a small community of like- minded people.
We really are trying to support the ecosystem of entrepreneurship, said Eugenia Podesta, co-founder of Synergy Coworking.
The best known co-working spaces in Madison have been around for three or four years and another has been in development for at least that long but is not yet built.
Places such as 100State, now in the 316 W. Washington Ave. tech hub building; Horizon Coworking, 7 N. Pinckney St.; and Madworks Coworking, 505 S. Rosa Road in University Research Park, got their start around 2012 and 2013.
StartingBlock Madison has been under discussion since 2012 as a center for tech startups, inventors and support services.
After enduring a lengthy exploration of possible locations and a major fundraising campaign, groundbreaking ceremonies were held in January for the building that will house StartingBlock: The Spark, an eight-story building being constructed by American Family Insurance in the 800 block of East Washington Avenue. Its expected to open sometime in 2018.
Meanwhile, other types of shared work spaces are joining the field, often with a specific focus. They include:
Synergy Coworking, 5201 Old Middleton Road, opened in May 2016 with an international flavor.
One-OneThousand, 78 N. Bryan St., began in late 2015 and is a combination co-working/art studio/maker space.
Threshold, 2717 Atwood Ave., started in summer 2015 and houses wellness businesses, artistic ventures and a social justice organization.
Matrix Coworking, 6302 Odana Road, opened in 2013 but with less fanfare than the more tech-oriented spaces Downtown.
Matrix is unconventional co-working, said founder
Tiffanie Mark.
Co-working spaces are just as different as any other business, Mark said.
An exploding
national trend
If there is a work trend thats seen tremendous growth in the past several years, it would seem to be co-working.
According to the Global Coworking Survey for 2017 by Deskmag, an online co-working magazine, nearly 1.2 million people worldwide are expected to use a co-working space this year.
Thats more than double the 510,000 people that were predicted to share organized workspace in 2016, which was a jump from 295,000 the year before.
The survey projects there will be about 14,000 co-working spaces operating around the globe by the end of 2017, up from the 7,800 that were anticipated by the end of 2016.
Co-working has become ubiquitous over the last three years, a March 2016 article in Forbes magazine said, crediting the startup boom for fueling its growth.
This fast-growing, new sub-sector of the real estate market has become one of the largest startup segments, hiding in plain sight, the Forbes article said.
Synergy Coworking
Podesta and Spencer Hudson, partners in business and in life, researched the options before they opened Synergy in the former KW2 (Knupp & Watson & Wallman) advertising agency building on the West Side.
The two-story building has 17 offices and a couple of conference rooms on the main floor, with more communal space and a kitchen on the lower level.
Its members about 25 regulars and other occasional users, whose ages are mainly 30-plus include freelancers, nonprofits and small startups.
In one office, on a recent Friday, Tom Kermgard worked remotely as director of business development for a Wausau ad agency, Creative Communication & Design.
Our satellite office is this, Kermgard said, gesturing at his surroundings. Its the perfect scenario for me.
Kermgard, who lives up the hill from Synergy, said Creative Communication wants to expand its presence in Madison but doesnt need to rent a big space yet.
Its just a couple-hundred feet and a door that I can close at night, he said. My clients can come here and have a meeting, then we can walk up the block and have a burger at the Oakcrest (Tavern).
Poet Sarah Sadie, a married mother of two who also teaches classes on creativity, said she works at Synergy at least two days a week. It allows me to get away from the distractions of a home office, Sadie said.
Jenny Wilson Siklos, a writer, editor and translator, said she recently made the jump to self-employment and lives near Synergy.
I didnt want to sit alone in my apartment all day, she said. Its good to have other people around, trying to do something similar.
In starting Synergy, Podesta and Hudson became first-time entrepreneurs themselves.
It can be a very daunting process, Podesta said. We wanted to see what we could do to make it easier for other people.
Hudson is a Madison native with a degree in social work from UW-Whitewater. Podesta was born in Peru and has lived in Madison since sixth grade, attending UW-Madison through law school. Her father, Guido Podesta, is dean of the UWs International Division.
Eugenia Podesta also works full-time from Synergys offices for a Washington D.C. nonprofit, Vital Voices Global Partnership. Established in 1997 by then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright after a United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing, the organization trains women leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide.
Podesta views Synergy as a way to do that in Madison, too, especially for women of color.
Theres a huge need and opportunity in Madison, she said.
Matrix Coworking
Matrix Coworking prides itself on having a little bit of everything, said founder Tiffanie Mark.
The office building has more than just offices; it also features a yoga and dance studio, a recording studio, and a massage therapy room.
A Madison native with a business degree from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Mark had been working in corporate relocation in Milwaukee when she decided to start a co-working space, and chose a Madison site.
The idea of shared space appealed to her. I wanted to facilitate projects that might not otherwise happen, she said.
Marks envisioned Matrix could attract people who wanted to keep their full-time jobs but also try something new, like opening a private practice or starting a freelance business.
Matrixs 125 members range in age from 18 to around 65, Mark said, and have formed a community of mentors.
Everybody is a student and everybody is a teacher. ... Its really about shared information, she said.
One-OneThousand
The name, One-OneThousand, is a play on the counting game, said founder Sara Artz.
Were building something together, she said. Theres a sense of playfulness, a sense of community.
The focus for One-OneThousands nearly 50 members is art creating home and lifestyle goods, Artz said.
The space, in an East Side building owned by McCormick Lumber off Milwaukee Street, offers a combination of creative co-working, maker space, art studio and business incubator, said Artz.
Im trying to support people who are trying to make a living off independent design and artisanal work, she said. That may involve woodworking, making knives, weaving textiles or fashioning furniture.
A Green Bay native and UW-Madison graduate in communications and womens studies, Artz also creates opportunities for One-OneThousands artisans to sell their wares.
She organized the Good Day Market pop-up shops held in June and December 2016, with vendors from around the Midwest as well as from her co-working outlet.
Artz also has started holding creative workshops for artists to teach their skills. A beginners tapestry weaving class has been especially popular.
Threshold
Threshold says its mission is to serve as a place of community, creativity and well-being.
With several small businesses renting space and a number of tenants who use the facilities intermittently, it is a center for wellness-oriented shops and community outreach, said Eliza Cussen, partnership director.
Its members started a nonprofit, Open Doors for Refugees, Cussen said.
Working with Lutheran Social Services and Jewish Social Services in resettling refugee families, Open Doors organizes volunteers and collects household items for the newcomers, and helps them acclimate, Cussen said. She said Open Doors has about 500 members.
Efrat Livny, a native of Israel, founded Threshold, housed in a former auto body shop from the early 1900s that had been vacant for some time. Legend has it they used to fix Model-T Fords in the building, Cussen said. We injected life into the building. We think of it as a metaphor for what were doing in the community.
Since its founding 12 years ago, the Beloit International Film Festival has found a way to get better: By getting smaller.
Over time, the festival has gone from offering its audiences 200 films in four days to 100 films spread out over 10 days.
As a result, The quality has really risen, said Max Maiken, incoming executive director of the festival, which opens Friday and runs through March 5 this year in various venues throughout Beloit.
One thing thats cool about the Beloit International Film Festival is that it has a small-town flavor, he said, so were able to try a lot of things, and evolve.
The 2017 BIFF, as the festival is known, will feature scores of contemporary films selected from thousands of submitted works, Maiken said. Films were prescreened by students in prestigious college film programs across the U.S. before a local committee made the final selections.
Some of those choices include works by filmmakers with Madison ties. Among them are the one-hour documentary 19, The Tony Robinson Shooting: A Case of Deadly Bias, directed by Tim Poehlmann-Tynan, and What I Did in Fifth Grade, directed by Marc Kornblatt.
Along with local filmmakers, Were hoping to get about 100 filmmakers from around the world for postfilm Q&A sessions with the audience, Maiken said. We have films from Iran, from France, India, Liberia, Germany, Japan, China. So its truly an international film fest.
BIFF also welcomes regional works. This will be the fourth year for the Wisconsin-Illinois Showdown, which pits film entries from both sides of the border in this stateline town. Audiences have the final say in the battle of the states by voting for a peoples choice award.
Other crowd-pleasers include BIFFs Silent Film Showcase, this year featuring the Harold Lloyd classic The Freshman, with a live score performed by the Beloit Memorial High School jazz orchestra.
Audiences can sing along with the Beatles (and dress in their Beatles-era finest) during a sing-along version of the 1964 movie A Hard Days Night. Or they can celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Graduate with a screening of the classic Mike Nichols film starring Dustin Hoffman.
BIFF Cares is another part of this years festival. In a partnership with Beloit Health System, the festival will present four films linked to mental health issues: The Monster Within, a film that high school students made about post-traumatic stress disorder among war veterans; American Street Kids, a profile of teen homelessness; Screenagers, about screen addiction among adolescents; and The Bear and the Owl, the true-life tale of a Wisconsin girl and the kindness of a stranger.
Discussions based on the BIFF Cares selections are also part of the festival.
Beloit, a city of around 37,000 located 55 miles south of Madison, is home to Beloit College, a private liberal arts college and the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin.
Its also a city with an industrial past, and is home to ABC Supply, the worlds largest wholesale distributor of roofing, siding and other building materials. ABC Supply owner Diane Hendricks and her late husband Ken backed the founding of the film festival, and the Hendricks Group continues as its main sponsor.
The festival estimates that for every $1 spent at BIFF, another $2 is spent at Beloit businesses, Maiken said. The festival generally draws about 8,000 people, mostly from the Beloit, Janesville, and Rockford, Illinois, areas. Marketing efforts have also stepped up to draw more film lovers from Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.
Madison has its own large film festival, of course: The Wisconsin Film Festival, presented by the UW-Madison Arts Institute in association with the Department of Communication Arts, and scheduled this year for March 30-April 6. The lineup for the 2017 WFF will be announced March 8.
Maiken praises the Madison event, but notes that BIFF also offers filmgoers some unique independent films and experiences, such as the annual sing-along movie. Some films are shown in a commercial theater or the high school auditorium, but screenings also take place downtown in a bagel cafe, an organic grocery store, a Mexican restaurant, an Italian restaurant and the Hendricks Center for the Arts.
Though hard hit by the recession, Beloit is experiencing something of a renaissance in its downtown, Maiken said.
Too often, what you hear in the news about Beloit is not a pretty picture. But you have people coming in for the festival saying: one, I didnt even know about the festival and two, I didnt know Beloit was such a pretty town, he said. So its a great way to be able to present Beloit in the best possible light to the widest possible audience.
Too often, what you hear in the news about Beloit is not a pretty picture. So its a great way to be able to present Beloit in the best possible light to the widest possible audience. Max Maiken, executive director of the Beloit International Film Festival
One person died early Sunday from a fire in a unit of an East Side condo building, the Madison Fire Department said, while 11 other building residents were displaced.
Firefighters were sent to a building in Sherman Terrace neighborhood at 4:44 a.m. After arriving seven minutes later, no alarms were sounding and no residents were evacuating, the fire department said. No flames could be seen from the outside, but a blaze was discovered in one of the units, the fire department said.
As some firefighters began tackling the fire, others searched the building and started an evacuation, the fire department said. The fire was controlled by 5:15 a.m.
Life-saving efforts were attempted on the lone occupant of the burning unit, but that person died after being brought to UW Hospital, the fire department said.
The American Red Cross helped the displaced residents find temporary housing, according to the fire department.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
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Four men were injured early Sunday in a shooting at a Far East Side gas station that police believe may have been gang-related, the Madison Police Department said.
Around 3:05 a.m., police responded to BP Gas Station, 4222 E. Washington Ave., after several gunshots were reported. Officers saw several vehicles leaving the area as they arrived, and one man with an injury that was not life-threatening was found at the gas station, police said.
Two other men with injuries that werent life-threatening showed up at Meriter Hospital, according to police, while a fourth man went to UW Health at The American Center with what appeared to be similar injuries.
Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said more than 20 bullet casings were found at the gas station, adding that the shooting may have been the result of continued hostilities that began earlier in the evening at a social gathering in another county. The bullet casings came from at least three firearms.
Members of Madisons Focused Interruption Coalition, a volunteer community leaders organization that developed a 15-point violence prevention plan in response to a string of fatal shootings last year, issued a statement Sunday decrying the latest firearm violence and urging city officials to begin spending $400,000 included in this years city budget to help implement the coalitions recommended peer support element.
These dollars are crucial to start engaging members of the community to build a network of support to address these issues, said coalition members, including Michael Johnson, Anthony Cooper and Aaron Hicks. Most importantly is the need for peer support those most affected by the issues being the ones most involved in the solutions.
Like the rest of the city of Madison, we are horrified by the number of shootings that have happened this year, the coalition statement said, adding, We commit to doing everything we can to end this violence.
Coalition members also pledged to be available Monday to help mediate the situation and try to prevent escalation. They pledged to connect public officials, community leaders and members of the community at large in an effort to dismantle the conditions that support violence in all its forms and to address related issues.
Detectives with the Madison police departments violent crimes unit believe the shooting may be connected to gangs, DeSpain said, and the gang unit is investigating.
DeSpain said the shooting does not appear to have been random, as it is thought those involved know each other. The four victims are between 26 and 28 years old.
Extensive forensic follow-up is being conducted, including video camera downloads from private and public access points, DeSpain said.
Madison police had no updates on the shootings Sunday night. Anyone with information is asked to call the Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
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President Trump complained that Senate Democrats arent working with him during his rally in Florida. One of the reasons why Senate Democrats are rejecting Trump is because millions of Americans are urging them to resist this president.
Video:
President Trump said, So we have to tell the Democrats because theyre doing the wrong thing for the American people to stop their tactics of delay and obstruction and of destruction. They gotta get on with it. My administration is also pushing ahead strongly with very historic tax reform. We are working to lower tax rates on the middle class, to reduce tax rates big league on businesses, and to make our tax code more fair and very simple for all Americans, so its understandable by everyone. Senate Democrats should work with us to lower taxes and bring back our jobs, but the Democrats want to increase your taxes very very substantially. Were not going to let that happen.
Trump continued by telling Democrats to take responsibility for Obamacare and told Senate Democrats to work with him on a replacement.
The tactics that Democrats are using to gum up the Senate and keep Trump from accomplishing anything are working. Senate Democrats are listening to their supporters and doing what they were urged to do. As soon as Trump won the election, grassroots Democrats demanded resistance. Senate Democrats have listened, and they are already frustrating Trump and Republicans in Congress.
Trumps claims about his tax plan and what the Democrats want to do were total lies. It is Donald Trumps tax plan that will give the wealthy and corporations a giant tax cut while raising taxes on the middle class and poor.
Lying about Senate Democrats is a terrible strategy to get them to work with the President.
Senate Democrats arent going to lift a finger to help President Trump do anything. They have become the tip of the resistance spear, and President Trump is already howling from the wounds inflicted upon his presidency.
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Pink Swastika author Scott Lively, who last October claimed persecution made Donald Trump a real Christian, is now telling us that deception is Satans not Trumps most potent weapon.
Thats some reversal of the true facts of the situation. Old Scratch has nothing on Donald Trump when it comes to fibbing. As usual, for Lively as for other supporters of Trumps new order, the elites are the enemy even though with his avowed wealth, you dont get much more elite than Donald Trump.
Im encouraging Christians not to fall prey to the false-reality being spun by the elites against the Trump administration and our nation.
Important contextual note > When you hear this, keep in mind Scott Lively also says gay marriage caused Noahs flood.
There is no reality more false than Trumps, of course, and its Kellyanne Conway, not some liberal or progressive, laying claim to alternative facts or like Katrina Piersons He hasnt changed his position on immigration. Hes changed the words that he is saying.
But hey, as Bill Maher said earlier, the big (R) covers all such fabrications and fantasies. You can literally say anything when youre a conservative. Its not like everyone didnt know it was raining at Trumps inauguration even as he claimed God cleared the skies for him to speak. Yet he says it anyway. At every opportunity. As though endless repetition will make it true. And maybe it will.
Lively titled his article (all in caps because caps make things truer, apparently): THE OBAMA/SOROS/MEDIA SHADOW GOVERNMENT AND THE ILLUSION OF CHAOS. Here conservatisms bogey man, George Soros, rears his head yet again at the head of a cabal of spooks:
If we let the spooks deceive us into stampeding, theyll run us right off the cliff. Theyre called spooks for a reason.
But dont get the idea that its spooks Scott Kill the Gays Lively sees as the real enemy. Oh no, that would be gay spooks:
No group is better at this satanic strategy than the gay political movement, which was an unstated reason why open homosexuals were never allowed into the intelligence agencies in the history of the nation, a policy upheld by the none other than the 9th Circuit US Appeals Court in the 1990 case, High Tech Gays v. Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office. (Indicating just how dangerous to our nation the idea of homosexual spooks was even to the farthest left-wing judges in the country: J. Edgar Hoover was by no means an anomaly.) But then along came Bill Clinton who issued Executive Order 12968 on August 2, 1995, opening the intelligence agencies and top secret security clearance to the Machiavellian gay network.
Oh dear. Were in deep here, arent we? Machiavellian gay networks. And Lively apparently has some intimiate knowledge of gay matters for he assures us,
My guess based solely on my knowledge of the gay movement and Obamas personal priorities, is that the todays alphabet soup of intelligence agencies could easily be condensed to just four letters: LGBT, since thats almost certainly whos driving the agenda evidenced in the ongoing treasonous sabotage of the Trump administration.
So apparently Trump the strongman, who is so tough (his own words) is being bullied by gay spooks. Will the bullying of Donald Trump never end?
Not if the gay-enabling mainstream media has anything to do with it!
More critical to the process of creating the false reality by which the far left has steered American public policy for decades is the mainstream media. Again, an industry so heavily dominated by gays and homosexualists that there is no longer even a pretense of balance on stories related to LGBT issues.
Well, nobody hates gays more than Scott Lively, so it hardly comes as any surprise that he wants Trump to adopt his genuine and proven to work Separation of LGBT and State plan.
Scott Lively concludes by urging his fellow fake Christians to stand up to anti-Trump radicalism:
My prayer is that President Trump will awaken to the correlation of anti-Trump radicalism on the left with the gay movement and realize that on virtually any issue one can name the most aggressive liars and agitators are homosexuals and their closest surrogates, and that these people absolutely, positively cannot be placated (just ask the Boy Scouts of America). In other words, there is a spiritual dimension to the culture war in which the key common denominator is LGBT affiliation.
It would be nice for a change to see a Religious Right argument framed around some of the important issues facing our country. Gay spooks is hardly one of them. Selling out to Vladimir Putin is. Betraying American democracy is. Trying to deligitimize the press is.
All that matters to Lively and his cohorts on the right is hatred of gays. If only he were as worried about equally serious crimes in the law of Moses, like cutting your hair or mixing fabrics. If he was, you just know, somehow, those shorn fabric mixers would be gay.
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President Trump continues to show signs of not handling the presidency mentally well. During his campaign rally in Florida, Trump compared himself to Abe Lincoln and quoted Thomas Jefferson to suggest that all newspapers are fake news.
Video:
Trump said, The dishonest media, which has published one false story after another, with no sources even though they pretend they have them. They make them up in many cases. They just dont want to report the truthThomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln, and many of our greatest presidents fought with the media and called them out oftentimes on their lies. When the media lies to people, I will never ever let them get away with it.
The President continued, In fact, Thomas Jefferson said nothing can be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself, he said, becomes suspicious when put into that polluted vehicle.
The rally itself was intended to boost Trumps fragile ego, and keep his base rallied around him. The President rolled off a greatest hits package of his most recent falsehoods and misstatements. His attack on the media is nothing more than an attempt to discredit the journalists who are reporting the facts about him and his administrations.
With his approval ratings at record lows, Trump had the nerve to compare himself to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. Trumps greatness is firmly residing in his own mind.
The rally combined with the press conference combines to paint a picture of a president who has only been on the job for a month but yet his mental state appears more and more questionable by the day.
President Trump is living in his own fantasy world, and he is at war with anyone who dares to intrude on his dream with reality.
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There was a great deal of speculation going into Donald Trumps self-gratification tour, what he calls his back to work rally in Melbourne, Florida tonight. Trump himself assured us, A lot to talk about!
Elliot Lusztig asked, Just yesterday he referred to press as Enemies of the People. Will they again be penned in cages and abused in his sick theatrics?
The plan was simple: When things get rough, run away and spend the publics money and get some cheers from your adoring base to wipe away the pain of a press that now calls out your every lie. Yes, Donald Trump realizes the honeymoon is over.
The lies began early, even before Trump took the stage and if you were not listening carefully you could be forgiven for not thinking Trump was being given credit for the death of Donald Trump. We were told hard work and opportunity would get the job done by a president who has taken three vacations in his first three weeks in office.
Trump said I want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news, and complained about one false story after another and pointed to Thomas Jefferson and other presidents as having fought with the media.
Watch courtesy of CNN:
Trump slams the media in Melbourne, Florida: "I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news" https://t.co/ZGNnS6sfB1 CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 18, 2017
It is true, as Trump said in a rare moment of honesty, that Jefferson complained, Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper (letter to John Norvell, 14 June 1807) But this would be the same Thomas Jefferson who said, Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost (letter to Dr. James Currie, 28 January 1786).
That was the only honest thing Trump said, however. He lied about keeping his promises, even though his endless trips to Florida, including tonights, broke one of his main campaign promises.
And he talked about the tiny crowd of protesters outside the rally compared to the huge crowds within (which, he said, the media would not show), though photos suggest the protesting crowd was anything but tiny. There were, in fact, several hundred there to protest Trump.
The Toronto Star yesterday helpfully posted The complete list of all 80 false things Donald Trump has said in his first 4 weeks as president compiled by intrepid fact-checker Daniel Dale. There were bets as to how many of these will be repeated tonight, and how many times.
In the end, Trump used the rally solely to lie, to touch all the bases, the same lies from the DAPL and Keystone XL to the F-35 fighter program, from the wall to jobs like youve never seen before, replete with constant attacks on the media.
This was in every way a Trump campaign rally and broke no new ground. The only difference between then and now is that before Election Day he lied that he would do the things he is now lying about having done.
Trumps lies were going nowhere in Washington D.C., so he fled back to what he is most comfortable doing, lying to a crowd receptive to his lies and willing to cheer each and every one of them.
The Hill opined that Trump was looking to energize the White House, but it was Trump not his White House that needed some cheers, and that was what this completely unnecessary rally was about: self-gratification and escape from a job he doesnt know how to do all on the publics dime.
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On Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace said that Fox News does not like Trumps attacks on the media and that Trumps attacks on the press are worse than anything that President Obama did with his media criticism.
Video:
Transcript via Fox News Sunday:
WALLACE: Heres the problem, when the president says were the enemy of the American people, it makes it sounds like if you are going against him, you are going against the country.
PRIEBUS: Here is the problem, Chris the problem is youre right. Some of these things were covered, but you get about 10 percent coverage on the fact that you get a very successful meeting with Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister of the U.K., the prime minister of Canada
WALLACE: We covered all of those news conferences live. Everybody did.
PRIEBUS: Right. Sure, yes, for about yes, right. But then as soon as it was over, the next 20 hours is all about Russian spies
WALLACE: But you dont get to tell us what to do, Reince.
(CROSSTALK)
PRIEBUS: nothing is happening. Give me a break.
WALLACE: You dont get to tell us what to do any more than Barack Obama did. Barack Obama whined about Fox News all the time, but I got to say, he never said that we were an enemy of the people.
PRIEBUS: Let me tell you something, he said a lot of things about Fox News, Chris. I thought you ought to go check the tape. He blamed you for a lot of things. And Im surprised, as someone from Fox, that you forget all of the shots that he took
WALLACE: No, he took the shots. And we didnt like it. And, frankly, we dont like this either, because, you know but he never went as far as President Trump has and thats whats concerning because it seems like he crosses a line when he talks about that were an enemy of the people. That is concerning.
Chris Wallace was correct. Fox News and every other network have been giving all of the things that Priebus complained about full live coverage. Fox News is very sensitive to the perception that they the in-house media outlet for the Trump administration. The perception itself was created by Trump as he has constantly praised Fox News and the networks programs.
When a Fox program states that something that Trump is doing is worse than Obama, thats a powerful statement.
The danger in Trump calling everything fake news with the exceptions of Fox and Friends and Hannity is that the President is attempting to delegitimize all free press that may disagree with him whether they are liberal, conservative, or neutral.
Donald Trump has gone so far towards authoritarianism that even a program that airs on Fox is condemning his attacks on the free press.
Trump declared war on the media, and it has gotten so bad so fast that he has lost Fox News.
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Instead, of facing the reality of Trumps failures, Republicans are turning to their resident crazy uncle, Rush Limbaugh, to blame everything that has gone wrong on an Obama conspiracy.
Video:
Transcript via Fox News Sunday:
WALLACE: You also use a phrase which I have to say that I only heard for the first time in the last couple of weeks, the deep state. And thats the notion that theres an Obama shadow government embedded in the bureaucracy that is working against this new president. I think that some folks are going to think thats right on and some folks will think its awfully conspiratorial.
LIMBAUGH: Well, I would love to claim credit for that, but actually, I think a reporter by the name of Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept who has got a relationship with whats his name? Assange. I think he actually coined the term. And I think it works.
I dont think who is driving this business that the Russians hacked the election? Its the Democrat Party. Its Hillary. Its Obama. Its all those people who just cant accept
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: And you think theyre behind the leaks, too?
LIMBAUGH: Absolutely. Of course, they are. Theyre trying look, if they cant win at the ballot box you know they are down 1,200 seats since 2010. Theyve become a marginal party electorally. All theyve got is their embeds in the bureaucracy and the judiciary, and they are pulling out all the stops. Theres no question.
The Obama is running a shadow government conspiracy is all over right-wing media. Rush Limbaughs role has become to serve as the megaphone that mainstreams these conspiracies to the broader conservative audience. There is no Obama shadow government. Every new president has to deal with bureaucracies that were staffed by former presidents. Its not some great conspiracy to undermine Trump.
The reason why President Trump is failing is simple. He was elected to a position that he is unqualified to hold. Trump has no public sector experience. The upper levels of his administration have no government experience. Trump was reportedly shocked and frustrated that government cant be run like a business.
Republicans want to blame some vast Obama conspiracy because that feels better than admitting that their president is incompetent.
Obama left office on January 20, 2017, so there are no more blame Obama excuses.
Not even the right-wings crazy Uncle Rush can spin away the stench of corruption, scandal, and failure that is hanging over the Trump White House.
Longtime Madison resident Clyde Stubblefield, the famed Funky Drummer for James Brown and one of musics most sampled drummers, died Saturday from kidney disease. He was 73.
(Music) was his voice, said Stubblefields wife, Jody Hannon. It truly was a God-given talent that he had.
Stubblefield, who moved to Madison in 1971 after performing here with James Brown, played on several of Browns hits including Cold Sweat, Say It Loud Im Black and Im Proud and Ive got the Feelin.
But it was Funky Drummer that made him a household name.
Noted as one of the most widely sampled drum breaks in musics history, Stubblefields beat on Funky Drummer was sampled by artists from Public Enemy to Prince and served as the backbeat for songs by artists like George Michael and Ed Sheeran.
In 2016, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stubblefield and partner John Jabo Starks of Browns rhythm section No. 6 on its list of the Top 100 drummers of all time.
Hannon said Stubblefields foray into music began when he was a toddler, beating on what he could find at a young age. He formed his own style, his own groove, by drumming on everything from can lids to boxes.
Stubblefield was hired by Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, in the mid-1960s and met his lifelong friend and collaborator John Jabo Starks. With the band, the two became known as the funkiest men alive, Dave Jewell, a marketing manager for Yamaha Drums, told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2013.
Hannon said Brown used to use five drummers on stage, each with their own drum kits. After Stubblefield and Starks joined the band, she said, that number was cut to two.
Stubblefield faced health issues for more than 15 years. In 2000, he battled bladder cancer and faced $90,000 in medical bills.
As a testament to his talent, Prince paid the bill, Hannon told the State Journal last year. She said Princes people asked to pay for all of Stubblefields bills since he was a drumming idol of the late music superstar.
Stubblefield continued to drum after surviving cancer and as he suffered from end-stage kidney disease.
Unabashedly fond of his adopted hometown of Madison, He played in the band for Michael Feldmans public radio show WhadYa Know? and played local gigs with his band The Clyde Stubblefield Show that featured different vocalists.
Stubblefields contribution to music didnt go unnoticed. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame, his drumsticks have been displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and he was awarded the Yamaha Legacy Award, a rare honor given by the instrument manufacturer.
Despite these honors, Stubblefield never saw the money that was made by artists sampling his work. Hip-hop groups making millions off tracks featuring his work didnt pay Stubblefield any royalties, and often never credited the drummer. Stubblefield spoke out against the inequity in The New York Times and in the 2010 documentary Copyright Criminals.
But Stubblefield used his notoriety to help others. He performed in the Clyde Stubblefield All-Star Band to benefit the Clyde Stubblefield Scholarship Fund. The fund, less than two years old, was created to help Madison-area musicians pursuing music majors in college.
The Clyde Stubblefield All-Star Band was scheduled to play with Stubblefield Feb. 27 at the High Noon Saloon to benefit the scholarship fund.
News of Stubblefields death garnered tributes from many of his fans, including his more famous followers.
Questlove, drummer of the Grammy Award-winning band the Roots, shared a photo of Stubblefield on his Instagram and wrote, The Funky Funkiest Drummer Of All Time. Clyde Stubblefield thank you for everything youve taught me. The spirit of the greatest grace note left hand snare drummer will live on thru all of us.
William Bootsy Collins, who was a bassist for James Brown, wrote on his facebook, U taught me so much as I stood their watchin over u & Jabo (Starks) while keepin one eye on the Godfather. We all loved U so much.
Collins asked fans of his page to post their stories of this Fire breathin Drummer.
Stubblefields musical talent isnt his only legacy. Hannon said Stubblefields friends and family will remember him as the nicest man youve ever met.
Clyde was wonderful. Clyde was fun. Everyone wanted to be around Clyde, Hannon said.
Stubblefield and Hannon were married 25 years.
If you can find someone who loves you for 25 years, youre a very lucky woman, Hannon said.
Hannon said funeral arrangements are pending.
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The Swedish government has no idea what Donald Trump was talking about when he suggested that there had been a terrorist attack in Sweden, and they have asked the US government for an explanation.
The US embassy in Sweden tweeted:
@fuadmb About #swedenincident #lastnightinsweden unclear to us what President Trump was referring to,have asked US officials for explanation Embassy of Sweden US (@SwedeninUSA) February 19, 2017
In other words, Sweden was all like, what the hell?
Poor Sweden was enjoying its weekend when it got caught up in a ball of Donald Trump crazy. Sweden was minding its own business when everyone started asking them if they were ok because Trump had been telling everybody that something bad went down.
Its the kind of international chaos that Trump causes on a nearly daily basis. The official US government explanation for what Trump was talking about should be interesting, to say the least.
So far, in his first month in office, Trump has started trouble with Sweden and Australia while allowing a Russian spy ship to hang out 30 miles off the coast of Connecticut, with no response.
As President Trump has alienated our allies and emboldened US enemies, which is the exact opposite of making America great.
Charleston, SC (29403)
Today
Partly to mostly cloudy. High 81F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..
Tonight
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Gene Sapakoff column: There's a gap between Aliyah Boston and the defending national champs and everyone else, but beware of these teams from here to March Madness. Read moreSapakoff: Antonelli on how to upset the Gamecocks, and teams capable
As winter or colder weather at least slowly approaches, start thinking about how to the best take care of your plants to ensure they make it to spring. Read moreTips for taking care of your plants as winter approaches in the SC Lowcountry
As Laffittes case has moved toward trial, it has helped shed new light on Alex Murdaughs alleged financial crimes. His trial is poised to unpack them in the finest detail yet. Read moreEx-SC banker Russell Laffitte set to face trial in first Murdaugh case to be heard by jury
Attendees at a town hall meeting Saturday held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan asked how he and other congressmen are responding to President Donald Trumps administration and questioned the direction the country is going in.
Pocans town hall was one of hundreds of similar events taking place around the country in the coming week during the congressional recess. MoveOn.org dubbed the weeks events the resistance recess and created a website curating town hall dates and locations as well as guidelines for facilitators and participants.
All 300 seats in the main hall at the South Central Federation of Labor building in Madison were filled, and people packed the standing room in the back and along the sides. Some stood in the hallway near the doors to hear Pocan.
His spokeswoman, Melanie Conklin, said her team estimated more than 500 people attended.
The majority of audience questions centered on Trumps administration, specifically his actions on immigration, promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and his business ties with other nations.
A lot of anxiety about the current administration supersedes any individual issue, Pocan, of Black Earth, told the Wisconsin State Journal.
Within his first 15 minutes on stage, Pocan brought forward the idea of impeachment. Pocan said Congress might need to consider impeaching Trump if the onion of involvement with Russia and interference with our elections and perhaps his administration continues to unravel.
Attendees voiced specific concerns about Social Security, health care and immigration. Pocan reaffirmed his stances to fund social services and welcome immigrants, and explained the process and challenges of moving legislation through the House of Representatives.
Pocan also fielded questions about bipartisanship and how to work with Republicans as a Democrat.
At some point, who might be your opposition on one issue, might be your ally on another, Pocan said. He also said that it is difficult to reach across the aisle because of systems put in place by the Republican leadership, such as the Hastert Rule, which requires that a majority of the partys representatives back a bill before it can be put to a vote.
On Feb. 2, Pocan used Facebook Live for a question-and-answer session, which he said will be adopted into a monthly practice.
The bare minimum of my job is listening to my constituents, Pocan said. The people who arent doing that arent doing the bare minimum of their job.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, didnt schedule a town hall meeting during the recess, but a handful of members of Indivisible Wisconsin, a progressive organization formed in the wake of Trumps election, have invited him to their own town hall.
Compared to Congressman Pocan and Sen. (Tammy) Baldwin, hes just not accessible to his constituents, said Adam Wood, an organizer of the town hall for Johnson. We have a representative democracy, and the way that that works is that constituents have to have access to their representatives.
The town hall for Johnson is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue in Madison.
Wood and other organizers made several requests to Johnsons office, but Wood said they received no response.
Johnson did not reply to a request for comment from the State Journal.
If Johnson does not come to the town hall, Wood said several speakers will address the attendees.
S.C. Education Superintendent Molly Spearman wasnt dreaming up hypothetical problems when she went to the Statehouse in 2019 to ask for authority to remove school boards in districts the state has to take over. Read moreScoppe: Allendale interventions show SC school takeovers work while they last
Nearly 13 percent of registered voters in South Carolina have already cast ballots for the 2022 general election after the state opened up no excuse early voting to all for the first time. More than 438,000 votes were in as of the end of Thursday, which was the 10th day of early voting, according to statistics from the South Carolina Election Commission. Read more13% in SC have already cast ballots with new early voting
Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the "Blind Sheik," who was convicted of plotting terror attacks in the United States in the 1990s, died today in a federal prison where he was serving a life sentence, according to the Associated Press. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman died from complications from diabetes and coronary artery disease, according to a spokesman from the prison, the Butner Federal Correctional Complex, near Raleigh, N.C.
For southeastern Minnesota readers, Abdel-Rahman's death may stir memories of terrorism fears post 9-11. At the time of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Abdel-Rahman was held at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, and his presence there brought some concern to Rochester due to his ties to Osama bin Laden.
According to a story in the Post Bulletin on Sept. 13, 2001, Bin Laden had publicly vowed to free Abdel-Rahman and other Islamic prisoners in the United States. During the previous summer, Bin Laden had displayed pictures of Abdel-Rahman, describing him in a videotaped message as a hostage in an American jail. "We hear he is sick, and that the Americans are treating him badly," Bin Laden had said.
The Egyptian cleric was convicted in 1995 on charges of plotting simultaneous bombings at the headquarters of the United Nations, the FBI field office in Manhattan and two commuter tunnels linking New York and New Jersey. He was also convicted of plotting to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek.
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Abdel-Rahman came to Rochester and the Federal Medical Center on Jan. 14, 1998, after spending time at a federal medical prison in Springfield, Mo. After his time in Rochester, he was moved to the prison in North Carolina.
In the 2001 Post Bulletin article, Police Chief Roger Peterson said Rochester police were aware of Abdel-Rahman's presence. "Obviously, we were aware of that circumstance," Peterson had said. "We took that into consideration in our security plan."
Jim Scanlan describes the compliance nightmare that looms for the Baltimore Police Department as a result of the consent decree the City reached with the Justice Department. The events that led to the decree are well known.
It stemmed from the death of Freddy Gray through injuries sustained in police custody. There was no convincing evidence that the police did much wrong, and prosecutors were unable to convict any of the officers involved.
However, the Justice Department investigated the Departments practices to determine whether they are unfair to African-Americans. It found that they are, but its report is too flawed to be taken seriously, as Heather Mac Donald has shown and we have discussed.
Lets assume, though, that the Baltimore police department is systemically unfair to African-Americans. How would that finding justify the following directive in the consent decree (at page 31) that Jim Scanlan pointed out to me:
Ensure that BPD officers address and in documentation refer to all members of the public, including LGBT individuals, using the names, pronouns, and titles of respect appropriate to the individuals gender identity as expressed or clarified by the individual. Proof of the persons gender identity, such as an identification card, will not be required.
It wouldnt. The federal government has simply taken upon itself, in the name of political correctness, to tell Baltimore police officers what pronouns to use in talking to criminals, suspects, witnesses, and the public generally. And if a male crook insists on being addressed as Miss, or (perhaps) Your Highness, and an officer doesnt comply, the department will be in violation of the consent decree.
This is egregious federal overreach. Surely, it is hard enough to police the mean streets of Baltimore, which have become considerably meaner as a result of the lefts attacks on the department, without having to worry about the gender identity of the folks officers encounter.
And what about the gender identity treatment those who have been arrested and convicted. As Jim suggests, if you can chose your bathroom, there seems no reason why you cannot chose whether to be incarcerated among men or among women.
The madness should be nipped in the bud. The Trump administration needs promptly to pick a head of DOJs civil rights division who will, insofar as possible, get the federal government out of the business of policing local police departments and stop the obsession with gender identity.
President Trump sent his A Team to Europe to demonstrate Americas commitment to NATO. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Vice President Mike Pence all traveled to a major conference in Munich for that purpose.
However, key European officials, along with honorary European John McCain, used the occasion to vent over Trump. Apparently, the Europeans would rather grandstand to their domestic audiences and demonstrate their moral superiority than bolster the alliance by establishing decent relations with the new U.S. president.
The worst venting came from German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. The Washington Post reports that she hammered Trump (without mentioning his name).
Von der Layen said: We must pursue finding a reliable coexistence with Russia together instead of going over our partners heads in a bilateral relationship. But the U.S. is entitled to conduct its own diplomacy with Russia. And the new president is certainly entitled to take a fresh look at how best to deal with the Russians, just as Barack Obama did.
Speaking of the Russian reset, did Obama and Hillary Clinton pre-clear it with Germany and our other NATO allies? If not, then Trump, who has yet to settle on a comprehensive Russia policy, would break no new ground by going over our partners heads. If so if Germany signed-off on the reset then Trump would be well-advised not to take advice on Russia from the Germans.
In response to Trumps call for NATO members to meet their financial commitment to the alliance, von der Layen tried to change the subject:
Burden is a matter of funding, of money, but sharing the burden is also much more than what can be expressed in euros and in dollars. To share a burden is to first of all share the principle to stand up for one another. Without exception.
According to the Washington Post, Germany would need to double its defense expenditures to meet its commitments to NATO. Anyone can talk a good game about standing up for one another, but a country that lags this far behind on its commitments isnt truly standing up for its alliance partners.
Having told the U.S. how to conduct diplomacy and explained the deep meaning of burden sharing, Von der Layen then told us how we must fight:
[The alliance must be] bound by human dignity in all it does. This leaves no room for torture. It means avoiding civilian casualties at all costs.
I dont think we need a lecture from Germany, of all countries, on how to conduct ourselves in war time. The German defense minister should explain how a country could ever win the kind of wars America has been fighting and avoid[] civilian casualties at all costs.
As for torture, there are likely to be situations in which only enhanced interrogation can avoid civilian casualties. In those cases, such methods are a way to avoid these casualties at a reasonable cost.
Im a fan of NATO. Yet, the value of allies who wants to fight wars as von der Leyen says she does must be questioned.
The answer, I think, is that well do the dirty work for Germany and others while they posture, but hopefully pay a bit more. That isnt burden sharing by any reckoning, but its reality unless arrogance like von der Leyens completely sours Trump on NATO.
A 22-year-old Madison man was tentatively charged by Capitol police this month for lewd and lascivious behavior after running around inside the Capitol building naked.
Capitol police obtained video evidence of Russell C. Doupe, 22, taking off his clothes in the first floor rotunda at about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 4 and running around the balustrade area "completely naked" and "exposing his genitals."
A criminal complaint said that in the video a little girl could be heard "saying something to the effect of 'What's that?' in a questioning tone of voice."
The man who took the video told police he was afraid Doupe was going to fall over the railing to the ground floor. He also said he was disturbed by Doupe's behavior.
By the time officers arrived Doupe had put his jeans back on and was attempting to put his shirt on. He was with a friend, and both men smelled of intoxicants, the report said. Doupe apologized for being naked.
The friend told police he was Doupe's best friend and said they had come to the Capitol to protest "the financial decisions of President (Donald) Trump."
Doupe is identified as a UW-Madison student on the school's website.
The report said the fine for the lewd and lascivious misdemeanor could be as much as $10,000 and/or nine months in jail.
As you may recall, I predicted here a couple weeks ago that Judge Neil Gorsuchs Ph.D study with Oxfords renowned John Finnis would arouse the left, and I was not disappointed! Enter The Guardian:
Now, before going into the copy, may I observe that from the headline alone, it isnt certain whether The Guardian means this as criticism or praise for John Finnis. You never know these days with the left.
Anyway, on to the copy:
Before he was Donald Trumps nominee to fill the vacancy on the supreme court, Judge Neil Gorsuch was the protege of a renowned Catholic scholar at Oxford University who has compared same-sex relations to bestiality and described abortion as the approved killing of vulnerable innocent human beings. During the years preceding his federal judgeship on the 10th circuit court of appeals Gorsuch studied for a doctorate at University College Oxford under the supervision of Prof John Finnis, a 76-year-old Australian legal scholar considered one of the worlds foremost thinkers on the philosophy of natural law. . . The same year [1992], during a speech at Harvard University in April, Finnis was reportedly booed by campus protesterswho labelled him a hate monger and a homophobe and compared his invitation to lecture to giving the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan a platform.
So you can see the caliber of the opposition to Finnis and Gorsuch. What was that about mainstream again?
A separate article in The Guardian, labeled an analysis naturally, attempts to lay into Gorsuchs inclination to constitutional originalism, and offers up this kind of comic reasoning:
A strict adherence to the founding documents can prove tricky. In 1787, most transportation was by ship or horse, not by plane or motorcar; communication was on parchment and paper rather than through the internet and cellphones; gay marriage was beyond most peoples imagination. Conundrums can arrive at the level of the word. Solum points out that the seventh amendment, adopted as part of the bill of rights in 1791, guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases where the amount in dispute rises above twenty dollars. Trouble is, the word dollar actually referred to a Spanish silver coin that was the main form of currency in 1791. Similarly, the reference to domestic violence in article four of the constitution does not equate to spousal or child abuse as it would today but to riots or insurrections within the boundaries of a single state. The world has changed in ways that two-centuries old documents cannot reach. We have a freedom of speech provision, but when it was written, no one spoke over the internet, Solum said.
Ill just let this mind-numbing stupidity rest here on the page, as an undisturbed example of what passes for sophisticated legal analysis at The Guardian.
Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar is becoming a political celebrity. Shes a Somali refugee. Shes young. Shes attractive. Shes a Democrat. Did I forget to say shes a Muslim? Shes a Muslim. She toes the Democratic Party line on every issue great and small, purporting to speak up for womyn and homosexuals and all the rest. A star is born.
The Star Tribune profiles Omar in her new role in Omar navigates rising political celebrity as she adjusts to life in Minn. Legislature. The Star Tribune has two reporters on the story and they still fail to get her to say anything of interest about her marriage to the man who may be her brother, now safely removed to London:
Days after winning her primary last summer, Omar faced scrutiny over a report that she had married her brother for immigration reasons. She denied he was her brother, calling the insinuations absurd and offensive. Omar is not legally married to Ahmed Hirsi, who is the father of her three children. She said theyd had an Islamic marriage that ended in 2008 when they reached an impasse in our life together. She later met and married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen and the man alleged to be her brother, in 2009 in Hennepin County. After that relationship ended, Omar said she reconciled with Hirsi and remarried in their faith. She said shes still in the process of divorcing Elmi and declined further comment.
Having raised the issue on Power Line, I found Omars initial response to be a classic of the nondeniai denial genre. Omar found me guilty of Donald Trump-style misogyny, racism, anti-immigration rhetoric, and Islamophobic division.
Omars campaign airlifted a public relations professional to improve on the nondeniai for a day or two before moving on. On Omars behalf he offered a denial that Hirsi is her brother. Omar herself wasnt talking.
I was called for comment by Star Tribune political reporter Patrick Coolican on the spokesmans denial. I asked Coolican: Who do they say Hirsi is? They wont tell me, he responded.
Omar spoke with City Pages about that divorce that is now in process this past November. At that time it was all just too complicated. There are particular challenges to getting a legal divorce, she said. One of those is getting the cooperation and presence of the other person who you are divorcing.
Actually, no. Not true at all. Indeed, utterly false.
Say what you will about Omar, at least shes consistent. And in the world according to the Star Tribune, her silence is good enough.
Now that Donald Trump is president, our fact checkers have gone into overdrive. Every day, they crank out news stories purporting to correct Trumps errors. More often than not, the fact checkers are merely relating the other sidethe Democratic Partys sideof the story.
This story by Politifact is typical: Fact-checking President Donald Trumps Florida rally. Politifact claims to correct five things that Trump said:
Trump takes Jefferson out of context Trump used the words of President Thomas Jefferson to make the case that the media, and newspapers, are illegitimate.
Wrong. Trump made the case that the news media are biased and frequently lie about him. Which is true.
Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper, Trump quoted Jefferson as saying on June 14, 1807. That quote checks out.
It checks out, and it is not out of context. Trump actually quoted a little more of the letter, and you can read the whole thing here. The context merely elaborates on the theme, e.g., Jefferson also wrote:
I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.
So Politifact should have simply scored Trumps quotation of Jefferson true. What justifies saying it was out of context? Twenty years earlier, Jefferson had said something different about newspapers:
But its not the whole story on Jefferson. In 1787, Jefferson wrote to Edward Carrington and presented a seemingly different opinion. The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right, Jefferson wrote. And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.
Those statements, while certainly more pro-newspaper, are not a different opinion from Jeffersons judgment twenty years later that Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. And, in any event, Jeffersons saying something different on another occasion does not render Trumps quotation out of context, misleading, or in any way inappropriate. Score: 1-0, Trump.
Trump misleads on saving the F-35 contract Trump told the thousands at his rally that he turned around a troubled contract for the F-35 that had been seven years late, hundreds of billions of dollars over budget. Trump said he negotiated for the defense contractor Lockheed Martin to shave hundreds of millions of dollars off the price. Thats a line hes used before. Its Mostly False.
Really? This is what Lockheed Martin said about Trumps role:
Were pleased to have reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for the next 90 F-35 aircraft. The agreement represents $728 million in savings and a nearly 8 percent reduction in price over our last contract for the air vehicle delivered by Lockheed Martin and our industry partners. The increase in the number of aircraft in this agreement enables us to reduce costs by taking advantage of economies of scale and production efficiencies. President Trumps personal involvement in the F-35 program accelerated the negotiations and sharpened our focus on driving down the price. The agreement was reached in a matter of weeks and represents significant savings over previous contracts.
So Lockheed Martin agrees with Trump. Politifact argues that the savings were already in the pipeline, and that per-aircraft costs would be expected to decline as production ramps up, which may be part of what is going on here. So they argue that Trump shouldnt really get all the credit. Fine. That is the Democratic Partys perspective. But to say Trump is mostly false when he precisely echoes Lockheed Martins account is ridiculous. Score: 2-0, Trump.
Trump wrong on vetting refugees Defending his stalled immigration ban, Trump said there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was nothing. Trump has said this before. Its False. A refugee vetting system does exist and has existed since 1980.
That is true. If Trump had said vetting was inadequate, he would have been correct. But to say there was no documentation. There was nothing is an exaggeration. Score: 2-1, Trump.
Trump spins polls on optimism Trump bashed polls that showed he would lose the 2016 election, but he celebrated polls showing an increase in optimism. Look at whats happening to every poll when it comes to optimism in our country, Trump said. Its sweeping across the country.
Yes, that is correct. In fact, Politifact admits that Trump is right:
Backing up Trumps case is Gallups Economic Confidence Index, which shows Americans more confident about the countrys economic outlook. Take a look:
Much more polling data could be cited to the same effect, e.g., many more Americans say the country is on the right track following Trumps inauguration. So whats the problem?
There is support for Trumps point, but it ignores other polling that highlights a more pessimistic view.
***
Conversely, 57 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the countrys standing in the world. Thats the highest that number has been in a decade, according to Gallup. And Trumps approval rating, of 41 percent, is lower at this point than any other president Gallup has tracked since Dwight Eisenhower.
So what? Those polls dont contradict Trumps statement about optimism. Again, Policifact simply presents the Democratic Partys contrary perspectiveone could say, the Democrats alternative factsto conclude that Trump is spinning. Here, Trump told the truth, and Politifact spun. Score: 3-1, Trump.
Trump spins immigration ban ties to Obama Trump defended his immigration ban by maintaining that his ban applies to countries picked by Obama.
As Politifact goes on to acknowledge, Trump was right. The seven countries covered by his travel order were the ones identified by the Obama administration as countries of concern. But Politifact isnt content to acknowledge that Trump was correct. Instead, it counters with its own spin:
But that misses context about the actions of the Obama administration. Trumps action goes much further and includes banning people who have a valid visa to enter the United States.
But no one said that Trumps order was the same as one already promulgated by Obama. That would really be a scoop! Of course Trumps order went farther; that was the point. All Trump said was that the seven countries covered by his order were picked by Obama as countries of concern. Which is true. Score: 4-1, Trump.
We could go through this exercise multiple times every day. Correcting the Democratic Party fact checkers would be a full-time job that I dont plan to undertake. Suffice it to say that Trump is more often right than are the presss purported fact checkers who pretend to correct him.
Mike Ogirima, a professor of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, is the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and President of Nigeria Orthopaedic Association. He spoke in an exclusive interview with Ayodamola Owoseye, Nike Adebowale and Idris Ibrahim on critical issues in Nigerias health sector and doctors perspective of the way forward.
PT -What has been your achievements since you got into office since 2016
Ogirima Precisely, we came in on 28 April 2016, following a very sad moment where we lost six of our colleagues with the driver. We had to set up an endowment fund to disburse funds for their families, including that of the driver.
We came with an agenda to correct disharmony within the various groups of doctors and between doctors and other professionals in the sector. As we are talking now, there is a lot of trust that has been gained by our junior colleagues versus the senior ones, between doctors in private business and the ones in government hospitals. There is trust that has been built between the doctors who are undergoing specialist training and their consultants. Everybody thinks we are one family now.
And we are trying to discourage government from individual negotiations for remuneration and welfare packages. We have succeeded in making the government negotiate with us as a group of health professionals within the health ministry. The doctors, the nurses, the medical lab scientists are carried along when it comes to issue of negotiations for welfare.
On contributions to various policies, we have advocated that the National Health Act be fully implemented. Of course you are aware that there was a peaceful walkout organised by the NMA in the Federal Capital Territory and all the 36 states of the country.
As I am talking now, certain provisions of the Act are being implemented. For example, committees on various aspects of the Act are being set up by the (health) minister. The minister is everyday shouting about universal health coverage which entails that about 10,000 primary healthcare centres will be rehabilitated and made functional. They have started that with Kunchingoro Primary Healthcare Centre as a model for all the health centres.
The National Health Act says certain provision from the Consolidated Revenue of the federation should be set aside as Basic Health Provision Fund and stated specifically not less than one per cent of the fund. That is the grey area and we are hopeful that in the 2017 budget, if it is finally approved as a law, that provision should be captured. Even if the President has not mentioned it, we are very sure that as we partner with the National Assembly committees on Health, at the end of the day that Basic Health Provision Fund will be set aside as an additional source of fund to the health sector.
That fund, if made available right from 2014, would have gone a long way to tackle a lot of issues, particularly the issues of primary healthcare, because the fund provides about 50 per cent or 45 per cent of that fund to the National Health Insurance Scheme.
For that of the NHIS, it is supposed to be ploughed into vulnerable population of the country. That is the very elderly, the infants and the road traffic injuries as emergencies to our health facilities across the country.
The minister has made a lot of pronouncements on accepting emergencies in our hospitals, particularly public hospitals within the first 24 hours before you start asking for police report and the public hospitals are keying into that.
The immunisation processes are still ongoing, but what we are asking for is that we should include more programmes. Like immunisation against viruses that cause cancer in women, particularly the immunisation against human papilloma virus (HPV), Hepatitis B. It shouldnt just be ad-hoc arrangements. It should be for adults and children, it should be part of the routine immunisation package, just like the other killer diseases of childhood are being immunised against.
PT What is NMA doing about doctors welfare and hazard of the job as regards deaths due to Lassa fever and other infectious diseases?
Ogirima On the public health side, of course Lassa fever is a disease that is perpetuated by rats. We are in the first burner of improved environmental sanitation. But when infection sets in, because the health workers is the first to be infected because of exposure, we have alerted everybody to take seriously the clinical universal precautions against infections. That entails washing of hands, disinfect your environment, dont leave food and left over open, these are basic things we have been campaigning with relevant ministries of health.
For health workers generally, we have asked them to be on alert. They should report cases that they are suspicious about and be aggressive about confirming those cases. And while they are doing their job, there are personal protective effect that must be available and that we dont joke about it.
For those who have been affected, there are structures set aside by the government to address their treatment. Of course, the mortality rate from the disease is quite high, about 45 per cent. Because of that, we are in the front burner of making sure that Lassa fever epidemic is not seen again in our country.
PT- A major problem facing the medical sector in Nigeria is brain drain where most of the doctors after completion of study leave the country for greener pastures abroad. What is NMA doing to curtail this, as most hospitals complain of shortage of medical personnel?
Ogirima The number one reason why doctors and other health workers run away from the country is the working environment. When you are trained as a specialist in your field and you are left empty handed, there will be frustration. No equipment to work with. There are lots of doctors now roaming the street and there is general embargo on employment of health workers. This is a country that cannot boast of enough number of health workers to manage our system.
For example, the doctors on register in Nigeria are about 35,000. That is doctors registered under the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. In total it is 87,000, but practically maybe out of this figure, 5,000 are in the UK, another 10,000 in Saudi Arabia or United States. Then in the Far East, we see Nigerian doctors.
We dont have enough doctors to patients ratio. It is not enough, yet the ones we are training are not being employed as at when due.
Even when they are employed, they dont have up to date facilities to work. We all know the situation of our public hospitals.
These are the salient reasons why you have doctors looking for greener pastures.
Apart from that, though the government tried to favour doctors entry into the salary scheme. In those days, a graduate will enter at Grade Level 8, while a doctor will enter at grade level 10 or 12, because there was no 11. In as much as there is a structure like that on ground, it is not enough package to turn back the tide of brain drain.
The only thing one as an association can do is to plead with the government to rehabilitate our hospitals. Make the working environment of a doctor conducive. If you enter any doctors office in any of these hospitals, you will be shocked by what you see.
You will enter some public hospitals where you dont even have wash hand basin. It could be as bad as that, where a doctor has to share toilet facilities with so many other people, they have to leave the office for conveniences. Thats how the working environment is.
In places where you have cases of surgery, there is a waiting time. You have to wait until it gets to your turn. You pray its not an ailment that will kill the person, but that is the reality on ground.
Government should try and train more, make sure our training institutions are up to date in terms of facilities to train. Make sure the ones you train are engaged and reabsorbed back into the system.
Yes, some fraction will still find a way of looking for greener pastures but if you keep on training, going by global standard I think the brain drain will be there but we will have enough to take care of the population.
PT Some colleges abroad do not recognise medical certificates of some institutions in the country.
Ogirima What I mean by government improving the training facilities, that does not mean the ones available now are not training to international standard. Just last year, two of my students got placements in UK and they are doing very well once exposed to a better working environment.
Yes, some countries have that aversion to Nigerians, but other countries still find our products very useful to them, especially UK and US. If any other country refuses the products then they have other reasons, not because of incompetence of our products.
PT- On cases of medical negligence of patients especially after surgery, how can clients seek redresses and what disciplinary action does the association take on such culprits?
Ogirima Every hospital has or should have internal disciplinary measures to tackle issues that boil down to the care of the patients.
Negligence is one and as an association, we have a regulatory body, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN. The law setting up that council in Nigeria allows administration to change the composition of that council at any time. Presently, when this administration came into power, that is President Muhammadu Buharis administration, there was a general pronouncements that all boards and general parastatals should be dissolved quickly. All the regulatory bodies, not only the one regulating the practice of medicine, all those regulatory bodies in the health sector were dissolved.
MDCN is just like Nigerian Judiciary Council, NJC, for lawyers, or COREN for engineers or NUC for universities. So why MDCN remains moribund for more than 20 months now we dont know. But that is the organ and council that we liaise with in disciplinary cases such as misconducts and cases of negligence.
In fact, there is a tribunal of that council that has same status as the high court. In fact, there are cases now that are pending because that council has not been constituted.
The MDCN is the organ, and at the state levels there is a committee of the MDCN which is chaired by the Director of Medical Service from each state in connection with NMA. They are supposed to monitor the activities of every doctor and to report same.
Apart from that, the National Health Act provides that there is a certificate of standard for the health institutions. Before you get a certificate of standard in any health facility, you must be able to examine the qualifications of staff working there.
All these things are put in place to make sure the standard of practice is maintained. The law enforcement agencies are also there. If you have a case of negligence, they can actually come in to establish and institute legal procedure on the culprits. Under an oath, the patients lawyer can ask for the case file on behalf of the patient.
PT What is the NMA doing on the issue of quackery How many have been arrested and what has been done with them?
Ogirima NMA is not a law enforcement agency but just a professional body that advocates and would cry foul if we find quacks. Quacks are those who are not trained to take care of sick persons, the only person trained to take care of a sick man is the doctor. Every other person in the hospital are allied to the practice of medicine.
So in a situation where I term Nigeria as a confused state, where anybody can set up anything, it is not only in medicine where we have quacks. Engineering, pharmacy, among other professions too suffer from quacks. In a situation where a secondary school certificate holder can open a chemist in this country, with no knowledge of medicine and people will patronise the shop as long as there are drugs there. There is quackery everywhere.
But as an association, anytime we have a case, we report to the law enforcement agents. And we also advise the law enforcement agents that when they catch a quack, they should not label that quack a doctor until they have gone to MDCN to establish whether that person has a licence from MDCN.
We have numbers, I know my file number with MDCN. That is why NMA has a strategic plan which is going to bring a lot of innovations to checkmate a lot of excesses. Every doctor will have his own stamp just like the engineer. One of those things that we are dealing with in our National Youth Service Corps camps is that a lot of corps members brought medical reports and my committee has found out that more than 90 percent of those reports were not written by doctors.
Somebody can just go into the hospital, get a letter head and print something. One of the reports labelled a female patient with prostate cancer! Women dont have prostate in the first instance.
We are doing a lot, in as much that there is internal discipline among ourselves, we are going to go out fully. I am sure that in the last three months you heard that NMA came heavily on some members. As long as you register with MDCN as a doctor in this country, you are automatically a member of NMA and if you are not obeying our constitution, we will discipline you.
So we will start with house cleaning, then we will extend it outside. Slowly we will get there, quacks will be identified and prosecuted.
PT- Still on quacks, it is a common menace especially in the rural areas where there are shortage of doctors.
Ogirima We have been advocating that as government is reactivating the primary healthcare centres, every ward is supposed to have a primary healthcare centre, we are saying a doctor should be employed at that primary healthcare centre.
They should not just leave it to the Kutis doctors, (there was a programme during the late Olikoye Ransom Kuti, Minister of Health) who brought in community health workers (CHW). The government should not leave the health of our people 100 per cent to the hand of these cadre of health professionals.
Let them be supervised by a qualified doctor who will diagnosis and treat the patients.
Those set of professionals work with guidelines, but a doctor listens, examines and infers and lays out the laboratory test the patient is meant to do.
We have public health physicians, that is doctors who specialise in public health.
They can be there but what it takes is that there must be incentives to keep them there. Those doctors in the rural areas should be able to send their children to good schools. They should be in connection with the world. The world is a global village so they must have all those things that will link them to the world.
If you have all those things and a doctor still refuses, then something is wrong. Maybe in the first instance he wasnt called to be a doctor.
We all started practicing from the village, and that is the essence of NYSC. From there you can go for specialisation or start working with the government and pursue a career. With incentives, my members are ready to work in the primary healthcare centres.
PT- It has been noted that consultants refer patients from government hospitals to their own private hospitals.
Ogirima It is an abuse of the system. The MDCN allows a consultant to own a clinic. What we mean by clinic is a small place where you can see a patient and recommend treatment plan.
MDCN code of ethics states that if you are working in a public hospital, you cannot manage in-patients in your facility. So you cannot run a hospital.
But the mentality of Nigerians, the people are not knowledgeable to know the difference between a clinic and a hospital. I will support a situation where the government will come out clearly and make directive that those employed under the public hospitals (government services) are not allowed to have a clinic. Then we will work by the rules to curtail excesses.
But I know that there is a law in this country that any civil servant cannot practice outside the working hours except if you have a farm. How many people are obeying that law? You have surveyors, pharmacists, lawyers in the government that have external practices. The government should come out clearly to bring out a law that will ban extra-curricular practice or private practice in all the professions.
PT Why is there an embargo on employment when the number of doctors in the country is a far cry to what is needed, especially in terms of doctors patients ratio? Ogun State for example lamented having only 150 doctors in the public hospitals.
PT Ask the government. I am not the government, NMA is not the government. But we have also observed and we have been shouting. In my state, I met a doctor in my village of about 200,000 people and he is alone in that general hospital.
I asked him how he has time for his family and when is his weekend, he said he has no weekend. So its not only in Ogun State, it is all over the country. The worst hit is the northern part of the country.
There are so many general hospitals without doctors. That is the point we are making; that how can we be in the midst of plenty and we are suffering? There are doctors looking for jobs. Maybe it is the recession. I pray this recession will end fast so that the government should employ more doctors, more nurses, because you go to the hospital in a 40 bedded ward, only one nurse is on duty for shift.
Our doctors are dying, health workers are dying because of fatigue. They are collapsing. The last time we had two episodes in Zaria, a nurse collapsed, a doctor collapsed, they died because of the pressure of work.
So we are using this opportunity to call on government that they must employ health workers to fill up the existing vacancies. A lot of vacancies exist in the hospitals.
PT- Resident doctors have always gone on and off strikes. What is your opinion on this? And what is the association doing about cases of doctors who have passed their primary and have no placement for residency programme until it lapses?
Ogirima Agreements were reached between the government and the residents, between the government and professional bodies. In 2014, doctors went on strike for 52 days. The reasons they went on strike then are the same reasons they still go on strike. The last time they went on warning strike and they are back to their duty post. What is happening in their January salary is that there is a shortfall of about 30 to 50 per cent. We are asking the government again, why? And I am seizing this opportunity to ask the government, particularly the Minister of Finance to release that shortfall within one week. Other hospital workers have collected their salary full, 100 per cent. But only doctors, resident doctors particularly have been subjected to only 50 per cent or 70 per cent of their salary.
Is it a punishment because they went on warning strike? I am being forced to believe it is a deliberate attempt. Those are the reasons why a doctor would abandon his patients. If a doctor is hungry and nobody to feed the doctor. I am sure if a doctor and any other professional go to the market to buy any item, for the fact that you introduce yourself as a doctor they will give those products at a very high price.
In those days, the populace fight for the doctors right and that is why we are telling everybody the reasons now. What crime have they committed? They have done their job 100 per cent but they were not paid 100 per cent.
But if they abscond from duty, there will be no work, no pay in the same system. That is injustice. So while I will appeal to my colleagues not to go on strike, they should tell the public the reasons why they go on strike and let the public judge and be the advocate of their plight.
I as an individual, I dont like going on strike and at my stage, I will never encourage strike from any health worker. With the National Health Act, it is illegal for any health worker to go on strike. As a consultant, I can never go on strike because the law states that as a consultant before you go on strike, look for another consultant to handover the patients to and it is not possible.
For those who cant get in for residency, it is still the embargo. The residency programme is a temporary stage in the doctors career. As you finish, another set of residents are employed. But here we have an embargo. In fact, in most teaching hospitals now, the top cadre of residents of residency programme is congested. People who are already waiting to exit, they dont have the junior residents as back up to replace the ones that are been trained.
I think it is the embargo or recession, but we are begging the government to please make sure that the specialist cadre in the health sector is not depleted. They must sustain the residency training programme because if you dont have primaries you cannot be engaged in the residency programme. A lot of doctors are having primaries, yet they are looking for placement.
PT As an orthopaedic surgeon, you deal with images most of the time. But looking at Nigeria where we have few hospitals with imaging equipment and the private ones either expensive for patients or not functional, how have you been coping?
Ogirima As an orthopaedic surgeon, I started without a tray and I wasnt frustrated because that was my call. I have a passion for orthopaedics. But I had POP (Plaster of Paris) to apply. So we started from non-operative treatment and gradually with my personal efforts I got a tray and I was using it. (Surgeons tray contains all the gadgets they use for surgery).
The medical imaging is a dynamic and revolving field. Whatever x-ray you use today, in the next two years it is obsolete. You need to keep updating. Yes, a lot of private hospitals are giving the government competition now in that respect. If you look around, private hospitals are coming up, doctors are forming partnership, group practice.
Why are the government hospitals not measuring up with these gadgets? The reason is simple. Governments talk about subsidy in medical care, government will buy an X-ray equipment of, lets say $100,000, the same X-ray equipment will be bought by a private hospital for $900,000. But the private hospital will have a pricing system that will make the private hospital factor in the price of changing the machine in some few years and also make profit. There is usually sustainable costing of service in the private hospitals.
This is quite the opposite in government hospitals where tests are usually subsidised and done at cheaper rate. They tend to overwork the machine and when it breaks down, they will be going to the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Finance to ask for money to repair or buy a new machine. That is a bad system.
Another reason why people would go abroad for medical care is because you have a building called teaching hospital with non- functional machines because they have broken down and they keep telling people to come back in weeks.
If government has instituted maintenance culture according to our services, that would not be happening. So that you will have a plan maintaining the machine, have enough money to buy a backup. Most MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) machines we have are just single unit in all teaching hospitals. If they break down, it takes another one year to start budgeting and get a spare part. This is not how to run the medical business.
Yes, some have subsidiary, but is the government providing the deficit in the charge to the operating hospital to maintain the machine? Yet hospital management cannot exceed certain limit in the costing of services to maintain the hospital.
PT Can you say how much Nigeria has lost to medical tourism?
Ogirima There is no study that will harness all the losses we are having for medical tourism abroad. But there was an estimate about three years ago, on a conservative estimate, Nigeria spends about $2 billion looking for health care outside the country.
India takes about 80 per cent of that fund. That is a conservative estimate. The good thing about the economic recession is that there is no money again for those patronising the hospitals outside so they are forced to look inward and patronise the good hospitals around us.
Until there is a study, I challenge our colleagues in the public health department to come up with a study and assess how much Nigerians spend to treat themselves outside the country so that it will be a national figure.
PT What is your view on the 2017 proposed health budget?
Ogirima I am not comfortable with that figure. The money budgeted is a far cry from the15 per cent agreed for health sector by African countries. I dont think it will solve a lot of problems, but I am hoping and trusting that the National Assembly will pass a budget that will provide extra funds for the health sector, maybe through the operationalisation of that National Health Act.
At least one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue should be set aside for the health sector. If they do that, there will be more funds in the health sector.
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It was one seat that was hotly contested, within and outside the courtroom, by two men who wouldnt give up or shift ground.
A temporary conclusion was reached on Friday as the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, recognised Ali Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Although the Ahmed Makarfi faction, which has the support of the partys governors, has vowed to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court, Mr. Sheriff has declared no victor, no vanquished.
Although Mr. Sheriff has called for a united party, PREMIUM TIMES reviews the winners and losers from the Appeal Court ruling.
AND THE WINNERS ARE.
Ali Modu Sheriff
One thing that cant be taken away from Mr. Sheriff, as far as the leadership crisis within the PDP is concerned, is his courage and tenacity. The former governor of Borno State took on the hitherto invincible PDP governors forum and went through fierce political and legal battles against the Ahmed Makarfi faction which had the backing of the governors.
Before now, the support of the PDP governors forum was a major factor in choosing the national chairman of the party. Mr. Sheriff himself was handpicked by the governors in February 2016 as the acting chairman after the party which lost the 2015 presidential election.
For the Appeal Court judgment, Mr. Sheriff, 61, is obviously the biggest winner.
Jimoh Ibrahim
The controversial businessman, backed by Mr. Sheriffs faction of the PDP, made a failed attempt to fly the PDP flag in the November 2016 governorship election in Ondo State.
The Makarfi faction had nominated Eyitayo Jegede, a legal practitioner and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN. After the Supreme Court affirmed Mr. Jegede as the right candidate of the PDP, Mr. Ibrahim in order to spite his party, turned around to offer political support to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Mr. Ibrahim claimed he could have won the election which was later won by Mr. Akeredolu.
The Court of Appeal ruling appears to have vindicated Mr. Ibrahim who has also celebrated the victory. A photograph uploaded on his Twitter page, Saturday, showed Mr. Ibrahim dancing, with a glass of drink in his hand, with the tweet Ali Modu Sheriff is PDP National Chairman.
https://twitter.com/JimohIbrahimOFR/status/832974446684155905
Justice Okon Abang
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had ruled in July last year that the May 21, 2016, PDP Convention in Port Harcourt was illegal. It was at that convention that Mr. Sheriff and his national working committee were replaced with Mr. Makarfi-led caretaker committee.
Mr. Abang, who also declared Mr. Ibrahim as the PDP candidate in Ekiti based on being nominated by the Sheriff PDP, also received a lot of criticisms for his rulings by the Makarfi PDP faction.
The judge is definitely one of the winners as he would feel justified by the Appeal Court ruling.
Buruji Kashamu
Buruji Kashamu, a controversial senator from Ogun State, is among the high-profile supporters of Mr. Sheriff.
Mr. Kashamu, who was suspended by the Ogun PDP loyal to Mr. Makarfi, leads another faction in the state aligned to Mr. Kashamu.
The lawmaker will feel vindicated by the Appeal Court ruling.
And the losers are.
Ahmed Makarfi
Ahmed Makarfi, who has been battling with Mr. Sheriff for the PDP number one seat, is the first in the line-up of losers.
With the court judgment, the former governor of Kaduna State is sure going to lose some following. Ben Murray-Bruce, a senator from Bayelsa State, who hitherto was with Mr. Makarfis faction, has already declared solidarity with Mr. Sheriff.
Mr. Murray-Bruce said it was high time the party put an end to the prolonged battle.
PDP workers at Wadata plaza, Abuja
The PDP workers at the party headquarters took side with Mr. Makarfis faction, and shunned an invitation to a meeting with Mr. Sheriff.
The workers had protested the continued closure of the party secretariat by the police due to the crisis. They shunned a meeting with Mr. Sheriff to discuss the closure and blamed it for it.
Many of the workers will surely be worried by the implication of the Appeal Court ruling.
Nyesome Wike
The governor of Rivers, Nyesome Wike, has played multiple roles in the crisis rocking the PDP. Besides chairing the committee that planned the ill-fated May 2016 Port Harcourt Convention, Mr. Wike is alleged to be among the few governors who appointed Mr. Sheriff as the acting national chairman of PDP and later dumped him for Mr. Makarfi.
Mr. Wike has been one of the major opponents of Mr. Sheriff, and now he could be one of the biggest losers.
Godswill Akpabio
Mr. Akpabio, the Senate Minority Leader, moved the motion at the May 2016 Port Harcourt Convention which led to the sacking of Mr. Sheriff and the national working committee.
Since then, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, together with Governor Wike, has been working assiduously against Mr. Sheriff continuing as the PDP chairman.
Segun Mimiko
Mr. Mimiko, the outgoing governor of Ondo State, pitched his tent with Mr. Makarfi. His state became the stage where the factional fight played out more dramatically during the last governorship election there.
Mr. Mimikos man, Eyitayo Jegede, defeated the controversial businessman, Mr. Ibrahim, at the Supreme Court to finally fly the partys flag in the election, even though the PDP eventually lost to the APC in the general election.
Femi Fani-Kayode
Mr. Fani-Kayode, a former minister of Aviation and a chieftain of the PDP, has been consistent in his attacks against Mr. Sheriff whom he said was unfit to lead the party.
At some point, the former minister said it was better for Mr. Makarfis faction to go form a new party than to negotiate with Mr. Sheriff.
Now, with the Appeal Court judgment, Mr. Fani-Kayode could be more angry and disappointed.
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Emergency agencies in Ogun and Lagos states have attended to about 50 different disasters between Friday and Sunday, the National Emergency Management Agency has said.
Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMAs southwest spokesperson, said rescue officials were attending to a fire outbreak at Rida National Plastic Company, Oshodi, Lagos; a car explosion in Abeokuta, and a wild bush fire at Ipokia, Ogun State on Sunday at about midday.
Five deaths have been recorded so far in all the incidents, said Mr. Farinloye.
Nigerians especially private sector company owners and tanker drivers are seriously being implored to take safety consciousness and guide against unsafe practices as the new phase of dry season is coming up.
Parents and schools should educate children and the elderly to know basic unsafe actions.
Earlier on Saturday, a car plunged into a Lagos lagoon leading to the death of one of the occupants.
On Friday, a bus plunged into a Lagos canal causing the death of at least three people.
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The Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for a meeting of influential members of the faction to discuss the decision of the Appeal Court that went against his leadership.
The Port Harcourt Division of the court had on Friday annulled the May 21, 2016 national convention that gave birth to the national caretaker committee.
The Court also validated the position of Ali Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party.
Stunned by the decision, Mr. Makarfi has now summoned the meeting expected to deliberate on the next course of action by his group.
The faction had alongside the PDP Governors Forum and the Board of Trustees earlier said they would appeal the ruling of the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court.
Mondays meeting is scheduled for for 2p.m. at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Abuja.
According to the notice of the meeting, those invited include members of the National Executive Committee, NEC, the Board of Trustees, BoT, National Assembly members, former governors of the PDP, former ministers under the platform of the party, former National Assembly members and party elders.
The notice signed by the factions spokesperson, Dayo Adeyeye, said all those invited to the meeting should attend unfailingly as crucial party matters will be discussed.
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A factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Sheriff, will not be given support because he is an agent of the ruling All Progressives Congress, a chieftain of the opposition party said Sunday.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, said in a statement copied to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Sheriff had been working actively to weaken the PDP from inside in order to give APC an easy wave through the next general election.
This is a man whose fundamental purpose and ambition in life is to sell the PDP down the river and to help the ruling APC and the Buhari government to destroy us and win the presidential election in 2019, Mr. Fani-Kayode said.
The comments were in reaction to a recent judgement of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal which affirmed Mr. Sheriffs position as the authentic chairman of the PDP.
Mr. Sheriff went to court last year after he was eased out as the chairman of the party, three months after he was installed.
The party replaced him with an interim leadership headed by former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi at its botched national convention in Port Harcourt in May 2016.
A defiant Mr. Fani-Kayode said he and others like him stood with Mr. Makarfis committee and will not recognise Mr. Sheriff as the face of the PDP even if he eventually prevailed at the Supreme Court.
Sheriff is the Angel of Death to the PDP. He is worse than the bubonic plague: not only is he a curse to our party but he is also an affliction to our nation, Mr. Fani-Kayode said. I stand with Ahmed Makarfi and our Caretaker Committee.
Mr. Fani-Kayode slammed Mr. Sheriff for insulting PDP governors who championed his emergence as chairman despite the warnings he issued against such move at the time.
I read his insulting comments about [Governor Ayo] Fayose and [Governor Nyesom] Wike and I laughed. Are these not the very same people that brought him in the first place and convinced others in the PDP Governors Forum to support him?
Mr. Sheriffs spokesman, Inuwa Bwala, declined comments Sunday evening.
But Wale Oladipo, the national secretary of the Ali Sheriff-led PDP, dismissed Mr. Fani-Kayodes attacks as merely his opinion.
Mr. Oladipo also pushed back against allegations that his faction is working for the APC.
How can we be working for the APC? Mr. Oladipo queried. When we were in government for many years, did opposition work for us?
Mr. Sheriffs victory at the appellate court was seen by some in the crisis-plagued major opposition party as a major boost for his legitimacy.
Ben Murray-Bruce, a PDP senator from Bayelsa State, urged all stakeholders in the party to rally behind Mr. Sheriff or risk sending the party into oblivion.
I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party, Mr. Murray-Bruce said.
We will work with Ali Modu Sheriff and go to a convention.
Right now, PDP is on a course towards destruction and abiding by the judgement of the court is the only thing that can save us, he added.
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No fewer than 19 academics from different universities in Nigeria have begun research attachments in several fields of study sponsored by Shell, a multi-national oil company.
Bamidele Odugbesan, Shell spokesperson, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
Mr. Odugbesan said that the programme was the latest phase of the sabbatical and internship programme of the Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited, SPDC, Joint Venture, which was introduced in 1980.
According to him, the eight professors and 11 research interns commenced their programmes in January 2017.
Mr. Odugbesan said that the beneficiaries were seeking to build industry knowledge and understanding in such fields as biodiversity, petroleum engineering, geophysics, impact assessment, community health, and oil and gas exploration.
He explained that the recipients were drawn from the University of Benin, University of Ibadan, Niger Delta University, University of Ilorin and the University of Lagos.
Other beneficiaries are drawn from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, University of Calabar and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Igo Weli, the companys General Manager External Relations, also described the programme as mutually beneficial relationship.
Our research and internship programmes is a key aspect of our effort to contribute to the development of higher education in Nigeria. It is a mutually beneficial relationship.
SPDC obtains specialised and cost-effective services from the professors and senior lecturers, while they in turn acquire industry experience and exposure to new technologies that can be ploughed back to the university community.
For a period of one year, the professors on sabbatical will conduct research in identified areas and share their findings with SPDC.
Part of the internship programme involves Masters degree students who are also offered one-year placements to acquire work experience in SPDC.
The other set of internships are from the Shell Centre of Excellence at the University of Benin who will spend six months, enabling them to gain critical working experience and be exposed to Shells working culture and ethics.
Recruitment for sabbatical and research internship scheme begins with advertisements in national and local newspapers in March with interviews in July each year.
Mr. Odugbesan further said in the statement that Shell companies in Nigeria had a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives.
He said that Shell companies had also been helping to build capacity in key technical skills, for example donating equipment to universities to develop capability in the production of drilling mud.
Ten graduate scholarships are also awarded annually to students from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta to study engineering and geosciences at top universities in the United Kingdom, building a talent pipeline within host communities.
In addition, 40 engineering and geosciences graduates receive hands-on training through a one-year internship programme organised by the SPDC JV and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, a group of indigenous oilfield service companies, Mr. Odugbesan said.
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The Green Bay City Council recently discussed spending $80,000 to repair or replace a 9-11 monument thats in horrible condition.
The Holmen Village Board in La Crosse County approved $34,085 for two pickups, $4,500 for a digital camera, and $2,600 for a radar gun.
The Beaver Dam School Board committed $75,000 for Chromebooks for staff.
The DeForest Village Board approved an agreement with Dane County to reconstruct Highway CV.
All of that information and so much more appeared Thursday and Friday in meeting minutes published by local governments in local newspapers.
You might not care about some or any of those details if you dont live in those communities. But if you did, those decisions could significantly affect you and your family.
Thats why school districts, counties and municipalities are required by state law to publish at a discount the minutes of their meetings in their local newspapers. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association also publishes the notices and a slew of other community announcements on its searchable and free website: wisconsinpublicnotices.org.
The notices are a public service to the hundreds of thousands of citizens who read local newspapers in print and online across Wisconsin, as well as anyone who is curious and has access to the internet.
The result of wide dissemination of this public information where it is easy to find is a more involved and knowledgeable citizenry that knows whats going on with public money and policy.
Unfortunately, Gov. Scott Walker and some misguided state lawmakers want to hide much of this information where its hard for voters to find. They are pushing changes in the state budget and separate legislation that would bury meeting minutes and other public notices about local ordinances and budgets on obscure, often confusing and bureaucratic government websites.
Instead of just picking up your local newspaper and seeing all of the actions your local leaders are taking including those that dont lead to news coverage and big headlines citizens will have to search the internet hoping to find more detail about government budgets and decisions.
The politicians claim this will save a little money because local governments wont have to pay for as many notices in newspapers. What they dont say is public access to government will be diminished. And thats just what the politicians want, because fewer notices will mean less scrutiny and accountability for their actions. Over time, that will only lead to greater spending and waste, not less.
The full Legislature should reject Assembly Bill 70 and Senate Bill 42, which will reduce government transparency. Lawmakers also should strip from the governors budget any language limiting publication of government meetings and actions.
European Union donates Seventy Million Euros to Support Nigerian Health Project
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Federal Government and the European Union, EU, for a 70 million euros donation by the union to support the revamping of Nigerias health sector.
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said the fund will be used to strengthen the nations weak health system and the final push to eradicate polio.
Michel Arrion, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, emphasised the need to concentrate on reducing the nations burden of maternal child mortality.
About 2.7 million children under five years of age and pregnant women are expected to benefit from this funding in Adamawa, Bauchi, and Kebbi states.
Eight die of Lassa fever in Nasarawa
Eight people were confirmed dead in the latest outbreak of Lassa fever in Nasarawa State.
Ibrahim Adamu, the Director of Public Health at the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, said out of the 11 confirmed cases recorded since the index case in November 2016, eight have died while three others are responding to treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) in Lafia.
Mr. Adamu said that the number of people who had contact with the patients and were being monitored had risen to 82 from 66.
He said the state government had shown commitment towards fighting the outbreak by providing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and drugs for the treatment of the disease.
No recent case of Lassa fever in Ondo State Govt.
The Commissioner for Health in Ondo State, Dayo Adeyanju, has disputed claims of new cases of Lassa fever in the state from last December. He said the figures released by the Federal Ministry of Health concerning the state were inaccurate.
Elsie Ilori, Director of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, had said 44 cases of Lassa fever had been reported since December 2016 in nine states including Ogun, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo, Nasarawa, Rivers, Ebonyi and Ondo, with some of the cases classified as probable.
Mr. Adeyanju said the cases cited by the agency occurred a very long time ago, and that no new case had been recorded since December.
He said the Ondo State Ministry of Health had only undertaken a state-wide sensitisation campaign following a recurrence of the epidemic in neighbouring states like Ogun in December.
Incessant strike deters progress in health sector
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Lanre Tejuosho, said incessant strike in the Nigerian health sector has had adverse effect on progress in the sector.
Speaking during the budget defence of the Ministry of Health and its agencies, Mr. Tejuosho said that the implementation of the National Health Act, 2014 will go a long way in improving the health sector.
The implementation of the Act would aid growth in the health sector as the one per cent consolidation fund enshrined in the Act has not been realised because the Act has not been implemented, he said.
The Act also has the purpose of providing healthcare insurance to poor Nigerians.
The National Health Act seeks to establish a framework for the regulation, development and management of a national health system, to set standards for rendering health services in Nigeria and other matters concerned therewith.
Federal Government approves new health policy
The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved a new National Health Policy titled Promoting the Health of Nigerians to Accelerate Socio-economic Development,
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, while briefing the media at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday in Abuja said the new policy is the third in the history of Nigeria, coming after those of 1988 and 2004.
Mr. Adewole said the new policy will also provide direction necessary to support the achievement of significant progress in terms of improving the performance of the national health system.
The new policy was formulated by a technical working group chaired by former minister of Health, Eyitayo Lambo, to look into the countrys context, the challenges, what went wrong in the past and how we can reposition the health sector, Mr. Adewole said.
Nigerias Senate wants HIV cure claim verified
The Chairman of Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare, Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases, Mao Ohuabunwa, has called on the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, to verify the claim of a Nigerian university don, Maduike Ezeibe, of having produced a cure for HIV.
Mr. Ohuabunwa said it is not proper to dismiss the professors claim without verification by relevant bodies without subjecting the claim to scientific analysis in order to arrive at a definite decision.
Mr. Ezeibe, a researcher in Veterinary Medicine at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, was reported to have discovered cure for HIV/AIDS.
Reacting to the claim, Executive Secretary of the NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, said they were satisfied with the stand taken by NACA and the Centre for Disease Control on the issue.
According to Mr. Shuaib, anyone announcing cure for any disease must follow some rigorous steps. He said based on the evidence and records that the professor provided, the claim falls short of what is expected in terms of rigour and what is acceptable.
Minister rates Nigerian doctors high
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has said Nigerian doctors offer better services than their counterparts abroad.
Mr. Adewole stated this during the commissioning of the Maternity and Neonatal Wards and Central Pharmacy Building at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife in Osun State.
He canvassed patronage of Nigerian medical practitioners.
He commended the hospital management for its services to the masses, charging the management to publicise the hospital services for more patronage.
He dismissed claims that the hospitals services were limited and that it had no effective medical equipment.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Victor Adetiloye described OAUTHC as the best hospital in the country.
Kenya court frees jailed doctors
Jailed officials of Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union have been ordered to be released to continue negotiations with the government over a strike that has paralysed the public health sector.
The order was given by the Court of Appeal in the country after the officials were ordered to serve a one-month jail term by a lower court which found them guilty of contempt of court in relation to a strike which started in December.
According to Kenyas Nation newspaper, lawyers for the Council of Governors and Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union agreed to have the doctors released immediately to carry on with talks.
They are expected to craft a return-to-work formula that will be presented in court on February 23, meaning doctors may have to vacate the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement they have been pushing their employer to effect.
Doctors in public hospitals in Kenya have been on strike since December 5 over pay and conditions.
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Respect for the court ruling that affirmed Ali Sheriff as the authentic chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party is the only way to salvage Nigerias troubled opposition party, Ben Bruce has said.
Mr. Bruce, a PDP Senator from Bayelsa State, disclosed his position on the partys leadership crisis during the weekend via a one-paragraph statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
The Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal had on Friday annulled the May 21, 2016 national convention that gave birth to the national caretaker committee led by Ahmad Makarfi, a former Kaduna Governor, and backed by the PDP Governors Forum and Board of Trustees.
The Makarfi faction has opposed the ruling, indicating intention to head to the Supreme Court.
I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party, said Mr. Bruce, adding that: We will work with Ali Modu Sheriff and go to a convention.
Right now, PDP is on a course towards destruction and abiding by the judgement of the court is the only thing that can save us.
PDP lost Nigerias presidential election in 2015 after 16 years of control.
Since its fall, the party has failed to offer serious opposition to the All Progressives Congress government of Muhammadu Buhari, leaving civil society organisations, activists and concerned citizens with the power of social media to offer criticisms amid worsening economic crisis and cases of deadly violence like the killings in Southern Kaduna and Agatu, Benue State.
I therefore call an end to the fighting. And I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party. Right now, what Nigeria has is a one-party state there is no opposition. Enough is enough. The is the time for PDP to unite, we are a formidable force!
The current bickering is childish and irrelevant. I am not in support of anymore litigation, said Mr. Bruce.
The Sheriff faction also has the backing of Buruji Kashamu, a fugitive Senator from Ogun State.
The Makarfi faction has slated for Monday, a meeting at the International Conference Centre to discuss crucial party matters in the wake of the ruling that went against its leadership.
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Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF, an international humanitarian medical organisation, said it has setup a 50-bed therapeutic feeding centre, for malnourished children in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The new centre which was officially opened in Fori district of Maiduguri on Saturday, brings the total number of such facilities to three.
The MSF had last year disclosed large scale malnourishment amongst displaced children in many of the IDP camps in Borno State.
This was followed by mass evacuation of about 550 kids with acute malnourishment to a special centre jointly set up by MSF and Borno State government where they were mostly rehabilitated.
According to MSF, the latest feeding centre, located within the premises of the state ministry of healths primary healthcare centre in Fori district of Maiduguri, started receiving patients three weeks ago before it was officially opened on February 18.
We have so far in the outpatient programme, after three weeks, 120 children and in the inpatient department we have had 15 children. The difference is that in the inpatient department we are seeing children with severe complications, Cathy Hansens, MSF Field Coordinator, says.
Ms. Hansens added that a team of community health workers are going into the community to test children for malnutrition and also inform parents on the need to bring their children to the programme. The response has been encouraging, she said.
Two weeks ago, we had a child of seven years old and when he entered the programme he was not responding, she said.
The child was very shy and didnt want to interact. He lost completely all appetite and that was why he was admitted in the inpatient department. Slowly everyday you could see how he was improving.
He started to drink the milk, then we moved on to plumpy nut and by the time he was discharged after one week, he was smiling and very happy. He gained some weight and looked like a child his age again. It was so lovely to see and that is why we are doing this. We are very thankful to see the children improving, playing and running out of our centre healthy.
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The special task force on Jos crisis has arrested 12 suspects for allegedly running a baby trafficking ring in Jos, Plateau State.
The commander of the task force, Rogers Nicholas, a major-general, made the disclosure to journalists on Saturday while parading the suspects he said were harbouring the mother of a new born and four pregnant young women.
Mr. Nicholas said the suspects were arrested at a location where they were keeping the pregnant women to deliver their babies and allegedly exchange them for money.
He said a two-week-old child suspected to have been bought by the suspects was also found at the location. The suspects consisted of eight men and four women.
The mother of the two-week-old baby, Happiness John, claimed she was lured into the illicit transaction by a friend she simply identified as Patience.
My friend Patience brought me here, she told me to bring my child so that we can sell, she said.
Ms. Johns mother, Juliana John, also alleged that the young mother was lured into the deal by her friend, Patience.
According to Sale Kawugana, an army colonel whose soldiers made the arrests and handed them over to the task force, the suspects were apprehended at their location along Bukuru Park, Jos North Local Government Area following a tip off.
The suspects, however, denied that they were running a baby factory during an interview with journalists.
The task force commander, Mr. Nicholas, said the suspects will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.
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The Jigawa chapter of the Jamaatul Nasril Islam, JNI, has organised a special prayer for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and his safe return to the country.
Its Secretary, Muhammad Babangida, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Dutse.
Mr. Babangida said the prayer was conducted on Friday in Miga Local Government Area of the state.
He explained that a special prayer was also offered for peace and economic prosperity in the country.
According to him, the gesture is to seek Gods intervention in the nations quest to overcome the present insecurity in some parts of the country.
Mr. Babangida expressed optimism that fervent prayers by Nigerians would enable the Buhari administration to overcome the nations challenges.
He said the president, governors and other leaders needed prayers for Gods grace and wisdom to steer the affairs of the nation and salvage it from its present challenges.
(NAN)
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The alleged withdrawal of the security details of the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, by the police featured prominently during the town hall meeting Acting President Yemi Osinbajo had with the people of the state on Monday.
Mr. Osinbajo is touring the Niger Delta region of the country to promote a new engagement that is expected to usher in lasting peace in the troubled region.
Some women in the state in their presentation to Mr. Osinbajo said they were ready to offer themselves as security to protect Mr. Wike against any harm.
Ann-Kio Briggs, a popular Niger Delta activist, spoke on behalf of the women.
As women, we must express our serious concern on the removal of the security details of our governor, Ms. Briggs said.
If our governor is exposed to the risk of having inadequate security, this poses not only a threat to our state but to our economy and to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
(And) if this extreme danger continues, as mothers we may have no other alternative but to consider protecting our governor.
Ms. Briggs remarks elicited cheers from the crowd inside the hall, especially from the women.
She said the women would no longer be left out of whatever plans Nigeria has towards the Niger Delta.
Women are the bedrock of our society, she added.
The traditional rulers in the state also added their voice to the call for the restoration of the governors security details.
The Chairman, Rivers State Council of Chiefs, Douglas Jaja, who spoke on behalf of the traditional rulers, said Mr. Wike was the only governor in Nigeria without security men.
Governor Wike is our son. As fathers, when any of our sons is in danger we get worried. We are worried (that) he may be set up for attack or assassination, said Mr. Jaja who is also the Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom.
Mr. Jaja told the acting president, We have no doubt that as a man of God you do uphold the sanctity of life.
It is on this basis that we request that you assist us by bringing pressure to bear on the inspector general of police to restore the governors security aides to their former position.
Under his watch, this state has protected the federal government infrastructure. No case of pipeline vandalisation has been reported in recent years.
We believe that having done so well as a governor, he should not be subjected to such torture. Rather, he should be encouraged to do more.
When it was the turn of Mr. Wike to address the meeting, the governor said he was in support of all their presentations.
The governor said that the Rivers government was not in contention against the federal government.
He enumerated what he said were his administrations contributions to the federal government, including providing support for the security agencies in the state, the prevention of militant attacks on oil pipelines and the repairs of a section of the East-West Road.
He, however, added that the federal government in return wasnt giving the state a fair treatment.
Mr. Wike said the Port Harcourt International Airport, owned by the federal government, for instance, was a disgrace to the state and the nation, and that most of the federal roads in the states were in dilapidated condition.
The governor accused the federal government of not allowing the seventh train of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, project in the state to kick off, as well as doing political stunts with the Ogoni clean-up campaign which the federal government flagged off last year.
The acting president, Mr. Osinbajo in his response, said Rivers State was important to the countrys economy, and that the federal government was beginning a new partnership with the state and the entire Niger Delta region.
I am assuring you that this will be the beginning of the narrative that will change the Niger Delta, Mr. Osinbajo said.
The acting president didnt, however, respond to the issue of Governor Wikes security details, apart from jokingly asking that the women extend their security protection to him (Mr. Osinbajo) as well.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, he denied that the police had withdrawn Mr. Wikes security details.
Mr. Moshood said the police officers that were withdrawn from the governors security were those found wanting during the last legislative re-run election, and that they were dismissed from the police after an administrative trial.
The dismissed police officers were awaiting prosecution, he said.
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Early morning fire outbreak on Sunday razed about nine shops at a popular estate roundabout market in Warri, Delta State.
A witness account said that the inferno started at about 3:00 a.m. on Sunday leading to the destruction of property including electrical appliances worth millions of Naira.
The fire was said to have come from a refuse dump site close to a bush which was set on fire by the traders at the close of business on Saturday.
It was obvious that the trader did not anticipate the early morning harmattan that had resurfaced recently in Warri.
Livanus Okeke, a resident of the area, said; we had all gone to sleep when we saw thick smoke.
As we peep through the window, we saw that the fire had spread from the bush area to shops along the major road.
Mr. Okeke said some residents shouted to attract the attention of other neighbours to salvage some of the items in the shops before fire fighters would arrive at the scene.
He, however, said that the situation had been curtailed before the arrival of the fire fighters at about 4:10 a.m.
Nine shops were severely affected by the fire, he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent who visited the scene, observed that some of the victims were still counting their loses as at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
One of the traders, Andrew Chukwuemeka, said that he lost property worth about N2 million to the fire incident.
Where will I start from in this recession, I leave everything for God, he said.
(NAN)
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Burglars on Saturday night broke into the Apostolic Revival World Centre located within the premises of the Ogun State Secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists and made away with musical equipment valued at millions of Naira.
The incident was the latest in a series of raids on the secretariat, which is a stone throw from the headquarters of the Mobile Police Force at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, and shares a fence with the private residence of former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan.
Recent victims of the burglars include a media consultancy firm, Steppingstone Communications, which lost two giant electricity generators in a space of two months.
Rolls of iron sheets worth millions of naira were also stolen when a shop in the premises was burgled, while food items, bottles of wine, a generating set, a giant-size storex tank, stablisers and a plasma television set were also removed from the popular Iwe Iroyin Food Canteen in the premises.
The bar in the secretariat had also lost several plasma television sets and assorted alcohol drinks to burglary, while the Ogun State NUJ, which owns the building, has recorded losses of its own, including plasma television sets, accessories of air-conditioners in offices, standing fans and chairs inside the conference hall.
In the latest raid on Saturday, the burglars went away with musical equipment and religious books after gaining access into the church by breaking some windows.
The Pastor of the church, Dele Adejuwon, informed our correspondent of the incident on Sunday.
Although the cleric prayed that God would touch the hearts of the bandits, Mr. Adejuwon said he wished that the law enforcement agents would catch them first.
He said the church had reported the break in at the Ibara police station, and that officers from the station had visited the scene.
When contacted, Chairman of the state chapter of the NUJ, Wole Shobunbi, also confirmed that the incident was reported to the police.
A man suspected to be an armed robber was recently apprehended at the centre, while allegedly attempting to rob lodgers at the NUJ guest house.
The suspect, whom the police identified as a serial robber, has been charged to court.
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At the concluding ceremony of three days 8th South East Asia Public Health Education Institutions Networks (SEAPHEIN) Annual conference first Indian, Dr. SD Gupta is elected as President and will be driving the SEAPHEINs goals in the interest of member countries. The 8th SEAPHEIN annual conference was kicked off in collaboration with IIHMR University and WHO SEARO on 13th Feb.Major concern of all the member countries of SEAPHEIN was to put UHC at the centre of the overall health goal, and make progress towards the UHC target a prerequisite for the achievement of all the other target covered under SDGs health goal. Under SDG the core target is to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) - including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. The goal of UHC is relevant to all countries and offers an unprecedented opportunity to increase coherence in health related actions and initiatives.Dr. S D Gupta, President of SEAPHEIN and Chairman of IIHMR University said, I feel honored as elected to lead the SEAPHEIN agenda of promoting public health education and training in the academic institutions and universities. Public Health Sector requires professionally trained human resource globally to drive the agenda set by WHO, for achieving sustainable development goals. SEAPHEIN members deliberated their thoughts on redefining the role of public health education institutions to transform public health education, training, research and innovation so that skilled health workforce can be prepared for promoting UHC and achievement of health goals under SDGs. They also discussed to promote multi-centric and multi country research through collaboration.Dr. PR Sodani, Organising Secretary of SEAPHEIN and Dean Training, IIHMR University said, SEAPHEIN is a network to bring South East Asian Countries on a single platform and to work for enhancing quality of public health teaching, training and research.For the 17th Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030 agenda set by WHO, the integration of all the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) is necessary that includes eradication of poverty and inequality, creating inclusive economic growth and preserving the planet. The three days conference of South East Asia Public Health Education Institutions Network (SEAPHEIN) organised by IIHMR University was attended by the Public Health Professionals from South East Asia Region, about 9 countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal.For UHC as a key goal of SDGs of WHO, SEAPHEIN will put its best to create standards and qualities of public health education and training. Some of the UHC goals like Inequalities in Coverage, Financial Protection etc. This approach is required universally especially in the case of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health. This is especially the case for developing countries. Likewise a relative inequality based on the health coverage among the poorest populations to the national average should also be managed by giving financial protection to citizens.
PLEASANTVILLE Just as Barack Obama gave one final speech before leaving the White House, Doris B.H. Simmons decided to give the public one last glimpse of her President Obama memorabilia before she locks it away.
Simmons has put her display of more than 250 pieces of Barack and Michelle Obama items in an exhibit Farewell President Obama & Family for Black History Month inside Mount Zion Baptist Church here.
This is history. This cannot be reproduced, said Simmons, 74. I have been collecting this since he was elected.
If something was created with the likeness of either the former president or first lady attached, Simmons probably has it magazines, dolls, stamps, puzzles, caps, plates, mints, pens, calendars, DVDs, magnets, T-shirts and more.
An art teacher for 37 years in the city school district, Simmons grew up in Florida in the segregated South. She rode eight miles on a bus to an all-black high school even though another high school, which was all white, was within walking distance.
I really didnt expect to see it in my lifetime, said Simmons, an Egg Harbor Township resident, about a black person being elected president.
At her personal collection, visitors can see a photograph of Obama sitting in the same seat as the late civil rights activist Rosa Parks during her Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott during the 1950s. There are photos of Obama with Pope Francis and Bishop Desmond Tutu, among other images.
Simmons had her collection on display last year. She was not planning on doing it again but was talked into it by her senior pastor, Willie Dwayne Francois III.
For people who saw Simmons exhibit last year, she has more items in her display this year, some created to commemorate Obama leaving the White House. Also, the display has grown from just one room to include 24 framed photos in the hallway outside of the room.
Mary G. Briggs, 93, who lives here, attends Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Its so beautiful, Briggs said. I look at the exhibit, and I wonder how long it took to put it up I think its wonderful.
Simmons had to make two trips from her home to bring the items to the church with assistance from her husband, Bill Simmons. She spent three days setting up the room.
All the schools and churches in Atlantic City and Pleasantville were contacted to see her collection, she said.
Simmons purchased 99 percent of her collection. She cried when a neighbor gave her a recent multi-page supplement from The New York Daily News titled The Obama Years.
Magazines and newspapers make up a big part of Simmons collection.
When Black History Month ends, Simmons memorabilia will return to her home. She said she would like to see it end up in a museum. Two of her children will be in charge of the collection in case she dies before she can donate it somewhere.
The Obama Presidential Center at Jackson Park in Chicago is to be finished by 2021, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Happy birthday, George Washington! Today is Presidents Day, the day we celebrate not just George but all presidents.
The highest political office has been in the spotlight for several reasons: President Donald Trump and the election season that preceded his victory, first of all. Pop culture has also flirted with the presidency lately, such as in Hamilton, a Broadway musical that focused on the founding fathers of the United States, and the films Jackie and All the Way.
Details about our presidents range from weird to shocking. Test how much you know about our fearless leaders with our Presidents Day quiz.
1) How many U.S. presidents have been assassinated?
2) How many have been impeached?
3) Which President was shot in the middle of a speech but kept speaking?
4) Which three U.S. presidents married their cousins?
5) Which U.S. president was the first to bring a pet to the White House?
6) Who was the tallest president?
7) Which U.S. president was the proud owner of a pygmy hippo?
8) Which former U.S. president pals died just hours apart on July 4?
9) Which two presidents donated their salaries to charity?
10) Which president was a peanut farmer before taking over the White House?
11) Which president attended seances?
12) Who was the oldest when elected?
13) How many father-son presidents have there been?
14) Who wore a lock of Abraham Lincolns hair during his inauguration?
15) Who set a record of making 133 trips abroad?
16) Who was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the office?
17) Who was the only president to be unanimously elected?
18) Which president was more of a night person?
19) Which president couldve been the next Mozart?
20) Who was the first to run against a woman for the presidency?
Pleasantville woman's personal Obama exhibit makes final appearance PLEASANTVILLE Just as Barack Obama gave one final speech before leaving the White House, D
ANSWERS
1) Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. All four were shot to death.
2) Two, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Both were successfully impeached by the House of Representatives but later acquitted by the Senate.
3) Theodore Roosevelt
4) President John Adams married his third cousin, Abigail Smith. President Thomas Jefferson also married his third cousin, Martha Wayles, while Franklin Delano Roosevelt married Eleanor, his fifth cousin once removed. Eleanor did not have to change her name upon marrying, since her maiden name was also Roosevelt. Her father, Elliot, was the brother of former President Theodore Roosevelt.
5) Thomas Jeffersons beloved mockingbird, Dick, is thought to be the first pet to live in the White House. Birds were said to be Jeffersons favorite animal and Dick often had free range of the presidents study. Dick often sang the president to sleep, liked to sit on his shoulder and would even take food from Jeffersons mouth.
6) Abraham Lincoln was the tallest by far at 6 foot 4 inches.
7) Billy the pygmy hippo became Calvin Coolidges prized pet after making its way to the White House from Liberia. He also had a domesticated raccoon named Rebecca. The hippo, whose pygmy name was misleading, was eventually given to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
8) Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, in 1826.
9) Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy. President Donald Trump, if he follows through with donating his salary, will be the third.
10) President Jimmy Carter
11) Abraham Lincoln. Mary Lincoln became interested in seances and the use of mediums after their son, Willie, died in 1862.
12) President Donald Trump
13) Two. George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
14) Theodore Roosevelt. He had watched Lincolns funeral procession go by in New York.
15) Bill Clinton.
16) Franklin Pierce
17) George Washington
18) Chester A. Arthur. The 21st president of the United States enjoyed walking at night and often stayed up until 2 a.m.
19) Maybe Harry S. Truman. He had the work ethic. Truman used to get up as early as 5 a.m. to practice the piano for two hours.
20) No, that wasnt Donald Trump. Ulysses S. Grant ran against Virginia Woodhull, the nominee of the Equal Rights Party, in 1872.
ATLANTIC CITY A Ventnor man was charged Sunday with fatally stabbing a city woman and injuring a Pennsylvania man over the weekend, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said Monday.
Jose B. Lopez, 51, of North Oakland Avenue, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, Ruberton said in a statement.
RELATED: One dead, one wounded in double stabbing in Atlantic City.
A Galloway Township police officer on patrol in the township Sunday morning spotted Lopez driving a vehicle that belonged to the injured man, Ruberton said. The officer radioed for backup units, stopped the vehicle and arrested Lopez without incident, Ruberton said.
Authorities have not yet identified the 54-year-old woman who was stabbed to death in a home on North Harrisburg Avenue.
RELATED: Officials identity Atlantic City man killed Wednesday in shooting. The womans next-of-kin was notified, according to the Prosecutors Office.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus.
Lopez was taken to the Atlantic County jail, Ruberton said.
A murder conviction can carry a prison sentence of 30 years to life.
Detectives of the Atlantic County Prosecutors Offices Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department are continuing the investigation, authorities said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666. Witnesses also may call the Atlantic City Police Department Investigations Division at 609-347-5766.
Anonymous tips may be left at acpo.org/tips.html, and tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimestoppersatlantic.com.
Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.
It was an interesting week in Atlantic City. As usual Christian Hetrick and Nicholas Huba got to report on it while I stayed behind and read their tweets.
I think there's a T-shirt slogan in there. We caught up Thursday to talk about what had happened. We agreed that it been a relatively good week for the city.
The Urban Land Institute of Philadelphia hosted a conference in the resort Thursday that not only broke some news, but also further suggested the city is getting serious about breaking from its casino past.
The $72 million tax settlement with Borgata was another win for the city's budget, even if it took the state to broker the deal (Which let Chris Christie use the announcement to zing Mayor Don Guardian one more time.)
There was also a surprise among the projects. While Stockton University's beach campus, its aviation park and the Boraie residential development in the Inlet are familiar territory, we hadn't heard much about "The Tennessee Avenue Transformation project" until Thursday.
That proposed project would turn a blighted wasteland of a beach-block into a walking street complete with pop-up vendors, food and a concert area. Some of the presenters compared it a South Street in Philadelphia. I think they should have referenced and aim for something like the newer, waterfront Spruce Street Harbor Park.
Some fishermen are relieved Baltimore Canyon is not being considered as a national marine sanctuary, saying that designation could have restricted fishing in the rich area about 73 miles southeast of the Delaware Bay.
Its in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, and that is what has always been a concern for us as users of the area, said John Depersenaire, fisheries researcher at the Recreation Fishing Alliance in New Gretna. It says unlawful acts include injuring or harming any sanctuary resource.
The sanctuary program is set up to protect resources, said Reed Bohne, regional director of the sanctuary program for the Northeast and Great Lakes for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But when it comes to fish stocks, sanctuaries mainly rely on regional fishery councils to do the protecting in this case the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, he said.
The same law cited by Depersenaire also specifies that regulations related to fishing are to be prepared by the appropriate regional council, said Bohne.
And what the council proposes shall be accepted and issued by the secretary of commerce, who designates sanctuaries, he said.
All the sanctuaries allow commercial and recreational fishing, and maybe there is about 2 percent of (the area of) all 13 sanctuaries where there is some reserve set aside, said Bohne.
In fact, the sanctuaries hold their own recreational fishing tournaments, Bohne said.
On Feb. 1, the National Aquarium in Baltimore withdrew its nomination of the canyon, saying it did not believe the timing was right. That set off concern among environmentalists that politics had killed the canyons chances, with the aquarium bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.
The underwater canyon holds deep-sea corals and pools of bubbling methane gas, known as seeps, that create a nutrient-rich biodiversity hot spot and attract many species of fish and whales, along with other animals.
The 149-square-mile area would have been protected from many kinds of exploitation, such as oil and gas exploration, had the nomination gone forward and the canyon passed the years-long dedication process.
It also would have become a teaching resource for public schools and colleges in the Baltimore area.
Sanctuary regulations in eight of the 13 existing sanctuaries do not address fishing at all, Bohne said, but leave oversight of that to the areas regional fishery council. Those that do address it mainly cover the type of gear to be used, he said.
Fisheries in Baltimore Canyon are now managed by NOAAs National Marine Fisheries Service, along with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. They already restricted the use of some gear in the Baltimore Canyon.
But fishermen remain skeptical.
Depersenaire said Baltimore Canyon is a popular fishing area for offshore fishing for tuna, marlin, swordfish, tilefish things on the bottom.
Its important to Ocean City, Maryland, where they have a white marlin open tournament. They were extremely concerned, said Depersenaire. Its extremely lucrative and most of the boats fish the Baltimore or Wilmington canyon.
He said there were many public meetings in Maryland, and fishermen showed up to express their concerns.
While the aquarium staff was giving assurances they would not try to request recreational fishing be prohibited, what we have to do is ensure we get an exemption, said Depersenaire.
ATLANTIC CITY Fur, silk, denim and leather hit the runway as Atlantic City Fashion Week reached its 10th season this weekend at Showboat.
This seasons event featured next seasons trends and also the unexpected: puppies, a New York Giants player as a model, and actor Dante Hoagland, who recently wrapped up a role in BETs The New Edition Story.
It was a weekend of high energy as hundreds turned out for the ready-to-wear and couture shows featuring a raised catwalk and the industrial-style ceiling of Showboats Orleans Ballroom.
Models, spectators and designers said this seasons turnout has been the biggest yet.
This is the third year Ive seen it, said Diane DeLuca, a Linwood resident and current Ms. New Jersey of the Ms. Senior America organization. Its really well put together and diverse. It gets better and better every year.
Producers Lamont and Jeana Bowling introduced the set of New York-style fashion shows spanning three days to the resort in 2011. Each year they have incorporated new attractions into their shows which, for the past few years, included a showcase featuring the work of South Jersey students.
Students debuting their designs are competing for scholarships and other prizes, including a sewing machine and photo shoots of their work. Madelange Laroche, of Philadelphias Moore College of Art and Design, won the showcase Thursday night with intricate, floor-length, white gowns.
Were learning a lot, model Nicole Rosado said. Theres a lot of new stuff. My favorite thing so far is Elona Mitchell. I want her to make me a jacket. Shes so talented.
Mitchell debuted her line at Friday nights ready-to-wear show with embellished denim jackets featuring spikes, patches and prints.
Fresh from New York Fashion Week, New Jersey native Clavon Leonard brought his bold-patterned luxury suits from his line, Clavons Wear, to Showboat with a special guest modeling a metallic silver suit with a black pocket square: New York Giants linebacker Jonathon Casillas.
During 10 seasons, ACFW has become known in South Jersey as an event that pulls hairstylists, makeup artists, models and designers from New York and Philadelphia as well as the regions own fashion talent.
For area fans of style and art, its a weekend-long event that debuts the latest trends right in their own backyard. For designers and vendors, the event is a time to gauge the climate of Atlantic City and its potential for their business.
This has been an amazing weekend, said first-time designer Lori Carter, who debuted her line during Friday nights show. For (the models) to put on my designs was amazing. ACFW has been wonderful.
Carter and a model took a bow with a sign stating, together we will end domestic violence during the ready-to-wear show. The logo on Carters line of multicolored T-shirts reads, I am beautiful. Carter is using the line as a platform to empower those who have been affected by domestic violence.
Carter and Carla Wiley traveled to ACFW from Leesburg, Virginia. Wiley had a booth set up next to Carter featuring dozens of custom-made necklaces and earrings.
We started vending at small events but never something this big, Wiley said. I want to make a housewife feel like shes on a red carpet, without red carpet prices. Were having a ball.
Throughout the weekend, spectators filed into the Showboat lobby to check into rooms. ACFW offered packages including show tickets online.
ACFW has held shows throughout the city, including at Ballys, the Playground, Claridge Hotel, and now the reopened Showboat.
Season 11 of ACFW will be held in September.
A state appeals court once again rejected an attempt by a former Vineland resident for an amendment of the 65-year state prison sentence imposed for the July 2002 killing of Ruth Walker.
A two-judge panel of the Appellate Division of Superior Court rejected arguments by Thomas Nevius of ineffective counsel on behalf of his standby attorney during his trial.
Nevius, now 38, represented himself during that trial, and was subsequently convicted on charges of murder, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.
Nevius also argued in his appeal that a T-shirt found at the murder scene wasnt properly tested for DNA. The tests results could clear him of the crime, he argued.
But the justices found that even without the DNA evidence, there was other evidence linking (Nevius) to the crime scene and the crime.
(Nevius) admitted he was with (co-defendant William Boston) next door to the victims house on the day of the murder, the appeals court ruling states. Another witness saw Boston and (Nevius) attempting to break into the window of the victims house. (Nevius) palm print was found in the apartment on the victims nightstand.
That evidence was in stark contrast to the defendants testimony at trial that he never went inside the victims apartment, the ruling continues.
Authorities said Nevius and Boston killed the 52-year-old Walker in her Chestnut Square apartment in Vineland after she found them breaking into her home. Authorities said Boston, Walkers next-door neighbor, stabbed Walker with her own kitchen knife while Nevius strangled her from behind.
Nevius was sentenced to 65 years in state prison for the crime.
Boston was sentenced to 55 years in state prison. His prison stay was less than that imposed on Nevius in part because the sentencing judge found Bostons limited intelligence played a role in the crime.
An appeals court in June 2012 upheld the sentence imposed on Nevius.
Boston and Nevius are both serving their sentences in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, state Department of Corrections records show.
Boston has a parole eligibility date of May 2049, the records show, while the parole eligibility date for Nevius is January 2059.
The presidency of Donald Trump is less than a month old, and already it appears it might significantly affect two segments of the South Jersey economy.
The administrations goals of controlling the nations borders, thoroughly examining those entering the U.S. and possibly limiting foreign workers have farmers worried. At last weeks N.J. State Agricultural Convention in Atlantic City, they feared federal actions might worsen an already difficult farm labor market.
Craig Regelbrugge, senior vice president with industry group AmericanHort, noted that seven in 10 workers hired by U.S. farmers are foreign-born. He roughly estimated that of the documents those workers present to allow them to work in the country, perhaps half or more wouldnt stand up to closer scrutiny. A Cumberland County farmer added that if documents look legitimate, farms can be charged with bias for not accepting them.
Regelbrugge also said the new U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is arguably the hardest hardliner there is in the U.S. Senate on immigration policy, including visa programs for farmworkers.
In the southern part of the state, farmers already are competing with each other for a shrinking workforce, said the president of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. He said the governments guest worker and immigrant programs should be considered separately.
While farms may have more trouble filling existing seasonal jobs, elsewhere an administration initiative might eventually bring high-paying, skilled jobs to Atlantic County.
In a meeting with airline and airport executives last week, Trump expressed strong support for modernizing the nations air traffic control system. For a decade, county officials have expected that the upgrade to a satellite-based system would bring corporations and jobs to the area around the William J. Hughes FAA Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township specifically the Stockton Aviation Research and Technology Park.
The president of the Airlines for America industry organization described Trump as extraordinarily positive about the possibility of removing air traffic control from the Federal Aviation Administration to get the long-stalled modernization moving.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, on Wednesday held the first hearing on this years FAA reauthorization bill. In a statement to the hearing, LoBiondo praised the FAA Tech Center for its certification work and improvements to airport and airplane designs, while calling for changes that reduce needless and harmful bureaucratic delays. The FAA must leverage the expertise of the private sector and fully utilize all the authorities it has been granted.
By summer, the influence of the Trump administration on farming and aviation research in the region should be clearer.
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.
ABU DHABI, UAE, Feb. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2017) was unveiled today at Abu Dhabi national exhibition center. Together with CATIC at the exhibition, drone manufacturer MMC, global leader in industrial and military drones and developers of the first hydrogen drone, introduced the next generation of its hydrogen technology, designed for the military: HyDrone 1800. The superior product was an immediate success and attracted a constant stream of visitors.
The carbon-fiber HyDrone 1800 is an almost indestructible aircraft. Designed for use in the toughest conditions, the drone is wind-resistant, rain-resistant, cold-resistant and still incredibly lightweight. Most importantly, HyDrone 1800's hydrogen fuel cell technology provides a flight endurance of 4 hours or of a stunning 50+ hours when combined with MMC tethered technology. The endurance of the hydrogen drone changes the scope of applications dramatically: most military or industrial drones currently on the market are limited by flight times of under 1 hour. HyDrone 1800 achieves the extended flight time while maintaining altitude limits of 4500 meters competitive or better than other similar sized aircraft and a payload capacity of up to 5kg.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is a breakthrough for drones. The technology is an environmentally friendly solution towards a drone industry bottleneck: flight endurance. Constructed for safety and durability, an auxiliary lithium battery starts the fuel cell and provides a backup source of power for the drone. The properties of hydrogen fuel not only allow for extraordinary flight time, but extend the ideal temperature range for operation. Hydrogen drones can be flown in extreme temperatures from -10 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius.
"This technology is the next step forward for military grade drones," says MMC's founder Lu Zhi Hui. "It's safe, it's effective, it's proven and the endurance is unmatched by other power sources. "
Payloads can be changed quickly and easily. Operators may choose from payloads including a thermal imaging camera, low light camera, laser equipment, or zoom camera; making the system ideal for many military applications. HyDrone 1800 can be used for intelligence gathering, border patrol, aerial fire support, laser designation, or battle management services to tactical military operators. MMC also offers packaged solutions in target acquisition and reconnaissance technology (ISTAR).
About MMC: MMC is a leading manufacturer of commercial and industrial drones focused on enhancing productivity, improving work safety and efficiency. In 2016, MMC launched the first commercial hydrogen-fueled drone, followed by the first commercial tethered drone. MMC is not only a leader in drone design and manufacturing, but is a pioneer in the use of ecofriendly hydrogen cell energy.
To learn more about the Hydrogen fuel cell drone, visit http://www.mmcuav.com/
Or Contact: info@mmcuav.com
Phone: +86 755 8607 4603
SOURCE MicroMultiCopter Aero Technology Co., Ltd.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, February 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
In a strategic move to expand its access to global destinations, the Saudi national carrier flynas announced it was adding seven new destinations in India as part of its codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161004/414891LOGO )
This comes as part of an expanded codeshare agreement between the two airlines signed in October 2012. flynas currently operates 18 flights per week from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to Abu Dhabi, and the codeshare agreement allows flynas to place its 'XY' code on Etihad Airways' flights between Abu Dhabi and over 20 destinations on its global network.
flynas will add its 'XY' code to Etihad operated flights from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin and Kozhikode. These flights will serve a large number of expatriates in Saudi Arabia, and will offer more choice and flexibility for business and leisure passengers travelling between Saudi Arabia and India.
Bandar Al-Muhanna, CEO of NAS Holding, said: "We began 2017 by launching a number of new domestic flights, and now we are expanding our list of international destinations through our partnerships in order to meet the needs of our passengers.
"Our codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways enables us to better serve our guests, by providing them with convenient access to global destinations via the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. I am confident that these new destinations will prove hugely popular with a large segment of people who need more access to flights between Saudi Arabia and a number of key destinations in India."
The new codeshare services to India provide a baggage allowance of 30kg per passenger, and guests are able to book flights to these new destinations through the flynas website http://www.flynas.com, or via their local travel agent.
About flynas
Launched in 2007, flynas is the first low-cost carrier in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with a fleet of 26 A320 aircraft, operating more than 1000 weekly flights on 30 routes within and outside the kingdom. After unveiling a new brand identity in 2013, flynas launched a dedicated Business Class cabin to diversify its offerings and announced a number of significant investments and developments in 2014. This led flynas to win the Middle East's Leading Low Cost Airline for the World Travel Awards 2015 and also the 2015 Airline of the Year for Supporting Tourism in the Arab World.
About Etihad Aviation Group
Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) is a diversified global aviation and travel group comprising five business divisions - Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways Engineering, Etihad Airport Services, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners. The group has minority investments in seven airlines: airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to, or has announced plans to serve, more than 110 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of over 120 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s. For more information, please visit: etihad.com.
SOURCE flynas
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Major experiments that will look into a range of scientific disciplines from human health to atmospheric conditions on Earth are on their way to the International Space Station following liftoff at 9:39 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. About 5,500 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies are packed into the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that is now in Earth orbit and headed to the station on the CRS-10 mission.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first commercial launch from Kennedy's historic pad.
Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Shane Kimbrough of NASA will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 on NASA TV and the agency's website, with installation coverage set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Research materials flying inside the Dragon's pressurized area include a crystal growth experiment that will crystallize a monoclonal antibody that is undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of immunological diseases. Growing the crystal in space will allow it develop more than it could on Earth where gravity causes crystals to collapse on themselves. Preserving these antibodies in crystals allows researchers a glimpse into how the biological molecules are arranged, which can provide new information about how they work in the body. So far, Earth-grown crystalline suspensions of monoclonal antibodies have proven to be too low-quality to fully model.
Better defining how some bacteria become drug-resistant is the focus of another experiment that aims to develop medicines that counter the resistance. Stem cells like those used to treat strokes and other occurrences also will be studied using experiment supplies brought up on this flight.
The equipment aboard the Dragon includes a major instrument that will survey Earth's upper atmosphere in a continuation of one of NASA's longest-running Earth-observing programs. Called SAGE III for Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment, the instrument examines the levels of ozone, aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and water vapor in the stratosphere and troposphere high above Earth. It is the latest version of an experiment that began in 1979 and has created a multi-decade record of measurements. The 2,200-pound instrument will be connected to the outside of the station to make daily observations for several years.
The mission is the company's tenth cargo flight to the station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations during the station's Expeditions 50 and 51.
Dragon is scheduled to depart the space station in late March, returning nearly 5,000 pounds of science, hardware and crew supplies.
For more than 16 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, more than 200 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 1,900 research investigations from researchers in more than 95 countries.
Keep up with the International Space Station, and its research and crews, at:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter at:
http://instagram.com/iss
and
http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station
Learn more about SpaceX's resupply mission at:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacex
SOURCE NASA
Related Links
http://www.nasa.gov
"With more than 100 years of health technology experience under our belts, Philips is uniquely positioned to lead Population Health Management, addressing key concerns of health systems who continue to struggle to reduce costs and improve the quality of care and patient satisfaction," said Carla Kriwet , Chief Business Leader, Connected Care and Health Informatics , Philips. "By delivering advanced healthcare informatics and intelligent solutions in a secure ecosystem that embrace cross-industry connectivity standards, providers can now leverage data in new ways that are easily accessible, contextually relevant and actionable at the point of care."
Personal and Population Health Management Solutions featured at the booth will include the latest in population health analytics, chronic disease prevention and management, predictive analytics, enterprise telehealth, home monitoring, and sleep and respiratory care.
With the acquisition of Wellcentive , Philips brings deep expertise in aggregating and analyzing patient data to improve health outcomes inside and outside the hospital walls. Philips Wellcentive analyzes 1.5 billion data points each month, to gain actionable insights, serving 35 million US patients, and managing 120,000 patient populations across 50 states.
, Philips brings deep expertise in aggregating and analyzing patient data to improve health outcomes inside and outside the hospital walls. analyzes 1.5 billion data points each month, to gain actionable insights, serving 35 million US patients, and managing 120,000 patient populations across 50 states. Philips is enhancing its personal health programs with the launch of Jovia Coach, a smartphone app that combines technology with human coaching for people at-risk of type 2 diabetes. The program supports participants to adopt the dietary, lifestyle and exercise habits that could help to prevent type 2 diabetes.
with the launch of a smartphone app that combines technology with human coaching for people at-risk of type 2 diabetes. The program supports participants to adopt the dietary, lifestyle and exercise habits that could help to prevent type 2 diabetes. Philips advanced telehealth and eICU solutions are transforming critical care to help save lives and lower costs. The Philips eICU Program with centralized bed management control has increased case volume by up to 44 percent and improved contribution margins by up to 665 percent, or $52.7 million .
are transforming critical care to help save lives and lower costs. The Philips Program with centralized bed management control has increased case volume by up to 44 percent and improved contribution margins by up to 665 percent, or . Philips continuous care and home monitoring solutions help patients stay healthier at home, and connected to caregivers around the clock. Philips Lifeline is the number one medical alert device in the US with more than 7.5 million people served since its inception, while momentum for Philips CareSage predictive analytics technology continues to grow in supporting discharged patients in their home.
Philips Healthcare Informatics Solutions deliver actionable insights to support more confident clinical decision support and improved diagnostics. Offerings include adaptive intelligence, integrated healthcare informatics, critical care analytics, automated early warning scoring, radiation dose management, and precision medicine solutions for oncology, including genomics.
Philips will debut IntelliSpace Enterprise Edition , an industry-first managed service for hospital-wide healthcare informatics. The platform integrates Philips IntelliSpace portfolio into a scalable solution for clinical informatics and data management. The end-to-end managed service for healthcare IT is based on pay per use with built in risk sharing. It helps hospitals to further improve quality of care while meeting the evolving challenges of budget constraints and the management, interoperability, security and value maximization of health data and IT platforms.
, an industry-first managed service for hospital-wide healthcare informatics. The platform integrates Philips IntelliSpace portfolio into a scalable solution for clinical informatics and data management. The end-to-end managed service for healthcare IT is based on pay per use with built in risk sharing. It helps hospitals to further improve quality of care while meeting the evolving challenges of budget constraints and the management, interoperability, security and value maximization of health data and IT platforms. Philips IntelliVue Guardian Solution , designed to aid clinicians in the early detection of subtle signs of patient deterioration in the general care ward, has now been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with the Philips Wearable Biosensor, a medical-grade, self-adhesive, single patient-use wireless device worn discreetly on the chest that automatically and continuously measures key vital signs, including respiratory rate to alert caregivers to intervene quickly.
designed to aid clinicians in the early detection of subtle signs of patient deterioration in the general care ward, has now been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with the Philips Wearable Biosensor, a medical-grade, self-adhesive, single patient-use wireless device worn discreetly on the chest that automatically and continuously measures key vital signs, including respiratory rate to alert caregivers to intervene quickly. Philips IntelliSpace Genomics provides a secure healthcare informatics solution that integrates genomic information with full patient context to empower clinicians with precision diagnostics and therapeutics across hospitals. The solution, powered by Philips HealthSuite, delivers real-time, actionable diagnostic information - including raw sequencing data, up-to-date in silico genomic databases, clinical data and knowledge databases, longitudinal patient records, medical images and pathology data - to physicians and specialists for therapy planning at the point of care.
provides a secure healthcare informatics solution that integrates genomic information with full patient context to empower clinicians with precision diagnostics and therapeutics across hospitals. The solution, powered by Philips HealthSuite, delivers real-time, actionable diagnostic information - including raw sequencing data, up-to-date genomic databases, clinical data and knowledge databases, longitudinal patient records, medical images and pathology data - to physicians and specialists for therapy planning at the point of care. Philips Illumeo is a newly launched imaging and informatics technology with adaptive intelligence* that redefines and enhances how radiologists interpret and share medical images. The intelligent software is the first to combine contextual awareness capabilities with advanced data analytics to augment the work of the radiologist.
Executives Discuss Population Health, Key Challenges Facing Industry
Philips customers, partners and thought leaders will host more than 20 discussions at the Philips booth to address the latest trends in population health, care coordination, personal health, healthcareinformatics and cloud technologies. Topics include Big Data and Predictive Analytics Improving Patient Safety, featuring Dr. Kevin C. Dellsperger, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Augusta University Health; Artificial Intelligence Revolutionizing Healthcare, featuring Dr. Eliot Siegel, Professor of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Maryland Medical Center; Treating High Cost Patients with Predictive Analytics, featuring Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Vice President, Connected Health, Partners HealthCare; and more. The full schedule is available at: www.philips.com/himss.
Beyond the show floor, Philips will have a significant presence at the HX360TM forum co-located at HIMSS17. Featured keynote and panel discussions include:
What If You Gave A Healthcare Innovation Party, and No One Came? , featuring Roy Smythe, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Health Informatics for Philips, Monday, February 20 at 11:45 a.m. ET .
, featuring Roy Smythe, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Health Informatics for Philips, at . The Journey to Continuous health: A Perspective on Population Health Management , featuring Tom Zajac, CEO of Population Health for Philips, Tuesday, February 21 at 10:45 a.m. ET .
, featuring Tom Zajac, CEO of Population Health for Philips, at . Views from the Top: Improving Patient Outcomes and Health Economics through Connected Health Innovations, where Philips Jeroen Tas, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer for Philips will be joined by Dr. Kevin C. Dellsperger of Augusta University Health in a discussion on how AUH is redesigning care paths with wearable biosensors, Tuesday, February 21 at 11:30 a.m.
For more information on Philips' presence at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exhibition, including Philips participation in the Interoperability Showcase, Connected Health Experience and Medical Device Security Symposium, visit www.philips.com/himss and follow @PhilipsLiveFrom for #HIMSS17 updates throughout the event.
* Adaptive intelligence is seen as an emerging concept of combining domain specific models and knowledge (e.g. in the field of Radiology) and Artificial Intelligence to create an adaptive and contextual experience, anticipating users and augmenting their work. The current release of Philips Illumeo exhibits the first step into Adaptive Intelligence.
For further information, please contact:
Kathy O'Reilly
Philips Group Communications
(o) 978-659-2638 (m) 978-221-8919
[email protected]
Twitter: @kathyoreilly
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2016 sales of EUR 17.4 billion and employs approximately 71,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
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Patna, Feb 14 : All is not well within Bihar's ruling Grand Alliance -- and, perceiving the growing uneasiness, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday advised his party legislators to first talk to him before going to the media to air their grievances relating to the three-party formation.
Sensing growing tension within the Grand Alliance -- comprising the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress --after his party legislators repeatedly questioned and attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his "Saat Nischay" (seven resolves) programme, Lalu Prasad tried to play the peacemaker.
The RJD chief told media persons here that he has asked his party MLAs not to issue statements about anything without consulting him. "I have asked them not to give statements in the media and talk to me first about their grievances or whatever it is," he said.
Lalu Prasad said this after some JD-U leaders expressed displeasure over several RJD legislators attacking Nitish Kumar and his government's seven resolves programme and the legislators' funds.
JD-U spokesperson Sanjay Singh said targeting of the Nitish Kumar-led government by the RJD legislators was not good for the Grand Alliance. "Some leaders of RJD have been doing everything to defame the state government. JD-U will not tolerate this any more."
Singh, considered close to Nitish Kumar, said the RJD cannot cite any instance of a JD-U leader criticising Lalu Prasad ever since their alliance came into existence in 2015. "If JD-U leaders have not targeted and attacked Laluji, why should JD-U tolerate such acts by RJD leaders?"
Another JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said: "We can't tolerate criticism by those who are part of the government led by Nitish Kumar. It is not proper to criticise one's own government."
Last month, in a show of unity in the Grand Alliance, its top leaders, including Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad, senior JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and state Congress President Ashok Choudhary, attended a "Lok Samvad" meet here.
Seeking to lay to rest speculations of differences within the ruling coalition, they claimed that the alliance stands united. This was the first-ever show of unity since the JD-U-RJD-Congress Grand Alliance came into existence in November 2015 to form the government led by Nitish Kumar.
Bengaluru, Feb 15 : State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would soon sign orders for selling 73 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and 106 HTT-40 trainers to the armed forces, said a top official on Wednesday.
"We expect to sign the order for 73 ALH worth Rs 14,000 crore to the Services soon and order for 106 HTT-40 to the Indian Air Force (IAF) worth Rs 4,770 crore when ready for production," HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju told reporters here.
The city-based defence behemoth has already delivered 231 ALHs to the Services since 2002 and has an order for 159 more from them.
HAL makes military (Rudra) and civil (Dhruv) variants of the 5-tonne twin-seater multi-utility chopper to meet the various needs of the air force, army and navy, including combat, utility, reconnaissance, transport and medical aviation.
The company also exported a few of the heavy choppers in both variants.
Though the IAF has already signed an order to buy 75 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 for basic training of its rookie pilots, HAL has designed, developed the Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) to replace its HPT-32 Deepak trainers the air force phased out.
"The indigenously designed and developed basic trainer aircraft has to complete stall and spin manouvre for certification. We plan to produce 100 of them initially," said Raju on the margins of the biennial Aero India 2017 expo at the IAF's Yalahanka base.
The city-based aerospace major has flown the tandem-seat HTT's prototype on June 17, 2016, and built capacity to meet the IAF's requirement, including its weaponisation.
With advanced features like zero-zero ejection seats and multi-function displays, the trainer can be adapted as a light attack aircraft. Its role includes basic flying training, aerobatics, instrument flying, navigation, night flying and close formation.
In the rotary wing segment, the company is waiting for orders to supply its multirole Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) to the IAF and the army as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared 15 of them, including 10 to IAF and five to the Army.
As a derivative of the ALH platform, the 5.5-tonne combat copter was certified by the defence regulator Cemilac on October 16, 2015, after extensive performance trials in all weather conditions.
Known for its agility, the tandem twin-seat chopper is equipped for day-and-night combat operations, with digital camouflage system for stealth actions.
The DAC has recently cleared the IAF order for an additional 83 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark-1A worth Rs 50,000 crore.
"The government has recently sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore to ramp up our production capacity for rolling out 16 Tejas fighters every year from eight currently," the official said.
As per the agreement, the air force and navy will each share 25 per cent of the investment while the company (HAL) will invest the remaining 50 per cent.
The company has an order to produce and deliver 40 Tejas Mark-1 fighters to the IAF, including eight in the limited series production for IOC (initial operational clearance) and FOC (Final Operational Clearance).
Chennai, Feb 16 : Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya will team up with director Karthick Naren for upcoming Tamil horror thriller "Naragasooran", marking his debut in the Tamil industry.
"Naga Chaitanya is on board. It's going to be a dual hero subject and the team is in talks with Arvind Swami. Karthick had met Arvind recently but they are yet to officially announce anything," a source from the film unit told IANS.
Although Chaitanya made a special appearance in Gautham Vasudev Menon's 2010 Tamil romantic drama "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya", this project will feature him in a full-length role.
"The team is yet to take a call on whether they can make it as a Tamil-Telugu bilingual or not," the source added.
The regular shooting is likely to commence in mid-June.
Islamabad, Feb 17 : Pakistani authorities have sealed the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan for an indefinite period in the wake of a terror attack at a shrine in Sindh province that killed at least 72 people, the media reported on Friday.
According to the authorities, the border crossing has been sealed for all kinds of trade and commercial activities due to security concerns, Dawn news reported.
The military also confirmed the development in a tweet: "Pakistan-Afghanistan border closed with immediate effect till further notice."
The attack on the Lal Shehbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan town took place on Thursday.
According to the police, a suicide bomber entered the shrine through its Golden Gate. The attacker blew himself up after throwing a grenade, which failed to explode.
The explosion took place at the spot where the "Dhamaal" Sufi ritual was being performed within the premises of the shrine.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Islamabad, Feb 17 : Hit by a wave of terror attacks, which it blames on militants from Afghanistan, the Pakistan army on Friday summoned Afghan embassy officials and handed over a list of 76 terrorists hiding in the neighbouring country.
According to Inter Services Public Relations, the Deputy Head of Mission and other officials of the Afghan embassy were summoned to the Pakistani Army headquarters in Rawalpindi to lodge protest against the use of Afghan soil by terrorists to carry out attacks in Pakistan, Dunya news reported.
The officials were told to take immediate action or hand over the militants to Pakistan, Pakistan media reported.
The development comes after a series of terrorist attacks hit Pakistan within a week, including Thursday's bombing at a crowded Sufi shrine in Sehwan city of Sindh province in which 75 persons died and about 300 were injured.
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing at the shrine of Lal Shehbaz Qalandar, a revered 13th century Muslim saint.
The security officials believe that militant groups now operate from the Afghanistan border region to launch attacks in Pakistan.
Hours after the Thursday bombing, Pakistan closed the Torkham border with Afghanistan due to security concerns.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Office had taken up evidence against the Jamaatul Ahrar based inside Afghanistan at the diplomatic level. The Ahrar split away from the TTP in 2014 and is believed to have with links with Daesh or the IS.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a border of about 2,600 km, mostly porous, and the military seeks cooperation of the Afghan government to closely monitor the illegal cross-border movement.
Torkham (Afghanistan), Feb 17 : Hundreds of Afghans were on Friday stranded at Torkham since early morning as Pakistan sealed off the border crossing hours after a terror attack at a crowded shrine in Sindh province which left 75 persons dead.
"I have been waiting since early morning to take a patient to Peshawar city of Pakistan but the border gate is closed," Xinhua news agency quoted an Afghan citizen, Noor Gul, as saying.
Rahman, another Afghan citizen waiting to cross the border point to visit a doctor in Peshawar, said he was unaware of the border closure, which Pakistani officials said was due to security concerns.
Hashmatullah from Kabul, who was waiting to receive the coffin of a relative who died in a hospital in Peshawar, also grieved the situation.
Pakistani authorities late on Thursday sealed the border crossing with Afghanistan for an indefinite period after a bomb ripped through the shrine of Lal Shehbaz Qalandar in Sehwan town of Sindh province.
According to the authorities, the border crossing has been sealed for all kinds of trade and commercial activities.
Hundreds of Afghans cross the border point at Torkham daily to visit their relatives or take patients to Pakistan for medical treatment.
The Torkham border point connects Nangarhar province of Afghanistan to Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack that also left nearly 300 persons injured.
Pakistan blames militants from Afghanistan for the attack and summoned Afghan embassy officials and handed over a list of 76 terrorists they believe are hiding in Afghanistan.
Khajuraho, Feb 17 : The 43rd edition of the Khajuraho Dance Festival here will have Bangladesh as the guest country.
Organised by the Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh, the week-long festival from February 20 will be held against the backdrop of the Khajuraho temples in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.
"We are introducing Atithi Devo Bhav this year to introduce their (Bangaladesh) cultural practices. This year, we are inviting Bangladesh to showcase their culture and to celebrate the spirit of dance in musical extravaganza of Khajuraho," Rahul Rastogi, Assistant Director at Ustad Allaudin Khan Academy, Bhopal, told IANS.
With the artistes being chosen by national selection committee, the Khajuraho Dance Festival 2017 will see artistes perform different forms of Indian classical dances like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Chhau, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali.
"The festival will also have programmes like Art Mart, Naipathya, International Film Festival to create a package for the audience. They are not only enjoying the musical extravaganza, but also educating themselves through discussions," Rastogi said.
"Art Mart is an international art exhibition targeted to the youth. Many other workshops are available to showcase our culture and cultural practices," he added.
This edition of the Khajuraho Dance Festival will have Bangladesh's popular classical cultural organisation Shadhona. The artistes of Shadhona will perform everyday at this week-long festival.
The international art exhibition, Art Mart, will include different paintings, sculptures, graphics and photographs.
Besides India, 22 countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, Bahrain, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Korea and Turkey, are participating. From India, 550 artists are taking part.
It will also host Kala Varta, which will include discussions on current scenario or art and art market. It will also have poetry, films, paintings, performing arts among other forms of art.
Islamabad, Feb 18 : Pakistani security forces on Friday night pounded the camps of Jamaat-ul Ahrar terrorist group in Afghanistan, destroying four hideouts and a training compound, sources said on Saturday.
The strikes came hours after Afghan Embassy officials were summoned to the Pakistan Army's Headquarters in Rawalpindi, and handed over a list of 76 terrorists hiding in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military or government have so far not confirmed the development, but informed sources said the army targeted Jamaat-ul Ahrar sanctuaries across the border of Khyber and Mohmand agencies, The News International reported.
Pakistan has blamed Jamaat-ul Ahrar for Thursday's attack on the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan town of Sindh province in which at least 83 persons were killed and nearly 250 injured.
According to The News International, the camps were situated on the Afghan side of the porous border.
According to sources, several militants including the deputy commander of the group, Adil Bacha, were killed in the strikes.
Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa earlier on Friday in a conversation over phone with US General John Nicholson, Commander of Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan, conveyed his concerns over continued acts of terrorism in Pakistan from Afghan soil.
"Most of the incidents in Pakistan are claimed by terrorist organisations in Afghanistan," an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement quoted Bajwa as telling Nicholson.
"Such terrorist activities and inaction against them are testing our current policy of cross-border restraint," Bajwa said.
The US General expressed condolences over loss of lives in recent terrorist incidents and assured full assistance from the Afghan side.
Meanwhile, the security forces have launched full-scale crackdown against terrorists after the recent spate of terror attacks killed over 100 persons within a week across Pakistan.
The security forces have eliminated over 100 terrorists across the country since Thursday night.
Pakistan has also closed the Torkham border and other crossing points with Afghanistan due to security concerns.
"Responding to the terrorists activities across Pakistan, we have launched attacks to target militants' sanctuaries near the Afghan border," an official said requesting anonymity.
He said the security forces used heavy weapons and mortar shells to hit several training centres of Omar Khalid Khorasani, the head of the Jamaat-ul Ahrar group operating in Afghanistan.
Another official said the forces had decided to conduct military operations against various militants' hideouts near the border with Afghanistan.
He said people living near Landikotal in Khyber Agency have been asked to vacate their houses to avoid collateral damage.
Indore, Feb 18 : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Saturday said that South Asian countries must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of their people.
"We in South Asia have not only a shared history, a contiguous geography, but also a shared destiny," Mahajan said in her inaugural speech of the South Asian Speakers' Summit, being held here from February 18-20.
"We must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of our people," she said.
She stressed that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set global priorities for the progress of humanity.
"The SDGs emphasise on achieving a balance between the three pillars of economic growth, social development and environmental protection," Mahajan said.
"I personally feel that this approach somehow was very much required in our contemporary growth and development strategy."
"In my view immediate relevance of the goals to the local priorities at the national and sub-national levels actually holds the key. Much of India's development agenda is mirrored in the SDGs," she said.
"I strongly feel that development at the cost of our culture is not sustainable," the Lok Sabha Speaker pointed out.
Mahajan said the past tells us how civilisational strengths may steer us through the contemporary challenges.
Emphasising on the development of the people, she said: "I must also mention here that first and foremost is the citizen. No development is possible and sustainable unless it has a human face."
In her address Mahajan pitched for an inclusive and broad based economic growth to reduce the widening gap between the rich and the poor and said that effective delivery of schemes, which targets the people at the bottom of the socio-economic strata of the society, was needed.
"The common road map to end poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, ignorance, disease and discrimination, especially of the girl child, requires conscious effort and concerted action from all of us here to achieve the desired results," she added.
She said that South Asian region is endowed with vast natural resources, rich culture and ancient heritage, but despite that the region is plagued by poverty and conflicts.
"It is said that 21st century belongs to Asia. This can happen only when we are able to surmount the challenges before our countries and the South Asian region as a whole."
During her address Mahajan also highlighted the importance of gender equality and said there was an urgent need for continuous efforts to be made to promote the welfare of the girl child.
"Elimination of child marriage, access to reproductive healthcare facilities and overall emphasis on hygiene and personal care of women are few of the critical areas we have to concentrate upon," she said.
Mahajan also spoke on climate change and said the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating global response to climate change.
"Nature has been the guiding philosophy of the Indian way of living. We are committed to a sustainable path to prosperity," she said.
"India and its Parliament is committed to working with the international community to craft an ambitious, comprehensive and equitable development agenda with poverty eradication at its core," Mahajan concluded.
Indore, Feb 18 : Pakistan's absence from the South Asian Speaker's Summit here was termed by regional neighbours Afghanistan and Bangladesh as "disappointing and unfortunate", with the representative from Kabul saying Islamabad has adopted terrorism as its policy which would prove a serious threat for it in future.
"It is unfortunate that Pakistan is not attending the summit. We don't know the reason, perhaps they can say it better. Being the neighbouring country we would have been happier if Pakistan would have attended the summit," Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Afghanistan, told IANS.
Dubbing terrorism as a serious threat to South Asia, Ibrahimi said that Pakistan has adopted terrorism as it policy. "Terrorism remains a threat to the South Asian countries, including Pakistan but unfortunately rulers of Pakistan have always supported terrorism. This policy of Pakistan is not in the interest of the South Asian region. In the future it is going to be a big threat to Pakistan," he said.
Ibrahimi also said that terrorism is a very serious threat to Afghanistan."We invite cooperation from India towards improvement in people's life, security and political areas in the region. We believe that this is in the interest of the people of South Asia," he said.
Lauding India for its approach towards Afghanistan, Ibrahimi said: "India is a big country and is an effective and influential power in the region. India has been a brotherly friend to Afghanistan and in the last 15 years it has supported Afghanistan with more than $2 billion aid."
"What we want from India is this relation to be further improved and developed. We want improvement in security and also enhanced relations between both countries. Hopefully it will continue in the future," he added.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president and Bangladesh MP Saber Chowdhury expressed disappointment at Pakistan not taking part in the Summit here and hoped that it would join the platform in near future.
Chowdhury said that IPU strives for consensus and if the governments were not talking to each other, the parliamentarians should engage in dialogue.
"It's a disappointment that Pakistan is not with us today. Of course it is not unusual for the governments (to strive) for consensus but we at the IPU believe that it's absolutely critical. When the governments do not talk or stop talking, the parliamentarians should continue with engaged dialogue," Chowdhury said.
Pakistan is not participating in the two-day meeting that is discussing poverty, development, environment and gender concerns in South Asia. Pakistan's decision is an apparent tit-for-tat over India's boycott of the Saarc summit in Islamabad in November last year that got deferred as other members too pulled out.
Relations between the two countries have been strained after a terror attack at an Army camp in Uri, in Jammu and Kashmir, in September last year, and earlier another one in Pathankot. India has blamed both the attacks on Pakistan-based militants.
Chowdhury also said that countries impose sanctions against each other but the "sanction regime" should not apply to parliamentarians.
"Pakistan is not here but we hope that they will be joining this platform in near future," he said.Later, talking to IANS Chowdhury hoped that sooner the Pakistan realises better it is going to be.
"Dialogue is the way for all cases even if we have accute differences. Idea of parliamentary dialogue is that we should be able to talk if we aren't able to visit each other countries then how are you going to have dialogue.
IPU is a global organization for multilateral political and legislative discussions.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in her speech said the South Asian countries must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of the people.
"We in South Asia have not only a shared history, a contiguous geography, but also a shared destiny. We must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of our people," she said.
Later, talking to IANS Mahajan said that Pakistan was invited as it is also part of the South Asian countries.
The February 18-20 summit was inaugurated by Mahajan and attended by the presiding officers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The summit is being organised jointly by the Indian Parliament and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organisation for multilateral political and legislative discussions. On Sunday, the summit would release the Indore declaration on sustainable development goals.
(Brajendra Nath Singh can be reached at brajendra.n@ians.in)
London, Feb 19 : British TV personality and glamour model Katie Price is angry that her former beau Dwight Yorke, who was recently denied entry into US over an Iranian stamp on his passport, makes no time to meet their teenage son Harvey.
Yorke is a Manchester United, and Price has accused him of being able to fly to the US, but not come to her home in West Sussex to visit their 14-year-old son, reports mirror.co.uk.
"Why don't you get a flight to West Sussex and see your son Harvey. He has only been waiting 10 years...," she tweeted.
The 36-year-old also included a link to the story about Dwight's travel woes.
According to The Guardian, Yorke said he was prevented from entering the US due to an Iranian stamp on his passport having represented the 'World Stars' in a charity match against 'Iranian Stars' in Tehran in 2015.
This is not the first time Price has targeted Yorke.
Price had also earlier accused him of not seeing enough of their child, who suffers from a range of disabilities including Prader-Willi syndrome and visual impairment.
In her last autobiography, she wrote: "It's sad that (Dwight Yorke) is unable to accept Harvey for who he is and seems unable or unwilling to work within his limitations.
Yorke has yet to respond to Katie's latest tweet.
Lucknow, Feb 19 : 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.
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.
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.
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.
Washington, Feb 19 : US President Donald Trump's Navy Secretary pick Philip Bilden is likely to withdraw his nomination, sources told CBS News.
Bilden, a former Army Reserve military officer with little naval experience, has drawn resistance to his lack of familiarity with Navy issues and has encountered difficulty separating himself from his financial interests, the sources told the network on Saturday.
The sources said Bilden could withdraw as soon as this weekend.
But the White House has publicly denied that Bilden is reconsidering his nomination.
In a tweet responding to the report, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the sources were "wrong" and that Bilden was "100 per cent" committed to the post.
"Those people would be wrong. Just spoke with him and he is 100 per cent committed pending Senate confirmation," Spicer said.
Bilden ran the private equity firm HarbourVest in Hong Kong from 1996 to 2014 and has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown and an MBA from Harvard University.
However, the nominee has never served in the Navy but has a son enrolled at the Naval Academy and another who is an academy graduate. Bilden has served on the Naval Academy board and has also made donations to the US Naval Institute.
Bilden's nomination came ahead of the original transition front-runner for Navy Secretary, former Virginia Representative Randy Forbes.
Miami, Feb 19 : First Lady Melania Trump kicked off her husband President Donald Trump's rally in Florida by reciting a prayer, the media reported.
While receiving a standing ovation from the crowd at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport on Saturday, Melania smiled and said" "Thank you, let us pray", the US Weekly reported.
After leading the crowd in the Christian prayer, Melania addressed her husband's supporters and pledged to pursue initiatives for "women and children around the world".
"I'm committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart, which will have impact on women and children all around the world," she said.
"My husband is creating a country of great safety and prosperity," The Hill magazine quoted the First Lady as saying.
Saturday's rally marked Trump's first rally since taking office on January 20, returning the President to a familiar position on the campaign trail.
Melania Trump has not yet moved into the White House and is currently living in New York with their 10-year-old son Barron, while he finishes out the school year.
New Delhi : The Vikings, who were distinguished by a startling adjective after their name, may have long lost their specific identity in the modern world, with the only of these epithets surviving (and flourishing) into our times being "Bluetooth". But not all of them have vanished, with one of their fierce warriors, and his unlikely family and associates, continuing to regale newspaper readers around the world for over four decades now.
American comics may be full of action, usually of the superhero variety, but humour has been a long-running and successful staple of their cousin -- the newspaper comic strip -- for over a century now, with 'Bringing Up Father' about accidental millionaire Jiggs and his ambitious wife Maggie starting in 1913 (and lasting till 2000), and many others spanning all genres and eras. One utilising the Dark Ages Scandinavia to great effect was Hagar the Horrible, who made his debut this month in 1973.
Like many others of his ilk, Hagar was not only a subtle depiction of contemporary (suburban) existence and its problems in a different setting, but also drew from his creator's life. Cartoonist Richard Arthur Allan 'Dik' Browne (August 11, 1917 - June 4, 1989) used the "Hagar the Terrible" nickname his sons used for him, only changing it to the more alliterative, present name when he began drawing the cartoon character (which resembled him too).
Known earlier for co-creating "Hi and Lois" with Mort "Beetle Bailey" Walker, Browne used a clear, editorial-style line drawing, with minimal foreground or background detail, shading or embellishes for the strip -- attributed to his experience as an illustrator in the courtroom, and subsequently during World War II in a US Army Engineer unit where he had to produce technical diagrams, maps and other documents.
A rather slovenly, unkempt, lazy, overweight, red-bearded Viking in an unnamed Norwegian coastal village, Hagar (pronounced "Hay-Gar") regularly raids England and sometimes France, but can be also glimpsed at home and his neighbourhood pub. While he may look likely a fierce barbarian, he has a soft side, is frequently clueless and naive, and in awe of his formidable wife, Helga, who often chides him on his unprepossessing habits.
Apart from Helga,whose appearance is inspired by that of a Wagnerian Valkyrie, Hagar's family comprises Honi, their beautiful, sweet but also frequently over-dramatic teenaged daughter, clueless about "girlish" things and confused whether she should become a warrior or a housewife, and Hamlet, their intelligent, clean, obedient and studious young son, almost always seen reading a book and with no interest in becoming a Viking (he wants to be a dentist, much to be his father's mortification). Then there is Hagar's dog, Snert, who wears a miniature Viking helmet like everyone else in the household, barks with a Viking accent ("voof") and understands everything his master tells him, but usually refuses to do what he's told, and the family's duck, Kvack, who is is Helga's friend and confidante, and usually spies on Hagar.
Other key characters include Hagar's best friend and lieutenant in Viking raids, Lucky Eddie, who belies the popular depiction of brawny macho Viking warriors in being short, skinny, chinless, awkward and a weakling, Honi's inept minstrel boyfriend Lute, the young, tomboyish Hernia who is deeply (and one-sidedly) in love with Hamlet, cowled, druid-like "physician" Dr. Zook, the King's bureaucratic emissary, the Tax Collector, usually accompanied by the masked Executioner, Mr. Giggles, a torturer who torments captives by forcible tickling, various other raiders like Dirty Dirk and Mean Max, who are Hagar's friends/rivals and more.
The humour is often anachronistic with Hagar running into King Arthur, Robin Hood, Attila the Hun, Richard III, and Lady Godiva and even seer Nostradamus, or fantastic with encounters with dragons, trolls and even fairy tale characters like Puss in Boots. It makes use of stereotypes and ethic differences -- in one strip, Hagar, after being blown off course and shipwrecked, thinks he has landed in England and sends Lucky Eddie ashore proclaiming he loves the English -- but in turns out they have actually landed in Scotland.
And it ranges from witty -- Hagar and his crew once meet a panicked Frenchman shouting "Les barbariens viennent!" (The barbarians are coming!) Turning and looking back, the bewildered Hagar says that he couldn't see any barbarians, or when Hamlet asks his mother how he came, or his sister, is told the stork brought them. Then he asks about his dad, and Helga says he was brought by four big storks -- to sheer vaudeville, like the one in which Hagar carries away the entire contents of a smorgasbord.
Browne, who regularly provided a self-contained daily strip of two to four frames with a gag while the weekend installment was longer, retired in 1988 but the strip, continued by his son Chris Browne, is still going strong with Hagar's exploits, in English and translated in over a dozen languages, featuring in nearly 2,000 newspapers in 60 countries. Proof indeed that this Viking well tickles the funny bone!
(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Lucknow, Feb 19 : Former PWD minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) state chief Shivpal Singh Yadav had a narrow escape on Sunday when unidentified persons pelted stones at his motorcade, police said.
The incident took place at Katiapur village in Jaswantnagar, Etawah district.
Jaswantnagar is an SP stronghold and has been held by the ruling party in the last several decades.
It was first represented by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Vidhan Sabha for seven successive terms and has been thereafter represented by Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Shivpal is engaged in a bitter power struggle with nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
When asked by the media in Saifai to comment on the stone-pelting incident, Akhilesh Yadav refused to comment, saying "I am not aware of the incident".
Indore, Feb 19 : South Asian Speakers Summit will conclude on Sunday with signing of Indore Declaration comprising of implementation of sustainable development goals.
The concluding day of the summit began here with a working session on dealing effectively with the challenge of climate change and natural disasters.
It would also discuss opportunities for regional parliamentary cooperation.
"We will discuss how parliaments in the region can cooperate and share resources to address the challenges of climate change and natural disasters," an official said.
Later, the participant countries would release an Indore Declaration, the official said without elaborating it.
The summit is being organised jointly by the Indian Parliament and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organisation for multilateral political and legislative discussions.
IPU President Saber Chowdhury, Speaker of National Assembly of Afghanistan Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of Bangladeshi Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker of National Assembly of Bhutan Jigme Zangpo, Speaker of Sri Lankan Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of Parliament of Maldives Abdulla Maseeh Mohammad and Speaker of Parliament of Nepal Onasari Gharti have been participating in the summit.
Pakistan and Myanmar are not participating in the summit.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had inaugurated the two-day summit on Saturday.
Kabul, Feb 19 : At least 14 persons have died in snowfall and freezing weather in Afghanistan, an official said on Sunday.
Ten people died due to snowfall in Jawzjan and the neighbouring Saripul province on Sunday, while four others died in Badakhshan since early Saturday, Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.
More than 150 people have lost their lives in snowfall and chilly, sub-zero temperatures in the war-ravaged Afghanistan in the past two weeks.
London, Feb 19 : The European Union (EU) fears millions of its nationals living in the UK will be left stranded in a legal no mans land after the country leaves the bloc because of the weaknesses of the British immigration system, according to a leaked document.
Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and senior European diplomats fear that chaos will ensue as the Home Office does not have the information or systems in place to select who can stay, once the UK restricts access to nationals from the other 27 EU member states, the Guardian reported.
It is widely assumed that, at an early stage of article 50 -- official process of exiting the EU -- negotiations, Britain and the bloc will agree a cut-off date after which foreigners who have settled in the country will not have an automatic right to remain.
But the leaked document on Saturday, drawn up by MEPs on the European parliament's employment committee to aid the EU's Brexit negotiations, warned: "The UK has no population register. In practice it would be difficult to determine which EU27 citizens were residing legally in the UK before the Brexit would have taken effect.
"If all 3.3 million EU citizens were to initiate procedures aimed at proving the 'exercise of treaty rights', the administrative system would be overburdened."
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's government was forced to drop plans for a national identity card and population register in 2007 because of concerns over the security of citizens' data.
The Cabinet Office advises that EU nationals do not need to register for any documentation in order to enjoy free movement rights and responsibilities in the UK, reports the Guardian.
The government does not track EU nationals as they enter and leave the country. The databases of the Department for Work and Pensions, Revenue and Customs and the Home Office do not share information.
EU nationals who have lived in the UK for five years can gain automatic permanent residency status, although there have been numerous cases of employers asking for their foreign employees to acquire permanent residency cards in order to guarantee their jobs.
There has been almost a 50 per cent increase in the number of EU citizens applying for permanent residency documentation since the vote on June 23.
EU nationals say that to obtain permanent residency cards they have to complete an 85-page form requiring huge files of documentation.
The European parliament is also due to debate the rights of EU nationals in both the UK and on the continent on March 1.
Mumbai, Feb 19 : Derivatives expiry, coupled with the direction of foreign funds flow and macro-economic growth data are expected to flare up volatility in the Indian equities markets during the upcoming week.
"The Indian equities markets will be impacted by the upcoming release of FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) and the RBI's MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) minutes, as well as the derivatives expiry and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
While the US Fed's FOMC and the Resrve Bank of India's MPC minutes are expected to be released early next week, the derivatives expiry will take place on Thursday, February 23.
According to Devendra Nevgi, Chief Executive of Zyfin Advisors, the equities markets in the coming week will respond to stock-specifics as well as to the foreign and domestic fund flow balance.
"Global markets buoyancy (US) seem to be supportive," Nevgi told IANS.
In terms of investments, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed massive influx of foreign funds for the week from February 13-17.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 531.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought scrips worth Rs 1,298.34 crore.
Nevgi pointed out the possibility of profit booking if the Nifty reaches the 8,900 points mark.
"As markets approach the 8,900 levels of Nifty, intermittent profit taking is expected. The local elections, the Trump action traction and Brexit uncertainty are the key global factors to watch," Nevgi said.
Apart from event-based triggers, rupee and global crude oil price movement will influence investors' sentiments, elaborated D.K. Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Investments and Advisors.
"The movement of rupee against the US dollar and crude oil price movement will dictate the trend of the market going forward," Aggarwal predicted.
On a weekly-basis, the rupee depreciated during the week. It weakened by 13 paise to 67.01 against a US dollar from last week's close of 66.88.
Aggarwal elaborated that the Nifty was expected to trade in the range of 8,700-8,950 points, while the bank Nifty is expected to trade in between 20,000-21,000 points level.
Besides, the last of corporate earnings for the third quarter of FY 2017 will influence investors' sentiments.
"Investors will focus on upcoming quarterly results from Ambuja Cements which is scheduled to announce December quarter earnings on Monday. Castrol India will announce December quarter results on Tuesday," said Vijay Singhania, founder and Director of brokerage firm Trade Smart Online.
On the global front, key data points such as Eurozone and US preliminary Markit PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) composite figures for February 2017 will be other major themes.
On technical-levels, the NSE Nifty's maximum upside could be limited up to the key resistance levels of 8,900-8,925 points for next week.
"The decline below the immediate support of 8,700 points levels could possibly trigger for fresh weakness in the market," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research with HDFC Securities.
Last week, the key domestic indices made gains of around half a per cent each, as a rally in financial sector stocks and a massive influx of foreign funds kept investors' sentiments upbeat.
The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE gained 143.50 points or 0.47 per cent to close at 28,468.75 points.
Similarly, the wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 28.15 points or 0.32 per cent to 8,821.70 points.
The Indian equity markets will remains shut on Friday, on account of Mahashivratri.
(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)
Kuala Lumpur, Feb 19 : At least four North Korean suspects related to the death of Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of the communist country's top leader Kim Jong-un, have fled Malaysia, police said on Sunday.
The cause of the death of Kim Jong-nam still remained unknown, Xinhua news agency quoted Deputy Inspector General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim as saying.
The 46-year-old was found dead on Monday at an airport here.
Ibrahim said they still need DNA samples from the next of kin of Kim to identify the dead man.
New Delhi, Feb 19 : Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, who has also starred in many Bollywood movies, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday in presence of party president Amit Shah. He had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha election on the Congress ticket from Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur constituency.
Kishan, also a popular TV personality who was on the reality shows Bigg Boss in 2006 and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 in 2012, said he joined the BJP because he wanted to focus on the people's development.
"I have come to the party which thinks for the poor and its focus is on development not on insulting others," Kishen told reporters here.
The actor belongs to Bisuin, a small village on the border of Varanasi in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Fellow actor and BJP Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari accompanied Kishan to meet Shah at the party headquarters here on the occasion.
In 2014, the 43-year-old star had secured 4.25 per cent of the total votes polled in Jaunpur.
Indore, Feb 19 : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Sunday said the much awaited women's reservation bill should be passed unanimously and respectfully by Parliament.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the South Asian Speakers' Summit here, Mahajan said: "Women's reservation is needed definitely but that does not mean they are weak. They are as able as men... think like any men."
"But the demand for women's reservation is only asserting their basic human, civil and political rights. They need equal opportunities," she added.
She also hit out at those opposing women's reservation in Parliament.
"Some one tears up the pages while someone raises slogans. Such behaviour should not take place. All should unanimously and respectfully pass the bill," she said in an apparent reference to members who even attempted to physically attack Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to disrupt its tabling.
The bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
Introduced by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance-I government in May 2008, it also envisages one-third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be earmarked for women.
Similar bills have been introduced thrice earlier in the late 1990s but lapsed with the dissolution of the respective Lok Sabhas.
Last time, the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.
Rome, Feb 19 : Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Sunday stepped down from his role as Secretary General of the Democratic Party (PD).
Renzi's resignation from his top-level party post came just two months after he stepped down as Prime Minister when the public voted to reject a motion of his in a referendum, Efe news reported.
His latest resignation looked set to be a decisive moment for his centre-left party which was currently experiencing a revolt from a minority of its members.
The PD president, Matteo Orfini, announced the news on Sunday at the opening of the party assembly.
Party members would now have the chance to lodge their candidacy for the role, Orfini said.
Beijing, Feb 19 : China's Environment Minister has urged strict monitoring and crackdown on automobiles with excessive exhaust emissions to improve air quality.
Emissions from mobile sources, such as heavy diesel trucks and old cars, make up a large part of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Chen Jining, Minister of Environmental Protection, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese capital is working to build a city-level environmental monitoring system over automobiles to comprehensively control emissions from mobile sources.
Chen called for accelerating the establishment of a national regulation platform for automobile emissions with a technical support system, as well as a network that monitors high-emission vehicles all the time and from all angles.
He said drivers or owners of vehicles with excessive exhaust emissions should be severely punished in accordance with the law and relevant punishment details will be made public.
Automobile emissions contribute 31.1 per cent of Beijing's average PM2.5 density. With a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, the particulate matter has been a primary factor behind hazardous smog.
Imphal, Feb 19 : Swearing by the territorial integrity of Manipur, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said no force in the world can disintegrate the territory and that the BJP is the only alternative to save the people.
Speaking at an election meeting here, Singh deplored that the Congress has been harping on the threat to the territorial integrity of Manipur as a result of the framework agreement between the Indian government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Issac-Muivah (NSCN-IM).
"There is no such provision in the agreement. Even the name of Manipur is not mentioned in it," he said.
The ruling Congress, for a long time has been making an election issue of it. Besides, the All Manipur Students' Union has been launching agitation and demanding disclosure of the framework agreement.
The Home Minister said, "The Manipur government did not send any representative for the first round of tripartite talks to end the economic blockade."
Disclosing that the Centre had provided the paramilitary forces as sought by the Manipur government, he said, "I do not understand why the Centre is blamed for the blockade. India has the federal system of government and the Constitution clearly says that the Centre cannot intervene on a state subject like law and order."
Singh described the Congress as a "sinking ship" and exhorted the people to vote for the BJP for speedy development in the northeastern region. He claimed that insurgency in other parts of the country was contained. "But it is increasing by over 50 per cent in the state and it shows lack of effective governance," Singh said.
"India has become stronger after the formation of the NDA government. We have been giving befitting replies to Pakistan," he said, adding that it was possible since there is a decisive government at the Centre.
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said, "During his visit to Imphal on February 25 the Prime Minister should disclose the details of the agreement".
Kochi, Feb 19 : The prime accused in the kidnapping of a popular Malayalam film actress on Friday night spoke to six prominent persons, including a leading film producer, from the industry, his phone records of that night show.
The phone records recovered by the police show that Pulsar Sunil, who planned the kidnap, received a call from a leading film producer late on Friday night. The phone number he received the call from has been switched off since then.
The popular actress, who was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi on Friday night, was abducted by a gang of six persons, who reportedly took pictures of her to blackmail her. They released her a short while later.
The actress's driver Martin was arrested on the same night, while two others were arrested on Sunday in Coimbatore.
"We have already identified the rest of the gang members and the probe is on. We will inform you at the appropriate time," Inspector-General of Police P. Vijayan, who is leading the probe team, told reporters here.
According to Sunil's sister, he doesn't share good relations with his family since he turned 17.
"The last time he came was a few months ago and he called me on Friday also. He was working as a driver for people in the film industry," she told media persons here.
By now leading superstars Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi -- also a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP -- have condemned the incident and have expressed their moral support to the actress.
Former President of the BJP's state unit V. Muraleedharan said the police believe that the kidnapping was planned by a professional gang.
"There are reports that the actress had suffered after she had differences of opinion with a leading film star. And now with the police saying that this was planned by a professional gang, the police is duty-bound to conduct a fair probe," Muraleedharan said in a statement.
Leading lights of the film fraternity met at Kochi on Sunday evening and expressed their moral support to the actress.
Lucknow, Feb 19 : Polling for 69 seats in the crucial third phase of Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, which will decide the fate of 826 candidates, concluded on Sunday evening with a provisional voting figure of 61.16 per cent.
The Election Commission (EC) officials, however, said the voting percentage may have topped 63 per cent by the end.
This phase of polling was most crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), which has a challenge of retaining its supremacy in the area, as it had won 55 of the 69 seats in 2012.
By the end of the day, voting was 58.72 per cent in Mainpuri, 63 per cent in Etawah, 59.32 per cent in Auraiyya, 63.5 per cent in Hardoi, 61 per cent in Unnao and 60.70 per cent in Kanpur Rural.
Barabanki with 68.13 per cent polling was on top of the chart, followed by Sitapur with 68 per cent votes. Farukkhabad polled 61 per cent. Kanpur City witnessed a somewhat poor turnout with 56.4 per cent votes and the state capital Lucknow bettered its 2012 showing by one per cent to log 60 per cent voting.
Kannauj, the parliamentary constituency of Dimple Yadav, wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, polled 65.63 per cent, which is a little higher than its previous showings.
No major violence was reported from anywhere in the third phase, barring stone pelting on the motorcade of former PWD Minister and state SP chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and firing at Ganga Sahay College in Mainpuri.
In all, 2.12 lakh security personnel, including central forces, state police and homeguards, were deployed for the election duty in this round. There were 837 companies of central forces, an EC official told IANS.
Prominent political leaders, including union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra former Chief Ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, and incumbent Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cast their votes in this round.
Four more phases of polling is yet to take place in the staggered seven-phased state elections that began on February 11.
Counting of votes will take place on March 11.
Mumbai, Feb 19 : In a major scare, a Jet Airways Mumbai-London flight went "missing" over German air space after it briefly lost communication with the ground, an official said here on Sunday.
Jet Airways flight 9W-118, which departed from Mumbai on Friday around 1.20 p.m. for London with 330 passengers and 15 crew members and was scheduled to land at London's Heathrow Airport the same day at around 5.20 p.m. (local time), briefly lost contact with the local ATC, an official said.
"Contact between the flight and the local air traffic control (ATC) was briefly lost while flying over German airspace," said an official spokesperson, but he did not specify for how long communication was severed and in which flying zone.
As a precautionary measure for the safety of the Boeing B777 aircraft and its passengers, the German Air Force deployed two of its fighter jets to escort the flight safely to its onward destination.
The flight subsequently landed at London's Heathrow Airport without any incident or casualty after the flight lasting over nine hours.
As part of the standard operating procedures, the Jet Airways has de-rostered the entire crew of flight 9W-118 pending an enquiry into the incident.
It has reported the matter to all concerned authorities, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the spokesperson added.
Kohima, Feb 19 : Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Sunday put in his papers to pave way for his successor to lead the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) coalition government.
Zeliang, who arrived here on Sunday afternoon from New Delhi, accompanied by several of his senior Cabinet colleagues, submitted his resignation to the Governor of Nagaland P.B. Acharya.
Acharya accepted the resignation of Zeliang, but asked him "to continue in office till an alternative arrangement is made."
In the wake of Zeling's announcement to conduct civic body elections with 33 per cent reservation for women, some tribal groups had been demanding his resignation.
Earlier in the evening, Zeliang called for an emergency meeting of the Naga People's Front (NPF) legislature party on Monday at the state banquet hall, where a new leader is expected to be elected.
This will be followed by a meeting of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland legislature party at the same venue.
However, it is still not clear who will replace the embattled Chief Minster, as there is a division within the ruling Naga People's Front legislators on Zeliang's successor.
Former Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, who is the state's Lok Sabha member, and Naga People's Front supremo Shurhozelie Liezietsu are in the race for the top seat.
"As of now, we cannot say anything who is going to replace Zeliang. Everything will be clear tomorrow (Monday) at the NPF legislature party meeting," a NPF legislator told IANS on condition of anonymity.
On Wednesday, 42 of the 49 legislators had unanimously supported Shurhozelie as their new legislature party leader to break the deadlock between the agitating tribal groups and the government.
However, a group of nearly 20 legislators, including some Cabinet ministers, were against 81-year-old Shurhozelie as their legislature party leader and threw their weight behind Rio, the three-time Chief Minister.
On Saturday, 49 NPF and Independent legislators met Rio at Borgoch Resort, close to Assam's Kaziranga National Park. The legislators extended their support to Rio.
In the 60-member assembly, the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition government comprises 48 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and eight Independents.
The Chief Minister has requested all members of the Legislature to attend Monday's meeting, "so as to select a consensus leader to ensure smooth transition of office and to provide the best governance to the people of Nagaland".
In the evening, while briefing legislators at the State Banquet Hall about his trip to the national Capital, the Chief Minister said he had learned in the course of his interactions with various central leaders that several reports have been submitted to the government of India asking for imposition of President's Rule in Nagaland.
"Besides normal and regular reports passed on to the central government from the Governor, the Intelligence Bureau, the Assam Rifles and the CRPF, there were reports submitted by the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee and a learned retired Supreme Court Judge recommending immediate imposition of central rule owing to, what they said, a breakdown of the government machinery," Zeliang told the legislators.
"But I pointed out that Naga people cannot afford to have President's Rule when the political talks are going ahead to solve the Naga political issue," he said.
Zeliang said that he can confidently assure the legislators that there is "little chance" of President's Rule being imposed in Nagaland.
"To arrive at a consensus decision requires time, and so I have accordingly asked for a short period of time to be given," he said.
"The central leaders and some groups I met in Delhi told me they have received suggestions that Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio should come back to the state and take over the reins, but I made it clear to them that I can't decide by myself in Delhi and that I have to consult the NPF legislators and the Alliance partners.
"I have told them that I shall take the suggestion back to Nagaland and let the legislators and the party decide," the caretaker Chief Minister said.
New Delhi, Feb 19 : People who suffer a mini-stroke -- a brief stroke-like attack -- are at a higher risk of suffering a stroke within the next few days and if not provided immediate medical care, the patient loses 1.9 million neurons, also called nerve cells, doctors said on Sunday.
"Over 40 per cent of the people who have had a mini-stroke are prone to have a regular stroke within three days. It happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or reduced, often by a blood clot. After a short time, blood flows again and the symptoms go away," said Vipul Gupta, Director, Neurointervention, at Gurgaon-based Artemis Hospital.
According to doctors, mini-strokes can be considered as warning for future attacks, so early treatment can help prevent a stroke.
The peak age of stroke occurrence is usually 55-65 years and the risk increases with age. Men at a younger age are twice as likely as women to have a mini-stroke. It has been observed that a woman with a history of mini-strokes and suffering from migraine is three times more likely to have a stroke in the same week.
Satnam Singh Chhabra, Head Neuro and Spine Surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said: "Every two seconds, someone has a stroke, and unfortunately, many do not receive proper care, due to lack of recognition. Even if a person had a mini-stroke and the symptoms have gone away, they still need to call the doctor right away."
"Early recognition makes a big difference and can lead to unbelievable outcomes during treatment, but many people delay going to the hospital because they do not recognise the symptoms," Chhabra said.
The doctors also said that few people face cognitive impairments like trouble speaking or understanding and remain confused.
"Loss of vision accompanied by severe headache may also be a symptom for the start of stroke. Golden hour of stroke is first six hours, and urgent treatment is the key," said Chhabra.
Stroke is the third most common cause of death and disability in India. More than 17 million strokes occur globally each year with over 6 million deaths registered in India.
The challenge is huge as 26 million stroke survivors are living with significant disabilities that impede their ability to carry out daily living tasks.
High blood pressure is among the reasons which lead to mini-strokes.
"When blood pushes too forcefully against the walls of the arteries, it can damage or weaken them and lead to stroke. Unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle (physical inactivity) leads to Cardio Vascular Diseases, diabetes and builds up cholesterol which contributes to plaque build up in arteries, which can block blood flow to the brain," said Chhabra.
Brussels, Feb 20 : US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Brussels, the second stop of his European tour to reassure US' worried allies.
Pence arrived at the Melsbroek military airport on Sunday under police surveillance, Xinhua news agency reported.
He will meet Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Sunday evening. On Monday, the US vice president will hold meetings with officials at the EU institutions and NATO.
Michel and Pence will then hold a joint press conference.
Speaking on the Francophone public broadcaster RTBF, Michel said that he will remind Pence of the long-standing friendship that has existed between the two countries, and also talk about issues causing unease in Europe.
The Vice President flew from Munich, Germany, where he attended the Munich Security Conference.
New York, Feb 20 : Eighty per cent of US citizens believe the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be maintained despite doubts about the alliance among the Trump administration, a latest Gallup poll has found.
According to Gallup, this is sharply up from 64 per cent in 1995 when the same question was asked back then.
But there is big difference in Americans' partisan views of the NATO, as 97 per cent of Democrats voice support to the alliance, compared to 69 per cent of Republicans, Xinhua news agency reported.
When Gallup first asked people in US about their views on NATO in July 1989, 75 per cent thought the alliance should be maintained. Americans' support to the alliance dropped to 62 per cent in 1991, months before the Soviet Union's formal collapse.
Three years later, support for the alliance increased to 70 per cent, but it dipped back down to 64 per cent in 1995 during NATO's intervention in the Bosnian War, according to Gallup.
The latest Gallup's poll was conducted on February 1 to 5 after the election victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election.
During his campaign, Trump questioned the traditional US commitment to the alliance, referring to it as "obsolete".
But he has since backed down from that position after his inauguration in January by reaffirming the US commitment to the NATO and agreeing to attend its summit in May.
US Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the "unwavering" commitment to the NATO on Saturday during a speech to the European security conference held in Munich, Germany.
But Pence also urged NATO members to increase their defense spending to share the financial burden of protecting the security of Europe, where a number of US troops have been stationed.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis, while reiterating the US commitment at the same conference, also warned that Washington could "moderate its commitment" to the NATO if other countries do not increase their defense spending.
New York, Feb 20 : Thousands of people across the US are planning to protest on President's Day against President Donald Trump and his policies, according to media reports.
The President's Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February in honour of George Washington, the first US President.
According to a report in NBC News, people in large numbers spent their President's Day Weekend at "Not My President's Day" rallies and more such rallies are expected to take place in at least 25 cities across the US on Monday.
On Facebook, more than 12,000 New Yorkers said they would attend "Not My President's Day" on Monday while 47,000 have showed their interest in the event.
Another rally that is expected to take place on Monday in Chicago is claimed to be aimed at uniting the people.
"Focusing on just one issue, like immigration, would serve the administration's purpose and further divide the country," Laura Hartman, Chicago rally coordinator, was quoted as saying.
"We want to fight the entirety of the administration," she said.
The rally is expected to witness a gathering of around 3,000 people and members from the American Federation of Government Employees, Sousaphones Against Hate, and others are scheduled to speak at the event.
According to the report, Georgia organisers are planning a 'peach-ful' march in Atlanta that hundreds of demonstrators have signed up for on Facebook.
Nearly 1,000 protesters in Dallas took to streets on Saturday and chanted "Immigrants are welcome here" slogans.
"My parents are immigrants, they came here in the late 1980s, and I can't allow their memory of what they've done and I can't let their sacrifices be impugned by people wanting to scapegoat brown people and black people for all the problems US has," one protester was quoted as saying.
"We're not the problem, we're the solution," the protestor added.
The organiser of the protests, Eric Ramsey, said he hoped that the rallies would let the establishment know that people do not agree with its policies.
"We do not agree with the hateful policies they are putting into place that further marginalise these communities," Ramsey was quoted as saying.
Protesters also demanded "an immediate stop to the ICE raids and deportations," and pressed for Los Angeles to be established as a sanctuary city.
Dressed in black, hundreds of protesters in New York City's Washington Square attended a mock funeral for President's Day and listened as a eulogy was delivered for the US presidency.
Dr. Amelia Joseph, head of the Swain School of Nursing at The Citadel Dr. Joseph comes to us after a distinguished career in nursing leadership. Her research has focused on quality health care for veterans and the safe care of patients while hospitalized.
The Citadels new Swain Department of Nursing, along with its first class of evening undergraduate nursing students, is being led by Amelia Joseph, Ph.D. Joseph was engaged by the college as a consultant to help build the curriculum and direct the initial operations of the nursing department in early 2016. After a nation-wide search, she was selected to head the department as nurse administrator, assuming the position as the program officially got underway in January.
Dr. Joseph comes to us after a distinguished career in nursing leadership, said Connie Book, Ph.D., dean and provost of The Citadel. Her research has focused on quality health care for veterans and the safe care of patients while hospitalized. Dr. Joseph has assisted the college in its approval processes to initiate the nursing program, and we are grateful for her continued leadership.
Joseph holds a Ph.D. in Nursing Science (2013) as well as a post-doctoral Fellowship in Healthcare Workflow (2014) from the University of South Carolina. She earned a Masters in Business Administration from The Citadel Graduate College in 1993, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southern Connecticut State University in 1978. Her 38 years of experience in clinical nursing include serving as a staff, home health, managing and executive nurse, nurse recruiter, group practice leader, and nursing consultant. Joseph has worked with numerous health care providers including the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Charleston, Columbia and West Haven, Connecticut, and West Palm Beach, Florida, as well as St. Raphaels and Yale New Haven Hospitals in Connecticut. She has developed numerous programs related to nursing students and newly graduated nurses.
Josephs research interest is the role of the nurse in preventing adverse events in the acute care setting. She has earned numerous grants for research related to health services for veterans and for the improving the diagnostic accuracy of medical coding processes related to measuring failure to rescue (death after a treatable condition) of hospitalized patients. Among her awards and honors is the Undersecretarys Award for Diversity and the Palmetto Gold Nursing Award for Excellence.
Nursing is a profession with endless and growing opportunities, said Joseph. Our program recognizes the critical leadership role that nurses play in the complex healthcare environments of our military and civilian communities in the Lowcountry and around the world.
Through the Swain Department of Nursing, a traditional four-year baccalaureate program is available to students in the South Carolina Corps of Cadets as well as veteran students. An evening completion program is offered for community students who have earned the required general education and prerequisite courses at another institution and wish to complete their nursing degree at The Citadel. Classes and clinical experiences for evening students are completed during evening hours and occasionally on Saturdays, and are designed for students who need flexibility in their learning environments. Both the Corps of Cadets and evening students earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) upon completion of the program.
The Swain Department of Nursing began accepting student candidates in October of 2016 after receiving approval from The South Carolina Board of Nursing. The department was established through the generosity of a gift from the Swain family, which has been a part of The Citadel for decades. The gift was initiated by brothers David C. Swain, Jr., Citadel Class of 1980, and his wife Mary, as well as Dr. Christopher C. Swain, Citadel Class of 1981, and his wife Debora.
For potential students seeking more information please click here, or call (843) 953-1852.
First Team Real Estate, Orange Countys leading real estate brokerage, is pleased to reveal a hard-to-achieve client satisfaction rating of 98%based on data collected from over 2,000 homebuyers and sellers by an independent 3rd party. Given that First Team is the largest independent brokerage in Southern California and closes more than 9,000 local transactions each year, this near-perfect rating is all the more significant.
We take great pride in sharing this statistic with our sales associates, employees and thousands of customers. Compared to the industry average, our 98% customer satisfaction rating is nothing short of outstanding, remarked Cameron Merage, founder and CEO of First Team Real Estate. Satisfaction ratings dont reach this level of excellence by accidentthis one goes to show that our agents truly do put their clients first.
According to Merage, First Teams impressive customer satisfaction rating is also a byproduct of the companys unparalleled culture as a principal-based business, owned and operated by one of Orange Countys most active philanthropic families for 42 years. Just as the Merage extended familys philanthropic impact on the Orange County community is well knownwith projects such as the Merage JCC in Irvine with over 3,000 members, and the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine, plus contributions to organizations including Hoag Hospital, Irvine School District, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity, to name just a fewFirst Teams dedication to giving back is further evident in its commitment to helping local families acquire their dream homes and improve their quality of life through the experience of homeownership.
The notion of giving back stems from our most important core values as an organization, of supporting our sales associates to put our clients first, Merage continued. Through our commitment to setting a new standard in customer satisfaction, and through our philanthropic endeavors, we strive for the betterment of the communities and families we so proudly serve.
ABOUT FIRST TEAM REAL ESTATE
Beginning with a single office in Huntington Beach in 1976, First Team Real Estate is now Southern California's largest, full-service and trusted family-owned real estate agency with 27 offices across Southern California and over 2,000 real estate agents, service professionals, and employees. First Team is consistently recognized as Best Real Estate Company by Orange County Register, and mentioned among the nations top 20 firms in RISMedias Power Broker Report and the REAL Trends 500, which identify the largest volume brokerages in the United States. In 2016, First Team closed $5,923,252,182 in sales volume, servicing 9,316 transactions. To learn more about First Team Real Estate, call 888.236.1943 or visit firstteam.com.
Healthwise and Orbita Showcase Amazon Echo-powered Healthcare Knowledge Assistant at HIMSS 2017 Orbita Voices use of our new Content as a Service offering shows the innovative potential in untethering health education from traditional constraints.
Orbita, Inc., a leading provider of innovative software solutions for connected home healthcare, will join forces with Healthwise at HIMSS 2017 to showcase a breakthrough in remote patient engagement and education. Healthwise, the industry leader in evidence-based health education, technology and services, will demonstrate a voice-powered knowedge assistant based on Orbita Voice technology and built using Healthwise Content as a Service, which gives organizations the flexibility they need to use health content wherever they need to make the biggest impact. Visitors can see the solution at HIMSS Booth #1523.
Orbita Voice is a first-of-its-kind voice experience manager that builds on voice assistant platforms like Amazon Alexa to enable intuitive, patient-centric home care experiences that improve patient engagement and education, thereby contributing to better outcomes and reduced costs of care.
By integrating Healthwise Content as a Service into Orbita Voice, organizations can take patient education to a new level. Voice assistants provide a more natural and intuitive way for patients to access information, helping them be more engaged and informed participants in their own health and wellness. With the Orbita / Healthwise integration, a patient or family member can ask health-related questions and hear Healthwise content delivered through the Orbita-powered voice assistant.
Orbita Voices use of our new Content as a Service offering shows the innovative potential in untethering health education from traditional constraints, said Jason Burum, chief client officer at Healthwise. Now organizations can easily integrate content how and where they like, bringing a whole new level of interaction to consumer health engagement.
Patient education will be greatly enhanced as voice assistants are more widely embraced, said Bill Rogers, Orbita CEO. Together, Orbita and Healthwise are bringing healthcare providers an incredibly rich suite of educational content and voice-powered user experiences that truly engage, inform, and empower patients.
About Orbita
Orbita is an innovator of connected home healthcare solutions that dramatically increase patient engagement, optimize care coordination, improve outcomes, and reduce costs. Healthcare organizations, device manufacturers and service providers use Orbitas cloud platform and care journey management solutions to create, deploy and manage secure, connected healthcare applications that combine data from wearables and other connected devices into collaborative care experiences. Orbitas voice solutions enable quick, easy development and management of intelligent voice assistants based on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and other voice platforms. http://www.orbitahealth.com
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. People have turned to Healthwise information nearly than 2 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say no to the care they dont need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. http://www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. Balloons and rubber bands are hardly cause for panic for most people. But to Patsy Hayes, even the slightest physical contact with latex is enough to send her to the hospital, wheezing with swollen lips, tongue and eyelids a possible life-threatening scenario.
Now, the severely allergic 21-year-old has a furry, 41-pound secret weapon trained to make sure she avoids her nemesis.
Introducing Andromeda, the latex-detection dog.
The black Labrador retriever is part of a growing trend in service dogs primed to protect allergy sufferers. I know shes got my back, Hayes said of the playful but obedient pooch that returned with her last month to college in New York.
When Andromeda pinpoints any odor of latex, she drastically increases sniffing, brackets the source of the latex with her body, then sits and stares at the item to alert Hayes to stay away. Her owner rewards the dogs efforts with lavish praise, a big hug and a delicious treat.
With an estimated 50 million Americans suffering from some type of allergy including 3 million from latex, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hayes is not unique.
Patsy Hayes found Allergen Detection Service Dogs, owned and operated by Ciara Gavin in Colorado Springs, after months of online research.
Still, teaching a dog to detect latex a milky fluid produced by rubber trees and processed into a variety of products was a first for Gavin and her 7-year-old company.
Years of training dogs to detect explosives and narcotics for the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies led Gavin to branch out in 2009 and focus on teaching dogs to detect an array of compounds including nuts and milk that create serious allergic reactions in her clients.
Some of the afflicted rarely left their homes for fear of an allergy attack, but after getting a dog, Gavin said, they would start going places.
Anaphylaxis is a sudden, life-threatening allergic reaction, often triggered by medications, food and insect stings. A recent study by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America showed that anaphylaxis occurs in at least 1 in 50 adults, though experts say its probably closer to 1 in 20. For many, it can be brought on just by touching trace amounts of a substance such as latex.
Lindy Hayes detected her daughters allergy 16 years ago after ear surgery done by a doctor wearing latex gloves. The 5-year-olds face swelled up at home, and she was having trouble breathing.
Since then, Patsy Hayes latex-related incidents only have increased.
Allergic reactions to latex typically show up in one of two ways: a delayed poison ivy-like rash after 12-36 hours, and a more immediate and serious reaction of itching, redness, swelling, sneezing and, in rare cases, anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal if not treated immediately.
Hayes suffers from an odd hybrid of the two: Her latex allergy can take four to eight hours to erupt, and when it does, shes in trouble. Shes learned to fight back on her way to the hospital with the help of an EpiPen or a steroid.
But that still wasnt enough. Knowing that dogs could be trained to detect peanuts, she wondered: Why not latex? Thats when she contacted Gavin.
The service isnt cheap. Gavins company charges $12,500 for the year it takes to train an allergy-detecting dog. Labs like Andromeda should be able to work as service dogs for at least 10 years, she said. Gavin also charges $2,500 for the two-week owner training and about $2,000 for travel expenses.
Lindy Hayes agreed to pay half if her daughter could gather the balance, which Patsy is doing through tutoring and a GoFundMe account.
For the energetic Andromeda, detection hardly looks like drudgery. Every compound has a unique smell, Gavin said, and once a dog associates that smell with a reward praise, petting and a delicious snack he or she will begin to hunt for the scent.
They just want to please people, said Gavin.
Finally, Lindy Hayes has some peace of mind.
For me as a mother, having to get that phone call saying, Im on my way to the hospital is upsetting, Hayes said. She is 3,000 miles away, and there is nothing I can do to help. But now shes got an extra level of protection.
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, hosted a rally in support of the Affordable Care Act in Rock Island on Friday.
"There is a proposal that's been out there for a long time to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act the problem is there's not a plan to replace," Rep. Bustos explained at the rally, which she said was just one of a sizable number of such events taking place in 85 congressional districts across the country.
Ms. Bustos acknowledged the Affordable Care Act is not perfect but said its issues are all fixable. "There are real answers that are affordable, that are doable," she said.
Some of the roughly 50 attendees shared anecdotes of how the Affordable Care Act has benefited their families and what their lives would be like without it.
Olivia Dorothy, of Rock Island, was born with the autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis. She said she had to switch to a more expensive form of treatment before becoming pregnant. The Affordable Care Act allowed her to obtain this treatment at a reasonable price so that she and her husband could start their family.
"The Affordable Care Act ... has kept me alive and made it possible for me to have a family," Ms. Dorothy said.
Moline business owner Kelly Rundle works producing Midwestern historical documentary films. Mr. Rundle shared that without coverage from the Affordable Care Act he might be denied coverage or forced to pay high prices that would jeopardize his business.
Mr. Rundle got cheers of approval during his remarks, especially at his assertion that affordable health care should be a "human issue" rather than a "political issue."
Whiteside County public health director Marcia Widolff emphasized the positive effect the Affordable Care Act has had on rural communities in Illinois. Mr. Widolff reported that in just the first year of the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion, Whiteside County had 993 new enrollees. She said repealing the Affordable Care Act would have a major adverse impact on the health of hundreds of residents.
"To get rid of the ACA with no solid plan to replace it would be chaos," Ms. Bustos asserted. "We're here to say, 'Show us your plan.'"
Rock Island County school districts spent nearly $2.1 million hiring substitute teachers during the 2015-16 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card issued by the State Board of Election.
School administrators say the hit to district budgets is but part of the problem created by absences, with student learning also suffering when regular teachers are missing.
The Illinois Report Card, a website updated annually, reports that 76.5 percent of Illinois public school teachers were absent 10 or fewer days during the 2015-16 school year. Half of Rock Island County districts failed to hit that benchmark,
The website states that teacher attendance is a leading indicator for student achievement and states that teachers with regular attendance provide continuity of instruction and attention to individual students.
It cites research that student outcomes decline significantly when teachers are absent 10 days or more.
Administrators said sick leave, maternity leave, family medical leave and professional development are all reasons teachers may be absent from regular classroom posts. While absences often are unavoidable, administrators said they can take their toll.
According to the 2015-16 report card, teachers in Hampton, United Township, Carbon Cliff-Barstow, Sherrard and Rockridge all outperformed the state benchmark with a higher percentage of teachers absent 10 or fewer days. The Silvis District just missed the state average, with 75.7 percent of teachers missing 10 or fewer days.
Of the remaining districts, Moline-Coal Valley, Rock Island-Milan and Riverdale missed the state average mark by about 5 to 12 percent.
In the East Moline Elementary District, the percent of teachers absent 10 days or fewer was just 23.6 percent. Thats a difference from the state average by almost 53 percentage points. Breaking that data down by school building in the district shows that only 5.9 percent of staff at East Molines Bowlesburg Elementary were absent 10 days or fewer. Rates for other buildings in the district range from 16 percent at Glenview Middle School to 50.7 percent at Hillcrest Elementary.
Superintendent Kristin Humphries said teacher attendance is a significant concern in the district. Mr. Humphries said it would be inappropriate for him to project why the district has a higher absentee rate than other districts, but he said teachers have a right to time off due to illness and for other reasons. He said he did not believe the district has a higher number of maternity or other extended leaves.
Mr. Humphries said he is open to ideas for working with employees to improve the numbers and working with the East Moline Education Association to generate ideas. He said
there are efforts to curb professional development that pulls teachers from the school day and incentives in place to encourage employees to be proactive in their health. There are not, however, direct incentives for teachers who have no or limited absences during the year.
This (attendance) is something the district has looked at, Mr. Humphries said. Obviously, we dont have a lot of guest teachers to be able to fill in on a regular basis, the whole state of Illinois and Iowa dont have a lot of subs. Not only is it costing us a lot of money for guest teachers, most importantly it affects the instruction going on in the classroom.
Last year the East Moline district, which has 190 teachers, spent $520,224.00 from its education budget to cover the expenses for substitutes. That breaks down to $2,906 spent by the district for each teacher in the district.
That price tag is high compared to the other districts in the county last year. East Moline, although the third largest in terms of staff, outspent all other districts last year barring the Rock Island-Milan School District, which spent $551,576 last year to cover the absences from its combined staff of 380 full-time teachers. That means about $1,452 spent by the district for every teacher.
Overall, the Hampton School District had the lowest expense for subs last year at $24,000 to cover absences for its 17 full-time staff members.
United Township High School superintendent Jay Morrow said he was pleased the Illinois Report Card found 90.6 percent of his staff of 94 teachers had 10 or fewer absences last year.
Im pleasantly surprised and proud of our employees, Mr. Morrow said. We have a balanced calendar, Im not sure if that makes a difference or not. I think it just depends on the circumstances. We just got very lucky for a variety of reasons.
Mr. Morrow said he thought it was possible some not-too-treacherous winter weather and a particularly healthy year for his staff could be contributing factors to the high attendance rate.
He said the district does not have a teacher attendance incentive program in place, but he said the pension system certainly encourages teacher attendance because teachers are able to accumulate up two years sick leave to apply to their pension for Tier 1 employees. He said Tier 2 employees, those hired after 2011, can apply for one year of sick leave.
No matter the incentives or structure in place, Mr. Morrow said it all boils down to one thing.
Its a significant impact. You want to have your teacher there at all times if possible, he said. There are certainly instances that come up due to illness, professional development. Anytime you have a full-time teacher in there, it helps classroom management and direct instruction. In all curricular areas, kindergarten through twelfth grade, you want your subject level expertise teaching that class.
Carbon Cliff-Barstow superintendent Andy Richmond said theres no true secret behind his district having the highest percent of teachers missing 10 or fewer days last year in the county, with 96.3 percent of the staff of 26 teachers missing 10 or fewer days. He said having a young and healthy staff helps significantly, but he says numbers for the current school year will not be quite as high for a variety of reasons, including staff who are on medical leaves or on family leave.
Mr. Richmond said teacher attendance matters.
One teacher who misses five days out of the school year, the student development starts to drop, student learning abilities start to drop, but thats just five days, he said. Were talking about some schools having more. You try to prevent, but they call in sick and you cant argue with that. Again, I think we have a young staff. They are healthy and dedicated, professional.
Today is Sunday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2017. There are 315 days left in the year.
1867 150 years ago: A good steady boy, 17 or 18 years old, having a good English education, especially in reading, spelling and grammar, can get a situation in this office for three years to learn the printing business. None need apply unless he can fill these requirements.
1892 125 years ago: William Miller, employed here by the Rock Island Lines, was injured when a bank of a clay pit caved in on him.
1917 100 years ago: Members of the Rock Island Humane Society elected W.S. Parks as their president.
1942 75 years ago: Mrs. Roy McGovern entertained members of the Altar Society of St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church in her Big Island home.
1967 50 years ago: Approximately 2 inches of wet snow fell on the Quad-Cities this morning, creating slippery and sloppy driving conditions.
1991 25 years ago: Rock Island County has reached a tentative agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation that paves the way for a new Knoxville Road. County board Chairman Paul Mulcahey said the state agreed to pay half the cost of rebuilding the Knoxville Road/Milan Beltway intersection if tests show it needs to be rebuilt.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) Thousands of Catholics joined a march with church leaders in Manila on Saturday in one of the largest shows of opposition against President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly crackdown against illegal drugs and attempts to revive the death penalty.
Police estimated that at least 10,000 people joined the "Walk for Life" march and rally starting at dawn at Rizal Park, carrying placards that read "Choose life" and "No to death penalty." Organizers gave a larger estimate of the crowd.
It's the latest sign of the Roman Catholic Church's increasing activism against a government crackdown that has left thousands of drug suspects dead and efforts by pro-Duterte legislators to reimpose capital punishment as early as next month.
Catholic bishops expressed their deep concern over the drug killings in a recent statement read in churches across the country.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who heads the country's bishops, said no civilized country should allow such illegal actions to continue unabated. "They ought to be judged by the court of law and never by the extrajudicial means," Villegas said in a statement, where he also hit at efforts by legislators to reimpose the death penalty.
Duterte, a longtime city mayor before being elected to the presidency in May on an anti-crime platform, has asked Congress to revive the death penalty, preferably by public hanging. That, along with his pro-birth control stance and threats to kill criminals, has put him on a collision course with the church in Asia's largest Catholic nation.
"Execution is murder,' Villegas said. "We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill."
Duterte has been antagonistic to the influential church, once calling it "the most hypocritical institution" and lashing out at some local bishops he accused of corruption and sexual abuse.
The foul-mouthed president shocked Roman Catholics two years ago when he fired off an expletive while expressing his disgust over a monstrous traffic jam that trapped him while Pope Francis was visiting Manila.
He later apologized after Filipino bishops expressed shock and outrage.
Sen. Leila de Lima, one of the most vocal critics of Duterte's bloody anti-drug campaign, joined Saturday's rally. State prosecutors charged her in court Friday for allegedly receiving bribes from detained drug lords, an allegation she has staunchly denied.
The prosecutors alleged that de Lima, while she was justice secretary under President Benigno Aquino, received huge bribes from detained drug lords to finance her senatorial campaign last year. The bribes were allegedly solicited by her former driver and lover, who was also charged.
If judges, who would handle the three separate complaints, assess that there are strong evidence against her, they may decide to issue a warrant for her arrest.
When she was a top human rights official, de Lima tried unsuccessfully to have Duterte prosecuted when he was still a city mayor for unlawful deaths occurring during his deadly anti-drug crackdown.
De Lima told reporters at the rally that the criminal charges were meant to intimidate her, but said Duterte's administration would fail. "I will continue to fight. They cannot silence me," she said.
On Jan. 27, President Trump issued an order Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. The federal district court enjoined enforcement of portions of that executive order. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to keep the district court's ruling.
Who's right? As to resident aliens, the Ninth Circuit is right; the president is wrong. As to non-resident aliens seeking admission, the Ninth Circuit is wrong; the president is right.
The order cites the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that numerous foreign-born individuals have subsequently been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes. It declares that the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. It also finds deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war .. .and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States. It finds the U.S. must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.
Congress has specifically granted to the president powers relative to inadmissible aliens: "Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States 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 or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."
Trump's order was promulgated pursuant to Congress' unambiguous grant of authority and he acted with all the president's Article II powers together with Congress' Article I immigration powers.
The limits of presidential power were best enunciated in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. There, President Truman, without Congressional authorization, seized the steel mills to prevent strikes from impeding the government's efforts to prosecute the Korean War.
President Trump here, on the other hand, had full Congressional authorization. In his concurrence with that 1952 opinion, Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote, "When the president acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate.
"In these circumstances, and in these only, may he be said ... to personify the federal sovereignty. If his act is held unconstitutional under these circumstances, it usually means that the Federal Government, as an undivided whole, lacks power. A seizure executed by the President pursuant to an Act of Congress would be supported by the strongest of presumptions and the widest latitude of judicial interpretation, and the burden of persuasion would rest heavily upon any who might attack it."
So on what basis did the Ninth Circuit enjoin enforcement of Trump's order? The Due Process clause of the 5th Amendment, which prohibits government from depriving individuals of their life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
In the words of the Ninth Circuit: "The Executive Order makes several changes to the policies ... by which non-citizens may enter the United States. ... First, section 3(c) of the Executive Order suspends for 90 days the entry of aliens from seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Second, section 5(a) of the Executive Order suspends for 120 days the United States Refugee Admissions Program. .... Upon resumption of the refugee program, section 5(b) of the Executive Order directs the Secretary of State to prioritize refugee claims based on religious persecution where a refugees religion is the minority religion in the country of his or her nationality. ... Third, section 5(c) of the Executive Order suspends indefinitely the entry of all Syrian refugees."
The district court, the Ninth Circuit said, had "enjoined and restrained the nationwide enforcement of sections 3(c) and 5(a)-(c)in their entirety." He also "enjoined section 5(e) to the extent that section purports to prioritize refugee claims of certain religious minorities."
The Ninth Circuit referenced the U.S. Supreme Court holding in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) while ignoring this following of that holding:
"The distinction between an alien who has effected an entry into the United States and one who has never entered runs throughout immigration law. ... It is well established that certain constitutional protections available to persons inside the United States are unavailable to aliens outside of our geographic borders. ... (Fifth Amendment's protections do not extend to aliens outside the territorial boundaries)."
Alternative facts have become the common currency of the Trump administration. running neck-and-neck in popularity with fake news. The term was coined by former pollster Kellyanne Conway, now counselor to our new president, to explain away a factual lie by press secretary Sean Spicer that Trumps inaugural crowd was "the largest ever".
Last week, I unconsciously resorted to an alternative fact of my own, claiming that Abraham Lincoln was the only president to be depicted in both coin and paper currency. It didnt take long for close readers to knock that one down: Washington is also so honored: on both the quarter and one-dollar bill. God bless fact-checkers.
Thats the sort of thing that can happen when I spend Wednesdays dithering through the day instead of getting down to writing until close to midnight: even obvious facts can elude a mind drifting toward sleep. And, some unkind readers will add, toward senility.
Washington and Lincoln are towering figures in our history. Tomorrow, we will acknowledge them: Washington specifically, but Lincoln as well, because he merits the honor even if the day isnt officially for both.
In the ongoing contest to select our greatest president, Lincoln and Washington always rank at the top. Just now, Lincoln leads the pack, but I think you can make an even stronger case for Washington.
He was the man who forged the union that Lincoln saved. He not only led us to victory in the American Revolution, he also made our Constitution possible. True, he wasn't the only delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Nor the wisest. While he had strong ideas about forming a nation out of the contending colonies, he had nothing approaching the wisdom of Madison or the passion of Hamilton.
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton knew what had to be done in the wake of the American Revolution: draw the splintered colonies into a single nation. They set up a gathering of delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation, but with a secret intent to form a new, central government. By themselves, they had little hope of success; but if Washington joined them, anything was possible.
Washington was the nation's ideal. He was impressive in physique and bearing: six feet tall in an age of five-footers. He was a hero: the victorious general who had led the fight for freedom; the man who had kept the army together with very little more than his own determination. Such was his hold on the populace that he could easily have set himself up as emperor. If he served as a delegate, it would give the meeting legitimacy.
Washington was the unanimous choice for presiding officer. Thereafter, he said almost nothing, but his presence and prestige emboldened the others to vent their differences and work toward a consensus. When the discussion got around to the chief executive's role, the delegates simply built the article around Washington.
There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would be president for the rest of his life. But Washington was not a prisoner of his own ego. When the Constitution was ratified and he was elected president, he quit after two terms. This was probably his most striking and generous act in a lifetime of service: The abdication of power.
Last week, I closed with quotes by Lincoln, by far our most eloquent president. But Washington also said things still relevant and deserves his turn:
-- The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations And religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges.
-- Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.
-- It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
-- To be under but little or no control may be pleasing to a mind that does not reflect, but this pleasure cannot be of long duration.
-- Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder.
-- Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
The U.S. House Rules Committee will vote on legislation which would allow states to deny funding to Title X clinics. These clinics provide contraception and preventive womens health services to low income women.
Since the 1970s, I have worked with Title X clinics at the Rock Island County Health Department and Edgerton Womens Health Clinic. These programs have helped thousands of women avoid unplanned pregnancy and the costs to them, their families, and the government to support unplanned children.
These clinics have played a major role in reducing abortion to an all-time low in the U.S. Screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, screening and referral for cervix and breast cancer, and basic gynecologic health care also are provided. Title X does not and never has provided abortion services. For many young women this is the only health care they receive. Over the years, every dollar spent on Title X has saved the federal government five dollars that would be spent to care for pregnant women and their newborns.
Please contact your congressmen and senators to reject H.J. Res. 43 and S.J. Res. 13. If passed, this would be a tragedy for poor women, particularly in Republican led States. This partisan legislation crosses the line. It is not making America great again. It is setting back the clock of health care for women. It is mean-spirited Republican politics at its worst.
Jeffrey N. Maurus, MD, MPH
Rock Island
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U.S.-China policy which had enjoyed impressive continuity for upwards of three decades is suddenly in turmoil. The United States first signaled an intention to rethink the One China policy, then seemingly backtracked. On trade as well as South China Sea territorial disputes, Washington has made blunt threats even while declaring a general desire for a constructive relationship.
It remains unclear where all this is headed. But if the administration is in the market for a collaborative but still firm way to influence Chinese behavior, China's halting efforts to join the U.S. as a sponsor and guarantor of the international system may offer a better approach than an accelerating confrontation.
At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated Beijing's commitment to global integration and a rules-based order with a powerful speech laying out an agenda for growth and governance. Most initial reactions to Xi's statement were fairly skeptical, for good reason. But this new Chinese approach offers a critical opportunity for the United States to test China's willingness to serve as the co-sponsor of a stable world order.
It would be wrong to read too much into one speech. Xi likely saw an opportunity to promote China's alternative economic initiatives and boost its flagging image in Asia. His statements don't imply a change in China's long-term ambitions.
But it would be equally mistaken to miss what may be a historic opportunity.
Two factors have complicated China's interaction with the U.S.-designed world order. One is a classic theory of world politics: Rising powers tend to get outsized ambitions and work to shove current leaders off the stage. These power transitions often lead to conflict. The other is China's identity and self-image as the natural leader of Asia and as a nation that has been consistently demeaned and weakened by the West.
All of this has muddled the hope that China would simply accept and integrate with the existing order its rules, institutions and norms, from the World Trade Organization to the World Bank to UN agencies. China's aggressive actions over South China Sea territories, cyber-meddling, tightening constraints on foreign business operating in China and other behavior has led some to conclude that it aims to wreck the existing system rather than join it.
This is too simple. China's participation in the post-war order has exploded over the last three decades. It has become a prominent player in international organizations. It consistently supports the legitimacy of the UN system and its core norm of sovereignty and has been active on a number of common security issues from nonproliferation to climate to peacekeeping.
It's easy to forget how far China has come: As recently as the 1960s it remained isolated and suspicious.
It's easy to forget how far China has come: As recently as the 1960s it remained isolated and suspicious. From a wider historical lens, the intersection of two profound national strategies China's bid to use global integration to further its development, and the U.S. effort to draw China into shared norms and institutions has worked quite well for both. As Xi said at Davos, We came to the conclusion that integration into the global economy is a historical trend. It has proved to be [the] right strategic choice.
As its power grows and its sense of historically-informed grievance becomes more acute, though, China could easily diverge from this path. Many keen observers fully expect it to do so. The momentum in Washington is all about China as a revisionist state, based on a worry that its ambitions cannot be contained in a shared order.
A critical hinge point may be approaching for China's role in the world and its relationship with the United States. This is why the present moment is so fateful and why Xi's statement at Davos provides an opportunity that should not be missed.
The speech is an inspiring call for shared, equitable and sustainable growth under agreed international norms. Rather than scoffing at Xi's motives, the United States and its friends and allies could say: We take you at your word and welcome growing Chinese influence to promote these values within a shared order but under specific conditions. The idea would be to gradually but more formally accept China as a leading co-sponsor of the world order, while using its emergence into that role as leverage to encourage and where necessary enforce key standards.
Three obvious principles are non-aggression, the rule of law and fair trade practices. In each category, the United States and others can engage Chinese officials on behavior they expect to see increased willingness to settle sovereign claims under international law, for example, or changes to trade policy. But the response should also broadcast a willingness, even an excitement, to see growing Chinese leadership under the terms Xi has laid out.
Such an effort would reflect a robust initiative to follow up on the policy themes of Xi's speech and test the question of whether it is possible to bring China on board as a more formal co-leader of a stable world order. It would reflect a shift from existing U.S. policy, which has mostly worked to gather China into a U.S.-led system.
To be clear, this might not work. China is not in the mood to be managed, and its policies and ambitions on issues like trade and sovereign claims may be set in stone. On most issues, it has so far been reluctant to lead.
Given the stakes, however, the effort is worth an attempt. China can either fulfill the spirit of Xi's speech and become an active steward of global stability or shake the world order to its foundations. This may be America's best opportunity in years to influence that choice.
Michael J. Mazarr is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where he directs the project on Building a Sustainable International Order.
This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on February 15, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
* The market is materially underpricing risk; the upside/downside is now as unattractive as I have seen in years.
* As I have expected, the wheels of the new administration may be coming off; certainly, the passage of his policy initiatives are growing less likely.
* Dysfunction and chaos may be the order of the new administration; Donald Trump appears to be the first sore winner of the presidency, ever.
* In all likelihood, President Trump will become more brash and, in time, even a part-time president, making market uncertainty and volatility great again.
Surprise #4: "The Unartful Deal" -- President Trump's Popularity Quickly Fades as "The Dude (Doesn't ) Abide." A series of authoritarian executive orders reversing the Obama legacy (affordable care, environmental regulations, birth control, easing of gun control restrictions and immigration among them) results in a coalition of Black Lives Matters activists and college students who launch an extended and boisterous national protest in major cities around the country. Trump imposes curfews but the demonstrations become more violent.
Thanks to a lack of policy depth and an ability and patience to understand and execute complex and cohesive policy, a murky strategic vision and an inability to work with the Senate and House, Trump and his foreign policies of protectionism and suspension of support for NATO upset the world order and create a global crisis. His national civil policies contribute to domestic instability. These policies hurt and dominate the financial markets for the entire year.
By some token, Trump turns out to be more like a Democrat than a Republican and governs like one. While his goal of a massive infrastructure bill is achieved by reaching across party lines to make a budget-busting deal with Democrats (it nonetheless takes time and is slow to be implemented), his Obamacare replacement is all carrots and no sticks and a budget buster. Mainstream Republicans squawk against more spending and deficits as their demands for revenue neutrality are ignored by the president.
Combining proposed fiscal initiatives with promised spending on veterans and the military and individual and corporate tax cuts, the 2018 projected deficit runs to 9% of GDP at the peak of the cycle.
Slowly and over the course of the year, the right wing of the Republican Party begins to abandon Trump (there is no wall to be built and the jobs market fails to improve as the payoff for infrastructure is delayed well down the road). Moreover, lower corporate tax rates end up feathering the bed of executives as they predominantly are used in corporate stock repurchases, for merger and takeover activity and for dividend increases, trickling up and not trickling down.
The Average Joe who sought the help of a Trump presidency begins to feel abandoned. More and more, Trump is seen as an elitist and not representative of our society by the very citizens who voted him into office.
The ensuing debate and reduced popularity of the administration leads to little movement toward the revision of Dodd-Frank as Trump is fighting wars on numerous fronts.
In time, the Alt Right adopts a new chant -- "Lock him up" -- borrowing from the Hillary Clinton "Lock her up" chants. In reaction, Trump throws a few hail Marys toward the end zone to the Republican right by nominating Ted Cruz for the Supreme Court and by provoking Iran in an attempt to show his might.
The Republican establishment (Paul Ryan et al) also grows more hostile, causing a deep rift between the Republican Party and the presidency.
Trump's cabinet of independent billionaires and generals begins to behave increasingly impatient with policy and their roles and become less cohesive and supportive participants of the administration. The first official departure is Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who resigns near year-end (citing "health problems"). Several others follow and return to the private sector in early 2018.
WikiLeaks moves its target from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump and exposes his relationships with governments unfriendly to America and highlights his unethical and immoral (business and personal) behavior from the past. WikiLeaks and investigative reporters from The Washington Post and New York TImes also reveal embarrassing information about certain members of the president's Cabinet.
"An old tiger sensing the end are their most fierce and go down fighting."
--Sean Connery (as Allan Quatermain) in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"
Though hostile to the mainstream of the Republican Party, protectionism and trade barriers are about the only thing that Trump can offer his core supporters in Industrial America who have fallen on bad times. He does not disappoint them. Meanwhile, European leaders, taking Trump's role, eliminate free trade agreements and close borders to immigrants. Marine Le Pen, the new French president, proposes leaving the European Union. Germany's Angela Merkel loses popularity and her election (see Also Ran #4).
After labeling China a "currency manipulator," Trump imposes outrageous tariffs on Chinese exports. In response, China devalues the yuan dramatically, blocks iPhone sales and cancels Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) orders. China enters a recession and world trade stalls, accelerating a domestic economic downturn.
The president pulls out of NAFTA and cancels U.S. membership in the United Nations and NATO.
It is not "Morning in America." Rather, Donald Trump makes uncertainty and volatility great again.
Stocks exhibit a volatility and randomness in price action rarely ever seen -- 1% daily moves become common place.
The S&P Index has a high of 2375 (up 5%) for the year (Friday's close was 2264) and a low of 1815 (down 20%), closing the year closer to the low end of the annual price range (down 15%).
--Kass Diary, 15 Surprises for 2017
In Wednesday's opener, I made the case that the president and the market now face their most serious test.
I believe the odds are that the test will be failed, and soon.
Specifically, my fourth Surprise for 2017 appears to be right on cue.
I had expected a vigorous January rally in global equities of about 5%. The S&P Index almost has approached the early-year high of 2375 that I predicted in Surprises. (Note: Yesterday morning the S&P Index hit 2345)
The president is attempting to push back much of the Obama initiatives.
The administration is showing signs of disorganization, in policy and in personnel appointments. If the idea of yesterday's press conference was to convince otherwise, it backfired as The Dudeis not abiding.
The administration's credibility is being undercut by consistent lying by the president, Stephen Miller, Kellyanne Conway and the recently deposed Michael Lynch.
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Students at the University of Georgia may have noticed on their way around campus large construction projects going on across from the Bolton Dining Commons and behind Baldwin Hall.
Activist Irom Sharmila, who is making her electoral debut in the Manipur polls, said on Sunday that she has not given up her fight against controversial law Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act but only changed her strategy.
Sharmila said a section of people even wanted her martyrdom during the 16-year old fast against the AFSPA that she decided to end last year.
The activist went on to form her own party -- Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance -- and has decided to fight the March assembly elections with the sole agenda of withdrawal of the Act from Manipur.
"Even if one of us wins, we will be the voice of the people inside the assembly and will question the AFSPA on the floor of the House," she responded to questions on why her party PRJA had fielded only three candidates and whether they could play an important role in the 60-member assembly if they win.
Sharmila is contesting the Thoubal seat against Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Bharatiya Janata Partys L Bashanta Singh.
On what would she do if the PRJA fails to taste success in the polls, she said, Even if we fail, we will continue our fight. We will stay in politics and fight the next parliamentary elections.
During the interview Sharmila said, The AFSPA has never been an issue in the polls. But I want to make a point in the elections that the AFSPA is not only a draconian law but also one which is a gross violation of human rights.
Even now other parties are talking about alleged fake encounters in the state, she said.
On her journey from being an activist to a politician, Sharmila said, The fast was an emotional fight. But after 16 years I realised that it didnt achieve any purpose. But when I withdrew my fast a lot of people in Manipur misunderstood me, they thought I had given up.
A section of people even wanted my martyrdom during fast. But the fact is I have not given up the fight against the AFSPA, I have only changed my strategy, she said.
Sharmila, who is also known as the Iron Lady said when she had met people and explained to them about her new strategy, they understood her and gave their blessings.
People now have understood me and are with me, she said.
Criticising both the Congress and the BJP, she said, The economic blockade is a gameplan of the BJP and the Congress to divert the attention from the demand of withdrawal of AFSPA and misrule and corruption of the Congress government.
Sharmila said, You will see that by this economic blockade the Congress and the BJP have shifted the entire focus of politics on blockade. They are not doing any kind of constructive movement.
On whether there is any possibility of her party joining hands with the BJP in case of a hung assembly, the 44-year-old activist-turned-politician said, There is no chance of going with Congress or BJP after elections. PRJA will prefer to go with small political outfits like CPI (Communist Party of India), CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and others who are against the AFSPA.
An indefinite economic blockade was launched by United Naga Council since November 1, 2016 against the state governments decision to create seven new districts in the landlocked state by dividing the existing ones.
The blockade severely affected the supply of essential commodities, including fuel in the state.
The state government has, however, claimed that the decision was taken to improve administrative efficiency.
Sharmila said neither the Congress nor the BJP is serious about a dialogue with the UNC and convince them to lift the blockade.
Rather, they (the Congress and the BJP) want to stretch the matter, she said.
Facing severe shortage of funds and manpower, the PRJA has taken to online crowd funding.
It is the first regional party in Manipur which has resorted to finance poll expenses through crowd funding and has so far collected Rs 4.5 lakh through it.
I campaign on my cycle. I don't believe in publishing posters and hand bills. Your work, your movement for the people will speak for you. I think less than Rs 1 lakh is enough for a candidate to fight elections if they follow my style of campaigning, she said.
IMAGE: Irom Sharmila files nomination at DC Office for assembly election of Manipur in Thoubal constituency. Photograph: Manash Pratim Gogoi/PTI Photo
According to a study by the medical journal, the Lancet, air pollution has emerged as the deadliest form of pollution and the fourth leading risk factor for premature deaths worldwide.
The air Indians breathe is turning more toxic by the day and an average of two deaths take place daily due to air pollution, says a new study.
According to medical journal The Lancet, over a million Indians die every year due to air pollution and some of the worst polluted cities of the world are in India.
The study released this week but based on 2010 data estimates that globally 2.7-3.4 million preterm births may be associated with PM2.5 exposure and South Asia is the worst hit accounting for 1.6 million pre-term births.
The study says causes of air pollution and climate change are intricately linked and needed to be tackled together.
The Lancet concludes that climate change posed both potentially catastrophic risk to human health, while conversely being the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century if the right steps are taken.
The smog over northern India is extracting a heavy toll, every minute two lives are lost in India due to ambient air pollution, the study published in The Lancet says.
Further, according an estimate by the World Bank, this would amount to a whopping $38 billion loss in income towards labour in India.
Air pollution has also emerged as the deadliest form of pollution and the fourth leading risk factor for premature deaths worldwide, it says.
Recently, 48 leading scientists released the study and they found that Patna and New Delhi are the worst polluted cities of the world for PM 2.5 levels or the fine particulate matter that hurts the heart most.
The study notes that a broader evidence base on interrelated health and climate change trends will notably help demonstrate clear co-benefits of action.
An estimated 18,000 people die every day due to air pollution exposure, making it the worlds largest single environmental health risk.
The World Bank in turn estimates it costs the global economy $225 billion a year in related lost labour income.
Contradicting some of the Indian reports, The Lancet says coal fired power plants contribute to 50 per cent of the ambient air pollution.
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave recently admitted in Parliament that the country spends a mere Rs 7 crore annually on monitoring air pollution for a vast country of Indias size with a 1.3 billion population.
He had also said no credible study to quantify number of people who have developed lung and allied diseases or number of deaths directly as a result of air pollution is available.
Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan, a trained physician himself, says, Pollution when it starts affecting lungs especially in little children can be a killer, it is like a slow poison and there is no reason for me not to be worried, a lot has been done, but still a lot that needs to be done.
Meanwhile, called The Lancet Countdown, this study will report annually in The Lancet.
With inputs from across the world, some 16 institutions are academic partners of the initiative, including University College London, Tsinghua University and the Centre for Climate & Security among others.
This is special collaboration with the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organisation to promote synergies, collaborate on data sources, and ensure strong engagement with Ministries of Health.
Dr Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Head of the Health and Climate Change team at the World Health Organisation, says, The Paris Agreement was a landmark achievement the challenge now is to meet the targets agreed by world leaders.
The WHO is working directly with countries to provide evidence of the specific health risks that each of them faces, and the health opportunities of a resilient, low carbon future - as well as the support that they need to respond to this defining health issue of our time.
According to the WHO, compared with a future without climate change, the following additional deaths for the year 2030 are projected, 38,000 due to heat exposure in elderly people, 48,000 due to diarrhoea, 60,000 due to malaria, and 95,000 due to childhood undernutrition.
The WHO projects a dramatic decline in child mortality, and this is reflected in declining climate change impacts from child malnutrition and diarrhoeal disease between 2030 and 2050.
On the other hand, by the 2050s, deaths related to heat exposure (over 100,000 per year) are projected to increase. Impacts are greatest under a low economic growth scenario because of higher rates of mortality projected in low-and middle-income countries.
By 2050, impacts of climate change on mortality are projected to be greatest in south Asia. These results indicate that climate change will have a significant impact on child health by the 2030s.
The World Bank estimated that 5.5 million lives were lost in 2013 to diseases associated with outdoor and household air pollution, causing human suffering and reducing economic development.
The reports calls air pollution and climate change a potentially catastrophic risk to human health. The silver lining is that citizens are waking up and the study finds that almost 60 per cent of the people surveyed in India feel climate change substantially harms people.
Photographs: Reuters
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday appealed to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to nullify the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist E K Palaniswami, alleging it was adopted by contravening the rules of the state assembly.
DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the state assembly before the voting on the confidence motion on Saturday, also announced a state-wide hunger strike on February 22, protesting what it called was murder of democracy.
In a representation submitted to Rao, Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, urged him to nullify the entire proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution.
DMK Rajya Sabha members R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan, and Tiruchi N Siva submitted the representation.
Recalling his demand for secret voting on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapals rejection of it, he said, Finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House.
He, however, said, The speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK without following the procedure.
Assembly guards forcibly evicted us and many of us sustained injuries. Other opposition parties staged a walkout strongly protesting the action of the speaker, he said.
The DMK leader claimed that the speaker ignored the rule that if the House is adjourned after moving a motion, it lapses.
He said it was a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution.
He claimed that in 1988 when voting on the confidence motion was held by the speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House (it was) later declared as invalid and void by the then governor.
It appealed to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in the state assembly, focusing on the speakers declaration that the Confidence Motion moved by Palanisami was adopted in absence of members of all the opposition parties.
It urged him to invoke his constitutional powers to nullify the proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and Constitution.
Stalin in a statement said his party would stage the hunger strike from 9 am to 5 pm and condemned the adoption of trust vote after eviction of his party members.
Alleging that the Motion of Confidence was adopted contravening the House rules, he called it a murder of democracy.
Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin after the eviction of the DMK members and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn and hurled around.
Immediately after the eviction of the DMK, Stalin had met the governor and urged him to postpone the trust vote.
Meanwhile, in another statement on Sunday, Stalin disapproved of the act of some his party legislators sitting in the chair of Speaker P Dhanapal in the assembly.
After Dhanapal was escorted out of the House on Saturday by the Watch and Ward staff amid the ruckus, DMK members P Ranganathan and Ku Ka Selvam sat in his chair for a few moments.
This invited condemnation from several quarters.
I do not accept it as the Leader of Opposition in assembly and as their party's working president, Stalin said.
Stating that the DMK was working with the people to oust Sasikalas proxy regime, he asked his party MLAs to work in sync with that goal, while upholding dignity inside and outside the House.
.
Earlier in the day, a first information report was filed against Stalin, his party MLAs, MPs and cadres for holding a protest at the Marina beach against the alleged attack on him and his MLAs during the trust vote in the assembly.
Police said an FIR has been filed against them for unlawful assembly and violation of public order.
The DMK staged the protest without obtaining prior permission as required under law, a senior police official said.
Besides Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK cadres who participated in the protest have been named in the FIR, he said.
Stalin was detained on Saturday after he sat on a protest at Marina beach in Chennai against the alleged attack on him and his party MLAs during the trust vote.
After alleging that he was manhandled in the assembly by the marshals during the vote of confidence, which the Palaniswami government won with a comfortable margin of 122-11, Stalin sat on a protest at the Marina along with his MLAs.
Several DMK workers had blocked vehicular traffic and indulged in stone-pelting in different places in the state to protest the alleged attack on Stalin.
IMAGE: DMK working president M K Stalin was detained after staging a protest near Mahatma Gandhi statue in Radhakrishnan Salai in Chennai. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/ PTI Photo
United States President Donald Trump has vowed to totally destroy the Islamic State and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe.
Heres the bottom line. Weve got to keep our country safe. You look at whats happening, Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath.
Weve allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing, he claimed.
Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not win anymore.
Instead of peace, weve seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We dont fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We dont win anymore. We dont win at trade. We dont win in any capacity. We dont win anymore. Were going to start winning again. Believe me, he said.
Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to develop a plan to totally destroy IS, and begin plans for the great rebuilding of the United States military.
We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. Were going to start using our best and most modern equipment, he said.
Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely.
We were left a mess like you wouldnt believe. But were going to build safe zones. Were going to have those safe zones, he said.
We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We dont want people with bad, bad ideas. We dont want that, he said.
He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy.
Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the so-called global elite, saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages.
We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure. To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities, he said.
The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a level playing field for all women in the workforce.
Image: US President Donald Trump speaks during his "Make America Great Again" rally at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017
Hundreds of demonstrators marched in the Belarusian city of Homel to protest a law against "social parasitism." The February 19 protest included people of all ages and passed without incident despite not having been approved in advance by the authorities. The law requires people who were employed fewer than 183 days in a calendar year to pay an equivalent of about 200 U.S. dollars as a special tax imposed to combat what Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka calls "social parasitism." The law exempts registered job-seekers, homemakers, subsistence farmers, and those working in Russia. Officials say only about 10 percent of the 430,000 Belarusians affected by the law have paid the tax so far. The deadline for compliance is February 20. (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
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
Thousands of demonstrators converged in Tirana to demand the resignation of Albanias Socialist prime minister.
The protesters, led by the opposition Democratic Party, pitched tents on February 18 outside Prime Minister Edi Ramas office to demand his resignation and for a caretaker government to take power and guarantee free elections.
"Rama's government must go, the time has come to overthrow it!" Lulzim Basha of the center-right Democratic Party told the crowd.
He has plunged the country into poverty and corruption, has led it into an impasse, forcing many Albanians to leave their country," Basha said.
"I invite you all to stay together to achieve holding of free and fair elections that will come only after the replacement of this government of crime with a caretaker government to the free polls," he added.
No official estimates of crowd size were immediately available.
Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri told local TV the protesters would not be stopped from raising tents.
"We care for the protesters. We don't kill them," he said.
The demonstration harkens back to seven years ago, when Rama put up tents outside his predecessor's office to demand a vote recount after a disputed parliamentary election.
Albania is a NATO member and candidate to join the European Union.
Brussels has urged Tirana to conduct free elections and revamp the judiciary to tackle corruption before it begins membership talks.
Albania said it hopes to begin talks for joining the EU near the end of this year.
Albanian parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 18.
Rama's leftist coalition defeated the Democrats four years ago and has won all local elections since.
But the Democrats have complained they were cheated out of victory and are pressing for reforms to guarantee fair elections.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
MUNICH -- A new cease-fire has been agreed to for eastern Ukraine, but some Russia-backed separatists could not say if they would respect the fighting halt, and a Ukrainian leader said he was not pleased with the results of a four-party meeting in Munich.
The cease-fire was announced on February 18 by Russia and was brokered together with the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany, and France after talks at the Munich Security Conference.
The cease-fire is scheduled to go into effect on February 20.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the agreement a "positive" development, but he also acknowledged the lack of "major progress" at the meeting.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters the aim was to do what has long been agreed but never implemented: To withdraw the heavy weapons from the region, to secure them, and enable the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors to control where they are kept."
Russian-backed separatists on the ground would not confirm they were planning to respect the cease-fire.
Some of them said it was not feasible for it to come into force so soon.
"There has been artillery fire all day," Eduard Basurin, a senior separatist, told AFP on February 18.
"What truce are they talking about? I don't see the point in declaring a truce."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin confirmed the cease-fire agreement but warned it must become more than a "political slogan."
He told reporters he was "not at all" pleased with the meeting.
"This has to be the real situation -- and if that's not the case, we will have to have fresh negotiations," he told Ukrainian reporters in Munich.
He added that no "powerful results" where achieved at the Munich meeting of the so-called Normandy Format, consisting of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France.
Russia-backed separatists control areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraines east nearly three years after the start of their war against Kyivs forces that has killed more than 9,750.
Fighting has intensified this month, resulting in the deaths of about 30 people.
Russia also annexed Ukraine's Black Sea region of Crimea in 2014.
With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Steve Gutterman, AFP, and Reuters
Frances foreign minister has blamed Moscow for a series of election-related cyberattacks, saying that such actions were unacceptable.
Speaking to Journal du Dimanche on February 19, Jean-Marc Ayrault said the attacks have targeted pro-European candidate Emmanuel Macron.
He noted that both far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and conservative Francois Fillon have adopted pro-Russian and anti-European positions that Moscow favors.
Russia is the first to say that noninterference in domestic affairs is a cardinal rule, and I understand that, Ayrault said. France wont accept its choices being dictated to it either.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will participate in a general election in September, has also warned of possible attempts by Moscow to sway the polls.
The allegations of Russian election meddling come amid controversy that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election in the United States.
After what happened in the United States, it is our responsibility to take all steps necessary to ensure that the integrity of our democratic process is fully respected, Ayrault said.
Based on reporting by Journal du Dimanche and AFP
Protests over a new tax aimed at reducing social welfare spread beyond the Belarusian capital, as thousands took to the streets in Homel and other towns.
Along with similar protests two days earlier in Minsk, the February 19 demonstrations were some of the largest in the country in years.
In Homel, near the border with Russia, at least 1,000 people marched and chanted slogans against the measure, known as the "Law Against Social Parasites."
The march went forward without incident, and without advance approval from authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
About 60,000 people have signed a petition opposing the law, which requires people who were employed fewer than 183 days in a calendar year to pay a tax of about $200.
Officials say only about 10 percent of the 430,000 Belarusians affected by the law have paid the tax so far.
The measure is aimed at combating what President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has called "social parasitism."
The law exempts registered job-seekers, homemakers, subsistence farmers, and those working in Russia.
In the capital Minsk, about 2,000 people rallied against the measure on February 17, many of them carrying placards attacking Lukashenka.
Lukashenka has ruled Belarus more than two decades, quashing political opposition, civil society groups, independent media, and other forms of dissent.
But the country has been mired in recession since 2015 due to low world oil prices and the spillover of the economic downturn in neighboring Russia.
Many Belarusians rely on remittances from working in Russia.
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.
Iraqi forces say they have retaken 15 villages approaching western Mosul from Islamic State (IS) militants, as fighting has intensified in the U.S.-backed forces campaign to fully liberate the crucial city.
Iraqi soldiers advanced toward the airport south of Mosul on February 20, battling in the face of reported stiff resistance from IS extremists desperate to defend their self-declared capital in Iraq.
On February 19, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the launch of the next phase of the operation to rout the militants from their stronghold, an effort that began four months ago.
"We are coming, Nineveh, to liberate the western side of Mosul," the prime minister said in a televised address on February 19, referring to the province in which Mosul is located.
Backed by U.S. airpower and bolstered by Shi'ite militias and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi forces launched their initial assault in October to retake the city where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria in 2014.
But resistance from IS fighters was stiffer than expected, and the U.S.-backed forces succeeded in taking the eastern side of the Tigris River only after weeks of pitched urban combat.
On February 19, an army commander said forces led by federal police units retook the villages south of Mosul, including Athbah, leaving them within striking distance of the airport.
"We launched our operation at 7:00 a.m. [local time]... We are heading towards the airport," said Abbas al-Juburi of the Interior Ministry's elite Rapid Response force.
The Reuters news agency reported that Iraqi troops rushed through several villages, reaching Zakrutiya, about 5 kilometers south of the airport by the end of February 19.
Officers reported capturing a power station and killing several militants, including snipers.
'House-To-House Fighting'
Analysts said it was clear that taking western Mosul would be much more difficult than capturing the eastern portion.
"West Mosul had the potential certainly of being more difficult, with house-to-house fighting on a larger and more-bloody scale," said Patrick Skinner of the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy.
The U.S.-led coalition carried out air strikes near Mosul on February 18, U.S. Central Command said.
U.S. special operations forces have been embedded with some Iraqi units, and thousands of American soldiers are in Iraq to provide logistical and other support.
"The U.S. forces continue in the same role they were in, in east Mosul, and the coalition forces are in support of this operation," Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on February 19 while in the United Arab Emirates.
IS militants seized large portions of northern Iraq and Syria in an offensive in 2014, stunning the Iraqi government and exposing deep weaknesses in the armed forces.
The militants are accused of numerous atrocities and have claimed responsibility for major terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere.
Islamic State considers the Syrian city of Raqqa as its capital, and it too is also under siege by U.S.-backed forces and others.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Central Asias image has often suffered from international media coverage. The region rarely figures in the reports of the big television networks and print media. Only when the rare crisis hits Central Asia does the area receive a lot of attention.
So, someone following international news might remember the violence in Uzbekistans eastern city of Andijon in 2005 when security forces opened fire on protesters, or the revolutions in Kyrgyzstan in 2005 and 2010, or that the region borders Afghanistan, or that it was once part of the Soviet Union.
Not the best publicity for Central Asia.
One thing no one seems to forget is that Central Asia is home to an overwhelmingly Muslim population.
Articles and reports have appeared in recent months portraying Central Asia as a hotbed of unrest, a breeding ground for extremists, a region from which the Muslim population could potentially pour out into conflicts in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, or maybe, even further away.
It is a characterization many of the journalists and scholars familiar with Central Asia -- people who have lived there -- reject.
There are some ill-founded assumptions making their way into reports and some information that is simply incorrect.
To discuss where these misconceptions come from and offer a different view, RFE/RL assembled a Majlis, or panel, to consider media and think-tank coverage of Central Asia.
Moderating the discussion was RFE/RL Media Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir.From the Massachusetts-based organization Communities Engaging with Difference and Religion (CEDAR) http://www.cedarnetwork.org/ David Montgomery, who is also author of the book Practicing Islam: Knowledge, Experience, and Social Navigation in Kyrgyzstan, joined the Majlis. Participating from New York was Edward Lemon, a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University, member of the Harriman Institute, and author of in-depth studies focusing on Tajikistans citizens who have gone to fight in the Middle East. Also taking part, from Prague, was Noah Tucker, associate at the Central Asia Program at George Washington University, managing editor at the Registan website, and currently working with us at RFE/RL. I just had to be in on this also.
First, it is not the intention of this work to criticize anyone, any particular article, or any particular media outlet. I probably speak for many when I say I welcome any interest in Central Asia. I simply wish for an accurate picture.
The suggestion that somewhere in the five Central Asian countries there is a spark waiting to ignite the Muslim population into violence and extremism is not new, as Tucker noted. If we go back far enough into the 1980s, people have had this same discussion about Central Asia over and over again, he said.
Lemon recalled, If we look at the Soviet period and the titles of books like The Islamic Threat to the Soviet State: Moscows Muslim Challenge, there was this assumption that if the Soviet Union was going to collapse it would come from the soft underbelly from Central Asia.
As part of the Soviet Union, most Muslims of Central Asia could not openly practice Islam. Not surprisingly, when the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, the Muslims of the now five independent states of Central Asia, who had been cut off from the greater Islamic world for some 75 years, reembraced the religion that had dominated the region since the 8th century.
In some reports, this seemingly sudden zeal to practice Islam, to construct new mosques, the desire of some to dress in clothing they consider Islamic, and other outward expressions of the faith are implicitly putting the people and the region on the course of extremism.
Montgomery explained, In a lot of the reports theres already this assumption that somehow Islam is, if it becomes too Islamic, too active in its practice, its somehow threatening.
During the last approximately five years, a few thousand people from Central Asia, from a population of nearly 70 million, have gone to the Middle East, Afghanistan, or Pakistan. Citizens of Central Asia have carried out terrorist attacks that gained large international attention -- the attack on Karachis Jinnah International Airport in 2014, the attack on Istanbuls Ataturk International Airport in 2016, and allegedly the Istanbul New Years Eve nightclub attack.
Again, people are more likely to remember incidents such as these and draw their conclusions on Central Asia based on these attacks.
Research has already shown most of the young Central Asian men who have gone to join extremist groups in the Middle East or elsewhere, tend to have little knowledge of Islam. Indeed, their reasons often seem to have nothing to do with religion at all.
Tucker recounted a story of a young Uzbek man from Tajikistan who was in Donetsk, fighting on the side of pro-Russian separatists. Most of the young men from his village had gone to fight in different theaters but most of them had gone to fight for ISIS, Tucker said. He didnt have a foreign passport, so he wasnt able to go to Syria but he could travel within the former Soviet Union. He was a young guy who just wanted to go out somewhere, make some money, have an adventure, and fight.
And Lemon said often for those who go to join extremist groups in conflict zones, Its about masculine pride, its often about local connections its not a matter of where theyre fighting or who theyre fighting, its just the process of fighting and seeking an adventure that appears to be most important for these individuals rather than any kind of religious commitment to jihad.
Tuckers research has shown that Central Asians can be found in the ranks of various groups in Syria and Iraq, sometimes fighting against each other.
Its not that we deny that these things are happening, Montgomery said, but he continued that reading some recent reports on Central Asia could leave one with the impression things are really bad and theyll only get worse and probably the only thing that makes sense is Islam.
This was a meaty topic and it led the discussion into the evolution of traditional and new manifestations of Islam in the region, how government polices toward religion and domestic security often reinforce general international perceptions of Central Asia as a volatile region, and other issues.
An audio recording of the Majlis can be heard at:
*NOTE: Qishloq Ovozi is assembling a list of organizations and individuals who can be contacted for information on Central Asia in the hope such a list can prove useful to journalists and others who have questions about Central Asia. It should be up on Qishloq Ovozi soon.
MUNICH, Germany -- Russia's decision to recognize identification documents issued by separatists in eastern Ukraine will hurt the chances for a cease-fire to take hold, the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told RFE/RL on February 19.
The abrupt Russian move is also a setback for efforts to end the war that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014, a goal that already seems a long way off, OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Meeting in Munich on February 18, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and mediators Germany and France agreed to a new push to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, to begin on February 20.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing the recognition of documents issued by the separatist-led, self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic.
The steps taken last night by Russia to recognize these documents are making implementation more difficult, Zannier said of the agreement known as Minsk II, a much-violated February 2015 accord that imposed a cease-fire and set out a plan for resolving the conflict.
The Russian move impliesrecognition of those who issue the documents, of course, Zannier said.
This makes us think of Abkhazia-like situations, he said, referring to one of two breakaway Georgian regions that Russia recognized as independent countries after fighting a brief war against Georgia in 2008.
Russia has not formally recognized the self-proclaimed separatist entities in Ukraine as independent, and Moscows stated position is that they should be part of Ukraine. Analysts say Russia hopes to continue to use them as long as it can to destabilize Ukraine and maintain pressure on its pro-Western government.
Strained Ties With West
Speaking to reporters in Munich after meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on February 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Putins order was "more evidence of the Russian occupation and Russia's violation of international law."
In a post on Twitter on February 19, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said the Russian decision was alarming and incompatible with the agreed-on goals of the Minsk peace process.
After a Moscow-friendly Ukrainian president was pushed from power by protests in February 2014, Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Kyivs control and fomented separatism in the countrys east and south, where many people speak Russian.
Russia denies involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine, despite what Kyiv and Western nations say is overwhelming evidence that it has sent substantial numbers of troops and weapons across the border to support separatist forces.
Russias interference in Ukraine has badly strained its ties with the West, prompting the United States, the European Union, and other nations to impose sanctions.
Speaking at the Munich conference on February 18, hours before Putins order was announced, Pence said that the United States would hold Russia accountable for its actions even as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks common ground with Moscow.
Like Western leaders who spoke at the three-day conference, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Zannier said there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements -- the 2015 pact and an initial agreement reached in September 2014 -- for ending the war.
I remain convinced that the Minsk agreements are the best -- and the only, in fact -- path to get out of this.
Minsk II was supposed to be implemented in full by the end of 2015. But Zannier said that more than a year later, even elections in the separatist-held areas -- which are just one step in the plan -- seem like a distant prospect.
The concept is not agreed, and the conditions for holding them are not there, he said. So its really a long way away.
Theyre known as the Men Who Complain.
Shams Zarifov and Jurakhon Kabirov, two pensioners from the southern Tajik region of Kulob, have written thousands of letters to local, regional, and state authorities about what they believe to be unlawful conduct by officials or social injustices in their communities.
The men send -- or sometimes personally deliver -- their letters to the office of the countrys president in Dushanbe, to various government agencies locally, and to Tajik media outlets.
We fight for justice, says Kabirov, a 66-year-old former farmer from the village of Laghmon.
The topics of their complaints are wide-ranging -- from suspected bribery and other alleged misconduct by government officials to the alleged illegal distribution of land or the suspected misuse of funds allocated to the sick and the poor.
Such crimes are far from unusual in Tajikistan. The country ranks near the bottom (151st) of Transparency Internationals 2016 Corruption Index of 176 countries. Half of the households surveyed in Tajikistan said they had to pay bribes on a regular basis.
Zarifov and Kabirov are familiar -- though not necessarily welcome -- faces to those working in government agencies in Kulob. Dilovar Akobirzoda, the head of Kulobs anticorruption agency, says his office alone receives up to 100 letters a year from the two men, and that each letter must be looked into.
We investigate all complaints by citizens, Akobirzoda says. In three instances in recent years, we found violations that had first been pointed out in their letters. As a result, some $5,000 in misappropriated funds were returned to the government budget.
Not all complaints are resolved so neatly.
Kabirov says his current fight involves farmland that he believes was unlawfully sold by Kulob authorities to build new houses and businesses.
After exhausting all other avenues, Kabirov said he sent his latest letter about the land issue to security services two weeks ago. Hes still waiting for a reply.
Zarifov and Kabirov say they have dedicated their later lives to creating a society free of corruption and lament the fact that the authorities dont seem to appreciate their efforts.
Detained
Ahead of every visit to the region by President Emomali Rahmon, the two gadflies say they are kept in police custody until the president departs.
An officer at Kulobs police department confirms to RFE/RLs Tajik Service that the men are, indeed, detained -- for public safety reasons.
They have tried many times to disrupt the presidents visit, the officer said on condition of anonymity. We temporarily detain them to prevent a potential disruption of public order during the visit.
It was during one of these presidential detentions that Zarifov and Kabirov first met, some 10 years ago. Neither man knew of their counterpart in complaint just a few kilometers away.
While the two say they have a shared goal of fighting for a clean society, they write their letters separately. Kabirov focuses mostly on social injustices in his neighborhood, while Zarifov, of Kulobs Vose district, says his efforts are often aimed to exposing corruption in all levels of government.
Zarifov, 78, says he penned his first letter to authorities when he worked as a teacher in Vose during the Soviet era. One letter he wrote in the late 1980s in which he warned the leadership of the ruling Communist Party in Moscow against the dangers of corruption -- landed him a four-year jail sentence. He was later cleared of all charges of acting against the government and released from prison.
Zarifovs second jail sentence came in 2002. He proudly holds up a yellowed copy of the newspaper in which he published an open letter to Rahmon, accusing the Tajik government of genocide over a family planning law that Zarifov believed encouraged women to have fewer children. He was found guilty of insulting the president by calling the law an effort to destroy the nation by peaceful means.
Complaint Cave
Zarifov escaped imprisonment, however, after doctors diagnosed him with a mental illness. He describes the jail terms as temporary setbacks.
Zarifov has turned one room in his small, one-story house into his own private complaint cave, where he keeps his notebooks, a record of his letters, and copies of Tajikistans various laws, as well as two suitcases of archived letters.
For Zarifov and Kabirov, writing letters has become something of a full-time job. And it can get expensive, both in time and money.
I invest my time talking to people to hear their problems, Kabirov says. And I spend money to type and print out the letters because sometimes officials return them, saying my longhand was impossible to read.
He also said his 1.5-hectare plot of farmland was set ablaze by unknown saboteurs just days before he was set to harvest wheat in 2012, an incident he believes was punishment by local authorities.
The two men say their ultimate goal is to personally meet with President Rahmon and talk to him about the injustices they say they witness in their everyday lives.
I believe that officials are hiding the truth from the president about the real state of affairs in the country, Kabirov says.
Zarifov, meanwhile, says hes determined not to let police get in his way when Rahmon next visits Kulob.
He takes down a plastic bottle of yellow liquid from the top of a cabinet.
Its petrol, Zarifov says. Im going to tell the officers that I will pour it on myself and set myself on fire if they dont let me talk to the president.
While the men proudly say that people approach them with their problems, Zarifov and Kabirov insist that they go and check personally if their claims are true before writing letters on their behalf.
And in an authoritarian country where few dare to criticize the government, the two men are often accused of receiving money from people in return for delivering these messages to officials.
Kabirov, however, says nothing could be further from the truth.
The only reward we get is the satisfaction of doing something good for our people and country, he says.
If I had money, would I be living here? he says, pointing to his dilapidated house. Ive never ever written one single letter to complain about my own situation.
Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by RFE/RLs Tajik Service correspondents Mumin Ahmadi and Mahmudjon Rahmatzoda
Thousands have rallied in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to protest what they say is an attempt by the government to shut down a popular television channel.
The February 19 action came one day after Rustavi-2 suspended broadcasts in what a deputy director said was a protest against the government's attacks on media freedom.
News reports said more than 10,000 people jammed the streets in front of the parliament building.
Rustavi's management has accused the government of attempting to seize control with the help of businessman Kibar Khalvashi.
Khalvashi sold a controlling stake in the network a decade ago and is now seeking to win it back through a lawsuit.
The station is Georgia's most popular, and has been caught in an ownership tussle since 2015.
The struggle has sparked fears that the ruling Georgian Dream coalition could be seeking to clamp down on independent media in the South Caucasus nation.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili pledged through a spokeswoman his "full support to all media outlets and especially to Rustavi-2, which has repeatedly been under threat."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, AP, Interfax
U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his attack on the media and said he would decide over the next couple of days on a new national security adviser as he conducted what he called a campaign rally in Florida.
Trump also reiterated in the February 18 speech that he wants safe zones to be established in Syria and elsewhere for refugees, to be paid for by Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region.
Speaking at an airplane hangar in the Florida city of Melbourne, the president returned to many of the subjects he touched on during last years presidential campaign.
His most passionate theme appeared to be an attack on the media.
Trump told cheering supporters he wanted to speak to them without the filter of the "fake news."
He accused the "dishonest media" of publishing one false story after another about his administration.
He said when media outlets lie to the people, he will "never, ever let them get away with it."
On specific policy matters, Trump said he would be making a decision "over the next couple of days" on a new national security adviser, adding he was leaning toward one of the candidates he would be interviewing the next day.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer earlier said those to be interviewed during Trump's weekend trip to Florida are:
Retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg; a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen.
The former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced out on February 13 after revelations he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the Trump transition period.
On Syria, Trump said specially created zones would allow refugees to safely remain in the region.
He said this would keep potential terrorists out of the United States.
"We want people that are going to be great for our country," he said. "We don't want people with bad, bad ideas."
With reporting by AP, dpa, Reuters, and AFP
A U.K. newspaper reports that senior British officials believe Russia was behind a plot last October to assassinate Montenegro's pro-Western prime minister and overthrow the government.
The Sunday Telegraph, in an article to be published February 19, cited senior British government sources as saying Russian intelligence officers, with the support and blessing of Moscow, attempted to sabotage Podgoricas plan to join NATO.
Montenegros NATO membership is opposed by Russia and has been the source of tension following the alleged foiled election-day coup.
Montenegro in October arrested about 20 people -- including two Russian citizens -- suspected of aiding the plot.
Montenegro's parliament on February 15 voted to strip two opposition leaders of the pro-Russian Democratic Front of immunity over their suspected involvement.
A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for two lawmakers, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, but Montenegro's state prosecutor overruled the warrant and said there was no need to hold the pair in jail as suspects.
U.K. government sources told The Sunday Telegraph the planned coup was one of the most blatant recent examples of an increasingly aggressive campaign of interference in Western affairs.
It said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the issue at their recent meeting.
The U.S Embassy in Kyiv has said Russias decision to temporarily recognize documents issued by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is incompatible with the Minsk process on regulating the conflict.
The embassy posted on Twitter on February 19 that the decision was alarming and incompatible with the agreed-on goals of the Minsk peace process.
The embassy also urged Russia and the separatists to remove heavy weaponry from the line of contact in order to ensure a sustainable cease-fire.
On February 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing the recognition of documents issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic, entities created in the areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia-back separatists.
The same day, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France met in Munich and agreed to a new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine to begin on February 20.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Interfax
The Associated Press reports the Senate Intelligence Committee has formally requested that more than a dozen organizations, agencies, and individuals preserve all material related to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
AP on February 18 cited information from a congressional aide who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
AP said committee chairman Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, and vice chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, sent out the letters making the request on February 17.
Committee members that same day received a classified briefing from FBI chief James Comey.
Committee members declined to comment on what was discussed in the briefing.
On February 17, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida expressed confidence in the Senate's ability to investigate Russia's hacking of U.S. organizations during the campaign.
"I am now very confident Senate Intel Comm I serve on will conduct thorough bipartisan investigation of #Putin interference and influence," Rubio tweeted.
Based on reporting by AP and The Washington Examiner
MUNICH, Germany -- A leading Republican senator has vowed to seek increased punishments against Russia for its alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election, saying that 2017 is going to be the year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress.
Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina) spoke on a panel on U.S. foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference on February 19 along with two Democratic senators, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
U.S. intelligence agencies released a report in January saying they had assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign seeking to undermine faith in the U.S. electoral system and denigrate Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. It said that Russia developed a clear preference for Donald Trump, who won the November 8 election and was sworn in on January 20.
My biggest concern with President Trumpis that hes never really looked a camera in the eye and said that even though it was the Democratic Party that suffered from Russian interference, I am now the leader of the free worldand I can assure you that [Russia is] going to pay the price on my watch for trying to interfere in our election, Graham said. You have to say that.
Graham, a longtime critic of Russia who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that when U.S. political infighting in the wake of the election dies down, Congress will move on to other things, and top of the list will be sanctions against Russia.
He said his hope is to win strong bipartisan support for a bill that would impose additional sanctions on Russia for interference in our election and to put it on Trumps desk, adding "I hope he can embrace the idea...that he should be working with us to punish Russia."
He said that 2017 is going to be the year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress.
Murphy also said that U.S. lawmakers were not doing enough to respond to the alleged meddling.
The fact of the matter is that Russia attempted to swing the United States election for one candidate, Murphy said. They have thus far paid a very low price for that interference.
He said that Congress can play an investigatory role to once and for all get to the bottom of the scope of that interference and has the power to levy sanctions against Russia beyond those imposed by former President Barack Obama.
But Murphy said that Congress ultimately has a much bigger role to play, which is to give the executive branch the real tools to use to combat the asymmetric warfare that Russia uses throughout the region.
Wed be fooling ourselves to think that the only response to Russian aggression is to just dramatically plus up the defense budget, he said, referring to the Trump administrations plans for more military spending.
Russia uses its energy power, its ability to bully and bribe and intimidate and other methods including propaganda and information distribution to wield influence in other nations, Murphy said.
He said that the United States spends 20 times more on the military than on tools that push back against those other means Russia uses to project power" and that if that does not change, Were just never going to be in that game.
We have to step back and think about whether every American president is going to fail in trying to combat Russian expansionism, if we dont [provide] some other non-defense, non-military tools, Murphy said.
Virginias tax credit program for rehabilitating historic properties has revitalized whole sections in dying towns throughout Virginia.
The program has operated without caps or limitations on the amount of credits awarded on any particular project since its inception in Virginia in 1997, generating billions of dollars of economic activity and creating thousands of jobs.
State lawmakers want to impose a $5 million cap on the amount of credits any taxpayer can claim to reduce their state income tax liabilities in a given year.
Under the proposal, taxpayers with historic tax credits of more than $5 million would be able to carry forward the excess and claim the credit in future taxable years within a 10-year carryover period or until the full credit is used, whichever occurs first.
The Department of Taxation, in a 2017 fiscal impact statement, says the cap would provide $9.9 million in revenue to the states general fund in the fiscal year beginning July 1 and each fiscal year thereafter. The state says the cap would affect four or fewer taxpayers.
Institutional investors large organizations such as banks or insurance companies often are sources of capital for these rehabilitation projects and would be affected the most, since they claim the largest amounts of credit, tax experts say.
Tax credits offset the cost of renovations, providing economic incentives for developers to invest in old buildings and take on otherwise prohibitively expensive projects. Developers typically sell the credits to investors in return for capital to do the projects.
The state credit is 25 percent of eligible expenses. Combined with a federal credit of 20 percent of eligible rehabilitation expenses, a taxpayer could qualify for both credits, allowing for credits of 45 percent of eligible expenses.
Private and nonprofit sectors have used the program to turn vacant and blighted structures into music venues, restaurants, office space, retail space and educational institutions as well as single-family and multi-family residential projects.
Richmond has benefited the most in Virginia with a total of 1,236 completed projects generating $518.1 million in state historic tax credits from 1997 to 2015, according to the Department of Historic Resources, which administers the state program.
The next closest is Arlington County with a total of 213 completed projects generating $32 million in credits during that same time period.
***
Tax credit proponents say restrictions could lead to more limits, harm revitalization efforts and steer developers and investors to do historic rehab projects in states without caps or limitations.
These projects are extremely complex and costly and, as a result, the financing that is provided by the historic tax credit program is absolutely essential, said Andrew C. Clark, director of government affairs for the Home Building Association of Richmond.
Financing discussions occur very early on in the project planning process if there is uncertainty that financing will be available during any future phases of the project, many developers will be reluctant or unable to proceed.
Clark said he respects the tough budget decisions that the legislature is facing. However, the legislation at the General Assembly this year has brought a degree of uncertainty to the state historic tax credit program.
Urban and rural local governments, commercial and multifamily developers, investors, architects and contractors are concerned about what this means for the program in the years to come, Clark said.
Its a slippery slope, said Ross Fickenscher, co-owner of Richmond-based Aoss Ventures, a development firm that uses historic tax credits for renovation projects in such places as Petersburg, Lynchburg and Danville.
Historic renovation projects typically take four to five years from start to finish, he said. When the state begins instituting caps or thresholds, investors become reluctant to pursue these projects. ... And it creates more red tape and administrative costs.
Legislators have proposed reductions and limits in the past, Fickenscher said. Now that they have broken through the ice, what does the next year look like?
The states fiscal impact statement shows that 32 states have historic tax credit programs. Of those, 19 states place limitations on the amount of tax credits that can be awarded to a particular project, and 16 have statewide caps on the total amount of credits that be awarded annually. Virginia is one of 10 states with no limits or caps.
***
Two bills are making their way through the General Assembly.
They are identical, except a provision was tacked onto Senate Bill 1034 allows for the cap to expire at the end of this taxable year (beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2017, but before Jan. 1, 2018). House Bill 2460 has no sunset provision.
The bills will have to be reconciled in a conference committee made up of three representatives from the Senate and three representatives from the House before being sent to the governors desk for review.
Clark said he expects the cap will go into effect this year and that he hopes the final version will have the sunset provision, allowing time for more data to be compiled so legislators can make informed decisions about the value of the historic tax credit.
A 2014 study by Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Center for Urban and Regional Analysis shows that the historic tax credit program generated nearly $4 billion in economic activity in the state from 1997 to 2013 through 2,375 projects, which supported about 31,000 jobs.
Preservation Virginia, a nonprofit voice for historic properties, is helping fund a follow-up VCU study to update the figures. And it is working with homebuilders and other entities on another study that will look at the domino effects of historic tax credits on new businesses, jobs and tax revenues for the state.
Our goal is to be able to provide the information to the joint subcommittee before the next General Assembly so legislators can have the basics for talking about the economic impact of these credits, said Elizabeth Kostelny, CEO of Preservation Virginia.
We believe a thoughtful approach is needed before any changes are considered so theres not a piecemeal approach, she said.
The amount of state certified historic tax credits has stabilized at about $80 million to $90 million a year, said Tom Kasper, owner of Henrico County-based Kasper Tax Credit Finance, a national syndicator of federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Starting this week, rainbow cookie lovers will have more places to pick up a tub of those brightly colored cookies Ukrops has been making for decades.
And ditto for dozens of other prepared foods such as the chicken cobbler and the seafood salad made by Henrico County-based Ukrops Homestyle Foods.
The homegrown company, no longer tied to an exclusivity agreement that limited its Ukrops-labeled foods to being sold at Martins Food Markets, will begin this week rolling out many of its signature prepared food and bakery products to 18 area Kroger stores.
This is transformational ... from a brand point of view, Robert S. Bobby Ukrop, president and CEO of Ukrops Homestyle Foods, said recently at the companys Henrico headquarters.
Weve spent a lot of time with a certain amount of restrictions. Now, we have the opportunity to move around, Ukrop said.
The rollout will be gradual not all stores will have items right away. Kroger stores are updating fixtures and signage but, by Feb. 15, Kroger customers can expect to find a wide assortment of Ukrops label items on store shelves and in deli and chefs cases.
Kroger has carried a selection of Ukrops Homestyle Foods but under a different label Good Meadow. Ukrops also has made products for Krogers private store label. All of those items will transition to the Ukrops brand.
As long as we have been in the Richmond market, we know how special and nostalgic the Ukrops brand is to Richmond, said Anne Jenkins, spokeswoman for Kroger Mid-Atlantic division. Weve long admired the brand ourselves, and we know that our customers are going to enjoy being able to pick up all their favorite Ukrops items while they are shopping with us at Kroger.
Kroger will have an official store launch of Ukrops products on Feb. 15, Jenkins said.
In coming days and weeks, products with the Ukrops label also will become available at the two Wegmans grocery stores in the area, at Libbie Market in Richmond and other retailers.
Although we are still working to finalize the list of items we will be carrying under the Ukrops brand name, we are planning to sell an assortment of some of their most popular items beginning sometime in February, said Sam Dortch, Libbie Market co-owner and restaurant manager.
Bob Farr, Wegmans Virginia division manager, said the two Richmond-area Wegmans stores will add some Ukrops label products to the lineup later this month. The Rochester, N.Y.-based chain opened the area stores last year.
Wegmans is very big on prepared foods with an in-store restaurant, multiple hot food bars and carryout stations and an extensive bakery.
Since opening in Richmond, we have learned how much our customers love their Ukrops products, Farr said. Our prepared foods have been very successful in both Midlothian and Short Pump, and now with the addition of some Ukrops items, we feel we will be able to give our customers in Richmond a very unique experience.
With four more Martins Food Markets stores slated to close today in advance of being converted to Publix Super Markets, the timing of the rollout at Kroger and other stores is significant for Ukrops Homestyle Foods, which makes more than 400 food items at production plants in Henrico and Chesterfield counties.
Ukrops is losing a big customer with the eventual exit of Martins stores from the market but is expanding its arrangement with an even bigger client, Kroger, the nations largest traditional supermarket operator.
Kroger may eventually carry some Ukrops branded products at all 122 stores in the grocers six-state Mid-Atlantic division, Jenkins said. At present, Ukrops products under different labels are in 86 Kroger stores, Ukrop said.
Martins stores will continue to carry Ukrops foods as long as those locations here are open. Ukrops Homestyle Foods also will continue to supply Martins stores outside the region, said Chris Kantner, vice president of manufacturing for Ukrops Homestyle Foods and son-in-law of Ukrop.
The labeling will remain the same on the companys Mrs. Marshalls brand salads regardless of where that product is sold.
***
Richmonds dynamic grocery market is partly driving the change.
The past five years has seen tremendous change, and more is on the horizon.
Highly touted Wegmans entered the market last year. No-frills Aldi, based in Germany, opened its first store nearly two years ago.
Market newcomers Publix and Germany-based Lidl have grocery stores under construction in the Richmond region, while Kroger and Walmart have been freshening up existing stores over the past few years.
The Ukrops exclusivity agreement with Martins dates to 2010 when the Ukrops Super Markets grocery chain sold 25 of its stores to Dutch retail conglomerate Royal Ahold NV, which rebranded the stores as Martins Food Markets. For more than two decades, Ukrops Super Markets commanded the No. 1 spot among grocery sales in the region.
With that sale, the Ukrop family spun off their prepared foods and bakery production units, creating Ukrops Homestyle Foods to continue to make many of the companys signature foods, including the White House Rolls, the popular rainbow cookies, cakes, pies and other bakery items as well as prepared foods such as the microwave-ready Spinach Supreme side dish.
Fast-forward to July 2016 when the parent companies of Martins and the Food Lion grocery chains merged. Federal antitrust regulators stipulated that the merged company sell some stores in markets where both grocery chains had stores.
Ten of 19 area Martins stores are being sold to Florida-based Publix, and the other nine are for sale.
Weve always gotten calls since 2010 from local establishments, from farmers markets, the Krogers of the world, Walmart the big guys wanting to buy Ukrops products, said Scott Aronson, executive vice president at Ukrops Homestyle Foods and another son-in-law.
Up until the Martins divestiture, the answer was no. Now, weve been in conversations with many of those retailers, Aronson said.
***
Ukrops-branded foods available at Kroger and other retailers will include the White House Rolls, sandwiches, green salads, deli salads, entrees, side dishes, soups, cookies, brownies, pies, cupcakes, cakes, pastries, breakfast items and muffins, Aronson said.
We ask for patience and cooperation as we work through that. It is a significant conversion that will take place in those stores. ... There will be signage in the stores to help customers find those products within the stores, Aronson said.
Kroger is planning to create destination displays for the Ukrops products, similar to the Good Meadow bakery products table displays Kroger has had.
It will be similar to that, but it will be on steroids. It will be larger, but a destination like that, said Barbara Buck, deli bakery merchandiser for Kroger Mid-Atlantic.
We truly are going in and retrofitting with some new fixturing, and we will have to do some re-sets to accommodate for these destinations. We have teams going into the stores to accomplish this, Buck said. We cant do all stores in one day. So it will be throughout the entire week.
Some of the Ukrops items sold by the pound behind the deli case will be clearly marked as Ukrops products, Ukrop said.
Ukrops will provide some items for the Kroger hot bars macaroni and cheese, honey baked apples, and broccoli rice casserole but will not be offering the companys popular breakfast pizzas.
Kroger also will become a pick-up location for Ukrops special-order birthday and other custom cakes and bakery products, Kantner said.
There will also be kiosks, ordering locations within Kroger where you can order in the store and have a cake produced and picked up at Kroger. Their associates can help with orders as well, he said.
Kroger is planning an extensive marketing campaign to announce that they are carrying the Ukrops-branded label products in stores, Jenkins said.
***
As Ukrops Homestyle Foods embarks on this next phase of the companys existence, Robert Ukrop reflected on the vision of his parents, Joseph and Jacquelin Ukrop, who opened the first Ukrops Super Market store on Hull Street in South Richmond in 1937.
Here we are, 80 years later, and we are still trying to serve our customers. Whats changed is we no longer have the retail, Ukrop said.
Instead, they have products that Richmonders will go out of their way to get, according to a market research study done for Ukrops Homestyle Foods.
The online survey done in December asked grocery shoppers in the Richmond area about their shopping habits, said John W. Martin, president and CEO of the Richmond-based Southeastern Institute of Research Inc.
We really wanted to understand what was the awareness and purchase behavior of this target audience in terms of Ukrops Homestyle Foods, Martin explained.
The study also wanted to determine if Ukrops products were destination items would people make a special trip to a store that carried the products to buy them?
The survey analyzed 444 responses, Martin said. Some results: 86 percent of respondents were aware of Ukrops Homestyle Foods, and 85 percent of those who were aware of the products had purchased Ukrops foods.
Almost three-quarters of greater Richmond grocery shoppers have purchased the brand. That is extraordinary, Martin said.
Customer satisfaction also was high, which the family attributes to its make today, ship tonight, sell tomorrow emphasis on freshness. The company also changes its menu with the times recently adding pasta, lo mein and other single-serving bowl entrees.
What was impressive to me is we scored equally high with Gen Xers, boomers, millennials. Younger people like us just as much as the older folks, Kantner said.
The research also gauged the Ukrops brands net promoter score, a number that captures how likely customers are to tell others about a product. Anything above 50 is exceptional, Martin said.
Ukrops scored 52, he said.
Richmond police are investigating after a male victim was shot Sunday in the city's Ginter Park neighborhood.
The shooting happened about noon in the 500 block of Culpeper Street, at the street's intersection with Montrose Avenue.
Jeremy McPike, the director of general services for the city of Alexandria, didnt think the recreation centers, fire stations and other buildings he manages had any lead contamination in their drinking water systems.
But he also realized last year, as the crisis was metastasizing over lead contamination in Flint, Mich., that he had no way to confirm that.
We could not affirmatively answer whether there were issues or not, said McPike, also a Democratic state senator who represents the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park as well as part of Prince William County.
Ethically, I couldnt say no unless I had data.
Testing found lead concentrations at alarming levels, in some cases in the several hundred parts per billion range, he said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agencys action level, or concentration, measured at customers taps that requires drinking water systems to take action to reduce lead levels is 15 parts per billion.
A bill by McPike that is advancing through the General Assembly would require local school systems to create and carry out a plan to test drinking water for lead in school buildings built in whole or part before 1986.
If tests show lead above 20 parts per billion, a school board would be required to take the water source out of service and develop, post on its website and implement a plan to remediate the level of the lead to below 20 parts per billion and confirm such remediation by retesting the water, the legislation says.
As McPike discovered in Alexandria, solutions can be as simple and cheap as replacing a fixture.
I think thats pretty hard to argue with. Its not an unfunded mandate. It can be done relatively cheaply, he said.
Its positive due diligence that I think all parents would want.
McPike's bill made it out of the House Education Committee on Monday. The 15-3 vote sends Senate Bill 1359 by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, to the full House.
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Schools served by public water are not required by the state to test water, unless the school is served by a community waterworks that has identified it as a test site, or if the school is served by its own independent water system, usually a well, that is regulated by the state as a waterworks, said Matthew Lipani, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Health.
Richmond-area school systems are a mixed bag as far as testing their older buildings for lead in drinking water.
Henrico County did water testing in April on 48 schools built before 1978, and all the results were below the EPA action levels for lead and copper, schools spokesman Andy Jenks said.
At the time, we were monitoring the events in Flint, Mich., and decided to be proactive and proceed with a testing update, even though Virginia school divisions are not required to do so, Jenks said.
We continue to feel this has put us ahead of the curve in regard to student safety, which is our highest priority.
Chesterfield County Public Schools said its buildings also would be in compliance if McPikes bill becomes law.
All schools built before 1986 were tested, and a protocol based on EPA guidance for lead in water testing for schools has been developed, schools spokesman Shawn Smith said.
All potable water samples tested were below 20 parts per billion, he added.
***
Across the line in Richmond, however, the district did not conduct systemwide testing in response to the Flint crisis.
According to our Chief Operations Officer Thomas Kranz, we do not currently test the water unless a specific concern is raised, Richmond Public Schools spokeswoman Kenita Bowers wrote in an email.
Since May 2014, the only school that has been tested is the Summer Hill Preschool Learning Center off Jefferson Davis Highway.
Those results came in under 5 parts per billion, Bowers said.
Bowers said the school system has concerns about the cost of the legislation.
The estimated cost of conducting the test is $1,000 to $2,000 per site, depending on the number of potable water locations in the school building that will need to be tested, she wrote. Based on 48 school sites and an average of $1,500 per site, our one-time cost would be $72,000. Per the proposed bill, this amount could be higher based on the number of tests that would need to be conducted per the Virginia Department of Health rules. Today this level of testing is not included in our budget.
The Hanover County school system also does not test water in its buildings.
The water supplied to all of our schools is tested by the Hanover County Department of Public Utilities according to established guidelines, spokesman Chris Whitley wrote.
CHARLOTTESVILLE The closest the first Republican debate of the 2017 election cycle came to onstage combat was when a candidate chucked a water bottle at the moderator.
Focused on relatively uncontroversial issues impacting millennials including higher education costs, lackluster economic prospects, opioid addiction and clean government the format of the event Saturday at Charlottesvilles Paramount Theater didnt lend itself to fireworks.
As the debate came to a close, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck thanked the partys candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general for showing class and dignity. That prompted state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves, a Spotsylvania Republican running for lieutenant governor, to jokingly hurl the projectile at the party leader.
Whichever one of you is the nominee, as long as its not Bryce, we will be behind you 100 percent, Whitbeck said.
The debate, which was billed as a 90-minute affair but featured a little less than an hour of policy discussion by the candidates, was hosted by the Millennial Advocacy Council, a young Republicans group that was holding a two-day summit in Charlottesville.
The questions, which the millennial group prepared and Whitbeck read, didnt reveal major policy differences.
All candidates seemed to generally agree that young people have gotten a raw deal paying for expensive college degrees that dont translate to good jobs after graduation, and they declared Republican economic policies would help.
The forum had potential to create a face-to-face clash between Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman leading the four-man GOP field for governor, and Corey Stewart, fiery chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, who is known for strong anti-illegal immigration views and has made attacking Gillespie a key focus of his populist campaign.
Chief among Stewarts accusations is that Gillespie was insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump during last years presidential race. Stewart was Trumps Virginia campaign chairman until the Trump campaign fired him in October for participating in a protest outside the RNC headquarters in Washington.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Gillespie with 24 percent support among GOP primary voters, compared with 7 percent for Stewart, 5 percent for state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach and 2 percent for distillery owner Denver Riggleman.
Both Democrats running for governor Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello, polled ahead of the Republican candidates, but were in a dead heat with each other about four months ahead of the June primary.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Saturdays debate came when Stewart announced his support for decriminalizing marijuana in response to a question about over-incarceration of millennials.
I think it is absolutely atrocious that we are jailing people simply because theyre in possession of marijuana, Stewart said. Thats got to end. And I am all for decriminalizing marijuana in the commonwealth of Virginia. Im not for legalizing it, because I dont think its good.
Stewarts comment came after Riggleman said his brother had been jailed for nine months on a marijuana-related charge.
When you have family members that have been through it, you sort of understand that trying to transition back into society is so daggone difficult, said Riggleman, the owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County. Riggleman said in a news release that he supports marijuana decriminalization, though he didnt say so explicitly from the stage.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Gillespie said he doesnt support marijuana legalization, but said penalties should be aligned with offenses. He pointed to a pending study of Virginias marijuana laws coming at the request of Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City.
Im not quite there yet, Gillespie said. But Im open to seeing data when that report is finished.
Wagner tried to portray himself as the candidate with the most knowledge of how state government works and stressed transportation and infrastructure.
For too long weve been treating symptoms in Richmond, symptoms of a bad economy, and not treating the economy, Wagner said.
Apart from agreement that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed, there was little discussion at the debate of Trumps first month in the White House.
Democratic candidates have made it clear that they intend to link GOP candidates in Virginia to the turbulence in Washington.
Since day one of Trumps presidency, Virginias GOP gubernatorial candidates have supported Trump and his far-right policies at every turn, Becca Slutzky, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement before the debate.
Two of three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Reeves and Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr., R-Virginia Beach attended the debate. State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, did not attend.
Both GOP candidates for attorney general participated, though Chuck Smith, a Virginia Beach attorney, arrived roughly 40 minutes late. Sounding like he wasnt expecting much of a primary fight, John Adams, a Richmond attorney, said he planned to start running right now against Attorney General Mark R. Herring, a Democrat who is seeking re-election.
Closing statements gave the candidates their best chance at red-meat rhetoric.
We dont need more Muslims or mosques or refugee resettlements until we protect the citizens weve got, Smith said as he warned the U.S. Constitution has never in history been more at risk.
Others talk; I deliver, Stewart said. Others talk about illegal immigration. Ive done it. I deported 7,500 illegal aliens.
Gillespie focused his fire on the legacy of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.
We cannot have Ralph Northam or Tom Perriello continue the McAuliffe failed policies, Gillespie said. We need to cut taxes, we need to repeal antiquated regulations, we need to reform our education system to meet the needs of the workforce of today and the future.
Gillespie said he wasnt surprised by the debates civil tone and the lack of attacks by Stewart, saying people are hungry for policies and solutions and ideas.
He added: Im not surprised that candidates, when theyre in front of an audience, respond to that demand.
Stewart called the event too cordial and said future debates will be different.
Jeff Smith is a 36-year-old lawyer-lobbyist. Because Smith works in a highly polarized setting the state Capitol his politics are ecumenical.
That may strike some as strange, given his dynastic name Jefferson Davis Smith IV and his storied alma mater: the Virginia Military Institute. It has a reputation for flinty conservatism.
But Smith, who was graduated from VMI in 2005, and his brother and sister rats his classmates, in the parlance of the Institute are not easily pigeonholed.
One of them, now a corporate lawyer in Richmond, led the VMI chapter of College Democrats. Another, an Alabama Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, got to Washington, D.C., a different way: An appointment to the U.S. Energy Department by President Donald Trump.
The men and, since 1997, the women of VMI are required to wear a uniform. Their politics are anything but.
This year, that contrast could not be more dramatic.
Ralph Northam, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, is a VMI alumnus. So is John Adams, a candidate for the Republican nomination for attorney general.
Both must survive June primaries. Northam faces a pesky challenge from latecomer Tom Perriello. Adams is heavily favored over Chuck Smith.
Considering the dearth of VMI graduates at the highest levels of Virginia government currently there are two in the state legislature, both senior Republicans the Northam and Adams candidacies could prove historic.
Northam, Class of 1981 and the states lieutenant governor, would be the first VMI alumnus to become governor in 100 years.
The last was Westmoreland Davis, a wealthy Democrat, who by the standards of the early 20th century was a liberal. He urged public investments in agriculture and repeal of the poll tax that stripped African-Americans and poor whites of the vote in 1902.
Adams, Class of 1996 and a partner at a muscular Richmond law firm, would be the first VMI graduate to be elected attorney general. The office has had numerous alumni in top-tier positions but apparently not the tippy top.
Not for lack of trying.
During the past 40 years, VMI guys and all of them were were defeated for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. They were Democrats and Republicans.
Others considered statewide candidacies as Democrats and independents but demurred.
A U.S. senator and a Virginia House speaker emerged from the Institute.
Even in a growing, diverse Virginia that increasingly reflects the nation as a whole, VMI remains uniquely Virginian a place where the past, glorious and inglorious, is within easy reach.
Within VMIs crenellated walls were educated cadets who were literally and figuratively warriors: George C. Marshall, Army chief of staff during World War II, a secretary of defense and state, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; and Jonathan Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian shot dead protecting a young African-American in Alabama during the civil rights struggles of the early 1960s.
The Northam and Adams candidacies also call attention to an informal and influential network of VMI alumni with an impressive capacity for raising money in amounts disproportionate to their numbers.
Oh yes, VMI there is no tighter, more loyal group of alumni anywhere, says Larry Sabato, the University of Virginia political analyst who has followed the states campaigns and evolving electoral culture since the 1970s.
Its quite a network, and theres one slice of the electorate you dont ever want to get on the wrong side of. The Institute has been life-changing for many. I think thats one reason their bond is so strong.
Largely fueled by a fierce loyalty to the Institute, this fundraising acumen is on full display in a high-visibility setting in which it is occasionally seen: a statewide political campaign, with donors splitting their tickets and their giving to simultaneously support Northam and Adams, believing that it can only benefit VMI for the school to have friends in the highest places.
You could put John Adams and Ralph Northam in a room together, and they could talk about all of the issues facing Virginia, says Tom Slater, a Richmond litigator who has made donations to both about $6,000 to Northam and $2,500 to Adams.
They wouldnt agree on everything. But they would disagree on certain issues without being disagreeable. They would maintain their civility.
Jimmy Rogers, a Richmond investor and 1967 VMI graduate who has, since 2012, donated about $11,000 to Northam and, recently, $1,000 to Adams, says of the Institute, It is not necessarily a cohesive group when it comes to politics.
Though few would argue that VMI, which, in 1968, became the last public college in Virginia to admit African-Americans, produces more actual and default Republicans than Democrats.
A storied figure with a VMI pedigree who loomed large in Virginia politics until his death in 1988 was Smith Ferebee.
The Richmond insurance executive never was graduated from the Institute he would have been Class of 1927. He was thrown out for fighting; at the time, the offense was considered a violation of the schools honor code.
Ferebee was aligned closely with conservative Democrats who, in the 1960s, began drifting en masse to the Republican Party.
Ferebee was proof positive that, in politics, money is power.
He quickly could harvest hundreds of thousands of dollars and used the money as leverage to, on one occasion, force the resignation of a Virginia Republican chairman. Ferebee said he would withhold the funds from a cash-starved state GOP until it installed a leader more to his liking.
Republican candidates can recall a beaming Ferebee showing up at their headquarters, the pockets of his suit jacket thick with checks from donors.
Another VMI man, Elmon Gray, Class of 1946, raised a ton for candidates and causes, doing so with his signature brisk efficiency.
Founded in 1839 and perched on a bluff above Lexington, VMI typically graduates about 200 to 300 men and women a year, but a single class is capable of generating millions of dollars.
For its 50th anniversary gift to VMI, Slaters class 1966 raised a record $50 million. That was more than double the previous record for a 50-year reunion gift of $21 million, set by the Class of 1963, a member of which is Gil Minor, a retired pharmaceutical executive who cut checks of $20,000 and $10,000 to Northam and Adams, respectively.
Loyalty to VMI is forged in the punishing rituals that winnow the ranks of newly arrived cadets, or rats.
It is hardened by a strict honor code, enforced by a cadet court of which Northam was president.
It is reinforced later through professional and personal ties that help steer prospects to the Institute, guide alumni to graduate school and jobs, and generate a steady stream of donations.
One measure of that largess: Among public colleges and universities, VMI ranks fourth in the nation in private-dollar, or endowment, support per student, according to a survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
The Institute slightly trails the No. 3 school the University of Virginia. Ninth in the rankings is another Virginia school the College of William & Mary.
Four- and five-figure contributions by some of VMIs most prominent graduates routinely turn up on candidate fundraising reports.
Members of Richmonds Gottwald family they oversee a vast petroleum-additives and plastics enterprise are regular GOP benefactors, though one of its younger members, Bruce Jr., donated $7,500 to his classmate, Northam. Gottwald Jr. also gave $6,000 to Adams.
Northam and Adams, both of whom avidly work the VMI network for donations, say the school tie, at minimum, opens doors.
It is no guarantee of support, though Northam estimates that up to 10 percent of the $3 million he has already raised comes from VMI sources. Adams has collected more than $700,000, with a readily identifiable slice through Institute contacts.
Northam believes his VMI connection could mean more in the general election, allowing him to reach beyond the Democratic base to put aside the Rs and Ds. This is about VMI; this is about a person who is in the VMI family and was president of the honor court.
Adams, who was the No. 2 officer in the corps of cadets, strikes a similar note: You support your fellow VMI graduate because there is a baseline what you expect from them. It is a shared unique experience. They arent going to lie to you, and theyre going to show up.
The lack of diversity in Virginias government is apparent among legislative assistants to the 140 state lawmakers.
In the state Senate, 36 of 40 chief legislative assistants to lawmakers are white, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch analysis. In the House, 91 of 100 assistants are white.
That means nearly 91 percent of the General Assemblys 140 chief legislative assistants are white.
Commonly referred to on Capitol Square as L.A.s, the paid assistants research issues, communicate with constituents and serve as gatekeepers and confidential advisers to lawmakers. They are often as knowledgeable about the nuances of bills as the lawmakers.
A review of staff listings shows 10 of 140 legislative assistants to lawmakers are black, or 7 percent. Thats far below Virginias population, which is about 20 percent black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the 140 lawmakers themselves, 18 are African-American.
Allison Lawrence Jones, an assistant vice president of state government relations at McGuireWoods Consulting, said theres a lack of African-American political staff at the local, state and federal levels. A solution is making sure people know about available opportunities, she said.
Essentially it is making sure that young people, particularly if they are at the college level, are looking for internships during the legislative session so they can get the feel, put their names out there.
Programs at the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia are available even for high school students. Virginia Commonwealth University manages the Minority Political Leadership Institute. Both programs, Jones said, provide training for young people who want to become involved in politics and government.
People in positions of influence should be sharing opportunities with others, she said.
Shes not the only one who feels that way.
There is an issue a clear issue on race being properly represented for legislative aides here, said Joe Dillard Jr., the vice president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP and a lobbyist in Richmond.
To be fair, other groups involved in state government including lobbyists and the Capitol press corps lack racial diversity as well.
Jewel Gatling of Suffolk started a group called Suffolk Young Democrats and has volunteered for Democratic campaigns.
She said she gets the feeling that Democratic campaigns use qualified minorities during election season, yet when its time for a job posting, you dont reach out to us.
At a December dinner gathering of the Hampton Roads Young Democrats, Gatling said, attendees discussed the importance of working as a legislative assistant to a state lawmaker. They wondered if any jobs were open, and who they could contact.
I had no idea, Gatling said. She reached out to some of her contacts to find out more and landed part-time jobs working as an assistant in the offices of Sen. Lynwood W. Lewis Jr., D-Accomack, and Del. Luke E. Torian, D-Prince William. Since then, she said, shes learned about how state government works and how to talk to legislators.
In Richmond, however, the challenges for minorities trying to break into Virginia politics and government were no more apparent than in early February when Gatling attended the Sorensen Institutes annual legislative reception, held at McGuireWoods.
As a black woman, Im used to being the only one in the room, she said.
At the reception, it was no different.
Ed Reed, legislative assistant to Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, joined her office in the summer of 2013 when Dance was a delegate. He first had the idea to work as a legislative assistant while visiting the Capitol as a student at Hampton University. He landed the job after working on political campaigns.
One solution to the issue is for historically black colleges that dont have legislative internship programs to create them, he said.
But changing a lack a diversity requires a shift in cultural mindset.
I dont believe that its true diversity when you have to force it, Reed said.
If you have been moping around at home for the past few months, barely able to stir from the couch because you are so despondent over the lack of excitement in politics these days well, cheer up. Relief is on the way.
In about nine months Virginians will go to the polls to elect a new governor. If the contest sustains its current trajectory, it will make the Trump-Clinton contest look duller than a chess match in an old folks home.
Well be able to thank both Republicans and Democrats for that, but at the moment the GOP has the first claim on the publics gratitude. This is owing in no small measure to Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of Supervisors and immigrant-basher extraordinaire. Stewart is the kind of guy who responds to Donald Trumps most outlandish behavior with: Not bad. Now hold my beer and watch this.
He launched his campaign by raffling off an AR-15. Nothing wrong with the AR-15, mind you, its the most popular long gun in the United States. Still, the raffle is the sort of move that appeals chiefly to men with Molon labe stickers on the backs of their pickups. Legend has it that this phrase (come and take them) is how the Spartans responded when Persia demanded they surrender their weapons.
(As stories about Sparta go that one is excellent, but this one of which there are several variations is better: After invading Greece, Philip of Macedon sent a message to Sparta: You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city. Spartas response: If.)
More recently, Stewart lit into Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney for reiterating the citys longstanding policy about the police demanding to know peoples immigration status (they dont). Brazen lawlessness, Stewart declared. He also invaded Charlottesville to defend the honor of Robert E. Lee after the City Council decided to move a statue of him. Only tyrants attempt to erase history, he fumed.
Nobody was trying to erase anything, of course just move a statue from A to B. But Stewart got some mileage out of the line, and then got some more after he was jeered by excitable liberals. The radical left-wing PC Police are waging an all-out war against Virginias heritage and history, he declared in an email. I believe its time to take a stand. Right here right now!
In case youre confused, heres the short version: Immigration police good; PC police bad. Hope that helps.
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Across the aisle the Democrats are having a whale of a good time, too. Just as in last years presidential election, they expected their heir apparent to the nomination in this case, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam to cruise to the coronation by unanimous consent. Then Tom Perriello threw a wrench into the works. Or upset the apple cart, or whatever it is people do these days. (Note to self: Find Hipster, request advice regarding correct idiom.)
Perriello served one term in Congress but lost his re-election bid. The Obama administration savagely punished him for doing so by naming him to lead the State Departments 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy & Development Review and then Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Why Perriello didnt file an Eighth Amendment challenge to this is a colossal mystery.
In Congress, Perriello who represented a fairly conservative district stayed close to the middle of the road. He opposed an assault-weapons ban, supported a proposal to deny Obamacare subsidies to insurance plans that cover abortion, and supported offshore drilling for fossil fuels.
Gun control, abortion rights and climate change are pretty much the Holy Trinity of Democratic politics, and now that he has started a primary fight Periello has renounced his apostasy and returned to the One True Faith. He even throws around terms like intersectionality, which is the secret password that gets you into the Left-Wing Identity Politics Clubhouse.
The other day Perriello was caught on tape saying the election of Donald Trump was a bit like, you know, a political and constitutional September 11. This did not go over well, and Perriello apologized. But the remark is bound to win him points with the Democratic base, because 9/11 was an inside job, and the Trump election was also an inside job (thanks, Comey!), so really when you stop and think about it. ... uh, something or other. Anyway, RESIST!
Its too soon to say whether Stewart and Perriello turn out to be Trumps (insurgents who won) or Bernie Sanderses (insurgents who lost). That will depend on whether they can marshal sufficient numbers of Molon Labians and Tommie Bros to overtake their principal rivals: Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie aka Enron Ed, aka Establishment Ed, aka Expectorating Ed. (Note to self: Not sure about that last one. Look up definition of expectorate.)
With the establishment of the first public institution dedicated to the mentally ill in Williamsburg in the 1776, mental health services have been a core responsibility of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since then, Virginias mental health system has evolved from one focused primarily on institutionalization towards a single, integrated system of care, with increased emphasis on the establishment of community services and more effective and efficient use of state facilities.
Today, Virginias public mental health, intellectual disability and substance abuse services system is comprised of 16 state facilities and 40 locally run community services boards (CSBs) that serve children and adults who have or are at risk of mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, or substance abuse disorders. State facilities are only one of several resources in an overall continuum of care that also include the CSBs, local psychiatric hospitals, hospital emergency departments, law enforcement, and the court system.
This evolution, however, has been slow; it typically occurs in bursts of activity, including studies by experts and bold calls for action by executive leadership once the community has been confronted with a tragedy that highlights gaps in the system. I outlined this 246-year struggle to meet the mental health needs of Virginians in a 2014 article for the Richmond Public Interest Law Review, published shortly after the passage of SJ 47 establishing the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the 21st Century.
Chaired by Sen. Creigh Deeds, who witnessed first-hand the failures of our mental health system in November 2013, the Commission endorsed significant proposals to begin reshaping the CSBs and redefining the list of mandated services they are required to provide through a phased approach.
First, SB 1005 (Sen. Hanger) and HB 1549 (Del. Farrell) expand the list of core services the CSBs and behavioral health authorities must provide. Both versions require same-day access to mental health screening services. The Senate version also requires outpatient primary-care screening and monitoring services for physical health indicators and health risks, and follow-up services for individuals identified as being in need of assistance with overcoming barriers to accessing primary health services.
The Senate bill also requires additional core services to be phased in by 2021. While the governors introduced budget included funding for the full array of services cited by the Senate bill, the House budget only funds for same-day screening services. While it may take years to fund the full list of core services recommended by the Deeds Commission, it is important to establish our future vision for the mental health system in Virginia.
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The Deeds Commission also recommended mandated screening requirements within regional and local jails in order to determine which incarcerated individuals need mental health services (HB 1783 and SB 940). This particular initiative was funded in the governors proposed budget. However, the House bill did not pass, and the fate of the Senate bill is uncertain due to competing budget priorities. Indeed, both the House and Senate budgets eliminated the funding for these screenings and assessments.
In response to the tragic deaths of Natasha McKenna and Jamycheal Mitchell, the Deeds Commission proposed HB 1782 (R. Bell) specifying the authority of the Board of Corrections to review jail deaths. This proposal was developed with input from regional jails and local sheriffs, and the governor included funding for such investigations. However, the bill failed in the House, and both the House and Senate budgets cut this funding in order to fund law enforcement pay raises.
Fortunately, the House and Senate budgets recognized the need to invest in supportive housing, a critical component often overlooked when addressing mental health needs. Even so, the House provided $3 million less than the Senate.
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As evident in the incremental funding approach necessitated by this years budget shortfall, the important work of the Deeds Commission is not over. As a result, the House and Senate have passed legislation to extend the Commission an additional two years.
Two hundred and forty one years ago, Virginia led the nation in recognizing that providing services to those Virginians with mental health issues is a core function of our government. Yet, we have yet to perfect that system, with tragic results. Senator Deeds is committed to ensuring the current reform efforts do not long languish or fizzle out as so many have done, only to be revived in the wake of tragedy. The cost of failure is too high.
The Times-Dispatch held its 69th Public Square on Thursday, Feb. 9, at the newspapers downtown office building. Below, we present some highlights. On Richmond.com, you can watch a video of the entire event.
Tom Silvestri: Welcome to the 69th Public Square, where the topic is unusual. Do you trust the news media? Thanks for laughing. (LAUGHTER) Im Tom Silvestri, the publisher of The Richmond Times-Dispatch. But today, Ive got my referee hat on because Im the moderator, as I have been for all 69 Public Squares. Hope to do three in spring and three in the fall.
Most of our topics are picked off the news, and we try to stay relevant and give Richmond a place where they can have a civil, civic conversation of issues of importance, whether it be the Richmond region, the state, or even the nation. Weve had a portfolio of products, and a portfolio of topics that have been quite impressive. And so coming into 2017, we figured out that was going to be the script as well. However, a little thing happened to the news cycle in 2017, in which the news media became the news. Which quite frankly, I havent seen anybody put that in middle of a floor and invite the public in. We are. ... So, 90 minutes. Its all about you. Im gonna go off to the corner and listen. ...
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John Shinholser, Mechanicsville: First of all, if its local coverage by The Times-Dispatch, I trust their coverage, OK? The Times-Dispatch is a trustworthy news outlet for local coverage. National, theyre pretty good. But my interest is simply this: Lets take the Obama birth certificate thing, OK? That thing is probably still alive. Its been going on for years and years and years. And I still dont know if its true or not, where the guy was ever born. Im thinking he was born in America. But because of so much fake news going back and forth, so my question would be, why cant you have, like, a fact page in The Times-Dispatch so we could go there and get the facts? This is true, this is false. ... Thank you for having this forum.
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Craig Comess, North Chesterfield: I really like the media. But I have stopped trusting it, unfortunately. This past election cycle, the media just showed itself to be anything except unbiased. I remember watching one of the morning news shows, and in the first 45 seconds, sometimes they managed to say three bad things about Trump. And also, one of the things Im really concerned about is how theres this blurred line between news and commentary. Unfortunately, I found a good example of that in The Times-Dispatch. .. Heres the very first sentence. Republicans rammed two of President Donald Trumps top cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday, after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred the panel from taking the vote. Well, tell me how you really feel about it. That belongs on the commentary page. And there are more examples a little bit later on in the article. ...
And then heres this little tidbit: Trump threw gasoline on that fire. What an image. By urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to go nuclear, shorthand for unilateral change in the chambers rule, so Democrats cant block his choice for federal judge. That kind of language has no place in the news. Again, that should be on the commentary page.
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Bob Barnett, Richmond: In terms of the news coverage, I always made it a point to have a conservative newspaper to read, and a liberal. And I would read the two of em, and then form my conclusion based on two sides of the argument. If you want a liberal newspaper, The Guardian, in England. If you want a conservative one, The London Times, internationally.
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Al Schalow, Midlothian: ... I think it is incumbent on us as readers to also be objective, in what we read. And to read not only what the conservatives if youre conservative print, but what the liberals do, also. And Ive got about ten lines from Bart Hinkles commentary yesterday. And Id like to read those:
Polarized media, traditional and social, help keep animosities jagged. This awful person from the other side just said this crazy stuff about our side, is unfortunately the sort of headline that gets the juices flowing and the mice clicking. It is also an easy headline to write, because every side has its bug-eyed lunatic contingent. If you think yours doesnt, just spend a little time on web sites favored by the opposing team. Youll see.
And thats exactly how I feel. I watch Fox, but I do want to go to CNN occasionally, and see how the other half lives. Its the only way that you can solidify your prejudices. Thats a little joke. (LAUGHTER) But anyway, I really think that we should look at both sides of things, if we require the newspaper to do so. And I commend The Times-Dispatch for having this assembly today. Its great.
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Brant Lewis, Quinton: Im an avid newspaper reader. I enjoy my morning paper, and sometimes I read a couple of em. And when I travel, I like to read papers, and Im originally from Illinois and used to read The Chicago Tribune, and The Sun-Times every once in a while. I read recently a quote from Nietzsche that was in I think it was in George Wills column, actually. It said, Facts are not important. Nietzsche said, Facts are not important, impressions are. And I dont think thats ever been more true than it is now. Except sometimes, I think what we call impressions is what the news media, or people make you know, we call spin. Nietzsche didnt know that word.
And so often, what we get in the news is not news. Its spin. And this is aimed at The Times-Dispatch, or any newspaper, for that matter, a little bit. Not to be critical, because I like the paper. But one of the really big culprits, one of the biggest it irritates me one of the biggest culprits of fake news is the Associated Press. They produce a very poor-quality product. They do not they do not live just in facts. They give you facts that you want that they want you to believe. I think a lot of their reportings very lazy. You know, I read these articles sometimes where the circulation of national newspapers is down. And I dont know if thats still true, cause I havent read that lately.
But I think one of the reasons is, that newspapers have become inferior quality, or gone down in quality. Because your news is like anything else. The better quality you get, the more youre willing to pay for it. The more important it is to you in your life, regardless of whether its your doctor or your piece of furniture. And I think that the quality of newspapers nationwide has gone down. Because when UPI went out of business, Associated Press got lazy. They dont produce facts anymore. And I would love to see newspapers, if theres a Politifact, it should be on Associated Press. Not because they give you misinformation, but because they dont give you all the facts. I like to know facts, and make up my own mind. I think a lot of Associate Press writers, not only are they not very good, some of them although occasionally I read a good article by Associated Press but a lot of them are just plain lazy. And thats all I had to say.
Silvestri: Anybody want to hook on? You didnt work for the United Press International, did you? (LAUGHTER) Anybody want to hook onto those pointed comments about the wire service quality?
Wood Thornton, Richmond: I have a question about the articles that you do get from the wire services. Are you all allowed to edit those when you put them in the paper?
Paige Mudd, executive editor of The Times-Dispatch: The answer is, yes. We are allowed to edit any wire content that comes to us.
Thornton: ... I think most of the comments here have been about, we just want the facts, and not editorial, except for on the editorial page. ... The trouble the trust in the media that Im having, is, in the paper, anyway, is the wire articles that are editorial in nature, but presented as news articles. And so I didnt know if thats something you all would consider.
Mudd: I think theres a line between colorful writing, and editorializing. And we try to police all the content in the paper, to make sure its appropriate and fact-based.
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John Martin Owens, Henrico: I think part of the problem is, theres not enough reporters, and theyre not paid well enough. ... I dont know the finances of The Times-Dispatch. But if you had, like, an extra million dollars, you should have your own reporters in D.C. Because youre so close by, you could hire, like, you know, ten, 12 reporters, and just send them off to D.C., and actually do a good job of coverage. But thats just my opinion.
Silvestri: Did I hear you writing a check?
Owens: Well, actually, Im too poor to write a check right now. But I will subscribe to your newspaper again when I have money.
Silvestri: Thank you very much. See me afterwards, maybe we can make a deal for you. Appreciate those comments. ...
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Oliver Hedgepeth, North Chesterfield: Who cares about the truth? Who cares about the facts? Do you really care? I look around this audience, I know Im 72. I have a feeling the majority of the people who are my age probably care. I teach people from 19 years old to 70 years old. Ive asked this question the last few weeks. And especially this morning, with some of my students online. And I found that some millennials not journalism students but millennials, its like, Im not really sure I care. I get whatever I want, makes me feel good, Ill make my decision one way or the other, Trump, Obama.
But it seems like theres an age thing going on, maybe. Im not sure. As a professor, Im always interested in things. But, is there an age disparity? I know what I want to believe. I have facts I look for. I go to alternative sources for alternative facts. (LAUGHTER) I look at CNN, I look at Fox, I look at MSNBC. I read your newspaper every day, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times. Trying to find out what the truth is. It matters to me, at 72. But a lot of my students and its a small amount that are under 30, dont seem to care. Thats what Im finding out. Its just one little data source, and its not a national thing. So I see what I think may be some millennials here. Id like to know if there is something there, thats age. Does age matter? Cause I know youre gonna find the truth. Youre gonna look for what you think is the truth. So, thats kind of my statement. I think theres an age thing. Might be wrong. But I wanted to throw it out.
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Michael Johnson, Richmond: As a millennial, I do think that there is some age to it. But Ive started reading more and more in a wide variety of sources. Because thats what I think we need to have. It takes a certain amount of skill to get through, I think, the colorful writing that was mentioned earlier. It takes skill to get through that and get to the facts. Because I believe the facts are there, and that we need to learn how to find them, amidst the narrative. And in order to get a complete sense of facts, you know, go around and get as many as you can. ... I will tell you that there are groups of students who do care. And they do try their best. Im currently in a group of students who want to pursue this, and they want to pursue these facts. And none of us are even in journalism. And I will echo that there is an age disparity. But I would also tell you, I do not think its as aggravated as you suggest.
Hedgepeth: A response. Itd be a quick response. Again, my student base is different, maybe, from where youre coming from. They come from high schools all the way to retired military, retired police people. A lot of mine are military folks. And theres some civilians. But the youngsters I call em youngsters. Im 72. Thirty and younger, youngsters, OK? I think anybody under 70s a youngster, too. There was a difference. But its in my little particular area that Ive been talking to.
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Tanner Toy, Richmond: Im Tanner, 20 years old. Just in response to what you said: I think its hard enough to get people my age to care about these facts. And for the ones that do, I think we need to streamline the process so that we dont have to go to several different newspapers to figure out all the facts. ... So, I dont want to read a biased version, and I dont want to read parts of some story. I want to know everything, and make my own informed decision. And I think thats important for people my age who already dont really you know, have trouble caring about the worlds issues today. And so for those that do, I think the newspapers need to streamline the facts, so that we know the whole story, so we dont have to keep searching. ...
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Elaine Quinby, Chesterfield: Im another septuagenarian. And I think that our age-group filters through all of our history. So, we were there. Our parents were in the Depression. We were in the war. After the war, we were in the Cold War. I mean, we have all of this background. And they dont have it. I dont think theyre teaching civics in the way that we learned it. We had to read the paper every week and know what was going on, and be able to call somebody by their names, by their pictures. It was a different kind of a learning experience. And I think that that goes to the schools a little bit. But I think because we filter things through our age, its a reason why we may be more involved than they are. I think that thats wonderful that you are. And I think that we have other methods of learning, besides the newspaper. Were all on the internet. Or, most of us are on the internet. We see blogs and and we cant believe what we read on the internet, either. So, we have a lot of things that, we have sources. TV, different news programs, different channels. And I think thats all leading into what we do. I dont know that the young people either have the time or the inclination to watch that many television shows.
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Daniel Mallory, Richmond: I grew up with listening to Huntley and Brinkley, Walter Cronkite, those types of people. And they simply, basically reported what happened. Along come the 24-hour news cycle. And they have gotten away from what happened, into these words: opinionated-type news. They want to know what your opinion is. The two biggest words used in the 24-hour news cycle, I think, is I think.
The other words that are used a lot is, Whats your take on it? So, when you get to that, you get away from news. And you get into all these opinions. Particularly when you get into the political news cycle. And I know that what they are after are ratings. Money. And in order to do that, theres a lot of sensationalization that they like to have. And they use these very descriptive words, mostly negative. War is a real big one, doing the political thing. A war on this, a war on that, a war on this. Battles. Slam. You know, all of these types of words like that, is what they use. Descriptive, to get peoples attention. ... I want to hear more substance, rather than a bunch of pundits saying, I think. ...
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Kim Thomas, Prince George: .... I would like to speak about ... the Fairness Doctrine Act. This was done away by Reagan, I believe it was in 86. And prior to that, itd been put in place after World War II, primarily to prevent the propaganda that fueled the start of World War II, and Hitlers rise. Since that Fairness Doctrine has been taken out, no longer applies, we have had this surge of one-sided news. And there is no one theyre not required to present the other side. So therefore, you do have to hunt a lot of sources, to find the facts. The real facts, that are not going to be biased. Henceforth, I would look at my news from BBC, German, French, international. Because they seem to give more facts about America than our own news sources do.
The last thing I want to speak about is: Our current president has been caught in a number of just lies. I mean, theyre lies. We all know they are. And, why isnt the news media calling him out on lying, rather than making the news story about checking the facts? Shouldnt the news story be more about why this man lies continuously? That seems to be more of the story, than just constantly checking the facts. Thank you.
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Nicholas Pruitt, Richmond: In terms of trusting the media, I trust the media, except when it comes to politics. (LAUGHTER) I dont trust the media in terms of politics. And when I read, I want to be entertained. So, I do appreciate colorful writing. You know, being informed is one thing, but I want to be entertained when I read, as well. But when it comes to the realm of politics, you know, basically, my personal opinion is, I dont think politics should even be in a newspaper. If an organization wants to put out information, it can. But once you include politics in it like, basically, politics needs their own newspaper. It should just be about politics. ...
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Glen Besa, North Chesterfield: Up until about a year ago when I retired, I interacted with media quite a bit. Talked to reporters, talked to the editorial side. And I think they do a pretty damn good job, frankly, getting the facts right. (APPLAUSE) I think we also have to recognize that we have a First Amendment that guarantees a free press. And so as a free press, were going to see opinions sometimes that we dont like.
I think one thing that has been mentioned here particularly as I heard comments about whether Obama was born in the United States, and Benghazi ... and that is, we have an obligation to think. And so when we read press, particularly if we see something we dont agree with, we need to do a little research. We need to think about it. We need to look at the arguments. We need to analyze them. And thats an obligation falls on each of us.
I want to give you some facts, OK. Heres a few facts that are indisputable. President Obama was born in Hawaii. He is an American citizen, and he was a legitimate United States President. Climate change is a real scientific fact, and primarily human-induced. And also, that Trump won the electoral election, electoral vote, but he did lose the popular vote. And there were not 3 to 5 million people voting illegally. Thats just not true. (APPLAUSE) Those are facts.
Brant Lewis: I would very much disagree with those facts. (LAUGHTER) Excuse me, Im sorry. Very much disagree. Climate change, if you read The Times-Dispatch, if you read Associated Press, as you do, apparently, yes, you think its a fact. I believe that Obama was born in Hawaii. I have no problem with that. But theres a lot of information out there about climate change that you will never get from the Associated Press and The Times-Dispatch. One of the best sources of information is probably The Wall Street Journal. Its the best-written paper in America, has the widest circulation. And, what was your other fact? I forgot the third. Was it --
Besa: President Trump won the Electoral College, but he lost the popular vote.
Lewis: You know, Im from Illinois. Im from Illinois. And the saying in Chicago is, Vote early, vote often. This countrys had a long history of voter whats the word I want to use? Fraud. I wouldnt be surprised if there isnt a lot more out there. Most voter registrars in the United States dont bother to clean their rolls. Theres a lot of dead people on those rolls. I think and a lot of em. And some of em may vote. I think theres a lot of voter fraud. ...
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Craig Johnson, Richmond: ... Im a member of the new media. Im president of The First Amendment Inc. I host a radio program, The Really Real Deal, with Brother Craig, the Hatchet Man. ... Journalists are trained to ask who, what, when, where, how. And those are easy things to ascertain. Who, what, when, where, how. Quite often, people get into why. Not so easy to ascertain why. The why, you have to read quite often, you have to read a persons heart. At a minimum, you have to read a persons mind. ...
My primary audience is the Christian conservative constitutional coalition. We are people that believe in things that are solid and real and provable, from my perspective. Christian faith, conservative principles, supply and demand, economic laws. You know, the Bible has said for eons, if a man doesnt work, break his plate. OK? Didnt say, Give him a EBT (electronic benefits transfer) card. Break his plate. He does not eat. When this country did it that way, there were not these problems of people being in generational poverty. ...
I agree with the people that said, around the country, most local media do a good job. But national media are moving people. And theres a term in strategic indirect warfare, called engineering consent. And we are at war. ... And the new warfare is information war. ... The new media is pushing and challenging the institutional media. Because the institutional media has done what all institutions do. It has grown stale. Theres been a degree of comfort. Theres a lack of competition, because new media, technologically, is cheaper to produce. So traditional media, theres less competition, so, these are things that are just naturally occurring. And theyre going to continue to occur. So, the onus is on us, as consumer of news, to understand. Okay, people are going to push us. They are engineering consent. This is the new warfare. Its cheaper to convince you to do what I want you to do, than it is for me to raise an army, come and kill half of you, and then force the other half of you to do what I want you to do. ... Most institutions get replaced when they get stale. And to the credit of the institutional media, a lot of them are now having these multiple outlets. Theyre out on the internet. Theyre doing different things. But this battle you know, people like me on talk radio, they call me a right-wing crazy nut. I get death threats, OK? ...
I mean, you look across the country. People that speak like I do, they get death threats. At Berkeley, you saw fire. Dr. Ben Carson was not allowed to give a commencement address.
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Dennis LaMountain, Richmond: ... I want to talk first of all about The Times-Dispatch, because thats the group thats hosting this here. And Ive seen kind of an evolution of I thought for a while that the news reporting was quite biased, and it was imbalanced. And I think over the years, its become a lot more balanced. And I appreciate that.
The thing about being under attack, you know, whether youre on talk radio, or whether you try to write a comment underneath something on social media its not hard to get attacked these days. You know, the trolls, whether theyre hired by the Russians, or whether theyre just very excitable people, or whatever, make it very hard to express an opinion without getting slammed in some way or another.
The one thing that I do want to address about The Times-Dispatch, and I have a lot of respect for 99 percent of what Ive seen there, is, I was very confused by the endorsement of a third-party candidate (for president). I was trying to understand, because having witnessed the last election, where a third-party candidate had a significant impact on the results, I thought that it was a little bit of dodging the difference between the primary party candidates. And that almost caused me to stop reading The Times-Dispatch for a while. Because I thought it would take more courage to separate the ones one of which is gonna be elected from somebody who might get five or 10 percent of the vote, and maybe be a spoiler. So. Other than that, I think that The Times-Dispatch has been very readable.
I do read other magazines and newspapers. And if you want balance, just go to the gym and watch Fox News over here, and CNN over here. And then flip on MSNBC, and youve got the whole range. Thats it.
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Kinloch Nelson, Richmond: ... I think the media has done a good job, especially since the election, of reporting the facts. And the facts sometimes seem so outrageous, that if you see, Oh, theres five negative stories about President Trump all in a row, theyre still facts. Just because theyre all in a row, and just because theyre all negative, doesnt mean theyre any less facts. And I think just because (APPLAUSE) theyre all in a row ... doesnt mean that any of those stories are any less legitimate. And I think for the media to do their job, they need to be reporting on all the stories that people would care about. Even if theyre messing up their balance on the front page, of one story about this candidate and one story about that candidate, and one story from each side.
If the president if a presidential candidate is has a tape released of him bragging about sexual assault, and then a week later he also says that he wants to ban Muslims from coming into the country, then both of those stories need to be reported. I think its important for media to cover all the stories, and not just try to stay balanced by only reporting some stories. And I think thats the kind of facts that are more important.
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Curt Kiser, Richmond: ... Four out of five dentists recommend Crest toothpaste. As powerful as that statement is, theres a duty to vet those statistics. Why did 80 percent recommend it? Why did 20 percent recommend other products, and how many were members of the American Dental Association? And who was paid, or even given incentives for such an endorsement? The list of questions goes on, and includes the fact that during my lifetime of dentist office visits, Ive yet to be asked what kind of toothpaste I use. (LAUGHTER) So, where did they collect that? Can you tell I was a statistician in a former life? ...
Its no secret that journalism loves to cite statistics and numerical values when theyre reporting. It can provide impact, scope, and credibility to a report. What I want to encourage is the vetting process of the suppliers of those statistics and numbers. We deserve and expect journalism that does this due diligence.
And thats not an easy task. Numbers and statistics are usually assembled with some brand of bias. This is true in government and industry. And by doing so, removes a balance and truly informed report of those numbers. Even the Congressional Budget Office, that performs analysis on cost estimates for proposed legislation, ends up doing so with bias. Theyre not supposed to, and theyre proud of that. But you can get two kinds of numbers left of the aisle and right of the aisle. Which has to be very confusing for journalists who are trying to report facts. So. And those numbers are very important, because theyre used to sway votes for or against legislation. ...
So, I would like to see a review of media policy as to the sources used. Their validity, and possibly the uncertainty of numbers and values that are reported. To credit those that do so, thank you for your fair journalism. To expect citizens, myself, you all good folks, to perform our own vetting process of journalism is not always that feasible. Not everybody has access to internet venue, or the time to do so. Or the desire to do so. Or the skills to do so. And the sources to do so. Because news cycles now are coming at us at an ever-increasing pace. Its daily. Its hourly. Its by minute. Because you just got a Tweet. And you dont even know yet, cause you havent checked your phone. What are we supposed to do with that? Those kinds of sources are can be a mix of hyperbole, bloggers which are totally factless, possibly, or opinionated, certainly. ... Journalists have that right, under the First Amendment, to report to the citizens of the country what is going on in our world. I would hope that the media consider it a privilege to perform this in a balanced and fair manner, and to conduct themselves to do so.
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Charlie Finley, Richmond: Id like to make two points. The first one is dealing with the matter of bias. And Tom, I quote from an article that you published in The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 18, 2016. And it was carried by The Washington Post. It had to deal with a survey of some 480 journalists. And it turned out 430 of them were in favor of Clinton, and gave a total of $382,000 to her campaign. And the other 50 journalists were for Trump, and they gave a total of $14,000 to Mr. Trump.
And further, in the 2014 study, it found that 28 percent of the journalists identified themselves as Democrats, and only 7 percent identified themselves as Republicans. Now, I dont know what we make of this. I dont think we want to ask a reporter what flavor he is, what church he goes to, or whatever. But I think these figures are sort of telling.
The other thing Id like to say is and there are several references about our ability to think. The topic here has to do with, do we trust the news media? But as a corollary to that, you carry op-ed pieces. You carry letters to the editor. There are opinions expressed. And I think this enriches us all, because we can see what other people think. And frequently, I have to admit, when Ive read a column that, I know Im opposed to that writer, many times more than I would wish, I end up agreeing with that person, and Ive learned something and seen another point of view. So, I think these op-ed pieces, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, (Robert) Samuelson they enrich us. Because its more than just news, it is their opinion. But I find deeper reporting, and more facts and figures, in their articles than what you find in a typical news story. ...
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Jeff Cartwright, Richmond: Im fairly new to Richmond, Ive been here less than a year. I immediately subscribed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Im glad I did. In terms of trusting news media, I dont trust any news media that doesnt have a comics section. (LAUGHTER) And I gotta tell you, you got a great comics section. And I go ahead and I read the rest of the paper, maybe.
I just want to say a couple things. The gentleman earlier said you gotta think, and thats important. I was a prosecuting attorney for 30 years. I did criminal investigations for 20 years. You gotta separate the wheat from the chaff. You gotta get away from what people believe, and what you can prove. And youve really gotta look at the facts. And they are never obvious. I mean, Ive been in investigations where there are a lot of public pressure to bring charges, and to do what they called the right thing. Newspapers calling for me to do something. And I said, No. Thats not how we do it. Thats you cant do it that way. (APPLAUSE)
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John Amstein, Midlothian: Im a 72-year-old guy. Taught physics for 50 years. And to me, those are facts. Thats easy. I mean, I can dole out the facts. And I trust the media. Richmond Times-Dispatch. I didnt get involved with but I got very interested in the politics in this campaign. And Im at the point in my life, whether or not I should become more involved. And to get more involved, I want to know what the facts are. I dont want to know what the alternative facts are. I dont want to know what the fake news is. I dont want to know, these are out-and-out lies. I want to know, what can I trust? And I trust the media. And I trust the news media on TV, because they can bring in the experts. They can give me the opinion, whether theyre breaking the law, whether this should be a lawsuit, or this is not a lawsuit. I look forward to that kind of stuff. Yes, there are people on there that are giving you opinions. But you can sift through that. I look for those that are giving me the facts. And thats what Im looking for. ...
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Melissa Davis, Richmond: I will start with, no, I dont actually trust the media. But I dont know if thats the right question. There are lots of businesses that I purchase from, that I frequent, and I dont trust them or not trust them. So for me, the media is great access to information. There is typically a nugget of fact in every Tweet that I get, every news story that I see, every article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Its on me to dig in, and figure out what those facts are.
Some of this, I think we have done to ourselves. I tend to think facts are a lot like statistics as well. I read a study about a year and a half ago, that our attention span is down to eight seconds. Well, what do you do as an American if your attention span is only eight seconds? The media has to say something outlandish, in my opinion, to get our attention. To get us to stop and read past that. Thats fine. To me, thats business, and thats the way it is. The more important thing to me is not the facts. Its what stories are getting covered or not getting covered.
I dont know what I dont know. So, I dont know whats on the cutting room floor. The story that didnt get reported. Or, if theres a story thats reported, do we use the jail photo of a perpetrator? Or do we use the family photo of the victim? Everything that we see in the newspaper tells a story. And we take that story away with us, whether we know it or not. And it does infect our impressions of Richmond. And for me, this is much more than the national news media. This is local. This is magazines. This is newspapers. Our impressions of our own city are formed by the news that goes into these publications. So for me, its not just facts. Its, what else could have been used in that space, that I think we should all be thinking about. Thank you.
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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Brian Baumgardner in November became the chief executive officer of LewisGale Medical Center and market president of LewisGale Regional Health System.
Baumgardner, 51, joined HCA, the parent corporation for LewisGale, in 1993 and was president of its West Florida Hospital in Pensacola before taking on the new role.
He oversees LewisGale Medical Center in Salem; community hospitals in Montgomery, Alleghany and Pulaski counties; two regional cancer centers and six outpatient centers.
Baumgardner received a bachelor of science, masters of business administration and masters of health science from the University of Florida.
He and his wife, Marie, have settled into their new home in Roanoke County. They are the parents of 22-year-old, Mitchell, a student at the University of Central Florida, and 20-year-old, Emily, a student at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.
He recently lost his father to cancer.
If youre 102 and die in your sleep, its a wonderful story, he said. My dad was a very young 76 who did fantastic for about 14 months, but when it turned for the worst, I could not believe what it did to him. In the last six days of his life, he was incredibly strong, but it was devastating what it did to him.
This interview was edited and condensed.
Will the experience you went through with your father change how you view your job?
Absolutely. Im very passionate about what we do for a living. We should treat one another with dignity and respect. What we do for a living is life and death. Ive known that, and throughout my professional career have been very passionate about what we do as health care providers at the bedside and the difference we make in peoples lives.
Going through that experience with my father, and it is hard to talk about, to see the difference that hospital associates whether physicians, nurses or the rest of the team make, it absolutely reinforced and drove home why what we do is so important within an organization.
It certainly reaffirmed what we do is vital in a community, but it is critically important that the care we provide is done both with the highest attention to clinical outcomes but is also married with the compassion that is commensurate with the intensity of the experiences our patients are going through.
You have highly educated and highly trained staff. They know the medicine and the science. But compassion isnt something you learn in a classroom. How do you train people in compassion? How do you make that part of the mission?
Its a question I ask strategically all the time, how to bring the mission of the hospital to life: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. It is 14 words and succinct. It is not simply what we do but how we do it that is significant. We need to find ways to emotionally connect.
While these are large businesses, and people understand that, there is inherently a significant emotional component to what we do. How do we do that? I tell stories. I tell them why Im passionate about health care, how I learned the compassionate side of health care. I look for our associates truly living our mission and bringing all that clinical expertise, training, significant capital investment to the bedside, but doing it in a compassionate manner.
I tell them they are absolutely the best part of somebodys worst day. You have to be present, emotionally present, to relate to those families.
I try to shine the light on caregivers that go above and beyond. They have the autonomy to intervene and do the right thing without calling me or any of the executives.
Why are you passionate about health care?
In 1991, I saw a 14-year-old girl who was tragically killed in a car accident that was brought into a trauma center where I was working. To watch the caregivers that worked to try to save that girls life, knowing it was not possible, and then bringing the family in with just the intent of saying goodbye it changed me forever.
That is when it literally drove health care from my head to my heart. I understood what we did for a living, and Ive been on a crusade ever since to find like-minded people who share that mission.
It opened my eyes to the intensity and the importance of what we do on not just the intellectual level. It wasnt just highly trained doctors and nurses intervening. There was an emotional aptitude that is required. You can be good without it. But you cannot be great.
Have you had to do anything to change the culture at LewisGale to move it in the direction that you want see?
As we talk about culture within the organization, where we started was very good. But I want us to set our sights on being the absolute finest hospital and health care system in the United States. You drive that off of culture. That requires hundreds of things that you get right.
I took what we have, our very long history of being LewisGale that we are very proud of, and reinforcing the importance of culture, being very selective of who we hire and who we allow the privilege of working with us. In my mind, we have to continue to develop the culture to one of exceptional patient care. It should be world class. That is what I envision for LewisGale, and well accomplish that.
How will the community know?
You feel it. Its Roy that picks you up in the van and how he talks to you. Its the volunteer when you walk in that greets you. Its the staff in the cancer center that, knowing when you have a loved one there, is sitting with you.
You dont need a degree in mechanical engineering to know if your car is exceptional. And you dont need a degree to know if your care is good. The public can tell. You expect our nurses and physicians and the rest of the support staff to be highly trained and competent in what they do, but what people take away is how they feel about the care.
Talk about LewisGales relationship with competitor Carilion Clinic.
I have not in my time here reached out to their leadership, but I certainly will. Their CEO reached out to me, and I have to thank her for that, for welcoming me to the community. Its a very classy thing to do.
They have a mission and good people and a strategy that theyre focused on. We do, too. The demand for health care in this community continues to increase. Its robust and there is room for two organizations to grow and thrive and succeed. In one sense were going to compete. On another level, though, frankly, we need to transcend it.
We should never put patents in the middle. Ive always known my competitors really well, the executives. Wed never put a patient in the middle. At times well bump into each other, and well sort through that. At others, there are times to collaborate on large things that can impact a community. What can we do together for increasing literacy or reducing poverty or improving peoples health in all kinds of ways?
We have a high level of respect and regard for each other. We are both filling a vital role. Competition makes both of us better.
LewisGale last year laid the groundwork for a free-standing emergency department near Tanglewood Mall. Can you talk about those plans?
I dont have a lot yet prepared publicly around that. Its something we will open this year. HCA has over 63 free-standing emergency rooms around the U.S. Its something we have a lot of expertise in. Its something were known for. Providing an additional access point is good for the community. It should be very positive. Im excited.
With impending repeal of the Affordable Care Act, so much is unknown as to what might replace it. How is LewisGale responding to the potential financial implications?
Clearly its something we have to pay attention to. We have 18 million Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act. That is a very substantial social program. What is going to happen? You have all heard the same change in dialogue over the last few months. The good news from an everyday standpoint, its probably less than 5 percent of our overall business.
While its very real to the patient, for us having to retool because of changes, thats not going to happen. We work to make sure that the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations, the deliberateness of our strategies, that we are executing them in a way that is anticipating the needs of our patients and are done so in a way that, hopefully, if the government is changing something just around the funding mechanism, that we would be able to continue to fulfill our mission.
When we look into 2018 and 2019 to see what happens, it will be fascinating to see. But its not something Im worried about. As with anything like this, it becomes very political. And when its political, we have to stay focused on our mission. And just as weve done in the past, if something changes, well adapt.
When you said 5 percent of your business, are you talking about people who gained insurance through the Affordable Care Act? Are you including Medicaid, or the changes that came through Medicare?
Overall with HCA, the 5 percent is specifically patients who are covered under the act.
The majority of our business is with Medicare and Medicaid and commercial insurance plans. Those are very long-term contracts that are extremely predictable to us. While there can be things that change, thats much more on the side.
Even if its 5 percent, its substantial to us. Well have time to adapt and incorporate it into our business model.
Its a much broader social question that our politicians in Washington, D.C., are going to have to digest. And I make no prediction.
CHARLOTTESVILLE The closest the first Republican debate of the 2017 election season came to onstage combat was when a candidate playfully chucked a water bottle at the events moderator.
Focused on relatively uncontroversial issues including higher education costs, lackluster economic prospects, opioid addiction and clean government the format of the event Saturday at Charlottesvilles Paramount Theater didnt lend itself to fireworks.
As the debate came to a close, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck thanked the partys candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general for showing class and dignity. That prompted state Sen. Bryce Reeves, a Spotsylvania Republican running for lieutenant governor, to jokingly hurl the projectile at the party leader.
Whichever one of you is the nominee, as long as its not Bryce, we will be behind you one hundred percent, Whitbeck said.
The debate, which was billed as a 90-minute affair but featured a little less than an hour of policy discussion by the candidates, was hosted by the Millennial Advocacy Council, a young Republicans group that was holding a two-day summit in Charlottesville.
The questions, which the millennial group prepared and Whitbeck read, didnt reveal major policy differences. All candidates seemed to generally agree that young people have gotten a raw deal paying for expensive college degrees that dont translate to good jobs after graduation. They declared Republican economic policies would help.
The forum had potential to create a face-to-face clash between Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman leading the four-man GOP field for governor, and Corey Stewart, fiery chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, who is known for strong anti-illegal immigration views and has made attacking Gillespie a key focus of his populist campaign.
Chief among Stewarts accusations is that Gillespie was insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump during last years presidential race. Stewart was Trumps Virginia campaign chairman until the Trump campaign fired him in October for participating in a protest outside the RNC headquarters in Washington.
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed Gillespie with 24 percent support among GOP primary voters, compared with 7 percent for Stewart, 5 percent for state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach and 2 percent for distillery owner Denver Riggleman.
Both Democrats running for governor Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello, polled ahead of the Republican candidates, but were in a dead heat with one another about four months ahead of their June primary.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Saturdays debate came when Stewart announced his support for decriminalizing marijuana in response to a question about over-incarceration of millennials.
I think it is absolutely atrocious that we are jailing people simply because theyre in possession of marijuana, Stewart said. Thats got to end. And I am all for decriminalizing marijuana in the commonwealth of Virginia. Im not for legalizing it, because I dont think its good.
Stewarts comment came after Riggleman said his brother had been jailed for nine months on a marijuana-related charge.
When you have family members that have been through it, you sort of understand that trying to transition back into society is so daggone difficult, said Riggleman, the owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County. Riggleman said in a news release that he supports marijuana decriminalization, though he didnt say so explicitly from the stage.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Gillespie said he doesnt support marijuana legalization, but said penalties should be aligned with offenses. He pointed to a pending study of Virginias marijuana laws coming at the request of Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-James City County.
Im not quite there yet, Gillespie said. But Im open to seeing data when that report is finished.
Wagner tried to portray himself as the candidate with the most knowledge of state government and stressed transportation and infrastructure.
For too long weve been treating symptoms in Richmond, symptoms of a bad economy, and not treating the economy, Wagner said.
Apart from agreement that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed, there was little discussion about Trumps first month in the White House. Democratic candidates have made it clear that they intend to link GOP candidates in Virginia to the turbulence in Washington.
Since day one of Trumps presidency, Virginias GOP gubernatorial candidates have supported Trump and his far-right policies at every turn, Becca Slutsky, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement before the event.
Two of three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Reeves and Del. Glenn Davis , R-Virginia Beach attended the debate. State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, did not attend.
Both GOP candidates for attorney general participated, though Chuck Smith, a Virginia Beach attorney, arrived roughly 40 minutes late. Sounding like he wasnt expecting much of a primary fight, John Adams, a Richmond attorney, said he planned to start running right now against Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat who is seeking re-election.
Closing statements gave the candidates their best chance at red-meat rhetoric.
We dont need more Muslims or mosques or refugee resettlements until we protect the citizens weve got, Smith said as he warned the U.S. Constitution has never been more at risk.
Others talk, I deliver, Stewart said. Others talk about illegal immigration. Ive done it. I deported 7,500 illegal aliens.
Gillespie focused his fire on the legacy of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.
We cannot have Ralph Northam or Tom Perriello continue the McAuliffe failed policies, Gillespie said. We need to cut taxes, we need to repeal antiquated regulations, we need to reform our education system to meet the needs of the workforce of today and the future.
Gillespie said he wasnt surprised by the debates civil tone and the lack of attacks by Stewart, saying people are hungry for policies and solutions and ideas.
He added: Im not surprised that candidates, when theyre in front of an audience, respond to that demand.
Stewart called the event too cordial and said future debates will be different.
Just wait until the next one, Stewart said. Were gonna blast him good. I promise.
Despite surgery, an insidious tumor presses on the nerves wrapped around Thomas Hundleys spine. The condition has nearly crippled him.
Hundley believes the tumors roots formed decades ago in Vietnam where he was exposed to Agent Orange. So he filed a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Nine years and several tumors later, Hundleys case remains unresolved as he waits for the Veterans Benefits Administrations Roanoke Regional Office to send the claim to the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C.
VA will take all the time they want regardless of our conditions out here in the real world, he said. We can do nothing but wait and, of course, die while waiting.
Hundley, 73, is among the growing ranks of 470,000 veterans caught in the bureaucratic purgatory of the VAs benefits appeals process. On average, a veteran who has appealed will wait about five years for a decision, as his case gets passed back and forth between the regional office and the appeals board. About half the time, if the case goes to the appeals board, it gets kicked back to the regional office for more information.
As old cases like Hundleys linger, newer appeals filed by veterans wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are swamping an inefficient, overburdened system.
The biggest problem is the backlog of appeals, said Tom Herthel, director of benefits for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, the state agency that helps veterans navigate the federal process. This is a national crisis.
Eleven percent to 12 percent of veterans who apply for disability benefits for service-connected illnesses or injuries appeal the VAs decision to deny them benefits or to award them only a partial payment.
Herthel said he was at a recent VA training session and was told appeals are mounting at such a brisk pace that if nothing changes within 10 years, veterans will wait 25 years for their appeals to be decided.
We all agree the appeals process takes way too long, said Kevin Thompson, a spokesman at the Roanoke office. But we dont do anything without congressional authority. We dont make the laws.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who sponsored a reform bill that died in the last session of Congress, said the VA needs more people to process appeals. President Donald Trump, however, has instituted a hiring freeze. And Kaine said the VA needs a new structure to handle appeals going forward so that simple claims can be resolved quickly.
If I sit down with the VA [secretary] nominee, Im going to ask him about technology, personnel and managing the system, Kaine said.
But reforms would affect only future claims. Veterans like Hundley would remain in the legacy system.
I dont know if there is a procedural improvement you could wave and cut through the morass, Kaine said. I dont have one to suggest right now.
The VA hasnt offered one, either.
More staff seems to help. Thompson said when the Roanoke office last year hired a dozen more workers to handle appeals, they nearly eliminated the backlog of claims older than five years, and cut from four to two the number of years that claims linger in one stage of the process.
State of the system
Earlier this decade, the VA weathered scandals for failing to schedule veterans for timely medical appointments and for making veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan wait years for disability payments.
Congress and the public demanded changes. To address the disability benefits side of the house, the VA hired more claims handlers, switched from paper to electronic records and began balancing caseloads across the country every week. Reforms reduced the backlog of new claims from 600,000 to 95,000, and the average wait time fell from a couple years to a few months.
As the VA focused on clearing the clog at the entrance to the benefits system, it pushed the blockage further along an already sluggish pipeline.
The Board of Veterans Appeals, which is only one part of the complicated system, predicted in its 2015 fiscal year report that its case load would grow from the 52,509 appeals it received that year from the regional offices to 359,807 by this fiscal year. The board has yet to file its 2016 report but said it had 130,503 cases pending at years end, about 50,000 more than the previous year.
Unlike most judicial and administrative systems, the VAs appeal process does not follow a linear progression. It allows veterans to keep adding evidence to their files, while each addition sends the case back through a loop. Meanwhile, simple cases with small errors that require just a higher level of review at the regional office are funneled into the same first-in, first-served pipeline.
Its just a complicated area of the law. Its like the tax code. Its complicated even for lawyers, said Herthel, an attorney who spent 26 years in the Air Force.
The VAs reform proposal, which Kaine supported, would create three lanes. Veterans with simple claims needing a higher local review would be segregated from those wishing to supplement their files and from those whose cases are complex and require review by the appeals board or by a federal court.
Reform requires congressional action.
The goal of this legislation is to process all appeals within one year, Thompson said. Without major changes to the current legal framework or significant increases in resources, the current number of pending appeals nationally could increase from the current number of approximately 400,000 to well over 2 million by 2027.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said he favors reform but wants to make sure veterans arent sacrificing any rights through a simplified system.
Board officials said during a recent interview that veterans could switch lanes and still would maintain the right to a higher-level review.
They said they were in the process of determining how long it would take for an appeal to move through each lane, and added they did not have a projection for how long appeals would take if nothing changes.
Though the volume is increasing, officials said it is not affecting the time they take to decide claims. The boards annual reports show the number of years required to decide pending cases steadily has increased.
Cases also can spend four to six years in the Roanoke office before they even reach the appeals board.
The current process
The fastest way through an appeal is to avoid it altogether, and the best way to do that is for veterans to contact the Virginia Department of Veterans Services or another veteran service organization for help with initial claims.
Herthel said his agency helped 28,000 Virginia veterans last year. At each initial appointment, the agency files a notice with the VA that a claim is coming. This sets the date from which any disability payment would be calculated.
Veterans then have a year to gather military and medical records to show that their illness or injury was caused or aggravated by their service.
We review the veterans record to determine if it is enough evidence. We dont want to file when we think it will be denied, he said.
Then comes the first wait.
Right now, its an average of four to six months for a decision, said Herthel. When I filed in 2012, it was 14 months to get a decision. So its a huge improvement.
The Roanoke Regional Office processes claims for veterans living in Virginia and Washington, D.C., and assigns 215 of its 333 employees to handle initial claims, Thompson said. In 2016, 35,862 veterans filed initial claims through the local office. About 4,000 veterans would be expected to then enter the appeals process.
Veterans doing so are advised that by having a complete file they will encounter fewer delays.
Hundley spent his career working for the U.S. Treasury, hunting down forgers so that people entitled to their government checks received the money. The North Carolina resident was living in Northern Virginia when he became ill, so the Roanoke office has jurisdiction over his case. Hundley said he was trained well in making complete cases, and thats what he did with his initial claim.
Still, the government turned him down, saying he wasnt a boots-on-the-ground Vietnam veteran. Hundley presented the VA with a packet of air-mailed letters he sent in 1966 from Vietnam to his wife while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
The VA then said his tumor type isnt specifically mentioned in the list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by chemical toxins. Malignant schwannoma is specified; his is benign, though Hundley said the painful, crippling effects are malevolent.
Benign schwannomas are soft tissue tumors, a category broadly listed on the VAs presumptive list, and Hundley said hes included in his appeal decisions by the Board of Veterans Appeals approving similar claims.
They could Google it. Its all over the internet, he said.
Thompson said none of that matters. The regional office has to stick with the exact list, which can be altered only by Congress or by court decisions that come from outside the VAs system. Hundley is hoping for either course, but for his case to get outside the VA to either the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or another federal court, it must first make it through the internal process.
Hes only halfway there.
Hundley said he filed his initial claim in 2008, although Thompson said Hundleys electronic file shows his appeal is only five years old. Until a year ago, the VA was still using paper files.
The confusion could be due to a subsequent claim. In 2013, Hundley was diagnosed with prostate cancer and submitted a new claim. Since that disease is on the chemical exposure list, he was awarded 100 percent disability. That payment could be temporary, though. Should the cancer be removed or cured, compensation would stop.
I choose to live with it until hopefully I will die from something other than the prostate cancer. The two surgeries to remove tumors from my sciatic nerve in my pelvis region made me fearful of any further surgeries, he said.
Hundley also has coronary artery disease, which was added to the Agent Orange list in 2011. Since his medical records showed evidence of this in his initial 2008 tumor claim, the VA in 2013 awarded him a partial disability rating and paid him a lump sum to cover all the years he should have had a monthly benefit.
Meanwhile, he still wants his tumor recognized.
I figure they owe me back payment, but Im not so much after the money. I want it recognized that what I have was caused by Agent Orange, he said. Eventually Ill be crippled. It drives you nuts with a tumor wrapped around nerves.
Hes also concerned about his future.
If I lose my mobility or need a wheelchair or nursing home, being service-connected will certainly make it much easier for my family to take care of me or have someone else care for me, he said.
A truly terrible process
Appeals begin when veterans file a Notice of Disagreement and ask for an independent review within the regional office or request that the appeal go to the board in Washington. Neither path is quicker than the other, Thompson said, because unless a veteran is homeless or dying, the claim goes to the bottom of the pile.
In 2015, the latest year for which national data are available, an average of 419 days passed before the VA issued what it calls a Statement of the Case, which basically reiterates information contained in the letter of denial. The time to move through that process took much longer in the Roanoke office. In 2016, cases were on average 780 days old before they reached this point.
Veterans then submit a Form 9, which again goes into a stack at the regional office. On average nationally, it took another year and a half before the regional office certified the appeal to the board. In Roanoke in 2016, it took four years and two months. With the addition of staff, that time lag has now dropped to two years and five months.
Roanoke was authorized to increase its appeals staff from 21 to 32 employees following a 2016 inspector generals report. The regional officers were under a national directive to reduce the appeals backlog by 50 percent. Roanoke tried to meet the target by inappropriately working newer appeals with few issues and leaving untouched the appeals of 3,350 veterans whose cases dated from 2008, according to the report. Investigators found that some cases remained untouched for years even when the office had all the information it needed.
Hundley read the news story about the Roanoke office and wondered if his claim was one of the untouched files. He said he had not heard anything on his appeal in years.
Then in October, Hundley received notice that his case finally had been certified; the news came right after he signed a consent form permitting the VA to talk with a reporter about his case.
Thompson said during an interview that he could not explain why Hundley has waited so long.
Later, in an email, Thompson said Hundleys formalized appeal was received in April 2014. The VAs new electronic records dont match Hundleys recollection or records.
Hundley still doesnt have a docket number and will most likely wait another two or three years before the board offers a decision.
In 2015, nearly one-third of the cases decided by the Board of Veterans Appeals were approved, 18 percent were denied and nearly half were remanded to the regional office for additional information. The board counts remands as decisions.
Herthel said remands are a truly terrible process. The vet may consider it a victory because its not a denial, and its saying something wasnt done right at the regional office. But it also means the case is not resolved.
Remand after remand
Frank Kingrey knows all about remands his case was recently remanded for a fifth time, he said. Each time, the Board of Veterans Appeals has wanted a different medical exam.
At 78, Kingrey believes hed have been spared a decades-long battle if the VA had gotten his first exam right.
Kingrey was in the Army National Guard in 1960 and was helping to unload a heavy box of ammunition when the other soldier dropped his end. Kingreys left arm jerked awkwardly. It wasnt until decades later that he learned an X-ray taken at Fort Bragg at the time of the incident showed his arm was broken.
He said he was given ointment. When Kingrey returned home with his arm still hurting, he went to see a doctor at LewisGale Medical Center who had performed surgery on the limb when he was 11 and fell out of a hammock. The doctor noted that the old injury had healed just fine, but the new injury interfered with Kingreys ability to continue soldiering. He was given an honorable discharge for medical reasons.
Kingrey lives in the national forest between Daleville and New Castle. He was born left-handed but said hes had to learn to use his right hand. For a man who made his income doing manual work, the damage to his arm curtailed his ability to make a living, he said.
In the early 1990s, a friend suggested he apply for disability through the VA. He first had to reconstruct his records, as he was told his had been consumed in a 1973 fire near St. Louis that destroyed military records for more than 16 million veterans.
Once he reconstructed his service and the injury sustained during it, Kingrey reported for his first exam by the VA. He was denied benefits, as the examiner reported he could use his arm.
They say I got rotation, my arm says I dont, he said.
Kingrey has stacks of records piling up from his battle for full disability. This here is 24 years of remands all over the issue of the error thats been made plain and clear, he said.
Over the years, hes had rulings from the board go in his favor, awarding him partial disability for his shoulder and elbow. He now has a 70 percent rating, but he wants the VA to admit that his arm is in a fixed position, raise him to 100 percent and grant him back pay.
Thompson said different types of injuries are awarded various percentages that affect the amount of monthly payment a veteran receives. While Kingreys arm injury wouldnt qualify for a 100 percent rating, Thompson said, veterans can qualify for a full benefit if their service connected injury or illness prevents them from working.
All vets unable to secure and hold gainful employment because of a service-connected disability either service caused it or further damaged an existing condition can apply whether the veteran is 20 or 90, he said. You can only deny if you absolutely have to.
The Roanoke office annually pays out $160 million in benefits, and staff is obligated to help veterans get favorable ratings. Under the current schedule, a veteran with a 100 percent rating and no dependents receives $2,915 a month. A 50 percent disability rating does not mean half of the full benefit, as it is worth $838 a month.
The waiting game
Though Kingreys case is extreme, Herthel said his agency has 10,000 to 15,000 case that are five or six years old.
Our policy until two years ago was if vets want to appeal it, we appealed, he said. That changed when he joined the agency. As a lawyer I looked at it as practicing law. If theres an adequate basis to support it, well appeal it. If not, its bad for the veteran, who stresses over it. The anxiety comes with it, and these are the cases that then do not to get resolved.
Sometimes veterans die before their cases are resolved. Salem attorney Ross Hart served as the guardian for a World War II veteran who waited so long that he became too feeble to pursue his claim.
The veteran had appealed a 30 percent rating before 2010 and asked to testify at his hearing. That hearing wasnt held until 2015. By then, the man was 92 and unable to appear. The board bumped his disability rating to 50 percent and remanded the case to the regional office to determine if the award should be greater.
Over five years to handle a veterans claim is grossly incompetent and shows a callous disregard for the needs of those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms, Hart said. The hell of it is, Congress is well aware of the issues and problems facing the VA and is too damn incompetent to do anything about it.
Obecnie nauczyciele w stanie Utah w kwestiach seksualnosci maja doradzac uczniom wstrzemiezliwosc seksualna.
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Utah visitors to xHamster are being given the option to watch educational videos after legislators rejected classes in school, including consent and contraception
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Teachers in Utah are currently required to present a strong abstinence message to students and cannot encourage the use of contraception.
Teachers in Utah are currently required to present a strong abstinence message to students and cannot encourage the use of contraception. Photograph: Lauren Burke/Getty Images
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Olivia Solon in San Francisco
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Monday 13 February 2017
20.40 GMT
Last modified on Tuesday 14 February 2017
02.22 GMT
A porn site is redirecting web users browsing from Utah to a series of non-explicit sex education videos after legislators rejected a bill that would have allowed sex education classes in school.
Reklama
The states House education committee voted last week to reject the HB215 bill, which would have allowed parents to opt in for their children to attend sex education classes that include lessons on consent and contraception.
Currently, teachers in Utah are required to present a strong abstinence message to students. According to the states administrative code, public schools cannot teach about the intricacies of sexual intercourse, nor can they encourage the use of contraception or sexual activity outside of marriage. Advocacy of homosexuality is also banned.
Despite or perhaps because of such strict rules around sex education, Utahns appear to have a voracious appetite for porn, with one study finding that people in the state bought more porn than any other in America. However, a more recent state-by-state analysis by Pornhub one of the worlds largest porn sites suggested that Utah ranked 34th for porn consumption.
In the wake of the anti-sex education vote, porn site xHamster has started to detect when people are browsing from Utah and given them the option of visiting The Box, a YouTube channel featuring non-explicit sex education videos.
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xHamster redirects users from Utah to a sex education website after lawmakers rejected a sex education bill.
xHamster redirects users from Utah to a sex education website after lawmakers rejected a sex education bill. Photograph: xHamster
The Box answers user-submitted questions about sex and sexuality and features episodes on the female orgasm, how to put on condoms and how to reconcile religious beliefs with a healthy sex life.
While we love porn, we dont think that it should be relied on for sex ed any more than Star Wars is a substitute for science class, said xHamster in a blog post.
Representative Brian King, who sponsored the HB215 bill, said he was disappointed and frustrated by the vote.
Its a shame that in Utah we have to rely on porn sites to provide sex education for our kids, he said Monday.
Read more
The bill was needed, he said, to lessen the transmission of diseases and to reduce rates of teen pregnancy.
In Utah, were seeing a dramatic increase in the rate of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among our teenage and early 20s population, he said.
I also want our kids to have a better understanding of what it means to consent and have boundaries, said. I dont want Johnny saying to Mary, Well you got into the back seat with me so you consented to have sex.
King plans to bring back a version of the bill in 2018 and will continue to talk to stakeholders about their concerns in the interim.
But theres a strong knee-jerk reaction from some members. Its hard to get people to think logically and rationally when you are talking about sex.
A spokeswoman for the Utah Republican Womens Caucus, which opposed the bill, said: We opposed the bill because parents are primarily responsible for educating their children, not schools. The bill would have removed important parental rights like deciding when a child was ready to learn what subject matter.
Nie wolno im zachecac modych ludzi do stosowania antykoncepcji - informuje "The Guardian". Przed kilkunastoma dniami komisja stanowego kongresu odrzucia projekt prawa, ktory pozwalaby rodzicom na decydowanie, czy ich dziecko ma uczestniczyc w zajeciach z edukacji seksualnej w szkoach. Miaa to byc furtka do wprowadzenia tego przedmiotu do szko.
Mimo restrykcyjnych przepisow dotyczacych edukacji seksualnej - jak wynika z jednego z badan - zainteresowanie materiaami pornograficznymi jest w tym stanie najwyzsze w caej Ameryce - pisze "The Guardian". Nie zgadza sie to jednak z badaniami przeprowadzonymi przez serwis Pornhub, ktory sytuuje Utah na 34. miejscu jesli chodzi o zainteresowanie materiaami pornograficznymi.
Zamieszanie woko edukacji seksualnej w Utah postanowi wykorzystac serwis xHamster, ktory zacza wykrywac uzytkownikow aczacych sie z nim z tego amerykanskiego stanu.
Kazdemu mieszkancowi Utah, ktory chce skorzystac ze strony, oferowane jest przekierowanie do materiaow edukacyjnych z zakresu edukacji seksualnej dostepnych na kanale "The Box" na YouTube.
"Chociaz kochamy porno, to nie uwazamy, ze powinno ono zastepowac edukacje seksualna bardziej niz 'Gwiezdne Wojny' zastepuja zajecia z nauki (ang. science - przedmiot aczacy ze soba elementy fizyki i chemii)" - czytamy na blogu wascicieli serwisu.
Japan will on Monday release January figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.
Imports are expected to rise 4.8 percent on year after falling 2.6 percent in December. Exports are called higher by an annual 5.0 percent after climbing 5.4 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at 625.9 billion yen following the 641.4 billion yen surplus a month earlier.
Thailand will unveil Q4 numbers for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.8 percent on year. That follows the 0.6 percent quarterly increase and the 3.2 percent yearly gain in the third quarter.
Singapore will provide Q4 numbers for wholesale sales; in the third quarter, sales fell 1.9 percent on quarter and 5.1 percent on year.
Hong Kong will see January figures for unemployment; in December, the jobless rate was 3.3 percent.
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PM meets UN official in Yemen
SANA'A, Feb. 19 (Saba) - Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Saleh Bin Habtoor, met on Sunday in the capital Sana'a, the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick.
At the meeting, they stressed on the importance to exert all efforts to alleviate suffering of the Yemeni people due to the Saudi aggression and its all-out siege that have hit the humanitarian, health and economic sectors.
The premier stressed on the importance of the UN role of and the international community to pressure on Saudi-led aggression coalition to stop the war against the Yemeni people, lift the siege and re-open Sana'a International Airport.
Bin Habtoor affirmed on the need to increase the amount of aid to cover the growing needs in the relief and humanitarian and medical sectors to cover all provinces' needs.
He renewed the government's willingness to provide all necessary support for the success of the work and activities of the UN Office and all humanitarian organizations working in Yemen.
For his part, the UN official explained the efforts of the United Nations to fund humanitarian needs of the Yemeni people and to alleviate their suffering.
The UN official expressed his appreciation for the National Salvation Government's efforts to overcome the difficulties and facilitate the activity of the humanitarian organizations operating in the country to enhance joint efforts in all humanitarian areas.
AA-zk
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[19/February/2017]
By SA Commercial Prop News
Artist Perspective of a new office building for Samsung in Bryanston. Image gallery
Less than one year from today, Samsung South Africa will move into a new office building in Bryanston, Johannesburg, following Nedbank Corporate Property Finances recent approval of a R135 million finance facility to the Zenprop Group.
The loan will be used to fund the development by Zenprop of the first phase of a three building office park on vacant land they currently own in one of Bryanstons prime commercial and retail areas. The property group has already secured a lease for the office building with Samsung South Africa.
According to Ken Reynolds, regional executive of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance in Gauteng, the combination of a well established and experienced development team, a highly accessible property location, and a strong tenant to support the term of the lease made the decision to grant the loan facility a relatively easy one for Nedbank to make.
As a long standing client of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, Zenprop continues to demonstrate the robustness of its business model and the effectiveness of its growth strategy irrespective of the economic backdrop, Reynolds explains, all of which makes the group a valuable contributor to the stability of the commercial property market in South Africa and a solid developer with whom Nedbank can partner to further its own commitment to growing and strengthening this vital property sector.
Work has already commenced on the office development, which is located on William Nicol Drive adjacent to the popular new Nicol Way Shopping Centre. When completed, the prime office development will comprise three separate office buildings with accompanying basements and parking facilities.
The Nedbank Corporate Property Finance loan covers the project costs for the building of the first office block and the construction of the basement of the planned second office building. Together these two elements make up the first phase of the two-phase development.
Apart from strengthening the already excellent relationship that exists between Nedbank and Zenprop, this latest loan builds on Nedbank Corporate Property Finances strong position as a market leader in commercial property, not just in the Gauteng region, but across the country, and reiterates our commitment to partnering with like-minded organisations to ensure that commercial property retains the potential it possesses to be a key contributor to the countrys continued economic development, concludes Reynolds.
Slow but steady polling is underway in third phase of Uttar Pradesh election. till 1 pm total 53% voting is recorded.
As of 5 p.m., 63 per cent voting was reported in UP. As on 3 pm 58 per cent voting was reported in Sitapur,54 per cent from Kanpur city, 54.33 per cent from Kannauj, 51.72 per cent in Auraiyya, 54 per cent in Kanpur rural and 50 per cent in Unnao districts.
Lucknow district continued to lag behind in voting trend as only 35 per cent balloting was recorded.
The EC officials said it was probably because the polling coincided with a Sunday, but the expressed hope that voting will pick up by late afternoon and better the past percentage of 59 per cent.
VVIP voting is also underway as Lucknow, Kanpur and Saifai is polling today. BSP chief Mayawati cast her vote in Lucknow poll booth no.25. She claimed "like in the first two phases, in the third phase also BSP will be no.1 and will form the Government with a majority. "BSP kam se kam 300 ke kareeb seats jeetne ja rahi hai"
Similarly Home Minister Rajnath Singh after casting his vote in Lucknow told media that "not only clear majority, BJP is winning by absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh"
CM Akhilesh Yadav casts his vote in Saifai. He said "We were ahead in first 2 phases and I am confident that we will be ahead in 3rd phase also. Once again Samajwadi Party will be forming the Govt,in alliance with Congress".
In Lucknow BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cast his vote in a polling booth in Sherwood Academy. Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh T Venkatesh cast his vote in Lucknow. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, BJP after casting her vote claimed she is winning, She said "in Lucknow Mulayam ji's emotional appeal points to the fact that Aparna Yadav is losing". Rita Bahuguna Joshi is contesting against Samajwadi Party's Aparna Yadav from Lucknow Cantt constituency.
Ramgopal Yadav after casting vote in Saifai said "there is no infighting at all as far as voting is concerned, we are winning 300+ seats"
In this phase 69 seats of 12 districts is voting. Farrukhabad,Hardoi,Kannauj,Mainpuri,Etawah, Auraiya,Kanpur Dehat,Kanpur Nagar,Unnao,Lucknow,Barabanki and Sitapur. 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.
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.
In all, there are 826 candidates in fray whose fate would be decided by 2.41 crore voters.
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.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav here on Sunday cast his vote in the third phase of the state assembly election.
Accompanied by cousin and Budayun MP Dharmendra Yadav, the Chief Minister, at the Abhinav Vidyalaya polling booth in his native village of Etawah, told the media that he voted for the Samajwadi Party so that development could further be expedited in the state.
Sporting the red-colour party cap, the SP national president however looked a little shaky and snapped back at certain journalists who asked some uncomfortable questions.
When asked why he has declared his vote, Yadav said because "you were asking".
He also got angry when the mediapersons asked about his father Mulayam Singh Yadav not accompanying him for vote, like he always does.
Ducking the question, he expressed hope that the people of the state will vote in large numbers in the favour of the SP-Congress alliance.
Replying to a question whether he would like to wish his estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from Jaswantnagar, the Chief Minister wished that all SP candidates won the polls.
On the question why Mulayam Singh, whom he ousted as the National President of the party in January, did not turn up for joint rallies with him, Akhilesh Yadav said he probably wanted to cover other areas.
Amid reports of a not good faring in the erstwhile strongholds, the Chief Minister also ruled out "bheetarghat" against the ruling party candidates.
Pakistani forces on Sunday killed several militants affiliated with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar after bombing their hideouts in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, media reported on Sunday.
According to the reports, Pakistani troops "successfully" targeted the hideouts of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar across the border and inflicted huge casualties on them near the Rena area.
The Afghan sources said that a high-value target known for recruiting terrorists and training suicide bomber, Rehman Baba, was also gunned down. They added that at least 12 terror sanctuaries, including a hideout and weapon depot camp of Jammat-ul-Ahrar`s commander Wali, were also pounded by the forces, Geo News reported.
Pakistani forces targeted terrorists based across the Pakistan-Afghan border, following a week of deadly terrorist attacks in the country in which over 100 people were killed.
Just hours before the first military operation, the Pakistan Army summoned Afghan diplomats to its headquarters in Rawalpindi and handed over a list of terrorists involved in staging attacks inside Pakistan.
The army demanded that Afghanistan launch a crackdown against militants targeting Pakistan.
It was Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which is believed to have havens in Afghanistan, that claimed the responsibility for the repeated acts of terrorism across Pakistan in the past few days.
Pakistan has repeatedly warned Afghan authorities to prevent the use of its soil for terror activities in Pakistan.
Pakistan has seen a sudden increase in terror attacks with almost nine attacks in one week. The attacks were being largely seen as a well-planned and orchestrated attempt to destabilise Pakistan as the country.
On Thursday, at least 88 people were killed, when a suicide bomber attacked the crowded Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, injuring over 200 others, according to the Director General of Health Services, Sindh.
Cabinet has approved $500,000 to build a temporary market for vendors currently using the makeshift Savalalo market.
This was confirmed by the General Manager of the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C), Ulugia Petelo Kavesi.
The Cabinet approved the proposal last year, Ulugia told the Weekend Observer.
The total amount could be more and were working on it now."
Hopefully the construction of the temporary shelter for Savalalo tenants will start soon...maybe June to July this year after usual processes.
Another official at Samoa Land Corporation who spoke to Sunday Samoan on the condition of anonymity, said the approval is good news for tenants
Were waiting on the approval of the draft proposal (tender for design and supervision) of the temporary market that have been sent to the Attorney General and then continue on until tendering out for public interest."
Its a long process, and the Samoa Land Corporation is looking at July to start the construction of phase one, the official said.
To us, this is s very good idea to prepare a good umbrella for the tenants as you recently sight the status, it is not 100%, especially in rainy and windy season."
But, I think the government is still hold on to their plan to construct a multi-million- -storey building where the Savalalo market recently stood."
At the beginning of this month, Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Fio Purcell told Samoa Observer that Savalalo can expect a new mini-permanent market as their place of work in the next six months.
Since the Savalalo market was destroyed by fire a year ago, the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C.) has provided a temporary market for the vendors to sell their products.
Back then, each vendor was provided with $1,000. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the tents are only a permanent solution.
But this was a year ago.
Today, the tents are a source of headaches. The place does not really keep the rain out but it definitely keeps the heat in.
Asked for a comment, Lautafi said the main reason for the delay is due to the Apia Waterfront project.
As you are aware, the government will start working on the Apia Waterfront Project soon, said Lautafi. And so we dont want to come up with a plan now as they (vendors) might be asked to relocate again.
Lautafi said the Cabinet has already approved a plan to build semi-permanent shelters for the vendors.
We will build shelters that are more secure and safe for the vendors and the small businesses."
We are aware that the tents they are using now are not safe for them as the tents they are using now are starting to leak when its raining."
But we have been discussing with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment about their plans on the Apia Waterfront Project, as they are the ones spearheading the project, so that we can make a move and work on building new shelters for the vendors."
We dont want to build permanent shelters and then end up having to move again, that will only waste money. But we are looking at a way in which we can make this work easily without having to move a lot and waste money.
Lautafi went on to say that he also feels for the tenants and business owners.
The World Bank Group Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa, is heading to Samoa.
She is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday this week and she will be in the country for three days.
The visit was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance, Lavea Tupai Lavea.
He said the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, key government officials as well as members of the private sector. She will also be visiting development projects co-funded by the World Bank Group in Samoa including projects in the transport sector, agriculture sector, health sector and the telecommunications sector.
The Vice President will be staying at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel and Bungalows.
Ms. Kwakwa assumed the role Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific on April 15, 2016. She oversees a portfolio of more than $32 billion in loans, grants, credits, and trust funds across 23 countries.
Ms. Kwakwa leads the World Banks strategy in East Asia Pacific which focuses on five priority areas: inclusion and empowerment; jobs and private sector-led growth, governance and institutions, infrastructure and urbanization, climate change and disaster risk management. The Region also focuses on the cross-cutting themes of gender, fragility and conflict and poverty analytics.
Ms. Kwakwa was previously the World Banks Country Director for Vietnam, overseeing a multibillion-dollar lending portfolio and an innovative knowledge program, including the recently published Vietnam 2035 report. This report, prepared jointly with the Government of Vietnam, presents options for Vietnam to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country in a generation.
Before moving to Hanoi, Ms. Kwakwa was the Country Manager for Rwanda for two years, where she worked with the government to design and pilot programs in social protection, health financing, and agriculture productivity.
From 2000 to 2006, she was a senior economist and lead economist in Abuja, Nigeria, where she set up a program of state-level analytical work and provided policy advice on how to efficiently and transparently manage oil revenues.
Ms. Kwakwa joined the Bank as a Young Professional in 1989 and worked on the 2000-2001 World Development Report on poverty. She earned her doctorate and masters degree in economics from Queens University in Canada.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of Samoa Stationery and Books (S.S.A.B.), Fiti Leung Wai, is on her way home with a renewed sense of excitement and appreciation about Samsung products.
Last week, Mrs. Leung Wai was at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre in Singapore to honour an invitation by Samsung to attend the Forum.
The forum invited Samsungs key partners, authorised dealers and Samsung retailers from all around the world.
The Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics, BK Yoon, delivered a remarkable keynote address to welcome all the participants at the forum and to present the newest line of innovative technological products Samsung now has available on the market.
Samsung forums and conferences happen annually and Samoa was never part of these gatherings in the past. The opportunity was only given to other Samsung dealers and retailers from Fiji and New Zealand.
There were specific aspects outlined by Samsung Group for its dealers around the world so they can be recognised in forums as such, for eg, providing an exceptional after sales support and other technical requirements.
The ice finally broke earlier this year when Mrs. Leung Wai received an invitation from the Samsung Group to attend the Samsung Groups worldwide forum for the first time for any company from the New Zealand Region.
This forum has unfolded a huge opportunity for S.S.A.B. to bring in to Samoa the most modern and cutting edge Samsung innovative technological products for our people to use and experience, we certainly do not want to be left behind in terms of technology, Mrs. Leung Wai said.
One of S.S.A.Bs objectives is to always bring in innovative products or the most modern products available there are in the market and it aligns really well with the forum given that it was a platform to present and introduce Samsungs cutting edge products.
Mrs. Leung Wai was the only female invitee from the Pacific Region.
She is appreciative and very happy that all the work S.S.A.B. is doing for customers using Samsung products has been recognised by Samsung and more significantly at the international level.
S.S.A.B. has been an authorised retailer of Samsung for most of the Samsung products for more than three years.
During the forum the participants from around the world including Mrs. Leung Wai of S.S.A.B. had the opportunity to experience at first sight Samsungs newest products.
The 2016 Internship Programme ended last week and the feedback has been positive both from the interns as well as the work placements.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Youth Employment Programme (Ministry of Women and Social Development) and the Samoa National Youth Council launched the programme last year.
The 10 week initiative was designed to assist with the increasing number of unemployed youth in Samoa.
Sixteen interns were assigned to businesses/organizations that are members/stakeholders of the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and supported this initiative to address youth unemployment:
Pacific Forum Line
Coffee Bean Cafe
FAO
H & H Holdings (Big Bear and Mr Lavalava)
Scientific Research Organization of Samoa
Rhelms Catering
King Construction
Samoa Chamber of Commerce
The main purpose of the programme was to allow the interns to gain work experience in a formal setting and skills that can further their chances of securing employment.
At the end of the programme, three interns were offered full time roles while five secured part time roles in their work placement.
One of the interns, Santyao Misa, said she found the programme very helpful, the work experience and skills I have gained has been great. It was my first time working and I enjoyed it, everyone was nice and helped me a lot. Another intern, Toetu Faatoaga, stated that one of the most important skills he took from being a part of the programme was learning to adapt to a work environment, I was able to learn from my work colleagues and found the working environment very supportive.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce, Youth Employment Programme (Ministry of Womens, Community and Social Development) and the Samoa Youth Council are looking at implementing the programme again due to the positive feedback received from the interns and the workplaces.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce CEO Lemauga Hobart Vaai comments The Samoa Chamber of Commerce is committed to addressing the Youth Unemployment issue in Samoa, we are looking forward to working closer with the MWCSD to ensure this internship programme is a continuous win/win for our Government and the Private Sector of Samoa.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce wishes to acknowledge all the businesses who took part in the internship programme as it would not have been possible without your assistance.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Incorporated as the National Private Sector Organisation is funded by the Pacific Leadership Program (PLP).
A hundred gifts vouchers have been presented to customers who spent $30 tala to shop at Eveni Carruthers, Farmer Joe and S.S.A.B. during a joint promotion
The Back to School prize giving was held at Farmer Joes Vaitele.
The winners received $50 tala cash vouchers from each of the three local companies.
Farmer Joe and Eveni Carruthers offered 30 vouchers each while S.S.A.B had 40 vouchers.
Representatives of Farmer Joe, Eveni Caruthers and S.S.A.B. acknowledged all the winners of the Back to School Promotion for their support and for shopping at their stores.
This is the third year the promotion has been held.
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) Gambia's new president promised greater freedom, an improved economy and better education as thousands attended a ceremony Saturday marking his inauguration after a tense political standoff with the country's former longtime leader.
"This is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for all Gambians," President Adama Barrow said to a packed stadium near the capital that included dignitaries and several African heads of state.
The day, he said, was symbolic because it also marked the day in 1965 when the small West African nation declared its independence from Britain and the year in which the 52-year-old Barrow was born.
Saturday's ceremony was held to let Gambians witness a swearing-in that echoed the official one last month. Barrow first took the oath of office at Gambia's embassy in neighboring Senegal in January as former leader Yahya Jammeh refused to cede power.
International pressure, including the threat of a regional military intervention, led Jammeh on Jan. 21 to finally accept his December election loss and fly into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Hundreds of thousands welcomed Barrow's return to Gambia days later.
Barrow has pledged to reverse many of the actions that Jammeh took during his more than two decades of power. Barrow has promised to stay in the International Criminal Court, rejoin the Commonwealth, and free political prisoners.
Barrow arrived at Independence Stadium on Saturday to fanfare, waving from his vehicle in flowing white robes. Gambians also cheered Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai, who had to flee to Senegal during the political crisis after standing by the election results that showed Barrow's win.
After hours of ceremony, including a marching band, Barrow addressed the nation. He thanked Senegal for hosting him and promised improved relations, adding "we want the relationship between the two countries to be a model for African integration."
He thanked Allah, the Gambian people, the African Union, United Nations and regional leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS for undertaking mediation efforts, including Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was in attendance.
"Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put a government in office as well as remove it," he said, noting many challenges ahead as the country emerges from rule under Jammeh, who imposed a climate of fear with an administration that detained and sometimes tortured and killed opponents.
"We inherited an economic decline," Barrow said, adding that the political impasse saw businesses shut down, more than 50,000 people flee and over 126,000 become displaced internally. He promised improved employment opportunities, food security and export growth, sanitation and access to clean water.
"Under my presidency, we will try to ensure the sovereign protection and development of all children" and will work to make free education a reality, he said.
The coalition party which backed his candidacy was formed, Barrow said, "to ensure that we'll be one Gambia, one nation, one people."
The international community has warmed to Barrow's approach, with the European Union announcing an $80 million package of support after breaking off assistance amid tensions with Jammeh.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Barrow on Tuesday, saying: "We are here to help."
Senegal's President Macky Sall was among the honorary guests at the ceremony protected by ECOWAS troops. The regional force has secured the country during the transition, which has remained peaceful.
Sall said Gambia and Senegal, a regional power that surrounds the tiny country except for its coast, must strengthen economic and other relations. Many Senegalese live in Gambia.
"We are the same people, and we remain the same people," he said.
Others attending included the heads of state of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana, and the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Heres a Monday thought.
Tourism in Samoa contrary to what the government will have you believe - is a stagnant swamp. It doesnt look like its going anywhere in a hurry. There is no doubt that the industry is suffering. Some of them are wilting and dying from the governments inertia.
Now yesterday, I received a letter from a friend. His name shall remain unknown for now and contents of his letter have been edited.
But I thought it would be good idea to share it with you to highlight the problem and for us to see where we are.
The letter reads: I had the opportunity to meet an official from Rarotonga. He was telling me the Cooks are really pumping Jetstar are running three services a week from Auckland now.
Bit with all that - there is still not enough capacity flights are full and Jetstar are now looking at a direct Sydney Service this year as well.
All Jetstar services are Wide Body Air Bus or Dreamliners. Flight times of departures and arrivals are similar to ours the tourists dont seem to mind he says.
The quiet off season has shrunk now to about six weeks Feb to early March.
He says Mid March they go up to the 80s again all the way through pretty much.
December was the best December for tourists in many years.
They have a LA Raro LA Raro Air New Zealand Service weekly - this is subsidized (8 million NZD per year ) however the subsidy is based on loadings and the subsidy has not reached $5million for the last couple of years because of good loadings.
(That North America and Europe market! The one we lost a few years ago thanks to Air New Zealand axing the AKL APW LAX service on Mondays despite the subsidy we also paid along with Tonga.)
In Raro Accommodation / occupancy is so buoyant that new developments are being planned and being constructed.
BNB Accommodation is also popular due to high Hotel Occupancy.
Even my friend is doing a 12 Unit property He said his opening rates will be 350/390 NZD per night. He said that is the average rate Good Beach places are doing rates of 650 / 750 NZD per night and with high occupancy.
Cooks are even talking with Singapore Airlines! They just signed an agreement.
Now thats whats happening in the Cook Islands.
And then he draws his attention to Samoa.
Where in the hell are we? he wrote. Cook Islands Tourism still have only 14 people employed at Cook Islands Tourism in Raro. What are we doing to attract more airlines?
We hear all the talk but who are the airlines and who are the execs of the airlines that Samoa has been talking to?
Who are the people in Samoa that are meant to be vigorously looking at new airline opportunities?
All the major properties in Samoa including the south coast properties are hurting badly by comparison to our neighbours - in Fiji and the Cook Islands.
In the meantime we are empty and we are suffering.
It has been said many times about the chicken or the egg - New Accommodation or New Airline. Well we have the accommodation now The operators of these magnificent properties are apparently letting their thoughts be known but its falling on deaf ears.
Again where is the Urgency?
The entire landscape changes when we have planeloads of visitors arriving.
So many benefit apart from the obvious Hotels and Rental Car operators and Tour Operators.
Of course the restaurants and shops and the increase in employment that would happen. Young people in jobs if we were pumping with tourists we would put at least 4/5 more young people on the payroll and we all know how that benefits.
My friend, everyone in the tourism industry in Samoa today has a story to tell. And they are hurting. What is the government doing about it?
I thought the Prime Minister said that the tourism is going to be the mainstay of the economy?
If thats the case, we should be worried. Its just not happening and there doesnt seem to be any urgency from the relevant authorities to change anything.
Well is someone listening?
We hope so.
Have a great week Samoa, God bless!
Re: Who is more dangerous? Christians or Muslims?
The implication of this whole stupid question is that one is good while the other is bad.
Just because Islam is undeniably bad because it is anti woman, anti other religions, has preposterous harmful conflicting verses in its stupid holy book does not for one minute mean that Christianity is not equally guilty of all these things as well.
Thats the truth whether the Christians want to acknowledge it or not. There are 3000 gods of various religions currently out there and I just happen to believe in one less than all you proponents of various religions. I think I am correct.
Wendy Wonder
Re: Samoa skincare range eyes global market
When I first saw this article I thought, how wonderful a natural cosmetic line coming out of Samoa and coconut oil based.
I then went to the website misiluki.com where I became very disappointed.
I was appalled that that the owner did photo shoots dressed in all white attire that was appropriate for a night time gala while in a coconut oil field facility with workers who are not as well to do as herself and it smacked of class distinction. It made me feel as if she was slapping these workers in the face with her well to do appearance, while they humbly served her.
She should have dressed in customary clothes while out in the field and saved her inappropriate attire for a night time cocktail party.
Whoever thought up this photo shoot should be fired. It was very poor taste and it sends out a bad message.
Fusipua
The Small Island Developing States (S,I.D.S.) Symposium, organized by the Government of Bahamas with support of the United Nations, focusing on the specific development challenges faced by S.I.D.S., will kick off on 21 February 2017 in Nassau, the Bahamas.
The three-day Symposium will take stock of how S.I.D.S. can fast track towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the SAMOA Pathway a global commitment which highlights the unique development needs of S.I.D.S. due to their particular vulnerabilities, including to the impact of climate change.
At the Symposium, participants, including high-level government and UN officials, will also discuss partnerships for development, the role of public institutions as well as the need to mobilize information and communication technology, and strengthen monitoring and statistical capacities.
For more information on the Symposium, please visit: http://bit.ly/2kh6Fch. Join us online by using the hashtag #SIDSSymposium2017. The Symposium will be streamed live: http://bit.ly/2kR2pwc.
Main Speakers at the Symposium:
Perry G Christie, Prime Minister, the Bahamas
Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, UN
The Police is to launch an investigation into a rumour about the existence of an alleged prostitution operation at Falelauniu.
Told about concerns from members of the public who contacted the Samoa Observer with suspicions about the issue, Police Spokesperson, Sua Muliaga Tiumalu, said he was not aware of it.
However, he assured that the Police would investigate to find out if there is any truth to such a rumour. He asked the Samoa Observer to give them some time to allow them to investigate. This was last week.
According to a member of the public who spoke to the Samoa Observer on the condition of anonymity, there are concerns about local women being used by a foreign-owned business operating in the area.
When the Samoa Observer visited the business in question, the owner vehemently denied the allegation.
No such thing, he said. That is not good news for us.
The businessman went on to say this is not the first time his company has been made the subject of such malicious rumours.
This is a bad image for me especially my company, he said.
According to the businessman, his business comprises of only three employees and and they are males. Then there is his wife.
People can talk nonsense to others at any time. But this could put an end to my business and Ill also end up in jail if people continue bad mouthing my company. This is really sad.
Residents in the area confirmed hearing the rumour but they say they have not seen anything suspicious.
I have lived here in this area for many years, said a man who identified himself as Leota. I hardly see anyone walk in and out of that company during the day or at night time.
He said he only sees cars go in to collect their orders as per their business.
If there are claims of something happening there, I havent seen it.
Sina Tuua another resident confirmed that a security guard is always on watch at the premises gates.
Were living in Samoa, she said. Its a very small country and we could easily smell anything that isnt right.
I stay home every day to look after my young grandson and stay late at night as well, still I havent seen anything.
The businesss gate closes at 5pm right up until morning.
So I dont know about the other hours of the night, yes everything is still peaceful in this side of the country.
But she believes the matter should still be investigated.
I think the police should look into this. Personally, if this is true, these are all signs of poverty in the country.
Prostitution operations are not new to Samoa.
Sometime in 2012, Metala James, of Malololelei and her partner Sanele Sanele, of Papaloloa were found guilty of four counts of knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution.
Metala was also found guilty of three counts of procuring sexual intercourse which involved using two local girls whose names were suppressed by the Court.
The Court found that the accused lived on the earnings of prostitution and knew what they were doing but yet they continued to use the girls to live off their earnings.
Throughout the hearing the court heard that the couple had operated a prostitution ring from their home at Malololelei.
They used five young girls, and arranged for them to have sex with Chinese men at the area opposite Tanoa Tusitala Hotel and other times, foreigners who stayed at tourist accommodations.
The girls gave evidence that money between $20-$50 tala a session was payment given by the clients to Metala.
The future of a Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S) Minister, who is the father of a woman who claims to be carrying the marks of Jesus Christs suffering, is to be determined next month.
Reverend Opapo Soanai, who is looking after the Siufaga C.C.C.S. parish, had been stripped of his pastoral role by the Elders Committee.
However, the Chairman of the Elders Committee, Reverend Elder Tavita Anesone, told the Samoa Observer that a decision has been deferred until March.
He did not elaborate.
Last month, Rev. Opapo questioned the conflicting reasons offered by different officials of the church as to why he had been stood down.
Theyre giving me conflicting reasons, Rev. Soanai said.
On Monday, Senara called to inform me that I had been stripped of all my duties. I asked him why and he said its because of the statues of Mary and Jesus inside our church.
So our congregation has written to them. I will not leave because of this."
For your information, the Churchs Constitution dictates that if a Pastor sins, the Elder of the Pulega should summon him. If the sin is proven, then he should be summoned by the Elders of the Matagaluega and then eventually the Elders Committee.
In my case, this is the first case where I havent been summoned by the Pulega, or by the Matagaluega, not even the Elders Committee and yet I have been penalised. So our parish has written to them to express that the manner in which this decision has been made is unloving and communist-like.
Rev. Soanai said the second reason offered for his dismissal, as he was informed by the Secretary of the Elders Committee, is that he has disobeyed orders.
So I asked, what order have I disobeyed? They said I was disobedient when I went to take my daughter to Rome. They said I shouldve just taken her there and come back right away.
Rev. Soanai denies that he had been disobedient.
I told them I was going to be back after the 18th December which is what I did. I came back on the 20th but I got stuck in New Zealand when my flight was delayed. I was here before Christmas. I only found when I arrived that I had been relieved of my duties and thats why weve written to them. We want to know why.
Rev. Soanai protested his innocence saying he has done nothing wrong.
Last year, Rev. Soanais daughter, Toaipuapua Opapo Patrick, claimed to be carrying the marks of Jesus Christs suffering. Rev. Soanai has been a strong supporter of his daughter who has since converted to Catholicism.
He accompanied her to Rome recently where her stigmata claims are being investigated.
Speaking to the Samoa Observer last year, Toa said converting to the Catholic faith is the only way she can continue her mission from God.
I am a messenger and I want to continue the work that I have been sent to do, she said.
I know the majority of the people misunderstand almost everything I say, they twist it. But being chosen by God as a messenger is something I did not ask for. He chooses whoever he wants as a messenger.
Toa said she could not wait for the leadership of the C.C.C.S to make up their minds about accepting her and most importantly the messages she was receiving from God.
We dont have that much time to prepare and get things done because God gave us this mission to complete right on time, she said. So we dont want to just sit around and wait for everyone to agree. We wanted to continue our mission and I feel this is the only way.
She added that while she continues to be fully supportive of her parents' work as Church Ministers of the C.C.C.S, some recent developments have left her with no choice but to become a Catholic.
The elders of the church (C.C.C.S) are trying to stop us from spreading the messages and my father was instructed to distant himself from whats going on with me, she said. He was told to remove the statues from inside the church.
One of those statues, that of St. Mary, is now the subject of a Court case. A man has been accused to removing and damaging the statue.
The Polices bid to bring back a prisoner who escaped from Tafaigata Prison and managed to skip the country has hit a snag.
While they have relocated Valufitu Fiu Uolilo in Australia, it turns out the convict is an Australian citizen and has applied to an Australian Court that he not be sent back to Samoa serve the rest of his jail sentence.
Uolilo was jailed for causing actual bodily harm and being armed with a dangerous weapon.
Police Spokesperson, Sua Muliaga Tiumalu, confirmed the latest development.
I know Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil told the media that Valufitu Uolilo has been captured, he said.
However Uolilo had made a plea to the Court in Australia which we understand has been granted by the Court.
Sua could not explain how the Court in Australia could stop a Samoan fugitive from being sent back to Samoa to serve the rest of his term.
All we know at this stage is that the prisoner is an Australian citizen and so at the moment he cannot be deported from Australia to Samoa.
According to reports from the Transitional Crimes Unit, an appeal has already been made to the Court with regards to this issue.
So if the appeal is successful then this man will be brought back to the country to answer to the accusations against him.
It was not possible to get a comment from the Australian government at press time.
Last year, Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil announced that Uolilo had been found by Australian authorities and was scheduled to be sent back.
He is going through a legal process in Australia and they have to decide whether to deport him or keep him there, said Fuiavailili at the time.
Fuiavailili told the Samoa Observer then that the process could take months or years.
He said the Transnational Crimes Unit had been in contact with the Australian Federal Police about the matter.
I dont know why someone would want to keep a criminal there especially an escaped prisoner, I would rather have that person out of my country as well but thats their opinion. They are going to do what they need to do.
We did the best we could with the resources we have. We are just going to hang tight until we hear anything else from Australia.
Fuiavailili also thanked the Australian Government and their law enforcement for playing their part and said they are still cooperating with them on the legal framework.
The government should help Ele because if we think about it, shes the first woman to ever get a medal from the Olympic Games for Samoa. Ele put all her effort and sweat in representing Samoa in weightlifting so she deserves money for this. Another thing why the P.M and the government must do this is because she has children and anyone in her place needs money to help the kids, her parents and her whole family. The government should at least consider the fact that she has been working hard for Samoa. Training is never something thats easy. Were only humans. Ele deserves money from the government.
Duffy Asotasi, Letogo, 35
For me, I think Ele has the right to receive money from the government for her silver medal. Thats the right thing to do and Im saying its the right thing because we all know that, not only Ele had represented our country in a good way but she promote Samoa and make this country known worldwide. It took her a whole lot of courage and sweat to do that, she deserves something in return from Samoa.
Fetalaiga Tuulua, Leusoalii & Tufulele, 32
She should get money. I mean, who would be motivated to represent Samoa again if this is how its going to be? If its not a gold medal, you get nothing? I think the next generation are only going to just represent Samoa without any intention to win. Eles strength has been used for this country especially now that shes coming back from New Zealand soon and if we put this in a fair way, she should get money for all her hard work. She should at least get half of whatever amount of money athletes get for gold medals. Its always good to know that people who are representing our country are getting something from it and that they are being appreciated.
Oceanside residents are seeing stars this week as a fictional one-family crime wave sweeps over the city.
Filming is under way at several places around town for the upcoming TNT series, Animal Kingdom, which stars Ellen Barkin as Janine Smurf Cody, the cunning matriarch of a family of thieves that includes her sons and grandson.
Oceanside may not get top billing on the show, but its a big part of the narrative, said Llewellyn Wells, an Animal Kingdom producer who was overseeing filming this week in the city.
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While were here, were shooting at a lot of locations that really show Oceanside in the story, Wells said. This is just an amazing location. Its really unique.
Cast and crew are working at several locations around town, including The Strand, the iconic municipal pier and the Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen.
On Monday morning, Wells and the crew were filming a fight scene inside a motorcycle shop at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and South Tremont Street.
He said there will be about eight days of filming this week in Oceanside before the production heads back to Hollywood for more shooting at Warner Bros. studio facilities.
Movie trucks and trailers were parked in front of the shop with lights and cameras inside. A handful of looky-loos stopped by to watch from across the street, including John Daley, the former owner of the nearby 101 Cafe on Coast Highway. He had a camera strapped around his neck and was shooting some of the action.
I think its cool, Daley said. If the show gets popular, people are really going to start to come out.
The show is already generating excitement among locals, judging from an open casting call held April 1 at the Oceanside Civic Center Plaza. Producers were expecting about 150 people, but more than 900 showed up, Wells said. Out of those, roughly 250 people will be used in the show, he said.
Animal Kingdom is based on the 2010 Australian film set in Melbourne. The TV version will be set in a fictional Southern California seaside town that looks an awful lot like Oceanside.
The show centers around 17-year-old Joshua J Cody, played by Finn Cole, who moves in with his estranged grandmother, played by Barkin, after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Barkins character is the mastermind of the family and her sons execute carefully planned armed robberies to make a living.
Barkin wasnt on location in Oceanside on Monday, but she was scheduled to be here for filming this week. Several other actors were here including Christina Ochoa, who plays Renn Randall, the love interest of one of the Cody sons.
Ochoa said Monday she was looking forward to spending time in the city. She previously appeared on the series Matador by director Robert Rodriguez.
People have been sending me and the cast (via social media) things that we should be doing, Ochoa said. Im excited to just get a chance to walk around, go to the beach and hang out.
City officials said they hope the show will bring attention to Oceanside and encourage tourism.
Its an opportunity for us, said Leslee Gaul, president of Visit Oceanside. I think its positive for us because it impacts the economy. While theyre here, they stay at hotels and they eat at our restaurants and if the show takes off it provides tourism.
Wells said the show will probably spend about $500,000 on the local economy while filming the first season here, including hotels and meals.
Oceanside is no stranger to Hollywood. It has served as a film location for dozens of movie productions dating back to 1914 when The Rose of the Rancho directed by Cecil B. DeMille was filmed in the city. In the late 1940s, Oceanside was a popular location for war movies such as John Waynes Sands of Iwo Jima, The Outsider, Battle Cry and Leathernecks.
The citys biggest claim to Hollywood fame is the 1985 blockbuster movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise. The ocean view Top Gun house was featured as the home of Cruises love interest and continues to be a draw for fans of the movie.
Wells said he hopes Animal Kingdom does well enough to run five to 10 seasons. If it does, Oceanside will continue to be featured on the show, he said.
This is the permanent fictional location of the series so we have every intention of coming back for years to come, Wells said. Of course, the shows got to be a hit first, right?
The show is set to premier June 7 on TNT.
Amid patriotic ballads, rousing speeches and chants of No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all, thousands rallied Saturday near the waterfront and marched through the streets of downtown San Diego in support of immigrant rights.
While the protest march and rally clearly were inspired by President Donald Trumps policies targeting immigrants and refugees, the message delivered throughout the morning and afternoon was one of activism and unity.
We are telling Trump and his people we will not tolerate the senseless acts of hate and the bigotry that are going on in Washington, D.C., and in the White House, said Mohamed Abdallah, an organizer who introduced a series of speakers. We march today in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters. My brothers and sisters, the whole world is watching right now. Our actions today and in the future will send a message to all of the people out there that strength comes from unity.
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Gathering on the bay side of the County Administration Center late Saturday morning, the crowd of protesters eventually swelled to more than 4,000, San Diego police estimated. With each successive speaker, the enthusiastic audience roared its approval and responded with multiple chants, punctuated with drum beats.
Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go, they yelled.
Say loud, say clear, immigrants are welcome here.
In downtown Los Angeles, thousands of demonstrators also marched on Saturday as a show of support for immigrants.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, reassured activists that despite whatever actions may be taken by the Trump administration, the states elected leaders are committed to protecting immigrants rights.
We still have to push our local governments to continue to adopt welcoming and sanctuary city statutes, said Gonzalez, noting that her Assembly district includes the single largest Muslim community in California. But if they dont, like our mayor in San Diego wont, thats OK because at the state level were passing a law that will make this entire state a sanctuary state.
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon has authored a bill that would bar state and local law enforcement agencies from using their officers or jails to uphold federal immigration laws.
Both at the beginning and end of the march, organizers called on Mayor Kevin Faulconer to take action to make San Diego a sanctuary for immigrants and refugees. While no cities in the county identify themselves as sanctuary cities, some conservative organizations have given San Diego that label.
Responding to marchers demands, Faulconers office said Saturday, San Diegos policies have worked under Republican and Democratic administrations, and we have no plans to change them under this administration. SDPD keeps all members of our community safe regardless of their immigration status, and we will keep the departments focus on enforcing local laws rather than immigration issues.
Also speaking Saturday was former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is planning to run for governor of California in 2018.
Today we say to Donald Trump and those who would deport 11 million people, not in my America, he told the cheering crowd.
As protesters marched from the county center to the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building about a mile away, they held aloft signs, many of them hand-made, carrying such messages as Immigrants made America great, Ban bigotry not refugees and Get your tiny hands off our border.
The march remained peaceful throughout, and several of the participants showed their gratitude to the motorcycle cops lining the route on Broadway by personally shaking their hands as they reached the federal building.
The march ended at San Diego City Hall, but by then the crowd had dwindled considerably.
Cathy Meza, 41, who brought her two children, ages 9 and 11, to the rally, said it was important that they be there, given that their grandparents are Mexican-American.
Its important that they understand whats going on, that a (border) wall wont solve any problems, said Meza, a Poway resident, I hope they will learn if we all stand together, we can send a message that were all basically immigrants.
Originally from Iran, Sanam Salehia said she came to the U.S. 17 years ago and, like Meza, regards America as a nation of immigrants.
I am not welcome in Iran, she said. Im from the LGBT community and this is my home and they cannot ban us or kick us out. We have a voice and we want to be heard.
Organizers, led by the group Activist San Diego, made clear that Saturdays event was not an isolated protest, but part of a continuum of actions designed to safeguard the rights of immigrants.
If you use race baiting and immigrant bashing, we will go after you, warned Martin Eder, a co-founder of Activist San Diego. We have to build an ongoing movement. This is not a moment, this is a movement.
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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com
(619) 293-2251
Twitter: @loriweisberg
There is a saying, often attributed to Mark Twain, that history doesnt repeat itself, but it rhymes.
For many Japanese-Americans, its rhyming now, as President Donald Trump continues to push for a halt on refugees and immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries tied to terrorism.
Seventy-five years ago today, two months after Japans aerial attack on Pearl Harbor ushered the U.S. into World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt approved his own ban, signing an executive order that cleared the way for more than 110,000 residents of Japanese descent two-thirds of them American citizens to be sent to 10 prison camps scattered around the United States.
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When the order was enforced less than two months later, about 2,000 people in San Diego County were forced from their homes and allowed to bring only what they could carry. Most went first to an Assembly Center at the Santa Anita racetrack, sleeping in horse stables, and then spent three years at a War Relocation Center called Poston, in the Arizona desert.
At its peak, Poston imprisoned about 18,000 people. They lived in barracks with tar paper walls, surrounded by a barbed-wire fence and a withering heat that regularly topped 100 degrees. Wind and dust were frequent visitors, along with scorpions.
I was 10, and I didnt know why we were being uprooted, said Mitch Himaka, whose family lived in downtown San Diego and ran a tofu shop in what was then a small but vibrant community known as Japantown. Its only later, when I got older, that I started thinking about how unconstitutional it was. The Bill of Rights, all that stuff it failed us.
The constitutionality of Trumps proposed ban is also in question. He signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that barred refugees from entering the country for 120 days; refugees from Syria indefinitely; and citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. A federal judge in Seattle suspended the order, and a three-judge appellate panel refused to lift the stay.
On Thursday, Trump said he will rescind the order and issue a new one this week tailored to address the courts concerns. Some critics doubt that will halt the legal wrangling.
Although its now widely seen as a shameful mistake, Japanese internment passed muster with the courts in its early years. Fred Korematsu, a Bay Area resident who was convicted of defying the evacuation order, challenged the mass incarceration all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He lost in 1944. There was very little public or media opposition to the round-up as it was happening.
Korematsu and two other Japanese-Americans petitioned successfully to have their convictions voided in the mid-1980s, right around the time a federal commission studying internment concluded it was a grave injustice caused by race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.
Congress approved a bill providing for a formal apology and $20,000 in reparations per person. We admit a wrong, President Ronald Reagan said as he signed the legislation. Here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.
At the time of the signing, about half of those who had been sent to the camps were still alive.
A unifying force
The lessons of internment have been passed on to subsequent generations of Japanese-Americans.
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, leaders from community groups, including the Japanese American Citizens League, were among the first to warn against indiscriminately singling out Muslims for retribution. They formed alliances with Arab American organizations that continue to bring groups of children together for discussions and field trips to Manzanar, the internment camp in the Eastern Sierra foothills.
On Friday, when the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles held a news conference to discuss a new exhibition on internment that opened this weekend, one of the speakers was from the Arab American National Museum in Michigan.
There is a deep shared experience in terms of representing ethnic communities that have been vilified, said Ann Burroughs, interim president and CEO of the Japanese-American museum. One of our roles is to look clearly in the eye of history and understand what its lessons teach us.
The museums new exhibit, Instructions to All Persons, includes two original pages of Roosevelts typewritten Executive Order 9066, which authorized internment. On loan from the National Archives, the pages, which include Roosevelts signature, have never been displayed before on the West Coast.
Internment was a unifying force for the Japanese-American community, so these documents have a powerful resonance, Burroughs said.
Japanese-Americans were also among the first to hear echoes from 1942 in Trumps immigration proposals, which started when he was campaigning for president.
In December 2015, he called for a ban on all Muslims entering the country and refused at that time to say whether he would have opposed the earlier internment. Last November, Carl Higbie, a prominent Trump supporter, cited the Japanese camps as a precedent to do things that are not politically popular and sometimes not right, in the interest of national security.
At UC San Diego, history professor Michael Provence watched all this unfold and noticed that older Japanese-Americans seemed to be especially attuned to the language of exclusion.
They were upset and drawing obvious comparisons with their own experiences. I thought that was interesting and we should underscore that for people, Provence said.
Wendy Matsumura, an assistant professor of Japanese history, will be on a panel to discuss the Japanese internment camps of World War II and President Donald Trumps immigration ban. | (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune) (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)
He helped organize a discussion panel called From Japanese Internment to the Muslim Ban: History Forgotten & Remembered. He will appear on the panel with UC San Diego colleagues Wendy Matsumura and Simeon Man, both history professors, and Wael al-Delaimy, a family medicine and public health professor.
The event, free and open to the public, is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m in the multipurpose room of the universitys Student Services Center.
Low profiles
Matsumura is participating in the panel in part because her own family got caught up in the anti-Japanese fervor that gripped the country after Pearl Harbor.
Her grandfather was considered an influential member of the Japanese-American community in Hawaii because of his involvement with a Buddhist temple and a Japanese language school. He and his family, including Matsumuras father, who was 8 at the time, were sent to a camp. They eventually moved to Japan.
The lesson of the internment is that its possible for our government to enact these kinds of discriminatory orders in the name of national security or a national emergency, she said. Its important to remind people not to be swayed by these kinds of justifications because they have proven to be erroneous.
Matsumuras father never talked about his internment, beyond a visceral, lifelong distaste for chicken, which he associated with his time in the camp, she said. She found out about his incarceration after discovering among his papers documents related to the 1980s reparations.
That kind of silence was not uncommon. Himaka said one of the things he learned in the camp was to keep a low profile. We were labeled as the enemy, and I think that stuck with us, he said.
After he graduated from high school, the Korean War started and he enlisted in the Air Force. A lot of us did that, he said. It was a way to show our loyalty.
After his four years in the service he was a radioman on B-29s and KC-97 tankers he studied journalism at San Diego State University and worked as a reporter for the San Diego Union for 30 years. Married, he has two sons, one a school principal and the other a sheriffs deputy, and two grandsons. He tries not to dwell on what happened on this day in 1942, but sometimes, he said, its hard not to.
Like when a new president signs an executive order excluding certain people from the country.
I think what he (Trump) is trying to do is illegal, Himaka said. I agree with the courts. I wouldnt want to see anybody put in camps like we were just because theyre immigrants.
Hed rather remember what happened after the war. His parents, who came together from Japan to the U.S. in 1918 were barred by exclusionary laws from becoming American citizens until 1952, when the McCarran-Walter Act passed. Himakas father was too ill to go through the naturalization process, but his mother did.
He was in Louisiana, in the Air Force, when she called.
Now, she told her American-born son, I am your equal.
john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
The pervasive anxiety about a possible reworking of the North American Free Trade Agreement and talk by President Donald Trump of a tax can be gleaned from a recent post by John Nienstedt, president and CEO of Competitive Edge Research & Communication. He linked to a 2013 survey he did for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce that said, Nearly 43% of business conduct a little to a great deal of business with Mexico, marking a clear segment of the economy that could benefit from stronger ties with Mexico.
As for possible long-term difficulty for or reluctance by Mexicans to shop and do commerce north of the border, theres this: On Sunday, Feb. 5, the Union-Tribunes Deborah Sullivan Brennan reported, Merchants at some small stores on San Ysidro Boulevard said business dropped Sunday during a seven-hour boycott of shopping in San Diego by Tijuana residents.
San Diego weighs in on immigration, refugee ban, Trump
San Diego politicians at the local, state and federal levels have been knee-deep in issues swirling around Trump administration policies on immigration lately.
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The actions came in varying degrees of intensity and impact, as did the opposition to and support for what the president wants to do.
San Diegos proximity to the border and close relationship with northern Baja and the folks from there have long made federal immigration and international economic policies very local ones.
And while there werent the airport detentions here as there were in Los Angeles and New York during Trumps original, short-lived travel ban on refugees, its a matter felt here beyond the political pro-con arguments.
Our region has taken in more refugees than any other in California, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said this past week.
A street sign leading into Mexico at near the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro. (SANDY HUFFAKER / AFP/Getty Images)
That was part of a larger statement in reaction to the City Councils 8-1 vote to join a legal brief in the pending lawsuit against the refugee travel ban. He gave his familiar take on the importance for legal immigration to the regions culture and economy and the need for an immigration policy that keeps us safe without needlessly separating families and shutting our doors on innocent people seeking the American Dream.
But the Republican mayor didnt exactly give the council action boisterous support.
This executive order has a direct effect on San Diegans, and I believe it is appropriate in this case for our city to weigh in, he said.
Council members Chis Ward and David Alvarez, both Democrats, talked about how proud they were of the council action that they supported.
Ward noted that the City Council has said loud and clear that we will continue to fight for you.
Tony Krvaric, head of the local Republican Party, insisted the city had no business getting involved.
San Diego councilmembers should focus on what they were hired to do, which is maintain core city services and guard taxpayer dollars, he said in a statement. Frankly, with our streets crumbling and homeless population growing, its astonishing that they would waste precious resources wading into federal issues.
That was the view, though with a little more hot sauce, of Councilman Scott Sherman, who cast the lone no vote.
Trump subsequently decided not to appeal the ruling against his travel ban, thus saving those city resources, at least for now. Well see how everybody responds to his revised version.
Across town, the San Diego Unified School District, among others, has repeatedly stressed it will provide safe campuses for all students, regardless of immigration status, and pledged to oppose any intrusion by federal authorities whether seeking student records or making raids.
In a letter to parents on Tuesday, Superintendent Cindy Marten said the district will not permit immigration raids or other activities on campus that disturb the school setting.
In an earlier email to faculty, she said if Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears on your campus or facility, please refer them to school police.
In an interview with the Union-Tribunes Gary Warth, Marten made clear she was not suggesting a confrontation, but just wants to make sure both sides are following the law.
Meanwhile, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has said he will seek to block funding to sanctuary cities and college campuses.
Working in the opposite dimension, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, continues her legislative push to assist immigrants, whether here legally or not. Her latest move is to provide legal support for deported military veterans.
Trump may be a world-class narcissist, but ...
Few may be more qualified to discuss mental illness than Allen Frances of Coronado.
He was the chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine. Frances was the founding editor of the Journal of Personality Disorders and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice.
So when he talks about Fevered media speculation about Donald Trumps psychological motivations and psychiatric diagnosis and when mental health professionals disregard the usual ethical constraints against diagnosing public figures at a distance, its worth paying attention.
In a letter to the New York Times, Frances said this: Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled President Trump with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. Trump doesnt meet them. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesnt make him mentally ill, because he does not suffer from the distress and impairment required to diagnose mental disorder.
Tweet of the Week
Goes to MaryAnne Pintar (@mapintar), district chief of staff for Rep. Scott Peters.
Is it the weekend yet? You know, those two workdays between Friday and Monday?
When I was letters editor a few years ago, I occasionally would mix in with printed letters the online comments readers would post under stories on the Union-Tribunes website.
Current letters editor Andrew Kleske has gone further and will publish on some Saturdays in the Opinion section, a compilation of reader online comments on a variety of topics. We began Top Comments around the first of the year to introduce newspaper readers to the conversations going on in our online coverage, Kleske said.
At the time I was letters editor, the U-Ts commenting system used commenters full names. Today, under different ownership and with a different commenting system, the commenters can be anonymous. For example, in the compilation Kleske published Feb. 11 on B7, comments were attributed to John Oliver and Gale Anderson, but others were basically anonymous from SirVivor, satyr0 and hillcrester.
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The U-Ts commenting system is produced by a company called SolidOpinion. Commenters use Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and Gmail to set up their commenting accounts, and they create their own user names.
The anonymity prompted a reader to email last week and ask why comments may be published without proper names in the Opinion section, but letters must have full names and community of residence (and a phone number, which is not for publication.)
I posed the question to Kleske.
The intent of the column is to mirror the online conversation community, which by nature has a high degree of anonymity, he said. The commenters are essentially anonymous to the public, but SolidOpinion has their information, so there is at least that level of vetting and accountability.
Letters, he said, have traditionally appeared with a persons name and community of residence. Online is more like the Wild West out there, he added.
When a person signs up with SolidOpinion to log comments, they receive a join date. Kleske includes that date under the commenters name. For example, under the name hillcrester it reads Joined April 16, 2016.
Kleske said he believes there is some credibility if a person has been commenting for a number of months. The U-T, by the way, hires outside moderators to police comments for vulgarity and the like.
Kleske publishes in print the top comments, some of which the commenters elevate themselves.He notes at the top of the compilation that the comments are lightly edited.
Lightly edited means we do not take the same degree of care as it pertains to Associated Press style that we do with letters to the editor, and it means colloquial online terms often will be left as written to preserve the flavor of the online world. However, we still apply the same rules that comments must be factual and civil.
Readers catch
Eagle-eyed reader Annette Williams of Ramona spotted this mistake in a Back Story piece on the Grammy Awards that ran on A2 last Sunday. The story mentioned how the awards show can be a platform for social commentary. It mentioned that nominees Adele and Beyonce are staunch Democrats.
Can you spot the problem?
Adele is a British citizen, so she cant be a Democrat.
A correction ran Tuesday.
Delete that adjective
In this day of accusations of the mainstream media being liberal, Ive written about the importance of dispelling that perception by editing out words that some readers might infer as loaded. In most cases the words are adjectives.
Ron Montoya of Fallbrook called about the word wrenching he read in a news service report on British Academy Film Awards, which appeared in the People column on A2 Monday.
The sentence read: In keeping with an awards season that had coincided with a wrenching change of government in the United States, even La La Lands prizes came with a political tinge.
Montoya said he thought the word showed bias. I agree. Wrenching carries with it a sense of grief or anguish. While many might feel this way, many others do not. A better word could have been tumultuous or just strike the adjective all together that coincided with a change of government ... .
University graduates routinely show great emotion (spontaneous and sometimes scripted) as they stand in front of crowds to mark momentous occasions. Onlookers clap and cheer, hoot and holler, and then wait to see what the next student (or student body) will do.
But one UC San Diego students Mexican flag-waving exuberance has sparked a conversation thats transcended her brief moment Sunday.
Indira Esparza, a 22-year-old undocumented student who moved to the U.S. when she was 2, proudly unfurled the green, white and red flag of Mexico as she walked across the stage.
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Lyndsay Winkley, a reporter with The San Diego Union-Tribune, covered the graduation while U-T photographer John Gastaldo captured images. As colleges often do with media outlets at this time of year, UCSD had suggested we focus on Esparza for several reasons.
As Winkley wrote, she overcame financial insecurity, anxiety over losing family members to deportation and judgment from others because of her Mexican citizenship. She helped establish the Undocumented Student Services Center at the university so students like her could talk about their struggles. She wants to become an educator. And she refuses to waste any time beginning a masters program at UCSD; she started two days after the ceremony.
Winkley made the flag unfurling the lead of her story, which ran underneath Gastaldos image and with photos of other students.
Reaction to Esparzas demonstration was immediate -- and visceral. Read on then take our poll at the bottom of this post.
Winkley received nine emails and two phone calls about the story, well above her norm. When one reader called Esparzas action a slap in the face to the United States, Winkley replied: I dont think Indira meant any disrespect toward America/Americans nor was she trying to express ungratefulness by unfurling the flag of Mexico during her graduation. I think she is proud of her Mexican and her American heritages. While she plans to use her own experiences as an undocumented student to help others with similar struggles, I dont think that precludes her from being supportive of students from all walks of life in their pursuits of higher education. Thanks for your email.
Discussion continued with dozens of posts in the storys comment section.
The first comment on the story was U.S. Immigration System Isnt Broken Laws Are Simply Not Being Enforced. It got eight likes.
The second? Rude. I cant imagine living illegally in another country, and waving an American flag in peoples faces. Rude. Twelve likes.
Next? What a slap in the face of her hosts; the citizens of these United States of America. Twelve more likes.
Reader outreach editor Andrew Kleske received about 15 letters to the editor on the subject this week and shared some on Facebook, where hundreds of likes and 125 shares pushed his post into the most popular on utsandiego.com. Kleske said most of the letters expressed the sentiment that she should have appeared more grateful to this country than the one her parents left. The 15 letters received make this one of the top 10 issues readers have weighed in on this week. The letters were pointed and included these:
San Diegos Harry C. Clifford wrote: What I see is a lawbreaker who took advantage of resources and services originally intended for U.S. citizens and legal residents to obtain something she is not morally entitled to, and whose career ambition now appears to be to assist more like-minded lawbreakers. Worse yet, she insults us by wrapping herself with the flag of the nation that her parents supposedly fled, instead of the flag of the great nation that embraced her and made her education possible.
Carlsbads Deborah Bush wrote: Kudos to Indira Esparza for her commitment to helping others struggling with the challenges she faced. Its a shame she didnt proudly unfurl the flag of the United States, which afforded her this opportunity.
On Facebook, comments piled up quickly.
Victor Dominguez wrote: So is everyone pissed because a undocumented student graduated from UCSD and is now more educated than most of us ? Because if you are mad over her walking on stage with the Mexican flag please wake up. We live in the land of opportunity. Graduates wave flags during graduations all the time and nobody bats an eye.
His comment had 300 likes and 75 replies in about five hours.
Tien Thi Thanh Nguyen wrote: I feel she should be more proud to wave the flag of the country who gave her this opportunity.
Her comment had 220 likes and 37 replies, also in about five hours.
What do you think of the flag waving? Please weigh in below or on Twitter.
The annual siren test is an eerie fact of life in communities close to the San Onofre nuclear plant.
Wednesdays siren test could be the last.
Southern California Edison is preparing to dismantle the twin-reactor plant and says it would no longer use the sirens under a revised safety plan submitted to federal regulators in March. A response is expected early next year.
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Most of the possible dangerous scenarios at San Onofre are no longer possible now that fuel has been removed from the reactors and stored in reinforced cooling pools.
From 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, 50 sirens will sound from locations at Camp Pendleton, Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, nearby state parks and other areas of southern Orange County.
Each alarm lasts about three minutes. Advanced notice of the tests is distributed to businesses, schools and residents in the area.
The sirens sound a continuous, steady tone, making them noticeably different from those used by fire and police departments, Edison noted in a statement.
The sirens still could be used by local government officials to inform residents of a non-nuclear emergency, the utility noted.
San Onofre was retired last year in response to rapid deterioration of newly installed steam generators.
Apple Watch models have launched five months ago. Now, Apple experiences stock shortage for the 2017 collection.
Speculations note that Apple is currently preparing a new line of Apple Watch bands called Apple Watch Series 3. This is because the company stocks of Apple Watch were marked "Sold Out" five months after its release date. According to MacRumors, Apple Watch alongside with Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7 was launched last September, and now there are only limited stocks.
Meanwhile, if possible the said Apple Watch Series 3 is expected for later in 2017. On the other hand, the Apple Post released a complete list of Apple Watch Models that are already "Sold Out" before the planned hardware refresh this year.
Sold Out Apple Watch with Aluminum case are 38mm Silver Aluminum Case with Pearl Woven Nylon, 38mm and 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Woven Nylon and 38mm Gold Aluminum Case with Yellow/Light Gray Woven Nylon. Moreover, two Apple Watch with the same size of 42mm are included: 42mm Gold Aluminum Case with Toasted Coffee/Caramel Woven Nylon and 42mm Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Space Orange/Anthracite Woven Nylon.
Sold Out Apple Watch with Stainless Steel case are 38mm and 42mm Stainless Steel Case with Saddle Brown Classic Buckle and 38mm and 42mm Stainless Steel Case with Saddle Brown Classic Buckle. Additionally, 38mm Stainless Steel Case with Midnight Blue Modern Buckle (all band sizes), 42mm Stainless Steel Case with Midnight Blue Leather Loop (both band sizes), and 38mm Stainless Steel Case with Link Bracelet were also sold out.
Fortunately, there's a great possibility that the shortage will bring a blessing to the waiting fans. It is because, Quanta Computer, the manufacturer of Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 will continue to contract with Apple. With the two companies' partnership, enthusiasts can expect Apple Watch products in the next line of Apple wearable computers and gadgets.
FLORENCE, S.C. More than 100 Florence School District One bus drivers received tokens of appreciation from Monday through Thursday as part of Bus Driver Appreciation Week.
Its the time of the year that we give special recognition to our school bus drivers for the job that they do, and to let them know that we appreciate them, said Cindy Ward, transportation coordinator.
On Monday the drivers were treated to a breakfast. On Tuesday they were served hotdogs and chili. On Wednesday they attended a pancake breakfast and on Thursday they were celebrated at an ice cream social and a small ceremony.
Each driver received a few gifts, such as calendars and umbrellas, and several companies donated larger items for the drivers to win from a prize drawing, such as a television.
A lot of them do go over and beyond what their job description entails for them, Ward said. They do have a certain number of hours that they get, but just like any job, you work hard and you do your job the best you can. Youre always there when you need to be. Its good to have someone every once in a while show you a recognition of some sort to let you know we appreciate you. Its more than just a job to us.
Geraldine Poole
Geraldine Poole has been a bus driver for 26 years. Of those years, 19 have been driving for Florence One. For her, being a bus driver is way for her to be involved in her community and to interact with the students.
Its a challenge, Poole said. But its something that I look forward to each and every day. Every day brings about new challenges, but it brings about things that you get to learn about the students.
She pulls out of the transportation center at 5:40 a.m. and drives students until 8:30 a.m. She works her other position from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. At 3:15 p.m., she gets back on the bus and drives students until 6 p.m., or just after.
They become your family, because you see them more than you see your family, Poole said. Your heart goes out to them, because everybodys struggling with different things in life, but to be there to give that support to one another thats exciting and special for me.
Although she might not have much time to sit and talk with the students on the bus, Poole says, she can tell when somethings wrong, and they encourage each other as they go through things that are difficult.
The one thing I do demand of my students as well as myself I want them to respect me as well as I respect them, Poole said.
That respect goes a long way, Poole said. She has students who have graduated and still recognize her when they see her in town.
No matter where Im at or what Im doing, if a student has been one of mine that Ive driven for anything, they always recognize me, Poole said. Just to see them being successful really does my heart glad, because then they come back and tell me thank you, and its good to feel like youve been a part of their success, because while you were there with them, you always gave them that push.
Danny Miles
A typical day for Danny Miles starts at 5:30 a.m., when he goes to pick up the students. He arrives back at the center around 9:15 a.m. He takes a short break and makes vocational runs from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. He gets back on the bus at 1:15 p.m. and drives until 5:30 p.m.
Although hes only been driving for almost a year, Miles says he feels as if bus driving is his calling. He tries to be a role model for the students who ride on his bus.
I try to show them respect, and that way I get respect back, Miles said.
Creating relationships with the students on his bus has been an uplifting process for Miles.
I felt like I was sent here by God to help the students that are in so much trouble now, Miles said. The world is really upside down and in bad shape. These kids have got a hard life ahead of them, and Im glad Im not in their world right now. Every day Im riding, Im thinking on what I could say, what I could do to help them make that transition.
With the permission of his supervisor, Miles has an optional moment of silence each Monday morning for the kids who ride on his bus. Some students get off and go to school, while others stay on the bus for a few more moments.
I really think its necessary to do that at least one time a week, Miles said. Monday I posted my cell phone number up in three different places in the bus, and I told them if they had any comments, good or bad, about our Monday morning silent prayer, maybe theyll text me something. Maybe theyll be in need one day or caught in a corner. I mean, you dont ever know. It might not be but one student, and if I can help one, then I feel satisfied.
One of the other special things that Miles does on his bus is how he lets students exit. He says, Ladies, have a good day, and the ladies exit. Then he says, Gentlemen, have a good day, and they exit. Miles said this is to teach them from a young age how to be gentlemen, showing manners and respect.
Yolanda Hicks
Yolanda Hicks started driving a school bus 16 years ago, and she had the same route for the first 13 years. Before being a bus driver, she worked at three failed textile plants. When she thought of a job with security, she figured that education isnt going away any time soon, and students need to get to school one way or another.
We talk, laugh, joke around, Hicks said. Sometimes I bring them candy, or, even my high school kids, theyll be like, Hey, Ms. Yolanda, can I have a couple dollars for lunch? I just love kids.
Sometimes Hicks even calls the students on her bus her kids because of the relationships theyve made.
I drove over in east Florence for like 12 years, Hicks said. Its kind of rough, and thats what made me grow closer to them, because I know they were suffering for attention, and I know they had certain needs that they really needed. I tried to fill that gap that they were missing.
There are two significant challenges she faces in her job: the public ignoring the stop arm and the safety of kids who wait outside in the dark.
My biggest challenge and fear for them is the violation of that stop arm, Hicks said. A lot of them dont stop, and some of them do have to cross the road. Youve got to drill it in their heads. When my kids got to cross the highway, you got to train them to stop and let me motion them when to cross.
Hicks said some of the kids she picks up are at the bus stop when its still dark outside. She worries that kids dont get the proper rest they need, and the elements can affect their health. When its raining, she tells them to wait on the porch until she honks the horn for them to come out.
Talking to the kids, growing relationships with them and showing each other love and respect are what make Hicks love her job and her kids.
Press Release
February 18, 2017 Villar: Tomorrow remains bright for our distressed OFWs
Distributes sari-sari stores to help repatriated workers Sen. Cynthia A. Villar distributed on Thursday 'sari-sari' store packages to seven (7) overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were recently repatriated to the country following abuses by their foreign employers. Villar, who has been an avid OFW supporter and protector, expressed hope the livelihood packages would help the workers and their families get back on their feet and recover from the trauma caused by the abuses that they experienced while working abroad. 'They do not deserve the maltreatment that they were subjected to. They only wanted a better life for their families. No one has the right to take away their dreams of a better future for their loved ones, ' Villar said. Villar added: 'If life abroad has been cruel to them, I'd like them to feel today that life can be better here in our country, where their families are always present to share their ups and downs. These sari-sari store packages maybe minimal, but I hope that these would help them meet the daily requirements of living.' Aside from the packages, Villar likewise distributed financial assistance to Aiza S. Antonio, Valentina P. Lopez, Warren P. Nemenzo, Vergilio Ursaiz, Darazel Nicolas, Cheryl Caganda, and Jane A. Reyes. The seven OFWs recently returned to the country through the assistance of the Sagip OFW program of the Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance), with the support of Blas Ople Policy Center. Antonio is a household service worker from Las Pinas city who grabbed the chance to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is the breadwinner to her family of four - herself, her jobless husband and their 2 children, who are 7 and 4 years old. She left her employer after she was forced to immediately go back to work the minute she was discharged from the hospital, where she was confined due to severe weakness. She worked 17 hours a day and allowed to eat once a day only. Lopez, on the other hand, is from Tayabas, Quezon. She flew to Malaysia to work as a household service worker. She has two children, aged 5 and 3, and her husband works as a seasonal farmer. While abroad, she was overworked and maltreated at work. She fell sick while in Malaysia, was hospitalized and diagnosed with a heart disease. Aside from financial help, she also needs medical assistance for medical needs. Nemenzo, single, was a restaurant utility worker from Jeddah, KSA. Due to overwork and unsuitable working conditions, he got afflicted with a rare disease and left his foreign employer to return to his family in Gerona, Tarlac. On the other hand, Ursaiz was an OFW who also worked in Jeddah, KSA. He has 4 children, of which 3 are going to school. He was a victim of illegal recruitment. Nicolas is from Hagonoy, Bulacan. He worked at Khasmis, KSA as a domestic worker. He was maltreated by his employer for one year before he was able to seek help from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Ople center. Caganda is a single mother with 1 child from San Nicolas, Iriga City. She worked as a household service worker in Hongkong. Her family was a victim of the wrath of typhoon Nina. Caganda was a victim of illegal recruitment. After 5 months of working in Hongkong, she was hospitalized due to intestinal problem and was sent home by her employer. Finally, Reyes was from Sto. Tomas, Pasig city. She was a domestic helper in Jeddah, KSA. She survived her 2-year ordeal with her employer and was rescued by embassy people before she was repatriated to the country. She was maltreated and subjected to unfavorable working conditions. Her salary for 21 months was likewise unpaid. 'I want these 7 workers to continue dreaming. I want them to still believe that everything will be better, that their sufferings will end, that tomorrow, the sun will shine again. I want them to begin again, and I want to help them jumpstart their new beginnings,' Villar said.
Press Release
February 19, 2017 Villar urges DFA to save Jennifer Dalquez from UAE's death row Senator Cynthia Villar urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to step up its efforts to provide OFW Jennifer Dalquez the legal assistance necessary to obtain an acquittal in a death sentence case in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dalquez has been sentenced to death for killing her employer in December 7, 2014. The OFW's mother said her daughter was arrested after stabbing her employer who was attempting to rape her. "We cannot and should not allow the execution of yet another innocent OFW," Villar said, referring to the recent execution of OFW Jatakia Pawa, a domestic worker who maintained her innocence up to the very minute of her life. DFA sources expect that the UAE's Court of First Instance will issue a decision on Dalquez's case on February 27. The decision would either affirm or overturn the death sentence issued by a lower court. An affirmation of the sentence would lead to the transmittal of the case to UAE's highest court. Prior to her execution, the 44-year old Pawa maintained that she was innocent of the crime of murder considering that she had no motive to kill her employer's daughter and her DNA prints did not match the DNA found on the murder weapon. Her employer's daughter was 22 years old. Jatakia Pawa was executed on January 25, 2017 catching even the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment by surprise. According to the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the host government only gave them a notice of 18 hours prior to the execution. "Let us not repeat the same mistake of being caught by surprise, and failing to provide the family with timely and relevant information as seen in the case of Jatakia Pawa. The DFA must leave no stone unturned in providing quality legal assistance to Jennifer Dalquez," Villar said. The senator also thanked Taiwan's Supreme Court for commuting to life imprisonment the death sentence of two Filipinos convicted for murder. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Taiwan's representative to the Philippines, announced yesterday that clemency was granted to Nemencia Armia and Darwin Gorospe Sarmiento. Both Filipinos can be eligible for parole after serving a number of years in prison as required by Taiwan's law and if they would exhibit good behavior while under detention. Villar thanked Taiwan's Supreme Court for its decision to commute the death sentence in two separate cases involving Filipino nationals. She, however, stressed that it would be up to the two Filipino inmates to use that second opportunity to reform their lives and do good for their families and communities. "While we should never condone any form of crime, we must also be thankful to Taiwan and its Supreme Court for this humanitarian decision. Considering that there are 71 Filipinos on death row, it is good news that two lives have just been spared," the senator said.
With forecasters predicting heavy rains at the end of the weekend, some reservoirs around Northern California were inching toward capacity as dam managers worked frantically to maintain safe water levels, officials said.
Near the Oroville Dam, an evacuation advisory was still in place as residents in the area were told to be on alert in case the incoming storms set Lake Oroville rising again, said Capt. Dan Olson with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and acting spokesman on the spillway incident.
We just ask folks to have a little more heightened sense of whats going on, and if they stay ready then they dont have to get ready, Olson said of potential evacuations.
The inflow of water into the reservoir was about 36,700 cubic feet per second as of noon Saturday. The inflow had jumped over 20,000 cubic feet per second since midday Friday. The outflow over the spillway was just below 70,000 cubic feet per second.
The reservoirs level stood 45 feet lower than the level during the emergency on Feb. 12, when the overflow damaged the emergency auxiliary spillway forcing about 200,000 people to flee due to fears that the spillway could collapse.
Nearly 5 inches of rain is expected to soak Oroville, starting Sunday night and lasting through the week, said Brooke Bingaman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
This is a significant storm, and its a strong atmospheric river storm. We are seeing a lot of runoff whenever these storms come. Be ready for this thing, said Bill Rafch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
In Santa Clara County, the Anderson Dam was at capacity for the first time in nearly 11 years.
We are getting more (water) coming in still than whats coming out, said Marty Grimes, a spokesman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, adding that the water is about 6 inches over the top of the spillway and the incoming storm could bring more.
Despite the overflow, Grimes said the dam was inspected last year, and he doesnt anticipate any problems with the use of the spillway.
The Don Pedro Reservoir in the San Joaquin Valley may have to use its spillway as the Tuolumne River continues to rise dangerously close to the maximum.
As of 10 a.m. Saturday, the elevation of the reservoir was about 826 feet above sea level, about 3 feet below the spillway, said Herb Smart, a spokesman for the Turlock Irrigation District.
Should water levels continue to rise during the storm, Smart said the dam has three 45-foot-wide gates that will be opened to allow water to flow into the spillway.
The last time the spillway was used was in 1997.
Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Paul Chinn/The Chronicle
A man who apparently wandered onto Interstate 80 in Berkeley on Friday evening was struck and killed by a motorist, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The collision occurred shortly before 8 p.m. near the eastbound Gilman Street offramp, where the driver of a blue Hyundai struck a pedestrian who was standing or walking in the slow lane. Despite attempts to revive him by CHP personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Special to the Chronicle/Jim Sorensen
A one-word text by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to his top staffers likening Supervisor Aaron Peskin to the Gestapo for wanting the option of putting witnesses under oath when they testify before the boards Government and Audit Oversight Committee has Peskin in an uproar.
The legislation, which the supervisors narrowly voted down Tuesday, was a reaction to UC Berkeley structural engineering Professor Jack Moehles recent testimony under subpoena but not under oath about the tilting and sinking Millennium Tower, which Peskin is investigating.
Ranting. Raving. Unhinged.
President Trump predicted the media would use one of the two R-words to characterize his demeanor during his ahem wide-ranging news conference the other day. In fact, many commenters all but said he seemed bonkers.
Dont be fooled he didnt do a lick of damage with the people who put him in office. For more than an hour, he came off as willing to answer any and all questions. Confronted with his flat-out wrong statement that hed racked up the biggest Electoral College victory since Ronald Reagan, he just shrugged that someone gave him bad information. His ex-national security adviser didnt really do anything wrong he was simply done in by illegal leaks.
The nation was riveted. It was gospel to his base. But theres trouble brewing.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the panels Republican chairman, want the FBI and Justice Department to hand over transcripts of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynns postelection, pre-administration phone conversation with Russias ambassador to the U.S.
If the senators get ahold of them, everyone in Washington will be looking for whether Flynn used I or we when he talked about the sanctions that President Barack Obama had imposed on Russia for interfering during the presidential campaign and what exactly Flynn may have promised to Moscow.
If Flynn used I, it will be a one-day story.
But if it was we and if it was a hint, or something stronger, that the sanctions would be rolled back under Trump you can bet Congress will want to put him under oath and ask for names.
The Trump presidency may be a boon for Wall Street, but it has been pure hell for the businesses around Trump Tower in New York on Fifth Avenue between 55th and 56th streets.
You would think you were walking by the White House. There are barricades along the sidewalk and police cars parked bumper to bumper.
Tiffany and Co. and Dolce and Gabbana are just two of the high-end stores stuck behind the barricades.
It makes San Franciscos tear-up of Union Square for the Central Subway look like a pothole repair.
Security has become the new Hollywood status symbol, and the security was off the charts for this years pre-Grammys party hosted by music mogul Clive Davis at the Beverly Hills Hilton.
Guests had to pass through two metal detectors. Security was so tight that the stars bodyguards had to wait outside.
There was a host of new talents and rappers on hand, was well as the more senior stars like Quincy Jones and a still-stunning Jane Fonda. There was also a healthy San Francisco contingent, lead by Davis cousin, Jo Schuman Silver of Beach Blanket Babylon.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and husband Paul were on hand. The congresswoman, the designated politico of the night, gave a short speech about how the arts community needed to be as committed to correcting the situation in Washington as the rest of us are.
Nancy, being Nancy, didnt engage in any of the up yours rhetoric of a Lady Gaga or Madonna. But she got her point across.
The next day I went to Rodeo Drive and window-shopped for an hour or so. In all that time I did not see one person leave a store with a bag.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I went into a shop and chatted up the clerk.
I see a lot of people come in and go out, but I dont see anyone with a bag. Are people just not buying? I asked.
The clerk arched his eyebrows ever so slightly and said, Sir, where are you from?
San Francisco.
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.
Well here in Los Angeles, in Beverly Hills, on Rodeo Drive, you dont take your bag with you. Here, you have it sent to your home.
Ahh, life in La La Land.
Former Mayor Art Agnos was a true star at the Heroes and Hearts lunch for San Francisco General Hospital at AT&T Park.
The event was hosted by Judy Guggenheim and her group to honor the doctors and others who do such great work with patients. Agnos was the star pitchman for supporting the effort.
Afterward, everyone wanted to take a selfie with him.
These days panhandlers dont ask for money outright. They ask for help with a meal.
I finally asked one guy the other night just how much a meal costs.
He paused, thought about it for a bit, then said:
Depends. Is it a meal for me or a meal for you?
I gave him a five just for the quip.
Want to sound off? Email wbrown@sfchronicle.com
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Jan. 13: Record rainfall in the Feather River watershed leads the California Department of Water Resources to make reservoir releases from Lake Oroville of up to 10,000 cubic feet per second (cfs).
Jan. 31: Flows through the main spillway increase to more than 10,000 cfs as runoff into the river increases.
Feb. 7: Reservoir releases through the main spillway are increased to 54,500 cfs to offset higher inflows from rainfall. DWR discovers a large amount of debris coming out of the concrete-lined spillway and stops all releases to inspect the damage. Engineers discover a massive crater. Authorities decide to use the crippled spillway, but with reduced flows.
Feb. 11: The water elevation in Lake Oroville reaches 901 feet, its full capacity, leading water to flow over the emergency spillway for the first time in its nearly 50-year history.
Feb. 12: Erosion begins to progress up the right side of the emergency spillway. Fearing the ground will collapse underneath a concrete slab holding water in the reservoir, authorities order a mandatory evacuation of 188,000 people in towns downstream. DWR increases the primary spillway releases to 100,000 cfs to draw down the water level. Within hours, water stops flowing over the emergency spillway so experts can assess the erosion.
Feb. 13: Crews begin working around the clock to repair the eroded areas below the emergency spillway. Almost 200,000 people remain under evacuation order.
Feb. 14: Water levels in Lake Oroville continue to drop. Authorities lift the mandatory evacuation order, but ask residents to be prepared in case of another evacuation.
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.
Feb. 15: Dump trucks and helicopters for a second day drop thousands of tons of rocks and sandbags to shore up the emergency spillway. Lake Orovilles water level had dropped by 26 feet.
Feb. 16: Officials reduce the flow of water below 100,000 cfs for the first time since Sunday, allowing them to clear debris from the bottom and prepare to restart the dams hydroelectric power plant.
Feb. 18: Outflow was just below 70,000 cfs Saturday, while inflow rose to 36,700 cfs by midafternoon.
In case you turned off your computer and TV and crawled under the blankets all last week and, really, who can blame you? heres a quick recap of the news. Leaking like an old waterbed, the national security establishment claimed its first big casualty, national security adviser Michael Flynn. President Trump struck back by reaching new levels of weirdness at his Thursday news conference, telling the media pack that they were hateful and dishonest but, hey, its a great honor to be with you.
The least racist man youll ever meet then went on to ask an African American reporter to set up a meeting for him with the Congressional Black Caucus, because, well, shes black.
He then totally lost it with a reporter for an Orthodox Jewish publication, ordering him to sit down and be quiet, and saying that he was repulsed by his question about the recent rise of anti-Semitic incidents. Apparently Trump who, if you havent noticed, can be just a tad thin-skinned thought the yarmulke-wearing reporter was accusing him of vandalizing temples and Jewish community centers. Im the least anti-Semitic person that youve ever seen in your entire life, Trump berated the utterly bewildered reporter, who had just fawningly prefaced his question by praising the presidents credentials as a zayde, the grandfather of Jewish children.
Trumps news conference antics only fed the growing public perception that we are being led, or misled, by a mad king. Meanwhile, the war in Washington grew so heated that Julian Assange tweeted about the amazing battle for dominance between the elected US govt & the IC (intelligence community.)
Twitterdom is ringing with lunatic effusions, and not all of them are coming from the president himself.
The hubbub for a coup on the left and right grows louder by the day. William Kristol, a leader of the neoconservative anti-Trump pack, is among those who has tweeted his secret longing to be saved by Big Brother: Obviously strongly prefer normal democratic and constitutional politics. But if it comes to it, prefer the deep state to the Trump state.
If it comes to it. At least one spook, a former NSA analyst named John Schindler, thinks were at that point now. Schindler let loose a disturbing war cry last week, tweeting, Now we go nuclear. IC war going to new levels.
Schindlers crowd is convinced Trumps fate is sealed. He will die in jail, Schindler was told by a senior IC friend. Weirdly, Schindler who thinks Trump has sold out the country to the Russians is the national security correspondent for the New York Observer, the newspaper owned by Trump son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner. Maybe Trump is not such a beloved zayde in the Kushner household.
Even the New York Times, which in the past has dismissed all discussion of deep state plotting against U.S. democracy as the paranoid ravings of the conspiracy set, ran a long, sober feature on Friday exploring whether the United States is following the tumultuous path of countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan and seeing the rise of its own deep state.
The truth is that the deep state powerful officials in the national security world and their Wall Street and corporate allies have long had a contentious history with American democracy. The FBI, including high official Mark Felt (a.k.a. Deep Throat), and the CIA played key roles in the Watergate intrigue that finally brought down Richard Nixon. William Casey, President Ronald Reagans spymaster, helped engineer the October Surprise during the 1980 presidential campaign that sabotaged the Iran hostage release and ensured Jimmy Carters defeat. Some historians and investigators (including me) argue that CIA legend Allen Dulles played a central role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the crimes cover-up.
Democracy is an exquisitely fragile enterprise, a delicate eggshell in the rough-and-tumble of history, as I wrote in my book, The Devils Chessboard. Rule by the people must always contend with rule by elites who are much more organized, financed, ruthless and armed.
Whats odd about these increasingly odd times is that many engaged citizens, including progressives, are eagerly hoping for the overthrow of our elected government, if we can rid ourselves of the dangerously unhinged Trump. But a coup would mean the coup de grace for American democracy. Yes, the mad king would be gone. In the process, however, wed be empowering the most militaristic, secretive and sinister elements of our society.
I agree that saving America means bringing down Trump. But its a revived democracy that must be his downfall a newly invigorated media, judicial system and citizenry not the dark maneuvers of spies and generals.
As a journalist, I have no problem receiving Trump-damaging leaks from the deep state, if these leaks are thoroughly vetted and substantiated. Thats often the only way to find glimpses of the truth in secretive democracies like ours. There is a crack, a crack in everything thats how the light gets in, as Leonard Cohen sang.
But theres a big difference between taking advantage of the cracks in the national security establishment to shed light on the dark operations of power, and celebrating the deep state as our savior. Thats what some liberal commentators like Tim Weiner, a former New York Times reporter and author of books about the CIA and FBI were doing last week, going on the cable shows and getting all gooey about the strongmen in the shadows who will supposedly protect us. Weiner got so carried away at one point on The Rachel Maddow Show that he called the FBIs Machiavellian director, James Comey, and Sen. John McCain a man who has never seen a war he didnt like the only heroic watchmen standing in the way of the Trump abyss.
Wrong. My fellow Americans were democracys last line of defense.
San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email: dtalbot@sfchronicle.com
While President Trump flounders after a court defeat on a travel ban and the forced resignation of his national security adviser, plenty else is going his way. Using the eager help of Congress, hes rolling back rules and regulations across the board.
With both the White House and Congress in hand, supercharged Republicans have the votes to shred federal rules by presidential pen or majority vote. Environmental safeguards, financial regulations, labor laws and gun control are all getting trimmed. Its one of the most sweeping takedowns in years. Heres a look at several issues:
Environment
Coal firms no longer have to worry about surface mines polluting nearby streams. Rules preventing waterway debris are going away because theyve been deemed too costly. Get ready for dirty water and mountaintop leveling even though the fossil fuel is dropping in price and jobs have declined for years. The change is a political gesture to a fading industry.
Wall Street
After campaigning against Wall Street, Trump is going to bat for banks and investment houses with Congress help. Directly ahead are changes, begun by the president, to undercut the Dodd-Frank law, enacted in 2010 to fix flaws exposed by the mortgage meltdown catastrophe. Safety and stability are being ignored in favor of cutting Wall Street loose.
Separate from that initiative is another push to undo requirements on financial advisers, known as the fiduciary rule. They would no longer need to tell clients looking to invest nest eggs about their potential self-interest in suggesting investments.
Corruption
Oil companies, such as Secretary of State Rex Tillersons former company, Exxon, no longer need to report confidential payments to foreign governments for drilling rights. In a separate action, other firms would no longer be obliged to ensure their products dont contain high-value conflict minerals mined in war zones such as Congo. Both changes assuage industries that didnt want their shadowy activities exposed.
Labor
Federal contractors dont like a rule requiring them to list labor violations during the previous three years. A judge stopped the plan, but now Republicans want to junk it entirely. Bad behavior would go unnoticed when employers line up for major contracts.
Sanctions
Via the Treasury Department, Trump is loosening sanctions on Russia when it comes to the sale of cybersecurity technology. Though the president denies its an accommodation to Moscow, the move was welcomed by Russian officials. The Obama White House had imposed the sanctions in 2015 and stepped them up in December. Trumps decision came last month, just weeks before the explosive disclosures about links between his campaign and Russian intelligence.
Some of the changes can be achieved by Trump alone through his executive powers. For Congress, the easiest targets are changes adopted in the final months of the Obama administration. Many of those regulations can be spiked using the Congressional Review Act, an obscure law that allows Congress to block recently imposed rules.
Trumps enduring power stretches beyond his stumbles. Who he appoints to dozens of federal agencies will make an enormous difference. For example, the members of the Securities and Exchange Commission can soft-pedal financial-regulation enforcement. Likewise, the leadership of the Federal Communications Commission can water down net neutrality guarantees to put Internet traffic on an even footing. That commissions new chairman, Ajit Pai, is already moving to stop a subsidized broadband program for low-income consumers, claiming its flawed.
The Golden State has a golden opportunity if Sacramento and D.C. can work together. On two key infrastructure issues water and highways we have much to gain by working side-by-side to jump-start long overdue infrastructure projects throughout this state. Together, we have long worked to solve problems in the Central Valley on these very issues, and, with a new administration, we have new opportunities to take this progress statewide.
There is fundamental infrastructure in our state that is literally crumbling every day. While the Oroville Dam (built almost 50 years ago and containing the states second-largest reservoir) is the latest example, our states water infrastructure needs are widespread.
In the past several weeks, we have experienced huge amounts of snow and rain, which brought to light sobering realities. Decades of ignoring our infrastructure needs have caught up to us in an undeniable way. While important federal bipartisan changes were made late last year to help pump more water to communities that need it, this past month has demonstrated that our states infrastructure must be strengthened to take advantage of wet winters so we can to protect against future drought.
Our roads and bridges similarly fall short. Throughout the state, Californians are increasingly frustrated by worsening traffic congestion. In Los Angeles and the Bay Area, the average motorist loses 80 hours annually because of congestion, costing $1,700 in lost time and wasted fuel. Traffic congestion ranks as the top concern for Los Angeles County residents, which should not be a surprise for anyone who has driven on any of its major freeways.
While it is easy to take infrastructure issues for granted, fixing them is foundational for a thriving Central Valley economy, which feed and powers this state of 39 million residents.
As D.C. tackles our nations challenges including aging infrastructure we must pull from our experiences and feedback from our constituents to lay out our vision for a more integrated Golden State.
We should work to unwind the messy and unworkable high-speed rail project, and instead try to direct more funds to modernizing needed transit and infrastructure projects up and down the valley and the coast, in and out of downtown Los Angeles, and along Bay Area commuter corridors.
We should work together to improve incentives for more private-public partnership investment to repair and construct new transportation modes.
And we should look for ways to streamline projects, from conception to ribbon-cutting, so that we can honor the trust of patient but gridlocked commuters by completing projects on time and reducing cost overruns.
Our commitment is to work with our colleagues to bridge the gap between Sacramento and D.C. and capitalize on the opportunities before us. The consequences of the inability to engage beyond partisan rhetoric are dire, especially when more Californians believe their children will have a better shot of achieving the American Dream by leaving California. As elected officials, we must focus on governing. It is time to bring forth our best ideas in a constructive way in order to serve the people we represent and the state we call home.
Kevin McCarthy is the majority leader in the House of Representatives. V ince Fong is the chief Republican whip in the California State Assembly.
With congressional Republicans in the majority in Congress and unwilling to cross Donald Trump, the job of containing Trumps incipient tyranny falls to the three remaining centers of independent power: the nations courts, its press and a few state governments.
Which is why Trump is escalating attacks on all three, seeking to erode public confidence in them.
After federal Judge James Robart an appointee of George W. Bush stayed Trumps travel ban, Trump leveled a personal attack on this so-called judge and then tweeted: Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system.
While other presidents have publicly disagreed with court decisions, none before Trump has gone after individual judges with personal invective. None has tried to intimidate individual judges. None has questioned the legitimacy of the courts.
Trump is on the warpath against Robart and the courts because they defied him.
So has the press. And as with the courts, Trump has responded by seeking to undermine public confidence in the media. Speaking to the U.S. Central Command, Trump veered off his prepared remarks to make a remarkable claim: The media was intentionally covering up reports of terrorist attacks.
Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice, Trump told the assembled military officers. 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.
What could be the medias reason for covering up terrorist attacks? The only possible inference is that the press like the courts is imperiling our nation because it doesnt kowtow to Donald Trump.
State governments pose a third line of defense against Trump. Several state attorneys general have taken Trumps travel ban to court, and one particularly large Democratic state California has defied him on immigration and the environment.
So Trump is directing his ire against these states as well.
Trump is threatening to take federal dollars away from California. We give tremendous amounts of money to California. ... California in many ways is out of control. ... We may have to defund California. Certainly that would be a weapon, he told Fox News Bill OReilly.
Rubbish. The federal government doesnt give money to California, at least not net dollars. Californians send more tax dollars to the federal government each year than the state gets back.
Fiscally, California isnt out of control. Since 2013, the state has operated with a budget surplus. Thats more than can be said for the federal government. Or for Trumps own business, for that matter.
Trumps real beef is that California is independent of him. Its defying Trump with its high environmental standards and sanctuary cities.
Even worse, from his standpoint, its citizens voted against him in the 2016 election by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, preferring Hillary Clinton by about 3.5 million votes. He cant seem to get this out of his mind.
Trump repeatedly claims that millions of those votes were fraudulent. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer identifies California as one of the bigger states that merit a federal probe into election fraud, adding, Thats where I think were gonna look.
But Trump has zero evidence of voter fraud in California, or anywhere else for that matter.
For Trump, evidence is irrelevant. California needs to be taught a lesson as do the federal judges and the journalists who defy him. And what is that lesson? That if they dare cross Trump, hell make sure the public distrusts them.
The judiciary, the press and California are major centers of resistance to Trump because they are independent of him. So hes escalating his attacks on them.
Trump doesnt want any independence. He wants total control.
2017 Tribune Content Agency LLC
Some memories have a way of eating at your soul. They can pop into your head when you least expect it.
Sometimes they come in your dreams. Sometimes they come when you look into the eyes of your dog or cat.
For those who have faced death, often in combat, or for those who have faced tragedy and withdrawn into mind-bending loneliness, the love of a dog or cat can represent their best hope of something good. When that good is then shared through the outdoor experience, often out hiking and camping, a barrier is broken and that hope is fulfilled.
For those recovering from trauma, a service dog is a certified working dog that is with you 24 hours a day. These dogs show how a dog or cat can help anyone. Your dog, with you out on the trail, can provide emotional support and even therapy, and open the door to better times ahead.
State and national parks, such as Yosemite, where dogs are banned from all trails, make an exception for service dogs wearing their designated vests. Service dogs have become vital for many returning from military duty, or others who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder.
If you have PTSD, depression or feelings of hopelessness, a dog on the trail or cat on your lap can help bring you back to the good things in the world.
For centuries, this has been intuitive for pet owners.
Back when little was known about PTSD, I put all my faith and hope into this young mutt, mainly black, that nobody wanted. At the time all I had was an old pickup truck, fishing rod and a typewriter, and we hit the road. For 17 years, Rebel and I hiked 15,000 miles, camped everywhere, and went to about every lake in California. He had his own spot at the front of my canoe and, in time, his own sleeping bag.
You see, to pay my way through college, I had to take a job at a gas station on the Peninsula. One summer night, a multi-convicted felon let out of prison tried to kill me and rob the place. At 10:03 p.m., he swung a hatchet and split the back of my head open. I was bleeding out on the floor, but the paramedics arrived in time and saved me.
After I got out of Stanford Hospital, it wasnt long before I realized the injury had tweaked my brain. A year later, and then again 10 years later, doctors confirmed it with neuroimaging scans.
One thing that changed is that I felt like I was living in the wrong time period that is, I belonged in the 1830s, out in the wilderness, like with Joe Walker.
As I tried to re-enter lifes paths, I was a misfit in every social situation. Yet in the wilderness with Rebel, all felt right with the world. One night at a campfire, I discovered that my best friend, Jeff Patty, had almost died in a car accident and that he too often felt like a square peg. He found peace in the wild with his dog. I had Rebel. He had Sam.
Over the years, I often talked to Rebel as if he was a person, and when he went deaf at 15, he would read my mouth and respond to that. When I saw the movie Castaway, I realized I was just like Tom Hanks talking to his volleyball, Wilson. Without realizing it, Rebel was my 24-hour-a-day service dog, my bridge out of the darkness.
Every morning, while I wrote about the places wed been, Rebel would sleep on my feet. When I moved to put my boots on, hed wake up and know something good was about to come, and off wed go.
One year, we spent over 200 nights at camps. I had showed up in his life just in time to save him from the needle of death. He showed up just in time to save me from a bottomless abyss.
Last week, as it turned out, we were out there again. Rebel ran free as we trekked across the coastal hills south of Pescadero. Over the years, we walked every acre in 200 square miles of private farmlands, valleys and ridges where the landowners gave me permission to explore.
On crystal days, from the west slope of the ridge there, you can gaze across the ocean and it feels as though you can see the curvature of Earth on the horizon. You can put your arms out, palms up, and it feels like all the good things in the world are within your grasp.
There was scarcely a breath of wind and the cool air tasted clean, touched with the scent of chaparral washed fresh by winter rains.
I went to a knee and Rebel came trotting up and took a seat. I ran my palm over his head and he leaned up and nuzzled his wet nose on my cheek, then gave it a lick.
I awoke right then and I realized it was a dream, so vivid that it seemed as real as the day we were out there together.
Rebel, gone for more than 20 years, visited three times last week. At times, my other dog friends, Bart, Buddy and Pooch, all now chasing that big bone in the sky, will join in. They appear as living spirits reaching out to me.
Perhaps they are a symbol of some of the best the outdoors can offer, the most pure love you can feel, and for those who love a pet, a safe place that is always waiting for you.
In recent years, Ive come to know many veterans, wounded inside and out, who have service dogs or pets to help them through PTSD.
Theres a family friend, Tara, who served in Iraq, whom I hiked with this winter, and her service dog, Sophie. Theres my brother, Bob, silent for 40 years about his time as a medic and radio man in front-line combat in Vietnam, who appears best soothed when his cat is purring on his lap. And theres my nephew, Gary, who lost his legs when a roadside bomb in Afghanistan exploded beneath the truck he was driving.
PTSD trauma is the result of emotional stress from a severe injury or shock. When exposed to certain trigger points, the individual can relive the near-death experience. Many then withdraw, alone. Its a dark place, but it feels safe.
For those trying to find their way, a dog with you on the trail, a cat in your lap at home, can help provide a gateway to better days ahead.
Tom Stienstra is The Chronicles outdoors writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom
President Trumps first month in office has been long on tweeted threats and broad promises of changes to come, but short of real action. For California, that might be a good thing.
For the 70-year-old businessman turned politician, its been a brusque introduction to the reality of government, where nothing is as simple as it seems and everything takes longer than expected. And that has to be especially frustrating for Trump, who won a shocking and unexpected victory in November as a can-do outsider who promised to instantly change the climate in the nations capitol.
We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital and in every hall of power, Trump said in his Jan. 20 inaugural address. From this day forward a new vision will govern our land.
But since that day, the president has seen his plans for changes in such things as immigration policy, health care, budget priorities and business regulations stalled by the courts, Congress and the inevitable inertia that slows any and all efforts to radically redirect the path of a country of 325 million people.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Theres been a lot of sizzle, but not a lot of steak, said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. Moving government forward is a much heavier lift than making promises in a campaign.
That gap between promises and practices is happy news for California and San Francisco, both Trump targets during his campaign and in the early days of his presidency.
He has slammed San Francisco for designating itself a sanctuary city and refusing in many cases to cooperate with federal immigration officials. In a Fox News interview this month, he threatened to cut off federal money to California if it declares itself a sanctuary state and a haven for people living in the U.S. illegally.
If we have to, well defund, Trump said. We give tremendous amounts of money to California.
Then there was the presidents angry tweet after violent protests at UC Berkeley earlier this month forced police to cancel a speech by rightwing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos:
If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view NO FEDERAL FUNDS?
A Jan. 25 executive order stated that sanctuary cities like San Francisco have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic, and said that the attorney general could cut federal grants to sanctuary cities.
But government money is still flowing into the city, the state and the university system, and theres been no move to cut it off.
Theres no guarantee that will last, said Tony Quinn, a former GOP redistricting expert and political analyst.
At some point, (the Trump administration) is going to get their sea legs and do what theyve promised to do, he said. And a lot of California politicians arent going to like it.
San Francisco already is getting ready for that day, talking about what federal money is vulnerable and how to shelter both people and programs that could be in jeopardy.
Based on the political rhetoric during the campaign, San Francisco began preparing for potential actions by the incoming administration the day after the election, Ellen Canale, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Lee, said in a statement. Weve explored legal options and in turn filed a lawsuit against the federal government that will protect our sanctuary city status.
Lee has also allocated $4.5 million over the next year and half to nonprofit groups to defend roughly 35,000 immigrants facing deportation proceedings.
But Gov. Jerry Brown, for one, is eager to postpone that day of reckoning for as long as possible. While hes defiantly pledged to battle Trump on issues like immigration, health care and climate change, hes also argued that theres room to cooperate.
He backed Trumps call for new spending on infrastructure, saying in his Jan. 24 State of the State address that, We have roads and tunnels and railroads and even a dam the president could help us with.
And when Trump mentioned in a meeting with airline executives this month that the country doesnt have one high-speed train, Brown was quick to tweet, Californias ready.
Brown has put himself in a place to at least talk to Trump, about Californias concerns, Quinn said, clearing the way for cooperation on things like the swift approval of the disaster declaration for Oroville Dam last week.
But transportation is where the one dig from the administration has come so far: On Friday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao put $647 million for Caltrain to go electric on hold, likely at the request of California GOP congressmen. That means high-speed rail wont be coming to San Francisco anytime soon.
Its not an unusual situation for a new president to have early troubles, especially one coming from outside the traditional Washington orbit. Bill Clinton, for example, had plenty of political experience as governor of Arkansas, but struggled for better than a year as president, battling unsuccessfully for health care reform.
And while Barack Obama quickly moved a nearly $1 trillion financial stimulus bill through a Democrat-controlled Congress during his early days in office in 2009, he had the dubious advantage of a country so deep in recession that even his GOP opponents realized something had to be done.
But even Obama, with only a few years in the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Senate, had experience with the daily frustrations of government. Thats something Trump lacks.
For Trump, theres a feeling that because he says something, its going to happen, said Rafael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. He tends to make pronouncements ... he relies on the spoken word and Twitter, and weve never seen that before.
But that talk doesnt always lead to action.
On Jan. 25, for example, Trump tweeted that he would be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD.
The tweet sparked plenty of discussion, both inside and outside the White House, about what Trump has called the millions of illegal Hillary Clinton voters he says cost him the popular vote, despite a total lack of evidence that those illegal voters exist. But what it hasnt brought about, at least not yet, is any actual investigation.
Trump has also vowed to use executive orders to quickly move his plans into practice. It hasnt always worked out that way.
His most visible effort was a Jan. 27 order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The hastily announced ban originally included green-card holders from those countries and people who already had received visas, splitting families and causing chaos at U.S. airports.
Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
A federal court stayed the order, and Trump said in a news conference last week that a new and revised order is in the works.
While some of Trumps orders worked as planned, such as one setting new restrictions for government officials becoming lobbyists after leaving government service, another withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and one speeding environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects, most have been little more than wish lists for future action.
Because only Congress can reverse Obamas Affordable Care Act, Trumps executive order could only say that his administration would seek prompt repeal of the law, and order some bureaucratic changes to make the repeal easier.
A wall on the Mexican border was a key Trump campaign promise, but his executive order could only call for federal funding of the wall, since Congress has to appropriate the money.
Trump is rapidly learning that while a president has a tremendous amount of power, the government was specifically designed to place limits on that strength.
For any new president, its a challenge to go from campaigning to governing, Sonenshein said. In the campaign, you can say what youre going to do, but now you have a government based on actual policies needed to make that happen.
Early scandals like the questions about Russian influence that forced National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to resign last week and the battle with the courts over the immigration ban also have forced Trump and his team to spend less time on long-term plans and more on dealing with more immediate concerns.
When youre fighting fires, you cant pay attention to both your message and the fires, said McCuan of Sonoma State.
John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
Trumps trials
Health Care
What Trump wants: repeal and replace
Obamacare
Where it stands: in Congress
Problems: Conservative House members want it repealed immediately and replaced later, but others are more cautious, with California Rep. Tom McClintock warning that whatever Republicans come up with will be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and well be judged in the election less than two years away. Trump said he expects a health care plan to be submitted to Congress in March.
Immigration
What Trump wants: tougher immigration rules
Where it stands: in the courts
Problems: Trump has complained that his short-lived travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries was the victim of a bad court. But at his press conference Thursday Trump said he now plans to put out a new executive order this week.
Tax Reform
What Trump wants: lower taxes for all
Where it stands: being written
Problems: Details, details, details. Trump wants a major cut in corporate tax rates and to trim taxes for individuals and end the estate tax. But what will replace that revenue? GOP Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for a border adjustment tax on imports, but plenty of Republican political leaders are opposed. While Trump says the White House is deep in the midst of negotiations on a very historic tax reform to bring our jobs back ... Big league, its anything but a done deal.
Sanctuary cities
What Trump wants: to end them
Where it stands: executive order signed
Problem: Trump has said theres no place in the country for cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials when it comes to holding jailed people living in the U.S. illegally until they can be deported. The executive order allows the government to cut off at least some federal funds to those cities. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have vowed not to cooperate with the new rules, and so far Trump hasnt moved to cut off funds to any of the cities.
John Wildermuth
Nearly 40 years ago, when San Franciscos struggling Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood was losing yet another business to hard times in this case, a grocery store one attorney had seen enough.
Angela Glover Blackwell, an early believer in the need for fresh foods in the inner city, petitioned the governors office to intervene and make sure the community maintained a full-service grocery. The alternative was letting residents shop at liquor stores and gas stations.
The petition didnt go as planned a new store didnt open. But the case marked the dawning of Blackwells long and distinguished career in social justice, which most recently had her working with the Obama administration to bring grocery stores to underserved cities nationwide.
I think the last 10 years have been my best, said Blackwell, now 71, as she sat in her window office on a recent weekday at PolicyLink, the Oakland research and advocacy group she founded 18 years ago. We need to keep working to make sure were creating opportunities.
From her desk, which sits beneath pictures and posters that sound rallying cries such as Equity and Protect Oakland renters, Blackwell oversees a staff of 70 public policy experts and attorneys in California, Washington, D.C., and New York. Her organization partners with communities all over the country to help disadvantaged people, often minorities.
The effort, which not only involves healthy food but issues ranging from housing to transportation to education, earned Blackwell a nomination for the 2017 Visionary of the Year award sponsored by The Chronicle and the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Marys College.
With shifting demographics, the big story is that the majority is becoming people of color, she said. The fate of our nation will depend on what happens to people of color.
Among her organizations recent work is helping implement the federal governments Sustainable Communities Initiative. The program assists with planning in depressed neighborhoods; for example, making sure residents have basics like public transit and Internet.
PolicyLink is also helping with business development in poorer parts of Detroit, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Its also aiding in the creation of community art projects from Alaska to Mississippi.
We cross all the issue areas and all the work domains, said Blackwell, as she clutched a copy of The Equity Manifesto, PolicyLinks call to action that takes its employees to wherever they might find inequality.
While Blackwell frequently travels in the pursuit of social justice, as well for speaking engagements and fundraising, sometimes the need is right in her backyard.
PolicyLink recently helped create Oaklands affordable housing strategy, a work in progress designed to protect 17,000 city households from being pushed out of town by rising real estate prices and to create 17,000 new homes over eight years.
Theyve been a critical partner to me as mayor, said Oaklands Libby Schaaf, noting that Blackwell was a source of inspiration for her long before the two got to know each other and exchange cell phone numbers.
As a young college student, I saw her speak at a League of Women Voters event, and its really the first time I felt inspired to get involved with local politics, Schaaf said. I remember almost feeling drawn, like youd be drawn to a minister.
Blackwell lives near Oaklands Lake Merritt in a house shes been in for four decades. She is married with two grown children, and three grandchildren, all of whom live locally. Trying to make time for work and family her husband is an orthopedic surgeon is tough, she said, but she manages, eating out a lot and waking up early to go to the gym.
Blackwell grew up in St. Louis, where her neighborhood was anything but the neglected communities she advocates for today. It was an economically diverse area with good schools, parks and a healthy mix of businesses, she said, though as she got older she saw it slide.
Rather than walking to a grocery store, or driving, we were driving farther and farther into the suburbs, she said.
Blackwell got her bachelors degree at Washington, D.C.s Howard University before going to law school at UC Berkeley.
Before PolicyLink, she worked as a senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, overseeing the organizations cultural activities. Before that, her career had a number of chapters, including 11 years practicing law at the nonprofit firm Public Advocates in San Francisco.
It was during her time there, in 1979, that she fought unsuccessfully for a grocery store in the Bayview, though her effort prompted Gov. Jerry Brown, during his first time around in the office, to form a commission to explore the problem of food deserts. The state Department of Agriculture followed up with money to support farmers markets in communities that lacked fresh food.
As chief executive officer at PolicyLink, Blackwells push for fresh foods continued when she helped the Obama administration launch the federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which today provides funding for groceries and markets in low-income areas.
While she worries that government assistance programs may take a hit under President Trump, she tries to remain optimistic.
Its too early to say theres going to be no opportunities, she said.
This winter, Blackwell authored an essay called the The Curb-Cut Effect in Stanford Social Innovation Review about how assisting one group, say the disabled, benefits everyone. She hopes Trumps moves to help red state voters who supported him out of economic concerns will also help those suffering in poor, urban areas.
The good news, she said, is that the economic inclusive agenda that will reach people who are white, rural and working class is the same economic inclusive agenda that will reach people of color.
Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
Visionary of the Year award
This is one of six profiles of nominees for The Chronicles third annual Visionary of the Year award, which is presented in collaboration with St. Marys Colleges School of Economics and Business Administration. The honor salutes leaders who strive to make the world a better place and drive social and economic change by employing new, innovative business models and practices. The six finalists were nominated by a distinguished committee that included Chase Adam, co-founder of the nonprofit Watsi and winner of the 2016 award; Greg Becker, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank; Emmett Carson, founding CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Ron Conway, angel investor and philanthropist; Zhan Li, dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Mary's College; Libby Schaaf, mayor of Oakland; Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker; and Michael Walker, executive vice president and regional executive of City National Bank.
Chronicle Publisher Jeff Johnson, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper and Editorial Page Editor John Diaz will select the winner, which will be announced during a March 30 event.
To read more: www.sfchronicle.com/visionsf
Ron Chapple/Getty Image
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Oakland late Saturday night, police said.
Phitsanu Mumcy, 31, of Pittsburg was on the 8700 block of International Boulevard just after 11 p.m. when he collided with a truck.
Those looking for an excuse to raise money for charity and show off their undies were in luck on Saturday afternoon.
The annual Cupid's Undie Run took off from the Embarcadero, as scantily clad participants ran a mile to raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation.
Omar Abdel-Rahman, the man known as the Blind Sheik convicted of plotting terror attacks in the United States in the 1990s, died Saturday in a federal prison where he was serving a life sentence. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman died after suffering from diabetes and coronary artery disease, said Kenneth McKoy at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, N.C. The inmate had been at the complex for seven years.
The clerics daughter, Asmaa, announced the death in a series of Arabic-language tweets: We are saddened by your departure, father, she wrote.
Abdel-Rahman was a key spiritual leader for a generation of Islamic militants and became a symbol for radicals during two decades in American prisons. Blind since infancy from diabetes, Abdel-Rahman was the leader of one of Egypts most feared militant groups, the Gamaa Islamiya, which led a campaign of violence aimed at bringing down ex-President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel-Rahman fled Egypt to the U.S. in 1990 and began teaching in a New Jersey mosque. A circle of his followers were convicted in the Feb. 26, 1993, truck bombing of New Yorks World Trade Center that killed six people eight years before al Qaedas suicide plane hijackers brought the towers down.
Later in 1993, Abdel-Rahman was arrested by authorities who accused him and others of conspiring to wage a string of bombings against the United Nations and other New York landmarks, including the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.
Abdel-Rahmans activities pre-dated Osama bin Ladens formation of al Qaeda in the late 1990s. But he was an influential figure in the generation of Islamic extremists that emerged from Egypt over the past two decades.
While Abdel-Rahman was the spiritual leader of Gamaa Islamiya, his longtime associate from Egyptian militant circles, Ayman al-Zawahri, was a leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group, whose experienced fighters he later allied with bin Ladens riches to form al Qaeda. Al-Zawahri is now leader of al Qaeda.
The two groups shared an ideology rejecting the governments of Egypt and other Arab countries as infidels that must be brought down by force.
Brian Melley and Lee Keath are Associated Press writers.
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Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport immigrants living illegally inside the United States and at the border.
In a pair of memos, Kelly offered more detail on plans for the agency to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests.
The new directives would supersede nearly all of those issued under previous administrations, Kelly said, including measures from President Obama aimed at focusing deportations exclusively on hardened criminals and those with terrorist ties.
The surge of immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States, Kelly stated in the guidelines. He cited a surge of 10,000 to 15,000 additional apprehensions per month at the southern U.S. border between 2015 and 2016.
In a series of executive actions in January, President Trump announced plans to make good on his campaign promises to build a wall on the border with Mexico and to ramp up enforcement actions against the nations estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants. Kellys memos, which have not been released publicly, are intended as an implementation blueprint for the Department of Homeland Security to pursue Trumps goals.
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, was sworn in to oversee the department hours after Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20. His memos are copied to officials at Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman declined to comment on the documents but did not dispute their authenticity.
More for you Some California teachers mock students for skipping school on immigrant boycott day
A White House official said the memos were drafts and that they are under review by the White House Counsels Office, which is seeking some changes. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to offer specifics.
The memos do not include measures to activate National Guard troops to help apprehend immigrants in 11 states that had been included in a draft document leaked to reporters Friday. Department fficials said Kelly, whose signature did not appear on the draft document, had never approved such plans.
Immigrant rights advocates said the two memos signed by Kelly mark a major shift in U.S. immigration policies by dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement operations.
The new procedures would allow authorities to seek expedited deportation proceedings, currently limited to immigrants who have been in the country illegally for two weeks or less, to anyone who has been in the country for up to two years.
Another new provision would be to immediately return Mexican immigrants who are apprehended at the border back home pending the outcomes of their hearings, rather than house them on U.S. property, an effort that would save detention space and other resources.
The guidelines also aim to deter the arrival of a growing wave of 155,000 unaccompanied minors that have come from Mexico and Central America over the past three years. Under the new policies, their parents in the United States could be prosecuted if they are found to have paid smugglers to bring the children across the border.
Joanne Lin of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that due process, human decency, and common sense are treated as inconvenient obstacles on the path to mass deportation.
The memos leave in place an important directive from the Obama administration: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that has provided work permits to more than 750,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children.
David Nakamura is a Washington Post writer.
James Nichols, a farmer who was arrested as an accomplice but was soon released after his brother Terry helped Timothy McVeigh detonate a truck bomb that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995, died Tuesday in Saginaw, Mich. He was 62.
His death was confirmed on the website of Kranz Funeral Home, which handled his funeral arrangements.
On the morning of April 19, 1995, McVeigh, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, detonated a powerful bomb in a rented truck at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The bombing was the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.
McVeigh was arrested shortly after the bombing, and Terry Nichols turned himself in to police two days later. McVeigh had spent time with the Nichols brothers on Mr. Nichols farm in the tiny community of Decker, Mich., and he listed Mr. Nichols as his next of kin when he was arrested.
Federal agents scoured Mr. Nichols farm and found firearms and large quantities of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, similar to the kind McVeigh had used to build the Oklahoma City bomb. Mr. Nichols was detained as a material witness.
Depending on who described him, Mr. Nichols was either a kind, dependable neighbor or an antiauthority extremist. He openly held radical antigovernment views, which he expressed so vehemently that in 1995 the Michigan Militia ejected him and his brother from a meeting for hyperbolic language.
In 1992, Mr. Nichols was briefly jailed after refusing to pay child support, telling the judge that he did not recognize the courts authority.
Despite his outspokenness, Mr. Nichols was well liked in Decker.
James Nichols is a very moral, very sincere, absolutely honest person, a resident of Decker said on the ABC News program Nightline shortly after Mr. Nichols was arrested.
Informants told authorities that Mr. Nichols, his brother and McVeigh had detonated small bombs on the farm in years past. Mr. Nichols was held on conspiracy charges based on the allegations of their earlier experiments with explosives, but he was not charged with any crime directly related to the Oklahoma City bombing.
He was nevertheless jailed for more than a month, in the middle of the planting season. His neighbors saw to his farm.
After his release in May 1995, he was allowed to work his farm but kept under surveillance and was ordered to follow a curfew. That August, a federal judge dropped the charges against him for lack of evidence.
McVeigh and Terry Nichols were convicted in federal court. McVeigh was executed in 2001. Terry Nichols faced the death penalty but received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
James Douglas Nichols was born on April 3, 1954, in Lapeer, Mich., to Robert and Joyce Nichols. He graduated from Lapeer High School and moved to the Decker area in 1975.
In addition to his brother, his survivors include his father and mother; a son, Chase; his partner, Evelyn Durst; and a grandson.
Daniel E. Slotnik is a New York Times writer.
1 Launch scrubbed: Last-minute rocket trouble forced SpaceX to delay its inaugural launch Saturday from NASAs historic moon pad at Cape Canaveral. SpaceX halted the countdown with just 13 seconds remaining. The next launch attempt provided the second-stage steering issue can be fixed quickly would be Sunday morning. The Falcon remains at Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39A, waiting to soar on a delivery mission to the International Space Station. Its the same pad where Americans flew to the moon almost a half century ago.
2 Refinery blast: An explosion and fire erupted Saturday at an oil refinery in Torrance (Los Angeles County), exactly two years after a blast that crippled the plant and led to higher gasoline prices, authorities said. No injuries were reported from the Torrance Refining Co., and there were no evacuations or damage to any buildings outside the refinery, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Treskes said. Firefighters battled flames that rose 40 feet in the air, and the blaze was knocked down in about 30 minutes, Treskes said. There was no immediate word on damage or the cause of the blast. However, most of the refinery continued to operate.
President Trump has turned his wrath on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, charging that the court that blocked his travel ban is in chaos and frankly, in turmoil.
He offered no evidence, and neither has anyone else.
The Ninth Circuit is as well organized as any court in the country, said Arthur Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor and an expert on the San Francisco court, whose legal staff he once headed.
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor in Virginia, said the Ninth Circuit may be the best-run appeals court in the country, citing its management of a huge docket and its openness to the public. It was the first circuit court to show major hearings on live-stream video.
Those views are not shared by Republican lawmakers who have tried for decades to break up the nations largest federal appeals court, and one of its most liberal. Trump didnt mention that issue at his news conference Thursday, but Tobias said the presidents attack he also called it a bad court promises to reignite the Ninth Circuit split issue.
The circuit oversees federal trial courts in California and eight other Western states. Its average time for issuing decisions is longer than most other courts, due at least in part to a shortage of judges. With a majority of Democratic appointees since the late 1970s, when Congress authorized new judgeships for President Jimmy Carter, its rulings have consistently had one of the highest rates of reversal by the more-conservative Supreme Court.
That rate isnt nearly as high, however, as Trump claimed Thursday, when he also denounced the courts Feb. 9 ruling that left his travel ban in limbo. He said he would propose a new version of his executive order shortly that should satisfy the courts objections.
It was a bad decision we received from a circuit that has been overturned at a record number, the president said. I have heard 80 percent. I find that hard to believe.
Its true that the Supreme Court overturned nearly 80 percent of the Ninth Circuit cases it chose to review between 2010 and 2015, the third-highest reversal rate of any appeals court. But the high court grants review of only a small fraction of the rulings issued by lower courts less than a tenth of 1 percent of the Ninth Circuits decisions in a recent 12-month period and it reverses most of the rulings it takes up from federal courts nationwide.
The Ninth Circuit now has 25 active judges 18 Democratic appointees and seven Republicans and four vacancies for Trump to fill. Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain, both Arizona Republicans, have introduced legislation that would transfer six states Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Alaska into a new appeals court, leaving only the deep-blue states of California, Oregon and Hawaii in the Ninth Circuit.
Opponents of court-splitting bills have fended them off in the past, with bipartisan assistance from most of the courts judges.
Theres no rational way to split it with California in the circuit, Alex Kozinski, a 1985 appointee of President Ronald Reagan who served as the courts chief judge from 2007 through 2014, said Friday.
There are economies of scale by having a large circuit, he said, and the court could decide cases faster if it had more judges. Kozinski also said he is unaware of any chaos or turmoil on the court.
Trump didnt specify the turbulence the Ninth Circuit was undergoing. But the focus of his complaint is the courts refusal to reinstate his Jan. 27 executive order that had briefly halted all U.S. admissions from seven nations, and admission of refugees from all nations.
In earlier Twitter postings, the president had referred to the Republican-appointed federal judge who blocked his order on Feb. 3 as a so-called judge, then bemoaned the political proceedings before a three-judge appeals court panel two Democratic appointees and one Republican before they unanimously ruled against him.
Such broadsides undermine judicial independence, said Stanford Law Professor Deborah Rhode, who specializes in legal ethics and directs the schools Center on the Legal Profession.
To repeatedly trash them for decisions he doesnt like, I think erodes the credibility of the institution and erodes his own credibility, she said.
But conservative scholar John Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University in Orange County, said Trump had good reason to condemn the Ninth Circuit ruling. Eastman said the court had ignored a 1952 federal law that requires judges to defer to a presidents decision that a particular category of foreigners is dangerous or harmful to U.S. interests.
The ruling, Eastman said, was an act of judicial nullification of a perfectly valid executive order.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
True or false
Trump: The Ninth Circuits decisions have been overturned at a record number. ... I have heard 80 percent.
Facts: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 80 percent of the Ninth Circuit rulings it chose to review from 2010 through 2015. But the overturned cases amounted to less than eight-hundredths of 1 percent of the Ninth Circuits rulings during that period. Two of the nations 13 federal appeals courts had higher reversal rates.
Trump: I think that circuit is in chaos and that circuit is frankly in turmoil.
MELBOURNE, Fla. Just four weeks into his administration, President Trump held a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, repeating his political promises and continuing his attacks on the dishonest media.
I want to be among my friends and among the people, Trump told a cheering crowd packed into an airport hangar, praising his truly great movement.
Insisting he was the victim of false reporting, Trump said his White House was running so smoothly and that he inherited one big mess. The president has been trying refocus after reports of disarray and dysfunction within his administration.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before the rally, Trump said he was holding a campaign rally because life is a campaign.
To make America great again is absolutely a campaign, he said. Its not easy, especially when were also fighting the press.
The rally came during Trumps third straight weekend at his private south Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. It was another working weekend for the president, who planned to interview at least four potential candidates for the job of national security adviser, a position unexpectedly open after retired Gen. Michael Flynns firing last week.
Trump said Saturday: I have many, many that want the job, they want to really be a part of it. Ill make a decision over the next couple of days.
Scheduled to discuss the job with the president were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the interviews were to take place Sunday at the private estate.
Finding a new national security adviser is proving to be a challenge for Trump. His first choice, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.
Trump had also expressed interest in former CIA Director David Petraeus, but Spicer said Saturday that Petraeus was not a finalist. The retired four-star general resigned as CIA director in 2012 and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information relating to documents he had provided to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair.
Flynn resigned at Trumps request Monday after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russias ambassador to the U.S. during the transition. Trump said in a news conference Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.
Trump has lurched from crisis to crisis since the inauguration, including the botched rollout of his immigration order, struggles confirming his Cabinet picks and a near-constant stream of reports about strife within his administration.
Catherine Lucey and Julie Pace are Associated Press writers.
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Louis J. Marinelli is a man on a quixotic mission: to help California secede from the United States and become an independent country.
Surprisingly, this quest has been going relatively well of late. Marinelli's group, Yes California, is attempting to collect 585,000 signatures necessary to place a secessionist question on the 2018 ballot. Buoyed by California's already tense relationship with President Donald Trump, the campaign has received a large amount of press coverage and support over the past few months.
But for the 30-year-old Yes California president, there remains one annoying problem: People keep asking him why he lives in Russia.
In the wake of Yes California's recently acquired momentum, a lot of people have taken note of Marinelli's unusual home base. Numerous articles have appeared in the Californian media noting Martinelli's choice of residence. On social media, discussions about Martinelli often take on a deeply conspiratorial tone.
"Hands off California, Putin," a rival secessionist movement, the California National Party, tweeted in January. "We won't take orders from your puppet Moscow Marinelli."
Marinelli has perhaps compounded the issue by making numerous appearances on Russian state media (approximately once a week, by his own estimation), at times offering a political viewpoint that seems to line up neatly with the Kremlin's. In late December, the Russian media gave widespread coverage to Martinelli as his group opened a "Californian Embassy" in Moscow.
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Speaking via video chat from his home in Yekaterinburg earlier this month, Marinelli seemed exasperated when quizzed about his decision to live in Russia.
"And Barack Obama was born in Kenya, right?" he said incredulously.
"The fact that I'm an English teacher in Yekaterinburg doesn't mean there's some Russian government conspiracy or support for our campaign," Marinelli said. "The fact that I studied Russian language courses at Saint Petersburg State University in 2007 or '08 doesn't mean that I know Vladimir Putin, who graduated from there in 1975."
He offered an explanation for his circumstances that went into more detail than one posted in a FAQ section on the Yes California website. It presented a reasonable - though unusual - set of events that had resulted in him leading a Californian independence movement from half a world away.
It goes like this: Buffalo, New York-born Marinelli moved to California in 2006. A year later, he upped sticks and went to Saint Petersburg State University to study Russian. He lived "on and off" in Russia between 2007 and 2011, during which time he met his wife, a Russian citizen. The pair moved back to San Diego, but Marinelli's partner ran into problems with the U.S. immigration system.
"Her visa had expired and there was really no way for us to easily adjust her status," Marinelli said. "If she had left the country, she'd be banned for 10 years, and so that wasn't an option."
Marinelli said they received a "glimmer of hope" last August that would allow his wife, who has been unable to leave the country until her legal status in the United States was secured, a chance to return home. She was desperate to visit her family, he said, so Marinelli found an apartment in Yekaterinburg and a job teaching English for a semester that provided him a visa. But then, according to his telling, "the immigration thing kind of fell through," and his wife was unable to travel.
The end result was that Marinelli was obliged to go to Russia, he said, while his Russian wife was stuck in San Diego. "We're still working on resolving the problem," Martinelli said, adding that his wife was in the process of getting a green card. "Hopefully that goes well and we can end this chapter of our lives."
It's a strange situation - and not exactly how some of Marinelli's partners in Yes California describe it (Marcus Ruiz Evans, the group's vice president, told The Washington Post that Marinelli's wife also lived in Russia).
But it is a plausible scenario.
Marinelli's ties to Alexander Ionov are perhaps bigger conspiracy fodder. Ionov is the founder of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, a group that supports various secessionist movements around the world. Last September, he put on a Kremlin-sponsored event in Moscow for Western secessionists that Martinelli and other representatives of Yes California attended.
Reached via email, Ionov said that about 30 percent of the funding for the event came from the Russian government. But he said none of that money was given to any U.S. groups, including Yes California. Marinelli also pushed back on the idea that this represents a link with the Russian government.
"We don't have any communication with or contact with or receive any support of any kind from the Russian government or any Russian government officials," Marinelli said.
"We're not actively pursuing a dialogue with Vladimir Putin here in Russia even though I'm in Russia," he added.
Would Putin want a dialogue? Some experts said that while Ionov and his group may have some limited ties to the Kremlin, they are ultimately small fry in Moscow.
Simon Saradzhyan, the founding director of the Russia Matters Project at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said that the Russian government probably wasn't taking the Yes California project very seriously, "if only because that chances that this movement can eventually win independence for that state are close to zero." But Saradzhyan also noted that Russia could well be interested in getting revenge on Washington for what it saw as U.S. support for Chechen separatism in the 1990s.
Fiona Hill, a Russia expert with Brookings Institution, said in an email that historical Russian links to California added further intrigue to the situation.
"Russia had a major early-19th century colony in California and there has been quite a lot of interest in promoting this from circle's close to the Kremlin," Hill said, pointing to Kremlin-connected oligarch Viktor Vekselberg and his interest in Fort Ross, the former colony in what is now Sonoma County.
It sounds outlandish, but after an election in which Russian interference supposedly helped a former reality television star with no political experience gain entry to the White House - well, perhaps it doesn't seem that outlandish. Marinelli didn't sound like a fan of the way that election turned out. He repeatedly criticized Trump during his interview with WorldViews, noting how the U.S. president had threatened to defund California.
Marinelli also admitted that he voted for Trump - a tactical decision, he explained. "We need things that we can use to promote the cause, and I think Donald Trump is a daily advertisement for that cause," he said, noting that his vote didn't matter much in California, anyway.
When it comes to Marinelli's thoughts on the other president in his life, Putin, he keeps his cards closer to his chest. He said he doesn't have an emotional connection to Russia in the same way he does the United States, which is actually "a great thing" about living in Yekaterinburg.
Back home, he said, he was often frustrated by what he saw as America's failings.
"I think every country has progress to make on some fronts. People say, for example, that Russia has progress to make when it comes to civil rights and human rights," he said. "And the United States doesn't? In Russia, police aren't shooting people because of their skin color. There's pros and cons."
States in the American West are marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which forced 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans into internment camps.
Most were from California, Oregon and Washington state. Adults, including the elderly, and children could bring only what they could carry and were transported by bus and train, often with blacked-out windows, They were sent, ostensibly to avoid sabotage and spying, to camps in California, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and other states as far away as Arkansas.
Oregon, California and Washington were not only marking Sundays anniversary, but politicians and activists say America must learn from this dark chapter of history.
Heres a look at what states are doing to recognize the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans:
Oregon: The state Legislature is considering a bill to recognize a Day of Remembrance of the mass incarceration.
Carol Suzukis father and grandparents were forced to relocate from their home in Oregons Hood River Valley to detention camps in California and Idaho. After President Trump recently signed immigration executive orders, her 9-year-old daughter asked if she, too, would be put away.
Sometimes the words of an innocent child are the ones that affect you the most, Suzuki testified Monday before the Oregon Senate committee considering the Day of Remembrance bill.
Suzuki blinked away tears as she described the conversation with her daughter, who should never be afraid of her own government.
George Nakata, 83, of Portland told the committee about his firsthand experience with a dark chapter in American history ... not found in many school textbooks.
He recalled being sent with thousands of other Japanese Americans to a former livestock exhibition center in Portland, where the families were confined until rural detention camps were built. I can never forget, upon entering the building, the smell of livestock urine, the pungent odor of manure underneath the wooden floors.
At the Minidoka relocation center in Idaho, Nakata as a young boy recited the Pledge of Allegiance as he looked out at barbed wire and guard towers from tar-papered barracks.
The committee unanimously endorsed the bill. The House is scheduled to take it up Monday.
Washington: The state began recognizing Feb. 19 as an annual Day of Remembrance 14 years ago.
Vigils, a taiko drum concert and other events were planned in Seattle to mark the anniversary Sunday.
Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted that this anniversary should serve as an all too real reminder of what can happen when America acts out of fear. Inslee also met with former detainees.
California: The Legislature has passed resolutions proclaiming Feb. 19 as the 75th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066 and recognizing a Day of Remembrance.
Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), who sponsored one of the resolutions, said that with Trump focusing on Muslims in his immigration order, Americans must ensure no one is targeted because of national origin or faith.
Now, more than ever, every American needs to remember the unjust incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, Muratsuchi said.
Hawaii: More than 2,000 people of Japanese ancestry were detained at camps on the islands or on the mainland. In marking the anniversary, Honolulu businessman and poet Suikei Furuya was to share his story at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
Idaho: In Idaho, Lt. Gov. Brad Little was to sign a proclamation Sunday honoring interned Japanese Americans.
Associated Press writers Sophia Bollag in Sacramento; Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Wash.; Cathy Bussewitz in Honolulu; and Kimberlee Kruesi in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
Andrew Selsky is an Associated Press writer.
Kolkata, feb 19 (IBNS): District Governor Rtn Shyamashree Sen handed over cheques to meritorious students in a ceremony organised by Rotary Calcutta West Ridge on Saturday afternoon.
She appealed to the parents to let the students flower and especially the girls to make their own career first before settling down in marriages.
Maitreyee Biswas who continued studies with the help of Rotary after HS exam stood First class First in MA-Philosophy from Kalyani University.
She is now doing BEd The other beneficiaries are Sarbani Pal, Monidipa Dolui,Sushovan Paul and Suman Chakraborty.
Club President Rtn Indrajit Bhattacharya informed the gathering that Soumya Ghosh coming from an extremely financially stressed condition recently cleared MA in Economics with 70% marks from Jadavpur University.Rotary helped him since HS Exam. He is now doing M Phil in Economics.
Image: twitter.com/yadavakhilesh
Lucknow, Feb 19 (IBNS): As the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls is underway on Sunday, 24.19 percent voters' turnout has been recorded till 11 am, media reports said.
People in Uttar Pradesh are casting their votes for 69 assembly constituencies.
Voting is under process in 12 districts which are the strongholds of Samajwadi Party (SP).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took it to Twitter to urge voters to cast their votes in large numbers.
Akhilesh Yadav has also cast his vote in Saifai.
"Voted for progress and development today in Saifai," he tweeted.
More than 2.4 crore people are expected to exercise their franchise.
About 826 candidates are in fray in this third phase.
Voting began at 7 am in Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Hardoi, Kannauj, Kanpur rural, Kanpur city, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki, Auraiyya and Sitapur.
The last two phases of the Uttar Pradesh election have recorded voter turnouts of 64.2 and 66 percent.
Roorkee, Feb 19 (IBNS): The Third National Dam Safety Conference organized by Central Water Commission in association with Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam and IIT Roorkee concluded at Roorkee on Sunday.
The conference focused on key challenges in dam safety field that are being encountered in the on-going Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project ( DRIP) implementation.
Sharing of the knowledge, experience, innovations, novel technologies etc. by different national and overseas experts further helped in reshaping the strategies for effectively managing the uncertainties associated with dam design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
The conference received an overwhelming response with over 400 delegates attending and submission of over 70 technical papers from experts within and outside India.
About 40 national and overseas organizations showcased their technologies, products and services through Exposition organized at the conference venue. The professionals from USA, Australia, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Germany attended this event.
The Conference was inaugurated by Amarjit Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, Govt. of India in the presence of S Ramaswamy, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand, U P Singh, Director General, NMCG, MoWR, RD&GR, Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, as well as other senior Central, State Government and DRIP implementing officials.
The interactions among the participants, with the organizations showcasing their technologies and products and with the experts presenting the papers will help dam safety professionals and managements in further determining the strategies for improved monitoring, operation and maintenance and rehabilitation of dams.
The key recommendations emerging from the deliberations of the conference will be circulated to stakeholders as well as policy makers for implementation. Select technical papers received for the onference will be published as a Compendium to provide a permanent reference in the libraries of the State Agencies responsible for design, construction, operation and maintenance of dams.
Dams have played a key role in fostering rapid and sustained agricultural and rural growth and development, which have been key priorities for the Govt. of India since independence. Over the last seventy years, India has invested substantially in the critical infrastructure required to manage and store limited surface water resources in reservoirs to ensure food, energy, and water securities.
Globally India ranks third after China and the United States of America in terms of number of large dams with a total storage capacity of about 283 billion cubic meters. Close to 80% of large dams have surpassed the age of twenty-five years, and many of them face the challenges of deferred maintenance. Many of these dams are considerably old (about 170 dams exceed the age of 100 years) and built in an era whose design practices and safety considerations do not match with the current design standards and the prevailing safety norms.
Several of these dams may be experiencing distress and are in urgent need of attention for ensuring their structural safety as well as operational efficiency. Large dams failure may seriously affect the lives, property and the environment in addition to disrupting the services provided by the dam.
Realizing the importance, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation embarked upon the six year Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) with World Bank assistance in the year 2012 having provision of comprehensive rehabilitation and improvement of 225 large dam projects in seven States of India coupled with institutional reforms and strengthening of regulatory measures pertaining to safe and financially-sustainable dam operations. The project is being implemented in the seven States (Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand).
The DRIP has been successful in bringing greater awareness on dam safety issues and addressing the serious problems by introducing novel solutions and technologies. Since Project covers only 5% of large dams and seven States, to share knowledge and experience in dam safety areas with professionals of non-DRIP States, academician, industries as well as global experts, National Dam Safety Conferences (NDSC) are organized in different States as an annual event.
These Conferences propagate the concepts, techniques, instruments, materials, etc. for design and construction of new dams, as well as for monitoring, surveillance, operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of existing dams.
In a letter criticizing a bill that addresses pay gap in the workforce, a Utah Republican said that men have traditionally earned more than women and, citing "simple economics," argued that things should stay that way.
James Green's letter to the editor, published in two local publications earlier this week, immediately prompted such outrage that within two days, Green had written an apology and resigned from his post as vice chair of the Wasatch County Republican Party.
Green said in his letter, published Wednesday by the Park Record and the Wasatch Wave, that men make more than women because they're "the primary breadwinners" of their families, and paying women equally would somehow ruin the makeup of a traditional family where "the Mother" remains at home raising children.
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"If businesses are forced to pay women the same as male earnings, that means they will have to reduce the pay for the men they employ, simple economics," Green wrote. "If that happens, then men will have an even more difficult time earning enough to support their families, which will mean more Mothers will be forced to leave the home (where they may prefer to be) to join the workforce to make up the difference."
And having more women in the workforce would create competition for jobs, "even men's jobs," Green wrote. That will, in turn, lower the pay for all jobs and force "more and more Mothers" into the workforce, he argued.
That's "bad for families and thus for all of society," Green wrote. "It's a vicious cycle that only gets worse the more equality of pay is forced upon us. It's a situation of well-meaning intentions, but negative unintended consequences."
Green's comments were directed at Senate Bill 210, which would make changes to laws related to employee pay in the state. The bill, authored by state Sen. Jacob Anderegg, a fellow Utah Republican, would commission a study on whether there's a pay gap between male and female workers in the state. It would require certain employers to adopt a uniform criteria that will be used to determine whether someone should get a raise based on performance, and would create a pay index that states the average pay range for each occupation based on years of experience.
SB 210 was introduced on Monday.
Shortly after its publication, Green's letter was met with a sharp response.
State Rep. Tim Quinn, a Republican who represents Utah's 54th district, which includes Wasatch County, denounced the comments and distanced himself from Green. Wasatch County, with a population of a little more than 29,000, is located about 100 miles outside of Salt Lake City.
"I am shocked and appalled to learn how James Green feels about equal pay for women. I don't know where this belief came from," Quinn said in a statement, according to Fox affiliate KSTU. "I do not subscribe publicly or privately to the words or the spirit behind these words, thoughts or ideas. Of course, the Wasatch County Republican Party and I are for equal pay and rights for all people."
The Utah Women's Coalition, which supports SB 210, took to social media with its criticism of Green's comments.
"Are we really having this conversation in 2017?" asked a Facebook post sharing a local story about Green.
The coalition's Stephanie Pitcher told Fox affiliate KSTU that the bluntness of Green's remarks were "very disappointing" and contradicts the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as anti-discrimination provisions in state law.
"He was very straightforward and blunt about his thoughts on women in the workforce and that was really surprising, but the first thing I noticed was a very open recognition that there is a pay disparity between men and women," Pitcher told KSTU of Green.
Green did not return a call from The Washington Post on Saturday. But he told KSTU that he has been in "hot water" since his letter was published.
"You wouldn't believe the hateful, vile comments and messages I've received," Green told KSTU, adding that he decided to resign from his position as vice chair of the Wasatch County GOP because he "didn't want to hurt the party," which he said was getting blamed for his comments.
Green then wrote a second letter saying his comments are not representative of the Wasatch County GOP or the Republican Party in general and apologizing to those who have been offended.
"I want to clarify that the main focus of my letter was to express that I don't feel the government should be dictating to private establishments what they must do in regard to employment, hiring, or wages," Green wrote, according to KSTU. "There was no offense intended toward Women, whatsoever. And yet some took it that way. To those who were offended, I profusely apologize. I sincerely did not mean to do that."
He also said he values women's contributions in the workforce, and that he was only pointing out the "historical reasons for pay disparity."
"While I worked my fingers to the bone (with numerous extra side jobs) so my Wife could say in the home and raise our two Sons, who are now both Physician/Surgeons (plus one also has a Law Degree), I realize not everyone is so fortunate," Green wrote.
A spokeswoman for the Utah GOP told the TV station on Friday afternoon that Green had resigned. Efforts to reach the Utah GOP on Saturday were unsuccessful.
Women in Utah make 71 cents for every dollar paid to men for the same occupation, according to the National Women's Law Center. That's lower than the national average, which is 80 cents for every dollar paid to men.
Black and Latina women in the state make 56 cents and 47 cents for every dollar paid to white men, respectively, according to the center. Both numbers are below the national averages: 63 cents for black women and 54 cents for Latina women.
Politicians have repeatedly pointed out that women make less than men. But as The Post's Glenn Kessler pointed out last year, the specific number on the pay difference is an overused "factoid" that has become a major talking point for Democrats but fails to capture some of the nuances in the workforce.
Although few experts dispute the existence of a pay gap, that number does not take into account differences in life choices between men and women - such as women tending to leave the workforce when they have children, Kessler wrote.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post
MOGADISHU, Somalia A car bomb at a marketplace in Somalias capital killed at least 34 people and injured 52 others Sunday.
The blast by a car bomb parked near a restaurant in Mogadishu went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle.
The Islamic State group is hemorrhaging money with every piece of territory it loses, according to a new analysis that found that the groups business model is on the path to failure.
The analysis released Saturday by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and the accounting firm EY found that the self-proclaimed caliphates financial resources have been drained substantially since the days beginning in mid-2014 when it captured banks, oil wells and entire warehouses of weapons as it amassed land.
The report found that Islamic State revenue has declined from up to $1.9 billion in 2014 to at most $870 million in 2016.
One of the mistakes thats been made in the past when we were talking about Islamic State was talking about it purely as a terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization but it is more than that. It holds territory, said Peter Neumann, director of the center at Kings College London. That also means it has a lot more expenses. It needs to fix roads. It needs to pay teachers. It needs to run health services. It needs to pay for these things that al Qaeda never had to.
But less money may not make the group less dangerous, the report said.
We know from the attacks in Paris and Brussels and Berlin that none of them was expensive, Neumann said.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the U.S. were self-financed by the people that carried them out, with little input or money from Islamic State leadership in the war zone of Syria and Iraq.
Among the top sources of revenue for the Islamic State group were taxes and fees, oil, ransoms, and looting or other extortion. All of those, Neumann said, required newly captured territory to be sustainable and to keep the groups promise of a caliphate.
A federal lawsuit filed in December was a prime example of Islamic States revenues from a combination of seized land, taxes and extortion. According to the court filing, the group received at least 20 percent of the proceeds of items excavated from archaeological sites under its control and taxed antiquities sold in its territories. At one point, a child was kidnapped to force an antiquities merchant to pay, said the lawsuit, which sought the recovery of four ancient artifacts believed to have been put up for sale by the group.
But that income only flows when Islamic State can exert absolute control. According to an update Friday from the global coalition against Islamic State, the group has lost 62 percent of the territory it controlled in Iraq at its height in August 2014 and 30 percent of its territory in Syria.
The business model was also to constantly expand and to plunder the areas that were becoming part of the caliphate. It was essentially a pyramid scheme which relied upon constant expansion, Neumann said.
Lori Hinnant is an Associated Press writer.
BEIJING China will suspend all imports of coal from North Korea until the end of the year, the commerce ministry announced Saturday, in a surprise move that would cut off a major financial lifeline for Pyongyang and significantly tighten the effectiveness of U.N. sanctions.
Coal is North Koreas largest export item. The Ministry of Commerce said the ban would come into force Sunday and be effective until Dec. 31.
China did not give a reason, but the nation is thought to be deeply frustrated with North Korea over its recent missile test and the assassination of Kim Jong Uns half brother in Malaysia.
Beijing has also come under significant international pressure to do more to rein in North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korea is Chinas fourth-biggest supplier of coal. Although China announced last April that it would ban North Korea coal imports to comply with U.N. sanctions, it made exceptions for deliveries intended for the peoples well-being and not connected to the countrys missile programs.
In practice, that exception was the cover for coal to continue to flow across the border in huge quantities, with imports of non-lignite coal up 14.5 percent last year to 24.8 million tons, Reuters reported.
But in a sign that Beijings patience was running out, it rejected a coal shipment from North Korea worth about $1 million Monday, the day after the test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency reported.
President Trump has called on China to put more pressure on North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program, and the subject may have come up during a telephone conversation he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.
The U.N. Security Council condemned North Koreas latest missile test and urged members to redouble efforts to enforce sanctions. That appeal came after an emergency meeting in New York called by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
China was also frustrated by the slaying of Kim Jong Nam in Malaysia this past week: If North Korea were responsible, it would be seen as an affront to Beijing, which had played host to and protected the half brother of the North Korean leader for many years.
Simon Denyer is a Washington Post writer.
web.facebook.com/pg/MKStalin
Chennai, Feb 19 (IBNS): The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party on Sunday called for a hunger strike on Feb 22 at all of its district offices in Tamil Nadu to protest against the forceful eviction of its MLAs from the state Assembly during the trust vote, media reports said.
The strike was called at a special meeting of MLAs, which was convened by DMK working president M K Stalin at the party headquarters.
This comes a day after police registered an FIR against Tamil Nadu opposition leader MK Stalin following agitation by the lawmaker and his men after chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's win in the floor test.
During the ruckus on Saturday, Stalin stole the lime light as he led his brigade to a rampage plunging the Assembly into a chaos and lawlessness.
They were finally evicted by marshals and police following an order by the Speaker, but Stalin had alleged that he was attacked.
He had led his MLAs to the Raj Bhavan and met Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to lodge a complaint about the democracy being "murdered."
He was arrested from Marina Beach, where he sat on a hunger strike in front of the Gandhi statue.
Following Stalin's arrest, violence swept across the state as DMK workers protested the move from police.
Angry workers also burned effigy of Speaker P Dhanapal in several parts of the state.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Muslim organizations in the Netherlands on Sunday criticized disparaging comments about Moroccans made by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders and say they are just the latest in a long string of insults.
Launching his campaign Saturday for the Netherlands March 15 parliamentary election, Wilders criticized Moroccan youths for making the Netherlands unsafe, although he qualified the comments by saying they didnt apply to all Moroccans.
If a Dutch person driving in a car drives five miles too fast, he will be fined within a minute, whereas the Moroccan scum in Holland once again, not all are scum, but there is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who makes the streets unsafe, mostly young people, and they are not taken seriously, Wilders said at his first campaign event in the town of Spijkenisse.
Ebubekir Ozture, director of the Muslim umbrella group Contact Organ Muslims and Government, called Wilders comments reprehensible, but added that Moroccans and Muslims are accustomed to such outbursts from Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is riding high in opinion polls less than a month from the election.
It is not the first time and probably wont be the last time that Wilders has used such language, Ozture said. He has said worse things about Moroccans and Muslims. As crazy as it sounds, people are a bit used to it from him.
Wilders was convicted late last year of inciting discrimination and insulting a group for anti-Moroccan comments he made before and after local elections in 2014. He branded the conviction political. Wilders is appealing the conviction. At one meeting in a Hague cafe, he asked supporters whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. That sparked a chant of Fewer! Fewer! Fewer! to which he replied, well take care of it.
Wilders has a long history of criticizing Islam and Moroccans he says are responsible for a disproportionate amount of street crime in the Netherlands. His one-page election manifesto also is strongly anti-Islam, pledging to ban the Quran, shut the countrys mosques and halt all immigration from Muslim nations.
Abdou Menebhi of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Migration and Development said he expects more such comments in the future. Menebhi filed one of the many complaints that led to Wilders prosecution last year.
Mike Corder is an Associated Press writer.
MUNICH German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to the United States and others Saturday to support and bolster multilateral organizations such as the European Union, the United Nations and NATO.
Merkel told Vice President Mike Pence and other world leaders, diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference that acting together strengthens everyone.
Her address came amid concerns about the Trump administrations approach to international affairs and fears that the U.S. may soon have little interest in working in multilateral forums.
Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles? Merkel asked. Lets make the world better together and then things will get better for every single one of us.
Merkel conceded room for improvement in multilateral structures, saying that in many places they are not efficient enough.
I am firmly convinced that it is worth fighting for our common international multilateral structures, but we must improve them in many places, she said.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said he agreed Europe needed to work with the U.S. on the basis of common values. But in a barely veiled reference to Trump, he said both countries must define their interests, and our foreign policies should not be driven by ideology.
Ideologies lead to hostile concepts that might not be able to be overcome, said Gabriel, who is chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Merkels junior coalition partner.
Going ahead, he said Europeans should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Merkel reiterated that Germany is committed to the official NATO goal of putting 2 percent of gross domestic product into defense spending Germany currently contributes 1.3 percent.
We will do everything we can in order to fulfill this commitment, she said. But let me add, however, that I believe while NATO is very much in the European interest, its also in the American interest.
Gabriel suggested that development aid and humanitarian help such as in Germanys decision to take in nearly 900,000 refugees last year should also be part of the consideration when looking at defense spending.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the gathering that NATO and the EU defense initiatives complement one another.
A strong Europe cannot mean Europe alone, just as I dont believe America first means America alone, he said.
Geir Moulson and David Rising are Associated Press writers.
MUNICH Irans foreign minister brushed aside new pressure from the United States, declaring Sunday that his country is unmoved by threats but responds well to respect.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasnt said what he plans to do about it.
His administration has said Iran is on notice over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.
Iran doesnt respond well to threats, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defense officials. We dont respond well to coercion. We dont respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios.
Everybody tested us for many years all threats and coercions were imposed on us, Zarif added. He mocked the concept of crippling sanctions, which he said didnt stop Iran acquiring thousands more centrifuges, used for enriching uranium, before talks with the U.S. on the nuclear agreement got under way.
Iran has always said it has no interest in nuclear weapons. Asked how long it would take to make one if it did decide it wanted such weapons, Zarif replied: We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period. So it will take forever for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.
Irans regional rivals aired a laundry list of grievances about Tehrans behavior, pointing to the wars in Syria and Yemen among other issues.
Saudi Arabias foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, argued that the Iranians stepped up the tempo of their mischief during the negotiations on the nuclear deal and have continued to do so since then.
I believe that Iran knows where the red lines are if the red lines are drawn clearly, and I believe that the world has to make it clear to the Iranians that there is certain behavior that will not be tolerated, and that there will be consequences, Jubeir told the conference. And those consequences have to be in tune with the financial side.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted that the main challenges facing the region are Iran, Iran and Iran.
Asked what approach he seeks against Iran, he replied: Its a combination of economic pressure, very tough policy and of course to impose the resolutions of (the U.N.) Security Council, for example the ballistic missiles.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Iran has been working to try and build a nuclear weapon, and if they say they havent, theyre lying.
He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of U.N. resolutions and destabilizing the Mideast.
Jubeir said that he is very optimistic about the Trump administration.
We see a president whos pragmatic and practical, a businessman, problem-solver, a man whos not an ideologue, he said.
Geir Moulson is an Associated Press writer.
MOSUL, Iraq The Iraqi intelligence agent knew something was wrong. An Islamic State group member working for him as an informant in the city of Mosul called him on his mobile, but he didnt identify himself by the code name they always used in their communications. Then the informant started talking to him about selling his car.
The agent played along.
Days later, the informant called back and explained: The militants had seen the number on his phone and, always on the hunt for spies, demanded he call it. So he did and pretended he was talking to the guy who sold him his car.
Iraqi intelligence has some 300 people working as informants inside the city of Mosul, part of an enormous information-gathering operation unfolding on the sidelines of the intense urban fighting, according to officials. They have pinpointed militants positions and movements, warned of car bombs or hidden explosives and helped fill a list of names of Islamic State supporters.
The work is extremely dangerous. Militants in Mosul are known to kill at the slightest suspicion of espionage. People caught speaking on mobile phones have been shot by snipers or killed and hung from lampposts, according to accounts from the city. And when Iraqi forces recapture a neighborhood, informants face getting caught up in residents revenge attacks against militants.
More than half a dozen Iraqi intelligence officials interviewed described their operations. They said trust of the security forces among Mosuls residents has been key to their efforts. However, reports of long, arbitrary detentions of men and boys suspected of Islamic State-links risks undermining that trust.
During the Mosul operation, intelligence agencies have built a database of some 18,000 names of suspected Islamic State fighters, according to two Iraqi intelligence officials in Baghdad. Male residents of retaken parts of the city are checked against the list, leading so far to the arrest of 900 people, they said.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
After months of fighting, troops have taken Mosuls eastern half and are about to move into the west. The intelligence gathering effort has been crucial there since Iraqi forces were under pressure to avoid casualties among the hundreds of thousands of civilians still in the city.
A colonel in the intelligence services said dozens of trusted informants have turned out to be double agents for Islamic State. He recounted the case of one who provided information for weeks about fighters. Last month, he sent in a tip about a roadside bomb.
The colonel vetted the tip and sent one of his men in Mosul to investigate. The soldier and the source were not heard from again.
Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Susannah George are Associated Press writers.
1 Congo killings: Congos government said Saturday that it is investigating a video that shows uniformed soldiers shooting at apparent militia members who are armed with sticks, and that a commanding officer has been arrested. The video, which has been widely shared on social media, could not be immediately verified. It emerged just days after the United Nations expressed grave concern about reports of more than 100 people killed in the past week in clashes between soldiers and fighters with the same militia who were armed with machetes and spears. The vast Central African country is home to multiple militias vying for control of rich mineral deposits, and human rights groups have long expressed concern over reported abuses by the military in the fight against them. The footage shows uniformed soldiers firing repeatedly, then inspecting bodies.
2 Gambia politics: Thousands gathered Saturday for a ceremony marking the inauguration of Gambias new president as the small West African nation celebrates wider freedoms after a tense political standoff with its former leader. Several heads of state attended the event for President Adama Barrow. He first took the oath at Gambias embassy in neighboring Senegal in January as former leader Yahya Jammeh refused to cede power. International pressure, including the threat of a regional military intervention, led Jammeh to finally accept his December election loss and fly into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
ISLAMABAD Pakistani authorities shut down a second key border crossing into Afghanistan, halting trade supplies to the neighboring landlocked country and increasing tensions between the two nations in the wake of a bloody suicide bombing at a shrine in Pakistan, officials said Saturday.
The border closure at Chaman in southwest Baluchistan province came after an attack on a Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday left 88 worshipers dead. The move was seen as an effort to pressure Kabul to take action against militants who Pakistan says have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
MUNICH U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday conveyed a message to jittery partners that the Trump administration will hold Russia accountable and maintain steadfast support for NATO, a military alliance the American commander in chief once dismissed as obsolete.
In his overseas debut as vice president, Pence told the audience at the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. would be unwavering in its commitment to NATO and that President Trump would stand with Europe. Pence pointed to their shared noble ideals freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law.
Pence said the U.S. would demand that Russia honor a 2015 deal to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists. He did not mention findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in last years presidential election to help Trump win the White House.
Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know President Trump believes can be found, Pence said.
Pences address and a series of one-on-one meetings with world leaders along the sidelines here sought to calm nervous European allies who remain concerned about Russian aggression, including its annexation of Crimea. Many have been alarmed by Trumps positive statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pences speech aimed to reassure international partners who worry that Trump may pursue isolationist tendencies.
Sergey Lavrov, Russias foreign minister, told the conference after Pences speech that Moscow wanted pragmatic relations with the U.S. He said he hoped that responsible leaders would choose to create a just world order, if you want you can call it a post-West world order.
European countries along Russias border are rattled by the prospect of deeper U.S.-Russia ties after Trump suggested sanctions contrary to the opinions of other world leaders imposed after Russias annexation of Crimea could be eased in exchange for a nuclear weapons deal. The president referred to NATO as obsolete in an interview before his inauguration, but has since tempered his language and has stressed the importance of the alliance during telephone conversations with foreign leaders.
In his remarks, Pence also reinforced Trumps message that NATO members must spend more on defense.
Ken Thomas is an Associated Press writer.
Chorus beat first-half profit expectations and raised its forecast for annual earnings as the telecommunications network operator benefited from the increase in regulated prices on its copper lines, even as connection numbers fell in an increasingly competitive environment.
Net profit rose to $66 million, or 14 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $33 million, or 7 cents, a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Revenue rose 10 percent to $529 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation gained 22 percent to $335 million. Forsyth Barr analyst Blair Galpin, who has a 'neutral' rating on the stock, was expecting profit of $60.8 million, ebitda of $318 million and revenue of $525 million.
"The increases in net profit and ebitda were mostly due to the effect of regulated copper price increases, a changed capitalisation approach and careful management across expense lines," Chorus said in a statement. The company also raised guidance for annual ebitda by $20 million to a range of $645 million-to-$665 million.
Chorus got some relief from the Commerce Commission in late 2015 when the regulator decided to wind back some of the price reductions it planned to enforce for the network company's copper infrastructure.
Since then, Chorus has been at odds with Spark New Zealand, its biggest customer, over the security of service on copper while Spark has been pushing wireless broadband as an alternative not only to copper-based but also the fibre-optic cable.
Chorus today said that push to switch customers on to wireless broadband networks and local fibre companies gaining market share in their regions led to a 2.8 percent decline in fixed line connections to 1.68 million, and a 1 percent dip in broadband connections to 1.21 million.
Chief executive Mark Ratcliffe, whose tenure finishes today, said wireless broadband was viable for some customers with low data usage and with poor broadband coverage, but that Chorus's copper network offered "rock solid reliability and consistent performance" that's needed for voice and internet services.
"We continue to invest in our copper network and, on average, a customer with a copper broadband connection is likely to only experience a fault on our part of the network roughly once ever five years," he said.
Parts of Chorus's copper network are set to be deregulated if the government settles on a proposed regime for telecommunications. Minister Simon Bridges this month outlined plans to deregulate copper where it competes with fibre from 2020, when a new regulated pricing regime comes into effect.
Chorus said it's 61 percent through its ultrafast broadband build programme, and will add another 169 areas to its footprint under the second tranche of the project, announced in January. The company today reached an initial agreement with Broadspectrum to design and build the communal network for 145,000 UFB2 premises, with a separate design process being trialled for the remaining 24,000, which will be tendered later.
The company's fixed line fibre connections rose 36 percent to 244,000 and fibre broadband connections climbed 38 percent to 231,000 in the half, helping generate a 49 percent jump in fibre revenue to $91 million.
Chorus increased its forecast capital expenditure for 2017 by $30 million to a range of $640 million to $680 million. It spent $302 million in the first half.
Kate McKenzie formally takes over the reins as CEO of Chorus today, and has also been appointed to the board.
Chorus shares last traded at $4.15 and have gained 10 percent over the past 12 months.
The board declared an interim dividend of 8.5 cents per share, payable on April 4 to shareholders on the register at the March 21 close of trading.
BusinessDesk.co.nz
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Kolkata, Feb 19 (IBNS): Retired 39th Chief Justice of Indian Supreme Court Altamas Kabir died at a private hospital in Kolkata's E.M. Bypass area on Sunday afternoon, the hospital source said.
According to a press statement, published by Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Kolkata, former CJ Altamas kabir took his last breath at 2:52 pm.
Kabir, a kidney transplant recipient in 2007, was suffering from End Stage Renal Disease, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Coronary Artery Disease Post PTCA (2005), Ischemic CVA and Urinary tuberculosis, hospital reports said.
"Altamas Kabir was admitted to our hospital on February 8 with symptoms of fever with chills for past 5 days, urinary retention, hematuria and extreme weakness and he was under treatment of Senior Consultant & In Charge of Critical Care Dr. Suresh Ramasubban, Senior Consultant-Nephrology Dr. Abhijit Taraphder and Senior Consultant-Urology Dr. Amit Ghose," a senior official of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital told IBNS.
"Our hospital is following the West Bengal State protocol in informing all concerned in state administration, Calcutta High Court etc. about his sad demise," the official added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences over the death of former Supreme Court CJ on her Twitter handle: "Condolences on the passing of former CJ Altamas Kabir ji. My thoughts with his family and colleagues. India and Bengal have lost a legal luminary."
Justice Kabir in her long public life was hailed for his role in supporting the marginalised with his judgments.
He was born into an aristocratic Muslim family in Faridpur (now in Bangladesh) . His father Jahangir Kabir was into politics and was an active trade union leader who also was a minister in the first non-Congress government in West Bengal in 1967.
According to reports on him in media, he was encouraged by his teacher in Calcutta Boys' High School to be a lawyer owing to his skill as a speaker.
He studied in the Presidency College (now university) in Kolkata with history and then studied both law and history from Calcutta University.
He joined the Bar in 1973 in Kolkata and started practising.
He had married a Catholic woman who was his neighbour in Kolkata living in the same house and had both a Church wedding and nikkah, said reports.
His career was also marked by controversies at the end when he on the day of his retirement headed a bench that quashed NEET Medical College entrance while the Supreme Court collegium had stalled Justice Kabir's move to appoint SC Judge just before his retirement.
(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)
Image: Facebook
Srinagar, Feb 19 (IBNS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday waved the flag aas a landing signala to first AirAsia flight that touched down at the Srinagar airport.
The inaugural flight from New Delhi was received by the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti at the Srinagar International Airport. Later another flight to New Delhi was also seen off by the Chief Minister soon after, an official spokesman of the low-cost airline said.
The airline is also planning to connect Srinagar to many other destinations in the country in coming days.
The Chief Minister welcomed the airline carrier hoping it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the State and also facilitate local people with more connectivity to other cities in the country, the spokesman added.
(Reporting by Saleem Qadri)
Guwahati, Feb 19 (IBNS): Nagaland is set to get a new chief minister on Feb 20, following the stepping down of incumbent chief minister T R Zeliang on Sunday.
In a letter to the all legislators of Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF) and Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), Zeliang said that he had decided to step down from his office and to select a new consensus leader to succeed him.
Zeliang also called an emergency meeting of the NPF Legislator Party at 10 am on Feb 20 at the state Banquet Hall.
Following the NPF Legislator Party meeting, a meeting of the DAN will be held at around 11 am at the same place.
In his letter, Zeliang urged all legislators of his party to attend the meeting so as to select a consensus leader to ensure smooth transaction of the office and to provide the best governance to the people of Nagaland.
Meanwhile, a top source of NPF said that, former chief minister and present Lok Sabha member Neiphiu Rio is likely to get the nod from the legislators of NPF and DAN.
On Feb 18, at least 40 NPF legislators met in a secret meeting at a resort in Assams Kaziranga National Park (KNP) who lodged at the resort on the night of Feb 17.
The agitating tribal groups of the north eastern Indian state have been demanding the resignation of Zeliang over his decision to hold the Urban Local Body (ULB) poll in the state with 33 percent women reservation.
Apart from the tribal groups, the NSCN-GPRN also threatened to violate the ceasefire agreement if Zeliang did not step down.
To deal with the political stalemate in state, Governor P B Acharya had rushed to Delhi and discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Image:PMO India
Guwahati, Feb 19 (IBNS): Over 2.49 lakh students will appear in the Higher Seconday Examination, 2017, under the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) which is scheduled to start from Monday.
AHSEC official said that, this year examinations will be held at 820 examination centers in the state.
A total of 2,49,313 students will appear in Higher Secondary examination in Arts, Science and Commerce stream.
Among the students, a total of 1,94,069 students will appear in Arts stream while 37,350 in Science and 17,894 students to appear in Commerce stream.
Meanwhile, to curb the malpractices in the examination, the AHSEC and the state government have decided to enforce section 144 CrPC within a radius of 200 metres from the examination center.
The AHSEC official further said this year examination will be held under CCTV surveillance.
The Assam government had already issued order to install CCTV in each examination center.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
image: www.ahsec.nic.in
New Delhi, Feb 19 (IBNS): In a fresh salvo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday addressed a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district, slammed the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance, while urging people to vote for the BJP.
Recounting his experience, the Prime Minister tweeted that he was happy with the turnout of youths.
Speaking about the SP-Congress bond, his tweet in Hindi read, "People who were busy criticising each other have become friends now. One cannot expect development from them."
"UP needs a government who's capable of bringing in a change in the judicial system. The present government doesn't seem bothered about it at all," his tweet added.
Urging people to vote for his party in the ongoing UP polls, the Prime Minister said that the BJP is driven by the motto 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas'.
"We will form a government that will work for the poor, the farmers and the youth," he said.
He also said that the fight against corruption is on and added that his priority is to give back the rights to the poor.
image: twitter.com/narendramodi
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Guwahati, Feb 19 (IBNS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday alledged that the Congress doesn't want to end the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur, which he termed as a conspiracy contrived by the Okram Ibobi Singh led state government.
While releasing the Manipur BJP Vision document in Imphal, ahead of the assembly polls in the north eastern Indian state, which is to be held on Mar 4 and 8 in two phases, Rajnath Singh said that the economic blockade in Manipur was the result of a conspiracy contrived by the Congress led state government to divert attention from their failures.
The Union Home Minister said that the Ibobi led state government didn't want to end the over-three-months-long economic blockade.
"It is a political conspiracy made by the Congress led state government, in which people of Manipur suffered huge problems since past couple of months. I don't know why despite the Centre extended all supports, the blockade still there," Rajnath Singh said.
"I had already asked the Manipur government to sit for a tripartite talks with United Naga Council (UNC) and Centre to solve the months long problem, but Congress didn't want to solve the problem. The Centre had sent sufficient security forces to the state to handle the trouble torn situation. But the state government is not use those forces," the Union Home minister said.
The Union Home minister further said that the law and order is a subject of the state.
The poll bound state faces several problems following the economic blockade imposed by the UNC.
UNC had protested against the creation of seven new districts by the incumbent state government.
Rajnath Singh also assured Manipur that the NDA government at the Centre will not harm Manipurs territorial integrity at any cost.
Our government and BJP will never do anything that would affect territorial integrity of Manipur at any cost, Singh said.
The Union minister who visited Manipur on a day long visit to campaign for the party, also made similar assurances while addressing two election rallies in Bishnupur district and Imphal city.
Anywhere in the framework agreement (signed between the Centre and NSCN-IM) the name of Manipur exists. In any eventuality Manipurs territorial integrity will not be compromised. There should not be any confusion about this, the Home minister said.
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Protect the Harvest;
It is great to hear that the Humane Society of the United States and their Legislative Fund are running scared. For too long the previous administration and government has stood by allowing these extremist groups to push their agenda down the throats of unsuspecting Americans. It is long past time they were stopped in their tracks.
They are afraid because Scott Pruitt has a history of standing up to the Humane Society of the United States. In 2014, when Pruitt was Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma, he opened an investigation into the activities of the Humane Society of the United States. He also issued a public message stating that groups like the Humane Society of the United States are asking for donations and giving the impression that the funds collected would go to assisting Oklahoma animal shelters. Instead, funds were really going to write and promote legislation in other states and on the federal level. Of note, the HSUS responded with a lawsuit against Pruitt for harassment because they didn't want to release the information he requested under the Oklahoma Solicitation of Charitable Contributions Act.
They are afraid because as EPA Director, Scott Pruitt can better watch-dog their activities and attempts to influence law and regulations to push their radical extremist agenda. In addition to misleading fundraising efforts, the Humane Society of the United States has made efforts to influence the EPA, their regulations, and to obtain information from them. They have "Public Commenters" they send to open meetings equipped with slide presentations. Under the Freedom of Information Act, they tried to get a list from the EPA that included data collected on farmers in the United States as well as data from Clean Water Act permits. Using the EPA as their delivery system to help end all hunting, they have worked to make hunting more difficult by attempting to push through regulations about ammunition.
Happy Monday Canberrans. It's another week, and we're fast getting into the tail end of February. If you missed the weekend's Multicultural Festival, we'll fill you in further on. After horrendous heat this month, you'll be relieved to know a day of sunny weather with a top of 23 degrees is forecast, expected to rise to 28 tomorrow. The fire danger rating for today is high.
Here are some of the stories making headlines today.
Tough talk
Defence Department boss Dennis Richardson has bared his teeth to more than 2000 of his workers, saying he will be a "mongrel" if his executives do not trim the numbers of public servants working there.
Mr Richardson is frustrated that even after his deep cuts to public service numbers in his department, there were up to 18,000 service providers, consultants and contractors on the books.
Canberran schools will have access to locally-produced and targeted resources to help them better support sexually and gender diverse students, staff and families by June.
Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT has signed a contract with the Education Directorate to develop the territory-specific program aimed at replacing the support provided by the Safe Schools Coalition.
The ACT government provided $100,000 to Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT to develop LGBTI-friendly resources for teachers and school leaders.
The split from the national Safe Schools program followed federal government-led changes to the initiative which required parental permission for schools to point students to requested resources. There were concerns some children may shy away from asking for help if it could not be confidential.
Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT executive director Tim Bavinton said the organisation would draw on its knowledge as head of Safe Schools Coalition ACT to develop the new program.
An investigation into an explosion at the Australian Christian Lobby headquarters in Canberra nearly two months ago is frozen due to the driver's health, police say.
The matter was still active, no charges had been laid and the investigation was unfinished as a result of the driver's "medical condition," an ACT Policing spokesman said.
The spokesman did not elaborate on the condition of the 35-year-old Canberra man.
Australian Christian Lobby managing director Lyle Shelton said that while police had been talking to him, he was frustrated they had not answered his questions.
In markets its often referred to a black swan events that create significant market turns. The 911 tragedy was a black swan event but the GFC was not a black swan event. The difference? the first was something never factored in and completely surprised the markets. Which brings us to events over the weekend. What will the market make of the latest controversy involving Donald Trump and Russia?
1. Trump watch: A new FBI investigation was announced into Trump's relationship with the Russians, this along with several committees in progress within Congress and the Senate, some of which are already investigating alleged Russian cyber-attacks and interference in the US election. There is also a Senate Intelligence Committee that has the most cohesive and robust of an investigation going so far. Traders may be keeping in mind the event that launched the current rally may end with an inverse event. If there a connection between Trump and the Russians is proved, there is no upside for the markets.
2. ASX: A quiet but positive start expected for Monday with the SPI futures up 5 points. ADR's are mixed with BHP at $26.24 and reporting tomorrow, market will be looking for NPAT of $2.883 B FMG's ADR shows $6.91.
Qingdao Iron ore futures remain strong last traded $90.37 up 34 cents. With commodities and the financials moving forward a positive start is expected with the Index expected to hold 5800 points, a continuing bullish reporting season, may see the 6000 level met in the ASX200 Index.
The Turnbull government is under pressure to allow foreign airlines to operate as many flights as they want to the planned new Western Sydney Airport in order to boost its commercial viability.
Classifying it a "regional airport" under international agreements will also give it a leg up against Sydney Airport, which investment banks now rate a low chance of constructing the new airport at Badgerys Creek.
NSW Opposition leader Luke Foley has demanded the federal government confirm that the new airport will be exempt from the restrictions imposed on foreign airlines which fly to Australia's major airports such as Sydney's Kingsford Smith.
"This is a way to support the airport at no cost to the taxpayer," he said in a letter to federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher.
By Press Trust of India: Colombo, Feb 19 (PTI) At least 11 people were killed and 19 others rescued today in Sri Lanka after the boat they were travelling in capsized off the countrys southwestern coast.
The incident happened in the seas off Kalutara district, about 40 kilometres south of capital Colombo, police said.
The boat was part of a religious festival procession from the fishing town of Beruwala to a site close by. The tragedy happened when the boat was returning from the pilgrimage.
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At least 11 people were killed and 19 others have been admitted to a hospital after being rescued, police added.
A search is on for other survivors with the help of navy and air force, reports said.
Authorities were still trying to ascertain the number of people travelling on the boat. PTI CORR ABH
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A cleaning contractor faces an investigation into claims of "massive wage theft" spanning a large network of Victoria's government-run schools.
Pay slips, time sheets and workplace agreements seen by Fairfax Media reveal Ramos Cleaning Services is often undercutting minimum pay and conditions for cleaners by as much as $100 a week.
The Melbourne-based company holds lucrative government contracts to clean 18 public schools across the city, including Brunswick Secondary College, St Albans Secondary, Belle Vue Primary, and Sydenham-Hillside Primary School.
Last week, large-scale underpayment claims at Ramos were referred to the federal Fair Work Ombudsman and the state Education Department, which have begun inquiring.
Ramos employees are missing out on up to $5000 a year in their overall pay, documents show, because they are being denied penalty rates and other entitlements.
Bill Shorten has never been more dominant than this February. His Australian Labor Party leads the Coalition convincingly in many polls, while the public has seen a petulant side to Malcolm Turnbull in question time that is rather unattractive. So the Opposition Leader's performance during the past fortnight should have been a success.
But it was not to be. His Wednesday morning interview on Labor's commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target was a disaster. It raised serious doubts about the Labor leader's political judgment and ability to perform under pressure.
The ABC's Sabra Lane is one of the most fearsome and forensic inquisitors in the country; and those of us hoping for blood at breakfast were not disappointed. On four occasions, the AM host asked Shorten how Labor would meet its goal to produce half the nation's electricity from renewables by 2030. Each time, Shorten declined any specifics and brushed the question off saying "there is a cost in not acting".
Labor announced its renewable energy target two years ago, plenty of time for its leader to explain how much households would pay. Of course, as a successful union leader who's knifed two Labor prime ministers, Shorten knows how to deal with scrutiny. That, though, was not what allowed him to dead-bat away many of Lane's relevant questions. It was also helped by the fact that he is manifestly divorced from reality.
Some would like to believe a bad week, or in this case month, for Donald Trump must be a good week for America. That's not so.
The US President is one of the few people who, by his own actions and failures to act, can create abrupt and unanticipated changes in the economy, the welfare of the population and the regard in which America is held abroad. This was clearly demonstrated during the first "shock and awe" week of the new presidency, which contrasted strongly with the gravitas that was a hallmark of president Barack Obama's first weeks in office and subsequent administration.
More recently, Mr Trump's failure to write an executive order on immigration that would meet the requirements of the judiciary, his inability to fill key cabinet positions, and the use of his rank to attack corporations that didn't support his family's business have weakened his office.
These failings, significant though they would be for any other administration, are as nothing compared to his attempts to nobble institutions he regards as a threat to his power.
After Israeli spies using counterfeit Australian passports were discovered to have assassinated a Hamas figure in Dubai in 2010, then foreign minister Stephen Smith rightly condemned the forgery as "not the action of a friend". A Mossad agent in Canberra was subsequently expelled and the entire saga marked a low point in relations between Israel and Australia. But not a breaking point. Secret intelligence cooperation quietly resumed the following year, community and business ties continued to prosper, and the scheduled visit this week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a sure sign the public warmth between governments has returned. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points at Israel on the map in his Jerusalem office. Credit:New York Times A strong friendship based on trust is welcome for both nations. Mr Netanyahu will be the first-ever serving Israeli head of government to visit these shores, an important - albeit overdue - acknowledgement of the depth of history the two countries share. It was Australian foreign minister H.V. "Doc" Evatt in the late 1940s who chaired the United Nations committee that recommended the partition of Palestine between Arab and Jewish states, and Australia has been a steadfast friend of Israel ever since. But what evolved into a vision of two secure, sovereign states living peacefully side-by-side has never materialised and has instead become mired in one of the world's most intractable conflicts. Israelis are inextricably intertwined with Palestinians, yet peace has remained beyond the grasp of both communities, with extremists driving a bitter wedge.
For Australia, the overriding interest is to see a just resolution to this enervating conflict. Former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke has called for diplomatic recognition of Palestine, sparking what is a healthy debate about how Australia can best support the quest for peace. The broad outlines of a resolution to the conflict are well established; for Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of Israel, and Israel to end its occupation and recognise a Palestinian state. But bitter and often violent experience in the past 70 years has created potent obstacles and entrenched hatreds, making the precise details of an agreement seemingly impossible to reconcile. It should be clear that the conflict will never be resolved by terrorist attacks, blame, a resort to history or by adding yet more strident layers to stale arguments. The very language used to describe events has become so politically loaded to present a barrier to peace. It will take tremendous courage and displays of mutual trust to move beyond this impasse. Hopefully that moment is now. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should encourage Mr Netanyahu to make bold steps in pursuit of peace by affirming Australia's support for a two-state solution, despite the apparent wavering last week of US President Donald Trump for what had also been a long-standing tenet of US foreign policy. There is understandable scepticism about Mr Netanyahu's true commitment to negotiating a two-state solution after his declaration, late in Israel's unexpectedly close 2015 election campaign, that he would never establish a Palestinian state. The expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is also inimical to an eventual resolution. Mr Netanyahu should be assured that Australia supports a just outcome for both sides.
With Jeremy Corbyn taking British Labour to the hard left, Bernie Sanders preaching socialist revolution in the land of free enterprise, Donald Trump outrunning opponents in the Republicans' presidential race, and radicals and crackpots of all shades on the march in Europe, the "nutter" threshold was now considerably higher than promising sudden death to the coal industry and a sprinkling of whacky social policies.
Yet here was Kroger saying they weren't so bad after all. Leader Richard Di Natale helped the federal government pass legislation, Kroger said, and he's a farmer, so not a "mad" environmentalist. All of which may have sounded plausible, but it also occurred to me that while the Greens may have shifted slightly, it was really the rest of the world that had shifted relative to them.
This was a startling statement given that six years earlier Kroger had expressed his hope that at the next federal election the Liberals preference against the Greens' newly-elected Adam Bandt and evict him from the House of Representatives. The Greens, conservatives insisted, were extremists, a threat to Australia's economy.
The first time I truly appreciated the centre had shifted in Australian politics was last March when Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger suggested in the lead-up to the federal election that his party would be prepared to enter a "loose" preference arrangement with the Greens, as the minor party were "not the nutters they used to be".
When it comes to encouraging the unhinged, there's no doubt Pauline Hanson got the ball rolling with her calls for an inquiry into Islam. Credit:Getty Images
One year on and the threshold for poisonous is higher too, so high it's practically out of sight. Sixteen years ago John Howard decreed the Liberals would always put One Nation last on their how-to-vote cards because the party was "fanning racist sentiment". Even if Howard's hardline policies on boat people and his culture wars took the wind out of One Nation's sails, Pauline Hanson's diatribes against Asian immigrants and big business still offended the superego of the Liberal party. And One Nation was still regarded as beyond the pale last May when Malcolm Turnbull said Hanson was "not welcome" in Australian politics.
No longer. "The One Nation of today is a very different beast to what it was 20 years ago," is how Liberal frontbencher Arthur Sinodinos explained on the weekend the party's unprecedented decision to preference One Nation ahead of the Nationals in Western Australia. One Nation is a lot more "sophisticated", he said. "They have clearly resonated with a lot of people." These people are "mad as hell" and it was going to take time to convince them that One Nation is not the answer. Sinodinos sounded like he was apologising rather than strategising.
Whatever the politics behind the preference deal, the Liberal party's superego has evidently left the building. Sure, Hanson, the former fish and chip vendor from Ipswich, has a more "sophisticated" brand thanks to a diligently cultivated celebrity profile and social media savvy. But as with the Greens, it's not that One Nation has substantially evolved; simply that the rest of the world has dramatically regressed. Hanson has a global wind at her back. Her nativist message, protectionism, anti-immigration and a flat 2 per cent tax economists say would cause economic collapse is as unsophisticated as it was two decades ago. She's still "fanning racist sentiment", but in targeting Muslims rather than Asians she exploits potent and legitimate anxiety about terrorism.
But she faces stiff competition. Aspiring flag-bearers for xenophobia and populism find themselves in a buyer's market. One Nation is a retro offering alongside the defected Cory Bernardi, various Islam-obsessed micro-parties, the Liberal National Party's George Christensen, with his Jesus tatts and riding whip, and Jacqui Lambie, forcefully advocating for battlers and ignorantly huffing about "Sharia law".
Actors Jodie Le Vesconte as Harry Crawford and Jane Phegan as Annie Binkett in The Trouble With Harry . Credit:Ben Rushton
Crawford was the male persona of Eugenia Falleni, who was born female in Italy in 1875. Raised in New Zealand, she ran away from an unhappy home as a teenager dressed in her late father's clothes.
"Eugene" Falleni worked as a merchant seaman for some months before being found out by the captain of the ship, who repeatedly raped her before dumping her ashore, pregnant, in Australia.
After giving birth to a daughter, Josephine, who was placed into the care of an elderly woman, Eugenia recreated herself as immigrant Scotsman Harry Crawford, an identity that would largely go unchallenged until Crawford was brought in for questioning by police after a partially incinerated body found near a picnic spot in Lane Cove in 1917 was identified as Annie Birkett, Crawford's missing wife.
Charged with Birkett's murder, Crawford's criminal trial was one of the most sensational ever conducted in Sydney.
This is no courtroom drama, however. Instead, Philpott chooses to examine the period of Harry's life when his constructed identity and outwardly happy domestic arrangement with Annie begins to unravel in the wake of the reappearance of a now teenaged and troubled Josephine.
Nationals MPs say they are happy for controversial MP George Christensen to remain their party whip despite him again publicly toying with breaking away from the government.
Mr Christensen last week penned a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in which he said his support for the government could not be guaranteed without action on a local sugar industry stoush in his north Queensland electorate. Mr Christensen did not send the letter but provided details of its content to the media.
In it he said his support for the government was contingent on Mr Turnbull announcing a mandatory code of conduct for the sugar industry by March 1, with penalties.
Mr Christensen's repeated public doubts about being a member of the Coalition and threats to cross the floor have raised questions about his role as Chief Nationals Whip, a position that puts him in charge of enforcing party discipline.
Business and religious leaders, lawyers, academics, entertainers and former politicians have joined forces to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Australia, saying his policies "provoke, intimidate and oppress" the Palestinian people and are pushing the Middle East further from peace.
Mr Netanyahu's visit comes just weeks after his government passed a controversial law retroactively legalising 4000 settlers' homes built on privately owned Palestinian land. The measure has drawn international condemnation and reignited debate about Australia's approach to Israel.
It also comes just days after US President Donald Trump appeared to upend decades of policy on the Israel-Palestine issue by suggesting peace could be achieved through a one-state rather than two-state solution.
Mr Netanyahu will meet Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and other leaders during his four-day visit the first by a serving Israeli prime minister since the state was formed in 1948 starting on Wednesday.
Angela Zena Hadchiti had dared to hope the abuse was over.
The Penrith mother-of-three had been beaten so badly by her husband that she needed to have a metal plate and screws implanted in her neck. He raped her, he controlled her by installing a tracking device in her car and a listening device on her phone. He choked one daughter, slapped another. When he threatened to kill her, Ms Hadchiti and her daughters ran out of the house to escape. He chased after them in his car, almost hitting one of his daughters.
"The things he did," Ms Hadchiti says, "were evil."
It was late 2015 and she was at Blacktown Court House in western Sydney to get a final Apprehended Violence Order against her husband. Five minutes before her case began, the police prosecutor told her her husband had arrived without a lawyer. This meant he would represent himself and be allowed to cross-examine Ms Hadchiti and her eldest daughter, who was in her final year of high school.
The federal government has ordered the Clean Energy Finance Corporation against investing further in wind energy. Credit:Bloomberg The Liberals are planning to force the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), also known as the 'Green Bank' to invest in new coal power stations, via "clean coal." [Adam Gartrell/Fairfax] You only need to look at the organisation's name to know this would be completely at odds with its mission, although Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg disputed this in true Kellyanne Conway fashion by saying "it's called the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, not the Renewable Energy Finance Corporation." [ABC] David Crowe reports the government won't even need to go to parliament for the changes as Frydenberg and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann can rewrite the mandate and replace a majority of the board's directors without permission. [The Australian] It's Macquarie everywhere you look! Credit:Bloomberg
The CEFC, modelled on Britain's Green Investment Bank (GIB), was established to raise funding for clean energy projects the renewable sector wouldn't otherwise find. Britain's GIB began turning a profit in 2015 and is now up for privatisation. That has been the subject of a backlash in Britain, delaying the timetable for privatisation. The winning bidder is likely to be Macquarie, but a decision is due this week, reports Street Talk. [Financial Review] Sydney Liberal MP John Alexander, a long-time campaigner for more affordable housing, says the government is still considering changing capital gains tax concessions. This is completely consistent with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull telling Question Time last Thursday "the government has no intention or plan to change capital gains tax or negative gearing. That is our position and has been our position." [Hansard] As seasoned political journalists like to point out in these situations, plans change, but it's refreshing when a government MP is willing to spell it out for all. [Sky News] George Christensen pictured for Good Weekend. Credit:Andrew Meares George Christensen's Nationals colleagues are content with his attention-seeking ways, including his repeated threats to quit/defect/cross-the-floor/etc etc. [Matthew Knott/Fairfax]
The federal court has granted an injunction to stop Border Force officials confiscating the personal mobile phones of detainees in immigration centres. [Adam Gartrell/Fairfax] 3. Trump and Sweden First Australia, now Sweden! Donald Trump's worldwide offence to cause offence to the least offending countries continues. Sweden is demanding an explanation from the White House about exactly what Donald Trump was referring to when he said "last night in Sweden" at a rally in Florida. "We're of course wondering [what he referred to]," Swedish government spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson is quoted as telling Swedish News Agency TT. [Louise Nordstrom/The Local]
"What has he been smoking," tweeted the former foreign minister Carl Bildt. [McClatchy/Fairfax] It's not clear whether Trump has been watching his favourite news channel Fox, which on Friday aired a clip alleging a surge in gun violence and rape in Sweden as the result of an open-door refugee policy, or whether he mixed up Sehwan in Pakistan with Sweden. [BBC] President Donald Trump with Defence Secretary Jim Mattis. Credit:AP Trump's Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has distanced himself from Trump's attack on the press, (in his latest tweet he claims they are the enemy of the people.) Mattis said "I don't have any issues with the press myself." [Washington Post]
4. Huge anti-Trump rallies planned for the UK Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest against U.S President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on refugees and people from seven mainly-Muslim countries, in London, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. On Friday President Trump signed an executive order halting the US refugee programme for 120 days, indefinitely banning all Syrian refugees and suspended issuing visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 90 days. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Credit:AP. Protesting in Britain is serious business. Left-wing activists, including unionists and MPs, are pledging the biggest protests in UK history for Donald Trump's state visit to the UK later this year. The Stop Trump Coalition has already hired a permanent staff member and crowdfunded 16,000 ($26,000). [Jessica Elgot/The Guardian] 5. War in Mosul
An Iraqi soldier waves the national flag as security forces patrol on the eastern side of Mosul, Iraq, on January 18. Credit:PA Iraqi government forces have seized several villages as they advance on Islamic State's final stronghold in Mosul. [BBC] 6. China stops taking North Korean coal China has cut off all coal exports from North Korea, effectively cutting the rogue nation's exports in half, seemingly in response to Pyongyang's recent missile test. [Fairfax]
By Press Trust of India: Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) A laugh star - 3D-printed representation of sound waves generated from human laughter - created aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has become the first ever piece of art to be produced outside Earth.
The artwork was printed using the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), a gravity independent 3D printer, which supports the daily operations of the ISS by producing parts, tools and assemblies, effectively eliminating the need to wait months for those to be launched from Earth.
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The work was conceptualised by Israeli contemporary artist Eyal Gever, who is passionate about using art as a medium for social impact, that connect people from different backgrounds and nationalities.
While many artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Damien Hirst have created works of art that have subsequently been sent to space, Gevers art work is the first to be produced in space through 3D printing technology.
Gever thought it fitting that the first ever piece of art created in space be laughter as it represents what humanity can achieve with positivity.
Similar to art, laughter is a human expression which is universally understood.
"We live in epic times, where continuous disruption and rapid change exists against a backdrop of extremely volatile cultural shifts constantly challenging our human conscience," said Gever.
"A Laugh Star floating in space, above all our heads, is my attempt to create a contemporary metaphor for the hanging Sword Of Damocles, a reminder that the beauty of human-life is so fragile," he said.
The project #Laugh kicked off with the launch of a mobile app that recorded sounds of laughter from individuals and converted the sound waves into a digital 3D model, or "laugh star."
Users were then encouraged to view, listen to and vote on their favourite laugh star. Over 100,000 people from around the world created their own laugh stars.
The winner of the competition, Naughtia Jane Stanko of the US, had her laugh star 3D printed aboard the ISS.
"The earliest cave paintings were of human hands which were a way of proclaiming and celebrating the presence of humanity, #Laugh is the 21st century version of that - a mathematically-accurate encapsulation of human laughter, simply floating through space, waiting to be discovered," said Gever.
"Its important for the world to see that technology and art are not independent of one another," said Andrew Rush, President and CEO of Made In Space, which owns and operates the AMF.
"Weve enjoyed being a part of this project, and hope that it communicates to the world that innovation and creativity are the driving forces behind humanitys future in space," said Rush. PTI MHN MHN
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Campaigners locked in a battle against companies like Wicked Campers were given cause to celebrate on Tuesday night when news broke that the Queensland government had passed legislation that would ban "offensive and indecent advertisements" on vans and vehicles. Wicked Campers have long held the dubious reputation of being Australia's most feral van hire company, with their fleet infamous for boasting slogans like "In every princess there is a little slut who wants to try it just once" and "Nice legs what time do they open?"
The Advertising Standards Bureau has handed down rulings on Wicked Campers before, but those rulings have been essentially impossible to enforce. And while this new legislation doesn't explicitly target Wicked Campers, what it does do is ensure that companies like this who refuse to comply with ASB rulings within 14 days will risk having their vehicles deregistered. Queensland is the first state to undertake a measure like this to to combat the rampant retrosexism indulged by Wicked Campers, but other state governments look set to follow suit.
Predictably, the news has been met with opposition from folks suddenly concerned about "freedom of speech" and the apparent death of "comedy". On the ABC News Facebook page, I became embroiled in several arguments with men (and look, it is almost always men who declare that Carry On sex romp comedy is the hill they want to die on) about the apparent infringement of liberties this ruling represents. The Wicked Camper slogans aren't misogynistic! they shrieked. Get a sense of humour! Grow up! Offence is taken, not given! Rape culture isn't real!
It's frustrating to have to repeatedly deal with people who don't understand that one of the most basic tenets of good, clever comedy is that it shouldn't kick down. That is to say, smart comedy doesn't spin gold out of an easy target. Jokes that rely on sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia or ableism to draw a laugh aren't saying anything new or interesting. Instead, they're doubling down on tired, hackneyed tropes about people who experience less power than the person telling the joke.
It was inside Shahab Ahmed's western Sydney unit on Saturday night that he believed his infidelity suspicions had been confirmed.
The 33-year-old Bangladeshi national suspected his wife, Khondkar Fahi Elahi, was having an affair and moved to confront her about it.
Shahab Ahmed, 33, is lead away by police after his wife was stabbed in Parramatta. Credit:Nine News
It will be alleged Mr Ahmed demanded to look at his wife's mobile phone before he found what he perceived to be messages suggesting an extramarital affair.
An argument ensued, escalating to the allegedly fatal point where Mr Ahmed is accused of grabbing a kitchen knife and stabbing 29-year-old Mrs Elahi in the chest.
Deputy NSW Police Commissioner Catherine Burn has thrown her hat in the ring to replace Andrew Scipione as the state's top cop, with the aim of being the first female appointment to the role.
She joins several internal and external candidates jostling for the role, the path to which is mired in internal controversy, restructures and lengthy postponements.
Mr Scipione recently brought his retirement forward to April after serving an extra two years due to a police bugging scandal that plagued the upper levels of the force and involved his two obvious successors, deputy commissioners Nick Kaldas and Ms Burn.
The government also interviewed candidates late last year to increase the number of deputies from three to five as part of a broader restructure, yet the positions remain unfilled.
The Tax Office is chasing controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer for a slice of a $4 million profit after council approved planning changes boosting the value of one of his properties.
A Mehajer family company, majority owned by the 30-year-old developer, sold an industrial property in Auburn last year for $8 million after buying it for $3.65 million four years earlier.
The company claims the $4 million profit should be excluded from its taxable income.
The commercial building at 3 Mary Street was at the centre of a legal battle to suspend Mr Mehajer from council, after he voted on planning changes increasing its value without disclosing his interest in the property.
After a series of articles in the press implying Professor Vinson was pandering to hardened criminals, Wran was quoted saying of prison reform: "I think we went ahead of public opinion." Professor Vinson resigned.
Educated at Marist Brothers Mosman, he took a BA and diploma in social work at the University of Sydney before entering the prison service.
His first job as a parole officer taught him a lesson in penology he never forgot: Professor Vinson recalled years later he had been "dumbfounded" when told to take a man who had served more than 20 years behind bars from Long Bay to Central and put him on a train to his family in the bush. His charge had forgotten how to buy things in a shop, let alone a train ticket and was terrified of traffic noise.
He quit after five years and eventually went to the University of NSW as a tutor, then a lecturer in the Department of Social Work.
Social work courses had specialised in training hospital case workers but in the late 60s, UNSW especially, started teaching community work that championed the cause of clients using the system rather than simply allowing the system to dictate how it could be used by clients.
A dispute between two men in northern Victoria has left one man dead and another facing criminal charges, police say.
A 43-year-old man from Shepparton was shot at a property in Ferguson Road in nearby Tatura on Saturday afternoon, police said.
The injured man was taken to hospital in Shepparton with a head injury, then flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he later died.
A 54-year-old Tatura man was charged with attempted murder prior to the man's death.
"These charges will now be reviewed in light of the victim's death," said police spokeswoman Belinda Batty.
That's it for Melbourne Express for today. It's been a brutal commute on several lines, but the Werribee in particular.
Expect to hear more news on the Frankston line level crossings and some gorgeous pictures of four 10-week old lion cubs making their debut at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Two rival groups armed with knives, bats and knuckledusters had been planning an all-out brawl at Melbourne's White Night celebrations, police say.
Police on Sunday revealed they had been monitoring two groups of disaffected youths for weeks.
On Saturday night, they arrested more than 20 people to prevent a repeat of the ugly scenes that marred last year's Moomba Festival and other recent public events.
Police also seized weapons, including a can of OC spray, as the angry teenagers arrived at Footscray train station in what officers described as a "picture perfect" operation.
Almost 20 years have passed since Nicole Warr's cousin died from a heroin overdose. He had just turned 21.
"He shouldn't have died in that way," Ms Warr says. "He was a beautiful young man and there was no dignity in his death."
The tragedy helped compel her to become a community health worker, supporting drug users who she describes as "beautiful people" despite them being among the most marginalised in Victoria.
Ms Warr now works at cohealth in Collingwood, where she tries every day to save the lives of people addicted to harmful drugs. She says support workers are dealing with a rising tide of dangerous substances, such as heroin and methamphetamines.
Wine expert Lak Quach was renowned in the hospitality industry for his "exceptional palate" and vast knowledge, having quaffed some of the world's rarest vintages including a 1945 Cos d'Estournel and an 1893 Chateau Guiraud.
He graduated dux at the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial in 2013 after beating 11 rivals to identify fine wines from France's Grand Cru vineyards and became a reviewer for the prestigious Halliday Wine Companion, considered the Bible of Australian wine.
Wine expert Lak Quach has been accused of stealing up to $300,000 worth of wine while working as a specialist buyer. Credit:Dominic O'Brien
But Mr Quach's love affair with fine wine appears to have been his undoing, and his dreams of working the harvest in Burgundy may be in tatters.
The former sommelier and vintner is under investigation by his employer, Melbourne wholesaler Cellarhand, over claims he stole up to $300,000 worth of wine while working as a specialist buyer.
By Press Trust of India: From M Zulqernain
Lahore, Feb 19 (PTI) Police in Pakistans Punjab today said they have thwarted an imminent attack at a shrine in the province by killing five terrorists of a group, which claimed a suicide blast in Lahore earlier this month in which 15 people died.
The terrorists belonged to the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) group, the Crime Terrorism Department of Punjab police said.
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A CTD spokesman said the department received information that eight JuA terrorists had planned to attack a shrine in Multan.
The terrorists were hiding in Layyah district, some 350 km from Lahore, and waiting for orders of JuA chief Omer Khalid Khorasani to launch the attack today, the spokesman said.
He said five terrorists were killed in a gunbattle with a CTD team after they refused to surrender. Three escaped.
The spokesman said four hand-grenades, 1 rifle, 2 pistols were recovered from them.
The CTD has killed 11 JuA terrorists since a member of the group carried out a suicide blast in Lahore on February 13, killing 15 people including senior police officers.
Last week, the CTD killed six JuA terrorists in Khanewal district of the province.
Pakistan has stepped up its offensive against militants after a suicide blast at the famed Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in southern Sindh province on Thursday killed 88.
A day after the bombing, Pakistan Army claimed to have killed 100 suspected militants in "intelligence-based operations" across the country. And, law enforcement agencies have beefed up security at all holy places. PTI MZ ABH
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West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan has officially launched the party's state election campaign with the mantra of putting jobs for locals first.
Mr McGowan received rapturous applause from Labor stalwarts including former federal leader Kim Beazley as he entered Perth Arena with AC/DC's TNT blaring through the PA system.
Mark McGowan is greeted by Kim Beazley at WA Labor's official campaign launch. Credit:Jacob Kagi
There was strong enthusiasm after an announcement to freeze TAFE fees and Mr McGowan also revealed a Labor government would introduce a four per cent stamp duty surcharge for all purchases of residential property by foreigners.
He claimed that since 2013, the Liberals had increased TAFE fees by more than 500 per cent.
Colin Barnett has dropped the "underdog tag" ahead of the state election and is now confident the Liberal party will win a third term.
Many Liberal MPs heading into a partyroom meeting late last month claimed their party was the underdog and it would be tough to win the March 11 election.
WA premier Colin Barnett: "Do you like me? Y/N." Credit:Andrew O'Connor ABC News
But at the Liberal party launch on Sunday, the Premier boldly claimed his party would win a third term.
"Look, I always felt the Labor party were in front leading up to this election... as the election has gone on my sense is it's getting closer and closer," he told reporters on Sunday.
North Korean soldiers photograph Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop during a trip to the demilitarised zone in South Korea in February. China's move to ban the imports effectively slices North Korea's exports in half and came with a message for the US and its allies: it's time to do a deal. Chinese officials say pushing North Korea into a corner won't work as Kim Jong-un's regime will keep developing its nuclear capability until it feels safe. Instead, it's time to restart talks and "break the negative cycle on the nuclear issue," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement on Sunday after meeting South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se in Munich. China's call for a new initiative contrasts with a more hawkish tone out of Washington. Mr Trump, who during his campaign said he would negotiate with Kim "over a hamburger," promised to deal with North Korea "very strongly" after its latest missile test.
He also called on China to get tougher. The US is putting a defence system called Thaad in South Korea a move that also potentially threatens Beijing's military capabilities. China may soon have company in making the shift. South Korea's President Park Geun-hye was impeached in December and the leading candidates to replace her all take a softer line on North Korea, with front-runner Moon Jae-in saying that the next administration should review the decision to deploy Thaad. 'Desperate irrationality' The assassination of Kim's estranged half-brother, who was protected by Chinese authorities, added to calls in Beijing's foreign policy establishment to take stronger action, according to Shi Yongming, an associate research fellow at the Foreign Ministry-run China Institute of International Studies. "The case fully exposed the desperate irrationality of the Kim regime," he said. "Beijing still wants to bring him to a negotiation table and that's where the US role lies because the collapse of the regime is right now outside China's realistic capacity to handle."
China has backed the Kim dynasty since it took charge after the Korean War, in part to prevent having a US ally on its border. With the international community enforcing sanctions on North Korea after a series of nuclear tests, China now accounts for more than 90 per cent of its total trade. Coal sales accounted for more than 50 per cent of North Korea's exports to China last year, and about a fifth of its total trade, according to Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "Of course they may have methods to replace the damage, but just by looking at the size of the loss, that's a pretty big blow," he said. For China, the move may have little impact: The country is the world's biggest producer and consumer of coal, and North Korea accounts for less than 10 per cent of its imports of the fuel. The restrictions also come as China's peak winter demand season begins winding down and regulators weigh reinstating domestic mining output limits to avoid the reemergence of a supply glut. Whether it will bring the North Korean regime to the negotiating table is unclear. North Korea has accelerated its development of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles since 2009, when it walked away from six-party talks involving the US, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.
Nuclear talks Fu Ying, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's legislature and was a vice foreign minister until 2013, said on Saturday that US policy was only making things worse. "You have to realise without talking with them, you will only drive them in the wrong direction," she said on stage at a security forum in Germany. The Obama administration's policy of "strategic patience" was widely viewed as a failure. While China has previously resisted calls by the US to apply greater pressure on Kim's regime, North Korea is increasingly becoming a strategic liability, according to Zhou Qi, director of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
London: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says the "time has come" for Australia to recognise Palestine, saying his deepest fear is the "drifting towards the disintegration and death of an independent Palestinian state", which he warns would fuel new radicalisation in the Middle East.
And in a sharp rebuke to both Israel and US President Donald Trump, who appeared to upend decades of US foreign policy by signalling that he would accept a one-state solution, Mr Rudd said it was critical that Australia, as a close friend to both Israel and the US, underline that abandoning the two-state solution would be "unacceptable".
Speaking exclusively to Fairfax Media, Mr Rudd, who is in Munich attending a global security conference, said he also feared a third Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, against Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
Mr Rudd's call comes ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's historic visit to Australia - the first by a serving Israeli prime minister - which begins on Wednesday.
Stockholm: Sweden has asked the US State Department to clarify remarks made by President Donald Trump implying that the Scandinavian country had been the target of a recent terrorist attack.
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said the Swedish embassy in Washington had sought clarification after Swedish commentators and media reacted with astonishment at weekend remarks by Trump.
In the speech to supporters in Florida on Saturday, Trump referred to several countries that have taken in a disproportionate number of refugees and that have recently been struck by attacks.
"You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden," Trump said.
At least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed in a gun battle with Pakistani security forces on Sunday, officials said.
By Press Trust of India: At least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed on Sunday in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region during a gun battle with security forces, officials said.
The incident occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency. At least two soldiers were also wounded in the face-off.
The terrorists were trying to enter Kurram Agency through Khyber Agency from Afghanistan, when they were intercepted by security forces and heavy exchange of fire took place, officials said.
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In addition to the 11 terrorists who were killed, several others were injured.
Security forces said the bodies of the terrorists would be handed over to political authorities.
The Pakistan army launched a crackdown on terrorists after an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a crowded Sufi shrine in Sindh province earlier this week, claiming 88 lives.
Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks on its soil.
Over the weekend, the Pakistan Army has killed more than 100 suspected terrorists, and given to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border.
ALSO READ: Pakistan takes action against cross-border terror groups, strikes camps in Afghanistan: Report
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Noie: That's what it all should look like in Notre Dame Stadium
First-year head coach Marcus Freeman kept insisting it was going to happen if Notre Dame kept working. On Saturday, it finally happened for the Irish
By Press Trust of India: Chandigarh, Feb 19 (PTI) The Punjab government today deployed forces at Kapoori and Shambu border in Patiala district, about 30 km from here, in the wake of Haryanas Indian National Lok Dals call to redig the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal from February 23.
"We have mobilised forces at Kapoori and Sambhu border today," Patiala zone Inspector General of Police (IGP) B Chander Sekhar told PTI.
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He said Punjab police has also taken up the matter with their Haryana counterpart so as to maintain law and order.
Besides, the Punjab government has sought 20 companies of Paramilitary Forces from the Centre, he said, adding they will also reach the state soon.
The steps have been taken to prevent any face-off between INLD workers and some radical outfits in Punjab, including Dal Khalsa, as people in the border state are against the digging or construction of the SYL canal.
Chander Sekhar also chaired a meeting of senior officials of Mohali, Patiala and Sangrur districts to supervise the arrangements of police deployment.
After recent Apex court verdict on the SYL canal issue favouring Haryana in terms of water sharing, INLD leader Abhay Chautala had announced his party workers will assemble at Ambala on February 23 and march towards Punjab for the purpose of digging the SYL canal.
"SYL is lifeline for Haryana...even the Supreme Court has given its verdict in favour of Haryana," Chautala had said.
The Punjab Police has decided to seal the state border within a couple of days to thwart any untoward move from the other side.
INLDs announcement to redig the canal drew sharp reactions from ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab which hit back asking the party not to indulge in provocative activities.
SAD maintained it will never let the project complete "as it would deprive the farmers of Punjab of their own waters".
"The issue of the SYL is dead once and for all as the Punjab Assembly and SAD-BJP government of the state has passed resolutions for restoration of the land acquired for the project," Punjab Cabinet Minister and SAD spokesman, Daljit Singh Cheema, had said.
He said as the land acquired for the project has been restored to the original owners and it is now in the possession of the farmers of Punjab.
He said the issue is "more of life and death for not only the farmers of the Punjab but for the all Punjabis as the state was already witnessing depletion of the water table in the recent years".
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Cheema further said it was "most unfortunate" thing that political parties from neighbouring Haryana are resorting to "provocative actions" by issuing statements on digging of canal.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal have announced on multiple occasions that the SAD is committed to safeguard waters of the state. (MORE) PTI VJ AKA TIR
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Jane Dudley Goude and Janie Cooper Ryan took The Georgetown Times to new heights on a recent vacation. Here they are in front of "The Temple of the Blue Moon," one of Pete Nelson's famous treehouses at Treehouse Point in Fall City, Washington. Janie had made reservations to stay there for her 65th birthday but was unable to go on that date, so when she rescheduled, she asked Jane to go with her. "It was a great trip and a great way to celebrate the year," Janie said, "and we both turned 65."
Low cost airline AirAsia began operations in Srinagar on Sunday, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti received and saw off inaugural flights.
By Shuja-ul-Haq : Low cost airline Air Asia began operations in Srinagar on Sunday, with the launch of daily morning and evening flights between Delhi and the Jammu and Kashmir summer capital.
The inaugural flight from New Delhi was received by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at Srinagar International Airport at 10 AM. Another flight to New Delhi was also seen off by the chief minister soon after.
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The launch of Air Asia's Srinagar operations could be good news for the tourism industry in the Valley, as an increase in the number of airlines means more communication and better prices.
The airline also plans to connect Srinagar to several other destinations in the country in the coming days.
ALSO READ: 'India's only world-class snow town is safe to ski'
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AM Bethan Jenkins says the pension ballot presented to Tata Steel workers was a "do or die situation" for many.
Steelworkers in Port Talbot voted overwhelmingly to back a pension deal presented by Community, Unite and GMB unions to safeguard their jobs earlier this week, with more than 70 per cent of members backing the proposals.
But the South West Wales AM says the outcome was the result of a "very difficult decision" for steelworkers and criticised the unions for presenting them with a "do or die decision".
"The ballot decision was a very difficult one for the workforce," she said.
"The first offer was simply too hard for many to swallow and the package that eventually went to ballot, though better than the first, was still a tough decision. It was suggested to the workforce after it became clear that the initial package was struggling to gain support, that there would be extra money for workers willing to retire early.
"After speaking to many within the workforce, it seems that the offer on the table was presented as a do or die decision.
"I think it's important to remember that Tata Steel still has to carry out their BSPS consultation and in statements made by Tata it was made clear that they view the ballot result as consultative, although my hope is that the company will honour the faith the workforce has placed in them with the result of the ballot.
"What the result shows is that the workforce were willing to make a very difficult choice to save the future of their industry and they now expect the guarantees which were made to them by the UK and Welsh governments in terms of investment - specifically steel research and development, infrastructure, a proposed new power station and action on local steel procurement - are forthcoming. I will work very hard to make sure that happens."
Community Union responded to Miss Jenkins with comments made by general secretary Roy Rickhuss last week following the vote.
"This result provides a mandate from our members to move forward in our discussions with Tata and find a sustainable solution for the British Steel Pension Scheme," he said.
"Steelworkers have taken a tough decision and have shown they are determined to safeguard jobs and secure the long-term future of steel making. Nobody wanted to be in this situation, but as we have always said, it is vital that we now work together to protect the benefits already accrued and prevent the BSPS from free-falling into the PPF.
"This ballot involved an extremely personal decision for everyone that voted. Whichever way our members cast their votes, we know they will not have taken that decision lightly and everyone's opinions must be respected.
"We now expect Tata to make good on their promises and deliver the investment plan for the whole of their steel business. The UK Government still has an important role to play and we fully expect them to deliver tangible support for steelmaking in the UK."
Unite and GMB unions did not respond to requests for comment.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Space exploration is governed by a complex series of international treaties and agreements which have been in place for years. The first and probably most important of them celebrates its 50th anniversary on January 27 The Outer Space Treaty. This treaty, which was signed in 1967, was agreed through the United Nations, and today it remain as the "constitution" of outer space. It has been signed and made official, or ratified, by 105 countries across the world.
The treaty has worked well so far but challenges have increasingly started to crop up. So will it survive another 50 years?
The Outer Space Treaty, like all international law, is technically binding to those countries who sign up to it. But the obvious lack of "space police" means that it cannot be practically enforced. So a country, individual or company could simply ignore it if they so wished. Implications for not complying could include sanctions, but mainly a lack of legitimacy and respect which is of importance in the international arena.
However it is interesting that, over the 50 years of it's existence, the treaty has never actually been violated. Although many practical challenges have been made these have always been made with pars of the treaty in mind, rather than seeking to undermine it entirely.
Challenges so far
Although there are many points to consider in the treaty, one of the most important is that outer space is to be used for "peaceful purposes" weapons of mass destruction cannot be used in space. Another is that celestial territory (such as the moon or Mars), is not subject to "national appropriation" in other words, no country can lay claim to them.
These points have been subject to challenges since the treaty came into play the first example of such a challenge was the Bogota Declaration in 1976. A group of eight countries tried to claim ownership of a segment of an orbit that was in the space situated above their land - since if their borders projected into the heavens, any "stationary" satellite there would always be within their borders.
They claimed that this space did not fall under the definition of "outer space" by the Outer Space Treaty and was therefore a "natural resource." This declaration was not seen as an attempt to undermine the treaty, but rather to say that orbits that go around the Earth's equator, or in the direction of the Earth's rotation, must be owned by the countries beneath. However this was was eventually dismissed by the international community.
In 2007 China was thought to have violated the treaty when it shot down one of it's own weather satellites with a "ground-based medium-range ballistic missile". This was seen as "aggressive" by Japan, but since the missiles did not come under the definition of "weapons of mass destruction," it was found that it did not violate the treaty. There was, however, international outcry because of the debris cloud it caused within the orbit.
Despite its importance, we must recognise that the Outer Space Treaty does have some specific failings in the modern era mainly since it is focused on countries only. Many private companies, such as lunarland, have exploited this and have offered to sell plots of land on celestial bodies such as the moon. Agents doing this justify their activity because the treaty says that territory is not subject to national appropriation and therefore, this technically means that private companies or individuals could however make claims to celestial territory, since they are not countries.
In an attempt to tackle some of the modern-day shortfalls of the treaty, the US government passed the Space Act of 2015 (opens in new tab), which says that US citizens may engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of space resources. Although this seems to undermine the space treaty's ban on anyone owning celestial territory, the Space Act has a clause stating, in simple terms, that the US does not lay claim to, or own, any such thing. This conflict, that indicated that the US "may" be able to claim celestial territory, while not violating the treaty, remains an issue of key debate.
Despite these obvious legal loopholes and challenges, the treaty has long formed the basis for an international law with regards to outer space and it remains as the important backbone of outer-space governance. The intention that it embodied when it was first written, to create law in space, remains important and whether any changes will be made in the futuree to reflect changing political and commercial circumstances is yet to be seen.
Jill Stuart, Visiting Fellow, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
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Chahid El hafed (Saharawi Refugee Camps), February 18, 207 (SPS - The President of the Republic,Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, urged the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities in the implementation of the United Nations settlement plan in Western Sahara.
Gali expressed the hope that the Security Council support MINURSO to carry out its tasks and assume its responsibilities in organizing a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people.
On the role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the position of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Gali expressed his confidence that Mr. Antonio Guterres wil accelerate the efforts of the United Nations in the decolonization of Western Sahara.
The President of the Republic, in an interview with Algerian television, stressed that the construction of an independent Saharawi state will contribute to the achievement and establishment of security and stability in the region. SPS
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London, February 19, 2017 (SPS) - The Sahrawi people have not yet seen any sign from the Moroccan side to put an end to its occupation of the Western Sahara territory, the Frente POLISARIO delegate to the United Nations Ahmed Boukhari told British television, BBC.
We have not yet seen, from Morocco, encouraging public declarations that could indicate Rabats willingness to put an end to the conflict in Western Sahara against POLISARIO, said Boukhari.
Nevertheless, Moroccos adherence to the African Union (AU) can be an opportunity to settle the conflict in Western Sahara provided that Rabat does not play an unclear and doubtful game.
Based on the occupiers antecedents, Boukahri questions Moroccos honesty and frankness, even broaching the non-acknowledged intentions of this country that recently adhered to the African Union.
He added that the Sahrawi people have never trusted the occupier, warning against any possible Moroccan strategy not compliant with the AU charter, particularly its article 4 directly regarding the Western Sahara people.
The article 4 of the AU charter considers that the borders of the member States are those acquired the day of the access to independence. Those of Morocco date back to 1956, which clearly excludes the Western Sahara territories from its authority.
We will closely follow all Moroccan declarations as well as political and diplomatic action. If it turns out that it hides betrayal intentions, the member States of the AU will not accept it, said the POLISARIO representative.
Boukhari also explained that Moroccos accession was made on the basis of its approval of the AU charter that it signed and therefore, it must respect its commitment. SPS
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By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, Feb 19 (PTI) Low-cost airline AirAsia started its operations in Jammu and Kashmir today, with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressing hope that it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state.
"Low cost airline carrier AirAsia started its operations here from today with the launch of its morning and evening flights daily between Delhi and Srinagar.
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"The inaugural flight from New Delhi was received by the Chief Minister at the Srinagar International Airport," an official spokesman said here.
He said another flight to New Delhi was also seen-off by the chief minister soon after.
The airline is also planning to connect Srinagar to many other destinations in the country in coming days, the spokesman said.
He said the chief minister welcomed the carrier hoping it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state and also provide local people with more connectivity to other cities in the country.
The spokesman said the chief minister has been pressing for operation of more morning and evening flights to and from Srinagar to facilitate more air traffic and consequently promote tourism.
She has also been insisting on involvement of local youth in projects being started in the state and on her insistence the airline has decided to recruit all its cabin crew and ground staff locally, the spokesman said. PTI SSB KUN
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Regular readers of this column know I have tried to cast doubt on the conventional wisdom regarding Connecticuts business climate. I have been doing that in part because I believe the orthodox battle lines, usually aligning with party affiliation, may be distorting whats really going on.
Take, for instance, the subject of regulation. Fact is, it can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. Often at the same time. But most of us take familiar sides. Republicans tend to say regulation is totally bad. Democrats are looser about it, but tend to believe regulation is a check on the market economy.
But regulation is complex.
There isnt enough regulation of Connecticuts health insurers. Aetna, for instance, is so powerful it can move public policy. As I noted last month, it threatened to leave even more insurance exchanges if the U.S. Justice Department kept challenging its merger with Humana. That merger has been abandoned, but on Wednesday, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said Obamacare was in a death spiral. If that comes true, it will be an unnatural death. Obamacares death and real peoples deaths were hastened by Aetna.
There is too much regulation of mom-and-pop enterprises. Car dealers, for instance, are protected by state laws prohibiting new sales without licensing and other onerous upfront costs. Liquor stores are protected by minimum sales laws and regulations barring the sale of wine and spirits in drug stores. Land-use regulation forbids certain kinds of businesses, like pubs, from taking root in certain kinds of neighborhoods. Numerous occupations barbers and hair stylists, for instance are protected by laws requiring licensing, accreditation, fees and other barriers of entry. All of these obstacles shield established businesses, especially the big ones, from competition.
Without strong competition, economies stagnate, and when they stagnate, they cannot withstand the eroding forces of systemic shock. Until the Great Recession, the country saw more small businesses being born than die. But since 2008, entrepreneurship in all states across all major sectors has flat-lined, allowing established businesses to gobble up market share, thus concentrating more, thus choking off even more entrepreneurship.
According to a new study by the Economic Innovation Group, more businesses die now than are born in most metro areas. Startup growth has clustered around big cities. Four cities combined Miami, Dallas, Houston and New York saw more startup growth than the rest of the country between 2010 and 2014. Hartford, Norwich, New Haven and Bridgeport all saw negative growth despite being near New York City. With startup growth becoming an urban phenomenon, rural areas no longer abound with mom-and-pop shops. They have instead become Dollar Store deserts.
Look, a lot of people are saying the reason Connecticut has had anemic growth over 20 years is high taxes and regulation. Some of that complaint is legitimate, but there may be another explanation. So much of our economy is increasingly locked up, with little room for entrepreneurs to maneuver.
Without strong competition, we are left dependent on the Pentagon to keep sending defense spending our way; we are left panicked when corporations, like GE, relocate; we are left paying big-time rents to big-time rent-seekers like AQR Capital Management to please pretty please dont leave.
Right now Gov. Dannel Malloy would rather look like a fool in giving millions in state subsidies to a gargantuan hedge fund than risk a headline saying he allowed that hedge fund to leave Connecticut and take all its jobs with it.
But jobs shouldnt be the focus.
Competition should be.
If startup growth in 2014 had been what it was in 2006, according to this new study, the national economy would have produced 914,000 new jobs. But when startup growth is weak, due to concentration being too high, we are in a job death spiral. New businesses create jobs on average about 3 million year nationally but established companies are net job destroyers.
Lawmakers should stop protecting established companies and start pursuing competition policy that will empower entrepreneurs, create jobs and distribute wealth widely. The battle lines not are between pro- and anti-regulation camps. Thats a false binary. What we need is smart regulation. What we need a regulation that promotes real competition.
John Stoehr is a lecturer in political science at Yale. He can be reached at johnastoehr@gmail.com.
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STAMFORD The employees of HealthCare Royalty Partners can see the directions of their firms growth by looking out their sixth-floor offices at 300 Atlantic St.
Looking east, they face Boston, where their company is opening a new office this summer. Turning to the west, they cast their gaze toward San Francisco, where they established their main West Coast foothold in 2015.
The proliferation of emerging firms like HealthCare Royalty Partners and the growth of their employee rosters has helped Stamford and other communities in the financial services corridor in Fairfield County to offset major downsizing at big firms such as Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS. Enterprises like HCR face their own challenges, but their steady development offers promise for a sector that has grappled with cuts and instability since the last recession.
Weve seen a significant amount of opportunity for us in the last 18 months, HealthCare Royalty Partners co-founder and Managing Partner Clarke Futch said in an interview last week. Weve been able to take advantage of that and put some capital to work.
An evolving industry
Two of HCRs neighbors a couple of blocks away face a less auspicious outlook.
RBS and UBS offices in the approximately 400,000-square-foot complex at 600 Washington Blvd. reflect their recent retrenchment. RBS has laid off some 550 Stamford-based employees in the past two years, while the sharp decline in UBS trading led to its departure last year from its former Stamford base at 677 Washington Blvd., home to the reputed largest trading floor in the world.
RBS and UBS are important, said Joe McGee, vice president of public policy for The Business Council of Fairfield County. But theyre not going to determine the future of the financial services sector in Stamford.
Amid those multinationals cutbacks, employment in financial services has grown modestly in the area in the past few years. About 42,600 people were working in December in financial activities in the Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford labor market area, compared with a post-recession low of 40,200 in February 2014, according to data from the state Department of Labor. The total still trails the 45,600 who were working in that sector before the recession started in late 2007.
We used to have more back offices for big banks, but those jobs have declined pretty precipitously, said Catherine Smith, the states economic and community development commissioner. Instead, we now have more professional investment firms and hedge funds. Those lost jobs have not at all been recovered, but the economy is making up for them very rapidly.
While their scale represents a small fraction of the scope of the operations of RBS and UBS, emerging investment firms such as HealthCare Royalty Partners have charted steady growth.
The firm has raised about $3.4 billion of committed capital since its late 2006 founding. It closed on seven investments last year and on a $150 million deal with South San Francisco, Calif.-based Portola Pharmaceuticals earlier this month. The firms transactions have picked up since a quiet year of one investment in 2015 when life-sciences companies were less motivated to turn to alternative capital-raising strategies because biotech stocks were trading at all-time highs.
Purchasing successful pharmaceutical products royalty streams makes HCRs revenues more stable compared with the income of investment banks focusing on capital markets. The firm then distributes the royalties to investors, with government pension funds comprising the vast majority of the group.
Our returns are not correlated to capital markets; theyre correlated to sales of the product, which are correlated to demographics, Futch said. As people get older they consume more health care and medication. Our returns are much more correlated to the aging of the population.
HCR now employs 25 in Stamford. One of their executives runs the firms San Francisco office, while another will be deployed to manage the Boston center. An HCR post in London could also open later this year.
Location, location
Stamford appealed as a headquarters for HCR for several reasons. Futch and his two co-founders already lived in Connecticut Futch is a Greenwich resident and they wanted to remain in the business nexus of the New York metropolitan area.
We go to California a lot; we go to Europe a lot, Futch said. Its a good place to be in terms of level of business activity. There are lots of companies that come through the New York area.
Operating in Stamford cost less than setting up in Manhattan, while still giving HCR access to qualified hires and consultants. The firms auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, also has offices at 300 Atlantic St.
At the time, if you go back to 2007, there was a more favorable business in Connecticut than in Manhattan, Futch said.
Committed but with concerns to state
The states business environment has grown less hospitable since HCR was founded, Futch said.
Connecticut used to welcome people with open arms, but now not so much, Futch said. Taxes have all gone up in all forms both direct and indirect taxes. And its very expensive to live here.
Smith responded that state officials have worked to create a more business-friendly environment since income and sales tax increases were enacted in 2011. With his latest budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed phasing out a corporate surcharge tax.
The state is doing a lot to try to make it more fiscally sustainable to do business here, Smith said.
Despite his concerns, Futch said that his firm planned to maintain its headquarters in Stamford.
We have a long-term business model, Futch said. We try to grow assets at a modest pace over time, meaning not grow too fast or too slow. Our outlook is pretty good.
pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition, declared Abraham Lincoln in announcing his first political campaign in 1832. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition, is yet to be developed.
Fourteen years later, Lincoln wrote: With me, the race of ambition has been a failure a flat failure. He was then 37 years old.
That man who thinks Lincoln calmly gathered his robes about him, waiting for the people to call him, has a very erroneous knowledge of Lincoln, wrote Abraham Lincolns law partner. His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest.
In 1858, Lincoln admitted: I have never professed an indifference to the honors of official station; and were I to do so now, I should only make myself ridiculous.
In 1838, a 29-year-old Lincoln had declared of another: Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.
A decade later, Congressman Lincoln told the House of Representatives: Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.
A month later, Lincoln again wrote his law partner, William H. Herndon, from Washington: Now, as to the young men. You must not wait to be brought forward by the older men. For instance, do you suppose that I should have ever got into notice if I had waited to be hunted up and pushed forward by older men? Personal ambition was necessary for success.
You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm. Lincoln wrote General Joseph Hooker, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, on Jan. 26, 1863. The presidents greatest respect was reserved for fighting generals not the hesitant George B. McClellan, but instead the bold Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln and Grant set winning goals and pursued them to victory in the Civil War a war of national survival. Lincoln had little patience for those who did not persevere. Thus, after the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Lincoln grew increasingly frustrated with Gen. George Meade who refused aggressively to pursue the Confederate Army of North Virginia under Gen. Robert E. Lee. About the same time, Lincoln commented of Grant that he was a copious worker, and fighter, but a very meager writer, or telegrapher.
Great Britain had its own war of national survival World War II and a leader worthy of President Lincoln. Winston Churchills ambition also emerged at a young age. I am so conceited, Churchill wrote his mother in 1898, that I do not believe that the gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending. (Lincoln by contrast was modest.)
Four decades later, at the onset of World War II, Churchill was named First Lord of the Admiralty. One cabinet official commented: From the beginning we speculated on his chances of becoming PM and on his behaviour at this time. We were not happy at the prospect. His drive and pugnacity were obvious, but we could not foresee how far, once he was in command, these would outweigh the disadvantage of his impulsive imagination.
Churchills chance to fulfill his ambition for Britains top job came in May 1940 as German armies blitzed into Belgium, Holland, and France. Lord Halifaxs report of the meeting leading to Churchills appointment as prime minister is considered more reliable than Churchills own, which was written later and contained some obvious errors. In his notes, Halifax wrote: PM (Chamberlain), Winston and I discussed possibilities. PM said I was the man mentioned as the most acceptable. I said it would be hopeless. If I was not in charge of the war (operations) and if I didnt lead in the House (of Commons), I should be a cipher. I thought Winston was a better choice. Winston did not demur. Was very kind and polite but showed that he thought this right solution.
Churchill wrote in his memoirs: By the confidence, indulgence, and loyalty by which I was upborne, I was soon able to give integral direction to almost every aspect of the war. This was really necessary because times were so very bad. The method was accepted because everyone realised how near were death and ruin. Not only individual death, which is the universal experience, stood near, but, incomparably more commanding, the life of Britain, her message, and her glory.
Churchill prevailed by forging and inspiring the Anglo-American-Soviet Alliance to destroy the Nazi regime and the Japanese Empire.
Both Lincoln and Churchill, the greatest English-speaking statesmen of the 19th and 20th centuries, led their countries to victory in wars of national survival.
Greenwich resident Lewis E. Lehrman, co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, is author of Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point (Stackpole, 2008), Lincoln by littles, (TLI, 2013), and Churchill, Roosevelt & Company: Studies in Character and Statecraft(Stackpole, 2017).
F urious campaigners have hit out at plans to build a 20-storey building blocking stunning panoramic views of the capital from trendy rooftop cafe Frank's.
Plans put forward by Southwark Council as part of a redevelopment of the borough could see Peckhams Aylesham Centre built-up to heights obscuring iconic London landmarks.
The council revealed the proposals as part of its preferred option for the New Southwark Plan earlier this month.
Suggestions include creating retail space, community space and flats which could involve the erection of a building up to 20-storeys high close to Rye Lane.
Hipster hangout: Revellers enjoy the views from Frank's in Peckham / Daniel Lynch
However, campaign group Peckham Vision have kicked back against proposals over fears they could block the views of Londons skyline from trendy rooftop bar Franks Cafe.
Thousands of revellers flock to the hangout, situated on top of a multi-storey car park off Rye Lane, during the bars summer opening hours.
Eileen Conn, spokeswoman for Peckham Vision, said: During the summer many thousands of people flock to Peckham town centre to enjoy the open spaces that have been created on the roofs of iconic buildings by Frank's Cafe, Bold Tendencies and the Bussey Building, bringing a new buzz and opportunities for economic activities to the town centre.
Stunning views: Thousands of people flock to Frank's during the summer months / Danny Elwes
The view over London is a major draw. But that view may be threatened if a planned 20-storey building is built on the nearby Aylesham Centre/Morrisons site.
Southwark councillor Mark Williams, cabinet member for regeneration and new homes, said: "We consulted local residents for several years on the planning policies for Peckham and there is a great opportunity to promote new jobs, homes and shops for local residents with the redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre.
The owner of the Aylesham is now consulting local residents on their plans for this site, and we are clear that whilst any plans may impact on views they should not block them.
As in any dynamic city views constantly change and we are very aware of the importance of views from Peckham. Indeed new opportunities are being created for people to enjoy the spectacular panorama of London from Peckhams roof tops with the creation of the new roof top bar and restaurant that will crown the new Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts building, which is due to start on site soon.
"We are committed to improving Peckham for local residents, businesses and the artistic community. We look forward to working with all of these groups to make that happen."
Frank's cafe declined to comment.
A London TV worker claims she was dismissed from her job at a Soho production company for being too good looking.
Emma Hulse says she was sent home from her freelancing shift at the central London TV company by a manager who told her: You should be on a catwalk.
The 24-year-old, who lives in Mayfair, said she was only five minutes into her eight-hour shift when her boss told her to leave.
Company UNIT TV, based on Great Marlborough Street, accepted the incident happened and have since dismissed the employee who was allegedly involved, who had only been working there for three months.
The Mayfair 24-year-old said she was only at work five minutes before being sent home. / Emma Hulse Instagram
Ms Hulse told the Standard: We were supposed to finish at 6pm and I got there for 9.30am and when I got there this other runner started explaining to me what I should do.
Then they send me on a run. Then my agent text me that Im no longer required.
The TV worker said he boss sent her home, telling her: 'you should be on a catwalk'. / Emma Hulse Instagram
I got there and spoke to the line manager and he asked me, are you a model? Are you not doing catwalks, why are you not at the front of house?
I was wearing a lipstick but from my perspective I was not inappropriate. I was wearing a shirt and trousers. I really didnt think I looked inappropriate.
Ms Hulse said she was disappointed when she was sent home. / Emma Hulse Instagram
Then he took my number, he suggested we go for a drink.
She added: I was quite disappointed to be sent home. I didnt really know what to do.
The company said the employee allegedly involved in the incident has been sacked. / Emma Hulse Instagram
Maybe that company employs plain looking people and maybe if you dont look that way they dont take you, maybe I was a distraction.
I do camera operating as well, I work for many different companies and no one has sent me home because of the way I look. Especially within a creative agency you should be free to wear what you want.
Adam Luckwell, owner of the company, told the Standard the employee who was allegedly involved was dismissed at the end of a three month probation period.
We found there were a number of things we were not happy with, Mr Luckwell said. We decided not to continue with the employment and terminated the contract within three months. We felt he was a bad fit for us and some of the things he was doing was not in line with the companys policy".
B usinesses at a set of east London railway arches warn they could be forced to close after Network Rail announced a rent hike of more than 200 per cent.
Traders at the arches in London Fields, some of whom have been there for decades, say some people have already been forced to leave by the huge increase.
Derec Hickman, from Chus Garage, which has been at the site for 28 years, said businesses had started receiving threatening letters about the changes over the past six months.
He told the Standard: When we started this was like an abandoned archway with people shooting up in it back when Hackney was the murder mile.
You used to have drugs and criminals going past everyday and now we have hipsters instead.
Well accept theres a knock on effect but its not feasible for a business to suddenly, without warning, have to increase their overheads by that amount.
Mr Hickman said Network Rail had originally tried to increase their rent from 18,000 a year to 45,000. Despite negotiating that down by 5,000 the business would still find that unaffordable and its not alone.
Ali Sharif, who has run Sharif Auto Services in two of the arches for seven years, said his rent was sent to rise from 30,000 to 100,000.
He told the Standard: This will force me out of business. Theres no way I can sustain that rent, I cant afford it.
Its a huge company, I know they dont care but we care and the community cares, he said. If they start driving the businesses out they will suffer.
Traders, including the London Fields Brewery and furniture firm Poetstyle, have now come together as a group to fight the increases, which they claim are based on a vastly exaggerated market rate.
Mr Hickman said: Its not feasible. But everybodys of the same spirit. When I walked around talking to everybody the fighting east end spirit is so strong it really inspired me.
And Mr Hickman said he had come across other similar businesses in Hackney facing the same problem, with suspicions that Network Rail, under pressure to offload its property portfolio, wants to sell them off.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: Network Rails commercial estate has 182 arches and units in the London Borough of Hackney.
We are obliged by the Government to deliver value for the taxpayer and all of the money generated by our estate is reinvested back into the railway.
We aim to deliver value in the local communities in which we operate, supporting a growing economy with businesses and jobs.
We currently have six rent reviews ongoing in the London Fields area and negotiations are ongoing between us and our tenants or their representatives.
Where rent reviews are due, we negotiate with our tenants on a consistent but individual basis to find an amicable settlement.
By Press Trust of India: So, this exercise of redoing and renewing partnership in a
So, this exercise of redoing and renewing partnership in a changing world offer areas of cooperation, and the present effort of the government since the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015 is to further engage Africa, and we are following it very consistently, Ansari said.
India has engaged with Rwanda and Uganda on many levels. A 28 MW hydroelectric power project on the Nyabarongo River in Rwanda was constructed with a Line of Credit worth USD 80 million from India. Besides, 35 schools in Rwanda have been solar-electrified, a senior MEA official said.
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"India has also stationed a four-member military training team in Uganda since 2010 to train Ugandan defence personnel and has also deployed a telecom expert, the official said.
Ansari, during his visit, is slated to address India- Uganda Business Forum and launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part opf which there would be a technology expo of Indias low-cost innovations.
"As regards our relationship, both Rwanda and Uganda are important from the point of view of trade, especially in the pharmaceuticals, automobiles and mechanical appliances and machinery sectors. Our trade with Rwanda has doubled over the last five years, while we are one of Ugandas largest trading partners," the MEA official said.
India has consistently been one of the top import sources for Rwanda. The major items of Indias exports to Rwanda include pharmaceuticals, vehicles, textiles, electrical machinery, optical and other precision instruments and plastics.
Major imports from Rwanda include coffee, tea, spices, salt, sulphur, precious and semi-precious stones.
India has also extended a USD 120.05 million EXIM Bank Line of Credit to Rwanda for an irrigation project.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, at whose invitation Ansari is travelling to that country, at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year, had expressed his readiness to discuss and engage in business with investors from India.
Rwanda has an Indian community of about 3000 people and the countrys only sugar refinery, its modern textile mill as well as a soap and cosmetic factory are owned by PIOs (Persons of Indian-origin), according to officials. PTI KND SUA
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T he replacement for Britain's most senior police officer is reportedly set to be announced this week.
The new Metropolitan Police commissioner will be unveiled after a shortlist of candidates have been interviewed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
Current commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has served in the role since 2011.
Scotland Yard's former head of anti-terrorism operations is the favourite for the job, The Sunday Times reported.
The 56-year-old is said to be popular with officers but is known for leading the operation in which an innocent man was shot dead at a Tube station.
Leaving the role: Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe / Lucy Young
Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian national, was shot in the head by police at Stockwell Tube station in 2005 after they mistook him for a suicide bomber.
His family have written to Mr Khan urging him to block Dick's appointment.
Among the other candidates for the job are the Met's current assistant commissioner Mark Rowley and Stephen Kavanagh, who is chief constable of Essex Police.
After the mayor and the home secretary have reached their decision, it will be presented to Theresa May who will ask the Queen to formally confirm the apppointment.
Sir Bernard has warned of the impact of budget cuts and rising crime on the Met in the coming years.
O ver half of City workers are more stressed at home than at work, scientists have shown.
A new study suggests more than half of workers suffer high levels of stress away from the office as they try to balance their home and work lives.
Researchers found taking work home can be deadly with links to cardiovascular disease.
The study used wrist monitors to measure heart rates and found there are spikes in stress when people interrupt their time at home with work, the Times reported.
Co-author of the study, David Plans, said the culture of always working is killing people.
He said: Everybody knew that always working was bad, but now we can measure when it is happening and exactly what damage it is doing. It is much worse than we thought. It is killing people.
Dealing with work while at home is pernicious to health and is directly linkable to cardiovascular disease. That is now measurable and before it was not.
The study was backed by AXA PPP Healthcare and appears in the latest edition of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
One phase of the study, which analysed 550 London staff from the French bank BNP Paribas, found stress levels were dangerously high until 8.30pm when children went to bed. Some stress levels remained high until 1am.
S adiq Khan has criticised Donald Trumps cruel and shameful policies and said the US President should be denied a state visit.
The Mayor spoke out as MPs prepared to debate the US Presidents forthcoming trip to the UK on Monday.
Mr Khan said Mr Trumps controversial travel ban aimed at people from seven Muslim-majority countries Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria - and the suspension of refugee admissions were reasons not to be "rolling out the red carpet".
Parliament is set to debate rival petitions on the invitation extended by Theresa May to the president to make a state visit while protesters will gather in Westminster to speak out against Mr Trump.
Mr Khan, who is a Muslim, told ITV's Peston on Sunday: "I love America, I love Americans and I believe the special relationship is a good one and one that's here to stay.
"But when you're mates with somebody, when you've got a special relationship, of course you are side-by-side with them in times of adversity but when they are wrong you call them out."
He added: "I think this ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, ending the refugee programme is cruel and it's shameful.
"In those circumstances we shouldn't be rolling out the red carpet."
Mrs May has been criticised for offering Mr Trump a state visit too soon in his already highly controversial presidency.
Barack Obama only received an invitation after 758 days, while it took 978 days before his predecessor, George W Bush, was offered a state visit, compared with seven days for Mr Trump.
Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames defended the invitation, even though Mr Trump's visit will be "very controversial".
He told Peston on Sunday: "I think the Prime Minister was absolutely right to do this, I think this is very important and I think President Trump will make a state visit here. It will be very controversial but it's very important that he does."
In Westminster Hall on Monday, MPs will debate a petition - signed by more than 1.85 million people calling for the visit to be stripped of the trappings of a state occasion in order to avoid causing "embarrassment" to the Queen.
They will also consider a rival petition, backed by 311,000 signatories, demanding that the visit goes ahead.
While the debate proceeds, protesters will gather for a rally in Parliament Square which organisers claim will attract more than 20,000 people.
Cabinet minister Liz Truss defended the Prime Minister's decision to seek close links with the Trump administration.
The Justice Secretary told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News: "These are our most important international allies. Of course, we should work with the US."
She added that "of course we don't agree with everything that happens in the US" but "that doesn't mean we shouldn't work together".
Ms Truss said: "The US is vital - our partnership with the US, and in fact Europe's partnership with the US is vital for our economy, it's also vital for our security.
"I think the Prime Minister's work in securing that agreement on Nato was really, really important.
"There are big issues, big threats in the world that we face at the moment and it's important that countries work together."
T he third of four engraved 5 notes worth 50,000 has been found leaving one more still undiscovered.
One more of the highly-valuable fivers, marked with a tiny engraving of Jane Austen by acclaimed artist Graham Short, is still yet to be found.
The four incredibly rare notes were secretly released into circulation across the UK last year.
The Birmingham-based artist spent each of the notes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Micro-artist Graham Short has engraved four fivers with a miniature portrait of Jane Austen. / EPA
The first note was found in December last year by a cafe customer in Blackwood, south Wales, who had bought a sausage and egg sandwich and received the money in change.
Five things to know about the new 5 banknote
Another note was then discovered in a Christmas card in the Scottish borders.
Micro-artist Mr Short engraved the 5mm portraits of Ms Austen on the transparent part of the new plastic 5 notes to mark the 200th anniversary of the English authors death.
He told the BBC an old lady found one of the notes in Northern Ireland.
"An old lady found it and she said 'I don't want my picture in the papers' and she said 'if it sells for a lot of money it will be better if young children could benefit from it'," he said.
Each of the notes have been insured by the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project, for 50,000.
Timeline: History of the five pound note
The people who received the notes in Wales and Scotland said they wanted to keep the notes rather than sell them.
F urther heavy rain is forecast for California after a huge Pacific storm left three people dead and forced hundreds to leave their homes.
The National Weather Service predicted the return of wet weather in the region, and warned of possible flooding in parts of the state.
Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of the heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week.
The authorities said the San Joaquin River is reaching flood stage, and told residents in Manteca to be ready to evacuate in case it reaches dangerous levels.
"Stronger southerly winds and widespread flooding will be likely as an atmospheric river (of moisture) takes aim somewhere along the central California Coast," a weather statement warned.
California storms - in pictures 1 /9 California storms - in pictures Cars navigate a flooded road in Salinas AP A man struggles in high winds at Huntington Beach AP Crowds look at a sinkhole on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City EPA A sinkhole on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City EPA A sinkhole on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City EPA A fallen tree in Salinas AP High winds destroyed power cables AP
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north, where damage to spillways of the Lake Oroville dam forced the evacuation of 188,000 people last weekend.
Meanwhile, authorities up and down the state were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing creeks, mudslide threats in foothill areas denuded by previous fires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighbourhoods.
North-west of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were told to leave their homes on Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond, with some homes getting two feet of water.
Fire Chief Kenny Cohen said nearly 100 homes and the elementary school filled with a couple of inches of water before the water began receding. The area received about three inches of rain by Saturday morning.
No injuries were reported.
In the desert town of Victorville in Southern California, several cars were washed down a flooded street, and one man was found dead in a submerged vehicle after others were rescued, San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
In the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when a tree falling in heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car.
On Saturday, searchers found the body of a man in his 20s who was swept down a rain-swollen gully in Thousand Oaks a day earlier.
KCBS-TV reported that the body was found in Arroyo Conejo Creek. Three other people stranded by the water were rescued.
In the Studio City area of Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars, the second on live TV as viewers watched it teeter on the edge before plunging in. One driver was taken to the hospital in fair condition.
H orrific footage has captured a man beating a seven-year-old boy more than 60 times with a belt - hitting him so hard that he fell to the ground.
A roadside camera was poised to catch out people who had been dumping rubbish on the side of a street in Houston, US.
But shocked police instead watched the man repeatedly knocking the child to the floor as he hit him on his head, legs, torso and bottom.
"This guy ravaged this kid, he was hit 62 times, we counted," local officer Constable Alan Rosen said.
Hidden camera: The footage was captured on the side of a road in Houston / Constable Rosen
"He was bent over the hood of a car and hit with a belt. It's just an extremely sad situation.
As a law enforcement leader, a parent and a life-long member of this community, I'm deeply concerned and upset by such an incident."
Police spotted the distressing footage at around 5pm on February 16.
Injury charges: A man was arrested in connection with the incident / Constable Rosen
According to Eyewitness News, officers arrested 27-year-old Kordarell Williams in connection with the incident.
Williams, who is believed to be the boyfriend of the boy's mother, was charged with causing injury to a child.
The boy was taken to hospital for treatment but is not understood to be in the care of Child Protective Services.
P iers Morgan has pulled out of hosting the Royal Television Society (RTS) Programme Awards after a silly campaign was launched to have him banned.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was only announced as host on Thursday, accepting the offer because he said the opportunity might be "fun".
But he announced on Sunday evening he was withdrawing from his duties over the furore surrounding his appointment.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Morgan said: "I was recently invited to host the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
Controversial host: Mr Morgan recently appeared onstage with tape over his mouth / Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
"As someone who has worked in British and American television for most of this Millennium, on a variety of shows, I thought it might be fun and agreed to do it without any fee.
"After my role was announced, a campaign was started to have me banned.
"It suggested that I lack the 'creative excellence' criteria required for presenting such an event and therefore my presence would be 'damaging' and 'inappropriate'.
"Further, I have 'failed to understand a social movement that values equality and diversity of voice'.
"Apparently, this movement does not extend to tolerating my own diverse voice.
"I have no wish to serve as an unnecessary distraction from award winners whose hard work and skill should be celebrated without any of the silly noise this campaign has generated.
"So, I am now withdrawing from hosting the evening. Good luck to everyone who has been nominated."
It comes after a series of public spats involving Morgan and celebrities including author JK Rowling, Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor, and pop talent manager Scooter Braun.
Susanna Reid tweeted in support of her co-presenter on the ITV breakfast show shortly after he went public with his decision to pull out of hosting.
She said: "There's a lot that @piersmorgan and I disagree on. But as someone who knows what a very good presenter he is, I think this is a real shame."
The awards are due to be held on March 21 in central London.
A sex video, allegedly involving BJP MLA Ramakanta Dewri, has gone viral on social media. While the BJP is silent over the sex video, the Morigaon legislator has blamed it on his adversaries.
By India Today Web Desk: The BJP leader Ramakanta Dewri has denied his involvement in a video purportedly showing the MLA from the Morigaon Assembly seat in sexual act.
The video has gone viral on social media leaving the ruling BJP red-faced. The video apparently shows Ramakanta Dewri in a compromising position with a woman in a hotel.
However, speaking to local TV channels, Ramakanta Dewri said that the video was a conspiracy to defame him.
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"It is purely a conspiracy hatched against me by my political adversaries to malign my image as I am a contender for a berth in the ministry, which will be expanded soon," Ramakanta Dewri said.
The Morigaon legislator has demanded an inquiry including a forensic test of the video.
Dewri said, "Let there be a forensic test of the video. If it establishes that I am the man featuring in it, I will quit politics."
The BJP has not yet reacted to the sex scandal.
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cast his vote at the Abhinav Vidyalaya polling booth in his native village of Etawah in the third phase of the state Assembly election.
By India Today Web Desk: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cast his vote at the Abhinav Vidyalaya polling booth in his native village of Etawah in the third phase of the state Assembly election.
Akhilesh, who was accompanied by cousin and Budayun MP Dharmendra Yadav, told the media that he voted for the Samajwadi Party so that development could further be expedited.
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Assembly elections 2017: full coverage
The SP national president however looked a little shaky and snapped back at certain journalists who asked some uncomfortable questions.
When asked why he has declared his vote, Yadav said because "you were asking".
He also got angry when the mediapersons asked about his father Mulayam Singh Yadav not accompanying him for vote, like he always does.
Also read: Mayawati says BSP will get 300 plus seats
Ducking the question, he expressed hope that the people of the state will vote in large numbers in the favour of the SP-Congress alliance.
Replying to a question whether he would like to wish his estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from Jaswantnagar, the Chief Minister wished that all SP candidates won the polls.
On the question why Mulayam Singh, whom he ousted as the National President of the party in January, did not turn up for joint rallies with him, Akhilesh Yadav said he probably wanted to cover other areas.
Also read: UP election: As Lucknow goes to the polls, its most famous voter - Atal Bihari Vajpayee - won't get inked
Amid reports of a not good faring in the erstwhile strongholds, the Chief Minister also ruled out "bheetarghat" against the ruling party candidates.
WATCH | UP election: Akhilesh ducks question on Mulayam, says people will vote in favour of SP-Congress
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The Prime Minister is in Fatehpur district to lend support to the six candidates contesting from the district.
By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally in Fatehpur district of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
The Prime Minister is here to lend support to the six candidates contesting from the district. Narendra Modi will be accompanied by BJP MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and several other top leaders from the party.
Jyoti earlier claimed the rally of Prime Minister Modi will witness the participation of nearly two lakh people.
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HERE IS WHAT HE SAID:
If there is electricity during Ramzan, there should be electricity during Diwali
There should not be any prejudice on the basis of religion or caste
There was a time when farmers had to face hurdles to get urea; We neem-coated urea and stopped its black marketing
We want to provide free gas connections to rural households; We want them to have access to clean fuel
I promise that once BJP comes back in power, we will waive the loans of all farmers
Congress confused people over giving 9/12 cylinders; I appealed to people to give up subsidies so that poor benefits and several gave them up
What kind of a state is this Akhileshji, where rape survivors have to approach Supreme Court for justice
SP is least concerned about improving law and order situation in UP. Urge people to elect a government that would ensure safety of people
Why is the policing system so inefficient in UP? Why are complaints not registered? What work culture is it?
Modi takes a dig at Akhilesh, questions his honesty over involving Prajapati in campaigning
Samajwadi Party did not respect ideals of Ram Manohar Lohiaji by allying with the Congress
SC had to interfere in Gayatri Prajapati matter to make a police station lodge an FIR
The alliance between Samajwadi Party and Congress is like two sinking ships joining hands
Vanvaas of Vikas in Uttar Pradesh must end now; country is moving ahead at fast pace, so must UP
Would like to recall Sardar Sahab; Had the previous governments implemented his guidelines, fate of our country would have been different
Today is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; I pay tribute to him
Modi enthrals the gathering at Fatehpur district
Also read:
Priyanka Gandhi's dig at PM Narendra Modi: UP doesn't need adopted sons, it has its own
If PM Modi is adopted son of Uttar Pradesh, then he should tell who is his father, says Lalu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first interview since demonetisation: Top 10 things he told India Today
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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.
If you are changing your smartphone from Android to iOS or just upgrading your device, then you can access all your WhatsApp data which is backed up in your Google Drive or Apple Cloud. Here is a step-by-step guide to transfer your WhatsApp data from your old to new phone.
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rime Minister Sorin Grindeanu stated, on Saturday evening, that the Government of Romania will officially send the European Commission a request to access European funds to use for the renovation and improvement of penitentiaries, acording agerpres.
"I want to say something else, regarding European funds, a matter that I found out there (e.n. - during the visit that he had in Brussels at the end of the week). The former Government was offered the possibility to use European funds, to access European funds, in order to improve or renovate penitentiaries. This was said by the European Commission, it was refused (e.n. - by the former Government). This week, and you will see concretely this matter, we will officially send, on behalf of the Government of Romania, to the European Commission a request through which we say that we wish to access funds of this type, and then we will move, if I can say so, very fast, so that we may access these funds. This information I received in Brussels, from officials," Grindeanu said at private broadcaster Realitatea TV.He added that it is the Executive's duty to do these things, and that 22 billion lei, the amount inscribed in this year's budget as European funds attraction is ambitious, "compared to zero", the absorption of last year.
All regional TV and radio channels are playing campaign songs of parties ahead of the civic polls.
By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: The BJP has launched a song ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls focused on its star campaigner and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The song recorded in both Marathi and Hindi - Jo karel vikas sarvancha, toh ahe Devendra Aamcha (One who will develop everyone is our Devendra) eulogizes chief minister and his plans for development.
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All regional TV and radio channels are playing this song ahead the civic polls as part of BJP's campaign.
HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW "We wanted to focus on the positive side of the campaign. Devendra Fadnavis is a new generation leader who has vast dreams for a new age Maharashtra. Hence we have made a song that is tune with the taste of the younger generation," said Prasad Lad, Vice President of State BJP. Shiv Sena too has launched a campaign song similar to its poll tag "Karun Dakhavle"(We did it) that tunes about the work done by BMC under Sena's watch. But the video carries the picture of Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. By the looks of it, Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MSN) campagin song is a hit among youth - "Tumchya Rajala Saath dya"(support your king). Composed by leading Marathi composer Avadhoot Gupte, the song is sung by Swapnil Bandodkar and Adarsh Shinde. Raj in his song also takes a dig at the BJP and Shiv Sena. it's been played at every MNS rally before Raj's grand entry. Eevn individual contenders like- siblings Gadade-Patil who are contesting on NCP ticket from Pimpri- Chinchwad Municipal Corporation have come up with a music video based on chartbuster marathi song "Shantabai".
Also read: Shiv Sena vs BJP in BMC polls: Who will win western suburbs of Mumbai
Also read: Maharashtra civic polls: BJP calls Shiv Sena ruled BMC corrupt, sneaky
Also read: BMC polls: SEC to display list of candidates outside poll booths
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Abbott EMS is planning to add up to 75 jobs this year as its St. Louis office grows to cover five more states.
From the third floor of their St. Louis-based operations, Abbott dispatchers direct paramedics and ambulances to emergency and non-emergency calls in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Abbott employs 450 people in the St. Louis area, and has its medical personnel on standby at Cardinals and Blues games and other events.
By the end of the year, the St. Louis command center will more than double its reach as the company expands into Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Abbotts office, southeast of the intersection of McCausland and Manchester avenues, recently went through a $750,000 upgrade to become a state-of-the-art dispatching hub. The company is eliminating smaller dispatch centers and consolidating into the St. Louis location.
Mark Corley, regional director for American Medical Response, Abbotts parent company, said the consolidation saved money.
It lowers our per transportation cost, Corley said.
The St. Louis hub will the first of its kind for AMR, a subsidiary of Colorado-based Envision Healthcare Corp.
AMR operates in 40 states and the District of Columbia. It transports about 4.4 million patients a year.
Corley said the organization was hiring. Dispatch salaries start between $25,000 and $27,000, plus benefits. Experienced dispatchers can make up to $40,000 a year, he said.
Abbott was founded in 1969 as Abbott Ambulance Inc. It was bought by Emergency Medical Services Corp., now known as Envision, in 2007.
Mattress man Scott Thompson may be missing some sleep these days. Tempur Sealy International Inc., which Thompson leads, posted a small increase in fourth-quarter sales Thursday morning, not enough to stave off a full-year decline in revenue at the company behind Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, and Stearns & Foster beds-its first annual decline since 2012.
The sales figures come just a couple of weeks after Tempur Sealy's divorce from Mattress Firm, its largest North American retail partner. The two companies split after contract negotiations broke down, closing a distribution channel with 3,500 stores that moved one in five Tempur Sealy mattresses. The Mattress Firm orders will stop by the end of March.
Investors bailed out as well, taking one-third of the company's market value with them the day Mattress Firm walked away. Tempur Sealy beat expectations by cutting costs and trimming its product line. Investors were further cheered by news that the company snapped up $200 million of its stock, but the shares have a long way to go before they recover the ground they've lost.
It's actually a pretty good time to be one of the big mattress companies. Bed sales tend to move in step with the economy, and lately the conditions have been kind of dreamy. The stock market is at record highs, the unemployment rate is below 5 percent, and the housing market continues its steady climb out of the subprime mortgage crisis. Housing starts, or the Moving Out of Mom's Basement indicator, are back at pre-recession levels.
The business is also getting a boost from a cultural obsession over wellness. As consumers plug in to an ecosystem of watches and bands that track their sleep, they're likelier to invest in the latest proprietary sandwich of cooling foam, organic cotton, and springs tuned like the thing's a Swiss watch. Tempur-Pedic's new marketing slogan says it all: Sleep Is Power.
But many consumers are no longer setting foot in stores where beds are lined up like sad, inert cars waiting for a sleepy test-drive. The crowd of manufacturing startups selling mattresses online is almost laughably large at this point.
Besides Casper Sleep there are Saatva, Tuft & Needle, Leesa Sleep, Purple, Helix Sleep, and Eve it's like a Silicon Valley skit waiting to happen. Though each has a slightly different product and price point, the general model is the same: Cut out the middleman to dangle a lower price, and offer free shipping both ways and a no-risk trial of about 100 days.
These "disruptors" now command about 5 percent of the U.S. mattress market, according to Tempur Sealy and Saatva, which expects to top $200 million in sales this year. Given the number of upstarts, none of them individually is likely to bother the incumbents too much.
In fact, Tempur Sealy has been shrugging off the scrappy competition for years. In July, Chief Financial Officer Barry Hytinen told analysts that bed-in-a-box was a niche market, with startups overspending on customer acquisition.
"The vast majority of consumers continue to prefer testing beds in-store and buying from retailers," he said on a conference call. When analysts asked about the company buying one of those startups, Thompson scoffed. "I don't know what we would be buying if we were buying an internet company that has a web page," he said.
Leaving aside the fact that every company is "an internet company" these days, 5 percent market share isn't nothing, and the pace at which these startups gathered that business is alarming. "The industry is growing at 3 or 4 percent [a year], and almost all of that growth is going to the disruptors," said Saatva Co-Founder Ricky Joshi.
Tempur Sealy can make a foam mattress and stuff it into a box as well as anyone, probably better. So that's what the company did, first discreetly and then explicitly. Punch "Casper" into a Google search these days and the third result is Cocoon by Sealy, a direct-to-consumer line of mattresses (or, as Thompson might put it, an internet company with a web page). The manufacturing giant's bed-in-a-box brand looks and feels like its tiny rivals', although its products are slightly more affordable.
It's classic, Clayton Christensen-style innovation: If anyone is going to disrupt your business, it ought to be you. Cocoon, however, is a little late to the internet party. Though the brand is growing at 100 percent a year, Tempur Sealy garnered 88 percent of its sales last quarter through traditional retail channels.
Casper Co-Founder Philip Krim said Cocoon is "aggressively copying" its approach. "Tempur Sealy is making a bold statement that they don't need to be tied to the dominant retailer in the space, and that was our thesis all along," Krim said. "But consumers today can smell inauthentic brands. This is another attempt at an old, stodgy brand trying to stay hip and cool."
Cocoon puts Tempur Sealy in a tricky spot. If it turns out to be a bust, the company stands to shed share to the dot-com bed barons. If it succeeds, the brand could undercut Tempur Sealy's higher- margin products and undermine its retail partners. Cocoon may even have played a part in the soured negotiations with Mattress Firm.
"They're in a sort of precarious situation," Joshi, of Saatva, said. "Even without Mattress Firm, retail is still massive for them. It's not like they can just drop that channel and do whatever they want."
For now, Tempur Sealy seems to be trying to reassure its retailers. On this morning's conference call, it talked about Cocoon like an experiment or R&D project. "The greatest opportunity, when you look at dollars, is obviously going to be with our current customers," Thompson said.
Meanwhile, as Big Mattress tries to beat the startups at their own game, the opposite is happening. While Saatva smooshes beds into a box under its Loom & Leaf brand, its eponymous line is decidedly old-school, full of steel coils. It pitches the product as "America's best priced luxury mattress." In October, Leesa launched a similar product dubbed Sapira. In short, the dot-com beds aren't just squishy stuff for 20-somethings.
"I remember a slide in our original deck saying 'this will be the mattress for millennials,'" Casper's Krim said. "But from day one we had all ages of people buying."
The downtown Roberts Orpheum Theater, dark since 2012, has new owners who appear committed to spreading the light.
But Aaron Reppert, executive director of Jubilee World, the theaters new owner, is adamant about one thing.
Its not going to be a church, he said during a tour of the empty theater last week.
As first reported this month by development website NextSTL, Jubilee World bought the property in October from UrbanStreet Group. The Chicago firm had acquired the theater in 2012 as part of a package of properties owned by Michael and Steven Roberts, whose business empire crumbled in the wake of the Great Recession.
Jubilee World describes itself as a music-oriented ministry that puts on Christian music concerts, but Reppert said the century-old theater on Ninth Street would still host public events, maybe even as soon as this fall.
Jubilee World has its work cut out for it. Not only does it now own the Orpheum, it quietly bought the old St. Marys Orphanage on Emerson Avenue in 2015. The 8-acre campus in the Walnut Park East neighborhood is now listed as Jubilee Worlds headquarters.
Renovations on the old orphanage are ongoing, Reppert said, so hes the only employee in the headquarters now, but more staff is expected to move in this summer after work is complete. He mentioned plans for music instruction rooms and community outreach where members and nearby residents can learn about and record music as part of the groups ministry.
Reppert didnt mention until later the groups connection to Olivet University (not affiliated with Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois), nor does the Jubilee World website make clear that it has ties to Olivet.
David Jang founded the Christian university, which has its main campus 90 minutes southeast of Riverside, Calif., in the early 2000s. He has courted controversy in Christian circles, and he and Olivet have been linked to the International Business Times publishing group, IBT Media, which purchased Newsweek magazine in 2013.
Christianity Today, a publication founded by Billy Graham, published an article accusing Jang of encouraging the belief that he was somehow connected to the second coming of Jesus. Mother Jones did a long piece interviewing people who attended Olivet and worked for IBT who also said that it seemed Jangs followers were encouraging the belief. A 2013 New York Times article mentions Olivets affiliation with IBT the universitys president is married to IBT co-founder and chief content officer Johnathan Davis.
Olivet representatives have denied that Jang ever encouraged his followers to believe he was a messianic figure. In the New York Times article about the universitys purchase of an abandoned mental hospital in Wingdale, N.Y., Olivet President Tracy Davis said that university officials were surprised at the accusations in the Christianity Today article and that they werent based on theological merit.
According to Reppert, Jubilee World started in Los Angeles in 2002 and later moved to San Francisco, New York, Nashville and now St. Louis.
Each of the prior Jubilee World locations Reppert mentioned has an Olivet University extension campus, according to the schools website. Jubilee Worlds president, Merril Smoak, is listed as dean of Olivets Jubilee College of Music. On its Missouri nonprofit paperwork, Jubilee World lists the address of Olivet Universitys Nashville location as the address for three members of its board.
Xiao Li Huang, listed as president on Jubilee Worlds Missouri nonprofit registration, graduated from Olivets Jubilee College of Music in 2006, according to a post on the groups website.
Why pick up stakes and move to St. Louis? Reppert said Jubilee World decided to take a leap of faith and purchase a larger location and help the struggling Walnut Park area on the citys north side. The organization could have set up shop in a nicer area, he said, but then were just thinking of ourselves.
After the Post-Dispatch contacted Olivet and Smoak for comment, Reppert, the Jubilee World representative, called the newspaper and said the new properties wouldnt become an Olivet University campus. Though Olivet helped fund Jubilee Worlds launching in 2002, he said, now were pretty much independent.
A statement sent to the Post-Dispatch by Olivet University said the school does not have any immediate plans for the property in St. Louis you are reporting on. This property is the headquarters of Jubilee World and you would need to contact Aaron Reppert concerning details for its future development.
Reppert did say the organization might eventually use Olivet for teaching purposes, and Jubilee is working to gain accreditation to offer higher education instruction in Missouri.
If we get into education, thats more of a specialty, we utilize the university, Olivet, as a partner, he said.
The Orpheum Theater and orphanage arent the only area properties Jubilee has shown interest in. A year ago, Jubilee World tried to buy more than 100 properties, most of them vacant lots, from the citys Land Reutilization Authority. Many were near the Saint Marys campus on Emerson Avenue. A few months later, Jubilee came back to bid on more, according to LRA minutes, but commissioners rejected the bid because Jubilee still hadnt closed on the purchase of the first 120 abandoned properties.
Building on vacant lots and rehabbing dilapidated houses could be future projects, Reppert said. For now, its focused on its current large buildings.
We have way too much to tackle, Reppert said. I had to be realistic and say, lets get the campus together first.
The Roberts brothers acquired the American Theater in 2003 and changed the name to Roberts Orpheum Theater after doing some rehab work. The beaux-arts structure, built in 1917, needs a new roof and has some water damage in the back.
Reppert said he believed Jubilee can handle both that project and the Saint Marys rehab. We understand its a big undertaking, he said.
If the theater does reopen, its likely to have a different flavor than before. Yes, it will hold concerts for Jubilee World members, and no, there probably wont be raunchy standup or edgy hard rock shows, for which the American Theater developed a bit of a reputation in the 1990s and early 2000s. Reppert said it wouldnt be exclusive to Jubilee members.
We want to really open it back up to performing arts, Reppert said. Because were Christian-based, people think its going to be a church. But thats not the case.
Two years ago I stood against a side wall in the Missouri History Museum and watched my Peruvian-born friend pledge his allegiance to the United States of America.
If youve never been to a naturalization ceremony in the U.S., its a sight to behold.
Men and women who came to this country from all over the world, under all sorts of unique circumstances, raise their right hands, and after months of study, testing, learning and introspection choose to seek citizenship and are accepted as patriots by their adopted new home. Family and friends tear up as they see their husbands and wives, sons and daughters, take such an important step.
Short of my sons commissioning as a Marine officer, the naturalization ceremony is one of the most patriotic moments Ive experienced as an American.
On Feb. 10, 105 new citizens were sworn in as Americans by U.S. District Judge Laura K. Grandy. The event was captured by Post-Dispatch reporter Doug Moore and photographer Robert Cohen.
The American dream is still very much alive, said Qamar Zaman, 34, a freshly minted American citizen who was born in Pakistan. Zaman is an emergency room doctor in Belleville.
About 2,072 miles to the west, a different federal judge was swearing in 26 new citizens to the U.S. His name is Thomas Coffin, and hes a 1963 graduate of St. Louis University High School.
I first wrote about Coffin last April when he allowed a unique climate change lawsuit against the federal government to move forward. Last week, Coffins sister emailed me the transcript of his remarks in swearing in 26 new citizens in Eugene, Ore.
Its a speech that captures this unique moment in American history and presents it in context. At a time when immigrants are under verbal attack by President Donald Trump and many of his supporters, many of them are still reaching for the American dream, and they should, Coffin said.
Normally I give a pretty upbeat, kind of almost jocular welcoming remarks, but I would have to have my head in the sand not to recognize that certain things are going on in this country right now that probably necessitate a more serious tone in my remarks, Coffin said. We just went through a contentious election. And even after the election, we still have strong emotions and a lot of divisiveness out there. Theres been talk of building walls, immigration bans, and that sort of thing, and so I wouldnt be surprised if some of you are wondering, well, now we are new citizens, but are we really welcome here?
And I want to tell you as a representative of this government that the answer to that question is absolutely yes, a strong and emphatic yes. You are welcome. We appreciate the diversity of your background. That is one of our strengths, quite frankly, is this diversity. Immigrants have always been the backbone of the United States of America.
We have elements of fear, bigotry, hatred, racism, sexism, and we have to deal with that. And we have to be above that. We have to counter that. And how do we counter that? How do we deal with that?
Well, the greatest virtues we have, I think, as a nation and as people are compassion and empathy. We have always been a welcoming people, by and large. We have welcomed people from other countries, the refugees, and people that came here to flee persecution that I talked about.
Then Coffin told the story of Maria Lopez de Felix, an 18-year-old young woman who years ago had crossed into the U.S. illegally, and been deported. Immigration officials sent her back across the border on foot. Her body was later found dead. Coffin was the prosecutor who investigated the case and found she had been raped and killed by a federal police officer who was later convicted for the crime.
How does America overcome these periods of political upheaval that dont represent the best of what the Constitution stands for? Empathy and compassion, he said.
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of other people, and compassion is the care and the love and the support you give somebody that is in the circumstances that are presented by the situation.
Thats how we must deal with these issues that are out there that are dividing us. Thats how we must deal with issues of fear, for example. Part of what was happening with Maria is a fear of Maria coming into this country illegally, like she was a bad person or something. She was not a bad person.
Nor were the Japanese-Americans held in internment camps around the time Coffin was born, the judge reminded the new citizens. But the U.S. sometimes has dark stains on its otherwise welcoming history. Those, too, must be overcome.
That was wrong. We discriminated, Coffin said. And we must be careful that we not go down that path again. We must rise above that. We must tap into our strength, our compassion, our empathy, and we must overcome our fear.
Finally, he reiterated the one message new American citizens need to hear, in case it didnt make its way through the political noise that dominates the current landscape.
You are enthusiastically welcome as new citizens, Coffin said. We appreciate you. We value you. You strengthen our country.
By Jugal R Purohit: What has been the impact of India gaining a seat, last year, at the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) - a global club it courted for years before being finally let in?
The man who answered was none other than the boss of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Dr S Christopher. He chose the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile BrahMos to make his point.
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"The immediate impact," he said, "would be seen on the BrahMos whose range will be increased from 290km to 450km". The date chosen for the test is March 10 he said.
BrahMos: INDIA'S FASTEST CONVENTIONAL MISSILE
Arguably the world's fastest conventional missile which in flight covers a kilometer every second, the BrahMos, observers say hardly gives its target a chance. Its makers claim it hits with an accuracy of '99.99 per cent'. Unlike a ballistic missile (for example from the AGNI & PRITHVI family), a cruise missile is powered throughout its course and can follow an unpredictable trajectory to reach its target. That is what makes a cruise missile difficult to defend against. While its deployment has rattled adversaries, its evolution has been remarkably swift. Not surprisingly, the missile finds a place on the frontline warships of the Indian Navy (IN). Multiple regiments are held by the Indian Army. The air-launched version, where in a first-of-its-kind move, the 8.4m long missile would be fired by the Su-30MKI heavy bomber of the Indian Air Force (IAF), is in its final stage before test firing.
The company manufacturing the missile, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, says its order books are full for production till 2025 and for maintenance support till 2035. Going ahead, efforts will be made to extend the missile's reach to 800km as well as to bring out hypersonic, submarine launched and miniaturized versions. Nearly 570km northwards from where Dr Christopher was speaking, in Hyderabad, a group of individuals seemed upset. The reason was a signed Parliamentary response by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar where, in March 2016 he declared that the BrahMos missile had 65 per cent imported content.
"There has been a gap in communication somewhere. The imported content is down to about 40 per cent," said one among them. At the 40-acre, state of the art BrahMos Integration Complex (BIC) of the BrahMos Aerospace, where a 300-strong workforce carries itself with infectious pride, it isn't too difficult to see why Parrikar's remark has gone down adversely. Inside its biggest facility, the average age of the workforce is between 29-32 years. Operating out of neatly maintained, access-controlled integration units, youngsters conduct spot meetings, exchange notes right besides the 8.4m long missile. It would be incorrect however to state that only the young are involved in the programme. There are several seniors too who supervise them. The BIC takes what Parrikar referred to - indigenization - as its key challenge.
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RUSSIA IS THE MAJOR SUPPLIER
As on date, Russia supplies a majority of the equipment for the two stage missile. It includes the booster that takes the missile to speeds after which the engine kicks in, the ramjet engine that takes over from the booster, the seeker that detects the target and activates the 300kg warhead and the canister in which the missile is stowed among other items. "In another year, we can go to 70 per cent in terms of indigenisation but not beyond. We do not have an alternative to ramjet or seeker", said Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra who doubles up as the Chief Controller (Research & Development), DRDO. Rigidity at the BIC is a way of life. The Hyderabad-based complex offers twelve different stages of assembly for every single missile which at every stage involves quality control. While there are teams looking at the issue within, there is also third party certification for the missile.
"Random checks are conducted and for any item found unfit, the entire batch is discarded," a staffer pointed out. "We'd rather have the missile parts fail here than in the air, right," remarked Akula Harish, a Senior Systems Engineer. By its nature, the missile performs the unthinkable once fired. To do so it undergoes stress. To ready it for that stress, every electronic component undergoes a bump test which requires it to face severe jerks over 1 lakh times. Thermal shocks are also given to weed out weak points. "We subject the parts to temperatures from 200 degrees to minus 50," said a staffer.
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All of this has had a role in ensuring that in the 54 flights of the missile, there has never been a major accident. Team BrahMos often face some questions. For example, if the missile is so good then why isn't Russia inducting it? What happens if tomorrow India and Russia part ways? The best way to answer critics is to always remain relevant, the team believes. As a result, all eyes are firmly fixed on a test slated for the coming month. "When the world's heaviest missile will be fired from the world's biggest launcher on the Su-30MKI, our air force will become the only one in the world with such a capability. The competition, already about 20 years behind us, will be pushed back further," Mishra said.
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An excited air force has already earmarked 40 Su-30MKIs which will carry the BrahMos. 32-year-old Abhishek Panigrahi is a Deputy General Manager involved with the development of the air-launched missile. "People visit the Ganges and purify themselves with a holy dip. For me, seeing our product fire has the same effect," he said. Jyoti Singh, a Systems Engineer has an elder brother serving in the Army. "Readying the BrahMos and helping them do their work better makes me feel proud," she said. Vikram (29), a Systems Manager touched upon a side less understood. While India holds 50.5 per cent stakes, Russia holds 49.5 per cent and as a result, the firm is neither a public entity firm nor an entirely private one.
"We have targets to meet. Our deadlines are inviolate so the atmosphere is hardly what many think it to be," he said. As the Executive Director in-charge of production, Vice Admiral NN Kumar (Retired) revealed why BrahMos has managed to carve out a niche. "We pay better than the industry does. And we have much more room to select our industry partners since not all government rules apply to us. Yes that does not mean we are beyond scrutiny though". BrahMos Aerospace has nearly 200 industry partners, including those from the private sector on the Indian side and over a hundred on the Russian side. When Bhatu Ahire got to Hyderabad from Dhule in Maharashhtra, he thought BrahMos was just another 'sarkaari' job he found in the newspapers and luckily made it into. He did not even know it was a missile. Recently, he got a taste of what his work and his organisation meant to the world outside. He recalled, "I used to dig wells in my village before coming here. During last year's Republic Day, they felicitated my mother for the work my company and I do. I have no words to express my feeling".
BRAHMOS- THE ORIGIN
The missile was born out of an Inter Governmental Agreement inked on February 12, 1998 in Moscow. More than the agreement, however, BrahMos was a direct result of two factors. Effective usage of cruise missiles by US against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and the collapse of the 75-year-old Soviet Union later that year where the inheritor, Russia, was under duress. Sensing an opportunity, India moved in to engage and in 1998 signed the dotted line with Russia to create BrahMos. "We had by then covered a fair bit of distance in our own ballistic missile program. However, seeing the impact of cruise missiles in that war, we wanted them," said Lt General VK Chaturvedi (Retired), who inducted the first regiment of the BrahMos and was associated with Army's modernisation plans.
WHERE BRAHMOS STANDS
INDIA
BrahMos
Speed: Supersonic
Range: 290km (Pre-MTCR)
Launch: Ship, submarine and land
Role: Conventional
UNITED STATES
Tomahawk
Speed: Sub sonic
Range: 2500km
Launch: Ship and submarine
Role: Conventional and nuclear
CHINA
Hong Niao
Speed: Sub sonic
Range: 3000km
Launch: Ship, submarine, ground and Air
Role: Conventional and nuclear
RUSSIA SS-N-30A (Kalibr)
Speed: Supersonic
Range: 2500km (estimated)
Launch: Ship and submarine
Role: Conventional
(SOURCE: CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES)
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ST. LOUIS A man was shot by police Saturday night at the 6600 block of Virginia Avenue in south St. Louis in an incident that also left a female officer injured.
Two officers fired at the man, hitting him in the arm and leg, according to police. His injuries were not life-threatening and he was reported in stable condition. Police say the female officer was injured when, prior to the shooting at about 10 p.m. Saturday, the suspects vehicle struck a police vehicle.
About an hour after the shooting, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson provided an account of the incident at the scene.
Dotson said police first went a home about a block away on Michigan Avenue earlier in the evening, responding to a call of an intruder. A male officer, 29, and female officer, 25, responded.
The family at the home reported that the ex-boyfriend of one of the residents had tried to enter the property and later left.
Dotson said the suspect then began circling the block in his Nissan sedan. By that time a second police cruiser arrived at the scene.
Dotson said when both police vehicles blocked the suspect, the man backed his sedan into the first police cruiser, then got out of the car armed, pointing his gun at police.
Both officers from that cruiser then fired, Dotson said, hitting the man twice. It is not clear whether the man also fired his weapon.
Dotson said the suspect is a 27-year-old man on probation for a drug charge.
He told the family he was high tonight, Dotson said.
The female officer was transported to a hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening.
Shirlena McDile arrived later at the scene. She said the man shot was her brother, whom she identified at Christopher Lamar Russell. She said her brother, who works in the laundry at a downtown hotel, had been in a dispute over the custody of his daughter.
Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss provided an audience at Washington University insight on national politics in light of the history and crimes against humanity she experienced and overcame.
Noting Adolf Hitlers ability to harness power using peoples fear of communism, Schloss advised the group of a couple hundred people that to prevent future atrocities they must engage in politics, educate themselves about policies and people and never forget history.
Help people when they are in trouble and become good citizens in your own country and as well in the world. And learn from the past, because we can only learn from the mistakes that have been made by previous generations, she said during her visit Thursday night.
The words harmonized with encouragement from Chabad center co-director Rabbi Hershey Novack, who reminded audience members of their role as the bearers of an important history.
You here tonight are at the strange crossroads of a memory. Youre the last generation of people, young people, who have the privilege to meet (Holocaust) survivors. And you are the very first generation who will need to remember the Holocaust without the privilege of having survivors present, Novack said, noting the honor of learning from the strength of people who had the ability to peer beyond the abyss of pure evil and yet rebuild their lives.
Schloss, 87, detailed her life starting at her childhood in Austria and later as a refugee fleeing German forces in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Amsterdam she formed a friendship with famed diarist Anne Frank, who she described as gifted and self-assured.
The government there gradually began placing restrictions on Jewish people. Once conditions worsened, Schloss and her family were forced into hiding for two years. Later, her family and hundreds of others in Amsterdam were imprisoned and deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, she said.
The only thing to sustain you to the next day was hope, Schloss said, remembering horrific moments in the camp of separation, starvation, sickness and death.
She said luck, miracles and hope were the three parts of survival.
After the war, she and her mother returned to the Netherlands, but her father and brother, a skilled musician and artist, did not survive. Her mother later married Otto Frank, Anne Franks father. Schloss now lives in London .
Chesterfield resident Michelle Segal, originally of England, was in the audience. She said she had never heard Schloss speak about her life, though her family and Schloss were close when she was a child.
Segal was childhood friends with Schloss children in the 1970s, she said, remembering playing outside with them and visiting each others homes. But she was largely unaware of Schloss past.
I remember asking as a child why she had numbers on her arm, Segal said, but her parents shied away from talking about what the numbers meant. It was taboo.
After decades of withholding her story, Schloss began to share her tale through speaking engagements and books that helped her to let go of the burden of her memories, she said. Among her books is Evas Story: A Survivors Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.
Schloss believes the deaths of millions could have been prevented had Jewish people been allowed easier access to visas and the opportunity to legally emigrate to safety in Europe and the United States. Acknowledging some similarities with the plight of Syrian refugees now, she said countries should accept refugees so they can start a new life.
While Schloss has been directly critical of Donald Trump in the past, her comments were more measured Thursday concerning the U.S. president and other global movements.
Trump has been elected. In England, we have Brexit. In France the right wing government, she said. People are dissatisfied. People want change. They want change for the better. You know, the people are speaking. And things will change because we as people, we are powerful. More powerful than the government.
As long as we stick together as a people, wanting things to be better, we will get it, she added later.
Highlighting revolutions through history, Schloss said when the government goes too far, the people will revolt against it by speaking up.
People are afraid that this change is worse, but it might not be, she said. Lets have a look. Lets wait.
JEFFERSON CITY In his latest mission as Missouris governor, former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens is employing tactics taught in the military.
When it comes to interacting with the press, the political newcomer has been a disciplined operator, carefully picking his targets and keeping his distance from unanticipated questions that may impede his objective.
His stealthy approach is not uncommon behavior in this age of social media, when politicians routinely turn to Facebook and Twitter to spread their message directly to voters.
But now, after offering minimal opportunities for the press to ask him questions in his first six weeks in charge, the Republican chief executive is beginning to complain about the coverage he is receiving from the news media.
Nobody [in the media] is going to write a story about how Sen. [Jamilah] Nasheed and I are working together, or how Sen. [Kiki] Curls has given my administration names and recommendations for positions. Nobody is writing about the work that were doing with the Black Legislative Caucus to advance issues that are important to all Missourians, Greitens said at an NAACP-sponsored event in the Capitol on Feb. 14.
After he vented, Greitens was surrounded by reporters asking for more information. The governor left without answering questions.
The Post-Dispatch has since made multiple requests to the administration for details on the topics he said the media had ignored. There has been no response.
Greitens also has refused to answer a series of questions that stem from his campaign, including the identity of his biggest donors, who gave him nearly $2 million in such a way as to shield their identities from the public. When donors remain secret, the public has no way of tracking any decisions Greitens may make as governor that benefit them.
His refusal to answer or even listen to questions has drawn widespread criticism from several veteran Capitol watchers.
Radio reporter Phill Brooks, who has covered Missouri state government since 1970, bemoaned Greitens style in a recent editorial.
A cloak of secrecy has descended upon Missouri government to a degree I never imagined in all my decades covering the statehouse, Brooks wrote.
For now, Greitens media ground game is more akin to President Donald Trumps than his own GOP allies in the Capitol.
While the president railed at the media during a contentious press conference Thursday in the nations capital, Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and House Speaker Todd Richardson both of whom are, like Greitens, Republican conducted their weekly appearances answering questions from the media under the statehouse dome, without restrictions.
Richard said the practice was good for transparency.
Ever since Ive been Speaker of the House, I thought that was a fair way to do it, to give you a chance to talk to me and I can talk to you, said Richard, the only Missourian to serve in the top leadership spot in both the House and Senate.
Ive always thought that sunshine and knowing how I feel about certain things even if you dont agree is probably a better way to understand how I envision governing and leadership in the Senate, said Richard, R-Joplin.
Richardson said he was carrying on a longtime tradition as the leader of the House by hosting his weekly media availability.
Your alls mission of communicating what we do in this body to the general public is important, said Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, said talking with the press corps amplified what goes on in the Legislature.
Just giving everybody an opportunity to know whats going on, I think, is a good thing, Kehoe said.
On Feb. 14, a day after complaining about the media during the NAACP speech, Greitens announced he would answer select questions from the public on Facebook, following the lead of fellow Republican governors such as Bruce Rauner in Illinois and Scott Walker in Wisconsin, both of whom also hold standard press conferences.
Were here in Jeff City to fight for you, Greitens wrote in advance of his chat. That means listening to the people and answering your questions about whats going on in your government. If you have any questions about what were doing to take Missouri in a new direction, Id love to answer them.
Among the pre-selected questions he answered during his 15-minute session was one about being bashed by the media.
When Greitens has made himself available in person, he or his office has warned that he will not answer questions that are off the topic the governor has selected.
Questions unrelated to this situation will not be answered at this press conference, a recent advisory said.
The governor also evades reporters who cross paths with him in the Capitol.
While walking from the House chamber to his office on the second floor, a Post-Dispatch reporter asked Greitens about a recent trip to the nations capital.
I am not going to do these drive-by interviews, he answered. If you want to sit down, Ill be happy to talk with you. Im just letting you know so you save your time.
But numerous requests made by the newspaper for an interview dating back to his Nov. 8 election victory have been rebuffed.
Rest assured, I will let you know when we have budgeted time for you to meet with the Governor, said spokesman Parker Briden, who is paid $54,000 annually. It is not a priority at this moment.
In his recent editorial, Brooks points to an early January event in which Greitens spent time in the Senate chambers observing the proceedings. As the governor made his way back to his office, two reporters approached him seeking to ask questions.
His response, again, was to suggest scheduling an interview.
Brooks found the response puzzling.
What could have been a tremendously positive story about how Greitens demonstrated a more engaged approach with the Legislature became a story about how he effectively fled from reporters, he wrote.
Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler is expressing disappointment at President Donald Trump's travel ban, ESPN is reporting.
Fowlers wife, Darya Baghbani, was born in Iran, one of seven majority-Muslim countries affected by the ban.
The couple was planning to bring their daughter, Naya, to visit family, but is putting off the trip because of uncertainly about the president's order, ESPN reported.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked enforcement of Trump's executive order; the administration says it may issue a new one.
"It's huge," Fowler told ESPN's Mark Saxon. "Especially anytime youre not able to see family, its unfortunate, Fowler said.
Some Cardinals fans reacted negatively to Fowler's comments, saying he should keep his opinions to himself. Some said the former Cubs star should go back to Chicago.
Fowler addressed the reaction on his Twitter account.
Fowler said it: "For the record. I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but athletes are humans, and not properties of the team they work for."
Adding reproductive health decisions to the non-discrimination laws in St. Louis is intended to protect employees or renters from being fired, demoted or penalized because they make family-planning decisions that dont coincide with the beliefs of their employers and landlords. The states Human Rights Act doesnt provide a shield against such discrimination, which is why 15th Ward Alderman Megan Green sponsored legislation expanding local protection.
Green said she also was motivated by concerns that, as Missouri becomes an increasingly conservative state politically, legislators may seek to roll back existing laws. That makes it important to advance local laws that bar housing and workplace discrimination against women who have had abortions, use birth control or conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
Such decisions are none of the employers or landlords business.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted 17-10 in favor of Greens bill Friday, and Mayor Francis Slay signed it into law. The Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and other opponents say the law will allow government to force people to act against their beliefs.
The law does not force anyone to change his or her views on reproductive health, and simply asks employers and landlords to not discriminate against women who make their own choices. These women are not breaking the law and should not fear losing their jobs or being denied housing because of personal family-planning decisions.
Green expects individuals and religious organizations to legally challenge the law. Opponents have already taken the battle to Jefferson City where Rep. Tila Hubrecht, R-Dexter, is sponsoring a bill to protect pregnancy-resource centers from the law.
Green said similar shield laws are being advanced across the country, including the District of Columbia, Boston and Delaware. Congress, which holds veto power over the District of Columbia, overturned the citys measure.
Green is right to be concerned about discrimination in Missouri. The states Human Rights Act does not forbid discrimination against people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual. It forbids discrimination based on race, color or creed. Efforts to add sexual orientation and gender-identity protection to the law has failed every year since 1998.
Several bills backed mostly by Republicans and business interests are moving through the House and Senate this session that would weaken Missouris existing discrimination laws.
St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson said the new law will have terrible consequences for religious institutions, and permit fines against Catholic agencies for not employing people who publicly promote practices such as abortion.
Green said the law does not limit a religious institution from firing an employee who takes a public stand or engages in political activity that contradicts the institutions positions.
Employers should be able to limit political activity by their representatives but should not be allowed to intervene in employees personal health decisions.
The incident took place in the Cuffe Parade defence area where entry is restricted to common man, therefore raising serious questions. The candidate, on the other hand, while speaking to India Today said that the allegations are false, and that he was in fact not even allowed inside the area for campaigning.
By Saurabh Vaktania, Mustafa Shaikh: A BJP candidate from south Mumbai has come under the scanner for allegedly distributing cash for vote inside a restricted defence area of Mumbai. The workers of the candidates are allegedly seen distributing cash in a video made by rival Shiv Sena workers.
The incident took place in the Cuffe Parade defence area where entry is restricted to common man, therefore raising serious questions. BJP candidate Makrand Narvekar, on the other hand, while speaking to India Today said that the allegations are false, and that he was in fact not even allowed inside the area for campaigning.
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A case of distributing money during elections came forward in Navy Nagar area of Mumbai on Saturday. In a video, which has been provided to the police, workers of a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate could be seen distributing money in the defence area of Mumbai. Based on the complain a complaint was filed and further investigations are on.
According to the complaint registered at Cuffe Parade police station, workers of BJP candidate Makrand Narvekar from ward 227 have been allegedly distributing money in the Nofra area of Colaba.
"A case has been registered at the police station. The police will seek permission from the court to prosecute the concerned people. The case was registered as per the video evidence. When police tried to reach the spot where video was made they were not allowed to enter by the navy," said the concerned election officer.
As per the video accessed by India Today, workers are seen at a household where they are given a paper to write their names and address. Each member of the family signs the paper and all sign along with their name. In the video a family of three is then seen signing that document. A woman then gives them pamphlet of BJP candidate with the candidate's symbol. Later, the person who was taking the video then frisked the woman's wallet and found cash in it. The person found cash in new notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 denominations.
The allegations have been made by BJP's rival part Shiv Sena. Narvekar termed the allegation as baseless and said that it's an attempt to defame him.
"The area mentioned in the complaint has stage 2 security. Even I have not been there to campaign as civilians don't have access there. How can political workers enter that area and distribute money?" Narvekar said.
Watch Video: Cash for vote: BJP candidate accused of distributing money in Mumbai
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Says recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan were carried out under a plan.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says Afghan soil is being used by the militants for carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan.
In an interview in Munich, Germany, he said recent terrorism in different parts of the country was carried out under a plan.
The Defence Minister said Pakistan has closed Pak-Afghan border for an indefinite period over security reasons and summoned Afghan diplomats at Foreign Office and GHQ to raise the issue.
By Press Trust of India: Raipur, Feb 19 (PTI) The CBI has registered an FIR against a senior IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh Government, two private persons and others on the charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy.
"CBI has registered a case against a Principal Secretary (IAS-1988), Chhattisgarh Government; a private person who is a resident of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh; another private person, a resident of Hyderabad, and other unknown persons.
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"The allegations (are) related to the payment of around Rs.1.5 crore by the public servant to the private persons as the gratification for help in a case against him, which is under investigation by CBI," the central agency stated in a release today.
The case was registered against the Principal Secretary (Higher Education) BL Agrawal, Greater Noida resident Bhagwan Singh, Hyderabad resident Syed Burhanuddin alias OP Sharma alias Singh and other unknown persons under the section 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of IPC read with section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
"It was further alleged that an amount of Rs 45 lakh (approximately) was handed over by the IAS officer to a hawala dealer at Raipur since 11.02. 2017 onwards which was to be delivered at Delhi to the private person, a Greater Noida resident. Out of the amount, around Rs 20 lakh has been delivered to the said private person at Delhi," the release said.
It was also alleged the "receivers" agreed to accept "part gratification payment" in the form of two-kg gold to be delivered by the brother-in-law of the officer to the contact of another private person, who is a Hyderabad resident, at Raipur.
During investigation, 2 kg of gold was recovered while searches were conducted at the premises of the accused persons and the hawala operators at Raipur, Hyderabad and New Delhi/Greater Noida yesterday and today, the agency said.
An amount of Rs 20 lakh delivered earlier to the Greater Noida resident at New Delhi has also been recovered during searches, the statement said, adding further investigation is on.
"An FIR was lodged against Agrawal, Bhagwan Singh, Syed Burhanuddin alias OP Sharma alias Singh and other unknown persons under IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and the section 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988," a CBI spokesperson said quoting the FIR registered yesterday. (More) PTI TKP NSK PTP
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By Press Trust of India: EVMs
New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The Delhi state election commission has sought dismissal of a plea for removal of candidates party symbols from electronic voting machines (EVM) in upcoming civic polls here.
"(Any order on) the petition would directly affect all the national and state political parties. Since all the national and state political parties have not been impleaded in the present petition, it is liable to be dismissed on this ground alone," the poll panel told a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal.
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It said the petitioner has not impleaded the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a party in the plea. "It (the state election commission) has been following the steps taken by the ECI...," the poll panel said.
It, however, informed the court that the decision to include photographs of contesting candidates on the EVMs has already been taken and will be implemented in future polls.
The state election commission was responding to a plea by law student Sanjana Gahlot, who in her petition has said that there is no provision in Part IX-A of the Constitution of India or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Act for the political parties or their election symbols to be mentioned on the EVMs.
"The presence of a party symbol on the EVM is arbitrary, illegal, unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The respondents, in particular the state election commission (SEC), have failed to conduct free and fair elections (by-elections in 2016 for filling up casual vacancies in posts of councillors)," the petitioners counsel submitted.
"The SEC is duty-bound to conduct free and fair elections and this duty is of public nature," the plea said, adding that the state poll panel "simply copied the same format and design as was used by the Election Commission of India for elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies".
The petitioner said that the MCD Act nowhere has reference to a recognised political party or to allocation of symbol for contesting an election.
The Act vests the conduct of the elections absolutely in the SEC, the plea added. PTI PPS SJK SC DV
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I have done one thing few men have done, says Tauranga identity Trevor Blaker reflecting on the 36,500 days or 100 years he has engaged with this planet.
I married my wife twice.
It wasnt just an affirmation of his vows. It was one of lifes little quirks. He can chuckle about it now.
Trevor also got blown up by Hitler. I came home not so good. Theres a word for it shellshock. The bombs that didnt damage or destroy the body, unhinged the mind. Not many soldiers would talk about it.
I got bowled over, a shell landed pretty close. Scars everywhere, says Trevor, patting his arms and legs.
He was on first-name terms with Charles Hazlitt Upham, VC and Bar, who earned the Victoria Cross twice during the Second World War. I didnt get one, jokes Trevor.
He admired Upham immensely. Fearless man. Always had a revolver strapped to his leg like a cowboy. And a lovely man.
Trevor and Charlie were at Ruweisat Ridge in Egypt with the 20th Battalion. We took the ridge and the British tanks were meant to come in and consolidate. They didnt arrive but the bloody Germans did.
They had to fight their way back out. The Germans didnt like bayonets. Thats when he was injured and captured. Dragged all over Europe, right up on the Russian border at one stage, bloody cold up there.
And if he had to nominate a defining time in his life, it was this prisoner of war being released from Stalag 357 at Fallingbostel in Germany. Getting released in the big push, the Allies invading Europe, when their tanks sailed through the German defences ah yes, a good feeling! And we were going home.
Even at home Trevor was no stranger to hardship. He was just a teenager when the Great Depression claimed his family home, their orchard, their livelihood and destroyed his parents marriage. My father, a relatively young man, died from a broken heart.
He deserves to feel a bit persecuted, a bit cheated. But time mends and hes lively, chipper with a youthful glint and a dash of charm, even though hes just a few days off being once round the clock.
Hes a lovely boy, says the receptionist at the Copper Beech retirement village in the Avenues when The Weekend Sun arrived. Hes our favourite. Trevor puts that into perspective. Thats because I am about the only bloke here.
When this bloke arrived home to a transit camp behind the Tauranga Domain in 1945 he joined the Senior Citizens Club and took up indoor bowls and motorbikes strange bedfellows.
There wasnt as much traffic in those days and motorbikes didnt go as fast, so they werent as dangerous. This soldier was immune to danger anyhow. After touring the country motorbikes became history, but 72 years later hes still indoor bowling with the Senior Citizens Club. Hes even had a couple of rolls up this week.
Its meant a lot to me. A lot of people wouldnt be alive today if it wasnt the companionship of the Senior Citizens Club. If I didnt go I would be sitting here staring at the walls all day.
And therein, he thinks, lies a danger for older folk. A lot of country people do it. Sell up, come to town and sit and gaze out the window for six months before dropping dead.
Indoor bowls and 500 three or four times a week at Senior Citizens keeps Trevor ticking. Its also where he learned to forgive and forget. A very good friend of mine is German, was in the Hitler Youth. Shes a New Zealander now, thinks New Zealand is the best country in the world. So that was then and this is now.
Of course the big unanswered question is why centenarian Trevor Blaker married his wife twice? Its a story of romance that soured and blossomed again.
Her nickname was Islla when she was little, Ella would say: Ise Ella when announcing herself. It sounded like Islla and it stuck.
She was lovely, says Trevor. They had four children but after 20 years the painter and paper-hanger-turned-orchardist separated from his wife. Dont know why. It happened a bit. People going in different directions.
Both remarried but eventually lost their partners so they hitched up again, and remarried about eight years ago. It was meant to be. I still loved her and we realised how silly we had been. Trevor eventually lost his Islla four years ago.
Now Trevors apartment is a museum and he is the main treasure. The walls are adorned with photographs of exploits, families and friends and times gone. A man can pack a lot of living into 100 years.
I havent moved far. I was born in Greerton, moved as far as 14th Avenue, [I] love Tauranga and will die here. But there is life yet. The old boy literally springs from his recliner to see The Weekend Sun out just as another visitor arrives.
In the wake of repeated technical snags on metro lines, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief Mangu Singh has issued directions to address a few recurring issues.
By Press Trust of India: The recent spate of snags in the Delhi Metro has prompted its chief Mangu Singh to issue a series of directions to address a few recurring issues.
Singh has reviewed the operational issues of the over 200-km-long network and identified the trouble spots, mainly pertaining to signalling and power supply, a senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said today.
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HOW DELHI METRO PLANS TO IMPROVE ITS EFFICIENCY: Automatic Train Control (ATC) cards, which is a speed control mechanism on board trains, and Train Interface Computer (TIC) cards, failures of which have been a major cause of service disruption, are being replaced. "The module failing the (ATC) card has been identified and spare modules are being procured. The module will be replaced on all cards as a preventive measure. TIC cards will be replaced in the next six months," metro chief spokesperson Anuj Dayal said. The DMRC chief has also focused on Track Circuits which are electrical devices used to detect the absence of a train on tracks and inform signallers, another trouble area, especially on the Dwarka-Vaisahli/Noida City Centre corridor or Blue Line. Copper cables of the system have been replaced with that of steel to prevent theft in certain areas of the network while Relay Boards, that open or close an electrical circuit, are being replaced in many stations. "Axle Counters, which can detect the entry and exit of trains from a certain location and can certify whether the section is clear for a second train or not, are likely to be installed at all originating points on Blue Line to minimise disturbances," he said. A senior DMRC functionary had recently said much of the Blue Line's woes can be attributed to its old signalling system which, when installed, was not supposed to take the load it currently does. Due to the 'fail safe' nature of the network, the metro system slows down or stops only to ensure the safety of the passengers on board thereby resulting in delay of services, Metro's chief spokesperson said.
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Burglaries in the Western Bay of Plenty were up 43 per cent last year, following a national trend which saw police make the crime a priority offence last year.
The latest crime statistics show there were 2263 burglaries in the Western Bay of Plenty to November 2016, compared to 1582 burglaries in the year ending November 2015.
In August last year police announced a policy of attending all reported house break-ins in a move to show they are serious about tackling burglary.
A police spokesperson says its difficult to determine a particular reason for the increase in reported burglaries in the region.
Insecure premises can contribute, as opportunistic thieves take their chances; and we know that burglaries can fuel other crimes such as drug offending.
Everyone is responsible for helping prevent burglaries and other crime, by ensuring they report any suspicious or concerning behaviour to police.
"Look out for your neighbours, and if you see someone committing an offence or suspicious behaviour unfolding, call 111 immediately with as much detail as possible.
Sexual assaults in the region also increased markedly last year, with the number of assaults up 45 from 164 in 2015 to 209 in 2016.
Police say any increase in reports of a crime such as sexual assault is a concern, given the distressing nature of these crimes to the victim.
Police does treat these reports very seriously and do encourage anyone to come to police with any concerns or reports of this nature, so these can be followed up with our staff."
Overall, the estimates of victims of crime in the Western Bay of Plenty increased by nine per cent from 8705 victimisations to 9528.
There were fewer car thefts down slightly from 1463 to 1412 and less illegal use of property.
The reporting of crime statistics shifted from Statistics New Zealand to police in September last year. Statistics now focus on individual victims of crime, and the number of offenders apprehended for a criminal offence.
The figures exclude types of crime that have no direct victim, such as drug offences and drink driving.
They also do not include crimes resulting in death, such as murder and manslaughter.
Due to the often longer length of time involved in investigating these offences, these figures are reported separately.
Western Bay of Plenty residents are encouraged to have their say on a proposed policy for how the District should tackle the threat of sea level rise and erosion.
Western Bay of Plenty District Councils draft Inner Harbour and Coastal Erosion Management Policy 2017 is open for feedback from 20 February to 20 March.
The draft policy, if adopted, will determine how Council responds to the growing threat of erosion on the Districts coastlines and inner harbour margins in the next 30 years.
Harbour and coastal erosion happens when wind, waves and water wear away the shore line and contribute to land slips. It is a natural process that is also influenced by human activity.
The nature and rate of erosion along a coastline or harbour is affected by the type of land (e.g. rocky hard or sandy soft shores) and the energy of the sea (e.g. a high energy surf beach or a low energy sheltered estuary).
New Zealands sea level has risen about 18cm over the past 100 years. It has also been subjected to coastal storm inundation (flooding) that has been historically documented. This is expected to become more frequent in the future.
Coupled with a predicted further one metre sea level rise, what we currently consider to be an extreme one in 100 year coastal event will trend to becoming the norm.
Councils policy and planning manager, Emily Rogers, says the draft policy was created following conversations with the community in 2016 through the Living with the Changing Tides campaign. It also takes into account all relevant national information and legislation.
This policy is based on all of the feedback we received last year, as well as the in-depth expert research and detailed projected erosion maps for the District.
Emily says the draft policy relates only to the future management of Council-owned coastal land and assets and informs the community of the proposed consistent and precautionary approach.
It limits future Council funding to the protection of Council owned land and strategic assets and states public money will not be spent on the protection of private property.
From a wider district and long term perspective this makes economic and intergenerational sense. Any public intervention to protect private property on the inner harbour or coast would be at a cost to all ratepayers and a gain only to individual property owners, says Emily.
Erosion protection works are expensive with costs such as $3000 per metre for rock revetment walls. The Districts inner harbour coastline alone excluding the margins of Matakana, Rangiwaea and Motuhoa Island is 140km. If the entire coastline was protected by hard structures the cost could be in excess of $420 million. These works would, in time, likely fail under predicted sea level rise too.
Council is inviting everyone to have their say on whats being proposed, regardless of whether they live by the sea or not.
It affects you if you use beaches, parks or roads by beaches and may also affect you if you pay rates. Some protection options can be very expensive to construct, maintain and replace. The impact on ratepayers will depend on what options are agreed and how these options are funded.
Living with the Changing Tides re-opens for feedback on the draft policy on Monday, February 20. Its open until 4pm on Monday, March 20. Visit haveyoursay.westernbay.govt.nz
A Thames woman is helping reconnect people with their goldmining heritage as part of this years 150th commemorations since the Thames Goldfields first opened.
Kae Lewis became so engrossed in researching her great, great grandfathers arrival to Thames 150 years ago, she created a website and wrote an accompanying book on goldmining in the area.
A volunteer with The Treasury in Thames for many years, Kae launched her website to help others with searches on goldminers after discovering more of her own family history.
My ancestors went to Tapu, which opened in the second year and there was a mini rush. In those days they called it Hastings, and my great, great grandfather was born there in 1870.
Her website holds the names of 50,000 goldminers from all the goldrushes of New Zealand spanning the years 1861 1872, and includes stories of miners, descriptions of the various goldfields, the conditions the miners found when they arrived and the equipment they used.
Kae says anyone with an ancestors goldmining story to tell is welcome to contact her through the website to contribute to the Journal online.
If you suspect you have had an ancestor who was a goldminer, you can put the name in the search box. This will search through the database which contains the names of 90 per cent of the miners who were in Thames or Tapu in the first two years of gold discovery.
There are 30,000 Thames miners in the website database. Many of the diggers came from Otago and West Coast goldfields that boomed just before Thames.
With the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Thames Goldfield in August, Kae wrote her book Goldrush to the Thames New Zealand 1867-1869 as a companion to her website, and therell be an initial print run of just 100 copies available.
The book documents the work of James Mackay and his friend Chief Taipari who together opened the goldfield to the first flush of goldminers arriving to look for gold.
She explains in the first year or two of the goldrush there were thousands of diggers in hills behind Thames. But in these early days the diggers didnt work for a mine or a company, they took out a miners right, went up in to the ranges and gullies behind Thames and started to dig.
Another important aspect of the book is that it documents the history of most of the small claims held by individual diggers in the first few years of the goldrush.
Using the webpage combined with this companion book, you will eventually be able to discover not only the names of the diggers but of their claims too.
The database is being expanded to make it possible to find the name of a digger and his claim name, then using the book, to find out the history and location of many of the Thames claims - whether they were ultimately bonanzas or duffers.
Much of Kaes research is based on reports of correspondents working for the Daily Southern Cross, which was very much the workingmans newspaper in Auckland during the 1860s.
The book acknowledges the work of these talented journalists who went up into the ranges on a daily basis, observing and interviewing all the diggers they could find.
Ive also documented the hardships faced by the goldminers themselves, the methods they used to find the gold, and the sheer determination needed to overcome the obstacles faced in their way.
Goldrush to the Thames New Zealand 1867 to 1869will be launched during the Thames Heritage Festival in March, which is being used to promote events of the Thames 150 Year Goldfields Celebrations starting in August.
Kae will also be speaking at The Treasurys The Way We Were lunchtime presentations which is taking place at the Thames Public Library on March 15-16, from 1pm both days.
Check out Kaes website at: www.kaelewis.com or for more information about The Way We Were lunchtime presentations visit The Treasurys website at: www.thetreasury.org.nz
THE THAMES HERITAGE FESTIVAL
The Thames Heritage Festival is the precursor to this years Thames 150 Year Goldfields anniversary which stats in August.
Up to 150 individual events are planned or in development, and there promises to be something for everyone.
The programme officially opens with an all-important ceremony to be organised by Ngati Maru, whose tribe and lives were forever changed with the coming of the Pakeha to Hauraki upon the discovery of gold.
For an up to date programme of events for the 150th and this years Thames Heritage Festival in March visit www.thamesheritage.co.nz
As it became apparent that the project was failing, emergency measures were taken and a small group which came to be known as the Crocodile Prize Organising Group, or COG seized control.
The Society was also unable to secure sponsors for a number of award categories, nor could it secure funding for the annual writers workshop.
Unfortunately things did not run smoothly in the new organisation and one result was that the number of entries fell far below that of previous years.
IN early 2013, the Crocodile Prize for Literature entered its initial year under the administration of the just-formed Papua New Guinea Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.
The upshot was that the Prize was saved but, in 2013, there were only four awards made: for short stories, poetry, essays and heritage writing. As there were no heritage entries, the funds for this category were distributed amongst the other three.
The Prize may have been enmeshed in chaos but happily the writers remained on song and the high quality of contributions continued.
The winner of the short story prize was Leonard Fong Roka, a passionate Bougainvillean nationalist who had provided entries since the inception of the Crocodile Prize in almost every category.
It is not insignificant that he became known in literary circles as Captain Bougainville.
Over time he evolved a distinctive style of writing, characterised by the innovative use of language, words, imagery and phraseology and by the way all this was strung together.
Of particular note is the way he deliberately eschewed the conventional rules of grammar and invented his own way of speaking.
Most writers develop a style, or use different styles, which they borrow or modify from other writers work. Where a writer develops a distinctive and unusual style it is very rare that it is used consistently. In many cases such works are experimental. When such work evolves further it tends to become trailblazing.
Leonards style is distinctive in that it is his own invention. However, there is nothing experimental about it. He doesnt consciously set out to write in this manner. His writing is largely instinctive and comes from a deeper place.
In large part, it has had its genesis in the Bougainville civil war, about which he so elegantly writes. The emotion and narratives thus generated evolved into a form other writers can only envy. It might be added that it takes courage to do your own thing, especially in literature.
In this sense it is difficult to identify his literary as differentiated from his emotional - influences, or, indeed, whether there are any.
His writing defies description, except perhaps for its raw and visceral aspects. Farewell My Bougainville Prophetess is an example of his writing that illustrates a stage in an evolution that promises great things should it mature further.
Leonards writing is also refreshing because it promises much for the literature of not only Bougainville but also for Papua New Guinea and the greater Melanesian realm.
In his work he sets an example for other Melanesian writers to follow. In time this may even develop into a distinctive regional style. Its greater value, however, is to demonstrate the possibilities for others who might follow in his footsteps.
It was for these reasons that he was selected as the best short story writer for 2013. He has since published several books about Bougainville, including his stunning memoir, Brokenville.
Over the last year or so, Captain Bougainvilles keyboard has been silent. Beset by personal tragedy and setback, this talented writer has had to manage even more demons. We all hope this is a short deviation and that this self-hewn literary craftsman will soon be back amongst us.
__________
Farewell My Bougainville Prophetess
LEONARD FONG ROKA
THE stench of body odour and sweat overwhelmed Dabunas senses as she jostled her way through the flesh of high spirited travellers in the Buka Airport departure lounge.
On her tail was her proud mama, Itonani, who braved her way through the curious eyes of the black men hanging onto the windows silently saying goodbye to their fellow countrymen and countrywomen.
Laborious was the posture of the queue for the check-in counter but the joy for a daughter going to the foreign land of Erereng to be educated belonged not in the pocket. It was something to be expressed by being beside her daughter, steadfast till she was airborne.
Dabanu, the great woman of Kongara, secured her boarding pass with a dancing heart, for going away from her Bougainville in an aeroplane to study and become a teacher was a milestone. She hugged her grey haired mama and together they took an edge of a bench and sat.
Dabanu, my daughter, Itonani consoled her baby as they sat waiting for the big bird to land, You are the light of those backward and barbaric mountains of Kongara. The Kieta people blame us for all the trouble that happens in Arawa; but it is us that saved their land from the cruel Erereng that dug a big hole in the heart of our island with their big, thieving company.
Kietas are like that, Mama, Dabanu said, as she got herself hunched ready in a corner near the boarding gate, They think we are the scent of trouble in the land. But it was us who died to fight those ever thieving Erereng that were colonizing our land and minds.
Out of nowhere the plane roared as it landed on the Bougainville soil. It taxied to a stunning halt to their north and, with a quavering roar again it entered the clear space before them. The pair watched in wonder as the airport men maneuvered to and fro, doing their jobs.
It was big and white and so imposing. Dabanu had a thorough look at it as the passengers from it began to enter the terminal. On it were the symbols - a Bird of Paradise and the words, Air Niugini - of the distant country and people that had ruled their land since that fateful year, 1975.
Mama, si damaiko simenang, her mama hugged her as tears rolled down her aging cheeks. Tampa sikuru darabaing; Bougainville, the land your brothers and sisters died for needs you.
Dont worry Mama, Dabanu consoled, fighting off tears.
My daughter, Itonani sobbed, You are the future of your clan; you are the mother of the land of Tairima and you are the blood of Bougainvilles future for which our people from Buka to Buin have died and suffered for under the terror of the cruel Erereng since the days of the Germans.
Be careful and never wander away from your school for the land of the Erereng is a land of rapists, rascals, murderers and false gods - men of the street that preach till night. Yes, daughter you know it as the newspapers tell us who these people are. They did the same in our land so we had to fight and chase them away and now we enjoy our freedom on our island.
The mother and the daughter were still clinging to each other in the deep sorrow of losing each other. The other travellers began jostling through the door for the plane that was waiting outside in the shimmering heat of the day.
My daughter, the saddened mother, sobbed, Please remember those words of your uncle Birengka as he farewelled you at Kakusira. He said, As populations increase, our land is not expanding and this means land has a store of conflicts for you, Dabanu. So you have to marry a man who knows your myths and family history. This is a man from a clan our family has marital relations with since the dream time. My niece, this is your power to laugh off liars.
Itonani let go of her daughter and helped her with her handbag and tidied her tangled shirt at the collar.
Remember your father, the sorrow shaken mother added as an afterthought, He died for the good of our land and your future as a Bougainvillean on Bougainville and was not a no body. Love not an alien that does not know your myths and will not stand to support you when conflicts arise because he is stranger without roots in Bougainville or Choiseul where your progenitors come from.
Dabanu, with tears running freely down her cheeks, marched for the door out to the aeroplane broken hearted. She was now leaving her beloved mother in tears, a sin she hated. The mother who had brought her up without a father because he had been killed by the Erereng army as he fought for their right to be Bougainvilleans.
Her mother was her life. Her mother was all the reason for her existence through the war that the Erereng had fought so they could steal Bougainvilles wealth and resources.
Be educated my love, and come back and help Bougainville to be free. The last words of her beloved mother echoed in her head as she entered the plane.
Directed to a seat, she sat in tears looking out of the window. The plane rattled towards the runway and after a few seconds she was high in the sky like an eagle.
As the northern tip of Bougainville faded from sight, she was mesmerized by the beauty of Buka Island as it drifted below on the vast blue sea of Solomon. Her land was truly a paradise of black people.
Her flight was scheduled for a stop-over in Rabaul so she kept her eyes to the sea below.
Buka was gone from her sight, now there was no island in the blue sea below. She wondered why her Bougainville was called one country with the Papua New Guineans when there was no proof of closeness between them.
She remembered her flight from Taro airport to Honiara some years back. It was so beautiful how her Bougainville was connected to Choiseul, Santa Isabel and Guadalcanal. But now she was lost. The Papua New Guineans had indoctrinated Bougainvilleans with all the lies they had adopted and created for their own country.
The plane merged into some turbulence that surprised her. Below she could not see any further because of the thick clouds. So she mumbled a prayer to God for her safety on the plane and in the land of the strangers ahead.
Warm tears rolled down her cheeks as she envisaged her mother sitting and crying at the Buka airport.
Dear God, she prayed in tears. Protect and guide me for I am the mother of Bougainville; a Bougainville woman who is still in pain and in need of freedom. Let me be the light of the future for my people who perished in the war against exploitation and those who are still forced to dance to this exploitation and indoctrination. Amen.
Glossary
Erereng redskin in the Nasioi language
Si damaiko simenang - Oh, you are leaving me, my love
Tampa sikuru darabaing - commit yourself to your studies.
The announcement was made on 22nd Foundation Day of Delhi government's Forensic Science Laboratory.
By India Today Web Desk: Delhi residents can now avail free MRI, PET and CT scans at 21 private laboratories. The announcement was made by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday. The residents are required to show referral letter from the selected 30 government hospitals to avail the free service.
Jain made the announcement at the 22nd Foundation Day of Delhi government's Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here.
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Reiterating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's commitment towards providing quality health facilities to Delhi people, Jain said: "All Delhiites can now avail free MRI, PET and CT Scan check-up at 21 private labs in Delhi."
He said patients either referred by the 30 Delhi government hospitals or 23 state-run polyclinics in the city can avail these facilities.
He said that MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging), PET (positron emission tomography) scan and CT (computed tomography) scan are considered costlty tests, but the Delhi government is making them free for all Delhiites.
"The Delhi government has done an agreement with 21 private laboratories for the tests. Such tests are costly and even in AIIMS people have to pay between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for MRI tests, but we are getting it done for free," Jain added.
He also appreciated the efforts made by the forensic experts, who worked hard to bring down the pendency in all divisions, specially at the DNA unit of FSL.
Also read:
Mail Today impact: Delhi govt to provide MRI/CT scan facility at 7 private diagnostic centres for free
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The woman was allegedly assaulted while she was on her way back home.
By Ram Kinkar Singh: In yet another case of crime against women, a woman was allegedly raped near Delhi's posh Hauz Khas village.
The incident occurred on Saturday night when the woman was on her way back home, and was offered a drop by an unknown person.
The accused told her that his car is parked at some distance and led her to an isolated stretch near the adjoining Deer Park where he allegedly raped her.
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The police have registered a complaint against the accused under relevant sections, and have launched a search for him.
Efforts are on to ascertain his identity. Sources said police have gathered vital clues regarding the accused and a breakthrough is expected soon.
The woman has undergone medical examination and is being counselled.
Police are also trying to probe if the accused was accompanied by others too.
Top officers of Delhi Police today reached Hauz Khas Village and questioned several restaurant owners.
(Further details awaited)
ALSO READ:
Malayalam actor abducted and molested. Driver arrested, others absconding
Bengaluru mass molestation survivors: First time ever we felt unsafe
Chennai horror: 7-year-old molested, suffocated, burnt, dumped on highway
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In a representation submitted to Rao, DMK leader MK Stalin urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".
By Press Trust of India: The DMK on Sunday appealed to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to "nullify" the vote of confidence won by Sasikala loyalist E K Palaniswami, alleging it was adopted by contravening the rules of the state Assembly.
DMK, whose MLAs were en masse evicted from the state Assembly before the voting on the Confidence Motion on Saturday, also announced a state-wide hunger strike on February 22, protesting what it called was "murder of democracy".
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In a representation submitted to Rao, Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, urged him to "nullify the entire proceedings" to "protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution".
DMK Rajya Sabha members R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan, and Tiruchi N Siva submitted the representation.
Recalling his demand for secret voting on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Speaker P Dhanapals rejection of it, he said, "Finding no other way to register our protest, we resorted to peaceful dharna inside the House."
He, however, said, "The Speaker ordered expulsion of all the members of the DMK without following the procedure."
"Assembly guards forcibly evicted us and many of us sustained injuries. Other opposition parties staged a walkout strongly protesting the action of Speaker," he said.
Also read: Tamil Nadu: Jayalalithaa-Karunanidhi spat of 1989 returns in EPS-Stalin fight
The DMK leader claimed that the Speaker "ignored the rule that if the House is adjourned after moving a motion, it lapses". He said it was "a mockery of democracy and a severe blow to the Constitution".
He claimed that in 1988 "when voting on the Confidence Motion was held by the Speaker with only two factions of the ruling party present in the House (it was) later declared as invalid and void by the then Governor".
It appealed to the Governor to weigh the proceedings in the state Assembly, focusing on the Speakers declaration that the Confidence Motion moved by Palanisami was adopted in absence of members of all the opposition parties.
It urged him to invoke his constitutional powers to nullify the proceedings to protect the spirit of democracy and Constitution.
Stalin in a statement said his party would stage the hunger strike from 9 AM to 5 PM and condemned the adoption of trust vote after eviction of his party members.
Alleging that the Motion of Confidence was adopted contravening the House rules, he called it a "murder of democracy".
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Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin after the eviction of DMK members and and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of papers torn and hurled around.
Immediately after the eviction of DMK, Stalin had met the Governor and urged him to postpone the trust vote.
Also read: Tamil Nadu crisis: What happened in Assembly was a disgrace to democracy, says Venkaiah Naidu
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The internet has been riddled with fake news and advertisements that have caused technology companies such as Google and social media sites such as Facebook much headache for the past two years.
Both companies have been active in their efforts to eradicate fake news in circulation using their services, but Google has been more aggressive in doing so and the company has now expanded this service to Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
Google's Fact Check Label vs Fake News
In November and December 2016 alone, Google permanently banned 200 fake news publishers following its improved policies, and temporarily banned 140 others. However, that is not all because Google also came out with a "Fact Check" label on Oct. 13, 2016, which initially rolled out in the United States and the United Kingdom.
On Nov. 17, 2016, just a month after it first rolled out, the "Fact Check" label was also launched in France and Germany. Google also funded 10 additional fact-checking projects through the Google Digital Initiative Fund.
The quick rollout for France was due to Google's determination to trim fake news articles pertaining to the country's upcoming elections, and it did so by funding Le Monde's 13-person team called "Les Decodeurs," who aimed to develop a Google Chrome extension to flag the validity, authenticity, and reliability of a "news" website.
"Our goal is to be open source, so that everyone can use it. And we hope to have a bigger database by sharing our database of news sites and other fake news from other countries," Le Decodeurs Division Head Samuel Laurent explains.
As part of its continuing efforts, Google announced on Feb. 15 that Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico will finally get to enjoy the "Fact Check" label, along with some of its slight improvements.
What's New In The Expanded Version
When it was first launched, the "Fact Check" tag only showed beside article titles in the Google News site and the Google News & Weather application for iOS and Android devices. While these helped readers determine the quality of the articles they are reading from news.google.com, some users who prefer to manually search for news stories using the Google search engine are left in the dark.
As part of the company's efforts to improve the "Fact Check" tag and combat fake news, Google now shows the same label when users simply search for a story and switch to the "News" tab. A sample of this can be seen in the image below.
The photo below shows a screen capture of the "Fact Check" label in the expanded story box of news.google.com.
"[We're] eager to bring the fact check tag to other countries around the world," Google writes.
The company also calls for news publishers to be conscious of its fact-checking criteria.
2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
When life gives you a second chance, the best choice (if not the only choice most of the time) is to take it. For a man from Wyoming, he was a given a second chance - and more.
Andrew Sandness was 21 and battling depression in 2006 when he attempted to take his life. He shot himself in the face. He didn't die and he knew right there and there that he made a mistake and will regret it the rest of his life.
"I was stupid. I made the wrong choice and I'm paying for it for the rest of my life," said Sandness.
After the suicide attempt, he was left with only two teeth, his entire jaw was gone, and he had no nose.
Life Without A Face
Following the incident, Sandness had several surgeries to reconstruct his jaw and repair facial muscles and skin. He went home to Wyoming and worked as an electrician and in the oil fields.
He had an artificial nose but constantly it would fall. He always brought glue with him so he could put it back and so kids who saw him would not be so scared.
His mouth was so small that he could not eat properly. It was better than the feeding tubes he used during the initial phase of recovery, but the best he could do was tear his food into small bits, put it in his mouth, and wait so it would be soft enough to swallow.
Living without a face, Sandness opted to cover the mirror most of the time.
Mayo Clinic Face Transplant
In 2012, Sandness got a call from facial reconstruction specialist Dr. Samir Mardini. The doctor informed him that Mayo Clinic is launching a facial transplantation program and that doctors might be able to help him.
"When you look like I looked and you function like I functioned, every little bit of hope that you have, you just jump on it, and this was the surgery that was going to take me back to normal," said Sandness.
He was added to the waiting list of patients needing a face transplant.
He was ready to wait for years but in June 2016, Sandness had a donor. The face will be from Calen Ross, a man who shot himself and did not survive.
Ross' widow agreed that her late husband's face may be be harvested for the procedure. She did that so she could tell her son that Calen did something to help somebody.
Mardini and his team prepared for the surgery using virtual and 3D modeling. The new technology helped the medical team at Mayo Clinic anticipate all possible issues they might encounter during the very complicated surgery.
The surgery lasted for 56 hours. Mardini's team of 60 medical professionals took about 24 hours to prepare the donor's face and procure the nerves, bone, muscles, and skin. The other 32 hours were spent reconstructing Sandness' face, practically every structure below his eyes.
"So when we took the donor's face with all the complex bones of the jaw, and put it on the recipient, it fit perfectly," said Mardini.
After the surgery, Sandness could not speak but wrote a note while in front of family and doctors.
"This far exceeds my expectations," Sandness said."I'm just looking forward to getting out in the world and doing the things I missed out on. I missed out on a lot over the last 10 years," he added.
Below are videos posted by Mayo Clinic on its YouTube channel about the medical journey and miracle surgery:
2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ever wondered why your laptop or PC crashes suddenly? If you blamed the hardware of your device, the manufacturer, or the ISP for such crashes then you may need to reconsider.
New research reveals that particles that originate from outside our galaxy may be responsible for computer crashes on Earth.
According to a new study, alien subatomic particles which pour down from outside our solar system are accountable for inflicting this annoying problem on one's PC, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
Bharat Bhuva, the professor of electrical engineering at Vanderbilt University explained this theory, in his presentation titled "Cloudy with a Chance of Solar Flares: Quantifying the Risk of Space Weather."
He shared that on many occasions the operational failures are due to the effect of the electrically charged particles, which are created by the cosmic rays. These rays essentially generate outside our galaxy.
"This is a really big problem, but it is mostly invisible to the public," said Bhuva.
In his presentation, Bhuva cleared shed light on many concepts like Single-Event Upset or SEU.
What Is SEU?
The Earth's atmosphere is hit by cosmic rays traveling at the speed of light. These rays generate a chute of inferior particles like pions, muons, neutrons, and several alpha particles.
However, out of the millions of generated particles, only a fraction are known to transfer energy which interferes with the device's integrated circuits. As a result, this interference is able to alter the data stored in the memory of the device. This is known as SEU.
How To Trace SEUs?
According to Bhuva, it is difficult to ascertain where and when the particles will inflict an attack. Moreover, since no physical signs of a damage can be seen, the failures that these particles cause are tough to illustrate. Therefore, decoding the occurrence of SEUs is a tough task.
He further explained that a single bit flip may have numerous reasons behind it. It could either be a hardware flaw or even software bug. The only possible means of determining if this was an SEU is by removing any other likely cause.
While tracing SEUs may not be any easy task, their detection is not impossible. The researchers gave the example of a Belgian town when in 2003, a bit flip in an electronic voting machine accidentally led to the addition of 4096 more votes for a candidate.
The reason this error was spotted was that the candidate garnered more votes than conceivable. The fault was later traced to the single bit flip which occurred in the electronic device's register.
Another example cited by the researchers was a 2008 Qantas passenger jet, which while traveling from Singapore to Perth encountered an SEU. Due to this, the autopilot mode of the flight was disconnected and it took an abrupt 690 feet jump in just 23 seconds, which led to several injuries.
The researchers took samples of the "integrated circuits" to the ICE or Irradiation of Chips and Electronics lab to determine the SEU rate in 16-nanometer chips. Inside the lab, the researchers exposed the nanometer chips to the neutron beams and examined the SEU's experienced by the chip.
The researchers reveal that bulk of electronic devices have a failure rate which is measured hundreds and thousands of FITs or failure in time.
"Our study confirms that this is a serious and growing problem. This did not come as a surprise. Through our research on radiation effects on electronic circuits developed for military and space applications, we have been anticipating such effects on electronic systems operating in the terrestrial environment," said Bhuva.
2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Feb 18 (PTI) Donald Trump today stepped up his attack on the press crititical of his presidency, calling them "enemy of the American people" and asked his supporters to not believe the stories put out by the "fake news" media.
"Dont believe the main stream (fake news) media. The White House is running VERY WELL," Trump tweeted.
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"I inherited a MESS and am in the process of fixing it," he said in another tweet.
Trump has several times this week expressed his frustration over news reports in the American media. The latest attack on the media came after some reports suggested all was not well within his White House and there were sharp differences among his key team members.
Trump has used the social media platform to directly reach out to his supports. But in the past few days, most of his tweets have revolved around the press. He has accused them of inaccurate reporting, called them dishonest and fake.
Trump yesterday alleged the media was the "enemy of the American people."
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" he tweeted.
The 70-year-old has said he resented newspapers and hates to turn on television to hear reports that his White House was in chaos.
Trump has said a lot of people were happy about his performance since his inauguration on January 20.
But at his fourth news conference this week, he displayed a sense of anger and grievance rarely vented by any of the 44 previous presidents in public and said his political opponents and the media was not happy.
In reference to the news conference, Trump tweeted, "Thank you for all of the nice statements on the Press Conference yesterday. Rush Limbaugh said one of greatest ever. Fake media not happy!"
"One of the most effective press conferences Ive ever seen! says Rush Limbaugh. Many agree. Yet FAKE MEDIAcalls it differently! Dishonest," he said.
Meanwhile, Fox News in an opinion poll said voters, albeit by a slim margin of 45-42 per cent, find the White House more truthful than the media. PTI LKJ ASK ABH
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By Press Trust of India: Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Malkangiri, Feb 19 (PTI) Drones have been deployed in Maoist-hit Malkangiri district of Odisha for aerial surveillance during the fourth phase of panchayat elections today to ensure smooth voting.
"Drones have been deployed to conduct aerial surveillance on several highly sensitive polling booths in the district during voting for panchayat polls," said Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Mitrabhanu Mohapatra.
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While drones played a significant role in keeping sensitive areas under close observtion, CCTvs have also been installed to keep an eye on the election booths and areas around, the SP said, unwilling to specify the number of drones deployed during Panchayat polls.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Malkangiri, Rahul PR said polling was held in 23 gram panchayats under three zilla parishad zones of Kalimela block of the district during the 4th phase of polling during the day.
Out of 334 polling booths where polling was held today, as many as 175 booths were identified as sensitive and 53 as hyper-sensitive, he said.
The drones, equipped with sophisticated cameras, were used for the first time in the naxal-hit district for the first time for aerial surveillance of the hypersensitive booths to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of the poll, the SDPO said.
According to Director General of Police (DGP), K B Singh, all possible steps were taken to prevent any untoward incident and additional forces were deployed in sensitive and hypersensitive booths besides others places.
The move to engage drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), assumed significance since the Maoists had warned people in the tribal-dominated region to boycott the panchayat elections.
The red rebels, who had warned to take drastic action against people who participate in the polling process and cast their votes, had also unleashed violence in some areas in the run-up to the three-tier panchayat polls, police said.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission (SEC) said all arrangements were in place for the fourth phase of the five round panchayat elections held today.
Polling took place in 28 out of the 30 districts of Odisha barring Jharsuguda and Boudh districts.
According to SEC Secretary Rabindranath Sahu, a total number of 50,61,974 people were eligible to exercise their franchise for electing 1324 sarpanchs and 17,876 ward members in 162 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones.
The SEC asked the police to provide escort to polling parties in view of incidents of snatching of ballot boxes, setting fire to ballot papers and attack on polling officials during the first phase polls on February 13. PTI COR SKN SBN
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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
Farmers have been replaced by Election Commission employees and sacks containing potatoes replaced by EVMs.
By Supriya Bhardwaj: The biggest wholesale market of potatoes in Asia, located in Farrukhabad, wore a deserted look, as the Election Commission has taken over its stalls to store Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
Farmers have been replaced by Election Commission employees and sacks containing potatoes replaced by EVMs.
According to Potato Farmers' Association chairman Satish Verma, the local administration asked them to vacate the premises on February 17.
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"We launched a massive protest but administration didn't bow down. We are helpless. First, demonetisation left a dent in our pocket and now this. We are in loss," he said.
The potato market was taken over by EC officials on February 17 and it will remain closed till February 22.
The EVMs will be kept in the shops inside the mandi, and the area has been cordoned off till March 11 with CISF deployed to guard them.
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Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had sent a legal notice to Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd, a chain of ethnic wear retail outlet, asking it to immediately stop using the word Khadi from all its cotton products and remove display banners from its showrooms.
By Press Trust of India: Fabindia has started removing the brand name Khadi it uses to promote its cotton products after a legal notice by Khadi India that the use of the word amounted to "unfair trade practice" and misusing its trade name.
Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had sent a legal notice to Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd, a chain of ethnic wear retail outlet, asking it to immediately stop using the word Khadi from all its cotton products and remove display banners from its showrooms.
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Sources said Fabindia CEO Viney Singh has responded to KVICs notice, saying it was complying with all the directions of the KVIC. Fabindia has stated that "as per the direction issued" by KVIC, it has complied with them, they said.
Fabindia, in its reply, has also sought a meeting with KVIC officials to explain its position in order to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of Khadi India.
KVIC Chairman V K Saxena, who justified serving the legal notice, referred to the earlier communications with Fabindia by which the private firms application for Khadi mark was treated as closed.
He cited a September 29, 2016 letter which stated that "upon the request of Fabindia, several meetings were held with KVIC and the last meeting was held on August 2, 2016, with Chairman of KVIC at New Delhi. During the meeting, it was assured that Fabindia will communicate their consent shortly.
Also read: KVIC sends legal notice to Fabindia for violating regulations on Khadi
"Since two months have passed and KVIC has not yet received any response from your end, it is presumed that you are not interested to obtain Khadi mark certificate for sales and promotion of Khadi products.
"Hence in the present circumstances, your application for Khadi mark certificate may please be treated as closed. Henceforth, no correspondence on this subject will be entertained," the communication said.
KHADI MARK
Saxena also drew attention to a February 16 letter of KVIC in which it was decided to issue Khadi mark certificate in favour of Fabindia to carry out trading/selling of genuine Khadi and Khadi products attaching Khadi mark tags/labels, subject to several conditions which were also mentioned.
KVIC, which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, had accused Fabindia of misleading and confusing the consumers by promoting its goods under its registered trade mark Khadi.
In the February 8 legal notice addressed to Fabindia's New Delhi-based CEO, KVIC had said, "You are called upon to explain your position in the above matter within 15 days from the date of receipt of this notice, failing which the KVIC will be constrained to proceed against your company as per law for the violation of Khadi Mark Regulation and payment or incidental damages for the losses caused to KVIC by Fabindia."
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It also said Fabindia was denied the certificate to use the brand name as it did not adhere to the procedural formalities for Khadi mark certification which was discussed with its representatives.
The notice to Fabindia said that as per the Khadi Mark Regulations, 2003 and Khadi & Village Industries Commission Act, 1956 in order to regulate the production, sale or trading of Khadi and Khadi products in India, "no textile shall be sold or otherwise trade by any person or certified Khadi institution as Khadr or Khadi products, in any form or manner without it bearing a Khadi Mark tag or label issued by KVIC".
Also read: Khadi officers, workers split over PM Modi's photos in calendars, diaries
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River cruises will carry nearly 14,000 well-heeled passengers through Baton Rouge and New Orleans this year, dropping them off for day trips to local museums and restaurants.
That's an increase of about 8 percent, although the economic impact of those visitors is unclear. Neither Visit Baton Rouge nor the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau have spending data on the passengers.
"What we like about the cruises is that they bring a lot of international travelers to Baton Rouge, and although they don't overnight, they do spend a great deal of time with organized tours, and they certainly see all that we have to offer," said Visit Baton Rouge President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Arrigo. "The type of person that does the river cruises, they'll go back home to wherever they originated, domestically or internationally, and talk about their great experience they had in Baton Rouge. We're excited about that."
New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesman Kristian Sonnier said most river cruise passengers stay around two nights in the Crescent City, either before or after the cruise.
Officials with American Queen Steamboat Co., which will have two ships calling on New Orleans and Baton Rouge this year, estimated the vessels will combine for more than $650,000 in direct and indirect spending with each docking. American Queen said that figure is based on 2012 estimates that each passenger spends about $60 on a stop.
The American Queen, a 414-passenger vessel that is said to be the largest riverboat ever built, has been paddling up and down the Mississippi River under its current ownership since 2012. In June, it will be joined by a sister ship, the American Duchess, which can accommodate 166 passengers.
Ted Sykes, who serves as president and chief operating officer for American Queen said the lower Mississippi River cruises that stop in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Nottoway, St. Francisville and Oak Alley are the companys most popular routes. Sykes said many of the boats will be at capacity and the American Queen added four suites this year to meet guest demands. U.S. river cruising is one of the fastest-growing sectors in travel, and we are proud to be leading the way, he said.
Riverboats will make 72 stops in Baton Rouge during 2017, said Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District. The first boat will arrive Tuesday, when the American Queen calls on the city.
Rhorer said the cruises have a great economic impact on the city, as passengers eat at downtown restaurants, visit attractions such as the Old State Capitol Museum and the Louisiana Art and Science Museum and shop for gifts at the Main Street Market. Its not uncommon on the weekend to have people from all over the world downtown, he said.
The number of riverboat visits to south Louisiana cities is expected to increase in 2018, when Viking River Cruises makes New Orleans home port for its first North American voyages. That service was projected to launch this year, but there were delays with the construction because of a federal law that states ships that transport passengers directly between American ports needs to be built in the U.S., and owned and crewed by U.S. citizens.
Because of the growing importance of the riverboat cruises, Baton Rouge is set to spend about $720,000 this year on riverfront improvements, including adding shade structures to the city dock, improving the landscaping and removing concrete at Riverfront Plaza, Rhorer said. Plans to expand the city dock to accommodate more than one boat at a time are also in the works.
Were turning our attention to the riverfront as a tourist destination, Rhorer said. We have a great new industry to encourage this and we want to diversify the use and the interest of the attractions on the riverfront. We have something thats unique with this body of water.
The LSU Museum of Arts in the Shaw Center is a regular stop for the American Queen, and an average of 300 passengers visit every time one of the cruise line's riverboats comes through, said spokeswoman Brandi Simmons. Sales in the museum's store typically jump 40 percent during each visit.
The riverboats bring about 8,000 visitors a year to the Old State Capitol and about 840 to the LSU Rural Life Museum.
River cruisers are frequently older and more affluent than passengers on oceangoing vessels. The riverboats are also much smaller and ticket prices higher. A river cruise might carry 150 passengers, while an ocean cruise can easily accommodate 3,000. The price for an 8-day round trip on the Mississippi River leaving from New Orleans starts at $2,399. A 7-day ocean cruise starts at $409.
The river cruises are growing in popularity. There were 184 river cruise ships internationally in 2015, and 13 are on order for 2017, according to the Cruise Line International Association.
The French America Lines Louisiane is one of the new entries into river cruising. The Avondale-based company will launch its inaugural cruise this year. Cruises are scheduled for each week from mid-March to early January, ranging in length from five days to 16. The longest cruises follow the river from New Orleans all the way to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
+6 Luxury riverboat Louisiane to begin sailing from Gretna on Oct. 22 Gretna got a taste of French luxury Thursday with the inaugural launch of the Louisiane, a 1
Christopher Tidmore, one of French Americans owners, said the companys economic impact in Louisiana is estimated at about $7 million. French American tries to buy Louisiana products as much as possible, although that becomes impractical past a certain point on the river.
Each cruise has daily stops, like Oak Alley or Nottoway plantations, and there are overnights in some cities, Tidmore said. At each stop, the cruise has buses with guides to help passengers explore.
The cruises are all-inclusive. Everything alcohol, shore excursions and meals are covered, Tidmore said. In each of the departure cities, French American includes a night at a luxury hotel. In New Orleans, its the Bourbon Orleans. In Memphis, its the Peabody.
So when people arrive they dont have to rush to the boat. Theyre relaxed, Tidmore said.
The cruise line takes care of everything, including taking the luggage from the hotel to the passengers stateroom, Tidwell said.
Response to the new river cruise has been tremendous, particularly for the lower Mississippi cruises, Tidwell said. Four cruises have already been completely booked, and French American is still spreading the word about its business.
The hooks and hook supports of the trousers were of gold but coated in silver as camouflage.
By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials arrested a woman passenger smuggling gold in silver metallic pieces valued Rs 1.14 crore on Friday at the Mumbai airport.
The Mumbai Zonal Unit of DRI stopped a consignment after it had been cleared by Customs in the unaccompanied baggage section of Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai.
It consisted of ten cartons declared as old clothes valued at Rs 13,000 and had been imported in the name of Usha Mudaliar, a resident of Mulund who had arrived from Dubai a few days earlier.
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Later, the officers found that the hooks and hook supports of the trousers were heavier than normal. Detailed examination revealed that these hooks and supports were actually made of gold coated with silver colour used as camouflage.
Hooks found to be of gold but coated in silver
CAMOUFLAGE OF A KIND
"In all, 364 pieces of silver coloured metallic pieces purported to be gold weighing 4.2 kilograms provisionally valued at Rs 1.14 crores were recovered from 91 trousers which had been imported in the guise of legitimate unaccompanied baggage. The entire gold has been seized", the DRI official said.
Also read: Mumbai: Passengers use belts, bra to smuggle gold; bars worth Rs 1.21 crore seized
The statement of the Custom House Agent engaged in clearance, Pinakin Sodha was recorded as per the provisions of the Customs Act. He has stated that these goods were supposed to be delivered to a certain Durriya Ismail Soni and Yusuf Azgar Lokhandwala.
He further added that these two individuals had earlier also cleared consignments in a similar fashion.
The statement of Usha Mudaliar on whose name the import took place said that she met Durriya Soni a few days ago and had given her passport to Soni in exchange for money.
Also read: 3 nabbed smuggling gold in their rectum at Mumbai airport
Also read: Mumbai: Flyer arrested with gold worth Rs 91 lakh hidden in steel roller
MODUS OPERANDI
She further denied having imported anything through unaccompanied baggage.
Later, Lokhandwala, a resident of Nagdevi area in his statement admitted having knowledge of gold in the present consignment and confirmed that he has cleared similar consignments in the past too.
Also read: Mumbai: Saudi Arabian Airlines employee arrested for gold smuggling
Durriya Soni, a resident of Mazgaon admitted that she had procured the passport from Usha Mudaliar.
Yusuf Lokhandwala and Durriya Soni have been arrested and investigations are underway.
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Matthew Morris, the Complete Construction Contractors owner who allegedly defrauded more than a dozen Ascension Parish flood victims, is now wanted by multiple law enforcement agencies -- Baton Rouge police, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office and Walker police, according to WBRZ.
Residential contractor fraud and theft of assets of an aged person are the charges on which those three agencies seek Morris.
Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley said Morris, 39, used a complicated contract to rack up thousands of dollars in claims assistance fees, grossly over-billed or billed people for work that had not been done, and collected residents insurance payments with inflated or fraudulent bills.
Ascension Parish sheriff's deputies said they had received 13 criminal complaints against Morris since December over allegations of contractor fraud on home restoration jobs stemming from the August flood. Six of those complaints were filed by homeowners who are 60 or older, deputies said. The company is often known by the abbreviation CCC.
"Having grown up in south Louisiana, I have a huge heart for my community and would never cheat or defraud my customers, especially those who were going through such a difficult time after the recent flooding," Morris said in a statement Feb. 10. "I am 100 percent innocent of the charges against me."
Click here to read WBRZ's full story.
Law enforcement authorities arrested two men and were searching for a third Saturday in two fatal shootings in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and in another attempted murder in January.
Kendric Mikal Francis, 20, and Berkelin Terrell Scott, 26, are accused in the killings on Tuesday of Roosevelt "Honeybee" Florida and Marcus Anthony Holmes.
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The men are also suspected in the non-fatal shooting on Jan. 20 of a man in the 9100 block of Tracey Court, according to a joint news release issued by the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. The victim of that shooting is expected to survive.
A third suspect, Dominick Demond Holliday, 26, is also being sought in Tuesday's shootings, the release states.
Florida, 53, was gunned down in the 700 block of Mills Avenue, his body was found near the road around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Florida's brother reported hearing gunshots around 2 a.m. that day.
Holmes, 22, was shot and killed around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the 7550 block of Maplewood Drive, authorities have said. Holmes' brother, Isaiah Allen, said the two of them were watching a movie around 2:30 a.m. in the 7500 block of Maplewood Drive when Holmes walked outside and was shot.
Investigators say Scott shot both Florida and Holmes, while Holliday shot Holmes and was present for Florida's killing. It is not clear who shot the victim in the non-fatal shooting on Tracey Street in January.
Law enforcement authorities say the shootings appear to have been unprovoked. Francis, who told detectives he acted as a driver in all three incidents, was unable to explain why the victims were shot, according to police reports.
Darius Grimes, Floridas son, said he had just heard the news from his mom of the arrests on Saturday night. He said he did not recognize the names of the men and that he hopes officials have the right people.
The people who are doing this type of thing, going around killing people and stealing from people and thinking they are above judgement, theyre just sick individuals, Grimes said.
Francis is accused of driving the vehicle for both killings and in the January armed robbery in which the victim was shot on Tracey Street. Francis told detectives he was not involved in any of the shootings, according to law enforcement officials.
Investigators say that the three men robbed the victim at gunpoint on Tracey Court before shooting him in the back while he was on the ground. They took his money, cell phone and another mans truck, inbestigators said.
Francis did not answer a reporter's questions as he was walked to a BRPD vehicle on Saturday night. When asked if he did it, Francis replied, "Guilty. I mean, not guilty. I didn't ... do it."
Francis, 1555 Duchess Drive, was booked on principal to second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Florida; principal to attempted second-degree murder and armed robbery in Holmes' killing; and attempted second-degree murder and armed robbery in the Tracey Court shooting.
Baton Rouge police had arrested Francis on Friday on a warrant for an unrelated theft of a firearm case from Feb. 4 in the 3300 block of Crestaire Drive.
Scott, 5122 Enterprise St., was booked on a count of second-degree murder for Florida's killing; a count of second-degree murder and armed robbery in the fatal shooting of Holmes; and a count of attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery in the Tracey Court shooting.
He was arrested around noon Saturday near his home on Enterprise Street.
Holliday is wanted on second-degree murder in Holmes' killing and on principal to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Florida, authorities said.
Officials say Holliday is armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his location should contact EBRSO at 2255-389-5009 or Crime Stoppers at 225-344-7867.
New rules that recently went into effect mean more low-income Louisiana families are eligible for child care assistance. The state, though, is not increasing funding, so the number of children served is not expected to increase much initially.
The aid comes via the Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP. Largely federally funded, it helps pay the cost of child care for children from birth to 4 years old while parents are at work, school or in job training.
The number of children served by the program had shrunk by more than 70 percent since 2008 from more than 39,000 then to about 11,000 now due to a combination of severe state-level budget cuts and increased eligibility requirements.
Relief may be on way for child care recipients A state panel Thursday recommended easing eligibility rules for low-income families to quali
The Louisiana Department of Education announced the implementation of new rules Thursday that will open the door for more children to be served by the program. They were approved in August by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
"These changes not only ensure more working families have access to the assistance they need, it also makes certain that more children are enrolled in programs that will prepare them to begin school, said State Superintendent of Education John White.
The biggest change reduces from 30 hours to 20 hours the number of hours each week that recipients must work or be in job training. Having to consistently work at least 30 hours a week has proven difficult for many families, state leaders argued. The number of hours for families that have special needs children also has been reduced to just 15 hours
The new rules mean students enrolled in an accredited school or job training full-time are eligible for the aid; they no longer need to spend at least 30 hours in school each week, or some combination of work and school that exceeds 30 hours.
The rule changes come on top of earlier ones that relaxed other eligibility requirements as well as modestly increased the level of aid.
BESE backs plan to boost day care aid About 15,000 children from low-income families will have better access to quality day care u
One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the income threshold for to qualify to participate in the program. A family of four can earn at most $37,944 a year which is lower than most other states.
Melanie Bronfin, executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, a statewide group, applauded the relaxed eligibility rules and said they are part of a series of constructive moves by the state.
Even though we have very little money, (this) is making it easier to qualify so that we have a better handle on the need, said Bronfin.
Bronfin said its a change from the state's practice of avoiding waiting lists by increasing eligibility requirements.
She said the relaxed eligibility rules likely will result in waiting lists. But it will give state leaders a truer sense of the need, allowing advocates like her to make a better case for increasing child care assistance funding, she said.
Feared Pre-K cuts in Louisiana evaporate; standstill aid seen as win Despite threatened budget cuts earlier, state aid for pre-kindergarten classes emerged unsca
That need could prove quite large indeed.
Using U.S. Census data, the state recently calculated that income-based programs such as CCAP, Head Start and Early Head Start serve less than 15 percent of the children who likely could qualify. That leaves about 145,000 children from infants to three-year-olds unserved.
Without help, Bronfin said these families are relying on relatives or going into unregulated daycares.
Kids are ending up in places we are very concerned about, Bronfin said.
The next time a flood threatens, residents in Central plan to be the first to know.
The city is teaming up with federal scientists to develop an advanced model of the Amite and Comite rivers in a project that will be the first of its kind in Louisiana.
During the August flood, Dave Freneaux, editor of Central Speaks and onetime mayoral candidate, recounted spending hours trying, with help from law enforcement, to reach the home of his 83-year-old father. Jason Ellis, an engineer and city councilman, hauled and paddled a canoe over land and through flood waters all day to reach his 2-year-old son, who had been staying with family. Both men lamented the loss, not only of property, but of heirlooms, photographs and other irreplaceable mementos.
After the crisis Freneaux got in touch with Jaysson Funkhouser, an engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey. Together, they came up with a plan to give residents more warning the next time a storm rolls through.
When it's completed next year, the new model will alert residents of flood damage as soon as the National Weather Service predicts rain, giving them a few extra hours or even days to raise furniture, move cars, stow valuables and evacuate out of harm's way.
That heads-up will also let first responders know where to focus their manpower, as well as alert them to roads that will likely be washed out.
For a glimpse of what the finished product will look like, Funkhouser suggested turning to Hattiesburg. The Mississippi town already has a model of the Leaf River that offers a preview of the features that will be available in Central. The information is available at wimcloud.usgs.gov/apps/FIM/FloodInundationMapper.html.
Users can move a slider to see which areas are projected to flood at various water heights. By clicking an area of the map, users can see how deep the water will be at a given location, finding out if one's own front yard will get a few inches or a few feet.
The idea is that once the National Weather Service predicts a storm with flooding, users can turn to the model to see whether the water will get high enough to overrun the banks and find out when to expect it, how far the floodwaters will reach and how deep those waters will be at any given point, Funkhouser explained.
Mayor Jr. Shelton had some reservations about making the $300,000 investment in the program because individuals may not have electricity or computer access during the lead-up to a flood. However, giving the tool to emergency crews alone will be "worth a million bucks," he said.
In the meantime, he hopes the data from the model can be incorporated into cell phone text alerts, and Ellis noted that sharing the findings via social media will help spread the word even to people who may not be familiar with the program.
It's also expected to quell worries. Since the August storm, people start getting anxious whenever it rains, but the model will be able to demonstrate when a storm won't cause the rivers to rise to flood stage, Shelton pointed out.
Louisiana has sophisticated maps for coastal flooding, such as when an approaching hurricane pushes a storm surge ashore, but the new project will be the first USGS model for river flooding in the state. They're already popular in other areas: Atlanta, Kansas City and the New York City area all have multiple river models, and Indiana is dotted with gauges throughout the state.
Funkhouser said one Louisiana state agency has inquired about the maps, but so far only Central has bought in. He encourages other agencies and localities to consider mapping their own waterways, both for their own sake and since the more information scientists have to work with, the stronger the entire prediction system becomes. Central wound up paying 75 percent of the $400,000 total cost, with the federal government picking up the rest, though Funkhouser said their project is a bit more expensive than usual because they're mapping a pair of rivers, one of which is particularly large, and Central officials asked for an expedited delivery.
The maps of the Comite and Amite which will stop just north of Denham Springs are due by October 2018. Until then, crews will survey the area, pull data from river gauges and build a model that anticipates where water will spill over when the Amite and Comite can't be contained within their banks.
Freneaux said the mayor of Hattiesburg told him that a few years ago the city had a flood, and crews went out to take high water marks. Those turned out to be within inches of what the model predicted.
"From an engineering standpoint, I'm excited about it," said Ellis, the Central councilman and professional engineer.
As for Freneaux, as much as he appreciates the work of the Cajun Navy, he hopes that with better preparation, Central won't need those volunteer rescuers at the next flood.
Whos afraid of big, bad one-time money? A lot of Louisiana policy-makers, unnecessarily.
The phrase refers to dollars spent on a government activity from a revenue source not authorized to fund it. It requires approving a legislative instrument to transfer the money, and past governors and legislators have used it with regularity to avoid spending cuts.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards insisted during his successful campaign that he wouldnt rely on on one-time money into his budgets but, expressing regret, has forwarded to the Legislature during its special session spending plan adjustments chock full of such money. In turn, many Republican legislators claim they should employ this tactic only under duress, and some swear off it completely.
But despite its bad reputation, using some one-time money makes sense. Understanding why begins with the knowledge that the term one-time money encompasses several different funding sources.
A portion does take the form of truly bonus bucks. For example, Edwards plan envisions taking almost $4 million from a settlement procured by the Attorney Generals office that partially funds its operations. The one-off event that produced these funds will not recur.
Another kind represent postponing work on projects or bill payments. For example, Edwards wants to delay using more than half a million dollars allocated to fund improvements in the way that people with disabilities are matched to services, shuttling that money to cover the deficit. Eventually, unless the initiative is cancelled, the state will probably spend this money on the disabled in a future year.
Our Views: Let us help you understand Louisiana's budget mess Despite a slew of numbers thrown around in the state's budget debates, what we have here is
Finally, some one-time money essentially recurs. The state has hundreds of dedicated funds into which money pours, often in amounts greater than actual required spending needs, much less whether the need really is that important compared to others. Further, these excess dollars accumulate over the years, creating pools of money paid in by the citizenry directly or indirectly that otherwise would sit idle unless converted into one-time money by transferring some of the proceeds elsewhere. For example, Edwards proposal seeks to vacuum up around $100 million lying fallow in many different pots to resolve the shortfall.
While bonus money and postponed dollars ideally should not fund operating expenses, largesse from taxes and fees should invite prudent policy-makers to use this money in advancing more important purposes. An even better approach would tackle the crazy-quilt of special funds to reduce the annual misdirection of significant sums away from real needs.
House Bill 5 by state Rep. Rick Edmonds makes an effort to achieve this rebalancing. It eliminates certain accounts and detaches funding pipelines from these accounts and others, rechanneling those bucks into the general fund, where each year the Legislature can decide to appropriate the money for its former purposes or for more important functions.
While one may quibble over a few of the bills targets, it gets the ball rolling, and its general idea desperately needs amplification. If the bill becomes law, lawmakers should liquidate the taxes and fees once attached to purged dedicated funds. Moreover, if they wish to maintain revenue neutrality, they can adjust upwards marginal income, sales, and excise tax rates.
Any discussion of fiscal reform must include streamlining the hodgepodge of dedicated funding that makes the state appear to have insufficient resources to cover major needs when, in fact, it merely suffers from revenue misallocation. Rather than raise taxes, until policy-makers find the courage to put into law HB 5 and other measures extending its concept, they must learn to live with and love sweeping one-time money to places of more sensible use.
Jeff Sadow is an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University-Shreveport, where he teaches Louisiana government. He is author of a blog about Louisiana politics, www.between-lines.com, where links to information in this column may be found. When the Louisiana Legislature is in session, he writes about legislation in it at www.laleglog.com. Follow him on Twitter, @jsadowadvocate or email jeffsadowtheadvocate@yahoo.com. His views do not necessarily express those of his employer.
James Gill: Nola for Life grad dies in the street as gun violence continues to surge
Competitors relieved that Kraft Heinz snubbed them for Unilever may want to skip the celebration.
Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kellogg and Mondelez International were top potential acquisition targets for Kraft Heinz, and even though the company appears to have moved on, more consolidation could be on the menu. Whether Kraft can persuade Unilever to form the world's second-biggest food company, struggling US giants still face pressure to break their years-long sales malaise.
A deal would bring together some of the world's best-known brands ranging from Heinz tomato sauce, Oscar Mayer meats and Unilever's Lipton tea and Dove soap. Credit:AP
"They're probably breathing a sigh of relief, but then it becomes a question of what's next," said Brittany Weissman, an analyst at Edward Jones. "Sales aren't getting better and at some point the cost cuts are going to run out."
Unilever spurned Kraft Heinz's $US143 billion ($187 billion) offer on Friday, saying the $US50-a-share proposal was too low. A merger would unite Unilever products Dove soap, Axe deodorant, Lipton tea, Hellman's mayonnaise and Breyers ice cream with Kraft Heinz staples Velveeta, Maxwell House coffee and Oscar Mayer processed meats. Only Nestle would be bigger.
By Press Trust of India: Panaji, Feb 19 (PTI) Gold worth Rs 54.28 lakh was today seized from a passenger, who arrived from Dubai by an Air India flight, by sleuths of the Air intelligence unit, Custom officials said.
Acting on a tip-off, the passenger, a native of Kerala, was apprehended while carrying two kg gold worth Rs 54.28 lakh, after he arrived from an Air India flight at the Goa airport at 4.30 AM, they added.
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Meanwhile, the Customs also seized cigarettes worth Rs 4.36 lakh from two passengers, who arrived from Sharjah by an Air Arabia flight at 5 AM, officials added. PTI RPS NRB PTP
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Just what exactly is Mark Zuckerberg up to? It is a question that watchers of Facebook and its increasingly statesmanlike chief executive have been asking a lot in the last few months.
First he promised to give away almost all his wealth over the course of his lifetime, setting up a foundation with his wife Priscilla Chan that will funnel Mr Zuckerberg's $US50 billion ($65 billion) fortune into good causes. Then he announced plans to visit every US state this year in a "man of the people" drive to understand the parts of America left behind by the modern world.
And last week, he posted a 5700-word defence of globalism and inclusivity presented as Facebook's new "mission statement".
In his letter, Mr Zuckerberg wrote that "across the world there are people left behind by globalisation, and movements for withdrawing from global connection", and said he wanted to "bring humanity together".
Alternative physics Perhaps Paul O'Connor (Letters, February 16) is operating under different laws of physics than the rest of us. Allowing a 54-metre gap at 100km/h (27.8 metres/sec) is a bare minimum. Without considering reaction time, an average car takes at least 33 metres to stop from 100km/h. Reaction time can vary but can easily take total stopping distance to between 50 and 120 metres.
Warwick Bradly, Weston Threat of cash crash Just over a month after a majority of Canberrans had voted in favour of the government's light rail dream the NSW government had to confront some harsh economic realities in relation to its 12-kilometre Eastern Suburbs light rail line. The estimated construction cost had blown out by $549 million (approximately 30 per cent) to $2.2 billion. The line's annual operating costs had blown out by 70 per cent to $949 million.
It had (also) overestimated the line's benefits by $1 billion (largely due to the estimated journey times having been unrealistically low). Factoring the revised estimates into the cost-benefit analysis reduced the line's benefit down to $1.40 per $1 [spent], which surpasses the ultra-slim estimated benefit of Canberra's light rail line of $1.20 per $1 spent. Almost on the eve of the ACT election, the NSW government acknowledged the estimated cost of the proposed Parramatta light rail line had also blown out by $2.5 billion to more than $3.5billion. Fortunately for NSW taxpayers the state government, on the back of consecutive multibillion-dollar budget surpluses, is now almost debt-free and able to meet such sizeable cost blowouts. The ACT government's budget position is far more precarious than NSW's. Minister Fitzharris should very carefully analyse what's happened in NSW so as to avoid any possibility of such light rail cost blowouts happening here.
Bruce Taggart, Aranda Close the loopholes Treasurer Morrison's NDIS "black hole" could easily be filled to overflowing by closing tax loopholes that allow wealthy individuals and huge companies to pay as little as zero tax, ensuring the Commonwealth gets real value for our resources instead of handing out tens of billions of dollars in cumulative tax concessions to petro-gas companies; and cracking down on the cash economy, which on its own sucks $21 billion annually from the budget. Problem is Morrison has told us numerous times that we have a spending problem not a revenue problem so, like his entitled predecessor, he's intent on budget cuts which target the less well-off in our society, cuts which would be completely unnecessary if he wasn't so deliberately blind to the obvious. The solution is clear, if problematic given the way politics works and the current lot of time-serving, visionless, dogma-driven federal politicians. Find a new treasurer. Someone with nous, fortitude, compassion, and a mind not anchored in the past and obstructed by ideological quagmire.
Jon Stirzaker, Latham Questionable use Anthony Reid, Charles Adams, and Colin Griffiths (Letters, February 17) raise an interesting point about the usefulness of BecCody as an MLA. Supposedly elected to represent the people of Murrumbidgee, in the recent debate over the proposed development at the Curtin shops she did not respond to an invitation to meet with some of her constituents to listen to their concerns, declined an invitation to attend a public meeting, and, unlike the other four MLAs, did not even have the courtesy of acknowledging emails sent to her by several of her constituents, let alone reply to them. It would seem the only time Ms Cody is prepared to speak with her constituents is during the few weeks prior to an election. Other than that, her interests seem to lie elsewhere.
Chris Roberts, Curtin Where is the outrage about the 'ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar? My heart goes out to the 1 million Rohingya Muslims in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar who, according to a recent UN report, seem to be subject to current "ethnic cleansing". Interviews with victims and witnesses, live footage of atrocities and press reports are horrific. Many have fled to Bangladesh, which seems to be the objective. Where is the global outrage?
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace laureate, seems powerless against the brutal and corrupt military intent on maintaining power. The strongest response to the UN report was from a US State Department spokeswoman who described the findings as "deeply troubling". And what has been Australia's response? Public silence, though it may be active behind the scenes. We fought in Burma in World War II and have a strong Burmese-Australian community. Isn't this a prime example of a possible UN intervention (possibly led by Australia as in Timor Leste) if the Myanmar military does not back off. However, it seems no one cares; where is our moral compass? Geoff Clark, Narrabundah
The best greeting "Is this the best we have to offer by way of greeting visitors to Canberra?" asks Gary Wood (Letters, February 18), referring to the Marriage Equality sign at Canberra Airport and comparing it to Adelaide's "Gateway to the Barossa". Adelaide's sign says "buy our stuff"; ours says "support human rights". Not only is ours the best we have to offer, it's a brilliantly succinct and wonderfully welcoming statement about who we are and the principles we stand for. I propose we make it a permanent feature. Fred Pilcher, Kaleen One last SHOUT out I write to let my community know that SHOUT (self-help organisations united together) will cease operation in the next few months because of lack of funding. For more than 35 years we have provided support and administrative help for a number of self-help/mutual support organisations that provide support and help for many members of our community living with or caring for those living with chronic health conditions.
I can speak for myself following several life-threatening conditions. I would have been lost without the support of those who had travelled the same path. My concern is for other members of my community who may be faced with the same challenges. Without SHOUT where do they go for support and help. Paula Calcino, Oxley Let them eat the poor
Recently the Treasurer and the governor of the Reserve Bank suggested corporate taxes be reduced and could be afforded. Surely, this confirms they are living in the financial equivalent of a fool's paradise. Few large corporates or wealthy individuals pay anywhere near the equivalent percentage of earnings in tax as salary and wage earners, or pensioners. Reducing corporate taxes represents a Marie Antoinette approach in which the rich eat cake baked by the poor. Is this progressive taxation? Senior office-holders seem oblivious to the effects of the opportunities used by large corporates, multinationals and wealthy individuals to minimise their tax using mechanisms such as offshore revenue transfers, cost shifting and the like. Such avoidance or minimisation options are not available to the salary or wage earner, the pensioner or small business owner.
Should the Reserve Bank model the effective rate of taxation across taxation entities it would find introducing a flat rate across all entities based on earnings, not taxable income, would answer most of our revenue shortfalls. This measure could result in an estimated annual tax rate of less than 10 per cent across all entities. James Grenfell, Spence Muster the bluster Can our government sink to a lower level than it has these past weeks? I note the media have found it amusing and seem quite supportive of Malcolm Turnbull and his frontbench "yay, Malcolm you have found your voice". They, too, need a reality check. Mr Turnbull was first of all acting like the school-yard bully on Wednesday, February 8. We know what he said to Mr Shorten. I don't need to repeat it. The whole affair seemed staged; the front and back benches looking uninterested until the shouting and the vitriol and invective grew so loud they too commenced to act like children.
Barnaby Joyce was positively apoplectic; very unbecoming for the Deputy Prime Minister. On February 10 Turnbull stated that Bill Shorten deserved the tongue lashing. An extraordinary statement. Scott Morrison brought in a lump of coal to again shout at the opposition for their policy of renewables. We are currently in the midst of a heatwave in Canberra and in many parts of Australia. The LNP policy of more coal-powered stations is laughable. Wake up before we have nothing to leave our grandchildren.
Jan Gulliver, Lyneham Which laws? One should deduce that Khizar Rana respects Australia's laws and values when he challenges Jacqui Lambie's rant against Islam (Letters, February 15). Moreover, that he is most assuredly in sync with the overwhelming bulk of Muslims in our country. But how do he and his co-religionists reconcile the Koran's abundant references to making war on unbelievers with their supposed reliance on the Koran's instruction "... obey those who are in authority among you"? Our legislatures presently point to "infidel" dominance. Patrick Jones, Griffith Ship of fools
Cancel the most ridiculous Defence purchase in our history, the $50 billion submarines. Has any submarine ever fired a shot in anger? The previous purchases, the Collins Class, had no class at all. This venture into fiscal foolishness is unlikely to do anything but sail the Pacific. In the meantime, fiscal penalties against all those who cannot afford it will continue. Grow up, Australia, and get your priorities right.
Rex Williams, Ainslie TO THE POINT SHARIA ENLIGHTENMENT Michael McCarthy asks for an "authoritative, user-friendly statement of Sharia law" (Letters, February 16). In my opinion, the late Jamila Hussain's excellent book, Islam: its law and society, is exactly that, although I should disclaim having had anything but a very superficial knowledge of Sharia before reading it. David Wilson, Braddon
FEMINISM FOUNDATIONS Regarding coverage of the Q&A spat between Senator Lambie and Ms Abdel-Magied. It may be true that Islam is a feminist religion, but Christianity had been covering that ground already for 600 years (on the back of two millennia of Judaism). Christian doctrine is the foundation on which modern (Western) feminism is built. Christopher Budd, Turner FUNDING REDUCTIONS The Christian Brothers have paid $48.5million and the Marist Brothers $31.3million to those sexually abused as children at their schools and institutions. As the Australian government provides the bulk of funding should not the funding be reduced by these amounts?
Jeremy McGrane, Kingston LAZY SHORTEN ATTACK Sabra Lane should be ashamed of attacking Bill Shorten on the cost of renewable energy (on AM). As Shorten said, it is the cost of not acting on climate change that is the real story. Ignoring the bigger picture to get a quick sensational story is lazy journalism. George Kozakos, Barton OFFENSIVE HEADING
I was truly horrified to see the photograph ("Take 5", February 16, p. 30) of the distinguished and decent Bob Crowe SC mocked for his disability with the heading "Karleen Minney caught some blind justice at the Supreme Court". Jennifer Saunders, Canberra POOR POLLIES DESERVED The ACT is getting the politicians it deserves as a result of its voting record. The latest is Bec Cody along with the very expensive Mick Gentleman. When will we get MLAs who look to solving youth unemployment, homelessness, mental health and the like rather than basking in entitlements and junkets? Ric Hingee, Duffy
Descending east from Jerusalem into the Rift Valley, the landscape turns decidedly hostile, and that's just the start of it.
The Number 1 freeway first arcs up from the Holy City's eastern flank towards the Mount of Olives before cutting underneath the world heritage site to emerge in what quickly becomes another country, a different land.
Jerusalem's ancient hills delineate one of the world's sharper rain shadows.
Yet as discriminating as the rains are, they are egalitarian compared to the political economy dictated by birth as Arab or Jew.
Treasurer Scott Morrison smarting over the Australian Bankers' Association's appointment of Anna Bligh. Credit:Andrew Meares It's an artificial and cruel game, worthy of any Hunger Games script. Except it's all for show. Sensibly, Senator Nick Xenophon has simply refused to play. Taking budget hostages in this way and the new obsession, by both sides of Parliament, with "hypothecation" the linking of specific savings measures to fund particular costs is absurd. Take the NDIS, which is increasingly under attack as a big budget black hole. In the 2013 budget, the Labor government played the hypothecation game, setting out how it intended to pay for the ambitious scheme, which will cost $22 billion when in full operation from 2019-20.
Much of the money was to come from rolling in existing funds earmarked for disability support by both federal and state governments. A further $4 billion a year was raised by increasing the Medicare levy by half a percentage point. Let's not forget, taxpayers have been chipping in money for the NDIS this way since mid 2014, even though the scheme is yet to become fully operational. Several other of Labor's NDIS savings measures have also subsequently been passed by the Coalition, including the tobacco tax hike and the phasing out of the medical expense rebate. Together, they go a long way to helping to cover the costs of the NDIS. But the Coalition has made no mention of using those savings to fund the NDIS; revenue raised this way has simply been put towards budget repair. It's true the government has stashed aside $6 billion into a DisabilityCare Australia Fund, which is being managed by the Future Fund. Indeed, the fund is now home to four auxiliary "jam jars" of cash: for disability care, medical research, education investment and Building Australia. These are funds are, in reality, simple political trickery. Hypothecation can provide useful political cover to raise taxes needed to fund essential services. But it's a stunt. The Medicare levy goes nowhere near funding Medicare.
The Coalition's Medical Fund was a simple political tool to provide political cover for its (failed) intention to increase co-payments on GP visits. In reality, all revenue goes into the same pot and can be accessed with a simple change of legislation. Amid all the trickery, let's not forget the golden rule of good government budgeting. That is, that taxes should be raised and spent in the most efficient way possible. That is, we should tax in a way that does least harm to the economy, and we should spend the money on projects that do the most good for society. That may even gasp, horror involve the government borrowing to fund worthy causes. Some investments like investment in early childhood education yield such good rates of return that borrowing to fund them still leaves taxpayers ahead in the long run. Other investments with less tangible GDP effects, like improving the lives and wellbeing of the most vulnerable in our community, are worth undertaking simply because they are the right thing to do.
Most Australians get this. They don't want budget trickery to get in the way of good government. And beneath the threats and budget hijinks, the government itself doesn't want to deny money for disabled people. Indeed, there are even stirrings of sense finally coming from Treasurer Scott Morrison, who last week executed one of the most stunning political backflips of recent times. For years, he has insisted closing the budget gap can be done purely by cutting expenditure. Now he is close to acknowledging the obvious: our options for politically palatable spending cuts have all but evaporated. Unless, of course, you want to can those $50 billion submarines.
Lifting taxes now remains the only feasible option for truly fixing the budget bottom line and avoiding passing on the bill for current spending to future generations. There can be no doubting the structural problems with the budget. On December's estimates, the budget will slide into the end of this financial year in deficit by $36.5 billion. We're in the red for the rest of the budget horizon of four years. Left unattended, the majority of taxpayers will be pushed into the two top tax brackets in the coming decade. Letting income taxes rise through this silent thief called "bracket creep" is one of the worst ways to fix the budget.
The hunt is on for a man who carjacked an Uber driver at gunpoint before leading police on a short chase through inner-city Brisbane and side-swiping a pair of cars.
About 9.20pm on Sunday, he pulled a gun on the 40-year-old driver parked on Leichhardt Street, Spring Hill and ordered him out of his white 2014 Toyota Aurion before driving off.
An Uber driver has been carjacked in Spring Hill Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Police said they briefly chased the fleeing driver after he failed to stop at the corner of Herston Road and Kelvin Grove.
A police spokesman said the authorised pursuit lasted only "minutes" before it was called off due to the carjacker's dangerous driving.
"It's been basically revenue positive from day one, but our core mission is improving the state of democracy," he says. White lies The misconception that a social enterprise isn't interested in turning a profit means social entrepreneur Jillian Kenny has to tell the odd white lie. Kenny is the co-founder of Machinam, a social enterprise trying to make high school maths resources engaging and relevant. When speaking to potential investors, Kenny says she "doesn't highlight as much" Machinam's status as a social enterprise.
"We didn't want to talk about it," says Kenny. "We were worried they thought we would have a strong focus on the impact and not focus on the profit." A social enterprise is actually a failed business. Once it becomes profitable it's just a good enterprise. Eyal Halamish But Roslyn Campbell, the founder of sanitary product social enterprise Tsuno, says social enterprises need to be upfront about their aims. "It worries me that you would look to an investor that doesn't understand the social impact of what you are trying to do," she says. "If that's the case, they're not the investor for you. "I started the business because of the issue and I came at it without a business background. I wouldn't be a sanitary product entrepreneur without the cause, so I feel really proud about saying I am a social enterprise."
Campbell has raised money for Tsuno through crowdfunding and boot strapping. Last year the social enterprise made a "small profit", which enabled Campbell to donate just over $4000. She declined to provide Tsuno's turnover. "It's something I've struggled with in terms of having my goals really high and then what I can actually achieve by myself," she says. Scepticism Social entrepreneurs face an increasing amount of scepticism according to Sandra Capponi, the co-founder of Good on You, a brand rating system marketplace for ethical shopping. "We should be celebrating that more and more people are identifying as social entrepreneurs," Capponi says. "Lots of the cynicism can come from the big corporates; we are all sceptical of greenwashing."
Capponi says Good on You has had to overcome this cynicism to achieve more than 35,000 downloads of its app. The app is free, but Good on You makes money from advertising through the app. The social enterprise has been boot strapped so far with turnover of under $100,000 but is looking for investment of $500,000 as it gets set to expand to the United States. While the number of social enterprises in Australia is growing, with Professor Jo Barraket of Swinburne University estimating there were 20,000 social enterprises in 2016, Capponi says unfortunately the same few social enterprises get all the attention. "Look, I love Thankyou Water, but it's all we ever talk about," she says. "There are lots of people in Australia doing fantastic things." A lonely life
Capponi says budding social entrepreneurs need to be aware it can be a lonely life. "There is never enough time or resources or money to do anything," she says. "Often that seems like a huge, insurmountable challenge, but it's also fun because every day is different. You are the marketing person, the delivery person, you're everything." Campbell says founding and running Tsuno has "taken it's toll". "I'm vitamin D deficient because I spend too much time inside working," she says. "I'm going through now how to get my fitness and health back on track. You can be so driven and determined to make it work that everything else can come secondary." But Kenny says in the end, being able to make a difference makes social entrepreneurship worthwhile. "There were times when I was looking for [other] jobs and saying 'This is ridiculous'," she says. "The same thing pulled me back: I know I would have hated to go and work for someone else in a vision that I didn't believe in. It was all about going back to why am I doing what I'm doing."
Despite complaints, some businesses are happy with their NBN service. Craig Wilson runs Newcastle-based digital marketing company Sticky with a turnover of less than $5 million. Wilson was connected last year and, despite failing to find someone to run a fibre connection from the NBN hub outside his building into his office, he is delighted with the results after switching from a Telstra ADSL connection. "We found the ADSL appalling," Wilson says. "It was very slow and sometimes impossible to work with, particularly when it slowed to a trickle after kids got home from school. We're a digital agency, we need higher speeds." Wilson recommends the NBN to other small businesses if it's available, "it's definitely worth doing, we've seen an increase in productivity", he says. "The biggest difference is that we never really notice anything, it just works and we don't have any downtime." Groundswell of customers
"A large part of Australia can now order services," says Ben Salmon, executive general manager of NBN's business services. "There's a large groundswell of customers coming on to the NBN." "We're well ahead of where we thought we would be at this point of time in business, we have a few key ramp areas coming up in the next year. Not only do we have the HFC areas but the CBD areas in, say, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne will be reaching Ready For Service where they can order a service that will be happening from May this year. Our street had been downgraded to NBN Satellite which has speeds barely comparable with our old slow ADSL2 and not much faster than a turtle walking backwards. Donna Moritz "Many small business and those working out of home will be satisfied with residential plans," Salmon says. "Regardless of the technology we're going to use to get into the premises whether its fibre to the node or the premises we've got terrific NBN products and services available across all the access technologies." Still waiting...
A convoy of taxis and hire car owners drove Airport West to Victorian transport minister Jacinta Allan's Bendigo office on Monday in their latest protest against changes to the industry.
It comes one week after taxi drivers protested a lack of government compensation for their licenses, creating traffic chaos on the Bolte Bridge, and then calling for Ms Allan's resignation at Parliament House.
Taxi drivers angry at deregulation within the industry were out in force on the Bolte Bridge last Monday. Credit:Jason South
Taxi owners claim they will lose everything as a result of the Victorian government's deregulation of the taxi industry.
Protesters, led by the Taxi Action Group, met at Airport West shopping centre at 9.30am Monday, before driving their taxis to Bendigo, in an effort to "make some noise" at Ms Allan's office.
Police are hunting a driver who twice outran officers during a 100-kilometre trip from the state's east to Melbourne's outskirts.
Police received a number of calls from the public about 3.10pm on Saturday reporting a light blue Toyota Corolla driving erratically on the Princes Freeway at Morwell.
A hunt is on for a driver who evaded police. Credit:Rohan Thompson
An attempt was made to intercept the car in Trafalgar, but the driver refused to stop.
Police chased the vehicle to Yarragon, before the pursuit was ended.
The heads of a Melbourne private school knew a former teacher had been charged with abusing a student when they wrote a letter paying tribute to his "extraordinary legacy".
The letter, branded by lawyers as "stupid and insensitive", prompted two Old Boys to seek legal action against Trinity Grammar.
Christopher Howell from Trinity Grammar publication 'The Grammarian' July 2013.
It's the second abuse claim to rock the exclusive school, with another former employee set to go to trial over 41 historical sex offences against five boys.
The latest scandal involves respected former teacher Christopher Howell, who was charged by police in November 2015 with the indecent assault of a student in the late 1960s.
Cyprus' rival leaders have agreed to intensify talks aimed at reunifying the divided island, in a move seen as key to achieving a possible peace deal in 2010.
UN official Yasser Sabra said President Dimitris Christofias, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat would hold six meetings next month. The meetings will be held at a compound inside the UN-controlled buffer zone separating the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. The island joined the European Union in 2004, but only Greek Cypriots enjoy the benefits. Any agreement the two leaders reach will be put to referendums in both communities.
Hyundai Reveals First Impression of New Generation i30 Wagon Ahead Of 2017 Geneva Motor Show Unveiling
New wagon bodystyle will be the next member in the i30 family, following launch of five-door
Timeless design of i30 is enhanced by versatile and elegant form of wagon
The New Generation i30 Wagon will celebrate its world premiere at Geneva International Motor Show 2017 during the Hyundai press conference (8:15 am CET, 7 March 2017)
LONDON - February 19, 2017: This years Geneva International Motor Show will be the stage for the unveiling of the New Generation Hyundai i30 Wagon. The new member of the i30 family maintains the timeless design of its five-door sibling, adding elegance and versatility in its bodystyle.
The New Generation i30 Wagon speaks the language of the i30 family in terms of design, and it carries the new Hyundai family identity - the Cascading Grille, explains Thomas Burkle, Chief Designer at Hyundai Design Centre Europe. The tapering roofline and the dynamic proportions give the Wagon an almost coupe-like silhouette. The sleek and dynamic profile is further emphasised by a rich chrome frame surrounding the side windows.
The New Generation i30 Wagon will celebrate its world premiere at the Hyundai press conference at the Geneva International Motor Show, taking place on 7 March at 8:15 am (CET).
Guild Of Motoring Writers To Recreate History In 70-Year-Old Austin
Austin Sixteen will be driven 2,500 miles across Europe
Seven-day run will take in seven capital cities
Driving team including Guild members plan an ?hour-by-hour recreation
LONDON - February 19, 2017: Guild members are among a team planning to commemorate an audacious road trip challenge by the Austin Motor Company in March 1947 by carrying out the same trip, hour for hour, 70 years on.
The Longbridge, Birmingham company originally tasked the crews of three Austin Sixteen cars with covering 2,500 miles in seven days, visiting seven European capital cities and arriving in Geneva in time for the first post-war motor show. Among the participants was motoring journalist Sammy Davis, a founding member of the Guild of Motoring Writers.
The 70th anniversary recreation will see an Austin Sixteen, specially prepared to be as close in specification to the original cars, conduct the same trip. This time, participants will include Guild deputy chairman Guy Loveridge, plus Guild members Steve Berry and Philip Newsome.
Thank to support from Mintex, the event is being called The Mintex Austin Sixteen Goodwill Tour Platinum Anniversary 1947-2017. Business development director at Mintex, Lawrence Bleasdale says: We are delighted to support this event as it illustrates that we can supply the same cars now as we did then!
Jaguar will provide an F-Pace support vehicle and other event supporters include Total lubricants and DFDS Seaways. The original event crossed from Newcastle to Stavanger and then went overland to the start in Oslo. That route is today unavailable: the team will instead cross to Holland and then drive to Copenhagen, before taking the ferry up to the start point. Luckily, the mileages will be virtually identical.
A Facebook Page for the event has been created and fellow Guild member, Practical Classics magazine editor Danny Hopkins, will feature the restoration of the car and, hopefully, its successful trip in his magazine. This is really exciting and shows just how ?practical even a 70-year-old classic can be. I am really looking forward to following the progress of this one!
Nervous About NAV?
By Maureen McDonald
Senior Editor
Michigan Bureau
The Auto Channel
Nervous about navigation systems?
We pull up to a liquor store in Riviera Beach, just beyond West Palm Beach, and ask directions to Lake Park from a man with a strong stench of liquor and leathery skin. Nothing else was open and we'd driven round and round in circles. He tells us we are just a few blocks away, tells us how to get there, then holds out his hand for money.
Sheesh! Show up in a $65,000 ice blue Volvo S90 sedan and the world thinks you are rich. I pull a $5 bill out of the glove compartment, change from a dozen Floridian toll booths , and hand it to him. Two seconds later a young couple with zombie eyes appear in my radar and demand money.
We jump back in the car, cursing my total lack of technology skills. The drunk guy's directions take us straight to the mural painting party at the Brewhouse Gallery. Young, old, black, white, gay, straight folks chatter in the alley on a warm night while a live band plays inside the bar. I'm back in my element with writers and artisans. Walter Johnson's calligraphy is simply beautiful. The car rides magnificently.
But I'm aware of my limitations. Mortally aware. My friend J.B. Dixson knows Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, but Lake Park is beyond her social radar. Riviera Beach, she tells me, is a rough part of town. A case of acute anxiety travels from my toes to my aching head.
What if my press car was stolen at gunpoint? What if I lost my wallet at the peak of my vacation? What if I got some savvy and learned navigation? It is a weekend. All the media folks with Volvo have gone away from their phones. Dealerships are closed.
I'm a Detroiter. I can manage a little urban color. But I'm aware I've been a Luddite too long.
I've tried to navigate streets with a MapQuest printout in one hand, steering wheel in the other. I spent an extra hour looping around greater Orlando because I couldn't spot the next turn fast enough. I'd tried reading the Volvo manual, more difficult than conquering Latin in high school.
To be sure, I'm not alone. A 2013 survey by Michelin Travel and Lifestyle found 63 percent of U.S. drivers who have used GPS say the technology has led them astray at least once by pointing them in the wrong direction, or creating complex, confusing and incorrect routes. More than 2,200 adults surveyed said the GPS took them off track 4.4 times. People in the plus-55 group were more apt to carry maps.
My friend George Thom in Ponte Verde comes to my rescue. "Maureen, this is the simplest system I've ever seen, you punch the NAV button on the center console. Press the button a second time and you get a menu screen. You have a pull down keyboard, enter your destination. Easy Peasy!"
How did I go this long without a Garmin, Siri, Tom-Tom or something? Even Verizon has VZ Navigator for your phone. The notion of an electronic voice that tells you where to go (not your father) has been around awhile. Back in 1966 General Motors Research tinkered with a non-satellite based system called Driver Aid, Information and Routing. It wasn't practical then, but the system morphed into OnStar.
Navigation systems use a satellite for position data and correlate it with the road.
Toyota, according to Wikipedia, brought out a navigation computer on the Toyota Celica in 1981 and in 1987 introduced a navigation system on a CD-ROM. In 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo became the first car with a built-in GPS-navigation system. By 2000 the United States had a more accurate GPS signal available for public use.
The Navigation Data Standard emerged in 2004 and became a registered association in 2009 so that the same navigation maps would be used in navigation systems from 20 manufacturers. This began to make life easier, so people wouldn't need to check a liquor store at night to find a party.
Volvo offers the advanced Sensus Navigation to provide the latest in connected driving features along with free map updates and more. Instead of fiddling with the onboard system in the freezing cold car, you can plot out a route with Sensus, use the "Send to Car" feature and transmit directions from your smartphone, tablet or desktop computer to the automobile.
With some fancy typing and exploring, Sensus Connect Navigation will send you real-time traffic updates, alternate routes and 3D modeling. The high-performance screen offers visibility in the night or day, or as Volvo says, "you'll never be without that guiding light."
I tinkered well enough to program a trip from Jacksonville through the Ocala National Forest instead of a dull highway route. But I couldn't stop the navigation system from sending me to the unmanned gate in Harbor Hills where I was staying. I could get a listing for a pizza place in the Villages but not the Dunkin Donuts. But that's minor.
Triumph! I made it 90 minutes to the airport, through a hundred twist, turns and tollbooths around Orlando with no complaints. Tossed the keys to the gatekeeper at the parking lot and cried my way to the plane. I had to leave the car - and the super navigation system - behind.
How does a retail investor differentiate between useful and useless information about a given stock? To a large extent that depends on ones investing approach. Some experts like to differentiate between traders those looking for short term profits and investors those looking for long term wealth building.
Suppose the morning financial news includes a piece about changing economic conditions in a given country where Company A derives the majority of its revenue. For traders, this information is signal; a useful indication the price of the stock is likely to fall in the short term. For investors, the information is at best not helpful and at worst useless since the impact has yet to be seen.
The concept of noise in markets was first introduced in a 1986 paper in the Journal of Finance by economist Fischer Black. Black categorized noise as information that hasnt arrived yet simple uncertainty about future demand and supply conditions.
This view provides the average long term retail investor with a helpful filter to be used to separate noise from signal. To illustrate we will take a stroll back in time to examine two stocks that both spent considerable time on the ASX Top Ten Short List Cochlear Limited (COH) and JB HiFi Limited (JBH).
Short Sellers have earned a reputation as careful researchers, simply because they have to be. Shorting is betting the price of a given stock will go down, with the short sellers making a profit on the difference between the price at which they shorted the stock and the price at which they actually bought the shares. In effect, shorts borrow shares of a company to be paid back at a later date. If the stock goes the wrong way, the potential loss for a short seller is infinite. Going long on a stock at $10 per share caps the potential loss at $10 per share should the company go into bankruptcy. Shorting that same stock at $10 opens the door to unlimited losses should the stock price keep climbing.
On 9 September of 2011 shares of Cochlear reached an intraday high of $74 at the close of the trading week. On the morning of 12 September the company announced a voluntary recall of its flagship product, sending the share price plummeting more than 20% with short sellers piling on. The following price movement chart from late March of 2015 shows the immediate impact and the ultimate recovery.
Shares of Cochlear are now trading around $135, an increase of more than 130% since the 2011 fall. At that time short sellers and some investors saw the information in the recall news release as a signal to sell. Analysts and industry experts predicted the company would lose market share due to its diminished reputation as the industrys best. Doctors, it was said, would begin looking for alternatives.
To long term Cochlear investors the information could have been considered noise, as there was no immediate impact. In effect, both the shorts and the longs interpreted the information correctly, depending on the holding period. It was two years before the stock price recovered, allowing time for shorts to cover at a profit. Longs with the patience to await actual results have been rewarded.
JB HiFi Limited (JBH) provides another example. The stock fell out of favor as its reputation as Australias electronics discount king was increasingly challenged by severely discounted offerings from offshore online sellers, along with declines in the retail sector generally. The share price erosion was gradual, as seen in the following price movement chart from late 2014.
In late November of 2012 the company announced its entry into white goods homewares centering on large and small appliances. For some investors the information in that news release was a signal to buy. Others deemed it noise as the success or failure of the move was yet to be seen. In truth, the real signal did not become apparent until the first release of information about revenue generation from the new line, which ultimately drove the stock price upward again.
The current ASX Top Ten Short List contains at least two stocks where the stock price over the past year appears to have been driven by information characteristic of both noise and signal. Aconex Limited (ACX) began as a web-based procurement management system for the construction industry and grew to its current state as a top provider of a cloud-based platform allowing collaboration of all phases of major construction projects. The company does business in over 70 countries serving mining and energy projects as well as infrastructure.
Aconex debuted in December of 2014 with an issue price of $1.90, closing its first day of trading at $1.80. Lofty expectations, considered noise by some, plagued the company even before the listing as the expected amount of the capital raise was lowered with the issue price scaling back to $1.90 from the original plan for issuing at $2.20.
The less than an all-out bullish response to the IPO did not prevent the share price from climbing to around $3.24 by June of 2015. A little more than one year later the stock price hit its all-time high of $8.53 in late July. By November of 2016 the stock price had fallen into the $4.00 range. Here is the price movement chart for ACX since it began trading on the ASX.
Aconex had released a string of positive news announcements, including solid Full Year 2016 Results released in August. Was the drop in price following the results release driven by noise, signal, or a little of both?
Hot stocks like Aconex frequently get ahead of themselves, buoyed by market enthusiasm for a bright future that is yet to come. Profit-taking and cautionary analyst comments about valuation can be considered useful information, causing investors to sell or at least monitor the stock carefully. However, two events that sent the stock reeling are questionable.
First the companys CFO resigned amidst rumours about accounting practices at the company.
Second, company insiders sold some of their holdings. In the vast majority of cases, insider selling is strictly noise. Insiders cashing in some of their hard-earned stock options are not an indication of trouble in the company, with the key word being some. Short of a stampede of insiders selling all they own, the transactions do not alter the fundamentals of the company in any way. Accounting practices that could lead to earnings restatements may be noise should they prove false. However, many investors would consider the possibility of restatements useful information in determining whether or not to sell the stock or wait for further signals before buying.
On 30 January the information released by the company downgrading both its revenue and profit forecasts for 2017 could have been viewed as the ultimate signal to stay away, at least for a while. However, enough investors appear to remain unconvinced, given the fact the stock price has rebounded substantially in the last few weeks
Syrah Resources Limited (SYR) is a graphite miner with the potential to become the biggest graphite miner on the planet, according to some industry observers. Graphite demand is expected to boom with increased demand for electric vehicles and other applications for battery technology.
Companies like Syrah that have yet to generate any revenue often flood market participants with a string of news that is not always useful for investing purposes. However, news of successful capital raises is a signal of strong market sentiment. Announcements of offtake agreements, which are contracts to purchase future supply once mines become operational, are definitely useful as indications the purchasing company has faith in the miner.
Syrah released announcements of both in mid-2016 and the share price climbed. Here is the chart.
Following the dramatic rise, concerns about the outsized price appreciation set in, fueled by some negative research appearing in the US, where the stock trades on the Over the Counter Market. In October investors reacted to the news of the resignation of the companys highly regarded managing director and the price took a major dip.
Management changes sometimes propel a stock price into a holding pattern. This information can be useful but is not always transparent. If there is trouble in the company, changing leadership could prove to be a good thing in the longer term, but in the short term the stock price drops, as market participants tend to shoot first and ask questions later.
In Syrahs case, the market shot and the stock price decline continued until the December news the company could be a takeover target, lifting the share price in the hope of a bid higher than the depressed share price. Certainly the information was useful for short-term traders but in the long term had no impact on the companys mining operations, set to commence later in 2017. Once the takeover noise subsided, so did the share price.
On 7 February the Sydney Morning Herald, and other sources, reported that Credit Suisse had raised its 12 month target price on SYR to $7.80. With the stock now trading at around $3.24, hitting the Credit Suisse target would amount to a 144% increase. That kind of information is useful for any investors considering buying the stock or adding to their holdings.
Despite its presence on the Top Ten Short List, Syrah Resources has a consensus Outperform rating, with 2 brokers with a Buy recommendation; and 2 at Hold. Aconex also has a consensus Outperform rating, with 1 broker with a Buy recommendation; 5 at Outperform; 3 at Hold; and one at Underperform.
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2017 (2086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Work to fill Southern Health CEO Kathy McPhails shoes is well underway.
The head of the health authority announced her plans to retire last November.
At a meeting of the board of directors in January, it was reported that 16 resumes were received from across the country from candidates interested in the position.
Board chairman Abe Bergen told The Carillon that interviews for the position are now underway. He said the final recommendation of a successful candidate is expected at the boards April 5 meeting.
McPhail is expected to retire from her position at the end of that month.
During his first term in Congress, U.S. Rep. John Katko became a leading a aviation security watchdog as chairman of what was then referred to as the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.
When he returned to Washington to begin his second term in January, he received an added oversight responsibility.
Katko, R-Camillus, retained his leadership post on the panel, which has a new name: the Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security. Along with providing direct oversight of the Transportation Security Administration, Katko and the subcommittee will oversee the Secret Service.
Three members of the subcommittee, including Katko, toured the Secret Service's headquarters in Washington last week. The visit included a meeting with outing Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy and a briefing on the agency's existing cyber crime cases.
Katko said one of the main issues he hopes to address through his subcommittee work is the growing attrition rate for Secret Service agents.
"Their attrition rate is very high right now," Katko said in a phone interview Thursday. "That's probably the biggest priority is to delve into why that's happening and what we can do to fix that. They need experienced professionals taking care of our president and vice president and foreign dignitaries. That's really important."
Katko's early assessment of the agency is that, manpower challenges aside, it's doing a "phenomenal job." He singled out the agency's work in providing security during the United Nations General Assembly and Pope Francis' visit to New York City.
He also lauded the Secret Service for its work protecting presidential candidates during a highly contentious campaign.
While the Secret Service has been around longer than the TSA, Katko acknowledged that the agency has faced its share of problems in recent years.
Among the notable incidents involving the Secret Service was the botched response to a gunman who fired shots at the White House and a prostitution scandal.
As the issues with the agency mounted, its director, Julia Pierson, resigned in 2014. Clancy was appointed acting director and remained in the post on a permanent basis.
Clancy recently announced he's retiring from the agency after 29 years. His last day is March 4.
Katko praised Clancy for his "yeoman's work" in stabilizing the Secret Service.
"I think he kind of righted the ship to some extent and kind of brought back some pride and discipline to the agency," he said.
By Press Trust of India: Ahmedabad, Feb 19 (PTI) The Gujarat CID today formed a committee to monitor the on-going probe into the Naliya gangrape case by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which arrested four local BJP leaders for their alleged involvement in the crime.
The four-member committee of police officials attached to state CID has been constituted today by Additional DGP, CID-Crime and Railways, Ashish Bhatia, through a notification.
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The committee comprises -- Inspector General S S Trivedi, Superintendent of Police Sujata Majmudar, Deputy SP Rishikesh Upadhyay and Police Inspector K R Dimri.
As per the notification issued by Bhatia, the main task of the committee is to monitor the ongoing probe in to the gangrape case.
The committee will be required to review the probe done by the SIT in the case till date and make sure that the investigations are headed in a right direction.
Further, the notification stated that the members are required to submit progress report to higher authorities every week.
"The main purpose of this committee is to monitor the probe being done by SIT and to ensure that the investigation is on the right path, we may also provide suggestions to it as and when required," said Trivedi.
Gujarat Government formed an SIT, headed by Kutch LCB Police Inspector J M Aal earlier this month to probe the charges of gangrape levelled by a married lady against nine persons in her FIR at Naliya police station.
The SIT has till date arrested eight persons who allegedly raped the victim in Naliya on several occasions. Those arrested include four local BJP leaders, who are now suspended from the party.
In the FIR, the 24-year-old victim alleged that she was raped by at least nine persons on different occasions a year ago. She alleged that the accused run a sex racket in Kutch district where they blackmail women by making their obscene videos. PTI PJT PD RMT
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As President Donald Trumps unfledged administration careens from crisis to crisis like an unsteady toddler running with pilfered scissors, the president returned on Saturday to the part of being president he appears to most enjoy: running for the office he already holds.
I want to be among my friends and among the people, Trump told a crowd of 9,000 supportersand at least a few protestersat Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida, explaining his desire for a campaign rally after less than a month in the Oval Office. I wanna be in a room filled with hardworking American patriots who love their country, who salute their flag, and who pray for a better future!
Apparently unwilling to put behind him the daily adoration, applause, and affirmation of the presidential campaign that elevated him to the highest elected office in the land, a tieless Trump descended from the sky in Air Force One to a braying crowd of his most diehard fans, to whom he pledged to speak ... without the filter of the fake news, the dishonest media. As he lambasted the news media and vowed to expose them for what they are, the image-obsessed president could not have found a better bookend to the East Room press conference on Thursday. (The 77-minute slugfest was reportedly chaotic enough to convince a potential national security advisor to say thanks but no thanks.) But instead of hundreds of skeptical journalists fact-checking him in real time, Trump was greeted at the stage by thousands of the latter-day descamisados who helped sweep him into power.
The White House is running so smoothly, Trump told the crowd, despite what they may have been told by the dishonest media and their lying eyes. So smoothly. And believe me, I and we inherited one big mess. That I can tell you.
The more drab aspects of governance, meanwhile, were left to other members of the executive branch: thousands of miles away, Vice President Mike Pence was reassuring U.S. allies at the Munich Security Conference that the White House would hold Russia accountable for its aggression in eastern Ukraine. Those assurances were perhaps undermined by Trumps speech in Florida, in which he accused NATO allies of not paying their bills.
With one eye perpetually trained on his upset victory in 2016, Trump gave what amounted to a fairly standard general-election stump speech, albeit one with a presidential patina. Complete with appearances by campaign-rally mainstays like Lynette Diamond Hardaway and Rochelle Silk RichardsonWhen I say all aboard, you say choo-choo!Trumps speech, for which his fans had waited in line for up to 13 hours, was studded with standard rhetorical devices (you look at whats happening, crooked media, believe me) and vague promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, take China to task for currency manipulation and to build a 2,000-mile wall along the U.S. southern border.
The crowd roared with every pledge and promisenever mind that Obamacare repeal is mired in congressional infighting, that a recent conversation with President Xi Jinping of China ended without so much as a peep about currency manipulation, or that the Department of Homeland Securitys evaluation of Trumps proposed border wall pegs the construction cost at more than $10 billion over his estimates.
So enthusiastic were Trumps throngs that at one point, Secret Service agents scrambled in confusion when one of the presidents most ardent admirersGene Huber, who had arrived thirteen hours early to be first in line for the rallywas invited by the president to join him onstage.
We the people, our movement, is the reason why our president of the United States is standing here in front of us today, said an emotional Huber. I knew he was gonna do this for us!
I wouldnt say that Secret Service was thrilled with that, but we know our people, said Trump afterward, still beaming from Hubers remarks as the presidential protective detail helped escort him from the podium.
Trump was, in effect, taking a break from taking a break: the president is spending his third working vacation in four weekends at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, 115 miles and $10 billion south of the rally. But as he did during his raucous press conference, the president appeared to be enjoying himself for the first time in weeks.
Were united together by history, and by providence, Trump told the crowd. We will make America strong again, I promise! We will make America proud again! We will make America safe again! And we will make America great again! Greater than ever before!
Fear and vengeance have again gripped our nation. Its not the first time that Americans have acted in a most un-American manner when we have been attacked or feel threatened. Throughout our history, we have branded entire ethnic groups as vague-but-dangerous threats. American communities have been forcibly unrooted without due process. Immigrants from China to the Middle East have been banned from our shore, in a passion first captured by Cicero when he wrote, In times of war, the laws fall silent.
February 19 marks the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelts Executive Order 9066 that ordered the removal of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast in 1942, solely because of their ethnicity. There was no due process. No formal charges. Families were given only a few weeks notice to sell their businesses, homes, personal belongings, and even family heirlooms. Japantowns from San Diego to Seattle were gutted within a few months.
In this century, the 9/11 attack and jihadist-inspired domestic violence have spawned speculative calls for databases of Muslim Americans and mosque closures. Now President Donald Trump has tried to chaotically banish wide swaths of ethnic immigrants, for fear of unknown enemy combatants who may be among them. Out of fear of the invisible few, President Roosevelt authorized the equivalent 75 years ago this month, in what now is considered one of the darkest chapters of American history. President Trump has stopped short of condemning internment camps, despite national apologies by Presidents Reagan and Bush.
Shamefully, Trump is continuing an American tradition of retribution and vengeance against ethnic groups. When Native Americans were viewed as a threat to white settlement and expansion, tens of thousands were forcibly moved onto more than 300 reservations. Indeed, Cicero proved prescient when our Japanese-American neighbors were sent to internment camps about 65 years later in some of the same desolate regions that had been forced upon Native Americans.
It would serve President Trump and his allies well to reflect on Americans treatment of their Japanese-American neighbors in World War II. It was euphemistically called relocation and evacuation at the time. But the reality was far different. It was hysterical payback. Most victims endured nearly two years in a prison-camp environment of barracks where families lived in a single room. They were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by armed soldiers, weapons turned inward.
Were they truly the American enemies that some fearedjust as President Trump views large swaths of Muslims today?
In 1943, President Roosevelt authorized the segregated Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He asked the sons of those incarcerated and others to volunteer for an army commanded by white officers and to possibly die for their country in Europe and the Pacific. Remarkably, 10,000 volunteers from Hawaii stepped forward. Together with about 1,300 volunteers from the internment camps and draftees, army recruiters were overwhelmed by the response.
The 442nd suffered horrendous casualties on near-suicide missions as it compiled a remarkable war record. Ultimately the 442nd became the most-decorated unit of its size in World War II. One of its battalions, the 100th from Hawaii, brutally earned the moniker Purple Heart Battalion. The 442nd ultimately earned more than 18,000 awards for valor, more than one for every man. (Yet Japanese-American soldiers were denied Medals of Honor until President Clinton issued 21 in 2000. Only seven were alive to receive them personally.)
They returned home after the war and some suffered continuing hatred from their neighbors. Yet they endured and rebuilt their lives as parents, teachers, merchants, church leaders, and mechanics. Even though their families had been treated as a faceless, homogenous, and undefined internal threat against America, for the most part Japanese Americans suffered silently as they rose above Americas fear and vengeance.
Today their legacy sounds a cautionary note against partisan political talk of Muslim-American databases, muddled policy statements about Muslim Americans abroad, Muslim immigrant banishment, and the dangers of American mosques.
Todays sweeping characterizations of Muslim Americans and Middle Eastern immigrants are a dangerous echo of Americas World War II treatment of Japanese Americans, as articulated by Oregon Governor Walter Pierce: Their [Japanese American] ideals, their racial characteristics, social customs, and their way of life are such that they cannot be assimilated into American communities. They will always remain a people apart, a cause of friction and resentment, and a possible peril to our national safety.
His statement sounds eerily familiar today. It is a sentiment that continues to sully the American spirit. Fear and vengeance must be stifled if thoughtful and constructive decisions are to be made that intelligently protect Americas national security.
Scott McGaugh is the founding marketing director of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, a New York Times bestselling historian, and author of Honor Before Glory, the true story of the Japanese-Americans 442nd Combat Regiment Teams seven-day battle to successfully rescue a battalion of 275 American soldiers surrounded by Germans in 1944.
TIJUANA, Mexico In the northernmost corner of Mexico, where the United States southern border fence extends into the Pacific Ocean, dividing California from its truncated southern limbthe Baja California peninsulabinational seagulls dive for borderless fish.
Here, on either side of the rusty steel barrier that splits the beach between San Diego and Tijuana, separated families can meet along a swath of caged land called Friendship Park. They used to be able to embrace each other through the bars, but, in an effort to reinforce the fence further with steel mesh, that access has been progressively cut off.
The mesh serves no apparent purpose, other than to keep visitors from sticking their arms through the fence. But what once was a place that allowed hugging, is now a place for touching fingertips.
Increasingly American politics are driven by generational change. The election of Donald Trump was not just a triumph of whiter, heartland America. It also confirmed the still considerable voting power of the older generation. Yet over time, as those of us who have lived long enough well know, generations decline, and die off, and new ones ascend.
In this past election, those over 45 strongly favored Trump, while those younger than that cast their ballots for Clinton. Trumps improbable victory, and the more significant GOP sweep across the country, demonstrated that the much-ballyhooed millennials simply are not yet sufficiently numerous or united enough to overcome the votes of the older generations.
Yet over time, the millennialsarguably the most progressive generation since the 30scould drive our politics not only leftward, but towards an increasingly socialist reality, overturning many of the very things that long have defined American life. This could presage a war of generations over everything from social mores to economics and could well define our politics for the next decade.
James Madison was angry. Two months into the Constitutional Convention of 1787, his efforts to marginalize state legislatures in favor of a strong, national government were melting into the sweltering summer heat. During the conventions opening weeks, hed prevailed in several topical debates. Hed convinced his fellow delegates that both houses of the new Congress should be apportioned by populationa victory that those representing small states would later walk back. Hed prevailed in arguing that each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a free person. Hed even persuaded the delegates that the national legislature should have the right to negative (meaning veto) unconstitutional state laws.
But as June had turned to July, several smaller states, including Delaware and New Jersey, had grown concerned that proportional representation would empower slave-preponderant Virginia to dominate the new national government. When Alexander Hamilton suggested that the new governments chief executive serve in perpetuity, the delegates began to focus more on how to rein in the new national government. What, they asked, would prevent a demagogue from wielding too much influence?
Stewing at his desk, Madison took careful notes when Gouverneur Morris, a New Yorker representing Pennsylvania at the convention, stood up to argue that the new nations wide expanse would prevent the executive branch from becoming the tool of a faction, of some leading demagogue in the legislature. Boston College Law Schools Mary Sarah Bilder argued recently that Morris remarks helped to shape what would become one of Madisons most famous essays, Federalist 10.
Extend the sphere, Madison wrote months later when the individual states were considering whether to ratify the Constitution, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.
Nearly 230 years later, Americans still frequently assume that a divided government will be a more effective and responsible one. But in other parts of the world, the preponderance of factions tends to argue against democracy. When Americans hector government officials in Beijing to embrace democratic norms, the Chinese frequently respond that China isnt properly equipped to devolve power to ordinary people. Its too big and fractious. Sun Yat-sen once famously suggested that the Chinese were just a heap of loose sand. Absent the sort of unity prevalent in most Western countries, members of the Communist Party worry that democracy in China would lead to chaos.
What made colonial America different? In Madisons own words: the spirit of locality. In 1807, Samuel Benninger, an Congregationalist minister visiting from England noted that, in contrast to Europeans, Americans tended to sort the world by village and congregation. In other words, rather than sorting themselves by class or nobility or profession, they identified themselves by geographyand each town or neighborhood had a whole mix of people from different background and with divergent points of view.
The result was that American factions werent isolated from one another so much as they were in perpetual contact. Every congregation had wealthy merchants and landed gentry and working stiffs alikeand none could avoid conversing with the others. Sure, certain corners of the country might work up some zeal for an agenda that might tyrannize a competing faction, but the workaday interactions of ordinary Americans would give everyone a greater appreciation for the common good. In essence, strong community would prevent rampant demagoguery.
Fast forward to today. For the first time since the Revolution, American communities arent organized along village and congregation. On the one hand, social media has made it possible for Americans to connect directly with people much further afield. On the other, those networks and other new technologies have made it much easier to keep in close contact with our most intimate ties. Lost in the middle are the informal, local relationships that propelled Madison to believe factions would temper democracys excesses.
Americans are more likely now to spend evenings with family members or friends who live far away but less likely to share a meal with a neighbor, according to the General Social Survey. That shift has opened the door to a different brand of politics. When you dont know anyone who takes a different point of view, its much easier to caricature and dismiss those who see things differently. Compromise and collaboration become a kind of apostasy, rather than a virtue.
Near the end of Federalist 10, Madison wrote: The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States. That might have been true in 1787. It might still have been true in 1997.
Is it still true today?
Mr. President, in the Bible rain is a sign of Gods blessing. And it started to rain...when you came to the platform, said Reverend Franklin Graham in his inaugural benediction before President Donald J. Trump.
Graham, President of Samaritans Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was one of six, predominantly Christian spiritual leaders praying on January 20. Its his firm conviction that the election was the work of divine providence.
I believe, Graham told Fox News, that in this election, no question, Gods hand was in it.
That more ministers participated in Trumps inauguration than ever before, or that a man not known for religious fervor found Jesus when he needed evangelical support most, should never be a surprise. Faith and power frequently consort and Christianity, in general, has always held an awkward relationship with power. From Trumps America to Vladimir Putins Russia, conservative Christianity once again has a seat at the table. But why people of faith have flocked to these obviously flawed men may be surprising. Both Trump and Putin have portrayed themselves as protectors of the devout, casting themselves in the mold of ancient Biblical figures so familiar to churchgoers.
But what does this President and faith leadersespecially evangelicalsget from this mutual back-scratching? Does it fill a particular gap?
One of the strangest trends in the American presidency is the persistent need for the president to be connected to religion in some way, says Rachel Blum, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Miami University of Ohio. It is almost an unwritten requirement that the president profess Christianity.
Heads of state in the West frequently embrace a religious tradition, but as many know, in recent decades in America, this political influence largely comes from the uncentralized evangelical right.
It wasnt always this way for evangelicals.
In the 1740s, evangelicalism emerged as a revivalistic transatlantic phenomenon, frequently setting themselves against the image of hierarchy found in the Church of England and Rome.
In the 19th-century, evangelicalism became a rural, populist, and democratic movement and by the 1920s, it was over-run with separatist fundamentalists. Evangelical leaders saw a need to be involved in public life, successfully becoming a national force that by 1976, Newsweek was heralding the Year of the Evangelical. America elected the born-again president, Jimmy Carter.
In 1980, President Reagan won the trust of evangelicals, paving the way for the rising religious-right and Moral Majority.
Although Christians in America exerted extreme influence on the Republican Party in the 1980s and 1990s, says Blum, the effect of that period went both ways. The Republican Party became the party of God, but evangelical Christians also became Republican.
Among Republican presidents, Donald Trumps supposed religious affections differ significantly from previous office holders. By any measure, he was the least likely candidate to have ministers like Graham singing his praises.
Trumps considerable appeal to Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists seemed weird during the early days of the campaign, says Dan P. McAdams, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology and Director of the Foley Center for the Study of Lives at Northwestern University. After all, the guy knows almost nothing about Christianity, and his life is hardly a model of Christian virtue.
Blum agrees. Trump has been historically cagey about [religion]...which is fascinating given the way that religious voters, leaders, and groups rally behind him.
Trumps profile stands in stark contrast to the life-long faith of Carter and even the guarded Christianity of other Western leaders, like that of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran minister.
Merkel is sometimes criticized for her welcoming policies on refugees, a misunderstood Christian mission, as Jan-Werner Mueller, professor of politics at Princeton University, calls it in Foreign Policy. She has thrown down a moral challenge to her own people, writes Mueller, and, in particular, for the 61 percent of Germans who identify as Christians actually to live their faith.
While she opposes discrimination of LGBTQ persons, even reminding Trump of her position, she stops short of offering equal marriage rightsa point connected to her faith, but over which she is frequently criticized. There is little doubt, however, that her faith informs her governing and is a genuine part of who she is.
Trump is different. Known worldwide for divorces, lawsuits, conspiracy theories, serial lies, and boasts about sexual assault, he is an enabler of classism and racism and the embodiment of everything that evangelicalspurveyors of so-called family valuesshould rally against.
But they dont.
Unlike Carter and Merkel, Trumps faith is one of convenience, more reflective of another leader he deeply admires: Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is Putin whose closely held secret personal life is full of rumors, but who is frequently suspected ofthough never directly linked tothe death and silencing of critics. (The latter point that doesnt seem to bother Trump; when Bill OReilly recently called Putin a killer, the President said he respected Putin and brushed it off.)
The Russian Orthodox Church plays first chair to the Kremlins conducting of Russian domestic affairseven playing a part in foreign affairs. The Orthodox Church is a pillar of his statecraft, enabling him to control the faith narrative of his people and giving him the needed propaganda to justify his annexation of Crimea, support in Syria, and even spread Russian religious influence in Western Europe.
As Masha Gessen, author of the biography The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, says he wants a Russia that will become the traditional values capital of the world.
With the support of the Russian President, the Orthodox Churchs opposition to gay rights and to freedom of expression are codified. Evangelization outside of the Church is now legally banned in Russia without a permit and severely restricted, giving the Russian Orthodox Church a place of primacy.
That sort of bully pulpit speaks not only to Russias devout public, but to American evangelicals who support Russias anti-LGBTQ policies. It was Trumps inaugural spiritual leader Franklin Graham whowhile explicitly noting that he was not endorsing Putinonce praised his harsh policies as having a moral standard higher than our own. A request for comment from Graham by The Daily Beast was not returned.
There is little reason to see Trumps embrace of religionand in this case, evangelical Christianityas serving any other purpose than the Orthodox Church does for Putin. And while the religion of Reagan should be wary of the Russian President, and a potential American Putin, there are strong reasons for their embrace of Trump.
His strong authoritarianism makes up for his lack of sanctified spirit. Yes, as a candidate, Trumps initial courting of evangelicals began with his awkward foreplay at Liberty University, and his forced sanctimony belies a man who is always trying too hard to annex the evangelical world, but his strategy continues to work and he fills that power-shaped hole left in the heart of American evangelicalism after President George W. Bush.
Over time, says McAdams, it became apparent that he shares with many conservative white Christians a conviction that the world is inherently evil and chaotic and that only a strong leader can save good people from the perils all around.
Evangelicals may seem to be rallying around Trump, says Blum, noting that keeping this Republican coalition together means spinning things as a threat...to the Christian way of life. In this case, she says, Trump is a sort of savior.
Savior may sound strong, but it may not be far off.
Some evangelicals have compared him to Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who, the Bible says, God used to return the Jews back to their homeland after a long exile. Hes also been called a new king David, the famous Israelite ruler with many flaws, but said to be a man after Gods own heart (Acts 13:22).
In other words, as these flawed sinners were tools of God, so also he will impart his blessing and authority to President Trump.
Noting Trumps flaws and where he runs contrary to facts is not likelyas many have discoveredto change minds bolstered by a formidable unconscious bias. For now, they may remain theologically incorrect, says cognitive scientist Jason Slone, author of Theological Incorrectness: Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldnt and professor of literature and philosophy at Georgia Southern University.
Psychologists, adds Slone, frequently look at the brain like a computer, that is, as an information-processor, that happens to have two very different operating systems. The first is irrationality and it is fast, automatic, unconscious, emotional, and prone to reasoning errors. The second is slow, conscious, effortful, accurate, and rational.
So how a person thinks and behaves, he adds, is largely determined not by what they believe, or what they believe they believe, but rather by which system is operating. It is when humans feel threatened that the first system engages and the second shuts down.
As it turns out, this right-wing authoritarianism finds a stronghold when people are threatened, and according to McAdams, it is most-frequently associated with white religious fundamentalism. He notes that while many later supported Trump reluctantly (e.g. party reasons) during the general election, early support was driven by right-wing authoritarianism.
Right-wing authoritarianism, says McAdams, is a pattern of attitudes and values revolving around strict adherence to society's traditional norms, submission to authorities who personify or reinforce those norms, and deep antipathy (to the point of hatred and aggression) for those individuals who are perceived as violating the traditional norms of society.
He notes that in studies evangelical Protestants score significantly higher on right-wing authoritarianism than Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Jews.
From his first days in office, the President is already signaling that the White House is open for church business by signing executive orders on abortion, that target refugees from Muslim countries, and nominating the conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch.
He is paying his tithe to evangelicalism.
And this worries Christians and other faiths who do not share these values, as well as organizations, like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, whose work is dedicated to keeping the wall of separation solid and tall.
The president, like every other American, has the right to engage in the private religious practice of his choice, says Americans Uniteds director of communications, Robert Boston. But the president must realize that he is the leader of a diverse nation consisting of people of many faiths and those of no faithunder our system, the president is a secular leader with no religious duties.
Trump sees things differently. As he recently told GOP leaders at a retreat: We are blessed by divinity and honored by history with the task of preserving this great republic and expanding its blessings to every single American.
Boston believes the President is devoid of principle and an opportunist. Such a person is quite capable of giving the Religious Right what it wants even if he doesnt believe it himself. Indeed, that is what makes him so dangerous.
Americans United already has a list of problematic issues they see on the horizon, including the Presidents promise to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which bars houses of worship from partisan endorsements. In the modern era, adds Boston, efforts by politicians to use religionusually augmented by a side of nationalismto unify people arent just offensive; they are the hallmarks of a demagogue.
What America will look like in four years remains very uncertain. But what is clear, is that for now Trump feels hes got a divine stamp of approval. This does nothing to curtail his ego or to stop his momentum. In his eyes, he is a man after Gods own heart.
In fact, in his own version of the inaugural rain storyone unsupported by the factsTrump paints himself like a relatively minor biblical Moses crossing the waters of the Red Sea.
It was almost raining, he told the CIA dramatically, but God looked down and said, were not going to let it rain on your speech. He adds it stopped immediately, it was amazing, and then it became really sunny, then I walked off, and it poured right after I left.
With that professed beliefthat God and America is on his sidehe, his Republican comrades, and evangelical reformers may believe there is no reason to stop their march toward theocracy. Then well see just how strong that wall of separation really is.
On November 6, 2016, two-year-old Ella Foster, the daughter of Grace and Jonathan Foster of Bethel, Pennsylvania, developed a cold. During the next two days, she became listless, her breathing more labored and rapid. On November 8 she died in her fathers arms from bacterial pneumonia. Because it violated their religious beliefs, the Fosters reportedly never took Ella to a doctor when she worsened. Instead, they prayed.
Grace and Jonathan Foster belong to the Faith Tabernacle Church, whose doctrine reportedly instructs members to believe that the Bible is opposed to all means of healing apart from Gods way. You either trust God, or you trust man, said one church member. The Fosters have six other children, all less than ten years of age. They have since surrendered custody of all six children to the state.
Three months later, on February 1, 2017, John Adams, the Berks County District Attorney, charged the Fosters with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. Because Pennsylvania doesnt have a religious exemption in its criminal code, faith-healing deaths have been successfully prosecuted for decades. In many other states, however, the situation is different. Fifteen states have religious exemptions to felonies, including nine with religious exemptions to homicide, manslaughter and, in the case of Arkansas, capital murder. Twelve states have religious exemptions to misdemeanors.
Religious exemptions to child abuse and neglect, including medical neglect, are a relatively recent phenomenon in American jurisprudence. Well start at the beginning.
In the mid-1800s, John Banyard founded the Peculiar People. Located in Essex, England, the Peculiars took their name from 1 Peter 2:9 which calls the Lords followers, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. Like all faith healers, the Peculiar People rejected modern medicine, choosing prayer and anointment instead.
In 1868, Lois Wagstaffe, the 14-month-old daughter of Mary Ann and Thomas Wagstaffe, died from pneumonia. The Wagstaffes called on church elders to anoint her with oil. After Lois died, they were charged with manslaughter. The law, however, was on the Wagstaffes side. According to British common law, in the absence of a statute declaring it a positive duty upon a parent to call in a medical practitioner, the omission to do so can scarcely be considered negligence so gross and wanton as to be criminal. After the Wagstaffes were acquitted, several jurors publicly decried the absence of a law to protect children from medical neglect. Their pleas reached the British Parliament. Six months later, the law was modified. The state now had a legal right to protect children from religiously motivated medical neglect. During the second half of the 19th century, Peculiars were charged, convicted, and imprisoned when their children died from diphtheria, epilepsy, and a variety of other illnesses.
Events in the United States soon mimicked those in England.
In the spring of 1901, Emma Judd and her newborn were lulled into eternity by the prayers of John Alexander Dowiethe leader of a faith healing sect in Chicagoafter they failed to receive medical care during a complicated childbirth. John Dowie, however, hadnt broken any laws. The Judd case in America paralleled the Wagstaffe case in England. Soon prosecutors, judges, and child advocates targeted Dowie and his followers, anxious to prevent them from causing more harm.
Public outcry changed the law. From that point forward, faith healers were successfully prosecuted for medically neglecting their children.
In the early 1970s, things changed.
In 1971, presidential hopeful Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota) created the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Youth. In 1972, the Subcommittee published a book titled, Rights of Children. This set the stage for Mondales seminal piece of legislation: the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA).
Although Walter Mondale had frequently butted heads with Richard Nixon, he eventually got the legislation he wanted. Not even Richard Nixon is in favor of child abuse! he enthused. Mondales bill allocated $86 million to create a center within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare that would award grants to prevent, identify, and treat child abuse. By the mid-1970s, all 50 states had mandatory child abuse reporting laws. The impact was immediate. In 1963, more than 100,000 abused children were reported to public authorities; by 1982, the number had climbed to 1.3 million. Advocates hailed the new legislation as a watershed event for childrens rights.
Not everyone, however, was celebrating.
In 1967, Dorothy Sheridan, a Christian Scientist, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for treating her daughters pneumonia with prayer instead of antibiotics. Elders in the Christian Science church saw Sheridans trial as a wake-up call. If she could be prosecuted for following the tenets of her faith, all of them were at risk. Walter Mondales CAPTA was about to shine an unwanted light on their actions. Something had to be done. So church authorities turned to two men they were certain could help. Both were Christian Scientists and both were senior officials in Richard Nixons White House.
The churchs lobbying efforts were successfula qualifying mandate was written into the Code of Federal Regulations: A parent or guardian legitimately practicing his religious beliefs who thereby does not provide specified medical treatment for a child, for that reason alone shall not be considered a negligent parent or guardian. States now had to have a religious exemption law to get federal funds from CAPTA; within a few years, 49 states and the District of Columbia had laws with religious exemptions for medical neglect. By 1983, the Department of Health and Human Services, realizing the absurdity of the mandate, eliminated it. But it was too late. Many states still have religious exemptions for medical neglect in their civil and criminal codes.
Youve probably heard of those two Christian Scientists in the Nixon administrationbut for a different reason. One was H.R. Bob Haldeman, Nixons chief-of-staff; the other was John Ehrlichman, Nixons chief advisor for domestic affairs. Although the Watergate scandal consumed much of their time until they resigned in 1973, they still had time to front for their Churchs interests.
On November 12, 1993, Bob Haldeman died of abdominal cancer at his home in Santa Barbara, California; true to his beliefs, he refused all medical treatment. On February 14, 1999, John Ehrlichman died from complications of diabetes in Atlanta, Georgia. Unlike Haldeman, Ehrlichman chose modern medicine to treat his kidney failure. Ironic, given that he had helped to create a loophole that continues to allow parents to legally deny such life-saving treatments for their children.
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Paul A. Offit, MD is a professor of pediatrics and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the author of Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine (Basic Books, 2015).
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The electrical goods company Havells today said it will acquire consumer durable business of Lloyd Electric & Engineering for about Rs 1,600 crore.
"...(Havells)board has approved the acquisition of Lloyd Consumer Durable Business Division (Lloyd Consumer).The acquisition is proposed to be executed at an enterprise value of Rs 1,600 crores on a debt free, cash free basis subject to closing adjustments," the company said in a statement.
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This acquisition, when completed, will mark Havells foray into consumer durables industry.
The transaction is subject to confirmatory due diligence and is expected to close in next 8 weeks. The company plans to finance the transaction through a mix of debt and internal accruals, the statement said.
"The proposed acquisition is in line with Havells objective of Deeper into Homes, driving domestic expansion and owning a brand and distribution oriented asset. We would leverage and extend the trust associated with brand Havells to consumers, dealers, vendors of Lloyd and create a similar recognition in consumer durables segment," Havells India Chairman & Managing Director Anil Rai Gupta said.
The company said that it will completely acquire the consumer business of Lloyd.
The company has signed an agreement with Lloyd Electrical and Engineering Limited and Fedders Lloyd Corporation Limited for acquiring Lloyd brand and the consumer durable business.
The consumer business of Lloyd is engaged in sourcing, assembling, marketing and distribution of consumer durables including air-conditioners, TVs, washing machines and other household appliances, it added.
Havells will acquire the consumer business infrastructure, people, distribution network including and not limited to absolute, exclusive ownership and right to all intellectual property of brand Lloyd, logo, trademark, goodwill and attendant rights.
The proforma revenues of consumer durable arm, Lloyd Consumer for 9 months ended 31 December, 2016 stood at Rs 1,242 crores and EBDITA of Rs 75 crores. Based on its run rate and past performance, full year revenue is estimated at Rs 1,850 crores with proforma EBDITA of Rs 110 crores, the statement said.
"Through this acquisition, Havells would mark a foray into Consumer durables industry currently estimated at USD 15 billion and growing in double digits with low penetration levels, increasing urbanisation, aspirational and expanding middle class," the statement said.
Lloyd, which is among the top 3 brands in air-conditioner category, has expanded into TVs and Washing machines as well.
Standard Chartered Bank was the financial advisor and AZB & Partners were the legal advisors to the transaction. EY represented sellers as their financial advisor, the statement said. PTI PRS BAL
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If Reince Priebuswho serves as Donald Trumps White House Chief of Staffwere a popular comic strip, Priebus would be the adorable little dog, wearing a hat, calmly sipping coffee from a mug as the dining room around him is engulfed in flames and smoke, saying: This is fine.
On Sunday, President Trumps top aide made the rounds on the morning talk shows to tell the country that (despite everything that has happened during the Trump administrations first month in power) there is nothing dysfunctional, chaotic, or unsettling about what is going on right now.
The president believes in the First Amendment, he believes in the free press, I believe in those things, Priebus assured viewers on NBCs Meet the Press. We don't believe everyone is lousy in the media, We don't believe everything is bad [Also], we don't have problems in the West Wing. You read about all these stories [saying] I don't get along with [Steve] BannonActually, we've really gelled as a team, and we get along great, and we're working well together. And the amount of drama and spin that you read about, mostly in the Washington daily gossip rags, is unbelievable stuff, and it just isn't true. And you read it everyday, and you wonder what alternative universe theyre reporting on, because it just isnt true.
(Given that Priebus is a longtime GOP operative with deep ties to the establishment, and White House chief strategist Bannon is a nationalist, alt-right flamethrower, tensions and conflict between the two were inevitable.)
When pressed by host Chuck Todd about Michael Flynn, Trumps recently resigned national security adviser, and recent reports that the Trump presidential campaign had contacts with Russian intelligence, Priebus pulled the fake-news card, again.
We dont know of any contacts with Russian agents, the chief of staff said. I mean, weve spent days talking about a story that says that our campaign had constant contacts with Russian spies. And I can tell you, Ive talked to the top levels of the intelligence community. And theyve assured me that that New York Times story was grossly overstated, and inaccurate and totally wrong It was total garbage It is this sort of fake news stuff that is enormously important.
Priebus continued to press his case that all of the scary-sounding Russia-related reporting, as well as stories of tumult and backstabbing in the Trump White House, are merely distractions from what the administration is trying to do for Real America.
This is what we're dealing with while we're putting in a lobbying ban, while we're freezing federal government employees, while we're getting the economy back on trackwe're sitting here talking about these stories or whether Steve Bannon and I get along or not, he complained. I can assure you people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, aren't worried about that. They want to see jobs and money back in their pocket. And that's what I'm trying to do, and we're trying to do every day.
On Fox News Sunday, Priebus also railed against The New York Timess national-security reporting, claiming that intelligence officials had told him that last weeks story was complete garbage, and that there was absolutely no form of collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian intelligence.
Bashing reporters, editors, and news outlets is, of course, one of Donald Trumps favorite pastimes, as well. Priebus, one of the presidents most senior foot soldiers, wants to remind the media that when Trump brands them the enemy of the American people, journalists should take him both seriously and literally.
Theres been a debate about when to take the president seriously, John Dickerson, host of CBSs Face the Nation, asked Priebus on Saturday. He recently tweeted that the press was the enemy of the American people. Should we take that seriously from him?
Well, I think you should take it seriously, Priebus replied flatly. I think that the problem weve got is that were talking about bogus stories like the one in The New York Times.
Trump, Priebus, and the rest of the Trump team did not invent conservative hatred of The New York Times and investigative reporters. Theyre just uniquely rowdy, flamboyant, and often gleefully unhinged about it.
To Reince, this is fine.
The powerful poem by poet Hussain Haidry called Hindustani Musalmaan will make you realise that in the end, at the core, we are all Indians, regardless of differences in religion, region or language among others.
By India Today Web Desk: For those who don't know the term, Islamophobia means a fear of Muslims that stems from strong prejudice.
A lot has been spoken about it. That Islamophobia exists, it doesn't, it's increasing around the world -- thanks to all those political, militant forces that hide under the veil of misinterpreted Islamic ideologies -- it's decreasing, people are aware, people aren't, so on and so forth. But this is something each one of us should reflect on.
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At a time where patriotism is being assessed based on whether you rise during the national anthem or talk ill about our neighbouring country, poet Hussain Haidry expresses his sentiments about being an Indian Muslim. In less than three minutes, he makes you realise that at the core, we are all Indians and only Indians. Watch the poem here:
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Butcombe rolls out fresh new look
The entire range of Butcombe Brewery products has received an updated branding, under the ethos 'Truth In Every Taste'. Intended to signal a new phase of growth for the brewery, the vision was to further establish the brands credentials beyond the South West of England.
To realise this vision, Butcombe is also expanding its brewing operations and growing its pub estate to 100 outlets over the next three to five years.
Butcombe, the integrated brewer behind Butcombe Original, Butcombe Rare Breed and Butcombe Gold, has developed a new brand reflective of its heritage and committment.
Butcombe claims to have designed the branding to mirror this independent spirit but with a humour and artistry that gets back to the core values at heart of the brand and beer. The brand claims the new look is also designed to appeal to the growing number of female drinkers interested in craft ale.
The new core brand mark includes a contemporary Butcombe logo with the image of a T-Rex dinosaur representing originality with a nod to the past, celebrating Butcombes traditional brewing heritage with a relevance for todays market.
On pump and on bottle, the new look and materials are designed to appeal to todays modern drinker with a clean, contemporary aesthetic and there is an original story crafted to each one to reflect the unique flavour of each ale, reaffirming Butcombes strong craft credentials.
In addition, new look bottles have been designed to maximise stand-out shelf presence in retail to support Butcombes growing off-trade business with supermarkets and other retail customers.
Butcombe undertook research across key audiences and found some universal truths. Butcombe claims it is loved for the quality, consistency, originality of flavour across all of its ales.
The new Butcombe branding will be launched at Craft Beer Rising Festival in London on 23 February 2017. The new positioning goes live across print and online. In addition, a new advertising campaign will be rolled out within key publications.
Emmy Webster, marketing manager of Butcombe says: This marks a huge step forward for the Butcombe brand, it is as much a reflection of who we are as it is a statement of the development of the Company, our intent for the future and our ambitious growth plans. This new direction aligns with our vision of becoming one of the nations most popular brewers.
Alongside the established premium range Butcombe are rolling out a range of seasonal and specialist beers throughout this year.
19 February 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor
Love old or unusual movies but never know when they're on? Here are several I recommend:
Rendition (2007): Here's a timely movie. It didn't make much of a splash when it came out, but it's worth rediscovering today. Reese Witherspoon plays the wife of an Egyptian immigrant Anwar (Omar Metwally) who's abducted by the CIA when they mistake him for a known terrorist. The nightmare that Witherspoon goes through to try to find out what happened to her innocent husband is scary and frustrating. The strong supporting cast includes Meryl Streep as an unsympathetic CIA boss and Jake Gyllenhaal as a newly minted agent trying to sort the whole awful situation out.
HBO, 11:30 p.m. Monday.
10,000 BC (2008): OK, guilty pleasure time, I freely admit. This is not a great film. But it's a great-looking, silly, really fun one. A buff Steven Strait stars as a member of a primitive tribe whose mate is abducted. Chasing after her, he stumbles upon an advanced civilization (pyramids?) and has preposterous adventures there. Oh, and there are mammoths and saber-toothed cats. And did I mention pyramids? What can I say, it was directed by Roland Emmerich. Turn off your IQ and enjoy!
HBO, 7:15 a.m. Tuesday
The Quiet Man (1952): Can you believe we've never talked about this movie in this column? Shame on me! This ridiculously charming and beautifully made movie stars John Wayne as an Irish-American who returns to the home country to take possession of a farm he has inherited. He quickly encounters Victor McLaglen, who wants the farm for himself, and his beautiful sister Maureen O'Hara. Sparks fly like you wouldn't believe. The film won John Ford his fourth Oscar for directing (having never won for a Western), and also scored for its beautiful cinematography. Wayne and O'Hara went on to star in four more films together.
Turner Classic Movies, 7 p.m. Tuesday
The Yes Men (2004): This jaw-dropping documentary follows the adventures of a small group of anti-globalization activists. After having their joke website mistaken for the actual World Trade Organization website, they dare each other to actually accept the mistaken invitations they receive to give presentations at WTO events. They begin showing up and giving the most absurd, foolish and offensive presentations imaginable ... only to be applauded by the bored and semi-conscious audience members. This strange movie must be seen to be believed.
Now available on demand on Showtime.
Trivia Question #673: Which of this week's performers once played Andy Garcia's unknown adult son?
Answer to Trivia Question #671: The wonderful actor John Cazale was dying of cancer when he was filming The Deer Hunter.
Bryan native Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, Calif. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com. You can also visit his blog at www.starkravingray.com.
October 2, 1939 - February 16, 2017
A memorial service for Col. James Lawrence Haygood, 77, of College Station, willtake place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21st at Christ United Methodist Church in College Station, and the burial is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 22nd at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.
Col. Haygood passed away on Thursday, February 16, 2017 in Bryan, Texas.
Larry was born Oct 2, 1939, in Fort Worth. He joined the ranks of the Texas A&MClass of '61 as a member of Company A-1. By the time he graduated, he hadserved as First Sergeant of the Ross Volunteer Company, Commanding Officer ofthe First Battle Group, a Distinguished Student, and a Distinguished MilitaryGraduate.
After graduating, Larry was commissioned into the Army. The determination andleadership skills he demonstrated in the Corps of Cadets were apparent throughout his 26 year military career. As an Airborne Ranger, he served twotours of duty in Vietnam. Among a long list of combat medals were five BronzeStars (three for acts of valor), the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
The same year he graduated from Texas A&M and entered the Army, Larry married Ann Dickey of Forth Worth. Adding sons Mark and David to the mix, the family moved numerous times, from Texas to Germany to Hawaii. Eventually, they settled in Fayetteville, NC, where the retired colonel served as a financial plannerfor military families. After Ann passed away in 2006, Larry came full circle,moving back to Aggieland in 2012.
In College Station, Larry was fortunate to get a second chance at love when he met and married Jeanette (Jeanne) Price. The two cherished their time together,particularly enjoying traveling, attending Aggie sporting events, and entertaining guests at their home. On April 5, they would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary.
Larry was a member of Christ United Methodist Church. He will be remembered for his quick wit, his tales of his time in the Corps, and his love of History. Larry was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann Haygood, his mother Mildred Thomas, his stepfather, Paul Thomas, and his sister Joyce Panill.
Survivors include his wife, Jeanette Haygood, his two sons, Mark and Daniel Haygood, his three stepchildren, Patty Griffin and husband Jim, Kyle Price and wife Mary Beth, and Matt Price and his wife Ellen, his three brothers-in-law, BuddyPanill, Jan Dickey and Jerry Dickey, his niece, Marla Panill, his nephew, Gary Panill, and his six step-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Corps of Cadets Association (1134Finfeather Rd., Bryan, TX 77803).
Please visit Col. Haygood's tribute page at www.hillierfuneralhome.com to share stories and memories.
Immigrants, particularly those without the proper documentation, have become easy targets in recent years and the election of Donald Trump as president has increased unrest toward those who weren't born here.
Let's be up front: We would prefer that people come to this country legally and with all the proper documentation. At the same time, we understand that many of the immigrants from other countries do not have the required paperwork, but still they come.
They come because America is -- and always has been -- a shining beacon of hope. From the earliest European settlers in America, people have come here to build a better life for themselves and their families. That our ancestors did -- and we and the country are better for it. For generations, immigrants have helped build our buildings, construct our railroads, fight our wars, grow our food, educate our children, shape our future.
At the battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia in December 1862, Union troops who immigrated from Ireland brutally fought Confederate troops who immigrated from Ireland. In World War II, descendants of immigrants from Japan fought bravely for America throughout Europe and North Africa. Right here in the Brazos Valley, immigrants from Germany and Italy and Czechoslovakia and other countries built the foundation that makes us strong.
Yet, in recent years, many politicians and politically motivated groups have demonized immigrants, particularly illegal immigrants. They are freeloaders we are told, placing huge demands on our schools, our health care system, our social structure. In short, they take, take, take, stealing jobs from American workers, committing crimes, voting illegally, and not paying taxes. That sounds dire, and if it were true, it would be.
In fact, illegal immigrants do pay taxes -- lots of them. Many pay Social Security taxes, although they likely never will see any of that money in "retirement." Like the rest of us, they pay sales taxes when they purchase food and goods. Wherever they live, illegal immigrants pay property taxes, either directly or through rent on the places they live.
The Social Security Administration estimates that undocumented workers have contributed some 10 percent of the Social Security Trust Fund. In 2007, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said, "Over the past two decades, most efforts to estimate the fiscal impact of immigration in the United States have concluded that, in aggregate and over the long term, tax revenues of all types generated by immigrants--both legal and unauthorized--exceed the cost of the services they use."
The government estimates that 53 percent of farm workers are undocumented; other sources including growers put that number at 70 percent. Our agriculture producers could employ only American citizens and documented immigrants, but they would have to pay a lot higher wages and that would drive the cost of the food we eat to skyrocket.
In 2006, a group of some 500 business leaders wrote President George W. Bush, saying, "While a small percentage of native-born Americans may be harmed by immigration, vastly more Americans benefit from the contributions that immigrants make to our economy, including lower consumer prices."
And as for voting, it is possible a few -- a very few -- undocumented immigrants have cast ballots, but it is unlikely it is any appreciable number. The last thing an illegal immigrant wants to do is interact with the government at the ballot box or any place. State voting officials, Republican and Democrat, unanimously agree that such voter fraud just doesn't happen.
President Barack Obama's administration actively sought to deport undocumented aliens, sending a record-setting 2.5 million people back to their homes. Now, President Trump apparently is seeking to outdo his predecessor. Recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have deported numerous individuals and arrested many more in preparation for deporting them. Among those rounded up are mothers of young children -- mothers who have lived in America for decades -- and people who came here as preteens and have gotten an education and worked hard to make America greater.
We aren't saying America should ignore those who come here without documentation. But especially here in Texas, we know the importance of these immigrants to our state's economy. As the nation goes about trying to determine how to deal with illegal immigration, it is important to remember that immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect. Basic humanity requires it.
If a few of those who come to America commit crimes beyond their undocumented status, treat them as we would any other criminal.
For the rest, let's have a national discussion on how to deal with the millions who are here and are contributing members of American society.
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Feb 19 (PTI) India has the potential to become a medical tourism hub and the Modi Government has taken several measures including making the health services affordable and accessible to all, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today.
The measures taken by the Narendra Modi government have ensured that the quality medical services are available at affordable price to the poor, he said, inaugurating a medical camp in suburban Bandra.
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The Minister of Minority Affairs said the BJP-led dispensation has been working on priority basis to strengthen medical services and has allocated in the Budget thousands of crores of rupees to the public health sector.
He said in a revolutionary step to provide affordable, quality heart-related healthcare for all, the Centre on February 13 issued a notification fixing the ceiling the prices of coronary stents.
The step would bring down the cost of coronary stents by about 380 per cent, said Naqvi, who is also Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.
He said the new ceiling prices will promote `Make in India initiative in a big way. Seeing the large number of patients and future requirement, foreign companies will also try to make stents in India to cut costs and remain competitive.
At present, the market size of India made stents is roughly 30 per cent, the Minister said.
Naqvi said the Modi Government has been working on war footing to provide better health services in the rural areas as well.
Given the Governments focus on the health sector and availability of a vast pool of professionals, India has the potential to become a "medical tourism hub", he said.
He asked the medical professionals to take their job as a mission. Commercial interest alone should not dominate this mission to provide affordable and accessible health facilities for all, Naqvi said.
Terming the large resource of talented doctors and medical professionals as a matter of pride for India, he said "We need support of these dedicated medical professionals to make our health services affordable and accessible." PTI VT RSY SMJ
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By Press Trust of India: From Kunal Dutt
On Board Special Aircraft, Feb 19 (PTI) India is not in competition with China or any other country in pursuing its policy of development cooperation with foreign nations, particularly Africa, Vice President Hamid Ansari today said.
Interacting with reporters en route to Kigali to begin his five-day tour to Rwandan and Uganda, Ansari said, "We are not in competition with China or anyone else, as far as our development cooperation with foreign countries is concerned, particularly in Africa. They have their own style of work, own capacities."
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"We are development partners in Africa, once they decide what they want to benefit from Indian expertise then we transform them into concrete projects of assistance. And, our experience so far has been satisfactory," he said in response to a question.
This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda and first high-level bilateral visit to Uganda since 1997.
Asserting the importance of the visit, Ansari said this is part of a "conscious effort" of the Indian government to "intensify" our interaction with African nations.
"Our President has made visits to three African countries, the Prime Minister to four and I have visited five already. And, now Rwanda and Uganda visit is on the same line," he said.
The Vice President has made official visit to Nigeria, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.
Ansari also hailed the African nations in making "remarkable progress" as attested by international economic experts and underlined the role of "economically relevant" Indian community in the two East African countries, particularly Uganda.
"With Rwanda we have a strategic relation while 30,000 Indians in Uganda are economically very relevant," he said.
On India?s role in its development cooperation in Africa, Ansari said, ?We don?t try to force them to do anything, we let them decide which areas they wish to cooperate. Areas of expertise we can share, that is our objective. We let them decide what are the areas they would like to cooperate, in education, capacity building." (MORE) PTI KND PMS
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Leistikow: Hawkeyes uncover much-needed star in Kaleb Johnson
After a 200-yard day, Johnson seems as surprised as anybody that he has a starring role for the Hawkeyes down the stretch.
Calling the east African nation a 'great friend' of India, vice president Hamid Ansari announced that a resident mission would be set up there in the coming weeks or months.
By India Today Web Desk: Vice President Hamid Ansari today said that Indian will open a resident mission in Rawanda in the "coming weeks or months." The move is likely to boost diplomatic ties with the east African nation.
Ansari, who is on a five-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda, made the announcement while addressing a gathering of Indian community in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
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The vice president said during his address, "We (India and Rwanda) are great friends (India and Rwanda), and Rwanda has a good population of Indian community here...And, we have had a valid complaint of not having a resident mission in Kigali."
He continued, "So, I must tell you that the government has already taken up the matter and in coming weeks or months, we will have a physical presence of a resident mission here."
Rwanda has about 3,000 people from Indian community and Ansari said, they are "very purposeful, very entrenched and very well-doing."
Sources said, the decision to open the mission has reached advanced stage and a skeletal set up will be ready in few months. "Both countries have in principle agreed to open the mission here and modalities are being worked out," the source said.
Ansari also said that RwandAir will soon begin its operations to India.
(Inputs from PTI)
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Federal immigration raids like those conducted in the Hudson Valley earlier this month arent happening in Connecticut - yet - but that doesnt mean undocumented immigrants in the community arent starting to worry.
Some are afraid to go to work, send their children to school or travel away from their homes for fear of being deported, local advocates say. And while some of those fears may be exaggerated, at least in Connecticut, things could change in a moments notice.
Whats really crazy about this is that nobody knows whats going to happen next, said David McGuire, executive director of the ACLUs Connecticut chapter. Weve gotten calls from green card holders who are afraid to travel out of the country for business, and those are very real concerns. The landscape is changing so quickly that one day could be different from the next.
McGuire said the ACLU has yet to receive any complaints about federal raids in Connecticut or about police officers rounding up immigrants purely because of their undocumented status, but they remain on high alert. Membership in the states ACLU chapter, he added, has nearly doubled since the election, owing in large part to President Trumps tough approach to the immigration issue.
One concern, he said, is that its up to local police departments in the state to decide how to enforce federal policy when they come into contact with an undocumented immigrant.
We have this patchwork of police departments throughout the state where some undocumented communities are more protected and respected than others, McGuire said. Whether to work with federal immigration officials is largely a town-by-town decision.
Advocates say Connecticut has more protections than other states for undocumented immigrants, thanks to legislation passed three years ago that limits what police departments can do when there is a federal immigration detainer for someone in custody.
The TRUST Act, passed in 2013, states that no police department can act on a federal immigration detainer unless the individual has been convicted of a felony, has an outstanding arrest warrant, has been identified as a known terrorist or gang member or is the subject of an existing final deportation order.
It was a real win for the immigrant community in Connecticut, said Ingrid Alvarez, the state director for the Hispanic Federation, a national nonprofit that supports Latino families and institutions. Laws like the TRUST Act start the conversation and dialogue about the parameters for local law enforcement to understand their role.
The state law also sets a 48-hour limit on how long police can hold someone on a federal detainer.
Monroe Police Chief John Salvatore, who also serves as president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said most departments abide by the act, and undocumented immigrants are rarely detained for federal agents.
When federal agents are called, Salvatore said, in all likelihood they indicate they are not going to come and pick them up.
As long as we are done with the local offenses, the person is released back into community, Salvatore said.
Danbury immigration attorney Cynthia Exner added that getting in touch with federal immigration agents isnt as easy as some might think.
Its like trying to talk to someone at the IRS, she said. There are only a few agents in Connecticut, and they have to come down from Hartford.
By and large, Exner said, she has had an excellent relationship with local police departments.
We dont really worry about them calling federal officials unless its a very serious crime, she said. Fortunately, Connecticut is a very civilized state, and the police departments are very professional. We try to work together while keeping humanity in mind. But that being said, you still just dont know what could happen in this current environment.
Exner said she has been getting frequent calls from fearful clients wondering what they can do if their workplace or neighborhood is raided. Undocumented immigrants with children who are U.S. citizens are already setting up care for their children in case they get deported, she said.
I have Yemeni refugees who used to be high-level members of the countrys government before it got overthrown, she said. Even though some are citizens, they are afraid to even fly to Las Vegas for business.
One reason for that worry was President Trumps executive order banning refugees and some travelers from entering the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Yemen. Federal courts have put the order on hold, but Trump has promised to issue a revised order this week.
We dont always know what to tell our clients because everything is changing from day to day, Exner said. The biggest problem right now is how unsettling this is.
Exner noted that undocumented immigrants who are the victims or witnesses of crimes, particularly in domestic violence cases, can apply for a U Visa that allows them to stay legally in the United States while the case is pending.
While requests for such visas can take as little as week, Exner said, some citiies, such as Danbury, are so backed up with requests that it could take more than six months.
These are people who are cooperating with the police and are helping to protect the community, Exner said. Whatever people think about immigration, I think we can all agree that its in everyones best interest for undocumented immigrants to work with local police departments.
She added, however, that some immigrants are growing concerned that applying for such visas could put them at risk.
Some of those fears, at least at this point, are unfounded, Salvatore said.
Its understandable that these fears are being generated, but in reality there arent any massive efforts that we are involved with to deport illegal immigrants, he said. Trump has only been in office four about a month, but at this point we have no information about proceeding any differently than normal.
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NORWALK State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff isnt backing away from his Fix It First facilities plan for Norwalk Public Schools.
Despite backlash this week on social media from a number of Norwalk parents, teachers and school officials, and a softening of stance in support of the plans from Mayor Harry Rilling, Duff said Friday he still believes the city should fix the school district's current 19 schools before constructing any new ones.
I still fully support the Fix It First plan, Duff said, because that actually addresses infrastructure issues for the current 11,000 students in the Norwalk Public Schools system.
Duff, who presented the alternative school facilities plan Monday alongside state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, state Rep. Chris Perone, D-Norwalk, and Rilling, said he realizes there may be some opposition, but believes there is a silent majority that accepts and supports the Fix It First plan.
Many parents were elated Thursday after Mike Lyons, chairman of the Board of Education, announced via an online statement after speaking with Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski and the mayor that Rilling indicated his support for the Board of Educations Facilities Master Plan.
Duff doesnt see where that statement is coming from.
The mayor told me he made no commitment to the boards plan, Duff said.
Rilling, however, said for himself Thursday the idea that he supported one plan over the other needed to be clarified. He said he was planning a meeting with Adamowski and other school officials to discuss a way to address the issues laid out in both the Board of Educations and the Fix It First plans.
Several community members and organizations have since come to the Fix It First plans defense, including the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, which Duff called the gold standard of support because the teachers are in the school every day.
We in the Norwalk Federation of Teachers have felt dismay as the districts plan ran into difficulties when the educational programs were selected, announced and not embraced... said Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, in a statement on behalf of the organization. Norwalk students deserve safe, welcoming, healthy environments without the distractions of mold, leaks, crumbling asbestos floor tiles, boilers on the fritz, or oversized classes. We could serve the students more effectively by attention to these issues.
The Norwalk branch of the NAACP, in a letter to the editor sent to The Hour late Friday night, also expressed support for the Fix It First plan, citing a need for improvements to the districts current schools and the need for more inclusive discussion plans for a new school.
The NAACP is asking Mayor Rilling and Dr. Adamowski to table the proposed Facilities Plan voted on by the BOE and implement the Fix-it First Plan, Norwalk NAACP officials said in the letter. As schools are being repaired, there will then be time to have an inclusive discussion about a new school. It could be determined that attendance boundaries can be restructured which would change a Facilities Plan.
Still, the Fix it First plan was met with stark opposition in many online groups. Some parents posted remarks on social media ranging in severity from a promised change in their vote away from the elected officials who supported the alternate plan to threats to move out of Norwalk altogether.
One person called the announced alternative plan a political move to once again slam to a halt the school district's facilities plan.
Another questioned why the alternative plan was seemingly developed behind Board of Education members backs after countless hours and meetings went into the boards eventual approval.
The Fix It First plan was announced Monday without any mention to a majority of Board of Education members as they hosted state legislators at Columbus Magnet School to review the already approved Board of Educations facilities plan the previous Friday. Duff and Morris were in attendance and neither made a mention of their alternate plan.
Duff said the Fix It First plan wasnt mentioned because it didnt yet exist. Rather, it was seeing the boards plans for the first time that prompted him to act.
He said, as shown in exchanges between him and Adamowski beginning in December, that he asked months ago for updates on the boards plans to no avail (as a meeting between Adamowski and Duff was pushed back due to illness and inclement weather).
We were first presented with that plan on that Friday, Duff said. I had some questions ... Thats why I thought it was important to come up with something that would fix our schools first.
Duff said seeing the condition of the schools firsthand as a parent of Norwalk Public Schools students and no immediate planned action to improve those conditions in the boards plan motivated him to develop an alternate plan.
He described Norwalk High School as having crumbling concrete and mold. He also cited poor conditions at Cranbury Elementary School where the electrical grid issues that have been raised to him by parents who say teachers cannot run Smartboards, fans and computers in classrooms at the same time without blowing circuits.
Barbara Meyer-Mitchell, a Cranbury parent and founder of the Norwalk Parents for Education Facebook group, acknowledged the need for improvements to the districts current schools. However, she supports the Board of Educations approved plan that prioritizes building a new school in South Norwalk and expanding and renovating several others first instead.
Sure I want the best for my kids, Meyer-Mitchell said, but I also realize that my kids have the best in Norwalk right now and it's some other kids turn. It's not my kids turn.
Meyer-Mitchell regularly attends school board meetings and has even conducted her own research for the districts plans. She cited the current over-enrollment and needs for a new school for the community of South Norwalk as reasons for her support for the boards plan.
Duff and the other leaders argue the forecast swell in districtwide enrollment the driving force behind Norwalk Public Schools officials swift action to push facilities plans forward isnt enough to justify the construction of a new school.
Duff said he doesn't oppose building new schools, but simply wants to flip the Board of Educations plan around to fix the districts existing schools before constructing any others.
KSchultz@thehour.com; 203-354-1049; @kevinedschultz
WASHINGTON Dear foreign leader,
So, you are considering visiting President Donald Trump at the White House. What an amazing, tremendous, incredible, huge honor!
But tread carefully. Very carefully.
Consider poor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Trump ripped up the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, so Abe hurried to Washington to make sure the vital U.S.-Japan trade alliance was not in jeopardy. Japan is our fourth-largest trading partner.
Once again, Abe found himself in a room with the presidents daughter Ivanka, who apparently isnt running her business anymore but is eager to have her jewelry, shoes and clothing sold more widely in Japan. And then, suddenly, Abe found himself at a strangers wedding in Florida with Trump, who was busy pooh-poohing classified information about the significance of the crazy North Korean leaders launch of a missile aimed in Japans direction.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Teresa May ignoring political advisers of hers worried about Trumps unpopularity in England scurried across the Atlantic to meet Trump and shore up the Special Relationship and talk trade.
And then, in the name of national security, Trump signed a temporary ban against immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and refugees from Syria and elsewhere, causing total chaos and prompting much courtroom drama.
Then we found out Trumps now-former national security adviser, who lasted three weeks on the job, had pre-emptively assured the Russians they had a friend in him, lied to the vice president about it and, consequently, exposed himself to being blackmailed by Russia. So much for national security!
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, flew down to Washington to speak with Trump about plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada is Americas second-biggest trading partner. Trudeau found himself before TV cameras in a meeting with women who own small businesses. And Ivanka. The meeting lasted just over half an hour, meaning a tremendous amount was accomplished for women.
The Mexican president was supposed to meet with Trump in Washington. But after Trump insisted, yet again, that Mexico is expected to pay (up to $22 billion) for a wall Mexico doesnt want, the Mexican leader threw up his hands and canceled the meeting. Even after that, Trump threatened to send soldiers across the border after bad hombres. Just joking! Mexico is our third-largest trading partner.
Australias prime minister didnt even book a plane. Trump managed to offend him so mightily on the phone by saying he didnt want refugees the U.S. had already agreed with the United Nations to take, there was no question of a personal visit anytime soon.
And all this time, nothing but praise for Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent who kills opponents and has just broken a Reagan-era arms control treaty against deploying land-based cruise missiles. So what, asked Trump, is the U.S. itself so innocent? Really?
Trump supporters say the chaos in the White House is a result of his still-incomplete Cabinet. (Democrats argue the nominees didnt supply required paperwork.) But Trumps national security team leaders are in place. They were, at least, until the man famous for crying, Youre fired, fired his national security adviser for losing his trust. Trump then blamed the firing on the fake media.
Secretary of State Rex Tillersons deputy of choice was turned down by the White House for not being a loyal Trump supporter the moment Trump announced his presidential run. Hundreds of key administration jobs arent filled yet, in large measure because personal loyalty to Trump is the major test.
We are left to wonder why the Trump campaign kept contacting Russian intelligence. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just shakes his head in dismay, saying there is significant dysfunction in Trumps national security apparatus.
Meanwhile, Iran is still on notice for its own defiant missile test, but nobody is paying much notice except for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who raced to the White House. He wanted to see if he could change our Mideast policy by talking quietly to Trumps son-in-law, who often acts like the only adult in the room. Hey, for some leaders, its any port in the storm.
The rest of you? Bide your time.
Donald Trump has declared war on reality. And reality is winning.
He campaigned as a self-anointed Emperor of Information, advancing his own often false version of the world. Hes doing the same thing as president, making patently untrue claims about voter fraud during the election and about crowd sizes during his inauguration.
Those falsehoods are largely harmless. They might feed his insatiable ego, but dont directly affect public policy or the national welfare.
But now his penchant for prevarication is getting serious, and two recent episodes demonstrate why: the downfall of national security adviser Mike Flynn, and the determination of three federal courts to block his executive order on refugees.
In Flynns case, intelligence officers uncovered evidence that he was possibly breaking the law by talking to the Russian ambassador before Trump took office, and assuring him that the new administration would take a softer line than its predecessor on economic sanctions against Moscow.
Dogged reporting by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius surfaced the story in mid-January, and Team Trump went into complete denial mode. A Trump spokesman told the Post that economic sanctions were not discussed whatsoever on the call. White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the call concerned only logistics: That was it, plain and simple.
Those were both falsehoods. Further reporting by the Post and The New York Times revealed that the acting attorney general, Sally Yates, had warned the White House about Flynns actual conversation weeks before. Hours after those stories appeared, Flynn resigned.
Trump reacted by blaming others, of course. The real story here is why there are so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? he tweeted. And in a sense, hes right.
The real story here is that reality is revolting against the president. Professional fact-finders refuse to be intimidated by the Emperor of Information. To answer the presidents question: There are so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington because the Trump administration so often refuses to tell the truth.
The presidents executive order, barring refugees for 120 days and banning all travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, also demonstrates his aversion to veracity. The president and his lawyers insisted that the order was essential to protect the nations security. But two district court judges, whose main job is fact-finding, disputed that assertion.
One of them, Leonie M. Brinkema, who sits in Virginia, said the presidents lawyers have not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO (executive order). She then quoted approvingly from a statement by 10 former national security professionals: We view the Order as one that ultimately undermines the national security of the United States, rather than making us safer.
The president also maintained that the order had caused minimal disruption, but again Brinkema disagreed on the facts. Just one of many examples she cited in her opinion: In 2015, 465 foreign students from the seven banned countries enrolled in Virginia schools. Barring such students in the future would cost more than $20 million in lost tuition and fees.
Another argument advanced by the White House is that the order contained no direct reference to Muslims, and thus did not impose any discrimination based on religion. Again, Brinkema went to the record, citing statements by Trump during the campaign that he wanted a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.
Those statements, said the judge, indicated his true intent, no matter what the order said. Just as the Supreme Court has held that the world is not made brand new every morning, a person is not made brand new simply by taking the oath of office, she wrote.
Finally, the judge rejected Trumps assertion that federal law gives him unfettered power over immigration questions. Maximum power does not mean absolute power, she lectured.
The lesson from both cases is clear and compelling. Professional fact-finders lawyers, judges, journalists, academics, researchers, scientists, intelligence officers cannot be deterred or intimidated.
Nor should they fall prey to the presidents strategy of dangling shiny objects in front of the press to distract them from the real story. He prompted media coverage of Ivanka Trumps fashion products while his national security adviser was lying about his talks with the Russians and possibly breaking the law.
No matter how many tweets and tantrums emanate from the president, no matter how many alternative facts he presents, no matter how many leakers he denounces, the truth still matters. And we have to keep telling it.
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) Alleging that Russia has interfered not only in the US presidential elections but in other countries as well, senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham today said it is now time to "punish" Moscow.
"Russia has interfered in every democracy in their backyard. They are coming after the French and the Germans. They have tried to interfere in our election, even though they didnt change the outcome. They did interfere. They hacked into the Democratic National Committee. Podestas e-mails were leaked to WikiLeaks," Graham told CBS News.
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"The Russians were involved to hurt Clinton. The bottom line is, it is now time to punish Russia," he said in response to a question.
"If we forgive and forget about what Russia did in our own election, we will invite aggression in the next election by Chinese and the Iranians. It was Democrats this time. It could be Republicans next time," Graham said.
Graham has been joined by Senator John McCain others to pass a bill to sanction Russia for allegedly interfering in the 2016 elections to hit them harder.
"I think it will pass with overwhelming bipartisan support and will be a signal, a pushback to Russia that, if you keep doing this, you are going to pay a heavy price. And I hope the President will embrace this," he said.
The Republican Senator advocated a free press, but noted that the media is behaving like an "opposition party".
"The backbone of democracy is a free press and an independent judiciary. And they are worth fighting and dying for. The bottom line here is, America is not becoming a dictatorship," he said.
"We need to, as politicians, understand the role of the press and jealously guard it. But I would say this to the American press corps. When it comes to Trump, you are over the top. You are acting more like an opposition party. Every President has had problems with the press. You need to do your job," he said.
From a Republican point of view, the coverage against President Trump has been almost to the point of being hysterical.
"And you all need to do some self-evaluation," he said.
"But the enemies of democracy, at the end of the day, are not the press. It is Russia. It is Iran and radical Islam. But I think our friends in the press back home need to up their game, because it really is hard to watch from a Republican point of view," Graham said. PTI LKJ PMS
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WASHINGTON Its a Watergate-era cliche that the cover-up is always worse than the crime. In the Mike Flynn affair, we have the first recorded instance of a cover-up in the absence of a crime.
Being covered up were the Dec. 29 phone calls between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to Washington. The presumed violation was Flynn negotiating with a foreign adversary while the Obama administration was still in office and, even worse, discussing with Sergey Kislyak the sanctions then being imposed upon Russia (for meddling in the 2016 elections).
Whats wrong with that? It is risible to invoke the Logan Act, passed during the John Adams administration, under which not a single American has been prosecuted in the intervening 218 years. It prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign powers. Flynn was hardly a private citizen. As Donald Trumps publicly designated incoming national security adviser, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be talking to foreign actors in preparation for assuming office within the month.
Worst case: He was telling Kislyak that the Trump administration might lift sanctions and therefore, comrade, no need for a spiral of retaliations. How different is this from Barack Obama telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on an inadvertently open mic, during his 2012 re-election campaign, This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.
Flynn would have been giving the Russians useful information that might well have contributed to Russias decision not to retaliate. Im no Russophile. But again: Whats wrong with that? Turns out, the Trump administration has not lifted those sanctions. Its all a tempest in an empty teapot.
The accusations of misbehavior by Flynn carry a subliminal echo of a long-standing charge against Richard Nixon that he interfered in the Paris peace talks in October 1968 to prevent his Democratic opponent from claiming a major foreign policy success on the eve of the presidential election.
But that kind of alleged diplomatic freelancing would have prolonged a war in which Americans were dying daily. The Flynn conversation was nothing remotely of the sort. Wheres the harm?
The harm was not the calls but Flynns lying about them. And most especially lying to the vice president who then went out and told the world Flynn had never discussed sanctions. You cant leave your vice president undercut and exposed. Flynn had to go.
Up to this point, the story makes sense. Except for one thing: Why the cover-up if there is no crime? Why lie about talking about sanctions? Its inexplicable. Did Flynn want to head off lines of inquiry about other contacts with Russians that might not have been so innocent? Massive new leaks suggest numerous contacts during the campaign between Trump associates and Russian officials, some of whom were intelligence agents. Up till now, however, reports The New York Times, there is no evidence of any Trump campaign collusion or cooperation with Russian hacking and other interference in the U.S. election.
Thus far. Which is why there will be investigations. Speculation ranges from the wildly malevolent to the rather loopily innocent.
At one end of the spectrum is the scenario wherein these campaign officials including perhaps Flynn, perhaps even Trump are compromised because of tainted business or political activities known to the Russians, to whom they are now captive. A fevered conspiracy in my view, but there are non-certifiable people who consider it possible.
At the benign end of the spectrum is that the easily flattered Trump imagines himself the great dealmaker who overnight becomes a great statesman by charming Vladimir Putin into a Nixon-to-China grand bargain we jointly call off the new Cold War, join forces to destroy the Islamic State and reach a new accommodation for Europe that relieves us of some of the burden of parasitic allies.
To me, the idea is nuts, a narcissistic fantasy grounded in neither strategy nor history. But that doesnt mean Trump might not imagine it after all, he maintains that if we had only stayed in Iraq to steal its oil, we wouldnt have the Islamic State. And if this has indeed been his thinking about Russia, it would make sense to surround himself with advisers who had extensive dealings there.
I believe neither of these scenarios but Im hard put to come up with alternatives. The puzzle remains. Why did Flynn lie? Until we answer that, the case of the cover-up in search of a crime remains unsolved.
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Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 18 2017
As a megalopolis, Jakarta is a melting pot of cultures that is home to millions of people of various backgrounds, but now it finally has officially honored eight icons close to the hearts of the Betawi the capitals native ethnic group.
The eight icons are ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies), kembang kelapa (coconut tree made from paper), gigi balang (wooden ornamentation), sadariah (long-sleeved white shirts), kebaya kerancang (traditional Betawi blouse), Betawi batik, kerak telor (local omelette) and bir pletok (beverage with herbs and spices).
Announced last week, the icons had been recognized in a gubernatorial regulation that aimed to make official Jakartas identity, which then could be acknowledged when taking part in activities or events conducted by local administrations, businesspeople and residents.
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Linkedin Tessa Randello (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 18 2017
Upon entering the Contemporary Art and Social Turbulence exhibitions hall, a piece by Arya Pandjalu, called Protector of your light, immediately captures the audiences attention It is a figure of a man with a hand in front of his face while glowing spears impale him.
The theme of urban minorities marginalized was explored at the exhibition, held at Edwins Gallery in Kemang, South Jakarta, until Feb. 19, through the sculptural works Not Catfish by Abdi Setiawan and The Dreams by Adi Gunawan, among others.
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Linkedin Haeril Halim and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 18 2017
An indictment in relation to a bribery case implicating a businessman and a tax official has revealed the major role the brother-in-law of President Joko Jokowi Widodo allegedly played in pulling off the plot.
In its indictment against Indian citizen Ramapanicker Rajamohanan Nair, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicated how Jokowis in-law, Arif Budi Sulistyo, allegedly brokered a deal to clear the tax dues of PT EK Prima Exports Indonesia a local unit of the Abu Dhabi-based retail giant LuLu Group International.
Nair was arrested by the KPK on Nov. 21 after he allegedly attempted to hand over a bribe to mid-ranking tax official Handang Soekarno, who allegedly put Arif in touch with tax office chief Ken Dwijugiasteadi to allegedly clear the path to wipe out the tax dues.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 18 2017
Top leaders of Gafatar, a defunct sect that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has condemned as misguided, have denied blasphemy and treason charges under Criminal Code provisions they said were increasingly used to silence critics and suppress minority groups.
In their defense plea at the East Jakarta District Court on Thursday, they maintained that practicing faith in a way different from that of the mainstream was not an act of blasphemy but rather was an exercise of their constitutional rights.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Sat, February 18 2017
When a child is about to be born a family typically creates much commotion to ensure everything is prepared for a safe delivery for mother and child, and a safe environment to bring up a newborn. Fortunately many couples now also remember to arrange for the birth certificate the vital paperwork that so many neglect, where at least 36 million under the age of 18 despite having Indonesian parents are legally stateless, according to figures stated last year by Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa.
In 2010, the United Nations reported that 60 percent of children under 5 were not registered. Indonesia ranks in the bottom 20 countries in the world in its registration of children and the problem is worse in rural areas, it said.
But as we reported this week, Depok, Jakartas close neighbor in West Java is no longer rural, yet has almost 200,000 children without birth certificates, as only 62 percent are registered. Like many other parents the families will rush to arrange the necessary documents only when their children are of school age, as birth certificates are required for enrollment.
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The administration was keeping an eye on Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) activities which is organizing a Balidan Diwas (sacrifice day) in Jasia village near Rohtak on Sunday.
The police officials have also been deployed at railways stations and bus stops.
By Manjeet Sehgal: Having borne the brunt of violent Jat protests last year, the Haryana government on Sunday blocked the internet services in Rohtak, which still remains the epicenter of protests. While ban on liquor sale will stay till Monday.
Similar measures were also adopted in Bhiwani, Sonipat and other districts where the protests entered 22nd day.
The administration was keeping an eye on Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) activities which is organizing a Balidan Diwas (sacrifice day) in Jasia village near Rohtak on Sunday.
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Also read: 2016 Jat stir: Haryana to compensate "innocent" persons
The administration is not taking any chances and has deployed adequate number of police and para-military forces on national and state highways including the GT road. The police officials have also been deployed at railways stations and bus stops.
Night bus services have already been suspended as a precautionary measure as the protesters may target public property.
The protests have largely been peaceful and Jat leaders have assured the state government that the agitation will be peaceful and will continue till their demands are met. The demands include an assurance to withdraw the cases registered against rioters and jobs to those killed in police action besides reservation in jobs.
Also read: Jat stir: CM holds meeting, minister says govt ready for talks
The state government-led by Manohar Lal has been sitting on the horns of a dilemma as it neither wants to annoy the agitating Jats nor the non-Jats, which voted it to the power.
The state government has formed a five members committee to look into the demands raised by the Jat leaders. Two meetings with the Jat leaders have failed to earn any response.
In a major move to placate the Jat community, the state government has announced compensation to the rioters who were injured in police action last year. Those injured in police firing will get a compensation of Rs one lakh, those injured in lathi-charge will be compensated with Rs 25000-Rs 50,000.
Meanwhile, Jat protests being organized in various parts of the state were peaceful and no incident of violence has been reported so far.
30 people were killed and several others were injured during the stir February last year when the rioters damaged public and private properties worth thousands of crore in the state.
--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 18 2017
In North Jakarta, where economic and social gaps are palpable, Jakartans voted on Feb. 15, and showed how socioeconomic status has influenced the political preferences of two communities.
On a sunny election day to choose the next Jakarta governor, enthusiasm filled the air at polling station No. 71, which sits near the Muara Angke fish market in Pluit subdistrict, Penjaringan district, North Jakarta.
Hundreds of residents living around the fish market cast their ballots in the election, in which three candidates competed: Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, incumbent Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama and Anies Baswedan.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Sun, February 19, 2017
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) officials shot dead a man suspected of drug trade involvement on Jl. Gagak Hitam Ringroad in Medan, North Sumatra, on Sunday.
Aside from bringing down the one suspect, the officials also arrested another man and confiscated 20 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
BNNs North Sumatra office head, Brig. Gen. Andi Loedianto, said the officers were forced to shoot one of the two suspects as he was trying to escape arrest. The suspect was shot while in his car at 10 a.m.
The suspect was trying to get away, forcing the officers to shoot him, Andi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
(Read also: Tangerang court sentences four drug convicts to death)
Andi said the suspects were planning to distribute the meth in Medan.
The raid in Medan was a follow up to an investigation into a drug ring in Jakarta. The suspects are allegedly part of an international syndicate based in Malaysia. The police and the BNN are searching for more suspects in the case.
Authorities have vowed tougher measures on drug trafficking in the country. National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has said his officers will not hesitate to shoot alleged perpetrators on sight. (wit)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa handed over on Sunday permanent houses to 23 families of the nomadic Anak Dalam tribe, also known as Orang Rimba, in Pulau Lintang village in Sorolangun regency, Jambi.
Thank God, we have approached them [Anak Dalam] for the past two years, and they finally wanted to settle down here, said Khofifah in a press statement during the visit.
(Read also: Measles outbreak hits Orang Rimba tribe)
She said the land for the housing was provided by the regency administration while the houses and all facilities were prepared by the ministry.
The ministry allocated Rp 36 million (US$2,697) for construction of each house, with Rp 3 million allotted to buy mattresses, pillows and blankets for each family.
It also gave Rp 200,000 in school assistance for each of 21 children.
We have allocated a total of Rp 901.2 million [for the project], said Khofifah.
The politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB) said it was not easy to persuade the tribe members to settle in one place. The tribe has a tradition called melangun in which they leave a location when a relative dies.
The tribe has been condemned to live in poverty and surrounded by death as a result of their nomadic traditions. (wit)
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
About 300 taxi drivers held a rally in North Alun Alun, Yogyakarta, against ride-sharing apps Uber, GoCar and GrabCar on Friday.
They demanded that the Yogyakarta administration ban ride-sharing apps in the province.
Sutiman, the coordinator of Yogyakarta Metered Taxi Drivers Community (Kopetayo), said app-based hire cars offered lower prices and hurt their livelihoods.
Our income has dropped 90 percent. This is our lowest point, he said Friday.
He said before the proliferation of the ride-sharing app services, a driver could earn up to Rp 500,000 per day, but now Rp 150,000 was difficult to earn, resulting in their failure to pay the taxi companies the minimum share of income, ranging from Rp 300,000 to Rp 500,000.
If nothing happens, we will take to the streets again, Sutiman said.
A top official at Yogyakartas Land Transportation Organization (Organda), Taryoto, said there were 20 conventional taxi companies with a total fleet of 1,025 and 2,500 drivers.
Taxis number 1,020 and that should not be expanded, he said.
In July last year, the Yogyakarta Transportation Agency prohibited ride-sharing apps, but they continue to operate.
Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono said ride-sharing app services were against regulations and promised to discuss the matter with the Transportation Ministry. (evi)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
Hungarian businesses have urged their Indonesian counterparts to export more coconut products to their country.
Todays coconut supplies from around the world, including Indonesia, dont meet demand in Hungary and other countries in central and eastern Europe, said Hungarian businessman Adam Kapas, whose company Mayers Kft is a major Indonesian coconut importer.
The high demand [for coconut products] and short supplies lead to continuing increases in price, especially for coconut oil, which increased between 7 and 10 percent each month in 2016, he added.
Adam estimates that Hungary needs 1.5 million liters of coconut milk and 500,000 liters of coconut oil per year. His firm supplies 700,000 liters of coconut milk annually to the domestic market.
(Read also: Association calls for moratorium on raw coconut exports)
Indonesian coconut exports to Hungary include coconut cooking oil, desiccated coconut, coconut water, coconut cream, coconut milk and coconut sugar.
Trade Ministry data show that coconut product exports saw healthy growth in past years. Export value increased nearly 15 percent as of October 2016 from the same period in 2015.
In 2015, the value rose 20.7 percent to 2.2 million euro (US$2.3 million) from the previous year.
The Indonesian Agriculture Ministry has allocated Rp 28.1 billion this year to rejuvenate 16,725 hectares of coconut farmland in 20 provinces.
Indonesia saw coconut production decline 5.6 percent to 3 million tons in 2014 mainly due to aging plants. That year, the country had 3.63 million ha of coconut farmland, 98 percent of which was managed by small farmers. (hwa)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
The Jakarta Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) is holding revotes in two polling stations after finding that several people had voted without registration.
KPU Jakarta head Sumarno said the election committee had accepted a recommendation for the revotes in a polling station in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, and another one in Pancoran, South Jakarta.
Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu Jakarta) had recommended the revote in the two locations after discovering that more than one person had cast ballots without showing proper identification.
There is no problem with ballot stocks [for the revote], said Sumarno as quoted by kpujakarta.go.id.
(Read also: Indonesia to set up a task force to monitor the movement of foreigners)
He said the only difference between the ballots used on Sunday and those previously used on Feb. 15 was that each ballot would bear the word revote.
The revote will be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. (wit)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Madiun Mayor Bambang Irianto a suspect in three graft cases.
There are three corruption cases implicating Bambang Irianto, said KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah as quoted by Antara news agency on Saturday.
(Read also: KPK detains Cimahi mayor, husband in bribery case)
Febri said Bambang was allegedly involved in a corruption case revolving around the construction of a market in the city and a separate bribery case. The KPK has also charged him with money laundering.
The antigraft body has detained Bambang after he allegedly embezzled money in the market construction project.
The KPK has charged Bambang with corruption for his alleged involvement in a graft case centering on an Rp 76 billion (US$5.6 million) project to build the Kota Madiun Market in Madiun, East Java. The project was carried out during his first term as mayor between 2009 and 2014. (wit)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
The Foreign Ministry has reported that Malaysian authorities have held a reconstruction of the alleged murder of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother, which reportedly involved an Indonesian woman.
The Malaysian Police held a reconstruction on Friday, involving Siti [Indonesian passport holder Siti Aisyah] and three other suspects, at the KLIA [Kuala Lumpur International Airport], Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a press statement on Saturday.
The Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia has appointed Gooi & Azura as Sitis lawyers, but the Malaysian authorities are yet to allow them to meet her.
We have yet to get access to Siti because the Malaysian Criminal Code stipulates that suspects are not allowed to meet anyone during an investigation, Retno said as quoted by Kompas.com, adding that the ministry and the Malaysian Police would keep in touch to be able to render assistance to Siti as quickly as possible.
(Read also: Who is Siti Aisyah? Foreign agent or gullible migrant worker?)
Siti, reportedly a resident of Serang, Banten, was arrested by the Malaysian authorities on Thursday, along with a Vietnamese woman and a Malaysian man, who is said to be Sitis boyfriend, in connection with the apparent murder of Jong-nam.
Several Indonesian officials confirmed that her documents were listed in the database of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Retno also said that the ministry had contacted the Malaysian foreign minister to seek consular access to Siti. (wit)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
The Trade Ministry will soon introduce a regulation that will make business permits (SIUP) and registration certificates (TDP) valid indefinitely.
Hopefully in one or two weeks, we can come up with the regulation, Karyanto Suprih, the ministrys secretary-general, said on Friday.
Business players in Indonesia currently have to renew the two licenses every five years, a procedure that is lengthy.
(Read also: Speedy licensing pushed for energy)
Once the regulation is issued, Karyanto said his side would disseminate information on the new rule to relevant institutions and regional administrations.
For the regulation, well coordinate with relevant ministries and regional administrations, he said.
Businesses, meanwhile, have lauded the initiative.
This is good because it will free us from unnecessary costs because the permits will be valid forever, except if a business closes down, said Adhi Lukman, chairman of Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI).
Currently, local businesses renew the permits through the local trade agency while foreign firms need to apply for renewals from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). Document renewal is not costly but time-consuming as it takes around two weeks, Adhi said. (hwa)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017
Sixty-one village heads across Indonesia were arrested in 62 different corruption cases in 2016, according to a report by the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) released on Sunday.
ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah said there was a phenomenon it called local elite capture in which leaders at the village level misused village funds disbursed from the central government.
According to the report, village funds were among of the top five sectors prone to corruption. In 2016, the government allocated Rp 47 trillion (US$ 3.5 billion) for the village fund program.
The number of corruption cases at local government levels was also on the rise owing to a lack of participation from villagers and poor monitoring, Wana said.
Villagers should be involved in the process of planning and managing the village funds to prevent corruption, he said.
(Read also: Village economy grows by 12 percent: Minister)
Another ICW researcher, Febri Hendri, said the incompetence of village officials was also one of the reasons behind the local elite capture phenomenon.
"Many village officials are still lacking adequate capability in managing village funds, as they have no clear programs to develop their villages," he said. (rdi/bbs)
By Press Trust of India: Chandigarh, Feb 19 (PTI) The Balidan Divas, observed by Jats in Haryana today, passed off peacefully with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar saying a fresh round of talks will be held tomorrow with the agitating committee members.
The state was on high alert with the maximum deployment of forces to prevent any untoward incident in view of the Balidan Divas (day of sacrifice) observed by the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS) in the memory of those who lost their lives in last years violent agitation in the state.
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As a precautionary measure, the state roadways suspended its bus services for the day on some routes in sensitive districts, including Hisar, Rohtak, Kaithal and Sonipat, an official said.
The Chief Minister said that as per reports received, peace and harmony prevailed in the state and the organisers of demonstrations had assured him of conducting themselves in a peaceful manner.
Khattar told reporters here that the talks would be held with the Jat leaders tomorrow and their demands would be fulfilled within the scope of the law.
The AIJASS agreed to participate in the second round of talks with the government in Panipat tomorrow.
The Chief Minister hoped the issue will be resolved soon.
In spite of Khattar saying that their demands will be fulfilled "within the scope of the law", the Jat body leading the agitation today threatened to step it up and passed resolutions asking the community members not to pay power and water bills till their demands are met.
Meanwhile, its president, Yashpal Malik, who addressed sit-ins in Joli-Lath and Jassia in Sonipat and Rohtak districts, said eight resolutions were passed today by the protesters asking the community members "to stop paying their power and water bills till their demands are met".
"From March 1, they will not cooperate with the government. No one will pay power, water bills and instalment of loans that they owe to the government," he said.
He threatened that the stir will be intensified in Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Karnal, Dadri, Kurukshetra, Mewat and Panchkula from March 1.
The AIJASS leader also said Jats from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will protest in the national capital on March 2 and submit a memorandum on the issue to the President.
They also plan to gherao Parliament, the date for which will be announced on March 2.
Malik said February 26 will be observed as "Black Day" by Jats and to protest against the state governments policies, the community members will wear black turbans, ties, ribbons and arm bands.
The AIJASS president has appealed to the people to stop the supply of milk to Delhi and a date in this regard will be announced later.
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"I appeal to my brothers and sisters not to sell milk on that day. Prepare ghee, khoya and kheer from it but do not sell it as one-day milk hartal will be observed in Haryana," he said. PTI SUN AKA GVS AKK GVS
--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura Sun, February 19, 2017
Six inmates have escaped a prison in Abepura district, Jayapura, Papua, during a church service and family visitation on Sunday.
The inmates climbed the prison wall when security was relaxed to accommodate the activities at 10.10 a.m.
They used the opportunity when several guards went to Mass at a church in the prison. They climbed the wall using bed sheets as a rope, Abepura prison warden Bagus Kurniawan told The Jakarta Post.
(Read also: Harsh judicial system leads to prison overcapacity)
The prison break was discovered after an officer, Gidion Wanda, saw the rope hanging on the wall. It was later discovered that the inmates crossed a drain then climbed the wall.
We have contacted Jayapura Police to investigate further, said Bagus.
When the inmates escaped there were only six guards on duty while usually there are seven guards on duty. (wit)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang Sun, February 19, 2017
The panel of judges at Tangerang District Court has handed down the death penalty to three Taiwanese citizens and one Indonesian for trafficking 60 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
The defendants have been identified as Chen Alin, Achen, Alang and Suprapto. Alin and Achen, through their lawyers, said that they had not decided on further action while Alang and Suprapto said they would appeal.
For their offenses, the defendants are sentenced to death. The defendants have been proven guilty of jointly committing acts of crime, said presiding judge Tuti Hariyati said on Friday, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.
The death sentence was imposed as the panel of judges did not find any mitigating circumstances for the defendants.
Joko Priyatno, the lawyer for Alin and Achen, said his clients were not part of the drug ring that smuggled the meth as Alin came to the country as a technician and Achen as a driver. Edi Rustandi, Alangs lawyer, said that his client only possessed 1.06 kg of crystal methamphetamine not 60 kg.
Alin and Achen were arrested at Sun Plaza, South Tangerang, in May, in possession of 6 kg of meth. They said that they obtained the meth from Suprapto. The police then raided Suprapto's house at Paramount Cluster Alicante residential area and found 54 kilograms of meth. (wnd/wit)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang Sun, February 19, 2017
The Tangerang Health Agency in Banten claims it is facing difficulty in eradicating leprosy in the regency because affected people shun medical attention, an official has said.
We have received reports of people having the disease. However, they refuse to meet our officials for medical checks, citing many reasons, East Sepatan Community Health Center (Puskesmas) official Tati Haryati said in Tangerang on Saturday as quoted by Antara news agency.
She said family members of those with leprosy concealed the information. We cannot force them because its their right to decide whether they get medical assistance or not, she said.
According to the agency, 398 people in the regency were recorded to have the disease last year.
Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar said people with leprosy were looked down on even though the disease was not highly contagious and the government was therefore striving to curb the number of people with leprosy in the region, he added.
Leprosy is categorized as mildly contagious. To contract the disease, one has to have a long-term (months to years) contact with an untreated individual with the disease. (fac/evi)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 20 2017
Hungarian businesses have urged their Indonesian counterparts to export more coconut products to their country.
Todays coconut supplies from around the world, including Indonesia, dont meet demand in Hungary and other countries in central and eastern Europe, said Hungarian businessman Adam Kapas, whose company Mayers Kft is a major Indonesian coconut importer.
The high demand [for coconut products] and short supplies lead to continuing increases in price, especially for coconut oil, which increased between 7 and 10 percent each month in 2016, he added.
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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Banjarmasin Mon, February 20 2017
It has been a year since the Banjarmasin administration issued a regulation banning modern retailers from providing plastic bags to their customers.
However, many people are still unaware of the policy, appearing confused when told they are supposed to bring their own bags.
There are more customers who dont know [about the policy], especially housewives, than those who do. If they dont know, then we just give them cardboard boxes, Mayanta, a cashier at a minimarket in Banjarmasin, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
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Linkedin Linda Yulisman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 20 2017
In its latest move to settle a dispute over mining policy, the government has challenged United States mining giant Freeport McMoran to go to an international arbitration tribunal for a fair result.
Recently, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry granted approval to PT Freeport Indonesia, the local subsidiary of the politically connected gold and copper miner, to convert its contract of work (CoW) into a special mining license (IUPK). In so doing, the government will require the company to divest 51 percent of its shares and build a smelter within five years. As compensation, the government will allow Freeport to continue exporting copper concentrate.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan asserted that resorting to arbitration was a legal right. However, he said the government did not expect to face Freeport at an international tribunal because such a move would negatively impact their partnership.
Nevertheless, it is a better measure than exploiting employee layoffs as a means to push the government, Jonan said in a statement on Saturday.
Jonan also called on Freeport, the countrys largest taxpayer and oldest foreign investor, not to be allergic to the idea of divesting 51 percent of its CoW and the newly issued Government Regulation No. 1/2017. So far, the company has divested 9.36 percent of its shares.
The government on Friday issued a recommendation for Freeport, allowing the shipment of 1.1 million tons of copper concentrate until Feb. 16, 2018. Freeport operates Grasberg mine, the worlds second-largest copper mine, in Timika, Papua.
The recommendation was given after a five-week halt on exports. The halt in operations caused a reduction in working times, affecting some 33,000 workers. The government and Freeport have divergent views on divestment and investment guarantees and this is causing friction between the two.
Freeport has consistently stated it will only agree to the contract conversion if it secures a guarantee from the government on the firms long-term investment stability, including fiscal and legal certainty, as already stipulated in the CoW signed in 1991.
PT Freeport Indonesia will keep protecting its rights under the contract of work while cooperating with the government to achieve a substitute agreement that can satisfy both parties, Freeport spokesperson Riza Pratama said via a text message to The Jakarta Post on Sunday. Riza, however, declined to comment on any possible future moves to take the case to arbitration.
Apart from the divestment issue, the possibility of Freeport taking the case to arbitration has been stirred by a ruling from a tax court stipulating that the firm pay US$469 million in water taxes and penalties to the Papua provincial administration for the use of water between 2011 and 2015.
An internal shake-up that caused Chappy Hakim to resign from the post of president director on Saturday has also raised speculation over an arbitration-mediated dispute settlement.
Chappy, a retired air chief marshal who took the top position only three months ago, allegedly opposed the option of going to arbitration.
Kurtubi, a legislator from House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy and mining, said it would be better for Freeport to avoid a direct confrontation with the government through an arbitration process as the company had largely benefitted from the CoW system over the past 40 years.
It [the government] has a big chance [of winning the dispute] because the [2009] Mining Law still acknowledges the CoW until it expires, Kurtubi told the Post over the phone. Freeports CoW will terminate in 2021 and after that there will be no CoWs in Indonesia, whoever the president will be. So Freeports demand to continue its current CoW is not realistic.
Hikmahanto Juwono, an expert in international law at the University of Indonesia, emphasized the governments favorable position should it meet with Freeport at a tribunal.
If this case is taken to arbitration, the government is in a strong position because it never discriminated against Freeport. It has provided the company with alternatives, including allowing an extension of the contract of work, Hikmahanto said. The expert suggested that the government pay attention to the desire of the Indonesian people to gain a greater degree of control over Freeport.
Despite the sizeable costs of going to arbitration, the current government should proceed because breaching the law could end in impeachment, he added.
According to a government source, the damage claim proposed by Freeport could amount to at least $8.3 billion. (ecn/yon)
___________________________
Freeport road to divestment
* Dec. 30, 1991, Clause 24.2.b in Freeports second Contract of Work signed, stating Freeport must divest 51 percent of its shares to an Indonesia entity (or 45 percent of its shares after divesting a minimum 20 percent of its shares to the public through the Indonesia Stock Exchange) by 2011.
* Freeport secures clause 24.2.d, indirectly negating clause 24.2.b with a short line saying that Freeport is allowed to follow the impending governments regulation, which contains a lighter divestment obligation.
* In 2010, a year ahead of the deadline for the 51 percent divestment obligation, Government Regulation No. 23/2010 is issued, allowing foreign investors to secure up to 80 percent (and not 49 percent) of shares in a mining permit holding company. Freeport made use of the rule as a shield to evade the 51 percent divestment obligation.
* In 2014 (a few months before the presidential election), Government Regulation No. 77/2014 is issued. The regulation allows miners with underground mining operations (Freeport is one such miner) to gradually divest their shares to a maximum 30 percent, not 51 percent.
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 20 2017
Amid the continued deindustrialization of Indonesia, the government has been urged to speed up infrastructure development to prevent further weakening of the manufacturing sector.
Once the backbone of the countrys economy, the manufacturing sector has struggled to maintain growth and contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP). It grew by only 4.29 percent last year, lower than the economic growth that expanded by 5.02 percent, while its share in the GDP was 20.51 percent, according to data from the Industry Ministry.
Reliance on raw commodities during the commodity boom from 2003 to 2011 has led to complacency, with the government putting in little effort to develop the much-needed infrastructure that supports the manufacturing industry, such as roads, ports and power plants.
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Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 20 2017
Visitors to the Mbah Priok memorial in North Jakarta have welcomed the Jakarta administrations plan to transform the site into a cultural heritage site and religious attraction.
A place like this should have been preserved a long time ago, said Sulaiman, 45, a visitor from Martapura, South Kalimantan, recently.
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Linkedin Aga Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 20 2017
Amid the increasing awareness of the significance of intellectual property (IP) in todays digital economy, we have seen some promising developments in Indonesias IP regulatory framework.
Within two years, the government has passed new pieces of legislation for copyright, patent, and most recently trademark protection. Although the mechanisms of IP enforcement, legal enforcement and border customs protection remain difficult, the new legislation has been much-welcomed among Indonesias IP players.
The 2016 Trademark and Geographical Indications Law includes various specific provisions on geographical indications. Much has been said about the new provisions and changes in the law. This article will instead focus on some of the possible practical implications resulting from the changes, particularly the ones affecting well-known trademark protections against bad-faith registrations and trademark squatters.
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Kuala Lumpur Sun, February 19, 2017
At a hospital morgue in Malaysia's capital, the tightly guarded corpse of a middle-aged man has become the focus of a dizzying case of international intrigue involving five countries, combative North Korean diplomats and an apparently duped female assassin.
Investigators are still trying to piece together details of what appears to be the brazen assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korea's mercurial ruler and an exiled member of the country's elite. Malaysian police said Saturday that they had arrested a fourth suspect, a 46-year-old North Korean man.
Kim, who had been estranged from his younger half sibling for years, was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday. A rotund man in his mid-40s, he told medical workers at the airport that he had been sprayed in the face with a chemical. He grew dizzy, suffered a seizure and was dead within hours, Malaysian officials said.
Without citing much in the way of evidence, observers including South Korea pointed to the obvious culprit in Monday's attack: Kim's half brother, Kim Jong Un, who has executed or purged a slew of high-level officials since taking power in 2011.
As the rumor mill swirled, Malaysia arrested four people over the course of the week including an Indonesian woman who told investigators she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.
North Korean officials made no public comments for several days, but they privately demanded custody of Kim's body and strongly objected to an autopsy. The Malaysians went ahead with the autopsy anyway, saying they were simply following procedure.
On Friday night, North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia broke his silence. At an unusual news conference held close to midnight outside the morgue, Ambassador Kang Chol said Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and "colluding with hostile forces."
"We will categorically reject the result of the post-mortem," Kang said, adding that the procedure was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance."
(Read also: Malaysian Police: North Korean Ri Jong Chol is fourth suspect arrested)
Malaysia is one of just a handful of countries to have full diplomatic ties with North Korea, with each country having an embassy in the other's capital. Malaysia has also been a key place for quiet, semi-official "track 2" diplomatic talks between North Korea and the United States.
The results of the autopsy have not been released publicly, but a Malaysian official with knowledge of the investigation said the results were inconclusive and that there was a second autopsy Friday night. He asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Malaysian police official Abdul Samah Mat, however, denied that the second autopsy had taken place.
Less than a week after Kim's death, the case had already reached well beyond Malaysia to North Korea, South Korea and Indonesia, along with Macau, where Kim lived with his family, and Vietnam, which was looking into whether another of the suspects was a citizen.
The intrigue over the case raises all sorts of questions about Kim's mysterious death, but a lack of closure and a lingering sense of the unknown are not unusual when it comes to North Korea. While South Korea has blamed North Korea for a slew of notable assassinations or attempted killings in past decades, the North often denies involvement or simply doesn't comment.
The suspects in Malaysian custody are: Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman; another woman, who carried Vietnamese travel documents and was seen on closed circuit television footage in a shirt with "LOL" emblazoned across the front; a man investigators said is Aisyah's boyfriend; and the North Korean man, who was arrested Friday night.
Malaysia is seeking DNA samples from Kim Jong Nam's immediate family. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
Kim reportedly fell out of favor in Pyongyang in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He and his younger brother have the same father, the late Kim Jong Il.
Even as diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea frayed, Malaysian officials appeared to be carefully following internal protocols for issues like control of the body, analysts said.
It's likely that Malaysia is hoping that following strict procedures would keep them from antagonizing North Korea or anyone else in the international community.
"As a very small country, Malaysia does not take sides," said Geetha Govindasamy, a senior lecturer in East Asia studies at the University of Malaya who has studied North Korean ties to Southeast Asia. (dan)
The churches of the Southern Cayuga Wider Parish will once again present its Lenten Series of lectures Sundays, March 5 through April 2, at churches in the parish.
The theme for this year's series is "Avenues to Spirituality: Continuing the Journey." All talks take place at 5 p.m. Sundays, and begin with a soup meal.
Here's the full schedule:
March 5 at Trinity United Church of Christ, 163 Cayuga St., Union Springs: Scipio Community Church members Charlie and Polly Guy will present "Spirituality Leading to Service," based on their travel to Kyrgyzstan in the fall.
March 12 at United Church of Genoa, 1107 Route 90, Genoa: Dr. Joan Hillsman and Shelia Beers present "Worship and Celebration"
March 19 at United Ministry of Aurora, 337 Route 90, Aurora: The Rev. Bill Moorby and Linda Schwab present "Challenge of Obedience"
March 26 at King Ferry Presbyterian Church, 8821 Route 90, King Ferry: Jane Simkin presents "Solitude and Silence"
April 2 at Scipioville Presbyterian Church, 3248 Route 34B, Scipioville: Banu and James Moore present "Simplicity"
Admission is free and open to the public; attendees are encouraged to bring their own soup bowl, mug and spoon.
By Anindya Banerjee: Jet Airways flight 9W 118, carrying 330 passengers and travelling to London from Mumbai, was intercepted by fighter jets on February 16 after it lost contact with air traffic control above German airspace, causing a huge security scare.
It was presumed that the aircraft had been taken over by terrorists, and a high alert was sounded.
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Contact was eventually re-established through an SOS channel after the fighters intercepted the plane.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Goverment of India, has ordered an inquiry.
"Contact between Jet Airways flight 9W 118, from Mumbai to London Heathrow, of February 16, 2017, and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace.Communication was safely restored within a few minutes. As a precaution, the German Air Force deployed its aircraft to ensure the safety of the flight and its guests," a Jet Airways spokesperson said in a statement.
"The flight with 330 guests and 15 crew subsequently landed at London without incident. Jet Airways has duly reported the matter to the concerned authorities including the DGCA. As part of the standard process, the flight crew of 9W 118 has been de-rostered pending investigation," the statement added.Watch how German air force chased the Jet Airways plane:
ALSO READ: IndiGo passenger opens emergency exit moments before take-off, 1 injured
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 19, 2017 10:00 2086 a291276806121264c0bd211cde0b3258 1 Tips business-trip,business-travelers,tips,travel,#travel,traveling,#traveling Free
Traveling for work is not the same as traveling for leisure. It requires efficiency, as you will deal with various business-related activities, such as meetings, conferences or even a gala dinner once you arrive in your destination.
Below are some tips all business travelers should consider in preparing, regardless of the business they are in and the destination they are going to.
Always be prepared
Avid business travelers should always be ready for that one-month away business trip or an unscheduled one in two days, if circumstances demand it. This means your passport should be no less than six months from its expiration date, your visa should be ready and you have done some research about the weather in your destination, the places you will be visiting as well accommodation and transportation options.
If your visa is not yet in your hand, it is recommended to spend some time to apply for it, as the procedure can take a while, depending on your destination country. As for booking a flight, comfort should be your priority, especially on long-haul flights. It is suggested to stick with one or two particular airlines, as they sometimes have promotions for loyal customers and frequent flyer programs.
(Read also: Useful tips for traveling on trains in Indonesia)
Pack lightly
When it comes to packing for a business trip, you may want to make George Clooney's character in Up in The Air (2009) your role model. For a two- or three-day trip, it is suggested to pack all your belongings in a piece of carry-on luggage.
While a duffel bag may sound practical, it increases the risk of getting your clothes creased and could potentially be a burden on your shoulder. Carrying your belongings on board also means you do not need to claim them once you have landed, saving you precious time.
Make a list of necessary items to store in the suitcase, such as electronic chargers, adaptors and jewelry. Place your laptop in a reachable space, so you do not need to dig through your clothes to get it out for airport security. There are ways to maximize the limited space in a cabin-size suitcase, such as filling your shoes with ties, socks or belts prior to packing them. Turn your shirts, blazers or suits inside out and then fold them horizontally to minimize creases, and bring clothes that cater to more than one purpose. Generally, adjust your clothes to your schedule during the business trip, thus you will not pack too much.
Dont bring prohibited items
Do some research on prohibited items on your airline to exclude them from your suitcase. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lists banned items and items that require additional screening or will trigger the alarm at airport security. Aside from obvious items like explosives, firearms and sharp objects, you need to be aware of certain types of food and sporting equipment. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has released a similar list of prohibited items, which included rackets, penknives, fishing rods and selfie monopods.
(Read also: Top tips for flying with children)
Know the rules
Prior to checking in at the airport, there are some rules you should know. Be careful concerning the amount of liquids, gels and creams in your luggage, as several carriers require passengers to limit liquids to 100 mL (3.4 ounces) or less per item and to place them in a clear, resealable bag.
Do note that different airlines have different rules in terms of baggage weight. Garuda Indonesia, for example, limits checked-in baggage to 32 kilograms and carry-on baggage to 7 kg, with certain dimensions, depending on the class and flight.
Avoid wasting time at airport security checkpoints
Use your time as efficiently as possible at airport security checkpoints. Different countries have different airport screening procedures. You may need to take off your shoes, jacket, watch and belt before passing through the metal detector. Large electronic devices and toiletries may need to be checked separately, so be ready get them out of your luggage quickly. The trick, courtesy of the Up in the Air movie, is to take two container bins at the same time. Fill one with your shoes and jacket and the other with your laptop and other required belongings. Put them on the conveyor belt and prepare your ID as well as boarding pass.
Always be ready. Do not wait for your turn to take off your shoes, for instance.
Arrive early
According to TSA, it is recommended to arrive at least two hours ahead of domestic departures and three hours for international flights. Remember that what you need to do at the airport is not just checking in and jumping on the plane. Consider additional time for traffic jam, parking, rental car returns and security screening. (kes)
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Feb 19 (PTI) A reported communication failure on board a Jet Airways aircraft while flying in the German skies gave a scare to German authorities who feared a hijack and scrambled their fighter jets.
The incident happened three days back when the Mumbai- London flight 9W-118, with 330 passengers and 15 crew members, lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for a "brief period" while flying over Cologne.
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The pilots of the Boeing-777 lost contact due to a reported communication failure, the Jet Airways said in a statement here today.
However, the communication was safely restored within minutes and the flight landed at its destination without any hitch, the statement said.
The airline has de-rostered the pilots of the flight pending investigation and reported the matter to the civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
"Contact between Jet Airways flight 9W-118 from Mumbai to London Heathrow, of February 16, 2017, and the local ATC, was briefly lost while flying over German airspace," the airline statement said. "As a precaution, the German Air Force (GAF) scrambled its fighter jets to ensure the safety of the flight and its passengers," it said.
The communication was, however, safely restored within a few minutes, the statement said. PTI IAS SMJ AKK
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From vibrant cities to stunning beaches, Massachusetts has always been a popular holiday destination. But this year there's one more reason to visit the Bay state, as 2017 marks the centenary of John F Kennedy's birth.
Cape Cod The 35th President of the United States held Massachusett's close to his heart. He was born in Brookline, where he lived until he was ten, and later went to university at Harvard. He proposed to his future wife Jaqueline in Boston, and spent many happy summers with her and their children at
Massachusett's is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the centenary of this much-loved president.
These will include a Centennial Celebration in Brookline on his birthday, May 29th, and another ceremony, JFK Remembered, on November 22nd.
John F Kennedy Presedential Museum and Library In Boston thewill open a special exhibition in May.
John F Kennedy Hyannis Museum In Cape Cod a special exhibit called JFK at 100: Life and Legacy will open at thein May, which will tell the story of the president's life in the context of the Cape.
The Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra will also feature in a commemorative concert on May 28.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The legal fraternity expressed grief over the demise of former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir at a hospital in Kolkata today, saying it was "very unfortunate" and a "sad loss".
Reminiscing about the former CJI, former Attorney General and senior advocate Soli Sorabjee said that Kabir was an "erudite" judge who heard counsel patiently even when they spoke about irrelevant things.
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"As a judge, he was erudite, heard counsel on both sides patiently and did not lose his temper even counsel talked about irrelevant things. His passing away is a sad loss," Sorabjee said.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President R S Suri expressed similar view about Kabir and said, "He was a very fine judge who made every lawyer very comfortable whether he was senior or not and no one could ever hold a grudge that he was not heard."
Terming Kabirs death as "very unfortunate", Suri said that though many people said the judge looked as if he was only listening and not passing judgements, when an actual count was taken it was found that he had delivered "more judgements" than most judges of the apex court.
"He was the common mans judge. He was very insightful. There were some controversies towards the end of his career, but for the average litigant he was an excellent judge. I wish more people were like him," the SCBA president said.
68-year-old Kabir, who was suffering from a kidney ailment and related complications, died at 2.52 PM, a senior hospital official told PTI.
He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son, his son in-law Leon DSouza said.
Kabir was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 19, 2013.
Born on July 19, 1948, Kabir was enrolled as an advocate in 1973 and practised in the district court and the Calcutta High Court.
He was appointed as a permanent judge in the Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990.
Kabir was thereafter appointed as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court on March 1, 2005 and was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on September 9, 2005.
Seven years later, he was appointed as the 39th Chief Justice of India, a post he held for 292 days. PTI HMP SMN
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A post shared by Amtrak (@amtrak) on Jan 16, 2017 at 4:22pm PST
Welcome to your happy place. #Amtrak : @yo_scoot A post shared by Amtrak (@amtrak) on Feb 9, 2017 at 2:27pm PST
This affordable adventure was devised by blogger and travel expert Derek Low, and is the perfect way to travel across the USA.Kickstart your cross-country journey in San Francisco, where you will witness the breathtaking coastal views of the San Francisco Bay and travel through cities like Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago and New York. Along the way you will see the Sierra Nevada mountains, witness beautiful desert sunsets, see the Great Plains in Colarado and Kansas and travel along the upper Hudson River. Enjoy the best views from the 'Sightseer Lounge Cars', which feature floor-to-ceiling windows and comfortable chairs. The journey also feautres a narration from historians and park rangers along the way, so you can learn about the areas you are passing. If you want to extend your trip and pay a bit more ($429 for a 15-day rail pass, as Derek did) you can stop off at some of the citites that you pass along the way. You can see Derek's entire journey and his travel tips on, and even have him book it for you, for the cool price of $49.
The thought of travelling around Australia would seem like a dream to many, but for this one guy it would seem the experience was anything but.
series of photos Imgur user Boedith whose real name Lars Fevang shared afrom his solo trip Down Under where he visited all the top tourist spots including Sydney and Melbourne, and spots along the coast from Brisbane to Cairns.
Although judging by his face, the 29-year-old didnt have the greatest of times.
Bondi Beach in Sydney, not at all like on TV.
(Lars Fevang)
Melbourne was just buildings.
(Lars Fevang)
Heard the Great Ocean Road was amazing, was just some stupid rocks.
(Lars Fevang)
Brisbane has a beach inside the city. Just stupid.
(Lars Fevang)
Thought the zoo would cheer me up. Turns out Steve Irwin is dead.
(Lars Fevang)
And koalas sleep all the time. Why even display those lazy things?
(Lars Fevang)
Went to see the most famous ship in Queensland. It cant even sail
(Lars Fevang)
Enjoy the view they said. Didnt even see sharks
(Lars Fevang)
Finally tried renting a car when I got to Cairns to lighten my mood.
(Lars Fevang)
So I got out of there. Australia sucks.
(Lars Fevang)
Lars, from Toensberg in Norway, made the six-week trip to Australia after spending six years in a military uniform and needing some time to unwind.
And unwind he did dont let the photos fool you. The traveller admitted he, in fact, had an awesome time away and enjoyed every minute of it.
I took those selfies and sent back to my friends in Norway while I was travelling, he said. They were quite jealous of my trip, so I tried to convince them that they were not missing out on anything.
They didnt buy it and became more jealous every time I sent them a new selfie, so I kept doing it. It was only last week, when I was looking through some photos on my laptop, that I thought of posting them on Imgur.
He says he never thought the pictures would go viral, but reckons the people who find them funny get his sarcastic humour.
And maybe we have seen enough perfect smiling selfies from people in front of famous tourist spots, added Fevang. Lets get grumpy.
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The popular South Indian actor who was allegedly raped in Kochi on Friday night has filed rape charges against the culprits. Members from the film fraternity will protest against the incident at Ernakulam from 6pm today.
By India Today Web Desk: A popular Kerala actor, who has acted in over 70 Malayalam films, was allegedly raped inside her car in Kochi on Friday night.
According to latest updates, the culprits will face rape charges under Section 376 of the Indian penal code. In addition to this, members from the film fraternity will protest against the incident at Ernakulam from 6pm today.
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Seven more have been detained in relation to the case. Three individuals have already been arrested, including the main accused Sunil Kumar AKA Pulsar Suni.
What happened exactly:
On late Friday night, the actor was in her car when a gang stopped and forced themselves into it near Athani and Angamaly. The culprits allegedly raped her till they stopped the car at Palarivattom. The actor reported that both her former driver as well as current driver were involved.
Reportedly, the culprits took compromising photos and videos of the actor. The actor escaped and reached a director's house in Kakkannad. The director called the police who arrived at the house and recorded the actor's statements.
Several Malayalam film personalities such as Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier and Rima Kallingal have spoken against the unfortunate incident.
ALSO READ: Manju Warrier to play Kamala Das in the latter's biopic, not Vidya Balan
ALSO READ: Baahubali to The Ghazi Attack, why is the South doing high-concept films better?
WATCH: Seven detained in Kerala actor molestation case, rape charges filed
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Reports suggest that while 20 army personnel including an officer lost their lives in avalanches in the Valley, six soldiers were killed during counter-insurgency operations across the state that led to the killing of 22 militants as well.
By Shuja-ul-Haq : According to a recent report, the security establishment in the Valley has said that 22 militants have been killed in last 50 days of 2016. This is the highest since the year 2010.
The Army has also lost 26 soldiers in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir in the first two months of 2017. The forces have stepped up the heat against militants with a massive push being given to counter insurgency operations. Nearly 50 operations have conducted in Kashmir since January 1, 2017 and among them 16 operations have resulted in either killing (22) or arrest of three militants.
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Reports suggest that while 20 army personnel including an officer lost their lives in avalanches in the Valley, six soldiers were killed during counter-insurgency operations across the state that led to the killing of 22 militants as well.
Among the security force personnel killed was an officer of the rank of Major, who laid down his life while battling militants in Handwara area of Kupwara district on February 14. Three militants were killed in the operation. Earlier that day, three soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with militants in Hajin area of Bandipora district while one ultra was also killed, they said.
After Burhan Wani's encounter and the subsequent unrest for about four months, there are reports of a surge in local militants. As per intelligence reports approximately 100 have gone missing from homes in South and North Kashmir. Most of them are presumed to have joined militancy.
Also Read
India vs haters: Kashmir stone-pelters plan petrol bombs after Army chief puts protesters on notice
Political row erupts in Kashmir as Parrikar supports General Rawat's warning
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Cheating Frenchman sues Uber for unmasking his mistress
FRANCE: An adulterous businessman in southern France is seeking damages of up to 45 million euros (B1.68 billion) from Uber over his wifes discovery of his extra-marital rides, his lawyer and a report said this week.
sextransporttechnology
By AFP
Friday 17 February 2017, 05:49PM
The bug in the Uber software was not a one-off case and had been experienced by other users. Photo: AFP
The man, from the glitzy Riviera area on the southern coastline, claims he once connected to the ride-hailing application via his wifes phone to request a driver.
Despite using the log-off function, the application continued to send her updates afterwards, revealing his travel history and arousing suspicions about his lover, Le Figaro newspaper said.
The couple have since divorced.
My client was the victim of a bug in an application, his lawyer David-Andre Darmon said after the case was lodged at a court in Grasse in south-east France.
Theres a function to disconnect but the session was not disconnected and the bug has caused him problems in his private life, Darmon added.
He declined to comment on claims in Le Figaro that he had sought damages of 45 million euros, saying only that his client wished to remain discreet and retain his anonymity.
The newspaper said the bug in the Uber software was not a one-off case and had been experienced by other users.
Uber said in a statement that it would not comment on the case underway but that the best possible protection of clients personal details was a priority.
Police arrest Krabi power plant protest leaders
BANGKOK: Authorities have detained five leaders of a group protesting outside Government House against a coal-fired power plant in Krabi.
environmenteconomicsconstructionnatural-resourcespollutiontourismpolice
By Bangkok Post
Sunday 19 February 2017, 12:27PM
Five protest leaders have been arrest in Bangkok. Photo: Bangkok Post
The arrests came a day after the National Energy Policy Committee (NEPC), chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, gave the nod to the construction of the 800-megawatt plant to be sited in Nua Khlong district.
A brief scuffle broke out between protesters and police on Friday afternoon following the approval.
Three key coordinators of Save the Andaman from Coal were arrested at the Office of the Civil Service Commission, opposite Government House, at 9.30am on Saturday.
They were Prasitthichai Nunual, ML Rungkhun Kitiyakara and Akkaradet Chakchinda.
Two other leaders -- Banjong Nasae, president of Thai Sea Watch Association, and Thatpong Kaedum, a local community rights activist -- were taken away in the afternoon. They were detained by army military police and officers at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok for "interrogation".
Police put 12 other activists into a van as a tussle broke out, but the vehicle managed to leave the site.
Pol Lt Gen Surachet Hakpan, chief of the Patrol and Special Operation Division, said police discharged the 12 after filing their records and adjusting their attitudes, saying that they were freed without charge.
Kwankanok Kasirawat, a member of Save the Andaman from Coal whose husband was detained by the police, said she would defy police orders to leave the area until she had met with her husband and the others.
She said there needed to be more people meeting outside Government House to show their opposition to the government's decision to go ahead with the Krabi plant.
About 100 Krabi residents were staying near to Government House and the number is expected to swell considerably after news that representatives from Save the Andaman from Coal's 51 allies are going to join the group in Bangkok.
An activist who declined to be named said the detention of the five key leaders had reduced the group's ability to move around and so the next steps must be considered carefully.
Col Winthai Suvaree, spokesman of the National Council for Peace and Order, said the leaders were taken for talks to find a solution to the issue. Police have not yet pressed any charges against them, he said.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the arrests were made because the protesters failed to disperse or move to a designated protest area set aside by authorities, who were trying to negotiate with the group.
The demonstrators had used force to pressure the officials and showed their intention to camp out at Government House, as well as incite others to join in, he said. "The 2015 Public Assembly Act has clear guidelines that demonstrators must comply with, and Government House is a restricted area [to demonstrations]," Lt Gen Sansern said.
He said the Civil Court on Monday will consider a petition brought by police to end the demonstration.
The petition was lodged by Pol Lt Col Supak Wongsawat, deputy superintendent of Dusit district police, on Friday.
Lt Gen Sansern called on the public to look at the whole picture in respect of the country and the future of the people in the South rather than focus on the protest.
He insisted there were still a lot of people supporting the coal-fired power plant which is needed to meet rising electricity demand and prevent power outages in the South.
He noted coal transporters would not obstruct the navigation routes of fishing trawlers or affect tourism in the area, while modern equipment will installed at the plant to ward off pollution.
Responding to the calls for the use of palm oil to produce electricity instead of coal, Lt Gen Sansern said the cost of palm oil-based power generation is as much as B8.42 per unit, compared with B3.78 per unit of fuel oil which is currently used to produce electricity at the Krabi power plant.
As a palm oil-based power plant could have an annual capacity of 2,400 million units of electricity, the cost of power would rise by B11 billion a year.
Meanwhile, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has vowed to press ahead with the coal-fired power plant in Krabi following the NEPC's approval of the project.
Egat deputy governor Saharath Boonpotipukdee said the agency would strictly comply with the laws in connection with the area management, including steps to foster public participation as well as enhance public input and acceptance before the project goes ahead.
The environmental health impact assessment (EHIA) of the project is now being considered by an expert committee and the National Environment Board, said Mr Saharath, who is also the Egat spokesman.
If it is approved, the project would be presented at the cabinet for approval.
He insisted the project would strictly adhere to the guidelines outlined by the tripartite committee on the coal-fired power plant project in Krabi.
"Egat affirmed the coal-fired power plant in Krabi will be environmentally friendly and it will take care of quality of life of the communities surrounding the plant," Mr Saharath said.
Meanwhile, an Egat source said the agency has made the Krabi coal power plant its top priority. If the project is not allowed to go ahead, it will make it impossible for any other coal power plant.
National human rights commissioner Angkana Neelapaijit visited the protesters and said that the human rights office is considering making a statement about reminding the government it needs to understand people's rights and the freedom to hold a peaceful protest.
She said the government should wait for the court's verdict on whether the protest is legal or not before making an arrest.
Civil networks have stepped up calls for the government to scrap the coal-fired power plant and release the detained activists.
Read original story here.
The idea of helium-3 mined from moon fulfilling the world's energy needs has fascinated many for years.
Helium-3 mined from the moon could help meet the world's energy needs (Photo: Reuters)
By India Today Web Desk: According to a scientist associated with ISRO, India could be able to meet its entire energy requirements by mining resources from the moon within the next two decades.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Sivathanu Pillai, a distinguished professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said all of India's energy requirements needs could be met by helium-3 mined from the moon.
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"By 2030, this process target will be met," Pillai said while at the three-day ORF-Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue, organised by Observer Research Foundation.
Pillai, a former chief of BrahMos Aerospace, said mining lunar dust, which is rich in helium-3 is a priority programme for the ISRO. Pillai also said that other countries too are working on similar projects that there is enough helium on the moon to meet the energy needs of the worlds.
"In a few decades, people will be going to the moon for honey-moon," Pillai quipped during his address.
The idea of harvesting energy from the moon has fascinated both science fiction and reality. The European Space Agency notes on its website that it is believed "this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products."
(With inputs from IANS)
Also read: Eugene Cernan, last astronaut to walk on moon, dies at 82
Also read: Chinese daily appreciates ISRO but says we lag behind the US and China
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How 19th-century Sioux Falls became the 'Divorce Colony' for women
Sioux Falls became famous in the late 19th century for its favorable divorce laws, but only wealthy women could afford the endeavour.
It's our annual Labour Weekend tradition ...The Sound 'Hall Of Fame' Countdown... Where we honor the greatest 500 songs of all time as voted by you.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) A national dam safety conference to deliberate challenges in implementing Central Water Commissions Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) culminated today in Uttarakhands Roorkee.
Around 400 national and overseas experts shared during the two-day conference their experiences, innovations and technologies to help rework strategies for effectively managing uncertainties associated with dam design, construction and maintenance.
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Water Resources Ministry Secretary Amarjit Singh had yesterday inaugurated the conference, organised by Central Water Commission (CWC) along with Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam and IIT-Roorkee, an official statement said.
The Ministry had launched DRIP in 2012 to rehabilitate and improve 225 large dams, which it observed, "may experience distress if not paid attention to" on account of growing old (around 170 dams exceed age of 100 years).
DRIP was launched also to bring about institutional reforms and strengthen regulatory measures pertaining to safe and financially-sustainable dam operations.
The project is being implemented in Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. PTI ENM DIP
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Ritu Menons book is a travelogue, encompassing 2004 to 2015. Travel books are valid when the authors personality or expertise give special importance and analysis to the places s/he visits, or because the places visited are themselves rarely travelled and unique. Neither is the case in this book. It is old material, the potted history and political analysis offered are out of date and superficial, the venues are well known and the author brings nothing new to the narrative. Her views and those of her numerous uninteresting companions are uniformly banal. Curiously, she scorns the very tourist industry, which she serves to promote. The sketches in the book are amateurish and unhelpful, and the absence of maps is a serious omission.
Farrukh Dhondys book is even more out of date, referring to the authors stay in UK in the 1960s. It is for Hachette to answer why it has chosen to publish these short pieces about Dhondys years as a naive undergraduate, and also to explain why the book is described as a work of fiction (when) any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental, when the actual names of real people occur throughout the work, which is clearly autobiographical. This book, neither entertaining nor interesting, is about an archaic setting and archaic notions. Dhondy can doubtless write well, and he is able to convince the reader that what he describes really happened, but he is worth reading only when he is self-deprecating an aspect all too rare, since this book reveals him to be both an egotist and a snob.
Unlike legitimate doubts about Dhondys book, Gainds book is undoubtedly fiction, relating to an Indian ruler in 1909 who is also a detective. The text suffers from many defects, not least the authors overwhelming desire to impress the reader with his great knowledge and vocabulary. Cliches and over-writing abound, and many parts of the book read like a spoof; thus one is subjected to phrases like a righteous pain in Sikanders regal behind and charging into the bedroom like Cardigan at Balaclava.
This story is, when boiled down to the essentials, a straightforward locked room mystery that would have required 150 pages instead of the 328 if the excessive verbosity had been excluded. Despite its excessive length, there is no development of character, most descriptions appear as if taken from an auction catalogue, and some anachronistic expressions cannot be dated to 1909. Gaind calls this the first maharaja mystery. He would be well advised to introspect and not essay a second one until he can desist from playing the intellectual; gives his uniformly disagreeable characters, including the hero, much more depth; makes all his non-heroes less fat, his women less heroine-like and puts his dictionary and Thesaurus in the dustbin. He would also do well to get over his racial bigotry against Europeans, which he displays ostentatiously to win Indian nationalistic approval a bias which does not, needless to say, seem to apply to European females.
Nihal Singhs novella about the Emergency in India from 1975 to 1977 begins with introducing four characters, a former anarchist, a Muslim conformist, a gritty woman reporter committed to her country and profession, and a veteran journalist-cum-social activist. This promising start, however, is not sustained; the author diverges into disquisitions, which are excessive distractions in view of the brevity of the book, into Indian politics, the cultural inheritance from the British Raj, the impact of censorship on the print media, Indian tastes and traits, the Soviet Union, Bengal under the CPM, and the internal politics of The Statesman of that time. There are short-lived shunts backwards and forwards in time, and some anachronisms the BJP was hardly a force in the mid-1970s, and Ferraris were totally unknown in Delhi in that period. The gritty woman reporter, who turns out to be the main character, proceeds to Dubai and Singapore, breaking the connections with the Emergency. The remaining three lead characters also do not fulfil their fictional missions; the former anarchist moves to Austria, the Muslim to Belgium, and the activist is jailed and swiftly disappears altogether from the narrative. Love, which is mentioned in the title, or more accurately sex, is described as being practiced exclusively with non-Indians; is that because it is more plausible in Indias notoriously sex-starved society?
As for the Emergency, Nihal Singh observes it was by no means a dictatorship of the Middle East or Latin American variety, being more like vegetarian fascism and his views of The Statesman of the day will no doubt be controversial for example, Cushrow Irani by using bugging devices was playing the role of an amateur Hercule Poirot . The author notes that the Emergency was felt less in the non-Congress ruled states. Some characters, including many of Indira Gandhis close associates, make an appearance by name, but do not remain in the text long enough to give evidence of their own disagreeable personalities. Sanjay Gandhi is described as living in his own bubble.
In general, this book is an opportunity lost. Nihal Singh is a journalist who has met everyone that matters from the 1960s onwards, and has personal knowledge and insights into all the dramatic periods of Indian history and foreign policy over six decades that would be valuable today if set down. But fiction is not the right vehicle for him to convey his thoughts on history or on those who made it for good or ill. This material would have made a greater impact as a factual essay.
The reviewer is indias former Foreign Secretary
For a long time, the world had conveniently divided Indian cinema between Satyajit Ray and Bollywood. That there was nothing in between as was evident from Penelope Houstons famous observation that as long as someone didnt come along to make a difference, Rays Bengal will be cinemas India. That was around the time creative young minds from across the country were discovering the art of cinema not just in the work of Ray but in the films of global masters like Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini, de Sica, Wajda and critics who went on to produce the French New Wave. The discovery reinforced the film society movement that Ray had begun in the 1940s and later found young enthusiasts like Adoor Gopalakrishnan studying direction and screenplay writing at the Pune film institute and then masterminding the emergence of the Chitralekha Film Society in Kerala. If the idea was to pave the way for a new kind of cinema literacy, there was no personal ambition till then to move from theatre, to which many of them were still attached, to an industry that posed many hurdles in India.
But the change had to come in the global response to Indian cinema. Adoor Gopalakrishnan may well claim to have destroyed some firm impressions when he emerged with a remarkable cinematic vocabulary in Swayamvaram in 1972. Parthajit Baruahs book is the latest in a series of studies on the work of Keralas most well-known filmmaker. Clearly he was never part of the popular scenario in his state.
But with quotes from foreign critics like Jean-Michel Frodon from France and Derek Malcolm from Britain as well as from senior contemporaries like Shyam Benegal, the author defines the credentials of a filmmaker who was justly regarded as the heir to Satyajit Ray in the eyes of world cinema. Derek Malcolm is quoted as saying, His films come from as deep within the culture of Kerala as Rays came from within Bengal. But, like Ray, his work easily transcends those boundaries. This is confirmed by the countless festivals and awards even though he may have just made around a dozen films that have found limited space in theatres. Malcolm goes on to note that Adoor is as strict with himself as Ray, refusing any compromise for the sake of popularity and his films not only have an acute sensibility but a force of expression that underlines the nature of what he wants to say. Gopalakrishnan himself has often acknowledged his debt to Ray in terms of the human appeal that runs through his work. But within that broad canvas, there are differences between the two that the author is quick to notice. While Ray was a great storyteller and delved into the wealth of Bengali literature from Tagore to the modern writers with original screenplays as well his younger contemporary in Kerala was not so keen on plot-driven material. His films are more cerebral, complex and metaphorical with long passages of silence. Ordinary people and everyday occurrences contribute to the larger picture of Keralas socio-economic realities and become an integral part of an artistic idiom.
If Rays characters are outspoken and the situations come alive with brilliant exchanges that can never really be translated into another language even in another part of India, Gopalakrishnans protagonists have a world within themselves that he loves to explore. In the process, he has never compromised with the principles of pure cinema and never really began to make films till he was ready to follow his artistic conscience. These are facets of his work that the author reveals in his study though much of it is carried over from earlier studies.
There is a chapter that deals at great length on the socio-political climate in Kerala that formed the backdrop of films like Kodiyettam and Mukhamukham. There are also efforts to depict a conscious effort to break away from typical images of Indian women in Swayamvaram, Elippathayam and Mathilukal where the characters represent the struggle of women to survive in a conservative society. But his women are never rebels. They are strong but cannot escape the compulsions of a male-dominated society. The author ascribes this to the debt that Gopalakrishnan owed to his mother just as he relates the non-violence of his male protagonists, even when they are confronted by injustice, to his firm attachment to Gandhian principles.
While all this gives the filmmaker the position he deserves in Malayalam cinema, the book seems to miss out on the broader canvas of Indian cinema. The Indian New Wave, when it did make an appearance, was more of a concept than a constructive movement. Baruah may have reasons to consider Gopalakrishnan as the most prominent ambassador of the generation that slipped into the parallel stream though it was Mrinal Sen who made Bhuvan Shome on a ridiculously low budget provided by the Film Finance Corporation and tasted what he had described as an unexpected success. Adoor himself never reached out to the FFC that began to support the new generation of filmmakers. The more pertinent question was what the new wave was all about apart from the fact that they were all in search of an alternative idiom that never really reached audiences and, if they did, produced a climate of confusion. And, finally, it never lasted long enough to challenge the powers of the establishment.
Baruah offers only a sketchy part of the history perhaps partly because Gopalakrishnan never really considered himself to be a segment of that alternative movement. Instead, he confronted political complexities in his own style as he did in Kathapurushan that offered a broad sweep of the socio-political changes from the 1940s that marked the period of the filmmakers childhood to the turbulent decades that followed. The pamphleteering that marked the protest of many of his contemporaries was replaced by the multiple realities, moral ambiguities and the introverted types that he turned into lasting images.
The author returns to the films to have a new look but, for those who have been following Gopalakrishnans work over the years, there would not be too many new insights.
Students of cinema or research scholars may still find enough material to make this study a worthwhile document. The author rightly recalls Swayamvaram as not just being a turning point in Malayalam film history in terms of themes and cinematic ideas like the use of sound effects but also as a social and artistic experience that can be further explored. Gopalakrishnan remains a master craftsman speaking with courage and subtlety in the language of cinema. This book could turn out to be a well-documented reference.
The reviewer is Director, The Statesman print Journalism school
Not far from where I live theres a landscape thats soaked in apocalyptic imagery. Thornton is a wild and sometimes bleak place, on the hills above Bradford, where the Bronte sisters were born before moving to Haworth, the place theyre more usually associated with, six miles away.
Thornton is farmland and scrub, beautiful in the summer sun, foreboding and often impassable in the depths of winter. Theres a place called Worlds End View, from where you feel it really is possible to sit out the apocalypse. There are scattered communities with Biblical names Egypt, Jerusalem, and Jericho, which even had its own monstrous walls in the Victorian era, massive ramparts that edged the road through and held back the mountains of waste from the stone quarries.
Theres a chapel that dates back to the 16th century, which is thought to have been one of the birthplaces of the English Dissenting Christianity movement. The land is well known to be the haunt of the Gytrash, a spectral black hound that snuffled its way into Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, born here 200 years ago.
Its a place that has soaked up history and stories, legends and folklore, tales that sit and ferment in the unforgiving stone, long outlasting those frail humans who first forged them. It has what we might call psycho-geography, an entwining of people and place, where humans influence the land and the land, in turn, makes its indelible mark on generations of people.
And Thornton is by no means alone in having this strong sense of history and myth about it, there will doubtless be a place just like it near where you live, or grew up. And this is what has informed a new book, Spirits of Place, which over the course of a dozen essays looks at the locations where stories are so embedded that they seem to become part of the landscape themselves.
The book is edited by Liverpool-based writer John Reppion, who used the title last year for a one-day event in his native city, at Calderstones Park. The park takes its name from the Neolithic chambered tomb on the site, which is thought to date back to 3,000 BCE and of which only six stones remain, covered with spiral engravings. The event there was a day of discussion and debate about how such places can transcend their mere physicality and carry with them, over hundreds and even thousands of years, the imprint of human interaction.
When I was a kid I always associated places with stories, things that had happened to me there or things I had heard about, says Reppion. And someone else will have their own experiences, or hear the same stories, and it creates this common human experience.
Psycho-geography is a commonly used term these days, and one of its most well known proponents is the writer Iain Sinclair. Although born in Cardiff, Sinclair is primarily known for his examinations of London and how its history is tied to places. His 2002 book, London Orbital, details his journey on foot around the M25, repositioning that bane of motorists everywhere as an occult bracelet around the capital, hung with the charms of dark deeds and echoes from the distant past.
Sinclair has contributed an essay to Spirits of Place, in which he abandons London for Palermo, Italy, exploring the ghosts that haunt its catacombs. Sinclair was the first person Reppion contacted when, after the Calderstones event, he decided to forge ahead with a book on the subject. But he was adamant that he didnt want Sinclair to write about London.
I dont live in London, Ive been there may be 30 times in my life, says Reppion. But nine times out of 10, when I read pieces like this, its about London. He pauses, and says, Ive nothing against London, or people who write about it, but not everyone lives there. I wanted to broaden out this discussion.
Sinclair on board, Reppion also recruited another legend of psycho-geography, Alan Moore. Once best known for his graphic novel work, including Watchmen and V for Vendetta, Moore has written two novels centred on his native Northampton; 1996s The Voice of the Fire and last years 1,200-page magnum opus, Jerusalem. Moore is also Reppions father-in-law, father of the writer Leah Moore, to who Reppion is married. With his editors hat on rather than in his son-in-law guise, Reppion asked Moore to step outside his Northampton-based comfort zone, just as he asked Sinclair to ignore London, and the resulting essay, Coal Memory, is about the seam of stories and folklore that runs alongside Britains buried cache of the black stuff.
Perhaps two obvious choices for the book, as Reppion says, There were plenty of people I could have asked to contribute, but they were all white British men of a certain age. Ive nothing against that; Im one myself. But I wanted this book to have a wider brief and show that this subject is something thats common to the entire world.
Thus we have stories from Gazelle Amber Valentine, a nomadic writer who criss-crosses America and Europe, charting its stories of Appalachian hillsides with lapsed or hidden mines abandoned Soviet Olympic training centres in Poland Albanian dirt tracks built for Roman chariots. Theres tales of the Philippines colonial influences and dark atrocities from Kristine Ong Muslim and reports of devils in Sri Lanka from Vajra Chandrasekera.
These are not ghost stories, not in the usual sense. They are a secret history of places we either know well or have never visited; off-the-beaten-track guides to the things that only happen because the stories people have told of them endure and remain, forever stitched into the buildings and natural landscape.
And it doesnt have to be ancient history that resonates with places. Warren Elliss essay in the book, A Compendium of Tides, marks how his home on the Thames Estuary has been shaped by the sinking of ships full of bombs, by secret, sealed military test sites, by abandoned sea forts.
Something I find fascinating is how the stories exist independently of the people, says Reppion. I can walk along to a place I know where something happened a long time ago, and know Im in the right place. Then I walk on, and someone I dont know comes behind me, and stops at the same place, and they know the story too.
An illustration of that does involve actual ghosts. Some years back, Reppion was writing a book about the tales of ghosts that were said to haunt Liverpool. He received two stories from people who didnt know each other, who both swore they had seen a ghostly Cavalier in a village on Merseyside one that the history books said the Civil War had never touched. Then he chanced upon one amateur local history pamphlet, which had the only record of an incident barely worth mentioning in the official histories a troop of Cavaliers had literally passed through the village, raiding it as they did so, and moved on.
That was my light bulb moment, I suppose, he says. Thats what got me thinking about how places can store up these stories. The Romans called it genius loci actual spirits of place. These days its taken to mean how a place can sort of have a personality, how stories and events are not just linked to a place but also influence and colour how people think about them.
Spirits of place, edited by John Reppion, is out now from Daily Grail Publishing
The Independent
China announced that it will suspend all coal imports from North Korea, a measure taken to comply with sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations.
The ban will be in place through December 31, according to a joint statement by China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs on Saturday, Efe news reported.
The statement said the decision was made to ensure China was complying with the UN Security Council's Resolution 2321, which was approved in late November and imposes new sanctions on North Korea in retaliation for its September 9 nuclear test.
The Council decided then that annual imports of coal from North Korea by member states should not exceed $400.9 million, or 7,500,000 metric tons, whichever is lower.
Saturday's announcement comes after news reports this week that China had turned back a shipment of North Korean coal worth around $1 million.
China in December had announced a temporary halt to imports of North Korean coal, saying the move was taken to ensure compliance with Resolution 2321.
China is the lone customer for North Korea's coal, one of the North Asian nation's only sources of hard currency.
The announcement follows Monday's poison-attack killing at Kuala Lumpur's airport of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The Chinese government has not commented on that crime except to say it was closely following the local authorities' investigation.
Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha will hold discussions tomorrow with his counterparts in ASEAN countries to strengthen digital connectivity.
The Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) is organising an inter-ministerial meeting between telecom ministers of ASEAN countries and India in New Delhi on February 20, 2017 to commemorate the 25th year of the ASEAN-India relations, according to a government statement.
"Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge), Manoj Sinha, will lead the discussions from Indian side," the statement said.
It added that Sinha will hold discussions with telecom ministers, senior government officials and industry leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos PDR, Indonesia and Bhutan.
The discussions will be held around strengthening and deepening digital connectivity between India and participating countries.
"The Indian government has expressed keen interest to partner with ASEAN countries in enabling Digital Connectivity between India and ASEAN region and also for enabling broadband within ASEAN countries. These digital connectivity projects are of strategic importance and can have a transformative impact on the economy and cooperation between ASEAN and India," the statement said.
India is committed to provide financial as well as technological support for projects that could include high-speed fiber optic networks, digital villages, rural broadband, national knowledge network, secured communication networks and telecom training and skill development, it added.
TEPC will also organise flagship event 'India Telecom 2017: An Exclusive International Business Expo' on February 21-22 in New Delhi to provide opportunities to Indian telecom exporters including SMEs and Startups to meet qualified overseas buyers.
"This event will witness more than 100 foreign high profile ICT industry delegates from over 30 countries. This event provides one to one meeting opportunities between buyers from different countries and Indian exporters who can enlighten them about their products and technology solutions," the statement said.
The Niti Aayog has reviewed progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project for which the ground breaking ceremony will take place during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this year.
The meeting chaired by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, was also attended by 20-member Japanese delegation last week, decided to expedite preliminary work and obtain environmental clearances. This was 4th meeting on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project.
"The review of the project was taken. Idea is that to put pressure on ground to implement it as soon as possible. We are making satisfactory progress," said a Niti Aayog official who attended the meeting.
The ground breaking ceremony, he said, would be held at the time of visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe some time later this year.
"A general consultant from Japan has started working on the project since December 2016 Next step would be to do Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)," the official said.
He further said on ground construction for the project will commence by the end of 2018 and the train service is likely to be operational from 2023.
The high speed railway line between the two prominent cities in Western India is expected to cover 508 km in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 kmph and operating speed of 320 kmph.
Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan.
While most part of the corridor is proposed to be on the elevated track, there will be a stretch after Thane creek towards Virar which will go under the sea as per the detailed project report by JICA.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The New Delhi Municipal Council has decided to conduct a safety audit to assess the structural stability of the buildings at the popular shopping hub Khan Market, after a similar exercise at Connaught Place.
The move by the civic authority was prompted by two incidents of roof collapse at Connaught Place within a fortnight, raising concern about the structural safety of the citys iconic buildings.
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Besides carrying out safety audit of heritage structures at Connaught Place, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has sealed 21 rooftop resto-bars for violation of norms.
"Notices had been issued time and again to the owners of restaurants and outlets that have been found to be violating structural norms, but the roof collapses have definitely rung alarm bells. To eliminate the possibility of another such tragedy, similar exercise will be conducted at Khan Market as well," a senior NDMC official said.
"After the safety audit is over at Khan Market, the defaulter units will be asked to submit structural stability certificates. Though the market doesnt have any heritage structure, there is a need to conduct an audit as some residential flats have been modified as shops and restaurants," the official said.
The NDMC had formed a six-member panel, comprising structural safety experts from IIT-Delhi, officials of Central Public Works Department and NDMC and the Sub Divisional Magistrate of the area, to inspect the collapse sites at Connaught Place.
"While the audit team is yet to compile its report, it has been observed that the terraces of certain buildings were overburdened with the weight of generator sets, furniture, water tanks and other heavy equipment resulting in the crumbing of old buildings.
"Seepage, cracks in walls and dilapidated plasters have also weakened the foundation of the buildings at Connaught Place," the official said. PTI GJS SMN DIP
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The heir to the Samsung Group once again denied bribery and other charges levelled at him on Sunday during the second consecutive day of questioning by South Korean prosecutors in connection with the swirling corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her friend.
Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of the largest multinational in the country, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of bribery and other crimes in connection with the corruption case which led to the impeachment of South Korea's first woman President, Efe news reported.
Investigators suspect the 48-year-old tycoon instructed the conglomerate to give financial support to Choi Soon-sil, nicknamed the "South Korean female Rasputin" in reference to her close relationship with Park, in exchange for the government's backing of a merger between two of the group's subsidiaries.
Seoul's central court authorised Lee's arrest after the prosecution presented new charges and evidence regarding obstruction of justice and the violation of a law on the transfer of assets abroad, among others.
During the second consecutive day of questioning, Lee denied all the allegations and said the money was paid to organisations linked to Choi under pressure from Park, sources related to the case told Yonhap News Agency.
The magnate also told prosecutors that Samsung did not expect to receive any favours in exchange for the contributions made.
Lee and other Samsung personnel previously admitted having paid about 43 billion won ($37 million) to entities allegedly controlled by Choi.
The Samsung heir will remain detained while the prosecution begins the 20-day process of filing formal charges against him, while subsequent procedures could extend to three months.
Prosecutors are expected to continue interrogations to shed light on multi-million dollar payments made by Samsung and other large South Korean corporations, which are being investigated separately.
Haryana is on the edge as the ongoing Jat agitation seeking reservation in education and government jobs has once again raised the spectre of last year's violence that killed 30 people.
Members of the Jat community have been sitting on dharnas in 19 of the state's 22 districts since January 29.
The fresh protests come at a time when Haryana is observing golden jubilee of its formation.
The images of mobs setting houses, schools, eateries and other places on fire during last year's quota agitation are still fresh in public memory.
The Delhi-Ambala National Highway, the gateway for travel to Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, had remained blocked for days.
The Manohar Lal Khattar government had drawn flak from various quarters, including the opposition, for its alleged inept handling of the situation last year.
A complete breakdown of the official machinery was witnessed between February 19 and 22 last year.
Later, a committee headed by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Parkash Singh probed the acts of omission and commission of officers during the Jat quota violence and indicted several officers for not taking appropriate steps, thus allowing the situation to worsen.
As many as 1,196 shops were set ablaze, 371 vehicles torched, 30 schools/colleges were burnt, 75 houses were set on fire, 53 hotels/marriage palaces were devastated, 23 petrol pumps were attacked and vandalised, the committee had observed in its report.
An industry body had pegged the loss at around Rs.34,000 crore in last year's violence.
The mode of protests this year is giving sleepless nights to the first ever BJP government in Haryana, a state carved out in 1966.
Despite the government assuring the Jats that it will do whatever possible within the ambit of the law and the agitation leader promising that the stir will be peaceful, the growing number of protesters with each passing day is proving a tightrope walk for the Khattar government, which does not want to allow a repeat of last year's situation.
Notably, opposition parties the Indian National Lok Dal and the Congress have given their support, asking the Khattar government to fulfil the promises it had made to the Jat community.
Jats are demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, besides withdrawing of criminals cases registered against several youths of the community during last year, release of those lodged in jail, compensation and government jobs to the next of kin of those killed in last year's agitation.
Like last year, this year too the epicentre of the stir is Rohtak, Sonipat, Hissar and Jhajjar districts.
The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS) is spearheading the fresh stir and is being led by its national president Yashpal Malik (55), who hails from Uttar Pradesh and has no link with Haryana.
Last year, Haryana Police had slapped a sedition case against him. However, Malik has been active and has been criss-crossing the state this year during fresh round of the stir to drum up support.
The Haryana government's decision to grant reservation to Jats and five other communities in jobs and educational institutions under the newly created Backward Class 'C' category was challenged last year after a PIL was filed in this regard before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The PIL was filed by a Bhiwani resident, who challenged the constitutional validity of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, passed by the assembly on March 29 last year.
The Act provides 10 per cent quota in Class III and IV posts and educational institutions and six per cent quota in Class I and II posts to Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Muslim Jats in Schedule-III.
The government has been trying to defend its quota law since. While reservation continues to be the main demand of the Jats, the protesters are also putting pressure on the government for other demands as well.
The state had last year enacted a law for providing reservation to Jats in consultation with all stakeholders, but later on the court has stayed it and now the matter would have to be dealt with in a legal manner only, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said.
The state government has appointed a senior advocate to plead the case in the court, Khattar had said earlier.
"Once the stay is vacated, the state government would request the Centre to include the Act (granting reservation to Jats and others) in the 9th Schedule," he said.
The Khattar government has also announced a fresh compensation, this time for "innocent persons" who were injured during the 2016 Jat reservation stir.
The BJP government in the state had last week formed a five-member committee, headed by Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, to hold talks with the agitating Jats.
Recently, a meeting between representatives of a Haryana government-appointed committee and leaders of the Jat agitation remained inconclusive.
The fresh round of stir is a sort of tightrope walk for the BJP government, which does not want to let the law and order situation get out of hands this time, even as it is wary of taking any strict action that alienates the predominant Jats totally.
In view of the fresh Jat stir, paramilitary forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, while the state police is maintaining a strict vigil.
The Haryana government heaved a sigh of relief on Sunday as the Balidan Diwas (martyr day) observed by the agitating Jats passed peacefully. However, by passing a fresh eight-point resolution to intensify the protest in the coming days, the Jat agitators have once again put the state government in a tight spot.
Under their agenda announced, the agitators-led by Akhil Bharatiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) president Yashpal Malik announced to intensify their protest and spreading to Delhi and increasing more protest spots in 10 districts from coming March 1.
Resolution to the President Pranab Mukherjee, encircling Parliament, seeking support for the ongoing Jat agitation from elected representatives, including MPs and MLAs are among the main points unanimously passed by the agitators today.
Talking to The Statesman, ABJASS national president Yashpal Malik said, Today 8-point resolution was passed unanimously by the community. It has been decided that the protest should be intensified to pressurise the state government. We are stick to our demands including withdrawal of cases registered against the members of our community during the previous agitations.
However, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today made it clear that demands of the agitators would be fulfilled within the scope of the law.
Meanwhile, the second round of talks will take place between the agitators and the state governments committee at Panipat on Monday.
Apart from heavy deployment of state police police and paramilitary force, drone cameras were monitoring the agitation at various places.
No untoward incident was reported in the state today and the traffic movement on national and state highways bin the state was also reported normal.
Keeping in view the situation, the state government had deputed senior IAS officers to guide and support the Deputy Commissioners in eight districts.
These senior officers had been asked to reach the respective district latest by the noon of February 18 and remain present there till the forenoon of February 20 to appropriately guide.
Meanwhile, the ongoing agitation in 20 districts of the state led by Malik today completed peaceful 21 days.
Even after the Balidan Diwas went peacefully, the state government has put the civil and police administration in all the districts on high alert. Apart from heavy deployment of state police personnel, a total 37 companies of paramilitary forces and nearly 7000 home guard personnel have been put into positions in the state to avoid any untoward incident likewise the previous year.
The CID wing of the state in its recent report too has expressed concern over the growing numbers of the agitators at protest spots. Besides, it was also added in the report that the agitation could turn violent.
The Jat agitation in February last year left nearly 31 people dead while more than 200 injured. During the violence erupted last year, government and private properties were damaged and set on fire.
A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal donated Rs.50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharmila's People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party, Aam Aadmi Party Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann also donated his one-month salary.
"As a member of Parliament m donating my one-month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n justice in Manipur (sic)," Mann tweeted on Sunday.
In response, Sharmila's PRJA party tweeted, "Thanks a lot Mann sir for supporting our campaign and believeing in us. We will change Manipur for good".
Kejriwal on Saturday donated Rs.50,000 to PRJA and also urged the people to donate generously and support her.
"I am donating Rs.50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her," he tweeted.
With shortage of funds and manpower, PRJA party has taken to online public funding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses.
PRJA is Manipurs first regional party which has taken to public funding to finance the party's poll expenses.
According to PRJA sources, online crowd funding with a slogan "Ten For a Change" is an idea to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses.
(With inputs from Agencies)
AAP is expected to finalise its first list of candidates for MCD polls by the month-end with over 10,000 aspirants are eying the 272 seats.
The party plans to take on BJP and Congress by focusing on alleged financial irregularities in the civic bodies and sanitation.
"Sanitation will be our major focus in the MCD polls as it is their primary duty to ensure cleanliness in the city.
Delhi saw an outbreak of vector-borne diseases as the MCDs failed in their duty," AAP's Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey said.
Delhi is governed by multiple-agencies and civic bodies are a crucial cog in the wheel of day-to-day governance.
With the state government under its control, AAP now intends to wrest power from BJP which has been managing the civic bodies.
Over the past few months, AAP has been raising issues related to alleged corruption in the MCDs.
More than 10,097 aspirants have declared their desire to contest on party tickets. Of these, 3,522 are from North MCD, 3,673 from South and 2,902 from East MCD.
The party has already formed a screening committee whose functioning will be reviewed by senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Pandey and Delhi government ministers Kapil Mishra and Satyendar Jain are also a part of the committee.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to return to the national capital from Bengaluru this week where he is undergoing a naturopathy course. A final decision on the candidates is expected after it.
"We should come up with the first list of candidates by the month-end. The review process is on and names will be given to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) which will take a final call on this," Pandey added.
Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang on Sunday decided to step down to make way for a consensus candidate to succeed him.
Zeliang, in a letter to the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) said he has decided to step down to break the deadlock between the agitating groups and the government.
The chief minister has called for an emergency meeting of the NPF legislature party at the state banquet hall on Monday which will be followed by a meeting of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) legislature party at the same venue.
Agitating tribal groups have been demanding Zeliang's resignation over his decision to conduct civic bodies' elections with 33 per cent reservation for women.
More than 50 legislators "signed a letter of support" on Saturday in favour of the state's lone Lok Sabha member, Neiphiu Rio, as the new chief minister, to replace Zeliang.
The 60-member assembly has ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition government comprising of 48 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and eight Independents.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said that Delhi residents can avail facility of MRI, PET and CT scan tests for free at 21 private laboratories after showing referral letter from the selected 30 government hospitals.
Jain made the announcement at the 22nd Foundation Day of Delhi government's Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here.
Reiterating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's commitment towards providing quality health facilities to Delhi people, Jain said: "All Delhiites can now avail free MRI, PET and CT Scan check-up at 21 private labs in Delhi."
He said patients either referred by the 30 Delhi government hospitals or 23 state-run polyclinics in the city can avail these facilities.
He said that MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging), PET (positron emission tomography) scan and CT (computed tomography) scan are considered costlty tests, but the Delhi government is making them free for all Delhiites.
"The Delhi government has done an agreement with 21 private laboratories for the tests. Such tests are costly and even in AIIMS people have to pay between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for MRI tests, but we are getting it done for free," Jain added.
He also appreciated the efforts made by the forensic experts, who worked hard to bring down the pendency in all divisions, specially at the DNA unit of FSL.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are showering love these days on many independent candidates, who contested in the recently concluded Uttarakhand Assembly elections.
The attempt to showcase new affection is due to the splendid performance of independent candidates in about a dozen assembly seats, where they gave tough fight to both the major national parties.
Although the result of the Uttarakhand Assembly polls will be announced on March 11, the feedback available indicates independents will finish among top three in a dozen seats.
The assembly seats include Kedarnath, Purola, Ghansali, Devprayag, Narendra Nagar, Tehri, Dhanolti, Sehaspur, Rishikesh, Srinagar, Kaladhungi and Bhimtal. Initial trends available indicates independent candidates will hold the master key for the new government in the state.
Even in the last state assembly election three independent candidates-Harish Chand Durgapal, Dinesh Dhanai and Mantri Prasad Naithani- surprised all by defeating national party candidates to win their seats. All the three joined the collation government headed by the Congress in Uttarakhand and were rewarded with cabinet ministers posts.
The Congress and the BJP are facing challenging times, as many of their rebels contested to prove the decision of the party wrong for denying them ticket. The public support of these rebels have surprised both the parties.
Both the Congress and the BJP are claiming to win a comfortable majority by claiming over 40 seat in the 70-member house. But, in case they fall short of the magical figure of 36, the two parties will require support of independents and other small parties to form the government.
So, the Congress and the BJP have begun the exercise to develop confidence and faith with independent candidates. It is a new found love by the two national parties.
A cluster of films based on the biodiversity-rich Nagaland, showcased at the seventh National Science Film Festival, have kick-up a debate on hunting practices and conservation in northeast India's tribal communities.
Revolving around the Yimchunger tribe of Nagaland in the state's remote Fakim village, the 30-minute film "Point and Shoot" clinched three awards at the fest that concluded on Saturday.
"It explores the relationship of the hunting community with animals and birds found in the forests around Fakim. My film documents the pros and cons of hunting versus conservation. It is debate for you to figure out what you would choose," director Harsimran Kaur Anand told IANS.
Set in the same village, Savyasachi Anju Prabir's "Miilelam Miiyoh" captures a "perceptive account of the changes in the tribe's relationship with nature".
In the same vein, Sesino Yhoshu's award-winning "The Pangti Story" is about the Pangti village's residents who transformed from hunting Amur Falcons to saving them.
Amur Falcons, the longest travelling raptors in the world, fly from Siberia every fall to roost in Pangti, a small village in Nagaland. In 2012, Nagaland made global news when thousands of these raptors were mercilessly hunted.
The film explores the "transition of an entire village from one that slaughtered hundreds and thousands of the winged visitors to their most fervent preservationist".
The festival-competition was organised by Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science & Technology (DST) and and National Council of Science Museums. A total of 67 films were screened.
According to DST officials, the aim is to help India make a mark in the global science film festival scenario by encouraging students and enthusiasts to develop acumen for science films.
More than a month after the fracas over replacing Mahatma Gandhi's pictures with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its annual diaries and calendars, the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has been served a stern memo by the Centre for its now-infamous decision, official sources said here.
The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has shot off a detailed memo to the KVIC management stipulating stringent guidelines to be adhered to in future.
The memo has ordered the KVIC to henceforth send any such proposal for the approval of Prime Minister's Office (PMO), routed through the Ministry of MSME, which has administrative jurisdiction over KVIC.
"KVIC has to ensure that the office of ministers/Secretary is kept informed of any such major event/activities which are undertaken by KVIC as part of its promotional activity," the memo of February 14 makes clear.
It also asked the KVIC to ensure that in future, it should send any such mails to the official email ids of of the PS of the ministers, secretary and officers of the ministry.
"The private email id should not be used for any official correspondence. The (above) directives should be followed scrupulously," warned the memo, signed by KVIC Deputy CEO YK Baramatikar.
The latest communication from the Centre has effectively debunked the claims made by KVIC's top officials in recent weeks that it had reportedly sought the PMO's clearance before replacing Mahatma Gandhi's pictures with Modi's in its 2017 wall calendars and desktop diaries.
The issue was first highlighted on January 12 when KVIC officials and employees were outraged after large stocks of the 2017 New Year calendars and diaries were received at the KVIC head office in Mumbai.
It showed Modi weaving khadi on large 'charkha' in the same iconic and historic pose as Mahatma Gandhi.
While Gandhi's historic picture weaving khadi on a simple wooden charkha, wearing his trademark loin cloth, is legendary and imprinted in the minds of the masses since generations, Modi comes across in his signature attire of kurta-pyjama-waistcoat, weaving khadi on a slightly modernised charkha.
The employees even staged a symbolic "silent, soul-cleansing" protest wearing black bands on their mouths during lunch hour that day, and were later threatened with disciplinary action by the KVIC management.
At that time, Saxena sought to defend the move by saying "the entire khadi industry is based on Gandhiji's philosophy, ideals and ideas, he is the soul of KVIC, so there was no question of ignoring him."
"In fact, PM Modi is khadi's biggest brand ambassador, and his vision matches KVIC's, of 'Make In India' by making villages self-sufficient, 'skill development' by generating employment among the rural masses, infusing modern technology for khadi weaving, innovations and marketing. Plus, the PM is a youth icon," Saxena explained to IANS after the controversy erupted.
While plans to take action against the employees and its union leaders were quietly dropped a few days later, the Shiv Sena-led Khadi Gramodyog Karmachari Sena (KGKS) demanded the removal of Saxena and other officials responsible for the faux pas.
"While the Centre has sought to streamline the KVIC in such matters in future, it has remained silent on whether any officials would be punished for misusing the PM's name and photo in this manner," a senior KGKS official, requesting anonymity, told IANS.
The issue had split the KVIC horizontally with the officers association supporting the chairman, and the employees unions opposing the move to replace Gandhi with Modi.
The KGKS also demanded that Mahatma Gandhi should figure prominently on all calendars and diaries of the KVIC henceforth and appropriate directives must be issued in this regard.
Snowballing into a raging nationwide controversy, the KVIC decision was flayed by all political parties including the Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, as well as prominent Gandhians, among them Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
Many have demanded that the entire lot of calendars and diaries be withdrawn and fresh ones printed bearing the pictures of Mahatma Gandhi.
By Press Trust of India: (REOPENS FGN 24)
(REOPENS FGN 24)
Prabhu also held talks with Nepalese minister Lekhak on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
They discussed effective implementation of past agreed upon development projects, Indias commitment toward expansion of postal services, development and expansion of railway line in Nepal and expediting construction of other ongoing projects.
Lekhak expressed hope that India would continue its support to Nepals infrastructure development activities.
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Prabhu said India wants to develop good neighbourly relations with Nepal and would continue its support and cooperation to the country. PTI SBP PMS
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Every child has a fundamental right to get the "love and affection" from both the parents engaged in a marital discord, the Delhi High Court has said while giving the father the right to meet his minor son.
"Depriving a child of the love and affection of both the parents is not in the interest of the child. The custodial parent who tries to alienate the child from the other parent does not realise the serious consequences caused in the later part of the child's life.
"It is the fundamental right of children to get the love and affection from both the parents. If efforts made by a court to make the parties mutually agree upon a visitation schedule and interim custody period fail, the court has to step in and pass suitable orders in the best interest of the child," a bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Yogesh Khanna observed.
The court allowed the father, who lives in Kenya, to meet his minor son, living here with his mother, whenever he visits India.
The bench observed the issue of custody, including interim custody and visitation right of either parents to a child, has become a source of continuous litigation when the couple adopt hard postures.
"Often the innocent children are used as tools of vengeance by vindictive litigants who inflict severe emotional and psychological abuse on the child thereby seriously affecting the child in his/her later part of life," it said.
The court's observation came on a plea filed by the father who sought meeting right with his son and overnight custody, which was earlier curtailed by a judicial order.
Restoring the father's visitation right, the bench noted the kid was also not opposed to it and was happy to meet his father and paternal grandparents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary on Sunday expressing his gratitude to the Maratha warrior for having taken birth here.
"I bow to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his Jayanti. India is proud that a valorous and great soul like him was born on our land."
"Shivaji Maharaj placed wellbeing of his people above everything. He was an ideal ruler blessed with exceptional administrative skills," Modi said.
He spoke of his endeavours at creating an India on the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj something that the latter would have been proud of.
"We are working tirelessly to fulfil the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj and create an India that he would be proud of," he said.
The Prime Minister also expressed his feeling of being honored at joining the "programme for Shivaji Maharaj's statue off the Arabian Sea. I will always cherish that day."
The BJP on Friday targeted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her poll campaign in Rae Bareli for the Congress-SP alliance, saying it was unfortunate that she was seeking votes for those accused of "rape and murder".
BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma referred to the rape charge against Gayatri Prajapati, a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government in Uttar Pradesh who is contesting the ongoing state Assembly polls from Amethi, and the murder charge against another SP nominee Arun Verma, to target Priyanka.
Amethi is a Gandhi family pocket borough and is represented by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha, while neighbouring Rae Bareli is represented by party chief and Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi in the Lower House of Parliament.
"It is unfortunate that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sought votes for someone who is accused of a heinous crime like rape. She chose to keep mum on the allegation. She and Rahul Gandhi are not with the people of Uttar Pradesh but with those accused of rape and murder and those who protect them," Sharma told reporters here.
He hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for the "lack of action" against SP MLA Verma, who has been booked for the murder of a woman who had earlier accused him of raping her.
Sharma said it was unfortunate that Rahul and Priyanka targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi but said nothing about such serious allegations against SP candidates.
Priyanka yesterday joined brother Rahul in attacking Modi over his "UP's adopted son" remark, saying the state did not need an outsider when it had its own to take it forward, while seeking votes for the SP-Congress alliance.
Citing figures, Sharma said a girl is molested every three minutes in Uttar Pradesh and blamed the police for "failing to act" against the accused in "most of such cases".
The BJP leader claimed that a total of 6.8 lakh incidents of crime had occurred in the state under the SP government, adding that the police had failed to solve most of them.
"If the BJP is voted to power (in Uttar Pradesh), we will take stern action against not only the accused, but also those protecting them," said Sharma.
The Supreme Court has declined a plea by a Pakistani national seeking extension of visa to stay in India, saying it is a call to be taken by the executive.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said it cannot allow the request of Syed Waseem Ur Rehman, a Sufi cleric, who had approached the apex court against a Bombay High Court order asking him and his wife to leave India.
"That (extension of visa) will be a call to be taken by the Executive. We cannot extend visa if the government is not doing it," the bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Mohan M Shantanagoudar, said.
Rehman's lawyer had pleaded to the bench that the government be asked to take a "compassionate view" in the matter as there was no adverse report against him or his wife.
The counsel had also argued that since Rehman is practising Sufism, there is a threat to him in Pakistan.
The apex court did not accept the contentions and said it was for the government to take such a decision.
His counsel had also contended that Rehman should be granted time to make a representation before the government in the matter but the bench said, "We cannot allow it."
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, representing the Centre, opposed the plea and told the bench that the couple had given an undertaking before the high court that they would leave India.
The couple have been staying in India since October 2010.
The high court had dismissed their plea against last year's order of Mumbai's foreigner regional registration officer who had refused to extend their visa.
Fundamentalist fury has roiled Pakistan yet again, indeed twice in a span of 72 hours. Three days after the outrage near the Punjab provincial assembly in Lahore, it is the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that has perpetrated Thursday's butchery at the shrine of the Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, a town in Sindh province.
More accurately, ISIS has buttressed its presence within Pakistan and the conflict within a religion has assumed mortal proportions, pre-eminently the culture of tolerance propagated by the Sufi philosophy. It was an attack by radical fundamentalists on a mystical and generally moderate form of Islam. Sindh is a long way from Lahore, and not merely in terms of distance; both are far removed from the Af-Pak frontier, the nerve-centre of extremist activity. Whether it is a Taliban affiliate (as in Lahore) or ISIS, the butchery in a Sufi shrine ~ killing 70 devotees ~ would suggest that the Caliphate has buttressed its position in Pakistan, thus far relatively unscathed.
And it has buttressed its mortal fundamentalism by carrying out one of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan, including one on peaceful protesters in the heart of Lahore, a bombing in Quetta that killed two police officers and an explosion in Peshawar. Small wonder that the Rawalpindi GHQ has emitted an immediate signal to the civilian dispensation, with the Army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, calling for an end to restraint, a pregnant expression given the context ~ Each drop of the nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately. No more restraint for anyone. The military's robust response is in stark contrast to the Prime Minister's somewhat emotive allusion to history ~ The attack on the Sufis is a direct threat to Jinnah's Pakistan, an attack on the progressive and inclusive future of Pakistan.
Theoretically, Nawaz Sharif may be right; but the narrative has changed dramatically over the past 70 years, almost relegating to the footnotes the philosophy that shaped its foundation.
As yet, mercifully there has been no major surgical strike on the Shias, but the Sunnis of the ISIS variety have targeted a decidedly liberal sect of the religion. The triangular conflict can turn out to be hideous if the Sunnis of Pakistan ~ under the aegis of ISIS ~ are intent on confronting the Shias and the Sufis. Markedly, there is an indication of retaliation from the military, but not from Pakistan's traditionally dithering civilian administration.
In the midst of the bedlam and butchery in a remote corner of Sindh, the military has been remarkably prompt in identifying the Afghan factor, stressing the point that the acts of terrorism were being carried out by hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The fundamentalist plot thickens in South Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election meeting in Imphal on 25 February. So confident is he of dumping Congress chief minister Okram Ibobi Singhs 15-year-rule that he might even promise the Manipuris another visit to Imphal next month to personally convey his gratitude to them for reposing their faith in the BJP for the first time. The party kickstarted its election campaign as early in September last year and has been able to incite disaffection among smaller parties as well as the ruling Congress. At least eight out of ten, including a former Samata Party-led chief minister, Radhabinod Koijam, reportedly switched over. Not surprising though, because nowhere is the phenomenon of defection so acute as in that state. Before Ibobi took over in 2002, the state was run mostly by rag-tag parties.
The Centre is apparently unhappy with the Ibobi government over its failure to end the indefinite economic blockade of the states two vital national highways, imposed by the Manipur-based, pro-NSCN(IM) United Naga Council since 1 November last year. This is in protest against the chief ministers decision to meet the Kukis three-decades-old demand for upgradation of Kangpokpi sub-division, in the Naga-majority Senapati district, to a separate revenue entity. On the night of 8 December 2016, Ibobi took the wind out of the sails of the UNC by creating seven new districts. In the 2012 assembly election Ibobi came to power riding on the popularity he had earned in May 2010 when he successfully blocked NSCN(IM) general secretary, Thuingaleng Muivahs bid to enter Manipur to visit his native
village Somdal in Ukhrul district. Next month, Ibobi faces yet another crucial popularity test over his bold decision on the new districts.
More important, of course, is the election in France due to take place in two rounds ending in May. France has a presidential form of government and all eyes are directed towards the presidential candidates running in the first round. France has an even longer history of strong right-wing movement, started by the uncouth nationalist leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen. The traditional coalition of parties to the right and to the left were able until now to put National Front of Le Pen behind them in the first round, exept once when National Front came in second and competed in the direct fight for presidency against Jacques Chirac of the right-wing coalition. To stop Le Pen, the entire left threw their support for the hated Chirac to ensure his victory. This time it is more complex. Le Pens daughter Marine has now taken over the leadership of the party and modernized it with somewhat broader message to attract new voters. Opinion polls show her winning the first round with about 25 per cent of the votes.
The question is: Who will be the runner-up to qualify for the direct election in the second round. There were surprises galore during the primaries of both the recently named Republicans and the Socialist camps. Early favourites on the right, Nicolas Sarkozy and Alan Juppe were soon out of the race and finally an ultra-conservative and champion of morality, Francois Fillon, became their candidate. On the left, voters in the Primary elected the left fringe candidate Benoit Hamon to run as their presidential candidate. Then the French satire magazine, Le Canard, published the damning report that Fillon emloyed his wife with huge pay as his private assistant while holding the Prime Ministers office. Either candidate may not get enough votes of the other camp to defeat Marine Le pen in the second round. There is total confusion among traditional parties, and this led the current socialist industries minister, Emmanuel Macron, to start a new party, En Marche!, meaning Onwards, and run for the for the first round of the presidential election. If he makes to the second round, opinion polls show Macron defeating Le Pen by a margin of 65 per cent to 35 per cent!
The climax of all will be the election in Germany in early autumn. The electoral system there is very similar to that in the Netherlands. There are two major parties in Germany, the centre-right Christian Democrats CDU/CSU and the cenre-left Socialist Party SPD. Then there are smaller parties that often join coalition governments, like the Free Democrats on the right and the Greens on the left. After the unification, the Communists of erstwhile East Germany also formed a minor force in Germany. When the last SPD Chancellor Gerard Schroder made drastic cuts in social welfare programmes, many disillusioned socialists formed with the Communists a new party, called Die Linke. The party has considerable clout in the eastern part of Germany. One feature of the German eletion is the five per cent threshold, with any party failing to reach that threshhold being denied seats in the Bundestag. This was designed to stop the Nazis, after the Second World War, to enter the Parliament. But now this is going to change, with a new post-truth party dominated by neo-Nazis, Alternative for Germany (AfD), expected to win more than 15 per cent of the votes, according to all opinion polls.
This is threatening the chance of Angela Merkel to be re-elected as the Chancellor. Merkel is the leader of CDU, whose sister party CSU that represents Christian Democrats in the ultra-conservative mountain region of Bavaria is on a collision course with her. Its leader, Horst Seehofer, is against the sanction of Russia and openly supports Donald Trump. This makes the post-truth politics a formidable force in Germany. On the other side, SPD after Schroder suffered from lacklustre leaders. That too changed suddenly this month when the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, took over the leadership of SPD, which seems to have chnrged the political base of the party. The whole of Europe is waiting.
Richard Rortys vision of an ideal society in a world with multiple truths are being tested in the West with the traditional politics on a collision course with the post-truth brand. European elections will determine the course of politics in the West for years to come. The situation is different in India. Enlightenment was imposed on us by the English educated elites. It never got diffused into our society. To this was added the post-modernist phenomenon of post-truth, driven by the digital hype. This is another illustration of the Bharat-India dichotomy.
(Concluded)
The other day someone was mentioning the sheer thrill of watching Formula 1 racing. Well, I participated in a local version many years ago.
My friend Ghosh and I were posted to Chandigarh for about a month. Many of our friends were stationed at Ambala. We decided to give them a surprise. Ghosh took out his big motor bike and we hit the road. It was not the maddening traffic of today, yet the trucks whooshed by, as Ghosh raced the motor bike.
We had a great time at Ambala. Our friends insisted on our staying the night, but we had our training session the next morning. We started at nine, back to Chandigarh. Hardly had we gone about 10 km, when the engine coughed and went silent. Ghosh tried all the kicks at his command, but the obstinate mule refused to come to life.
We tried to stop a passing truck, but no one really bothered. They must have been thinking that we were highway robbers. It was getting bitterly cold. As a last attempt I kicked the starter with all my might. It jarred my knee, but the engine decided to take pity on us. Delight! Ghosh declared that he would not stop the bike come what may, now that it had started.
It was a dark night, with almost no lights on the highway. But the road was clear in the full beam. No fog, no smog. He accelerated. Suddenly, I felt that a tornado had passed by us. I saw a motor bike with two young fellows just fly by. Yahoo, they shouted.
Ghosh took it as a personal insult. He gritted his teeth and speeded up. We caught up with them within five km. This time it was my turn to clinch my fist and shout Yahoo.
After about five minutes, the tornado hit us again. We speeded up the race went on. After a couple of kilometres we came across a level crossing, which was closed. But Ghosh decided that the bike could not be stopped. He, therefore, took a 500-metre diversion and crossed the rail track. The bike wobbled and lurched and protested but we regained the highway again.
The wind had gained a further icy edge. We decided finally to stop, for a cup of tea. Ghosh was not in favour, but I could not have gone further. My hands were numb. Suddenly we saw the Yahoo gang. They were four teenagers on two motorbikes. On one pretext or the other, they were trying to pick up a fight in their youthful exuberance. They could have easily had their way with us, being taller and more muscular than us.
Whats your name, the most hefty one accosted Ghosh. I am Ghosh, said my friend. You Bong what are you doing here, the hefty continued. Ghosh had spent fifteen years in Jalandhar, where his father was a senior engineer. This time Ghosh spoke in chaste Punjabi peppered with some typical Punjabi swear words. The gang could not believe their ears.
Then, one of them noticed the tie which Ghosh had folded and kept inside his pocket. Where did you get this tie?, he asked. Why, this is my school tie, which I still wear, answered Ghosh. The Yahoo gang was flustered. Excuse us sir, for our bad manners. We study in the same school. Accept our apologies as you are a senior said the most belligerent looking boy.
We ordered a fresh round of tea. It was now close to twelve. As Ghosh kicked the starter, the bike showed its tantrums again. It would not start. A member of the gang brought out a wrench and a spare spark plug, fitted it in and gave it an ever so gentle kick. The bike roared, and so also all of us in unison Yahoooo!
Their two bikes almost drove as pilots for us, and we reached Chandigarh in another half hour.
Thanks to the School Tie!
When the night sky becomes darker and darker, the cool February breeze and stars spell magic all around. And, the lamp of hope is lit, the warmth spreads and suffering fades away.
With the hope of new beginnings, faith blooms under the black sky, as the celebration of life, happiness takes over at the Taiwans Lantern festival.
One of Taiwan's biggest festivals is celebrated on the first full-moon night of the Lunar Year. Much like the biggest Hindu festival of lights Diwali, people of all faith in Taiwan illuminate their homes with different types of lanterns and colourful bulbs.
The origin of the festival in this part of the world goes back to thousands of years. It is believed to have been started by an emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). The emperor was a keen follower of Lord Buddha. He asked people to exhibit lights on the 15th night of the first month of every Lunar year to pay their respects to the Lord.
Like a perfect fairytale with lights and firecrackers illuminating the night sky, thousands of lanterns slowly rise up and make one feel at peace and leaves one mesmerised at the same time.
The incredible fireworks leave one awestruck but can also be dangerous. The idea of being hit by fireworks is referred to as an act that brings good luck for the New Year.
So if you wish to witness this grand celebration, you must cover yourself with a fire-proof jacket and helmet to brace yourself and face rockets and crackers coming towards you.
It is an age old ritual for the natives but first timers always have a time of their lives. It is believed that when the dazzling lanterns rise up, the blessings are showered. This magical moment is worth being cherished forever.
One of the most famous festivals in the year after the Chinese New Year, Taiwans Lantern festival will be celebrated from February 11 to 19 this year.
As Pakistan's border with Afghanistan at Torkham and Chaman checkposts remains closed, authorities have issued shoot-at-sight orders for illegal entries into the country.
The 'Friendship Gate' at Chaman was closed on Friday night due to security concerns in the wake of the suicide attack on the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan town of Sindh province in which nearly 90 persons were killed and over 200 injured.
Traffic and transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan also remain suspended for the second consecutive day, Dawn online reported.
"Shooting order has been issued for those found trying to enter Pakistan illegally from any area of the border," a security official said.
"The Friendship Gate has been sealed for an indefinite period," a Frontier Corps spokesman said.
Shops in the Vash Mandi area across the border in Afghanistan were closed and traders in Chaman also did not open their businesses in protest against the terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
Hundreds of trucks and long vehicles carrying transit trade goods and Nato supplies have been stranded on both sides of the border.
By Press Trust of India: From Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Feb 19 (PTI) Nepals Prime Minister Prachanda today vowed to ramp up the countrys infrastructure as India pledged support to the Himalayan nation in its developmental drive.
Nepal is lagging behind in the area of development mainly due to the lack of adequate infrastructure which is the backbone of economic development, Prachand said while addressing the second Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017 here.
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As the infrastructure gap has directly hurt the developmental activities, Nepal government has accorded top- most priority to its development with the aim of becoming a middle-income country by 2030, he said.
"Aware of this, Government of Nepal is committed to work in partnership with the private sectorto bridge the infrastructure gap," Prachanda said.
"We have adopted the policy of Public?Private-Partnership (PPP). Necessary acts, regulations and guidelines have been streamlined," he said.
Welcoming Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu at the conference, the Prime Minister said, "Our close neighbour India is very much committed to supporting our efforts in infrastructure development."
"Lack of basic infrastructure has forced us to witness an average of below 4 per cent economc growth over the last decade," he noted.
Speaking as the guest of honour, Prabhu said, "India would be interested in investing money in infrastructure sector of Nepal so as to forge (a) partnership with its development activities."
Nepal with its abundant natural resources and manpower, has all the potential to develop itself economically in a rapid way and India is ready to offer support and assistance in this regard, he said.
India under the BJP-led government is making huge investment in its railway network and this would also help Nepal in its efforts towards expanding connectivity, he said.
Asian Development Bank Vice President Wencai Zhang lauded Nepal for achieving success in the area of social development but noted the "poor economic performance" of the country.
"Economic growth has lagged behind, with an average annual growth rate of about 4 per cent in the past decade. Growth has to increase to a sustained rate of 7?8 per cent to achieve the governments goal of reaching that level by 2022," Wenchai said.
"Building quality and resilient physical infrastructure is deemed as one of the most important pillar," he noted. PTI SBP ASK ASK
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The joint declaration of the South Asian Speakers' Summit on Sunday asserted that the Paris Agreement must continue to be guided by the principles of UN Framework Convention and called for greater cooperation among the member countries to meet the challenges of climate change and related disasters.
The South Asian Speakers' Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is attended by South Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The declaration stressed that the Paris Agreement should continue to be guided by the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate change, especially the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
The joint declaration of the seven countries also agreed to consider setting up of joint parliamentary groups under the forum to deliberate upon and deepen cooperation on relevant issues.
The declaration also urged the parliamentarians to create enabling conditions for encouraging private sector, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to participate in the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"It called upon parliamentarians to create gender sensitive elected bodies, particularly at the grassroots level, with a view to achieving gender equality and prioritising issues pertinent to women," the declaration said.
The declaration also vowed to encourage the Parliaments to put in place legislative measures to protect women against discrimination, violence, sexual harassment, atrocities and trafficking.
According to the declaration, it also urged upon the parliaments to collectively work for advancing actions, strategies, and cooperation among all stakeholders to mobilize additional resources so as to achieve the targets under the SDGs in a time-bound manner.
"It also vowed to reaffirm that the achievement of the SDGs is closely lined to addressing the threat of climate change and strengthening disaster risk reduction which require regional as well as international cooperation," it added.
It also called upon the parliaments of South Asian region to allocate one day in a session for deliberations on SDGs.
US President Donald Trump at a rally in Florida again attacked the media as "fake news" and renewed pledges on Obamacare and border security.
"They just don't want to report the truth," Trump on Saturday told the crowd of about 9,000 people in Melbourne.
Addressing an event little changed from the rallies he gave on the campaign trail, the Republican called the media as "part of the problem" and "part of the corrupt system".
"They have their own agenda, and their agenda is not your agenda," NBC News quoted the President as saying.
Trump's attacks on the media came a day after the President on Twitter named five organisations, calling them "fake" news media and "the enemy of the American people".
Trump earned applause for saying he would repeal and replace Obamacare, a line that consistently ushered in some of his loudest praise from crowds across the country in 2016.
He promised a new healthcare plan to replace it "in a couple of weeks".
It would be "great", he said, but did not expand further as to what it might entail.
The President also previewed a new executive order to replace his court-blocked order temporarily suspending entry to the US of citizens from seven Muslim nations.
"We will do something next week, I think you'll be impressed," Trump said.
He complained about the appeals court judges who refused to reinstate his executive order, which critics have called a "Muslim ban". Trump has denied that.
He called the judges' ruling "very sad" and read part of a statute giving authority to the President in matters of immigration and national security.
"If you have a college education, you can understand it. If you have a high school education, you can understand it. If you were a bad student in high school, you can understand it," Trump said of the statute.
Trump's Florida rally came at the end of a turbulent few weeks that saw court defeats over his travel restriction, and the resignation of his National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the US.
Trump told the crowd gathered in a hangar at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport that his administration was on the right track.
"I hear your demands, I hear your voices, and I promise you I will deliver," Trump said.
"And by the way, you've seen what we've accomplished in a very short period of time the White House is running so smoothly, so smoothly."
Trump said he "inherited one big mess" from the Obama administration.
He reminded the crowd that the November 8 election was supposed to be "the greatest defeat in the modern history of American politics and it was, for the Democrats, not the Republicans".
First Lady Melania Trump kicked off her husband President Donald Trump's rally in Florida by reciting a prayer, the media reported.
While receiving a standing ovation from the crowd at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport on Saturday, Melania smiled and said" "Thank you, let us pray", the US Weekly reported.
After leading the crowd in the Christian prayer, Melania addressed her husband's supporters and pledged to pursue initiatives for "women and children around the world".
"I'm committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart, which will have impact on women and children all around the world," she said.
"My husband is creating a country of great safety and prosperity," The Hill magazine quoted the First Lady as saying.
Saturday's rally marked Trump's first rally since taking office on January 20, returning the President to a familiar position on the campaign trail.
Melania Trump has not yet moved into the White House and is currently living in New York with their 10-year-old son Barron, while he finishes out the school year.
Snow and cold dont seem to deter the warm spirit "north of the river!"
This week we packed and sent 10 soldier boxes to our brave warriors in Afghanistan. The pancake crew at the Conquest Fire Hall served a record number last Sunday. It seems that whenever folks reach a bottom, there is often someone or a group to help them up. Because of the weather, many have had heat and vehicle problems we persevere!
The shipping costs for our soldier boxes has gone up slightly if you feel inclined to contribute, please call me or drop funds off at our town of Conquest building. Thank you. We are ever so grateful for the help of our Girl Scouts they made valentines for our overseas troops and, next time, have promised to have some Girl Scout cookies to pack. We can only imagine what it must be like to be far away from home and in danger, but we hope that the sight of a package of Samosas or Thin Mints would relieve some aches. We have received a couple of "thank you" notes from our soldiers that made our packing nights even more precious.
We continue to prepare for Clintons Ditch, the dramatic telling of the building of the Erie Canal. Casting is almost complete; we have a stage and are starting to fill in the technical elements to make this a spectacular production. You will be hearing much more about this compelling story. The more I read about DeWitt Clinton, the more impressed I am with the genius of the man. Talk about perseverance he had many political enemies, mostly men who were jealous of his popularity with the people and his acumen. He was a hands-on political figure who confronted his naysayers with facts, energy and enthusiasm. During his exploration trek through the state, he spent time in Montezuma, Cato and Brutus (there was no Conquest yet) marveling at the flora, fauna and musquitos, he remarked on our black squirrels and carefully documented each concern (rocks, mountains and marshes) to be overcome during the canal construction. Just after he was voted in for his first governorship, the Albany politicians changed the tenure of governor from three years to two. His detractors were many, but the success of the Erie Canal was proven even before the entire 300-plus miles were open. The blood, sweat and tears of the immigrant workers are honored in this production. Many of us are products of Irish and German workers seeking to make a home in this new America. Their work ethic and determination made Clintons Ditch a reality.
Tourism is one of the upbeat, forward emphases of central New York. We celebrate our clean, clear water and clean air that make this a healthy destination. I am fortunate to be part of a couple of ongoing initiatives to harness the beauty and history of Cayuga County. The Heritage Trail group and educating businesses, hoteliers and restaurants about the Erie Canal are exciting coalitions to entice visitors to come and stay in our beautiful bit of New York state. In the words of DeWitt Clinton, Ive come here tonight to talk about what I have seen as I traversed this state. Ladies and gentlemen, God gave New York state an abundance of water. We have the Mohawk River, the Finger Lakes and of the five Great Lakes, we were given two. Gods plan in giving us these waters was that we would use them to create prosperity for ourselves and share our prosperity with the rest of the world! Lofty words and lofty goals paid off. It is up to us to continue to harness and protect these gifts.
Countryside United Methodist Church in Spring Lake has a free spaghetti dinner followed by a game night for all local folks at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. Break out of the winter doldrums and come for an evening of fun! The next Conquest Fire Department Pancake Breakfast is 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, March 12. The next soldier packing party is 8 p.m. Monday, April 10, at the town building. I am putting away my soapbox for tonight, but if you would like to be a part of Clintons Ditch or any of the ongoing projects, please give me a call. It is a great time to be part of Cayuga County.
Newton directed by Amit Masurkar and starring Rajkummar Rao has won the International Federation of Art Cinemas award at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, also known as Berlinale.
By Press Trust of India: Rajkummar Rao and Anjali Patil-starrer political satire Newton, which had its world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival (also called Berlinale), has won the International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its Forum segment.
Rao shared the news on Twitter by congratulating the entire team of the Amit Masurkar-directed movie. "So happy to share Newton has won the Art Cinema award for the Forum section at Berlinale. Congratulations team," he wrote.
So happy to share #Newton has won the Art Cinema award for the Forum section at #Berlinale. Congratulations team @ManMundra @Amit_Masurkar Raj Kummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) February 18, 2017
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The movie, which also stars Pankaj Tripathi, revolves around the story of a rookie clerk on election duty in a conflict-ridden jungle of Central India, who tries his best to conduct free and fair voting.
Newton director Amit Masurkar, who rose to fame after directing the 2014 film Sulemani Keeda earlier said that he believed only Rao could have done justice to the character.
Watch Amit Masurkar talk about why we should not romanticise low-budget filmmaking
"I thought of Rajkummar because the character was somebody, for which I needed a person, who could pull of a huge range. Plus I needed an actor of his age. The amount of energy he could send to the role I couldn't think of anybody else." said Masurkar.
"Raj is extremely dedicated guy. He is with you one hundred per cent. And, I would love to work with him in more films," he added.
Amit had also confirmed that the movie will release in mid-2017.
Some 43 films were screened in the Forum segment at the festival, which concludes on Sunday.
Actress Huma Qureshi's Hollywood debut The Viceroy's House also had its world premiere at the 2017 Berlinale. Rao tweeted his best wishes for Qureshi as well.
As Berlinale comes to an end, sending my love & wishes to u @humasqureshi for making us so proud with #ViceroysHouse. Amazing job. Much love Raj Kummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) February 18, 2017
ALSO READ: Newton gets warm response at Berlinale
WATCH: Dev Patel, Emma Stone, Casey Affleck win big at BAFTAs 2017
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US President Donald Trump's revised executive order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering America will be phased in and will likely exempt green-card holders, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said.
"The President is contemplating issuing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (executive order)," Kelly said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
"I will have, this time, the opportunity...to work the roll-out plan in particular to make sure that there's no one in a sense caught in the system moving from overseas to our airports, which happened in the first release," he said.
The phase-in period, Mattis said, would allow people who are already in transit to the US to still enter the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
He also said it was a "good assumption" that green card permit holders would be allowed into the country.
"If they are in motion from some distant land, when they arrive, they will be allowed in," he said.
Trump issued his initial travel ban order on January 27, but the move immediately faced backlash, with instances of refugees and green-card holders being detained at US airports or barred from entering the country.
The administration attempted to clarify after the first couple days of the order's implementation that it did not affect green-card holders, The Hill magazine said.
Several legal groups filed lawsuits against the administration, before a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the travel ban. That stay was upheld by the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month.
Trump has signalled that his administration would work on a new executive order that could more easily pass legal scrutiny.
As a presidential candidate, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of foreign Muslims entering the US and frequently criticized the country's refugee resettlement programme, which he argued was detrimental to national security.
At a hospital morgue in Malaysias capital, the tightly guarded corpse of a middle-aged man has become the focus of a dizzying case of international intrigue involving five countries, combative North Korean diplomats and an apparently duped female assassin.
Investigators are still trying to piece together details of what appears to be the brazen assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Koreas mercurial ruler and an exiled member of the countrys elite. Malaysian police said Saturday that they had arrested a fourth suspect, a 46-year-old North Korean man.
Kim, who had been estranged from his younger half sibling for years, was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday. A rotund man in his mid-40s, he told medical workers at the airport that he had been sprayed in the face with a chemical. He grew dizzy, suffered a seizure and was dead within hours, Malaysian officials said.
Without citing much in the way of evidence, observers including South Korea pointed to the obvious culprit in Mondays attack: Kims half brother, Kim Jong Un, who has executed or purged a slew of high-level officials since taking power in 2011.
As the rumor mill swirled, Malaysia arrested four people over the course of the week including an Indonesian woman who told investigators she was duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.
North Korean officials made no public comments for several days, but they privately demanded custody of Kims body and strongly objected to an autopsy. The Malaysians went ahead with the autopsy anyway, saying they were simply following procedure.
On Friday night, North Koreas ambassador to Malaysia broke his silence. At an unusual news conference held close to midnight outside the morgue, Ambassador Kang Chol said Malaysia may be trying to conceal something and colluding with hostile forces.
We will categorically reject the result of the post-mortem, Kang said, adding that the procedure was carried out unilaterally and excluding our attendance.
Malaysia is one of just a handful of countries to have full diplomatic ties with North Korea, with each country having an embassy in the others capital. Malaysia has also been a key place for quiet, semi-official track 2 diplomatic talks between North Korea and the United States.
The results of the autopsy have not been released publicly, but a Malaysian official with knowledge of the investigation said the results were inconclusive and that there was a second autopsy Friday night. He asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Malaysian police official Abdul Samah Mat, however, denied that the second autopsy had taken place.
Less than a week after Kims death, the case had already reached well beyond Malaysia to North Korea, South Korea and Indonesia, along with Macau, where Kim lived with his family, and Vietnam, which was looking into whether another of the suspects was a citizen.
The intrigue over the case raises all sorts of questions about Kims mysterious death, but a lack of closure and a lingering sense of the unknown are not unusual when it comes to North Korea. While South Korea has blamed North Korea for a slew of notable assassinations or attempted killings in past decades, the North often denies involvement or simply doesnt comment.
The suspects in Malaysian custody are: Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman; another woman, who carried Vietnamese travel documents and was seen on closed circuit television footage in a shirt with LOL emblazoned across the front; a man investigators said is Aisyahs boyfriend; and the North Korean man, who was arrested Friday night.
Malaysia is seeking DNA samples from Kim Jong Nams immediate family. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
Kim reportedly fell out of favor in Pyongyang in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He and his younger brother have the same father, the late Kim Jong Il.
Even as diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea frayed, Malaysian officials appeared to be carefully following internal protocols for issues like control of the body, analysts said.
Its likely that Malaysia is hoping that following strict procedures would keep them from antagonizing North Korea or anyone else in the international community.
As a very small country, Malaysia does not take sides, said Geetha Govindasamy, a senior lecturer in East Asia studies at the University of Malaya who has studied North Korean ties to Southeast Asia.
(AP)
Musician Harsh Meswani launches his debut book, about the next generation of classical Indian musicians.
By India Today Web Desk: Chairperson and founder of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani, with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan launched a book by musician Harsh Meswani, The Torchbearers, in Mumbai on February 18, 2017.
The book has been sub-titled, Keeping the flame of Indian classical music alive, because it features profiles of the next generation of musicians who have taken it upon themselves to carry forward the legacy of Indian classical music. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma was also present at the event.
(L-R) Nita Ambani, Harsh Meswani and Ustad Zakir Hussain at the book launch. Photo: Yogen Shah
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A musician himself, Harsh Meswani is the son of Hital Meswani, the executive director at Reliance and a cousin of the Ambanis. Nita Ambani looked graceful as always for the event, in a soft pink Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla suit. Big B also kept it subtle, in a white kurta and golden-brown Nehru jacket.
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One month after the inauguration, the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of Donald Trumps White House still is a hard-hat zone. Skeletal remains of the inaugural reviewing stands poke skyward. Random piles of plywood and cables are heaped on the ground inside crooked lines of metal fencing.
The disarray outside the presidents front door, though not his fault, serves as a metaphor for the tumult still unfolding inside.
Four weeks in, the man who says he inherited a mess at home and abroad is presiding over a White House that is widely described as itself being a mess.
At a stunning pace, Trump has riled world leaders and frustrated allies. He was dealt a bruising legal blow on one of his signature policies. He lost his national security adviser and his pick for labor secretary to scandal. Hes seen forces within his government push back against his policies and leak confidential information. All of this has played out amid a steady drip of revelations about an FBI investigation into his campaigns contacts with Russian intelligence officials.
Trump says his administration is running like a fine-tuned machine. He points to the rising stock market and the devotion of his still-loyal supporters as evidence that all is well, although his job approval rating is much lower than that for prior presidents in their first weeks in office.
Stung by the unrelenting criticism coming his way, Trump dismisses much of it as fake news delivered by the enemy of the people aka the press. Daily denunciations of the media are just one of the new White House fixtures Americans are adjusting to.
Most days start (and end) with presidential tweets riffing off of whatevers on TV talk shows or teasing coming events or hurling insults at the media.
At some point in the day, count on Trump to cast back to the marvels of his upset of Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November election and quite possibly overstate his margins of support. Expect more denunciations of the dishonest press and its fake news.
From there, things can veer in unexpected directions as Trump offers up policy pronouncements or offhand remarks that leave even White House aides struggling to interpret them.
The long-standing U.S. policy of seeking a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Trump this past week offered this cryptic pronouncement: Im looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one. His U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, the next day insisted, We absolutely support a two-state solution.
Trumps days are busy. Outside groups troop in for listening sessions. Foreign leaders call or come to visit. (Or, in the case of Mexicos president, cancel out in pique over Trumps talk about the planned border wall.)
After the president signed two dozen executive actions, the White House was awaiting a rush order of more of the gold-plated Cross pens that Trump prefers to the chrome-plated ones used by his predecessor.
Trump hands them out as souvenirs at the signing ceremonies that he points to as evidence of his ambitious pace.
This last month has represented an unprecedented degree of action on behalf of the great citizens of our country, Trump said at a Thursday news conference. Again, I say it. There has never been a presidency thats done so much in such a short period of time.
Thats all music to the ears of his followers, who sent him to Washington to upend the established order and play the role of disrupter.
I cant believe theres actually a politician doing what he says he would do, says an approving Scott Hiltgen, a 66-year-old office furniture sales broker from River Falls, Wisconsin. That never happens.
Disrupt Trump has.
But there may be more sound and fury than substance to many of his early actions.
Trump did select Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, a nomination that has drawn strong reviews from conservatives.
But the president is regrouping on immigration after federal judges blocked his order to suspend the United States refugee program and ban visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, which had caused chaos for travelers around the globe. Some other orders on issues such as the U.S.-Mexico border wall and former President Barack Obamas health care law are of limited effect.
Trump says his early actions show he means to deliver on the promises he made during the campaign.
A lot of people say, Oh, oh, Trump was only kidding with the wall,' the president told a group of police chiefs recently. I wasnt kidding. I dont kid.
But the Republican-led Congress is still waiting to see specifics on how Trump wants to proceed legislatively on top initiatives such as replacing the health care law, enacting tax cuts and revising trade deals.
The messy rollout of the travel ban and tumult over the ouster of national security adviser Michael Flynn for misrepresenting his contacts with Russia are part of a broader state of disarray as different figures in Trumps White House jockey for power and leaks reveal internal discord in the machinations of the presidency.
I thought by now youd at least hear the outlines of domestic legislation like tax cuts, says Princeton historian Julian Zelizer. But a lot of that has slowed. Trump shouldnt mistake the fact that some of his supporters like his style with the fact that a lot of Republicans just want the policies he promised them. He has to deliver that.
Put Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the camp of those more interested in substance than style.
Im not a great fan of daily tweets, McConnell said Friday, referring to the extra discussion that Trump likes to engage in.
But McConnell was quick to add: What I am a fan of is what hes been actually doing.
He credits Trump with assembling a conservative Cabinet and taking steps to reduce government regulation, and promised: We like his positions and were going to pursue them as vigorously as we can.
The challenge may be to tease out exactly what Trump wants in the way of a health care plan, tax changes and trade policy.
At his long and defiant news conference on Thursday, Trump tried to dispel the impression of a White House in crisis, squarely blaming the press for keeping him from moving forward more decisively on his agenda.
Pointing to his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, Trump said, You take a look at Reince, hes working so hard just putting out fires that are fake fires. I mean, theyre fake. Theyre not true. And isnt that a shame because hed rather be working on health care, hed rather be working on tax reform.
For all the frustrations of his early days as president, Trump still seems tickled by the trappings of his office.
When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie visited the White House last week to discuss the national opioid epidemic over lunch, the governor said Trump informed him: Chris, you and I are going to have the meatloaf.'
Trump added: Im telling you, the meatloaf is fabulous.
(AP)
With more and more European governments calling for the boycotting of Israeli products manufactured in Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria and as the BDS Movement continues to intensify their efforts against Israel in Europe as well as on US campuses, Yossi Dagan has again succeeded in proving that with a bit of work and creativity stategic alliances can be forged between Europeans and security and humanitarian projects in Yehuda and Shomron.
A delegation of world renowned dog experts from Holland and Belgian were hosted by the Israel Dog Unit (I.D.U.) in Kfar Tapuachs Kennels for 10 days aiding in the installation of security dogs as well as in helping to search of unsolved cases of missing people in Israel. Paul of the Belgian Fire Dept. and Bob with 36 years of experience as an officer in the Belgian army dog unit are true friends of Israel and have made themselves available to help save lives in Israel, whenever they have been called in to assist. Yekutiel Ben Yaakov, Commander of the Israel Dog Unit, the largest civilian Dog Unit in Israel said, it is hard to find experts of this caliber in Israel. Their assistance is priceless and has helped us secure and save countless lives in Israel.
Yossi Dagan, Mayor of the Shomron Regional Council offered his blessings to the Belgian experts, thanking them for aiding in the defense of men women and children in towns across Judea and Samaria as well as for their noble humanitarian contribution to searching and rescuing missing people in Israel.
The Belgians also joined the Israel Dog Unit in a special exhibition before high-ranking officers in the Haifa police station, showing the police some of the new search and cadaver dogs recently imported to Israel from Europe.
The Israel Dog Unit has received recent awards from the Haifa police for finding many missing people in the coastal city.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The IDF military court that found Sgt. Elor Azariya guilty of manslaughter is expected to announce its sentence on Tuesday, 25 Shevat. Azariya fired at a wounded terrorist in Hebron last Purim, at close range, killing him.
The trial has divided the nation as many feel that not only should he not be charged with a crime, but he should have received a citation for his actions neutralizing the threat. Opponents state the terrorist was neutralized, already shot, and shooting him at close range was simply an unjustifiable execution.
The military prosecutor is asking for a 3-to-5-year jail term without taking the time served during the trial into account as well as lowering his rank back to private.
The defense feels the sentence should be a maximum of two years while deducting the time served during the trial. Azariya was confined to base during his trial but not actually incarcerated, which is why the prosecution does not feel this time should be deducted from his sentence.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
While abuse cases in Israel are not generally covered in the chareidi media, this case is an exception due to the severity of the incident, which should sound an alarm in all communities.
Police over Shabbos arrested parents from Central Israel, in their 30s, suspected of conspiring to committed a crime as well as on suspicion of abusing and beating their helpless child RL.
The case began last week when the child was transported to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital at which time medical personnel suspected abuse by the nature of some of his injuries.
The toddler suffers from muscular dystrophy and is hospitalized in critical condition. After receiving the report, a hidden camera was placed in the childs hospital room. The video assisted police in detecting the horrific spectacle, the parents severely abusing the child, to the point they even tried to poison him.
After police reviewed the video evidence they arrested the parents who were arraigned on Sunday, 23 Shevat.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
To the surprise of many, Shas is opposing a bill which seeks to eliminate discrimination against Sephardi girls in high schools. The bill is sponsored by MK (Yesh Atid) Meir Cohen, and it prohibits discrimination against potential students due to their ethnicity.
Being this problem exists in the chareidi community, Cohen expected guaranteed support from Shas but it appears the fact that it originates in Yesh Atid, makes the bill pasul for Shas as well as Yahadut Hatorah. Shas MK Yigal Guetta was among the opponents of the bill but announced afterwards that he is embarrassed by his actions. There are also tensions at present in Yahadut Hatorah against Shas because the latter dared to think about supporting the bill, which is justified and necessary, but in the eyes of the chareidi party, pasul due to the fact it originates in the Yesh Atid party.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp on Sunday, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during World War II.
Pence was joined by his wife, Karen Pence, and the couples 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich.
The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, Arbeit macht frei, or Work sets you free. The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the center of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium.
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camps grounds.
More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau, and more than 40,000 prisoners died there. The camp was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945.
Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Dachau during a trip to Germany in 2015.
Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.
Pence was traveling to Brussels later Sunday for meetings on Monday with NATO and European Union officials.
(AP)
When North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters between South Korea and Japan, President Donald Trump moved quickly to show U.S. resolve. He appeared within hours alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and said the U.S. stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent.
Trump happened to be hosting Abe that day in Florida. Yet his lack of any mention of U.S. treaty ally South Korea didnt go unnoticed by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. So, while on his first official trip, Tillerson arranged a three-way meeting in Germany with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers to show the U.S. wasnt picking favorites, according to a senior State Department official.
The talks culminated in a joint declaration in which the U.S. pledged to defend a pair of Asian nations that dont always get along. There was no elaborate ceremony before the video cameras, no speeches, as their written statement went out in low-key fashion.
It was Tillersons way.
Cautious, reserved and intent on avoiding the spotlight, the former Exxon Mobil CEO is proving to be everything his extroverted Oval Office boss is not.
In his first weeks as Americas top diplomat, Tillerson has gone to great lengths to avoid attracting attention, despite a growing perception in Washington that the State Department is being sidelined by a power-centric White House.
Some State Department officials have been told by the White House to expect drastic budget cuts, with much of the reduction potentially coming out of U.S. foreign aid money. Trump and his team have also told those interviewing for top State Department jobs that significant staffing cuts will come. Some appear to have started already.
While Tillerson was in Germany, several senior management and advisory positions were eliminated. The staffers were reassigned. Some other top posts are vacant, and there are no signs theyll be quickly filled.
While Tillerson has met or spoken with dozens of foreign counterparts in his first weeks, the White House is driving the front-page diplomacy. The lack of State Department involvement has flustered many long-time diplomats.
When Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, acting Deputy Secretary Tom Shannon was assigned to represent the agency in the meeting because Tillerson was flying to Germany. At the last minute, Shannon was blocked from participating in the meeting. The meeting went on without State Department representation.
It was modified to allow for a more personal discussion, according to a U.S. official, who was authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Tillerson had dined the evening before with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and a White House aide who has emerged as Trumps top emissary to Israel, Mexico and other countries. That is a role that traditionally has fallen to the secretary of state.
Tillerson has barely spoken in public, save for greeting U.S. diplomats on his first day and brief comments after a get-together with Russias foreign minister.
Its a sharp contrast with the Obama administrations last secretary of state, John Kerry, who routinely found his way to the center of global crises, enthusiastically fulfilling the public diplomacy part of the job. Whereas Kerry exhausted staff with impromptu, whirlwind foreign trips and constant press appearances, Tillerson has made it known to his staff that he wants a lower profile.
In private, the Texas oilman with the booming baritone voice is deliberate, independent and cool-headed, according to U.S. and foreign diplomats who have interacted with him and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to avoid possible diplomatic fallout from discussing private conversations. A common thread in Tillersons meetings with diplomats has been an emphasis on safety of U.S. personnel, State Department officials said.
Its a continuation of a theme Tillerson touched on when he spoke to staffers on his first day, and one he plans to echo this coming week on a trip to Mexico City with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Tillerson will stop at the U.S. Embassy to meet with American diplomats, officials said.
Diplomats from several foreign countries said Tillerson is playing it safe in high-level meetings so far, avoiding extemporaneous comments. He shows up seeming well-prepared and confident on the substance of issues, rarely consulting his aides or written notes, they reported.
In Germany last week, Tillerson urged China to help address North Koreas nuclear threat. He called on Russia to honor a 2015 peace plan for Ukraine.
While those signs of continuity in U.S. policy may have assuaged some foreign leaders concerns about Trump, Tillersons tight-lipped nature unsettled others.
After meeting Tillerson, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault lamented the vague U.S. position on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tillerson told several of his international partners the U.S. is still in listening mode, leaving some with the perception that Trump may craft U.S. foreign policy on the fly.
In a rare interaction with reporters, Tillerson said before leaving Germany he was bringing home many messages for Trump. Asked to share a few, he demurred.
Not until I share it with him, he said.
(AP)
Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has apologized for a catalog aimed at Israels ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that contains no images of women.
Ikea says the booklet was produced by its Israeli branch, not by the Swedish group itself.
IKEA spokeswoman Josefin Thorell says the catalog is not something that has gone through us, adding we have been very clear that this is not what the Ikea brand stands for.
Thorell told Swedish news agency TT late Friday that its Israeli franchise had tried to reach a consumer group and made an error.
Thorell was not immediately available for comment on Saturday, and it was not clear how many catalogs had been printed.
Israels ultra-Orthodox Jewish community makes up make up about 11 percent of Israels population.
(AP)
The thief arrived at the Raved Street home of Rabbi Neuwirth in Bnei Brak on motzei Shabbos, a man who operates a gemach loaning money to the chareidi tzibur. The burglar managed to take four bags of cash but Bchasdei Hashem, the rav son-in-law, who lives in the building, arrived and he managed to grab bags from the thief and spray him with pepper spray, causing him to flee.
Shomrim volunteers and police responded and the bags were recovered and they began searching for the thief, who fled in his own vehicle. The thief took advantage of the fact security cameras were not operating at the time. No explanation is given as to why.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Odisha Police on Saturday raided hotel rooms in Angul district where BJP leaders were holding meetings, but all they were able to recover was a paltry Rs 2,200.
By Manogya Loiwal : The Odisha Police on Saturday raided hotel rooms in Angul district where BJP leaders were holding meetings, after receiving information that "outside political leaders" were there to distribute money to voters. But all the police have been able to recover is a paltry Rs 2,200.
Several police teams raided the hotel rooms of the BJP State Secretary Kalindi Samal, and Angul District BJP president Bhagirathi Pradhan in the presence of a magistrate, on the eve of the fourth phase of the Panchayat elections.
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"We're unable to understand. We were just back after the party meeting and having our lunch in (the) room. All at once, we found police personnel barging into our rooms. It made us feel scared as one of our workers Salman Rout was murdered," Samal said.
"We got apprehensive of adverse police action upon us. We inquired but they, instead of telling anything, cordoned us. Later on, the magistrate reached and said they would conduct (a) search," he added.
Police Superintendent Subhas Sahu said the raids were conducted based on information that "some outside political leaders" were there to distribute money. But the Rs 2,200 in notes "of different denominations" was meant for the leaders' personal expenses, and returned immediately in the presence of the magistate, he added.
Kalindi Samal slammed the ruling Biju Janata Dal, saying they were desperate since the people of the state had "rejected" them.
"We're not brokers. We're BJP's functionaries. Is there any law barring us to hold (a) meeting inside the hotel room? Today Biju Janata Dal is seething in anger and has turned blood-thirsty. The way the people of Odisha have rejected them, they are acting in desperation and stooped low."
Considering the BJP's success in the state in the Panchayat Polls, questions are being raised about whether the raid was genuine, or an effort to demean the party's reputation.
(With inputs from Mohammad Wasim)
ALSO READ: Odisha panchayat polls: BJP makes impressive gains; Naveen Patnaik losing grip on state?
--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: London, Feb 19 (PTI) Racist posters were put up at a Pakistani community centre, library and primary school in Manchester, prompting a hate crime probe.
The offensive material was also posted through doors of houses and taped to the centre in Longsight, south Manchester, the local library and St Lukes Primary School in nearby Ardwick.
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Police believe the posters were distributed on Thursday and are treating the matter as a hate crime, the Evening Standard reported.
However, police did not specify what was on the posters or the nature of racism.
Police has released a CCTV image of a young man they want to speak to in connection with the incidents.
Superintendent Dave Pester from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was quoted as saying, "I am determined to find out who is responsible for these despicable crimes."
"Hate crime has no place in our community, and I would ask that anyone with information contacts the police.
"I am keen to identify a young man who was seen near to St Lukes Primary School on the Coverdale Estate in Ardwick around 12.45pm on Thursday February 16," he said. PTI ASK AKJ ASK
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By Press Trust of India: From M Zulqernain
Lahore, Feb 19 (PTI) Over 300 people, mostly Afghans, have been arrested in Pakistans Punjab province as part of heightened security measures following a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine that killed 88 worshippers.
"More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody mostly Afghans since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road," Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today.
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He said the search operation of the law enforcement agencies will continue across the province and the Afghan nationals living here must keep their identification papers.
At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly suicide attack claimed by the ISIS in the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan area of southern Sindh province.
"During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent," he said.
Some 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a protest demonstration of chemists outside the Punjab Assembly.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), "police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted".
Police used bio-metric machines for identification of people and those who failed to produce documents to prove their identity have been taken into custody, he said, adding illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Meanwhile, the police have taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler/facilitator Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road where he blew himself up.
An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day physical remand. Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of the Lahore blast.
Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan-based terrorists for the attacks in the country.
The army over the weekend killed more than 100 suspected terrorists and also handed over to Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists hiding across the border. PTI MZ UZM
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MBABANE A Swazi car enthusiast has built the first BMW trailer. He speaks fondly of how owners of the BMW E30 models, popularly known as gusheshes, fork out thousands for their cars to look unique.
Zwakele Bhakede Matsebula was speaking after he was spotted driving his BMW around Mbabane.
It had a BMW trailer in tow.
Onlookers were left stunned by the shear talent exhibited in the design.
Matsebula said he saw a similar picture while browsing the internet and due to his love of the said BMW model, he decided he wanted to make means to have it.
He mentioned that he did research and discovered that it was not manufactured anywhere in the world, which means he had to build it himself.
I have heard that there is one in South Africa. When I started the project, I had to get an old BMW body and cut it so that I can have the back part, which I eventually used. I have spent about E20 000 in making the trailer, he said.
He explained that while he had difficulty getting a new BMW E30, they were compelled to destroy some cars in order to get parts to fix and rebuild those they use during their Spin and Drift games.
Gusheshes are sold for about E35 000 but some proud owners demand up to over E100 000.
Information gathered by the publication was that the model is no longer available in stock.
When you buy one from Caucasians, they normally do not demand less than E80 000 because its a precious toy.
A certain friend of mine is selling his model for E120 000. He doesnt even drive it as he is scared that someone might bump onto it. This shows how we love this car and can never trade it for anything, he said.
The popular car spinner, who once broke his leg trying to pull a stunt during a show, said he had spent over E300 000 rebuilding such cars to compete with other BMWs during competitions.
I have about 10 engines, having bought each at a cost between E20 000 and E25 000.We convert the 318i engine into a 328i multivalve one. This engine belongs to an E46 BMW, which is popularly known as the G-string type. This improves the power and speed.
MATSAPHA The memorial service held in honour of the late former Prime Minister Sotsha Dlamini yesterday started two hours late.
Family members who were at the mortuary did not keep time, hence the delay. The memorial took place at Matsapha Evangelical Church yesterday and it was scheduled to start at 11am but eventually started at a few minutes before 1pm.
As mourners waited, the churchs praise team kept the fires burning as they rendered worship songs while those who were already in the air-conditioned chapel sang along.
The event began when the corpse arrived in a hearse from Dups Funeral Home. The convoy was led by Phineas Magagula, Minister of Education and Training, who was there to represent government.
Also in the procession were senior police officers and close family members. Upon arrival, members of the Swaziland Royal Police force welcomed the deceased into the hall. He is a former colleague, having served the force for 23 years. As they entered, every mourner stood up as a sign of respect for the departed hero.
Jinnoh Nkambule, who was the programme director, then took over. He first apologised for the delay before allowing the memorial service to start with prayer.
Nkosingiphile Dlamini, one of the relatives close to the deceaseds family, then read the obituary before breaking down in tears and knelt before the widow Bethusile Dlamini, who had been with the late PM for 55 years.
The first speech was by police officer Paul Shabangu. The latter reported direct to the late Dlamini as he was also his private secretary when the former PM was in Cabinet. Shabangu said in his 36 years working for government, he spent about 25 years working with the late disciplinarian.
It is a very sad day for me and those close to the deceased because he was a very resourceful and humble person. He was not afraid to stand for the truth. He was good quality to have as head of government. We ask God to give comfort to his family.
Ncamisile Ngwenya, who spoke on behalf of children of the deceased, said it was a huge setback for them because their father was their pillar. Father, now that you are gone, who will guide us? You raised us and you shared so much love and above all you raised children who were not your own. We promise to live by your teachings.
The late head of state had 26 grandchildren and Lindiwe Tsabedze, spoke on behalf of them. She said ever since the day he passed away, it has been like a dream such that in the back of their minds they still had hope that someone will come and say it was all a joke, but the reality was that he was gone. We will always remember him as a part of us went away with him.
MBABANE Inmates at His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS) are faced with a shortage of food and toilet paper.
This, it has been established, is a result of governments precarious financial position.
The Times SUNDAY understands that some inmates now use newspapers when they go to the toilet. Others rely on money given to them by their relatives to buy foodstuffs and toilet paper, among other bare necessities.
Isaiah Mzuthini Ntshangase, Correctional Services Commissioner General, addressed inmates and senior officials about the matter on Tuesday.
The situation has reached a state where inmates have reduced food rations. To add salt to the wound, the department cannot afford to buy toilet paper for the offenders.
Assistant Commissioner Bongani Khumalo, the departments Public Relations Officer, said they had released a press statement addressing the issue he was questioned on.
Khumalo had been asked about the shortage of food in correctional facilities. He said the press statement was about a meeting the commissioner general had with some senior officials and inmates in Matsapha. Please use the press release. I believe it has all the answers, said Khumalo.
According to the said press release being referred to by Khumalo, a representative of the inmates acknowledged that government was facing fiscal challenges.
He thanked the commissioner general for supporting them during times of financial problems.
Meanwhile, Ntshangase, through his departments communications department, invited the Times SUNDAY to a meeting tomorrow.
He said this meeting would be attended by Edgar Hillary, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
Information from the communications department was to the effect that at that meeting, the questions raised by this publication would be addressed. They said they could not comment on the issue of food shortage because the commissioner general had already invited this reporter to the meeting.
On Thursday, the department asked to respond to the questions raised by this publication in writing on Friday.
The denial comes a full five days after a report in Pakistani media said the country's army chief had asked officers to read a book on how India emerged as a successful democracy.
By Santosh Chaubey: The Pakistani army has denied that its chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa asked his officers to emulate the values of Indian democracy.
In a tweet, Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman of the Pakistan armed forces, said the "news/comments quoting COAS' (chief of army staff's) address to officers at Rawalpindi regarding book 'Army and Nation' is a disinformation."
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General Bajwa's photograph is tagged with the tweet alongwith an incomplete caption that reads 'Army officers should learn from Indian democracy, says Pakistan army chief Qamar J...' - essentially a poor damage control act after Gen Bajwa's vision for the Pakistani army was widely reported in the Indian media.
News / comments quoting COAS' address to officers at Rawalpindi regarding book 'Army and Nation' is a disinformation. pic.twitter.com/vR8sjDIyw1 Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 19, 2017
REPORT PUBLISHED IN PAK MEDIA
On February 13, Pakistani newspaper The Nation published a piece on the new army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa's vision for the Pakistan's army based on quotes from his first official address to his colleagues in December 2016.
Titled 'Coordination, not competition, with civilians: The Army Chief's Glasnost', the article, among many other things, quoted the army chief saying something that was so unlike the Pakistani army's position that it caught immediate international attention.
The Nation piece said Gen Bajwa, in no unequivocal terms, conveyed to his colleagues that the Pakistan army must remain within the constitutional role defined for it and must not meddle in the civilian government.
Also read: Pakistan's new army chief Bajwa needles India, threatens to escalate firing along LoC
BAJWA REPORTEDLY RECOMMENDED BOOK ON INDIA
Saying a civilian vs military dichotomy is always 'counter-productive for a country and the army should have no business in running the government', Bajwa reportedly advised his colleagues to read "Army and Nation", a book written by Yale University professor Steven I Wilkinson, a well-received book that details how India has emerged as a successful democracy with civilian supremacy over the military establishments.
Gen Asif Ghafoor's tweet, the first official denial from the Pakistani establishment, looks like a shabby, reluctant attempt at damage control. The country's army has always been in control in Pakistan and such views from its army chief could be seen as undermining the military's supremacy in the Pakistani society.
Coming five days after The Nation piece, the tweet clarification conveys a half-hearted attempt at best that sounds too little, too late. Had the piece or Bajwa's reported comments been so alarming, we would have seen a denial on the day the article appeared, like it happened with India's surgical strike inside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
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Also read: Nawaz Sharif appointed General Bajwa due to his pro-democratic credentials, say experts
Also read: Pak army says it killed 100 militants in crackdown, demands Afghanistan take action against terrorists
--- ENDS ---
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.
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Photography is taken to another level as more advanced technology is developed - technology including drones.
Chinese tech firm DJI specializes in drone and aerial photography and they have begun SkyPixel Photo Contest, an annual submission competition for artists around the world to participate in.
BIRD'S EYE: Aerial video of Houston's January floods captures severity of storms
Last year's competition included a Texan in Lubbock who captured an astonishing photo of a thunderstorm rolling into the college town. The cloud formation photographer Darin Kuntz obtained in his drone photography looks much like a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb.
SkyPixel / Darin Kuntz
To see more of the beautiful photography highlighted by SkyPixel as their best submissions, click through the gallery above.
SkyPixel's goal in the competition is to highlight the incredible work "dronies" (the nickname for drone photographers) are able to achieve with DJI's technologies.
"Through this competition, we aim to show the world why aerial imaging is the next evolution of photographic art, and highlight new talents found on SkyPixel," the website says about the contest details.
TEXAS OVERFLOWING: Google Earth aerial photos show just how flooded Texas was in April 2016
The grand prize winner of 2016 won prizes worth over $5,000, which included a new DJI drone, an Epson printer and other tech prizes from DJI. The company plans to continue their annual photo contest and more information on the photo contest can be found here.
Albany
Tech Valley was forever changed on Sept. 22, 2016.
That was the day that Alain Kaloyeros, the founding president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, was swept up in an alleged bid-rigging scandal that has rocked the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and cast a long shadow on the future of SUNY Poly, considered a keystone of the region's high-tech sector and a beacon for similar development across upstate.
Kaloyeros, the physics professor who built SUNY Poly, making it perhaps the world's most recognized academic research and development hub for the semiconductor industry, has been a major casualty of the scandal. Several upstate contractors who did work for SUNY Poly were arrested, as well as Joseph Percoco, a former aide and close confidant to Cuomo. Kaloyeros resigned in October after being charged with multiple felonies. He has maintained his innocence and has vowed to fight to clear his reputation.
The Capital Region's economy has suffered as well. Since SUNY Poly was served with subpoenas in the fall of 2015 by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, several projects that would have brought in billions of dollars of high-tech investment, have either failed or been scrapped, mostly due to investigations by Bharara and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Blame has been cast everywhere.
State officials have pointed fingers at Kaloyeros, alleging that significant problems occurred under his watch. Insiders have said the multiple investigations, including an internal probe by Cuomo's office, paralyzed SUNY Poly. Either way, a vacuum was created when Kaloyeros, who was at the center of every negotiation, left SUNY Poly.
"It's rudderless right now," G. Dan Hutcheson, a longtime respected Silicon Valley semiconductor analyst, said. "One of the things that gets lost in all of this is the importance of leadership in a technology organization. He (Kaloyeros) built an amazing organization, and it didn't come from nothing."
One industry source, who asked not to be identified, estimated that at least 6,500 potential new jobs in Albany, Utica and other parts of upstate have been lost.
Those losses include the agreement to have SUNY Poly build a $685 million computer chip factory next to SUNY Poly's Utica campus for ams AG, an Austrian computer chip firm. The company walked away from the deal around Thanksgiving. The project, part of Cuomo's Nano Utica initiative, was expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Other projects that were sidelined, according to documents obtained by the Times Union, include two biotechnology centers that would have been located at SUNY Poly's Albany campus and a second phase of the Global 450 Consortium that would have brought in more than $3.5 billion from two top chip makers. The pilot factory would have been built in Utica while extending research and development operations in Albany.
And there are other projects, such as the Solar City solar panel factory in Buffalo and the Soraa LED factory outside of Syracuse, that have faced delays over missed payments to contractors. In the case of Soraa, the project is about a year behind schedule. Soraa has not commented on the fate of the project. Subcontractors at the site were sent home last year over the lack of payments.
Howard Zemsky, who as CEO of Empire State Development is Cuomo's top economic development official, took over SUNY Poly's construction portfolio after Kaloyeros' arrest. He said the Soraa project is moving forward, and the Solar City factory is about to begin production. Both are being built by SUNY Poly and are expected to create a total of 3,400 jobs.
Zemsky said SUNY Poly's mission expanded beyond research and development labs at its Albany campus that were central to chip manufacturing, an effort that attracted IBM, GlobalFoundries, Tokyo Electron and Applied Materials.
"As time went on, the organization was ... asked to do a lot, and so while their portfolio of projects increased a lot over time, staff didn't increase in a commensurate way," Zemsky said. "They spread their footprint, they grew their portfolio, and I think it was hard to manage."
A source with knowledge of SUNY Poly's operations said the investigations severely hampered the school's ability to execute its deals, as staff was constantly trying to comply with subpoenas. And when Cuomo hired the private investigator Bart Schwartz after his own office received subpoenas, Schwartz's efforts to overhaul accounting on SUNY Poly's projects further slowed as state agencies withheld payments to contractors to comply. The lack of money, which caused major delays, was out of Kaloyeros' control, the source said.
Kaloyeros did not respond to requests for comment.
Zemsky said despite the investigations, the core of SUNY Poly remains unchanged.
"It's really important not to create a lasting stigma over an institution that has done some extraordinary work over 20 years," he said. "What is or isn't proven, and what did or did not happen, shouldn't really cloud the extraordinary work that so many people have done and the tremendous accomplishments that were realized over literally decades."
Zemsky is still optimistic that the state will land a new tenant in Utica. The Times Union recently uncovered congressional emails and federal lobbying records that show Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was interested in Utica in 2011. It is one of the reasons why ESD continues to earmark more than $600 million for the site, known as the Marcy Nanocenter.
"We know the state's commitment is one of the biggest advantages, and that isn't going away," Zemsky said. "If you said, 'Are you going to have something to announce in four weeks?' Probably not. But if you said, 'Are you optimistic this time next year we'll be sitting here talking about it?' I'd say, yeah."
While Zemsky is trying to bring as many projects to fruition as possible, SUNY Poly's new leader is moving to reshape the school and its ambitious economic development goals of years past.
That new leader is Bahgat Sammakia, SUNY Poly's interim president, who SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher hired in November to lead the school until a permanent leader is found. Sammakia is a former IBM executive and the head of research at Binghamton University, who carries a lot of clout in the academic world and the tech sector. He said the school will have to rely on assistance from the state for four to five years to get its finances back on track.
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At issue is $475 million that SUNY Poly owes banks and bondholders for high-tech construction projects at its Albany campus over the past 10 years. A $251 million syndicated loan led by M&T Bank of Buffalo was used to build the school's NanoFabX building. The loans are paid off with rents that SUNY Poly collects from tenants at its Albany campus.
An industry source said before Kaloyeros was forced out, he negotiated with IBM, GlobalFoundries and others on programs that would have brought in revenue to cover the NanoFabX loan. But those programs, including a second phase of the Global 450 Consortium and a $500 million Advanced Patterning and Productivity Center, either fell apart or never materialized last year amid the chaos.
Sammakia would not say how much financial help SUNY Poly needs, but it will likely be a mix of state aid from the SUNY budget and debt relief perhaps from the Research Foundation for SUNY, which oversees grants to SUNY schools.
"We need to solve our current fiscal problems, which we think are short term," Sammakia said. "We're working with ESD and SUNY and the Research Foundation trying to come up with a fiscal plan. ... The biggest financial issue is the service on the loan for the infrastructure in Albany."
Sammakia is splitting his time between the Albany and Utica campuses. He views their union as critical to the survival of SUNY Poly, which was created in 2014 when Kaloyeros spun off the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, or CNSE, from the University at Albany and merged it with what was then called SUNY IT, a technical college in the town of Marcy outside Utica.
There have been rumors that SUNY may want to give the Albany campus and CNSE back to UAlbany, especially since UAlbany recently created its own engineering school.
Other sources have said that the Utica campus could not survive on its own, and that the school is too important to the Mohawk Valley. It offers degree programs in nursing and health information management.
"We're not looking to break up SUNY Poly," Sammakia said. "Not everything is a good match, but that is true even in a single campus. There are many areas in Utica that do overlap well with Albany. Even nursing can be a good feeder into biotech and (the Utica campus) has more applicants than we can handle right now."
Sammakia also has some big ideas for the Albany campus. He envisions opening up the clean room space in Albany to other SUNY schools and private institutions like Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that will bring in revenue while placing a larger emphasis on academic research. Sammakia said partnerships with companies like IBM, GE and GlobalFoundries will continue to be nurtured.
And he is not afraid to venture into biotech research as Kaloyeros did before him, although he said for now, SUNY Poly likely won't be putting up new buildings on its campus.
"We have the capacity that we need. The first task is filling them," Sammakia said. "I don't think you will find infrastructure like that anywhere in the world. It's a tremendous opportunity to grow on. Maybe some day we could be a national center. We want to be open to anyone in New York."
lrulison@timesunion.com 518-454-5504 @larryrulison
By Press Trust of India: Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) Scientists have 3D printed small, soft bio-bots with living tissues that can not only walk and swim, but also have the ability to age as well as heal if there is an injury.
Researchers at University of Illinois in the US made a soft 3D printed scaffold measuring a centimetre or two in length and seeded it with muscle cells.
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The cells then self-organised to form functional tissues that make the bio-bots move.
"These machines are now viewed as partially living, with the ability to form, the ability to age and the ability to heal if there is an injury," said Taher Saif from Illinois.
"Now that we have got them working, we are beginning to look back and try to understand how the cells organise themselves and what language they use to communicate. This is the developmental biology of living machines," he said.
"As engineers, we usually build with materials like wood, steel or silicon. Our focus here is to forward-engineer biological or cell-based systems," said Rashid Bashir, head of the bioengineering department at the University of Illinois.
"The design is inspired by the muscle-tendon-bone complex found in nature. There is a skeleton or backbone, but made out of soft polymers similar to the ones used in contact lenses, so it can bend instead of needing joints like the body does," he said.
Bashirs group developed multiple designs to make bio-bots walk in certain directions and to control their motion with light or electrical currents.
They form a single muscle unit that contracts to beat a tail, propelling the bio-bot through liquid.
"They align themselves in a direction where the tail of the swimmer can be bent most. Which is exactly what we wanted, although we did not pattern or direct them to do it," said Saif.
"The objective is not to make a walker and a swimmer, but to lay the scientific foundation so we have principles for building biological machines in the future," Saif added. PTI NKS MHN MHN
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THE ISSUE:
The governor wants to expand one of his agency's legal operations.
THE STAKES:
Isn't this what we have a state attorney general for?
More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse
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It isn't unusual for top elected officials in any government to try to expand their authority and influence. The extent of executive power, in fact, has been an issue in America since we sent a monarch packing.
Sometimes, the outcome can be positive. Decisive executives may get much more done than fractious legislatures. Whether what they get done is in the public interest, however, is another matter.
It can be downright disastrous, as we've sometimes seen right here in New York. And so, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo once again tries to expand his purview, it behooves the Legislature to look closely at the idea.
For a sobering example, look no further than the latest scandal in state government, in which close allies of the governor, a former SUNY president and several businessmen have been charged by state and federal prosecutors in alleged pay-to-play schemes involving the Buffalo Billion and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
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At the root of that alleged corruption was how Mr. Cuomo and the Legislature allowed more and more SUNY contracting to be done through quasi-public nonprofit corporations, with less scrutiny by the state comptroller a separately elected official whose job it is to review contracts. That check was diminished for the sake of expediency. Unfortunately, the shortcuts brought an entirely predictable side effect: secrecy.
This also echoed a recurring theme in Mr. Cuomo's tenure: feuding with other top officials, often over turf. The Cuomo administration has frequently sparred with Comptroller Tom DiNapoli over any criticism in audits of executive agencies. The governor, too, has waged an on-again, off-again campaign to strip Mr. DiNapoli of his sole trusteeship of the state pension system, an arrangement that has long served to make one person accountable to the public for the $186 billion fund. Mr. Cuomo would rather have a board, some of whose members he would appoint, run the system which would only dilute accountability and increase political meddling.
Now the governor is sparring with another of his self-created nemeses, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, over Mr. Cuomo's desire to expand the legal purview of an agency he created and controls, the Department of Financial Services. The same governor who boasts of efficiencies the state has achieved in consolidating duplicative operations in various agencies now argues the opposite at least when it comes to expanding his own domain.
Mr. Cuomo says it would mean "more cops on the beat" in a department that has proven its value. But if the state lacks enough lawyers, perhaps the answer is to look at the Department of Law's funding, not add more lawyers and legal responsibilities in the executive branch.
No doubt, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Schneiderman, both lawyers, can make compelling cases either way. It falls on the Legislature to separate the interests of the Empire State from an executive's interest in empire building.
A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017
crime
By Press Trust of India: From Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Feb 19 (PTI) Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has arrived in Nepal for a three-day visit during which he will attend an infrastructure summit which he said was crucial for accelerating the himalayan nations economic growth.
Prabhu arrived here yesterday to attend the Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017, organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in association with the Nepal government and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors (YCNC) to be held between February 19-20.
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The minister, who is the guest of honour and keynote speaker at the summit said, the infrastructure summit would be pivotal for accelerating economic growth of Nepal at a time when the country is striving to graduate to the league of developing nations.
Welcoming Prabhu at a reception to honour him yesterday, CNP president Haribhakta Sharma said the ministers visit will be a good opportunity for sharing ideas and experiences of Indian model of infrastructure development, where involvement of the private sector has become one of the key drivers in accelerating steady rate of economic growth.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae was also present at the occasion.
During his stay in Nepal, Prabhu will pay a courtesy call to President Bidha Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda".
He will also hold meetings with Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak and other senior government officials as well as private sector representatives.
In a statement, CNI said the ministers visit will be instrumental in strengthening Nepal-India ties for socio-economic development of both countries. PTI SBP AJR ASK AJR
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After the video of Russian model Viktoria Odintcova's controversial photoshoot -- where she is seen dangling from a skyscraper --went viral, Dubai police summoned her to get a pledge signed from her.
By Reuters: Dubai police have summoned a Russian model who posed for a video while dangling from a skyscraper to sign a pledge not to put her life in danger again, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.
A video of the model, identified by local media as 23-year-old Viktoria Odintcova, went viral after she posted it on her Instagram account earlier in the week.
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It shows her stepping off a girder at the top of Dubai's 73-storey Cayan Tower and dangling in the void, held only by a man gripping her hand.
Major-General Khalil Ibrahim al-Mansouri, an assistant to the chief of police in Dubai, was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Ittihad newspaper as saying that Odintcova "had been summoned to sign an undertaking not to repeat any dangerous moves that could endanger her life in Dubai."
"What the young Russian woman had done represents a danger to her life," the newspaper quoted Mansouri as saying.
Full video (link in bio)! @a_mavrin #MAVRINmodels #MAVRIN #VikiOdintcova #Dubai A post shared by Viki Odintcova (@viki_odintcova) on Feb 3, 2017 at 7:12am PST
He said it was important for residents in the Gulf Arab city to avoid practising dangerous hobbies without taking necessary precautions or obtaining prior permission from authorities, the newspaper said.
The video registered more than half a million viewings after it was posted on Odintcova's Instagram account.
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An appointment for Prez Trump could soon impact this longstanding legal struggle: "The Court will try to answer the question of whether religiously affiliated schools can be constitutionally denied equal access to a government benefit, even if the benefit has nothing to do directly with matters of faith. The benefit is a program in Missouri that provides rubberized material for school playgrounds made out of old tires. Missouris constitution bars parochial schools from receiving such public benefits . . ."Read more:
- Christian values upheld slavery but also inspired its abolition.
- Some Christians supported segregation but also led the way in the fight for Civil Rights.
- Most mainstream Christians condemn the practice of homosexuality while holding that homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity."
- One last contradiction: In Kansas City, the clergy are now the driving force demanding a $15 minimum wage that threatens to put even more of their congregations out of work.
Porfirio Diaz: "Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States.
Just a brief moment of contemplation about faith and Kansas City politics for Sunday . . .As, there is empiricallyand "journalism" is mostly a bad joke . . . The sordid intersection of faith and politics becomes even more sketchy.Throughout Kansas Cityhave either offended or inspired the last remaining people of faith.The banner is the handiwork of this organization . . .is a partnership of faith-based organizations committed to enacting fair and humane immigration reform that reflects our mandate to welcome the stranger and treat all human beings with dignity and respect. Coalition members work together to advocate for just and equitable immigration policies, educate faith communities, and serve immigrant populations around the country."The point of contention for many is theby Jesus, Mary And Joseph . . . It's either a parable about Christ The Lord signing up for a censusescaping the wrath of King Herod in a foreign land. Biblical scholars might even claim that the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire trumps any modern day refugee connections whilst really getting into the details of the story might not be as productive as asking . . .Rather than engaging in theological debate that's not going to convince anyone. Let's look at the facts . . .Truth is, powerful rhetoric can utilize religion and the teachings of Christ to convince people of almost about anything. Just askPiety and politics should make people uncomfortable for a lot of reasons and possibly remind Americans of the very good reason for thealluded to in the First Amendment which at least attempts to keep the two institutions at arm's length.Still, there's no denying that cruelty, outright hatred and seething contempt for humankind based on the quality and content of their paperworkrepresent the best of Christian values . . . At least until after Church services are finished and the faithful are competing for the best spot at the buffet line.Fact is, the Trump Administration is further to the right than most mainstream Republicans andgiven their, legal travel visas and limiting numbers of immigrants overall . . . Again, these are all policy proposals and not nearly as fun as yelling "Build The Wall!" at a campaign rally or denigrating an entire group of people byBut I digress . . . And offer just one quote featuringon the topic of faith and politics despite the fact that the Democratic Party have now adopted the Muslim Community as their pet cause given that Latinos didn't turn out for Hillary in much the same way that the Black community stayed home during election 2016 . . .In the final analysis, there's a bible verse that people can connect to just about every political agenda whilst The Almighty remains silent on matters of policy and partisan slap fighting.Further reading:You decide . . .
By Press Trust of India: Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed a low-cost smartphone app that allows people with ALS and other motor impairments to easily communicate with eye gestures in real time.
For people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other motor impairments, the current eye-tracking input systems are expensive, not robust under sunlight, and require frequent re-calibration and substantial, relatively immobile setups, said researchers.
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Eye-gaze transfer (e-tran) boards, a low-tech alternative, are challenging to master and offer slow communication rates.
To mitigate the drawbacks of these two status quo approaches, researchers including Harish Kulkarni from Microsoft Research and Xiaoyi Zhang from University of Washington in the US, created GazeSpeak.
GazeSpeak can interpret eye gestures in real time, decode these gestures into predicted utterances and facilitate communication, with different user interfaces for speakers and interpreters.
"Our evaluations demonstrate that GazeSpeak is robust, has good user satisfaction and provides a speed improvement with respect to an e-tran board; we also identify avenues for further improvement to low-cost, low-effort gaze-based communication technologies," researchers said.
When a tripod or phone stand is available, speakers could choose to use GazeSpeak in the front-facing mode with minimum help from the caregivers, they said. PTI NKS MHN MHN
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"We are getting closer to a solution," Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA)
"We are getting closer to a solution," Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA). However, he admitted that a disagreement can hinder the conclusion of the programme review.
He also said that an agreement that will stop the development course of the country, an agreement that will not offer Greece the hope of exiting austerity is an impasse.
Skourletis also lashed out at New Democracy that insists on the issue of early elections without having specific proposals.
On the issue of contractual staff, he said that he is favour of a solution based on the Greek Constitution, the EU Law and the reality. Moreover, he called on all parties to cooperate in order to give an end to that situation.
Read more here.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Saudi Arabia has deported a staggering 40,000 Pakistani migrant workers in the span of just four months, citing terrorism concerns
Saudi Arabia has deported a staggering 40,000 Pakistani migrant workers in the span of just four months, citing terrorism concerns.
The Saudi Gazette reported last week that a number of Pakistanis were held in the crimes of drug trafficking, thefts, forgery and physical assault. Authorities feared that some of the migrant workers were linked with ISIS, or as the Saudis call the terror group, Daesh. Other migrants were deported due to expired residency and work permits.
Against this backdrop, Abdullah Al-Sadoun, chairman of the security committee of the Shoura Council, called for thoroughly scrutinizing the Pakistanis before they are recruited for work in the Kingdom, added the Gazette. He asked for more closer coordination with the concerned authorities in Pakistan to thoroughly check those coming to work in the Kingdom due to the involvement of a number of Pakistanis in security issues.
While the Kingdom has long exported the jihadist ideological cancer of Wahhabism to mosques and Islamic centers across the West, it has prided itself in its effort to rid the homeland of terrorists threatening to undermine the stability and sovereignty of the monarchy.
Counter-terrorism raids are not uncommon in Saudi Arabia. In fact, counter-terrorism agents recently arrested 15 Pakistanis in the Al-Harazat and Al-Naseem districts of Jeddah on terrorism-related charges.
Pakistanis have mostly traveled to Saudi Arabia looking for work. Many of them take low-paying and dangerous jobs in the construction industry.
But leave it to Saudi Arabia to treat its migrant labor force with appalling apathy.
Official Saudi statistics say that 243,000 Pakistanis were deported between 2012 2015, reports The Independent. Mass deportations of migrant workers which Human Rights Watch and other rights organisations say often involve illegal beatings and detainment in poor conditions are fairly common.
This all begs the question: Is Saudi Arabia Islamophobic? Well, if youre claiming that President Trumps falsely identified Muslim ban (recently rendered unconstitutional by a federal appellate court) is Islamphobic because of the fact that it places a temporary freeze on the acceptance of incoming refugees from just seven (out of dozens) of the high-risk Muslim-majority countries in the world, then surely Saudi Arabias mass deportation of tens of thousands of Muslims due to terrorism concerns should ring some alarm bells.
Is Saudi Arabia immune from the charge of Islamophobia because its leaders are Muslim? Or, better yet, is the Lefts entire hysterical crusade against Trumps Islamophobia a red herring meant to delegitimize the political opposition?
The bottom line is every sovereign state, whether it be Saudi Arabia, Israel, or the United States, has a right to defend its borders and regulate who comes into the country. Every sovereign state has a right, perhaps even a duty, to protect its citizens against foreign threats, particularly terrorist threats.
Read more here.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Bahrain-based Al Ebdaa Bank for Microfinance has appointed 25 new loan specialists after they had completed a specialised training session organised in cooperation with the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (Agfund).
Newly-appointed employees attended rehabilitation courses to train them on the micro-financing skills. They were informed about the history of microfinance and its development by Professor Muhammad Yunus through his successful experience of establishing the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh in 1972. They were also made aware of the importance of the credit and personal analysis of borrowers, and the need to follow up on the development of their enterprises and motivate them to pay their instalments according to schedule.
Dr Khalid Al-Gazawi, CEO of Al Ebdaa Bank, said the move was within the framework of the banks efforts to expand its operations in the kingdom and support its staff with qualified employees who are capable of boosting the banks lending and financing policies.
We have embarked on a new expansion phase through the launch of a new strategy that includes the opening of new branches in South and Muharraq provinces, he said.
We also seek to promote our financing products and serve more clients, and this requires a steady increase in the number of the banks staff to meet the requirements of the current and future expansions, and to reach the largest possible number of low-incomers who want to start their new enterprises, or those who need to develop and expand their existing ones, he added.
Al-Gazawi, who had worked in many countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the US before coming to Bahrain, expressed admiration for the level of Bahraini competencies in the banking and financing industry.
We are proud that the Bahrainisation rate at the Al-Ebdaa Bank has exceeded 94 per cent, and we are moving towards further raising it, especially amid the availability of national competencies that are capable of achieving excellence in the banks work and attaining its pre-set goals, he said.
We recruited 26 employees in August 2016, and we announced the appointment of 25 others for the bank today, he said, adding that most of the 25 new staffers are women, and this proves anew the distinction of Bahraini women and their ability to hold key posts in the financial industry. TradeArabia News Service
Mott MacDonald, a multidisciplinary consultancy, said it has acquired Wideurope Engineering, a major engineering and design company based in Fujairah, the UAE.
Established in 2002, Wideurope Engineering employs over 50 people across its offices in Dubai and Fujairah in the UAE and Genoa, Italy. The company operates primarily in the energy sector providing expert technical support and professional services in civil, structural and electro-mechanical design.
Wideuropes portfolio features power and desalination plants in the GCC and south west Asia, combined cycle power plants in Italy and North Africa and a range of projects in South America and south east Asia.
A leading engineering, management and development consultancy, Mott MacDonald, said this acquisition will help enhance its offering, services and capability in the energy sector and provide access to new markets.
On the company move, Mott MacDonald chairman Keith Howells said Wideurope Engineering had an outstanding reputation with clients and equipment manufacturers all over the world.
"We have worked closely together for many years so we understand each others strengths and where we can draw on each others expertise to best support our clients. Coming together is the next natural progression in our relationship," he stated.
Adding a base in Genoa will give us access to high quality engineering skills in Italy, while the strong client relationships Wideurope has built will offer new scope to work closely in the global energy sector. Were excited about exploring wider international opportunities together, Keith added.
Mott MacDonald is one of the largest energy consultancies in the world, with a global network of over 3000 staff working directly on energy-related projects.
The company operates across all sectors of the energy industry, working with national governments, utilities, industrial companies, investors, developers, contractors and funding agencies.
Giorgio Fugazzi, Wideurope Engineering general manager said: "This is great news for our clients wholl benefit from the strong bond of trust between our companies and direct access to an enormous wealth of talent, insight and information."
"Joining Mott MacDonald also provides great opportunities for our staff wholl be able to collaborate and share their experiences with new colleagues, while developing skills in new sectors and working on a more diverse range of projects," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Kuwaits leading diversified real estate development company, United Real Estate Company (URC), has signed an agreement with Jordan's Al-Adnani Group, to launch a new signature health spa in its Abdali Mall, in Amman.
The 929-sq-m women only spa will operate under the seven star Gaia Cocoon Spa brand and be one of the Al Adnani Groups largest in Jordan offering the only seven-star beauty center in Amman catering specifically to womens health and beauty services including skin care, make-up, hair & body products and signature therapies designed with advanced technologies and run by an internationally certified team of professionals.
Ahmad Kasem, deputy CEO of United Real Estate Company said: We are very pleased to be partnering with a true market leader and innovator such as Al-Adnani Group.
URCs long-term strategy has always been to have strategic partnerships in the countries that we operate in and this agreement is another commitment to the delivery of exceptional customer experiences in our Abdali Mall.
We strive to set a new benchmark in retail and dining for the local market, and the addition of a seven-star, signature spa will complement the integrated shopping experience.
Located in Ammans inner city urban renewal hub Abdali, Abdali Mall is the first development of its kind in the country boasting an award-winning mix of over 111 tenancies including indoor-outdoor restaurants, open-air food courts, a multi-cinema complex and supermarket.
Abdali Mall was previously awarded Best Retail Project Award (BUILT) in Emerging Markets category at Cityscape Global 2016 and Best Retail Project - Middle East in the Large-Cap category at the World Finance Construction Awards. - TradeArabia News Service
Qatars leading Islamic investment bank QInvest said it has successfully exited St. Edmunds Terrace LP Fund, a prime London Shariaa residential real-estate fund, after netting 22 per cent returns for its investors.
The fund was jointly owned by QInvest and a range of GCC institutional and retail investors.
The Qatari bank had invested 50 million ($62.4 million) for developing a new, prime residential project through a real estate development company.
The project, 50 St. Edmunds Terrace, is located in the heart of Londons affluent neighborhood, St Johns Wood, to the North of Regents Park and adjacent to Primrose Hill, said a statement from the Qatari lender.
The project, which was completed in June 2015, comprises three residential blocks and 37 units. It delivered an average selling price in excess of 2,600 ($3,246) per sq ft, largely due to the quality of the development and amenities, which have set a new benchmark in the area.
QInvest pointed out that the fund was created to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in Londons prime residential market.
On completion, the fund generated 22 per cent net returns for its investors, which is in excess of initial projected returns in the Funds Private Placement Memorandum (PPM), said the company in its statement.
QInvest CEO Tamim Hamad Al Kawari said: "We are very pleased with the performance of the Fund. QInvest has a successful track record in providing investors with access to investments in international markets offering above-market risk-adjusted returns."
"We identify investment opportunities in these markets, structure efficient investment solutions, and execute, doing so whilst taking a long-term investment view. The beautifully-designed real estate asset we leave behind upon exiting this Fund is testament to our investment approach and philosophy."
"We look forward to returning to the market with similar investment opportunities in the near future," he noted.
Craig Cowie, the head of real estate at QInvest, said this Fund demonstrates the strong structuring and execution capabilities of its team.
"The returns it generated to our investors have exceeded expectations, and the project has not only positively impacted the neighbourhood, but also added a notable asset to the luxury real estate market in London," observed Cowie.
"Our team continues to invest in additional projects and we have subsequently closed on a number of high profile real-estate transactions including, One Wall Street in Manhattan (NYC, US), the purchase of a yielding German retail portfolio, and multifamily assets in the US," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Shell Development Oman has awarded contracts to two Omani small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in schools in the pilot phase of its Solar into Schools project.
The pilot school sites are located in Al Buraimi, Nizwa and Salalah, with a fourth pilot school site in Muscat to be announced in due course.
Solar into Schools project was identified as one of the two initiatives announced under Shells 5th Gift to The Nation in 2015, said a statement from the company.
The contract for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in 22 public schools across the sultanate has been awarded by Shell in collaboration with Ministry of Education.
As per the deal, Fajwa for Solar Energy Solutions Systems will install solar panels at the Um Al Fathel girls public school in Nizwa, while Hussam Technology Company will be incharge for installation at Sultan Qaboos chool, a boys public school in Al Buraimi and Khawala bint Hakim School, a girls public school in Salalah.
Procurement activities by the two Omani solar SMEs have already commenced, with the first three pilot sites anticipated to be operational in early to mid-2017, said the statement from Shell.
On the new contracts, Chris Breeze, Shell country chairman in Oman, stated: "We at Shell are very pleased to support Omans budding solar ecosystem through the Solar into Schools initiative. Upon completion of the solar PV training course, the project tender was released for the Omani SMEs in the market to compete."
Gift to the Nation is a tradition initiated by Shell in 1995 the 25th anniversary of Omans Renaissance to launch a new project every 5 years that carries a small further contribution to the development of Omans society and economy.
"A total of seven SMEs participated with their bids, out of which two have been identified and selected for contract award for the pilot stage of the project," he stated.
"Shell is committed to enterprise development in Oman and to help the country meet its growing energy needs in a responsible and sustainable way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Oman's Sohar Port and Freezone has reported that container traffic at the port was up 15 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015, despite generally lower revenues and a slump in activity in the global maritime industry.
The port's break bulk was up by 18 per cent and liquid bulk throughput increased 12 per cent year-on-year, the company said.
Sohar, which topped an average of one million tonnes a week for 2016, received over 2,600 vessel calls in 2016, also a significant increase in numbers despite the global trend towards larger ships.
Revealing the port's performance figures during its annual business reception at The Chedi in Muscat, Sohar CEO Mark Geilenkirchen said the new Food Zone was one of the main highlights of its plans for 2017.
One of our goals is to maximise our prime strategic location, advanced logistics infrastructure and optimal connectivity to help reduce the 70 per cent gap between food consumption and food production in the GCC; our new Food Zone development will also be seamlessly integrated with the sultanates other food security efforts.
Sohar Port South is a significant land reclamation area, currently under construction, designed to accommodate new industrial projects that will be announced soon. The project will include new, deep-water berths to the south of the existing port area. It will give a substantial boost to the Sultanates diversification efforts, aimed to increase the contribution of non-oil sectors to GDP, continued the CEO.
Sohar Freezone will also witness a number of new developments in 2017, as plans for the second phase of the Freezone take shape. The first 500-hectares of phase one has almost all been leased out, explained Freezone CEO Jamal T Aziz.
We are currently improving the business environment based on the output received from the Sultanates Tanfeedh process. This includes further streamlining the Freezones One-Stop-Shop procedures for investors and ensuring that international best practices are applied. A new bonded road corridor, featuring the latest international customs procedures, will further improve connectivity between the Port and adjacent Freezone.
Probably the most futuristic plans on the table were for an Innovation Zone inside the new Freezone area, to be built in close cooperation with Port of Rotterdam.
Together with private sector companies, international research institutes and some of the worlds top universities, we are seeking innovative solutions across a broad range of issues that affect our shipping, logistics and industrial sectors, explained Geilenkirchen. Ultimately this will all be in the best interests of consumers, both locally and internationally. In Sohar we always say It all starts here and that has never been more true than now; 2017 promises to be our most exciting year ever, he concluded. - TradeArabia News Service
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Feb. 19, 1937
The Genesee-James Parent Teachers Association held its February meeting at James Street School Thursday. Mrs. John O'Toole gave a talk on the history of the Parent-Teachers Association from the beginning of the organization to the present day. The purposes of the Parent-Teacher work and the different units that comprise the entire organization were explained.
The program consisted of "America the Beautiful," by pupils from the fifth and sixth grades; a mandolin solo by Nicolas Aversa; Virginia Reel by pupils from the fifth grades; "Our Flag," recitation and song, by pupils of the fifth grade.
Feb. 19, 1962
(Pictured)
GRAND PRIZE WINNER Of the several pieces of snow sculpture on the campus of Auburn Community College, this one was adjudged winner of the grand prize. The snowy Humpty Dumpty was the work of an engineering class. Among those inspecting the display were, from left, Miss Beverly Badger, Joseph DiVietro, Miss Betsy Mosher, Miss Kathy Scott and Robert Mazzeo.
Feb. 19, 2007
The history of women's rights in the United States is also a significant part of the history of Central New York. Before an attentive crowd Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Society's church in Auburn, historian Sue Boland gave a talk on two of that era's most influential, but somewhat overlooked members Matilda Joslyn Gage and Martha Coffin Wright.
Feb. 19, 2012
On a snowy Saturday morning, 18 local middle schoolers forfeited an opportunity to sleep in and instead spent a few hours cleaning up the Case Mansion. The student volunteers are members of Blueprint II, a student leadership organization sponsored by the Auburn Enlarged City School District's Leadership Organization for Training Youth.
A Kerala-based actor, best known for her appearances in Malayalam films, was abducted and molested last night in Kochi. The police have, so far, arrested one.
By India Today Web Desk: A Kerala-based actor, best-known for her appearances in Malayalam films, was abducted by a group of unidentified men and molested last night in Kochi.
As of now, one man has been arrested and police has begun search for the remaining culprits.
The gang stopped and forced themselves into the actor's car near Athani and Angamaly. Then they molested her till the car reached Palarivattom. The police have taken the actor's driver into custody. The actor reported that her former driver was a part of the gang that entered her car.
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The culprits reportedly took videos and photos of the young actor as well. After getting off at Palarivattom, the gang escaped in another car. According to Manorama News, Sunil Kumar AKA Pulsar Suni is the main culprit in this case.
The actor then took shelter in a film director's house in Kakkannad. The director informed the police after which the cops arrived at the place and took down the actor's statements. The police reportedly have got a lead on those absconding.
ALSO READ: Manju Warrier to play Kamala Das in the latter's biopic, not Vidya Balan
ALSO READ: Baahubali to The Ghazi Attack, why is the South doing high-concept films better?
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By Press Trust of India: Indore, Feb 19 (PTI) Speakers of Parliaments of seven South Asian countries today decided to put in place legislative measures for protection of women against discrimination, sexual harassment and trafficking.
The speakers of Parliaments of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal and Maldives signed the Indore Declaration on the conclusion of the two-day Asian Speakers Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
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The summit, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Indian Parliament, highlighted gender equality as one of the foremost priorities.
"Encourage the Parliaments to put in place legislative measures to protect women against discrimination, violence, sexual harassment, atrocities and trafficking," the declaration said.
It also called upon Parliaments to create gender sensitive elected bodies, particularly at the grassroots level, with a view to achieving gender equality and prioritising issues pertinent to women.
"We all acknowledge that women rights are indeed human rights. Women have a right to live with dignity and equality. Women must enjoy equal access to education, economic resources and employment," Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said while speaking in the valedictory session.
She said that development cannot be sustainable if women are denied equality.
In the declaration, the Speaker noted that the region is facing various challenges and agreed to consider setting up of Joint Parliamentary Groups of different countries under this forum to deliberate and deepen cooperation on relevant issues.
At the summit, it was also decided to encourage the parliamentarians of South Asia region to share and learn and benefit from the best practices followed in different countries.
Laying emphasis on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the declaration urged the Parliaments of member countries to create enabling conditions for encouraging private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to participate in the realisation of these goals.
Facilitate sharing of knowledge, information, research support and capacity building programmes for achieving SDGs, the speakers said in the declaration.
It also called upon the Parliaments of South Asia region to allocate one day in a session for deliberation on SDGs and urge upon Parliaments to collectively work to achieve the targets under the SDGs in a time-bound manner.
Reaffirming that the achievement of the SDGs is closely linked to addressing the threat of climate change, the speakers forum underlined that there is need to strengthen disaster risk reduction which require regional as well as international cooperation.
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Besides SDGs, the declaration also stressed on providing equal opportunities and access to health care, nutrition, education and skill development. PTI JTR SMN
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By Press Trust of India: Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) Stem cells collected from human fat may have the potential for use in anti-ageing treatments, as they are more stable than fibroblasts from the skin, scientists have found.
Researchers developed a new model to study chronological ageing of fat cells.
Chronological ageing shows the natural life cycle of the cells - as opposed to cells that have been unnaturally replicated multiple times or otherwise manipulated in a lab.
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In order to preserve the cells in their natural state, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in the US developed a system to collect and store them without manipulating them, making them available for this study.
They found stem cells collected directly from human fat - called adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) - can make more proteins than originally thought.
This gives them the ability to replicate and maintain their stability, a finding that held true in cells collected from patients of all ages.
"Our study shows these cells are very robust, even when they are collected from older patients," said Ivona Percec, from University of Pennsylvania.
"It also shows these cells can be potentially used safely in the future, because they require minimal manipulation and maintenance," said Percec.
Stem cells are currently used in a variety of anti-ageing treatments and are commonly collected from a variety of tissues.
However, researchers specifically found ASCs to be more stable than other cells, a finding that can potentially open the door to new therapies for the prevention and treatment of ageing-related diseases.
"Unlike other adult human stem cells, the rate at which these ASCs multiply stays consistent with age," Percec said.
"That means these cells could be far more stable and helpful as we continue to study natural ageing," he said.
The research was published in the journal Stem Cells. PTI MHN MHN
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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today directed the Indian High Commission in South Sudan to help the family of an Indian man shot dead there in bringing his body back to India.
"Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan -- Plz contact the bereaved family and help them," Swaraj tweeted in response to an appeal for help by a man who said his cousin had been shot dead in Juba.
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Syed Ejaz Hussain tweeted that his cousin Syed Farooq Basha had been shot dead in Juba, South Sudan, yesterday. He sought Swarajs help in bringing back Bashas body to India.
Swaraj also tweeted Indian High Commissioner in South Sudans response, saying that the Embassy had spoken to the family of Basha and promised them all help. PTI ASK PYK ASK
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Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 19
Leaders and workers of the Aam Adami Party (AAP) today staged protests at various locations of the city against demonetisation. They alleged that even after 100 days of demonetisation, the situation had not improved.
AAP candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll Upkar Singh Sandhu led the protest at Hall Gate while Inderbir Singh Nijjar headed the protest at Hatthi Gate. Manish Aggarwal led the protest at Novelty Chowk and Balwinder Singh Sahota at Court Chow.
Speaking on the occasion, AAP leader Manish Aggarwal, said, Demonetisation is complete failure of Prime Minister Narandra Modi. The decision was taken due to vested political interests as the Assembly elections are being held in Punjab, Goa and UP. The move led to the death of more than 100 persons. A large number of people lost their jobs. Retailers, traders and industrialists have suffered a huge loss due to it. The PM is responsible for this mess
State Local Bodies Minister and BJP candidate from Amritsar North Anil Joshi had requested the people with folded hands not to punish him for demonetisation. It means that leaders of the BJP dont endorse the move, added Aggarwal.
AAP leader Sandhu said, The common man wants to know that how much black money has been unearthed.
The APP leader said the GDP which was earlier around 7-7.5% was now expected to be around 6% in the coming years. He said, Demonetisation has shattered the confidence of the people on banking and currency and gave a boost to black marketing. The note of Rs 2,000 will help in increasing corruption.
Anand Aras
It is important to exercise the nomination facility while opening a savings bank account, a deposit account or a safe deposit locker. The lack of a nominee can have adverse implications for the account in the event of the death of the account holder(s).
What is a nomination?
Nomination is a facility that allows deposit account holder(s) (individual or sole proprietor) or safe deposit locker holder(s) to nominate an individual who can claim the proceeds of the account(s) or contents of the locker following the death of the original depositor(s) or locker holder(s).
The nomination facility is covered by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It states, Where a deposit is held by a banking company to the credit of one or more persons, the depositor or, as the case may be, all depositors together, may nominate, in the prescribed form, one person to whom in the event of the death of the sole depositor or the death of all depositors, the amount of deposit may be returned by the banking company.
The key benefit of nomination is that in the event of death of the account holder(s), the bank can release the balance or proceeds to the nominee(s) without insisting on a Succession Certificate or Letter of Administration. The nominee holds the monies in the capacity of a trustee on behalf of the legal heirs of the deceased account holder(s) and makes it easier for the bank to make payment(s) to the nominee.
Who can avail the facility
The nomination facility can be availed of by the following categories of customers:
Bank account holders having deposit accounts in their individual names or jointly in the names of two or more individuals.
A sole proprietor for a sole proprietorship account with the bank.
In case of a deposit account in the name of a minor, nomination shall be made by a person lawfully entitled to act on behalf of the minor in respect of a deposit account.
Safe deposit locker holder(s) can appoint nominee(s) to their safe deposit locker(s).
It may be noted that a nomination can be made only in respect of a deposit account held in individual capacity of the depositor and not in any representative capacity, such as holder of an office such as director of a company, secretary of an association, partner of a firm, or karta of an HUF.
The Code of Banks Commitment to Customers has specific provisions for accounts with a survivor/nominee clause. Para 8.8.1 of the code stipulates that in case of a deposit account of a deceased depositor, where the depositor had utilised the nomination facility or opened the account with the survivorship clause, the bank will pay the balance amount in the account to the survivor(s)/ nominee, provided:
(i) The identity of the survivor(s)/nominee and the fact of the death of account holder(s) are established through appropriate documentary evidence.
(ii) There is no order from a competent court restraining the bank from making the payment from the account of the deceased.
Further, Para 8.8.2 notes that where the deceased depositor did not make any nomination or for the accounts other than those styled as either or survivor (such as single or jointly operated accounts), banks will adopt a simple procedure to repay the legal heir(s) without causing any inconvenience.
Depending on their risk management policy, banks fix a minimum threshold limit up to which claims are settled with only a letter of indemnity. As per Para 8.8.3 of the code, banks are committed to settle claims and release payments to survivor(s) or nominee within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of receipt of the claim, subject to the production of proof of death of the depositor(s) and proof of identity of the claimant(s).
Now, let us examine two interesting cases related to nomination.
(i) One complainant said his father had opened a savings account with the auto sweep facility in which he was the registered nominee. After his fathers death, he approached the bank to settle the death claim. However, the bank informed the complainant that his father had opted for the sweep-out facility on his savings account wherein the excess amount was transferred to fixed deposits. Since an FD is an independent contract between the bank and customer, the nominee of a savings account cannot be considered as the nominee for fixed deposits. The complainant had to fulfil certain formalities to settle claims of accounts where he was not a nominee.
(ii) A banking ombudsmans office received a complaint from a woman who alleged that the bank insisted on a Succession Certificate for withdrawal of a fixed deposit amount in the name of her deceased husband, even though she was the nominee as per bank records. The bank said it had sought a Succession Certificate based on the interim judgment of a court, as there was a dispute between the legal heirs. After scrutinising the judgment, the banking ombudsman observed that the bank could insist on a Succession Certificate only if it was necessary to withdraw the deposits as per banking rules. Further, the court order was not intended to affect the procedural formalities of the bank in releasing the FDs. Since there was no order from the competent court restraining the bank from making payment from the account of the deceased, the Banking Ombudsman directed the bank to pay the nominee in terms (vide instructions in RBI circulars RPCD.CO.RF.BC.No.12.07.38.01/2005-06dated July 12, 2005, DBR.No.Legal BC.21/09.07.006/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015, and IBA Model operational procedure for settlement of claims of deceased depositors, June 2006).
In conclusion, the importance of nomination cannot be underscored. Bank account holders and safe deposit locker holders must avail of the nomination facility in their own interests and to avoid complications for their legal heirs. A separate nomination is required for each type of account i.e. savings account, fixed deposit account and safe deposit locker. Remember: A nomination ensures peace of mind for your loved ones.
The author is CEO, Banking Codes and Standards Board of India. The views expressed in this article are his own
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 19
With the UT police failing to trace the main accused, Balraj Singh Randhawa, and the BMW car involved in the hit-and-run case during the three-day remand of co-accused Harmehtab Singh, alias Farid, a local court today extended Farids remand by three days. The police had demanded seven-day remand for Farid from the court.
Akansh Sen, nephew of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, was run over by the luxury car on February 9 in Sector 9.
Appearing before a duty magistrate here, public prosecutor Sachin Dhillon said the accused used to go to Manali and they wanted to get some clue regarding the case from there. Secondly, he added, the police had to recover the mobile phone and SIM cards used by Farid while being on the run in Bengaluru.
On the other hand, Farids counsel Vishal Deep Goyal said, The police are creating a new story now. They just want to be in newspapers and have failed to recover anything from the accused during the remand. The investigating team is taking the matter casually.
He said, The police have concocted a story as Akansh was hit and not run over.
Speaking to the media outside the court complex, Poonum Dilawari, SHO of the Sector 3 police station, said, The accused is not cooperating with the police and is changing his statements. Efforts are on to make a headway in the case.
M.G.Devasahayam
The brand-new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami of the AIADMK said this after winning the confidence vote in the State Assembly on February 18 through sheer skullduggery: "We will continue to run Amma's government in Tamil Nadu. It is my pleasure to share with you that we have won the floor test. All the people in Tamil Nadu are very happy with what has happened." For effect, he added: The vow taken by our general secretary VK Sasikala has been fulfilled. A gallup poll taken by a leading TV channel soon thereafter showed a pathetic 7% public approval for Palaniswami as CM with 86% disapproval and 7% no opinion.
Many are lamenting that democracy was murdered in the Assembly. For me this murder happened on the day the election to this Assembly was held on May 15, 2016. Venal corruption in the form of cash, goodies, coupons, liquor and biriyani had preceded the polling date and votes were purchased at rates ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. What is equally bad, just ten days before the poll this party released its election manifesto with a large number of fancy consumer items as freebies in gross violation of the Election Commissions Model Code of Conduct, thus severely vitiating the integrity of the election process. Civil society repeatedly appealed to the EC to postpone the election till these blatant acts of corruption destroying the level-playing field were rectified.
All that the EC did was to defer the election in two constituencies and mildly censure the AIADMK for severely violating the code that too three months after the election was over. Even then if the EC had acted as per the extant rules, recognition of the AIADMK could have been suspended or withdrawn, thereby giving a shot-in-the-arm for democracy. But that was not to be! What else can one expect from the MLAs elected through a process deprived of any semblance of integrity? A large part of the blame should rest with the EC and the Central Government that has not brought any worthwhile electoral reform to counter this deepening rot.
But one thing is clear, this election is jinxed for the AIADMK, its supremo J. Jayalalithaa (Amma) and the government she headed for a few months before falling seriously ill on September 22. The party and the state government went into suspended animation. Events that followed were bizarre with lots of deception and disinformation ending with the demise of the lady on December 5. As the state was in mourning O. Panneerselvam was hurriedly sworn in as Chief Minister at midnight. The funeral and burial of Ammas mortal remains and the crowd that gathered was a nerve-racking event. The mystery over her death and grave doubts thereof continue to linger.
Within a week, Chennai and its neighbourhood were shaken to the roots by the worst cyclonic storm (Vardha) that either uprooted 50% of the trees or ripped off their canopy. For nearly a week most parts of the metropolis were shut down. There was a brief lull before the streams of pro-Jallikattu protests turned into a torrent of youth upheaval engulfing the entire state, leading to an unpleasant confrontation with the police on February 23. In his first litmus test as CM Panneerselvam managed to clumsily ride out the storm.
As Panneerselvam was finding his feet, he was thrown off by Sasikala, JJs live-in companion and non-biological sister. This Chinnamma (younger mother) who had succeeded Amma as general secretary of the AIADMK suddenly (on 5th February) staked her claim to be Chief Minister, touting a despotic argument that the party and government power should be with one person! Panneerselvam meekly caved in and sent his resignation to the Governor who accepted it, asking him to continue till alternative arrangements were made.
Nevertheless, the Governor did not accept the claim of Sasikala because she was not an MLA and was facing a Supreme Court judgment in JJs disproportionate wealth case in which she was a co-accused. Having lost her initial thrust, Sasikala riled and then herded her flock of MLAs, heavily guarded and secured to a nearby seaside resort and joined them later. Probably sensing an adverse verdict against Sasikala, Panneerselvam staged a volte face and withdrew his resignation a couple of days before the judgment.
The judgment that came on February 14 confirmed the conviction, imprisonment for four years and a fine of Rs100 crore for JJ and Rs 10 crore each for the co-accused Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Eavarasi. The Supreme Court also ordered the immediate surrender of Sasikala at the nominated court in Bangalore. Adding six years to the jail period of four Sasikala will be disqualified for ten years from contesting an election. It was evident that she has lost the plot and in vengeance got her loyalist Palaniswamy elected as a chief ministerial candidate before surrendering in a Bangalore court and being lodged in Central Jail. She also nominated her nephew TTV Dinakaran to the non-existing post of deputy general secretary of the AIADMK, thereby taking a total grip of the party.
The Governor duly appointed Palaniswamy as CM and asked him to seek a confidence vote within fifteen days, but grievously erred in not issuing suitable directions to ensure a free and fair voting by MLAs who had been held captive for a week. This enabled the partisan Speaker to do what he did in the Assembly and declare Palaniswamy as having won the vote of confidence within just two days! But by allowing the confidence motion twice-original and after adjournments due to pandemonium the Speaker might have committed a fatal error that could unseat the new CM.
Be that as it may, from the Assembly the AIADMK MLAs trooped to Ammas grave at the Marina that has become a place of pilgrimage, devotion, meditation and inspiration for the party faithful and took a pledge to carry on her golden era. It appears that Tamil Nadu is still under the kleptocratic grip of government of the thieves, by the thieves, for the thieves.
Though Palaniswamy said he would be running Amma's government in Tamil Nadu, actually it would be that of Chinnamma, a lethal combination of two convicts, one from the grave and the other from jail! Can democracy descend to deeper depths of depravity? The EC maintains an eerie silence; the Supreme Court may not intervene and the Prime Minister will continue to make noises without addressing real issues. This is democracy in practice in the worlds largest democracy!
In the event, all we can ask at this point of time is quo vadis Tamil Nadu? But all is not lost. The recent youth upsurge under the Jallikattu banner gives hope of light at the end of the tunnel. Intense churning is on and results could manifest, sooner than later.
The writer is a former IAS officer
London, February 19
A British Sikh man, working at an international telecom firm in the UK, has been given permission to wear kirpan to the workplace after initially being refused.
The Sikh Council, among the largest representative bodies for the Sikhs in the UK, had intervened on behalf of the unnamed worker to explain the Sikh articles of faith following which the employer conceded and has since adopted a policy permitting the individual to wear his kirpan in the workplace.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
It is unfortunate that cases such as these still occur too often for our liking, especially in large multi-national organisations. However, we are pleased with the outcomes in these cases, which has meant these Sikhs are now able to practice their faith whilst at work, said Jagtar Singh, secretary-general elect of the council.
Casework like this is a regular feature of the work of Sikh Council UK and we frequently receive queries seeking our assistance in such matters. Subject to capacity we of course seek to assist any Sikh who faces any issues at work or elsewhere in connection with their articles of faith. If any Sikh is facing any such problems they are requested to get in touch with us without delay, he added.
The individual in question had taken the decision to become an Amritdhari, or an initiated/baptised Sikh, and as per the mandatory Sikh code of conduct was required to carry the five articles of Sikh faith, or the 5 Ks, on his person at all times kirpan, kada, kanga, kesh and kachera.
He informed his employer of the circumstances following which his employer had initially refused consent.
The council claims this was the second such case in recent times where it successfully intervened in connection with the wearing the kirpan in the workplace.
The other case involved two Sikh employees initially being stopped for wearing kirpans at a large international airport based in south-east England.
The airport has now adopted a policy around the wearing of the kirpan by employees in the workplace in consultation with the Sikh Council UK. PTI
Simran Sodhi
tribune news service
New Delhi, February 18
Virendra Sharma, member of the British Parliament from Ealing Southall, today slammed the Theresa May government for her biased immigration policies. In an interview to The Tribune, Sharma said he raised the issue of demonetisation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he, along with five other MPs from the UK, called on him here.
First of all, nobody, including myself, supports the open-door policy on immigration. That is, anybody can come and anybody can go. But we also want to make immigration fair; you dont look at the colour of the person but at the skills the person is bringing in, he said. The British immigration policies and that of May, in some areas, were biased, he said. It is based on colour and which region you are coming from. It is also dividing people on the basis of financial capacity.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
In a rather serious critique of the May government, Sharma maintained her government was using terrorism as an excuse to use immigration in a biased manner.
He pointed out that there was a serious concern about too many people from Turkey moving into Europe and fear was being used to suit narrow political means. He alleged May was trying to appease the category of people who were anti-immigration. He was dismissive of the claims made by the UK government that these new policies would help filter out terrorists.
Sharma pointed out that the effect of such policies was already being felt very strongly in the Indian diaspora who are settled in the UK but still want to maintain contacts with relatives in India.
He pointed to the way Indian students were treated as compared to those from China to get a better understanding of the prejudices in the UK system. He felt the effects of these new, harsher policies had already begun to show as more Indian students were now heading to Australia and New Zealand, since these countries offer more favourable experiences to students after school.
Sharma also expressed his dismay at the way demonetisation had caused unpleasantness in the Indian diaspora. It is very disappointing and there has been no solution so far. I am not saying if it is a right policy or a not, but the way it has been handled has caused a lot of discomfort among the diaspora, he said.
On British firms wanting to invest in India, he said the perception of red tape and corruption was a major hindrance even today to global investors who might want to invest in India. Sharma was part of a UK delegation of parliamentarians who were in India last week.
London, February 19
The UK needs to do more on the students visa issue despite the "pluses" from British Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement about special categories of visas, the new Indian envoy here has said.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, who presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II last week, told the 'Daily Express' in his first interview to a British newspaper that, "We are in exciting times. Our (Indo-UK) partnership has gone to a different level."
"I am confident it will be a win-win situation for us both," Sinha said.
Confirming that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be holding talks with the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond when he arrives in the UK for the official launch of the UK-India Year of Culture hosted by the Queen later this month, Sinha indicated that visas and free movement for Indian professionals is likely to be on the agenda.
"On our services sector, we have been arguing in favour of freedom of movement of professionals. It is a very important part of the negotiations on free trade. Prime Minister (Theresa) May has made it clear that her vision is of a global British economy and that is something we welcome. We see an important role for India in this," he said.
Sinha also flagged the fall in the number of Indian students studying at UK universities as a worrying trend for the Indian government.
"The UK has always been the preferred destination for higher studies. Our political leadership, even those who led our independence, all studied in the UK. Britain has some of the finest institutions in the world," he said.
"It is unfortunate that in the last six years we have seen a steep drop, from 30,000 to about 16,000. What should be troubling universities here is that Indian students are now going in much greater numbers to the US, Australia even France and Germany. There were pluses when Mrs May announced special categories of visas. More needs to be done," Sinha said.
May, during her India visit last November, had announced two visa programmes.
Sinha also said India's pace of economic development had meant that British financial assistance was not as crucial as a "win-win" trade deal.
"While I don't want to prejudge British aid that has been given, or will be given, easier access to British markets, easier movement of people and the transfer of technology are more important," he said.
"We are grateful for any assistance we received in the past or will get in the future. But if it suddenly stopped would it make a huge difference? No. Did anyone in the Government of India ask for assistance? No," he said.
"India has developed over the last 70 years in ways unimaginable to my parents' generation. In the 1960s and 1970s we required a lot of assistance. We were importing food grains. Now we're exporting," the envoy told the daily.
In reference to the UK's referendum to leave the European Union, Sinha expressed confidence that Indian firms would continue to be attracted to the UK post-Brexit. PTI
By Press Trust of India: From K J M Varma
Beijing, Feb 19 (PTI) In a bid to improve ties with China, Switzerland has "revised" its immigration policy for Tibetan refugees, asking them to change their nationality to Chinese, state media here reported today.
The "Tibetans-in-exile" community in Switzerland has found it more difficult to obtain an official identification of Tibetan refugee since Berne revised its immigration policy and asked those Tibetans to change their nationality to Chinese in July 2016, an article on the website of Global Times said.
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The report quoted Swiss media as saying that the approval rate for asylum seekers from Tibet fell to 50.2 per cent by the end of November last year, while the rate in 2015 ranged between 65-85 per cent.
Switzerland, for a long time, has allowed Tibetans to identify themselves as the citizens of "Tibet" or "Stateless".
According to the report, Switzerland has more than 4,000 Tibetans, the largest "Tibetans-in-exile" group in Europe, and is a major base for Tibetan separatists in the continent.
As a small European nation, Switzerland has a high profile as human rights advocate and accepted some "Tibetans-in-exile" since China took control of Tibet in 1951, though Tibetan protesters were arrested during Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to the country last month, it said.
The report said, Bernes denial of recognising the Tibet nationality has "no doubt dealt a blow to Tibetan separatists, as well as the so-called government-in-exile led by the 14th Dalai Lama."
It claimed Switzerlands move is a result of the "positive Sino-Swiss diplomatic cooperation. Berne must have realised it has more to gain from a strong bilateral relationship with Beijing rather than supporting the Tibetan separatists."
"Once Berne learns that it has a common vision with Beijing, it would certainly support China in its pro-globalisation efforts, despite the Tibet question. Western politicians used to play the Dalai Lama card to show off their ideological superiority. But, nowadays, the issue could be used to offset Chinas clout in the international community," it said.
The article said, "apart from toning down the Dalai Lama issues, Beijing should work on finding other solutions while making efforts to better integrate Chinas minority groups as the Tibet question wouldnt vanish upon Dalai Lamas demise". PTI KJV ABH
--- ENDS ---
At a time when India is putting pressure on the international community to act against terror masterminds living in Pakistan, the acquittal of yet another set of the accused in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts suggests that the prosecution system is not working the way it should. The acquittal of two of the three accused of the serial bombing in Delhi on the eve of Diwali in 2005 is on the long list of similar judgments in high-profile terror cases. By then the reputation of the accused has been besmirched and they had spent a decade or more in jails as undertrials. On the other side of the fence, assorted police officials had already taken credit for cracking open the case, careers made of journalists and security analysts while diplomats had railed against safe havens of terror in neighbouring countries.
The record of those supposedly soft on terrorism (Congress) and the ones avowedly with zero tolerance towards terror (BJP) has been the same. The government claims many acquittals cannot be termed honourable. The accused are let off because of varied appreciation of the strength of evidence by the prosecution and the courts. But by then the country's social fabric had been damaged because the media had swallowed the initial police version. As a result, an entire community gets tarred by the brush of culpability.
In the 2005 Delhi blast case, the bus bomber was writing his examination on the day of the incident, and several others with the suggestive nom de guerre of Abu had conveniently escaped to Pakistan. It is time to apply correctives because many judgments have pointed out that evidence presented by the prosecution was unreliable, shoddy or concocted. Such acquittals also question the credibility and reputation of the country because these cases are presented to the international community as proof of Pakistan's culpability in fomenting terror. For a start, entries should be made in the confidential reports of police officers who claim to have busted terror rings. If this is done, either the quality of prosecution will improve or top officers won't be able to use the initial claims for career advancement.
Our Correspondent
Sonepat, February 19
All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti national president Yashpal Malik today announced that members of the community from Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh would hand over a memorandum to the President on March 2 to highlight the indifferent attitude of the Central and state authorities.
He was addressing a gathering during the Jat dharna near Lath-Joli crossing on the Sonepat-Gohana road in Sonepat district. On March 2, Jats will announce the date for a gherao of Parliament with tractor-trolleys, he added.
Giving a call to participants to observe February 26 as black day, Malik asked them not to supply milk to Delhi that day. He announced that March 1 would be observed as non-cooperation day. Congratulating the people for their enthusiasm in the stir, he said new dharnas would begin in 10 districts on March 1.
He said there was no compromise on any demand with the state government so far. There would be another meeting with the government committee in Panipat tomorrow, he added. Family members of seven persons who were killed during the protests last year were honoured.
District Magistrate KM Pandurang suspended 2G, 3G, 4G and GPRS services within the revenue limits of the district till further orders. He banned the sale of liquor in the district till 9 am on February 20.
Tribune News Service
Ugrakheri (Panipat), Feb 19
A huge turnout of Jat protesters was witnessed today at the stadium of Ugrakheri village in the district.
Scores of Jat protesters along with a large number of women from various villages in the district reached the dharna venue to observe the Balidan Divas in more than 150 tractor-trailers, cars, jeeps and bikes.
Manvender Singh Verma, Uttar Pradesh AIJASS state president, said 10 more dharnas would begin at Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Karnal, Dadri, Kurukshetra, Mewat and Panchkula on March 1. A big demonstration would be organised in Delhi on March 2 and a memorandum would be submitted to the President, he said.
The AIJASS will gherao Parliament and the date will be announced on March 2 in Delhi, he said.
The samiti had decided to mark February 26 as black day in the state against the governments divisive policies, he asserted. He also appealed to the women protesters to come at the dharna site with black dupattas and men to wear black turbans.
Dr Chander Shekhar Khare, Deputy Commissioner, along with Rahul Sharma, Superintendent of Police, camped at the government school near the dharna venue.
Security has been beefed up at the Panipat-Haridwar highway, NH-1 and Munak canal in the district.
Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Jassia (Rohtak), February 19
Taking its ongoing agitation to the next level, the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) has declared to increase the number of their statewide dharnas from 20 to 30, launch a non-cooperation movement against the government with non-payment of electricity and water bills and loan instalments and stage a demonstration in Delhi on March 2.
If our demands are still not met, we will storm Delhi by tractor-trailers and gherao Parliament House a couple of days after Holi . Apart from the Haryana agitators, Jat members from UP, Delhi and other states will participate in the demonstration at Parliament, said AIJASS president Yashpal Malik.
Addressing a massive gathering on the occasion of balidan divas organised at the Jat Nyay dharna site in Jassia village of Rohtak district this afternoon, Malik maintained that February 26 would be observed as black day in Haryana . He asked the community members, especially women, to stop supply of milk to Delhi.
The NH 71-A passing through Jassia village witnessed jams running into several kilometers due to the parking of vehicles of protesters. The Makdauli toll plaza authorities gave a free run-through to all vehicles in view of todays event.
A large number of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in and around Rohtak though arrangements for the balidan divas event at the dharna site in Jassia village were taken care of by the volunteers appointed by organisers.
The dharna site echoed with slogans like Jat Ekta zindabad and 36 biradari bhaichara zindabad.
Amidst a thunderous applause from the gathering, Malik asked the participants to stop paying their electricity bills as well as bank loan instalments from next month as part of a non-cooperation movement against the government. He said the community members would hand over a memorandum to the President in support of their demands.
Earlier, Malik and other office-bearers of the AIJASS paid homage to the persons killed during the earlier agitations for Jat reservation and demanded a thorough probe into their murders.
The speakers also reiterated their demand for the release of Jat youths arrested in connection with the February,2016, agitation and withdrawal of the cases registered against them. They pledged to intensify the agitation and continue it till their demands were met.
Malik rejected financial compensation announced by the state government for the persons injured during last years agitation and demanded that the amount of compensation for all categories be doubled.
The AIJASS leader also proposed several steps on social reforms, like reducing expenditure on marriages, banning the serving of liquor and DJs etc, doing away with ceremonies on the occasion of somebodys demise etc.
The followers of controversial saint Rampal, who have extended their support to the Jats agitation, contributed Rs 11 lakh for the agitation today. Malik thanked them for the gesture and offered to get the differences between Rampals followers and Arya Samaj members resolved through talks.
The Jat samiti members also resolved to hold rallies for maintaining brotherhood and cordial relations with the members of the other communities once their immediate concerns were addressed.
Deepender Deswal and Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Hisar/Rohtak, February 19
All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti the organisation that is leading Jats' protests for reservation has announced 10 more dharnas from March 1.
The dharnas will begin at Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Karnal, Dadri, Kurukshetra, Mewat and Panchkula, the organisation which called for Balidan Divas to be observed to mark a year of the protests that shook the state last year said.
A demonstration will be held in Delhi on March 2, after which protesters will submit a memorandum detailing injustice against Jats in Haryana to President Pranab Mukherjee, it said
The organisation has planned to gherao the Parliament after Holi festival, AIJASS president Yashpal Malik said.
He also urged the community members and sympathisers to stop paying power and water bill and not to repay loans.
The organisation has decided to observe black day in Haryana on next Sunday. Malik also urged women to stop supply of milk for one day.
The organisation will begin registrations of Jat volunteers for the Parliament gherao on February 21.
It also read out a letter from its leader Yashpal Malik at Hisar's Ramayan village, asking Jats stop paying their power and water bills, as well as their unpaid loans, from March to protest the state governments failure to meet the communitys demands.
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The organisation has also asked MLAS, MPs, members of PRIs to hand over their letters supporting the protest by February 27. It also announced that February 26 would be marked as a Black Day to protest the state governments divisive policies.
"The government is trying to disturb social harmony and brotherhood in various communities, "the organisation said.
Organisers claimed the turnout in the protests at the Hisar village was larger than they expected. Leaders also issued warnings to protesters to steer clear of railway tracks, with a delegation especially entrusted with the task.
As protesters filled into Ramayan village and Rohtaks Jassia village the centres of Sundays protests to hold sit-in demonstrations, security was heightened throughout the state, as the Haryana Government wants to avoid a repeat of last years violence.
Rohtak town has turned into a fortress, with barricades set up by the Central Reserved Police Force, Rapid Action Force, and police at every entry point.
Internet services have been suspended in Rohtaks Jassia village and Sonepat, with authorities only allowing broadband services.
Twenty companies of security forces are stationed around Rohtak. Traffic for general commuters have been diverted, leaving the Rohtak-Jassia-Gohana stretch free for vehicles travelling to and from the dharna site in Jassia.
Rohtak Range IGP said the situation was peaceful and under control. AIJASS leader Yashpal Malik will address a rally here shortly.
Meanwhile, toll at Makdauli toll plaza on the Rohtak-Panipat road has been suspended, leaving it open for all vehicles to use.
The road, however, has been blocked for several kilometres near Jassia by protesters who have parked their vehicles.
Thirty people were killed and property worth crores damaged in last years protests. Jats have been demanding reservations in jobs and educational institutions.
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, February 19
People in Jwalamukhi are perplexed at the way development was being carried out in their area. In Jwalamukhi a hospital building using National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) funds has been demolished to create building of a new mini secretariat.
The hospital has been shifted to the building of Yatri Niwas that was brought up by a charitable trust based in Delhi. The building of Yatri Niwas has been dismantled and remodelled for creating accommodation for hospital. To add to it, another new building of Yatri Niwas has been created.
Varjinder Singh, a resident of Jwalamukhi, said that the hospital was located just close to the bus stand. The building was specially created as per the specifications of a hospital. The people wanted the hospital to be near the bus stand so that it was easy to approach. However, now the hospital building has been altered for creating a new mini secretariat. The hospital has been shifted to a building located about two km from the bus stand. It had now become difficult for the people coming from rural area to reach the hospital.
A visit to the area revealed that the hospital of Jawalamukhi had been shifted to the old Yatri Niwas building. The Yatri Niwas building was brought up by Katayayani Shakti Peeth Delhi and inaugurated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The Yatri Niwas building was suited for an inn.
However, now it houses a hospital. Now efforts are being made to remodel the building as per the requirements of a hospital. The Chief Minister last week inaugurated the old building that is supposed to house a 100-bed hospital. Since the building was not designed for the hospital dingy conditions prevailed and stop-gap arrangements had been made to run the hospital.
A government official, while speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that whatever had been done in Jwalamukhi is perfect example of how things were progressing as per whims. Had the administration created just one new building for housing the mini secretariat, the old hospital and Yatri Niwas buildings could have been saved.
He also questioned the logic of bringing up a mini secretariat building in the heart of Jwalamukhi town in place of hospital. The old hospital building had residential facilities for the doctors also. Now new buildings are being created near Yatri Niwas, now converted into hospital, for residence of hospital doctors. It was a sheer wastage of public money, he said.
The Jwalamukhi Assembly constituency is represented by Sanjay Rattan, the Congress MLA, a favourite of the Chief Minister. The area had been receiving development projects due to the benevolence of the Chief Minister. During the stint of the present Congress government, the Jwalamukhi Assembly constituency got three government colleges, office of the SDM despite the fact that old Dehra sub division was located at a distance of just 10 km from Jwalamukhi and a 100-bed hospital.
Srinagar, February 19
Low-cost airline AirAsia started its operations in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressing hope that it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state.
Low cost airline carrier AirAsia started its operations here from today with the launch of its morning and evening flights daily between Delhi and Srinagar.
"The inaugural flight from New Delhi was received by the Chief Minister at the Srinagar International Airport," an official spokesman said here.
He said another flight to New Delhi was also seen off by the Chief Minister soon after.
The airline is also planning to connect Srinagar to many other destinations in the country in coming days, the spokesman said.
He said the Chief Minister welcomed the carrier hoping it would augur well for the coming tourist season in the state and also provide local people with more connectivity to other cities in the country.
The spokesman said the CM has been pressing for operation of more morning and evening flights to and from Srinagar to facilitate more air traffic and consequently promote tourism.
She has also been insisting on involvement of local youth in projects being started in the state and on her insistence the airline has decided to recruit all its cabin crew and ground staff locally, the spokesman said. PTI
Congress has called an urgent meeting on Monday to decide the next chief minister.
By Manogya Loiwal : With TR Zeliang stepping down as the Nagaland chief minister, the state crisis have entered its final stage.
There are a series of meeting scheduled for Monday with Nagaland People Front Legislative Party at 10am followed by the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) Legislative Party meet at 11 am to decide the plan of action.
Congress has also called an urgent meeting tomorrow.
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Nagaland Governor P B Acharya has accepted the resignation of chief minister TR Zeliang.
A new chief minister will be selected by the leaders who will attend the meeting. Presently, Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland and former CM Neiphiu Rio is the front runner for the post.
Zeliang announced his decision on Thursday following massive unrest in state against reservation for women in local body elections, and subsequent demand for his resignation by protestors.
Protestors had set Friday as the deadline for chief minister Zeliang to step down or face further protests.
Also read: Political drama continues in Nagaland, Rio becomes front runner for CM post
Also read: Nagaland CM Zeliang to quit amid protests against women's reservation in local body polls
--- ENDS ---
Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, February 19
In signs of a thaw, two senior PDP ministers who submitted their resignations on Friday from the Cabinet met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti separately in Srinagar.
While Basharat Bukhari met the Chief Minister today, Imran Ansari had a meeting with Mehbooba late Saturday. Bukhari held a nearly two-hour meeting with the Chief Minister wherein he discussed issues which he had raised in his resignation letter.
I raised the very political issues raised in the communication (resignation letter). We also discussed many governmental, administrative, party as well as some personal issues, Bukhari told The Tribune after meeting the Chief Minister. He, however, did not disclose whether he would withdraw his resignation. Sources, however, said Mehbooba urged Bukhari to join his new ministry while promising to discuss his concerns later.
After his meeting with the Chief Minister, the group of senior party leaders headed by vice-president Sartaj Madni met Bukhari at his Srinagar residence. Bukhari flew to Jammu, where further discussions will be held, a source said, adding that the issue would be resolved.
Late Saturday, influential Shia leader Imran Ansari met the Chief Minister. Imran met the Chief Minister and insisted that she should fulfill the promise made to him that at the time of reshuffle he would get a new ministry, said Zadibal MLA Abid Ansari and Imrans uncle said. He needs a ministry where he can help people. After all, we have to seek votes.
The PDP sources said the talks with Ansari and Bukhari were on track and a breakthrough was expected shortly. Ansari was heading for a pilgrimage trip to Mecca along with his family, the sources added.
Within hours after the Altaf Bukhari was sworn in as Education Minister on Friday, the PDP celebrations were interrupted by the news that senior PDP ministers Bukhari and Ansari had resigned.
Both ministers are not happy at the treatment meted out to them in the reshuffle of portfolios.
The sources said the resignations were triggered by the allotment of Public Works Ministry to Naeem Akhter as some ministers have been resentful about him getting important portfolios without being elected by the voters.
The resignations created a buzz in Jammu and Kashmir, with questions being raised about the well-being of the party.
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, February 19
The state government has informed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that the status of the regular inquiry into the scam involving embezzlement of crores of rupees in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, Handwara, would be submitted within three weeks.
The HC was also informed that the Director General of the Audit and Inspections, J&K, was also conducting its inquiry and scrutinising the records.
The scam of the PHE division, Handwara, which was unearthed in April 2014, involves fraudulent withdrawal of crores of rupees from the official account which was managed by the Executive Engineer, PHE division, Handwara, under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) scheme.
Subsequently, the Chief Engineer, PHE, Kashmir, had constituted a three-member committee to probe the allegations and find out the truth. After scrutinising the records, the committee in its detailed report in August 2014 had recommended that the prima facie evidence merits reference of the case to the Crime Branch of the J&K Police for investigation.
Subsequently, the case registered at the Handwara police station was transferred to the Crime Branch on August 8, 2014.
Meanwhile, a PIL was filed by a petitioner before the High Court, alleging that a number of irregularities and embezzlement worth crores of rupees in a number of schemes like the NRDWP, executed in the past, particularly from 2006, was done in connivance with officers/officials at the helm of affairs at the given point of time in the PHE division, Handwara.
As the HC started monitoring the investigation into the case, the PHE authorities placed 16 officers/officials, including the then Executive Engineer, under suspension, pending inquiry.
As the matter came up before a division bench of the High court this week, the court demanded the status of the regular inquiry into the matter.
The state counsel states that the Director General, Audit and Inspections, J&K, is very vigorously conducting an inquiry and the same shall be concluded by the end of this month. It is also stated that the status of regular inquiry will be submitted within three weeks, the High Court observed in its orders, while granting the Additional Advocate General three weeks to file the statement of facts and compliance report.
Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, February 19
Except for stray incidents of violence in Mainpuri, Etawah and Kanpur, the third phase of polling for 69 seats in Uttar Pradesh went off peacefully with a voter turnout of 61.16 per cent, slightly higher than it was in 2012 (59.96%) and in 2014 ( 58.43%).
Mohmoodabad in Sitapur recorded the highest voting percentage at 72.4 percent. Kanpur Cantt saw the lowest turnout at 50.01 per cent. With long queues outside booths even after 5 pm, the final turnout could touch 63 per cent, official sources said. This phase of polling was most crucial for the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) that had won 55 of the 69 seats in 2012.
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Kannauj, the parliamentary constituency of Dimple Yadav, wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, polled 65.63 per cent, a little higher than its previous showings.
Speaking to the media, Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said the EC had sought reports on incidents of firing and lathi-charge in Mainpuri, Etawah and Jaswant Nagar. The CMs estranged uncle, Shivpal Yadav, is the Samajwadi Party candidate from Jaswant Nagar. Here, BJP and SP supporters reportedly indulged in stone-throwing. Shivpals convoy too was attacked. Also, there was a police lathi-charge outside one of the polling booths.
Speaking to the media, Shivpal claimed he knew at whose behest this was done. Polling was going on smoothly yet the police resorted to a lathi-charged without any reason. Women and children suffered injuries, he alleged.
In Mainpuri, motorcycle-borne miscreants fired shots outside a booth in a bid to scare away voters. No one was hurt. Mainpuri and Etawah are part of the Yadav belt where the first family is fighting an intense factional battle.
In Kanpurs Govindpuri and Kidwai Nagar there were reports of clashes between BJP and Congress supporters. In Auraiyya and Kanpur Dehat, voters boycotted polling in some booths because of development issues.
In all, 2.12 lakh security personnel, including central forces, the state police and Home Guards, were deployed for the third round of polling. Among the prominent leaders who cast their vote today were Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, CM Akhilesh and his wife and Kannuaj MP Dimple Yadav in their ancestral village of Safai in Etawah and BSP chief Mayawati as well as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow.
Chandigarh, February 19
A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal donated Rs 50,000 to rights activist Irom Sharmila's party thats contesting Manipur elections, Aam Aadmi Party Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann followed suit and donated a months salary.
"As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n justice in Manipur(sic)," Mann said in a tweet on Sunday.
Sharmila's PRJA party replied in another tweet: "Thanks a lot Mann sir for supporting our campaign and believing in us. We will change Manipur for good".
Maan himself is fighting Punjab Assembly elections as AAP candidate from Jalalabad seat against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
With shortage of funds and manpower, Sharmila's People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party has taken to online crowdfunding to raise funds and campaigning on cycle to reach out to the masses.
Kejriwal announced on Saturday that he was donating Rs 50,000 to Irom Sharmila and also made an appeal to people on Twitter to help her.
"I am donating Rs 50,000 as my small contribution to her and appeal to everyone to support her," he had tweeted while urging people to donate generously to her.
As a member of parliament m donating my one month salary to Irom Sharmila who is fighting against corrupt system n injustice in Manipur... Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 19, 2017
PRJA is the first regional party in Manipur that has taken to crowdfunding to finance the poll expenses in the state.
According to PRJA sources, online crowdfunding with a slogan "Ten For a Change" is an idea in order to involve more people, bring in transparency in election funding and reach out to the masses.
"The online crowdfunding is in line with the party's call for accountable governance. When we started the party there was a lot of need for funds," a PRJA source said. PTI
Simran Sodhi
The capital was a recent witness to the fifth edition of the India Art Fair, which has evolved today into a platform that represents modern and contemporary art from South Asia. More than 90,000 people turned up to admire the art pieces on display.
The Swiss ambassador here, Andreas Baum, hosted a delightful evening reception, which saw the whos who of the art world in attendance. Eminent artists like Subodh Gupta, Atul Bhalla, Sudarshan Shettty and Krishnamacari Bose were in attendance among others.
For those wondering as to the Swiss connection behind the India Art Fair, well, last year, the Swiss company MCH took co-ownership of the India Art Fair, along with Neha Kirpal who is the founder of the India Art Fair. The party hosted by the Swiss ambassador was a great cultural outreach by Switzerland to India with 1,500 guests in attendance, including Marco Fazzone, MCHs Managing Director of Design and Regional Art Fairs. A delegation from the Bern school of applied arts and the presence of the renowned Swiss architect Roger Diener was another high point of the evening.
From a commercial viewpoint, the Swiss co-ownership of the Art Fair translates into greater global markets for South Asian artists. This year, the Art Fair showcased art pieces in the affordable range of Rs 1,000 to works of major artists like MF Husain and SH Raza. The Swiss link also brought greater international interest into the fair with directors, curators, patrons and delegations from prestigious museums, including The Met, MOMA and the Guggenheim in New York, TATE, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, The Singapore Art Museum, M+ in Hong Kong, to name some, gathered here in the capital.
Switzerland is regarded as a haven for art and hence their interest in using cultural diplomacy to give a push to the bilateral ties is a wonderful expression of diplomacy. The DJ at the party ensured that the artists and the diplomats, all those bridging the India-Swiss distance, were on their toes till the early hours of the morning. The party was organised to the theme of fire to honour the Swiss iconic artist Roman Signer, whose explosive videos were featured throughout this special night.
Bookish Interest
Steven I Wilkinson must be a happy man. It is rare that an academic book causes such happy ripples and that too across a border as tense as India-Pakistan. Both Indian and Pakistan officials expressed their surprise and joy at the fact that new Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa has advised his top officers to read Wilkinsons book Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy Since Independence. Wilkinson is the Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies at Yale University and his book was well received when it came out in 2015. No surprise if the sales see a sudden jump now with the Pakistan Army Chiefs endorsement.
Kolkata, February 19
Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away at a city hospital here this afternoon. Justice Kabir, 68, who was suffering from a kidney ailment and related complications, died at 2.52 pm, a senior hospital official said.
He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son, his son-in-law Leon DSouza said. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 19, 2013.
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Born on July 19, 1948, Kabir was enrolled as an advocate in 1973 and practised in the district court and the Calcutta High Court. He was appointed as a permanent judge in the Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990.
He was, thereafter, appointed as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on March 1, 2005, and as a judge of the Supreme Court on September 9, 2005. Seven years later, he was appointed as the 39th Chief Justice of India, a post he held for 292 days.
Offering condolences, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said, As a judge, he (Justice Kabir) was erudite, who heard counsel on both sides patiently and did not lose his temper even if the counsel talked about irrelevant things. His passing away is a sad loss. Agencies
Our Correspondent
Jaipur, February 19
A man, who had allegedly struck a deal with three Haryana-based farmers to sell his minor daughter to them for Rs 5 to Rs7 lakh, was arrested on Sunday along with the three men at Laxmangarh town in Alwar district.
Balveer Singh, who is a farm labourer, had allegedly made the deal to sell his 14-year-old daughter, a student of Class 8, to three farmers from Behal Thana in Haryana, SHO Laxmangarh Chetram told The Tribune.
The other three accused who came to attend a marriage were identified as Leeladhar, Ishwar Singh and Subhash Agarwal, and booked under Sections 363 and 120 (B) of the IPC, he said.
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 19
The government has begun inter-ministerial consultations on the most awaited reform in the medical education sector, the revamp of the Medical Council of India.
The Health Ministry has circulated a Cabinet note on the draft National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill-2016, which proposes to establish the commission as a replacement to the MCI.
The ministry earlier considered in detail the NMC Bill, 2016, drafted by a NITI Aayog expert committee appointed in March last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After embarking on comprehensive medical education reforms by introducing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental admissions, the ministry is now moving in the direction of revamping the medical sector as a whole. That cannot be done by revamping the MCI which has been in the eye of storm, mostly for the wrong reasons. We have now circulated a Cabinet note on the NMC Bill and await ministerial comments, said a source in the ministry.
The Bill seeks to replace the outdated Indian Medical Council Bill, 1956, and proposes the National Medical Commission as the new policy-making body for the sector. The NMC, under the proposed Bill, will be a body comprising a chairperson, nine ex-officio members and 10 part-time members who will be selected rather than elected, as is the case with MCI members.
The Bill draws inspiration from the 92nd parliamentary committee report on health that rooted for the replacement of MCI saying it cannot be reformed under the existing laws which are outdated.
The PM-appointed panel was tasked with proposing the roadmap for medical sector reforms. In its report last year, the committee had argued that the NMC members should be selected.
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Pathankot, February 19
The Pathankot police, who were on the lookout for five terror suspects since Saturday, on Sunday stumbled upon a cattle smuggling racket flourishing in J&K and Punjabs Dinanagar.
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Yesterday, an Alto car with five persons on board had hit an ASI near Madhopur, injuring him. The police, already on a high alert since the Pathankot Air Force station attack on January 2 last year, launched a manhunt to nab the five suspects.
During the investigation, the cops found that the car occupants were cattle smugglers and were active for the last several years without getting noticed.
One of the five, Bhagu Khan, surprised the cops by surrendering at the SSPs residence today morning.
SSP Nilambari Jagadale Vijay said even as she had formed five teams to trace the miscreants, one of them Bhagu Khan came to her residence around 11 am and asked her guards whether she was present at house or not.
Khan, who appeared to be calm and composed the time he arrived at the SSPs residence, suddenly developed cold feet when her guards started questioning him.
After a few minutes of questioning he broke down, following which the SSP sent him to the Sujanpur police station where he was put under arrest.
The other accused have been identified as Mohammad Sadiq, Rumuddin Khan, Bali Mohammadd and Barkat Ali. All of them are Gujjars (shepherds) and hail from various cities of J&K.
Bhagu Khan has given vital clues about the whereabouts of his accomplices.
A senior police officer said the accused were involved in the illegal trade for the last two years.
Yesterday, the accused had come to do a recce for the next consignment they were to bring to Dinanagar from J&K when their car hit an ASI at a naka. They fled leaving the car behind. The cattle smugglers were requesting their Gujjar brethren, who live near the Pathankot-Jammu national highway, to provide them with logistical support, the police officer said.
However, the manner in which they ran away raised our suspicion that they might be terrorists. Their real identities and motive became clear after Bhagu Khan surrendered at the SSPs residence. It is big cattle smuggling racket and more details will emerge after the other four are arrested, he said.
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 19
With US President Donald Trump adopting a tough stance against illegal immigrants, thousands of Indians who have applied for legal status are worried about their future. In November 2014, the then President Barack Obama had given temporary relief to 1.4 million illegal immigrants, telling them to apply for legal status.
Satnam Singh Chahal, president, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said that following this, around 4.5 lakh people had applied for legal status. After Mexicans, most number of people who applied for legal status were Indians, mainly Punjabis, he said. Now, the fate of these people hangs in balance, said Chahal.
As the relevant information is available with the US authorities regarding those who applied for legal status, there is likelihood that the authorities might act against such persons. Already, a good number of illegal migrants have been detained in New York.
He said his organisation had been telling all concerned to cooperate with the US authorities. He said Punjabis had a good rapport with the government at various levels and their help could be taken to sort out issues related to immigration.
Chahal said Punjabis leaving the US should not fill the form related to the voluntary surrendering of the green card.
We are telling people that filling this form is optional. But at the time of leaving the US, the form is given to all green card holders. But they should fill it, said Chahal.
By filling the form, one gives undertaking to the authorities on voluntary surrender of green card, he added.
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 19
Under the Smart City project, work has been launched to lay a CNG (compressed natural gas) pipeline to replace LPG and wood as the cooking fuel at Sri Guru Ram Dass Ji langar hall in the Golden Temple.
Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Sonali Giri said the pipeline was being laid at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Initially, it will cover the stretch from the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) on the Vallah bypass to Rattan Singh Chowk in the city.
She added, The pipeline will receive CNG from the main supply at Bathinda, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Work will be finished in the next two years.
In the first phase, domestic connections will be provided to 25,000 households. Ten fuel stations will be established in the city for CNG-run vehicles. It will pave the way for the switchover of auto-rickshaws to CNG from fossil fuel, a major source of air pollution in the holy city.
The Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), which has laid a network of over 16,000-km-long gas pipeline and set up 233 CNG stations, is executing the work.
On an average, 90 LPG cylinders are used to prepare langar for nearly 60,000 people daily at the Golden Temple.
Officials at the langar hall say the introduction of CNG would end the use of wood as cooking fuel.
The authorities have also planned to set up a biogas plant at a cost of about Rs 90 lakh at the Golden Temple to utilise the large amount of vegetable waste being generated in the community kitchen. It will be set up in collaboration with the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Patiala, February 18
In the wake of the call by INLD leaders to resume work on the SYL canal on February 23, the Punjab Police has sought central forces to deal with any untoward situation.
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Punjab's border with Haryana will be sealed on Sunday as a precautionary step. Officials said forces would be deployed at nakas on the states border with Haryana. An alert has been sounded with radicals threatening to reach the site. TNS
Jupinderjit Singh in Chandigarh
The air traffic in Punjab and Chandigarh looks bleak, despite a huge demand for domestic and international destinations. In Haryana, Hisar seems to hold some promise, but thats long haul. The Tribune team looks at the larger picture
Forget the ease of it; there are ways of doing business in India. We all know how. One way is get the Prime Minister involved. The other is prompt courts to half-do, or quarter-do, a thing. And then leave it to time, or to the ease of the vested interests, so that people forget the benefits promised. What else would explain the stunting and wasting of an otherwise impressive Chandigarh International Airport?
Take a look: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 306-acre airport in September 2015. It was supposed to cater to 45 lakh passengers every year. This year, it reached a figure of 15 lakh passengers only. It doesnt have Wi Fi, food and beverages outlets, ATMs and duty-free shops. It operates only two international flights (daily to Sharjah and Dubai) and 26 domestic flights. The authorities seem to have lost sight of the Punjabi diaspora spread over US, Canada and the UK. Thai Airways wants to operate two flights daily to Chandigarh, but the takeoff is caught in bureaucratic logjams in Delhi. Then, there is the Delhi lobby.
The Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CIAL) was formed as a joint venture between the Airport Authority of India (AAI) with a share of 51% with Punjab and Haryana each sharing 24.5% stakes. The project cost is Rs 963 crore out of which Rs 460 crore went to acquire land.
The domestic share could have been only a dream had the Punjab and Haryana High Court not taken a stern view. Hearing petitions by local businessmen, the court asked the Centre last year to return the acquired land for the airport to the farmers if the flights were not started. After that, the airport became functional. The court proceedings reveal that a certain lobby of businessmen and other agencies, including some government officials in Delhi, could be blocking more flights to the airport. More flights to Chandigarh mean loss of business to a private company managing the international airport in Delhi. Then, there is a hotel and transport lobby. The airport functioning is thanks to the court directives, said a lawyer who is part of the ongoing case. The CIAL, the Government of India besides Punjab and Haryana are respondents in the case.
The Union Government has in an affidavit to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 1 said that 18 countries were interested in air connectivity with Chandigarh. Sandeep Saxena, under secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said the countries had an open right to choose Chandigarh as a direct air destination. He argued that there was no obstruction in the way. The court was, however, also told that the Centre has a policy for not granting direct flights to non-metro cities.
The Delhi lobby of businessmen is not letting the airport have more than two international flights without parking. As per rules, an international flight within 5,000-air-km is possible after the two countries reach a bilateral agreement. This includes a point of call airport where the flight will land. For countries beyond the 5000 km, only a point of call agreement with airlines is required.
In a recent court hearing, an advocate representing the Union Government said: It is quite evidentthat the government has been more than willing to make the airport operational and functional. Perhaps, it is the unwillingness of the other staff members to not let it be fully operational because their actions have been lackluster (sic).
The air gets clearer: The Chandigarh airport has and will take away the traffic from Delhi. One instance is passengers from Uttarakhand. They would prefer to board from Chandigarh rather than Delhi to avoid traffic, crowd, and longer journey. The airport is not getting its due share. The traffic and revenue at Delhi is like a huge ocean. Chandigarh will take away only a minuscule of it. Still, it is not being allowed to spread its wings, said a CIAL official.
On its part, the Centre makes it clear that it wants the airport to have its full share of business. Says assistant solicitor general of India Chetan Mittal: The government is very keen on growth of the Chandigarh airport. None other than Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has written to the Punjab Chief Minister expressing himself in favour of development of the airport. The government is pushing for providing not just all facilities, but the highest standard of facilities at Chandigarh.
The Defence Minister would know of the practical issues. The airport lies in Defence Enclave and is labeled as high security sensitive. All operations, including Air Traffic Control, runway and flight timings are with the Indian Air Force. As per its security requirement, which cannot be ignored, the civil airport has less operation time and flights. The flight can operate between sunrise and 10 pm, but on week days, the closing time is 8 pm. On first and third Sunday, the closing time is 3 pm.
This airport has made a minimal dent on passenger volume at the Amritsar airport. This airport is more convenient for people who earlier had to board flights from Delhi, says Suneel Dutt, CEO Chandigarh International Airport Ltd.
Though both Punjab and Haryana claim the airport was their initiative, none of them has done much for its growth. Sources say the states didnt give land free-of-cost and have not set up Tourism Purpose Vehicle -- a system of encouraging traffic by publicity and for easing investment and facilities.
Viswajeet Khanna, principal secretary Punjab and a member of the CIAL board, said it was the state government that pushed project. International flights to Thailand will start from April. But for flights to other countries, especially the UK, US, Canada and Australia, the runway needs to be upgraded.
The runaway length is 9,000 feet which can handle slimmer planes only. More land is required for a parallel runway project for exclusively civilian use. Discussions are on, said a CIAL source.
Sukhmeet Bhasin in Bathinda
Bathinda Domestic Airport at Virk Kalan village, which was started at the end of the Badal governments term, has failed to on the popularity front. National carrier Air India had launched thrice-a-week Bathinda-Delhi flight on December 11, 2016. According to Air India figures, on an average it gets around 50% bookings. And some days, it falls way down -- on Feb 8, only 19 passengers boarded the flight from Bathinda domestic airport for Delhi.
The main reason is said to be the hike in ticket rates by Air India. At the time of its inauguration, the fare for Bathinda-Delhi was kept at Rs 2,500, but now it is Rs 3,900. Another reason is said to be its location, the airport is around 30 km from the city and there is no autorickshaw, cab service available at the airport. The district administrations bus service also takes people from rural areas. Airport Authority of India (AAI), director at airport here, Kewal
Krishan, hopes that the demand would build up. The airport also caters to many unscheduled private flights of politicians and officials. We hope to see better days.
Raman Watts, president, Bathinda Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attributes the lack of response to the hike in fares and wrong timings of the flights.
Dr Vitull K Gupta, health activist, said A Delhi flight reaches here at 2.25 pm, a day is almost lost. Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Bhai Rupa village, says there is no information desk in the city to assist a flyer about booking tickets. Villagers generally dont use the internet, so, they face problems in booking tickets online, he said. .
The airport is near the Bhisiana airbase of the IAF. Spread over 40 acres, it was constructed in October 2012 with cost pegged at Rs25 crore. In the last four years, the government has spent about Rs 9 crore on its maintenance.
Deepender Deswal in Hisar
Good news for the city: Hisar would soon get an airport. A feasibility report and the Centres approval have come in to air-link this counter-magnet city to other parts of the country. Capt DK Punia, executive director of Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation, said that initially the city would be linked to Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The small distance air services would begin in the first phase. The 20 seat and 40-seat airplanes would be available on these routes, he said. Flights to Mumbai, Ahmadabad and other far-off cities would start in the next phase.
Plus, the Haryana government has expedited work on the Integrated Aviation Hub in the city. The government thinking is that besides a rise in demand for airport connectivity, there is urgent need for expanding services such as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and Fixed Base Operation (FBO). An official spokesman said the project would be developed over 3,000 acres adjoining the existing Hisar airfield which will also have features such as aircraft parking and transit facilities, an aerospace park and an aviation training centre.
With an existing airstrip of 4,000 feet, spread on 3,000 acres of government owned land, the Haryana government has invited global expression of interest for developing the proposed integrated aviation hub. Due to its close proximity with neighbouring airports and states including the National Capital region, Hisar could also serve as a potential location for commercial development, the official said.
The state government-appointed consultancy firm, Frost and Sullivan Consultancy Agency, submitted its feasibility report this week. Aviation department principal secretary Dr Mahavir Singh said the government would issue express of interest for the aviation players for initiating the work on the aviation hub. It would be followed by a request for proposal (RFT). Only after the completion of the bidding process, the actual work would start. The state government is very keen on the project, he said. State finance minister Capt Abhimanyu has said the Centre has selected Hisar for developing regional airports in different states under the National Civil Aviation policy 2016. The airport will accelerate development in the area, he said.
The revenue department has demarcated about 2,000 acres for the proposed project and the major chunk of this land is owned by the state government. After the CMs announcement in 2014, the site for the newly established Lala Lajpat Rai Veterinary and Animal Science University would be relocated. The MRO facility has already started at the airport as a Delhi-based firm Shaurya Aeronautics has been given a two-year contract. Krishan Kumar Lohia, former president of the Hisar Industries Association, said that the besides catering to the existing industry and commercial activities, the airport project would also effect a boom in the infrastructure and industrial sectors. The town has 500 small and big industries.
Professor NK Bishnoi of the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUST), who has been working on this project, said the state government should try to attract more industries and create Hisar a commercial hub to make the airport commercially successful. The existing industries in Hisar are not air travel intensive. But, if big industry players such as the Jindals or the Goenkas, who belong to Hisar, shift base from Delhi, the airport would be a sure success, he said.
Vishal Gulati
Sairopa (Kullu), February 19
The Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is most vulnerable to poaching for international trade owing to its proximity to the Nepal border, a major trade link to the Chinese traditional medicine market, says legendary field biologist George Schaller. Uttarakhand has a good population of the elusive and highly-endangered species of snow leopard.
Animals in the wild mostly avoid any encounters with humans and when they do attack people, it is usually in self-defence. And it will be wrong to declare tigers and leopards that attack humans as man-eaters, Schaller, 83, told IANS in an interview.
Thus, there is a need for training communities settled in the periphery of wildlife parks and sanctuaries because wild animalsbe it a tiger or a leopard or an elephantdont want trouble from humans, he said. Schaller attended a two-day nature conservation biology workshop at the Great Himalayan National Parks camp office here in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
And if a tiger is a man-eater, its killing is certain, he added.
German-born Schaller said in Indiaa storehouse of biodiversitydevelopment was a big issue.
India is saying its doing a lot for the preservation of wildlife. But it is really disturbing that 200 sq km of forest area of the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh is being diverted for non-forest purposes. After 1990s, the countrys image in preserving forests is going down, said the biologist-cum-author.
It is greed and corruption that threaten nature more.
The problem, in fact, across the globe is that oil, mining and timber companies are prepared to pay anything to operate in sensitive areas. Sadly, governments and officials succumb to their pressures.
I know people (supposed conservationists) who prefer to sit in their offices (rather than go to the field). Conservation has not to do only with animals. It also has to do with economics and politics.
Estimates say India supports the highest population of tigers in the wild, accounting for 2,226 of the estimated 3,890 worldwide.
Schaller, who has worked for nearly two decades on studying endemic wildlife in the Tibetan Plateau, said the snow leopard also needs protection from pastoral communities.
The Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh and the Hemis National Park in Jammu and Kashmir support a good population of snow leopards, he said.
They are beautiful and majestic animals that rarely attack humans. They attack only when villagers attack them with sticks. I have spent nights in their habitat and they passed my sleeping bag.
Man-animal conflicts are more of a social issue. For the conservation of wildlife, you need cooperation of local communities, he said.
According to Schaller, for conserving the snow leopard there is need to maintain a sizeable population of its prey species like the Asiatic ibex, a wild goat and the Himalayan blue sheep.
Schallers photograph of a snow leopard, taken in Pakistan in 1970, is the first recorded image of the wild cat. It is necessary for wildlife conservation to link eco-tourism with local communities. If we fail to create awareness on wildlife, we will fail to preserve for our future generations, he added. IANS
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, February 19
The state Congress has objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent rally at Rishikul Maidan in Haridwar a few days ahead of the polling without any prior permission. It alleged that it was a clear cut case of violation of the model code of conduct.
A delegation of Congress workers led by state Congress president Kishore Upadhyay met Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi and requested her to register a case against the Prime Minister, senior BJP leaders, party candidates and workers, who attended the rally.
State Congress spokesman RP Raturi said the Congress delegation said more than a week had passed since Modi held a rally at Rishikul Maidan in Hariwar without permission, but no notice had been sent to the BJP.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Harish Rawats media adviser Surendra Kumar also alleged that the Prime Minister had given scant respect for the model code of conduct while addressing election rallies in the state.
Kumar said the BJP had spent a large amount of money in the elections. He rejected the BJPs charge that the Congress had hired the services of Prashant Kishor at an exorbitant amount.
Tribune News Service
Haridwar, February 19
Eminent social activist, entrepreneur and FICCI member Lalita Nijhawan has advocated abolishing the practice of triple talaq practised among Muslims. He today demanded prohibition on triple talaq, polygamy and nikah-halal even if they are part of the Muslim Personal Law in India. President Pranab Mukherjee had awarded Lalita as one of the 100 women achievers last year.
On the sidelines of a charitable event, Lalita said as the Supreme Court had taken up the matter, the hope of Muslim women getting freedom from this age-old practices and a permanent decision on this controversial aspects had risen.
She referred to various Muslim countries where such practices had been prohibited by law and even prescribed punishment. She said the voices of opposition from Muslim women had lent this issue a major push, leading to the Supreme Court taking it up for the final decision.
Lalita is the co-convener of the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians, which raises varied issues such as women empowerment, molestation, rape and female foeticide. She has also been actively working and raising the triple-talaq and uniform civil code issues at various forums.
She was given the International Womens Entrepreneurial Challenge Award for her social works at Brussels, Belgium, last year. She has also been involved in charity for the past 17 years.
Recently, Lalita organised the marriages of two orphan girls Sunita and Deepa at Maatri Anchal Kanya Vidyapeeth in Haridwar, which she funds regularly, along with 690 other schools in backward-tribal areas of Rajasthan and Tripura.
People need to realise the importance the Indian culture gives to women. We have several women deities. We even address our motherland as Bharat Mata, so how come instances of female foeticide, molestation and domestic violence against women occur across the country daily. This is time that we focus on our Moral-based Vedic education pattern, said Lalita, who is also associated with Panini Kanya Vidyalaya, Varanasi, to promote Sanskrit education and the Indian Vedic culture.
The political turmoil in Tamil Nadu seems far from over with O Panneerselvam meeting Governor C Vidyasagar Rao yet again. Earlier, Chief Minister E Palaniswami too reached Raj Bhavan today even as MK Stalin-led DMK has called for a statewide agitation.
By India Today Web Desk: A day after DMK leaders, including MK Stalin, protested against forceful eviction of party MLAs from the Tamil Nadu Assembly and alleged mistreatment of its working party president, police have registered an FIR against Stalin for his party's protest at Marina Beach.
Stalin and other Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders were earlier detained by police on Saturday from the beach and subsequently let off after signing an undertaking.
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E Palaniswami won the vote of confidence in the Assembly on Saturday amid ruckus and the Speaker expelling DMK leaders from the House. While 122 AIADMK MLAs supported him, only 11 voted against him.
HERE ARE THE LIVE UPDATES:
Governor Vidyasagar Rao seeks factual report from Assembly Secretary Jamaludeen on the incidents that took place during trust vote yesterday.
What happened in Tamil Nadu assembly yesterday was a disgrace to democracy, says Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu
All concerned should introspect and see that such things are not allowed to happen in future, Naidu says
Panneerselvam reaches Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Rao
Chennai: #OPanneerselvam reached Raj Bhavan to meet TN Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. pic.twitter.com/jyjNjs8M35 ANI (@ANI_news) February 19, 2017 We are trying to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi on this regard; have sought time with him to highlight the Assembly situation, says MK Stalin
I will participate in the hunger strike from Tiruchi, on February 22, says MK Stalin
DMK announces hunger strike on February 22 in all district offices of the party in Tamil Nadu
We met the Governor over the developments in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, says Stalin
O Panneerselvam is expected to meet Governor Vidyasagar Rao today
We have submitted a memorandum on the issue to Tamil Nadu Governor, he has promised to look into it: Tiruchi Siva
Without participation of the Opposition in Assembly, the trust vote moved by CM is illegal, says Tiruchi Siva, DMK MP after meeting Governor Vidyasagar Rao
We've submitted a memorandum on the issue to TN Governor; He has promised to look into the matter: Tiruchi Siva, DMK pic.twitter.com/3Xw7wg2rHK ANI (@ANI_news) February 19, 2017 Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami reaches Raj Bhavan to meet Governor C Vidyasagar Rao
Chennai: TN Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami reaches Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. pic.twitter.com/AL3q4cHW3j ANI (@ANI_news) February 19, 2017 DMK's working president MK Stalin holds a special meeting with party MLAs at the party headquarters in Chennai
FIR filed against DMK leader MK Stalin for his party's protest at Marina Beach. FIR filed under Sections 143 and 188.
ALSO READ: Why DMK created mayhem in Tamil Nadu Assembly ahead of Palaniswami's trust vote
HERE ARE THE DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR: Stalin and his partymen were staging a hunger strike near the Gandhi statue at the beach to protest against the forceful eviction of MLAs from the Assembly. In the Assembly, DMK leaders protested against the floor test called for removal of the AIADMK government. Speaker P Dhanapal expelled the DMK leaders from the Assembly after they allegedly broke chairs, stood on tables and manhandled the Speaker. As MLAs were evicted, DMK leader Stalin's shirt was allegedly torn. Earlier, the O Panneerselvam camp demanded a secret ballot while the DMK demanded postponement of the trust vote. Both the demands were rejected by Speaker Dhanapal. Chief Minister E Palaniswami won the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Later, Stalin wrote to Governor C Viyasagar Rao alleging the Speaker's sole aim was to announce the chief minister's success in getting the trust vote even as the Opposition remained absent. Stalin asked him to restore democratic values and order a postponement of the Assembly in order to conduct secret voting on confidence motion.
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ALSO READ | What happens to Panneerselvam with Palaniswami swearing in as Tamil Nadu CM
Sasikala in jail but 'mafia from Mannargudi' is here to stay. Who are they?
WATCH | Tamil Nadu crisis: FIR against DMK leader MK Stalin for party's protest at Marina Beach
--- ENDS ---
Lahore/Peshawar, February 19
More than 130 suspected terrorists have been killed and over 350 people, mostly Afghans, arrested in Pakistan as part of a nationwide crackdown by security forces following a string of suicide bombings in the country.
At least 15 terrorists were killed in another targeted strike by the Pakistani forces across the Afghan border today, Geo News reported.
A high-value target, known for recruiting terrorists and training suicide bombers, was also reportedly gunned down and at least 12 terror sanctuaries, including a hideout and weapon depot camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrars commander were also pounded.
In Pakistans northwest tribal region, at least 11 Afghan terrorists were killed during a gun battle with the security forces. The gun-battle occurred in Sapperkot and Para Chamkani in Kurram Agency.
Pakistan had reportedly launched strikes against militant bases in Afghanistan yesterday.
The killing of militants and arrests were part of a nationwhide crackdown following a spurt in terror attacks.
Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told PTI today that, More than 350 suspects have been taken into custody (in Punjab), mostly Afghans, since the Lahore blast last Monday on the Mall Road.
During Saturday and Sunday the police have arrested more than 200 people mostly Afghans and Pashtoon as they did not have identification papers. Police have also arrested those who had given them their houses on rent, he said.
According to a spokesman of the Crime Investigation Department, Police are focusing on intelligence-based search operations to get maximum results. Deployment at all sensitive government installations has been increased and the operation in and around localities of shrines in the province is also being conducted.
He said illegal weapons have also been recovered from some of the suspects who have been shifted to undisclosed location for identification.
Police have also taken a man into custody who had rented his house to handler Anwarul Haq of the Lahore blast.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Haq had brought the Afghan suicide bomber to the Mall Road.
An anti-terrorism court yesterday handed over Haq to Counter Terrorism Department on a 30-day remand.
Tahrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility for the Lahore blast. PTI
Mogadishu, February 19
A car bomb blast at a marketplace in Somalias capital has killed at least 20 people and injured 50 others, said a local Somali official.
The blast by a car bomb parked near a restaurant went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle.
The powerful blast was the first major attack since Somalias new president was elected on February 8.
Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated, said Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointing his finger at a clothes shop devastated by the blast. Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that remained of the shop.
Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers were transported bloodied bodies and wounded victims into awaiting ambulance vehicles.
Its a painful carnage. said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with multiple shrapnel wounds.
The blast occurred a few hours after Somalias Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, denounced the newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as an apostate and vowed to continue fighting against his government. AP
Paris, February 19
Suspected Russian cyber attacks on the French presidential campaign are "unacceptable", France's Foreign Minister said on Sunday, adding it was clear that pro-Europe candidate Emmanuel Macron was being targeted.
A spokesman for Macron, who is currently riding high in the polls, has accused Moscow of being behind a flurry of cyber attacks on his campaign website and email servers over the past month.
"It's enough to see which candidates, Marine Le Pen or Francois Fillon, Russia expresses preference for in the French electoral campaign," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview with Journal du Dimanche.
"Whereas Emmanuel Macron, who is pro-Europe, is being targeted by cyber attacks," he added. "This form of interference in French democratic life is unacceptable and I denounce it."
Le Pen, of the far-right National Front, is anti-immigration and anti-European Union, while Fillon is the conservative Republicans candidate who is pushing for closer ties with Moscow.
"Russia is the first to say that non-interference in domestic affairs is a cardinal rule and I understand that. Well, France won't accept its choices being dictated to it either," he added.
France warned Russia Wednesday against meddling in the elections, after a spokesman for Macron the 39-year-old centrist former economy minister pointed the finger of blame at Moscow.
The allegations come in the midst of a furore over Russia's alleged interference in the US electoral campaign that has forced out one of President Donald Trump's top aides.
US intelligence agencies had already accused Russian intelligence of hacking Democratic Party emails that embarrassed Trump's rival Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this week, Ayrault told French parliament: "After what happened in the United States, it is our responsibility to take all steps necessary to ensure that the integrity of our democratic process is fully respected".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country will hold a general election in September, has also voiced fears that Moscow could try to influence the vote through cyber attacks or disinformation.
A special meeting of the French Defence Council is planned next week to strengthen measures to protect against this kind of threat. AFP
Kuwait City, February 19
Kuwaits Supreme Court on Sunday sentenced a top bureaucrat to 10 years in jail for joining and fighting with the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
The court also fined the unnamed Kuwaiti national, who was a top official at the Kuwait municipality, USD 30,000 and convicted him of calling other people to join the group.
The ruling is final and cannot be challenged.
Kuwaiti courts have sentenced a number of IS members, sympathisers and financiers to various jail terms.
A lower court in December sentenced a Filipina to 10 years in jail after convicting her of joining the jihadist group and plotting attacks.
Authorities in July said they had dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a Shiite mosque and against an interior ministry target.
An IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers in June 2015 when he blew himself up in a mosque of Kuwaits Shiite minority, in the worst such attack in the Gulf states history. AFP
Kuala Lumpur, February 19
Malaysian police said today they believe five North Koreans were involved in the murder of the half-brother of leader Kim Jong-Un, with four having fled the country on the day of the killing.
Seoul said the announcement proved Pyongyang was behind the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, who died after being squirted in the face with an unidentified liquid at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday.
The case has also sparked a diplomatic row between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur, after Malaysia rejected demands quickly to hand the body over to the North. Four North Korean men were being sought over the killing, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference, in addition to their 46-year-old compatriot Ri Jong Chol, who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Suspects Ri Ji Hyon, O Jong Gil, Ri Jae Nam and Hong Song Sac, aged between 33 and 57, entered Malaysia in February or late January, the police chief said.
Three more North Koreans were wanted for questioning, he said. Officers have already arrested one North Korean, an Indonesian woman and her Malaysian boyfriend, as well as a Vietnamese woman.
Considering that five suspects are North Korean nationals, we view that the North Korean government is behind the incident, Seouls unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said immediately after todays announcement.
The deputy police chief refused to comment on any political motive for the killing, saying only that investigations were ongoing.
We are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and assist us in the investigation, Noor Rashid said. AFP
Kuala Lumpur, February 19
The Malaysian police on Sunday said they were seeking four more North Korean suspects in the assassination of Kim Jong-uns half-brother at Kuala Lumpurs main airport, but the four had already left the country.
The suspects were all male and aged between 33 and 57, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference.
In addition to the four, three North Koreans were being sought to assist with enquiries.
The police on Saturday arrested a North Korean man over the killing last Monday of Kim Jong-Nam after detaining a woman carrying a Vietnamese passport, as well as an Indonesian woman and a Malaysian man. AFP
Kuala Lumpur, February 19
Malaysias only North Korean restaurant promises a glimpse into life in the reclusive state but it has been shuttered since news broke of the assassination of leader Kim Jong-Uns half-brother, with security guards turning customers away.
Pyongyang Koryo is the most visible symbol of a 1,000-strong North Korean community in Malaysia, made up of a business elite as well as ordinary workers who will likely know little about the Cold War-style killing of Kim Jong-Nam.
Waitresses at the restaurant, one of dozens the North has established abroad, wear traditional dress and entertain diners with singing and dancing at the unassuming building in a sleepy residential area of Kuala Lumpur.
But even when the doors are open neighbours say the young women have little contact with the wider world as they are shuttled to and from their accommodation.
Ive seen the women being taken to and from the compound and they never walk this way or talk to anyone, said Jack Liew, who runs a car workshop that shares a back alley with the restaurant.
When I tried to look into their back yard, the door was covered with vinyl sheeting and theres nothing else to look at, he told AFP.
Other residents also said they had seen the North Korean workers but had never spoken with them, describing the waitresses only as very pretty.
At the other end of the spectrum are elites who are also keeping a low profile but would be well aware of the assassination, said Alex Hwang, a South Korean who chairs the Malaysian branch of the Seoul-backed National Unification Advisory Council.
Hwang runs an upmarket restaurant in the Malaysian capital which he says is popular with prominent North Korean expatriates, at one time including Jong-Nam who was killed at Kuala Lumpurs airport in an apparent poisoning attack on Monday.
Their business interests include computer animation firms, manufacturing, and some black market activities, he told AFP.
Most of them have Rolex watches, they drive nice cars, their children go to normal schools and have the latest gadgets.... They are like any other business person, said Hwang of the roughly 250-strong group.
But they would think twice before sharing news of the assassination with friends or family when they go home.
Each North Korean family living abroad reports to the local embassy every month for a debrief and when they return, they undergo re-education before being allowed to return to the general population, he said.
Around 40 North Koreans made their way to the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, South Koreas Chosun TV reported as its journalists quizzed the group over the killing which Seouls spy chief said was carried out by agents from the North. AFP
Islamabad, February 18
Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, who is under house arrest, has been listed under Pakistans anti-terrorism Act, a tacit acknowledgement of his links to militancy.
Dawn News reported that the Punjab government had included the names of Saeed and one of his close aides, Qazi Kashif, in the fourth schedule of the Anti-terrorism Act (ATA).
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
Three others Abdullah Obaid from Faisalabad and Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid from the Markaz-i-Taiba in Muridke were also included in the list
Those listed face a barrage of legal consequences like travel bans and scrutiny of assets. Violation of the provisions may draw jail of up to three years and fine or both. PTI
Cape Canaveral, February 19
NASA's historic moonshot pad is back in business. A SpaceX Falcon rocket blasted off on Sunday morning from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.
It was visible for just seconds before ducking into clouds on its way to the International Space Station, with a load of supplies.
Astronauts flew to the moon from this very spot nearly a half-century ago. The pad was last used for NASA's final shuttle mission nearly six years ago.
This is SpaceX's first launch from Florida since a rocket explosion last summer. As an extra-special treat, SpaceX landed the booster rocket back at Cape Canaveral following liftoff, for only the third time.
Cheers erupted inside SpaceX Mission Control. A minute or two later, the SpaceX Dragon supply ship successfully reached orbit, generating more applause. AP
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Feb 19 (PTI) Following the ouster of Michael Flynn, US President Donald Trump has said he will be interviewing four candidates for the post of national security advisor and will take a decision on the appointment within a couple of days.
"I have many, many that want the job that want to be a part of it, Ill make a decision in the couple of days, but were meeting with actually four of them tomorrow, all of whom want it," Trump told reporters travelling with him on Air Force One on his way to Melbourne, Florida for a rally.
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"Ive been thinking about someone for the last three or four days, well see what happens. Im meeting with that person. Theyre all good, theyre all great people," Trump said.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump will interview his acting adviser, retired Army Lt Gen Keith Kellogg; a former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; Army Lt Gen H R McMaster; and the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, Lt Gen Robert Caslen.
The new appointment has been necessiated following Flynns resignation at Trumps request after revelations that he misled colleagues about his Russian contacts. PTI LKJ BSA BSA
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Three companies account for nearly half of 4.2 billion barrels of saltwater injected into disposal wells since 2011 in a portion of Oklahoma increasingly rocked by a record number of man-made earthquakes, according to a Tulsa World analysis of government data.
The company that disposed of the most Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Exploration & Production comprises more than a fifth of the total wastewater volume, or 21.9 percent. Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Operating was second, with 13.5 percent. Tulsa-based New Dominion was third at 12.5 percent.
The top seven companies accounted for 70 percent of the enormous six-year total disposal volume an overall figure equivalent to 64 hours of water flowing over Niagara Falls or 88 brimming Lake Yaholas in Tulsa.
For the six-year span, 206 unique well operators reported injection volumes for 723 disposal wells.
Well operators reported disposing 4.2 billion barrels of wastewater into Oklahomas deepest geologic formation within the earthquake-prone region from 2011 through 2016. The top seven companies contributed 2.9 billion of those barrels, and the top three accounted for 2 billion of that figure. One barrel is 42 gallons.
For a more tangible context of just how much saltwater that is, envision or look up a YouTube video of Niagara Falls. The average flow over the three falls that comprise Niagara Falls is 757,500 gallons a second, according to its state park website.
The saltwater disposed by the top seven companies in the six-year stretch is equivalent to Niagara Falls average flow for nearly two days, with the top three contributing 31 of those 45 hours. Calculating in the volumes from the rest of the well operators adds an additional 19 hours for a grand total of two and two-thirds days.
For a local perspective, imagine if industry disposed of the briny water into a ground-level reservoir, such as Lake Yahola in Tulsa.
The saltwater those six years would fill Lake Yahola 88 times. Lake Yahola, which sits in Mohawk Park and is one of the citys two raw water reservoirs, has a 2 billion gallon capacity, according to the City of Tulsas website.
Sixty-one Lake Yaholas would be filled by the top seven companies, with the top three accounting for 42 of those.
Scientists pin the cause of Oklahomas induced seismicity on the vast volume of saltwater from oil and gas production injected into the states deepest geologic formation the Arbuckle in a 15,000-square-mile region in central and northwestern Oklahoma. The Arbuckle formation is in hydraulic communication with the basement rock that contains untold numbers of faults that are critically stressed by natural tectonic forces.
Companies target the Arbuckle for disposal because it soaks up tremendous amounts of brine like a sponge and is furthest from groundwater sources.
The Tulsa World analyzed raw Oklahoma Corporation Commission data for wells within the agencys so-called area of interest, which includes both earthquake-prone regions and areas that have not yet seen major earthquake activity.
The agency regulates the states oil and natural gas industry.
The Corporation Commissions software that provided the data doesnt take into account well transfers. Consequently, the World had to look through imaged paper records for each well that are stored in an online database to determine which wells changed hands and when.
Arbuckle wells in Osage County arent included in the analysis because they are under federal oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Reaction from top three companies
The Tulsa World asked the top three companies by volume for responses to the disposal data and whether the companies acknowledge man-made connection to quakes.
A SandRidge spokesman said the company had no comment for the article.
An attorney for New Dominion said the company cant comment because of pending litigation.
A Chesapeake spokesman pointed the Tulsa World to a company webpage titled Responsible Water Management.
The webpage states that Chesapeake in 2015 recycled more than 127.5 million gallons of produced water (or more than 3 million barrels) in well completion or hydraulic fracturing operations. Chesapeake adds that it is compliant with Corporation Commission directives, referencing seismicity and its potential link to disposal wells.
Chesapeake supports science-based research on this subject and is funding research at Stanford Universitys Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity, according to its website. The company also operates a 10-station seismograph array and shares the data collected with Stanford and with the Oklahoma Geologic[al] Survey.
The Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association leaves the determination of whether there is a correlation of disposal well activity and recent seismic events to the Oklahoma Geological Survey and Oklahoma Corporation Commission, president Chad Warmington wrote in a statement. They have most closely monitored and studied the states seismic trends and have developed new fault maps, largely from priority data the oil and gas industry has freely and voluntarily provided.
The companies cant comment on active litigation, Warmington said, but the industry for about a century has been committed to caring for and being involved in communities in which development of natural resources takes place.
We are hopeful that the strong collaboration between industry, the state, and academics to address seismicity in the state is going to be a success story for Oklahoma, he said.
Yearly trends in disposal, quakes
Wastewater disposal steadily rose until its annual input peaked in 2014 at 1 billion barrels (22 Lake Yaholas), according to the Corporation Commission data analyzed by the Tulsa World. Volumes declined the past two years, coming in at 635.5 million barrels in 2016 (13 1/3 Lake Yaholas).
Thats a 39 percent drop across two years, spurred by the energy market crash beginning in the second half of 2014 and volume reductions enacted by the Corporation Commission starting in the second half of 2015.
The steep rise in wastewater disposal began in 2009, according to an Oklahoma Geological Survey study. The data obtained by the Tulsa World goes back to 2011, meaning there are two more years of volumes that arent accounted for in its analysis.
Following the trend with wastewater disposal, the frequency of quakes have declined since early 2016. There were 623 quakes of 3.0 or greater magnitude in 2016, a 31 percent reduction from the top year, in 2015, of 903.
Disposal volumes by the close of 2016 had dropped to near 2012 levels, according to the Corporation Commission data.
The 90-day moving average of quakes of at least magnitude-3.0 now is at 0.7 per day, according to Geological Survey Director Jeremy Boak. That rate is substantially down from a peak of 3 a day in January 2016.
Oklahoma recorded only its third quake of 3.5 or greater this year on Thursday morning, a 3.7 near Yale. The other two were 3.5s in early January.
Considering that last year we averaged one (3.5-plus) every other day, its actually impressive it has been so long, Boak said.
Boak previously has referenced the diminishing frequency of quakes after disposal volume cutbacks as the smoking gun, especially considering the two climbed upward together. Most skeptics have either gone silent or gone away, Boak told the Tulsa World in July.
However, the seismic energy released in 2016 dwarfed prior years because there were three quakes of at least magnitude 5.0 two in the latter half of the year. One was the state-record 5.8 near Pawnee on Sept. 3.
Two Stanford scientists authored a research study published in December that determined the seismic energy let off in the past eight years is equivalent to more than 1,900 years of naturally released energy.
Cornelius Langenbruch, the studys co-author, told the Tulsa World that Oklahoma is almost certain to have at least one damaging quake in the next five years. Elevated risks are likely to persist for a decade, Langenbruch said.
Oklahoma's largest earthquakes
Magnitude Nearest city County Date 5.8 Pawnee Pawnee County Sept. 3, 2016 5.7 Prague Lincoln County Nov. 5, 2011 5.5 El Reno Canadian County April 9, 1952 5.1 Fairview Major County Feb. 13, 2016 5.0 Cushing Payne County Nov. 6, 2016 4.9 Bennington Bryan County Oct. 22, 1882 4.8 Prague Lincoln County Nov. 7, 2011 4.8 Prague Lincoln County Nov. 5, 2011 4.7 Fairview Major County Jan. 6, 2016 4.7 Carmen Alfalfa County Nov 19, 2015 4.7 Nash Grant County Nov. 30, 2015
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
"Here's the bottom line. We have got to keep our country safe. You look at whats happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath.
By Press Trust of India: US President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" ISIS and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe.
"Here's the bottom line. We have got to keep our country safe. You look at whats happening," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath.
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"We have allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing," he claimed.
Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not "win anymore".
Also read: Trump properties face global terror risk with presidency
"Instead of peace, we have seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don't fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don't win anymore. We don't win at trade. We don't win in any capacity. We don't win anymore. Were going to start winning again. Believe me," he said.
Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "to develop a plan to totally destroy ISIS," and begin plans for "the great rebuilding" of the United States military.
"We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. Were going to start using our best and most modern equipment," he said.
Also read: Saudi King backs Trumps safe zones request in Syria, Yemen
Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely.
"We were left a mess like you wouldn't believe. But were going to build safe zones. Were going to have those safe zones," he said.
"We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don't want people with bad, bad ideas. We don't want that," he said.
He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy.
Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the "so-called global elite", saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages.
"We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure. To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities," he said.
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The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a "level playing field for all women in the workforce."
WATCH THE VIDEO:
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Critics for several years have decried the state for its controversial handling of an unparalleled onslaught of induced seismicity.
The advent of horizontal drilling opened up unconventional fossil fuel deposits that contain huge volumes of salty, ancient seawater mixed in with oil and gas. Disposal of that wastewater deep underground ramped up in 2009, steadily increasing each year, until it finally dipped in 2015 and 2016.
Oil prices climbed from an average monthly low of $39 a barrel in February 2009 to peaks above $100 a barrel in 2011 through 2014 before the latest energy market bust in summer 2014.
Meanwhile, the frequency of quakes skyrocketed with the influx of saltwater from producing wells.
There were 20 temblors of magnitude 3.0 or greater in 2009, up from two the previous year. In 2013, Oklahoma recorded 110 quakes, a 450 percent jump over 2009. And that was dwarfed by the 579 in 2014 and 903 in 2015.
Notably, from 1990 through 2008, only 30 quakes of 3.0 or higher were recorded.
Critics denounce Gov. Mary Fallin, who didnt acknowledge any man-made connections until April 2015. A spokesman at the time wrote in a statement that Fallin does not believe the increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma can be explained by natural causes.
That acknowledgement came on the same day the Oklahoma Geological Survey published a report stating that its very likely most of the quakes are triggered by disposal wells.
However, scientific studies dating back to at least the 1960s demonstrate correlations between fluid injection and earthquakes.
Perhaps the most referenced example is the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which involved the federal government injecting contaminated wastewater the byproduct of chemical warfare products deep underground in Colorado. A 1966 scientific study on the case underlines a correlation between the injection volumes near Denver and more than 700 quakes, the majority of which were recorded within a 5-mile radius of the well after it turned on in 1962.
In a Tulsa World article published in February 2015, Fallin pointed to natural causes and a lack of information, only two months before she would acknowledge there are indeed man-made ties.
At this point in time, I dont think we have enough information to truly understand what is causing earthquakes, Fallin said. We know a lot of its just natural earthquakes that have occurred since the beginning of the Earth, but there has been some question about disposal wells.
In the same article, then-state seismologist Austin Holland said he had felt pressured by some in the energy industry.
Critics also knock state regulators for not imposing disposal well restrictions more stringently or sooner to better curtail the troubling trend. They argue the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has been reactive and not proactive.
In response, the OCCs refrain has been that the agency followed the science, waiting for and being guided by solid evidence to impose regulations. Restrictions must be based on sound science to pass muster in court should there be a legal challenge, the OCC has reiterated.
A traffic light system was implemented in 2013 to better monitor disposal well operations as seismicity popped off with increasing regularity.
Depths of disposal wells were first addressed by OCC directives in March and July 2015, requiring operators to plug back to a shallower depth if a well was disposing into the fault-laced basement rock.
In January 2016, Fallin announced she was authorizing almost $1.4 million from the states emergency fund to address induced seismicity issues. The funds $1 million to the OGS and $387,000 to the OCC went toward software upgrades, more seismic monitoring stations, additional personnel and research studies.
After well depths were addressed, disposal volumes became a target of state regulators.
Restrictions initially centered on individual responses to local seismic activity. Late 2015 marked a move toward macro responses to seismic concerns rather than a micro approach.
The OCC in February and March 2016 unveiled its two most widespread directives to cut disposal volumes by 40 percent from 2014s record high in a 15,000-square mile region of interest.
State regulators also enacted stronger restrictions in the areas around the state-record 5.8 quake near Pawnee in September, and a 5.0 near Cushing in November.
Depressed energy market conditions comprise at least 41 percent of wastewater disposal cutbacks in a 22-month span from mid-October 2014 through mid-August 2016, according to an ongoing study by an Oklahoma Geological Survey scientist. Regulatory actions make up the rest of the decline.
Monthly average oil prices plummeted by more than $50 a barrel over seven consecutive months, from a high of $105 a barrel in June 2014 to $47 a barrel in January 2015. A downward trend continued into 2016, bottoming out at $30 a barrel in February 2016. The monthly average had risen to $52 a barrel in December.
Further establishing the man-made cause, the frequency of quakes began to decline several months after disposal volumes dropped. Scientific studies demonstrate that a time lag as such is expected.
There were 623 quakes of 3.0 or greater in 2016, a 31 percent reduction from 2015s record of 903, according to OGS data. Last year was still the second shakiest on record in Oklahoma.
A new directive is under development by the OCC, and its details could be released publicly soon.
More than 2 years after former Tulsa Police Officer Shannon Kepler was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his daughters new boyfriend, the case remains unresolved after another mistrial was declared early Saturday.
District Judge Sharon Holmes ordered the second mistrial in the case due to jurors inability to unanimously agree on a verdict, deadlocking 10-2 on a guilty verdict.
After Holmes released jurors from service at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, one of the jurors who deliberated wrote a public Facebook post expressing anger against what was described as two older jurors who could not look past their own prejudice towards black people and refused to even discuss the case with the rest of the panel.
Prosecutors said, despite another setback, they plan to take Kepler to trial again on a first-degree murder charge.
Kepler, 56, is accused of killing 19-year-old Jeremey Lake while off duty in the 200 block of North Maybelle Avenue, near the home of Lakes aunt. He has said he shot Lake in self-defense during an altercation in which he claimed Lake was armed, although multiple people testified they did not see a gun on or near Lakes body.
The juror, who requested anonymity, said evidence presented during the trial pointed to Kepler intentionally killing Lake in cold blood outside his own home and fleeing the scene to avoid arrest.
Race issue raised
Lake, who was of partial African-American descent, had just entered into a relationship with Keplers daughter, Lisa Kepler, and posted on Facebook the day of his death that they were in a relationship. Lisa Kepler had been staying with Lake at the home the week he died. They met at a nearby homeless shelter that her parents had taken her to the week before in an attempt to scare her straight.
Lakes race, although not a source of controversy at the time of the shooting, became a point of contention in both trials when prosecutors said they noticed a trend by Shannon Keplers defense team to systematically remove African-American potential jurors from the case. Both of Keplers trials, which began Oct. 31 and Feb. 6, respectively, had only one African-American juror on the final panel.
Defense attorney Richard OCarroll has denied having a racial bias in the jury selection process and has fired back at prosecutors over the allegations, saying they made race an issue in the case when it wasnt one. He said early Saturday that the most recent mistrial was a relief that beats the alternative of his client being found guilty of murder.
The first trial deadlocked Nov. 11, with 11 of the 12 jurors agreeing on a guilty verdict.
Prosecutors asked Holmes on Friday to list first-degree manslaughter as a lesser-included offense in the jury instructions, but she denied the request. Kepler opposed the move, and OCarroll said the states decision to ask for it was indicative of its lack of confidence in the case.
Its not a strong case from the states point of view, I would suggest, he said after the trial. Getting a unanimous verdict is going to be difficult, I feel, with a police officer, and I think that Im committed and my clients committed. We will do this as long as we have to do it.
Shannon Kepler testified in his own defense on Thursday and said he figured out Lakes address after conducting a search of him at work using the Tulsa Police records system, which he conceded was a violation of policy but said he was willing to break rules to protect his daughter.
He told the jury he was concerned for Lisa Keplers safety based on information he learned about Lake in the records search and wanted to go to Lakes house to check on her.
Five shots fired
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray alleged in closing arguments Friday that Shannon Kepler went to his east Tulsa home after work, changed into dark clothing, grabbed an old service revolver that wouldnt leave shell casings and drove in a dark vehicle with tinted windows to lay in wait for Lake.
In the Facebook post, the juror wrote, After he shot and gunned down this man he FLED THE SCENE, never called his other police friends of 25 years to tell them what happened, didnt stay to make sure his daughter was OK, which was the whole reason he went (to Lakes home) in the first place, and then hid out and didnt turn himself in for hours. Are you kidding me?
Kepler disputed Grays characterization of the incident, saying he felt threatened because once he exited his SUV to try to talk to Lisa Kepler, Lake told him she was his girl and put himself in his path to her. He said he fired his revolver a total of five times after seeing a gun, striking Lake twice in the neck and chest.
Holmes barred Kepler from mentioning that police found a gun in an interview room trash can the day after the incident, but Kepler told Gray on Thursday during cross examination that You have Jeremeys gun. I saw a picture of it in a trash can. The judge told the jury to disregard the statement because no physical evidence was presented to support the claim, and District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler asked Holmes to hold Kepler in contempt for violating a court order.
The juror, in the Facebook post, wrote that it seemed clear that Lake did not have a gun that night and never carried one, which meant the shooting wasnt in self-defense.
... Just because he was a black kid who lived in a bad part of town, they could not look past that to bring justice to his family, the post states.
Kepler remains free
Gray said Saturday morning that 21 of 24 jurors who have heard the case believe Kepler is guilty of murder. He said Lakes family has shown remarkable patience and grace throughout the more than two years the case has been pending, and that the state will continue to seek justice for them.
He was somebody who found folks that needed help, Gray said. He found Lisa, and she needed help and thats why they were together. Jeremeys somebody who was shot, gunned down in the middle of the street, left there to die, and yet he seems to be the forgotten person in this entire situation.
Despite the outcomes, though, he and Kunzweiler said they intend to continue prosecuting Kepler on the first-degree murder charge.
Its frustrating because the law requires a verdict to be unanimous either for guilt or for innocence, Kunzweiler said Saturday. From the perspective of the state, we are wanting justice. From the perspective of the victims family, they are asking for justice. Certainly the defendant needs finality to this case.
At one point, 14 citizens gave two weeks of their life to serve as jurors on this case, and I can only imagine how frustrating this experience has been for those jurors, not only in the first case but also in the second case.
Kepler is out of custody on bond pending an appeal of two lesser-included misdemeanor convictions he received at his November trial for reckless conduct with a firearm related to Lisa Kepler and Lakes younger brother, Michael Hamilton. Lisa Kepler and Hamilton testified against Shannon Kepler at both trials.
Both sides will return to court Feb. 22 for a status conference in which they are expected to receive a new trial date.
RIPLEY Lisa Pitts takes a close look at a grassy hill on the campus of Ripley Public Schools and sees its not yet due for mowing. But with warmer temperatures expected in the coming weeks, the elementary principal knows the grass blades will soon start to rise and it will be up to her to break out the lawn mower.
Thats my job, said Pitts, pointing to the hill. We all have our extra duties around here.
Those extra duties for Pitts include not only mowing the grass, but also cleaning toilets and painting hallways.
Ripleys high school principal does a lot of the schools weed-eating, basic maintenance and school bus driving.
The superintendent handles the plumbing.
Even the head cafeteria worker has been known to take on the duties of a school nurse.
Im the one who pulls the teeth, Danita Savory said.
And then there are the teachers who clean their own classrooms and take turns managing the library because the school lacks janitors or librarians. Some of the teachers work a fireworks stand over the summer to help pay for textbooks and computers.
Weve all just had to pick up the slack, Pitts said. We ask a lot of our staff, and they dont complain. But for what they get paid, its embarrassing.
Nestled between a neighborhood of trailer homes and a tree-lined hill, a collection of connected buildings make up the Ripley school campus that serves nearly 500 students in rural Payne County.
The school district employs 45 teachers, administrators and other staff, which is a 30 percent reduction from eight years ago, when state education funding began to fall behind growing student enrollment.
Its horrible, Pitts said.
Schools across Oklahoma urban, suburban and rural have been forced to navigate nearly a decade of shrinking per-pupil funding and low teacher pay that has driven many out of state or out of the profession.
But in many of the states rural public schools, where one-third of Oklahomas students attend, the funding struggles create unique challenges and a sense of isolation.
This town has its schools and a gas station, thats it, said Josh Calavan, Ripleys high school principal. So when you hit the schools like this, you really hit the entire community.
Rural school leaders and parents say they have felt ignored by state leaders charged with setting education policy and funding. In Ripley that perceived snub only seems to be reaffirmed as textbooks fall apart and class sizes approach 40.
But in addition to an all-hands-on-deck mentality among staff, Pitts said her school is pushing forward thanks to a strong work ethic throughout the community, a compassionate student body that is small enough that it is quick to accept outsiders, and a strict disciplinary culture where most students are well aware of the wooden paddles in Principal Pitts office.
I probably dont even swat two kids a year, Pitts said. But I have parents bringing their children up to me at ballgames saying, See, thats the lady that is going to spank you.
But thats the community feel here, where we are all taking care of these kids together.
Rural Oklahoma voices
While most of the states nearly 700,000 public school students attend a district in or around a metropolitan area, such as Oklahoma City or Tulsa, more than 205,000 pre-K through 12th-grade students attend a school in a community considered rural.
Through a series of interviews and focus groups with rural parents and families, a recently unveiled report highlighted many of the challenges Oklahomas rural schools face when it comes to funding, academic performance and state policy efforts seen as destructive to small-town schools.
One of the largest challenges facing the states rural schools is poverty, as nearly one in five rural families is classified as living in poverty, which is a higher rate than what is found in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, according to the Voices from Rural Oklahoma report released last week.
Conducted by Bellwether Education Partners and commissioned by the Oklahoma Youth Expo, the report showed that all 12 focus groups identified low state funding as a major concern, along with low teacher pay that can make it especially difficult to hire in rural communities.
Focus group participants resisted the idea of school consolidation if it meant closing schools, and there was concern over four-day school weeks, which many schools across the state have turned to in an attempt to cut costs.
Daycare options can be limited in a small town, some participants said, which makes the idea of an additional day out of school difficult to handle.
It doesnt feel like the voices of the parents from rural Oklahoma are being heard, said Tyler Norvell, executive director of Oklahoma Youth Expo.
Norvell said he understands the tendency to focus on urban Oklahoma and the economic development growth that has taken place in Oklahoma City and Tulsa in recent decades. But he is quick to point out that two of the largest industries in the state agriculture and energy, which combine for nearly 18 percent of the states gross domestic product rely heavily on a rural workforce.
All the agriculture industry happens in rural America, and at the end of the day, America has been the superpower it has been because we have had the safest food supply, Norvell said. Weve got to get more people involved in agriculture. And when you look at oil and gas, it all happens in rural Oklahoma. We are going to need those workers ... the manual labor, the tough jobs come from rural Oklahoma.
The stronger rural Oklahoma is, the stronger the economy in Oklahoma is going to be.
Concern over high school graduates not being prepared for career or college was also raised by parents in the focus groups.
Participants feel Oklahomas high schools do not adequately prepare students for their next steps, the report states. In particular, participants believe students lack academic skills like math, science and communication as well as life skills like financial literacy and interpersonal skills.
Eighteen percent of rural Oklahoma students scored proficient or advanced on the eighth-grade mathematics portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That is below the 32 percent rate for rural students nationwide.
Oklahomas rural students also scored below the national average in reading, along with the English and math score portions of the ACT.
Fewer than half (46 percent) of Oklahomas rural students who enroll in a bachelors degree program complete the program within six years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
A high school diploma is going to show that you completed your schools, but as far as it really meaning something education-wise, I dont think it does, said one focus group member from Locust Grove.
Difficult teacher recruitment and a shortage of technology become barriers for rural schools looking to enhance college and career readiness. In Ripley, like many small rural schools, advance placement classes are not offered. The school does offer concurrent enrollment courses with area colleges, including the ability to link with another teacher over video.
School funding
You cant starve milk out of a dairy cow, said Rick Davis, a dairy farmer near Guthrie. But thats the approach we are taking here in Oklahoma.
Davis, whose wife and daughter are both teachers, said he sees declining per-pupil funding levels as proof the state has not made education a priority.
There is a sense that there is a short-sightedness to the approach that has been taken of late when it comes to our schools, said Davis, who is also on the board of regents for the Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical Colleges.
Davis said he worries that the reduction in school days and extracurricular activities will hurt some of the core lessons he sees rural schools delivering to students.
As a businessman, I hate that we are teaching our students to be four-day-a-week work people, Davis said about the move to four-day school weeks in some districts. And then you look at programs like FFA and 4-H, areas where there have been cuts, which are areas that yield the kind of successful students we want to see.
After years of shrinking per-pupil funds, schools of all types were hit hard last year with a round of midyear budget cuts that saw many school districts shutter staff. More than 1,500 teaching positions were removed last year across the state, and another 1,350 support staff positions were lost, according to a survey performed by the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.
Both rural and urban schools were hit with the midyear cuts, but the loss of a teacher or support staff position can feel especially harsh in a rural school where one person performs multiple duties.
My teachers are doing lots more than just teaching, Calavan said.
But while schools have had to cut teachers, many are also struggling to fill positions they have open, creating a paradox of teacher hiring across Oklahoma that is especially challenging in rural communities.
We used to have about 25 to 30 applications for every position, maybe 50 for an elementary position, Richard Riggs, superintendent of Blackwell Public Schools, told The Oklahoman at the beginning of the school year. We just dont get any now.
Attracting teachers to a town like Blackwell with just 1,300 students is a challenge because administrators are competing with schools in bigger cities that might be more attractive for recent college graduates.
Blackwell is also near the state border, which often means a higher-paying teacher position is just a short drive away in a neighboring state.
Liberal sits up there and pays $8,000 more than we do, said Doug Melton, superintendent of Guymon Public Schools, which is a 45-minute drive from the town of Liberal, Kansas.
Guymon has also seen dramatic growth in its immigrant population, a challenge many rural Oklahoma school systems are beginning to deal with as students who speak English as a second language increase in number.
Nine of the top 10 counties for the fastest growth rate of Hispanic residents are in western Oklahoma.
Consolidation and charters
While focus group members expressed opposition to four-day school weeks, there was some support for administrative consolidation. But most were opposed to the idea of school district consolidation, which is sometimes proposed in a state that has 513 districts.
Participants across the board resoundingly oppose consolidation if it means closing schools, the report stated. However, participants feel it is unnecessary for each school district to be paying its own superintendent and administrative staff. They believe that a countywide superintendent supported by a few assistant superintendents would be much more efficient.
More than 100 school districts have been consolidated across the state over the past 40 years, and some small-town schools have recently closed, including in Spavinaw, an east Oklahoma town where residents said the school closure has been devastating.
School choice policies have also been pushed by the Legislature in recent years, including a change in state law that now allows charter schools to open in all counties.
A charter school proposal in Seminole, which is home to around 1,700 students, was denied twice by the local school board before an appeal was approved by the state Board of Education last month.
The Bellwether report found that most rural families were unfamiliar with charter schools but saw them as a threat to small towns.
In three focus groups there was at least one participant who had a deeper understanding of what charter schools are and how they work, the report stated. These individuals sensed charter schools could create competition for existing schools.
Blayne Arthur has two young children in Ripley schools and said the small-community feel is what keeps her in rural Oklahoma.
We really value that all of those personnel at the school, administration on down to the teachers, know the individual students and they know their families, said Arthur, whose family has a cattle farm near Ripley.
But she has growing concern over the declining resources the school system seems to have, even though she admires the efforts of school leaders.
Arthur likes the small-town feel of living in rural Oklahoma, but she says it comes with a smaller voice at the state Capitol.
We dont have as many rural legislators as we once did, even though we consider this state to be a rural state, and if you havent lived it its difficult to understand, Arthur said.
We think this is the perfect place for our kids to go to school ... but it seems like these are challenging times in making sure they receive a quality education.
OKLAHOMA CITY Federal officials banned the Oklahoma Veterans Center in Talihina from admitting new residents in the wake of the choking death of a man with later-stage dementia in the nursing homes locked-down special-needs unit.
Officials at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs revealed that new information, but little else about the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 31 death of 70-year-old Leonard Smith, formerly of Sapulpa, at a Friday meeting of the nine-member commission that oversees the state agency.
The ban on new residents, put in place by federal Veterans Affairs investigators, was reportedly lifted Friday morning, about 2 weeks after Smiths death.
It is the second Talihina residents death to be investigated in recent months, and a nurse who works in the facility but asked not to be identified has told the Tulsa World that Smiths death was not of natural causes, and I think the (state Medical Examiners) office will confirm that.
The nurse said Smith died shortly after being given something to eat and drink, and during life-saving attempts to clear his airway he was found to have some kind of plastic bag lodged in his throat that had prevented the food and fluids from passing through.
John Carter, chairman of the governor-appointed Oklahoma Veterans Commission, said during Fridays public meeting it was his understanding that Smith had a long history of ingestions of things perhaps that were not edible and this was not passed onto admissions when he was admitted, seemingly implicating Smiths relatives or previous health care providers.
But ODVA officials told Carter they could not confirm that information because of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which safeguards the privacy of patients medical information.
During a brief recess in the meeting, the Tulsa World asked Carter the source of the information he had just shared about Smith and whether commissioners are supposed to be privy to residents HIPAA-protected medical information.
I was probably briefed with private HIPAA information I shouldnt have been and I would ask that you not divulge what I said, Carter said.
Carter then said he is awaiting the results of three parallel investigations, one by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, another by Oklahoma Department of Human Services and finally, the ODVAs own internal investigation.
Asked whether commissioners receive any follow-up reports about such investigations, Carter said he took umbrage at the suggestion that they were a regular occurrence.
Most deaths in the centers are just the natural course of life. Weve had a couple of problems at Talihina, Carter said. Are you looking for a story? Youre not doing the investigation.
In the fall, ODVA officials said four staff members one physician assistant and three registered nurses had resigned from the Talihina center after Vietnam veteran Owen Reese Peterson was found with maggots in a wound and later died there on Oct. 3.
Asked whether he had seen the final report from the ODVA investigation into Petersons death, Carter said he had received a verbal briefing, but had not seen the document.
The World requested a copy of the document, which ODVA officials had in plain sight, but they responded that their legal counsel would have to review the document before they could release it to the public.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Medical Examiners Office report about the cause and manner of Smiths death is still pending the results of toxicology tests.
In the days after Smiths death, ODVA officials said they had determined it was a sentinel event an unanticipated event in a health-care setting resulting in death or serious injury to a patient, unrelated to the natural course of the patients illness so they were required to report the death for further investigating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Tina Williams, clinical compliance director for the state of Oklahomas seven veterans nursing homes, told the veterans commission on Friday that although she had previously reported to them that Petersons October death was a sentinel event, she had since determined the circumstances of his death didnt meet the definition after all.
After the commission meeting concluded, the World asked ODVA Deputy Director Doug Elliott about the status of the two Talihina nurses who were placed on administrative leave with pay during the investigation into Smiths death.
Elliott said both were licensed practical nurses and that the female one had tendered her resignation while the male was allowed to return to work because the information that led to his suspension no longer exists.
Smiths relatives respond
After the meeting, the World also contacted Leonard Smiths aunt, Sapulpa resident Eunice Harger, to find out whether his family had been contacted since his death by any investigators or asked by any official whether he had a history of swallowing non-food items before moving into the Talihina center in January 2014.
No, never. There is not any truth to that whatsoever, Harger said. I cooked and made sure he had three good meals a day and a bowl of ice cream before he went to bed at night. He never ate anything else or took anything.
She added, Thats nonsense, Im sorry. I took care of Leonard almost three years before I had to put him in there. In all of that time, he never swallowed or wanted to eat anything that was inedible. This has upset me so bad and not just about Leonard. Its all of these other men down there that are not getting the care that they are needing.
Twice widowed with four children to raise, Mary B. Horn applied for a job with the Tulsa Police Department, although friends warned her she was too old at age 42.
In 1939, Horn became Tulsas first black policewoman, and some sources say she was the first in Oklahoma. And, despite the naysayers, she proved to be a crack shot with a pistol.
I hadnt shot a gun once in my life but I wasnt afraid to try, she told a Tulsa Tribune reporter in 1985.
In her first trip to the police firing range to practice, she scored bulls-eyes in her first dozen shots. She carried a gun for 23 years as a TPD officer, but never had to use it.
Thats pretty successful as far as Im concerned. Thank the Lord, she said.
Brothels, alleys and taverns
Horn was hired to stop immorality and to halt night life among the younger element in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, according to a newspaper story.
We had a lot of prostitution in those days, she said later, and a lot of youngsters, particularly girls, getting mixed up in bad business.
Police and Fire Commissioner Eddie J. Shields assigned Horn to crack down on prostitution, gambling and illegal liquor sales. On a salary of $150 a month, Horn frequented bawdy houses, back alleys and taverns, working on the vice squad three nights a week in addition to her five day shifts.
She befriended street people, prostitutes and gamblers, believing that if you treat people the way that you would want to be treated, you will be respected.
Sometimes I didnt think I was a police officer, I thought I was a counselor, she said. It made me more sympathetic to people.
One of 12 children of former slaves, Horn was born on her familys farm in Streetman, Texas. The children learned hard work from an early age. The family moved to Tulsa in 1917, and her father opened a barbecue restaurant at 29 N. Kenosha Ave.
Mary married and had two children, but their peaceful life was shattered by the Tulsa Race Riot in 1921. Their home was ransacked and her fathers restaurant burned to the ground.
Three years later, her husband died. She remarried and had two sons with her second husband, Obediah Horn. He, too, died.
So when the police department announced it was looking for a black woman officer, she filled out an application.
I just had a feeling about it that I liked, she said.
Horn was among the first officers assigned to the juvenile bureau when it was formed in 1952. She became a familiar face in north Tulsa schools. She listened, counseled and occasionally took in girls who had been kicked out of their homes.
Her reputation was made in 1958 when she was selected Officer of the Month for solving the rape of a 6-year-old girl. She interviewed dozens of people before one told her a 21-year-old man who lived next door to the victim was seen playing with children while the girls mother was away.
I talked to him about an hour and then went to lunch. I left him in custody and let him think about it a little bit, she told Tribune reporter Don Stewart.
I came back and questioned him some more and he admitted it. I could always just kind of tell whether they were telling the truth or not, she said.
Warm and kind
When Horn retired in 1962, Police Chief Jack Purdie said, I hate to see her leave. We have become dependent on her to work with the young. She has been a generous person.
Police and Fire Commissioner Bennie Garren said, She has been a dedicated and devoted policewoman and mother, and is as warm and kind a person today as when I first met her. She will long be remembered on the force.
Officer Mack Polk served with her and marveled at how she could hold her cool and be such a lady and be a police officer too.
Kermit Horn, Marys son, followed her into police work in 1951. He was the first black Tulsa police officer promoted to lieutenant under the competitive civil service commission. Her son Clifford was one of Tulsas first black firefighters.
When Mary Horn died in 1987 at the age of 89, her survivors included 20 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.
You come in contact with the best and the worst, Horn said of police work, some of the best-educated most Christian people and a lower class of people with some kind of offense against them.
It doesnt make any difference what their race is. Ive loved them all.
CLAREMORE With its population surging, Rogers Countys largest community is seeing more businesses come in, helping to keep new residents tax dollars at home.
Having grown almost 20 percent since 2000, Claremore is now seeing an influx in businesses setting up shop, with $10 million invested in private developments along Main Street.
Weve got more businesses opening up downtown, Mayor Bill Flanagan said at the Chamber of Commerces annual State of the City address at Rogers State University. Its so important that we visit our local businesses and restaurants, as those are tax dollars that will pump back into our local economy and help us prosper.
City Manager Jim Thomas said while the rest of the state continues to wrestle with slumping sales-tax revenue, Claremore is on solid financial footing, with collections remaining relatively unchanged from 2015 to 2016.
Were not struggling as much like the state as a whole but we are holding our own, Thomas said.
The influx of new businesses is not limited to Claremores downtown district. Talks are underway with an as-yet unnamed national retailer about setting up shop in a 250,000-square-foot space. The city is putting an additional emphasis on bringing in more industry in 2017 as a complement to its largest employer, Baker Hughes.
Contrary to rumors flying around town, at least one national restaurant chain is still set to open in Claremore in 2017.
I assure you folks, Chick-Fil-A is still coming, he said. Its taken a little longer than anticipated but they are still coming and should be opening this year.
In order to accommodate the influx of new residents and the accompanying businesses, several infrastructure projects are underway.
A new water treatment facility is nearing completion and slated to open this summer. The new plant will increase the communitys volume capacity to 8 million gallons just as Claremore opens its second splash pad.
On the east side of town, a new sewer line connecting Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs is set to come online in February, replacing a lagoon system. The new line is expected to open an additional 800 acres for potential development in the near future.
Efforts are underway to put up new runway signage and taxi lanes at Claremores regional airport. In 2016, the community revived its air show after a decade, bringing in more than 8,000 attendees. However, with renovation work going on, the airport will not host the show again until 2018.
Additionally, work is underway to widen Oklahoma 20 to three lanes while realigning the road to link with Route 66.
With multiple ongoing projects and the city about halfway through its last strategic plan Claremore 2020 municipal officials are planning on canvassing the community this year to start devising a new plan to carry Claremore through 2025. Titled Claremore Dreams 2025, the plan will stem from input from residential and business interests.
We have accomplished much over the last few years and we have caught the attention of leaders from home, Thomas said. Now is not the time for Claremore to rest on our past success. Now is the time for Claremore to dream 2025. We should expect nothing less.
The Cayuga County Arts Council, owner of the Auburn Schine Theater and leader of the effort to restore it, has addressed two unanswered questions about its operations a year after The Citizen reported them.
The first concerns the council's annual filings with the Charities Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General.
Before 2010, the council reported its net worth in the filings as being within the range of $250,000 to $1 million, or $1 million to $10 million.
The majority of that value came from the Schine itself, which the council reported as being worth $991,768 in 2009, the last year for which the council's extended tax return is publicly available. And the majority of that value came from a line item called "construction in progress," which accounts for the capital invested into the building's restoration.
In 2010, however, the council began claiming in its Charities Bureau filings an exemption available to nonprofits with less than $25,000 in net worth. It has done so through 2014, the last year for which the council's filing is publicly available. (Its 2015 filing is not on the bureau's website, so it appears to be past due.)
That change in net worth, then, would appear to reflect a change in the council's valuation of the Schine. And that is indeed the case, council board of directors Chairman Jim Loperfido said in an email Thursday.
"It is my belief that (the Schine) has no value," he said.
Loperfido explained his statement by citing the Schine's 2016 assessment by the city of Auburn: $55,700 for the 16 South St. land parcel, and $187,000 for both that land and the 1938 John Eberson movie theater occupying it.
Auburn Schine Theater owners refine mission as project remains stagnant After a stagnant 2016, the Cayuga County Arts Council has taken steps early in 2017 to reinv
Because the theater is contaminated with asbestos and will require as much as $700,000 in remediation work, Loperfido continued, it is of no value not even its full market value of $187,000 until that work takes place. The council board chairman's opinion echoes that of Fred Farrell, who appraised the Schine property for the city.
"I don't think you can get a $1 million value out of it because it doesn't have a function. It's a shell," Farrell told The Citizen in 2015. "Cost doesn't always equal value."
Loperfido said the council has been in contact with the Charities Bureau, and that it has agreed that the Schine's reported value should be $55,700. The council's 2014 and 2015 filings have been amended accordingly, he continued.
A representative of the attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the agreement. The office also did not respond to earlier requests for comment about the filings.
The Cayuga County Arts Council's second unanswered question concerns a raffle it held at its September 2014 Artini fundraiser.
The raffle prize was a painting by Gary Jacobs depicting the Schine auditorium as the council hopes to restore it. Tickets were sold that night. However, there was a miscommunication between the council board and the Artini committee, Loperfido said, and the painting was never awarded to anyone.
In September 2015, Loperfido said the tickets sold at Artini would be pooled with those sold at a film series he was organizing for that fall. Then, he continued, a winner would be drawn and the painting would be awarded. However, the series' lecturer dropped out, and it was canceled as a result.
In February 2016, Loperfido said the raffle would reopen that spring and summer as the council launched a series of outreach meetings and film-related programming. However, neither appears to have taken place.
Meanwhile, the legality of the raffle became a question on March 24, 2015 180 days after it was held at Artini. Per the New York State Gaming Commission's laws about charitable gaming, raffle tickets may not be sold more than 180 days prior to the drawing of the winning ticket.
Feb. 9, a commission spokesperson said that it "is actively looking into the matter."
Then, on Thursday, Loperfido admitted that the raffle was "truly a gaffe on our part," and that the council is no longer pursuing it.
The council will therefore refund any tickets purchased for the raffle, Loperfido said. People seeking refunds can contact the council at (315) 255-3074 or office@cayugacountyartscouncil.com.
"We apologize for any confusion this may have caused, and thank everyone who has supported our events in the past," he said.
By Press Trust of India: Madurai, Feb 19 (PTI) A 50-year-old Tamil TV channel reporter was allegedly stabbed and seriously injured by a gang of drug peddlers here today, police said.
Chandran, a reporter with Polimer TV, was attacked by four persons when he was buying milk at a grocery store near his house in P and T nagar this morning.
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The gang presumed that the reporter had lodged police complaint against them for selling ganja in the locality, they said.
A case has been registered against the gang members and one of them detained for interrogation, police said adding a search is on for other members of the gang.
The victim has been admitted to a private hospital with stab injuries in the shoulder, leg and stomach and is said to be in a serious condition.
The gang had a year ago attacked the journalists son presuming that he (Chandran) was responsible for complaining to the police about the illegal sales of ganja in the locality, they said. PTI SSN ROH DK
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Tomorrow night Datelines Jason Motlagh investigates the extreme violence gripping the streets of El Salvador, by joining a man who digs up dead bodies for a living.
Do you have any idea of how many people youve killed?, asks Datelines Jason Motlagh to an unidentified gang informant.
26, he responds.
In El Salvador, home of the bloodiest gang violence in the world, someone is killed almost every hour, mostly over petty gang feuds or small-time extortions.
It is believed there are several thousand bodies buried in hidden graves across the country, leaving relatives in agony of not knowing where they are, or if they are actually dead.
Israel Ticas is one of very few forensic criminologists in the country. Often working in mass graves, Ticas is also known as the lawyer for the dead, working tirelessly to bring justice for murder victims from beyond the grave.
His dedication also makes him a possible target for gang retribution.
The nature of the violence Ticas deals with is staggering. Picking up a rock in his workshop, he tells Jason: [Translated] That has blood DNA, still on it. It was used to bash a 3 year-old boy because his father was in another gang.
The brutality is shocking. I cant imagine anyone wanting to do this job, except for Ticas, Jason adds.
As Dateline follows one mans gruesome struggle to bring closure to the families of the victims, will he find answers in a system that cant keep up with the violence?
Tuesday 21 February at 9.30pm on SBS.
Former Seven Adelaide reporter Amy Taeuber has reached a settlement in a long-running legal row with the network, avoiding a public trial.
Taeuber was suing the network and former boss Graham Archer, claiming the network sacked her weeks after complaining that a senior Today Tonight journalist called her a lesbian.
She hired profile lawyer John Laxon, in her case filed in the Federal Circuit Court after mediation through the Fair Work Commission failed.
But in December, Judge Timothy Heffernan ordered the parties back into mediation.
News Corp notes the terms of the deal remain confidential but it is believed to contain a financial settlement.
Whilst Seven continues to battle Amber Harrison in a row enveloping its CEO and Board, the Tauber case threatened to involve high profile presenters, such as TT presenter Rosanna Mangiarelli, senior executives and former staff, including sacked news director Terry Plane.
The competition will get law students from across the country to study the different aspects of the proposed Uniform Civil Code.
By Harish V Nair: In a major step towards building consensus around the proposed Uniform Civil Code, a law college patronised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has launched a competition in which law students across the country will research the subject and the best report will go to the President and Prime Minister.
The development comes close on the heels of a Law Commission questionnaire seeking public opinion on the bid to formulate common rules on issues such as marriage, divorce and property rights for all religions in India received 40,000 responses.
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Analysts point out that while the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB) is not ready to debate the code and even rejected the law panel's survey, terming it an "affront" to their personal laws, the CBCI has come out in support on the condition that the legislation must confirm the "spirit and mandate" of the Constitution.
The AIMPLB had even accused the Law Commission of behaving like an agent of the Modi government, arguing that the proposed UCC - promised by the BJP in its poll manifesto ahead of the 2014 general elections - is a threat to the country's pluralism and diversity.
"This competition I hope will result in making a meaningful contribution towards the drafting of Uniform Civil Code on the basis of objective academic research findings true to the spirit and mandates of the Constitution", said Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, president of the CBCI and National United Christian Forum. He is also a member of the National Integration Council chaired by the PM.
Also read: Law Commission Chairman on Uniform Civil Code: Each religion would continue to have personal laws
KERALA COLLEGE LAUNCHES COMPETITION
The competition is being organised by Mar Gregorios College of Law from Thiruvananthapuram, of which Cleemis is the patron, in association with Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy Training.
The CBCI's stand is that the unity of India should be impeccably safeguarded. All discussions on the UCC must be done taking into account the diversity and freedom ensured by the Constitution and without hurting sentiments of various religious groups.
"It will be a great learning process for the students and a big contribution towards evolution of the Uniform Civil Code," Dr NR Madhava Menon, noted legal educator and founder of several prestigious law colleges including MILAT, told Mail Today.
"They will produce a draft incorporating the views of different communities by including constitutional values of secularism. Only if a draft is in public domain can people understand what UCC is about and whether it is acceptable or not," he added.
Also read: Triple talaq: Muslim personal law board to boycott law panel, irks BJP
LAW PANEL EXAMINING RESPONSES
The contest comes at a time when the law panel is perusing more than 40,000 responses to its questionnaire. It was issued after the law ministry on July 2 last year asked it to examine in detail all issues pertaining to the code and submit a report.
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Article 44 of the Constitution says implementation of the UCC is the duty of the state. At present, laws governing inheritance or divorce among Hindus are different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians and so on.
The organisers said duration of the competition for law students is of eight months from February 15 to September 30, and registration is open to law colleges and universities that are to form a team comprising 20 students.
The teams will select any one aspect of the proposed UCC like marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, custody and guardianship, inheritance or succession for study, research and reform.
They have to then study in-depth the existing law on the selected subject in different personal laws as codified in legislation or expounded in authoritative texts and their judicial interpretations.
For this, the teams may prepare codified versions of existing law among different religions separately for reference and also identify any areas of conflict.
Also read: Delhi Legal Service Authority to train lawyers on Muslim personal law
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This will be the fifth consecutive time that the former prime minister won't cast his vote. He last voted during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
By Rajat Rai: As UP goes to polls in the third phase of the crucial assembly elections, it will be for the fifth consecutive time that this VIP voter of Lucknow - voter no. 141 - will not be casting his vote.
It is none other than former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose name has become synonymous to Lucknow for the past three decades.
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A popular face in all the classes and the masses of the city of Nawabs, Vajpayee last cast vote during Lok Sabha elections in 2004, the year which also marked his last year of tenure as the constituency's MP, also the last position he held in his political career.
LALJI TANDON: THE ATAL PROTEGE
After this, he passed on his legacy to Lalji Tandon in 2009, also known as a protege of the leader.
"He was a mass leader?. I accompanied him in almost all of his elections and we never used to call people in the by-lanes to join us. Wo chalet jaate the, Karwaan banta jata tha," remembers Tandon, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, as he left his prestigious seat in the lower house for home minister Rajnath Singh in 2014 elections.
With the voter ID card of No. GF0929877, he did not cast his vote in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2007. He did not vote in the 2012 vidhan sabha elections as well and 2014 lok sabha elections as well.
A five-time MP from the Lucknow seat, Vajpayee won five consecutive elections and made his debut in 1991. He won the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 elections consecutively.
Also read: Uttar Pradesh assembly election: 69 seats across 12 districts to go to polls today
RETIRED FROM POLITICS IN 2004
He retired from active politics in 2004 due to health issues.
According to sources close to him, the celebrated leader is now suffering from dementia and long-term diabetes. They further say that he is often confined to a wheel chair and hardly recognises people.
However, the veteran Lucknowites still remember the vibrant orator.
"I used to bunk office to listen to his speech. His personality was so charismatic that some of my friends who were hard core Congressmen used to vote for him by default," remembers Harish Agarwal, a retired government officer.
"We respect him a lot because as an individual, he was an honest and clean politician. He used to visit our localities, have tea with us," a Muslim cleric said, not willing to be named.
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However, some feel that they changed their cadre because of Vajpayee.
"Me and my friends were active in student politics and were hard core Congress fans. However, after listening to his speech in the Lucknow University in 1991, we switched our loyalties. Till date, we are BJP loyalists and are hopeful of a BJP government this time," Sanjay Tripathi a government employee said.
"His blessing are with us and he is like a guiding star to us. We are working to make all his dreams come true and form a government in UP this time", Manish Shukla the party's spokesperson said.
Also read: Bhabhiji chunaav mein hain: Meet the 13 wives in Uttar Pradesh Assembly election fray
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The new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos highlighted the key role of community colleges in terms of promoting vocational and technical education during her first public speech last Thursday. DeVos speech took 8 and a half minutes, very brief but a well-prepared speech, where she praised community colleges highlighting their significance to the plan of Trump for the 100 days of his administration, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
DeVos said that the plan is about the expansion of vocational and technical training which are provided best by community colleges. She also said that community colleges are less costly, flexible and are excellent at equipping job seekers with the skills that the economy needs.
She highlighted that community colleges are an American national asset and labelled them as "nimble, inclusive and entrepreneurial, according to News OK. She also added that these are the colleges that are needed for economic development both locally and regionally as they help identify and close the skills gap between employers as well as job seekers. And this is going to be a helpful step in helping American business and industries grow and expand.
DeVos was confirmed as the Education Secretary last week after a controversial nomination battle which required Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Some of the audience said that she sounded encouraging and knowledgeable as she addressed the community college leaders. Ruth Purcell, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides funding for Butler Community College, in Pennsylvania said that DeVos was well prepared for the event and that she sounded rather encouraging especially for them who were more concerned during the hearing.
DeVos also spoke of the importance of community colleges in their collaboration with the public schools and she briefly acknowledged American Association of Community Colleges' legislative priorities, but did not give much details on the Department of Education's position.
Top Hat, an education technology startup based in Canada, announced that it has secured a $25 million Series-C funding. They said that they are going to use it to transform the college textbook industry, a move that will bring them head-to-head with the top American publishers, such as Mc-Graw Hill and Pearson.
Mike Silagadze, Top Hat's founder and CEO, announced the good news on the company's blog. The latest funding from Union Square Ventures makes Top Hat's total capital to $40 million and the company's total value to $180 million. Aside from Union Square, other Top Hat investors include iNovia Capital, Golden Venture Partners, Version One Ventures, Emergence Capital, Georgian Partners, and SoftTech VC.
Silagadze said that when he founded Top Hat in 2010 together with Mohsen Shahini, their goal was simple - to make "higher education classrooms more engaging."
What Top Hat did was use the power of digital technology to bring cheaper and interactive textbooks to college students. Silagadze added that Top Hat is a testimony of the value of innovative and interactive learning tools in the classroom today. That's because students are looking for a much richer classroom experience while schools aim to improve the performance of their students.
Not only are Top Hat textbooks interactive but they also build relationships between professors and students. Through Top Hat, students become more eager to engage in discussions. It is reported that Top Hat has now 2 million students and 75 percent of the top 1,000 colleges in North America is using the platform.
Last year, the company launched their online content marketplace where professors can create their own content and sell them all over the world. One of these was Chris Bone, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon and also a co-author of an interactive geography textbook on the platform. His textbook is far from the traditional textbook many of us have used because it uses games and utilizes social media to teach students. The best part about these textbooks, however, is that it cost only a fraction of the price of traditional textbooks.
The students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said Wednesday that Black students should be offered free tuition and housing because they were legally barred from education during slavery, and the university seems like it is out of reach for black students today.
The Associated Students of Madison said in a resolution that the way ACT and SAT scores are being considered in the applications restricts opportunities for the poor and only upholds white supremacy, Fox News reported.
Now the university are raising proposals that aims to improve diversity in the campus.
ASM Student Council Rep. Tyriek Mack said in a statement that it is only imperative for the university takes an action considering that its commitment is focused on diversity and inclusion. He also added that racial composition will just stay as it is if no one dares challenge the university.
The resolution states the demand for access for all the black people which include the former inmates, according to Star Tribune. And this means free tuition and fees, as well as free housing, which will save a black student a total of $20,000 a year.
The resolution urges the university to utilize the 10 percent of donations to strengthen financial aid. Currently, 2 percent of Madison enrollment is comprised by Black students. University spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said that they support the spirit of resolution but they are not sure yet if the proposals are legal and if they are the best methods to accomplish the goals.
McGlone also said that the ACT and SAT scores are not the only factors that are being considered in the admissions in Madison but their inclusion is also required.
Chinese graduate student Yuhong Zhu said that instead of the resolution that proposes a blanket offer of free access, he'd rather see more scholarships and that the free tuition is something that the minority should at least work hard for.
Google is finally responding to Youtubers' frustrations and making huge changes starting in 2018. The search giant will be removing the Youtube 30-seconds ad that cannot be skipped including TrueView. This move will not please advertisers, but given the rising popularity of video services, it desperately needs to keep their users engaged.
Youtube depends heavily on the revenues provided by third-party advertisers. For this purpose, Google has employed varying lengths for Youtube ads to be featured. Two years ago, the search giant also announced that it will be supporting 360-degrees ads to entice more advertisers. So it comes as a big surprise the announcement made by Google yesterday regarding stopping a particularly lengthy ad.
Google has officially announced that it will be removing the 30-seconds unskippable ads, which will take effect in 2018. Instead, it will be exploring and experimenting with other formats that will suit both users and advertisers. As to why Google has made the decision has not been disclosed but it has been speculated.
Observers say that advertisers may have complained that users are skipping videos with longer Youtube ads, which cost advertisers more. It could be because many users have voiced out their frustrations of having to go through the ads that do not interest them just to watch a video. It could also be that Google is panicking at the plans of Facebook to feature more videos as part of its core roadmap as expressed by Andrew Peake, managing director of an integrated creative agency, the VCCP.
Peake adds that removing the Youtube 30-seconds unskippable add may be the price Google is willing to pay just to keep people to continue posting and watching videos as reported by Campaign. It is a known fact that Google has been hard-pressed to monetize the platform.
Last October, Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki revealed that video site is far from lucrative and is in still "investment mode." Advertisers may still make use of other formats like the 15 and 20-seconds Youtube ads. Youtubers may also see more of the 6-seconds unskippable ads that were rolled out for mobile less than a year ago according to BGR.
The rate at which college tuition has continually been increasing over the previous years is more than enough to make college students fear the cost of pursuing higher education. And New York University is one of those which has a very expensive tuition.
According to Investopedia, NYU's tuition is a whopping $46,170 per year, and that was way back in 2015. Some of their students even petitioned the continuous tuition hike. And now that the entire cost in this year university can amount to a total of $66,000, NYU finally has a better suggestion to help their college students manage the expenses - graduate faster.
NYU announced Friday that it will roll out measures that will make it easier for students to graduate faster, which is under four years, so that the college costs will be reduced and managed, The New York Times reported.
According to Ellen Schall, a senior presidential fellow and the head of the university's affordability steering committee, said that about 20 percent of NYU students have already graduated ahead of schedule. She said that they were surprised with the numbers and that it is one of the reasons that urge them to be more transparent and more available to more students.
Because of the outrage in the increasing college tuition and fees, processes are being formalized to address this.
Gov. John Kasich, Republican of Ohio, suggested that in order to make it easier for students in his state to graduate, more credits from high school or technical programs should be allowed in public colleges. Gov. Scott Walker, Republican of Wisconsin said that that schools in the University of Wisconsin system must create a three-year degree for the 60 percent of the programs they offer by the summer of 2020. Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Is also trying to consider and experiment with the three-year degree options.
The third phase of polling in the seven-stage Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh concluded on Sunday.
By India Today Web Desk: The third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh ended on Sunday in 69 Assembly constituencies. As many as 826 candidates contested this phase.
Here's everything you need to know about phase three of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections:
1. Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said the turnout of voters was 61.16 per cent when polling ended at 5 PM. He said the exercise was held by and large peacefully in this phase, and that tight security arrangements had been put in place at all the 25,603 polling booths.
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2. In the 2012 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout in areas covered in this phase was 59.96 and 58.43 per cent, respectively.
3. In the ongoing elections, the polling percentage was 64.2 in the first phase, and a little over 65 in the second.
4. BSP supremo Mayawati and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh cast their votes in Lucknow, while Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah).
5. Most leaders claimed that the parties they represent would form the next government in the state. Mayawati, who cast her vote in the Mall Avenue area in Lucknow, told reporters that the BSP would win over 300 of the 403 seats up for grabs in UP. Rajnath, on his part, claimed the BJP would secure an absolute majority in the state. At Saifai, Akhilesh said, "The voters have made up their minds in favour of the SP-Congress alliance."
6. Polling began slowly but picked up pace later. There were reports of minor skirmishes between candidates' supporters at some polling booths.
7. SP leader and Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav complained that his supporters were attacked by "political opponents" in his constituency, Jaswantnagar.
(Inputs from PTI)
WATCH VIDEO: UP Assembly Election 2017: Voter turnout recorded at 61.16 per cent
ALSO READ:
Uttar Pradesh: Polarisation could scupper Rahul-Akhilesh alliance in assembly elections
Bhabhiji chunaav mein hain: Meet the 13 wives in Uttar Pradesh Assembly election fray
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For the first time since he entered into electoral politics, Shivpal Yadav was on his toes, literally, throughout the polling day in his Jaswantnagar Assembly constituency as he feared the supporters of the rival camp in the Samajwadi Party may work against him.
By Kumar Abhishek: Former Uttar Pradesh minister Shivpal Yadav is contesting the Assembly polls on Samajwadi Party ticket. But, Shivpal is worried about sabotage from inside the party after his bitter fight with nephew Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and cousin Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav.
Today, when his constituency went to polls, Shivpal Yadav was a man possessed. He was travelling from one booth to the other to ensure that any sabotage attempt was warded off.
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READ| Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election LIVE: 53 per cent voter turnout in third phase till 3pm
SHIVPAL FEARS SABOTAGE: THINGS TO KNOW It was perhaps for the first time that Shivpal Yadav was on the move throughout the polling day in his Jaswantnagar Assembly constituency as he feared the supporters of the rival camp in the Samajwadi Party may work against him. A defeat in the Assembly polls will be a huge loss of face for Shivpal Yadav, who was the UP SP chief till not long ago. He lost his position both in the party and the government in a tussle with CM Akhilesh Yadav. At one of the poll booths, Shivpal Yadav had to face ugly situation, when his supporters clashed with the BJP workers. Both sides pelted stones at each other. Fortunately no injury was reported in the clash. At Kataiya polling booth, Shivpal Yadav caught two people and handed them over to police saying that they were threatening the voters. The BJP has fielded Manish Yadav Patre from Jaswantnagar seat. Manish Yadav Patre worked hard in the constituency in the run up to the elections. However, Shivpal Yadav reached the designated polling booth to cast his vote. The entire Yadav family was in a huddle in order to give an impression that all is well in the family. But, discomfort was more than visible in Shivpal's response to media queries. Talking to AajTak, Shivpal said, "All is well in the family" ignoring the question about other SP candidates. Interestingly, Akhilesh Yadav also showed his frustration on question about the unity in Yadav family.
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For the eighth year, Variety The Childrens Charity will host the best Oscar Viewing party in town, Variety Salutes Hollywood on Sunday, Feb. 26 with a Red Carpet and pre-Oscar coverage starting at 4 p.m. on the big screen at Brenden Theaters at The Palms (Pictured: Murray SawChuck, star of Murray: Celebrity Magician at Planet Hollywood).
All proceeds will benefit Variety The Childrens Charity as they partner with the city of Las Vegas to make the Jaycee Community Park at Eastern and St. Louis universally accessible to all children in the Las Vegas valley.
Variety OSCAR Viewing Party Sunday 26 Feb
httpvh://youtu.be/PczguoGdnk4
Hosted by 98.5 KLUC-FMs Chet Buchanan of Chet Buchanan & The Morning Zoo, and Morning Blend Host JJ Snyder and the 89th Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements will be presented that night. The general public is invited to watch the Oscars and rub elbows with local celebrities all to benefit Variety The Childrens Charity of Southern Nevada. Tickets are $25 and include $25 in theater concessions. VIP tickets will be $200 per person and include a special one-night-only menu created by DW Bistro.
Celebrities scheduled to attend include Chet Buchanan & JJ Snyder (Co-hosts), Lance Burton (Master Magician), Chippendales, BAZ Star Crossed Love cast, Melody Sweets, Murray Sawchuck, Mac King, Fantasy Girls cast members among others.
By Press Trust of India: From Kunal Dutt
Kigali, Feb 19 (PTI) Vice President Hamid Ansari today arrived in the Rwandan capital on the first leg of his five-day two-nation tour which will also take him to another East African country Uganda.
He was received at the Kigali International Airport by President of the Senate Bernard Makuza.
This is the first high-level visit from India to Rwanda.
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En route to this East African country, Ansari while interacting with a media delegation accompanying him onboard Air India One, said, the visit is "part of a conscious effort by the Indian government to intensify our interaction" with Africa.
The Vice President along with his wife Salma Ansari, is accompanied by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, four MPs -- Kanimozhi, Ranvijay Singh Judev, Ranee Narah and P K Biju, senior officials and a media delegation.
During his visit to Rwanda from February 19-21 and Uganda from February 21-23, Ansari will seek to broaden the countrys diplomatic footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, said a senior MEA official, who is accompanying him.
During the five-day visit, Ansari will hold bilateral talks with the leadership and participate in a host of programmes in the two African countries.
The Vice President would pay homage at the genocide museum (in Kigali), interact with the Indian community there and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda.
Ansaris visit comes shortly after the visit of President of Rwanda for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year.
In Rwanda, Ansari will launch India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Programme as part of which there would be a technology expo of Indias low-cost innovations. The Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda would also address an India-Rwanda Business Forum.
"India-Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views and cooperation on major international issues, increasing bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contact and a deep sense of mutual respect," an MEA official said.
"During his visit to Uganda from February 21-23, first high-level bilateral visit since 1997, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart and the President of Uganda. Ansari would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala," she said.
"The visit is expected to deepen and expand the bilateral relationships," the official said.
The Vice President will also address India-Uganda Business Forum. Besides, he would be paying floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Jinja. PTI KND PMS
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Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Ho Thi Kim Thoa (pictured third from right), Photo: Le Toan
The matter of transparency in equitised Vietnamese firms has come to the public eye once again as Thoas family was found to possess approximately 34 per cent of Dien Quangs shares. In fact, various members of Thoas family have a matrix of intertwined connections with the lighting firm.
First, prior to her appointment as a deputy minister of Industry and Trade in 2010, Thoa had worked at Dien Quang for 18 years and held the highest position of chairwoman and CEO for five years. After leaving Dien Quang to serve as deputy minister, Thoa continued to scoop up shares of the firm throughout the years. She currently owns 4.91 per cent after making multiple purchases.
Thoas brother Ho Quynh Hung, meanwhile, became Dien Quangs chairman and CEO in 2010 when Thoa took office. Hung currently owns 7 per cent of the firms shares.
Moreover, Thoas daughters and mother also own a substantial amount of the company. Her daughter Nguyen Thai Nga, with 12 per cent ownership, started working for Dien Quang in 2012 and has since been appointed as deputy CEO and board member. This means Nga is reporting directly to her uncle Ho Quynh Hung.
Nguyen Thai Quynh Le, Thoas other daughter, is also a shareholder of Dien Quang, owning 6.5 per cent of the company. Tran Thi My Xuan, Thoas mother, has purchased 3.83 per cent of the firm thus far.
Another curious family tie is Thoas other brother Ho Duc Lam, who is the chairman and CEO of Rang Dong JSC, Dien Quangs major competitor in the Vietnamese lighting equipment market. In other words, the two brothers run their own lighting firms while their sister has significant shares in one and simultaneously serves in office.
The controversy goes deeper with Ho Duc Dung Ho Duc Lams son and nephew to Thoa and Ho Quynh Hung. In 2014, Dung bought VND25.74 billion ($1.17 million) worth of Dien Quangs shares, which were put on sale by State Capital Investment Corporation as part of the divestment plan. A year later, Dung sold the entire stake to his uncle Ho Quynh Hung.
The complexity of Thoas involvement in Dien Quang, all while serving as a deputy minister, has raised questions of whether she has committed any serious legal infractions.
On February 16, Nguyen Phu Trong, Party General Secretary, ordered relevant authorities to look closely into this issue.
Nguyen Hoang Hai, deputy head of the Vietnamese Financial Investors Association, told VIR that there is a legal gap on this matter. He urged the government to investigate whether as a deputy minister, Thoa has launched any regulations in favour of Dien Quang.
We need to find out if any regulations or laws have given Dien Quang an undeserved edge against its competitors in the market. Moreover, Thoa has been accused of buying Dien Quangs stocks at low prices to benefit from price surges afterwards. This also requires further investigation, said Hai.
Truong Thanh Duc, a lawyer at BASICO law firm, noted that public officials are prohibited from setting up or running their own companies in Vietnam. However, there has yet to be any rules on the officials share ownership in equitised firms.
Due to this ambiguity, the deputy minister does not seem to have broken any laws outright. That said, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where Thoa serves, has direct control over Dien Quang, so there is the possibility of a conflict of interest, said Duc.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has submitted to the government a draft decree on goods, services, and localities subject to state monopolies. The draft includes a controversial list of 20 sectors and professions subject to state monopolies (see box).
Sesto Vecchi, managing partner of the US law firm Russin & Vecchi, questioned the list. Why is MoIT creating new monopolies? No justification is provided and the justification is not self-evident, Vecchi told VIR.
He said that even when state participation can be justified, in many cases, the private sector may also contribute in some sectors like irrigation, hydro plants, power distribution, and the importation of cigarettes and cigars.
The state is only one of several stakeholders. The draft appears regressive as the private sector already participates in some named sectors. Would the monopoly remove their participation? argued Vecchi.
Tran Trong Binh, senior attorney from Hanoi-based French law firm Audier and Partners, told VIR that such a list is irrational, and if it is approved, it will vex the market, which is now required to be more transparent, with less state monopolies, especially in the context of Vietnams deeper international integration.
The draft decree has gone against the Constitution adopted in 2013, which states that enterprises are allowed to do business in the sectors not banned by law, and also against the laws on Investment and Enterprises issued in 2015, Binh said. While the government is boosting the establishment of start-ups and restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs), this new document will undermine the markets competitiveness by preventing private investors from investing in many sectors on the list.
The Law on Commerce 2005 stipulates that the government shall specify a list of goods, services, and localities subject to state monopolies. This specific list has taken 12 years to create.
I dont understand why the draft decree is now being made. It should have been enacted 12 years ago. And now such a decree is unsuitable to Vietnams development, said Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management. Who will take responsibility for such a delay?
According to Cung, many of the sectors prescribed in the list should not be banned and can be engaged in by private firms. The state should hold a monopoly over some sensitive sectors only, such as electricity transmission or railways, so that access to these services can be ensured.
MoIT responded to the negative reactions to the draft decree by stating that the decree is built to fulfil the Law on Commerce 2005, which allows the state to monopolise for a given period of time the trading in a number of goods and services in certain localities in order to protect national interests.
The list is aimed to help enhance the systemisation and transparency of all goods, services, and geographical areas that are subject to state monopolies in commercial activities in line with Vietnams international commitments, and existing policies and regulations, said an MoIT document released last week to explain the issuance of the draft decree.
The list also acts as a foundation for state management bodies and other entities in society to perform their supervision over state monopolies in the listed sectors.
But Dau Anh Tuan, head of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industrys Legislation Department, said that the reasoning behind MoITs enacting the list is unpersuasive.
In the list, it is likely that some sectors will find it difficult to lure the investment of private firms, such as public goods and services, Tuan said. Under existing regulations, these sectors are sill engaged in by some private firms as they are not monopolised by the state.
To mark the occasion, VIRs Thanh Tung talks with Raymond Mallon, economic advisor from the Australia-Vietnam economic reform programme, about the role of APEC in the context of growing global trade protectionist pressures, and how Vietnam can make use of hosting APEC 2017 to attract FDI.
In the context of the likely demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) due to the withdrawal of the US from the deal, what do you think about the role of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in fostering the economic co-operation in the Asia-Pacific region?
The mission of APEC is to champion free and open trade and investment, promote regional economic integration, encourage economic and technical co-operation, enhance human security, and facilitate a favourable and sustainable business environment. These are all high priority objectives for Vietnam.
The US withdrawal from TPP may increase pressure to accelerate both negotiations on the Regional Economic Cooperation Partnership (RCEP), which includes China but not the US, and the promotion of the APEC co-ordinated Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
During the Vietnam APEC meetings, there are likely to be discussions about APECs study on realising FTAAP, as well as discussions on progress with APECs roadmap for regional trade in services. However, agreement on FTAAP is unlikely to be reached any time soon. Another option would be for selected APEC members to negotiate a variation of the TPP without the US, and (possibly) include additional large markets such as China and/or Indonesia.
Regardless of any formal free trade agreements (FTAs), APEC plays an important role in shaping and nurturing regional economic integration by encouraging unilateral economic reforms. APEC is a useful vehicle for Asia-Pacific member economies to share experiences in implementing productivity enhancing reforms.
Would APEC need any change regarding trade and investment co-operation, in your view, especially in the context of growing nationalism and trade protection in economies like the US under Donald Trump?
First, it is important to recognise that the levels of trade tariffs imposed by most APEC economies are relatively low. It is non-tariff barriers (NTBs), especially cumbersome and inconsistent bureaucratic rules and regulations, that are the major remaining obstacle to regional trade and investment. Regional harmonisation of regulations, and the removal of discriminatory treatment favouring state enterprises, could help reduce the negative impacts of NTBs.
Some of APECs strengths are its focus on removing impediments to trade and investment at the border, enhancing supply chain connectivity across the border, and improving the business environment behind the border.
Such reforms are generally in the interests of individual APEC member economies regardless of reforms implemented by other economies. Of course, the more economies implement productivity-enhancing reforms, the greater the regional economic benefits, and the greater the benefits to Vietnam. Given the potential unilateral benefits from such reforms, substantive progress can be made without the need for formal economic co-operation agreements.
Second, given the growth in nationalism and protectionism in some countries, APEC members should place more focus on improving the evidence base on the costs and benefits of openness and regional economic co-operation agreements. APEC members need to be able to identify potential losers from regional economic co-operation and help identify options for compensating those adversely affected by economic reforms. Efforts to engage with, and communicate ideas to, a broad range of stakeholders also need to be strengthened.
What do you think about APECs role in helping Vietnam attract foreign direct investment (FDI)? Do you think that APEC has helped to bring additional FDI into Vietnam over the past years?
APEC member economies are the most important source of trade and investment co-operation partners for Vietnam and are likely to remain so regardless of any new economic co-operation agreements.
APEC investment in Vietnam has and will continue to play a key role in transferring new technology, increasing labour productivity, and helping Vietnam to further increase its role in regional and global production chains.
Successful implementation of APECs behind the border reform initiatives will help reduce the costs of conducting business and investment, and will further enhance Vietnams potential to increase trade and investment with other APEC member economies.
At the same time, commitments made under other agreements, especially the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, will help reinforce APEC initiatives and help Vietnam access investment, technology, and markets from the EU and other non-APEC economies and continue to grow.
Vietnam is hosting APEC 2017. How can the country take advantage of this opportunity to lure more FDI, especially from big markets such as the US, Japan, and South Korea, all APEC members?
Vietnams position as host of the APEC 2017 meetings provides the country with a unique opportunity to take a leading role in shaping APEC priorities for regional co-operation for the coming year. Given growing global protectionist pressures, Vietnam could encourage APEC to play a stronger role in building the evidence base on the impacts of regional economic integration and in communicating information on these impacts to the citizens of APEC member economies.
Vietnam could also stress the potential gains to be realised from implementing unilateral reforms, such as those reforms Vietnam has committed to under resolutions 19 and 35.
Vietnam still has a labour cost advantage compared with other APEC economies, but a core aim of development is to increase living standards.
Accelerated productivity growth will be needed to sustain improved living standards while retaining Vietnams competitiveness. The APEC meetings provide a unique opportunity for Vietnamese leaders to communicate their strategy for productivity growth, including a clear statement on the role of international economic co-operation in promoting productivity growth. Vietnam will also have the opportunity to showcase areas where strong productivity growth is already being achieved.
More generally, the APEC 2017 meetings provide an invaluable opportunity for Vietnam to raise its visibility in the international economic arena, and to advertise investment, trade, tourism, and other economic opportunities to the rest of the world.
Vietnam should aim to renew its efforts to improve the business investment and trade enabling environment during 2017, and to communicate this progress in the international arena. Resolution 19 is a good step in this direction, providing a clear statement of the governments priorities for improving the business environment from now until 2020 and beyond.
By Press Trust of India: Yavatmal, Feb 19 (PTI) Protagonist of separate Vidarbha state and former MP Jambuwantrao Dhote was laid to rest at Pimpri village in the district today, with a large number of people attending his funeral.
Dhote (83) passed away of cardiac arrest here yesterday.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
The funeral procession started from his local Agrawal Layout residence on Waghapur Road and taken to nearby Pimpri Lakhina village where he has a farmhouse, on a hearse tailed by hundreds of vehicles.
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The Forward Bloc leader, known as the Lion of Vidarbha for aggressively championing the cause of statehood to the region in Eastern Maharashtra, was buried as per his wish.
Personalities from all walks of life, including politicians across party lines, attended the funeral and the condolence meeting held thereafter.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state unit Congress president Ashok Chavan, the Opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad have expressed their condolence through messages.
The firebrand leader had started his political career in home district Yavatmal, where he won the Nagar Parishad elections before entering in the state-level politics.
He was elected to the Maharashtra Assembly five times and won his first Lok Sabha election in 1971 as a Forward Bloc candidate.
He lost the Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur to Gev Awari owever in 1977. He made a successful comeback in 1980 when he was again elected to the Lower House of Parliament from Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, as Congress (I) candidate.
However, Dhote, who had supported former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during Emergency, resigned from Congress in 1983.
He founded Vidarbha Janta Congress (VJC) on September 9, 2002 to focus on the statehood demand. PTI CORR NSK
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Cambodias parliament is set to pass an amendment to a law governing political parties that would lead to the dissolution of opposition groups if they receive funding from abroad or if their leaders have a criminal record.
The Cambodia National Rescue Partys 55 MPs will boycott Mondays session at the National Assembly, leaving the ruling Cambodian Peoples Partys 68 lawmakers unopposed.
The amendment to the 1997 Law on Political Parties was requested by Prime Minister Hun Sen in late January, prompting parliament to fast-track the legislation.
It will change the law to prohibit people with criminal convictions from holding senior positions in political parties and includes penalties for receiving foreign funding, causing secession and subverting liberal multiparty democracy. It grants the power to dissolve parties that break the rules to the Supreme Court, an institution critics say is a political tool of the ruling party.
The opposition responded by saying that the proposed amendment was too rushed and unnecessary. The CNRP has largely depended on financial support from the Cambodian diaspora in the United States, France and other countries, to fund its activities in the past.
Sok Eysan, CPP spokesman, said the law was not aimed at the CNRP. However when asked what crimes were considered serious enough to warrant the dissolution of a political party he referred to former CNRP leader Sam Rainsy, who was convicted of defamation against former foreign minister Hor Namhong.
He added that members of the Cambodian diaspora were not included in the definition of foreign funders.
Ou Virak, a Phnom Penh-based analyst who founded the Future Forum think tank, said the wording of the new law was vague and open to interpretation.
Incitement that would lead to national disintegration is problematic since it depends on anyones judgment, he said.
There should, Virak said, be no party dissolution if just an individual politician commits a crime. I think it is unfair for the party, he said.
The decision to amend the law came amid heightened political tensions and threats against the opposition, which led Rainsy to take the unexpected step of stepping down as CNRP leader last week.
Virak said the tensions were hurting investor confidence, adding that the pattern of tensions in the run up to elections had become a bad habit for Cambodia.
The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, expressed concerns over the speed with which the proposed amendments were brought to a parliamentary vote.
I would hope that the National Assembly undertakes a human rights analysis of the draft law before moving to adopt it, she said.
With commune/sangkat elections in June, and the general election next year, changes in eligibility of political party leaders and in the registration and operation of political parties are troubling, she added.
Elizabeth Becker, a veteran journalist who reported from Cambodia in the 1970s, told VOA Khmer that the proposed amendments appear to be an attempt to ensure victory in the forthcoming elections.
This appears to be Hun Sen's final move in his drive to create a single party state. If it goes through as envisioned there would be no independent opposition, she said.
There is no question that Hun Sen is out to destroy the opposition. If he behaves as he has before he will still hold elections in order to appear democratic. The CPP would be throwing away the last vestige of a true democracy.
Sophal Ear, an associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said that the political situation is the worst setback for Cambodian democracy since the countrys first modern democratic elections in the early 1990s.
Weve gone through so much, but never to the point of dissolving the opposition. Once that happens, Cambodia will enter uncharted waters, he said.
If the opposition is dissolved, why bother having elections at all?
Cambodia will hold commune elections in June and is scheduled to hold a general election in July 2018. The CNRP took 55 seats to the CPPs 68 in the 2013 election, the results of which were hotly disputed.
Jay Raman, U.S. Embassy spokesman, said that there should be political participation and dialogue before any amendment to the law.
Any amendments to the Law on Political Parties that decrease political participation and dialogue would be counter-productive and contrary to the desires of the Cambodian public, he said.
Prior to considering new legislation, we encourage the Cambodian government to consult with civil society and international partners to examine the best practices in electoral reform.
Asked what the opposition could do in response to the moves by the CPP, journalist Becker said: The opposition knows what to do: Resist as if Cambodia's democracy depended on it. Resist nonviolently but resist.
She called for international donors to apply pressure on the government.
International donors should publicly denounce this move immediately. It doesn't matter whether the denunciation has an immediate impact on the Hun Sen government, she said.
What matters is that the donors stand up for the Cambodian people whom they have pledged to support and for the principles they espouse. Then they will have to consider how to support Cambodians without underwriting the government.
Chheang Vannarith, a regional analyst, told VOA Khmer via email that it was up to Cambodians to define their political future.
Without reconciliation, mutual respect, Cambodia will lose [the] opportunity to catch up with regional countries. We need to together respect the constitution, and together work for the nation.
I am afraid that at this stage we are entering a new dark side of Cambodia's history which is determined by hatred, revenge, distrust, and violence, he said.
Russia considers the second round of Syria peace talks, held this week in Kazakhstan, a success, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Saturday.
The director of the ministry's Middle East and North Africa department, Sergey Vershinin, told Russian state media the talks in Astana were an important step toward resolving the Syrian crisis.
Three guarantor countries Russia and Iran, which back the Syrian government, and Turkey, which backs some rebels opposed to it organized the talks in Kazakhstan. In addition to the host country, others attending included representatives from Damascus and armed Syrian opposition groups, the United Nations and various observers, such as the United States and Jordan.
Delegations at the talks in the Kazakh capital were smaller and lower-level than they were during the first round of the Astana Process in January. They were unable to agree on a final statement, and there was still no direct dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition. Despite those factors, Russian officials gave an optimistic assessment of the results.
"I would say that it is going to take a long period of time to realize direct negotiations between the two sides of the Syrian conflict," Russia's delegation head, Alexander Lavrentiev, said. "... Little mutual trust exists between them. They have been accusing each other all the time. But I believe that we have to move ... forward step by step, leaving no room for more conflicts."
Tensions simmer
The talks began a day later than scheduled. The head of the Syrian government delegation, Bashar Jaafari, said the lack of agreement on a final statement was caused by the late arrivals of the Syrian opposition and Turkish delegations. Jaafari said those involved were irresponsible, and he accused them of aiming to disrupt discussions.
Syrian rebels said there was no final statement, considered a bare minimum for most such negotiations, because cease-fire conditions were not being met. Armed opposition groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad say the Damascus government and its supporters regularly violate the truce.
The head of Assad's delegation repeated accusations that Turkey was supporting terrorism and called on Ankara to withdraw its troops from Syrian territory and close its border. Jaafari said Turkish forces were violating Syria's sovereignty.
Turkish troops have been fighting two foes in Syria: extremists from the Islamic State group, which Turkey is attempting to push back from its border with Syria, and Kurdish militias that Ankara contends are controlled by alleged terrorists from the militant group YPG. Turkish commanders said Friday that they were close to expelling all IS fighters from Syria's al-Bab town.
Jaafari complained that Turkey had downgraded its representatives in Astana to lower-level officials, but the Syrian rebels' delegation also was diminished, with representatives of only nine armed groups present, down from 14 when the talks began in January.
And while U.N. officials took part in the meetings, the head of their group, U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, traveled instead to Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Astana supported
In the Russian capital, de Mistura said there was strong support for the Astana talks, "because we feel that focusing on the cessation of hostilities is the beginning of everything related to any negotiations on Syria. And ... that helps and is helping the holding of the Geneva talks."
Talks on Syria are expected to take place in Geneva on Thursday, after bilateral discussions beginning on Monday.
However, the head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Oriental Studies, Vasily Kuznetsov, said he was much less optimistic about what could be achieved when the talks shift to Switzerland.
"While you discuss the problem on the ground, the military problems, you can have some progress," Kuznetsov said. "But ... when you discuss the political process ... [in Geneva], the constitution, the government and the election, yes, in this situation of total mistrust between every actor, I don't understand how they can have any progress in these discussions."
A third round of talks is expected to convene in Astana within a month.
A political scientist from the Russian Higher School of Economics, Leonid Isayev, said, "It's much more comfortable for the Syrian regime to find solutions in this [Astana] format," because the number of participants will much lower than in Geneva.
Trilateral cease-fire mechanism
Despite the bumps in the Astana talks, Russia, Turkey and Iran hashed out some details of a trilateral mechanism for Syria designed to help solidify a cease-fire agreed to in late December.
The cease-fire, which excludes designated terrorist groups such as Islamic State, has been violated sporadically, but the truce has largely held.
If the political talks in Geneva break down, however, Isayev said the cease-fire could unravel quickly, "especially in the central and southern parts of Syria."
Russia's Foreign Ministry posted a statement late Friday noting that while the joint group for a Syrian cease-fire was formed to investigate and prevent violations, it would also facilitate humanitarian access and free movement by civilians, and try to organize exchanges of prisoners and wounded fighters, with the help of U.N. experts.
The six-year Syrian conflict has killed over 300,000 people and displaced millions, many of them fleeing to Jordan and Turkey and on to Western Europe. Damascus was losing ground to the rebels until Russia entered the conflict a year ago and turned the tide in the government's favor.
An explosion and fire at an oil refinery in Torrance, California, on Saturday forced the partial shutdown of the plant, leading oil traders to expect a spike this week in West Coast gasoline prices.
Police and the plant owner said no one was hurt in the fire, which was extinguished by local firefighters.
Two years ago, a fire at the same plant led to its closure for several months and a sustained increase in West Coast gasoline prices for more than a year. After the fire on Saturday, a group of local residents worried about pollution and accidents protested at the refinery. The event had been planned to mark the anniversary of the Feb. 18, 2015 incident.
Catherine Leys, one of the protesters, lives 1.4 miles from the plant and said industrial ash drifted down on the playground near her home after the 2015 blast.
The plant supplies 10 percent of California's gasoline.
Traders said they expected local gasoline prices to jump this week.
"I expect prices will be firming on Tuesday, maybe 5 cents or 15 cents a gallon," a West Coast refined products trader said. He was talking about wholesale gasoline prices in the Los Angeles market. In California, pump prices normally follow wholesale price movements within hours.
PBF Energy owns and operates the refinery in the city of Torrance, just outside Los Angeles. PBF purchased it from Exxon Mobil Corp in 2016.
PBF shuttered the plant's crude distillation unit after the pre-dawn blaze, energy industry intelligence service Genscape reported.
The unit refines 155,000 barrels of oil per day, turning it into gasoline and diesel among other products.
PBF told state regulators it was forced to use its safety flare system on an emergency basis after the incident. The crude distillation unit, which produces motor fuel, is the workhorse of the refinery. Within 24 hours of the Feb. 18, 2015 explosion, wholesale gasoline prices initially jumped 10 cents a gallon.
A RAND study found drivers ultimately paid an extra $2.4 billion for gasoline because of the 2015 Torrance refinery outage.
The Torrance refinery had at least two outages in 2016 after a power outage at a local utility knocked the facility offline.
In October, PBF received a violation notice from the California's air regulator for excessive flaring following one of the outages.
California gasoline prices are frequently among the highest in the United States. Only Hawaii residents pay more.
California requires cleaner-burning fuel than most other U.S. states do. The state is geographically isolated with no pipeline connections to major refining centers on the Gulf Coast and Midwest, leaving the market tightly balanced between what West Coast refineries can produce and what can be shipped in.
Watchdog groups that keep tabs on digital privacy rights are concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are searching the phones and other digital devices of international travelers at border checkpoints in U.S. airports.
The issue gained attention recently after at least three travelers, including a Canadian journalist, spoke out publicly about their experiences.
The episodes have gained notice amid an outcry over President Donald Trump's travel ban and complaints of mistreatment of foreign travelers, but the government insists there has been no policy change in the new administration.
Border Protection says searches increased fivefold in the final fiscal year of the Obama presidency, but still amounted to less than one-hundredth of 1 percent of all international arrivals.
Here are some things to know about the searches and your privacy rights.
What has prompted the concern?
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation both say they have noticed an uptick in complaints about searches of digital devices by border agents.
The increase has become most noticeable in the last month, said Adam Schwartz, a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
"We are concerned that a bad practice that has existed under past presidents has gotten worse in quantity under the new president," Schwartz said.
The government says nothing has changed. Customs officials also say the perceived shift can be attributed to a jump in the number of electronic devices that people are carrying with them and shifting tactics as the agency adjusts to the amount and types of information that can be stored on today's devices.
What search authority does U.S. Customs and Border Protection have?
Americans have protection under the Fourth Amendment from unreasonable search and seizure. A police officer, for example, must obtain a warrant from a judge before searching a suspect's phone.
But the U.S. border is a legal gray zone. Border agents have long had the right to search travelers' physical luggage without a warrant, and that interpretation has been expanded to include digital devices, ACLU staff attorney Nathan Freed Wessler said.
In 2013, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that if agents want to do a forensic search they need to have a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, he said. But the court stopped short of requiring agents to obtain a search warrant beforehand, he said.
And an agent can flip through a phone in a cursory search for any reason.
The law has not kept up with the "incredible volume of personal data that we have in our pockets now" and that creates tremendous constitutional questions, said Wessler.
"In some ways, a search of your phone is more invasive than a search of your house," he said.
A case currently headed to another appeals court could further clarify the law, said Schwartz.
What does Border Protection say?
Numbers provided by Border Protection show a fivefold increase in electronic media searches in fiscal 2016, which ended September 30, over the previous fiscal year.
In 2016, under the Obama administration, there were 23,877 electronic media searches. That comes to .0061 percent of total arrivals into the U.S. In fiscal 2015, there were 4,764 electronic media searches.
A senior CBP official briefed reporters on the issue Friday, but the agency insisted the official not be identified.
"We see it as an article that is brought into the U.S., no different than a booklet of materials, no different than a suitcase with items in it," the official said.
"We've uncovered very serious and significant information in these types of searches, everything from national security concerns to child pornography to evidence of crimes to determinations of people's admissibility status under the immigration laws."
How can you protect your digital privacy while traveling?
Privacy advocates say travelers who are concerned should leave their phones and laptops at home and buy a cheap phone once they arrive at their destination.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is also advising its members to do the same.
Those who can't leave their devices behind should encrypt them and close out of all social media applications so they aren't accessible without a password, said Schwartz.
But those steps won't matter much if a border agent asks a traveler to unlock the phone or provide a password, said Scwhartz.
And travelers should also be aware of the rules in other countries. Israel authorities can check mobile phones at the airport, for example.
What happens if you refuse?
CBP can't bar U.S. citizens from entry if they refuse to comply, but agents can make things difficult.
Travelers who don't unlock their phones could be questioned, detained temporarily and have their phones taken by agents for days.
Travelers who are not U.S. citizens can be denied entry.
Hasaim Elsharkawi, a self-employed businessman from Anaheim, California, told the AP that he was stopped by agents in Los Angeles last week as he was boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. They asked him to unlock his phone without telling him why.
Elsharkawi, a Muslim, said he refused because he didn't want the male agents to see photos of his wife with her head uncovered.
When he asked for a lawyer, the agents detained him, handcuffed him and interrogated him for four hours before he agreed to unlock the device for a female agent, he said. He was then released and his phone was returned after the female Homeland Security officer checked his email, photos, and eBay and Amazon accounts.
Elsharkawi, 34, was born in Saudi Arabia to Egyptian parents. He came to the U.S. in 2004 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012.
"I was already nervous before and after what has happened ... I don't know what to expect next," he said.
Vice President Mike Pence was the latest in a trio of high-ranking Trump emissaries to tell European allies in person that the United States will steadfastly support NATO and demand that Russia honor its commitments to end fighting in Ukraine.
Some European leaders, however, remain skeptical of whether Pence and the U.S. secretaries of state and defense actually speak for President Donald Trump. And they worry those declarations might easily be swept away at the whim of the mercurial American president.
"We are waiting for actions," said Polish President Andrzej Duda. "We only know what the media has reported and the statements that we've got. Now we are waiting for actions of the new government of Donald Trump."
European countries along Russia's border have been rattled by the prospect of deeper U.S.-Russia ties after Trump bucked the opinions of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders by suggesting that sanctions imposed on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine could be eased in exchange for a nuclear arms deal.
Trump also raised eyebrows when he appeared to draw parallels between Russia and the U.S. when Bill O'Reilly of Fox News referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a killer." Trump replied: "We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?"
In the days before his inauguration, Trump referred to NATO as "obsolete" in an interview, but said the 28-nation alliance remained important to him. He has since tempered his language and stressed the importance of NATO during telephone conversations with multiple foreign leaders.
Pence, making his first overseas trip as vice president, sought to allay some of those fears in Munich on Saturday, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to NATO and promising that the U.S. would "hold Russia accountable."
Michael Chertoff, who served as homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, noted that Pence's comments were in line with similar assurances given by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a NATO meeting in Brussels earlier in the week.
"They've all been consistent about the fact that there is a strong, deep and enduring commitment to Europe and to NATO and I think that message has been received," Chertoff said.
The same day Mattis was in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart in Bonn, Germany, saying afterward that Russia must adhere to a 2015 deal to end fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
But whether Trump intends to put Pence's words into action remained a front-and-center issue at the Munich Security Conference.
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was pressed after Pence's speech on whether he had doubts about Trump's commitment to NATO.
"I have no doubts that the American vice president, and also the defense minister, will do everything to take responsibility within NATO as in the past, and I don't think there is a big argument inside the American government," said Gabriel, who also is Germany's foreign minister. Asked about Trump's commitment, he said, "Since I haven't spoken to him, I can only say what I discussed with Mr. Pence I did that and there are no doubts there."
Jeff Rathke, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Pence's words were likely reassuring to Europeans in light of the similar affirmations from Mattis and Tillerson.
"But everyone is aware that this is tentative until it is reaffirmed by the president in his own words," Rathke said in an email. "One tweet or statement casting doubt on the Europeans or on NATO will call back into question all of what Pence and Mattis have been saying."
Democrats are still stung by the conclusion by intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. And they have continued to argue that Trump remains a major liability on the world stage.
Wrote Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Twitter: "Looks like we have 2 governments. (at)VP just gave speech about shared values btwn US and Europe as (at)POTUS openly wages war on those values.''
Satsuki Ina was born behind barbed wire in a prison camp during World War Two, the daughter of U.S. citizens forced from their home without due process and locked up for years following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Roughly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans were sent to desolate camps that dotted the West because the government claimed they might plot against the U.S. Thousands were elderly, disabled, children or infants too young to know the meaning of treason. Two-thirds were citizens.
And now, as survivors commemorate the 75th anniversary of the executive order that authorized their incarceration, they're also speaking out to make sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Muslims, Latinos or other groups.
Executive orders
They're alarmed by recent executive orders from President Donald Trump that limit travel and single out immigrants.
In January, Trump banned travelers from seven majority Muslim nations from entering the U.S., saying he wanted to thwart potential attackers from slipping into the country. A federal court halted the ban. Trump said at a news conference Thursday that he would issue a replacement order next week.
"We know what it sounds like. We know what the mood of the country can be. We know a president who is going to see people in a way that could victimize us," said Ina, a 72-year-old psychotherapist who lives in Oakland, California.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, to protect against espionage and sabotage. Notices appeared ordering people of Japanese descent to report to civil stations for transport.
Desperate families sold off belongings for cheap and packed what they could. The luckier ones had white friends who agreed to care for houses, farms and businesses in their absence.
"Others who couldn't pay their mortgage, couldn't pay their bills, they lost everything. So they had to pretty much start from scratch," said Rosalyn Tonai, 56, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco.
Tonai was shocked to learn in middle school that the U.S. government had incarcerated her mother, aunts and grandparents. Her family hadn't talked about it. Her mother, a teenager at the time, said she didn't remember details.
'Internment'
Her organization, the Japanese American Citizens League and others oppose the use of the word "internment." They say the government used euphemisms such as "internment," "evacuation," and "non-alien" to hide the fact that U.S. citizens were incarcerated and the Constitution violated.
The groups say this White House has what they see as the same dangerous and flippant attitude toward the Constitution. Japanese-American lawmakers expressed horror when a Donald Trump supporter cited the camps as precedent for a Muslim registry.
The Japanese American Citizens League "vehemently" objected to executive orders signed by Trump last month, to build a wall along the Mexican border, punish "sanctuary" cities that protect people living in the country illegally, and limit refugees and immigrants from entering the country.
"Although the threat of terrorism is real, we must learn from our history and not allow our fears to overwhelm our values," the statement read in part.
Hiroshi Kashiwagi was 19 when his family was ordered from their home in Northern California's Placer County and to a temporary detention center.
He remembers slaughtering his prized chickens -- New Hampshire Reds -- for his mother to cook with soy sauce and sugar. She stored the bottled birds in sturdy sacks to take on the trip. The family ate the chickens at night to supplement meals. The birds didn't last long.
Today, Kashiwagi, 94, is a poet and writer in San Francisco who speaks to the public about life at Tule Lake, a maximum security camp near the Oregon border. Winters were cold, the summers hot. They were helpless against dust storms that seeped inside.
"I feel obligated to speak out, although it's not a favorite subject," he said. "Who knows what can happen? The way this president is, he does not go by the rules. I'm hoping that he would be impeached."
Orders against Japanese-Americans were revoked after the war ended in 1945. They returned to hostility and discrimination in finding work or places to live.
'Race prejudice'
A congressional commission formed in 1980 blamed the incarceration on "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to compensate every survivor with a tax-free check for $20,000 and a formal apology from the U.S. government.
Ina said that only then did her mother, Shizuko, feel she got her face back, her dignity returned. By then her father, Itaru, had died.
"This is a burden we've been carrying, and if we can make that burden into something meaningful that could help and protect other people, then it becomes not so much an obligation but more as a responsibility," Ina said.
After Trump's election, Ina vowed to reach out to the Muslim community and protest and tell everyone about what happened to her family. She brought her message to a gathering of camp survivors in the Los Angeles area.
"And this old woman, she had a cane, she said, 'OK. I'm going to tell everybody about what happened. This is very bad. It's happening again,' " she said. "It's that kind of spirit."
As Gambia enters a new era of democracy, President Adama Barrow has reiterated his commitment to ending human rights abuses in the country.
"Orders have already been given for all those detained without trial to be released," he said Saturday before thousands of Gambians who gathered at Independence Stadium Saturday to witness his official inauguration and celebrate Gambia's independence anniversary.
This tiny West African nation has been in the spotlight for gross violation of human rights for more than two decades. The 22-year rule of former President Yahya Jammeh was marred by clampdowns on dissenting views, enforced disappearances and detention without trial, creating a climate of fear. Rights groups have called for the release of political prisoners, many of whom have already been freed since Barrow won December elections. Jammeh clung to power, creating a political crisis that forced Barrow to be inaugurated in January in Senegal, which surrounds Gambia except for its coast.
International pressure, including the threat of a regional military intervention, led Jammeh on Jan. 21 to finally accept his election loss and fly into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Hundreds of thousands welcomed Barrow's return to Gambia days later.
Barrow has pledged to reverse Jammeh's repressive policies and promised to keep Gambia in the International Criminal Court, rejoin the Commonwealth, and free political prisoners. At Saturday's ceremony, Barrow said his government will undertake key constitutional and legal reforms and said he would highlight them in his first address to the National Assembly.
"It [the legal reform] intends to enforce constitutional provisions that are entrenched to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens," he said.
Barrow said the Attorney General and Minister of Justice will receive information regarding all those who were arrested without being found. "An appropriate commission would be established to conduct inquiries into their disappearances," he said.
Barrow has also promised to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.
President Donald Trump will soon release a "more streamlined version" of a presidential order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, but it will be better implemented and avoid the chaos that resulted from an earlier attempt to restrict foreign travelers arriving in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said.
Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, during a panel discussion on combating terrorism, Kelly said the new version of the travel order will not prevent foreign nationals with either work visas or "green card" permanent residency permits from re-entering the United States. Nor will it affect foreign travelers already flying to U.S. ports of entry when the order takes effect, he added.
Trump will "make sure that there's no one caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports" during the travel ban, Kelly said.
The new immigration order could come as early as Tuesday, U.S. news reports suggested, and Trump himself has confirmed it will be issued during the coming week.
Courts blocked original travel ban
The original travel ban, which has now been set aside by U.S. courts, was issued January 27. It was a security measure meant to prevent attacks by Islamist militants, White House officials said. Trump's executive order barred entry to the United States for at least 90 days by people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen; it also excluded all refugees seeking resettlement in the U.S. for 120 days, except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
The abrupt implementation of the ban, which was enforced just hours after it was signed, caught many officials and travelers unawares, leading to chaos and protests at international airports in the U.S. and abroad. Some people from the targeted countries were detained, and others were sent back to their home countries.
Federal judges who suspended the ban earlier this month ruled it illegally targeted Muslims on religious grounds and had been put into effect without due care or preparation.
The president said on Thursday he would announce a new, revised executive order on immigration during the coming week.
'Temporary pause'
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, said the original order was designed as a "temporary pause" to allow him to "see where our immigration and vetting system has gaps" that potentially could be exploited by attackers.
The new order will seek to iron out some of the difficulties in the version currently held up by the courts, he added. The homeland security chief is in charge of one of the largest government departments, supervising all customs, immigration and border patrol agencies the government operates, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Secret Service, which protects the president, and other security agencies that protect federal property and foreign dignitaries.
"The president is contemplating releasing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (order)," Kelly said Saturday in Munich. "And I will have opportunity to work (on) a rollout plan, in particular to make sure that there's no one, in a sense, caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports."
He said "it's a good assumption" that green-card residency permit holders would be allowed in, as they eventually were a few days after the original order.
Accelerated deportation hearings
The new order also aims to speed up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process. The order will instruct immigration officials to only pass those asylum seekers who have a good chance of ultimately being granted haven in the U.S.
The order outlines plans for greatly expanding the categories of people that immigration agents target for deportation, and gives them wide discretion in deciding who to deport.
Previously, recent arrivals and convicted criminals were the prime targets. The new plan would include migrants who have been charged, but not convicted, of crimes, and would also apply to undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for many years.
Kelly is also calling for 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and 5,000 new hires at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.
Same Muslim-majority states affected
For foreign nationals from the countries in question who already hold valid U.S. entry visas, Kelly said, "if they're in motion from some distant land to the United States, when they arrive they will be allowed in." The agency chief added, however, that there would be a "short phase-in period" to ensure affected travelers in other countries are not allowed to board airliners prematurely, to evade the travel ban.
A draft of the replacement executive order shows the administration aims to put restrictions on citizens of the same seven Muslim-majority countries covered by the initial order, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal State Department memo. Kelly also mentioned "seven nations" during his discussions in Europe.
The replacement order could be issued as early as Tuesday, the Journal reported, citing a U.S. government official.
Separately, the Trump administration also has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to withdraw its earlier ruling that temporarily suspended the travel ban, because a new, superseding order is about to be issued.
Focus on protecting the US
"In so doing, the president will clear the way for immediately protecting the country rather than pursuing further potentially time-consuming litigation," the Justice Department said in its filing.
Government attorneys have stated the Trump administration has the authority to institute a travel ban to protect the nation's security, and they have rejected criticism that restricting travelers only from majority-Muslim countries amounts to a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
The U.S. Constitution forbids the government from establishing an official religion or taking actions that promote or inhibit religion. Trump's order specified that refugees who are a religious minority in their country and facing persecution would still be eligible for admission to the U.S. This would apply to non-Muslims from the seven targeted countries.
While campaigning for the presidency last year, Trump originally banning all Muslims worldwide from entering the U.S., but he later altered his plan to target countries with links to terrorism.
Some material in this report came from Reuters.
A senior al-Shabab official has said his Islamic rebel group opposes the election of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo as Somalias president.
Hassan Yaqub Ali, who is a member of al-Shabab leadership and the extremist groups governor of Galgudud region, threatened that the group will target clans and anyone who collaborates with the new president.
We will fight against him during his four-year term, he said in a speech aired by al-Shabab media Saturday night.
Farmajo was chosen by the Somali parliament February 8 in an election widely welcomed and celebrated by Somalis.
Many who celebrated praised Farmajos work during his seven months as prime minister in 2010 and 2011. At the time, Farmajo paid salaries of government staff and military. He also played a key role in mobilizing a weak Somali army to fight alongside AU troops in an offensive that pushed al-Shabab away from the presidential palace.
The al-Shabab official appeared to have been worried by Farmajos popularity, saying that the new president is not a patriot.
In response to the countrywide celebrations, Ali said the demonstrations were organized by paid NGOs.
Farmajo had been living in the U.S. before his election and is a dual Somali-American citizen.
Ali said Farmajo will be worse than his predecessors because of his dual citizenship.
Anyone carrying a foreign passport is not a patriot, Farmajo is an American, he said.
We have our own way of measuring things, we have our own lenses, dont fall for the propaganda.
Its the first official response by a leading al-Shabab commander on the election of the new Somali president.
The new president will be inaugurated Wednesday. In a brief comment the president made after his election win, Farmajo said he will prioritize security, establish justice, and help the poor and those affected by the droughts.
Farmajo also said the African Union troops will stay in the country until the national army is rebuilt.
The al-Shabab official criticized the statement, saying it proves the new president is not ready to remove foreign troops from the country.
Dry Tortugas is a chain of small islands about 113 kilometers (70 miles) west of Key West, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. To get there, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer took a sea plane from the southernmost city in the continental United States.
Dry Tortugas National Park
Part of the National Park Service, the 259 square-kilometer (100 square-mile) park is mostly open water with seven small islands, home to beautiful coral reefs, a vast assortment of bird and marine life, and a magnificent 19th-century fort.
As noted in the comments, it is illegal to harass sea turtles. The video included in this report is from an approved research project. All marine turtle images taken in Florida waters were obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under conditions not harmful to turtles.
Watch video report:
Mikah, whos on a mission to visit all of the more than 400 NPS sites, says the journey to the remote islands was as much fun as his destination.
Picturesque journey
It was really cool as we took off from Key West, first to be able to see the city of Key West then to see all these really interesting different shades of blue.
Flying over the shallow waters, Mikah also had an opportunity to spot a variety of wildlife.
Our pilot told us in a lot of places it's just 4 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters), and so this makes it really great as youre flying over because I saw sea turtles, I saw the shadow of a giant shark, and sometimes you can see dolphins.
Dry Tortugas derives its name from the Spanish word for turtles, which the park is famous for. Hundreds of the endangered reptiles annually nest in the area. Its underwater treasures also include beautiful coral reefs and an abundance of marine life.
Fort Jefferson
Another popular feature of the islands is Fort Jefferson, a massive but unfinished coastal fortress built in 1847. Made with millions of bricks, it's one of the most ambitious and extensive fortifications constructed in the United States. "Its massive in size, Mikah said. Way bigger than most of the others Id been to.
The fort was never completed because during the 30 years it was under construction, advancements in rifled artillery developed and used during the Civil War meant that the unreinforced masonry walls wouldn't stand up to a prolonged bombardment.
But even though it was never attacked, Fort Jefferson fulfilled its intended role: to protect the peace and prosperity of a young nation, through deterrence.
It was used as a military prison during the Civil War, mainly for Union deserters. And the conspirators who were involved in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination were also held there.
Jailbird dreams
Its most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth, Lincolns assassin. Mikah relived a little history by walking into a space that was once the physicians jail cell.
Mikah says the tour guide told him Mudd tried to escape once. They made the prisoners do manual labor and he tried to sneak out on a boat. But the prison environment was similar to the former Alcatraz prison off San Francisco, California, he explained, which is also surrounded by water. Can you imagine being a prisoner and you're 70 miles away across shark-infested waters from the closest town?
Mikah said he felt lucky to be able to visit a remote area of the U.S. rich with history, and man-made as well as natural treasures.
Its another example of how the park service has multiple island locations that skirt the continent that you can really experience a wide array of sights when you go to the national parks.
Mikah invites you to follow him on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
By Press Trust of India: Yavatmal, Feb 19 (PTI) Protagonist of separate Vidarbha state and former MP Jambuwantrao Dhote was laid to rest at Pimpri village in the district today, with a large number of people attending his funeral.
Dhote (83) passed away of cardiac arrest here yesterday.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
The funeral procession started from his local Agrawal Layout residence on Waghapur Road and taken to nearby Pimpri Lakhina village where he has a farmhouse, on a hearse tailed by hundreds of vehicles.
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The Forward Bloc leader, known as the Lion of Vidarbha for aggressively championing the cause of statehood to the region in Eastern Maharashtra, was buried as per his wish.
Personalities from all walks of life, including politicians across party lines, attended the funeral and the condolence meeting held thereafter.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state unit Congress president Ashok Chavan, the Opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad have expressed their condolence through messages.
The firebrand leader had started his political career in home district Yavatmal, where he won the Nagar Parishad elections before entering in the state-level politics.
He was elected to the Maharashtra Assembly five times and won his first Lok Sabha election in 1971 as a Forward Bloc candidate.
He lost the Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur to Gev Awari owever in 1977. He made a successful comeback in 1980 when he was again elected to the Lower House of Parliament from Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, as Congress (I) candidate.
However, Dhote, who had supported former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during Emergency, resigned from Congress in 1983.
He founded Vidarbha Janta Congress (VJC) on September 9, 2002 to focus on the statehood demand. PTI CORR NSK SRE
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Turkish officials say 26 people have been detained following a car bomb attack that killed two people in the southeast part of the country.
The car bomb exploded Friday near the lodgings of judges and prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, bordering Syria. Footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building and wrecked cars.
In a news conference at the town's courthouse Saturday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the explosion killed the 11-year-old son of a court clerk and a 27-year-old neighborhood guard.
Eleven people remained hospitalized, including the public prosecutor's wife, the minister said. Two were in critical condition.
The governor's office announced Saturday that the 26 people detained included the owner of the van, which was loaded with explosives and parked near the government housing.
Governor Gungor Azim Tuna told state-run Anadolu news agency that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, was responsible.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Germany and expressed his condolences for the attack. "The vice president reiterated the United States' commitment to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally,'' a White House statement said.
Turkey has been hit by a series of violent attacks since the summer of 2015, which were blamed on the Islamic State group or Kurdish militants. More than 550 people have been killed in these attacks.
The PKK has targeted security personnel and state buildings with car bombs since a cease-fire collapsed in 2015. Turkey and its Western allies consider the group a terrorist organization.
According to the nonprofit International Crisis Group, at least 2,571 people have been killed in armed clashes since, including civilians, state security force members, Kurdish militants and youth of unknown affiliations.
A paranoid dictators estranged brother. Two young female assassins. A crowded international airport. And a mysterious poison that kills within hours.
Its the perfect recipe for a thrilling cloak-and-dagger spy novel. Except some, or possibly even all, of this tale could be true in the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And just like similar intriguing cases from the past, the public is hanging on every detail because theres just something about murder by poison that captivates.
A gun announces its mischief; poison can sneak in with a sip of champagne, said Robert Thompson, a pop culture expert at Syracuse University. The question isnt why we are fascinated with this latest story, its why wouldnt we be?
Still, speculation that Kim Jong Nam was killed by two young female agents at the busy Kuala Lumpur airport last week left even the most seasoned toxicology sleuths shaking their heads. Add in that the portly sibling was apparently sprayed in the face with a substance so potent it killed him before he could reach the hospital, and youve got a scene straight out of a James Bond movie.
Four people, including the two women one Indonesian and the other traveling on a Vietnamese passport have been detained.
The Indonesian told authorities she thought she was participating in a comedy show prank.
Theories and speculation
Conspiracy theories and speculation abound as police scramble to unravel what really happened to Kim Jong Nam, age 45 or 46, the son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and a mistress. After falling out of favor with the family, the son lived for years in exile and was about to catch a flight to Macau when the attack took place. He sought help at the airport clinic after suddenly falling ill and died en route to the hospital. Autopsy results have not been released.
If a chemical agent really was to blame, finding it may be the hardest part of all. Tissue and fluid samples may need to be sent abroad for analysis at a facility with greater capabilities, such as in Japan or at the FBIs crime lab, if Malaysian experts cannot pinpoint the cause of death.
The more unusual, the more potent, the more volatile a poison is, the less likely it is to be detected, said Olif Drummer, a toxicologist at Australias Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine who has spent 40 years in the field.
Such a poison not easy to make, experts say
Experts routinely tasked with finding answers in poisoning cases say the events at Kuala Lumpurs airline terminal are bizarre, but not impossible.
They wonder: What substance could have been used to kill the victim so quickly without sickening the women who apparently deployed it, along with anyone else nearby? Difficult, they say, but doable.
Its not an agent that could be cooked up in a hotel room. Its going to take a lot of knowledge regarding the chemical in order to facilitate an attack like this, said Bruce Goldberger, a leading toxicologist who heads the forensic medicine division at the University of Florida.
He said a nerve gas or ricin, a deadly substance found in castor beans, could be possible. A strong opioid compound could also have been used, though that would likely have incapacitated the victim immediately.
It would have to be cleverly designed in order to be applied in this fashion without hurting anyone else, Goldberger said.
Poison more common than thought
History is filled with poisoners. From jilted lovers seeking revenge to greedy spouses looking to collect on life insurance policies. Arsenic, cyanide and strychnine are often the toxins of choice used in murders, but political hits are usually a much more complicated business.
To me, murder by poison is the easiest thing to get away with, said John Trestrail, a forensic toxicologist who has examined more than 1,000 poisoning crimes. If all those people in the cemetery who have been poisoned could raise their hands, wed probably be shocked.
While murder using toxins is far less common than stabbings and shootings, he said his research shows that poisoners often strike more than once.
These people get away with it time and time again until somebody says, `Well, hell, shes had four husbands and they all died suddenly, Trestrail said. Then the exhumations come and: Bingo!
Two key Republican U.S. senators on Sunday questioned President Donald Trump's competency in handling foreign affairs, especially White House turmoil over national security operations and his seeming reluctance to confront Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
Senator John McCain of Arizona, the losing 2008 Republican presidential contender, told NBC's Meet the Press that he is worried about Trump's "understanding of some" foreign affairs issues and "contradictory articulations. I think the rollout of the ... immigration reform was an example of a need for an orderly decision-making process in the White House. And that, I think, is probably what's plaguing them more than anything else right now."
He said Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul turned Republican politician, has left European allies confused about his rhetoric and commitment to the NATO military alliance, even as Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday told the Munich Security Conference the United States would "hold Russia accountable" and was steadfast in its support of NATO.
"They are puzzled and they are concerned," McCain said of European leaders. "They realize that the linchpin of the Western alliance is the United States of America. They worry particularly when they see increased testings of this union that's being conducted by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin as we speak."
McCain has called for a broad congressional investigation into the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community, rejected by Moscow, that Russia hacked into the computer of the campaign chief of Democrat Hillary Clinton, the one-time U.S. secretary of state Trump defeated in the November election. The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks subsequently released thousands of emails from the account, revealing sometimes embarrassing behind-the-scenes efforts by Democratic operatives to help Clinton secure the Democratic presidential nomination.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to improve relations with Russia, only reluctantly acknowledging the Russian hacking.
Senator Graham on Russia
But Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, speaking at the Munich conference, said the new American leader should be working with lawmakers to punish Moscow.
"2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress," Graham declared.
He added, "My biggest concern with President Trump .., is that he's never really looked the camera in the eye" and then say, "'Even though it was the Democratic Party that suffered from Russian interference, I am now the leader of the free world and I can assure you they're going to pay a price on my watch for trying to interfere in our election.'"
Trump last week fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, a retired Army general, after 24 days on the job for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with the Russian ambassador to Washington before Trump took office a month ago. Trump then had his replacement choice turn down the strategic White House post, but was interviewing new candidates for the job on Sunday.
Trump has also promised to issue a new travel ban this week covering seven Muslim-majority countries where there has been terrorist activity to replace an earlier edict blocked by court rulings.
A huge Pacific storm that parked itself over Southern California and unloaded, ravaging roads, opening sinkholes and leading to the deaths of at least three people, eased off Saturday. But it was only a temporary reprieve as new storms took aim farther north.
The National Weather Service predicted drying weather through Sunday, followed by the return of wet weather in the region. But while flash-flood watches for Southern California were canceled, Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week.
"Stronger southerly winds and widespread flooding will be likely as an atmospheric river [of moisture] takes aim somewhere along the central California Coast," a weather statement warned.
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north, where damage to spillways of the Lake Oroville dam forced evacuation of 188,000 people last weekend. As of Saturday, the lake's water elevation had fallen more than 45 feet.
Meanwhile, authorities up and down the state were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing creeks, mudslide threats in foothill areas denuded by previous fires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighborhoods.
Northwest of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were evacuated Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond. Fire Chief Kenny Cohen said nearly 100 homes and the elementary school filled with a couple inches of water before the water began receding.
No injuries were reported.
Southern California appeared to dodge any major disasters, but in the desert town of Victorville, several cars were washed down a flooded street, and one man was found dead in a submerged vehicle after others were rescued, San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
And in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when a tree falling in heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car.
On Saturday, searchers found the body of a man in his 20s who was swept down a rain-swollen gully in Thousand Oaks a day earlier. KCBS-TV reported that the body was found in Arroyo Conejo Creek.
In the Studio City area of Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars, the second on live TV as viewers watched it teeter on the edge before plunging in. One driver was taken to a hospital and was in fair condition.
Inland at the Cajon Pass, the shoulder of Interstate 15 crumbled and sent a parked firetruck spilling over the side, but no one was hurt. The California Department of Transportation estimated emergency repairs to the freeway would cost $3 million.
Was there a terrorist attack in Sweden Friday night? No, but U.S. President Donald Trump seemed to suggest there had been, leaving Swedes baffled by just what the new American leader might have meant by an offhand remark.
At a campaign rally Saturday in Florida, Trump alluded to past terrorist attacks in Europe linked to open-borders immigration, saying, "You look at what's happening in Germany. You look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden."
WATCH: Trump comments about Sweden
But there were no high-profile, terror-linked events in the Scandinavian country Friday night.
Trump did not elaborate on the remark until Sunday evening, when he tweeted that he was referring to a Fox News broadcast about migrants and Sweden.
In the meantime, some Swedes mocked Trump on social media accounts using the hashtag "#LastNightinSweden."
Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt took to Twitter, saying, "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound." Some Swedes joked that Trump might have been referring to a large meatball theft, an avalanche warning or police chasing a drunken driver.
Another Twitter user, tweaking Trump's plans to build a border wall on the U.S. southern border with Mexico to thwart illegal immigration, said that "after the terrible events" of Friday night, the giant Swedish retailer Ikea had sold out of instruction manuals on how to build border walls.
Gunnar Hokmark, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, retweeted a post that said, "#lastnightinSweden my son dropped his hotdog in the campfire. So sad!"
The Swedish embassy in Washington had asked the U.S. State Department for clarification on just what Trump was referring to.
Syrian government forces fired rockets at a rebel-held area on Damascuss outskirts Sunday, pressing an attack that began the day before and has killed up to 16 people, a medical worker and war monitors said.
The medical worker and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was the biggest attack on the Qaboun area, to the citys northeast, in at least two years.
16 dead in two days of attacks
On Saturday, a government sniper killed one person in the area and rockets hit a cemetery on Qabouns outskirts, the medical worker, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
The British-based Observatory also reported attacks on a cemetery. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts. There was no immediate government comment on the Damascus fighting.
The Observatory said 16 people had died in the violence around Qaboun since Saturday, the highest death toll from fighting there for more than two years.
The medical worker in nearby Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus, said at least 13 people had died. He said he could hear explosions coming from Qaboun early Sunday.
Cease-fire shaky
Violence in western Syria has increasingly tarnished a shaky cease-fire, which took effect December 30, backed by Damascus ally Russia and Turkey, which supports rebels.
Somali officials say at least 30 people were killed and dozens others wounded when a massive car bomb exploded in a busy market in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.
The blast ripped through a busy market in Kawo-Goday in Wadajir district on Sunday afternoon.
Security officials and witnesses said the blast occurred as the people were going about their daily business activities. They said the victims included civilians, shopkeepers and government soldiers.
No one has yet claimed the responsibility for the blast, but officials blamed al-Shabab militants.
Somalias new president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo vowed to defeat al-Shabab in a Twitter message following the attack. He condemned the bombing in the strongest terms, saying it indicates al-Shabab's "barbarism."
He called on Somalis and governments army to unite against the group.
Earlier in the day the president stressed there is an urgent need to fight and defeat the group as quickly as possible.
My vision is to defeat al-Shabab in the next two years, hopefully if we work very closely together, we will be able to defeat them he said during a meeting in Mogadishu with African Union leadership and representatives of troop-contributing countries. If Somalia is to achieve prosperity, than there is an urgent need to root out the group he said..
Ambassador Francisco Madiera, the African Union envoy to Somalia, assured the president that AU troops operating in Somalia are committed to working towards a peaceful Somalia. We can cooperate with one another and harmonize our efforts to do exactly that (defeat Al-Shabab), Madiera said.
In a newly released audio message, a senior al-Shabab leader, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, called the new Somali president an apostate and warned Somalis against supporting him.
U.S. President Donald Trumps increasingly ferocious attacks on Americas news media sparked equally fierce commentary Sunday in Washington and beyond.
If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press," said Republican Senator John McCain on NBCs Meet The Press program. "And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started."
One day after taking to Twitter to brand top news outlets the enemy of the American people, Trump continued savaging the news media at a Florida rally.
They become a big part of the problem, they are part of the corrupt system, Trump told thousands of supporters Saturday. When the media lies to people I will never ever let them get away with it, I will do whatever I can that they don't get away with it, they have their own agenda and their agenda is not your agenda.
Lawmakers of both parties routinely complain about news coverage, but defend a free press. Many recoiled from Trumps words.
This is something that you hear tin-pot dictators say when they want to control all of the information, said Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, on ABCs This Week program.
Of all the things he has said since he became president or since the election, this to me was the most devastating and the most alarming. That he essentially views the First Amendment [to the Constitution], because that is what these organizations represent, as an enemy of the people.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse weighed in by tweeting portions of the Bill of Rights guaranteeing free speech and freedom of the press. Others sought to downplay the controversy.
I see President Trump expressing his opinion, rather forceful in his own distinct way, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said on This Week. But I see no evidence that anybody is putting forward any kind of legislation to limit the press.
I am not a great fan of [Trumps] daily tweets, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late last week. What I am a fan of is what he has been actually doing.
Some closest to Trump are distancing them from the presidents remarks.
I have had some contentious times with the press, Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters during a visit to Abu Dhabi. But no, the press as far as I am concerned are a constituency that we deal with, and I do not have any issues with the press myself.
While sporadic anti-Trump protests continued across the country, the presidents fiercest backers echoed his message.
"He is right on point because, unfortunately, most of the news media distorts it and twists it [the news] to their benefit, said Hamilton Campos, who attended Trumps rally Saturday. You know, they were hoping that Hillary [Clinton] was going to win and she did not.
While rallying supporters, Trump also appears to be bolstering groups eager to challenge his administration in court. U.S. civil rights organizations report a surge in donations since last months inauguration.
Mardi Benedict oversees a medical office in Fort Mohave, Arizona, where her husband, Richard, has a successful practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist. Shes a conservative activist, part of the informal movement known as the Tea Party.
I was in tears on inauguration day for the first time in eight years; happy tears, because theres been a lot of unhappy tears under President Barack Obama, Benedict said.
Watch: Arizonas Conservative Activists Look to Trump for Help
One of the reasons for tears were the small reimbursements the Benedicts medical practice received under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called Obamacare, the governments health insurance program. Sometimes Benedicts husband worked for nothing. She points to insurance company checks for zero dollars and zero cents to demonstrate her point.
The very first executive order that President Donald Trump signed on inauguration day was one directing government agencies to scale back as much of the ACA as possible.
Trump supporters in Arizona are applauding that and other Trump executive orders, from border security to illegal immigration.
Targeting Republicans in name only
Out of a small office in Phoenix, another Trump supporter, physician Kelli Ward, is running her campaign for the U.S. Senate. Ward is a former Arizona state senator who challenged U.S. Senator John McCain in the 2016 Republican primary election.
She lost a hard-fought race, but has embarked on another run, this time against Arizonas junior senator, Republican Jeff Flake. She says both McCain and Flake are Republican in name, but are not conservative or real Trump supporters on a range of important issues, such as illegal immigration.
I see the effects ... on our health care system, she said, endorsing the presidents crackdown on unauthorized migrants.
She looks to Trump to reverse the ACA, to cut taxes and to make more cautious use of the U.S. military. Her husband, Michael, has spent more than 30 years in the U.S. military, either on active duty or as a reservist.
We shouldnt be doing nation-building, she said. We shouldnt be doing expensive, endless occupations around the world.
She also believes that Trump will provide better support for military veterans than Democrats have.
Supporter: Trump is fighting
A supporter of Kelli Ward, and Donald Trump, Frank Lister of Phoenix got involved in politics because of his Catholic faith and issues like abortion, which he opposes.
Its been frustrating to a conservative that we send people to Washington and they dont really do anything, Lister said. I dont care if they lose, but they have to put up a fight. He says that Trump is fighting.
Lister opposes same-sex marriage, saying that people can do what they want, but ... redefining what marriage is, I think thats a problem.
Arizonans are divided on Trump. A recent poll shows that just more than half of the states voters from all parties oppose a key Trump promise to build a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico. Republicans support the president on that and other issues, however.
The poll did not ask about Trumps temporary ban on refugees and people from seven largely Muslim countries, an executive order placed on hold by the courts, but the Republicans who spoke with VOA strongly support it.
Still, Wards husband, physician Michael Ward, says conservatives will make a mistake if they always agree with the president.
Fears about Trump overusing his powers
And I would have liked to have seen the (travel ban) executive order roll out a little bit differently, he said. However, I support what hes trying to do. I believe that what hes doing is constitutional, within his powers. The fear is that hes going to overstep his powers, and I think that we have to be the check on that as well.
Kelli Ward says that Trump, a businessman, is doing what he needs to.
He knows how to come in and do a corporate takeover, Ward said, and really, thats what hes had to do after eight years of Obama.
The Wards welcome Trumps promise to drain the swamp of Washington politics.
There are the guys in there with all the money trying to get their way, said Michael Ward, and there are the politicians willing to listen to one lobbyist over the hundreds of thousands of people, or millions of people, that they represent.
He is hopeful that will change under the new president.
The person U.S. President Donald Trump selects to be his next national security advisor will have full authority over staffing decisions for the National Security Council (NSC), Trump's chief of staff said Sunday.
That issue over control was reportedly one reason former Navy admiral Robert Harward turned down the job last week.
"The president has said very clearly that the new director will have total and complete say over the makeup of the NSC and all of the components of the NSC," White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on FOX News Sunday.
Harward was Trump's first choice to replace Michael Flynn, who was ousted after just 24 days on the job.
Trump asked Flynn, a former Army general, to resign because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about phone conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to Washington before the new administration assumed power, the White House said.
Candidates interviewed Sunday
Trump planned to interview four candidates for the position Sunday as he spent the weekend at his lavish oceanfront Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. He was reportedly discussing the job, in person or on the phone, with acting national security adviser Keith Kellogg, a retired Army general; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army General H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, General Robert Caslen.
The White House said Sunday the president may interview additional candidates for the post Monday.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One Saturday, "many, many that want the job.'' Trump said, "I've been thinking about someone for the last three or four days. We'll see what happens. I'm meeting with that person. They're all good, they're all great people.''
Turmoil
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the turmoil surrounding the key position has made U.S. national security operations "dysfunctional."
What happens if there's a major crisis that faces this country?" Panetta said. "If Russia engages in a provocation, if Iran does something stupid, if North Korea does something stupid and we have to respond, where is the structure to be able to evaluate that threat, consider it, and provide options to the president?"
Right now, that's dysfunctional, and that's what worries me a great deal," said Panetta, who also once served as director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The students reportedly locked Vice Chancellor Gopal Chandra Misra, Controller Sanatan Das along with some professors of the Bengali Department in the Administrative building of the university.
By Manogya Loiwal : The vice chancellor of Gour Banga University in Malda district of West Bengal was held captive by the students for more than 48 hours. The students were demanding grace marks in the internal assessment examination.
All the 240 students were demanding an additional 15 grace marks to score better and avoid the red mark in the report card, which a majority of them had.
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Prosenjit Das, one of the student shared, "The results are poor every time. The students never get satisfactory results. We have complained to the controller and he said he will into the matter, however, no changes were done. Later, when two of our students went to meet the VC, the controller threatened them to reduce their marks. We want the teachers to check our papers properly."
The students reportedly locked Vice Chancellor Gopal Chandra Misra, Controller Sanatan Das along with some professors of the Bengali Department in the Administrative building of the university.
However, after the university authorities agreed to re-assess their exam papers and enquire the allegations raised against the controller, the students agreed to lift the protest and allowed the professors to leave the building.
The authorities later decided that the students won't be provided any grace marks.
Also read: Exclusive: New controversy in West Bengal over govt order to celebrate 'Nabi Diwas' in libraries
Javed Alam, another 3rd year student of the department said, "The controller didnt fulfill his promise. He promised that we will give 15 grace marks, however, he is refusing that he made nay such promise. Also when we went to speak with the VC, the controller misbehaved with us and threatened us with dire consequences. So, we want him to resign."
It was after series of prodding and discussions that the students allowed the VC and professors to move out of the building.
After the students freed the professors, VC Misra called the demands of the students as absurd.
Commenting on the demands, the VC said, "The students of Malda and Balurghat colleges demanded their internal assessment marks to be enhanced. I have already asked the Controller of Examination to arrange for reassessment and the reassessment is already completed. The results will be published on February 20. All of their demands have been fulfilled. But in spite of that, yesterday the students demanded that we should give them written assurance that their assessment marks will be enhanced by at least 15 marks. It is an absurd demand on their part. Fulfilling such absurd demand won't be possible. They have continued their sitting demonstration till date. We are always with them and don't want to leave them alone. Me, my teachers and my officers are here with them. I hope they would realise that their demands are completely invalid."
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The students of Gour Banga University finally agreed to lift their gherao on Sunday, which continued for more than 48 hours.
(With inputs from Bhaskar Roy)
Also read: Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passes away in Kolkata
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Islamic State (IS) fighters have reportedly retaken several strategic positions in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab amid fierce clashes with Turkish-backed rebels who are trying to oust the group from the town.
Despite intensive Turkish airstrikes on the besieged town, IS managed to wage a surprise attack on incoming Syrian rebels and Turkish troops, forcing them to retreat from at least three districts in the northern part of al-Bab, local media reports said.
Al-Bab is the last main stronghold for IS in Aleppo province, said Sadradeen Kinno, a Syrian researcher who closely follows IS activities in the country.
They [IS militants] have brought large military reinforcement into the town to fight Turkish forces who have no experience in urban warfare, he told VOA.
IS has held thousands of civilians inside the city, hoping to use them as human shields to slow the advances of rebel forces and their Turkish allies, local groups reported.
At least 45 civilians were killed in recent Turkish shelling and airstrikes on al-Bab, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that has researchers across the country.
Recent attacks by IS came after the Turkish military said it was near victory in their months-long offensive to push IS fighters out of al-Bab, which has been under militant control for more than two years now.
Turkish military and [the rebel group] Free Syrian Army have taken control of most of the town, the Turkish military said in a statement released Friday.
Turkish officials said their goal after removing IS fighters from al-Bab is to go after them in their de facto capital of Raqqa.
After [al-Bab] there is one more target left and that is Raqqa, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Arabiya channel.
But analysts say that it would be difficult for Turkey to conduct an operation on Raqqa alone, given the complicated political dynamics on the Raqqa front.
Turkey may take part in a coalition operation, but it will not go there alone, said Metehan Demir, a Turkish military affairs analyst.
Meanwhile U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition has made significant advances on IS near Raqqa, seizing tens of towns and villages in the north and western parts of the province.
Turkeys relationship with SDF could potentially make things complicated should Turkey choose to wage operations on Raqqa in the future.
Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG, the main element of the SDF, as a terrorist organization and fears that Kurdish military gains in northern Syria will empower the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that is engaged in a bloody war against government forces in Turkey.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, assured his Turkish counterpart General Hulusi Akar on Friday at NATO's Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey the United States is considerate of Turkeys concerns and that it chooses Kurdish fighters with care when lending its support to rebels fighting Islamic State.
But Turkey continues to claim that U.S is actively supporting YPG which Turkey views as an ally of the outlawed PKK. Both the United States and Turkey view PKK as a terrorist organization.
The U.N. Syria envoy says he hopes to take advantage of a new momentum during the upcoming round of U.N.-led talks involving the al-Assad government and rebel representatives this week in Geneva.
Staffan de Mistura said the outcome of the conversation will essentially depend on the U.S. position.
The big question mark is where is the U.S. in all this?" he asked during a forum at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
World leaders, diplomats and defense officials have been meeting at the Munich Security Conference during the weekend.
Mistura said any political solution has to be inclusive to be credible to end the six-year conflict in Syria.
We have to push for momentum. ... Even a cease-fire with two guarantors cant hold too long if there is no political horizon, he said referring to the truce mediated by Turkey and Russia in December.
While Mistura questioned U.S. President Donald Trump's engagement in solving the Syrian war, Brett McGurk, a State Department diplomat said people will be disappointed if they envision the U.S. abruptly choosing a new tool in the toolkit.
I don't think the U.S. will come in with a one-size-fits-all solution, because there isn't one, McGurk said.
Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah said the opposition is fully committed and prepared to negotiate a political solution ... we have a glimmer of hope.''
McGurk said the Trump's administration is "re-looking at everything, which is a very healthy process from top to bottom."
"We will be very selfish about protecting and advancing our interests," he said.
Before Trump became president, the previous administration insisted President Bashar al-Assad had to leave power, a position contrary to what Russia believes as Moscow backs the Syrian leader.
Trump, however, has called for a more engaging cooperation with Russia to fight IS in Syria and Iraq, which leaves the Assad question open.
Anas al-Abdeh, head of the opposition National Coalition, said the question over Assad's future is a clear barrier for long-standing peace talks.
As long as Assad remains in power," no solution can be found, he told at the Munich forum.
Previous efforts, which have involved indirect negotiations mediated by the U.N. envoy for Syria, resulted in little progress to resolve a war that began as peaceful protests against Assad before spiraling into a multi-party conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died since March 2011, and according to the United Nations nearly five million people have fled the country while another six million are displaced within Syria.
Controversy is surrounding Fridays meeting between U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama, and new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
The controversy is not so much about the meeting but what happened during the photo opportunity when Schwartz gave Farmajo a hat bearing a slogan that appears to be derived from President Donald Trumps campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.
After the meeting, the Twitter account of the U.S. Mission tweeted about the meeting posting a message that read, US2SOM Amb Schwartz had a fruitful mtng w Pres Farmaajo 2day + presented the Pres with a cap MAKE SOM GREAT AGAIN. The photo attached with the message shows the two men shaking hands and holding the hat.
Most Twitter users thought the gift was a diplomatic misstep; others were harsher and said the action was out of order.
Safia Ahmed tweeted to Schwartz that Somalia does not need to import slogans.
Twitter user Hassan Abdi expressed his displeasure in a more blunt form, saying the ambassador had a disgusting sense of humor.
Others thought the timing for such a message was inappropriate because of Trumps recent immigration travel ban that affected seven Muslim-majority nations, including Somalia.
Joshua Busby, an associate professor of public affairs at the University of Texas-Austin, tweeted the exchange was embarrassing.
Laura Hammond, a scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, tweeted that she had mixed feelings about the exchange, saying the sentiment behind the gift was OK, but the association with Trumps platform was unfortunate.
Others were somewhat kinder.
Mohamed Ali tweeted that he hoped the intentions were different that many others had thought and pleaded with others on Twitter that the ambassadors tweet should not be taken out of context.
The Somali newsroom, a blog about the Horn of Africa, noted that the two officials could have sent a different message after the meeting. The blog noted the two could have sent a message of unity, highlighting the fact Ambassador Schwartz was born in Buffalo, New York, while President Farmajo had lived there for years, until he recently became president.
The hat was presented in the colors of the Somali flag: blue and white represent the colors of the Somali flag.
Some on Twitter thought the ambassadors intention may have been to make the point that Somalia used to be a great country and deserves to be great again.
Somalia had some positive historical moments before the collapse of the state in 1991.
In June 1967, Somalia became the first African country where a peaceful transfer of power took place when incumbent Aden Abdulle Osman handed over power to Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who defeated him in a democratic election.
In 1975, Somalia won the UNESCO literacy medal after a three-year campaign in which the Somali language script was written, and reading and writing skills were improved throughout the country.
One Twitter user, Mohamed Jama, said the message on the hat doesnt matter as much as what Farmajo does now that he has overwhelming public support following his election.
Farmajo is expected to present his vision for governing Somalia on Wednesday, when he is inaugurated.
The United States says it is disturbed by Russia's decision to recognize passports and other documents issued by rebel authorities in eastern Ukraine.
The recognition, in an order signed by President Vladimir Putin that was announced Saturday, "is alarming and contradicts the agreed-upon goals of the Minsk Agreement," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said Sunday on Twitter, referring to a two-year-old agreement on ending the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Russia was a signatory of the agreement.
More than 9,800 people have been killed in fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
President Donald Trump's repeated statements on improving relations with Russia had led to speculation that Washington would soften its stance on Russia's interference in Ukraine.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp on Sunday, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during World War II.
Pence was joined by his wife, Karen Pence, and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich.
The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought iron gate bearing the inscription, "Arbeit macht frei," or `"Work sets you free." The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the center of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium.
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camp's grounds.
More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau, and more than 40,000 prisoners died there. The camp was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945.
Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Dachau during a trip to Germany in 2015.
Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.
Pence was traveling to Brussels later Sunday for meetings on Monday with NATO and European Union officials.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says he is looking "very much forward" to his talks Monday with European Union and NATO leaders.
Pence is on his first trip to Europe since taking office, intending to reassure allies the United States remains a staunch friend amid concerns about the new administration's "America First" strategy.
The vice president's schedule includes meetings with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, EU Council President Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Mogherini said after meeting U.S. officials in Washington last week that maintaining multilateral sanctions on Russia, keeping the Iran nuclear agreement in place and addressing the refugee crisis are issues the EU would like to collaborate on with the U.S. EU officials will also likely seek clarity on Trump's prediction last month in two European newspaper interviews that other countries would follow Britain and leave the alliance.
In the afternoon, Pence meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to close his European trip.
He expressed support for NATO at the alliance's security conference Saturday in Munich, adding reassurances after Trump's campaign statements describing NATO as "obsolete."
"The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance," Pence said in his first major foreign policy address for the new administration.
Pence, his wife, Karen, and daughter Charlotte visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial early Sunday. The camp was established by the Nazi government in 1933 near Munich.
The Pence family paid tribute to the International Memorial at the center of camp, placing a wreath. They also visited a Jewish memorial and a Catholic memorial on the grounds, toured the barracks, a crematorium, and a gas chamber.
Pence acknowledged his extremely busy schedule during a surprise meeting in Munich Saturday with rock band U2 frontman Bono. After Pence thanked Bono for "the chance to get together," Bono said, "You're the second busiest man on earth, so we really do appreciate it," as onlookers laughed.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) Former Chief Justice of India T S Thakur once agreed to fast-track the hearing of a case, after he overheard the lawyer in question alluding to one of Ghalibs couplets during the court proceedings.
"I was hearing a case in the Delhi High court and the lawyer was praying for a short date. I said that my calendar did not permit that and adjourned the matter for six months.
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"While leaving the court room, I overheard the lawyer mumbling Ghalibs aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar hone tak/ kaun jiitaa hai tirii zulf ke sar hone tak (A lifetime passes before a sigh shows its effects/ Who would wait so long to see you fixing the tangles in your hair). I asked if he could recite the whole poem. He did. And I ordered the matter to be listed for next week," Thakur said, expressing his love for Urdu at the ongoing Jashn-e-Rekhta festival.
Talking about the power of expression of Urdu as a language, the jurist said if a picture was worth a thousand words, a couplet in the language was worth "two thousand words", and that many such couplets could be used by lawyers to communicate better in the courtroom.
"In courts they say that a lawyer should know his judge. This does not mean that you have to bribe your judge. Instead you should know his intellectual tastes.
"Knowing Ghalib and other Urdu poets is of great help on such occasions. But you cant recite an illogical couplet either. The lines should be able to formulate your point," he said.
Although well versed in the language, Thakur who unlike his fellow jurists has never had an opportunity to use an Urdu couplet during his 23-year-long legal career, rued that "a good couplet complementing his judgement has eluded him everytime".
Having served both as a judge and a lawyer in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that uses Urdu as its official language, Thakur said the initiative to promote the language should begin early at the school level.
"During my growing up years in Jammu, I was the only student in my class who knew Urdu. My parents were adamant that I learn the language. And I am glad that I did," he said.
The session was also attended by politician Salman Khurshid, Justice Aftab Alam and eminent legal scholar Tahir Mahmood. PTI MG TRS TRS
--- ENDS ---
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Following his speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Vice-President Mike Pence met with U2 front man and noted Donald Trump hater Bono for a short, friendly discussion regarding the presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The initiative which helps save the lives of those suffering from the disease on a global level had been advocated by Pence when he was still the governor of Indiana. Twice on the House floor you defended that, Bono told Pence after some customary small-talk. Thats how we know you. And we really appreciate it. Pence responded: It was an extraordinary historic accomplishment and you played a leading role in carrying it forward. No spectacle here.
Bono meets Vice President Mike Pence in Munich: "You're the second busiest man on earth." https://t.co/RgGAioQJyG pic.twitter.com/xB7ZFi1A4t ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 18, 2017
Photo: Santiago Felipe/Redferns
Queer rapper, poet, and performance artist Mykki Blanco was reportedly subject to a bizarre homophobic incident on Friday when traveling from Toronto to Detroit on a Delta Airlines flight. Jezebel reports that upon landing in Michigan, Blanco was awoken by a police officer; a seatmate had called the authorities to express concern over sitting beside Blanco on the short flight. I just took a flight from Toronto to Detroit, Michigan and when I woke up the gentlemen sitting next to me had the police called, Blanco explained on Twitter. He said that he was not comfortable and did not know how @Delta allowed someone like me to board the plane with him and sit next to him. This is REAL @Delta.
In an even stranger turn, the police officer allegedly sided with the passenger and threatened Blanco with jail time and FBI action if uncooperative. Then I was told by a police officer that an FBI report would be made from our interaction, except I did not interact, Blanco continued. I was told I would go to jail if I continued to ask questions about why this police officer was giving preferential treatment to this man. I was then told I could file a report myself and give my side of the story but the entire incident itself is fabricated. This is the most bizarre form of homophobia I have ever encountered. Delta promptly reached out to Blanco over Twitter to extend its apologies, ask for more information, and stress that discrimination of any kind isnt tolerated on flights. Since Friday, Blanco relayed an additional message to Delta, hoping that the company can come forward to provide proof that I slept through the entire flight.
Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US will not, in fact, be divided much longer. Shia LaBeoufs antiDonald Trump half-livestream, half-performance-art-project will permanently move to the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a week after it was shut down over public-safety concerns at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. (It culminated in LaBeouf getting arrested for allegedly assaulting someone at the exhibition site.) LaBeouf and his collaborators, Ronkko & Turner, announced the cross-country move on their website, using the majority of their statement to harshly criticize the original museum for abandoning their project. Their evident lack of commitment to the project is damning, the statement reads. From the outset, the museum failed to address our concerns about the misleading framing of our piece as a political rally, rather than as a participatory performance artwork resisting the normalization of division. In fact, the museum demonstrated a spectacular lack of judgement.
LaBeouf claims that all of his attempts to curb hate speech and violence at the exhibit were neither acknowledged nor acted upon by the museum in any way. It is our understanding that the museum bowed to political pressure in ceasing their involvement with our project, the statement continues. It is clear, therefore, that the Museum of the Moving Image is not fit to speak of our intent as artists. HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US launched on Inauguration Day, and, if LaBeouf gets his way, will continue for the next four years in Albuquerque undisturbed. Its open to anyone to visit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You mightve ordered yourself a plate of celebratory cheesecakes upon hearing the news that The Golden Girls would be arriving on Hulu this month, but that cheesecake-eating experience has just become a whole lot more authentic. Rue La Rue Cafe, which celebrates the beloved 1980s sitcom with a particular focus on Rue McClanahan, officially opened its doors this week in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Though the cafe offers an array of foods and beverages (look at those coffee sleeves!), the real appeal comes with the extensive decor that would make any fan of the series swoon treasures from McClanahans estate include her 1987 Emmy award for Lead Actress and numerous mannequins draped in the dresses she wore on the show. Additionally, the cafes bathroom is outfitted to recreate the shows distinctive pink-and-mint tiles, and a few walls are covered in the exact banana-leaf wallpaper that McClanahans character, Blanche, had in her bedroom. Thank you for being a friend to the GG community, Rue La Rue.
Growth of modern industrialized economies has been fueled by fossil fuel energy and as such, consumption of fossil fuels is endemic in these economies and becoming increasingly so in developing nations. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists are now convinced, however, based upon the evidence, that human-caused climate change predominantly attributable to the burning of fossil fuels is occurring. And based on the overwhelming body of scientific evidence that exists, a consensus has also formed that climate change is a serious threat that must be addressed for the planet as humans have known it. This consensus position is not held just by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and every national academy of science in the world, but also by ExxonMobil, the U.S. Department of Defense, Citigroup and the pope. As the largest historical contributor of human generated greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, the U.S. bears a commensurate responsibility to mitigate ongoing GHG emissions, if not to rectify the existing atmospheric imbalance. Yet to date, even with the recent Paris climate agreement notwithstanding, Congress has been the single largest obstruction to meaningful action to address emissions, regardless of which party is in control. Congressional inaction is often and reasonably attributed to the lobbying influence of fossil fuel interests. But principled, if misguided, resistance from certain politicians and constituencies is also rooted in the perception that climate action represents an infringement on national sovereignty, market capitalism, individual freedoms, or all of the above. Fortunately for the planet there is a solution that addresses these concerns, and would also mitigate carbon dioxide emissions through a pro-growth, market-based approach.
Economists and scientists who have looked at the issue in depth recognize that the single most effective policy for achieving the market transformation required for reducing US carbon dioxide emissions would be a carbon tax levied at the point where fossil fuels enter the market. If made revenue-neutral, such a tax can be progressive, not harmful to the economy, and not result in a growth in government. A border adjustment levied on goods entering the economy from countries that have not adopted an equivalent tax would level the economic playing field for domestic manufacturers and encourage our trade partners to adopt similar policies, thus lowering global emissions.
Furthermore, by not picking winners and losers in the energy space, and avoiding the more intrusive burden of government regulation, the market-based aspect of a revenue-neutral carbon tax has the added attribute of the potential for bi-partisan political support, as evidenced by the support voiced by Ronald Reagans former Secretary of State George Schultz and conservative economist Greg Mankiw, among many others.
In response to the climate crisis we face our leaders must not continue to merely say no to climate policies proposed by others, or to hope, as we have for decades, for an unforeseeable technological breakthrough that will render fossil fuels uneconomical. We ask that our representatives in Congress act responsibly and introduce or support a revenue-neutral carbon tax in the next session of Congress. An example is a carbon fee-and-dividend bill such as that advocated by the Citizens Climate Lobby.
The following members of Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry signed this column: Cornelius B. Murphy Jr. Ph.D., senior fellow for Environmental and Sustainable Systems and past president of SUNY-ESF; Theodore Endreny, Ph.D., P.H., P.E., chair of SUNY-ESF Department of Environmental Resources Engineering; David Driesen, university professor, Syracuse University College of Law; Charles Driscoll, Ph.D., university professor of Environmental Systems Engineering and distinguished professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University; Peter J. Wilcoxen, Ph.D., professor of economics and public administration and director Maxwell School Center for Environmental Policy and Administration, Syracuse University; Sarah Pralle, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, Syracuse University; Gary Witt, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance practice, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University; Chris E. Johnson, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering, Syracuse University; Michael Kelleher, senior research associate of forest and natural resource management, SUNY ESF; Tristen R. Brown, Tristan R. Brown, Ph.D., J.D., assistant professor, Energy Resources Economics, Forest and Natural Resources Management at Department SUNY ESF; Myron J. Mitchell, Ph.D., distinguished professor emeritus, Department of Environmental Resource Engineering, SUNY ESF.
About Me
Name: Carl in Jerusalem Location: Jerusalem, Israel
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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Ken Dishon with CTWP has been designated as the best technician in the United States by Kyocera at its 2016 Service Award National Competition.
Dishon competed against the best technicians from each of the national regions.
The competition began with an online test of his knowledge of Kyocera products, networking and color theory. His score was in the top five in the Southwest Region of more than 500 people who took the test in the U.S. to earn a spot in the Southwest Region Service Award semifinals.
At that level was a written test further testing mastery of the subjects in the online test as well as hands-on troubleshooting and an interview portion.
After winning the region semifinal competition, Dishon reached the finals held at Kyoceras national training center. The competition was the same format as the semifinals but the test and troubleshooting problems were more difficult.
Dishon won a cash prize as well as an all-expenses-paid, first-class trip this May along with the winners from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Latin America, Australia and several winners from Europe.
The trip will start in Vietnam to visit the newest Kyocera factory. From there they travel to Japan to visit Kyocera corporate headquarters, Kyocera Document Solutions headquarters cultural sites and places of interest.
Every February, our nation pauses to consider the importance of African-American history. As part of this commemoration, Baylor University holds programs to help students learn more about black history. But we should also be reminded that Baylor has not always lived up to its Christian ideals.
Baylor was founded in 1845 by devout Christians such as Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe (R.E.B.) Baylor who, like many of his time, believed slavery was a god-ordained reality. The judge initially owned two slaves to work his small farm and, according to tax records, by 1860 he owned at least 20 slaves valued at more than $18,000.
In his role as a judge, he once punished an abolitionist harboring an escaped slave. Another man was punished for not returning a borrowed slave promptly. In 1854, Judge Baylor sentenced a slave to hang for arson. That year he assumed leadership of the Texas Know-Nothing Party, dedicated to making Texas pure by keeping out foreigners and Catholics. In 1856, he ordered the execution of yet another slave. In 1857, he levied a heavy fine on a white person who bought some bacon from a slave. And in 1862, as the Civil War raged, he ordered the execution of a slave for intent to rape a white female.
Yet his Christian faith led Judge Baylor to encourage Sunday services for his slaves.
Today these conflicting actions strike many of us as un-Christian. But Judge Baylor was not alone in his thinking. Eleven of Baylors first 15 trustees were slave holders. All of the universitys first buildings (in the community of Independence, 112 miles south of Waco, site of Baylor Universitys first 41 years) were built by slave labor.
At the start of the Civil War, 151 male students, along with many faculty members, enlisted in the Confederate Army. Males who didnt enlist were given military training on campus, which became a staging facility for transitioning soldiers. During the war, Baylors president, William Carey Crane, declared: I would make no terms with the Yankees. We have no right to free our slaves. God has placed them in their present condition for the African race and it is our duty to contend for it to the bitter end.
Disabled soldiers and children of the fallen were granted free tuition as a way for the university to show further support for the Confederacy.
After the war, Judge Baylor supported the Baptist State Conventions motion accepting Negroes as good and loyal citizens, and as a body of Christians. But as the Jim Crow era took root, the judge feared Texas was being overrun by a negro militia. In 1866 he wrote that because of indolent habits the free Negroes will not do work with a few exceptions. Do not misunderstand me, I do not mean the Negro must be made a slave again to compel him to work. I simply mean he must be forced to work in some way, otherwise they will become vagabonds.
Though the first African student attended Baylor in 1921, it was not till 1964 that the first African-American student was enrolled.
Baylor has come a long way since 1845, hosting an increasingly diverse student body while many members of the Baylor family continue to chart an even brighter future of inclusivity. While nothing is gained from festering over the racist blind-spots of our founding fathers, neither should we ignore our painful history. It should serve as a reminder of how our academic and faith communities have progressed over time and how they continue to move toward even greater justice and inclusion.
A. Christian van Gorder teaches world religions at Baylor.
I like to walk, and I like downtown, so when I discovered the book Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, by Jeff Speck, I picked it up.
I mentioned it on Facebook to see if I could rope a few folks into reading it with me. Soon we had about 20 people signed up for a book discussion. It was such a great conversation that a handful of us decided to keep meeting. We have adopted the name Waco Walks. Now were even getting T-shirts!
Our merry group has decided that we want to get out and walk together once a month. Our intention is to get a little exercise, enjoy one aothers company and see what we can learn and do about making Waco into a community that walks.
Our last walk was Feb. 11. We walked from the fine arts building at Baylor University down University Parks Avenue to Washington, then across to Sixth Street, before jig-jagging to Fifth Street to cross back under I-35 to return to Baylor. Think about all the neat stuff you get to see on that route: the Martin Museum of Art, Mayborn Museum, First Street Cemetery, Waco Downtown Farmers Market, the food trucks, Suspension Bridge, the longhorn statues, courthouse, the soon-to-open Mary Avenue Market, the lofts in the old Gradel Printing building, the Silos, First Baptist Church, the Bear habitat, the beautiful new Baylor fountain in the middle of Fifth street . . . well, its really a terrific 3.5 mile loop!
So why isnt it more popular for walkers? Well, there are lots of fun things to ponder along the way, but theyre not connected together all that well. There are big empty parking lots and dull or boarded-up buildings in between cool things. There are long stretches of really nice sidewalk, but theyre occasionally punctuated with unfortunate patches of badly broken sidewalk and places where you have to walk in the grass or in the street.
Baylor and downtown arent too far away from each other to walk, but I-35 is a psychological barrier and the underpasses, while technically walkable and safe enough, are a little intimidating and not very inviting. How do we go about overcoming some of these challenges and maximizing the benefits of the great pieces we have?
Enter one of the things I love most about Waco: our awesome city employees. We invited Clint Peters and Chelsea Phlegar from the city of Waco Planning Office to come with us on our walk. They willingly took time away from their own Saturday morning plans to walk with us and educate us about possibilities for making the area more walker-friendly. They even brought handouts!
It was exciting to hear about upcoming plans for better sidewalks up and down University Parks and on Sixth Street, and new hotels and apartments with first-floor retail and public space for pedestrians to peek into and enjoy. We dreamed together about the possibilities for developing the parking lot and current tele-bank area between the courthouse and Austin Avenue into a walkable city square similar to those enlivening Georgetown and Denton. We talked about the pros and cons of one-way and two-way streets and how they affect walkability and storefront development. We talked about the culture changes needed so that people are willing to walk a couple of blocks instead of parking directly in front of their downtown destinations.
My main take-aways? First, all kinds of terrific ideas and possibilities for making downtown more walkable and interesting exist. We need to educate ourselves about what it takes to implement those ideas. Second, there are an awful lot of good things going on right now. If we took this exact walk again in six months, we would see lots of new developments moving us toward the goal of an ever more interesting and walkable downtown.Exciting times!
Interested in making Waco a community of walkers? Check the Waco Walks Facebook page for info about upcoming meetings and walks. And Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to noon, Baylor Continuing Ed is offering a class called Waco 101: How to Grow a Downtown. Well learn about downtown development from Megan Henderson of City Center Waco, then well take a brief walking tour of downtown led by local developer Shane Turner. Well cap it off with a question-and-answer session with Megan, Shane and City Councilman Dillon Meek. It costs $10. Register online at https://www1.baylor.edu. See you there!
Civic leader Ashley Bean Thornton is a Baylor University administrator.
President Donald Trumps attack on the federal judiciary a week ago came off to many as just the latest in his pattern of insults du jour, lobbed against anyone daring to defy the White Houses designs. The outcry, from congressional Democrats, law professors and even, if Sen. Richard Blumenthal is to be believed, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, was predictable. Gorsuch reportedly called the presidents remarks demoralizing and disheartening.
Underlying the ritual furor, though, is a set of deeper concerns. Constitutional experts worry that the presidents comments reveal an authoritarian chief executive who may prove unwilling to be checked or balanced by the judiciary. By scorning norms of comity and respect for a coequal branch of government, Trumps comments also strike at the bedrock of Americas global leadership, which is grounded in the rule of law.
By disrespecting the court and spurning the authoritativeness of judicial interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, Trump has cast doubt on whether he will willingly submit to limitations on his power. For a nation that since World War II has argued that power should always be conferred and confined by law, Trumps latest remarks are damaging not just at home but around the world.
The president has said the following about the courts and judiciary over recent weeks in the context of two unfavorable rulings on his immigration ban: He called Seattle-based District Judge James Robart a so-called judge and dubbed his opinion in the immigration case ridiculous. He then tweeted that the judges terrible decision would be to blame if very bad and dangerous people poured into the country. He commented that even a bad high school student would understand that he, Trump, has the authority to limit entry to the United States. And ahead of a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, he remarked: 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. Politics! The president called the 9th Circuits judicial proceedings disgraceful and described the courts as so political. In the wake of his insults, threats from Trump supporters directed at the judges involved in the case have led federal authorities to provide them with round-the-clock security protection.
Insulting courts is not the same as dissing, say, Nordstrom, Chicago, Mexico, BuzzFeed, the New York Times, or CNN. No matter how ill-considered and damaging, those aspersions are unquestionably protected by the First Amendment and comparable international legal protections. But the law treats certain types of invective toward the judiciary differently, recognizing that speech can dangerously undermine a branch of government whose authority vests in proceedings, opinions and orders rather than in force. The judiciary can overturn the actions of Congress or the president, yet must rely on enforcement powers controlled by the other branches to put its judgments into effect. That intricate interdependence is at the core of the rule of law, and the system has laws in place to insulate against efforts to subvert it.
In the United States, insult and defiance toward the court are addressed by laws of contempt, which can punish disrespectful and insulting comments made in a courtroom setting. The American Bar Association (ABA) has defined criminal contempt to include any conduct, verbal or non-verbal, that embarrasses or obstructs the court, derogates from the courts authority or dignity, [or] brings the administration of justice into disrepute.
While the First Amendment has led U.S. courts to be more circumspect than those in Europe about punishing contempt of court that occurs out of a judges earshot, that, too, may qualify as contempt depending on the circumstances. Just last month, a New Orleans prosecutor was brought up on contempt charges for insolent, inappropriate and disrespectful text messages directed toward a judge.
While no one has dared propose that Trump be held in contempt, were he not the president of the United States it is conceivable that one of the judges whom he has insulted could pursue a contempt order, which can lead to fines or jail time, in response to his statements indeed, experts have begun to debate whether and how a court judgment might be enforced against him. (Though of course, when contempt occurs out of earshot of the court, the accused is entitled to notice and a chance to defend himself.)
Around the world, attacks by political leaders against the judiciary are treated as a serious incursion on the rule of law and a reflection of weakness in democratic systems. In 2015, South Africas chief justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, took the matter head on, scheduling a meeting with President Jacob Zuma to discuss attacks by top African National Congress officials accusing provincial courts of being biased against the government and taking bribes. We want to meet with President Jacob Zuma over unfair attacks on the courts. Judges are open to criticism, but it should be fair, specific. General, gratuitous criticism is unacceptable, he stressed. Just last month, the prime minister of Guyana, Moses Nagamootoo, publicly scolded his own attorney general and minister of legal affairs for attacking the judiciary over a pending case testing presidential term limits, saying: Our government does not encourage attacks on the legislature and the judiciary. It is not governments policy or decision to besmirch the character of any judicial officer. Of note, in both cases the criticisms against the judiciary came from lower-ranked officials, making it possible for the head of state to step in and reject them. Not so when it comes to President Trump.
Trumps comments have not gone unnoticed around the world. The chair of Irelands bar council dubbed them sinister, commenting that we have an executive head of state attacking judges who are required to act independently without fear or favor because he disagrees with their interpretation of the law. Martin Solc, the president of the International Bar Association, representing 190 bar associations in 160 countries, said: The rule of law, the centuries-old legal principle that law should govern a nation, is something that is being chipped away at each time President Trump publicly attacks and disrespects a judge.
For the U.S. president to be accused on the international stage of so brazenly undercutting the rule of law threatens the countrys credibility as a promoter of legal norms around the world. In 2006, the ABA launched its World Justice Project, aiming to establish a broadly accepted definition for the rule of law globally. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have invested billions of dollars to strengthen the rule of law around the world, including more than $1 billion to build the judicial, corrections, and legal systems in Afghanistan. The premise behind these investments is that rule of law is the best defense to prevent countries from descending into bloodshed and corruption. Embassies around the world have rule of law advisors who work to build the legitimacy and expertise of local lawyers, judges, and lawmakers. All of this effort rests on the notion that, despite serious flaws, the American system of government and legal rule is among the worlds strongest and most stable. Whether American advisers can still, with a straight face, counsel international counterparts on respect for the judiciary in the face of Trumps remarks remains to be seen.
Rule of law as an underpinning of American power globally goes beyond international development, human rights or nation-building efforts. Allies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere want the friendship and protection of a powerful Washington because they trust the United States to uphold international norms that preserve their sovereignty and autonomy. The same cannot be said of Russia and China, whose assertions of power are generally greeted more warily. If the United States can no longer be trusted to be rule-bound at home, others will expect the same to be true abroad. Trumps comments about dismissing treaties and international instruments compound the problem.
The premise of rule of law is that rules and their means of enforcement must be stronger than the ability of any single individual, even a head of state, to thwart them. Rule of law was designed precisely to deal with the problem of Donald Trump: a ruler who would arrogate to himself an unfettered ability to remake society according to his will. The decision rendered by the 9th Circuit thus provides an important measure of assurance. At least for now Trump is being checked, like it or not.
But rule of law is not inviolable. If Trump can convince a significant portion of Americans that judges and the law dont merit respect, courts will find it harder to stop him. Already some customs officers have reportedly defied court orders in implementing the immigration ban. It is essential that standard-bearers for the rule of law unite and visibly resist the presidents incursions on the legitimacy of the judiciary.
The most worrying silence has come from those members of Congress who have failed to forcefully defend a coequal branch of government. This is both morally and strategically shortsighted. For now the president is going after the courts; but attacks on the credibility of Congress cannot be far behind.
For its part, the ABA, after a rocky start that involved pulling a report that warned of Trumps potential to become a libel bully, is beginning to find its voice in the Trump era. While the associations president criticized Trumps remarks about Judge Robart, the body should go further in uniting the legal profession across party lines to condemn attacks on judges and courts. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts serves as chairman of the Judicial Conference, a highly influential body charged with promoting the role and needs of the federal judiciary.
While avoiding partisanship, Roberts, in his role as chief justice, should use his authority to condemn statements and attitudes that threaten the legal system he oversees. His predecessor, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, did just that in 1996 when both the White House and Sen. Bob Dole suggested that a federal trial judge be impeached for leniency on drug cases. In a speech at American University, Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered a stirring defense of judicial independence that silenced talk of retaliation against the judge.
The U.S. system of rule of law is being shock-tested by a president who does not believe the rules should apply to him. It falls to Congress, the legal profession, and the judiciary itself to prove that our system of government is stronger than the will of any one man. If that doesnt prove true here in the United States, its hard to imagine it will continue to mean anything anywhere else.
Suzanne Nossel is executive director of the Pen American Center .
Keep us safe!
I do understand the economic frustrations of Trump voters. As a Hillary voter, I had hoped that Donald Trump, a reality TV personality and the king of business bankruptcies, would grow into the job of governing the most important nation in the world. Within the first several weeks of a Trump administration, we now see the scandalous antipathy Trump and his people have shown to our national security.
Thank heavens his national security adviser, Michael Flynn has resigned. Fired by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in 2014, Flynn apparently sought a more sympathetic audience with Moscow. For example, in 2015, Flynn was paid for speaking on RT (a Russian government network) and sat beside Vladimir Putin. He resigned Trumps security council some weeks after U.S. national security officials (including Clapper and James Brennan) informed the White House that Flynn had held five phone calls with the Russian ambassador the day President Obama issued more sanctions on Russia for 2016 election interference. The White House sat on that warning for weeks.
Of course, Trump has his own interest in Moscow. In 2008, Don Trump, the elder son, boasted that Russian financiers were the familys best bankers. Trump himself worked with Russia to invest in a Trump Tower in Moscow. He brought the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013, where he hoped Putin would attend. During that time in Moscow, he met with Russian oligarchs willing to make money with him. Is it only Democratics disturbed by Trumps admiration for Putin?
In addition to Flynn, our national security agencies are also looking into former advisors Paul Manafort, Carter Page and Roger Stone. Shouldnt real American patriots be frightened that part of the Trump team is investigated for ties to Russia?
The latest example of Trumps indifference to our national security is found in how he was briefed on North Koreas ballistic missile launch. Dining with Japanese president Shinzo Abe at an open restaurant in Trumps Mar-A-Lago resort, advisers huddled with Trump in clear view of patrons and waitstaff. A Trump supporter even posted pictures on Facebook of the event. My brother, a retired National Security Agency analyst, said this open briefing was a horrifying breach of security protocol.
Now is the time for all of us to call our senators and representatives, demanding a full investigation of Trump, his staff, Russian ties and his inattention to our national security. Republicans and Democrats alike have a civic duty to keep our democracy safe.
Cheryl D. Bohde, Waco
President Trump had a lot to say at his long-awaited news conference Thursday. His performance characteristically rich in calculated provocations, bizarre asides and even the occasional bit of genuine news generated enough material to keep the press corps occupied for weeks.
As is so often the case with Trump, however, the most significant thing may be what he chose not to say.
In the nearly 14,000 words of the news-conference transcript, Trump never mentioned the words freedom or democracy. This is merely the latest installment in a well-established pattern. Throughout his election campaign he was strikingly reluctant to invoke Americas higher ideals, choosing to dwell instead on what he sees as the dismal state of the country.
His 1,439-word inauguration speech will be remembered for his startling use of the word carnage to characterize the countrys current state and rightfully so, since the text dwelt so lustfully on claims of national decay. Trump made only one distinctly pat reference to freedom (we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag). Democracy, values or ideals never came up.
Trump evinces a striking lack of faith in American institutions. His unusually harsh rhetoric about the courts, his congressional opponents, protesters and the news media betrays little appreciation for the complexities of an open society. He has a dismal view of the nations moral stature.
I think right now when it comes to civil liberties, our country has a lot of problems, and 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 declared in an interview with the New York Times. And when Bill OReilly of Fox News recently pressed the president on his fondness for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom OReilly described as a killer, Trump responded: There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. Well, you think our country is so innocent?
Such remarks might have passed as a refreshingly frank commentary on Americas failures to live up to its own standards were it not for the fact that Trump is quick to absolve dictators of their sins. On some fundamental level he just doesnt seem to care. He has repeatedly lavished praise on autocrats such as Putin (hes been a leader far more than our president has been), Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan (I do give great credit to him for turning [the 2016 coup attempt] around), and Egypts Abdel Fattah al-Sissi (hes a fantastic guy). Rarely in recent U.S. history has a president found so much to praise in those who deserve it least. In an earlier age the American public would have savaged him for his lazy embrace of moral relativism. Now we just let it slide.
Trumps willingness to give a pass to dictators has huge implications for the world. For generations, U.S. foreign policy has been predicated on the notion that the spread of liberal democracy and open societies is not only a morally desirable end but also crucial to national security. That was the motive for our struggles against Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan during World War II and the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
The recent revival of authoritarianism has placed democratic institutions around the globe under threat, posing a huge challenge to the current order. Yet the president conveys the impression that the United States should no longer be concerned about defending liberal values anywhere perhaps not even at home.
Yes, its certainly true that U.S. policymakers have often failed to observe these standards when they conflicted with other national interests (see Saudi Arabia). Yet for all its shortcomings, American support for the ideals of the open society is one of the reasons why the number of democracies in the world today is much higher than it was at the end of World War II, despite the recent comeback of authoritarianism.
Its understandable that many voters are attracted to Trumps vow to break with the interventionist policies of the past. The post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which President George W. Bush redefined as campaigns to secure democracy in both places, thoroughly discredited the notion that America could re-engineer damaged societies from afar. Many Americans have rightfully tired of Washingtons efforts to involve itself so intricately in the affairs of other countries when nation-building lags at home. (That was a Barack Obama line, by the way.)
What this argument overlooks is that there are many things Americans can do to bolster liberal values abroad that require little sacrifice of blood or treasure. Call out the dictators. Show respect to our allies. Cultivate and strengthen ties among the democracies. Invest in measures against propaganda and disinformation. Offer judicious assistance to pro-democracy groups around the world, and share advice with countries that are struggling to build democratic institutions.
Whatever we do, lets not succumb to Trumps nihilistic talk of malaise. America needs to stick to its ideals now more than ever.
Christian Caryl is an editor with The Posts Global Opinions section.
The woman who was raped by filmmaker Roman Polanski when she was 13 years-old has asked for people to stop making her a "victim." In response to Polanski stepping down from his role as president of the Cesar Awards following planned protests from feminist organisation d'Osez le Feminisme, Samantha Geimer has told TMZ, "I don't like being used by advocates boycotting that he's going to be the president of the Cesar Awards, people make a petition without my consent."
Polanski pleaded guilty to the charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in 1977 but then fled to France in 1978 where he holds citizenship. France does not have an extradition agreement with the US.
French-Polish film director Roman Polanski is seen during a press conference at the Bonarowski Palace Hotel on October 30, 2015 in Krakow, Poland. Credit:Adam Nurkiewicz
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the group behind the protest had said of Polanski's appointment as president, "The appointment of Roman Polanski is an outrageous act to the many victims of rape and sexual assault." The group also made mention that many people still supported him as director, but said, "We reply that the quality of his filmography has little do with the crime he committed, his flight, and his refusal to assume his responsibilities."
Meanwhile Samantha Geimer, who wrote a book about her life in 2013, says that she is tired of people campaigning on her behalf.
A safe house in Sydney's west had just been raided and 29-year-old Alina Antal was not happy.
It was the second time police had stormed the rented unit in Fairfield where runners for the unsuspecting figure sorted and bagged cannabis and gathered the proceeds of drug sales.
They were allegedly part of a lucrative drug syndicate, directed by Ms Antal and her jailed lover and Assyrian gang associate, Oliver Merza.
"These c---s don't understand," the petite, blond-haired woman said as she reprimanded the boys responsible for running the drugs and maintaining the safe house.
WA Labor's pet rail project Metronet could be derailed before it even starts.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would block the state's opposition plans to divert a large slice of the $1.2 billion in Federal funding from the Perth Freight Link to its transport plans.
Labor's plan for Metronet, which it promises to build.
Earlier this month, Labor announced its "congestion-busting" rail project Metronet, which is expected to cost around $2.5 billion.
Labor said a chunk of the funding, around $400 million, would be diverted from the Federal government's $1.2 billion commitment to the controversial Perth Freight Link.
Florida: US President Donald Trump further escalated his attacks on the news media Friday afternoon when he tweeted that outlets like the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN are not his enemy but are "the enemy of the American People."
Although Trump has long criticised news coverage and sparred with reporters who question him, he had not yet labelled the fourth estate as being an enemy of the country. On the campaign trail, some of Trump's supporters would heckle and threaten reporters who covered his rallies, and his tweet Friday came 24 hours before his first political rally as President.
It took the President two tries to properly post his message, which came soon after he arrived at his luxury, ocean-front estate for the weekend. The first tweet, which was quickly deleted, contained a number of extra spaces and listed the Times, CNN and NBC, ending with this conclusion: "SICK!" The second tweet added ABC and CBS to the list, while removing "SICK!" Both tweets labeled these organisations as being "the fake news media," with "fake news" put into all-caps.
The UK-based ISC Research is looking for an enthusiastic and committed Administration Co-ordinator in Bangkok.
The role supports the regional Head of Research and their work. Daily responsibilities will involve a variety of administrative tasks including web-based/phone research with premium internationals schools throughout the region.
Requirements:
Excellent English communication skills, both verbal and written
Proficiency in Microsoft office
High level of attention to detail
Confident telephone manner
Strong organizational skills
Reliable high speed internet connection
Thai Nationals preferred
Desirable:
An understanding of international schools
This is a full-time position with some flexibility offered during school holidays.
Please send a cover letter and your CV to Sami Yosef @ Sami.Yosef@iscresearch.com
Closing date for applications: 9th March 2017
While we thank all candidates, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article. Support FEE here...
The nearly four weeks since President Donald Trumps inauguration have been the most divisive period of American politics since the end of the Second World War. The sharp lines that everyone is drawing in the sand pose a serious threat to the United States.
Teaming-Up
On the one side stand many conservatives and populists who are rejoicing in the Trump victory as the salvation of a nation in decline. On other side sit the committed progressives who are still smarting from an election in which they were trounced in the electoral college, even as Hillary Clinton garnered a clear majority of the popular vote.
As a classical liberal who did not vote for either candidate, I stand in opposition to both groups. And after assessing Trumps performance during the first month of his presidency, I think it is clear that he ought to resign. However, it is important to cut through the partisan hysteria to identify both what Trump is doing right and wrong in order to explain my assessment of his presidency to date.
On the positive side is the simple fact that Trump won the election. What is right about Trump is what was wrong with Clintonher promise to continue, and even expand, the policies of the Obama administration. The day after the election, it was clear that none of her policy proposals would be implemented under a Trump presidency, coupled with a Republican Congress.
Virtually every Trump deregulation is met with protest, yet these very deregulations explain the stock market surge and will revive the economy.
As I have long argued, there are good reasons to critique the progressive worldview. Progressives believe that reduced levels of taxation and a strong dose of deregulation would do little or nothing to advance economic growth. In their view, only monetary and fiscal policy matter for dealing with sluggish growth, so they fashion policy on the giddy assumption that their various schemes to advance union power, consumer protection, environmental, insurance, and financial market regulationamong othersonly affect matters of distribution and fairness, but will have no discernible effect on economic growth.
In making this assumption, they assume, as did many socialists and New Dealers in the 1930s, that it is possible to partition questions of justice and redistribution from those of economic prosperity.
In taking this position, they fail to account for how administrative costs, major uncertainty, and distorted incentives affect capital formation, product innovation, and job creation. Instead, todays progressives have their own agenda for wealth creation that includes such remedies as a $15 minimum wage, stronger union protections, and an equal pay law with genuine bite. But these policies will necessarily reduce growth by imposing onerous barriers on voluntary exchange.
The fact that there was any economic growth at all under the Obama administrationand even then, it was faltering and anemichad one cause: the Republican Congress that blocked the implementation of further progressive policies and advanced a pro-growth agenda.
Lost Ground
Sadly, both President Obama and his various administrative heads pushed hard on the regulatory levers that were still available to them. And so we got a Department of Labor (DOL) decision to raise the exemption levels under the Fair Labor Standards Act from just over $23,000 to just over $47,000, in ways that would have disrupted, without question, several major segments of the economy for whom the statutory definition of an hour does not serve as a workable measure of account.
If President Trump went about his job in a statesmanlike manner, the progressive counterattack would surely fail.
Thus, at one stroke, DOL compromised the status of graduate students, whose studies and work are often inseparable; of tech employees, whose compensation often comes in the form of deferred stock payments; and of gig workers, who are employed by the job and not the hour.
At the same time, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has taken steps to wreck highly successful, long-term franchising arrangements, by announcing henceforth that the franchisor may on a case-by-case basis be treated as an employer subject to the collective bargaining obligations of the NLRA.
These and similar decisions are acts of wealth destruction, and they offer one powerful explanation, among many, for the decline in the labor participation rate to its lowest levels since World War II.
Opposition, Pipelines, and SCOTUS
The misguided opposition to the Trump administration extends far more broadly. I was an advisor to the MAIN coalition (Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now) in the now successful effort to undo the roadblocks that the Obama administration put in the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and still find it incomprehensible that any administration could engage in a set of collusive rearguard actions to block a pipeline that met or exceeded every government standard in terms of need, safety, and historical and environmental protection.
The handwringing of the Obama administration over the Keystone XL pipeline was equally inexcusable. Two expertly crafted executive orders from the Trump administration removed the roadblocks simply by allowing the standard review processes of the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to run their course.
Nonetheless, virtually every initiative to deregulate that comes from the Trump administration is greeted with howls of protest, whether the topic be healthcare, banking, brokerage, or consumer protection. Yet these very deregulations explain why the stock market has surged: Collectively, they will help revive a stagnant economy.
Any effort to be successful in the export market requires importing cheap components from foreign firms.
Worse still are the attacks on the integrity and independence of Judge Neil Gorsuch from most, but not all, progressives. Georgetown Universitys Neal Katyal should be singled out for his praise of Gorsuch as a person and a judge. Unfortunately, the vast majority of progressives, like Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, wail that Gorsuch is not a mainstream judge, is not sufficiently supportive of progressive ideals, and, most critically, is not Judge Merrick Garland.
The United States sails in treacherous waters when members of either party think that any judge appointed by the opposition is not fit for service on the United States Supreme Court unless he publicly denounces the President who nominated him for that high office. I have long believed that any nominee should be judged on his or her record, without being called on to play rope-a-dope before hostile senators who only wish to bait, trap, and embarrass the nominee.
It seems clear that if President Trump went about his job in a statesmanlike manner, the progressive counterattack would surely fail, and a sane Republican party could gain the support of a dominant share of the electorate for at least the next two election cycles, if not more.
Endangered Trade
Yet there are deeper problems because President Trumps anti-free trade agenda will hurtif not devastatethe very people whom he wants to help. Extensive trade between the United States and Mexico is indispensable for the prosperity of both countries. The looming trade war threatens that win/win position.
The notion that the United States should run positive trade balances with every country is an absurd position to take in international economic relations, lest every country has the right to claim the same preferred status for itself. Yet it has never occurred to Trump that a negative trade balance amounts to a vote of confidence by other countries that it is safe to invest in the United States, allowing the United States to create new industries and new jobs.
Nor does he understand that any effort to be successful in the export market requires importing cheap components from foreign firmsan oversight evident from his ill-conceived executive order calling, whenever legal, for American pipe on American pipelines.
My fears are that he is too rigid and too uneducated to make the necessary shift to good leadership.
If our trade partners retaliate, the current stock market surge will take on a different complexion. The Dow may be high, but the variation in future prices will be high as well. If Congress thwarts his anti-trade agenda, the domestic reforms should yield lasting benefits. If Congress caves, or if Trump works by aggressive executive order, the entire system could come tumbling down.
Speaking of executive orders, the Presidents hasty and disastrous order dealing with immigrants has vast implications for Americas position in the world.
In a global economy, the United States cannot afford to let petty protectionism keep the best talent from coming here for education and staying later for work. I, for one, believe that his executive order exceeds his executive powers. Others, like Michael McConnell, disagree. But no matter which way one comes down on its legality, nothing excuses its faulty rollout, petty nationalism, exaggerated fears of terrorism, and disruptive economic effects. The Trump administration agenda desperately needs to be rethought from the ground up by a deliberative process in which the President relies on his Cabinet.
Turn It Around
So the question remains: does Trump remain his own worst enemy? My fears are that he is too rigid and too uneducated to make the necessary shift to good leadership. By taking foolish and jingoist stances, Trump has done more than any other human being alive today to bring a sensible classical liberal agenda into disrepute.
Some miracles happen, but a Trump transformation will not be one of them.
Then there is the matter of his character. The personal moral failings of the President include his vicious tweets, his self-righteous attitude, his shameless self-promotion, his petty resentments, his immoral flirtation with Vladimir Putin, his non-stop denigration of federal judges, his jawboning of American businesses, his predilection for conspiracy theories, his reliance on alternative facts, and his vindictive behavior toward his political opponents.
Hence, I think that there is ample reason to call for Trumps resignation, even though I know full well that my advice will not be heeded. And this welcome outcome will not happen so long as the attack against him comes solely from progressive Democrats. Sensible Republicans should focus on the threat that he represents to their plan, and recall that the alternative is no longer Hillary Clinton, but Mike Pence.
I think that Pence is unlikely to abandon the positive aspects of the Trump agenda, and there is some reason to hope that he will back off Trumps suicidal positions on trade and immigration, and put a stop to the endless train of uncivil behaviors demeaning the office of the President. Some miracles happen, but a Trump transformation will not be one of them. Unfortunately, his excesses could power a progressive revival. Would that I had the power to say to Trump, Youre fired!
Reprinted from the Hoover Institution.
Richard Allen Epstein is an American scholar, educator, lawyer, and author, best known for his writings and studies on classical liberalism, libertarianism, torts, and a wide variety of topics in law and economics.
All clear after semi crashes blocked I-24 Caldwell County; semi crashes also blocked detour route
By Lee McClellan Feb. 19, 2017 | 06:51 AM | FRANKFORT, KY
Author Lee McClellan is a nationally award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.
Although weve seen many warm fronts this winter with temperatures in the 60s just this past weekend, the water in our highland reservoirs is still cold.Water temperatures are in the high 40s in Lake Cumberland, Dale Hollow and Laurel River Lake. Once water temperatures drop below 50 degrees for extended periods, threadfin shad begin to suffer from the cold water.Threadfin shad get thermally stressed by winter water temperatures, especially in late winter, said Jeff Ross, assistant director of the Fisheries Division for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. They begin to twitch and spasm as they try to fight off death.Smallmouth bass, as well as spotted and largemouth bass, instinctually know to eat these weakened baitfish. The float-and-fly technique imitates stressed shad in cold water as good as anything.Many bass lures, such as jerkbait, use twitching movement to draw strikes, Ross said. The little fly twitching in place is irresistible to a smallmouth in the winter.Born in the deep, clear lakes of east Tennessee and inspired by crappie anglers complaining of big smallmouth bass breaking off tiny hair jigs fished deep in the winter months, the float-and-fly technique employs long, light to medium-light power spinning rods and 4-pound line to present small 1/16-ounce to 1/8-ounce jigs under a bobber.The tiny jig is the fly in the float-and-fly technique. For generations, smallmouth anglers in Kentucky and Tennessee call hair jigs flies.The long spinning rod, from 8 to 11 feet in length, is necessary as you suspend the diminutive jig 8 to 14 feet deep. Casting such a presentation on a rod shorter than 8 feet is nearly impossible. Fly anglers use 8-weight rods to suspend 1/32- to 1/48-ounce jigs under large strike indicators, employing light fluorocarbon line as the tippet. The lighter 1/48-ounce jig is much easier for a fly angler to cast with a leader and tippet running at least 8 feet long.The flies are made of either craft hair or duck feathers or a combination of both. The float-and-fly technique has grown so popular that national outfitters carry rods designed for it. Tackle shops in the Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Lake region sell them as well. Float-and-fly rods also make excellent crappie and panfish rods.All you do is load the spinning reel with 4-pound co-polymer or fluorocarbon line and clip on a 7/8-inch pear-shaped plastic bobber 8 feet above the fly. Adjust the depth of the fly until you get a pull down on the bobber from a fish. There are specially weighted foam bobbers designed for the float-and-fly technique that grant better casting distance. The internal weight in these bobbers makes them roll over on their side if a big smallmouth hits the fly and moves shallower.Lake Cumberland presents an ideal opportunity to catch smallmouth bass, as well as fat, healthy spotted bass and even hand-sized bluegill on the float-and-fly right now. During the drawdown of Lake Cumberland to repair Wolf Creek Dam several years ago, trees grew on the exposed shoreline. Now with normal water levels, these trees are at the perfect depth to offer shelter for big smallmouth and spotted bass as they await a school of baitfish to ambush.The quivering fly hovering just above the sunken trees pulls these fish out of their lairs to strike. Female smallmouth bass need to feed in late winter to power the development of the eggs in their abdomens they will drop into nests later this spring.The best flies on Lake Cumberland are craft hair jigs in combinations of blue, chartreuse, grey or white. White, sky blue and pink craft hair jigs also work well on this lake.Duck feather jigs with wisps of red or pink craft hair seem to draw more strikes on Dale Hollow. These colors work well at Laurel River Lake, too. Both Dale Hollow and Laurel hold trout and some anglers believe their presence makes these fly colors work better in these lakes.Fish the float-and-fly near the main lake in winter on these reservoirs. The best fishing occurs when your back faces lots of big, deep water.Remember to allow your fly to strike the waters surface on the back cast. This provides resistance on the forward cast that loads the long spinning rod, leading to much improved casting distance.Applying a petroleum jelly-based shad scent, called fish dope, improves the delectability of the fly to smallmouths. Tackle shops and retailers in the Lake Cumberland or Dale Hollow region sell fish dope, but any petroleum jelly-based shad scent will work. Those with glitter in them are best.On bright days, trimming a fly to match the bend of the hook and heavily applying dope to where the fly resembles a small stick often makes the difference between being skunked or catching fish.A month of good float-and-fly fishing awaits anglers until warming waters puts big smallmouth or spotted bass on the prowl and willing to chase lures. This technique also fools huge largemouth bass on farm ponds and small lakes in late winter.Remember to buy your fishing license soon. Feb. 28 is the last day of the current license year in Kentucky.
Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world
One of the largest residential projects in the history of downtown Lincoln is planned for the block that is now home to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Newman Development Group of Vestal, New York, wants to build a 10- to 12-story building on the western two-thirds of the block bounded by P, Q, Ninth and 10th streets -- considered by many the gateway to downtown and the doorstep to the burgeoning Haymarket.
The $90 million to $100 million project, dubbed City Centre, would include 245 market-rate apartments, two or three floors of office space, parking and first-floor storefronts.
Newman Development has a deal in place to buy the building at 926 P St. and plans to demolish it.
The newspaper itself is not for sale, and will continue publishing from new offices. The Journal Star would retain ownership of its production building across Q Street, where the newspaper is printed.
David Newman, one of the development company's executives, on Friday revealed plans for an upscale project with amenities that will include a rooftop pool and gathering space, fitness center and a commercial-grade kitchen. The apartments will be a combination of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.
Newman said the retail component a number of tenants have signed letters of intent would include businesses to serve apartment residents and workers in the building. Uses could include a bank and restaurants.
Newman said no office tenants have signed up yet, but there has been a lot of interest. The company is still deciding whether to have two or three floors of office space.
The building will feature underground parking with 100 spaces and a parking deck with about 130 spaces on the second floor.
Newman said the company also plans to negotiate with the city for a certain number of parking spots in the city-owned Market Place Garage at 10th and Q streets.
Parties on both sides declined to disclose the sales price of the 78,000-square-foot Journal Star building, saying there is a confidentiality agreement in place.
Craig Forman, a broker with Home Real Estate in Lincoln, said the price is higher than the building's $4.5 million assessed value. He and Todd Lorenz are representing Newman Development.
Newman said he would like to have the deal finalized by July so demolition can start in the fall. Construction is projected to take 20 months, and Newman hopes to have the project completed early in 2020.
That timeline is largely dependent on two factors.
One is the relocation of the Journal Star's newsroom and business offices, which have been at 926 P St. since 1951. Newspapers have operated on the corner in one form or another for 135 years.
Publisher Ava Thomas said she is evaluating potential sites.
"We've narrowed our search to a few great options," she said. "We take our role as the leading provider of news and information in this community very seriously, and we'll land in a place where we can continue to serve readers, users and customers the best."
Both Thomas and Newman said the sale agreement does not require the deal to close until the end of 2017.
The other factor involved is city tax incentives.
Newman Development plans to utilize tax-increment financing, which allows the additional property taxes generated by new development to be used to pay for portions of the development that provide public benefits.
As proposed, Newman said the project would generate several million dollars worth of TIF.
He said he is confident he can negotiate an agreement with the city and complete the approval process by the end of July.
It's not the first time interested buyers have made pitches to the paper. The Journal Star has fielded offers in the past four to five years for its property, identified in the city's master plan as an important link in continuing to develop P and Q streets as retail corridors.
The Journal Star would join a growing number of newspapers that have sold their downtown real estate and found new homes, including the Des Moines Register, Seattle Times and Washington Post. In October, the Wichita Eagle said its downtown space would be converted to a headquarters for Cargill.
With 245 apartments, the project planned for the Journal Star site would be the largest residential development downtown in recent history possibly the largest ever.
According to figures from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department, the Latitude student apartment complex that opened in 2015 at 10th and M streets has 198 units, and it is the biggest of the recent student-focused complexes that have opened downtown.
According to the Planning Department, the only downtown residential project built in the past 15 years with more than 200 units is the Village, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln apartment-style hall for students with 213 units.
Steve Henrichsen, the department's development review manager, said he didn't think any other existing downtown building had more than 150 residential units.
While noting that such a large residential project is unique in Lincoln, Newman said he's confident there is a market for it.
"We think it's the right time to build a project like this," he said.
Newman said that when he visited Lincoln for the first time in August, "I think it took me about 20 seconds to say, 'This is a great place.'
"We really see this as a marquee location in the city."
The last time the army of Bryan doctors, nurses, specialists and therapists saw JoAnn York, she wasnt looking too good.
For 143 days the 72-year-old Clarinda, Iowa, woman fought failing heart and organs in Bryan Medical Centers ICU and acute care units.
When she left the hospital on Jan. 12, she still wasnt walking, and was just relearning how to swallow solid foods. She was not exactly the picture of health.
But one month later, on Feb. 13, York and her husband of 50 years, Mike, returned to Bryan for a follow-up visit.
Hugs, tears and cries of joy greeted her as she reunited with more than 35 heart, respiratory, kidney, pulmonary and ear, nose and throat specialists, nurses and therapists responsible for saving her life.
One team, one purpose, said Sarah Schroeder, nurse practitioner and coordinator of the mechanical circulatory program at Bryan Medical Center. A lot of people were involved in saving her. She was resilient.
Accompanied by her husband of 50 years, Mike, York surprised the group by getting out of her wheelchair. Talking. Joking. And definitely looking much healthier.
Your color is so good, Schroeder gushed. You have more fullness to your face.
Yorks success story is perfect for celebrating American Heart Month, and medical advancements that can restore life when the most vital of organs -- the heart -- stops working.
Heart disease runs in Yorks family. In 2013, doctors implanted a pacemaker/defibrillator to ensure her heart maintained a healthy rhythm.
So this past July, when York noticed shortness of breath and unusual fatigue, she blamed it on being out of shape -- and told herself to get her act together.
A visit to the doctor revealed it was her heart that needed to get its act together. She was experiencing atrial fibrillation (AFib) -- instead of keeping a steady beat, the right atrium of her heart was in a constant state of quivering -- much like an upside-down bowl of Jell-O, Schroeder said.
The lower left ventricle, which is responsible for squeezing the blood in and out of the heart, couldnt keep up and was stretching due to the buildup of blood. A normal heart ejects 55 percent or more of the blood every minute. Yorks was at 20 percent, Schroeder said.
Doctors tried tweaking the heart into rhythm with medication. Twice they shocked the heart to reset it. None of those interventions worked.
They told York she needed surgery to replace her hearts mitral valve and open up a blockage -- fairly common heart procedures.
After the surgery, York was doing so well, that the family planned to return home to Clarinda.
Then everything went downhill, Mike York said.
York was breathing on her own, and taking short walks down the hospital hall. But each time she stood, she complained of a full feeling in her tummy, Schroeder recalled.
Yorks legs swelled. She was exhausted. Her hospital stay was extended as doctors worked to find a prescription combination that would keep her heart in sync.
But everything we threw at her, her body said it was not having any of that, Schroeder said. Each day we would see a little more decline.
Her kidneys stopped working. Her body, unable to flush fluids, swelled like an overstuffed sausage.
A normal heart will pump four to 10 liters of blood per minute. Yorks was pumping two liters a minute, Schroeder said.
She was experiencing multi-system failure throughout her body.
Doctors took her back to surgery.
For us sitting in the waiting room, we just wanted someone to come out with a smile on their face, Mike York said. I just wanted to know she was OK.
But everything was not OK. York was placed on an LVAD -- a left ventricular assist device. The device, about the size of the D battery, is installed just below her heart, and picks up the slack when the left ventricle is unable to keep up with need to pump the blood out of the heart. Cables snake through the inside of her body, coming out at the side, where another cable connects to a 1.5-pound battery pack, which she must carry at all times.
She will be on the LVAD for the remainder of her life.
Meanwhile the right side of Yorks heart started having problems. Doctors placed her on an RVAD (right ventricular assist device) -- which pumps blood from the right atrium into the pulmonary artery and lungs.
York was kept sedated through the worst of it. She had a tube down her throat to help her breathe and another in her stomach to pour nutrients into her weakening body.
Mike York remembers how crowded his wifes hospital room was -- sometimes he had to step out to make room for more nurses and doctors.
There were two nice ladies in there 24 hours a day," Mike York said. "There were two trees full of pumps, and eight or nine pump bags and this R2D3 thing doing the work of her kidneys. And then there was that machine with the warming blankets.
Oh the noise factor -- beep, beep, pump, pump It was a foreign world."
His wife shrugs. She remembers none of it.
The family kept a daily journal, noting visitors, procedures and important moments -- good and bad. Some visitors wrote down messages.
Ive read it, York said of the journal. It scared me after the fact. Until I read the journal, I didnt realize what I put my family through.
Mike York stops his wife -- you would have done the same for me he tells his high school sweetheart.
It was a crappy deal, but a positive thing, he said. I cant believe the support and care we received. It was just unbelievable.
Unlike the LVAD, which is permanent, the RVAD is temporary. York was on it for one week -- longer than anticipated.
For six weeks, Yorks condition was touch and go. Her kidneys stubbornly refused to work.
Then all of a sudden her kidneys started producing urine, Sarah said.
Today, her kidney function is normal. But at their worst, York had more than 47 pounds of excess fluid in her body.
In all, York spent nearly two months in intensive care, followed by three months in SelectSpecialty Medical, a long-term acute care hospital and an acute care rehabilitation facility located on the Bryan Medical Center west campus.
Then on top of everything else, York developed shingles. And the medications designed to help her circulatory system triggered side effects, the most bothersome being a chronically bleeding mouth.
While York remembers little of her hospital stay -- she does recall the pain.
I hurt so bad, I didnt know what was hurting worse, York said.
It was the only time she wondered if she should give up on life.
Her muscles atrophied from lack of use. The tube down her throat prevented her from talking. She communicated through blinks and later through hand squeezes.
Mike York remembers his wifes rapid blinking early in recovery. At first he thought it was a neurological issue, but the couples daughter Laurie Stogdill quickly interpreted the meaning: she wants her glasses.
The Yorks chuckle over other communication mishaps. Like when she squeezed her daughters hand three times in a row.
I love you too mom, Laurie told her mom.
But it turns out, York really was telling her daughter to change the TV channel to 3.
Once the tube was removed from Yorks throat she had to relearn how to swallow. A rigorous process of tucking her chin and forcing soft foods like pudding and honey to slide down her throat.
The worst was honey, York said.
Meanwhile, she took most of her nutrition through the feeding tube. She didnt have solid food for nearly 60 days.
The Yorks, who had planned to spend their 50th wedding anniversary (Nov. 26) in Branson, Missouri, spent it at Bryan Medical Center.
Still unable to eat, Schroeder allowed York to taste the frosting on her anniversary cake.
On Jan. 12, York returned home to Clarinda. Shes regaining her strength. She has physical therapy three times a week. A home health nurse visits weekly.
Walking is slow. But I can go to the bathroom by myself now, York said. Im hopeful that I will get to where I am better than I was before.
Given her determination and that of her family, friends and cadre of medical providers, the odds are definitely in Yorks favor.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2017 (2086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Municipal officials in Emerson are meeting to discuss how to deal with an influx of asylum seekers after more than 20 people crossed the border into southern Manitoba overnight Saturday.
Twenty-two people had made the trek across the U.S.-Canada border by early Sunday morning, Emerson-Franklin Reeve Greg Janzen said. Manitoba RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed that number Sunday afternoon. Its one of the largest groups to cross on any during a weekend overnight stretch so far, part of an increasing number of migrants who have sought refuge in Emerson in recent weeks.
Paramedics were called out around 6 a.m. to help a pregnant woman who had slipped on the ice while trying to cross the border, Janzen said. All of the asylum seekers who crossed overnight, most of whom were from African countries affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps travel ban, were taken by police to submit refugee claims, he said.
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES At least 22 refugee claimants crossed the border near Emerson overnight Saturday, Feb. 19, reeve Greg Janzen said.
Janzen said he planned to meet with first responders from the volunteer fire department to discuss how the community will respond and get information out about the border jumpers as larger groups continue to cross on weekend nights.
Thats been the routine here in the last three weeks. Theres bigger groups coming on the weekends. Weve always had them coming on the weekends, but never this size of groups, Janzen said, adding he has yet to receive a final count.
The community of about 600 has pleaded for help from federal and provincial governments to expand its limited resources and emergency services to deal with the influx of asylum seekers. Janzen echoed those requests for help Sunday, saying the federal government should make changes to its refugee claims process so that people wouldnt feel the need to cross the border illegally in the middle of the night.
Were welcoming refugees into Canada theyre not disagreeing with that. Lets do it in an orderly fashion: let them walk up to the border and claim refugee status. Why do they have to break the law, walk through the middle of our town in the middle of the night? Thats what the residents are saying, like were getting fed up with this,' Janzen said.
Im the reeve of Emerson-Franklin. I dont run the country of Canada. But Im thinking theres got to be a way to do this in an orderly manner.
Since Jan. 1, more than 90 asylum seekers have crossed the border and there have been at least 480 in 2016-17 with still more than a month to go before the end of the fiscal year. There were 340 in all of 2015-16.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2017 (2086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Ice ice, baby
End your weekend with a dance party on the river trail, because today is Discotheque sur Glace. Its a free disco party at The Forks featuring local DJs such as DJ Kasm and DJ Beekeeni. Its part of Rendez-vous on Ice, presented by Alliance Francaise du Manitoba, and runs from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Have a Riel fun time
For those who have Monday off, FortWhyte Alive is having Louis Riel Day festivities, complete with outdoor voyageur games, followed by bannock by the fire. The activities run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and are included with admission, which is $8 for adults and $6 for students and children.
Little film on big screen
Wednesday, the Winnipeg Art Gallery will be screening The Little Things as part of its Art for Lunch series. The film is about environmentally conscious snowboarders and how they incorporate those beliefs into their daily lives. Bag lunches are allowed at screenings, and the WAG will be serving coffee and tea. Its free and runs from noon to 1 p.m.
Shop local
The Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zones farmers market is happening at Cityplace from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. The market will include a mix of vendors selling locally produced vegetables, baking, meat and cheese, plus handmade crafts and jewelry. Admission is free.
Opening night
On Friday, the launch of Station is happening at Aceart Inc. gallery at 7 p.m. The brainchild of artist Michael McCormack, Station is an exploration of sounds, structures, light and radio. Admission to the gallery is free, and if youre not able to make it out opening night, the exhibition is there until March 31.
Laugh it up
The Winnipeg Comedy Showcases three-year anniversary show is taking place at the Park Theatre on Friday. Seven local comedians including past winner of Canadas Funniest Person with a Day Job, Tyler Penner will be performing in a show hosted by Jared Story. Doors are at 8 p.m., the show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available online, at the theatre and at Music Trader.
Bear necessities
The Assiniboine Park Zoo is having two days of International Polar Bear Day Celebrations next weekend. An educator will host a free conservation trek every 45 minutes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting at the Gateway to the Arctic building, where there will also be an interactive art installation by local artist Kal Barteski. Adult admission is $19.75, and the zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A while back I was reading through an ad in a weekend newspaper flyer from a big chain drugstore. One product I saw advertised was oscillococcinum (ah-SILL-oh-kok-SIN-um, I believe I have the emPHAsis on the right sylLABle.) My first reaction was HUH?, what the heck is that? When our kids were trying to grow up (not sure if they made it yet), and would ask me what something meant, Id say to go look it up. So, thats what I did.
It is a homeopathic preparation from Muscovy duck liver and heart marketed to relieve influenza-like symptoms, (respiratory, that is). It is manufactured only by one company in France called Boiron, the largest manufacturer of homeopathic compounds in the world. The ingredient listed is Anas barbariae (duck) hepatis (liver) et cordis (heart) extractum. The concentration is given as 200CKPUS 1 x 10-400 grams, which is less than the weight of a proton.
Its history goes back to the Spanish flu epidemic of 1917. A French physician in the military, Joseph Roy (1891-1978), felt he observed an oscillating, round bacterium on examining the blood of flu patients. Thus he coined the name oscillococcus for the bacterium. He also claimed he saw the same bacterium in blood of people with herpes, chickenpox, and shingles. He then wrote he felt it to be the causative agent for eczema, rheumatism, measles, cancer, and tuberculosis.
Nobody has even seen the bacterium Roy claimed to have seen. Some speculated he saw oscillating or wiggling bubbles instead that mimicked round bacteria. He searched for it in several animals, and thought he found it in the liver of Long Island ducks. The modern preparation uses a different breed, Muscovy. He even prepared a vaccine to use in cancer patients, which sadly failed.
Homeopathy was created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, a German. The concept he had is like cures like, and potentiation through dilution. I will avoid telling the whole story or the rather contentious discussion of homeopathy vs. mainstream medicine. Simplified (I hope, with apologies to homeopaths), it is that a tiny, tiny bit of the original disease causing substance stimulates a reaction against the larger amount, to treat it. Because its often impossible to find any of the original stuff in the final preparation dilution, the real effectiveness of these preparations has been questioned over the years. I am side stepping that controversy and just giving you the facts, Maam, just the facts.
In looking up reviews of oscillococcinum, the products name, also called Oscillo, many users were very praiseful of the results. Objective studies surveyed by the incredibly objective research group in England, the Cochrane Review, really cant find any evidence that it relieves the influenza-like symptoms, except one paper found that it perhaps lessens them 6-7 hours. The most recent numbers show it sold $15 million worth a year in this country. Others have called it a hoax.
In historical perspective, homeopathy was conceived at a time when medicine was avowing diseases were caused by ill humors, miasmas, and entities we know today dont exist. It seems to me it looked like a good option to that eras typical medical treatments of blood letting, other nostrums that made patients feel incredibly worse, and surgeries with no anesthesia and high death rates. If you survived the treatments, you survived the disease. Then and now, homeopathic remedies rarely cause adverse reactions.
The only way I see out of being trapped in the controversy about this treatment is to say, ya pays yer money, and takes yer chances. The old admonition caveat emptor/let the buyer beware may apply. I think I did what I hoped our kids did. I looked it up, and we learned what there is to know about oscillococcinum.
ST PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota hospitals and surgical centers have reported that nearly 340 medical errors risked patient safety last year but medical mistakes resulting in patient deaths declined.
The state Department of Healths annual adverse health events report found four deaths caused by a preventable error, Minnesota Public Radio reported (http://bit.ly/2ley9wl ). One was due to a medication mistake and the other three were from falls.
The events were tracked from Oct. 7, 2015, through Oct. 6, 2016. There were more medical errors than in the previous 12 months, when there were 320. But there were 12 fewer deaths.
Adverse health events program director Rachel Jokela said the drop in deaths is a step in the right direction.
We are sorry when any of those events happen; thats four patient families that lost a loved one, she said. Its kind of hard to celebrate that number until its zero.
The report also found that suicides didnt contribute to the annual tally for the first time since 2011.
Minnesota law requires hospitals and ambulatory care centers to track nearly 30 preventable errors, including wrong-site surgeries, foreign objects left in patients, medication mistakes and falls.
Falls and pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores, were the most commonly reported, accounting for 60 percent of events.
Death resulted from 1 percent of events, while serious patient injuries resulted from 31 percent, or 106 events.
There were 2.78 million procedures and surgeries in Minnesota last year, according to Jokela. She said the events can be lowered with the employment of best practices and vigilances.
Allina Healths two nurses strikes last year occurred during the reports tracking period. Jokela said the strikes didnt cause an uptick in events at the five facilities impacted.
A couple of them reported less, she said.
Two suspects were in custody after a manhunt in Aurora on Friday.
Jeremy David Bromley, 26, and Drake Eli Ross, 22, of Minnesota, were taken into custody early Saturday morning, according to Nebraska State Patrol spokesman Mike Meyer.
A trooper pulled over the men near the Aurora exit on Interstate 80 for speeding at approximately 3 p.m Friday, according to a release. The men drove off and stopped in a cornfield west of Aurora, where they fled their pickup on foot.
A perimeter was established in the area, with a K-9 unit and State Patrol helicopter called to assist. Two area schools and the Aurora hospital were locked down during the search.
Bromley was arrested after midnight on suspicion of driving under suspension, burglary, flight to avoid arrest, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, and speeding, said NSP Capt. Jeromy McCoy.
Ross was arrested at approximately 7 a.m. on suspicion of burglary, criminal trespass and obstruction of police, said McCoy.
Just a week ago, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to give the go-ahead for President Trumps executive order temporarily blocking refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
Both the ruling, as some legal experts have warned, and the order itself are wrought with dangerous precedents, but the courts decision has helped abate the hysteria surrounding the action, while the Trump administration determines its response.
Still, the controversy continues to divide Americans and the politics are bleeding into our sacred spaces, churches included.
This month, a pastoral letter in response to the presidents policy from Bishop Michael Olson was read during all Masses in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas.
Much of the letter discussed the need for compassion and openness to immigrants, and it reminded listeners of the scriptural texts that teach us to love and serve the least of these.
Church leaders are right to appeal to the better angels of their parishioners, especially when the issue is within the realm of church teachings.
The letter also opined on the policy content of the executive order, calling it both radical and draconian. In so doing, the bishop stepped into the murky territory where religion and politics meet.
The reception for Olsons letter was mixed.
In some Masses, applause; in others (I am told by friends), parishioners walked out.
There is room to debate the wisdom of the bishops strong denunciation of national security policy.
But the letter raises another question: What is the responsibility of faithful Catholics during the Trump era?
Many Catholics voted for Trump, however reluctantly, based on his promise to restore religious liberties eroded by the Obama administration.
To that end, the Supreme Court nomination for Neil Gorsuch, whose jurisprudence indicates he will be a strong defender of religious liberty, not only fulfills a promise but justifies their vote.
Similarly, Catholics who supported Trump solely on his perceived position on abortion have been vindicated by his first weeks in office.
Days after his inauguration, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. funds from providing or promoting abortions overseas.
But as my progressive Catholic friends remind me (and as I have written before), being pro-life means more to Catholics than denouncing abortion. It means, among other things, caring for the immigrant and the refugee.
While strong national security policy is not exclusive of a generous refugee policy, the ill conception and poor execution of Trumps order further muddies the waters for many Catholics who find themselves elated by some of Trumps decisions and morally burdened by others.
In fairness, such a conundrum is hardly new.
Devout Catholics who vote for Democratic candidates tend to look the other way on issues like abortion and traditional marriage if other agenda items suit their beliefs. Indeed, Obama won the Catholic vote in both 2008 and 2012.
But Obamas failure to provide support for Syrian rebels (as recommended by the majority of Obamas own national security team) or to set up safe zones in the surrounding regions cost thousands of innocent lives and significantly contributed to the refugee crisis that created the environment for Trumps executive order and his election.
Why then, were so many of the Catholic voices now vocally opposed to the refugee policy silent when Obama allowed Syrias Bashar Assad to commit a genocide on his own people?
Where was the homily about the crossing of the now infamous red line Obama imposed warning Assad against using chemical weapons?
Does our Catholic moral responsibility not extend beyond our nations borders? Or, are these actually foreign policy and national security questions where the moral choices are extremely complicated and not always clear?
The coming years will present our nation with many moral quandaries.
Catholics should act according to our faith. Welcome the refugee with love, but understand they would prefer not to be a refugee in the first place.
I love the poorly educated! Donald Trump
Think! It aint illegal yet. Funkadelic
Its time we talked about the most consequential political divide in this country.
That divide is not between liberals and conservatives. Rather, it is between the ignorant and the informed, between those who have information and can extrapolate from it and those who do not and cannot. There is an education gap between left and right, and it poses a grave threat to our national future.
This gap has been empirically proven. A 2015 Pew Research Center study, for instance, found that only 24 percent of Americans with post-graduate degrees and 29 percent of those with college degrees identify as consistently or mostly conservative. The corresponding numbers for liberals were 54 and 44, with the rest not identifying strongly with either ideology.
But empirical proof is superfluous. The truth has been obvious since the knowledge-starved likes of Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin and Louie Gohmert first became stars of the political right. It has been obvious since Stephen Colbert found it necessary to coin the word truthiness.
Now, however, that ignorance has reached the highest levels of American governance. Did The Great Trumpkin really sign an executive order without knowing what was in it? Did he really reportedly have to ask what Vladimir Putin was talking about when the Russian president brought up an arms-control treaty in a phone call? Is his Twitter feed really a blizzard of embarrassing misspellings? Was there really a misspelling in his official inauguration poster? Did his Education Department repeat: his Education Department really misspell W.E.B. Du Bois and then, misspell its apology? Did he really praise Frederick Douglass, stone cold dead since 1895, as an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more?
Sigh. Yes, all of it.
As he has already legitimized coarseness, misogyny and bigotry, the so-called president now legitimizes ignorance.
Im aware of the potential for coming off like a snob or a bully in appearing to score people for lack of education. For what its worth, my mother lacked education; she had about seven years of formal schooling par for the course for a black girl in 1930s Mississippi. The woman had a reverence for knowledge, though. She was never book smart, but she was one of the wisest people Ive ever known.
So Im here not to mock those who lack information, but to lament those who fail to value it. We are asked, implicitly, repeatedly, to believe that failure equals authenticity.
Meantime, a new poll says that a third of us dont know that the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are one and the same. And Jennifer Williams, an editor at Vox.com, recently received a note from a reader who was dissapointed with your facts, and advised teaching people the correct history all while talking about how we went to war with Saudi Arabia after Sept. 11.
Thats not authentic or funny. No, its frightening. See, those people vote. They make decisions. Indeed, one of their decisions is in the White House.
The need to fix American education could not be more stark or urgent. We must wrench our local school boards free of partisan political hackery and re-double our efforts to teach our children not what, but how to think. The world is not growing less complex or challenging while we dither about, literally pretending ignorance is bliss.
With apologies to The United Negro College Fund: A country is also a terrible thing to waste.
Schools are a place students go to be educated. They should learn what is going on in the world and they should talk about it.
However, Racine Unified went too far when it showed teachers an immigration video on Inauguration Day, ending with the Democratic Party presidential campaign slogan Love will trump hate.
In light of the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump, some people have experienced anxiety of the unknown. This includes students whose parents came here illegally or came illegally themselves as minors.
The video that Racine Unified showed at a School Board meeting last week, and during a faculty in-service, highlights the story of a 16-year-old whose family came to the United States illegally.
Stacy Tapp, Unifieds chief of communication and community engagement, said the intent was to share the students story with teaching staff to make them aware. It was not political, she said.
Maybe it was not meant to be political. But then, in addition to telling the students story, the girl says specifically: We live under constant fear of deportation this fear has grown exponentially since the 2016 presidential election. Since then, there has been a culture shift in our schools.
Then the video ends with the student reciting the slogan Love will trump hate, a heart is drawn digitally over her and fades into the RUSD logo.
To top it off, the video was shown to teachers on Jan. 20, the day President Trump was sworn into office.
When those facts are added up, it goes too far. Unified said the video wasnt shown to students, just teachers. But when the video is shown during an in-service, it is sending a message to teachers a message that Racine Unified appears to endorse.
This wasnt just a student-made video. It was introduced by Deputy Superintendent Eric Gallien, who is set to succeed Lolli Haws.
At the start of the video, Gallien states: Within recent weeks it has come to my attention that immigrant and refugee students are dealing with increased intimidation and harassment in our schools. I want to remind all of us that our primary purpose along with educating our children is keeping them safe.
That is true. But its also important to not push any particular point of view. Although Gallien wasnt the one to say Love will trump hate or bring up Trump directly, the slogan should have been a red flag to him and others. It should have been edited out along with the other political messages.
Racine Unified should have done more to avoid conveying anything that appeared to be politically biased.
Tweeting furiously Thursday morning, President Donald Trump turned the heat up on federal government employees, who for the better part of the past month have spoken at length with reporters and news outlets granting them anonymity.
Leaking, and even illegal classified leaking, has been a big problem in Washington for years. Failing @nytimes (and others) must apologize! the president tweeted at 5:58 a.m.
Thats true, at least mostly, said Richard Moberly, interim dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law.
Leaks have been commonplace in Washington, D.C., from the beginning of the republic, he said. They will continue to be commonplace.
Journalism professor John Bender agrees, saying government leaks started with George Washingtons administration.
So why has the 45th president turned his focus on the insiders who have shared critical information with reporters since he took office Jan. 20?
In recent days, anonymous intelligence officials described talks between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December, when Flynn allegedly discussed sanctions put in place by the Obama administration.
The story gained traction, and Flynn resigned Monday night. A Trump spokesman said Flynn was asked to resign for violating trust between himself and the countrys top elected leader.
Trump has alternatively referred to the story as fake news and described the information's source as illegal leaks, vowing action against the officials who went public.
To be fair, Trump is not the first president to go after whistleblowers within his government.
Moberly, who has written extensively about legal protection offered to whistleblowers and those who leak information from both the public and private sectors, said the Obama administration escalated efforts to prosecute people who leaked information the government deemed a potential national security risk.
Obamas efforts were intensified by the governments growing reliance on technology, Moberly said.
"Digitizing information made it easier to take, but also easier to track.
But sources in the countrys national security and intelligence communities have offered evidence in recent weeks of mismanagement and incompetence within the new administration.
In order to share what they have witnessed, the leakers have requested and been granted anonymity, which can raise questions about their intentions and the credibility of the news outlet.
Sue Bullard, an associate professor of journalism at UNL and former managing editor of the Detroit News, said newsrooms are aware of the complications that arise from relying on anonymous sources.
In my newsroom, we used anonymous sources as a last resort, Bullard said. We refrained from what I consider casual use and we used anonymous sources only if you cant get it another way and only if its in the publics best interest.
Bullard said editors had to sign off before reporters could offer anonymity, and there was lengthy discussion on a given story's merits. Then, she said, reporters had to seek another source to confirm information.
The story the Washington Post ran last weekend that described Flynns calls to Russia in December was based on nine unidentified people with knowledge of the former national security advisers actions.
Clearly, it would seem to me there were people who knew he had been untruthful or less than honest with the vice president and others and nothing was being done, Bullard said. It would seem they felt the public had a right to know.
Bender, who has published a textbook on news reporting and teaches media law, said reporters learn to keep promises to people who speak on background or as unidentified sources on controversial matters.
Reporters dealing with national security issues in particular have to live off anonymous sources, Bender said. People are only going to talk to them off the record, which is what were seeing now.
Much of the information shared anonymously can later be confirmed with on-the-record sources, Bender said.
In Flynn's case, the White House eventually confirmed part of the Washington Posts story and then he resigned.
In similar cases, Moberly said, and in stories that rely on insiders sharing sensitive information, he believes journalists can be trusted by leakers and the public alike.
They source those leaks carefully and it is not unreasonable for a whistleblower to want to be anonymous, he said. In fact, its probably the most prudent thing for them to do.
Under U.S. law, federal workers who disclose nonclassified information are protected. That doesnt cover FBI agents or members of the intelligence community, who have their own sets of protections.
Moberly said while the laws protecting whistleblowers often work differently on paper than in practice, federal government whistleblowers are afforded latitude to speak to reporters about illegal acts or misconduct by officials under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Often, the government may claim that a given leak compromises national security, as the Nixon administration did when Daniel Ellsberg sought to publish the Pentagon Papers showing government wrongdoing during the Vietnam War.
President Richard Nixon got an injunction preventing The New York Times from continuing to publish the report critical of President Lyndon B. Johnson, citing a risk to national security. But the newspaper appealed the action to the U.S. Supreme Court, and none of the security risks the administration predicted ever came to fruition.
Moberly said the public should be skeptical of blindly accepting claims of damage to national security.
This is a classic response every time, he said. Its often grossly exaggerated in these situations.
A few minutes after complaining about the leaks coming from his administration Thursday morning, Trump tweeted: The spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers! They will be caught!
Both Bullard and Moberly said information from insiders will continue to flow despite the threats, as well as past actions by the Obama administration.
I dont think youre ever going to be able to stop leaks, to tell the truth, Bullard said. Good digging and reporters who are really interested in getting to the truth which is what all reporters should be interested in doing are going to get the story.
It just may take a while.
Moberly drew an analogy between government leaks to reporters and whistleblower disclosure systems in privately held companies.
We often say that if the reports go to zero, it means the system is not working. People are afraid to report, he said. We want people reporting, and we want government employees leaking truthful information about misconduct.
Sometimes insiders might be the only way the public finds out about serious misconduct.
Does anyone in the Auburn area remember when Brotherhood Week was celebrated each February? Does anyone in the Auburn area remember when the congregation of St. Luke's E&R (now UCC) Church and Congregation B'nai Israel co-hosted American Way Parties from 1938 through the mid-'60s, bringing together German Christians and Jews during through the height of the Holocaust? Those of us who remember need to teach that awareness now in the face of the current ethos of divisiveness and hatred.
Entrepreneurs were given a chance to win prize money by pitching a solution or business plan at the fifth annual JumpStart challenge Saturday afternoon.
The event, hosted by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development at the FUSE Coworking office, featured two challenges: the corporate challenge and the wild-card challenge. Both gave teams six minutes to present their ideas, followed by a four-minute Q&A session with the judges.
This year's corporate challenge was sponsored by Union Bank and Trust. Teams presented ideas that would make improvements to the processing of personal financial statements.
Christina Oldfather, the director of innovation and entrepreneurship at LPED, said statements are crucial to business lending.
Any business thats going to take out a loan has to fill those out, and they have to fill them out annually if theyre maintaining loans, she said. Its basically a very terrible, antiquated way that they have of sending people that form and getting that information back.
Ben Pankonin, the CEO of Social Assurance, a company that helps financial brands overcome compliance hurdles, was the winner of the corporate challenge.
A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Pankonin said he personally understands the troubles that come with personal financial statements. His proposal included a semi-functional software that he said fits well with software from Social Assurance.
"We provide a full workflow, from the application through underwriting approval, and then the tracking for other commercial lenders so they can see the status on all of the loan process and the full documentation," Pankonin said.
Pankonin received $1,000 and a chance to work directly with Union Bank and Trust to build the solution.
Two second-place winners, Sourabh Chakraborty and Doc Bolton, were awarded $500.
The second challenge was open to entrepreneurs with a new business or business idea. Gregory Nail, a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and founder of Goodi, was this years winner.
We signed up for this last night at midnight, Nail said. I didnt even know we had to have a Power Point today, so I just showed up and was, like, Ill say something about our company, but well probably lose. And here we are.
Goodi distributes promotional products from companies such as T-shirts and stickers with company logos to students for free, allowing companies to advertise at little cost. Goodi has ties with five companies, and Nail said he plans to use part of his $2,000 prize money to grow the brand with better-quality bags and business cards.
Oldfather said that even for those who didnt win, the event still gave them a chance to meet others in the startup community.
Theres still a lot of value in getting up and presenting that idea, making connections with people, she said. Hopefully (they're) still spinning something into a business, whether its now or later.
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The 2017 inductees to the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame gather for a photo at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.
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
The Roca Depot on 84th Street, with a Burlington Northern caboose straddling its rails, is an ode to Lincolns railway past.
But its a sign that an interest in trains is still alive and well in town, said to Lincoln Railway Historical Society president Dave Harnly.
The society hosted its annual train show just down the street from the Roca Depot at the Lancaster County Event Center on Saturday and Sunday.
The show featured layouts designed by train-enthusiasts, complete with model trains on winding tracks surrounded by verdant landscapes and miniature towns.
Juan Navarrete, 30, came from Council Bluffs to display hundreds of his N-scale trains on a hilly layout. N-scale trains run on tracks that are 9 mm apart.
Navarrete, wearing a conductors hat with a red handkerchief tied loosely around his neck, said he enjoyed trains from young age. They were my birthday presents and everything. Its always been trains, he said.
It wasnt until Navarrete got into high school when he was able to take his passion more seriously and afford more expensive models.
These engines run around $100 and then the system Im running requires a microchip on that engine which is another $40, said Navarrete, who has invested over $2,000 into his hobby.
The LARHS train show has been held for more than 20 years, Harnly said, and its growing every year. This is the first year the show was held in two rooms; one for layouts and the other for vendors. That means higher attendance, according to Harnly, who estimated that around 2,500 people came.
The show also added a Chippewa Northern train that children could ride around in.
Nearly 190 vendors spread about 260 tables sold items ranging from train cars and tools to artificial grass and buildings for landscapes.
Terry Van Diest of Lincoln came to the show to add to his own collection. He said trains are a great way to connect with his grandchildren.
I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren, and they love to help with my layout, said Van Diest, who bought three Lionel train cars from a vendor. I let them do some painting and do some work on the landscape.
The train show is the biggest fundraiser for the LARHS, which aims to promote, educate, and display various aspects of local railroad history, Harnly said.
Lincolns railroad history runs deeps, according to Harnly. Stations like the Roca Depot, built in 1872, connected Lincoln to Tecumseh and Sterling. Roca Depot was retired in 1962 but was eventually renovated and moved to its current location.
Harnly said the historical side of the railway appeals to train enthusiasts in Nebraska.
I got into trains in the mid to late 70s as did most of these other guys and gals as kids growing up, Harnly said. Most of them will get in it, stay in it and have some kind of involvement with a certain scale, size or era.
According to Trip Snyder, chairman of the show, events like these demonstrate the historical detail of each layout.
A lot of guys will pick a specific era and everything will be detailed to fit that exact time frame, from the landscape to the trains, Snyder said.
Jackson Sparks, 11, came with his dad to look at the different layouts. Sparks especially liked a layout made solely out of Legos, a new feature at the show.
I like using Legos myself and it was cool to see them being used on trains, Sparks said.
Snyder said planning for the event is a year-long process and the plans for next years show starts right away.
The vendors all have ideas about they want next year and everyone with a layout wants to come back and wants to go bigger, Snyder said.
The stolen goods being removed
By: Emily Lewis WorldWideWeirdNews.com
(Scroll down for video) A woman was left humiliated after a store released video, showing stolen goods being pulled from between her legs.
The store in Zimbabwe, released the video of the embarrassing incident in order to deter others from stealing from their business.
The suspect who was wearing a sleeveless dress, was stopped after she was accused of shoplifting.
The woman was seen standing calmly and talking on her cellphone as the store employee pulled up her dress and reached into her underwear to pull out the stolen items.
The woman was wearing a pair of Spanx panties that was modified for the purpose of stashing stolen goods inside.
The panties had a cut in the front to create a pouch. The woman then picked the clothing that she liked and stuffed them down her panties.
The store manager was seen pulling at least seven articles of clothing out from the womans secret hiding place.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is asking more than a dozen agencies, organizations and individuals to preserve communications related to the panel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The panel, led by chairman Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and top Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia, sent letters asking for those materials to be kept, a Senate aide said Sunday.
The move comes amid inquiries into whether President Donald Trump's campaign officials were in contact with senior Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 race. High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials have told CNN.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told NBC's "Meet the Press'' aired on Sunday that he is aware of the letter, adding that the request for records "doesn't mean that there's anything there."
"And as long as they do their job, and we cooperate with them, they'll issue a report, and the report will say there's nothing there," he said.
In an interview on Fox News, also on Sunday, Priebus denied any collusion between the campaign and Russian officials, saying unnamed "top-level" US intelligence officials told him the report was "complete garbage."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor Thursday that "there is real concern that some in the administration may try to cover up its ties to Russia by deleting emails, texts and other records that could shine a light on those connections."
Committee members discussed Russia in a private meeting with FBI Director James Comey on Friday.
At a conference in Munich this weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, declared, "2017 is going to be the year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress."
CNN's Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto and Evan Perez contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON -- It's a Watergate-era cliche that the cover-up is always worse than the crime. In the Mike Flynn affair, we have the first recorded instance of a cover-up in the absence of a crime.
Being covered up were the Dec. 29 phone calls between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to Washington. The presumed violation was Flynn negotiating with a foreign adversary while the Obama administration was still in office and, even worse, discussing with Sergey Kislyak the sanctions then being imposed upon Russia (for meddling in the 2016 elections).
What's wrong with that? It is risible to invoke the Logan Act, passed during the John Adams administration, under which not a single American has been prosecuted in the intervening 218 years. It prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign powers. Flynn was hardly a private citizen. As Donald Trump's publicly designated incoming national security adviser, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be talking to foreign actors in preparation for assuming office within the month.
Worst case: He was telling Kislyak that the Trump administration might lift sanctions and therefore, comrade, no need for a spiral of retaliations. How different is this from Barack Obama telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on an inadvertently open mic, during his 2012 re-election campaign, "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility."
Flynn would have been giving the Russians useful information that might well have contributed to Russia's decision not to retaliate. I'm no Russophile. But again: What's wrong with that? Turns out, the Trump administration has not lifted those sanctions. It's all a tempest in an empty teapot.
The accusations of misbehavior by Flynn carry a subliminal echo of a long-standing charge against Richard Nixon that he interfered in the Paris peace talks in October 1968 to prevent his Democratic opponent from claiming a major foreign policy success on the eve of the presidential election.
But that kind of alleged diplomatic freelancing would have prolonged a war in which Americans were dying daily. The Flynn conversation was nothing remotely of the sort. Where's the harm?
The harm was not the calls but Flynn's lying about them. And most especially lying to the vice president who then went out and told the world Flynn had never discussed sanctions. You can't leave your vice president undercut and exposed. Flynn had to go.
Up to this point, the story makes sense. Except for one thing: Why the cover-up if there is no crime? Why lie about talking about sanctions? It's inexplicable. Did Flynn want to head off lines of inquiry about other contacts with Russians that might not have been so innocent? Massive new leaks suggest numerous contacts during the campaign between Trump associates and Russian officials, some of whom were intelligence agents. Up till now, however, reports The New York Times, there is "no evidence" of any Trump campaign collusion or cooperation with Russian hacking and other interference in the U.S. election.
Thus far. Which is why there will be investigations. Speculation ranges from the wildly malevolent to the rather loopily innocent.
At one end of the spectrum is the scenario wherein these campaign officials -- including perhaps Flynn, perhaps even Trump -- are compromised because of tainted business or political activities known to the Russians, to whom they are now captive. A fevered conspiracy in my view, but there are non-certifiable people who consider it possible.
At the benign end of the spectrum is that the easily flattered Trump imagines himself the great dealmaker who overnight becomes a great statesman by charming Vladimir Putin into a Nixon-to-China grand bargain -- we jointly call off the new Cold War, join forces to destroy the Islamic State and reach a new accommodation for Europe that relieves us of some of the burden of parasitic allies.
To me, the idea is nuts, a narcissistic fantasy grounded in neither strategy nor history. But that doesn't mean Trump might not imagine it -- after all, he maintains that if we had only stayed in Iraq to steal its oil, we wouldn't have the Islamic State. And if this has indeed been his thinking about Russia, it would make sense to surround himself with advisers who had extensive dealings there.
I believe neither of these scenarios but I'm hard put to come up with alternatives. The puzzle remains. Why did Flynn lie? Until we answer that, the case of the cover-up in search of a crime remains unsolved.
Believers are calling it the days of the Messiah, while others are trying to sociologically analyze the unique phenomenon of millions of people who are knocking on the doors of Judaism, seeking to join the Jewish peoplealthough not necessarily in a halachic way, making things quite complicated for the State of Israels religious courts and authorities.
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First daughter Ivanka Trump is probably the most famous convert these days, while her frenemy Chelsea Clinton is one of the more famous women to join what researchers refer to as the Jewish family.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner (R), Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky. Fifty years ago, no one would have imagined that the US presidents daughter would convert and marry a Jewish guy (Photos: Getty Images, AP)
Fifty years ago, no one would have imagined that the US presidents daughter would undergo a conversion and marry a Jewish guy. Simply put, something like that would not have happened, says Dr. Netanel Fisher, who, together with his colleague, Prof. Tudor Parfitt, recently presented a book at the Open Universitys JCM Center conference trying to interpret the processes taking place in the Jewish world today.
For thousands of years, the Jewish people were perceived as a rejected group, he says. No one wanted to join. If there were any massive movement, it was in the opposite direction. Many Jews tried to shake off the Jewish weight off their shoulders and assimilate into the general society.
Fisher, a researcher at the Open University and at the Kohelet Forum, notes that famous Jews like Franz Kafka, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud and Benjamin Disraeli had one and a half feet out the door. There was no need to become Christian necessarily, but mainly to find the route the world outside the ghetto, seeking non-Jewish self-determination.
Polish, Germans and northern Indians too
So when did the dramatic change begin? Fisher points to the 1980s onwards, and the figures he presents are amazing: Israel has 300,000 residents who made aliyah under the Law of Return and are not considered Jewish according to the Halacha. Only 25,000 of them converted, and another 250,000 are part of the Jewish family.
They see themselves first of all as Jews, Fisher stresses. They speak the language, their children have Israeli names, and they light Hanukkah candles and fast on Yom Kippur. Who can tell them theyre not Jewish? They will say to you: Were not Jewish? Youre not Jewish!
In the United States, the numbers are quite close: Some 200,000 people whose mother is not Jewish define themselves as Jews. About 100,000 of them have converted, most of them not in an Orthodox process. They are married to Jews, they have a distant family relation to Judaism and they go to synagogue on Shabbat.
In South America, there are hundreds of thousands of such people. In eastern Africa, in Madagascar, in the Omuhimba and Lembaa tribes, many see themselves as Jews, or as the Bnei Menashe from northern India say, We are descendants of the ten tribes.
In Europe, which lost countless of its Jews in World War II, Judaism is blossoming too. Many gentiles are suddenly remembering their Jewish descent. In Poland, many residents are discovering they have a grandparent who survived the Holocaust and hid the fact that he or she was Jewish, and Germany is experiencing a phenomenon of reverse conversionGermans who seek to convert in order to atone for the crimes of their fellow countrymen.
The local rabbi in Warsaw told me that when he arrived in the city, it only had old Jews, says Fisher. Now, he told me, I am the oldest man in the community. In many cases, these converts become the leaders of the Jewish communities, because after all, these are committed people who dont take Judaism for granted.
The hard core may be disappearing, but the Jewish periphery is growing (Photo: Getty Images)
According to Fishers estimate, we are talking about millions of people. There are quite a few differences between Ivanka and Bnei Menashe, but they have one common denominator they all want to be Jewish.
This study is amazing in light of
other research
, which points to a trend of the extinction of the Jewish people in recent years.
There is no contradiction, Fisher replies. The Jewish hard core is weakening because of mixed marriages. The hard core may be disappearing, but the Jewish periphery is growing.
Fisher stresses that many of those who join do it in a controversial way: They claim to be Jewish, but they havent converted. They talk about Jewish traditions passed down in their family, like kissing the mezuzah at the entrance to a house and separate burial, and are very angry when people doubt their Jewishness.
Today, a person can be proud to be Jewish
The reason for this phenomenon, according to Fisher and Parfitt, is the Internet revolution and the spiritual revolution that have changed the world simultaneously. The general world has changed, Fisher stresses, but so has the Jewish world. A person can sit in Cuba and communicate with other Jews anywhere in the world.
Fisher adds that as part of the spiritual revolution, many in the world are searching for an identity, and more importantlythe search has become legitimate.
Another thing that has changed, according to the researchers, is the Jewish world itself, which is perceivedfor the first time in 2,000 yearsin a positive light. Millions, they say, find in Judaism a deep spirituality, family values, intellect and wisdom.
The State of Israel is also considered an economic power and a destination for international immigration. Today, unlike in the past, a person can be proud to be Jewish. The US presidents daughter can marry a Jew, and you wont have a single person viewing it as degradation, Fisher notes.
So this is a positive process?
There are definitely quite a few positive elements here. This great Jewish periphery can strengthen the core. There are so many people who want to join us, and they are giving us so much power and strength. The State of Israel can have hundreds of thousands of ambassadors around the world.
Beyond that, Fisher argues passionately, This process is simply happening. It cant be ignored. What are we going to tell Ivanka, that we dont recognize her conversion?
Cant you understand rabbis who are having trouble accepting this trend?
I am a religious person, but if the Orthodoxy and the Rabbinate dont come to their senses, well find ourselves alone. We cant remain in the yesterday, in a world that no longer exists. Apart for a small Haredi group, all our children are affected by the global village, listen to the same music and are fed by the same stuff. If anyone thinks he can prevent his offspring in the future from marrying the offspring of Jewish families of Russian descenthe is very wrong.
The big questions of the 21st century
Nevertheless, the researchers also present many negative aspects to the new following Judaism is receiving. Questions arise such as, how sincere is this affiliation? How committed are the new members to Judaism and to Israel? And most importantly, does this interest in Judaism stem from a financial interest to immigrate to a developed country?
Prof. Tudor Parfitt and Dr. Netanel Fishers book, Becoming Jewish
The conservative approach looks at this phenomenon with horror, says Dr. Fisher. The conservatives are afraid that the great mass of new members will seriously damage authentic Judaism and the identity that has been preserved for so many years. Their solution is simply to raise the walls, create more and more difficulties for those seeking to join and to allow the conversion of very few.
Fisher is convinced that the Chief Rabbinate must think in different, more liberal and open terms. As an example, he mentions Rabbi Ovadia Yosefs brave ruling from the 1980s that recognized the immigrants from Ethiopiathe Falashasas Jews, despite the major controversy around their affiliation with Judaism and the ability to marry them.
Dr. Netanel Fisher. I am a religious person, but if the Orthodoxy and the Rabbinate dont come to their senses, well find ourselves alone
Rabbi Ovadia ruled that a community that comes to us with (Jewish) traditioneven if its definitely differentis Jewish. We need honorable people like the late Rabbi Ovadia to find ways to bring these people closer rather than drive them away.
Wont such a mass change the character of our people?
I dont have answers to all the questions and difficulties, Fisher admits. I do know that these are questions we will have to deal with in the 21st century. We cant simply ignore them. There are many question marks, and few exclamation marks. But the main point is that we are already there. We cant take it backwards.
What we will be required to do is to seat all the Jewish organizations around a round table and to try and think about the response we are giving the millions of people who have arrived at our doorstep, or have even crossed it already.
Mor Vital has always flown with El Al Airlines. Over the past few years, she has frequented the airport more than usual as she flew out to visit her British boyfriend. "I know all the rules and I am very responsible, over the years I never had any problems," said Vital. However, in the past year, travelling has become a humiliating, discriminatory ordeal. All due to her being transgender, she claims.
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It all started a year ago. Vital was on her way back to Israel after having visited her boyfriend Jamal in London. She reported to the check-in counter three hours ahead of the flight, as instructed. There she was asked where she was coming from, which was followed by questions about her boyfriend's background. Vital responded that he was a Catholic Christian British citizen. Then, she was asked to undergo a second survey by an additional person.
"As soon as I handed them my Israeli passport, they asked me for an ID. My passport is overflowing with stamps, I fly all around the world. It was pretty ridiculous. The first question he asked me was 'why does (the passport) list you as female?' what kind of question is that? And what does that have to do with Israel's security?"
Nofar Nave and Mor Vital (Photo: Tal Schahar)
Vital then recalled how the security staff member took the passport, showed it to his co-workers and laughed. "When I saw him laugh, I was humiliated and angry. When he returned, he said I had to undergo a body search. And then the inappropriate questions started, such as 'what do I have down there,'" she continued.
The boarding time was rapidly approaching and Vital asked why she was still being detained, to which they responded that she might pose a security threat. Eventually, she boarded the plane without her suitcases.
But things didn't end there. Two months later, Vital was once again detained on her way back from London by the same security staffer. She endured another body search and her belongings were taken away from her and shipped separately.
"They decided to make things worse by chaperoning me to the plane," she said. "I couldn't go to the bathroom by myself. I have never had a criminal record, and they made me feel like a criminal."
Vital's baggage was only delivered to her 48 hours later by a cab driver hired through the company, who arrived unannounced after midnight, refused to address her in the feminine and cursed at her. When she opened her suitcase, she was aghast to find the presents she bought had been ripped open and damaged. Her personal laptop was also damaged. "Even the candies were opened. It sounds funny but I found the wrappings inside the bag. This is pure humiliation. There is no other word to describe it."
Vital decided to file a complaint to the company. El Al only took into account the late arrival of the suitcases, for which they tried to compensate by giving her a voucher for a free breakfast. The complaints about the harassment and discrimination did not receive any acknowledgment.
Why did you continue flying with them?
"It's an Israeli company, I have never had any problems and they have always respected me. I thought that maybe after my complaints, things would be resolved, but unfortunately they offered no further response. The free breakfast is an apathetic and humiliating response. I'm not interested in any meals, I only want to be respected just like anybody else."
Two more months had passed and Vital was again on her way back from London to Israel, this time accompanied by one of her friends. The security screener identified her and picked her out of the line. "They turned on my computer and accessed my personal photos and rummaged through everything they could," she recounted.
The next time she flew in from London, she had already prepared her friend Nofar Nave, who accompanied her. At first, everything seemed to go well; another security screener approached Vital and Nave, questioned them, returned their passports and wished them a pleasant flight.
An El Al plane at Ben-Gurion Airport (Photo: Reuters)
They moved on feeling relieved, only to be stopped by one of the screeners who knew Vital from previous encounters. "He asked for our passports and whether he could do a search, to which we responded with a kind 'gladly.'"
Nave picks up the story. "And then the interesting questions commenced," she said. "Why am I registered as male and she, as female, and what do we have down there, all the while they were giggling." Eventually, Vital and Nave missed their flight.
It doesn't appear to be a one-time deal either. Other transgender women have claimed the same thing. Lynn Eizin, a 24-year-old transgender woman, said she encountered a transphobic, humiliating attitude by an El Al security employee last December upon her return from Thailand, where she had undergone sex reassignment surgery.
At first, Eizin was addressed kindly, in the feminine, but once the screener noticed the gender section on her documents, the attitude immediately changed.
"As soon as he noticed I was transgender, he started addressing me in the masculine, started asking why I went to Thailand, so I told him. And then he wanted to see all the medical papers, nothing that had to do with flight security. When I asked him why he was asking me all those questions, he said it was security protocol. All of it was done in front of everyone. It was humiliating."
And if Eizin thought the questions couldn't possibly get more audacious, she was in for a surprise.
"He said to me, 'I want us to think about this together, how your luggage could cause an explosion on the plane.' I was shocked and terrified. I immediately told him that I had packed by myself and I wasn't looking for trouble. I didn't know what to do, I only wanted to go home," she said.
Mor Vital is the chairperson of the Beyachad organization for the promotion of the Israeli transgender community. Vital and her friends have decided to sue El Al over the humiliating treatment and the gender discrimination they experienced at the hands of the company's employees.
Any attempts to explain away the behavior through security reasoning were completely shot down by Vital: "If I use any other airline, I am no longer a threat to Israeli security? The security personnel simply decided that a transgender is not appealing to them. We are no one's punching bag."
El Al stated in response: "The subject is being handled through the company's legal venues."
ISTANBUL -- Turkish officials say 26 people have been detained following a car bomb attack, which killed two people in the southeast of the country.
The car bomb exploded Friday near the lodgings of judges and prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, bordering Syria. Footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building and wrecked cars.
In a news conference at the town's courthouse Saturday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the explosion killed the 11-year-old son of a court clerk and a 27-year-old neighborhood guard.
Eleven people remain hospitalized including the public prosecutor's wife, stated the minister. Two are in critical condition.
According to a report in Al Hayat, published in London, an Arab official warned Hezbollah that Israel would forcefully strike back against any military attack the organization carries out and severely damage Lebanon.
According to the report, the official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to recruit "regional assistance" against Hezbollah is high due to the era of US President Donald Trump. The official further urged Hezbollah to behave cautiously and prudently.
President Donald Trump, after a rocky first month in office, returned to the campaign trail on Saturday to deliver another attack on the media and tout his White House accomplishments in the friendly and familiar atmosphere of a rally with supporters.
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Landing on Air Force One as the sun set near a hangar filled with thousands of people, Trump reveled in the crowd and listed promises he had kept, including starting the process of building a wall on the US border with Mexico, deporting "bad people," and pulling the country out of a trade agreement with Asian nations.
President Trump on the campaign trail (Photo:AP)
"Life is a campaign. Making our country great again is a campaign," he told reporters on Air Force One ahead of the rally, when asked about criticism that he was starting to campaign already.
The rally marks an especially early start to the 2020 race for the White House. Trump filed re-election papers with the Federal Election Commission five hours after he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20. He does not have an opponent or even a field of Democrats yet vying to run for their party's presidential nomination.
Pro-Trump rally in Florida (Photo: AFP)
Trump supporters in Florida (Photo: AFP)
The businessman-turned-politician told the crowd he wanted to speak to them without the filter of "fake news," his standard critique of journalists and media organizations that cover him.
His tirade against media outlets have increased as of late and culminated with Trump going as far as labeling the press as the "enemy of the American people."
Shortly after arriving at his holiday home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump lashed out again with a series of Tweets, lambasting several mainstream American media outlets.
Photo: AFP
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump had tweeted an earlier post which targeted the New York Times, CNN, NBC "and many more" mediaand ended with the exclamation "SICK!"
Many US presidents have criticized the press, but Trump's language has more closely echoed remarks leveled by authoritarian leaders around the world.
Photo: Reuters
His comments had some observers declaring that the Republican was veering dangerously close to infringing on the constitutionally protected freedom of the press.
"I love that part of the 1st Amendment that declares the press the enemy of the American people," conservative commentator S.E. Cupps wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag "TrumpsAmerica."
Ben Rhodes, a top advisor to former president Barack Obama, called Trump's criticism of the media "a gift to authoritarians everywherewill discredit any US efforts to support freedom of the press globally."
Western intelligence agencies have expressed "grave concerns" that Hezbollah has been able to obtain strategic naval weapons that could change the balance of power in the Middle East.
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Despite great efforts attributed to Israel over the past five years to prevent Hezbollah from getting its hands on such weapons, the Lebanese terror organization is believed to have been able to smuggle into Lebanon a certain amountlikely no more than eightof P-800 Onyx missiles, also known in export markets as Yakhont.
The information, which was passed among several intelligence agencies, is based on what was defined as "highly reliable sources."
The P-800 Onyx missiles
The Russian supersonic anti-ship cruise missile is regarded as the naval equivalent of the antiaircraft S-300 and is considered the best of its kind in the world. It can be fired from the shore and has a range of up to 300 kilometers. There is no known electronic defense system that could deal with it or intercept it.
According to Israeli intelligence officials, Hezbollah could use the Onyx missiles to significantly threaten the Israeli Navy, the US Sixth Fleet and civilian vessels in the Mediterranean, as well as Israel's newly built oil and gas rigs.
It is possible that some of the attacks attributed to the Israel Air Force against arms depots and weapons shipments from Syria to Lebanon were meant to thwart the transfer of the Onyx missiles to Hezbollah.
In December, after another airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that "Israel has some red lines, including the transfer of advanced weapons or chemical weapons to Hezbollah."
Lieberman met with his American counterpart in Munich on Friday morning for the first time since former Gen. James Mattis assumed the role of secretary of defense, telling him that the three central problems that need to be dealt with were "Iran, Iran and Iran."
The Israeli defense minister told Yedioth Ahronoth on Saturday that he found an attentive ear in Mattis. "Defense Secretary Mattis is even stricter and harsher than us in his positions on Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. There is no need to convince him of anything. He's completely with us," Lieberman said.
He went on to say that "Defense Secretary (Ashton) Carter was also a supporter of Israel and we saw things eye-to-eye, he was the most pro-Israel official in the Obama administration." However, "it's clear now that this is a different administration, which is going to take decisive measures."
Lieberman speaking at the Munich Security Conference (Photo: EPA)
Lieberman, along with his colleagues from Germany, France, Britain, Italy and other representatives who arrived in Munch for a security conference, heard from the Americans that President Trump had ordered to strengthen both intelligence and operational cooperation between the United States and Western countriesparticularly Israelon the Iranian issue.
In late 2012 and early 2013, the US launched secret talks with Iran in Muscat, the capital city of Oman, which led President Obama to order to significantly reduce US actions against Tehran.
"We know you were angry when President Obama ordered to halt some of the operations against Iran in early 2013," American officials told their Israeli colleagues on Friday. "We're working to rectify the situation."
On Saturday, Lieberman met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an effort to "strengthen the security cooperation between (Israel and Russia) and hold an open discussion on the situation in Syria," according to Lieberman.
Russia and Israel have been coordinating military actions on the Israel-Syria border to avoid an accidental clash.
During the meeting, Lavrov presented Russia's efforts to reach a resolution in Syria, while Lieberman spoke of Israel's red lines, demanding that any agreement in Syria includes the complete halt of arms transfers to Hezbollah and an end to its ties with Iran. Lieberman also made it clear that President Bashar Assad cannot remain in power.
After meeting with Lavrov, Lieberman also met with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. During the meeting, Lieberman proffered Germany a large military hardware package from Israel, including electronic systems and intelligence.
"During her speech, the German defense minister said the German army is in need of procuring new armaments," said an Israeli official who was involved in preparing the deal, adding, "We are prepared to offer what they're missing. Their army is in need of a lot."
Israel is aware that Germany is wary of the Russian missiles that are stationed in the Baltic region and has committed significant resources to acquiring missile defense systems. Israel is hoping to interest Germany in examining the possibility of acquiring the "Arrow" anti-ballistic missile system from Israel.
Such a deal, if implemented, has significant economic and strategic implications.
The Israel Police on Sunday arrested five nursing home employees who were captured on hidden camera abusing the elderly residents of the home.
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A police statement identified the five suspects as being residents of Haifa, Nazareth and Kiryat Yam. They are being held under suspicion of abuse, assault and threatening behavior.
As part of an investigative series for Yedioth Ahronoth, journalist Ariela Sternbach documented severe instances of violence, abuse and humiliation at nursing homes. The articles caused a major uproar and has led to a crisis in the nursing care industry.
An elderly resident tied to his wheelchair
Pictures and video of the abuse at Haifa's Naiot Kipat Hazahav nursing home were also broadcast Saturday night on a special report detailing the horrible conditions elderly patients at the institution have endured.
Video documented employees beating elderly residents, forcefully throwing them into their beds or wheelchairs, tying them to their beds at night, not changing diapers, drinking on the job and threatening more violence against residents who dared tell of what was happening to them.
The whistle blowing male nurse who broke the story to a private detective detailed horrible instances of institutional abuse such as waking residents up at 2am in order to change their clothes and place them in wheelchairs ready for breakfast, just so the employees could leave sooner. Residents would be confined to their wheelchairs for hours on end until after breakfast.
Resident being humiliated and abused by having a hood pulled down over his head
The sensationally disturbing footage has prompted many to act, including government officials.
MK Itzik Shmuli (Zionist Union) is in the process of proposing legislation requiring video cameras to be placed in all nursing homes for the protection of the residents therein.
The cameras are meant to be active at all hours, including at night, so authorities can have easy access to evidence in the event of a complaint.
"The elderly and sick residents of these nursing homes have become punching bags enduring violence and humiliation," MK Shmuli said. "We will expand protection for the elderly and we must monitor their wellbeing in real time, so that we may also prosecute those who abuse them."
Naiot Kipat Hazahav nursing home, site of the abuse investigation (Photo: Gil Nachushtan)
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan joined the chorus, saying, "The investigative report uncovered horrible and heartbreaking images. I personally promise and will see to it that the police bring everyone responsible for these crimes to swift justice. There is no crime as cruel as abusing a defenseless person."
The Ministry of Health, which oversees the operation of nursing homes, has promised to launch a full investigation into the nursing home in question and devote additional resources to the monitoring of other institutions in the country.
The Naiot Kipat Hazahav nursing home summoned all of its employees to a meeting on Sunday morning to stress the severity of the incidents documented and the importance of adhering to the strict work procedures.
The nursing home said in a statement Sunday that "The findings presented in the report were harsh and terrible. When we received the material on Thursday, we immediately filed a complaint with the police against the employees in question. Disciplinary action was also taken, including summoning them for a hearing.
"We do not intend to ignore this, which is why we've formed an inquiry team to ensure cases like this will not happen again in the future. In addition, we've asked the Health Ministry to conduct its own independent inquiry to ensure such cases do not repeat.
"As such, we received the Health Ministry's approval to install cameras throughout the nursing home, including in the rooms. We will begin installing cameras this week and set up a control room using the most advanced technology. As per the instructions of the Health Ministry, cameras will be installed in rooms only with the approval of the resident's family."
Attorney Shosh Hayon, who is representing one of the suspects under arrest, said her client, the head nurse, "takes care of her patients in the most dedicated way. She denies any allegations of abuse and she was not involved in any way. They received reports of abuse days before and she made a complaint with the police."
Hayon's client, who is suspected of not reporting abuse, was put on a one-week house arrest. The presiding judge said there is reasonable suspicion against the nurse and barred her from using any communication devices and making any attempt to contact others involved in the case. Furthermore, she was also barred of being within 500 meters of a nursing home for two weeks.
The Haifa Magistrate's Court also extended by two days the remand of four of the employees suspected of abusing the elderly residentsSergey Mitrokhin, Peter Guskov, Andrey Kis and Hussam Abu Ahmad.
Guskov's lawyer, Lior Bar-Zohar of the Public Defense, said that "the woman (his client) allegedly attacked... resisted to the treatment, which is why he used 'reasonable force.'"
When he was nominated for a federal judgeship in 2006, Neil Gorsuch was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate and there was not a single objection to an obviously qualified nominee. Though no one is expecting as smooth a ride for Gorsuch as President Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court, his qualifications are just as undeniable. The position of Senate liberals seems to be, Announce your opposition, and find reasons later, but they will quickly learn its a very tough case to make.
Like the justice he would succeed, the late Antonin Scalia, Gorsuch is highly regarded in legal circles for qualities having little to do with politics or ideology. Democrats and Republicans alike know him as a judge of extremely impressive ability, uncompromising in his sense of fairness and in his personal integrity.
In a 25-year legal career, Gorsuch has clerked for two Supreme Court justices (one appointed by John F. Kennedy, the other by Ronald Reagan), served in the Department of Justice, spent a decade in private practice, and has now served another decade on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He has written more than 200 opinions for that court, marked by insight and clarity that have drawn comparisons to the style of Scalia.
As with Scalia, moreover, Gorsuchs style is a reflection of a judicial philosophy that begins with deference to written law. This puts him at odds with progressives who have spent decades urging courts to invent new rights, or to disregard old ones, according to the latest ideological fashion.
Exactly as the president promised, this is a judge who understands the proper limits of his office, never mistaking personal preference for constitutional mandates. Judges, as Gorsuch has written, should be in the business of declaring what the law is using the traditional tools of interpretation, rather than pronouncing the law as they might wish it to be in light of their own political views.
The progressive agenda depends on judges who are activist in reaching beyond the rule of laws limits in constitutional cases, but who are completely passive in allowing agencies to go beyond statutory bounds in regulatory cases and Gorsuch is clearly not that kind of judge. The president has nominated, instead, a person of both modesty and character not given to judicial overreach, but firm and decisive in upholding the rights guaranteed in our Constitution and laws.
Religious liberty, for instance, was on the line in several notable cases that came before Gorsuchs 10th Circuit court during the Obama years. Federal authorities, in enforcing the mandates of the Affordable Care Act, had been hounding an order of Catholic nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor, for resisting intrusive regulations on grounds of conscience. After a panel of his own court ruled against the Little Sisters, Gorsuch urged his colleagues to reconsider. When the case went to the Supreme Court, the justices essentially agreed with his argument that the government had shown too little regard for a legitimate claim of religious freedom.
It was a similar story in the 2013 case Hobby Lobby Stores v. Sebelius. The government argued that Obamacare regulations took precedence over the sincere religious convictions of the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain. Concurring with the majority in favor of Hobby Lobby, Gorsuch defended the right of business owners not to be compelled to adopt practices they know to be contrary to their religious faith. His reasoning prevailed again at the Supreme Court, in what is now a landmark case for religious freedom in America.
Hobby Lobby was also closely decided, in a 5-4 split with Scalia, of course, in the majority. And though the progressive left, until late on the evening of last Nov. 8, had every expectation of replacing Scalia with one of their own, it didnt work out according to plan. Their upset defeat on Election Day has left them so resentful and desperate that they pledged to block the nominee by filibuster even before knowing the name. Its a cheap and transparently unfair tactic, and it can succeed only if enough Senate Democrats cave to partisan pressure and play along.
By any reasonable measure, Neil Gorsuch is a man of superb qualifications, with well-known convictions and a demonstrated commitment to the Constitution. On the bench, he has proven his good faith and independence, and soon it will be time for Senate Democrats to prove theirs.
Hezbollah has reportedly received a warning from the Arab world that Israel would respond with force to any attack against it the terror organization might launch out of Syria or Lebanon, the London-based Al Hayat newspaper reported on Sunday.
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Israel, according to sources who spoke to the paper, was closely monitoring Hezbollah's activity in both Syria and Lebanon, particularly its armament and presence in different areas of Syria. Israel is reportedly worried that the terror organization would take advantage of its positions in Syria to launch an attack against its territory.
This warning likely prompted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday to threaten to fire missiles at the ammonia plant in Haifa , which he claimed would cause an explosion similar to that of a nuclear bomb.
Hezbollah rally in Lebanon (Photo: AP)
According to the report, Arab states believe that the new US administration of Donald Trump could help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recruit the countries in the region against Hezbollah.
The Arab warning therefore called on Hezbollah to act cautiously and prudently.
On Thursday, however, Nasrallah insisted that "Trump's election does not scare us, even if claims that he will give Netanyahu the green light to wage a war on Lebanon turn out to be true."
He claimed that "The leaders of Israel understand that the resistance (Hezbollah) has the ability to cover the entirety of occupied Palestine with missiles. We must keep this capability because it acts as a deterrent for the Third Lebanon War."
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah
According to Al-Hayat, Lebanese President Michel Aoun was briefed on the matter during recent visits to Arab states, particularly about the close ties between Israel and the United States, which is cause for concern among Arab nations.
Aoun said in an interview with the Egyptian channel CBC earlier this month that Hezbollah's arms "do not contradict the state... and are an essential part of defending Lebanon.
"As long as the Lebanese army lacks sufficient power to face Israel, we feel the need for (Hezbollah's) arsenal because it complements the army's role," he said.
In response, Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN, Amb. Danny Danon, sent a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the Security Council protesting the Lebanese president's comments.
Hezbollah rally in Lebanon (Photo: AP)
In response to the letter, Aoun said Saturday that any Israeli attempt to violate Lebanon's sovereignty would be met with the "appropriate response."
Speaking in a meeting with visitors to Beirut's presidential palace, Aoun said on Saturday that Danon's letter "constitutes a threat to Lebanon. The international community should be wary of Israel's aggressive intentions against Lebanon."
The Lebanese president also said, referring to the 2006 resolution that ended the Second Lebanon War, "Who need to implement Security Council resolutions is Israel, before others. Israel still refuses to implement Resolution 1701, moving from the cessation of hostilities phase to the ceasefire stage, despite more than 11 years having passed since the resolution was released."
The countless words that were written and broadcast in the past few days, the numerous reports and commentary before, during and after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus historic trip to the United States threatened to overwhelm us. But the truth is that even after the White House visit, we dont know much. Nevertheless, I am throwing my modest opinion into the fray.
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1. Timing
World leaders assume that the first person to win the US presidents attention hits the jackpot. Thats nonsense. The Americans are so organized when it comes to procedural matters, that they dont care who is first and who is last. For 50 years, in every administration, whether Democratic or Republican, they hold the same tough line of policy as far as we are concerned, diverting neither to the right nor to the left.
In the eyes of senior administration workers in Washington, the differences between one president or another are in the size of the smile on his face, a hand on the foreign leader's the back as the two go up the stairs (the president already knows that the photographers are waiting for this moment) and other small examples of this kind that have nothing to do with the big picture. Because the big picture, my friends, does not change. A president goes, a president comes, and the policy always remains the same.
Netanyahu and Trump. The American president will still give us a hard time, but he will do it with a silver tongue (Photo: AP)
2. Words
The media interest in such a visit focuses on words. What the president said, what the prime minister didnt say. The words were written by their assistants in meetings held before the visitthey shout, argue, concede, insist. The written speeches are ready a few days in advance, and corrections are sometimes made at the last moment. In normal times, copies are even exchanged between the White House and Jerusalem to avoid any embarrassment. Therefore, for example, its important to hear on the days before the visit from Isaac Molho, Netanyahus emissary these days. Its waste of money to call the ambassador. He knows nothing.
3. Love
The president touched, the president embraced, the president complimented Mrs. Netanyahu. The prime minister and his wife were even accommodated at the official guesthouse, Blair House. The fact that all Israeli prime ministers in the past stayed there dozens of times doesnt matter right now. Love, we loved, we love, we will love. Words, words, words.
4. We have time
This is of course the main reason why the Israeli prime minister visits Washington frequently. The White House, the State Department and the Pentagon are like a giant aircraft carrier far out at sea, which needs to change its course. But by the time the order from the Washington reaches the helmsman, the entire Middle East can be conquered, if anyone is so inclined. The Americans, as I have written before, have a lot of time.
5. He will learn eventually
The visits coverage teaches us that Donald Trump is still ignorant about the Middle East and has almost no idea what its all about. If he said at the press conference, Im looking at two states and one state, and I like the one that both parties like, it means that he hasnt even started studying the complicated situation he is diving headfirst into, bringing the whole country with him.
This couldnt have happened to previous presidents: They had the Israeli-Palestinian conflict pumping through their veins, and at least some of them were familiar with every stone in the Western Wall and every turn in the Western Wall Tunnels. Trump will also learn in the coming years that there is no such thing as one state, two states, whatever you like. Very soon, he will understand the need for a forced agreement in the Middle East, because the minimum demanded by Israel doesnt even scratch the surface of the Palestinian demands.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday morning that he and US President Donald Trump have agreed to form a team to examine the Jewish settlement enterprise in the West Bank.
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"We agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the US in all of the main areas: Security, intelligence, cyber, technology, economics and many others. We also agreed to create a team in an area that we have not previously agreed on: I mean, of course, on settlement in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting.
Elaborating on the prime minister's comments, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said that "There is a need to conduct an ongoing discussion on issues that are on the agenda. As such, the Israeli ambassador in Washington has formed teams for this purpose. I believe that cooperation will be higher than it was with the previous administration and I expect good things. I expect building will recommence in all communities in the West Bank. Only then will the Palestinians understand and it will bring them to the negotiating table."
Netanyahu and Trump meet in Washington (Photo: MCT)
"The alliance between Israel and the US has always been steadfast but, I told them there and also here in Jerusalem: This alliance has become even stronger," Prime Minister Netanyahu, who returned from Washington on Friday, added.
"There is a personal connection of many years between President Trump and myself, and it is important. But it is even more important due to the second thing that has become stronger and this is the common view about the dangers and opportunities in the Middle East," Netanyahu continued.
"The two of us see eye to eye on the mainand growingthreat from Iran and the need to stand against Iranian aggression in the various spheres ... In the end we hope to achieve peace."
Before the cabinet meeting, Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofer Akunis claimed that "The idea of two states has disappeared from the agenda and that fact is huge and important. This is a big revolution in the discourse that common over the past eight years. President Trump has not pressured us like Obama, who saw nothing else other than the two-state solution, which would have put Israeli citizens in real danger."
Cabinet meeting (Photo: Olivia Pitusi)
Prior to the meeting, around 100 demonstrators, some of them Amona evacuees, demanded that the new community Netanyahu promised them be constructed.
Several of the residents spoke with Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who told them, "The prime minister signed a deal with you and I, as a government minister, will see to it that commitments be fulfilled."
Bennett also said that he went to the Prime Minister's Office to go over timetables for establishing the new community.
Amona demonstrators demanding their new community (Photo: Mateh Amona)
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev also addressed Amona evacuees before entering the cabinet meeting, saying, "I am going now to the prime minister to tell him that 'promises need to be kept.'"
Amona residents have already chosen land near Shilo for the establishment of a new community. According to the agreement, work is set to begin in March.
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel also addressed the Amona issue on Sunday morning, saying, "We owe the people of Amona a new community in the West Bank. I dont see how the coalition can continue working effectively without honoring its commitments to the people of Amona and Israel."
Tunnel excavations for the light rail in the Greater Tel Aviv area began Sunday with a special ceremony during which the tunnel boring machine (TBM) was officially named "Golda" after Israel's fourth prime minister.
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"Golda Meir was the first woman to hold the position of prime minister and she was also among the six to lay a cornerstone here," said Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz, who attended the ceremony alongside Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
"Golda" getting ready to go to work (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
At the start of excavations, which begin four months ahead of schedule, Katz said, "The decision I made in the three previous governments as minister of transportation was to connect the periphery and the center and promote infrastructure projects. The size of the project deterred others from undertaking it for many years and it was neglected. Leadership should not be afraid of challenges in order to change reality."
Photo: Motti Kimchi
In sum, eight TBMs will excavate 12 kilometers at a depth of 30 meters under Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv.
The boring will begin under Ayalon Highway and in its first phase, will provide the infrastructure for underground rail stations in Tel Aviv at Arlozorov, King Saul, Yehudit and Carlebach.
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Every one of the eight TBMs is roughly 115 meters long and 7.5 meters wide, weighing 900 tons. 20 workers and engineers from China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG) are with the machine at any given time. The TBM is expected to bore at least 10 meters per day.
MUNICH -- The Syrian opposition is fully committed to peace talks in Geneva on Feb. 23, a senior official said on Sunday, adding the talks would need to pave the way for a political transition.
"We are fully committed for the Geneva talks," Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah told delegates at the Munich Security Conference. "We cannot address the profound security threats ... while Assad remains in power," he said.
Brett McGurk, the United States' envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, said the new U.S. administration was still reviewing its Syria position, but that it was seeking a role to reinforce Russian and Turkish efforts to cement a ceasefire in the country.
None of the leaders of the moderate Arab states ranted or even opened their mouths to respond to the statements made at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trumps press conference . There were no reactions either to the sentence that made headlines, when Trump stated nonchalantly that he doesnt really care if the parties go for one state or two states.
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The commentators on the other side are looking for words and are making no effort to hide the despair. Among the polite ones, Trump is an enigma. Others are ready to swear that he is mainly ignorant on regional affairs and prefers to jump over puddles.
On the one hand, he gave the Palestinian state a dogs burial and fulfilled his obligation when he asked Bibi to hold off on settlements for a bit. On the other hand, its actually thanks to Netanyahu, who understands the dangerous ramifications, that the American embassy is not moving (for now) to Jerusalem.
Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, last week. As far as the Arab world is concerned, the Israeli prime minister got more than he dreamed of (Photo: AP)
If they do it, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit has warned, the gates of hell will open. To give a simple and clear explanation, the secretary-general has frightening numbers, tens of millions of people who will be prepared to take to the streets and partake in operations, should the administration insist on the move after all.
My guess is that the leaders, the advisors and everyone in the decision-making circle in the Arab world did not miss even one second of the White House meeting. As far as they are concerned, Netanyahu got more than he dreamed of.
Nevertheless, Trump heard what he heard from Jordans King Abdullah, a channel of communication was opened with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the CIA director visited Ramallah and Saudi King Abdullahs palace found a way to relay messages to Washington.
To what extent does Trump want to get his feet wet in the swamp of the Mideast conflict? He made some unbinding comment about a regional conference. As far as he is concerned, they can go for an inside-out solution, similar to what you order in a sushi restaurant. First big peace, then the conflict with the Palestinians, and then lets wait and see.
The nonsense tweeted by Minister Ayoob Kara has now been added to this whirlpool. Now lets try to convince the other side that Abu Damage is simply looking for headlines. Lets try to convince them that the minister on no affairs whatsoever doesnt have a clue when he insists that Netanyahu arrived to strike a deal with Trump to establish a Palestinian state between Gaza and Sinai, at al-Sisis expense.
On Thursday night, I took part in a long discussion on al-Jazeeras daily news broadcast about our ambassador in Cairo, who has been stuck in Jerusalem since the end of the summer due to serious security warnings. The two people sitting in front of me during the broadcast, the editor of a newspaper in Cairo and Egyptian oppositionist Ayman Nour, who fled to Turkey, sent the viewers to Ayoob Karas irresponsible tweet.
This is a minister in the Israeli government, the speaker from Cairo insisted as he tried to sell the new conspiracy theory. Your ambassador was kept in Jerusalem in order to pressure al-Sisi to give up on lands in Sinai.
Now try to explain that this minister has a long history of chasing headlines, that a Palestinian state in Sinai is a nightmare rather than anyones dream, and that our democracy has gone crazy.
An Arab summit is being planned in Amman at the end of next month. If they manage to overcome their internal battles, it wont be a pleasant event for Israel. Jihad al-Hazen, one of the leading commentators in the Arab world, is already calling on Egypt and Jordan to announce that they are cancelling their peace agreements with Israel, in order to make Trump and his emissaries get their hands dirty.
Trump has succeeded in confusing the leaders of the Arab world. There is no way to understand him or his plans. The way things look now, Iran and the Islamic State are at the top of his list.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the security issues and the economic crises are the real headache. In the new road map, the silent moderates have no other choice but to tighten their relations with Jerusalem.
A disagreement among Supreme Court judges is likely to delay the appointment of four new judges this week.
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The Judicial Selection Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday in order to vote on the four candidates.
Judge Yosef Elron
In order to be selected as a Supreme Court judge, a majority of seven out of nine votes is required.
One of the candidates is the head of the Haifa District Court, Judge Yosef Elron, who is considered a conservative. Elron is supported by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) and Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi), who is head of the selection committee.
Chief Justice Miriam Naor has claimed in recent months that several of her colleagues think Elron is "not the stuff of a Supreme Court judge." However, several judges disagree, expressing that they find him worthy of the post.
Kahlon convinced Naor to agree to Elron's appointment as a part of a "package deal" in which Naor will also get the nominations of the other three judges she wanted.
Judge Esther Hayut (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
However, last week, the soon-to-be chief justice, Esther Hayut came out against Elron's appointment, bringing an end to the aforementioned deal.
If by Wednesday an agreement is not reached, the committee will disband without a vote.
The four new candidates are meant to replace Elyakim Rubenstein, Zvi Zylbertal, Salim Joubran and Chief Justice Miriam Naor.
If no agreement is reached, Shaked and Kahlon will not be able to prevent a bill that will allow for the appointment of a Supreme Court judge by a simple majority.
The new IDF Chief Rabbi, Col. Eyal Karim, declared his allegiance at the President's Residence on Sunday, thus joining the Chief Rabbinate Council, which examines Jewish law and modern-day halachic decrees.
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His appointment was announced in July and was immediately met with criticism over comments he made permitting the raping of women during times of war, describing gay people as sick or deformed," and calling for soldiers to disobey military orders that conflict with Jewish law.
Karim (L) with President Rivlin (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
In November, the High Court of Justice issued a tempotary injunction delaying Karim's appointment, demanding that he clarify his past remarks.
The court eventually accepted his explanations and shelved a petition filed by Meretz seeking to block the appointment. Karim then assumed the post of IDF chief rabbi in early December.
Karim
"In Israel, there's a freedom of speech," Karim said during the ceremony at the President's Residence. "The problem is that only few are willing to hear and listen.
Karim (C) receiving his new rank from IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot (R)
"As I join the Chief Rabbinate Council as a member, I wish that we all be wise enough to know not just how to talk, but also how to listen, understand, and learn so we can fix what needs to be fixed," he went on to say.
President Reuven Rivlin told the new IDF chief rabbi that his job is "the mission of your lifeto serve as a link between the Torah and the army; between the places of Torah study and the training bases; between the desire in the IDF and among many in the Israeli society to integrate as many different sectors in the military in an appropriate manner."
Following the ceremony, Rivlin said that "The job of unification is no less complicated than that of Moses. This is because Moses didn't have to contend with the IDF chief of staff, the government, chief rabbis and the heads of yeshivas and counselors. Nor did he have the media waiting to shine a light on every chasm and crevice."
On the other hand, stressed Rivlin, "Moses also didn't have the IDF chief of staff on his side, or the chief rabbis for any problem, the heads of yeshivas and counselors to ask for advice and the media to communicate messages of true dialogue and a desire to listen to each and every soldier, male of female. You have all of these tools."
Merely a month and a half since the beginning of 2017, ten Arab men have already been murdered, according to the latest statistics, with eight people shot to death, one being stabbed to death, and another falling victim to a vicious and and fatal beating.
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The statistics join a worrying growing number of female Arab murder victims in 2016, compared to 2015.
The tenth victim was a businessman in his 50s from the Arab town of Kafr Qasim, who was killed on Saturday after being shot. He was initially rushed to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. He was originally declared to be in moderate-to-serious condition, but his situation later began to deteriorate.
He is the brother of Mustafa Amar who, together with his son Ala, was murdered two weeks prior at a parking lot during a shooting attack.
The ten Arab male victims of 2017
It was expected that the new year would bring with it a decrease in crime and violence rates within the Arab sector, but the speed with which these cases have been racking up shows no signs of slowing down.
Police are still investigating all Arab murder cases from 2017, but so far only one suspect was arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of a young man from the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm; no one has been arrested in relation to any of the other nine cases.
Sami, a resident of the northern Arab city of Sakhnin, said that "The violence and crime in Arab society is spreading and hurting the innocent, as well. The atmosphere is very severe, a lot of people have forgotten the meaning of tolerance and resort to shooting to solve any small problem, without trying to solve disagreements in a better way."
Isa, a resident of the Galilee Arab town of Yafa an-Naseriyye, said that he feels "The government has abandoned its Arab citizens, while the police busies itself with giving out fines, after which they swiftly disappear. They don't invest in fighting terrorism or violence. They only close off a neighborhood and go door to door to catch a suspect, like they did in Haifa's Halisa neighborhood , in cases that involve a non-Arab citizen.
"Not a weekend goes by without a murder or attempted murder in the Arab community. When will the government take responsibility and protect its Arab citizens?"
Ali, also from Umm al-Fahm, added that "These statistics show that we are all living in danger. The most disappointing thing is that a lot of sources criticize the government, racist decision makers and the occupation, but you don't hear them talk about the criminals walking free in our streets."
He went on to say that "All the steps that have been taken have failed. We the residents will keep on paying the price."
The Israel Police issued a statement on the matter, saying that its murder investigations are thoroughly and professionally conducted "while striving without compromise to arrive at the truth and bring murderers to justice, without any connection to the murderer or victim's identity or origin."
Israel and Saudi Arabia presented a united front on Sunday, issuing almost identical warnings of caution against Iranian aggression Sunday as the two countries urged the international community to punish Tehran for a myriad of activities undermining regional stability.
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Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir closed ranks, despite their respective countries having no official diplomatic relations, as they rebuffed statements made by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif calling on Sunni Muslim Gulf states to help reduce violence in the area.
Avigdor Lieberman addresses Munich Security Conference ( )
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Among the accusations levelled against Iran by Israel and Saudi Arabia, who were subsequently joined by Turkey, were its involvement in the Syrian civil war on behalf of the countrys President Bashar al-Assad, its development of ballistic missiles, its funding of Shi'ite rebels in Yemen and its efforts to undermine various regimes in the region.
Al-Jubeir called Tehran the main sponsor of global terrorism and a destabilising force in the Middle East.
From Left to right: Mohammad Javad Zarif , Avigdor Liebmerman and Adel al-Jubeir (Photo: Reuters, AP, AFP)
He sidestepped a question about Israel's call for concerted action with Sunni Arab states amid growing speculation that the two countries could normalize relations and join forces to oppose Tehran, much as Turkey has done.
The six Arab members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Saudi Arabia, accuse Iran of using sectarianism to interfere in Arab countries and build its own sphere of influence in the Middle East. Iran denies the accusations.
"Iran remains the single main sponsor of terrorism in the world," Adel al-Jubeir told delegates at the conference. "It's determined to upend the order in the Middle East ... (and) until and unless Iran changes its behaviour it would be very difficult to deal with a country like this."
Adel al-Jubeir speaking at the Munich Security Conference (Photo: AFP)
The international community needed to set clear "red lines" to halt Iran's actions, he said, calling for banking, travel and trade restrictions aimed at changing Tehran's behaviour.
Lieberman said Iran's ultimate objective was to undermine Riyadh, and called for a dialogue with Sunni Arab countries to defeat "radical" elements in the region.
"The real division is not Jews, Muslims ... but moderate people versus radical people," Lieberman told delegates.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also criticized what he called an Iranian "sectarian policy" aimed at undermining Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Reuters)
"Turkey is very much against any kind of division, religious or sectarian," he said. "It's good that we are now normalizing our relations with Israel."
Zarif opened Sunday's session with the call for dialogue to address "anxieties" in the region. This followed a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Oman and Kuwait last week to try to improve ties, his first visit to the Gulf states since taking power in 2013.
Asked if Iran's envisioned regional dialogue could include Israel, Zarif said Tehran was looking at a more "modest" approach. "I'm focusing on the Persian Gulf. We have enough problems in this region so we want to start a dialogue with countries we call brothers in Islam," he said.
Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: AFP)
Zarif dismissed any suggestions his country would ever seek to develop nuclear weapons. When asked about the new US administration's tough rhetoric on Iran's role in the region and calls to review the nuclear deal, he said Tehran did not respond well to threats or sanctions.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said he and other senators were preparing legislation to further sanction Iran for violating UN Security Council resolutions with its missile development programme and other actions.
"It is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they've done outside the nuclear program," he said.
Senator Christopher Murphy, a Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Washington needed to decide whether to take a broader role in the regional conflict.
There was some cosmic justice. After stringing along a slew of nominees for secretary of state, ultimately humiliating Mitt Romney, President Donald Trump got a dose of his own medicine. The Post reports:
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Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward has turned down President Trump's offer to become his new national security adviser, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.
Harward would have replaced Michael Flynn, who announced his resignation late Monday amid allegations that he discussed U.S. sanctions with a Russian official before Trump took office and then misrepresented the content of that conversation to Vice President Pence and other administration officials.
One factor in Harward's decision was that he couldn't get a guarantee that he could select his own staff, according to a person close to Trump with knowledge of the discussions.
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No, it's not normal for a high-level pick to turn down the president -- publicly.
Multiple former national security experts conjectured that the hang-up specifically was Trump's deputy national security adviser, KT McFarland, a TV commentator who has not served in government since the Reagan era. Few foreign policy professionals consider her qualified for the job.
An experienced former foreign policy official tells me: "Harward insisted on a very reasonable condition, which was naming his own deputy. Now the administration has an even deeper problem: either the next candidate will make the same demand, or he or she will appear to be weak and overly ambitious by accepting conditions Harward turned down." The official suggested: "The way out of this is to give KT McFarland a nice, sunny embassy -- fast."
Harward certainly knows the struggles that Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson have had hiring their own staff -- neither has an announced deputy; Harward was not about to subject himself to the same micromanaging from the White House.
Former State Department official and vocal Trump critic Eliot Cohen says, "It makes it very difficult for any serious person to take the job under less reasonable conditions than Harward seems to have demanded, i.e., control of staffing." He explains, "No sane person would take this extremely important and difficult job without (a) control of staffing, and (b) eliminating or neutering Bannon's shadow NSC staff."
Harward's decision reflects how far the president and this administration have fallen in the eyes of esteemed national security experts, including current and former officials. The White House is without an experienced chief of staff or normal internal decision-making procedures. Stephen K. Bannon got himself inserted into the National Security Council's principals meeting; Trump plans to bring on a crony, Stephen A. Feinberg, to "review" the intelligence operation. The president is in the middle of a crisis of his and Bannon's making. Trump delivered an unhinged monologue at his news conference on Thursday, which re-raises questions about his emotional and mental health.
As CNN's Jake Tapper tweeted, "A friend of Harward's says he was reluctant to take NSA job [because] the WH seems so chaotic; says Harward called the offer a '(expletive) sandwich.' "
Sooner rather than later, we hope that for the country's sake, Jared Kushner or Ivanka Trump (or someone else Trump will listen to) will lay it out bluntly: He can have Bannon running roughshod over the administration, or he can be a successful president; he cannot have both.
Bannon has intruded into national security matters and wound up embarrassing the president with, among other things, the failed travel ban. Bannon's pro-Soviet tilt is unacceptable to Cabinet-level hires, to both political parties and to our allies. That Bannon would not foresee this nor understand the folly of his effort to push Trump into the embrace of an aggressive foe is political malpractice of the highest order. He has managed to make half of the country think Trump is a Russian spy or up to his eyes in financial debt to Vladimir Putin.
Trump -- not unlike Bill Clinton after an ineffective first year in office -- should clean house, find a heavyweight chief of staff and banish Bannon, who has no clue how to develop and implement policy, at least not any policy that withstands scrutiny. Bannon can head up Trump's political operation, or cut out the middle man and be a lobbyist for Russia.
The Swedish embassy in Washington has asked the US State Department for an explanation of a comment made by President Donald Trump that suggested there had been some sort of security incident in Sweden on Friday.
The US President was speaking at at a political rally in Florida on Saturday when, in connection with the mention of a need to keep the United States safe, he said: "You look at what's happening in Germany. You look at what's happening last night in Sweden. "Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible." Trump did not elaborate on the Swedish reference, leaving many Swedes baffled.
"We have asked the question today to the state department. We are trying to get clarity," said Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson.
Swedes have been scratching their heads in confusion and ridiculing President Donald Trump's remarks that suggested a major incident had happened in the Scandinavian country.
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During a rally in Florida on Saturday, Trump said "look what's happening last night in Sweden" as he alluded to past terror attacks in Europe. It wasn't clear what he was referring to and there were no high-profile situations reported in Sweden on Friday night.
"Sweden...Who would have believed this? Sweden," the president added emphatically, indicating that his remarks were no slip of the tongue.
Trump at support rally in Florida
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The comment prompted a barrage of social media reaction on Sunday, with hundreds of tweets, and a local newspaper published a list of events that happened on Friday that appeared to have no connections to any terror-like activity.
Trump at Florida rally of his supporters (Photo: AP)
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said that the government wasn't aware of any "terror-linked major incidents." Sweden's Security Police said it had no reason to change the terror threat level.
"Nothing has occurred which would cause us to raise that level," agency spokesman Karl Melin said.
Axelsson said that the Swedish Embassy in Washington contacted the State Department on Sunday to request clarification of Trump's remarks and was waiting for an answer.
Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted , "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound."
Addressing Trump in an article on Sunday, the Aftonbladet tabloid wrote, "This happened in Sweden Friday night, Mr. President," and then listed in English some events that included a man being treated for severe burns, an avalanche warning and police chasing a drunken driver.
One Twitter user said, "After the terrible events #lastnightinSweden, IKEA have sold out of this" and posted a mock Ikea instruction manual on how to build a "Border Wall."
Sweden, which has built a reputation for welcoming refugees and migrants, had a record 163,000 asylum applications in 2015. The country has since cut back on the number it annually accepts.
Its most recent attack linked to extremism happened in the capital, Stockholm, in December 2010. An Iraqi-born Swede detonated two explosive devices, including one that killed him but no one else.
At the rally, Trump told his followers to look at what was happening in Germany, where a truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market killed 12 people. He also mentioned Paris, Brussels and Nice, in apparent reference to the terror attacks there.
The president didn't specify what was supposed to have happened in Sweden, simply saying "Sweden, who would believe this, Sweden."
Over the past few weeks, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway has also referred to the "Bowling Green Massacre" that never occurred, and she was caught up in a public feud with CNN.
A top American Jewish leader urged US President Donald Trump to speak out against anti-Semitism amid a surge in harassment of Jews in the US.
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Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, spoke in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying that "I think that the president helps set the tone for a country."
Trump (Photo: Reuters)
Despite Trump's flippant remarks recently made to a Haredi reporter's question on rising anti-Semitism in the United States, Hoenlein said: "I'm hopeful that what he said about ... addressing hate and racism of all kinds in American society will be translated into clear action."
American Jews have experienced a sharp rise in anti-Semitism over the course of the presidential campaign and this year. Among the incidents, Jewish centers in 27 states and Canada received telephone bomb threats last month.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Sunday morning that he met secretly a year ago with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in a failed bid by the Obama administration to convene a wider regional summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace.
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Speaking to ministers from his Likud party, Netanyahu said that he had participated in a clandestine meeting on February 21, 2016 in the Jordanian Sea resort of Aqaba with the then US secretary of state John Kerry, Jordans King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
John Kerry with Prime Minister Netanyahu and King Abdullah in Jordan (Photo: EPA)
During the summit, according to a report in Haaretz, Kerry presented a regional peace initiative which allegedly included recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and that would renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
However, the initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled out, the newspaper said, after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government.
Speaking to his ministers on Sunday, Netanyahu responded to the report by implying that Kerry had not initiated the plan, but rather he had. Maybe I initiated the summit?
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (Photo: AP)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not attend the Aqaba meeting but was updated by Kerry, Haaretz said.
A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment on the report. Al-Sisi's office issued a statement referring to the news report, without mentioning a specific newspaper, as having "incorrect information" but did not deny that a meeting took place. No immediate comment was available from Jordan.
The Egyptian president also emphasized during a meeting with a delegation of leaders from Jewish leaders in the US that a two-state solution was just, and was a top priority.
The establishment of peace will bring about a new reality that will enable regional countries to make social and economic developments that the peoples of the states except, al-Sisi said. He also added that peace would end one of the most important excuses used by terror organizations to justify their acts.
In addition, efforts are continuing among Arab states to renew contact between Israel and the Palestinians. Indeed, Jordans king met Sunday with members of the US Congress in Amman.
The meeting dealt with recent developments in the region and especially on efforts to restart the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution, which is the only solution to the conflict, said a Jordanian statement.
Officials from both Iran and North Korea have stated they want to strengthen ties.
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A Sunday report by ICANA.ir, the news agency of Iran's Parliament, quoted parliament speaker Ali Larijani as saying: "We have always been after stability of relations with North Korea."
Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani casts his ballot during national elections (Photo: AP)
Larijani was addressing Choe Thae-bok, visiting chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, who is in Iran to participate in an international conference in support of the Palestinians.
Larijani was also quoted as saying that both countries should improve economic relations.
Thae-bok responded, saying: "North Korea is seeking improved relations with Iran." He also praised Iran's economic and defense improvements.
The report said both officials complained about "interventions in independent countries" by the United States.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Singapore and Australia on Sunday. Before doing so, however, he handed in his resignation as minister of Communications, which will take effect within 48 hours. By relinquishing control over the portfolio, Netanyahu is seeking to obviate the state's response to the High Court concerning a petition filed by head of the opposition MK Isaac Herzog, claiming that Netanyahu is in a conflict of interest and therefore should be suspended from his position as minister of Communications.
The Knesset is expected to approve Netanyahu's interim replacement, Minister Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud), by phone as the new minister of Communications. Hanegbi will then fill this role for the next three months.
Maintaining the communications portfolio has been a priority for Netanyahu, who has insisted of keeping it despite sustained criticism since his most recent government was formed.
ISIS has claimed that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) belonging to the Israel Air Force attacked a vehicle in Egypt's Sinai desert on Saturday, liquidating five of the Islamic terror groups members in the process.
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Illustration: ISIS anti-aircraft weapons in the Sinai
In the report published by the ISIS news agency al-Amaq, the alleged attack was carried out in a village in northern Rafah.
Earlier, the news agency published a photo showing one of its members dead in the Sinai Peninsula named Hatab al-Maqdasi.
Ten days ago, ISIS claimed responsibility for the four rockets that were fired into Eilat from the Sinai Peninsula.
The organization issued a statement saying: A number of rockets were launched at Jewish centers in Eilat, known as Umm Rashrash. The Jews and Crusaders should know that the war of the apostles will not save them in any way.
A key factor in the growing popularity of these two locations is their relative affordability. For as little as $100,000, an investor can enter the local market, said Brett Barton, principal of Fyshwick-based sector specialists Barton Molloy.
Thats attractive for a lot of buyers with self-managed super funds who are looking for solid returns, he said. For instance, a $600,000 industrial property may return a rental of say, 6 per cent, which in most cases is going to be far superior to the rental return on a residential property of the same value.
While yields are attractive, the capital gains tend to be lower in the industrial sector.
Barton offered these key tips for those looking for a successful industrial property investment: a great location, solid lease strength, and a stable building condition.
And something that is well-regarded just harder to find in the ACT is a yard. Businesses like to have a yard for vehicles, plant and just general security, he said. ACT land values usually mean that yard space is sacrificed because building size is what returns are based on.
Fyshwick, Mitchell, and Queanbeyan continue to deliver solid returns as established industrial hubs, while Hume is rapidly growing in profile, especially now that greater connectivity is enabled by access to the Monaro Highway.
Fyshwicks character has changed somewhat over the years as weve seen more businesses with a retail focus move into the area, said Barton. But its still the first destination that many businesses look to when establishing an ACT presence.
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Ladies and gentleman, I now direct your attention to the three ring circus called the Nebraska Legislature. The feature attraction this year is the high wire act of balancing the state budget with one arm tied behind their backs, the revenue arm (" Tax restructuring bill draws heavy opposition ," Feb. 16).
Rest assured, the wealthy citizens of this state will still receive a nice tax cut while the rest of us will be tied to the whipping post and told to show some Nebraska grit while we take our beatings in budget cuts. Future beatings will be arranged for with a trigger mechanism that will give the wealthy even more tax cuts if they start to make more money. Ain't that "the good life?"
The insecurity of rental housing and the unsatisfactory condition of many of these properties are receiving much-deserved media attention following the release of a national survey of tenants.
New research from CHOICE, the National Association of Tenants Organisations, and National Shelter has found that renters face widespread insecurity, poor-quality housing, and discrimination. These organisations are calling for governments to prioritise rental security and quality issues, not just housing affordability.
The stock response to this insecurity which is longer fixed-term agreements is not the answer, argues Chris Martin, research fellow at the University of New South Wales. Instead, the solution needs to take into account the structural features of the Australian rental market, including the mobility of tenants.
Rather disturbingly, the research reveals widespread worry, dissatisfaction, and a sense of injustice among tenants. Other major findings include:
75% feel that competition for rental properties is unreasonably fierce
50% are concerned about being blacklisted on a tenancy database
50% have experienced some form of discrimination
30% live in properties that require non-urgent repairs
8% live in properties that require urgent repairs
10% reported an angry response after requesting repairs
Residential tenancy laws cover many of these problems. That tenants are not successfully exercising their legal rights indicates a deeper problem of insecurity in renting. This problem is both structural and legal, said Martin.
Part of the problem has to do with the structure of the rental property market. Small landlords dominate the Australian rental sector, and the majority (72%) own a single property. Sixty-two percent of these small landlords make a net rental loss, which is why many exit the sector when it suits them.
In order to exit, landlords might sell to another landlord or owner-occupier. These dynamics create structural insecurities for tenants. It also discourages landlords from binding their sole asset in a long fixed term.
And while tenants enjoy many protections under each state and territorys Residential Tenancies Act, tenants grapple with much anxiety because landlords are able to give notices of termination without grounds.
Without-grounds termination notices give cover to terminations by landlords for bad reasons, such as retaliation and discrimination. This means the prospect of receiving such a notice hangs over tenants when repairs and other issues arise, said Martin.
He believes the legal insecurity of tenants could be alleviated in several ways.
Under the current laws of each state and territory, a fixed term prevents landlords from terminating without grounds for the duration of the fixed term. Likewise, a fixed term prevents tenants from lawfully terminating without grounds.
Martin argues that advocating for long fixed-term tenancy agreements is unwieldly for both landlords and tenants, and also threatens other valuable legal protections.
Instead of long fixed terms, Martin believes governments should abolish without-grounds termination by landlords.
The law should instead provide a comprehensive set of reasonable grounds for termination, with notice periods and exclusion periods appropriate to each ground. This accommodates our present lot of small landlords, and can be done immediately, Martin said.
Over a longer term, we should set our housing tax and finance policies to get a more stable sort of landlord. That would be one who operates at greater scale, has a reputation to protect and is less interested in switching out of the sector than in receiving a steady trickle of rents from secure tenants.
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In an article that was recently published in The Australian, Nerida Conisbee, chief economist at REA Group, said Australian property had become so attractive to foreign buyers that the dominance of Aussie investors in local commercial property was slowly but surely coming to an end.
Foreign investors are increasingly looking to Australia for stable investments in part due to growing political uncertainty in other major markets. Additionally, overseas groups come to Australia in search of a more balanced portfolio or their first foray into the Asia-Pacific market.
In contrast, the amount of commercial property being snapped up by Australian groups has shrunk significantly over the past decade.
In 2006, more than 80% of purchases by volume were made by domestic investors, but last year, it was less than 60%, according to data from REA Group. The most dominant investors now come from China, the United States, and Singapore, though other countries in the Pacific Rim (such as South Korea and Japan) have also made significant inroads into Australian commercial property.
These figures do not take into account the amount of funding Aussie investors are getting from offshore sources through channels such as capital partnering.
Although impossible to calculate, if [capital partnering] is taken into account, the amount of foreign money buying commercial property is likely to be far higher. In fact, its safe to estimate that well over a half of commercial property is likely to now be purchased using overseas funds, Conisbee said.
Unfortunately, this spells bad news for domestic investors as theyll find it increasingly hard to acquire good local stock.
While historically, the gap between the Sydney CBD and those found in other major real estate havens, such as London and New York, has been wide, this gap is beginning to close very quickly.
Investors now see Sydney on par with these other cities and are prepared to spend big to get into the market. For Australian investors used to much higher yields and greater stock availability, sorry, but competition is going to be a bit tougher now. This is going to make it much more difficult to expand portfolios and achieve high returns.
While Aussie investors are now largely absent from overseas property markets, intense competition at home could force greater numbers to seek lucrative investments abroad.
I predict we will see more [Aussie] groups entering foreign markets in 2017 [but] with so much political turmoil outside Australia, they will need to tread carefully.
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The 2016 Zika virus outbreak, along with recent outbreaks of SARS, bird flu, H1N1 and Ebola, underscore the importance of being prepared for and responding quickly to infectious diseases. Zika, in particular, poses unique challenges, since its associated birth defects and lack of preventive treatment currently threaten over 60 countries.
During pandemics, scientists must race to investigate infection mechanisms, facilitate early detection and apply effective mitigations. Resources and policies for scientific, clinical and technical advances must be coordinated to enable rapid understanding of all aspects of an outbreak in order to minimize damaging impacts.
Eva Lee, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech and director of the Center for Operations Research in Medicine and Healthcare, has developed a biological-behavioral-operational computer model to help policy makers choose the best intervention strategies to rapidly contain an infectious disease outbreak. Her analysis covers the dynamics of disease transmission across different environments and social settings. The modeling system gives on-the-ground policymakers critical information about how to mitigate infection, monitor risk and trace disease during a pandemic.
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Lee presented findings and policy implications from her research on Feb. 16, 2017, in a briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, Mass. The research has been sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lee's presentation gave the results for Zika using her model, described by public health experts as "a digital disease surveillance and response" tool. The tool, ASSURE, can use many types of data, including biosurveillance, environmental, climate, viral, host, human behavior and social factors. If genetic information for the disease carriers are available, they also can be incorporated. Lee explained how the modeling system provides the ability to predict disease spread, assess risk and determine effective containment methods. In addition, it can help public health leaders optimize deployment of limited resources to help prevent and reduce the extent of future outbreaks.
"The containment of pandemics is fundamental to preventing a global epidemic," said Lee. "ASSURE is a computational modeling tool designed for real-time support. By accepting real-time data, the model produces predictions that are customized to reflect a specific environment, policy and human behavior on the ground."
Referring to data related to the Zika outbreak in Brazil, Lee discussed which containment approaches are most effective there. Her model shows that the easiest and most productive way to contain the outbreak in Brazil is to the reduce the biting rate of mosquitoes by using insect repellents/mosquito-wristbands, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and employing air conditioning and window/door screens to keep mosquitoes out. The result is practical. For example, the model demonstrates that only 20 percent compliance can reduce the total infection by half. This strategy is more successful than just widely applying insecticide and lasers to kill mosquitos. The model offers policymakers a decision-support framework to estimate the cost-effectiveness of each prevention measure.
The modeling system also underscores the importance of early intervention by revealing the timing of different interventions and associated outcomes. "Knowing when to respond and how it affects the outcome is essential," Lee said.
Lee has shared some of these findings with federal officials, who recommended implementation of her resulting policies and strategies for Puerto Rico. She is also working with public health leaders in Houston, Texas, to identify high-risk areas and to optimize local surveillance and intervention.
Lee's system can be applied to help contain a wide variety of epidemics, including not only Zika but also dengue, Ebola, and many other types. "The modeling framework accommodates various transmission mechanisms. This allows public health officials to adapt rapidly to changing disease environments and different emerging epidemics," said Lee. As part of a continuing research effort, Lee is working with vaccinologists on vaccine immunity prediction to permit faster design and evaluation of new and emerging vaccines and to identify individuals either most likely or least likely to be protected by a vaccine.
An applied mathematician and modeling innovator, Lee has traveled to hot spots around the world as an advisor in response to public health catastrophes. She has long partnered with the CDC on medical preparedness and emergency response. Since 2015, she served on the National Preparedness and Response Science Board (NPRSB), the federal committee that provides advice and guidance to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The researchers conducted an experiment with a cohort of more than 300 first-year students in the Netherlands who attended microeconomics tutorials in 15 pre-selected and stable groups. The top 30% students in 8 randomly chosen groups were unexpectedly praised for their performance on the first of the two midterm exams in front of their peers. Compared to similarly good students in the "control" groups, where no such recognition was given, they did no better on the second midterm. However, and, again, compared to their likes in the control groups, the students whose grade fell just a little below the top 30% of their group improved their second midterm grade significantly.
Nick Zubanov sees these findings as evidence for conformity to the performance norm: "Human behaviour is influenced by the individual's personal understanding of the norm. This applies for academia as well as business environments. Student performance is influenced not only by personal benefits, such as grades or passing an exam, but also by the existing performance norms." The verbal recognition of performance serves here as an instrument by which the norm is communicated. If an individual is praised, chances are he or she fulfils the performance norm. On the other hand, those not recognised will learn that they may have been too optimistic about fulfilling the norm and will hence work harder. There are of course other, more powerful, reasons why people work or study hard, but the very existence of these reasons makes Hoogveld and Zubanov's findings all the more remarkable. One lesson to learn from their study is that a simple "well done" said in the right way makes some people feel better and others work harder.
Facts:
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There is a voter suppression bill that has been submitted and I would encourage all to voice their disapproval. The Nebraska Contitution reads, Elections shall be free and there shall be no hindrance or impediment and that right to vote is under attack. LR1CA adds language allowing the state to require a photo ID to vote ("All-mail voting could be expanded," Jan. 19). Supporters say it would improve voters faith in Nebraska elections but how can weakening my constitutional protections improve faith in elections? There can be no integrity in our elections when laws are adopted that turn eligible voters away at the polls. When you look at the fiscal coat, every tax paying Nebraskan should be against LR1CA.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted an Afghan national of the charges of drug trafficking, noting that there was strong suspicion over the credibility of the evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal granted the relief to Mohd Dawood who was accused of carrying over 5 kgs of heroin.
Along with Dawood, the court also acquitted Andhra Pradesh resident Paligiri Siddiqui in the case.
The court said that there were contradictions and discrepancies in the testimony of the material prosecution witnesses.
"It raises a very strong suspicion over the credibility of their testimony including the recovery and the entire case of the prosecution. The benefit of doubt goes in favour of the accused persons who are entitled to acquittal in the present case," it said.
"The prosecution has not been able to prove its case against the accused persons Dawood and Siddiqui beyond reasonable doubt and therefore the said accused persons are hereby acquitted," it said.
According to the Special Cell of Delhi Police, both Dawood and Siddiquie were arrested, along with another Afghan national Sikander Owaish, from Millennium Park here on June 22, 2012 on a tip off.
On search, 5.262 kgs of heroin was recovered from the three accused, the police had said.
Owaish, however, absconded during the pendency of the trial and was declared an absconder in January 2014 by the court.
LIVE-2 Inning |06-10
ZIMBABWE VS INDIA
ZIM 42/5 VS 186/5 IND
Zimbabwe need 145 runs in 69 balls at 12.60 rpo
Despite recent deportations of unauthorized immigrants in Phoenix and Tucson, law enforcement officials in Flagstaff and greater Coconino County are reminding undocumented individuals that immigration enforcement is not a priority here.
Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll urged any undocumented immigrant living in the county not to fear contacting local police officers and sheriffs deputies if they are in distress or have a tip regarding criminal activity.
I want to make it clear that our department does not ask about papers and immigration status when we are contacted, Driscoll said. We dont enforce federal immigration and we have no intention of doing that.
Officials at the Flagstaff Police Department could not be reached for comment, but the department does "strongly encourage" officers to refrain from making immigration status inquiries during consensual contacts with juveniles, victims and witnesses of crime. The department's policy also adds protections for juveniles suspected of criminal activity. However, the decision to ask about a juvenile, victim or witnesss immigration status is left to the discretion of the police officer.
The Sheriffs department said ignoring the immigration status of witnesses and victims is a matter of keeping public trust within the undocumented community.
Our mindset has always been that this is a public trust issue, Driscoll said. When people are exploited by a domestic violence issue or have a tip about a situation of human trafficking we dont want them to worry about getting someone deported.
Individuals reporting a crime may not have to worry about being reported to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but those arrested by Flagstaff Police or the Sheriffs Department will automatically have their immigration status checked when they are booked into Coconino County Jail.
If someone is found during the booking process to be an unauthorized immigrant, local law enforcement will refer the individual to ICE.
According to the Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Erika Wiltenmuth, 48 hours is the typical time frame for local law enforcement to hold an individual for ICE.
"A person can be held 48 hours after the completion of local charges," Wiltenmuth wrote in an email. "If there are no local charges it is 48 hours from the time of booking. ICE can then submit a form to hold the person for an extended time."
Detention Commander for the Coconino County Detention Facility Matt Figueroa said that while ICE is notified of any undocumented person arrested, it is up to ICE to deal with anyone in the country illegally.
When we see that someone is undocumented we notify ICE and it is their responsibility to enforce any immigration issues, Figueroa said. ICE may choose to set up an interview with the individual or they may not do anything. We are required to inform ICE not enforce immigration law.
The detention center does not deal with unauthorized immigrant arrest very often. Last year the sheriffs department informed ICE of 84 undocumented individuals who were booked and detained locally. (No figures were available at presstime on how many were picked up by ICE.) By comparison the ICE detention center in Eloy holds close to 1,250 immigrants from all over the country, according to center reports.
Finding Sanctuary
Fear of deportation has caused some undocumented immigrants to seek churches for shelter from deportation, but no such movement has started in northern Arizona.
In 2014 South Presbyterian Church in Tucson gave sanctuary to Daniel Neyoy Ruiz who was ordered to be deported by ICE. He stayed in the church for over a month before he was given a stay of deportation.
Since then undocumented immigrants have sought church shelter in Tempe, Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and most recently Denver.
Church leaders believe immigrants are shielded from deportation because a 2011 ICE memo advises immigration officers to avoid taking action in "sensitive locations" such as hospitals, churches and schools.
Father Patrick Mowrer, a priest for San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church in Flagstaff, said that his church has considered giving refuge to those facing imminent deportation, but the situation has never come up.
We could do that, but I dont know how much we could do to help them, Mowrer said referring to church sanctuary. I have a very strong belief in the gospel message that we protect the immigrant and care for them.
Mowrer said that around 50 percent of his Spanish congregation is undocumented and that members have come to him with their worries.
People come and talk to me and they are scared, Mowrer said. Many of the undocumented people I talk to are just kind of living without any idea what will happen to them in the future.
When it comes to working with undocumented immigrants Mowrer said he spends most of his time preaching compassion to English-speaking members of the church.
I want to remind our English speaking service about the gospel and showing solidarity with immigrants in our Spanish-speaking service, Mowrer said.
Worry among undocumented church members is not any greater during the Trump administration according to Mowrer because Arizonas immigration bill SB1070 created a standard of fear in the community when it was passed in 2012.
SB1070 built up a fear of deportation so the fear of deportation was here before President Trump, Mowrer said. People havent really felt like Arizona was their home for a long time, but I know they would like to.
The results of the seven-phased Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections are finally out, along with the verdict Democracy has won. As in the words of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, it doesnt matter who emerged victorious in the elections; what matters is that the people of Jammu and Kashmir expressed their faith in Indias democratic institutions by turning out in large numbers during the polls despite boycott calls.
Elections are not new to India the worlds largest democracy. This year too, a number of states went to polls, like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc. But the polls in J&K were the most crucial one, considering the fact that the state has been facing years of unrest and was on the boil only few months back over the issue of Amarnath land transfer. In fact, a democratically-elected government collapsed in the wake of violent protests over the same issue when PDP did a volte face.
The state was due to go to polls at the end of 2008, but the tensions in J&K post Amarnath land transfer issue, collapse of government and imposition of Governors Rule had made it difficult to even imagine holding elections on schedule. However, the Centres determination and the Election Commissions belief that it can hold the polls in time made democracy triumph in Jammu and Kashmir, but not without peoples will.
The single-most crucial factor why the just concluded elections in J&K are being dubbed as the most credible ever in the troubled region (in the words of many, including Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami) is that people turned out in large, unexpected numbers to cast their ballot. Separatists who describe themselves the real representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir had given a call for boycotting the elections. But the people, especially those in the Kashmir Valley, came out to vote and showed the separatists as well as those in Pakistan their real standing with an over 60% voter turnout overall. In 2002, the voter turnout registered was way less 44%.
While the large voter turnout does not imply that the people of J&K have given up their call for greater autonomy, it does show that the general belief and attitude has changed in the state they are now willing to work in the Indian democratic set up, take part in the affairs of the state, and prioritise development and good governance over other emotionally-driven issues. They have matured, like the voters in Delhi who preferred development over anything else, and understood that issues like bijli-sadak-pani cannot be kept on the backburner for ever in search of something they already have voice. If the right to choose and elect who eventually rules them is not an expression of ones self, then what is?
The J&K vote was not just for development and good governance but also for peace something that has eluded the state for years. Whats remarkable is that this years elections were the most peaceful one that the state has seen since the start of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir in late 1980s. No sane human on this earth wants to live in war zone; everybody wants peace. And the so-called representatives of Kashmiri people, the separatists and their Pakistani masters have given the awaam of Jammu and Kashmir nothing but a life full of conflicts, trouble, disillusionment etc.
In a clear thumbs-down to separatists and those in Pakistan, people of J&K chose the moderate National Conference over the extremism of Peoples Democratic Party. And the former looks all set to form the government with the Congress the mainstream Indian party, meaning separatists will now find it harder to push their agenda in the state which is increasingly getting disenchanted with them.
Over two decades of insurgency has brought no improvement in the life of a common man in J&K than last six years of a democratic government. Over the past few years, the people of the state have seen development in the form of rail links, power projects; massive surge in tourism, aided by a marked drop in militancy etc. They have realised the true potential of the Indian democracy despite being plagued by corruption, dirty politics, selfish interests, it does give the people the power and right to choose and decide who they want to be ruled by. And not just the right to choose and decide but stand up and take part in the electoral process, thereby earning the right to rule by winning the elections. In other words, it gives people the opportunity to chalk out their own destiny. What more can an ordinary man ask for?
Lets hope these elections prove to be a milestone in Jammu and Kashmirs history, and help usher in an era of peace and stability in the state.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Armenias defense minister Vigen Sargsyan held a number of bilateral meetings on February 17.
In particular, Sargsyan and Evgeny Kaspersky, founding director of the Kaspersky Lab, discussed prospects of cooperation between the Armenian defense ministry and the Kaspersky Lab, which has huge experience in the sphere of information security. The sides expressed conviction that cooperation in such an important direction like information security will have positive results, taking into account the great potential in the IT field in Armenia, and the huge experience of the Kaspersky Lab.
The defense ministry told ARMENPRESS minister Sargsyan also held a meeting with Raimundas Karoblis, Minister of National Defence of Lithuania. Several cooperation prospects, including Armenian-Lithuanian defense cooperation, were discussed during the meeting. The parties said there is great resource to deepen relations, in both bilateral and Armenia-EU formats.
Later, the Armenian defense minister had a meeting with Antoni Macierewicz, Minister of National Defense of Poland. The sides stressed the warm attitude of the both states peoples toward each other and expressed conviction that a huge resource exists for deepening defense cooperation between the countries. The ministers discussed modern global challenges, stressing it is necessary to combine efforts to effectively resist them. As the best example of cooperation the sides mentioned the Armenia-Poland cooperation in peacekeeping missions in various countries.
Vigen Sargsyan also had a meeting with Martin Stropnicky, Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic. The ministers discussed prospects of Armenian-Czech cooperation in the defense sphere. The sides emphasized despite Armenia and the Czech Republic are in different military-political alliances, it cant be an obstacle for deepening cooperation, moreover that modern challenges which threaten the entire world require active cooperation in the defense field.
On February 17 minister Sargsyan also met with Yacoub Sarraf, minister of defense of Lebanon. Specially emphasizing the special role of the Armenian community of Lebanon in the countrys political, economic and cultural life, Sarraf mentioned it is an important factor for developing Armenian-Lebanese relations in all spheres, including defense. The sides agreed the developments in the region have great danger, the elimination of which requires close cooperation between states. Sargsyan and Sarraf expressed willingness for boosting efforts in deepening the Armenian-Lebanese defense cooperation.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting on February 17 in Munich with Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, minister of foreign affairs of Bahrain, the foreign ministry told ARMENPRESS.
The ministers were pleased to note the historic warm brotherly relations between Armenia and Arab states and agreed to take practical steps to even more strengthen the cooperation between Armenia and Bahrain.
The FMs of Armenia and Bahrain highlighted mutual visits, regular consultations between the ministries and expansion of legal-contractual field.
The meeting also focused on upcoming steps for developing trade-economic ties, including establishment of cooperation in the banking sector, organization of business forums and boosting of tourism.
The sides also discussed issues related to mobility.
The ministers exchanged ideas around several urgent international and regional issues.
STURTEVANT Andis Co. will be the first Racine County company and first manufacturer to host internships for developmentally disabled adults in Easterseals Southeast Wisconsins Project Search.
Project Search is a transition program to train adults with disabilities for employment. The business-led program takes place entirely in a host business from September through early June.
Easterseals plans to place 12 young adults, ages 18-24, at Andis, 1800 Renaissance Blvd., next school year. Project Search Manager Allyson OLeary said the interns have yet to be selected, and Easterseals is taking applications until March 8.
Project Search is a national program. This internship will be a collaboration between Easterseals, Andis, the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Racine Unified School District and the state Department of Health Services.
The interns go through a series of rotations to acquire competitive, marketable and transferable community employment skills, Easterseals states.
Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration and relevant job skills. Easterseals says 80 percent of the graduates find community-based employment.
Andis is one of the oldest producers of hair clippers and trimmers in the country. Before Andis, in southeastern Wisconsin all Project Search job settings have been Milwaukee-area hospitals, OLeary said.
Potential future hires
Bob Gleason, Andis vice president for human resources, said the company envisions giving the many different types of job experiences to see where the interns might fit, including: machinery operations; assembly; shipping and materials handling; and janitorial.
Gleason explained why Andis, an employer of more than 600 people here, volunteered to host a Project Search contingent. No. 1, were a pretty community-minded organization, he said.
But we also feel it could be a great potential addition to our workforce. We hope we will end up hiring many of them.
Andis, which manufactures the vast majority of its products here, has added about 80 employees in the past 12 months, Gleason said.
OLeary said the Andis opportunity arose because Easterseals works with DVR, which had a connection with Andis.
The partnership was very effortless, she said.
The interns work five 6-hour days a week. In addition to learning job skills, the classroom curriculum includes learning about appropriate interpersonal skills, resume writing, job searching and applications, understanding company policies and attendance, honesty, and appropriate dress.
An information session about the Project Search internships will be held March 1 at Andis with a 5:30 p.m. presentation, with a tour afterward. For more information contact OLeary at 262-953-2206.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of foreign affairs Edward Nalbandian had a meeting on February 18 with Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.
The sides discussed the process of negotiations over the new Armenia-EU agreement.
The foreign ministry told ARMENPRESS the parties also touched upon the successful implementation of Armenia and EU entry visa regime facilitation and readmission agreement which came into force three years ago.
The sides also exchanged ideas over the launch of dialogue on liberalization of entry between Armenia and the EU.
Nalbandian departed for Yerevan upon finishing the working visit to Munich.
New Brunswick tour operators believe a rare combination of politics, economics and history will help them attract more U.S. and Canadian tourists than usual to the province this summer.
Kathy Weir, a director at Broadleaf Guest Ranch in Albert County and president of the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, said the political climate in the United States and the Canada 150 celebrations should mean more visitors.
"I think if I was a resident of the United States, I would see a neighbour waving a flag and saying, 'Hey, come see us and come visit us,'" she told Information Morning Moncton. "So I think the timing is great for Canada and great for New Brunswick.
"We've been telling them, 'You just come up to Maine and turn right and we're right here.'"
Meanwhile, Weir said, Canadians who had been considering a vacation in the United States may have second thoughts because of the travel ban U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to implement.
"It may encourage Canadians to wait until the dust settles outside of our county and use this [Canada 150] celebration to get to know their own county ... and get to know their own province, " she said.
Ellen Tucker, a Saint John travel agent, who arranges vacations for visitors to Atlantic Canada, agreed.
"I think a lot of people are worried about confusion at the border and delays," Tucker said. "A lot of people have decided they're going to forgo the U.S. trip this year."
Low loonie 'big selling point'
Debbie Norton, a fishing and hunting outfitter in Miramichi, said her reservations for this summer are already up 40 per cent compared with last year.
"One of the most important reasons we're going to have a good summer is because of the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the Canadian one it's sure a big selling point," Norton said.
She said more than half of her clients at Upper Oxbow Adventures are Americans, and on her website she advertises that Miramichi is just a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Bangor.
Story continues
Norton said her marketing has focused on tourists from south of the border and it is paying off.
Canada 150 celebrations
Norton also expects the Canada 150 celebrations will encourage Canadians to spend their summer vacations at home.
"As far as Canada 150, that's going to be hopefully a big draw," she said.
Tucker agrees Canadians will stay home, but she said others are also choosing Canada.
"A lot of Europeans who would normally go to the U.S. in the summertime I think are going to choose Canada this year because we're getting a lot of bookings," Tucker said.
"People around the world are scared of Trump and what he's going to do next."
Weir agreed the Trump presidency could lead many tourists from around the world to rethink plans to visit the United States.
She said Canada is in the perfect position to attract those visitors because of all the events planned and money going into promoting Canada 150 celebrations.
"From Canada the message they're getting is 'we're safe and we want you to come,'" Weir said. "It's an opportunity and our operators and entrepreneurs are very optimistic."
Weir also pointed to the recent New Brunswick budget, which included an $8 million boost in funding for tourism marketing.
Execution in Kuwait
Criticisms based on inaccurate reports published by private organisations and media institutions.
Manama: Kuwait has expressed reservations over European Parliaments criticism of the execution of convicted murderers last month
Integrity and transparency are the major characteristic of Kuwaits judiciary and all defendants are provided with defence attorneys as guaranteed by Kuwaiti laws, Jassem Al Budaiwi, Kuwaits Ambassador to Belgium said.
The European Union on Wednesday said that it deeply deplores the executions in Kuwait and called for a moratorium on the death penalty as a step towards its abolition, the diplomat was quoted as saying by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) on Friday.
However, Al Budaiwi said that while he understood the motives behind the European Parliaments statement, he urged the European lawmakers to understand the principles of Kuwait Criminal Law, which did not clash with Kuwaits obligations vis-a-vis the international community.
The diplomat added that European Parliaments mention of alleged human rights issues in Kuwait was based on inaccurate reports published by some private organisations and media institutions.
The European Parliament did not contact the official authorities for information, resulting in a report that does not reflect the bright image of the State of Kuwait in terms of human rights, an image that is internationally appreciated.
All judicial and government institutions in Kuwait are operating in a transparent manner, and the human rights watchdogs in the state have full access to information and sources they need, Al Budaiwi said.
The ambassador played down the impact of the European Parliaments non-binding decision on the European-Kuwait ties, which he described as historic and distinguished.
Kuwaits foreign ministry has recently affirmed that seven people were executed for committing murders, and the death penaltys verdicts were based on criminal law.
Kuwait on January 25 executed seven convicts two Kuwaitis (Shaikh Faisal Al Abdullah Al Sabah and Nasra Al Enezi), two Egyptians, a Bangladeshi, a Filipina, and an Ethiopian, after they were found guilty in cases of premeditated murder, rape and theft.
The death penalty, by hanging, was carried out in application of the verdicts pronounced by courts and upheld by the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation and endorsed by the Emir.
The convicts were allowed final visits one day before the execution by relatives in the cases of the Kuwaitis and by representatives from their diplomatic missions for the foreigners.
Shaikh Faisal was sentenced to death in October 2011 after the Criminal Court found him guilty of the murder of his nephew Shaikh Basil Salem Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah in June 2010.
Shaikh Basil, 52, was the grandson of Kuwaits 12th Emir, Shaikh Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, who ruled from November 24, 1965 to December 31, 1977.
The Kuwaiti authorities had ruled out any political motives behind the murder as Shaikh Basil did not hold an official position. The death sentence was upheld in 2013.
The Kuwaiti woman, Nasra Al Enezi, was sentenced to death for setting ablaze a wedding camp in 2009, killing 57 women and children.
The Bangladeshi, Mohammad Shaha Mohammad, was sentenced to death in 2009 for kidnapping, rape and theft in Jahra.
The Filipina, Jakatia Pawa , was convicted in 2008 of premeditated murder while the Ethiopian was also convicted of murder in 2008.
One Egyptian, Sayyed Radhi Jumaa, was convicted in 2008 for premeditated murder while the other Egyptian, Sameer Taha Abdul Majed, was sentenced to death in 2009 for murder and theft.
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Source: Gulf News, February 18, 2017
"A system rigged against the very people it sought to protect."
Around 10 % of Pakistan's death row convicts are feared to be juvenile offenders, who have been sentenced to death in a clear violation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 (JJSO) and the international obligations.
This has been claimed in a report titled 'Death Row's Children: Pakistan's Unlawful Executions of Juvenile Offenders', has been compiled by human rights law firm Justice Project Pakistan (JPP). The report was launched in Islamabad on Friday.
The study highlights the complete violation of JJSO's section 12 which prohibits "the sentencing of juvenile offenders to death, or labour during their imprisonment".
"In Pakistan despite prohibiting the sentencing and imposition of the death penalty against juvenile offenders, hundreds of suspected juvenile offenders have been put to death so far.
"Many of the alleged juveniles sentenced to death prior to the notification continue to be denied an inquiry into their claim of juvenility by provincial home departments and the courts," the report says.
According to the report, at least 6 juvenile offenders have been executed since December 2014 - when the government lifted a 6-year de facto moratorium on death penalty - despite credible evidence showing them to be underage at the time of the alleged crime.
The government has consistently maintained that no executions of juvenile offenders have taken place. However, juvenile offenders continue to be executed due to lack of implementation of protective safeguards and protocols particularly whilst conducting age determination investigations.
Challenges impeding course of juvenile justice
The report has attributed dismal lack of birth registrations in the country as one of the major reasons behind poor juvenile justice in Pakistan.
Pakistan is among the countries which have the lowest rate of birth registrations. It is estimated that there are nearly 10 million children - below the age of 5 years - who are currently unregistered. This figure is growing by nearly 3 million every year.
"Pakistan's failure to fulfill the right to birth registration for its children means that the criminal justice system is marred by a high risk of wrongful arrests, detention and executions of child offenders," says the report. It says juvenile suspects fail to produce any authentic documentation to prove their exact date of birth.
Resultantly, it becomes impossible for the police to determine the exact age of the juvenile and therefore they treat him just like adult prisoners. They are kept along with prisoners who are double or triple their age until a plea of juvenility is raised at the trial stage, it says.
Furthermore juveniles, who lack proper documentation, find it almost impossible to challenge the arbitrary assessments. "An absence of comprehensive guidance on how and when to determine age of an accused person has marred a significant number of trials of juvenile offenders with confusion."
When contacted, an official of the Ministry of Human Rights - while requesting anonymity - said, "It is just 1 example of violation of child rights law in Pakistan. However, there are several other such laws which are being violated everyday due to which children are becoming victim of cruelty and brutality."
Flawed system
During the launch event for the report on Friday, parliamentarians said that it highlighted an important issue which needs to be addressed immediately.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Asad Umar said that below a certain age, someone cannot be held accountable for their decisions and actions.
Noting how "deeply flawed Pakistan's criminal justice is", he said that the death penalty needs to be exercised with "extreme caution".
Senator Farhatullah Babar, who is also a member of the human rights' committee of the upper house, said there was a need to implement birth determining protocols to protect juvenile offenders.
He urged that the country should move from a security state to a welfare state.
Sarah Belal, the executive director of JPP said that the juvenile justice system did not do children any good if it appeared to be rigged against the very people it sought to protect.
State of juvenile prisoners on death row in Pakistan highlighted
Aftab Bahadur was sentenced to death, implicated in a triple murder case when he was a young man of 14 years of age. After languishing in the jail for 24 years he walked to the gallows on June 10, 2015, and was hanged by the neck till the time he was dead at the age of 38 years.
Outside the gate of the jail was the man, on whose testimony he was declared guilty of the crime, which he never committed, weeping bitterly and crying for mercy, pleading pardon for Aftab Bahadur, shouting that he gave a wrong statement under coercion.
All his wailing failed to prevent a 'judicial murder'! This was one of many more such cases we have seen in the history of Pakistan. Not many months ago the Supreme Court declared 2 persons, real brothers in fact, as innocent of the alleged murder for which they were awarded death sentence. They were acquitted of the crime they allegedly committed and orders were passed for their 'honourable release' from jail.
The release orders only got a response from the jail authorities that the 2 brothers have been hanged to death 2 years ago!
We have seen the number of executions jump to one of the highest in the world since the government of Pakistan lifted the moratorium on death penalty in the backdrop of the horrifying incident of terrorist strike on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar. However, as the result of lifting of the moratorium we have seen few terrorists being executed while a large number of other convicts have been taken to the gallows, as if the authorities were in too great a hurry to finish the job!
And we saw some juvenile prisoners also meeting the same fate in this execution spree.
The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) engaged in efforts to restore the moratorium on death penalty, released 1 of its reports today (Friday) at a local hotel, highlighting the state of juvenile prisoners on death row in Pakistan.
It was a well attended launch and the participants included the members of the Parliament, both from the Lower as well as Upper House, diplomats based in Islamabad and a large number of people from different walks of life.
According to the press release issued by the JPP after the function the report launched on the occasion indicates that the juvenile justice system in Pakistan has failed to protect its juveniles from being sentenced to death. The report documents the fundamental weaknesses in the country's juvenile justice system including inadequate legislative protections, scant birth registration, and lack of age determination protocols that leads to countless juveniles being sentenced to death and eventually executed.
Speaking on the occasion the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf MNA, Asad Umar stated that "below a certain age, you cannot be held accountable for the decisions that you make." He added that the death penalty has to be exercised with "extreme caution" given how "deeply flawed Pakistan's criminal justice is."
Commenting on the lack of retrospective force of the Presidential Notification for the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO), Mr Umar expressed his "complete shock and horror that a legally binding presidential order is being violated."
The PPP Senator, Mr Farhatullah Babar, while praising the report observed that, the issues highlighted in the report posed an urgent need for to address the low rates of birth registration as well as implementing age determination protocols to protect juvenile offenders. He also called for reducing the number of crimes punishable by death in Pakistan (currently 27). The Member of the Senate Committee on Human Rights said that while Pakistan is a security-driven society, it needs to strive to become a welfare-driven society, as guided by Article 38. Sen. Babar also advised that the findings of the report be shared with parliamentarians to sensitize them to the cause of human rights.
Commissioner, National Commission of Human Rights, Chaudhry Shafique questioned the point of the government ratifying international human rights treaties, if the judiciary was unwilling to implement the obligations contained in them.
Child Rights Commissioner Ms Farzana Bari and the parliamentarian Ms Nafisa Khattak, Shafqat Ali of the Ministry of Human Rights, activist Ms Valerie Khan, Director of Conflict Law Centre at the Research Society for International Law Oves Anwar, founder of SPARC, Mr Anees Jilani also spoke at the launch.
Like 160 countries in the world, Pakistan has enacted legislation, specifically the JJSO, prohibiting the sentencing and imposition of the death penalty against juvenile offenders - persons who commit crimes before turning eighteen years of age.
JPP has analyzed 140 reported cases, since the beginning of the operation of the JJSO in 2000 to 2016, wherein a plea of juvenility had been raised by an accused person. 4 different types of evidence were taken into account, including a statement under S. 342 of the Criminal Penal Code, medical evidence, birth certificates and school leaving certificates, noting where judges had placed reliance on each, and where they had rejected each.
The report revealed the executions of Aftab Bahadur, Shafqat Hussain, Ansar Iqbal, Muhammad Sarfraz, Faisal Mehmood and Muhammad Amin - all juveniles at the time of arrest - proves this claim to be blatantly false.
Zafarullah Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law stated at the Pakistan's 5th periodic review at the UNCRC that "minors were tried under the Special Court Law, separately from majors." Yet, nearly 17 years after the JJSO was promulgated, the government has failed to install separate juvenile courts.
Ms Sarah Belal, the Executive Director of JPP said that the juvenile justice system does not do our children any good, if it appears to be rigged against the very people it seeks to protect. This report, and its findings underscore the urgent need to pass the pending Juvenile Justice System Bill so fewer minors will face the gallows.
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Source: Express News, February 18, 2017Source: thenews.com.pk, February 18, 2017 Pakistan: Executing Children , February 16, 2017
CPG4me wrote:
Hi all - I'm looking for opinions here. I was lucky enough to be admitted to both Kellogg and Ross, and Ross offered me a full scholarship. I'm a career switcher into brand management, hopefully at a top CPG company. I went on campus to interview at both schools, and enjoyed them both immensely. The students I've spoken to at both places seem incredibly nice and down to earth. Here's more current thinking about each:
Ross
+Full scholarship gives me great financial flexibility during school and removes the temptation to take a tech marketing job with ~$20k higher starting salary than CPG (or, god forbid, go back into consulting). I believe CPG will be a better launching pad for me in the long term (dreams of the C-suite)
+MAP and access to Nielsen marketing data seem like great opportunities to cut my teeth in marketing and prove myself to potential employers
+I got the impression that Michigan alumni were more enthusiastic about the school than Kellogg/Northwestern's
+Lots of growth happening - new buildings, rapidly improving career stats and rankings
-While it's rapidly improving, reputations take time to change, and people who aren't here and on P&Q every day may still think of it as in a different league than Kellogg
-While roughly the same CPG companies recruit at both schools, not sure if they'll apply a tougher standard/stats baseline to Ross students than Kellogg ones
Kellogg
+Still the school people think of as the gold-standard for Marketing. More stable and stronger reputation in most categories
+Dean Sally Blount. I heard her speak and she blew me away. Confident that the school will continue do to great things under her watch
+New Global Hub - everyone seems excited about it and it looks awesome. Might usher in other new energy in other areas
+Because of the reputation difference, I think Kellogg alumni might be better connected than those from Ross, even if they're harder to reach. Thinking this may pay off later in my career
+/-Group work - I love it at work and I think it's great that Kellogg attracts a collaborative student body, but I wonder if there may be too much of it in class settings? Just not sure how it could play out
-Is it ~$130k better than Ross?
-Kellogg seems to want to shed it's "Marketing School" image, and that seems to be reflected in declining CPG/brand management placement. While marketing remains strong, there's a strong (albeit, also secular) shift towards tech. Not sure they're keeping their foot on the gas in CPG recruiting as much
Sorry for the dissertation. Again, both schools seemed to be a great culture fit, and I think either could get me about the same first job. I guess this may come down to whether "Go to the best school you get into" is really true. Right now I feel like I could see myself enjoying either school while regretting not having gone to the other. Thoughts?
Whilst I think Kellogg is the better school, it's certainly not $130k better, and like you said similar CPG companies recruit at similar levels (~10% at Ross, ~12% at Kellogg). I think you'd be in a similar situation at both schools IMO in terms of post-MBA. I'd pick Ross given the +/- you have given above.
dancinggeometry wrote:
The American Revolution arose partly in response to British general search warrants, which gave arbitrary and intrusive powers to government officers. Thus, the founders created the Fourth Amendment to protect against unreasonable and warrant-less intrusions of privacy by a powerful and partisan federal government. During the 20th century, countless dictators have used arbitrary and intrusive surveillance to monitor and suppress dissidents. Any democracy that does not enforce equally extensive protections will systematically suppress dissent.
Which of the following, if true, best weakens the argument?
(A) The United Kingdoms parliamentary system does not have such extensive protections but has never systematically suppressed dissent.
(B) Many dictators have been very beneficial and constructive leaders for their countries.
(C) Many democracies have haphazardly used surveillance to monitor dissidents and suppress dissent during times of war.
(D) Some dictators have been supported by the United States.
(E) At least some countries in the former Soviet Union now have democratic elections but still suppress dissent.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
(A) CORRECT.
This argument states that the United States created the Fourth Amendment to protect against unreasonable intrusions. It observes that such intrusions are often committed by dictatorships. It then makes a rather sweeping conclusion that any country without similar protections will suppress dissent. Such a broad conclusion could be weakened by citing one case in which that pattern does not hold.This choice cites a country without such protections that does not suppress dissent. One example weakens the conclusion, which said no country would refrain from suppressing dissent without such protections.(B) This choice is irrelevant, as the conclusion does not address the effectiveness of different types of government. In fact, as it is limited to democracies; any information about dictatorships is irrelevant.(C) This choice does not weaken the argument. The conclusion said systematically suppress dissent and this statement talks about haphazard suppression under special circumstances. Furthermore, we do not know if these democracies had equally extensive protections.(D) Whether or not the United States supported a dictatorship is irrelevant to the conclusion that democracies without extensive protections will eventually suppress dissent.(E) This choice, if anything, strengthens the argument. It presents the example of democracies without such protections that do suppress dissent._________________
enigma123 wrote:
Whales originated in the freshwater lakes and rivers of ancient Asia about sixty million years ago. Not until about ten million years later did species of whales develop specialized kidneys enabling them to drink salt water. Although fossil evidence shows that some early whale species that lacked such kidneys sometimes swam in the Earths saltwater oceans, these species must have had to return frequently to freshwater rivers to drink. Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information given?
A. Fossils of whale species dating from between sixty million and fifty million years ago will not be found on continents that were at the time separated from ancient Asia by wide expanses of ocean.
B. Among whale fossils that date from later than about fifty million years ago, none are fossils of whale species that drank only fresh water.
C. Fossils of whale species that drank fresh water will not be found in close proximity to fossils of whale species that drank salt water.
D. The earliest whales that drank salt water differed from fresh-water-drinking whales only in their possession of specialized kidneys.
E. Between sixty million and fifty million years ago, the freshwater lakes and rivers in which whales originated were gradually invaded by salt water.
Guys - any idea what the answer will be?
Quote:
My take:
Whales originated >>-where->> in ancient Asia about sixty (60 million years ago)
species of whales (Asia/which continent dont know) develop spl salt water kidneys (50 million years ago).
Although fossil evidence >>says>>> (species - kidneys) sometimes swam in the Earths saltwater oceans (not of Asia as Asia has fresh water), these species must have had to return (return means they travelled back) to drink.
means, kidney -minus whales of salt water (not Asia) went to freshwater (in Asia) ..this is saying that it did cross..
Why A is correct>??
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I am uncertain how you arrived at the conclusions above.Here is the explanation:- 60 million yrs ago, whales originated in freshwater (which means lakes and rivers) of Asia- Special kidneys that allowed whales to drink salt water evolved 50 million yrs ago.- Sometimes whales without special kidneys swam into saltwater but they had to return frequently to freshwater.Think about your geography - Continents are separated by huge saltwater oceans. A continent has lakes and rivers (freshwater) within it. The rivers connect to the ocean. If you want to travel from Asia to North America by water, you will need to go through the huge ocean between them.60 million years ago, whales originated in Asia's freshwater so they were in the continent of Asia. They did not have special kidneys so they could not travel across the ocean. Even if they did enter the ocean, they needed to return back to the freshwater of Asia. Point is, they couldn't swim far from Asia. Till 50 million yrs ago, special kidneys did not develop. So for the 10 million yrs from 60 million to 50 million yrs ago, whales couldn't leave the coast of Asia and swim far. So they couldn't reach the continents far from Asia separated by saltwater oceans.Answer (A)_________________
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RACINE COUNTY Firefighters from the Racine and South Shore fire departments fought two unrelated brush fires Saturday night in Racine County.
The first one broke out just after 5:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of Emmertsen Road in Mount Pleasant.
South Shore Battalion Chief John Radewan said inattention contributed to the fire, which started after a resident was burning clippings in a culvert and the fire spread to a nearby field.
It took about 45 minutes for two engine crews and a truck crew to put out the 4-acre fire. No buildings were threatened by the fire.
Radewan suggested anyone trying to enjoy the warm weather by doing yard work needs to think twice before burning clippings.
If you are going to start a fire in these conditions, keep a good eye on it because everything is so dry. The snow is melted and everything is brown. It doesnt take much to start 4 acres on fire, Radewan said.
Racine brush fire
Crews from Racine Fire Department also fought an unrelated small brush fire on the airport property in the 3400 block of Mount Pleasant Street around the same time.
No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.
The cause of the fire has not been released.
RACINE This list is not comprehensive. Municipalities are listed as they appear on the criminal complaint. For more information, visit www.journaltimes.com/gallery.
Mariah J. Balcom, 1500 block of Packard Ave., Racine, fail/cause a child to attend school.
Alex A. Bane, 1500 block of Albert St., Racine, throw or discharge bodily fluids at public safety worker.
Jakaesha D. Boone, 1300 block of St. Patrick St., Racine, criminal damage to property, and criminal trespass.
Eric J. Bueno, 1800 block of Carlisle Ave., Racine, burglary-commit battery to a person, battery, theft, and disorderly conduct.
Jasmine E. Canady, 1300 block of Oakes Road, Mount Pleasant, battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments, bail jumping,
Michael W. Coleman, 3100 block of Caledonia St., Racine, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.
Jason A. Crawford, 7900 block of Dada Drive, Gurnee, Ill., robbery of a financial institution.
Edward J. Dawson, 1100 block of Western Trail, Mukwonago, theft by contractor.
Nathaniel D. Dukes Jr., 6500 S. Mozart St., Chicago, Ill., manufacture/deliver cocaine.
Michael R. Gleason, 3200 block of 94th St., Sturtevant, uttering a forgery, personal identity theft for financial gain, theft, false representation, and obstructing an officer.
Melvin C. Gleaves Jr., 2400 block of S. Ninth Place, Milwaukee, operating without a license.
James A. Goree, 1000 block of Park Ave., Racine, possession of cocaine.
Terrance C. Grayson, 1600 block of Blaine Ave., Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Rodney D. Green, 3100 block of N. 42nd Place, Milwaukee, obstructing an officer.
Nicole v. Grimm, 1000 block of Vine St., Union Grove, physical abuse of a child.
Jennifer M. Harrison, 6900 block of Middle Road, Racine, battery, and disorderly conduct.
Michael C. Heft, 300 block of Henry St., Burlington, attempt burglary of a building or dwelling, and criminal damage to property.
Diego Hernandez, 1200 block of Superior St., Racine, possession with intent to deliver or manufacture marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Ryan A. Holterman, 4100 block of W. 7 Mile Road, Raymond, hit and run causing injury, and reckless driving causing injury.
Maurice M. Horton, 4700 block of Indian Hills Drive, Mount Pleasant, battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse, and criminal damage to property.
Charles A. House, 1000 block of 11th St., Racine, possession with intent to deliver heroin, and possession/illegally obtained prescription.
Michael K. Hubbard, 3000 block of N. 53rd St., Milwaukee, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass, criminal damage to property, and battery.
Joshu D. Hudy, 400 block of Luedtke Ave., Racine, recklessly endangering safety, manufacture/deliver heroin, possession of cocaine, possession of narcotic drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kailan R. Jackson, 4000 block of 57th Drive, Union Grove, possession of drug paraphernalia.
Thomas S. James, 1600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Racine, battery to law enforcement officer.
Thomas S. James, 300 block of 11th St., Racine, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct, and bail jumping.
Jacquelyn N. Janda, 8600 block of Vista Drive, Caledonia, bail jumping.
Aaron L. Jordan, 4500 block of W. Spencer Place, Milwaukee, battery to law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, resisting an officer, and operate a motor vehicle while revoked.
Jayro Juarez, 1100 block of LaSalle St., Racine, fourth degree sexual assault, disorderly conduct, and bail jumping.
Jose D. Juarez Delgado, 12300 block of Spring St., Sturtevant, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Dynasty S. Kazee, 2700 block of N. 44th St., Milwaukee, retail theft.
Mark D. Klim, 900 block of Washington Ave., Racine, substantial battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments.
Shalyn D. Kreil, 1800 block of St. Patrick St., Racine, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, and bail jumping.
Casey V. Lamb, 200 block of Central Skokie Road, Lake Bluff, Ill., retail theft.
Shane H. Landvatter, 2800 block of Cecelia Park Drive, Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling, and criminal trespass.
Zachary D. Lindstrom, 4000 block of 57th Drive, Union Grove, obstructing an officer, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Dangelo D. McGlorn, 1100 block of Main St., Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling.
Ehab T. Mohammad, 1900 block of 60th St., Kenosha, bail jumping, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Chad E. Montalvo Sr., 2400 block of Sumac Drive, Racine, bail jumping.
Lori K. Moran, 6600 block of Green Ridge Drive, Racine, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments.
Zachary A. Moore, 1400 block of Lathrop Ave., Racine, bail jumping.
Laterrion T. Nelson, 1400 block of Geneva St., Racine, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and bail jumping.
Darryl C. Nunn, 5800 block of W. Green Tree Road, Milwaukee, recklessly endangering safety, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Angel G. Paulino-Gonzalez, 2700 block of W. High St., Racine, battery, domestic abuse assessments.
Alonte D. Person, 900 block of Racine St., Racine, possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Teirra S. Reeves, 4100 block of Erie St., Racine, battery to law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, and bail jumping.
Jim W. Rivera, 19300 block of W. Pierce St., Milwaukee, carrying a concealed weapon.
Mayron Robinson, 4800 block of Indian Hills Drive, Mount Pleasant, manufacture/deliver schedule IV drugs, and delivery of schedule I, II or III non-narcotics.
Nicholas S. Sabala IV, 4000 block of Washington Ave., Racine, battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments, and bail jumping.
Veronica Sanchez, 200 block of Jones St., Racine, theft from a business setting.
Bettina N. Sanders, 400 block of Chicago St., Racine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and child neglect.
James R. Schneck, 9500 block of 4 Mile Road, Franksville, theft in a business setting.
Justin Schwenn, Dable Road, Mukwonago, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.
Raachee E. Smelley, 300 block of Luedtke Ave., Racine, obstructing an officer.
Demell S. Smith, 600 block of Ninth St., Racine, battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments, criminal trespass, criminal damage to property, and bail jumping.
Justin R. Smith, 3300 block of Republic Ave., Racine, burglary.
Robert E. Swanagan, 1400 block of West St., Racine, manufacture/deliver cocaine.
Devin M. Trice, 1800 block of Chatham St., Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling.
Durome C. Verse, 900 block of Park Ave., Racine, battery, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments.
Alvin S. West Jr., 2000 block of 12th St., Racine, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and operating with prohibited alcohol concentration.
Malcolm L. Williams, 4000 block of N. Main St., Racine, disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments.
Raymond R. Zuzinec, 3700 block of 15th St., Kenosha, possess illegally obtained prescription, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ...
Consider it one physician's giant leap for mankind. Today, the latest rocket launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, included a payload of several samples of donated adult stem cells from a research laboratory at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus. The launch by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, is part of NASA's commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station.
The biological cells come from the laboratory of Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., who says he has eagerly awaited the launch following several delays over the past couple of years. Dr. Zubair, who specializes in cellular treatments for disease and regenerative medicine, hopes to find out how the stem cells hold up in space. He says he's eager to know whether these special cells, which are derived from the body's bone marrow, can be more quickly mass-produced in microgravity and used to treat strokes. Microgravity is the condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless. The effects of microgravity can be seen when astronauts and objects float in space. Microgravity refers to the condition where gravity seems to be very small.
"At Mayo Clinic, research drives everything we do for patients," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., vice president, Mayo Clinic, and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida. "This space cargo carries important material for research that could hold the key for developing future treatments for strokea debilitating health issue. Research such as this accelerates scientific discoveries into breakthrough therapies and critical advances in patient care."
Dr. Zubair says he has dreamed of this moment all his life, with a passion for space that goes back to his childhood in the northern city of Kano, Nigeria. There, he says he came across a book about the first moon launch and became instantly enthralled. In high school, he recruited other physics students to build a model rocket prototype using corrugated metal and rudimentary materials from the local blacksmith. When it came time to apply for college, however, the school adviser steered him from becoming an astronaut. "He said it may be a long time before Nigeria sends rockets and astronauts into space, so I should consider something more practical," Dr. Zubair recalls.
With the goal of being useful to patients and helping cure disease, he headed to medical school in Nigeria. His training took him to the University of Sheffield, in Sheffield, England; the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as he specialized in bone marrow transplants and stem cell research. He came to Mayo Clinic's Florida campus to treat cancer patients and others whose conditions could be helped by regenerative medicineall the while running a research lab that studies adult stem cells.
Dr. Zubair came across a request for research proposals that involved medicine and outer space four years ago. His mother had died of stroke in 1997, and he had been thinking about stem cells as a treatment for stroke-related brain injury. Collaborating with Mayo Clinic neurologists James Meschia, M.D., and William D. Freeman, M.D., he studied mouse models of stroke.
"Stem cells are known to reduce inflammation," he explains. "We've shown that an infusion of stem cells at the site of stroke improves the inflammation and also secretes factors for the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels."
One big problem is that it may take as many as 200 million cells to treat a human being, and developing vast numbers of stem cells on Earth can take weeks.
"It's further complicated, because some patients are unable to donate cells for themselves, and, sometimes, there aren't enough donors who are a good match, as sometimes occurs for minorities," he says.
Studies in simulators on Earth have shown that adult stem cellsthe undifferentiated cells that exist in the body to replace damaged or dying cellsreproduce quickly and reliably in microgravity. While it's not known why microgravity works better than a petri dish, some researchers speculate the conditions may be similar to the floating environment of developing cells in the body. With funding from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, a nonprofit organization, Dr. Zubair hopes to find that, in space, stem cells can be reproduced safely in large quantities, providing new opportunities for patients.
He'll gather real-time information about the cells as astronauts conduct experiments measuring molecular changes.
"We'll be looking to see if there are genes activated in microgravity and analyzing the stages of the cell cycle," he says.
"We may discover proteins or compounds that are produced that we can synthesize on Earth to encourage stem cell growth without having to go to microgravity." Over the last three years of planning, he says he's been tickled to learn about the challenges of space-based research, such as the need for techniques to handle fluids that don't mix in microgravity.
Most importantly, experiments will continue after the expanded stem cells return to Earth.
"We'll study them to make sure they're normal, functional and safe for patients with stroke," he says. "My work in regenerative medicine has always been intentionally translationalnot just to study what the cells do and what can be done with them but to make a difference for patients. That's what makes our project unique."
For the launch, Mayo Clinic is collaborating with the Center for Applied Space Technology (CAST) in Cape Canaveral, and BioServe Space Technologies in Boulder, Colorado. CAST supported Dr. Zubair's research by providing strategic mission planning, proposal development, spaceflight technical support and served as an interface between the research team and various space activities and agencies. BioServe provided space flight hardware, on orbit research protocol and scheduling interface.
RACINE COUNTY Gateways recent plans to establish a new training facility is only part of big changes the technical college is undergoing to keep up with current fire training trends.
With a suburbanizing district, close proximity to the job market in greater Milwaukee and Chicago, and a nationwide shortage of volunteer firefighters, Gateway Technical College officials saw a need for a revamp of its career-oriented fire training program.
Those associated with the program also are keenly aware of a transformation in the fire service regarding ongoing changes in technology, fire-attack strategies and an increased emphasis on health and fitness in a service where more firefighters by far die from heart attacks than in accidents or in building collapses.
Gone are the days of firefighters leaving soot on their helmets and gear as a badge of courage and bravado. Instead there is now heightened awareness of the threat of cancer caused by exposure to smoke and soot.
All of those factors played a role in the development of Gateway Technical Colleges new fire/medic associates degree program, one designed to help students seeking a career as a firefighter.
Launched in 2015, the 70-credit program replaces the colleges former fire technician associate degree program, which had 10 fewer credit hours and left its graduates without a key element to getting hired by many a full-time career department paramedic licensure.
If an individual finished it, they would probably be one of the first guys we looked at to hire, said Caledonia Fire Chief Richard Roeder. With a department my size, I really cant afford to take a guy, hire him and then take him off duty and send him to paramedic school. Whereas if someone comes in with those skill sets already, its a bonus for me.
A couple of Racine County chiefs, though, have bemoaned the fact that the new fire/medic program replaces a previous program that included a core of fire-centered courses tied to a state certification. Those covered subjects such as basic firefighting concepts, basic fire inspection procedures and fire vehicle operations, and the chiefs said the background from those classes provided a sound foundation for someone entering the fire service.
But what Gateway officials say they found was that students pursuing fire careers were assembling their credentials in piecemeal fashion and perhaps taking longer to get credentials they needed and perhaps not completing an associates degree, which could come in handy down the road as they worked to advance in their careers, said John Dahms, director of the fire program at Gateway and a former City of Brookfield Fire chief.
As a result, Gateway saw an enrollment decline in its previous two-year fire technician associate degree.
Enrollment was kind of fading. So they decided whats the trend in the fire service? The trend is to have someone trained as a firefighter and paramedic that you can bring the person in, give them some orientation and put them on the line, said Roeder, who serves on Gateways fire advisory board.
Too much?
Some county fire chiefs, like South Shore Fire Chief Robert Stedman and Wind Lake Fire Chief Rob Robins, think some of what is taught in the new fire/medic program goes far beyond what the typical firefighter needs, which they contend is an understanding of basics.
They say principles in two fire/medic programs classes that have the title Advanced Firefighting Concepts are not used by the vast majority of fire departments in the state.
But Dahms said the class was developed with concepts of mental mastering of skills and risk reduction at its core.
It basically starts with changing the fire culture. Its basically risk management, said Dahms, who has been the fire program chair at Gateway since 2008. Cancer, heart attacks now were dealing with body core temperatures, now were dealing with suicides. Those are major threats to the profession.
Physical conditioning and mental conditioning tactics and methodology will make for more effective and safer firefighting, Dahms contends.
Our students are not going to have accidental success because there is a time and quality standard to everything they do here, Dahms said. Theres an old adage that an amateur does it until he gets it right. A professional does it until they cant get it wrong. And thats what were doing with the muscle memory. Were working with the students to develop that muscle memory and the teamwork that they can excel with.
Physical fitness is a pillar of the program with students spending course time in the program getting into shape or staying in condition if they already are fit. The second physical education class keeps conditioning going, but also prepares students for the candidate physical ability test (CPAT), which many full-time, career departments use for screening potential recruits.
Program success
The fire/medic course has been in development for about three years, said Terry Simmons, Gateways dean of service occupation programs. It was developed with input from fire chiefs and professionals in the Gateway district, although college and fire officials acknowledge that attendance at advisory committee meetings was sparse at times.
Simmons said the fire/medic program had to meet approval from the state technical college system, just as any Gateway program does. And, Dahms and Simmons point out that fire/medic programs are in place at some of the states other 16 tech colleges.
The first classes for the Gateway fire/medic program were offered in the fall of 2015 and there has already been one graduate. Sara Murray was hired by the City of Waukesha Fire Department last fall.
Were at the point where were beginning to evaluate the success of the program, Simmons said, noting that process is generally done at the three-year point.
This spring semester Gateway has four fire medic courses running with 49 students enrolled, Simmons said.
Requirements
Entry into the program requires students to have completed the state certified Firefighter I class, which is the minimum certification required for all firefighters statewide. Program applicants also must be CPR certified and must have a state license for some level of emergency medical care.
The various state certification courses also remain part of Gateways course offerings for full-time, volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters seeking to expand their knowledge or achieve higher ranks on their departments. Some of those classes are taught on site at fire departments in Gateways district, some at Gateway's HERO Center in Burlington.
Gateway also offers a 30-credit-hour technical diploma program, which provides some of the courses tied to state certifications in firefighting and basic emergency medical care. But the diploma program also incorporates the health and wellness and Advanced Firefighting components of the fire/medic program.
There was some concern about the fire/medic program moving away from certifications. But again we brought in the tech diploma program that serves that need that provides for multiple certifications and shorter terms for those students who want to become firefighters immediately working with departments, said Bryan Albrecht, Gateways president and CEO. We heard their voices.
War and turmoil go hand-in-hand with disease and are the most likely agents to produce a global pandemic capable of killing millions of people, Bill Gates said on Saturday.
"War zones and other fragile state settings are the most difficult places to eliminate epidemics," Gates told the Munich Security Conference.
"They're also some of the most likely places for them to beginas we've seen with Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and with cholera in the Congo Basin and the Horn of Africa."
"So, to fight global pandemics, we must fight poverty, too... The point is, we ignore the link between health security and international security at our peril," he said.
Gates said experts were warning that a new pandemic could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year, with a reasonable probability that such an event could occur in the next 10-15 years.
The figures appeared hard to believe, but Gates recalled that the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 killed 50 million to 100 million people.
Even if there were no repeat, "we would be wise to consider the social and economic turmoil that might ensue if something like Ebola made its way into a lot of major urban centres," he said.
"We were lucky that the last Ebola outbreak was contained before it did."
Gates, who made his fortune with software giant Microsoft and now devotes millions of dollars to philanthropy, said new vaccines and treatment regimes would help.
At the same time, most of the control measures needed were those that governments had already put in place to cope with a terrorist biological attack, he said.
2017 AFP
In this Sept. 2, 2010, file photo a Franklin County police officer counts pills containing pseudoephedrine during a raid of a suspected meth house in Gerald, Mo. Methamphetamines continue to make an alarming surge in Montana, as law enforcement, health officials and communities struggle to address the problem. Panelists at a drug summit convened Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, by the Montana Legislature said resources are being strained because of a widening prevalence of the drug. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Methamphetamines continue to make an alarming surge in Montana, as law enforcement, health officials and communities struggle to address the problem.
Panelists at a drug summit convened Saturday by the Montana Legislature said resources are being strained because of a widening prevalence of the drug.
While authorities attempt to stanch the flow of meth into the state from Mexican cartels, courts are burdened by a growing caseload of drug cases. Family services are also strained by drug-related cases that are tearing apart families. And drug clinics are struggling to serve an increasing population of meth users seeking to treat their addictions.
As meth use in Montana continues to rise, authorities are also bracing for a possible influx of heroin in an expansive rural state whose borders aren't easy to patrol.
"I've never seen it this bad before," said Bryan Lockerby with the Montana Department of Criminal Investigations. "The problem we're all trying to solve is like boiling the ocean, and we have people drowning in meth."
The concern over meth and opiates, such as heroin, in Montana is shared nationwide. More Americans are dying from opioids than at any time in recent history, with overdose deaths hitting a peak of 28,000 in 2014. That amounts to 78 Americans dying from an opioid overdose every day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But meth remains the drug of choice in Montana and other nearby states because it is inexpensive and so widely available.
Lockerby told legislators that law enforcement is but a component in the effort to eradicate the drug from Montana. But the challenges, he said, are daunting as the meth supply transforms a homegrown substance cooked in clandestine labs to a well-financed out-of-state import that crosses stateliness and national borders.
In 2015, the state's crime lab analyzed about twice the number of samples as two years prior, according to state statistics.
Montana health officials say meth-related cases now account for more than 40 percent of the caseload being handled by the state's child and family servicesdoubling from a decade ago.
This April 1, 2008, file photo shows a graphic billboard depicting a young Montanan under the influence of meth displayed during the kickoff of the Montana Meth Project advertising campaign inside the capital in Helena, Mont. Methamphetamines continue to make an alarming surge in Montana, as law enforcement, health officials and communities struggle to address the problem. Panelists at a drug summit convened Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, by the Montana Legislature said resources are being strained because of a widening prevalence of the drug. (Eliza Wiley /Independent Record via AP, File)
While authorities attempt to stanch the flow of meth into the state from Mexican cartels, courts are being burdened by a growing caseload of drug cases. Family services are also being strained by drug-related cases that are tearing apart families. And drug clinics are struggling to serve an increasing population of meth users seeking to treat their addictions.
As meth use in Montana continues to rise, authorities are bracing for a rise in heroin use as that drug further encroaches into an expansive rural state whose borders aren't always easy to patrol.
Meth is the primary drug encountered by Montana's 11 drug task forces, according to the Montana Department of Justice.
Attorney General Tim Fox called for more collaboration among state, federal and community agencies to deal with the issue.
"One of the largest challenges is for us all to work together," he said. "We have various agencies with all the same general goal to protect our citizens and in promoting health. Because we're compartmentalized in separate places, and we all have our separate missions, we sometimes don't work together well."
That means identifying "all the stakeholders, what money is being spent where, what kind of success rates we have and where are we not doing enough," Fox said.
What's needed In particular, Fox said, is to develop stronger partnerships with tribal authorities, who are also struggling to attack the scourge of meth and other substances on reservations.
"Meth is so devastating to a community, to a family, to children," said Alexis MacDiarmid, an addiction counselor at the Helena Indian Alliance.
Zoe Barnard, an administrator for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, called the economic burdens associated with substance abuse alarming.
From 2010 to 2014, she said, there were $714 million in charges for hospital admissions in Montana because of substance abuse. About a fifth of that amount was charged to the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program.
Sen. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, said the summit sought to bring awareness about the state's drug problems and to help fellow legislators understand the need for more resources, particularly for drug treatment programs.
2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to announce a number of tax increases when he delivers the 2017 Budget speech on Wednesday, February 22.
Although higher taxes on corporates and the super-rich may be popular ideas, they may be detrimental to the economy and raising value-added tax (VAT) may prove a much fairer and quicker way to increase revenue, said Tertius Troost, a tax consultant for Mazars.
According to Troost, VAT has remained unchanged for quite some time. It is also widely known that South Africas VAT rate is low when compared to other African countries, which is why we believe there is scope to increase.
With Treasurys stated goal to raise R43bn over the next two years, the long-term effects of every possible tax change need serious consideration.
Some of the most popular tax changes that have been discussed in the media include measures like new tax brackets for high-net-worth individuals and increases in corporate tax, which may in fact negatively affect the economy in the long-run. At the same time, the tax increases that seem to affect the average consumer the most, just may be the most viable option, Troost said.
There is currently a global trend towards lower tax rates, with countries like the UK and the US proposing to cut corporate tax to below 15%. Reducing the corporate tax rate encourages growth and increases jobs, which translates to increased revenue collection from individuals.
Unfortunately, South Africa is unable to follow this global trend as a result of its vast budget deficit, said Troost.
Any upward adjustments of these rates would result in South Africa becoming less competitive internationally which will decrease foreign investment that is vital to the country. Luckily, I believe that Treasury also sees this issue.
A new, so-called super tax bracket may also not be a permanent solution, he argued.
South Africa has imposed super tax brackets in the past and these have had some success historically. It is a decision that Treasury should not make lightly. Individual income tax is the simplest source of revenue to adjust but it was already raised two years ago. It will be difficult to justify any increase since they are not able to show an improvement in curbing wasteful expenditure and combating corruption, he said.
Treasury will need to balance its need to raise gross tax revenue in the short term with the need to encourage increased investment and growth in the country.
Raising taxes on high-net-worth individuals may actually drive them to emigrate to more tax-favourable jurisdictions, which means taking their money out of the country.
An increase in VAT is a tax that affects all classes of consumers, which is why Treasury would probably encounter pushback if they plan on increasing it, Troost pointed out.
Its effect on lower income groups also has political implications. An increase in VAT will need to include amendments to exclude more products consumed by the lowest income classes.
Tactically I believe that Treasurys best move would be to announce a 2% increase in VAT and to adjust that number down to 1% after the initial pushback from consumers, Troost said.
Fin24
Having access to the internet is increasingly considered to be an emerging human right. International organizations and national governments have begun to formally recognize its importance to freedom of speech, expression and information exchange.
The next step to help ensure some measure of cyber peace online may be for cybersecurity to be recognized as a human right, too.
The United Nations has taken note of the crucial role of internet connectivity in the struggle for human rights. United Nations officials have decried the actions of governments cutting off internet access as denying their citizens rights to free expression.
But access is not enough. Those of us who have regular internet access often suffer from cyber-fatigue: Were all simultaneously expecting our data to be hacked at any moment and feeling powerless to prevent it. Late last year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online rights advocacy group, called for technology companies to unite in defense of users, securing their systems against intrusion by hackers as well as government surveillance.
Its time to rethink how we understand the cybersecurity of digital communications. One of the U.N.s leading champions of free expression, international law expert David Kaye, in 2015 called for the encryption of private communications to be made a standard. These and other developments in the international and business communities are signaling what could be early phases of declaring cybersecurity to be a human right that governments, companies and individuals should work to protect.
Is internet access a right?
The idea of internet access as a human right is not without controversy. No less an authority than Vinton Cerf, a father of the internet, has argued that technology itself is not a right, but a means through which rights can be exercised.
All the same, more and more nations have declared their citizens right to internet access. Spain, France, Finland, Costa Rica, Estonia and Greece have codified this right in a variety of ways, including in their constitutions, laws and judicial rulings.
A former head of the U.N.s global telecommunications governing body has argued that governments must regard the internet as basic infrastructure just like roads, waste and water. Global public opinion seems to overwhelmingly agree.
Cerfs argument may, in fact, strengthen the case for cybersecurity as a human right ensuring that technology enables people to exercise their rights to privacy and free communication.
Existing human rights law
Current international human rights law includes many principles that apply to cybersecurity. For example, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes protections of freedom of speech, communication and access to information. Similarly, Article 3 states Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. But enforcing these rights is difficult under international law. As a result, many countries ignore the rules.
There is cause for hope, though. As far back as 2011, the U.N.s High Commission for Human Rights said that human rights are equally valid online as offline. Protecting peoples privacy is no less important when handling paper documents, for instance, than when dealing with digital correspondence. The U.N.s Human Rights Council reinforced that stance in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
In 2013, the U.N. General Assembly itself the organizations overall governing body, comprising representatives from all member nations voted to confirm peoples right to privacy in the digital age. Passed in the wake of revelations about U.S. electronic spying around the globe, the document further endorsed the importance of protecting privacy and freedom of expression online. And in November 2015, the G-20, a group of nations with some of the worlds largest economies, similarly endorsed privacy, including in the context of digital communications.
Putting protections in place
Simply put, the obligation to protect these rights involves developing new cybersecurity policies, such as encrypting all communications and discarding old and unneeded data, rather than keeping it around indefinitely. More firms are using the U.N.s Guiding Principles to help inform their business decision-making to promote human rights due diligence. They are also using U.S. government recommendations, in the form of the National Institute for Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, to help determine how best to protect their data and that of their customers.
In time, the tide will likely strengthen. Internet access will become more widely recognized as a human right and following in its wake may well be cybersecurity. As people use online services more in their daily lives, their expectations of digital privacy and freedom of expression will lead them to demand better protections.
Governments will respond by building on the foundations of existing international law, formally extending into cyberspace the human rights to privacy, freedom of expression and improved economic well-being. Now is the time for businesses, governments and individuals to prepare for this development by incorporating cybersecurity as a fundamental ethical consideration in telecommunications, data storage, corporate social responsibility and enterprise risk management.
Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
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WATERFORD Gateway Technical College is pursuing plans for a new indoor fire training facility, one college and some fire officials say will greatly enhance preparation of the next generation of firefighters.
But the plan is not a proposal without its critics and some controversy. In fact, such a facility already exists at Waterfords Fire Station No. 1, 122 Second St., and Gateway was helping to equip the facility when state officials put the brakes on that last summer because state statutes had not been followed.
The college was penalized $5,100 in state aid by the Wisconsin Technical College System because it did not receive approval from the WTCS Board of a lease agreement with the village.
As a result, in August the college canceled a memo of understanding it had with the village regarding shared use of the station. Such an arrangement is not unusual, Gateway President and CEO Bryan Albrecht contends.
Despite the setback, college officials still saw the need for the facility. In October, Gateway put out a request for proposals, with a deadline to respond before the end of that month. Although handled correctly in terms of state rules, the short time frame for responses brought outcry from some members of the Racine County Fire Chiefs Association. So, in December, the RFP was sent out again, this time with a 90-day response period, which ends March 22.
Albrecht acknowledges that the college had missteps with the process, but he says the facility will nonetheless be a boon for area students seeking careers in firefighting.
We have a very strong commitment at Gateway to do everything we can to ensure we provide quality training for all our programs, but especially those involved in the protective services industries, Albrecht said.
As of Feb. 10, Gateway had received just one proposal, and that is from the Village of Waterford for use of Fire Station 1. If no others are received by March 22 and the Gateway and WTCS boards approve the proposal, Gateway will begin paying rent to use the facility so that it can offer classes and training there. A test run of components of the colleges new fire/medic program took part at the Waterford station in early 2016 before the WTCS office received a complaint from a Gateway district resident. Albrecht contends no complaint was ever filed with the Gateway board.
The background
After his appointment as Waterford chief in 2014, Rick Mueller, a former career firefighter and retired battalion chief with the West Allis Fire Department, consolidated front-line fire equipment and staffing at Waterford Fire Station No. 2, 819 Mohr Ave., a 10-year-old facility but one Mueller says was underutilized.
That left Station 1, opened in the 1963, basically empty except for some reserve equipment. While village leaders had pondered the possibility of incorporating the site of the old firehouse into its riverfront recreation redevelopment plans, Mueller had another idea use the station for training and he received the villages blessing.
What had been the villages public safety building began to be outfitted to mimic a typical three-bedroom ranch home.
The kitchen was left pretty much as it was, offices took on the roles of bedrooms and the meeting room assumed the role of a living room. Mueller and his crews installed a window prop so water can be flowed toward it and a special drain system returns the water to the drains in the building.
Where trucks park, an exhaust system was installed so that firefighters can pump water from a running fire engine while it remains parked inside, allowing for the facility to be used year-round.
Gateway came into the picture in early 2016 when the memo of understanding was inked and the college began providing equipment for the facility, including $80,000 worth of airpacks. The college looked at the facility as one that could accommodate portions of its Fire/Medic program, which is designed specifically for students pursuing a career in the fire service.
Then, calls of foul began to emerge. Some critics contend that the arrangement smacked of a sweetheart deal. They noted that Mueller had named John Dahms, chair of the fire service program at Gateway and the former City of Brookfield Fire Chief, as his assistant chief. They also noted that Waterford Village Administrator Rebecca Ewald had been appointed to Gateways Fire Advisory Board in September of 2015 at the recommendation of Dahms.
Critics also noted that the Waterford facility would provide a place for Mueller to teach a class he helped develop and one that utilizes a textbook he wrote and provide a pipeline for personnel to staff his department.
I stand 100 percent behind John Dahms and Rick Mueller. The integrity of those two gentlemen is at the highest level that I have been able to experience in my career, Albrecht said in a November interview. I do not think there is anything fishy about this partnership we hire police officers for our police academy, we hire nurses for our nursing program, we hire engineers for our engineering program, we hire professional firefighters to lead our firefighting program.
Some, though, like Wind Lake Fire Chief Rob Robins, wondered why other departments in the Gateway district, which serves Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties, were not being provided the same opportunities, particularly use of Gateway equipment for training, as Waterfords department had. The status of the Gateway airpacks is of particular interest to Robins.
Other facilities
And Robins had concerns as a Gateway taxpayer. Why was the facility even needed? If approved, the Waterford facility would be the third Gateway fire training facility established in western Racine County in 15 years. In 2002, an outdoor training facility and burn building were established at the Kansasville fire station, 23730 Durand Ave. In 2010, Gateway opened the $1.5 million HERO Center in Burlington. The latter facility is used to teach many of Gateways fire service and emergency medical classes.
The need for the facility, I dont believe its there, Robins said in an interview in early January. That an institution like Gateway can make a deal with a certain department of their own choosing that doesnt make sense. Even as volunteers or a combination department (one with career and paid-on-call or volunteer members), we have to account for taxpayer money. How do they not?
Meanwhile, South Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Stedman wonders how practical the western Racine County facilities are for full-time career departments east of Interstate 94. And the same reasoning, Stedman contends, stands for largely volunteer or minimally staffed departments in Walworth County and western Kenosha County.
Gateway closed a training facility in Caledonia after the opening of the Kansasville facility because it was badly in need of upgrades, Dahms said.
If Gateway is going to look at a training facility or the need for a training facility, go back in the minutes of the county fire chiefs association for years the east end of Racine County has clearly been in need, Robins said.
Robins added that the facility at Kansasville probably satisfies 85 percent of the requirements for most of the departments on the west end of the county.
Gateway officials contend the Kansasville and Burlington facilities do not provide all the training opportunities firefighters need. Dahms notes that at Kansasville, firefighters can train outdoors on a fire tower, extinguish car fires and flammable liquids fires on a burn pad, or even fight a controlled fire in a natural gas fueled concrete burn building. But those do not provide all the dynamics of an actual structure fire.
The HERO Center in Burlington includes an apparatus garage where the colleges training fire engine is stored. Inside that area, firefighting students can do things like ladder drills, some rope and rescue work, study how alarm systems and kitchen extinguishing equipment work and run radio drills. But it is not set up for the flow of indoor water or for extensive room-to-room firefighting drills.
Mueller and Albrecht say that having a facility such as Waterfords is especially beneficial given Wisconsins winters. But critics like Robins contend its not realistic since much of the time a firefighter will be outdoors, regardless of the weather conditions.
With people who dont have mastery, you start in an environment that is safe, that is lit, one that you can teach in, Mueller said in an interview at Waterford Station 1 in January. This is a comfortable environment and it takes away the distractions from learning. Once you have that mastery, I agree you need to be out in the elements you need to do this in real life conditions, but why would you start there?
I have been an instructor for more than 30 years and Ive seen more than my share of injuries that didnt need to happen, Mueller said.
As for the concentration of Gateway fire training centers in western Racine County, Terrry M. Simmons, Gateways dean of service occupations, notes they are somewhat centralized for the entire college district. And Albrecht said Gateway cant provide all specialized training facilities in each end of the district. For example, Gateway offers culinary classes only at its Racine campus and automotive classes only in Kenosha.
Bill Duncan, chairman of the Gateway Board of Trustees, says he has heard no complaints from departments in Walworth County, where he lives, regarding the location of Gateways fire training facilities. He also noted that his county was going to be a base for a program in computer numeric control (CNC) machinist training, thanks in large part to support from a Walworth County business.
Gateway Technical College is a vital asset to providing communities with skilled professional in critical industries like fire and emergency medical services in providing realistic training environments. Thats always been our focus, Duncan said during a break from a conference he was attending last week near Washington. Partnerships with municipalities provide for a cost-effective way for our college to manage the needs of our students and financial investments.
Associated costs
An indoor fire training facility will not come without a cost. Gateway would pay rent to whichever entity gets the contract, the exact dollar amount of which wont be known until this spring. But Albrecht contends that is not different from other arrangements the college has in place to provide the best training possible for it various programs.
For example, Gateway pays the Burlington Area School District $150,200 a year for the HERO Center located next door to Burlington High School and $174,350 a year for another building on the high school grounds. It also pays the Kansasville Fire Department $12,000 a year for the use of its grounds, a provision the WTCS ordered after realizing last summer that the college had no formal lease agreement in place with the Town of Dover, which owns the site.
Albrecht notes that Gateway also pays rent to the City of Kenosha for use of land adjacent to Kenosha airport, where the colleges automotive program is located and soon will pay the city more for land where an emergency services driving course will be established.
Gateway officials emphasize that the colleges future indoor fire training facility will be available to firefighters and firefighting students not aligned to its fire/medic program, which is designed for students seeking a career in the fire service. It will also be available for those seeking state certification to become members of volunteer or paid-on-call departments or firefighters seeking further certifications or training for advancement.
Shakira performed for Pope Francis at the UN today (Friday), Shakira - Imagine (Live at the UN's General Assembly 2015) : The text a...
Give us a message and spark discussions about social ills, moral questions or governance, and you are talking about American theater today.
It seems like every theater in Milwaukee is staging play after play with strong timely messages, and most of them are just fine, full of the kind of thing that makes you think.
But sometimes all you really need to do is laugh.
Let me recommend the world premiere of "Robin Hood" currently underway at First Stage. Oh, there are messages about doing good in the world, helping the poor, the value of kindness and the equality of women.
But its most abundant quality is good action and great laughs.
The tale was written by John Maclay, associate artistic director at First Stage, and Chicagos Joe Foust, a brilliant actor who has frequently appeared on Milwaukee stages.
Artistic director Jeff Frank directed the production, aided by an all-star team both on the stage and behind the scenes. The combination is one of the most delightful plays Ive seen in several years. It is the kind of production that First Stage does better than any company in town: appeal to adults as well as children on an equal basis.
First Stage veterans Maclay, Foust and James Fletcher all take roles as the Sheriff of Nottingham, the Archbishop of York and Little John, respectively. Dominique Worsley, who was memorable in "Welcome to Bronzeville," played Robin Hood with the kind of exuberance you might expect of the hero who took from the rich to give to the poor.
Foust, who has his fingerprints everywhere in this production, is glaringly funny as the Archbishop, a mixture of phony piety with mincing admonitions excusing his grotesque behavior. From the first moment he opens his mouth, the audience knows they are listening to full-flavored comedy.
Allie Babich takes two turns, one as the pompous Sir Malcolm who guarded the riches that might enable him to capture the "criminal," and the other as Maid Marian, a feisty warrior who is the only person to best Robin in a sword duel.
But the actor who steals the show is Tommy Novak, a rotund Chicago actor who graduated from Carthage College. Novak plays Friar Tuck, who delivers two of the most hilarious moments of the show.
First is when the good friar arrives in Sherwood Forest, having dashed at speed from somewhere. He begins to gasp for breath. And gasp. And gasp. Its rare for any audience to spontaneously leap into fevered applause, but this did it as children and adults all joined in.
Then, later in the play, after Robin, Tuck and Little John have been freed from the belladonna poisoning that turned them into statues, Tuck cant speak English. He talks in gibberish with the kind of emotion that makes it clear what hed be saying if he could speak the language. Each blast of unintelligible language was met, again, with riotous laughter.
But lest anyone think that its just the adults who carry this show, the kids in the Sherwood cast were at least as memorable as any grown-up. Nine young actors performed with nary a misstep and get more than their share of laughs.
The kid who leads that pack is Jack Burns, a high school freshman, who plays Geoffrey, acting as narrator, complete with a lute to accompany his crystalline singing voice. He connects with the audience with a good humor and earnestness that makes you want to give him a hug.
And eighth-grader Anna Fitzsimmons just about stole the show as Elizabet, the young girl who wants to join the Merry Men and add the name Merry Women to the tribe, with her main qualification that she is "poor. I mean really poor."
Elizabet explains that her name used to be Elizabeth, but once she discovered that the city bosses taxed people based on the number of letters in their name, she decided to drop the "h." She also is obsessed with "nets" although nobody is quite sure what the means until the end of the play when the whole thing is cleared up. Fitzsimmons has a presence on the stage that is rare for someone so young.
Maclay and Foust have created a script with just about everything you could ever want. Its funny, honest, filled with good original music (from Jeff Schaetzke) and exciting realistic fights (Foust was the fight choreographer too).
I cant begin to count the number of plays Ive reviewed at First Stage, but this one ranks as one of the very best. Maclay and Foust have created something to be very proud of and, with the help of a wide range of artists, have left an indelible mark on Milwaukee theater.
And it's proof that while a message or two may come along during the performance, cloaking a message in a mantle of brilliant and accessible comedy goes a long way toward understanding.
"Robin Hood" runs through March 12. Information on tickets and showtimes is available here.
Dr. Gita Martohardjono of Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) will speak at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to take place in Boston from February 16 - 20, 2017. Dr. Martohardjono will present "Regression in Second Language Acquisition and Loss" on Sunday, February 19.
Dr. Martohardjono will present research on two bilingual populations: heritage speakers of Spanish, who speak Spanish at home but are dominant in English, and native Spanish speakers who are fluent in English but dominant in Spanish. Her work examines whether and how the first-learned language, Spanish, is vulnerable to changes that may be traced to influence from the later-learned language, English. Using technology that measures electrical activity in the brain (EEG) during a listening task, her team showed that brain responses in both populations exhibit changes in the processing of Spanish. The results reveal that changes in Spanish can be predicted by the current use of English: the greater the amount of English used, the greater the change in brain response to Spanish.
Her findings support other psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies that show permeability in the first-learned language and point to neural flexibility in adulthood. As such, social and psychological factors, rather than changes in the brain, would appear to make language learning in adults more difficult.
Dr. Martohardjono said, "For many years the field of second language acquisition believed that learning language in adulthood was doomed to failure due to lack of brain plasticity. The recent use of brain imaging technologies in multilingual populations shows just how dynamic the adult brain in fact is, even in language learning."
Over half of all people, including many "late learners," speak two or more languages, and Dr. Martohardjono's work is critical in helping us understand multilingual development from the perspective of brain function.
Dr. Martohardjono focuses on the development of syntax, semantics and phonology in adult second language acquisition and bilingualism. Her projects investigate the acquisition of gap structures, such as wh-questions, relative clauses, control structures and null pronouns in bilingual adults and children from a cross-linguistic perspective. She has examined a variety of languages, including Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Recent projects investigate non-standard varieties of Italian and Spanish, as spoken by "heritage" speakers, and include the use of electrophysiology (ERP) and eye tracking. Since 2004, she has conducted research on immigrant students with low literacy in the native language, and has been a leader in the construction of academic language and literacy assessments benefiting this population. She currently leads several projects to create multilingual, online assessments for use in New York public schools.
Credit: Natural Capital Project
Why does some research lead to changes in public policy, while other studies of equal quality do not?
That crucial question - how science impacts policy - is central to the research of University of Vermont (UVM) Prof. Taylor Ricketts and recent alum Stephen Posner.
According to their findings, the most effective way environmental scholars can boost their policy influence - from protecting wildlife to curbing pollution - is to consult widely with stakeholders during the research process.
Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting talk, The Effectiveness of Ecosystem Services Science in Decision-Making, on Feb 18., the team briefed scientists and policy experts on their 2016 study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
OUTREACH TRUMPS FINDINGS
Surprisingly, the study finds that stakeholder engagement is a better predictor of future policy impacts than perceived scientific credibility, says Ricketts, Director of UVM's Gund Institute and Gund Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
The study is the first quantitative analysis of how environmental knowledge impacts the attitudes and decisions of conservation policymakers. Researchers from the UVM, World Wildlife Fund and Natural Capital Project analyzed 15 policy decisions worldwide, with outcomes ranging from new coastal preservation laws to improved species protections.
ONE HAND CLAPPING, ACADEMIC STYLE
Stephen Posner, a Gund researcher and COMPASS policy engagement associate, characterizes policy-related research without outreach as the academic equivalent of "the sound of one hand clapping."
"Scholars may have the best policy intentions and important research, but our results suggest that decision-makers are unlikely to listen without meaningful engagement of them and various stakeholders," he says.
When scholars meet with constituent groupsfor example, individual landowners, conservation organizations, or private businessesit improves policymakers' perception of scientific knowledge as unbiased and representative of multiple perspectives, the study finds.
"For decision-makers, that made research more legitmate and worthy of policy consideration," Ricketts adds.
WAYS TO IMPROVE CONSULTATION
The research team suggests research institutions offer scholars more time and incentives to improve engagement. They also encourage researchers to seek greater understanding of policy decision-making in their fields, and include stakeholder outreach plans in research projects.
"For those working on policy-related questions, we hope these findings offer a reminder of the value of engaging directly with policy makers and stakeholders, " Posner says. "This will be crucial as we enter the new political reality of the Trump administration."
Previous research on science-policy decision-making used qualitative approaches, or focused on a small number of case studies.
BACKGROUND
The study is called "Policy impacts of ecosystem services knowledge" by Stephen Posner, Emily McKenzie, and Taylor H. Ricketts.
Co-author Emily McKenzie hails from WWF and the Natural Capital Project.
The study used a global sample of regional case studies from the Natural Capital Project, in which researchers used the standardized scientific tool InVest to explore environmental planning and policy outcomes.
Data included surveys of decision-makers and expert review of 15 cases with different levels of policy impact. The forms of engagement studied included emails, phone conversations, individual and group meetings, as well as decision-maker perceptions of the scientific knowledge.
Katharine Mach, who served as co-director of science on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will present her most recent findings on the trials and triumphs of achieving a consensus on climate science.
"There's been a huge amount of attention to the IPCC being a politicized process," said Mach, a senior research scientist at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "We see the final product of assessment in our understanding of the climate challenge, but it's pretty rare that we lift up the hood and say, 'How does this process happen?' and 'How could it happen better?'"
Mach's position with the IPCC gave her "immersive exposure to the entirety of that process," she said. Mach will discuss her experience and her current research on Sunday, Feb. 19 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston. She will speak at a symposium titled, "Global Environmental Assessments and the Bridge to Environmental Policy," at the Hynes Convention Center, Room 202.
Assessment analysis confronts complex issues, ranging from government regulations and corruption to the ethics of publicity, including how to inform media of something like the global warming slowdown, which may not have actually happened. Assessment practitioners must grapple with the ethical dimensions of making sure important assumptions are transparent, especially when one generation is "kicking the can of the climate challenge on to the next," she said.
As a member of the IPCC's Working Group II from 2010 to 2015, Mach and her team worked to ensure reports on current climate science incorporated accurate and ambitious assessment, where information is evaluated from diverse sources. The team also created summaries of the reports for policymakers that required line-by-line approval from hundreds of stakeholders in science and government.
"Being in an IPCC staff leadership position, you have the most in-depth, intimate view of how every aspect of that process happens," Mach said. "I really got to see all aspects of the government interactions, the intra-institutional decision-making, as well as being the one to create these summary products that had to represent the entire report."
Mach worked with Chris Field, a co-chair of the IPCC's Working Group II and Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Their work resulted in the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report and Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. The reports have supported diverse climate policies and actions, including the Paris Agreement.
Navigating the assessment process can be unfamiliar territory for many scientists, requiring a different set of skills than they typically uselike tact and negotiationaccording to Mach. Her research aims to find opportunities to improve inefficiencies in this practice, which can be exhaustive to the hundreds of contributors involved.
"For scientists hoping for a straightforward summary of physics and math, that can be a really uncomfortable realityit's not as if you just put experts around a table and rationality happens," Mach said. "It is actually a social process of interactions, and that can go really well or it can go poorly, and it gets a whole lot more complicated when it's experts interacting with a sea of government delegates."
Mach, who also leads the Stanford Environment Assessment Facility (SEAF) at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environmentan initiative to use the university context to innovate and evaluate approaches to assessment so they may be applied to issues such as climate change, conflict, adaptation and infrastructurewill offer her insider perspective of how different audiences impact revisions, depending on whether it includes scientists or the addition of decision makers. The interaction between experts and decision makers creates complex science policy territory, but it adds more ownership and traction in the process, she said.
"Assessment has had these phenomenal successes, and that ranges from framing the understanding of climate change to creating foundations that enable people to step forward and try out climate solutions," Mach said. "At the same time, assessment is really hard intellectually and socially, and we have some impressive experiences to learn from."
Mach's current research focuses on complicated adaptation strategies that require tradeoffs, such as managed retreat, a coastal management strategy in which people are moved away from encroaching shorelines. In climate change mitigation with interactions, assessment leaders must consider the public perception of theories such as land-based strategies to compensate for industrial emissions, which may not meet expectations if they are described out of context.
"In this exciting question of what's next for climate, assessment has a huge amount to contribute, ranging from revealing risks and options through to pinpointing the ways that it's a challenge of values, and whose values count and how much," Mach said. "The beauty of assessment from the scientific perspective is that it really drives knowledge creation by bringing people together."
RACINE Presidential elections are Americas greatest political theater. But when they are done, says John Nichols, we citizens have to get serious about making things happen.
Nichols a Union Grove native and national journalist, author and political correspondent will address that idea and more in a presentation titled What Should We Say to a New President? on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at the Siena Retreat Center, 5637 Erie St. The event will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is part of a series of public programs called Situations of Substance offered at the Retreat Center, which is a sponsored ministry of the Racine Dominicans. The fee to attend is $10; registration and other information is available at 262-898-2590.
In addition to his work as national-affairs correspondent for The Nation magazine, Nichols is the associate editor of the Capital Times in Madison and a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers, and he often appears as a guest commentator on radio and television programs.
Nichols Siena Center program will focus on the profound challenges facing America and the need for its citizens to make some changes. But, those changes will only happen if Americans stay political after the presidential election and make real demands on our new president, according to a description of the talk. He answered a few questions for The Journal Times in advance of his visit here.
Will your program on Feb. 21 focus mostly on demands Americans need to make on our current president, or will it be a more general call-to-action about the need to stay political after an election?
Donald Trumps election has supercharged every debate, creating an unprecedented circumstance in modern American politics. As such, every political discussion these days focuses on Trump. So well talk a good deal about the president and about how to respond to his foibles.
But, more broadly, well talk about how people can and must make demands on government at every level. Its vital that Americans recognize that their duty of citizenship involves a lot more than voting. People have a right to speak, but they also have the right to assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances. This is a time when all our First Amendment rights will be employed.
What, if anything, makes our latest presidential election different, in terms of the need for citizens to get involved?
Donald Trump won only 46 percent of the popular vote, and he lost his contest with Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes. Yet, he is governing very boldly, very aggressively. A minority president is acting as if he has a mandate. This is a circumstance that was bound to exacerbate tensions. And it has.
How would you convince someone who feels like they (as an individual) are powerless against the system, that they can have an impact?
I would tell them that, in this volatile time, the best members of Congress are especially concerned about what their constituents think. My sense is that members of the House and the Senate are confused and uncertain about what happens next. As such, they are paying attention, which is a good thing for citizens who want to influence the process. There are many times when members of Congress are disengaged and unresponsive. This isnt one of them.
If you had to pick one, what would you say is the biggest challenge our country faces today?
Warped democracy. There is too much money in politics, too much gerrymandering, too much media manipulation, too much voter suppression (and depression). We have to make reforms to make government a truer expression of the popular will. Its not that now, and our country suffers as a result.
Who do you hope will come to hear what you have to say?
I am always pleased by the discussions in Racine. Folks are engaged and informed and I value the conversation. I hope to see folks I have talked with in the past but also newcomers. As always, I hope people bring lots of questions and ideas. America was founded by enlightenment thinkers who valued debate; Im excited that we are still at it.
A recent survey suggests that many researchers have tried and failed to reproduce other scientists' experiments as well as their own. Georgetown University's Rochelle Tractenberg, Ph.D., is on a mission to help change that by promoting ethical statistical practices. She'll lead a panel discussion on the topic Sunday at the AAAS meeting in Boston. Credit: Georgetown University
Can statistics increase the value of science to society? Georgetown University's Rochelle Tractenberg, PhD, MPH, PhD, chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association, will discuss "Promoting Ethical Science and Policy With Ethical Statistical Practice" on a panel presenting three disciplinary perspectives on Sunday, February 19, as part of a day long symposium titled Scientific Reproducibility and Social Responsibility at the AAAS 2017 Annual Meeting in Boston.
A survey of more than 1,500 investigators, published in a 2016 issue of Nature, showed that more than 70 percent of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce other scientists' experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce their own experiments.
Additional studies have come to similar conclusions, says Tractenberg, associate professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center with secondary appointments in biostatistics, bioinformatics and biomathematics, and rehabilitation medicine. "Irreproducible results do harm that can be difficult to discover and even more difficult to undo," she said.
A consulting statistician and practicing scientist for the past 20 years, Tractenberg started pursuing her interest in promoting ethical research skills in 2009 after being invited to join a GUMC task force to explore these challenges. Tractenberg has worked with colleagues at GUMC and other institutions around the country to promote this brand of responsible research, and she'll have a larger stage later this month.
Tractenberg will discuss responsible research, and its relevance for all statisticians, data analysts and data scientists, in a symposium she organized for the AAAS 2017 Annual Meeting.
Credibility Crisis
When most investigators have taken just a single course in statistics, and are therefore laymen when it comes to statistics - for typical experiments or if they wish to participate in big data analyses - it is perhaps not surprising that so many studies cannot be replicated, nor results reproduced, Tractenberg says.
"My focus on promoting ethical statistical practice arose because a scientific credibility crisis is emerging due partly to scientists who do not conduct - or insist upon - appropriate statistical analysis or interpretation, or both," she says. "If ethical statistical practice becomes the norm across statistics and data science, it may then be taken up into other domains where data analysis makes important contributions."
Several elements of a study can lead to irreproducible results, including incorrect analysis, improper interpretation of data, cherry picking results, or failing to transparently report the number of analyses that were done, Tractenberg says. Avoiding these are principles of ethical statistical practice as well as responsible conduct in research.
"Although it can often seem that data analysis is secondary to the 'main' science or study purpose, the analytic method and its interpretation are essential attributes of both rigor and reproducibility, and this is true for their own work and for their peer review of others' work," says Tractenberg.
A large number of these irreproducible studies may have never been published if peer reviewers that were unable to evaluate the statistics "just told the editor they don't feel qualified to evaluate the study's statistical argument, and that a formal statistical review is needed," she says. Having a formal statistical review does not guarantee reproducibility or rigor, but not having or insisting on one virtually guarantees the continuation of the reproducibility crisis.
"Treat Data Ethically"
A faculty member at Georgetown since 2002, Tractenberg was appointed to the national Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association (ASA) in 2013, a committee that she now chairs. In her 90-minute panel at the AAAS meeting, "How Ethical Science Supports Ethical Policy: Disciplinary Perspectives," she will discuss the ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, which all those who analyze data can utilize, whether dealing with "small" or "big" data. She says that ethical statistical practice - by every data analyst - is integral to maintaining the value of science in society.
Tractenberg's panel will also bring together specialists in engineering and economics to describe their efforts to establish and promote ethical practices and policies within their disciplines. These three perspectives will then be discussed with respect to their potential to influence and support ethical policy and decision making.
"All scientific fields have different relationships to data and how the data should be interpreted," Tractenberg says. "But the core of all in this work is the data and its analysis, and I firmly believe these must be dealt with ethically.
Otherwise, decisions that are based on these results may be incorrect or indefensible, or both."
"The data analyst, whether a professional statistician or just the group member who is most skilled with the analysis software, has an obligation to treat and interpret the data ethically," Tractenberg says. "In a post-truth world, this may be the best way to promote scientific integrity."
Banded mongoose Mungos mungo. Credit: Public Domain
Growing up in tough conditions can make wild animals live longer, new research suggests.
Scientists from the University of Exeter found that male banded mongooses that experienced poor conditions in their first year had longer lives.
However, there was no difference in the number of offspring they fathered - suggesting those born into poor conditions "live slow, die old" while those with an easier first year "live fast, die young".
Surprisingly, the males that fathered the most pups were those that grew up when conditions were highly variable. These males also lived long lives, like those born into poor conditions.
"Growing up in a poor or unpredictable environment isn't necessarily bad - it can have advantages," said lead author Dr Harry Marshall, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation of the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus.
"It's not clear why variable early-life conditions were the best for male mongooses in terms of longevity and reproduction. It might be that male mongooses that experience different challenges in their first year are better prepared for those challenges later on."
The researchers used 14 years of data on wild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Uganda. Rainfall was used as the measure of conditions, as the researchers found that more rainfall means more invertebrate prey for mongooses to eat. Variable conditions were defined as those with large fluctuations between wet and dry periods.
Early-life conditions appeared to have no impact on the chance that individuals survived their first year. There was also no impact on females' longevity or reproductive success.
"It is surprising that early-life conditions affected males but not females," Dr Marshall said.
"We know that female mongoose survival is more sensitive to ecological conditions later in life, perhaps due to the greater demands pregnancy brings. This may hide any effects of conditions experienced during their first year."
He added: "Studying these effects helps us understand how animals might be affected by future environmental changes."
Professor Michael Cant, also of the University of Exeter, who leads the long-term banded mongoose study, added: "In banded mongooses, as in humans, survival and health in later life depends on the conditions experienced during growth and development. Deciphering why these effects evolved through studies on wild animals has implications for human health."
The paper, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, is entitled "Lifetime fitness consequences of early-life ecological hardship in a wild mammal population" and is by Harry H. Marshall, Emma I. K. Vitikainen, Francis Mwanguhya, Robert Businge, Solomon Kyabulima, Michelle C. Hares, Emma Inzani, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Kenneth Mwesige, Hazel J. Nichols, Jennifer L. Sanderson, Faye J. Thompson and Michael A. Cant.
- The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) recently nominated nine top lawyers to be appointed as Supreme Court judges
- Pa Tunji Gomez, a senior Nigerian lawyer, is insisting that appointing the lawyers would breed political judges
Nigerias top lawyer, Pa Tunji Gomez, has warned against the plan to make some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) justices of the Supreme Court.
Gomez says it will be counter-productive to appoint lawyers as Supreme Court judges
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) recently released a list of nine names to be appointed as Supreme Court judges as the federal government plans to sanitise the judiciary.
Gomez, an octogenarian based in Lagos state, revealed that the country would not achieve the expected result from the plan.
READ ALSO: 9 people shortlisted by NBA for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court
The Punch reports that Gomez, who has been in legal practice for 56 years, would be counter-productive and breed political judges.
Reportedly saying the move would kill the morale of the justices of the Court of Appeal, who have paid their dues over the years and are expecting to be elevated, Gomez called on the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, and the NJC to immediately put a stop to the process.
I am sure that the majority of lawyers will not appreciate the movement by which the procedure is being put into effect.
It is inimical to the judiciary; it is inimical to the profession. Besides, it creates an unfair trading because, lets face it, they are now going to bring SANs above Appeal Court Justices to the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal judges, who have been there for years, are being portrayed as unfit for the post of a Supreme Court judge. A man who passed through the high court, Court of Appeal, and now suddenly, you say hes not fit and you went and bring a lawyer.
It is demeaning; it is a sign of condemnation to the Court of Appeal Justices that they are not fit. And that is very bad. It is bad because people wont respect them anymore. It is bad because judges of the high court are being told that these SANs are superior to them, which is not true.
It creates a tremendous fear in the judges of the high court.
READ ALSO: DSS raid: NBA declares a state of emergency on Judiciary
If you are in the position, you rose from the high court to the Court of Appeal, now you are senior judge of the Court of Appeal, then instead of elevating you to the Supreme Court, they went to pick a practising lawyer, how do you feel? Is that justice? Is there any reason to compare the judges with the SANs? What is the comparison? Let them suspend it!
The lawyers were not fully consulted. Let us suspend it immediately before we kill the judiciary. Because if we dont, it would end up with every Tom, D*ck and Harry becoming a Supreme Court judge. We must stop it.
Source: Legit.ng
At this stage in the life of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the only way it can survive is for its members to respect the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal and affirm Ali Modu Sheriff as its national chairman.
Ben Murray-Bruce declares his support for Ali Modu Sheriff
Senator Ben Bruce representing a district in Bayelsa state made this known in reaction to the current travails being suffered by the party under which he won election in 2015.
Premium Times reports that the senator made his position on the ruling of the appeal court known to it in a one-paragraph statement.
I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party. We will work with Ali Modu Sheriff and go to a convention.
Right now, PDP is on a course towards destruction and abiding by the judgement of the court is the only thing that can save us.
READ ALSO: Buhari's aide congratulates Sheriff
I therefore call an end to the fighting. And I am supporting Ali Modu Sheriff because it is the only way to preserve the party. Right now, what Nigeria has is a one-party state there is no opposition. Enough is enough. The is the time for PDP to unite, we are a formidable force!
The current bickering is childish and irrelevant. I am not in support of anymore litigation, Ben Bruce said.
Sheriff was declared the chairman of the party during a ruling of the appeal court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state recently, but the faction of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi has vowed to head to the Supreme Court.
READ ALSO: Fayose confident PDP will still win elections
Former aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, also said it was time to leave the party just as some of the members accuse the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as being behind the ruling of the appeal court.
Source: Legit.ng
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the appeal court-declared national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met with former military President Ibrahim Babangida at the latters Hilltop mansion in Minna, Niger state on Sunday, February 19.
Sheriff met with Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, Niger state
Sheriff, who maintained that the recent ruling was a victory for the party, visited Babangida with a fromer governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu.
Aliyu is touted to be interested in the presidency, but he is yet to formerly make his intention known.
The Eagle Online reports that the trio held a closed-door meeting that lasted for two hours.
READ ALSO: Fayose confident PDP will still win elections
While hosting them, Ibrahim Babangida commended Sheriff for the manner he handled his victory at the Court of Appeal adding: I am very happy with your statement after the court ruling. It shows that there is room for reconciliation and unity.
There is the need to bring everybody back together to make the party a formidable opposition party.
Speaking on the appeal court ruling, Sheriff said: There is no loser.
It is just a misunderstanding within a family and we are calling on everybody to come together so that the party can be a formidable one once again.
He noted: IBB is our father.
During our meeting, he said he is happy with my statement after the court ruling.
He told me to continue that way so that I can bring everybody back together to make the party a formidable opposition party.
What we want to do now is how to put the party back to shape so that everyone that is aggrieved is brought back as one united family once again.
Look, united we stand, divided we fall.
He disclosed that he had called Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the chairman of the other faction of the PDP adding: And I have called on everybody to come back so that we can work together.
On his part, former Governor Aliyu urged all the members of the party to support Sheriff.
He is the Chairman of the party and those of us who love to see solution to this party will continue to find ways of mending.
Now that we have a legal decision, which supports the position of the matter, even though other people talk about going higher (Supreme Court), others are saying no we should start widening the solution.
That we dont waste time in terms of legality.
READ ALSO: Makarfi's PDP accuses APC of influencing appeal court judgement in favour of Sheriff
That is why for the moment, until anybody is able to go higher and setting aside the decision of the court, for the moment, Ali Modu Sheriff is the Chairman of the party and those of us who love to see solution to this party will continue to find ways of mending.
I think we should all bury our ambitions.
You cant have an ambition without a platform.
We need to have a platform first of all and we are in the opposition and we need time to organise and reorganise and go back to the people with plausible real solutions to their problems.
If we dont get these solutions, then what do we have?
We need to all come together and appeal to all of us, all PDP lovers and members to really look at the issues objectively so that we have a platform that we can call a party, which can win elections.
Not a fragmented party, he said.
Source: Legit.ng
Ecuador voted Sunday in general elections that could see a pillar of the Latin American left swing to the right -- and potentially deprive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of his place of refuge in London. President Rafael Correa, who is not running, expressed confidence that his party's candidate, Lenin Moreno, would win in the first round. "They want to give the impression it's going to a second round. The polls clearly say the contrary," he said after casting his ballot at an elementary school in Quito. "Let's await the results and, in a democratic spirit, accept the will of the Ecuadoran people expressed at the polls." The vote puts Correa's legacy into question. He is marking the end of 10 years in power during three terms as one of Latin America's leading leftists and an outspoken critic of the United States. It could also alter the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The two leading conservative candidates have said that if they win, they will evict him from Ecuador's London embassy, where he has taken refuge for fear of extradition to the United States. - Continuity or change - An economist, Correa, 53, initially oversaw a boom in his oil-rich country of 16 million people. A decade on, "what is at stake are two visions of society, two visions of development, two visions of the state," he said of Sunday's election. Voters must decide whether to continue his socialist agenda by electing his ally Moreno or follow Argentina, Brazil and Peru in switching to a conservative government. Moreno, who leads in opinion polls, promises to continue Correa's tax-and-spend social policies. "The Ecuadoran people have affection (for us) and are determined to continue with this process," the 63-year-old told AFP. To win in the first round, he needs to receive at least 40 percent of the vote and outpoll his nearest rival by 10 percent. If he wins, Correa said, Ecuador will remain "on the same path but with different leadership, which I think in the end is very desirable for the country." - Trump - But in an uncertain contest, Moreno faces a challenge from conservative ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, 61, second in the opinion polls. He has vowed to cut spending and taxes, lure foreign investment and create a million jobs. He has also slammed Correa's allies over alleged links to a corruption scandal. "We have to vote for change to fight against corruption," Lasso said at a campaign rally on Wednesday. The third-placed candidate is conservative former lawmaker Cynthia Viteri, 51. Correa says Latin America needs a strong leftist movement to resist US President Donald Trump's hard line on immigration and trade. But Lasso and Viteri have shown more willingness to work with Washington since Trump's election victory in November. - Boom, bust - Franco Sandoval, a student in Quito, said he will vote "for a change." "The ones who are in power have been there for a long time. They have done their job," he said. "But at some point, they go off the rails." Ecuador exports half-a-million barrels of oil a day. Correa used the wealth to fund social welfare schemes and public works. He called it "21st-century socialism." But oil prices have plunged over the past three years, helping shrink Ecuador's economy by 1.7 percent last year. Correa is accused of failing to save any petrodollars for a rainy day and of hampering businesses with high taxes and duties. "Whoever becomes president will have to dig the grave of '21st century socialism,'" said Alberto Acosta-Burneo, an economist at the Spurrier Group consultancy. "It is no longer viable in the current economic situation." - Close contest - Although opinion polls indicate Moreno will probably win Sunday's first-round vote, his lead may not be big enough to avoid a runoff in April against one of his conservative rivals, most likely Lasso. Analysts say voters fed up with Correa may rally behind any conservative candidate who gets through to the second round. Polls show a high ratio of undecided voters. "Any party could beat the governing one in the second round because there is major resistance to and rejection of the government," said political scientist Paolo Moncagatta of Quito's San Francisco University. But Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank in Washington was more cautious. "It is a mistake to underestimate the strength of support for Correa's side," he said. Polling stations opened at 1200 GMT and were due to close at 2200 GMT.
ROME (Reuters) - A prominent Italian minister said on Friday it would be impossible to hold a national election in June, as the head of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) is urging. The PD party leader, former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, last week called for a PD leadership contest in a bid to reassert his authority, after he lost last year's constitutional reform referendum and resigned in December. Renzi is expected to resign as party leader at a PD assembly on Sunday. That would probably trigger a leadership contest - which begins with a party congress, followed by a primary vote - and could open the way for an early vote. But Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who leads a large PD faction, on Friday urged Renzi to postpone the party congress in an effort to keep the party together. He also argued that the party hasn't got enough time for a congress, a primary and a national election in June. "We need not rush to hold the congress," Franceschini said in an interview with the newspaper la Repubblica. "There is time, given the fact it's no longer possible to vote in June." The legislature's term is not due to end until February 2018. Polls show that Renzi should easily win back control of the party. But PD dissidents are threatening to quit and form a rival party, accusing him of being authoritarian and of dragging the PD away from its leftist roots. Renzi, in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper on Friday, repeated pleas to party rivals not to leave, but gave no signal that he would slow his push for a congress and early vote. Three-quarters of PD voters do not want a party split, and 64 percent want Renzi to remain the bloc's secretary, an Ixe poll published on Friday by state TV RAI showed. But many fear the PD will fare badly in local elections scheduled for June, and parliament continues to squabble over changing Italy's proportional electoral laws, which are slightly different for the upper and lower houses. Under current laws, the party leader has the power to select many of the candidates, meaning Renzi's internal foes might not make it into the next parliament if he keeps his post. If they form a rival party, the critics would be able to create their own list of candidates and would also bleed votes from the PD, making it harder for Renzi to regain power. The PD is now polling at about 30 percent, which means it would not be able to govern alone if a vote were held under the current proportional voting systems. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing by Larry King)
2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #7
Posted on 19 February 2017 by John Hartz
Story of the Week... El Nino/La Nina Update... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS in the News... Photo of the Week... SkS Spotlights... Video of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...
Story of the Week...
Scientists have just detected a major change to the Earths oceans linked to a warming climate
Big waves generated by the Nazare canyon just off the coast of Nazare, central Portugal, in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. (Francisco Leong/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
A large research synthesis, published in one of the worlds most influential scientific journals, has detected a decline in the amount of dissolved oxygen in oceans around the world a long-predicted result of climate change that could have severe consequences for marine organisms if it continues.
The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Nature by oceanographer Sunke Schmidtko and two colleagues from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, found a decline of more than 2 percent in ocean oxygen content worldwide between 1960 and 2010. The loss, however, showed up in some ocean basins more than others. The largest overall volume of oxygen was lost in the largest ocean the Pacific but as a percentage, the decline was sharpest in the Arctic Ocean, a region facing Earths most stark climate change.
The loss of ocean oxygen has been assumed from models, and there have been lots of regional analysis that have shown local decline, but it has never been shown on the global scale, and never for the deep ocean, said Schmidtko, who conducted the research with Lothar Stramma and Martin Visbeck, also of GEOMAR.
Its official: The oceans are losing oxygen, posing growing threats to marine life by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Feb 15, 2017
El Nino/La Nina Update...
During the second half of 2016, tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperatures were at borderline weak La Nina/cool-neutral levels. Many atmospheric ENSO indicators also approached or exceeded La Nina thresholds. During January 2017, tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures and some atmospheric fields clearly returned to ENSO-neutral levels. With weak La Nina signals since mid-2016, in some regions the influence of other climate drivers may have equaled or even outweighed that of ENSO.
Most of the climate models surveyed indicate neutral conditions will persist during the first half of 2017. Although there is a range of possibilities beyond May 2017, the re-emergence of La Nina appears the least likely scenario, with neutral ENSO conditions and El Nino both possible during the second half of 2017. National Meteorological and Hydrological Services will continue to closely monitor changes in the state of ENSO over the coming months.
El Nino/La Nina Update, World Meterological Organization (WMO), Feb 16, 2017
Toon of the Week...
Hat tip to What on Earth? comics
Quote of the Week...
Scott Pruitt as administrator of the EPA likely means a full-scale assault on the protections that Americans have enjoyed for clean air, clean water and a healthy climate, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in an interview. For environmental groups, it means were in for the fight of our lives for the next four years.
Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the agency by Brady Dennis, Washington Post, Feb 17, 2017
Graphic of the Week...
Data show large parts of Eurasia, North America and the Arctic were extremely warm for Jan. Credit: NASA
This January Was the Third Warmest on Record Globally by Brian Kahn, Climate Central. Feb 16, 207
SkS in the News...
In his BoingBoing post, How to fight back against the backfire effect, David McCraney cites and links to The Debunking Handbook.
John Cook's article, What do gorilla suits and blowfish fallacies have to do with climate change? originally published in the Conversation US has been reposted on a number of news sites including: AlterNet and DeSmog,
In his Boston Globe article, Mish Michaels isnt alone: Many meteorologists question climate change science, David Apel writes:
A national survey last year by researchers at George Mason University in Virginia found that just 46 percent of broadcast meteorologists said they believed that climate change over the past 50 years has been primarily or entirely the result of human activity. By contrast, surveys of climate scientists have found that 97 percent attribute warming to human activity.
The second link embedded in the above is to Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature, John Cook et al, Environmental Research Letters (ERL), Volume 8, Number 2, May 15, 2013
The ERL paper cited above was also referenced in Murray Energy CEO claims global warming is a hoax, says 4,000 scientists tell him so by Tom DiChristopher, CNBC.
Photo of the Week
Greenland Ice Sheet: NASA Photo
NASA study identifies new pathway for Greenland meltwater to reach ocean by Maria-Jose Vinas, NASA's Global Climate Change, Feb 15, 2017
SkS Spotlights...
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is one of the worlds leading institutes in the field of marine sciences. The institute investigates the chemical, physical, biological and geological processes of the seafloor, oceans and ocean margins and their interactions with the atmosphere. With this broad spectrum GEOMAR is unique in Germany. Additionally, the centre has successfully bridged the gap between basic and applied science in a number of research areas. The GEOMAR is a foundation under public law jointly funded by the federal (90 %) and state (10 %) government. GEOMAR has a staff of 967 (status on 30 June 2016) and a yearly budget of around 72 Mio Euro.
Video of the Week...
Michael Mann's Sydney Ideas Public Lecture - The Madhouse Effect: Climate Change Denial in the Age of Trump, University of Sydney, Feb 13, 2017
Coming Soon on SkS...
Expect more emergencies like Oroville Dam in a hotter world (Dana)
(Dana) Climate Change What We Knew and When We Knew It (greenman)
It (greenman) Trump can save his presidency by saving the climate (Dana)
(Dana) Climate Bet for Charity, 2017 update (Rob Honeycutt)
(Rob Honeycutt) Guest Post (John Abraham)
(John Abraham) 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #8 (John Hartz)
(John Hartz) 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Waming Digest #8 (John Hartz)
Poster of the Week...
Climate Feedback Reviews...
Climate Feedback asked its network of scientists to review the op-ed, What Californias Dam Crisis Says About the Changing Climate by Noah S Diffenbach, New York Times, Feb 14, 2017
Three scientists analyzed the article and estimated its overall scientific credibility to be high. A majority of reviewers tagged the article as: Accurate
Click here to access the detailed review.
SkS Week in Review...
97 Hours of Consensus...
Warren Washington's bio-page and Quote source
High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)
With a strong background in licensing, product development, sales and marketing, Montreal native Jeff Cohen has worked with some of the top companies at the forefront of market trends, such as Disney, Warner Bros and Major League Sports. As a live streamer, he recognized the need for proper broadcasting products while he was at concerts. He didnt want to hold his phone and tablet all night as everyone else was doing.
The Search for Live Streaming Equipment
Cohen knew there had to be affordable ways to broadcast hands-free. After research and factory testing, he chose and finalized the right products for his business, named Scoping Products. The website offers tripods, clamps, accessories, wearable mounts, car mounts and similar items, some of which are extendable or flexible or even waterproof. Cohen wont sell any product he himself wouldnt use. Hell usually demonstrate one of his items in a video, especially for product giveaways. He also broadcasts video related to cooking, nature, snowmobiling, ice fishing and other outdoor events.
* * * * *
Small Business Trends: The items you sell are self-explanatory, but tell us about your history and how it fits nicely with eCommerce and gear. Im glad you didnt need to reinvent the wheel, as the saying goes.
Jeff Cohen: One of my goals is to allow people to be able to use their phones like GoPros, which not everyone can afford. With my items, people can use their phones in situations like bike rides and other various outdoor activities, including sports, and enjoy them in similar ways as one might with a GoPro camera. Our items are designed for GoPro use, but theyve been modified for use with smartphones and tablets.
I just did very good sourcing and testing, and through my infrastructure and my website, Im able to offer a range of functional, user-friendly products at very affordable pricing. I wont sell any product I myself wouldnt use. Before Scoping Products, I found there werent many options for active or varied use. I felt what was out there couldnt hold a phone in different settings. Scoping Products is all about getting more enjoyment and versatile use out of your devices no matter where youre broadcasting or filming from.
Our items are shipped from our U.S. warehouse and processed within 24-48 hours thanks to an efficient setup. We even have a separate section called Scoping Projects where we can develop and assist social media broadcasters or a business with the ability to use our infrastructure and handle any order fulfillment from A-Z on any promotional need or project they are working on.
Small Business Trends: Are Scoping Products only for Periscope/Twitter?
Jeff Cohen: In all my broadcasts and in all our advertising, one of the main things I emphasize is the fact that were not just for scopers. I always try to demonstrate and show viewers how they can use the products in everyday situations, even if they are not social broadcasters or live streamers.
Small Business Trends: What are the best ways to reach you?
Jeff Cohen: I respond within 24-48 hours on Twitter at @scopingproducts or by email at spinfo@videotron.ca
Images: Daniel Schwartzberg Photography, Jeff Cohen
This is part of the Small Business Trends Livestreamed Livelihoods interview series featuring sessions with today's movers and shakers in the livestreaming world.
RACINE COUNTY In addition to a reprimand for Gateway Technical College for not following rules on entering into a lease agreement with the Village of Waterford, the Wisconsin Technical College System last year raised several concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
In a June 30 letter to Gateway President and CEO Bryan Albrecht, James E. Zylstra, WTCS executive vice president, notes several concerns WTCS officials had about the close working relationship between Waterford Fire Chief Rick Mueller and John Dahms, the chairman of Gateways fire training program.
The WTCS noted that some Gateway officials seemed unaware of the long bonds between Mueller, a retired West Allis Fire Department battalion chief and training officer, and Dahms, the former City of Brookfield fire chief.
Among the findings noted were:
Dahms was hired by Mueller in 2015 to be a part-time, paid assistant chief for the Waterford department.
Mueller was hired by Dahms as an adjunct faculty member at Gateway and Muellers assignment was to design and teach two new courses. In addition, a textbook that Mueller wrote and self-published was being used in the course and was to be sold at the Gateway bookstore in the fall of 2016. Mueller told officials he would receive $25 per each book sold. The book is still part of the curriculum for the Fire/Medic program, college officials confirmed.
Mueller and Dahms had previously been in business together in a limited-liability company.
Rick and I were in a LLC with a third person beginning in 2006. We wrote some articles, did some seminars including The 2007 Firehouse Expo in Baltimore. But the LLC never really took off because each of us was so busy with other endeavors, Dahms wrote in an email. Our third partner left a few years ago and I separated some time in early 2015.
At the suggestion of Dahms, Waterford Village Administrator Rebecca Ewald was named to the Gateway Fire/Medic Program Advisory Committee in September 2015.
Mueller and Dahms had discussed the possibility of Gateway purchasing a used fire engine from Waterford for $8,000. Terry Simmons, Gateways dean of service occupations, said the purchase never went through, although the college did pay rent for its use for the one semester Gateway conducted classes at the Waterford training facility.
Waterford Fire also was allowed to borrow some gear from Gateway prior to its lease agreement with the college in January 2016.
Zylstra also noted that the WTCS learned that Gateway was paying fees to the Kansasville Fire and Rescue Department for use of land where Gateway has operated fire training facilities since 2002. Zylstra said that there never was a formal lease agreement between Gateway and the Town of Dover, which owns the site. Gateway now has such an agreement in place.
As a result of the WTCS probe:
Dahms resigned from his part-time post as Waterford assistant fire chief in August. He says that he was only working at the department one night a week and one 24-hour shift every six weeks, which he said was a nice contrast to the time he spent during the seven years he spent on-call as a volunteer and assistant chief in Kansasville.
Albrecht noted that instruction of Gateways fire medic program was turned over to Jack Jasperson, a full-time Gateway instructor and former member of the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department.
After several Racine County fire chiefs expressed concern in December, Ewald resigned from the advisory board.
Ewald says only a handful of meetings took place during her tenure and said she participated on the advisory board with the full blessing of her Village Board, which encourages her to take an active role in community affairs. For example, Ewald notes that she has served for several years on the board for Real Racine, the countys tourism promotion agency, and currently serves as its president.
I think more assumptions have been made about what my role was than what really was there, Ewald said, saying she did not want to cause a distraction through her involvement on the advisory board. We need everyone to be moving forward in a productive way.
Noting that Dahms is a full-time Gateway employee, WTCS advised Gateway to review its Code of Conduct for possible violations. Albrecht told Zylstra that on June 27, Gateways Leadership Council had approved a revision to the colleges Code of Conduct so that a requirement to report outside employment that exceeded compensation of $5,000 was removed. The policy now states that employment that does not interfere with Gateway employment is allowed.
Kansasville Fire Chief Scott Remer, who was president of the Racine County Fire Chiefs Association in 2016, said from his standpoint he is happy with the steps Gateway has taken to address local fire chiefs concerns brought up at a December meeting between college officials and the chiefs.
Among the agreements reached at that meeting was a commitment from Gateway to hold some meetings of its fire program advisory board at night to make it easier for chiefs from volunteer and paid-on-call departments to attend.
Gateway was very proactive in listening to the issues at hand and for the most part they have corrected those issues or they are working on fixing those issues, Remer said. Again, 90 percent of them have already been fixed.
The news of Nokia coming back to the market with its own-branded smartphone has taken the market by storm and marketers are super-duper excited to experience a new smartphone. As per the official reports, Nokia with its new Android-based smartphone is said to hit the market in the early of 2017, may be at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, which is slated for 27th February 2017.
From the day of launching its first fully portable mobile in 1987 to its partnership with Microsoft in 2011 to launch Windows-based Lumia Phones, Nokia has always stayed ahead of the line. However, after the complete acquisition of Nokia Brand by Microsoft in 2014, the company lost its signature from the market and the tech world missed Nokia branded phones. However, with the announcement of Nokia to make a comeback to the market with new Android-based smartphone and tablets, a new flow of enthusiasm is found among the shoppers and Nokia fans. The Finnish Multinational is now getting up to make an impressive and robust return to the mobile market with the new line-up of smartphones and tablets in early next year, and we can expect a new Nokia-branded phone in our hand by the end of February 2017.
HMD, the commercial arm of Foxconn manufacturing has taken charge of designing and developing Nokia Phones for the next ten years. Though no official announcements are yet made about the title of the upcoming Nokia smartphone, some rumours are strongly suggesting the phone be called Nokia D1C. Some leaked images have suggested the Nokia D1C will be a premium quality phone with a mid-range price tag. However, the official announcement from Nokia or HMD is still awaited.
However, apart from all the excitements and expectations, the matter of challenges and competition for Nokia cant be denied. The extreme rivalry in the smartphone market and late entry of the brand can be the primary source of problems for Nokia phones in coming days. However, Nokia has a tonne of trust this time around its Nokia D1C and expects it to good business in the market. Lets have a look at how the Nokia D1C will work for its parental company and its Brand:
1. A Great comeback for Nokia Brand
No matter how long it is, Nokia still is considered among the most respectable and much-loved mobile brand. Even if after the acquirement by Microsoft, the brand lost its significance in the market, yet it is still going on with a decent value. Now, the Android-based smartphone, Nokia D1C is expected to make the company enjoy a robust comeback after years and get the authentic value of its Brand name. The revival of a brand always leads to great success and with Nokia, we can expect the same.
2. Yes!!! Finally, it is Android
A decade ago, Android OS on Nokia Phones was alleged to be a daydream. However, still, the marketers are expecting the phone to integrate with Android OS one day and this one day is going to appear in February. After so many decades, Nokia is finally going to revive its smartphone features with the Google-powered Android Operating System. Moreover, HMD is reported to be working directly with Google which means Android on Nokia can be completely personalised.
3. Challenges and Competition
Well, since years, Samsung and Nokia are considered to be the greatest rivalry of each other, and this time, the expectation is no different. If you take a gander at Nokias competition, the first name that will hit the mind is Samsung. At some point, the success of Samsung was somewhat liable for the downfall of Nokia. But 2016 is proved not-so-lucky for Samsung especially after the disaster of Galaxy Note 7, and now the brand is quite down in the market. And the comeback of Nokia in such time could bring great business opportunity for the brand.
4. Nokia D1C Great value for Money or Not
Well, this is the most asked question about the upcoming phone of Nokia. Nokia, with its phones and gadgets, always has maintained a budget-friendly approach and this time, with its comeback smartphone, the market is expecting the same. Regarding features, design, hardware and price, Nokia did a great job in the past, and with the new one, it is believed to repeat the history. It is the price which will decide the make or break of the brand in coming days.
5. A hard-hitting opposition with Chinese brands
When it comes to budget-friendly smartphones with excellent specifications, Chinese Brands always heads the line. And this time, the Chinese brands are also expected to give Nokia the toughest competition in the budget segment. With the high-end specs and features, it may win millions of hearts, but in price segment, the brand will undoubtedly face some brawl with the Chinese smartphone makers. With the impeccable hardware, smoothness of the gadget, and a value-added price tag, Nokia is expected to trigger its magic once again.
Well, these are the top 5 factors that are supposed to dominate the Finnish Multinational in coming days. With the yet-to-be-announced smartphone, the brand has high hopes. But the aggressive competition regarding price and specification may cause some major challenges for the brand. However, lets hope for the best and wait for the commercial launch of Nokia D1C
As the launching date of LG G6 is coming sooner, reports started suggesting that the company will soon launch a device under its V lineup of the smartphones. The speculations by a Chinese source revealed that LG is working on its V30 handset which will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset.
Apart from that, Android Pure has reportedly suggested that the LG V30 will sport 6GB of RAM, and as compared to its predecessor it will feature an improved Quad DAC. It also touted that the LG V30 will flaunt a dual-rear camera setup at its front and back. Separately, LeEco is also doing the same with its upcoming smartphone.
It is assumed that LG will trench the signature secondary display feature of the V series device; however, it might add a new unique feature which is still unknown. The LG V30 is expected to be launched in second half of 2017.
The next flagship smartphone from the company is also being rumoured to be launched at MWC 2017 in Barcelona on February 26. Recently, 9to5Google leaked new images of the handset which suggest that the LG G6 (silver colour model) will be getting a refreshed UX 6.0 that is optimised for the new display. It also shows that the phone will come with round corners with an aspect ratio of 18:9.
It showcases the same phone which was earlier seen in the leaks, however, this time it shows the smartphone displaying time, date, and the preview of other notifications on a black screen, similar to the Moto Display feature.
Citing the earlier leaks, it could be touted that the smartphone will be fronted with a 5.7-inch QHD display and featured with Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Chipset with 4GB RAM, 32GB storage (base variant), and 3200mAh battery. At the back panel, a fingerprint scanner, dual-camera setup with LED flash, will be placed.
The South Korean electronics giant Samsung is all set to launch its Galaxy Tab S3 in the upcoming major event, MWC 2017 at Barcelona. Being one of the most anticipated devices, several enthusiasts are keeping an eye on the events schedule to get the details. However, ahead of its launch, Sammobile has spotted nine images of leaked manual of the Tab S3.
Design
The images show that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will be featured with four stereo speakers two at the top and two at the bottom, besides a USB Type-C port and headset jack. The primary camera will be placed at its back with LED flash, while at the front, the device will be featured with Samsungs signature home button which will come with fingerprint scanner.
At the left, the Tab S3 will sport a keyboard dock port, meanwhile, the right side of the tablet, there will be a row of buttons and slots which include, power button, volume rockers, SIM cum memory card tray, and a hole for the microphone, respectively.
S Pen
The leaks also showed that the tablet would be launched with an S Pen accessory as well. It will be a stylus that was earlier seen in Galaxy Note devices. The pen will be featured with an S Pen button and will come with a Clip, Nib and Tweezers.
Software
On software part, the Samsung tablet will run on Android Nougat OS which will be customised to offer features like Secure Folder, Screen off a memo, and Air Command.
Secure Folder
The company will allow the Galaxy Tab S3 users to ensure the security of their private apps and content like photos and notes, from not being accessed by others, even when the device is unlocked.
Air Command
It is one of the useful features from Samsung which can be easily triggered by pressing the S Pen Button, hovering the S Pen over the screen, or by tapping Air Command Icon. It could be used for frequently used apps.
Screen Off Memo
The Screen Off Memo could by writing on the screen using S Pen, without letting it on. When the screen is off, the user can write on it via S Pen and after finishing the work, one can tap SAVE to save it in Samsung Notes. The feature can be activated/deactivated at Setting>Advanced features>S Pen>Screen Off Memo.
Specs
The previous leaks suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will be launched in two variants SM-T820 and SM-T825. Where, the SM-T820 is touted to be a WiFi only model, which the SM-T825 variant will support LTE connectivity.
Besides, the rumours suggest that the Galaxy Tab S3 will flaunt a 9.7-inch 20481536 pixels display, however, it is still unclear that whether it will be a Samsungs trademarked Super AMOLED display or an LCD panel.
As stated earlier, the handset will be running on Nougat OS, and the system will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. It is expected that the Tab S3 will boast 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, while, the SIM cum memory card tray confirms the expandability support. For photography purposes, the tablet will feature a 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front facing camera.
The Specs are not confirmed yet; hence, we have to wait till the official launch of the device. Stay tuned.
In a shocking event, a Muslim employee of NASA who went abroad on a personal trip was detained from entering the US until he unlocked the pin of his phone and allowed officials to copy the data. Sidd Bikkannavar, who was born in the US and works of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) went to South America and was detained at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport when he flew back to the country nearly two weeks ago.
On my way home to the US last weekend, I was detained by Homeland Security and held with others who were stranded under the Muslim ban, Bikkannavar wrote in a Facebook post. I initially refused, since its a (NASA)-issued phone and I must protect access, Bikkannavar wrote.
He revealed, the incident happened after President Donald Trump imposed the ban on the entry of Muslims in the country on Jan 30. He further added but the US-born Muslims are allowed to enter the nation. Bikkannavar, who was born in Pasadena was shocked when was stopped at the airport by the custom officials.
Bukkannar did not want to share the sensitive data on the phone, but the custom officials forced him to unlock the pin-protected phone and copied the data which is unethical as he is working to for the prestigious space company for last 10 years, said the Bukkannar. The 35-year-old space scientist develops technology for NASA and is also the member of the team developing Worlds largest space telescope James Webb Telescope scheduled to launch in 2018.
Bukkannar was caught off guard when he was asked by the officials for the possessions in order to make sure he was not carrying any dangerous thing.
Now, he is back to his home and has also resumed his duty at the JPL. However, he still wants the changes in the rule as it is creating trouble for US-born Muslims as well.
Im back home, and JPL has been running forensics on the phone to determine what CBP/homeland security might have taken, or whether they installed anything on the device, Bikkannavar said.
The future of smartphones seems to be completely dominated by Digital Assistance technology. While the global smartphone market is already overwhelmed by the virtual assistant features like Apples Siri, Googles Google Assistant, Amazons Alexa and Microsofts Cortana, the Furnish Multinational is alleged to work on a new powerful Virtual Assistant under its own brand. Named as Viki, the new digital assistant feature is reported to beat the existing VR technologies completely.
Nokia, who is currently on headlines because of its first Android Smartphone Nokia 6, seems to be aggressively moving towards acquiring a prominent position in the current competitive tech market. GSMInfo.nl, an online tech site recently has spotted Viki in a brand filing claimed by Nokia in EU. The trademark application has been claimed for Viki, which is described as software made by Nokia. The software is described to be designed for the formation and supervising of mobile and web assistants having compatibility with digital knowledge and merging all the sources of information into a single chat and voice-based interface.
If everything goes well and Nokia successfully integrated the smartphone into Viki, the brand will be back in tech limelight. With the integration of Viki, Nokia is likely to go off against the recognized digital assistant players like Apples Siri and Google Assistant. Along with these big players, it will also face tough competition from the Amazons startup Virtual Assistant Alexa and its partner Microsofts Cortana.
Plus its not only Nokia who is filing a trademark for its own personal assistant, the South Korean giant Samsung is to allegedly work on its own AI assistant for its upcoming Galaxy S8. Samsungs AI Assistant dubbed as Bixby and Kestra is reported to be developed by Viv Labs the same company that has configured Apples Siri and currently is owned by Samsung.
It is only a few days Nokia to release its latest and first-ever Android Smartphone Nokia 6 for the Chinese market. With some advanced features like Android 7.0 Nougat, 5.5-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 4GB RAM & 64GB RAM, 16-megapixel rear & 8-megapixel front camera, 3,000mAh non-removable battery, Dolby ATMOS audio, etc, Nokia 6 is tagged with RMB 1,699 (approximately Rs 16,700) and currently exclusive to the Chinese market.
OnePlus, previously had announced in November that it will bring Android Nougat update for the flagship killer devices OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T before the end of year 2016, and the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has kept its promise by rolling the official Andriod Nougat 7.1.1 update on December 31.
Carl Pei, CEO of OnePlus, revealed about the new update on his official Twitter account. He thanked the research team of OnePlus that worked day and night without celebrating the festive season just to fulfill the promise.
OnePlus has recently also announced that it has released OxygenOS 3.5.5 firmware update for OnePlus 2 smartphone which makes it support the VoLTE networks.
https://twitter.com/getpeid/status/815171968244785152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
See Also: What to buy? OnePlus 3 or OnePlus 3T
Android 7.0 Nougats pleasant new features include Multi-window, Quick Switch (switch to the previous app using the multitasking button), and VR support/ Daydream (for more powerful VR experience).
Additional notable features include beyond what Android 7.0 Nougat brings new mojos, enhanced file browser, a new Moto action called Swipe to shrink the screen, clear all, current apps, push notifications, Google Assistant enhanced Java 8 language support, smooth updates, and data saver, direct reply notifications, additional power competence.
When users will start receiving the Nougat update, the company advises them to download and install it when the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network and only if the cell-Phone has more than 50% percent charge. If a customer has got a notification message for the update, they should then choose Yes, Im in, and once the update is downloaded, click on Install Now. Those who havent get a message should go to Settings > About Phone > System updates, and then if an update is available, follow the above process.
See Also: New Android 7 Nougat can boost up battery life
See Also: Android Nougat: How to Download and Install Right Now
Scientists at the US space agency NASA conducted a mission to Saturn for scientific reasons, but they have fallen in love with the beauty of the planet and Cassini spacecraft has left no chord untouched when it comes to presenting the beauty of Saturn for space enthusiasts.
Since Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, dramatic views from the spacecrafts imaging cameras and other sensors that observe in infrared, ultraviolet and radio frequencies have revealed the ringed planet and its moons in unprecedented detail for scientists to study.
Images taken by Cassinis cameras are published directly to the web shortly after theyre received from the spacecraft, making them available for anyone to peruse and enjoy. And thus, throughout the journey, a dedicated community of space exploration enthusiasts has ridden along, sharing and discussing Cassinis images, often processing them to create their own spectacular scenes.
Were so gratified that Cassinis images have inspired people to work with the pictures themselves to produce such beautiful creations, said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Its been truly wonderful for us to feel the love for Cassini from the public. The feeling from those of us on the mission is mutual.
Cassini Inspires
To celebrate the many ways Cassinis exploration of Saturn has sparked curiosity and wonder, the mission is launching a campaign planned to continue through the missions dramatic conclusion in September.
The activity, called Cassini Inspires invites members of the public to share their original Saturn-inspired artistic creations in a variety of different media (including painting, music, poetry, fiction, video or any format that can be shared online). To participate, artists post their creations on the social media platform of their choice, and tag them #CassiniInspires.
Launched in 1997, Cassini has been touring the Saturn system since arriving in 2004 for an up-close study of the planet, its rings and moons, and its vast magnetosphere. Cassini has made numerous dramatic discoveries, including a global ocean with indications of hydrothermal activity within the moon Enceladus, and liquid methane seas on another moon, Titan.
The mission is in its penultimate phase, performing weekly ring-grazing dives just past the outer edge of Saturns main rings. In April, the spacecraft will begin its Grand Finale, plunging through the gap between the rings and the planet itself, leading up to a fateful plunge into Saturn on September 15.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.
Motorola is ready to give exciting discounts to mark its three-year presence in India. The company announced that it will celebrate the anniversary via Moto Days Sale at Flipkart on February 20 and 21.
The offers on Moto Days Sale will also include its latest phones, that is Moto Z, Moto Z Play and Moto M, where you can save up to Rs. 2,000 by buying them directly and of 20,000 by exchanging your old smart phones.
Moto G Turbo Edition, Moto E Power, Moto E and Moto G (2nd and 3rd Generation) will be available for at least Rs. 500-1000 lesser than their current prices. Moto E3 with 2 GB RAM, 5 inch display and a battery of 3500mAh will be displayed at Rs. 7499 and Moto G Turbo edition with 16 GB memory, 2470mAh battery at Rs. 8,999. Moto G 2nd generation(16 GB) and 3rd generation(8 GB) could be bought at Rs. 6,9999 and Rs. 7,999 respectively.
Moto Nexus 6, 32GB variant will give flat discount of Rs. 2000, it will then be available of Rs. 19,999, instead of Rs, 21,000. The discount will be double for it 64 GB variant, making it available for Rs. 25,999 (Rs. 4,000 less).
Sudhin Mathur, Executive Director, Lenovo Mobile Business Group India, said, We are very delighted to celebrate our three years of successful presence in India and association with Flipkart. In these years, Flipkart and Motos relationship has grown several folds. With the Moto Days, we want to celebrate this successful association and provide our consumers attractive discounts and cashback on select Moto devices. Our commitment is to make the most differentiated smartphone technology accessible to our customers and that has helped us emerge as the no. 2 brand both by volume and value in CY 2016 as per IDC report. The company is now owned by Lenovo.
If you use IndusInd Bank credit card, then the offer is even more beneficial for you as it will provide you with 10 percent discount on your purchases. Just wait until tonight.
Southwest of Belen, a mountain about 9,200 feet in elevation scrapes the clouds.
A landmark visible from Albuquerque, Ladron Peak is a sky island at the heart of the Sierra Ladrones Wilderness Study Area (blm.gov).
Its an isolated, quiet, rugged mountain in full view from Albuquerque and most areas of the Rio Grande Valley between Albuquerque and Socorro, said Jonathan Smith, assistant field manager for the area. Its not a developed area in any sense of the way.
There arent even any developed trails in the 45,000-acre area, which only adds to its charm, he said.
Its a difficult climb, Smith said. Its really for experienced climbers. Not technical rock climbers, but there is a lot of scrambling, and theres no clear-cut trail. People do get lost up there.
Still, for those with the wherewithal and the knowledge to make the crest, its worth the trouble, he said.
Being a mountain and in New Mexico, its considered a sky island, Smith said. You go from desert environments right up into areas where you have subalpine, pinon, juniper, up into ponderosa pine, spruce and fir species. The peak itself is a commanding view of the Rio Grande Valley. The view off the top is pretty spectacular.
But even those who appreciate mountains without feeling the need to get to the top of them will enjoy the area for other things it offers.
Its not a beginner mountain to wander around on, but the area will give you a taste of pretty good wilderness and some desert areas to wander in that are very quiet with not a lot people, Smith said. Its just not highly used at all. Its a nice place so close to Albuquerque.
Rife with wildlife, the area is home to mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, elk, mountain lions and other various small mammals, Smith said.
With the wet winter and spring, the wildflower parade later in the year should be a blast of color, he said.
Likewise, the nearby Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (fws.gov) should be alive with wildflowers soon, said Kathy Granillo, refuge manager.
Near the Ladrones and covering about 230,000 acres, the refuge is a bastion for many of the same animals, with large mammals including elk, pronghorns, coyotes, bobcats and bears, she said.
Identifying the animals via their waste is the topic of a March 4 tour aimed at the younger set, Tracks and Scat, Granillo said.
Well be hiking some arroyos, looking for animals signs, she said. A lot of times, all that you see are signs. And well talk about how the coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions all like to poop on top of other poop.
Reserving space on one of the free tours (864-4021) is one of the best ways to see portions of the refuge which is noted for its diversity in that four biomes collide not ordinarily available to the general public because the area is a working research refuge with dozens of ongoing projects underway at any one time.
For instance, theres an Earth Day cleanup of the scenic San Lorenzo Canyon on April 22, and a week later, theres a staff-led hike through Pino Canyon.
San Lorenzo Canyon is one of the highlight areas of the refuge and the spot where overnight camping is permitted, Granillo said.
Its an arroyo, with four-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicles recommended, or you can hike in, she said. Its a beautiful canyon with hoodoos and other really cool geological features like cliffs, springs with cottonwoods. Its a visually spectacular place.
For getting the basic lay of the land, stopping off at the visitor center just off of I-25, exit 169, about six miles south of the Bernardo, is the way to go, Granillo said.
There are three hikes starting from there two fairly short and one loop of 3.8 miles that climbs atop the mesa.
It about an 800-foot elevation climb onto the mesa top, with a 360-degree view of the Ladrones, Magdalena, the Rio Grande River valley. Its a wonderful view up there. Youre also right along the Rio Grande fault rift. At one point, you have a really good view of the rift and the stretching of the continental plates and how it created the Rio Grande Valley.
The last time anyone saw Mark Nelson alive, he was buying coffee and shopping in downtown Flagstaff after a day of treatment for cancer. Even though he had not shown up to pick his wife up from a doctors appointment, she still expected him home that evening.
Instead, Nelson was found dead along West Route 66 the next morning, three days after Christmas.
The official cause of death was ruled as hypothermia, but why Nelson left the hospital campus on foot in the winter without a coat when his car was in the parking lot remains a mystery. Some possibilities include the effects from chemotherapy on his brain, cancer spreading to his brain, a reaction to prescription drugs or an infection swirl.
MARK'S LAST DAY
Mark Nelson had been receiving treatment for lung cancer at Arizona Oncology and Flagstaff Medical Center, and after a full day of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Mark inexplicably left the hospital on foot, leaving his car parked in the hospitals lot.
Marks wife, Candy Nelson, said she and Mark had gone to FMC for his cancer treatments on Tuesday, December 27, but she had to leave and go to an appointment of her own. Candy said she is also disabled, so she took the Mountain Lift bus to her appointment, and Mark was supposed to pick her up when he was finished.
Candy left for her appointment, and when she was done called the hospital to ask if Mark was finished, she said. She was told Mark was still in treatment, so she waited a while longer. When Mark still had not come to get her, she called again and was told Mark had already left.
Eventually she called a friend to come take her home, figuring Mark had gone to the store or gone home and she would see him later.
When I got home, Mark still wasnt home, she said. I waited until about 6 or 7 at night and then called the hospital to ask if Marks car was there. The hospital said theyd send someone to check, and told me it was still there.
Hospital officials then told Candy they would check security footage and search the hospital for Mark. After they did not find him, hospital staff called the police.
Later that night, Candy checked Marks credit card history, which showed he had been at Late for the Train and Crystal Magic in downtown Flagstaff, so police expanded the search to downtown.
Candy said police looked throughout downtown, checking all bars and restaurants in case he had tried to go in for shelter from the cold. When he left the hospital, Candy said Mark was not wearing a hat, gloves, jacket or socks and was not suited for the frigid temperatures that night, which weather records show ranged from 19 and 24 degrees.
At 7 a.m., he still hadnt come home, but I was still expecting him to come home, Candy said. Later, there was a knock on the door, and five people were there. I knew something was up, they had me sit down and told me he had been found. I asked if he was still at the hospital, and they told me he was deceased.
The detectives called around to family and stayed with her until friends could arrive so she would not be alone.
WHY DID MARK LEAVE ON FOOT?
Sophia Papa, the spokeswoman for Northern Arizona Healthcare, the parent company of FMC where Mark was receiving radiation, said patients receiving radiation treatments are allowed to leave the hospital on their own after their treatments.
Radiation patients are series-patients, and are not discharged after each treatment very similar to patients receiving physical therapy since treatments are ongoing, Papa said in an email.
Before the appointment, Candy and Mark told nurses Mark had not been feeling well that day. He had forgotten to take his heart medication and had been feeling shortness of breath, Candy said.
Mark had also been acting out of sorts, Candy said, including doing unusual things like taking all the cards out of his wallet and staring at them.
He had fainted a few weeks before, he was all banged up, said Candy. We looked up side effects from chemo and read about something called chemo brain. Chemo can cause confusion, disorientation and memory loss. I think thats what happened to him then, and I think thats what happened to him this time.
Andrew Kraft, the director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, was not involved in Marks treatment but said there are various medical reasons why Mark might have fainted before and why he left the hospital without his car.
Effects of chemotherapy on the brain have been cited as a cause or exacerbating factor for many problems in cancer patients, Kraft said, including mood changes, problems with memory and difficulty sleeping.
There is still much research to be done on chemotherapys effects on the brain, Kraft said, but he said chemo brain seems to develop over months or even years of treatment.
Mark had been receiving treatment for about a month before he wandered from the hospital and had about two weeks left of treatment when he died.
However, Kraft said a brain metastasis from his lung cancer might have been more likely in Marks case.
The fainting spell Mark experienced earlier could have been a miniature seizure or stroke, Kraft said, which can be a way for a brain metastasis to present itself.
When a person who doesnt have a history of fainting or seizures has a seizure, my first diagnosis is brain (metastases), Kraft said.
A brain metastasis means the cancer has spread to a patients brain, and can make a person disoriented, fatigued, cause vision problems, memory loss, loss of coordination, personality changes and loss of balance, similar to the symptoms Mark had reported, and was observed experiencing.
According to Kraft, brain metastasis happens in almost all lung cancer patients. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, lung cancer-related brain metastases are the most common type of metastases in both men and women.
With brain (metastasis), the family doesnt understand why the person is disoriented, Kraft said.
Kraft, who was not part of Mark's treatment and was not familiar with his medication regimen, said other possibilities, such as a reaction to narcotics for pain, or some kind of infection brought on by a suppressed immune system, could have contributed to Marks disorientation and his decision to leave the hospital without his car.
WHAT KILLED MARK?
The medical examiners report lists his cause of death as hypothermia due to overexposure to environmental cold based on an external examination. A full autopsy was not done on Marks body.
Candy said her family has been left with so many questions about Marks death, and said knowing the results of an autopsy could have brought her peace of mind.
I have all this guilt about how that the one day I left him he ended up getting confused and losing his way, she said.
Sharla Knight, one of the couples daughters, said she would like to know if one of her fathers underlying medical issues played a role in his death.
In Arizona, much of the decision to perform a full autopsy is left to the discretion of the medical examiner, according to state law and the Coconino County Public Health Services District.
Marie Peoples, the Chief Health Officer for the district, said the medical examiner takes the circumstances of the death into account, as well as any recommendation from law enforcement and the physical condition of the body when making the determination to complete an autopsy.
In this case, Peoples said an investigator was on the scene and spoke with law enforcement, and medical records were sought and taken into consideration.
All due diligence was done in this case, Peoples said.
Surveillance video from businesses near where Mark was found showed him falling multiple times before becoming motionless, which Peoples said is consistent with hypothermia.
PREVENTING FUTURE TRAGEDY
Knight, Mark and Candys daughter, said she would like the hospital to put a policy in place that would require caregivers to make sure a patient has a ride home and gets safely in their car before they are officially released from hospital care.
"I would hope that this is a lesson learned," Knight said. "The hospital could get a policy that makes sure patients get rides, or get walked out to somewhere safe."
Knight said a detective told her security footage in the hospital showed Mark wandering around the facility and taking a blanket from the hospital.
He was wandering, he took a blanket, and no one questioned him, Knight said.
Knight said if hospital workers had noticed something was wrong before Mark left, he might not have been able to wander off and eventually die.
Papa, the hospital spokeswoman, said the hospitals cancer center does have transportation available, which can be arranged upon a patients request or if its medically advised following treatment.
We care deeply for our patients and the communities we serve, and were saddened to hear of Marks death, Papa said in an email. All of us at NAH express our deepest sympathy to his family.
REMEMBERING MARK
Candy said Mark worked as an orthopedic nurse before retiring early two years ago.
He was kind of a loner, she said. I was his best friend, the two of us did everything together.
The two were married 39 years and had four children together, including three daughters and a son and now have several grandchildren. Candy is now planning to move to Washington to be closer to her family.
We had three girls and we adopted a boy, Candy said. That was a real highlight of our lives.
Knight described Mark as a very devoted father, and said he was always pushing her and her siblings to do their best.
The couples two Boston terriers were killed two years ago when a pack of pit bulls attacked them while walking, which Candy said was devastating to Mark.
He was so attached to the dogs that died, she said.
Mark had recently started growing his hair out, and was disappointed at the thought of losing his hair due to chemotherapy, Candy said.
Knight and Candy said reading and history were passions of his, and he loved to collect historical items and watch documentaries.
We must have 100 Civil War bullets, Candy said.
Candy said Mark collected books, coins, flags, stamps and even army figurines.
It was sort of like he was reliving his childhood, Candy said. He was like a little kid playing with his army men.
Candy said Mark loved to buy books, but never got rid of any.
We would never eat at the table because he was always using it to build models, Candy said with a laugh. Everything you could think of, he had it.
RACINE COUNTY As voters head to the polls on Tuesday, some western Racine County residents will see school referendums on the ballot seeking funding for multi-million-dollar building improvement projects.
Voters in the Waterford Union High School District will vote on a $12.21 million referendum to build a new fieldhouse, fitness center and related building remodeling at the high school, 100 Field Drive.
The high school district includes the Village and Town of Waterford, portions of the Village of Rochester and parts of the towns of Dover, Norway and Raymond.
In April, voters rejected a referendum to build a new fieldhouse and fitness center; officials believe it was rejected because voters didnt have enough information. It was voted down 3,590 to 2,786 and failed in all municipalities in the district.
This year, district officials believe residents are more informed because of several well-attended public forums and a referendum newsletter delivered to each of the residents homes.
District Superintendent Keith Brandstetter said if the referendum passes, residents wont see a related property-tax increase because the amount of old debt that will be retired wont be greater than the new debt related to the fieldhouse plan.
Currently, residents pay $4.14 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Brandstetter said even if the referendum passes, he anticipates residents could see up to a 13-cent per $1,000 decrease in their property taxes.
Possible Kansasville upgrade
The Kansasville Elementary School District (officially known as Dover District No. 1) will have a $4.2 million referendum on Tuesdays ballot intended to provide funding to improve conditions at Kansasville Grade School, 4101 S. Beaumont Ave. (Highway 75).
If passed, this referendum would provide funding for new classrooms and a new gym, along with renovations and remodeling of facilities. Kansasville is one of the smallest districts in the county with 110 students enrolled.
The last major renovation to the building occurred in 1958, District Administrator Matt Stratton said. The current tax rate is $7.56 per $1,000 of assessed property value and if this referendum passes it would add another $2.15 to the tax rate.
Two more school referendums are planned for the April general election. The Burlington Area School District has three facility questions on the ballot that collectively total $94.4 million and the Yorkville Elementary School District has a $490,000 levy-cap referendum question.
Other ballot items
In addition to the school questions, voters throughout the state will have a chance Tuesday to vote on three candidates for state superintendent.
Racine Alderman Melissa Lemke, who represents the citys 15th District, will also be on the ballot. She has two challengers, Dennis Shaw and Jerry Hooyman.
In Waterford there also is a primary. Four candidates are running for Waterford Graded School District. They are: Ryan Ross, Dean Schrader, Mike Mabert and Doug Schwartz.
The patterns and shapes tumble from Marla Allisons canvas like pottery shards or leaves strewn by a passing breeze.
Birds flitter, irises nod and women dip bowls into a ribbon of river.
The latest series by the artist, who was born and raised at Laguna Pueblo, goes on exhibit next weekend in Consumed by Design at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The solo show is the museums first since its 40th anniversary show last April.
Allison incorporates images of the past in a contemporary way, center director Monique Fragua said.
People may associate pueblo art with pottery, so to see a painter expressing herself and using pottery designs is unique, she said. The pottery designs are very repetitive, and they hold such symbolism to pueblo people.
Most of those symbols are earth-toned, she added.
You can tell the artist is thinking about rain, animals, gifts of the creator or the earth. With Marlas work, its flat and its bright red and bright blue.
Allison started at the top.
Nudged by her husband, jewelry artist Pat Pruitt, she applied to and was accepted at the prestigious Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in Phoenix in 2006. Soon she was showing at the museum itself.
I was able to stop working full time as a construction worker, Allison said. The gallery manager came to my booth and was wowed by my art.
That art combines images of pueblo life with a constellation of patterns lifted from pottery designs, nature and geometrics that wallpaper her canvasses in triangles, spirals and wings.
The people are from here, the landscape, the influence, she said. The design is half Laguna, half Hopi.
When she was a child, her doodles molted into sketches, then transformed into paintings with loose brush strokes and symbols of pottery designs. She attended the Institute of American Indian Art, where she took classes in everything from sculpture to jewelry, drawing and painting. Her father taught her how to frame her canvasses. Allison graduated in 2000.
In 2010, she won a fellowship to the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, where she studied Hopi Pueblo pottery.
It is in my blood and my background, so I figured I should embrace it, she said. My grandmother is full Hopi.
Her influences span the continents.
My major fascination was Picasso, Allison continued, his definite cubist straight lines.
She also admired the squared surrealism of the Swiss artist Paul Klee.
Today Allison and her husband live in the house they spent 13 years building in Laguna Pueblos Paguate Village. She shows her work at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles and the Smithsonian Native Art Market in New York. She was recently commissioned to create paintings for Albuquerques Chaco Hotel, slated for an April opening.
I paint so I remember where I came from, Allison said. I paint so others can remember where I come from. I paint to be remembered.
If you go
WHAT: Consumed by Design by Marla Allison
WHEN: Reception 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25; open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through June.
WHERE: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th NW
HOW MUCH: $8.40 general. $6.40 seniors (62+), residents, students and children 5-17. Under 5 free; members free. Call 843-7270 or visit indianpueblo.org.
Actor Shia LaBeouf clad in a jacket with he will not divide us scrawled on it stood with his back toward a crowd of dozens in Downtown on Saturday, staying on-message when asked about his appearance in Albuquerque.
He will not divide us, LaBeouf repeated to various questions.
We are anti the normalization of division. Thats it. The rest of the info is right there, chief, I got nothing else to say to you, he said as he pointed to a placard describing the streetside performance thats been attached to the west wall of El Rey Theater at Seventh and Central. Were just anti the normalization of division.
LeBeouf and artists Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner brought their live-stream participatory performance artwork, anti-Donald Trump protest to the Duke City after the initial staging of the performance at a New York City museum was shut down earlier this month.
The project consists of a 24-hour live-streaming camera mounted to a wall with the message in block letters: He will not divide us, referring to Trump. The idea is that people will continuously go up to the camera and repeat the phrase.
The event drew a crowd into the night, with demonstrators shutting down Seventh Street for several hours in the afternoon. Nearby police officers said they didnt plan on intervening in the event as the demonstration was peaceful.
A scruffy-looking LeBeouf, wearing his hair in a ponytail, tight ripped pants, tube socks and sneakers, spent part of the afternoon leaning against the theater wall and listening to a speech by one of the protesters. He greeted people there and took selfies with them, and smoked cigarettes in between repeating the performance mantra into the camera.
The project opened the day of the Trump inauguration. A live camera was attached to a wall at the Museum of the Moving Image. But the artists said in a statement Saturday that the museum bowed to political pressure and the camera was taken down Feb. 10.
Turner described the project as a participatory performance. He said the artists are inviting people in Albuquerque to approach the camera and repeat the phrase He will not divide us for the live stream.
He didnt say why the group had picked Albuquerque as its next stop after New York, and its not clear how long the camera will be planted Downtown. But the group has said the project will continue throughout the Trump presidency.
We just put the camera on, Turner said. Simple as that.
http://www.hewillnotdivide.us/
There have been many responses from higher education to President Trumps executive order limiting visas for refugees and citizens from seven countries.
Many have focused on the responsibility of educational institutions for all of their students. All have made me proud of the continued tradition of American education as the great hope and equalizer not only for citizens of the United States, but for citizens of the world.
I speak on behalf of international education at the secondary level. This executive order cuts at the heart of our tremendous capacity to shape young people for the rest of their lives, especially in the direction of mutual understanding that honors difference even as it lays claim to our shared humanity.
At the United States campus of the United World College, along with our 16 sister schools around the world, we see the power of relationships formed by students from different countries.
They work together on real tasks, academic and creative. They engage in leadership, citizenship and service. They build relationships based on mutual respect that will build a better future for all of us.
When students from Palestine and Israel work on homework together, or students from Iran, Iraq and the United States plan service projects, they form bonds that counter long-standing historical, cultural and ethnic barriers. They learn that they have more in common than they thought.
Because they are young, their prejudices are less ingrained. We can learn from them, and we should stand up to make sure nothing gets in the way of their coming together.
The parts of the world that President Trumps executive order targets are the very parts of the world that need more engagement with America and American students. A recent program evaluation for a Department of State exchange program with students from Muslim-majority countries showed that 94 percent of participants had a more positive impression of the United States afterward.
Further, the countries identified in the executive order are places where relationships between people play an outsized role in forward progress. For the United States to be safer, we need deeper, stronger relationships. Increased barriers to peaceful exchange will not fulfill the objective of greater security.
The United World College was founded in response to the Cold War. Its premise is that relationships forged between young people from diverse cultures, and the bridges built between them, will make the world safer. We affirm this vision for ourselves and for the world; we are compelled to speak out against policies that make it more difficult to build positive relationships among young people of different cultures and creeds.
Education, carried out face to face and shoulder to shoulder, is the most effective antidote to extremism of all kinds. Reasonable people may disagree on how best to achieve national security, but barriers to mutual understanding will never qualify as a viable alternative.
As state budget talks continue, New Mexicos counties are asking Gov. Susana Martinez and the New Mexico Legislature to take a careful look at the services provided by county government, and especially those programs financed by funds that are now being depleted.
We understand the difficult choices the Legislature is facing, but New Mexicos counties request that the executive and legislative branches identify and find alternative sources of revenue to make up the states revenue shortfall. If the state budget is balanced on the backs of local governments, the citizens of New Mexico will suffer the consequences.
Many counties are struggling mightily to balance their budgets, and having to make do with less.
In fact, over the last several years, the state has forced many counties to raise taxes as a direct result of the states reduction in services and funding while placing more obligations on local government.
While the state has not directly raised taxes in many years, counties have been forced to raise taxes to continue providing essential services to their residents. This is not a healthy or sustainable situation.
Counties and municipalities have stepped up to the plate and will continue to do so. However, the state needs to do its share, too.
To balance the budget over the last several years, the state has swept all fund balances in the county E-911 fund that pays for emergency medical equipment, the county local DWI fund that provides a broad spectrum of services involving DWI prevention and treatment, the Fire Protection Fund that helps finance fire and emergency services equipment and vehicles, and the Law Enforcement Protection Fund that provides for law enforcement equipment and services.
These funds are used by county governments to provide critical public safety services, leaving counties with a draconian choice: cut critical services or raise taxes to pay for them. This has been necessitated by the states unwillingness to raise taxes at a state level.
County government has a direct and substantial impact on peoples lives in New Mexico, representing every citizen in the state. Counties provide the most vital services for the health, safety and welfare of their residents:
Maintenance of approximately 30,000 miles of roads (more than the state and municipalities combined);
Primary law enforcement coverage through each countys sheriffs office;
Fire and emergency medical services;
Comprehensive anti-DWI programs that include treatment, screening, enforcement, and prevention;
Operation of adult and juvenile detention centers;
Indigent health-care services including substance abuse and behavioral health counseling, senior services and primary care;
Administration of local, state and federal elections;
Assessment of real and personal properties and tax collection; and
Emergency E-911 dispatch services.
In addition, counties are saddled with some very significant unfunded mandates. They are responsible for:
Housing the state district courts (as well as providing court security), state district attorney offices and state public health offices; and
Paying the state approximately $28 million to help fund the state Medicaid program and approximately $23 million to fund the Safety Net Care Pool for uncompensated care and Medicaid rate increases for hospitals.
New Mexicos counties are well aware of the governors pledge to reject any tax increases. However, that does not mean that counties should be forced to bear the burden for increasing taxes. Please do not continue to rob Peter to pay Paul!
As New Mexicans, many of us can attest to a common refrain when we talk about our most important programs: We just dont have the funding. The underlying theme throughout conversations about our states most pressing needs is that resources are scarce, and we simply dont have enough of the pie to go around.
Through our work at the State Auditors Office, weve found a surprisingly different reality. While the plunging revenues certainly create a huge challenge in the near-term, the concept of long-term scarcity is more of a myth, one often perpetuated by those who control resources going back to colonial times. Over the last several years, weve researched three primary connections between government and economy that challenge the myth of scarcity.
Tackling these structural issues is not a substitute for addressing the shrinking budget that the Legislature is grappling with right now. But at some point we need to move beyond plugging holes and applying Band-Aids to develop lasting solutions for our volatile and struggling economy. Taking a step back from the yearly budget crisis, we have identified structural changes that can help New Mexico get off of the bottom of the bad lists. By rethinking the status quo, we can help government make better decisions and get out of the cycle that holds us back.
First, consider our annual Fund Balance Report. The report tallies governments own financial audits and has identified billions of dollars sitting in hundreds of agency accounts across state government. Most of these dollars have already been allocated toward reserves, loan funds and thousands of specific projects. The Legislature has examined many funds closely to sweep out hundreds of millions of unused balances. The longer-term challenge is understanding why millions of these dollars never made it out the other end of the pipeline into our economy. The Fund Balance Report is a road map to help find ways to prevent buildups of underutilized stagnant funds so they can be put to use building infrastructure and creating jobs.
Second, its time to get serious about fixing our Swiss cheese tax code. Every year, our state loses over a billion dollars in revenue to over a hundred different types of tax breaks. Weve fought for comprehensive reporting to understand which tax cuts are working and which are not. Its very encouraging to see the Legislature is beginning to tackle legitimate tax-code reform. When there is a return, our government can justify doubling down, and when there isnt, we need to stop giving away our tax dollars.
Third, lets address the hundreds of millions of dollars that our government spends with out-of-state businesses. One example is in the information technology sector, where our research found that 84 cents of every public dollar goes to companies outside New Mexico. Awarding some of those contracts to homegrown businesses would go far to nurture our local industry and economy. Many of these out-of-state government contracts are awarded without a public competitive bid, never giving a local firm a shot at the business.
Instead of starting from the point of we dont have enough, we need to find solutions for how to do better with what we have. Scarcity is a choice leaders make every time they avoid tackling these big issues. We should not shy away from the complexities that connect government finance and our economy. It also takes courage to stand up to the entrenched political forces behind this status quo. Lets draw a line in the sand and not buy into the myth of scarcity, and fight for long-term structural changes to improve our economy, create jobs, and truly move the needle in our communities.
Details and full reports available at www.saonm.org/government_accountability_office.
The fourth week of President Donald Trumps presidency had Democratic lawmakers from New Mexico sounding alarms about deportations, Russian influence and White House security procedures.
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham moved into the national spotlight in her new role as chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a platform she used to secure a meeting with federal immigration officials. Lujan Grisham is worried about a recent wave of deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including in New Mexico.
The congresswoman said it appears that ICE agents are now going beyond simply targeting felons and violent immigrants who pose a threat to U.S. security and are arresting and deporting at least some whose only crime might be crossing the border illegally. Consistent with Trumps campaign pledge, ICE confirmed that to be the case.
But while many are sympathetic to Lujan Grishams position, some are definitely not. Comments on my stories last week had some Journal readers disputing the notion that non-violent immigrants in the U.S. illegally should be allowed to stay. Yes, even if that deportation breaks up families.
ICE is deporting people whose immigration status allows them to be deported, one reader wrote, urging Lujan Grisham to support changes in the law instead of lenient enforcement when it comes to border crossers.
Time to support the laws on the books, another wrote. ICE is only enforcing laws that weve had for many years.
I asked the congresswoman, who is running for governor in 2018, about the pushback during an interview at the U.S. Capitol after her meeting with acting ICE Director Thomas Homan. Heres how Lujan Grisham responded.
I have no disagreement that the law says we dont have an open border, but we have 11 million people here (illegally), she said.
Does this country really want mass deportation? she asked. Or do we as a country, I hope, have the values that would suggest because of our immigration policies weve created a problem? Im not saying everyone who has crossed the border is exculpable (in) some way. Im saying both. I was really hoping wed hold to the basic policy of (removing) dangerous violent offenders and see what we do from there. That doesnt appear (to be) what is happening.
Over in the U.S. Senate, Democrats Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall were fretting about the Trump administrations reported secret meeting with Russian officials throughout last years presidential campaign, and lax security protocols among Trump and his staffers.
Heinrich, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, took the White House to task for an Associated Press photo of Trumps desk in the Oval Office that showed a key left in a lockbag that apparently contained classified information.
Never leave a key in a classified lockbag in the presence of non-cleared people. #Classified101, Heinrich tweeted along with the photo.
Heinrich also took to Twitter to chastise Trump for discussing a North Korean nuclear incident with the Japanese prime minister in full view of guests at the Mar-a-Lago resort. Despite the flippant tweets, Heinrich said the issue really is serious business.
This sort of carefree, careless overall approach seems to be becoming more than just a one-off and more of a pattern, and I think thats not a good sign for the administration itself and for the country to make national security policy, Heinrich told me.
He said he suspects the lack of experienced national security hands in the Trump White House is part of the problem.
The tone gets set at the very top, and I want to send a message that its time (to get serious) on these national security issues, Heinrich said before deploying one of the presidents favorite descriptive phrases. We cant afford a Little League approach to a big league problem.
As for the Russia story, Trump has repeatedly said those in the federal government leaking information about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynns contacts with Russia is the real story. Some in conservative media, including a piece in the Wall Street Journal, likened the leaks to an attempted coup by the U.S. intelligence community. I asked Heinrich if the leak angle was important in his view.
I think thats a management issue and needs to be addressed, Heinrich said. Also, its something that is perfectly legitimate to hold people accountable for. It does not, however, change the fact that the reason Michael Flynn stepped down is a very serious departure from American national security policy and legal approach going back decades. That is a story in and of itself and should not be something where we just change the focus because of a few leaks.
This is serious stuff, and we need answers as to why this happened, what exactly happened and when.
E-mail: mcoleman@abqjournal.com. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
Its understandable, perhaps unavoidable, that many people view recent round-ups of hundreds of undocumented immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as the first step in President Donald Trumps threatened mass deportation of illegal aliens. After all, it was just three weeks ago that the new president signed the executive order authorizing construction of a border wall, and directing federal departments and agencies to prevent further illegal immigration into the United States, and to repatriate illegal aliens swiftly, consistently and humanely.
Last week, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, who has lived on the border her whole life and has parsed her words carefully when commenting on the new president, weighed in. Speaking on immigration, she said the rhetoric isnt helpful and policies need to treat multiple problems with multiple answers.
But last weeks immigration sweeps seemed to offer one answer for all. The order did not restrict immigration enforcement to undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes which had been the policy for the past few years under the Obama administration, along with new crossers. And that prompted concerns the sweeps were indiscriminate, despite ICEs claims they were targeted enforcement operations no different from those done prior to Trumps inauguration.
The high-profile sweeps gathered up nearly 700 immigrants in high-minority cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, San Antonio, New York and elsewhere. USA Today reported that, of the 678 people rounded up in 12 states, 74 percent had been convicted of a crime. During President Obamas last year in office, 90 percent of those detained by ICE were convicted criminals.
In New Mexico, ICEs enforcement operations netted Concepcion Gomez, a father of two young children, as he was leaving his mobile home near Las Cruces for work Wednesday morning. Though he was not the person ICE agents were looking for, they arrested him after he admitted he was in the country illegally and had been for 10 years. Gomezs brother said Gomez had never been arrested before, and a search of an online court records did not turn up his name.
His arrest was, indeed, swift. Whether it was consistent and humane is arguable.
Trump has said his policy would help get rid of a lot of bad dudes who are here. Does Gomez really fit that description?
Martinez has said the presidents No. 1 priority is to keep Americans safe, to have a secure border to keep out people who want to cause us harm. I dont think anybody disagrees with a secure border. Now, what that looks like, I think thats still in discussion.
Also up for discussion is Martinezs suggestion Trump be more inclusive when deciding immigration policy, and work with governors, mayors, law enforcement, Border Patrol agents and people who live on the border, including ranchers people who have actually been there for a period of time that have a whole lot of input, versus seeing this as a global picture (where) you dont get the real flavor of what its like to live there.
It sounds like a pragmatic and informed approach.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a New Mexico Democrat and chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, says the round-ups appear to be less targeted than advertised and point to a shift in immigration policy. After meeting Thursday with acting ICE director Thomas Homan, Lujan Grisham said she was disappointed members of Congress werent given more information about current strategy and that she wants more information about the people arrested.
This also sounds like a reasonable and sound request, instead of allowing rhetoric to run rampant.
At least on the surface, Trumps derailed executive order on immigration isnt that different from the one unveiled by Obama in November 2014, which was designed to shield about 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Even as we are a nation of immigrants, were also a nation of laws, Obama said then. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws and I believe that they must be held accountable especially those who may be dangerous. Thats why, over the past six years, deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And thats why were going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom whos working hard to provide for her kids. Well prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day.
But with anecdotal evidence like the Gomez arrest which clearly separates a father from his sons and the varied percentage of convicted criminals arrested by ICE under the two administrations, it appears theres a clear contrast in the way the executive orders are being implemented.
Everyone can be a target under ICEs current deportation strategy, Lujan Grisham said. I have no disagreement that the law says we do not have an open border, but we have 11 million people here. If you want to stop whats going on at the border, do immigration reform.
The president could do worse than listen to Martinez and Lujan-Grisham, one a Republican and one a Democrat, both of whom represent the most Hispanic state in the country and one that shares a 180-mile border with Mexico.
This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Well, give her a 10 for effort.
Albuquerque police said a woman who was found passed out in the drivers seat of her car on Friday night tried an interesting trick during her field sobriety test: A series of cartwheels.
The gymnastic maneuvers didnt convince the police officer of Bryelle Marshalls sobriety, and she was arrested for aggravated drunken driving and battery charges.
Albuquerque police were called to Zuni and Pennsylvania around 6:45 p.m. and found Marshall, 23, passed out in the car that was parked in the middle of a mobile homes driveway and sticking out into the bike lane, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
The officer wrote in the complaint that once outside the vehicle, Marshall had a hard time standing and was swaying from side to side. She also smelled like alcohol and had a hard time balancing.
The officer tired to give her field sobriety tests but she wouldnt listen to instructions, according to the complaint.
Bryelle put her hands in the air and completed two cartwheels while I was attempting to demonstrate and instruct the field sobriety test, the officer wrote.
The officer warned Marshall that if she did another cartwheel, she would be arrested. The officer put her in a position to do the field sobriety test, and Marshall struck a gymnastic pose.
While facing the wrong direction, as she had done prior, Bryelle again raised her hands up and while I was instructing she again did a cartwheel and fell to the ground, the officer wrote.
Marshall was arrested and taken to the Prisoner Transport Center in Downtown Albuquerque, where she allegedly tried to kick the officer in the genitals, according to the complaint.
LAS CRUCES The New Mexico State softball team fell to Oregon State 6-2 on . Kelsey Horton and Merina Ili each had a RBI in the loss.
The Aggies took an early lead. With Rachel Rodriguez, and Fahren Glackin on base, Horton singled to drive in a run. Ili followed by driving in Glackin to give NMSU the 2-0 lead in the first.
Samaria Diaz pitched 4.1 solid innings for New Mexico State. The freshman struck out three to help NMSU hold the 2-0 advantage.
OSU rallied in the fifth to steal the lead from NM State. Two home runs in the inning helped drive in five runs for the Beavers. Oregon State tacked on another run in the sixth to give the Beavers the 6-2 advantage.
New Mexico State is back in action No. 15 Tennessee to close the Troy Cox Classic. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Box score: Oregon State 6, NMSU 2
Albuquerque police officer Daniel Webster was shot and mortally wounded near Central and Eubank SE after he pulled Davon Lymon over in a routine traffic stop in October 2015. The license plate on the motorcycle Lymon, 35, was driving didnt match records. When Webster attempted to handcuff him, Lymon pulled out a gun and shot the officer at close range, according to court records. Webster died of his wounds a few days later.
A 17-year-old girl who was riding on Lymons motorcycle testified in federal court that Lymon was delivering heroin to people when he was pulled over.
Lymon had multiple convictions, including one for manslaughter, at the time of the shooting. He has since pleaded guilty to federal drug and weapons charges. In a federal trial, he was convicted of possessing the pistol used to shoot Webster.
He faces felony murder charges in state court in connection with Websters death. Sentencing in his federal cases will occur after the state murder charges are resolved.
Rio Rancho Police Officer Gregg Nigel Benner was shot and killed when a routine traffic stop went haywire.
Benner had pulled over a car that had been used in multiple armed robberies of fast-food restaurants during the prior six weeks.
The driver of the car, Andrew Romero, was on a six-week methamphetamine binge during which he occasionally injected heroin to get some sleep, his girlfriend testified. She was the getaway driver, and they were robbing the restaurants to pay for the drugs.
Benner was at the end of his shift when he pulled the car over because of a questionable license plate. Romero stopped, and Benner approached on foot. Romero pushed his girlfriend out of the car and then shot and killed Benner.
Benner, who retired from the U.S. Air Force, was a highly regarded patrol officer in the suburban community.
Romero had a long history of criminal convictions, including one for manslaughter. He was convicted of Benners murder in a jury trial and faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
New Mexico has no death penalty. It was repealed under the administration of Gov. Bill Richardson.
Victoria Martens, 10, was raped and strangled and her body dismembered last August in one of the most horrific crimes the city has seen.
Her mother, Michelle Martens, one of three people facing charges of murder and other crimes in the case, told investigators that before that fatal night, she had looked for men online to have sex with her daughter. Its unclear whether detectives have identified any of those men; they have not made any more arrests.
Michelle Martens also claimed her daughter died from consuming methamphetamine, and police believed she had given the girl meth to relax her although toxicology reports showed only alcohol in the 10-year-olds system.
Police did recover methamphetamine in the apartment.
Victorias body was found on fire in the bathtub of her mothers Northwest Albuquerque apartment the morning of Aug. 24.
Martens, 35, has been charged with murder and rape, along with her boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, 32, and Gonzales cousin Jessica Kelley, 32. Police believe Martens watched as Gonzales raped and strangled her daughter. Gonzales and Kelley then dismembered her body, according to court records previously filed in the case.
The childs autopsy report showed she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease before her murder, an indication that she suffered sexual abuse before the night of her death.
Kathy Cramers journey to the center of the political landscape began with road trips to corners of Wisconsin many people only drive through if they drive there at all.
It accelerated after Election Day, when those same places had a key role in making billionaire celebrity Donald Trump the 45th president.
Suddenly there were national implications to a theme Cramer explored for more than a decade: how Wisconsins rural-urban cultural divide affects its politics. Cramer, a UW-Madison political scientist, published a book in March: The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.
After the election, many are turning to the book to understand the surge of rural support, particularly in the Upper Midwest, that propelled Trump to an Electoral College victory.
Cramers research that underpinned the book was rooted in long-running political conversations with rural Wisconsinites, in their communities, over a five-year period.
Some scholars and political experts say it holds an important lesson, in a political landscape increasingly driven by data and the internet, on the value of face-to-face conversation to peer into voters minds.
In a recent interview, Cramer acknowledged the response to her book far exceeded her expectations.
I never thought anything I would write would get so much attention, Cramer laughed.
Attention is something shes gotten in spades, especially after a Washington Post report featured her work just before the election results came in. Then Trump won.
One national media outlet after another responded by citing Cramers work in reference to the results. She said shes deluged with speaking requests, especially for book clubs.
One of those requests, to which she obliged, was to share her research with Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate.
Cramers work is finding its way into classrooms too.
The day after the election, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, an international and public affairs professor at Columbia University, said he was searching for explanations to give surprised students in his lectures.
One of the first places he turned was Cramers research. While it focused on Scott Walker, Hertel-Fernandez and others say the resentment Cramer uncovered and the way in which she says it was politicized helps show how Trump had appealed to rural Midwesterners.
You get a sense of the deep divides in this country that she had already identified in the 2010 election, Hertel-Fernandez said.
A guiding insight
Cramer said the book she wrote was not quite what she set out to write.
In 2007, Cramer laid out maps of Wisconsin on her floor, looking for places to visit to conduct research. As a Grafton native, she already knew some of the terrain.
Cramer said she began the work with a guiding insight.
Ive found that the best way to study how people interpret politics is to listen to them talk with people they know in their own settings, Cramer said.
Cramer started trekking out to small-town gathering places, engaging local residents in a running dialogue about politics.
Her initial goal was to study social class identity. What ultimately caught her interest was a sense of resentment she found throughout rural Wisconsin, rooted in a different kind of identity.
It was this sense of: We dont get our fair share, and all the stuff goes to Milwaukee and Madison all the public money, all the attention and all the respect, Cramer said. The people in the cities are making all the decisions and communicating them out to us. They dont understand us; they dont know us; they dont value what we value. And they dont actually even like us: they think were uneducated and unsophisticated and racist and the whole gambit.
A cultural chasm between city folk and rural residents is not a new concept. But Cramer acknowledged surprise at the level of resentment and the way it shaped how her subjects viewed politics.
I never expected that a big driver for the way people were thinking about politics was their attitudes toward the cities, Cramer said.
Into that environment, Cramer said, came Walker, elected governor in 2010. In early 2011 Walker proposed Act 10, a measure to curtail collective bargaining by public workers.
Cramer said Walker was able to tell rural voters: I hear what youre saying, and its time we step back government, because clearly its not working for you. And public employees pensions, health care, salaries are quite a bit higher than yours, many times, so I hear what youre saying. Lets pull that all back.
Politicians
exploit feelings
Cramers book helps explain the rural appeal of Trump too, said Republican political strategist and University of Kentucky political scholar Travis N. Taylor.
Part of what she uncovers is that the resentment even though it is cultural in a way, its really focused at the government, Taylor said.
Taylor pushes back, however, at the notion Cramers work shows Republican politicians are uniquely attuned to rural voters psyches.
Take the word Republican out of that sentence, and it still makes sense, Taylor said. Politicians exploit feelings. They exploit emotions.
But how does rural resentment toward big-city elites explain those areas embracing a Manhattan billionaire?
Cramers explanation: Trump validated their resentment.
The way I interpret his message is, You are right to be pissed off. And you do deserve more. And what you deserve is going to these people who dont deserve it, Cramer said. Even though hes a city person himself, that taps into so much of what Ive heard.
The election results left little doubt about how rural Wisconsin responded. The states rural counties, after splitting almost evenly four years ago between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, this time swung decisively for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Now some in Wisconsin who once questioned Cramers work are taking a second look. Mike Tate, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, acknowledged as much in a Facebook post on Nov. 20.
I have often been skeptical of UW Professor Kathy Cramers work, Tate wrote, linking to an article about it. It seems like its perhaps time I treat her work with less skepticism.
Tate, speaking to the Wisconsin State Journal last week, said its not so much that Cramer was seeing things others werent.
She was looking in places that other people werent, Tate said.
She also was using methods others werent. Hertel-Fernandez said Cramers work is an example of how to supplement polling data in measuring public opinion.
Polls only can capture so much in the way people think about complex issues, Hertel-Fernandez said. You really have to talk to folks in their natural elements.
Go to places and
to people and listen
When Cramer was invited to address congressional Democrats, she said it initially made her uneasy.
I dont think of myself as a political consultant, Cramer said.
Not wanting to be an instrument of a political party, Cramer said she reached out to Wisconsin Republican lawmakers to offer to speak to them and their colleagues. The offer has not yet been taken up, she said.
So what was Cramers message to congressional Democrats?
You need to not just repackage yourself, Cramer recounted. You need to actually go to places and to people and listen, and spend time with them. Because its only then that youll actually understand their concerns.
Judging by the response, Cramers advice may have tapped into a struggle among Democrats about their path forward in the Trump era. Some nodded their heads as she spoke; others appeared more skeptical, she said.
A few lawmakers representing urban areas pressed her, saying their constituents also feel overlooked and undervalued. The lawmakers asked Cramer: are you saying we should simply focus on rural areas?
No, Cramer said she responded. What Im saying is, notice how many people feel disconnected from the political process. Its a huge issue.
Political strategist and pollster Paul Maslin said hes one Democrat who hopes his party takes Cramers work to heart.
Theres a qualitative aspect to this, Maslin said. Talk to people where they live, and have them talk back.
Rana Al-Shaikli, an Iraqi refugee who made it to Albuquerque last year after seven years of trying to get a visa, said through an interpreter that shes been seeing a therapist for stress, as she and her two children are separated from her husband, who is in Turkey and cant get an immigration interview.
Hussein, an Iraqi in America on a work visa, is so afraid hell be stopped at a checkpoint while driving to Las Cruces that hes put his pursuit of a doctoral degree at New Mexico State University on hold.
Others said they were too scared to visit their homeland because they fear they wont be able to return. Students said they are struggling to focus on their studies.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., hosted a meeting on Saturday afternoon with immigrants and refugees who have been affected by or are scared of an executive order by President Donald Trump that temporarily banned immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. The meeting was held at Lutheran Family Services in Albuquerque and included officials from agencies that advocate for the affected population.
It has fundamentally made this country less secure. The administration doesnt seem to understand who our friends and allies are and who our enemies are in the region, Heinrich said of the ban at the meeting. We have just painted with a broad brush so many of our allies that we need to be effective in addressing the security challenges that we have. We have to do some soul-searching in this country about what we stand for.
Trump issued an executive order in January that banned certain travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. He said he wanted to stop potential attackers from getting into the country. A federal court has halted the ban, but Trump said last week that he would issue a replacement version.
The proposed ban has affected the lives of many immigrants who live in Albuquerque and are worried about their future and the chances of being reunited with family members who still live in the targeted countries.
Linda Melville, the associate director for International Student and Scholar Services at the University of New Mexico, said there are more than 100 UNM students from the affected countries. At least two students have been held overseas and many of those UNM students have concerns about their families who are still abroad, she said.
I have a commencement coming up and no one from my family can be here, said Elmira, a 32-year-old student from Tehran, Iran, who has a Ph.D. in engineering and is studying for another one in economics.
She said the Trump presidency has left her with an uncertain future. As a Muslim woman who doesnt follow customs such as wearing a hijab, she said returning to the Middle East would put her at a disadvantage and she likely couldnt get a job in academia.
My ideologies are not what the government wants of a Muslim, she said. Inside Iran we are not complying with Muslim rules. And outside Iran what we are is from a Muslim country.'
Hussein came to America on a student visa in 2010 and is now here on a workers visa. Hes the only member of his family in America. The rest are scattered throughout the Middle East.
He said two relatives of his died last week but he wont travel back to Iraq for their funerals.
The only problem is we are afraid to fly, he said. I cannot do anything. I cannot go back. The only thing you can do is a phone call.
Heinrich told the group he was preparing for a long fight against Trumps policies.
I think this is just the beginning of a long couple of years, he said.
Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal
Americans are consuming drugs of all kinds at an alarming rate. Our appetite for heroin, methamphetamine, prescription painkillers and marijuana seems insatiable. The Journal published the first five parts of an investigative report from Feb. 12 through Feb. 16, revealing how the Mexican drug cartels account for 90 percent of the illegal drugs consumed in the U.S. that fuel crime and addiction. Law enforcement constantly busts drug runners and seizes contraband. But the river flows on, and efforts to make real inroads are complicated and multinational and will take years. Today, the Journal concludes the series with a look at those efforts. To read the entire series, go to ABQJournal.com/cartels.
Over the Christmas holidays, seven people were charged with transporting more than 52 pounds of methamphetamine in four separate incidents in and around Albuquerque.
There was a time when any one of those arrests would have been big local news here, even though all the drugs were destined for Oklahoma City, Columbia, S.C., and other cities.
But arrests and seizures are so commonplace, and drugs so ubiquitous, they scarcely moved the media interest meter.
Its not as though the arrests were inconsequential.
Federal agents say that by intercepting drugs carried by mules at the Amtrak and Greyhound stations or during traffic stops on I-40, they are having an impact on the countrys drug problem. The 52 pounds of methamphetamine seized on Dec. 28 and 30 represent more than 23,000 grams of meth that would have been sold on the streets of New York for more than $2.3 million.
But did these busts make much of an impact on the supply of methamphetamine wreaking havoc coast to coast? Not even a dent.
Heroin and methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico into the United States by Mexican cartels are more abundant, cheaper and more powerful than ever. And the cartels provide plenty of marijuana as well, although the price is a little higher than it was a few years ago.
In addition, the Mexican cartels have added fentanyl a cheap synthetic opioid 100 times more powerful than morphine to the mix of illicit drugs smuggled into the United States.
While Mexico has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump, both governments have a huge challenge in trying to rein in the cartels.
Most drugs enter the United States through the ports of entry, and Trumps suggestion that a wall along the border will curb drug trafficking has been met with some skepticism from within his own political party.
There are a lot of ways to defeat the wall, Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., said in an interview last week. They can fly over it with light aircraft using GPS on bundles of drugs. The cartels have great tunnelers. Theyve had tunnels with traffic in both directions.
And the cartels have the money to support those efforts.
Transnational organized crime groups get to a size where they overwhelm the central governments, said Bruce Ohr, associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice.
They have more money than their central governments, Ohr said in an interview. Those groups are a threat to the United States. It is a global problem, and one we worry about.
Positive steps
Ohr serves as the director of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement task forces, as well as director of the Attorney Generals Organized Crime Council. Ohr also deals with his counterparts across the globe.
He can sound like a prophet of doom and them pivot to point out progress around the world on combating international drug trafficking.
In a December interview, he pointed out a number of positive developments.
Among them:
Despite changes in leadership, Mexico is continuing to overhaul its criminal justice system to make it more effective in combating drug cartels.
Mexico has raided an average of 240 methamphetamine laboratories a year and forced the cartels to move some methamphetamine operations into Central America because of police pressure.
Mexico has extradited cartel leaders, including Joaquin El Chapo Guzman Loera, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, to the United States. Guzman, who was brought to the United States in January, will face trial in New York on charges related to running one of the worlds biggest drug organizations.
China has worked with U.S. law enforcement to restrict the production and trade of precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine and in the production of fentanyl and fentanyl-type drugs.
More countries, including China, are working with U.S. law enforcement on organized crime money laundering investigations.
But Ohr said international cooperation isnt always smooth.
There are a lot of substances that are still legal in China, but that is changing, he said. And in Mexico, there has been a lot of progress, but corruption is still a concern, he said.
Agent tortured
Rafael Caro Quintero is a problem in U.S. law enforcement relations with Mexico.
Quintero is supposed to be in a Mexican federal prison.
Hes not.
Quintero, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo founded the Guadalajara Cartel in the early 1980s. Gallardo was chairman of the board. Fonseca represented the old guard and Quintero represented the up-and-comers.
He also is believed to be the man behind the murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in February 1985.
Camarena, who was assigned to the DEA office in Guadalajara, led the Mexican military to the Rancho El Bufalo in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, where between 5,000 and 10,000 tons of marijuana was destroyed in late 1984.
It was Quinteros marijuana operation.
A few months later, Camarena was abducted, taken to a cartel ranch and tortured for more than 30 hours.
His abductors included members of the Mexican Federal Security Directorate, a police agency that was eventually broken up because it was so corrupt.
Camarenas torture and interrogation were recorded on audiotape that was recovered by U.S. law enforcement. His skull, nose, jaw and cheekbones were broken with a tire iron. His torturers broke his ribs. They used a cattle prod on him.
Camarenas body was discovered in March 1985, a month after his abduction.
When American DEA agents cornered Quintero, Mexican police turned and held the agents at gunpoint while Quintero boarded an airplane and escaped. He was later arrested in Costa Rica by DEA agents, returned to Mexico and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Mexico would not extradite him to stand trial in the U.S. for Camarenas murder, partly because Quintero faced the death penalty.
He was released, without any announcement, in August 2013 after serving 28 years.
The Mexican government never notified the United States.
The extradition request for Quintero has been ignored.
Quintero has written the Mexican press that he is innocent of the charges of killing Camarena and is not involved in drug trafficking.
The U.S. Treasury Department has publicly linked him to laundering drug money in 2014 and again in 2016.
Quintero is believed to be living in southern Chihuahua, where the Juarez Cartel has expanded poppy production in recent years.
Partial victories
There are no quick answers, but there may be hope.
Associate Deputy Attorney General Ohr points to what can be considered past successes a the destruction of the large Colombian cocaine cartels and the defeat of the Italian Mafia families in New York City.
Neither was a complete victory. There are Colombian cartels dealing cocaine today. And the Italian Mafia still exists in New York.
But they are shadows of the powerful organized crime syndicates they were decades ago.
The Medellin Cartel was a legitimate threat to the Colombian government, killing police, prosecutors, judges and legislators.
The five Mafia families in New York had their hands in almost every aspect of life in the New York area, from drugs to garbage hauling to construction to food distribution.
It took sustained law enforcement efforts, Ohr said.
In taking on the Mafia families, the Department of Justice developed the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force system.
It took money from all federal law enforcement agencies to get them to cooperate and pooled the money to pay for long-term investigations.
The DOJ used federal racketeering statutes and money laundering laws.
We were able to knock La Cosa Nostra down to size, he said.
In Florida, U.S. law enforcement used many of the same tools to help Colombian law enforcement attack the Medellin Cartel and later the Cali Cartel.
These were huge, intractable problems, Ohr said. It was messy at times. It wasnt easy, but the existing drug networks are nowhere near as powerful as they once were.
I think Colombia might be the best example of what we may be able to do in combating the criminal networks in Mexico, he said.
Whether Mexico would willingly accept the full public participation by American law enforcement is another question.
Demand drives it
In New Mexico, Damon Martinez has been running the U.S. Attorneys Office for the past four years.
From his perspective, combating drug trafficking organizations is less difficult than fighting the drug abuse problem.
If the traffickers are on this side of the border, we should be able to tattoo that organization, Martinez said. We have the capability to take on any drug trafficking organization.
We have the tools. We can get their drugs. We can get their assets. We can get their money, which is a crucial component to hurting their ability to operate.
But he and others in federal law enforcement have made it clear they dont believe we can arrest our way out of the drug abuse problem.
We have to attack the traffickers, he said in an interview. But we have to suppress the demand side through education and treatment to deprive traffickers of their market.
In response to New Mexicos constantly high ranking in drug overdose deaths, the U.S. Attorneys Office and UNM Health Sciences Center formed the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.
They were joined by the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in Our Community, Albuquerque Public Schools and other community groups. The principal goal was the reduction in the number of opioid-related deaths in the state.
We have a lot of people in prison for drug crimes, and the recidivism statistics are bad for people being released, Martinez said.
Isleta Pueblo, with the HOPE Initiatives help, set up a re-entry plan to help former inmates with transportation, education and jobs.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas recently launched initiatives to combat drug abuse at the state level.
The State Pharmacy and Medical boards have toughened regulations on prescribing painkilling drugs.
And other state programs aimed at reducing the harm caused by the drugs, like making heroin overdose antidotes available to police, have helped reduce the states rate of overdose deaths.
But as heroin overdose deaths have declined slightly, methamphetamine overdose deaths have increased. Some consider a meth habit harder to break than addiction to heroin.
But they both fuel crime as addicts rob, steal and sell drugs to buy more drugs.
Albuquerque Deputy Police Chief Eric Garcia said drugs are directly related to the overwhelming number of crimes here and that crimes by people high on meth tend to be more violent and horrific than others.
Still, law enforcement has responded.
We have limited resources; we have to direct our resources where they will make a difference, Martinez said. We targeted violent criminals in the community through the worst of the worst. We targeted pharmacy robberies.
Our law enforcement efforts have to evolve, he said. I think we can counter each and every move the cartels and traffickers make.
We cant give up on it.
By the numbers
Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal
PALOMAS, Mexico The Pink Store sparkles even before the first margarita.
Anyone who comes here will tell you this place a pink-painted emporium and restaurant a block south of the Mexican border is special. Its a place where decadeslong crossborder friendships have been forged and feels a million miles from the souring relationship between Washington and Mexico City.
Palomas is a dusty border town with a main drag of dentists, pharmacies and eyewear stores catering to Americans in search of cheap health care. But the Pink Store is a destination of its own, bursting with color and charm and live music.
Friendly staff offer lemonade and margaritas at the door. The lunch crowd can last for hours mostly Americans and the occasional table of Mexican customs officials.
Sergio and Ivonne Romero run the establishment. They opened the Pink Store in their 20s, nearly 30 years ago, taking the concept from Ivonnes grandparents, who ran a similar store nearby for 55 years before that.
I used to stand in the middle of the street and beg people to please come in, Ivonne said, remembering the early days when they first opened.
And one day, a group of RVs stopped and asked if we could do a party for them, Sergio said. And they still come all the time. They gave us so much promotion.
The Romeros know their customers by name.
Thats because many of the Americans come down regularly, every week from RV parks between Deming and Columbus; or they drive nearly two hours every few weeks from Las Cruces or El Paso; motorcycle clubs make weekend runs.
They park on the U.S. side in Columbus, walk through the port of entry an opening in the wall of 18-foot steel columns that cuts along the border. They stroll past Mexican customs down the street to the impossible-to-miss Pink Store.
On a recent visit, a trio of musicians calling themselves Los Navegantes the Navigators wandered from table to table, taking requests and stopping to play the classic Cielito Lindo for a couple while they ate.
Frank Bergeron, a snowbird from Wisconsin, sipped a ceramic mug of coffee. He had about an hour to wait for his glasses to be done at a nearby shop.
The atmosphere is really nice, he said. The people are really friendly, and I like the food. Not too many places in the States where you can get music with your lunch.
The Pink Store has survived plenty: the 1994 peso devaluation, bouts of drug violence in Palomas, the recent U.S. recession. The Romeros say they expect to survive the current row between the U.S. and Mexican presidents.
President Donald Trump has called for a border wall and has demanded Mexico pay for it despite President Enrique Pena Nietos insistence that Mexico will do nothing of the kind. The tiff resulted in a canceled meeting between the two men last month.
But at the Pink Store, international relations appeared to be in top form.
Marylin Poel tipped back a margarita, while Ellen Saad giggled about how their server, a man named Jose Luis, is the cutest waiter Ive ever had. He comes over to give them a hug. The women come every few weeks from El Paso.
The store brings out the best in all of us, Saad said. We always feel so relaxed here.
Its a different world, Poel said. We get out of our box.
The Romeros have had to field calls lately from clients asking if they can still cross the border despite the wall. They gently remind people that the port of entry is and will remain open.
How do we protect all these friendships and crossborder links, so that we dont end up with bad blood? Ivonne said. We have to demonstrate our friendship and respect. You have to walk the walk. One of my favorite sayings is from Benito Juarez, Mexicos first indigenous president. He said, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.
Respect for the rights of others is peace.
Upon a patrons request, one of the musicians sits at a keyboard and plays a famous pop song by Juan Gabriel, Querida, and its refrain, Tell me when, tell me when, tell me when youre coming back.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Malaysias ambassador to North Korea has been recalled from Pyongyang amid rising tensions between the countries over the death in Kuala Lumpur of an estranged scion of North Koreas ruling family.
The Malaysian foreign ministry said in a Monday statement that it had recalled its ambassador for consultations and had summoned Kang Chol, North Koreas ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, to seek an explanation on the accusations he made against the Government of Malaysia.
Kang said Malaysia may be trying to conceal something and that the autopsy on Kim Jong Nam was carried out unilaterally and excluding our attendance. Kim Jong Nam is the half brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
The statement called Kangs comments baseless, adding it takes very seriously any unfounded attempt to tarnish its reputation.
1,989 miles The length of Mexicos border with the U.S. from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
48 Number of border crossings.
330 Ports of entry, including railroad crossings.
More than 74 million The number of personal vehicles that used the ports of entry to cross the border in 2015.
More than 41 million The number of pedestrians that crossed the border in 2015.
5.5 million The number of tractor-trailers that legally crossed the border in 2015.
Mexico is the United States third-largest trading partner, behind Canada and China.
$172 billion The value of exports from the U.S. to Mexico in 2015, more than twice what the U.S. sent to China.
More than $218 billion The value of imports from Mexico to the U.S. in 2015. Trade with Mexico accounts for 14.5 percent of all U.S. foreign trade.
The user manual for Samsungs upcoming Galaxy Tab S3 has leaked out revealing a number of features and details surrounding the tablet. Samsungs upcoming device has been rumored for some time now to include support for Samsungs S Pen and, by the looks of the manual, it appears these rumors are, in fact, true, with the device appearing to be bundled with the stylus. Interestingly, though, the manual doesnt show any slots for the S Pen, so it appears the accessory will be an external accessory only without a dedicated slot like on Samsungs Galaxy Note line. Not all revolves around the S Pen, though, with the tablet including a number of hardware and software features.
Looking at the hardware side of things, the device looks to include four speakers two top and two bottom ones along with a Fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button, a USB Type-C port and a keyboard dock connector on the side of the device. Regarding the camera department, the manual simply shows that the tablet will feature both a front and rear-facing camera, with the latter being coupled with a single LED flash. Moving on to the devices software, the tablet is said to come running Android 7.0 Nougat straight out of the box and, as the manual shows, it is expected to support both multi-window and pop-up view, which allows more than two apps to be running simultaneously. As an added bonus, the manual also states that Samsung has equipped the device with support for Qualcomms Fast Charge 2.0.
Samsungs upcoming Galaxy Tab S3 has been rumored for some time now to include a large 9.7-inch AMOLED display along with Qualcomms Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the inside. These specifications, along with features such as a keyboard dock connector, the S Pen, and even the latest software appear to indicate that Samsung is preparing to market this device as a direct competitor to both Apples smaller iPad Pro and even Microsofts Surface Pro 4. With Samsungs MWC press conference just over a week away, it shouldnt be too long before the South Korean company officially unveils the tablet. If the rumored spec sheet is anything to go by, though, it appears Samsung is certainly going to be giving its rivals a run for their money.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has delivered another batch of humanitarian aid to Syria. The aircraft loaded with clothing, food, medical items and sleeping bags landed in Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia.
Davit Tonoyan, minister of Armenias emergency situations ministry, said over 20 tons of cargo has been delivered to Syria.
Photos by Mkhitar Khachatryan
The cargo will be transported to the Russian Air Base in Latakia, and then it will be transported by vehicles to Aleppo, escorted by a Russian military convoy.
With the assistance of the Armenian community, the humanitarian aid will be distributes to Syrians as well. In this batch of the humanitarian aid, clothing and sleeping bags are the main items, Tonoyan said.
Hranush Hakobyan, minister of Armenias ministry of Diaspora, said 4 humanitarian aid aircrafts have been sent to Syria in the past 4 months as result of cooperation between Armenia and Russia, and under the auspices of President Sargsyan.
The importance of this is not as much material as it is moral. Our compatriots are more confident and happy there when they feel their Fatherland is by their side. During these years, the ambulance service is operating there headed by our spiritual dioceses, which not only receives and distributes the cargo to Syrian-Armenians and Syrians, but also finds solutions in an organized way for issues in different locations of Syria, Hakobyan said.
The minister added the Armenian community of Krasnodar has sent flour to Aleppo, where Armenians baked bread in bakeries and distributed the Armenian bread to Syrians.
We have also conveyed our warmth and support to the brotherly people of Syria by this way also. I wish them patience and peace, Hakobyan said.
Earlier on February 14, Armenia delivered another batch of humanitarian aid to Syria. The cargo included food and different first-necessity items.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Yerkrapah Volunteers Union will support the Republican Party of Armenia and the initiatives of President Serzh Sargsyan, it was announced during the 11th Congress of the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union.
After the Congress, reporters asked General Manvel Grigoryan, President of the Board of the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union, as to what kind the support will be. Grigoryan said the cooperation with the RPA is nothing new. That cooperation has years of history.
Since 1990 Volunteers are cooperating with the Republican Party. Ashot Navasardyan, the first president of the RPA was a Yerkrapah Volunteer. The next President was Vazgen Sargsyan, who was a Yerkrapah also. This means the cooperation exists from years ago. So our cooperation is not random, Grigoryan said.
He said 8 members of the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union are included in the ranked voting lists. Grigoryan said it is natural. People wanted to take part and presented their candidacies. It is early to speak about their chances today. Regarding myself, my name has been included in the Republican list at the initiative of President Serzh Sargsyan, Grigoryan said.
General Seyran Saroyan also commented on the ranked voting lists. He said the society will decide whom to vote for. If the people dont elect us, its not an issue. Arakel Movsisyan is also nominated in my electoral district, he is my friend, we arent competitors. Whoever gets the vote of the people, we will welcome and send to the Parliament, he said.
Reporters asked why Ishkhan Zakaryan and Arthur Aghabekyan were not re-elected in the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union Board. Grigoryan said: They have been invited to come and be present. Ask them why they arent here. They didnt want to take part.
As we expected when the majestic Grand Tourer was introduced earlier this week, the machine would look even sweeter in actual images (as opposed to the rather artificial debut pics).Well, here we are, amazed by this set of photos that have been snapped inside the Maranello factory - the yellow 812 is just sitting their, with its interior protective plastics still on - hat tip to Magazin ProDriver CZ for the images.It's difficult not to let one's motoring greed take over in such conditions: given the bewildering effect of this 800 hp GT, we can't help but wonder whether the 812 Superfast actually is the Prancing Horse's final naturally aspirated V12.Once the next generation of Maranello V12 lands, we'll get electric assistance and/or forced induction (who knows? Ferrari might even be experimenting with electric compressors). But, since the original 1956 Ferrari 410 Superfast followed the 410 Superamerica that had been introduced a year before, perhaps a timing switch could see the Superamerica suffix joining the 812 moniker by the end of the decadeTruth be told, who wouldn't enjoy a (2005) 575M Superamerica-like open-air model packing all the assets of the 812, such as the atmospheric 6.5-liter V12 and the updated (compared to the F12 Tour de France) four-wheel steering?Nevertheless, we must be patient, so, at least for now, we'll stick to meeting the Ferrari 812 Superfast next month, at the Geneva Motor Show.Once the fresh Fezza finally hits the streets, the Ferrari F12berlinetta prices will become slightly friendlier, so it looks like the Italians are bringing good news for everybody.
2 Journalists Shot Dead In Dominican Republic During Facebook Live Stream
Two radio journalists were shot dead in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday during a live broadcast streaming on Facebook, according to local media reports.
China piles pressure on North Korea by banning coal imports
China is suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of efforts to increase pressure on the country over its latest missile test.
Among the opportunities presented by Donald Trumps election is that we may finally witness fundamental reform of Americas administrative state. This is no small thing, for administrative agenciesoften called the fourth branch of the federal governmenthave been foisting countless rules on people and companies in lieu of Congresss own laws, or, too often, in outright defiance of them. Instead of subjecting its policies to the checks and balances of the normal legislative process, the executive branch has been getting its way through the fiat of administrative law. Washingtons regulatory agencies exert a dangerous gravitational pull on our politics.
When Barack Obama and Congress negotiated over proposed greenhouse-gas legislation in 2009, for example, the president knew that he could simply walk away from the discussions and enact his preferred policies via Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Congressional Democrats knew this, too, and were happy to outsource policymaking to the EPA. Similarly with other policy areas: If administrative agencies are ready to do the presidents bidding, what need is there for legislative give-and-take?
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts described the problem acutely in a 2013 dissent in a telecommunications case, criticizing the courts deferential opinion in favor of the Federal Communications Commission. The administrative state wields vast power and touches almost every aspect of daily life. . . . The Framers could hardly have envisioned todays vast and varied federal bureaucracy and the authority administrative agencies now hold over our economic, social, and political activities. . . . [T]he administrative state with its reams of regulations would leave them rubbing their eyes.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has recently passed several bills to rein in this bureaucratic behemoth, but the measures stalled in the Senate, and, in any event, President Obama would have vetoed them. Now, as the Trump presidency dawns, major reforms may be at hand.
President Obama didnt invent the regulatory state, of course, but he leveraged it more aggressively than did his predecessorsand he did so in areas of fundamental national importance. Obamas EPA offers the most striking instance. Pursuant to Obamas goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, the EPAs radical Clean Power Plan asserted unprecedented federal regulatory authority over states energy policiesso unprecedented that the Supreme Court blocked the plan until courts could fully review its legality. Obamas FCC, in turn, has sought to impose network neutralitya regulation mandating that all broadband Internet service providers treat the information moving through their pipes equally, transforming private Internet firms into the equivalent of public utilities, potentially stifling investment in this crucial economic sectorvia an Open Internet Order that claimed to find immense new government power over media platforms in the 80-year-old Communications Act of 1934 and its 1996 update, the Telecommunications Act.
In other areas, the Obama administration tried to change federal policy not through regulatory action but through regulatory inaction. Regulators adopted a comprehensive policy of nonenforcement of existing immigration laws, though leaving law enforcement with a fig leaf of discretion to depart from this position on a case-by-case basis. (See Unfaithful Executive, Winter 2015.) Nor was this an isolated example. Shortly after Obamas first inaugural, his Energy Department and Nuclear Regulatory Commission tried to kill the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository, despite Congresss statutes to the contrary, by simply not proceeding with the project. In another instance, after a federal district court barred enforcement of the Interior Departments moratorium on offshore oil-drilling permits following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the administration refused to issue new drilling permitsan unstated policy of wholesale inaction dubbed the permitorium.
Perhaps the administrations most controversial regulatory innovation was its effort to make policy through administrative guidance documents. Normally, agencies make policy primarily through the process of notice-and-comment rule-making, in which an agency publishes a notice about its proposed regulation and gives the public an opportunity to comment on it; the agency then publishes a final version of the rule, after taking into account the publics views. At its best, this process helps to improve initial proposals; at the least, it preserves some transparency and helps build a record upon which federal courts can conduct judicial review. But when regulators skirt this approach and instead issue guidance documents, such procedural protections are vaporized. The most controversial instance of governance-by-guidance: the Obama Education and Justice Departments announcement of a new policy requiring schools to allow self-identified transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms of their own choosing, and mandating that school staff use the students preferred-gender pronouns when addressing them. Instead of formulating this policy through notice-and-comment rule-making (let alone actual legislation), Obamas agencies simply announced their policy under a type of guidance document known by an Orwellian name: a Dear Colleague letter.
The Obama administration agencies energetically used the regulatory process to set national policy on contested social questions, including not only the establishment of transgender rights but also the requirement that religious employers operating social services fund or participate in the provision of abortions or contraceptives, no matter their deeply held beliefs. Meanwhile, to the extent that such policies inspired grassroots opposition, another agencythe Internal Revenue Servicewas willing to take extraordinary steps to smother critical voices.
President Obama happily bypassed legislators in all these areas. As he notoriously observed in early 2014, Ive got a pen . . . and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward. . . . So one of the things that Im going to be talking to my Cabinet about is how do we use all the tools available to us, not just legislation, in order to advance a mission that I think unifies all Americans.
Americans were not unified. And Obamas policy victories may prove short-lived because he rejected working through the challenges and compromises of legislation. The pen might be powerful, but it remains in the Oval Office. What Obamas pen gave, Trumps can take away.
As the Trump administration gets under way, what might we expect it to doperhaps on its very first dayto dismantle Obamas far-reaching regulatory program? To the extent that any agency policy was imposed without the traditional notice-and-comment rule-making, a mere stroke of a pen can indeed undo it. President Trump can immediately rescind any of his predecessors executive orders and the guidance documents issued by his agencies.
For policies that went through notice-and-comment rule-makingthese included the EPAs Clean Power Plan and the FCCs Open Internet Orderthe Trump administration can kick off reform through executive orders, directing the agencies to change their regulations and setting parameters for doing so (within whatever limits Congress has already set by statute). And the administration can take steps to delay enforcement of existing policies while new ones are proposed and finalized. This will take time, though.
This first step could be the least important. Because purely regulatory action is reversible by a succeeding administration, truly long-lasting reform will require President Trump to work with Congress to change the statutes that the Obama agencies relied on to justify their regulatory ambitions.
For at least a century, Congress has enacted laws, written in dangerously vague language, that vest federal agencies with immense power. If President Trump wants significantly to shift federal energy policy for the long haulwhich will be necessary to signal to firms that the policy environment will be sufficiently stable to justify capital investmenthell need, for instance, to get lawmakers to amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit future Clean Power Plans. If he wants to keep future regulators away from the Internet, hell have to encourage Congress to amend the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. And if he wants to prevent the IRS from harassing conservative organizations and religious institutions, hell have to get legislators to write protections more clearly into the relevant statutes.
Reforming those statutes is only one-third of the legislative task, however. The next part involves the procedural laws that govern agencies, such as the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946. Seventy years after its passage, agencies have proved all too willing to circumvent or minimize the procedural requirements that Congress imposed to promote transparency and public participation in regulation-making. While the 1946 Congress passed the act in light of the administrative state as it existed at the end of World War II, todays regulatory state is far more expansive. Accordingly, lawmakers should consider enacting the REINS Act, a law, passed by the most recent House of Representatives, denying agencies the power to finalize the most burdensome regulatory programs without first securing congressional approval. Congress should also adopt the Regulatory Accountability Act, another law passed by the House, which gives the public greater participatory rights in agency rule-making and requires agencies to analyze the costs and benefits of consequences of potential new regulations.
Critics sometimes assert that, if Congress does put into place new procedural requirements on rule-making, the bureaucrats will just evade them by making policy via other means, such as guidance documents oron a case-by-case basisthrough the agencies quasi-judicial adjudications. The solution to this problem is to give agencies the right incentive to go through the rule-making process. Perhaps the best such incentive is the availability of judicial deference to agencies own legal interpretations. Currently, federal courts give significant deference to agency interpretations of statutes (known as Chevron deference) and regulations (known as Auer deference). Some foes of the administrative state, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have called for total abolition of such legal deference. And in the last Congress, the House passed the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, which would prohibit courts from deferring to agency legal interpretation. Yet if the goal is better, more accountable, administrative agencies, Congress could instead tie a continuation of some form of court deference to the agencies acquiescence to better, more transparent, procedures.
The third category of statutes in need of reformafter the ones that delegate regulatory power to agencies and establish their proceduresare those that erect the agencies in the first place. President Obamas landmark legislationthe Dodd-Frank Act, regulating finance and Obamacarecreated entire new agencies with unprecedented independence from the executive and legislative branches.
Dodd-Franks Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for example, is under the control of a director who enjoys a measure of statutory independence from the president and total budgetary independence from Congress (the CFPB relies for funding not on congressional appropriations but on an annual entitlement to hundreds of millions of dollars from the Federal Reserve). To pare back the administrative state meaningfully, the Trump administration must encourage legislators to reform or overturn these major Obama laws, making the agencies, if they survive, fully accountable to both president and Congressand to the courts as well.
Most agencies major rule-makings get reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a small but consequential section of the Office of Management and Budget. Chronically underfunded and understaffed, the OIRA is ill-prepared to oversee the agencies sprawling activities. It should be reformed so that it can conduct its work more systematically and proactively. And the OIRA should have the authority to review nominally independent agencies, such as the FCC and the CFPB, currently exempt from its oversight. President Trump could achieve this reform through executive action.
Finally, President Trump can exert a significant and sustained influence on the reach of the administrative state through his judicial appointments. Supreme Court nominations traditionally re-litigate the most recent public-policy disputes. For instance, Justice Samuel Alitos confirmation hearings focused disproportionately on presidential power in the war on terror. If the pattern holds, Trumps first nominee will be grilled on the administrative state and executive power. And this nominee will be seeking to replace one of the most significant administrative law theorists in the Courts history, Antonin Scalia. In this and other appointments, President Trump and his advisors in the Justice Departments Office of Legal Policy should keep the future of the administrative state front and center in their deliberations.
The Trump administration must confront a fundamental question: What should be the nature and purpose of administrative agencies in the twenty-first century? The contemporary regulatory state is defined largely by Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal, Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society, and Ronald Reagans revolution in White House regulatory oversight. Were long overdue to return to questions of first principles, and the Trump administration suddenly has an opportunity to do so. Administrative agencies play a much more important role than they did two centuries ago, when the Constitutions framers first envisioned them and the original Congress created them. Now we must think deeply about what powers to vest in them, what limits to place upon them, and what ends they should pursue.
Photo: President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress have been happy to outsource policymaking to agencies such as the EPA. (JOHN GREIM/LIGHTROCKET/GETTY IMAGES)
You've picked a very difficult problem that cannot be done without that knowledge of IL. The thing is that you have to grab the parameter values while the code is still in the method that you called. If you call ANY other method while the method your interrogating is running the stack gets deeper and you have to walk the stack to go get the correct parameter values. How far down the stack do you have to go? This is entirely dependent on your interrogation code.
A guide to posting questions on CodeProject
Click this:
Seriously, do it.
Dave Kreskowiak Click this: Asking questions is a skill Seriously, do it.
Seems I'm stuck with a parameter array and/or a whole load of overloads for the GetSignatureFromMethod.
Or I have to get the architecture changed.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
Blaise Pascal
Same pattern as the WPF / Windows Forms (ui) event model.
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
Blaise Pascal
In your specific example, the Function.Target property will return an instance of an anonymous type, with a field for each captured variable, and one for the delegate:
C# Function.Target == new { Val1 = 3 , Val2 = 4 , Function = Func using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.ComponentModel; using System.Data; using System.Drawing; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.Windows.Forms; namespace kg { public partial class Form1 : Form { public Form1() { InitializeComponent(); double price = 0 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 0 ) price += 82 . 36 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 1 ) price += 125 . 23 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 2 ) price += 163 . 98 ; } private void Calculate_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { MaterialPriceLabel.Text = price; } }
Member 13010731 wrote: Why is the "price" underlined?
Because you didn't google search "variable scope"
Speed of sound - 1100 ft/sec
Speed of light - 186,000 mi/sec
Speed of stupid - instantaneous.
3.7 Scopes (C#)[^]
A local variable declared in one method is not available outside of that method. Can you imagine how confusing it would be if that was not the case? If every single local variable had to have a unique name across your entire class or project, so that it didn't conflict with other local variables in other methods?
To make it available to other methods in the same class, make it a field:
C# public partial class Form1 : Form { private double price = 0 ; public Form1() { InitializeComponent(); if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 0 ) price += 82 . 36 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 1 ) price += 125 . 23 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 2 ) price += 163 . 98 ; } private void Calculate_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { MaterialPriceLabel.Text = price; } }
Fields (C# Programming Guide)[^]
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
public partial class Form1 : Form { private double price = 0 ; public Form1() { InitializeComponent(); if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 0 ) price += 82 . 36 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 1 ) price += 125 . 23 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 2 ) price += 163 . 98 ; } private void Calculate_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { MaterialPriceLabel.Text = price.ToString(); } }
C# public partial class Form1 : Form { private double price = 0 ; public Form1() { InitializeComponent(); if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 0 ) price += 82 . 36 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 1 ) price += 125 . 23 ; if (Material.SelectedIndex == 0 && Thickness.SelectedIndex == 2 ) price += 163 . 98 ; } private void Calculate_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { MaterialPriceLabel.Text = cena.ToString(); } }
Please help me how to get value of price to Calculate_Click.
if conditions are matched, so the price field is never updated.
You need to debug your code. I can't do that for you.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
Dave Kreskowiak wrote: Also, you don't seem to have a grasp of the basics of C# or debugging techniques. True?
Yes you are right. I'm beginner, I self study at home(1 month so far) and this little application I am doing for my self study. Please help where should I give that "if section". Images of program here: http://i.imgur.com/7ncQt2m.png http://i.imgur.com/1XNUPeh.png
modified 20-Feb-17 13:15pm.
"SelectedIndices" in the constructor of the form. The constructor gets executed once at the very start of showing the form - and then never again. At that point you couldn't possibly have changed the selections of the controls Material and Thickness . And after you have changed the selections they're never checked again. You need to move the if -checks to a "better" place that fits the (presumed) requirement that they're executed each time you click the calculate-button.
You might also want to take a look at ComboBox.SelectedIndex Property (System.Windows.Forms)[^]
(assuming Material and Thickness are of type System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox)
If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. Lyall Watson
I created a RESTful WCF Service and made sure that the data returned from it is of type JSON by setting its ResponseFormat property equal to WebMessageFormat.Json in my WCF Service as follows:
C# ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json
I checked to ensure that data returned from the WCF Service is indeed JSON by using Fiddler.
What I don't understand is if the return type of the data is JSON then why do I need to convert it to a JSON string using JSON.stringify() in my jQuery AJAX call.
Also, the only purpose of JSON.stringify is to serialize the objects, if you are going to render the objects or their properties on the screen, there is no need to serialize the object at all. It would be a good idea to see the output of this, JavaScript success: function (response) { alert(response); } This will either show [object Object], or some valid JSON document. That will give you an idea of the type of data that is being passed here.
The sh*t I complain about
It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem
~! Firewall !~
increment a file path if already exists using mediafire,conversion options and mega data while saving a video in c#
here is my code
try
{
String path = open.FileName;
var inputFile = new MediaFile { Filename = path };
using (var engine = new Engine())
{
engine.GetMetadata(inputFile);
do
{
newLocation = "C:\\Users\\" + server + "\\Videos\\Matchbox\\keeper starts(" + filecount.ToString() + ").mp4";
filecount++;
if (!exists)
{
System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(folderLocation);
MessageBox.Show("Folder doesn't exist, Matchbox folder created!!");
}
var outputFile = new MediaFile { Filename = newLocation };
var options = new MediaToolkit.Options.ConversionOptions();
Difference = outTime - inTime;
options.CutMedia(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(inTime), TimeSpan.FromSeconds(Difference));
string message = "Please wait a few minutes while converting a file";
string title = "Warning!!!";
MessageBoxButtons buttons = MessageBoxButtons.OK;
DialogResult = MessageBox.Show(message, title, buttons);
engine.Convert(inputFile, outputFile, options);
MessageBox.Show("Success");
} while (File.Exists(newLocation));
// inTime = outTime = Difference = 0;
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show("" + ex.ToString());
}
C# newLocation = " C:\\Users\\" + server + " \\Videos Sorry, that is not a server, but a user.
..if I understand you correctly, you want to convert the next file in that folder? Get a list of files, and loop through those.
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^] Bastard Programmer from Hell
Tableau Software, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business analytics software products. It offers Tableau Desktop, a self-service, powerful analytics product with data; Tableau Server, a business intelligence platform for organizations; Tableau Online, a hosted software-as-a-service version of Tableau Server; Tableau Prep, a data preparation product for combining, shaping, and cleaning data; and Tableau Public, a cloud-based platform for analyzing and sharing public data. In addition, it offers Visual Query Language (VizQL) for databases, which is a computer language for describing pictures of data, including graphs, charts, maps, time series, and tables of visualizations; Live Query Engine that interprets abstract queries generated by VizQL into syntax understandable by database systems; and Hyper, an in-memory data engine technology that helps customers to analyze a range of data sets by evaluating analytical queries directly in the transactional database. Further, the company provides support, maintenance, training, and professional services. It serves organizations in various industries, including business services, energy and telecommunications, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, manufacturing and technology, media and entertainment, public sector, and education, as well as retail, consumer, and distribution industries. The company sells its products directly, as well as through indirect sales channels, such as technology vendors, resellers, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendor, and distributors in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Tableau Software, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Every year those dedicated to the credit union movement gather in Washington D.C. (in the winter mind you, which shows how dedicated we all are), at one of the largest events of the year CUNA GAC. Whether a seasoned GACer or a fresh face this year, weve got 10 must-dos to help you make the most out of your experience.
10. Find fellow credit union friends at the Marriott Marquis and head to the Washington National Cathedral for dessert, drinks and a private concert while enjoying the amazing architecture.
9. Before the conference gets into full swing enjoy brunch at the National Zoo (is there really anything better than amazing food and cute panda bears?!)
8. Now that youve enjoyed a leisurely brunch and had a full nights sleep, put on your best walking shoes and get ready to spend days walking the most expansive exhibit hall ever.
7. Kick off CUNA GAC 2017 with CUNA CEO Jim Nussle (reminder: take my annual selfie with him).
6. The learning doesnt stop when sessions are over, step into any of the customary hot spots to for some conversation with the best and brightest. ( Marriot , Renaissance, and Hyatt lobby bars. Also theres always Fados).
5. Be inspired by true greatness and at The National Credit Union Foundations Herb Wegner Memorial Dinner.
3. No GAC experience is complete without stopping by Thunderpunch where the next generation of credit union leaders have been rounded up by The Cooperative Trust.
2. Whatever you do, dont miss General Colin Powell, USA speak! With an accomplishment list a mile long youre sure to walk away with some amazing business and personal advice.
and most importantly
1. Join the forces for good and go on GAC Hill Visits!
CK Raut supporters make away with weapon from police station
CK Raut supporters have looted a long-barrel gun from a police station in Rupandehi on Sunday.
Questions about health screenings -- Whether to screen? How often? At what age? At what cost? -- seem to readily breed conflicting opinions and public confusion. What's needed is rigorously produced evidence. That's where Constantine Gatsonis, chair of the Department of Biostatistics at Brown University, comes in.
In a talk and panel discussion at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Sunday, Feb. 19, Gatsonis, a veteran researcher on many large cancer screening studies, will discuss how such trials are designed and conducted to ensure that researchers can evaluate not only the accuracy of a test, but also its cost-effectiveness, its effect on doctor and patient decision-making and its effect on health outcomes.
After all, screening is not just about detection, Gatsonis said, but about health. Patients definitely want their cancers found, but not all accurate, positive diagnoses should lead to treatment.
"There is a growing concern of this notion of over-diagnosis," he said. "Screening is finding small lesions that would not hurt you. Generally speaking with screening, especially as the modalities become more and more accurate and can see smaller and smaller things, the question is, is that good for you? It's not a foregone conclusion."
In his talk, "Evaluating the Impact of Diagnostic Modalities Used in Screening for Disease," and the panel, "Medical Decision-Making: To Screen or Not to Screen?" in Room 309 of Hynes Convention Center at 8 a.m., Gatsonis will outline how large studies and statistical analysis bring data to bear on the many questions that swirl around screenings.
Big questions, big studies
Definitive screening trials feature huge sample sizes to ensure the highest degree of certainty when comparing one method against another. But even when the sample is large and the question is straightforward, the answers won't always be obvious. Gatsonis was the lead statistician of the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, which sought to compare the accuracy of digital vs. film mammograms for detecting breast cancer in a sample of more than 49,000 women. The primary paper from that study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005.
The two technologies turned out to have similar accuracy overall, but with a huge sample and carefully gathered data, the study was able to also show that digital mammography had significantly greater accuracy in women younger than 50 years, women with radiographically dense breasts, and premenopausal or perimenopausal women.
The evidence of some clear advantages gave digital mammography a strong foothold, Gatsonis said: "That study is the study that essentially put digital mammography in every hospital."
Well-structured, thoughtfully designed trials can answer multiple questions. Gatsonis was co-lead statistician for the National Lung Screening Trial, which produced the 2010 finding that among 53,454 current or former heavy smokers aged 55 to 74, those who received low-dose helical CT scans had a 20 percent lower risk of dying from lung cancer than participants who received chest X-rays. The study therefore answered the question of which screening method was better based on health outcomes.
The trial also kept track of costs and so was able to assess that CT screening was cost-effective, at least given certain specific assumptions. The study also gathered the data needed to analyze another pertinent question that isn't always asked: Did false positives -- CT scans that inaccurately detected cancer -- trouble patients? An analysis led by Gatsonis's Brown colleague Ilana Gareen found that such results did not cause serious concern, at least in part because the study's informed consent procedures were clear about the possibility of the unduly dire-seeming result.
Gatsonis is now leading the statistical side of a new breast cancer screening study, the Tomosynthesis Mammography Imaging Screening Trial, which will compare the 3D technology of tomosynthesis with standard, 2D digital mammography.
Rather than just assessing accuracy, the trial, which is set to begin recruiting a whopping total of 165,000 U.S. and Canadian women between the ages of 45 and 74, will also focus on a specific clinical outcome that will be readily apparent within four and a half years from their entry into the study. At that point the research team will assess in which group -- tomosynthesis or digital mammography -- it was more frequent for a woman to be diagnosed with an advanced, aggressive cancer. The data will help to discern the health impact of each kind of screening, without the team having to wait until there was a sufficient number of breast cancer deaths to allow for a comparison based on mortality.
"We're actually trying to bridge the span between accuracy and ultimate outcome," Gatsonis said, and "do so within a reasonably short study."
In addition to using this innovative endpoint for the primary comparison, the trial is promoting a new approach to screening, which incorporates knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and tailors screening to these factors. For example, Gatsonis said, postmenopausal women will be screened annually or biennially depending on their risk profile.
Big screening trials are expensive and logistically complicated. They generate massive amounts of data that must be expertly interpreted to accomplish their goals. But Gatsonis said that's all still better than the alternative of speculative opining.
"Nobody said screening is a simple process," he said.
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Caltech's Stan Whitcomb, who has been involved with nearly every aspect of the development and ultimate success of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), will give a talk about the project's historic detection of gravitational waves on February 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at the American Associate for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Boston.
In September 2015, LIGO made the first direct observation of gravitational waves, ripples in space and time first predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago. The project's twin detectors--one in Hanford, Washington and the other in Livingston, Louisiana--registered the quivering waves from the titanic merger of two distant black holes.
Whitcomb will discuss the important of the discovery--how it confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity and opened a new way of viewing the universe for astronomers. "This isn't inaccessible 'rocket science,'" says Whitcomb, who is currently retired but still serves as the chief scientist for LIGO. "With proper explanations, high school kids can understand most of the science behind LIGO."
He'll also talk about the technical challenges of the LIGO detectors, which, in order to detect gravitational waves, had to make measurements on imperceptibly tiny scales, down to subatomic levels where quantum fluctuations of matter influence measurements.
Though the notion of LIGO dates to the 1970s, the endeavor was still taking shape when Whitcomb joined the project in 1980. At Caltech, he helped oversee the design and construction of LIGO's 40-meter prototype, where many of the ideas for the current instruments were tested. Whitcomb also served as the lead scientist for the construction of the initial LIGO detectors, and stayed active on the team until the project's momentous discovery in 2015.
Whitcomb retired on September 15, 2015, which coincidentally turned out to be one day after LIGO's big discovery. He recalls taking a walk with his wife on September 14 after reading the first reports of the detection and explaining to her that his retirement wasn't going to be as quiet as he thought. Part of Whitcomb's retirement work was to co-chair a committee to carefully evaluate the veracity of any signals in the unlikely event that any would be detected.
"I recognized the signal of gravitational waves right away," says Whitcomb. "But it was the committee's job to pick apart the signal and make sure it wasn't anything else but gravitational waves. We spent months trying to throw cold water on the detection, until we were ultimately convinced it was the real thing."
Whitcomb's talk is part of a session entitled "Gravitational Waves: Communicating the Science and Wonder of LIGO," in which Lynn Cominsky from Sonoma State University and Joey Key from University of Washington will talk about LIGO's educational and outreach efforts.
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WASHINGTON (Feb. 19, 2017) -- Can statistics increase the value of science to society? Georgetown University's Rochelle Tractenberg, PhD, MPH, PhD, chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association, will discuss "Promoting Ethical Science and Policy With Ethical Statistical Practice" on a panel presenting three disciplinary perspectives on Sunday, February 19, from 8:00 am to 9:30 am as part of a day long symposium titled Scientific Reproducibility and Social Responsibility at the AAAS 2017 Annual Meeting in Boston.
A survey of more than 1,500 investigators, published in a 2016 issue of Nature, showed that more than 70 percent of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce other scientists' experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce their own experiments.
Additional studies have come to similar conclusions, says Tractenberg, associate professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center with secondary appointments in biostatistics, bioinformatics and biomathematics, and rehabilitation medicine. "Irreproducible results do harm that can be difficult to discover and even more difficult to undo," she said.
A consulting statistician and practicing scientist for the past 20 years, Tractenberg started pursuing her interest in promoting ethical research skills in 2009 after being invited to join a GUMC task force to explore these challenges. Tractenberg has worked with colleagues at GUMC and other institutions around the country to promote this brand of responsible research, and she'll have a larger stage later this month.
Tractenberg will discuss responsible research, and its relevance for all statisticians, data analysts and data scientists, in a symposium she organized for the AAAS 2017 Annual Meeting.
Credibility Crisis
When most investigators have taken just a single course in statistics, and are therefore laymen when it comes to statistics - for typical experiments or if they wish to participate in big data analyses - it is perhaps not surprising that so many studies cannot be replicated, nor results reproduced, Tractenberg says.
"My focus on promoting ethical statistical practice arose because a scientific credibility crisis is emerging due partly to scientists who do not conduct - or insist upon - appropriate statistical analysis or interpretation, or both," she says. "If ethical statistical practice becomes the norm across statistics and data science, it may then be taken up into other domains where data analysis makes important contributions."
Several elements of a study can lead to irreproducible results, including incorrect analysis, improper interpretation of data, cherry picking results, or failing to transparently report the number of analyses that were done, Tractenberg says. Avoiding these are principles of ethical statistical practice as well as responsible conduct in research.
"Although it can often seem that data analysis is secondary to the 'main' science or study purpose, the analytic method and its interpretation are essential attributes of both rigor and reproducibility, and this is true for their own work and for their peer review of others' work," says Tractenberg.
A large number of these irreproducible studies may have never been published if peer reviewers that were unable to evaluate the statistics "just told the editor they don't feel qualified to evaluate the study's statistical argument, and that a formal statistical review is needed," she says. Having a formal statistical review does not guarantee reproducibility or rigor, but not having or insisting on one virtually guarantees the continuation of the reproducibility crisis.
"Treat Data Ethically"
A faculty member at Georgetown since 2002, Tractenberg was appointed to the national Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association (ASA) in 2013, a committee that she now chairs. In her 90-minute panel at the AAAS meeting, "How Ethical Science Supports Ethical Policy: Disciplinary Perspectives," she will discuss the ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, which all those who analyze data can utilize, whether dealing with "small" or "big" data. She says that ethical statistical practice - by every data analyst - is integral to maintaining the value of science in society.
Tractenberg's panel will also bring together specialists in engineering and economics to describe their efforts to establish and promote ethical practices and policies within their disciplines. These three perspectives will then be discussed with respect to their potential to influence and support ethical policy and decision making.
"All scientific fields have different relationships to data and how the data should be interpreted," Tractenberg says. "But the core of all in this work is the data and its analysis, and I firmly believe these must be dealt with ethically.
Otherwise, decisions that are based on these results may be incorrect or indefensible, or both."
"The data analyst, whether a professional statistician or just the group member who is most skilled with the analysis software, has an obligation to treat and interpret the data ethically," Tractenberg says. "In a post-truth world, this may be the best way to promote scientific integrity."
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About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook, Twitter @gumedcenter and Instagram (@gumedcenter.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Consider it one physician's giant leap for mankind. Today, the latest rocket launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, included a payload of several samples of donated adult stem cells from a research laboratory at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus. The launch by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, is part of NASA's commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station.
The biological cells come from the laboratory of Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., who says he has eagerly awaited the launch following several delays over the past couple of years. Dr. Zubair, who specializes in cellular treatments for disease and regenerative medicine, hopes to find out how the stem cells hold up in space. He says he's eager to know whether these special cells, which are derived from the body's bone marrow, can be more quickly mass-produced in microgravity and used to treat strokes. Microgravity is the condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless. The effects of microgravity can be seen when astronauts and objects float in space. Microgravity refers to the condition where gravity seems to be very small.
"At Mayo Clinic, research drives everything we do for patients," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., vice president, Mayo Clinic, and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida. "This space cargo carries important material for research that could hold the key for developing future treatments for stroke -- a debilitating health issue. Research such as this accelerates scientific discoveries into breakthrough therapies and critical advances in patient care."
Dr. Zubair says he has dreamed of this moment all his life, with a passion for space that goes back to his childhood in the northern city of Kano, Nigeria. There, he says he came across a book about the first moon launch and became instantly enthralled. In high school, he recruited other physics students to build a model rocket prototype using corrugated metal and rudimentary materials from the local blacksmith. When it came time to apply for college, however, the school adviser steered him from becoming an astronaut. "He said it may be a long time before Nigeria sends rockets and astronauts into space, so I should consider something more practical," Dr. Zubair recalls.
With the goal of being useful to patients and helping cure disease, he headed to medical school in Nigeria. His training took him to the University of Sheffield, in Sheffield, England; the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as he specialized in bone marrow transplants and stem cell research. He came to Mayo Clinic's Florida campus to treat cancer patients and others whose conditions could be helped by regenerative medicine -- all the while running a research lab that studies adult stem cells.
Dr. Zubair came across a request for research proposals that involved medicine and outer space four years ago. His mother had died of stroke in 1997, and he had been thinking about stem cells as a treatment for stroke-related brain injury. Collaborating with Mayo Clinic neurologists James Meschia, M.D., and William D. Freeman, M.D., he studied mouse models of stroke.
"Stem cells are known to reduce inflammation," he explains. "We've shown that an infusion of stem cells at the site of stroke improves the inflammation and also secretes factors for the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels."
One big problem is that it may take as many as 200 million cells to treat a human being, and developing vast numbers of stem cells on Earth can take weeks.
"It's further complicated, because some patients are unable to donate cells for themselves, and, sometimes, there aren't enough donors who are a good match, as sometimes occurs for minorities," he says.
Studies in simulators on Earth have shown that adult stem cells -- the undifferentiated cells that exist in the body to replace damaged or dying cells -- reproduce quickly and reliably in microgravity. While it's not known why microgravity works better than a petri dish, some researchers speculate the conditions may be similar to the floating environment of developing cells in the body. With funding from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, a nonprofit organization, Dr. Zubair hopes to find that, in space, stem cells can be reproduced safely in large quantities, providing new opportunities for patients.
He'll gather real-time information about the cells as astronauts conduct experiments measuring molecular changes.
"We'll be looking to see if there are genes activated in microgravity and analyzing the stages of the cell cycle," he says.
"We may discover proteins or compounds that are produced that we can synthesize on Earth to encourage stem cell growth without having to go to microgravity." Over the last three years of planning, he says he's been tickled to learn about the challenges of space-based research, such as the need for techniques to handle fluids that don't mix in microgravity.
Most importantly, experiments will continue after the expanded stem cells return to Earth.
"We'll study them to make sure they're normal, functional and safe for patients with stroke," he says. "My work in regenerative medicine has always been intentionally translational -- not just to study what the cells do and what can be done with them but to make a difference for patients. That's what makes our project unique."
For the launch, Mayo Clinic is collaborating with the Center for Applied Space Technology (CAST) in Cape Canaveral, and BioServe Space Technologies in Boulder, Colorado. CAST supported Dr. Zubair's research by providing strategic mission planning, proposal development, spaceflight technical support and served as an interface between the research team and various space activities and agencies. BioServe provided space flight hardware, on orbit research protocol and scheduling interface.
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A Michigan State University scholar is warning those who read about the latest groundbreaking research to proceed with caution.
"In everyday life, we recognize that we should think twice about trusting someone's decision if they have a significant vested interest that could skew their judgment," said Kevin Elliott, an associate professor who specializes in the philosophy and ethics of science. "When reading the latest scientific breakthrough, the same tactic should be applied."
Elliott is presenting an analysis of case studies this month at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, annual meeting in Boston. He's addressing the issues that currently exist when it comes to conflicts of interest in research and offering advice on how to detect "alternative facts" when it comes to science.
According to Elliott, historians have gone back and analyzed a number of different cases where groups with a financial conflict of interest either deliberately withheld scientific information or lied about what they knew and even designed studies in order to obtain the results they preferred.
"The Volkswagen scandal is a good contemporary example of this, along with more historical cases such as the tobacco industry's research around cigarette smoking," he said.
Last year, it was discovered the German automaker was cheating emissions tests by installing a device in diesel engines that could detect when a test was being administered and could change the way the vehicle performed to improve results. This allowed the company to sell its cars in the United States while its engines emitted pollutants up to 40 times above what's accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Elliott added that when it comes to the tobacco industry, the "alternative facts" issue dates all the way back to the 1950s.
"When it comes to big tobacco, the industry developed a whole playbook of strategies to help manufacture doubt among consumers about the health implications of cigarette smoking," Elliott said. "They gave grants to researchers who they thought were likely to obtain results that they liked and developed industry-friendly journals to disseminate their findings."
Elliott added that similar strategies have also been used by big oil companies in response to climate change.
Besides employing an everyday skepticism to the research that exists today, Elliott suggests taking note of who is actually conducting the science and confirming if the science has been published in a well-respected, peer-reviewed journal.
"My number one piece of advice though would be to see what respected scientific societies like the U.S. National Academy of Sciences or the British Royal Society have to say about a specific topic," he said. "These societies frequently create reports around the current state of science and by reviewing these reports, people can avoid being misled by individual scientists who might hold eccentric views."
Elliott's AAAS presentation will take place on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m.
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Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
BOSTON - Incentive-based solutions offer significant hope for addressing the myriad environmental challenges facing the world's oceans - that's the central message a leading marine ecologist delivered today in Boston during a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Jane Lubchenco, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University College of Science, shared lessons from around the world about ways "to use the ocean without using it up" as nations look to the ocean for new economic opportunities, food security or poverty alleviation.
Elizabeth Cerny-Chipman, a former postdoctoral scholar under Lubchenco who's now a Knauss Fellow at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, co-authored the presentation, titled "Getting Incentives Right for Sustained Blue Growth: Science and Opportunities."
In her presentation, Lubchenco pointed out that achieving the long-term potential of blue growth will require aligning short- and long-term economic incentives to achieve a diverse mix of benefits. Blue growth refers to long-term strategies for supporting sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole.
"If we harness human ingenuity and recognize that a healthy ocean is essential for long-term prosperity, we can tackle the enormous threats facing the ocean," Lubchenco says, "and we can make a transition from vicious cycles to virtuous cycles."
Lubchenco and her collaborators note that the world's oceans are the main source of protein production for 3 billion people; are directly or indirectly responsible for the employment of more than 200 million people; and contribute $270 billion to the planet's gross domestic product.
"The right incentives can drive behavior that aligns with both desired environmental outcomes and desirable social outcomes," Lubchenco says.
The first step in building increased support for truly sustainable blue growth, she says, is highlighting its potential. That means working with decision-makers to promote win-win solutions with clear short-term environmental and economic benefits. Governments, industry and communities all have important roles to play, Lubchenco notes.
"Another key step is transforming the social norms that drive the behavior of the different actors, particularly in industry," Lubchenco says. "Finally, it will be critical to take a cross-sector approach.
"Some nations, like the Seychelles, Belize and South Africa, are doing integrated, smart planning to deconflict use by different sectors while also growing their economies in ways that value the health of the ocean, which is essential to jobs and food security. They are figuring out how to be smarter about ocean uses, not just to use the ocean more intensively."
Prior to her presentation, Lubchenco gave a related press briefing on how to create the right incentives for sustainable uses of the ocean.
In November 2016, Lubchenco, Cerny-Chipman, OSU graduate student Jessica Reimer and Simon Levin, the distinguished university professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University, co-authored a paper on a related topic for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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In one of the most comprehensive studies on trends in local severe weather patterns to date, an international team of researchers found that the frequency of hail storms, thunderstorms and high wind events has decreased by nearly 50 percent on average throughout China since 1960.
The team analyzed data from the most robust meteorological database known, the Chinese National Meteorology Information Center, a network of 983 weather observatories stationed throughout China's 3.7 million square miles. Meteorologists have been collecting surface weather data through the network since 1951 or earlier, which provided the researchers an unprecedented look at local severe weather occurrences.
"Most of the data published on trends in severe weather has been incomplete or collected for a limited short period," said Fuqing Zhang, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science and director, Center for Advanced Data Assimilation and Predictability Techniques, Penn State. "The record we used is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest, both in time scale and area of land covered."
The team, who report their findings today (Feb. 17) in Scientific ReportsM, found that the strength of the East Asian Summer Monsoon decreased at a rate strongly correlated to that of severe weather throughout the same time period. The monsoon is an annually recurring, long-term weather phenomenon that brings warm, moist air from the south to China in the summer, and cooler air from the north to China in the winter. A monsoon's strength is measured by calculating the average meridian wind speed in this area.
"We believe that changes in monsoon intensity are affecting severe weather in the area because of the strong correlation we found, but we cannot say the monsoon is the exclusive cause," said Zhang. "A monsoon is one of the major drivers of severe weather because it affects the three necessary 'ingredients' for severe weather, which are wind shear, instability and triggering."
Wind shear is the difference between the wind speed and direction at different altitudes. Because a monsoon brings southerly winds into China, a weaker summer monsoon would decrease the overall low tropospheric wind shear. The weaker monsoons would also bring less warm, moist air from the south -- one of the most common sources of instability in the atmosphere. A common triggering mechanism for severe convective weather is lifting by the front, a high temperature gradient across the monsoon, and this would also be reduced in a weaker summer monsoon.
Some studies suggest that climate change may be one of the reasons that the Asian Summer Monsoon weakened. One factor in monsoon formation is the difference between the temperature above land and the temperature above adjacent ocean or sea. A warming climate would affect the difference between these two and, as a result, simulations show that this could continue decreasing the monsoon's strength. However, the team noted that other major changes in the area -- such as an increase in industrialization and air pollution in China in the 1980s -- might have played a significant role in the region's atmospheric changes and could affect the severe weather.
While a decrease in severe weather might sound beneficial, it may not always be a good thing.
"There are many natural cycles that rely on severe weather and the precipitation it brings," said Qinghong Zhang, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, Peking University, lead author of the study, who conducted this research while on sabbatical at Penn State. "A decrease in storms could potentially lead to an increase in droughts. Also, some theorize that while the frequency of severe weather decreases, their intensity could potentially increase. We cannot say if this is true yet, but it is something we will analyze in the future."
This was the first study in its level of detail because of the amount of data collected by the Chinese National Meteorology Information Center. The study also showed that occurrences of hail remained relatively steady from 1961 through the 1980s before plummeting.
"The frequency of thunderstorms and high winds decreased gradually over the time period we studied, but not hail," said Qinghong Zhang. "This is something we don't fully understand at this point but plan to investigate more."
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Xiang Ni, doctoral student, Peking University, contributed to this study.
The Chinese National Science Foundation, the National Basic Research Program of China and the U.S. National Science Foundation supported this research.
The first-ever study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they are disappearing in the country's most important farmlands -- from California's Central Valley to the Midwest's corn belt and the Mississippi River valley.
If wild bee declines continue, it could hurt U.S. crop production and farmers' costs, said Taylor Ricketts, a conservation ecologist at the University of Vermont, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting panel, Plan Bee: Pollinators, Food Production and U.S. Policy on Feb. 19.
"This study provides the first national picture of wild bees and their impacts on pollination," said Ricketts, Director of UVM's Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, noting that each year $3 billion of the U.S. economy depends on pollination from native pollinators like wild bees.
At AAAS, Ricketts briefed scholars, policy makers, and journalists on how the national bee map, first published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in late 2015, can help to protect wild bees and pinpoint habitat restoration efforts.
At the event, Ricketts also introduced a new mobile app that he is co-developing to help farmers upgrade their farms to better support wild bees.
"Wild bees are a precious natural resource we should celebrate and protect," said Ricketts, Gund Professor in UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. "If managed with care, they can help us continue to produce billions of dollars in agricultural income and a wonderful diversity of nutritious food."
TROUBLE ZONES
The map identifies 139 counties in key agricultural regions of California, the Pacific Northwest, the upper Midwest and Great Plains, west Texas, and Mississippi River valley, which appear to have most worrisome mismatch between falling wild bee supply and rising crop pollination demand.
These counties tend to be places that grow specialty crops -- like almonds, blueberries and apples -- that are highly dependent on pollinators. Or they are counties that grow less dependent crops -- like soybeans, canola and cotton -- in very large quantities.
Of particular concern, some crops most dependent on pollinators -- including pumpkins, watermelons, pears, peaches, plums, apples and blueberries -- appeared to have the strongest pollination mismatch, growing in areas with dropping wild bee supply and increasing in pollination demand.
Globally, more than two-thirds of the most important crops either benefit from or require pollinators, including coffee, cacao, and many fruits and vegetables.
Pesticides, climate change and diseases threaten wild bees -- but their decline may be caused by the conversion of bee habitat into cropland, the study suggests. In 11 key states where the map shows bees in decline, the amount of land tilled to grow corn spiked by 200 percent in five years -- replacing grasslands and pastures that once supported bee populations.
RISING DEMAND, FALLING SUPPLY
Over the last decade, honeybee keepers facing colony losses have struggled with rising demand for commercial pollination services, pushing up the cost of managed pollinators - and the importance of wild bees.
"Most people can think of one or two types of bee, but there are 4,000 species in the U.S. alone," said Insu Koh, a UVM postdoctoral researcher who co-hosted the AAAS panel and led the study.
"When sufficient habitat exists, wild bees are already contributing the majority of pollination for some crops," Koh adds. "And even around managed pollinators, wild bees complement pollination in ways that can increase crop yields."
MAKING THE MAPS
A team of seven researchers -- from UVM, Franklin and Marshall College, University of California at Davis, and Michigan State University -- created the maps by first identifying 45 land-use types from two federal land databases, including croplands and natural habitats. Then they gathered detailed input from national and state bee experts about the suitability of each land-use type for providing wild bees with nesting and food resources.
The scientists built a bee habitat model that predicts the relative abundance of wild bees for every area of the contiguous United States, based on their quality for nesting and feeding from flowers. Finally, the team checked and validated their model against bee collections and field observations in many actual landscapes.
THE GOOD NEWS
"The good news about bees," said Ricketts, "is now that we know where to focus conservation efforts, paired with all we know about what bees need, habitat-wise, there is hope for preserving wild bees."
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Learn more about UVM efforts to save global bees. Subscribe to Gund news alerts. Follow the AAAS news at #AAASmtg.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Scottish Government has warned that a hard Brexit would wipe out funding for rural areas, potentially devastating Scotlands farming and food sectors.
Scottish agriculture is more heavily reliant than the rest of the UK on EU funding.
Between 2014-20, Scotland expects to receive 4.6 billion from the EU some 500 million per annum.
Meanwhile, Scottish budget Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing has confirmed Scotland stands to benefit from over 640 million funding in 2017-18 through the Scottish budget.
Scottish Ministers have sought reassurance that funding will continue beyond Brexit, yet no guarantees have been given.
This could mean Scotlands rural and coastal communities facing the loss of subsidies, including CAP direct payments, market measures, the rural development programme, and participation in new research proposals, as well as the loss of markets and workers if locked out of the EU single market.
'At risk'
Mr Ewing said Brexit puts rural funding at risk.
He said: While the UK Government has offered some assurances on funding over the short-term, which we have committed to pass on in full, there are still more questions than answers in the longer-term. For example, there are still no guarantees for the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme from 2019.
The continued uncertainty could have a devastating impact on our farming and food sectors. Any moves to Barnetise CAP payments could see Scotland lose up to half of the current CAP allocation, which has been tailored to meet our specific needs.
However, he said agreement on the Scottish budget means rural Scotland will receive over 640m of support in the coming year.
Much of that goes directly to farm businesses and crofters, but significant sums will also continue to be invested in grants for environmental measures, tree planting, food processing and maritime development.
Latest crime statistics in Northern Ireland has prompted farmers to explain that rural businesses and the countryside remain soft targets for criminals.
Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the latest statistics for rural crime highlights that despite efforts to curb this, more needs to be done.
The union says it will continue to press the Police to focus more resources to tackle this, while recognising that individual police officers do their best to engage with farmers, within the limits of the budgetary restraints forced on them.
The UFU says those drawing up budgets must recognise that rural areas are exposed, and deserve as much protection as towns and cities in Northern Ireland.
The latest statistics highlight a nine per cent increase in agricultural crime, with livestock theft an almost daily problem in some areas.
Value of thefts 'rising'
Figures from the NFU Mutual, the biggest farm insurer, also suggest the value of thefts is rising, as thieves target expensive machinery and livestock.
The figures highlight our frustration, said the UFUs deputy president, Ivor Ferguson.
We can see from them where the problem is worst Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry. In these areas we need the PSNI to respond to these statistics, he said.
'Simply unacceptable'
The UFU says a major cause for concern is the split between theft in rural and urban areas.
Despite much smaller populations and housing density, in many areas rural theft and burglary now account for a third and up to half the crime of this nature. That is simply unacceptable, said Mr Ferguson.
He added that a further frustration for farmers was lenient sentences for criminals.
The judiciary needs to realise that these are not victimless crimes but crimes that often leave people feeling vulnerable and isolated in rural areas, said the UFU deputy president.
CK Rauts supporters held
Tension ran high in Marchawar, a southern village in Rupanedhi, on Saturday following sporadic clashes between supporters of CK Raut, coordinator of Independent Madhes campaign, and police personnel.
The RSPCA was called on Friday (17 February) by members of the public who spotted around 1,000 little chicks running around Crowland, near Peterborough.
The RSPCA has since launched an investigation.
RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs said: I have never seen anything like it, it was just a sea of yellow. And the noise was unbelievable.
The chicks are only about a day old and are really tiny and quite delicate. Some of the birds were dead or dying when we arrived so some, sadly, had to be humanely put to sleep.
Thankfully, most of the chicks did not appear to be suffering.
Abandoned
It is believed the chicks came from a commercial chick producer nearby and may have been abandoned by a third-party.
he producer is fully cooperating and assisting the RSPCA with their investigations.
The breeder came to the scene to collect the surviving birds and take them back to their unit, inspector Stubbs added.
These tiny birds wouldnt have survived long out on their own at such a young age and in such unpredictable weather conditions.
For someone to dump these vulnerable chicks is unbelievable.
But Id like to thank all the members of the public who teamed together to help us round up all the birds and confine them in boxes where they could huddle together for warmth.
Anyone with any information about who is responsible for dumping the birds is asked to contact the RSPCAs inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018.
Though still an illegal substance at the federal level, marijuana is threatening to become one of the fastest-growing industries on record.
In total, 28 states have legalized medical marijuana, including Pennsylvania and Ohio, whose legislatures passed a law legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2016. Legislative approvals had, until last year, been extremely rare. Meanwhile, eight states have legalized recreational, adult-use pot. This is up from four states in 2015 following the passage of recreational marijuana initiatives in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada in the November election.
What's fueling marijuana's expansion?
The changing opinion of the public toward cannabis has been a major reason why it's flourished at the state level. National pollster Gallup found 60% support for the nationwide legalization of the drug in its 2016 poll, which was up from 25% in 1995, the year before California became the first state to legalize medicinal marijuana.
State-level governments have, in some cases, been a strong influence, too. Marijuana provides a new channel of taxable revenue for states that could be struggling to make ends meet. In California, for example, the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational pot, is expected to add $1 billion annually in tax revenue once retail dispensaries are given the green light. Colorado, which was one of the first two states to have legalized adult-use marijuana, brought in $135 million in tax and licensing revenue on just shy of $1 billion in sales in 2015.
Yet even these figures don't tell the full story of the marijuana market in North America.
Marijuana's promise and peril are tied to one important figure
According to a new 25-page report from ArcView Market Research titled "The State of Legal Marijuana Markets," which was provided in advance of its release to The Huffington Post last month, North Americans (defined as persons in the U.S. and Canada) spent $53.3 billion on marijuana in 2016.
But here's the keynote figure of the report: just $6.9 billion of those sales were from legal channels in the U.S. and Canada. Even though this $6.9 billion figure represents year-over-year sales growth of a robust 34%, it still means that $46.4 billion in sales, or 87%, came from the black market. This $46 billion figure represents both promise and peril for the marijuana industry.
On one hand, there's real opportunity for states to end or significantly reduce this illegal activity by legalizing recreational marijuana. For instance, Colorado legalized recreational cannabis in 2012, and since then its black market has been reduced to only about one-third of its total sales, compared to 87% for the North American average. While it's a small sample size, the data would suggest that legalizing marijuana coerces consumers toward legal marketplaces.
Furthermore, ArcView CEO Troy Dayton doesn't believe it'll be too difficult for the legal marijuana market to keep up its exponential growth rate. In his words: "In contrast to comparable markets with fast growth from zero to tens of billions in recent decades such as organic foods, home video, mobile, or the Internet, the cannabis industry doesn't need to create demand for a new product or innovation -- it just needs to move demand for an already widely popular product into legal channels."
ArcView has estimated legal sales will grow to $21.6 billion by 2021.
Then again, this $46 billion figure is a stark reminder of the challenges the pot industry is facing. For example, a legal but tightly regulated cannabis industry may struggle to offer a competitive price for pot products compared to the black market. Over the past year, marijuana prices have plunged thanks to bigger players swooping in and flooding the market with product. This isn't a trend that would be expected to survive over the long run. In other words, once larger players have eliminated most of their smaller competition, their incentive to bring supply and demand back into harmony, and to raise prices, would likely return, making black market marijuana substantially cheaper once again.
Another key point is that the inherent disadvantages created by the federal government for legal industries that play by the rules could continue to spur sales in the black market. As long as the federal government chooses to keep cannabis as a schedule 1 substance, pot businesses will be unable to take normal tax deductions. What's more, because financial institutions ultimately answer to the federal government, cannabis-based businesses have limited or no access to basic banking services, such as a checking account or line of credit. These disadvantages mean legal pot businesses get punished, while black market businesses still retain an estimated 87% of all marijuana sales.
This is the conundrum for many investors. There's a clear upward trend in legal pot sales, but there are no long-term guarantees that the black market will cede a majority of its market share to legal businesses, or that the federal government will make investing in the space profitable over the long run. Until we have that clarity, the enormity of the black market should serve as a warning to keep prospective investors safely on the sidelines.
One of the UKs largest retailers, Marks & Spencer, is looking for 10,000 to 12,000 additional prime animals following a commitment to stock only Scotch lamb in its stores north of the border.
M&S is looking to source the animals, equivalent to more than 1% of Scotlands total lamb production based on 2016 figures, between now and June.
All animals will be sourced exclusively from the retailers select farms in Scotland, must have full provenance and be slaughtered at Scotbeef, Bridge of Allan.
See also: Retailers slammed for misleading lamb labels
The decision to solely stock Scottish lamb was driven by customer demand, said M&S head of agriculture, Steve McLean.
We know that our customers really like to buy regionally sourced meat, so we have been working hard with our suppliers to find a way to bring them a year-round supply of delicious fresh lamb from Scottish farms.
In 2016 we sourced UK lamb for 42 weeks of the year. For 2017, we have not made the switch to New Zealand lamb in our Scottish stores, and instead will supply 100% Scotch lamb throughout the entire year.
Fantastic opportunity
The M&S announcement was exciting for Scotch lamb producers, said Ian Watson, chairman of livestock marketing co-operative, Farm Stock Scotland.
This new market is great news for our farmers, and I am sure they are up to the challenge of delivering stock to meet this fantastic opportunity.
M&S is to be applauded for making this commitment to our industry, it is now our turn to ensure that we meet its expectations.
Our field staff are now actively working to procure an additional 5,000-6,000 lambs over and above what we would normally require in the next few months.
A vegan media campaign accusing the dairy industry of animal cruelty has been slammed by the NFU.
The adverts, which featured in the Sunday Telegraph a fortnight ago, have also appeared on billboards and on the sides of buses and taxis in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and London.
Go Vegan World tells the truth about the Dairy Industry in The Sunday Telegraph @Telegraph #DitchDairy #govegan #govegan2017 pic.twitter.com/4ZdPAZrIV7 Go Vegan World (@Go_Vegan_World) February 5, 2017
The organisation behind the campaign, Go Vegan World, also advertised on billboards at the Stadio Olimpico during the Italy v Ireland Six Nations rugby match last weekend, which attracted millions of television viewers.
The founder and director of the campaign, Sarah Higgins, described humans treatment of animals as the greatest tragedy the world has ever witnessed.
This campaign aims to reflect the truth of the consequences for them of our non-vegan lifestyle values and choices, casting a light into the hidden, dark world of human predation on defenceless others.
See also: 13 milk myths and misconceptions debunked
The health benefits of veganism or any of the other benefits of veganism are not usually sufficient to ensure that people cease their participation in all animal use.
In an open letter to the Sunday Telegraph, NFU dairy board chairman, Michael Oakes expressed his shock at seeing the misleading advertising campaign.
Adverts such as this paint an incorrect picture of the UK dairy industry and dishearten the nations dairy farmers, for whom the health, welfare and care of dairy cows and calves is incredibly important.
About half of our beef production comes from the dairy herd a vital source of both calves for prime beef production and cow beef.
For calves to reach their potential they need to be happy and healthy, whether the future is within the dairy herd or within the beef supply chain.
Back Red Tractor
Mr Oakes championed the work of the Red Tractor kite mark, which applies to nearly all British farms and promotes high animal welfare, environmental and food standards.
It [Red Tractor] also means farmers comply with specific standards, for calves and cows.
This includes calves having visual and tactile contact with other calves.
Dairy farmers have had a horrendous two years of sustained low milk prices and we are grateful for the fantastic support we have received from the British public.
Mr Oakes added: Shoppers can be confident in dairy products displaying the Red Tractor logo and we urge them to continue to back and value British dairy farming.
The new hire onboarding process is a heavy lift for HR teams and has many moving parts. A lot weighs on this process statistics show that 69 percent of employees are more likely to stay with the company for at least three years after a great onboarding experience. Companies with a standardized onboarding process experience 54 percent greater new hire productivity and 50 percent greater retention. For employers, it's critical to make a great first impression on new hires and ensure their transitions are as seamless as possible. That puts even more pressure on HR teams to master one of the most daunting tasks associated with new hire onboarding: benefits enrollment. Too often, a company's new hire process for benefits consists of a brief overview of an employee's options and a stack of paper for the employee to sift through before making an important, year-long decision. The rapidly changing health care landscape, in particular, requires individuals to take a more active role in coverage choices and employees are feeling the heat. Unfortunately, many employees dont have the information they need to make good decisions and arent likely to seek it out on their own. An Aflac study revealed that nearly 80 percent of Americans spend less than an hour researching benefit options, and more than 55 percent spend less than 30 minutes. Many employees feel lost when picking plans due to lack of educa...
KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump's muslim ban/KLM accomplice to discrimination
by Astrid Essed Sun, Feb 19, 2017 4:31AM
Airline company KLM is accomplice to discrimination, Islamophobia and deportation
of refugees. Concerning discrimination and Islamophobia, it is one of the executioners
of Trump's policy, by refusing passengers from the seven banned muslim countries. It's
complicity with deportation of refugees consists of flying deported refugees for the Dutch
government. Both are crimes and KLM's full responsibility, because they have a choice to refuse.
A coalition of social justice activists demonstrated against Hewlett Packard Enterprise outside the annual RSA cyber-security conference in San Francisco. HPE enables and profits from Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories, and from racist immigration and incarceration policies in the United States.
[ Photo: Karen Platt of Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area explains the basis for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise protest to an interested attendee at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. ]AT S.F. CYBER SECURITY CONFERENCE, ACTIVISTS PROTEST AGAINST HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE PROFITEERING FROM RACIST POLICIES IN ISRAEL-PALESTINE AND THE U.S.A coalition of social justice activists demonstrated with signs, banners, and flyers outside the annual RSA cyber-security conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco on February 14th and 15th, educating attendees and the public about how Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) enables and profits from Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories, and from racist immigration and incarceration policies in the United States. HPE is a platinum sponsor and participant in the annual RSA Conference While HPE asserts in its Global Human Rights Policy that respecting human rights is a core value at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and is embedded in the way we do business, the protesters challenged such a claim by pointing out that: HPE developed and maintains the biometric ID system used at military checkpoints within the West Bank to restrict the movement of Palestinians on their own land as well as their access to employment, medical care, and schools, while Israelis are able to travel freely.HPE manages the entire Israeli population registry, which is stratified based on ethnicity and religion to facilitate discrimination against minorities. HPE provides the IT infrastructure for the Israeli military, including for the enforcement of the deadly decade-long blockade of Gaza, which has created a humanitarian crisis. HPE supports technology services in illegal Israeli settlements that perpetuate and expand the ongoing theft of Palestinian land. HPE profits from contracts with U.S. prisons and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose policies disproportionately target communities of color.Karen Platt, of the Bay Area chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace , which organized the demonstrations, remarked that there was an unusual amount of positive engagement between demonstrators and attendees, including some of the many Israelis who participated in the conference. After reading our flyers and signs, a good number of attendees wanted to learn more, and asked questions that were sometimes challenging but rarely hostile. Thats not typical, in my experience. For me it was another sign of a shift in public perception about the situation in Israel-Palestine, and about corporate social responsibility.The demonstration at the RSA Conference followed last months Global Day of Action against HP, in which over 150 actions in over 60 countries around the world called for boycotting and divesting from HP companies for profiteering from human rights abuses.
News Burma and US Negotiate to Revive Air Service Agreement
Airplanes at Rangoon International Airport. / The Irrawaddy
RANGOON Burma and the United States have been negotiating to revive an air service agreement signed 68 years ago between the two countries, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Transport and Communications said on Wednesday.
The first air service agreement between Burma and the United States was signed in Sept. 1949, but there is no record of flight services between the two countries, the ministrys spokesman and assistant permanent secretary U Aung Ye Tun told The Irrawaddy.
In 2014, the United States proposed that Burma amend the air service agreement, U Aung Ye Tun said, highlighting that the old bilateral agreement needed to be modified in accordance with current aviation standards.
After modifications, the revised agreement would allow airlines from the two countries to offer direct routes, he added.
U Ne Win, a director in the ministrys department of civil aviation, told The Irrawaddy that negotiations started in August last year and aim to be finalized by the end of 2017.
We have been negotiating to achieve an agreement that would provide a win-win situation, he said.
Initiation of flight services between the two countries will enhance tourism, trade and cargo freight services, he commented.
The United States lifted economic sanctions on Burma in October last year, which had been in place since 1996 in order to denounce the policies of the then-military government. The early 1990s had been a golden era for air freight business from Burma to the United States.
When the two countries have connections in the aviation industry, there will be improvements in political, economic and social relations, transport ministry official U Ne Win said.
Burma also revised bilateral air service agreements with the Netherlands and Bhutan last year.
Burma Analysis: What Role Will China Play in Burmas Peace Process?
The signing ceremony of the NCA was held in Naypyidaw in October 2015. It was attended by government and army representatives, as well as those from eight of Burmas more than 20 ethnic armed organizations. / The Irrawaddy
China wants ethnic armed groups in northern Burma to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in order to ease fighting near the Sino-Burma border, Chinas ambassador to Burma said in an interview with the state-run New Light of Myanmar on Sunday.
By signing the NCA, battles can be avoided and there can be guarantees for peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border, said Ambassador Hong Liang, adding that in order to stop the conflict, respective parties need to be well convinced of each other.
The ambassador said they encouraged the respective groups remain in close contact for discussions and urged them to overcome misunderstandings, which he blamed as the main cause of ethnic armed organizations reluctance to sign the NCA. Only eight out of the countrys more than 20 armed groups signed the pact in 2015.
Fighting is ongoing the northern Shan and Kachin states, between the Burma Army and the Northern Alliance, which is comprised of the Taang Nationalities Liberation Army (TNLA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA).
China has pledged its support to Burmas peace process under the civilian-led National League for Democracy government, and has been attempting to facilitate talks between the government and active ethnic armed groups in the northeast of the country. In January, Chinas Special Envoy of Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang met with both Tatmadaw and Northern Alliance representatives separately, and requested that fighting near the Sino-Burma border be halted during the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Has the Tatmadaw Accepted All-Inclusivity?
Chinas goodwill to help with negotiation meetings is a good thing, as their pressure to lessen conflict has a huge impact, said Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the ethnic armed alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), whose members have not signed the NCA.
The UNFC maintains that in order for its members to sign the NCA, all ethnic armed groups must be included in the peace process, Nai Hong Sar reiterated, a reference to the organizations previously excludedthe TNLA, MNDAA and AA.
We need a good platform for us to sign it, he said.
The UNFC has been negotiating with the governments peace commission regarding concise guarantees on both military and political issues, including the terms of the ceasefires Joint Monitoring Committee and the necessity of a tripartite political dialogue. It is easier to negotiate with the government than the Tatmadaw, Nai Hong Sar said, as they [Tatmadaw] hold onto their position strongly and thus make us hard to negotiate.
We want to know clearly whether the Tatmadaw has accepted all-inclusivity, Nai Hong Sar added.
If the Tatmadaw has changed their attitudes towards the excluded groups, insiders say it would do well to make such a shift known, as the armys attitude remains key in moving forward with the peace process.
As China is in a position to influence the Burmese government, Arakanese lawmaker U Ba Shein favors Chinese involvement, saying that he feels that it could make the peace process better and stronger.
Dr. Emma Leslie, director of the Cambodia-based Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, said, What will make a positive impact is the political will of all parties to address the fundamental issues and grievances of ethnic groups in Myanmar.
Peace processes success depends on the political will of the parties to come to a just agreement and then implement it in a timely manner, she said, adding, That will end the conflict.
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that ending armed conflict in Burma is a top priority of her administration. She created a peace fund, which receives donations from Burmese nationals, while international donations go through the Joint Coordination Body for the Peace Process. Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay recently told The Irrawaddy that the government has been cautious in accepting international aid concerning the peace process, in an effort to be seen as free from a donor-driven agenda.
In early January, China contributed US$1 million to Burmas peace process through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, out of a total pledge of $3 million by 2020.
Economic Investments
Arakanese lawmaker U Ba Shein said Chinas support would be helpful in fostering a smooth relationship with the government, concerning existing economic investments in the country and further investments in areas including Arakan State.
China wants to implement a One Belt, One road Asian cooperation strategy, to promote its agenda of economic and social developments. Burma plays an integral role in linking China to India in connection with the scheme.
To meet energy needs, China has constructed a gas and oil pipeline across Burma, from Kyaukphyu deep seaport to Kunming in Yunnan Province. However, the pipeline runs through conflict zones, including those in Arakan and Shan States.
However, despite winning a tender to implement a special economic zone (SEZ) in Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, the project has yet to start. Another SEZ in Muse, on the Shan-China border, has been postponed due to fighting in the area. Ambassador Hong Liang emphasized the countrys desire for those projects to begin as soon as possible, adding that he believes they will benefit both Burma and China.
When fighting intensified following the Northern Alliances initial offensive on Nov. 20, carried out to draw attention to the Tatmadaws long-running operations in the region, border trade in Muse was brought to a halt for 10 days; trade value has also dropped in the last year.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, quoted in the New Light of Myanmar on Feb. 4, the value of trade between the two countries for the 2016-2017 fiscal year had decreased nearly US$28 million from the previous year.
Trade totalled $4.84 billion for the last 10 months of the fiscal yearit was $4.87 billion during the same period one year earlier.
Arakan State remains afflicted by extreme poverty, U Ba Shein said, explaining why he welcomes any investment that would bring socially responsible job opportunities.
We hope that the current NLD government, which is the civilians government, would consider helping the locals more than the previous military governments did, he added.
Convict escapes police custody
A person detained in a case related to robbery escaped from police custody in Darchula on Saturday.
Burma Bangladesh Says it is Stopping Rohingya Militants, Allowing Helpless Refugees
Rohingya refugees visit a community health care center to receive health check-ups and free baby food at Kutupalang Unregistered Refugee Camp, in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh on February 5, 2017. / Mohammad Ponir Hossain / Reuters
DHAKA, Bangladesh Bangladesh is working with Burmese security forces to stop Rohingya Muslim militants crossing their shared border, but will continue to allow women, children and the elderly to seek shelter there, a top government official said.
Around 69,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Burma since October, straining relations between the two neighbors who both see the stateless Muslim minority as the other nations problem.
Despite those tensions, H.T. Imam, political adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Bangladesh had handed over two Rohingya militants caught sneaking into its territory in October, and was continuing to cooperate with Burma to prevent more from doing so.
Those who are absolutely helplesswomen with children and the elderlywe will give them temporary shelter, Imam said in an interview on Wednesday. We are doing this at a heavy cost. Its a crisis that has been forced on us. They are citizens of Myanmar and must be taken back.
Refugee Influx
Bangladesh is already host to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, and says the latest influx has strained its limited resources.
Officials, including Imam and Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali, met diplomats from countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Burma in Dhaka on Sunday to address the crisis.
Bangladesh is seeking funds for its much-criticized plan to relocate new and old refugees from Burma to an isolated and undeveloped island in the Bay of Bengal called Thengar Charwhich floods at high tide. They are currently sheltered in the coastal district of Coxs Bazar.
The foreign minister requested for international help and also for taking the Rohingya population, Imam said. Bangladesh has a serious political, economic and financial problem because of the influx.
Underscoring Bangladeshs commitment to press ahead with the island plan, the prime ministers military secretary, Major General Mia Mohammad Zainul Abedin, visited Thengar Char on Wednesday.
The general asked the local administration to set up a helipad, jetty, deep tube well for drinking water and other infrastructure to make the island liveable, a local official said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has urged Bangladesh to drop the island plan, which it called cruel and unworkable.
The current crisis erupted after nine Burmese police officers were killed in coordinated attacks on border posts on Oct. 9.
Refugees started to trickle across the border soon after that, but many were initially turned back by Bangladeshi border guards. Imam said they were later allowed to come in after Prime Minister Hasina intervened on humanitarian grounds and at the request of the international community.
Over the past five months Hasina has twice spoken with Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who leads Burmas government, to work out ways to send back the refugees that Bangladesh calls undocumented Myanmar nationals.
The PM also sent a special envoy to Yangon, Imam said. We are trying to engage them as much as possible. We suggested joint border patrols, joint border watch. Our border guards keep regular contact so that there is no cross-border militancy.
Burma, however, has not responded to the proposal for joint patrolling of the border, Imam said. Burmas Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
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 Team to Probe Police Abuse in Arakan State
Police on operations in Maungdaw Township, northern Arakan State / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy
RANGOON A team of five high-ranking police officials will investigate allegations of widespread human rights abuses committed by security operations in Arakan States Maungdaw Township, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The move came after a United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report alleged widespread arbitrary detention, gang rape, arson, and extrajudicial killings of Muslim Rohingyaa group labeled as Bengali by the governmentby Burmese security forces.
Police Adjutant-General Chairman Brig-Gen Win Tun will head the enquiry, joined by Brig-Gen Nay Win, Col Nay Tun, Lt-Col Maung Maung Lwin as well as Col Khin Maung Aye who is Deputy Commander of the Criminal Investigation Department Secretary, read a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs released Sunday.
The ministry has instructed the police force to follow international standards and to complete its mission in accordance with the Criminal Codes and police manual, according to the statement.
The statement said that that if the departmental enquiry found that members of the police force had violated human rights then they would be charged under Police Disciplinary Law and that action is already being taken against those who failed to follow the instructions/provisions, without elaborating on specific cases.
In late December, selfie-style footage of police kicking and beating Rohingya in Koe Tan Kauk village of Rathedaung Township in early November led to authorities detaining four police involved.
Today, Reuters reported that five policemen have been sentenced to two months detention and three senior officers had been demoted over the incident.
The Irrawaddy contacted Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay for confirmation, but he was unavailable for comment.
Lt-Col. Tin Win of the Burmese police force in Naypyidaw said that the investigation is ongoing and his department had not received any official report from the relevant department about legal punishment.
Last week, also in response to the OHCHR report, the Burma Army formed its own investigation team tasked to whether check soldiers operated within the framework of law and to ensure that security forces stay away from using excessive force and committing human rights violations.
In a statement it reaffirmed that legal action will be taken against anyone who breaks any of the directives.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that the Burmese government was deeply concerned about the OHCHRs findings and considers the allegations contained in the report [to be] very serious in nature.
Nearly 70,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled security operations in northern Arakan State to Bangladesh, according to UN estimates. Last week, Reuters reported that two UN officials believed that more than 1,000 Rohingya may have been killed in the crackdown.
By Mary Perdue
The talented but puzzling Mohaymen returns to his roots and readies for his 4-year-old campaign at Camden Training Center in Camden, SC.
When now 4-year-old Mohaymen stepped off a van in Camden, South Carolina in early January, trainer Kevin Kahkola couldnt help but wonder if the fancy gray colt knew he was home. Kahkola is responsible for breaking many of the young Shadwell runners at the Camden Training Center and provided Mohaymen with his early start as 2-year-old and, now back where it all started, the conditioner led the handsome gray right to stall number one, which is reserved for the most important horse among the approximately 50 stabled at the facility.
Relax, Kahkola says hed like to see Mohaymen do as he readies for his first 2017 start. Put weight on and keep it on. Chill out. Enjoy working again.
Camden seems a good place for all these things to happen. The training center, just barely outside the small town in rural South Carolina, is quiet and peaceful, hidden and calm, a perfect spot for a horse to learn to race and to recover from a grueling season and to thrive and mature into full racing potential.
Although most racing careers have peaks and valleys, few have been as bewildering as Mohaymens so far. A $2.2M Keeneland September yearling in 2015, he was brilliant at two, winning his first start and then going on to take both the Nashua Stakes (GIII) and Remsen Stakes(G2) around two turns in New York before heading south for the winter. His impressive triumphs in the Holy Bull Stakes (GII) and Fountain of Youth Stakes (GII) as a newly turned 3-year-old stamped him as a top Triple Crown contender, and many thought he would dominate Nyquist when they matched up for the first time in the Florida Derby (GI).
He wasnt himself that day, Kahkola reasoned, when asked his opinion of the colts race. He wasnt trying. He was listless and (jockey) Junior (Alvarado) said he washed out.
After finishing a well-beaten fourth to the reigning juvenile champion that day, Mohaymen was again fourth in the Kentucky Derby, missing a grade 1 placing by a head. He then failed to finish in the money in his remaining two starts of 2016 the Jim Dandy Stakes (GI) and Kings Bishop Stakes (GI) and subsequently was sent to Shadwells Lexington, Kentucky, farm for an extended break.
Since arriving at Camden this year, Kahkola says he likes what he sees so far.
Hes grown into himself and looks more like a man, the trainer explained.
Mohaymens schedule is pretty rigid; he trains six days a week, galloping 1 to 1 miles a day after a routine jog to the quarter pole. He trains alone because, hes too aggressive to go in company, Kahkola says.
Kahkola recalled Mohaymens early days at Camden as a 2-year-old, when he and stablemate, the grade 3 winner Shagaf, were breezing partners.
They were the two best horses here as babies and the last to leave Camden for the races since they were both late developers. (Mohaymen) was like a lot of Tapits playful, very forward, and they like to train.
Kahkola doesnt know what the future holds for Mohaymen, only that when hes called up to rejoin trainer Kiaran McLaughlins barn that hell be fit and ready. He breezed three-eights for the first time in 2017 Saturday.
Wed like to keep him here as long as possible, Kahkola said.
If Mohaymen continues to progress, hell ship to Palm Meadows in Florida in mid-March where hell train for either a lower level stakes or allowance before being pointed to the Metropolitan Handicap (GI) at Belmont in June.
Were thinking he might be more of a miler, the conditioner reasoned.
Every day Mohaymen gets to roll in the dirt, according to his groom. And his regular blacksmith is flown in from Kentucky whenever he needs his feet done. After his daily bath, Mohaymen is hot-walked in his blue cooler for about twenty minutes, after which hes hand grazed in the warm Carolina sun. Its easy to see how a horse could thrive in such a caring, laid-back environment.
Mohaymen does have one minor yet entertaining distraction in his daily routine. according to Kahkola. His noisy neighbor in the stall next door, a 2-year-old Candy Ride colt (out of the Marju mare Safarjal), likes to bounce his Jollyball and nip at passersby.
After training and rolling and walking and lunch, Mohaymen gets to spend the remainder of his day relaxing in his stall. In Camden it seems hes getting every chance to mature into the grade 1 winner his connections always hoped and believed him to be. With time, patience and a little bit of luck, racing fans and his connections may soon have the pleasure of watching him cross the wire in front again.
Cow or plough: Party leaders spar over vote symbol
The second day of the first unity convention of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) saw a heated debate among leaders from former RPP and RPP-Nepal over the electoral symbol.
Inspirational gospel musician, Cwesi Oteng says there is nothing wrong the invitation of America's worship leader Don Moen to perform at Ghana's 60th Anniversary celebration.
He said what matters is that the treatment that would be given the American has to be extended to local gospel musicians as well as.
"Some are against Don M coming, I am not. I am rather for the best patriotic treatment of our own," the artiste tweeted Sunday.
Some gospel artistes have expressed grave concerns over the decision to headline the International Gospel Concert scheduled for March 7 with Mr Moen.
The concert is one of the many programmes drawn up for the celebration of Ghana's 60th Anniversary. March 6 marks the 60 Anniversary Ghana attained independence from British rule in 1957.
The musicians argue the country has more gospel musicians it could fall on for the programme. Mr Moen has performed at several concerts in Ghana in the past.
Despite clarification by the Ghana at 60 Committee that the American is being invited by a private company, the local artiste insist their voices must be heeded.
But Mr Oteng said that although his colleagues are against Mr Moen's coming, he supports the idea and believes it is the best for the country.
He wants the organising committee to rather focus its attention on improving the treatment that would be meted out to Ghanaian musicians during the programme.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | [email protected]
Juba (AFP) - A third top South Sudanese military official has resigned, accusing President Salva Kiir's regime of war crimes and ethnic cleansing, according to a letter seen by AFP Saturday.
Brigadier Henry Oyay Nyago, advocate general and director of military justice, was the latest military official to pen a damning resignation letter accusing the government of atrocities in the country's three-year civil war.
"Your regime committed sundry war crimes... genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing," he wrote, accusing Kiir of ordering the killing of civilians not belonging to his ethnic Dinka group, and overlooking crimes committed by the Dinka in various probes into violence.
"I cannot continue to be silent or taciturn when you are finishing and slaughtering the innocent people of South Sudan," Nyago wrote in the letter to Kiir, which detailed specific events in which civilians were ordered killed, or atrocities were overlooked.
In another letter released Saturday, the head of South Sudan's military court, Colonel Khalid Ono Loki resigned, accusing the army chief of extra-judicial arrests of citizens based on their ethnicity.
Addressed to army chief Paul Malong Awan, the letter decried "unspecified and unstipulated arrests and detentions fluctuating from months to years without investigation and scrutiny ... on fabricated cases against individuals of non-Dinka ethnicity."
Loki also accused Awan of dismissing rulings against members of his own tribe accused of murder, rape and theft.
"Mr. Chief, you have often avoided the current courts, tried officers on your own, whilst crafting and forming alien ones paradoxical to the existent established courts which are in conformity with the law," Loki wrote.
"Your unqualified clique of friends and relatives who dangerously arrest and sentence as you so wish and command have never attended any law school to carry such responsibility."
'Catastrophic proportions'
The UN's humanitarian office OCHA said some 7.5 million people in South Sudan are now in need of humanitarian assistance
Lieutenant-General Thomas Cirillo Swaka, deputy chief of general staff for logistics, resigned last week accusing Kiir and his tribe of "ethnic cleansing".
While the army could not be reached for comment on the latest resignations, a statement last week said Swaka had quit as he was corrupt and had fled to evade arrest.
The country's labour minister also resigned on Friday, and declared allegiance to rebel leader Riek Machar.
The exodus comes amid mounting alarm over a civil war which has devastated the world's youngest nation over the past three years.
War broke out in oil-rich South Sudan in 2013, just two years after it achieved independence, after Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup.
An August 2015 peace deal was left in tatters when fighting broke out in Juba in July last year.
Violence -- initially between ethnic Dinka supporters of Kiir and ethnic Nuer supporters of Machar -- has since spread to other parts of the country, engulfing other ethnic groups and grievances.
The United Nations has warned of potential genocide and ethnic cleansing.
A confidential UN report obtained by AFP this week cites UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying the war had reached "catastrophic proportions for civilians".
Rights groups accuse both soldiers and rebels of horrific rights abuses including rape and extra-judicial killings.
The war has left tens of thousands dead and more than three million people displaced.
The humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by a severe drought which has put thousands at risk of famine in the country.
The UN's humanitarian office OCHA said some 7.5 million people in the country were now in need of humanitarian assistance.
Goma (DR Congo) (AFP) - Militiamen from DR Congo's Nande ethnic group have killed 25 civilians in the country's violence-torn east, almost all of them hacked to death with machetes, local officials and activists said Saturday.
"In total 25 people were killed, decapitated by machete by the Mai-Mai Mazembe in and around the village of Kyaghala," Francis Bakundakabo, the local representative of the governor of North Kivu province, told AFP.
"All of these people were Hutu civilians," he said, adding that the killings took place between 4:00 am and 8:00 am on Saturday morning.
Hope Kubuya, a local civil society activist whose group went to verify the attack, said 24 of the victims had been killed with machetes and one woman shot dead.
"This raid by the Mai-Mai Mazembe in the Hutu village will enflame the inter-ethnic conflict in the region," he added.
The Mai-Mai are a "self-defence" militia who count members of DR Congo's Nande, Hunde and Kobo communities among their ranks, in opposition to rivals from the Nyaturu group representing ethnic Hutus.
The area around Kyaghala is majority-Hutu.
The last major attack to strike the volatile region came in December when at least 35 civilians were killed in clashes between fighters from the two groups.
DR Congo's Nande, Hunde and Kobo people largely regard Hutus as foreigners, while the migration north of Hutu farmers -- forced to abandon their southern territory due to rising land prices and under pressure from powerful landowners -- has added to the strain.
Tensions between the Nande and Hutu communities have been growing worse for more than a year, with a series of village attacks by militia groups on both sides in the centre of North Kivu. The province, like much of eastern DRC, has been riven by conflict for more than two decades.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has charged his regional ministers to carry out their duties with a mindset of service and humility.
During the swearing in of the regional ministers after their approval by Parliament Friday evening, President Akufo-Addo urged them to ensure a good relationship with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), other civil servants and traditional leaders in their various regions.
Humility and the readiness to serve are the most important ingredients that will guarantee your success, the president said.
In his address, he reminded the ministers that they were to be his representatives in their various regions, and that they were going to be responsible for the effective running of the administrative machinery in their regions.
The net effect of these constitutional provisions is that, you are the face and body, the eyes and ears of the president in your regions. You have to project my vision, my values, my policy and my spirit in your regions. These are all embodied in the manifesto of the New Patriotic Party.
President Akufo-Addo also implored them to declare their assets as he had done with the previous ministers he had sworn into office.
We have given a pledge to our people that we will be honest in our dealings with the public purse entrusted to our care, and we will have to live up to it.
I must also, in conclusion, thank the Speaker and members of parliament for the speedy manner in which they are fulfilling their constitutional duties in approving my nominees. It is a good demonstration of the spirit of cooperation of the executive which I want to make a hallmark of my presidency.
List of Regional Ministers
Archibald Yao Letsa Volta Region
Salifu Saeed Northern Region
Rockson Ayine Bukari Upper East Region
Sulemana Alhassan Upper West Region
Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh Brong Ahafo Region
Simon Osei-Mensah Ashanti Region
Kwamena Duncan Central Region
Hon. Eric Kwakye Darfour Eastern Region
Ishmael Ashitey Greater Accra Region
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie Western Region
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
With the perceived confusion over funding for the governments free Senior High School education policy dominating the news cycle, the New Patriotic Party government needs to outline to citizens its priority areas for development, the Operations Director of the Progressive People's Party (PPP), Nana Ofori Owusu said.
There was a suggestion from the Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo that government would consider reviewing the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to allow for the use of the Heritage Fund to finance the free SHS policy.
But the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, refuted the suggestion, saying government would be financing the free SHS policy without touching the Heritage Fund.
Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Ofori Owusu viewed this as symptomatic of the lack of engagement and clarity with stakeholders on the part government.
You have a limited allocation of resources and in the limited allocation of resources, you must give us the priority areas, and with the priority areas, there is the allocation thereof in pursuit of that.
Government must give us its priority areas. Government must give us a road map. If you don't give a road-map for citizens to understand where it is you want to go, and for us to also create a culture to support where you want to go, you will have problems.
With this in mind, Mr. Ofori Owusu said the discussion on funding for the Free SHS policy would be mute if it was not tied to an overarching policy of development.
For me, the issue of SHS is just a tiny drop in the bucket of the total reformation process of our education To me, the focus should not be on a Heritage Fund per say. The focus should be on what the total reformation policy of government is; and what is the road-map in achieving that particular policy.
Free SHS a political gimmick
Mr. Ofori Owusu also expressed some cynicism with what he called the politicization of education, as he suggested that the promise of Free High school education was only a ploy for votes.
Do you know why people talk about SHS? It is because they think SHS people can vote. You see how politicians have taken education and politicized it. They are looking at SHS students because they think that if they make it free for SHS students, some of them aged 18 and 19 can vote.
So it is a voting mindset that we are using to fix an education system that begins at pre-school. If you have 1.5 million young people on the street as a result of not passing the BECE exams, I don't see how the free SHS will solve the problem. It is for those who pass.
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
19.02.2017 LISTEN
Since the incision of the Npp government there has been various contradicting reports regarding the funding of the free senior high school promised by then flag bearer now president of the republic of Ghana. This contradicting reports has left some of us asking questions about the seriousness of this new government about the free SHS gospel preached by the party during the electioneering campaign.
Last week the senior minister Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo was quoted to have said that the government will use the heritage fund to support the free SHS policy to be introduce in September this year. Citinews quoted the senior minister saying that government will finance the Free SHS with the Heritage fund.
Finance minister Mr. Ken Ofori Atta at an event at Achimota School, told Citi Business News that government will not finance the project from the Heritage Fund, but promised that details for funding it will be provided in the budget. We are financing the Free SHS education without looking at the Heritage Fund thats what the minister said if I may stress further.
After this clarification by the finance minister then comes another member of the party in fact a respectable member of the party Nana Akomea saying different thing on newsfile on Saturday that no absolute decision has been taken to use the Heritage Fund to finance the free senior high school (SHS) programme.
Nana Akomea said comments by Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo about the likelihood of government using the reserved Fund were suggestion.
"This were words of the Senior Minister thinking aloud," he said on Joy FM/MultiTV's news analysis programme Newsfile on Saturday.
The question that comes in mind is so does that mean that this government is always going to give us suggestions and not concrete information as how this country will be run.
Speaking to NPP activist about these statements the member of the party said this statement from the senior minister is worrying though other people from the government have clarified the statement made by Mr Marfo.
He went further to say that if care is not taken the party will not last as they are envisaging because of some statements by the senior minister which always turns to be false and misleading.
Other Civil society organisations and political opponents have fiercely registered their dissatisfaction about government considering the use of the Heritage Fund.
The petroleum revenue management act does not states that we should use the revenue accrued in the unlikely event that we run out of funds for the free SHS. This is what the act says for purposes of clarification:
Section 10 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 815 states that,"A Ghana Heritage Fund is hereby established. (2) The object the Ghana Heritage Fund is to (a) provide an endowment to support development for future generations when petroleum reserves have been depleted; and
(b) receive excess petroleum revenue. (3) The Ghana Heritage Fund shall receive from the Petroleum Holding Fund a percentage petroleum revenue which be determined by Parliament as savings for the purpose of this Act."
We all know that this act can be amended but I dont think this is a good idea to start taking funds from account that has not matured enough for any reason.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described government's decision to use the Ghana Heritage Fund as "lazy and incompetent." It argued the use of the Fund could destabilize the economy of the country.
The free Senior High School since 2012 has being the vision of the NPP and now that they are in government we wish they will implement it and give equal opportunities to the less privilege in society to also benefit from secondary school education.
My worry of this whole free secondary education is the motivation aspect of our teachers because if our teachers are not motivated well the free SHS will not yield any good results. Already there are concerns as to how our secondary schools are not producing good results.
Aside these whole debate about the funding of the flagship program I support it fully since it is in our constitution. Let me emphasize that this government has got a lot of work to do regarding infrastructure and many more, but lets not criticize but help build our country Ghana for a prosperous future.
I never ceased to be amazed at the audacity and solipsistic mindset of so many of our elected officials. Having said that, I am not condemning all. Many are hard-working and fair-minded, but some seem to approach their job as if it were a board game played between lunch and dinner breaks.
Rep. Leach, R-Tuscon, and his colleagues in Phoenix woke me up this morning with their recent attempt to curtail citizens' rights to express themselves and be participants in our government with a bill apparently designed to cripple the initiative process so basic to democracy. In a bill built by the state Chamber of Commerce, he sheds crocodile tears in a Chicken Little claim to "reform the incentive for fraud and forgery."
What poppycock. I am not simply making a political rant. His efforts attack all of us and our rights to express ourselves and participate in our own government. I believe democracy to be a noble, ever-changing experiment based on mutual respect and communication. I believe too many folks given the power, by our consent, to govern then abuse that privilege too often by steamrolling the public's constitutional rights. By sponsoring a bill that would create an unnecessary financial hurdle to groups using the right to petition their government, Leach sponsors the credo that "money talks and all others can just shut up."
Is this what we want from our elected representatives? Democracy is not a game.
BILL ANDERSON
Flagstaff
From a guerilla fighter to humble Speaker
Never before in history of Nepal had women occupied the posts of President, Chief Justice and Speaker at a time.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region, has advised the newly sworn-in Regional Minister, Salifu Saaed, to be non-partisan and impartial as he works to resolve all chieftaincy related disputes in the region.
The Norther Region has been home to ethnic and chieftaincy related violence, notably the tensions between the Andani and Abudu clans in the Dagbon Traditional Area, and more recently, the flaring up of clashes in Bimbilla .
The clashes in Bimbilla left at least 10 persons dead, with several others injured, after the attempted enskinment of a sub-chief in the town by the regent, despite warnings from police.
Speaking to Citi News, the General Secretary of the NDC in the Northern Region, Halid Abdul Rauf, said Mr. Saeed would do well to avoid partisanship and heed the advice of the Northern Regional Security Council in dealing with the tensions in the region and achieving lasting peace.
In this region, you must always ensure that you are dealing with the matter objectively and that you are on the side of the truth. At the end, there may be people who may not like the way you handle the issues, but at the end of the day, what is most important is that those who actually understand the truth will know the truth.
Mr. Rauf added that ,what is most important is for him to liaise properly with the Regional Security Council and then always try to rely on the advice of the Regional Security Council because they may not belong not any faction of a family or any political party.
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Khartoum (AFP) - Global financial support for humanitarian work in conflict-riven Sudan is expected to drop this year despite improved aid access and the easing of US sanctions, the top UN aid official in the country said.
"Sudan is taking some very positive steps which are recognised, and... normally that would need to be recognised also by increased funding," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Marta Ruedas, told AFP.
"Yet the surrounding financial environment is one where I'm afraid that it's going to be rather a decrease in funding," she said in an interview.
The expected decrease comes despite an improvement in access for aid deliveries to millions of impoverished people across Sudan, a factor in former US president Barack Obama's decision to ease US sanctions last month.
"The easing of sanctions is a significant step towards generating a new relationship with more trust," Ruedas said.
"The funders generally are having a more positive view of the evolving situation here" since the lifting of some economic sanctions, she said.
But "overall funding is going down for the United Nations, for humanitarian aid, for development aid."
The United Nations raised more than 55 percent of a $952 million international appeal it launched to support Sudan in 2016 -- a figure largely in line with expectations.
The 2016 humanitarian plan targeted 4.6 million people across the country, while this year they aim to reach around three million.
The United Nations is already considering pitching a lower aid appeal for 2017, Ruedas said, adding the final appeal was still being worked out.
Aid workers have for years complained that the Sudanese authorities and rebels fighting President Omar al-Bashir's forces in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan blocked access to humanitarian assistance for hundreds of thousands of people in territories controlled by both sides.
Cut in US funding?
But Ruedas said this has now changed, with aid workers penetrating some of the worst war-affected parts of Darfur, although Blue Nile and South Kordofan still remained no-go areas.
Besides improved aid access, Obama had also noted a fall in "offensive military activity" in these conflict zones.
Sudan is estimated to need hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance for the more than three million internally displaced people
The United Nations says at least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur alone since 2003 when ethnic African rebels rose up against Bashir's Arab-dominated government.
Sudan, labelled a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 by Washington, has been subject to a US trade embargo since 1997 over its alleged support for Islamist groups.
Funding concerns have also risen after reports that President Donald Trump's administration was mulling a 40 percent cut in voluntary US funding for UN agencies.
"Any decrease in US funding to the UN and our humanitarian work in Sudan would have a significant impact on the millions of people in need across the country," Ruedas said.
The United States is the largest donor to Sudan, with more than $270 million contributed in humanitarian assistance in 2016, and more than $1.7 billion since 2011.
Sudan still needs hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance, Ruedas said.
More than three million internally displaced people need help, she said, and malnutrition continues to be a major issue.
Natural calamities such as floods and ongoing conflicts in some areas put further pressure on aid agencies, she said.
Ruedas said she hoped aid workers would soon be able to operate in Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
"It's a large population that has nutrition needs, that has health needs... and we have had no access," she said.
"There has not been any immunisation taking place... so there's absolutely the possibility of an epidemic taking place there."
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged newly sworn regional ministers to distinguish themselves in their service to the country.
He has entreated them to champion my vision, my values, my policy and my spirit in your regions and to live in peace with community leaders.
The net effect of these constitutional provisions is that, you are the face and body, the eyes and ears of the president in your regions, he said.
President Akufo-Addo made these remarks when he sworn in ten regional Ministers at the Flagstaff House.
The Regional Ministers add up to the already sworn 36 Ministers who are serving in the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The President has repeatedly told his appointees to exhibit humility and honesty in their dealings and interactions with Ghanaians since they represent the surest ingredient to thes success of his government.
We have given a pledge to our people that we will be honest in our dealings with the public purse entrusted to our care, and we will have to live up to it.
He called on them to declare their assets as dictated by Ghana's constitution.
President Akufo-Addo used the opportunity to thank Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Ocquaye and MPs for the efforts they put into the vetting of his nominees.
"It is a good demonstration of the spirit of cooperation of the executive which I want to make a hallmark of my presidency," he said.
The Regional Ministers who were sworn in include;
Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour
Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashitey
Western Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie
Upper West Regional Minister, Sulemana Alhassan
Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh
Volta Regional Minister, Archibald Yao Letsa
Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed
Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Ayine Bukari
Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah
Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | AKABP
Kinshasa (AFP) - The Democratic Republic of Congo's government, under pressure to act after months of violence in the south, on Sunday vowed to move away from a solely military solution.
Interior Minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadari told reporters: "The state is envisaging political, traditional and humanitarian solutions on the ground."
But he added Kinshasa's response could be "military if arms are not laid down in a peaceful fashion to enable a lasting peace" in restless areas.
Shadari did not give further details as he sought to tackle a crisis stemming from last year's killing of a tribal chief in the southern Kasai-Central region.
Tension was fanned by Saturday's emergence of a seven-minute video purporting to show soldiers shooting unarmed 50 to 100 civilians to death.
The apparent massacre in the village of Mwanza Lomba brought a confused government response to the clashes between troops and supporters of Kamwina Nsapu, killed by government forces in mid-August.
Although government spokesman Lambert Mende condemned the video as a "ridiculous fake... worthy of scenes from a Rambo movie," a later statement noted possible "excesses and abuse" by soldiers, two of whom Kinshasa said were already on trial for unspecified charges.
The region where the clashes occurred has been beset by violence since Nsapu's death.
Even before outrage over the video politicians were urging the government to calm the situation.
"It is up to the authorities at all levels, provincial and national, to find a solution," Ibrahim Ikulu, a lawmaker from the ruling majority bloc, told AFP as politicians decried the upsurge in unrest.
"The solution to this problem is political, not military," said opposition lawmaker Corneille Masuasua, who criticised how the military appeared to have taken matters into its own hands.
"It's very dangerous to depend on the military," Masuasua added.
Opposition lawmaker Claudel Lubaya insisted Sunday that "the government is responsible for this mindless violence."
Lubaya said Kinshasa had made "an error of judgement in killing Kamwina Nsapu, causing the region to boil over."
Alluding to the video, Lubaya said he held the government "fully responsible for these acts of barbarism" against people "whose only crime was to reject the ruling regime."
Nsapu had personified widespread popular resentment in the troubled region against central government and provincial authorities, whom they blamed for appointing pro-regime officials to powerful local posts in place of traditional figureheads.
A further source of resentment was the summary burial of Nsapu without respecting customs in a region where locals regard him as still living.
Daily Guide has learnt that, some faceless persons have been posing as aides to the National Organizer and Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, John Boadu, and tricking Party functionaries in the Upper East region, with the intention of duping them.
These fake aides to John Boadu seem to have seen how eager some Party functionaries are, in search for avenues to lobby for positions for themselves or for some individuals seeking positions under the Akufo-Addo led government, hence their decision to take advantage of the situation.
This is not to say, all persons they targeted, are lobbying for positions or working for others to get positions in this government.
The Tricksters use a simple and a regular method to get the victims into their trap; they call their victims on phone and plead with them for help, and then give out a number for a victim to confirm their identity from a John Boadu. In other cases this fake John Boadu confirms that, indeed those tricksters are his aides, who have been sent to the Upper East Region to gather information on his behave, towards in the selection of Deputy Ministers and MMDCEs.
Prior to Thursday February 16, some persons fell for their tricks and had some monies from them.
On Thursday, while people were anxiously waiting at the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, where the Electoral Commission was expected to conduct the Council of State Election, the Tricksters called one of the Candidates in the Council of State contest; a known and influential figure in the NPP, on his phone.
It took the smartness of some Party youth, who heard the elderly man conversing with the Tricksters, to foil their operation.
According to the elderly man, the Tricksters told him they have been sent by John Boadu to the region, but were not able to continue because their vehicle had developed a fault at Nasia.
The Tricksters asked their victim to send an amount of GH4,500.00 to a Mobile Money account to enable them to pay for a replacement of the damaged part. They promised to pay back the money once they get to Bolgatanga and John Boadu transfers the money to them.
The John Boadu they were referring to, called the elderly Party man and assured that, as soon as he gets out of a meeting in Accra, he would transfer the money to his aides to pay back his money.
Earlier, that day, a Constituency Chairman in the region, had also escaped narrowly from the hands of these Tricksters. In his case, he discussed the request of the Tricksters with some NPP members, who insisted on seeing the number of the supposed John Boadu.
They saw the number and realised it was not that of their National Organizer, and were not surprised when they called several times and had no response from the number.
Ebo Bruce Quansah, Bolgatanga
Mogadishu (AFP) - Some 20 people were killed on Sunday when a car packed with explosives blew up near a busy intersection in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said.
"A suicide car bomber blew himself up inside this market at a busy time, killing at least 20 people and many others were also injured," said Ahmed Abdulle Afrah, the district commissioner of Mogadishu's Wadajir district.
Witnesses said the bombing targeted an intersection in the area to the city's south where soldiers, civilians and traders were present.
"There were many small-scale traders alongside the road and teashops and restaurants. There were also members of the security forces and shoppers and the blast was so huge that it killed nearly 20 people, most of them civilians," said witness Sumayo Moalim.
A local security official earlier said at least 14 people had been killed and some 30 wounded. Final death tolls in such attacks in Somalia are often difficult to establish.
Somalia conflict
The explosion is the first big attack in the Somali capital since the election of new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed -- nicknamed Farmajo -- although several mortar blasts claimed by Al-Shabaab Islamists marred the official handover of power last week.
The blast brought international condemnation, with the European Union describing it as "yet another act of terror targeting the Somali people by those wanting to undermine progress towards a stable and secure Somalia".
The bloc added it stood behind President Farmajo's efforts to bring security to his nation and build strong institutions.
The latest attack underlines the challenge facing the new president, who has inherited an administration with limited control over Somali territory due to the presence of Shabaab, and is heavily propped up by the international community.
'I will need time'
Farmajo's inauguration takes place on Wednesday, although he officially took office this week at a ceremony marred by a series of mortar strikes near the presidential palace which left two children dead.
AU troops drove Shabaab militants out of Mogadishu in August 2011 but the fighters continue to control rural areas and launch repeated attacks in the capital.
In the week before the election on February 8 at least 28 people were killed when Shabaab struck a popular hotel in the capital.
And jitters over security meant MPs gathering to elect Farmajo last week had to meet in Mogadishu's heavily secured "green zone"-style airport compound.
Farmajo, whose brief stint as prime minister in 2010-11 showed him to be a no-nonsense leader set on improving governance and cracking down on corruption, is hugely popular in Somalia.
But turning around one of the world's foremost failed states will be no easy task.
"I need the Somali public to understand how much the government is in need of their support. Government will need enough time to address things," the president said during the handover ceremony.
Somalia's limited election process, in which only several thousand delegates voted for lawmakers, is seen as a step toward full democracy for the country.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the collapse of Siad Barre's military regime in 1991, which led to civil war and decades of anarchy.
- The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it does not support the argument on the restructuring of Nigeria
- The group said it is focused on its quest, which is the total freedom of Biafra
- IPOB's spokesperson said the group cannot be part of any individual or organization clamoring for such agenda
IPOB has said it will not be part of any agenda for the restructuring of Nigeria
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it does not support the argument on the restructuring of Nigeria.
The group said it is focused on its quest, which is the total freedom of Biafra.
A statement by IPOB's spokesperson Powerful Emma said the group cannot be part of any individual or organization clamoring for such agenda.
Emma said: "We are not in the business of campaigning for the restructure of Nigeria, we are 100% focused on the puritanical pursuit of the restoration and liberation of Biafra from tyranny."
READ ALSO: Jubilation as court releases IPOB member
He said such individuals or groups, "have continued to shamelessly tag IPOB to their myriad of names in the hope of misleading our people into following them into their evil Nigerian politics."
He also said an elders council which was established by Nnamdi Kanu before his arrest was dissolved in 2014 after the group discovered the elders were campaigning for President Muhammadu Buhari.
"We stopped them then and we shall stop them now no matter the party they intend to use to achieve their satanic purpose disguised as patriotism for Biafra.
"These criminals keep dancing from one project of shame to another have been using the revered name of IPOB to dupe desperate politicians. First these criminals said Biafra will come by legal method. When that failed, they said it would come through diplomatic means.
READ ALSO: We are not recruiting Biafra soldiers and police, IPOB issues STRONG warning
Now that their much vaunted diplomatic approach has fallen flat, they have opted for what they call political process. This is their last ditch desperate attempt to immerse themselves in the sell-out politics of Nigeria. We IPOB say we are not part of it," Emma said.
He added that the IPOB is also not involved in Nigerian politics or with any politician.
Emma said no member of the group is into politics.
"IPOB family members worldwide are not politicians but freedom fighters diligently pursuing the restoration of ancient nation of Biafra with truth and honesty. We are not going to derail from this divine pursuit of liberating our people from the shackles of bondage and slavery from Nigeria come what may.
"We the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and it's leadership worldwide warn those involving IPOB under the command and leadership structure of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with the forthcoming electioneering politics of Anambra State under the constitution of Nigeria should desist from doing so forthwith.
READ ALSO: 'Self acclaimed' Biafra leader Benjamin Onwuka is a liar! - IPOB spits FIRE (EVIDENCE)
"We have observed with alarming dismay how some shamelessly unscrupulous individuals are trying desperately hard to tag our revered name IPOB to their nonsensical party politics in Nigeria.
"The public is hereby warned to stay away from such groups and individuals because such adventure have always ended in shame. IPOB is not and can never be part of any electioneering in the Luggardian contraption we have come to know as Nigeria. Anybody telling you IPOB is supporting any political party is a deceiver and should be stone.
"IPOB under the leadership of the prophet of our time Mazi Nnamdi Kanu are not part of these treacherous anti-Biafra meetings going on in the homes of some washed out politicians and can never be part of it," the group said.
Source: Legit.ng
India scraps service tax on ocean freight
Following Nepal governments request, the Indian government has removed 4.5 service tax imposed on ocean freight.
President Muhammadu Buharis extended vacation in the UK has raised questions about when he will be back to the country but it seems there is no definite return date.
The president had gone on a 10-day vacation and was expected back in the country in January but he wrote to the National Assembly to extend his vacation citing medical reasons.
This time around however, no definite number of days was provided as to when the president would return.
READ ALSO: Yerima insists Buhari will be replaced in 2019
Guardian reports that Femi Adesina who is the special adviser to the president on media and publicity reiterated that when the president would return will be made known.
He said: When the President is coming will be made known.
The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, were the latest people to visit the resident in UK although many have urged him to speak with Nigerians to dispel rumour about his state of health.
Adesina who appeared on a show on TVC on Thursday, February 16, said the president has a right to his vacation and there was no need to intrude.
On the issue of the presidents health, he said: It is a matter of opinion and that those who say are welcome to their opinion as there are some people who dont want to believe the word of other people and no matter what you say or do you have not done it well hence you leave them to their opinion.
Source: Legit.ng
A fire outbreak has occurred at Rida plastic industry on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Barack bus stop, Lagos
Another fire outbreak has occurred in Lagos as Rida plastic industry located on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Barack bus stop, Lagos is presently being gutted by inferno.
According to Adesina Tiamiyu, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, the fire incident was very severe, ravaging the company involved in plastic making.
"I can authoritatively report a fire outbreak at Rida Plastic Industry, Oshodi Apapa expressway, Barack bus stop. Fire fighters from the Lagos State Fire Service, LASEMA Response Unit, Julius Berger fire fighters, Chivita fire fighters, NEMA, LASTMA, military personnel from Ikeja Cantonment were on ground.
"The fire has been curtailed from spreading to the Cantonment and other factories around the area, while damping still on going, he said.
As at the time of filing this report, damping is still ongoing.
However, Legit.ng calls on witnesses to send in their firsthand experience including pictures and videos of the situation.
Source: Legit.ng
- Participants of the MMM Ponzi scheme have been living in apprehension following its temporary shutdown and reopening
- The Ponzi scheme has now told participants what to do as it restricts their investments for the year 2016
Participants of the Mavrodi Mondial Movement (MMM) Ponzi scheme awaiting new updates on their investments would just have to take to fate.
The Nigerian government had constantly warned citizens about the scheme
The MMM has released a statement titled: Nigeria is coming back to normal, asking the participants to forget their investments for 2016 and commence a new investment.
This means that the jubilation that greeted the reopening of the scheme in January 2017 may have been cut short.
READ ALSO: MMM top guider clarifies issues about getting help and providing help
Dear members, MMM Nigeria lifts all the limits for Mavro acquired in 2017. So, MMM Nigeria is coming back to normal.
And now the members can actively develop the community and create new requests to provide help. For these requests, orders will soon arrive, and after Mavros confirmation, it will be possible to withdraw these Mavro without any restrictions or limits!
Only Mavros acquired in 2016 remain under restriction. But we are actively working on new measures to make it possible for the members to withdraw Mavro-2016 in a larger amount without undermining the sustainability of the community, MMM said in the statement.
Many students who invested their money in the scheme as well as those who borrowed money in the hope of making 30 percent profit are now stranded.
Report also lists new Ponzi schemes that emerged following the partial crash of MMM in Nigeria to include Twinka, AlwaysPays, Naira propeller, Donation- Hub, GetHelpWorldwide, GiversCircle and Claritta. Not left out are 247Helpers, PledgeCycle and Loopersclub.
One Harrison Okojie, has been reportedly quoted as saying: Make I tell you, na my mind I take dey carry this MMM matter. If I think about it, it will do me lot of damage.
I can bear the loss of my money but my headache is the lady I borrowed N100, 000 from; the amount belongs to her sister.
This is my major headache now. If I can get something out of the scheme, I will use it to buy time from her first.
The reports also quoted the managing director of a private sector investment, Kenkenson Oil & Gas Limited, and treasurer of the Apapa, Lagos NUPENG, Mr Clifford Onyechachi, as saying his N1.8 million was trapped in MMM and about N2.3 million in three other schemes.
READ ALSO: How I made N1,238,000 from MMM - Participant reveals
Honestly, all my money is trapped in MMM and other schemes. Its my money but it has affected my business badly because what I have is limited to my transactions.
"I still do small ones, trying to see how much I can get back. I invested N800, 000 for my wife and N1million for myself in MMM. I have over N2.3million in three other schemes. Those ones are on recession too, he said.
Source: Legit.ng
- Former militant group has fired former President Goodluck Jonathan over desire for his People's Democratic Party (PDP) to return to power in 2019
- The group led by Israel Akpodoro, said the party cannot win any state in the country let alone winning a national election
- He listed a catalogue of corrupt members of the party, saying with the long list of corrupt members the party leaders should hide their head in shame
The National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators has said that the desire of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to return to power in 2019 was self-delusion, insisting that the meeting held in former President Goodluck Jonathans house in Abuja in preparation for 2019 would not yield result.
On Tuesday, February 13, PDP leaders met in Goodluck Jonathan's house in Abuja, ostensibly to make strategies and preparation to win election in 2019
Former President Goodluck Jonathan
Led by Israel Akpodoro, the former militant group said the days of the PDP in power had expired, adding that if the former president could not retain power while serving as president, it would be impossible for him to win any election for his party now that he is no longer in power.
The group, which said the PDP misruled the country for 16 years, noted that no amount of propaganda mounted by the leadership of the party could make it win more states, let alone winning a national election.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: PDP leaders meet with Jonathan at his home in Abuja (Photos)
Akpodoro, who is an indigene of Ughelli, Delta state, wondered what the partys former President Jonathan referred to when he talked about 2019, asking: Is it the PDP that produced Yakubu Andrew, Sambo Dasuki, Ayo Fayose, Musiliu Obanikoro, Femi Fani-Kayode and Alison Madueke?
He said the plan of the party for 2019 undermining the burden of corruption on its members goes to show that the party is loaded with shameless people who have no conscience for sound judgment.
That party brought us as a nation to this sorry state, the PDP gave us darkness while we paid for light, gave us death at interviews, killed our national ethos and pride, never again would that party come back to power," Akpodoro said in an email to Legit.ng.
He argued that the PDP is an award winning party in corruption and dishonesty.
The group insisted that until those who looted the commonwealth of the Nigerian people are shown the way to the prisons, the party members will remain desperate to return to power and continue from where they left the nation in 2015.
Former militants in the Niger Delta
According to him, the money found in one out of four boxes belonging to the former Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, was enough to build two refineries or more than the budget of three states put together in Nigeria.
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He said in the midst of the corruption of Yakubu, the man who appointed him came out to tell Nigerians that the same party where such person belong was gearing up to return to power.
He called on Nigerians to await the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country soon, noting that when he returns the hunger in the land would be tackled head - on while the national economy will bounce back.
He added that no amount of wishful thinking would kill the president saying: "the prayers and good wishes of leaders across the world for President Buhari is enough to make him see the end of all who wish him death."
Source: Legit.ng
President Buhari was alleged to have been told by doctors in UK to stay off work on ground of his ailing health
President Buhari who is on medical vacation in the UK was recently visited by the Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives
Quoting an unnamed source, Sahara reporters is claiming that President Buhari has been advised by doctors to shelve the idea of returning to the country because of the gravity of his illness but some of his closest associates are encouraging him to defy the doctors recommendation and take up the reins of power once more in Nigeria.
President Buhari who has since twice postponed his return date left Nigeria on January 19 on what was supposed to be a 10-day medical leave
However Sahara Reporters reported that doctors managing the president have warned that his condition would certainly deteriorate should he return to Nigeria without completing the first stage of his treatment.
According to an unnamed Sahara Reporters sources, President Buharis condition has been downgraded to full blown illness even by members of his kitchen cabinet who are now admitting that he is ill.
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Saharareporters learnt that the presidents deteriorating health has got to a point where doctors are taking extreme measures to ensure that he eats.
The president is said to have progressively lost weight due to his illness and course of treatment, Sahara Repoters sources disclosed.
It was further learnt the presidents travelling aides have extended their hotel booking in London by at least one month starting from February 6th 2017.
This according to the report is an indication the president would not make it back to Nigerian until early March.
The sources was said to have also revealed that doctors in UK are under pressure to allow the president return to Abuja even for a short time for the purpose of face saving.
It was reported that the doctors have resisted pressures of the presidents inner political circle to release him to come home.
According to the sources, the doctors view it as professionally irresponsible of them to clear Mr. Buhari at this stage to take up the demands of the Presidency
I understand that the doctors [in the UK] have made it clear that Mr. Presidents flight back to Nigeria could complicate things for him.
Also, the presidents supporters has appealed the president to allow his doctors address Nigerians on the state of his health.
According to Sahara Reporters, this was opposed by the presidents inner cycle. They were said to have argued that since Mr. Buhari had handed over to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, there was no need to make further revelations.
The sources also claimed that The doctors have become very stern in restricting access to President Buhari. As a result, so many of the visiting politicians do not even get to see Mr. Buhari before returning to Nigeria empty handed, he added.
Meanwhile, Femi Adesina who is the special adviser to the president on media and publicity was said to have reiterated that when the president would return will be made known.
In the video below, Nigerians speak on the possible return of the president.
Source: Legit.ng
Indian minister attends infrastructure meet
Indian Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu landed in Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon to participate in Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017 that is slated to be held from February 19-20.
President Muhammadu Buhari had the second meeting in one week with Bukola Saraki, the Senate president.
According to presidency, the event took place in the evening of Sunday, February 19.
In their reactions, some Nigerians wondered why the citizens were being taken for a ride because of the manner the issue surrounding the president's health was being handled.
READ ALSO: Buhari meets with Saraki again in London
Bartholomew Ezeonu, one of those who reacted, queried: "Again? I thought they've met before. Or have you people succeeded in producing unquestionable photoshop? We are waiting for you guys to release the pictures tomorrow. Or possibly you people might have videoshoped this time around."
On his part, Ahmad Adewuyi simply mocked: "London , the new aso rock."
Aliyu Suleiman Lengtu said: "Mr President, you are a great man and leader.we love and wish well."
READ ALSO: President Buhari allegedly advised by doctors to stay off work due to health concern Report
Orseer Orban said: "It well, but all we Nigerians need is flexibility, the government of the day lacks flexibility and that's where they're getting it wrong. All the same, as a good Nigerian, I wish Mr president quick recovery of health. God bless Nigeria!!"
Source: Legit.ng
Much seemed familiar on Saturday as President Trump held his first campaign rally as president the hats, the chants, and even some of the misstatements and exaggerations made by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump compared himself to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, presidents who fought with the media and called them out.
We are here today to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, he said. But he then offered several misleading claims.
Mr. Trump warned that refugees coming into the United States are not screened.
Weve allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. There was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation, there was no nothing.
Refugees are vetted, and it takes two years.
Mr. Trump repeatedly made this inaccurate claim during the 2016 campaign, and it is still inaccurate. The countrys vetting system for refugees, which begins at the United Nations, is extensive.
MELBOURNE, Fla. President Trump will interview four candidates on Sunday to replace his dismissed national security adviser, three of them military veterans, but one of Americas most prominent retired generals, whose name had been floated, is not in the running.
A White House spokesman said on Saturday that Mr. Trump would speak with Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, a prominent military strategist; Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr., the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point; and Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general already serving as acting national security adviser.
Mr. Trump, who is spending the weekend in Florida, will also interview John R. Bolton, who served as President George W. Bushs ambassador to the United Nations and has previously been considered for deputy secretary of state. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, told reporters that potentially others might also be considered but that David H. Petraeus, the retired general and former C.I.A. director, was not a candidate.
The national security adviser is a crucial figure in any White House, but Mr. Trump has struggled to find the right person to fill the post. His first national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, lasted only 24 days before Mr. Trump requested his resignation for misinforming Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of a conversation with Russias ambassador to the United States.
John F. Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, provided some details at the Munich Security Conference about a revised version of the Trump administrations executive order barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
During a panel, Mr. Kelly said that President Trump was contemplating issuing a tighter, more streamlined version of the order, which has been suspended by federal courts.
Enforcement of the earlier order was marked by confusion and distress, leaving many of the affected travelers stranded overseas. I will have, this time, the opportunity to work on a rollout plan, Mr. Kelly said.
The new approach, he said, would try to ensure that no travelers were caught in transit, as they had been under the first executive order. If they are in motion from some distant land, when they arrive they will be allowed in, Mr. Kelly said. He said that would apply to both green card and visa holders.
Russell Janzen, a tall, broad-shouldered dancer known for his elan, was named a principal dancer at New York City Ballet on Sunday.
Mr. Janzen, who grew up in Philadelphia, joined the company in 2008 and had his big breakthrough in 2014 as the protagonist in George Balanchines Davidsbundlertanze. Alastair Macaulay, the chief dance critic of The New York Times, wrote that he had delivered the best-ever account of a Balanchine role older than he is. Mr. Janzen has also danced leading roles in Concerto Barocco, Swan Lake and A Midsummer Nights Dream, among other works.
When you sell your home the paperwork details the sale, including your name, and the title search lists the names of the people who owned the property before you. But when someone sells an artwork at auction even something worth $100 million, much more than your house the identity is typically concealed.
Oh, the paperwork might identify the work as coming from a European collection. But the buyer usually has no clue with whom he or she is really dealing. Sometimes, surprisingly, even the auction house may not know who the seller is.
Secrecy has long been central to the art world. Anonymity protects privacy, adds mystique and cuts the taint of crass commerce from such transactions. But some experts are now saying this sort of discretion one founded in a simpler time, when only a few wealthy collectors took part in the art market is not only quaint but also reckless when art is traded like a commodity and increasingly suspected in money laundering.
The art market is an ideal playing ground for money laundering, said Thomas Christ, a board member of the Basel Institute on Governance, a Swiss nonprofit that has studied the issue. We have to ask for clear transparency, where you got the money from and where it is going.
Indian national arrested with 1.5 kg gold from TIA
Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Department has arrested a person in possession of 1.5 kg gold on Sunday.
Yiddish-Cuban opera is not something you come across every day. But a new one composed by Frank London of the Klezmatics based on an 86-year-old Yiddish poem about Hatuey, the Taino chief who resisted the Spanish invaders will have its premiere at Teatro Arenal in Havana on March 3.
The opera, Hatuey: Memory of Fire, is based on a 1931 epic poem written in Yiddish by Oscar Pinis, a Ukrainian refugee who fled to Cuba and edited a Yiddish newspaper there, and who later took the name Ascher Penn. Mr. London said in a telephone interview that when he discovered the poem he decided it had to be an opera, and asked Elise Thoron to write the libretto.
Its quite a story it kind of rocks my world, Mr. London said, describing how the score weaves together several of his musical passions. Ive been playing Afro-Cuban music longer than Ive been playing Jewish music.
But bringing the work to Cuba where it will be performed by the inventive troupe Opera de la Calle required adjustments. Mr. London, who initially envisioned using an Afro-Cuban nightclub ensemble that could double as a chamber orchestra, had to reorchestrate the score to accommodate Opera de la Calles ensemble of guitar, bass, three keyboards and five percussionists. And he agreed to have most of the operas Yiddish passages translated into Spanish after the founder of the company, Ulises Aquino, warned that it would otherwise be inaccessible.
A prominent Broadway producer pledged to make the case for the value of the arts directly to the Trump administration. The St. Louis Symphony drafted an email urging its board members to call their elected representatives. Midway through the Metropolitan Operas broadcast on Saturday afternoon, the companys general manager, Peter Gelb, warned listeners across the country that many of the radio stations they were tuned in to were facing serious cuts.
As the news spread that the White House budget office had included the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities on a list of programs it was considering trying to eliminate, arts leaders at large and small organizations around the nation reacted with alarm and began making plans to fight for their survival.
The federal government here plays a very small role in funding the arts, especially compared with other affluent countries. Together, the three programs that may be targeted account for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of annual federal spending. But even if the arts get only crumbs, administrators said, they are crumbs worth fighting for: much-needed money that supports community projects, new works and making the arts accessible to people in different parts of the country and to those who are not wealthy. And after years of culture-war debates in which conservatives took aim at the programs, questioning their value, arts groups are pressing the case that the federal money they receive supports organizations and jobs in all 50 states, both red and blue.
The N.E.A. has a big impact in the middle of the country even more so, I suspect, than in urban areas where funding is more diversified, said Martin Miller, the executive director of TheatreSquared, a regional theater in Fayetteville, Ark.
Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley lead Big Little Lies, a brooding class drama set in California. And Christine Baranski is back as Diane Lockhart in The Good Fight, a spinoff of The Good Wife.
Whats on TV
BIG LITTLE LIES 9 p.m. on HBO. Kind of like a dirty old Prius parked outside Barneys is how one character describes another in this darkly comic meditation on the fissures underneath seemingly idyllic lives in Monterey, Calif. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley star in David E. Kelleys adaptation of Liane Moriartys 2014 best seller; Laura Dern, Alexander Skarsgard, Zoe Kravitz, Adam Scott and James Tupper fill out the cast. It may be a compendium of cliches about upper-middle-class angst, Mike Hale wrote in The New York Times, but visually, at least, Big Little Lies is the perfect television beach read. In Crashing, a new series at 10:30, a suburbanite and aspiring comedian (Pete Holmes, playing a version of himself) loses his innocence after discovering that his wife has been cheating. Then he plunges into the New York stand-up scene, sleeping on the couches of Artie Lange and Sarah Silverman.
The announcement swiftly ended what had been poised to become the biggest instance of consolidation within the food and consumer goods industry, at a time when giants in the fields have been looking to combine to command more space on grocery shelves. A combination of Kraft Heinz, itself the product of a mega-merger, and Unilever would have sold everything from Heinz ketchup and Oscar Mayer hot dogs to Hellmanns mayonnaise, Dove soap and Lipton tea.
Kraft Heinz surprised the world when it disclosed on Friday, at the behest of the British merger regulator, that it had made a bid for Unilever. The disclosure came after a report in The Financial Timess Alphaville blog said the two companies had held talks. Unilever quickly responded by saying that the $143 billion offer, a roughly 18 percent premium on the companys closing stock price on Thursday, was too low and that it saw no reason to engage in talks.
Kraft Heinz had approached Unilever only a few weeks before and had hoped to court its target in private, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
Much of the food world had prepared for a potentially aggressive campaign by Kraft Heinz, whose backers at the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital have long been known as swashbuckling deal makers eager to build up titans in the food and beverage industries. Along with Mr. Buffett, 3G had engineered a takeover of Heinz in 2013 and then Heinzs merger with Kraft two years later, each in a multibillion-dollar deal.
By late last year, analysts and investors were speculating that Kraft Heinz was on the hunt for yet another major acquisition, although talk at the time centered on companies like Mondelez International, the former candy business of Kraft. Unilever, with its mix of food and household goods, had not been on many analysts radar screens, although they said its international profile and its strength in emerging markets would have complemented Kraft Heinzs heavy focus on the United States.
MIDLAND, Tex. In the land where oil jobs were once a guaranteed road to security for blue-collar workers, Eustasio Velazquezs career has been upended by technology.
For 10 years, he laid cables for service companies doing seismic testing in the search for the next big gusher. Then, powerful computer hardware and software replaced cables with wireless data collection, and he lost his job. He found new work connecting pipes on rigs, but lost that job, too, when plunging oil prices in 2015 forced the driller he worked for to replace rig hands with cheaper, more reliable automated tools.
I dont see a future, Mr. Velazquez, 44, said on a recent afternoon as he stooped over his shopping cart at a local grocery store. Pretty soon every rig will have one worker and a robot.
Oil and gas workers have traditionally had some of the highest-paying blue-collar jobs just the type that President Trump has vowed to preserve and bring back. But the West Texas oil fields, where activity is gearing back up as prices rebound, illustrate how difficult it will be to meet that goal. As in other industries, automation is creating a new demand for high-tech workers sometimes hundreds of miles away in a control center but their numbers dont offset the ranks of field hands no longer required to sling chains and lift iron.
Social media has produced its own breed of stars, from the video bloggers of YouTube to the style mavens of Instagram, and major media companies and brands have increasingly turned to this group as a way to reach the ad blockers and cord cutters of the world.
But they also come with their own set of risks.
Those risks were cast into stark relief last week after The Wall Street Journal reported that YouTubes most popular personality, Felix Kjellberg, known to his 53 million subscribers as PewDiePie, had recently included crude anti-Semitic jokes and references to Hitler in his comedy videos to the apparent delight of neo-Nazi websites.
While Mr. Kjellberg disavowed the hate groups and apologized for what he saw as humor gone awry including one stunt in which he paid two performers on a freelance site to hold up a sign that said Death to all Jews the fallout was quick. Disney Companys Maker Studios, a network of online video creators where PewDiePie was a marquee talent, and Googles YouTube cut business ties with him, while Nissan, which paid him for a promotional video posted in December, said it would not work with him again.
The episode has raised questions about the level of vetting and oversight that advertisers and media companies extend to social media stars in the zeal to reach their followers. It has also made some wonder about the type of content being financed through these deals.
Anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of the designers, editors, buyers and celebrities who turn the cogs of London Fashion Week will find an Art Deco-inspired restaurant called Casa Cruz is the best bet for a sighting.
David Beckham likes the Holland Park spot for a quiet dinner with friends. Georgia May Jagger, the model (and Mick Jaggers youngest daughter), used it for her 25th birthday celebrations. Poppy Delevingne, a socialite and model, held a dinner there with the skin care brand Rodial. Roger Vivier, the luxury shoe company, chose it for a party in honor of a collection by Camille Seydoux. Jimmy Fallon even organized an impromptu version of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the back office with Stella McCartney, Madonna and John McEnroe in tow.
There are a lot of parties, Juan Santa Cruz, a London-based financier-turned-restaurateur, said with a shrug.
He opened Casa Cruz in July 2015, and also owns three other restaurants in Buenos Aires (a fifth, Isabel London, is to open March 4). They are always fun, but you know more or less how things are going to play out. Its entirely different when people go to the back office, the private space where the staff congregates.
It was Friday, the first day of London Fashion Week, and Donatella Versace was sitting in a hotel in Mayfair, finishing the preparations for her hard-driving, techno-fabulous Versus Versace show scheduled the next day.
Ms. Versace lives in Milan, and so does Versus Versace, but a few seasons ago she moved the show to London. She would be back in Milan in a few days to stage the Versace show, but for Versus, its rebellious little sister (the line that was created for Donatella, Gianni Versaces rebellious little sister), London felt right.
I think youth culture starts here, Ms. Versace said, in her Marlboro rasp. British people have more courage than the others.
Donna Choi and Matthew Ryan Ellis are to be married Feb. 19 in Rockleigh, N.J. Caleb Clardy, a nondenominational minister, is to officiate at the Rockleigh, an event space.
The couple met in 2013 while working at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, where Ms. Choi is a seventh-grade English teacher and the faculty recruitment coordinator, and Mr. Ellis is the head of youth development in the high school division.
The bride, 30, will take her husbands name. She graduated from Duke and received a masters degree in secondary education from the University of Pennsylvania.
She is the daughter of Helen H. Choi and Min Choi of Old Tappan, N.J. The brides father owns Hanamac in Old Tappan, which exports industrial parts and equipment to South Korea. Her mother is a real estate agent with Friedberg Properties in Alpine, N.J.
As Joseph Berger observed in a 2009 Times article, Presidents Day is perhaps the only federal holiday thats free of parades and fireworks. Instead, for most of us, its just another day off but with shopping.
Below, three ideas for celebrating more than Presidents Day sales events. First, though, a bit of housekeeping: Because many schools are off this week for midwinter break, some of our features are also taking a holiday. Whats Going On in This Picture?, the Weekly News Quiz, Film Club and our Picture Prompts are all away, but will be back the week of Feb. 27.
But we do have a special treat for you: all week long well be publishing fresh ideas from our readers, and hoping they inspire you to write to us about yours.
Iraq begins battle to free western Mosul from IS
Iraqi government forces have launched an offensive to liberate the western part of the city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State.
Karen Mary Connors lived alone and died that way in 2011. The only child of a New York City firefighter turned lawyer, she lived her final years cloistered in what had been her familys summer home in the Rockaways, with only a few houses standing between her and the Atlantic Ocean.
Neighbors saw her carried out into an ambulance one day, and she never returned.
In the five years since, two great indignities have been inflicted on the dead woman, coming to light in recent months and leading to a neighbors arrest last week.
First, there was a bureaucratic oversight before her burial; she was mistaken for a pauper and buried in a mass grave on Hart Island, the potters field for the city. Then, while that error went unnoticed for years, an unrelated scheme played out to steal her estate.
Ms. Connors was 63 when she died of cancer and a heart attack at Peninsula Hospital Center on Nov. 18, 2011, according to her death certificate.
SpaceX hopes to catch up on its jammed schedule, which was delayed after the explosion. It plans to launch a used rocket one of the recovered boosters this spring. The next cargo mission for NASA is to be the first to reuse a capsule from a previous flight. The launch of the Falcon Heavy, a larger rocket years behind schedule, is aimed for summer. And by the end of the year, the company wants to test a rocket and capsule that is to lead to ferrying astronauts to the space station.
Beyond the resumption of SpaceXs space station deliveries, Sundays launch also marked a transition of the Kennedy Space Center toward private use of the facilities.
In 2014, SpaceX took over a former space shuttle launchpad that NASA no longer needed. This pad would have just sat here and rusted away in the salt air had we not had the use agreement with SpaceX, Robert D. Cabana, the space center director, said at a news conference in front of the launchpad on Friday. What an awesome use of a great American asset.
Launchpad 39A was where the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off on July 8, 2011, on the last shuttle mission, and was home to the first shuttle launch in 1981. It was also the starting point for all but one of the manned Apollo missions, including Apollo 11, the first moon landing, in 1969.
The cancellation by the Obama administration of Constellation, a program intended to send astronauts back to the moon, led many to wonder whether the Kennedy Space Center had much of a future. The revised vision for NASA, unveiled in early 2010, called for a five-year hiatus in rocket development to allow investment in innovative but unready technologies and nothing on the horizon to launch from Kennedy. (Launching continued at Cape Canaveral.)
Mr. Cabana recast Kennedy from a center dedicated to launching NASA rockets to what he described a multiuser spaceport.
Mr. Strange said in a statement that he was confident that prosecutors in his former office would relentlessly pursue the rule of law, and his allies noted that his Senate appointment had hardly derailed the inquiry related to Mr. Bentley.
My own commitment to rooting out corruption in government speaks for itself, Mr. Strange said. That vow has never wavered and will continue to guide me as I serve the people of Alabama in the U.S. Senate.
But Republicans are talking regularly of the political obstacles the senator might confront next year, when he could face a primary campaign focused more on ethics than on devotion to conservative policy ideas. Perry Hooper Jr., a former member of the Legislature who was a finalist for the Senate seat, said he was considering a challenge to Mr. Strange that could center on the circumstances of the appointment.
And Mr. Stranges new political patron, Mr. Bentley, is unlikely to be of much help. According to an internal poll commissioned by Republican officeholders and described by several Republicans who were not authorized to discuss a confidential survey, the governors approval rating is at an abysmally low level.
Its very important in our state for our governor to be recognized and acknowledged as the strongest elected official in the state of Alabama, said John H. Merrill, a Republican and the secretary of state. I dont think that there are a whole lot of people in our state who would think the governor is in that position today.
With Mr. Stranges turn at the ballot box more than a year away, Mr. Bentley is in more immediate political jeopardy. This is chiefly because his choice of Mr. Strange for the Senate seat has helped spur new support for an impeachment push that Mr. Henry conceded had been fizzling out. (Last year, Mr. Strange asked the Legislature to suspend its impeachment inquiry because his office was conducting related work. For now, the Legislatures review, part of a murky process, remains on hold and a large number of lawmakers have said its findings would prove decisive in any votes they cast on impeachment.)
I met with him the day he appointed Luther Strange and told him, If you do this, it will be the end, Mr. Henry recalled of a recent conversation with the governor. He believed that was his best appointment, and it did nothing but fast-track his impeachment, and I believe it has probably fast-tracked a potential indictment. It reeked of corruption.
WASHINGTON For seven years, few issues have animated conservative voters as much as the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But with President Barack Obama out of office, the debate over Obamacare is becoming less about Obama and more about care greatly complicating the issue for Republican lawmakers.
Polling indicates that more Republicans want to make fixes to the law rather than do away with it. President Trump, who remains popular on the right, has mused about a replacement plan that is even more expansive than the original. The conservative news media are focused more on Mr. Trumps near-daily skirmishes with Democrats and reporters, among others, than on policy issues like health care. And the congressional debate, as well as the paid advertisements on both sides, is centered on the substance of the law rather than its namesake, draining some of its toxicity on the right.
As liberals overwhelm congressional town hall-style meetings and deluge the Capitol phone system with pleas to protect the health law, there is no similar clamor for dismantling it, Mr. Obamas signature legislative accomplishment. From deeply conservative districts in the South and the West to the more moderate parts of the Northeast, Republicans in Congress say there is significantly less intensity among opponents of the law than when Mr. Obama was in office.
I hear more concerns than before about Youre going to repeal it, and were all going to lose insurance because they dont think were going to replace it, said Representative Mike Simpson, a Republican who represents a conservative district in Idaho.
The two others involved in the effort have somewhat questionable pasts: Mr. Sater, 50, a Russian-American, pleaded guilty to a role in a stock manipulation scheme decades ago that involved the Mafia. Mr. Artemenko spent two and a half years in jail in Kiev in the early 2000s on embezzlement charges, later dropped, which he said had been politically motivated.
While it is unclear if the White House will take the proposal seriously, the diplomatic freelancing has infuriated Ukrainian officials. Ukraines ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, said Mr. Artemenko is not entitled to present any alternative peace plans on behalf of Ukraine to any foreign government, including the U.S. administration.
At a security conference in Munich on Friday, Mr. Poroshenko warned the West against appeasement of Russia, and some American experts say offering Russia any alternative to a two-year-old international agreement on Ukraine would be a mistake. The Trump administration has sent mixed signals about the conflict in Ukraine.
But given Mr. Trumps praise for Mr. Putin, John Herbst, a former American ambassador to Ukraine, said he feared the new president might be too eager to mend relations with Russia at Ukraines expense potentially with a plan like Mr. Artemenkos.
It was late January when the three men associated with the proposed plan converged on the Loews Regency, a luxury hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan where business deals are made in a lobby furnished with leather couches, over martinis at the restaurant bar and in private conference rooms on upper floors.
Mr. Cohen, 50, lives two blocks up the street, in Trump Park Avenue. A lawyer who joined the Trump Organization in 2007 as special counsel, he has worked on many deals, including a Trump-branded tower in the republic of Georgia and a short-lived mixed martial arts venture starring a Russian fighter. He is considered a loyal lieutenant whom Mr. Trump trusts to fix difficult problems.
The outcome could have a major impact on a commission long derided for inaction, even as record amounts of money have poured into campaigns. Spending during last years presidential and congressional races exceeded $6.9 billion, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, as super PACs and other outside groups spent freely as a result of the Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United decision.
Mr. Trump can pick a nominee himself so long as he does not choose a registered Republican, said Richard L. Hasen, an election law scholar at the University of California, Irvine. The panel, which already has three Republicans, cannot have more than three members from any political party. Mr. Hasen said he would not be surprised if Mr. Trump made the pick himself, especially because his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, was an election commissioner himself and has pushed fiercely for deregulating campaign finance.
It would be transformative, Mr. Hasen said, if the president nominated someone more aligned with the panels Republican members to push for even further deregulation.
Mr. Trump has promised to drain the swamp of special interest money in Washington, but his record so far has been mixed. While he claimed repeatedly during the campaign that he was self-funding his run, Mr. Trump and organizations supporting him took in nearly $600 million, and he put in far less than the $100 million of his own money that he had pledged.
Since taking office, the president has strengthened some rules on lobbying by former members of the executive branch, but ethics experts have also criticized him for failing to fully disentangle himself from his vast financial interests. Ms. Ravel acknowledged she was concerned that Mr. Trump might seek to name her replacement himself. But Im hoping that he will understand the need to appoint people who actually believe in the mission of the agency and will carry out the mandates of the law, she said, but added, I dont know what will happen.
PALM BEACH, Fla. Federal authorities would be empowered to immediately deport vastly more undocumented immigrants as part of a broad crackdown being developed by the Trump administration that would significantly change the way federal agencies enforce immigration laws.
Two draft memos signed on Friday by John F. Kelly, the retired Marine general who is now secretary of homeland security, outline an aggressive mission for the immigration authorities that would rescind policies put in place by President Barack Obama that focused mainly on removing serious criminals.
The directives appear to spare many younger immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, known as Dreamers. But some parents of children who enter unaccompanied could face prosecution under the guidelines.
The approach laid out in the memos, which have not been finalized and are subject to change by the White House, reflects Mr. Trumps campaign promise to harden the border and deport people who entered the United States illegally. He has returned to that theme in recent days: At a rally on Saturday in Melbourne, Fla., Mr. Trump highlighted a recent spate of deportations and characterized those being sent out of the country as dangerous criminals.
R. Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former under secretary of state who advised Hillary Clinton, gave Mr. Pence credit. The vice president said what he had to say, and I applauded, Mr. Burns said. But there were very few specifics, and everyone noted that Mr. Pence did not once mention the European Union, which for most Europeans is the central institution, not NATO. Europe is going through a very tough time, and they expected a big public embrace of these institutions from the leader of the West, the United States.
They know that President Trump has repeatedly questioned the relevance of both NATO and the E.U. and has encouraged Brexit, and many Europeans fear he may work for a weakening of the E.U. itself, Mr. Burns said. All this ambivalence makes them very nervous, and its hard for Pence to overcome.
Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to Washington who runs the conference, asked if Mr. Trump would continue a tradition of half a century of being supportive of the project of European integration, or is he going to continue to advocate E.U. member countries to follow the Brexit example? If he did that, it would amount to a kind of nonmilitary declaration of war. It would mean conflict between Europe and the United States. Is that what the U.S. wants? Is that how he wishes to make America great again?
On Monday, Mr. Pence will meet in Brussels with officials from the European Union and NATO to try to reassure them about the new administrations commitment to Europe.
But they have to hear this directly from Trump because of everything he has said about Russia and Germany, Mr. Burns said, citing a joint interview with the German newspaper Bild and the Times of London, in which Mr. Trump compared Mr. Putin and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and said he was not sure he would trust either of them.
Mr. Trump appears to many Germans to be ambivalent at best about Ms. Merkel as she heads into a tough re-election campaign at the same time as the Kremlin and Russian media outlets are trying to undermine her through fake news articles, especially as Ms. Merkel is seen as Europes most solid bulwark against Russia and for maintaining sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and support for Ukrainian separatists.
German officials say they are not pressing for a Merkel visit to Washington any time soon because they are so unsure of what the outcome might be.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia The police in Malaysia are seeking seven more people in the assassination last Monday of the half brother of North Koreas leader, including four North Koreans who left Malaysia shortly after the killing, a top police official said Sunday.
The announcement came as South Korea publicly accused North Korea of responsibility for killing Kim Jong-nam, the estranged elder brother of Kim Jong-un, North Koreas leader.
At least 11 people, six of them North Korean, have been linked to the plot to kill Mr. Kim, a high-level target whose death in a heavily trafficked area of Kuala Lumpur International Airport at the hands of two women who poisoned him, according to preliminary accounts has drawn international scrutiny.
Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Malaysias deputy inspector general of police, said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur that it was a sudden and suspicious death but that the cause had yet to be determined.
MILAN On a recent February evening, a shopkeeper, a former marketing director, a philosophy professor and several dozen others braved Milans bone-chilling dampness to do something that many had been told as children they could never do: sing.
Meet some of the freshmen of Milans Coro degli Stonati, or choir for the tone deaf, a consortium of vocally challenged individuals who are forcing themselves to overcome longstanding inhibitions in order to warble in public hopefully, but not necessarily, in tune.
From the time I was in elementary school, teachers told me to pretend to be a fish whenever we had to sing, said Nicoletta Corsini, a local shopowner. She would open and shut her mouth, making sure no sound came out.
But after a few months with the choir, Ms. Corsini said, she feels like a changed woman, and her newfound singing voice has her blowing up like a Michelin blimp with pride.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, tried to clarify the presidents remarks Sunday, saying Mr. Trump did not mean to suggest that a particular attack had happened the night before, but rather was talking about crime in general in Sweden.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump offered his own clarification, writing on Twitter, My statement as to whats happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.
In that story, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Ami Horowitz, a filmmaker who asserts that migrants in Sweden have been associated with a crime wave. They oftentimes try to cover up some of these crimes, Mr. Horowitz said, arguing that those who try to tell the truth about the situation are shouted down as racists and xenophobes.
(Mr. Carlson interjected, The masochism of the West knows no bounds at all.)
Mr. Horowitz said, Sweden had its first terrorist Islamic attack not that long ago, so theyre now getting a taste of what weve been seeing across Europe already.
It was not clear what he was referring to. In 2010, a suicide bomber struck central Stockholm, injuring two people. The bomber, Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, 28, was an Iraqi-born Swede who had developed an affinity for Al Qaeda. But that attack occurred long before the current wave of migrants.
Sweden has a long history of welcoming refugees Jews, Iranians, Eritreans, Somalis, Kurds and people from the former Yugoslavia, among others but even some of the most tolerant and idealistic Swedes have raised questions about whether the country can absorb so many newcomers so quickly.
Henrik Selin, a political scientist and deputy director of the Swedish Institute, a state agency dedicated to promoting Sweden globally, said he was puzzled by Mr. Trumps remarks.
KIEV, Ukraine President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia signed a decree over the weekend recognizing passports issued by two separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, a step that Ukraine said would complicate peace negotiations.
Mr. Putins decree stopped short of formally recognizing the two breakaway provinces as independent states. But it added to the Kremlins pattern of creeping bureaucratic acceptance of pro-Russian rebel groups in what are known as frozen conflict zones.
In other parts of the former Soviet Union, Russias decisions to acknowledge rebel-issued documents like drivers licenses, marriage certificates and university diplomas have disrupted diplomatic settlements of conflicts.
The latest decree came during a weekend of sharp criticism of Russia at a security conference in Munich. Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the conference, vowing to hold Russia accountable and offering some of the Trump administrations toughest language yet about Russia.
TEHRAN Days of protests over dust storms, power failures and government mismanagement in one of Irans most oil-rich cities subsided on Sunday after security forces declared all demonstrations illegal.
Residents of Ahvaz, a city with a majority Arab population near the border with Iraq, had been protesting for five days in increasingly large gatherings, shown in cellphone video clips shared on social media.
The region around Ahvaz is a center of oil production in Iran, and since economic sanctions were lifted, Irans government has been hoping for foreign investment in the area to update refineries and power stations and fix deepening ecological problems.
The cellphone clips show protesters calling for the resignation of the local governor. And as the number of demonstrators grew, the demands started to include a call for top officials from the capital, Tehran, to come to Ahvaz to see the problems for themselves.
ERBIL, Iraq Iraq opened the next chapter in its offensive to drive the Islamic State out of Mosul on Sunday, preparing an assault on the western half of the city. Overnight, planes carpeted the ground with leaflets, directly appealing to the groups fighters to surrender.
To those of you who were intrigued by the ISIS ideology, one of the leaflets said, this is your last opportunity to quit your work with ISIS and to leave those foreigners who are in your homeland. Stay at home, raising the white flags as the forces approach.
On state-run television, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the beginning of the offensive, describing it as a new dawn and calling on his troops to move bravely forward to liberate what is left of the city.
The Islamic State has held Mosul for nearly three years, and it is the groups most important stronghold in Iraq. Retaking the entire city, in what is expected to be a monthslong campaign, would be a huge victory for Iraqi troops.
As he got older and made money, he felt the need to show off all the trappings of his rich life. I remember buying a Porsche and then a Bentley because it looked better, he said. He has also owned a Ferrari.
He got rid of them (now he collects motorcycles he has nine), but he is fond of his lifestyle. So if for some reason he could no longer work, he would like $10 million. Ten million dollars wouldnt affect my lifestyle and allow me to continue it, which includes zipping around the world at a moments notice, he said.
Lynne Dewhurst McBurney, 50, who manages litigation for a financial services company and lives with her husband and son in Ridgewood, N.J., would not quit her job if she got her $6 million. But she might retire earlier.
Maybe its a secret homage to Lee Majors, she said, referring to the actor who played the lead in The Six Million Dollar Man, a 1970s television show. But its more like, own my home plus a pied-a-terre in Paris, and a cottage in Maine, and live off interest income from the $4 million wed have left, she said.
Mr. Mellon has a more visceral reason for how he arrived at his $20 million number. The real story for me personally is how bad it hurts that I dont believe I will ever be able to own a home in the place where I grew up, said Mr. Mellon, who was raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. The actress Michelle Williams bought the house I grew up dreaming of in the Victorian Flatbush Historic District, said Mr. Mellon.
If housing werent an issue, he would need very little: just enough to invest so he would never need to work again. If I assume that I can own it outright, I imagine having enough to replace the boiler and fix the roof and keep up with my membership at MoMA, he said.
As for Ms. Sosnow, her life is simple and straightforward. If I wanted more money, I could pursue it, but why? she said.
SAN FRANCISCO One of Frances Strohs earliest lessons about wealth involved a game she played as a 6-year-old with her father: how to not be kidnapped.
Ms. Stroh would stand outside the familys six-bedroom Spanish Mediterranean home in the manicured Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe in 1973 as her father, Eric Stroh, pretended to be a stranger as he drove by in his silver Chrysler, waving a chocolate bar as temptation and beckoning her to the car. As instructed, Frances would run away in tears.
Her father explained that as an heiress to the largest private beer company in America, kidnapping was a concern, especially because, Theyll ask for a ransom that we cant possibly afford to pay, Ms. Stroh recalled him saying.
There were very mixed messages about money, she said in an interview.
Her fathers words about their finances were indeed prescient. The Stroh family wealth, at its height in the 1980s, was estimated by Forbes to be about $9 billion in todays dollars. Now, that money is almost completely gone.
Consider that Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, until recently the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, ranks as a man of only middling wealth, with disclosed assets in the $400 million range. By contrast, Wilbur L. Ross, the distressed-asset investor and commerce secretary nominee, is worth more than $2.9 billion, according to Bloomberg. Steven T. Mnuchin, the secretary of the Treasury, is so rich that he neglected to account for about $100 million in assets on a disclosure form because of what he called an unintentional oversight.
That Mr. Mnuchin overlooked perhaps $100 million is unfathomable for many people. It is, in fact, roughly equivalent to the total net worth of more than 1,200 typical American families. And $1 billion is more than 12,000 of those households, according to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances of 2013.
It found that the median American household had a net worth of $81,200.
Whats more, it said, the bottom 25 percent of the population had no net worth at all, in dollar terms: When household debt was included, the net worth of these families was less than zero. And along racial lines, the wealth gap was preposterous: The median net worth of black families was only $11,030 compared with $134,230 for whites, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Urban Institute.
For people of all races, the gap between the very rich and everyone else has been expanding in recent years, and not only in the United States.
A report by the charity Oxfam last month, for example, found that the richest eight billionaires on the planet, led by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, were worth more than half of all of the people on earth. Yet one in every 10 of the worlds people, the report found, must get by on less than $2 a day.
Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy, said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International.
My father died in September 2015, a month before his 93rd birthday, while the presidential primary campaign was still underway. Income inequality was a big issue. In his insurgent campaign on the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders focused on it directly. Despite his wealth, Mr. Trump addressed it too, indirectly, promising to restore lost jobs and prosperity to downtrodden Americans. And perhaps he will accomplish that.
If cutting-edge educational technologies can scientifically maximize student learning, then why do so many Silicon Valley bigwigs at Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Yahoo! send their children to the Waldorf School of the Peninsula , a school which bans computer technology from its classrooms? If high-tech computerization were such a fundamental enhancement to cognitive development, then why did Steve Jobs withhold iPads and other "screen-time" technologies from his children? Why would these tech gurus not practice for their own sons and daughters what they preach (and bankroll) for the public education system? These incongruences signal red flags that the real objective behind the accelerating push for personalized computer learning is not to boost academic outcomes, but to data-mine students for the purposes of corporate-fascist political-economic planning.
Enter US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, a billionaire who has played both sides of the public-private fence as a supporter of federal Common Core data-mining as well as corporate charter schooling and privatized voucher programs. As President Trump's Education Secretary, we can expect DeVos to transfer the government data-mining policies of Common Core into a deregulated system of public-private "school choice" partnerships, which will open loopholes for private data-mining corporations to coopt public student data for the purposes of for-profit behavioral advertising and corporate-fascist workforce planning.
By capitalizing on loosened Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act(FERPA) restrictions while blurring the regulatory lines between public education institutions and their privately contracted vendors, a DeVos federal policy of high-tech data-mining throughout a privatized national schooling system could open backdoors for treasure-troves of public student data to be shared with educational technology companies, and even noneducational corporations, for fascistic market manipulation and workforce planning.
Less Privacy, More Privatization:
DeVos has a decorated track record of school privatization activism as a member of numerous "school-choice" advocacy organizations such as the Alliance for School Choice, Advocates for School Choice, Choices for Children, The Education Freedom Fund, the American Education Reform Council, the American Federation for Children, Children First America, the Great Lakes Education Project, and Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has also funded EdChoice, formerly known as the Milton Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. (As I demonstrate in my article "The Corporatization of Education,""school choice" is just a euphemism, coined by Friedman himself, for charter school privatization).
Furthermore, DeVos has been instrumental in funding charter school privatization throughout Michigan where she poured $5 million into lobbying efforts for pro-voucher legislation. Additionally, she pumped $1.45 million into political efforts to stop the Michigan State Legislature from passing regulations that would have set up a local commission to oversee the state's 80% for-profit charter school system .
With Trump's pledge to commit $20 billion in federal funding to school-choice reform, don't expect Secretary DeVos to skip a beat as a crusader for education privatization that will eradicate locally elected schoolboards.
Greenlighted with presidential backing, DeVos deregulation will be ripe to capitalize on the revised federal regulations under FERPA laws which have been reinterpreted since 2011 to now permit third-party corporations to data-mine American students. Through these (de)regulatory loopholes, a DeVos Department of Education could incentivize accelerated digitalization of student FERPA data to be aggregated by educational data-cumulating corporations, such as the now-defunct inBloom, which share databases with third-party corporations that could expropriate student data sets for potentially noneducational research and development.
To be sure, such third-party corporations must be deemed to have "legitimate educational interests" in order to be granted legal access to FERPA-protected data. However, as demonstrated in my article titled "National Charter School Fascism," the institutional lines between traditional classroom education and "cradle-to-career" community-oriented learning are being blurred by the burgeoning privatization mergers of public education, public health and human services, and "community policing" agencies guided by workforce training pedagogies under public-private P-16/20 council governance.
With these public institutions privatized together through business partnerships managed under interlocking P-16/20 governance, DeVos policy may broaden the terms and conditions of what constitutes a "legitimate educational interest" to encompass any service that contributes to the improvement of the labor force or any of the healthcare, welfare, or criminal justice systems as integral subcomponents of America's new P-20/cradle-to-career schooling system. By incorporating social services and criminal justice agencies as ostensible branches of the US education system, public-private P-20 mergers will set the stage for the DeVos Department of Education to justify corporate data-mining of students for R&D by any contingent business that could enhance a student's psychosocial development from cradle to career [1].
No Child Data Left Un-Mined:
DeVos is also the chair of the Philanthropy Roundtable, which published Blended Learning: A Wise Giver's Guide to Bolstering Tech-Assisted Teaching , an April 2013 guidebook advocating for educational reform through deregulated charter and voucher privatization which implements individualized online computer-learning modules that streamline Common Core testing by data-mining students in real time.
The guidebook, which hypes Common Core as "an exciting idea" (30), endorses corporate charter schools such as KIPP Empower Academy LA, KIPP Chicago, KIPP Ascend Primary School, KIPP Ascend Middle School, KIPP Create College Prep Middle School, KIPP NYC, and KIPP Washington Heights Middle School as case-study success stories of the "blended-learning" methodology: "the artful combination of computerized instruction (personalized for each student . . . ) with small-group teaching that is closer to tutoring than to traditional mass lectures" (8). In fact, at some of these KIPP charter schools, the entire curriculum is "taught," or facilitated, through a 100% blended-learning methodology.
For implementing such computerized instruction, the guidebook promotes adaptive learning software such as Knewton and Dreambox, which data-mine students with cognitive learning algorithms that mimic the behavioral advertising algorithms used by so many web-based corporations: "[m]uch as Netflix or Amazon or Pandora are able to learn from each user's actions to predict what that person will next need or desire, so adaptive educational software can pick up how a given student learns, and what he or she is missing. . . . The lessons presented to students begin to differ, and teachers get suggestions on which resources they might try to get through problems with that pupil, based on his particular learning history" (68) [2].
This Philanthropy Roundtable blueprint for federal Common Core testing managed by private adaptive-learning/data-mining corporations will likely serve as something of a handbook for DeVos's policies as Secretary of Education under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Indeed, ESSA stipulates provisions for school districts to implement an "'innovative assessment system' . . . that may include--(1) competency-based assessments . . . or performance-based assessments that combine into an annual summative determination for a student, which may be administered through computer adaptive assessments; and (2) assessments that validate when students are ready to demonstrate mastery or proficiency and allow for differentiated student support based on individual learning needs."
The language here in the ESSA law reads as if it were tailored to facilitate the corporate adaptive-learning/data-mining endorsed by DeVos's Philanthropy Roundtable. Under ESSA, public-private "'innovative assessment system[s]" of individualized adaptive-learning/data-mining software such as Knewton and Dreambox can be contracted to proctor "computer adaptive assessments" for calculating student workforce "competenc[e]" and "performance" outcomes in accordance with ESSA's "career readiness" clauses.
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The burning question facing European countries in 2017: can their societies and cultures survive endless refugee immigration from the ever-burgeoning developing world?
The salient question being ignored vs. not being asked in America, Canada or Australia: how will their homelands survive the projected 100,000,000 (million) refugees flooding into America within 30 years; 10,000,000 projected for Canada and another 10,000,000 projected for Australia?
As each refugee that vacates Africa, India, Mexico, South America, Indochina, the Middle East or any other overpopulated country---that same arena of humanity adds another 80,000,000 (million) net gain, new babies annually. Those countries and cultures either refuse to engage birth control or possess no access. Therefore, they lack any responsibility for their own numbers.
As a result, our planet falters as the developing world adds one billion more humans every 12 years on their way to adding three billion more of themselves by 2050 or 33 years from now. These verifiable facts cannot be disputed as reported from population projections by the United Nations.
Millions of those people cannot read, write or perform simple mathematical equations. In other words, their fecundity rates can never be solved because countless countries on Earth cannot educate another 80 million people annually without commensurate teachers.
The dilemma produces massive deleterious results for those human beings with understandable widespread compassion. Despite the outcries to reach out with aid and food, the refugee line grows, grows fast and grows endlessly. Which means that no amount of outward migration saves any of those countries or their civilizations.
Yet, notice all those refugees deluge into Western countries, that chose two children or less per woman since 1970, with no end to the line. Therefore, every Western country, as its immigration numbers increase, faces an ultimate decline as to water, energy, resources and environment.
It's not about the immigrants; it's about the endless millions that cannot be sustained by any Western country as their numbers accelerate toward a planet filled with 10 billion humans within 33 years.
When you consider those developing countries' cultures commingling or interfacing with First World cultures---Western cultures cannot survive the sheer numbers. None can survive the cultural fracturing. An average citizen can observe Europe today and see it. Despite watching Europe's maelstrom or digesting the supporting mathematics, a scant few world leaders comprehend the final consequence: total degradation of European, Canadian, Australian and American societies--either as to sustainability or sociological survival.
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Kantipur daily editor Sharma receives Best Excellence Award
Kantipur Media Group Chairman and Managing Director Kailash Sirohiya on Saturday conferred Best Excellence Award on Sudheer Sharma, editor-in-chief of Kantipur national daily,
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"We need a more Open digital world -- that's good for business, the economy and the future of humanity. To get there is going to take "bottom-up" effort and Rob Kall's book is an exciting roadmap for how that can happen."
Rufus Pollock, author of "The Open Revolution", Founder of Open Knowledge, and formerly Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge
From Consortium News
President Donald Trump is keeping his promise to go after undocumented people in the United States, with recent reports of sweeps by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) sending waves of fear through the Latino and other immigrant communities in California, Texas and Arizona.
Trump had justified the need for such round-ups as necessary to get rid of "bad hombres" but immigrant advocates say the raids are indiscriminate, rounding up as many undocumented people as possible.
"It is now clear the Trump Administration is not concerned with public safety," said California State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin De Leon. "They are only focused on ripping hard-working men, women, and children from their families and communities. Mass deportations will not make us safer, instead they will simply undermine our state's economy."
De Leon issued a statement critical of ICE actions on Feb. 10, saying he had been misled by ICE assurances that refugee advocates had exaggerated when they claimed that more than 100 people had been arrested in raids across Southern California a day earlier.
"I appreciate that ICE finally disclosed details about their recent raids, but stunned to learn that ICE's public comments made [on Feb. 9] were blatantly false," said De Leon, noting that ICE later confirmed that it had arrested 160 people.
De Leon, perhaps the most influential elected Latino official in the state of California, called on ICE to work more effectively with the communities of California that De Leon represents. "If you want to ensure ongoing safety of the public and law enforcement personnel, my recommendation is to drop the mass deportation threats roiling our communities and instead focus strictly on dangerous felons," he said.
Among the groups most targeted for mass deportation are the undocumented day laborers and domestic workers who work the fields and clean the major hotels and the houses of the rich and famous.
Chris Newman is Legal Director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network or NDLON, which represents tens of thousands of day laborers from coast to coast. I spoke with him earlier this month.
Dennis Bernstein: Could you talk about the concerns that NDLON now has, in terms of the unfolding, what we've seen already with these anti-immigrant directives, coming from the President of the United States and the mass sweeps that have followed?
Chris Newman: Well, it's certainly far worse than we would have imagined, even days before the president was inaugurated. And I think that there's no question that the Trump administration is trying to terrorize people, trying to terrorize immigrants, trying to terrorize the country, in an effort to try to assert legitimacy for the administration and to try to exercise executive authority.
I do think, again, they are going out of their way to conflate anxieties that people have about the economy, about terrorism, about globalization. They're doing their best to sort of bundle them all up. And the reality is that the real world implications for immigrants are quite dire. And, so, you are quite right. We are left in a position of reacting as the president appears to be making good on many of his campaign promises.
DB: Now, we've seen a couple of high profile cases of them demonstrating their resolve to intimidate and deport. Of course, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there was a case where ICE showed up at a daycare center, a medical center, and said they had the wrong address. They were looking for a rapist. But all the kids in the daycare center were terrorized.
We now have seen the arrest of a woman who was in the country 21 years, taken out, essentially, out of the arms of her family. Are you hearing more and more about intimidation, about things happening? Could you give us a sense of how that might be reverberating in the community that you represent?
CN: ...I think that you've put your finger right on it. These actions are a deliberate effort to intimidate and terrorize the community. One of the things I think is commonly misunderstood about the organized xenophobes, the people who are really the propelling force of the Trump campaign: their goal is to limit the foreign born, non-white population of the United States. And deportation is only a piece of how they hope to bring about that agenda. In fact, they want to bring about a far more sophisticated and nefarious plan to effectuate a reduction of the foreign-born, non-white population through attrition.
And so, the idea is to make life sufficiently miserable for immigrants, such that they voluntarily go home. The tipping line that people know about is the South deportation. And, also, such that people are deterred from coming to the United States. And within that context, and within that broader agenda that they have, deportation/criminal enforcement is just one tool. Their goal is to cut access to education, to jobs, to the means of survival, and also to instill fear. And within that context the act of showing courage and resistance contravenes the strategy.
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17th February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On February the 3rd 2017, a new permanent stone checkpoint in front of the Ibrahimi mosque in occupied Hebron, was brought into use.
The checkpoint, which has been under construction since July 2016, was thus inaugurated just one month before the 23 rd anniversary of the Ibrahimi mosque massacre, where 29 praying Palestinian Muslims lost their lives in a terrorist attack by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein. It was this attack which caused the mosque to fall under the tight control of Israeli military and surveillance in the first place.
Before the opening of the new checkpoint on 3 rd February Israeli forces had already installed checkpoints at all the main roads leading into the mosque. The presence of military and police at the entrance to the mosque therefore, has been a continuous fact since 1994. What is new however is the permanent nature of this new construction. For this new stone and steel construction is directly built into the mosque wall clearly signaling that Israel has no intentions of retreating from the scene.
The new checkpoint at the al-Ibrahimi mosque
(Image by International Solidarity Movement) Details DMCA
And the expansion at the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint is just one among many expansions recently. As noted in an earlier ISM report, the Israeli forces in Hebron have been remarkably active in replacing temporary checkpoints by more extended permanent ones, along with "installing military streetlights, security cameras on all streets, raising more gates, concrete walls, barbed-wire and other barriers, and putting new Hebrew-English street signs in the ethnically cleaned streets and in Palestinian neighborhoods, as if they are in fact Israeli neighborhoods with some remaining Palestinian residents."
One might have thought that the new checkpoint at the mosque was simply a replacement for previous ones. But since its opening, Palestinians are in fact forced to pass through two checkpoints only few metres apart, with further delays for Palestinians seeking to practice their religion, which you can see in the photo below, taken at Friday prayers.
Palestinians are waiting to pass through the new checkpoint at al-Ibrahimi mosque
(Image by International Solidarity Movement) Details DMCA
And while you might think that two security checks would suffice to determine whether an individual is a security threat or not, Israeli forces continued the practice of detaining men and confiscating IDs for the duration of Friday prayer.
But this did not hinder the male population from praying, so this Friday, a long line of men prayed outside in the sunshine, while military personnel chattered in the background.
Palestinian men and boys, praying outside al-Ibrahimi mosque
(Image by International Solidarity Movement) Details DMCA
From Moyers and Company
Desperately seeking those GOP politicians who will stand up against a know-nothing bully who holds the highest office in the land.
Co-written by *Michael Winship
Congressional Republicans, we watched you at the White House Thursday. Just before Donald Trump's rambling, manic, often snarky press conference -- delivered more in the manner of a churlish insult comic than leader of the free world -- the president met with a group of you, a self-titled "Trump caucus" of early supporters.
You fawned over him like autograph hunters gushing over their favorite movie star. Rep. Chris Collins of New York: "Mr. President, we're all honored to be here." Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee: "We're excited about the work you're doing." And Missouri's Billy Long referenced the recent visit of Japan's prime minister: "I knew you all would hit it off because you're both people persons and great personalities. ... I knew you guys would get along good."
Oh, brother. Has it come down to this? The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower in the thrall of a petulant, impulsive, preening and shamelessly amoral president who thinks Vladimir Putin is the apex of effective management.
Republicans, is this really the legacy you choose?
How can you not take a solid stand against an unhinged con man who in less than a month has undermined fundamental constitutional liberties, thrown governance into disorganized hell and possibly made decisions based on his desire to please the leader of another country? (What's he afraid that Putin might do?)
It's well reported now that Trump campaign aides, including hustlers like the recently fired Mike Flynn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort -- dubbed "the King of K Street" by a prominent business magazine -- were in regular touch with Russian intelligence and other officials during our 2016 election cycle and the presidential transition. Were they coordinating dirty tricks to damage not only the candidacy of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party but the fate of American democracy as well? It's possible.
Listening to Morning Editionon NPR this week, we were struck by the inability of some of your colleagues to get a grip and face some hard truths about all this. The broadcast played a Fox News clip of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) appearing to justify a cover-up: "I just don't think it's useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party."
Then host Steve Inskeep spoke with Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), who seemed to think Mike Flynn and the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia weren't the problem. Following his president's claim that the Russia story is a ruse and the real issue is leaks, he said, "I mean, the leak of highly classified information by, what is apparent here, a number of individuals inside our intelligence community, is the illegal act that I think we need to review."
Johnson added: "I don't think that there's anything extraordinary at all about persons in an incoming administration or during a campaign talking with officials from other countries."
Would you agree with us that a comment like that bespeaks less a stupid man than a man who looks upon the public as stupid? Is that what you think of the people now? In the full blossom of your monopoly power over government, are you writing off the people who gave you that power?
And so it went: Hemming and hawing, backing and filling, their comments reminded us of Watergate, a scandalous sequence of events that the two of us witnessed firsthand, and thought -- or hoped, at least -- would be the worst political and constitutional crisis of our lifetimes. This has the potential to be much, much worse.
Back then, as today, many Republicans refused to acknowledge the horrors perpetrated by Richard Nixon and his thugs. Some held onto their willful blindness right up to the bitter end, when to ignore the man's perfidy would have been tantamount to treason. Thanks in part to the courts and journalists like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and to true Republican patriots who refused to follow Nixon's nefarious orders, this country narrowly averted a disaster.
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One leading candidate for Democratic National Committee Chair recently said, "We heard loudly and clearly yesterday from Bernie supporters that the process was rigged and it was. And you've got to be honest about it. That's why we need a chair who is transparent." In a contest as hotly contested as the race for DNC Chair currently is, you expect this sort of talk. Only thing is, the statement didn't come from Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, the DNC candidate who supported Sanders in the presidential nomination race. This was actually Thomas Perez talking -- who supported Hillary Clinton, served as Secretary of Labor in Barack Obama's cabinet and has been endorsed by former Vice President Joe Biden. So you figure when he says the DNC needs shaking up, he knows what he's talking about -- although he would not seem to be the obvious choice to do the shaking.
And Perez wasn't just no bystander in all of this, by the way. An active Clinton campaigner himself, he told Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, in a WikiLeaks-published email, of warning audiences that "people don't (sic) have the time to wait for Senator Sanders to complete his quest for the perfect health care system." And he further offered spin advice, suggesting to Podesta that if Clinton did well among minority voters in the Nevada caucuses, "the narrative changes from Bernie kicks ass among young voters to Bernie does well only among young white liberals." And hey, let's give credit where credit is due here -- the job Perez and other spin-meisters did on divorcing Sanders's image from a fifty year plus history of civil rights support -- dating back to a 1963 arrest at a pro-Chicago school integration demonstration -- was a major contributor to denying him the nomination.
But in the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that the opening quote in this story is contested. Not that there's any dispute as to whether Perez actually spoke the words in a public forum. It's apparently more a question of whether he was in his right mind when he did, as the very next day he was tweeting that "I mispoke" and that "Hillary became our nominee fair and square." Hmm. Does this sound like a straight-talking independent leader for the future to you? Me neither. But unfortunately this could well be the leader the Democratic Party is going to get. If Perez is to be believed (I know, I know!), he's got commitments for 180 of the 224 DNC votes needed to win the election for Chair this last weekend of February. And credibility questions aside, the claim does seem plausible, the DNC, after all, being the source of most of the super delegates who gave Clinton her huge lead before the first voter entered a polling place.
Now to be fair, from everything I hear Tom Perez is a fine fellow who's liked by a lot of the people you might hope someone in public life would be liked by -- he was a Secretary of Labor that labor liked. At the same time, there's no getting away from the fact that a Perez DNC chairmanship would be a victory for the status quo, which is to say a Democratic Party that thinks it can be the party both of the unions and of the hedge funds. And you can see how that view might still play well in this little corner of the world. After all, Clinton did win the election by nearly three million votes and were it not for our bizarre Electoral College system that allowed fewer then 100,000 voters in three states to tip it the other way, there wouldn't even be a DNC election, since these elections only happen when the Democrat doesn't win the White House, as Democrats who are elected president get to install their personal choice for DNC chair.
So is there any hope, then, that Ellison could actually win this uphill fight to convince this small group of voters to change their ways? Actually there is. And the fact that some main stream Democrats like Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer see the logic in supporting him shows why. They understand that a Perez win in this race will make a lot of people conclude that the Democratic Party just can't change its stripes. It will take the wind out of the sails of a lot of people the Democratic Party can't afford to lose -- the 70 percent of the under-30 voters who went with Sanders in the primaries. This may not be exactly the future that lot of people in the DNC might have preferred. It may not be one they even understand. But the Democratic Party absolutely must engage that bloc. Tom Perez may do some very useful things in his future political career. But he is not man for this race. If the Democratic Party hopes to have a future it can believe in, it needs to choose Keith Ellison as its next chair.
From Consortium News
Red Square in Moscow with a winter festival to the left and the Kremlin to the right.
(Image by (Photo by Robert Parry)) Details DMCA
In the anti-Russian frenzy sweeping American politics and media, Democrats, liberals and mainstream pundits are calling for an investigative body that could become a new kind of House Un-American Activities Committee to hunt down Americans who have communicated with Russians.
The proposed commission would have broad subpoena powers to investigate alleged connections between Trump's supporters and the Russian government with the apparent goal of asking if they now have or have ever talked to a Russian who might have some tie to the Kremlin or its intelligence agencies.
Such an admission apparently would be prima facie evidence of disloyalty, a guilt-by-association "crime" on par with Sen. Joe McCarthy's Cold War pursuit of "communists" who supposedly had infiltrated the U.S. government, the film industry and other American institutions.
Operating parallel to McCarthy's Red Scare hearings was the House Un-American Activities Committee (or HUAC), a standing congressional panel from 1945-1975 when it was best known for investigating alleged communist subversion and propaganda. One of its top achievements was the blacklisting of the "Hollywood Ten" whose careers in the movie industry were damaged or destroyed.
Although the Cold War has long been over -- and Russia has often cooperated with the U.S. government, especially on national security issues such as supplying U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- Democrats and liberals seem ready to force Americans to again prove their loyalty if they engaged in conversations with Russians.
Or perhaps these "witnesses" can be entrapped into perjury charges if their recollections of conversations with Russians don't match up with transcripts of their intercepted communications, a tactic similar to ones used by Sen. McCarthy and HUAC to trip up and imprison targets over such secondary charges.
Ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has already encountered such a predicament because he couldn't recall all the details of a phone conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on Dec. 29, 2016, after Flynn took the call while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
When Obama administration holdovers at the Justice Department decided to gin up a legal premise to go after Flynn, they cited the Logan Act, a law enacted in 1799 to prohibit private citizens from negotiating with foreign adversaries but never used to convict anyone. The law also is of dubious constitutionality and was surely never intended to apply to a president-elect's advisers.
However, based on that flimsy pretext, FBI agents -- with a transcript of the electronic intercept of the Kislyak-Flynn phone call in hand -- tested Flynn's memory of the conversation and found his recollections incomplete. Gotcha -- lying to the FBI!
Under mounting media and political pressure, President Trump fired Flynn, apparently hoping that tossing Flynn overboard to the circling sharks would somehow calm the sharks down. Instead, blood in the water added to the frenzy.
Iran-Contra Comparison
Some prominent Democrats and liberals have compared Trump-connected contacts with Russians to President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal or President Reagan's Iran-Contra Affair, an issue that I know a great deal about having helped expose it as a reporter for The Associated Press in the 1980s.
The key difference is that Iran-Contra was an unconstitutional effort by the Reagan administration to finance an illegal war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government in defiance of a congressional ban. The Trump-connected communications with Russians -- to the degree they have occurred -- appear to have been aimed at preventing a new and dangerous Cold War that could lead to a nuclear holocaust.
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PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NATIONAL security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Monday night as a result of getting caught lying about whether he discussed sanctions in a December telephone call with a Russian diplomat. The only reason the public learned about Flynn's lie is because someone inside the U.S. government violated the criminal law by leaking the contents of Flynn's intercepted communications.
In the spectrum of crimes involving the leaking of classified information, publicly revealing the contents of SIGINT -- signals intelligence -- is one of the most serious felonies. Journalists (and all other nongovernmental citizens) can be prosecuted under federal law for disclosing classified information only under the narrowest circumstances; reflecting how serious SIGINT is considered to be, one of those circumstances includes leaking the contents of intercepted communications, as defined this way by 18 798 of the U.S. Code:
"Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates ... or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes ... any classified information ... obtained by the processes of communication intelligence from the communications of any foreign government ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
That Flynn lied about what he said to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak was first revealed by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who has built his career on repeating what his CIA sources tell him. In his January 12 column, Ignatius wrote: "According to a senior U.S. government official, Flynn phoned Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times on Dec. 29, the day the Obama administration announced the expulsion of 35 Russian officials as well as other measures in retaliation for the hacking."
Go to The Intercept to read the rest of this article.
Click Here to Read Whole Article
Very soon, less than 450 Democratic insiders will decide who will be the next head of the DNC.
Bernie Sanders and most progressive groups have endorsed Keith Ellison. While he's not perfect, he's one of the most progressive elected Democrats in Washington.
Tom Perez is the candidate has to worry about the most. I've listed some endorsers below. I realize that many readers have already totally given up on the Democratic party. My position is that the US political system makes it impossible for a third party candidate to gain access to office. The way to win is to take back the Democratic party and that starts with a progressive leading the DNC. I realize Ellison is not perfect. But I've met him, I've followed him since he was a freshman member of congress and he's profoundly better than the other options.
My question for this open thread is about what happens if Ellison loses. Personally, I believe that will be the death knell for the Democratic party-- a repudiation of Berniecrats and the people under 40 who turned out my the millions to support Bernie. It will mean that the Republicans will further consolidate their control of the House and Senate in the 2018 elections.
If Ellison wins, I believe it could turn the tide, with the help of Cenk Uygur's Justice Democrats and the Wolf Pac, so incumbent neoliberal, corporatist Democrats are shown the door, to be replaced by progressives who actually care about constituents instead of corporations and wealthy donors.
If you've had it with the Dems, please comment on why and what you propose as a SOLUTION that has a chance of changing things in 2018.
Here are lists of who is endorsing Ellison and Perez according to Wikipedia,
According to Wikipedia Keith Ellison is Endorsed for DNC Chair By (actually, there was no such list on Wikipedia, so I added this list to Ellison's Wikipedia page. It will be interesting to see if the "non-biased" members of the Wikipedia community allow it to stay up.)
The KeithforDNC.org page lists many more endorsers.
Also note that right wing sites have gone a bit crazy attacking Ellison as DNC leader and many have emphasized that David Duke endorsed him. The way I see it, David Duke, endorsing a Democrat would endorse the Democrat he wanted to hurt the most. The way I see it, the right wingers would rather have a DNC leader who would continue the pathetically failing policies, positions and people who would set up the Democrats for continued failure in 2018 and beyond.
According to Wikipedia Tom Perez is Endorsed for DNC Chair By
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. [163]
United Farmworkers. [164]
International Association of Firefighters [165] [166]
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters [167]
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry [168]
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers [169]
International Longshore and Warehouse Union [170]
Disability Leader Arl Ne'eman.[171]
Bilingual media company Univision [172]
BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. [173]
Kevin Levy Executive Editor The American Moderate[174]
Governors
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper [175]
Connecticut Governor and Chair of Democratic Governors Association Dannel P. Malloy [176]
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards [175]
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. [177]
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo [175]
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe [175]
Prior to serving as Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe had been a fundraiser for the Democratic Party and served as Chair of the DNC from 2001 to 2005.[178]
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick [179]
Legislators and Elected Officials
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (Maryland) [180]
U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (Maryland) [181]
U.S. Representative Filemon Vela (Texas) [182]
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigaan [183]
Texas State Senator Jose Rodriguez (El Paso) [182]
Texas State Representative Celina Vasquez (Austin) [182]
Wisconsin State Senator Janet Bewley (Ashland). [184]
Chicago Park District President Jessee Ruiz [185]
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis [182]
Mayors
Current Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed [186]
Current Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti [187]
Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter [188]
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin [189]
Former Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer [188]
Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker[182]
Party Officials
Former Vice President Joe Biden [190]
Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack [191]
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder [192]
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius [193]
Georgia Democratic Chair Du Bose Porter [194]
Georgia Democratic Vice Chair Nikema William [195]
Illinois Democratic Party Chair Mike Madigan [196] .
. Kansas Democratic Party Chair Lee Kinch [197]
Kansas Democratic Party Vice Chair Kathryn Focke [198]
Maryland Democratic Party Chair Bruce D. Poole. [161]
Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper [199]
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Marcel Groen [200]
Tennessee DNC Member Will Cheek [201]
Tennessee DNC Member John Litz [202]
Tennessee DNC Member Bill Owen [203]
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa [204]
DNC Member and former Obama Administration Official Rick C. Wade [205]
Colleagues
Roy L. Austin, Jr., Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S Department of Justice Civil Rights Division [206]
William J. Baer, Former Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division [207]
Samuel Bagenstos, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S Department of Justice Civil Rights Division [208]
Donald J. Cazayoux, Former U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Louisiana [209]
Tristram J. Coffin, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Vermont [210]
Matthew Colangelo, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division [211]
James M. Cole, Former Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice [212]
Stuart F. Delery, Former Acting Associate Attorney General U.S Department of Justice, Former Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division [213]
Steven M. Dettlebach, Former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Ohio [214]
Laura Duffy, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California [215]
William Conner Eldridge, Jr., Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Arkansas [216]
Robert Booth Goodwin II, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of West Virginia [217]
Jamie Gorelick,Former Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice [218]
Barry R. Grissom, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Kansas [219]
Javier M. Guzman, Former Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Melinda Haag, Former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California [220]
Kerry B. Harvey, Former U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Kentucky [221]
Timothy J. Heaphy, Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Virginia [222]
David J. Hickton, Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania [223]
Dwight Holton, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Oregon [224]
William J. Ihlenfeld, II, Former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of West Virginia [225]
Brendan Johnson, Former U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota [226]
William C. Killian, Former U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Tennessee [227]
Loretta King, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice [228]
Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Iowa [229]
James A. Lewis, Former U.S. Attorney, Central District of Illinois [230]
Emily Loeb, Former Associate Counsel, Office of the White House Counsel [231]
Ronald C. Machen, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia [232]
Pamela C. Marsh, Former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Florida [233]
Jerry E. Martin, Former U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Tennessee [234]
Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Former U.S. Attorney, Central District of California [235]
Bernard Melekian, Former Director, U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Community Oriented Policing Services [236]
Zane Memeger, Former U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania [237]
Matthew Miller, Former Director, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs [238]
Michael Moore, Former U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Georgia [239]
Bill Nettles, Former U.S. Attorney, District of South Carolina [240]
David W. Ogden, Former Deputy Attorney General of the United States [241]
Matthew G. Olsen, Former Associate Deputy Attorney General for National Security, U.S. Department of Justice [242]
Carmen M. Ortiz, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Massachusetts [243]
Timothy Q. Purdon, Former U.S. Attorney, District of North Dakota [244]
Ripley Rand, Former U.S. Attorney, Middle District of North Carolina [245]
Leon Rodriguez, Former Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division [246]
Jocelyn Samuels, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
Tracy Schmaler, Former Director, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs [247]
Victoria Schultz, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Anne M. Tompkins, Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of North Carolina [248]
Joyce Vance, Former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Alabama [249]
Benjamin B. Wagner, Former U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of California [250]
John Walsh, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Colorado [251]
Ronald Weich, Former Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice [252]
Stephen R. Wigginton, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Illinois [253]
Stephanie Yonekura, Former Acting U.S. Attorney, Central District of California[254]
I couldn't find a larger list of endorsers on Perez's website.
From Smirking Chimp
Democratic Donkey - Caricature
(Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA
Trump is failing bigly. Why aren't Democrats taking advantage of this amazing opportunity to rebuild their party?
Barely four weeks in office and the president has his first scandal. Flynngate has everything a president doesn't want: a top national security official accused of treasonishness, messy investigations afoot, reinvigorated enemy journalists smelling blood.
At first glance, losing a Labor Secretary nominee might not seem to matter. All the other cabinet picks got through; Labor isn't State. Still, Andrew Puzder's withdrawal reveals staggering incompetence. Trump's #1 issue was illegal immigration. Puzder hired an illegal immigrant; dude was a billionaire too cheap to pay her taxes. Seriously?
Trump's first major policy move, the Muslim travel ban, ended in tears -- within hours. So-called judges and their stupid "Constitution"!
Political journalists have a technical term for a cluster--k like this at such an early date in an Administration: a s--tshow.
So where are the Democrats?
The only thing more baffling than the Great Republican Unraveling is the failure of the Democrats to rise to the occasion exploit the situation. Yeah, conventional wisdom says to stand aside when your opponent is making a fool of himself. Right now, however, the Democrats' failure to articulate an alternative vision -- becoming a "party of outrage" doesn't count -- seems less like jujitsu than political malpractice.
He's retired and deserves some rest after all those late-night droning sessions, but the Dems' colossal cluelessness is epitomized by that video of Recently Former President Barack Obama kitesurfing -- a sport most voters never heard of before -- with Virgin mogul Richard Branson.
Given his fanatic dedication to detachedness, Obama as exiled leader of the anti-Trump resistance is probably too much to ask. Still, as John Oliver observed, "Just tone it down with the kitesurfing pictures."
He continued: "America is on fire. I know that people accused him of being out of touch with the American people during his presidency. I'm not sure he's ever been more out of touch than he is right now...You're fiddling while Rome burns!"
Trumpism is collapsing with impressive rapidity. In a two-party system, citizens expect the party out of power to step up, say I-told-you-so, and explain how and why they can fix this s--tshow. So far? Nothing.
The cavalry isn't merely not coming. It's asleep.
It's easy to see why. The Democratic Party still suffers from the division that cost it the 2016 election. All the party's energy is with the progressive base who backed Bernie Sanders (henceforth, the Guy Who Would Have Won Had the DNC Not Cheated), now gathered around the awkward, oddly colorless Elizabeth Warren. But its leadership caste is still dominated by the Dems' fading corporatist DLC-Third Way hacks who installed Hillary as nominee. What was needed in 2016 to defeat Trump is still needed to defeat him in 2017: Sanders or someone like him. But the ruling Clintonistas won't give up centrism unless it's pulled out of their cold, ideologically dead hands.
The refusal of the Democrats to pogo-dance on Trump's grave is one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent political history. For example:
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Condemn Killing Birds Like This Veterinarians Say to the AVMA--Now! Veterinarians, animal advocates and concerned citizens are saying the AVMA's refusal to formally condemn ventilation shutdown and ventilation shutdown plus heat is a clear instance of the association putting corporations and economic interests over animals and a violation of the Veterinarian's Oath itself. Saturday, July 2, 2022Veterinarians, animal advocates and concerned citizens are saying the AVMA's refusal to formally condemn ventilation shutdown and ventilation shutdown plus heat is a clear instance of the association putting corporations and economic interests over animals and a violation of the Veterinarian's Oath itself.
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UK Reporter Analyzes US Gun Violence in Startling Book What if you didn't grow up amid America's gun culture, but are still a member of the race which suffers the most from U.S gun violence? As Gary Younge, a black reporter who grew up in England demonstrates in a moving new book titled, "Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives," it might cause you to ask hard questions other reporters duck. Wednesday, May 25, 2022What if you didn't grow up amid America's gun culture, but are still a member of the race which suffers the most from U.S gun violence? As Gary Younge, a black reporter who grew up in England demonstrates in a moving new book titled, "Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives," it might cause you to ask hard questions other reporters duck.
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Don't Fall For These Drug Maker Ruses This week authors with 17 financial links to drug makersreported that the aggressively marketed rheumatoid arthritis drugs (think Humira) could lower Alzheimer/dementia risks in arthritis patients with cardiovascular disease. Saturday, April 9, 2022This week authors with 17 financial links to drug makersreported that the aggressively marketed rheumatoid arthritis drugs (think Humira) could lower Alzheimer/dementia risks in arthritis patients with cardiovascular disease.
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Humor: Back on the Commuter Train? Prepare for This! With gas prices climbing and Covid shutdowns over, many are strap hanging again on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) commuter trains. Saturday, March 26, 2022With gas prices climbing and Covid shutdowns over, many are strap hanging again on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) commuter trains.
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Bird Flu Is Back in US Thanks to Factory Farmers Big Food is trying to hide the very expected outbreaks of bird flu. Even as "farmers" gas millions of birds, they try to pretend 1) intensive factory farming doesn't cause/spread the disease 2) bird flu doesn't affect people. Don't believe the lies. Thursday, March 17, 2022Big Food is trying to hide the very expected outbreaks of bird flu. Even as "farmers" gas millions of birds, they try to pretend 1) intensive factory farming doesn't cause/spread the disease 2) bird flu doesn't affect people. Don't believe the lies.
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Pfizer is not Our Pfriend Thanks to Covid, Pharma is no longer the industry responsible for 100,000 U.S. opioid overdose deaths just last year, a growing number of talcum powder-related ovarian cancers and 38,000 deaths (and 88,000 heart attacks) from Vioxx. Friday, March 4, 2022Thanks to Covid, Pharma is no longer the industry responsible for 100,000 U.S. opioid overdose deaths just last year, a growing number of talcum powder-related ovarian cancers and 38,000 deaths (and 88,000 heart attacks) from Vioxx.
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New Book Hides Mental Health Institute Director's Sordid Past Insel is not the first or last government official to treat himself or herself to the riches of the industry revolving door Louisiana Rep. Billy Tauzin surfaced at PhRMA after overseeing Medicare legislation; CDC director Julie Gerberding surfaced at Merck. Wednesday, March 2, 2022Insel is not the first or last government official to treat himself or herself to the riches of the industry revolving door Louisiana Rep. Billy Tauzin surfaced at PhRMA after overseeing Medicare legislation; CDC director Julie Gerberding surfaced at Merck.
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New FDA Commissioner has 50 Conflicts of Interest Biden has placed two industry shills in charge of the agencies most central to our health--FDA and USDA Wednesday, February 23, 2022Biden has placed two industry shills in charge of the agencies most central to our health--FDA and USDA
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More Zoonotic Pandemics Likely--20 Researchers on 5 Continents The COVID-19 pandemic which has killed millions has not increased pandemic prevention say researchers this week in a medical journal. Saturday, February 12, 2022The COVID-19 pandemic which has killed millions has not increased pandemic prevention say researchers this week in a medical journal.
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Bird flu back in US--Watch How Big Food Will Try To Hide It Whether avian influenza or porcine epidemic diarrhea, US factory farmers want to hide the diseases their practices cause Thursday, February 10, 2022Whether avian influenza or porcine epidemic diarrhea, US factory farmers want to hide the diseases their practices cause
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Border Blues: Both Sides of Aisle Have an Immigration Agenda 402,000 migrants were released into the US last year by the Border Patrol though you have to dig deep to find such figures. Border reporting has disappeared in the last six months, no doubt because it is so contentious. Sunday, February 6, 2022402,000 migrants were released into the US last year by the Border Patrol though you have to dig deep to find such figures. Border reporting has disappeared in the last six months, no doubt because it is so contentious.
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6 Medication Mistakes That You Might Be Making Americans might be the most medicated people in the world thanks to aggressive drug-maker marketing and favorable regulation. But drugs can be over-prescribed, conditions over-diagnosed, and less expensive non-drug treatments slighted. Here are common dangers to watch for in your and your family's medication use. Wednesday, February 2, 2022Americans might be the most medicated people in the world thanks to aggressive drug-maker marketing and favorable regulation. But drugs can be over-prescribed, conditions over-diagnosed, and less expensive non-drug treatments slighted. Here are common dangers to watch for in your and your family's medication use.
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Best Economy Since 1984? Happy days here again--NOT. Yesterday's news seems absurd Friday, January 28, 2022Happy days here again--NOT. Yesterday's news seems absurd
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Have We Learned Nothing From The COVID-19 Pandemic? New animal epidemics ignored. Yet even as 41 countries now have outbreaks of avian influenza called HPAI or H5N1 including the US there is little to no reporting on the threat in the US press. Tuesday, January 25, 2022New animal epidemics ignored. Yet even as 41 countries now have outbreaks of avian influenza called HPAI or H5N1 including the US there is little to no reporting on the threat in the US press.
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Has This Chicago Furrier Not Heard the News? Over the last few years fur sales have become as dead as their unwilling animal donors. Armani, GUCCI, Prada, Valentino, Versace have banned fur as have large retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and the Neiman Carcass sorry Marcus group. Saturday, January 22, 2022Over the last few years fur sales have become as dead as their unwilling animal donors. Armani, GUCCI, Prada, Valentino, Versace have banned fur as have large retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and the Neiman Carcass sorry Marcus group.
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Junk Food Sellers Target Poor Countries Big Food is increasingly targeting poor countries as "emerging markets" to please Wall Street and shareholders. The marketing is especially unethical since obese people are more likely to get and give COVID-19 Saturday, January 15, 2022Big Food is increasingly targeting poor countries as "emerging markets" to please Wall Street and shareholders. The marketing is especially unethical since obese people are more likely to get and give COVID-19
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Humor: Who's Afraid of the Joke Police? Between the joke police and the woke police, it has never been harder to tell jokes. Monday, January 10, 2022Between the joke police and the woke police, it has never been harder to tell jokes.
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New Year's Resolutions for the Men in Your Life We will stop telling a woman she looks beautiful by candlelight or in total darkness and realize this is actually an insult. Thursday, December 30, 2021We will stop telling a woman she looks beautiful by candlelight or in total darkness and realize this is actually an insult.
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Humor: Holiday Dieting--an Oxymoron After months of salad, sit-ups and running (even on snow), you hear yourself say, "Please pass the spinach, mushroom and ricotta tart... and the mashed potatoes... and the cinnamon rolls," as if your evil twin has commandeered your mouth. Sunday, December 19, 2021After months of salad, sit-ups and running (even on snow), you hear yourself say, "Please pass the spinach, mushroom and ricotta tart... and the mashed potatoes... and the cinnamon rolls," as if your evil twin has commandeered your mouth.
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Gun Loving Parents like the Crumbleys Are Not Rare According to Oakland County, Michigan prosecutor Karen McDonald, mother Jennifer Crumbley posted that taking Ethan to a shooting range was "a mother-son day" and that she "bought a gun for her baby for Christmas." Sunday, December 5, 2021According to Oakland County, Michigan prosecutor Karen McDonald, mother Jennifer Crumbley posted that taking Ethan to a shooting range was "a mother-son day" and that she "bought a gun for her baby for Christmas."
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Morcha puts PM under pressure
The Madhes-based parties have warned of severing ties with the governing coalition, making Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal reconsider his plan to declare dates for local level elections on Sunday.
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"Stressed? Oppressed? Isolated? Kall's Bottom-Up offers a lifeline for connecting with yourself, with others, and with your whole community or organization so that everyone thrives. He offers compelling science, stories, and insights from business, government, the arts, and more to make visible an unabashedly hopeful bottom-up revolution towards cooperation, compassion, and meaning. Join him."
Peggy Holman, author of Engagement Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity and coauthor of The Change Handbook
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"Humans have spent 99 percent of our developmental time in the wild kingdom, which tutored us in what Rob Kall calls bottom-up values?small, local, interdependent, respectful, egalitarian and decentralized -- and which the world desperately needs in order to balance out some of the darker impulses of top-down values. His faith that bottom-up values represent a critical re-balancing act for humanity, if not an outright better mousetrap, is compelling and hard-won, and I offer him a high-five for his courageous inquiry into the deep wisdom inherent in our age-old intimacy with natural rhythms, native intelligences, and interconnectedness."
Gregg Levoy, author of Callings and Vital Signs
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"In this book, Rob Kall is fueling a discussion that is long overdue, one that can perhaps shake us out of our current herd mentality, back to true community and intertwined purpose. His bottom-up discourse may serve to turn us all upside down just long enough to view our current politic from a different perspective."
Dr. Mari K. Swingle, author of i-Minds: How Cell Phones, Computers, Gaming, and Social Media are Changing Our Brains, Our Behavior, and the Evolution of Our Species
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"We are in the midst of a profound change of paradigms: from seeing the world as a machine to understanding it as a network. Rob Kall has interviewed many of the leaders, both thinkers and activists, of this global cultural transformation. In this eminently readable book, he weaves their statements, values, and ideas into a coherent and inspiring whole. Bottom-Up is a joy to read!"
Fritjof Capra, author of The Web of Life and The Hidden Connections, coauthor of The Systems View of Life
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"Rob Kall has been the center of a vast, decentralized conversation for years, letting us hear in interviewees' own words the power of connection in every realm. His new book brings it all together, showing us that the old order is broken and fast being replaced from the bottom up. The old power elite may not know it yet, but millions of us -- organizers, artists, thinkers and doers -- have gotten the message. So should you, by reading Bottom-Up."
Arlene Goldbard, author of The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future
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From Strategic Culture
Just three weeks into the Trump presidency, and his political enemies in the Washington establishment have scored big, with the forced resignation of Trump's National Security advisor Michael Flynn. The establishment includes state intelligence agencies and aligned corporate news media, who have been gunning for Trump ever since his shock election last November.
It's a hugely damaging blow to the inner circle of the Trump White House. The US media reporting on Flynn's resignation this week had the unmistakable air of victory-crowing. Like sharks in a pool, they smell blood.
Flynn had to go after the Washington Post and others reported that he wasn't telling the truth about phone calls he had been holding with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition to the Trump administration. Flynn hadn't denied the calls in late December, but he had maintained that the subject of US sanctions on Russia were not discussed.
Persistently the US media did not give up on the charges against Flynn, which shows that their confidence on the subject was underwritten by intelligence sources. Or put another way, this was an intelligence-led witch-hunt which was based on the illegal disclosure of private information.
Flynn had told the US Vice President Mike Pence that sanctions were not discussed and that the conversation with the Russian diplomat was only about seasonal pleasantries and making arrangements about a forthcoming phone call between President Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin -- that call was finally made on January 28.
Pence stood by Flynn initially, telling media outlets that there was nothing untoward in the phone calls.
Legally, a private US citizen -- which Flynn was at that stage before Trump became inaugurated on January 10 -- is not permitted to talk about government policy with a foreign state in a presumptive official capacity.
Apparently now, as it turns out, sanctions were discussed between Flynn and Kislyak, according to FBI investigators and US officials quoted by the Washington Post. Russia has refused to comment on the nature of the phone calls.
What was Flynn thinking of? At one stage during the Obama administration, he had served as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency -- one of the 16 US federal spy organizations. It seems incredible that given his expertise in matters of US state surveillance practice, Flynn could have been so reckless as to hold phone conversations with Russia's top diplomat in Washington on national security issues outside of his then remit.
Especially considering too that Flynn was shortly about to assume office as a senior national security adviser to the new president, Donald Trump, who was already under intense media scrutiny over his alleged links to Russia.
Not only hold phone conversations, but as seems likely, Flynn broached the subject of how US sanctions levied by Obama might be lifted under the Trump administration. For Flynn not to realize that every word would be tapped by US intelligence seems an incredible lapse of judgment on his part.
The suspect phone contact occurred at the time Obama sanctioned several Russian diplomats over allegations that Russian hackers had interfered in the presidential elections. Those allegations of Russian state-sponsored hacking have never been proven.
The way the Washington Post tells it, US intelligence officials were surprised when Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reciprocate with Obama's sanctions announced on December 29, instead choosing to respond by wishing Americans a Happy Christmas.
According to the Post, US intelligence began searching for a possible explanation for Putin's unexpected response, and they found their putative answer in Flynn's call to the Russian ambassador. It is claimed that Flynn indicated to the Russian diplomat that the new sanctions imposed by the outgoing Obama administration would be duly reversed by Trump.
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Meals for Syrian Children Refugees acknowledges that no one can help every Syrian child during the continuing carnage in their beloved country. But we aver that everyone can have the honor of fulfilling the solemn duty of each of us--to help someone.
The Story of One Child's Struggle to Survive:
On 2/17/2017 ten year old Ghina Wadi, who has spent the past seven months often in unbearable pain, which for the first month was periodically relieved for only approximately 15 minutes at a time- by heavy injections of morphine, had another of what hopefully this time will be a leg saving operation. The operation took place at a surgical hospital in Jaramana, ten kilometers Southeast of Damascus not far from the Palestinian Refugee Camp of Jaramana.
Ghina was shot by a sniper on 8/2/2016 on the main street in Madaya at the Abdel Majed checkpoint when she was on her way to buy medicine for her mother, Sahar. Her accompanying seven-year-old sister Nagham was also injured in her hand and arm.
Ghina's family had months earlier been forced to flee their home in the nearby town of Zabadani in the proximity of Wadi Barada close the Syrian-Lebanon border in the Qalamoun Mountains. The exploding bullet smashed Ghina's left leg and thigh causing a complex pulverized bone fracture and severed nerves in her left leg. Infection immediately set in and has repeatedly returned during the past half year.
Two weeks after being shot, permission was granted for Ghina to be evacuated to a better equipped Damascus hospital since medical facilities in Madaya could not save her leg and amputation was under serious consideration.
As Ghina hopefully heals quickly, despite still being malnourished, MSRCL hopes that she can enter a public school near her home. While receiving home schooling the past few months, and despite Ghina's worry that "kids will make fun of me because of my leg" her mother agrees that being among other children and socializing will be better and may well aid her recovery. This observer, from his time in Syria and among Syrian refugee children in Lebanon has learned that children have a wonderful capacity to help one another when they learn from where their new friends came from in Syria and what happened to their families. A kind of therapy one imagines.
Ghina's 3 year old brother Kamal and her 4 year old sister Manal are still under siege in Madaya. They have not seen their mother or sisters for nearly eight months and as with the general population of Madaya, and 16 other locals in Syria similarly besieged, food, water, electricity, medicines are becoming more scare daily. MSRCL is continues their efforts to obtain the children's release and lift the year long siege on Madaya's 38,000 residents.
Below: 4 Photos of Ghina taken on 2/18/2017 at Jaramana Surgical Hospital:
MSRCL will continue to help our "Adopted Syrian Family" and our Princess Ghina to the best of our ability as we seek partners to open a permanent Kitchen -Dining Room to provide a hot nutritional meal everyday of the week for malnourished Syrian Refugee Children in Beirut.
F. Lamb for MSRCL
More than 100 foreign delegates to take part in investment summit
More than 100 foreign delegates from all over the world have confirmed their participation in the upcoming Nepal Investment Summit 2017 slated to be held from March 2-3.
Koei Tecmos Nioh kind of came out of nowhere and grabbed us hard with its blend of samurai action roleplaying and From Software-style brutality. Borrowing from Froms Dark Souls series, Nioh nonetheless has an identity of its own, and carves a bloody niche in the pantheon of all time great action games. A demon- and ninja-filled jaunt through 15th century Japan, Nioh has no shortage of terrific and challenging boss fights to keep protagonist William on his toes. Theyre an extremely varied bunch, ranging from duels with senpais to stabbing giant skeletons in the ankles.
This list covers all the mandatory bosses, both mid-level and end-of-level, as well as the majority of optional bosses. There are a handful of additional bosses not listed here which are accessed depending on which weapons and character builds youre focusing on, but these all take the form of duels, and your tactics will depend on the context in which youre fighting them. Also worth noting, some of the bosses here are fought more than once, and their difficulty level and place on the list has been decided based on the difficulty of their first appearances; otherwise like a quarter of the list would be made up of various Onryokis.
Olivia White is one of the people that make up Owl Cave, the adventure game dev studio responsible for Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy. You can find her at @owlcavedev or on the web at http://www.owlcave.net.
1 of 30 1. Derrick the Executioner: Derrick's more of a tutorial than a proper boss. Just attack him for a bit, blocking and dodging his simple attacks. Then as soon as the game prompts you to use your living weapon, bam, that's the end of Derrick. As long as you're slightly careful about not attacking recklessly, you won't lose to Derrick. Beware, though, when you encounter him near the end of the game, he's a lot more powerful, albeit no more complex. Just wait for him to charge or attack, then stab him in the back.
Summon: N/A
2 of 30 2. Onryoki: The first proper boss of the game, Onryoki is a nice primer for how some of the bigger boss fights are going to play out. In the first half of the fight, he'll spin his balls and chains around, so keep your distance here, then rush in when he's tired out. Once his health's down, his chains will break and he'll use the balls as projectiles. Simply keep an eye on whenever he walks over to grab one of them, then back away and dodge. He's slow and it's easy to get behind him, so dodge around him and backslash to deal a lot more damage. If at any point you see Onryoki begin to leap into the air, back away fast; his slam does a huge amount of damage, but when he lands you'll have a massive window to attack his head and break his horns, weakening him.
Summon: No
3 of 30 3. Tachibana Muneshige (fake): Kelley-as-Muneshige is a breeze. It's a standard duel fight where the boss will occasionally boost himself with his Raikon guardian spirit, meaning lightning defense works well here. You fight him shortly after Nue, so keep your defensive equipment from that fight. This fight's just a case of chipping away at his Ki, landing attacks when he's open and blocking when he's not. A standard introduction to the game's duels.
Summon: No
4 of 30 4. Great Centipede: The poison in the arena poses more of a threat than the Centipede itself. You can run around using the air filtration machines to temporarily clear the poison away, or you can stock up on antidotes and just power through it. The centipede's weak and easy to fell; attack his body and it'll fall away, making him shorter and easier to avoid. Simply attack him whenever you get an opening, which is often.
Summon: No
5 of 30 5. Joro-Gumo: One of the game's easier bosses, Joro-Gumo kindly advertises her weak spot by having a huge glowing abdomen. Simply keep side-stepping and slashing at this until she protects it with her legs. Her attacks are pretty weak and can be easily blocked without much Ki loss; just be careful attacking her directly from the front because she can grab you. Once she covers her abdomen with her legs, attack her anywhere because her grab is disabled.
Summon: No
6 of 30 6. White Tiger: White Tiger's dead easy as long as you resist the tactic that works on most bosses. Basically, do not attack White Tiger from behind, ever. He can grab you with his tail, and will do so almost any time you try and get a backslash in, so the additional damage isn't worth the risk. If you stick to his front or sides, it's pretty easy to just block or soak up the damage he deals, and punish him during his big openings.
Summon: No
7 of 30 7. Marume Nagayoshi: Nagayoshi promises he'll give it all he's got to complete your samurai training, but frankly he doesn't put much effort in. He'll just go at you with typical swordsman stuff; blocking and dodging before circling around him and punishing him with backslashes will take him down quickly, and he's quite easy to wear out, meaning you can pull off grapple attacks regularly.
Summon: N/A
8 of 30 8. Ii Naomasa: Another standard duel with a guy who simply wants to fight you for fun. Ii uses a spear, so he's very easy to dodge and sidestep around, and he tires easily, so grapple moves can be used to great effect. By this stage in the game, you should have your blocking and dodging down pat so Ii isn't much of a threat, and taking him down feels like the sparring between pals that it's supposed to be.
Summon: N/A
9 of 30 9. Oda Nobunaga: You might expect Nobunaga to be one of the game's biggest challenges, but he's really not. At first he can be a bit overwhelming, summoning a guardian spirit which can change its element, cycling through air, earth, water, fire, lightning at will, preventing you from preparing any real resistance to his elemental damage. Keep your distance when he's using ranged elemental attacks, then dodge and attack when he goes toe to toe with you. You only need to take off about ? of his health bar before the fight's over though. In co-op especially, this one's a breeze for how late in the game it appears.
Summon: Yes, but only because of the level itself.
10 of 30 10. Hattori Hanzo: Your buddy, the famed ninja Hattori Hanzo, wants to test your ninja skills because of course he does. What follows is a fairly laborious fight, but one that's not too hard to best as long as you keep on your toes. Hanzo blocks, a lot, and makes use of his many ninja skills, so the key is doing the same. The fight's really designed to let you test out the advanced Ninjutsu abilities, so do that. There's not much scope to get behind Hanzo, so wear him down with abilities and guard breaks and you won't have many problems.
Summon: N/A
Media Contact
Arsalan Iqbal
pr@ctm360.com Arsalan Iqbal
End
-- CTM360 , a leading Cyber Security provider based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, was recognized and honored as the "Cyber Security Company of the Year" for 2016 during the MEETICT 2017 event held at Gulf Convention Center in Bahrain under the patronage of H.E. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Minister of Transportation & Telecommunication. The award recognizes excellence and commitment in developing solutions to protect data and systems.With exponential increase in financial, data and system losses across industries, Cyber Security remains a trending topic in board rooms and executive management meetings. Recognizing gaps in how cyber threats and incidents are managed, Mr. Mirza Asrar Baig founded CTM360 in 2014 and the company has rapidly become a global front-runner in Cyber Threat Management.CTM360 is offered via a suite of technologies and platforms to Detect, Analyze and Perform real-time cyber incident response via CTM360's 24 x 7 x 365 Cyber Incident Response Unit for its member community. "Innovation and Collaboration are our key strategies that have enabled Team CTM360 to effectively detect and manage cyber attacks targeting our member community" said Mirza Asrar Baig, CEO of CTM360.Present members of CTM360's service include 25 of the top 50 banks in the GCC / Middle East, some of the world's largest oil & gas / petrochemical producers, Skytrax # 1 rated airlines, regional Sovereign Wealth funds, as well as leading healthcare, hospitality and retail conglomerates.CTM360 is now actively pursuing its global expansion plan, expected to be executed by year-end 2017.About CTM360 CTM360 is a comprehensive Cyber Threat Management system based on the philosophy of collaboration to address the challenges of an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, CTM360 provides 'Dependable Security as a Service' via a secure cloud-based platform, which enables members to tackle evolving cyber threats on a real-time basis. CTM360 cyber threat analysts operate 24 x 7 x 365 and have already gained the trust of 25 of the Top 50 GCC banks and other major organizations.CTM360's mission is to enhance member cyber resilience, with the strategy of identifying and managing attacks at an early stage. Following success in the GCC, CTM360 is now global with a dedicated offering keeping a steady finger on the pulse of cyber threats seen across the world. Within CTM360, a fully equipped cyber incident response team detects cyber threats relevant to member organizations, conducts analysis on impact and connects the dots across multiple incidents. This core service is strengthened by cyber footprint management and real-time situational awareness. For more information, visit http://www.ctm360.com
Induction Ceremony to be held at Wesleyan College, Macon, GA
Contact
Betty Hollan, Executive Director
bettyhollan@ georgiawomen.org Betty Hollan, Executive Director
End
-- Three women who made significant contributions to Georgia's history will be inducted into the Georgia Women of Achievement Hall of Fame on March 9, 2017 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.The 26annual Georgia Women of Achievement Induction Ceremony will begin at 10:00am in Pierce Chapel on the Wesleyan Campus. Immediately after the ceremony a reception will be held in Oval Hall honoring the family and friends of the inductees and all other guests.The ceremony takes place each year in March in celebration of Women's History Month. This year, Georgia Women of Achievement will recognize the contributions of Carolyn Mackenzie Carter, the first female photographer for theClermont Huger Lee, one of Georgia's first female landscape architects; and Lucile Nix, the first library head for the state of Georgia who led significant expansion across the state.Georgia Women of Achievement was created in 1990 to honor women in Georgia who have contributed extensively to the community through their professional and personal lives. Honorees must have exceptional accomplishments, be a continuous inspiration, and because their lives are viewed in their entirety, the honorees must be deceased for a minimum of five years. The three 2017 inductees will be among almost 90 other women previously honored by Georgia Women of Achievement.Ruth Knox, president of Wesleyan College and a Georgia Women of Achievement Trustee, will be the keynote speaker for this year's Induction Ceremony. A 1975 Wesleyan graduate, Knox is in her 15year as president of her alma mater. During her tenure of leadership at Wesleyan, Knox grew academic programs, scholarship programs, and saw the addition of a new education building. Knox is a successful fundraiser, but is most proud of the women who have graduated during her time at Wesleyan.To register for the event or to become a sponsor, please visit www.georgiawomen.org ( http://www.georgiawomen.org/ induction-ceremony ) or contact the GWA office at 404-328-8555.
By: Fairway Independent Mortgage - Home Loans
End
-- Finding your dream home isn't always an easy process. However, when you finally do find that special place that meets all of your needs, it will all be worth it. Of course, there's that minor detail of finances that can make an already long process even longer. Instead of dealing with the complexities of home buying finances on your own, it is wise to consider bringing in Marie Bjornson of Fairway Independent Mortgage - Home Loans for expert assistance. If you are unsure about buying a home, it is important to remember these homeownership advantages: Great tax deductions for property taxes, insurance, and mortgage interest Excellent investment for the future and retirement Personal pride from owning your own home In a good market, your hard-earned money contributes toward an appreciating asset, rather than being wasted on rentAre you looking for mortgage lending assistance in Bellingham, Whatcom County, and the rest of Washington State? Marie Bjornson of Fairway Independent Mortgage - Home Loans is ready to work with you until you find the ideal program. Contact the office, today, and get the process started.For more information visit http://www.wa- mortgage.com or call (360) 676-9600.
Alpha cells in the pancreas can be induced in living mice to quickly and efficiently become insulin-producing beta cells when the expression of just two genes is blocked, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Studies of human pancreases from diabetic cadaver donors suggest that the alpha cells' "career change" also occurs naturally in diabetic humans, but on a much smaller and slower scale. The research suggests that scientists may one day be able to take advantage of this natural flexibility in cell fate to coax alpha cells to convert to beta cells in humans to alleviate the symptoms of diabetes.
"It is important to carefully evaluate any and all potential sources of new beta cells for people with diabetes," said Seung Kim, MD, PhD, professor of developmental biology and of medicine. "Now we've discovered what keeps an alpha cell as an alpha cell, and found a way to efficiently convert them in living animals into cells that are nearly indistinguishable from beta cells. It's very exciting."
Kim is the senior author of the study, which will be published online Feb. 16 in Cell Metabolism. Postdoctoral scholar Harini Chakravarthy, PhD, is the lead author.
"Transdifferentiation of alpha cells into insulin-producing beta cells is a very attractive therapeutic approach for restoring beta cell function in established Type 1 diabetes," said Andrew Rakeman, PhD, the director of discovery research at JDRF, an organization that funds research into Type 1 diabetes. "By identifying the pathways regulating alpha to beta cell conversion and showing that these same mechanisms are active in human islets from patients with Type 1 diabetes, Chakravarthy and her colleagues have made an important step toward realizing the therapeutic potential of alpha cell transdifferentiation." Rakeman was not involved in the study.
Food's effect on glucose levels
Cells in the pancreas called beta cells and alpha cells are responsible for modulating the body's response to the rise and fall of blood glucose levels after a meal. When glucose levels rise, beta cells release insulin to cue cells throughout the body to squirrel away the sugar for later use. When levels fall, alpha cells release glucagon to stimulate the release of stored glucose.
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Although both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are primarily linked to reductions in the number of insulin-producing beta cells, there are signs that alpha cells may also be dysfunctional in these disorders.
"In some cases, alpha cells may actually be secreting too much glucagon," said Kim. "When there is already not enough insulin, excess glucagon is like adding gas to a fire."
Because humans have a large reservoir of alpha cells, and because the alpha cells sometimes secrete too much glucagon, converting some alpha cells to beta cells should be well-tolerated, the researchers believe.
The researchers built on a previous study in mice several years ago that was conducted in a Swiss laboratory, which also collaborated on the current study. It showed that when beta cells are destroyed, about 1 percent of alpha cells in the pancreas begin to look and act like beta cells. But this happened very slowly.
"What was lacking in that initial index study was any sort of understanding of the mechanism of this conversion," said Kim. "But we had some ideas based on our own work as to what the master regulators might be."
Chakravarthy and her colleagues targeted two main candidates: a protein called Arx known to be important during the development of alpha cells and another called DNMT1 that may help alpha cells "remember" how to be alpha cells by maintaining chemical tags on its DNA. The researchers painstakingly generated a strain of laboratory mice unable to make either Arx or DNMT1 in pancreatic alpha cells when the animals were administered a certain chemical compound in their drinking water. They observed a rapid conversion of alpha cells into what appeared to be beta cells in the mice within seven weeks of blocking the production of both these proteins.
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To confirm the change, the researchers collaborated with colleagues in the laboratory of Stephen Quake, PhD, a co-author and professor of bioengineering and of applied physics at Stanford, to study the gene expression patterns of the former alpha cells. They also shipped the cells to collaborators in Alberta, Canada, and at the University of Illinois to test the electrophysiological characteristics of the cells and whether and how they responded to glucose.
"Through these rigorous studies by our colleagues and collaborators, we found that these former alpha cells were -- in every way -- remarkably similar to native beta cells," said Kim.
Testing the theory in human cells
The researchers then turned their attention to human pancreatic tissue from diabetic and nondiabetic cadaver donors. They found that samples of tissue from children with Type 1 diabetes diagnosed within a year or two of their death include a proportion of bi-hormonal cells -- individual cells that produce both glucagon and insulin. Kim and his colleagues believe they may have caught the cells in the act of converting from alpha cells to beta cells in response to the development of diabetes. They also saw that the human alpha cell samples from the diabetic donors had lost the expression of the very genes -- ARX and DNMT1 -- they had blocked in the mice to convert alpha cells into beta cells.
"So the same basic changes may be happening in humans with Type 1 diabetes," said Kim. "This indicates that it might be possible to use targeted methods to block these genes or the signals controlling them in the pancreatic islets of people with diabetes to enhance the proportion of alpha cells that convert into beta cells."
Kim is a member of Stanford Bio-X, the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, the Stanford Cancer Institute and the Stanford Child Health Research Institute.
In the retina of the eye, rod and cone cells turn light into electrical signals, the first step toward human vision. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are studying rod cell proteins GARP1 and GARP2 to learn how they function in normal phototransduction, as well as in abnormal degeneration of the retina that can lead to blindness in diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.
In experiments published in Scientific Reports, Marci DeRamus, Ph.D., Steven Pittler, Ph.D., and colleagues show that GARP2 accelerates retinal degeneration in mice that lack another rod cell protein involved in producing the electrical signal. The knockout genetic background they used allows the potentially detrimental effect of GARP1 and GARP2 to be amplified, and also allows the possible roles of GARP1 and GARP2 to be distinguished.
The goal is dissecting the roles of GARP protein structure and function in the light-sensing rod cells.
DeRamus and Pittler, UAB School of Optometry, also have made an important step toward creating a standardized nomenclature between mice and humans for one measurement of retinal degeneration called optical coherence tomography, or OCT. This simple, non-invasive imaging test uses light waves to produce a cross-sectional picture of the retina's distinct layers, allowing determination of layer thickness and integrity. Eye doctors worldwide use OCT as a way to monitor retinal health in patients.
In the paper, DeRamus and Pittler propose a uniform standard for mouse OCT nomenclature labeling, which they say has so far been incomplete, inconsistent between groups of researchers and often in conflict with the recently established human OCT nomenclature.
The UAB researchers carefully aligned mouse OCT imaging with mouse microscopic histologic imaging to propose the uniform mouse OCT nomenclature, which they also adopted in their experiments.
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"This new standard represents the most accurate alignment and layer designation for the mouse to date," they wrote in the paper. "Adoption of this nomenclature will create a single standard for OCT layer designation and facilitate comparisons of OCT results from different labs."
"Ophthalmologists worldwide use OCT to diagnose and manage retinal disease," said Christine Curcio, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology who has been involved in establishing the human OCT layer designation. "Similar nomenclature for OCT imaging of mice will help speed the translation of laboratory findings to clinical utility."
Research details
Distinguishing different roles for GARP1 and GARP2 is muddled by their overlap. They are generated from the same gene and are identical for 318 amino acids, which is nearly all of GARP2's 326 amino acids. The 550-amino-acid GARP1 has an additional 232 amino acids not found in GARP2. GARP1 and GARP2 are intrinsically disorganized proteins, which may permit multiple conformations that drive interactions with multiple proteins.
The UAB researchers bred knockout mice that lacked a rod protein called cGMP-gated cation channel beta-subunit and the GARP proteins, which are all encoded by the same gene. The beta-subunit is part of the membrane channel that fires the electrical signal in rod cells in response to light. Then, they bred the knockout mice with three more strains of mice expressing either just GARP1 alone, just GARP2 alone, or both GARP1 and GARP2.
They followed retinal degeneration in these strains at three and 10 weeks, using OCT and light and transmission microscopy to measure thinning of the outer nuclear layer, which contains the cell bodies of the rods and cones. They also measured thinning of the full retinal thickness. They measured functional loss by electroretinography.
The rate of thinning of the outer nuclear layer -- as compared to normal mice -- was greatest for the beta-subunit knockouts that had just GARP2 alone, followed in decreasing order by the knockouts with both GARP2 and GARP1, the knockout with just GARP1, and the knockout with neither GARP protein.
The rate of thinning of the full retinal thickness -- as compared to normal mice -- was greatest for the beta-subunit knockouts that had just GARP2 alone, followed in decreasing order by the knockouts with both GARP2 and GARP1, the knockout with neither GARP protein, and the knockout with just GARP1.
Thus, GARP2 appeared to accelerate retinal degeneration. However, when both GARP2 and GARP1 were present, GARP1 appeared to slow the negative effect of GARP2. This suggests that the two proteins have distinct and separate roles in the rod photoreceptors.
Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered how certain cancers hijack the immune system for their benefit, tricking it into helping rather than harming them.
While most of us are aware that our immune system protects us from infection, we may be less aware of the key role that cells of the immune system also play in coordinating the repair of damaged tissue. This 'wound-healing' aspect of the immune response stimulates growth of new cells within damaged tissue and brings extra nutrients and oxygen into the injured tissue.
However, cancers frequently exploit the wound-healing side of the immune system for their own ends. Indeed, cancers have been described as 'wounds that do not heal' due to their ability to masquerade as damaged tissue in order to receive help from the immune system. But just how cancers switch on this wound-healing response is not well understood.
However, scientists from the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, led by Smurfit Professor of Medical Genetics, Seamus Martin, have just found that a molecule called TRAIL -- which is frequently found in high concentrations on many cancers -- can become 're-wired' in certain tumours to send an inflammatory 'wound-healing' signal.
Ironically, TRAIL normally delivers a signal for cells to die, but the Trinity scientists found that this molecule can also send a wound-healing message from tumour cells.
The research, conducted by Research Fellow at Trinity, Dr Conor Henry, has just been published in the journal, Molecular Cell.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Martin said: "Understanding how cancers turn on the wound-healing response has been mysterious, so we are very excited to find that certain cancers exploit TRAIL for that purpose."
"This suggests ways in which we can turn off this reaction in cancers that use TRAIL to hoodwink the immune system into helping rather than harming them."
Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered that a common type of cell in the vertebrate immune system plays a unique role in communication between other cells. It turns out that these cells, called macrophages, can transmit messages between non-immune cells.
Their paper, published online Feb. 16 in the journal Science, describes how pigment cells in a species of fish have co-opted macrophages to deliver messages important for pigment patterning in skin. This is the first reported instance of macrophages relaying messages over a long distance between non-immune cells. But since the macrophages are common to all vertebrates, the researchers believe their discovery is no quirk of aquatic life. Macrophages may be common interlocutors for long-distance messages among cells.
"If pigment cells have figured out how to use macrophages for signaling, it stands to reason that others have as well," said senior author and UW biology professor David Parichy. "This could occur in a variety of cells and animals."
Parichy and lead author Dae Seok Eom, a UW postdoctoral researcher, discovered this new role for macrophages while studying zebrafish. They had wanted to understand how the zebrafish gets its telltale stripes of silver-yellow and black. Each color -- black, yellow and silver -- arises from a different type of pigment cell. When zebrafish are juveniles, these pigment cells migrate to the right spot to create the stripes.
"As they migrate, communication among these three populations of pigment cells is critical to forming the stripes we see in adult zebrafish," said Parichy.
Eom and Parichy used laboratory genetic tools to make zebrafish pigment cells glow fluorescent colors -- making these cells easier to track using a microscope. In the process, they discovered that xanthoblasts -- the precursors to yellow pigment cells -- produced unique, elaborate projections during the peak time for pigment pattern formation.
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"Xanthoblasts sent these thin projections out in circuitous, almost random directions," said Parichy. "The projections would eventually encounter another pigment cell, the black melanocyte, and stop."
Eom discovered that these projections -- which they named "airinemes" for mathematician and astronomer Sir George Airy, who described the optical limits to view small objects, as well as the Greek messenger goddess Iris -- contained tiny, membrane-bound packages of proteins that provide molecular signals to melanocytes, the black pigment cells. The researchers showed that when an airineme from a xanthoblast encountered a melanocyte, the signal proteins from the airineme would cause the black pigment cell to migrate into the stripe.
But they didn't understand how airinemes found melanocytes, or why they took such a seemingly random route, until Eom made a critical observation.
"I saw a macrophage interacting with an airineme, and then another, and then another," said Eom. "In one experiment, I counted 178 airinemes coming from xanthoblasts and 94 percent of them were obviously associated with a macrophage."
Macrophages are constantly on the move. In fish, people and everything in between, they wander the tissues of the body, "crawling" along like amoebae. Along the way, they sample their environment, picking up and ingesting debris. Their scavenged prizes are often harmless cellular detritus. But if they ingest a bit of a pathogen, or receive signals that a cell nearby is under assault from an invader, macrophages can alert other cells of the immune system.
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Armed with this knowledge, Eom tested whether macrophages were truly facilitating the dialogue between yellow and black pigment cells. Using genetic tools, he created zebrafish without macrophages and saw that xanthoblasts produced far fewer airinemes. And under these conditions, melanocytes did not migrate properly to form stripes.
Under the microscope, Eom captured images and movies of how macrophages behaved when they randomly encountered an airineme. A macrophage would seemingly "engulf" one of the round, globular protein packages on the airineme and drag it along, stretching the airineme out.
"Now we know why airinemes seem to take such a meandering, random route," said Eom. "They are being dragged by macrophages that are themselves moving along randomly."
But when that same macrophage encountered a melanophore, the macrophage appeared to "hand off" the airineme to the melanophore and wander away, presumably delivering the message -- via the airineme -- to the melanophore.
Eom showed that airineme membranes contain a type of lipid that is often an "eat me" signal for macrophages, which may explain why the macrophages attach to and drag along these projections. He and Parichy plan to investigate why macrophages do not digest the airinemes and how the airineme is "handed off" specifically to a melanocyte.
But given the macrophage's tendency to wander and pick up objects, Parichy believes this is unlikely to be the sole instance of macrophage co-option by cells outside of the immune system.
"It's very plausible that what we've seen here occurs in other contexts where macrophages play important roles, from tissue development and regeneration to cancer," said Parichy. "We can easily see how macrophages might facilitate signaling between cells in a variety of situations."
Mothers who want the benefits of breast milk for their babies but can't produce the substance often turn to milk-sharing networks.
A new study from the University of Central Florida found that although not a recommended practice, those who participate in milk-sharing networks generally follow good hygiene, which is critical for keeping milk free from bacterial contamination.
"Peer milk sharing is a growing practice despite warnings from the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics," said Beatriz Reyes-Foster, lead author and an anthropology assistant professor. "Our findings suggest that parents who engage in these networks are taking precautions to make sure their children don't get sick and that's not something we knew before this study. But there is room for improvement."
Reyes-Foster, sociology associate professor Shannon K. Carter and assistant professor Melanie Sberna Hinojosa, published their findings in this month's edition of the Journal of Human Lactation.
The team of researchers surveyed 321 Central Florida peer milk-sharing parents who did not exchange money for milk. They asked:
Do you freeze milk for more than six months?
Do you leave the milk at room temperature for more than 8 hours?
Do you use ice to transport?
Do you sanitize pump equipment?
Do you wash your hands before handling the milk?
The team found that 35.4 percent of recipients reported using all five safe practices and another 40.6 percent reported using at least four of the five. No recipient reported using only one or none of the safe practices. Results for donors were similar with nearly 80 percent confirming they sanitize pumps use to extract the milk.
The team also found that the behavior didn't change even when sociodemographic characteristics did.
The research was conducted in 2014, before a Human Milk Banking Association of North America bank was established in Florida. This organization provides donors with milk-handling guidelines. The researchers suggest that the numbers may change now that the organization is in the state.
The researchers also warn that more study is needed and that the findings don't extend to online classifieds where milk is exchanged for money. The prevalence of safety practices in those kinds of exchanges is unknown and deserves study, Reyes-Foster said.
Move over, men
Several months ago, I visited a community forest in the mid-hills of western Nepal to understand how patriarchy was influencing community forestry practices.
A new automated system detects cracks in the steel components of nuclear power plants and has been shown to be more accurate than other automated systems.
"Periodic inspection of the components of nuclear power plants is important to avoid accidents and ensure safe operation," said Mohammad R. Jahanshahi, an assistant professor in Purdue University's Lyles School of Civil Engineering. "However, current inspection practices are time consuming, tedious and subjective because they involve an operator manually locating cracks in metallic surfaces."
Other automatic crack detection algorithms under development often do not detect cracks in metallic surfaces because the cracks are usually small, have low contrast and are difficult to distinguish from welds, scratches and grind marks. The new system, called CRAQ, for crack recognition and quantification, overcomes this limitation by using an advanced algorithm and a powerful "machine learning" technique to detect cracks based on the changing texture surrounding cracks on steel surfaces.
Findings are detailed in a research paper published this week in Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering.
The automated approach could help improve the state of the nation's infrastructure, recently given an overall grade of D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, he said.
"One reason we have a grade of D+ for the infrastructure is insufficient inspection," said Jahanshahi, director of Purdue's Smart Informatix Laboratory. "So we want to have more frequent inspection using robotic systems to collect data."
The nation operates 99 commercial nuclear power plants, which account for about 20 percent of total U.S. electricity generation. Aging can result in cracking, fatigue, embrittlement of metal components, wear, erosion, corrosion and oxidation.
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"Cracking is an important factor in aging degradation that may cause leaking and result in hazardous incidents," Jahanshahi said. "For instance, the Millstone nuclear power station in Connecticut had an accident in 1996 that was caused by a leaking valve, and the accident cost $254 million. In 2010, the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant had an accident where deteriorating underground pipes leaked radioactive tritium into groundwater supplies, resulting in $700 million in damage."
Complicating the inspection process is that nuclear reactors are submerged in water to maintain cooling.
"Consequently, direct manual inspection of reactor internals is not feasible due to high temperatures and radiation hazards," Jahanshahi said. "So remotely recorded videos at the underwater reactor surface are used for inspection. However, recent testing has identi?ed a need for increased reliability associated with identifying cracks from reviews of live and recorded data. The results indicate that this capability is degraded by human involvement in identifying cracks, even when identi?cation should be easy."
Other automated crack-detection systems under development are designed for processing single images, whereas the new method processes multiple video frames, providing more robust results. Findings show the system outperformed two others under development.
"In contrast to other methods that only focus on detecting cracks in one image, we propose a method called Bayesian data fusion that tracks detected cracks in video frames and fuses the information obtained from multiple frames," Jahanshahi said. "Moreover, we can ?lter out falsely detected cracks and increase the reliability and robustness of crack detection by using Bayesian decision theory," which determines the probability that an object is a crack or a false alarm. The system assigns "con?dence levels" automatically assessing whether the detected cracks are real, outlining the cracks with color-coded boxes that correspond to these confidence levels. For example, if the algorithm assigns a high confidence level to a crack, the box outline is red. The processing procedure takes about a minute.
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"Then, a technician could do a manual inspection to confirm that there is a crack," Jahanshahi said. A YouTube video is available at: https://youtu.be/b87OgGBIR78.
The research paper was authored by doctoral student Fu-Chen Chen; Jahanshahi; doctoral student Rih-Teng Wu; and Chris Joffe, technical leader for Non-destructive Evaluation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a nonprofit organization funded by the electric utility industry.
Researchers recorded videos using an underwater camera system scanning 304 stainless steel specimens containing cracks and also features such as welds, grinding marks and scratches.
Future research will include work to develop a more accurate and more fully automated system using advanced simulations and computational software.
"We are currently working on the second version of the software by developing deep learning algorithms to detect cracks for this application where we have significantly improved the performance of the system using Constitutional Neural Networks," Jahanshahi said.
The researchers have filed a patent application through the Office of Technology Commercialization of the Purdue Research Foundation.
A new scientific paper by a University of Maryland-led international team of distinguished scientists, including five members of the National Academies, argues that there are critical two-way feedbacks missing from current climate models that are used to inform environmental, climate, and economic policies. The most important inadequately-modeled variables are inequality, consumption, and population.
In this research, the authors present extensive evidence of the need for a new paradigm of modeling that incorporates the feedbacks that the Earth System has on humans, and propose a framework for future modeling that would serve as a more realistic guide for policymaking and sustainable development.
Twelve of the interdisciplinary team of 20 coauthors are from the University of Maryland, with multiple other universities (Northeastern University, Columbia University, George Mason University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University) and other institutions (Joint Global Change Research Institute, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the Institute for Global Environment and Society, Japan's RIKEN research institute, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) also represented.
The study explains that the Earth System (e.g., atmosphere, ocean, land, and biosphere) provides the Human System (e.g., humans and their production, distribution, and consumption) not only the sources of its inputs (e.g., water, energy, biomass, and materials) but also the sinks (e.g., atmosphere, oceans, rivers, lakes, and lands) that absorb and process its outputs (e.g., emissions, pollution, and other wastes).
Titled "Modeling Sustainability: Population, Inequality, Consumption, and Bidirectional Coupling of the Earth and Human Systems," the paper describes how the rapid growth in resource use, land-use change, emissions, and pollution has made humanity the dominant driver of change in most of the Earth's natural systems, and how these changes, in turn, have critical feedback effects on humans with costly and serious consequences, including on human health and well-being, economic growth and development, and even human migration and societal conflict. However, the paper argues that these two-way interactions ("bidirectional coupling") are not included in the current models.
The Oxford University Press's multidisciplinary journal National Science Review, which published the paper, has highlighted the work in its current issue, pointing out that "the rate of change of atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O [the primary greenhouse gases] increased by over 700, 1000, and 300 times (respectively) in the period after the Green Revolution when compared to pre-industrial rates."
"Many datasets, for example, the data for the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases, show that human population has been a strong driver of the total impact of humans on our planet Earth. This is seen particularly after the two major accelerating regime shifts: Industrial Revolution (~1750) and Green Revolution (~1950)" said Safa Motesharrei, UMD systems scientist and lead author of the paper. "For the most recent time, we show that the total impact has grown on average ~4 percent between 1950 and 2010, with almost equal contributions from population growth (~1.7 percent) and GDP per capita growth (~2.2 percent). This corresponds to a doubling of the total impact every ~17 years. This doubling of the impact is shockingly rapid."
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"However, these human impacts can only truly be understood within the context of economic inequality," pointed out political scientist and co-author Jorge Rivas of the Institute for Global Environment and Society. "The average per capita resource use in wealthy countries is 5 to 10 times higher than in developing countries, and the developed countries are responsible for over three quarters of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from 1850 to 2000."
University of Maryland geographer and co-author Klaus Hubacek added: "The disparity is even greater when inequality within countries is included. For example, about 50 percent of the world's people live on less than $3 per day, 75 percent on less than $8.50, and 90 percent on less than $23. One effect of this inequality is that the top 10 percent produce almost as much total carbon emissions as the bottom 90 percent combined."
The study explains that increases in economic inequality, consumption per capita, and total population are all driving this rapid growth in human impact, but that the major scientific models of Earth-Human System interaction do not bidirectionally (interactively) couple Earth System Models with the primary Human System drivers of change such as demographics, inequality, economic growth, and migration.
The researchers argue that current models instead generally use independent, external projections of those drivers. "This lack of two-way coupling makes current models likely to miss critical feedbacks in the combined Earth-Human system," said National Academy of Engineering member and co-author Eugenia Kalnay, a Distinguished University Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland.
"It would be like trying to predict El Nino with a sophisticated atmospheric model, but with the Sea Surface Temperatures taken from external, independent projections by, for example, the United Nations," said Kalnay. "Without including the real feedbacks, predictions for coupled systems cannot work; the model will get away from reality very quickly."
"Ignoring this bidirectional coupling of the Earth and Human Systems can lead to missing something important, even decisive, for the fate of our planet and our species," said co-author Mark Cane, G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who recently won the Vetlesen Prize for creating the first coupled ocean-atmosphere model with feedbacks that successfully predicted El Nino.
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Co-author Matthias Ruth, Director and Professor at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University, said: "The result of not dynamically modeling these critical Human-Earth System feedbacks would be that the environmental challenges humanity faces may be significantly underestimated. Moreover, there's no explicit role given to policies and investments to actively shape the course in which the dynamics unfold. Rather, as the models are designed now, any intervention -- almost by definition -- comes from the outside and is perceived as a cost. Such modeling, and the mindset that goes with it, leaves no room for creativity in solving some of the most pressing challenges."
"The paper correctly highlights that other human stressors, not only the climate ones, are very important for long-term sustainability, including the need to reduce inequality'', said Carlos Nobre (not a co-author), one of the world's leading Earth System scientists, who recently won the prestigious Volvo Environment Prize in Sustainability for his role in understanding and protecting the Amazon. "Social and economic equality empowers societies to engage in sustainable pathways, which includes, by the way, not only the sustainable use of natural resources but also slowing down population growth, to actively diminish the human footprint on the environment."
Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, who was not a co-author of the paper, commented: "We cannot separate the issues of population growth, resource consumption, the burning of fossil fuels, and climate risk. They are part of a coupled dynamical system, and, as the authors show, this has dire potential consequences for societal collapse. The implications couldn't be more profound."
Humans have long had a knack for concentrating heavy metals that would otherwise remain at low concentrations within the environment. These human-produced pollutants can be found going back as far as one million years ago with fires in caves during the Paleolithic Era, to industrial development in the 19th century, to increased concentrations of contaminants like cadmium and lead in the 20th century.
Because of the effects of heavy metal pollution on environmental and human health, measurement is critical -- both in determining current levels and in documenting historical levels. It can be challenging, though, to gather and analyze retrospective data, with methods including chemical analyses of archeological sites and comparison of historical records to sedimentary cores. In a recent article published in Applications in Plant Sciences, researchers at Brown University have demonstrated a unique resource that has been under our feet for decades: pressed herbaceous plants, labeled and stored as herbarium specimens.
Herbaria have long been a valuable resource -- traditionally to aid in identification of local flora -- but more recently to address ecological questions including invasive species and the effects of climate change. Likewise, plants have been used for decades as indicators of heavy metal pollution. This is one of the first studies, however, to demonstrate the efficacy of using herbarium specimens of herbaceous plants to track changes in heavy metal concentrations over time.
Using herbaceous plant specimens from Brown University's herbarium collected from 1846 to 1916, Dr. Tim Whitfeld, senior author of the study, and his colleagues extracted and quantified heavy metal concentrations including copper, lead, and zinc. The plant specimens used were collected from different areas around Providence, RI. Looking both across time and around a bustling industrial town at the turn of the 19th century, the authors were able to show that zinc and copper concentrations remained relatively consistent across time, and that lead concentrations reduced significantly from historical records compared to collections from the same areas in 2015.
The lead author on the study, Sofia Rudin, an undergraduate at Brown University, was the main motivation for the study. "While working as a herbarium assistant, digitizing our collection, she noticed many of the specimens had specific locality information for various sites around Providence that she knew were former industrial areas. This prompted her to ask whether these specimens could be used for the study we eventually completed," recalls Dr. Whitfeld.
Different plant species accumulate heavy metals in unique ways, which makes it challenging to take a broad swathe of plant samples for a simple side-by-side comparison. To control for this variability, it was important to match the species of historical samples with those found in the same area today. In a few instances this was not possible, and therefore the researchers were limited to sampling within the same genus. Additional challenges arose because of the nature of utilizing historical collections.
Whitfeld explains, "Sofia encountered particular problems with the analysis of mercury concentrations because of the historical use of mercuric chloride as an insecticide in herbarium collections. It was impossible to accurately assess Hg [mercury] concentrations in the plant because the insecticide treatment saturated the sensor. This was unfortunate because documenting changes to Hg [mercury] through time was originally one of our research goals."
Despite these challenges, the authors were still able to emphasize broader trends in heavy metal accumulation in the Providence area, namely decreases in lead concentrations due in part to Environmental Protection Agency regulations but also to targeted remediation efforts in a historically active industrial area.
Whitfeld and his colleagues aren't finished yet. According to Whitfeld, "Sofia is building on this project with a more detailed analysis of heavy metal concentrations at one of our study sites. Her work includes analysis of pond sediments, soils, and more collecting to document plant diversity... We're also hoping to cast a broader net across Providence with an analysis of historical specimens of Plantago [plantain] in an attempt to match terrestrial trends in heavy metal concentration with measurements taken from nearby marine sediments in Narragansett Bay [south of Providence]."
In addition to the study's goal of demonstrating the usefulness of herbarium specimens to measure levels of heavy metal concentrations, the study had a second, equally important goal. As Whitfeld explains, "We wanted to highlight the relevance of herbarium collections for a wide variety of ecological questions, in order to highlight their importance across the biological and environmental sciences."
The list of ecological questions that herbaria can target is long, and includes biogeography, ethnobotany, tracking invasive species, plant diseases, and studying the impact of climate change on flowering times. The impact of herbaria on research doesn't stop there though. As Dr. Whitfeld elaborates, "Herbarium collections are particularly valuable tools in undergraduate science education. It's been my experience that students are especially motivated to contribute to the collections and including opportunities for collecting and offering field experience for this to happen is an effective way to engage students in botany. Therefore, if universities invest in maintaining their herbarium collections there is a great payoff in terms of increased educational opportunities."
In addition to the benefit to educational opportunities, investments in herbaria result in increased potential for further retrospective studies. "The many online herbarium portals that compile digital images and label data from across different collections are useful for any type of study that requires more specimens than contained in the researcher's home collection," notes Whitfeld. "It's especially important for smaller herbaria to be able to search and access collections from larger institutions in order to broaden their studies."
An attractive scent is just as important as good looks when it comes to choosing a mate -- at least among stick insect populations.
According to a new study, fragrance is an important factor in stick insects' choice of mate. It could explain why, when looks are deceiving, the insects are still able to show a preference for mates from the same species -- a key to evolutionary success.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, are part of an 18-year research programme, in which scientists at the University of Sheffield and Royal Holloway, University of London, examined stick insect populations in California, in the US, to try to understand better what drives new species formation.
In evolutionary terms, the ability to avoid mixing genes with other species is important to preserve differences between species and evolve characteristics that are advantageous to survival. Natural selection plays a large part in this. For example, if an insect population has developed an effective camouflage that prevents birds from eating them, a new population of non-camouflaged individuals moving into the area might not last long, and so would be only a minor threat to the gene pool.
But scientists think that natural selection is not the whole picture: any survivors of predation could still mate, so what other factors might further promote speciation -- or the development of new and distinct species? The answer, at least for some groups of insects, appears to be largely down to the insects' natural perfume.
The teams at Sheffield and Royal Holloway, studied more than 100 populations of stick insects, including 11 separate species, over nearly two decades, to try to find some answers to this evolutionary puzzle of how new species form.
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"Species formation generally takes place over huge timescales and it's very difficult to observe directly -- mainly we just get snapshots of what's happening at a particular moment in time," says Dr Patrik Nosil, of the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. "What we've done is to take many snapshots and start to reconstruct the evolutionary process to build up a picture of what might be happening across these different populations and moments in time."
The researchers noticed that stick insects from different populations and species were unwilling to mate with each other. They discovered that mate choice appeared to be based on the mixture of particular chemical compounds on their skin that made them more or less attractive to each other.
These oily chemicals protect the insects' bodies and prevent them from drying out -- but they also play an important role in 'signalling' to attract suitable mates.
"We discovered that populations that differed most strongly in their chemical profiles discriminated more strongly against mating with one another, and they also differed more in their genomic sequences," explains Dr Rudiger Riesch from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The team also studied what happened when female stick insects were 'perfumed' artificially, with chemicals, either from their own, or from a different species, and found this directly affected how attractive they were to males.
"We think these skin chemicals are the next step in speciation," says Dr Nosil. "Even if the insects survive when placed into a different environment, the chemicals on their skin provide the next barrier to them mixing their genes."
Even scent, however, is not a completely foolproof guarantee of species differentiation. Stick insects are still likely to occasionally mix and mate between populations even when they differ chemically.
"It takes a very long time to produce a new and entirely distinctive species. We think that natural selection and mate choice can cause substantial progress towards the formation of new species, but we still do not know what other factors help complete this process by preventing the insects from mixing their genes at all," adds Dr Riesch.
The study included work by scientists from 10 different institutions and three countries, and was funded by the European Research Council and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Dr Riesch was supported by the Human Frontier Science Program and Dr Nosil by the Royal Society of London.
University of British Columbia microbiologists have found a yeast in the gut of new babies in Ecuador that appears to be a strong predictor that they will develop asthma in childhood. The new research furthers our understanding of the role microscopic organisms play in our overall health.
"Children with this type of yeast called Pichia were much more at risk of asthma," said Brett Finlay, a microbiologist at UBC. "This is the first time anyone has shown any kind of association between yeast and asthma."
In previous research, Finlay and his colleagues identified four gut bacteria in Canadian children that, if present in the first 100 days of life, seem to prevent asthma. In a followup to this study, Finlay and his colleagues repeated the experiment using fecal samples and health information from 100 children in a rural village in Ecuador.
Canada and Ecuador both have high rates of asthma with about 10 per cent of the population suffering from the disease.
They found that while gut bacteria play a role in preventing asthma in Ecuador, it was the presence of a microscopic fungus or yeast known as Pichia that was more strongly linked to asthma. Instead of helping to prevent asthma, however, the presence of Pichia in those early days puts children at risk.
Finlay also suggests there could be a link between the risk of asthma and the cleanliness of the environment for Ecuadorian children. As part of the study, the researchers noted whether children had access to clean water.
"Those that had access to good, clean water had much higher asthma rates and we think it is because they were deprived of the beneficial microbes," said Finlay. "That was a surprise because we tend to think that clean is good but we realize that we actually need some dirt in the world to help protect you."
Now Finlay's colleagues will re-examine the Canadian samples and look for the presence of yeast in the gut of infants. This technology was not available to the researchers when they conducted their initial study.
This research was a collaboration with Marie-Claire Arrieta, a former UBC postdoctoral fellow and now an assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and Philip Cooper, a professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
This research was presented today at the 2017 annual meeting for Association for the Advancement of Science. Finlay is in Boston for the conference and is also available by phone.
Creating tiny muscle-powered robots that can walk or swim by themselves -- or better yet, when prompted -- is more complicated than it looks.
Rashid Bashir, the head of the bioengineering department at the University of Illinois, and Taher Saif, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at Illinois, will speak in Boston on the design and development of walking and swimming bio-bots at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The symposium "Integrated Cellular Systems: Building Machines with Cells" will start at 1 p.m. Feb. 18 in room 311 of the Hynes Convention Center. A news briefing will be held in room 103 at 11 a.m.
Through the National Science Foundation-funded Emergent Behavior of Integrated Cellular Systems center, Bashir, Saif and colleagues have developed small, soft biological robots, dubbed "bio-bots," that can walk and swim on their own or when triggered by electrical or light signals. The researchers make a soft 3-D printed scaffold measuring a centimeter or two in length, seed it with muscle cells, and the cells self-organize to form functional tissues that make the bio-bots move.
"These machines are now viewed as partially living, with the ability to form, the ability to age and the ability to heal if there's an injury," Saif said. "Now that we've got them working, we are beginning to look back and try to understand how the cells organize themselves and what language they use to communicate. This is the developmental biology of living machines."
In the talk "How to Engineer a Living System," Bashir will describe the methods that the group has used to build the bio-bots and to direct their behavior.
"As engineers, we usually build with materials like wood, steel or silicon. Our focus here is to forward-engineer biological or cell-based systems," Bashir said. "The design is inspired by the muscle-tendon-bone complex found in nature. There's a skeleton or backbone, but made out of soft polymers similar to the ones used in contact lenses, so it can bend instead of needing joints like the body does."
Bashir's group developed multiple designs to make bio-bots walk in certain directions and to control their motion with light or electrical currents.
In the talk "Engineered Living Micro Swimmers," Saif will describe bio-bots that swim and the physical and biological interactions that cause the cells to come into alignment. They form a single muscle unit that contracts to beat a tail, propelling the bio-bot through liquid.
"They align themselves in a direction where the tail of the swimmer can be bent most. Which is exactly what we wanted, although we did not pattern or direct them to do it," Saif said. "Why do they behave this way? If each cell beat at its own time, we wouldn't have the swimmer. What made them synchronize into a single entity?"
Bashir and Saif will share insights learned from these questions and more.
"The objective is not to make a walker and a swimmer, but to lay the scientific foundation so we have principles for building biological machines in the future," Saif said.
In response to a 2011 failure of American rocket motor manufacturer (ATK) to fix a quality problem a foreign firm, Nammo, has been given enough business to justify setting up a manufacturing facility in the United States. The cause of this was the 2011 discovery that American rocket motors for AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and similar missiles were defective. This was noted during testing that the U.S. Air Force performs on a few of every new batch of missiles. The problem here was that when the rocket motors were exposed to very cold conditions (as would happen when an aircraft is flying at a high altitude) they become unreliable. This should have been quickly fixed by the manufacturer but that did not happen and things went downhill from there.
This caused delays in deliveries of some 900 missiles to Taiwan, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Finland, South Korea, Morocco, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Singapore, and Turkey. The rocket motor problems also delayed deliveries of the Sparrow missiles, which use an ATK motor. Desperate for a solution the United States was forced to seek foreign manufacturers who could produce rocket motors that worked. That turned out to be Norwegian ammunition manufacturer Nammo which began delivering a hundred motors a month in early 2013. After about a year the backlog was largely eliminated. The former American supplier, ATK, eventually figured out what it had done wrong and came up with a way to fix its rocket motor. But the long delay in fixing the problem it created gave Nammo, a much smaller firm, an opportunity to grab a portion of the American rocket motor market. ATK found the problem. It was caused by a changes in the formula for the rocket propellant to comply with environmental regulations. Without anyone at ATK noticing this allowed a flaw to appear that led to ATK rocket motors becoming unreliable under certain conditions. It took over two years to sort all this out. Because of the rocket motor problems and the time it took to find another supplier, it will take more time to catch up on the backlog.
The air force and the navy have had an increasing number of incidents where their suppliers of high-tech weapons and equipment screwed up. Cancelling orders and taking manufacturers to court has not eliminated the problems. The military accuses the manufacturers of having a bad attitude, feeling that if there are problems it's easier to cozy up to members of Congress than it is to fix the technical problems. So far, that seems to be working, while the weapons and equipment don't. U.S. manufacturers tried to get a law passed to keep Nammo out, but that failed.
Because of the two year delay in deliveries the AMRAAM manufacturer (Raytheon) has had to do some damage control with customers. There are other missiles like AMRAAM out there. Israel has some very nice stuff. So Raytheon added some warranty and financial sweeteners and hoped that none of the impatient customers get into a war while they were waiting for their long delayed AMRAAMs. That helped but the reputation of ATK and the one other American solid fuel rocket motor manufacturer never recovered, giving Nammo an opening that it took advantage of.
AMRAAM entered service in the early 1990s as a successor to Sparrow. Until 2011 there have never been problems with the rocket motors hat could not be quickly diagnosed and fixed. AMRAAM has been around for a while and undergone several upgrades, without problems appearing in components that are often unchanged for decades. But there have been many upgrades, including a lot of new stuff. Thus, it was always suspected that some of the ingredients of the solid fuel (a slow burning explosive) rocket had changed and chemists scrambled to find out what change did what. That took a lot longer than expected and that was considered unacceptable.
AMRAAM entered service in 1992, more than 30 years after the first radar guided air-to-air missile (the AIM-7 Sparrow) appeared. AMRAAM was designed to fix all the reliability and ease-of-use problems that cursed the AIM-7. But AMRAAM has only had a few opportunities to be used in combat but over half of those launched have hit something. The AIM-120D version entered service five years ago, has longer range, greater accuracy, and resistance to countermeasures. So far AMRAAMs have spent nearly 2 million hours hanging from the wings of jet fighters in flight. Some 2,400 AMRAAMs have been fired, mostly in training or testing operations. Thats about a quarter of those produced.
AMRAAM weighs 172 kg (335 pounds), is 3.7 meters (12 feet) long, and 178mm (7 inches) in diameter. AMRAAM has a max range of 70 kilometers. These missiles cost about a million dollars each. They are complex mechanical, electronic, and chemical systems and each of them, on average, suffers a component failure every 1,500 hours.
Literary award juries are not noted for rewarding bold, innovative fiction, but last years Pulitzer Prize jury, along with about a half dozen others, got it right when they handed the prize to Viet Thanh Nguyen for his debut novel, The Sympathizer. Nguyens jagged, hostile and at times outrageously funny novel managed to turn the conventions and pieties of the immigrant novel on their head without compromising its lucid moral vision.
The Refugees is Nguyens follow-up, a collection of short fiction that explores a more restrained cast of displaced people than the scheming soldiers, spies and politicians of The Sympathizer. In each story, characters are dropped into situations of extreme cultural, linguistic, and geographical displacement, forcing them to radically adjust their assumptions about themselves and the world.
Many of the stories take place in the Vietnamese communities of California, communities created by the fallout of the Vietnam War, a cataclysm ever present though rarely spoken of. Nguyens protagonists negotiate the wars continuing fallout displaced, resilient, often bound strict codes of behaviour and conduct completely out of place in contemporary America and even communist Vietnam.
It is not surprising, then, that the stories abound with images of doubleness and surreal twists of perception, often imbuing the narratives with a dreamlike clarity and strangeness. Nguyens characters have, naturally, been raised to view the world through a particular lens. What happens, he asks again and again, when that lens is made redundant by history and displacement?
In Fatherland, a philandering Saigon business man whose wife and three children escaped Vietnam without him at the end of the war, later marries his mistress and gives their three children the same names as his first brood. When his oldest daughter visits Saigon from America, she becomes the temporary obsession of her younger namesake, a half-sister with the same name and father but separated by an impassible cultural gulf.
The Other Man begins at an airport, a literal and symbolic way station for so many newcomers to the West. There Liem, an eighteen-year-old Vietnamese refugee, is met by his gay, middle-aged white sponsor and his young Anglo Asian lover Marcus.
Liem, conditioned to his role as the receptacle of other peoples good intentions, wryly sizes up the power dynamics: With body erect and head tilted back, Marcus had the posture of someone expecting an inheritance, while Liems sense of doubt caused him to walk with eyes downcast, as if searching for pennies. As Liem and Marcuss subterranean relationship deepens, the power balance shifts, allowing Liem to express his suppressed homosexuality.
Memory is naturally a recurring theme in the stories, but Nguyen avoids the mawkish tone of so much backward-gazing literary fiction by anchoring his characters recollections in vivid often grotesque imagery.
Black-Eyed Women, the books most powerful story, seamlessly eases readers into the fractured first-person narrative of a ghostwriter whose closest relationship is, ironically, with the ghost of her older brother, murdered at sea decades earlier while the family was fleeing the war.
The remembered murder scene, as refracted through the narrators traumatized consciousness, is masterful and restrained. The narrator notes that the pirate who kills her brother is the same age as their father, a chilling, homely detail immediately contrasted by an observation about the pirates nose, described as a sunburned pigs foot.
Here and throughout the collection Nguyen crafts a personal language and imagery superbly fitted to each characters volatile, near-inexpressible memories and reflections. He instinctively understands what to leave off the page and what to include, and when to allow readers to fill in the most painful details for themselves.
For all of the collections strengths and they are many the final impression, at least for this reviewer, is of a novelist recharging his creative batteries and exploring tropes, ideas and character types that will likely be expanded upon in a future novel. There is much to look forward to.
James Grainger is the author of Harmless.
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PORTLAND, ORE.Watchdog groups that keep tabs on digital privacy rights are concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are searching the phones and other digital devices of international travellers at border checkpoints in U.S. airports.
The issue gained attention recently after at least three travellers, including a Canadian journalist, spoke out publicly about their experiences.
The episodes have gained notice amid an outcry over U.S. President Donald Trumps travel ban and complaints of mistreatment of foreign travellers, but the government insists there has been no policy change in the new administration.
Read more:Quebec student interrogated, denied entry to the U.S.
Border Protection says searches increased fivefold in the final fiscal year of the Obama presidency, but still amounted to less than one-hundredth of 1 per cent of all international arrivals.
Here are some things to know about the searches and your privacy rights:
What has prompted the concern?
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation both say they have noticed an uptick in complaints about searches of digital devices by border agents.
The increase has become most noticeable in the last month, Adam Schwartz, a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said.
We are concerned that a bad practice that has existed under past presidents has gotten worse in quantity under the new president, Schwartz said.
The government says nothing has changed. Customs officials also say the perceived shift can be attributed to a jump in the number of electronic devices that people are carrying with them and shifting tactics as the agency adjusts to the amount and types of information that can be stored on todays devices.
What search authority does the border protection have?
Americans have protection under the Fourth Amendment from unreasonable search and seizure.
A police officer, for example, must obtain a warrant from a judge before searching a suspects phone.
But the U.S. border is a legal grey zone. Border agents have long had the right to search travellers physical luggage without a warrant, and that interpretation has been expanded to include digital devices, ACLU staff attorney Nathan Freed Wessler said.
In 2013, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that if agents want to do a forensic search they need to have a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, he said. But the court stopped short of requiring agents to obtain a search warrant beforehand, he said.
And an agent can flip through a phone in a cursory search for any reason.
The law has not kept up with the incredible volume of personal data that we have in our pockets now and that creates tremendous constitutional questions, Wessler said.
In some ways, a search of your phone is more invasive than a search of your house, he said.
A case currently headed to another appeals court could further clarify the law, Schwartz said.
What does the border protection say?
Numbers provided by Border Protection show a fivefold increase in electronic media searches in the 2016 fiscal year ending on Sept. 30 over the previous fiscal year.
In 2016, under the Obama administration, there were 23,877 electronic media searches. That comes to .0061 per cent of total arrivals into the U.S. In fiscal year 2015, there were 4,764 electronic media searches.
A senior Border Protection official briefed reporters on the issue Friday, but the agency insisted the official not be identified.
We see it as an article that is brought into the U.S., no different than a booklet of materials, no different than a suitcase with items in it, the official said.
Weve uncovered very serious and significant information in these types of searches, everything from national security concerns to child pornography to evidence of crimes to determinations of peoples admissibility status under the immigration laws.
How can you protect your digital privacy while travelling?
Privacy advocates say travellers who are concerned should leave their phones and laptops at home and buy a cheap phone once they arrive at their destination.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is also advising its members to do the same.
Those who cant leave their devices behind should encrypt them and close out of all social media applications so they arent accessible without a password, Schwartz said.
But he added that those steps wont matter much if a border agent asks a traveller to unlock the phone or provide a password.
And travellers should also be aware of the rules in other countries. Israeli authorities can check mobile phones at the airport, for example.
What happens if you refuse?
Border Protection cant bar a U.S. citizen from entry if they refuse to comply, but they can ban travellers who are not U.S. citizens.
Even when it comes to U.S. citizens, agents can make things difficult. Travellers who dont unlock their phones could be questioned, detained temporarily and have their phones taken by agents for days.
Haisam Elsharkawi, a self-employed businessman from Anaheim, Calif., told The Associated Press that he was stopped by agents in Los Angeles last week as he was boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. They asked him to unlock his phone without telling him why.
Elsharkawi, a Muslim, said he refused because he didnt want the male agents to see photos of his wife with her head uncovered.
When he asked for a lawyer, the agents detained him, handcuffed him and interrogated him for four hours before he agreed to unlock the device for a female agent, he said. He was then released and his phone was returned after the female Homeland Security officer checked his email, photos and eBay and Amazon accounts.
Elsharkawi, 34, was born in Saudi Arabia to Egyptian parents. He came to the U.S. in 2004 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012.
I was already nervous before and after what has happened ... I dont know what to expect next, he said.
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The mayor of Cambridge, Ont., will publicly reprimand a city councillor who admitted to making lewd comments to one of his constituents.
The citys integrity commissioner ruled earlier this month that Councillor Mike Devine violated the harassment section of the code of conduct for councillors under the Municipal Act after he called a woman a sexy gramma on two separate occasions.
In the decision, the commissioner said Devines comments were undignified, disrespectful and discourteous.
Mayor Doug Craig said Devine will be reprimanded Tuesday at city hall and will be apologizing publicly to the complainant. Craig also said Devine will receive sensitivity training.
In a Facebook post, Devine wrote hes deeply ashamed of his behaviour and apologized to the woman, his family and the community.
My behaviour was completely unacceptable, the councillor wrote. I recognize it is even more inappropriate as a city councillor and for that I am very sorry.
In her complaint to the commissioner dated Sept. 12, 2016, the woman whose name was removed from the report for privacy said she was introduced to Devine at a local restaurant, where he then made a remark about her age and called her a sexy gramma.
The woman said she could smell alcohol on Devines breath and noticed him slurring.
She said they met again in August at the Hespeler Village Market, where she was participating as a vendor with her husband. During that interaction, she said Devine told her you are (expletive) hot and again called her a sexy gramma.
The report says he then gave her his business card and said, call me if you need anything.
She noted again that she could smell alcohol on his breath.
In an interview, Craig said city council members were quite surprised and disappointed by Devines behaviour.
Sexual harassment of any sort is unacceptable, Craig said. As leaders in the community, we need to set the example, and thats exactly what we are doing.
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It is that time of year again where we are planning for our tax preparation. This can bring levels of stress, anxiety or just a complete desire to procrastinate the inevitable. I wanted to take this chance to remind you of a simple way that the necessity of tax season in Arizona can directly help others.
On your Arizona tax form you will see a box that you can check for child abuse prevention. I know that those boxes can raise the question about how the money helps serve. Regional Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) councils across the state can help answer your questions.
The money goes toward the Department of Child Safety (DCS) in-home services program. When there is a struggle in a family, DCS responds to investigate. The service providers under this program bring intensive services into the home in order to maintain safety while promoting strengths and growth. This program allows children to stay with their family and avoid the traumatic, and costly, move into foster care.
With the numbers of children in foster care numbering over 18,000 in our state, measures to help avoid this are crucial. This program at its core is an excellent measure to help save not only the money and resources needed to care for children through foster care, most importantly it helps children avoid the trauma of removal.
Not every situation is appropriate for this service. Sometimes removal into foster care is the only safe and appropriate action. However, for the health of our children, families, communities and Arizona this must be a last resort. Please consider checking the box and add your support to this vital program.
VIRGINIA WATAHOMIGIE
Flagstaff
Nepse jumps 47.62 points
Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) last week jumped 47.62 points to close at 1,343.85 points, as investors rushed to buy shares at a time when prices were at their 11-month low.
OTTAWAIt was a pretty high-powered group.
Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada met with judges of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington last April in the midst of the U.S. election season.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, and Justices Andromache Karakatsanis, Richard Wagner, Claude Gascon and Suzanne Cote travelled to the U.S. capital, and mingled with top U.S. judges at a reception hosted by the Canadian embassy.
The U.S. presidential primaries were heating up. Donald Trump hadnt closed the deal on his Republican nomination. And President Barack Obama was fighting flat out with Republican leadership to win approval of his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court in vain, it would turn out.
So, was it a chance to talk politics or law, or did they engage in gossip and small talk in the safe confines of an elite group of judicial officers who wield influence over the lives and rights of millions?
Canadas top judge says U.S. campaign politics were not on the agenda that day. We would never discuss political problems or issues, is a more accurate way to put it no.
In an exclusive interview with the Star, McLachlin said they discussed legal problems, and she compared judicial travel to academic conferences where ideas and papers on judicial administration and substantive law are exchanged.
On the same Washington trip, the Canadian judges sat in on a United States Supreme Court hearing.
McLachlin said Canadian jurists travel not just as a way to convey the Canadian way of doing things, or to compare administrative notes, but also to get a deeper understanding of a problem that sometimes then aids in the development of Canadian law.
Sometimes its what is the state of the law and how do you approach this particular issue and how do we approach it and this helps give us a better understanding of the parameters of the legal issue, she said.
Other judges on the trip declined a request from the Star to comment, but Justice Andromache Karakatsanis said she generally finds the exchange of ideas and practices to be very worthwhile.
Informal and frank exchanges with other Supreme Courts about how we work, how we approach decision-making, the role of a supreme court or discussions on comparative law can be very illuminating. It is an opportunity to be reflective about the unique challenges, roles and responsibilities of a supreme court.
Whats clear is theres cross-pollination of ideas on judicial journeys. Whats not clear is how much.
University of Ottawa law professor Carissima Mathen says not much is known about the sense of camaraderie, or mutual exchange and influence that happens at this very rarefied level of judicial exchange.
She said its potentially a sensitive issue, and if theres an effect its likely to be a silent effect that goes largely under the radar.
Thats because when it comes to judging, theres sort of an etiquette against the court just throwing in authority that hasnt been used by counsel, Mathen said. Thats how the adversarial system works. The idea is theyre there to settle a dispute, and they shouldnt be sticking their own oar in.
McLachlin, however, points to useful discussions on issues like proportionality, citing it as an example of where the Canadian high court was influenced by an idea developed first by Germany and adopted by other places such as Israel.
Its framed as a three-part test in Canadian constitutional law, known as the Oakes test. And its the key judicial tool used by judges when they evaluate whether a statute or a state action that restricts a fundamental constitutional right say, freedom of speech or freedom of association may be upheld as reasonable and justified in a democratic society.
McLachlin said when a group of judges from the German Federal Constitutional Court came to Canada in 2012, we had a terrific session on the concept of proportionality.
University of Toronto law professor David Schneiderman says McLachlins comments are revealing because high courts around the world have adopted this kind of proportionality analysis.
He said the evaluation of whether a law is proportional is where all the action takes place when judges are deciding whether to strike it down.
So to the extent that theyre addressing problems, applying the same methods and tools of analysis, you can see how communication with judges and other high courts would be helpful, instructive one might say.
In fact, Schneiderman suggests the Supreme Court of Canada was likely influenced to shift its view of the death penalty over a 10-year period, perhaps by a searing South African Supreme Court ruling on the death penalty and discussions around it.
In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada in Kindler upheld Ottawas power to extradite an offender to face the death penalty in the U.S. without receiving assurances the person would not be executed. Then, just a decade later, the Canadian court ruled in the 2001 Burns and Rafay case that a Canadian justice minister must seek assurances an extradited offender wouldnt face the death penalty, except in undefined exceptional circumstances.
The new outcome turned on the practical and philosophic difficulties associated with the death penalty that have increasingly preoccupied the courts and legislators in Canada, the United States and elsewhere, the high court wrote in Kindler.
McLachlin refused to comment on what influenced that seminal 2001 ruling on capital punishment. That would get into the heart of our decision making which we never really comment on. We take the view our decisions stand for themselves.
But as Canadian courts tackle more complex questions in areas of anti-terrorism and national security law, for example, and try to balance collective security with individual liberty and privacy rights, its important to understand what goes into judicial thinking.
Judges travel has been a hot topic in the U.S., part of an ongoing debate about whether that Supreme Court should look to, cite or even care about foreign law in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
Congress once considered a resolution to prohibit the consideration of foreign law in U.S. Supreme Court decision-making. And a Republican congressman actually probed the number of foreign trips American supreme court judges took.
When he found theyd made 93 trips over a five-year period, he snarked to the New Yorker in 2007 that Justices Stephen Breyer and his fellow liberal Anthony Kennedy are more enamored of the enlightenment of the world than they are bound by our own constitution.
Schneiderman thinks theres a balance to be struck. While Canadian courts do look at foreign law, we dont want to mimic the U.S. court, for instance.
I mean the U.S court is a highly dysfunctional court in many ways. Its riven by a political divide that we dont have here, he said. We dont want to copy what theyre doing, but he suggested there is value in judges informing themselves what others do.
Asked if there is a downside to judicial exchanges, especially with countries that dont align with Canadian values, McLachlin said No.
Theres never a downside in looking at other peoples ideas. I mean, each court in the end decides the cases based on the laws in their country and the jurisprudence in their country, and the submissions of the counsel and the intervenors and so on.
Listening to other people, I feel, is always a good thing. And you dont accept holus bolus everything you hear, of course. But it causes you to reflect on your own approach and what youre being told by litigants, and by lawyers and academics and I come back to the idea that it enriches your thinking about a particular jurisprudential problem.
However both Schneiderman and Mathen, keen observers of the Supreme Court, suggested its positive that judges sometimes get outside the bubble or narrow confines of judicial circles that are meant to protect the notion of impartiality.
Court visits
Heres a look at recent travels by, and visitors to, the Supreme Court of Canada:
In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada hosted a delegation of British judges from the United Kingdom Supreme Court.
In 2015, Ottawa hosted judges from the European Court of Human Rights, and McLachlin travelled to Hong Kong for a judicial colloquium and to Israel and met with its high court members.
There were no judicial exchanges in 2014. There were two judicial visits to Canada in 2013 by U.S. Supreme Court members and judges from Frances Constitutional Council.
In 2012, the Canadian court received visits from members of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany and the Supreme Court of India. That same year, Canadian judges travelled to Australia for a judicial colloquium.
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OTTAWAA national Islamic group is expressing alarm about a small anti-Muslim protest held Friday in front of a Toronto mosque.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims says the demonstration, reportedly consisting of about a dozen participants, was a clear attempt to intimidate the Muslim community.
Images on social media showed the protesters carrying signs with anti-Muslim slogans as worshippers were entering the mosque.
The executive director of the National Council says its deeply disturbing that such a protest would happen, let alone after last months slaying of six men at a Quebec City mosque.
Ihsaan Gardee says its critical that Canadians confront hatred in their communities.
The group says its unclear if any threats were made against mosque congregants, but anyone with such information should contact police.
Read more:Anti-Islam protest in Toronto prompts spontaneous counter-protest
Toronto police say theyve been called by outraged people who read media reports about the demonstration but as of Saturday afternoon, they hadnt received a formal complaint.
The protest came as Parliament debated a motion condemning Islamophobia and racism. The debate has sparked many racist and sexually derogatory messages against both the Ontario MP who made the motion and Heritage Minister Melanie Joly who took an active role in the parliamentary debate.
The issue also attracted the attention of Premier Kathleen Wynne on Saturday.
There is no place for Islamophobia in Ontario. Thankful for those who stand with the Islamic community against hate, Wynne tweeted. It was not immediately clear if she was referring to Fridays protest or the issue of Islamophobia in general.
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Craig Shaw had been home for only five minutes when he heard a blast from the apartment two doors away.
Stepping onto his balcony Saturday afternoon, Shaw watched debris from his neighbours unit rain down to where he and his girlfriend had been just moments earlier.
The explosion, on the 19th floor of a highrise near Queen St. W. and Lansdowne Ave., was related to the mishandling of combustibles for the production of drug derivatives, police said. A man and woman inside the apartment at the time were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
When it first happened, we thought it was (outdoor) construction, said Shaw. But then we were, like, No, the whole building shook.
Shaw ran into the hallway and pulled a fire alarm, then called police.
His girlfriend got a towel to treat a large gash on the arm of a man who had been in the apartment where the blast had taken place.
A pair of dogs from the unit were running loose, Shaw said.
We got the two dogs and put them in (our place), because there was glass in the hallway and they were going back and forth out of control.
By Sunday afternoon, there were no visible signs of damage outside the apartment, except for what appeared to be sawdust on the carpet in the hallway.
Jeremy Zlabis was watching television in his apartment one floor below and two units down from the explosion.
His wife was in the shower and their baby daughter was sleeping.
I assumed that somebody had thrown a washing machine off the balcony, he said. You could feel it.
Zlabis, whose family has lived in the building since last year, was reluctant to move in at first because he said the area has a bad reputation for drug activity.
But he and his wife said they have been happy living in the building, which they said is home to many families from various cultural backgrounds.
It all worked out, and we havent had any static over here, said Zlabis, adding that the area feels safer than Kensington Market, where he lived for many years.
Shaw said friends had warned him not to move to the area, but he had never seen signs of trouble on his floor. He had often exchanged greetings with a woman who lives in the apartment where the explosion occurred, and she even invited him and his girlfriend over at Christmas, though they didnt go.
Rachelle Moore, 53, and Ararat Abryamyan, 43, both of Toronto, have each been charged with negligent arson, common nuisance, possession of schedule II substance, and production of schedule II substance.
They are scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on March 29.
With files from Salmaan Farooqui
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Eight-year-old Zoya Kapadia was wheeled into a Brampton mosque Saturday morning on a stretcher, so that she could say goodbye to her parents and sister.
A house fire on Tuesday killed Amina Kapadia, 19, and her parents Iftekhar Niazi, 48 and Jyoti Kapadia, 45. Zoya survived the blaze but suffered third-degree burns and smoke inhalation. She was rushed to Sick Kids Hospital where she was in serious but stable condition, Zeeshan Niazi, a nephew of Iftekhar Niazi, previously told the Star.
After Zoyas brief appearance at the mosque Saturday, she returned to the hospital, and friends and family began to arrive for the funeral.
Imam Omar Subedar said the community is still in a state of shock.
This could happen to anyone if certain checks and balances are not put in place such as having active smoke alarms and things of that nature. So for something of this nature to happen, it definitely has come to the community as a shock, Subedar said. We just have to offer emotional support.
The Brampton Makki Masjid, where Iftekhar Niazi regularly attended Friday prayers, had a filled parking lot for the funeral, with even the rows between spots being used. Attendees also took to parking their cars on the street or in parking lots down the road.
Those in attendance spoke highly of the family.
A high school friend of Amina, Trent Damon, 18, described her as funny, intelligent, smart and someone who was on good terms with everyone.
Damon said when he found out about her death the news shook him and that he couldnt believe it.
You hear about these things all the time but to know someone, who you saw and spoke to on a daily basis is different, Damon said. Shes just gone.
Sunil Bechar, who knew Jyoti and her family as a child and reconnected with her last year, called the fire senseless.
Its unreal, he said. Its a tragedy that could have been prevented.
Bechar said hes also concerned about what will happen to Zoya now, and emphasized Jyotis affection for her children.
Her kids meant the world to her, he said.
According to Subedar, a lot of funds have been raised to support Zoya in the future.
It's just a matter of co-ordination now, he said. But the community has just come full fledged forward to support the daughter in any way they can.
Two GoFundMe pages were previously started for the family to cover funeral costs and Zoyas medical and financial needs. One has raised approximately $7,000 of a $75,000 goal. The other has raised about $40,000 of a $50,000 goal. It said the funeral expenses had been covered by anonymous donors and all of the contributions will go toward Zoyas future needs.
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In November 1967, four years after her husbands assassination, Jacqueline Kennedy traveled to the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia on a much-publicized trip with David Ormsby Gore, a friend of her husband and himself a recent widower.
There was much speculation of a romantic attachment. A few months later, Ormsby Gore, a former British ambassador to Washington, proposed marriage. She turned him down.
In a handwritten letter, filled with anguish and a touch of cruelty, she explained her decision to marry Aristotle Onassis instead.
If ever I can find some healing and some comfort it has to be with somebody who is not part of all my world of past and pain, she wrote. I can find that now if the world will let us.
The letter was part of a set of papers found in locked red-leather cases discovered only last month in Wales at the family home of Ormsby Gore, who died in 1985. They are being auctioned in London next month by his grandson to help restore the house.
The letters point to the depth of feeling behind the public mask of one of the most celebrated women of her time.
Among them is the letter to Ormsby Gore, also known as Lord Harlech, dated Nov. 13, 1968, a month after her marriage to Onassis and five months after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
In it, she spoke of the love she felt for Ormsby Gore, whose wife had died in a car crash in May 1967. We have known so much & shared & lost so much together Even if it isnt the way you wish now I hope that bond of love and pain will never be cut.
Writing from Onassis yacht in Greece, on stationery with the ships crest, a clear if cold message, Kennedy told Ormsby Gore: You are like my beloved beloved brother and mentor and the only original spirit I know as you were to Jack.
Ormsby Gore had expressed incredulity at her choice of Onassis, and she tried to respond.
Please know you of all people must know it that we can never really see into the heart of another, she wrote. You know me. And you must know that the man you write of in your letter is not a man that I could marry.
Onassis, she wrote, is lonely and wants to protect me from being lonely. And he is wise and kind. Only I can decide if he can, and I decided.
I know it comes as a surprise to so many people, she continued. But they see things for me that I never wanted for myself.
Ormsby Gore was an old friend of John F. Kennedy, whose younger sister Kathleen, or Kick, married Ormsby Gores first cousin. After John Kennedys election in 1960, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan sent Ormsby Gore to Washington as Britains ambassador.
The two men, a year apart in age, were extremely close, and the president consulted him on every key issue of foreign policy, especially during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and in discussions of Vietnam and nuclear disarmament.
Robert Kennedy said that Ormsby Gore was almost a part of the government, adding that the president would rather have his judgment than that of anybody else.
Among the letters is one in which the president praised the ambassador: I appreciate as you know, in all these critical matters your judgment which I have found to be uniformly good and true.
Ormsby Gore inherited his fathers title, Lord Harlech, when he died in 1964. His grandson Jasset, who inherited the title a year ago, is the one selling the papers, along with other possessions, at Bonhams, London, in an auction scheduled for March 29.
Some of the letters will be on view March 2 at the Bonhams showroom in New York.
In total, there are 18 handwritten letters and one typed letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to Ormsby Gore, as well as other papers. Those include a pass admitting him to the White House for Nov. 23, 1963, one day after the assassination; a jocular 1963 letter from Robert Kennedy, signed Bobby; and instructions for pallbearers for Robert Kennedys funeral.
The papers include a letter Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Ormsby Gore after the death of his wife, Sylvia, known as Sissie, which seemed to foreshadow his desire to marry her.
Your last letter was such a cri de coeur of loneliness I would do anything to take that anguish from you, she wrote. You want to patch the wounds & match the loose pairs but you cant because your life wont turn out that way.
One of the most moving documents is a draft letter Ormsby Gore wrote to Jacqueline Kennedy after she turned down his proposal.
All the pathetic plans I had brought with me for visits to Cyrenaica, holidays near one another and a whole variety of solutions to our marriage problem, including one for a secret marriage this summer plans which I saw us eagerly discussing, calmly and with complete frankness as we did at the Cape and in Cambodia for the next wonderful ten days all had become irrelevant trash to be thrown away within a few hours of my landing in New York, he wrote.
As for your photograph I weep when I look at it. Why do such agonizing things have to happen? Where was the need for it?
Matthew Haley, the head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams, said that you just dont get this quantity of insight into Jackies personal life and that level of intimacy.
Ormsby Gore was her husbands great friend, but the fact that they developed such an intimate friendship in such a short space of time is important, he said, even if built on shared sadness.
Contacted about the letters Friday, a representative of the Kennedy family said that family members had decided not to comment.
Ormsby Gore did marry again, in December 1969, to Pamela Colin, an American who bore more than a passing resemblance to Jacqueline Onassis. He died at 66, after a car crash. Jacqueline Onassis attended his funeral.
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Wilma Derksen used to have revenge fantasies about what she would do to predators like the one who kidnapped and killed her 13-year-old daughter, Candace.
Candace disappeared while walking home from school Nov. 30, 1984, in Winnipeg and was found dead nearly seven weeks later, frozen in a remote shed near her home. She had been abducted by a stranger.
In her new book, The Way of Letting Go, Derksen describes imagining 10 child murderers lined up their faces covered with hoods as she aims a gun at them and pulls the trigger.
But as the bullets fly and the hoods are removed she sees the dead mens family members mourning the losses, their grief matching her devastation over losing Candace.
I felt their loss as keenly as I felt my own, she writes.
Forgiveness, rather than revenge, is the path Derksen has chosen to cope with her daughters violent death 32 years ago.
The Way of Letting Go, Derksens sixth book, explores forgiveness as an ongoing quest, a ritual as she describes it.
Forgiveness is letting go of the past and moving on to the future, and thats a constant, Derksen, 68, an author, public speaker and advocate for victims of crime, says in an interview, referring to her daughters slaying. We never finish forgiveness. Its an impossibility to say I have forgiven completely.
We have to wash ourselves every day to stay clean, she explains. Forgiveness is a washing of the spirit every day.
Derksen spoke by phone from Winnipeg, before coming to Toronto for the Feb. 21 book release.
For the past several weeks she has been sitting in a Winnipeg court, watching the second trial of the man accused in her daughters slaying, Mark Edward Grant.
Grant, 53, was arrested in May 2007, based on DNA testing. He is being retried on second-degree murder charges because his original February 2011 conviction for the same offences was overturned on appeal in 2013.
Nine months after Candaces body was discovered, a 12-year-old girl was abducted nearby but found alive. A knot used to tie her was similar to one used to bind Candace. And a Wrigleys gum wrapper was found at both scenes.
The Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled that Grants trial judge erred in preventing Grants lawyer from providing the jury with evidence potentially pointing to another man believed responsible for the 12-year-olds kidnapping. That kidnapping happened while Grant was under arrest.
Derksen and her husband, Cliff, 71, an artist, had their lives turned upside down the day Candace vanished in late 1984. It was a Friday, and Candaces good friend from summer camp was going to come over after school for a sleepover.
The sleepover was a big deal for Candace, who phoned home after 3:30 p.m. and asked her mom if she could get picked up from school. Candace hoped that would get her home faster, and she and her mom could buy goodies for the sleepover on the way home.
It was winter and Derksen was busy. She had to take care of Candaces younger siblings, brother Syras and sister Odia. So Derksen told Candace to take the bus home. But she opted to walk the 25 minutes to her house, just across the river from Winnipegs downtown.
Shed done so before, so this wasnt unusual. But she never made it home.
Cliff, who is also a proponent of forgiveness, never faulted his wife for what happened that day.
From my perspective I made sure I never blamed her for this. We have accepted the fact we came to understand that murder happens in the midst of life and there are always regrets. Theres always thoughts of if we did it this way or that way it wouldnt have happened, he says.
You can always go back and say what if, but its not worth it, especially in our case, since it could have happened the next day, the next week, the next month, Cliff Derksen says. He adds that he and his wife believe their daughter was watched and pursued, at least on the day of her abduction.
The couple met 50 years ago while at a bible school north of Saskatoon. Cliff is from Saskatoon, and Wilma from B.C.
They raised their children in a comfortable middle-class home in Winnipeg, in a community that had a lot of children.
They lived freely and related to other people easily. They left their doors at home unlocked, oblivious to crime and danger. It is the essence of who they were at the time.
Daughter Candace was a skinny, fun-loving youngster who enjoyed the outdoors.
Whenever she ran out of socks shed sneak into her parents bedroom and snatch a pair of her fathers to wear. It was a game, and her dad would try to catch her in the act, and if he did hed chase her around the house.
That (game) is one of the things I really missed when she first disappeared, Cliff says.
Candaces death strained her parents marriage.
While Candace was missing, Wilma wouldnt touch Cliff intimately for six weeks.
In her book she writes: Because I thought someone had abducted Candace to sexually violate her, the thought of intimacy was revolting. I had resisted for six weeks. It had left us both isolated, uncomforted and stressed.
Forgiveness played a role in helping her get over that phase, she explains in an interview.
Though her husband was in no way responsible, Wilma had to get over the fact she blamed men and sex for Candaces disappearance. (No sexual charges have been laid in the case.)
Derksen realized I have to love my husband at the level we committed to each other I put it (the feelings of not wanting intimacy) away and resumed our love life.
Over the years the couple never sought therapy (they didnt have the money or time, Derksen says) but reached out for support and advice from friends, family and fellow church members. Many of these conversations revolved around forgiveness.
In her book Derksen writes about attending a conference in Washington, D.C., in 1997 13 years after the slaying where the topic was learning to forgive.
There were no eureka moments at the gathering, Derksen says, but during the taxi ride to the airport to fly home, a cabbie described forgiveness with an eloquence shed never heard. He described it as the beauty of being set free, letting go of the past, embracing the moment and anticipating the future, she writes.
Derksen has visited prisons in Canada and spoken to inmates about her story, and about anger, guilt and forgiveness.
While she believes there are dangerous offenders and predators that need to be kept off the streets, she favours a treatment-based approach where difficult-to-cure inmates are overseen by specialists in psychiatry and psychology, rather than a solely punishment-based model, where the only supervision is by jail guards.
We tend to want to change (offenders) and put them in an uncomfortable place so they can change. But I often think this is futile and creates more anger, Derksen says.
Derksen and her husband are well known in Winnipeg, and praised for their response to the tragedy.
An effort is underway in Winnipeg to build Candace House, a non-profit charity and facility that would provide a quiet, private space where family members of crime victims can retreat during trials. The hope is to have the downtown space operating by the fall, near Winnipegs provincial and Queens Bench courthouse.
Cecilly Hildebrand, the executive director of the initiative, has known Wilma Derksen for years and describes her as a unique individual who has overcome incredible challenges.
In terms of her position on forgiveness, its not a position youre going to encounter very often, Hildebrand says.
It takes a lot of bravery.
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After trying almost everything else to solve its invasive snake problem, Florida this year turned to python-hunting Irula tribesmen from India. Working alongside university-trained sniffer dogs from Alabamas Auburn University, the Irula teams early results are impressive.
Whats wrong with pythons?
Nothing. Burmese pythons are lovely. And enormous, sometimes stretching nearly six metres long. However these Asiatic travellers first took root whether released as unwanted pets or blown out of a breeding facility by a hurricane, as some officials believe they love the Everglades. And no amount of extreme vetting has prevented this non-native species from eating its way to the top of the food chain, adding strain to an already depleted subtropical wetlands ecosystem and putting a range of native species at risk. Some studies suggest the python invasion could eventually expand north as far as Washington, D.C. Others say cold winters will keep the snakes well to the south.
Whats been tried before?
Plenty, including several state-sanctioned removal programs. Most memorably, Florida is known for its seasonal Python Challenge, which last year attracted more than 1,000 hunters from across the U.S. Some suffered bites to the face in their quest for the beige, splotchy snakes. The various kill techniques have come under scrutiny from animal rights groups, prompting officials to more closely monitor the hunt. Some of the hunters fared better than others, but in the end, 2016s month-long hunt netted only 106 pythons about one for every 10 registrants.
Whats happening now?
The twist for 2017 involves a far higher level of human skill, thanks to a small team of snake-hunting Irula tribesmen from Tamil Nadu, Indias southernmost province. The idea was hatched by world-renowned herpetologist Romulus Whitaker (right), who is now in Florida with expert Irula snake-hunters Masi Sadaiyan and Vadivel Gopal, demonstrating how to bag a python without high-powered weaponry. Barely two weeks in, these two hunters have bagged more than 20 pythons a rate of capture about 100 times greater than that of Floridas previous hunts.
Four-legged helpers
Working alongside the Irulas are specially trained sniffer dogs from Auburn Universitys Canine Performance Sciences Program. The dogs are raised to track python scent. But once the scent is found, the Irula team completes the job. What to untrained eyes might seem the tiniest scrape in the ground can telegraph to Irula hunters important detail, including the size, species and travel direction of a snake. In India, Irula snake-catchers make a living capturing and extracting venom from a variety of poisonous snakes before releasing the animals back to the wild. They sell their harvest for the production of antivenom serum.
The work can get messy
Among the Irulas early successes was the capture in late January of a group of pythons at an abandoned Nike missile silo in what is now the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Key Largo. None of the University of Florida experts on hand believed there were pythons to be had at the location, but the Irulas knew otherwise. One of the team emerged from a ventilation shaft splattered in snake poop, shrugging off the mess as an occupational hazard. The nights harvest included one especially large specimen a 4.8-metre female weighing 75 kilograms.
What next?
Nobody knows precisely how many Burmese pythons roam Floridas wetlands. But the number is believed to be in the thousands, perhaps as many as 20,000. Regardless of the actual figure, Florida is going to need a lot more Irulas next year and beyond if it intends to scale up to invasion-reversing proportions. But having employed everything from heat-sensing drones to the surgical implantation of radio transmitters inside female pythons in previous failed bids at containment, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are clearly delighted with the early success of 2017. Meanwhile, the hunt continues.
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KINGSTON, ONT.Tayyab Jafar walks through a gruel of slush coating the wide pier behind a King St. public works building. He stops and points to the place he died.
Right about here, says the fourth-year Queens University student from Oakville.
The spot is at the piers edge. Near a warning in long faded letters stencilled across the ground: No Diving.
He is silent for a moment. Wintry drizzle falls. Lake Ontarios steel-grey waters slap below. The skys wet gloom frames Jafars slender figure.
The 22-year-old, shrugging, hands in pockets, says: That happened.
But what happened was far from ordinary. Jafars story is one of resurrection; how tenacious medical teams brought a frozen man back to life.
A year ago, cloaked in the darkness of a frigid January morning, this is where Jafar chose to end his life. Two days before his 21st birthday, Jafar was found at early light shoes off, coat over his face, an empty prescription sedative bottle nearby without vital signs.
Vital signs absent means dead, says Julie Socha, one of four Frontenac County paramedics who rushed to the scene.
Engaging and intelligent, Jafar had been studying physics courses at Queens in hopes of getting into engineering. That plan began to unravel just weeks before he quietly left the off-campus house he rented with friends. Hed placed a goodbye note on his desk and, a stickler for details, banking instructions so his housemates wouldnt miss a bill payment.
Then he walked 10 minutes to the pier.
On that sub-zero morning, Jafar lay in a snow bank. His body was starting to freeze. His core temperature would later be recorded at 20.8 C about 16 degrees below normal. Hypothermia occurs when a persons core temperature dips below 35 C, a condition often caused by exposure to cold weather or water immersion.
The death appeared to be an intentional overdose to the paramedics, who promptly initiated CPR. But how the young man died was a medical puzzle for Kingston General Hospital emergency teams to solve:
Did Jafar die from an overdose, then get cold? Or did the drugs only render him unconscious, then he died because he became so cold?
Theres actually a difference, says Kingston General cardiac surgeon Andrew Hamilton.
The faintest hope of resuscitation flickered only if Jafar had become profoundly hypothermic after his overdose attempt. The key was determining that sequence: a seemingly impossible task on a very cold body.
Of all the critical work done at Kingston General to return Jafar from the dead an hour of CPR at 110 chest compressions a minute, streams of heated saline flooding his system, multiple doses of epinephrine, a transfusion of more than 100 units of blood products culled from 134 individual donors, machines to warm and oxygenate his cooled blood and a 200-joule jolt to his chest it was a simple blood test that would give Jafar a chance at survival.
Even so, odds were bleak. At best.
Texting goodbye
Six Queens students, all friends, lived in the house on Nelson St., a short walk from campus.
Alex Reid woke up in his second-floor bedroom just before 7 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2016. It was a Friday. Almost the weekend.
The biology major reached for his cell phone. He saw texts and Facebook messages that filled him with dread.
Sorry I couldnt be stronger.
Love you.
Good bye.
They were from his housemate, Tayyab Jafar.
Jafar had been suicidal before. Reid had talked him through moments of distress. Talked him off the top of campus buildings. Talked him into visiting Kingston General for mental health attention in second year.
Jafar had been seeing a university psychiatrist since first year, initially to regulate prescription medications for two disorders: OCD and ADHD, diagnosed during high school. He says he also had a few issues with depression. In fall 2015, sleeplessness became new trouble when his usual nighttime medication, mirtazapine, was no longer effective.
In my fugue state, Id just stare, recalls Jafar, whod been working with his psychiatrist and was still attending classes. I didnt care. Im not talking much. Im reserved, socially excluded.
Jafars housemates young men busy with classes and assignments didnt realize how desperate their friend had become. Jafar says lack of sleep hurt his marks and, ultimately, his engineering aspirations. Hed been rejected from engineering as a freshman despite an 87-per-cent high school average and was hoping to reapply.
When Reid saw Jafars notes, sent about 3 a.m., he panicked.
Right away, you could tell that somebody was saying goodbye.
Reid checked Jafars bedroom. Empty. He ran down the stairs to look for Jafars jacket and shoes. Gone. He called Jafars phone; no answer. Reid ran to campus to search.
I knew a few places to look, the 21-year-old says.
Reid scanned the tops of school buildings. Then he checked the ground below. Nothing.
He called 911 to report that a missing friend was suicidal. The Kingston police began to hunt, too.
Reid considered one last place: the pier.
I thought that if you were going to kill yourself in Kingston, thats where youd go. Its a beautiful spot a fantastic place to end it, he says, laughing grimly.
Running across King St. to the back of the public works building and up a slight rise to the pier, Reid spotted a black bump. It was Jafars jacket. He saw an empty beer can. Close to the jacket was his friend. Lying face up in the snow.
Its a beautiful spot a fantastic place to end it Alex Reid Friend of Tayyab Jafar on how he knew where to find Jafar after reading his suicide note
I was like, S---, hes dead. You could tell, Reid says. He noted Jafar was as cold as a rock and had coughed up blood. The empty prescription bottle was nearby.
Reid called 911 again, then I was sitting there, trying to wake Tayyab up.
Shaking him, giving him the sternum rub for a while to see if he was conscious, checking for breath, checking for a pulse. Couldnt find anything, he says.
Reid threw Jafars abandoned jacket over him. A frightened, futile effort to warm his friend.
The police arrived within a minute, paramedics seconds behind. It was close to 8 a.m. about five hours after Jafar had sent Reid the goodbye texts.
On the pier
In Tayyab Jafars body, capillaries had contracted long before Frontenac County paramedic Jonathan Andreozzi put his fingers on the young mans carotid artery to check for a pulse.
Capillaries form a network of thin blood vessels between small arteries and veins. They allow delivery of oxygen, nutrients and heat to the tissues.
Jafars body was trying to retain heat at its core, one of its first protective acts while outside on a morning that, according to paramedics, dipped below -11 C.
Constriction is at the capillary level, says international cold-weather expert Gordon Giesbrecht, a thermophysiologist at the University of Manitoba whos also known as Professor Popsicle.
Giesbrecht says once you get cold, you mount thermoregulatory defences including vasoconstriction (which) decreases capillary blood flow to the skin to decrease heat loss. Like turning off the valve to a hot-water radiator, the professor says.
Shivering involving involuntary muscle contractions is also part of the thermoregulatory process.
Shivering is muscular energy and we all know that muscular energy produces heat, Giesbrecht says.
Giesbrecht, who does not know Jafar and was not part of his care, says ingesting drugs and consuming alcohol can affect how a person experiences hypothermia.
Jafar recalls that besides downing a large dose of the powerful sedative chloral hydrate, he took at least 10 different types of prescription pills that he washed down with three or four beers that morning.
Those drugs sound like the kind of drugs that would have diminished his shivering capacity, says Giesbrecht, whos also director of the universitys Laboratory for Exercise and Environmental Medicine.
If a friend of similar weight and clothing went out there and sat beside him, this guy (Jafar) would have cooled quicker because A, his shivering response would have been blunted by the drugs and B, he was lying down on the ground and C . . . he took some clothing off.
Giesbrecht says there are two possibilities why someone in this situation might remove clothes: to hasten suicide, or from paradoxical undressing.
Reid recalls Jafar was not wearing his jacket or shoes. The paramedics did not recall if his shoes were on.
Its not uncommon that people, when they get close enough to being cold enough to become unconscious, their body plays some tricks on them, Giesbrecht says.
They think they might have a feeling of warmth and in a deluded mindset, they think, Oh, I have to take some clothes off, and that can range anywhere from just loosening clothing to being completely naked.
As Jafars core temperature plunged, his body was still trying to protect its internal organs and the brain by slowing metabolic activity.
Cooling protects everything, Giesbrecht says. As you cool any tissue, its metabolic requirements decrease so a given amount of oxygen will last longer, and that effect is greater in the brain.
The heart will stop when it cools and that can occur any time the core temperature drops below 28 C, says Giesbrecht, who has jumped into icy Canadian lakes sometimes with skis and rivers to conduct extreme-weather research and promote survival education.
You can still have a beating heart as low as 20 (C). Its possible.
Giesbrecht theorizes that with Jafars core close to 21 C, his heart may have arrested around 25 C. Without a pumping heart, there was a finite amount of oxygen in his system. The brain, though extremely sensitive to no or low oxygen, was cooled enough to need less oxygen but not forever.
The brain can go longer without oxygen than if (his heart had stopped) at regular body temperature, Giesbrecht says.
A key unknown in Jafars case: how long had his heart been still? Theres no way to know. It could have been seconds. Or hours.
Jafars sister, Rida, a University of Guelph student, calls her big brothers resuscitation and recovery a miracle.
Giesbrecht sees it differently.
Its not miraculous. Im a Christian and I believe in miracles, he says.
Everything that happened can be explained physiologically.
Normally, the colder you get, the longer (your heart is stopped), the more difficult it is to get a full recovery or to survive at all, he continues. But Giesbrecht does allow for a bit of luck.
This guy, once he collapsed, he collapsed in a very good place and he was lucky he had a very good friend, he says, referring to Reids frantic search.
And when he got to the ER, he had a medical team that didnt just pronounce him dead.
Kingston General Hospital
Just before 8 a.m. on that Friday, two paramedic teams had finished separate calls that brought them to Kingston Generals emergency department when their dispatcher called.
Jonathan Andreozzi and partner Andrew Liersch bolted in their ambulance, racing to the pier in just over a minute. Julie Socha and her partner, Lise-Anne Lepage-McBain, followed. The police were already there, speaking to Alex Reid.
Andreozzi found Jafar had no carotid pulse. No breathing. He and Liersch began a rapid assessment, scanning for obvious signs of death: rigor mortis, stiffness in the muscles, lividity in tissue. None were apparent.
How long was he down without a pulse? says Andreozzi. For all we know, it could have been hours.
As they quickly began CPR and moved Jafar to a stretcher, the paramedics all had the same thought: a hypothermic patient isnt dead until the patient is warm and dead.
Liersch and Lepage-McBain shared CPR duty. Andreozzi and Socha pulled the stretcher across heavy, crunchy snow and loaded Jafar into the lead ambulance. Socha started a saline solution intravenous in Jafars arm. Andreozzi suctioned vomit from Jafars mouth and cleared his airway. A heart monitor was attached: no heartbeat.
Lepage-McBain took over CPR while Liersch drove the ambulance the 900 metres to Kingston Generals emergency department.
The hospital doors whooshed open. Staff was ready. Liersch had radioed: 21-year-old male, VSA.
Jafar was whisked into the resuscitation room. Andreozzi gave a verbal report while the emergency team began its work.
Chest compressions continued as Jafar was wheeled in. His wet clothes, a thin T-shirt and pants, were cut off. He was intubated for assisted breathing. A heart monitor replaced the paramedics gear. Epinephrine shots were prepared. Two more IV lines were inserted. Saline solutions were being heated to 43 C fluid to warm body cavities. A rectal thermometer read: 20.8 C.
The lowest temperature Id ever seen was 28 C, says nurse Jane Lewis, an emergency department veteran who was scribe that day the chronicler of all the organized chaos in the room to chart patient treatments.
Ive never seen anybody that cold.
Jafar was also asystole.
Thats what people call a flat line, says Dr. Joey Newbigging, one of the emergency department physicians working that day.
There was no blip-blip-blip on the screen. It was just a straight line.
Calm but aggressive teamwork continued to, essentially, manually warm the man found on the pier.
The heated saline flowed into veins in Jafars arms. It was also cycled into his bladder through a catheter; add, drain, repeat.
Newbigging cut into Jafars chest, just under his right armpit. The incision was to insert a tube through which we could flow warm fluid into his chest (to) bathe the right lung and right side of his heart, which would warm his blood, the physician says.
There were as many as 15 on the team to help Jafar; doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, support staff, aides running bags of saline into the room.
Everyone was pretty invested in this case because it was a young person, Newbigging says.
The emergency department staff also knew the patient had likely tried to end his life.
The team pushed to buy Jafar time should he be deemed a candidate for the next stage of resuscitative measures. Chest compressions, a physically exhausting manoeuvre performed for at least an hour, were as vital as any other act that day to force oxygen-carrying blood to the brain.
With the CPR, its trying to make the blood vessels squeeze to get more blood to his brain because thats really what were trying to preserve and rescue, Newbigging says.
Soon, a critical question arose: was Jafar suitable for a procedure called extracorporeal rewarming, which could quickly raise his core temperature closer to 37 C? Using the cardiopulmonary bypass system, the procedure takes circulation outside the body so blood can be warmed and oxygenated then returned.
One way to determine Jafars suitability was through a blood sample drawn for a serum potassium test.
Upon death, human cells break open and spill their potassium stores into the bloodstream. Those salty spills can be measured. High readings from a serum potassium test would suggest Jafar was too far gone dead too long to be saved. He needed a result of less than 10 milliequivalents per litre to be considered for the next round of last-ditch resuscitation efforts on the cardiopulmonary bypass machine.
Jafars test result was 7.
That, basically, is the green light, recalls Newbigging at seeing the lab result.
The quick decision in the ER: Lets try.
Still, other things needed to line up. A bypass machine and a cardiac surgeon had to be available, along with support teams and technicians.
Surgeon Andrew Hamilton was free. He said hed try, too.
At about 8:48 a.m., Jafar was wheeled from emergency with a nurse on the stretcher, straddling his stomach, still performing about 110 chest compressions a minute and rushed into the operating room. Newbigging accompanied Jafar.
Jafars last core temperature in the emergency department was recorded by Lewis at 22.8 C; a two-degree increase in about 45 minutes, largely from heated saline irrigations and the warming blanket. Extracorporeal rewarming could raise his core temperature by nine degrees in an hour and during that time, perhaps his heart could be restarted. Perhaps.
Another question lingered: would he want to be revived?
The student had attempted to end his life. Now an all-out resuscitation effort was underway. This was not lost on the emergency department team and that this patient was a young kid who was obviously unhappy, Newbigging says.
If we get them back, are we helping them? the physician says of patients who arrive with no vital signs. Because we may not be bringing them back to the state of health that they were in when they first got sick. A lot of people ended up being quite disabled and never get back to independent living.
Nurse Lewis was blunt.
Did we do him a favour?
Cardiac bypass
In the earliest days of heart surgery half a century ago, controlled clinical cooling of the body aided intracardiac surgery. Surgeons had a little extra time to work on an inert heart when circulation was temporarily halted.
Today, extracorporeal rewarming equipment (commonly called cardiopulmonary bypass machines) is so biocompatible with living tissue that cardiac surgeon Andrew Hamilton says the hard part is making the decision to do it. Thats No. 1.
Extracorporeal rewarming is the only way to effectively rewarm a patient whose circulation has arrested, Hamilton says. That is done by circulating the blood outside the body where it is warmed, oxygenated then returned.
Potential candidates can be rejected if deemed they are beyond saving. Jafars low serum potassium count got him on the bypass machine even though he was still flatlined.
It doesnt matter if the hearts not beating at this point, Hamilton says.
The surgeon explains that for Jafars extracorporeal rewarming, one tube about the size of a thumb was fed up from the groin vein into the venous confluence of the heart, allowing removal of the blood from the body to the machine. Another slightly smaller tube was inserted into a groin artery and was used to return the warmed oxygenated blood back to the body.
A perfusionist attended the machine constantly.
Hamilton recalls when Jafars core temperature reached about 28 C, he applied external contact pads to the chest and delivered an electric shock of 200 joules. That was likely before 10 a.m.
He was easy to get started, the surgeon says, noting the patient had age on his side. Nice young heart like that? Poof!
Finally, heartbeats. Strong ones.
But serious complications flared when the time came to remove Jafar from the extracorporeal rewarming circuit. The combination of the hypothermia and duration of cardiopulmonary bypass had rendered his blood incapable of clotting, explained Hamilton. In addition, this combination of factors caused his bloods protective mechanisms to become abnormally activated, leading to, among other things, edema (swelling) of his lungs, the surgeon says.
Hamilton says extracorporeal circulation can be used for days if needed, but its a very toxic event to have your blood running through an external machine.
The longer youre on the extracorporeal circuit, the more likely that youre going to accumulate this toxic damage, he says.
Jafar developed a condition called coagulopathy; his blood could not clot despite an alchemy of medications and adjustments to remedy the issue. Hamilton recalls there was bleeding into Jafars chest. Intensive-care-unit nurses Jennifer Bird and Vanessa Holmes recall blood was gushing out of the chest tube incision, too.
Jafar now required massive transfusions.
Over his first 48 hours in hospital, Jafar received: 50 units of red blood cells; 32 units of frozen plasma (the liquid portion of whole blood that needs to be frozen in storage, then thawed for use); 20 units of cryoprecipitate a concentrated component of plasma that contains high levels of clotting proteins and eight units of platelets.
Dr. David Good is Kingston Generals hematopathology service chief. He wasnt directly involved in Jafars case but reviewed records of the blood components used in his care.
The most common blood component is the actual pack of red blood cells (and) over two days, he received 50 units, says Good. A red blood cell unit is about 400 millilitres per bag.
A normal persons blood volume is about 10 units, Good continues. He basically had his blood replaced about five times over the two days.
Jafars blood group is AB positive rare in Canada and found in about 3 per cent of the population, says Good. People with AB blood are considered universal recipients for red blood cells and platelets (meaning they can get these components from donors of any blood type) but require frozen plasma from an AB donor. Good says the hospital had enough frozen AB plasma on site. (It was quickly restocked through daily Canadian Blood Services shipments from Ottawa after Jafar depleted hospital reserves.)
Canadian Blood Services spins whole blood from individual donors into four basic components, which are then stored. In Jafars case, Good calculated the number of individual donations required to supply all the stored components needed for his transfusions. His estimate: 134 people had rolled up their sleeves.
To look at it another way, it took 134 people to save this mans life, Good says.
Saving his lungs, though, required mechanical intervention.
Jafars lungs were hit hard with inflammatory edema: fluid build-up. In this situation, which Hamilton calls common in rewarming efforts, its difficult for oxygen to reach the bloodstream from the lungs.
It took 134 people to save this mans life Dr. David Good Hematopathology service chief at Kingston General.
Hamilton and his colleagues ultimately were able to calm the distressed lungs and restore clotting ability on a system called ECMO Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. ECMO temporarily replaced the function of Jafars swollen lungs. Not all Canadian hospitals have ECMO capabilities.
Every now and then we have somebody whose lungs dont work for whatever reason and you go through all the various things you can try, Hamilton says.
When you get to the bottom of your drop-down menu, its ECMO.
After at least a day on this system, the Queens student stabilized.
Over time, his body cleared the toxic effects of the hypothermia and the cardiopulmonary bypass, Hamilton says. When that was achieved, ECMO was discontinued.
Jafars fragile lungs were functioning. His clotting ability returned. His heart was beating. Kidneys and liver were up and running, too.
Once you have all that stuff working well enough that he can take care of his own environment, then you start to figure out: is his brain working? Hamilton says.
Until then, you dont know.
The surgeon had to explain the situation to Jafars poor, shattered parents after hours in the operating room trying to save their son.
(I said) OK, we have a circulation established, we dont know if the lungs can recover to the point where they can continue and we have zero idea of how his mental state will be, he says.
We may have just saved him into a chronic vegetative state and youre going to have a really awful decision to make.
Hamilton pauses and shakes his head.
You can imagine.
Intensive care unit
The thumping sound filled the ICU. It came from a high-frequency oscillation ventilator that was pulsing oxygen into Jafars lungs.
Hed undergone a tracheotomy; a tube snugly in his throat would allow the flow from the oscillator. He was off cardiopulmonary bypass and ECMO.
Dr. Daniel Howes was not Jafars assigned ICU physician but he helped with care. Howes says Jafar could not use a standard ventilator because his highly inflamed lungs were at risk.
A normal breathing machine pushes air in, Howes says.
When (lungs) get inflamed, they get sort of waterlogged. Theyre like sponges but instead of (being) like nice dry sponges, which is the way theyre supposed to be, they get soaking wet and very stiff, the doctor continues.
So if we try to blow air into them the same way we breathe, they end up being injured.
Howe says the oscillator is notable because of its thumping and it looks like a big bass speaker, adding: It, essentially, vibrates oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the breathing tube.
The swelling wasnt only in Jafars lungs. His head and face bloated. Body, limbs, hands and fingers had ballooned.
Howes says sometimes critically ill patients will experience swelling.
It has to do with inflammation in the body. It makes the blood vessels very leaky; fluid leaks out and gets into the tissues and they get very puffy.
Jafars once-slender, 140-pound frame was almost unrecognizable to his mother, Lubna Jafar, and father, Jafar Hussain, at his bedside in the ICU. After racing from their Oakville home to Kingston by car on Jan. 15, they would rarely leave their eldest sons side. Alex Reid, who found his friend on the pier, was often there, too.
Jafars parents had originally been informed by Oakville police relaying the news that their son was found without vital signs. That was around 9:30 a.m. About an hour later, when the parents were readying to drive to Kingston, the police had an update: Jafar had a pulse.
When the worst had passed, it was Sunday. Jafars 21st birthday. By then, more family had arrived. Cautious optimism emerged.
I think my brother, deep down inside, had some will (to survive) when he was coming back to life, to continue improving, says Rida, 20, also noting the skill of doctors who did an amazing job rescuing her brother.
During his three weeks at Kingston General, Jafar remained under heavy sedation but recalls fleeting moments of consciousness. Of his parents presence. Of mouthing words like water to his ICU nurse, Holmes, whod learned to read his lips. Of his father and Reid sharing a joke when they thought he was asleep.
On Feb. 5, Jafar was stable enough to be transferred by ambulance to the ICU of Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. He remained intubated but was switched to a standard ventilator. Howes recalls the move was primarily to be closer to his family during his rehabilitation phase.
In Oakville, a recovery of another sort would be needed.
Jafar was not at peace with being revived from the dead.
Home and away, again
The earliest days at Oakville Trafalgar were Jafars darkest after resuscitation.
He was weaned off heavy sedation and quickly became aware of his situation though he had, and still has, no memory of attempting to end his life.
(As part of telling his story, Jafar agreed to sign consent forms giving his permission for Kingston General Hospital and Frontenac Paramedic Services staff to discuss his personal health-care details with the Star. He also sat in on some of the interviews, learning more about the resuscitation.)
Jafar couldnt speak because he was intubated. There was extensive nerve damage across his shoulders, down his arms and into his hands and fingers. He was told he might never use his hands again. Pain was constant. Hed lost almost half his body weight; down to about 80 pounds.
He cried. From frustration. From fear.
Am I dying? Just let me die. What are you guys trying to do? Jafar recalls thinking as he lay immobile in the Oakville facility, unable to communicate with doctors and nurses directly.
I was in a lot of pain. I couldnt talk to them either. Theyre doing things (to care for him) and Im trying to talk, but I cant say anything.
Jafar had terrible headaches. Hed hold his sister Ridas hand for comfort, squeezing it with his weakened grip when pain crested.
It was physical and psychological pain, says Jafar. I dont know how I endured that.
Eventually, the tracheotomy tube was removed and with help at first, he could eat and drink normally. Jafar began occupational and physical therapy. A social worker met him. His mood lightened as he healed.
He was assessed for brain damage Jafar says he quickly aced cognitive assignments. Clusters of nerve cells were repairing but for a time, some body parts, like his hands, still felt like they were burning from a phantom cold. His lungs continue to recover.
Jafar learned to walk again, doing laps around ICU with a rolling aid.
On March 29, 10 weeks after he wasfound on the pier, Jafar strolled out of the hospital with his parents to continue his remarkable recovery as an outpatient; he hadnt even lost a toe to frostbite.
Jafar returned to Queens last fall. That was always his plan once he recovered. To be back in the house on Nelson St., supported by housemates and a small group of friends who knew the truth about his life and death and resurrection. The only visible clue that hed been ailing were white splints on his hands (while muscle tissue rebuilds).
When Jafar heard a rumour that hed had a stroke, he wrote a Facebook post last year stating, incorrectly, that he froze in a snow bank after falling and sustaining a concussion. He says he used that explanation to address his long absence from Queens and spare his parents and housemates (who knew the truth and were offered counselling by a Queens chaplain) further emotional toll.
Jafar agreed to disclose the full truth after consulting his housemates and his psychiatrist, whom he visits monthly. Jafar, who stays in regular contact with his parents through Skype, says he feels strong enough now to confront what really happened on the pier.
Hes definitely in a much better spot at this point, says housemate Nick Musicco, 22, a public health major from Connecticut. There was a point when we didnt know if he was going to make it, so I just prayed a lot. Im happy hes pulled through.
The Kingston General staff who treated Jafar lost track of him after his transfer to Oakville. Many learned of their patients full recovery in December when a student publication repeated the Facebook information.
I thought . . . probably he would have a lot of disabilities and I didnt even know if he would survive, Newbigging says.
Andrew Hamilton, the cardiac surgeon, says hes treated hypothermic patients before but Jafar was unique.
Ive been doing this 25 years and hes the first survivor that I had, says Hamilton, smiling.
Jafar survived his own death. Is he happy with a second chance at life?
That is kind of an interesting question, he says.
Obviously I survived but still, Im happy because I want to do many things (regaining use of his hands was key to that contentment) . . . but Im pretty much happy at this point.
He seems upbeat. Hes sleeping well, using a trio of prescription drugs at night that balance well with the OCD and ADHD medications he takes each morning. The Nelson St. housemates have a Florida trip planned for late February. (Alex Reid will miss it. The B.C. native has taken a year off of school to work in Calgary.)
Jafar, studying general mathematics, is already planning to return to Queens this fall. He enjoys life in Kingston, the campus, the challenging classwork, the camaraderie.
Hell even take jaunts back to the pier. Jafar was there during frosh week last summer, a hot day with students jumping in the lake for a refreshing dip.
The pier does not haunt him.
Its just a place to me, Jafar says. For me, I dont have any real connection to it.
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Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Islamic cleric whose fulminating sermons inspired violent fundamentalist movements in Egypt and, a U.S. court found, a 1993 plot for a bombing rampage in New York, died Saturday, according to U.S. officials. He was 78.
He died in the Butner Federal Correctional Complex, near Raleigh, N.C., where he was serving a life sentence, Greg Norton, a spokesperson for the prison, said. He said that Abdel Rahman died from complications from diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Born to a humble merchant in a Nile delta village and blind from infancy, Abdel Rahman became one of the most influential and fearsome theologians of the Islamist fundamentalism that swept the Middle East in recent decades.
On Oct. 1, 1995, Abdel Rahman was convicted, along with nine other defendants, on sedition charges in U.S. District Court in New York City. He was found guilty of guiding a conspiracy to wage a war of urban terrorism, with the ultimate aim of carrying out a day of bombings against the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, the George Washington Bridge, the United Nations and the Manhattan headquarters of the FBI.
Those bombings never happened, but the intent of the conspiracy, prosecutors said, was to destroy New York landmarks, kill hundreds of people and force the United States to abandon its support for Israel and Egypt.
Prosecutors also asserted that Abdel Rahman was linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In that attack, six people died and four men were convicted.
In Abdel Rahmans trial, prosecutors described the World Trade Center attack as part of a broader conspiracy involving the blind cleric. They depicted the 1993 bombing as part of an overarching plot that included the killing of a militant rabbi in 1990 and the conspiracy to blow up New York landmarks.
Before coming to the United States, Abdel Rahman was put on trial in Egypt. In 1980, according to courtroom testimony there, he gave a blessing to a cell of Islamic militants, emboldening them to assassinate president Anwar Sadat during a military parade on Oct. 6, 1981, in Cairo.
Abdel Rahman faced trial twice in Egypt for instigating Sadats assassination and for political disturbances that erupted at the time. Twice, in 1982 and 1984, he was acquitted.
In learned but vitriolic jeremiads, Abdel Rahman denounced Egypts secularist leaders as corrupt pharaohs and infidels. He proclaimed that faithful Muslims had a duty to wage jihad, or holy war, to install a regime in Egypt that would obey the strictest Islamic laws. He decried what he regarded as the corrosive impact on Islam of the materialistic and hyper-sexualized West.
In 1990, Abdel Rahman fled Egypt and moved to the United States, bringing his anti-American preaching and his campaign against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to mosques in Brooklyn, New York and Jersey City, N.J.
At the end of his life, Abdel Rahman, who was known as the blind sheikh, was much diminished, having spent years in the most severe solitary confinement, barred from communicating with his followers, praying with other Muslim prisoners or even listening to Arabic radio. Failing blood circulation due to diabetes had killed the sensation in his fingertips, making it impossible for him to read his Braille Islamic texts.
Abdel Rahman was born May 3, 1938. An infection blinded him at 10 months old. When he became an adult, his right eye remained open but clouded, while his left eye stayed closed.
Sent to a school for the blind, he excelled, learning Braille and memorizing the Quran by the time he was 11. He trained to be an Islamic scholar, completing his 1973 doctoral degree at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the worlds premier center of Islamic learning.
Abdel Rahman first antagonized the Egyptian authorities in 1970, when he banned the faithful in a mosque where he was presiding, in the town of Fayoum, from praying after the death of president Gamal Abdel Nasser, a secularist. He was imprisoned for several months.
Soon he began to espouse a doctrine, rooted in 14th century Quranic interpretation, holding that devout Muslims were obliged to kill rulers who did not follow Islamic law. Saad Hasaballah, a lawyer who represented Abdel Rahman in the Sadat assassination trials, said the sheikh told the Islamist army officers involved in the plot that a secular leader like Sadat deserved death although he never mentioned the president by name.
In 1984, Egypts highest court found that Abdel Rahman had been tortured while in prison during the trials. Years later, at a news conference in New Jersey, he enumerated 12 methods of torture he said jailers had used on him.
During the 1980s, Abdel Rahman emerged as the imam of the Islamic Group, a student organization that grew to include thousands of members. Over more than a decade, the group carried out terrorist attacks, including many on tourist sites, killing foreigners and paralyzing Egypts tourism industry. The government responded fiercely, imprisoning thousands of the groups followers.
Abdel Rahman also travelled that decade to Afghanistan and Pakistan, giving religious teachings to the Islamist fighters battling the Soviet occupation. He brought two of his sons, Ahmed and Muhammad, still teenagers, to Afghanistan to join the jihad. His preaching there brought him in contact with Osama bin Laden.
In 1989, Abdel Rahman was put on trial again in Egypt, charged with instigating an anti-government riot in Fayoum. Placed under house arrest, he managed to escape. On July 18, 1990, he travelled to New York, carrying a visa granted by the U.S. consulate in Sudan. Since his name had appeared on a State Department terrorism watch list, the visa provoked outrage in Congress and an investigation of the immigration agency. Still, Abdel Rahman did little to mute his sermons when he took up preaching in Brooklyn and Jersey City.
After several of the bomb plot suspects were arrested in the act of mixing a brew of explosives, Abdel Rahman surrendered to federal authorities on July 2, 1993.
His trial hinged on transcripts of secretly recorded meetings with an FBI informant, Emad Salem. When Abdel Rahman was asked about bombing the United Nations, he replied, It is not forbidden, but it will put the Muslims in a bad light. He suggested looking for ways to inflict damage on the American army itself.
In court, Abdel Rahman maintained his innocence. At his January 1996 sentencing, he called the trial an attack on the words of God and said the United States, an enemy of Islam, was seeking to give him a slow death.
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MUNICHIrans foreign minister brushed aside new pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that his country is unmoved by threats but responds well to respect.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasnt said what he plans to do about it.
His administration has said Iran was on notice over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.
Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump
Iran doesnt respond well to threats, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defence officials. We dont respond well to coercion. We dont respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios.
Iran is unmoved by threats, he said.
Everybody tested us for many years all threats and coercions were imposed on us, Zarif added. He mocked the concept of crippling sanctions, which he said didnt stop Iran acquiring thousands more centrifuges, used for enriching uranium, before talks with the U.S. on the nuclear agreement got underway.
Read more: Iranian president calls Trump administration a problem as country marks 1979 revolution
Iran has always said it has no interest in nuclear weapons. Asked how long it would take to make one if it did decide it wanted such weapons, Zarif replied: We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period. So it will take forever for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.
Irans regional rivals aired a laundry list of grievances about Tehrans behaviour, pointing to the wars in Syria and Yemen among other issues.
Saudi Arabias foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, argued that the Iranians stepped up the tempo of their mischief during the negotiations on the nuclear deal and have continued to do so since then.
I believe that Iran knows where the red lines are if the red lines are drawn clearly, and I believe that the world has to make it clear to the Iranians that there is certain behaviour that will not be tolerated, and that there will be consequences, Jubeir told the conference. And those consequences have to be in tune with the financial side.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted that the main challenges facing the region are Iran, Iran and Iran.
Asked what approach he seeks against Iran, he replied: Its a combination of economic pressure, very tough policy and of course to impose the resolutions of (the U.N.) Security Council, for example the ballistic missiles.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said that Iran has been working to try and build a nuclear weapon, and if they say they havent, theyre lying.
He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of U.N. resolutions and destabilizing the Mideast.
I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly, he said. I think most Republicans are on board with that concept and well see where President Trumps at.
Jubeir said that he is very optimistic about the Trump administration.
We see a president whos pragmatic and practical, a businessman, problem-solver, a man whos not an ideologue, he said. He wants America to play a role in the world. Our view is that when America disengages, it creates tremendous danger in the worlds, because it leaves vacuums.
He believes in destroying Daesh; so do we, Jubeir added. He believes in containing Iran; so do we. He believes in working with traditional allies; so do we.
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Oil tankers' protest prompts queues at fueling stations (Photo feature)
Long queues of motorcyclists and other vehicles were seen in various fuel stations across the Valley on Sunday due to a fuel crisis as oil tanker operators intensified their protest against a recent amendment to the Petroleum Products Transportation Bylaw which requires them to maintain a minimum fleet size of five tankers.
It should have been a good week for Canada. The Prime Minister cleanly and professionally zipped in and out of Washington, aided by an earlier assist from former prime minister Mulroney. The PM later left for Europe to seal the deal on CETA, the trade arrangement with the European Union, which had been initiated by the Harper administration. Momentarily, it appeared partisan politics had been set aside.
But somehow that message failed to reach the House of Commons. Instead, two very disquieting incidents took place with accompanying images of intolerance, nastiness and extreme partisan behaviour.
Why is this happening now? Are we too infected by Trump-era politics? Are the stresses of the Conservative leadership race taking a toll on parliamentary culture? Or are we all simply staggering under the enormous weight of overwhelming churn, causing reactions of fear and anxiety?
The pace of churn is worth considering. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman argues, we are living through one of the greatest inflection points in history. Using the simultaneous acceleration of three themes, technology, globalization and climate change, he asks if we are going just too damned fast.
His new book, Thank You for Being Late, demonstrates how a chance meeting with an Ethiopian parking lot attendant caused Friedman to take a pause and to reflect. He brilliantly demonstrates that, in this day and age, we must learn from each other, no matter our backgrounds or biases.
If some Conservative MPs had read the book, they might have refrained from acting like ignorant buffoons when Amarjeet Sohi, rose in the House of Commons last Tuesday.
Sohi, the Minister of Infrastructure, is a former political prisoner who was arrested, detained and tortured in the Indian state of Bihar. According to a 2015 Edmonton Journal report, Sohi was beaten and held without trial for nearly two years, most of it in solitary confinement.
Born in Punjab, he moved to Edmonton when he was 17. He returned to India in 1988 for studies but was arrested when he became embroiled in a battle for land reform on behalf of impoverished farmers.
His Canadian family contacted their local MP, David Kilgour, who was then a Conservative MP. Both the Mulroney government and Amnesty International espoused Sohis cause. After 21 long months in custody, 18 of them in solitary confinement, he was released.
Sohi returned to Edmonton and at one point worked as a bus driver. After serving two terms as a respected municipal councillor, he was elected as the Liberal MP for the riding of Edmonton Mill Woods and was immediately appointed to cabinet. When he speaks in the House, he is normally respected. Until last Tuesday.
He began his remarks by noting that as a former bus driver, he wished to express his deep sympathy for the recent fatal attack on Irvine Fraser, a Winnipeg bus driver. Immediately, loud laughter could be heard coming from the Opposition benches.
What were those members thinking? Demonstrating what appeared to be an elitist response, those who guffawed, demeaned the risks that public transit employees take whenever passengers enter their vehicles. The members also seemed to forget it was a Conservative government that had arranged for Sohis return to Canada in the first place. It appeared to be a personal and political insult.
The atmosphere worsened on Wednesday as Iqra Khalid, an MP from Mississauga-Erin Mills put forward her private members motion to condemn Islamophobia. A similar motion had unanimously passed in 2016, but surprisingly a heated debate erupted about the text. Words that seemed harmless yesterday were considered to be harmful today.
While the Conservatives introduced a competing motion, the government refused to change a word. Meanwhile, four of the Conservative leadership candidates showed up on Wednesday evening at a meeting at the Canada Christian College, hosted by a right wing pundit who delights in controversial speech.
By Thursday, the beleaguered MP had received over 50,000 emails, many of them unbelievably vicious, cruel and hateful. She read some of the threats out to a sobered House of Commons.
It was a strong week for Canada on the global stage, but it was not our finest hour in Parliament. These incidents do not augur well for the weeks ahead as the Conservatives struggle to find the soul of their party before the May convention. The heritage and the future of their party are at stake, both for themselves and for Canada.
Meanwhile, the rest of us must turn away from the disrupting Trump laser beam of prejudice and intolerance. We cannot ignore its light but we dont have to be blinded by rage and hate. Canada is built on tolerance and respect for diversity. Lets pray for dignity as well.
Penny Collenette is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa and was a senior director of the Prime Ministers Office for Jean Chretien.
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Looking skyward your eyes feast on 4,000 sheets of imported Venetian glass, cut into more than one million tiny squares. Workers laboured for eight months in 1933 to install the mosaic ceiling for the Royal Ontario Museums Rotunda, considered one of the finest architectural spaces in Toronto.
It was during this 1933 expansion of the centre block and the Queens Park wings named after the street that forms the eastern edge of the property and are just north of Queens Park, the provincial legislature where different elements came together to add to the buildings magnificence.
Architects Chapman and Oxley designed the addition in a Beaux-Arts style. The ROM website notes that exterior walls were faced with limestone from the Credit Valley and Queenston areas. At the height of the Depression, quarries in Bancroft were reopened to supply the interior decorative marble flooring and the trim.
The marble, tile, and terrazzo used for marble bases, trim and jambs in the Museum were installed by the Italian Mosaic and Tile Co. Brick was made at Torontos Don Valley Brickworks and used for the walls facing the old building to match the bricks of the 1914 wing.
The Royal Ontario Museum was created by an act of the provincial government on April 16, 1912. It was the brainchild of two men: Sir Byron Edmund Walker, a bank executive and amateur paleontologist and Dr. Charles Trick Currelly, an archeologist, the official antiquities collector and the museums first director of archeology.
The yellow-brick building was designed by architects Pearson and Darling in an Italianate neo-Romanesque style, which was popular until the 1870s. The doors opened to the public on March 19, 1914. The ROM had strong ties to the University of Toronto, which also funded the museum, and was built along Philosophers Walk, with its main entrance facing Bloor St. Originally there were five galleries: The Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Paleontology, Mineralogy, Zoology and Geology.
Prince Arthur, The Duke of Connaught, who was Canadas Governor-General from 1911 to 1916, attended the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum and appealed for it to be a museum for everyone to enjoy.
I know of certain museums, which although they have possessed many things of high artistic and scientific value, have appealed most entirely to the connoisseur and the expert, the prince, Queen Victorias third son, told the crowd on March 1914, the Toronto Daily Star reported.
To my mind, this is a great mistake. One of the most important functions of a museum is popular education to show their treasures in a way that appeals to the ordinary mortal, and to arouse popular interest in art, natural history, and kindred subjects, he said.
He expressed his hope that this would be the case in the future that this institution will ever be a pride to the citizens of Toronto and will keep pace in size and scope with the development of your great and beautiful city.
Todays ROM is Canadas largest museum, and one of the biggest in North America that illustrates natural history and world cultures. It attracts one million visitors yearly and now holds more than six million objects in its collections with more than 30 galleries that showcase art, archeology and natural science.
It has the most extensive collection of fossils from the Burgess Shale, with more than 150,000 specimens. Along with its meteorites, dinosaurs and Egyptian mummies, the museum also houses an extensive collection of design and fine arts.
There are 16 Iconic Objects in the museum, which include totem poles, made of western red cedar; the painting of The Death of General Wolfe; Gordo the 27-metre-long Barosaurus skeleton; the Tagish Lake Meteorite; the Bust of Cleopatra VII; the Burgess Shale and the Light of the Desert, which is a giant 900 carat cerussite gem and the worlds largest faceted cerussite. (The mineral is a lead carbonate and too fragile to be set in jewelry.)
And there are favourites with young and old alike. These include the Bat Cave, which was built in 1988 and revamped with a $2.75 million grant in 2010, which also saw the ROM open new Roman and Byzantine galleries. The redone Bat Cave brought in 300 new wax models of bats with vinyl wings and new bugs, such as glistening cave cockroaches.
The cave was a reproduction of the St. Clair cave in central Jamaica. In 1988, the Stars Christopher Hume praised the Bat Cave and its exhibit. In the old days, the ROMs bats would simply be stuffed and mounted under glass, commented Hume.
He said display cases now share space with walk-in dioramas and elaborate installations. We have gone from being viewers to participants.
The ROMs exhibits werent always destined to remain within the museums walls. One Toronto Star photo illustration in January 1956, explained how history is being taken to Ontario schoolchildren in suitcases.
Museum staff travelled to students in remote northern areas with suitcases full of items from the ROM, such as masks, snowshoes and what a fur trapper would wear.
The teachers carry 150 objects with them during their trips to Northern Ontario schools, the Star wrote. Trips last five weeks and last year teachers visited 267 schools and talked to 9,300 students.
Today, the ROM has nine travelling exhibitions that cross the country in crates and boxes.
Over the years there have been additions and subtractions to the museum. Its expansion in 1933 gave it the addition of the centre block and Queens Park wings. This completed an H-shaped floor plan with the new Rotunda lobby entrance facing Queens Park.
Charles T. Currelly, the first director of the ROM, conceived of the Rotunda, which includes 16 pictorial images that symbolize cultures throughout history. The Rotunda is dedicated to philanthropists Ernest and Elizabeth Samuel.
Carved in stone on the museums doors along Queens Park during the 1933 expansion is the ROMs mandate: The record of nature through countless ages and The arts of man through all the years.
The McLaughlin Planetarium, with its then state-of-the-art electro mechanical Zeiss Planetarium projector, opened in 1968. Declining attendance led to its closure in 1995.
In 1978, a $55 million renovation was undertaken to provide additional space for the ROMs research activities and to store its collections. In 1999, four new galleries were opened.
In 2001, Renaissance ROM was launched a project to revitalize and transform the museum. In spring 2002, the project received $60 million from the provincial and federal governments through the Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program. The first stage of this project, says the ROMs website, resulted in the creation of 10 new galleries and public spaces in the historic buildings, which were opened to the public on Dec. 26, 2005.
The latest expansion was the new angular main entrance to the museum. Architect Daniel Libeskinds the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal opened in 2007. Michael Lee-Chin Crystal donated $30 million for its construction. Reviews for the Crystal have been mixed.
The Crystal contains a gift shop, a cafeteria and additional galleries, including James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs and the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume.
The most controversial of the exhibits was the ROMs Into the Heart of Africa exhibit. It opened in November 1989 to protests that it perpetuated racist stereotypes. The exhibit, which featured 375 cultural artifacts gleaned during the turn of the century, led to the resignation of its curator, Jeanne Cannizzo.
Twenty-seven years later, in November 2016, the ROM apologized for its 1989-1990 exhibit, the Star reported. The ROM expresses its deep regret for having contributed to anti-African racism. The ROM also officially apologizes for the suffering incurred by the members of the African-Canadian community, Mark Engstrom, ROM deputy director of collections and research, told a crowd who attended the reconciliation between the museum and the Coalition For the Truth About Africa, who had protested the exhibit.
It was also announced during this time that the museum would mount a major exhibition planned for 2018, that addresses the exclusion of blackness from mainstream Canadian historic narrative, through the work of seven contemporary black artists, said ROM director and CEO Josh Basseches.
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Pakistan 'kills 100 militants' after Sufi shrine attack
Pakistan says it has killed more than 100 militants in a security crackdown following Thursday's attack on a shrine that left at least 80 people dead.
UNICEF/UNI165235/Holt
MOGADISHU, 17 February 2017 As a devastating drought grips Somalia, UNICEF and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are warning that only a massive and immediate scale-up of humanitarian assistance can help the country avoid falling into another catastrophe.
The drought that the northern regions have struggled with for the last year has now spread throughout Somalia, threatening an already fragile population battered by decades of conflict. Almost half the countrys population, or 6.2 million people, are either severely food insecure or in need of livelihood support. It is expected that 944,000 children will be acutely malnourished this year, including 185,000 who will be severely malnourished and in need of urgent lifesaving support. It is very likely that this projected number of severely malnourished children could increase 50 percent to 270,000 over the coming months.
The UNICEF and WFP representatives this week have been visiting some of the worst-affected areas in the northern Puntland region, where the two agencies are delivering much-needed assistance.
Huge numbers of Somalis have come to the end of all their possible resources and are living hand-to-mouth, said Steven Lauwerier, the UNICEF Somalia Representative. We have a small window of opportunity to avert this looming catastrophe and save childrens lives and we are determined to work with all partners and stakeholders to succeed.
The ongoing drought and other shocks have left communities with little to no resources to fall back on. Whole villages have lost their crops or seen their livestock die. The prices of water and locally produced food have risen dramatically, and thousands of people are on the move in search of food and water. The drought has also led to an increase in waterborne diseases with more than 4,000 cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea/Cholera this year.
Humanitarian assistance has saved lives in the drought-affected north over the past year, but as the crisis spreads we have no time to lose, said WFP Country Director Laurent Bukera. Together with UNICEF and other partners, we are moving as quickly as possible to reach many more people with lifesaving support using every option we have, including cash-based transfers, specialized nutrition support and airlifting of relief goods.
The agencies noted that humanitarian access remains worryingly limited in some drought-affected areas of the south, but that WFP and UNICEF are reinforcing their joint efforts to scale up the response in areas that are accessible, where millions of lives are at risk. The agencies are responding together to the drought by providing food and water vouchers to hundreds of thousands across the most affected areas of Somalia as well as nutrition assistance. As additional resources are mobilised, this joint response will continue to expand in the most vulnerable regions.
Funds have been generously provided by international donors from Europe, Asia, North America and the UN system for life-saving services in nutrition, food security, health, education, water and sanitation.
With the growing needs, UNICEF and WFP together still require more than US$450 million to be able to provide urgent assistance required in the coming months.
About UNICEF
UNICEF has been working in Somalia since 1972, when its first office opened in Mogadishu. Today UNICEF has several offices across the country, including Mogadishu, Baidoa, Garowe and Hargeisa. Together with over 100 international and national NGOs and community-based organizations, UNICEF delivers services in Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education and Child Protection, as well as responds to emergencies and supports peacebuilding and development. For more information visit www.unicef.org/somalia
About WFP
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. WFP launched its first operation in Somalia in 1967, and this year aims to assist 4.2 million people in the country. In addition to emergency food assistance, WFP programmes enhance the resilience of vulnerable Somalis against recurring shocks such as droughts and floods. This work includes building water reservoirs and roads, and reinforcing safety-net systems such as nutrition and school meals programmes, as well as working in partnership to connect small-scale farmers to markets.
For more information, please contact:
Susannah Price, UNICEF: +254 722 719 867, sprice@unicef.org
Tsedeye Girma, UNICEF: +254 719 193 210 tgirma@unicef.org
Amor Almagro, WFP: +254 734 554 040 amor.almagro@wfp.org
Challiss McDonough, WFP: +254 707 722 104 challiss.mcdonough@wfp.org
Music Time in Africa is VOAs longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and Host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on whats happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music.
Krakatau volcano (Sunda Strait, Indonesia): strong thermal signal could suggest new eruptive activity
Sun, 19 Feb 2017, 08:51 08:51 AM | BY: T 08:51 AM | BY: T
Heat signal from Krakatau volcano (MIROVA)
As our colleague Marc Szeglat from Vulkane.net noticed, a strong thermal signal from what seems to be the summit of Anak Krakatau has become visible on satellite data during the past days.What causes the thermal signal exactly is unknown. While non-volcanic causes (e.g. forest fires) cannot be ruled out, it is more likely that a new mass of lava has arrived at the crater, probably in the form of a new dome. In that case, Krakatau might be entering a new eruptive phase (the last significant eruption having being in sep 2012), something which would not be a surprise, statistically.So far, there is no confirmation, e.g. there have been no significant ash emissions observed, which could mean that the activity (if there is) is only effusive for now. We wait for further information about possible activity and will update as needed.As soon as new activity is confirmed and strong enough to merit it, we plan to organize an eruption special tour . if you're potentially interested in joining us on such a coming Krakatau Special , please contact us (best via email or through the inquiry form of the Krakatau Special).
Plan to revive Bagmati taking shape
Bagmati River, which has been a repository for sewage and drain, would have running water even during the dry season with the Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project (BRBIP) set to complete the first of multiple dams it has planned to restore the holy rivers lost glory in a year.
The U.S. military usually develops its advanced technology in classified labs staffed by gigantic defense companies. But as the Pentagon looks for new ways to reach out to Silicon Valley, some unexpected characters are getting a shot at the action.
The Defense Departments Hacking for Defense program (which, despite its H4D handle, does not focus on cybersecurity) is a graduate school course designed to let students invent new products for the military. Students without security clearances including some foreign nationals are put to work on unclassified versions of real-world problems faced by military and intelligence agencies.
A Pentagon-funded unit called the MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator, which coordinates it all behind the scenes, gives students a modest budget to try to solve military problems using off-the-shelf products.
After a test run at Stanford University last spring, the accelerator is starting similar courses at least a dozen universities. The University of Pittsburgh, University of California at San Diego, James Madison University and Georgetown University are among those trying to replicate Stanfords success.
To spearhead its effort, Georgetown hired a former Special Operations Marine with a deep Rolodex and a long history of doing business with the Pentagon.
Chris Taylors first career had him jumping out of airplanes and serving on hostage rescue teams as part of the Marine Force Recon unit, an elite intelligence-gathering team tasked with deep reconnaissance missions in dangerous combat zones.
He became an instructor in the units amphibious reconnaissance school, where he taught enlisted Marines skills such as how to covertly approach military installations from the sea and survive undetected in the wilderness.
Hes been good at teaching, leading and just selling ideas for a long time, said Bob Fawcett, a retired Marine who worked with Taylor at the Force Recon training program.
Taylor spent evenings studying accounting as he worked toward a college degree, the first step in a lucrative career on the business side of the Bush administrations military buildup.
He became a top executive at Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm that was at the forefront of a booming mercenary industry working in Iraq and Afghanistan, until its reputation took a turn for the worse over a deadly shooting involving its employees that launched a congressional inquiry and was eventually ruled a criminal offense.
He served at private security firm DynCorp and founded a small but profitable company called Novitas Group, which handled job placement for Veterans.
[Novitass Chris Taylor makes his connections count to win government work]
His next challenge: helping Georgetowns students navigate the Pentagon.
One team of students in Taylors class is working for the Army Asymmetric Warfare Group, a Pentagon sub-agency, to find new ways to track social unrest in crowded foreign cities by mining Twitter and Facebook. Another group of students is trying to combine augmented reality technology with advanced facial recognition software, hoping to build something that would allow U.S. forces to constantly scan crowds for individuals known to be a threat. Another team is looking for ways to counter the off-the-shelf drone fleets that the Islamic State claims to employ.
This is like the greatest educational experience you could possibly have if youre interested in national security, Taylor said.
The programs managers in the government say the main point is to familiarize techies with the Pentagons mission, but their trial run at Stanford also showed a degree of success in spinning off businesses.
In Stanfords trial run, four out of eight student teams raised additional money, either from the government or from private investors, to continue their work beyond the course.
One is a satellite imaging company called Capella Space. The companys founders had initially hoped to sell satellite imaging services to government space agencies, but pivoted toward the private sector after interviewing more than 150 industry experts as part of Stanfords course.
We realized that if you really want to work with the government in what youre doing, they want you to be a commercial company with commercial revenue and they want to be a subscriber to your service, said company founder Payam Banazadeh.
Capella Space has a satellite launch planned for the end of year, which it hopes will be the first step in sending 36 shoebox-size satellites into space. The company is funding it with an undisclosed amount of venture capital raised from Silicon Valley Venture investors including Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.
It remains to be seen whether efforts at other universities will have the same success.
Even before Georgetowns class launched, for example, the universitys strengths and limitations were already on display. Georgetown is known for deep connections to the Washington establishment but is overshadowed by other elite universities in certain technical disciplines. It does not have an engineering school, for instance.
One of the problem sets that the government sent for Georgetown students to work on would be on an unclassified basis for the National Security Agency, following in a Stanford teams footsteps.
Taylor touted the opportunity to work with the NSA in seminars advertising the course, but couldnt find a group of students that he thought had enough technical knowledge to take on the challenge.
But those who did join Taylors course are making early progress. Just a few weeks into the program, students looking for a way to track terrorists using social media had come up with a prototype that they coded on their own.
The group spent the class working through ways of quickly translating posts from Arabic and more easily geo-locating individual tweets and Facebook posts. Taylor wondered aloud whether the system might be enhanced if they paid social-media users small sums of money for what details they knew about the posts.
Next, he wants to open the course to other Washington-area universities, poaching engineering students from rival colleges around the region.
Imagine what we can achieve when [national capital region] universities band together with a unity of effort toward national security problem solving, he said in an email.
It. will. be. awesome.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, is the deadliest ever. MINUSMA has the highest death toll for an ongoing operation, but more peacekeepers were killed in the 1991-95 U.N. mission in the former Yugoslavia, or UNPROFOR. The article has been updated.
A U.N. peacekeeping truck in Gao, Mali. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
Since World War II, U.N. peacekeepers have been dispatched to 69 conflicts civil wars, border disputes and failed states. But now they are confronting an unsettling new threat: al-Qaeda.
Here in the vast, lawless desert of northwest Africa, their convoys are being torn apart by improvised explosive devices and their compounds blasted by 1,000-pound car bombs. It is a crisis that looks more like the U.S. ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than the cease-fires traditionally monitored by U.N. missions.
In the past four years, 118 peacekeepers have been killed making the U.N. mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, the world bodys deadliest ongoing peace operation. The bloodshed has raised questions about how an institution developed in the 1940s can serve a world under threat from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The issue is especially potent given the expectation that U.N. peacekeepers will eventually go to places such as Syria and Libya.
We are trying to learn these lessons here, rather than in Iraq, Libya or Syria, said Dutch Col. Mike Kerkhove, commander of the U.N. intelligence unit in Mali. This is not the end of this type of mission. Its the beginning.
In 2012, Islamist radicals linked to al-Qaeda hijacked an uprising by ethnic Tuareg people and went on to seize cities across northern Mali, holding on for nearly a year until they were forced out by a French military intervention. When 11,000 U.N. troops arrived in 2013, they were meant to protect a fledgling peace deal and train the Malian army. But Islamist extremists regrouped across the region. It did not take long before the militants started targeting peacekeepers, whom they dubbed Crusader occupation forces.
A U.N. police officer stands guard on a night patrol in the northern city of Timbuktu. The U.N. mission in Mali marks the first time a significant peacekeeping contingent has been sent to help a state regain control over areas contested by terrorist groups. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
The United Nations was remarkably unprepared for the threat. Most of its troops from Africa and South Asia brought tanks and vehicles that were easy targets for explosives, unlike U.S. mine-resistant vehicles. The U.N. compounds, dotted with metal storage containers turned into offices and bedrooms, had flimsy perimeter security and were vulnerable to the massive car bombs used by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the regional affiliate of the extremist group. For a while, U.N. forces didnt have a single attack helicopter.
We werent ready for these challenges, said Mohamed El-Amine Souef, a native of the Comoros Islands who is the top U.N. official in Gao, a city in northern Mali. Last year, Souefs compound was struck by a suicide bomber, the shrapnel battering his front door.
But the United Nations dilemma goes beyond a lack of preparation or anti-
terrorism equipment. At its New York headquarters and around the world, diplomats are debating: Should U.N. forces be engaged in counterterrorism at all?
Its time for us to realize that this kind of front-line role is central to the future of the United Nations, said Peter Yeo, a senior official at the U.N. Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that supports the goals of the world body.
Yeo and others argue that without a counterterrorism capability, U.N. peacekeepers cant operate productively in many of the worlds war zones.
But critics say that such a role would violate the peacekeepers core principle of impartiality and ultimately make them less effective.
Peacekeepers are only meant to use deadly force to protect civilians or to stop spoilers from threatening a peace process, not to pursue any groups military defeat, said Aditi Gorur, director of the Protecting Civilians in Conflict program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based research center.
Children play in a courtyard in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
U.N. peacekeepers from Senegal on an early-morning patrol in the northern city of Gao. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
Members of former rebel groups wait to be registered in at a police station in Gao to participate with the Malian military in joint patrols as part of a peace agreement. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
If peacekeepers had a more aggressive counterterrorism mandate, she and others argue, that could hurt the United Nations ability to mediate between warring groups, which sometimes include violent Islamists.
Already in Mali, the International Committee of the Red Cross has described the United Nations as a party to the conflict.
* * *
In the slide-show presentation he shows to visitors at his base in Bamako, the capital of Mali, Kerkhove, the intelligence unit commander, includes an aerial photo taken last year of a compound that appeared to be used by a terrorist group. When he received the photo, Kerkhove debated what to do.
The men inside might be planning an assault on U.N. personnel, he thought, or a strike against civilians. Over the past two years, extremist groups have used Mali as a staging ground for attacks on luxury hotels, beach resorts and restaurants in West Africa. In 2016, al-Qaeda and its allies and affiliates launched at least 257 attacks in the region, according to the Long War Journal. But Kerkhove knew that the nearest battalion of U.N. troops, from Senegal, didnt have the weapons or air support to engage in a fight with transnational terrorists. Ultimately, U.N. forces decided not to approach the compound.
The Mali mission is the only one of the 16 active U.N. peacekeeping operations that authorizes troops to deter and counter asymmetric threats that is, terrorist groups that could harm its work or civilians. Last year, the U.N. Security Council said the mission should become more proactive and robust language that some read as encouraging more offensive operations.
We need to be able to hit the terrorists where they are, before they hit us, said Souef, the U.N. official in Gao.
But peacekeepers worry that they dont have the tools to deal with armed extremists.
We are gathering the intelligence, but we lack the forces who can act on that information, said Swedish Lt. Col. Per Wilson.
Richard Gowan, an expert on U.N. peacekeeping at New York Universitys Center on International Cooperation, said that U.N. missions lack the resources and doctrine for counterterrorism work. He noted that even well-equipped Western military forces were outmaneuvered by terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is reasonable to ask why on earth the Security Council thinks that a U.N. force can do any better in Mali, even with European reinforcements, he said.
Over the years, the United Nations has increasingly had to confront the scourge of terrorism. Militants blew up its political assistance office in Baghdad in 2003, killing 22 people, including the U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
But the Mali mission marks the first time a significant peacekeeping contingent has been sent to help a state regain control over areas contested by terrorist groups.
A Swedish peacekeeper launches a surveillance drone to monitor security during a patrol in Timbuktu. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
In a review in 2015, a panel of U.N.-
appointed experts said that peacekeeping forces were not the appropriate tool for military counterterrorism operations. But it noted they do deploy in areas threatened by armed extremist groups and must be capable of operating effectively and as safely as possible therein.
On their patrols through the sandy side streets of Gao, an ancient city along the Niger River lined with mud-brick houses, U.N. convoys are greeted by throngs of residents.
The locals always have the same complaint, said Senegalese Capt. Diagne Meth, standing outside his armored personnel carrier during one patrol: They want us to do more.
Specifically, he said, they ask for more offensive operations, targeting radical Islamists as well as criminal groups.
But I have to tell them, Thats not what were here to do, Meth said.
* * *
Already, the United Nations has tried to adapt in Mali. It has a fleet of surveillance drones. It has the first U.N. intelligence cell, a Bamako-based unit with analysts spread across the country. It has counter-IED specialists. It also has thousands of European troops, including large contingents from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, with soldiers experienced in fighting in Afghanistan.
Other U.N. missions have evolved in recognition of new threats. In Congo in 2013, for example, the United Nations launched its first brigade designed for offensive operations.
But the terrorism threat in Mali sets it apart.
Sending out a patrol might work to deter an armed group in the Congo from engaging in violence, but it has the opposite effect in Mali, where terrorists are specifically trying to target peacekeepers, said Gorur, of the Stimson Center.
Market stalls are set up as shoppers buy goods in Gao, an ancient city along the Niger River. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
More than a year and a half ago, Malis government signed a peace deal with separatist rebels in the north from the Tuareg and Arab communities. Authorities hoped the radical Islamists who had once aligned themselves with the local rebels and later fallen out had been driven away. But today, the terrorists appear stronger than ever.
The French military continues to conduct its own counterterrorism mission across northwest Africa, including in Mali. The United Nations shares information with the French if it is deemed useful for protecting the lives of troops.
* * *
On Jan. 18, Islamist extremists drove a truck laden with explosives into a compound in Gao where the United Nations was protecting Malian forces. Seventy-six men from national forces and armed groups that had joined the peace process lost their lives in the blast. (No peacekeepers were killed.) The attack was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which said it involved one of its allies, al-Mourabitoun.
The explosion was staggering, but so was the lack of security at an installation ostensibly protected by peacekeepers. Three days before the attack, a visiting Washington Post reporter saw only a few Bangladeshi peacekeepers sitting inside a personnel carrier outside the compound. Terrorist groups had already struck U.N. facilities in the city several times, but the base was protected by only a flimsy metal gate.
Souef, the U.N. official, acknowledged that his compound in the city was vulnerable.
We shouldnt be living in a place like this, he said.
Souef, the U.N. official, acknowledged that his own compound in the city was vulnerable. (Jane Hahn/For The Washington Post)
Read more
Al-Qaeda affiliates are threatening West Africas most peaceful cities
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Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the number of a deers antler points is determined by age. Diet and genes are also factors. The story also should have made clear that the antlers retrieved on the walk were not from Colmar Manor Park and were placed in the area for participants to find.
David Luttenberg, 10, of Silver Spring, Maryland, got lucky on his walk through Colmar Manor Park. He found an antler, which deer lose like baby teeth and regrow every year. (Samantha Magrath)
Look, I found one, shouted Lorelei Bois, holding a curvy, chocolate-chip-cookie-colored antler just plucked out of the underbrush.
Her hands almost shivered after a Saturday morning walking the woody hills and weedy marshes along the Anacostia River, the waterway on the eastern side of Washington. With her mom, Tiffani, she was one of the 17 adults and kids on a winter walk over the 260-acre Colmar Manor Park near historic Bladensburg, Maryland.
It was an environmental exploration of the winter vegetation and process of life for the birds and other animals living in the park. There was also the chance of finding deer antlers, which are shed by male deer every winter. They grow new ones every summer, and the cycle continues throughout their lives.
Yeah, you dont have to kill deers for their antlers, said Lorelei, an 8-year-old from the District.
There are about 30 million deer scattered across the United States, said Jorge Bogantes Montero, a natural resources specialist at the Anacostia Watershed Society, which organized last months shed walk, the groups first such event. Wildlife authorities estimate a deer population of about 200,000 in Maryland, 850,000 to 1 million in Virginia, and several hundred in the District.
Lorelei Bois, 8, of the District also found an antler. (Samantha Magrath)
Actually, you see them in almost every neighborhood these days, Bogantes Montero continued, not just wild places. That means if you can remember where you see them where you live, a winter walk in that area could turn up fresh antlers, he said. Otherwise, mice and woodland critters eat them, and they disappear over time.
Theyre so beautiful, piped up David Luttenberg, a 10-year-old from Silver Spring, Maryland, on the walk with his dad, Randall. David, Lorelei and one adult were the only people on the walk to find antlers that Bogantes Montero had hidden in the park. (Check with authorities before removing them from public parks.) Davids had three points, while Loreleis antler had four.
The number of points is determined by several factors, including a deers age, its ancestors and the food it eats.
Antlers come off kind of like how you lose baby teeth, one at a time, Bogantes Montero said, which means finding the matching pair isnt easy.
Scientists are mystified by antlers, Bogantes Montero said. They are not pure bone, and their composition changes during the year. In the summer, they feature a velvety skin that has nerves and blood vessels. In the fall, they harden and are mostly protein and calcium.
A deer is the only mammal that grows back a major part of its body every year, he continued. And antlers can balloon one-quarter of an inch a day in warm weather, he said. Only cancer cells reproduce more quickly, which explains why medical researchers are studying deer antler cells to try to understand and perhaps control cancer in humans.
Antlers are not pure bone, but instead made out of skin, nerves, blood vessels, cartilage tissue and a little bone. (Samantha Magrath)
I just think theyre cool, said Lorelei, who cant wait to show her find to out-of-town grandparents when they visit.
Lorelei even made up a name for her antlers: Its Anilty, a word I never heard before, she said. Just like I never saw an antler before.
President Trump points to a reporter as he takes questions during a lengthy news conference Thursday in which he scolded journalists for publishing alleged fake news. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
For those who care about press rights in America, President Trumps words last week were stunning and disturbing.
The news media is not merely scum, as he has said many times before, but now the enemy of the American People.
This tweeted pronouncement, with its authoritarian echoes, came soon after Trumps vow to stamp out the unauthorized flow of intelligence-community information to journalists. Ive actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks, he said. Those are criminal leaks.
Add up these two elements and you get a troubling question: Will the Trump administrations crackdown on leaks include journalists as well as their sources?
Some knowledgeable lawyers and academics say its unlikely.
Right now, its a deviant practice, certainly not in the ordinary course of business, to subpoena a journalist, said David Pozen, a Columbia University law professor who wrote the landmark study The Leaky Leviathan: Why the Government Condemns and Condones Unlawful Disclosures of Information.
(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)
But, Pozen told me: If were in a new paradigm, that could change.
That such things are changing already was evident in Trumps statement, quoted above, about making an assignment for Justice Department officials who, after all, are supposed to operate with a measure of independence, choosing their own cases, not as corporate functionaries reporting to the chief executive.
As for a new paradigm, it or something else quite weird was on full display in that news conference in which Trump hardly stopped attacking the assembled news media. That surreal 75 minutes included mind-spinning contradictions about real leaks somehow creating fake news.
But wait, you might say. Why should journalists be treated any differently than any other citizens? Why shouldnt they testify about their sources or even be prosecuted themselves when information obtained illegally is published?
Well, because the democracy is built on their ability to serve as a check on government power. They need to be able to do their watchdog job unfettered, and to tell citizens at least some of what their government is doing in secret. A crucial part of that is the ability to promise confidentiality to sources.
If the Trump administration goes down the dangerous road of eroding those freedoms, its the Obama administration that will have set those wheels in motion. Nine times during the past eight years, the Justice Department used the once-obscure Espionage Act to prosecute leakers three times the usage of any other administration since the law was enacted 100 years ago.
And reporters were drawn into the fray.
Investigative reporter James Risen of the New York Times faced the very real possibility of jail time for protecting a confidential source during the leak investigation of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer. More extreme still was the Justice Departments naming of another Washington journalist, James Rosen of Fox News, as a criminal co-conspirator in a different leak case, thus allowing the government to track his phone calls, emails and trips to the State Department.
And it was partly because of the strong criticism of these efforts both of which eventually were dropped that new Justice Department guidelines were agreed upon. Then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. eventually said publicly that he never wanted a journalist to go to jail for doing his work. But the blueprint was there.
One of the recent guidelines calls for the attorney general himself to sign off before a reporter is subpoenaed. That sounds like a formidable obstacle, but in his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Jeff Sessions ducked the question of what he would do.
You might think the First Amendment would protect journalists from getting drawn into court. After all, decisions in cases that rely on the First Amendment, especially one related to the Pentagon Papers, prohibit the government from prior restraint of publication.
But when it comes to the so-called reporters privilege, case law is notoriously shaky, and Justice Department guidelines enacted in recent years are well-intentioned but toothless.
The protections are normative, not legal, said Susan Hennessey, managing editor of the Lawfare blog and a former National Security Agency attorney.
And folks, we dont live in Normal Town any more.
Separately, congressional efforts to enact a federal shield law like those in many states have seemed promising but gone nowhere. (Vice President Pence was an advocate for one when he was a congressman.)
Instead, journalists remain dependent on something far less certain: what former deputy attorney general James M. Cole (referring to the Justice Department guidelines that he helped develop) called a shadow shield law.
Trump, meanwhile, has seen the enemy. And it is, well, us.
His media attacks apparently signal strength and resolve to his core supporters. Make no mistake: This is a calculated move on his part and, politically, a proven winner.
Will he or his advisers take the next logical step against the opposition party, as they call journalists, and pull them into damaging court battles?
If so, a shadow shield law sounds like pretty flimsy protection.
For more by Margaret Sullivan, visit wapo.st/sullivan
1 of 17 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Seeking Sally Hemings: See photos of the excavations at Jeffersons Monticello View Photos By excavating and restoring areas where the slave community lived and worked, Monticello is trying to more fully integrate their stories at the historic plantation. A special focus will be placed on Sally Hemings, whose room in the house will soon be on display for the first time. Caption By excavating and restoring areas where the slave community lived and worked, Monticello is trying to more fully integrate their stories at the historic plantation. A special focus will be placed on Sally Hemings, whose room in the house will soon be on display for the first time. Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, was a 5,000-acre working plantation. Caretakers of the historic site are working to tell the stories of the 607 slaves Jefferson owned during his lifetime. Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.
The room where historians believe Sally Hemings slept was just steps away from Thomas Jeffersons bedroom. But in 1941, the caretakers of Monticello turned it into a restroom.
The floor tiles and bathroom stalls covered over the story of the enslaved woman, who was owned by Jefferson and had a long-term relationship with him. Their involvement was a scandal during his life and was denied for decades by his descendants. But many historians now believe the third president of the United States was the father of her six children.
Time, and perhaps shame, erased all physical evidence of her presence at Jeffersons home here, a building so famous that it is depicted on the back of the nickel.
Now the floor tiles have been pulled up and the room is under restoration and Hemingss life is poised to become a larger part of the story told at Monticello.
When the long-hidden space opens to the public next year, it will mark a dramatic shift in the way one of the nations most revered Founding Fathers is portrayed to the more than 440,000 visitors who tour this landmark annually.
Its part of a $35 million restoration project that will bolster Monticellos infrastructure but also reconstruct and showcase buildings where enslaved people lived and worked. The man who wrote the words all men are created equal in 1776 was master of a 5,000-acre working plantation who over the course of his life owned 607 slaves.
Visitors will come up here and understand that there was no place on this mountaintop that slavery wasnt, said Christa Dierksheide, a Monticello historian. Thomas Jefferson was surrounded by people, and the vast majority of those people were enslaved.
(Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)
When Jeffersons critics wrote salacious stories in the early 1800s alleging that the widowed politician had a long-term liaison with one of these slaves, it was said that he kept her in a room of her own at Monticello.
To pinpoint that room, historians relied on a description provided long ago by a Jefferson grandson, who placed it in the homes south wing. Archaeologists are now peeling back layers in the 14 foot, 8 inch-by-13 foot, 2 inch room to reveal its original brick floor and plaster walls.
We dont know how Hemings regarded her involvement with her owner. Historians do not know exactly how old she was when she lived there; and no portraits or photographs of her exist. But step into the brick room, the floor still covered in red dirt, and it is not hard to imagine her sitting in a chair, warming herself in front of the fireplace.
Emerging outside the mystery
For four decades, Jefferson kept meticulous records of every dollar he spent and the activities of the people he held as slaves the fee for hiring a midwife to birth an enslaved womans child, the cost of sending someone on an errand. But Jefferson rarely wrote of Hemings, possibly in an attempt to cloak her role in his life.
Historians know that she was a seamstress and worked for a time as Jeffersons chambermaid. She was a baby when Jefferson inherited the Hemings family from his father-in-law, a major slaveholder.
In 1787, when she was 14, Jefferson had Hemings accompany his young daughter Maria to Paris, where he was an envoy negotiating trade agreements. According to accounts from Hemingss son Madison, their personal relationship began in France.
Thomas Jefferson is shown in a painting by the artist Rembrandt Peale. No known images of Sally Hemings, who historians believe bore six children by him, have been identified. (New York Historial Society via AP)
Sam Neill and Carmen Ejogo portrayed Jefferson and Hemings in a 2000 made-for-TV movie. The story, largely ignored at Monticello for years, drew the curiosity of many authors, screenwriters and historians. (Cliff Lipson/CBS)
Four of Hemingss children lived to adulthood, and documentary evidence, along with genetic links found in DNA tests of Hemings and Jefferson descendants in 1998, led most historians to believe that Jefferson was their father. (Some skepticism about their paternity remains within two organizations with ties to some branches of Jeffersons family the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society and the Monticello Association, which owns the cemetery where Jefferson is buried.)
Jefferson allowed these children to live free, and his family granted Sally Hemings an unofficial freedom after Jeffersons death.
[For a family whose ancestors were slaves at the Sweet Briar plantation, a loss]
Monticello historians hope the restored room will humanize the image of Hemings, beyond the gossipy old accounts of Jeffersons so-called concubine.
Sally Hemings was better traveled than most Americans, so we want to tell a story about her that doesnt limit her to Jeffersons property, said Gary Sandling, a vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and runs Monticello as a museum.
Her space will be outfitted with period furniture and artifacts, such as bone toothbrushes and ceramics excavated on the property.
It will portray her outside of the mystery, said Niya Bates, the foundations public historian of slavery and African American life. She was a mother, a sister, an ancestor for her descendants, and [the rooms presentation] will really just shape her as a person and give her a presence outside of the wonder of their relationship.
Hemingss new prominence at Monticello is part of a decades-long shift. Lucia Cinder Stanton, a now-retired historian who began working there in 1968, recalled when little was said about the Hemings family. A tour guide might mention that Sallys brother John was a talented woodworker, who likely made some of the furniture in the house but Sallys name was never uttered.
In 1993, as Monticello celebrated the 250th anniversary of Jeffersons birth, guides began giving a Plantation Community tour that incorporated stories of the enslaved. But little remained of Mulberry Row, where the slaves worked.
One of the reconstructed buildings on Mulberry Row. There was no place on this mountaintop that slavery wasnt, a Monticello historian says. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post)
At its height, the complex just 200 feet from Jeffersons house bustled with more than 20 workshops, sheds and dwellings. Enslaved teenagers wove textiles and forged nails there. But by the end of the 19th century, nearly all the buildings on Mulberry Row had been torn down; the space later became a parking lot. Down the mountain, the farms where field slaves grew tobacco and wheat became overgrown.
[In college to study anthropology, she found slave ancestors nearby]
Stanton and her colleagues sought to recreate this lost world via an oral history project, interviewing more than 100 descendants of Monticellos enslaved people and collecting images of those ancestors.
Once you start to look at the details of the whole scene at Monticello work, family life, punishment it is richer, said Stanton, who wrote a book about slavery on the plantation. It is so much better to try to see something whole.
Reevaluating a founders legacy
The restoration comes as many artists and scholars are taking a closer look at contradictions of Jeffersons life that made previous generations uncomfortable.
Youre in the home of the person who wrote the Declaration of Independence, who criticized slavery but was a slaveholder, said Harvard law professor Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. The story of Monticello is at its core about the complicated nature of Americas founding, she said.
The hit Broadway musical Hamilton portrayed Jefferson not as a heroic figure but as deeply flawed, even a bit of a hypocrite. The Smithsonians new National Museum of African American History and Culture presents a statue of Jefferson under his eloquent words about the equality of mankind but surrounded by towers of bricks, each etched with the name of a man or woman he owned.
The display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture devoted to Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved people he owned. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
His is not the only legacy being reevaluated. A new book highlights George Washingtons relentless pursuit of a runaway slave. Yale University has said it will remove John C. Calhouns name from a residential college because of the Southern leaders ardent promotion of slavery. Georgetown University has apologized for once owning slaves and plans to offer admissions preference to descendants of those sold for the benefit of the school.
[Painful but crucial: Why youll see Emmett Tills casket at the African American Museum]
And other historic plantations are recasting their exhibits to reflect a crueler truth beyond the sort of old moonlight-and-magnolia plantation tour, said Joshua Rothman, chair of the history department at the University of Alabama. Talking about the history of the enslaved community is one thing, but recreating that space and trying to give it material substance takes it really to another level.
At Monticellos Mulberry Row, a rebuilt slave cabin has been staged as a space where John Hemmings (Sallys brother spelled his name with two Ms) might have lived with his wife, Priscilla. An iron workshop has been reconstructed and a textile shop is being restored. The stables will soon be opened to highlight the men who cared for Jeffersons prized horses.
Leslie Bowman, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, raised about $20 million of the funding for these projects from David Rubenstein, the private-equity billionaire and philanthropist who has a particular interest in Mulberry Row.
If you are going to get people to come to historic sites, you should show them what it was really like, said Rubenstein, who has also underwritten renovations to the slave quarters at Arlington House and James Madisons Montpelier. The good and bad of history.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Monticello remains a showpiece of neoclassical architecture, so leaders are wary of adding too much to the landscape. But new multimedia exhibits and a mobile phone app will help trace the lives of the people who labored there.
The room in Monticellos south wing where Sally Hemings is believed to have lived. It will portray her outside of the mystery, said another museum historian. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post)
Last year, Monticello hosted a conference on slavery and freedom with the help of the Values Partnership Initiative, headed by Joshua DuBois, a faith adviser to the Obama White House. The group is also bringing in students from schools named for Jefferson, many of which have large minority populations, to discuss his legacy.
DuBois hopes Monticello can be a place of reflection, a place to remind us of our resiliency, also to mourn to some extent. After all, when Jefferson died, 130 people were sold at an auction block on the west lawn to pay his debts.
Among the first visitors to see the restorations of Mulberry Row was Bill Webb, a New Yorker whose great-great-great-grandfather Brown Colbert was born at Monticello on Christmas Day in 1785.
The visit was a heavy experience, said Webb, whose ancestor pounded out nails here. It is a painful part of our American history. But it needs to be told.
THE DISTRICT
Ex-council member Crawford eulogized
Major figures from the Districts political past and present gathered in Southeast on Saturday to pay their final respects to former D.C. Council member H.R. Crawford.
Crawford, who died Feb. 10 at age 78, was remembered as a zealous advocate for residents of Ward 7 and a long and sometimes controversial career as a real estate developer and federal housing official.
He was smart, strategic, and he knew how to make things happen, and we knew we had to close ranks and follow him, former mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly (D) said in an interview at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) said that long after he left office (he served from 1980 to 1992), Crawford knew how to work his ties to the District. He relished the role of being a former council member. He reminded me of Marion Barry, Bowser said. Mendelson added: It was never for himself but for others.
The Rev. Mary E. Ivey, chair of the Access Housing, reflected on how Crawford opened a shelter for homeless after he found some people sleeping under a bridge in Georgetown. He had a heart of love for all people at a certain level of life and those trying to find their way, she said.
Hamil R. Harris
District man fatally shot in Northeast
D.C. police said a man who was shot Friday night in Northeast Washington has died.
Police spokeswoman Rachel Reid said authorities had responded to a report of gunshots in the 900 block of 12th Street NE at about 9:20 p.m. They found Eric Linnair Wright, 53, of Northwest. Wright was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police are offering a $25,000 reward to anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Police urge anyone with information to call 202-727-9099.
Moriah Balingit
VIRGINIA
Man fatally stabs woman, wounds self
A man fatally stabbed a Manassas woman before turning a knife on himself, Prince William County police said Saturday.
Police identified the woman as Patricia Ramos Guillen, 40.
Police said officers were sent to the 7300 block of Forrester Lane about 6:20 p.m. on Friday. Police said the man and Guillen had gotten into a dispute outside the home and the man stabbed Guillen. The man went to another part of the home where he stabbed himself, police said.
[Woman stabbed to death in Prince William]
Two other residents of the home intervened and called police, authorities said.
The relationship between Guillen and the man was not immediately known, but both appeared to live at the home, said Officer Steven R. Mattos Jr., a department spokesman.
Guillen was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Mattos said the mans injuries are so severe that investigators have not been able to interview him. Police said charges are pending.
The incident is the countys second homicide of the year, police said.
Faiz Siddiqui
Motorcyclist dies in Woodbridge crash
Prince William County police are investigating a crash that killed a Woodbridge motorcyclist Saturday and caused injuries to another biker, who was charged with driving under the influence.
Police said Nellie Rae Sacra, 53, died after her motorcycle crashed into the back of a bike driven by Robert James Potts, also 53, of Woodbridge.
The incident occurred about 1:35 a.m. near Mapledale Avenue and Meadowbrook Drive in Woodbridge.
Police said Potts and Sacra knew each other, and both were heading south on Mapledale when Potts abruptly braked to turn onto Meadowbrook Drive. Sacra, trailing him, was unable to stop in time to avoid a crash.
Police said she suffered head trauma and was taken to a hospital, where she later died. Potts suffered injuries described as minor.
Police said speed and alcohol factored into the crash.
The investigation is ongoing, and further charges are pending, police said.
Faiz Siddiqui
MARYLAND
Woman charged in fatal stabbing
A Prince Georges County woman fatally stabbed her boyfriend during a domestic dispute Friday night, police said Saturday.
Prince Georges police said Roger Allen, 45, of no fixed address, was killed after an argument erupted between him and 41-year-old Melba Williams, of Rochell Avenue in District Heights.
Police said Williams admitted to her involvement in the incident, and she was charged with first- and second-degree murder, in addition to assault charges. She was held on no bond Saturday.
About 11 p.m. Friday, police arrived to the 1900 block of Rochell Avenue where Williams lives to find Allen with a stab wound, they said. Williams was arrested there. Allen was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
The incident remains under investigation.
Closing schools for Presidents Day could become optional for Maryland school districts under a bill being considered in the General Assembly.
The same could happen to Easter Monday.
Concerned about Gov. Larry Hogans 2016 executive order requiring the states 24 school districts to start classes after Labor Day and end by June 15, several state lawmakers want to give local jurisdictions flexibility by removing Presidents Day and Easter Monday from the states list of mandatory public school holidays.
These couple of days would be important to the school schedule, said Del. Pamela G. Beidle (D-Anne Arundel), the chief sponsor of the bill.
The bills chances at passage are not clear. Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince Georges), vice chairman of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, called the idea of canceling long-standing holidays a slippery slope.
Whats next?, he said. Martin Luther King Day? Labor Day?
Last August, Hogan (R) signed an executive order dictating the start and end of school, saying the change would benefit families and the economy. Almost every school district in the state had been starting the academic year before Labor Day.
Although the promise of a longer summer vacation earned strong support from the public, many educators and Democratic lawmakers said the change would cut into learning and test-preparation time.
Hogans order led to the resignation of the vice president of the state Board of Education, who accused the governor of usurping the independent boards authority.
In the meantime, school districts scrambled to ensure that their 2017-2018 school calendars adhered to the order. Anne Arundel County cut its spring break from one week to three days. Montgomery County reduced its number of scheduled school days from 184 to 182, with just two days allotted for bad weather.
John Woolums, director of government relations for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, said Beidles bill would provide much needed options as districts set up academic calendars, which must take into account state testing schedules, teacher in-service days and required holidays.
Current public-school holidays include Thanksgiving Day and the day after, Christmas Eve through Jan. 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, the Friday before Easter through the Monday after Easter, Memorial Day, and, for most counties, primary and general-election days.
Amelia Chasse, a spokeswoman for Hogan, said the governor is pleased that nearly all Maryland counties are moving forward with this return to common-sense scheduling.
She said that starting school after Labor Day is the right thing to do for Maryland families and students and that instead of focusing on [canceling] holidays, school districts should focus on removing the many unnecessary union services days.
Chasse said Hogan will decide whether to sign the Presidents Day/Easter Monday measure if it reaches his desk.
Beidle introduced a bill last year that would have made Easter Monday an optional holiday, but the measure died in committee. She said the legislation has received greater support this year, largely because of Hogans order.
In addition to Beidles bill, Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery) has a bill that would allow a school district that has to close schools because of a state of emergency to reduce the 180-day required school year by up to five days without seeking a waiver from the state Board of Education.
The bill was requested by the Montgomery County school system, the largest in the state, with more than 159,200 students. It has the support of other school districts, as well.
Montgomerys school board was able to meet Hogans requirements for the 2017-2018 school calendar, but school system spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said, Its going to be tough in the future. Montgomery has scheduled 182 class days next school year.
Bob Mosier, a spokesman for Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent George Arlotto, said the school district sought a waiver from the state board two years ago to open on Easter Monday to make up for a snow day. If the legislation passes, he said, the district could decide on its own, without needing the states permission, to open or close on that day and Presidents Day.
Its the flexibility that we need in the calendar with the hard start and hard stop date established by the governors executive order, he said.
Pinsky, a vocal opponent of Hogans order, says that school districts should legally challenge Hogan over it.
Attorney General Brian E. Froshs office issued an opinion last year that the governor may have exceeded his authority. Frosh (D) also said the legislature could overturn the executive order, but there has been no legislation introduced to do that.
PM calls Morcha for emergency meet
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called seven political parties affiliated to Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) for a meeting at his official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday.
A man barricaded himself in a house in Northeast Washington after a stabbing on Saturday, but the situation eventually ended peacefully, the D.C. police said.
The stabbing left the male victim with injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Afterward, a man barricaded himself inside a two story brick house in the 100 block of 36th Street NE, near East Capitol Street. It was in an area about 150 yards east of the Anacostia Freeway.
Police in full protective gear swarmed into the neighborhood, where tension mounted as the evening turned into night.
However, a man was taken into custody from the house after about five hours. No injuries were reported said police Capt. Michelle Ridlehoover.
No information was available about any charges..
Ed Gillespie is the front-runner in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in June. (Leah Seavers/Liberty University)
The Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidates who gathered Saturday for their first primary debate talked about revising the criminal-justice system and two said marijuana should be decriminalized.
The event, hosted by millennial GOP groups and moderated by the chairman of the state Republican Party, featured brief discussions about the cost of higher education, criminal justice and the future of health care in the state.
The four men seeking the GOP nomination in the June primary said little about President Trump, whose approval rating in Virginia is below 40 percent, according to a poll released last week by Quinnipiac University.
The event was presented as a debate, but it highlighted few policy differences among the candidates, who remained cordial and refrained from criticizing one another.
Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart, who has fashioned himself as a candidate in the mold of Trump, didnt take the opportunity to criticize front-runner Ed Gillespie to his face, after months of bashing him online as a Washington insider. Stewart later told reporters that he would ratchet up attacks at future events.
Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, has fashioned himself as a candidate in the mold of Donald Trump. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
[Poll: Democrats ahead of Republicans in wide-open Va. governors race]
The Republicans said they were interested in relaxing criminal penalties for drug possession.
Denver Riggleman, a distillery owner and former Air Force intelligence officer who is positioning himself as a populist candidate, described how his brother struggled to reintegrate into society after spending nine months in prison on marijuana-related charges. He said the state should give ex-offenders financial help to ease their return to society.
If they do screw up like my brother did, they are going to get help transitioning back into the community, Riggleman said.
In response, Stewart said Rigglemans brother never should have gone to jail. He joined Riggleman in calling for the removal of criminal penalties for simple marijuana possession.
Its absolutely atrocious that we are jailing people simply because they are in possession of marijuana, Stewart said. We need to be focusing our resources on the real crimes and the real problems.
Gillespie, who has led in campaign fundraising and polls, said the state should do more to keep people out of jail, noting that the average annual cost of incarceration is $29,000 per person.
That can save us a lot of money but also save a lot of lives, said Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who nearly unseated Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) in 2014. I believe in redemption and reconciliation.
Gillespie later told reporters that he isnt in favor of legalizing marijuana but supports legislative efforts to have a state commission review whether the penalties for marijuana offenses arein line with the severity of the crime.
State Sen. Frank W. Wagner (Virginia Beach) said that he supports the drug court model to steer offenders to therapy instead of incarceration but that violent criminals should be punished harshly.
Lets get them into a treatment program rather than prosecute these people and make them criminals for the rest of their lives and cant find them jobs, Wagner said.
Both Democrats competing in that gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello, want to decriminalize marijuana use. Last week, Northam cited it as a racial equality issue, noting that compared with whites, African Americans are disproportionately prosecuted for using the drug.
The candidates praised Trump and congressional Republicans intention to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Stewart and Wagner said they want to see the federal Medicaid program converted into block grants to the states.
The Saturday debate featured little discussion of contentious social issues such as gun rights and abortion.
But Stewart highlighted his effort to prevent Charlottesville officials from moving a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a downtown park, noting how dozens of protesters shouted him down when he showed up to defend the statue last weekend.
They are trying to defeat us culturally, and this is not going to stand in a Stewart administration, said the candidate, who calls Lee a hero and plans to address the Charlottesville City Council about the issue Tuesday and has been promoting that appearance in fundraising emails.
Gillespie and Riggleman in their closing remarks stressed the importance of Republicans winning statewide elections after a long drought.
We have got to stop the liberal governance in the governors mansion, Gillespie said. We cannot have Ralph Northam or Tom Perriello continue Terry McAuliffes failed policies.
The Quinnipiac poll showed either Democrat beating any of the four Republicans in head-to-head matchups. McAuliffe, the Democratic incumbent, is barred from seeking consecutive terms.
The gubernatorial candidates shared the debate stage with the Republican candidates for attorney general and two of the candidates for lieutenant governor.
State Sen. Bryce E. Reeves (Spotsylvania) and Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. (Virginia Beach), vying for the lieutenant governor nomination, made cases for less government and more compassion, particularly for people affected by the heroin epidemic. In November, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced that opioid addiction in Virginia had been declared a public health emergency.
A third GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (Fauquier), did not participate, citing a scheduling conflict. That race took an ugly turn after Reeves accused Vogel or someone close to her of sending emails falsely alleging that he had an affair with a staffer.
John Adams and Chuck Smith, lawyers running for the Republican nomination for attorney general, blasted incumbent Mark R. Herring (D) for what they saw as politicizing his office.
Smith drew some applause for saying Virginia shouldnt have more Muslims, mosques or refugees until the countrys security is strengthened. After the debate, he said he meant that Muslims or anyone should be barred from immigrating to the United States if they pose a danger.
Some in the audience of about 100 said they want a standard-bearer in the November election who embraces Trump.
I want to see our nominee embracing Trump, because if not, he is going to lose voters, said Holli Foster, a 17-year-old student from Orange who plans to cast her first vote in the primary.He is our president, and he is the face of the Republican Party.
Supporters of Gillespie defended him against criticism from Stewart that he is the kind of establishment figure that Trump spent his campaign railing against.
Hes worked at the center of the Republican Party for a number of years, but he has always been pro-freedom and pro-liberty, said Erich Reimer, a 26-year-old University of Virginia law student.
CALIFORNIA
Even as storm eases, more rains forecast
A huge Pacific storm that parked itself over Southern California and unloaded ravaging roads, opening sinkholes and leading to the deaths of at least two people eased Saturday, but the relief was only temporary: New storms were taking aim farther north.
The National Weather Service predicted drying weather through Sunday followed by the return of wet weather in the region. But while flash-flood watches for Southern California were canceled, Northern California and the San Francisco Bay area were facing a weekend return of heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week before the storm moves out.
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north, where damage to spillways of the Lake Oroville dam forced 188,000 people from their homes last weekend. As of Saturday, the lakes water level had fallen more than 45 feet.
Meanwhile, authorities up and down the state were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing creeks, mudslide threats in foothill areas already denuded by wildfires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighborhoods.
Northwest of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were displaced Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond. No injuries were reported.
A flooded Interstate 5 snarled traffic for miles on Saturday in Maxwell, Calif. (Andrew Seng/AP)
Associated Press
OREGON
Japanese internment anniversary marked
States in the U.S. West are marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that forced 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans into internment camps.
Most were from Oregon, California and Washington state. Adults and children could take with them only what they could carry and were transported by bus and train, often with blacked-out windows. They were sent, ostensibly to prevent sabotage and spying, to camps in California, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and as far away as Arkansas.
Oregon, California and Washington are not only marking Sundays anniversary, but politicians and rights activists in those states say the country must also learn from this chapter of its history.
Associated Press
MONTANA
State struggles to cope with meth surge
Methamphetamines continue to make an alarming surge in Montana, as law enforcement, health officials and communities struggle to address the problem.
Panelists at a drug summit convened Saturday by the Montana legislature said resources are being strained because of a widening prevalence of the drug.
While authorities try to stanch the flow of meth from Mexican cartels into the state, courts are burdened by a growing volume of drug cases. Family services are also strained by drug-related cases that are tearing families apart. And drug clinics are hard-pressed to serve an increasing population of meth users seeking treatment.
Associated Press
SpaceX launch aborted: A planned SpaceX launch Saturday was scrubbed 13 seconds before liftoff. The new window for the mission, the delivery of cargo and hundreds of science experiments to the International Space Station, will open at 9:38 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday. The launch was to be the first from Florida for SpaceX since one of its rockets exploded Sept. 1.
Associated Press
IRAQ
Forces prepare to take western side of Mosul
Iraqi planes dropped millions of leaflets on the western side of Mosul warning residents that the battle to dislodge Islamic State forces is imminent as troops began moving in their direction, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.
The militants are essentially under siege in western Mosul, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians, after U.S.-backed forces surrounding the city forced them from the east in the first phase of an offensive begun in October to dislodge the extremist group from its last major urban stronghold.
The leaflets said the troops had begun advancing toward western Mosul. Your armed forces . . . are advancing in the direction of the right side, relying on God, read one of the leaflets. Other leaflets warned Islamic State members to lay down their weapons and surrender.
Separately, the U.S.-led military coalition said Saturday that its forces had destroyed a building in the main medical complex of western Mosul that was suspected of housing an Islamic State command center. The militant group disputed that assertion, saying in an online statement that Fridays strike had killed 18 people, mostly women and children, and wounded 47 others.
Reuters
SYRIA
Airstrikes target rebels despite cease-fire
Syrian warplanes bombarded a besieged rebel-held district of Homs, southern Daraa and insurgent areas on the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday in what appeared to be intensifying assaults in the west of the country, monitors said.
Much of western Syria is covered by an ongoing but shaky cease-fire between the government and rebels that took effect Dec. 30. But fighting has rumbled on, with warring sides accusing each other of truce violations ahead of peace talks in Geneva in the coming week.
On the northeastern outskirts of Damascus, the capital, Syrian government forces attacked the rebel-held Qaboun and Barzeh districts with rockets and shells, killing at least nine people, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
To the north, Syrian jets bombarded the last rebel-held district of Homs, al-Waer, killing at least two people and raising the death toll from nearly two weeks of airstrikes there to more than 20, an activist and the Observatory said.
Reuters
Turkey says 26 arrested after deadly bombing: Turkish officials say 26 people were detained after a car-bomb attack that killed two people in the countrys southeast. The car bomb exploded Friday near the lodgings of judges and prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, killing the 11-year-old son of a court clerk and a 27-year-old neighborhood guard.
Turkish airliner evacuated after bomb threat: A Turkish Airlines plane was evacuated Saturday after a suspicious note was discovered in one of its bathrooms. The cabin crew found the words BOMB TO TORONTO on the bathrooms wall on Flight TK-17 during its pushback from the gate at Istanbuls Ataturk International Airport on its way to Toronto. The planes passengers underwent security procedures, but the official said nothing suspicious was found.
More than 100 migrants rescued at sea: Spains Defense Ministry says one of its naval ships rescued 112 migrants off the coast of Libya on Saturday. Nearer the Spanish coast, the coast guard said its ships rescued 36 more migrants from two small overloaded boats.
Two more South Sudanese officials resign: Henry Oyay Nyago, the former judge advocate general of South Sudans army, and Khalid Ono Loki, the former head of military courts, have resigned while accusing the government of ethnic bias and corruption. They join two other top officials who have resigned in the past week, the latest sign that President Salva Kiir is struggling to retain his coalition of support as the countrys civil war continues amid warnings of genocide.
Indigenous community leader fatally shot in Honduras: Honduran authorities say an indigenous community leader was shot dead by armed men who barged into his home. Jose de los Santos Sevilla, a primary school teacher and leader of the Tolupan people, was killed Friday in the town of Orica, about 75 miles northeast of Tegucigalpa, the capital. Officials said Saturday that they do not know why he was killed.
From news services
IT WOULD be naive to imagine that politics would play no part in the selection of the FBIs new headquarters location, a decision which is now imminent in a three-way competition involving two sites in suburban Maryland and one in Northern Virginia. Still, the process, terms and criteria by which the new campus is chosen matter, and there are right and wrong ways of going about it.
Moving the FBI from the hulking, brutalist J. Edgar Hoover building on Pennsylvania Avenue obsolete after four decades in use, crumbling and able to accommodate fewer than half the bureaus 11,000 employees has been in the works for a decade. A sagging shelfs-worth of studies has been devoted to the selection of a new, more than $2 billion headquarters, which has major implications not only for the bureau, but also for the region. The winning locality may expect a windfall in economic development and tax revenues; it may also grapple with a traffic headache whose mitigation will require major state and local spending.
The jockeying and lobbying to land the new facility between Maryland and Virginia and, more specifically, between suburban Prince Georges and Fairfax counties is healthy and normal. So is the back and forth over which site would provide the best access to mass transit, road and rail; which would offer cost savings or come freighted with foreseeable higher expenses; which would best withstand the environmental impact; which would be more secure and convenient for FBI employees; and which would make sense in regional terms.
Those are the right questions for consideration by the General Services Administration, which will manage the selection and development of the new campus, and for members of Congress and the administration overseeing the choice.
There are also toxic and irrelevant questions, including one posed by some conservatives who would make the decision a litmus test for the current culture war over immigration namely, whether to blacklist the two sites in Prince Georges because of the countys policy not to hold prisoners specifically at the request of federal immigration officials.
Never mind that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not issued any detainer requests to Prince Georges law enforcement agencies since the policy was adopted in 2014, according to the Washington Times. Never mind that one of the sites in Prince Georges, in Greenbelt, has excellent connections to Marc, Metro and Amtrak, or that the other, in Landover, is the largest of the three competing sites, shovel-ready and convenient to both to the District and major highways. It is enough, for a couple of people quoted in the Times article, that Prince Georges is considered by some as a sanctuary jurisdiction, while Fairfax is not.
It would be a milestone of bad government and rash decision-making if the political passions of the day overtook cool-headed deliberation of what would be best for the FBI, its workers and the region. The contours of the current debate over immigration will certainly change during the coming decades. Those of the FBIs new headquarters will not.
WE DONT blame Americas European allies for fretting about the Trump administrations impact on their security. Far too much for anyones comfort, President Trump has talked up U.S. relations with Russia and talked down its long-standing commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, calling it an obsolete alliance, whose non-U.S. members arent paying what they should. And all of that is not to mention Europes angst about making common cause with a president who seems to have a very different notion of Western values than his predecessors did or the Europeans do.
Mr. Trumps words regarding NATO have been sloppy and unwise, and the reassuring message Mr. Trumps defense secretary, Jim Mattis, offered in Brussels last week offset them only somewhat. Yet in a way, Europe was warned: In 2011, Robert Gates, secretary of defense under President Barack Obama, told a Brussels audience that the transatlantic allies failure to keep up their military spending could lead to a U.S. backlash against them, or even abandonment. If current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, Gates said, future U.S. political leaders . . . may not consider the return on Americas investment in NATO worth the cost. To this day, however, only two major NATO nations except for the United States spend 2 percent of their economic output on defense, as the alliance expects.
Among the worst offenders is Europes richest and most influential country, Germany, which spends about 1.2 percent of output a lower percentage than Portugals. Of the $100 billion needed for Europe and Canada to meet their annual defense obligations, $30 billion would have to come from Germany, according to former NATO official Fabrice Pothier. To be fair, the 2 percent benchmark is a bit arbitrary; it can include items that dont affect current capabilities, such as military pensions. Whats more, Berlin has been ramping up spending in recent years, despite its own publics attachment to pacifism and fiscal discipline, and despite the need not to frighten its neighbors, who have long memories about the last time a unified Germany expanded its military power.
For all that, when Mr. Mattis instructed the European allies to do more last week, he was only telling them to act in their clear self-interest. There are two possibilities: The first is that the Trump administrations assurances of support for NATO, which Mr. Mattis repeated, are insincere, in which case Europe will soon need more independent capability against Russia and other threats. The second is that transatlantic ties are and will remain strong and Mr. Trump is simply trying to cut a better deal so as to enhance the alliances legitimacy with an increasingly skeptical American electorate. Either way, Europe would be wise to hedge by accelerating investment in its long-neglected capabilities. It is a good sign that German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen promised more spending in response to Mr. Mattiss plea. The U.S. is right, Ms. von der Leyen said, referring to the country, not its leader. She, too, was right.
Maria Guadalupe Guereca, 60, leaves her house in her car to visit the grave of her son Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca at the Jardines del Recuerdo cemetery in Juarez, Mexico. (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)
The gun was fired in the United States. The bullet stopped 60 feet away in Mexico tragically, in the head of a 15-year-old boy named Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca.
Border patrol agent Jesus Mesa Jr. pulled the trigger that day six years ago in the wide concrete culvert that separates El Paso from Juarez, Mexico. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether the Constitution gives Hernandezs parents the right to sue Mesa in American courts for killing their son.
The case comes amid a time of increasing tension and controversy over how this country polices the daily churn along the border, where essential international commerce takes place alongside narcotics trafficking and human smuggling.
[Border patrol chief quits after clashes with union]
Courts have struggled to deal with the national security and foreign policy implications of the case, and the Supreme Courts precedents.
(Outreach Strategists, LLC)
If Hernandez had been killed inside the United States, then the case could proceed. Or if he had been a U.S. citizen, it would not have mattered that Mesa was on one side of the border and he was on the other.
But the courts so far in Hernandezs case have said the Constitution does not reach across the border even 60 feet to give rights to those without a previous connection to the United States.
To find otherwise, Judge Edith H. Jones wrote when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit considered the question, would create a breathtaking expansion of federal court authority and would have severely adverse consequences for the conduct of American foreign affairs.
But lawyers for the parents say there must be recourse for killing an unarmed teenager playing with his friends. Halting the case before it is even tried, their brief tells the Supreme Court, erects a legal no-mans land in which federal agents can kill innocent civilians with impunity.
This court should make clear that our border is not an on/off switch for the Constitutions most fundamental protections.
There have been more than 40 killings by border patrol agents, according to an Arizona Republic investigation cited in Hernandezs parents brief. Their lawyer, Corpus Christi, Tex., trial attorney Robert C. Hilliard, said there have been 10 cross-border shootings, with six deaths.
Hernandezs death attracted more than the usual headlines, partly because of the boys age and partly because cellphone videos of the incident contradicted the border patrols initial explanations.
The agency said Mesa was under attack from rock-throwing youths on the other side of the culvert that follows the Rio Grande as he tried to break up an attempt to enter the United States.
But the videos showed Hernandez and the others apparently playing a childs game in which they ran up the steep concrete bank, touched the high fence on the U.S. side, and ran back to Mexico. In the footage, Mesa, patrolling in the culvert on a bike, grabbed one of the boys. While holding on, Mesa fired his gun at Hernandez. The deadly shot came as Hernandez peered from behind a pillar of the Paso Del Norte Bridge, which connects the two countries.
Two U.S. investigations found there were no grounds on which to charge or reprimand Mesa. He was indicted on a charge of murder in Mexico, but the United States refused to extradite him.
Mesas attorney, Randolph J. Ortega, questions the version of the events contained in the familys lawsuit. But for the proceedings in the Supreme Court, the allegations against Mesa are to be accepted by the justices as they consider whether the case can be heard in U.S. courts.
Both sides say there is precedent to support them as the court considers whether constitutional rights apply to a non-U. S. citizen for events that occurred outside this country.
In a 1990 case called United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, a four-member plurality of the court ruled that the Constitution does not protect noncitizens from the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures by government agents beyond the border.
But in a 2008 case, Boumediene v. Bush, regarding the rights of those held at Guantanamo Bay, the court took what is called a functional approach to border issues. It said the totality of the circumstances, not just location, must be considered.
Key to both issues was Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. He wrote the majority opinion in the Boumediene case, and wrote a concurring opinion in the Verdugo-Urquidez case that provided a majority for the outcome.
The U.S. government is supporting Mesa. An injury inflicted by the United States on a foreign citizen in another countrys sovereign territory is, by definition, an incident with international implications, the government said in its brief.
Courts should not insert themselves into such sensitive matters.
But Mexico is urging the Supreme Court to step in. It said the decisions by the lower courts failed to take due account of the binding international human rights obligations that the United States has voluntarily undertaken to Mexico and its nationals.
Its brief continues: Those include, among other things, the fundamental right not to be arbitrarily deprived of life and the right to an adequate remedy when that right has been violated.
Hilliard, Hernandezs parents attorney, said the renewed national commitment to secure the borders and the increased militarization of the border patrol means there will be more such cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has said another cross-border shooting case may proceed. It is on hold awaiting the Supreme Courts action.
Attempts to bring Hernandezs mother to Washington for Tuesdays hearing were unsuccessful. Mesas attorney Ortega said his client will not be there either and has not attended any of the lower court proceedings.
Mesa has continued to work as a border agent but has moved away from El Paso because of death threats, Ortega said. He wants to know as little as possible about the court battles surrounding his action, Ortega said.
Powerful Nepali womens challenges
It dawned on me the other day while responding to the questions of a female journalist and my erstwhile student of literature that the Nepali state is reaching a climactic moment in its decision-making process,
Ann Ravel, one of the three Democratic appointees on the deeply divided Federal Election Commission, announced Sunday that she will leave her post March 1, setting up one of the first tests of how President Trump will approach campaign finance regulation.
The departure of Ravel, whose term was set to expire this spring, puts the three Republican commissioners in the majority until her replacement is selected and confirmed by the Senate. But since federal law requires at least four votes on the six-member commission to take official action, there is little the FEC can accomplish until Trump names her successor.
They cant do anything significant with a 3-2 vote, said campaign finance lawyer Daniel Petalas, who served as the FECs acting general counsel and head of enforcement.
Ravel, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said she decided to leave because she has been unable to make headway with what she describes as an enforcement crisis at the polarized agency.
I have thought for some time that my presence on the commission was not achieving what I would like to do internally, Ravel said in an interview. I recognized that raising the problems at the commission after a certain point, they stopped to resonate, if you keep saying the same things all the time.
I felt I could do more on the outside rather than at the commission, added Ravel, a former California campaign finance regulator who plans to teach at the University of California at Berkeleys School of Law. Her resignation was first reported by the New York Times.
Lee Goodman, a Republican appointee to the FEC, took issue with statistics Ravel compiled showing that ideological deadlocks had essentially paralyzed the agency, calling them misleading.
Ann has been a determined voice for regulation of First Amendment rights and I wish her well in private life after the commission, he wrote in an emailed statement. I expect her to remain engaged in the important debate that has animated our time on the commission together.
The opening at the FEC provides Trump with an opportunity to demonstrate the tack he plans to take toward the growing reach of the wealthy in politics. There was a surge of massive donations by the super-rich in the 2016 presidential race, with just 10 mega-donor individuals and couples contributing nearly 20 percent of the $1.1 billion raised by super PACs by the end of August, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Trump made denouncing big donors a centerpiece of his presidential bid, lambasting the role of super PACs and promising to drain the swamp.
His rhetoric was at odds with that of many congressional Republican leaders and conservatives, who have sought to roll back limits on political contributions. One of the biggest advocates for deregulating campaign finance is former FEC commissioner Donald McGahn now Trumps White House counsel.
[Who is Donald McGahn, the fiery lawyer at the center of virtually every Trump controversy?]
Among the controversial measures that McGahn pushed at the agency was an effort to bar FEC staff members from sharing information with federal prosecutors unless the panel first gave its approval.
By tradition, the selection of Ravels replacement would go to the Senate Democratic leadership, but it is unclear whether the Trump administration will follow that practice. The president cannot select a Republican to fill the post, because federal law bars the commission from having more than three registered members of either party seated on the panel. But he could appoint an independent to the seat.
Ravels departure could trigger other resignations on the commission if the White House decides to push for a broader overhaul of the agency, which has been mired in personal acrimony. Four of Ravels colleagues are serving expired terms.
Ravel said she is hopeful that Trump will tap someone in line with the concerns he expressed on the campaign trail, adding that she believes the deepening concentration of political money is warping the political system.
It adds to the polarization and nastiness and unwillingness to compromise that we see both at the commission and in Congress, she said.
President Trump, drowning amid the chaos roiling his White House after just a month on the job, made a grab for his most-familiar life raft this past week: the media.
Or, to put it more bluntly: Trump, backed into a corner by allegations of aides contact with Russian intelligence officials, turned his full rhetorical firepower on the news media blasting the journalists who cover him as fundamentally dishonest, corrupt and an enemy of the American People.
Trumps strategy is simple: change the conversation from a losing one (why are there so many unanswered questions about his ties to Russia?) to a winning one (the media is terrible and out to get me).
The media shouldnt fall for it.
[Trump calls the media the enemy of the American People]
(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)
No industry is more interested in itself than journalism. Maybe its all the English majors who populate our profession. Maybe its that we okay, me were nerds growing up and just like the attention.
Our tendency for navel-gazing is legendary. What are we doing? What should we be doing? Are we doing what we do right? What should we change? What shouldnt we?
These are all worthy questions. And ones we should ask. But, at the moment, they simply arent the most pressing questions facing the country.
So, what are? Well, for starters:
1. Who among the Trump campaign had conversations knowingly or unknowingly with Russian intelligence officials? What was the nature of those conversations? Are any of those people part of the Trump administration?
2. Why did Trump wait weeks to oust Michael Flynn as national security adviser despite knowing that Flynn had not told the truth about his talks with the Russian ambassador to the United States? Why was Vice President Pence not told before he appeared on a Sunday talk show to defend Flynn?
3. When will Trumps tax return audit be finished? And, if no specific timeline can be offered, can he pledge to release the returns publicly as soon as the audit concludes? If not, why not?
4. How, specifically, do Trump and congressional Republicans plan to replace the Affordable Care Act? And how will the new plan be funded?
5. Will congressional Republicans agree to fund the billions that the border wall is estimated to cost on the promise that Mexico will eventually pay us back for it?
You get the idea. Trump has said and done lots and lots of things since he was sworn in as president. Some he has explained. Many he has not.
[Trump attempts a reset with a rally, new staff and a renewed fight with the media]
The job of the news media when faced with so much uncertainty is not to focus on itself but to return to the fundamentals: ask questions, provide context, inform the public.
The best way to combat allegations from the president and many of his supporters that the media is the enemy is to simply put our heads down and do our jobs. We arent the story. The story is the story. This isnt and never should be Donald Trump vs. the media. It shouldnt be Trump vs. anything but how his proposals check out and how they will affect the lives of Americans.
One other note: Despite Trumps often-baseless claims about mistakes the media has made, he is not always wrong. We in the media do make mistakes. The less transparent we are about them, the more credence we give to attacks that we believe ourselves to be beyond reproach.
Dont double-source stories. Triple-source them. Or, in the case of The Washington Posts scoop on Flynns discussions with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, about economic sanctions, nine(!)-source them.
And, when, inevitably, even those best practices produce an honest error, tell readers how it happened and why.
Trumps election and his aggressive anti-news-media stance represents a fundamental challenge to journalism in the 21st century. Thats not a bad thing. Now is the time to return to first principles: Find out what happened. And why. Nothing more, nothing less.
Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the United States and at the border.
In a pair of memos, Kelly offered more detail on plans for the agency to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests.
The new directives would supersede nearly all of those issued under previous administrations, Kelly said, including measures from President Barack Obama aimed at focusing deportations exclusively on hardened criminals and those with terrorist ties.
The surge of immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States, Kelly stated in the guidelines.
He cited a surge of 10,000 to 15,000 additional apprehensions per month at the southern U.S. border between 2015 and 2016.
A White House official said the memos were drafts and that they are under review by the White House Counsels Office, which is seeking some changes. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process is not complete, declined to offer specifics.
[Read the memos signed by DHS Secretary Kelly on new guidelines for deporting illegal immigrants]
In a series of executive actions in January, President Trump announced plans to make good on his campaign promises to build a wall on the border with Mexico and to ramp up enforcement actions against the nations estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants. Kellys memos, which have not been released publicly, are intended as an implementation blueprint for DHS, formally establishing the new policies and directing agency employees to begin following them.
However, many specifics of achieving the goals of Trumps executive orders remain unclear. For example, Kellys memos direct federal officials to seek all available funding for the border wall, but most of the funds, estimated at more than $20 billion, must be appropriated by Congress.
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, was sworn in to oversee the Department of Homeland Security hours after Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20. His memos are copied to officials at Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman declined to comment on the documents but did not dispute their authenticity.
The memos do not include measures to activate National Guard troops to help apprehend immigrants in 11 states that had been included in a draft document leaked to reporters on Friday.
DHS officials said Kelly, whose signature did not appear on the draft document, had never approved such plans.
(Alice Li/The Washington Post)
Immigrant rights advocates said the two memos signed by Kelly mark a major shift in U.S. immigration policies by dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement operations.
The new procedures would allow authorities to seek expedited deportation proceedings, currently limited to undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for two weeks or less, to anyone who has been in the country for up to two years.
Another new provision would be to immediately return Mexican immigrants who are apprehended at the border back home pending the outcomes of their deportation hearings, rather than house them on U.S. property, an effort that would save detention space and other resources.
The guidelines also aim to deter the arrival of a growing wave of 155,000 unaccompanied minors who have come from Mexico and Central America over the past three years. Under the new policies, their parents in the United States could be prosecuted if they are found to have paid smugglers to bring the children across the border.
This memo is just breathtaking, the way they really are looking at every part of the entire system, said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
Joanne Lin, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement that due process, human decency, and common sense are treated as inconvenient obstacles on the path to mass deportation. The Trump administration is intent on inflicting cruelty on millions of immigrant families across the country.
The memos dont overturn one important directive from the Obama administration: a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that has provided work permits to more than 750,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children.
Trump had promised during his campaign to immediately terminate the program, calling it an unconstitutional executive amnesty, but he has wavered since then. Last week, he said he would show great heart in determining the fate of that program.
The memos instruct agency chiefs to begin hiring 10,000 additional ICE agents and 5,000 more for the Border Patrol, which had been included in Trumps executive actions.
Kelly also said the agency will try to expand partnerships with municipal law enforcement agencies that deputize local police to act as immigration officers for the purposes of enforcement.
The program, known as 287(g), was signed into law by the Clinton administration and grew markedly under President George W. Bushs tenure. It fell out of favor under the Obama administration.
Currently 32 jurisdictions in 16 states participate in the program, according to Kellys memo.
Kelly called the program a highly successful force multiplier, and instructed his deputies to expand it to the greatest extent practical.
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents federal agents and officers, had not seen the memos as of Saturday afternoon. In an interview, he said his organization fully supports the Trump administrations agenda on border security.
Judd said he thinks the effort to crack down on enforcement is already paying dividends. He said that apprehensions of unauthorized immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, one of the heaviest traveled areas of the border, have fallen by about 1,000 between the first two weeks of January and first two weeks of February.
Those figures could not be independently corroborated by The Washington Post.
Judd attributed the purported decline to fear among immigrants of the new Trump administration policies, including requirements that those who are apprehended will not be released before their immigration court hearings.
Theyre heading in the right direction, Judd said.
Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, left, huddles with members of his staff, from left: speech writer Josh Gottheimer; trip coordinator Stacey Rubin; senior strategist Chris Lehane, and campaign chairman Eli Segal on Jan. 29, 2004. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)
Republican House members arent the only ones who arrived home this weekend to critics of President Trump jamming town hall meetings and holding signs demanding that they resist.
Freshman Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) held an impromptu question-and-answer session at the Land & Sea diner here Sunday morning, scrapping his plan to have only one-on-one chats with constituents. He answered queries from a crowd of more than 100 people, compared with the roughly 15 who typically come for coffee and eggs early on Sundays, local police said. And the event lasted 45 minutes longer than intended.
The presentation by Gottheimer, who beat seven-term Republican congressman Scott Garrett last year, reflected the balancing act confronting both him and his party as it looks to win back the House majority in 2018: acknowledging the rising fury among its base voters while also courting Trump supporters in swing districts like his own.
Im calling balls and strikes, Gottheimer said. When I see an abhorrent move by this administration, I speak out. But when I see areas where we can work together infrastructure, those types of things we have to talk to Republicans.
Elsewhere, congressional Republicans over the weekend were facing similarly animated and larger-than-usual crowds, but a far different dynamic. Instead of nodding along with Trump opponents, they dealt in several instances with hostile attendees who stood up and said they were enabling a dangerous president.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) speaks with Karen Bernstein of Ramsey, N.J., at an event at the Land &S ea diner in Fairlawn, N.J., on Sunday. Bernstein says opposition to President Trump is growing. (Kim Kavin/For The Washington Post)
As the president rallied and rested in Florida, Republican Rep. Tom Reed (N.Y.) was challenged at a boisterous town hall meeting in his swing district in Upstate New York. One man wondered Saturday why Reed was not pressuring Trump to release his tax returns.
You allow them to get away with it, the man told Reed, who dipped his head and shook it in disagreement as others chimed in, according to a local television stations video. You were supposed to help us! said a woman sitting nearby. Another man held up a sign that read, Investigate Russia connection.
In South Carolina, Rep. Mark Sanford (R) drew hundreds Saturday to his Charleston-area town hall meeting, which ended up lasting more than three hours. He at times attempted to steer the talk away from Trump. Its the Irish prayer: We can control certain things, certain things we cant control, Sanford said, according to BuzzFeed.
Of Trumps first month in office, Sanford said, I think were all struggling with it.
For House Republicans, the occasionally testy reception and slog through the weekend represented the first real-time test of how Trumps presidency could affect their political future. Trumps raucous, combative style has undoubtedly stirred passions, and although it is not clear whether the GOP majority is vulnerable, it certainly faces volatility.
Gottheimers attendees appeared to be from inside the district, which Republicans are hoping to win back next year, and there were no signs of organized protesters.
Some at the diner said that they had voted for Gottheimer but that they had voted against Trump or voted against Garrett. They said the congressmans early actions on Capitol Hill left them concerned that the Democrat would not be an effective bulwark against the president, and others said they had become politically active for the first time since Trumps election.
Were baby boomers, said Peter Bernstein, 65, of Ramsey, who attended with his wife, Karen. We just believe that all the things we cared about for the past 40 years could be wiped out in the first 100 days.
Karen Bernstein attended the Womens March the day after Trumps inauguration and said she saw only about 10 local people there.
The next time we got together, a few weeks later, to send postcards to Congress, there were 50, she said. Its a growing thing in our town. People are upset. Our town is Republican [controlled], but a lot of people are independents who are just saying, Really?
John McConnell of Ridgewood a retired surgeon who sat at his table with an 8-by-10-inch sign reading Resist said he was politically active in the 1970s but did not feel the need to become so again until the Womens March.
Of Gottheimer, McConnell said, He needs to very vociferously resist the Trump agenda. The Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, but its the best start weve had in a long time.
Others wondered what Gottheimer planned to do about what they see as the sparking of race-based hatred nationally, while others to the loudest and most sustained applause of the morning wanted to know how the congressman would handle the danger they think Trump poses to the free press, especially after his Friday tweet that called the media the enemy of the American people.
Gottheimer replied that he saw Trumps efforts as a systematic attempt to destroy credible news outlets at a time when local newspapers are financially strapped, and to give what he called anti-Semitic websites a chance to rise up.
Marty Schneider of Franklin Lakes who said that Gottheimer is a conservative Blue Dog Democrat, which he called unacceptable said he came to see Gottheimer because an existential threat to the world is in the White House and has to be stopped.
Sinead Rundell of Glen Rock wanted to know whether Gottheimer planned to use his position on the House Financial Services Committee to expose the presidents financial ties.
We want to discuss checks and balances, keeping the Trump administration in check, she said. He was just put on the [Financial Services] Committee, so how is he going to get Trumps taxes released?
The theme of Trump, and more Trump, persisted throughout the event.
Terri Ciavattone of Fair Lawn wanted to know how Gottheimer would police Trumps spending, especially weekend trips to his club in Florida.
Isnt Trump going to Mar-a-Lago every weekend and having people enrich him at his hotels an impeachable offense? she asked. This is taxpayers paying for that.
Esther Sandrof of Teaneck, a child of Holocaust survivors who called the Trump administrations immigration policies racist, said she attended to make sure Gottheimer would vote in support of legal immigration.
I didnt know much about him, she said. I was voting against Garrett. But Gottheimer has to prove himself.
A sense of activism pervaded.
A lot of us are new to this type of activist movement. Ive never done anything like this before, said Jennifer Russo, 44. Her advice to the congressman: My stance is that now is not the time to be conciliatory.
Costa reported from Washington.
Read more at PowerPost
Women wait in line to vote in a village near Amroha, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on Feb. 15. The legislative assembly election in the vast state is viewed as a key midterm test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government. (Manish Swarup/AP)
The main street in this small manufacturing town is abuzz with energy this month as people all across the enormous northern state of Uttar Pradesh take part in a crucial multistage election.
Walls in the town are plastered with candidate posters. Political volunteers long convoys roil traffic. Pamphlets litter the streets, and fiery speeches blare all day from loudspeakers.
With more than 220 million people, Uttar Pradesh is Indias most populous state and a national political bellwether. The legislative election currently underway it began Feb. 11 and will unfold in seven phases ending March 8 will be the biggest democratic exercise in the world this year.
It will also be Indias most keenly watched. Although many of the issues galvanizing voters are local, the outcome in Uttar Pradesh is likely to be taken as a midterm report card on the national government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Many voters interviewed in villages in the western part of the state expressed anger at Modi over a ban on large-denomination currency that he instituted without warning Nov. 8, ostensibly to combat corruption, counterfeiting and terrorism. The move, known as demonetization, triggered public panic and was a major blow to businesses across the country.
Ritesh Gupta, a candidate for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, stands next to one of the partys campaign posters in Moradabad, in western Uttar Pradesh. Modis national image dominates my campaign 100 percent, Gupta said. (Rama Lakshmi/The Washington Post)
[Indias currency crisis is stalling small industries and sending workers home]
Fasahat Karim, a manufacturer of hospital bandages in Kanth, said the looms in his small plant lay idle for two months because there was no money to pay workers or buy raw materials. He said he has lost $7,000 in the past three months.
Our country is not poor, but Modis decision made us poor overnight, Karim said.
Not all voters appeared angry, however, a testament to the complicated caste and religious politics at play in this still largely impoverished state with a population bigger than Brazils.
Karim is Muslim. Down the street, another bandage-maker who is Hindu praised Modi, calling him a fearless slayer of the corrupt and their black money. Long bank lines, price increases and other inconveniences will prove to be worth it over the long term, he said.
We all suffered, but we know Modi did it for the national good, Krishna Mohan Agarwal said, adding that he and others in Kanth would vote for Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not because of the local candidate, but because it is Modis party.
The BJP hopes to take advantage of Modis larger-than-life image to trounce the young incumbent chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, 43, a member of the states regionally prominent Samajwadi Party who is fighting to secure a second term.
Indians line up to vote at a rural polling station in the village of Shahabajpur Dora in Uttar Pradesh. (Manish Swarup/AP)
In the national election of 2014, Modis popularity helped the BJP to victory in most of Uttar Pradeshs voting districts after he traveled the state pledging good days to come.
[Modi promises a shining India in victory speech]
But after three years of sometimes rocky governance, he now faces his first big test as a national leader as his party works toward reelection in 2019.
In many ways, the election in Uttar Pradesh is like a mini-referendum by nearly one-fifth of the countrys voters, said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst and professor at Ashoka University, near New Delhi.
What is the peoples verdict on Modis demonetization decision? Will the people blame his government for the hardship, or will they view it as a blow against the corrupt rich? This election will give us a clue to the answer, Rangarajan said.
Voting is also underway in four other, smaller states. But a win in Uttar Pradesh would do most to boost the BJPs numbers in the upper house of the national parliament, where the party now controls only the lower house. The upper house has opposed some of Modis economic reform measures, including a proposed law to ease the sale of farmland for industrial development.
Despite the discontent over the currency ban, local candidates have not hesitated to campaign on Modis coattails. I tell voters to strengthen Modis hand so that he can bring about big, sweeping changes in the country, said Ritesh Gupta, a BJP candidate in the city of Moradabad. I talk about traffic jams and overpasses. But Modis national image dominates my campaign 100 percent.
At an election rally here this month, Modi promised to write off farmers loans and lower the crime rate if his party wins, but he carefully avoided the currency issue.
Analysts say the election is shaping up as a three-way contest among Modi; Yadav and his alliance with the Indian National Congress party; and Mayawati (who uses only one name), the fiery leader of the states lower-caste communities, once called untouchables, and a former four-term state chief minister. All of them are vowing to spur development in the laggard state, which has high rates of poverty, child malnutrition and maternal mortality.
In the end, analysts say, people may vote along religious lines.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Muslim voters constitute more than 20 percent of the electorate in roughly 145 out of 403 voting districts in Uttar Pradesh. They could sway the outcome if they vote as a bloc against the BJP, said Sanjay Kumar, the centers director.
In its election manifesto, the BJP vowed to build a large temple at a controversial site in the state that has been a flash point for Hindu-Muslim rioting for years. The party also promised to end the controversial Muslim practice of instant divorce.
Muslims say they feel threatened by the BJPs strident Hindu rhetoric and what they consider the partys appeasement of its Hindu core constituency.
I tell my voters we must oppose the BJP because they will interfere with our Islamic laws, close down meat shops, beat up Muslims on the mere suspicion of eating beef and cause religious tension, said Anisur Rahman Saifi, the local candidate from Yadavs party in Kanth. Most of those in the butchering trade in Uttar Pradesh are Muslims.
But the prospect of Muslims rallying together is also causing some Hindu voters to look to Modi for protection.
Modi is a strong leader for Hindus. He speaks for us, said Anita Bachan Singh, a 41-year-old farming woman in Bhanpur village. If all the Muslims get together to defeat the BJP, why shouldnt Hindus get together to make Modis party win?
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A rocket is displayed behind a hostess at a flower show celebrating the 75th anniversary of the birth of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Feb. 17 in Pyongyang. Preparations are underway to bring senior North Korean representatives to the United States for talks with former American officials. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
Preparations are underway to bring senior North Korean representatives to the United States for talks with former American officials, the first such meeting in more than five years and a sign that Pyongyang sees a potential opening with the Trump administration.
Arranging the talks has become a lot more complicated over the past eight days, with North Korea testing a ballistic missile and the assassination of Kim Jong Uns half brother in Malaysia, an act that many suspect was ordered by the leader of North Korea. Malaysian police on Sunday named as suspects four North Koreans who left the country on the day of the attack.
Analysts also say they highly doubt that Pyongyang, which has insisted on being recognized as a nuclear state, would be willing to moderate its position on its weapons program.
If the talks do take place, they could offer a glimmer of hope for an already-hostile relationship that has only deteriorated as the Kim government works aggressively to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the continental United States.
The planning for the Track 1.5 talks with the U.S. side made up of the former officials who usually take part in Track 2 talks, but the North Korean side composed of government officials is still in a preparatory stage, according to people with knowledge of the arrangements.
(The Washington Post)
The State Department has not approved the North Koreans visas for the talks, which would take place in New York within the next few weeks.
The North Koreans have expressed an interest in engagement, but nothings been approved yet, said one person familiar with the preparations, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them.
Others who have been in touch with North Koreans describe an intense interest in what President Trump might do.
If this happens, it would be an interesting signal to the new administration, one person said of the discussions.
[ Malaysia arrests North Korean man in connection with death of Kim Jong Uns half brother ]
The talks would be the clearest indication yet that Kim wants to talk with the Trump administration. If this happens, I would take it as a very positive sign from both sides, said another person with knowledge of the arrangements.
In recent years, there have been sporadic Track 1.5 talks that have taken place in Kuala Lumpur, Geneva, Berlin and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. But these talks have not taken place in the United States since July 2011, before Kim succeeded his father in North Korea.
1 of 69 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad What life looks like inside North Korea View Photos From playing soccer to going to the zoo, a glimpse inside the Hermit Kingdom. Caption From mass dances to going to the zoo, a glimpse inside the Hermit Kingdom. Sept. 9, 2018 Soldiers march in Pyongyang as part of a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of North Koreas foundation. DANISH SIDDIQUI/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.
The planned talks are being organized by Donald S. Zagoria of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, who served as a consultant on Asia during the Carter administration and has organized previous rounds of such talks. Zagoria declined to comment on the preparations.
The talks would be run independently of the State Department, where officials have privately questioned the utility of such discussions. But if the administration issued the visas, it would be an implicit seal of approval. And if the discussions go well, they could pave the way for official talks.
Choe Son Hui, the director of the U.S. affairs department in North Koreas Foreign Ministry, is likely to lead the delegation from Pyongyang. She is well known to American officials, having participated in official meetings including the six-party talks on denuclearization, as well as in other Track 1.5 talks.
Choe has a direct line to Kim, according to Thae Yong Ho, the North Korean deputy ambassador to London who defected to South Korea last year.
[ Malaysian airport assassination focuses new attention on N. Korean leader ] ]
Since Trump was elected, there has been a notable change in North Koreas usually bombastic rhetoric.
Pyongyang had been sharply critical of the Obama administration, saying its policy of strategic patience waiting for North Korea to change its nuclear calculations was an aggressive and heinous strategic suffocation policy against North Korea.
But in its announcement of its missile launch Feb. 12, the Norths state media did not include its usual bluster about needing a deterrent against the United States and its hostile policies.
In his own statement after the launch, Trump notably did not condemn Pyongyang. The new president has, in fact, said very little about how he plans to deal with North Korea. North Korea well take care of it folks, were going to take care of it all, he said at his news conference last week, without elaborating.
His administration is conducting a review of North Korea policy. This provides space to broaden the options for dealing with Pyongyang and an opportunity to influence the new president, analysts say.
While some expect him to take a hard-line approach, encouraged by hawkish advisers, others say that Trump, who prides himself on making deals, could be open to dialogue with the North Korean regime.
U.S. policy is hanging in the balance, said Adam Cathcart, an expert on North Korea at the University of Leeds in Britain.
I think the North Koreans ought to be pretty happy, because the Americans have laid off criticizing them too much and have, in fact, been making things quite easy for them, Cathcart said. But at some point, they are going to have to decide whether to pick up the cudgel.
[ What life looks like inside North Korea ]
For those favoring an even tougher approach to North Korea, recent events have provided plenty of ammunition.
On Feb. 12, North Korea tested a ballistic missile for the first time since Trump was elected. The missile appeared to show significant technological advances, with upgraded power and range, and could mark another step in the push toward the capacity to hit Alaska or Washington state.
Then, on Feb. 13, Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader, was attacked and apparently poisoned at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He died shortly afterward.
Although the investigation is ongoing, the South Korean government has blamed the assassination on Kim Jong Un, who has systematically eliminated potential rivals to his power over the past four years.
Malaysian police have arrested one North Korean man in connection with the attack he is said to have a background in chemistry and on Sunday named four other North Koreans suspected of being involved.
The four had been in Malaysia for several weeks, but all left on the day of the attack, said Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Malaysias deputy national police chief, on Sunday at a news conference.
Complicating the environment further, the South Korean and U.S. militaries are due to start annual joint exercises next month, an event that always elicits an angry response from Pyongyang, which sees the drills as a pretext for an invasion.
In the past year or two, the exercises have become more overtly offensive, with the two militaries practicing decapitation strikes on the North Korean leadership.
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A not-that-short history of North Korean assassinations and attempts
Ex-diplomat: Ive known that there was no future for North Korea for a long time
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Iraqi forces resumed their offensive against the Islamic State in Mosul on Sunday after a weeks-long pause, aiming to capture the militant-controlled western half of the city, where the tight, impassable streets and teeming neighborhoods will pose a formidable challenge to the advancing fighters.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the offensive in a televised address early Sunday, calling it a dawn of victories. As he spoke, units from Iraqs army, federal police and state-sanctioned militias approached Mosul from the south and west. By days end, they had captured a dozen tiny and mostly vacant villages south of Mosul, along with an electricity station, officials said.
The painless start belied a complicated and arduous battle ahead. Eastern Mosul was captured in January after months of punishing urban combat that left hundreds of civilians dead and elite Iraqi units battered by the stiff militant defenses, including roadside bombs, sniper fire and explosives-laden vehicles.
[Eastern side of Mosul recaptured from Islamic State, Iraqi prime minister says]
Iraqi troops will face all that and worse in western Mosul, across the bombed-out bridges on the Tigris River, fighting in a warren of streets too narrow for tanks against Islamist extremists who have had months to prepare a deadly welcome. Each passing week of combat poses growing risks to hundreds of thousands of civilians still in the city, facing shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine and all but sequestered in their homes until Iraqi troops arrive.
Families in western Mosul tell us escape is not an option if they try to flee, they risk summary execution by ISIS fighters or a gauntlet of sniper fire and land mines, Maurizio Crivallero, the Iraq country director for Save the Children, the Britain-based charity, said in a statement last week, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
An estimated 350,000 children remain trapped in the city, he said. The impact of artillery and other explosive weaponry in those narrow, densely-populated streets is likely to be more deadly and indiscriminate than anything we have seen in the conflict so far, he said.
U.S. troops involved in the air campaign said Sunday that there is broad recognition that it will be harder to carry out airstrikes in the western part of the city, citing the way remaining fighters have entrenched themselves as well as the closely settled nature of neighborhoods.
Its going to be a full-on cat-and-mouse fight in western Mosul, said Air Force Lt. Col. August Pfluger, a squadron commander and F-22 Raptor pilot. We are literally fighting city block by city block, and putting ordnance where the Iraqi ground forces want them.
[The history of Mosul, in five maps]
The offensive aims to reverse the Islamic States stunning advance into cities and towns across Iraq in the summer of 2014, a humiliating defeat for Nouri al-Maliki, Abadis predecessor as premier, and a setback that raised concerns about the morale and capabilities of Iraqs military.
The latest advance on Mosul also comes at a time of rising tension between the Iraqi government and the United States over the White House decision to halt immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iraq.
The Trump administrations escalating condemnations of Iran, a dominant power in Iraq and a sponsor of Shiite militias fighting alongside Iraqi government units, has also threatened to complicate the efforts against the Islamic State.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking Sunday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, said that U.S. forces would continue with the accelerated effort to destroy ISIS.
Before the military push Sunday, thousands of leaflets were dropped over western Mosul, announcing the impending offensive and asking residents to receive your brothers in the armed forces and cooperate with them.
In the past few days, the United States has also stepped up its air sorties over Mosul, to about 30 to 50 a day from about 12 to 20, said Col. Kevin M. Eastland, vice commander of the Air Forces 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. The unit has gone from using two of the six F-22s it has in the Middle East per day to four a pace commanders do not consider sustainable for long periods because of maintenance requirements.
An F-22 pilot, who asked that his name not be published because of security concerns, said some of his recent airstrikes hit a police station used by the Islamic State in Mosul and a command-and-control center. He and his colleagues had been in somewhat of a lull, in which they would often return to base hours later with some of their bombs, he said, but had received a list a few days ago that included about 110 deliberate targets that had been planned for weeks by U.S. military and intelligence officials.
On the ground, the first military objectives include an Islamic State-controlled village and Mosuls airport, both in the south of the city, Iraqi commanders said. On Sunday, in a reminder of the Islamic States ability to strike behind Iraqi lines, at least two suicide bombers carried out attacks in eastern Mosul, killing at least one person, officials said.
Fahim reported from Istanbul and Lamothe from Abu Dhabi.
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As fight in Mosul slows, last bridge in the city is hit by an airstrike
Photos: Tunnels used by the Islamic State in Iraq
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Print, digital platforms to see expansion, says chairman
The Kantipur Publications celebrated its 24th anniversary amid a function organised at its central office in Thapathali, Kathmandu, on Saturday.
Israels prime minister turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, former U.S. officials confirmed Sunday, in apparent contradiction to his stated goal of involving regional Arab powers in resolving Israels conflict with the Palestinians.
Benjamin Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organized in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba in February 2016 and included Jordans King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. The secret meeting was first reported by the Haaretz daily.
According to two former Obama administration officials, Kerry proposed regional recognition of Israel as a Jewish state a key Netanyahu demand alongside a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians with the support of the Arab countries.
Netanyahu rejected the offer, which would have required a significant pullout from occupied land, saying he would not be able to garner enough support for it in his hard-line coalition government.
The initiative also appeared to be the basis of short-lived talks with moderate opposition leader Isaac Herzog to join the government, a plan that quickly unraveled when Netanyahu chose to bring in nationalist leader Avigdor Lieberman instead and appoint him defense minister.
Herzog tweeted Sunday that history will definitely judge the magnitude of the opportunity as well as the magnitude of the missed opportunity.
Two former top aides to Kerry confirmed that the meeting occurred in secret on Feb. 21, 2016. According to the officials, Kerry tried to sweeten the 15-year-old Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-led plan that offered Israel peace with dozens of Arab and Muslim nations in return for a pullout from territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war to make way for an independent Palestinian state.
Among the proposed changes were Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, recognition of Jerusalem as a shared capital for Israelis and Palestinians, and softened language on the right of return of Palestinian refugees to lost properties in what is now Israel, the former officials said.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the meeting publicly, said the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders reacted positively to the proposal, while Netanyahu refused to commit to anything beyond meetings with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
The officials said opposition inside Netanyahus hard-line government, which is dominated by nationalists, presented a formidable obstacle.
Netanyahu did not address the report in his weekly cabinet meeting, and his office refused to comment.
After an address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday in which he vowed that the Unite States will hold Russia accountable, Vice President Mike Pence had a brief visit with U2 frontman and activist Bono.
The two men discussed the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) a government initiative to provide treatment, testing, education, and counseling to those suffering with HIV/AIDS in Africa (among other places).
It was first signed in 2003 under President George W. Bush and later renewed in 2008 under President Barack Obama. As an Indiana congressman at the time, Vice President Pence was an advocate for PEPFARs passing.
Twice on the House floor you defended that, Bono told Pence. Thats how we know you.
It was an extraordinary historic accomplishment and you played a leading role in carrying it forward, Pence responded.
Bono meets Vice President Mike Pence in Munich: "You're the second busiest man on earth." https://t.co/RgGAioQJyG pic.twitter.com/xB7ZFi1A4t ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 18, 2017
The rockstar has been raising awareness about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic for nearly two decades now co-forming Product Red, which partners with big brands (Nike, Gap, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Beats by Dre, etc.) to help raise money for charities fighting the disease.
He also co-founded the ONE Campaign which aims to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by raising awareness and encouraging Americans to contact senators/elected officials and voice their opinions.
While Pence did advocate for PEPFARs passing, some critics have claimed that he enabled an HIV outbreak in Indiana when he was serving as governor. The critics claim that Pences defunding of Planned Parenthood, which was one of the few places in some parts of Indiana that offered HIV testing, as well as his alleged dithering on pushing forward a needle exchange bill to fight passing infections, led to a rise in HIV patients in Scott County. He eventually approved a bill for needle exchanges which led to a reduction in the number of HIV cases.
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I appreciate the chance to get together for you for a minute, Pence told Bono. I heard you were in town.
Youre the second busiest man on earth, Bono joked.
Afterwards, the Pence tweeted about the meeting. Enjoyed chatting w/ Bono at @MunSecConf, he wrote. Discussed prior effort to twice pass Africa AIDS assistance & future security in developing nations.
The Munich Security Conference marks Pences first trip overseas as vice president.
Chelsea Clinton Slams Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore for Referring to Native Americans and Asians as Reds and Yellows'
Among the protesters filling Time Square in New York City for the Today, I Am a Muslim Too event on Sunday was a first-time protester: Chelsea Clintons 2-year-old daughter, Charlotte.
The former First Daughter and only child of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took to Twitter to post a photo of the scene and share that Charlotte was also participating in the rally held in response to the executive order President Donald Trump signed that put a temporary ban on travelers from seven countries with predominantly Muslim populations and refugees from all nations.
Thank you to all who organized #IAmAMuslimToo today Charlottes 1st protest rally. #NoBanNoWallNoRaids, Chelsea captioned a snap featuring a popular protest sign that shows a woman wearing an American flag hijab.
The protest was organized in part by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, who spoke to the crowd with an American flag backdrop.
We are here today to show middle America our beautiful signs and, through our beautiful actions and intention, that they have been misled, Simmons told the crowd on the warm February afternoon.
We are here unified because of Donald Trump, he said. We want to thank him for bringing us together.
Celebrities such as Susan Sarandon also participated in the event.
Thank you to all who organized #IAmAMuslimToo today Charlotte's 1st protest rally. #NoBanNoWallNoRaids pic.twitter.com/5mSXGQtPJU Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 19, 2017
Chelsea, 36, also posted on Twitter early Sunday to join in the growing chorus of people who were mocking a false claim Trump made about an attack on Sweden during a rally in Florida on Saturday.
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You look at whats happening in Germany. You look at whats happening last night in Sweden Sweden who would believe this? Sweden, they took in large numbers, they are having problems like they never thought possible, Trump said, pointing to the non-existent event as rationale for his executive order on immigration and refugees.
What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators? Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 19, 2017
What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators? Chelsea quipped on Twitter, referencing comments by Trumps senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, who described a supposed terrorist attack committed by two Iraqi refugees that never occurred.
Although no incident occurred in Sweden on Friday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson ran a segment interviewing a documentary filmmaker who claimed that crime increases in Sweden were linked to immigrants, many of whom are refugees.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Twelve years ago, widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast helped compel federal engineers 2,000 miles away in California to remake a 1950s-era dam by constructing a massive steel-and-concrete gutter that would manage surging waters in times of torrential storms.
The nearly $1 billion auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam, scheduled to be completed later this year, stands in contrast to the troubles 75 miles away at the state-run Oroville Dam, where thousands of people fled last week after an eroded spillway threatened to collapse a catastrophe that could have sent a 30-foot wall of floodwater gushing into three counties.
Together, the two dams illustrate widely diverging conditions at the more than 1,000 dams across California, most of them decades old. The structures also underscore the challenge of maintaining older dams with outdated designs.
"Fifty years ago, when we were evaluating flood risk, the fundamental assessment was the climate was stable, not changing. We now know that is no longer true," said Peter Gleick, chief scientist with the Pacific Institute, a California-based think tank specializing in water issues.
"We need to look at the existing infrastructure with new eyes," he warned.
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Back in 2005, Katrina's deadly path became an arguing point for U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, a California Democrat who was among those pushing Washington for improvements at Folsom Dam, perched 25 miles from 500,000 people living in Sacramento, the state capital.
"I used that, vigorously, to say we are the second-most at-risk river city in the nation," Matsui said, after the Category 5 storm swept through New Orleans.
State officials now face questions about maintenance at Oroville Dam, the nation's tallest at 770 feet, and why a decade ago they dismissed warnings from environmentalists that more needed to be done to strengthen its earthen emergency spillway.
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After years of drought, Northern California has become waterlogged this winter from heavy rain and snow. Oroville Lake is brimming, and water managers have been using the main spillway, which is lined with concrete, to lower the water level.
The emergency spillway is a brush-covered hillside below a masonry lip and had never been used until last weekend. When water gushed onto it, the ground began eroding, and it was feared the intake lip could collapse and water would surge down the hill.
An investigation into what went wrong could take months.
John France, vice president and technical expert on dams for the engineering consulting firm AECOM, said the problems at Oroville should raise alarms across the country.
"Most of the dams in the United States are over 50 years old, when we didn't understand floods as well as we do now. So we have a number of dams in the U.S. that have spillways that aren't large enough for the floods that they should be designed for," France said.
Arguments over water, how it's stored and who gets it are as old as the state, and California has often been criticized for not doing more to improve its water systems as the population edges toward 40 million.
In a place known for alternating cycles of prolonged drought and biblical rainfall, the idea of asking reservoirs to store extra water for dry times frequently clashes with environmentalists, who want to see rivers flow freely.
At Oroville, opened in 1968, construction crews recently patched cracks on the main spillway, and a state inspector judged the repairs "sound" in a February 2015 report. However, a gaping hole ripped open on that spillway two weeks ago, starting the series of events that led to use of the emergency spillway and evacuation orders for nearly 200,000 people.
Since then, crews dumped thousands of tons of rocks to shore up the damaged spillways and residents were allowed to return home Tuesday, after the lake level dropped.
Butte County Supervisor Bill Connolly, whose district includes the dam, has criticized dam managers for years.
"They never spend money unless they have to," he said. "If we were a federal facility, you don't see this happening."
At 340-foot high Folsom Dam, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the huge concrete-and-steel chute being constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to add as much as 40 percent capacity to the main spillway that controls water flowing from the reservoir behind it.
It's designed to allow safer releases during times of high water, precisely the challenge that led to fears of catastrophic flooding at Oroville.
Rick Poeppelman, chief of the Army Corps engineering division in the Sacramento district, said extensive data about probable maximum flood levels, not available decades ago, helped prompt the decision to build the auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam.
When completed, the spillway can act like a second dam, allowing operators to release water through a series of gates and lower the reservoir level when a major storm is approaching. It includes a chute more than half a mile long. Another advantage: The new spillway gates will be 50 feet lower than those on the dam, allowing for earlier releases of water.
The government needs to test the spillway this year to see how it will work. Meanwhile, there are proposals to increase the height of the dam with the potential for extreme weather.
In light of the Oroville crisis, Republican state Sen. Ted Gaines said he is considering asking the federal government for a safety review at Folsom Dam, the new spillway and nearby levees, given their proximity to Sacramento.
It's not an abstract concern.
During heavy storms in 1986, a temporary dam broke open, sending roaring waters downstream to Folsom Dam. In response, officials released more water from the dam than flood levees that guard Sacramento were designed to handle.
That time they held.
Given the scare at Oroville, "I don't think we are out of the woods yet," Gaines said.
___
Associated Press Writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
London (AFP) - Around 350,000 children are trapped in western Mosul, Save the Children warned on Sunday as Iraqi forces launched a fresh offensive on jihadists defending the strategic city.
"Iraqi forces and their allies, including the US and UK, must do everything in their power to protect children and their families from harm, and avoid civilian buildings like schools and hospitals as they push deeper into the city," said the London-based charity's Iraq country director, Maurizio Crivallero.
He warned that escape is not an option for most families, who risk summary execution by fighters from the Islamic State group, sniper fire and landmines -- but they are also running out of food, water and medicine.
"This is the grim choice for children in western Mosul right now: bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay -- or execution and snipers if they try to run," Crivallero said in a statement.
He added: "Safe escape routes for civilians must also be established as soon as possible."
The offensive to retake Mosul's west bank that began on Sunday could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on Iraq's second city, where the leader of the Islamic State group declared a "caliphate" in 2014.
The Iraqi government launched an offensive to reconquer Mosul on October 17, and declared east Mosul "fully liberated" on January 24.
Federal forces now face what was always one of the toughest challenges -- the narrow streets of the Old City in Mosul's west bank, which are impassable for many military vehicles.
Save the Children warned that "the impact of artillery and other explosive weaponry in those narrow, densely-populated streets is likely to be more deadly and indiscriminate than anything we have seen in the conflict so far".
The 350,000 figure relates to people under the age of 18, a charity spokeswoman confirmed.
The Daily Beast
GettyIt only took a few hours after Russias Vladimir Putin hailed his mobilization as a sparkling success Friday for a torrent of humiliating reports to emerge that suggest the war effort has been more successful in turning the country against him than defeating mythical Nazis in Ukraine.The most staggering contradiction to the Russian presidents boastful claims came perhaps in Kazan, where dozens of drafted troops were captured on video late Friday berating military leadership outside a colle
In a 230188 vote Thursday, the House decided to overturn a rule launched by President Barak Obamas administration that prohibited states from withholding federal funds to Planned Parenthood and other health care providers that also perform abortions, according to reports. Obama's rule went into effect just two days before leaving office on Jan. 18, but the House was able to dismiss the measure under the Congressional Review Act.
Obamas rule came following 13 states attempts to cut federal funding toward family planning services that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood. Although federal funds cannot be used to help cover abortion costs, the Houses vote would allow states to allocate more dollars toward health clinics and services that still offer womens health care but simply dont provide abortions.
Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., who introduced the measure, said on the House floor that the resolution wasnt an attack on Planned Parenthood or an attempt to take money away from the family planning service.
With todays resolution were not voting to defund Planned Parenthood in any way, shape, or form. We are not voting to cut [family planning] funding. And were not voting to restrict abortion rights we are simply voting today to affirm the rights of states to fund the health care providers that best suit their needs without fear of reprisal from their own federal government, she said.
Some Republicans had concerns about the measure, including Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., who told USA Today that he worried the overturn would lead to defunding more womens health services than just abortion. Meanwhile, Democrats called the move an all-out attack on womens access to health care and said the rule could lead to women and low-income people having limited access to dozens of other free services Planned Parenthood provides including pregnancy tests, cancer and sexually transmitted disease screening and contraception.
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Planned Parenthood services roughly five million people a year and receives about $500 million annually from federal funding, about a quarter of which comes from Title X, a federal program that allows health care providers to offer reproductive services to low-income Americans little cost or free of charge. Planned Parenthood serves over 1.5 million people through Title X, 78 percent of represent people who fall below the federal poverty level.
The resolution will head over to the Senate next and will need 51 votes under the Congressional Review Act to completely overturn Obamas rule.
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By Josh Smith KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At a recent, at times chaotic live-fire exercise near NATO's military base in Kandahar, Romanian army Master Sergeant Liviv Sandulache's advice to the assembled Afghan officers was simple: "I don't want anybody to do any job without your command." He and a growing number of NATO military advisers have begun spending more time in the field, hoping that grass-roots training will help Afghanistan's armed forces more effectively combat a Taliban insurgency that has gained in strength. The return to lower-level engagement, after nearly two years during which the emphasis was on backroom operations like budgets, logistics and administration, could lead to an expanded training mission that top NATO commanders in Afghanistan are calling for. That is one of the choices facing U.S. President Donald Trump, as he considers whether to send more American soldiers to Afghanistan, keep levels as they are or withdraw further from a conflict that is in its 16th year with no end in sight. In the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, amid the wind, smoke and dust of the training area, troops from Romania and the United States teach Afghan officers to better lead and train their own men. Their work reflects a desire by General John Nicholson, U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to get back to basics such as coordinating artillery and air support and clearing roadside bombs. That broader training authority was approved last summer, but with Afghan troops engaged in an increasingly deadly war through 2016, the winter lull in fighting has allowed for a concerted effort to refit and retrain Afghan security forces. "The further down you can reach the better," U.S. Army Captain Everett Heiney, an adviser in Kandahar, said of the strategy to have advisers return to lower-level Afghan units. RISING LOSSES Advisers in Heiney's unit say their numbers are scheduled to rise from about 40 to around 100, and they hope to expand their programs to include a wider range of military skills. While most international soldiers in Kandahar declined to comment on deliberations going on at a political level, they praised the strategy to return to places they had left when NATO declared its combat mission over at the end of 2014. "You can always use more advisers to push down to the lower levels because ... it's good if there are more people doing training, more people at each brigade able to be with the units on a regular basis," Heiney told Reuters. He oversees a program in Kandahar aimed at helping the Afghans master "fires", or using artillery or warplanes to support ground troops. He has accompanied Afghan soldiers into combat to observe how they use their artillery, including Soviet-era D-30 122-mm Howitzer guns that are a ubiquitous presence on battlefields here but which could be used more effectively. The Afghan soldiers on the exercise rapidly fired half a dozen rounds, making slight adjustments to hit their target far down range. More NATO advisers are needed to professionalize the Afghan army, said Abdul Rahim, a deputy commander in the Afghan army's 205th Corps artillery unit. "After receiving the training, whenever our troops carry out operations it will help them eliminate enemies and stabilize Afghanistan," he said. That is no small task. American military officials estimate the government controls less than 60 percent of Afghan territory. Local security forces also sustained heavy casualties, with at least 6,785 soldiers and police killed in the first 10 months of last year and 11,777 wounded, a U.S. government watchdog reported. STOP THE ROT Abandoning initial intentions to completely withdraw from Afghanistan, NATO leaders last year approved a plan that has kept more than 13,000 international troops there. Just over half of those are American, and a separate, much smaller U.S. force is engaged in counter-terrorism operations. In recent testimony to the U.S. Congress, Nicholson said "a few thousand" more advisers were needed, largely to expand his program of providing more tactical training to more units. An annual NATO review last year determined "there is a requirement for additional NATO or partner nation troops" to support the train, advise, and assist mission, said coalition spokesman Brigadier General Charles Cleveland. But NATO officials are still working to determine how those needs will be met, he added. In a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani the White House was assessing plans to send more U.S. troops, according to a statement from Ghani's office. Critics said the current troop-level limits, imposed under former U.S. President Barack Obama, were arbitrary and did not recognize the dangerous situation on the ground. Suggestions that more troops may be needed, however, have also raised concerns that the United States and its coalition allies could be sucked back into the war. While more advisers are unlikely to mean outright victory for Afghan forces, the key is to enable the government to enter any peace process from a position of strength, said Christopher Kolenda, a former U.S. Army officer who served in Afghanistan and worked on American military strategies for the conflict. "Will a few thousand troops at the brigade level defeat the Taliban? No. But it can be part of a better strategy to stabilize the battlefield so that the Afghan government stops losing territory." (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly a year ago with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in a failed attempt by the Obama administration to convene a wider regional summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israel's Haaretz daily said on Sunday. At the White House on Wednesday, Netanyahu again raised the possibility of what he described as a "regional approach" to Israeli-Palestinian peace at a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump, who appeared to embrace the idea. Citing unidentified senior officials in former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, Haaretz said Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry convened on Feb. 21, 2016 in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba. But the initiative to involve other Arab states in the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians ultimately fizzled out, the newspaper said, after Netanyahu withdrew his initial support, pointing to opposition within his right-wing government. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not attend the Aqaba meeting but was updated by Kerry, Haaretz said. At a meeting with ministers from his Likud party, Netanyahu acknowledged the meeting took place, though he said it was his own initiative to try and bring about a regional summit, according to a cabinet member present, who declined to be identified. A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment on the report. Sisi's office issued a statement referring to the news report, though it did not name Haaretz, as having "incorrect information" but did not deny that a meeting took place. No immediate comment was available from Jordan. Kerry launched his final peacemaking bid after U.S.-backed talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014 over issues that included Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories and Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's demand to recognize it as a Jewish state. Prospects for a new peace push appear dim with Netanyahu in a political tight spot at home and under police investigation for alleged abuse of office, which he denies. Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been emboldened by Trump's suggestion that he was open to new ways to achieve peace that did not necessarily entail the creation of a Palestinian state, a benchmark of U.S. policy for decades. "I'm looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like," Trump said. On Thursday, however, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States still supports a two-state solution. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, said he believed a Middle East peace push was possible. "My country stands ready together with other Arab countries to work and to see how we can promote that," Al-Jubeir said. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also at the Munich conference, said he supported the creation of a Palestinian state. "The end game is no doubt a two-state solution," Lieberman said, adding a peace accord should be reached within a regional deal. Asked whether Lieberman would be meeting in Munich with any senior Arab officials, his spokesman declined to comment. (Writing by Maayan Lubell; additional reporting by John Irish and Vladimir Soldatkin in Munich, Ahmed Aboulenein in Cairo; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Ruth Pitchford, Mark Potter and Andrew Bolton)
SC hearing on IGP appointment postponed for Tuesday
The Supreme Court hearing on the appointment of Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been postponed for Tuesday.
I am a Muslim too rally in Times Square Several young women demonstrate holding up signs during the I am a Muslim too rally in Times Square, New York City on Feb. 19, 2017. (Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
Music Mogul Russell Simmons lead thousands at the I Am A Muslim Too Rally in New York and he has a thing or two to thank his ex-friend Donald Trump for.
Donald Trump has been under immense heat since he has taken his oath as the president of the United States. His inauguration has been colored with various protests all around the world, his executive orders have been met with nationwide protests and strikes, even his statements and tweets incite great disdain and disapproval from countries and world leaders.
With a lot of hate and disapproval crashing into Donald Trump, thanks to his proven false statements and rage-inciting policies, its not surprising that he would make hoards of enemies. But this time around, an anti-Trump rally in New York has Donald Trumps ex-friend thanking the president instead. (Yahoo News)
Photography by Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News
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WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate intelligence committee has sent formal requests to more than a dozen organizations, agencies and individuals, asking them to preserve all materials related to a probe the panel is conducting on Russian interference in the 2016 election and related issues, a congressional aide said Saturday.
The committee chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and its vice chairman, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., sent letters out on Friday the same day committee members received a classified briefing from FBI Director James Comey. Committee members declined to comment on what was discussed after the more than hourlong briefing.
The aide was not authorized to discuss the issue and spoke only on condition of anonymity
On Thursday, Senate Democrats wrote the White House and law enforcement agencies seeking assurances that they were preserving all materials related to contacts individuals associated with President Donald Trump had with Russians.
Those letters asked for confirmation that the White House, FBI and Justice Department had instructed their employees to preserve all materials related to any contacts Trump's administration, campaign, transition team or anyone acting on their behalf have had with Russian government officials or its associates.
The letter to the White House counsel said the executive branch and Congress have been investigating Russia's efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. As a part of these investigations, there have been ongoing inquiries into communications or contacts between the Trump campaign or Trump transition team and associates or officials of the Russian government, including communications involving ousted national security adviser Mike Flynn.
Congressional staffers have said that they are not aware of any evidence that materials are not being preserved, but Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday on the Senate floor: "There is real concern that some in the administration may try to cover up its ties to Russia by deleting emails, texts and other records that could shine a light on those connections. These records are likely to be the subject of executive branch as well as congressional investigations and must be preserved."
Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) - At the 18th-century Spode pottery works in Stoke-on-Trent, start-up artisans like 22-year-old Emma Price are moving into abandoned buildings and breathing new life into a once-mighty industry.
The 10-acre (four-hectare) site in the heart of the Staffordshire city in central England whose name worldwide is synonymous with pottery has become a creative hub that is drawing in a new generation.
"It's a real privilege to be on this site," said Price, wearing blue overalls flecked in plaster, as she worked on the mould for a bowl.
"This offers me the opportunity to do my own thing and gives me the space to work in and do what I'm passionate about," she told AFP.
"A lot of people now are starting to move away from the mass-produced work and want something that's more bespoke."
Iconic Stoke brands such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode are renowned across the globe for their fine chinaware.
On a rich seam of clay in England's West Midlands, Stoke became the world centre of pottery production by 1800.
Now fewer than 10,000 people still work in an industry that once employed 80,000 in Stoke, as factories closed and production shifted to Asia over the last 20 years.
But young artists are making the most of the latent factory space, skills and expertise that still exist in the 250,000-strong city, not to mention the coveted "Made in Stoke-on-Trent" backstamp.
At the Spode works, founded in 1767, a few dozen artisans have moved into the derelict buildings.
Cobwebbed storehouses on the site are stuffed with Spode moulds from the past, stacked on wooden shelves marked with names like Louis XV, Old Comport and Rose Tazza.
The cavernous China Hall, once bustling with people and machines, now stands like an empty cathedral, filled with light and silence.
Ceramic artist Jo Ayre, 34, works in a makeshift studio just off the China Hall, in a space formerly known as Scorpion Alley, so fierce was the reputation of the women who worked there.
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Besides producing her own works, she runs adult learning classes, teaching groups of locals who want to know more about the craft that made their city's name.
- 'Endless possibilities' -
Among those taking their first steps in learning how to manipulate the clay was 36-year-old barber Craig Urwin.
"We are doing it in the old-fashioned way, by hand. It's fascinating," he said.
"We've probably got ancestors who did work here or in other factories."
Ayre, who hails from Stoke, trained at the Royal College of Art in London but moved back in 2015.
"There's so much space, people you can talk to who know a tremendous amount about ceramics, so it feels like there's endless possibilities here."
In 2011, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, stepped in to save Middleport Pottery, another historic site and the home of Burleigh chinaware.
As part of the regeneration project, artists have moved in there too, while the new visitor centre tells people about traditional pottery production.
Laura Cohen, chief executive of the British Ceramic Confederation trade association, said the industry was in good health in Stoke as sales and employment had surged since the depths of the recession in 2010.
"It forced those companies that were surviving to look at their business models, to think about how they can become truly world-class," she told AFP.
- Only pottery left -
Steph Woodhouse, spokeswoman for the Emma Bridgewater factory, one of the more established brands, said: "We've seen a real return of artisan potters coming back to Stoke to utilise the skills and experience".
Bridgewater began producing ceramics on a tiny scale in Stoke in 1985, and bought the Victorian-era Meakin factory in 1996 as the business expanded.
The pottery now produces 32,000 hand-made, hand-decorated items per week and exports internationally.
Some 250 people work in the Bridgewater factory, from the men casting the clay to the women using traditional sponging techniques to press on the decoration.
John Buckley, 59, has been working in potteries since he was 16.
"The mining's gone, the steel's gone, there's only this, really," he said of Stoke's traditional industries.
"I'm surprised this is still going, and it's coming back, and I'm proud to be part of it."
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) A local government official says an avalanche has killed seven people in northern Pakistan.
Taimour Khan, an official with the provincial disaster management department, says another eight people were injured. Those people have been retrieved from a building buried by the avalanche Sunday near Lowari Tunnel in Upper Dir.
Khan says there could be additional victims under the debris.
Khan says rescue work is underway to open the blocked road and the tunnel, which connects northwest Pakistan to northern mountain regions.
By Bill Trott (Reuters) - Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Muslim cleric known as "the blind sheikh" who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and of planning a broader "war of urban terrorism" in the United States, died on Saturday in a North Carolina prison, authorities said. Abdel-Rahman, 78, died of natural causes at 9:40 a.m. (1440 GMT) at a medical center at a federal prison compound in Butner, North Carolina, according to Greg Norton, a spokesman. The cleric, who had diabetes and coronary artery disease, had been incarcerated at the complex for nearly 10 years, Norton said. Earlier, the cleric's son Ammar said his family had received a phone call in Eygpt from a U.S. representative saying his father had died. The Egyptian-born Abdel-Rahman remained a spiritual leader for radical Muslims even after more than 20 years in prison. With his long gray beard, sunglasses and red and white clerical cap, the charismatic Abdel-Rahman was the face of radical Islam in the 1980s and 1990s. He preached a fiery brand of Islam that called for the death of people and governments he disapproved of and the installation of an Islamic government in Egypt. His following was tied to fundamentalist killings and bomb attacks around the world. "Abdel-Rahman was at the vortex of some of the bloodiest and most consequential terrorist incidents of the 1990s - incidents that would establish the patterns of global terrorism that continue to bedevil us today, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University in Washington. He was a tireless and enthusiastic in projecting his message of violence and hatred, said Hoffman, who served on the U.S. governments commission that reviewed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington and over Pennsylvania. Abdel-Rahman, who was born in a village along the Nile on May 3, 1938, lost his eyesight due to childhood diabetes and grew up studying a Braille version of the Koran. As an adult he became associated with the fundamentalist Islamic Group and was imprisoned and accused of issuing a fatwa leading to the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, against whom he had railed for years. The sheikh said he was hung upside-down from the ceiling, beaten with sticks and given electric shocks while held but he was eventually acquitted and went into self-imposed exile in 1990. He managed to get to New York after the U.S. Embassy in Sudan granted him a tourist visa in 1990 - despite the fact that he was on the State Department's list of people with ties to terror groups. U.S. authorities blamed a computer error for the visa, but the mistake was compounded in 1991 when Abdel-Rahman was given a green card and permanent U.S. resident status. The New York Times reported the CIA had approved the visa application for Abdel-Rahman, who had supported the anti-Soviet mujahedin in Afghanistan during the 1980s. Abdel-Rahman preached his radical message and lived in the New York City borough of Brooklyn and nearby Jersey City, New Jersey, building a strong following among fundamentalist Muslims. Even in exile, he remained a force in the Middle East, where followers listened to cassette tapes and radio broadcasts of his sermons decrying the Egyptian government and Israel. While in the United States Abdel-Rahman and his disciples would be linked to the 1990 slaying in New York of militant Rabbi Meir Kahane, the 1992 killing of an anti-fundamentalist writer in Egypt and attacks on foreign tourists in Egypt. U.S. authorities took action in 1992 by revoking Abdel-Rahman's green card on the grounds that he had lied about a bad check charge in Egypt and about having two wives when he entered the country. He was facing the possibility of deportation when a truck bomb went off in the basement parking garage of the World Trade Center on Feb. 26, 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 in an attack that made Americans realize that they were not immune to international terrorism. Four months later Abdel-Rahman was arrested and went on trial with several followers in 1995, accused of plotting a day of terror for the United States - assassinations and synchronized bombings of the U.N. headquarters, a major federal government facility in Manhattan and tunnels and a bridge linking New York City and New Jersey. The indictment said Abdel-Rahman and his followers planned to "levy a war of urban terrorism against the United States" as part of a jihad - or holy war - to stop U.S. support for Israel and change its overall Middle East policy. The defendants were not directly charged with the 1993 World Trade Center attack but were convicted of conspiring with those who did carry out the bombing. Abdel-Rahman's convictions also included plotting to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a visit to the United States in 1993, a Jewish New York state legislator and a Jewish New York State Supreme Court justice. Much of the case against Abdel-Rahman and his followers was based on video and audio recordings made with the help of a bodyguard for the sheikh who became an FBI informant. A video also showed four defendants mixing fertilizer and diesel fuel for bombs. After a nine-month trial, the sheikh and nine followers were found guilty in October 1995 on 48 of 50 charges. He did not testify at his trial but at a sentencing hearing Abdel-Rahman gave a passionate speech of more than 90 minutes through a translator, proclaiming his innocence and denouncing the United States as an enemy of his faith. "I have not committed any crime except telling people about Islam," he said. Abdel-Rahman was still an important figure in radical Islam even after years in prison. A year before his al Qaeda followers pulled off the most destructive assault on U.S. soil, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Osama bin Laden had pledged a jihad to free Abdel-Rahman from prison. When Mohammed Mursi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, began his short-lived presidency of Egypt in 2012, he said winning the sheikh's freedom would be a priority and the jihadists who attacked an Algerian oilfield and took hostages in 2013 also demanded his release. In 2006 one of Abdel-Rahman's lawyers, Lynne F. Stewart, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for helping smuggle messages from the cleric to his followers in Egypt. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah in Cairo and John Walcott in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and W Simon)
The Hotel
The flight landed in Kathmandu on November 25, 1:00 am. I had come to Nepal to conduct my psychology research. I looked forward to meeting all kinds of people and learning about their inside-world.
Lawmakers in California have introduced a bill into the State Assembly aimed at increasing voter turnout by making Election Day a paid holiday, according to local reports Friday. Private businesses would not be required to halt operations, but the bills sponsor, state Rep. Evan Low, said he hoped that employers give their workers the day off.
I think this will ensure that more people will be able to participate in the electoral process, Low, a Democrat, told the Los Angeles Times Thursday. He cited how members of low-income communities struggled to vote in person since they couldnt risk losing income by taking time off work.
Seventy-five percent of registered voters and 58.7 percent of California residents eligible to vote did so in Novembers presidential election, according to data provided by the California Secretary of States office. Only 42 percent of registered voters participated in the states 2014 general election. Nationwide, the total turnout for the 2014 elections was 36.6 percent, according to the United States Elections Project at the University of Florida.
Efforts to create a federal holiday on Election Day have been supported by Democratic leaders, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said it would help more low-income voters cast ballots. California law already allows citizens to take up to two hours off of work on Election Day to vote without losing any pay.
We should not be satisfied with a `democracy in which more than 60 percent of our people dont vote and some 80 percent of young people and low-income Americans fail to vote, Sanders said in a statement regarding the Democracy Day bill introduced into the U.S. Senate, which did not pass.
If Low's Assembly Bill 674 passes, California would join New Jersey and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in making Election Day a holiday.
The majority of Californians voted in the November presidential election without having to step into a voting booth, with roughly 57 percent of the electorate, or 8.4 million people, casting their ballots by mail.
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President Donald Trump won the election after receiving 306 electoral college votes, but he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by roughly 2.9 million votes. Trump has baselessly claimed this was the result of millions of votes being cast illegally in states like California.
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By Lesley Wroughton and Yeganeh Torbati
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of Rex Tillerson's first directives as U.S. secretary of state was an order to senior staff that his briefing materials not exceed two pages.
It was a reflection of Tillerson's management style honed at the helm of Exxon Mobil, an oil company known for its relentless focus on efficiency, and one reason his closest aides at the State Department refer to him as "the CEO" rather than "the Secretary."
More than a dozen current and former U.S. officials familiar with briefing procedures said Tillerson's predecessors would typically request far more detailed information. His aide R.C. Hammond said the directive reflected Tillerson's focus on key facts rather than lack of interest in finer points of foreign policy.
"He is asking people to be efficient with their information," Hammond said, adding that if Tillerson needed more information he would ask for it. "He is a decision-maker and he needs the facts in front of him."
As a first-time government official with no prior diplomatic experience, Tillerson faces close scrutiny over how successful he will be in managing both the State Department bureaucracy and its relations with Donald Trump and his administration.
Senior State Department officials who have attended meetings with Tillerson say they find him sociable and a man of substance, whose direct manner and probing questions reflect his training as an engineer seeking to solve problems rather than play politics.
The veteran oil executive also made a good impression on his first foreign trip to a Group of 20 summit in Bonn, Germany, last week. Four senior diplomats who met him told Reuters they were relieved to find that he was pragmatic and open to dialogue.
Yet a key concern for U.S. diplomats is how effective his team can be in shaping foreign policy in the new administration. Just two State Department positions of 116 key posts requiring executive branch nomination have been filled, according to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service - Tillerson's and that of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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For example, Tillerson still has no deputy after Trump rejected his top choice, Elliott Abrams.
"People want to back him," one veteran senior official said about the former Exxon Mobil boss. "But people are feeling that this building is being stripped," said the official, referring to a sense that with so many top positions vacant, the State Department is not fully equipped to help make policy in the new administration.
There is also unease over possible deep staff cuts and the future of some departments. Two people said employees in the Bureau of Management and Resources were told to apply for other positions within the State Department. Hammond, Tillerson's aide said no decision had been taken to close that division.
IN OR OUT OF THE LOOP?
On one recent matter of longstanding U.S. foreign policy, Tillerson appeared to be sidelined.
On Feb. 14, while Tillerson was at a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a State Department dining room, news headlines emerged suggesting the United States was backing away from supporting a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
The two-state solution is the bedrock of the international community's policy for a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, but Trump suggested last week he was open to abandoning it if both sides agree.
"No one had been informed of any changes in policy and the Secretary was about to leave on his first major trip," said one senior State Department official, referring to Tillerson's visit to Bonn.
Tillerson's acting deputy Tom Shannon also did not take part in Trump's meeting with Netanyahu at the White House the following day when his boss was on his way to Europe, according to one U.S. official.
It was unclear whether Tillerson had been left out of the loop deliberately or by accident, said two officials.
A White House official told Reuters he did not know whether Tillerson was briefed in advance. In response to broader concerns about communication between the State Department and the new administration, he said both coordinated "very well."
"There are open lines of communications in both directions," the official, who declined to be named, said. "The White House and the State Department coordinate closely across a full range of issues that concern both organizations."To be sure, on another important issue, Tillerson had his say in persuading Trump to back Washington's stance on "One China" policy, which acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of it. Trump has in the past appeared to question whether the United States would continue to respect that.
Hammond said Tillerson was on the phone with Trump several times a day.
"This is the general style of the president to have quick check-ins with people, get people's advice on things," he said. "Information for CEOs flows up, and as a former CEO (Tillerson) understands that."
Tillerson has said little publicly since he started and his aides are quick to draw a contrast between him and predecessor John Kerry, a former senator and presidential candidate who reveled in extensive foreign travel and deal making.
"Tillerson is not John Kerry, it is unfair to compare the two," said Hammond. "He will quietly go about his job as a counselor and advisor to the president."
For Tillerson's State Department the concern is how to maintain a similar degree of communication with an administration grappling with a succession of crises, nine officials involved in foreign policy and security issues, said.
Over the past month the White House has faced legal setbacks over its immigration orders, the resignation of Trump's national security adviser and an investigation into possible links between his campaign and Russian intelligence.
Monday's resignation of Michael Flynn, who served as Trump's national security adviser for just 24 days, in particular created a vacuum at the National Security Council, which acts as a key partner for the State Department in formulating Washington's foreign policy.
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Jonathan Landay and Steve Holland in Washington and Andrea Shalal in Bonn. Editing by Warren Strobel and Tomasz Janowski)
President Donald Trump left many people including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton confused Saturday night when he suggested that something terrible had happened in Sweden the previous evening.
No tragedy occurred that day in Sweden, which the internet had fun pointing out. On Sunday, Clinton made sure to highlight the Trump administration's penchant for inventing terrorist attacks.
What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators? Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 19, 2017
Solid burn, Chelsea.
SEE ALSO: Internet turns to @Sweden on Twitter after Trump appears to invent terror attack
In case you missed it, Trump made the remark during a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Florida this weekend about two hours north of his Mar-a-Lago Club.
From a transcript of the speech:
Don't worry, the people of Sweden are doing just fine.
[H/T: The Hill]
BONUS: Trump claims drugs are cheaper than candy, Americans collectively facepalm
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PYEONCHANG, South Korea (AP) American men rarely are ground breakers when it comes to quadruple jumps.
Nathan Chen is changing that.
Chen became the first man to land five quadruple jumps in a single performance at an ISU championship to win Four Continents on Sunday.
The American champion, 17, set international-best scores across the board, finishing with 307.46 points while holding off a challenge by Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who was first in Sunday's free skate.
"This feels great," said Chen. "This is the first (international) championship event that I've won. I had a good lead coming out of the short program, which really benefited me in the long program."
Chen credited China's Jin Boyang for pushing the younger crop of skaters to expand the envelopes on four-rotation jumps.
"Boyang really started that huge quad craze when we were younger," Chen said. "We were all struggling to get all our triples and do triple-triples and he was out there doing four quads in a long (program). I think that really motivated all of us junior skaters to start working on these quads and putting them into the programs. It's really showing up now that we're senior skaters."
Chen opened his routine with a quadruple lutz-triple toe loop combination at the Gangneung Ice Arena and followed with four more quads in a free skate that received 204.34 points. After his first jump, he added a quad flip, quad toe, quad toe-double toe and a quad salchow.
"I tried five quads today and I landed three of the five solidly," Chen said. "The other two were a little shaky, so that's something I need to improve on for the worlds."
Hanyu, third after the short program, was second overall with 303.71 points. Shoma Uno, also of Japan, was third with 288.85. Hanyu had four quadruple jumps to top the free skate with 206.67 points.
"This is my third silver medal at the Four Continents and I enjoyed this one the most," Hanyu said. "I felt the threat posed by Nathan, but he will push me beyond my limit, no doubt about that."
Patrick Chan of Canada was fourth with 267.98 points.
Jin was fifth, followed by American Jason Brown.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese security forces have staged another mass anti-terror rally in the restive far western region of Xinjiang, parading hundreds of armed men through the streets of the regional capital Urumqi in a show of force after an uptick in violence. Hundreds have died in Xinjiang in the past few years, mostly in unrest between the Muslim Uighur people, who call the region home, and the ethnic majority Han Chinese. Beijing blames the unrest on Islamist militants. The Xinjiang government's news website on Saturday showed pictures of hundreds of gun-toting police and soldiers standing in front of a government building shouting out pledges to defeat terror and lines of armored vehicles driving though the streets. Xinjiang deputy party secretary Zhu Hailun said the Urumqi rally, following on from ones in Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang's Uighur heartland in the region's deep south, were a sign of "real action" to deepen the fight against terror. Militants and extremists would be "smashed and destroyed", Zhu said. The official Xinjiang Daily on Sunday further quoted Zhu as saying at the Saturday rally that no effort would be spared in this regard. "With guns by our bodies, knives unsheathed, fists out and hands extended, we must use thunderous power to strike hard against terrorist activities," Zhu said. After a period of relative calm, there has been a rise in violence in recent weeks, particularly in the region's south. On Tuesday, three knife-wielding attackers killed five people and injured another five in Pishan County before themselves being shot dead in Hotan prefecture. In December, five people were killed when attackers drove a vehicle into a government building and police shot dead what authorities described as three terror suspects last month. The government has blamed much of the unrest on separatist Islamist militants, though rights groups and exiles say anger at tightening Chinese controls on the religion and culture of Muslim Uighurs is more to blame. China routinely denies any repression in Xinjiang. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will suspend all imports of coal from North Korea starting Feb. 19, the country's commerce ministry said in a notice posted on its website on Saturday, as part of its efforts to implement United Nations sanctions against the country.
The Ministry of Commerce said in a short statement that the ban would be effective until Dec. 31.
The ministry did not say why all shipments would be suspended, but South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported last week that a shipment of North Korean coal worth around $1 million was rejected at Wenzhou port on China's eastern coast. (Graphic: China's coal imports - http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/CHINA-COAL-NORTHKOREA/010031YN4FX/CHINA-COAL-NORTHKOREA.jpg)
The rejection came a day after Pyongyang's test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
China announced in April last year that it would ban North Korean coal imports in order to comply with sanctions imposed by the United Nations and aimed at starving the country of funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
But it made exceptions for deliveries intended for "the people's wellbeing" and not connected to the nuclear or missile programs.
Despite the restrictions, North Korea remained China's fourth biggest supplier of coal last year, with non-lignite imports reaching 22.48 million tonnes, up 14.5 percent compared to 2015.
(Reporting by Meng Meng and David Stanway; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
On this day in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued his most-controversial executive order, an act that sent more than 100,000 people to government-controlled facilities because of their ethnicity.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese military forces attacked the United States base in Hawaii without warning. More than 2,000 Americans died in the attack, and a united Congress answered President Roosevelts request for war.
Roosevelt issued Presidential Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942,, after fears generated by the Japanese attack made the safety of Americas West Coast a priority. He directed the military to isolate any citizen, if needed, from a 60-mile-wide coastal area from Washington state to California and extending inland into southern Arizona.
The executive order didnt specify Japanese-Americans as a group, but the U.S. military detained more than 100,000 people in the next six months, and moved them to camps and facilities with armed guards and barbed wire.
There were 10 camps set up nationally, and about 120,000 people were interned in the camps during the war. About two-thirds of them were Japanese-Americans who were born in the United States. People of Italian and German heritage were also detained.
The controversial moves met with legal challenges, which eventually kept the detainees in the camps, despite the serious constitutional issues involved.
Under another provision, called Exclusion Order No. 34, a Japanese-American citizen named Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was arrested for going into hiding in Northern California after refusing to go to an internment camp.
Korematsu appealed his conviction through the legal system, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in late 1944.
The court had heard a similar case in 1943, Hirabayashi v. United States, and decided that Gordon Hirabayashi, a college student, was guilty of violating a curfew order.
The Korematsu v. U.S. decision referenced the Hirabayashi case, but it also ruled on the ability of the military, in times of war, to exclude and intern minority groups.
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The Court ruled in a 6 to 3 vote that the government had the power to arrest and intern Fred Korematsu. Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, included a paragraph that is still debated today:
It should be noted, to begin with, that all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect. That is not to say that all such restrictions are unconstitutional. It is to say that courts must subject them to the most rigid scrutiny. Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such restrictions; racial antagonism never can, Black said.
Later in the decision, Black argued the necessity of the militarys decision.
Korematsu was not excluded from the Military Area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire, because the properly constituted military authorities feared an invasion of our West Coast and felt constrained to take proper security measures, because they decided that the military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily, he said.
The three dissenting Justices said Korematsus constitutional rights had been clearly violated.
I dissent, because I think the indisputable facts exhibit a clear violation of Constitutional rights, said Justice Owen Roberts.
Such exclusion goes over the very brink of constitutional power, and falls into the ugly abyss of racism, said Justice Frank Murphy. The broad provisions of the Bill of Rights are [not] suspended by the mere existence of a state of war. Distinctions based on color and ancestry are utterly inconsistent with our traditions and ideals.
On the same day, the Court said in another decision, Ex Parte Endo, that the government couldnt detain an admittedly loyal citizen indefinitely. The decision paved the way for Japanese-Americans to return to the West Coast, but it also didnt contravene the Koramatsu decision.
In subsequent years, the American internment policy has been met with harsh criticism. In 1988, Congress awarded restitution payments of $20,000 to each survivor of the 10 camps.
As part of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Congress apologized on behalf of the people of the United States for the evacuation, relocation, and internment of such citizens and permanent resident aliens.
And in 1983, federal courts had also overturned the original convictions of Hirabayashi and Korematsu.
A Secret Service agent stands watch as President Barack Obama arrives aboard Marine One in New York on September 13. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Protecting the president isn't easy or cheap, and according to estimates from The Washington Post, the cost to protect President Donald Trump and his family is on track to supersede what it cost to protect former President Barack Obama and his family by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Judicial Watch, a conservative group that tracked the cost of travel expenses for Obama, estimated that $97 million was spent during his eight years in office.
However, based on the first four weeks of Trump's presidency, which included three trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump is well on his way to jump past that figure.
The Post rounded up a handful of estimates of the costs of protecting the Trump family incurred by the US departments of Defense and Homeland Security and local police agencies.
Here are a few:
Three trips to Mar-a-Lago since Trump's inauguration may have cost about $10 million, based on a government report from October that analyzed White House travel, The Post said. The expenses include the cost of US Coast Guard patrol boats on the shoreline.
Palm Beach County officials say they will request reimbursement of tens of thousands of dollars per day from the White House for their deputies who provided security and logistical support around the city.
Police officials estimate that it would cost New York $500,000 a day, or $183 million a year, to guard Trump Tower, where first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump live.
Secret Service and US embassy employees paid about $100,000 in hotel room bills during Eric Trump's trip to Uruguay, where he promoted a Trump-branded building.
If the Pentagon secures rental space in Trump Tower needed for when the president returns to New York it could cost $1.5 million per year, according to the building's website.
Secret Service paid $12,000 for tents, portable toilets, light towers, and golf carts during Trump's Super Bowl weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago.
Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago
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This is an expensive way to conduct business, and the president should recognize that, said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. The unique thing about President Trump is that he knows what it costs to run a plane, Fitton said about Trump's travel to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. He suggested Camp David may be the better choice, since Trump can easily get there by helicopter.
Funding the Trump family's complex travel and protection needs may not be the only issue, The Post reported.
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There was an anticipation of how stressful it was going to be on the agency," said Jonathan Wackrow, a 14-year Secret Service employee who served during Obama's administration. "But the harsh reality is that the stress is just overwhelming." According to Wackrow, agents are at severe risk of burnout."
The Secret Service, however, maintains that it is ready, willing, and able to protect Trump. "Every administration presents unique challenges to which the Secret Service has effectively adapted, an agency statement cited by The Post read.
"Regardless of location . . . the Secret Service is confident in our security plan."
NOW WATCH: The president's close friend of 40 years explains Trump's sense of humor
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ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) For a small nation that has grown hugely wealthy thanks to centuries of doing business far and wide, the political mood in the Netherlands has turned surprisingly inward.
As a March 15 parliamentary election looms in the Netherlands one of the founding members of the European Union popular lawmaker Geert Wilders is dominating polls with an isolationist manifesto that calls for the Netherlands "to be independent again. So out of the EU."
After Britons voted last year to divorce from the EU, could a Dutch departure known here as "Nexit," after "Brexit" be close behind?
"I see the European Union as an old Roman Empire that is ceasing to exist. It will happen," Wilders said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Wilders' Party for Freedom is a serious contender to win the popular vote, with most polls a month out from the election showing it ahead of all other parties. Over the past dozen years, the Dutch have already voted in referenda against EU proposals twice.
Few analysts think "Nexit" would materialize: Despite his popularity, Wilders will struggle to find coalition partners among mainstream parties, which shun him and his strident anti-Islam, anti-EU rhetoric.
Then again, few observers predicted last year that Britain would vote to become the first country to leave the EU, so the worries are real about the possible effects of a Nexit or a further disintegration of European unity driven by the rise of nationalist populism throughout the continent.
An exit from the EU would likely deal a huge blow to Rotterdam, a cosmopolitan city known for its port, one of the world's busiest. The city employs 90,000 people, and a further 90,000 are directly linked to its activities elsewhere in the country.
Port of Rotterdam corporate strategist Michiel Nijdam believed a Dutch exit from the EU seemed unlikely, though not impossible.
"Because we are so dependent on our trade with other countries that it would clearly hurt us so much that I don't think it's likely," he said. "But you never know what happens if a lot of people think it's a good idea and you vote on a party that is pro-Nexit."
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Nijdam was speaking in the port's imposing Norman Foster-designed headquarters, which commands views over the port and the Nieuw Maas river that bisects the city. Cranes at container terminals can be seen to the west, while low-slung barges glide past, heading eastward along rivers and canals into the heart of Europe.
The port made a profit of 222 million euros last year as it dealt with 461 million metric tons of freight. Some 28,000 sea-going vessels and 100,000 inland waterway barges used the port in 2016.
"The effects will be the opposite of the effects we had from the opening of Europe," Nijdam said. "That means that it's more difficult to organize your logistics through the Netherlands, so it will clearly have an impact on supply chains that will shift their routes from Rotterdam to other ports.
"The Netherlands will be less attractive that's for sure. For logistics it's not a good decision to leave the EU."
Wilders disagrees, pointing to a report his party commissioned that showed the Dutch economy would benefit from an exit. The Netherlands would remain a strong trading nation while saving billions in funding to the trade bloc, it claimed.
"The position of Rotterdam will really be the same after we would leave the European Union," he said. "It will not be that Rotterdam all of a sudden will have moved to Sweden."
Dutch bank Rabobank published four scenarios this month for the future of Europe and its effects. A scenario in which the bloc disintegrates amid a messy divorce from Britain and growing skepticism about Europe among remaining member states doesn't look pretty for the Netherlands or Rotterdam. The bank even suggested that a huge new extension to Rotterdam's port could turn into a "nature reserve."
One Rabobank economist, Elwin de Groot, said Rotterdam's port underscores how deeply embedded the Netherlands is in the EU and its single market.
"We are the spider in the logistic web of Europe," he said. "So if that is affected by, for example, a Nexit ... that could have significant consequences for our economy."
A new economic hit is the last thing this nation of 17 million needs. After being pummeled by the global economic crisis in 2007 and 2008, it was struck again around 2012 but is now bouncing back strongly. Figures released this month showed that the Netherlands' economy grew a robust 2.1 percent in 2016.
Rabobank researcher De Groot says a Nexit could slam the brakes on that growth.
If the Netherlands were to leave the EU, he said, "suddenly we are confronted with all kinds of trade restrictions. That could have, you know, a very negative impact on the Dutch economy."
WASHINGTON (AP) The D.C. Council's chairman says the body will consider revising its recently-passed law granting a half-million workers in the nation's capital up to eight weeks of paid family leave.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2liqvks ) Friday that he was suggesting changes because opposition from local business leaders could hinder the program's success. Mendelson says that the benefits will remain the same but the means of paying for them may be redesigned. He says new versions of the bill will be filed over the next month.
Council members passed the bill with a veto-proof majority and Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed it to take effect without her signature earlier this week. Bowser considered vetoing the measure, calling it a burden on businesses because it imposes a new tax.
___
Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
US navy begins South China Sea patrols
US aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson has started what it calls "routine operations" in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) When Dr. Ralph Alvarado was elected to the Kentucky state Senate in 2014, he found his new colleagues had something in common with most of his patients: They knew smoking was bad, they just couldn't quit.
For more than two years, Alvarado has led the effort to restrict smoking in a state with the highest smoking rate in the country. He keeps a white lab coat in his Senate office, giving him a little more authority with lawmakers and lobbyists. But his efforts have so far been thwarted by the cultural legacy of tobacco, which along with coal has declined sharply because of a mix of market and political forces while still maintaining its grip on public policy in Kentucky.
Banning smoking in public places is still a politically perilous position for most of the state's Republican lawmakers, whose constituents view it as an attack on their personal freedoms. Alvarado also a Republican is insulated from this, even though his district includes parts of rural Montgomery and Clark counties where he says smoking bans are met with scowls.
"The comments from people (are), 'Well what do you expect, he's a doctor.' And so I'm almost excused," he said. "It takes off the shackles for me a little bit to be able to talk about this issue."
State lawmakers have focused most of their attention to the state's rising death toll from drug overdoses, including opioids, which killed more than 1,200 people last year. During that same time period, more than 8,800 Kentuckians died from tobacco-related illnesses, according to Shawn Jones, past president of the Kentucky Medical Association.
Kentucky had more tobacco-related cancer cases per 100,000 people than any other state, according to a study from 2009-13 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"If you're going to use the word crisis with respect to the opioid epidemic in Kentucky and I think we should then we must do the same with regard to smoking," he said.
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Alvarado's first attempts to ban smoking failed. In 2015, he angered his Republican colleagues when he joined Democrats in an attempt to force a vote on a statewide workplace smoking ban. Last year, Alvarado sponsored a similar bill that had the support of at least one major tobacco company and the promised indifference from other tobacco interests. But he could not convince a majority of Republican senators to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.
Alvarado has since narrowed the legislation and is trying again. This week, he convinced the Senate to approve a ban on all tobacco products from public schools and school-sponsored events, something only 36 percent of Kentucky's 173 school districts had done. The bill still drew opposition from some rural Republicans and Democrats, but it prompted a reluctant "yes" vote from Sen. Damon Thayer, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate who has long opposed other statewide smoking bans.
"The people at a school have no choice to be there," Thayer said.
While the Senate vote gives anti-smoking advocates hope that they have momentum, they still have hurdles to overcome. Since 2011, the tobacco industry has spent more than $4.5 million lobbying the state legislature, among the most of any industry.
And most lawmakers have steered the debate away from health risks and toward the philosophy of personal choices.
"You hear the statement that this could save lives. There's a lot of things we could do to save lives," Republican Sen. John Schickel said. "For me the question is who should be making the decision? Clearly, we shouldn't be making it."
A spokesman for Altria, which owns Phillip Morris USA and is consistently one of the top lobbying spenders in Kentucky, said the company did not lobby Alvarado's 2016 smoking ban bill. But they do support his tobacco ban in public schools.
Alvarado says his primary motivation comes on Friday afternoons, when he exchanges his suit jacket for a white lab coat and visits patients.
"I'm watching them kill themselves and I see them die with their last dying breath with a cigarette in their mouth," he said. "You get frustrated for those people probably more so than trying to pass a law."
MELBOURNE, Fla.After four miserable weeks of being locked up in presidential prisonstarved of affection, suffocated by bureaucracy, tormented by the pressDonald Trump made a break for it Saturday.
Touching down just before sunset here in the heart of Trump Country, the president was greeted as he emerged from Air Force One by an adoring crowd of 9,000 super-fans, many of whom had stood in line for hours to see him speak. Trump made no effort at masking his gratitude. Im here because I want to be among my friends, he told them, adding, I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news.
The rally was widely trumpeted in the press as a return to the campaign trail, and its easy to see why. The event had all the trappings of Trump-style electioneeringhe deployed the same slogans, recycled the same stump-speech rhetoric, and walked out on stage to the same soundtrack. Whats more, the White House made clear earlier this week that the rally was being funded not by the federal government but by his campaign, making this perhaps the earliest launch to a reelection bid in history.
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But for Trumpa man who has long relied on his loyal crowds for validation and reassurancethe rally also seemed like an exercise in escapism. Back in Washington, his administration is teetering constantly on the edge of chaos: His national security adviser has resigned, his immigration ban is unraveling, and he faces a steady stream of leaks from the intelligence community that could imperil his presidency. But here inside an airport hangar packed with red-capped supporters chanting their hearts out, none of that mattered.
Indeed, for at least one evening, Trump was able to inhabit a world where all bad news was fake, all protesters were paid, and the first month of his presidency was universally regarded as an historic success.
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Toward the end of the rally, I began asking attendees how they would grade Trumps time in office so far. All but one awarded him an A+ (and the outlier gave him an A). If pressed, they would often add caveats such as, given what hes up against... or, ...considering all hes trying to accomplish. Even if some were grading on a curve, it didnt make their reviews insincere.
In my opinion, hes the only president in my lifetimeand Im 65 years oldwhos doing what he said he was going to do, said Richard Barrington, a retiree from Orlando. When I asked what campaign promises Trump had kept, he replied immediately: Jobs.
When I grew up, Barrington told me, everything was made in America, and we made good stuff. Throughout my lifetime, we started buying all that junk in China that winds up in the garbage, and our jobs went overseas. Its like nobody cared. Hes the first president that really understands. Hes tackling all these problems, and the news media, they twist it, they turn it, they dont want to tell it like it is.
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Rene Foland, a former campaign volunteer from Marianna, Florida, was similarly effusive in her praise. He keeps his word and he knows how to speak to the American people who matter mostthe people without jobs, the people that are really, really hurting out here.
She said she was upset that so many Americans seemed unwilling to acknowledge the good intentions behind the presidents restrictionist immigration policies, and when I asked her about the apparently slapdash nature of his executive order earlier this month, she shrugged.
You learn as you go along, she replied. Hes not a politician.
Preaching to the faithful Saturday night, Trump made it clear that he valued them, as much as they valued him. Theyre his people, andhe promisedtheyre winning again. Youre all part of this incredible movement, this movement that we talk about so much, thats been written about on the cover of every magazine all over the world, he said. Its a moment thats just sweeping, its sweeping across our country. Its sweeping, frankly, across the globe.
People want to take back control of their countries, he added, and they want to take back control of their lives.
Read more from The Atlantic:
This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
WASHINGTON (AP) The Homeland Security Department has drafted sweeping new guidelines aimed at aggressively detaining and deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to a pair of memoranda signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly.
The memos dated Friday seek to implement President Donald Trump's broad directive to crack down on illegal immigration. Kelly outlines plans to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand on the priority list for immigrants marked for immediate removal and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests, according to a person briefed on the documents, who confirmed the details to The Associated Press.
"The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States," Kelly wrote.
He said apprehensions on the southern U.S. border had seen an additional surge of 10,000 to 15,000 per month from 2015 to 2016.
The memos leave in place one directive from the Obama administration, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows young people who were brought into the country illegally as children to stay and obtain work permits. The program has protected about 750,000 immigrants since its inception in 2012. Trump has previously indicated his desire to end the program, but at his press conference last week indicated that he would "show great heart" toward the program.
The memos were reported first by The Washington Post and other news organizations. A U.S. official familiar with the documents did not dispute the accuracy of the memos signed by Kelly, which were originally scheduled for release Friday before they were postponed for White House review.
A White House official said the White House has raised objections with the documents and is working with DHS to finalize the policy. The official was not authorized to discuss the process publicly and insisted on anonymity.
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Under the draft guidelines, Kelly seeks to "expeditiously hire" 10,000 more enforcement agents and 5,000 Border Patrol officers.
Seeking to fulfill Trump's campaign promise to build a wall along the Mexican border, Kelly also calls on Customs and Border Protection to "immediately begin planning, design, construction and maintenance of a wall, including the attendant lighting, technology (including sensors), as well as patrol and access roads." He describes the wall as necessary to deter illegal immigration and calls it a "critical component" of Trump's overall border security strategy.
He says the department will also prioritize for more immediate removal those who have been convicted of a crime; charged with a crime; committed fraud in connection with a matter before a government agency; abused any program related to public benefits; or have not complied with orders to leave the country.
Joanne Lin, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the proposed guidelines as a Trump style of immigration enforcement in which "due process, human decency and common sense are treated as inconvenient obstacles on the path to mass deportation."
"The Trump administration is intent on inflicting cruelty on millions of immigrant families across the country," she said in a statement.
Quito (AFP) - Oil-rich Ecuador votes Sunday in general elections that could lead to fugitive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being evicted from the country's London embassy.
Socialist presidential candidate Lenin Moreno, who leads in opinion polls, favors continuing to grant the Australian whistleblower asylum, which was granted to him under outgoing leader Rafael Correa.
But two conservative contenders, Guillermo Lasso and Cynthia Viteri, each told AFP they would end Assange's asylum if they win the election.
Under Correa, Ecuador grabbed world headlines when it defied the United States by granting Assange refuge as he fights against Swedish rape charges.
The move has also shielded him from arrest over possible extradition to the United States for leaking diplomatic cables that embarrassed Washington.
WikiLeaks has said Assange could travel to the United States to face investigation if his rights were "guaranteed".
- Boom, bust -
The Ecuadoran elections could see a pillar of the Latin American left swing to the right in a country at an economic and political crossroads.
After a decade of leftist rule, voters must decide whether to follow Argentina, Brazil and Peru in switching to a conservative government.
Over his decade in power, leftist economist Correa, 53, oversaw an economic boom in the country of 16 million. But he is not up for re-election.
The economy shrank by 1.7 percent last year, suffering notably from falling oil prices.
Correa is accused of failing to save any petrodollars for a rainy day, and of hampering businesses with high taxes and duties.
"When Correa came to power he promised to diversify the production model," Alberto Acosta-Burneo, an economist at the Spurrier Group consultancy, told AFP.
"But he is leaving behind a country in which it is very difficult to produce things."
- Corruption -
Correa's ally and would-be successor Moreno, 63, promises to continue the outgoing president's tax-and-spend social policies.
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"The Ecuadoran people have affection (for us) and are determined to continue with this process," Moreno told AFP on Wednesday at a campaign event.
But in an uncertain contest, Moreno faces a challenge from ex-banker Lasso, 61, second in the opinion polls.
Lasso has vowed to cut spending and taxes, lure foreign investment and create a million jobs.
He has slammed Correa's allies over alleged links to a corruption scandal.
"We have to vote for change to fight against corruption," Lasso said at a campaign rally on Wednesday.
The third-placed candidate is conservative former lawmaker Viteri, 51.
- Trump -
Correa says Latin America needs a strong leftist movement to resist US President Donald Trump's hard line on immigration and trade.
But Lasso and Viteri have given positive signs towards Washington since Trump's election victory in November.
- Uncertainty -
Opinion polls indicate Moreno will likely win Sunday's first-round vote.
But if his lead is not big enough, he will face a runoff on April 2 against a conservative rival, most likely Lasso.
Polls show a high ratio of undecided voters.
"Any party could beat the governing one in the second round, because there is major resistance to and rejection of the government," said political scientist Paolo Moncagatta of Quito's San Francisco University.
But Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington cautioned: "It is a mistake to underestimate the strength of support for Correa's side."
Voters will also elect a new parliament.
Polling stations will open from 1200 GMT to 2200 GMT. Results are expected from about 0100 GMT Monday.
Quito (AFP) - Ecuador voted Sunday in general elections that could see a pillar of the Latin American left swing to the right -- and potentially deprive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of his place of refuge in London.
President Rafael Correa, who is not running, expressed confidence that his party's candidate, Lenin Moreno, would win in the first round.
"They want to give the impression it's going to a second round. The polls clearly say the contrary," he said after casting his ballot at an elementary school in Quito.
"Let's await the results and, in a democratic spirit, accept the will of the Ecuadoran people expressed at the polls."
The vote puts Correa's legacy into question. He is marking the end of 10 years in power during three terms as one of Latin America's leading leftists and an outspoken critic of the United States.
It could also alter the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The two leading conservative candidates have said that if they win, they will evict him from Ecuador's London embassy, where he has taken refuge for fear of extradition to the United States.
- Continuity or change -
An economist, Correa, 53, initially oversaw a boom in his oil-rich country of 16 million people.
A decade on, "what is at stake are two visions of society, two visions of development, two visions of the state," he said of Sunday's election.
Voters must decide whether to continue his socialist agenda by electing his ally Moreno or follow Argentina, Brazil and Peru in switching to a conservative government.
Moreno, who leads in opinion polls, promises to continue Correa's tax-and-spend social policies.
"The Ecuadoran people have affection (for us) and are determined to continue with this process," the 63-year-old told AFP.
To win in the first round, he needs to receive at least 40 percent of the vote and outpoll his nearest rival by 10 percent.
If he wins, Correa said, Ecuador will remain "on the same path but with different leadership, which I think in the end is very desirable for the country."
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- Trump -
But in an uncertain contest, Moreno faces a challenge from conservative ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, 61, second in the opinion polls.
He has vowed to cut spending and taxes, lure foreign investment and create a million jobs.
He has also slammed Correa's allies over alleged links to a corruption scandal.
"We have to vote for change to fight against corruption," Lasso said at a campaign rally on Wednesday.
The third-placed candidate is conservative former lawmaker Cynthia Viteri, 51.
Correa says Latin America needs a strong leftist movement to resist US President Donald Trump's hard line on immigration and trade.
But Lasso and Viteri have shown more willingness to work with Washington since Trump's election victory in November.
- Boom, bust -
Franco Sandoval, a student in Quito, said he will vote "for a change."
"The ones who are in power have been there for a long time. They have done their job," he said. "But at some point, they go off the rails."
Ecuador exports half-a-million barrels of oil a day. Correa used the wealth to fund social welfare schemes and public works.
He called it "21st-century socialism."
But oil prices have plunged over the past three years, helping shrink Ecuador's economy by 1.7 percent last year.
Correa is accused of failing to save any petrodollars for a rainy day and of hampering businesses with high taxes and duties.
"Whoever becomes president will have to dig the grave of '21st century socialism,'" said Alberto Acosta-Burneo, an economist at the Spurrier Group consultancy.
"It is no longer viable in the current economic situation."
- Close contest -
Although opinion polls indicate Moreno will probably win Sunday's first-round vote, his lead may not be big enough to avoid a runoff in April against one of his conservative rivals, most likely Lasso.
Analysts say voters fed up with Correa may rally behind any conservative candidate who gets through to the second round.
Polls show a high ratio of undecided voters.
"Any party could beat the governing one in the second round because there is major resistance to and rejection of the government," said political scientist Paolo Moncagatta of Quito's San Francisco University.
But Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank in Washington was more cautious.
"It is a mistake to underestimate the strength of support for Correa's side," he said.
Polling stations opened at 1200 GMT and were due to close at 2200 GMT.
MUNICH (AP) U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was the latest in a trio of high-ranking Trump emissaries to tell European allies in person that the United States will steadfastly support NATO and demand that Russia honor its commitments to end fighting in Ukraine.
Some European leaders, however, remain skeptical of whether Pence and the U.S. secretaries of state and defense actually speak for President Donald Trump. And they worry those declarations might easily be swept away at the whim of the mercurial American president.
"We are waiting for actions," said Polish President Andrzej Duda. "We only know what the media has reported and the statements that we've got. Now we are waiting for actions of the new government of Donald Trump."
European countries along Russia's border have been rattled by the prospect of deeper U.S.-Russia ties after Trump bucked the opinions of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders by suggesting that sanctions imposed on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine could be eased in exchange for a nuclear arms deal.
Trump also raised eyebrows when he appeared to draw parallels between Russia and the U.S. when Bill O'Reilly of Fox News referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a killer." Trump replied: "We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?"
In the days before his inauguration, Trump referred to NATO as "obsolete" in an interview, but said the 28-nation alliance remained important to him. He has since tempered his language and stressed the importance of NATO during telephone conversations with multiple foreign leaders.
Pence, on his first overseas trip as vice president, tried to allay some of those fears in Munich on Saturday, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to NATO and promising that the U.S. would "hold Russia accountable."
Michael Chertoff, U.S. homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, noted that Pence's comments were in line with similar assurances given by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a NATO meeting in Brussels this past week.
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"They've all been consistent about the fact that there is a strong, deep and enduring commitment to Europe and to NATO and I think that message has been received," Chertoff said.
The same day Mattis was in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart in Bonn, Germany, saying afterward that Russia must adhere to a 2015 deal to end fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
But whether Trump intends to put Pence's words into action remained a front-and-center issue at the Munich Security Conference.
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was pressed after Pence's speech on whether he had doubts about Trump's commitment to NATO.
"I have no doubts that the American vice president, and also the defense minister, will do everything to take responsibility within NATO as in the past, and I don't think there is a big argument inside the American government," said Gabriel, who also is Germany's foreign minister. Asked about Trump's commitment, he said, "Since I haven't spoken to him, I can only say what I discussed with Mr. Pence I did that and there are no doubts there."
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, also was in Munich and told ABC on Sunday: "There's a lot of concern here about just who speaks for the administration and even certainly when things when a vice president and others say the right things, they wonder does the president stand behind this."
Jeff Rathke, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Pence's words were likely reassuring to Europeans in light of the similar affirmations from Mattis and Tillerson.
"But everyone is aware that this is tentative until it is reaffirmed by the president in his own words," Rathke said in an email. "One tweet or statement casting doubt on the Europeans or on NATO will call back into question all of what Pence and Mattis have been saying."
Democrats are still stung by the conclusion by intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. And they have continued to argue that Trump remains a major liability on the world stage.
Wrote U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Twitter: "Looks like we have 2 governments. @VP just gave speech about shared values btwn US and Europe as @POTUS openly wages war on those values."
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On Twitter follow Ken Thomas: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Rep. Adam Schiff spoke to ABC, not NBC.
LONDON (AP) London Fashion Week neared its climax Sunday with shows by Preen, Topshop, Mulberry and others taking place at many sites in the more-chic-than-usual British capital.
A fleet of Mercedes-Benz sedans is ferrying VIPs from venue to venue as buyers, bloggers and wannabes gauge each show for that elusive dash of something special and off the wall. Not to be outdone, some have arrived at shows in a polished silver Rolls-Royce.
The pace of shows is a challenge for anyone trying not to miss a thing. The Monday slate is full as well, topped by the long-anticipated Burberry show.
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ARISTOCRATIC CHIC AT MULBERRY
Amid all the political debate on Brexit, British identity was the topic of the day even on the catwalk.
Designer Johnny Coca, who heads heritage brand Mulberry, on Sunday dished up his vision of British style one that is aristocratic and traditional, though with some funky twists. Think horse riding and hunting while staying at an English country mansion: Tweeds, checks, nostalgic florals on faded wallpapers, pearls and heirloom jewelry.
"It's all the things I like about the U.K.: the countryside, the hunting, the wallpaper, the checks and embroidery," Coca, who is Spanish, said backstage.
The show opened with models sporting head-to-toe brown and green checks, featured on box pleat skirts and mannish tweed blazers that look like they were borrowed from the models' fathers.
Then came a series of large quilted capes, which Coca said were inspired by horse blankets and the equestrian styles of English country dress. There were vintage rose prints that came from sofa fabrics found in the brand's archive, and pearl chains and oversized cameo locket pendants adorned the outfits.
The handbags which are coveted by fans worldwide and the brand's bestselling items had a vintage feel, too, with structured shapes that recalled hatboxes and antique luggage.
Much of the collection brought to mind the 1970s, with its earthy tones, crochet dresses, rich brocade and loose flowing skirts. That's because the clothes drew heavily from Mulberry's 1970s archive, Coca said.
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In case things got too retro or stuffy, the designer inserted some modern and quirky touches. Models wore furry knee socks in bright green and mustard, and outfits featured bold clashing colors, such as an orange blouse paired with a purple skirt and turquoise boots.
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TOPSHOP UNIQUE DOES BREEZY BOHEMIAN
She's a bohemian soul, living in the moment Topshop Unique's latest offering is all about clothes that give off that carefree, freewheeling vibe.
The outfits may look thrown on and eclectic, but the look is anything but effortless. Getting the dressed down cool girl look just right requires careful layering and thought.
Staged in a basement hall in London's Tate Modern art gallery, the label's show featured models in figure-hugging, bias-cut slip dresses some with high slits that were layered under graphic sweatshirts, oversized sweaters and outdoorsy fleeces.
Elsewhere, super-short mini-skirts in high-shine primary colors and satiny, striped wide trousers were paired with sporty striped tops.
As always with Topshop, there was plenty of fun and attention-grabbing party wear, too. A huge, fluffy orange coat stood out, as well as some silver sequined dresses adorned with bright floral embroidery.
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PREEN MAKES IT MARK IN SPRINGTIME SETTING
It's time for fall and winter collections, but the space set up by Preen by Thornton Bregazzi had a springtime feel more in tune with the British countryside with painted splashes of color suggesting flowers bursting into bloom.
This cheerful feeling pervaded the collection, with many black outfits set off by floral themes relying on fine embroidery and other outfits featuring reds and blues.
The models wore smeared red lipstick (evocative of a kiss, the designers said) and the choices were unusual, including a black and white shearling coat worn over a black floral bra.
Gowns were styled off the shoulder, and flat shoes and boots featured pale pink, a color seen in a number of outfits in the first few days of fashion week.
There was also a traditionally tailored tweed suit, as might have been in style a century ago, but set off with an oversize, bright green color, and a lingerie-style dress.
Designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi displayed photos of books they said had helped inspire the collection, including works by poet Carol Ann Duffy, the photographer Christina Boom and the artist Tracey Emin.
"It's just a celebration of women throughout history and the importance of women who have something to say," Thornton said of the collection.
An Alabama father and son were killed in a head-on collision with each other on Saturday morning, police said.
Police said that alcohol was a factor in the crash that killed Jeffrey Morris Brasher, 50, and his son, Austin Blaine Brasher, 22, but they are continuing to investigate.
Read: Driver Dies After Truck Is Blown Off Chesapeake Bay Bridge
The crash occurred at around 4:10 a.m. when the 2006 Ford pickup the older Brasher was driving collided with his son's 2004 Chevrolet pickup, according to police.
Neither of the men was wearing a seatbelt, according to reports.
Jeffrey Brasher was pronounced dead at the scene. Austin Brasher was transported to the hospital where he later died.
Read: Pregnant Mom of 2 Loses Unborn Baby and Husband in Drunk-Driving Crash
Family members took to Facebook to express their sadness at the news.
Our hearts are broken while our faith remains in Him. There are no words to describe the heartbreaking loss of losing both Jeff Brasher and Austin Brasher. There is peace in knowing they are together but our hearts are heavy knowing that they are no longer here with us, Pam Brasher, a family member, wrote on Facebook.
Watch: 13 People Dead and 31 Injured in One of California's Deadliest Highway Crashes
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Iraqi forces launched an assault on the Western half of Mosul on Sunday, marking an intensification of the battle to reclaim the city from the ISIS militants who seized it in 2014.
The announcement of the attack marks the beginning of what could be an even tougher and more lethal phase of the fight for Mosul, the largest city that fell under ISIS control. The fight for the section of the city west of the Tigris River is expected to involve intense street-to-street fighting, complicated by the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Its a new dawn, a dawn of victories, said Iraqs Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, in a televised address announcing the operation on Sunday.
Mosul fell to ISIS control during the militant groups sweeping advance across Iraq in the summer of 2014. After months of preliminary operations, Iraqs armed forces launched an offensive to retake the city last October. Following months of bloody fighting, they succeeded in reclaiming the eastern half of the city, trapping ISIS fighters and civilians in an enclave on the western bank of the Tigris.
Iraqi special forces, federal police and allied militia groups have faced intense fighting in Mosul since the operation began. Arrayed against them, the forces of ISIS employ an avant-garde variant of insurgent warfare, including large networks of tunnels, snipers, and waves of suicide car bombers, many of them to lethal effect. The fight for the western half of the city is expected to include all of those elements, accelerating as the U.S. backed anti-ISIS forces close in on the extremists remaining stronghold in the city.
Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, said U.S. Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of the coalition, in a statement last week.
On the first day of the operation, Iraqi forces captured a series of villages south of Mosul, in a push that also aims to retake Mosuls airport. Separately on Sunday, a pair of suicide bombings killed five people, including three Iraqi soldiers in the government-controlled eastern section of the city, in attacks that illustrated ISIS continuing ability to attack beyond the conventional battlefield. The Islamic States bombers have carried out an unrelenting series of attacks on civilians throughout Iraq during the current military campaign, including a bombing at a car market in Baghdad that killed at least 51 people on Feb. 16.
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Concern is mounting over the fate of civilians trapped in the ISIS-controlled sector of Mosul. The United Nations estimates that between 750,000 and 800,000 civilians are living in the western half of city with limited access to supplies. Stocks of food, fuel, drinking water and other vital supplies are running low in the western section, since the road connecting Mosul to Syria was severed three months ago.
We dont know what will happen during the military campaign but we have to be ready for all scenarios. Tens of thousands of people may flee or be forced to leave the city. Hundreds of thousands of civilians might be trapped maybe for weeks, maybe for months, said Lise Grande, the U.N.s Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, in a statement.
The renewed offensive is also the first major turn in the conflict in Iraq since the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Trump says he intends to launch an aggressive new strategy to defeat ISIS, but the specifics of that strategy have yet to be announced. In the meantime, Trumps policies have threatened to complicate the already sprawling and complex fight against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. Trumps executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations included Iraq, unsettling relations with a key state partner in that fight. Iraqs parliament called for a ban on Americans entering Iraq, a step that, if implemented, would have created chaos for the more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel deployed in the country.
The Trump administration has also increased tensions with Iran, a step that could also have implications for the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Iran is a major regional power in Iraq, and Iraqs regular army fights alongside powerful militias called the Popular Mobilization Units, some of whom are backed by Iran.
Sunday's snow has ended in Flagstaff, to be followed by a sunny, warm Presidents Day on Monday and unseasonably warm weather through Wednesday.
Highs in Flagstaff will range in the low to mid-50s through Wednesday -- about 5 to 15 degrees above normal -- before falling to 38 degrees Thursday as a strong cold front moves through the region.
About two inches of snow fell at Flagstaff's Pulliam Airport over the weekend, nearly 4 inches in Munds Park and 8 inches on the North Rim of Grand Canyon.
Streams in Yavapai and Gila counties are expected to crest Monday below flood stage after 1 to 2 inches of rain fell over the weekend, then subside Tuesday.
Arizona Snowbowl and Arizona Nordic Village will be open for Presidents Day, but a dearth of snow at Wing Mountain and Flagstaff Snow Park have closed those facilities.
Following is the latest National Weather Service forecast for Flagstaff:
Washington's Birthday
Partly sunny, with a high near 49. West wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 29. West wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 6 to 9 mph.
Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Southwest wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.
Wednesday Night A slight chance of rain showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.
Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 21.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 41.
Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 26.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 43.
Saturday Night A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Breezy.
Sunday A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 39.
9:15 a.m. Sunday: Winter weather advisory still in effect through 5 p.m.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect today for the Mogollon Rim from the Flagstaff area southeast to the White Mountains. Expect periods of winter driving conditions above 6,000 feet due to icy, snow-packed roads or low visibility.
Flagstaff received 2 inches of snow overnight at Pulliam Airport, and an additional 1 to 2 inches are in today's forecast. Munds Park reported 3.5 inches of snow and Prescott Valley received nearly an inch of rain.
6:15 p.m. Saturday: Snow up to 5 inches for Flagstaff through Sunday afternoon
Periods of rain and snow are expected through Sunday.
Snow levels will remain in the 7,000 to 7,500 foot range through mid evening today with mostly a rain snow mix in the Flagstaff area and little accumulation. Snow levels will drop to 6,000 to 6,500 feet by mid to late evening, with heavier snow and the best chance for significant accumulations continuing through Sunday afternoon.
A flash flood watch continues through Sunday for areas below the Mogollon Rim, where between 1 and 2 inches of precipitation is expected from the storm.
Skies will clear at midweek before another storm with light snow and colder weather arrives in the region Thursday.
Snow accumulations: 1 to 6 inches of snow between 6,000 and 8,000 feet. 6 to 10 inches of snow above 8,000
feet and along certain south facing slopes of the Mogollon Rim. See details below or consult point specific forecasts at: weather.gov/flagstaff
Snowfall forecast in inches:
Doney Park 1 to 3
Flagstaff 3 to 5
Williams 1 to 3
Alpine 4 to 6
Forest Lakes 4 to 8
Heber-Overgaard 1 to 3
Pinetop-Lkside 3 to 5
Show Low 1 to 2
10 a.m. Saturday: Flash flood watch south of Mogollon Rim
A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for Yavapai and northern Gila counties, southwest of the Mogollon Rim, through 2 pm Sunday. The watch includes locations such as Congress, Sedona, Black Canyon City, Prescott, Payson, and the Tonto Basin. Localized flooding may occur in low-lying areas and near washes during the day on Saturday in association with periods of heavy rainfall. Though rainfall will decrease late in the weekend, expect the flow in most major streams such as Oak Creek, Wet and Dry Beaver Creek, the Verde River, and Tonto Creek to peak on Sunday.
Following is the National Weather Service forecast for Flagstaff:
Today
Rain and snow likely before 11am, then rain. High near 40. Breezy, with a south wind 22 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Tonight
Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 11pm. Low around 30. South southeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Sunday
Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. West southwest wind 13 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Washington's Birthday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. West southwest wind around 7 mph.
9 a.m. Friday: Snowfall totals hiked for storm moving into Flagstaff Saturday
Snowfall of up to 5 inches could accumulate in Flagstaff by Sunday as a strong storm starts off with heavy rain in the region Saturday.
The National Weather Service is predicting up to 2 inches of precipitation could fall in Yavapai, Gila and southern Coconino counties over the weekend, with an inch or more farther north.
Snow levels on Saturday will remain above 7,500 feet Saturday before lowering to 6,500 feet Saturday night and Sunday morning, when Flagstaff could receive 2 to 5 inches of snow. Higher elevations will see heavier amounts.
The Weather Service is warning of stream rises and possible flooding below the Mogollon Rim in heavy rain Saturday.
Presidents Day on Monday will be sunny and unseasonably warm, with a high of 48 degrees in Flagstaff. Another storm front is due to arrive in Flagstaff late next week.
Following is a detailed weekend Weather Service forecast for Flagstaff:
Today
Rain and snow showers likely before 11am, then a slight chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Tonight
Rain and snow showers likely after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 17 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday
Rain and snow likely before 11am, then rain. High near 40. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday Night
Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 11pm. Low around 32. South southwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Sunday
Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. West southwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Washington's Birthday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 48
Thursday 6 p.m.: Light snow brings light snowplay for holiday weekend
Light snowfall this weekend could cause disappointment for prospective sledders in Flagstaff.
The National Weather Service projects just 1 to 3 inches of snow over the holiday weekend, with most of the accumulation in Flagstaff occurring on Sunday.
It seems pretty possible on Friday and Saturday to see periods of rain and snow, but we expect those days to result in low amounts of accumulation, National Weather Service Meteorologist Robert Rickey said. The best chance for Flagstaff to see a couple of inches is on Sunday, but those projections could go up or down when the weekend arrives.
Popular snowplay site Flagstaff Snow Park at Fort Tuthill will not be open this weekend due to a lack of snowfall.
Wing Mountain was closed Thursday but the trails at Arizona Nordic Village were open.
Arizona Snowbowl is expected to receive 9-15 inches of snow throughout the weekend; however, the ski and snowboarding area does not allow sledding and snowplay in the ski area.
Snowbowl General Manager J.R. Murray said slope employees will be checking to make sure visitors do not bring sleds.
On holidays and weekends we have staff at the bottom of Snowbowl Road screening all vehicle passengers, ensuring that only skiers and snowboarders are allowed to proceed to the ski area, Murray said. If we have available parking at midday we will allow tourist and sightseers but no sledders or snowplayers since there is no snowplay allowed at the ski area.
Arizona Department of Transportation has not currently put up any road or snowplay advisory warnings.
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida middle school student may face criminal charges after confessing to throwing a wooden block at a vehicle in U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade as it drove through West Palm Beach on Friday, the local sheriff's office said.
Authorities received reports that a vehicle in the motorcade appeared to have been struck by a hard, small object, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. The incident occurred while the motorcade was en route from the local airport to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
After the motorcade ended, law enforcement officers canvassed the area and found a "2 x 4" block by the side of the road, according to the release, which included a photo of what appeared to be a wooden block.
A middle school student confessed to throwing it and implicated four additional students involved, it said. None of the juveniles have been identified by law enforcement.
Authorities will file criminal charges with the local state attorney, the sheriff's office said. Additional details were not immediately available.
(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Alan Crosby)
(This version of the Feb. 18 story was refiled to delete an extra word in paragraph one) MUNICH (Reuters) - James Jones, a former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe said on Saturday he is not under consideration to be U.S. President Donald Trumps new national security adviser. "My policy is that I never turn down a job that hasn't been offered," Jones, who was attending the Munich Security Conference, told Reuters. Jones, a former U.S. Marine Corps general and President Barack Obamas first national security adviser, was thought to be one of four people under consideration by Trump to replace Michael Flynn, who resigned over telephone calls he had with Russia's ambassador to the United States before Trump was sworn in to office. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Andrea Shalal)
Paris (AFP) - Suspected Russian cyberattacks on the French presidential campaign are "unacceptable", France's foreign minister said Sunday, adding it was clear that pro-Europe candidate Emmanuel Macron was being targeted.
A spokesman for Macron, who is currently riding high in the polls, has accused Moscow of being behind a flurry of cyberattacks on his campaign website and email servers over the past month.
"It's enough to see which candidates, Marine Le Pen or Francois Fillon, Russia expresses preference for in the French electoral campaign," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview with Journal du Dimanche.
"Whereas Emmanuel Macron, who is pro-Europe, is being targeted by cyberattacks," he added. "This form of interference in French democratic life is unacceptable and I denounce it."
Le Pen, of the far-right National Front, is anti-immigration and anti-European Union, while Fillon is the conservative Republicans candidate who is pushing for closer ties with Moscow.
"Russia is the first to say that non-interference in domestic affairs is a cardinal rule and I understand that. Well, France won't accept its choices being dictated to it either," he added.
France warned Russia Wednesday against meddling in the elections, after a spokesman for Macron -- the 39-year-old centrist former economy minister -- pointed the finger of blame at Moscow.
The allegations come in the midst of a furore over Russia's alleged interference in the US electoral campaign that has forced out one of President Donald Trump's top aides.
US intelligence agencies had already accused Russian intelligence of hacking Democratic Party emails that embarrassed Trump's rival Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this week, Ayrault told French parliament: "After what happened in the United States, it is our responsibility to take all steps necessary to ensure that the integrity of our democratic process is fully respected".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country will hold a general election in September, has also voiced fears that Moscow could try to influence the vote through cyberattacks or disinformation.
A special meeting of the French Defense Council is planned next week to strengthen measures to protect against this kind of threat.
PARIS (Reuters) - Any U.S. attempt to divide Europeans is doomed to fail as Washington lacks the capacity to offset the benefits the European Union offers its members, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview with newspaper Journal du Dimanche on Sunday. Asked about the lack of unity of Europeans with regards to U.S. President Donald Trump's worldview, Ayrault said that the situation was changing, essentially because of Trump's "repeated attacks" against Europe. "(...) I bet that any attempt to divide and rule Europeans will not work," Ayrault said. "For the United States absolutely do not have the capacity to offset the benefits the European Union offers to its members." "Even (British Prime Minister) Theresa May felt compelled to say, despite Brexit, that it was in the interest of the United States to have a strong Europe as a partner," Ayrault added. He also said that France will not accept any foreign interference, whether Russian or American, on its April and May presidential election. "Some attitudes or statements may imply" that the United States and Russia want to weaken Europe, Ayrault said. As an example, he said that Russia expressed its preferences for French right-wing candidates such as conservative Francois Fillon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, while pro-European independent centrist Emmanuel Macron suffered cyber attacks. "This form of interference on the French democratic life is unacceptable ... France will not accept, the French will not accept to have their choices dictated," Ayrault said. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Tom Brown)
By Mathieu Rosemain and Sophie Louet PARIS (Reuters) - French hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon would raise spending by 273 billion euros ($290 billion), his team said in a presentation online on Sunday. That sum includes a 100 billion-euro recovery plan to stimulate the French economy. The new spending would essentially be financed through higher taxes, debt, lower tax evasion and higher economic growth, according to Melenchon's political movement, dubbed "Indomitable France" and backed by the country's Communist party. The proposed measures, which include a 15 percent increase in France's minimum wage, new funds to fight poverty and create new jobs, underscore the gap Melenchon would have to bridge with Socialist rival Benoit Hamon in order to find a common platform for the April and May presidential election. The two hard-left candidates said on Friday they were discussing cooperation in their bid for the presidency, jolting investors already nervous over the possibility of a win for far-right, anti-globalization candidate Marine Le Pen. Melenchon's plan would cut France's unemployment rate to 6 percent by 2022 from about 10 percent today, with an economic growth forecast of about 2 percent as soon as 2018, his team said. The total weight of taxes would increase by four points to the equivalent of about 49 percent of France's gross domestic product, while the country's yearly budget deficit would fall to 2.5 percent by 2022, they said. BACKFIRE Investors believe a tie-up of Melenchon and Hamon could either backfire and catapult Le Pen into the Elysee palace or succeed and land France with a far-left president pursuing deficit-boosting economic policies. A Cevipof poll published on Thursday gave Hamon, who won a primary last month to become the Socialist party's candidate, 14 to 14.5 percent in the first round of the election on April 23. Melenchon had 11.5 to 12 percent. They are well behind frontrunners Le Pen, centrist Emmanuel Macron and Francois Fillon of the center-right, but a combined vote could allow one of the leftists to survive the first round and possibly face Le Pen in the decisive May 7 second round. Both Hamon and Melenchon said they would renegotiate the 1992 Maastricht treaty, under which France agreed to limit its yearly budget deficit to 3 percent. But Hamon, while sharing Melenchon's views for a need to boost the French economy through higher spending, has a program that differs on many points from his rival. France Info radio station reported on Sunday that the talks between the two candidates had fallen apart. That was before Hamon's interview on RTL radio station, where he left the door open for further discussions with Melenchon. "We can't allow ourselves to stand by passively and see a second round (of the presidential election) between a right, which is a radical right, and an extreme right," Hamon said. (Editing by Susan Thomas)
By Cheikh Sadibou Mane and Lamin Jahateh BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's President Adama Barrow vowed on Saturday to revive the country's faltering economy with sweeping reforms as he sought to draw a line under the erratic 22-year rule of his predecessor. Barrow was sworn into office a month ago during a brief exile in Senegal as Yahya Jammeh refused to accept his defeat in a December election. Jammeh fled into exile days later as troops from West African countries prepared to enter the capital and force him to go. Saturday's inauguration event at the national stadium was ceremonial, timed to coincide with the date that Gambia won independence from colonial master Britain in 1965. Tens of thousands of Gambians gathered at the stadium to watch military marches and brass bands performing before a giant banner reading #GambiaHasDecided, the slogan of a campaign to persuade Jammeh to accept defeat. "Few people would have thought that I'd be standing here today," Barrow said, wearing a traditional flowing white robe with gold trim. "For 22 years, the Gambian people yearned to live in a country where our diverse tribes will be bridged by tolerance and our determination to work together for the common good," he said. "One Gambia, one nation, one people." Barrow, 51, now faces the task of lifting the tiny nation -- which straddles the banks of a West African river -- out of grinding poverty, in part a consequence of Jammeh's volatile rule during which thousands of dissenters were jailed and scores of businesses expropriated. "We have inherited an economy in decline," Barrow said. He pledged to introduce free primary education, which is guaranteed by the constitution but was not implemented during Jammeh's rule. Gambia's economy depends on exports of groundnuts from small-scale farming and on the hard currency brought in by thousands of tourists drawn to its sun, white sandy beaches and lively resorts. Barrow said his government would start work immediately to encourage investment in other sectors such as technology. He also pledged to re-build institutions that had been hollowed out under Jammeh. During his rule, Gambia's supreme court judges fled the country and the press was muzzled. Jammeh's cruel and eccentric antics often made headlines, such as when he vowed to rule for "a billion years" and threatened to slit the throats of homosexuals. Barrow, in contrast, is nicknamed "no drama Adama" because of his calm quietness. A self-made real estate developer who once worked at an Argos department store in London, he is softly spoken and plans to reverse Jammeh's more capricious acts, such as a letter withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. (Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Helen Popper)
At a rally full of scientists, things were bound to get a bit geeky.
On Sunday, thousands of scientists and supporters gathered in Boston's Copley Square to "stand up for science" under the Trump administration.
Their signs were, predictably, quite clever.
I can't tell you how many older people have come up to me today to say, "I remember polio. Thank you." #standupforscience #AAASmtg pic.twitter.com/hrkIY3d5wh Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) February 19, 2017
Many rally-goers were in Boston for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.
"You don't usually see these kinds of rallies and demonstrations at scientific meetings," Kishore Hari, a chemist-turned-science educator, said ahead of Sunday's rally.
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"It's a sign that scientists are feeling not just under attack, but like the integrity of their work is in question," he said.
"We must indeed hang together, or we will hang separately." #standupforscience pic.twitter.com/g8gUNGvOQ6 Clapback Nation (@clapbacknation) February 19, 2017
#standupforscience #factsmatter A post shared by Miles Grant (@thegreenmilesgrant) on Feb 19, 2017 at 9:36am PST
Scientists at the rally voiced concerns about what they say is President Donald Trump's "anti-science" administration.
Trump has tapped cabinet officials who deny the mainstream scientific consensus that climate change is happening, and that human activity is largely to blame. The newly confirmed head of the Environmental Protection Administration, Scott Pruitt, called himself the "leading advocate against the EPA" during his tenure as Oklahoma's attorney general.
Since taking office, Trump has also moved to curb the flow of information from key government agencies involved in environmental issues. Along with the EPA, the departments of Interior and Agriculture were ordered to stop sharing information with the public, including through social media accounts.
In response to the Trump administration's actions, U.S. scientists have taken the relatively rare step of banding together.
Last December, a few hundred scientists held a rally outside the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. That event plus the widespread Women's Marches in January have inspired the larger March for Science, a demonstration planned for Earth Day on April 22.
"Scientists usually like to be in their labs or their offices, just doing their thing, and rarely do they come together to fight for something," said Astrid Caldas, a climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a science advocacy organization.
Caldas noted that rallies aren't the only way scientists can speak out. Some people may feel more comfortable engaging directly with policymakers, penning articles, or working behind the scenes.
"I think it's important that every scientist's voice is heard," she said. "There are many ways of advocating for science."
Hari, the science educator, said he is organizing more than 260 satellite events to coincide with the main March for Science in Washington this spring.
"Usually you hear the phrase 'let the science do the talking,'" he said. "I don't think that's going to be the case any more."
The Gen 2 Pokemon Update brought with it more than 80 new Pokemon, but theres this one creature that Trainers should watch out for. Apparently, many players who have stumbled upon its presence were left disgruntled, unhappy and with a low to empty supply of Poke Balls, Great Balls and even Ultra Balls. Some have even vowed to just ignore this pocket monster the next time they see it and just work hard on evolving its precursor.
On Reddit, a lot of Pokemon GO players are venting their frustration over Togepis evolved form, Togetic. The Flying/Fairy-type Pokemon has irked Trainers because it is one creature that is difficult to please and catch. Reddit user deevee12 stated in the thread he started that the rarity of Togetic is through the roof that one will have a hard time to catch it even if that player uses all of the Balls and Berries he or she has got.
Many Redditors have since shared their miserable experience with Togetic on the thread. Reddit user GuvmentCheese wrote about his disappointment saying, I really wish I had seen something like this before wasting 70 (yes, 70) Ultra Balls on one. It finally fled, but I just assumed the dark red color was for rarity or maybe it was maxed out. I just assumed it would flee sooner or I'd eventually catch it.
Another user with the handle whitewateractual stated, I blew 56 Ultras and at least 25 Berries before crying as it [fled]. I was livid. On the other hand, user misskaat has this to say: I had a 1050 Togetic, threw about 30 Ultras and it ran. I think only the lower CPs are possible to catch. Many other displeased players took to social media to rant about Togetic.
Given its difficulty to catch, many Trainers have just vowed to focus on catching Togepi and evolving it because for them this is better than having to gamble or waste their entire inventory. There are also those who swore to just try catching it for a while before giving up on it. For Reddit user Ireland914, he stated, If I encounter one, Ill blow a few Poke Balls and let it go if that doesnt work.
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Togetic
Photo: YouTube/poketokunime14
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President Donald Trump called an enthusiastic supporter to join him on stage soon after he started addressing crowds in Melbourne, Florida, during his Saturday rally. The supporter had already been spotted in media appearances when the president recognized him and called him on stage in a move that could have been a potential Secret Service disaster.
Look at this guy, Trump told the crowds. This guy is great. Come on up!
The Secret Service patted down Gene Huber, who was wearing a black Donald Trump T-shirt, before he went up to join the president, who said: So hes been all over television saying the best things and I see him standing and didnt you get here at, like, four in the morning?
Huber took the stage to thank Trump for doing the things he promised to do during the presidential campaign.
Mr. President, thank you so, sir. We the people, our movement is the reason why our president of the United States is standing here in front of us today, Huber said. When President Trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, I knew he was going to do this for us.
As Huber returned to the crowd, Trump said: A star is born. I wouldnt say that Secret Service was thrilled with that, but we know our people, right?
Huber may have shot to instant stardom because of the presidents overtures, and in a interview with CNN later in the day, he confessed that Trump is such a great source of inspiration for him that he has a six-foot cardboard cutout of the president in his house.
I salute that every single day and I pray and I tell him, Mr. President, I pray for your safety today, Huber told CNNs Pamela Brown. And Im not lying, I do that every single day to the president, but he's cardboard.
He ended the interview by thanking the network for the opportunity but in line with Trumps outburst against the fake media said: Lets just be a little, little nicer to our president. Thank you so much.
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The White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino, who describes himself as the conductor of the #TrumpTrain, posted a video on Twitter thanking Huber for his support for the president.
Trump used the rally to take potshots at the media again. He told his supporters: I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news. The dishonest media which has published one false story after another with no sources, even though they pretend they have them, they make them up in many cases, they just don't want to report the truth and they've been calling us wrong now for two years.
They don't get it, he added. But they're starting to get it.
He also quoted former President Thomas Jefferson in saying nothing can be believed which is seen in a newspaper.
The rally also saw an appearance by first lady Melania Trump, who has not been spotted in the public very often following her husbands inauguration. She led the crowd with the Lords Prayer, saying she will always stay true to myself, and be truthful to you.
gene huber trump
Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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TBILISI (Reuters) - Thousands of Georgians rallied on Sunday in the capital Tbilisi in support of the country's biggest independent television station Rustavi 2, which is fighting court battles over its ownership. In 2015, a court found in favor of former co-owner Kibar Khalvashi and ordered the seizure of Rustavi 2's property in August 2015 and later the seizure of shares in the company that owns Rustavi 2, which government officials have accused of bias. Khalvashi says he was forced to give up his shares under the government of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who lost an election in 2012, and he wants them back. Rustavi 2 has fought the case, which is now before the Supreme Court. Opposition politicians and many independent experts say the case is an attempt to silence independent media in the country of 3.7 million. Government officials have denied involvement in the case. "Today we should stay together to tell the government that they can never touch freedom of speech in this country," Zaal Udumashvili, the broadcaster's deputy director, told the crowd in front of the parliament building in central Tbilisi. The broadcaster went off air late on Friday until the rally, which it called to demand "fair" justice in the ownership dispute. "I came here to support Rustavi 2 and to support freedom of speech," protester Nely Abashidze told Reuters. "We want to demonstrate to this government that they can't silence us." (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; editing by Susan Thomas)
A touching moment between a grieving military widow and her husbands coffin was captured on camera by a bystander, giving millions of viewers on social media a window into the heartbreaking and personal effects of war.
Lisa West Williams was waiting to exit her aircraft at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday, when she and her fellow passengers watched a flag-draped coffin being removed from the planes luggage compartments.
It contained the body of Green Beret Shawn Thomas a 35-year-old father of four who, according to his obituary, died while serving on Feb. 2 in a vehicle accident in Niger, Africa.
The Oklahoma native was an Echo in the Special Forces and was on his eighth deployment when he died. He and his family wife Tara and children Cheyenne, Taylor, Gavin, and Natylyn were based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Filming the incident, Williams recorded the moment Tara greeted her husbands coffin. Dressed in all black, she placed her hand on the coffin and buried her head into its side. Appearing to cry, she was comforted by loved ones before six members of the military carry his coffin to a nearby hearse.
It was an honor to fly home with this PATRIOT! wrote Williams on her Facebook post of the video, which has been viewed over 8 million times. God bless his wife and family. There was not a dry eye around me.
Later, Williams told WNCT that Tara had given her permission to post the footage, thanking her and hoping others would see the sacrifices made by military families.
She wanted people to realize that this goes on every day, Williams told WNCT. There are many men and women that come home in a casket and theyve made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
According to Army Times, Shawn was awarded among other honors two Bronze Stars and four Good Conduct Medals. His body will be buried at Arlington National Ceremony.
Under his big beard, tattoos and giant muscles there was a small town Oklahoma boy that was grounded by his faith, strong values, and family, his obituary read. He will be missed by everyone that had the opportunity to meet him.
San Francisco Gotera (El Salvador) (AFP) - Inside a Salvadaron prison Francisco Lopez teaches fellow ex-gang members how to make paper figurines, as part of a program designed to reinsert them into society once they are released.
He is one of 460 inmates in El Salvador who have left one of the country's most vicious gangs, in a nation that along with neighboring Guatemala and Honduras makes up the "Northern Triangle" of Central America.
Their main claim to infamy is the gang violence that has propelled them to the top of the list of the most dangerous countries in the world, outside of actual war zones.
Criminal outfits -- dealing in murder, extortion and drugs -- reign with terror over swaths of territory, often whole districts of cities and towns.
Security forces clamp down on them, but any respite seems temporary. There are an estimated 70,000 gang members in El Salvador.
But some, Lopez among them, have now abandoned their ranks.
"I want a new life," he said. "The streets were all danger and death."
His organization was the Barrio 18 gang, and it was part of his life for 21 years -- a period he says today was "wasted."
"It was a crazy time that I badly lived through," the 38-year-old said on one of the patios in San Francisco Gotera prison in the country's northeast.
"But it's never too late to change."
- Preacher shows the way -
The catalyst for many to ditch their brutal street "family" was inmate Edwin Chicas, who dropped Barrio 18 to become an evangelical preacher.
His example prompted 460 other felons to follow suit -- not only breaking with the gang but also converting to Christianity.
The change brings with it an improvement to conditions behind bars.
Inmates are no longer kept separate in the prison, in overcrowded cells and with no family visits. They are given the right to leave their cells daily and participate in religious classes and in training workshops.
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Most importantly, they are given opportunities to prepare for a different life, far from the brutish and often shortlived existence in the gangs.
Oscar Alirio Montano, 29, for instance, taught 60 prisoners the craft of turning mirrors into works of art.
But while they have left the gangs, their past affiliation is still evident in tattoos.
Alirio Montano, who is two-thirds of the way through his 15-year sentence, intends to go through a painful operation to remove the markings that cover him from head to toe.
- 'Getting rid of the past' -
Designed to hold 400 inmates, the San Francisco Gotera penitentiary has a population nearly three times that: 1,122 prisoners. The sentences are lengthy -- some have terms of over 100 years -- for crimes including murder, extortion and belonging to a criminal organization.
Overcrowding is so bad that prisoners have to sleep in hammocks strung up one on top the other.
Part of the way they prove they have left the gang involves the ex-members cleaning off Barrio 18 graffiti in the three wings where they are held, coating the walls in green and brown paint instead.
"We are getting rid of the past that inspired respect and fear of the gang," Chicas said.
One of the workshops offered to the gang-free prisoners is in English, taught by Edwin Garcia. The 36-year-old spent 23 years in the United States before being deported and later incarcerated for drug trafficking and weapon possession.
"I was deported from the US for the bad things I did. They grabbed me from home in 2010," he said, without elaborating further. He has served half of his six-year sentence.
In a literacy and numeracy workshop -- a popular activity with 60 enrolled -- the level is "beginner," explained one of the four teachers, Marvin Arias, 24.
Over in the guitar lesson, Alexander Lara, 22, and Neftali Escobar, 35, teach tunes with titles like "I'm changing for El Salvador" and "I want a better future."
For those looking to shake off their violent, clannish past, there are glimmers of a different future.
For other prisoners, though, sticking to the gangs, "the treatment will be drastic," warned the prison warden, Oscar Benavides.
"They will learn that society is fed up" with gangs, he said.
Hundreds of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar have returned home, community leaders said Sunday, adding that most had gone back temporarily to fetch relatives.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since October to escape a bloody crackdown by troops and police.
Dudu Mia, a refugee camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, said nearly 1,000 Rohingya -- mostly young men -- had returned to their home villages to collect elderly family members left behind earlier.
"Most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh. It's been four months and they have barely even talked to their parents back home," Mia told AFP.
Myanmar's army has halted its operations in the north of Rakhine, a senior official said last week, ending the four-month crackdown which the UN has warned may amount to crimes against humanity.
Hundreds from the Rohingya Muslim minority are thought to have died and almost 70,000 have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched a campaign to find militants who attacked police border posts.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh, including the 70,000 most recent arrivals.
Escapees have given harrowing accounts of how security forces raped, killed and tortured Rohingya and burnt their houses to the ground.
Another Rohingya leader said some of the refugees had left Bangladesh permanently because their home villages had not been damaged by the Myanmar army and they had properties to protect.
"They left (their homes) because they were panicked. They didn't want to stay here as beggars, rather they would live in their own houses and work at land back home," he said on condition of anonymity.
The Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed that some Rohingya refugees had gone back to Myanmar.
"Scores of Rohingya people have reportedly returned home in last few days," said local commander Abujar al-Jahid.
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"But we're remaining on high alert about any illegal infiltration."
A satellite image published last year by Human Rights Watch showed how Myanmar troops burned down Rohingya villages, displacing thousands.
Most of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh are now living in squalid conditions in refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar district, which borders Rakhine and is also home to the country's biggest tourist resort.
Bangladesh has already approved a controversial plan for their relocation to an island and instructed officials to identify undocumented Myanmar nationals as part of the campaign.
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The slow drip of revelations about communication between Russia and associates of President Donald Trump has created the kind of "unbelievable turmoil" in Washington that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been known to revel in.
"The whole environment is one of dysfunction in the Trump administration," Sen. John McCain told reporters on Tuesday, one day after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign following revelations he had discussed US sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the US while still a private citizen.
"Nobody knows who's in charge and nobody knows who's setting policy," McCain said.
Gen. Tony Thomas, head of the military's Special Operations Command, put it even more bluntly in what amounted to a striking comment from a sitting general.
"Our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil," he said during a recent conference. "I hope they sort it out soon, because we're a nation at war."
The US intelligence community is still investigating Russia's hacking campaign targeting US Democrats during the presidential election, and whether Trump aides who spoke to Kremlin officials throughout the campaign had anything to do with it. Meanwhile, bipartisan calls in Congress to more closely examine Trump's ties to Russia are growing louder.
"Ive never been so nervous in my lifetime about what may or may not happen in Washington," Leon Panetta, a Democrat who served as chief of staff, secretary of defense, and CIA director over 50 years and under nine presidents, told The New York Times.
Reports have emerged in recent days that the Kremlin is getting nervous about the chaos, because the government has been counting on Trump to improve the US-Russia relationship.
But some experts say that, on the contrary, Putin is likely feeding off of the chaos and the extent to which it has furthered his own domestic agenda that is, to convey to ordinary Russians how ineffective Western democracy can be.
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Donald Trump Michael Flynn CIA
Ironically, that agenda may have faced a brief setback by Trump's victory in November: Had Clinton won the electoral college and Trump won the popular vote, "the Kremlin would have then had a popular US figure ready to vocally attempt to undermine the democratic legitimacy of the Clinton administration," said Joshua A Tucker, director of NYUs Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia.
"That would have left US actors calling out US democratic elections as fatally flawed," Tucker added. "Such a scenario could fit Kremlin domestic concerns perfectly: the US could still be the enemy causing all of Russias problems, while Trump and his supporters would be undermining the viability of the US political model as an alternative to Putinism."
Mark Kramer, program director of the Project on Cold War Studies at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, largely agreed.
"Putin was trying to meddle in the elections to stir public doubts about the legitimacy of the elections in part because he expected Clinton was going to win, and he wanted to portray her election as unfair and illegitimate," he said.
"That would enable him to say to his domestic constituents: 'See? Elections in the West are just a sham, and they're nowhere near as fair as our elections, which give the outcomes that popularity ratings would predict. We're more democratic than the West is,'" Kramer added.
From this perspective, Russia is now "the dog that caught the car," Tucker added. Trump winning the election was nominally the goal of helping him during the campaign, but Russia never actually expected him to win.
russia kremlin putin
Sill, Putin likely predicted that leaving a trail leading back to the Kremlin would undermine the election no matter who won.
Hackers who infiltrated the emails of Democratic National Committee and Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, were sloppy and left digital footprints that clearly linked them to the Russian government, according to cybersecurity experts. Calls intercepted by American eavesdroppers between foreign nationals and Russian officials allegedly discussing the presidential campaign were equally sloppy, moreover, given the open secret that intelligence agencies routinely spy on each other.
Thus, while the reality of Trump's presidency meant "the loss of the known [Kremlin] foil in Clinton and the emergence of an uncertain negotiating partner in Trump," as Tucker put it, the near-daily revelations about the Trump campaign's contact with Russia largely stemming from those easily traceable hacks and phone calls is on track to create the type of crisis in American democracy Putin may have wanted all along.
Putin, for his part, is rolling with it. On Thursday, he ordered state media to stop its "fawning coverage" of Trump, creating the conditions to reestablish the US government as a dysfunctional foil to the Kremlin.
Putin knew when he first decided to interfere in the US elections that Trump was "volatile, unpredictable, and unreliable," said Steve Fish, an expert in democracy and regime change in postcommunist countries and professor of comparative politics at UC Berkeley. "He believed, and still does, that a Trump presidency presents as many problems as it does opportunities from the standpoint of U.S.-Russia relations."
But from the standpoint of subverting democracy, Fish said, "the intervention was a surefire winner."
NOW WATCH: Mexican architects visualized Trump's proposed $25 billion wall to show how unrealistic it would be
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MUNICH (AP) Iran's foreign minister brushed aside new pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that his country is "unmoved by threats" but responds well to respect.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasn't said what he plans to do about it.
His administration has said Iran was "on notice" over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.
"Iran doesn't respond well to threats," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defense officials. "We don't respond well to coercion. We don't respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios."
"Iran is unmoved by threats," he said.
"Everybody tested us for many years all threats and coercions were imposed on us," Zarif added. He mocked "the concept of crippling sanctions," which he said didn't stop Iran acquiring thousands more centrifuges, used for enriching uranium, before talks with the U.S. on the nuclear agreement got underway.
Iran has always said it has no interest in nuclear weapons. Asked how long it would take to make one if it did decide it wanted such weapons, Zarif replied: "We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period. So it will take forever for Iran to produce nuclear weapons."
Iran's regional rivals aired a laundry list of grievances about Tehran's behavior, pointing to the wars in Syria and Yemen among other issues.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, argued that the Iranians "stepped up the tempo of their mischief" during the negotiations on the nuclear deal and have continued to do so since then.
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"I believe that Iran knows where the red lines are if the red lines are drawn clearly, and I believe that the world has to make it clear to the Iranians that there is certain behavior that will not be tolerated, and that there will be consequences," Jubeir told the conference. "And those consequences have to be in tune with the financial side."
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted that the main challenges facing the region are "Iran, Iran and Iran."
Asked what approach he seeks against Iran, he replied: "It's a combination of economic pressure, very tough policy and of course to impose the resolutions of (the U.N.) Security Council, for example the ballistic missiles."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said that Iran has been working to try and build a nuclear weapon, and "if they say they haven't, they're lying."
He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of U.N. resolutions and destabilizing the Mideast.
"I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly," he said. "I think most Republicans are on board with that concept and we'll see where President Trump's at."
Jubeir said that he is "very optimistic about the Trump administration."
"We see a president who's pragmatic and practical, a businessman, problem-solver, a man who's not an ideologue," he said. "He wants America to play a role in the world. Our view is that when America disengages, it creates tremendous danger in the worlds, because it leaves vacuums."
"He believes in destroying Daesh (the Islamic State group); so do we," Jubeir added. "He believes in containing Iran; so do we. He believes in working with traditional allies; so do we."
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David Rising contributed to this report.
MUNICH (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, pointing to Sunni Islamist militants in Syria fighting against its allies in Damascus, told the Munich Security Conference that the use of chemical weapons could never be condoned. Damascus, an ally of majority-Shi'ite Iran, this week rejected a recent Human Rights Watch report that said its military and allied forces had used chemical weapons during their capture of Aleppo last year. It instead accused anti-government fighters of using chemical weapons. "The use of chemical weapons can never be condoned ... Unfortunately the terrorist organizations Nusra and Daesh (Islamic State) still possess chemical weapons," Zarif said. A U.N.-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inquiry assigned to identify organizations and individuals responsible for the chemical attacks concluded last October that Syrian government forces had used chlorine as a chemical weapon at least three times in 2014-15. Islamic State militants, it said, had used sulfur mustard gas in one attack. The U.N. Security Council extended the mandate of the inquiry, known as the Joint Investigative Mission (JIM), until November this year. It is due to issue its next report by Saturday. The United States last month blacklisted 18 senior Syrian officials it said were connected to the country's weapons of mass destruction program, after an international investigation found Syrian government forces were responsible for chlorine gas attacks against civilians. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth told delegates the issue was likely to be discussed between major powers in the coming days. "Another big test coming up is in the Security Council, probably just this next week, of the so-called joint investigative mechanism established by the Security Council," Roth said. "So, the question comes up, what's next? The French have taken the lead in drafting a resolution and put it on the table imposing sanctions for Syria's use of chemical weapons and Russia is threatening to veto it." France said on Feb 14 that the U.N. had to respond over the use of chemical weapons with a resolution that would punish those responsible for repeated attacks. A French diplomatic source said that Paris was still looking for the right time to put the resolution to a vote but that it was working on a new text in the hope of ensuring it was supported by Assad ally, Russia. "We have again started work on a text with our partners," the source said. (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla and Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel and the US will set up a joint team to discuss Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, days after talks with President Donald Trump.
During their talks on Wednesday in Washington, Netanyahu and Trump had "agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the US in all of the main areas," the premier said.
They will cover "security, intelligence, cyber, technology, economics and many others", he told ministers and media at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting.
"We also agreed to create a team in an area that we have not previously agreed on: I mean, of course, on settlement in Judaea and Samaria," he said, using a term Israel applies to the West Bank.
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.
The international community sees settlements as a major obstacle to peace, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
At the White House meeting, their first since Trump took office, the president asked Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit. We'll work something out."
During their joint White House news conference, Netanyahu said he believes that "the issue of the settlements is not the core of the conflict, nor does it really drive the conflict."
"I think it's an issue, it has to be resolved in the context of peace negotiations," he said.
The administration of previous US president Barack Obama strongly opposed the expansion of Jewish settlements, arguing that they hurt the longer-term search for a two-state solution.
Since Trump's January 20 inauguration, the Israeli premier has announced more than 5,000 settlement homes and the first entirely new settlement for more than 20 years.
Israel also passed a new law last week that legalises dozens of Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes built on private Palestinian land in the territory.
The European Union has condemned the legislation, which UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said "is in contravention of international law".
Munich (Germany) (AFP) - A two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict must include exchanges of people and land to ensure the two sides are completely separated, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
The two-state solution has been on the table for years, backed by the United States and other major powers, but peace efforts have stalled and US President Donald Trump recently appeared to put Washington's commitment in doubt.
Lieberman told the Munich Security Conference he believed the end-game to the conflict involved a two-state solution but not as many people now understood it.
"I believe that what is necessary for us is to keep the Jewish state," he told a conference panel.
"My biggest problem is that today on the table we have a proposal (which) will establish a very homogenic Palestinian state without even one Jew and we will become a bi-national state with more than 20 percent of the population Palestinians," he said.
"I think the basic principle of a solution must include (the) exchange of land and population. It does not make sense to create one homogenic Palestinian state and a bi-national state of Israel."
The future of Israel's growing Arab population is hugely sensitive amid fears it will eventually dilute the Jewish nature of the state.
Lieberman has previously said Arab towns in Israel near the border could be transferred to a future Palestinian state, while Israeli settlements including in the occupied West Bank would become part of Israel.
The United Nations in December adopted a resolution that demanded an end to Israeli settlement building, and Lieberman's proposals have long been criticised.
But they have begun to gain some traction as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses the idea of an overall peace settlement based on a deal with moderate Sunni Arab regional powers such as Saudi Arabia in the interests of countering a shared enemy, Shiite Iran.
Lieberman opened his remarks to the conference by saying there were three challenges in the region: "Iran, Iran and Iran."
Rome (AFP) - Italy's ex-prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned as head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) on Sunday, kicking off a leadership battle as the country's ruling party grapples with the threat of a schism.
Renzi, who stepped down in January after losing a key referendum, said he would run to win back his post as party secretary, which would put him in pole position to become prime minister once more should the PD win approaching national elections.
The showdown with his many enemies looked set to be fierce; rebels on the far-left have been threatening to split off, with a potential fallout for the government and PD Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Renzi pointed the finger squarely at the rebels, accusing them of having attacked him at every turn during his premiership and of trying to blackmail him into quitting as party head as the only way to prevent the threatened split.
"Schism is one of the worst words, only one is worse and that's the word blackmail. It is unacceptable for a party to be blocked by the diktat of the minority wing," he said.
"You have the right to defeat us, not eliminate us. That's the heart of a democracy," he added.
The congress to elect the new PD party secretary will be held in June.
Renzi had been calling for an early general election, but all thoughts of going to the national polls have now been put on hold.
Gentiloni's government hopes to carry on until the natural end of the legislature early next year.
The 42-year old called for the party to "move forwards united," saying he and the others in the majority asked "with our hearts in our hands" for the rebels to stay.
But former PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who still has core support among traditional PD party voters, dismissed his appeal.
"We are at very delicate point. There are those who think we are heading for a crash which will hit not just the PD but Italy," he said.
"We are not saying we are determined to send Renzi packing, we are saying we want to be able to discuss an urgent change of direction," he added.
Bersani blamed Renzi for "putting up a wall" and feared the run-up to the congress the minority's concerns would "not be open to discussion".
Rome (AFP) - Italy's ex-prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned as head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) on Sunday, triggering a leadership battle as the country's ruling party grapples with the threat of a split.
Renzi, who stepped down in December after losing a key referendum, said he would run to win back his post as party secretary, which would put him in pole position to become prime minister once more should the PD win approaching national elections.
The showdown with his many enemies looked set to be fierce; rebels on the far-left have been threatening to split off, with a potential fallout for the government and PD Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Renzi pointed the finger squarely at the rebels, accusing them of having attacked him at every turn during his premiership and of trying to blackmail him into quitting as party head as the only way to prevent the threatened split.
"Schism is one of the worst words, only one is worse and that's the word blackmail. It is unacceptable for a party to be blocked by the diktat of the minority wing," he said.
"You have the right to defeat us, not eliminate us. That's the heart of a democracy," he added.
The congress to elect the new PD party secretary will be held in June.
- 'Heading for a crash' -
Renzi had been calling for an early general election, but the rebels say they want Gentiloni's government to carry on until the natural end of the legislature early next year.
Thoughts of going to the national polls this summer have now been put on hold, but if Renzi wins the party secretary post in June he may push for a vote in September.
Italy's biggest opposition party, the Five Stars Movement, is also keen for early elections, as is the anti-immigrant Northern League, while the centre-right wants to wait.
Renzi, 42, called for the party to "move forwards united," saying he and the others in the majority asked "with our hearts in our hands" for the rebels to stay.
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But former PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who still has core support among traditional PD party voters, dismissed his appeal.
"We are at very delicate point. There are those who think we are heading for a crash which will hit not just the PD but Italy," he said.
"We are not saying we are determined to send Renzi packing, we are saying we want to be able to discuss an urgent change of direction," he added.
Bersani blamed Renzi for "putting up a wall" and feared the run-up to the congress the minority's concerns would "not be open to discussion".
- 'Unwilling ally' -
Political columnist Massimo Franco, of Italy's best-selling Corriere della Sera daily, said the fault did indeed lie with the former mayor of Florence.
He described Renzi as a "perhaps unwilling ally" of those behind the would-be split because of his "inability to change his tune" following the referendum defeat, which saw him resign as PM but act as if his quick return to power was a given, despite the far-left's grumblings.
With the rebels supporting Gentiloni, and Renzi champing at the bit for elections, "paradoxically the strongest defenders of stability are the schismatics," he said.
Renzi was accused of failing to reboot the country's flagging economy -- which has barely grown since 2000 -- or tackle the jobless rate, which had hovered around 11.5 percent for over a year when he quit in December.
A slight dip in the youth unemployment rate to 36.4 percent -- its lowest rate since October 2012 -- failed to mollify the disaffected.
Jake Turx, a Hasidic Jew and new White House correspondent, spent a hour shaping his question about anti-Semitism to make it seem friendly to President Donald Trump. It didn't work. Trump laced into Turx Thursday in one of the most memorable moments of a press conference chock full of controversy and anger.
Trump didn't realize Turx, 30, agreed that the president had been treated unfairly when it came to claims of anti-Semitism.
"It's very unfair what's been done to him and I understand why he's so defensive," the reporter from Ami Magazine said on Fox News. "And I'm with him when it comes to being outraged about him being charged with this anti-Semitism."
Turx started his question with a preamble of sorts praising Trump, saying his community had not accused the president or his staff of anti-Semitism, but then shifted to ask about rising anti-Semitism and the frequent, recent bomb threats to Jewish community centers. Trump interrupted, calling it "not a fair question," and telling Turx to sit down because he understood where the line of questioning was going. As Trump defended himself "I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. No. 2: Racism. The least racist person" Turx attempted to interject, but was shot down by the president telling him, "quiet, quiet, quiet" and that the question was insulting.
The Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups rushed to Turx's defense, condemning Trump's dressing down of the reporter.
But Turx himself praised Trump's response. "I'm going to say something that will surprise you and will probably surprise a lot of your viewers, but I was actually very hopeful because it shows a president who is so committed against this problem of anti-Semitism," he said on Fox News. "That it bothers him on a personal level, a deep personal level, and it makes me very hopeful that he will work together with the community."
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Turx, who dresses in traditional Hasidic garb and has side curls of hair, also praised the new president's "unprecedented amount of outreach with the Orthodox Jewish community."
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Droughts, harsh winters, climate change and geopolitical disorder have given rise to acute malnutrition worldwide, with nearly 795 million people typically living in developing countries suffering from hunger. But a startup company called FasoPro may have found the key to resolving the global food crisis crawling right underneath their feet: crunchy, chewy caterpillars.
Kahitouo Hien, a University of California, Berkeley, graduate and caterpillar connoisseur, said he had been eating the insect since childhood before deciding to launch an entire business aimed at feeding the hungry with his favorite food source. Hien began harvesting caterpillars for his schools global social venture competition, a business innovation challenge focusing on social impact, and won the $80,000 prize and award for best social startup in 2012.
By 2016, Hien made a fundamental change in how his caterpillars would be shipped to places around the world where food shortages are rampant. By drying dead caterpillars, Hien was able to pack and ship at least 30,000 packages of the crunchy meal, and is reportedly anticipating to sell nearly 100,000 in 2017. The caterpillar bags are currently being used in Burkina Faso, where 10.4 percent of the population suffers from acute malnutrition, according to the World Food Program.
"Caterpillars are made up of more than 60 percent protein, Hien told The Guardian. "They are among the most nutritious foods available in Burkina Faso."
Caterpillars are high in protein, low in calories and surprisingly nutritious, despite the bug typically being left off the menu in most western and international cuisines. The furry critter is a unique treat in several African countries, including Zambia, where the residents harvest caterpillars and protect them from natural disaster and declines in population. The insect is a common delicacy for norther Zambians, who are often unable to find fresh food alternatives throughout the region, while "smoked caterpillars" wont expire for months on end.
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In Burkina Faso, caterpillars have quickly become a part of the regional food palette, being sold in markets at cheap prices across the country since locals discovered the insect worked as a nutritious substitute. It could only be a matter of time before other developing nations battling food shortages and malnutrition do the same.
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NEW YORK (AP) Ketchup maker and packaged food giant Kraft Heinz has withdrawn a $143 billion offer to buy Unilever, backing away after the mayonnaise, tea and seasonings maker rejected the bid as too low.
The companies announced the decision Sunday in a joint press release, saying that Kraft Heinz has "amicably" abandoned the offer.
The deal would have combined Kraft Heinz brands such as Oscar Mayer, Jell-O and Velveeta with Unilever's Hellman's, Lipton and Knorr. The merged company would have rivaled Nestle as the world's biggest packaged food maker by sales.
Analysts say Kraft Heinz, co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, is still in the market for acquisitions. The fact that it bid for all of Unilever and not just its food business indicates that Kraft Heinz is potentially open to acquiring other packaged consumer goods, one analyst said.
Unilever, which has a head office in London, also has a stable of personal care brands such as Dove soap. Unilever rejected the offer on Friday, but despite that, Kraft Heinz said at the time that it was still interested in the deal.
Such acquisitions might not lead to big changes that customers would notice on supermarket shelves, but shifting tastes are partly driving deal-making in the food industry.
Part of the challenge is the proliferation of smaller food makers marketing products that seem more wholesome, which makes it harder for the established companies to drive up sales simply by selling more of well-known products or by raising prices, as they have in the past.
"That obviously has its limits," said David Garfield, head of the consumer products unit at consulting firm AlixPartners, said last week.
Instead, major packaged food companies are being forced to dig deeper to find cost efficiencies or tap into new markets, Garfield said. That can include mergers that result in consolidated manufacturing systems, or that give companies access to distribution networks in regions of the world where they don't have a big presence.
Washington (AFP) - The US food giant Kraft Heinz has dropped its bid to buy Unilever days after it rejected a $143 billion buyout offer, the companies said on Sunday.
Kraft Heinz had signaled on Friday that it would press ahead with its campaign after the British-Dutch consumer products manufacturer said the initial proposal "fundamentally undervalues" its worth.
However, strong resistance from Unilever reportedly persuaded Kraft Heinz over the weekend to back out.
"Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies," they announced in a joint statement.
"Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard," it added. "Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever."
The deal would have created a giant in global food -- second only to Nestle -- joining the maker of Kraft cheese and Heinz ketchup to its European counterpart, whose products include Q-tips, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Analysts had said the potentially massive merger -- which would have been one of the largest corporate deals in history -- could have raised red flags for antitrust regulators over the effect on consumers, and for politicians given the possibly large job cuts.
Kraft's pursuit of Unilever came as global food companies struggle with anemic economic growth in many key markets.
Kraft Heinz is the fifth-biggest food and beverage company in the world and the third-biggest in North America. It was formed by the 2015 merger struck between Heinz's controlling shareholders, US billionaire Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, and 3G Capital of Brazil.
Even after moving missiles in violation of a decades-old treaty, scuttling a spy ship loaded with missiles and intel-gathering equipment and alleged ties to last years winning presidential campaign, Russia was apparently not too worried about a lack of improved relations with the United States under President Donald Trumps month-old administration, Reuters reported.
During a conference call with reporters Friday, a Kremlin spokesperson said Russia had no illusions of grandeur after Trump took over last month.
"We haven't been wearing rose-tinted glasses, we never harbored illusions, so there is nothing to be disappointed in," Dmitry Peskov said.
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. new commander-in-chief, Peskov elaborated on a question asking whether the Kremlin was fretful that relations between the two superpowers and former Cold War adversaries had yet to thaw even after Trump said it was a diplomatic goal for his administration.
"There has not yet been substantive contact between the two heads of state. It's not known when this will happen. And probably only after they talk will it be clear where significant differences remain and where it is possible to discover areas for cooperation," Peskov said.
Trump and Putin spoke after the latter won the Oval Office as well as back on Jan. 29 during conversations which the Kremlin said were centered on the two nations combining efforts to eradicate international terrorism, NPR reported.
Throughout the week, it appeared Russia was testing its political, diplomatic and military boundaries with the new president. A Vishnya-class Viktor Leonov ship was spotted first near Delaware, then near Connecticut along New Yorks Long Island despite a 1987 treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
In apparent violation of the same treaty, Russia also positioned one intermediate-range missile in the Kapustin Yar and another in an unknown location on land.
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Trump called for now ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynns resignation Monday after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about a phone call with a Russian ambassador. and may have stated the new administration would look repeal sanctions put in place by President Barack Obama after the federation allegedly hacked and influenced Trumps election victory.
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Kuwait City (AFP) - Kuwait's supreme court on Sunday sentenced a top bureaucrat to 10 years in jail for joining and fighting with the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
The court also fined the unnamed Kuwaiti national, who was a top official at the Kuwait municipality, $30,000 and convicted him of calling other people to join the group.
The ruling is final and cannot be challenged.
Kuwaiti courts have sentenced a number of IS members, sympathisers and financiers to various jail terms.
A lower court in December sentenced a Filipina to 10 years in jail after convicting her of joining the jihadist group and plotting attacks.
Authorities in July said they had dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a Shiite mosque and against an interior ministry target.
An IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers in June 2015 when he blew himself up in a mosque of Kuwait's Shiite minority, in the worst such attack in the Gulf state's history.
Kuwait City (AFP) - A parliamentary panel in Kuwait on Sunday approved draft legislation calling for the scrapping of government plans to raise petrol and power prices to combat a budget deficit.
The financial and economic affairs committee said in its decision that "no increases in public charges and commodity prices" can be applied without a law being passed in parliament, its secretary Safa al-Hashem told reporters.
The decision will now go before the Gulf state's parliament for a vote that is expected to pass because a majority of lawmakers supports preventing the government from raising such charges.
Under Kuwaiti law, the government has the power to reject parliamentary decisions -- but MPs can also override such a rejection by a two-thirds majority in a fresh vote.
In a series of measures aimed at financing a budget shortfall resulting from low oil prices, the government increased fuel prices and also plans to apply sharp rises in power and water prices in May.
Kuwait, which relies heavily on oil income, posted its first budget deficit of $15 billion in the 2015-2016 fiscal year after 16 years of healthy surpluses.
It expects a higher deficit in the year ending March 31, and has also projected a shortfall for the next fiscal year.
Austerity measures were implemented in the other five Gulf Cooperation Council members -- Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates -- with no problems.
Kuwait is the only Gulf state to have a vibrant parliament in which the opposition controls half of its 50 seats following a general election in November.
The International Monetary Fund urged Kuwait that month to enact further subsidy reforms to trim its budget deficit, despite their political sensitivity.
Kuwait has already drawn down billions of dollars from its $600-billion sovereign fund and resorted to borrowing and plans to issue domestic and foreign bonds worth $16.6 billion.
WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
10:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump discussed what the White House calls "shared priorities" in phone calls to the leaders of Panama and the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
In statements late Sunday, the White House says Trump spoke to President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago.
Trump invited both leaders to visit Washington, D.C., in the coming months.
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6:50 p.m.
The leader of Panama says he has spoken by phone with President Donald Trump ahead of an official visit to Washington.
Juan Carlos Varela says via his verified Twitter account that the two presidents discussed their countries' "excellent bilateral relationship on economic, security and regional matters."
Varela adds that they agreed to hold talks between high-level officials ahead of his trip to Washington, "which I will do at his invitation." He did not say when he is to visit.
Varela tweeted that he received the call from Trump on Sunday afternoon.
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5:40 p.m.
Swedes have been scratching their heads since President Donald Trump suggested that some kind of major incident had taken place in their country Friday night. Trump is now clarifying his comments, saying he was referring to something he saw on television.
Trump first referenced Sweden during a Florida rally on Saturday as he talked about past terror attacks in Europe. He told supporters, "Look what's happening last night in Sweden."
In Sweden, the remark raised eyebrows and sparked derision about a fact-challenged president. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said that the government wasn't aware of any "terror-linked major incidents."
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that his statement was in reference to a story broadcast on Fox News concerning immigrants and Sweden.
The president may be referring to a segment aired Friday night on the Fox News show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that reported Sweden had accepted more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year but that only 500 had found jobs. The report went on to say that a surge in gun violence and rape had followed the influx of immigrants.
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A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, says that Trump was talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general, not referring to a specific issue.
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5:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump's meetings with potential candidates to be his new national security adviser are continuing Sunday afternoon.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump is meeting with four candidates at his private Palm Beach club.
On the schedule were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
Sanders said Trump may interview more candidates and hopes to make the decision soon.
Trump also discussed strategies for repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's health care law with top advisers, including Health Secretary Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office.
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4:35 p.m.
The Homeland Security Department has drafted sweeping new guidelines aimed at aggressively detaining and deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
A pair of memoranda signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly outline the plans under consideration. The memos dated Friday seek to implement President Donald Trump's broad directive to crack down on illegal immigration.
Kelly outlines plans to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand on the priority list for immigrants marked for immediate removal and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests. Those details were confirmed to The Associated Press by a person briefed on the documents.
A White House official says the White House has raised objections with the documents and is working with DHS to finalize the policy.
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1:15 p.m.
The Congressional Black Caucus says it will meet with President Donald Trump after all.
Rep. Elijah Cummings is a senior member of the group. He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Trump answered the caucus' Jan. 19 request for a meeting "a day or so ago." The Maryland Democrat says he expects the two parties will meet when Congress returns from a weeklong break and discuss prescription drugs and urban issues.
The possible meeting stirred controversy during Trump's press conference last week. Responding to a reporter's inquiry, Trump suggested that Cummings had declined a meeting and asked the reporter, who is black, to set up a meeting.
Cummings says he never rejected a meeting. On Sunday, he attributed the late acceptance to Trump apparently not being "in contact with his staff properly."
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11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump plans to speak Sunday with leaders from Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
A White House official says Trump will speak to leaders of both countries. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the president's schedule.
Trump has been speaking to foreign leaders since he took office four weeks ago.
The calls come on a busy day for Trump. He is also interviewing candidates to be his new national security adviser and is planning a health care policy meeting.
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10:55 a.m.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he has no issues with the media, despite his boss' condemnation that the "fake news media" is "the enemy of the American people."
The Pentagon chief says he's had some contentious times with members of the media, but adds the press is a constituency he deals with.
He also rebuffed suggestions that disarray at the White House is affecting the military. His comments came days after the White House national security adviser was forced to resign.
Mattis says at a news conference in the United Arab Emirates that at times democracy is "quite sporting." But he says the military's job is to hold the line while the government sorts out the way ahead.
Says Mattis: "We don't have any disarray inside the military, and that's where my responsibility lies."
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10:50 a.m.
A top adviser to President Donald Trump says campaign aides didn't have any contact with Russia before the election.
Chief of staff Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that "we don't know of any contacts with Russian agents."
Priebus says he had "talked to the top levels of the intelligence community." He denies a New York Times report that multiple Trump advisers were in touch with Russian intelligence advisers during the election campaign.
During a news conference last week, Trump gave a lawyerly denial that his campaign aides had been in touch with Russian officials before last fall's election. He said: "nobody that I know of."
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10:45 a.m.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says President Donald Trump is behaving like a "tin-pot dictator" by making comments criticizing the news media as "the enemy of the American people."
Rep. Adam Schiff of California described Trump's tweet last week as "the most devastating" and "the most alarming" in attacking the First Amendment right to a free press.
He told ABC's "This Week" that the comment is what tin-pot dictators say "when they want to control all the information." He says people from both parties should reject the description.
Schiff says he agrees with Republican Sen. John McCain, who said a free press is vital "to preserve democracy as we know it." Schiff says the country is confronting a "new war of ideas" authoritarianism vs. democracy.
(MOGADISHU, Somalia) A car bomb blast at a marketplace Somalias capital has killed at least 20 people and injured 50 others, said a local Somali official.
The blast by a car bomb parked near a restaurant went off at a busy time when shoppers and traders were gathered inside the market, said district commissioner Ahmed Abdulle.
Mohamed Haji, a butcher who suffered shrapnel wounds, pointed at a clothes shop devastated by the blast. Someone had parked the car here and left before it was detonated, he said. Pieces of wood and metal sheets on the ground were all that remained of the shop.
Women sobbed and screamed outside the market as rescue workers were transported bloodied bodies and wounded victims into awaiting ambulance vehicles.
Its a painful carnage. said Ali Mire, a government soldier who was helping a friend with multiple shrapnel wounds
The powerful explosion was the first major attack since Somalias new president was elected on Feb.8. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, it bears the hallmarks of Somalias Islamic extremists rebels, al-Shabab. In a Twitter post, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemned the blast, saying that it shows the cruelty of al-Shabab.
A few hours before the blast, al-Shabab denounced the new president as an apostate and vowed to continue fighting against his government.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, in a statement condemning the attack, said that Italy remains solidly on Somalias side in the process of the countrys stabilization. He added that together we will act so that the terrorists dont succeed in stopping the path of peace and reconciliation that is underway.
By Shadia Nasralla and Andreas Rinke MUNICH (Reuters) - Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj of the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli said on Sunday he would like Russia to help overcome deadlock in the country, which is struggling with divisions among militias and an Islamist militant threat. In an interview with Reuters, Seraj expressed hope that Moscow might act as an intermediary between him and Khalifa Haftar, a military commander who is supported by factions based in the east of Libya. Seraj's Government of National Accord has been trying to formulate plans for unified Libyan security forces since arriving in Tripoli in March, but has made little progress. Neighboring Egypt talked this month to the Tripoli and eastern factions, which are both vying for control of the whole country. However, it failed to engineer a meeting between the two key figures, Seraj and Haftar. Haftar was given a tour of a Russian aircraft carrier in theMediterranean last month in a show of Kremlin support. Russia also expects Seraj to visit Moscow soon. Asked whether Moscow could become a useful intermediaryto pass on political messages or pressure to Haftar, Seraj said"Yes". "We hope that Russia will play a positive role in resolvingthe Libyan crisis," he said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. "We hope that anyone getting involved in Libya will have a positive effect in the sense that the message that I want to sit down with the other Libyan parties reaches them." Seraj has already held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Moscow's ambassador in Libya. Referring to these meetings, he said: "We sent a clear message, we don't want to exclude any military leaders. We want to unite the military forces, we want to fight against terrorism together, we want military forces to come under a political umbrella." Egyptian sources had said Seraj and Haftar agreed to honor a plan for creating a joint committee to negotiate reconciliation and elections by February 2018. But Seraj said: "There was no agreement in Cairo... Unfortunately the other side remains stubborn in rejecting dialogue." Western officials see the U.N.-backed government as a way to stabilize Libya, which has been caught in fighting since the 2011 civil war that toppled veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country has also become a major departure point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Italy and the European Union promised this month to finance migrant camps run by Seraj's government as part of a wider drive to stem immigration from Africa, but Seraj said help was not sufficient yet to provide good humanitarian help. He reiterated Libya's refusal to take back any migrants who have already reached Europe, adding that the EU needed to make good on promises to help Libya monitor its southern border electronically and return migrants back to their countries. "We are talking about people who are coming today from Africa and who end up in Libyan (camps) and would then try to go to Europe.... We are not talking about the return of migrants in Europe to Libya, that would be unacceptable," he said. "We're not talking about soldiers on the ground. We're talking about economic support, support with medical drugs, humanitarian aid, to provide medical services, doctors until the migrants return to their countries of origin." (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; editing by David Stamp)
LONDON (AP) London's mayor says that President Donald Trump shouldn't receive a state visit in Britain because of his "cruel" policies on immigration.
Sadiq Khan said Sunday the U.S. president should not get VIP treatment when he comes to Britain later this year because of his "ban on people from seven Muslim-majorities countries" and his decision to block refugees from entering the United States.
Khan said that "in those circumstances we shouldn't be rolling out the red carpet."
He spoke one day before British legislators are expected to debate a proposal to downgrade the planned state visit. The debate was scheduled in response to an online petition calling for the honor to be rescinded.
A state visit usually includes extensive pomp and a stay at Buckingham Palace.
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Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysian police said Sunday they believe five North Koreans were involved in the murder of the half-brother of leader Kim Jong-Un, with four having fled the country on the day of the killing.
Seoul said the announcement proved Pyongyang was behind the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, who died after being squirted in the face with an unidentified liquid at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday.
The case has also sparked a diplomatic row between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur, after Malaysia rejected demands quickly to hand the body over to the North.
Four North Korean men were being sought over the killing, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference, in addition to their 46-year old compatriot Ri Jong Chol who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur Saturday.
Suspects Ri Ji Hyon, O Jong Gil, Ri Jae Nam and Hong Song Sac, aged between 33 and 57, entered Malaysia in February or late January, the police chief said.
Three more North Koreans were wanted for questioning, he said.
Officers have already arrested one North Korean, an Indonesian woman and her Malaysian boyfriend, as well as a Vietnamese woman.
"Considering that five suspects are North Korean nationals, we view that the North Korean government is behind the incident," Seoul's unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said immediately after Sunday's announcement.
The deputy police chief refused to comment on any political motive for the killing, saying only that investigations were ongoing.
Pyongyang has demanded Jong-Nam's body be returned but Malaysia has said it must remain in the country until it is identified through a DNA sample from a family member.
"We are trying very hard to get the next of kin to come and assist us in the investigation," Noor Rashid said, but added no such family member had yet come forward.
Police were still waiting for the results of an autopsy conducted on Wednesday, he said.
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- Spa masseuse suspect -
Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong, 28, worked as an "entertainment outlet employee", police said Sunday, while 25-year-old Indonesian Siti Aishah was a masseuse at a spa.
Huong grew up in a small rice farming village in Vietnam's Nam Dinh province and left around 10 years ago, former neighbours said, but always stood out on visits back home.
"She has always been very fashionable, with colourful hair," neighbour Maria Nguyen told AFP, adding that every lunar new year Huong would return to the village with a different foreign boyfriend.
Huong was seen in CCTV images at Kuala Lumpur airport wearing a white top with the letters "LOL" emblazoned on the front, according to Malaysian media.
Authorities in Hanoi have yet to confirm whether the woman identified by Malaysia as Doan Thi Huong is a Vietnamese national, but Ngyuen said "we knew one hundred percent it was her".
Police have been making regular visits to the village since the news broke, she added.
Huong's brother Joseph Doan said they had been given little information on what had happened to his sister. He said he had not been in contact with her much and did not know what she did for work.
Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian said he had information from Malaysia that Aishah was tricked into thinking she was simply taking part in a prank for a reality TV show, but Noor Rashid would not comment on the claim.
The drama erupted on Monday as Jong-Nam prepared to board a plane to Macau, where he has been living in recent years. Malaysian police say the 45-year-old was jumped by two women who squirted liquid in his face.
He suffered a seizure and died before arriving at hospital.
He was once thought to be the natural successor to his father, the then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
But after Jong-Il's death in 2011 the succession went instead to his younger half-brother Kim Jong-Un.
Reports of purges and executions have emerged from the current regime as Jong-Un tries to strengthen his grip on power in the face of international pressure over his nuclear and missile programmes.
South Korea has cited a "standing order" from Jong-Un to kill his sibling, and a failed assassination bid in 2012 after Jong-Nam criticised the regime.
VALLETTA (Reuters) - Several thousands people took to the streets of the capital of Malta on Sunday to protest against a new bill that will force Internet news sites to register with the government. Critics say that the proposal represents a clampdown on freedom of speech and the leader of Malta's opposition Nationalist Party (NP) promised to scrap the plan if he wins next year's general election. "This is a restriction on Internet freedom and a future Nationalist government will repeal it if it gets approved by parliament," NP leader Simon Busuttil told the rally in Valletta. The bill was announced by the government last week and has yet to go before parliament. The proposed law would require all websites carrying news and controlled from Malta to register with the government, with the threat of fines for those that fail to comply. The government says it is following the same procedure as already exists for newspapers. (Reporting by Chris Scicluna; Editing by David Goodman)
Congrats, America: We now have a Senate-confirmed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) again.
Oh, except that administrator is Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma attorney general who sued the EPA multiple times over what he sees as its overly aggressive environmental regulations. Plus, he denies the mainstream scientific conclusion that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming.
So, there are those little caveats.
SEE ALSO: Exxon's former CEO is now our secretary of state. So, there's that.
Pruitt has also questioned the dangers of mercury contamination and other hazardous substances the EPA is in charge of regulating. His record is so one-sided that the Sierra Club calls him simply, "... The most dangerous EPA Administrator in the history of our country."
Pruitt's reputation as an agency foe eager to give states more autonomy in regulating air and water pollution, combined with the EPA transition team's gag order of the agency, has instilled so much fear among the EPA rank-and-file that agency scientists were among the thousands of people calling their senators on Thursday urging them to vote no on the nomination, a rare step for federal employees to take.
Pruitt, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Energy secretary nominee Rick Perry, all have expressed views doubting climate science findings, and each of them are in charge of agencies deeply involved with the U.S. response to the global issue.
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt.
Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock
During his confirmation hearing, Pruitt said he does not quite agree with the vast majority of climate scientists whose work has shown that greenhouse gases are causing global warming.
"I believe the ability to measure with precision the degree of human activitys impact on the climate is subject to more debate on whether the climate is changing or whether human activity contributes to it," he said.
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If you dont believe in climate science, you dont belong at the EPA," said May Boeve, executive director of the climate advocacy group 350.org, in a statement on Friday.
What happens now?
Pruitt is expected to try to dismantle large parts of the EPA's portfolio of regulations and science research put in place under prior presidents, particularly the Clean Power Plan, which aims to cut carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Without that plan, the U.S. cannot live up to its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, Trump may be poised to pull the U.S. out of that pact entirely, which would make dismantling the Clean Power Plan easier. Trump is also expected to sign executive orders as early as Friday that would begin rolling back the EPA's climate change work, though it's easier to order that than it is to actually accomplish it.
Remarkably, Pruitt was confirmed only hours after a judge in Oklahoma ordered the release of nearly 3,000 emails between Pruitt and fossil fuel companies from his time as attorney general.
Wed like to congratulate Mr. Pruitt on his confirmation! We look forward to welcoming him to EPA. U.S. EPA (@EPA) February 17, 2017
Senators never got a chance to factor those into their decision-making.
Senate Democrats tried in vain to delay the vote to allow senators to see the emails, which stemmed from a state lawsuit filed by the Center for Media and Democracy and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. Those organizations were concerned about Pruitt's cozy relationship with the oil and gas industry there.
Pruitts backers, including mainstream Republican groups like FreedomWorks, see him as an administrator to will try to get red tape off the backs of business owners, despite studies showing that the EPAs regulations dont stifle job growth.
A 2014 New York Times investigation already established that Pruitt often did favors for the oil and gas industry, particularly for major donors to the Republican Attorneys General Association. These included writing letters to lawmakers and the EPA seeking regulatory changes.
In the end, Pruitt won confirmation narrowly, on a 52 to 46 vote, garnering the most "no" votes of any EPA nominee since the agency was founded in 1970.
WASHINGTON (AP) Sen. John McCain says a free press is vital "to preserve democracy as we know it." And he cautions about efforts to muzzle a free press, saying "that's how dictators get started."
The Arizona senator was asked in an interview for NBC's "Meet the Press" how he felt about President Donald Trump's tweet criticizing "the fake news media" that said "it is the enemy of the American people."
McCain tells "Meet the Press," ''The fact is we need you."
He adds: "When you look at history, the first thing dictators do is shut down the press."
McCain says he isn't saying Trump is trying to be a dictator but "we need to learn the lessons of history."
MUNICH (Reuters) - Senator John McCain, defending the media against the latest attack by President Donald Trump, warned that suppressing the free press was "how dictators get started".
The Arizona Republican, a frequent critic of Trump, was responding to a tweet in which Trump accused the media of being the enemy of the American people.
The international order established after World War Two was built in part on a free press, McCain said in an excerpt of an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that was released in advance of the full Sunday morning broadcast.
"I hate the press. I hate you especially," he told interviewer Chuck Todd from an international security conference in Munich. "But the fact is we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital."
"If you want to preserve - I'm very serious now - if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started," he continued.
"They get started by suppressing free press. In other words, a consolidation of power. When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history," McCain said.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, told the conference on Sunday she was also concerned about Trump's comments.
"The real danger is the presidents criticism of the media," Shaheen told the conference. "A free press ... is very important to maintaining democracy, and efforts on the part of a president to undermine and manipulate the press are very dangerous."
The comments from U.S. lawmakers followed Trumps tweet and came days after the president held a raucous news conference at which he repeatedly criticized news reports about disorder in the White House and leaks of his telephone conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the importance of a free press at the conference on Saturday, saying, "I have high respect for journalists. We've always had good results, at least in Germany, by relying on mutual respect."
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter and David Stamp)
MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain, defending the media against the latest attack by President Donald Trump, warned that suppressing the free press was "how dictators get started". The Arizona Republican, a frequent critic of Trump, was responding to a tweet in which Trump accused the media of being the enemy of the American people. The international order established after World War Two was built in part on a free press, McCain said in an excerpt of an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that was released in advance of the full Sunday morning broadcast. "I hate the press. I hate you especially," he told interviewer Chuck Todd from an international security conference in Munich. "But the fact is we need you. We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital." "If you want to preserve - I'm very serious now - if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started," he continued. "They get started by suppressing free press. In other words, a consolidation of power. When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history," McCain said. U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, told the conference on Sunday she was also concerned about Trump's comments. "The real danger is the presidents criticism of the media," Shaheen told the conference. "A free press ... is very important to maintaining democracy, and efforts on the part of a president to undermine and manipulate the press are very dangerous." The comments from U.S. lawmakers followed Trumps tweet and came days after the president held a raucous news conference at which he repeatedly criticised news reports about disorder in the White House and leaks of his telephone conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasised the importance of a free press at the conference on Saturday, saying, "I have high respect for journalists. We've always had good results, at least in Germany, by relying on mutual respect." (Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter and David Stamp)
U.S. Sen. John McCain took issue Sunday with President Donald Trumps attack on the press, saying the approach hes taking is how dictators get started.
In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, McCain said a thriving democracy needs a free and adversarial press.
At his news conference Thursday, Trump attacked the media for promoting fake news, essentially anything with which he does not agree or casts him or his administration in a negative light, especially stories that come from anonymous sources. He reinforced the attack in tweets Friday and Saturday.
We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital. If you want to preserve I'm very serious now if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started, McCain said.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Trumps relationship with the press is no different than that of earlier presidents.
Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John Adams, have all had their issues with the press. I can assure you this the president believes in the First Amendment. He believes in the free press. I believe in those things. We don't believe everyone is lousy in the media. We don't believe everything is bad, he said on Meet the Press.
On CBS Face the Nation, Priebus called stories on disarray in the White House and questions about contacts with Russia during the campaign and the transition a feeding frenzy and hollow stories.
john mccain
Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
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He called on Americans to use critical thought in reading the stories in the press, adding the leaks coming out of intelligence agencies are a shame and needs to end.
President Trump is doing things every day to give businesses confidence, Priebus said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump should dial back his rhetoric because the press is not the enemy of the people.
The backbone of democracy is a free press and an independent judiciary and we are not becoming a dictatorship, Graham said on Face the Nation.
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Nairobi (AFP) - The mediator in Burundi's nearly two-year political crisis on Sunday asked regional leaders to call an urgent summit as deep discord and a government boycott hamper peace talks.
Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa wrapped up four days of talks with some 30 Burundian representatives who agreed on the basic problems, but not how to resolve them.
He was tasked with ending problems that erupted when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term in April 2015, sparking unrest which killed hundreds and left 400,000 displaced.
The biggest hitch is Burundi's fierce opposition to the process as long as it includes exiled main opposition group CNARED which it sees as a "terrorist organisation".
"It is urgent to call a summit of heads of state to examine the obstacles to this process," said Mkapa.
Jean Minai, the president of CNARED, told journalists he had hope that the negotiations could lead to change, but not without Nkurunziza at the table.
"It is only the region's heads of state who could get him to the negotiating table," he said.
However the secretary general of the ruling CNDD-FDD Evariste Ndayishimiye reiterated government's refusal to negotiate with those accused of organising an "insurrection" -- the term used for the protests that erupted after Nkurunziza announced his third term bid.
CNARED is also accused of leading a foiled coup plot in May 2015, which they deny.
Mkapa had hoped this week's talks would lead to a statement by all parties denouncing violence, agreeing not to change the Arusha peace accords which ended Burundi's civil war in 2006 or the constitution, and agreeing plans for 2020 polls.
But between the government which claims that there is no crisis in Burundi and wants to focus on the next election, and the opposition demanding a transition administration and the departure of Nkurunziza before 2020, no consensus was reached, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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Despite the government boycott, a representative from the ruling CNDD-FDD was present at the talks.
In a sign of Bujumbura's hostility, the Burundi embassy wrote a letter Friday asking Tanzanian officials to arrest the CNARED representatives.
Rights groups and the United Nations have detailed atrocities before and after the election, with some warning of "genocide" in a country with a long history of violence between its Hutu and Tutsi communities.
The government has rejected criticism from the international community, and Nkurunziza has hinted he may run for a fourth term in 2020. Efforts to reform the constitution have raised fears he may remove term limits.
Melbourne (United States) (AFP) - First Lady Melania Trump, usually a demure and soft-spoken presence at her husband's side, broke with form, reciting the Lord's Prayer before issuing a scathing rebuke of his enemies and her critics at a campaign-style stop in Florida.
Preceding her husband on the dais at a rally in the city of Melbourne not far from Orlando, the first lady started her remarks with the words "let us pray," before beginning her recitation of the well-known Christian prayer.
"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven," Mrs Trump read from the lectern, wrapping up the roughly half-minute-long prayer with an "Amen."
She then launched into an uncharacteristically strident defense of her husband -- and her own brief tenure as first lady.
"The America we envision is one that works for all Americans and where all Americans can work and succeed," she said.
"A nation committed to a greater civility and unity between people from all sides of the political divide. I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, no matter what the opposition is saying about me," the first lady said, wearing a red frock with a fitted waist and flared skirt, her mane of blonde hair blowing slightly in the breeze.
"I will act in the best interests of all of you. I'm committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart. Which will have impact on women, and children all around the world," she said.
"My husband is creating a country of great safety, and prosperity," she said before introducing President Donald Trump, ceding the podium to cheers and applause.
The first lady has been a rare presence with her husband since the inauguration. To the dismay of some critics, she has decided to continue living at their palatial residence in Trump Tower in New York until their 10-year-old son Barron finishes the school year.
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Purists and traditionalists have been disappointed that the first lady has not kept with precedent and immediately joined her husband in the White House residence.
The poised, impeccably dressed Melania -- a former model from Slovenia -- is 24 years younger than her 70-year-old billionaire husband. She is Trump's third wife.
Her modeling career brought her in the mid-1990s to the United States, where she met the real estate mogul and reality television star she would eventually marry.
President Donald Trump hits the campaign stump for a rally in Melbourne, a city on Florida's famed Space Coast, seeking to reconnect with his tribe of largely white, male middle-class voters.
He delivered a speech lasting about 45 minutes in what was billed by the White House as "a campaign rally for America."
Criticism of Melania has been mild compared to the blistering attacks lodged against her embattled husband, who is engaged in open warfare with the media and who faced major political contretemps over allegations of possible ties between his senior aides and officials in Russia.
The controversy led to the resignation earlier this week of national security adviser Michael Flynn.
MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican authorities say they have detained an alleged drug gang figure in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, home to the powerful cartel of the same name.
Federal prosecutors identify the suspect as Francisco Javier with no last name given. A Saturday statement said he was arrested in a raid at a home in the state capital, Culiacan.
Multiple Mexican media reports said it was Francisco Javier Zazueta Rosales, a purported henchman for one of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's sons. Guzman, a longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was extradited to the U.S. last month.
Prosecutors allege the suspect ran operations in Culiacan, including smuggling drugs to the U.S. He is also believed to have ordered a Sept. 30, 2016 ambush in which five Mexican soldiers were killed and 10 wounded.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysia's only North Korean restaurant promises a glimpse into life in the reclusive state but it has been shuttered since news broke of the assassination of leader Kim Jong-Un's brother, with security guards turning customers away.
Pyongyang Koryo is the most visible symbol of a 1,000-strong North Korean community in Malaysia, made up of a business elite as well as ordinary workers who will likely know little about the Cold War-style killing of Kim Jong-Nam.
Waitresses at the restaurant, one of dozens the North has established abroad, wear traditional dress and entertain diners with singing and dancing at the unassuming building in a sleepy residential area of Kuala Lumpur.
But even when the doors are open neighbours say the young women have little contact with the wider world as they are shuttled to and from their accommodation.
"I've seen the women being taken to and from the compound and they never walk this way or talk to anyone," said Jack Liew, who runs a car workshop that shares a back alley with the restaurant.
"When I tried to look into their back yard, the door was covered with vinyl sheeting and there's nothing else to look at," he told AFP.
Other residents also said they had seen the North Korean workers but had never spoken with them, describing the waitresses only as "very pretty".
At the other end of the spectrum are elites who are also keeping a low profile but would be well aware of the assassination, said Alex Hwang, a South Korean who chairs the Malaysian branch of the Seoul-backed National Unification Advisory Council.
Hwang runs an upmarket restaurant in the Malaysian capital which he says is popular with prominent North Korean expatriates, at one time including Jong-Nam who was killed at Kuala Lumpur's airport in an apparent poisoning attack on Monday.
Their business interests include computer animation firms, manufacturing, and some black market activities, he told AFP.
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"Most of them have Rolex watches, they drive nice cars, their children go to normal schools and have the latest gadgets.... They are like any other business person," said Hwang of the roughly 250-strong group.
But they would think twice before sharing news of the assassination with friends or family when they go home.
Each North Korean family living abroad reports to the local embassy every month for a debrief and when they return, they undergo "re-education" before being allowed to return to the general population, he said.
- 'This is dog talk' -
On Saturday around 40 North Koreans made their way to the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, South Korea's Chosun TV reported as its journalists quizzed the group over the killing which Seoul's spy chief said was carried out by agents from the North.
Analysts believe Jong-Nam may have been seen as a rival to his younger sibling, in a dynastic regime that has never loosened its grip on power in three generations.
When asked whether Pyongyang could have been responsible, one North Korean said, "This is dog talk (nonsense)" before walking away and telling the reporter to leave him alone.
North Korea's ambassador has spoken of "hostile forces" acting in the investigation into the killing, and accused Seoul of defaming Pyongyang in a bid to distract from a corruption scandal at home.
The incident has rapidly cooled relations between North Korea and Malaysia, which had been unusually warm, with a reciprocal visa-free travel deal for visitors.
Up to 100,000 North Koreans are believed to be working abroad and their remittances are a valuable source of foreign currency for the isolated regime.
North Korea commentator Park Sokeel said it was likely the Pyongyang Koryo waitresses had no idea about the killing, as workers living outside the closed state are kept on a tight rein with their access to media limited to approved material.
"They are very likely to be tightly controlled by a North Korean company where they interact only with each other and will not be allowed to leave the premises," he said.
The same would be true of the miners and labourers in remote parts of Malaysia, said Park, director for research and strategy at the human rights campaign group Liberty for North Korea.
And even if workers did catch a glimpse of the international press they would find it difficult to understand the news, as most would not know their leader had an elder half-brother.
"It's not even a question of whether people know that he died because people didn't even know that he was born," he said.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with Arab rulers last year to hear then US secretary of state John Kerry pitch a regional peace plan, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the February 2016 talks hosted by King Abdullah II in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, Haaretz said, citing former senior officials in the Obama administration who asked to remain anonymous.
It said Kerry wanted the sides to endorse six principles, which he laid out publicly in a December speech.
They included a call for Israel to vacate territory it occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War, subject to land swaps agreed between the two sides.
A former Obama administration official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to AFP that the meeting was held but would not comment on the substance of Kerry's proposal.
Since 1967, Israel has pulled out of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip but annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
It continues to occupy the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements seen as illegal by the international community.
Kerry's parameters envisioned a Palestinian state, with Palestinians recognising Israel as a "Jewish state".
Both would share Jerusalem as the "internationally recognised capital of the two states".
Israel claims the city as its "undivided" capital. Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, rejects talk of ceding any part of it to Palestinian sovereignty.
"Netanyahu did not accept Kerry's proposal and said he would have difficulty getting it approved by his governing coalition," Haaretz wrote on Sunday.
Netanyahu's spokesman and Jordanian officials refused to comment on the report.
Meeting on Wednesday at the White House, Netanyahu and President Donald Trump each spoke of prospects of a regional Middle East understanding to end the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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"For the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly as an ally," Netanyahu told Trump.
"We think the larger issue today is how do we create the broader conditions for broad peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab countries," Netanyahu said the following day on MSNBC.
Trump said Netanyahu's proposal for a regional alliance was something that "hasn't been discussed before", adding that it would take in "many, many countries and it would cover a very large territory".
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab states to have formal peace treaties with Israel.
Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish State, but they share informal links.
(Reuters) - Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff known as "Jane Roe" in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion, died on Saturday at the age of 69, a journalist close to McCorvey said. McCorvey died on Saturday morning of heart failure at an assisted living home in Katy, Texas, Joshua Prager, a journalist who is writing a book about the ruling, said in an email. Her lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym, resulted in the court's 1973 decision that established a woman's right to an abortion. McCorvey lent her real name to supporters of the abortion-rights movement in the 1980s. She did an about-face and later spoke out on behalf of anti-abortion campaigners, however. In an article titled "The Accidental Activist" published in Vanity Fair magazine in February 2013, Prager wrote that McCorvey had never set out to further a cause when the Roe v. Wade lawsuit was filed in Dallas, Texas, in 1970. Unwed and poor, she simply wanted an abortion after becoming pregnant for the third time and could not get one in the state. Prager, who retraced her life through family, friends and advisers, said McCorvey told her doctor she did not want to bring the pregnancy to term. But she could not afford to travel to any of the six states where abortion was legal at the time: Alaska, California, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, and Washington. McCorvey never actually had the procedure, Prager said. Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who represented McCorvey when she supported abortion rights, said she was very proud to have been "Jane Roe." "Even though at the end of her life Norma thought women should be prevented from having an abortion and that abortion should be criminalized, her legacy will be Roe v. Wade, which has provided millions of women the legal right to choose abortion," Allred said in a statement. The 1973 Supreme Court ruling has for decades been the focus of a divisive political, legal and moral debate. It established that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of a woman to have an abortion until the point of viability. The court defined that point as when the fetus "has the capability of meaningful life outside the mother's womb," generally at about 24 weeks into pregnancy. The court also recognized a right to abortion after viability if necessary to protect the woman's life or health. Efforts to overturn the decision are heating up with the election of Republican Donald Trump as president and a conservative U.S. Congress. Trump has said abortion should be largely banned and has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, a healthcare provider that draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, in addition to other services. If the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe v. Wade, the procedure would remain legal only where state laws allow it. (Reporting By Frank McGurty and Tom Brown; Editing by David Gregorio and Meredith Mazzilli)
- Belgium's Ben Hermans made the Tour of Oman his first big career win after the closing sixth stage was claimed by Alexander Kristoff. The 30-year-old Hermans had topped the overall standings since surprising a group of fancied rivals with a late attack to win the second stage. The BMC rider followed that up with Saturday's penultimate mountain stage to set up the win which comes after his second place finish in last month's Tour of Valencia. Kristoff took the final day honours in a sprint from Eduard Grosu of Romania and Italy's Sacha Modolo. In the general rankings, Portuguese rider Rui Costa came in second with Italian Fabio Aru in third.
AFP
TUCSON, Arizona -- Tim Foley squints his eyes while scanning the rugged terrain of sloping valleys and barren red rock mountains along the U.S.-Mexico border for any sign of life, wrinkling his sunburnt face into a scowl when he notices a black-painted water bottle underneath a pile of rocks. Dust and sand float into the air as he kicks his boot deep into the earth, scoffing at the hidden resource left by local humanitarian groups for anyone making the treacherous journey across the border into the United States. Foley used to take part in slashing water bottles left out for what he says are "drug mules and illegals," but now refrains from even touching them.
"I'll do whatever it takes to stop them from getting across the border," Foley said. "But anytime we cut open those damn water bottles, the activists begin freaking out at us."
RTSXKLD
Photo: Reuters
A battle has been waging on the nation's southern border for years over what if any basic human rights and protections migrants should be afforded while crossing the dangerous landscape. President Donald Trump's proposal to build a "big, beautiful wall" along the U.S.-Mexico border has made that debate even more urgent, with both sides of the argument predicting the construction project won't be enough to end all illegal immigration and drug trafficking. While militias and some Customs and Border Protection agents support increased security, detention centers and deportations along with a border wall, local humanitarian groups like No More Deaths describe the ongoing conflict as a "shameful human rights crisis" and fear the situation will only become grimmer under Trump.
The polarizing issue of border security catapulted to the forefront of the national debate over immigration reform during the 2016 presidential election, in which the president led a shockingly successful campaign initially based on just two key promises: to increase national security by building a wall along the southern border that Mexico would pay for, and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants immediately upon taking office.
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Most Americans can't seem to agree on what to do with the nations unsecured southern border: post-election polls conducted by Quinnipiac University show the majority of Americans reject the idea of building a wall, with 55 percent opposing Trump's construction proposal and 42 percent supporting the project. Meanwhile, 60 percent of Americans think undocumented immigrants should be provided a pathway to citizenship, compared to 25 percent who believe they should leave the country.
Some walls already exist across stretches of the border, but millions of undocumented immigrants are still able to cross despite the physical barriers and harrowing conditions. Not everyone makes it. Thousands of bodies are found each year in the border's vaste deserts, beaches, rocky hills and rapid waters.
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Photo: Arizona Border Recon
Foley is the founder of Arizona Border Recon, an armed militia of U.S. civilians voluntarily securing the nation's southern border in multiple operations each year. He came down to the border in 2010, just after the nation reached its peak undocumented immigrant population of 12.2 million. While rates in illegal immigration have slowly decreased since 2009, 2.5 million undocumented immigrants still managed to make it across the southern border, including in many areas where security fences, walls and Customs and Border Protection checkpoints already exist.
Despite the federal agency's expansion in size and funding under every president since Bill Clinton, Foley says the government's "asinine" inability to protect its citizens threatens American communities, the national workforce and the future of the country. He works side-by-side with federal agents on a near-daily basis, identifying trails and paths drug traffickers use to enter the country, as well as ways cartels are getting over the wall that already exists near Tucson, Arizona.
If Trump is successful in building his wall and increasing immigrant detention and deportation populations, federal agents and local militias say he could be the first president to win a major victory in the battle against unauthorized immigration and drug trafficking, while noting much more will need to be done to completely halt all illegal activity along the southern border. Foley's militia believes the White House will need to seriously ramp up border security under Trump by hiring private security contractors like Arizona Border Recon to guard his wall around the clock.
Militias like Foley's, along with Customs and Border Protection agents, have repeatedly been condemned by humanitarian organizations for destroying water bottles and other aid left in the desert for migrants crossing through the region. In the Tucson region alone, nearly 2,500 people have died crossing the border since 2001, and countless deaths remain unreported.
"They think they're helping out women and children, they say it's all for the 'poor women and children,' but they're dead wrong," Foley said of aid groups. "They're just giving the cartels and drug mules the food and supplies they need to get across."
Meanwhile, the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing the majority of Customs and Border Patrol agents, endorsed Trump during the Republican primaries in March 2016, writing in a statement, "if we do not secure our borders, American communities will continue to suffer at the hands of gangs, cartels, and violent criminals preying on the innocent."
But Maryada Vallet, a volunteer activist with the migrants' rights group No More Deaths, said U.S. officials and volunteer militias are responsible for "massive corruption and harmful racist acts that will only be emboldened under Trump."
No More Deaths gained 200 volunteers last year alone, in addition to the several thousand citizens already volunteering. Though countless water bottles and other supplies were destroyed or damaged, the organization delivered almost 20,000 gallons of water to the border.
No More Deaths also provided resources and assistance for thousands of migrants hoping to find their way home and reconnect with family members after their journey. The group maintained a desert first-aid clinic that operated nearly every single day throughout 2016, provided over 2,000 phone calls for migrants and recently-deported immigrants to family and recovered $54,134 from Arizona Department of Corrections for 469 of those sent back to their native-nations.
"We've demanded Customs and Border Protection stops destroying the water bottles and other resources we leave out for migrants after we caught agents vandalizing our property twice on cameras," Vallet told IBT. "We haven't necessarily formally requested the militias stop harming our supplies, since there isn't always a formal chain-of-command and militias tend to bubble up and disperse frequently, but we continue to assert our right, as well as the need, for our work to be done."
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Photo: Reuters
The American Civil Liberties Union said Customs and Border Protection officials should target Mexican cartels and human trafficking instead of going after migrants in the desert.
"They haven't been able to curb the power and growth of cartels virtually at all," Nathan Wessler, a staff attorney for ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology project, told IBT in a phone interview.
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Photo: Reuters
Activists like Vallet remain optimistic, however, that Trump's polarizing and potentially harmful actions toward undocumented immigrants will unite Americans in their opposition against human rights abuses, instead of against their southern neighbors.
"Despite massive corruption and harmful racist acts that will only be emboldened under Trump, I'm hopeful about the even more massive support weve seen since Trump's campaign," Vallet said. "The conversation over border and national security didnt end with Trumps election. It's taken on new life with millions of Americans presenting a simple message to the White House: no ban, no wall."
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Al-Buseif (Irak) (AFP) - In the arid hills, Iraqi forces drive their armed vehicles towards a village of around a dozen small stone houses. There is a sudden explosion. "Got it!" shouts an officer.
Just a few hundred metres (yards) from the front line of an offensive launched on Sunday at dawn to oust the Islamic State group from western Mosul, Iraqi forces casually watch the fighting.
Unperturbed by the distant blasts, some take selfies with a group of foreign journalists as others discuss their love lives over cigarettes and sandwiches.
Overhead, helicopters pound houses where the jihadists are entrenched, and along the horizon, the sky is darkened by mushrooms of rising smoke.
In the nearby village, houses now lie in ruins, some still on fire. A man runs out of one building, shouting, and is shot down by forces positioned just a few metres away.
Then a white vehicle tears out of the village.
"Watch out -- car bomb!" officers shout as it disappears behind buildings.
Moments later, a huge explosion sounds in the distance, accompanied by a thick cloud of billowing smoke.
"They're desperate," says Ali, mechanically rubbing the Kalashnikov assault rifle slung over his shoulder.
- 'My first battle' -
He wears a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "We are at your service, oh Hussein" -- grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and a figure highly revered by Shiite Muslims.
"They'll try to cause as many losses as possible, because they know they're going to die anyway," says his colleague Alaa, referring to the Sunni Muslim jihadists.
"This battle of Mosul is my first, and with the help of God we will rid the country of these Daesh rats," he adds, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
A senior army commander says the offensive, a new phase in a four-month-old operation on Iraq's second city, remains on track.
"We have achieved all our objectives to date. We destroyed at least two car bombs and killed more than 20 jihadists," says Abbas al-Juburi of the interior ministry's elite Rapid Response force.
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The operation is backed by a US-led international coalition.
Some 750,000 civilians are estimated to be trapped in western Mosul, and with little access to basic necessities.
"The morale of the terrorist group's fighters is at its lowest," Juburi tells AFP.
Hakem Gassem Mohamad, an officer on the front line, is also optimistic that the jihadists can be defeated.
"I don't expect a very difficult fight: their end has arrived," he says.
But he does express concern about the lives of civilians in western Mosul, fearing that the jihadist group will use them as human shields.
But, he adds, "we have faced more complicated challenges. This one is easy."
Ankara (AFP) - US Vice President Mike Pence has told Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that the new administration wanted a "new start" in relations between the two NATO member states, local media reported Sunday.
Turkey is looking to improve relations with Washington under President Donald Trump after ties soured during Barack Obama's time in office.
Pence said the United States was ready to further develop ties during a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, the private NTV channel reported.
Last week, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo visited Ankara less than 48 hours after Trump spoke for the first time by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Yildirim told Pence that Turkey was "ready for all kinds of cooperation" on the issue of Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, NTV said.
Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is accused by Ankara of ordering the failed coup which tried to overthrow Erdogan last July.
He strongly denies the charges but Ankara has repeatedly called for his extradition.
The issue became a bone of contention between Ankara and the Obama administration after Washington said a possibly slow legal process should take its course.
Yildirim said moves towards his extradition by the new administration would "open a new page" in relations, according to NTV.
The official statement from the White House on their meeting said Pence reiterated the US commitment to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally.
"The two leaders also discussed ways to accelerate our joint efforts to defeat ISIS (the Islamic State group)," the White House added.
The two men also discussed finding a permanent solution to the Syrian conflict, NTV added.
Turkey launched an ambitious military operation in northern Syria in August, supporting opposition fighters to clear IS elements from its border and halt the advance of Syrian Kurdish militia.
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At a rally in the southeastern city of Gaziantep on Sunday, Erdogan said one of the next steps in the operation would be to clear the de facto IS capital Raqa with the support of the US and other countries.
"If we agree with the US, if we agree with the coalition forces, if we agree with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, we will clear those killers called Daesh (IS) from Raqa," he said.
But issues remain over whether Trump will continue to support the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) against IS and any future Raqa operation.
Turkey views the PYD and YPG as sister organisations of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Abu Dhabi (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday said he is compiling an assessment for President Donald Trump to weigh on Afghanistan, which remains mired in a brutal and seemingly intractable conflict.
The Afghan war is the longest in US history but Trump has scarcely given it a passing mention -- either while campaigning or since entering the White House.
Mattis said his commander-in-chief had been "rightfully reticent" on the matter, as he was waiting for input from his generals.
"We are putting our thoughts together now," Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi while on his first trip to the region as Pentagon chief.
Trump "is open to my advice on it, but first of all I've got to formulate where I stand, so this is the normal collection of... information."
Mattis met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Munich on Saturday and had been due to fly to Kabul on Sunday, but the trip was postponed due to bad weather.
Instead, Mattis held lengthy video talks with General John Nicholson, the chief US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
US-led forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for 16 years, making it America's longest-ever war, yet Nicholson this month told Congress the situation remains stuck in a "stalemate".
The US troop presence in Afghanistan is currently capped at about 8,400 after former US Barack Obama insisted on drawing numbers down and handing security responsibility to Afghan forces.
Nicholson said he needs thousands more troops to help the beleaguered Afghan forces, who have suffered catastrophic losses.
The question of whether to double down in the seemingly endless conflict will now become one of Trump's first major military strategy questions.
Trump would seek the advice of Mattis before deciding on Nicholson's request for reinforcements, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said.
Trump had suggested in a recent call to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani that he would consider sending more soldiers, according to media reports.
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- Russian support for Taliban -
Further complicating the picture is Russia's role in the conflict.
Nicholson has accused Moscow of giving the Taliban encouragement and diplomatic cover in order to undermine American influence and to defeat NATO.
Mattis did not directly address the role of Russia, which as the Soviet Union fought a bitter war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Mattis said he needs to "assess what the other countries in the region are doing in Afghanistan to help or hinder us in our efforts. We are still sorting that out."
Earlier this month, a US government watchdog said the death rate among Afghan security forces soared last year and the Kabul government's overall control of the country dropped significantly.
While acknowledging the "very heavy price" the Afghans paid, Mattis said the local forces had succeeded in keeping the Taliban on the back foot.
It's "been a hard fight all the way through," he said.
"I would question who came out on the shorter end of the stick. I'd rather be in NATO right now than I would want to be in the Taliban's position."
Mattis visited NATO headquarters in Brussels last week to urge member countries to pay more into the alliance and to reassure them that America was committed to it.
Trump while campaigning spoke disparagingly of NATO, even though the alliance has been key to the fight in Afghanistan ever since the US-led invasion in late 2001.
Abu Dhabi (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday said America's vast military continues to run smoothly, even though President Donald Trump's first month has been marked by consecutive crises.
"Welcome to democracy," Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi during his first trip to the region as Pentagon chief.
"It's at times wildly contentious, it's at times quite sporting, but the bottom line is this is the best form of government we can come up with."
Mattis was responding to a question about a comment last week from Army General Raymond "Tony" Thomas, who said the US government was in "unbelievable turmoil."
Trump's first few weeks have been notable for a growing scandal over possible White House-Kremlin ties, a botched travel ban and controversial cabinet picks.
The new Pentagon chief said Thomas may have been taken out of context and, as far as he is concerned, everything is running smoothly from a military perspective.
"The military job is to hold the line, to hold the line and to hold the line, while our government sorts out the way ahead and our people speak," he said.
"We don't have any disarray inside the military and that's where my responsibility lies."
Military commanders in the region say they have so far seen little impact from the presidential transition.
Mattis also referred to Trump's continued diatribe against journalists and his branding of several media outlets as the "enemy of the American People."
"I have had some rather contentious times with the press," said Mattis, a former Marine general whose fiery war talk has landed him in hot water on several occasions.
"But the press as far as I am concerned are a constituency that we deal with, and I don't have any issues with the press myself," he told reporters.
While campaigning and since his election, Trump has blasted the media on a near-daily basis, dismissing stories he dislikes of being "fake news" and calling journalists dishonest.
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He took his disdain to a new level Saturday, when he said several US news networks were "the enemy."
Mattis is well known for his pithy sayings but has also gotten in trouble for some of his comments while commanding in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the eve of the Iraq invasion, he told Marines to: "Engage your brain before you engage your weapon."
He also famously -- and controversially -- said in regard to fighting the Taliban that it's "a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
President Donald Trump baffled many listeners on Saturday when he appeared to refer to an attack in Sweden that did not occur. Trump was discussing refugees in Europe during a rally in Florida when he made the comment.
You look at whats happening in Germany. You look at whats happening last night in Sweden Sweden who would believe this? Sweden, they took in large numbers, they are having problems like they never thought possible. You look at whats happening Brussels, you look at whats happening all over the world, he said.
No incident occurred in Sweden on Friday night, though Fox News host Tucker Carlson ran a segment that evening about a filmmaker who claims crime surges in Sweden are linked to immigrants in the country. Trump often repeats what he sees on cable news.
Trumps assertion drew confusion from Swedes and others.
Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound, former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted.
Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. https://t.co/XWgw8Fz7tj Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) February 19, 2017
Maybe Trump is Shocked about our free healthcare, free education and that we show humanity to refugees? #LastNightInSweden Anna Skarsjo (@AnnaSkarsjo) February 19, 2017
Trump believes terror group 'IKEA' may be behind Sweden attack. #swedenincident Paul Lamb (@Lambykins60) February 19, 2017
You have to admire the Swedish people, even in a time of tragedy, for their elegant mourning attire pic.twitter.com/ECdJMthvfk Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 19, 2017
This wasnt the first time the White House has been mocked over an apparent reference to an attack. While defending Trumps travel ban earlier this month, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway cited the Bowling Green massacre, a terrorist attack that never happened.
An elderly woman was removed from a chair that her skin had molded to after reportedly sitting in the same spot for almost a year.
The 75-year-old Ohio woman was rescued by paramedics on Thursday after a church volunteer, whod been delivering food to the woman for the past ten years, called authorities to the home, according to reports.
Read: See This Dad's Incredible Transformation After Losing 300 Pounds and Having Excess Skin Removed
The volunteer said the woman was not acting herself and that he had not seen her anywhere but in her chair since July of 2016.
According to a police report, the odor in the home was so strong that it reached all the way to the front sidewalk; however, the volunteer claimed that the home always smelled that way.
Police reportedly had to wear haz-mat suits into the Springfield home and found the elderly woman surrounded by feces and urine.
Read: Judge Orders Mom Not to Get Pregnant Again After She Loses Fourth Child Due to Neglect
Police said the woman screamed in pain as she was removed from her chair because the bones in her body were breaking as EMS tried to carry her out of the house."
She is now reportedly recovering at University of Toledo Medical Center.
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PATHUM THANI, Thailand (AP) Police in Thailand who spent three days in an orderly but unsuccessful search of a vast Buddhist temple for a prominent monk accused of financial wrongdoing kept up the pressure Sunday, sending fresh forces to confront devotees and monks at the compound's gates.
Around 3,000 police had surrounded the Dhammakaya sect temple north of Bangkok from Thursday through Saturday, while smaller squads searched for its chief, Phra Dhammajayo, who is accused of accepting $40 million in embezzled money.
Both security forces and Dhammajayo's followers gathered in growing numbers at the temple on Sunday after the Department of Special Investigation Thailand's FBI ordered all people not residing there to leave. Numbers on both sides were difficult to estimate.
Sunday's standoff ended peacefully, with the police forces withdrawing shortly after dark.
Dhammajayo has been charged with money-laundering and receiving stolen property. His defenders say he did not know the money was tainted.
Some devotees believe his legal troubles are politically motivated because the temple and its followers are seen as supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup. Thailand had another coup in 2014 and currently has a military government.
The police are operating under an emergency order issued Thursday by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha allowing them to shortcut normal legal procedures with broad powers to search property and arrest people.
They have sought to block people from entering the temple, but many seemed to have gotten through on Sunday after senior monks issued statements suggesting the temple was under threat.
Police also issued summonses for more than a dozen senior monks, including Dhammajayo who has not been seen in public for months to present themselves at the local police station.
"Our hearts break because we love Buddhism. We can die, but Buddhism, never," said Dhammakaya devotee Manoj Hemprommaraj. "We will protect our temple, (even) if we die."
Police have named the man photographed on an Indiana trail where two teens were murdered as the main suspect in the case.
Authorities initially released the image of the man walking along a hiking trail close to where Abigail Williams, 13, and her friend Liberty German, 14, vanished on Monday, saying that he was someone police wanted to speak with.
Read: Polly Wants a Conviction? Parrot That Says 'Don't F***ing Shoot' May Hold the Key to Murder Case
However, preliminary evidence now points to the man as a suspect in the slayings, police said.
"During the course of the investigation, preliminary evidence has led investigators to believe the person, in the distributed photo, is suspected of having participated in the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, said state police in a press release.
Read: Felon Brothers On The Run After Murdering Ex Army Ranger and His Wife: Cops
The girls' bodies were found Tuesday around quarter-mile from an abandoned railroad bridge thats part of a trail system, according to police.
Police have said they are treating the case as a double homicide.
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Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Sunday urged leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo to act quickly to resolve its political crisis and curb violence, condemning in particular the use of child soldiers.
Violence has flared across the country in recent months, including deadly confrontations in the Kasai regions, as President Joseph Kabila has indicated no plans to step down even though his term ended in December.
On Friday, a video emerged appearing to show DR Congo soldiers killing unarmed civilians in Kasai-Oriental, while on Saturday officials said militiamen from the country's Nande ethnic group had killed 25 civilians in the country's violence-torn east, most hacked to death with machetes.
"We continue to hear news sadly of violent and brutal clashes in the Kasai-Central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo," Francis said during his Angelus address in Saint Peter's Square.
"I strongly feel the pain of the victims, especially the many children ripped from their families and from schools to be used as soldiers," he said.
He made "an urgent appeal" to "national authorities and the international community, so that they take appropriate and prompt decisions" to end the violence.
Hundreds have died in central Congo in recent months and tens of thousands have been forced to flee as battles rage between security forces and militias.
Kabila, in power since 2001, was to step down on December 20 at the end of his second and final term, but refused to do so.
A deal brokered by the country's influential Roman Catholic bishops allows him to stay in office until late 2017 in tandem with a transitional body and a new premier.
But efforts to avoid all-out conflict in the country of 71 million people appear to have broken down, negotiations between the government and opposition parties having stalled.
Francis, 80, also urged prayers for victims of war and violence in other parts of Africa and across the world.
He denounced in particular the "cruel terrorist acts" in Pakistan, where at least 88 people were killed on Thursday when an attacker blew himself up inside a crowded Sufi shrine, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
The attack came after a series of bloody assaults, including a Taliban suicide bomb in the eastern city of Lahore which killed 13 people and wounded dozens.
More than 1,300 days before the next election, President Donald Trump was set to hold a campaign rally Saturday in the Sunshine State.
He was scheduled to deliver remarks in a hangar in Melbourne, Florida, at 5 p.m. EST. Despite taking office just about one month ago, Trump has already begun to focus on re-election. He filed his re-election paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Inauguration Day something former President Barack Obama didn't do until 2011 in his first term, PBS Newshour reported.
Trump, who regularly boasted about his campaign rally crowd sizes and squabbled with press over inauguration attendance figures, had begun boasting about the size of the crowd in Melbourne before the event took place.
"I hear the tickets you can't get them," Trump said this week in a meeting with lawmakers, according to PBS. "That's OK, that's better than you have too many."
An analysis in the Washington Post pointed out that Trump's rally may be aimed at drumming up enthusiasm to counteract a rocky start to the former businessman's presidency. Little has gone smoothly thus far. A rollout of an executive order temporarily banning entry into the U.S. for people from seven Muslim-majority countries was accompanied by legal wrangling and mass protests. Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it was revealed through leaks to the press that he lied about a conversation with a Russian ambassador. Meanwhile, Democrats and some Republicans have called for an investigation into the Trump administration's ties to the Kremlin after new reports this week alleged the campaign was in regular contact with Russian officials.
The detour to Florida is not an uncommon move for the president, who has made it a habit to spend his weekends at his resort in the state, Mar-A-Lago. In the lead-up to another Florida trip, Trump had a busy few days.
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He held his first solo news conference as president Thursday and spent much of his 77 minutes at the lectern berating the press. He also commented on how he's not an anti-Semite, how a nuclear holocaust would be "like no other" and how drugs "cheaper than candy bars" were infesting the U.S.
To watch Trump's rally Saturday, check out the White House live video site or its YouTube page.
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Has it really only been a month? We wish we could say that Trump surprised us, but from the minute he took the oath of office one month ago today, he hasnt: This has been the worst, most unsettling start of a new president in modern memory. This period is supposed to be the honeymoon. Yet there has been so much churn and breaking news its hard to keep up. While the drama has provided plenty of fodder for the readers (and writers) of Shadow Government, it has been very damaging to the country. But how much? Its important to step back and reflect on the top ten things we have learned in recent weeks and what this means for the future.
1. Process, process, process. Washington wonks love to talk about process, but the sloppy and rushed way in which the administration rolled out its Executive Order on immigration makes the best case for why process really matters. On the merits, we think the EO is a terrible, self-defeating policy to address a phony threat. As Michael Morell pointed out, there is little evidence that refugees or immigrants are terrorist threat to the United States the real risk is homegrown radicalization, which the discriminatory EO may contribute to. The suspension of legal migration from seven Muslim-majority nations also risks complicating cooperation with counterterrorism partners across the Muslim world (with Iraq being a notable case in point).
But even for those sympathetic to Trumps actions, the EO could have been met with far more applause among Republicans if the administration had shown basic competence taking the time to include the interagency, brief Capitol Hill, line up its surrogates, and ensure that organizations like Customs and Border Control had a clear understanding of how the order would be implemented in practice, particularly in regards to Green Card holders. Beyond the EO debacle, other failures of process include the green lighting of the Jan. 28 Yemen raid (in which one U.S. Navy Seal and numerous civilians were killed) over dinner without interagency deliberation, and the absence of any clear process to review responses to early provocations by Russia and North Korea. (The frantic review of documents on the North Korea missile launch by cell phone light at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort doesnt count).
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2. Who is speaking for whom? The administration continues to present two sides to every story one presented by the White House (often in the form of a presidential tweet) and another presented by cabinet officials like Secretary of Defense Mattis. The mixed messages are making it hard for anyone Trump supporters, the press, or our allies to get the ground truth on U.S. policy on Russia, North Korea, the Islamic State, alliances like NATO, and Iran. One month in, whats striking is that aside from all the noise and bluster, U.S. policy on these issues has not changed much from the Obama approach. The outcome may or may not be good (depending on your perspective), but the confusion and contradiction is dangerous. It befuddles allies and emboldens adversaries.
3. Staffing gaps are a YE-HUGE problem. Trump prides himself on the speed with which his administration has made cabinet picks (which in reality was an average pace). But his team has been setting records for the slowest appointment of second and third tier political appointments the folks who actually make the machinery of government run. Four weeks in, not a single foreign policy official has been named below the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense.
Partly this reflects a reluctance of many qualified candidates to be associated with this administration (such as retired Navy Vice Admiral Bob Harward, who passed on the National Security Adviser job); partly it reflects Trumps own vindictiveness toward anyone who criticized him during the election (as the torpedoing of Elliot Abrams demonstrates); and partly it reflects the disorganization and total lack of preparation to govern on display during the transition that persists today. And even if they start naming deputy, under, and assistant secretaries soon, this problem will go on for several months given the time it takes to get nominees confirmed.
The NSC staff, meanwhile, is in a full tailspin. Professional NSC staff have been marginalized from the outset, and many of the political appointees who had been hired at the senior director level were Mike Flynn people not well known to the Trump team or the foreign policy establishment. With Flynn gone, their futures are very much in doubt.
4. Kremlingate isnt going away. Given Flynns unceremonious departure over his calls to the Russian Ambassador during the transition and his supposed misrepresentation of those calls to his own colleagues (including Vice President Pence), the story about Trumps ties to Russia cant simply be swept under the rug (as both the administration and some Republicans in Congress hope). There are too many unanswered questions: Why would Flynn reassure the Russians that their interference in the U.S. election could be smoothed over? Did Trump know about Flynns engagements ahead of time (given that Trump clearly approved of the outcome Russian restraint in the face of Obamas sanctions after the fact)? Was there collusion between those in the Trump campaign and Russian officials involved in passing hacked information to WikiLeaks? These are only some of the questions likely to dog and potentially consume the administration in the coming months. The demands to launch a bipartisan investigation or, potentially, a 9/11-style commission into what Russia did during the election last fall and the connections between Trump campaign officials and Russia are only getting louder.
5. Competing centers of gravity at the White House only bring dysfunction. At present, the U.S. government and our friends and allies have to navigate three separate centers of power inside the White House: the NSC, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannons newly minted Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG), and Jared Kushner. Weve heard that key ambassadors are being told to engage with Kushner, not the NSC staff. In addition to creating real uncertainty about who is in charge, those three centers of power are raising serious questions about the decision-making process more broadly. And as the vacuum and dysfunction at the NSC persists (see problem 3), the influence of parallel national security structures that involve no interagency input especially the SIG will likely grow (worsening problem 1).
6. For all the big talk, major shifts in national security policy have yet to be seen. Trumps rhetoric, early-morning tweets, erratic personality, and scratchy phone calls have unsettled many of our closest allies and partners, and left many around the world worried about the course Trump plans to set. Yet despite expectations that the Trump team would shred the Iran deal, cut a grand bargain with Russia (starting by lifting sanctions), launch a new plan on defeating the Islamic State, move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and push back on China from an economic and trade perspective, the world has seen little in terms of major changes in policy. Maybe this is because of incompetence, lack of bandwidth, or White House infighting (see 1, 3, and 5) or maybe it is because like so much else, Trump just talked his way into these policies without any real desire to follow through. We hope it is the latter, because actually following through with Trumps foreign policy agenda would create massive problems for U.S. national security.
7. Mattis is becoming too big to fail. Allies and many across Washington (including some of us) regularly cite Secretary of Defense Mattis as the guy that will save us by injecting sanity into the administration. His stature has only grown in the last month, as he has been sent abroad to sooth allies in Asia and Europe (and soon the Middle East), and by the fact that Trump says he would defer to his favorite Mad Dog on issues like torture and the campaign against the Islamic State. Senator John McCain is putting it all on Mattis as well, almost encouraging him to just pretend the White House doesnt exist. So Mattis is quickly becoming too big to fail: Just imagine how the press, the Washington community, and the world would react if rumors started speading that Mattis was ready to walk because he couldnt work with the Trump White House.
But Mattiss job is not going to get any easier: His comments in Brussels this week about European defense spending in which he tried to reassure NATO of Americas commitment, while suggesting that commitment may be moderated if NATO allies to pay more for their own defense show how challenging his tightrope walk will be. What will happen when Trump overrules Mattis on an issue that could fundamentally compromise U.S. security or American values? And what will happen if the gap between what Mattis and the president believe and what Mattis does contrary to White House desires grows over time?
8. Trump will not change. Last year, all of Trumps opponents in the Republican primary, and Obama and Clinton during the general election agreed on one thing: that he is temperamentally (and many would drop the temper) unfit to be leader of the free world. Trump is erratic, self-absorbed, intellectually un-curious, and vindictive. And he lacks two of the most important traits a successful president must have: humility and empathy. Even the most talented team managing the most rigorous, well-run process cant make up for the fact that Trump is Trump; he will not change. Remember all those folks who thought that once in the White House, Trump would become more normal? Sad!
9. Checks and balances sort of working? Despite all the drama, weve also seen early signs that, despite all the fears of creeping authoritarianism under Trump, elements of Americas democratic system are pushing back. Civil society has mobilized enormous protests and marches across the country. Courts have blocked the immigration EO (for now). The professional bureaucracy is raising concerns, and bringing them to light (the State Department dissent cable on the EO, signed by more than 1,000 diplomats, is a good example). And the media (not to mention every late night talk show, led by Saturday Night Live) is calling out Trump and speaking truth to power (the Flynn resignation is an early sign of impact). So far, the one institution doing little to rein in Trumps abuses is Congress. Democrats in the Senate have doggedly grilled Trump nominees, and support is building on both sides of the aisle for a thorough investigation into Kremlingate. But the big question remains: when Trumps actions compromise our security and shared values, will the GOP leadership in Congress step up?
10. Strap yourselves in, because the real test is still coming. Trump likes to claim that he inherited a mess at home and abroad that he alone can fix. But whats remarkable is how every part of this month of perpetual crisis has been self-created: The world has not thrown him many curveballs the closest one was the North Korea missile test that will forever be remembered for christening the Mar-a-Lago SitRoom. Trump has brought all of this on himself. And in a weird way, hes been lucky: Unlike Obama in 2009, Trump inherited a situation at home and abroad that was relatively good (the United States is not in the midst of an economic meltdown and does not have 170,000 troops in combat).
So this brings us to the scary part: There is nothing we have seen in the last month to suggest Trump or his team will handle a crisis well. In fact, there are ominous signs to expect the opposite. When there is an Orlando-style attack; or a North Korea ICBM test; or a meltdown in Venezuela that sparks a refugee crisis in our hemisphere; or a natural disaster like the 2010 Haiti earthquake; or something were not thinking of (one of the scarier scenarios is a terrorist attack on a Trump hotel abroad), we have to expect that Trump and his team will not only act with incompetence, but use such events to justify all sorts of policies at home and abroad that will only further undermine Americas position in the world and test our constitutional system.
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Moscow (AFP) - A Russian opposition politician who fell into a coma due to poisoning this month has left the country for treatment abroad after his condition improved, his lawyer said Sunday.
"This morning Vladimir Kara-Murza flew out of the country... to go through rehabilitation treatment after his second acute poisoning," lawyer Vadim Prokhorov wrote on his Facebook page.
"The diagnosis in his hospital discharge report is still the same: 'toxic influence of an unknown substance'," he added.
Kara-Murza, 35, previously experienced sharp deterioration of health due to poisoning two years ago, which included kidney failure and nearly killed him.
Tests in laboratories abroad found high levels of heavy metals in his blood, but the Russian Investigative Committee denied his request to probe whether he was a target of intentional poisoning.
His family said that the latest collapse, which saw him put on a ventilator and renal dialysis in a Russian hospital, could be a result of the 2015 incident.
Kara-Murza was an ally of the late opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead close to the Kremlin in February 2015.
He currently works with the Open Russia foundation of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who served 10 years in jail after openly opposing President Vladimir Putin.
Prokhorov said that Kara-Murza plans to continue his political work. The lawyer said that most likely Kara-Murza was intentionally poisoned.
Besides his work with Khodorkovsky, Kara-Murza has been deeply involved in lobbying in the United States for the expansion of the Magnitsky Act, which Prokhorov said "could be one of the reasons" for the poisoning because it targets Russian elites.
The 2012 sanctions list originally targeted Russian officials involved in the case of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in prison after uncovering a government corruption scheme.
Since it was passed it has been expanded to include other individuals, including the Russian Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin, who was added only in January.
Baghdad (AFP) - The United Nations said Sunday as Iraqi forces launched their offensive to retake west Mosul that it was rushing to build more shelters ahead of an expected wave of displacement.
"We are racing against the clock to prepare emergency sites south of Mosul to receive displaced families," the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, said in a statement.
"The humanitarian operation is already stretched. We are trying to reach more than six million people across Iraq who need help. We don't have all of the funding we need and many partners are facing major capacity constraints," she said.
Iraqi federal forces on Sunday launched a new phase in the four-month-old offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second city and the last major stronghold IS has in the country.
Forces retook at least five villages and were heading towards the airport, as part of a push aimed at retaking the city's west.
Iraqi government forces last month cleared the eastern side, and while fewer people than feared fled their homes, the UN said a total of 217,000 people have been displaced since the broader Mosul operation started on October 17.
It also said a total of 57,000 had already returned to their homes.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus denied any involvement between Russian intelligence officials and Donald Trumps presidential campaign in new interviews on Sunday.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that members of Trumps campaign and others associated with the president had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election. U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies based their findings on intercepted communications, the Times reported. The agencies did not find any evidence that the campaign was working with Russia to influence the elections outcome, according to the Times.
During an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press, Priebus called the report grossly overstated and inaccurate.
I mean, weve spent days talking about a story that says that our campaign had constant contacts with Russian spies. And I can tell you, Ive talked to the top levels of the intelligence community, and theyve assured me that that New York Times story was grossly overstated and inaccurate and totally wrong, Priebus told host Chuck Todd.
He continued: It is this sort of fake news stuff that is enormously important that, when you get a front page story of New York Times without a single source on the record saying that your campaign had constant contact they didnt say one contact. They didnt say two contacts. It doesnt matter. We have not been informed of even that.
The chief of staff made similar comments on Fox News Sunday, citing the top-level intelligence officials who told him there were no contacts between Russia and the campaign.
When I say top-level people, I mean top-level people, Priebus said, though he did not give their names.
Russia wants global leaders to embrace a new world order where the U.S. and other western nations are not calling the shots, but rather sovereign nations will follow international law based on its national interests. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was seeking closer with Washington while also refusing to cower to the NATO militant alliance led by the U.S.
"Responsible leaders should make a choice, I hope that the choice will be done in favor of creating a democratic and just world order," Lavrov said at the Munich Security Conference Saturday attended by world leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence. "If you want, you can call it a 'post-West world order,' when each country, based on its sovereignty within the rules of international law, will strive to find a balance between its own national interests and the national interests of partners."
His remarks came as growing number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for an independent investigation into President Donald Trump's ties to Moscow. His national security advisor, Michael Flynn, resigned Monday after the Washington Post published an investigation that revealed Flynn was haggling with the Kremlin over U.S. sanctions.
Lavrov did not mention the scandal, but did outline his hopes for working alongside the Trump administration, the Associated Press reported. Trump has called NATO "obsolete" and threaned to withold support if European members do not spend more of their national budget on defense spending, even as some nations have expressed fears over Russia possibly violating international law within their borders, such as with the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
"What kind of relations do we want with the U.S.? Pragmatic relations, mutual respect, understanding our special responsibility for global stability," Lavrov said. "We have immense potential that has yet to be tapped into, and we're open for that, inasmuch as the U.S. is open for that as well," he added.
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Lavrov said NATO "remained a Cold War institution." You can watch a video of his remarks here.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Moscow's criticism of NATO. The military alliance recently sent troops to the Baltics and Poland as a deterrence to a "more assertive Russia," he said.
"We don't want to provoke a conflict. We want to prevent conflict and preserve the peace," Stoltenberg told the AP. "Our aim is not to isolate Russia. We don't want a new Cold War, we don't want a new arms race, what we do is measured and defensive."
Pence just hours earlier told attendees at the annual Munich Security Conference that the U.S. would hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine and the Syrian war. He also pledged Washington's unwavering commitment to NATO members.
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Hamilton (New Zealand) (AFP) - A polished Quinton de Kock half century laid the foundation for South Africa's four wicket win over New Zealand in a tense finish to a rain-shortened opening one-day international in Hamilton on Sunday.
In a clash that went down to the wire, it was a man-of-the-match performance from de Kock on a wicket that took an exceptional amount of spin in New Zealand conditions.
The departure of de Kock for 69 sparked a middle order collapse as even the New Zealand quicks turned to bowling cutters on the responsive pitch before an AB de Villiers rescue mission saw his side home with a ball to spare.
"We never expected it to turn like that in Hamilton," de Villiers said.
"From past experience this becomes a really good batting track in the evening but that was far from it."
With the fixture reduced to 34 overs a side following heavy rain early in the day, New Zealand posted 207 for seven, boosted by a whirlwind 51 off 23 balls at the end by unbeaten pair Colin de Grandhomme and Tim Southee.
But any thoughts New Zealand had that they were in a strong performance were soon dashed by the way de Kock launched into South Africa's reply.
"At the halfway stage we felt we were right in the game," captain Kane Williamson said.
"We knew needing five and a half on that surface was going to be difficult and they got off to a very good start which made chasing down that total a lot easier."
"South Africa showed their class with the bat, batted very well and their composure towards the end was very important on a tough surface"
South Africa went into the final over of their reply requiring 12 to win, and de Villiers ended the game with a four off the fifth ball of Tim Southee's over.
With de Kock in sublime form, assisted by Hashim Amla, South Africa started their run chase strongly with an 88-run stand.
Williamson used five bowling changes in the first 15 overs in an attempt to break up the pair but only succeeded when he put himself, a part-time spinner, on and had Amla caught and bowled for 35.
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Faf du Plessis (14) joined de Kock to get the score to 117 when the South African innings suffered a collapse with five wickets falling in the space of 39 runs.
Trent Boult had de Kock caught in a sharp piece of fielding by Ross Taylor at short midwicket and Tim Southee removed JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardein with consecutive deliveries.
- In tatters -
Chris Morris survived the hat-trick ball and made 16 before his dismissal had South Africa at 156-6 with 44 balls remaining.
De Villiers with 37 off 34 balls and Andile Phehulkwayo (29 off 23) combined efforts to get the tourists home.
De Grandhomme and Southee's whirlwind partnership gave the New Zealand innings a respectable look after they too suffered a middle order collapse.
De Grandhomme was unbeaten on 34 off 19 balls while Southee faced 13 balls to be 24 not out.
They were particularly harsh on the most successful of the South African bowlers, Morris, smacking the all-rounder for 25 in the final over.
It saw Morris's figures balloon out to four for 62 off his seven overs, after he had four for 24 off five.
Morris had left the New Zealand top order in tatters with only Kane Williamson (59) and Dean Brownlie (31) offering any resistance.
UPDATE: 10:20 a.m. EST SpaceX successfully launched a 5,500-pound resupply mission to the International Space Station early Sunday, a day after scrubbing a previous launch attempt because of a problem with the Falcon 9 rocket. The 6:39 a.m. PST launch was the first by the company from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from the pad where Apollo and space shuttle missions were launched.
Original story:
Minutes before the scheduled liftoff, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called off the companys Falcon 9 launch Saturday morning to investigate a slightly odd piston movement in the upper stage of the rocket. The rocket, taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, was to carry a Dragon cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The next launch window for the Falcon 9 is now 9:38 a.m. EST Sunday.
Musk said there was no obvious relation to the small helium leak the company was investigating Friday, but said a link couldnt be ruled out. He also pointed out that the decision to call off the launch was a precautionary move, more than anything else.
The caution on the part of SpaceX makes sense, given the Sept. 1 explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket that had multiple negative consequences (even if short-term) for the company. There was the obvious loss of the rocket itself, and the $200 million satellite it was carrying, as well as damage to the launch pad (which has still not been fixed). The company also lost out on months of flight operations, and at least one client shifted some business to another launch provider.
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The scheduled launch for Sunday morning, if it happens, will be telecast live by both SpaceX and NASA. The space agency will begin its live preflight coverage at 8:45 a.m. EST on NASA TV, while the commercial space launch company will live-stream the launch on its website.
If the Sunday launch is successful, the Falcon 9 rocket will put the unmanned Dragon cargo spacecraft in orbit, which will separate from the rocket about 10 minutes after liftoff, and take two days to reach the ISS. After being unloaded of its over 5,000 pounds of supplies and research material by astronauts aboard the space station, it will be packed with scientific experiments that will come back to Earth after spending roughly a month docked at ISS.
Dragon will splash down in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere off the coast of Baja California, roughly 30 minutes after it leaves ISS.
Falcon9Dragon
Photo: SpaceX
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There may come a time when SpaceX landing a rocket stage back on Earth after flying to space isn't news when we can simply take these science-fiction looking landings for granted and brush them off as no big deal.
But today is not that day.
The Elon Musk-founded spaceflight company stuck yet another beautiful landing of the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket after launching an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station from a historic launch pad. The Dragon spacecraft was loaded down with thousands of supplies for NASA.
SEE ALSO: Sorry, y'all. SpaceX isn't going to Mars in 2018
The booster set down gently on a pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida about 8 minutes after its 9:39 a.m. ET launch on Sunday.
This landing marks the company's eighth total landing and third back on solid ground. (The other five landed on drone ships in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.)
The launch itself was actually history-making as well. The Falcon 9 took off to space from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, marking the first time the pad has been in use since the end of the space shuttle program.
Pad 39A was used to launch multiple missions that brought astronauts to the moon during the Apollo days and was revamped to fit the space shuttle program in the 1970s. The pad's last shuttle mission flew in 2011 and hasn't been used again until Sunday.
The Dragon will now spend about two days in transit on the way to the Space Station, where astronauts onboard will unload the food, science experiments and hardware carried within the Dragon's belly.
While SpaceX's landings look like something out of science fiction, they actually have a practical purpose for SpaceX. The private company is hoping to create a fleet of reusable rockets that can fly multiple missions to space instead of the one-and-done method in play among traditional launch providers today.
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By bringing the boosters back after launches, SpaceX can refurbish them and fly those stages again, greatly reducing the cost of launching to space. Although SpaceX hasnt yet re-launched a previously flown booster, that could change soon.
The private company is planning to fly its first previously flown rocket stage in March, after it reaches Cape Canaveral from Texas, where it was going through testing.
SpaceX has had a rough couple years
A Falcon 9 rocket exploded not long after launching another Dragon spacecraft for NASA in June 2015, and another accident in September 2016 grounded the company's launches for months during an accident investigation.
SpaceX appears to be back on its feet, launching and landing again, but the company should pick up its launch cadence in the months to come. It has an aggressive launch schedule for the next year.
The Falcon 9 rocket standing on historic launch pad 39A.
Image: spacex flickr
Who knows, maybe in a year or even less assuming SpaceX continues too succeed these kinds of landings won't be news anymore. But even so, that won't make them any less cool.
STOCKHOLM/WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - A day after falsely suggesting there was an immigration-related security incident in Sweden, President Donald Trump said on Sunday his comment was based on a television report he had seen.
Trump, who in his first weeks in office has tried to tighten U.S. borders sharply for national security reasons, told thousands of supporters at a rally on Saturday that Sweden was having serious problems with immigrants.
"You look at what's happening last night in Sweden," Trump said. "Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible."
No incident occurred in Sweden and the country's baffled government asked the U.S. State Department to explain what Trump meant.
"My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden," Trump said in a tweet on Sunday.
My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017
Fox News, a U.S. cable news channel that has sometimes been cited favorably by Trump, ran a report on Friday night about alleged migrant-related crime problems in the country.
A White House spokeswoman told reporters on Sunday that Trump had been referring generally to rising crime and not a specific incident in the Scandinavian country.
Sweden's crime rate has fallen since 2005, official statistics show, even as the country has taken in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq.
Trump's comment confounded Sweden's government. "We are trying to get clarity," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said.
The U.S. State Department said it did not comment on diplomatic communications.
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Trump has been widely criticized for making assertions with little supporting evidence.
In recent months, he has argued that more than 3 million people voted fraudulently in the U.S. election, an assertion that election officials say is false, and incorrectly stated that he won the election by the most decisive margin in decades.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom appeared to respond to Trump's statement about her country on Saturday by posting on Twitter an excerpt of a recent speech in which she said democracy and diplomacy "require us to respect science, facts and the media."
Her predecessor was less circumspect.
"Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound," former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter.
Other Swedes mocked Trump's remark on Twitter using the hashtag #LastNightInSweden, posting pictures of reindeer, Swedish meatballs and people assembling the country's famous IKEA furniture.
"#lastnightinsweden my son dropped his hotdog in the campfire. So sad!" Twitter user Adam Bergsveen wrote.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Andy Sullivan in Washington and Jeff Mason in Florida; Editing by Kieran Murray and Peter Cooney)
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Rescue workers from Syria's White Helmets -- the subjects of an Oscar-nominated documentary -- said on Saturday they have received US visas to attend next week's prestigious Academy Awards ceremony.
For weeks, the rescuers and the film's staff had been nervously watching the fallout from US President Donald Trump's now-suspended travel ban for seven countries, including Syria.
"We got our visas yesterday (Friday), but we're not yet sure if we'll be able to travel or not," Raed Saleh, leader of the rescue group, told AFP by phone on Saturday.
"We don't want to have problems at the borders or the airport," he said.
The documentary titled "The White Helmets", directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, was named a contender in late January in the Oscars short documentary category.
Since it emerged in 2013, the rescue group has attracted over 3,000 volunteers and says it has saved more than 78,000 lives.
It is named for the distinctive white hard hats worn by its volunteers and has gained international renown for its daring rescues, often filmed and circulated on social media.
The Oscars award ceremony will take place on February 26 in Hollywood.
"With so many people watching, it would be such an important opportunity to talk about the suffering happening in Syria," Saleh said.
More than 310,000 people have died since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, and over half the country's citizens have been forced to flee their homes.
"The documentary took a lot of effort to make and we've been working on it for a long time. People who are featured in the film have since died. There's equipment that you see that has been destroyed," Saleh said.
"This film is history for us. We hope that we win the Oscar, because that would provide moral support to the White Helmets and show them that their sacrifices weren't for nothing."
According to the film's producer Joanna Natasegara, Saleh will be joined by fellow White Helmet Khaled Khatib, who shot much of the footage.
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Natasegara told AFP by phone that the last few weeks had been a "roller coaster" ride.
"Initially, we were totally delighted at the nomination and invited them to join us, and two days later the executive order came through," she said.
Under Trump's short-lived executive order, travellers from seven mainly-Muslim countries, including Syria, were banned from travelling to the United States for 90 days.
The travel ban has since been suspended in court, but Natasegara said she and the film's team would "be nervous until (Saleh and Khatib) are on US soil".
"For us as filmmakers, we wanted to be able to give them that platform," she said.
"It's their day. Their message is one of hope and peace. We're just really excited to share that day with them."
Washington (AFP) - As President Donald Trump warns of a crackdown on US government leaks to media, interest is growing in technology tools that allow sources to share information anonymously.
One such tool called SecureDrop, being used by at least 30 US and global media organizations, offers a way for sources to anonymously communicate via encrypted servers.
"We've seen an explosion of interest in SecureDrop in the past two months," said Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which created the tool.
Timm said "dozens" of news organizations had expressed interest in using the tool which enables sharing without leaving digital traces.
"Ever since the election there seems to be an urgency within these organizations to set up a more secure way to get information from whistleblowers," he told AFP.
While news leaks have come from a variety of sources, Trump, who took office on January 20, has denounced the release of classified information by officials as "criminal" and vowed to punish leakers.
Timm argued however that the news leaks have been important in holding elected officials accountable and helping the truth emerge.
He said the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, caught lying about his contacts with Russia, was an important example.
"Not only are leaks allowing the public to put pressure on the government to pull back awful policies, but it's even informing other people within the Trump administration," Timm said in a blog post for the Columbia Journalism Review.
Though the methods for leaks are not always known, some news organizations have acknowledged using SecureDrop, including the Associated Press and First Look Media's investigative site The Intercept.
SecureDrop "is the system easiest to use for newsrooms to facilitate communication that allows a back-and-forth exchange while allowing the source to remain completely anonymous," said Intercept editor-in-chief Betsy Reed.
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The system "has become an increasingly useful source of genuinely newsworthy documents for us," Reed noted.
"In the current political environment there can be tremendous risks to cooperating with a journalist and becoming a whistleblower, and it makes sense to offer this as protection."
Reed said she expects the media to rely more on these kinds of sources, with the Trump administration seeking to control the flow of information.
"We're going to have feistier independent journalism that depends on cultivating these kinds of sources," she said.
"Whistleblower journalism will have its heyday, and access journalism is on the decline."
- Secure mobile apps -
Meanwhile some government officials, fearful of monitoring, have taken to using encrypted mobile applications to share information.
Some newsrooms use a secure chat app called Signal. Another application called Confide, which takes a cue from Snapchat by allowing people to send messages that disappear after being read, also is gaining popularity.
The app offers "the digital equivalent of a face-to-face conversation," according to Confide co-founder Jon Brod.
"End-to-end encryption ensures that only the intended recipient can read the message, but ephemerality adds another layer of protection ensuring that no copies reside on any servers or devices."
Founded in 2014, Confide has seen downloads and usage spike during times of well-publicized hacks or leaks.
"Our growth has accelerated significantly since the US election and we have seen a recent surge in our business -- the number of new users joining Confide this week is more than seven times higher than last week's," Brod told AFP.
- Legal questions -
But the use of private channels by officials raises a host of questions, such as those that surfaced over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private email server.
"Conducting official White House business in this way almost certainly violates the Presidential Records Act, which requires preservation of any correspondence or records" of top officials, says a Lawfare blog post by Brookings Institution fellow Susan Hennessey, with Harvard law student Helen Klein Murillo.
Analysts point out that leaking classified information may be illegal, but the degree of enforcement has varied over the years with leakers, and even journalists, facing potential prosecution under the Espionage Act.
Even without these specific tools, news organizations have gotten major stories from leaks provided through systems such as WikiLeaks and documents obtained by former national security contractor Edward Snowden.
Hennessey and Murillo note that the Trump administration "might have a range of criminal statutes and enforceable legal obligations to use (or threaten to use) to stem the tide of leaks."
But they added that "investigations are opened only when the leaked information is accurate -- that is, the mere fact of an investigation is an indirect confirmation of the accuracy of the leak."
By Cod Satrusayang BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of followers of Thailand's biggest Buddhist temple Buddhist temple defied orders to leave its grounds on Sunday to enable police to seek out their former abbot, who is accused of money laundering. Police ordered worshippers to leave Dhammakaya temple by 3 p.m. (3.00 a.m. ET) so that they could intensify the search for former abbot Phra Dhammachayo. But his followers, who want the authorities to suspend their siege, flocked into the 1,000 acre compound. Many held rudimentary placards in English and Thai calling for police to stand down and appealing for international attention and help. Thailand's ruling junta used a special emergency law on Thursday to let police explore the Dhammakaya Temple after months of failing to get it to hand over Phra Dhammachayo. "We have cooperated with the government every step of the way but this is one step too far," temple spokesman and senior monk Phra Pasura Dantamano told Reuters. "We're asking authorities to suspend the emergency law and lift their siege. Our supplies are low and we have been without power or water for three days." Thailand's Department of Special Investigations ordered all non-residents to leave the premises because temple activities were hindering police in their search. Monks who live in the temple were told to gather separately. The department also ordered 14 temple elders to give themselves up to police or face arrest. The temple is unusual in defying the military government. Opposition from political parties and activists has largely been silenced since a coup in 2014. Phra Dhammachayo faces charges of conspiracy to launder money and receive stolen goods, as well as taking over land unlawfully to build meditation centers. His aides dismiss the accusations as politically motivated. Although the temple has no overt political affiliation, the abbot is widely believed to have had links with populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in 2006. A government led by Thaksin's sister was toppled by the army in 2014. The Dhammakaya Temple's brasher approach to winning adherents jars on conservatives, who say it exploits its followers and uses religion to make money. The temple says it is as committed to Buddhist values as anyone else. (Editing by Matthew Tostevin/Ruth Pitchford)
Critics on both sides of the aisle are blasting President Trumps assertion that the media is the enemy of the American people and comparing his escalated attack on the press to that of a dictator.
Thats how dictators get started, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in an interview that aired on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday. They get started by suppressing a free press. In other words, a consolidation of power. When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press.
McCain stopped short of calling Trump one.
Im not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator, the senator said. Im just saying we need to learn the lessons of history.
If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press, McCain explained. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time.
I hate the press, McCain said, half-jokingly. I hate you, especially. But the fact is we need you.
On Friday, Trump tweeted that the fake news media specifically the New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN is the enemy of the American people.
This is something that you hear tin-pot dictators say when they want to control all of the information, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on ABCs This Week Sunday. Its not something youve ever heard a president of the United States say not even Nixon went there. And it is deeply concerning. I hope it is repudiated by people from both parties, because this is not America.
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Like McCain, Schiff warned that the Trump administration is flirting with authoritarianism.
I do think theres a risk of that, said Schiff, who was in Munich. I think John McCain is exactly right. And I think what were confronting now is a new war of ideas. Its not communism versus capitalism, but it is authoritarianism versus democracy and representative government. And thats a threat that here in Europe they feel acutely, theyve seen their countries interfered with, bombarded by cyberattacks, by Russian propaganda indeed, by Russian troops.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., disagreed, saying McCains critique of Trumps attack as inching toward a dictatorship is personal.
I think Sen. McCains perspective is colored by his disagreements with President Trump on foreign policy, Paul said on ABC. If I were to look at foreign policy, I would say John McCain has been wrong on just about everything over the last four decades.
Everything that he says about the president is colored by his own personal dispute he has got running with President Trump, Paul added. And it should be taken with a grain of salt.
In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS Face the Nation, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Trumps attack on the press should be taken seriously.
I think that the problem weve got is that were talking about bogus stories like the one in the New York Times, that weve had constant contact with Russian officials, Priebus said, referring to the newspapers bombshell report. The next day, the Wall Street Journal had a story that the intel community was not giving the president a full intelligence briefing. Both stories grossly inaccurate, overstated, overblown, and its total garbage.
So we spend, you know, 48 hours on bogus stories, Priebus added. And the American people suffer. So I do think its a problem.
Both the Times and the Journal stand by their reporting.
Speaking to reporters traveling with him in Abu Dhabi, Defense Secretary James Mattis said he disagrees with Trumps characterization of the media as the enemy.
I dont have any issues with the press myself, Mattis said.
When pressed by Face the Nation host John Dickerson, Priebus refused to call the media the enemy.
If the theory is that the press is supposed to be a free forum of information to speak to the American people, I think it ought to be accurate, Priebus responded. I think that the media should stop with this unnamed source stuff, put names on a piece of paper, and print it. If people arent willing to put their name next to a quote, then the quote shouldnt be listed.
On Saturday night after conducting the interview with Priebus, Dickerson took to Twitter to highlight a 2012 tweet from Trump touting anonymous sources.
An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2012
On Fox News Sunday, Priebus was grilled by host Chris Wallace, who accused the administration of trying to mirror Russia and North Korea in its relationship with the press.
We dont have a state-run media in this country, Wallace said. Thats what they have in dictatorships.
Priebus complained that a month into the Trump presidency, theres been more coverage of scandals than accomplishments.
The next 20 hours is all about Russian spies, how no one gets along, how nothings happening, Priebus said. Give me a break.
You dont get to tell us what to do any more than Barack Obama did, Wallace shot back. Barack Obama whined about Fox News all the time, but I gotta say, he never said we were an enemy of the people.
Preibus comments echoed those of his boss.
We are going to expose them for what they are, Trump said of the news media at a raucous rally in Melbourne, Fla., on Saturday, accusing the press of making up sources. They have their own agenda, and their agenda is not your agenda.
At one point, Trump even quoted Thomas Jefferson, who was irritated by the medias coverage of his presidency.
Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper, Trump quoted Jefferson as saying on June 14, 1807.
A man dressed as Abraham Lincoln attends a mock funeral for the American presidency in New York City on Saturday. (Bria Webb/Reuters)
But critics quickly shared a different Jefferson quote that showcased his respect for press freedom.
Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, Jefferson once said. I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
Following Trumps tweet Friday, members of the media took to Twitter to showcase examples of important work their colleagues have done with the hastag #NotTheEnemy.
This is Woodward and Bernstein. Nixon called them the enemy. They proved that no president is above the law. #NotTheEnemy pic.twitter.com/ekxoiBZis1 Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) February 18, 2017
In the past 25 years, 1230 journalists were killed worldwide in relation to their work. These are only 10 of them. They are #NotTheEnemy. pic.twitter.com/UaC0tFhql3 CPJ (@pressfreedom) February 19, 2017
My dear friend Chris Hondros. He was killed covering the war in Libya. Great photog. Better person. #NotTheEnemy pic.twitter.com/BxTf3t9uEp Lizzie O'Leary (@lizzieohreally) February 18, 2017
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysia's ambassador to North Korea has been recalled from Pyongyang amid rising tensions between the countries over the death in Kuala Lumpur of an estranged scion of North Korea's ruling family. The Malaysian foreign ministry said in a Monday statement that it had recalled its ambassador "for consultations" and had summoned Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, "to seek an explanation on the accusations he made against the Government of Malaysia." Kang said Malaysia may be "trying to conceal something" and that the autopsy on Kim Jong Nam was carried out "unilaterally and excluding our attendance." Kim Jong Nam is the half brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) A paranoid dictator's estranged brother. Two young female assassins. A crowded international airport. And a mysterious poison that kills within hours. It's the perfect recipe for a thrilling cloak-and-dagger spy novel. Except some or possibly even all of this tale could be true in the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And just like similar intriguing cases from the past, the public is hanging on to every detail because there's just something about murder by poison that captivates. "A gun announces its mischief; poison can sneak in with a sip of champagne," said Robert Thompson, a pop culture expert at Syracuse University.
WASHINGTON (AP) The apparent assassination of the North Korean leader's estranged half-brother is strengthening bipartisan calls for the U.S. to re-list North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation lifted nine years ago. Doing so would increase the country's isolation, while potentially complicating any future diplomacy to halt its nuclear and missile programs. The U.S. kept North Korea on its terrorism blacklist for two decades after the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner killed 115 people. But President George W. Bush lifted the designation in 2008 to smooth the way for aid-for-disarmament negotiations. The concession proved of little value as the talks collapsed soon after and have yet to resume.
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PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) Plug your noses and ready your "Juche fertilizer." It's time to prep the frozen fields in North Korea. North Korea relies on its farmers to squeeze absolutely all they can out of every harvest. It's a tall order in a country with 25 million mouths to feed that is mostly mountains, hamstrung by international trade sanctions and, beyond a handful of showcase cooperatives, hard-pressed to modernize its agricultural sector. Without doubt, life as a farmer in North Korea is harsh. But there are some signs of change in how North Korea is treating its fields and its farmers.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) A local government official says an avalanche has killed seven people in northern Pakistan. Taimour Khan, an official with the provincial disaster management department, says another eight people were injured. Those people have been retrieved from a building buried by the avalanche Sunday near Lowari Tunnel in Upper Dir. Khan says there could be additional victims under the debris. Khan says rescue work is underway to open the blocked road and the tunnel, which connects northwest Pakistan to northern mountain regions.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) A retired Philippine police officer says President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was a city mayor, ordered and paid him and other members of a so-called liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents, including a kidnapping suspect and his entire family and a critical radio commentator. Human rights lawyers who presented Arthur Lascanas at a news conference Monday said his allegations could be grounds for impeaching Duterte. There was no immediate comment from Duterte or his office. Lascanas comments come after he denied at a Senate hearing last year that he was involved in any extra-judicial killings in southern Davao city.
BANGKOK (AP) A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. ___ U.S. REPORTEDLY PLANNING FRESH FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION MISSION The U.S. Navy is planning a fresh freedom of navigation operation around China's man-made islands, the first under President Donald Trump, the Navy Times reported, citing defense officials.
Kim Jong Nam, the estranged, exiled half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fell ill at a Malaysian airport, complained of being sprayed with some sort of chemical and died last week, sparking an international mystery right out of a spy novel. Many experts pointed the finger at North Korea, and South Korea's spy agency, which has consistently described Kim Jong Un as an irrational and unstable dictator, argued that Kim killed a non-threatening sibling out of "paranoia." In other images from the Asia-Pacific region last week, after months of campaigning dominated by religious and racial tensions, none of the three candidates vying to run Muslim-majority Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, secured the 50 percent needed for an outright win, setting the stage for a runoff election in April.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) A New Zealand judge on Monday upheld an earlier court ruling that flamboyant internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges. The decision comes five years after U.S. authorities shut down Dotcom's file-sharing website Megaupload and filed charges of conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering against the men. If found guilty, they could face decades in prison. Dotcom, who lives in New Zealand, has been fighting extradition in a case which has moved with glacial slowness at times. And Monday's decision won't be the last, with the case likely to be appealed up to New Zealand's Supreme Court, a process that could take another year or two.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Taiwan's foreign ministry has protested Spain's decision to deport more than 200 Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects to China, in the latest instance of a government moving to deport citizens of the self-governing island to its rival. Scores of Taiwanese have been arrested around the world in the past year in connection with vast telecoms fraud scams targeting Chinese nationals. Countries including Malaysia, Cambodia and Kenya have deported Taiwanese suspects to China, in deference to Beijing which views Taiwan as its own territory without sovereign legal status and has long tried to diplomatically isolate it. The Taiwanese ministry said in a statement Sunday that it "deeply regrets" a decision by the Spanish government to agree to a request by Beijing to extradite 269 Taiwanese and Chinese nationals arrested in December in Spain.
FLORIDA, N.Y. (AP) When Denise Krohn came home to find her goldendoodle Kirby bleeding on the kitchen floor, she at first thought it was a terrible accident. But she soon realized that her home had been ransacked, and that her other dog, Quigley, was lying dead on his favorite blanket in the living room.
Burglars who tore through her hilltop farmhouse north of Albany made off with several televisions, a laptop, some cheap jewelry and change. And, police say, they apparently shot her friendly, goofy dogs on their way out the door.
"It was just a mean, nasty thing," Krohn said.
A year later, the crime remains unsolved. But what bothers Krohn is that police told her that if someone is caught, they would likely get 25 years in jail for burglary, but no additional punishment for killing the dogs.
"It's just not right," she said. "I don't care about the TVs and other stuff. What hurts us every day is losing our dogs."
Krohn hopes to gain some measure of justice by making her pets the poster pups for New York state legislation that would make it a felony to harm a companion animal, even by accident, during the commission of a crime. Conviction would be punishable by a $5,000 fine and two years behind bars on top of the jail time for the burglary or other crime.
Dubbed "Kirby and Quigley's Law" for the slain dogs, the proposal currently faces an uphill fight among lawmakers. But if it does pass, experts say it would be one of the toughest animal-cruelty charges in the nation.
Diane Balkin, a former Denver prosecutor who's now with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, likened it to felony murder, a legal rule that allows someone to be charged with murder if they kill someone during the commission of another dangerous crime, even if the killing wasn't intentional.
Sen. Jim Tedisco, a Schenectady County Republican who first introduced the bill five years ago, said he was originally motivated by two cases in which heroin traffickers smuggled drugs in the stomachs of puppies and dogs and were charged with drug crimes but not animal cruelty.
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"Attorneys said it had nothing to do with cruelty, they were just smuggling heroin," Tedisco said. "What this bill does is make it clear that if you harm a companion animal while committing another crime, you face an additional penalty."
Tedisco's spokesman said the measure is intended to apply only to cats and dogs. But the bill says "companion animals," and a state appellate court once upheld a felony cruelty conviction under the current law of a man who stomped a goldfish to death.
The bill passed the state Senate 59-2 this month but has died in committees in the Assembly the past five sessions. Opposition has focused on whether such a law is really needed.
In the case of Kirby and Quigley, Balkin said the criminal could probably be charged under the existing cruelty law because the shooting was clearly an intentional act. The new law would also cover an unintentional act, such as hitting a pet with a getaway car.
"This bill is unnecessary," said Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat. "It's already a crime to assault or kill an animal; it's already a felony if you do it with malicious intent."
Lentol said if the point of the law is to deter cruel acts, it makes no sense to expand it to include unintentional harm.
Publicity about Kirby and Quigley led several breeders to offer goldendoodle puppies to the Krohns. They now have 8-month-old Porter and 7-month-old Tedi, who's related to the blond, curly Quigley and looks just like him, right down to the joyful grin.
Krohn has already written a pile of letters to lawmakers and promised to keep fighting for the bill.
"I never thought of myself as an animal activist," said Krohn, a retired teacher. "I just want to do what's right."
In the years to come, when you sit down to decide the next destination for your holiday, it may be a choice of more than just where to go. In fact, you might even start the vacation soon after you sit down, simply by plugging into a virtual getaway.
It might not be the same thing at all as physically being in some place be it tropical beaches or the Himalayas but many Americans are willing and wanting to try virtual reality vacations. According to a recent survey, as many as 24 percent of the respondents said they want to experience a new place through VR, 20 percent said they would love to go on a VR holiday and 10 percent thought VR was the future of travel.
Commissioned by liligo.com, a travel comparison website, results of the survey were announced in the companys Future of Travel Report. The results, shared with International Business Times, show that one of the reasons why VR could be so enthusiastically embraced by Americans is due to the prevalence of travel-related anxiety, particularly to do with flying.
Microsoft researchers suggest new virtual reality technology with hallucination capabilities will develop in 2017.
Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
About 30 percent of the respondents admitted to often praying before or during a flight, while nervousness kept awake one in 11 people awake all night before a flight. When it came to Millennials, 11 percent took sleeping pills to prepare for the flight, one in 13 went through superstitious rituals and one in 15 consumed alcohol during a flight to calm their nerves (9 percent got drunk before the flight for the same reason).
When it comes to modes of travel, flights obviously cause panic among some travelers, with about 8 percent admitting to anxiety attacks just thinking about air travel. However, there was a lot of excitement about a mode of transport that doesnt yet exist commercially Hyperloop.
Initially proposed by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, the technology is being independently developed by a handful of companies and some countries have shown interest in getting mass transit systems based on it.
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Over a quarter of those surveyed believe Hyperloop to be the best way to travel, with a similar number saying it will be the most popular travel mode between cities in the future. However, about 43 percent of respondents dont think the technology will become a viable reality in their lifetimes. But if it did, one in six people would choose to experience Hyperloop over a trip to space.
HyperloopOne Dubai
Photo: REUTERS/Steve Marcus
Eric Urbain, U.S. marketing director for liligo.com, said in a statement to IBT: Its much easier for people to travel quickly at low costs now than it was years ago, and thats only going to improve. The future of travel is going to give us a wider variety of travel options whether it be a VR vacation from your couch or a 30 minute trip from LA to San Francisco in the Hyperloop.
Conducted by YouGov PLC on behalf of liligo.com, the survey questioned 1,346 adults in the United States.
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BOSTON (AP) Native Americans hope President Donald Trump doesn't forget America's first inhabitants as he promises to put "America first."
Tribes have been reaching out to the Republican administration since it took office last month, saying they're ready to help it meet its campaign promises of improving the economy and creating more jobs for Americans.
Five large tribes in Oklahoma the Cherokee, Chickasaw , Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Seminoles have requested a meeting with the New York billionaire during his first 100 days in office so they can talk about ways to advance their common interests.
In Massachusetts, leaders of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, descendants of the Native Americans who first encountered the Pilgrims nearly four centuries ago, have been echoing similar sentiments to Trump officials as they seek approval of reservation lands to build a $1 billion resort casino south of Boston.
"Tribes are pouring billions and billions of dollars into the U.S. to help make America great again," said Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the 2,600-member, federally recognized tribe, playing off Trump's campaign slogan. "All of these economies we're creating, from resort casinos to malls to businesses. We're job creators. That's a story that's never really told."
But tribes elsewhere have already steeled for battle just weeks into the new administration.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota has asked the courts to overturn recent federal approvals for the Dakota Access pipeline. The tribe and its supporters are also planning a large demonstration in Washington on March 10.
"The Trump Administration is circumventing the law: wholly disregarding the treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux," Jan Hasselman, an attorney representing the tribe, said in a statement. "It isn't the 1800s anymore the U.S. government must keep its promises."
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The tribes along the nation's border with Mexico have also voiced concerns about the impact Trump's proposed wall will have on their sovereign lands. And other tribal advocates are closely watching what comes of Republicans' promises to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
The law included federal funds for tribal health care programs, and stripping them could have "disastrous consequences," dozens of tribal groups wrote in a December letter to congressional leaders.
Despite the uncertainties, many tribal leaders say they're still hopeful they can build on the strong relationships enjoyed under prior administrations.
They've found reason to cheer in Trump's pick to lead the Department of Interior, Ryan Zinke, a Republican congressman from Montana who's pledged to "restore trust" between the agency, the states and Indian tribes.
"Yes, we are looking for ways to partner. Now, do we have assumptions because he's been in battles with other tribes? Sure, and we're looking to clarify those assumptions," says Gary Batton, chief of the roughly 200,000-member Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. "Is he open to considering that each tribal government is its own separate entity and unique? That's the way we're approaching this."
On the campaign trail, Trump gave little indication how he might approach tribes, but many see promise in the administration's broader goals.
"Infrastructure, energy development, education and job creation," said Jacqueline Pata, a member of the Tlingit-Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska's Central Council and executive director for the National Congress of American Indians. "Those are things that have been critical in Indian Country for a long, long time."
Russell Begaye, president of the Navajo Nation, says his members will be looking for greater control over water, land, criminal justice and taxation on their sovereign lands, which straddle parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
"If Trump is about self-sufficiency and self-determination, let's see if he really means that," he said. "Give us full authority over our lands. If this land is ours, why are we asking the federal government for permission?"
Tribes with casino dreams, meanwhile, are optimistic that Trump's experience in the industry, as well as his promises to ease businesses regulations, will work in their favor, said Jason Giles, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma and executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
Trump once owned three Atlantic City, New Jersey, casinos, though two have since shuttered and one operates under different owners.
Tribes are even willing, for now, to overlook the president's past off-color statements about Native Americans. Testifying before Congress in 1993, the then-casino mogul questioned the legitimacy of some of his tribal rivals.
"Go up to Connecticut," Trump said, referring to the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino. "They don't look like Indians to me."
Giles called Trump's past remarks "troublesome" but says he and other tribal representatives have been assured by Trump's advisers that those statements aren't reflective of the current administration, which didn't respond to requests for comment for this story.
"We're taking them at their word," he said. "We're going into this with open arms."
___
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo
Milan (AFP) - A cluster of palm trees next to Milan's Duomo was set ablaze early Sunday as a dispute over the use of non-native plants at one of Italy's most celebrated cathedrals took on a racist tinge.
Three of the 42 trees went up in flames in the overnight attack by vandals, though only one suffered extensive damage to its trunk.
The incident followed protests on Saturday organised by the anti-immigrant Northern League party and CasaPound, a radical rightwing movement.
Demonstrators waving the Italian flag stood in front of a large banner alleging the "Africanisation" of the historic piazza.
The palms, some of them five metres (17 feet) tall, appeared on Thursday in the shadow of the 14th century Gothic cathedral.
Critics complained not only that the plants were non-native, but that the project -- which will also involve banana trees -- had been sponsored by Starbucks.
The US coffee giant is preparing to take on the Italian market, a frontal assault on the nation's cherished network of mostly independent bars and cafes.
Palms are not native to Italy but are widespread in more temperate areas of the country, including Rome and the Riviera, as well as in Sicily, where their juxtaposition with the austere architecture of Norman cathedrals is a favourite holiday snap for visitors.
Some palms in Italy are older than the country itself, having been brought to the peninsula by novelty-seeking aristocrats in the 18th and 19th centuries.
They were later championed by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as symbols of Italy's short-lived African empire.
The ones in Milan are a cold-resistant variety that are expected to survive the northern city's chilly winters.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to direct immigration agents to greatly expand the categories of immigrants they target for deportation, according to drafts of two memos seen by Reuters and first reported by McClatchy news organization on Saturday.
Two sources familiar with the plans told Reuters the documents have been approved by Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, but are under final review by the White House. They are expected to be released to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) early next week.
Under the orders, hundreds of thousands of people would face expedited removal proceedings, including those that had not been prioritized for deportation under former President Barack Obama.
The memos are guidance to instruct agents in the field to implement two executive orders signed by Trump on Jan. 25 intended to deter future migration and drive out more illegal migrants from the United States.
One memo instructs ICE agents to ignore Obamas memos on immigration priorities that targeted only recent arrivals and convicted criminal migrants for deportation. Instead, migrants who have been charged with crimes but not convicted would be prioritized for deportation. The guidance also allows ICE agents wide discretion in deciding who to deport and considers anyone in the United States illegally to be subject to deportation.
The guidance does leave in place Obamas 2012 executive action that protected 750,000 people brought to the United States illegally by their parents. The fate of the policy, known as DACA, has been hotly debated within the White House, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Trump said in a news conference Friday that DACA was a very difficult subject for him.
The ICE memo also states that immigrants will not be afforded rights under U.S. privacy laws.
The second memo instructs CBP officers to crack down on illegal migration at the border by holding migrants in detention until a determination in their case is made.
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The Department of Homeland Security did not deny any information contained in the draft memos but did not provide further detail.
A source familiar with the guidance said the memos were scheduled to be distributed on Friday but the White House made a last-minute request to review them. It is not known whether the White House may alter the guidance.
Kelly said in one of the memos that illegal immigration across the U.S. border with Mexico had "created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States."
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(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley and Diane Bartz; Editing by Dave Gregorio)
Munich (Germany) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's envoys have tried to reassure allies that Washington remains committed to its global role and responsibilities.
But after a week of top flight diplomacy, it is unclear if US Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and defence chief James Mattis have got the message across.
Here is a summary of the issues and exchanges:
- US REASSURES ALLIES -
US President Donald Trump spooked Washington's NATO allies when he dubbed the alliance "obsolete" and said he wanted to work with Russia to counter Islamic terrorism, now the main threat to international security.
Pence insisted that Trump's NATO commitment was "unwavering" and never in doubt.
But there was an important caveat -- the allies would have to pay their share of the bill and increase defence spending to the equivalent of two percent of annual economic output.
Otherwise, as Pence put it, the "foundations" of the alliance could be eroded.
For the allies, the two percent is a target, not necessarily an end point, and they say their military spending would be counted higher if they include operations mounted in the common cause, such as fighting Islamic State jihadis in Syria and Iraq.
- RUSSIA, UKRAINE -
Trump's softer line on Russia has caught the allies on the wrong foot since they agreed, at President Barack Obama's urging, to the biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War in response to the more assertive Moscow highlighted in the Ukraine crisis.
Pence, Tillerson and Mattis insisted Washington would do no deals with Russia if they were not in keeping with US interests and those of its friends.
On Ukraine, Pence said the US administration would hold Russia to account, with full implementation of the Minsk ceasefire accords the only way forward to a solution.
The US officials made no mention of Trump's possible Russian ties, put in the spotlight after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign over contacts with Moscow's ambassador in Washington.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meanwhile offered Washington the option of a "pragmatic" relationship but denounced NATO as a Cold War relic and called for a "post-West" world order.
- EUROPEAN UNION -
Trump's praise of Britain's vote to leave what he said was a doomed EU was very badly received in Brussels given fears London may capitalise on its US links to try to cut a better Brexit deal.
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen warned Washington such remarks could have "a direct impact on the cohesion of our continent," stressing that a stable EU and NATO were also in America's interest.
For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that no country could "go it alone" and only by working together could pressing global problems be resolved.
Pence made no reference in his remarks to the EU, a point noted by French Foreign Minister Jean-March Ayrault.
The US vice president travels Sunday to Brussels for talks with the Belgian government, and top EU and NATO officials.
- PRESIDENT TRUMP -
The big question remains -- the president's envoys have made their case but will their boss stick with it?
Republican Senator John McCain, who was also in Europe, conceded it was sometimes difficult to read Trump.
Sometimes he "contradicts himself, so some of us have learnt to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says," he said.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged his peers to cut the new administration some slack.
"Give these guys and give Donald Trump a chance. Yes it's a new style of government, but don't underestimate a new approach to deliver results," Johnson said.
WASHINGTON (AP) When North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters between South Korea and Japan, President Donald Trump moved quickly to show U.S. resolve. He appeared within hours alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and said the U.S. "stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent."
Trump happened to be hosting Abe that day in Florida. Yet his lack of any mention of U.S. treaty ally South Korea didn't go unnoticed by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. So, while on his first official trip, Tillerson arranged a three-way meeting in Germany with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers to show the U.S. wasn't picking favorites, according to a senior State Department official.
The talks culminated in a joint declaration in which the U.S. pledged to defend a pair of Asian nations that don't always get along. There was no elaborate ceremony before the video cameras, no speeches, as their written statement went out in low-key fashion.
It was Tillerson's way.
Cautious, reserved and intent on avoiding the spotlight, the former Exxon Mobil CEO is proving to be everything his extroverted Oval Office boss is not.
In his first weeks as America's top diplomat, Tillerson has gone to great lengths to avoid attracting attention, despite a growing perception in Washington that the State Department is being sidelined by a power-centric White House.
Some State Department officials have been told by the White House to expect drastic budget cuts, with much of the reduction potentially coming out of U.S. foreign aid money. Trump and his team have also told those interviewing for top State Department jobs that significant staffing cuts will come. Some appear to have started already.
While Tillerson was in Germany, several senior management and advisory positions were eliminated. The staffers were reassigned. Some other top posts are vacant, and there are no signs they'll be quickly filled.
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While Tillerson has met or spoken with dozens of foreign counterparts in his first weeks, the White House is driving the front-page diplomacy. The lack of State Department involvement has flustered many long-time diplomats.
When Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, acting Deputy Secretary Tom Shannon was assigned to represent the agency in the meeting because Tillerson was flying to Germany. At the last minute, Shannon was blocked from participating in the meeting. The meeting went on without State Department representation.
It was "modified to allow for a more personal discussion," according to a U.S. official, who was authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Tillerson had dined the evening before with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a White House aide who has emerged as Trump's top emissary to Israel, Mexico and other countries. That is a role that traditionally has fallen to the secretary of state.
Tillerson has barely spoken in public, save for greeting U.S. diplomats on his first day and brief comments after a get-together with Russia's foreign minister.
It's a sharp contrast with the Obama administration's last secretary of state, John Kerry, who routinely found his way to the center of global crises, enthusiastically fulfilling the "public diplomacy" part of the job. Whereas Kerry exhausted staff with impromptu, whirlwind foreign trips and constant press appearances, Tillerson has made it known to his staff that he wants a lower profile.
In private, the Texas oilman with the booming baritone voice is deliberate, independent and cool-headed, according to U.S. and foreign diplomats who have interacted with him and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to avoid possible diplomatic fallout from discussing private conversations. A common thread in Tillerson's meetings with diplomats has been an emphasis on safety of U.S. personnel, State Department officials said.
It's a continuation of a theme Tillerson touched on when he spoke to staffers on his first day, and one he plans to echo this coming week on a trip to Mexico City with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Tillerson will stop at the U.S. Embassy to meet with American diplomats, officials said.
Diplomats from several foreign countries said Tillerson is playing it safe in high-level meetings so far, avoiding extemporaneous comments. He shows up seeming well-prepared and confident on the substance of issues, rarely consulting his aides or written notes, they reported.
In Germany last week, Tillerson urged China to help address North Korea's nuclear threat. He called on Russia to honor a 2015 peace plan for Ukraine.
While those signs of continuity in U.S. policy may have assuaged some foreign leaders' concerns about Trump, Tillerson's tight-lipped nature unsettled others.
After meeting Tillerson, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault lamented the "vague" U.S. position on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tillerson told several of his international partners the U.S. is still in "listening mode," leaving some with the perception that Trump may craft U.S. foreign policy on the fly.
In a rare interaction with reporters, Tillerson said before leaving Germany he was bringing home "many" messages for Trump. Asked to share a few, he demurred.
"Not until I share it with him," he said.
By Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn. Trump fired Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration and later misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. His first choice to fill the job, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, is also no longer on the president's short list. Sources familiar with the candidates' thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace' that the new adviser "can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing". He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they "hadn't really gone down the road" with Petraeus. The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies. Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon's addition has drawn sharp criticism due his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News. Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen are currently on the president's list. McMaster holds a senior post with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Caslen is superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "I'll make a decision over the next couple of days," Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Kieran Murray and Mary Milliken)
Ankara (AFP) - Turning a blind eye to multiple policy differences, Turkey is seeking a tighter alliance with Washington under President Donald Trump but the road to a rapprochement may not be easy.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's relationship with the White House worsened drastically in the final months of the Barack Obama administration, mired in rows on issues from Syria to the extradition of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish leader's arch-foe.
But Turkish officials repeated none of the gloom that some EU leaders expressed after Trump's election, instead hoping that he would open a new page in relations.
Trump's administration has a "good opportunity to make bold moves" in his foreign policy after the previous administration's "disregardful" attitude, Ayse Sozen Usluer, head of international relations at the Turkish presidency, told AFP.
She added the new administration would assess anew its relationship with Turkey regarding trade, military, the fight against terror among other issues and "take new steps to improve relations".
- 'Withholding criticism' -
So could a potential bromance now be brewing between two men who have made macho politics a trademark?
Less than 48 hours after Trump and Erdogan had their first conversation of the new US president's term, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo came to Ankara last week to meet the Turkish leadership in his first foreign visit.
In a sign of the importance of realpolitik in the relationship, Pompeo had only last year described Turkey as a "totalitarian Islamist dictatorship" in a now deleted tweet.
Meanwhile in a flurry of activity, US joint chiefs of staff Joseph Dunford also visited Turkey on Friday.
But for all the good intentions, analysts believe it is doubtful the two sides will progress much beyond a honeymoon period before traditional disagreements reappear.
Ankara hopes Trump is "the man who can deliver (a rapprochement) to them, so they're quite obviously withholding any criticism of him even though his rhetoric in multiple cases is completely against everything they stood for," said Aaron Stein, resident fellow of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East.
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"I'm not sure that the Trump administration is hearing them yet," he told AFP.
- 'Tactical love affair' -
Keen not to disturb the relationship in its early days, Erdogan stayed unusually quiet over Trump's attempt to bar entry to nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Erdogan regards himself as a champion in the battle against Islamophobia and has also not criticised Trump's repeated use of the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism".
Yet when German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to Ankara and used the expression "Islamist terrorism", Erdogan swiftly rebuked her.
Well-connected Turkish columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote Ankara wanted good start with the Trump administration "but at the same time, it is cautious".
Fadi Hakura, Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London, told AFP the "thin-skinned" leaders would have major policy differences, particularly over political Islam.
"This current love affair is short-term, tactical and ad-hoc," he told AFP.
- More serious on Gulen? -
One key issue is whether Trump continues the Obama policy of supporting the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), as the best fighting force on the ground against IS in Syria.
Turkey views the PYD and YPG as sister groups of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Turkey has repeatedly floated the idea of a joint operation to capture the IS de-facto capital of Raqa in Syria but insisted the Kurdish militia are not involved.
Meanwhile the shadow also lurks of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999 and Turkey accuses of ordering a July 15 failed putsch.
Gulen strongly denies the charges but Ankara has repeatedly called for him to be extradited.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim discussed the issue with US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday after the men met on the sidelines of the Munich security conference.
Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the Trump adminstration was taking the Gulen issue "more seriously" although there has yet to be a clear sign in Washington of a change in attitude.
Stein said although Trump would not be able to extradite Gulen as it is handled by the US justice department, the Turks wanted "more pressure" on the Muslim cleric.
Hakura of Chatham House said Turkey's key conditions -- the extradition of Gulen and Washington ceasing all cooperation with the YPG -- were unlikely to be met in the medium or long term.
"The greater likelihood is a rupture in relations... rather than a continuation of the current pantomime."
ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that Washington was keen for a new start in relations between the two countries, sources in Yildirim's office said, after ties soured during the Obama administration. Pence and Yildirim met on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, Germany, and discussed improving ties, boosting cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the need to work together to find a permanent solution in Syria. Yildirim told Pence that moves by the United States to meet Turkey's demands over Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric blamed by Ankara for masterminding and orchestrating a failed coup last July, would pave the way for a fresh start in relations. Ties between the United States and Turkey - which has the second largest army in the NATO alliance and is key to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq - have deteriorated sharply since the failed military coup. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the government want Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, extradited. Gulen denies involvement in the coup attempt. Ankara has also been angered by U.S. support for a Kurdish militia group fighting Islamic State in Syria. Turkey sees the group as an extension of the outlawed PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey and has been behind a spate of recent bombings. Erdogan believes ties will improve under U.S. President Donald Trump. A phone call between the two earlier this month was very positive, sources in Erdogan's office have said. (Reporting by Ercan Gurses; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Mark Potter)
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 on Tuesday, has no plans to give up power, saying he has no "acceptable" successor in place.
"The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee," Mugabe said in excerpts from a radio broadcast that will air this week and that were printed in the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper.
"But then what do you see? It's the opposite. They want me to stand for elections."
"The majority of the people feel that there is no replacement, a successor who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am," he added.
Mugabe, who has kept an iron grip on power since Zimbabwe declared independence in 1980, has repeatedly denied reports of health problems, fuelled in part by frequent trips to Dubai and Singapore.
He once quipped that he would rule until he turned 100.
"Of course if I feel that I cant do it any more, I will say so to my party so that they relieve me. But for now, I think I cant say so," he said.
But Mugabe, long known for his fiery speeches, has appeared unusually subdued in recent public appearances, speaking slowly and keeping his addresses short.
In September, he read a speech to parliament, apparently unaware that he had delivered the same address a month earlier.
Zimbabwe's economy has crumbled during Mugabe's rule, and opponents of his regime are brutally repressed by security forces.
Inflation is rampant, and in recent months the country has experienced cash shortages, with the government struggling to pay civil servants.
In December, however, Mugabe's ZANU-PF party endorsed him once again as its candidate for 2018 elections, but rival factions in the party are already jostling to succeed him.
He surprised many in the party in 2014 by naming his wife, Grace, head of its influential women's wing, spurring rumours that she could be nursing her own presidential ambitions.
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And last week, Grace Mugabe, 51, appeared to dash any opponent's hopes for succeeding him, saying voters would continue to back Mugabe even when he is dead.
"One day when God decides that Mugabe dies, we will have his corpse appear as a candidate on the ballot paper," she said.
"You will see people voting for Mugabe as a corpse."
In the broadcast, Mugabe applauded US President Donald Trump for promoting nationalist policies that he said echoed his "Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans" stance.
"But he is a radical. I don't know whether the construction of the wall between America and Mexico is feasible, a feasible proposal. It appears quite nasty."
MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. Republican senators plan to introduce legislation to impose further sanctions on Iran, accusing it of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions by testing ballistic missiles and acting to "destabilise" the Middle East, a U.S. senator said Sunday. "I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what theyve done outside the nuclear program," Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Munich Security Conference. Graham said he and other Republicans would introduce measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since an Iranian ballistic missile test that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to impose sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the country's Revolutionary Guards. "Iran is a bad actor in the greatest sense of the word when it comes to the region. To Iran, I say, if you want us to treat you differently then stop building missiles, test-firing them in defiance of U.N. resolution and writing 'Death to Israel' on the missile. That's a mixed message," Graham said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif told the conference earlier on Sunday that Iran did not respond well to sanctions or threats. James Jones, a former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and President Barack Obamas first national security adviser, told a separate event in Munich that he remained convinced that sanctions had persuaded Iran to negotiate the 2015 landmark deal with six world powers to curb its nuclear program. "The sanctions did work. Iran would never have come to the negotiating table without sanctions," Jones said. "This is a new form of response that if properly utilized can change behavior and get people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't do." Senator Christopher Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the same panel there was nothing preventing Congress from imposing sanctions beyond those that were lifted as a result of the 2016 nuclear agreement with Iran. Murphy, a Democrat, said had backed the nuclear deal in the explicit understanding that it would not prevent Congress from taking actions against Iran outside the nuclear issue. "There's going to be a conversation about what the proportional response is," Murphy said, referring to Iran's missile test. "But I don't necessarily think there's going to be partisan division over whether or not we have the ability as a Congress to speak on issues outside of the nuclear agreement." Murphy said the United States needed to decide whether it wanted to take a broader role in the regional conflict. "We have to make a decision whether we are going to get involved in the emerging proxy war in a bigger way than we are today, between Iran and Saudi," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and John Irish; Editing by Jane Merriman and David Goodman)
LONDON (Reuters) - The British parliament's upper chamber is likely to attach conditions to legislation giving Prime Minister Theresa May the power to trigger the country's exit from the European Union, a former minister from the opposition Labour Party said on Sunday. Earlier this month, May won approval for the legislation from parliament's lower chamber, the House of Commons. The unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, is due to begin debating the bill on Monday. The legislation passed through the Commons without being amended, but it could face a tougher ride through the Lords, where May's Conservative Party does not have a majority. Amendments aimed at giving EU citizens in Britain guaranteed rights post-Brexit, and calling for parliament to have a vote on the final Brexit deal are expected to attract the most support. Asked during an interview on BBC TV whether it was his view the government could be defeated on these two issues, Peter Mandelson, a Labour member of the House of Lords said: "I think it is. I think there is a strong body of opinion across party and amongst independent peers as well that both these issues are very serious." May has said she plans to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty by the end of March and that she expects to get the legislation through parliament in time to do so. If the Lords succeeds in attaching any conditions to the legislation, the amended bill will have to go back to the Commons for its approval. The House of Commons has already rejected amendments on both issues. The legislation will be passed back and forth between the upper and lower houses until they both agree. "At the of end of the day the House of Commons must prevail because it is the elected chamber but I hope the House of Lords will not throw in the towel early," Mandelson said. Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss told the BBC she expected the Lords to get on and pass the legislation. "It is a simple bill on do we trigger Article 50, the British people have voted for that, they were clear in the referendum and the House of Lords now needs to get on with it which is what I understand they will be doing," she said. "I fully expect the House of Lords will recognize the will of the people and the will of the House of Commons, which was overwhelming, and pass that legislation." (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Mark Potter)
Kiev (AFP) - At least seven protestors were detained as clashes erupted Sunday between Ukrainian police and ultra-nationalists backing a rail blockade in Kiev, an AFP correspondent said.
The violence broke out after more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered to back the blockade between the coal-producing separatist east and the rest of Ukraine, which Kiev has warned could cause nationwide power cuts and job losses.
Those detained included the leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists Mykola Kokhanivskyi. Most of those held were injured, a few with head wounds and one with an injured leg, said the AFP journalist near the presidential offices.
Ukraine has declared a state of emergency in the energy sector over the railway blockade, which was launched in late January to protest at Kiev trading with Russian-backed rebels in the east.
"We once again warn the authorities who trade coal with the occupied territories, making cash from blood," Kokhanivskiy, commander of his group's volunteer battalion, had told the crowd before the clashes.
The protesters had been escorted by hundreds of members of the security forces as they marched from Kiev's Independence or Maidan square to the offices of the president.
President Petro Poroshenko has described the blockade as a "destabilising factor" for the war-scarred and cash-strapped former Soviet state.
The pro-Western leader has warned that the coal delivery stoppage would leave parts of Kiev and other cities without heating, and said it could cost 300,000 jobs as factories grind to a halt without power.
But protesters took aim at Poroshenko at Sunday's march.
"Shame on the corrupt government!", "The enemy is within!" they shouted, some hurling firecrackers before the clashes.
"Poroshenko benefits from this trade, that's why he is against the blockade," said 51-year-old pilot Yevgen.
"He is afraid of his people. Well, for him this is not his people, it's the flock whose fleece he wants to cut for a long time, brazenly and scot-free," he added.
The 34-month conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed more than 10,000 lives and left Kiev without full control of its vital industrial belt.
Munich (Germany) (AFP) - UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Sunday questioned US President Donald Trump's engagement in solving the Syrian war, just days ahead of a new round of peace talks in Geneva.
"Where is the US in all this? I can't tell you because I don't know," he said, adding that the new administration was still trying to work out its priorities on the conflict.
The top three US priorities include fighting Islamic State jihadists, "how to limit the influence of some major regional players and how to not to damage one of their major allies in the region," de Mistura told the Munich Security Conference.
"How you square this circle, that I understand is what they are discussing in Washington," he said.
He did not say who the regional player or major ally were but the first reference appeared to be to Iran, with the second likely to be either Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
Mistura stressed that what was ultimately key was an inclusive political solution to end the six-year conflict.
"Even a ceasefire with two guarantors can't hold too long if there is no political horizon," he said, referring to a fragile truce brokered by Russia and Turkey in December.
Any political solution has to be inclusive to be credible, he said, stressing that peace talks in Astana last week organised by Russia, Turkey and Iran, and the ceasefire deal provided an opening that should be explored.
The US envoy for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, acknowledged that Trump's administration is "re-looking at everything, which is a very healthy process from top to bottom."
"We will be very selfish about protecting and advancing our interests," he told the same forum.
Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, Washington insisted President Bashar al-Assad had to go, putting it at odds with Moscow which backs the Syrian leader.
At the same time, Trump has called for closer cooperation with Moscow to combat IS in Syria and Iraq, leaving the Assad question open.
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For Anas al-Abdeh, who heads the opposition National Coalition, the question over Assad's future is a clear roadblock in the path for peace.
No solution can be found "as long as Assad remains in power," he told the Munich forum.
More than 310,000 people have died since a popular uprising in 2011 against Assad morphed into all out civil war, with more than half the population forced to flee their homes.
A new round of UN-led talks are due to be held in Geneva on February 23, involving Syrian regime and rebel representatives.
Washington (AFP) - A US aircraft carrier strike group is patrolling in the South China Sea, the US Navy said Saturday, days after Beijing told Washington not to challenge its sovereignty in the waterway.
China asserts ownership of almost all of the resource-rich waters despite rival claims from several Southeast Asian countries. It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group was engaging in "routine operations in the South China Sea," the navy said in a statement on its website.
It noted that the ships and aircraft had recently conducted exercises off Hawaii and Guam to "maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group."
"We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," strike group commander Rear Admiral James Kilby said in the statement.
China's foreign ministry said ships and aircraft were allowed to operate in the area according to international law.
But Beijing "firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight," spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists Wednesday, responding to reports that the Vinson was headed to the South China Sea.
"We also urge the US to refrain from challenging China's sovereignty and security and to respect regional countries' efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.
The Vinson has deployed to the South China Sea 16 times in its 35-year history, the US Navy said.
Washington says it does not take sides in the territorial disputes but has several times sent warships and planes to assert freedom of navigation in the Sea, sparking protests from Beijing.
Baghdad (AFP) - The US-led coalition assisting Iraqi forces in their war on the Islamic State group on Sunday praised the militias involved in the fighting, despite some of those groups' links to Iran.
The coalition, which nominally includes more than 60 nations, has been keen to keep its distance with the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary organisation dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias.
But the commander of the coalition battling IS in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, had rare words of praise for them in a statement coinciding with the launch on Sunday of an offensive on the west bank of Mosul.
"The entire Coalition salutes and wishes God's blessings on the brave Iraqi soldiers, police and militias who today are fighting to liberate their country and make the region and the world a safer place," Townsend said in a coalition statement.
The Hashed al-Shaabi forces have played a key role in the fight against IS since the jihadists seized around a third of Iraq in 2014.
However their links to Iran and allegations of rights abuses against them have meant that the coalition has refrained from any direct support, focusing its assistance on the army, the police and elite forces.
In the four-month-old operation to retake Mosul, IS's last major bastion in the country, Hashed forces have operated mostly on a remote desert front southwest of the city.
Their forces have retaken swathes of land and dozens of villages in an effort aimed at surrounding jihadists holed up in the town of Tal Afar and cutting off supply lines between Mosul and the Syrian border.
"Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi forces have risen to the challenge," Townsend said in the statement.
"They have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq and the rest of the world," he said.
DACHAU, Germany (AP) U.S. Vice President Mike Pence paid a somber visit to the site of the Dachau concentration camp on Sunday, walking along the grounds where tens of thousands of people were killed during World War II.
Pence was joined by his wife, Karen, and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Charlotte, as they toured the exhibits at the former concentration camp that was established by the Nazis in 1933 near Munich.
The vice president was accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of the camp, and other dignitaries as he passed through the wrought-iron gate bearing the inscription, "Arbeit macht frei," or "Work sets you free." The Pences placed a wreath beneath the International Memorial at the center of the camp, toured the barracks and viewed the ovens inside the crematorium.
The Pences also stopped at religious memorials at the site and later attended a church service on the camp's grounds.
The concentration camp for political prisoners and Jews near Dachau was the first such facility in Germany. In 1935 other groups, among them Jehovah's Witnesses, gays and emigrants, were sent there. After a larger facility was built, more political prisoners and more than 11,000 German and Austrian Jews were sent there in 1938. In time, more than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at Dachau and subsidiary camps, and more than 40,000 died. The camp was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945.
Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Dachau in 2015.
Making his first overseas trip as vice president, Pence spoke to foreign diplomats and defense officials at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.
Shortly after his arrival in Brussels later Sunday, Pence said the American people appreciate the nation's alliance with Belgium and he's looking forward to his meetings with European Union and NATO leaders on Monday.
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Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC
(Reuters) - A Vietnamese man said on Sunday he believes his sister is one of the suspects arrested in Malaysia in connection with the murder of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Nam was assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport with what was thought to be a fast-acting poison. Malaysian police have said that among those arrested was a woman with a Vietnamese travel document. Vietnamese authorities have said only that they are investigating and are in touch with Malaysia. Joseph Doan confirmed that his sister's name was Doan Thi Huong and that she was born in 1988 in Nam Dinh province, southeast of the capital Hanoi. Those details are the same as those released by Malaysian police. "We only hear on the internet and everyone else hears on the internet but judging from the picture it looks like her. I can't be a 100 percent certain because we haven't met her yet," he said in Nam Dinh. The rice farmer said his sister appeared to be the woman whose image was captured in a grainy airport CCTV image wearing a white shirt with the acronym 'LOL' on it. He said Vietnamese authorities had been in touch and had been supportive. Doan said his sister had left home when she was 18 and only came home occasionally and without letting anyone know when she would be back. "Whenever she comes home I can only tell her to study and work hard," he said. South Korean and U.S. officials have said Kim Jong Nam was assassinated by North Korean agents. Malaysian police said on Sunday that four North Korean suspects in the murder fled Malaysia on the day of the killing. Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection to the murder, while a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have also been arrested. A Malaysian man is being detained to facilitate the investigation. (Editing by Michael Perry)
Washington (AFP) - A top aide denied Sunday that President Donald Trump is having difficulty filling the key post of national security advisor because of White House moves to politicize the office.
Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago getaway in Florida, was set to interview four candidates to replace Mike Flynn, the retired general who was ousted as national security advisor for deceiving Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to Washington.
Meanwhile, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus hit the Sunday television talk shows to push back at reports of disarray at the National Security Council, the president's main forum for decision-making about issues of national security and foreign affairs.
On Fox News Sunday, he was asked whether Trump was insisting that his controversial chief political strategist Steve Bannon play a major role in the NSC, reportedly a source of concern to candidates for the national security advisor position.
"The answer to that is no," Priebus said.
- Job Search -
Trump's search for a replacement has narrowed to acting national security advisor Keith Kellogg, a retired three star general; former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, an expert on counter-insurgency warfare; and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, the White House said.
Another leading candidate, retired general and former CIA chief David Petraeus, is no longer in the running.
The president told reporters on Saturday that he would make a decision over his new national security advisor "over the next couple of days."
Retired General Jim Jones, who served as national security advisor under former president Barack Obama, said the post requires a strategic thinker who enjoys direct access to the president and the confidence of key cabinet members.
"That relationship (with the president) has got to be a very strong and very direct," Jones said on CNN's State of the Union.
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- 'Total and complete say' -
Robert Harward, a retired vice admiral and former Navy SEAL, turned down Trump's offer of the national security advisor job earlier in the week, citing financial and family reasons.
Media reports said he was concerned he wouldn't be able to bring in his own team to staff the NSC. Other reports said he was put off by apparent chaos in the White House.
Priebus said the staffing issue was never raised in the talks with Harward.
"The president has said very clearly that the new (national security advisor) will have total and complete say over the makeup of the NSC and all of the components of the NSC, and there is no demand made by President Trump on any candidate," he said.
Set to appear on the ABC's Sunday talk show "This Week," Harward dropped out at the last minute.
With the National Security Council reeling from Flynn's ouster, the White House delivered another shock on Friday when it abruptly dismissed the senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, Craig Deare, for criticizing Trump and his top aides, Politico reported.
However, Priebus told "Fox News Sunday" any implication that the White House wants the national security council under the control of political operatives is "fake news."
He also dismissed a New York Times report this week that members of the Trump campaign had repeated contacts with Russian operatives during the campaign as "garbage."
"The top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that that story is not only inaccurate, but it is grossly overstated," he said, declining to say who had given those assurances.
The White House addressed the firing of at least two Administration officials in recent days over revelations they have made comments critical of President Trump, saying it would be silly to keep them around.
Principal deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that National Security Council senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Deare was sent back to his original position after criticizing the president and top administration officials at an off the record panel last week. Politico reported that Deare was dismissed from the NSC job Friday. Deare, Sanders said, would return to his previous role on the faculty at the National Defense University.
I dont think that any person that is there in order to carry out the Presidents agenda should be against the Presidents agenda, Sanders said. It seems pretty silly that you would have somebody thats not supportive of what youre trying to accomplish there to carry out that very thing.
Sanders comments came a day after the New York Times reported that Shermichael Singleton, a top aide to Ben Carson, Trumps nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was fired amid a review of past comments critical of Trump. Earlier this month the president rejected Secretary of State Rex Tillersons selection for his deputy at the department, Elliott Abrams, after learning of his outspoken criticism of Trump during the campaign.
I think if you dont support the Presidents agenda it would be very hard for you to take a position where your very job is to carry out and help him accomplish that agenda, Sanders added.
It was unclear whether Sanders comments reflected the Administrations efforts to put a blanket ban on critics from serving, or only those who have criticized the president in the policy areas in which they are seeking to serve. Earlier this month White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that career government employees who disagree with the presidents policies can get with the program or they can go.
The Trump Administration has had difficulty filling top postings across the government, and lags the Obama Administration in both nominations and successful confirmations of its picks. The news comes as Trump continues to interview candidates to replace Mike Flynn as National Security Advisor after the presidents top pick, Robert Harward, turned down the job last week.
Angelina Jolie Is the Lady in (Hot!) Pink at Cambodian Opening Ceremony for Her Film
Angelina Jolie looked dazzling in hot pink when she attended the opening ceremony for her new film First They Killed My Father, in Cambodia on Saturday.
Dressed in a floor-length bright gown, Jolie, 41, shared a special moment with King Norodom Sihamoni, who presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
The ceremony (and the costume change for Jolie) came hours after she was joined by her children Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8 for the Cambodian premiere of First They Killed My Father at the Terrace of the Elephant in the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex.
During the premiere, Jolie and her children spoke to the audience, with the actress-director referencing the deep connection she has felt with the country.
I cannot find words to express what it means to me that I was entrusted with telling part of the story of this country, she said. This film was not made to focus on the horrors of the past, but to celebrate the resilience, kindness and talent of the Cambodian people.
Most of all, this film is my way of saying thank you to Cambodia, she continued. Without Cambodia I may never have become a mother. Part of my heart is and will always be in this country. And part of this country is always with me: Maddox.
Maddox himself took center stage when he spoke to audience, saying:
Thank you everyone for attending tonight. We finally made it. Its a great honor to present this film to all of you, and to stand by my mother and my family. And now Id like to introduce my little sister Shiloh, as she has something to say.
Little Shiloh then stepped up to the microphone and told the crowd in Khmer: My name is Shiloh and I love Cambodia.
The Jolie-Pitt children were also on-hand to meet with King Norodom Sihamoni at the premiere.
Earlier in the day, the Oscar winner made her first public appearance since she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, when she attended a press event for the film.
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At the press conference, Jolie said she thinks of Cambodia like a second home, adding, Maddox is happy to be back in his country.
Based on the autobiography of the same name by Cambodian human-rights activist Loung Ung, a friend of Jolies, First They Killed My Father tells the true story of the devastation inflicted on Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge communist party in the 1970s.
I read Loungs book many years ago, Jolie said at the press conference. It helped to open my eyes to what was going on the world.
She added, I wanted to tell the story to through the eyes of the childs point of view, the love of a family, to show the beauty of the country and understand what Maddoxs parents may have gone through.
More than two million people, out of a total population of seven million, were killed during the purge, including Ungs father, mother and two sisters. The heart of it is Loungs story, its the story of a war through the eyes of a child, but it is also the story of a country, Jolie said in a promotional clip for the film.
Jolie used only Cambodian actors, many of whom are the survivors or children of the survivors of the genocide. In addition, Jolie insisted only their native Khmer be spoken throughout the film. Jolie, Ung and the producers hoped the experience of making the film would be cathartic for those who participated.
The actresss love affair with Cambodia began after she filmed Tomb Raider in the country in 2000. Not long after she was finished with production, she returned to Cambodia as a volunteer for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, for which she is now a special envoy. In 2002, Jolie adopted her first child, Maddox, from a Battambang orphanage.
He was the one who just called it and said he was ready and that he wanted to work on it, which he did, Jolie recently told The Guardian of Maddoxs role in the film. He read the script, helped with notes, and was in the production meetings.
Jolies second-oldest son, Pax, was also involved in the production. In 2015, Jolie told PEOPLE, Pax is doing a lot of the stills, adding, The whole movie is from a childs point of view.
First They Killed My Father will be released globally via Netflix later this year.
with reporting by MARY GREEN and HELEN REGAN
According to recent data, political appsespecially those that help connect constituents to their representativeshave seen a big increase in downloads since the election.
Political activism has been on the rise since the election of Donald Trump, but its not just happening in the streets. According to a report in TechCrunch, political apps have seen increased downloads since the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Data provided by App Annie indicates apps that encourage political activism and engagement are appearing on more and more devices around the country. The app data analyst firm reported apps including Countable, Voter, We the People, VoteSpotter and Congress were among a group of political apps that received more than 5,000 downloads between November and January.
Countable an app that simplifies legislation coming from Capitol Hill into digestible and understandable bites and streamlines the process of reaching out to representativessaw the biggest uptick, racking up more than 200,000 downloads on in that period according to App Annie.
When contacted by International Business Times, Countable confirmed the data from App Annie was accurate. A spokesperson for the company said between election day on Nov. 8, 2016 and Jan. 31, Countable was installed 273,000 times on iOS and gained 295,000 new users in total.
The app was also used to deliver more than 1.5 million messages from constituents to their representatives in that time frame.
A spokesperson for We the People confirmed to IBT the app has "seen a significant amount of downloads and app activity since the election," but declined to disclose any of its internal data regarding installations or app usage.
Of the other apps topping 5,000 installs, VoteSpotter and Congress fall into a category similar to Countable as they are primarily focused on helping users get in touch with their senators and representatives . We the People is a platform for political discourse among its users, while Voter helps users determine which candidates most align with their own views on issues.
Several other political apps also joined the 5,000 download club. Included in the group were Presidential Election and Electoral College Map, Boycott Trump Biz, Voice Political Advocacy, Brigade, One World Politics, iCitizen, Show of Hands, and Vote 1.
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VoteStand also appeared on the list, garnering more than 5,000 downloads since the election thanks in part to a prominent mention from the President himself.
VoteStand is an app that purports to crowdsource incidents of voter fraud, and app creator Gregg Phillips managed to garner attention by claiming he had proof of 3 million counts of illegal votes being case in the 2016 election. Phillips is yet to provide any proof, and given that his app had l ess than 10,000 downloads at the time of the election and displays zero user reports of voter fraud, its unlikely the app will help prove Phillips claim.
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USCG(NEW YORK) -- A 75-year-old woman experiencing diabetic shock was airlifted by the U.S. Coast Guard Saturday morning from a cruise ship located approximately 100 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
The Coast Guard said its 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, was notified at about 9:55 a.m. that a passenger in distress was on board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas.
Coast Guard Lt. Courtney Wolf, the command duty officer for the case, said, "Cases like this highlight the importance of cooperation between the Coast Guard, cruise ship personnel and local hospital staff. Today's hoist went seamlessly due to the coordination between all involved parties, and as a result we were able to transport this individual quickly and safely."
Diabetic shock -- or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) -- is a diabetes complication that can lead to unconsciousness, during which the individual has dangerously high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Attention boycotters: Your #boycott brand-of-the-day efforts may not even matter.
Especially these days, since the boycotts, experts say, are constantly changing and unlikely to impact a companys bottom line unless its name remains in the headlines.
One day its #boycottNordstrom, the next, #boycottStarbucks and #boycottNetflix.
Most recently it was #boycottUnderArmour, after Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said in an interview with CNBC last week that Trump is an asset to the country. In a separate interview, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, a paid brand ambassador for Under Armour, responded to Planks statement with his own negative assessment of the new president: I agree with that description, if you remove the et. Later, the company issued a statement denouncing Trumps travel ban.
The political split in the country is playing out in the marketplace as companies outspoken stances for or against the new administration have launched firestorms on news sites and social media.
Uber found itself up against boycotters with #deleteUber when it appeared to support Trumps immigration ban and CEO Travis Kalanick took a spot on the presidents economic advisory council. Kalanick later resigned from the council. New Balance was called the official shoe for white people, on a neo-Nazi site when the company made a statement in support of Trump. (The company denounced the white people title.)
Experts say boycotts are unlikely to dent sales or ding stock prices unless the media attention drags on. Last week proved they also can have the opposite effect. The stock prices of both Nordstrom and Under Armour rose.
But what about public perception and a companys reputation?
Its really difficult for the public to keep their attention on any one of these things, said Brayden King, an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management. If you have so many boycotts competing for the publics eye, youre diluting the effect of the boycott.
Consequently, companies can sit it out and wait until the brouhaha blows over or take it as an opportunity.
In the 1990s, Nikes decision to change its labor standards in its factories after a slew of protests on college campuses also led the company to take a leadership role in that movement.
In todays political and social media climate, If somebody boycotts you, 50 percent of the country is happy and the other 50 percent is upset. You can either get through it or put a flag in the ground and make that happy 50 percent be fervent about your product, said Steve Gaither, CEO at JB Chicago, a marketing and advertising company.
Chick-Fil-A, whose CEO Dan Cathy stuck to his guns after making it clear that he believed in traditional marriage, energized a part of his customer base, Gaither noted.
Still, consumers are unlikely to change their buying patterns, boycott or no boycott, experts say.
As an example, Gaither said, I may not share Netflixs beliefs, but they keep my kids happy and out of my hair. Most people dont care about the issues, but the product.
ONALASKA/ROCKFORD, Ill. Gunvor Dahl of Onalaska and formerly of Rockford passed away peacefully at the Onalaska Care Center on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017.
She was born Sept. 27, 1921, in Tistedalen, Norway, to Dr. Aksel Fjeldstad and Aagot (Neraas) Fjeldstad. As a young girl, her family moved to nearby Halden, Norway, where she attended school and at the age of 12 met her future husband, Andreas Dahl. They had an enviable marriage built on mutual respect, friendship and total devotion for 71 years.
In her early 20s, Gunvor endured the Nazi occupation of her homeland. During the war Gunvor sought training in both domestic science and business, until she was old enough to enter the school of nursing. She graduated as a registered nurse from the Oslo Municipal Hospital, Ullevaal, in 1944. Upon graduation she was requisitioned along with 19 other graduates by the Nazis to travel north to assist in evacuating and razing the towns of northern Norway; the Nazi plan to prevent an impending Russian invasion. Gunvor fled so as to avoid working in support of the Nazis, and went into hiding. Gunvor actively participated with Andreas in the resistance movement until they were discovered. They escaped to Sweden as refugees and were married there in 1945.
Following the war, in 1946, Gunvor joined her husband, Andreas in the U.S. for the last years of his dental education at Northwestern University in Chicago. Gunvor served on the nursing staff of Chicago-based Norwegian American Hospital, rising to the level of head nurse in the maternity ward, as well as worked as a housekeeper. Following Andreas graduation they returned to Norway so that Andreas could complete his mandatory public service and Gunvor worked as a nurse. At the completion of that service, they desired to return to the U.S., which they did in 1950. Following military service for Andreas and stationing in Germany for two years, Gunvor and Andreas returned to the U.S. permanently and made their home in Rockford.
Gunvor was a devoted wife and loving mother. She managed the business of the home and assisted in Andreas dental practice as needed. She was an extraordinary seamstress and cook. Gunvor radiated kindness and love. Her beautiful smile and innocent charm were very endearing to those she met and befriended. She was also a tireless volunteer who contributed substantially to charitable activities of the Trinity Lutheran Church and Shrine Hospitals, during her time in Rockford. In 1983, Gunvor and Andreas retired to the east coast of Florida, where she continued her volunteer work in support of the Seagull Alternative High School in Fort Lauderdale, Hospice, and the Care Center of John Knox Village.
Gunvor is survived by two daughters, Dr. Eva Dahl (Barry Blomquist) of Onalaska and Dr. Carol Dahl (Scott Cairns) of Seattle. She was preceded in death by her husband, Andreas Dahl; and a son, Andreas, who died shortly after birth. Her grandchildren are Erik, Bjorn and Christina Blomquist, and Ian and Kristin Cairns.
There will be no services per her wishes. Memorials can be made to the Onalaska Care Center. The family is very grateful for the kindness and compassion of the staff of Onalaska Care Center and Gundersen Health System. Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services of Onalaska is assisting the family. Online condolences may be submitted at www.schumacher-kish.com.
Tempranillo the old noble grape of Spain gets a modern twist. Boca is Spanish for mouth and the flashy website proclaims the wine is a rock star in the wine world ready to be discovered.
The grapes are sourced from the Valencia region on the center of Spains east coast. After cold maceration and fermentation in stainless steel, a portion of the wine is aged in oak and then blended before bottling.
The result is a very fruit-forward, easy-drinking offering with great appeal to new red wine drinkers. We tend to like the old school wines.
Sherry: Medium-bodied and semi-dry with plum and cherry flavors. (2.75 stars out of 5)
Chris: A strawberry nose with slightly sweet flavors of cherry and raisin. (3 stars out of 5)
Available from $8.50 to $11.
Coming next week: Confidencial Reserva
WASHINGTON -- President Trump has just set the all-time speed record for scandal -- from zero to Watergate in 25 days.
Not yet four weeks into the new administration, Washington has already revived a favorite parlor game based on Howard Baker's famous question in the Nixon era.
"What did President Trump know, and when did he know it?" asked conservative Max Boot.
"What did President Trump know and when did he know it?" asked liberal Joan Walsh.
The Boston Globe, the Daily Mail, the Chicago Tribune and others asked variations of the same.
It's a have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife question, because there is no good answer. If Trump only just found out that Michael Flynn spoke to the Russians about sanctions, he's a dupe. If Trump knew earlier, he's been hiding something.
But the "What Did He Know?" game in this case may ask the wrong question. The real question is not when Trump found out but whether Flynn, in his contacts with the ambassador, was doing Trump's bidding, at least implicitly. This would fit a pattern that has already developed in this White House: Trump's aides do exactly as he orders.
Flynn is no idiot. He spent a good chunk of his career in the intelligence business. He had to know that U.S. spy agencies listen to the Russian ambassador's phone calls -- and he's savvy enough to know that his discussions with the ambassador about sanctions the Obama administration was imposing that day would make their way up the reporting chain. Finally, he had to know he couldn't pass it off as a casual contact; the two spoke several times that day.
So why do it? Perhaps for the same reason other smart people who work for Trump have done seemingly unwise things: Trump told them to.
Sean Spicer is a seasoned pro, deeply experienced with the press. So why would he, in his first full day on the job, destroy his credibility by berating reporters in the briefing room and peddling the bogus claim that Trump's inauguration crowd set a record? An explanation soon emerged: Trump himself had directed Spicer to do it.
Likewise, Kellyanne Conway, an old political hand, had to know she was breaking rules when she gave what she called a "free commercial" last week on Fox News for Ivanka Trump's fashion line: "Go buy it today, everybody." A bipartisan smackdown came swiftly and Spicer said she had been "counseled." Why do it?
Well, consider that the day after Conway's supposed transgression, she tweeted an Associated Press report saying Trump had defended Conway to White House staffers, saying Spicer's "counseled" rebuke was "unfair to Conway," who was "merely sticking up" for Ivanka.
Next came Stephen Miller, the young Trump White House policy adviser who went on four Sunday talk shows and was widely pilloried for uttering extravagant untruths about voter fraud and for his attempt to assign absolute power to Trump. But when the performance was done, the president made clear Miller had done as Trump wanted, tweeting: "Congratulations Stephen Miller -- on representing me this morning on the various Sunday morning shows. Great job!"
In Flynn's case, if he were freelancing with the Russians, Trump would justifiably be furious about the embarrassment and distraction it has caused. Trump never hesitates to attack those he thinks have wronged him. But the day after Flynn's calls to the ambassador, Russia made an unusual decision: It would not take the usual course of retaliating against the Obama administration's sanctions. And Trump tweeted his pleasure: "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) -- I always knew he was very smart!"
Since then, Trump has uttered nary a word of criticism of Flynn. On Wednesday, he called Flynn "a wonderful man" who has "been treated very, very unfairly by the media."
No surprise here: Flynn's talks with the ambassador, Vladimir Putin's subsequent decision to postpone retaliation, and Trump's applause for that decision are consistent with Trump's long-standing words and actions -- selling property to the Russians; declining to release tax returns that could indicate whether Russians hold any of his debt; his early musings about Ukraine and NATO that have been more friendly to Moscow; his reluctance to criticize Putin's human-rights abuses or to acknowledge Russia's intervention to help him win the election; his surrounding himself with men -- Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone and Flynn -- with ties to Moscow; and, now, confirmation of frequent contact between Russian intelligence and Trump's campaign.
Asking what Trump knew when, then, misses the more important question: Was Flynn acting under Trump's instructions?
An Atlantic magazine article by Washington journalist David Frum frets about a coming autocracy engineered by President Donald Trump, and the amazing thing is that the author did not notice the past eight years.
Its as if Noahs Ark had finally landed and the understood message was that a flood was only now on its way.
Equally bad as Trump is this kind of overwrought despair about him, the round-the-clock crying, the fanatical diatribes, the rioting, the celebrity angst, the intellectual wannabes worrying themselves into paranoia. Yes, Trump is as debased as debased gets for a president of the United States of America. He is ignorant, small-minded, vulgar, insensitive, inarticulate and egotistical, for starters.
But all of this has to be viewed in context, and the context is Hillary Clinton, of course, the main encouragement for multitudes of Trump voters, and also President Barack Obama, the opposite of Trump in sophistication though not in ego. He happened to be unequipped as president to negotiate with his assumed inferiors but prepared to discard democratic principles if they got in his legacys way.
Were not just going to be waiting for legislation, said Obama in 2014 after Republicans captured the Senate on top of controlling the House. Ive got a pen and Ive got a phone, and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward.
In other words, so much for constitutional checks and balances and on with unflinching power. It wasnt just talk. It was action. Frum, to his credit, does mention Obamas granting legal status to vast numbers of illegal immigrants after saying at least 22 times that he had no authority to do that without congressional approval. He was right. The order is now in court.
Also in court in his order establishing a sweeping Clean Power Plan that would cost Americans a fortune in utility bills, erase scads of jobs and do zip about global warming (as admitted by EPA director Gina McCarthy). It was based on a plain misinterpretation of law and would simply scuttle state laws unconstitutionally (as argued by constitutional expert Laurence Tribe).
There is much, much more along these lines, but consider one of the surest ways of autocratic oppression in these United States, and thats tens of thousands of pages of regulations that aim to micromanage businesses and your life. Guess who holds records on all of this? Obama, of course. The most impressive of these, autocratically speaking, is his 600 major regulations costing a total of $743 billion. You can run but you cant hide.
Frum spends a lot of time on subjects irrelevant to his main topic, such as possible conflicts of interest. He gets downright ridiculous when he apparently thinks Trumps rhetoric is more dangerous to a free press than the Obama administrations spying on The Associated Press and threatening reporters with jail on issues of identifying sources. He goes after Fox TV as entangled in a Trump love affair without acknowledging a widespread media enmity that he himself illustrates.
Frum also cheats statistics by denying a significant crime rise in Americas biggest cities in Obamas last years in office, seeing this claim as a political trick by Trump to divide and conquer. The numbers are as undeniable as the blood in the streets, and the writers excuse of crime being a lot lower than in the 1990s is like shrugging your shoulders at the 2008 recession because the Great Depression was worse.
Beyond Frum, there is the Muslim ban that was not a Muslim ban. There were the immigration raids that were no different from similar raids under Obama. There were Trumps court criticisms that did not come close to Obamas 2010 State of the Union assault on Supreme Court justices sitting right in front of him.
How To Build An Autocracy is the headline of the Frum piece. Obama gave us some very good lessons.
WASHINGTON In mid-January, after the appearance of some embarrassing material or another (it is hard to keep track), President-elect Trump tweeted: Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to leak into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?
That charge has made escalation of the Trump/intelligence conflict difficult. What is the next step after the Nazi card?
More recently, President Trump has called leaks from the intelligence community un-American and just like Russia. It is difficult to imagine a set of attacks more likely to be galling to intelligence professionals, some of whom risk their lives with no prospect of credit; one of the purer forms of patriotism.
Now Trump appears utterly shocked that he does not hold the copyright on counterpunching. And the intelligence community is particularly good at it. During my time in the George W. Bush White House, there were also some damaging intelligence leaks. I have no intention of excusing them. I only point out that it is daunting to argue with people who weaponize information for a living like challenging a Navy SEAL to a fight.
There is a certain kind of New Yorker who really believes Frank Sinatra: If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere. The world of Manhattan real estate must have seemed to Trump like the big leagues. It wasnt. And the techniques that succeeded in his little world the taunting, the exaggerations, the bluster, the threats, the bullying do not translate well in dealing with real professionals. The ones who fight Russian influence.
With less than a month in office, Trump is beginning to see realitys revenge. His overall strategy seems disturbingly ambitious. Gen. Michael Hayden, who directed both the CIA and the NSA, describes it this way in an interview: A systematic effort to invalidate and delegitimize all the institutions, governmental and non-governmental, that create the factual basis for action ... so they wont push back against arbitrary moves.
That is, well, terrifying. But American institutions, it turns out, are pretty durable, at least so far. The checks have checked. The balances have balanced. In this scenario, it is good news that the Trump administration has been so inept, at least in conflicts with other institutions. We should be thankful that Trump is a figure much smaller than his schemes.
It must have seemed to him tough and bold to attack federal judges and accuse them of placing the nation at risk (by blocking implementation of his immigration executive order). During his presidential campaign, such methods were routine and relatively costless. But declaring war on the judiciary and I imagine that nearly every judge in America resents it when their colleagues are pre-blamed for terrorist murders is not costless. It creates an atmosphere in which future executive orders and actions will be examined by a coequal branch of government.
It must have seemed to Trump tough and bold to use his inaugural address to viciously attack members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans not only critiquing their performance but impugning their motives. Surrounded by the political elite, Trump said that the political elite has reaped the rewards, and prospered and protected itself and celebrated as Americans have suffered.
So far, the reaction to Trumps attacks on institutions have ranged from muted to supine among congressional Republicans (save for some admirable dissent in the Senate). But on Capitol Hill, Trump is draining, not the swamp, but the reservoir of goodwill. There was a spark of resistance in the forced withdrawal of Andrew Puzders nomination for labor secretary. Eventually Trump will be down politically really down in the polls, down in a scandal, down in morale. What GOP leader would take up his defense with genuine enthusiasm? What serious Republican would not, if he or she are honest, after three drinks, prefer Mike Pence as president? Probably some. But I suspect not many.
All this represents a fundamental misunderstanding of American populism. In Venezuelan populism, for example, it worked to remove all institutions between the dear leader and the people. In the United States, populists have a more difficult but more constructive task: They must persuade institutions to reform themselves. This can involve hardball politics (see Franklin Roosevelt). But real and lasting reform comes through the consent of strong institutions including the cooperation of intelligence services, the agreement of courts and the approval of Congress. American life will not be transformed through bullying.
And why is that? Says Hayden: We are not Venezuela.
Last week, Christianity Today published an article describing how the presidents immigration ban has divided evangelical churches. Some evangelical Christian leaders support the ban, including Franklin Graham, founder of Samaritans Purse, an organization that has provided aid to refugees in foreign countries for three decades. But others, including Tim Keller, Max Lucado, and Bill and Lynne Hybels, signed a letter written by the leaders of World Relief protesting the ban. As of Wednesday, the letter had more than 6,000 signatures.
The disagreement among evangelical leaders is, in part, over the meaning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a scripture passage central to Christian ethics. The World Relief letter states: In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus makes it clear that our neighbor includes the stranger and anyone fleeing persecution and violence, regardless of their faith or country.
But Franklin Graham, representing many evangelicals who support the presidents ban, said in a recent Facebook post: As Christians we are commanded to help all, regardless of religious background or ethnicity, like the Good Samaritan Jesus shared about in the Bible. Our job is to show Gods love and compassion. I believe the best way to help is to reach out and help these people in their own countries.
The difference between the two groups seems to consist of this: one group believes that the Good Samaritan passage is about providing aid to people in need; the other group believes that the passage is about being in close relationship to people in need.
In the early centuries of Christianity, discussion about the obligation to help strangers also occurred with frequency. Based upon what we know of the surviving letters and sermons of early Christian leaders, like Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssus, Ambrose and Jerome, most believed that helping the stranger was not only a duty, it was also an opportunity to welcome Christ into ones life. John Chrysostom, speaking of people in need, wrote: Let us run about everywhere, let us drag them in, let us seize our prize. Greater are the benefits we receive than what we confer. He does not require you to kill a calf, but only to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, shelter to the stranger.
And Benedict, writing about the reception of guests, said: In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims the greatest care and solicitude should be shown, because it is especially in them that Christ is received.
But no matter how much theologians write about it, no matter how much pastors preach about it from the pulpit, the lessons of hospitality are really only learned in the actual experience of being in relationship with the stranger.
One afternoon I received a phone call from a youth pastor in Milwaukee seeking advice on conflict resolution. His ministry took place after school with a group of African-American youths in an urban high-rise. The mostly white residents of the apartment building were intimidated by the young men and had circulated a petition to have the group removed from the building. When I asked what he was doing about it, he said the youth came up with a plan to cook dinner for the residents and invite them to a meal. They did so, and in conversation over dinner discovered that many of the elderly residents shared a common difficulty: getting their groceries from the parking lot to the elevator of the apartment lobby. The youth proposed setting aside two afternoons a week when they would be available to help carry groceries. They planned to distribute fliers throughout the high-rise.
I had no advice to give the youth pastor, but I thanked him for the good work he was doing. It seems to me that no conflict resolution strategy has ever been invented that works as well as sitting down together for a meal. The early Christians knew this, and the youth group in Milwaukee was in the process of discovering it for themselves.
One good result of the public debate over refugees is the way it is forcing churches to have significant discussions about the heart of the Christian mission. Is it mainly to deepen the faith of believers through the experience of communal worship? Is it to supplement the work of secular governmental agencies through acts of charity? Or is it to somehow to do both at the same time, to deepen believers relationship to God by helping them find God in the encounter with the stranger?
If there is a way out of the dead end of identity politics in which we find ourselves stuck, it may be by looking back at the ancient wisdom of religious communities. Specifically, we may find that in prioritizing face-to-face encounters, through simple acts like sharing a meal or providing shelter, we turn out to have more in common than we thought. And we may even experience grace in the encounter, discovering that the person I am helping turns out to help me in some unexpected way.
The practice of hospitality, especially its emphasis not just on providing aid but on seeking relationships, may seem to our fast-paced, highly efficient, technological culture like a legacy of earlier times. But the lesson it teaches is perhaps more important than ever: when we make abstractions of people, we turn strangers into enemies; when we share a meal, we turn strangers into friends.
My Jewish parents were born in Germany. As teenagers in the 1930s, they fled for their lives from Hitlers reign of terror and genocide.
My fathers family came to America legally; my mothers family lacked valid papers. Had they been trapped in Germany, they almost certainly would have perished, and I wouldnt be here.
I think of my parents flight to freedom and safety as I read about the current Muslim ban. I ask myself two questions: 1) What will happen to the refugees and immigrants refused entry? 2) Is America heading from being a land of refuge, to becoming a country that actively discriminates in its policies?
For the last six years, Syrias dictator, Bashar al-Assad, has stopped at nothing to protect his grip on power. With the help of Vladimir Putins military, he has bombed and shelled opposition area targets, including hospitals, with complete disregard for the loss of innocent life. Civilians, including children, have died by the tens of thousands. All told, deaths from this brutal civil war are in the hundreds of thousands. Is it any wonder, then, that Syrians are fleeing their homes?
A 2016 UN report declared :
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of a conflict marked by unparalleled suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. 13.5 million people require humanitarian assistance. Over half of the population has been forced from their homes ....life-threatening needs continue to grow. 643,780 people in need of humanitarian assistance are denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement and access to adequate food, water and health care.
Suppose your parents, or other family members, were trapped in Syria or in refugee camps under these conditions. How would you respond to America closing its doors, temporarily or permanently?
The recent Executive Order is based on the premise that Muslims from the Middle East and Africa are the biggest threat to our security; this is terribly off target.
Think back to how America responded to the horrific atrocity of 9/11, by deciding that we would do everything in our power to prevent a terrorist cell from ever again reaching this country. We invested heavily in security measures and intelligence, and, cooperating with our allies in Europe and elsewhere, very carefully screened those seeking asylum. Refuge-seekers must undergo a minimum of a two-year waiting period during which their associations and activities are thoroughly vetted. There has not been a single terrorist cell attack in the U.S. since 2001.
Republican and Democratic presidents have made clear the importance of focusing on terrorism, and not yielding to anti-Muslim demagoguery. In 2002, President George W. Bush declared :
Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions. Our enemy does not. Our enemy doesnt follow the great traditions of Islam. Theyve hijacked a great religion.
President Obama reminded us that among the worlds Muslims, only a fraction of a fraction of 1 percent have taken up the cause of terrorism, while a number of Muslim-predominant nations as a whole have taken up arms against terrorism. The vast majority of the worlds Muslims live family-focused lives, similar to that of most Americans.
We cannot accept the outrageous assertion by terrorists that their actions are based upon their religion. For good reason, we do not call members of the Ku Klux Klan Christian terrorists, even though decades of horrific acts of anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, and anti-black hate and violence have been undertaken in the name of defending Protestant Christianity.
Demonizing foreigners, immigrants, refugees and Muslims does not promote security; it undermines it. Political leaders feeding fear and hatred only exacerbate violence.
Its time for us in the La Crosse area to get to know our Muslim community members. They work as physicians in our hospitals, educators and staff at the universities and elsewhere, and contribute their individual skills and talents to our community.
To make our country more secure, lets address the social conditions that breed violence: poverty, inequality of opportunity, discrimination, trauma and addiction.
We need to push back hard against demagogues who promote bias against groups of people who are seen as different. We are a nation of immigrants, and we need to confront policies and statements that aim to denigrate millions based on religion or national origin. Only by demonstrating respect for all law-abiding individuals and their human rights do we have a chance to be secure.
TOWN OF SPRINGFIELD When Steve Roudebush and Bruce Grill agreed to help restore a 1907 steam locomotive, they figured their portion of the project would take about 14 months.
The initial plan was to repair the chassis and running gear in their machine shop and ship the project somewhere else for it to receive the boiler, cab and firebox. Once assembled, it would return to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom to serve as a major draw for the tourism attraction.
That was nearly four years ago.
The bulk of the work has stayed in the SPEC Machine shop north of Middleton on Riles Road, Grill has retired but the end of the $2 million project may finally be in sight.
And if the schedule stays true, the locomotive, that years ago pulled the Great Circus Train, may be belching steam and pulling passenger cars by next summer through the wooded, rolling terrain of Sauk County.
We have a lot to do but a short time to do it in, Roudebush, 53, said last week. I dont even want to know how many hours Ive put into this. My invoices dont reflect half of it but its been a passion.
And one of the biggest and most expensive projects for the locomotive is about to begin.
Steel will be cut beginning this week at Continental Fabrication in St. Louis, where the 30-foot-long and 68-inch-diameter boiler will be built. Other steel from the company will be cut and shipped to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Thats where Gary Bensman, who founded Diversified Rail Services in 1979, will use a 1920s-era fabrication machine to bend steel up to three-quarters-of-an-inch thick to create the 30,000-pound firebox that measures 9-feet long, 6-feet wide and 7-feet high.
When the firebox, used to heat water in the 10,000-pound boiler, is completed, it will be shipped to St. Louis, attached to the boiler and the whole works, valued at $700,000, trucked to SPEC Machine to be placed on the locomotives chassis.
Its a complicated process with lots of parts, said Bensman, whose company specializes in locomotive rebuilds. The fit of it at the firebox on the frame, the basic form of the fire box, the size of it, the fit of the cab on the boiler, the fit of the boiler at the front of the cylinders is all the same (as the original), its just little details that are different.
But the work isnt being limited to the locomotive. Roudebush is spending $80,000 of his own money for a 1,500-square-foot addition to his machine shop that will also include an 18-foot-high overhead door. Once completed, 50 feet of railroad track will be built to roll the chassis out of the existing shop where this summer a crane will lift the chassis and drive system onto a different set of tracks that lead into the new addition.
The expansion will provide adequate space for the No. 1385 and more work space for future steam engine and locomotive projects planned by Roudebush, who is still doing other jobs for his business.
Its something not many people can say theyve done, Rodebush said of the locomotive project. My day starts at 4:30 in the morning and usually is done around 6:30, 7 oclock at night.
The locomotive, built in 1907 by the American Locomotive Co.s Schenectady Works in New York, was a workhorse for the Chicago & North Western Railroad from 1907 to 1956. When it was retired, Mid-Continent members in 1961 scraped together $2,600 to purchase the behemoth.
Beginning in 1963, the locomotive pulled cars on the museums 3.5 miles of track and in the mid-1980s, pulled Circus World Museums Circus Train for three straight summers from Baraboo to Milwaukee and back.
In the 1990s, the locomotive made trips on the mainline to Brodhead, Mazomanie and Wausau.
It was taken out of service in 1998 for what museum officials thought would be $125,000 in boiler repairs. A closer inspection revealed the engine needed a complete restoration that is now being paid for through donations and grants. The locomotive is considered vital for the future of the Mid-Continent museum, located west of Baraboo, that is focused on railroad equipment from between 1885 and 1915, when steam locomotives moved 90 percent of the nations passengers and freight.
When completed, the 1385 will become the only operating C&NW steam locomotive in the country and one of only eight that have been preserved.
SPEC has hosted open houses each of the last three years on the same weekends as the Mad City Model Railroad Show & Sale but this year is skipping an open house to focus on completing the project. Plus, for the casual observer, the 40-foot-long chassis, with its three sets of 63-inch-diameter drive wheels, one set of which weighs 15,000 pounds, looks about the same as it did last year at this time.
Over the last year, the 10,000-pound front-wheel trucks have been installed, and the excentric blades and straps used to drive the pistons and crosshead slides used to guide the pistons have all been refurbished. Bearings have been installed, the cab has been delivered and, recently, 125 members of the state Historical Steam Engine Association visited.
There are a lot of things that are finished and back on the engine, said Peter Deets, a volunteer with the museum and the last person to fire up the locomotives engine before it was taken out of service in 1998. Its a far cry from where we were two years ago.
Projects that will be undertaken in the next year include refurbishing brakes, installing pistons, rehabbing the 3,000-pound superheater header used to collect and transfer steam, and refurbishing the dome that holds sand used to improve traction. Roudebush expects the firebox and boiler to be delivered by June, which means he could be testing the locomotive in his shop this summer.
We will steam it up here, Roudebush said. Theres been a lot of parts and pieces.
Brett Morley, who came to the U.S. from Australia 17 years ago for a job at Uniek in Waunakee, is now president of Performance Engineering in Waunakee. He has been involved with the design of the boiler and has worked with Roudebush on other projects, including fixing the bell supports in the three-bell tower at St. Peters Catholic Church in nearby Ashton.
The locomotive project offers a unique opportunity for Morley, even though he works in a business where different projects come through his door on a daily basis.
We want this boiler to resemble the old boiler as much as possible, Morley said. Theres this old-world technology but also applying a lot of new-world technology in the fact that theres a lot of computerized input going into this. But when it comes to the nuts and bolts of this it comes back to doing things the way they were doing it 100 years ago using the same equipment and same technologies.
Bath & Body Works is expanding into a larger space at Rimrock Mall and is opening a store-within-a-store, the White Barn candle shop.
The retailer, owned by L Brands, is moving across the hallway in May on the malls north end into a 4,500-square-foot space that was previously part of Gap, which closed in September 2015, according to Daron Olson, a mall spokesman.
White Barn sells branded candles made in the companys New Albany, Ohio, headquarters and other home decor, according to the companys website. It will occupy about one-third of the total new Bath & Body Works spot.
The new store will be next to H&M at the malls north end. Bath & Body Works is currently operating in a 3,448 square-foot space, which it will vacate for the new spot, Olson said.
Bath & Body Works move mirrors a similar expansion last year by Victorias Secret, which is also owned by L Brands.
The womens clothing chain also expanded in size and added a store-within-a-store, in this case its PINK brand, inside the main footprint.
Indian crafts coming downtown
A new retailer selling Native American crafts and jewelry is moving into the former Bead Depot location in downtown Billings.
StraightN Arrow Indian Arts & Crafts will open at 2715 First Ave. N. in early April and sell items from all over the West, co-owner Sue Pistorius of Laurel said.
Pistorius and her co-owner husband, Darrel Pistorius, dont have Indian blood themselves but have hired a member of the Sioux tribe, David Correa, as general manager.
Sue Pistorius said she grew to love Native American artwork while attending New Mexico State University, and shes been collecting since 1970.
The new shop is a chance to sell from that collection, and Pistorius said shell have items from all over the West.
Pistorius said she owned several business with her late husband, but this is her first venture with her current spouse.
Previously, shed operated businesses in beverage distribution, car dealerships and retail.
Out and about
Workers were seen last week inside the former Hastings store at West Park Promenade, moving things and appearing to start renovations.
Preparing for a new tenant? Not yet, according to MK Properties, which is marketing the property, but the ownership group is working to fill the space.
Nonprofit help Lewistown mason open
Benchmark Masonry Inc. opened recently in Lewistown with financial help from Montana & Idaho Community Development Corp., the agency announced this month.
Owner CJ Bailey has worked 15 years in the masonry business and opened the business after his former employer retired, leaving a hole in the area, according to a news release from the development corporation.
Benchmark sells tile, stone, brick, concrete block, fireplace construction and historic restoration services in central Montana.
Montana & Idaho Development gave Bailey a $55,000 loan for equipment and start-up costs. The Missoula-based group will also help with marketing and accounting.
Benchmark Masonry may be reached at 406-366-6257. The website is www.benchmarkmasonryinc.com .
Haikus from the valley
A fast food titan
A fast exit from nom for
Labor Department
The states highest-ranking educator is seeking to keep his post for another four years but on Tuesday will face three longtime educators who say the states schools would be better off without him.
And voters will go to the polls just days after the race exploded into accusations of lying, doctoring documents and candidates offering each other jobs in exchange for dropping out of the race.
State Superintendent Tony Evers, a former Verona School District superintendent, seeks a third term this year. He faces opponents Lowell Holtz, a former superintendent of Beloit and Whitnall school districts, and John Humphries, a former Dodgeville School District administrator and Department of Public Instruction consultant, in Tuesdays primary.
Racine Park High School math teacher Rick Melcher also is running as a write-in candidate. The two candidates who receive the most votes will advance to an April 4 general election to determine who will oversee the DPI.
Holtz and Humphries are vying for conservative voters support to defeat Evers, who is backed by Democrats and has been elected twice before. Melcher also is seeking largely Democratic support.
The four meet as the only statewide race on Tuesdays ballot an election that isnt expected to draw more than 6 percent of the states voting-age population.
Until recently, the race largely amounted to criticism from two of Evers opponents of his record as state superintendent focusing on the states low ranking in reading skills among elementary students and Evers support of the Common Core State Standards and opposition to the expansion of private voucher schools.
But last Wednesday, the race escalated into a flurry of accusations of corruption between Holtz and Humphries who have similar fundraising levels but less cash than Evers, who is expected to advance.
On Wednesday, Humphries released a document he received from Holtz in December outlining an offer for one of them to get a guaranteed, taxpayer-funded $150,000 job at the DPI if the other dropped out of the race and the remaining candidate defeated Evers. The job offer suggested if Holtz dropped out he would be put in charge of a handful of the states largest school districts and given powers to break apart districts and take over school boards abilities that do not exist in state law.
In response, Holtz released his own document that showed Humphries would be in charge of curriculum and assessments at DPI if he were to drop out. The document was largely similar but included additional language that explicitly stated the proposals were for after Tuesdays primary.
Prior to the dust-up which Gov. Scott Walker called bizarre political observers said the race would likely be between Evers and either Holtz or Humphries.
Last weeks controversy could hurt both conservative-leaning candidates, they said.
Its about as much of a Keystone Cops-thing as you can imagine, Republican lobbyist Brandon Scholz said. Unless the story has legs on its own, it doesnt appear that Humphries has the financial horsepower to paint it as a paid ad. The fact that he was part of it kind of makes it hard to paint Holtz as a dupe when hes sitting at the trough as well.
Evers said last week that hes feeling optimistic about his chances on Tuesday.
I think our track record is pretty good, Evers said, citing decreased suspensions and expulsions, increased number of students taking college-level courses while still in high school and modest increases in reading proficiency.
Is it where we want? Absolutely not, he said.
Reading a key issue for Humphries
The states reading proficiency levels have been a key issue for Humphries, who has said the DPI must have new leadership in order to improve those levels and students skills in other subjects.
Since the early 2000s, Wisconsins ranking for reading skills has dropped, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
He said DPI is not aggressive enough in translating their priorities to school officials in an effort to combat some persistent academic problems.
Unless DPI is held accountable in making sure schools understand the importance ... were not likely to have an impact, Humphries said. Weve seen that with academic achievement gaps.
Humphries and Holtz have proposed writing new state academic standards, and Humphries said he would introduce a process that would allow persistently low-performing schools to be converted into new ones under new administration, including private voucher schools and charter schools, as long school boards agree.
Holtz claims experience, conservatism
Holtz, a former teacher, principal and superintendent, touts himself as a more experienced educator and clear conservative candidate, in part because Humphries signed a petition to trigger a 2012 recall of Walker after the passage of Act 10, which curtailed collective bargaining and sparked massive protests especially from public school teachers.
Humphries said he has since determined Act 10 was beneficial for schools.
Holtz points out he is the only candidate in the race who did not sign the recall petition, supported Act 10 when it was proposed and calls himself a kidservative. He has the support from about two dozen Republican lawmakers and pro-life advocates.
Humphries also has the backing from influential Republicans, including Michael Grebe, former chairman of Walkers political campaign, and voucher advocates Reps. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, and Jason Fields, D-Milwaukee.
Both Holtz and Humphries support expanding private school vouchers and eliminating the Common Core State Standards, though Holtz supported them when Evers adopted them in 2010.
Holtz says he is extremely passionate about getting into the neighborhoods where schools are struggling academically. He said he would like to provide financial incentives for teachers and other school officials to live in neighborhoods they work in.
When you live in the neighborhood, they believe you are a part of it, Holtz said.
He says his time as a superintendent of Beloit schools, which have a high percentage of low-income students and students of color, will help address the states longstanding, persistent achievement gap between black and white students which is the worst in the country by some measures.
And Melcher has said he is the only choice among the four who will be an effective advocate for public schools.
Its time to stop playing defense and start playing offense, he said in a January candidate forum.
Evers pushes for, gets more funding
Evers said his approach to improving schools is a more effective message, and that Republican lawmakers who have been at odds with Evers for years could be finally agreeing with him that public schools need more financial support from the state.
Over the last two general elections, more than 600,000 in the state of Wisconsin voted yes in referendums and thats a message to both me and the governor and to the Legislature that, indeed, more revenue is needed, Evers said. Im positive about the future. Im not about punishing and labeling people as losers. I dont think thats going to work.
Walker, in his 2017-19 state budget proposal, has included a $649 million increase in state funding, putting him on the same page with Evers on school funding for the first time.
That newfound alignment could make it more tricky for Holtz and Humphries who are running as the conservative choice for state superintendent to draw a clear contrast.
Its a little tough to beat up on Evers when your governor is essentially giving him money in programs he wants, Scholz said. The governor seems to be less enthusiastic on the nontraditional educational things like charters and vouchers and those sorts of things (in this budget). If Evers isnt perceived as an enemy on those issues, it might make it tough for them.
Jenni Dye, research director for the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said Evers will appear to be less political than the other candidates after last weeks controversy.
Weve seen schools across Wisconsin vote in favor of referendums and (Walker adopting) Evers proposal are an acknowledgement that theres a need for action there, she said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the date of the general election.
MADISON The field of three candidates running for superintendent of Wisconsins public schools will be narrowed to two in Tuesdays primary. Here are some questions and answers about the race.
Theres a primary?
Yes, just over three months since the presidential election theres another election in Wisconsin. The primary for state superintendent of schools is the only statewide race on the ballot Tuesday. Numerous local races and referendums are to be decided as well.
Whos running?
Incumbent Superintendent Tony Evers is being challenged by John Humphries, a former Dodgeville school district administrator turned consultant, and Lowell Holtz, a former superintendent in Whitnall and Beloit and the 1999 elementary teacher of the year. Racine high school math teacher Rick Melcher is running as a write-in candidate.
Where do they stand?
Evers is a two-term incumbent who is backed by Democrats and public school advocates. He opposes expansion of the private school voucher program, supports the Common Core curriculum and argues for increasing funding to help struggling schools, particularly in urban areas. Humphries and Holtz are both school choice backers who oppose Common Core. Humphries has also called for creation of a state school board, which Holtz and Evers oppose. Humphries also wants to overhaul the state report card and create a way for low-performing schools to be reorganized into charter or private voucher schools. Holtz is calling for better discipline in schools to make classrooms more safe and secure. He also wants to increase local control and empower teachers.
What about that deal?
Humphries alleged that Holtz offered him a $150,000 state job and broad powers to run the states largest school districts if he dropped out of the race. Holtz said they were discussing ideas put forward by unnamed business people, but no agreement was made. Humphries said he rejected the alleged deal as ludicrous.
Who supports them?
Evers is backed by the Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance, the American Federation of Teachers and the Wisconsin Education Association Council. Humphries campaign is co-chaired by Republican state Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, and Democratic state Rep. Jason Fields, a supporter of the school choice program. Republican Sen. Luther Olsen, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, backs Evers. Holtz has the support of Pro-Life Wisconsin, Wisconsin Family Action and two dozen Republican lawmakers.
Voting hours
Polls are open statewide 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Valid photo identification is required.
Lines?
Unlikely. The state Elections Commission, in a break with tradition, didnt make a turnout prediction. But in the past three primaries for state schools superintendent, turnout was less than 6 percent of the voting-age population.
Whats next?
The two highest vote-getters will advance to the April 4 general election. Outside forces, particularly pro-voucher groups, are expected to become more active between now and then.
With federal financial regulations in the cross-hairs of the Trump administration, Montana bankers are hoping that looser requirements may open up lending, particularly for home buyers.
Bankers say the goal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was noble. Parts are still needed to prevent another mortgage collapse, but they say they hope additional reform could bring relief for small community banks and credit unions.
As it stands today, Dodd-Frank is very big. Its multi-faceted. In many cases its a one-size-fits-all that doesnt mesh well with a very unique banking system in our country, said Steve Turkiewicz, president of the Montana Bankers Association, a Helena-based trade group.
On Feb. 3, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing his Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, to begin meeting with federal regulatory agencies to determine what regulations can be trimmed or cut.
The order itself does almost nothing to change Dodd-Frank, but it starts the ball rolling. Trump will likely need congressional approval on many changes, and a majority of Republican leaders in the Senate and House have signaled theyre on board.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans, including Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, introduced a new law that would place the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau under congressional oversight. Other proposals include gutting the agency entirely.
Consumer groups and analysts warn that Dodd-Frank has worked to prevent lending abuses that were prevalent in the mid-2000s, which led to the Great Recession.
The risk is that we go back to an environment that lenders are increasingly willing to give you more money than you can be expected to repay, said Greg McBride, an analyst with Bankrate.com.
The fate of Dodd-Frank is of particular importance to Montanas two largest banks, Billings-based First Interstate Bancsystem and Kalispell-based Glacier Bancorp.
Both expect to rise above $10 billion in total assets within the next year, which will trigger additional regulations. They include stress tests to ensure they have enough money to withstand market downturns, additional oversight by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and a loss of revenue for debit and card transactions.
We place a high value on compliance and believe its just a cost of doing business. If and when requirements change, well review those changes and respond appropriately, First Interstate CEO Kevin Riley wrote in an email.
Both Glacier and First Interstate have been aggressively seeking mergers in the past few years, the idea being to grow their regional footprint and acquire more resources to better comply with regulations.
First Interstate, which also has a major presence in Wyoming, announced the largest acquisition in its history in November, the $589 million purchase of Bend, Oregon-based Bank of the Cascades.
Also in November, Glacier announced its buying Yuma, Arizona-based TFB Bancorp for $62 million, its first foray into the Southwest.
Glacier, which owns 13 divisions, including Western Security Bank in Yellowstone County, has been planning for the $10 billion threshold for the past three years, CEO Randy Chesler said last week.
He added that some rules, such as stress tests, are good practice for banks, particularly the large lenders. Others, such as lengthy mortgage applications, hamper community banks that are the lifeblood of most Montana communities, Chesler said.
Small banks cant afford the compliance costs and risk of being in the consumer lending business, he said.
He added, Were on such a tight, low-tolerance level We just have to be so careful to be in this business. If we had more (rules based on) common sense, maybe we could do more.
Riley of First Interstate said home lending at the bank has been growing steadily over the past few years.
A bigger concern for us is broad regulatory relief that would benefit our local economies and businesses. As they feel that relief, the demand for lending may rise, Riley wrote in an email.
Both Riley and Chesler hope that Congress does away with the Durbin amendment, which involves credit and debit card transactions. Under this rule, interchange fees, which banks receive from merchants for card use, are cut for banks above $10 billion in assets.
For First Interstate, these fees accounted for about $11.5 million last year. Glacier collected about $13 million in interchange fees in 2016.
Theyre taking a sizable amount of revenue away and handing it to the retailers, Chesler said.
While Dodd-Frank reform targets banks, credit unions are also excited about the potential for regulatory relief.
Dennis Wizeman, CEO of Montana Health Federal Credit Union in Billings, said his institution has basically dropped in-house mortgage lending because of the compliance costs.
Montana Health would need to hire another loan officer just to keep up with the thousands of pages of regulations, which is costly for the one-branch organization, he wrote in an email.
The target of much of Dodd-Frank was larger, national companies, but the effect has been felt mostly by local and regional companies the people who are far more likely to know their members or customers well and have the ability to make informed and nuanced lending decisions, Wizeman wrote.
Like the bankers, Wizeman said he doesnt want to see regulations disappear entirely.
Smaller institutions do not want a Wild West landscape in banking but we also dont want an environment which makes us afraid of our own shadow, he wrote.
It's unclear when Congress will act, and McBride, the analyst, said it could be "an unfolding saga" that won't happen overnight.
He added that the pitch to weaken regulations is easy now, when the economy is relatively strong and job growth is steady.
The regulations are needed the most when things aren't going well, McBride said.
Loans dont go bad in a good economic environment, but when the economy slows, thats when bad things happen ... Everybody looked the other way when things were good and everyone was making money, he said.
Donald Trump, President of the United States: "This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine."
Matt Vespa, Town Hall: " NYT: Trump Aides Had Contact With Russian Intelligence, But No Evidence Of Collusion Found"
"None of the newly learned information relates to the salacious allegations in the dossier."
Cortney O'Brien, Town Hall: "Texas AG Files Amicus Brief in Support of Travel Ban"
"Today's ruling marks an end to Mr. Paxton's almost yearlong attempt to avoid being judged by a jury of his peers. We look forward to going to trial and seeking justice on behalf of the people of Texas," special prosecutor Brian Wice said Wednesday."
Leah Barkoukis, Town Hall: "Krauthammer on Flynn: 'This Is a Cover Up Without a Crime'
Katie Pavlich, Town Hall: "It Is Unclear Whether Flynn Misled White House On a Number of National Security Issues"
"On the trust issue and eroding of trust, last night in General Flynn's resignation letter he said he inadvertently briefed the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete information."
Streiff, Red State: "Trump Needs To Either Shutdown the Pro-Obama Leakers Or He Needs To Resign"
"I have no doubt that Kredo is right in linking Ben Rhodess merry platoon of Obama fellatistos to the operation. The leaks on Trumps calls to foreign leaders can only have come from within the so-called (haha) professional staff of the National Security Council... there is zero doubt that a war is underway against the Trump administration and it is being carried out by part of the US government. Yesterday, Eli Lake had a story in which he pointed out that it is illegal for the government to wiretap US citizens without a warrant"
Debra Heine, PJ Media: "Report: Obama Loyalists, Led by Ben Rhodes, Orchestrated Flynn Ouster "
PJ Media: "'People in America Are Getting Tired of the 24/7 Pile-On' of Trump"
Ryan Saavedra, Gateway Pundit: "Los Angeles Driver PLOWS THROUGH Pipeline Protest...
On Wednesday, pipeline protesters standing in the streets of Los Angeles were greeted by a driver who was determined to get to his destination. The driver made it through the protest line by driving straight through the mob, literally."
"If you watch closely towards the end of the video it appears a person in a yellow shirt reaches into the car and starts to throw punches at the driver."
Rick Moran, PJ Media: "College Students Wear White Pins to Remind Themselves of 'White Privilege'
Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit: "President Trump GOES OFF on Intelligence Community After Continued Leaks By Far Left Agents"
Lloyd Marcus, Renew America: "The left's campaign to "Bush" Trump will fail"
Sher Zieve, Renew America: "Why is anyone going along with the 9th Circuit COA's illegal ruling?"
Bob Unruh, World Net Daily: "Explosive new hacking scandal has Democrats' fingerprints...Remember the hue and cry raised by Democrats over the Russians hacking their computer systems during the 2016 presidential election?
How there should be investigations? How someone a Republican must be at fault? How whatever interaction Donald Trump ever had with Russia was viewed suspiciously?
And now there are Democrats attacks on Trump over Michael Flynn, his national security adviser who was forced to resign this week over conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
Investigate, they demand. Not just Flynn, but Trump, too.
Yet the Democrats are mum over their own explosive hacking scandal, which could overshadow Watergate, Filegate, Travelgate and dozens of other Washington scandals.
The allegation is that Democrats hired tech staffers who were Pakistani nationals, and they likely gained illegal access to secret congressional information."
Bob Unruh, World Net Daily: "EMERGENCY HEARING SOUGHT TO STOP NSA 'SPYING' ON TRUMP...'Our own gov't has committed biggest violation of constitutional rights in history'
"Attorney Larry Klayman, the chief of Freedom Watch, is asking a federal court to hold an emergency hearing on the NSA and likely CIA spying on President Donald Trump."
Ron Jager, American Thinker: "Trump-Hatred of Sanctimonious Jews Empowering Anti-Semites"
Andrew Solomon, American Thinker: "Trump's new strategy: Hulk smash...We are in a street fight. No more apologies. It's war. It's time to smash the opposition."
"Trump's policy should be simple. If the Deep State's Obama leftovers and their rejects take out a Flynn using felonious actions via illegal leaks, replace him with a Navy SEAL. If they take out the SEAL, go get a shovel and dig up General Patton's dead body and slam him into place."
E. Jeffrey Ludwig, American Thinker: "Democrats fear Trump's success with Russia"
Christian Datoc, Daily Caller: "Trump: This Country Was Seriously Divided Before I Got Here
True Pundit: "VIDEO: President Trump Crushes Mainstream Media; Our Countrys Military Strategy is None of Your Business"
Freedom Daily: "MANHUNT: Trumps Motorcade Just Came Under Direct Attack From Assailants Yelling Death Threats... Eyewitnesses to the frightening attack said that the protesters were yelling death threats, using crass language, and were about the age of middle school children."
"I lay this entirely at the feet of Obama."
S. White, Freedom Daily: "ITS BEGINNING: Free Tuition, Free Housing And No Fees, Including Former Inmates If Your Skin Is This Color!"
Marr, Freedom Daily: "Look What Trump Was Just Caught Doing In The White House That Hasnt Been Seen In DECADES!"
Prissy Holly, Freedom Daily: "HOLY CRAP! Ted Cruz Just WRECKED The Lives Of MILLIONS Of Muslims"
Thomas Lifson, American Thinker: "Media hysteria in week three of Trump presidency leaves little room for escalation...Whats left for next week? Denouncing President Trump and his family as shape-shifting aliens?"
One of a series of pictures proving that Hillary is a lizard person.
And here is Obama shapeshifting right before our eyes, in an ABSOLUTELY NOT PHOTOSHOPPED picture.
*Yes it can. Sorry about that.
Tomorrow is a travel day for me, so I thought I'd get this out today.And off to the races! What a time we're having; aren't you excited to see how they try to lie their way out of this one?Right, Donald.If you are a totally brain-dead wingnut. Otherwise, the evidence is everywhere, Matt. And Matt gives the whole game away later in his article:We are talking about pee pee gate here, just to be clear, not high treason. No evidence for the golden shower story, according to Matt. The evidence for the rest of it is right in front of your face, but is apparently not important enough to worry about.Whooppee. The Texas Attorney General would be one Ken Paxton:Oh, THAT Ken Paxton.Well, except for treason. Other than that, nothing to see here folks. Why don't we all just move along, and have a couple more hearings about Hillary's e-mails?Yeah, but not the way that Katie is pretending. The only thing "unclear" is the smoking gun evidence that Trump was in on the whole thing from the very beginning. And if you can't see that from the way Trump has treated Russia, you are a fool. Katie puts it like this:Inadvertently..."incomplete" information...if you fall for that, you are one poor excuse for a sentient being. Anyway, some more Republican speak for "I lied my ass off, and I'm still doing it. And you can't do a thing about it, sucker."Pro-Obama leakers. Yeah, that's what they are. It's "pro-Obama" to think the American people have a right to know that there is a traitor in the White House. Well, he's probably right, because there sure aren't any Republicans that believe that. Here's a little sample of Streiff's "reasoning:"Man, that is just pathetic. "Fellatistos;" "So-called (ha ha) professional staff of the National Security Council"...Streiff used to be at least somewhat creative in coming up with his Republican alternative truths. Come on, guy, get it together- cheesy fourth-grade level insults really aren't enough any more.Continuing the above theme. I BLAME OBAMA!!!! Boy, it's going to be tough to get them to abandon that one. No word, by the way, on the way Republicans openly and proudly orchestrated their endless attempts to destroy Obama.And I bet you didn't know this:Are you kidding me? This is the greatest thing sincecame out.The mob:How frightening! A mob! A mob of, apparently, sixteen people, standing still and holding signs. The liberals have destroyed democracy forever!!!! Ryan continues:Abominable! Someone tried to stop a right wing loon from running down innocent people! And if he actually had run them down? Hey, nothing wrong with that.Is there anyone out there who can't see where this licensing of violence on the right will take us?The horror. Maybe we need some wingnut driver to run them down too.Far left agents, who you can clearly identify because they told the truth- an irrefutable sign. If that doesn't immediately mark them as far left, I don't know what would. And by the way, the intelligence community is so well know for being filled with "far left agents," right?Sorry, Lloyd. It's already gone way beyond that, and he has only been in office four weeks yet. Deal with the real world for once.Ignore the courts. Sher becomes one more rooter for dictatorship- the exact thing she has been screaming about Obama being up to for eight years.And now a rather lengthy passage from an article revealing just how deeply Republicans have to sink into delusion, in order to lie away Trump's treason:No sense getting too caught up in this nonsense too deeply; let me just point out that, first of all, when a Republican says that someone " likely gained illegal access to secret congressional information," that means that they have exactly zero evidence that any such thing ever happened, and secondly let me tell you (and you will not be surprised at this) that the article does not mention one source for this information. "DEMOCRAT HACKING SCANDAL!!!!!"Oh, and let's not move on here before pointing out that in the Democratic Russian hacking "scandal," the Democrats were the victims; in the Trump scandal, the Trump people are the criminals. That is a subtle distinction that Bob failed to notice, for some reason.And more from Bob. Man, he's on fire today!And who is seeking this emergency heareing?Larry Klayman. I guess he's got a lot of free time on his hands, now that he is not trying to organize a mob of two million people, to break into the White House and lynch Barack Obama. That, of course, would not be a violation of Constitutional rights, just an expression of the righteous anger of real Americans at the idea of, well, you know what, in the White House.It's the Jews' fault that right wing savages hate them. Not really a new argument. They used that one somewhere before. Let me try to remember where...Hey, that is consistent with American values, right? Andrew explains the details of his proposal:Okay, I mean, that should work. And if that doesn't work, maybe the Russians would be so generous as to loan us Hitler's skull.You mean we fear Trump's ongoing sellout of the country to the Russian dictator? You bet we do. Got a problem with that, E. Jeffrey?Well, at least we aren't divided any more, Donald. We all hate you.Huh. No need to comment on that one.And this horrible news:Crass Language! Middle school children!And of course, who is behind it all?Now he's getting middle school chidren to use crass language. Will the outrages never stop?No need to let you know what color they are talking about. Anyway, what an outrage, spending government money on sending poor kids to college, when it could go to subsidize coal companies, or just get stuffed into the pockets of the Koch brothers, where it rightfully belongs. But don't worry, America, this diabolical plot isn't even really happening; it was only proposed by a few students at one university. But better get ready. The horror of black kids in college could become a reality any day now.Getting peed upon by Russian prostitutes?Wrecked the lives of millions. And right wingers are really proud of him for doing it. Thank heaven, of course, that Ted didn't do any such thing. He just made some more belligerent threats. But still, it's interesting to hear from people who would be really happy if that had happened.And let's just go out with this:Let's not forget that right wingers have spent years accusing the Clintons and Obama of being exactly that.Oh God, can it get any worse?*
Looking at a rainforest from high in the sky, you might think all the trees look about the same.
But they are not.
Take, for example, the Amazon rainforest in South America. Research shows that the Amazons biological diversitythe huge number of plants and animals living thereis more of a mix than experts believed. It turns out the rainforest has many species of trees and even different kinds of forests.
The Amazon covers an area of about 7 million square kilometers. It lies within the borders of nine countries: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, which belongs to France.
About 60 percent of the rainforest falls within Brazil.
For about 150 years, researchers have explored the Amazon. They searched under its tall trees to study the many plants growing there.
Greg Asner has done that too. He is the principal investigator for the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) program.
Asner studied the plants and then, with his team, developed a tool to identify what is growing in the Amazon rainforest. They use an airplane equipped with a high-technology laboratory to create maps of the area.
When the plane flew over Peru, the team learned there are many more -- and different kinds of -- forests than was documented before.
Researchers once thought the western Amazon had three to five different forests. Then, Asner notes, his team mapped the area in the CAO aircraft.
We flew over and we mapped 36 distinct forest types. And so what we did, we just increased the diversity of the region by tenfold and thats important because the region, the Peruvian Andes and Amazon, just like all the other countries that occupy that region, are rapidly developing.
The CAO is equipped with airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy. This technology enables Asner and his team to take three-dimensional images of the forest far below. These pictures give the appearance of length, width and depth. They have bright colors and look like modern art paintings. Yet they show different tree species.
Asner says the team is gathering more than just pictures of plants.
And at the same time were able to assess the health, composition and types of trees that are there, from their chemical signatures.
He says getting chemical information on the trees is like a doctor taking blood from a patient. The images tell the researchers about the health of the forests, and give them genetic information, too.
But how can you get chemical information from trees while flying above them?
Asner says the CAO aircraft uses sunlight as the main measurement tool. The sunlight reflects off the tops of the trees. With the equipment on the plane, they can measure infrared light the light that cannot be seen.
This is in the shortwave infrared. So we cant see this with the naked eye. But we are able to read the molecular composition of the tree canopy.
This information helps them understand how the plant species and forests change in different areas.
Asner says they can use airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy over a huge area that has never been mapped. In this case, it is 76 million hectares in the Amazon.
The Carnegie team joined with the Peruvian Ministry of Environment to study that countrys forests. Asner says this technology is still new to science, and it can help officials watch over and protect the forests.
The application to Peru is really a big step forward because it tells us that we can use this still-new approach to map the composition of forests, in this case,and use that information to do better forest management, conservation and planning for future changes that we know the region is undergoing.
He says their maps help researchers and government officials make decisions based on the actual biodiversity of each area. No longer are people treating the Amazon rainforest like a big green carpet one that is the same everywhere.
Researchers will be busy because they noticed plant species that are little known, or completely unknown, in the forest communities.
The Carnegie team is now working with Equador to map its countryside. The images will help Ecuadorean officials preserve their forests.
The next step is to take the technology even higherto orbit the Earth. Then researchers may observe the biodiversity not just of the Amazon, but the whole planet.
The orbiting satellite would remap the entire Earth every 30 days and measure the health of its biodiversity.
Biodiversity is important to the health of the planet, Asner explains. It is the fabric that is under all the planets systems, like water and food.
So where the different species are and what types of species we have actually affects all the major processes that regulate our climate.
So, Asner adds, finding ways to watch the Earth will help researchers make better decisions on how to save more species and help stop destruction of our planet.
Im Anne Ball.
Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English with information from Kevin Enochs from VOA. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Now check your understanding by taking a listening quiz.
Quiz - Eyes in the Sky Map Amazon on the Ground Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz
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Words in This Story
biodiversity n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment
tenfold adj. ten times as much or many
laser n. a device that produces a narrow and powerful beam of light that has many special uses in medicine, industry, etc.
spectroscopy n. using a tool to measure different properties of light.
assess v. to make a judgment about (something)
reflect v. of light, sound, etc. to move in one direction, hit a surface, and then quickly move in a different and usually opposite direction
infrared adj. producing or using rays of light that cannot be seen and that are longer than rays that produce red light
shortwave n. a radio wave with a wavelength between 10 and 100 meters
canopy n. the highest layer of branches in a forest or on a tree
conservation n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources
Millions of single people turn to the Internet to meet other singles.
Many use dating websites in hopes of finding that special someone. But there are some people who want nothing more than to trick singles, using their desire for a loving relationship to get their money.
VOA recently investigated one such effort. Criminals used pictures of United States armed forces members to steal money from women around the world.
One of those women is Lilo Schuster. She began looking online to try to find a boyfriend or a husband.
Then one day, Schuster received a promising email from someone on a dating website. The message came from someone who claimed he was a pilot in Afghanistan.
And it was a widow(er), and he said that he was in the Air Force, that he was fighting the Taliban -- the terrorists -- that he had a, a daughter. I just thought Oh my, my prayers are being answered.
The relationship quickly became serious. Schuster said she fell in love. She soon began sending the man emails throughout the day. He sent her poetry and messages saying he loved her. He even sent her pictures of himself in his military clothing.
As soon as I had the pictures, I would -- this is so stupid -- I would carry them around. I would show people.
Schuster noticed that the man did not write well. But she remembered her father was an immigrant, and his writing was not very good. So she did not think it was a problem.
But she and her love interest never spoke by telephone. When she asked to do so, the man said he was not permitted to do so.
We never talked, we never Skyped because his thing was Well, this is top secret, were fighting the terrorists, we cant do anything that would compromise that so I cant use the phone.
After a few weeks, the man told her he needed money to help his daughter go on a school trip. So she sent a few thousand dollars to Britain, where the man said his mother lived with his daughter.
Im helping him. This is for our future. Its embarrassing but thats the feelings that I was feeling.
But after she sent the money, the man asked for more. He said he wanted to leave the Air Force and join some of his friends who were starting a small company.
The man told Schuster that the Air Force would not let him remove money from his bank account. He said he needed her help. She was suspicious, but she still sent more money to him.
Youre so scared. You dont want to lose them -- youll just do anything, and thats what I did. So I just started to continue to wire money.
Schuster sent a total of $22,000. Almost immediately after she sent the last amount, he stopped sending her emails.
My heart just sank and I thought this doesnt seem right.
Chris Grey is with the U.S. Armys Criminal Investigations Command. He says he has heard stories like Schusters many times.
Its been just overwhelming. We are dealing with thousands of these. Ive personally spoken to women whove given upwards of $75,000, $80,000 to someone that theyve never met in person.
Online criminals are also targeting people in other countries. Grey says women from Japan, Britain and Australia have called his office. He says they thought they were in love with a U.S. service member but were actually being tricked.
Grey says many of these criminals operate from cyber cafes in West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana. He says they take photographs of U.S. troops from social media. They then create a story and begin to target women on dating sites.
Grey has some simple advice: Never send money to someone that youve never met, never talked to on the phone.
Grey says there are several signs to watch for. They include misspellings on documents and mistakes with capitalization. Other signs include using names of organizations that do not exist or using logos that are in disagreement with official images or designs.
Grey says cyber criminals sometimes send documents with U.S. Army logos when the writer claims to be serving in the Navy.
Schuster turned her anger into action. By sharing her story, she says she helped a woman in New Zealand and an American discover that they were being lied to.
Same story and the same exact pictures were used to these two other women.
If you suspect you are being tricked by someone online, do not send them money -- especially if they are in another country. You should call police or postal officials.
Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.
VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
date v. to do an activity with someone you have or might have a romantic relationship with; to go on a date or several dates with (someone)
online adj. done over the Internet
compromise v. to expose (something) to risk or danger
wire v. to send (money) by using electronic methods
overwhelming adj. used to describe something that is so confusing, difficult, etc., that you feel unable to do it
upwards of adv. more than (an amount or number)
cyber cafe n. a cafe or coffee shop where customers can use computers to search the Internet
misspell v. to spell (a word or name) incorrectly
capitalize v. to begin (a word or name) with a capital letter
logo n. a symbol that is used to identify a company and that appears on its products
A Wisconsin firefighter who fled Milwaukee days after an FBI search of his engine house related to a child pornography investigation, was arrested by the Montana Highway Patrol on Friday night in Big Horn County, according to an FBI press release.
Robert Rutley, 44, was arrested by MHP without incident during a traffic stop on Friday night in Big Horn County, four days after the FBI had obtained an arrest warrant for him on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the press release.
MHP Trooper Eric Winburn said the arrest occurred at a Conoco gas station in Crow Agency between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. A deputy with the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office spotted Rutley's vehicle earlier and then contacted MHP, Winburn said.
The release says that the FBI Milwaukee Division's Child Exploitation Task Force, in cooperation with the Milwaukee Fire Department, carried out a federal search warrant of the engine house Rutley was assigned to on Feb. 10.
"After a forensic review of evidence seized during the search warrant," the FBI was granted a federal arrest warrant on Feb. 13 and "Rutley subsequently fled the area," according to the release. A follow-up investigation determined Rutley was in Montana, according to the release.
Rutley is being held in Big Horn County and will be taken into federal custody early next week, said FBI Senior Supervisory Resident Agent Travis Burrows.
In the press release, the FBI thanks both the Montana Highway Patrol and the Milwaukee Fire Department for their assistance during the investigation.
Cindy lives with her three children in a small bedroom in an apartment near a major American city. Two other adults also live in the apartment.
Cindy asked VOA to use just her first name for this story. She is not in the United States legally. She was born in Guatemala and brought to the United States when she was five years old.
So, Cindy considers the U.S. home.
Even though I dont have papers, I feel that Im from here. Of course, Im proud of having been born in Guatemala, but I wasnt raised there. I dont know the culture over there. I dont know what its like to live there.
She has worked since she was 17, holding different jobs. She is now 29 and pregnant. Cindy says she wants to stay in the United States so she and her family can have a good life. Her children were born in the United States, so they are citizens. Cindy says she is more scared than she has ever been of being deported to Guatemala. She says she wants to become a legal resident of the United States.
Cindy is among an estimated 11 million people living in the United States without government permission. Experts say more than half of them are from Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Last week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, carried out raids around the country. They arrested 680 people. The agency said it was targeting people who had been found guilty of crimes while in the United States. ICE said the raids were no different than those that took place during the Obama administration.
In a statement this week, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said President Trump has been clear in affirming the critical mission of DHS in protecting the nation, and directed our department to focus on removing illegal aliens who have violated our immigration laws.
Trump promised often during the campaign to stop illegal immigration. He said if he became president he would deport up to three million people involved in criminal activity. On January 25th, he signed a presidential order that expanded the powers of ICE to detain immigrants.
On Sunday, Trump wrote a message on the social networking site Twitter. He said The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers (and) others are being removed!
His message seemed to differ from what ICE said about its actions: that they were usual -- no different from what the agency did when Barack Obama was president.
The Department of Homeland Security said 25 percent of those arrested last week had not been found guilty of criminal acts in the United States but were in the country illegally. It said their cases will be examined individually. It said they may be deported even if they are not criminals.
Angelica Satas is the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. She said she has been watching the operations of ICE for 30 years. She said last weeks raids were not normal. She said many more people called her organization than usual while a raid was taking place in Los Angeles. She said some people were being seized in their homes and as they traveled to their jobs.
Many immigrants are afraid. There are reports that ICE will be setting up checkpoint stations to stop and seize immigrants who entered the United States without permission.
Many people from Latin America live in the Columbia Heights area of Washington, DC. VOA spoke with some of them as they waited at a Catholic Charities center for free food. They said they feared being deported.
Rodrigo Aguirre works at Catholic Charities. He says he has noticed a difference from a year ago.
"We're seeing people just become a little bit more afraid about asking for help. Because they are fearful of the consequences -- fearful that their name might be given to immigration and then eventually deported."
VOA spoke to a Salvadoran woman named Hemelina while she was waiting for free food from the center. She said she came to the United States illegally last year. She said she fled El Salvador because her husband often hit her and she feared gangs -- groups of criminals.
Smita Dazzo is an immigration lawyer for Catholic Charities. She says Hemelina could be given asylum if she can show a judge proof that she would be harmed if she is returned to El Salvador. Dazzo says most of the immigrants she talks to have what the law calls a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country.
The majority of people that are coming here really are fleeing for their lives. It's, it's really, really scary for these people and some of them really honestly feel like they have no choice."
Dazzo says Trumps election has caused many people in the U.S. illegally to begin the process of getting permission to stay.
But supporters of Trumps immigration policy say limits are required because there are so many people who want to come to, or stay in, the U.S.
Dan Stein is among these voices. He heads the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He says that in the past 40 years the United States has had the highest level of immigration in its history. He says that cannot continue.
"All countries have to deal in the real world. And there are simply far more people who would like to move to a country like the United States than we can possibly handle and still provide a good quality of life and a shot at the American dream for people who are here today.
It is not clear what will happen to the millions of people in the United States illegally who have not done a crime while they are here. They have families and jobs. Immigration activists say the solution is a law that lets them stay.
Dazzo says there are a lot of people who come here as children that are really upstanding citizens. They work hard, theyre family oriented. Theyre exactly what you hope that Americans are.
Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.
VOA Correspondent Bill Rodgers reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.
________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
papers expression immigration documents that show a person has permission to be in a country
deport v. to force (a person who is not a citizen) to leave a country
resident n. someone who lives in a particular place
affirm v. to show a strong belief in or dedication to (something, such as an important idea)
critical adj. extremely important
mission n. a task or job that someone is given to do
focus v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific (often + on)
crackdown n. a serious attempt to punish people for doing something that is not allowed; an increased effort to enforce a law or rule
merely adv. used to describe the only reason for something or the only effect of something
gang n. a group of criminals
persecute v. to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs
handle v. to do the work required for something; to deal with (a person, situation, etc.) successfully
upstanding adj. honest and respectable
oriented adj. designed to appeal to a certain kind of people; interested in a particular thing, activity, etc.
Some people say the United States higher education system is the best in the world. But the cost of a college education in the U.S. can be very high -- about 70 percent of students graduate with some debt. In 2014, the total amount of that debt in the U.S. reached about $1.2 trillion.
Norway, Finland, Germany, Mexico and Brazil are very different countries. But they all have one thing in common: citizens can attend public universities for little to no cost.
That is why some American lawmakers are looking to other countries as models for change. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders said the U.S needed to offer free college. Sanders presidential campaign was unsuccessful. But he is not alone in the fight for free education.
In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to provide free community college to recent high school graduates. Community colleges are smaller, public schools that usually offer two-year degree programs. The schools also provide general education classes at low cost to students who plan to transfer to a four-year college.
Earlier this month, Tennessee reported a 30 percent increase in the number of students attending community college for the first time.
Oregon also has a program like Tennessees. In fall of 2016, the Oregon program paid for at least part of the cost for 6,745 students to attend community college.
The idea of free college is spreading in the U.S. Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his own plan. It centers on families making less than $125,000 a year. It would permit their children to attend the states public universities for free.
Officials say Cuomos plan could cost as much as $163 million per year by 2019.
Richard Vedder is director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a research organization. He feels some New Yorkers may not like an increase in taxes to pay for Cuomos plan and could move to different states. He also thinks it is fair to ask students to pay for some of the cost of college.
"First of all, the students are the primary beneficiaries of the college education. Most of them, after college, will earn a good deal more income than they did before going to college. A lot of the students who go to college can afford to pay tuition. The tuition fee is not an obstacle that keeps them from attending. So, asking them to pay tuition fees seems to be reasonable since they are getting a high return on the investment."
Vedder says offering free education at public universities could also hurt competition. Vedder says it could make private schools less appealing to students.
In the case of Oregon, something similar may already be happening. Public university administrators in the state reported lower numbers of new students in 2016. This might suggest students are choosing the free community colleges over four-year degree programs.
Vedder also points to already existing state and federal financial aid programs, like the Pell grant. Pell grants provide money to low-income college students. The students do not have to pay the money back.
Officials in the state of Rhode Island say such help is not enough. A recent survey from the states education department showed that 90 percent of Rhode Island high schoolers want to attend college. However, the study showed only 65 percent actually do so. Cost was the number one reason students gave for not attending college.
But Rhode Island has a plan that might help. In January, Governor Gina Raimondo proposed a plan for two free years of study at the Community College of Rhode Island, the University of Rhode Island or Rhode Island College to any high school graduate living in the state.
Kevin Gallagher is the governors deputy chief of staff. He says offering free college is the right thing to do because higher education will be required for most jobs in the future.
"If youre thinking about college as a luxury that only a few should be able to afford, then sure you could say, Okay, this isnt essential. But from the governors perspective, we cant afford not to make this commitment. We know that in Rhode Island, and in the United States, a high school diploma is simply not enoughYou have to have some education beyond high school in order to get a good-paying job."
Governor Raimondos proposal is planned to start in 2018. It would cost $10 million in the first year. Gallagher says the price is expected to rise to $30 million a year by 2022. The official notes that this would only be a small part of the states current $9 billion budget.
Gallagher also believes that people will see the value in having an educated population. Educated Rhode Islanders will make more money but also provide more to the state in tax payments, he says.
Robert Kelchen is a professor of higher education at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He researches higher education finance and accountability policy. Kelchen says he thinks there are important questions still to be answered about the Rhode Island proposal.
"One thing to know first is that free tuition does not mean that students will avoid debt. For a student going to a public college, the other parts of higher education -- like books, transportation and housing -- are a much larger part of the overall price than tuition. So, students need to realize that in most cases theyll have to take on some debt."
Kelchen also says the plan may not help low income students as much as middle- and higher-income students. He argues more money should be spent on low-income students instead of all students in general.
Im Pete Musto.
Correspondent Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
We want to hear from you. What is the average cost of a college education in your country? Do you think governments should provide free college tuition? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
graduate v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college or university
transfer v. to stop going to one school and begin going to another
beneficiaries n. a person, group or organization that is helped by something
income n. money that is earned from work, investments or business
afford v. to be able to pay for something
tuition n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there
obstacle n. something that makes it difficult to do something
financial adj. relating to money
luxury n. something that is expensive and not necessary
essential adj. extremely important and necessary
perspective n. a way of thinking about and understanding something such as a particular issue or life in general
commitment n. a promise to do or give something
accountability n. the act of being required to explain actions or decisions to someone
realize n. to understand or become aware of something
It wasnt lost on L. Jace Killsback that President Donald Trump chose an offensive Indian stereotype to disparage Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Nor was it lost on Killsback that his senator, Jon Tester, was sitting two seats left of the president, but said nothing.
Trump derogatorily referred to Warren as Pocahontas, racially offensive because it conjures up images of American Indian women as sexual objects, while also ignoring that the real Pocahontas, according to Jamestowne National Park Service historians, was taken like property by white colonists in the early 1600s and converted to Christianity.
Killsback is president of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of southeast Montana.
What she represents is what we call, in the Indian community, the white mans view of native women. Its a reflection of their view of the land in relation to their colonization of the North Americans and includes the capture, the rape, the abuse of Pocahontas, the president said.
A 'tarnished' historical figure
Theres also a Pocahontas stereotype of American Indian women who are considered too friendly to whites, as the Powhatan girl in colonial storytelling is portrayed as helpful to whites. In those stories, Pocahontas is also portrayed as part of a native monarchy, which is also false, Killsback said. The Disney cartoon version of Pocahontas as a princess is equally offensive.
Walter Fleming, head of the Native American Studies department at Montana State University, said the Pocahontas stereotype puts American Indian women in a position of being not only overly friendly to whites, but also overly lascivious depending on how the slur is used. The historical figure has been so tarnished, association with the name for American Indian women is a no-win situation.
Warren has been called Pocahontas by Republicans since 2012 when the Massachusetts senators claims of being one-thirty-second Comanche turned out to be impossible to prove. Supporters of Warrens opponent, Republican Scott Brown, called her Fauxcahontas, a fake, but the phrasing was lost in the political churn against Warren, who is wildly popular among Democrats and a possible presidential candidate in 2020.
Warrens claim to Cherokee lineage, as well as who gets to decide whether a person is native, is yet another controversy. The decision would not belong to Warren, but certainly would not belong to her detractors, either, Killsback said. It should be up to the Comanche.
Speaking up
Killsback and other native leaders in Montana told The Gazette that Trumps remarks needed to be challenged. Anytime the racist remark is made people need to speak up, they said.
Tester would not answer questions about the interaction with Trump. He wouldnt explain why he said nothing. Right after the meeting, which was a luncheon between the president, six Democrat senators and four Republican senators, Tester described the meeting as non-confrontational.
"Dont take this the wrong way, but it wasnt confrontational at all," Tester said at a press conference. "It was just flat non-confrontational. It was very open conversation, very, very much, very much an open dialogue. He did more talking than everybody else and Vice President (Mike) Pence did less talking than everybody else. But everybody in that meeting had the opportunity to visit with the president directly, and I appreciate that."
'A cop-out'
Later, Testers staff acknowledged Trumps offensive remarks, as well as the presidents assertions of mass voter fraud against him in the 2016, something thats been widely declared false. Testers staff suggested Trump didnt need to be called out because the president had made them previously.
These were not new statements from President Trump, said Marnee Banks, Testers press secretary. He has routinely called Sen. Warren this derogatory name dating back to May last year. Also, President Trump has made unfounded claims of voter fraud since before the 2016 election and continues to offer no evidence to back these claims up. Jon is deeply concerned that the President repeats offensive rhetoric and untrue statements.
Killsback disagreed. "That's a cop-out," the Northern Cheyenne president said. "We have to be able to say enough is enough and call the kettle black if you are there. There needs to be an effort to represent the diversity of your constituents. We need that voice to let it be known that it's not acceptable."
The president's comments angered Irene Dale, a member of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes.
"It can make you feel like you're worth nothing, I guess," Dale said. "That you're not equal. You're not on an equal playing field as the person saying that."
Dale, who has twice voted for Tester, wanted the senator to explain why he didn't call the president out for being offensive. She posed the question to Tester during the senator's Facebook forum last week. Dale said she presented her question at least a day ahead of the forum, but hers wasn't among the questions the senator chose to answer on video the evening of Feb. 15.
"I still think you put your big boy pants on, go into that meeting, act like a man and say something when someone says something offensive to you," Dale said.
For Vernon Finley, chairman of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes of Northwest Montana, there is an obligation to tell the president that his remarks were offensive, while also recognizing Trumps right to say offensive things.
You know, sometimes I might do or say things that would be offensive to you for whatever reason, your ethnic background or your gender, or whatever, Finley said. "I might say or do something offensive, but my intent is to never do that.
If I say something that offends you and you dont say anything, thats on you. If you tell me its offensive and I continue to say it, thats on me, Finley said.
Double standard
The context of the Trumps remarks about Warren involve not only Tester, Finley said, but also Montanas Republican Sen. Steve Daines.
Trump brought up Warren while referring to a Feb. 7 episode on the Senate floor in which the Massachusetts Democrat was gaveled down by Montana Republican Steve Daines.
Warren was speaking against the confirmation of Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions to become attorney general. Daines was overseeing the debate and ordered Warren to take her seat after she began to read from a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King, in which the civil rights leader said Sessions had undermined the rights of black voters.
Daines cited Rule 19, a not-often-referenced conduct order that prevents senators from impugning each other on the Senate floor.
Warrens right to free speech should have prevailed, Finley said, criticizing Daines for doing otherwise.
So the tribal chairman found fault in Tester for not speaking truth to power and Daines for not allowing Warren to speak at all.
Dale agreed with Finley. And she saw sexism in they way male Democrats were allowed to read the same King letter that got Warren ejected from the debate. Daines wasn't in charge of the floor session during those later readings. The double standard was still objectionable.
DOWN
College costs. Cuts approved in education appropriations subcommittee last week would leave a $23 million hole in the Montana University System budget. Closing that gap would require tuition increases of about $1,000 per year for Montana resident students. The entire state two-year budget is tight as lawmakers work to finalized it by the end of April.
UP
More judges. The Montana House approved a pared-down plan to add judges in the states most overloaded District Courts on a preliminary vote of 99-1 and then sent it to appropriations committee. As amended, House Bill 44, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, would provide two new judges for Yellowstone County and one more for Missoula County. To reduce the cost to the biennial budget, the new judges would be elected in November 2018 and take office in January 2019. The bill must still pass muster with the Senate and appropriations committees.
UP
Fort Peck bison. With the annual shipping to slaughter of hundreds of Yellowstone Park bison under way, the Montana Legislature has been offered a plan for safely sending a limited number of bison to the 320-acre quarantine facility built by the Fort Peck Tribes specifically for holding bison till they are proven free of disease. Proponents of House Bill 419 note that intergovernmental agreements already allow some Yellowstone bison to be shipped to a quarantine facility in Colorado. The Fort Peck Tribes have a viable plan for building a Yellowstone herd and should be given the opportunity to do so.
DOWN
Political payback. Sen. Gene Vuckovich, D-Anaconda, introduced legislation to move the statewide Natural Resource Damage Program to Deer Lodge as retribution for Attorney General Tim Fox moving the statewide Title and Registration Bureau from Deer Lodge to consolidate it with other Division of Motor Vehicles offices in Helena. Nothing in Vuckovichs bill addresses better service to citizens statewide; its all about getting 30 jobs for his district.
DOWN
Time out. Another bill that doesnt deserve the time it takes to read it is a proposal to discontinue daylight savings time in Montana. Senate Bill 206, sponsored by Sen. Ryan Osmundson, R-Buffalo, proposes that Montana be out of sync with its neighbor states for most of the year. The original purpose of daylight savings time was to save energy costs, thats still a good reason to stay with the nationwide plan.
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As subcommittee chairs of House Appropriations, we are the first stop for spending bills in the Montana Legislature. We are responsible for hearing testimony in our area of focus, then making decisions and moving bills to the full Appropriations Committee. In a low budget situation, like we are currently experiencing, we are responsible for making spending cuts and doing the difficult work of prioritizing needs in order to create a balanced budget.
We recognize that there is a need for us to do a better job of setting the stage for the people of Montana to explain how we got into a $300 million budget hole and what the appropriations subcommittees are doing to get our state back on sound fiscal ground.
From June through November 2016, the news in Montana coming from Gov. Steve Bullocks campaign was that Montana was the epitome of financial health. He told the people that there was a $300 million ending fund balance, a No. fiscal ranking from Forbes and a thriving economy. The truth is that the combination of needless spending, no corrective actions, and a cyclical economic downturn in the state have wiped out a $300 million surplus.
What makes this more frustrating for many of us is that the governor was aware of the pending revenue deficiencies over a year ago and could have taken corrective measures to address it. He is the only person who could have acted to stop Montana from sliding into a deeper financial hole in the legislative interim.
The fact that we have no money in surplus may be a surprise to many of you who thought we were financially sound. We are disappointed that while the governor was running a reelection campaign, you were not provided with an accurate picture of our finances.
Republican solutions to our financial difficulties will entail the following: 1) living within our financial means; 2) placing limits on what the governor may spend; 3) prioritizing the services of state government and returning to fiscal restraint.
As citizens of Montana, we deserve an accurate portrayal of the condition of our finances. Armed with the truth, we can begin the difficult process of restoring the sound fiscal foundation we need to govern wisely and prudently.
THAILAND A government committee has approved construction of an 800-megawatt coal power plant near pristine beaches on the Andaman Sea. The plant and an accompanying dock are slated to be built next to an existing oil plant on the coast in Krabi, a province whose sandy shores, aqua-blue waters, and soaring limestone cliffs make it a world-famous tourist destination.
MONGOLIA The Mongolian government and envoys from the International Monetary Fund said yesterday that they and other partners have agreed on terms for a more than USD5 billion loan package to the north Asian country to help get its economy back on track.
SRI LANKA Police say at least 10 people were killed and seven others were rescued after the boat they were traveling in capsized off the countrys southwestern coast.
PAKISTAN Police say that counter-terrorism forces killed five militants in an overnight raid and seized weapons and explosives from their hideout. Nayab Haider, a spokesman for the counter-terrorism department, said yesterday that the militants were members of the banned Jamaat-ul Ahrar which has claimed responsibility for several recent terrorist attacks.
IRAQ U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a large-scale military operation yesterday to dislodge Islamic State militants from the western half of Mosul, the latest phase in a four-month-old offensive to retake Iraqs second largest city.
SOMALIA A police officer says a blast at a busy market in the western part of Somalias capital killed at least 34 people. Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the powerful blast, thought to be from a car bomb, wounded more than 50 others and casualties may rise as many of the wounded victims suffered horrific wounds.
ITALY Former Premier Matteo Renzi resigned yesterday as leader of his fractious Democratic Party in a bid to win a fresh, stronger mandate before parliamentary elections which populist political forces hope will propel them into national power for the first time.
FRANCE-RUSSIA Frances foreign minister is denouncing possible Russian meddling in the French presidential campaign as unacceptable. Jean-Marc Ayrault, in an interview published yesterday, said Russia appears to be targeting centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, while favoring more pro-Russia candidates such as conservative Francois Fillon and nationalist Marine Le Pen.
The Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office is asking that anyone having information, please call 735-1911 or Crime Stoppers at 732-5387 where you can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
MONDAY was the last day to introduce bills in all but a few of the Legislatures privileged committees, and there were some fairly significant ones. House Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, introduced one to extend primary care coverage to some of the states uninsured. The House Judiciary and Rules Committee also printed a flurry of bills, including ones to remove mandatory minimums for drug crimes, charge heroin dealers whose customers overdose and die with second-degree murder and to place some more restrictions on how police can seize assets from suspected criminals.
TUESDAY the full House passed Rep. Clark Kauffmans bill exempting small dog races at county fairs from the states general ban on dog racing. The House Transportation Committee passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, to let people speed by up to 15 mph over when passing on two-lane roads where the speed limit is 55 mph or over, as well as a bill to shift, over five years, the money the Idaho State Police get from the fuel tax into transportation.
WEDNESDAY the Senate State Affairs Committee introduced a resolution calling for a convention of states to draft a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but nixed a proposed bill to start counting lawmakers service as part-time and not full-time for pension purposes. Some have been calling for changes to end so-called pension spiking, or when former lawmakers get a significant pension bump after retiring and spending a few years in a full-time state job. Later in the morning, a group of about 30 clergy dropped off a letter to Gov. C.L. Butch Otter asking him to reconsider his recent statements about preferring the admission of Christian refugees over others.
THURSDAY hundreds of high school students from the Boise area rallied on the Capitol steps to protest against recently confirmed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The House State Affairs Committee printed a resolution honoring the contributions of immigrants to Idaho, clearing the way for a hearing on it later, although some lawmakers had questions and concerns about it. It also passed a bill introduced by Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, to exempt sled dog racing from Idahos general ban on dog racing. Scott said she decided to introduce the exemption bill after finding out about Kauffmans bill and learning that sled dog racing could technically be a felony in Idaho. And, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee green-lighted a bill brought by Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, to require more disclosure of the cost of individual bonds on peoples property tax bills.
Later in the day, Idaho Dairymens Association Executive Director Bob Naerebout gave a presentation to the House Agricultural Affairs Committee, much of which he spent talking about the role immigrants, including undocumented ones, play in the states dairy industry and asking lawmakers to oppose having local police enforce immigration laws. And the House and Senate Education committees met jointly to hear a report from the state Department of Education on teacher evaluations.
FRIDAY Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, introduced a bill in Senate State Affairs to raise the age to buy and use tobacco, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21.
The House passed a resolution honoring Minoru Yasui, a Japanese-American man who went to court to fight for his rights during World War II and was interned at the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Jerome County. The House suspended its rules to pass the resolution (it was on the second reading calendar, not the third, which is where bills usually are before a full vote) to get it done in time for Monday, which is the Day of Remembrance for the Japanese internment. The House also passed 60-5 Clows bill to allow speeding while passing on some roads.
NEXT WEEK Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, plans on Monday to introduce a new version of his bill taking money away from sanctuary cities that dont comply with federal immigration laws.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which sets the states budgets, wrapped up its budget hearing process on Friday and next weeks starts actually setting the budgets.
A few other things to watch for are whether the hearing on Woods health care bill takes place next week; whether Senate leadership makes any decisions on supporting changes to the states existing legal exemptions for parents who believe in faith healing; whether any new transportation funding proposals are introduced, and whether the one to shift fuel tax money away from ISP passes the House; and whether we see a new version of a bill to regulate bail enforcement agents that was killed last week.
BOISE Idahos boat inspection program, aimed at keeping invasive quagga and zebra mussels out of the state, is facing a big budget shortfall thats sent state lawmakers scrambling.
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, co-chair of the Idaho Legislatures joint budget committee, plans to propose an additional funding boost in the current years budget on Monday, designed to get us through this year and get our boat stations set up, she said. Weve got some fishing derbies coming up in March and boats are starting to move.
Idahos been running the inspection stations around the state in the spring, summer and fall with funding from a special invasive species sticker that all boaters who use Idaho waters are required to buy. The sticker program has been raising about $1.1 million a year, which was enough to run the program but then lawmakers required the inspection program to do more, including opening every station from dawn to dusk.
Now that invasive mussels have been found in Montana, the state Department of Agriculture wants to open up three new inspection stations aimed at traffic coming from that state. And a legislative interim committee that studied the threat from the tiny, fast-spreading invasive mussels, which can destroy irrigation equipment, foul beaches and ruin landscapes, is calling for six stations to move to 24-hour operation, which would cost millions over the course of a year.
We dont have the funds to run dawn to dusk or nighttime stations, or three new stations, state Agriculture Director Celia Gould told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this week. Those are the unknowns that add a significant amount to this budget.
Keough said at this point, the state needs between $300,000 and $1.2 million more just to get the program through the current budget year, which ends June 30. The $300,000 figure is just to run all existing stations from dawn to dusk; the higher figure adds the new stations, nighttime operations, and additional law enforcement staffing required to operate the stations at night.
Then, next year, with the expanded hours and more stations, the program would need an additional $4.5 million.
The Department of Agriculture requested a $700,000 boost to the inspection program in next years budget, plus spending authority for an anticipated $1 million in federal grant funds. Gov. Butch Otter recommended spending only the federal money.
It hasnt arrived yet; Idahos been waiting. Congress approved $4 million in 2015 for four states Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana to split for their mussel-prevention watercraft inspection programs.
Its grant money right now its one-time money, Gould told lawmakers. The minute we see the grant become available, well apply for it, and hopefully it will be written in a manner that we can put it on the ground for these boat inspection facilities.
I pledge to you were doing the very best job with this program that we can, Gould told lawmakers. Im proud of the program that were running. We did 90,000 inspections last year. Its a tough program to claim success, because we dont know its a failure until you get a quagga mussel in the state. Our folks are doing a good job.
The Nov. 8, 2016 discovery of mussel larvae in north-central Montanas Tiber Reservoir was the first time the invasive mussels have been detected in the Northwest a region that thus far has remained free of the pipe-clogging, beach-encrusting mussels. No bigger than a thumbnail, the tiny mussels are spread largely on trailered boats and other watercraft as they travel from one part of the country to another. But once they get into a waterway, they can quickly spread downstream on their own.
So far, the Montana infestation hasnt spread, but officials throughout the Northwest including in Canada are on alert.
The Montana thing hit us between the eyes, Gould said. Knowing that theyre there, we put in three stations that we wouldnt have had on the drawing board prior to the Montana find.
Gould is pulling together detailed data on the boat traffic and hours and the states various inspection stations to help lawmakers craft a funding solution that matches the traffic. The best way, in my experience, is to look at each one individually, she said, rather than a blanket approach.
She also has some concerns about nighttime operations for the inspection stations, some of which are operated by state Department of Agriculture employees and some by contractors. If youve been past those stations, egress and ingress to those stations are not ideal, Gould said. Lighting is a problem. When you are asking to pull boats over in the middle of the night with poor lighting, poor ingress and egress, I would suggest that none of you would want me to hire your child to sit in that station and run that boat station without some law enforcement there. And I am unwilling to jeopardize or put our agency at risk.
However, she added, When you add the law enforcement component, it greatly enhances the cost of the whole program. It just really mushrooms out.
The Legislatures interim committee that called for nighttime operations also is calling for an $8 increase in the cost of invasive species stickers for out-of-state motorboats that use Idaho waterways, from $22 to $30 for the annual sticker. But that legislation hasnt yet been introduced.
For Idaho residents, the $10 cost of the invasive species sticker is included in the annual fee for boat registration, which varies with the size of the motorboat; for non-motorized craft, including canoes and kayaks, stickers are $7.
Supplemental appropriations to cover current-year costs will be considered on Monday, but the joint budget committee isnt scheduled to set the budget for the Department of Agriculture for next year until March 8.
Keough said, There are a lot of legislators that really are concerned about this issue, and the director and her staff are getting mixed messages. Everyone agrees on the urgency.
Michael Beamer
RUPERT Michael Beamer of Rupert, viewing from 6 until 8 p.m. Sunday, February 19 at Hansen Mortuary.
Elmer Ketterling
HEYBURN Elmer Ketterling of Heyburn, funeral services at 11 a.m. Monday, February 20 at the Paul Congregational Church. A viewing will be held from 4 until 6 p.m. Sunday, February 19 at Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary and one hour prior to the services at the church.
Ormand Burch
BURLEY Ormand Burch of Burley, funeral services at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 21 at the Burley Stake Center, 2050 Normal Ave. A visitation will be held from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Morrison Funeral Home, 188 South Hwy 24 in Rupert and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Tuesday prior to the service at the church.
Ervin Cantrell
HEYBURN Ervin Cantrell of Heyburn, services at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Hansen Mortuary. A viewing will be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday February 20 and an hour prior to the service.
Phillip White
GOODING Phillip White of Gooding, celebration of life from 1 until 5 p.m. Friday, February 24 at Canyon Crest Dining & Event Center, 330 Canyon Crest Drive, Twin Falls.
Ray T. Head
POCATELLORay T. Head of Pocatello, funeral services with military rites will be held Thursday, February 23, at 11 a.m. in the Cornelison Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Ave., Pocatello, with visitation one hour prior. Interment will be in the Bellevue Cemetery, Bellevue, Idaho at 3:30 pm Thursday.
TWIN FALLS Valley House Homeless Shelters office was open for only 10 minutes when a family of three and a single woman came looking for places to stay. Five minutes later, single men from Twin Falls and Jerome called for help.
And this was slow for a Monday morning.
We are inundated, Executive Director Sharon Breshears said Jan. 30. Its need after need. Its a big job.
Magic Valleys only shelter for homeless families, Valley House opened in 1995 and last year helped more than 5,000 people. Primarily for women and families, it helps anyone who comes to the door.
And they come or call around the clock: A bishop seeking shelter for a domestic violence victim. Transients needing bus tickets to get to the next city. Working families unable to stretch their food to the next paycheck.
The nonprofit has 90 beds: a main house for single women on Addison Avenue West, with 15 to 18 beds, plus 12 cabin-style family units behind the main house. Across the street, Valley House plans to renovate a derelict house as another single womens shelter and build new apartments for family transitional housing. It already has 26 units of transitional housing on Martin Street.
For the clients who stream in day after day, the expansions cant come soon enough.
When Valley House has no room for a family, it pays for a motel stay of a week or two. When a single man needs a place to stay, it works with other transitional organizations to make sure he isnt living on the streets.
Men pay $350 a month to stay at Renaissance House and women $400 to stay at 2nd Chance Transition Corp. transitional housing unaffiliated with Valley House. If enough donors step up, Valley House can help pay those bills. It helped the two men who called that Monday morning move into Renaissance, paying $87.50 for each.
We will pay the first week, Breshears said, and make sure they have clothing or food.
The night before, Breshears had a call from a family with an 11-year-old son, evicted and living in a car. Breshears put them in a motel for the night and brought them to Valley House the next day.
We just had some families transition out, so we have something for them, Breshears said as she made her morning rounds, encouraging clients and asking about their job schedules.
Breshears receives calls and texts all hours of the night. One rainy night she agreed to meet a homeless woman on a corner near a gas station; the woman never showed up, but Breshears did. Breshears husband often tells her to turn off her phone, but she cant. She cares too much.
On Jan. 30, 69 people were living at the shelters Addison Avenue main house and family units.
They move from day to day depending on what stage they are in, Breshears said.
After leaving the Valley House shelter, clients have the option of applying to live at the Martin Street apartments. Tenants pay $450 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $525 for a two-bedroom money that goes into a fund for emergency needs like providing motel rooms. Four of the 26 transitional housing units are rented to people in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfares mental health programs.
People come through the Addison Avenue office door in all types of situations: with a job, without a job, children or no children, a car or no car, some owing back rent and utilities. Some are on probation or parole.
The single women and families staying at Valley House have a 9 p.m. curfew unless they work at night, and theyre required to bring their work schedules to the office every week. Those staying in the family units must keep the units clean, provide healthy meals for their children and make sure they attend school.
Those who want to stay at Valley House must pass a background test first, and anyone older than 13 has to take a drug test.
Thats what keeps them safe and our people safe, Breshears said.
Breshears conducts one-on-ones with each person each week to help them budget their finances. It usually takes three to six months to save up and pay off bills.
We are temporary housing, Breshears said. Not permanent housing.
Now we got a home
Ruark Dufour was making $20 an hour building homes and decks when he was laid off in Ohio. Unable to find new work, the Marine combat veteran also struggled with PTSD and alcoholism.
Hope for a better life came in the form of a job offer from a friend in Boise.
Ruark and his pregnant wife, Christina, packed their belongings and took off west in their truck. Brady, the dog that eases Ruarks PTSD, rode in the back seat with his head propped next to Christinas shoulder. They put all their money into getting to Idaho.
In Wyoming, they received the text that scared them both:
No job. Pray hard.
They continued to Boise anyway, hoping a job might come open. It never did. They slept in their truck in a hotel parking lot, where Ruark met a man from Twin Falls who told them about Valley House.
Twin Falls wasnt their intended destination, but they couldnt imagine leaving now. The couple held hands, sitting in separate recliners, as they told their story Jan. 30 inside their Martin Street apartment. When the couple arrived Dec. 17, Valley House put them into motels for three weeks before assigning them an apartment.
We were warm and they provided us with food, said Ruark, wearing a brown beanie hat and plaid long-sleeved shirt. Its just amazing how the city embraced us. We are going to live here and give back to the community.
Shortly after arriving in Twin Falls, Christina had a miscarriage. In late January, she learned she was pregnant again.
Its been amazing, Christina said, petting Brady. We were in a bad spot and now we got a home.
Breshears smiled as Christina talked. Breshears told the Dufours they needed a couch; if one were donated, shed give it to them.
And youve been wonderful, Christina said, looking at Breshears. Wed love to give back.
Some Valley House volunteers fill food boxes or fold donated clothes even after their maximum two-year stay in a Valley House apartment ends. Others shovel sidewalks or do general maintenance.
Ruark said he has survivors guilt after the military.
I didnt want to live, he said. I didnt feel I had the right to live.
Ruarks seven years in the military took him to Kosovo, Albania, Afghanistan and Fallujah, Iraq. He thinks every day about his brothers who didnt come home.
Its on my mind all the time, he said. It just makes me want to be a better man and help.
Now hes feeling more positive about life.
We are definitely going to be a part of Valley House for a long time, Ruark said. I just want to be a husband and father. I want to work and come home to my family. I still believe in the American dream.
Called to that place
Breshears believes everything in her life helped her prepare for her work at Valley House.
Her father died when she was 9, and her mother became a single parent.
We could have been homeless, she said. Ive been through a lot in my life that has taught me compassion.
She owned a graphic design and embroidery business in Homedale before moving to Hagerman; that taught her people skills and public speaking.
Every skill and talent was a perfect fit for this in every way, she said.
Even her cancer led her to Valley House.
Diagnosed with bladder cancer three months after moving to Hagerman, Breshears had 14 surgeries and two years of chemotherapy. On a day she felt her worst, Breshears remembers pleading aloud to God: Is there no place for me on this Earth?
She decided to volunteer at Valley House and hold a weekly Bible study.
Its what gave me a purpose again, she said, her voice quavering and her eyes tearing up. When you have cancer youre kind of its hard to get out of yourself. Thats all you can think about is this thing you are going through.
When the executive director position opened, she applied.
I had no idea Id get a job at Valley House, she said. I didnt think Id be able to do a job like that, and it was the perfect job. I havent had cancer since I walked through the doors of Valley House.
She started the Valley House job which paid a salary of $44,609 in 2014 in February 2004.
It was the medicine I needed, she said. I was called to that place. I feel like Im a guardian to Valley House and those people. The cancer, it prepared me emotionally for Valley House.
Getting my life straight
All the women in the Addison Avenue house have chores. If someone doesnt clean the bathroom or sweep the floors as assigned, it isnt unusual for Breshears to receive a text after midnight.
In every situation, you have to troubleshoot, she said. We put the responsibility back on their shoulders and it works quite well. We always hear if something is going on.
On Jan. 30, a table in the shared common space downstairs next to the office was filled with donated bread and hamburger buns from local grocery stores and pastries from Starbucks.
Most of the houses women were away at work or milling around the common space. Two were still asleep upstairs in their shared bedrooms something Breshears would look into soon. They are required to be up and ready for the day by 9 a.m.
Amber Harshbarger, 24, looked at her cellphone on a couch as she waited to start her part-time shift at Arctic Circle. She also works as a warehouse secretary. Shes paying off back rent and had two more $50 payments to make.
Her goals: reunite with her two young daughters and have her own place to live. Harshbarger smiled from beneath the brim of a trucker hat stitched with the word Sinful as she called her time at Valley House a new start, a fresh start.
Juanita Gonzalez, hanging around the common area as she waited for her McDonalds shift to begin, started to cry when Breshears asked her how things were going.
Dont give up, Breshears told her.
Gonzalez lived in Buhl with her ex-husband before coming to the shelter three weeks earlier. Her goals: getting my life straight and getting my little girl.
Shell be here, Breshears said, putting an arm around Gonzalez.
Though tears glistened in her eyes, Gonzalezs face lit up when talking about her 8-year-old, who was due for a visit soon.
Im getting excited, Gonzalez said. Im happy to have her even though its been a rough weekend.
Breshears shared a story with Gonzalez about how beautiful the sunrise was when she drove to work that morning.
I like going outside and looking at the stars, Gonzalez said.
It was close to 10 a.m. when Breshears checked on the two women still sleeping upstairs.
She knocked on a door before entering. Breshears her voice muffled behind the partly closed door told the woman inside that she needed to do laundry. Clothing was starting to pile up on one of the beds. When Breshears emerged, she said the woman told her she had worked all the previous day and was catching up on sleep. Another woman in a darkened room told Breshears she didnt feel well.
Breshears noticed clutter in a small hallway: a donated telescope, DVDs and drawers lined against the wall. At the end, nearest an exit, was a pile of toys Gonzalez was saving for her daughter. They couldnt stay there. Gonzalez, who came up moments later, quickly took the box to her room. Breshears intended to have another woman remove the rest of the clutter immediately.
Happiest Ive ever been
Jobina Guadarrama, one of Valley Houses four full-time employees, organized donated clothes in the basement Jan. 18. Shelves were packed floor to ceiling with sheets, pillows and blue jeans, sorted by size. Where there werent shelves, plastic drawers with labels stored baby socks, kids underwear and womens underwear. One room in the basement was filled with kitchenware stacks of plates, bowls, cups, dish soap. In another room, bags packed with blankets and clothing waited for transients passing through.
If Valley House doesnt have a particular clothing size, Guadarrama said, clients are given vouchers to Deseret Industries Thrift Store.
In 2010, Guadarrama, her three sons and her mother came to Valley House looking for help. Guadarrama and her sons had relocated from Texas to Idaho in 2008 to be closer to family. They lived with her sister for about eight months before they had a big argument and her sister threw them out.
The family received help from Valley House for nearly a year before Guadarrama could save up $1,600 what she felt she needed and move into a home of her own.
We didnt have anywhere to go, said Guadarrama, restocking a section of jeans. So we came here. I didnt know where to go, and I was scared. It was awesome to stay here and have someone help you.
In Texas, the family had its own apartment and Guadarrama cleaned houses full time. After the blowup, they stayed at a motel for two weeks before seeking help at Valley House; at first, Guadarramas children were embarrassed to stay at the shelter.
While she organized clothing among dozens of hanging coats and jackets, Guadarrama remembered a special moment: One time a woman was looking through the shelters collection of jackets and couldnt find one she liked. But she did like the coat Breshears was wearing. Without hesitation, Breshears gave it away.
She gave her the jacket off her back, Guadarrama said. I told Sharon, Oh my goodness. That is amazing. Sharons an amazing lady.
On the second floor, in a room adjacent to the Valley House office, full-time employee Christine Bapties was placing canned green beans, boxes of stuffing and packages of rice into plastic bags.
The shelter gives food boxes that can make complete meals, distributing about 300 to 350 food boxes a month.
This is the easy part, Bapties said. I used to be a cashier.
After the food was bagged, she planned to make phone calls to recruit donations for Valley Houses annual dinner and auction in April. She had already made eight calls to donors that day and had driven around town picking up food donations from businesses like Kentucky Fried Chicken and Starbucks.
Originally from Los Angeles, Bapties moved to Idaho when she was asked to be a surrogate mother for her aunt in Meridian. She was living in Rupert when she left the father of her twin daughters. She was kicked out of a halfway house because she worked 60 hours at two jobs and didnt have time to attend mandatory Bible studies, Bapties said then sought shelter at Valley House.
Bapties lived at Valley House from April to June, when Breshears offered her a job as the day care coordinator. Because Valley House residents cant also be employees, Bapties moved in with her fiance; they plan to marry April 20.
Im the happiest Ive ever been in my life, she said.
Her advice for those who find themselves at Valley Houses door?
Just love yourself, Bapties said. A lot of times when people come here its a low point in their life. We are trying to build peoples confidence.
Im not a lazy person
Edris Yaqobi was feeling frustrated, worried, hopeful and grateful all at once Feb. 1 inside his cabin-style unit behind Valley House.
He was frustrated he hadnt found a full-time job yet and worried about his 6-year-old son, Mohammad Elias Yaqobi, suffering from chronic stomach problems. But he was also hopeful for the possibilities of a better life in his new country and grateful for the help his family had found at the shelter.
The future may be uncertain, but at least they were safe.
Edris and his wife, Somiya, and their two children arrived in Twin Falls from Afghanistan in September. Edris worked nine years as an interpreter for American and Italian troops in eastern Afghanistan. Because he helped coalition forces, his life and the lives of his family were in danger. He registered in the government lottery program in 2014 and was notified in 2015 that his family was selected to relocate to the U.S.
Before what he called the darkness of the Taliban, Edris was a farmer. His father worked in a post office. Later, Edris became an English teacher, worked with a handicapped organization and eventually enrolled at Herat University, where he earned a business degree.
He initially wanted to go to Texas, but family living there said there was no work. He considered California but heard from friends that rent was too expensive.
So the family figured the best move would be to Idaho. Edris had a friend from Afghanistan, also an interpreter for the U.S. military, who came to Twin Falls through the College of Southern Idahos Refugee Center.
When the Yaqobis arrived they had no money and nowhere to go; as immigrants through the government lottery, they werent eligible for assistance given to refugees settled by the CSI Refugee Center. Edris friend allowed them to stay in his garage for 15 days and helped them get a vehicle. In October, the family came to Valley House seeking help finding jobs and housing.
I appreciate he give me place to live in garage, Edris said.
Edris works part time at Chobani but wants more hours. He checks in at a local temp agency asking for work.
Im not a lazy person, he said.
As her father talked, Sana Yaqobi, 4, rocked back and forth on a giant plastic mallard, pretended to talk on a toy cellphone and grinned when she made eye contact with strangers. Her mother, Somiya, washed dishes in the kitchen and heated saffron tea on the stove. When it was piping hot, she carried a tray of teacups filled with the orange liquid and small dishes filled with fruit gummies to offer them to Breshears and a Times-News reporter and photographer.
If you knock on enough doors, Breshears told Edris, one will open. Maybe Gods just saying one is coming.
Edris speaks English well but with an accent; Somiya doesnt speak any English. Audrey Kelley, assistant director of Valley House, said Somiya came into the office for a toothbrush one day. She didnt know the word, but after a couple of seconds of gestures Kelley figured out what she needed.
It kind of teaches us patience, Kelley said.
When Somiya noticed her guests had eaten all their snacks, she came over with a tray of chocolate-covered nuts. When her guests rose to leave, she encouraged them not to feel rushed and to sit and enjoy their tea.
Somiya said, as her husband translated, that her family did not live in a garage in Afghanistan, but she is thankful for the kindness she has received in Twin Falls.
They help me a lot, Somiya said. Thank you very much. She help me with everything because my English is not good.
As Edris walked his guests to the door, he thanked Breshears again.
I appreciate these people, Edris said. They help me a lot. I honestly appreciate them.
EAST OF LOVELL, Wyo. The rhythmic wop, wop, wop of the rotors in the distance signaled the doorless blue helicopter was on its way, four attached canvas bags swaying gently below.
Once the aircraft arrived at the staging area, the pilot slowly decreased the birds altitude and gently deposited the four bundles on the ground. A team of nearly 60 people rushed into action.
Crews of three to four people jogged over to remove the sedated bighorn sheep from the bags and carefully carry the animals to one of four inspection tables. The animals were blindfolded and hobbled before the flight for their own safety.
Then, like clockwork, teams quickly and quietly checked each ewe or ram or lamb in preparation for its journey to a new home. Afterward the animals were placed in horse trailers for transport to the release site, all restraints removed, to allow them to rest and move around.
The activity was part of Saturdays bighorn sheep capture east of Lovell coordinated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The goal of the net-gunning operation is to transplant as many as 40 bighorn sheep from the Devils Canyon herd in northern Wyoming to the Ferris-Seminoe herd in the south.
Altogether 20 ewes, three rams and one male lamb were rounded up Saturday. A second sheep capture is planned for Wednesday.
The day began with a helicopter crew from Native Ranger Capture Services of Elko, Nevada, capturing the sheep about five miles north of the staging area, said Leslie Schreiber, Game & Fish wildlife biologist who works out of Greybull, Wyo.
The company owners and the pilot are all from New Zealand, even though the outfit is based in the U.S. Schreiber said. They work across the country and around the world.
The pilot works with two others, called muggers. The muggers shoot the net out the side of the helicopter to catch one of the animals.
And then they drop a mugger off to hobble and blindfold the sheep and put it in a bag so it can be ferried back here, the staging location, she said.
Schreiber spent months coordinating the bighorn sheep capture.
We try to make sure that everythings in order for this morning because it happens quick when it does, she said.
Saturdays crew included the helicopter crew, Game & Fish veterinarians, wildlife biologists and rangers. Also on hand were volunteers from the Bureau of Land Management, the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation and the community.
This is the third year in a row Schreiber has coordinated a helicopter capture involving the Devils Canyon herd. Twenty-five animals were gathered each of the last two years.
The Devils Canyon herd is doing very well, she said. At our last count in July, we counted 263 sheep and we try to keep it around 200.
The goal for the Ferris-Seminoe herd is 300 bighorn sheep and the population now is estimated between 130-150 animals. So the transfer helps the herds reach their optimum size.
Wildlife biologist Greg Hiatt, from the Rawlins area, works with the Ferris-Seminoe herd. This is just the latest transplant, he said. Since 2009, two groups of bighorn sheep from Oregon and two from the Devils Canyon herd have been transported to the Seminoe Mountains.
And then last year we took 24 from here and put them into the Ferris Mountains, which is where this group is going, Hiatt said, while waiting for the helicopter to return with more animals.
Before these most recent efforts, attempts to transplant bighorn sheep to the area were not successful because the animals came from higher elevations, Hiatt said. The ewes lambed in June, too late to take advantage of the lush vegetation, which kept them from nursing their lambs.
The sheep from Oregon and from the Devils Canyon herd come from an elevation similar to their new home, he said. They lamb a month to six weeks earlier, when vegetation is green and high in protein, which helps with milk production and lamb growth.
I think our ratio was about three lambs for about every five years this year and it was a little better than that last year and thats remarkably good for bighorn sheep, Hiatt said.
The health of the animals is always a concern, and one reason the Devils Canyon herd has been used for transplant is the good health of the animals.
Hank Edwards, Game and Fish wildlife disease specialist out of Laramie, was on hand for Saturdays operation. Samples are taken from all of the animals, he said.
Teams at each of the tables quickly take multiple swabs and a blood sample from most of the sheep to be tested back at the lab.
In a nutshell were checking the health of the herd, and we have checked almost all of the herds in the state, Edwards said. Its been a five-year effort and we have checked all but two.
Tonsil and nasal swabs help detect respiratory disease in the bighorn sheep. The fecal sample uncovers internal parasites and lung worms.
A blood sample helps with a mineral analysis, testing for exposure to respiratory viruses and to confirm pregnancy. Mary Wood, state wildlife veterinarian, also used a portable ultrasound machine on Saturday to discover which of the ewes were pregnant, and nearly all of them were.
This is a very productive herd, she said.
Wood also provided assistance when needed during the operation, to keep the animals stress to a minimum.
Also on hand Saturday was volunteer Dean Dijenno, secretary of the 700-member Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation. The nonprofits goal is to raise money to help boost the population of indigenous sheep in the state.
It contributed $20,000 to Saturdays operation, Dijenno said.
What a blessing to be able to come out and see the fruits of our labor, he said. Its exciting that we have an expanding range of wild sheep in Wyoming.
The Constitution and people's rights are front line in the news these days. Due process of law is another issue seen. In making an appeal to a special- use permit to expand a seven-acre acre local shooting range into a 33-acre military training range a half mile from the city of Hagerman, the city, its citizens as well as county officials have had their rights removed preempted. The Legislature of Idaho passed a statute that with regard to sport shooting ranges the " local governmental law is herein preempted and local governments shall not have authority to ... nor shall a local government have the authority to make any action described in section 55-2604(5)." Unbelievable!! The statute 55-2605 "Preemption of Local Authority" gives an existing shooting range "safe harbor."
Once established, a shooting range can buy property and "expand" right to your front door; they are not regulated by any local zoning ordinances. They are free to shoot from "7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m." (yes, that's right, 24 hrs a day) and are protected by state law. Local laws and ordinances do not exist for them. You, your city and your county are "preempted" from your constitutional rights and due process of law. This discovery is truly alarming.
The city of Hagerman and its citizens are now challenging the interpretation of this statute and fighting to have their constitutional right retained and their appeal recognized and heard. All citizens of the state of Idaho are subject to this same abuse of power. Maintain your constitutional rights and due process of law and support the city of Hagerman and all other cities and counties that might come up against this statute. Read it, and write your legislature demanding your rights back before it happens to your locality.
Kathy McKenzie
Hagerman
Here's a little info you might be unaware of: code law 1182. Passed by a Democrat House and Senate in 1952, overrode trumans veto. It states that the president of the United States has authority to bar immigrants from any country, regardless of race or religion, if he believes they represent a threat to the United States. This was used by jimmy Carter to ban Iranians and deport several thousand students, after hostage-taking.
Sherri Ybarra, public superintendent, is asking for an increase for state funding for public schools and promising good return on money. Out of that $1.679 billion the biggest part of spending $62 million is teacher pay with an $8 million increase of class technology. Students now can no longer write a theme using long hand. Using a computer or laptop, etc., is the technology that is apparent in their lifetime. There's no need for schools, it will all be on computers at home.
The students that go to school to learn should be taught. Those who make a scene should not be allowed to go to school. Just give them the money to stay away from school.
Schools are a thing of the past. Bad management and unions broke the auto companies. Federal government had to come in and bail them out. What's Idaho going to do when the teachers union breaks us? Teachers are glorified babysitters. They don't teach anything that students can learn over the internet.
Lynn Nelson
Twin Falls
CHEYENNE, Wyo. It's not uncommon to see bikers take on projects for a good cause. It's perhaps less common for a biker to take on quilting for a cause.
But that's exactly what Dennis Joynt did. He and his wife, Lynn, spend much of their time sewing quilts to donate to military veterans.
The Joynts are retired, and they volunteer for Quilts of Valor, an organization that donates handmade quilts to veterans who have been touched by war.
Dennis is a U.S. Navy veteran himself. He was in the Navy from November 1968 to November 1974 and was a deep-sea diver in the Vietnam War.
The Joynts also make quilts for the Final Salute at the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center, reported the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
"I have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from the service, so to me it's calming it's soothing. I can daydream and concentrate on other vets," Dennis said.
He might spend his quilting time thinking about the veteran who will receive that quilt, even though he doesn't know them, he said.
Although Lynn did some quilting with her grandmother when she was young, Dennis is the one who first got the pair into quilting as adults.
He explained that his parents gave him some money during Thanksgiving in 2008, and he chose to buy a sewing machine with it.
He wanted the sewing machine to sew patches onto his motorcycle vests, he said. Dennis rides annually with Run for the Wall in May. The run concludes at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and raises funds for prisoners of war and those service members who are missing in action from all wars.
Dennis has a camouflage vest and a closet of leather vests with multitudes of patches representing the years he has completed the run, commemorating prisoners of war and those missing in action, etc.
He said he first took up quilting in 2010 when he made a quilt for his granddaughter. He then had to make quilts for his other grandchildren as well.
"(Lynn) said, 'You don't quilt.' And I said, 'Yes, I do.'"
Shortly after, he visited the Kansas Veterans Home in Winfield, Kansas, as the Veterans Affairs coordinator for the American Legion Riders.
"After about three hours with the activity director, I said, 'Everybody has a military bed, military sheets, military blankets, military this, military that, because it's government. Nobody has a quilt,'" he said.
The activity director had never heard of Quilts of Valor, so Dennis offered to make quilts for all 103 people in the veterans' home.
Eventually, Dennis and Lynn managed to make more than 50 quilts for the veterans' home.
"Then I ended up joining Quilts of Valor," Dennis said. "And then Lynn ended up joining Quilts of Valor."
The purpose behind Quilts of Valor is to provide quilts to veterans in the hope that the quilts will provide comfort to those who have experienced so much in the military.
The quilts are heirloom quality because they are awarded to the veteran in thanks for their service.
"Heirloom quality quilts are labeled. They're labeled with dates, names information like that," Lynn said. The quilts also are 100 percent cotton. Quilts of Valor has standards regarding what sort of fabric and batting can be used, as well as what size the quilts must be.
Lynn said, "The Vietnam veterans didn't get anything. And we don't ever want to do that again to a serviceman that's served. They give up a lot, and you and I we don't give anything, and we're safe. They are the ones that put themselves on the line, and in some cases, they lose their life. As a country, those of us who don't serve need to understand that."
The Joynts moved last year to Cheyenne, and Lynn said they picked their house specifically because the basement had room to accommodate their long-arm quilting machine.
Dennis said the machine is a used one. It's about 14 feet long and takes up a large portion of the main room downstairs. It's a manual machine, but a new one with a computer can cost more than $30,000.
The remaining rooms in the basement are dedicated to quilting as well. Dennis' room contains his sewing machine, a Styrofoam quilting design wall and mementos of his parents, son, grandkids and the military.
A second room is designated as Lynn's sewing room. The room speaks to her love of cats, which adorn every possible space.
A third room serves as storage for Lynn's quilting fabrics, some sorted by color and others stored in plastic tubs. Quilt batting is stored in a small closet under the stairs.
Lynn said, "For the most part, I'm the one who pulls the fabric and gets the quilts started. He does piece, but I do most of the piecing, and he does the finish-up."
"Piecing" refers to putting together the smaller pieces of fabric that make up the quilt's design. Once Lynn finishes the middle, Dennis puts the borders on and does the actual quilting the stitching over the whole of the quilt to put the front and back fabric together over the batting in the middle.
"It's not her project and I'm excluded. It's not my project and she's excluded. We do it together," Dennis said. "Quilting has been a lifeline to both of us."
The Joynts' current project is to make 20 quilts for the VA Medical Center's mental health program. They have about seven quilts lying around their basement in varying stages of completion.
"When the quilt gets done and we hand it over to the mental health unit, it will be done, labeled and washed. Some of these veterans have allergies or sensitivities, and we don't know who is getting them, so we have to clean them up and make sure they can take the quilt and put it right on their bed," Lynn said.
Dennis said each quilt takes about 20 to 24 hours to complete between the two of them. Each quilt costs about $200 to $300, he said, and the Joynts pay for the costs mostly out of their own pockets.
"It's hard to put a price on something. The price is written on the (Vietnam Veterans Memorial). Look at these 53,000 dead. Look at the people that came back in body bags. The price of the quilt is written on the wall," he said.
Even though making the quilts is expensive, Dennis said he and Lynn always agree that the cost is worthwhile.
Dennis said, "Why do I quilt? For the love of the vets."
Connor Cox(LEONARDTOWN, Md.) -- Connor Cox's mom is an expert at getting revenge.
When Cox, who is a freshman at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, thought he was opening up his usual care package from his mom, what he found inside instead was trash.
"I got two boxes and I opened one and it had food in it and I realized there wasn't food in the other one," Cox, 18, told ABC News. "It was a bunch of trash, tissues [and] soda cans."
Cox, who is originally from Leonardtown, Maryland, immediately called his mother Terri to ask what was with the box of trash.
"[I said] 'Did you send me the wrong package? Why did you send me this?'" Cox said.
"[She said,] 'No, that's the trash you were supposed to take out,'" he added, laughing.
Cox, who is studying criminal justice, said he laughed hysterically about the gag gift, then tweeted a photo of the package, which quickly went viral.
The college student said he wasn't surprised that his mom pranked him.
"She has a good sense of humor," Cox said. "She's always really caring and she knows what to say at the exact time she should say it. She's a good mom."
Cox, who has three sisters, added that he has a rather unique relationship with his mom.
"It's not a normal mom-son relationship," he described. "She's kind of like my best friend ... it's special for sure."
Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
In a busy Monday meeting, the state Board of Education unanimously elected a Natrona County School District official as chairman and announced that the state will abandon its statewide assessment and adopt a new test.
Walt Wilcox takes the chair from Pete Gosar, whose term has ended. Wilcox is an associate superintendent for curriculum here. The assessment the board killed the Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming, or PAWS, will be replaced by an assessment administered by the American Institutes for Research.
Students in first through 10th grade will take the test, which will be in "online learning format," according to a press release from the board.
The board also voted to "continue the state's assessment contract with ACT Inc. to measure college readiness."
Wilcox said Thursday that the decision to drop PAWS was a recommendation from an assessment task force that looked at what test would meet statutory requirements while also being a useful tool for district.
He explained that PAWS was administered once, at the end of the year. The results from the test were not available until late summer, when the students who took the test were about to enter a new grade. Teachers and schools thus had a hard time adjusting their methods to improve scores and help students.
The new assessments, meanwhile, will give districts the option to levy assessments throughout the year. Districts will be able to "reach in" and pick what assessment they want, Wilcox said. The results from the tests will be available either a day or 15 days later, depending on the assessment.
"This assessment is going to allow us to monitor our gauges when were on a road trip and not just look at the mileage at the end," he said. He added that the board was "tickled to death" by the possibilities offered by the new assessments.
The first new end-of-the-year test will be administered in spring 2018. Wilcox said he wasn't sure when districts could begin using the optional mid-year tests, but he said the hope was to have all tests available during the 2017-18 school year.
On top of their ability to provide nearly instant feedback, the new assessments will also come at a lower cost, said state Superintendent Jillian Balow in a statement.
Wilcox said districts can use as many assessments per year as they need. Many had developed their own assessment systems to get mid-year results, and the new tests will "supplement and compliment" what some districts already have, he said.
"I see 100 percent of districts taking advantage of it," he said.
On top of allowing districts to see mid-year results quickly, the new assessment will also allow for state-to-state comparisons, Wilcox said. While PAWS was a Wyoming-only examination, the new tests are also used in other states, like California, which will allow education officials to see how Wyoming stacks up against other states. Previously, the only examination that allowed for that was the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.
As for his own goals as the newly elected chair of the state Board of Education, Wilcox said he wanted to continue the work the board was doing. He said the committee had five major priorities: standards, accountability, assessments, graduation requirements and expectations, and accreditation.
"One of the strengths of the board, collectively their vision and mission is pretty consistent," he said.
He added that he'll continue to strengthen ties to the state Department of Education, which have been frayed at times in the past.
"Its OK to have some tension, but we have to come toward a unified staff to (achieve our goals)," he said.
In addition to Wilcox's election, Sue Belish was elected as vice chairwoman, and Ken Rathbun was reelected as board treasurer, according to the press release. Terms expired for Gosar, Kathy Coon and Hugh Hageman.
1. First of all, we must insist on a distinction that many on the Left willfully ignore, that between legal and illegal immigration. (Libertarians also typically elide the distinction.) Legal and illegal immigration are separate, logically independent, issues. To oppose illegal immigration, as any right-thinking person must, is not to oppose legal immigration. So no one should be allowed to enter illegally. But why exactly? What's wrong with illegal immigration? Aren't those who oppose it racists and xenophobes and nativists whose opinions are nothing but expressions of bigotry and hate? Aren't they deplorable people who cling to religion and guns? Doesn't everyone have a right to migrate wherever he wants?
2. The most general reason for not allowing illegal immigration is precisely because it is illegal. If the rule of law is to be upheld, then reasonable laws cannot be allowed to be violated with impunity simply because they are difficult to enforce or are being violated by huge numbers of people. Someone who questions the value of the rule of law is not someone it is wise to waste time debating.
But of course a practice's being illegal does not entail its being unjust or wrong or reasonably opposed. So we need to consider reasons why immigration controls are reasonable.
Reasons for opposing illegal immigration
3. There are several sound specific reasons for demanding that the Federal government exercise its legitimate, constitutionally grounded (see Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution) function of securing the national borders, and none of these reasons has anything to do with racism or xenophobia or nativism or any other derogatory epithet that slanderous leftists and libertarians want to attach to those of us who can think clearly about this issue.
There are reasons having to do with national security in an age of terrorism. There are reasons having to do with assimilation, national identity, and comity. How likely is it that illegals will assimilate if allowed to come in in great numbers, and how likely is social harmony among citizens and unassimilated illegals? There are considerations of fairness in respect of those who have entered the country legally by satisfying the requirements of so doing. Is it fair that they should be put through a lengthy process when others are allowed in illegally?
There are reasons having to do with the importation of contraband substances into the country. There are reasons having to to do with the sex trade and human trafficking generally. There are reasons having to do with increased crime. Last but not least, there are reasons pertaining to public health. With the concern over avian influenza, tuberculosis, ebola, and all sorts of tropical diseases, we have all the more reason to demand border control.
Borders are a body politic's immune system. Unregulated borders are deficient immune systems. Diseases that were once thought to have been eradicated have made a comeback north of the Rio Grande due to the unregulated influx of population. These diseases include tuberculosis, Chagas disease, leprosy, Dengue fever, polio, and malaria.
You will have noticed how liberals want to transform into public health issues problems that are manifestly not public but matters of private concern, obesity for example. But here we have an issue that is clearly a public health issue, one concerning which Federal involvement is justified, and what do our dear liberals do? They ignore it. Of course, the problem cannot be blamed solely on the Democrat Party. Republicans like G. W. Bush and John McCain are just as guilty. On immigration, Bush was clearly no conservative; he was a libertarian on this issue. A libertarian on some issues, a liberal on others, and a conservative on far too few.
Illegal aliens do not constitute a race or ethnic group
4. Many liberals think that opposition to illegal immigration is anti-Hispanic. Not so. It is true that most of those who violate the nation's borders are Hispanic. But the opposition is not to Hispanics but to illegal entrants whether Hispanic or not. It is a contingent fact that Mexico is to the south of the U.S. If Turkey or Iran or Italy were to the south, the issue would be the same. And if Iran were to the south, and there were an influx of illegals, then then leftists would speak of anti-Persian bias.
A salient feature of liberals and leftists -- there isn't much difference nowadays -- is their willingness to 'play the race card,' to inject race into every issue. The issue of illegal immigration has nothing to do with race since illegal immigrants do not constitute a race. There is no such race as the race of 'llegal aliens.' Opposition to them, therefore, cannot be racist. Suppose England were to the south of the U. S. and Englishmen were streaming north. Would they be opposed because they are white? No, because they are illegal aliens.
"But aren't some of those who oppose illegal immigration racists?" That may be so, but it is irrelevant. That one takes the right stance for the wrong reason does not negate the fact that one has taken the right stance. One only wishes they would take the right stance for the right reasons. Even if everyone who opposed illegal immigration were a foaming-at-the-mouth redneck of a racist, that would not detract one iota of cogency from the cogent arguments against allowing illegal immigration. To think otherwise is to embrace the Genetic Fallacy. Not good.
5. The rule of law is a precious thing. It is one of the supports of a civilized life. The toleration of mass breaking of reasonable and just laws undermines the rule of law.
6. Part of the problem is that we let liberals get away with obfuscatory rhetoric, such as 'undocumented worker.' The term does not have the same extension as 'illegal alien.' I discuss this in a separate post. But having written thousands of posts, I don't quite know where it is.
7. How long can a welfare state survive with open borders? Think about it. The trend in the USA for a long time now has been towards bigger and bigger government, more and more 'entitlements.' It is obviously impossible for purely fiscal reasons to provide cradle-to-grave security for everyone who wants to come here. So something has to give. Either you strip the government down to its essential functions or you control the borders. The first has no real chance of happening. Quixotic is the quest of strict constructionists and libertarians who call for it. Rather than tilting at windmills, they should work with reasonable conservatives to limit and eventually stop the expansion of government. Think of what a roll-back to a government in accordance with a strictly construed constitution would look like. For one thing, the social security system would have to be eliminated. That won't happen. Libertarians are 'losertarian' dreamers. They should wake up and realize that politics is a practical business and should aim at the possible. By the way, the pursuit of impossible dreams is common to both libertarians and leftists.
'Liberal' arguments for border control
8. Even though contemporary liberals show little or no understanding for the above arguments, there are actually what might be called 'liberal' arguments for controlling the borders:
A. The Labor Argument. To give credit where credit is due, it was not the conservatives of old who championed the working man, agitated for the 40 hour work week, demanded safe working conditions, etc., but the liberals of those days. They can be proud of this. But it is not only consistent with their concern for workers that they oppose illegal immigration, but demanded by their concern. For when the labor market is flooded with people who will work for low wages, the bargaining power of the U.S. worker is diminished. Liberals should therefore oppose the unregulated influx of cheap labor, and they should oppose it precisely because of their concern for U. S. workers.
By the way, it is simply false to say, as Bush, McCain and other pandering politicians have said, that U.S. workers will not pick lettuce, clean hotel rooms, and the like. Of course they will if they are paid a decent wage. People who won't work for $5 an hour will work for $20. But they won't be able to command $20 if there is a limitless supply of indigentes who will accept $5-10.
B. The Environmental Argument. Although there are 'green' conservatives, concern for the natural environment, and its preservation and protection from industrial exploitation, is more a liberal than a conservative issue. (By the way, I'm a 'green' conservative.) So liberals ought to be concerned about the environmental degradation caused by hordes of illegals crossing the border. It is not just that they degrade the lands they physically cross, it is that people whose main concern is economic survival are not likely to be concerned about environmental protection. They are unlikely to become Sierra Club members or to make contributions to the Nature Conservancy. Love of nature comes more easily to middle class white collar workers for whom nature is a scene of recreation than for those who must wrest a livelihood from it by hard toil.
C. The Population Argument. This is closely related to, but distinct from, the Environmental Argument. To the extent that liberals are concerned about the negative effects of explosive population increase, they should worry about an unchecked influx of people whose women have a high birth-rate.
D. The Social Services Argument. Liberals believe in a vast panoply of social services provided by government and thus funded by taxation. But the quality of these services must degrade as the number of people who demand them rises. To take but one example, laws requiring hospitals to treat those in dire need whether or not they have a means of paying are reasonable and humane -- or at least that can be argued with some show of plausibility. But such laws are reasonably enacted and reasonably enforced only in a context of social order. Without border control, not only will the burden placed on hospitals become unbearable, but the justification for the federal government's imposition of these laws on hospitals will evaporate. According to one source, California hospitals are closing their doors. "Anchor babies" born to illegal aliens instantly qualify as citizens for welfare benefits and have caused enormous rises in Medicaid costs and stipends under Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income.
The point is that you can be a good liberal and oppose illegal immigration. You can oppose it even if you don't care about increased crime, terrorism, drug smuggling, human trafficking, disease, national identity, national sovereignty, assimilation, the rule of law, or fairness to those who have immigrated legally. But a 'good liberal' who is not concerned with these things is a sorry human being.
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.
DAYTON, Wyo. Tongue River High School band and vocal instructor Jason McArthur, his wife Joy and his assistant Rosy Henderson have written a musical called "The Great Tie Flume" that includes six original songs and reprises.
"I always thought writing a play would be a neat class project to do with music and theater kids," McArthur told The Sheridan Press. "This is the first one I've ever done, so if this is the right or wrong process I've no idea. We found a good story that's worth telling and ran with it."
The idea for the play came out of a discussion between McArthur and Tongue River Middle School assistant principal Pete Kilbride, regarding what kind of play the program planned for this year. McArthur said he was thinking about writing an original show. Kilbride suggested the tie flume, a man-made slide used to float and transport logs, and that is how the process started.
The story follows the events surrounding the tie flume in Dayton, with one of the main characters based on former Dayton Mayor Susan Wissler, who was the first woman mayor in the United States.
"Honestly, I don't think she had anything to do with the tie flume, historically, but she was somebody of real significance," McArthur said. "By looking at historical figures and learning who they were and what they did, characters for the play began to emerge."
After the characters were created, the story line came next, complete with heroes and villains and a love story woven in.
The play starts with Susan as a young girl with one of her best friends who ends up being her love interest later. She and her family head out West and there is an accident where her parents are killed, leaving Susan on her own. Years later she winds up at a logging camp in Dayton, trying to figure out how to make her way through the world, which would have been very difficult for a woman by herself during that time period. Soon she ends up running into her childhood friend at the camp.
"The hardest part of the writing process is deciding what parts of all the research to put in and what to leave out, because you can only fit so much into a two-hour show," McArthur said.
McArthur began writing last summer and brought the finished story into the classroom, where he and the choir students started putting the play together. They mapped out the events and characters, created an outline and started writing the script. The process started in late August and was finished Jan. 2.
"We put in a lot of really long days and nights and got the script finished," McArthur said. "We built the tie flume slide over Christmas break and started building some of our other sets. It's been a whirlwind."
Actor and set designer TRHS choir student senior Grant Keller, who will be playing foreman John McShane, said that the construction of the set required building each part one piece at a time.
"A lot of this stuff you can't build off one standard design, you have to build it custom for the job it's going to have," Keller said. "It's a lot of figuring it out as you go along."
Actress TRHS choir student senior Libby Heimbaugh, who will play Grandma Susan, added that some parts of the set, like the tower, were used before in plays based on the movies "Frozen" and "Hercules." The parts screw together and unscrew so they can be rearranged on the stage and can be painted to meet the needs of each performance.
"They are kind of like big plywood Legos," Heimbaugh said.
There will be more than 70 students participating in the play. Try-outs were held for the main roles and singing solos. Everyone in the choir class was cast for a character in the play, stagehands, lighting and sound. Other students who were not in choir but wanted to participate were given roles as well, including elementary and middle school students.
"We found a way to get everybody involved that wanted to be," McArthur said. "That's what is so neat about writing your own show. We can add characters and have the ability to use input from the students. It's neat to watch the kids' reactions when they have an idea, you put it in the play and it works."
For his part as foreman John McShane, Keller said he is getting into character by using his dad, a construction foreman, as his example.
Actress TRHS choir student junior Nikki Perfetti, who will be playing Daisy, said her character is at the bar a lot and has a bunch of boy-crazy girlfriends. She said she feels it will be easy to bring her character out by just having fun with the part.
Heimbaugh said McArthur modeled her character, Grandma Susan, after his grandmother. She has been studying her grandparents' mannerisms and speech, and listens to stories McArthur tells her about his grandmother to assist getting into character.
Perfetti commented about how amazing it is to be a part of the debut performance, being the first actors on the set.
"It is incredible to think that someday others will do this play, going off of how we did it and they will base it off of our characters," Keller added.
Heighbaugh said the performance is special because being an original, there is nothing to compare it to so it is portrayed how each actor pictures it in his or her mind.
Between now and opening night on March 7, staging is half done and the group needs to finish choreographing all the music. Once that is complete, they'll polish it up and get ready to perform.
"We have two months to prepare the whole thing, so it's a little tight, but we'll make it," McArthur said.
@joeflech @PatriciaMazzei
MELBOURNE -- President Donald Trump reprised his favorite role that of a rousing campaigner on Saturday, holding a massive rally that offered him a respite from the tribulations of his first four weeks in the White House as he tried to regain control of his political message.
Faced with a series of early setbacks, including the firing of his national security adviser, the rejection by the courts of his immigration ban and low approval ratings, Trump reverted to the comfort of his candidate stump speech. To an ecstatic crowd of 9,000 at an Orlando-Melbourne International Airport hangar, Trump repeated his campaign promises, in some cases word for word making it seem for a moment as though the months on the calendar had somehow flipped back to 2016.
Now, however, the Trump of 2017 stood behind a lectern bearing the presidential seal.
Im here because I want to be among my friends and among the people, he declared.
Holding a rally less than a month after inauguration is not unheard of for American presidents. But in the past, such public events have been choreographed to push a specific policy, a priority of the nascent administrations first weeks in office.
Trump, who has yet to send any proposed legislation to Congress, didnt make a case for a single issue. He urged lawmakers to work with him on tax reform, an infrastructure spending plan and the replacement of the Affordable Care Act but did not dwell on the particulars.
He also rattled off a list of his accomplishments, such as nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, restarting construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, and pursuing a more aggressive deportation policy for gang members and drug dealers who are right now, as I speak, being thrown out of the country.
And they will not be let back in, he said. We will have strong borders again.
More here.
Photo credit: Susan Walsh, Associated Press
For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
An hour after Donald Trump took the oath of office last month, his administration caught the attention of the real estate industry when it abruptly suspended a planned cut in Federal Housing Administration mortgage-insurance premiums.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development cited the need for further analysis to protect taxpayers in halting the policy that would have saved FHA borrowers as much as $1,000 or more a year.
But the move by the FHAs parent agency, which overturned a decision the Obama administration had made on its way out the door, could signal something else: a new conservative bent to the nations housing policy.
Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, which tracks the residential mortgage market, noted that past administrations have tweaked the premium rate as they sought to either bring more people into the program or drive them away.
Over the years probably half the changes in the program have been political, he said.
And there could be more ahead. Trumps nominee for HUD secretary, Ben Carson, during his confirmation hearing a week before the inauguration, signaled in an exchange with a Republican senator that he might be open to some housing policy changes.
Taxpayers are on the hook for $1.2 trillion worth of mortgages, said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., referring to the total volume of FHA-backed home loans. All the while there is a private industry in the business of insuring mortgages.
Carson, in response, said it didnt matter what particular entity provides insurance, but there has to be some sort of backstop.
The FHA, created during the Great Depression when home building had almost ground to a halt, is such a backstop.
To encourage more lending, the agency provides insurance to approved private lenders in the case of default.
In general, borrowers who are able to make a down payment amounting to 20 percent of a home loan dont need mortgage insurance, and for those who cant pony up that amount of cash but have good credit, cheaper insurance from private companies is often available.
But the FHA, with its mission to boost homeownership, is often a preferred option for cash-poor, first-time home buyers and those with spotty credit or a combination of both.
Down payments can be as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price, and the program is open to borrowers with credit scores as low as 500, which could signal a past bankruptcy or debts sent to collection.
Despite the generous underwriting standards, the mortgage insurance premiums covered defaults and fully funded the FHA for decades until it received its first taxpayer bailout in 2013 because of fallout from the housing bust. Since then, the agencys finances have improved significantly, though that hasnt assuaged concerns of some Republicans.
Shortly after the election, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, pointed to a bill his committee passed in 2013 as the right vehicle for reform of the nations housing finance system.
That bill, known as the Path Act, would have raised the minimum down payment for FHA mortgages to 5 percent for borrowers who are not first-time home buyers.
Beyond that category, it would have limited program access to low- to moderate-income Americans and applications within a disaster area or during a counter-cyclical market, as defined by the government. The bill also would have tightened requirements on borrowers who had previous foreclosures.
The Path Act shifts risk away from the taxpayers and into the private sector by reducing FHAs footprint and making sure the agency is complementing the private sector, not competing with it, Hensarling said shortly after the bill passed the House Financial Services Committee in 2013.
The bill didnt move forward during the 2013-14 congressional session a time when Republicans controlled only the House but could have a brighter future today.
Given that Republicans (now) control both the House and Senate, not to mention the White House, I dont think it is a stretch to say there is a fairly decent chance that something like the Path Bill becomes law, Cecala said in an email.
Currently, most borrowers getting an FHA-backed loan pay a one-time, upfront premium of 1.75 percent of their loan, plus an annual premium (paid monthly) that is 0.85 percent of the original loan. The fees can add up.
For a borrower putting 3.5 percent down on a $200,000 loan, that amounts to an upfront cost of $3,500 and $142 in monthly premiums. That totals about $17,000 in mortgage insurance premiums after just 10 years.
The Obama rate reductions would have lowered the annual premium rate for most borrowers to 0.60 percent and saved $500 a year for borrowers who put down less than 5 percent on a $200,000, 30-year mortgage.
For a $600,000 loan in higher-cost markets, savings would be $1,500 annually.
But despite the costs, the FHA even without the Obama rate cut tends to be cheaper than private mortgage insurance for borrowers with poor to fair credit who cant make down payments of even 5 percent, said Richard T. Cirelli, a Laguna Beach, California, mortgage broker.
Whats more, some repeat and wealthier buyers with credit problems have a hard time qualifying for non-FHA loans, said Jeff Lazerson, another Southern California mortgage broker.
If the Path Act became law, he said, It would knock out a lot of people period.
But any significant change that would make FHA-backed mortgages less attractive or available would probably cause blowback from the real estate industry, including the 1.2-million member National Association of Realtors.
The group strongly opposed the Path Act in 2013, saying the proposed changes to FHA, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which support the conforming loan market, would jeopardize the ability of American families to purchase a home, as well as the future of the housing industry itself.
The Realtors also called on the Trump administration to reverse its decision on the recent rate cut.
Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, said he expects the administration will have a conservative tilt in housing policy, but he noted that its uncertain how the debate over housing policy will play out.
Ben Carson is a complete unknown in the housing world, he said.
***
In addition to any political calculations, there is actuarial math that has to be considered as well.
Premiums are set by FHA so it can cover lender losses if borrowers default. By law, the agency is required to have a capital reserve ratio in its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund of 2 percent of all outstanding loans.
During the height of last decades housing boom, borrowers shunned the FHA despite an annual premium of 0.50 percent and instead took out easy-to-get, risky subprime loans doled out with little underwriting. In most cases, Cecala said, not even private mortgage insurance was required.
As a result, by 2005, FHA loans for home purchases and refinances had trickled to 3.1 percent of the total mortgage market, down from 11.7 percent in 2000.
But when the subprime bubble popped, the FHA became a lender of last resort and Congress expanded the program in 2008 to shore up the national housing market, doubling the price of a home that could be purchased with an FHA loan.
The economy, however, continued to crater.
By 2009, FHA loans totaled 21.1 percent of the mortgage market, and accounted for 32.6 percent of purchases.
Annual premium increases were put into place to cover defaults, with rates rising to 1.35 percent of the loan. Most new borrowers were also required to pay that rate for the life of the loan, rather than a minimum of five years.
It wasnt enough. In September 2013, the FHA tapped the U.S. Treasury for $1.7 billion because of losses from loans it insured from 2007 to 2009.
Since then, higher annual premiums have helped the insurance fund exceed its 2 percent minimum reserve ratio requirement for two successive years, even as the Obama administration cut rates for most borrowers from 1.35 percent to its current 0.85 percent rate in 2015.
The ratio hit 2.3 percent at the time of the Obama administrations planned final rate cut to 0.60 percent, which had been set to take effect Jan. 27.
One consumer group would have liked to see even further cuts, saying that delinquencies and defaults are the result of loose underwriting standards and the health of the economy, not premium rates.
Lending is safer than its ever been, said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
But conservatives are resisting calls for further cuts, including from American Enterprise Institute fellow Edward J. Pinto, a former Fannie Mae chief credit officer. He said that premium cuts during a hot housing market just juice demand and send prices higher, which can undercut affordability and put the market on an unsustainable trajectory.
Lawrence and Peggy Haas celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Feb. 7. They were married decades ago at St. Patrick Hospital, where Lawrence's brother was a patient.
After they were married, the couple traveled together while Lawrence did road and bridge construction throughout Montana for various contractors. In 1956, Lawrence took a job with the Ravalli County Road Department as a road foreman and the couple moved to Hamilton. Peggy stayed at home to raise their three children, Kathy, Larry and Connie.
Lawrence retired from the road department in 1986, before he and Peggy traveled to all 50 states, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The couple has five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and they still live at their family farm in Hamilton, where they raise sheep.
Lawrence and Peggy said their secret to a long marriage is an understanding that marriage is a permanent, total and equal commitment to one another.
The next time you open your closet, this poem will give you reason to pay a little more attention to what's hanging inside. Gary Whited is from Massachusetts and his most recent book is Having Listened, (Homebound Publications, 2013).
My Blue Shirt
hangs in the closet
of this small room, collar open,
sleeves empty, tail wrinkled.
Nothing fills the shirt but air
and my faint scent. It waits,
all seven buttons undone,
button holes slack,
the soft fabric with its square white pattern,
all of it waiting for a body.
It would take any body, though it knows,
in its shirt way of knowing, only mine
has my shape in its wrinkles,
my bend in the elbows.
Outside this room birds hunt for food,
young leaves drink in morning sunlight,
people pass on their way to breakfast.
Yet here, in this closet,
the blue shirt needs nothing,
expects nothing, knows only its shirt knowledge,
that I am now learning how to be private and patient,
how to be unbuttoned,
how to carry the scent of what has worn me,
and to know myself by the wrinkles.
As a lifelong Rust Belter, Im wary of statements made about the Rust Belt, the Midwest and (worst of all) the Heartland. More often than not theyre attempts to sell something, be it political candidate or truck.
Former Chicagoan Mark Athitakis appears to share my wariness but has not yet given up on finding value in the concept of Midwesternness, at least when it comes to fiction. His succinct book The New Midwest: A Guide to Contemporary Fiction of the Great Lakes, Great Plains, and Rust Belt explores both the mythology about the region (homey, religious, self-reliant, and white as possible) and how contemporary fiction writers subvert, exploit and explode that mythology. His book grew out of his Reading the Midwest column for Belt Magazine.
At a minimum, The New Midwest is a crisp, engaging tip sheet and guide for further reading. Athitakis champions some lesser-known writers, including Rachel Louise Snyder (What Weve Lost Is Nothing) and Patrick Michael Finn (From the Darkness Right Under Our Feet). In a chapter titled The Great American / Midwestern Novel, he makes an extended case for the late Leon Forrests gigantic Divine Days (1992), set largely on Chicagos south side. And not just a Great American Novel a great Chicago novel, a great Great Migration novel, a great coming of age novel, a spiritual novel, an experimental novel, a music novel, a comic novel, and much more besides, he writes.
Like a shrewd fusion chef, in thematic chapters Athitakis groups together unexpected clusters of novels, revealing affinities and common ground where I would not have looked for them. For example, in Is This Heaven? he considers four authors working faith-based territory, defining religious very broadly: Marilynne Robinson, for her trilogy of Gilead, Home and Lila; J.F. Powers, for Morte dUrban, his comic novel about a Chicago priest exiled to rural Minnesota; the atheist Thomas F. Disch, for his sci-fi novel On Wings of Song; and the late David Foster Wallace, whose novel The Pale King is analyzed as a conversion story. None of these books fit the bland stereotype of Midwestern piety, but all grapple seriously with religious themes.
The broadminded Athitakis finds merit and complexity in works a more narrowly traditional literary critic might not have included here, notably Chris Wares graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth and Gillian Flynns pre-Gone Girl novels.
As a card-carrying Wisconsin journalist, of course Im going to mine his book for local angles. No single book makes Athitakis case against the homey Midwest as forcefully as Michael Lesys landmark assemblage Wisconsin Death Trip (1973), which pairs late 19th-century photographs taken around Black River Falls with news items about murder, suicide, fraud, arson, disease, poisonings, and other somber goings-on in the quiet territory between Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Any reporter whos ever covered Wisconsin knows this territory is never quiet. Athitakis sees Lesys distinctive book as the godfather of both Robert Goolricks novel A Reliable Wife and Stewart ONans A Prayer for the Dying.
He cites Little House in the Big Woods (set outside Pepin) and Laura Ingalls Wilders ensuing novels as the books that underscore the notion of hard work as the root of Midwestern life a precept many of his other picks challenge. Also, Athitakis praises Green Bay native Patrick Somervilles This Bright River, a novel of an adult brother and sister returning to their small Wisconsin hometown.
Athitakis declares his book the start, not the end, of a conversation, so Ill jump in to make my points. Jane Hamiltons The Excellent Lombards fits perfectly here a comic coming-of-age story about a Wisconsin farm girl that also depicts the forces eroding family farms. South African novelist Lauren Beukes Broken Monsters embodies the competing myths Athatakis discusses of Detroit as ruin and Detroit as phoenix.
A couple of passing gaffes made me pause: Former poet laureate Philip Levine is misidentified as David, and its five girls who die in The Virgin Suicides, not three. These quibbles dont stop me from recommending The New Midwest for anyone interested in fiction about our region. Give Gillian Flynn the final word here, as quoted in a 2012 Chicago Tribune interview: Im very stubborn about the Midwest. To me its great, underexplored literary terrain thats fun to roam around in.
A review of policies and procedures at the Office of Public Instruction in the wake of Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen's declaration that Montana is "out of compliance" with federal testing regulations will cost up to $2,850, according to a contract released last week.
The firm, CMS Communication and Management Services, specializes in human resources, according to firm partner Jim Kerins, who will lead the OPI review.
The work is billed at $95 an hour, which appears to cap the review at 30 hours of work. The contract says the review began Jan. 31 and is set to be completed by Feb. 28.
The review was sparked by Arntzen's accusations that Montana, under previous Superintendent Denise Juneau, was out of compliance with the feds because the ACT doesnt align with state education standards or have scores that fit into federal reporting categories, nor has the state developed a system to fit scores into those categories. She also alleged that the state falsified last year's ACT scores, reporting them all as proficient.
Arntzen later said that the state was under an "external investigation," but later backtracked. OPI spokesman Dylan Klapmeier said that the investigation comments were taken out of context; when pressed, he said it was just a mix-up in the way that the words were used and the words were interpreted.
Kerins described his future work at OPI as a "workplace policy and procedure review, not an investigation. The U.S. Department of Education said the agency is not investigating Montana.
While Montana's use of the ACT doesn't meet all federal regulations, most other states' testing processes don't either.
There are 12 states that use the ACT or SAT, another college readiness exam, for federal accountability, according to a database of state tests by Education Week. At least seven states have won permission from the feds to use those tests, but still must go through the peer-review process.
The Montana debate centers on the rules of No Child Left Behind, which will be replaced when the Every Student Succeeds Act goes into effect for the 2017-2018 school year. The new law appears to open the door to ACT use, allowing for "nationally recognized high school academic assessments," but it still requires a peer-review process.
Montanas peer review process has been pushed back a year, according to the federal spokeswoman, because of changes to its assessment program in the 2015-2016 school year presumably the ACT switch.
In decision letters sent to Wyoming and Wisconsin, who use the ACT, the test was labeled as partially meeting federal requirements for NCLB, in part because the test does not align with state standards.
However, the letters make no mention of the potential loss of federal funding, nor do they declare states non-compliant. Such letters often point out flaws in submissions for any state and request that states resubmit information with corrections.
A review of the latest round of peer review assessment letters shows that of 31 states that received decision letters, not one met every requirement under NCLB. And none of the letters threaten the loss of federal funding.
In California, state education officials are in the midst of a showdown with federal officials because its use of a test the feds didn't sign off on. State officials have held their ground despite a response from feds citing "many possible enforcement actions and remedies available to be applied by the department, including the withholding of funds, according to Edsource, a California education news outlet.
Unlike California's test, 12 states use the ACT or SAT, another college readiness exam, for federal accountability, according to a database of state tests by Education Week. At least seven states have won permission from the feds to use those tests but still must go through the peer-review process.
Affordable housing 'Champions' recognized
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency honored several Champions of Affordable Housing during its Statewide Housing Conference in February.
The awards recognize individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and private sector businesses.
Travis Lang, of Cornerstone Bank in Bismarck, was the greatest individual producer of NDHFAs affordable home loans in 2016. He originated 56 mortgages for more than $11 million in financing.
Debby Wisdom, of Dakota Community Bank & Trust in Mandan, originated 46 loans valued at more than $8 million. In the past five years, Wisdom has produced more than 200 loans for the agency.
Three financial institutions that originated 240 loans equaling more than $38 million on behalf of NDHFA were also recognized: Union Bank, Town and Country Credit Union and Gate City Bank.
Kirstin Wilhelm, of Keller Williams Roers Realty in Bismarck, was recognized for introducing 15 clients to NDHFAs homeownership programs, securing more than $3 million in financing.
The Housing Production award relates to response to a housing need and measurable benefits to underserved people. Cooks Court LLLP Senior Living of Minot received the award.
Worker satisfaction high at Great River
Great River Energy was certified as a great workplace by Great Place to Work, based on anonymous surveys.
Eighty-eight percent of the responses from 696 employees were affirmative.
Supervalu center aids food pantry
The Supervalu distribution center in Bismarck will donate $15,000 to the Bismarck Emergency Food Pantry. The donation is part of the Supervalu Foundations $1 million donation to 34 nonprofits across the country to support hunger relief.
A Florence physician is asking the court to drop 400 charges that revolve around the illegal distribution of drugs in three motions filed recently in Ravalli County District Court.
Dr. Chris Christensen, 69, was arrested in August 2015 following a yearlong investigation that included a raid on his former Florence clinic in 2014.
Christensen was charged with providing Methadone to two patients from Missoula who overdosed and died, according to charging documents. In addition to the two negligent homicide charges, Christensen was also charged with 389 counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and nine counts of criminal endangerment.
Christensen was originally scheduled to go to trial last October, but there was a lengthy delay in acquiring a private attorney after he was denied a public defender.
Christensen hired Missoula attorney Josh Van de Wetering last August and his trial was then delayed until this coming October.
Van de Wetering filed three separate motions in January asking the court to dismiss the various charges against Christensen.
In a motion asking for the dismissal of the negligent homicide charges, Van de Wetering argues that the state doesnt have probable cause to support its case that Christensen was the cause of the peoples death.
The two deaths in this case, tragic to be sure, were nevertheless actually caused by the patients accidental or deliberate misuse of the drugs prescribed, Van De Wetering wrote.
Christensen may have prescribed the drugs, but the two people who ingested them in excessive amounts were responsible for their own deaths, he said.
Van de Wetering said the distribution charges should be dismissed because the states statutes do not prohibit prescribing drugs deemed dangerous. The states criminal drug distribution statute focuses its penalties on people who sell, barter, exchange or give away any dangerous drug.
Van de Wetering said Christensen did not possess or own any of the controlled substances that he prescribed. He issued written prescriptions that patients took to pharmacies to have filled.
Last, Christensens attorney said the criminal endangerment counts should be dismissed because the states criminal endangerment statute is unconstitutionally vague. Van de Wetering said the law does not provide physicians with notice about which medical decisions may be considered conduct that illegally creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
In his response, Ravalli County Deputy Attorney Thorin Geist said the district court has already determined that probable cause exists to support the charges and Christensen is not entitled to a second probable cause determination.
The Montana Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that once a district court determines that sufficient probable cause exists to support a charge, the State bears no further burden of proof until trial, Geist wrote.
Once the state has concluded its case at trial, Geist said Christensen will have the opportunity to ask for a directed verdict under a different standard.
In addressing the motion to dismiss the negligent homicide charges, Geist said the state needs only to show that the victims probably would not have died, but for the gross deviation from the standards of conduct in their medical treatment by Christensen.
Geist alleged that Christensen made no attempt to review his patientss prior medical records, to contact their physicians, to conduct a substantive examination or review the states prescription drug registry for prior prescriptions.
Christensen handed his victims a gun in the form of powerful narcotics told his victims to use the gun to take the narcotics even though they had a history of drug addiction, and as a result, they died, Geist wrote.
Christensen faces a potential prison sentence of up to 388 life terms, plus 135 years and a fine of up to $20 million is convicted on all charges. He remains free on a $200,000 bond.
Brent Elliott spoke to about 40 firefighters at the Wingate Inn in Missoula Saturday afternoon, touching on his experience in the line of duty, losing a department member while fighting a structure fire.
I still remember the sights, the sounds, he said.
Some 20 to 40 firefighters die in the United States every year in structure fires, Elliott said, mostly from getting lost or disoriented inside the building. Thats where Flir thermal imaging cameras come in handy.
Its dark, its smoky, its scary, but youve got a camera, Elliott, a Flir representative, told the group. The quicker we get out, the better.
Elliott was making the case for Montana fire departments, from Red Lodge to Dixon, to use thermal image cameras, Flirs preferably, for every structure fire call.
The handheld cameras are small-about the size of a compact radar gun-and use electronic sensors rather than an actual camera lens to measure temperature.
A firefighter making his or her way through a building looking through one of these is infinitely safer, Elliott said, because they can quickly search rooms, locate people and find a cool spot (i.e., outside).
These guys here whore pulling the hose? he said, pointing to some firefighters at the front of the room. These guys here are going to like it 'cause it helps them to do what they do and stay safe.
Flir cameras were one of about 10 different structure firefighting products available for fire crews to peruse Saturday, in an event put on by Axmen.
Kory Koski, who manages fire sales for Axmen, said this is their first foray outside of wildland firefighting products.
He started making calls earlier this year to the 40-odd departments they service and found a high enough level of interest he organized the weekend trade show.
Aside from Flirs cameras, there were firefighting suits from Innotex, boots from Thorogood and Haix, SCBA masks from Interspiro and water pumps from Hale.
The companies, help us help the fire crews, Koski said.
After initially offering just wildland boots a few years ago, Koski realized there was no Montana-based dealer through which to funnel these brands and products, so he expanded.
We have competition all over the country, Koski said. But they dont have a local presence.
Plains-Paradise Rural Fire Department Chief James Russell stepped out of the Flir talk to look though a rack of structure fire suits, in the corner of a room of tables stacked high with boxes of boots, coiled fire hoses and bags of gloves, as well as the ubiquitous trade show swag like beer coozies and company pens.
He said coming to events where the gear is present, along with company representatives who know their products, goes a long way to helping him choose new equipment for his 25-person crew.
It lets us actually see the equipment in person, Russell said. Test it, touch it, try it on.
While he was examining a jacket, George Stratton, an Innotex rep, came over to answer some questions.
Russell wanted to know if there was a difference between the four suits hanging on the rack.
How many firefighters do you have? Stratton wanted to know. Whatre you usually doing? Structure, medical, wildland?
Russell told him, and Stratton pointed to the suit already in his hand.
Go with this, he said. Save yourself $250, $300.
We can look at spec sheets all day long, Russell said. But it doesnt mean a whole lot until someone says, This means this.
Firearms are a treasured part of Montanas history and heritage. One of the things that enriches this heritage and helps set Montana apart from other states with high rates of gun ownership is that we also pride ourselves on our practicality and common sense.
Unfortunately, that common sense is not evident in some of the gun legislation being forwarded in the Montana Legislature this session. Bills to allow firearms in public schools, the state Capitol and federal buildings are overzealous at best and dangerous for certain. Even more bafflingly, some of them also aim to overpower federal law and pre-empt local regulations.
Yet these proposals appear headed for legislative approval, largely on party-line votes. If more legislators dont snap out of it, Gov. Steve Bullocks veto will be Montanans last line of defense against some very bad bills.
Take House Bill 246, which cleared the House at the end of January and was approved by the Senate last week. Sponsored by Rep. Randy Brodehl, a Kalispell Republican, this legislation specifies that a person may carry a lawfully possessed firearm on any portion of property open to the public and owned or leased by the United States postal service, including within postal service stores or mailrooms or on adjacent sidewalks, streets, and parking lots. Of course, this directly contradicts federal laws, which is why the bill also helpfully states that such laws are not effective in this state and may not be enforced.
Legislators should know better. No state can simply declare a federal law or regulation not effective. This attempt to supersede United States law shows a stubborn refusal to deal in reality.
Even if that werent the case, however, what good would be gained from allowing people to bring guns to the post office? Does the minor inconvenience of having to leave firearms secured at home outweigh the real risk to postal workers and patrons of an accidental discharge? And havent legislators ever heard of the phrase going postal?
Brodehl is also the primary sponsor of House Bill 280, which is now be considered in the Senate. Last week, 52 House representatives voted to allow their fellow state legislators to carry concealed handguns in the Capitol and other state buildings. Just image what it would be like to have a heated debate on a touchy subject with a legislator who is packing heat.
As troubled as these bills are, House Bill 385 is even more alarming. Sponsored by Rep. Seth Berglee, R-Joliet, this legislation would create the misleadingly titled Montana School Safety Act, allowing any school district employee with a concealed weapon permit to carry a handgun at school. The bill had its first hearing in the House Judiciary Committee last week, and more than two dozen opponents testified against it.
The intent of the bill is to encourage school employees to protect and defend their students. But parents, teachers and others who actually spend their days in the schools are more concerned about the increased risks posed by Berglees bill. The potential for a tragic accident, should an employee fail even once to keep a firearm out of reach of a very young student, or a mentally unstable older student, is just too great a threat. Its a far greater threat, statistically, than a random outside shooter.
In fact, although mass shootings are relatively rare in Montana, the state has the third-highest rate of gun-related deaths in the nation, at 19.85 per 100,000 people in 2015, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That same year, the national gun-related death rate was 11.28 per 100,000.
The high death rate correlates to Montanas relatively high rate of gun ownership, estimated at about 67.5 percent of households in the state at last count, according to information collected by the Violence Policy Center, a national group that advocates for policies to prevent firearm-related deaths and injuries. So perhaps more guns isnt the answer.
Instead, Montana needs more common-sense legislation like House Bill 461, a bill introduced by a Missoula legislator to provide tax credits for the purchase of a gun safe or trigger lock. Heres a bill every legislator can get behind. It recognizes that many Montanans are gun owners and encourages them to protect themselves and their loved ones through safe weapons storage. Such measures have been proven to significantly cut down on accidental shootings as well as firearm-related suicides.
The legislation sponsored by Rep. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, allows credits equal to the purchase price of the firearm safe or trigger lock not to exceed $500 a year. Thats a decent incentive to the average hunter who keeps a firearm or two, and an even more enticing incentive to the ardent gun collector.
Bills like this one are on the right track. Its the sort of common-sense legislation our state leaders ought to embrace and expand on, to show the rest of the nation that Montana can have its guns and its safety too.
BUTTE Residents on city water in Sheridan were under a precautionary water-boil order Sunday after a water main broke around 5:30 a.m.
Officials dont know what caused the break in the southwestern Montana town of 650 people but it was nearly repaired as of 3 p.m., said Bonnie ONeill, public information officer for Madison County. Services were slowly being restored.
The water system supplies about 250 houses and other buildings in Sheridan, including schools and local hospital, and officials went door-to-door with instructions to boil water on Sunday, ONeill said. Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson was among them.
Residents were told to boil their drinking water from the tap for 1 minute at a rolling boil and cool before drinking or use bottled water until further notice. Drinking and non-potable water was available to Sheridan residents at the Town Hall until 5 p.m. Sunday and weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sheridan is about 60 miles southeast of Butte on Highway 287, just south of Twin Bridges.
County Sanitarian Van Puckett said the boil order was standard procedure and was issued because water pressure had dropped below a certain level.
When that happens, he said, Its possible that bacteria or other infiltrations get in. It is precautionary.
The order likely will remain in effect for 48 to 72 hours, also as a precaution, so tests can be conducted to ensure the water is safe to drink.
Information will be posted on Madison Countys homepage www.madisoncountymt.gov or by contacting the Sheridan Town Hall at 406-842-5431.
Hunters who shot snow geese in southwest Montana the week of Nov. 28 when thousands landed and died in the Berkeley Pit can safely consume the geese, an Environmental Protection Agency toxicologist said recently.
EPAs assessment that the geese are safe to eat is based on certain assumptions including that a hunter will not consume more than 60 snow geese that landed on the pits toxic waters, said Susan Griffin, EPAs Denver-based toxicologist. That assumption is based on Montanas annual bag limit for goose hunters.
EPAs conclusion comes from lab tests it ran on tissue and organs taken from dead geese pulled from the Berkeley Pit. EPA looked at thigh, breast, and leg muscles as well as liver and kidney samples.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks issued an advisory Dec. 8 to goose hunters in the Butte and Dillon areas that they could process the birds shot the week of Nov. 28 but not eat the meat. Meanwhile, FWP asked EPA to assess whether hunters could safely take that meat out of the freezer and consume it.
EPA followed through.
We were asked, 'Can you . eat them?' Griffin said from her Denver office Thursday.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still waiting for lab results from necropsies to determine the geeses exact cause of death, said agency spokesperson Ryan Moehring. Those results are expected within a few weeks.
Necropsies from a 1995 die-off when 342 migrating snow geese landed on the Berkeley Pit due to a snow storm showed that sulfuric acid from the pits toxic water caused the birds to die. Lab results showed lesions inside the birds throats and also revealed signs that the birds had heavy metals in their systems.
As many as 10,000 or more snow geese landed in the Berkeley Pits toxic waters the night of Nov. 28, 2016 21 years almost to the day of the 1995 event. The geese were part of an unusually large and delayed migration south and, unable to land on the frozen Freezout Lake or other natural water bodies, found a resting spot on the pits 700-acre open waters. Based on drone aerial footage, Fish and Wildlife Services estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 birds died there in early December, but thousands more flew away over the course of a week.
Senator Jon Tester took a stand on Friday voting against Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), showing his support for the importance of the outdoor industry in Montana. The vote to confirm Pruitt came just a day after an Oklahoma judge ordered him to release thousands of emails between his office and big oil companies. Without reviewing those emails, Congress has made a huge uniformed decision without addressing this direct conflict of interest.
Many senators took the floor to express their opposition for Pruitt, referencing his long history of suing the EPA over regulations that protect clean air, clean water, and human health. Tester spoke loudly on the issues that currently face Montanas ranchers, farmers, hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, stating that climate change is a major threat to all Montanans. He added that clean air and water are essential for successful agriculture and recreational users alike. Tester also made it very clear that from his conversations with Mr. Pruitt he received no assurance that he would protect these important industries in Montana.
In complete opposite fashion, Senator Steve Daines took the floor expressing his support for Pruitt without any assurance he would protect our waters and landscapes from the impacts of industrial pollution. Will Pruitt allow the EPA to support the completion of cleanup on the Clark Fork basin?
I have lived for 60 years in a valley trying to recover from the impacts of 100 years of unfettered industrial pollution. I share Testors expectation that we learn from this history. Daines seems oblivious to our history.
-- Chris Marchion, Anaconda
In 1929, just 26 years after the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk, a national airway beacon system was christened to safely guide pilots across America in all kinds of weather. This modest but practical network blazed the trail for todays sophisticated modern airliners that almost fly themselves with previously unheard-of levels of safety.
Today, that system exists in only one place in the entire United States: Montana. Seventeen beacons stand silent sentry on craggy passes from Bozeman to Great Falls, from Helena to Missoula, and on to the Idaho border. When operational, they provide safe nighttime guideposts for pilots flying through the mountains of western Montana. The annual cost for keeping them operating is about $35,000, supported through an aviation fuel tax (paid by pilots) that funds Montana Aeronautics, the entity responsible for beacon operation and maintenance. Aeronautics, in turn, is a division of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT).
In late December of 2016, citing budget considerations and describing them as nostalgic relics of bygone days, Aeronautics announced its intention to shutter all but three of the lights. They ceased maintaining the other 14, allowing them to begin a slow, spiraling descent into disrepair, growing dark one by one. Ask any group of pilots and youll get differing points of view on the system. But it was the route flown to arrive at that decision that raises a far greater issue affecting all Montanans, be they pilots or not: good government.
Aeronautics did not land at this point by reaching out and engaging the public, leading an open, thoughtful discussion and dialogue about the issues, and then arriving at an informed choice. Instead, they talked amongst themselves and a handful of other people and then rendered a decision. During that time, they offered scant background information, and took little initiative to examine, explain, document or publicize their deliberations. In the course of that they overlooked a wide range of citizenry outside their limited, narrow circle, ignoring many people who have a legitimate stake in the beacons future.
Despite meager efforts at public outreach, Aeronautics defended its decision by saying that it had received only a few letters or calls regarding the beacons disposition. A couple of articles published in limited-circulation publications were held up as examples of public involvement news pieces that Aeronautics had no hand whatsoever in initiating. When asked why a formal process did not occur, they responded that theyd consulted with the agency's legal unit and were told they didn't have to. As a result, the full burden to become aware, search out, engage and act on this issue was placed squarely on shoulders of the public.
Aeronautics is a small division that serves some important and valuable functions for pilots, aviation and the public as a part of MDT. That parent agency, in turn, is one of the states largest, with a several hundred million dollar budget. A large portion of its website is dedicated to public involvement, boasting an extensive Public Participation Plan and policies, as well as a Public Participation Coordinator who serves on the MDT directors staff. Yet, in spite of stating their legal and ethical obligations to engage in transparent operation and good government, a broad and sweeping decision was rendered with scant public notification, information, participation or discussion.
Regardless of its size, the Aeronautics Division is accountable to act legally and responsibly. It should and must be held to the same standards as the rest of their agency and Montana government and a whole. Its time for Aeronautics to back up, rescind its decision and engage in a full, transparent, public discussion on the future of the beacons. They just need to get it "plane" right.
Gianforte, in his unsuccessful bid to buy the governorship of Montana, spent more money than anyone in the United States running for a state office.
Montanans rejected his offer. The title Montanan is not for sale, nor is any office held in the state.
He is now shopping for a U.S. Congressional seat. There are things in Montana that matter more than money. Home-grown integrity is one of them. Perhaps Gianforte's native state of New Jersey has different standards.
-- Kraig Kruger, Lewistown
This just in: Scott Pruitt has committed to cleaning up the Berkeley Pit.
With one hand, while ending needless environmental regulation and red tape with the other. But don't worry, he's going to have time to go fly-fishing in Yellowstone Park with Steve Daines.
Daines addressed the Senate Friday, shortly before the vote that put Pruitt at the helm of the agency his new boss, President Trump, has vowed to eliminate.
He waxed musical about the "balance" he believes Pruitt will bring to EPA.
"In Montana we are a unique blend of Merle Haggard and John Denver," Daines said. "And mastering that melody is always a challenge. But when you do, it results in a common-sense approach to environmental stewardship. And I can tell you, Scott Pruitt's just the guy to do it."
The junior senator from Montana was just getting warmed up.
Daines said he moseyed down to the Senate floor directly from a meeting with Pruitt himself. "You know what Scott and I talked about? We talked about fishing in Yellowstone Park. ... We talked about that a lot. We talked about elk hunting and deer hunting in Montana. Scott Pruitt understands the important role that the states can play. Especially in a state like Montana. I'm confident he's going to restore this balanced focus -- this Merle Haggard and John Denver balance that Montanans are pleading for."
Daines saved the best for last. After blasting EPA's clean power plan and waters of the U.S. rule, Daines got around to Butte.
"Scott and I, as we concluded our meeting (always good to be an afterthought), talked about the Berkeley Pit in Butte. He has committed to getting that environmental disaster cleaned up. He assured me he will address this issue head on. It's the largest Superfund site in the United States right there in Butte Montana.
"We had snow geese that came migrating across our state. And they landed in the toxic waters of the Berkeley Pit. And thousands of snow geese died just by landing in the water. Scott is committed to getting that fixed. It's been on the list for more than 20 years. It's time to fix it, and Scott has committed, saying let's get this done. That's why he's going to be a great administrator -- to protect the environment in Montana."
That rather simplistic assessment of Butte's Superfund issues, paired with the easy bravado of a campaign promise, is astonishingly facile lip service, even by the standards of what Butte is used to getting from politicians.
To think that even as EPA is getting chainsawed into "tidbits," as Trump has Tweet-vowed, its administrator can wave a wand and fix the Berkeley Pit requires suspension of disbelief on a scale right up there with the opportunity to buy a large suspension bridge in New York state.
While it's good that Daines spoke to Pruitt about Butte, we wonder at the focus on the Pit, and the formidable obstacles to the commitment Pruitt apparently made.
Is he really going to force BP (an oil company) to reopen the mine-flooding site consent decree and agree to a much different and far more costly remedy than "treating in perpetuity"? Does he, or Daines, even know that's what would be required?
Just a few minutes later, Sen. Jon Tester addressed the Senate.
Tester didn't mention music, but he did get to fishing. That would be Montana's $6 billion outdoor economy. "Hunting, fishing, hiking and camping mean 64,000 jobs. More folks are visiting Glacier and Yellowstone Park every summer." And, he noted, the industry depends on clean water to survive.
So, he pointed out, does agriculture, "the backbone of Montana's economy."
Tester, who farms the land his grandparents homesteaded, pointed out that "It doesn't matter if you grow alfalfa or winter wheat or spring wheat or safflower or garbanzo beans. It doesn't matter whether you're raising cattle, sheep or hogs. You have to have access to clean water or you cannot succeed in agriculture.
"Montana's Constitution says we value clean air and water," Tester said. "We see what happens when it's put at risk."
He mentioned the Anaconda Company, W.R. Grace in Libby and Glencor in Columbia Falls, saying, "Companies that put our clean air and water at risk cannot be trusted, because they never stick around to clean up the mess."
"We've spent 16 years and more than $150 million to clean up just a small portion of what the Anaconda Company left behind after mining copper in Southwest Montana," he said.
"That's why we need an EPA administrator that's going to ... hold polluters accountable," he added. "Mr. Pruitt has endorsed policies that will put Montana jobs at risk and put our outdoor heritage on the ropes."
Tester said that in his own conversations with Pruitt, he received "no assurances that he will be the champion for Montana's family farmers and ranchers or those who love to hunt and fish and hike in Big Sky Country."
Clearly, the viewpoints of our two senators on the EPA's new boss could not be more different.
We'll see what happens. But if the Berkeley Pit is four years closer to critical level when Steve Daines runs for reelection, perhaps people will remember how he used it, complete with dead geese, as a stage prop to justify a party-line vote for a climate-change denier to head the EPA.
BILLINGS When chainsaw artist Chad Buscher is plying his trade, nothing else matters, he said Friday standing beside his latest work, a life-size river otter he carved for a friend whose husband died recently. Everything else can be going wrong, and if Im doing this, it doesnt matter.
Buscher, 41, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran, participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, where he suffered a traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome. Hes endured 23 operations on his left arm and one brain surgery.
Its tough for me. Ive lost a lot of ability to communicate, he said during a 30-minute interview during which he communicated effectively and passionately about his work and his love of nature. When I do this, I dont need a drawing. I saw that otter in the wood. Its the best therapy Ive found, hands down.
Buscher employs six chainsaws of varying sizes in his work, as well as other tools. The otter is perched on a large rock, and it holds a smaller heart-shaped rock from the homeowners collection.
(Sea) otters pick up a rock and use it as a tool for life, he said. She and her husband would float the Yellowstone or the Stillwater River and look for heart rocks, and for river otters.
Buscher glued in African porcupine quills as whiskers, wood-burning and sealing the pine work to give it a long life. Once he took down the tree and stripped off the bark, Buscher estimates he put 25 hours of labor into his creation.
She was happy with it, he said of his friend, the homeowner. I would have kept working until she was pleased. Part of a brain injury makes you impulsive.
Her comment to Buscher: I have my own otter now!
While Buscher isnt disclosing the otters location to protect the homeowners privacy, he did note that word of mouth has apparently traveled fast.
Already Ive had three emails, he said with a grin. Im a disabled veteran and Im not doing this to make money. But its a craft that does have expenses gas, tools and maintenance.
Before he returned to Billings, Buscher lived several years in the Chicago area, where he was receiving medical care through the Veterans Administration. Hed purchased an RV and was going to travel the country with his two dogs, but decided hed better visit Billings first. After a few months in town, he now has housing lined up, with no plans to embark on that road trip.
Im just going to stay here and do this, he said.
Buscher said hes been hiking the Boulder Mountains between Helena and Butte since he was a child. During his hikes he looks down at least as often as he looks up.
I can bring people a log from there, unless a potential customer has a tree or log of their own theyd rather use, he said. I still go there a lot, and Im always on the lookout.
To arrange for a commission or to discuss his work, Buscher may be reached at buscherc@yahoo.com.
I usually dont sign my work, he said. But if people want me to, I will.
Andrew Schneider, an acclaimed investigative reporter and public-health journalist, died Friday. He was 74.
Schneider, who lived in Missoula, died of heart failure in Salt Lake City, where he was being treated for pulmonary disease.
Schneider, who twice won the Pulitzer Prize, journalisms highest honor, was remembered by many of his colleagues Saturday as a relentless, inspiring reporter who built indelible relationships with people from all walks of life colleagues, news sources, and the ordinary people on whose behalf he worked.
Schneider won two Pulitzer Prizes while working at the Pittsburgh Press one for specialized reporting in 1986 and another for Public Service in 1987.
The public service Pulitzer was for Danger in the Cockpit, co-written with Matthew Brelis and photographed by Vincent Musi, a story revealing dangerous gaps in airline safety, including the fact that pilots with alcohol and drug issues were not prevented from flying. The 1986 winner, written with reporter Mary Pat Flaherty, detailed violations and failures in the organ transplantation system in U.S. medicine.
Schneiders wife, the journalist Kathy Best, is editor of The Missoulian in Missoula and a former editor of The Seattle Times. The couple moved to Missoula last year when she took the job at the Missoulian. Since his arrival in Montana, Schneider had been working part-time as a public health reporter for Lee Montana Newspapers.
Flaherty, now with the Washington Post, said Saturday, "The man never had anything but a big, big plan when it came to a story he was chasing and if you were part of the hunt he raised your game, too."
Later, working for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he broke the story of the asbestos contamination of Libby, Montana, which ended up making global headlines and resulted in an EPA Superfund cleanup that continues today, nearly two decades later. More than 400 people have died and a thousand more are sick in the tiny town of Libby due to asbestos-related disease. He co-wrote the book An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal, published by Putnam in 2004, and then wrote an updated version, An Air that Still Kills, which was honored last year as iBook of the Year by iBA.
The community of scientists and public-health advocates who have worked on asbestos issues for years remembered Schneider Saturday.
In the 45 years Ive worked on asbestos and other public-health issues, Ive worked with a lot of journalists, said public health scientist Barry Castleman. Andy Schneider was by far the best.
For decades, he passionately fought for truth and justice for asbestos victims of the past, present and future, said Linda Reinstein, president of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.
Keven McDermott of Seattle, retired manager of field investigations for EPA's Region 10, worked with Schneider on several stories. She said Schneider "was our hero, our friend, our inspiration. He encouraged us to be brave and do good work. He told the stories that needed to be told and saved lives in the process. He will be forever missed.
The photographer Musi marveled at Schneiders insatiable curiosity and his refusal to quit on a story a sentiment echoed by several colleagues.
His skill at befriending news sources led him to achieve a kind of access to information journalists almost never get today. Staff at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh became so used to seeing him that they gave him a lab coat and a Dr. Schneider name tag to wear.
Musi remembered Schneider talking his way behind secured areas at Miami International Airport. People wanted to tell him things, Musi said.
On another occasion, Musi and Schneider were covering a dangerous derailment where emergency workers were trying desperately to plug a leak in an overturned rail car full of poisonous gas. I sat up on top of a bluff with my 600-millimeter lens, hidden because I was inside the evacuation area, and I saw Andy right down by the rail car in a HazMat suit with a notepad in his hand.
Even though he won many awards, Musi said, Schneider was driven by public service, not accolades. It was about helping people who couldnt help themselves, he said. He never forgot that.
Don Winslow, now the managing editor of the Amarillo Globe-News, worked with Schneider in Pittsburgh, where their desks were side by side. He said Saturday, I spent 12 or 14 hours a day staring at his back as he was interviewing people. It was a masters degree in journalism, listening to how he asked questions.
His managing editor at the Press, Madalyn Ross, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Saturday that Schneider should be remembered for more than the two Pulitzers.
What he really should be known for is setting the standard for quality journalism.
Flaherty said, "For many years in many cities, (Andy) delivered a body of work that held movers and shakers accountable to the moved and shaken. We should all be so lucky to leave that as our legacy."
Kimberly Hartnett was a 19-year-old rookie reporter in Concord, N.H., when she met Schneider. One of the stories she remembers working with him on was the anti-nuclear protests at Seabrook, N.H. in the '70s. He made sure we were covering it like a blanket, she said. With stories like that its easy to cover from the sidelines, talk to two protesters and one police official and file. Andy didnt believe that. He didnt believe in quitting on a story. For him there was never an end to the reporting.
She said he was generous to a fault. "You had to be careful, going to his house," she said. "If you said, 'that's a nice chair,' he would soon be sending you that chair or one just like it."
Andrew Jay Schneider was born November 13, 1942 in the Bronx, but spent much of his childhood in Miami. His father Jack was a chef and maitre d at the famed Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach and his mother Fran was a waitress there a background that helped produce Schneiders formidable culinary skills.
While working in Washington, D.C., as a Scripps-Howard Bureau reporter, he was known for throwing dinner parties on the spur of the moment in his Capitol Hill home. He hosted Thanksgiving for those with no local family.
I got invited there twice, remembers Joann Byrd, at that time ombudsman for The Washington Post. The food was spectacular and all of us crowded around to watch him cook on a restaurant-sized stove.
Byrd, who was editorial page editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer during Schneiders tenure there, said, He was always on the side of people who were suffering or being treated badly. And he never stopped reporting any story.
Soon after he arrived in Seattle, Schneider and reporter Mike Barber collaborated on a series of stories about a supposed child sex ring in Wenatchee, Wash., ultimately exposing the supposed ring as a fraud and freeing more than 40 people from jail.
Byrd said that while Andy had thousands of stories about his reporting and photojournalism, he was never self-aggrandizing, but rather was famous for supporting and affirming everyone he knew.
His son, Patrick Schneider, is a photographer in Charlotte, N.C. He said Saturday, My dad made me the photojournalist, father and man that I am today. He taught me to always push to be my best. He remembered that when he became obsessed with photojournalism as a young boy, he would sleep with a police scanner in his room and then wake his father to get a ride to the scene of a crime or accident so he could photograph it. He never once complained, Patrick Schneider said. I think the best day of his life was when I got my drivers license and he could get a good nights sleep.
Early in his career, Schneider covered the Vietnam War as a freelance photographer, working for Life, Newsweek and Time magazines. He became by necessity a writer as well as a photographer, which prepared him well for work with the Associated Press when he returned stateside.
Many of his colleagues remember him cooking meals, for small groups or entire newsrooms. Wherever Schneider went in his career, a newly remodeled kitchen and great food would surely follow.
Andy was a force of nature, said investigative reporter Bill Lambrecht. He was the fiercest antagonist, the truest advocate, the most loyal friend, the most generous host and cook. He would hear none of it when someone in his business bemoaned having little good to write about.
He would say, So many stories, so little time.
Schneider is survived by his wife, Kathy Best; two children, Kelly Schneider of Seattle, and Patrick Schneider of Charlotte, N.C.; his former wife Carol Schneider of Charlotte; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned but arrangements are not yet set.
MISSOULA Montanas lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives has been silent for more than six weeks.
Republican Ryan Zinke was still hanging around the Capitol this week one Huffington Post reporter tweeted on Thursday that Zinke was spotted wearing jeans in the Senate, an hour or so after another noted he was hanging around the House floor, without a tie, living, if not his best life, at least a better life.
In a process that looks like itll stretch into March (see related story), Zinke awaits Senate confirmation to become President Donald Trumps Secretary of Interior. His last vote on the floor of the House came on Jan. 5, the third day of the Congressional session.
That comes as a surprise to Pat Williams of Missoula, a Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 1979 to 1997.
Entirely, Williams said Friday. Hes no doubt working on his acquaintances and interests at the department, and hes certainly got a lot of work to do there. But I cant imagine him missing all the votes. Montana then has no vote in the House.
Zinke, who was elected to a second at-large term in November with 56 percent of the Montana vote, has remained active on at least two Facebook accounts. He has tweeted or retweeted on occasion since the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved his nomination by a 16-6 vote on Jan. 17. But he has issued no press releases since mid-December.
Aaron Flint, hired in December as Zinkes Billings-based state director, said he could not comment on his bosss voting abstentions and referred inquiries to Emma Benjamin in Zinkes Washington office. Benjamin was Zinkes press secretary in Missoula during the last five months of the 2016 campaign. (Heather Swift, his communications director in Washington, has already moved over to the Department of Interior, as has Micah Chambers, Zinkes deputy chief of staff.)
Benjamins current title is press assistant and legislative correspondent in the U.S. House of Representatives. Multiple calls and emails to her on Friday drew no response.
Matthew Koehler had a bit more success.
Executive director of the WildWest Institute in Missoula, Koehler said he started noticing in the past two or three weeks that Zinke was abstaining from House votes on issues he was following.
He said Friday he decided to call Zinkes office in Washington on Feb. 10 and ask point-blank why Rep. Zinkes not voting, to see what they would say.
Koehler identified himself to the woman who answered, said hed noticed Zinke wasnt voting the past couple of weeks, and asked why.
She said the Trump administration has advised us not to vote, Koehler said.
Jeff Essmann, a state representative from Billings and head of the Montana Republican party, said Zinke is caught in a damned if you do, damned if dont situation."
Hes making the transition between two branches of government, from legislative to executive, Essmann said. If (critics) want Montana to be represented, they should call Jon Tester and tell him to cut the crap and let us get to a vote.
Essmann blamed Tester, a Democratic Senator and Montanas senior Congressman, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, for holding up confirmation hearings of Trumps cabinet nominees, Essmann said.
The Democrats are slow-walking every congressional appointment and theyve having to stay in session 24-7 in order to get maybe two or three a week because of obstruction by Chuck Schumer and Jon Tester, Essmann said. You could call him and ask why the hell theyre obstructing this.
A look at the Congressional roll call indicates that Trumps two other cabinet nominees from the U.S. House, both Republicans, also stopped voting in early January. Mike Pompeo of Kansas was confirmed as Central Intelligence Agency director on Jan. 23. He was one of four representatives from that state. Tom Price, among 14 representatives from Georgia, gained Senate confirmation for Secretary of Health and Human Services on Feb. 9.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, cast key votes in the Senate up to the time he was confirmed as Attorney General on Feb. 8.
Zinke, of Whitefish, was announced as Trumps nominee for the Department of Interior post on Dec. 15. He voted on all nine measures that came before the House on Jan. 3-5, the first three days of the 2017 session. Zinke came under fire after voting on a rules measure on Jan. 3 that allows federal land transfers to be considered cost-free and budget-neutral, making it easier for drilling and development.
Zinke issued no explanation of his vote. In his committee confirmation hearing two weeks later, he made clear he opposes all sales or transfer of federal lands.
Youll remember the media caught wind of that and he got blasted pretty darn good, Koehler said of the Jan. 3 vote. I have a feeling thats when the Trump administration said, 'OK, youre done voting.'
Two days later, he was.
Williams said hes not sure if its usual for a cabinet nominee in Congress to refrain from taking part.
With regard to the rules, theyve got me, he said. I dont know whether theyre expected to keep voting. I do think Montanans expect them to keep voting.
Its true, Koehler said, that Zinkes lone vote in a Republican-heavy House has little impact. Thats the lot of a representative from a sparsely populated state, one of seven that send just one person to the U.S. House, along with Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware and Vermont.
But basically Montanans, whether were Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians, we are taxation without representation in the House of Representatives, Koehler said. We have no one there who is actually showing up and voting.
If hes not doing it because President Trump doesnt want him to, he owes Montana an explanation as to why. And I think the White House has to explain why.
This story has been updated to include the correct number and full list of states with just one U.S. House Representative. There are seven.
MUSCATINE, Iowa Chants of "No hate, no fear, everybody's welcome here," echoed off buildings on Third Street Saturday as residents marched for peace.
The Muscatine Peace Rally and March was organized by Not in Our Town, a group started in Muscatine by Linda Kelty and Nick Salazar.
"We want to make sure that we create a zone of safety in our community for those people who feel marginalized or disenfranchised," Kelty said to the crowd gathered outside City Hall.
Salazar said he was happy, but surprised, to see so many people out for the event: he estimated about 200 were present for the rally and march.
"What this campaign is about is bringing people, organizations, institutions together to address violence, to step up against hate, and to promote an inclusive, safe community for everybody," he said.
Ryan Downing, pastor of Faith United Church of Christ of Muscatine, offered prayers, and spoke about how Christianity teaches all to "love our neighbors."
"I think it is important for the clergy to be here to show everyone in the community that we support them regardless of who they are and what their race is, what their creed is, or their national origin," he said.
People held signs that read "not my Muslim ban" and "empathy," and several residents spoke about their experiences and why this rally was important to them.
Rosa Mendoza of Muscatine told the gathering about times she has felt discrimination, even though she has always lived in the U.S.
"I was in the McDonald's line and just because I leaned over and asked my son in Spanish, my native language, 'What would you like to eat?' a lady turned to me and said 'Go back to Mexico where you belong,'" Mendoza said. "My son looked at me and said 'What is she saying?"
But because of the color of her skin and her name, Mendoza said, she knows how it feels to be considered something less than a citizen.
"Let's stand together, because this nation has been formed by immigrants, by refugees," she said. "Our community is today what it is because of the people who are here."
At the age of 27, Jasmine Garcia of St. Helena would never have imagined that she would need open-heart surgery.
But on April 13, 2016 that is exactly what she had.
During a routine physical, Garcia was shocked when her primary care doctor at St. Helena Hospital asked her if she knew that she had a heart murmur. I had no idea, I never felt sick or thought anything could be wrong with my heart, says Garcia.
She was immediately referred to interventional cardiologist Dr. Stewart Allen of the Adventist Heart Institute at St. Helena Hospital. Allen performed an echocardiogram, a diagnostic test that creates pictures of the heart. The test results were life-changing.
Allen detected an aortic root aneurysm with bicuspid aortic valve and severe aortic insufficiency, a potentially life-threatening condition if the aneurysm were to rupture.
The doctor knew that Garcia needed surgical treatment and referred her to a leading cardiothoracic surgeon with the Adventist Heart Institute, Dr. Gan Dunnington.
After a series of tests were completed, Garcia was scheduled for surgery the next day.
She was quite sick, we needed to do an aortic root repair with coronary button reimplantation, said Dr. Dunnington.
Garcias surgery went very well and she spent six days recovering in the hospital before going home. Within three months of the procedure, Garcia was back to work as an admissions clerk at St. Helena Hospital.
Dr. Dunnington and the team at the Adventist Heart Institute saved my life. I wouldnt be here if it werent for them, said Garcia.
February is National Heart Health Month, a month in which millions of people nationwide raise awareness of heart disease and stroke. Equally as important, its a month that is intended to encourage all women to schedule a well-woman visit, an annual check-up that can help women assess their risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Im proud to wear red in support of Heart Health Month and help raise awareness, said Garcia.
Garcias colleagues at St. Helena Hospital also wore red in support on National Wear Red Day on Feb. 3 of her and to help raise awareness for women across the nation.
Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death, with more than 17 million deaths each year. That number is expected to rise to more than 23.6 million by 2030. In the United States, one in every three women will be affected by heart disease. But, studies show that 80 percent of cardiac events are preventable.
Where can you find wine tasting and cookie decorating under the same roof? This weekend that place was the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in downtown Napa, which is celebrating its grand opening.
The event, which continues Sunday, serves as an opportunity for the public to see what CIA at Copia has to offer. Festivities included workshops, film screenings, author signings, and chef demonstrations.
I love Copia, said Lisa Lombardi, who attended the event on Saturday with her husband and their three children. After being cooped up at home due to the weather, Lombardi said it was just what the family needed to get out of the house.
Its cute, she said. We did the cookie decorating.
The cookie decorating area upstairs was full of families many of them donning the free paper chef hats that were being handed out.
Youre making a mountain of a cookie there, said Jayne Hunter to her grandson, Isaiah Ledesma, 3. Isaiah squirted blue icing onto his cookie and piled glitter sprinkles, M&Ms and marshmallows on top of it.
He loves to cook at home, Hunter said as Isaiah asked for more marshmallows. Whatever she is making, she said, he wants to make, too. Hes an expert already at flipping pancakes.
Although she wanted to do some wine tasting, Hunter said she would have to come back on Sunday to do it.
We had to come do the cookie decorating first, she said. Ill come back when I have a driver.
Meanwhile downstairs multiple wines were available for tasting for the cost of a token $4 each, $18 for five, or $35 for 10.
Laura Bassett of Sonoma and Ilana Teles of Marin County decided to use one of their tokens to try cabernet sauvignon from Greystone Cellars.
Wine is always good for conversation, Teles said.
Teles said there were more activities at the event than she thought there would be.
Its a very, very nice event, she said.
The setup is incredible, agreed Bassett.
Former Copia volunteers Robert and Gail Sims said being at the event brought back a lot of memories.
My band (the Riptides) played for the opening of Copia, Robert Sims said. He remembered seeing a lot of great musicians when the venue was open before, including Tommy Castro and Iron Butterfly.
I hope they have concerts here again, he said. That was really fun.
The spirit of the people that brought Copia to life is still there, said Gail Sims. You can really see a sense of what its purpose originally was food, wine and the arts.
Robert and Margrit Mondavis grandson, winemaker Carlo Mondavi, agreed.
Im grateful that this spot is open, he said as he poured wines from RAEN winery into guests glasses. Its nice to see people out here. Its right in line with the vision my grandfather had for the place.
The unveiling of the sculpture atop the Copia tower, Is That Bob & Margrit?, featuring the likenesses of Robert and Margrit Mondavi, is planned as one of Sundays grand opening festivities.
A proposed winery that would join a new mansion on a Rutherford-area property raised concerns not over any expected flood of tourists, but over literal floodwaters.
Patrick Cahill wants to build a 10,000-gallon-a-year winery on 20 acres at 1561 South Whitehall Lane, where he owns a second home. It would have no visitors or marketing events, the usual points of controversy for new wineries.
But recent storms put an exclamation point on neighbors flooding concerns. Several showed up at last weeks Napa County Planning Commission meeting with photographs of nearby vineyards poking up amid a few feet of water after recent storms.
That prompted the Planning Commission to postpone the hearing until March 15 in hopes Cahill and the neighbors can agree on plans to tackle flooding.
I think recent events have really brought into relief the shortcomings of this project, Commission chairwoman Jeri Gill said. Had we not had the recent storm events, we might not be having this conversation today, because we wouldnt have known these are issues on this property.
Still, several commissioners said they were torn, given that an engineering report showed the proposed winery wouldnt make existing flood problems any worse. County staff recommended that the commission approve the project.
If you deny this winery, you havent changed anything (floodwise) there, consultant Donna Oldford told commissioners on behalf of Cahill. All you have done is deny the property rights for the guy who cant do anything to fix an off-site circumstance.
Cahill introduced himself to commissioners as a Bay Area native who is part of a multigenerational family construction business and a shareholder in a retail wine operation. He lives in Seattle, but said he has owned various second homes in the Napa Valley since the late-1990s, with the South Whitehall Lane property being the latest.
The San Francisco Business Times in July 2015 described the then-under-construction home at 1561 South Whitehall Lane as a $38 million Napa Valley spec home and wine estate. Real estate agents pitched it for people migrating from the Silicon Valley looking for the California lifestyle of glass walls and indoor-outdoor spaces.
Neighbors want to make certain floodwaters can continue to run through the property formerly used for grazing and is not diverted to their land. They said a winery could make flooding worse.
Mr. Cahill bought land that others overlooked because it had a reputation as wetlands, said Julie Garvey of nearby Garvey Family Vineyard. This property functioned as an exquisite, natural flood project. In periods of heavy rains, it became like a lake. It was a fly zone for geese and other birds.
Flooding in their own vineyards is a threat to their livelihood, Garvey said.
Mark Hornberger said the flooding that crosses the areas road is a safety problem, because drivers of ambulances or fire trucks cant see the edges of the flooded road. Development on the site has already changed the natural drainage patterns, he said.
Hornberger Vineyards is adjacent to the Cahill property.
Talk centered on Bale Slough and on a culvert that county staff said is too small. But fixing the problem would involve working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to get permits.
Im just reluctant to add new entitlements to a parcel, to a situation where we have some problems that need to be addressed, Commissioner Anne Cottrell said.
Commissioner Terry Scott had the same concerns, but also saw the applicants point.
I cant imagine a winery that would be less impactful than one with no tours, no tastings, no marketing events, a 10,000 (gallon) capacity on a 20-acre site, Scott said. I find it very difficult to vote against that.
Commissioners praised Cahill for agreeing to new conditions that day, such as scaling back operating hours and agreeing to make wine from grapes of which at least 75 percent would be grown onsite.
In the end, commissioners decided Cahill and the neighbors might be able to reach a community strategy to tackle community flooding problems and other mutual concerns.
Its worth the effort, in my mind, Scott said.
At that point of the meeting, the Planning Commission had tackled two winery requests over more than six hours the other was the proposed Flynnville wineryand had postponed both of them to future meetings. In both cases, commissioners hope the applicants and neighbors can reach compromises.
Another anticlimactic ending, Gill said as they wrapped up the Whitehall session.
A heavy-set man wearing a black ski mask entered the Umpqua Bank on the 300 block of Soscol Avenue Friday afternoon and made it out with an undisclosed amount of cash after threatening employees, according to Napa Police.
The man, who entered the bank around 4:39 p.m., was last seen going toward the parking lot of Black Bear Diner, the restaurant next door to the bank, police said.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Napa Police at 707-257-9223.
URL Radio in Bismarck is for sale.
Owner Stacy Sturm put the Internet radio station, the first of its kind in Bismarck, on the market a little over two weeks ago. The sale includes all equipment.
Its basically turnkey, she said.
Sturm said it was something she and her partner had been talking about for a while.
She said the station has gotten involved in a lot of events around the community, like the Lantern Festival and North Dakota Music Awards, and those are part of what put the station on the map. But lately she said they felt they were becoming less able to do as much as they would have liked to with the business.
This is a good chance for someone to breathe new life into the station, she said.
Sturm has worked in the radio business for 25 years.
I feel like I need a change, she said, and to try her hand at something new.
For more information, go online to theurlradio.com.
Job shadow participation rises
Participation in the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association Job Shadow Week is on the rise.
This year, 167 Bismarck-Mandan high school and college students signed up to participate in the BMDA event, held last week. In 2016, there 94 participants.
The number of job shadows performed by students also is up from 125 in 2016 to 219 this year. About 30 different area businesses hosted the students.
BMDA Marketing & Research Director Judy Sauter said the occupations that were shadowed varied widely and lasted two or four hours. Some students shadowed the same type of position at more than one business to see how they differ in different settings.
The job shadows offer a look into a real-life work environment, and help the students see first-hand what occupations/careers consist of, Sauter said in an email.
Entrepreneurial program expands
The 1 Million Cups program for entrepreneurs and business startups is expanding to Williston.
The event, which involves presentations from small business owners about what they do, allowing them to connect with the community and other entrepreneurs, has been going in Bismarck-Mandan, Grand Forks and Fargo for several years.
The Kaufman Foundation started 1MC in Kansas City about five years ago. Today there are more than 110 1MC communities nationwide
The first Williston 1MC meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. March 1, in the Teton Lounge on the Williston State College campus. The Smiling Moose Deli will provide coffee and pastries. The meetings will be held the first Wednesday morning of each month. Williston Economic Development is leading the effort to start the program.
One of the steps that we have taken towards fostering the entrepreneurial spirit was seeking to become a 1 Million Cups Community. We are happy to report the city of Williston has been accepted, Executive Director of Williston Economic Development Shawn Wenko said in a statement.
Wenko said he hopes the program will foster a supportive, welcoming space for entrepreneurs to be open and honest about their businesses and the challenges they face.
One of our goals in 2017 is to find additional ways to develop business from within our community and region. It starts with the entrepreneur, he said Wenko.
For more details contact Wenko at shawnw@ci.williston.nd.us or 701-577-8110.
Congressman Mike Thompson will be hosting a Town Hall meeting to discuss healthcare with community members in Napa on Tuesday.
The event, held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Little Theater (Building 1200) at Napa Valley College, will give residents an opportunity to share their healthcare stories and any questions or concerns in regards to the Affordable Care Act.
After years of complaints by parents about the quality of school meals and money being wasted, the Napa Valley Unified School District has decided to drop its longtime food contractor, Sodexo.
District officials attributed the decision to part with Sodexo the worlds second largest catering company that has managed NVUSDs food service program for three decades to declining student participation in school lunches and ballooning deficits in the food program.
Eight years ago, nearly 70 percent of NVUSD students ate school meals, based on data from the districts business office. That percentage plummeted to just over 50 percent in recent years.
Another bad sign, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Wade Roach, was the tepid participation of low-income students who qualify for free and reduced-cost lunches most of whom are Hispanic despite the program being the only food option for many of them during the school day.
These are the children that need to be fed the most, said parent Laura Miller, whose children attend Napa Valley Language Academy. Thats what got me passionate about staying committed to this cause for the many kids and families who dont have a voice.
Katherine Jalaty, whose child attends Redwood Middle School, said: A lot of us arent fighting for our own kids, but for the kids who come to school with no lunch and dont have breakfast and dont have anything after school to eat.
Roach told the school board Thursday evening that the districts food service program has been losing money for the past three years, with deficits as high as $600,000. He said that the only thing keeping the program from finishing in the red each year was a provision that required Sodexo to make up the difference.
The deficits were not sustainable for the district or for Sodexo, said Roach.
Particularly not for a district facing declining enrollment and multi-million dollar budget deficits. NVUSD has been looking for ways to trim costs, and recently convinced more than 60 of its employees mostly teachers to take early retirement.
Concerned with the lunch programs financial imbalance, the district asked for a Fiscal Crisis Management Assessment Team to come from Sacramento and complete a study of the nutrition program. It made numerous recommendations, including improving kitchen facilities, lowering labor costs, and finding ways to get students interested in buying school lunch again.
Ultimately, NVUSD decided the best way to do that was dropping Sodexo, which will cease managing food services at the end of this school year in June.
Starting next year, the district will run the program in-house something the vast majority of school districts in California already do with school lunches.
We are going to start the process of becoming a self-operating district, said Roach, who added the district will hire a director of nutrition in the coming months to oversee the program.
Sodexo representatives were not at Thursdays school board meeting to comment on the decision. In earlier discussions about the lunch program, company representatives downplayed their role, while pointing out that the food is prepared and served by district employees.
Weve added value, said Sodexo District Manager Martha ORourke last year. Its a district program. Were hired to support the district. Were more in an advisement capacity.
None of the trustees objected to dropping Sodexo. Board member Robb Felder said: I think were going in the right direction.
Miller, Jalaty and other parents were delighted to hear the news that Sodexo is going away. An ardent group led by former Vintage High School teacher and parent Katie Aaron, the parents had lobbied for just such a change, saying the meals being served to students were deplorable and unhealthy, as well as pre-made and processed, much like fast food.
Ending our contract with Sodexo will open up opportunities that were heavily controlled by [them] for 35 years, said Aaron, who spent seven years lobbying the district to stop using the multinational corporation headquartered in France.
Parents had repeatedly complained at board and committee meetings about menu items like the Galaxy Pizza, served multiple times a week for lunch. They said elementary students called it the sweaty bag pizza because it is heated up in plastic.
Parents had also pointed to nutrition concerns stemming from school meals.
Using data produced by Sodexo, parents said that many lunches contained high sodium levels per serving, such as the Asian stir-fry with chicken and vegetables over whole grain rice (1,744 mg). USDA nutrition guidelines recommend adults consume less than 2,400 mg of sodium in an entire day.
They also cited neighboring school districts and their self-operating programs that demonstrated good food could be served without being expensive.
After the meeting, Superintendent Patrick Sweeney credited the parents for their involvement in bringing Sodexos role to an end.
Obviously, the parents helped us with lots of things, he said. We did visits of other school districts to see their food programs. They have served on the health and wellness committees. They brought up some things that needed attention.
The DCNS booths at IDEX (booth 07-B38) and NAVDEX (booth B-038) showcase its state-of the-art products and solutions.
Surface combatants, submarines and their equipment
The GOWIND 2500 represents a new generation of multi-mission corvettes, robust and well equipped, both in terms of electronics, weapons and projection capacities. Integrating DCNS SETIS Combat Management System, she has a comprehensive Combat System for full-scale multi-threat missions, including a complete Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Air Warfare, and Anti- Surface Warfare suites. GOWIND 2500 has already enjoyed a significant commercial success as 10 units were sold in 2013 and 2014 for the Malaysian Navy and the Egyptian Navy.
Regarding the FREMM multimission frigate, she combines the latest technologies developed by DCNS, being the most advanced ship in her class worldwide. On 19th May 2015, DCNS achieved a world premiere in Europe in successfully launching from a surface ship, the first-of-class FREMM Aquitaine, the first Naval Cruise Missile (NCM). The NCM can strike distant land targets with very high precision, thanks to its guidance system, reducing the risk of collateral damage. Frances total order is eight vessels with a delivery scheduled by 2022. In addition, one FREMM frigate has been delivered to the Royal Moroccan Navy and one to the Arab Republic of Egypt in June 2015, simultaneously with a five-year through-life support contract.
Two MISTRAL-class LHDs were delivered in 2016 to the Arab Republic of Egypt, including multiannual through-life support.
The MU90 lightweight torpedo is the sole new lightweight torpedo in the world. Designed and built with the most advanced technologies, the MU90 torpedo is capable to counter any type of submarine even acoustically coated, deep diving, fast evasive, deploying anti-torpedo effectors or bottomed in littoral areas.
The F21 heavyweight torpedo is being developed in response to new and emerging operational challenges to offer the host submarine unrivalled dominance. The F21 has been selected for the next-generation Barracuda-type SSN fleet.
DCNS offers CANTO for submarines and surface ships, the latest anti-torpedo based on confusion/dilution principle.
SCORPENE class submarines, already chosen by the Chilean, Royal Malaysian, Indian and Brazilian Navies, represent the state-of-the-art in submarine design and construction. Its new generation Fuel Cell Air Independent Propulsion allows ability to operate underwater for several weeks in safety and exceptional acoustic discretion.
DCNS showcases its new submarine concept-ship tailored to the needs of Generation Z. SMX3.0 embarks 3.0 technologies, better power management, unequalled operational performance and system upgradeability facilitating vessel maintenance.
In addition to its offer, DCNS presents vessels from the Kership range, a joint venture between Piriou and DCNS. Kership offers a large range of ships up to 95m long adapted to the many evolving imperatives of the maritime domain: anti-piracy, border control, fight against trafficking, humanitarian assistance and anti-pollution.
So I started dating a christian woman who eventually told me if I didn't go to church I could not marry her. So heck i gave it a shot. The music the message kinda touched me I remember crying my first time going. I went on Sundays her family were all born again and very very into the religion. Deep down I knew it was a little much but I thought so I had felt Gods presence so I continued on.Although I was going to church, some bible study I always questioned: Why I couldn't have sex with my girlfriend and was it all real or a big sham? Friends thought I was crazy for waiting so long 'till marriage. I was suppressing natural feelings and it was very difficult to deal with. This led to watching things the church would deem bad, but I felt it was just natural.Eventually I felt more and more overwhelmed by the religion. It was just overbearing. The fact that we were the only ones right and everyone else was wrong, I just could not agree with. I also felt the Old Testament God was a different person than the New testament God. All the brutal and sick stuff didn't make sense. They would tell me, "Oh that's just the old testament -- don't worry bout it." Unfortunately I did worry about it and looked more and more into it and could not agree with what I was reading. How was I to tell a Buddhist friend he is going to hell if he does not believe in Jesus? He is the most peaceful non-violent good person I know. It just didn't make sense to me. Even the New Testament started to make no sense.Jesus says he came to bring the sword. I came to divide not bring peace. Well to me that makes no sense. All the suffering that happens they would tell me, "Oh that's do to sin or the devil." I'm like "Well God is just sitting back watching his children suffer. he can stop it. Why doesn't he?" He seems like a sick individual the more I think about it. Here I am praying about a good job and others can't even eat, who are Gods children! Sorry, it don't make sense. The family wants to take everything literal, but cherry picks what they want. I told them you better not open up your mouth in church if you're a woman and also get a head cover. If I marry you and you're not a virgin you are to be stoned to death. Really?I always wondered why the Jews were so special. Why does God choose and harden hearts of some? That makes no sense. Why did 1-year old kids die of cancer? ...don't make sense to me. And don't forget to give the church your money. They want 10% (lol). Why does God need my money? Their answer is "Everything is His anyway."I feel like I am just too smart to be totally brainwashed. I am logical, critical, rationale and a free thinker. I don't just accept. I love the Christians who carry there Bible everywhere, but only read the lovey stuff. If you were learning from a book, wouldn't you study the whole thing?I also noticed that most Christians are very weak and live in fear. They mature spiritually, but never grow up themselves or give themselves credit for anything. It's all God and the bad is the devil. I think a lot of them are totally brainwashed and living in a bubble.The real kicker for me is how they think they are the only ones who are right. Well, what happens if they were born in another area, say Afghanistan? They would be a Muslim and then the Christians would be wrong. I feel I almost took the bait, but not fully. I always doubted this stuff.Its hard because I thought I felt Gods presence and him working in my life. Was that just coincidence or my positive vibe? Law of attraction? Not sure... Also, my Christian friends were always very supportive good people.Any thoughts would be great. This is my first post here and thank you all for some great information here.
The Tribune recently published stories on refugees who had settled in North Dakota being reunited with family members. A woman is finally back with her children and a mans parents were able to join him in Bismarck. Both were heartwarming stories.
No one likes to see conflicts separate families, leaving them on different continents, so its gratifying to see them together again. It does raise a question, one of many when it comes to settling refugees in this country. What obligation, if any, does the U.S. have in keeping families whole? It makes sense to keep parents and children together, but what about uncles, aunts, cousins and others?
Its among many issues involving refugees on a national and state level. President Donald Trump has discovered that you cant just issue an executive order to deal with the situation. Hes now looking at the legal ramifications of a new order.
North Dakota legislators decided after debating House Bill 1427 that they werent prepared to take definitive action. The bill would have allowed North Dakota cities and the governor to place a moratorium on refugee resettlement while data is collected. The bills hearing drew a crowd, lasted four hours and adjourned. When the hearing resumed the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee voted to turn the bill into a study of refugee resettlement.
Rep. Chris Olson, R-West Fargo, primary sponsor of the bill, said his intention wasnt to stop resettlement. Instead, he wanted to make sure state and local governments are consulted on any resettlements.
In recent years Fargo has taken the bulk of refugees coming into North Dakota. There is debate in the city over how many refugees the city should accept. According to Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, last year they helped resettle 558 people and 236 families 38 percent of whom were children and 85 percent were reuniting with families. Seventy percent of the resettlement in the state occurs in the Fargo and West Fargo area, about 20 percent in Grand Forks and 10 percent in Bismarck. Obviously the states bigger cities are better equipped to help the arrivals.
The terror activities around the world have left many people worried about refugees and their potential ties to terrorist groups. Thats what prompted Trumps order, which the courts have delayed. The Tribune understands the concerns, they are legitimate. So are the needs of the refugees.
Thats why the Legislature is going in the right direction with the study. A lot of issues will be decided on the national level and theres no reason for the state to rush into any decisions. While the Tribune believes studies can be overdone, this one is sensible. Take the time to develop a policy for the long term.
This country and North Dakota were built by immigrants. The state has a proud Norwegian and German heritage. This country hasnt always been the most welcoming place for those fleeing oppression or hunger. Our record with the Jewish in World War II and racial minorities hasnt been the best. We can and need to learn from the past.
We need to be a welcoming nation and state while protecting ourselves. Thats not going to be an easy policy to develop. At the same time we want to give families like the two reunited in Bismarck recently the chance at a new life. Thats what the country has been about since its founding.
08:59
The air Indians breathe is turning more toxic by the day and an average of two deaths take place daily due to air pollution, says a new study.
According to medical journal The Lancet, over a millionIndians die every year due to air pollution and some of the worst polluted cities of the world are in India.
The study released this week but based on 2010 data estimates that globally 2.7-3.4 million preterm births may be associated with PM2.5 exposure and South Asia is the worst hit accounting for 1.6 million pre-term births.
The study says causes of air pollution and climate change are intricately linked and needed to be tackled together.
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The two sides held discussions about various issues of mutual interest and bilateral ties, Xinhua news agency quoted a Nepal Army statement.
In the statement, the Nepal Army has expressed hope that the ongoing visit of the Chinese military delegation will help to further expand and strengthen defence cooperation between the two armies.
The meeting was attended by top officials of the Nepal Army.
--IANS gsh/dg
( 101 Words)
2017-02-19-21:26:06 (IANS)
Two more persons who were involved in the kidnapping of a popular Malayalam film actress have been arrested, Kerala Police said on Sunday. The two were arrested in Coimbatore on Saturday night. The popular actress was abducted for a while on her way from Thrissur to Kochi on Friday night by some people, who reportedly took pictures of her to blackmail her. Her former driver is a suspect in the case and has been taken into custody, soon after the actress told about her harrowing experience to actor-cum-director Lal, who informed the police after hearing her tale of the abduction. While the victim's statement has now been recorded before a magistrate, the police probe team has zeroed down on six others who were in the gang, of which three have been already identified, while three others are yet to be identified. Police chief Loknath Behra on Saturday claimed that they have identified those behind the "kidnap" of the actress and it is a matter of time before the entire gang is arrested. Veteran producer Suresh Kumar whose wife, Maneka, a yesteryear actress, said that his wife too had a similar experience a few years ago at Kochi, when the prime suspect in the present case - Sunil, a driver in the film industry, chased her vehicle for some time. "I did raise a complaint, but nothing happened," said Kumar to the media. --IANS sg/sm ( 243 Words) 2017-02-19-11:26:07 (IANS)
At least two films screened at the recently concluded seventh National Science Film Festival here, have climate change in Kashmir as central themes.
Jalal-Ud Din Baba's "Global Warning: Kashmir Chapter" narrates the story of three orchard owners who are "victims" of climate change.
Fluctuations in season, late winters and uneven snowfall completely or partially destroyed their orchards and their business, Baba said.
"The September 2014 flood is a furious warning of nature against global warming. We appeal to the people to save beauty and blossoms of Kashmir," said Baba who bagged a prize at the fest.
In "Climate Change Adaptation in Lidder Valley", documentary filmmaker Tariq Abdullah shows how the people in the Lidder Valley adapted to the climatic changes.
It is based on research of post-graduate students from the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Kashmir.
It takes off from the fact that Kashmir lost 18 per cent of Kolahoi glacier and irrigation in Lidder Valley during the last 40 years.
After extensive research, the movie makers found various changes in the Kashmir Himalayan region like regular increase in temperature, recession of glaciers, erratic and scanty precipitation, shrinking wetlands and changes in species composition.
--IANS sgh/ssp/nn/vt
( 247 Words)
2017-02-19-12:46:06 (IANS)
Thank you to Bismarck Public School residents for your support of past school construction projects and your consideration of the March 7 bond election for middle and high school space.
The Bismarck Public School Board is particular when it comes to determining how to respond to space shortages. Both the internal public (school staff) and external public (citizen volunteers) invest many hours to learn the need, discuss merits and concerns of options, and then, finally, offer recommendations for the board to consider. This process has simply become how we do business.
In 2012, voters approved a bond for three schools: Liberty Elementary, Lincoln Elementary and Legacy High School. About 75 people employee and citizen reps from every BPS school resolved that moving sixth-graders to the middle schools, redrawing boundaries to maximize all space, and creating an elementary-to-middle-to-high school feeder made sense.
At that time in 2012, BPS knew secondary schools would become crowded, in about five years. However, the community advised that adding a middle school to the 2012 bond was too much at once. Last year, 2015-16, the board convened another 75-member Facility Committee to look at enrollment trends and space needs.
That group had five evening meetings, toured several schools over their lunch hours, and hosted three community meetings. They concluded their study by recommending to the Bismarck School Board to add on to the three existing middle schools instead of building a fourth school. Their logic was a new middle school would disrupt the feeder system, cost more than adding on, and remove the opportunity to invest in core city schools. This committee also said it made sense to increase the size of Century High School from 1,000 to 1,600 to accommodate the larger classes coming from Horizon Middle School. Finally, the committee felt it was time to modernize Bismarck High, adding an auditorium and lengthening the main gym.
Next, our board reviewed plans from four local architects over several meetings. The board then decided to hold a $57.5 million bond election on March 7 to add space to all five schools to accommodate the 1,500 additional students coming to middle and high schools. Due to retiring debt, the passage of this bond would not increase the 2015-16 debt service levy.
I encourage all Bismarck Public School District residents to please vote on this important issue.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 7. BPS residents may vote at any public school regardless of their precinct. Absentee ballots may be cast at the Hughes Building, 806 N. Washington St., through March 6. More information is available at www.bismarckschools.org/district/growth. Thank you.
After an address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday in which he vowed that the US will "hold Russia accountable", Pence had a brief meeting with the U2 frontman, who is also an activist, reports people.com.
The two discussed the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) -- a government initiative to provide treatment, testing, education, and counselling to those suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa (among other places).
It was first signed in 2003 under President George W. Bush and later renewed in 2008 under President Barack Obama. As an Indiana congressman at the time, Pence was an advocate for PEPFAR's passing.
"Twice on the house floor you defended that," Bono told Pence. "That's how we know you."
Pence responded: "It was an extraordinary historic accomplishment and you played a leading role in carrying it forward."
The rockstar has been raising awareness about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic for nearly two decades now -- co-forming Product Red, which partners with brands Nike, Gap, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and more to help raise money for charities fighting the disease.
Bono also co-founded the ONE Campaign which aims to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by raising awareness and encouraging Americans to contact senators/elected officials and voice their opinions.
Pence also tweeted about the meeting. "Enjoyed chatting with Bono," he wrote. "Discussed prior effort to twice pass Africa AIDS assistance & future security in developing nations."
--IANS nn/vt
( 263 Words)
2017-02-19-12:50:07 (IANS)
Shahabuddin will be taken to the Tihar Jail as per the Supreme Court's orders.
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan Jail to Patna amid tight security.
The criminal-turned-politician was escorted out of Siwan jail around 2:40 a.m., flanked by security personnel and police.
However, despite the secretive efforts of the prison administration, supporters of Shahabuddin got wind of the developments and gathered outside the jail from midnight onwards to get a glimpse of their leader.
Carrying on with their operations, the Siwan administration escorted Shahabuddin to a white Tata Sumo, where he was lodged between two armed security officials. (ANI)
In a bid to give a further push to India's growing relations with Africa, Vice President Hamid Ansari will be paying a visit to two countries of the continent, Rwanda and Uganda, beginning from February 19. The Vice President's delegation will include Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla and four Members of Parliament and senior officials. Wife Salma Ansari will also be accompanying the Vice President Mr will be in Rawanda from February 19 to 21 and in Uganda from February 21 to 23. ''The forthcoming visit of Vice President is part of the conscious broadening of India's footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region,'' the Ministry of External Affairs said here. This is the first high level visit to Rwanda from India and the visit is taking place shortly after an official visit of the President of Rwanda, President Paul Kagame, to India for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2017. India had invited representative of all 54 African countries at the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit in October 2015. Since then there had been 12 outgoing visits to Africa by the President, (three) Vice President(five) and Prime Minister(four). ''ndia--Rwanda relations are marked by cordiality, convergence of views on cooperation on major international issues and increasing trend in bilateral trade and investments, greater people-to-people contacts and a deep sense of mutual respect,'' the MEA said.' During this visit, the Vice President would be meeting President of Rwanda and Vice President of the Senate and deliver an address at the University of Rwanda. He would also pay homage at the Genocide Museum, interact with the Indian community in Kigali and attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Rwanda. He will also launch India Rwanda Innovation Growth Program as part of which there will be Technology Expo of India's low cost innovations. Vice President along with the Prime Minister of Rwanda will address an India-Rwanda Business Forum. During his visit to Uganda, the Vice President would be meeting his counterpart the President of the country. The Vice President would also interact with the Indian community in Kampala. A decision to give strategic content to the bilateral partnership was taken when President Paul Kagame to India from 9 11 January. Both Rwanda and Uganda have been regular beneficiaries of India's capacity building initiatives, especially the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program, the flagship program called ITEC. Therer are development partnership projects in both the countries, especially in Rwanda which has been a successful model. More UNI NAZ RSD 0718 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0104-1156389.Xml
Accompanied by cousin and Budayun MP Dharmendra Yadav, the Chief Minister, at the Abhinav Vidyalaya polling booth in his native village of Etawah, told the media that he voted for the Samajwadi Party so that development could further be expedited in the state.
Sporting the red-colour party cap, the SP national president however looked a little shaky and snapped back at certain journalists who asked some uncomfortable questions.
When asked why he has declared his vote, Yadav said because "you were asking".
He also got angry when the mediapersons asked about his father Mulayam Singh Yadav not accompanying him for vote, like he always does.
Ducking the question, he expressed hope that the people of the state will vote in large numbers in the favour of the SP-Congress alliance.
Replying to a question whether he would like to wish his estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from Jaswantnagar, the Chief Minister wished that all SP candidates won the polls.
On the question why Mulayam Singh, whom he ousted as the National President of the party in January, did not turn up for joint rallies with him, Akhilesh Yadav said he probably wanted to cover other areas.
Amid reports of a not good faring in the erstwhile strongholds, the Chief Minister also ruled out "bheetarghat" against the ruling party candidates.
--IANS md/py/
( 256 Words)
2017-02-19-11:26:06 (IANS)
Almost all the big states including West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh are failing to meet their obligations of providing employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act( MGNREGA), it was revealed in an official data. According to the data, the performance of the other big States like Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in this respect was also lacking. There was a gap between employment demanded and employment provided due to multifarious reasons in the wage employment programme of MGNREGA. During 2014-15, the gap between employment demanded vis-a-vis employment provided stood at 51 lakhs which rose substantially to 77 lakh in 2015-16. It has been found that the existence of a persistent gap between employment demanded vis-a-vis employment provided was a major cause of concern, more so, in the larger states mentioned above. The MPs from the states concerned feel that the Department of Rural Development (DoRD) should play a proactive role to bridge the gap in a better concerted manner. The Government on its part says it had inter-alia outlined a comprehensive system of monitoring and review mechanism that has been established by them for MGNREGA and through which the Ministry of Rural Development aims to address the lacunas in the MGNREGA implementation. There was growing feeling among the legislatures that the initiatives being taken by the Ministry, if not followed by a comprehensive time bound actionable plan, would not yield the desired results. The problem has been studied in detail by the Standing Committee on Rural Development which took into cognizance the mechanism provisioned by the DoRD for providing additional 50 days of employment over and above 100 days per household in notified drought affected areas of Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. More UNI NY SDR ADG 1137 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0099-1155864.Xml
A health Centre to provide quality treatment for various ailments including heart disease was inaugurated by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu at an impressive ceremony at the city chapter of the Swarna Bharat Trust at Shamsabad near here today. Speaking on the occasion, he said people should develop the noble habit of helping fellow human beings. Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Ruddy inaugurated the skill development centre at the Trust. The winners of the Padma awards this year from Telangana were also felicitated at the function which was attended by several eminent people. Recalling the services of former telecom department official T Hanuman Choudhary, one of the Padma Shri award winners this year, Mr Naidu said that Mr Choudhary played a key role in the development of telecom services in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.UNI VV SMS CS 1154 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1156636.Xml
Red Mango is launching a new dimension to healthy eating by introducing its new line of food called "ACTIVE FOOD" with an entire variety of value meals packed with natural ingredients made fresh at the cafes. The brand is launching its new food which is under 300 calories. They have introduced grills and meal bowls and a whole range of healthy burgers. They will be launching the new food first in Cyber Hub Gurgaon. Red Mango also brings in an entire gamut of top-of-the-line health foods to the consumers which include 'Power Smoothies', 'Probiotic Parfaits', 'Gourmet Waffle', 'Iced Beverages', 'Snack Healthy', Probiotic Ice Teas, 'Warm and Chillax coffees' and more. The number one Frozen Yogurt and Smoothie brand is the 1st of its kind in India on the same lines of flagship stores in USA, the self service concept where in our health loving consumers have liberty to serve as little or as much of their favorite dessert and toppings. The DIY (Do it yourself) The premium flavors such as Madagascar Vanilla, where the ingredients are imported from Madagascar, the finest producer of vanilla in the world; along with Strawberries imported from Sonoma in California Sonoma Strawberry and Blueberries from Europe along with most premium. The FROYO is low fat, gluten free and a meal in itself. Deriving its name from a ripe Red Mango, the brand ideology shows the company 'commitment in providing the healthiest, tastiest and the most innovative treats, snacks and meal replacements to active and health-conscious consumers. The new menus will be available at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, Cyber Hub- Gurgaon, Select Citywalk Saket and Elante Mall- Chandigarh with cost for two- Rs. 600. (ANI)
Accompanied by wife Sadhna and daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, the SP leader walked into the polling station, and waved to his supporters.
Visibly uninterested in talking to waiting media persons, Mulayam Yadav gestured towards supporters with folded hands. He said that this was not a press conference and that he was here to vote.
This is for the first time in the past 25 years that the Yadav chieftain did not come to vote as the national president of the party.
Edged out from the top post by his Chief Minister son Akhilesh Yadav, he has since not campaigned for SP candidates, except for two rallies in favour of his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav who is contesting from Jaswantnagar seat in Etawah, and for Aparna, who is contesting from Lucknow Cantt.
--IANS md/rn
( 161 Words)
2017-02-19-12:46:07 (IANS)
The political situation in Nagaland took a u-turn from Friday night when Naga Peoples Front MLAs started rushing towards Kaziranga in Assam to camp there in support of former chief minister Neiphiu Rio and demand resignation of present CM T R Zeliang. According to official reports altogether 49 NPF and an Independent legislators, in the 60-Member Nagaland Assembly, are presently camping in Kaziranga in resorts to show solidarity to Mr Rio. All the 49 legislators have reportedly given written support to Rio. However, Mr Zeliang along with Nagaland Governor P B Acharya, have rushed to New Delhi after being summoned by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the situation in Nagaland. Mr Zeliang is still camping in Delhi without tendering his resignation. Meanwhile, Mr Acharya and Mr Rio returned to Nagaland yesterday. Sources said Mr Rio will meet the legislators supporting him today at Kaziranga and discuss on the future course of action to form a new Government as per wishes of the people. Nagaland Assembly has four BJP legislators in the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) as pre-poll alliance partner. They are still observing the situation and are yet to decide whether they would join. The ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition Government comprises 48 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four of BJP and eight Independents. The state-wide agitation against Zeliang, spearheaded by Joint Coordination Committee and Nagaland Tribes Action Committee is still continuing and they vowed to continue the agitation till Zeliang submitted his resignation. Meanwhile, all the Government offices, throughout the state remained closed since January 30 and all government vehicles were off the road. The total bandh throughout the state was relaxed by the bandh imposing organizations, which is now confined only to Government offices and vehicles in Dimapur town, which witnessed bandh since January 31 till yesterday. Today being a Subday the bash was totally relaxed. Meanwhile, there was shortage of essential commodities, including fruits and fishes, as trucks refused to enter Nagaland owing to uncertainty of the situation and they are stranded in some towns in Assam bordering Nagaland. The traders of Dimapur are transporting the stocks in small vehicles from towns of Assam. The people of the state, who have been suffering from the prolonged agitation, felt relieved by the new political turn and were awaiting for a peaceful environment to return to the state to continue their normal life. UNI AS KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156651.Xml
EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. Bar and restaurant owners on the east side of the Red River may be allowed to stay open until 4 a.m., thanks to a proposed Minnesota law.
The question is, will they?
I think you really have to look at your market mix to see if you are one of the ones who want to do that, said Dave Homstad, owner and founder of the Blue Moose Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks. I would really have to think about it.
Minnesota House Bill 1008 would extend bar closing times from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. seven days a week, with some exceptions. Bars could reopen at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
Minneapolis has made moves to extend bar hours during the 2018 Super Bowl, which will be played Feb. 4 at the citys recently constructed U.S. Bank Stadium.
"I look at is as: They had a bill to extend it for Minneapolis from 2 (a.m.) to 4 (a.m.) and I thought: 'Why are we doing it just for one weekend?' If it's good for that weekend ... why not do it the rest of the year," Rep. Jeff Howe, a Republican from the St. Cloud area and the bills sponsor, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "If it's good for Minneapolis, it should be good for the rest of the state."
At least one set of East Grand Forks business owners think the state should give it a try. Up North Pizza Pub owners Jesse Johnson and Justin LaRocque said their business at 314 Fourth St. N.W. has been doing well since it opened about eight months ago. The pub is family-friendly, though it does draw younger crowds, they said. The longer hours could help them tap the college crowd.
Weve actually talked about that, Johnson said. It would be something to try out.
Wed have to have a longer conversation about it, LaRocque said.
Keeping roads safe
Minnesotas closing times have been extended before, and just like last time, it is drawing concerns from the law enforcement community.
The state Legislature passed a similar law in 2003 that changed Minnesotas bar close from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., though that came with a price for business owners. Those who want to stay open until 2 a.m. have to pay a licensing fee that funds salaries for state troopers.
Different levels of fees relate to gross sales, with fees ranging from $300 to $1,000. HB1008 does not address whether those fees would increase.
Moorhead saw significant migration around 1 a.m. from Fargo so patrons from North Dakota could drink longer in Minnesota, Moorhead Police Lt. Tory Jacobson. At that time, North Dakotas closing time for bars was 1 a.m.
We did see increased alcohol-related traffic stops and incidents, he said.
Eventually, the North Dakota Legislature followed Minnesotas lead and voted to allow bars to stay open until 2 a.m. Each county and city is allowed to decide when last call must be yelled out in establishments. Bars dont have to pay a fee to stay open longer in North Dakota.
A later bar close in North Dakota meant less alcohol-related reports, Jacobson said, adding bars dont have to stay open to the allowed time.
Weve been down this road before, he said. Were confident that there would be much discussion about this because we have that historical confirmation of what happened.
There is a concern about staffing, as well. The change could mean later hours for officers and additional costs for patrols, Jacobson said. That could stress law enforcement agencies with staffing shortages, he added. Moorheads Police Department would have to have conversations about properly staffing patrols if the closing time was changed.
In the past, it put an increase on the demand for our calls for service, he said. Currently, that has been one of the significant things of conversation, at least in our city.
The State Patrol in Minnesota said the law would bring significant challenges in troopers work to keep Minnesota roads safe.
The State Patrol does not have the staffing around the state to address the extended hours, Col. Matt Langer, the chief of Minnesota State Patrol, said in a statement.
There also are concerns across the Red River. Those driving back into North Dakota after the 4 a.m. bar close could present more alcohol-related traffic stops for law enforcement agencies in the state, a concern Grand Forks Police Lt. Jeremy Moe expressed. He didnt think costs would increase because the city has personnel to cover those shifts.
Anytime there are longer time periods of people (consuming) alcohol, it is going to be a concern for people making incorrect decisions in driving home or operating a vehicle, he said. We want to make sure we have very safe roadways for people that are traveling.
Moe was unaware of any stance the Grand Forks Police Department may take on the Minnesota legislation.
Making the last call
East Grand Forks may not see that mass exodus from Grand Forks, East Grand Forks Police Chief Michael Hedlund said. Few bars in the Minnesota city have applied for a 2 a.m. license and, if HB1008 passed, they may still choose to close at 1 a.m., Hedlund said.
I would be very surprised if many of our bars would switch over to that, he said. I dont think it would be a major issue for us. Were staffed 24/7 anyway."
If anything, it might spread out some the issues because Im sure not everybody would close at 4 a.m., he added. It might spread the bar rush hour for us.
If the law passes, bars and restaurants may not immediately jump at the opportunity to stay open later, Johnson and LaRocque said. Up North Pizza Pub has a 2 a.m. license, but the owners would have to weigh several factors, including if the added revenue outweighs the added cost of staying open later. The pub also may need security to deter fighting and alcohol-related incidents.
You have to look at it several ways, LaRocque said. Is it worth the headache? Is it worth all of the things that come with what happens after 2 a.m.?
Its like the classic saying: Nothing good happens after 2 a.m., Johnson said.
For the Blue Moose, which shuts down its restaurant early but keeps its bar open until 1 a.m., it could mean going from to a family-friendly place to the bar image, something Homstad has fought for years.
He said he would be hesitant to say Minnesota shouldnt pass the law.
Personally, 4 a.m. is past my bedtime, Homstad said. I dont know if it is right for the Blue Moose, but I certainly wouldnt say (Minnesota) shouldnt do it because this business might the not be the right venue. There are other businesses out there that serve different parts of the market.
The Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) has submitted a letter to Nagaland Governor P B Acharya apprising him of Chief Minister T R Zeliang appeal to the Committee for 2 to 3 days till he steps down. According to sources in NTAC, the letter was submitted yesterday, where NTAC informed the Governor that it held a meeting on February 18, "where the members present unanimously decided to ask your esteemed August Office to take cognizance of the matter at hand and plead your authority not to entertain any alternate arrangements till the Chief Minister steps down." The NTAC expressed hope that Governor would "consider the above mentioned assertions and would address the matters positively and promptly before any other issue crops up in this connection." It meanwhile also reminded that the period of three days sought by the CM draws to a close today, the NTAC letter said. UNI AS KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156660.Xml
Tripura government has decided to observe International Matribhasa Divas (Mother Tongue Day) amidst different programmes on February 21 in memory of Amar Ekushe (immortal soul of language martyrs) in the state. Cultural affairs minister Bhanu Lal Saha said here today that the day will be celebrated across the state by the government as well as by the private organisations and institutions to commemorate the contribution of the language martyrs. The central programme of Mother Tongue Day will begin with a processionwith the joint initiative of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Education department of Tripura and Information and cultural affairs in Agartala The rally will start from the premises of Umakanta Academy and will end at Rabindra Bhavan. Floral tributes will be offered to the martyrs stand to pay respect to them at the premises of Rabindra Bhavan, he stated. A cultural programme is scheduled in the afternoon to mark the occasion. A cultural programme will be organized where artists of Padatik Sansthafrom Dhaka would participate. Besides, eminent artists of the state and students from different schools will perform their programme.UNI BB KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156668.Xml
Laying emphasis on proper implementation of Pradan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Urban Development Minister of Tripura Manik Dey today called upon the bankers to extend subsidy to the beneficiaries. "The scheme- PMAY will be beneficial for the poor people living in urban areas. If the bankers lend a helping hand with subsidy money, the scheme will bring a positive impact on the socio-economic condition of poor people", he said. He said the government has taken initiative to make beneficiary understand that PMAY subsidy is not a grant. The subsidy money should be paid back to the beneficiaries in time. The PMAY is scheduled to kick off in the state from first week of March. A representative of HUDCO who was present in the workshop explained various benefits of the housing scheme. National Urban Housing Bank and HUDCO have been selected as nodal agency for the central government launched scheme.UNI BB KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156678.Xml
As all the 49 legislators of the ruling Naga Peoples Front and Independents of Nagaland Legislative Assembly extended written support to former chief minister Neiphiu Rio and Rio is suspended from the NPF, there are all possibility that Rio may form a BJP Government in Nagaland asking all NPF and Independent legislators to join the BJP. According to political observers, the new turn in Nagaland politics was conceived in New Delhi when the Union Government summoned Mr Rio to New Delhi on February 13. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Centre's Interlocutor to Naga Peace Talks R N Ravi and some of the central ministers discussed the Nagaland situation with Rio. The meeting discussed the current situation in Nagaland following the ULB polls and how it began and escalated. Rio impressed upon Centre over the need to handle the current crisis with utmost care so as to not antagonizeNaga public. He said it had to be tactfully handled as it could adversely affect the already fragile "Indo-Naga peace talks." He also urged the Centre to bring about an early solution to the Naga issue. Rio was asked to stay back in Delhi for further discussions and returned to to Nagaland yesterday only. The political pundits opined that this new turn of events in politics in Nagaland has the handprint of the BJP leadership at the Centre, who is eyeing to play a major role in the coming 2018 Nagaland general election. The presence of Dr. M Chuba, former president of the Nagaland State BJP at the Dimapur airport also led to more speculations of the involvement of the BJP on the current political arrangement. The source, however, stated that Rio's group would try to stake claim of forming the government after T R Zeliang, who is expected to arrive in Nagaland from Delhi today, tenders his resignation to the Governor today or tomorrow. UNI AS KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156743.Xml
Alleging that Speaker P Dhanapal had conducted the Assembly proceedings with a pre-conceived design during yesterday's trust vote won by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, DMK Working President and Opposition leader M K Stalin today termed it 'unconstitutional and highly undemocratic' and urged Tamil Nadu Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao to 'nullify' the entire proceedings held in the absence of Opposition parties, to protect the spirit of democracy and the Constitution. In a petition to the Governor, submitted by a delegation of DMK MPs, he said in 1988when a voting on the confidence motion, with only two factions of the ruling party present,in the House was held by the Speaker, was declared as invalid and void by the then Governor. Meanwhile, Mr Stalin told reporters after a meeting of the MLAs that, the DMK would also petition President Pranab Mukherjee on yesterday's incidents in the State Assembly. He said the DMK has sought an appointment to meet the President. He claimed that yesterday the Speaker conducted the proceedings thoroughly in accordance with a pre-conceived design. ''He has ignored the rule that if the house is adjourned after moving a Motion, it lapses'', he added. Mr Stalin said soon after the entire opposition was out of the house, either because of expulsion or by way of walk-out, for which moment the Speaker apparently seemed to be waiting, he had hurriedly conducted open voting and decided in favour of the Motion. MORE UNI GV CS 1343 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1156770.Xml
A day after DMK Working President and OppositionLeader M K Stalin staged an impromptu protest demonstration on the Marinabeach front, condemning the alleged assault on him and other DMK MLAsduring the floor test in the State Assembly, police today registered cases against him and several party workers. Police sources said cases were registered against Stalin, 63 MLAs, three MPs and several DMK workers on charges of Unlawful Assembly and staging protests defying the ban. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed in connection with the agitation,which was held without obtaining prior permission, the sources said. It may be noted that the Chennai City Police had banned all forms ofagitations, processions, demonstrations and rallies at Marina in the wakeof last month's massive pro-Jallikttu protests. Since Mr Stalin and his supporters staged protests defying the ban order,cases were registered against him, police said. It may be recalled that soon after he was physically evicted from the Assemblyfor creating ruckus and indulging in violence during the confidence vote moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Mr Stalin came out of the StateSecretariat with his shirt open and alleged that he was 'manhandled' in theHouse by the marshalls. After a staging a protest before Raj Bhavan and complaining to the Governor about the incidents and the alleged attack on him, Stalin headed to the GandhiStatute at Marina and staged an impromptu protest, in which DMK MPs, MLAsand scores of party cadres participated. Later, Stalin along with other DMK leaders were arrested and released later.UNI GV CS 1354 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1156788.Xml
Third National Dam Safety Conference organised by the Central Water Commission (CWC), in association with Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam and IIT Roorkee, concluded at Roorkee today. The conference focused on key challenges in dam safety field that were being encountered in the on-going Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project ( DRIP) implementation, a statement said here.Sharing of the knowledge, experience, innovations and novel technologies by different national and overseas experts further helped in reshaping the strategies for effectively managing the uncertainties associated with the dam design, construction, operation and maintenance. More than 400 delegates attended the conference and over 70 technical papers by experts from India and abroad were submitted. About 40 national and international organisations showcased their technologies, products and services through exposition organised at the conference venue. Professionals from USA, Australia, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Germany attended this event. The Conference was inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources and River Development, Dr Amarjit Singh, in the presence of several officials. More UNI RBE SDR SNU 1401 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0427-1156746.Xml
As the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) announced that it will hold a hunger strike on February 22 in all district offices of the party in Tamil Nadu, party president M.K. Stalin on Sunday said he will participate in the strike from Tiruchi, adding that the party members are trying to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. "I will participate in Tiruchi for the hunger strike on Feb 22. We're trying to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi on this regard; Have sought time to highlight the Assembly situation," Stalin told the media here. The decision was taken after the party MLAs met at their headquarters and DMK leader Tiruchi Siva said the trust vote moved by Chief Minister yesterday was 'illegal'. Meanwhile, a delegation of DMK leaders met Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao and submitted a memorandum on Saturday's trust vote. "We've submitted a memorandum on the issue to TN Governor; He has promised to look into the matter," Tiruchi Siva of DMK told news agency ANI. Sans participation of Opposition in the assembly, the trust vote moved by CM was passed; It's illegal, he added. A day after DMK leaders, including MK Stalin, protested against forceful eviction of party MLAs from the Tamil Nadu Assembly and alleged mistreatment of its working party president, police have registered an FIR against Stalin for his party's protest at Marina Beach. Stalin and other Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders were earlier detained by police on Saturday from the beach and subsequently let off after signing an undertaking. E. Palaniswami won the vote of confidence in the Assembly on Saturday amid ruckus and the Speaker expelling DMK leaders from the House. While 122 AIADMK MLAs supported him, only 11 voted against him. (ANI)
"Vanvaas of vikas in Uttar Pradesh must end now. Country is moving ahead at fast pace and so must Uttar Pradesh," said Prime Minister Modi while addressing a rally in Fatehpur.
Continuing his tirade against the Samajwadi Party, the Prime Minister said the party is inconsiderate towards the law and order situation.
"The SP is least concerned about improving law and order situation in UP. I urge people to elect a government that would ensure safety of people," he said.
"Why is the policing system so inefficient in UP? Why are complaints not registered? What work culture is it?" he added.
Taking a jibe at the SP-Congress alliance, Prime Minister Modi dubbed it as a pact between two sinking ships.
"Both (SP and Congress) were sinking so they thought of holding each other's hands in order to save themselves," he said.
Asserting that the BJP government would bring in a wave of development in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi assured that their government would waive off farmers' loans as soon as they would come into power. (ANI)
Even before the political row could settle after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a remark now famously known as ''taking bath with a raincoat on", the RSS has explained it as a "compliment to the scholarly economist like Dr Manmohan Singh, who, according to the BJP's ideological mentor, managed to remain clean in this mud of corruption. "Then why Congress took it as an insult and decided to boycott the proceedings," asks an editorial in the Oraganiser Weekly, the mouth organ of RSS. "Most important, indirectly saying that Dr Manmohan Singh remained clean, PM Modi hinted that the epicentre of corruption lies somewhere else, which Congressmen could not digest," the Editorial explained. It did not elaborate upon "the epicentre of corruption" and where it lies. Mr Modi, responding to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, kicked up a political storm after he said, "not a single corruption charge against Manmohan Singh that too during the most corrupt government. The art of taking bath wearing raincoat in bathroom can be learnt from Manmohan Singh." "The real pain lies somewhere else," the RSS' mouthpiece said, adding that the mindset that "we are the only saviours of democracy and we only fought for the Independence" was the Congress' biggest misappropriation. "They forget the fact that many others also fought for Independence under the banner of Congress and other platforms," it said. The Editorial reminded about what the former prime minister had said on the issue of demonetisation. "Someone like the stature of Dr Manmohan Singh called it a 'monumental management failure' and 'a case of organised loot and legalised plunder'. One can always critically evaluate the decision and subsequent implementation but calling demonetisation a 'plunder' was a 'blunder' and not in tune with his stature," it said. The Organiser said if he made the non-substantiated sweeping allegation, he would be given back was expected. "If the question of dignity of office of Prime Minister is concerned, then Congress is the last party to talk about it. When Dr Manmohan Singh was the PM, the ordinance cleared by his Cabinet was torn in a press conference by none other than the Congress Vice-President (Rahul Gandhi). When the surgical strike took place, the derogatory remark that the present PM is playing Khoon Ki Dalali (politics over blood of soldiers) was more than an insult to the PM, as it involved the sacrifices of the soldiers and security of the nation," the Editorial said. UNI MK SHK 1653 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-1156964.Xml
GRAND FORKS Reachel Benson sits in a chair in the living room, wearing a bright pink T-shirt and long hair draped across her shoulders.
She tells the story of growing up.
Animated at times, her voice becomes louder, more forceful her hands in motion as she recalls trying to figure out who she was.
"No one was helping me. No one was giving me what I needed," she said. "I wanted seriousness. I wanted something like that. I wanted someone to hold my hand and guide me. And none of that happened.
Benson, now 28, was born male. Today, shes a transgender woman.
Bensons first inkling that she was different came during her grade school years, when she caught herself admiring the outfits in a childrens cartoon. Her life over the next decade was fraught with hardship -- including multiple moves, the aftermath of her parents divorce and difficulty fitting in at school. She remembers her mothers boyfriend laughing at her when she said she wasnt comfortable with her masculinity.
I look back and I go, I wish I was different, Benson said, lamenting she wasnt born a girl. It's hard for me to say that, honestly."
Benson is disappointed once again at the failure of state House Bill 1386, legislation that would have specifically banned discrimination against LGBT individuals in the state on matters from employment to service at a restaurant, with certain hiring and admission exceptions included for religious groups. The bill failed 22-69 in the state House on Feb. 10.
Its failure comes at a time of heightened concern for LGBT people. Theresa Marshall is a fellow transgender woman and founder of Gender Friendly Grand Forks, a local advocacy group dedicated to creating a community for transgender residents. She said she believes the recent election of President Trump has emboldened opponents of the LGBT community.
Members of Gender Friendly have become worried about holding events that make them visible, she said, citing concerns about their safety. Marshall said shes seen an uptick in run-ins like the one she experienced at a Fargo-area gas station, where she stopped to use the womens restroom and caught a glare from two employees.
Im waiting for somebody to open the door and grab (me) by the shoulder, she said of using the restroom now. Im definitely more on guard.
Marshall also believes HB1386 could have prevented her from being fired recently from her job at a local restaurant -- or at least made it illegal under state law. She was fired, she said, after telling her employer she would complain to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission if certain behaviors at work didnt stop. She said continual male references were made and that her supervisor expressed discomfort because she used the womens restroom, despite the fact she legally changed her gender to female.
She said the EEOC is investigating her complaint.
Its a step forward
There are resources available for LGBT persons.
For example, Grand Forks passed measures in 2013 that protect LGBT persons against discrimination in city housing and employment.
Margaret Jackson, an associate professor at the University of North Dakotas law school, said LGBT people should feel encouraged to file employment discrimination claims with the state Labor Department and the EEOC. The EEOCs website says it interprets federal law to offer employment protections for LGBT people, and Jackson said federal courts have begun to recognize similar employment protections under existing federal law.
But despite court rulings, Jackson said the federal appellate court for North Dakota still hasnt followed suit, adding that federal employment discrimination laws dont extend to companies with fewer than 15 employees.
Michelle Kommer, the states labor commissioner, pointed out her department can pass along only employment discrimination issues to the EEOC -- not other issues, such as housing, for instance. Those would be referred to the corresponding U.S. department, which Kommer says is not as active in following up on LGBT claims.
The suggestion that, Hey, this is already covered is accurate only for employment, Kommer said.
And Jackson said the lack of laws on LGBT rights is a problem in itself.
(It) severely reduces the ability of individuals to rely on this protection, Jackson said. Most people dont want a lawsuit, they want laws that protect them from having discrimination happen at all.
Put our money where our mouth is
For now, the future of LGBT rights is unclear in North Dakota. Rep. Joshua Boschee, D-Fargo, the primary sponsor of HB 1386, said LGBT advocates will need to discuss their next move do they introduce the bill again in two years or do they move to get it on a statewide ballot.
Though the bill already has been considered four times, Boschee still cautions against putting it to a public vote.
Its something that would have to have some really deep consideration by stakeholders and folks involved, said Boschee, the states first openly gay legislator. Our country has had a long history of folks fighting for civil rights, but putting peoples rights on a ballot is not a road we want to go down.
Still, others see a ballot initiative as an important possibility. Kyle Thorson, a Grand Forks Pride organizer, believes North Dakotans would stand behind it.
I believe a majority of North Dakotans would be willing to support the measure, and if the Legislature isnt willing to acknowledge it, we just put our money where our mouth is, he said.
State Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, disagrees, suggesting the publics will isnt there to pass the law.
He said he voted in favor of similar legislation two years ago but since has grown concerned with the bills language and voted against it this session.
People like to see black and white, he said. And they say, You supported the gay agenda two years ago, and now you hate homosexuals. Thats not it at all.
Becker says hes interested in equal protection under the law but said hes become more concerned about some of the potential effects of the bill. He questioned the burdens the law might place on those with strong religious beliefs and expressed reservations over language referencing actual or perceived gender identity. He worries about encouraging a philosophy that suggests there is no such thing as gender.
It becomes triggering to assume that someone was a male or female, and I dont want to get to a place in society where were so politically correct where we cant assume (someone is) Caucasian or African American, he said. (A situations where) we cant assume theyre male or female because of the ever-present risk of offending.
State Rep. Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, said employment protections already exist through the EEOC.
Not everything in our society can be solved by creating a new law, he said, adding dialogue might be a good solution.
Small businesses should have every right to serve who they want and who they dont want, he said. If youre a bigot or a racist, you probably wont be in business very long.
Pressed on what an LGBT person should do if they were to be refused housing, Lefor said he didnt have an immediate answer.
I dont know much about that at all, he said. My general comment is that I dont want anybody to be discriminated against. As far as some of those areas, thats where dialogue comes into play.
Meanwhile, Marshall said the law isnt about anything more than recognizing LGBT peoples rights.
She asked others to imagine waking up in a place where they could be denied service -- lodging, accommodation, the works.
Passing the law is as important as anything else, Benson said, because it signals support for LGBT people and the difficulties they face.
It's a step forward, she said. Or maybe two steps forward, especially for this state.
Regarded as one of the brilliant judges in the Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away in the city this morning after prolonged illness. He was 68. Justice Kabir was unwell for quite some time. He breathed his last today here, where he spent many years as lawyer. He enrolled as an Advocate in 1973 and practised in the District Court and Calcutta High Court on Civil and Criminal sides. Justice Kabir was appointed as a permanent Judge of Calcutta High Court in August, 1990 and as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court in March, 2005. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in September, 2005 and was appointed as 39th Chief Justice of India on September 29 2012, held the position till July 18, 2013. Justice Kabir was born in Calcutta in 1948 to a prominent Bengali Muslim family from the district of Faridpur (now in Bangladesh). He studied law at the University of Calcutta, Kolkata. His father, Jehangir Kabir was a leading Congress politician and tradeunion leader from West Bengal who served as a Minister in the B.C. Roy and P.C. Sen ministries and also went on to become a minister in the first non-Congress government in West Bengal in 1967 with Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. During his tenure as a Supreme Court judge, Justice Kabir delivered several important judgments, particularly relating to human rights and election laws. One of the most important cases he presided over was thatof Sandhya Manoj Wankhede of Amravati district in 2011. In this case theSupreme Court bench comprising Justices Kabir and Cyriac Joseph ruled thatfemale relatives of a husband can also be booked under the Domestic Violence Act. He also presided over the contempt case against prominent advocate and (the now disbanded) Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan after he alleged that half out of the last 16 CJIs had been corrupt. On October 19, 2012, he granted bail to journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmed Kazmi, arrested for his alleged involvement in the Israeli embassy vehicle blast case in which an Israeli diplomat's wife was injured. Pronouncing the order, Justice Kabir said, "We are unable to appreciate the procedure adopted by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, which has been endorsed by the High Court and we are of the view that the appellant (Kazmi) acquired the right for grant of statutory bail on July 17, 2012, when his custody was held to be illegal by the additional sessions judge. In the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) controversy in 2013, Justice Kabir's name came up just before he announced retirement. Reports which emerged during that time alleged that he and JusticeAnil Dave had leaked the pronouncement.UNI BM SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1156824.Xml
Police said, the youth, who has been identified as Gaur Ghosh, suddenly fell off a crowded Howrah bound down Medinipur local train between Uluberia and Phuleswar stations at around 0845 hours.
Later, Government Railway Police (GRP) recovered his body and sent for post-mortem. Due to the incident, rail service was disrupted for nearly half-an-hour.UNI XC-BM RN 1626
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Vice-President Hamid Ansari has said that Yoga was the science of controlling the fluctuations of mind, which was necessary for its proper functioning.This the Vice-President said while inaugurating the 10th anniversary celebration of Yogakshema, the first Iyengar Yoga Centre in Delhi. He also dwelt on the immense relevance of Yoga to all individuals. "Unless these fluctuations are not controlled, our body cannot function properly," he added.In the run-up to the foundation day, Shricharan Faeq Biria, one of the senior-most disciples of Guruji BKS Iyengar, conducted a week-long intensive workshop, which was attended by over 100 Iyengar Yoga students, half of them foreign nationals.Faeq Biria spoke about his 65-year association with Yoga and his journey with Guruji. While describing his first meeting with Guruji in Pune, he said he felt "this was Yoga as it should be". Faeq Biria said he considered Nivedita Joshi, a disciple of Guruji, a great miracle of Iyengar Yoga.Nivedita was virtually bedridden in her teens due to slip disc-cervical spondylitis and remained invalid for eight long and painful years. She lost all hope in life as every effort to cure her met with failure till destiny led her to Yogacharya BKS Iyengar and his Yoga Institute in Pune in the mid-90s. She went there initially for a month in a wheelchair but stayed on for a year and walked out unaided. Yoga gave back her life and her life became Yoga.Senior BJP leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, who spoke about science and spirituality, said Yoga is a wonderful gift to mankind by ancient Indian sages. He described BKS Iyengar's interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra as the best treatise on modern times.A short movie by Yogakshema students on Guruji BKS Iyengar and his disciple Nivedita Joshi was screened on the occasion.UNI MK SDR SNU 1415 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1156680.Xml
Condemning the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for its unruly behaviour in the Tamil Nadu Assembly yesterday, AIADMK legislature party leader A Anbazhagan today urged the Election Commission of India to cancel the recognition of the DMK party. Talking to the mediapersons here today, Mr Anbazhagan said that the DMK members led by their leader MK Stalin has taken a sharp (blade like) thing into the House and caused physical harm to Speaker. The House witnessed rowdyism by the Opposition to stall the AIADMK legislature party leader from proving his majority in the House. DMK has flouted all democratic conventions, he accused. Ambalagan demanded that the criminal proceedings may be initiated against DMK legislators and their leader Stalin. He also came down heavily on Congress and accused the party to be playing in the hands of DMK. Ambalagan extended greeting to party General Secretary VK Sasikala who, he said could uphold the values "by the people for the people" cherished by Jayalalithaa. It may be noted that Puducherry Unit of AIADMK, which so far maintained silence, has now come out in the open in support of Sasikala.UNI PAB SDR SNU 1429 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1156797.Xml
The mass nesting of Olive Ridleys is expected at any time at the golden beach of Nasi -2 island inside the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.Sanctuary Ranger Subrat Kumar Patra said the forest personnel have been waiting for last two days with the hope that the arribada (a Spanish term for mass nesting) would commence at any time as the environment has become conducive at the Nasi-2 beach. Mr Patra said the Olive Ridleys have congregated in thousands near the coast water. Even, the Southern wind, that is favourable for the turtle to lay eggs enmass , has started blowing though the intensity is slow. He said at any moment the southern wind would intensify its speed which would make the turtle to come to the golden beach of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, considered as the largest rookery of the species, for laying eggs enmass. Last year , the beach condition was not conducive as a one km long sand bar was formed in front of the coast, making it difficult for the Olive ridley sea turtle to reach the beach. But this time, Mr Patra said the sand bar has been vanished and the Olive ridley sea turtle would find themselves to negotiate to the beach from the coast water. Though, about 50/60 feet long sand bar has formed this time at the Nasi-2 beach, but it would not create any problem for turtle's to reach at the golden beach for laying eggs enmass, the Ranger said.Keeping in mind the mass nesting of the endangered turtle would occur at any moment, the sea surveillance has been intensified to restrict the trawler's entry into the Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary for catching fish. As many as 57 fishing trawlers were intercepted and 390 fishermen were arrested by the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary personnel for illegally catching fish inside the marine sanctuary area ever since the ban on fishing imposed on November 1 last. UNI XC DP RN 1819 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-1157206.Xml
Dubbing the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance as 'corrupt', Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday said people were aware of the misdoings of the Akhilesh Yadav-led government and hence, must strive to remove 'Jangalraj' from the state. "Under the Samajwadi Party Government, only corruption could be seen. People have suffered a lot. The party will now face the consequences in these elections. The 'Jangalraj' will be removed," Mayawati said, while addressing a rally in Jalaun. She further said that incumbent Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was the face of corruption and crime in the state and by joining hands with the Congress, he has reinforced the 'Jangalraj' in the state. "We are definitely going to win all the seats in the elections. The BSP will form the government in Uttar Pradesh with majority," she added. Mayawati further said that the opposition parties, especially the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were aware of their reputation in the state and hence, were scared to disclose the chief ministerial candidate. A total of 61.16 percent voter turnout was recorded as voting ended in the third phase of the ongoing assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. With over 826 candidates from 105 political parties contesting for 69 seats, polling began on Sunday morning for the crucial third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. (ANI)
The drama continued for "a few minutes" till the contact was restored.
The incident happened on Thursday, when the flight, destined for Heathrow airport in London, lost contact and was found surrounded by the two German fighter jets when the plane was detected in their territory.
There were 330 passengers along with 15 crew members on the flight.
"Jet Airways has duly reported the matter to the authorities concerned including the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). As part of the standard process, the flight crew of 9W 118 has been de-rostered pending investigation," the Jet Airways said in statement, adding that the contact with the plane was restored within a few minutes. UNI MK RSA 2037
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Police have arrested the accused in the sensational murder case of a former Corporator of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC). The police not only confirmed that ex-corporator Chilla Satyavathi (70) was smothered to death by a group of four people for property gain but also arrested all the four accused and they also recovered the goods stolen. Satyavathi was found lifeless in her room of her three-storey building in Alipuram area in the city onFebruary 14. Based on certain clues and post-mortem done by the forensic doctors at King George Hospital(KGH), the police zeroed down on the murder angle. DCP (Law and Order) Navin Gulati said their teams have cracked the mystery behind the murder and arrested tenants S Naga Raju (25), a native of Nalgonda district, his wife Sangu Padma, and his two juvenilesons aged 10 years and 17 years. The DCP said the accused Naga Raju, who works as a daily wage worker was tenant living in the second floor of the building. Raju hatched a plan to eliminate her for gain and convinced Satyavathi that his youngest son would give her company and sleep with her, as she was old and there may be some emergencies. As Satyavathi was childless she agreed to the offer as she had a liking for the young kid. On the day of themurder, Naga Raju gave a cell phone to his son and told him to call him up once Satyavathi was fast asleepand also open the door from inside. Based on the instruction of his father, when the elderly was asleep, son of Naga Raju opened the door and called his father. All the family members of Naga Raju entered inside the room of the woman andsmothered her to death with a pillow and made good with four bangles and a gold chain and went back to theirroom in the second floor, said DCP Gulati. Based on the post-mortem report and finger prints from the crime scene, the police have investigated thecase and suspected that Raju and his family were involved in the murder. The DCP said it was a sensational case as there were no initial clues and the needle of suspicion was pointing towards a different angle and finally nabbed the accused people.UNI BSR PY RSA 2046 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1157394.Xml
The woman had visited a pub in Hauz Khas village area in south Delhi on Saturday night with a group of friends. She was walking alone to her residence when the incident occurred.
"She was offered a lift home by the accused, who said his vehicle was parked at some distance," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Chinmoy Biswal told IANS.
The victim was under the influence when the incident occurred, Biswal said.
Thereafter, on the pretext of guiding the victim, the accused led her to an isolated stretch in the adjoining park area and allegedly sexually assaulted her, Biswal said.
The accused managed to escape from the spot, leaving the victim there, who later spotted a police vehicle and approached the policemen.
"A case has been registered in Hauz Khas police station and an investigation has been launched. Efforts are being made to ascertain the culprit's identity," the DCP said.
Police teams are examining the CCTV footage of the adjoining areas, pubs and other streets of Hauz Khas village area to identify the accused.
--IANS sp/vgu/dg
( 205 Words)
2017-02-19-21:24:07 (IANS)
In an attempt to frustrate attempts of bootleggers to make fast money by selling liquor in 'grey' market ahead of Holi festival, police arrested three bootleggers and seized huge consignments of liquor from different districts in 'dry' Bihar today. Patna Rail Police Superintendent Jitendra Mishra said here that huge consignments of liquor were seized at different railway stations in a special drive launched against liquor peddlers. He said a peddler identified as Raman Kumar, was arrested with 700 pouches of country liquor from a compartment of 18622 Hatia-Patna Express at Mokamah railway station in the district.He said similarly rail police seized 24 bottles of foreign liquor from an abandoned bag at Gaya railway station. Mr Mishra said 380 pouches of country liquor were seized from a bogie of 18624 Hatia-Patna Experss under Jehanabad GRP area.In another seizure, rail police recovered 50 pouches of country liquor from a bogie 18183 Tata-Danapur Express at Bakhtiyarpur railway station in the district. A Khagaria report said police arrested two liquor peddlers and seized huge consignment of foreign liquor worth nearly Rs 10 lakh under Pasraha police station area in the district. Police seized nearly 850 bottles of foreign liquor neatly stacked in 70 cartons in a pick-up van near Satish Nagar on National Highway 31 when the consignment was being smuggled from Siligudi West Bengal. Two liquor peddlers were arrested from the spot.UNI DH RN 2114 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-1157513.Xml
ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, said there is "a lot of concern" among Europe's leaders about whether Vice President Mike Pence was "really speaking for the president" when he addressed the Munich Security Conference about the U.S. commitment to NATO and Europe.
Speaking from Munich, Schiff said in a This Week interview that aired Sunday: When Mike Pence said that we want NATO members to pay up then you, in that case, he was speaking for the president. But when he talked about American commitment to NATO, when he talked about the commitment to Europe, I think there are still profound questions about whether he is, in those cases, really speaking for the president or speaking for himself.
The California congressman attended the Munich conference as did Vice President Pence, Republican Sen. John McCain, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
The vice president in his speech Saturday to the gathering of European leaders said, "Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in its commitment to our trans-Atlantic alliance."
"This is President Trump's promise: We will stand with Europe, today and every day, because we are bound together by the same noble ideals -- freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law," he added.
Pence also stressed the Trump administration's message that NATO members must all pay more toward defense.
President Trump referred to NATO as "obsolete" in an interview before his inauguration. He has since in conversations with foreign leaders talked about the importance of the alliance.
Schiff told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl that he wished the vice presidents speech in Munich was more like Sen. McCain's.
I wish the vice president had given the kind of speech that John McCain gave because I think that wouldve done a lot to reassure all of the NATO members here, European allies and others that are here, Schiff said.
In McCain's speech, he said he is aware there is "profound concern across Europe and the world that America is laying down the mantle of global leadership," but that this is not the message they would hear from him or other U.S. officials "who cared enough to travel here to Munich this weekend."
The Arizona senator also appeared to criticize Trump without naming him, lamenting a "hardening resentment we see toward immigrants, and refugees, and minority groups, especially Muslims" and saying, "More and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent."
On This Week, Karl also asked Schiff about his call for ret. Gen. Michael Flynn, who resigned last week as Trump's national security adviser, to testify before Congress and what the congressman would like to ask him.
Id like to ask him whether that conversation he had with the Russian ambassador was a one-off conversation or there were others who in the White House instructed him to have those conversations, whether he debriefed people in the administration after those conversations -- essentially who was aware that he had reported falsely to the vice president and the vice president in turn had misled the American people, Schiff said.
Flynn resigned from his position amid revelations he misled administration officials about whether he discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in conversations he had with Moscow's U.S. ambassador during the transition.
Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
People convicted of buying sex in North Dakota can now be sentenced to John School.
The University of Mary has completed the curriculum for an offender education program authorized last session by the state Legislature for people convicted of solicitation offenses.
Christina Sambor, director of FUSE, the states anti-trafficking coalition, said she anticipates the first course will be held during the first half of 2017. The goal of the program, often called a John School, is to address the demand for commercial sex as one approach to fight human trafficking.
I think this is a really important piece of the work, Sambor told state legislators recently. We have the supply because there is a demand.
University of Mary Professor Chad Litton, director of the criminal justice program, said the curriculum is modeled after the First Offender Prostitution Program in San Francisco and the Breaking Free program in St. Paul.
The concept behind this type of intermediate sentencing option is that certain offenders will not reoffend once they more fully understand the impact of their behavior on themselves and others, Litton said in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Judges can choose to sentence offenders to the one-day education program, including ordering them to pay for the course. The University of Mary can offer the course in different parts of the state, Litton said.
The curriculum, which will feature a victim impact panel, includes five sessions that focus on the risks and impacts of purchasing prostitution that the purchaser may not have been aware of at the time of the offense, Litton said.
The program is designed for offenders who purchase or attempt to hire adults for sex, Sambor said.
Eighteen men arrested last summer in Fargo-Moorhead in a sting called Guardian Angel would not have been eligible for the program because they attempted to hire minors for sex.
The law creating the offender education program has a sunset date of June 30, 2017, but state legislators are considering a bill that would remove that date and make the program permanent.
The proposal, Senate Bill 2302, passed unanimously in the Senate and will now be considered by House lawmakers. It has a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday.
According to sources at the airport, the passenger, hailing from Kerala, was apprehended at around 0400 hrs when he was found carrying two kg gold worth Rs 54.28 lakh.
In another seizure, Customs officials also seized cigarettes worth Rs 4.36 lakh from two passengers who arrived at the airport by an Air Arabia flight early morning.
Further investigation was underway, sources added.UNI AKM CJ RSA 2143
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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned world leaders against the perils of 'bio-terrorism', and stated that the time has come for dedicating funds on preparing for the looming threat. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Gates warned that the threat of bio-terrorism is "right up there with nuclear war and climate change," reports the CNN. The billionaire turned philanthropist, who has invested heavily in health initiatives around the globe, has began speaking out in the hopes of generating more investment in vaccines and medical research. He says it's now necessary for the world to prep for what he considers to be one of its largest existential threats: the next pandemic. "Whether it occurs by a quirk of nature or at the hand of a terrorist, epidemiologists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year. And they say there is a reasonable probability the world will experience such an outbreak in the next 10 to 15 years." Gates further pointed out that the most recent pandemic was even more deadly than that, which was a flu outbreak killed between 50 million and 100 million people in 1918. Gates said modern technology can help prevent such a large-scale death toll. "The good news is that with advances in biotechnology, new vaccines and drugs can help prevent epidemics from spreading out of control. I'm optimistic that a decade from now, we can be much better prepared for a lethal epidemic if we're willing to put a fraction of what we spend on defense budgets and new weapons systems into epidemic readiness," he said. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump at a rally in Florida again attacked the media as "fake news" and renewed pledges on Obamacare and border security. "They just don't want to report the truth," Trump on Saturday told the crowd of about 9,000 people in Melbourne. Addressing an event little changed from the rallies he gave on the campaign trail, the Republican called the media as "part of the problem" and "part of the corrupt system". "They have their own agenda, and their agenda is not your agenda," NBC News quoted the President as saying. Trump's attacks on the media came a day after the President on Twitter named five organisations, calling them "fake" news media and "the enemy of the American people". Trump earned applause for saying he would repeal and replace Obamacare, a line that consistently ushered in some of his loudest praise from crowds across the country in 2016. He promised a new healthcare plan to replace it "in a couple of weeks". It would be "great", he said, but did not expand further as to what it might entail. The President also previewed a new executive order to replace his court-blocked order temporarily suspending entry to the US of citizens from seven Muslim nations. "We will do something next week, I think you'll be impressed," Trump said. He complained about the appeals court judges who refused to reinstate his executive order, which critics have called a "Muslim ban". Trump has denied that. He called the judges' ruling "very sad" and read part of a statute giving authority to the President in matters of immigration and national security. "If you have a college education, you can understand it. If you have a high school education, you can understand it. If you were a bad student in high school, you can understand it," Trump said of the statute. Trump's Florida rally came at the end of a turbulent few weeks that saw court defeats over his travel restriction, and the resignation of his National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the US. Trump told the crowd gathered in a hangar at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport that his administration was on the right track. "I hear your demands, I hear your voices, and I promise you I will deliver," Trump said. "And by the way, you've seen what we've accomplished in a very short period of time -- the White House is running so smoothly, so smoothly." Trump said he "inherited one big mess" from the Obama administration. He reminded the crowd that the November 8 election was supposed to be "the greatest defeat in the modern history of American politics -- and it was, for the Democrats, not the Republicans". --IANS py/ ( 473 Words) 2017-02-19-09:06:06 (IANS)
The decree covers the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, the BBC reported.
"Identity papers, school or professional diplomas, birth and death certificates... issued by the competent bodies in the zones mentioned are recognised as valid by Russia," it said.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the move it was a "humanitarian decision".
Lavrov, who is currently in Munich for a NATO conference, also announced that heavy military hardware would be withdrawn from the region, and said a ceasefire would come into force on Monday.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has condemned the decision to recognise separatist passports.
Government officials in Ukraine called the decision a "deliberate escalation".
Foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said: "This decree fundamentally contravenes the logic of the Minsk agreements (2015 ceasefire deal signed in Minsk)."
Former acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, now the head of Ukraine's national security and defence council, echoed this, saying the Kremlin had "completely ruled out" a return to the ceasefire agreement, the BBC said.
Turchynov said: "The Minsk process provides for the de-occupation of eastern Ukraine and its restitution to the legal force of the state.
More than 9,700 people have died since the Ukraine conflict erupted in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.
Pro-Russian rebels later launched an insurgency in the east.
A ceasefire was agreed in February 2015 but there have been frequent violations. The latest truce began on December 23.
--IANS ksk
( 277 Words)
2017-02-19-10:32:06 (IANS)
US President Donald Trumps revised executive order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering America will be phased in and will likely exempt green-card holders, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. "The President is contemplating issuing a tighter, more streamlined version of the first (executive order)," Kelly said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. "I will have, this time, the opportunity...to work the roll-out plan in particular to make sure that there's no one in a sense caught in the system moving from overseas to our airports, which happened in the first release," he said. The phase-in period, Mattis said, would allow people who are already in transit to the US to still enter the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. He also said it was a "good assumption" that green card permit holders would be allowed into the country. "If they are in motion from some distant land, when they arrive, they will be allowed in," he said. Trump issued his initial travel ban order on January 27, but the move immediately faced backlash, with instances of refugees and green-card holders being detained at US airports or barred from entering the country. The administration attempted to clarify after the first couple days of the order's implementation that it did not affect green-card holders, The Hill magazine said. Several legal groups filed lawsuits against the administration, before a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the travel ban. That stay was upheld by the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. Trump has signalled that his administration would work on a new executive order that could more easily pass legal scrutiny. As a presidential candidate, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of foreign Muslims entering the US and frequently criticized the country's refugee resettlement programme, which he argued was detrimental to national security. --IANS ksk/vt ( 326 Words) 2017-02-19-13:00:07 (IANS)
Malaysian police said today that four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.The four North Koreans flew out of Malaysia, but police would not reveal the flight's destination, just that they were coordinating with Interpol to track them down.Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection to the murder of Kim Jong Nam, while a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have also been arrested. A Malaysian man is being detained to facilitate the investigation.Kim Jong Nam died on Monday after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he was catching a flight to Macau. South Korean and US officials have said he was assassinated by North Korean agents using what was thought to be a fast acting poison."I can confirm today that they (four North Korean suspects) have left our country the very same day the incident happen," deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ismail told reporters at a press conference."The four suspects are holding normal passports, not diplomatic passports," he said."Next plan is to get them. We of course have international cooperation especially with Interpol, bilateral involvement with the country involved, we will go through those avenues to get the people involved."Malaysian police said the cause of death was still not known and that they were waiting for pathology and toxicology tests after conducting a post-mortem.A diplomatic spat between North Korea and Malaysia over the body has escalated. North Korea has said it would reject Malaysia's autopsy report and accused Malaysia of "colluding with outside forces" -- a veiled reference to rival South Korea.The Malaysian police said they were trying to contact the next-of-kin of Kim Jong Nam. "The body must be identified. The most eligible to identify the body physically is the next-of-kin," Noor Rashid said."We will verify again through scientific means, so it is very important for close family members to come forward to assist us in process of identification base on legal procedures under Malaysian law."The police is giving the next-of-kin two weeks to claim the body. South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that Kim had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under China's protection.Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.The young, unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.REUTERS SDR PR1357 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1156778.Xml
Hasina made these remarks during a luncheon meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here on Saturday.
Asserting that Bangladesh is looking at the Myanmar refugee issue as a humanitarian effort, Hasina said it is imperative that they be moved out of the congested Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh at earliest to save the environment, sanitation system, landscape and nature.
Relocating them to a healthy and safe environment is an absolute must, Hasina told Merkel.
The Dhaka Tribune quoted the prime minister's Press Secretary, Ehsanul Karim, as saying that both leaders discussed various issues of mutual interests, including looking at ways to boost relations between the two countries in the areas of trade and business, development and refugee issues during their hour-long meeting.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangladesh and Germany on upgrading current machine readable passport system of the former and a joint declaration of intent on political exchange on counter terrorism. (ANI)
A suspected facilitator of the suicide attack at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine in Sehwan has been spotted bypassing a security check in a video released by the Sindh police on Sunday. Dawn quoted Inspector General Police of Sindh A.D. Khawaja as saying that the facilitator shown in the CCTV is Hafeez Brohi, who is suspected of being involved in the Shikarpur and Jacobabad blasts. He added that a man was arrested by the police in connection with the Sehwan blast in Johi and was sent to an undisclosed location for further investigation. The death toll in the deadly Lal Shahbaz Qalandar attack has risen to 88 since Friday night. The official list of casualties show that 76 bodies were received and handled at the Shah Abdullah Institute of Medical Sciences, four at the People's Medical University (PMH) Hospital in Shaheed Benazirabad, and eight at Chandka Medical University Hospital in Larkana. Meanwhile, the Sindh government will have the case investigated through Sindh police's Counterterrorism Department (CTD), similar to the suicide bombings in Jacobabad during Ashura and at Shikarpur's shrine, and then again last year in Shikarpur on the second day of Eidul Azha. Officials believe there might be some handler or facilitator of the suicide bomber who must have provided logistical support. Sehwan police had lodged a case on Friday against one suicide bomber and three facilitators involved in the Feb 16 suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The shrine has now been opened for the general public. Police had also completed the geo-fencing part of the investigation, which entails police and security agencies obtaining data of all calls, incoming and outgoing, that have touched the towers of different cell phone companies in a given area. (ANI)
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Saturday, Trump said he had "many, many that want the job" and even hinted that he had a favourite to fill the position, as reported by Fox News.
Scheduled to discuss the job with the President at Mar-a-Lago were his acting advisor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said more meetings for the job could happen, which is now open after retired Michael Flynn resigned after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition.
Earlier, Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.
Trump tweeted on Saturday that he "will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House." (ANI)
The United Nations and other parties to Syrian peace efforts on Sunday softened any expectations of a major breakthrough at UN-led talks in Geneva next week, with US policy on the crisis in disarray and its ties with Russia unclear.UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told the Munich Security Conference the lack of a clear US position made resolving the complex issues of the six-year civil war far more complicated than his earlier mediation efforts for Iraq and Afghanistan."I can't tell you (if it will succeed), but we have to push with the momentum. Even a ceasefire cannot hold too long if there is no political (solution)," he said, referring to the shaky ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana.Questions abound over Washington's approach to ending the war, even after the first international foray by members of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy team. It remains unclear if Trump will make good his promise to build closer ties to Russia, especially in the fight against Islamic State."One thing I'm missing at the moment ... is a clear US strategy," de Mistura told delegates. "Where are the United States (on a political solution)? I can't tell you, because I don't know."The UN-led intra-Syrian talks will resume in Geneva on Thursday after de Mistura broke them off almost nine months ago following several rounds that led ultimately to an escalation of violence.President Bashar al-Assad is in his strongest position since the early days of the civil war, which began as a popular uprising in the spring of 2011 before spiralling into a war that has killed up to 400,000 combatants and civilians.He told French media last week that he deemed all those fighting him to be terrorists, signalling that the government delegation is likely to remain steadfast in the Geneva talks.US officials have ruled out cooperating with Russia militarily until it has persuaded Damascus to take a broader view, European diplomats said last week.De Mistura said the talks will focus on a new constitution, free and fair elections administered under supervision of the United Nations, and transparent and accountable governance.Several delegates questioned him on why the UN was no longer using the phrase "political transition" to describe the goals of the talks. The opposition considers the term to mean a removal of Assad or at least an erosion of his powers.De Mistura did not answer directly, but said he remained focused on UN Security Council resolution 2254, with its focus on governance, a new constitution and elections.Syrian National Coalition President Anas al-Abdah said it was clear that Assad had to go. "We cannot address the profound security threats ... while Assad remains in power," he said.WAITING FOR TRUMPThe United States, Gulf Arab states and Turkey back rebel forces but the situation is complicated by the role of hardline Islamist factions, including Islamic State, in the anti-Assad movement opposed by both Washington and Moscow.US envoy Brett McGurk said the administration was doing a full review of its Syria policy that is due to be completed in the coming weeks, but cautioned against setting expectations too high."I don't think the US will come in with a one-size fits all solution because there isn't one," McGurk told delegates to the annual security conference.McGurk said Washington was focused heavily on liberating Raqqa from Islamic State control, adopting Trump's "America First" theme."We will be selfish about advancing our interests. Number One we have to defeat Daesh. It is a significant threat to all of us. Right now Daesh is sitting in Raqqa and it is where they are planning major attacks against all of us."Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, called for urgent efforts by other states, warning that the Syrian government could repeat brutal tactics seen in the siege of Aleppo."God help the Syrian people if we are waiting for Donald Trump to provide the solution," he said. "It is incumbent on all of us to step forward while the US is in disarray." REUTERS CJ BL2123 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1157510.Xml
Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will explore closer defence ties after a meeting on Sunday between a senior Australian government minister and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.Australia's Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne and Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, met on the sidelines of the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.The two agreed to consider a 10-year defence plan that could include more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($767 million) in sales to the UAE, Pyne told Reuters."What the Crown Prince is talking about is a more mature long-term relationship built around security and procurement," he said.Australia has military personnel stationed in the UAE, taking part in the United States-led campaign against Islamic State.A final agreement has yet to be reached but could include a transfer of knowledge from Australian to UAE companies."They are looking for genuine partners, not just foreign military sales, and that suits Australia's attitude extremely well," Pyne said.Sales could include everything from ammunition to large items such as "high-speed support vessels", he said."We have very significant capabilities, particularly around coastal protection and surveillance, which I think we should be sharing with our Middle Eastern partners."Australian companies could finalise hundreds of millions of dollars in defence sales to the UAE at IDEX this week, Pyne added.The UAE, a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, has invested heavily in its domestic defence manufacturing capabilities through international partnerships.It is also a close US ally and a global trade, transport and tourism hub. The development of its defence industries has been led by Abu Dhabi, the UAE's main petroleum-exporting emirate, to boost the non-oil economy."I think potential here for defence procurement partnerships as well as security partnerships is very significant," Pyne said, calling the UAE one of Australia's "closest friends in the Arab world".The UAE is part of the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting in Yemen against the Iran-allied Houthi movement in support of the country's internationally recognised government.It has also taken part in the United States-led effort against Islamic State.IDEX opened on Sunday with a military demonstration watched by Sudan President Omar al-Bashir alongside Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mohammed bin ZayedREUTERS CJ BL2124 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1157511.Xml
Categorically denying any competition with China in African countries, Vice President M Hamid Ansari today said both the countries have their own style of working as well as capacity. Addressing mediapersons on board a special aircraft on its way to two East African countries, Rwanda and Uganda, the Vice-President said as far as the cooperation and developmental works in African Countries were concerned, there was no competition with China or any other country."We are not in competition with China or any other country as far as development co-operation in Africa is concerned," Dr Ansari said, adding that China has its own style of working and capacity and India has its own. He stated that ''India has its own expertise and knowledge in various fields and it depends upon the African Countries what they want from us. ''We have left it to our development partners working in Africa.''To a query regarding the protest against the installation of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Uganda, the Vice-President said that it was very local and very sporadic. ''We don't want to reiterate the point who Mahatma Gandhi was ? '' he stated, adding that Mahatma Gandhi started his crusade from Africa and brought it to India. With African countries, India enjoys very special, old and strong bonding and no protest or agitation can spoil it. Regarding racial attacks on African nationals in India, he emphasised that the government has made its stand very clear that this type of act by any anti-national as well as anti-social elements would not be tolerated. He remarked the 12 recent visits to African Countries, including three by President Pranab Mukherjee and four by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were a part of the government policy to develop bilateral ties with the African countries.The Vice-President left Delhi today for five-day official visits to Rwanda and Uganda. The first leg of his tour starts from Rwanda where he will meet Rwandan President Paul Kagame and President of the Senate of Rwanda, Mr Bernard Makuza besides other engagements. He will fly to Uganda on February 21 for the second leg of the tour, where he has several engagements.The Vice-President is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Social Justice and EmpowermentVijay Sampla among others.UNI SKT CJ RSA 2158 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1157539.Xml
- The Swedish embassy in Washington has asked the US State Department for an explanation of a comment made by President Donald Trump that suggested there had been some sort of security incident in Sweden today. The US President was speaking at at a political rally in Florida on Saturday when, in connection with the mention of a need to keep the United States safe, he said: "You look at what's happening in Germany. You look at what's happening last night in Sweden."Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible." Trump did not elaborate on the Swedish reference, leaving many Swedes baffled."We have asked the question today to the state department. We are trying to get clarity," said Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson.Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom apparently responded on Twitter with the remark "owing to certain circumstances", followed by a passage from her speech in parliament last week on Sweden's foreign policy.The passage read: "In 2016, 'post-truth' was named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries. Both functioning democracy and constructive cooperation between states require us to speak with, and not about, each other, to honour agreements and to allow ideas to compete. They also require us to respect science, facts and the media, and to acknowledge each other's wisdom."Many Swedes on Twitter mocked Trump's remark using the hashtag #LastNightInSweden. Former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt also took to Twitter, saying: "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound."REUTERS CJ BL2309 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1157570.Xml
This file photo taken on March 31, 2016 shows the Roman Theatre in the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria. (AFP PHOTO)
DAMASCUS, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian forces have become 24 kilometers from the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, as part of an operation to retake the city that was captured for the second time by the Islamic State (IS) group last December, a monitor group reported on Saturday.
Intense battles are raging between the Syrian army and IS militants in the deserts of Palmyra in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The UK-based monitor group said the battles, backed by intense airstrikes on the IS positions, a fresh advance of the Syrian army and allied fighters in the deserts of the ancient oasis city.
It said the Syrian army had captured large swathes of the Bayarat area near Palmyra, adding that large casualties were reported for both sides.
The IS recaptured Palmyra last December after bringing in reinforcements. It also retook the gas and oil fields around.
The Syrian forces have so far succeeded in capturing the key Hayan gas field, the largest gas production facility in Syria. They are advancing toward the Jazel oil field, reaching the outskirts of it.
In its second attempt to invade the city, the IS blew up the facade of the historical amphitheater as well as other relics and monuments in Palmyra, in addition to other key temples destroyed in their first invasion.
Syrian Culture Minister Muhammad Ahmad recently said the bombing of the historical heritage in the ancient oasis city of Palmyra by the IS group is a "war crime."
"These monuments are not only the property of Syria, but the whole world," Ahmad said, urging the international community to shoulder its responsibility in protecting Syria's world heritages.
AMMAN, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Saturday expressed hope of the resumption of trade exchange with Iraq following the closure of the crossing border between the two countries, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
At a meeting with a delegation of Iraqi business people and officials, Mulki said that the relationship between Jordan and Iraq is strategic.
He added that the ongoing security conditions in Iraq have negatively affected the trade exchange.
The prime minister stressed on the need to speed up efforts to reopen the main crossing border between Iraq and Jordan to facilitate trade flow.
In addition, he stressed on the need to go ahead with the project to build a pipeline between south of Iraq and Jordan.
The project entails exporting crude oil from Iraq to Jordan's Aqaba and then later selling to several markets.
Iraqi Ambassador Safia Suheil said there are intensive efforts underway to reopen the border.
ALGIERS, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Saturday urged his people to vote massively in the legislative elections of May 4, while warning of what he called "foreign plot" that aims at harming national stability.
"Algeria will hold the legislative elections (scheduled for May 4) as the people will vote for their representatives at the People's National Assembly (lower house of parliament), and therefore I call on the sons of our country to exert their right while massively participating at these polls," Bouteflika said in a message to the people on the occasion of the National Martyr Day, read on his behalf by his personal adviser, Mohamed Ali Boughazi.
President Bouteflika reassured that the forthcoming elections will be fair and free within the framework of the Constitution and Law. He implicitly replied to the opposition parties who are still skeptical that the May 4 elections would be tricked, as some of these parties have decided not to participate in the polls, while some others have been urging the people not to vote.
The May 4 elections are the sixth electoral contest since 1989, the year that the North African nation has adopted multi-party system.
Photo taken on Feb. 18, 2017 shows the site of a bus accident in Mendoza, Argentina on Feb. 18, 2017. At least 19 people were killed and 21 injured in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday when a bus heading to neighboring Chile overturned in central Argentina's Mendoza province. (Xinhua/Gendarmeria Nacional/TELAM)
BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people were killed and 21 injured in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday when a bus heading to neighboring Chile overturned in central Argentina's Mendoza province.
The bus, belonging to Chilean company Turbus, crashed on national highway 7, as it was going round a curve at high speed, according to a survivor.
"It was going very fast, the driver had no experience and he didn't know the route," passenger Leandro Torres said, according to the national news agency Telam.
The daily La Nacion later reported the vehicle's speedometer "registered 100 kilometers an hour at the time of the accident," confirming the driver had ignored signs setting the speed limit at 40 kph at the turn.
The "Curva del Yeso" is one of 10 dangerous curves identified by the National Gendarmerie along that highway, the daily said, calling the incident "the biggest roadway tragedy in the history of Mendoza."
Torres said he was riding in the middle of the bus, which was carrying 40 passengers, and had fallen asleep.
"I woke up when the bus was already airborne, and I felt the blow," Torres added.
In a statement, the bus company defended the driver and his assistant, which have been detained by authorities, saying "they rest well before each departure and know the route very well."
The passenger list included 32 Argentinians, four Chileans, a Haitian and a Colombian, as well as the drivers.
The injured were taken to area hospitals.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan said Saturday that foreign hand is behind recent terrorist attacks.
He did not mention any country but said the culprits involved in Lahore and Peshawar incidents have been identified and it is proved that terrorists are using Afghan refugees as facilitators for their acts.
Talking to reporters in Islamabad, he said some suspects have been arrested from Attock, Hazro and Taxila, three towns in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.
More operations will be carried out in the coming days to apprehend the foreign elements and their local facilitators, the minister said.
"Terrorists are making an organized effort to disrupt the law and order situation, but they will never in their nefarious designs," the minister said after a series of bombings shook the country.
He said that Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the last four decades and now it is the responsibility of the refugees to point out the terrorist elements from their ranks.
"The Afghan government has been asked to take strict actions against the terrorists wanted by Pakistan or hand them over to Pakistan to bring them to justice," Nisar said.
Officials say that nearly 100 people have been killed and over 300 others injured in terrorists attacks over the last five days.
Daesh, or the Islamic State group in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack at a shrine in southern Sindh province which killed 88 people, while two Taliban groups claimed attacks in Lahore and Peshawar.
TIRANA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Albania's state police said Saturday that after several days of man hunt across the country, the police managed to arrest the last suspect of the roughly 3.2 million U.S. dollar heist that took place in Albania's capital near Rinas airport on Feb. 9, 2016.
The person arrested Saturday, Admir Murataj, is the main suspect for organizing the heist. The four other suspects were arrested a few days ago.
The police said that they have retrieved the major part of the stolen money. Police officers found dollars, pounds, euros and Swiss francs buried underground in pressure cookers and other pots.
Five gunmen stole and left with several bags of money from two security vans in broad daylight in a quite spectacular way.
The heist took place at midday so many drivers stopped to film the heist on their mobile phones and published the footage on social media.
This incident spurred strong debates and concerns among the public on the role of the private security companies, contracted to carry out such operators, in this case the escort of bank's money.
Video footage showed thieves calmly transferring around ten large bags of cash into their vehicles, which they abandoned and burnt later on.
According to the footage, it seemed that the five security guards had failed to inform police on time as well as hadn't turned on the cameras inside their vehicles. Further on, the GPS tracking device that should have been inside the money bags were found under the driver's seat of one of the vans.
All these elements made state police suspect that the private police guards were involved in the heist. Therefore the prosecution ordered their arrest on suspicion of being collaborators of the gang.
Now, that the fifth person of suspected is under arrest it seems that the police are about to solve the puzzle and unveil the whole heist scheme.
The Albanian prosecution office declared two days ago that they had enough evidence that showed that these persons were also involved in previous heists.
According to prosecution, the heist in Qafe Kashar, near Tirana, was done in the same way as the spectacular armed robbery that took place in June 30 in the country's sole international airport, where three armed persons robbed around 3 million euro worth of cash. They broke into the airport's security takeoff area in a movie-like scenario without being noticed or stopped by anyone.
At that time, the heist sparked serious concerns for national security in Albania, since it was the first time Albania witnessed such big robbery in terms of stolen money but also in terms of the way how it was done in the middle of the day, at an area which is supposed to have high security.
Police reported that the robbers broke into the airport's security area and managed to steal an amount of money that was being transported from the airport terminal to a plane on behalf of a commercial bank in Albania.
Another private security company, escorting the money, was made responsible but no one was imprisoned for the heist.
In October 2016, another big heist took place in Albania's capital, Tirana where armed and masked thieves got away with jewelry worth half a million euros.
Even that heist attracted public attention as the thieves used a house next to the jewelry store and demolished the wall to enter the store. The police suspected that the gang who stole the jewelry were the same who stole the money at Rinas Airport.
These three big heists that have taken place in a time span of around one year have prompted actions from Albanian authorities.
Several meetings were held this week between the state police, the representatives of the second-tier banks operating in Albania and the representatives of the private security companies.
The Bank of Albania and the State Police reached a cooperation agreement under which the state police will be engaged too in the transporting of money from the banks to airport or within the country.
Meantime, the Minister of Interior Sajmir Tahiri called for more cooperation between banks and state authorities while he also stressed that all state mechanisms would be put in place to increase the wages of the private security guards which currently are quite low.
The low wage of the employees of private companies has been considered as the main reason that makes these guards an easy prey to criminal elements who hire them as informants. Enditem
CANBERRA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has not ruled out working with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in the Middle East, the nation's defense minister said Sunday.
Following high-level international defense talks in Brussels last week, at which Australia's Defense Minister Marise Payne met with counterparts including U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Australian government has said it would consider working with Russia to get a desirable outcome in war-torn Syria.
"Australia is willing to work with any nation that is willing to make a constructive contribution to the fight against (Islamic State)," Payne told Fairfax Media on Sunday.
"As matters advance in Syria, these are matters the government will consider but I'm not going to make any further comment on that at the moment."
Australia has previously been hesitant to throw its support behind Russia's foray into the Middle East, but following the election of Donald Trump, the United States, Australia's closest ally, has indicated it was open to forming closer ties with the Kremlin to defeat IS.
Payne's comments came after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was also open to the idea of increasing Australia's presence in the region, if requested by Australia's military allies.
"(But) I should say that Australia already has one of the largest, if not the largest presence in the alliance against IS, other than the United States in foreign contributions," Turnbull said Friday from New Zealand, where he met with counterpart Bill English.
BUDAPEST, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The chances of Hungary to host the 2024 Olympic games have seriously diminished due to a domestic anti-Olympic petition, according to Budapest's bidding committee for the 2024 Games.
On Friday, opponents of the bid presented officials over 266,151 signatures seeking a referendum, almost double of the 138,000 needed.
"Over the last couple of weeks, a common national goal has become a dispute between political parties. The common political will to support the Hungarian Olympic games does not exist anymore, and without unbroken political and community unity, Budapest has no chance of competing against Paris and Los Angeles, who are among the biggest and richest cities of the world," the Budapest 2024 bid committee said in statement Saturday.
The committee also said that they would suspend all further work and payments relevant to the 2024 Olympic games until the leadership of the city of Budapest and the Hungarian government comes to an agreement on how to proceed in the lights of the recent events.
On Friday, the Mayor of Budapest, Istvan Tarlos, told journalists that he was considering to withdraw officially from the bid, as early as the middle of next week.
"The opposition parties have said the same thing about the hosting of the Olympic games for 13 years, and now suddenly, since the last one or two months, they say the contrary," Tarlos complained in an interview on Hungarian national television M1.
The mayor also told that he met with Prime minister Viktor Orban, and they have agreed to discuss the current events, both at the City Hall and within the government until next Wednesday, then they would meet again to decide about the "ethical and practical" steps that needed to be made.
Finally, Tarlos made clear that he still believed that Budapest would benefit from the Olympic games, but that he also "acknowledges the will of the people," and underlined that "266,000 signatures meant a lot."
According to recent polls, the majority of the citizens of Budapest do not want their city to host the 2024 summer Olympic Games. It is clear that if a referendum would be held, the voters would reject the hosting of the Olympics.
YANGON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 69 attackers were killed during area clearance operations between Oct. 9 and Feb. 9 in northern Myanmar, according to statistics of the State Counselor's office released on Sunday.
About 20 clashes between government security forces and the attackers occurred during the period following the Oct. 9 incident.
During the clashes, the attackers killed 13 civilians and burned down 10 houses.
A total of 585 attackers have been arrested and some are under investigation. Among them, 39 are facing trials for killing people, destroying public property and communicating with illegal organizations.
The Myanmar military has claimed the end of area clearance operations on Friday and is currently cooperating with police to maintain stability and rule of law in the area.
Three border outposts in Maungtaw, Rakhine state came under violent attack by armed men on Oct. 9 last year, in which 10 policemen and seven soldiers were killed.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed in Maungtaw since Oct. 10 but the curfew hours have been relaxed since Feb. 10.
Following the Oct. 9 incident, the government formed a 13-member investigation commission, led by Vice President U Myint Swe, to probe into the background of the Oct. 9 violent attack.
The commission released an interim report on Jan. 4, exposing that the armed attack in Maungtaw was conducted by Havid Tuhar-led Aqa Mul Mujahidin linked with Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) operating in the region.
News program about the death of Kim Jong Nam, the older half-brother of the DRPK leader and the eldest son of late leader Kim Jong Il, is seen on TV at the Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police said on Saturday they have detained a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen suspected to be involved in the death of a DPRK man identified by Malaysian authorities as Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un.
The male suspect was identified as "Ri Jong Chol," who was born on May 6, 1970, in the DPRK, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement, citing information on the ID card in the suspect's possession, known in Malaysia as "i-Kad," used by foreign workers living in the country.
Abdul Samah Mat, police chief of Selangor state who leads a criminal investigation in the case, told Xinhua that the suspect was caught Friday after police forces raided a condominium in Selangor.
He declined to reveal the links between the DPRK man and two female suspects detained previously, one with Vietnamese travel document and the other an Indonesian. A local Malaysian male has also been detained to assist investigation.
Members of the media wait outside the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 16. 2017. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
The 46-year-old Kim Jong Nam was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Though police has completed postmortem on the deceased, Abdul said the police still need the body in their investigation and will not transfer the body to the DPRK embassy before they receive DNA samples from the next-of-kin.
Meanwhile, DPRK Ambassador Kang Chol said on Friday that they will "categorically reject" the results of the postmortem conducted by Malaysia and demanded an immediate transfer of the body.
The DPRK embassy in Malaysia has not confirmed the identity of the suspect.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri on Sunday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between their countries.
In his message to Macri, Xi said China and Argentina are sincere friends and partners with mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
Xi noted that since China and Argentina established diplomatic relations 45 years ago, bilateral ties have undergone substantial development.
The Chinese president recalled he had two fruitful meetings with Macri last year, in which the two leaders reached important consensuses on strengthening bilateral cooperation in all fields.
Xi said he attaches great importance to developing ties with Argentina, willing to work with Macri to foster a better future for the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership so as to bring more benefit to the two countries and peoples.
In his message, Macri said that since China and Argentina established diplomatic relations in 1972, bilateral friendly cooperation has been continuously deepened and bilateral ties have been lifted to a new height of comprehensive strategic partnership.
He said that since both Argentina and China have magnificent development agendas, they should support each other, tackle challenges together, pursue common development and improve the welfare of the two peoples. Argentina is ready to work with China to continuously advance bilateral ties.
by Edna Alcantara and Ni Ruijie
TIJUANA, Mexico, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The complicated relationship between Mexico and the United States, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's hostile protectionist policies and playground bullying tactics, has made Mexico rethink its relations with its northern neighbor, a Mexican trade expert told Xinhua.
The current Mexico-U.S. relationship has offered an opportunity "for us to realize that the Asian continent is also our neighbor," one that lies across the Pacific Ocean from Mexico's western coast, said Humberto Jaramillo Rodriguez, president of Tijuana's advocacy group Business Coordinating Council (CCE).
North Mexico's border city of Tijuana is on the frontline of the country's recent clashes with Trump over trade and immigration.
The city, in northern Baja California state, would be among the first affected by Trump's bid to curb trade and migration, and the construction of a border wall.
Jaramillo said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that he would like to see Mexico attach more importance to Asian markets.
"Baja California, and Mexico in general, has great opportunities in cooperating with Asian countries like China. I believe that China and Mexico have opportunities for further development. For example, the television industry has seen the participation of Chinese companies," said Jaramillo.
Goods can be shipped from Baja California's port of Ensenada "to any country in Asia, the Pacific Ocean connects us in a faster way. Distance is no longer an impediment," said the advisor.
Similarly, Mexico can serve as a point of entry for Asian goods destined for the North American market, which would save Asian companies both time and money.
"Companies will find it more economical to import their supplies via this route," said Jaramillo.
The North American market, comprising Canada, Mexico and the United States, has a combined output of some 19 trillion U.S. dollars, and is home to 474 million consumers.
The CCE, together with the Mexican Business Council, has presented President Enrique Pena Nieto a project called "Force Mexico," which aims to promote the country's strengths.
Pena Nieto acknowledged the current tension in bilateral ties with the United States, but said his country will work to find common ground with the new U.S. administration, especially in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a two-decade-old treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
According to Jaramillo, the relationship between Mexico and the United States should not be one of competition, but of cooperation. Securing a win-win agreement will benefit both sides.
Asked about Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on Mexican imports as a way to finance the border wall, he said the measure would only impact U.S. consumers by making "their products more expensive."
"It is possible that you can embrace globalization without disregarding the domestic market," as China has shown, noted Jaramillo.
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of the city of Mosul.
BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- On the eve of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Argentina, experts and officials from both sides highly praised the smooth and speedy development of bilateral relations in the past four decades.
The two countries established diplomatic ties on Feb. 19, 1972. The following are highlights from statements or interviews with political leaders, diplomats, economists, advisers and experts of both sides.
"Our link with China is a link we assign enormous importance to. We have complementary capacities: China needs to work on its food security and Argentina is a very good partner for that. Argentina needs more energy and China is a very good partner for that. Argentina needs very much to improve its infrastructure and China has been very successful in building new infrastructure, and that complementarity should work very well," Argentine President Mauricio Macri said.
Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said: "Our ties are at a very good juncture. The prior administration (of ex-president Cristina Fernandez) signed an agreement of a strategic nature (and) we have sustained and maintained it, the commitment is there and we are moving forward. There are multiple topics on which we are working that show that mutual interest in maintaining this relationship is very high, and we will continue to do that."
Chinese Ambassador to Argentina Yang Wanming said: "It is with great satisfaction that today I see our binational ties bolstered, transforming a traditional friendship into a comprehensive strategic partnership. China and Argentina, situated at two opposite extremes of the Earth, and despite the distance that separates them, maintain a longstanding friendship that is renewed and strengthened with the passing of time."
Diego Guelar, Argentine Ambassador to China, said: "Our ties with China are the most important world ties Argentina has, both because of the current agenda and because of its potential to grow and deepen. We are building a long-term, mature relationship that is not tied to ideology, but to national interest. China is a central player in the international system, complementary with our country and interested in continuing to consolidate bilateral ties."
Wang Liang, commercial attache at China's embassy in Buenos Aires, said: "Bilateral ties have reached a very high level, considering that 45 years ago we started from a very low level. Political trust between the two countries, like pragmatic cooperation, has increased significantly. China is Argentina's second-largest trade partner, the leading destination for Argentina's agricultural exports and also the third-biggest foreign investor in Argentina."
Argentina's former Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana (2005-2010) said: "Over the past four decades, ties between Argentina and China were strengthened and deepened at various levels. Undoubtedly, the accelerated increase in trade exchange is a notable factor, but political, economic, cultural, social and academic ties between the two countries also intensified starting in 2003, when Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) became president."
Estanislao Zawels, director for Asia and Oceania at Argentina's Foreign Ministry, said: "In addition to the political and economic ties between the two governments, and the cooperation in multilateral forums, our bilateral relationship is cemented in increasing mutual knowledge of each other's civil societies. Over the past years, the binational relationship has seen harmonious and fluid development."
Economist Gustavo Girado, head of consulting firm Asia & Argentina, said: "The bilateral relationship Argentina has with China is one of the two or three most important relationships the country has worldwide. For Argentina, China has not only become a highly important trade partner, but also a very important and special investor and political partner."
Sergio Cesarin, coordinator of the Asia-Pacific and India Studies Center at the Tres de Febrero National University, said: "The (two) countries ... maintain very deep political dialogues on many issues, and the economic agenda has been greatly expanded, from the perspective of trade. The economic and social players taking part in the relationship have gradually increased, and the number of treaties and bilateral agreements are another indicator."
SAPPORO, Japan, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Eri Yanetani won the women's snowboard giant slalom event here on Sunday, pocketing the first gold at the eighth Asian Winter Games.
Yanetani, born in 1984, finished first in both runs with a combined time of 1 minutes and 43.47 seconds. "The track is with some difficulty. I tried my best and performed well in general," she said.
China's Zang Ruxin and Gong Naiying took the second and third place in the event, respectively, winning two medals for China.
"I feel proud and honored," said Zang, as the medalists will receive their awards at the opening ceremony to be held later in the day.
China's giant slalom team are making their first Winter Asiad appearance in Sapporo. Zang said although the giant slalom is a relatively new sport in China, the country has been making steady progress and catching up with other countries.
In the men's giant slalom event, South Koreans Lee Sang-ho and Choi Bo-gun won the gold and silver medals respectively, while the bronze went to Japan's Shinnosuke Kamino. China's Bi Ye took the sixth place.
JAMESTOWN Planning the next steps for a soybean crushing plant project at Spiritwood is entering some of the final stages, according to Scott Austin, manager for Minnesota Soybean Processors, the company planning the project.
Were further along than most companies when they make an announcement, he said. We had a great opportunity to announce it (the planned plant construction) at Fargo at the farm show.
The announcement was made Feb. 7 at the Northern Soybean Expo. Bruce Hill, president of Minnesota Soybean Processors, Gov. Doug Burgum and Doug Goehring, North Dakota commissioner of agriculture, were among those participating in the announcement.
The planned plant will process up to 42 million bushels of soybeans per year and has an estimated cost of $240 million. When operational, the plant will employ 55 to 60 people.
Austin said the company anticipates finishing its engineering and planning work in the next 30 days and the financing of the plant shortly after that.
On the local front, the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. is also working on tasks necessary to move the plant forward, according to Corry Shevlin, business development manager for the JSDC.
Plans call for the soybean crushing plant to be located on 150 acres of a 320-acre parcel owned by the JSDC adjacent to the Spiritwood Energy Park Association industrial park in Spiritwood Township.
The SEPA industrial park is owned as a partnership between the JSDC and Great River Energy. Dakota Spirit AgEnergy is located in the SEPA park with GREs Spiritwood Station, a coal-fired generating plant, located across the road. Spiritwood Station provides steam energy to DSA and Cargill Malt and will provide steam to the soybean crushing plant when it is constructed.
Shevlin said transferring the land from the JSDC to SEPA and planning for any additional rail line and roads will likely occur this spring.
We need to figure out how much (infrastructure) and who pays for it, he said. Were in talks to add some roads, but we need to see the design of the project before we develop the road plans.
The SEPA Board of Directors will make some of those decisions, Shevlin said. The boards meeting for the first quarter of 2017 has not been scheduled yet.
Water for the crushing plant is one area where little planning is needed, according to Geneva Kaiser, manager of Stutsman Rural Water District.
Kaiser said the plant has an estimated need of between 250 gallons and 300 gallons per minute.
That is within our current capabilities, she said. Were permitted for that amount of industrial water from the wells in Winfield Township.
Stutsman Rural Water District already has a 14-inch industrial water line at the SEPA site that will be used to provide water to the soybean crushing plant. Another existing water line at the industrial park will provide office and drinkable water for the soybean plant.
I dont believe well have to make a big investment, Kaiser said. Well make some new connections but no major projects.
Austin said the soybean crushing plant has been in the planning stages for about 18 months. One factor in the location selection was the amount of soybeans grown in the area. Other factors included the cooperation with SEPA, JSDC and the community of Jamestown, Austin said.
We spent a great deal of time in the last year and a half to make sure this will work, he said. There will be a lot more information in the future. We have been cautious and conservative in our announcements.
MANILA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines will deploy some 300 erring policemen to Basilan, an impoverished island province which is home to the country's most violent Islamic militants, for punishment, a senior military officer said Sunday.
Gen. Eduardo Ano, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the policemen will guard town centers in the remote province where kidnappings and bombings happen regularly.
"They (the policemen) will beef up the (military forces) in priority areas. Their main job is to take care of the town centers, urban centers so that the (military troops) can concentrate on the hinterlands," Ano told reporters in Baguio City.
Philippine national police chief Ronald dela Rosa said that the policemen will be flown to Basilan by the military's C-130 Hercules plane.
The deployment of the policemen on Baislan island was directed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte himself.
On Feb. 7, an irked Duterte spoke to at least 300 erring policemen lined up on the grounds of the presidential palace.
He condemned the police officers, all under investigation for their involvement in criminal activities, as "foolish, idiots and sons of bitches."
"I will send you to Basilan, live there for two years," Duterte shouted at the policemen. "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."
He said that those who would refuse to be deployed could quit the service.
"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 are mostly ex-police or ex-military men," Duterte said.
The Abu Sayyaf is the most violent Islamic group involved in a resurgence of violence in the southern Philippines by pursuing a more fundamental battle against the Philippine authorities.
They operate in the remote islands provinces of Basilan and Sulu, where they carry out kidnappings for ransom, robbery, extortion and other criminal activities. They are notorious of beheading kidnapped victims who failed to pay ransom.
News program about the death of Kim Jong Nam, the older half-brother of the DPRK leader and the eldest son of late leader Kim Jong Il, is seen on TV at the Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 14, 2017.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police said on Saturday they have detained a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen suspected to be involved in the death of a DPRK man identified by Malaysian authorities as Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un.
The male suspect was identified as "Ri Jong Chol," who was born on May 6, 1970, in the DPRK, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement, citing information on the ID card in the suspect's possession, known in Malaysia as "i-Kad," used by foreign workers living in the country.
Abdul Samah Mat, police chief of Selangor state who leads a criminal investigation in the case, told Xinhua that the suspect was caught Friday after police forces raided a condominium in Selangor.
He declined to reveal the links between the DPRK man and two female suspects detained previously, one with Vietnamese travel document and the other an Indonesian. A local Malaysian male has also been detained to assist investigation.
The 46-year-old Kim Jong Nam was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Members of the media wait outside the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 16. 2017.
Though police has completed postmortem on the deceased, Abdul said the police still need the body in their investigation and will not transfer the body to the DPRK embassy before they receive DNA samples from the next-of-kin.
Meanwhile, DPRK Ambassador Kang Chol said on Friday that they will "categorically reject" the results of the postmortem conducted by Malaysia and demanded an immediate transfer of the body.
The DPRK embassy in Malaysia has not confirmed the identity of the suspect.
SAPPORO, Japan, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese men's curling team beat Chinese Taipei 7-3 for their second victory in as many games at the Winter Asian Games here on Sunday.
Tied at 2-2 in the fifth end, China managed their hammer well after the mid-game break, taking one point each in the sixth and seventh to go 4-2 up.
Chinese Taipei earned a point in the eighth, but China sealed the victory after scoring three points in the ninth and forcing their opponents to give up the last end.
"We didn't play well at the beginning, so the competition once became intense. Actually, we planned to score two points in the ninth, but Chinese Taipei made mistakes, so we scored three," said Xu Xiaoming, the vice-skipper for China.
"We kept calm and we eventually won the match," he said.
Chinese Taipei player Liu Borkai also blamed mistakes for their defeat.
"Never make mistakes when playing against China. A minor fault would let them catch the winning chance," said Liu.
In women's matches in the morning session, South Korea thrashed Qatar 24-2, while Kazakhstan lost to Japan 17-3.
SHIBEGHAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Snowfall and freezing weather have claimed the lives of 14 people, including two children, in the northern region of Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Sunday.
According to the officials, 10 people have lost their lives due to snowfall and freezing weather in Jawzjan and the neighboring Saripul provinces and four others died in Badakhshan since early Saturday.
"Five shepherds have been frozen due to heavy snowfall and chilly weather in Darzab district of Jawzjan province over the past 24 hours," district governor Rahmatullah Hashar told Xinhua.
Five more people, including two children, lost their lives due to chilly weather and snowfall in Jawzjan's neighboring Saripul province, Aziz Rahman Aymaq the director of Natural Disaster Management Authority in the province, has confirmed.
Similarly, four more people have confirmed dead and eight others injured in the northern Badakhshan province over the period, according local officials.
More than 150 people had lost their lives due to snowfall and chilly weather elsewhere in the war-ravaged Afghanistan, some two weeks ago.
GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and 30 others wounded after a bus collided head-on with an oil truck on a highway in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, provincial police chief said on Sunday.
"The incident occurred in Nawaqampani locality of Muqur district late Saturday. The incident claimed the lives of three passengers and injured 30 others aboard the bus," Gen. Aminullah Amarkhil told Xinhua.
The killed and injured were shifted to the district's hospital and the traffic police have launched an investigation into the incident, the official added.
Reckless driving is mainly blamed for traffic incidents on congested roads and highways.
The incident came as heavy snow has disrupted traffic in most parts of the mountainous country over the past couple of days.
On Friday, some 15 passengers were killed and over 30 injured after a bus overturned in southern Helmand province.
Demonstrators participate in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring U.S. entry to all regugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens, in front of the White House, in Washington D.C., the Unite States, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
HOUSTON, Feb.18 (Xinhua) -- About 1,700 people rallied in the U.S. city of Dallas early Saturday to show their support for immigrants and refugees.
Police in Dallas, a city in the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas, said that the crowd had gathered peacefully along the streets in downtown.
During their rally, some people carried U.S. flags and chanted: "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "Do not normalize hate."
Some religious and civic leaders also took part in the rally to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Meanwhile, a protest against Trump's immigration policies was also held in San Antonio, a city in southern Texas.
Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27, barring travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees from entering the country for 120 days.
The order has prompted widespread protests across the United States. On Feb. 3, federal judge James Robart in Seattle, Washington state, ruled to suspend Trump's travel ban nationwide, effective immediately. Then the Department of Justice appealed to restore Trump's ban before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Feb. 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, ruled against reinstating the travel ban.
Trump said on Thursday that he will rescind his controversial executive order and replace it with a new one next week.
Related:
U.S. President Trump to issue new executive order on immigration
WASHINGTON, Feb.16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will rescind his controversial executive order temporarily barring entry to refugees and immigrants and replace it with a new one next week.
MARIEL, Cuba, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Just over three years ago, Cuba began to map out its most ambitious economic development project ever, the Mariel Special Economic Development Zone (ZEDM).
The 465.4-square-km development zone located some 45 km west of Havana is designed to promote sustainable growth by attracting foreign investment, technological innovation and industrial production.
"The ZEDM aims to become the main enterprise and driving force of the Cuban economy," Oscar Perez-Oliva, the project's business assessment director, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
"It's also an opportunity for companies from different regions of the world to position their production and service facilities, so they can enter the Latin American and Caribbean region," he said.
Mariel features a duty-free zone, an industrial park with modern facilities, business-friendly tax breaks, and a strategically-located deep-water port.
The economic zone is already home to 23 enterprises from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Vietnam and South Korea, as well as some domestic firms.
"Currently we have 13 companies that are 100-percent foreign-owned, four Cuban corporations, five joint ventures and one international economic partnership. Eight firms are already operating, either manufacturing their products or providing services," said Perez-Oliva.
Companies at the ZEDM are involved in everything from biotechnology to industrial production of food, consumer goods, packaging materials and construction technologies.
"We are interested in attracting technology that can be assimilated very quickly by our highly skilled Cuban labor force and contributing to raising levels of productivity and efficiency," Perez-Oliva said.
However, most of the companies are in logistics, banking and transportation, providing services to companies moving in or building production plants.
"To date we have approved projects worth more than 960 million U.S. dollars and when fully operational, these 23 users will generate more than 4,000 direct jobs," added Perez-Oliva.
Foreign companies may be drawn by tax breaks and other benefits, but they also see Mariel as an opportunity to gain a foothold in an important regional market.
Vietnam's Thai Binh Investment Trading Corporation plans to set up a plant to manufacture baby and adult diapers, and sanitary pads for women, products in high demand in Cuba and the rest of the region.
Vi Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of Vietnam's Thai Binh corporation, told Xinhua, "the Cuban government's policy in the special economic zone of Mariel is very attractive, so we decided to expand our business in the island to the field of investment after 20 years of selling products here."
Meanwhile, Jose Garcia, business director of Financiera Iberoamericana S.A, a joint Cuban-Spanish firm that will finance projects at Mariel, said the island is a market with "strong opportunities" and "Mariel is the main stage for Cuba's economic development."
Without a doubt, Mariel's geographical location at the crossroads of international maritime traffic in the Caribbean is one of its biggest draws.
South Korea's ArCo 33, which specializes in the production of medical devices, has its eye on the larger regional market.
"Cuba imports 100 million disposable syringes a year. We are going to cover that demand by installing a factory in Mariel and we are planning in the future to export our products to the Caribbean, and Central and South American countries," said Ki Se Lee, president of ArCo 33.
The Cuban government has pledged to guarantee an average investment of 300 million dollars a year in the Mariel special economic zone, said Perez-Oliva.
The Caribbean island country is also looking to attract around 2 billion dollars in foreign investment each year.
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of Mosul.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, locally known as the left bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
However, the western side of Mosul, or the right bank, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces with its narrow streets and heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people, according to United Nations (UN) estimates.
The Iraqi forces have surrounded the western part of Mosul, while the U.S.-led coalition forces have been carrying out air strikes on IS positions.
On Saturday, the UN aid agencies warned that tens of thousands of civilians in the western side of Mosul are at "extreme risk" as battles to drive out IS militants from the city could break out soon.
"Recent surveys with key informants confirm that food and fuel supplies are dwindling, markets and shops have closed, running water is scarce and electricity in many neighborhoods is either intermittent or cut off," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement posted on its website.
"The situation is distressing. People, right now, are in trouble. We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes," said the statement by OCHA's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
MOGADISHU, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known as Farmajo, has vowed to work closely with the African Union mission to step up fight against terrorist group Al-Shabaab in order to stabilize the Horn of African nation.
Farmajo who held meeting with African Union leadership and ambassadors of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) in Mogadishu said his vision was to flush out the militant group which, he said, poses the biggest threat to peace and security in the country.
"My vision is to defeat Al-Shabaab in the next two years. Hopefully if we work very closely together, we will be able to defeat the Al-Shabaab," Farmajo said in a statement issued on Sunday after the meeting.
"That is the vision I would like to see happen in the next two years to bring peace and stability to Somalia," he added.
The new Somali leader who was elected on Feb. 8 said there was an urgent need to fight and defeat Al-Shabaab if Somalia is to achieve prosperity, saying his government was ready to play its role with the help of international partners.
Farmajo urged both the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Army (SNA) to double their efforts, promising to be a true partner in combating terrorism.
The Somali militants have stepped up their onslaught on the government by staging near daily attacks on AMISOM and government bases including public places in an effort to topple the internationally-backed government.
Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, promised to work with Farmajo in the war against terror.
"We assured the President that we are with him in that endeavor and we are going to see how we can strengthen each other, cooperate with one another and harmonize our efforts to do exactly that (defeat Al-Shabaab)," said Madeira.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian police said on Sunday that four suspects from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) related to the death of a DPRK man had fled the country.
The cause of death of the DPRK man still remained unknown, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference.
The 46-year-old man, who was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport, is believed to be Kim Jong Nam, the elder brother of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un.
But Ibrahim said they still need DNA samples from the next-of-kin of Kim to identify the dead man.
I have not been updating this blog for years, but Im keeping it around because it has many of my posts from a decade ago! For the moment, heres why you c...
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by Julius Gale
JUBA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two senior South Sudanese military officials have resigned from the country's military courts, bringing to four the number of top officials who have quit the transitional unity government in about a week.
In his resignation letter, former head of South Sudan's military courts Col. Khalid Ono Loki accused the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) leadership of corruption, human rights abuses and favoritism in the military.
"As per the terms of my employment, I am bound to follow merely the regulations, laws and the state constitution to the zenith, albeit, your office is not co-operating en route for realization of that, instead, it is paddling against the current and contrary to this veracity," Loki said in the letter.
Another official, Gen. Henry Oyay Nyago, also resigned as Head of Military Justice in the SPLA, according to a letter released on Saturday.
He accused the Kiir administration of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses such as rape, organized killings, arbitrary arrests and forceful confiscation of civilians' property.
Military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang denied Loki's claim, saying that Loki had defected to the armed opposition six months ago.
"This officer who is saying that he has resigned from the national army is now trying to attract attention by turning it into a resignation yet in fact it was a defection with no consequences," Koang said.
Koang declined to comment on the resignation Nyago.
Last Friday, Gabriel Duop Lam quit as labor minister and rejoined rebel leader Riek Machar's movement.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth on Friday confirmed Lam's defection to the armed opposition, adding that the SPLM/A-In opposition (SPLA/M-IO) splinter group led by Taban Deng Gai in Juba had been tasked to find a replacement.
Last week top general, Thomas Cirillo Swaka, former deputy chief of logistics, resigned from the SPLA accusing the army of being turned into a tribal army dominated by ethnic Dinka.
South Sudan has been devastated by a civil war that broke out in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek 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 December 2013.
ABU DHABI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) kicked off here on Sunday with special focus on disruptive technology.
Themed "Disruptive Innovation in Defense and Security Technology," the 13th edition of the five-day event attracts 1,235 firms from 57 countries, according to the organizer Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC).
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as Omar Al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, attended the opening ceremony.
"Disruptive technology and its impact should be understood and monitored by all military branches of service, because the technology leads to the rise of cyber warfare," Mohammed Al-Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defense said Saturday.
The last IDEX in 2015 saw over 100,000 visitors flocking into this biggest military fair and exhibition in the Middle East while deals worth 18.3 billion dirham (4.98 billion U.S. dollars) were sealed.
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran has discovered major reserves of shale oil in western Lorestan province, an Iranian energy official was quoted as saying by Press TV on Sunday.
The reserves are estimated to hold as much as two billion barrels of light in-situ shale oil which is potentially producible for industrial use, Bahman Soleimani, the deputy director of the exploration department of the National Iranian Oil Company, said.
Seismic studies are also underway for shale gas reserves in the same area, which are expected to be completed by October, said Soleimani.
In 2015, Iran announced the discovery of another shale oil reserves in Lorestan, but no figure was provided as for its capacity.
According to the official figures, Iran is ranked fourth largest in the world with slightly over 150 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
Thomson gazelles graze below as flamingos fly over a lake in the Ngorongoro Crater in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), north Tanzania, on Aug. 19, 2013. (Xinhua/Zhang Ping)
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb.19 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has launched a giant water project aimed at reducing competition between livestock and wildlife over few water sources available in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA)-UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Freddy Manongi, NCAA chief conservator, said on Saturday that the project, which will involve the construction of two major dams outside the world's largest unbroken caldera, will be a big relief to the sanctuary, and people living in the area located 169 km from the Tanzania's northern safari capital of Arusha.
"This will give us (conservators) enough time to concentrate on the conservation of the sanctuary, compared to the current situation, whereby we're overwhelmed with the increasing number of livestock, which get into the Ngorongoro Crater as they look for water," the official said.
As a result of climate change, the official said: "Water has reduced in the crater. So, bringing in livestock adds unnecessary inconveniences to the wildlife living in the area."
NCAA has established 58 years ago as a multiple land use area, whereby wildlife coexist with Maasai pastoralists, who have been practicing traditional livestock grazing.
"But, the launch of the water project is one of the measures to make the thrilling tourist destination continue to thrive," Manongi said, stressing that the water project will be supplying water to communities living in this area and those outside.
Rashid Mfaume Taka, Ngorongoro District Commissioner, also described the water project as a solution to human-wildlife conflicts over water resources.
"We came to learn people living in NCAA are pastoralists who have a large number of livestock, which are competing for water with wild animals," the official said.
Taka noted that the launch of the project follows directives made by Tanzania's Prime Minister Kasim Majaliwa he made in December last year, where he banned pastoralists from taking cattle into Ngorongoro Crater for grazing and water.
"So, water for livestock and people will be available outside the sanctuary, which has a wide range of wildlife."
Edward Maura is one of the pastoralists living in Ngorongoro, who said that the reason for herders to bring their livestock into the crater is for pastures, water, and salt.
"But, now we're happy for the launch of the water project outside the conservation area," said Maura, who is also the chairman of the Ngorongoro Pastoralists Council (NPC).
NCAA is one among the Eight Wonders of the World and one of the Seven African Natural Wonders. The sanctuary is the leading tourist destination in Tanzania, which receives more than 700,000 tourists' annually.
Malaysia's Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim (L) speaks at a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 19, 2017. The Malaysian police said on Sunday that four suspects from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) related to the death of a DPRK man had fled the country. A postmortem on the DPRK man had been conducted but the cause of death remained unknown as the police were waiting for the pathology and toxicology results, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian police said on Sunday that four suspects from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) related to the death of a DPRK man had fled the country.
A postmortem on the DPRK man had been conducted but the cause of death remained unknown as the police were waiting for the pathology and toxicology results, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference.
The 46-year-old man, who was found dead on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport, is believed to be Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un.
But the deputy police chief said they still needed DNA samples from the next-of-kin of Kim to help identify the dead man.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had earlier confirmed that the dead man was Kim Jong Nam.
Kim's family members would be given a priority to claim the body, but so far no one had made such requests, Rashid added.
He said the police were seeking four more suspects from the DPRK, whom they believed had fled the country on the same day of the killing. Police were also seeking three men who might assist the investigation, including a DPRK male.
"Our job is to reveal the truth, to get facts and evidence, and bring the perpetrators to justice," he said.
The Malaysian police have arrested four suspects, the latest being a 47-year-old man from the DPRK, who worked as an IT engineer at a company in Kuala Lumpur.
It is yet to know the connection between him and two female suspects, one with Vietnamese travel document and the other an Indonesian, A Malaysian local male has also been detained to assist investigation.
The DPRK ambassador to Malaysia had said his country would "categorically reject the postmortem results," blaming Malaysia for delaying the release of the body and conducting the autopsy unilaterally.
In response to the allegations, Rashid said the police were following the Malaysian law and legal requirements.
"Every death in a suspicious manner must be investigated, which we have to put a report and submit a report to the court. In this case we are investigating a sudden and suspicious death," he said.
An Ethiopian dressed up as the Chinese God of Wealth (R front) hands out gifts for Chinese passengers at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Jan. 20, 2017. The Ethiopian Airlines held a special event for Chinese nationals returning home for the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The airport of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is training Chinese-speaking staff upon arrivals of more Chinese travellers.
The Addis Ababa Bole International Airport said it had seen 70 Ethiopian customer service professionals on Thursday graduate from a Chinese language training program aimed at providing better service to Chinese passengers.
The language training program was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa in partnership with Confucius Institute.
The graduates, composed of customs officers and security officials at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopian airlines and customs office, have attended a 10-week long Chinese language training session.
La Yifan, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Tadele Barega, Managing Director of Ethiopian Ground Services, congratulated and awarded graduates with certificate of recognition in a ceremony held at the Chinese embassy in Addis Ababa.
La commended the program as a vivid indication of the growing Sino-Ethiopian partnership.
"Bole International Airport is the largest point for the Chinese passengers, not only to Ethiopia but also for the African continent," he said.
"By offering the most friendly and convenient service you are contributing to the national development and national renascence of Ethiopia," he told the graduates.
There are over 2,000 Chinese passengers transiting at Bole International Airport on average every day, according to the ambassador.
Barega also lauded the program. "We need to have qualified and educated Chinese-speaking employees who can very well serve our Chinese passengers, who can very well address and attend our Chinese passenger's needs on daily basis," he said.
The second round of the Chinese language proficiency training session will start soon. Enditem
LONDON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain held their second high-level security dialogue here on Friday, with both sides agreeing to strengthen cooperation in security and law enforcement.
The dialogue was co-chaired by Wang Yongqing, secretary-general of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Mark Lyall Grant, national security advisor to the British prime minister.
During the dialogue, the two sides exchanged views on the fight against terrorism, extremism, organized crime and the protection of cyber security.
Chinese and British delegates also discussed international and regional security issues of common concern, and have reached important consensus on cooperation in fields such as fighting terrorist threats, cyber terrorism, human trafficking, telecommunication fraud, financial crimes and pursuing escapees.
The two sides fully recognized the cooperative achievements since the first security dialogue, which was held last June. They agreed that facing the grim and complicated international security situation, China and Britain should further implement the important consensus reached by the Chinese and British leaders on deepening cooperation in security and law enforcement.
China and Britain should expand their cooperative areas and enrich their cooperative style, so as to build a "golden age" for law enforcement and security cooperation, the delegates said.
The dialogue was an implementation of the China-UK Joint Declaration on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century issued in October 2015 and is of great significance for mutual security cooperation.
MOSUL, Iraq, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 12 wounded on Sunday in two suicide bomb attacks in eastern Mosul, as the Iraqi forces started an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of the city.
The attacks took place in the morning when one suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near a popular restaurant at a commercial area, known as My Fair Lady, in al-Zuhour neighborhood in the recently liberated eastern side of Mosul, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The blast left at least a civilian killed and seven others wounded, the source said.
Another attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at a popular market in Nabi Younis neighborhood in the eastern side of Mosul, leaving two people killed and five others wounded, the source added.
Late in January, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, locally known as the left bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
The attacks came as Abadi announced, earlier in the day, the start of a new phase of a major offensive to free the western side of Mosul from IS militants.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on February 19, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
JERUSALEM, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to set up a team to discuss settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that during his recent visit to Washington, he and Trump agreed to establish teams on many areas, "even in areas we did not previously agree on. I mean, of course, the settlements in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said, with Judea and Samaria being the Israeli government term for the West Bank.
The team will be formed as part of an "upgrade" in U.S.-Israel relations, Netanyahu said.
"We agreed to create joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the U.S. in all of the main areas," he said. These fields include security, intelligence, cyber, technology, and economy.
According to Netanyahu, the firm alliance between Israel and the U.S. has become even stronger following his meeting with Trump.
Netanyahu and Trump met in the White House on Wednesday, making their debut as friendly partners in a press conference before their meeting.
Trump backed off the U.S. long-held two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying he is open to either a one-state or two-state solution.
"I'm looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," Trump said.
The previous U.S. administrations have pushed for the two-state solution to the Middle East peace process, an idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state that lives side-by-side with Israel.
However, Trump said he expects Israel to temporarily halt the expansion of the settlements, Jewish communities built on Palestinian lands.
I'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. We'll work something out, but I would like to see a deal be made," Trump said.
Israel's settlement-building in disputed territory is a major dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state.
The former U.S. administration criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which it considered as a major obstacle to peace.
MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Five Afghan civilians, including a child, were wounded in a bomb attack in the eastern Laghman province on Sunday, said the provincial government.
"A sticky Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a private vehicle was detonated in Ali Shing district's bazaar at around midday, injuring five innocent civilians," it said in a statement.
Among the injured people was a 10-year-old girl and the injured were shifted to a main hospital in provincial capital of Mehtarlam, the statement added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
The anti-government militants use IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.
On Saturday, 11 children were wounded after one victim step on a pressure-plate IED along a road in neighboring Nangarhar province.
More than 3,490 civilians were killed and over 7,920 others injured in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan last year, according to figures released by the UN mission in the country.
The IED explosions are the third largest cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, following ground engagements and suicide attacks.
Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (C), Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R), and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (C-L) arrive for the opening of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on February 19, 2017.
ABU DHABI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) kicked off here on Sunday with special focus on disruptive technology.
Themed "Disruptive Innovation in Defense and Security Technology," the 13th edition of the five-day event attracts 1,235 firms from 57 countries, according to the organizer Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC).
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as Omar Al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, attended the opening ceremony.
"Disruptive technology and its impact should be understood and monitored by all military branches of service, because the technology leads to the rise of cyber warfare," Mohammed Al-Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defense said Saturday.
The last IDEX in 2015 saw over 100,000 visitors flocking into this biggest military fair and exhibition in the Middle East while deals worth 18.3 billion dirham (4.98 billion U.S. dollars) were sealed.
A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran has discovered major reserves of shale oil in western Lorestan province, an Iranian energy official was quoted as saying by Press TV on Sunday.
The reserves are estimated to hold as much as two billion barrels of light in-situ shale oil which is potentially producible for industrial use, Bahman Soleimani, the deputy director of the exploration department of the National Iranian Oil Company, said.
Seismic studies are also underway for shale gas reserves in the same area, which are expected to be completed by October, said Soleimani.
In 2015, Iran announced the discovery of another shale oil reserves in Lorestan, but no figure was provided as for its capacity.
According to the official figures, Iran is ranked fourth largest in the world with slightly over 150 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
ABU DHABI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement Sunday with China National Petroleum Corporation, awarding it an eight percent interest in Abu Dhabi's onshore oil concession, both sides said in an e-mailed statement.
The agreement was signed by Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Group Chief Executive Officer of the government-controlled ADNOC and member of the Supreme Petroleum Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Wang Yilin, CNPC Chairman.
CNPC contributed a sign-up bonus of 6.5 billion dirham (1.77 billion U.S. dollars) to enter the concession. The onshore concession is operated by the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations (ADCO).
Al-Jaber said "Our agreement with CNPC strengthens and deepens the strategic and economic relationship between the UAE and China."
Al-Jaber added "we see tremendous opportunity in working together to optimise our energy resources, by achieving maximum economic value, in support of ADNOC's long-term growth objectives."
Wang Yilin said the agreement "marks an important new phase in CNPC's strategic relationship with ADNOC and we hope it will lead to further opportunities to participate in the UAE's energy sector."
CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, as well as one of the world's major oilfield service providers.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 Afghan militants were killed in clash with Pakistani armed forces in the country's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency on Sunday, local Urdu media reported.
Dawn News said that two security personnel were also injured in the clash that took place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Quoting unidentified army sources, the report added that the militants, carrying sophisticated weapons, were trying to enter Pakistan from Kurram Agency when they were spotted and killed by the Pakistani troops.
Identities of the killed militants have not been revealed yet.
The clash came following the closure of Pakistan-Afghanistan border by the Pakistani authorities due to security reasons, after the recent string of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which left over 100 people killed and over 350 others injured.
Major General Asif Ghafoor, director general of Pakistani army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations, said earlier in a statement that militants are carrying out attacks in Pakistan on the directions of the hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
The military also summoned Afghan embassy officials to the army general headquarters earlier on Friday morning and handed them a list of 76 terrorists hiding in Afghanistan to either take action against them or hand them over to Pakistan.
The armed forces and police also killed over 100 militants in a crackdown against insurgents in all the four provinces and tribal areas of the country on Friday, after a suicide attack on Thursday evening left 88 people killed and over 300 injured.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attends a press conference at the end of a European Union Summit held at the EU Council building in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)
BRUSSELS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- In a burst of diplomacy, the United States has spent the past week trying to reassure allies on its commitment to European and global security, while also admonishing their partners on burden-sharing.
It began Wednesday with U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis making a much-anticipated speech at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) council of defence ministers in Brussels, warning his counterparts that the Americans would revise their relationship with the security alliance if other partners didn't pay their fair share.
Many NATO members had been anxious for the official U.S. stance since January, when then-President-elect Donald Trump called NATO "obsolete" for having been "designed many, many years ago," for not adequately adapting to the threat of terrorism, and for countries not paying "what they should."
Retired General and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Mattis appeared to give a chastising, if slightly more reasonable, version of Trump's off-the-cuff position. It was no longer acceptable, Mattis declared, for American taxpayers to carry a "disproportionate share of the defence of Western values."
He spoke in reference to a defence spending shortfall, with only five members of the alliance -- Estonia, Greece, Poland, Britain and the United States -- reaching an agreed target of 2 percent of GDP level.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tried to contextualize the situation in a Wednesday press conference, arguing that 22 alliance members had increased their defence spending budgets in 2016, for an increase of approximately 10 billion U.S. dollars, before reminding listeners all alliance members had committed at the 2014 NATO Wales Summit to reaching the 2 percent target by 2024.
The Americans' "tough talk," however, dominated the news cycle, with collective worries printed across Europe that the United States would pull out of NATO if other members didn't hurry up and reduce the defence spending shortfalls.
In what could then seem like a response, Defence Secretary Mattis and United States Vice President Mike Pence both separately made statements of reassurance during this year's Munich Security Conference, telling allies that the United States wasn't going to turn its back on them.
"American security is permanently tied to the security of Europe," Mattis said on Friday in Munich.
For his part, Pence went further on Saturday, telling allies in Munich, "Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance. The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance."
"The fates of the United States and Europe are intertwined," continued the U.S. vice president on his first trip abroad since taking office. "Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success. And ultimately, we walk into the future together."
But Mike Pence still echoed earlier warnings, saying: "The promise to share the burden of our defence has gone unfulfilled for too many for too long."
While some European countries, notably Poland, have responded well to the American position, not all leaders have been particularly impressed.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed the U.S. stance in a Thursday speech in Munich, saying, "It has been the American message for many, many years. I am very much against letting ourselves be pushed into this."
"Europeans must bundle their defense spending better and spend the money more efficiently," he continued, making reference to his support for the creation of a European Defence Union, a reminder that pooled European defence resources may be an alternative to relying on an unpredictable American government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked on Saturday, "Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles?"
She went on to praise multilateral cooperation and to admit that U.S. military force was necessary in the fight against the Islamic State, but calls for the inclusion of partners from Islamic-majority countries were a reminder to her audience that she was not willing to accept American policies she disagreed with for the sake of security.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, meanwhile, deplored in a Saturday tweet that Pence had not mentioned one word about the European Union (EU) in his speech, even though the American vice president is set to meet with EU leaders on Sunday in Brussels.
The fact that Donald Trump's messengers show little patience for European budgetary problems, a difficulty partially caused by the American subprime mortgage crisis, will not endear the American president to European leaders committed to reviving the EU economy.
In any relationship, mixing threats with messages of reassurance has a name: manipulation. For many Europeans, it will be clear that the United States is trying to manipulate the security relationship it has with the continent, threatening to pull back from alliances, then reassuring allies of its "unwavering" commitment.
Pushed too far, European allies might come to agree with Donald Trump on NATO's obsolescence, opting instead for a European Defence Union, with pooled resources that are less dependent on the whims of an unconventional American leader and more clearly aligned with the interests of the EU itself.
What is certain is that a European continent that has dealt with a series of simultaneous and unprecedented threats -- economic crises, the refugee crisis, Brexit and the ongoing threat of terrorism on a previously unknown level -- will have limited patience for being scolded.
KATHMANDU, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nepal and India, on Sunday, pledged to enhance cooperation on road, air, power grid and cross-border rail connectivity to promote people-to-people contacts, officials said.
The two sides agreed to speed up and initiate India-funded connectivity projects that include postal roads, cross-border railways and bridges at a bilateral meeting between Nepalese Physical Infrastructure Minister Ramesh Lekhak and Indian Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in Kathmandu.
Prabhu stressed on enhancing connectivity between the two countries in multiple ways. "Nepal and India are like members of a same family. We have to work together to develop infrastructure projects so as to taking our connectivity to a new level," he said.
The Indian minister expressed commitment to continue India's support in Nepal's socio-economic and infrastructure development.
On the occasion, the two ministers reviewed progress made in the implementation of two ongoing Nepal-India cross-border railway projects namely Jayanagar-Bijalpur-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar.
Nepalese Minister for Infrastructure Lekhak told media that steps will be initiated to facilitate development of three other cross-border rail-link projects namely Nepalgunj-Nepalgunj Road, Kakarbitta-New Jalpaiguri, Bhairawaha-Nautanwa.
Meanwhile, the Indian government announced on Sunday extending U.S.dollars 340 million soft loans to Nepal for the construction of a bridge and 15 postal highway projects in various districts of southern Nepal bordering India.
A Memorandum of Understanding in this regard was signed.
Liu Yunshan (C), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attends an unveiling ceremony of the Confucius Institute of the Kiev National Linguistic University in Kiev, Ukraine, Sept. 6, 2013. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)
KIEV, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Singing the Chinese folk song "Jasmine Blossom," doing a traditional Chinese dance and performing an act of a Chinese wedding ceremony, Ukrainian college students shared their understanding of the Chinese culture during a theatrical performance here.
The performance, titled "Golden rooster heralds the arrival of spring," was recently held in the Confucius Institute of the Kiev National Linguistic University (KNLU) to welcome the new spring.
Fluency in Chinese, demonstrated by the young Ukrainian performers, means much to them as Chinese is deemed in Ukraine as "a language of new chances."
"I learn Chinese because it means tremendous opportunities in Kiev," said Pavlo Zvenyhorodskyi, a final-year student in his early twenties at the Confucius Institute.
Zvenyhorodskyi has already received several job offers from Ukrainian and foreign companies because he is proficient in Chinese. This is still a language that few of his fellow Ukrainians can speak.
His love for the Chinese culture and language was fostered in his childhood when he watched Chinese movies on the VHS tapes in his hometown Chernigov in northern Ukraine.
Zvenyhorodskyi has won a prize in the Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition for foreign college students, and his success has drawn wide attention in Ukraine.
He said it would have been impossible for him to achieve this without the support of teachers at the Confucius Institute.
"These people are very committed to their job. They do their work not because it is a duty, not because they are paid the salary, but because it is the call of their hearts and souls," Zvenyhorodskyi commented.
The efforts of the KNLU Confucius Institute teachers were greatly appreciated not only by the students, but also by professionals. In 2015, the KNLU Confucius Institute, which was then less than three years old, was ranked among top 20 Confucius Institutes that year worldwide.
In 2016, Shi Yajun, Chinese president for the KNLU Confucius Institute, was granted an individual honor for the outstanding contribution he made at work.
Shi said he attaches great importance to combining the complementary advantages of teachers from China and Ukraine.
"Chinese teachers are native speakers and they have vast experiences in tutoring, while Ukrainians are well aware of how to teach local students," Shi said.
As China is cementing its strong position in the global arena, the Chinese language is rapidly gaining popularity in Ukraine. The number of students enrolled at the KNLU Confucius Institute increased more than ten folds between 2013 and 2017.
"At the current stage, we teach between 800 and 1,000 students per year. There were only 59 students learning Chinese when the institute opened," Shi said.
Many Ukrainians go to the Confucius Institute to learn more about the Chinese culture and history, while others have more practical reasons -- for more business opportunities and employment.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's major media outlets have carried articles profiling the changes to news reporting since President Xi Jinping gave a speech on the Communist Party of China's (CPC) media and publicity work.
On Feb. 19 last year, Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV), the nation's three leading news providers. Later that day he presided over a symposium on the Party's media work.
During the symposium, Xi ordered all news media run by the CPC and the Chinese government to strictly follow the Party's leadership and focus on "positive reporting."
According to Xi, the Party's media work should unite and guide the general public, serve the country's overall interests, tell right from wrong and connect China to the world.
Calling for innovative concepts, content and methods, Xi told media groups to make use of new media's edge in publicity, amplify their voices on the international stage, tell stories about China well and build flagship media groups with strong global influence.
The People's Daily ran an article Sunday that said the past year had seen great changes across all media outlets thanks to the "fresh vitality" following Xi's speech.
The credibility of mainstream media had markedly improved, it said, adding that they had become more influential and their output was more appealing and persuasive.
The article praised the "reasoned voice" of media outlets when covering issues of public concern, such as employment, health services, education and food safety. It also lauded the "creativity and innovation" of Internet and new media products.
A Xinhua commentary Friday said the media work in the past year had generated a positive energy that motivated the people to work toward realizing the Chinese dream of great national renewal.
Other articles also highlighted changes that aimed to better tell China stories.
One of the most high-profile moves to this end was the rebranding of CCTV news as China Global Television Network (CGTN) at the end of 2016.
Statistics showed that the CGTN's content was accessed by about 400 million users from countries and regions across the world, a clear indication of its global reach.
Observers said the world is looking to China like never before. However, there remains a gap between the real China and how the country is perceived by the world.
The Xinhua commentary said Chinese media's international communication skills should be honed so that China stories are told well.
In the same vein, observers said, China must amplify its voice so that the nation's message is heard overseas.
As an example of achievements made in this regard, in 2016 more than 700 People's Daily stories were translated into over 20 languages and published by mainstream media outlets of international influence.
Also in the past year, Xinhua increased the average number of its daily stories for overseas service to 4,500, with more than 100 commentaries on international issues carried by mainstream Western media.
Developments were also made in promoting overseas social networking platforms operated by leading Chinese media.
Accounts run by the People's Daily attracted about 35 million followers, while the figures for Xinhua and CCTV stood at about 23 million and 50 million respectively, statistics showed.
While visiting CCTV's multimedia division on Sunday, Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee, encouraged all mainstream news providers to refine their craft and push for multimedia integration, which would help them improve their competitiveness and expand their reach.
"Mainstream media outlets are proactively [..] responding to Western media outlets' blurred or distorted opinions of China," said Shi Anbin, a professor of journalism and communication with Tsinghua University.
Shi went on to say that due to the efforts of the last year, the standard of China's news and public opinion work is more commensurate with the nation's improving strength and international status.
Related:
Xi underscores CPC's leadership in news reporting
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered news media run by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to strictly follow the Party's leadership and focus on "positive reporting."
Speaking in a symposium Friday afternoon after touring China's three leading news providers, the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called Party- and government-run news outlets the "publicity fronts" of the party and the government. Full Story
Xi completes media tour, stresses Party's leadership
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday visited the country's three leading media providers and urged them to strictly follow the leadership of the Party.
BANGKOK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A Buddhist monk from Wat Dhammakaya temple said Sunday that Pra Dhammajayo, the former abbot of the temple who is charged of money laundering and receiving stolen goods, had fled the first day when Thai authorities raided the temple.
Phra Thammasak Jaruthammo, a monk who has lived in the temple for 30 years, said the wanted monk Pra Dhammajayo fled on Thursday and is now hiding somewhere near the temple because he is ill and cannot travel too far, according to Thai media Khaosod.
Phra Thammasak told reporters that he released the secrets because he doesn't agree with high ranking monks of the temple, who know that Pra Dhammajayo is no longer here but still let authorities to come in to create clashes.
There are some small clashes between Thai authorities and monks and disciples just out side of the temple on Sunday.
Earlier on the day, Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DIS) issued an ultimatum for non-residents of the temple to exit the compound by 3 p.m. no matter whether they are monks or lay followers.
Authorities also asked residents of the temple to register with their ID cards and said any who disobeyed their order could face one year in jail or a fine of up to 20,000 baht( 517 U.S. dollars).
Thai government declared on Thursday that the vast compound of Wat Dhammakaya, covering a land of some 3.2 square kilometers in Pathum Thani province, as an area under control and subject to a search by DSI officers and police for Pra Dhammajayo.
However, many disciples and monks, defying orders of authorities, gathered around two gates of the temple and have stopped officers from getting in since 1 p.m..
DSI thus summoned 14 monks, including former abbot Phra Dhammachayo, the acting abbot Phra Dattajivo, and the temple spokesman Phra Sanitwong Wutthiwangso of the temple to report at a local police station in Pathum Thani within 6 p.m. on Sunday, but until 7 p.m. none of the summoned monks showed up.
Phra Dhammajayo, 72, is wanted on several arrest warrants for alleged laundering money, receiving stolen goods, as well as taking over land unlawfully to build meditation centers in Loei, Nakhon Ratchasima and Phangnga provinces.
The temple itself is very controversial in Thai society. Though it has a large number of followers, many Thais said the temple uses religion to make money.
MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called here on Sunday at the 53rd Munich Security Conference for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide.
"It is time to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide," said Zarif during his speech, adding that his country will never build a nuclear weapon.
Zarif told the audience that it is easy to make all Muslims "the culprit for our problems", but it does not help solve anything.
Instead, he suggested the problems should be redefined for a collective solution in a "neutrally acceptable way."
In addition, Zarif also proposed a new modest regional dialogue forum based on generally recognized principles which could promote understandings, encourage practical cooperation and lead to a security agreement for the region.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Altogether 315 billion yuan (about 46 billion U.S. dollars) of reverse repo contracts are set to mature in China's money market this week, a sharp retreat from the volume seen a week earlier that will ease pressure on central bank's open market operations.
In the past week, 900 billion yuan of reverse repos, a process by which the central bank purchases securities from banks through bidding with an agreement to sell them back in the future, matured, putting liquidity strain on the market.
To ease the cash crunch, China's central bank made net cash injection via open market operations on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17.
For policy moves this week, analysts expect the central bank to take steps to maintain stable liquidity in the market.
The central bank reiterated Friday in a quarterly report that it will implement a prudent and neutral monetary policy while keeping liquidity basically stable.
It pledged to strike a better balance between stabilizing growth, adjusting structure, curbing asset bubbles and preventing risks, so as to provide a "neutral and moderate" monetary environment for supply-side structural reform.
HARARE, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said he is not ready to step down and that he will not groom his successor as it is the responsibility of the people.
He said his ruling Zanu-PF party wants him to stand again for elections in 2018, and that the majority of the people feel there is no replacement for him.
"The majority of people feel that there is no replacement; (a) successor who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am," the veteran president was quoted by the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper on Sunday.
The president made the comments in his traditional birthday interview with state-broadcaster the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation which will be aired on Feb. 20 and 21.
The president turns 93 on Feb. 21 and the annual official birthday celebrations will be held on Feb. 25 in Matopos, Matabeleland South Province.
The president, who has since been endorsed as Zanu-PF presidential candidate for 2018 elections when he will be 94, scoffed at those calling on him to step down.
"Of course if I feel that I can't do it anymore, I will say so to my party so that they relieve me. But for now I think I can't say so," the president was quoted as saying.
Zimbabwean opposition and other critics in and outside the country have called for Mugabe's resignation, citing his advanced age and alleged failure to run the economy.
RAMALLAH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli authorities notified Sunday 40 homes and a school in Khan Al-Ahmar area north east of Jerusalem city.
Sources from the Bedouin community of Khan Al-Ahmar said that the Israeli told the families that they should leave before Feb. 23 ahead of demolishing their homes and barracks that represent their main source of living.
The sources added that the majority of 50 families in the community received the notifications but "they will not leave the area, and they will hold their grounds."
Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin community is located between two Israeli settlements of Maale Adumim and Kfar Adumim in East Jerusalem and most of its residents live in tin houses and tents.
Head of the PNA's Colonization and Settlements Resistance Commission Walid Assaf said in an emailed press statement that those eviction notifications "are part of the systematic ethnic cleansing policy that Israel is implementing against Bedouin communities in the E1 settlement project area in order to annex more lands east of Jerusalem to Israeli settlements."
Palestinian Minister of Education Sabri Saidam warned against the consequences of demolishing the school that is serving a number of Bedouin communities in the area of Jerusalem desert.
Saidam condemned that demolition order and urged the international organizations to intervene immediately to halt "Israel's racist policies."
Palestinians want to declare the eastern part of the Jerusalem city, which was occupied by Israel since 1967, as the capital of their future state, while Israel, which annexes the eastern part of the city insists that the whole city is its eternal capital.
People check the explosion site in Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 19, 2017. At least 30 people were killed in a huge car bomb blast at a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Sunday, officials said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)
MOGADISHU, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed in a huge car bomb blast at a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Sunday, officials said.
Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) confirmed the incident at Kawo-Gudey in Wadajir district, saying the casualties were both soldiers and civilians.
NISA said that Al-Shabaab militant targeted innocent civilians who were going about their daily business activities in the market.
Wadajir district Commissioner Ahmed Abdulle Afrah told reporters earlier that it was difficult to identify dead bodies and those injured at the scene.
"This very extreme hostility was committed by enemy group, more than 20 people mostly women and children were killed and more than 20 others injured at the small busy market. Rescue operation is still underway to rush the injured to the hospital," Afrah said.
Witnesses said the blast ripped through the market, killing the shoppers mostly women. The death toll is expected to rise, as many people were critically wounded in the attack.
No group has claimed the responsibility of the attack, which could be the first major attack since the election of the new president on Feb. 8.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's third-party payment firm Lakala is seeking initial public offering again despite last year's setback, its board chairman Sun Taoran revealed.
Lakala is the country's third largest third-party payment service provider, though its market share tails far behind the top two: Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay.
By the end of the third quarter of 2016, the top three accounted for more than 90 percent of market share, according to Analysis International, a Beijing-based Internet information consulting firm.
Lakala attempted to go public last year through a merger with Tibet Tourism, but the procedure was called off by the regulator. In October, the company split its online lending business from its core operation -- the third-party payment.
Sun, also Lakala's founder, said after the split the company's payment arm is now being guided again to go public.
He said third-party payment services have come along way since they emerged more than ten years ago. It is natural that they are now exploring the capital market.
Analysts expect the sector will see a wave of new listings in 2017 and 2018.
Sun said Lakala is not competing with Alipay or Tenpay as it focuses on businesses rather than individual customers. He said the company's priority this year is to promote the use of smart point-of-sale machines, whose market penetration rate is expected to reach 50 percent in the next three years.
HELSINKI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A deadly road accident took place in Saastamala, central Finland, late Saturday, killing a boy and a girl, media reported on Sunday.
The driver of a multipurpose van was suspected of driving intentionally towards a moped car, killing the two 17-year-olds, said the reports.
The police told local media that the driver was suspected of two manslaughters and drunken driving. It was a 35-year-old man. He was not injured.
JERUSALEM, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Sunday to Singapore and Australia, the first official visits by an Israeli prime minister in these countries.
The visits are aimed to "strengthen security, economic and other ties with these important countries," Netanyahu said in a statement before the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
In Singapore, Netanyahu will meet with President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for talks over security and economic ties, according to a statement released by Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
In Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Netanyahu are expected to hold a meeting with business people from both countries.
The week-long trip is part of Netanyahu's efforts to forge new economic and diplomatic alliances amidst increasing international criticism over the expansion of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The trip comes three days after Netanyahu met United States President Donald Trump in Washington.
"What we are doing is to strengthen Israel's standing in the world," Netanyahu told his cabinet.
ANKARA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people on Sunday were injured after a vehicle crashed into a restaurant in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa, local Dogan News Agency reported.
Three of the injured are in critical condition, according to police.
Orhan Aksu, 30 year old, a murder suspect who had been searched by the police, drove the light commercial vehicle he had stolen and lost control. The vehicle crashed into a restaurant in Osmangazi district of Bursa.
Police teams and ambulances were dispatched to the scene as injured customers were taken to hospital.
The suspect Aksu was also wounded inside the stolen car and was taken to hospital. He is due to be detained after his medical treatment has been completed.
James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defence speaks during the 53rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 17, 2017. The Munich Security Conference (MSC) officially opened Friday as an array of global security issues ranging from the future of the transatlantic alliance to the West-Russia relations are in the spotlight. (Xinhua/Zhu Sheng)
by Xinhua writers Gui Tao, Liu Xiang, Shen Zhonghao
MUNICH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The possibility of improving the strained Russia-West relations during the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump dimmed after the United States re-calibrated its NATO policy this week.
The latest move came amid a flurry of mixed, if not self-contradicting, messages about the prospect for the improvement in the soured U.S.-Russia relations as Trump showed willingness to normalize the bilateral relations and bombarded NATO as "outdated."
However, senior U.S. officials have recently dismissed policy uncertainties, confirming that their country has been devoted to the transatlantic alliance and a reformed NATO.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) that his country will "strongly support NATO" and remain "unwavering" to its commitment to the transatlantic bond.
"The U.S. is and will always be your greatest ally," he told the audience in the first major foreign policy address for the Trump administration.
It was also at the annual flagship international security meeting which focuses on the transatlantic alliance that the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis reassured European leaders that the transatlantic bond is "the strongest bulwark against instability and violence," stressing that his country's security is tied to Europe.
Mattis also warned of the "threat on multiple fronts" in Europe and urged NATO allies to contribute their fair share to the collective defense.
America's closeness with its entrenched ally is in sharp contrast to its suddenly tough posture toward Moscow.
Pence pledged that Washington will "continue hold Russia accountable" even as the Trump administration is searching for new common ground with Kremlin. The United States is also deploying its troops to the Baltic states as part of NATO's operation to support its eastern European allies.
At the MSC, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen stressed that NATO must pursue to find a reliable coexistence with Russia together, "instead of going over our partner's head to pursue bilateral relations," an obvious warning to U.S. unilateral move to develop its Russia ties.
Europe's hostility toward and vigilance against Russia, long deemed a strategic rival and threat, is not difficult to find at the MSC.
The Munich Security Report 2017, which was published ahead of MSC and serves as as a companion and conversation starter for the discussions and background reading for participants, provides an easy glimpse of that mood. The report highlights Russia threats to the West, ranging from Russia's violation of several key principles governing European security and its airstrike in Syria, to Russia's potential missile capability in Kaliningrad and the budget and social media performance of its public international broadcaster Russia Today.
At the MSC, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned of Russia's ambition and European leaders' appeasement, which was warmly responded by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
The UK, Germany and France have all insisted the link of EU economic sanctions on Russia to the implementation of the Minsk agreement, a deal reached on a cease-fire and political settlement of the conflict between government forces and rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Russia, on its part, has shown willingness to seek a "pragmatic and mutual-respect" Russia-U.S. relations. But it has also insisted that the expansion of NATO, a cold-war institution, has led to an unprecedented level of tension over the last three decades in Europe.
The latest U.S. policy shift regarding the transatlantic alliance and Russia came as the "Flynn resignation" storm continues fermentation, plaguing the Trump administration.
Michael Flynn, a U.S. national security adviser, quitted after only over three weeks in the job amid revelations that he misled Pence about his phone calls with the Russian ambassador.
Flynn maintained for weeks that he had not talked about U.S. sanctions in his contacts with the Russian ambassador. He later admitted that the topic may have come up.
Analysts believe that the incident has displayed the conflicting and competing policy strands within the new U.S. administration and highlighted the "structural conflicts" which have been hindering the improvement of the relations between the United States and Russia.
Ruan Zongze, Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies, said the entrenched vested interest groups in areas such as oil and war industries have been opposing the improvement of the thaw in the U.S.-Russia relations. He believed that the bipartisan system has also made the adoption of any concrete pro-Russia policy difficult in the United States.
"To sum up, the Trump presidency does not automatically guarantee the improvement of the U.S.-Russia ties," Ruan said.
Gu Xuewu, head of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Bonn, told Xinhua that the importance the United States attaches to NATO would not change because the organization is the "major handle" that Washington applies to dominate the European and Mideast affairs.
Feng Zhongping, President of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Xinhua that it is very difficult for the U.S.-EU relations to turn sour, but even more difficult for the U.S.-Russia relations to turn good.
"The United States and Russia has too few common interests and too many structural conflicts," he said, "As long as the NATO exists, it would be difficult for the West-Russia relations to improve significantly."
ABU DHABI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), received on Sunday Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ahmed Ghandour, reported the Emirati state news agency WAM.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and Ghandour discussed bilateral relations and means of strengthening them during their meeting, which coincided with the UAE's 2017 International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir was IDEX's guest of honour during the UAE's official opening military parade.
IDEX is hosted by both UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum as well as UAE Supreme Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and Ghandour also addressed several issues of common concern, in addition to the latest regional and international developments.
The UAE's foreign minister said his country looks forward to developing bilateral ties and "widening the scope of cooperation and coordination on issues of mutual interest."
Sudan's foreign minister equally drew attention to the strategic relations between the UAE and Sudan, referring to the UAE's distinguished standards both regionally and internationally.
Sudan and the UAE both belong to the Saudi-led military coalition which has been fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen through operation "Restore Hope" since March 2015.
by Xinhua writers Li Laifang & Wang Jian
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Air quality in northern China improved Sunday thanks to a cold front. There is no let-up for local authorities, however, as the top environmental watchdog has launched a new round of air quality inspections.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) dispatched 18 teams to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong, for a one-month review of pollution control efforts.
After visiting 199 local government departments and companies in 18 targeted cities Friday, inspectors found 42 issues, including a lack of reporting by responsible units and district governments in Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong, the MEP said Saturday.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is China's most heavily polluted area and prone to smog in winter.
Inspections have proved effective in pressing local governments and companies to meet their environmental protection obligations, especially since China's revised Environmental Protection Law, considered the strictest in history, took effect in January 2015.
"Central or provincial inspections have been designed to find out and solve urgent environmental problems," said Wang Ande, head of Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Department.
"Inspectors help to solve problems," said the official, adding that the province still had room for improvement.
To prevent fake data, Shandong has recruited a third party to verify data from the province's automatic air quality monitoring stations.
One tenth of all coal consumption in China is in Shandong, making it first nationwide. In 2015, the province burned 400 million tonnes of coal.
Last year, Shandong issued 590 million yuan (86 million U.S. dollars) in fines for nearly 9,000 environment-related cases, up 75 percent and 28 percent, respectively, from 2015.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE
Beijing and Linfen, a city in coal-rich Shanxi, both recently established environmental police teams.
Beijing's environmental police have detained two suspects in connection to environmental crimes since the department's inauguration mid-January.
"We also work with the land, resource and water authorities to address illegal mining or misuse of farmland," said Pei Xudong, an official with the environmental police under Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Linfen was in the spotlight last month over excessive levels of sulfur dioxide in air on smoggy days in winter. The city's leaders were summoned by the top environment watchdog for answer for their lax protection.
Police in Linfen have promised zero-tolerance of environment-related crimes, according to a leading official with the municipal public security bureau.
Nationwide, other provinces such as Hebei, Liaoning and Guangdong are piloting environmental police.
Police in Shandong handled 671 pollution offenses and arrested more than 1,000 suspects last year, local official data showed.
"The public has increasingly high expectations for improving environment, calling for strict law enforcement," said Wang Canfa, an environmental law researcher at China University of Political Science and Law.
Environmental protection departments, police and procuratorates at different levels should improve coordination, according to a document issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the MEP and the Ministry of Public Security earlier this month.
"Joint law enforcement by environmental authorities and the police will lead to the more effective handling of serious pollution cases," said Fang Li, head of Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
UPHILL BATTLE
In an official document on air pollution treatment for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2016 to 2017, this year's target for the average annual density of PM2.5, unhealthy particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, was set at around 60 micrograms per cubic meter for both Beijing and Tianjin, and about 67 micrograms per cubic meter for Hebei.
Pollution control is a government priority. Beijing plans to spend 18.2 billion yuan on promoting clean energy, phasing out high-polluting old vehicles and factories and other measures to cut pollution. Its PM2.5 density fell by 9.9 percent to 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016.
Hebei's target is to achieve a PM2.5 density reduction of at least 6 percent in 2017 after it dropped 9 percent to reach 70 micrograms per cubic meter last year.
Tianjin aims to reduce coal consumption by 2.1 million tonnes through closing or upgrading coal-burning boilers and generators this year.
To cut vehicle exhaust emissions, Tianjin Port, the largest in northern China, will stop receiving diesel truck-transported coal in July. All coal in and out of the port will be carried by rail from the end of September, according to the municipal environmental authorities.
"For complementary development, Tianjin Port will focus on container services while Hebei's ports will develop bulk cargo businesses such as steel and coal in line with environmental standards," Zhao Mingkui, vice president of Tianjin Port, told Xinhua.
Central environmental inspections, which have been carried out in 16 provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions, will cover the rest of the country this year.
Meanwhile, two thirds of provinces or regions have unveiled provincial environmental inspection programs. Shanxi, which conducted provincial environmental inspections of four cities last year, will continue inspecting the remaining seven cities this year.
"We should make good use of the environmental protection inspection mechanisms as a sharp sword in our pollution treatment arsenal," said Wang, the researcher.
In new efforts to boost public monitoring and pollution control, the MEP said this month it would publish the ten best and worst cities for air quality improvement, in addition to the ten cities with good and poor air quality.
"Pollution treatment is a long, uphill battle. We can never slack off -- not even a bit," said Chen Run'er, governor of the central province of Henan.
(Xinhua reporters Liu Baosen, Li Kun, Gong Zhihong and Ni Yuanjin contributed to the story)
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A new draft law that would change the minimum age for administrative detention from 16 to 14 has been met with both concerns of overcorrection and voices of support, albeit cautious.
In China, administrative detention is a punishment for violations that threaten public security but do not constitute a criminal charge, sentences usually do not exceed 20 days. People awaiting trial are sometimes held in administrative detention.
Currently, minors are exempt from administrative detention, however, the draft public security administration law released Friday proposed that administrative detention should be applicable for individuals "at least 14 and under 18."
The draft law comes in response to rising concerns about young offenders, especially those involved with bullying or violence at school. Moreover, a survey by China Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC) in 2015 showed that juvenile offenders are getting younger.
Many , however, are wary about the new draft law.
"I don't agree with it," said Ge Haiyan, a mother in Beijing. "Children of that age are not mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions, and they are often rebellious at puberty. If we are too strict,our methods could have a negative effect."
Wang Tingting, another Beijing parent, said there should be a more holistic approach to punishment, as juvenile offences are influenced by home and school life.
"Teachers and parents should step up," Wang said.
Song Ruiyong, an education official in Beijing, said he was more concerned about the negative effects administrative detention has on young offenders.
"There is a risk that they will interact with more seasoned criminals while in detention, and they could have a negative influence on them, " Song said. "Being locked-up is an irreversible experience, especially for children."
He posited that youth education services would be better for young offenders.
Bian Feng, a Shengyang-based judge, said that the incarceration of minors was ignoring the fundamental problem.
"I think community or social services could be a better option."
Some people welcomed the proposed law, but not without conditions.
Wu Changhai, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, argued that the minimum age should only be applied in certain situations. "The rule should only be executed if the misconduct has had a huge social impact or if the suspect is a repeat offender," Wu said.
Deng Xiquan, deputy director of CYCRC, also supports the new rules."There are no existing actions in the current law for young offenders aged 14 to 16, and this has been exploited by some criminals who use kids of that age to circumvent the criminal law process," Deng said."The new rule, in a way, protects minors."
His support comes with a condition, "All young offenders should be kept at a specialized complex, away from bad influences," he said, echoing the opinion of Song.
Wang Na, a lawyer in Beijing, supported the lowering of the minimum age, especially for those suspected of severe crimes.
"Teenagers these days mature earlier," Wang said. "I have encountered cases of 14-year-olds suspected of molesting girls."
She said the number of reported school bullying cases has increased, so the new law could work as a deterrent.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least five alleged facilitators involved in Thursday's fatal suicide bombing at a Shrine in south Pakistan have been arrested, local police authority said Sunday.
Inspector General A.D Khawaja, the Police Chief of Pakistan's southern Sindh province, said that three more alleged facilitators of the blast at the Lal Shahbaz Qalanadar shrine were nabbed in ongoing intelligence based operations, increasing the number of arrests to five on Sunday.
Thursday's suicide bombing has so far killed 88 persons and left over 200 others injured.
"Law enforcement agencies have conducted operations along the borders of Sindh and Balochistan provinces arresting three alleged facilitators belonging to Hafeez Barohi Group, a militant group tasked to organize Islamic State (IS) in Sindh," Khawaja said.
The police chief also said that security agencies have also identified the alleged bomber through recording of CCTV cameras installed at the Shrine, however, he declined to share any further details about the bomber and the investigation into the incident.
At least 117 persons were killed and over 300 others injured in seven bomb blasts in four days from Monday to Thursday across Pakistan as the country witnessed a sudden surge in terror attacks after a tendency of drop in such attacks since the launch of military operation in 2014.
Following the Thursday's fatal attack, Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa blamed terrorists hiding in Afghanistan for the attacks and ordered to close the Pak-Afghan border and to launch countrywide operations in which over 140 terrorists have been killed and over 100 others arrested, including dozens of Afghan nationals.
According to local media reports, at least 11 Afghan militants were killed in a clash with Pakistani armed forces in the country's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency at Pak-Afghan border, while police killed five terrorists in Multan district of Punjab province on Sunday.
Pakistan army claimed to have destroyed 12 terrorist camps at Pak-Afghan border during last two days, killing 37 terrorists and leaving several others injured.
Pakistan on Friday also gave a list of 76 terrorists to Afghan authorities, urging them to take action against the terrorists or hand them over to Pakistan.
Earlier on Saturday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Shari enquired about the injured of Thursday's blast and said it is time for us to unite and fight against internal and external terrorists.
"I direct and authorize my armed forces and law enforcement agencies to eliminate the enemy whereever they are with the full force of the state," he said.
ATHENS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of Monday's Eurogroup meeting, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos has criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble for delaying conclusion of the second review of the Greek bailout.
"How could we move forward with such a stance by the IMF and with Schaeuble acting like a sphinx regarding debt relief?" Tsakalotos said in an interview with the Greek daily Editors' Journal published on Sunday.
The review has been beset by delays and disputes between Greece and its European Union and IMF lenders.
Under the initial timetable agreed when Athens and its international lenders sealed the third Greek bailout in the summer of 2015, the second review should have been completed in February 2016.
European lenders were expecting the IMF to contribute 5 billion euros (5.3 billion U.S. dollars) after first having hoped for 16 billion euros (17 billion U.S. dollars).
Germany opposes debt relief for Greece as demanded by the IMF, which insists that Greece's current debt load is unsustainable and requests imminent debt relief.
Earlier, the IMF believed Greece can only meet a primary fiscal surplus target of 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product by 2018, but now had adopted the view of European lenders that Greece should post a primary budget surplus of 3.5 percent in order to get fresh aid.
Amid this climate, Greek officials hope for a "political solution" during Monday's Eurogroup meeting so that technical teams can return to Athens in coming days to finalize the staff level agreement.
"I believe that on February 20 there will be an agreement on the framework and technical experts will come to Greece to work on the details," Panagiotis Roumeliotis, chairman of Greek Attica bank and former representative of Greece at the IMF in 2010 and 2011, told Greek national news agency AMNA.
Roumeliotis also claimed that the IMF made "major mistakes" in the first Greek bailout by giving wrong estimates on the course of the ailing economy which increased the country's financing needs.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, the Fund now insists on debt relief, he said.
ISTANBUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- As a referendum in which a highly polarized Turkey will vote on whether to adopt the presidential system draws near, pressures coupled with demonization against naysayers seem to be on the rise.
Those who would vote no in the plebiscite have often been identified with being on the side with terrorism and behind a coup attempt of last summer by leading ruling party figures.
Two prominent journalists were recently fired from the Dogan Media Group, the country's leading media conglomerate, for having spoken against the proposed executive presidency.
Irfan Degirmenci, a presenter of morning news with Kanal D TV channel, was dismissed for announcing over his personal Twitter account that he would vote no in the referendum slated for April 16.
Hakan Celenk, a columnist with the Posta daily, was sacked after arguing on television against the switch to the presidential system.
Both Kanal D and the Posta daily are part of the Dogan Media Group, which has been criticized by some for adopting a line favoring more the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after it won last general elections in 2015.
Fatih Cekirge, a columnist with the Hurriyet daily, Turkey's most influential newspaper which belongs to Dogan as well, said in his column at the end of last month that he would vote yes.
Cekirge, who is, according to rumors circulating in media circles, among potential candidates to become the editor-in-chief of Hurriyet, did not meet with any sanctions.
In a statement last week, Dogan defended the dismissal of the Kanal D presenter, arguing Degirmenci had violated the group's editorial principle of impartiality by being part of the no campaign with polarizing wording of his tweet.
Without making any mention of Cekirge, the statement said the group did not impose any sanctions against columnists who had declared their voting tendencies without violating the editorial principles.
Ozgur Ozel, a leading figure and lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), criticized Dogan's attitude in an interview with CNNTurk, also owned by the group, saying the conglomerate's argument is not convincing.
"Any move that serves to intimidate naysayers are seen as legitimate (by the government)," Ibrahim Kaboglu, a professor of constitutional law, told Xinhua.
Kaboglu is among 330 academicians from various universities who were recently sacked under a government decree for allegedly being linked with terrorist organizations.
Sinan Ogan, one of the leading naysayers among nationalist voters, complained to the Sozcu daily last week that he was no longer invited to TV programs, claiming "because they have been so instructed."
The president of Turkey will be granted sweeping powers if the constitutional amendments proposed by the AKP are accepted in the referendum.
Kaboglu strongly criticized the AKP proposals for crippling democratic principles such as separation of powers, arguing no constitutional amendments should be made during times of emergency rule.
Referring to the removal of hundreds of professors from universities, he said, "This is an act aimed at intimidating and terrorizing (the society), a move seeking to eliminate those who could raise awareness among people in favor of a no vote."
Turkey has been under an emergency rule since a coup bid was foiled in July last year.
Most recently, Suheyl Batum, a professor of constitutional law at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University, was expelled last week by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations apparently on the grounds that he is part of a no campaign.
Batum dismissed claims that he had himself resigned from his post, telling the Ulusal Kanal TV channel on Friday, "That's absolutely not true that I left the university by my own will."
In remarks to the Sozcu daily, Batum, who previously served as rector at the same private university, said, "The fact that they had to stop my classes clearly indicates that the government is applying with all its institutions an unbelievable pressure in the period leading up to the referendum."
Bican Sahin, president of the Ankara-based Freedom Research Association, does not think the purge of 330 academicians is a move aimed at silencing potential no campaigners, but could be perceived so under the circumstances.
A professor of political science with Hacettepe University in Ankara, Sahin essentially sees the dismissals as a move against those who signed last year a petition calling for an end to the military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.
"Purging academics who did not commit any crime other than express their views, which may be wrong, may give the impression of silencing the dissidents and damage the legitimacy of the referendum," he told Xinhua.
Getting more than half the votes is enough to win the referendum, while the AKP garnered over 49 percent of the ballot in last general elections.
A non-negligible portion of the sympathizers of the ruling party, however, may not vote yes in the referendum, said reports in local media.
According to a survey made public at the end of last month by the Konsensus polling company, around 10 percent of AKP voters will not vote yes, while another 10 percent remain undecided.
Some media reports and statements by leading political figures imply that the referendum vote may be a close call based on current voter preferences.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is the only opposition party supporting the government's yes campaign. The party's line in the referendum has, however, created a deep divide within the party and among nationalist voters.
Many leading figures of the party have publicly declared a no vote and jointly launched a no campaign last weekend.
Meral Aksener, for one, recently managed to organize a "no" meeting in the western city of Canakkale.
The power for the hall, where the meeting was to take place, was cut off by the hotel at the last minute. Police also entered the hall on the grounds that order could be disrupted.
The meeting was nevertheless held as scheduled and Aksener addressed the crowd, estimated as many as 1,000, by a bullhorn in a hall lightened by mobile phones of the participants.
As some of its own voters are projected not to say yes to a switch to the presidential system from the current parliamentarian one, the AKP wants to win over MHP voters who are more ideologically aligned with it as compared to the sympathizers from other parties.
Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan implied that public polls do not for the moment indicate a strong support for a stronger presidency.
"I don't regard it as possible that our people are in a position to understand the presidential system. We must tell about it in a detailed way," the president said days before.
Many opposition parties strongly oppose the constitutional amendments aimed at introducing the executive presidency, arguing the AKP's proposal would lead to an authoritarian one-man rule.
The AKP's model is also blasted for weakening the parliament, lacking proper check and balance while creating an all-powerful president who would also have a strong control over the judiciary.
Aksener claimed following the hotel incident, apparently based on some recent opinion polls, that 56 percent of the voters would vote no, while only 37 percent would say yes.
Local media quoted her as saying that she expected the MHP dissidents' campaign to meet with great pressure.
A union leader was assaulted in front of his house in Ankara about ten days ago, but he escaped unharmed while his driver was injured by a bullet in the attack.
It is not clear yet whether the attack was related to the union leader's opposition to the executive presidency.
Some leading members of the ruling party, like President Erdogan, have been using, in an apparent bid to consolidate its base of voters and win over nationalists, a discourse that describes naysayers as if they were aligned with terrorism.
Arguing that the PKK and those behind the failed coup will be voting no, the president recently said, "My nation would not act in line with those on the Qandil."
The PKK, which has its headquarters on the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, has been fighting a bloody war against Turkey to establish an autonomous, if not independent, Kurdistan in the country's predominantly Kurdish southeast.
Erdogan also claimed that those who say no would be on the same side with those who attempted the coup on July 15, saying, "The April 16 will be the answer to July 15. Naysayers will have sided with the July 15."
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also identified the no campaign with terrorism in a speech last week, saying he does not expect any Turkish citizen to follow the terrorists' way.
Kaboglu, who used to lecture in French universities, feels concerned that government pressure may further increase against dissidents in the coming weeks.
"Those who promote the no campaign could meet with various intimidations such as detention, police raid on domicile," he maintained.
Cevdet Kayafoglu, a deputy chief prosecutor in the southern province of Antalya, threatened over Twitter that those who would vote no would be treated the same as the PKK terrorists.
Back in December, the headquarters of the Yenicag daily in Istanbul was attacked by a mob of around 20. The masked group, armed with sticks and stones, broke windows of the building and damaged the information desk at the entrance.
The daily, which is ideologically aligned with nationalists, is close to dissidents within the MHP and highly critical of the MHP leadership for lending support to the presidential system.
A book about the MHP leader, Devlet Bahceli, and prominent figures of the nationalist movement was seized by the authorities on a court verdict the day it was distributed last month.
Selahattin Onkibar, the author of the book, said in his column in the Aydinlik daily last week that his book was seized because the MHP leader was described as a person not well-qualified for party leadership.
He also claimed on Halk TV on Friday that leading dissident figures among nationalists and some dissident journalists may be in the coming weeks taken under custody by the police following a fake attempt on Bahceli's life.
In the jostling, an AKP provincial official told people to get ready for civil war should a no vote emerge victorious in the referendum.
"If we cannot get more than 50 percent and fail in this referendum, get ready for a civil war," Ozan Erdem, the party's Manisa provincial deputy head, said last week while addressing the party's sympathizers in a conference.
Erdem resigned from his post upon demand by the ruling party, but claimed his remarks had been distorted.
According to Kaboglu, such remarks are the result of the AKP's demonization of dissidents. "All its top officials keep identifying naysayers with terrorism. This is very dangerous," he remarked.
KATHMANDU, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A military delegation from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Western Theater Command held a meeting with Nepalese Chief of the Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri in Kathmandu on Sunday.
The two sides held discussion about various issues of mutual interests and bilateral ties, the Nepal Army Headquarters stated in a press statement.
In the statement, the Nepal Army has expressed hope that the ongoing visit of the Chinese military delegation has helped to further expand and strengthen defense cooperation between the two armies. The meeting was attended by top officials of the Nepalese Army.
ULAN BATOR, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has agreed to implement an economic rescue package proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and refinance bond loans, easing the nerves of international investors and the business community fearing Mongolia might go default on its loan in March.
"The Mongolian government agreed to issue another commercial bond to replace the current 580-million-U.S. dollar bond due to be matured in March 21, 2017 at the suggestion of IMF," Mongolian Finance Minister Choijilsuren Battogtokh said on Sunday.
Koshy Mathai, the IMF mission chief for Mongolia, said the two sides reached an agreement on the program under the Extended Fund Facility.
It covers a period of three years, with 440 million dollars in financing from the IMF, and about 3 billion dollars from bilateral and multilateral partners, he said.
He added that this was a staff agreement only and was subject to confirmation of financing from the partners to the program and a few "prior actions."
The negotiation with the IMF lasted six months and was concluded at 1:30 a.m. local time on Sunday (1730 GMT Saturday), the Mongolian finance minister said, calling it a tough negotiation.
The minister listed three main conditions Mongolia has agreed upon.
"The 2017 budget has to be revised before the IMF executive board approval of the program. Secondly, the Mongol Bank must stop financing the mortgage scheme and transfer responsibility for the scheme to the government. Thirdly the Mongol Bank must stop any funding activities that fall outside the budget," he said.
The program is expected to be implemented in several stages when Mongolia revises its taxation laws and reduces social welfare spending which are conditions of the IMF program.
The looming 580-million-dollar bond was issued five years ago by the Development Bank of Mongolia with government guarantee. Most of the loans went to show-case projects such as construction of public roads and heavy industrial plants with no prospect of immediate returns.
Mongolia's total debt stands at 21.6 billion U.S. dollars including government loans, government guarantees and private company loans.
Mongolia's largest international bond, known as the Genghis Bond raised in late 2012, is due to be repaid in installments in 2018 and 2022.
MUNICH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- American Senators said on Sunday at the 53rd Munich Security Conference(MSC) that new sanctions need to be imposed against Russia, while the Russian foreign minister has called here for "pragmatic and mutually-respect" in the Russian-U.S. relations.
"Top of the list will be sanctions on Russia," said Lindsey Graham, member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services of the United States.
"We're going to take a long hard look at what Russia did to undermine our election, so that you're better prepared," Graham said during a panel discussion titled "US Foreign Policy: A Congressional Debate".
Graham also warned that Russia is not an ally, and that "we need to ensure that the Russians will not interfere in Germany", referring to the German national election this year.
Another American Senator Christopher Murphy also blamed Russia for trying to interfere the U.S. election, saying "we are not doing enough to investigate Russia's attempt to swing the U.S. election. Russia has paid very little for that."
The "Congress needs to get to the bottom of the matter, and there may need to be more sanctions," said Murphy, member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States.
He also believed that it was not enough to increase the defense budget alone. New measures should be taken to push back "Russian expansionism".
Meanwhile, Murphy accused U.S.President Donald Trump's administration of not being clear at all. He often scratched his head about Trump's remarks.
"No one has any clue what the foreign policy of this administration is," Murphy stressed.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who also addressed this year's MSC, said that his country will "continue to hold Russia accountable" for the Ukrainian issue, even as Trump is searching for new common ground with Kremlin.
Therefore, some analysts believed that the possibility of improving the strained Russia-West relations during the new presidency of Trump has dimmed after the United States re-calibrated its NATO policy, declaring to be "the greatest ally."
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advocated during his speech that his country wants the Russian-U.S. relations to be based on "pragmatism, mutual respect and an understanding of special responsibility for global security."
Responding to a question on alleged election interference in the United States and France, Lavrov said briefly: "Give us some facts."
At the same time, the Russian top diplomat called for a "post-West order," saying "post-Western values" include post-democracy, justice, tolerance, liberty, civil rights, human rights, freedom, open society and peace.
Since its foundation in 1963, the annual MSC, once dubbed a "transatlantic family gathering," has become a forum dedicated to promoting peaceful conflict resolution and international cooperation and dialogue. It was held this year from Feb. 17 to 19.
RIYADH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- An Arab plastic surgeon is at risk of losing his medical license and facing legal charges of being responsible for the amputation of three limbs of a Saudi young woman, according to a local health panel on Sunday.
The panel was formed by the health authorities in Riyadh after the victim's mother filed a case against the private clinic surgeon who carried out a liposuction surgery for her daughter, the health ministry said in a statement.
The condition of the patient deteriorated after the surgery and was admitted to a government hospital, where the doctors decided to amputate her both hands and right leg as the only means to protect her life.
The investigators said the facilities of the private clinic, without medical devices to deal with common surgery-related complications, doesn't meet even the minimum requirements for safe surgeries.
The Saudi health ministry has repeatedly warned private health facilities to follow health instructions and regulations to avoid legal actions.
WINDHOEK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Namibia Police said Sunday that more than 1,300 illegal firearms had been handed over during a five-month gun amnesty period.
The amnesty that was declared on Aug. 18 last year ended on Feb. 18.
During the same period, police said, about 100,000 ammunitions and 80 explosives were surrendered.
According to the police, now that the amnesty is over, anyone found in possession of an illegal firearm will be arrested. Enditem
BRUSSELS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived here on Sunday afternoon, the second stop of his European tour to reassure U.S.worried allies.
Pence arrived at the Melsbroek military airport under police surveillance.
He will meet with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Sunday evening. On Monday, the U.S. vice president will hold meetings with officials at the EU institutions and NATO.
Michel and Pence will then hold a joint press conference.
Speaking on the Francophone public broadcaster RTBF, Michel said that he will remind Pence of the long-standing friendship that has existed between the two countries, and also talk about issues causing unease in Europe.
The vice president flew from Munich, Germany, where he attended the Munich Security Conference.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Tanzania's lake zone district of Tarime have seized 20 sacks of dried cannabis and destroyed 56 hectares of the plant for the past three days in the ongoing narcotics crackdown.
Glorius Luoga, Tarime District Commissioner said on Sunday that the crackdown has been possible due to his task force established to fight against illegal narcotic drugs business in the area.
He said the task force arrested drug moguls including those cultivating or importing it from the neighboring Kenya.
Luoga, who is also the District Security Committee chairman, noted that the operation was conducted between February 13 and 15, this year across the district, which is located on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria.
"We have so far arrested 14 people in connection with illicit drugs," the official said, noting that police were still looking for suspects who escaped during the operation.
The District Commissioner urged the residents to venture into other agricultural projects that are likely to earn them a lot of money. He said the area is endowed with the best soil that can be used to grow various crops such as banana, onions, Irish potatoes, sunflower, maize, and vegetables.
Tarime is one of the notorious areas in northwestern Tanzania for illegal cultivation of marijuana, which are partly sold in the country's major cities like Mwanza and the remaining exported to as far as neighboring Kenya.
Police in Mara region have been regularly destroying hundreds of hectares of marijuana farms in the country's Lake Zone regions. Enditem
Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Yao Jing (2nd L) and Afghan State Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs Wais Ahmad Barmak (3rd L) attend the handover ceremony of humanitarian consignments at an airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 19, 2017. Afghan State Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs Wais Ahmad Barmak expressed his gratitude to China over sending humanitarian consignments to Afghanistan on Sunday. A consignment of Chinese assistance including tents, overcoat and quilts worth 137.1 million afghanis dollars (some 2 million U.S. dollars) was formally handed over to Afghan government at a ceremony attended among others by Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing here at the airport. (Xinhua/Dai He)
KABUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Afghan State Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, Wais Ahmad Barmak expressed his gratitude to China over sending humanitarian consignments to Afghanistan on Sunday.
"On behalf of the government and the people of Afghanistan, I express my heartfelt thanks to the People's Republic of China and we Afghans are thankful to China over its assistance," Barmak told reporters after receiving the consignment at the handover ceremony here at Kabul airport.
A consignment of Chinese assistance including tents, overcoat and quilts worth 137.1 million afghanis dollars (some 2 million U.S. dollars) was formally handed over to Afghan government at a ceremony attended among others by Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing here at the airport.
Minister Barmak said that China has always timely responded to Afghan demands to help the natural disaster-affected people, adding China dispatched generous assistances in 2015, in 2016 and so far in 2017.
"We received humanitarian assistance worth around 2 million U.S. dollars today and another consignment would reach here on Feb. 25," the official added.
He also noted that China would help to build low cost houses for the returnees, besides assisting to rebuild the houses of the natural disaster-affected people.
Speaking on the occasion, Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, besides expressing solidarity with the people and government of Afghanistan, also hoped that the assistance provided by China could reach the disaster affected areas and people as soon as possible.
"Our president and premier both wrote a letter to express solidarity to President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah, our government prepared this relief materials during our Spring Festival holidays," said Yao.
More than 170 people including women and children have lost their lives due to snowfall and chilly weather elsewhere in Afghanistan over the past nearly three weeks and hundreds of houses have been destroyed or partially damaged.
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's foreign minister on Sunday called for talks between the Islamic republic and the Persian Gulf states aimed at addressing the mutual and regional issuers.
"Countries in the Persian Gulf region need to surmount the current state of division and tension and instead move in the direction of erecting realistic regional arrangements," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
"It can perhaps start with a modest regional dialogue forum," he said, urging the Persian Gulf Arab states to work with Iran to address "anxieties" and violence across the region, according to Press TV.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made formal trips to Kuwait and Oman on the reconciliation mission between Iran and the Arab states.
His trip followed the January visit by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah to Tehran who delivered a message on a "basis of dialogue" between Arab states and Iran.
Following that, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Iranian government was mulling a response to the reconciliation overture.
Relations between Iran and some Arab states have deteriorated over the past years over the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.
They have accused Iran of interfering in the internal affairs of some Arab states. Iran has denied the charges.
AMMAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday reiterated his support of the two-state solution to solve the Palestinian issue and attain peace, reported the state-run Petra news agency.
The King expressed the support during a meeting with parliamentary committees, where he reviewed developments in the Middle East.
The Jordanian leader stressed that efforts to dissolve the stalemate in the peace process and resume serious and effective peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis must be based on the two-state solution, the only way to end the conflict.
Also on Sunday, King Abdullah met with a U.S. congressional delegation and both sides discussed developments in the Middle East.
The king voiced support for the U.S.'s continued backing of Jordan, enabling it to cope with the economic and security challenges posed by the influx of Syrian refugees into the Kingdom.
Discussions also focused on efforts devoted to relaunching productive peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis based on the two-state solution.
Both sides also discussed the latest developments in Syria and Iraq as well as efforts to combat terrorism.
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The best-selling book The Art of the Deal has helped make American businessman Donald Trump a household name and outlined his approach to business success, which included such guidance as "think big," "use your leverage" and "get the word out."
Thirty years later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - just a teenager at the time the future U.S. president's book was published in 1987 - is now employing those tips in positioning Canada as a major global trading partner.
He left his first face-to-face meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with the Canada-U.S. dynamic maintained within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The protectionist U.S. president told the pro-trade Canadian prime minister - and the reporters gathered at their joint news conference, that they would be doing certain things "that are going to benefit both of our countries."
For Canada, that appears to be more of a "renovation of NAFTA" rather than a "brand-new" agreement, which Trump mentioned as possibilities in a meeting with U.S. lawmakers earlier this month.
That reassurance signaled the importance of cross-border trade between both countries, and gave Trudeau a political bounce as he traveled abroad later in the week to welcome a no-less significant free trade deal with the European Union.
In the first speech by a Canadian prime minister to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Thursday, Trudeau said that if the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is successful, "CETA will become the blueprint for all ambitious future trade deals." If not, he said, "this could well be one of the last."
European parliamentarians voted to approve CETA on Wednesday - the day after members of the Canadian House of Commons passed legislation to implement the trade agreement, which is now before the Senate where it is expected to pass and become law.
Once the 38 national and regional parliaments in the EU ratify CETA, the agreement will eliminate virtually all of tariffs on Canadian exports to the EU and provide the country with access to more than 500 million consumers in the European market with a gross domestic product, based on purchasing power parity, of about 19 trillion U.S. dollars. It will also, in Trudeau's view, help grow the middle class on both sides of the Atlantic - a message he also delivered during his visit to Washington D.C. earlier in the week.
CETA sends another message to Trump through a statement from European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom following the historic European parliamentary vote on Wednesday. "By building bridges rather than walls, we can face the challenges that confront our societies together," she said.
"In these uncertain times, with rising protectionism around the world, CETA underlines our strong commitment to sustainable trade."
Europe is counting on Canada to serve as a key bridge-builder, as the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani said at a joint news conference with Trudeau on Thursday. "It's easier for the Canadians speak to the Americans," said Tajani, who believes Trudeau's Monday meeting with Trump "paved the way for better relations" between the EU and the U.S.
That's crucial for the EU if it ever hopes to revive a free trade deal with the U.S. after Trump canceled negotiations, particularly if Trudeau can make inroads with the U.S. president whom he said in Strasbourg on Thursday that is "demonstrating that good relations with one's neighbors is a great way of getting things done."
But the prime minister's Liberal government is looking beyond NAFTA and CETA to establish trade agreements with China, India and Japan.
"This is the year of trade,"Canadian International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters here last Friday. "People want to do trade with Canada because Canada stands out for progressive trade, having provisions that deal with worker rights and the environment."
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The agriculture minister of Kyrgyzstan arrived in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the boost of cooperation with Iranian officials and enterprisers, semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Murashev Nurbek Murpazylzhanovich, the minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic, visited at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Hojjati, Fars said.
Extra-territorial cultivation, joint ventures for production of chemical fertilizers, construction of greenhouses and creation of drip irrigation systems are among the areas of cooperation on the agenda of the meetings between the official of two countries in Tehran.
Murpazylzhanovich is heading a high-ranking delegation and during the four-day stay, they will visit a number of animal husbandry centers, processing, finishing and feed industries as well as Iran's Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute.
The two countries trade in agriculture and capital goods. Iran mainly exports clothing, nuts, paints and flooring to Kyrgyzstan and imports meat, grain and steel scraps.
Iran and Kyrgyzstan also collaborate in the spheres of education, culture, travel, customs, finances, war on trafficking and crime in general. The two countries have signed agreements on cooperation in transport, customs, trade and economic relations.
MOGADISHU, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Top UN envoy in Somalia has condemned Sunday's terrorist attack at a market in Mogadishu that killed at least 30 people and injured over 40 others.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) in Somalia, Michael Keating, described the incident as a brutal reminder of the retrograde tactics employed by violent extremists.
"I condemn the terrorist attack in Mogadishu today. Killing civilians is despicable and achieves nothing -- except to remind Somalia of the indifference of extremists to human life and suffering," Keating said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.
The militant group Al-Shabaab detonated vehicle bound explosive devices (VBIED) at the Abagedo market near Kawa Gudey in the Dharkenley district of Mogadishu.
The deceased include pedestrians and shopkeepers who were in the vicinity of the market when the blast took place. No group has yet claimed responsibility.
The attack takes place as the country prepares for the inaugural celebrations of the new Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) who has come to office amid a public outpouring of euphoria marking the beginning of a new chapter in Somali history that is ripe with opportunity and promise.
"I commend the swift response of Somalia's security and first responders. The perpetrators need to be brought to justice swiftly. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the families and friends of those who have died," Keating said.
The militants have recently increased their attacks against AU and Somali forces in the country, which has seen a surge of attacks that resulted in the loss of lives and property.
The AMISOM and Somali forces have also increased airstrikes in southern Somalia in the recent past.
Seagulls fly over the Karakoy district near the Suleymaniye Mosque at sunset on January 21, 2017 in Istanbul. (AFP photo)
ISTANBUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- As a referendum in which a highly polarized Turkey will vote on whether to adopt the presidential system draws near, pressures coupled with demonization against naysayers seem to be on the rise.
Those who would vote no in the plebiscite have often been identified with being on the side with terrorism and behind a coup attempt of last summer by leading ruling party figures.
Two prominent journalists were recently fired from the Dogan Media Group, the country's leading media conglomerate, for having spoken against the proposed executive presidency.
Irfan Degirmenci, a presenter of morning news with Kanal D TV channel, was dismissed for announcing over his personal Twitter account that he would vote no in the referendum slated for April 16.
Hakan Celenk, a columnist with the Posta daily, was sacked after arguing on television against the switch to the presidential system.
Both Kanal D and the Posta daily are part of the Dogan Media Group, which has been criticized by some for adopting a line favoring more the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after it won last general elections in 2015.
Fatih Cekirge, a columnist with the Hurriyet daily, Turkey's most influential newspaper which belongs to Dogan as well, said in his column at the end of last month that he would vote yes.
Cekirge, who is, according to rumors circulating in media circles, among potential candidates to become the editor-in-chief of Hurriyet, did not meet with any sanctions.
In a statement last week, Dogan defended the dismissal of the Kanal D presenter, arguing Degirmenci had violated the group's editorial principle of impartiality by being part of the no campaign with polarizing wording of his tweet.
Without making any mention of Cekirge, the statement said the group did not impose any sanctions against columnists who had declared their voting tendencies without violating the editorial principles.
Ozgur Ozel, a leading figure and lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), criticized Dogan's attitude in an interview with CNNTurk, also owned by the group, saying the conglomerate's argument is not convincing.
"Any move that serves to intimidate naysayers are seen as legitimate (by the government)," Ibrahim Kaboglu, a professor of constitutional law, told Xinhua.
Kaboglu is among 330 academicians from various universities who were recently sacked under a government decree for allegedly being linked with terrorist organizations.
Sinan Ogan, one of the leading naysayers among nationalist voters, complained to the Sozcu daily last week that he was no longer invited to TV programs, claiming "because they have been so instructed."
The president of Turkey will be granted sweeping powers if the constitutional amendments proposed by the AKP are accepted in the referendum.
Kaboglu strongly criticized the AKP proposals for crippling democratic principles such as separation of powers, arguing no constitutional amendments should be made during times of emergency rule.
Referring to the removal of hundreds of professors from universities, he said, "This is an act aimed at intimidating and terrorizing (the society), a move seeking to eliminate those who could raise awareness among people in favor of a no vote."
Turkey has been under an emergency rule since a coup bid was foiled in July last year.
Most recently, Suheyl Batum, a professor of constitutional law at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University, was expelled last week by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations apparently on the grounds that he is part of a no campaign.
Batum dismissed claims that he had himself resigned from his post, telling the Ulusal Kanal TV channel on Friday, "That's absolutely not true that I left the university by my own will."
In remarks to the Sozcu daily, Batum, who previously served as rector at the same private university, said, "The fact that they had to stop my classes clearly indicates that the government is applying with all its institutions an unbelievable pressure in the period leading up to the referendum."
Bican Sahin, president of the Ankara-based Freedom Research Association, does not think the purge of 330 academicians is a move aimed at silencing potential no campaigners, but could be perceived so under the circumstances.
A professor of political science with Hacettepe University in Ankara, Sahin essentially sees the dismissals as a move against those who signed last year a petition calling for an end to the military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.
"Purging academics who did not commit any crime other than express their views, which may be wrong, may give the impression of silencing the dissidents and damage the legitimacy of the referendum," he told Xinhua.
Getting more than half the votes is enough to win the referendum, while the AKP garnered over 49 percent of the ballot in last general elections.
A non-negligible portion of the sympathizers of the ruling party, however, may not vote yes in the referendum, said reports in local media.
According to a survey made public at the end of last month by the Konsensus polling company, around 10 percent of AKP voters will not vote yes, while another 10 percent remain undecided.
Some media reports and statements by leading political figures imply that the referendum vote may be a close call based on current voter preferences.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is the only opposition party supporting the government's yes campaign. The party's line in the referendum has, however, created a deep divide within the party and among nationalist voters.
Many leading figures of the party have publicly declared a no vote and jointly launched a no campaign last weekend.
Meral Aksener, for one, recently managed to organize a "no" meeting in the western city of Canakkale.
The power for the hall, where the meeting was to take place, was cut off by the hotel at the last minute. Police also entered the hall on the grounds that order could be disrupted.
The meeting was nevertheless held as scheduled and Aksener addressed the crowd, estimated as many as 1,000, by a bullhorn in a hall lightened by mobile phones of the participants.
As some of its own voters are projected not to say yes to a switch to the presidential system from the current parliamentarian one, the AKP wants to win over MHP voters who are more ideologically aligned with it as compared to the sympathizers from other parties.
Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan implied that public polls do not for the moment indicate a strong support for a stronger presidency.
"I don't regard it as possible that our people are in a position to understand the presidential system. We must tell about it in a detailed way," the president said days before.
Many opposition parties strongly oppose the constitutional amendments aimed at introducing the executive presidency, arguing the AKP's proposal would lead to an authoritarian one-man rule.
The AKP's model is also blasted for weakening the parliament, lacking proper check and balance while creating an all-powerful president who would also have a strong control over the judiciary.
Aksener claimed following the hotel incident, apparently based on some recent opinion polls, that 56 percent of the voters would vote no, while only 37 percent would say yes.
Local media quoted her as saying that she expected the MHP dissidents' campaign to meet with great pressure.
A union leader was assaulted in front of his house in Ankara about ten days ago, but he escaped unharmed while his driver was injured by a bullet in the attack.
It is not clear yet whether the attack was related to the union leader's opposition to the executive presidency.
Some leading members of the ruling party, like President Erdogan, have been using, in an apparent bid to consolidate its base of voters and win over nationalists, a discourse that describes naysayers as if they were aligned with terrorism.
Arguing that the PKK and those behind the failed coup will be voting no, the president recently said, "My nation would not act in line with those on the Qandil."
The PKK, which has its headquarters on the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, has been fighting a bloody war against Turkey to establish an autonomous, if not independent, Kurdistan in the country's predominantly Kurdish southeast.
Erdogan also claimed that those who say no would be on the same side with those who attempted the coup on July 15, saying, "The April 16 will be the answer to July 15. Naysayers will have sided with the July 15."
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also identified the no campaign with terrorism in a speech last week, saying he does not expect any Turkish citizen to follow the terrorists' way.
Kaboglu, who used to lecture in French universities, feels concerned that government pressure may further increase against dissidents in the coming weeks.
"Those who promote the no campaign could meet with various intimidations such as detention, police raid on domicile," he maintained.
Cevdet Kayafoglu, a deputy chief prosecutor in the southern province of Antalya, threatened over Twitter that those who would vote no would be treated the same as the PKK terrorists.
Back in December, the headquarters of the Yenicag daily in Istanbul was attacked by a mob of around 20. The masked group, armed with sticks and stones, broke windows of the building and damaged the information desk at the entrance.
The daily, which is ideologically aligned with nationalists, is close to dissidents within the MHP and highly critical of the MHP leadership for lending support to the presidential system.
A book about the MHP leader, Devlet Bahceli, and prominent figures of the nationalist movement was seized by the authorities on a court verdict the day it was distributed last month.
Selahattin Onkibar, the author of the book, said in his column in the Aydinlik daily last week that his book was seized because the MHP leader was described as a person not well-qualified for party leadership.
He also claimed on Halk TV on Friday that leading dissident figures among nationalists and some dissident journalists may be in the coming weeks taken under custody by the police following a fake attempt on Bahceli's life.
In the jostling, an AKP provincial official told people to get ready for civil war should a no vote emerge victorious in the referendum.
"If we cannot get more than 50 percent and fail in this referendum, get ready for a civil war," Ozan Erdem, the party's Manisa provincial deputy head, said last week while addressing the party's sympathizers in a conference.
Erdem resigned from his post upon demand by the ruling party, but claimed his remarks had been distorted.
According to Kaboglu, such remarks are the result of the AKP's demonization of dissidents. "All its top officials keep identifying naysayers with terrorism. This is very dangerous," he remarked.
People visit the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates on Feb. 19, 2017. The biennial IDEX kicked off here on Sunday with special focus on disruptive technology. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
ABU DHABI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) kicked off here on Sunday with special focus on disruptive technology.
Themed "Disruptive Innovation in Defense and Security Technology," the 13th edition of the five-day event attracts 1,235 firms from 57 countries, according to the organizer Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC).
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as Omar Al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, attended the opening ceremony.
The use of drones, robots and digital solutions rose to a global phenomenon among armies across the globe which has led defense firms to develop new solutions in order to bring disruptive technologies, theme of the fair, to the next level.
Eli Airborne Solutions from Estonia demonstrates at the fair its multi-rotor Elix-XL, which according to the producer can be used for exterior reconnaissance flights after "a few hours of training."
German defense giant Rheinmetall, the 10th biggest producer of military hardware in Europe, showcases for the first time in the Middle East Panoview, a pair of 3D-glasses which equip the commander of a tank with a quasi-robotic eye so that he can look around the vehicle without climbing on the turret of the tank and being exposed to direct enemy fire on.
"The French army is undergoing a major technical upgrade," Major Laure Barbeau told Xinhua. "Under the 'Au Contact' modernization scheme, the French army tanks Scorpion, Jaguar and Leclerc will be modernized by 2020 with digitalization technology in order to produce a tactical effect on the terrain while against enemies."
"Disruptive technology and its impact should be understood and monitored by all military branches of service, because the technology leads to the rise of cyber warfare," Mohammed Al-Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defense said Saturday.
Rheinmetall has developed a new cyber network security solution. "Our new system called 'cyel equilibrium' can't be hacked because these systems permanently change the IP-address, so that hackers have no static entry point," claimed Oliver Hoffman, spokesman with Rheinmetall.
Protection of military sensitive data is also in the focus of United States-based firm DRS Technologies which said earlier in the day it has been awarded an initial five-year contract worth 9.3 million U.S. dollars by the U.S. Navy "for updated communications systems that allow ship commanders to securely share real-time tactical data information."
UAE's Siham Al Khaleek Technology and Italy's Leonardo MBDA showcased IDEX Siham3, a UAE-made standalone anti-air and anti-surface weapon system which according to both firms "will allow for a significant reduction in the ship's installation requirement" based on a single mounted system.
Meanwhile, state-of-the-art defense equipment covering all military sectors are being showcased here by renowned global giants including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Airbus and Safran.
Covering nearly 1,500 square meters, China Defense pavilion is composed of eight leading domestic military manufacturers, such as NORINCO and Poly Technologies, exhibiting Chinese tanks, artilleries, UAVs, submarines, frigates, laser weapons and missiles.
Dai Ning, Deputy General Manager of Poly Technologies, said the company brought here defense equipment of "new concept in new era," adapted to higher standard of modern time and future.
"The Middle East suffers from turmoil over the past years," he said. "Our major goal in the region is to help stabilize society, especially help eradicate terrorism."
He specially introduced a laser weapon system called "Silent Hunter," world's third such kind after the U.S. and Germany, saying the rapidly development and usage of UAVs have been posing threats to national security, and the system was designed to destroy aircraft, particularly UAVs.
"UAV intrusion repeatedly occurred worldwide, even at the White House, making it urgent to speed up the research and development of deterrent weapons," he stressed. "After the debut exhibition last year in South Africa, we have upgraded the laser system's functions with larger power and higher accuracy."
Zhao Xiaopeng, Deputy Director of Tech Department in NORINCO, said that his company has been showing best weapons at the IDEX to attract more cooperation partners, with VT-4 main battle tank and PLZ-52 self-propelled howitzer as star products at the ongoing fair.
"The Mideast tops the destination list of the world defense equipment trading," he said. "If we can explore the market here, it will benefit us to explore the entire global market."
This year's fair will last from Sunday to Thursday, and to be open for public since Monday. The first day's trading volume of military equipment stood at 4.42 billion dirham (1.2 billion dollars), according to the ADNEC.
The last IDEX in 2015 saw over 100,000 visitors flocking into this biggest military fair and exhibition in the Middle East while deals worth 18.3 billion dirham (4.98 billion U.S. dollars) were sealed.
Iraqi forces's BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, supported by the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries, advance towards the village of Sheikh Younis, south of Mosul, after the offensive to retake the western side of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters commenced on February 19, 2017. (AFP photo)
MOSUL, Iraq, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 12 wounded on Sunday in two suicide bomb attacks in eastern Mosul, as the Iraqi forces started an offensive to drive the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group out of the western side of the city.
The attacks took place in the morning when one suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near a popular restaurant at a commercial area, known as My Fair Lady, in al-Zuhour neighborhood in the recently liberated eastern side of Mosul, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The blast left at least a civilian killed and seven others wounded, the source said.
Another attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at a popular market in Nabi Younis neighborhood in the eastern side of Mosul, leaving two people killed and five others wounded, the source added.
Late in January, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, locally known as the left bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
The attacks came as Abadi announced, earlier in the day, the start of a new phase of a major offensive to free the western side of Mosul from IS militants.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures next to the former U.S secretary of state Madeleine Albright during the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 19, 2017. (Reuters photo)
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's foreign minister on Sunday called for talks between the Islamic republic and the Persian Gulf states aimed at addressing the mutual and regional issuers.
"Countries in the Persian Gulf region need to surmount the current state of division and tension and instead move in the direction of erecting realistic regional arrangements," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
"It can perhaps start with a modest regional dialogue forum," he said, urging the Persian Gulf Arab states to work with Iran to address "anxieties" and violence across the region, according to Press TV.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made formal trips to Kuwait and Oman on the reconciliation mission between Iran and the Arab states.
His trip followed the January visit by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah to Tehran who delivered a message on a "basis of dialogue" between Arab states and Iran.
Following that, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Iranian government was mulling a response to the reconciliation overture.
Relations between Iran and some Arab states have deteriorated over the past years over the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.
They have accused Iran of interfering in the internal affairs of some Arab states. Iran has denied the charges.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) shakes hands with Hamburg's mayor Olaf Scholz at the town hall in Hamburg, northern Germany, on February 17, 2017. (AFP File Photo/dpa/Christian Charisius)
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The best-selling book The Art of the Deal has helped make American businessman Donald Trump a household name and outlined his approach to business success, which included such guidance as "think big," "use your leverage" and "get the word out."
Thirty years later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - just a teenager at the time the future U.S. president's book was published in 1987 - is now employing those tips in positioning Canada as a major global trading partner.
He left his first face-to-face meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with the Canada-U.S. dynamic maintained within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The protectionist U.S. president told the pro-trade Canadian prime minister - and the reporters gathered at their joint news conference, that they would be doing certain things "that are going to benefit both of our countries."
For Canada, that appears to be more of a "renovation of NAFTA" rather than a "brand-new" agreement, which Trump mentioned as possibilities in a meeting with U.S. lawmakers earlier this month.
That reassurance signaled the importance of cross-border trade between both countries, and gave Trudeau a political bounce as he traveled abroad later in the week to welcome a no-less significant free trade deal with the European Union.
In the first speech by a Canadian prime minister to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Thursday, Trudeau said that if the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is successful, "CETA will become the blueprint for all ambitious future trade deals." If not, he said, "this could well be one of the last."
European parliamentarians voted to approve CETA on Wednesday - the day after members of the Canadian House of Commons passed legislation to implement the trade agreement, which is now before the Senate where it is expected to pass and become law.
Once the 38 national and regional parliaments in the EU ratify CETA, the agreement will eliminate virtually all of tariffs on Canadian exports to the EU and provide the country with access to more than 500 million consumers in the European market with a gross domestic product, based on purchasing power parity, of about 19 trillion U.S. dollars. It will also, in Trudeau's view, help grow the middle class on both sides of the Atlantic - a message he also delivered during his visit to Washington D.C. earlier in the week.
CETA sends another message to Trump through a statement from European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom following the historic European parliamentary vote on Wednesday. "By building bridges rather than walls, we can face the challenges that confront our societies together," she said.
"In these uncertain times, with rising protectionism around the world, CETA underlines our strong commitment to sustainable trade."
Europe is counting on Canada to serve as a key bridge-builder, as the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani said at a joint news conference with Trudeau on Thursday. "It's easier for the Canadians speak to the Americans," said Tajani, who believes Trudeau's Monday meeting with Trump "paved the way for better relations" between the EU and the U.S.
That's crucial for the EU if it ever hopes to revive a free trade deal with the U.S. after Trump canceled negotiations, particularly if Trudeau can make inroads with the U.S. president whom he said in Strasbourg on Thursday that is "demonstrating that good relations with one's neighbors is a great way of getting things done."
But the prime minister's Liberal government is looking beyond NAFTA and CETA to establish trade agreements with China, India and Japan.
"This is the year of trade,"Canadian International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters here last Friday. "People want to do trade with Canada because Canada stands out for progressive trade, having provisions that deal with worker rights and the environment."
By Xinhua Writer Jiang Yaping
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a hereditary degenerative eye disease, believed to be an incurable disease with Western Medicine Treatment, but traditional Chinese Medicine Therapies offered a new hope for the successful treatment of RP patients.
RP is a group of genetic disorders that affect the retina's ability to respond to light. This inherited disease causes a slow loss of vision, beginning with decreased night vision and loss of peripheral (side) vision. Eventually, blindness results. Western Medicine believes there is no cure for RP right now.
Patients who are diagnosed with the disease are usually advised by their doctors to learn how to walk with a cane and to prepare for a vision-less life.
But currently, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments are available. RP patients have seen the light of hope in the dark tunnel after they come to a clinic in Vancouver in west Canada.
Dr. Weidong Yu, the founder of the Wellspring Clinic, has found the solution with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Yu told Xinhua in a recent interview by email that his method of treatment is based on TCM, and uses a combination of acupuncture and herbs to stop the progression of RP. So far, he has received more than 600 RP patients and nearly 400 have been fully recovered, with the rest greatly improved of their eye sight.
The 54-year-old Yu is a Chinese-born doctor. Before he settled down in Vancouver nearly 20 years ago, he had received Bachelor of Chinese medicine in China's Shandong Chinese Medicine college and Master of public health in Universite libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.
Richard Schuit from Ontario in eastern Canada was diagnosed with RP in 1991, and was told by his doctors that there was no treatment for the disease. He would go blind gradually and should be prepared to find a guide dog and learn to read braille while he still had some vision left.
With eye sight deteriorates year by year, Schuit started looking into alternative means of treatment, and found Yu's clinic while searching on the internet. At first, Schuit had some doubts about Yu's Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment, but with virtually no other options, he was willing to give the treatment a fair chance.
After three treatments of 10-days each over the course of several years, Schuit regained almost all of the peripheral vision that he had previously lost, going from an initial 30-degree field of vision to his present state of 180 degrees.
It was such a wonderful treatment as if "thin layers of black are being peeled off every time that I come here," Schuit said.
Yu said the idea of treating RP with TCM started in 1999 when he first saw a RP patient.
"When I discovered that she had the condition, I believed that TCM could help her improve, and decided to give it a try. My reasons for choosing TCM were not arbitrary or random. Back when I worked at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, there was a research group that conducted clinical research on Chinese medical treatment of Retinitis Pigmentation, the results of which were very promising," he said.
Since then, Yu has been providing treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa and offering his patients a more hopeful and positive future. After his successful debut, patients from all over the world start flying to Vancouver to receive treatment from Yu over the past 17 years.
Phyllis Brown, an accountant and former teacher from Atlanta, Georgia, first came to Yu's clinic in 2015, with the hopes of stopping the decline in her peripheral vision. With a background of Western medicine, she was initially skeptical about the efficacy of alternative medicine. But the first two treatments strengthened her confidence as her peripheral vision opened up steadily, and she saw improvements in her central vision acuity as well.
"Yu not only saved my eye sight, he saved my life as well," Brown said.
Yu said acupuncture is the primary means of treatment as it regulates energy flows in the body and balances the Yin and Yang, which is one of the most fundamental concepts in TCM, as it is the foundation of diagnosis and treatment.
"The method does not involve direct contact with their optic organs. Instead, I am rehabilitating and restoring their self-healing ability through holistic treatment," he explained.
"With his magic method, Dr. Yu provides us with hope -- a hope that eventually helps us overcome the disease and see the colorful world again," another patient said.
An Iraqi soldier inspects the debris on January 22, 2017 at St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis), a historical Chaldean Catholic church on the northern outskirt of Mosul, which was destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group in 2015. (AFP/Xinhua) (File photo)
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Sunday announced the commencement of a new phase of offensive to drive out the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group from its major stronghold in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.
The Iraqi army, federal police and some paramilitary units of the Hashd Shaabi have started their advance in the early morning from south and west of the Mosul.
The troops, so far, have managed to retake control of a total of 17 villages as they are marching closer to the fringes of the western side of the city, according to a statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.
In south of Mosul, the federal police forces and Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought sporadic clashes with IS militants as the troops recaptured nine villages and the power station that provide electricity to the western side of Mosul,
The troops killed many extremist militants and destroyed 14 booby-trapped vehicles along with a vehicle carrying IS militants, the statement said, adding that the troops have seized a total of 60 square kilometers in south of the city during the day.
In west of Mosul, the army's 9th armored Division recaptured six more villages as they advanced to Attshana Hills, some 10 km west of Mosul, after sporadic clashes with IS militants, the statement said.
The troops killed many IS militants and destroyed two of their booby-trapped vehicles, a shovel truck and a vehicle carrying extremist militants, the statement said, adding that the troops have seized a total of 63 square kilometers in west of Mosul during the day.
Also in west of the city, a paramilitary unit of Hashd Shaabi teamed up with a Brigade of the 9th Division and advanced in vast open area in west of Mosul, recapturing the villages of Hamza and Gaisoum Hill, destroying three car bombs and a vehicle carrying heavy machine gun, according to the statement.
The troops' advance toward Mosul came after the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants out of the western side of Mosul, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River which bisects the city.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, or the left bank of Tigris, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
However, the western side of Mosul appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces with its narrow streets and heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people, according to the United Nations (UN) estimates.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Dr. Weidong Yu, the founder of the Wellspring Clinic, finds a solution to treat RP patients with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). (Xinhua/file Photo)
By Xinhua Writer Jiang Yaping
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a hereditary degenerative eye disease, believed to be an incurable disease with Western Medicine Treatment, but traditional Chinese Medicine Therapies offered a new hope for the successful treatment of RP patients.
RP is a group of genetic disorders that affect the retina's ability to respond to light. This inherited disease causes a slow loss of vision, beginning with decreased night vision and loss of peripheral (side) vision. Eventually, blindness results. Western Medicine believes there is no cure for RP right now.
Patients who are diagnosed with the disease are usually advised by their doctors to learn how to walk with a cane and to prepare for a vision-less life.
But currently, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments are available. RP patients have seen the light of hope in the dark tunnel after they come to a clinic in Vancouver in west Canada.
Dr. Weidong Yu, the founder of the Wellspring Clinic, has found the solution with TCM.
Yu told Xinhua in a recent interview by email that his method of treatment is based on TCM, and uses a combination of acupuncture and herbs to stop the progression of RP. So far, he has received more than 600 RP patients and nearly 400 have been fully recovered, with the rest greatly improved of their eye sight.
The 54-year-old Yu is a Chinese-born doctor. Before he settled down in Vancouver nearly 20 years ago, he had received Bachelor of Chinese medicine in China's Shandong Chinese Medicine college and Master of public health in Universite libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.
Richard Schuit from Ontario in eastern Canada was diagnosed with RP in 1991, and was told by his doctors that there was no treatment for the disease. He would go blind gradually and should be prepared to find a guide dog and learn to read braille while he still had some vision left.
With eye sight deteriorates year by year, Schuit started looking into alternative means of treatment, and found Yu's clinic while searching on the internet. At first, Schuit had some doubts about Yu's Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment, but with virtually no other options, he was willing to give the treatment a fair chance.
After three treatments of 10-days each over the course of several years, Schuit regained almost all of the peripheral vision that he had previously lost, going from an initial 30-degree field of vision to his present state of 180 degrees.
It was such a wonderful treatment as if "thin layers of black are being peeled off every time that I come here," Schuit said.
Yu said the idea of treating RP with TCM started in 1999 when he first saw a RP patient.
"When I discovered that she had the condition, I believed that TCM could help her improve, and decided to give it a try. My reasons for choosing TCM were not arbitrary or random. Back when I worked at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, there was a research group that conducted clinical research on Chinese medical treatment of Retinitis Pigmentation, the results of which were very promising," he said.
Since then, Yu has been providing treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa and offering his patients a more hopeful and positive future. After his successful debut, patients from all over the world start flying to Vancouver to receive treatment from Yu over the past 17 years.
Phyllis Brown, an accountant and former teacher from Atlanta, Georgia, first came to Yu's clinic in 2015, with the hopes of stopping the decline in her peripheral vision. With a background of Western medicine, she was initially skeptical about the efficacy of alternative medicine. But the first two treatments strengthened her confidence as her peripheral vision opened up steadily, and she saw improvements in her central vision acuity as well.
"Yu not only saved my eye sight, he saved my life as well," Brown said.
Yu said acupuncture is the primary means of treatment as it regulates energy flows in the body and balances the Yin and Yang, which is one of the most fundamental concepts in TCM, as it is the foundation of diagnosis and treatment.
"The method does not involve direct contact with their optic organs. Instead, I am rehabilitating and restoring their self-healing ability through holistic treatment," he explained.
"With his magic method, Dr. Yu provides us with hope -- a hope that eventually helps us overcome the disease and see the colorful world again," another patient said.
Iraqi forces's BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, supported by the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries, advance towards the village of Sheikh Younis, south of Mosul, after the offensive to retake the western side of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters commenced on February 19, 2017. (AFP photo)
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Sunday announced the commencement of a new phase of offensive to drive out the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group from its major stronghold in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.
The Iraqi army, federal police and some paramilitary units of the Hashd Shaabi have started their advance in the early morning from south and west of the Mosul.
The troops, so far, have managed to retake control of a total of 17 villages as they are marching closer to the fringes of the western side of the city, according to a statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.
In south of Mosul, the federal police forces and Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought sporadic clashes with IS militants as the troops recaptured nine villages and the power station that provide electricity to the western side of Mosul,
The troops killed many extremist militants and destroyed 14 booby-trapped vehicles along with a vehicle carrying IS militants, the statement said, adding that the troops have seized a total of 60 square kilometers in south of the city during the day.
In west of Mosul, the army's 9th armored Division recaptured six more villages as they advanced to Attshana Hills, some 10 km west of Mosul, after sporadic clashes with IS militants, the statement said.
The troops killed many IS militants and destroyed two of their booby-trapped vehicles, a shovel truck and a vehicle carrying extremist militants, the statement said, adding that the troops have seized a total of 63 square kilometers in west of Mosul during the day.
Also in west of the city, a paramilitary unit of Hashd Shaabi teamed up with a Brigade of the 9th Division and advanced in vast open area in west of Mosul, recapturing the villages of Hamza and Gaisoum Hill, destroying three car bombs and a vehicle carrying heavy machine gun, according to the statement.
The troops' advance toward Mosul came after the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of an offensive to drive the extremist militants out of the western side of Mosul, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River which bisects the city.
"We announce the start of a new phase in the operation (We Are Coming Nineveh) to liberate the western side of Mosul," Abadi said in a brief televised address, referring to the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital city.
"Our main task is to liberate the people before liberating the land," Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in his address.
Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of the eastern side of Mosul, or the left bank of Tigris, after more than 100 days of fighting against the extremist IS militants.
However, the western side of Mosul appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces with its narrow streets and heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people, according to the United Nations (UN) estimates.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Eighty percent of Americans believe the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be maintained despite doubts about the alliance among the Trump administration, a latest Gallup poll has found.
This is sharply up from 64 percent in 1995 when Gallup last time asked the same question, according to Gallup.
But there is big difference in Americans' partisan views of the NATO, as 97 percent of Democrats voice support to the alliance, compared to 69 percent of Republicans.
When Gallup first asked Americans about their views on NATO in July 1989, 75 percent thought the alliance should be maintained. Americans' support to the alliance dropped to 62 percent in 1991, months before the Soviet Union's formal collapse.
Three years later, support for the alliance increased to 70 percent, but it dipped back down to 64 percent in 1995 during NATO's intervention in the Bosnian War, according to Gallup.
The latest Gallup's poll was conducted on Feb. 1-5 after the election victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
During his campaign, Trump questioned the traditional U.S. commitment to the alliance, referring to it as "obsolete." But he has since backed down from that position after his inauguration in January by reaffirming the U.S. commitment to the NATO and agreeing to attend its summit in May.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the "unwavering" commitment to the NATO on Saturday during a speech to the European security conference held in Munich, Germany.
But Pence also urged NATO members to increase their defense spending to share the financial burden of protecting the security of Europe, where a number of U.S. troops have been stationed.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, while reiterating the U.S. commitment at the same conference, also warned that Washington could "moderate its commitment" to the NATO if other countries do not increase their defense spending.
TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected on Sunday a recent Canadian court ruling against Iran as "unacceptable," Tehran Times daily reported.
"This ruling runs contrary to the basic principles of international law about legal immunity of the governments and their properties, and is unacceptable," the Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.
On Feb. 8, the Ontario court ruled that Iran has to pay 300,000 U.S. dollars of the legal costs of the victims of allegedly Iran-sponsored terrorist attacks.
Qasemi said the Canadian court ruled regardless of "international law" and the "principle of the governments' equality."
The Islamic republic has made its complaints about the issue to the Canadian government through related channels, he said.
In June 2016, the same Canadian court also issued another ruling to confirm a verdict of confiscating 13 million U.S. dollars of Iranian assets based on the allegation that Iran has supported the terrorist groups.
ATHENS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two policemen were slightly injured on Sunday in a petrol bomb attack at the Greek ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party headquarters by a group of carnival masked persons, according to Greek police.
Some 30 individuals participated in the incident, according to the police officers who came under attack at the building's entrance in central Athens.
At least four petrol bombs were hurled and two cars were damaged. The attackers fled after breaking the office's windows on the ground floor. Police have detained 21 suspects, according to police sources.
"Today's criminal attack against SYRIZA's offices is an attack against Democracy," read a party announcement, stressing that lives were put in danger by "gangs with no ideology".
SYRIZA was first elected in office in January 2015 on an anti-austerity platform, but eventually also implemented harsh austerity measures under the pressure of Greece's international lenders.
The debt laden country adopted its first bailout program in May 2010 to avert financial meltdown and the prospect of Grexit.
Anarchists have targeted numerous times since then, mainly with petrol bombs, the headquarters of parties who ruled Greece in the past.